Overview
Rev. Jon Ryan teaches that God is not restricted by time and knows how to place people where they can function together. The physical body illustrates the one body of Christ, while the records of Joseph, Moses and Aaron, and Barnabas and Saul show God reconnecting families and forming partnerships. Personal examples demonstrate how listening to God can place believers at the right place and time to meet another person’s need.
Transcript
God Declares the End From the Beginning
Please turn to Isaiah 46. God connects us. God’s the one that puts everything together from the very beginning.
Matter of fact, in Ephesians chapter 1—you don’t have to turn there, we’re going to Isaiah—but in Ephesians chapter 1, you may be very familiar with the verse, in verse 4, where it says that God chose us in Him before the foundations of the world. Here in Isaiah 46, in verse 9, we read, Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
So, God is not restricted by time, as we are. And we do have our lives, in a great way, very much affected by time. But God is not like that.
Many Members in One Body
So, we can take note of how God connects us. If you go to 1 Corinthians, please. Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 12, and I’d like to go to verse 12.
We’ll start there in 1 Corinthians. Here, God’s going to use an illustration of the physical body, which He put together. And it’s incredible when you consider our physical bodies, and how intricately they’re woven together, like a tapestry, it says at one point in the word.
But here, we’re going to go to 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. So, when God designed our physical bodies, He had this that’s going to be revealed here in Corinthians.
He had this in mind, that the group of people that belong to Him are supposed to work together like our physical bodies. Verse 14. For the body is not one member, but many.
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the head, am I not of the body? Is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, am I not of the body? Is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body as it has pleased Him. Isn’t that an interesting concept? That God has put you right where He wants you, and He put me right where He wants me. That’s our God.
He thought it all through, and He’s got us in the place that He needs us to be. And we then have the freedom to choose if we will pay attention to how God is working or not. We can acknowledge Him in all our ways, or we can lean to our own understanding.
Again, think about how your body works. Your body has all these different parts. I mentioned the eye, the ear, the foot, all these different parts, there’s a lot of internal organs that we’re aware of, and they all function together.
They’re necessary to work together. If you inadvertently cut yourself on a part of your body, you scrape your leg or you cut your arm or some other part, almost immediately there are parts of your body that are traveling to that area of need. White blood cells are going to attend to that area where the skin broke, where there’s bleeding, and they immediately are going to work.
They’re not critical that they thought they could rest today and not have anything to do. They don’t have anything like that. They just are designed to attend to the need.
And they listen to the brain. The brain conducts everything and it sets everything in motion. Well, we have this great opportunity to function as the one body.
And sometimes we can become aware that God has worked to put us in a certain place. We read about Philip, Acts chapter 8. And in that record, we read about the great man Philip was moved by God to head out to this certain place where there was an Ethiopian eunuch that had some needs, needs to understand what the Bible says. He had just been to Jerusalem and was on his way home, and Philip listened to God.
God Reconnects Joseph and His Family
And then he listened to the Ethiopian eunuch, and he was able to help this man to understand and answer the questions that he was having. That’s how God works here in this record in Genesis 45. I don’t know if I told you what chapter, so we’re going to Genesis 45.
And this is a quite a lengthy record, so we’re not going to read the record. I’m just going to refer to it here. Joseph, the son of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.
He was the second youngest in his family. He had 10 brothers that were older than him, and one brother that was younger. And during the course of the previous chapters, his brothers had become jealous of him, and several of them wanted to kill him.
Eight of the brothers wanted to kill him. But Reuben and Judah stood up and said, no, we can’t kill our brother. And they dug a pit through him in the pit.
And then some Bedouins came by, and they ended up selling Joseph as a slave into these Bedouins, Ishmaelites, and Midianites, if they were called, that were traveling to Egypt. And then they somehow agreed together to take Joseph’s coat and bring it to their father. They put some blood on it and said they found this and that Joseph must have been killed.
And this deception continues for 22 years. Joseph, meanwhile, has gone to Egypt, and he has, at this point, risen up to be the second in command in the country of Egypt for the previous nine years. He’s been there 22 years, but from the time, the 13th year, he was able to, because he was concerned and listening to people and helping them, a butler and a baker who served the pharaoh, Joseph had the opportunity to rise up to be second in command of the whole country.
And here, there’s a famine that’s happened. It’s two years into the famine, and here comes his brothers from Canaan. Like so many in the world or in that part of the world were coming to Egypt to get food, because Joseph, with his wisdom, had instructed the Egyptians during the seven years of plenty that had been previous to this famine to put away food.
And so, they are come, and they are going to learn that their brother is here. In verse one of Genesis 45, then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him. And he cried, cause every man to go out from me.
And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud. And the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard.
They loved Joseph. They would have come in an immediate to rescue Joseph if he had some need. But Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph, doth my father yet live? How long did that question burn in his heart? He’s been 22 years separated from his father, and he’s wondering, does my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence.
