Greg Laurie - Unsung Heroes (03/15/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie explores Acts 9 through the lens of "Unsung Heroes," highlighting Stephen, Ananias, and Barnabas—ordinary believers whose faithfulness influenced Saul's (Paul's) conversion. True heroism often happens quietly behind the scenes, and every Christian is called to play a part in God's kingdom by encouraging, obeying, and pointing others to Jesus.
Unsung Heroes in Acts 9
Tonight we are in Acts chapter 9 and I asked Dennis to do that song about heroes. Where are the heroes now? Because the title of my message is "Unsung Heroes." So let's pray together.
Prayer for Understanding True Heroism
Father we ask your blessing now in this time of Bible study. We want to learn how we can be a hero to others as we walk with you, as we stand as an example of what it is to be a true believer. Help us to learn what heroism actually is. So we commit this time of Bible study to you now in Jesus name. Amen.
What Really Makes Someone a Hero?
So what is a hero? You know we throw that word around a lot today. If a basketball player is adept at sinking that ball in the basket we say he is a sports hero. If someone is really good on a guitar we say they are a guitar hero. In fact there is even a video game called that. Well there is even a sandwich called the hero. But do we actually know what a hero is any longer?
You know I think we are living in a time where we are more obsessed with celebrity and we have less heroes. In the age of the Paris Hiltons and the Kardashians we have people that are famous for being famous. But as a song that was just sung asks, where are the heroes now? When we need them so desperately.
Someone compared celebrity with true heroism. And they said, A hero is known for achievements. A celebrity for well knownness. The hero reveals the possibilities of human nature. The celebrity reveals the possibilities of the press and media. Celebrities are people who make news. But heroes are people who make history. Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities. I think that is well said.
True Heroes Put Others First
A hero is someone that puts the needs of someone else above themselves. I was talking with one of the guys at fellowships here, Chad. And he was a Navy SEAL. And he told me about a fellow soldier named Mike Monsoor. And a grenade was thrown up near Mike. And other members of the platoon were up there. And he just yelled out the words, GRENADE. And threw himself on it. And needless to say he was tragically killed. He received the Medal of Honor for that act of true heroism.
We don't hear a story like that. But that is a story that should be on the front page of our newspapers. But I want to talk not only about heroes but unsung heroes. Those are the ones that often work behind the scenes and don't get the credit. Sometimes we don't even know a person as a hero until much later. Because perhaps they made an unpopular stand. Or did something that was not politically correct. Or just simply did the right thing. And with the passing of time we realize they were right. That is what a hero is.
Unsung Heroes Can Be Anyone
Sometimes heroes are wives. Other times they are husbands. They can even be children. They can be a teacher, a coach, an uncle, an aunt. All grandparents immediately qualify as heroes. Just for living that long they should be given some kind of award. But an unsung hero is someone who works behind the scenes. And often unsung heroes are sidekicks.
I mean where would Sherlock Holmes be without his faithful Watson by his side? Or the Lone Ranger without Tonto? Or the Green Hornet without Kato? Or Batman without Robin? Actually I think he would be better off Batman. Never have quite gotten Robin. You know. He just kind of ruins everything. Whenever Batman... You know you bring in Robin and it is like first of all the outfit isn't working. Okay. I am sorry it is not intimidating. It makes me want to laugh. Alright. But you know these had to work behind the scenes.
Unsung Heroes in the Bible
So in the Bible there is a lot of unsung heroes. We all remember Moses and even Joshua. But how many of us have heard of Caleb? Well he was one of the two spies that went into the promised land to check it out. It was Joshua and Caleb. And he along with Joshua faced the ridicule of the Israelites when they told the people they should go and take this land. But in the end it was good old craggy Caleb holding up an old arm and saying, Give me this mountain. And of many of those that were overthrown in the wilderness Caleb actually possessed his portion of the land.
When I read about Caleb in his eighties I think of old Louis Zamperini. You know. The guy is like tough as leather. And you think of these guys that work behind the scenes. I think Louis Zamperini is an excellent example of a hero who has been discovered by many, many years after his great acts of heroism.
