Wise Counsel on Servant Leadership
Exodus 18
As I taught through this section, I saw four major themes: spiritual leadership, giving and receiving wise counsel, giving thanks to the Lord for all He has done, and the responsibilities of guiding others in faith. These insights are relevant to church leaders and anyone striving to lead a life of purpose and influence.
Spiritual Leadership
Spiritual leadership comes with significant responsibility. James 3:1 tells us that teachers and leaders will face greater severity in judgment and will be held to stricter standards. How does that sound? Now, before you say, “Whew, glad I’m not a leader!” I want to remind you that we are all leaders and teachers in one way or another. Whether in our homes, work, or sphere of influence, it is important to approach leadership with humility and a sense of duty. Remember – God will equip those He has called.
Prioritizing Family
Balancing leadership and personal life can be challenging, but it boils down to priorities. Remember that the priority is to seek first the Kingdom of God, and he will give direction. It is never God’s will for us to serve the church more than we serve our own family. Ministry always comes from a healthy family. Don’t think for a moment that you can have an upside-down house where you neglect your home, your marriage, and kids, or your singleness and still be effective. It doesn’t work that way. We have to be consistent. This touching reunion of Moses and his family reminds us that family time is crucial, even when responsibilities are overwhelming. God will be faithful in giving direction on how to love our families well while fulfilling his leadership duties.
The Power of Personal Testimonies
Ever consider the impact of sharing your personal testimony? In Exodus 18, Moses’ reunion with Jethro shows us just that. Jethro, initially a pagan priest, came to acknowledge the one true God through Moses’ stories of God’s faithfulness. When we share our experiences, we can bridge gaps and spark meaningful conversations about faith. The reunion between Moses and Jethro is filled with excitement and encouragement as Moses shares the stories of God’s miraculous works. And what did it lead to? Jethro is getting saved and giving thanks! Friends, we should want more of this in our lives. To give thanks to the Lord for all He has done.
Giving Thanks to the Lord
Focusing on the challenges and hard things is easy, but celebrating God’s blessings and faithfulness is vital. Cultivate a habit of rejoicing even in tough times. Reflecting on our spiritual milestones, big or small, can be incredibly uplifting.
Receiving Wise Counsel
Did you know Moses led over three million Israelites out of Egypt? That is a ton and led to Moses serving those before him from morning to night. Jethro, his father-in-law, saw this and determined, “The thing that you do is not good!” (Exodus 18:17) Jethro exhorted Moses to seek the Lord for confirmation but to appoint capable leaders to share the load. One person cannot do it all. Here at Calvary Church, we say, “We is the language of ministry!”
By embracing leadership responsibilities, seeking wise counsel, fostering collaboration, and prioritizing personal and family life, we can lead effectively and inspire others in their faith journey. Remember, leadership is not about doing it alone but about working together as a community, sharing the burdens and the joys, and ultimately glorifying God through our actions.
As you reflect on these truths from Exodus 18, consider how you can apply them to your life and leadership. Whether you are a church leader, a community organizer, or simply someone striving to make a positive impact, these principles can help you become a more effective leader.
Full Transcription
Amen. Open your Bibles. Acts 22 is where we are, and I’ve entitled our Bible study, “Waiting On God Is Worth It.” But I also could have titled this message, “Waiting On God Doesn’t Always End Up The Way That You Thought it Would.” That’s a long title, so I chose the shorter one. But waiting on God doesn’t always end up the way you thought it would. And there is a right way to wait on God and a wrong way. So let me clear it up at the very beginning of our study. There is a significant difference between waiting on God, which is the right way, and waiting on circumstances, which is the wrong way.
Waiting on God. There are promises that are given to you and me. For those of us that choose to wait on God in accomplishing what He wants to in our lives. One of them, you can jot it down, in Isaiah chapter 40:31, the reward for waiting on God is maturity. It’s spiritual growth. It’s spiritual strength. And the Bible says, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.”
There’s a reward for waiting. But waiting is not easy, we know that. Waiting can be very, very hard because things aren’t changing, or things seem to be getting harder, or seem to be getting more difficult. In Proverbs, again, jot it down, Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” that’s so true, “but when the desire comes, it’s a tree of life.” It’s important, church, that we learn how to wait on the Lord.
