Be Ananias: Obedient Calls Lead to Transformation

Devotional

Day 1: When God Shakes the Pen to Restart Your Story

God writes our stories, but we often snatch the pen to scribble our own plans. Like a dried-up ink pen shaken to flow again, God disrupts our control to revive His purpose. Saul’s blindness became the blank page where God rewrote his legacy. Our resistance—whether through fear, pride, or self-sufficiency—leaves gaps in the narrative only grace can fill. Surrender isn’t defeat; it’s letting the Author finish what He started. [39:13]

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been gripping the “pen” of your life too tightly? What would it look like to hand it back to God today?

Day 2: Going to the One You’re Supposed to Fear

Ananias hesitated to approach Saul, the church’s greatest enemy. Yet God called Saul His “chosen instrument,” defying human logic. Obedience often means loving the unlovable, trusting God’s vision over our assumptions. Every Saul has a Paul inside—a future only faith can unlock. [47:24]

“But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.’” (Acts 9:15, NASB)

Reflection: Who feels “unsafe” to love or serve in your life? How might God be inviting you to see them as He does?

Day 3: Your Obedience is Someone Else’s Miracle

Ananias’ “yes” healed Saul’s blindness and birthed the apostle Paul. Small acts of faithfulness—a text, a prayer, showing up—ripple into eternal impact. The preacher’s mentor didn’t just offer a ride; he reignited a future. We’re all links in a chain of grace. [48:23]

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:9–10, ESV)

Reflection: Whose breakthrough might depend on your next obedient step? What’s holding you back from taking it?

Day 4: Scars as Ink in God’s Redemption Story

The preacher’s burns and bathtub trauma became testimony. Saul’s murderous past fueled his passion for Christ. God doesn’t waste wounds—He repurposes them into proof of resurrection. Our darkest chapters can become His brightest spotlight. [56:19]

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3, ESV)

Reflection: What pain or failure have you labeled “too ugly” for God to use? How might He rewrite it for His glory?

Day 5: You’re Always One “Yes” Away From Unimagined Purpose

Saul became Paul. A persecuted church birthed global revival. The preacher’s reluctant “yes” to youth ministry changed lives. God’s call isn’t about your ability, but your availability. The next invitation—to forgive, serve, or speak—could unlock eternity’s hinge moment. [01:06:55]

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’” (Isaiah 6:8, ESV)

Reflection: What “send me” is God whispering to you? What would it cost—and gain—to answer today?

Sermon Summary

Acts 9 speaks by name and sets the scene on the street called Straight. The Lord calls Ananias in a vision, “Ananias,” and the disciple answers, “Here I am, Lord.” The call lands right where fear usually lives, because Saul’s reputation is real. Yet the Lord reframes Saul with a single phrase, “He is a chosen instrument of mine,” and that word turns a danger into an assignment. The text makes the order plain: God places a call, a disciple gives a response, and the Holy Spirit brings a transformation.

The Lord writes that script, not a believer’s preference. The image of the pen drives it home: when God holds the pen, the story moves; when a person grabs it, the page goes blank. So the call presses a heart past comfort. Ananias is not a celebrity apostle, only an ordinary disciple, but the Lord uses ordinary and faithful to advance his name. Fear speaks first, but obedience gets the last word. The disciple goes, lays hands, calls him “Brother Saul,” and the Lord Jesus who met Saul on the road now meets him through a believer’s touch.

The Holy Spirit fills what obedience opens. “Something like scales” fall, sight returns, and baptism seals a new start. The persecutor preaches the name he once tried to erase. The text will not allow quick judgment on who is “worthy.” The Lord’s word “chosen instrument” breaks the church’s assumptions and sends the church to “all nations,” not just familiar circles. A disciple is always one faithful yes away from seeing a miracle up close.