Elijah and His Unsung Successor Elisha
Then we remember the great prophet Elijah. Especially because he was up there in Mount Carmel with fire coming down from heaven. But very few people know about the unsung hero named Elisha. In fact because of the similarities of their names Elisha is often mistaken for Elijah. And the fact is some of the miracles that were done through Elisha are often attributed to Elijah. But he wouldn't have cared about that because Elisha is one of those unsung heroes.
Andrew: Always Bringing People to Jesus
And then we go to the New Testament. And I think of Andrew. He is the one who originally followed John the Baptist who pointed him to Christ. And when Andrew found Jesus the first thing that he did was he went and told his brother. In John 1:40 it says, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of those men that heard what John said and he followed Jesus. And he found his brother and said, We have found the Messiah.
Now Peter was a dominant personality. He was the kind of guy who would light up a room when he walked in. Where Andrew was a little more subdued, a little more quiet. And Andrew probably even knew once he got Peter into all of this, Peter would try to take the whole thing over. He was always living in the shadow of his more popular big brother. But Andrew didn't care about that. All he wanted to do was get his brother to Jesus.
In fact every time we read about Andrew in the Bible he is bringing someone to Jesus. It was Andrew that brought the little boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus right before the feeding of the five thousand. It was Andrew that brought those men from Greece to Jesus because they were seeking answers for the problems of life. And that is a great thing to have said about you. He was always bringing others to Jesus. But he doesn't get the press or the ink like Peter, James, and John. We don't know that much about him. But Andrew was truly an unsung hero.
Contemporary Unsung Heroes in the Chain of Faith
Now we think of some contemporary heroes that I bet you have never even thought of before. People like Mordecai Ham and Edward Kimball. How many of you have heard of Mordecai Ham? Raise your hand. Okay. Nobody. It sounds like something you need to order in a restaurant. I will have the Mordecai Ham please. How about Edward Kimball? You heard of him? You haven't heard of these guys have you?
The Chain from Edward Kimball to Billy Graham
Well let me tell you about them. Edward Kimball was a shoe salesman. And he was working alongside of another guy named Dwight that didn't have much of an education. But he was a good salesman. And Edward felt led by the Lord to share the gospel with Dwight. And so he told his friend all about the Lord. And Dwight accepted Christ right there. It was 1858. And Dwight's last name was Moody. We usually know him as D.L. Moody who was one of the greatest evangelists in history.
So we celebrate the Moody's but we forget about the Edward Kimball's. But the story doesn't stop. It goes on. Years later when Moody was preaching a pastor named Frederick D. Meyer was deeply stirred and as a result went into his own nationwide preaching ministry. And when Meyer was preaching on one occasion a college student named Wilbur Chapman heard him and accepted Christ. And then he went out and began to share the gospel. And he employed a young baseball player named Billy. Billy Sunday was his name. Well Billy ended up being the greatest evangelist of his generation.
We think of Moody. We think of Billy Sunday. But the story doesn't stop there. Billy Sunday preached the gospel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Had a great meeting. And the guys asked him to come back again. And Billy Sunday couldn't come. But it was recommended that they bring in this unknown preacher named Mordecai Ham. So Mordecai Ham came to Charlotte. And he preached in the old tent there with sawdust on the floor. And not that many people came forward. But on one of the last nights of his meeting a tall lanky boy that worked in a local dairy farm walked forward. Everyone knew him as Billy Frank. We know him today as Billy Graham.
So Edward Kimball reached D.L. Moody who touched Meyer. Who reached Chapman who helped Sunday. Who reached businessmen in Charlotte to have them invite Mordecai Ham who ultimately reached Billy Graham. But it all began with the simple witness of Edward Kimball. So we celebrate the Grahams and the Moodys and the Sundays. But we forget about the Kimballs and the Chapmans and the Mordecai Hams. Right? But every one of us has a part to play in the kingdom of God. So we want to find out what that part is.
Three Unsung Heroes Who Influenced Saul/Paul
So here in Acts chapter 9 we are going to celebrate three great men of God. Three unsung heroes. Their names were Stephen, Ananias, and finally Barnabas. Their claim to fame if you will was their influence on the notorious Saul of Tarsus later to become the great apostle Paul.
