Seekers Finders

Acts 9:9-12

And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 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.

As we have discussed before, Damascus sounds an awful lot like our English word damask. In olden days, this was a fabric used to make theatre masks. Is it not strange that in this place Saul cannot see. He has neither eaten nor drunken. He appears to be fasting; to the untrained eye it looks like he might die any day now. If you remember, so did Daniel all alone by the river in Babylon according to Daniel 10:2-4. It only looks this way for now. But I can assure you that one of two things are going on. If you were an early believer, you might be tempted to say, 'my look at Saul; he is getting what he deserves for what he has done.' Such a view is not of God but rather from one such as yourself. How many of you though know the other viewpoint that is of the Lord. This we will soon see that as with anything it takes some time to bring forth. Now that Saul's character has been established let us look at his position. It should be seen that when God changes a man, it is immediate. It is nothing less than total deliverance. This is how you know the hand of God from the hand of the devil. It is even by their fruits borne from the life well-lived of Matthew 7:16. By this are the believers known from those who are not. We have discussed this before. It must first be discussed in such a place as this so we can move beyond it. Such things are indeed necessary after all that Saul has seen and known. In later texts of Revelation 3:9, Jesus will even go so far as to call such of the synagogue of Satan. Here Saul is praying and fasting for a couple of things. But he will neither swell up with grief, hunger, or thirst nor will he die because of the hand of the Lord upon him. That should be all the proof needed of a changed life.

Immediately as he was delivered, the evil spirit left him. It left him in a worse state than at first as in Luke 11:22-24 but leave him it did. Now all that is left is a calling unto the Lord. How many know that when he is in the house, nothing will ever be the same. Then again, there was another of the sort who had the first point of view. His name was Ananias. Now I know some of you hear that name and have questions. I for one would like to know if this is the same who married Saphira, sold the land, and lied to the Lord in Acts 5:1-11. Could this not be the same Ananias that dropped dead before the Lord. I find that to be neither here nor there at this point; God did not see fit to tell us. Rather what should be seen is that this man, unlike the other, is greatly changed. Clearly, he knows nothing of purchase, profit, and praise from the disciples. The Lord appeared in a vision, called him, and sent him where he would. But the way the Lord appeared is also important. He came after the appearance unto Samuel as a little boy of the temple according to 1 Samuel 3:1-21. There is a reason for this, and it is not the Lord calling a grown man childish. Rather, the fear that both Saul and the Lord induced made him feel very much like a small child before them. The Lord knew such things and believe me, understood. He knew where both Saul and Ananias had been and who they would become. As some of us could very well be the same, it is so nice to see these dealings done in tenderness.

And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

First, Saul prayed for deliverance from this synagogue of Satan. He prayed that whomever God sent would be for his deliverance. He prayed they came neither to destroy him nor haul him back to Jerusalem a captive. He does not want to go back if you remember. After all this, it is certain that death or a fate far worse awaited his return. We will speak even more on this later about Saul and where he wished not to go. See, Saul was from a place called Tarsus. In that day they made many ships to sail upon the high seas. You might wonder how come Saul was so far away from home. As we will soon know, in all our comings and goings there is the Lord. Notice now how deliverance comes to the street known as Straight. Broad is the way of Matthew 7:13 leading to death, but straight are the paths of life. Remember as I said before that in Damascus the lost and found meet. Here has your past met up with your future. Your purposes and your promises meet when God brings you to your Damascus. See, Saul was about to meet up with Saul. Little Ananias was about to meet up with big Ananias through the power of God. You might not see it now.

If you go on just a little further, you also will run into your Damascus. Do not turn back now to go home to all you knew before. Just keep going straight a little longer. Sometimes your dreams show you what God is doing, will do, or has already done. Any day now it will work out on your behalf. God has the answer coming for you if you wait just a little longer. Now I know this sending probably was not what Ananias wanted to hear. See, when God gives visions and pours out his Spirit in Joel 2:28, he does not just tell you what is to come or what has been. Rarely does he give revelation without knowledge. Nor will knowledge come without understanding. Could it be that God has come to the house to clean up your nonsense and the mess you made. God has given Ananias a set of specific kingdom instructions. In them, we see that God promised exactly how it would all play out. Sure enough, little boy Ananias will meet up with grown up Ananias in a minute. But there is a holy purpose to be seen, even that of the receiving of Saul's sight. There is ministry to be had in this place of deliverance. Some of you might think that Saul is in there all alone praying, fasting, seeing nothing, and hallucinating by now. But this is all about to change.