The Transformed Life, Part 2

Acts 9:10-17a

INTRODUCTION

A. The World's Attempts at Transformation

This world is endeavoring to transform people. I have heard people say, "I got a new job and now I'm a new man," or, "I had a financial problem and then I got a windfall from my great aunt. It's a new life," or someone was sick and now they are healthy. For them it's a new life‑‑they have been transformed. Television says that if I use certain products, I will be a new man with a transformed life. Some people think that falling in love transforms them. Madison Avenue is forever selling products that are geared to transform us.

Now, we aren't stupid; we all know that these things are hopelessly superficial. But that brings us to the real question: Can anyone really be transformed? Can you actually make a bad man a good man? Can you make a sinful woman lovely on the inside? Can a shattered, broken relationship be put back together as good as new...or even better? Can the incurable be cured?

1. Psychology

Psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors have been given the assignment of transforming people in our society. And it's a hopeless job. In many of their textbooks you will find an introductory statement to the effect that this is only a so‑ called science, and none of the cures can be honestly connected to it on a positive basis any more than they could be connected to the passing of time or the changing of circumstances. That is quite an admission. In fact, attempting to change human behavior is a seemingly impossible task.

2. Education

Somebody else says, "It's education that transforms. If we can educate our people, we can change our society." So we educated the people, and now we have smarter criminals and psychotics with B.A.'s. But everyone still presses the issue of transforming people.

3. Shock Treatment

We have shock treatment, which is stark, risky, ultimate, and desperate.

4. Positive Thinking

We have the positive, gentle urgings of Norman Vincent Peale and The Power of Positive Thinking all the way down to the children's version‑‑the little train that keeps saying, "I think I can, I think I can," and he does.

I had a friend who went to a seminar on changing behavior and paid five hundred dollars. They gave him a coin which they said would change his behavior. They told him to find everything he didn't like about himself and write a reversed‑positive statement about it. In other words, if he was unorganized he would write, "I am amazingly organized." Then every time he touched the coin in his pocket, perhaps two or three hundred times a day, he would repeat that statement and very soon he would have convinced himself that he was organized. They told people who didn't love their wives to write, "I'm madly in love with my wife," memorize it, and every time they touched the coin they would say, "I'm madly in love with my wife." And if they did that long enough, they would supposedly be madly in love with their wives. But it doesn't work. It may be fine as an approach, but it doesn't change anyone's behavior.

5. Society

Then someone says, "Society needs to reform people."

a. Prison Reform

We have a sophisticated prison system which is not limited to just incarceration, but includes reform. We talk about reformatories and rehabilitation, but the majority of criminals go back to prison. And you wonder if the ones who don't go back are really reformed or whether they only have a fear of returning and as a result, they restrict what would be their normal behavior.

b. Economic Reform

We are promised that if people were better off economically, we would be able to change them. But as we moved into the affluent sixties and seventies, we reached the apex of riots, revolutions, and killings.

c. Mind Reform

B. F. Skinner said that we can only transform men by controlling them like an animal and genetically controlling the children they produce. But the movie Clockwork Orange says it won't work.

Many people worry about how we are going to transform people for the sake of their own preservation. Is the world really doomed? Are we sentenced to a full existence of hate, lust, murder, rape, violence, robbery, wars, psychological disease, and psychosomatic illness? Can't we transform man somehow?

B. God's Analysis of Transformation

God has something to say about transformation.

1. The Inability of Externals

a. Man

Jeremiah 13:23 says, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." God says that it is against man's very nature to change. A leopard, by thinking about removing his spots, isn't able to do it. An Ethiopian, by determining that he would rather have a different kind of skin, can't accomplish it. And a man, doing anything and everything to alter what he is, is unsuccessful. Jeremiah says, "...Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil," but only if the leopard can change his spots and the Ethiopian his skin. It can't be done. So God says that man cannot change what he is.

b. Soap

Will a new deodorant soap transform a man like the Madison Avenue ads say? Jeremiah 2:22 says, "For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord GOD." Soap won't do it‑‑it is very superficial.