Stephen: Bold Witness Even in Death
Let's start with Stephen. We already talked about him a little bit. But he was a young man. And I remember when they needed to get some people to take care of some of the problems that had developed in the church so the apostles could give themselves to prayer and Bible study. Stephen was selected. He was called by the Lord. But immediately they realized that Stephen was not a behind the scenes guy. Stephen was gifted as a communicator. Stephen had miracles working through his life. And he was sharing the gospel with people and had a great ministry ahead or so it would seem.
But he was arrested for preaching the gospel. He was brought before the Sanhedrin which was the Jewish equivalent of the Supreme Court of the day. It was a big deal. That is the kind of a place where you would want to mind your P's and Q's. You would have found to be very respectful and not offend any of these men. Excuse me. That logems is still out there somewhere. Excuse me. And so I am better. All right. So if he would have played his cards right and been very careful and diplomatic he probably could have gone home for dinner.
But instead young Stephen, full of vim and vigor and zeal, people wanted to seize the moment and share the gospel with them. Now I wonder if Stephen did not notice a younger member of this elite group, a man known as Saul. And I wonder if the Lord did not touch Stephen's heart causing him to even focus his remarks on Saul. Because as Stephen began to share the gospel and tell the truth about God's Word, they stoned him as you recall. And they laid their coats at the feet of Saul.
But I believe that Stephen played a key role in reaching Saul later to become Paul. Stephen's bold testimony and sweet spirit touched Saul's heart. And we do not really read of anyone actually sharing the gospel with Saul. But it was a number of people that God used to prepare his heart.
Personal Reflection on Seeds Sown in My Life
And I look back on my own life and you know the funny thing is no one ever that I can remember sat me down and said, Greg, here is how you can come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I was just down at the Fun Zone in Newport. And a lot of it has not changed by the way for like 50 years. And when I was a kid I used to hang out down there. And this is in my drug days. And so I would lean up against walls and act tough and hard and cool. And I remember seeing Christians down there handing out religious materials. And I remember how they would come up to different people and engage them in conversation and talk to them. And they would come up to me and in my heart I was saying, please talk to me. But I was, I had my tough exterior you know looking at them. Hair hanging on my eyes. Use your imagination. I don't know what it was but they would never talk to me. And they would just offer me a tract like here. Like ugh. And the funny thing is I would take it and I would shove it in my pocket. And I never threw one of those things away. And I had a drawer at home designated for all religious material. Everything that was given to me I put it in this drawer. I had little Bibles. I had materials from the Jehovah's Witnesses, from the Mormons, from Amway. You name it it was in the drawer. I saved everything. I always say that because Amway people get mad and write me letters. I just do it to provoke them frankly. So get ready.
And then every now and then I would pull that drawer out and I would dump it on my bed. And I would read through these materials and try to make sense of it. You know what I needed? I needed someone to show me the way. Remember the story we looked at earlier with Philip and the Ethiopian man. And he asked the man from Ethiopia to understand what you are reading. And the man said how can I unless someone shows me the way. I needed that. And actually no one invited me to church. No one even invited me to a Bible study. I went there on my own. I sat at a distance sort of eavesdropping on the conversation. And that is when I first heard the gospel.
But yet I look back on my life and different people played a part in getting me ready for that moment. My grandparents were Christians. They used to take me to church. I remembered that. I remembered looking at that picture my grandmother had of Jesus hanging on the wall. And I would think I admired him so much. Also I had an aunt and an uncle that were strong Christians that influenced me. Even watching Billy Graham on television with my grandparents. I remember those days. Those are little seeds that were sown. But you see we all have a part to play. And Stephen played his part.
Ananias: Obeying Despite Fear
But that brings us to the next character in our story, Ananias. Now let's set the scene before we read from Acts 9. At this point Saul has heard the voice of Jesus. He was on his way to arrest Christians and send them to prison. The Lord has spoken to him and said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He has fallen to the ground. He is blinded by a searing light that has penetrated the noonday sun. His entourage has abandoned him and he is led to the home of a man named Judas. No relation to the apostle that betrayed the Lord. It was a common name. He had no idea of what to do. Or what was going to happen next. Enter unsung hero number two, Ananias.