And here, I believe, is an encouragement for many of you. I believe it’s a word from the Lord like a rhema word. And it’s this: there is a reason. God has a reason and a purpose for this season of waiting in your life. There is a reason behind the circumstances that you’re waiting on – the situation that you’re watching and wanting God to act in. And it’s important that you not take things into your own hands when you become impatient; when you’re tired of waiting. And sometimes it just comes out of our mouths. We wake up one morning, things are harder than we thought they would be, things aren’t changing. Things are…and just sometimes, “I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m tired of waiting.” And that – watch! Watch those feelings. Watch those words. Because that’s a danger sign. That’s like a light on the dashboard. Do not act on that. Go get that checked because you do not want to take things into your own hands. There is no reward for taking things, and there’s only consequences. And sometimes they’re long lasting.
We want to learn to wait on the Lord because God has his reasons and God has his purposes. Why is that important today? Because in our text in Acts chapter 22, Paul finally makes it to Jerusalem, as we saw in our last study. This is something he’s been waiting on God for 20 years. For 20 years he’s wanted an audience in Jerusalem. For 20 years he’s wanted to preach the gospel to the Jewish people and to the leaders in Jerusalem. And he finally gets there. But it didn’t end up the way that he thought. I’m sure he expected that they would hear and they would listen and so many people would get saved. But that’s not what happened.
He finally makes it and the believers of the Jerusalem church didn’t receive him very well. I mean, they received them, but the very first thing they said was, “Hey, look, people are talking about you.” “There’s a lot of rumors, so this is what you need to do: you need to help these brothers pay their vows. Make it seen so everybody can see you’re not against the law. And you’re not an enemy of Moses. And you’re not an enemy of the temple.” And they didn’t really welcome him in and say, “hey, we want to hear from you.” But they set it up so…and I think in a good way, they set it up for the future. But it wasn’t what he expected. Instead of appreciation, they’re making him prove himself. And they’re standing him into the place where he did it for the sake of the gospel, but it wasn’t what he desired. And minding his own business, you got the Jews coming back from Asia. Now they’re stirring up, and he has an opportunity here in our text today to share what he’s been waiting all these years to share. Pick up with me in chapter 21. Now in verse 40, we’ll pick it up. And by way of context.
So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying, brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now. And when they heard that he had spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. And then he said, I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our father’s law, and was zealous toward God, as you are all today I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest bears me witness, and all the counsel of the elders, from whom I also receive letters to the brethren. And I went to Damascus to bring in chains, even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. Acts 21:40 – 22:5
So here is his defense. If you like to write in your Bibles, and I hope you do, go back to verse one and circle the word defense. It’s the Greek word apologia. It’s from where we get our English word apologetics. The word means, “to defend.” It doesn’t mean to say, “I’m sorry,” and apologize for something. It is the word, properly translated here, defense. Paul is giving a defense to all the accusations, and I find it interesting that in his apologetic, in his defense, he doesn’t deal with the accusations. And neither does he give a long theological Bible study, which he was capable of doing. Instead, in his defense, he does one of the best things that he could have ever done. Something that you and I can…he did it so, so powerfully and so wonderfully. It’s something that you and I can follow in his footsteps without much effort. And in order to give his defense to the audience that was before him, Paul is going to share his testimony.
And all of us have a testimony. Every single one of us. You. You’re here today. “Well, I don’t know much about the Bible, and I haven’t been well-educated and I haven’t even read the Bible yet.” Okay, you’re going to get better and better over the years, but every single believer listening to me right now has a testimony. And I want, if you haven’t developed one, or prepared one – or even want a concept – I want to help you with that right now. So take out a pen if you’re not already taking notes. And I want you to see this because I want you to develop your testimony and be ready to share it. And so you could take out a white piece of paper, and I’m going to do it right now. I’m writing it down here. You can take out a white piece of paper and you can write three boxes like this. This is my testimony right now. I haven’t written it down yet, but this piece of paper represents my testimony in the first box here. As we see, we just read a portion of it from Paul.
