Moses, Jonah,
Ananias
Moses
did not want to go. He was standing there
on top of that mountain in front of a burning bush out of which the Lord
himself was talking, and Moses wanted to do anything but go. He did not want to go back to Egypt; he did
not want to go tell Pharaoh what the Lord had said; he did not want to go back
to his fellow Israelites as their leader.
But the Lord wanted him to go.
And so after a few miraculous signs and the reassurance that his brother
Aaron would be able to be his spokesman, the Lord convinced Moses that he had
to go even though he didn’t really want to at first.
The
prophet Jonah didn’t want to go either.
The Lord had told him to go and preach to the city of Nineveh, but Jonah
went the other way. He took a ship in
the opposite direction because the last thing he wanted to do was to go deep
into enemy territory and tell the Assyrians that they were sinning. But the Lord wanted him to go. And so after a violent storm on the sea and
three nights in the belly of a fish, the Lord convinced Jonah that he had to go
even if he didn’t want to.
Ananias
didn’t want to go. He had been told by
God in a vision to go and meet a man named Saul who was staying in a house in
Damascus. But the last thing Ananias
wanted to do was to go and meet this Christian-killer face-to-face. It didn’t seem like the smart thing to do as
far as Ananias was concerned. And it
didn’t seem like going to the same place where this murderer was could possibly
end well anyway. But God wanted Ananias
to go. And so he convinced him that he
had to.
In Damascus there was a disciple named
Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas
on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is
praying. In a vision he has seen a man
named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many
reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in
Jerusalem. And he has come here with
authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man
is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings
and before the people of Israel. I will
show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on
Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road
as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled
with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately,
something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up
and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
We Have Equally
Important Tasks
“Go!”
the Lord had told Ananias. In fact, God
told him to “go!” two separate times in the same vision because Ananias had questioned
whether it was the wise thing to do at first.
“Go and find a man named
Saul. Go because he is my chosen instrument. Go
and carry out the work that I have given you to do. And go
now because what I want you to do will have eternal implications for many more
people.” Ananias had to go. He needed to go. And in the end he wanted to.
We may
not have Jesus himself appear to us in visions like Ananias did; and we may not
be given the job to meet up with a person who will become the next great
Christian missionary in this world either; but the Lord has given us an equally
important task to “go” just the same. We
have been told by the Lord to “Go into all the world and preach the
good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
We have been told by the Lord to “Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). We have been told by the Lord to “Go…
tell the people the full message of this new life” (Acts 4:20). The instructions we have received from the
Lord in his Word to “Go!” are no different than those Ananias received. And they are no less important. Because our “going” has eternal implications
for many more people as well, doesn’t it?
When we share what the Lord has done for us; when we encourage and
invite and bring people into contact with the Word of God, hearts will be
affected and souls will be saved. And so
when the Lord tells us to “Go!” he really means it! “Go! I
have given you an important job to do! Go! Faithfulness is required! Go! Time
is off the essence! Go! And go now!
Because there is no time to lose!”
Our Hesitation
As a Christian I have read these calls to “go”
many different times and as a pastor I have certainly preached about these
calls to “go” on a regular basis, but as a sinner I don’t always follow through
on these calls to “go” as quickly or as often as I should. I put it off for later; I let it slip my
mind; I hesitate. I hesitate to “go” and
share this Word just like Ananias hesitated at first. And I use some of the same excuses! “Lord, I understand what you’re asking of me
and I understand that it’s important. But
Lord, what might that person say? What
might that person do? I really don’t
want to put myself into that situation because it’s not comfortable for
me. It’s not something all that pleasant
for me to do. It’s intimidating, Lord! It’s scary!”
Let’s
talk frankly about “going” into the world and preaching the Good News and about
“going” and making disciples of all nations and about “going” and telling
others about this new life in Christ: It can be difficult, can’t it? It can be very difficult to approach someone
that you know and ask them if they want to come to church with you, or
encourage them to come to a Bible study with you, or to simply share your joy
in your Savior with someone who is struggling in their life. Because you don’t know what that person is
going to say, do you? You don’t know
what that person is going to do. You
don’t know how awkward or uncomfortable the conversation might be. And so the command of your Lord to “Go!” is
sometimes silenced by fear: fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of getting
into an unpleasant conversation that you don’t want to get into. And so it’s easy to hesitate, isn’t it? It’s easy to put it off for later or maybe even
not to “go” at all to a certain person when you think you know how they might
react.
