WEBVTT 00:00:03.900 --> 00:00:07.440 Today's reading is from the book of Acts, chapter 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:14.179 9, verses 10 to 19. In Damascus, there was a 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:18.280 disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:23.100 in a vision, Ananias. Yes, Lord, he answered. 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:28.059 The Lord told him, go to the house of Judas on 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:31.739 Straight Street. and ask for a man from Tarsus 00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:36.640 named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision, he 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:40.079 has seen a man named Ananias come and place his 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:45.359 hands on him to restore his sight. Lord, Ananias 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:49.000 answered, I have heard many reports about this 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:52.500 man and all the harm he has done to your holy 00:00:52.500 --> 00:00:56.460 people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with 00:00:56.460 --> 00:01:00.479 authority. from the chief priests to arrest all 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:05.400 who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:10.719 Go, this man is my chosen instrument to proclaim 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:14.959 my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:18.659 the people of Israel. I will show him how much 00:01:18.659 --> 00:01:23.519 he must suffer for my name. Then Ananias went 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:27.400 to the house and entered it. Placing his hands 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:32.040 on Saul, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:35.060 who appeared to you on the road as you were coming 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:39.159 here, has sent me so that you may see again and 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:43.859 be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately something 00:01:43.859 --> 00:01:47.780 like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:52.780 see again. He got up and was baptized and after 00:01:52.780 --> 00:01:56.920 taking some food, He regained his strength. The 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.200 word of the Lord. is a phrase that I'm sure you've 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.680 heard. You do hear it a lot in Christian circles, 00:02:02.739 --> 00:02:05.299 and the phrase goes something like this. It says 00:02:05.299 --> 00:02:08.819 that you need to have a personal relationship 00:02:08.819 --> 00:02:12.939 with God, or you need to have a personal relationship 00:02:12.939 --> 00:02:15.139 with Jesus. And you probably heard a preacher 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:17.840 maybe say that, or somebody on TV say it, or 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.699 somebody on the street yelled it at you while 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:22.979 you were trying to get a subway in downtown Toronto, 00:02:23.139 --> 00:02:25.639 or something like that. And the idea is that 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:29.090 Christianity It's not supposed to just be about 00:02:29.090 --> 00:02:32.009 like this religion, but it's supposed to be about 00:02:32.009 --> 00:02:33.770 a relationship. It's supposed to be about a real 00:02:33.770 --> 00:02:37.610 personal relationship with God. And I would say 00:02:37.610 --> 00:02:42.710 that is absolutely true. You cannot inherit faith 00:02:42.710 --> 00:02:45.569 from someone else. It has to be personal. It 00:02:45.569 --> 00:02:47.370 has to be something you kind of grab hold of 00:02:47.370 --> 00:02:50.770 yourself. And so I think there's absolutely nothing 00:02:50.770 --> 00:02:54.550 wrong with saying that we need to have a personal 00:02:54.550 --> 00:02:58.539 relationship with God. It should be noted that 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:01.520 that phrase does not appear anywhere in the Bible 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:06.560 or in the New Testament. And I should also say 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.400 the phrase can get a little dicey because here's 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.780 why. If all I need is a personal relationship 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:19.419 with Jesus, then why do I need you? And why do 00:03:19.419 --> 00:03:23.400 you need me? And why do we even need to be here? 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.620 Why should we come to worship? Why should we 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:29.139 come to church? Why should we join a life group 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:33.259 or something like that if it's just me and Jesus? 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:37.879 And our culture loves individual kind of like 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:41.580 attitudes, right? It's my choices. It's my life. 00:03:42.259 --> 00:03:47.419 So why not my? faith, right? I don't need anybody 00:03:47.419 --> 00:03:50.219 else really getting involved in this. I can pray 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:53.319 on my own. I can come to church on my own. So 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.900 you see what I mean, how that phrase personal 00:03:56.900 --> 00:04:00.419 relationship sometimes If we're not careful, 00:04:00.580 --> 00:04:05.479 it gets turned into a private relationship with 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:08.560 Jesus. And that is not good. That is not good. 