Don’t Underestimate God

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I want to congratulate everyone who was baptized today—can we show them our support?

It’s amazing to see how God is moving among us in this new year. People are coming to faith; people are being baptized; people are inviting their friends to church. As a result, the 9:00 service has been filling up, and we are basically all out of room at our 10:30 service. So in light of that, Chapel leadership has made a very exciting decision: it’s time to add a third service. Amen? It’s time. So beginning on Easter Sunday, April 20th, we will have three Sunday morning services: 8:40, 10:00, and 11:20. All three services will be identical; all three services will offer Chapel Kids. This culture desperately needs Jesus, and we are so excited about how this will enable us to introduce more people to Jesus. Some of you are wondering, “How can I help?” I’m so glad you asked! Here’s the main way you can help: every Sunday morning, attend one and serve one. Attend one of our services, and then put your hand in the middle and say, “I’m in. I’m not just a spectator; I’m not just here to receive; I want to give.” So I want to encourage everyone here to attend one and serve one. And over the next few weeks you’re going to hear about some great ways you can serve. But praise God! There is revival stirring around our country, the Chapel is growing, and it’s awesome to be part of it!

So…at the beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus looks at his little group of followers, and he says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses…” In other words, your life is about to take on a whole new power because of my Spirit in you, and then I want you to go out and tell people that it was me who changed your life. That doesn’t mean we’re obnoxious or combative or self-righteous; it means Jesus is the most important thing in our lives, and we cannot help speaking about what we’ve seen and heard.

But can we be honest? In all of our lives, there are some people with whom it’s really hard to be a witness for Christ. Right? Because they seem so far from God, and so hardened, and so antagonistic. It seems so unlikely that they would ever come to faith in Christ. Do you have anyone in your life like that? I do. And here’s God’s message for us this morning: “Don’t underestimate me. You might not have great confidence in yourself, but it’s not about you. Don’t underestimate me.”

When Stephen became the first Christian martyr, it says a great persecution broke out against the church. And one of the ringleaders of that persecution was a man named Saul., later called Paul. Let’s continue the story in Acts chapter 9, verse 1. This is God’s Word for us today…

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So

they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. This is the Word of the Lord.

Never in a million years would we expect Saul the church-hater to become Saul the church leader. But that’s because we underestimate God. And this passage teaches us three ways that we should stop underestimating God.

First, Don’t Underestimate God’s Hidden Work in Others. On the surface, Saul was fiercely opposed to Christianity. It says he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” His hatred for Christians was like breath to him—it’s who he was. He was targeting not only men, but even women—to throw into prison. The guy was brutal, and everybody knew it.

One of the people who knew about Saul’s reputation was a Christian from Damascus named Ananias. Ananias had heard the stories—about how Saul had given his approval to the stoning of Stephen. He’d heard that Saul had gotten authority from the chief priests to come to his city—to Damascus—and arrest Christians. From all outside appearances, Saul was anti-Jesus, anti-church, anti-Christian. I think it’s fair to say that everybody was intimidated by Saul.

But Jesus wasn’t. Jesus had plans for Saul. (This is a painting by Caravaggio called “Conversion on the Way to Damascus.”) So while Saul is traveling on the road to Damascus, he gets blinded by a brilliant light; he falls to the ground, and he hears this voice—the people traveling with him hear a sound, but they can’t make out the words—but Paul hears it loud and clear: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Isn’t it interesting that we can experience the same thing as the people around us, but they don’t hear what we hear, because God is working on us in a unique way. And God was working on Saul. He finds out that the voice is the voice of Jesus, and Jesus tells him to get

up and go into the city. So this man who’s so used to being in charge, finds himself completely dependent on others as they lead him by the hand into Damascus.

That’s how God was working in Saul’s life. Ananias had no idea that was happening—it was hidden to him. And so many times, with those skeptical, hardened people in our lives, God’s work in those people is hidden to us.

I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She was born to a Muslim family in Somalia in 1969. When she was five years old she was subjected to a horrific surgical procedure that’s sometimes done to young girls in some Muslim communities. When she was in her early 20s, she fled to the Netherlands. She was a brilliant person, she became highly educated, and she was elected to serve in the Dutch parliament. She completely embraced secular Dutch culture, and she hated religion. She focused most of her animosity toward Islam, but she hated all religion, and she was a devout atheist. In 2011, she married a man named Niall Ferguson, and they had two sons.