c. Love

You say, "I know what will change the world‑‑love. What the world needs now is love." That's such a superficial answer. It's like the man who said, "I love humanity, it's just people I can't stand." That is a very common reaction. Jeremiah discusses the issue of loving our neighbors and the brotherhood of man in Jeremiah 9:4: "Take heed every one of his neighbor, and trust not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity." If you want to get bilked every time you turn around, just start loving everyone with complete, blissful trust. This world is full of con men. Most people who talk about love don't do it. Talk is very cheap.

d. Correction

You say, "Well, if you can't love everybody and have to watch your brother because he might try to supplant you, maybe we need to have firmer laws and correction methods. Maybe we have to strengthen our prison system and discipline." Jeremiah also had something to say about this. In Jeremiah 2:30 God says, "In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction...." God is saying, "I tried correction and it didn't work." Soap doesn't transform, love isn't a commodity that works‑‑it's foreign to humanity in its true depth. Even rules, discipline, chastisement, and punishment don't seem to work.

e. Submission

You say, "I guess B. F. Skinner was right. I guess the only way to transform people is to crush out all of their personality and dignity and turn them into nuts in the cosmic machine." Solomon had something to say about this in Proverbs 27:22: "Though thou shouldest crush a fool in a mortar among grain with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him." In other words, you cannot get rid of a fool, you will just have a crushed one. You can't force upon man a crushing, debilitating experience and expect to turn him into something wonderful.

2. The Importance of the Internal

There is no outside force that can change man. Man doesn't have an outside problem, he has an inside problem. A transformation has to take place on the inside. The solution isn't a face‑ lift, soap, superficial lovey‑dovey brotherhood, prison, or genetic control; the solution is an internal one.

a. Man's Problem

1) Jeremiah 9:1‑3 ‑‑ "Oh, that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the LORD."

2) Jeremiah 17:9 ‑‑ "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

3) Isaiah 1:5 ‑‑ "Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint."

That's the problem. We cannot transform people on the outside; there has to be a change on the inside.

b. God's Product

You say, "Is there anyone that can?" God can. This is the point at which the Word of God moves in. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." God is in the business of transforming people. He took a drunken gutter rat like Jerry McAuley, who sold his dead daughter's clothes for a drink, and turned him into one of the finest preachers America ever knew.

In Acts 9 God transforms Saul. Just what kind of man was he?

1) The Old Saul

First of all, he claimed to be the world's worst sinner (1 Tim. 1:15). Now we all know that we have sinned, but I doubt that any of us would announce to our friends that we are the worst. But Paul claimed to be the world's worst sinner, and he had done a lot to support that claim. He lived his life to hurt, to injure, and if need be, to kill people who disagreed with him. In fact, he blasphemed God and made good people who loved God suffer torture. He was a bad man. He was a man who was the hireling of dirty politicians‑‑he worked for the crooks in Jerusalem. He was very, very evil. His name was Saul of Tarsus.

2) The New Saul

But Saul was absolutely, totally transformed. And it wasn't superficial, it was deep.

a) 1 Thessalonians 2:1‑8, 11 ‑‑ "For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain; but even after we had suffered before, and were shamefully treated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men but God, who testeth our hearts. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness; nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us....As ye know how we exhorted and encouraged and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children." This man is a whole new man‑‑something drastic had happened to change his life.

b) Philippians 1:18 ‑‑ "What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in that I do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." Now the person who hated Jesus Christ is rejoicing when He is preached.

Paul was absolutely and totally reformed. In fact, the Christians fell in love with him. When he left Ephesus, the leaders fell all over him and cried like babies because they loved him so much (Ac. 20:37). Now what could change a man like that? Only Jesus Christ, only God, because God gets to the heart of the issue.

REVIEW

Acts 9 contains the characteristics of this Saul's transformed life. And it presents a pattern for all transformed lives. This is one of the chapters of the Bible that gives us some great insights into the basics of the Christian experience. This is not obscure doctrine, it is just basic experience. There are seven ideal characteristics of a transformed life. The first one is...