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:11.360 Personal relationship, good. Private relationship, 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:15.159 not good. Because actually, the New Testament 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:17.279 and the Bible, whenever it talks about people 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.699 following Jesus, it talks about following Jesus 00:04:20.699 --> 00:04:23.240 together. It talks about following Jesus as a 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:28.920 family, as a community, as a body. Jesus' followers 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:32.000 were always people who worshiped with one another, 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:34.759 who served with one another, who prayed with 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:38.199 one another, and yes, occasionally got annoyed 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:43.220 with one another. And that is really important 00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:46.220 because we're doing this teaching series called 00:04:46.220 --> 00:04:49.519 180. Where we're looking at the life of a guy 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:53.319 named Saul, his life was completely turned around. 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:55.279 And the reason it was turned around is he had 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:59.480 what you could argue was the most personal, personal 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:04.060 encounter anyone has ever had with the Lord Jesus. 00:05:04.220 --> 00:05:07.720 He was traveling along the road to what city? 00:05:08.810 --> 00:05:11.250 Damascus, yes. And all of a sudden, there was 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:13.670 a bright blinding light. It was the light of 00:05:13.670 --> 00:05:16.649 Jesus. He was blinded from it. And then he heard 00:05:16.649 --> 00:05:18.970 the voice of Jesus. See how personal this is? 00:05:19.069 --> 00:05:22.149 And the voice of Jesus actually says to him, 00:05:22.250 --> 00:05:25.470 it says, Saul, he knows him by name. Very, very 00:05:25.470 --> 00:05:28.910 personal. Saul, it's me, Jesus, talking to you. 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:33.430 And you're persecuting me, right? So this moment 00:05:33.430 --> 00:05:36.560 he had was deeply, deeply. Personal. And that 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:41.379 begins this 180 degree turnaround in Saul's life. 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:44.699 Because eventually, because he's blind, he has 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:47.319 to get led all the way into town. And he ends 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:50.259 up in a house. And I love this. This is too good. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.560 He ends up in a house located on Straight Street. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:58.100 which Paul has just had his whole life turned 00:05:58.100 --> 00:06:01.160 around, and now he's in a house on Straight Street. 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:04.360 But actually, it's true. Straight Street was 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:07.600 a real street. In fact, it still is a real street 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:12.000 in Damascus. And there we find Saul. What's he 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.740 doing? Well, we could say he's having a private 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:18.420 moment with Jesus. He's praying, right? Oh, he's 00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:22.490 continuing to build this. personal, private relationship 00:06:22.490 --> 00:06:24.550 with Jesus. And maybe what was he praying? I 00:06:24.550 --> 00:06:25.970 don't know. Maybe it was a prayer of confession. 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:29.029 God, forgive me for these horrible things I've 00:06:29.029 --> 00:06:31.610 done. Maybe it was a prayer of bewilderment. 00:06:31.629 --> 00:06:33.930 God, how did I get it so wrong? Or maybe it was 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:35.629 just one of those prayers like, Jesus, what do 00:06:35.629 --> 00:06:39.769 I do now? I don't know. We don't know what he 00:06:39.769 --> 00:06:43.019 was praying. We can only imagine. But the point 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:45.519 is this. Many people would look at this situation 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:48.060 and see, ah, see, here's Paul. He's having a 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:51.139 private moment with Jesus. He's developing his 00:06:51.139 --> 00:06:54.420 personal relationship with Jesus. Him and Jesus, 00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:57.720 mano y mano, man to man, they're going to sort 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:03.009 everything out together. But, actually, that 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:07.050 is not how this story is going to go at all. 00:07:07.250 --> 00:07:10.829 This is not going to be a story about Saul's 00:07:10.829 --> 00:07:14.430 private relationship with Jesus. Because Jesus 00:07:14.430 --> 00:07:17.009 is talking, at the very same time he's talking 00:07:17.009 --> 00:07:19.350 to Paul here, or praying, Paul's praying, Jesus 00:07:19.350 --> 00:07:21.649 is talking to another Christian in the city. 00:07:21.769 --> 00:07:26.220 A Christian by the name of Ananias. And he says 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:31.360 to Ananias, Ananias, I want you to go to Saul. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:35.579 Now, why is that? Why does Ananias have to go? 