On the surface her life looked great, but there was something going on inside her. She was haunted by her past, and she was battling depression. In an interview, she said, “I did it with alcohol. I tried to get rid of that nagging void.” She saw multiple psychiatrists, and she said, “They would prescribe me drugs, and I would faithfully take them, expecting to be better. And I wasn’t.” Her husband said, “I thought we were done. I thought she was going to die. I’d almost completely despaired of finding a way out, all the accumulated traumas of her life.”

On the outside it looked like she was a success—great career, happy family life, resolved in her atheism. Little did anyone know—including her and her husband!—God was working beneath the surface. Because the wind of the Holy Spirit blows in unexpected ways. And we’ll come back to her story later.

Whoever those people are in your life who seem so defiantly opposed to Christ, you have to realize that there is so much happening beneath the surface that you don’t see. So do not underestimate God’s hidden work.

Here’s the second lesson: Don’t Underestimate God’s Strategic Role for You. So now, Ananias enters into the story. In a vision, God says, “I want you to go to the house of a guy named Judas, who lives on Straight Street.” (Interesting historical detail: Straight Street is one of the oldest continually occupied street in the world. Here’s a picture of Straight Street in Damascus today—isn’t that fascinating? It’s still there!) So God says, “Go to that house and ask for a man named Saul.” And Ananias pushes back: “I’ve heard all about this guy! He messed with your people in Jerusalem, and now he’s come here to mess with us!” And God says, “Go!” So he goes and he meets Saul—who’s been blind now for three days straight—ever since the incident on the road. He lays his hands on Saul, and he says—verse 17—“Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Saul’s sight is restored, and he’s so overwhelmed and convinced by the aliveness and reality and power of Jesus, he immediately gets baptized.

And Ananias must be thinking, “Did I really just play a role in the conversion of the most unlikely person in the world?”

Think about Ananias for a minute. He is basically a nobody. This is the only place he appears in the Bible—Acts chapter 9—then he disappears. We’ve got a city called Saint Paul; we have hospitals called St. Paul; anybody ever hear of Saint Ananias Hospital? No—because there is none! In other words, you and I have much more in common with Ananias than we do with Paul. Most of us are

not going to be famous; they’re not going to name cities or hospitals after us. But just like Ananias, we have an incredibly strategic role in God’s plan. Don’t underestimate that.

You know what the name “Ananias” means? One of the guys in my men’s group pointed this out to me. Ananias means “the grace of God.” Paul the Christian-killer should have been crushed by God, but instead what does God do? He shows him grace. And he shows his grace in the form of this faithful man named Ananias. Did you see the first words out of Ananias’ mouth? “Brother Saul.” Saul has been breathing out murderous threats against people like Ananias, but Ananias says, “You’re my brother now.” That’s grace. So think about it: who do you know who’s antagonistic to Christ, but God is going to use you to show them his grace?

Never underestimate God’s strategic role for you.

My friend Paul leads Bible studies up at Otisville State Prison in New York State. He’s had the chance to meet all kinds of people with very dark pasts, who have been transformed by Christ. And he likes to ask them, “Was there anyone in your past who planted a seed of faith in you? Maybe you rejected it at the time, but was there anyone who planted that seed?” And Paul said 99% of the time, the answer is “Yes.” You know who the most common person was—who planted that seed? A grandparent. The second most common was a parent. That blew me away. So listen—grandparents, parents—keep planting seeds. Keep showing grace. Don’t be shy to speak about what matters, and speak the name of Christ with the people you love.

And it’s not just grandparents and parents. The same is true for every follower of Christ. Never underestimate the strategic role that God has for you. Ananias didn’t initiate anything in Paul’s heart—God had shown up way before Ananias got there. But he did what God asked him to do, and that’s all God asks any of us to do.

And then finally, third point: Don’t Underestimate God’s Amazing Ability to Turn His Mockers into His Messengers. I think that’s the longest point I’ve ever had in a sermon. Don’t Underestimate God’s Amazing Ability to Turn His Mockers into His Messengers. So Saul gets baptized, he spends a few days with the Christians in Damascus, and then he immediately starts preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Of course everyone is really suspicious because they know his reputation. And that’s always how it is when an unlikely person comes to faith—at first, people are going to be suspicious and question if it’s real. But people gradually realize that Saul isn’t playing around—he’s a changed person.

And it says in verse 22: Saul grew more and more powerful. I love that. Because Saul had been powerful before—he was a highly influential Pharisee, very educated, respected. But now he had a different kind of power. It was a power that didn’t come from his accomplishments or his positions; it came from Christ in him. It was a power that couldn’t be beaten out of him or stoned out of him or scared out of him by putting him in prison. It was a power that strangely shone the brightest when Paul was suffering the worst, because Jesus said, “My power is made perfect in your weakness.”

