History is full of examples of how the life of one person changed the course of nations and generations. It was Moses who led the Israelites to freedom, Joseph who preserved his people and many others from dying in a famine, and Esther who saved her nation from a Holocaust.
As we continue our studies in the book of Acts, we come across one young person who made a big difference, by saving the apostle Paul from imminent death. We see from Acts 23:12-35 how the plot to kill Paul unfolded: forty Torah-zealous Jews who had sworn a solemn oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul would have him brought back to the Sanhedrin and assassinate him in transit. It was at this point where things seemed really desperate for Paul, that God was at work and specifically was working through one person. We see some important lessons about how God wants to use each one of us from this.
1. Know that He has put you in the right place at the right time (Acts 23:16)
2. Move out of your comfort zone (Acts 23:16)
3. You have to speak out (Acts 23:17-20; Jeremiah 1:7-8)
4. Be an obedient person (Acts 23:22; John 8:31 (AMP); Matthew 28:20)
5. Be confident that God will work when you have surrendered everything to Him (Acts 23:23)
Apply
Do you trust that God will put you in the right place at the right time to make a difference? A member of Paul's own family, his nephew, overhears this top-secret plot (Acts 23:16). Just at the moment Paul’s assassination was being carefully orchestrated and about to be actioned, God was orchestrating things, bringing about change, turning things in Paul’s favour. We must learn to trust in God’s timing. He will place you in the right place at the right time. Just like Mordecai said to Esther, ‘Who knows but that you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this?' So trust that God will put you in the right place at the right time to make a difference.
Are you willing to move out of your comfort zone? Paul’s nephew needed to act and go to the barracks where Paul was to tell him about the plot to kill him (Acts 23:16). He would have been risking his own life by being the informant to this murder plan by a group of terrorists. He had to move out of his comfort zone and risk his own future for the sake of Paul. He had to be courageous and push through his own fear to see Paul saved. To make a difference we cannot stay where we are. We must keep moving forward, keep being uncomfortable, keep embracing change because if you settle you can’t conquer. To see change, we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone, to speak out even when it seems unpopular, to act even if it’s different to the crowd.
Will you speak out for righteousness and tell people the good news about Jesus? There’s a time that you must speak out (Acts 23:17-20). You can’t keep quiet in the face of evil, even when there are risks involved. You must speak out what you know. We all have a choice to respond to God’s call and to speak out and act at the right moment. Like Queen Esther we must speak up even if we are nervous. Today there are so many situations in education, in the workplace, in the media and in our culture where Christians must speak out for righteousness and tell people the good news about Jesus. God used this young man to share what he had heard, and you also must be confident that God wants to use you, even if you too are young (Jeremiah 1:7-8). So remember God uses ordinary people to do extra-ordinary things.
Are you a person who tries to control things or are you obedient to whatever God says? This young man was obedient to the commander’s instruction (Acts 23:22). If he hadn’t been, he could have leaked things and Paul’s life could have been in danger. One of the secrets of success in life is to be an obedient person. One of the keys to being a real disciple is that you obey. Jesus said that a true disciple is one who obeys my word (John 8:31 AMP). Jesus also told his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:20 adds: ‘teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ Obedience is not just about resentfully doing what we are told because we have to. It’s about having have a heart of obedience and not independence or rebellion. The world and so many homes and churches would be much better places if there was much more obedience to government, to parents, to pastors, and others that God has placed in positions of authority. We need to leave things in God’s hands and not try and control situations. His ways are higher than our ways. Don’t try to figure it all out. Don’t interfere with what God is doing. Watch and pray and obey.
Do you have confidence that God will work when you have surrendered everything to him? Because of what the young man said, 200 soldiers, seventy horsemen and 200 spearmen accompanied Paul out of town to save him from the group about to ambush him. God delivered him and took him to a place called Caesarea. When we surrender everything, God will move on your behalf. He is God of the turnaround. He is a miracle-working God. He will do what we can’t do. He was with Paul in the prison, He was with the young man, and He is with you. Live close to Him and be sure that God can use you to make a big difference: in your family, in your work, in your church, in your community and even in your nation.
