The Acts of the Apostles- 92

Subtitle:  Shipwrecked

Acts 27:21-44.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 16, 2025.

We are going to continue with Paul on his storm-tossed journey to Rome.  But before we do that, I want to share some similarities and contrasts between the Apostle Paul and the prophet Jonah.

Both of these men were tasked by God with taking a message from Him to Gentiles and their king or kings.  Paul of course has a scope that is much larger than Jonah who was only sent to the capital city of Ninevah.  They both end up in a storm that threatens their lives, but are spared by God in order to deliver their messages.  Finally, they both end up in water that could kill them, but are helped by God.

Yet, there are some big contrasts between Paul and Jonah.  Paul goes toward his task as a willing voice to the Gentiles.  Whereas, Jonah is running away from his meeting as an unwilling voice to the Gentiles.  We could add to this that Paul has a heart of love for the Gentiles (not wanting them to perish), and Jonah wants the Gentiles to be destroyed.  Paul is taken in chains by others to his task, even though he would freely go.  However, Jonah uses his freedom to flee from the task.  Of course, there is great irony in this.  We can see that spiritually Paul is the man who is free and that Jonah is the man who has a spiritual bondage to vindication.  We also see that the storm is sent to chastise Jonah for disobedience.  Whereas, this is not the case for Paul.  The storm only helps people to see God’s mark of approval upon him.  Finally, Paul is happy to see Gentiles saved, but Jonah is sad that they are spared.

Of course, a person could come up with more.  All of this gives us insight into the thorny ground of wanting justice from God while keeping true to His heart towards all people.

Now, let’s get back to our passage at hand.  We left them on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, caught up in a storm so powerful that they are throwing stuff overboard to save their lives.

Hope is given (v. 21-26)

Verse 20 ended with the statement that all hope was gradually being lost.  However, God had different plans.  When we are in hard and difficult times, we can be tempted to complain about them.  Yet, their situation when from hard and difficult to an existential crisis.  They had come to believe that they were going to perish in this storm.

It is at this time that God speaks to the men through the Apostle Paul.  Paul encourages them and gives them hope in this time.  However, this would not be a hope of circumstances, what their eyes could see. 

Our hopes are generally pinned on what we can see, what seems most probable.  However, Christians are told to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).  Now, that passage is not telling us to ignore the things we can see and to suspend our thinking.  Rather, it is calling us to remember that God is greater than all of the things we can see.  Such a hope is something that is deeper than what we can see.  In a situation absent anything that gives visible hope, a man stands up and says he has been given hope by God, a word from God.  Of course, this begs the question who is this guy.  Men like Luke, Aristarchus would draw great hope from Paul’s words.  He has proven trustworthy to them.  Perhaps a man like Julius the centurion would also draw some hope.  Perhaps everyone else would simply draw hope from the courage it took for him to stand up and say that there is still hope.  Regardless, Paul stands up and speaks hope to them, “after many days” of fighting the storm and going without food.  All told, they would spend 14 days fighting this storm.  We don’t know how close to the end that Paul received his message.  I would think that God did it at just the right timing. 

As Christians, all of us would like to receive a concrete word from the Lord.  However, when God uses someone else to speak into our lives, we are generally not as thrilled to rely upon it.  We balk with the thoughts of how trustworthy they are.  We even balk at whether we think it is possible or not.  This is not a game of “hearing things from the Lord,” as if we are trying to see who can get the best record.   God speaks into every situation generally through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit.  However, from time to time, He will speak specifically.  If God has given a word, then it will bear out to be true every time.  If you have been in a situation where you think that God spoke something to you, or someone else told gave you a word from the Lord, and it failed to happen as was said, then the failure wasn’t with God.  You have to go back to God in prayer and humble yourself.  Perhaps you jumped to conclusions about what the word meant.  Look closer.   Perhaps you wanted something so badly that you let your imagination get away from you. 

What we have here is a man who has faith in what God has said, and it will bear out exactly as God told him.

Paul gives the classic I-told-you-so, but it is not given in a vindictive spirit.  Rather, he is really trying to help them.  “You didn’t listen to me before, but listen to me now.”  He is coming alongside of them to encourage them.

We have to be careful not to let our spirit become bitter when people don’t listen to us.  People are free to choose and learn their own lessons.  Yes, your ego may have been hurt, but God is not working in order to spare your fragile ego.  Perhaps we fear that our experience is overly tied to how they respond.  Listen, God is quite capable of helping you regardless of who listens to your godly counsel.  Yet, the foundation question is this.  Am I truly giving godly counsel?

Essentially, Paul tells them that no one will die, but the ship is going to be lost and destroyed.

It is then that he describes how the word of God came to him.  A heavenly messenger spoke to him that very night.  The message is this: don’t be afraid, you must speak before Caesar, and God has granted you all those who sail with you.

There are two things here.  First, the message is really to Paul and about what he will experience.  He doesn’t need to fear because God wants him to appear before Caesar.  Yet, it is also clear that Paul has been praying for the lives of these sailors, soldiers and passengers.  God has heard his prayer and is granting him this request.  I don’t believe the angel is sent to convince Paul that he will survive.  Rather, he is sent to assure Paul that all the others will live.

This is important because Paul shouldn’t even be there in one sense.  He was unjustly arrested without due process, and he is protesting trumped up charges about Jewish religion.  Their salvation physically is going to be due to the intercession of this man.  This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care about them.  God cared enough to put His special man on their boat.  As God spoke to Jonah, we can see here.  Jonah didn’t care about Ninevah, but God saw 120,000 people who couldn’t even distinguish their right hand from their left hand spiritually.  They were lost and in the dark, but God cared about them and sent Jonah, sent Paul, sends you and me!

