Dear God
A Sunday School Teacher asked her class to write notes to God. Here are some notes they handed in:

o Dear God: Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you have.
o Dear God: I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the world. There are only four people in our family and I'm having a hard time loving all of them.
o Dear God: Did you mean for the Giraffe to look like that or was it an accident?
o Dear God: I went to this wedding and they kissed right in the church. Is that okay?
o Dear God: Did you really mean "do unto others as they do unto you?" because if you did, then I'm gonna get my brother good.
o Dear God: Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy.
o Dear God: My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right. They're just kidding, aren't they?
o Dear God: We read that Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday School they said you did it. So, I bet he stole your idea.

Kids say and pray the funniest things. Today we want to talk about . . .


Short Prayers That Will Change Your Life
I've encouraged you to pray a prayer guaranteed to have an answer: "Lord, teach me to pray." I emphasized how "short prayers pierce heaven," even the simplest cry for help, "Lord, help me." We also examined seven dangerous "Lord, change me" prayers - "Lord, bless me . . . search me . . . break me . . . stretch me . . . lead me . . . fill me . . . use me!" Today, we will look at the prayer of Saul turned Paul, "What shall I do, Lord?"

The second most significant person in church history next to Jesus is Paul. Paul wrote one-fourth of the New Testament. Two-thirds of Acts tells Paul's story. Paul became the principal "bridge of God" from the Jews to the Gentiles. Paul was the greatest missionary of all time. At the center of his conversion encounter with God is a short prayer that changed his life, "What shall I do, Lord?" Let's listen to . . .


The Call of God in Saul/Paul's Life, Acts 22:1-16

Saul's Personal Mission - He Thought He Was Doing Right!
Acts 22:1_5 "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." [2] When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: [3] "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. [4] I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, [5] as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

Saul was a fanatical Jew, born in Tarsus but raised in Jerusalem, trained by a highly esteemed teacher and religious leader. Saul modeled himself after zealous Old Testament people like Phinehas and Elijah. These men were full of religious zeal. Saul wanted to pursue, root out, arrest, and imprison Christians wherever they fled. Having authorization from the Sanhedrin would certainly have had a chilling effect on the Church. Saul thought he was doing right.


Saul's Dramatic Conversion - The Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus Changed Him!
Acts 22:6_9 "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. [7] I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' [8] "'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. [9] My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

Saul experienced a combination of multiple supernatural aspects in his conversion. Since his conversion is recorded in Acts 9, 22, and 26, it is important to study. Drawing from all three chapters, we first see he experienced the . . .

Flashing of a Supernatural Light - A Visible Manifestation of the Glory of God. Acts 22:6 reads, "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me." Imagine being in the Middle East under the noonday sun, and then being enveloped in yet a brighter light! That's what happened to Saul! In the early 1970s Jack Hayford had been pastoring The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California. He was struggling with a lethargic congregation that had plateaued at about 100 people. Then one Saturday, Jack went into the sanctuary alone and saw it filled with a silvery mist. He says, "No earthly dust had the glowing quality that this mist possessed as it filled the whole room, even where the sunlight was not shining." God had filled the sanctuary with his glory and a church growth phenomenon began that has reached about 10,000 people in average attendance. The light of God shone around Saul - a visible manifestation of the glory of God. He also . . .

Seeing a Vision of the Risen Jesus.
Acts 9:17 and 27 undrescore: "the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you" (17), and that he "had seen the Lord" (27). A vision of Jesus is unusual, but it does happen. In a certain province in China, a woman who had never been in contact with Christians was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. Jesus came to her, ministered to her, and healed the brain tumor. Then he told her to travel to a certain nearby village where she would learn who he was. She obeyed, contacted a group of house church believers, learned that her "doctor's" name was Jesus Christ, and became a faithful Christian. Saul had a vision of Jesus. He also . . .

