The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 9, verses 26 through 31.

Tony Clark: All right, let’s dive into the word of God together. Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter nine. As we continue our verse-by-verse study of the book of Acts on Sunday mornings, I’m looking forward to getting back into the book of Judges, if it can just stop snowing long enough for us to meet on a Wednesday so we can get back to teaching the Old Testament. So we’re in the book of Acts this morning.

Father, we’re so grateful for your tremendous love for us. Your mercy, your goodness, Lord, and you have given us this word. Lead us, teach us, and guide us by your Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Acts chapter nine, we’re going to be looking at verses 26 to 31. The title of this message is "When Let Down Look Up." No matter who you are and how long you live, you will be let down by people. So often disappointment comes with expectations. In other words, when we have expectations and people don’t meet them, then we are let down or disappointed.

In this chapter, we’re studying the dramatic conversion of Saul of Tarsus. After God stops him in his tracks with a bright light from heaven as he was on his way to arrest Christians in the city of Damascus, verse 20 says that he immediately started preaching about Jesus in the Jewish synagogues. Just as expected, people didn’t really believe that he was a true believer.

According to verse 23, they were plotting to kill him. They wanted to kill him so badly that verse 24 says that they watched the gates of the city day and night to make sure that he didn’t escape. The believers had to lower him down in a basket at night on the other side of the wall of the city so he could escape.

Now we pick up the story in verse 26. Look what it says there: "And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple." From this verse, we can see that Saul escaped Damascus and immediately went back to Jerusalem. He tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him and did not believe that he was a true disciple.

I want to draw your attention to the word "tried." The Greek word is peirao, and it means to attempt or to try. It is in the imperfect tense in the Greek language, which means a repeated action. He kept trying over and over to join the disciples, and they kept rejecting him over and over again. To them, Saul must have been the ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing, trying to destroy from within what he once tried to destroy from without. You almost feel sorry for him. He won the debates, but he didn’t win their hearts.

On the outside, Saul would seem like the perfect man to reach the Jewish people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, that was not the plan of the Lord for his life. He could have been disillusioned by Christians, like a lot of people have been in the past, and said, "If this is how you’re going to treat me, then forget church, forget Christians, and even God himself." There are a lot of people today who have said these very words, but not Saul.

Even though he was let down by Christians, he knew that God would never let him down. Saul kept his eyes on God, on the one who soundly saved him on the road to Damascus. Keep in mind that the events in this verse are three years after Saul's conversion, and they were still afraid of him. What happened next? Look at verses 27 and 28.

"But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out." The conjunction "but" that starts verse 27 shows us that Luke, the author, is contrasting in verse 27 what he said in verse 26. The disciples kept rejecting Saul, but Barnabas, whose name means son of encouragement, according to Acts 4:26, brings Saul to the disciples. He was highly respected by the believers and is speaking up for Saul.

I hope we understand what this is really saying because this is a word for us. How we need more people like Barnabas, taking people who are outcasts and bringing them to the fellowship of believers. You never know if that person you’re bringing is the next Apostle Paul. I thank God for the people who have been a Barnabas in my life, who have encouraged me in the ministry and the things of God. To encourage, parakaleo. That Greek word means to come alongside to help, speaking encouraging words to someone.

So when you come alongside of someone who is struggling with something and you encourage them by building them up and giving them a timely word, you are being a Barnabas to them. Every day we can be a Barnabas to someone, like a coworker, a spouse, or a teenager. Everyone can use an encouraging word to help them get through a tough time in their lives or to help them continue in the Christian race.

There are Sauls all around us that have been let down, discouraged, and are basket cases about life and ministry. They need a Barnabas to come and to pat them on the back, to put their arms around them, and give them an encouraging word. No matter who they are or what position they hold, they all can use an encouraging word. Everyone can. We can be a Barnabas to someone every day.