Paul understands this.  He was a man who was supposed to have the light of God, but was absolutely clueless to the truth, until God had mercy and showed him the light.  How much more are these Gentiles worthy of a hearing who have only known darkness and lies?

Paul gives them his conclusion.  They should keep their courage (take heart) regardless of how tough it is going to become.  We don’t always receive such information from God.  When we are in difficult situations, part of us may want to use that to accuse God.  However, faith is not found in knowing the future.  Faith is found in knowing the One who not only knows what will happen, but can work it to our good in impossible ways.

The real question is this.  Do I really know God?  If I do, then that knowledge will help to strengthen my faith, as well as the Spirit’s help.  Yet, this kind of knowing is a knowing of experience.  I can know what God’s word says, but I need to experience times of trusting God (or failing to do so) and finding out that He is trustworthy for myself.

The sailors attempt to save the ship (v. 27-38)

As we said, these men have been caught in this storm for nearly two weeks.  Regardless of when Paul told them this message, the sailors try everything they can (probably with the help of all able-bodied passengers) to save the ship.

We are told that around midnight the sailors sense that they are approaching land.  Even though it is pitch dark with howling wind and rain, they probably hear the sound of the waves dashing against something other than the ship and other water.  Years of sailing had attuned their senses to recognizing that distinct sound.  Was it wishful thinking, their mind playing tricks on them?  Regardless, they were convinced enough to take some sounding with a plummet line.  They soon discovered that the depth went from 20 fathoms to 15 fathoms.  They were sailing towards shallower and shallower waters, which is a hallmark of land.  All ships have a certain depth of water that they can sail in without the bottom of the boat bottoming out.  To keep this from happening, the command is given to throw out anchors.  This is dangerous because of the wind and the waves.  Yet, they had to try something to buy them time for a chance to make it to land.

Some of the sailors used this command as a pretense to try and escape on a small skiff, a lifeboat.  However, Paul recognizes what they are doing and warns the centurion and the soldiers that none of them will live if those men do not stay with the ship.  This may seem strange, but in 2 Corinthians 11, we are told that Paul had been shipwrecked three times and had spent a day and a night in the water.  He had spent a lot of time traveling on ships, so he knew that they were not throwing out an anchor.

Why would Paul say that the soldiers would not survive if those men didn’t stay with the ship?  This does not seem to have been a part of the earlier angelic message, but it may have been something that Paul did not mention.  It is also possible that the Holy Spirit prompted Paul’s mind in the moment that this was not part of God’s plan.  Think about it.  They are buying time for a shot at navigating any rocks and making it to land.  For these sailors to abandon ship in this moment, is to leave the rest of the people to sure death.  It would take everyone of them just to have a hope of getting to the shore.

This is where we should recognize an important fact.  These men’s skills would not be used to save the ship, but they would be used to help get the ship to a place where the people could make it to land.  God wanted to save the men of the ship, but He also wanted to use these sailors, at least partially.

This brings up the mystery of how God uses our actions at times versus sending a miracle.  We could call it the miracle of God including our efforts, even those of unsaved people. 

He wants us to do what we can even when it will never be enough.  Imagine a disheartened dad facing his inability to do a good job with his kids.  He may recognize that he is not up to the task and is failing these kids in many ways.  So, what then?  Do we just quit?  Don’t give up in such situations.  There is a sense in which none of us are enough for every relationship and purpose that God gives us to do.  However, God is not only able to use our weak and feeble attempts, but He intends to use them.  He intends to use your weak efforts, not just to help your kids, but to help you.  In the midst of your weakness, you will find God’s assistance as you give yourself to the task.  You will find yourself growing in ability, but even more, in faith that God can and does work through you and in you.

As it gets close to daylight, Paul encourages the men to eat food for their strength.  “Not a hair from the head of any of you will be lost!”  Yet, pay closer attention to how Paul presents the bread to them.

Luke’s phrasing about Paul giving thanks and breaking the bread suggests that this was also treated as communion for the Christians on board (Luke and Aristarchus).  There is something spiritual happening here as they prepare for the final push to survive.  God is using Paul to implant in the minds of all of these men this crazy man giving God thanks for bread when their lives were in danger.  They don’t know God, but they now have experienced life with a man who does know God.  These 273 (276 minus Paul, Luke and Aristarchus) souls are being touched by the God of heaven who cares for their souls.

At this point, sensing that this is their last chance at land, they send the last of the cargo (the grain) over into the sea.  This would lighten the boat and give them the best ability to steer the ship and maneuver to land.

They fail to save the ship, but God delivers them (v. 39-44)

These men will fail to save the ship, but God does not fail to save their lives, at least physically.

Once there is enough light to see, they make a run for the beach.  This involves putting up the mainsail and cutting away the anchors at the same time.  They don’t recognize the land, but they do see a place on land that is their best chance.  As they put up the sail and cut the anchors, the ship lurches forward.  At some point, they become stuck on a sandbar (often these also have clay under the sand).  The wind and the surf begins tearing up the back of the ship.  It is time to abandon ship and pray to make it to the shore without drowning or being dashed against the rocks.

Things are happening fast at this point.  They will need to swim for their lives.  We are told that the soldiers were preparing to kill the prisoners.  This was common policy for Romans and many cultures of the ancient world.  Those charged with the custody of a prisoner pledged their own life for the life of the prisoner.  If they lost a charge, then they would be put to death.  In situations where there was no way to guarantee their custody, prisoners would be put to death.  Yet, God has been working on Julius the centurion.  He normally would be okay with killing the prisoners, but he favors Paul.  Thus, he tells his men not to kill the prisoners.  Of course, then it comes down to how much they trust him.  They had to respect him enough to follow such an order.