Acts 9 verse 8. Then Saul arose from the ground. And when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and he neither ate nor drank. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. He said, Here I am Lord. The Lord said, Arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold he is praying and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so he might receive his sight.
And Ananias said, Lord I have heard many things about this man and how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that call in your name. But the Lord said to him, You go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles kings and the children of Israel. And I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake.
You can understand the reticence on Ananias' part. Ananias. Here I am Lord. Go see Saul, Saul, Saul, Saul, Saul of Tarsus. What? Hello? Did I hear you right? Did you say Saul of Tarsus? What can we liken this to? This would be like a Jew hiding from the Nazis during World War 2 in hearing that Hitler got saved. Go to wait off Hitler because he is praying. Uh, not. It is not believable. It is not plausible. Why it is not even possible.
The Lord says, You go. And you do what I tell you to do. Because he will find him praying. I read another translation of these verses that I like. It goes as follows. Ananias protested, Master you can't be serious. Everyone is talking about this man and the terrible things he has been doing. His reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem. And he has shown up here with papers from the chief priests that give him license to do the same to us. But the Master said, Don't argue. Go. Go.
The Choice: Be a Jonah or an Ananias
Sometimes the Lord says the same thing to us. Go. Go do this. Now listen. You have a choice. You don't have to obey the Lord. The Lord said to Jonah, Go to Nineveh and preach to them. And Jonah went in the opposite direction. As far away from Nineveh as he could possibly get. You remember the rest of that story and how the Lord used a little persuasion on old Jonah. And he ended up doing what God wanted him to do.
So I have a choice in life. I can be a Jonah or I can be an Ananias. I can say yes or I can say no. Now you might ask the question, Well if I don't go will the job still get done? As a matter of fact it will get done. Listen. God doesn't need you. Certainly God doesn't need me. But God does want us to participate in the process. Man has his will but God will always have his way.
You remember the story of Queen Esther who won a beauty contest and ascended to the throne. And she was a Jew. But she kept that kind of on the QT. And one day because of the wicked efforts on the part of a man named Haman there was a plot conceived to have all of the Jews killed. It was sort of like a precursor to Hitler's final solution. Eradicate, destroy, and wipe all the Jews off the face of the earth. That was the plan of Haman.
Well Esther's uncle Mordecai came to her and said, Hey you are there in the palace. You are in a place of influence. You can go to the king and speak on behalf of your people. But then he made this telling statement. He says, If you keep quiet at a time like this deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place. But you and your relatives will die. What is more who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for such a time as this.
If you were to translate that from the original Hebrew it would be simply, You go girl. No I made that up. But the idea is, Look Esther. God put you where you are for a reason. Now are you going to leverage that opportunity for God's kingdom or are you going to keep it all to yourself? Guess what. If you don't do it the Lord will find someone else.
And God has put you where you are. You see. You have a sphere of influence. You have a circle of friends. You have neighbors around you. You have people that you know. Co-workers and so forth. Well we go to them like Ananias. Or we run from them like Jonah.
Ananias Obeys and Calls Saul "Brother"
To his credit Ananias goes. Verse 17. Ananias went his way and entered the house. Imagine yourself in Ananias' sandals if you will. The sight he is now seeing. It is almost unbelievable. There perhaps lying on the floor or maybe on his knees was the notorious Christian killer Saul of Tarsus. The name that had sent chills down the spines of believers humbled and broken and without sight.
Ananias is moved and very compassionately offers these well chosen words. Verse 17. Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. I love those words brother Saul. That is the last thing Saul of Tarsus ever thought he would hear a Christian say to him. Brother Saul. You are in the family now. Hey and where were Saul's old friends? His partners in crime. They were gone.
In fact Saul was about to discover that his enemies were in fact his friends. And his so called friends would soon be his enemies. And that is a discovery that every Christian will eventually make. You want to find out who your real friends are? Start talking about Jesus and you will know real soon. Trust me. You will have less friends than you thought you had. Brother Saul.
