Paul, Chosen by God (Acts 22:12-16)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
Scripture: “ 12 'Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, 13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. 15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ ”
<Introduction>
I hope that you listen to what I have to say very carefully. As we watched in the RUTC (Remnant Unity Training Center) news, right now, there are many messages being proclaimed regarding the importance of church officers and remnants needing to be trained at RU (Remnant University) and RTS (Remnant Theology School). This Friday, we listened to the Headquarters (HQ) business message and the message proclaimed to send all of the elites and smart students to RU. This is because churches around the world are shrinking in numbers. Pastor Ryu is emphasizing the importance of training the elites at RU and to save the closing churches of America. We need to raise up people and evangelists who know theology. At RU, they offer a course that hasn’t been offered before and the goal of RU is to raise up pastors and evangelists who know the true accurate gospel in America. In the midst of holding onto and praying about this, I was truly moved. Also within our church, I pray and hope that everyone who are junior deaconesses and up need to participate in receiving these theology classes. Also, our remnant deacons need to go to RU. We are not motivating you so that you can become a pastor or missionary but in order to save the world, we need to raise up skilled evangelists. And after studying theology, you realize that you want to continue to remain as a church lay leader/officer and serve the church, then that is okay. But after you study theology, you have concluded to become a pastor, then you must become anointed. I pray that you may be guided by God. When you look at seminary schools, you see students who study mindlessly and become pastors in that fashion but at RU, it is not that kind of seminary school. Right now, I have confirmed twice by giving lectures at RU but currently per semester, there are teaching seven courses so you can achieve and gain 19 credit hours through that. You do this for 14 weeks but most students at RU, they would take courses for a week then rest the next week and do this for seven weeks, then another seven weeks for a total of 14 weeks. teaching seven courses so that is 19 credit hours and so you will be receiving these courses for 14 weeks. Per course, you will be studying approximately 20 hours so Monday through Friday from 1 to 5PM, you will study four hours per day. Due to my current duty and schedule as a pastor, I was not able to fully dedicate to the course schedule but I would dedicate at least 16 hours for it and come back to my home. Since, my home is not located at RU and I can’t go there all the time, I would cover two lectures for one month and send all of my work over to RU for those courses. For me, I would listen to two lectures in one month. I wouldn’t just complete the assignments but there are also assignments for evangelism field experience as well as well as read 30 pages of a book and write a report on it. Regarding tuition, bachelors level is 160 dollars per credit and masters, 180 dollars per credit. If you take a full semester, that can get pretty expensive so what is great about RU is that if your tuition is above 2,000 dollars, they will give you a scholarship so that you can afford attending RU. Those who don’t have a college graduation diploma, may you take this opportunity to attend RU for three years and graduate with a diploma. If you take all of courses then you can graduate in three years. In order to be commissioned out as a missionary, you only need to study If you graduate from RU and in the future you want to be commissioned out and anointed as a missionary, then you will be able to. I think this is part of the flow of God’s will. This is part of the spiritual flow within the messages that we have been receiving. As you know very well, there are many seminary schools in America but these seminary schools have become very liberal. In this age, we need to be raised up correctly and properly, and that is through the RU. From what I think is, I think RU is the best seminary school in the world. All of the lecturers and professors at RU all have field experience. This is a school that has been accredited by only California but I believe that there are great plans for RU. I believe that RU will become the greatest and best seminary school. If you graduate form RU, then you be highly recognized as an evangelist. No other church will encourage their church members to study theology and go to seminary school. Most pastors actually discourage their church members from going to seminary school because they don’t be challenged regarding their knowledge but we need to encourage our evangelists as the greatest elites. I believe that this will become a great opportunity. May you have a new start in your life. You have lived a good life until now but we need to start a second part of your life. If you want to participate as soon as possible, then you can register for the November courses. If God has called us as evangelists, then we need to live our lives solely for God. We need to possess the same heart of passion for evangelism just like Apostle Paul so that we can save America, the pastors, and churches and make this our goal. May you become a church officer who truly saves America. I am going to emphasize this again to you, I truly encourage all of our church officers to attend RU. You can match your schedule accordingly to the courses. You need to stake your life for this and pray regarding this. Our remnant deacons, even if you are busy, I encourage that you may participate so that you can stand as at the platforms to save America. Don’t just lightly listen to this but may you hear it as God’s voice. There may be situations where you have graduated from high school but don’t have your official transcript then there other options to help you apply for RU.