I. FAITH IN THE SAVIOR (vv. 1‑9)

The transformation in the life of this man came when he put his faith in Jesus Christ. Saul was on his way to Damascus to kill Christians. On the way the Lord Jesus Christ stopped him in the middle of the road to Damascus just prior to his entrance into the city. He fell on his face, and at that point Christ revealed Himself to him. Saul saw Jesus Christ in blazing glory, and at that point he believed Jesus was who He claimed to be‑‑the Messiah who had died, risen, and was alive. Saul put his faith in Jesus Christ and the transformation took place. Paul said to Timothy, "And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled me, in that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained mercy....And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 1:12‑13a, 14). He says, "I was changed because of Christ Jesus. It was the grace and the mercy and the hope and the love and the faith all wrapped up in Jesus Christ that changed my life." Transformation comes by faith in the Savior.

There will never be a transformed life apart from Jesus Christ. You can indulge yourself in the superficialities, but you will never get at the issues unless you change a man's heart, and his heart is only changed by Christ Himself. Only God could say through the prophet Ezekiel, "I will take out the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put a new spirit within you" (Ezk. 11:19). Only Jesus could say, "Nicodemus, here's how to be born all over again. I can change you‑‑I can create a metamorphosis" (Jn. 3:3‑5). The word in the New Testament for the change is regeneration‑‑new creation. It is the new birth that occurs only in Jesus Christ. And Saul of Tarsus was changed in a moment. He became a new creation. He who was dead in sin became alive to God; he who was insensitive to divine truth began to taste that God is good; he who was blind began to see; he who was in darkness stepped into blazing light; he who did only evil continually began to do and have a desire to do good; he who wasn't sure what the questions were now had all the answers. The hell‑bound became the heaven‑bound‑‑the rebel became the son. And this all happened in an instant on the road to Damascus.

Some people say that salvation is a process. I say that is wrong. Salvation is an instantaneous miracle. The process of conviction only leads up to the instant miracle. If you are looking for a changed life, the only way you will ever find it is by personal faith in Jesus Christ. That is where Saul began. The positional transformation took place and he was a new man. Then there were some practical things in his life that needed to be adjusted as the transformation continued. The transformation is a process of being conformed to Jesus Christ that will finally be completed when we see Him face to face. So, the transformed life begins with faith in the Savior. The second point is...

II. FERVOR IN SUPPLICATION (vv. 10‑12)

Fervor just means "energy, passion, drive." Supplication means "prayer." One of the characteristics of a truly born‑again, saved individual is prayer. Prayer is not just a requirement, prayer is a response to salvation. Prayer is not something you have to beg Christians to do. If you are really born again, you pray. Now, Christians need to be encouraged to pray more than they do, but I believe that a true Christian can be determined on the basis of his fervor in supplication.

The narrative leads up to this point. Saul is now blind‑‑blinded by the sight of Jesus Christ. All he can see is the blazing light of Jesus Christ before him like a man who stared at the sun and can only see sun no matter where he looks. Someone had to lead him by the hand into Damascus. And there he finds his way to the house of a man by the name of Judas (Ac. 9:8, 11). Acts 9:9 says that he stayed there for three days and didn't eat or drink. The Lord told him to go there and wait, and that's exactly what he did. And I believe that in those days he concentrated on Jesus Christ. Those were days when the shock of transformation began to settle in his brain and he began to understand what had happened so rapidly and so dynamically. As he is sitting in the house of Judas on Straight Street, God is meanwhile beginning to move on the heart of another man who is going to go to him and pick up the ministry that needed to be accomplished in Saul's life.