I remember shortly after my conversion. This was over at Newport Harbor High School. I had prayed this prayer after going to this meeting. And I think it was Monday of the next week. I was very uncomfortable with this whole thing. I didn't really know what I had done. I didn't know where I fit. I had gone to one of the Christian meetings and frankly was a little baffled by all of it. Their language mystified me. I didn't get their lingo. I didn't get anything about it. But I knew that something significant had happened. But I really didn't know where to go at this point. And I was sort of caught between two worlds.
And I was walking across the campus and some Christian who recognized me from the Bible study yelled out loudly across the campus, Brother Greg! And I looked over and he goes, Bro! And he comes and hugs me. Like I don't even know you. And you are hugging me. And then he says, Bro! Man! Listen! You don't have a Bible yet. No I don't. Well I've got a Bible for you, bro! And oh great. Okay. And he gave me the biggest Bible I've ever laid my eyes on. It was really worn in. Very used. And then to add insult to injury, it had two popsicle sticks, glued together in the shape of a cross. Here, bro! It is the Word of God. I am like, Did you have to glue popsicle sticks on it? So I, Hey, thanks a lot. Great. All right. Yeah. Praise the Lord! Whatever. Okay. Thanks. And so when he walked off I shoved that Bible in my pocket. I didn't want anyone to see it.
But you know I was in that difficult spot where I hadn't really committed myself completely yet. But Brother Saul is what Ananias says to him. The Lord has appeared to me and told me to come to you. And then Ananias prayed for Saul to receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Difference Between Having and Being Filled with the Spirit
Listen. Every believer has the Holy Spirit come in them when they believe in Jesus Christ. For no man can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. But listen. Not every believer has the power of the Holy Spirit on their life. That is what happened to the believers on the day of Pentecost. They were already Christians. They already had the Holy Spirit in them because they had received that in the upper room when Jesus breathed on them the Spirit. Now they were receiving power from on high to be witnesses for Him. And now Saul, later to become Paul, is receiving that same power in his life as well. And what a witness he would be. Fearlessly and skillfully preaching the gospel to Roman leaders ranging from Agrippa to Felix and Festus and possibly Caesar himself.
Ananias is an unsung hero. No. He never preached any sermons that we know of. We don't know of any miracles that were performed through his hand. He never wrote an epistle. But he did do something of great significance. He reached Saul of Tarsus. And listen. If we had more Ananiases we would have more Sauls. Everybody wants to be a Saul who will be the Ananias. Everybody wants to be a Peter who will be the Andrew. Everybody wants to be Billy Graham who will be Mordecai Ham. Or you want to be D.L. Moody. Who will be Edward Kimball. Who will be the unsung hero.
Barnabas: The Encourager Who Stood by Saul
Chuck Swindoll in his book on the Apostle Paul from his series Great Lives from God's Word wrote these words. And I quote, Ananias has been called one of the forgotten heroes of the faith. And indeed he is. There are countless numbers of them serving Christ behind the scenes the world over. Most will never meet and will never know by name. But they are content to remain in the shadows, oblivious to the lure of lights and applause. Nevertheless they are heroes. Giants of the faith, Swindoll writes, because of their selfless, understated acts of obedience to God. Faithfully carrying on. Faithfully administrating. Faithfully delivering sermons. Faithfully showing mercy to the sick in hospitals. Faithfully counseling and giving hope to the discouraged. End quote.
Now with such men like Ananias doing their part, Saul could do his. Look at verse 20. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
And how did that go for him? How was that received? Verse 23, After many days were passed the Jews plotted to kill him. Yeah that is what happened to his so called friends. They turned against him. His former allies were now his adversaries. And his former enemies were now his brothers.
Here is another little sideline of unsung heroes. We will just call them the Basket Boys. These are a group of guys that got Paul out of town when they heard that there was a plot on his life. We read verse 25, Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.
What a way to leave you know. Saul comes in with his entourage. You know threats of force and death. He leaves in a basket hiding. The hunter has become the hunted. The persecutor has become the persecuted.