Falling to the Ground - Being Overcome by the Power of God. Mentioned in all three accounts, Paul says in Acts 22:7, "I fell to the ground. . . ." Have you been so overcome by the power of God that you fell to the ground? Saul did. When the Temple was dedicated in the Old Testament, the Bible says that the glory of the God filled the Temple and the priests could not stand. Instances like this were described in the ministry of John Wesley and in the American Great Awakening. Jonathan Edwards frequently mentioned this also. No doubt there can be carnal abuses and demonic counterfeits, but this phenomenon can be a genuine manifestation of the power of God. Then Saul . . .

Hearing the Voice of God. In Acts 22:7, Saul says, "I . . . heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'" Saul heard the audible voice of God so clear that he could quote it verbatim. This was more than just an inner impression or a general sense of what the Lord is saying, but actual words spoken by God that could be quoted. In the levels of hearing God's voice, this way is rare. Still, the most important thing taking place was not all these unusual experiences, but . . .

Experiencing the New Birth. Everything that has happened so far was and is unusual, not the norm. The common factor for Saul and for us is that he was converted, changed, born again. That is the main thing! In this singular encounter with the risen and ascended Lord Jesus, Saul was converted to Christ:

John 1:13b born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

A supernatural light, a vision, a falling under the power of the Spirit, and hearing the voice of God are not very common when someone experiences a new spiritual birth. But it does sometime happen. Sundar Singh was a Christian from India, converted through a vision, and disinherited by his father. But he became an itinerant preacher in Asia and Europe. His conversion like Paul's came after a period of bitter hostility to the gospel. Praying in his room in the early morning of December 18, 1904, he saw a great light. These are his words:

"Then as I prayed and looked into the light, I saw the form of the Lord Jesus Christ. It had such an appearance of glory and love. If it had been some Hindu incarnation, I would have prostrated myself before it. But it was the Lord Jesus Christ whom I had been insulting a few days before. I felt that a vision like this could not come out of my own imagination. I heard a voice saying in Hindustani, 'How long will you persecute me? I have come to save you; you were praying to know the right way. Why do you not take it?' The thought then came to me, 'Jesus Christ is not dead but living and it must be he himself.' So I fell at his feet and got this wonderful Peace which I could not get anywhere else. This is the joy I was wishing to get. When I got up, the vision had all disappeared, but although the vision disappeared the Peace and Joy have remained with me ever since." Like Paul, Sundar Singh experienced a dramatic conversion - he encountered the risen and ascended Lord Jesus! He also experienced . . .


God's Divine Call - The Lord Recruited Saul into Missionary Service!
Acts 22:10_16 "'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. "'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' [11] My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. [12] "A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. [13] He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him. [14] "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. [15] You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. [16] And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'

What is most striking here is that as soon as Saul was converted, he immediately called Jesus Lord and submitted himself to do whatever God wanted! If someone had asked him later, "Paul, why did you become a missionary to the Gentiles?" He could well have answered, "Because God told me to." This commissioning came to him not only directly from God, but also through a prophecy given by a layperson, Ananias.

Ananias was the key link to confirm the vision Saul had, heal him, release the Holy Spirit upon him, and baptize him in water! He was the first to call Saul "brother." Ananias was God's agent and mouthpiece. For this occasion, Ananias served as a prophet - he had nothing to say, but the words that God put in his mouth. He said what God wanted him to say - through him Christ himself was commissioning Saul to be his ambassador, and calling him to be a missionary.

Notice how Paul described God's words in recruiting him into missionary service on three different occasions:

Acts 9:15b This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.

Acts 22:15, 21 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. [21] "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

Acts 26:16b_18 'I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. [17] I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them [18] to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
The Lord called Paul to world evangelization, especially as a missionary to the Gentiles. In these endeavors, he would suffer. People would oppose him. He would experience spiritual warfare. But through his missionary career, many people were taken from the power of Satan to God. And multitudes in the centuries to follow have come from darkness to light through the spread of the gospel.

George Littleton was a scholar in the 19th century that was convinced that the conversion of Saul of Tarsus into the Paul the Apostle was bogus. For him this singular event was the key to disproving the credibility of the New Testament. He reasoned that anyone so opposed to the church could not become a believer. But a funny thing happened to Littleton in the midst of his investigation. He himself had an encounter with the same Jesus who had changed Saul. Littleton became a believer after studying Paul's conversion."