The instructions are quickly given.  Those who can swim are to jump in first and make for land.  Others are to grab a board or something from the ship so that they can hopefully float to shore.  I love the phrase, “so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.”  This was a miracle; but even more, it was a miracle that Paul had proclaimed well in advance.  Paul had testified and witnessed to the fact of his God’s grace for them all.

In the end, the greatest shipwrecks are those that metaphorically happen in the lives of people, individuals, groups and even Republics.  Paul uses this metaphor in 1 Timothy 1:19 for a shipwrecked faith.

Sometimes there are things in our lives that God does not intend to save, even though He intends to save us.  This can bother us.  We are so used to serving Him with those things that it can be unclear just exactly what we are trusting.  Satan tested Job in this way.  God wouldn’t let him kill Job, but he could take away many of the good things in Job’s life.  Would Job curse God and die?  Did the things mean more to him than God?  These are the questions we face as we do life with God.

God always intends to save the souls of people.  The loss of ships and things in our life are not proof that He doesn’t care.  Rather, He cares about much bigger things (like eternal salvation) than we often do.  No matter what we face, God wants to save us, to save our family, to save our church, to save our State, to save our Republic, to save our world.  He is not willing that anyone perish.  So, He is working every day to the ends of saving everyone’s soul.  The real question is do you have enough faith to stand in there with Him like Paul did?

When you face a time of losing things, don’t ask God why He is doing it to you.  Rather, put it on the altar and let Him know that He means more to you than those things.  Then, ask Him what it is that He has for you to do in this situation so that other might know who He is.  Yes, sometimes our trials are just as much about the people watching us go through them than they are about us.

Shipwrecked audio

The Acts of the Apostles 38

Subtitle: Ananias is Tested

Acts 9:10-19.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on March 5, 2023.

Today we will look at a man named Ananias.  He is obviously not the same as Ananias and Sapphira mentioned earlier in Acts.

There were two brave men in the story of Saul of Tarsus.  We will meet the first one here today.  A man who will be the first to hear the Lord say that Saul is changed and needs help from him, which takes a lot of trust.  The second will be Barnabas.  These men will help the early Church embrace a man who had been causing their loved ones to be executed.

People come to Christ from very different backgrounds.  The movie Jesus Revolution is now in theaters, which portrays the Jesus movement of the 1970's.  There were many hippies that were saved during that revival, and it was a challenge to the American Church.  We can become used to a certain type of person being saved.  When God saves someone out of left field, we can become fearful and "crusty."  We can resist what God is trying to do in their life, instead of helping them.

Where does bravery come from?  It comes from Christ.  The test here is not so much about obedience, as it is about how much you trust Jesus.  How much Jesus do I really have?  I might discover that I don't have as much of Jesus as I thought I did.

So, what is the answer to that?  Turn to Christ in repentance and seek him.  Cry out to Jesus that you want more of him, and to become more like him!

Saul was a test to the Church when he was persecuting them.  It tested them to see if they believed in Jesus enough to suffer for him.  However, he became a different test to them when he surrendered to Jesus.  It challenged the believers on just how much they would trust Jesus.  Do you love Jesus enough to forgive him?

This is something that many Christians around the world have to wrestle with today.  How do you love your enemy when they have caused loved ones to be killed?  You can't, but Jesus in you can help you do it.  I like how Paul confesses in Romans 7:18 that no good thing dwelled in him, that is in his flesh.  However, the Spirit of God was dwelling in him, and that made all the difference.

I pray that we will believe in Jesus enough that we will be able to do anything that he asks us because we love him, and because he loves us.

Let's look at our passage.

The Lord speaks to Ananias in a vision (vs 10-16)

Saul has had a powerful confrontation by the Lord Jesus just outside of Damascus.  He had the intention of dragging Christians back to Jerusalem for trial.  However, now he was humbled and blinded by the power of Jesus.  The men helped him into the city, where he proceeded to fast and to pray for what he should do. 

I think the Lord let him sweat a few days because Saul needed to cry out to God in weakness before he could be restored. 

Jesus is going to send Ananias.  Let's note that Jesus could have healed Saul on the spot.  He doesn't have to use somebody, but in his wisdom, he has determined to use a Christian.  There is something good, something perfect, in the grace of Jesus coming through the very group that Saul had persecuted.  It is good for Saul, but also for the Christians.  Talk about shame, and talk about anger.  "Ananias, come be a blessing to this man who has caused so much pain among believers!"  "Saul, I have a blessing for you, but you have to bear the shame of facing the people you persecuted!"

Can I be a blessing to a person like this, someone who has been the source of so much pain?  Can I swallow my pride and let God minister to me through whomever He chooses?  I know that I am working both sides of this at once, but I want us to see that much of life is God working both sides.  We just become wrapped up in our side of the issue, and don't see the other.

Whomever God uses in your life, quit looking at the person.  It was never about Saul, and it was never about Ananias.  It was about Jesus who is being faithful to us, even through imperfect people.

Ananias is introduced as a certain disciple in Damascus.  This was a common name among Hebrews and means the grace, mercy, or favor, of Yahweh.  It was also connected to the idea of a gift because a grace of God is essentially a gift of God, i.e., you don't deserve it.  Ananias would be a precious grace to Saul of Tarsus.

It is important to know that though our name may not be full of such meaning, Jesus does have purpose and meaning for our life.  All Christians are called to be the grace, and the mercy, and the favor of Jesus into the lives of others.

We are told that it is a vision.  Of all the passages that involve heavenly interactions with men, there are some that emphasize an actual physical presence (whether God or an angel).  However, a vision emphasizes that you see something, but others around you do not see it (if there are others around).  A vision can be so real that you are not sure whether it was a vision or not.  Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 12 that he wasn't sure if he was actually caught up into the heavens or simply had a vision.  The difference being that someone in the room with him would see him disappear in the first (physically caught up into heaven), but would think that he was in a trance in the second (it is happening in his mind).  By the way, the difference between a vision and a dream is clearly the issue of being awake or being asleep.  Dreams happen during sleep, and visions happen while you are awake.