I remember after I became a believer I didn't like it when people laughed at me because I was a Christian. My response was, Hey wait a second. I am the mocker here. I am the guy who has taken mockery to an art form. I love satire. I love making light of things. Making fun of things. And people are laughing at me. I was in the South a number of years ago and I saw a city with the name Mocksville. I thought that is where I should have been born. Mocksville. But I realized that because I was a follower of Jesus that people would mock me and would laugh at me. And would say unkind things about me. And sometimes even tell lies about me. And even threaten my life. I have had all that happen and more. And maybe you have had some of those things happen as well.
So now the basket boys if you will lower Saul in the basket outside of the city. And Paul enters Damascus. He came in with a great entourage. And now he leaves in a very humble way. What a difference a day makes.
The Church's Suspicion of New Convert Saul
Now here is the interesting twist in the story. You would think upon hearing that Saul had been converted that the church would give him a standing ovation. But the fact of the matter is the believers were still suspicious. Because in verse 26 we read, When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. Really? Yeah. No. He is not a Christian. There is just no way. Well where was their faith?
And that happens to us as well. You know we hear that a certain person is a believer. We say, Oh I don't know if I really believe that. And even after people are converted sometimes there are some rough edges. Okay. And we are very quick to jump down their throat. Oh they are not a Christian. Well why are they not a Christian? Well they cussed. Yeah. Shouldn't have done that. Yeah they are not a Christian. Well I wouldn't say they are not a Christian because they cussed. I would say they are a work in progress perhaps. Maybe we could put a little sign around their neck that says, Under Construction. And we could put a little sign around your neck that says, Jerk. Was it that long ago? Have you forgotten what it is like to be a new believer?
You don't know how this works yet. You are still working it out. You need some help. You need an example. I am not excusing anyone's sin. But all of us have some growing to do, don't we? And here is Saul. He was converted. As converted as converted could be. But they didn't believe it. They didn't believe that God I suppose was able to save someone as wicked as Saul.
Barnabas Steps In to Encourage
Enter our final unsung hero. Barnabas. Verse 27. 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 Ananias has done his job. He has prayed for Saul to receive the power of the Spirit. Got him out of town safely. Now the Lord brings along Barnabas who put it on the line and backed up Saul's story. Taking him to the apostles. We need more men like Barnabas today. By the way, the name Barnabas means son of encouragement. And we need people that are encouraging.
And I know people like this. That they just encourage you. You know. Some people think they have the ministry of discouragement. And criticism. I don't know if I would call it a ministry. I think they do it quite effectively. But there are other people that have an encouraging word for you. You know. And it doesn't mean that they always say you are right. Hey you know maybe you need to work on this and that. But oh man you are great. And I know you can do even better. And I am praying for you. And I am just looking forward to seeing what God will do with you. Oh thank you. You know. That is what we need. People like that. A Barnabas.
And that is what Saul really needed at this moment. Because often people fall through the cracks after they have come to Christ. As I said earlier they are introduced to a whole new world. This could have happened to me quite frankly. You know when I prayed on my campus. No one came up afterwards and gave me a Bible. Nobody said, Greg you need to start reading the Bible and praying and going to church. It was in the start Bible there for me. Here Greg read this. You know. Oh right. You wrote it. That is not possible. Well I did not write it. I wrote the notes. But you see the point is that is exactly why I put this project together. It sounds like a promotion now. But I guess it is in a way. But I wrote the notes in this Bible for people who are like I used to be who do not know where to start. They need someone to help them.
And that is what I really needed at that moment of my life. And the Lord brought a guy named Mark to me. I had never met him before. So here I am still trying to figure out what I do. And I even said to my old friends, I do not want to hang out with you anymore. I am not going to do what I used to do with you. But I did not really feel comfortable with the Christians yet. So I just said I am going to be a solo Christian. It is just me and God. You know. That does not work. Haven't you ever watched those shows on TV where the one animal breaks away from the others. Those are always the ones that get eaten. Right. And if you break away from God's people and you are not in regular fellowship with them you are going to find yourself vulnerable and in trouble.