This first box here is who I was. You can jot it down, “Who I Was,” where I came from. And here’s one of the mistakes that so many people make with their testimonies is that they think their testimony is all about them. And so most people’s testimonies, they look like this. So let me get another piece of paper here. I should have had this prepared. I’m sorry, but this is what their testimony looks like. It’s more like this. And there it’s all about them in the top box. This is where I was. And it’s like, you know, sometimes I’ll ask people to share their testimony and they’ll say, how far back do you want me to go? Like, “to the womb?” I’m like, “no, bro, no,” I don’t go far that far back. But just give me a few things I just want to know and be relatable to you. And that’s what your testimony is: your testimony. Listen, your testimony is not about you, even though you are a part of it. A true Christian testimony is about, you ready? God and His work in your life. But in order to share it, people need to know who you are, and they need to know where you came from. Some of you grew up in a Christian home. Some of you have really, really bad testimonies. And that’s what God saved you from. I’m one of them. I have one that’s like, “man, I wish I didn’t have it.” Truly, I wish I didn’t have it. But, I do, and this is the consequence of my life. And that’s what God saved me from.
Number two, the second box is, “Where God Met You.” How did God meet you? Some of you are invited to church. Some of you met somebody, some of you, you know, raising a godly home. But there’s a point in time, as we’ll see with Paul, we’ll get to it in a few moments where he was met. And we’ve already read this because we were given Paul’s conversion in Acts 9, so this is all review. But it’s important for you to understand he’s using his life story, God’s work in his life, as a way to share the gospel.
And so that middle box is “How did God meet you.” For me, I was in a tough spot. I was facing jail time, and out of the blue I receive a phone call from a friend who just got saved. Probably heard a message to say, “Okay, everybody find the worst sinner you can and call them and invite them to church.” My phone rang. I was invited to church. We end up showing up to a church like this. Heard the gospel. Transformed life. That’s how. That’s it. That was my middle box. Enough there.
And then the third box, as we’ll see through this study, the third part of your testimony is “What Is God Doing,” in your life right now? What has He done? What is the changed life? And this is where the miraculous takes me. This is like, “you will not believe!” Like, for some of you, you’ve been sober for all these years, and we say “Amen,” to that. And for some of you, you forsook all this sin, and you’re not a part of it anymore. And for some of you, you’ve become pastors and teachers, and you’re teaching Sunday school, and you’re you are desiring God, and you’ve read the Bible, you know, on and on what God is doing in your life, because that last part of your testimony shows that your testimony is alive. Did you know that? Your testimony is not done. It’s alive. God is in you, and He’s continuing the work. And this encourages people in a place where they need to hear it.
And so you need to prepare your testimony, polish it up and be ready to share it. You need to be able to share your testimony in just a couple minutes. Sometimes that’s all the time you have. But imagine the work of God. Check this out. This is the powerful work of God. Where there, you know, millions of people will never come into a church building, never listen to Christian radio, skip over all those Bible studies on YouTube. They’re just not interested. But you’re in their life. And they’ll listen to you. And the power of your testimony is this: that people may argue with the Bible (as they love to do) but they can’t really argue with your testimony.
I mean, they can’t. Like, you’re sharing it and they go, “oh, I don’t believe that, that never happened.” And you’re like, “bro, you weren’t there!” How do you know what happened? I was there! And I know this in my own life, as I’ve shared over the years, I know this: that whatever I share with you, whatever situation how I remember it, it was far worse than how I remember it. As I begin to talk to the people that were connected to my life at the time. So it was hard for me. But the pain I caused Marie, it was worse. The pain I caused my parents, it was worse. It was far worse than I remember. God, He’s so gracious to us. Or He, you know, He doesn’t have us remember every single detail. Praise God for that. But I’ll tell you, you come and go, “you know, you weren’t that bad.” You were probably just born a pastor…came out with glasses from the womb, you know. That wasn’t that bad. No, man, it was worse than I even remember.
But God met me – with a friend that I used to party with – and He changed my life. He saved my family. He expanded my family. He gave me the privilege to teach the Word of God and to meet so many people. Serve your families, watch you grow. The power of your testimony. It gives truth to the power of God’s Word, because your testimony is going to lead to the Word of God, because that’s where the power is. The power is not in your testimony. The power is in the Gospel. The Gospel is the power to transform a life. And so it’s not just a story about, “Hey, man, I want you to know all about my life.” All about my life? Yeah, know about my life. Let’s make a connection. And I’ve seen over the years. And you’ve seen it, too, that your testimony connects you with specific people more than others.