Of course, skeptics can scoff at visions, but the proof is always in the life of the person who claims to have had one.  Christians should not be chasing after visions, as if desperate to have one.  In fact, there are people who are taking drugs in order to have a vision.  There are people who make a living "guiding" such people.  That's not how God works.  It is how the occult works, and how false religions work.

The truth is that people have been fitted to interact with God.  We generally do that through prayer, and a still small voice in our hearts and minds.  However, we have been fitted by God for His communications in the forms of dreams, visions, and even physical manifestations.  We could say that the still small voice is the most common, with the others scaling down to physical manifestations of angels, etc., being the rarest.  Let no Christian scoff at God's ability to do these things.

I love the simple answer of Ananias, "Here I am, Lord."  This is the classic good response when God speaks to you.  We are to be a people ready to hear the Lord, and when He is done, ready to obey the Lord.

Jesus tells Ananias to go to the house of Judas who lived on Straight Street.  Judas is the Greek form of Judah.  Judah is most likely not a Christian.  The most natural place for Saul's men to take him would be a leader of a synagogue that was loyal to the religious leaders of Jerusalem.  Ananias is told that he would find Saul of Tarsus there, and that he was praying.

Of course, Saul is a religious man and has probably prayed many times before this.  However, none of his prayers were like they were now.  There is something different about his prayers now.  He is a stripped man who knows that he is nothing before the God of heaven.  It doesn't matter how good your prayers sound, how flowery they are and how smoothly they flow.  Desperate moments help us to be real with God.  We too often have a religious shell around our true self when we deal with one another.  It even infects our approach to God.  This life trains us to keep it up because that is our protection.  However, for the Christian, Jesus is our protection.  God help us to drop the shell, the mask, and be real with God in prayer.  Saul is a humble man seeking God for his eyesight, and for wisdom for what to do now.

Ananias is told that Saul has had a vision too.  He has seen a vision of a man named Ananias laying hands on him and praying for him to receive his sight.  After the vision is over, Saul still has no sight.  This is where our interactions with God are tested.  I may believe that God is telling me something, but then I have to trust him.  Like Moses, God can tell us a great plan of leading the people of Israel out of Egypt, and almost being destroyed by Pharaoh at the Red Sea, and yet miraculous deliverance from God. That's an awesome plan.  I would like to see that movie, but will I tell everyone to pack their bags and follow me into the wilderness?  Of course, Saul doesn't have to do much, but stay there seeking God.  You are probably not surprised that this is where most of us fail, staying in prayer seeking God.

Of course, it is not Ananias who will do the healing, but Jesus.  Both of them need to exercise faith for God's will to be done here.  Whether we are praying for one another because God has told us in general to pray for healing, or we have a specific word from the Lord, we need to be faithful on both accounts, to pray for others, and to ask for prayer.

Notice the mercy of Jesus to this man who had been persecuting his people.  Jesus doesn't want Saul to be lost, even after all he has done.  This is God's love for those who are in the depths of sin and hatred.  People who perish do so over the top of God's love and mercy towards them.

I'm not sure if Ananias is actually objecting, but he does ask God about this man Saul.  He had heard about this Saul of Tarsus, and was making sure that he heard the Lord correctly.  How could he pray for such a man.  Is this the same man who has come here with letters giving him authority to take Christians back to Jerusalem in order to stand trial?

Yet, the Lord overcomes his "objections" firstly by reiterating the command to go.  Ananias may be surprised, but he needs to obey the Lord.  Secondly, the Lord emphasizes to Ananias that He has a purpose in Saul through four statements loaded with God saying: "mine," "My Name," "I will," and "My Name's sake."  

Jesus had chosen Saul to be a vessel of his just as much as he had chosen Ananias.  You can choose to follow Jesus, but you cannot choose who else does so.  Imagine two people who are saved in the same church, one a business man who dresses in a suit, and the other a homeless man.  We could add drug addict to one of these, but it doesn't matter.  On the day they become followers of Jesus, they become brothers.  They come from very different worlds and may have reason to despise the other.  However, we must always remember that the other person belongs to Christ.  They will stand or fall before him, not me. 

I can be found resisting and rebelling against God's purpose in another believer if I am not careful.  I must always seek to please the Lord.  The best way to do that is to remind yourself that you are quite capable of displeasing him.  We must be humble and seek God's leading in all of our relationships.

Ananias goes to Saul (vs. 17-19)

Of course, Ananias obeys and goes to the house where he finds Saul of Tarsus.  He then lays his hands upon him, which symbolizes the touch of the Lord, praying for him to be healed and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is made obvious in the passage that Saul receives his sight.  However, it doesn't mention about the Holy Spirit.  However, we will see within short order that the Holy Spirit clearly came upon Saul as he began to minister powerfully in Damascus, and the rest of his letters bear testimony too.  When the Holy Spirit dwells in and fills a believer, they will be empowered to follow the righteousness of Jesus, and they will be enabled to be a witness for Christ.  Saul did this very powerfully.

Let's look at the healing.  We are told that something like scales fell from his eyes.  There are skeptics who would say something to the effect that there is a natural explanation and thus it cannot be attributed to God.  Even if they could go back in time with modern equipment and show that the outer layer of Saul's eyes were damaged, and over the three days, his crying had softened the tissue causing it to fall off, it would still beg this question.  How do you explain the visions by separate men who do not know one another, and the coincidence of the tissue falling off as Ananias prays for him?  You are left with calling them liars.  The evidence screams against this.  By the way, I don't think it is rational to argue that the God who created the universe and put its "laws" into place is not involved if we can discover a natural explanation that only has a "miracle" of coincidence.  God is always involved even in the very natural things of our life.