But
every time we do not “go” when we have that opportunity, we let our Lord
down. We actually let him down! He had been
counting on us in a way, he had been trusting us to carry out the all-important
task of sharing his precious Word with someone, but we hesitated or we put it
off or we decided to get around to it some other time but then never did! And what excuse do we have to use? “I didn’t feel like it”? “I had other things to do at the
moment”? “I was planning on going but it
never seemed to be the right time”? It’s
hard to find a good excuse for letting the Lord down, isn’t it? In fact, I can’t think of one good reason
that should prevent us from “going” and doing what he has asked us to do.
Jesus Didn’t
Hesitate to Go
Of
course, as Christians, we aren’t motivated to do what the Lord asks of us because
of our guilt. We don’t feel coerced to
carry out the Lord’s will simply because we would feel bad if we didn’t. We as Christians are motived by the gospel: “But God beheld my wretched state before the
world’s foundation, And, mindful of his mercies great, he planned my soul’s
salvation. A Father’s heart he turned to
me, Sought my redemption fervently; He gave his dearest treasure.
“He spoke to his beloved Son: ‘’Tis
time to have compassion. Then go, bright
Jewel of my crown, and bring mankind salvation.
From sin and sorrow set them free; Slay bitter death for them that they
May live with you forever.’
“The Son obeyed his Father’s will,
was born of virgin mother, And, God’s good pleasure to fulfill, he came to be
my brother. No garb of pomp or power he
wore; A servant’s form like mine he bore To lead the devil captive.”
This
powerful hymn - #377 - goes on to describe what the Son did on this earth, how
he died, why he rose, and the reason we will be in heaven. It’s because of what Jesus did. What Jesus won. What Jesus sacrificed. We are going to go to heaven because Jesus
did not hesitate to “go” to the cross.
When his Father told him to go and save us, Jesus went. He did not hesitate. He did not put it off for later. He did not decide to get around to it
sometime if the right opportunity presented itself. He was happy to “go” right when he was
supposed to. Even though he knew the
cost; even though he was aware of the pain and the torture that he would have
to go through for us; he went. And now
we are forgiven, saved, and promised eternal life.
That’s
our motivation to now do those things that the Lord has assigned to us: the
gospel is our motivation, the beautiful Good News about Jesus and his
cross. We are not guilted into
obedience; we guided into obedience by his love. Because when we see his sacrifice; when we
are aware of his immediate desire to “go” and save us regardless of who we were
and what it would take to forgive our sins, we can’t help but “go” for him, can
we! We can’t hold ourselves back from
“going” into all the world and preaching the Good News to all creation or from
“going” and making disciples of all nations or from “going” and telling others
about this new life! Why would we want
to? We’ve got the one thing that people need to hear, the only thing that will affect their eternal life! And it’s so simple, isn’t it! It’s so easy!
It’s so free! And so go to that
person that needs to hear what you believe.
Yes, when we go to that person who needs to hear the Word, not every one
of those conversations might be pleasant, not every one of those invitations will
immediately produce the results you were hoping for, but think of what the Lord
can do. Think of what he did to your
heart through this powerful Word and what he can do to the hearts of those
around you. It’s worth the effort. It’s worth the time. And it’s our privilege to try.
Go with the Power of God
In the
end Ananias finally went. And not
begrudgingly either. Ananias was
motivated to “go” and meet Saul face-to-face because the Lord told him how
beneficial it would be to his kingdom.
And remember what Ananias said when he got there, “Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me so that you may see again and be
filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Ananias knew what was going to happen.
He was aware of the power of the Word.
And he was excited to be a part of it.
His excitement is yours. Because
you have that same Word in your hands.
You have that same call in that Word.
And you have that same motivation to “go” to the people around you that
you know so well and share with them what they need so badly. Go. Go
with the power of God in the words that you speak. Go with the love of God working in your
heart. Go with the promise of God
resounding in your soul that you are a forgiven child, that you are a blessed
child, and that you have the incredible privilege of telling others that they
are too. Go. There’s no time to lose. Go. There’s
no reason not to.
Amen.
“May the name of
our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace
of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- 2 Thess. 1:12
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