Sunday, July 20, 2008: Home Field Advantage

Home Field Advantage
Acts 9: 19 b – 31.

I. Introduction.

I have confessed to you before how much I love to watch sports on TV. But, I have never been one to watch the All Star games in professional sports. Last Tuesday night was the Major League Baseball All Star Game, and I didn’t watch it. I do know that the American League won again, and as a result they won the rights to have home field advantage in the World Series in October.

Among professional sports, the Major League Baseball All Star Game is the only All Star game that really means anything. Back in 2002, the baseball All Star Game ended in a tie. Of course, that didn’t really matter, because the teams were not really playing for a real prize. Sure, the winning league had “bragging rights,” but there was no real reason to break the tie.

That tie game was just what baseball needed to change the way they looked at the All Star Game. The next year, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig made a rule change. The league that won the All Star Game would be entitled to have home field advantage in the World Series.

In the world of sports, home field advantage make a big difference in the way players play the game and in many cases can determine the outcome. The home team gets to play the game on their home field—as a general rule, this is the field or court where they play half their games, so they are more familiar with that field than the visiting team is. The home team also gets first choice of the uniforms their team wears—again, they usually choose the uniform they are most comfortable wearing. Sometimes people accuse the home team of receiving preferential treatment from the referees or umpires. But, the biggest advantage for the home team is the encouragement and support they receive from their local fans.

In college sports, the home team is required to make tickets available for the fans of the visiting team. It’s a complicated system in which the teams agree on a certain number of tickets to exchange. Thus, if one team cuts the number of tickets available to another team, then that team has the right to cut the number of tickets they provide in exchange. However, in professional sports, there are no such requirements. Sometimes, the visiting fans cannot buy any tickets.

And the home fans make life miserable for the visiting players. The home fans cheer every small success their players have on the field. They cheer for every minor error or mistake the opposing players make. And athletes just play better when they have the support and encouragement of their home fans.

Don’t try to take my analogy too far. But, I think the church ought to give us a home field advantage. No. I do not believe we ought to cheer when other people fail. But, I do believe it is our responsibility as a church to support each other and encourage each other, so that we can be our best when surrounded by our church. After all, church is supposed to be a family. And family is made up of the people who love us more than anyone and support us no matter how badly we have failed.

We can witness this kind of home field advantage in the support and encouragement Paul received once he became a follower of Jesus.

Read Acts 9: 19 b – 31.

Last week, we read the story of Saul’s conversion. In some ways, Saul’s conversion was a normative experience—just like ours. He had a real-life encounter with Jesus that changed his life forever. He immediately entered into a community with other men and women who were also followers of Jesus. Then, Saul began to preach the Gospel to anyone who would listen to him.

In other ways, Saul’s conversion experience was something that has never been duplicated. He was blinded by a bright light from heaven. He heard the audible voice of Jesus calling him by name. And, he was blinded for three days until someone—Ananias—could come along side to support and encourage Saul.

But there is one thing we can say about Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus…When Jesus arrested Saul and changed his life, Jesus changed his life for a purpose. That purpose was to use Saul as an instrument—a carrying vessel—to spread the Good News of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Immediately, we witness as Saul begins to fulfill the purpose of his salvation. He started right where he was. Damascus was not Saul’s home town. Damascus was not even the town where Saul was currently employed. Damascus was simply the town where Saul was in the days following his conversion.

The book of Acts tells us that Saul began preaching to the Jews of Damascus. That is interesting to me, because he had originally traveled from Jerusalem to Damascus to find the Jews of that city. He came to Damascus to find out if there were any Jews who had become followers of Jesus. Now he was trying to find the Jews who had NOT accepted Jesus.

Verse 22 tells us that Saul spent his time “proving” to these Jews that Jesus is the Christ. There are two important Greek words in this verse. The word we translate as “proving” is the word sumbibazo which literally means, “to put together.” The Greek word Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. Therefore, we can say that Saul spent his time sharing from the Old Testament prophecies how Jesus fulfilled God’s promises and Israel’s hopes.

This is significant, because we do not know how Saul came to this understanding of the Old Testament. We can assume that Saul already knew the Bible before he had his encounter with Jesus. He had excelled in Scripture reading and memorization. He had even broken into the order of the Jewish Pharisees and risen in their ranks to become a very prominent member. But until this very moment, he had a very legalistic view of the Bible and the promises of God. There is nothing in Saul’s background which could have led him to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

This leads me to believe that Saul had gained this new understanding of Jesus from a combination of two sources. First, God had opened Saul’s eyes through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Second, Saul had spent several days with the “disciples in Damascus.”

The word “disciple” is used in two important ways throughout the book of Acts. In some instances, “disciple” is general term for the men and women who gave their lives to Jesus. In other instances, “disciple” is used to refer to the specific group of twelve men who had spent their lives with Jesus and had served as witnesses to the Resurrection. The “disciples” in Damascus probably did not include the original twelve disciples. No. These were men and women just like you and me. They were Christians. They had given their lives to Jesus. They were a church.

II. Saul Discerned His Call to Ministry in the Church.

The church in Damascus played an important role in Saul’s life, and by implication, played a significant role in the spread of the Gospel.

These Christian men and women invested their lives in Saul. God is the one who stopped Saul in his tracks. God is the one who changed Saul’s life. God is the one who called Saul to be a preacher and missionary. But it was the church that explained the Scriptures to Saul. It was the church that gave Saul his first opportunity to serve God and to become the man God wanted him to become.