Sometimes God answers prayer immediately, as He did here.  Sometimes it is answered over a period of time.  God even tells us, "No," sometimes.  But, it is always for our good.  Saul is definitely healed in that he can see.  Yet, there seems to be something residual with his eyes.  He says in one of his letters that he prayed for God to remove a "thorn in his flesh."  This was something wrong with his body that caused difficulty.  Three times he asked and in the end God tells him that His grace was enough for Saul.  Saul also says in Galatians 6:11 that he had written the letter by himself.  They would know because of the large letters he had.  The speculation is that his eyes may have excessively watered as a result of the bright light.  This may have made him look like he had been crying all of the time, and made it hard to see.  It is not that God couldn't heal him, but that Paul goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 12 that the Lord didn't completely heal him in order to keep him humble.  It was for his good.

Seeing a little is better than not seeing at all, and I am sure that there was a lot of rejoicing when Saul realized that he could see.  He had given nothing but pain to the believers of Jesus, and yet, now he was receiving joy from them in return.

Let us remember that God still heals today and believers need to pray for one another in general, but we also need to seek God and hear from Him on specific needs.  That takes times of prayer and fasting.

Saul is then water baptized.  No doubt, Ananias explained that this is what the Lord commanded.  This demonstrates that Saul was dying to his old life focused on him and his career, and coming alive to a new life focused on Jesus and his purposes.  Saul is now a Christian because he has believed upon Jesus with true faith.  This religious Pharisee had received the precious gift of salvation.  He was now truly clean inside and out.

Too many people settle for an outward form of godliness, but miss out on the power of the Holy Spirit to transform their life.  Don't settle for only looking like a Christian, being a poser.  Instead, truly put your faith in Him and be transformed by Him as you are led by the Holy Spirit.

We are told then that Saul stays in Damascus fellowshipping with the believers there.  Of course, where else would he go?  Going back to Jerusalem would not only be awkward, but it would probably end up with him on trial.  Saul knows the Bible inside and out, but doesn't know it like he should.  I am sure that he picked up rather quickly as the believers explained to him about Jesus and passages throughout the Old Testament, like Isaiah 53. 

I want to end by emphasizing the test of obedience that Ananias had.  The Lord gives us general commands in His word that test whether or not we truly love him.  However, from time to time, the Spirit of God will make specific commands known to us.  They may be about things in our life that need to change, that we need to pray for, or people we need to talk with.  Let us pray for courage to be used of God in whatever way He sees fit.  Carve out some room in your prayers and in your time for God to speak to you.

Even Saul could be saved.  Don't let anyone say they can't be saved.  If Saul could be saved, then anyone can be saved.  Seek to let the grace of God give you the privilege of doing something that you don't deserve: introducing others to their Loving Father in heaven.

Tested audio

Instructions on the Battlefield

Various Passages.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 08, 2020.

Today, I want to pause and speak to Christians within these United States of America.  There is a battle for the soul of the world that is happening, and the current election is just a skirmish in this overall battle.

Let’s start by looking at a passage in 1 Samuel chapter 8, particularly from verse 4 and following.

The greater battle is in the spiritual realm

We are at the end of a long line of human history.  While there are important things that have happened in the natural realm, we must never lose sight of the more important battles that have happened in the spiritual realm.

The battle in the natural realm has an individual aspect to it and a group or corporate aspect.  The issue has always been between tyranny and freedom.  Adam and Eve were free from tyranny in the garden, but they listened to the devil.  At that point, the world descended into a chaotic mix of sin and violence.

The individual loss in battle spreads out to the group losing the spiritual battle.

So then, God judged the ancient world and started over with Noah; “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the whole earth.”  However, Satan found another individual named Nimrod to resist the plan of God and mislead the multitudes of humanity.  They refused to fill the earth in order to make a great name for themselves.

The prophets Daniel and the Apostle John showed us that history is basically a story of Satan’s attempts to raise up a leader that dominates mankind and harnesses it to do his will, in the name of greatness of course.  Each time he is at the brink of succeeding in his plan, God casts his beastly empire into the dustbin of history.  At Babel, God confused the language of mankind and forced us to spread into nations.  Our individual nations, language, and culture thereby becoming a barrier, more so a protection, against this global, tyrannical plan of Satan.

1 Samuel 8 shows us that Israel was being seduced to follow the same path as the nations around them.  They wanted a king who could help them be great and defend them.  Up until that point, God had been their king.  So, God tells Samuel in verse 7, “they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.  When God rules over us, we are free because He is not a tyrant.  However, Satan promises freedom, but delivers a boot to the face every time.

There is always a seduction of tyranny before there is the brute force of tyranny.  Just think of what we could do if everybody did what we wanted?  Our founding fathers understood this tyrannical impulse within mankind.  It is not only that we want our will to dominate, but that we are fascinated with tyrannical men who make us feel potent by joining their side.  If we can’t be the star of the team then at least we can have the pride of being a part of the team. 

Even today, we are like Esau, willing to sell our birthright for a pot of beans.  We tell ourselves that we are dying and must sell it in order to have food, but we are not dying anymore than Esau was dying.  This is called freedom, and freedom is tough.  Freedom takes guts.  Freedom requires you to face the consequences of your decisions and find a way through them.

America cannot save the world, and no leader can save America.  However, if we toe the line in this battle, we can hold tyranny back a little longer from plunging the whole world into the final, global beast-kingdom.

