Acts 22:17-21
When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking. "Quick!" he said to me. "Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me."
"Lord," I replied, "these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him."
Then the Lord said to me, "Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles."
One of my favorite TV shows as a boy was “Mission Impossible.” Not the recent movie franchise starring Tom Cruise, but the old TV show that first aired in 1966, starring an actor named Peter Graves as agent Jim Phelps.
Every show began with Mr. Phelps listening to a tape recorded message:
"Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it....,” and then there would be some hair-raising assignment involving some kind of espionage involving nuclear secrets or evil adversaries. The the message would always end with, “This tape will self destruct in 5 seconds. Good luck Jim.”
I used to think, "How cool!"
What would it be like to get a mysterious and dangerous assignment that was so important that the very salvation of the world was at stake!
Then I discovered the gospel.
For the past 12 weeks we’ve been looking at the “Go” stories of the Bible.
God told Moses to GO to Pharaoh.
God told Gideon to GO in the strength that he had to deliver Israel.
Jesus told the story of the “Good Samaritan” to illustrate what it means to love our neighbor, then he said, “GO and do likewise.”
And we have learned that the gospel is always active; the gospel is always moving, growing and making an impact in the world.
And we see that again in this story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus and his transformation into Paul the Apostle.
In fact, GO is all over this story!
Saul is GOING to Damascus to persecute followers of Jesus.
Jesus GOES to Saul to confront him.
Jesus tells Saul to GO into the city.
Jesus GOES to Ananias.
Jesus tells Ananias to GO to Saul; then he tells him again to GO.
Then much later, in Acts 22, when Paul recounts his story he adds that the Lord told him, “GO, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” (Acts 22:21)
It all sounds so much like “Mission Impossible” to me!
“Your mission, Ananias, should you choose to accept it, is to go and pray for a man who just a few days ago was trying to arrest you.”
“Your mission Saul, should you choose to accept it, is to travel far and wide, among people groups that will be hostile toward you, and endure all manner of hardship in order to bring the the gospel that most of them might, in fact, reject.”
Has Jesus ever called you to a seemingly impossible mission? Has he ever asked you to do a hard job for his sake?
I believe the gospel is the power of God for salvation. It’s the greatest news any human being can hear and understand. But the gospel always comes with an assignment.
And gospel-sized assignments can seem impossible! But just when you find yourself thinking that way, remember Saul of Tarsus. Remember a man named Ananias. Remember that, with God, nothing is impossible.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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