1. God's Calling
1) Ananias' proclamation:
Verses 12-13 - Paul met Jesus and became blind so he was dragged into the region of Damascus but there was an absolute disciple, Ananias prepared there. But if you look in today’s scripture, Ananias was a devoted man to the law. He knew the law very well so when he met Paul, God allowed the devout man to the law to meet Paul. Ananias was an important person because God left Paul alone throughout his whole journey but when Paul reached Damascus, Jesus approached him. The reason why Jesus approached Paul on his way to Damascus was because He had Ananias prepared there. Why was this? Paul was known as the person who knew the law most well and was educated with the best education regarding the law. He knew this law so well that he was going around killing and persecuting Christians. But the person who shared the gospel to the devout person of law, Paul, was a person who also knew the law very well which was Ananias. What does this tell us? When we are ready to evangelize, the amount of preparation we have, God will pour down the same amount of answers. Paul met Ananias and the moment Paul met Ananias, Ananias commanded for Paul to open his eyes. The moment Ananias commanded this, Paul was able to see again. God used Ananias to help Paul see again. Paul who was filled with the ideologies of the incorrect law and went around blind, but the moment Ananias commanded Paul to open his eyes, Paul was able to open his eyes. Before Paul opened his eyes, he was spiritually blind but the moment Ananias opened Paul’s eyes, he was able to open his spiritual eyes. He was able to discover Christ. How much you prepare, then God will give you the answers accordingly to how much you prepare.
2) God's chosen:
Verse 14 - The fact that we have been chosen, this means that God has placed His hand on us beforehand. God grabbed our hands first before we met Him. Paul was someone who was killing Christians but even despite his past actions, God has chosen Paul beforehand. That is why Paul became an evangelist. Paul did not become an evangelist because he wanted to be but God chose him. This is the blessing. What have we done to be an evangelist? I am truly thankful for this. I have mentioned this before but the story regarding king who had a beautiful daughter and he didn’t want to allow just anyone to marry the princess. And, the king wanted his daughter to marry a brave man so in the front gate of the palace, he placed a huge pool of water full of alligators and spoke in front of his entire people loudly that if anyone is able to swim across the water then he can marry his daughter. But one gentleman started swimming crazily into the river and crossed it, and reached the end. The king told this man that he was such a brave man and has every right to marry his daughter but the man who swam across asked who pushed him in? He didn’t cross the river because he was brave but because someone pushed him in. This is the same way on how we have received blessings. God chose us so we have received these tremendous blessings. Those who have been chosen by God, you have three types of grace from God. This message is revealed in verse 14. These are the blessings that we have received as evangelists.
2. The Blessing of the Evangelist
1) God's will revealed:
The first type of grace is the blessing to know His will. To know God’s will is to have a new level of faith.
Acts 22:8 (“So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ ”) - Paul thought that persecuting Christians was part of God’s will but he realized that it was all part of satan’s schemes. He lived his life not knowing that he was running errands for Satan. I met a pastor in the region of Dallas and I asked him what are the prayer topics of most of his church members and he replied that most church members pray for their own happiness and for blessings of fortune and success. All churches’ and pastors’ prayer topics are all centered on Genesis 3, 6, and 11. They are praying this way not knowing that this is the path of making themselves their own god and have no choice but to live a life that is against God. But, within this, we are able to discover God’s will.
2) Seeing the Just One:
Luke 23:47 (“So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, 'Certainly this was a righteous Man!' ”) - This Jesus who died on the cross but the Jews were claiming Jesus as a heretic and a cursed man, and this was what Paul thought as well but the centurion was able to discover this glorious Jesus as the righteous man. This was a conclusion that Paul could not even imagine to confess. Then, Paul finally realized. Paul was able to realize that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for the sins of mankind as the True Priest and is sitting at the right side of God as the righteous, glorious being. Paul was able to meet this Christ. This was the Jesus that Paul was able to meet. This is the Jesus that we need to see and discover. Then, how can we discover this Christ?