You don’t know what people are going through. You see them on the job, you see them in life, but you don’t realize. They can even have a smile on their face and you don’t know what they’re going through. They can have a smile on their face, but as soon as you turn your head, the tears are flowing. Everyone can use an encouraging word. Everyone can use you and I coming alongside of them and being a Barnabas to them. This is what Barnabas did for Saul.

Once Barnabas brought Saul to the apostles, he told them his testimony, how the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus and how he preached boldly in the name of Jesus. They were convinced because verse 28 says that he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. This is the power of a testimony. So often what is labeled as a testimony is nothing more than ramblings about nothing or, as we used to say long years ago, test-a-lying.

These are the three simple ingredients to a testimony. Number one, this was my life before Christ. Number two, Christ came into my life. And number three, this is my life now that Christ is in it. No one can deny your testimony. When they heard Saul's testimony, they were convinced and they accepted him and he started going in and going out among them.

Revelation 12:11 says a similar thing about the power of the testimony. It says that they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. This means that these believers in the book of Revelation gave their lives for their testimony. In other words, by giving their testimony, they died for their faith.

Practice telling your testimony. You may not have to give your life for it, but someone may give their life to Christ as a result of your testimony. And so number one, this was my life before Christ. Please save us all the gory details. Keep in mind Ephesians 4:29 that says, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

The Greek word for corrupt is sapros, and it means rotten or spoiled or corrupt. It carries the idea of spoiled or rotten fruit or meat. In other words, in telling your testimony, don’t allow spoiled, corrupted, rotten words to proceed out of your mouth. Social media has gone viral about a woman giving her testimony and she was fooling around with that testimony. She didn’t know any better because nobody’s taught her. Save all the gory details and all the mess. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth.

What we share should be what is good for necessary edification so that it may minister grace in the ears of the people we’re talking with. This is why I believe that if you are calling yourself a believer, you should not be using profanity. If you call yourself a believer—now, if you’re not a believer, then you talk like you talk—you’ve got to ask yourself, with those words proceeding out of my mouth, would Jesus say those words?

We’re supposed to be Christians, like Christ. Then we won’t let corrupt words proceed out of our mouths. There are some people who have real potty mouths. The Bible says let no corrupt word proceed. So on top of that, in giving your testimony, you don’t let sapros words that are spoiled, corrupt, or rotten proceed out of our mouths.

Number two, you tell them the circumstances of how Christ came into your life, like Saul did in verse 27. Then number three, tell them the change that Christ has made in your life since you accepted him as your Lord and Savior. There must be a change. If you had a severe potty mouth and you accept Christ, you should not still have that potty mouth. For me, I had a severe potty mouth, and within one week, the language that I used to have was all gone. When one of those corrupt, rotten words proceeded out of my mouth, I put my hand over... I was like, "I can’t believe that came out."

There are many here and many people who are just church-goers. You’re not born again because there’s no change in your life. You can’t give this three-step testimony because you don’t have a testimony. This is your life before Christ and it’s still that way. You don’t have step two or step three. There’s no change in your life. You’re still doing what you’re doing, still living with your boyfriend or girlfriend, still doing your thing on the weekends, still fooling around.

But then you pop up at church whenever something bad’s happening. You’re not born again. You can be, though, but you’re not right now. You have no testimony. This is why you can’t give it, because you don’t have one. But you can before the day is up. No one can deny a testimony, and it will have the power to convince people, like Saul's testimony had on the disciples at Jerusalem.

Go out there and practice on your coworkers, families, and friends. But watch this: your words must match your life, or your testimony will lose its power to convince that God is truly in your life. When your life doesn’t match up, then your testimony loses the power to convince other people. What else took place? Look at verses 29 and 30.

"And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed among the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus." In these verses, we see Saul was speaking boldly in the name of the Lord and disputed against the Hellenists. The Hellenists were the Greek-speaking Jews. But they attempted to kill him.

