The Instrument God Chooses And Uses

Surgery is a highly specialized operation. Or at least it should be. In the not too distant past there was an embarrassing revelation that came from one of the major hospitals in the area. It seems that hydraulic fluid had been mistakenly used in the place of a cleaning solution for surgical instruments. The repercussions of this event are probably shaping the conduct of those who are concerned with such things. Consider the surgeon’s tray. Before it is set up for the surgeon’s use there has been an evaluation and inspection. The instruments will no doubt be checked for flaws and defects. Failing to inspect these instruments can have disastrous results.
In the Book of Acts the birth of the early church was an exciting thing. God was doing something new. The group of people known as the church was empowered by the Holy Spirit. It was the Living Body of Christ. God was revealing His truth through the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The church was being built up with the teaching of the apostles and the prophets. The legalistic bondage of the religious tradition of the day produced many inspectors. One of these inspectors was a man named Saul of Tarsus. He was zealous in the protection of the institution that Judaism had become. And he was watching for people following different teachings of God that he considered to be treacherous and treasonous.
Saul was persecuting the disciples of Jesus Christ. He not only was present and in agreement with the stoning death of Stephen in Acts 7, Chapter 8 describes him as a man on a mission of destruction. He was “ravaging the church,” bent on stopping the advance of this fledgling religious movement by any means necessary. On the road between Jerusalem and Damascus, this inspector according to the Law of Moses met the One who had given the Law to Moses! Saul became the one who underwent an inspection. Let’s read the account beginning in verse 1 to get a better understanding of Saul’s inspection and his description as one of the instruments God chooses and uses.

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and 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 get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. (Acts 9:1-9)

This passage could be the basis for other sermons as well. We could have a lot to say about how wrong a man can be when he thinks he is doing right. We could say how dangerous it is to think that we have real authority when we operate in natural ways and do not even realize that we oppose the cause of Christ. And if we stopped reading there, and did not have the rest of the story, we could wonder what ever happened to Saul. Did he lose his life as well as his sight? This encounter was the basis of Saul’s conversion experience. Throughout the rest of his life, he could not stop talking about it. By God’s grace he was saved from the ways of Saul to live in the ways of God. He was chosen by God’s grace and for God’s use. One major lesson we can learn today is that:

GOD’S PRIMARY REASON FOR CHOOSING US IS TO USE US.

Let’s continue to read our focal passage:

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for 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 harm he did 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 bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. (Acts 9:10-19)

I. A CHOSEN INSTRUMENT IS THE PROPER INSTRUMENT.

A proper instrument is the perfect instrument. Vise-grip pliers may be perfectly suitable for primitive dentistry... on a horse! For humans we are blessed to have people who have dedicated their lives to perfecting the tools for the job. A dentist’s choice for dental work would be the proper, and therefore the perfect, instrument.
God chooses His people out their places in life. He selects them from the environment and life situations in which He finds them. In fact, He even uses their surroundings and experiences to shape and mold them for ministry. Moses was chosen to be raised in the court of a Pharaoh of Egypt so he would be familiar with their culture when called to confront it. Saul was not only a Roman citizen but a Hebrew who was highly educated in an elite school of Judaism so that he could argue God’s case with those bound by the Law and those of the Gentile world of Roman occupation. God chooses proper instruments and perfects them from His perspective. God is the specialist in His special operations.

II. A CHOSEN INSTRUMENT IS THE PREFERRED INSTRUMENT.

A few years ago I worked with a local survey company. With all the modern instrumentation it’s a lot easier to measure distance but some things you still have to do. You have to cut bushes for the laser light to hit the target. Immediately I knew that I had to do something about my bush axe. It was dull and ill fitting. So for a few days I took it home and sharpened the blade with a file and sanded and shaped the wooden handle. The last thing I did was to mark the bottom of the handle so I could recognize it when I needed to remove it from the back of the truck. It fit my hand and it worked much easier for the purpose it was made. It became my personal bush axe.
A preferred instrument is a personal instrument. The instrument is personal from the perspective of the one who is doing choosing. The Lord says of Saul, “He is My chosen vessel” The men in the company of Saul heard the voice but saw no one.
They all reacted in the same way. They fell to the ground. They all heard the voice. But only Saul saw what God wanted him to see. And it blinded Him. God chose him from out of the midst of other men. It was like a surgical strike. God chose the one He wanted. This is the way God chooses people. Mark 3:13 says that Jesus summoned those He wanted. God makes a personal choice when He chooses people for ministry.