In any battle, there is a side that you cannot see, the spiritual side.  We must learn to use prayer and God’s Word in order to draw life from Jesus, and thereby, the strength to battle the spiritual powers running roughshod over our world.  Parents do their best to teach their kids and train them in the natural, but the greater battle is the spiritual battle for their hearts and minds.  Our nation is not polarized between two human individuals.  We are polarized between two very different world views.  One looks to government control to save mankind, and the other looks to self-control to save self and as many others around us that we can influence.  Even then, self-control without Jesus is not enough.  It too falls short, and yet is better than tyrannical government.

When a child is grown up, a parent has very little to do in the natural realm, and so is left with mainly praying for them and continuing to be a good example.  The ballots of the 2020 presidential election have been cast.  It is no longer in our hands in the natural.  Over the next 2 months, it will be in the hands of investigators, lawyers, judges, legislatures, etc.  As Christians, we must never lose sight that the battle does not belong to whomever is the strongest in the natural.  It belongs to the Lord.  This election will go one way or the other at the command of King Jesus, not human beings.  We do not deserve mercy as a nation, but we serve a God who is full of mercy and grace.  We can pray for His mercy and not give up.

This reminds me of King David when he was praying for the life of Bathsheba’s baby.  God had decreed that the baby would die because it represented the fruit of David’s willful sin.  However, David knew that God was merciful.  As long as the baby was alive, there was hope that God would relent and heal the baby.  So, we also should pray and fast as David did.  We must fight the spiritual battle by appealing to the Lord Jesus for mercy.  The Lord’s answer will eventually become clear, and then we should wash our face and get back to the work that He has given us to do.  It is never easy bearing the consequences of our sin, whether as an individual or as a group, but, if we will do it out of faith in Jesus, we will find life on the other side.

Because Israel chose to be like all the other nations and have a man of the flesh that they could follow, they later found themselves facing the Philistine army with a Giant of a man called Goliath.  This part of the story is found in 1 Samuel 17.  The great Saul, who was head and shoulder above all other Israelites and very handsome- the kind of leader that lesser men love to attach themselves to- was suddenly faced with an even bigger man.  Now, they were all hiding in their tents, “dismayed and greatly afraid.”

This is exactly what Satan wants for God’s people.  He wants you afraid and staying safe at home while his forces take over your life, your family, your nation, and even our world.  There is a Goliath spirit loose in our land today.  The time of seduction is over and the time for brute force is here.  This spirit shouts out threats to God’s people and seeks to intimidate us.  It wants us to keep our heads down, and l et the forces of Satan take over this land.

Just as it was a critical moment in the history of Israel, so this is a critical moment in America.  The die has been cast.  There may come more opportunities in the natural for us to do something, but if you are hiding in fear, you will miss them through paralysis.  Until then, we need to go to war on our knees seeking God for wisdom and mercy.  Satan’s plan is that America reject freedom, embrace political tyranny, and, thereby, help the world raise up the final global empire.  If we will not do that then his plan is that we economically and politically implode, and become a symbol to the world of those who resist the “better path.”  We would then be the cautionary tale to any other nation that would dare oppose the global Goliath and its global empire under the United Nations or some similar entity.  You must answer this question for yourself, as a free child of God, and in response to the Holy Spirit, not because the religious leader tells you to do so.  At best, I can only be a fellow brother in the fight, saying “Don’t give up!  There is still hope in God!”

What Character do I display

Christians, we must always be aware that we represent Christ to the world around us.  Many people, who have already been captured in sin and plundered of freedom by the enemy, are looking around for hope.  We have a duty from God to walk in His freedom, not the false freedom of Satan.

There is no one character that falls short of Christ.  Worldly character can be many things from fearful hiding to angry rioting.  Israel was fearful and hiding before the Philistines.  There trust was in natural things, King Saul, and so they were made to fear by natural things, Goliath.  This is not the Spirit of Christ.  He was not fearful and hiding.  Neither was he angry and rioting.  Whose image am I displaying?

We are told by Jesus to be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).  Ultimately, we need to be like him.  To the worldly minded, the life of Jesus was full of hope.  He was a miracle worker and had an intellect that none could stand against.  Yet, to them, he wasted his life by getting himself killed.  Dying on a cross to save the world is not what most people want.  The way of Jesus calls us to repentance and spiritual maturity.  It calls us to responsibility.  It calls us to the freedom that belongs to the sons of God, not the infants of God.  If you are looking for someone to rise up and legislate all your problems away then you have already spiritually surrendered to the seduction of the enemy.

Just who is Jesus?  Let me just read the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:5-11.

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus was humble and lowly, yet also bold and courageous.  God is calling us to the bravery of serving people around us.  In order to do that, we are going to have to humble ourselves and die to things that we could have if we just kept silent and let them continue being lost.

Humble and lowly does not equal fearful and hiding in your tents.  Jesus was humble and lowly because he chose to be.  On the other hand, we are actually humble and lowly, even though we are full of ourselves, arrogant, and obnoxious.  There is a boldness and courage that can only be found in not pretending to be anything great, but simply being a person who has faith in Jesus, who knows that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Because of this, we can rise up like David against a behemoth that no tour de force could defeat, except God Himself help us.  We overcome the world through our faith in Jesus, not through our natural abilities. 

Now, we know that not every story of faith ends with a dead giant, conquered enemy, or the shutting of the mouths of lions.  Sometimes our story goes the route of martyrdom.  However, at the Resurrection, Jesus shows us that even stories that seem to end at a cross are not over.  We can be bold and courageous because our victory is not just about getting what we want in the natural realm, but is about overcoming the spiritual seduction of tyranny.  It is about faithfulness to the God who created us and died for us on the cross.  We will be resurrected and reign with Him in the coming Kingdom of Heaven.  Which kingdom do you want to participate in: the kingdom of Satan or the Kingdom of Jesus?  Our choices and the character we display demonstrate which direction we are walking.

Next week we will talk about what those who claim to be prophets are saying about this time in the USA.