Why? You remember in Acts chapter eight when Saul launched his attack against the Christians? He started his persecution with the Hellenistic Christians. Remember Stephen? They stoned Stephen to death. Stephen was a Hellenistic Christian. So they turned the tables and tried to kill Saul now, according to verse 29. Things had gotten so bad that the brethren found out about this plot to kill Saul. Verse 30 says that they brought him down to Caesarea, which was a seaport city on the Mediterranean Sea, and sent him home on a ship to Tarsus, where he was from.

The church soon discovered that it was almost as bad having Saul with them as against them. He stirred up a hornet's nest everywhere he went, so they decided to send him home. "Get to the house, bro. You’re killing us, literally almost. You’ve got to get home." There’s a valuable principle we need to learn through the life of Saul. All because the Lord forgives you of your sin, it doesn’t mean that people will. People will not be so quick to forget your past, so don’t be so disappointed and discouraged.

Isn’t it good that God isn’t like man? God forgives our sins and casts them as far as the east is from the west. This is really good to know. I’m so glad he didn’t say he threw our sins as far as the north is from the south. There’s approximately 8,000 miles between the North and South Pole. If God threw our sins as far as the north is from the south, that means that his forgiveness would have an end.

But you can go infinitely east and infinitely west and the two shall not come together. That’s how far he threw our sins away from us. I’m so glad that he throws our sins that far. Then the Bible says he remembers them no more. "Oh, God, you remember when I did last week?" and God says, "What you talking about? I’ve forgiven you of that." He remembers them no more. He’s not like man. "You remember what you did last week?" See, that’s us. God isn’t like that. I’m so thankful.

They didn’t forget Saul's past and they tried to kill him. So keep this in mind, you may tell your wonderful testimony to your coworkers and families and friends, but remember they may not be so quick to forget your past. This may mean that they may need time just watching your life for a period to see if what you said Jesus did in you and for you matches your life. Sometimes they need some time to watch you, especially when it comes to family. They remember you from back on the block. Over time, if it’s true what you said Jesus did for you, it will begin to convince them.

What happened when they sent Saul back home? They said, "Bro, okay, we’re going to pay your fare. You need to get on that ship. We’re going to go on back to Tarsus." Look at verse 31. "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied." The churches were edified and multiplied when they sent Saul to the house, when they got rid of Saul. We call this the blessed subtraction.

He has such a heart for his Jewish people that he would later write in Romans 10, verse one, "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved." Earlier he said this powerful verse in Romans nine, verse three: "For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh." He is saying, "I wish that I could go to hell if it would mean that my Jewish people would be saved as a result." That blows me away. What a heart he had.

However, every time he tried to reach out and win them to Christ, a riot broke out and people wanted to kill him. So they sent him home to Tarsus, which was Gentile territory, where God called him to be in the first place. I am sure that he was bummed out and disappointed because, according to Galatians 1:18, he was only in Jerusalem for 15 days. They had to send him to the house. "Dude, you’ve got to go."

No doubt he had time to reflect on what the Lord truly had for his life. After accepting the ministry to the Gentiles, according to Galatians 1:21, he went preaching throughout the region and churches. It is believed that he was in the region for seven to 10 years in obscurity, being refined by God. Maybe you can relate to Saul. Maybe the Lord has given you leadership abilities and you are waiting to be promoted and years have gone by and you’re discouraged.

Maybe you’re single and you’re waiting on your shepherd king and years have gone by. You’re tired of doing what Abraham and Sarah did when God told them that they were going to have a child. They took matters in their own hands and she gave Abraham Hagar and ended up with Ishmael. You’re tired of birthing Ishmaels. And you’re like, "But when is my shepherd king going to come? God, maybe I need to help you out." And all you’re doing is birthing an Ishmael. Or maybe you thought that you were tailor-made for a certain position or job and it hasn’t worked out yet. They passed you over, gave it to someone else. Years have gone by.

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