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:39.660 Why couldn't Jesus just speak directly to Saul 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:43.040 like he did before? Why send a middleman like 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:45.959 Ananias? Even Ananias is like, um, are you sure 00:07:45.959 --> 00:07:50.699 I got to go to visit this guy? And Jesus says, 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:57.540 yes, yes. Though Saul was directly confronted 00:07:57.540 --> 00:08:03.079 by Jesus, he is going to be restored through 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:08.079 another person or through a community. And over 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.980 these next few verses, Saul is actually going 00:08:10.980 --> 00:08:14.180 to be given everything that he needs for his 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:17.860 new life. With Jesus. But it is not going to 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:22.019 come. Through more private time with God. It 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:24.480 is actually going to come. When a whole bunch 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:29.120 of other Christians. Kind of get into his life. 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:32.620 Beginning with Ananias. It's just. It's a crazy 00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:36.549 thing. that the christian community that he came 00:08:36.549 --> 00:08:39.909 to destroy is going to be the community that 00:08:39.909 --> 00:08:42.389 enables this 180 turnaround so i want to just 00:08:42.389 --> 00:08:45.610 i've written down five things that saul is going 00:08:45.610 --> 00:08:47.450 to get and there's no other way he can kind of 00:08:47.450 --> 00:08:49.789 get them except through this community so let's 00:08:49.789 --> 00:08:52.090 follow along and let's just track those five 00:08:52.090 --> 00:08:55.090 things together the first thing that saul is 00:08:55.090 --> 00:08:59.919 given is a new family This is so powerful. If 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:02.440 you look at the first word, what is the first 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:06.159 word that Saul hears when Ananias, this Christian 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:08.360 that he came to destroy, is coming through the 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:12.879 door? What is the very first word? Brother. Brother 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:18.019 Saul. That is shocking. Ananias knew why Saul 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:20.639 had come to town. This isn't just some visitor 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:22.679 who walked into church one Sunday and say, hey, 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:25.100 brother, nice to have you here. No, Saul came 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.179 to Damascus to attack them, arrest them, maybe 00:09:27.179 --> 00:09:30.080 even have them killed. And he still calls him 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:34.960 brother. It is pretty astonishing. But it's also 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:36.980 very true to say that from the very beginning 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:39.679 of the Jesus movement, the church had this idea 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:44.600 that they were a new family. Jesus once said, 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:47.539 well, who is my mother and my brothers? Well, 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:50.279 whoever does the will of my Father in heaven 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:53.860 is a brother and a sister and my mother. Jesus 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:58.090 was creating a family. As a new family, not based 00:09:58.090 --> 00:10:01.309 around bloodlines or ethnicity or not based around, 00:10:01.409 --> 00:10:03.289 you know, your social standing or anything like 00:10:03.289 --> 00:10:06.250 that. It was a family that was centered on him. 00:10:06.629 --> 00:10:09.809 And apparently it's a family where even enemies 00:10:09.809 --> 00:10:13.230 could somehow end up being brothers and sisters 00:10:13.230 --> 00:10:19.330 together. Now, 15 years later, fast forward, 00:10:19.409 --> 00:10:21.870 15 years later, Paul is going to write these 00:10:21.870 --> 00:10:26.009 words. There's no longer Jew or Greek. There's 00:10:26.009 --> 00:10:28.789 no longer slave or free. There's no longer male 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:32.389 or female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 00:10:33.669 --> 00:10:36.809 Paul did not develop that theology by spending 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:42.230 private time with Jesus. He experienced it. Someone 00:10:42.230 --> 00:10:47.470 walked into that room in Damascus, crossed the 00:10:47.470 --> 00:10:50.649 room, laid a hand on Saul's shoulder, and called 00:10:50.649 --> 00:10:57.360 him brother. And that's actually still what God 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.940 is doing here in churches like Trinity Streetsville. 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:01.659 We come from different countries. We come from 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:04.759 different cultures. We come with different generations. 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:09.480 But in Jesus, we are one. Jesus isn't calling 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:12.460 us to a private faith. He is calling us into 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:15.899 God's family. And I am not pretending that this 00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:18.659 family is somehow a perfect family. It is not. