“The Power of Total Surrender”
(Acts 21:37-22:29)
Series: The Church on Fire!
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church Henderson, KY
(6-8-08) (AM)
- Take God’s Word and open to Acts, chapter 21.
If you’re visiting with us we’ve been making our way, verse-by-verse, through the book of Acts and we’re now in the last section of the book where we read about Paul’s arrest and imprisonment. When we were last in Acts we read about the crowd’s beating Paul because they believed he was a heretic who was teaching the people to abandon their Jewish heritage. So they were beating him, trying to kill him, and a Roman commander and soldiers whisked Paul away from the violent crowd to take him back to the fortress for questioning. And as they were carrying him away the crowd was crying out, “Away with him,” which really meant him, “Kill him!” So that’s where we left Paul and that’s where we find him now this morning as we pick up the narrative in Acts 21.
- Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
37 Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?
38 “Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”
39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”
40 So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language…
- Pray.
Introduction:
It is often said in Christian circles that “if Jesus Christ is not Lord ‘of all’ then He’s not Lord ‘at all.’” If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. And what we mean when we say that is that God wants our total surrender to Him as Lord of our entire lives. Many believers find themselves lacking power and verve and vitality and energy in their Christian walk. Quite often this is so simply because of this lack of total surrender of one’s life to the lordship of Christ.
So long as Christianity is something that only takes place on Sunday mornings, maybe Sunday evenings, and occasionally on Wednesdays, we will live a life that is really no different than the life of a non-Christian. Oh, maybe we’ll be regarded as good, moral people, upstanding citizens and so forth, but following Christ is meant to be more than that.
I want to talk to you about something much more powerful than that, much more liberating than that—much more biblical than that! I want to talk to you about what happens when we live a life totally surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. What would it be like in your life if you moved beyond a sort of conventional Christianity, where you know, the Bible has its place on Sunday and then you live your other life on Monday through Saturday and Christianity is just sort of one thing you do in addition to everything else you do? What would happen in your life if Jesus Christ became the supreme reason you lived and everything else flowed from that? What would it be like in your life if you lived a life of total surrender to Jesus? I want to tell you that there is a power in total surrender. When we live a life of total surrender to Christ:
I. We have a God-given Passion (21:37-40)
Passion may be defined as “enthusiasm, excitement, or zeal.” In the Christian life this is an enthusiasm, excitement, and zeal that fuels a love for God and for others. See this in the Apostle Paul. Remember that Paul is being carried away by the Roman commander and Roman soldiers. The Jewish mob has been trying to kill him and he’s being taken away from them. Look again at the story. Pick it up in chapter 21, verse 37.
37 Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?
38 “Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”
The commander seems surprised that Paul can speak Greek. He thinks Paul is this Egyptian guy who stirred up a rebellion in Jerusalem a few years back. The Jewish historian Josephus records that event in his writing. Paul’s like, “No, that’s not me.”
39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”
That word “mean” means insignificant. Paul is like, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, a pretty significant place.” And Tarsus was significant. There was a major university in Tarsus and the city was known for culture and academic achievement. So Paul says, “I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”
40 So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
Now before we read what Paul said to the crowd, don’t miss this! The Roman commander and the soldiers were carrying Paul away from the crowd who was trying to kill him. Remember from last time in chapter 21 the crowd was beating Paul. They were literally trying to kill him. And here is Paul with black eyes, bruised arms and legs, maybe some blood trickling from his lip and he says, “I want to talk to those people…those people there who were trying to kill me.”
What impact do you think this had upon the Roman commander? What a sight Paul must have been! “You want to talk to those people, the people who were trying to kill you?” And Paul’s like, “Yeah. I want to talk to them. I have a love for them that comes from God and I want them to know that love, too.”
