Acts: Act Like God Can Use You

God can use every situation for his purposes, and Romans 8:28 gives that assurance without pretending God causes every evil thing. Stephen’s death and the persecution that followed did not come from God as something good in itself, but God used that pressure to spread the gospel into places it might not have gone. Acts keeps showing that God works through situations and people, not to build a brand or make a local congregation look impressive, but to grow his kingdom.

The tension between growing a local church and growing God’s church matters because a congregation can make the whole thing about itself. God’s kingdom becomes the focus when a church says the point is to share Jesus with the community, whether people come into the building or not. God’s work through a micro church can still be real kingdom work, even when the room looks small and the numbers in the seats do not “math up.” The downloads, the podcasts, the recovery conversations, the moms’ stories, and the online reach become reminders that people may never step foot in the building and still hear about Jesus.

Acts 8 and 9 put Philip and Saul side by side. Philip is running around, going north to Samaria and then south toward Gaza, because God wants the gospel to reach Samaritans and an Ethiopian eunuch. Saul, meanwhile, is breathing out murderous threats and trying to stop “the Way” before it spreads from Damascus into Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia. God sends Philip to build the kingdom, and then Christ stops Saul, the man trying to tear it down.

Jesus takes Saul’s attack on the church personally. Saul never had to stand around cussing out the name of Jesus for Jesus to say, “Why do you persecute me?” The church is Christ’s body, so persecution, ridicule, and hatred toward the church land on Christ himself. Jesus blinds Saul, sends him into Damascus, and leaves him there for three days, likely fasting and seeking truth because his whole understanding of God has just been flipped upside down.

Ananias receives a command from the Lord, not a suggestion. Jesus says, “Go,” because Saul is his chosen instrument to carry his name to Gentiles, kings, and Israel. Saul receives sight, receives the Holy Spirit, gets baptized, and at once begins preaching that Jesus is the Son of God. Paul’s own testimony later says he had been a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent man, yet mercy met him in ignorance and unbelief. If God can use Saul, God can use the addict, the abused, the anxious, the depressed, the single parent, the unemployed, the person who thinks, “I’m just too far gone.” God is not done with that person.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God grows more than local rooms God’s kingdom is not limited to what can be counted in a sanctuary on a Sunday morning. A small room can still become a sending place, a recording place, a praying place, and a gospel witness that reaches people far outside the zip code. The local church gets unhealthy when it makes growth about its own name, but God gladly uses a people who simply keep putting Jesus in front of the community. [03:10]
• 2. Christ takes church hatred personally Jesus does not separate himself from his people when they are mocked, persecuted, or targeted for belonging to him. Saul thought he was fighting a movement, but Jesus said Saul was persecuting him. That makes the church both deeply protected and deeply sobered, because Christ identifies himself with his body in a way that is not symbolic only. [22:41]
• 3. Truth can flip everything upside down Saul’s three days of blindness were not just a dramatic pause, but a holy disruption of his whole worldview. Biblical truth often brings a person to the place where denial becomes a choice to keep living a lie. God is patient enough to lay breadcrumbs, but honest seeking still requires surrender when the truth becomes clear. [26:16]
• 4. God’s commands are not negotiable Ananias had real reasons to fear Saul, but Jesus did not invite him into a debate. The word “Go” carried the authority of the Lord, and obedience meant trusting God’s choice of a very unlikely instrument. Faithfulness often begins where personal comfort, safety, and assumptions about who deserves mercy get confronted by God’s command. [31:22]
• 5. No one is too far gone Saul had been a violent persecutor, yet Christ made him a witness to grace. That does not excuse the past, but it shows that mercy can redeem even the same passion that once destroyed people. God can take the place of deepest shame, pain, addiction, depression, or failure and turn it into a doorway of help for somebody else.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:34] - God Can Use Anyone
• [00:56] - Romans 8:28 and God’s Purposes
• [02:35] - Kingdom Growth Over Church Branding
• [07:00] - Encouragement for a Micro Church
• [08:42] - Podcasts Reaching Beyond the Building
• [13:56] - A Brontosaurus Week of Downloads
• [16:32] - Philip, Samaria, and the Ethiopian Eunuch
• [18:41] - Saul Tries to Stop the Way
• [21:03] - Jesus Confronts Saul
• [22:41] - Persecuting the Church Is Persecuting Christ
• [25:21] - Saul’s Blindness and Seeking Truth
• [29:47] - Ananias Receives a Hard Command
• [34:43] - Saul Is Filled and Starts Preaching
• [37:14] - If God Can Use Saul
• [39:24] - Too Far Gone Is Not Too Far
• [44:14] - Prayer and Stepping Across Faith

Bible Reading

Acts 9:1-19
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. [00:16:45]

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [00:00:56]

Acts 8:1-40
And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. [00:16:57]

1 Timothy 1:12-14
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. [00:36:23]

Observation questions

1. In Acts 8 and 9, what are Philip and Saul each doing at the same time, and how are their directions and purposes different? [00:18:35]
2. In Acts 9:1-19, what specific things happen to Saul between the moment Jesus stops him on the road and the moment he begins his new life in Damascus?
3. What does Jesus actually say to Saul on the road to Damascus, and what does that show about how Jesus views attacks on the church? [00:22:41]
4. What are some examples of kingdom impact that do not depend on how many people are sitting in the room on a Sunday? [00:08:42]

Interpretation questions

1. Romans 8:28 says God works all things together for good. How does Acts 8 help show the difference between God using suffering and God causing evil? [00:01:37]
2. Jesus tells Ananias, “Go,” even though Saul is dangerous. What does that reveal about the authority of Christ’s commands and the kind of obedience he expects from his people? [00:31:38]
3. Saul spends three days blind, praying, and not eating or drinking. How might that time of blindness help explain what happens when a person’s whole understanding of truth gets turned upside down? [00:26:16]
4. Paul later describes himself as a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent man who received mercy. What does that say about the kind of people Christ is willing to forgive and use? [00:37:14]

Application questions

1. It is easy to measure faithfulness by numbers, attention, or visible success. Where is the group most tempted to think too small about kingdom work because it does not look impressive on the surface? [00:03:10]
2. Jesus takes the mistreatment of his people personally. How does that change the way each person should respond when faith brings ridicule, rejection, or pressure from others? [00:23:35]
3. Saul had to face truth that disrupted everything he thought he knew. Is there an area where someone may already sense that God’s truth is pressing in, but accepting it would require real change? [00:27:20]
4. Ananias had reasons to be afraid, yet Jesus still said, “Go.” What is one hard act of obedience someone may be delaying right now because it feels uncomfortable, risky, or inconvenient? [00:32:04]
5. Saul began speaking about Jesus right away. What would it look like for someone in the group to speak more openly about Jesus this week in a natural, honest way? [00:35:17]
6. No one is too far gone for the mercy of God. Who comes to mind when that truth is hardest to believe: a loved one, a person from the past, or even oneself? What makes that hard to believe? [00:39:24]
7. God often uses the very places of pain, shame, addiction, anxiety, or failure as places of ministry to others. Has God already begun to do that in anyone’s life, or is there a wound that still feels unusable? [00:43:34]