So, like, for me, I got a lot of alcohol and partying and drugs in my past. So that’s relatable to people because people are sitting there right now, “Man, I’m so messed up, I don’t think I can ever get sober.” And then they hear some dude on the radio or somebody shares, “Oh, man, you gotta hear my pastor. You got to understand. He got saved. He got sober.” And then that testimony is going well, maybe. And there’s just a little thought there, “If God could do that for him, maybe God could do that for me.” And that’s your story. You go through such pain and such heartache and such difficulty, but God got you through it, and now it’s become a part of His story in your life. And when you share it with other people that are going through the same thing, they get hope from your life, the hope of what God has done in your life.
That’s where Paul is. And so there’s a few things that Paul said before we get on to the rest of the text. But you’ll notice he’s very respectful in verse one, “Brethren and fathers.” He is speaking in the Hebrew language to connect, he’s building a bridge. Remember, when you’re sharing with people, you’re building a bridge to connect in their life, not just to get to them, but to also in tactful love, to bring them back with you. It’s relational. He says in verse three that he’s a Jew. That’s going to connect them. He studied under the feet of Gamaliel, which is a highly respected rabbi of the day, very respected. He was taught it says, “the strictness of the law, zealous toward God.” Just like you guys, “I’m just like you guys,” he says. And then he says, he takes it a step further in verse four, “I persecuted the Way to the death.” We need to pause there for a moment and look at this phrase of “the Way,” again, because this is what Christianity was known as in the first century. Long before church became an institution or traditions were added, or the church is known as a building or some religious structure, it was known as the Way.
Which makes so much sense, doesn’t it? God is calling us back to simplicity, and the simplicity is just to see your walk with the Lord as following the Way. And you go, “what does that mean, exactly?” Well, Jesus declared himself to be theway. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. I’m the only way to the father. Nobody gets to the father except through me” (John 14:6). You know, over the last many years, I found that my counsel and my biblical discipleship in people’s lives is getting smaller and smaller. And one of the things that God has added, as I share with people in great, difficult, and complicated things, is just to follow the way. That’s my counsel: follow the way.
And you go, Ed, what do you mean by that? Well, even in my own life, recently, actually, this happened to me. Where it’s just a difficulty I’ve been wrestling with personally, just something heavy on my heart, like I’ve just been…and so I just stopped all of my devos. I stopped everything I my normal Bible reading, and I just went to a section of the scriptures where Jesus was teaching on this topic, and in my holy imagination, I pictured myself Following him, listening to him and obeying him. And I just spent a few days, actually, it was about 4 or 5 days every day in the morning. I’d read it. In the afternoon I’d read it. I memorized some of it. I’d highlight it, I’d circle it, and I just follow Jesus. This is your answer to my problem. It’s got this thing and this thing. And what about this? And what about this? I don’t know about this, and…it’s very complicated. And it has been for many years in my life. But the teaching of Jesus is very simple. And in everything what Jesus was teaching me, even in that was “Ed, just follow Me.” “Follow Me, I’m going to take care of your life.”
“Haven’t I been faithful to you in the previous years?”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Haven’t I taken care of problems in your life?”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Haven’t I helped you and encouraged you?”
“Yes, Lord.”
And it just takes, like, the promise of God. And that’s my counsel to you. You come in here, you watch online, you’re listening on the radio with such complications. Heavy stuff, man. And I’m not minimizing in any way the heavy stuff, because sometimes the answer to your problems is so simple. It really is simple. However, we interpret simple sometimes as simplistic and we just dismiss it. “Oh no, you need professional this,” and “Oh no, you need 20 sessions.” “Oh no.” And maybe you do – I don’t know. I can’t speak to every situation with all. I don’t know exactly the totality of what tools God is going to use to help you. But I do know this: no help will come unless you’re following the Way. You won’t experience any help, any peace, any joy if you haven’t chosen to follow Jesus, if you haven’t chosen to obey him and to listen to him. And how could you ever listen to Jesus if you’re not reading His Words, if you’re not seeking out His counsel, if you’re not coming to Him with a heart open and a mind open and a Bible open, saying, “God, you understand my frame. You know who I am. You know the circumstances of my life. You see all these things, and You see things I can’t see and You know things I don’t know. And You have answers and resources and solutions that I don’t have. Lord, I want to follow the way. I want to follow You.”