Saul grew more and more powerful. Think about the irony: before, he was headed to Damascus to arrest anybody who followed Christ. And now he was standing in the synagogues in Damascus, trying to convince everyone to follow Christ. This is a total and complete transformation. Saul has gone from being a mocker of Christ to being a messenger of Christ. And he would continue boldly speaking for Christ until he drew his final breath in a Roman prison.

Never underestimate God’s ability to turn his mockers into his messengers.

I have a friend here at The Chapel who, years ago, was getting ready to go on his first short-term mission trip to Central America. So he was telling his family members about the trip, and he had an aunt who was not impressed. She thought it was a terrible idea, a waste of money, and why would you go and try force your religion on these people? So my friend went on the trip, he had an incredible experience serving them and learning from them and sharing the gospel with them. He came back and shared his experience with his friends and family, and his aunt was still offended by the whole thing. So my friend told me that story this past week. And he said, “Fast forward 17 years to last Friday: my aunt sent me pictures of herself at the Night to Shine that her church put on, standing there, smiling with her arm around the incredible special needs person that she got the privilege of hosting and showing the love of Christ to.” I don’t know all that happened to change her, but by God’s grace she went from being a mocker to a messenger of Christ. And God does that all the time.

I need to tell you the rest of the story about Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Despite her outward success, she was depressed and becoming hopeless. She described it like this: “having reached a place where I had absolutely nothing to lose, I prayed and I prayed desperately. And for me, that was a turning point.” She had been talking to some Christians that she respected, and she became convinced of the reality of Christ. And everything changed. On September 1, 2021, she and her husband and their two sons were baptized, to the great shock of many people.

Shortly after that, she agreed to something that many people would say was not a good idea. She agreed to a debate with the world’s most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins. If you’re not familiar with Dawkins, he’s the guy who said, “I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world’s great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate.” So she agreed to this debate last June, and I read a great review of the debate by a professor named Phil Mitchell. So I’m going to read you a few of his comments:

I was quite surprised that Ali agreed to this debate. She is a brand-new Christian. She announced her conversion last November… So she has little experience in a debate of this kind. Dawkins has been involved in this kind of debate for decades, has written numerous books on the topic, hundreds of articles and interviews. I thought the matchup unfair and one-sided. Like sending a middle school girl into the ring with the heavyweight champ.

But the debate went much differently from what one would expect.

Ayaan was asked to open the debate by describing how and why she had become a Christian. [She said] I lived for about a decade with intense depression and anxiety and self-loathing. I hit rock bottom; I went to a place where I actually didn’t want to live anymore but wasn’t brave enough to take my own life…. I had over a long period of time seen a psychiatrist, other doctors. I was trying to understand my condition and trying to treat it with the help of pure evidence-based science. And…last year I saw one therapist who said, perhaps it’s something else that you have. And she described it as spiritual bankruptcy.”

And then she talked about desperately praying, and finding Christ as the answer. She said, “I feel connected to something higher and greater than myself; my zest for life is back. And that experience has filled me with humility.”

Richard Dawkins seemed baffled. At one point he said, “You surely do not believe in the resurrection?” Ali said this:

I choose to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. That is a matter of choice. It’s a matter going back to: Is there something or is there nothing? I think you start with: there is nothing. And yes, for years I agreed with you that there is nothing. But if you come round to the idea that there might be something much more powerful than we are, something that caused everything else, then something like Jesus rising out of the dead…for that higher power is not a big deal.

After that Dawkins sort of threw up his hands and said, “I came here prepared to persuade you, Ayaan, that you’re not a Christian. But I think you are a Christian.”

My favorite comment on the debate came from a European atheist named Alex O’Connor: “Ayaan does seem genuinely transformed by her new faith: she looks happy, speaks humbly, and seems genuinely uninterested in point-scoring or winning any arguments. It troubles me not at all to admit that I found myself applauding her more than Richard Dawkins.”

To the great shock of everyone, this mocker of Christ has become a messenger of Christ. Just like Saul. And just like countless other people through history.

Is there someone you love that seem so far from God? Don’t give up them. And don’t you dare underestimate God.

Don’t underestimate his hidden work in that person.

Don’t underestimate the strategic role that he has for you.

And don’t underestimate his amazing ability to turn mockers into messengers.