So this guy named Mark comes up to me. Hey my name is Mark. Yeah. Okay. Hi. How are you. Hey you are Greg. Yeah. I am Greg. Yeah. I saw that you prayed and accepted Christ the other day. Yes I did. I did that. Yeah. Well Greg you need to come to church with me. Oh that. I do not really want to go. No. You are going to come to church with me. No. You are coming to church with me. Really. Come on. I mean he was friendly. He was not overly aggressive. But he just would not take no for an answer. I am going to pick you up. You are going to Come to church with me. Okay. And very reluctantly I agreed. He picked me up and he brought me to church. And I started growing. And he helped me. And he read the Bible with me. And helped me over that very difficult patch. And that is what Saul needed at this point. And Barnabas came along and helped him.
The Call to Make Disciples
Listen. This is the Great Commission. I want you to listen very carefully to what I am going to say as I bring this message to a close. Because this is something that is very close to my heart. And it is something that I have a lot of passion about. And I hope that you will internalize this. And it will become a part of your heart as well.
The Great Commission is to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Right? But here is what is often left out of the Great Commission. It is to go, preach the gospel, and make disciples of all nations. Listen. Every Christian is called to go into the world and make disciples of all disciples. I did not say everyone is called to be a preacher. Not everybody is called to be a Paul or a Peter. But you might be called to be an Andrew. You may not be a D.L. Moody. But you might be an Edward Kimball. You might be a behind the scenes guy. You might be a person that everyone does not know about girl. But you are there where you are and you want to do what you do for God's glory. So we are all called to go and make disciples.
Don't Stagnate—Give Out What You've Received
Here is the problem. There are a lot of Christians today that have never done this. They have never even thought about this. Much less make an effort to do it. In fact I actually think there can come a point in your Christian life where you do not need to go hear more Bible studies. Now don't quote that. Hear my context. There can come a point when you are sitting down and having a meal where it is time to push away from the table, digest your food, and let it be turned into energy and do something productive. Right? We do not spend our entire life eating food. Most of us do not. Some might. I hope not. The food turns into fuel. It turns into a muscle. It turns into productivity.
So we are wanting to hear more messages. Amen. I love Bible study. I love teaching the Bible. I want to help you understand the Bible. But if all you do is listen to Bible studies and you never do anything with it you are going to be in danger of stagnating. You are saying, Oh Greg, that makes no sense. You will stagnate if you don't hear Bible studies. No. You will starve to death if you don't hear Bible studies. But you will stagnate by taking in and not giving out. You see you have a choice. You can evangelize or fossilize.
Either you are going to take what God has given you and give it out to others or you are going to hoard it all to yourself and actually find yourself in a state of spiritual decline. That is when people get hypercritical. That is when people become sermon connoisseurs. That is when people become spiritually dead despite the fact that they have been a believer for a decade or two or three.
You have been blessed to be a blessing. So what are we supposed to do? We are supposed to go into all the world and make disciples. What does that mean? That means that we need to be like Barnabas to someone else. and take them under our wing and help them grow spiritually. See new believers are going to introduce life to you and you are going to bring knowledge and wisdom to them. You both need each other.
Be the Barnabas Someone Needs
And so my question to you is when is the last time you have attempted to bring someone to Christ? And my second question is have you ever taken a new believer under your wing and sought to help them grow? Barnabas helped the newly converted Saul to acclimate to the church. Can you help someone do that? You know what a lot of new Christians need? They don't need a theologian. They need a friend. They just need kind of a normal Christian that just loves God and seeks to follow the Lord and will show them what a Christian looks like. What a Christian acts like. How a Christian functions in culture. How a Christian does their job. How a Christian lives as a married person. How a Christian lives as a single person. What kind of movies a Christian goes to. What Christians do for fun. They need the kind of practical stuff.
They can come to church and hear sermons and that is fine. There is a place for this. But then they need someone to go out with them afterwards and say, Let's just hang out. And this is what the Christian life looks like. Is this making sense to you? That means you can all do this. Well I don't know all the answers to the hard questions. You don't need to. You need to just be a friend. You need to be a Christian who loves the Lord who is willing to influence someone else. And if you don't have the answers you can find the answers. Alright? By studying the Word of God or asking others that maybe know the Word a little bit more. But the point is we all have a part to play.