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:21.980 Just like your human family, church families 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:25.129 can be pretty. Messy at times. But this is what 00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:30.090 God gives to Saul and what God gives to us. Not 00:11:30.090 --> 00:11:34.850 a private faith, but a family of faith. So that's 00:11:34.850 --> 00:11:36.509 the first thing that is given to him. But the 00:11:36.509 --> 00:11:40.929 second thing that Saul is given via another person 00:11:40.929 --> 00:11:43.929 again, mind you, right? Not on his own, is healing. 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:47.320 healing ananias you know enters the house he 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:51.860 places his hands on saul and immediately something 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:56.799 like scales fell from saul's eyes gross uh but 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.000 anyways he could see again now i want you to 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:03.620 note i'm going to keep coming back to this saul 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:07.929 was not healed of his blindness by himself But 00:12:07.929 --> 00:12:10.889 someone else had to give it to him. Could Jesus 00:12:10.889 --> 00:12:14.409 have from a distance just healed Saul directly? 00:12:14.590 --> 00:12:16.950 I have to believe the answer is yes. But no, 00:12:17.049 --> 00:12:20.250 Jesus sends another person. In fact, the Bible 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:24.289 has very, very few stories of people who get 00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:27.029 healed all alone, self -healing. It doesn't really 00:12:27.029 --> 00:12:30.049 happen a lot. Healing is almost always relational. 00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:34.450 Now, maybe you're a skeptic when it comes to 00:12:34.450 --> 00:12:39.299 healing. Fair enough. But just remember, a good 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:41.740 part of Jesus' ministry was spent healing people, 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:43.500 right? He'd go around, he'd pray for people, 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:45.220 he'd lay hands on them, and blind people could 00:12:45.220 --> 00:12:48.600 see, and lame people could walk. And, get this, 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:51.700 the early Christians seemed to have no problem 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:55.399 believing that Jesus' healing ministry was being 00:12:55.399 --> 00:13:00.000 carried on in their own ministry through them. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:03.960 In fact, there is this moment in Matthew 10 when 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:07.960 Jesus says, you know, I give you authority to 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:12.039 go and heal every disease. Now, that sounds crazy. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:13.700 We're given authority to heal every disease. 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:16.899 It doesn't work that simply, right? They couldn't 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:19.779 control this healing. It didn't always work. 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:21.940 You know, the healing didn't happen the way they 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:25.019 wanted every single time. But they still believed 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:29.940 that God's healing power had been given to them. 00:13:31.019 --> 00:13:34.320 To give to others. Now look at what happens. 00:13:34.539 --> 00:13:38.480 Again, years later, Saul himself is going to 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:41.340 become a conduit for the healing of others. In 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:45.179 Acts 14, he encounters someone who cannot walk. 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:49.720 And this same Saul, who once received healing 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:53.379 through the hands of this Christian Ananias, 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:58.440 now becomes the someone who brings healing to 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:02.929 somebody else. And again, not everybody was healed. 00:14:03.629 --> 00:14:06.350 Even Saul himself would complain that his whole 00:14:06.350 --> 00:14:08.549 life, there was an ailment that he struggled 00:14:08.549 --> 00:14:11.070 with that never was healed. Some prayers are 00:14:11.070 --> 00:14:13.409 answered. Other prayers are not answered. But 00:14:13.409 --> 00:14:16.950 that never stopped the church from praying or 00:14:16.950 --> 00:14:18.750 believing that healing prayers were important. 00:14:18.889 --> 00:14:21.269 In fact, James writes, if any of you are sick, 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:23.860 Let them call the leaders of the church and pray 00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:26.720 over them and anoint with them oil in the name 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:30.080 of the Lord. James does not say, if you're sick, 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:34.100 go off by yourself and deal with it. He says, 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:36.700 call the church and let other Christians come 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:41.299 around you and let them pray with you. Heaven's 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:45.620 healing often comes through human hands. So don't 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:49.519 be embarrassed to ask. for healing prayers. Don't 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:53.659 be shy to visit the prayer flag during our communion 00:14:53.659 --> 00:14:57.220 time and ask for prayer because as Saul learned, 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:01.779 our healing may come from that person standing 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:04.820 right in front of you or the person who is sitting 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:09.639 right beside you this morning. The third thing 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:14.419 that Saul receives from this community is a brand 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:18.120 new identity. These are six words that seem so 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.259 small, but I tell you, these are revolutionary. 