A. The Participation Of Ananias (vv. 10‑11a)

1. The Commitment of Ananias (v. 10)

"And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord."

a. Living with God

Ananias knew it was God. I love someone who is listening for the voice of the Lord. The last person some Christians expect to communicate with them is God. Ananias lived in communion with God, apparently to the point that when God spoke, he was ready. Some Christians are listening to the myriad voices of the world, but when the still, small voice of God comes to them, they are not ready to hear it. But Ananias apparently walked with God. So when God called, Ananias knew who was speaking.

b. Leading the People

We don't know anything about Ananias except from Acts 22:12, which tells us that he was a devout Jew and had a good reputation. He was a devout Jew who believed in Jesus as Messiah. And I think that Ananias may well have been a leader, if not the leader, of the church in Damascus. In fact, Ananias may have been the leader that Saul was after. Ananias appears very suddenly and disappears very suddenly. But it is beautiful to see how God picks His chosen instrument. He had Ananias saved and living in Damascus so he could minister to the infant Saul when he was born into the Kingdom. God had determined it in eternity past. I love the sovereignty of God. It is a securing doctrine.

God is very selective in choosing His people to accomplish His tasks. As a Christian, you have specific gifts and specific ministries that the Spirit of God has designed for you to carry out within the framework of God's master plan. And it is only as you are available that these things come to fruition. The willing people are the used people. And Ananias was willing, and he was used.

Ananias is one of the forgotten heroes. We often say that we owe the conversion of Saul to the prayer and testimony of Stephen. I think we also owe his conversion to the service and brotherliness of Ananias.

2. The Command of the Lord (v. 11a)

"And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus..."

You can imagine what Ananias thought at that point: "Is He kidding? Are you sure You know who You are talking about? Saul of Tarsus?" His reputation followed him everywhere. There had not been a statement about Saul's salvation. It is likely that Ananias wouldn't have believed it at that first contact. He didn't know Saul had been blinded on the Damascus road, he didn't know that his life was transformed, and he didn't know that he was now a Christian.

God told Ananias to go to the street called Straight. Damascus had a street that ran straight through the middle from the eastern gate to the western gate. It was about three miles long and it still exists today. That street is now called Darb al‑Mustaqim. At one end of the street called Straight was the house of Judas. And it was to this house that God told Ananias to go.

B. The Prayer Of Saul (vv. 11b‑12)

1. Saul's Attitude (v. 11b)

"...for, behold, he prayeth"

Saul spent his time in Judas's house praying. Now, Judas was probably another Christian God used in His plan. Have you ever thought about the worst enemy to Christianity you have seen in your life, and then written him off as one person that God would never save? It is a terrible thing to do that. I am sure that these Christians in Damascus hadn't even thought to pray for Saul of Tarsus. And here he is at Judas's house praying to God. What a shock that was for Ananias!

a. Constant Communion

1) The Intensity

Saul was praying. That's why I say the second thing in the transformed life is fervor in supplication. Saul spent three days praying. And prayer is just communication with Jesus Christ and communication with God. It is very likely that the only thing he could see in front of him for those three days was Jesus Christ. The shock of what had happened to him on the Damascus road preoccupied his thoughts, so he spent three days in communion with Christ. I believe that someone who is really born again finds himself lost in communion with Jesus Christ.

Now, prayer is not mumbling prayers, and it is not formally getting down on your knees, or folding your hands, or saying grace at the table. Prayer is a constant life flow and communion with Christ. This was not the first time Saul prayed, it was just the first time he got through. He used to pray like a Pharisee, depending on his own self‑righteousness; now he prays like a broken, contrite sinner depending on the mercy of God. The transformed life is the life in constant contact with God. If somebody says to me, "Oh, I'm a Christian," but he has no desire to commune with God, then I don't think his Christianity is legitimate.

2) The Illustrations

a) Breathing

For the Christian, prayer is like breathing. You don't come to the end of the day and say, "I'm all tired out. I've been breathing all day." It's very easy to breathe because the atmosphere around you exerts pressure on your lungs. All you have to do is relax to breathe. You don't go to sleep at night saying, "Boy, I hope I remember to breathe while I'm asleep." You actually breathe better when you're asleep than you do at any other time because your body relaxes and the pressure of the air moves right in. It is very difficult to hold your breath.