Battlefield audio

What Are We Doing At Abundant Life? Connect Part 3

Romans 10:13-15; 1 Peter 3:12; 4:7; Romans 8:12-15; Romans 3:20-22; Jude 1:4, 20-21.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, May 3, 2020.

Today, we will continue in our series on the purpose of the Church and for individual believers.  Before we move to the second purpose, I want to look at four things that are not actually our purpose.  Rather, they are the things that help us to accomplish the purpose.  They are the simple actions of the life of faith in Jesus, and we do them because we believe that Jesus is the eternal Word of God, and our source of life.  Each of these things will enable us to Connect to Jesus in whole-life worship, Grow to be like Jesus, Serve Jesus, and Share Jesus with others.  If they are absent, then our ability in these areas will be impotent.

I need to hear and read the Word of God

Without God revealing Himself to us, we would be at a loss to discover His character and purpose.  The Bible is the proven Word of God and no other religious book even comes close to comparing with it.  In the Romans 10 passage, we see the importance of the Word of God.  The Apostle Paul works backwards, or reverse-engineers, from the goal of a person who has been saved by Jesus in order to highlight what is needed.  He impresses upon us the importance of hearing God’s Word for those who are unbelievers and lost.  People who don’t know God typically don’t read the Word of God for themselves.  Someone needs to bring it to them.  However, once a person hears God’s Word, it becomes the spark that enables them to believe and then call upon the name of Jesus for salvation.  Yet, our need for hearing and reading the Word of God doesn’t end once we are saved.  We can’t do what God wants us to do if we don’t become a person of The Book.

We are going to see a pattern as we go through the purposes.  The very things that help us to receive salvation also become the things that help us in our continuing discipleship.  We will talk more about discipleship in our next purpose, but we must reject the idea that I can survive spiritually without becoming a student of God’s Word.

As we take time to internalize God’s Word through prayerful study, prayerful contemplation, and talking with other believers about it, we receive the Words of Life that give light to our minds and souls.  People may ridicule the fact that it is an ancient document written by men from a strange culture.  However, the words have proven themselves to be more than just the words of men about ancient issues.  It has proven relevant in every age.  Also, some believers may never say such a thing about the Bible, but in practice, they never really read it.  It doesn’t seem practical to them.  A Bibleless Christian is an oxymoron and will hardly accomplish any of these purposes.

Jesus is the Truth and the Wisdom of God.  In an age that likes to talk about “my truth,” it is important to understand that this world is dying from a prevalence of “my truths” and a lack of real Truth.  The biblical phrase for this is, “each one doing what is right in their own eyes.”  Jesus is the blazing revelation of just who God is and what He wants from us.  Any wisdom and truth that is other than him is a pretender, and is actually an anti-truth, anti-wisdom.  Jesus is called The Word of God, so we cannot know him without actually being a student of the written Word of God, which reveals him to us.

This should not be a casual relationship.  It is our daily manna that we need to go out and pick up as the Lord provides.  I cannot lean upon yesterday’s manna, but must go after it each day.  Without it, we will die on the vine in this wilderness-world where truth and wisdom are as rare as food in the desert.

Thus, always remember that our connection to Christ and to other believers is dependent upon the vigor of our interaction with the Bible.  This needs to happen daily in private devotional times, and weekly in interaction with other believers, whether one-on-one, or in a group study.

I need to pray to God

By now, you have realized that I am not telling you anything new.  Everybody knows that Christians are supposed to read the Bible and pray.  However, prayer and reading the Bible are the kind of things that we intend to do, but never really get around to doing.  It is imperative that we stop being lax in this area.  It is not a matter of preference, but spiritual life and death.

Prayer is simple and yet can be more complex.  When churches gather and sing songs of worship to the Lord, they are giving a special kind of prayer.  We are spiritually addressing and praising our Father in heaven.  I need not be in any particular place, nor need I be alone.  The main thing is to speak to God at all times about the things that we encounter.

By the way, technically we are praying to the Father in the name of Jesus.  He is our “access pass.”  However, I don’t believe that God gets angry if we address Jesus in our prayers.  Jesus is the Son of God, and the perfect representative of the Father to mankind.  To pray to Him is to pray to the Father.

In Luke 18:1, the whole purpose of the parable that Jesus goes on to tell is to teach us that we should always pray.  The story is about the persistent widow who wants justice from her adversary.  In this, we find that even those who pray can become discouraged and give up praying like they used to do.  However, we will not receive anything from God without giving ourselves to daily prayer.  Second of all, prayer is not only about getting justice, or getting our material needs satisfied.  It is a daily conversation that we have with our Lord about the things that we are learning.  It is that wrestling of Jacob with the Angel of the Lord.  I won’t let go unless you bless me!  So, let us not kid ourselves.  We will accomplish nothing of value without taking time to talk with God about it.

1 Peter 3:12 reminds us that God is watching all the time and He is listening as well.  He is not a cosmic vending machine, but rather a personal being.  This is a relationship of those who are sentient.  Like any relationship, we can feel like He is not responding as quickly as we would like, or in the manner that we want.  Yet, prayer begins with the simple act of faith that says, “I know He hears me, and I know He loves me.”  Prayer without faith is a sad act of futility, but the prayer of faith of a righteous man is one of the most powerful things we can ever do.

In chapter 4 verse 7, Peter adds another layer to our prayers.  He says that the end of all things is at hand; therefore, we should be serious and watchful in our prayers.  In the context of Scripture, Peter means the end of all things, “as we know it,” or TEOTWAKI in the modern parlance.  This world will not always continue going as it does today.  This is definitely true in the historical arc of change, but it is also true in a greater sense.  When the flood came, it ended one world and a whole new world took its place.  The Second Coming of Jesus will be such an event.