III. A CHOSEN INSTRUMENT IS A POTENTIAL INSTRUMENT.

I am not a NASCAR fan. But I have a friend who is. He asked me once if I would go with him to his sister’s boyfriend’s place around Charlotte. This man was a crew chief for one of the NASCAR drivers and his garage was outside the Charlotte area. Now this team was not one of the major players on the circuit, but you never would have known that inside the garage. There were two separate but seemingly identical cars inside but what fascinated me were the walls surrounding the cars. It was wall-to-wall pegboard where the tools were hung. Tools they were using had the outline of the tool drawn on the wall. It seemed a little juvenile to me, like they were not adult enough to put the tools back in place. I commented on this and the crew chief told us that when they got ready to roll the cars out, he would look at the wall. If any tool was missing, if he could see the outline of where one should be hanging, then everything stopped until they found the tool. It had no place being out of place. Everything had a potential use. Shop tools belonged in the shop. When a shop tool was loose somewhere on a racecar, there was potential danger.
A potential instrument is also a peculiar instrument. God chooses His instruments to become part of being a “peculiar people.” They are peculiar in the sense of being appointed for a particular purpose. God told Ananias that Saul was chosen to bear the Name of God before Gentiles, kings, and the sons of Israel. We are not all called to be a Saul. But we are called at times to be like Ananias. We are called to respond to God who often does not give us the big picture. We too can be like Ananias and attempt to advise God as to the wisdom of what He wants us to do. Sometimes we question the choices God makes and want to tell Him that there are things about the person He is choosing that He may have forgotten or not even be aware of. “But Lord, this man is our enemy!” Have you ever been like Ananias? God knows what He is doing. Saul was waiting on Ananias like the Ninevites were waiting on Jonah. Ananias had to make a choice to choose to be used. He chose that God would work through him and trust that God knew how to work it all out. Ananias chose to let God work through him. He was chosen to be an instrument of God’s power.

IV. A CHOSEN INSTRUMENT IS A POWERFUL INSTRUMENT.

Cordless drills and screwdrivers have set us free to work more efficiently. They eliminate the need for dragging around cords which entangle. I can take on a project and move about with ease until…my battery needs recharging. Without a time to periodically recharge a cordless screwdriver it will become useless. My efficient instrument will not be effective. The instrument must have access to power to be effective.
A powerful instrument is a power-filled instrument. “The Lord Jesus has sent me…so you may regain your sight … and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Saul regained his sight which is no small thing to a blind man. But the greater thing is that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit which is life to a dead man. Often we ask God to move upon us, send us a messenger, and take away our suffering. "Lord, give us this Spirit," should be our prayer. I cannot give you the Holy Spirit. I can only testify as to its source. God grants the Holy Spirit. But He does not direct people to go to other people who do not possess it. He still works by telling people where to go to hear His word and receive His Spirit. Are you a Spirit-filled believer? Are you ready for those God will send to you?
Hear the words of our Lord: “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
The closer you get to the power of God, the more you can receive. You will not receive the power of God giving your life to things which are not God. We seem to want to get the benefit of the power of God but keep Him at a distance. We seem to believe we can keep plugging in extension cords to access Him. You only get to access the power of God by coming close to Him so we understand why this power is given.
The closer you get to this kind of power, the more dangerous it is. When you walk in the power of the Most High God, you will be a target for the god of this world. God told Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” God was not telling Ananias, "I’m getting even with Saul for how he has treated My people." Saul’s sin was paid for on the cross. God was telling Ananias that when He chooses a person, that person is chosen as an instrument for warfare. And God has chosen the conflict. He is taking this world back. This is what redemption is all about. We will suffer for the name of Christ. That is promised. Not only to Ananias but to every disciple. But in that suffering, there stands our Savior, our King, and our Lord. And He is still choosing His instruments.
In choosing His instruments, God also chooses us as the Bride of Christ. The language used is also used elsewhere in the New Testament for a wife that is chosen for life and chosen to be faithful in that relationship. When God chooses us as an instrument or a vessel, it is that we are chosen to be weapons of warfare and faithful wives to Christ, our Bridegroom. We are not to give ourselves over to idolatry.

Our “so what” today is simply this…

Do you ask God to fill you with His power, to make use of your potential, trust that He knows what He’s doing, and believe that the trials in your life are used to test His tools?

TODAY, WILL YOU CHOOSE TO BE USED??