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Sermon Outline: February 2nd, 2003 (original date)
Sunday Evening Service
"What Can We Learn from a Cameo Role?"

@ Opening Illustration: "My experience on ‘Sterling’ in a Cameo Role"
In feature films, a big star (sometimes from within the film industry, sometimes from sports, TV, etc.) will oftentimes appear for a minute or two in a small role. Sometimes this will be simply for amusement, sometimes it will be as an in-joke and sometimes, it will be because the director/producer wants to bring special attention to that particular role.
Now, a cameo role usually doesn’t take any attention away from the larger picture, but it does make for a somewhat memorable bit in the overall movie. Which brings us to how this clip fits in and what the sermon title has to do with God’s Word… and that is, that, simply put, there are many cameo roles of ordinary people, just like you and me, who are "play cameo roles" in various well-known biblical passages. Some of you might have heard of the popular best-seller by Bruce Wilkinson, titled "The Prayer of Jabez." That was a cameo role if I ever saw one! But the cameo role, I’d like us to look at tonight is not quite as well known, but the Biblical principles we can take away from his short moment in the limelight are right up there with the things we can learn from the lives of Moses, David and Peter. This person appears in the New Testament book of Acts, in the 9th chapter.

The role? A simple follower of Christ named Ananias who resided in Damascus and only appears once in the entire Bible, yet plays a pivotal role in one of the most dramatic conversion experiences of all time… the conversion of the murderous Saul from a killer of martyrs to a winner of souls for Jesus Christ.

Our story starts here: (Read Acts 9: 1-10)

The most telling thing we can learn about Ananias’ walk with Christ, his spiritual life, are the first words we hear him utter… "Yes, Lord." Or, in some translations, it’s "Here I am, Lord!"

Point #1: God will (use) anyone, as long as they have a (willing) heart.

Verse 10 – Ananias doesn’t run and hide like some high-profile Biblical figures we know. He stands right up and says, "Yes, Lord!" or, in other translations, "Here I am, Lord!" It’s entirely possible that he was frightened, that he was taken aback or even a bit wary… but in spite of that, he readily answers.

@ Illustration: "School Role Calls" - Remember when we were students in grade school and the teacher would call role (actually, it happens in college also)? You could tell a whole lot about a person and their attitude by the way they answered that call. Some people would slouch down and mumble something unintelligible that really could have been anything. Others would only hear their name after it had been called a couple of times and then, they would look irritated, shout "Here!" and turn back to their conversation. And then there were those few who would be sitting up straight, pencil in hand, ready for the day to begin… you could almost see their ears perking up as the teacher approached their name on the role sheet… and when the teacher finally said it, they would throw up their hand and eagerly shout "Here!"

This is the kind of follower of Christ that Ananias was. He was the "throw up my hand cause God is giving me marching orders" Christian. Oh, beloved, if we could all be that kind of Christian all the time…

Now, it’s entirely possible that Ananias might not have been so eager and ready if he had known what was coming… and his response after hearing what he had preemptively agreed to certainly justifies that notion. Ananias was not at all comfortable with the idea of marching down Straight Street to the house of a man who, a day earlier, would have had him stoned to death on the spot.

However, the important thing to note is this… Ananias gave a preemptive "Yes, Lord" in spite of the small percentage of a chance that he might be asked to go and do something which would make him feel uncomfortable. I’m sure that in the back of his mind, there might have been a thought lingering that… "Well, God might ask me to do blahblahblahblah, which makes me uncomfortable." You substitute the "blahblahblahblah" with whatever kind of ministry it is that makes you feel uncomfortable.

When we give a preemptive "Yes, Lord", there’s always the chance that God could say, "Carlos, I want you to go to Zimbabwe and minister to the pygmies." Now, that would be the most random thing in the world for Him to say to me, in large part because I couldn’t tell you where Zimbabwe is on a map to save my life and I don’t even know if there are any pygmies there anyway. But, that would definitely make me a little bit uncomfortable.

And speaking of comfort, we can move onto the next section of this passage…

Read Acts 9: 11-14

Now, at this point our cameo role focus: Ananias, is definitely sweating. He’s just been asked to go to the house where a reputed murderer and persecutor of Christians is staying. Without a doubt, this is the one fear that most American Christians live without the possibility of… martyrdom.

And I’m sure Ananias, mild-mannered Christian, is not crazy about the prospect either. The very human, very real, sentiment surrounding comfort is this… when we find a spot we like, surrounded by people we like and are comfortable with and when we find a life that we like and are comfortable with, the very human, very fleshly desire is to camp out there and NOT MOVE.

Time and again, we see Biblical figures who were extremely tempted to camp out and stay in a place where they were comfortable.

But guess what? And here’s the second point, the second thing we can learn from a cameo role…
Point #2: God can grow us by making us (uncomfortable).
Some might be a little taken aback by this principle, but we only need look over the history of Ananias, our cameo character, to see that this is the only time Ananias is mentioned in the entire Bible and it’s at his most uncomfortable moment!

Many people will talk about the importance of a strong character, of a solid character and even the secular world realizes the importance of this… for us, it’s even more so. I’ve heard a saying about uncomfortable circumstances that goes like this:

"If it doesn’t kill you, it’ll make you stronger." Ever heard that one before? It’s true!

God was intent on proving it true when he went to Ananias with his marching orders.