How would you like to love people like that? How would you like to love people who ridicule you at the workplace? How would you like to love people who make fun of you, take advantage of you, speak evil of you, and are downright mean towards you? How’d you like to love people who talk about you behind your back? Hey, look up here at me. Ready for this? You can! There’s a power in total surrender. You live a life of total surrender to Jesus and He gives you a passion for people. See, you can’t work it up yourself. You don’t just wake up one day and say, “I’m going to have a passion for people.” That’s why so many of you fail. This is a passion that comes from God in response to our total surrender to the lordship of Christ.
God gives us this passion when we regularly review and appropriate the benefits of the Gospel. I’ve been reading the great Puritan, John Owen, recently and have been blessed by his definition of communion with God. He says, “Our communion with God lies in his giving himself to us and our giving ourselves and all that he requires to him.” Then, listen to this: “This communion with God flows from that union which is in Christ Jesus.”
In other words—let me see all of you who are Christians. Raise your hands—okay. Owen is saying that when you and I reflect on who we are in Christ and what we have in Christ—our union in Him—then we have a love for God and a love for others that naturally flows out of our bodies and spills all over everyone and everything. You can love people, forgive people, share Christ with people. Why? Because you know what God did for you in Christ Jesus. This is Paul’s point in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Not every Christian enjoys that kind of power because not every Christian is totally surrendered to Christ. But when we are, we have a God-given passion. Here’s another thing: when we’re totally surrendered to Christ:
II. We have a God-guided Past (22:1-21)
That is, we can look back over our lives and see the hand of God in how He has uniquely shaped us and equipped us for living a life for His glory. Have you ever wondered whether God was guiding through all the things that happened in your background? Check this out in the life of Paul. Now he makes his speech before the angry mob.
1 “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.”
2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:
3 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.
Now let me stop right there and observe a few things. First, note that Paul speaks to the crowd in the Hebrew language, which would have been Aramaic. So he had already silenced the crowd when verse 40 says he “stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people” but now he speaks in their language and Luke writes that “they kept all the more silent.”
Then Paul gives his credentials in verse 3: “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel.” By the way, Gamaliel was a well-known and well-respected Jewish scholar. Paul’s mentioning him is like someone falsely accusing a Christian minister of not believing the Gospel and the guy says, “I spent years under the teaching of Billy Graham.” Then Paul mentions his zeal for God according to the Jewish law.
What I want you to see even now is how Paul can appreciate how God guided his past in order to use him in the future. Maybe Paul didn’t appreciate it when he was younger. His mother says to him, “Did you finish your Greek lessons and your Aramaic homework? Did you finish your studies?” But Paul can look back now and see and appreciate how God guided his past for God’s future glory.
Every one of you has been gifted in some way or another. Some of you have been blessed with some natural giftedness for study, or music, or athletics, or some kind of vocation or trade. Have you considered how God intends to use your past for His future glory? So let’s read as Paul talks about his past and how God guided through it:
4 “I persecuted this Way (Christianity) to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,
5 “as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
Paul is sharing his Christian testimony; he’s telling how he came to know Christ as Lord and Savior; how he was saved. There are three accounts of Paul’s conversion in Acts: chapter 9, here in chapter 22, and then again in chapter 26. We remember the story:
6 “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.
7 “And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
8 “So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.
10 “So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’
By the way, Paul asks two great questions there in verses 8 and 10: “Who are You, Lord?” and, “What shall I do?” Every man, woman, and child should ask those questions, “Who are You, Lord,” and, “What do You want me to do?”
11 “And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
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.’
By the way the phrase “calling on the name of the Lord” is an act that precedes baptism. Remember baptism does not save a person. Baptism pictures salvation. Paul continues:
17 “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance
18 “and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’
19 “So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. (it’s like Paul is saying, “Don’t you think they’ll listen to me given who I once was? I mean, I persecuted these Christians. Surely they’ll listen.”)
20 ‘And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
21 “Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ “
Paul tells the Jewish crowd that he met Christ on the road to Damascus. God saved him and then began to use him to share the Good News with others. Paul sees how God guided his past. Paul even reminds God (as though He needed reminding!) that he had guarded the clothes of those who were stoning Stephen to death back in Acts 7. I’ve always wondered what must have been going through Paul’s mind back when he was known as Saul, back in Acts 7, back when he stood there and watched while Stephen was killed by stoning. Stephen’s death as a Christian martyr affected Paul such that he mentions it as part of his testimony.