Invitation to Christ
So Saul now is committed to Christ. And the church had peace. But the world was never the same place. Because an unsung hero did his part. But maybe as you have come here tonight, you have been brought by someone who we could describe as an unsung hero. You know, you were brought to church. And no one brought me to church but someone brought you to church. Or maybe someone told you to come here. And here you are and you are sitting. You are kind of checking this all out.
So here is what I want to say to you as I close. As I want to say to you that the same Jesus that transformed Saul of Tarsus who used to be a Christian killer into a preacher of the gospel can change you. That means no matter what you have done, no matter what sins you have committed, what crimes you have committed, what bad things you have done, God can forgive you of all of it and give you a fresh start in life. But more than that He can come and live inside of you and give you the power to live the life He has called you to live. And more than that give you the hope that when you die you will go to heaven and finally make you ready for His return.
I believe that Jesus could come back at any time. He could come back tonight. And the question is would you be ready? You see Jesus because of your sin and mine went to the cross two thousand years ago and died in our place and paid the price for all the wrongs we have ever done. And then He Rose again from the dead. And now here He is with us right here standing at the door and knocking. And He is saying, If you will hear my voice and open the door I will come in.
Have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your life? Would you like to be forgiven of your sin? Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven? You say, Well Greg, I have gone to church my whole life. Congratulations. But that does not mean you are necessarily a Christian. Going to a church does not make you a Christian any more than going to a donut shop makes you a cop. How many of you have heard that before? Raise your hand. Not that many. All the cops are going, Oh yeah? Just doing a little background check in you right now, Greg. We will see.
Going to church is great. I am glad you have been raised in a Christian home. I am glad you have heard about Christ ever since you have been a little boy or a girl. But has there been a moment where you have committed your life to Jesus? Well I am here with Christian friends. I have a lot of Christian friends. That is nice. But Christian friends does not mean that you are a Christian. Does Christ live inside of you? That is the question.
Well I think He does. No, no. You will know if He does. The Bible says His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. I know I am a Christian. Not because I am perfect. Far from it. But I know Christ lives in me. Of this I have no doubt. And I wonder if you know that. And if you do not, would you like to?
Well I am going to give you an opportunity to ask Christ to come into your life as we all pray. So let us bow our heads if you would. Father I pray for any person listening right now, wherever they are, that you will help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to come to you and believe and be forgiven of all of their sins. We ask it in your name.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together, how many of you would say tonight, Greg, I want Jesus Christ to come into my heart. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I am ready to say yes to Jesus. If that is your desire. If you want Christ to come into your life. If you want to go to heaven when you die. If you want to be ready for the Lord's return. Wherever you are right now, would you lift your hand up and I want to pray for you. If you want Christ to come into your life, just lift up your hand and I will pray for you. Wherever you are, I will pray for you tonight. Just lift your hand up. Anybody at all? You want Christ to come into your life, lift up your hand. God bless you there in the back. God bless God bless you. Just lift your hand up. God bless you. God bless you in the back. Lift it up high where I can see it please.
You have fallen away from the Lord tonight. You want to come back to Him. Let me pray for you wherever you are. God bless you in the back there. Anybody else? Just lift your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else in this final moment you want His forgiveness? God bless you. All right. I am going to ask you that I have lifted your hand. If you were to just stand to your feet. I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up wherever you are. Even if you haven't lifted your hand but you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Christ. Just stand up and we are going to have a prayer together. Just stand up. God bless you there. Stand up. You won't be the only one. Stand now. You want Christ to come into your life. Stand to your feet. We will pray together. Anybody else? Stand now. Alright. Anybody else? God bless you. Stand up. This final moment. If you are going to stand, stand now if you would.
Alright you that are standing, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But You died on the cross for me. I turn now from my sin. And I choose to follow You from this night forward. Thank You for loving me, and calling me, and accepting me. I choose to follow You now, Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.