Can you just imagine the nervousness and trembling that must have been going through Ananias’ voice as he spoke those words to the Lord? Can you imagine the thoughts racing through his mind as he desperately hoped that God had confused Saul of Tarsus with another Saul in town?

Look at his words! They’re full of fear and doubt and most of all… DISCOMFORT.

As far as poor Ananias is concerned at this point, he’s just been asked to become the next martyr… and trust me, in this time, there was no shortage of martyrs!

Think about this for a second… what would you do in the same situation? Would you pull a Jonah and start truckin’? And we all know where that got him… what would you do?

Do you think Ananias’ life was changed after this? That he saw things a little differently? That his faith was strengthened at all after this dramatic experience? As we’ll see, though, the Lord knew what he was doing and let me tell you this… anyone who tells you that Ananias was the same after this experience as he was before is a fool!

Ananias was made uncomfortable and as a result… you better believe his FAITH grew! But Ananias gets a little more uncomfortable before things get calm for him…

Read Acts 9: 15 & 16

@ Illustration: You ever played the comparison game? It only takes two players, but the maximum number is unlimited! Your kids like to play that game? "But soandso’s parents let them…" You ever play that game with your kids? "Why can’t you be more like your brother? Your sister? Soandso’s kids?"
It’s pretty popular here in America… ever heard of it? It’s all right, you can raise your hands…
I love that game like I love a rout canal!
And beloved, guess what? God loves it even less!
How many times can we look back and see how God would take even the closest of family members and walk them along completely different paths?
Here, we’ve got the Lord giving Ananias a preemptive "Don’t worry about him!" He’s letting Ananias know that the comparison game will not be played in this house and about this subject!

Point #3: Every follower of Christ will (walk) a different (path).

How often do we put ourselves up against other Christians and say the dreaded words… "At least I’m not as bad as soandso…"
* Or even worse, "Why does soandso deserve that? What’s so special about him/her?"
* We get to see the Lord giving a firm, grace-filled response to Ananias’ questions about his choice of followers. And perhaps Ananias did have some reservations about Saul’s past actions… but then we would need to question Moses, Peter and David’s callings – all three!
* Beloved, here’s a fundamental truth about the path each of us walks… each one of our paths is different. It is wonderfully and loving guided by the Lord, but still, even within married couples… we cannot play the comparison game.
* Many of us, as we’re doing right now, will walk parallel paths, and for those who are married, yours will be tightly parallel, but they will still be different paths, with different struggles and different triumphs, though many of those struggles and triumphs will be shared by those closest to you.
* In times of suffering and pain, we may want to trade places with a loved one walking a hard path, but guess what? That is not in God’s plan. He allows unto each of us the variety of things that will befall us, good or bad for reasons that are His and His alone.

Go straight into reading Acts 9:17-19* The funny thing about this account of Ananias’ encounter with the Lord is that the very next verse, verse 17, Ananias sets out. No more arguing, no more little discussions about this or that, no hemming or hawing… all we see is: "Then, Ananias went to the house…"
* Can you see Ananias just nodding and saying, "Okay, Lord" and going on to play a small, cameo role in one of the greatest conversion experiences ever of one of the greatest evangelists ever!
* How many times have you heard a testimony from someone with a far-reaching influence about how they came to Christ and the person who led them, who played a part in their private drama goes unnamed?
* It happened with Billy Graham… he accepted Christ in a shoe store, of all places, after a salesman there witnessed to him. And now Billy Graham is one of the most well-known, respected evangelists of our time.

@ Illustration: Excerpt from "The Apostle: A Life of Paul."

* See how many others came to the Lord through a much lesser-known intermediary?
* And this leads us directly into the fourth thing we can learn from a cameo role in Acts chapter 9…

Point #4: Even the (smallest) person can have a (HUGE) impact for Christ. - Here’s a quote for you to underline, emphasize on your outlines…

"It’s easy to look around the church and see the (pillars), while missing the many (bricks) which support them."

* The church that we are a part of is a massive, HUGE structure. It is foolish to believe that only the pillars hold it up. Now, do not hear me saying that the pillars are not worth learning about simply because these are larger-than-life people… because they seem so different from us.
* What I am saying is that even the smallest, most minute part of the church is still just as important because it serves a specific purpose within the larger structure. Which is why God sprinkled cameo roles throughout the entire Bible… so that we could go through and spot them and take away as much knowledge and understanding of how intricately God has fashioned the church, so that we might never underestimate the importance of not even a single piece.

My youth minister used to tell a story to prove a point. Here it is…

@ Illustration: "Story about the angel w/ flaming sword and the two choices"

Now, of course, one of these options will probably be the more attractive to each of us. Based on personality, it will vary from person to person. But the thing we have to consider is this…* What if God asks us to have a willing heart, and to grow by venturing out of our comfort zone and walk a different path than those around us… to become a cameo role, a bit part, in a much larger work of God than we could imagine?
We’ve been learning about the pillars of the church on Sunday evenings…
And the last time I spoke, I spoke about being a pillar of the church…

But the challenge is…
Would you be willing to accept a cameo role? And more importantly, will you be obedient to God’s call on your life? Will you be ready and waiting to be a cameo role in that young man or young woman’s life who desperately needs an influence other than Eminem or Britney Spears, even if its just for a short time each week?

Oh, beloved, we can learn so much from a small cameo role like Ananias’… are you ready for the role God has in store for you?