Now, prayer is just breathing. It's harder for a Christian not to pray than it is to pray. When you don't pray you are holding your spiritual breath. If you are really born again, the easiest thing to do is just let God flood your life‑‑that's the normal thing. The transformed life lives within the atmosphere of God. It is normal to relax and let God become involved with us. Prayer is simply the soul of a Christian moving in the presence of God. Prayer is not little formal rituals.

b) Crying

Then again, from another angle, prayer is the same to a new creature in Christ as crying is to a baby. When a baby comes into the world, you don't teach it how to cry, it comes in crying. You say, "Why do babies cry?" In my experience, babies cry because they want something. And when they get it, they stop crying‑‑ which is a pretty good indication of why they cry. A baby wants the supplier to be aware of his need, but since he cannot articulate it, God has supplied for babies the knowledge to yell...and the supplier usually responds.

For the Christian, it is very much the same. Prayer for a new Christian is not learned by a manual, nor is it learned from someone giving a lecture on prayer, it is like crying‑‑you come into the world and you have needs. As a Christian you have needs, and the normal thing to do is say, "Supplier, I have needs," and so we cry a lot.

I believe Saul was crying for milk and clean clothes‑‑ the whole transformation. He was crying for somebody to teach him how to crawl, then how to walk, and to give him all the things he needed, so he just spent three days crying. And I think that's proof of his transformation.

b. Constant Control

1) God's Work

Incidentally, prayer is no one‑sided conversation‑‑God answers. Now God may take three days to do it, but He always answers. And it's beautiful to realize that all the time Saul is crying, God is working on the answer somewhere else. Have you ever had an incident in your life when you prayed about something and God seemed very remote? You began to wonder if God had too much to do to ever get involved in your little problem, and you forgot that God was already working His plan that involved you. In the case of Saul, He had to be working with Ananias in order to move him to Saul. He had to care for all those details first. Don't ever assume that when God doesn't answer now that He isn't working on it. God works in His own way and in His own time. The work of God is just that‑‑the work of God. God is in control.

2) God's Workmanship

In Ephesians 2:10 Paul says, "For we are His workmanship [masterpiece], created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained...." God is in control of our lives by design. So God orders the circumstances.

A pair of corresponding visions at two ends of town are now going to meet head on.

2. God's Answer (v. 12)

"And hath seen in a vision a man, named Ananias, coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight."

God gave Saul a vision. You say, "Why did He do that?" God wanted Saul to have something to hang his faith on. He wanted Saul to have something to trust in. What are the two things that prove to us that God answers prayer? One, the Bible. Saul didn't have a Bible. Two, past performance. Saul didn't have either of these two things to bank on. So the Lord said, "I will give you a preliminary vision." In his vision he saw a man named Ananias coming along and touching him so he could receive his sight.

So, Saul had a vision, and Ananias had a vision. God gave two corresponding visions to two men who not three days before were at opposite ends of the spiritual world from each other, and are now on a course to hit head on. That is God's control. God ordered the events for those three days. Saul prayed, and God moved to answer his prayer. Part of the transformed life is fervor in supplication. When you are really transformed you will spend your time communing with God. There is nothing sweeter than to talk to Him.

The third characteristic of the transformed life is...

III. FAITHFULNESS IN SERVICE (vv. 13-17a)

Another thing that comes right on the heels of the new birth is faithfulness in service. Now, I'm sure that since the time of his salvation, Ananias had been faithful to the Lord. It is very apparent to me that he was a servant of the Lord from his sensitivity to the voice of the Lord when the Lord said, "Ananias" and he responded. It is similar to Isaiah's response to the Lord, "...Here am I; send me" (Isa. 6:8b).

Ananias was ready, and so was Saul. The moment he was saved he said, "...Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?..." (Ac. 9:6a). He committed his life to Jesus Christ at the very instant of his salvation, and he never took back claim to his life, even on the day, tradition tells us, his head was laid on a block and an axhead severed it off.

A. The Confusion Of Ananias (vv. 13-14)

"Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints at Jerusalem; and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on Thy name."