The street called Straight also runs through local stories. A mentor who keeps calling, a church that keeps inviting, a camp moment that is more than a camp high, a slow yes that becomes a life given to ministry: that is the same pattern. The call lands, the response forms, the transformation follows. The old line holds true in the hands of grace: a person can choose to get bitter or get better. The gospel answers with power to forgive, belong, and be sent. Jesus meets people right where they are and says, “I am calling you. I love you. You are mine. I want to change you.” God does not call to a life of comfort; God calls to a life of obedience that invests in people while there is still time.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s call meets ordinary disciples God does not wait on celebrity faith. The Lord says a name, gives an address, and sends a believer who is available, not impressive. The assignment is specific, and the sufficiency is the Spirit’s, not the disciple’s resume. Calling lands in everyday lives because grace loves to work through ordinary and faithful. [43:04]
2. Fear speaks first, obedience answers Reputation, risk, and past wounds usually answer the door before faith does. But the Word “go” carries its own courage when a heart yields. Obedience does not erase uncertainty; it dethrones it. In walking toward hard people and hard places, a disciple finds God already there. [46:17]
3. Transformation follows Spirit-led surrender Ananias lays hands, Jesus is named, the Spirit fills, and the scales fall. Sight returns, baptism follows, and a persecutor becomes a preacher. The sequence matters because methods don’t change hearts; the Spirit does. Surrender opens the room where transformation happens. [50:03]
4. Invest in people for a season God often entrusts souls for just a little while. That window is not random; it is an appointment. When a believer chooses presence, prayer, and honest words in that season, heaven writes long chapters with short visits. Miss the season, and a page stays blank. [37:33]
5. Obedience outweighs comfort, every time Comfort asks for guarantees; obedience answers a Person. Jesus meets people in the room, calls by grace, and invites a step that cannot be outsourced. Life changes when a heart chooses yes to him instead of yes to ease. [70:49]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:05] - Students honored for choir
[36:20] - Ministry background
[37:33] - Invest in people; call-response-transformation
[39:13] - God holds the pen
[39:56] - Turning to Acts 9
[41:07] - The Lord calls Ananias
[41:38] - “Chosen instrument” redefines Saul
[46:17] - Fear gives way to obedience
[48:55] - Spirit-led transformation begins
[50:03] - Scales fall; baptism follows
[52:59] - Testimony: rescued and adopted
[65:59] - Called to student ministry
[70:09] - Invitation to obey Jesus
[71:30] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 9:10-18 (ESV)
10 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.” 11 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, 12 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.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 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. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 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.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized.

Observation questions

What was Ananias’s initial reaction when God called him to visit Saul, and why did he feel this way?
How does God redefine Saul’s identity in verse 15, and what specific mission does He give him?
What physical and spiritual transformations occur in Saul after Ananias obeys God’s command?
In the sermon, what example was given about God using “ordinary and faithful” people to advance His kingdom? [43:04]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think God chose Saul—a known persecutor of Christians—as His “chosen instrument,” and what does this reveal about His perspective on human worth?
How does Ananias’s shift from fear to obedience challenge our assumptions about who is “qualified” to serve God?
The sermon mentions that “methods don’t change hearts; the Spirit does.” How does Saul’s transformation illustrate this truth?
What might it look like for believers today to “hold the pen” versus letting God write their stories, as described in the sermon? [39:13]

Application questions

Is there someone in your life right now whom God might be asking you to reach out to, even if it feels uncomfortable or risky? What practical step could you take this week to obey that nudge?
Reflect on a time when fear almost stopped you from obeying God. How did you respond, and what would you do differently now?
The sermon emphasizes investing in people “for a season.” Who has God placed in your life temporarily, and how can you intentionally pour into them before that season ends? [37:33]
Saul’s transformation began with surrender. What area of your life do you need to surrender to the Holy Spirit today to experience deeper change?
Think of a time when someone acted as an “Ananias” in your life—someone who obeyed God even when it was hard. How did their obedience impact your faith journey?
The sermon says, “Obedience does not erase uncertainty; it dethrones it.” Where is God calling you to trust Him instead of waiting for guarantees? [46:17]
How can you cultivate a habit of saying “yes” to God in small, daily ways to prepare for bigger acts of obedience?

Sermon Clips

37s

“I always think about this. We're always a call away from a transformation. But our response can be the factor that will allow us to either experience the transformation or completely miss it. So what is God calling you to do this very morning? Has God placed something on your life that you've been wrestling with? Has God told you to go to somebody that maybe you've had some indifferences with? Has God told you to go to a place that you have no idea where it's even at, but there's somebody there that needs to hear about me? Where does God calling you to do? How are we gonna respond? Because we are just a call away from transformation.”

30s

“You think about this. If Ananias listened to what people said, he's a killer. He's gonna kill you. He's not worthy. Would we have had Paul? Would Paul have ever came about? Would we have had that early church leader? The second response that we see from Ananias, the first one was fear, but the second one was obedience. And when Ananias ended up responding out of obedience, there became a blessing from it. He was blessed because he got to see the transformation takes place in Saul's life.”

29s

“It's the same thing for us in this room. It doesn't always have to be the pastor. It doesn't always have to be the Sunday school teacher. God can use each and every one of us. God could use a farmer, a fisherman, a nurse, a doctor, anybody to go out and make a difference in the lives of people. God is simply using people to advance his kingdom who are ordinary and faithful. And God is calling us to go, to go to somebody, go somewhere. Are we obedient enough to do that?”

44s

“And what I'm reminded is it's really not me doing it. It's the holy spirit through me that does it. And so that's what I wanna like challenge each and every one of us in this room. Like, do do to to I love the thing that we read here in the story that Ananias And was not somebody that was a well known leader, somebody famous, no king. But he was just a man, a disciple, a follower of Jesus Christ. And when God placed that call on his life, Ananias first had fear, but he ended up being obedient and did that.”

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