And so this has been very special to me lately, and it’s counsel to some of you: you need to follow the Lord. Read your Bible and pray every day. Get involved in Christian community. Acts 2:42, “They continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine, in prayer, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread,” and allow the Lord to work these things out as you wait on Him and follow Him. Notice what he says in verse four reveals some…really nastiness…about Paul. He says, “I persecuted the way to death and I bound and delivered them into prisons.” Check this out. This is how bad he was, “both men and women.” This is a low state of living, friends. When a man abuses a woman. That’s where he’s at. He is, in the name of religion, he says, “I’m going to kill people because of what they believe. I want to destroy Christianity. And I don’t care if they’re men or women. It doesn’t matter to me. I see no distinction.” Paul was very, very low. And the strange thing, and the scary thing is he didn’t know how low he was until he got saved. God had to reveal to him how bad it was. But he’s telling us how bad it was – but he’s not giving us all the details. Just enough.
Even as I share my testimony from time to time or little pieces, I know the same thing. I share something with you. It takes 45 seconds to say it, but 45 seconds actually spans 20 years, and we do not have 20 years to discuss how bad I was. And so I just give the summary of it. But in my heart, in my mind, it takes me back. And I remember and I know it was much worse. But you don’t need all those dirty details, you know, and neither do those in your life. What they need to know is what God has done. And so he doesn’t give all the dirty details, but he gives enough. Even he says, if you don’t believe me, ask the high priest. They gave me permission to do it (Acts 22:5).
And so, at that point, notice now, verse six, we get to the second part of his testimony, and ours.
Now it happened as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly, a great light from heaven shone around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” So I answered, “who are you, Lord?” And He said, “I’m Jesus of Nazareth, whom you’re persecuting.” And those who were with me indeed saw the light, and were afraid, but did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me. So I said, “what shall I do, Lord?” And the Lord said, “arise and go into Damascus. And there you’ll be told the things, all things which are appointed for you to do.” And since I could not see for the glory of that light being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
So he shares with them this supernatural event that takes place. We’ve studied it in depth in chapter nine. But as he was on the road to Damascus, “breathing threats and murder,” ready to kill men, women, and children, throw him into jail, persecute the way God met him, he was a marked man from the beginning. You know some of the people you’re praying for right now – your family, your friends – they’re marked men and women. God loves them. He’s pursuing them. And we’re not going to stop praying for them.
As he’s sharing this, he’s like, “Hey, look, God spoke to me.” That’s part of my, “God spoke to me.” And I love how Jesus responds to him in verse seven, “Why are you persecuting Me?” And then He says in verse eight, “I’m Jesus of Nazareth.” You think you’re going to Damascus, but you’re actually “persecuting Me.” It’s encouraging because Jesus views His church as He sees Himself in it. As He’s looking upon us right now. He sees. He’s in the midst of us. He identifies with us. You know, to me, it’s an encouragement to know that Jesus so personally identifies with us, that when a hand is raised against any believer, it’s actually against Him, and He protects us and takes responsibility for us, as the good Shepherd always does over His flock. As Jesus speaks to Him, notice the direction He gives in verse nine. What am I supposed to do, God? What am I supposed to do. Now that he’s born again, the direction is, “I still want you to go to Damascus.”
And it’s important that we realize when…many times, as God is desiring to do a great work through a man or a woman, he does it by giving us one step to take in faith. Now, this may not seem like a step of faith for Paul, but I want to draw out for you just how much faith it’s going to take to go to Damascus. Because everybody already knows he’s coming. There warning ‘em. It would be like here if we knew Paul was coming and go, “hey, watch out!” Protect! Board up the windows. We gotta make sure we protect everybody from Paul. But Paul is a changed man. And so the word from God, from Jesus, here is, “you’re still going to Damascus.” And can you imagine the response in your own? “I don’t want to go to Damascus. They’ll kill me. They’re already out for me. They won’t believe me. They won’t believe I’m a changed man. They’ll think I’m lying so I can get in and take advantage of them.” But of course, that’s not what we have.