He is saying, "I heard about this guy, Lord. He has authority to come to Damascus and do what he's been doing in Jerusalem. Do You know what You are asking, Lord?" But our gracious Lord didn't rebuke Ananias because, after all, it would be a hard task to handle. The worst possible enemy to Christianity was Saul. To hear that he was on his way to Damascus to capture Christians, and then to hear that when he arrived he had become a Christian was a little hard to believe. So the Lord accepts the lingering doubt in Ananias's mind.

B. The Choice Of God (vv. 15-16)

1. Immediate Service (v. 15)

"But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way; for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel"

a. The Commitment of the Servants

1) Ananias

I like the fact that God demands immediate service. God wants us to move for Him now. Don't go to God and say, "Someday, God, I'm going to do this." Someday never happens. God wants your love and the investment of your life now.

2) Saul

In verse 15 God says, "...he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name...." God said, "He's saved, and now his job is settled." There wasn't any difference between his salvation and his call. Acts 9:20 says, "And immediately he preached Christ...." Now he responded immediately. Saul had only been a believer a little while and he was already preaching. He didn't postpone his service; he responded when God called him. There were times when there was a postponement by Saul-- he went to the Arabian desert for several years while God refined him. There was preparation, there was education, there was time to grow, but nevertheless, he pursued the call immediately.

What are you doing today?

There are needs that we have in the church. There are needs throughout the body of Christ and yet they are not being fulfilled because everybody is going to act in the future. That's no good. If I say to my wife, "Honey, do you love me?" I don't want her to say, "Ask me in a couple of weeks." I don't want to be loved in a couple of weeks, I want to be loved now. All that matters to me is now. When I was married, I remember thinking about the vows I was going to say, like, "I promise to love you till death do us part." I thought, "It's hard to say that. You don't know you can love her until death. You haven't even lived with this woman. She's lovely and the object of your love, but how are you going to say, `I'll live with you and love you till death.'?" I decided that I wouldn't love her for sixty years. I decided I wouldn't even love her for twenty years. I decided I wouldn't even love her for one year. In fact, I decided I wouldn't even love her for a month. I decided I would just love her right then, and I still love her right now...more than I ever did. And she wants to be loved right now. God doesn't want your service tomorrow--He's not interested. Tomorrow will take care of itself (Mt. 6:34). He wants you today. If you are sitting making spiritual plans, they are not spiritual if you are not acting on them.

Ananias's protest was overruled. The risen Lord said, "Go. I have selected Saul, and there is no dichotomy between his salvation and his service. He is a chosen vessel." Paul picked that phrase up and used it at least four times in the New Testament. In Romans 9:21 he says, "...vessel unto honor..."; in Romans 9:23, "...vessels of mercy..."; in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "...earthen vessels..."; and 2 Timothy 2:21, "...a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and fit for the Master's use...." The word "vessel" here means "an instrument to convey the grace of God to men." Saul was to be an instrument to convey the grace of God to men. Incidentally, the Greek phrase "chosen vessel" is literally "a vessel of election." God elected him for service.

b. The Call of God

The call to the ministry is not a whim or a will on the part of man, it is of God. In Galatians 1:1 the Apostle Paul says, "Paul, an apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father...)." In other words, "I was called by God Himself." In addition, Acts 9:15 says that he was called to reach the Gentiles. Romans 11:13 and 15:16 say that he was the Apostle to the Gentiles. And Paul also preached to kings as well (Agrippa, and very likely Nero), and to the children of Israel (Ac. 9:15).

2. Future Suffering (v. 16)

"For I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake."

The Lord says to Ananias, "Saul is going to suffer." That must have been a comfort to Ananias in some measure--he wouldn't have to fear because Saul would be on the receiving end awhile. And Saul did suffer. Second Corinthians 11:23-27 contains the list of the things that he suffered.

Well, Ananias was obedient. Discipleship includes risks, and Ananias was expendable.

C. The Commission Of Saul (v. 17a)

"And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul..."