Ten years ago, I read the biography of George W. Truett. Ray Scott—from our church—recently gave me a copy of Truett’s biography which I read for a second time this week. I find parts of the biography hard to believe. Truett is responsible for “saving Baylor University” by campaigning all across Texas to raise the money to pay off the university’s debts when Truett was only 23 years old. Then, he became the pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas when he was only 30. In World War I, Truett was recruited by the President of the United States to spend six months preaching and encouraging the U.S. troops stationed overseas. In the early to mid 1900’s, there was no other preacher more famous that George W. Truett. The first time I read Truett’s biography, I was so impressed that we actually gave our second child the middle name, Truett.

How do you think this world renowned preacher heard his calling to become a preacher? He heard it from his home church in Whitewright, Texas. As a 23 year old young man, George Truett was the Sunday School superintendent and filled in for the pastor when the pastor was unable to preach. But Truett didn’t want to be a preacher. He wanted to be a lawyer.

One night in a church business meeting, the church’s oldest deacon made a motion that the church ordain George W. Truett to the Gospel ministry. Before Truett could object, the motion was seconded and approved unanimously by the church. Truett asked his mother what he should do. She replied, “Son, these are praying people. These are God’s people. And you saw how they felt. They felt that they couldn’t—even in the face of your plea, your protest, your exhortation to delay—they couldn’t delay. It was a whole church in solemn conference assembled.”[1]

There are several important lessons in that story of Truett’s call to ministry. First, it is important to come to business meeting at the church. You never know when someone might “volunteer” you for a big job. Second, it illustrates the important role our church can play in the formation of the next generation of Christians. What are we doing to identify young men and women in our church and to steer them toward a calling to be pastors and missionaries?

After Saul was formed by the church at Damascus, they affirmed his calling by allowing him to begin preaching. Saul was taught by the church, affirmed by the church and encouraged by the church. But not everyone was so encouraging to Saul. The Jews conspired together and devised a plot to kill him.

This type of persecution was yet another affirmation that Saul is doing the right thing. When we answer God’s call and obediently serve God, the world and the forces of evil will do everything they can to stop us. So, once again, Saul needed his church.

III. The Church Helped Saul in the Face of Persecution.

Saul’s conversion immediately resulted in the fruit of new Christians giving their lives to Jesus AND persecution. This is the fulfillment of what Jesus told Ananias in Acts 9: 16, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

This demonstrates for us that our own salvation has a purpose. God has not saved us so that we can become satisfied—or perhaps more satisfied. God has saved us so that we can be a blessing to other people. And this often brings suffering.

God never promised us that Christians would live easy lives. No. The Bible shows us through the life of Saul and others that we will continue to face sufferings of all kinds. We will suffer the natural consequences of human life in a fallen world. We will face the same issues all humans face: diseases, cancer, tornadoes, hurricanes, broken homes. But, we will also face a kind of suffering that is unique to Christians. The world will not accept us. The forces of evil will marshal their strength against us in every effort to stop the work God has called us to perform.
When Saul faced persecution, the church came to his rescue. They helped him to escape through a hole in the city wall.

This is another role our church can play. We provide support and encouragement for Christians who face both types of suffering. Sometimes our encouragement takes the form of a casserole delivered to a grieving family. Other times it is a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.
Church is not supposed to be made up of perfect people who wear masks to hide their pain and suffering on Sunday mornings. Church is supposed to provide a “home field advantage” of support and encouragement when one of our brothers or sisters is facing a crisis. We are to provide support to people who suffer, even when that suffering is the consequence of sinful activity.

After escaping from the Jews of Damascus, it was necessary for Saul to go to Jerusalem to meet with the “disciples.” More than likely, this reference to the “disciples” is a reference to the original 12 followers of Jesus.

Not surprisingly, the disciples were skeptical of Saul’s conversion. They knew his reputation. They knew of the sins and crimes Saul had committed against the church. They had feared him for a long time. And, now Saul wants to become one of them.

The interesting thing about this meeting in Jerusalem is the role Barnabas played. When the disciples distrusted Saul, Barnabas stepped in as an advocate for Saul and a mediator. Only then were the disciples willing to meet with Saul. But then something magical happened. The disciples not only heard Saul, they welcomed him into their church. We see this in verse 28, where we are told Saul stayed “with them.”

Again, Saul received a “home field advantage” from a church. Then, the cycle of preaching and persecution resumed.

IV. The Church Validated Saul’s ministry.

Saul’s meeting with the original 12 disciples was an important step, because they validated his ministry. Before meeting with the disciples, Saul had no visible connection with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. These 12 men had witnessed all aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry. Without this connection, all Saul could possibly claim was personal experience.

This is sometimes lost on contemporary Christians. We are much more subjective and individualistic than the early church was. Contemporary Christians are inclined to think that a person’s calling is something between them and God only. That was not the case with Saul. AND, that was not the case with George W. Truett.

There are two sides of God’s calling in our lives. First, it must include a personal experience. Second, it must be nurtured and affirmed by the church.

V. Conclusion.

Personal experience grounded in the Truth of the Gospel and nurtured among the community of the church.


[1] Powhatan W. James. George W. Truett: A Biography (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1939), p. 49.