My prayer is that we would see unsaved people converted and called by God in any way God chooses, quiet or dramatic, only that it happens! We've heard Paul's story; now let's hear your story. Now let's bring this message home. It starts with a question. It turns into a prayer. And it explodes into a mission. It continues with a quest. Let's talk about . . .


The Call of God in Your Life

Ask Your Question - "What is my God-given destiny?"
Do you know what God wants to do in your life? Do you know what is your God-given destiny? Do you what is your life calling, your life purpose, your life mission, your life message? Every Christian, every family, every church, every city, every country has a divine destiny. Each of us has a wonderful destiny in God waiting to be discovered and fulfilled. Someone said, "If you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it." Sad to say, that is the way many people direct the energies of their lives - haphazardly. You need a clear target. You need to discover the specific purposes God has for your life.

Now, of course, every Christian has a general message that God has for them to share with the world. The purpose of our church is "to bring people to Jesus and into membership in his family, build them up into maturity, train them for ministry, send them out in mission, in order to magnify God." Of course, those same purposes shape and guide our individual lives - worship, discipleship, evangelism, fellowship, and ministry. God made us, for example, to tell others about Christ. We are to share the good news. We're to pass it on. God wants us to share that Word, to share God's love. That is our duty.

But beyond these general purposes, God has a unique message he wants you to share based on your particular spiritual gifts, your heart, your abilities, your personality, your experiences, your background. Your unique message emerges from the way God wired you, based on your values, based on the interests he gave you. That unique message is your God-given destiny. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself the question, "What is my God-given destiny?" Have you ever prayed about it? Maybe you've asked yourself the question, but you haven't asked God. That's the next step.


Pray Your Prayer - "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
"Lord, what do you want me to do with my life? What should I do with what you gave me? When I get to the end of my life, what is it that you want me to present to you as a trophy of your grace?" Maybe you've asked God those questions before, but circumstances have entered your life, and it's time to pray this prayer again with new energy.

A little girl called out, "Mommy, you know that vase in the china cabinet - the one that's been handed down from generation to generation?" "Yes, dear, I know which one you mean. What about it?" "Well, Mommy, I'm sorry, but this generation just dropped it!"

Some earthly possessions have sentimental value and to break them is a great loss. But how much more tragic it would be for a generation to "drop it" spiritually - to fail to pass along the godly heritage they have received! That would be an eternal loss. We want to pass on God's truth and love from generation to generation. What is your contribution?

At the critical moment of Saul's conversion, he understood exactly what was happening. God saved him to serve others! He asked, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). What is more startling is that we're often so slow to get it. We ask God questions. We listen for a response.

o Samuel said to God, "Speak, for your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10).
o Mary, the close friend of Jesus, "sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said" (Luke 10:39).
o Jesus himself often went off alone to ponder the will of the Father for his life. The Gospel records, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mark 1:35).

A few years ago, Jack Eckerd, founder of the Eckerd drugstore chain, committed his life to Christ. Shortly afterward as he walked through one of his stores, he noticed the magazine racks with their glossy copies of Playboy and Penthouse. Although Eckerd was retired from active management, he called the president of the company and urged him to get rid of those pornographic magazines. The president protested because they gained substantial profits from their sales. Being the largest stockholder, Eckerd himself stood to lose a lot of money by such a decision. But he remained firm in his objection, and he prevailed. They removed the offensive magazines from all 1700 drugstores. When they asked him what motivated him to take this action, Eckerd replied, "God wouldn't let me off the hook!"

When Saul surrendered his life to Christ, his first response was a question that would govern his decisions for the rest of his days. In today's vocabulary, he asked, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" You, too, must seek an answer to that penetrating question. Your question may be concerning yourself, your home, your business. You might be asking the question about school, or the community, or politics, or a church ministry. God has a unique purpose for your life.

No sooner had Saul been converted, commissioned, healed, filled with the Spirit, and baptized, he was out witnessing for Jesus Christ. From lion to lamb. From persecutor to missionary. From commissioned by the high priest to the synagogues of Damascus to being commissioned by the Most High God to the world. From hunting down Christians to proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, who had been exalted by God to sit at his right hand. He understood immediately that BEING a Christian meant DOING something for God. Your Prayer - "Lord, what do you want me to do?" leads to . . .


