Not-So-Secret-Service
Acts 9:1-20 1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 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. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 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.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. (NIV)
There was a television show in the late 80s and early 90s called “McGyver.” Some of you remember it. I didn’t watch it when it was on, but I have seen a few episodes in reruns. It has been parodied in on Saturday Night Live and in a movie called “MacGruber.” In the television show, McGyver was some kind of spy or secret government agent. The main ingredient of that show, and the reason I bring it up this morning, is that the hero would always seem to get himself out impossibly perilous situations by using ordinary objects. He would take everyday, commonplace items and use them as either weapons or means of escape. One time he used some canvas, glue and a heater to make a hot air balloon. Or he would use a shoelace and a piece of chewing gum to diffuse a bomb. I guess that kind of ingenuity would be beneficial for someone in “secret service.”
God has called you into his service. But instead of being in secret, God calls you to serve Him openly, for all to see. Think of yourself as being in His majesty’s not-so-secret-service. What is amazing about this is that God uses everyday, commonplace, ordinary people to carry out His tasks. Each of you has a purpose. God knows His plan for you. You are all to be in His service. But so often you are afraid to put yourself out there, you fear risk-taking and you hesitate to serve. That’s nothing new. Let’s think about the two men in our text.
Maybe you identify with Saul. He was zealous and passionate in his not-so-secret-service for the Lord. But Saul started out on the wrong side. He was present at the stoning of Stephen. He worked to destroy the church. He instigated widespread persecution. He was going to Damascus to look for Christians so he could put them to death. But something happened on the way. He was confronted by God and led to the truth that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and the Savior of all people. Saul was converted, he was changed by his encounter with God on the road to Damascus. With the same zeal he had used in persecuting the Church, he now worked fervently to serve his Lord Jesus Christ.
You know as well as I do that passion and zeal can often be misdirected. Some people who feel passionate about illegal aliens get carried away and condemn all Hispanics, which is not fair. That same mentality led to the internment camps for Japanese Americans during WWII. I’ve often wondered why they did have the same kind of camps for German Americans! Misdirected zeal is still a problem today. Some people who are part of the Pro-Life movement let their zeal take them too far when they advocate violence and killing. Misguided zeal can lead people to give a non-Christian witness by their actions.
Perhaps you have heard of Dr. Jean Garton, a prominent Lutheran Church Woman. She is the wife of a Lutheran Pastor, who found herself with an unwanted pregnancy at age 40. This was prior to Roe vs. Wade, so she did not have the legal option of an abortion. This angered her, so much so that she joined a pro-choice activist group. She was convinced that women should have the choice, the option of abortion. One day, as she was preparing a presentation for medical students, she viewed a slide of a dissected abortion victim, aged 2 & 1/2 months gestation. All of a sudden she heard her three-year-old son, the one whose pregnancy led her to become an abortion advocate. He had slipped into the room without her knowing it and saw the slide. He asked, “Who broke the baby?” That was her turning point. She was converted. She realized the terrible wrong that abortion is, so much so that she became a leader in the pro-life movement. She was co-founder of Lutherans for Life and a crusader in the cause. The same zeal she once put into abortion advocacy is now working to preserve God’s gift of life. Zeal, pointed in the right direction, is a tremendous asset. And there are lots of others out there, maybe not as visible, but nonetheless zealous workers for God in His Kingdom. We need to be zealous servants as well, making sure our zeal is properly directed.
But maybe Ananias is more your type. In contrast to Saul, he had many misgivings. He wasn’t too sure about God’s call to go down to Straight Street and see this fellow Saul. He asked, “God, are you sure this is the right guy? I’ve heard stories about him, and he is working against us! Don’t you mean someone else?” God assures Ananias that He is not mistaken. He has chosen Saul to be in His not-so-secret-service, the same kind of service He was calling Ananias to fulfill. So Ananias goes to Saul, but it seems as if he is still reluctant. He didn’t really want to go. He found Saul, and simply said, “Jesus told me to come here and do this.” The miracle of Saul’s sight being restored took place in spite of Ananias and his lack of enthusiasm. Later, when Paul recalls this event, he depicts Ananias as being a more forceful person, no doubt the servant he eventually turned out to be.
I think these two men, Saul and Ananias, give us a picture of what we tend to do. Many times we charge in like Saul, confident that we know God’s will even when we do not. I confess that I have often been guilty of that myself. And then there are those who hesitate like Ananias, seeing the danger, questioning God’s plan, or suggesting someone else might be better equipped for the task, and they don’t want to do anything. Many of you are acting more like Ananias these days here at Grace, reluctant to get involved. You’ve heard me say for weeks now that we need VBS and Summer Sunday School workers. Some of you have stepped forward to help, and I thank you for that. But most of you are holding back. Maybe you are thinking, “I could never do that!” And you are right. You, by yourself, are capable of no good thing. Neither were Saul and Ananias. But they received a power from outside of themselves. Out of His Grace, God chose to use these men. It was His power at work through them, just as His power works through us when we offer ourselves in His service.
It was grace for God to use hesitant Ananias. When Jesus first called, he seemed willing enough. He answered, “Yes, Lord.” He had faith. He knew his Savior. “You want me to go talk to someone? Sure. Who? Saul? I didn’t know you meant him.” But he goes, in spite of his reluctance, and look at the good God does.
Of course it was also God’s grace that empowered and enabled Saul. He was opposed to Jesus. In order to use him, our Lord had to appear in a blazing light, introduce Himself, and blind Saul for three days. He then provided for Saul’s care in Damascus. That God went to all this trouble to convert Saul into a useful servant is evidence of His great grace. All his past was forgiven. And look at the tremendous service he rendered for Christ!
In 1914, Thomas Edison’s manufacturing facility burned down. He lost over a million dollars of equipment, and the record of much of his work. The next day, walking through the remains, he said to his assistant, “There is value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start anew.” In His grace, God gave the murderer Saul a chance to start anew as Paul. He gives each of you the same chance. That is why He sent Jesus – to die for your sins, pay for your mistakes, wipe the slate clean, and grant you forgiveness. What you may lose in serving Christ does not compare with what you gain. The sad thing is this – if you never offer yourself in service to God, you never experience the joy God has in store for you. It is part of being a good steward, using what God has given you to serve others. And there is joy in serving.
Just as God chose Saul and Ananias, he has chosen you. Plain, ordinary folk like you and me are the instruments of God, those chosen to be in His not-so-secret-service. Paul later wrote about all men: “We have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Cor 4:7). It is when we are aware of our own fragile ability, our own “clayness,” that we show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, risen victorious from the dead, who has chosen you and enables you to be His servant. His sacrifice on the cross and victory over death make you acceptable for service. All who trust in Him receive the free forgiveness He earned for everyone.
This service is not something to be done in secret. Jesus did not say go into the world with your head down and your mouth shut. He said to get out there and make disciples. He said to tell others about Him. Jesus said we would witness of Him before kings and rulers! But He calls each of us to different tasks. Saul was told to carry the name of Jesus to the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. Ananias was given a specific situation in which to serve: Bringing Saul to physical and spiritual sight. Whether you are more like Saul or Ananias, or somewhere in between, each of you have opportunities set before you by God, opportunities to serve. God has called you to be a part of His not-so-secret-service.
Lord, give us hearts to serve you.