Because Paul knows something that you and I need to know. And you might want to jot this down. The best obedience is immediate obedience. Otherwise you’ll talk yourself out of it. The best obedience is immediate obedience. You want to be faithful to what God has told you. He’s giving you one thing. Do the one thing. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matt 6:33). The problem is, it’s hard for us to live this way. What is this way? By faith. It’s challenging to live by faith. Because living by faith means you don’t know what the future holds. Living by faith means you don’t know where the money’s coming from. Living by faith means you don’t know what that phone call will be or what that situation will end up being. We find it hard to live by faith. We want to live by sight. We want to see what’s up ahead. We want to live by information. Oh, sure, I’ll take step A, God, if you tell me what Z is going to be. What’s going to happen? How’s it going to turn out?
But know this if we knew how it was going to work out. It wouldn’t be from faith. And if we knew how God would supply all of our needs, it wouldn’t be by faith. And if we knew exactly the end from the beginning, it wouldn’t be by faith. And we learned is our study through Hebrews, that, “without faith it’s impossible to please God” (Hebrew 11:6). So God keeps us in a place of depending upon him. Sometimes we refer to that as waiting. “Go to Damascus,” and you’ll find out when you get there; but you will not find out before you go to Damascus. And that’s the truth in all of our lives. “Do what I’ve told you to do,” God says, “then you’ll find out.” You won’t find out beforehand. Well, what won’t Paul find out? Well, one of the things Paul won’t find out unless he goes to Damascus is that God has already gone before him.
Notice with me in verse 12,
Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” And at the same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men…” Acts 22:12-15
Mark that.
“You will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, “Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.” So I said, “Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.” Then He said to me, “Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.” Acts 22:15-21
Here’s what Paul didn’t know – until he gets to Damascus – and that is: God went before him. God provided a man there. Ananias was waiting for him in Damascus. He had his own issues. God was telling him, “Hey, I want you to go to Saul.” “I don’t want to go to Saul – he wants to kill us!” But God had prepared Ananias. There is always something prepared for you on the other side of obedience. Isn’t that great? There’s always something prepared for us. God is always preparing us today for what He has prepared for us. He always goes before us. You’re not going into the great unknown, as much as it feels that way. You are going into the great “One That Knows,” because you’re waiting on the Lord, you’re obeying the Lord, you’re following the Lord and not depending upon the circumstances.
Paul shares his life is a mess. He’s got so many things. But God met him and he went to Damascus and God had someone waiting for him. He had a whole situation set up for him. And notice, I love this in verse 14, He had words of encouragement. His calling was waiting for him in Damascus. He says that, “God has chosen you,” and that’s true for us too (John 15). He says that God has chosen that you would know His will – that’s true for us, too (Romans 12). God tells him, “you’re going to see the Just One,” that’s true for us (Hebrews 2:9), and that, “you’ll hear the voice of the Lord.” That’s true for us, too (John 5:25), and “you’ll be His witness.” This was all given to Paul in Damascus. God moves quickly, friends, when He moves, He moves quickly and thoroughly. And a man that was going to go kill the believers in Damascus was given his calling there, and his marching orders.
You know, I think of how many of you stepped into this building after years of driving by, or seeing, or hearing about it, and you didn’t know that God had something for you here; waiting for you when you got here. He had a word for you, had a teaching for you. He had people here waiting for you. Maybe you met somebody that you haven’t seen in years here in this church. Why? Because God has gone before you, leading you in the places that He wants you, that He knows are going to be best for you. He knows you’re going to grow there and you just needed to step out and do it. You can trust God with your life as you walk by faith and not by sight.
Of course, as we’re walking, we need to follow the Lord and we need to trust him with our lives. But you have to know that God has a word for you every time you gather because He’s gone before you. He has a word for you every time you open your Bible because He’s gone before you. He has an answer to your prayer every time – before you pray it – because He’s gone before you. Just take that to heart, today, God goes before us and we can follow Him. Not only that, I want you to notice at the end of verse 21 that he was given direction from Jerusalem many years later to go to the Gentiles. So a lot of times we see and we’ve not even mentioned, I might even as a pastor have mentioned this before, where you just kind of see the irony of God that God used someone like Paul to reach the Gentiles when it seems like he was perfectly trained for the Jews. And then He uses someone like Peter to reach the Jews, when his whole upbringing seems like he’s perfectly trained to reach the Gentiles.