In fact, when you read the way Paul began his speech back up in verse 1, “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense,” do you know who else began a speech that way? It was Stephen in Acts 7. He says, “Brethren and fathers, listen.” I think Stephen’s life ought to encourage every one of us who shares our Christian faith with someone but feels nothing happened. Stephen was killed for his faith in Christ, but there was a man standing nearby who was clearly impressed. And God uses this man, Paul, to write two-thirds of the New Testament and reach scores of people for Christ.
When we live a life of total surrender we have a God-given passion and we have the wisdom to see that we have a God-guided past. God works-through our past to bring us to where we are today and to shape us into the people we are by His grace. God wants to use your past for His future glory. Don’t think that God can’t use your past for His future glory. He can! Quit regretting your past. Trust that in God’s sovereign way, He guided through it all and wants to use it for His glory. There’s power in that.
The power of total surrender means recognizing we have a God-given passion and a God-guided past. Thirdly, the power of total surrender means recognizing:
III. We have a God-granted Protection (22:22-29)
Here again we see the sovereign work of God in the lives of His children. Paul had been giving his defense before the Jewish mob, but things go crazy when he mentions that God is going to send him off as a missionary to the Gentiles.
22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”
23 Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air,
So the crowd goes nuts again, calling for Paul’s death because he mentions sharing the love of God with the Gentiles. This shows you something of the racial prejudice of the Jews in Paul’s day towards the Gentiles. So Paul’s in trouble again.
24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.
Now that’s incredible. The commander apparently didn’t understand Aramaic and he sees the crowd get all worked up again over something Paul says so he assumes Paul has done something big-time wrong and he figures he’ll just beat it out of him. I guess it didn’t occur to him to just ask Paul!
25 And as they bound him with thongs (that is, they tied him with leather straps to prepare him for flogging or scourging), Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”
26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”
27 Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.”
Remember that Roman citizens were exempt from flogging. So the commander asks, “Are you a Roman citizen?” Paul says, “Yes.” Verse 28:
28 The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.” And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”
The commander admits he obtained his citizenship by way of bribery. Roman citizenship was not for sale, but the commander was able to bribe a corrupt official. Paul says, “I was born a citizen.” Remember Paul played this card before, back in Acts 16 in Philippi except in that instance Paul mentioned his Roman citizenship after his beating. So he’s like, “Hmm, think I’ll mention it before this time!”
29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
The commander could have lost his job or even his life for beating a Roman citizen so everyone backs away. But don’t just see the work of man in this! See the sovereign hand of God at work in the life of a man totally surrendered to Him. God uses the Roman empire and Roman law to protect Paul so that he might get him to Rome just as Paul desired. In fact, we’ll see that God will ensure that the Romans foot the bill for Paul’s travels! That’s God-granted protection. God has more work for Paul to do so he intervenes and protects his servant.
I thought again of the powerful words of John Wesley, “I am immortal until my work is done.” Paul could say the same, “I am immortal until my work is done.” You can say the same, “I am immortal until my work is done.”
The power of total surrender means recognizing we have a God-given passion, a God-guided past, and a God-granted protection. That’s what the power of total surrender means, but how do we get there? How do we totally surrender to the Lord?
It really think we’ve got to go back to John Owen’s definition of communion with God: “Our communion with God lies in his giving himself to us and our giving ourselves and all that he requires to him. This communion with God flows from that union which is in Christ Jesus.”
Total surrender means that we first have union in Christ Jesus. We receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Then, frequently throughout each and every day of our Christian lives, we go to the cross and regularly appropriate the benefits of the Gospel, cleansing our guilty consciences and renewing our peace with God and with others. That’s the only way we can have that kind of power. This is more than a religion. It is indeed a relationship. Come to Christ and live in the power of total surrender.
- Stand for prayer
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