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:26.279 He got up and was baptized. That's an enormous 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:28.940 change that's happening right there in Saul's 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:31.820 life. He's not saying, you know what, I'm going 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:34.500 to get baptized because I find Jesus to be pretty 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:38.580 interesting. No, he's saying, I want a brand 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:43.120 new identity. I want to start over again. I want 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:49.360 to belong to Jesus. This is a complete 180. Again, 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:51.379 I keep fast -forwarding, but if you were to fast 00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:53.379 -forward years later when Paul is writing about 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:55.399 baptism, I have to believe he's thinking about 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:58.700 his own baptism when he writes that we were buried 00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:02.980 with Jesus through baptism into death in order 00:16:02.980 --> 00:16:05.019 that just as Christ was raised from the dead 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:09.039 to the glory of the Father, we too may live a 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:13.940 new life. Baptism is death and resurrection. 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:17.539 That's as 180 as you can get. Old life gone, 00:16:17.740 --> 00:16:22.039 new life here. Yesterday, I was an enemy of Jesus. 00:16:22.179 --> 00:16:27.019 Today, I want to identify with Jesus. I want 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:32.179 to switch sides completely. But here's the thing 00:16:32.179 --> 00:16:36.200 again. I keep hammering this. Nobody goes home 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:40.289 and fills up the bathtub and says, well, I guess 00:16:40.289 --> 00:16:44.710 I'll just take care of this myself. You don't 00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:50.450 baptize yourself. The church does. Somebody else 00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:55.529 gets to say to you, you belong to Christ. A church 00:16:55.529 --> 00:17:02.169 gets to say to you, you belong with us. Right? 00:17:02.169 --> 00:17:05.529 Are you starting to see how much of this 180 00:17:05.529 --> 00:17:09.250 moment in Saul's life depends and comes through 00:17:09.250 --> 00:17:12.670 others? You know, I just want to say again, before 00:17:12.670 --> 00:17:14.230 we move on from this one, that maybe there's 00:17:14.230 --> 00:17:16.849 some of you here today, and you're ready to switch 00:17:16.849 --> 00:17:21.650 sides and do that 180 like Saul did, and yet 00:17:21.650 --> 00:17:24.670 you've never been baptized. And you're hearing, 00:17:24.690 --> 00:17:26.430 maybe even as I'm speaking to you, you're hearing 00:17:26.430 --> 00:17:29.190 a voice say to you, like, I think it's time. 00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:34.009 I want to belong to Jesus. I want to identify 00:17:34.009 --> 00:17:36.190 with Jesus. So I would just say, please do not 00:17:36.190 --> 00:17:39.529 ignore that feeling. Come and talk to me and 00:17:39.529 --> 00:17:46.329 let this community celebrate baptism with you. 00:17:46.390 --> 00:17:48.789 It's a community thing. It's all a community 00:17:48.789 --> 00:17:52.750 thing. Fourth thing that Saul receives via this 00:17:52.750 --> 00:17:56.680 community. is the Holy Spirit. Ananias tells 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:00.220 him, Jesus has sent me so that you may see again 00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:06.220 and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And again, 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:10.700 I believe Jesus could have sent that spirit directly. 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:14.539 No intermediary necessary. But Jesus says, that's 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:17.500 not how I like to do things. Jesus sends another 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:20.680 Christian, Ananias, who puts his hands on Saul 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:24.160 and prays for him. And Saul is filled with the 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:26.940 Holy Spirit. Some of you may say, well, what 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:29.440 does that even mean? What does it mean to be 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:31.400 filled with the Holy Spirit? That's a really, 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:32.839 really good question. We could probably do a 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:35.079 whole bunch of sermons just on that. But I just 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:37.480 want to note that it does not tell us that Saul 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:40.420 immediately started speaking in tongues. And 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:42.839 it does not tell us that he started prophesying. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:44.619 It does not tell us that he fell to the ground 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:47.019 and started shaking or anything like that. Maybe 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:49.420 there are places in the Bible where that happens 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:51.140 or you've seen that kind of thing happen in other 00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:54.980 people's lives. No comment. But when people receive 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:58.579 the Holy Spirit, it is not the same. Every time. 00:18:58.859 --> 00:19:02.460 There isn't one sign that proves that you've 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:05.819 really received the Holy Spirit. But what is 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:09.200 consistent, I would say, is that the Spirit connects 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:14.160 you to a people. The Holy Spirit does not... 00:19:14.619 --> 00:19:18.759 create a collection of isolated spiritual individuals 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:21.660 who each go and have their private connection 00:19:21.660 --> 00:19:24.599 with god no the spirit creates a body that's 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:27.220 why again paul as he thought about this years 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:30.200 and years later he would say for in the one spirit 00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:33.980 we were all baptized into one body different 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:36.099 people different backgrounds different gifts 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:42.079 but we're joined by that one spirit think about 00:19:42.829 --> 00:19:46.490 Think about Pentecost. Think about the day when 00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:49.450 the Holy Spirit was first poured out on the church. 00:19:49.650 --> 00:19:52.210 Where are the believers? Are they all in their 00:19:52.210 --> 00:19:54.170 own homes? Are they all scattered throughout 00:19:54.170 --> 00:19:57.089 the city? No, they're together. And the Spirit 00:19:57.089 --> 00:20:00.190 comes when they're together. And they stay together. 00:20:00.309 --> 00:20:02.609 They keep worshiping together and praying together 00:20:02.609 --> 00:20:05.269 and eating together and sharing their resources 00:20:05.269 --> 00:20:09.369 together. The Spirit doesn't descend at Pentecost 00:20:09.369 --> 00:20:13.609 so 3 ,000 people can have 3 ,000 individual spiritual 00:20:13.609 --> 00:20:17.589 experiences. No, the Spirit creates a church. 00:20:18.609 --> 00:20:22.029 And again, for some reason, I just want to say 00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:24.170 that there's not many examples of the Spirit 00:20:24.170 --> 00:20:27.589 coming on somebody when they're just alone by 00:20:27.589 --> 00:20:29.910 themselves. The Bible seems to give us picture 00:20:29.910 --> 00:20:32.690 after picture after picture of the Holy Spirit 00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:36.670 coming upon someone through and with other people. 00:20:36.849 --> 00:20:40.170 Like, for example, there was this time when Peter 00:20:40.170 --> 00:20:43.930 and John. Another time in the Bible, they placed 00:20:43.930 --> 00:20:46.930 their hands on these Samaritans who were believers, 00:20:47.069 --> 00:20:51.029 and they received the Holy Spirit. It's not a 00:20:51.029 --> 00:20:53.029 formula. I wouldn't say it's a formula, but it 00:20:53.029 --> 00:20:56.690 is pretty consistent that the Spirit is given 00:20:56.690 --> 00:21:00.690 through other people, and the Spirit draws us 00:21:00.690 --> 00:21:06.089 to other people. So I think the question that 00:21:06.089 --> 00:21:08.809 you should be thinking about is not, oh, does... 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.119 The Holy Spirit live in me. It's an important 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:13.940 question. And not just what has the Holy Spirit 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:17.420 said to me? Or what gift has the Holy Spirit 00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:20.259 given to me? But what is the Holy Spirit doing 00:21:20.259 --> 00:21:25.660 among us? The Spirit isn't merely like to make 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:30.599 you more spiritual, right? He's moving us. as 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.700 a people, moving us. The Spirit unites us as 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:35.980 a people, but then it sends us as a people. Isn't 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:37.799 it amazing how ordinary people who are filled 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:39.940 with the Spirit can do extraordinary things? 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:42.119 People like Ananias. Who would have thought that 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:44.900 he would be the conduit through which the Apostle 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:48.259 Paul would be converted? Ordinary human beings. 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:51.039 Let's just look at Saul himself. How on earth 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:53.160 is it possible he went on to be the author of 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:54.779 most of the books in the New Testament and the 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:56.759 greatest evangelist who ever lived? It's the 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:00.609 Holy Spirit, right? So we shouldn't just ask, 00:22:00.650 --> 00:22:03.650 do I have the Holy Spirit? Ask, Holy Spirit, 00:22:03.730 --> 00:22:06.289 what have you given me for the sake of these 00:22:06.289 --> 00:22:11.430 people, for the sake of this world? So do you 00:22:11.430 --> 00:22:14.789 see how much of Saul's transformation depends 00:22:14.789 --> 00:22:17.849 on people? Through community, he receives a family. 