And so, a lot of times, pastors will look and say, “well, you know, Paul was the pastor to the Gentiles.” In a way you could say that, but it’s not entirely true. So the next time you’re playing Bible trivia and the question might be who is the pastor to the Gentiles? You can say, well, “everybody.” And that would be accurate and you need to fight for that answer when that like, yeah, everybody. And you go, what do you mean? It says right here he was “called to the Gentiles.” Listen, if you read verse 21 without reading verse 15, then you won’t have the full context of the calling of Paul. Yes, Paul was called to the Gentiles, but not exclusively. Why? Because we read in verse 15, you will be “His witness,” to, say it with me, “to all men.” And that’s the call upon you and me. You may have and God may use you in a particular area, but your call is to all.
Your call is to all. It’s not just the Gentiles, not just the Jews. It’s not just to Aurora, not just to Denver. It’s to all: every tribe, every tongue, every nation. This is important to grasp – it’s been God’s heart from the beginning. All of this division that has been created over the years based on nationality, based on skin color, based on language, based on the things that that differentiate, “you know, we’re just not called to them.” No. Everybody is our neighbor when it comes to the gospel. And so it’s not just this unique thing. Well, you know, “I’m not really called,” to them. No, you are called to them. It’s the same calling that God has given to us in Acts 1:8.
We see that lived out in our own ministry here, where we have great responsibility here in Aurora, but not exclusively; and great responsibility in Denver and throughout Colorado, but not exclusively; and great responsibility throughout the United States, but not exclusively; and great responsibility to nations around the world. Well, that would encompass it all. It’s all. Isn’t that what we learn in Acts? “You shall be my witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
By the time we come to the first century, the religious leaders of the day completely lost this. And they’re going to flip out in a moment, as you’ll see, because of Paul’s call to all, to the Gentiles, specifically. Notice, verse 22 now, “and when they listen to him, until this word,” which word, you can just circle it and write an arrow to Gentiles. When they heard the word Gentiles, they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live.” Now that’s pretty extreme, don’t you think? He’s just sharing his testimony and their response is, “kill him!” This is how far they were from God and how far a religious person can be from the heart of God.
This is also an explanation of why the world and the those that are unbelievers hate the church. Why you experience some of the things you experience where you step back and go, “what are you so mad at me about? I just was talking to you. I was just sharing with you, and I wasn’t even saying anything except telling you what God has done in my life. Why are you so angry?” And I’ll tell you why people get so angry: it’s because of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. And they’ve got to take it out on someone, and you’re the closest one. Jesus himself warned us that, “if they hated Him, they would hate us that follow Him” (John 15:18).
And here’s an example in the first century, it’s already happening. “He’s not fit to live.” Why? Because he has the heart of God? Because he loves the city? Because he loves Gentiles? He loves people? Notice in verse 23, “they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust in the air,” made a big dramatic…you know, some people just love the dramatic. So they’re being very dramatic about it. And because of that, remember, Paul is there on the Antonia Fortress where the Roman leaders are there, watching everything, looking down as guards of the Temple Mount area. They see a disruption. And now notice what happens, verse 24, the commander, which would be the Roman military, “the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and said that he should be examined,” or beaten under scourging. This is exactly what happened to Jesus. He was beaten by being scourged, so that you might know why they shouted so much against him. Verse 25 has, “they bound him with thongs.” Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” Here he’s using his citizenship to further the gospel.
One of the greatest ways you can use your citizenship in this country to further the gospel is to participate by voting a biblical conscience. You can do that. Participating in the form of government that God has allowed us to be a part of. To pray, to seek the Lord, and move forward with a biblical conscience and participating. Here, he’s using his citizenship to get out of a death sentence, and he’s doing it in such a way for the gospel to give an opportunity for him to continue to talk, and not die and be persecuted. So notice it says in verse 27,
Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.” The commander answered, “With a large sum, I obtained this citizenship.” And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.” Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. Acts 22:27-29
And why is that so important? Because the Romans never scourged or beat citizens. That was reserved for non-citizens. They never mistreated their own. It was against the law. So the penalty for breaking this law would be for the person doing it to receive the penalty. So of course they’re upset and afraid. It says in verse 29, because they did a really bad thing, and Paul is using it to his advantage, so that verse 30, “the next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their counsel to appear and brought down Paul set before them.” So now the audience just got larger by Paul asserting his citizenship. So much in this text to see. But you can see now, and what’s revealed to us, is the power of your testimony. What we learned is that it’s not always…when you’re waiting on the Lord, it doesn’t always end up the way you thought it would. But like Paul, you can’t quit on God or be mad at Him. You need to be prepared to trust Him with your life.