Ananias commissioned Saul as God's instrument. He went to help Saul understand what God had called him to do. In Acts 22:14-15 Ananias said to Saul, "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." Ananias then put his hands on him.

The transformed life demands service to Christ. The old statement, "Saved to serve," is true. When you become a Christian, your vocation immediately becomes your avocation. A Christian should be known for his Christianity. That's the key. If you are a Christian, you ought to be known by your service to Christ. If you have no service to Christ, you are a contradiction in terms. First Corinthians 4:1 says, "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ...." When someone points to you, they should say, "Oh, there's John. He's a minister of Christ. Oh, look at Susie, she's a minister of Christ." That is what we should be known as. Further, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 says, "...and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." The world ought to know us by our service to Jesus Christ. What are you doing for Him? What kind of service do you have? How are you using your spiritual gifts? Where are you using your abilities? If you are not using them, you are a contradiction in terms.

So, the transformed life is faith in the Savior, fervor in supplication, and faithfulness in service.

Focusing on the Facts

1. What are the ways in which the world attempts to transform people? Explain. 

2. How does God respond to the world's attempts at transformation? Support your answer. 

3. What is the solution to the attempt to transform man? Where does the transformation need to take place? 

4. What statements did Paul make later in his life that give evidence of his total transformation? (1 Thess. 2:1-11; Phil. 1:18)

5. According to Acts 9:1-9, why did the transformation take place in the life of Saul? 

6. How is the transformation of a man's life both a positional and a practical reality? 

7. Why is prayer one of the characteristics of a saved individual? 

8. Why was Ananias ready to respond when God talked to him? (Ac. 9:10)

9. Who was Ananias? 

10. Define prayer in terms of the two illustrations: breathing and crying. 

11. In what way does God respond to prayer? How long does it take for God to respond? Explain. 

12. What two things prove to us that God answers prayer? Why did God give Saul a vision in Acts 9:12? 

13. How did Saul respond to God's call? 

14. What is significant about the use of the word "vessel" for Saul? (Ac. 9:15)

15. According to Acts 22:14-15, what was Saul's commission? 

16. According to 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, how should a Christian be known? 

Pondering the Principles

1. Look up the following verses: Proverbs 20:9; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:18-20; 23:26; Romans 2:14-16. According to these verses, what is the condition of man's heart? Why are external problems not the real issue in a man's life? When sharing with unbelievers, how do you approach them? Do you try to deal with their external problems, or do you make them aware that their problems originate in their hearts? How do you approach your own problems? Do you try to deal with the external manifestations or the problem in your heart? Look up the following verses: 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 139:1-12; Proverbs 21:2; Hebrews 4:12; 1 John 3:18-21. When God looks at you, what is He looking at? What part of you does God think is the most important? Examine your heart right now. When God looks at you, what does He see? What do you see as you look closely? Look up the following verses: Deuteronomy 5:29; 6:5-6; Psalm 34:18; 51:17; Matthew 5:8. What is the response that God desires from you? How are you presently responding to Him? Take this moment to talk to God about these very issues. Renew the commitment of your heart to respond to Him as He desires.

2. A consuming passion in your prayer life is one of the characteristics of a Christian. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the intensity of your prayer life? Do you pray knowing it is important for you to do so, or do you pray because you have a great desire to talk to God and want to know Him better? Look up the following verses: Acts 6:4; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:17. How often are we to pray? How often do you pray? Look up the following verses: Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8. What kind of intensity does God desire in your prayers? Spend this time in prayer and thank God for the privilege that He has given us to talk to Him. As a response to this privilege, begin to spend more of your time in prayer to God.

3. How would you characterize your obedience to God? Do you obey immediately when you are made aware of something that God wants you to do, or do you determine that today is not the best time and that tomorrow or the next day would be more conducive? Why do you suppose that God wants our immediate obedience? Perhaps you have someone you have authority over, such as an employee at work or a son or daughter. When you give them something to do, how would you feel if they didn't get around to it until a week later or ignored it altogether? How do you suppose God feels when you don't respond right away? In what ways do you need to improve on your obedience to God and His Word?