Missions Paul

Acts 9: 34

“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and tidy up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up.

So when Peter found the paralytic he launched into a healing ministry. He said, “I will pray for you.” He said, “Let me place my hands on you, believe for your healing as I minister to you.”
No, Peter didn’t do any of the above at all.
He unequivocally made Jesus the centre of the conversation. It would be Jesus and nothing to do with Peter. Jesus heals you. Now that takes faith for sure. But it also takes a surrendered heart from a leader.
Leaders need to get out of the way.
It is not about us.
It is about Him.
When He is in the way more and more then maybe we know more of what He is going to do. Maybe it is easier to say, “Jesus heals you” when He is all encompassing and all important.

Acts 9:33

“There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.”

In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas was a Trojan hero. But not this man. He was no Trojan hero, he was a bedridden man. His past was better than his present and there was no hope for the future. Aeneas lived in the shadow of his namesake, but he couldn’t do what others could do, never mind the hero.
I am sure he felt lost, forgotten and hopeless.
However, Peter found him.
The Church needs to find the lost today.
There are people who are paralysed in many ways and unless the Church comes to them life is over.
These people are not popular, high-brow, noble people in society. In fact for some no one knows where they are. They are away from the publicity. They are bedridden, they are in homes behind closed doors.
The Church will never find Aeneas inside their buildings, because he cannot get to them. He is in bed.
Who will you find today?

Acts 9:32
“As Peter travelled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.”

With no introduction Peter is back on the scene.
And what is he doing?
The leading apostle at that time is not too big to visit the saints.
He is not too burdened by the pressures of leadership to prevent him going to the saints.
He is not so focused on the lost he doesn’t have time to visit the found.
Saints need visiting.
Saints need attention.
They need encouragement.
This is the norm.
Shepherds go to the sheep.
Christ the Great Shepherd visited.
The Christian ministry is not solely about growth, but it is about consolidating what has grown.
In short leaders who are called Pastor need to pastor. That has to be the expectation. That has to be the right thing to do with no exception or justification for not doing so.

Acts 9: 31

“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”

Then, after Saul had gone, peace came.
The threats stopped because Saul was gone.
The Church became stronger, grew larger and was generally in better shape and all this happened after Saul had gone.
Does this mean that sometimes when a significant person is removed then the season changes? That can be so true. But in this situation we would be presuming at the best.
Persecution stopped probably because of Saul’s conversion for he was the main instigator of clamping down on the Christians.
Secondly, yes he was sent away and his straight talking debating stopped and this also reduced the persecution.
But thirdly, maybe it was just other distractions that were happening in the nation that meant the Jews didn’t chase the Christians so much. Some of the historians agree together that the nation at that time was itself coming under threat from at least Egypt but also other enemies. People began to think more of the safety of their own nation and its future and their attention came off the Christians.
It would appear then that God may allow a nation to be shaken, to be changed politically, financially, culturally and for the sole purpose of His Church, to give it the freedom to grow and expand. So now ask yourself what has been happening in your nation? Any change?!! It could be leading to a move of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.

Acts 9: 30
“When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.”

Feng-Shan Ho.
Irena Sendler
Hugh O’Flaherty
Giorgio Perlasca
Chiune Sugihara
Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz
Frank Foley
Aristides de Sousa Mendes
Dimitar Peshev
Who are these people? Why are they listed?

What do you do when you hear of someone’s life, ministry, credibility about to be or is being torn to shreds? Do you join in? Are you a defender of people of the faith as well as defender of the faith?
Will you be a protector? Will you shield others?
The Church leaders took Saul to the coast and sent him by boat to Tarsus. He was out of there. Out of the threat to his life. They took it on themselves at cost to themselves to preserve Saul.

So what about the names above? Well if I mention the next name then you will immediately know:
Oskar Schindler.
All the above people helped Jewish people escape the Nazi holocaust. They all gave their own story. They all sacrificed and out their lives at risk because they believed the threat was wrong and that these people needed preserving.
So look around to you today. Who is being attacked? Come to their defence. Invite them home, to a safe refuge, to a place where they can recover.

Acts 9: 29
“He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.”

People kill because of hatred.

Hatred is bred by ignorance to differences.

Ignorance is fuelled by pride in one’s own position.

Today is not unlike the days of Saul.

The questions are:
Do you have reason to hate?
Are you open to differences?
Are you absolutely right?
The answers will determine whether you would ever kill someone, their credibility and their ministry.

Acts 9: 28
“So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.”

When your STAY is established then your movement can flow.
If you can rest then you can work. In fact many know the theory that the best work comes out of the best rest.
If your home is at peace then you can spring forward into your work every day. If you come back at the end of the day to a home of peace then your work has truly ended till tomorrow.
Many workaholics are so because they have no rest, they have no stay. They have a house but it is not where they like to stay. Having a place to stay also gives a confidence in work. Home can build you up or tear you down. It gives or it takes. How would you describe where you stay? How would you describe you in that place?

Acts 9: 27
“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.”

When everyone else is saying NO will you be strong enough to say YES?
When the wisdom of man says to go with the majority, will you side with the minority, even if you are the minority?
Can the story rest on how you will respond? Can you change the story simply by being present?
When the Church rejects will you accept?
Are you a child of fear or a son (or daughter) of encouragement?
Will you believe the stories or is your approach mixed with cynicism?
Do you believe the Lord still meets people on Damascus roads?
Do you believe the Lord speaks today?
Do you believe persecutors can become proclaimers of Christ?
Are you one who can lead someone into the destiny that God has given?
Will you defend? Will you believe the best? Will you push others instead of you? Will you speak up? Will you silence those who are convinced of an incorrect position?
Just a few questions!

Acts 9: 26
“When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.”

Fear kills mission. It stops the Church growing. It decreases the number of disciples. It creates exclusivity. It breeds unbelief.
Some mission people have never witnessed to a single person of their faith in Jesus. Some mission people are not on target to lead anyone to Christ. The sole reason is fear. When fear resides then the original plan is silenced.
Kill fear today and let the mission continue.

Acts 9: 25
“But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.”

Sometimes we need people to help us get through. We can find ourselves trapped by a plan of the enemy. We can become stuck. No matter how hard we try there is no way out on our own. We need people. Invest in others in such a way that they want to be with you, becoming your followers and when you need someone these same people will open the way for you. What you sow you reap.
Saul’s followers had an ingenious plan, hide him in a basket and lower him through the city wall. Great ideas are often found within groups of people.
So don’t do life on your own. Appreciate your friends and let them carry you at times.