Text: Acts 9:10-17
One of the most humbling truths
revealed in Scripture is that God uses believers to accomplish His divine
purposes. Ananias, who was wonderfully
used by the Lord, was the man who sought out and led Saul of Tarsus into
fullness of blessing. We read of him
only twice in the New Testament, in Acts 9:10-17 and 22:12-16, but he is
presented to us as the type of Christian whom God can use. Let’s consider the
following points for a better understanding of the topic:-
THE MAN WHOM GOD USES MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE BODY OF CHRIST.
God works through those who by
the miracle of the New Birth and the baptism of the Holy Spirit have been made
members of His Church, which is His Body (1 Corinthians 12:13). In Acts 9:4 the Lord told Saul of Tarsus that
in persecuting Christians he had been persecuting the Lord Himself, for
believers are members of the Body of Christ. He is the Head and they are
members of the Body – therefore, the disciples of the Lord and the Lord Himself
are one.
During His earthly ministry Jesus
had an earthly body and worked through that, but now His body is the Church,
and from Heaven He (the Head) works through the individual members of that
body. Ananias was a member of that body, and if you and I are to be used by the
Lord we too must be members of that body. This is the first qualification of a
successful soul-winner.
THE MAN WHOM GOD USES MAY BE A VERY ORDINARY AND UNLIKELY PERSON.
When God reached Naaman He did it
through “a young girl” (2 Kings 5:2).
When God wanted to lead Saul of Tarsus into the assurance of salvation He
used Ananias. But who was he? He was a disciple (Acts 9:10) – not an apostle,
not an outstanding man, and not necessarily a leader. The fact that God delights
to use ordinary people should be a great encouragement to many – look up 1
Corinthians 1:26-29.
THE MAN WHOM GOD USES MUST BE LIVING A DEVOUT, CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN
LIFE.
In Acts 22:12 we read that
Ananias was “devout” and “highly respected by all the Jews”. This means that
his life was above reproach, his conduct was blameless and there was no insincerity
about his testimony; he showed forth the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in his
actions and words and made “the teaching about God our Saviour attractive” –
look up Titus 2:10. God will only use those whose lives are consistent and glorifying to
Him. Is yours glorifying Him
daily?
THE MAN WHOM GOD USES MUST BE AVAILABLE TO THE LORD TO DO WHATEVER HE
WANTS.
Unfortunately some Christians are
not at the disposal of the Lord; if He told them to invite their neighbour to
come to church they would not be willing to do it; if He told them to leave
their job and go far away as a missionary they would not obey; if He told them
to give a certain portion of “their” money to His work they would not be
prepared to do it.
Ananias, however, was wholly at
God’s disposal. How do we know this?
Acts 9:10 tells us that he was living so close to the Lord that he could
hear Him speaking to him. Read verses
10-14, and notice the note of intimacy in this conversation between Ananias and
the Lord.
He was on speaking terms with
God. Can the same be said about you? Also, Ananias was willing to obey the Lord
without question. It is true he did ask
the Lord some questions, but immediately God told him that his job was to “go”
(verse 15) we read that Ananias “went” (verse 17). Instant obedience!
THE MAN WHOM GOD USES MUST BE FULL OF TENDER AFFECTION AND LOVE; HE
MUST BE A CHRIST-LIKE MAN.
Notice from verse 17 that Ananias
did not go to Saul and say, “You’re a wicked persecutor of the Church! You have
done much evil!” (verse 13). No – he put his arms round Saul and said, “Brother
Saul…” – and surely there was emotion in his voice and compassion in his heart
when he said this! Here is a great test: when
another Christian has hurt you, are you able to go to him and say, “Brother…”? Your answer will determine whether God can or
cannot use you.
THE MAN WHOM GOD USES MUST BE WELL-INFORMED.
We infer this from verses 13 and
14 – and look up and compare 1 Chronicles 12:32 and Esther 1:13. There is, however, a yet more important
knowledge that we must possess if we are to be ready for God to use us in
soul-winning service, and this is indicated in 2 Timothy 2:15. We must know how to use our Bible in pointing
someone to Christ.
Can you turn to the portions and
verses which show why we need a Saviour…why Jesus Christ is the Saviour we
need…why He is the only Saviour…and how, when and on what conditions He
saves…keeps…and satisfies…?
THE MAN WHOM GOD USES MUST BE QUALIFIED TO LEAD OTHERS INTO FULLNESS OF
BLESSING
Look at verse 17. On the very
threshold of his new life Ananias led Saul of Tarsus into the fullness of
spiritual blessing, for he showed him how to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”. Ananias
was obviously in the enjoyment of this fullness himself, and he knew how
imperative it is for any Christian to be filled with the Holy Spirit if he is
to live graciously and serve effectively – look up Acts 2:4 and Ephesians 5:18.
We can never lead others into
blessings which we have not experienced ourselves. Are you enjoying the
blessing of a Spirit-filled life?
*** Written by Francis W. Dixon |
Words of Life Ministries ***
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