Fulfill Your Mission - "I delight to do your will, O my God!"
The psalmist David prayed it and so did Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews tells us.

Psalm 40:7_8 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come__ it is written about me in the scroll. [8] I desire [chaphets] to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

The word "desire" in the Hebrew is chaphets (khaw-fates), which means "to delight, to desire, to be pleased to do a thing." God's will for your life is something you enjoy doing! Paul had work assigned to him by God - work as an apostle, a missionary, a church planter, an evangelist. What is your life mission? My challenge to you is to get alone with God. Ask God: "What is my God-given destiny? What do you want me to do?" Write out what you believe God is saying to you. Share it with a few others to get confirmation, and go on revising it for the rest of your life.

We need the insights of others, because we can deceive ourselves. As a man was driving in Washington, D.C., he was searching for God's will for his future. His car ran out of gas in front of the Philippine embassy. He took it as a sign of God's will he should go to the Philippines as a missionary. I wonder what he would have done if he were single and stuck on an elevator with a single young lady named Mary!

I first wrote out my life mission while at seminary. It shaped the next decade of my life. I have fine-tuned it since. Listen to God. Seek the Lord until you know for sure. Write out your life mission. Then DO it! It will be the most thrilling and fulfilling part of your life. Other people can give you advice, but only God can tell you specifically. Ask him! Paul later said that he was faithful to fulfill his vision from heaven.

Acts 26:19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.

He was compelled to preach the gospel. Likewise, the same passion must grip us: "I must do it." God's call on you might be to be an intercessor or a math teacher or a mother. Whatever it is Fulfill Your Mission with celebration - "I delight to do your will, O my God!" Then . . .

Continue Your Quest - "Lord, what do you want me to do today? What's my next step?"

o "God, what is the next step in my relationship with you?"
o "God, what's the next step in the development of my character?"
o "God, what's the next step in my family life?"
o "God, what's the next step in my ministry?"
o "God, what are you saying to me today?
o "God, what are saying to me through this Scripture passage?"
o "God, what's the next step in my vocation? In my dating relationship? In my education?"

Let the heavenly vision unfold over time, day by day. Continue Your Quest - "Lord, what do you want me to do today? What's my next step?" What Christ at the center of your life, you will be doing what God made you for. Saved to serve - Lord, what do you want me to do?

The movie A River Runs Through It tells the story of the Maclean family, who lived in Montana early in the 20th century. The father of the family was a Presbyterian minister - stern but loving. His wife was supportive and nurturing. They had two sons: the oldest, first-born Norman, who tells the story, and a younger son, Paul.

The focus of the story is the river that runs through their part of Montana. That river becomes the focal point of their family life. That river was the catalyst for everything significant that takes place in their individual lives. It was walking along the banks of that river on Sunday afternoons that the father forged a relationship with his young boys - turning over rocks, teaching them about the world, about life, and about the God who made it all. It was the river that the boys ran to after their studies were over. Sibling rivalry and brotherly affection flourished as they fished for trout together on that beautiful stream.

When it came time for these adolescent boys to prove their moxie, they took a death-defying ride down the rapids in a stolen boat. It was on the river that young Paul made a name for himself as the finest fly-fisherman in the territory. When Norman came back from college searching for himself and his roots, it was to the river that he went to fish, alongside his brother.

The Maclean family knew failure and success and laughter and fighting and change and disappointment, but always the river was there. It was the defining force and the spiritual center of that family. Montana would have been just another wilderness; their home, four walls and a roof; their individual lives just sound and fury - if not for the river running through it all.

Friends, there is a river that runs through the lives of all Christians, and that river is called the Purpose of God. That River is a touchstone for your life - God's call on your life, the center of what God wants to do through your life. Whatever has happened to you in the past, whatever your present circumstances, whatever the future might hold, know this - A river runs through it, and that river is called the Purpose of God.
Discover it, touch it, live it. Lord, what do you want me to do? It's a short prayer that will change your life.