Things aren’t always going to end up the way…that’s why we don’t wait on circumstances. We wait on the Lord. We trust Him with our lives. We make progress. We move forward. And you see what Paul got? Even worse. They flipped out. They got upset. They’re going to beat him and scourge him. You know the reason that a person was scourged, remember, it was only two things that would come out of scourging. Number one, someone would confess something. Even if they weren’t guilty, they’d confess it, so they’d stop the beating. Or two, they would die.
That’s why it’s so significant that Jesus took the full weight of scourging. He went all the way for you and for me. He took the full weight of our sin upon himself, and by His death, burial, and resurrection, your sins can be forgiven today so that your testimony…you’re in the beginning of your testimony right now, but God wants to meet you. He wants to transform your life so you can begin to live out the last part of your testimony. All that He wants to do, all that He wants to bring about, all that He wants to change.
I had a conversation after service yesterday, as we close, with a young man – 18 years old. He’s listening to the same Bible study you’re listening to, and he comes up with a really valid question. He goes, “you know, I hear what you say. And I responded to the gospel, and I asked God to forgive me of my sins, but I just don’t see any change. I don’t think I did it right. I’m not sure if I did it right. I’m not sure.” And it began a conversation as I was able then to use my testimony to draw out from him, to draw out from him his testimony, because he’s just in a season where he’s not seeing a lot of change. But to those of you that aren’t seeing a lot of change, here is my counsel: be patient. Be patient. The biggest change happened in your life where even now I’m like, “Hey, before you were saved…,” I was asking, “before you were saved, were you asking questions about God?
No. Oh, wow. That’s a big deal. “Were you even reading your Bible?” No. “Did you even care?” No. He began to share out of his own mouth the redemptive work of God in his life. And I gave him some homework, and I gave him some things to do, and I gave him some things because God has His part. But then you and I, we have our parts, we abide in Christ and we follow Him, and we’re in His word. And we pray and we watch God. But listen, you can’t live in the first box – who you were your entire life. You need to come to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you. You need to repent of your sins. You need to receive the forgiveness that’s yours by faith in Him. Then you could begin to tell people what God has done and what He’s doing in your life and reveal His faithfulness. Church – stay active following the Lord, listening to His voice. Stay obedient. Remember, the best type of obedience is immediate obedience.
The best type of obedience is doing what God…hearing from the Lord, obeying what He says. Staying faithful. Remain sensitive to Jesus. Stop arguing with the will of God for your life. Stop trying to find satisfaction outside of God’s calling upon your life. You’re chosen. You’re chosen to know His will. You’re chosen to see Him, to hear Him, and to witness for Him. So walk forth in obedience. And this is where we’re going to leave off today. But we’ll get into the rest of his testimony in our study next time. Just allowing the Holy Spirit to remind us of His faithfulness in our lives. So I got a piece of homework for you. Ready? If you haven’t already, put your testimony together, and if you already have one, share it with somebody this week. Just look for an open door. Don’t go to work tomorrow and gather everybody in the room and stand up on the chair, “I want to share what a rotten sinner I am – and you are, too!”
And you’re like, what is your problem Ed? “You know, pastor told me to share my….” Don’t do that! Don’t make it all weird. But look for those opportunities that God has obviously brought. This is so amazing. I could go on, but I…you are the answer to someone’s prayer. Be ready for it. Be ready to step into an obedience. The answer. Your story. Your life, your background. What God has done is going to be the answer to someone’s prayer. If you’re ready and ready to hear from the Lord and obey the Lord. Amen?
Lord, thank you for Your Word today and just the significance of Your faithfulness. Lord, the amazing work that You have done. We…all our testimonies are just amazing. I mean, I wish part of my testimony wasn’t there, but it’s my life and I am grateful that there are many among us that don’t have as bad as testimonies me or others. And that’s good. It’s good. It’s a different testimony. You kept people from sin. You didn’t deliver them from sin, you kept them from sin. Praise God, one way or the other. But You want to use our church in these last days, or this little church right here, and we want to be used, so, God, we yield ourselves to You afresh and anew, and pray for open doors and the strength to obey. In Jesus name, Amen.
