6.13.9 "What Do You Expect?"

"What Do You Expect?"

I Kings 11:1 - 12:19
Acts 9:1-25
Psalm 131:1-3
Proverbs 17:4-5

I've always like the story of Ananias. In Acts 9, we read of the conversion of "the artist formally known as Saul" on the road to Damascus. What a dramatic story of God intervening in a life. That's always a cool story, but I'm always just as drawn to God speaking to Ananias.

I thought I'd re-tell the story in my own words. Here's a look at Acts9:10ff "GLAV"(Greg Lathe Amplified Version) (disclaimer: this Version is probably "uninspired"!)

There was a follower of Christ living in Damascus. He was no great leader, but he was faithful. He loved the Lord, and sought after his will, and believed God could do anything. One Day as he was praying, the Lord spoke to him in a vision.

"Ananias!"

"Yes, Lord!" Wow! He thought, I can't believe it! God is speaking to me directly. He must have some great plan that he wants to see happen! Maybe it's going to be that new job I've always wanted, Maybe he's calling me to be the new home fellowship leader! Maybe I get my turn to teach Synagogue Sunday School!

"Go over to Straight Street and find the house of a man named Judas..." As the Lord is speaking Ananias' mind is churning, "This is awesome! I've got a mission from God! I bet someone needs healing!"

"...and ask there for Paul of Tarsus..."

Hold on a minute! Just the mention of the name seemed to pull the plug and cause his faith to drain out.

"...He is praying to me right now, for I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he can see again!"

Ananias didn't really hear this last part with the same enthusiasm that he had only moments ago. After all, this was highly strange! He thought, "Who am I that i should show up at someone's door, and ask the devil himself if i could pray for him? Doesn't God understand my limitations? I'm sure God hasn't thought of these things. I'll let him know:"

"But Lord, I'm not sure that you're aware of this, but I've heard about this guy. He has done some terrible things in Jerusalem, and we're pretty sure he's here to do the same thing. So, here's the thing, God... you'd be proud of us Christians. You see, we've got together, and we've pretty much decided we were going to stay as far away from him as we can. We passed around a petition that we would boycott people going to TarsusLand as a symbol of our solidarity, and we were pretty much going to limit our relationship only to other Christians because you know, our goal is to stay saved! Lord, I'm sure you didn't think of this. Oh yeah, and there's one more thing... You probably didn't realize this... There's even a chance that if I do show up, he's going to kill me on the spot! So I'm thinkin'..."

It didn't take God long to reply: "Here's an idea... how about you do what I say? I chose Paul. I've got a plan for His life, and it's not unrelated to all the things you're worried about. All the things you heard about, I saw. It may surprise you to know that these things were preparing Paul for what is ahead. He's my man. And you know what Ananias? Your obedience is part of this process. So, what's it gonna be?"

Ananias couldn't even answer. He went to the specified house, knocked on the door, and asked to see... (gulp)... Paul. He walked into the room where he was sitting, and his heart was pounding. Had he really heard from God? He started to wonder how stupid he would feel if nothing happened after laying his hands on him. But, he knew that God hadn't let him down yet. He placed his hands on Paul. "Brother Paul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you may be filled with the Holy Spirit and get your sight back."

Instantly, as if scales fell from his eyes, Paul could see. Paul began to speak in other tongues, and was having quite a glory spell!

Ananias was somewhat lost in another place in his mind, in thought, even repentance. "God, I'm sorry I even wasted time questioning you. I'm thankful for what you've done in Paul, but I'm more thankful for what you've done in me. Help me the next time to remember your voice and to respond with readiness and immediate obedience."

As I mentioned, this is MY rendition of the story. In this re-telling, there's a whole lot of me in Ananias. The question I must ask myself is "what do I REALLY expect of God?" I need to expect that he will do some incredible things as I listen to the small steps of obedience. The things that seem to make no sense. (at the store, use aisle 5 and ask the clerk how her day is going.) These small things play into a big picture.

Sometimes we become intimidated by what the enemy has done in the lives of people. But we can't forget who the enemy really is. It's not the individual doing the persecuting. It's the spirit behind that person. One of our strongest weapons is to LOVE those who've made choices that are wrong. We don't have to accept ungodliness. As Jesus did, we can take a stand against institutions, but love the individuals. For example, in Matthew 23 Jesus went off on the Pharisees, but in John 3:16, the most memorized verse in history was spoken to one of those pharisees. It's SO important that we learn to recognize his voice and to respond in obedience.

Expect God to talk to you. Expect him to tell you something that may not make sense. Expect it to be outside your comfort zone. Expect him to use you to complete his work.

So... what do you expect?



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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