It is easy for us to become inundated by the media and philosophies of this world.  These are dominated by the spirit of this age, which works in opposition to Jesus.  Prayer is a mental exercise, but it is far more than that.  Peter sees our soul as something that needs to be watched over, like a shepherd watching over his sheep.  It is through spiritual vigilance and conversations with the Lord that we keep our heart from growing weary of standing with him against the philosophies of this age.  If you do not pray then this world will grind any faith you have to powder.  The good news is that this world has a way of driving us to our knees.  Don’t neglect this important part of our connection to Jesus.

I need to listen to the Holy Spirit

I could have treated this as part of prayer.  Prayer is not intended to be a monologue, but a dialogue.  Yes, God is not always so talkative, and yet, we must intentionally listen and watch for His responses.

In Romans 8:12-15, we find that it was the Holy Spirit that first led us to Christ and opened our eyes to his saving grace.  It was our listening and responding in faith to the Holy Spirit that brought us through the door of salvation.  This must not stop at salvation.  We cannot pick up our cross and follow Jesus without listening to the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is not physically on this earth.  He speaks to us by His Spirit.

Now, the spirit of this world pulls us into gratifying our flesh.  For some, it is sexual immorality, and for others it is substance abuse.  Some go after spiritual experiences and spiritual power through any means necessary.  The devil cares not what direction you go, as long as it is to gratify your fleshly desires.  These always pull us away from Jesus and his purposes.  Even believers will die if they quit following the Holy Spirit of God and simply follow their own heart.

This begs the question.  To what am I listening?  This is not always so easy to discern.  Sometimes our flesh wants things that look religious and have a veneer of spirituality.  Yet, at their heart they can be only about our pride and purpose. 

Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, we have to move when the Spirit of God is moving.  When He says it is time to repent, then we need to embrace repentance and do it.  When He says it is time to help someone then we need to do it.  This is a subjective area that takes time and is a relationship that needs to grow.  So, I am not trying to strap a legalistic burden upon you, but rather to stir you up to the inheritance in front of you.

God’s Word is the guardrail to learning how to hear the Holy Spirit for ourselves.  It was produced by men who listened to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not going to contradict Himself, but my flesh will contradict itself all day long.  Having other believers around me is another guardrail that God can use to help us keep on the right path in this area.  Ultimately, we must avoid pride and arrogance in this area.

In verse 15, Paul refers to the spirit of bondage.  Our flesh always leads us into some kind of bondage.  Yes, Americans have great freedoms, but in some ways, we are more in bondage then the slaves ever were.  Learning to hear and recognize the Holy Spirit begins in reading the Words that He inspired.  It is then forged in our prayers to God over time.  Though we will never lack a need to grow in this area, steady faith will bring you to the place where you will recognize that same voice that led you to trust in Jesus in the first place.

I need to choose to live out the righteousness of Christ

It is not enough to hear the Word of God, and to hear the Holy Spirit.  We must learn to exercise our faith by doing, by the actions that He puts before us.  Do I pursue what is right in my own eyes, or do I listen to what God says is the righteous thing that I should be doing?  For the believer in Jesus, there is only one answer.  I want Jesus!

In Romans 3:20-22, Paul talks about the righteousness of Christ versus dead works.  Sometimes people are confused about the New Testament teaching on works.  Always remember that it is not works that are condemned (though sometimes it only uses that word).  The condemnation is technically upon what is called “dead works.”  Dead works are those things that my flesh does in order to achieve or earn salvation, whether from God or from this world.  They are not born out of faith in the leading of the Holy Spirit, but in faith of my flesh that I can do this!  The true believer has come to understand that none of us are able “to do it.”  We cannot be righteous enough to deserve God’s love and presence.  We are saved only by the grace of God.  Yet, we are saved in order to live out the righteousness of Christ.  Yes, it is the righteous works that He did which cover my sins.  However, he also laid down a template for our discipleship.  He has shown us how to become like the Father.  The Holy Spirit will teach us how to say no to ungodliness, and yes to the things that Jesus wants us to do (that reflect the Father’s image).  The things we do in response to the Spirit of God give life and are true righteousness.  Anything I do out of an attempt to force God to give me what I want is a dead work.  So, Christians ought not to put down seeking to live set apart for the Lord, rather than for the world.

In our last passage, Jude 1:4, 20-21, we see the apostle’s concern for how we live.  The early Church had its fair share of false teachers, false prophets, and false apostles.   They tended towards two errors.  Either they promoted legalistic approaches to God, or they promoted using the grace of God as a license for immorality.  Jude warns believers that those who do so “deny the Lord.”  If you have truly received the grace of Jesus then you won’t easily choose to sin.  My sin is what nailed Jesus to the cross.  My sin is what led to his gruesome death.  How can I continue to hold on to it?  Jesus did not go to the cross because he was pleasing his flesh, and your flesh will not lead you towards Jesus.  To embrace sin is to let go of Jesus, period.  Be quick to repent of such an attitude and ask the Lord to cleanse you from such a horrible persuasion.

We could use the word “obedience” here, but that word falls short of what God intends for us.  Little kids need to obey because they don’t understand, even can’t.  However, adults need to believe, to have faith, to agree.  My heart needs to valiantly rise up to the challenge of the Holy Spirit to march on.  Yes, Lord, I hear you.  I will follow.  It is the response of a person who has seen that they not only need Jesus, but that they also love who and what he is; and we want to be like him.

Grace is not a license for immorality; it is the gift of transformation.  God graciously puts His Spirit in your life to enable you not only to connect to Jesus, but also to have His abundant Life pouring into you and creating a life-long transformation. 

May we give ourselves to studying God’s Word, praying to God and worshipping Him, hearing the call of the Holy Spirit, and taking those bold steps of faith to follow Him.  There is no other way to life!

Connect III audio