00:22:17.950 --> 00:22:20.589 He receives healing. He receives a new identity. 00:22:20.589 --> 00:22:22.529 He receives the Holy Spirit. And I want to end 00:22:22.529 --> 00:22:25.369 with the one that might seem actually the most 00:22:25.369 --> 00:22:28.190 insignificant compared to all that I've shared 00:22:28.190 --> 00:22:30.880 with you right now. But actually, it's not. And 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.480 that is through community. He receives hospitality. 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:39.640 We read, after taking some food, he regained 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:42.799 his strength. Saul spent several days with the 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:46.579 disciples in Damascus. I love how understated 00:22:46.579 --> 00:22:48.839 this is, right? It's just like he's been welcomed. 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:51.579 He's been healed. He's been baptized. He's been 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:55.099 filled with the Holy Spirit. And then somebody 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:59.910 makes him a sandwich. After the light of heaven 00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:02.130 has blinded him and the voice of Jesus, three 00:23:02.130 --> 00:23:05.230 days of blindness, what does he need? He needs 00:23:05.230 --> 00:23:10.289 dinner. He needs a place to sleep. Sometimes 00:23:10.289 --> 00:23:13.910 the work of God looks spectacular and sometimes 00:23:13.910 --> 00:23:18.089 it just looks like a casserole. Sometimes it 00:23:18.089 --> 00:23:20.910 might mean that you are called to pray for healing 00:23:20.910 --> 00:23:23.309 for someone and sometimes you might just be... 00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:25.759 call to pick up the phone and say, why don't 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.680 you come on over? I'll put the kettle on and 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:30.400 we'll have a cup of tea. Those things feel small, 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:35.460 but hospitality is truly transformative. Think 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:37.680 about it. A few days earlier, Saul was ready 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:40.200 to kill these people. Now he's eating their food, 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:45.259 sleeping in their home. I think it's so cool 00:23:45.259 --> 00:23:50.619 that the people that Saul came to take in end 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:55.400 up taking Saul in. They become the ones who get 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:58.259 him, right? The Christian community doesn't just 00:23:58.259 --> 00:24:02.299 receive Saul on that day of his conversion and 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:04.339 then send him on his way. No, we're told they 00:24:04.339 --> 00:24:08.079 spend several days with him. And they create 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:11.000 this environment where he's going to sort all 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:15.079 of this stuff out. Never underestimate what God 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:17.740 can do through ordinary hospitality. So I would 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:19.839 just challenge you the week ahead, in the month 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:22.579 ahead, why not invite somebody to lunch? Stay 00:24:22.579 --> 00:24:25.259 for coffee after church and talk to someone maybe 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:28.599 you've never spoken to before. Make room at your 00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:30.720 table at home. Learn somebody's name. Listen 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:32.619 to somebody's story. And you may think, oh gosh, 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:37.440 I'm only making dinner. But listen, somebody 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:41.740 in Damascus once made dinner for Saul of Tarsus. 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:48.119 And it changed the world. That's how Saul's 180 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:52.609 happens. Yes. Jesus meets him very personally 00:24:52.609 --> 00:24:56.450 on the road. And yes, Saul had many a private 00:24:56.450 --> 00:25:00.349 moment with God, but Jesus forms him through 00:25:00.349 --> 00:25:04.210 people, right? A brother who welcomes him, hands 00:25:04.210 --> 00:25:07.849 that pray for him, a church that baptizes him, 00:25:07.970 --> 00:25:12.509 a spirit that connects him and a table that feeds 00:25:12.509 --> 00:25:16.640 him. When Jesus takes hold of your life. He also 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:20.279 places you among people. And I would dare say 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:22.579 that actually maybe one of the clearest signs 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:26.119 that Jesus has taken hold of your life is that 00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:28.279 you're not just simply getting closer to Jesus. 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:33.779 You're getting closer to one another. So yeah, 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:38.900 we do need a personal relationship with Jesus. 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:43.579 Saul had one. Jesus knew Saul's name. Jesus knows 00:25:43.579 --> 00:25:47.750 your name too. But may we all discover what Saul 00:25:47.750 --> 00:25:51.769 discovered, that personal relationship was never 00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:54.609 meant to be a private relationship, and that 00:25:54.609 --> 00:25:59.869 true transformation happens in community. Thanks 00:25:59.869 --> 00:26:00.329 be to God.