Luke 11:13 (“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”) - Whenever we pray, the Holy Spirit comes and meets us. When we receive the power of the filling of the Holy Spirit, then we can meet the glorious God. We are the doing the 40-day prayer challenge but I am praying that I can all the give glory to God.
3) Hearing His voice:
Paul heard the voice of the resurrected Jesus. Jesus who ascended into heaven but this Jesus came and met Paul. This shows that Jesus is alive and working even now. This voice of God that Paul heard, we also need to hear as well. How can we hear the voice of God? John 14:26 (“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”) - Through the helper of the Holy Spirit, meditation, we can see Jesus and hear His voice.
Revelation 1:3 (“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”) - Those who read and hear the words of God will be blessed. And, those who keep His word, they will be blessed. May we hear God’s voice. May you take the pulpit message as your Rhema. This pulpit message is the voice of God. May we receive answers. If that is so, then why did God call us?
3. The Evangelist's Resolution
1) The reason for calling:
Verse 15 - The reason why God allowed us to know His will, hear His voice, and see Him is so that we can stand as His witness. Witnesses are those who see, hear, and know the evidences. There is a famous pastor who built the Crystal Church in California named Robert Schuller and there is a saying that he was the one who destroyed all of the churches of America and of this world. Why would people claim this? His messages were only focused on positive thinking. Many mega churches all around the world are practicing the same way and so many people are gathering to hear this. Many churches are emphasizing this because people are drawn this and numbers are increasing as an effect. But this is not the gospel at all. He was proclaiming that whenever you face a problem, then just think positively about it. This is not the gospel. What was the answer that Joseph received? He did not receive the answer to become a governor or David to become king. But the greatest answer that Joseph received was that God was with him. The greatest answer that we have received is that God is with us. So, it doesn’t matter what problems come to us because God is with us and this is the true gospel. In regards to mysticism, people are sitting around saying they have received true answers because they have been healed of their diseases but that is not the true answer. It may be part of the process but it is not the true answer. There are so many people who live their walk of faith deceived by the false answers in their lives. This was what Ananias was saying and commanding Paul to testify of what he saw, heard, and know. To testify of Christ.
2) Make your resolve:
Verse 16 - That is why Ananias commanded Paul to make a decision today and asked Paul why he was waiting? To call upon God. Seek after and look towards God. Make the decision to testify of Christ. That is why Paul ever since this, he was only focused on proclaiming about only Jesus Christ. This is the core of the gospel. This is the core of the basic salvation message. Jesus Christ is the answer to all of our problems.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”) - We who were dead, Jesus Christ saved us. This means that He came as the True Priest and saved us. Ephesians 2:2 - Without us knowing, we were slaves to Satan but we have been freed from this. God wants us to testify of Him as the True King. This was what Paul was commanded to do. Ephesians 2:3 - We lived a life where we were separated from God and only for physical sake but this was a life without God and living as a child of wrath. We thought that if we sought after the world all the more that good things will come but nothing is working out and destruction is the only thing that is waiting for us. But what is the method to solve this? It is through only the True Prophet, Jesus Christ who can solve this. This was what Apostle Paul testified about.
What happens when we receive salvation? We will resurrect into glorious bodies and stand beside Jesus Christ. This Christ who is sitting at the right side of God as the most glorious being, we will also stand before God as glorious beings. May we receive these blessings. May we open our spiritual eyes and make a decision. We need to become a witness. We need to testify of what we know, see, and hear.
<Conclusion>
Hold onto Isaiah 43:18-19 (“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.”) - God is saying for us to not remember nor hold onto the past but God promised that He will do new things through us. He promised us a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert which means that He will make the impossible into the possible. May you make a resolution today. God sees you as most precious and wants to give you the greatest blessings. When we look at success, our goal is not worldly success but our understanding of success is that God is with us. Our goal is to save this world. May we hold onto His Word and make a resolution today.
コメント