See, what did they think? They didn’t expect Joseph, who’s probably dressed up like an Egyptian and running the country, they last saw him as they sold him as a But he says, has my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. Verse four, and Joseph said unto his brethren, come near to me, I pray you. And they came near.
And he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. This is amazing. Now, therefore, be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life.
What an amazing perspective Joseph has, because he knew when they sold him that they wanted to kill him, and that they were just getting rid of him. And yet, he continued to do his utmost to walk with God. And his perspective is now so mature, and it’s so mature that he’s able to present to these brothers who are now going to be so troubled, wondering, this man has the authority to take our lives.
And there probably would not be a question asked. And he’s telling them, don’t be grieved, and don’t be angry. He’s recognizing where they’re at, as he’s talking to them, and he’s going to tell them about God.
And we know the record. He ends up being able to win their hearts and bring them to go get their father and their younger brother, and bring them back to Egypt, where they can live, because there’s going to be five more years of famine. They’re in the second year of the famine.
But see, God connected them. God put this family back together, because he knew what was coming, and Joseph is mature enough to recognize that God put them back together. How amazing.
God Connects Moses and Aaron
Go to Exodus, please. Exodus chapter 4. Again, there’s so many records we can look at, but just a couple here. Exodus 4. And here, of course, this is the record of Moses.
And Moses has, by the record that’s recorded in the earlier chapters, from the time he was just a baby, his life was spared, because his parents believed the Israelite parents were supposed to kill any boy children that were born. But Moses is spared. His parents believed.
They put him in this little boat of type, and they sent him down the river in the reeds. And his sister Miriam follows, and the princess picks up Moses. And the record goes on where Moses lives for 40 years in Egypt as the Pharaoh’s grandson.
And he has all the advantages of Egypt. As a matter of fact, when you read the record in Acts chapter 7, as Stephen is recounting it, he said he was learned. He was very wise.
Because there’s a point here where Moses is confessing that he’s not an eloquent man. He’s not able to respond to God. But he’s going to change his mind.
In Exodus chapter 4, verse 10, again, you all are very familiar with the record, but let’s pick it up in verse 10. And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou has spoken unto thy servant. But I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.
So that’s his opinion of himself in the face of God’s asking him to go back to Egypt and to deliver. God’s going to tell him, I’ve heard the cry of my people, and I want to deliver them, and I’m sending you. Verse 11, And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth, or who maketh the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
Look at how God is just encouraging him. And encouraging him by telling him, I’m with you in this venture. And he said in verse 13, he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him who thou wilt send.
Can you send another guy? I’m 80 years old. I really thought I was starting my retirement. Social security’s got my checks on the way.
And God wants him to go. And so to handle this situation, he says, And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. And he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well.
And also behold, he cometh forth to meet thee. And when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. So this is a connection that God’s making.
Again, putting family back together. I don’t know if Moses has seen or heard from his brother for the 40 years previous while he’s been in Midian. But God has worked in Aaron’s heart, just like he’s working in Moses’ heart.
And Aaron’s on his way. And Aaron’s going to team up with his brother. And we know that they’re going to go and deliver God’s people from this plight.
Amazing. Jump to Acts chapter 11, please. Acts 11.
Barnabas and Saul at Antioch
Again, we can look at the records in the Word and see how many places God has connected people together. But here’s just one more. We’re going to go to, let’s go to Acts 11, verse 19.
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenis and Typrus and Antioch, preaching the word to none other, to none but the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. So earlier in the previous chapter and earlier in this chapter, the word had gotten out that the Gentiles in Cornelius’ household had received the Spirit of God, just like the Jews.
And the matter had come to Jerusalem and the leadership at Jerusalem had acknowledged that there was no denying it. And so they heard about this happening up in Antioch. People from Cyprus and Cyrene were up there speaking to the Grecians.
And it says in verse 21, in the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church, which was in Jerusalem. And they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Interesting they sent Barnabas. Barnabas is also from Cyprus and Cyrene. Perhaps he knew these people, some of them that had been up there in Antioch, speaking the words of the Grecians.
But Barnabas also, we can recollect, and we’re not going to turn there, but he had stood up for this man Saul in Damascus in Acts chapter 9. He had come to his side when so many people were afraid of him, Barnabas stood up for him. But that doesn’t come up in this record right here so far. And it goes on, verse 23, who, this is speaking about Barnabas, who when he came and had seen the grace of God was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
So this is, he’s being acted upon. He’s hearing and seeing these people interact together and he’s recognizing it as the grace of God. We learn in Acts chapter 2, after they got born again, that they were together.
They ate together, they prayed together, they studied the word together. They did this all together. This was the grace of God.
They were sharing grace, it says. And here’s what Barnabas sees as he comes up here to Antioch. And he does this interesting thing.
It says in verse 25, well, verse 24, for he was a good man full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, the faith of Jesus Christ. And much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul.
God has worked in the heart of this man Barnabas to leave this exciting area and to head to Tarsus, which is quite some distance away. To leave this area he’s come to and he’s determined that he’s got to go get this guy Saul. And nobody’s heard from Saul as far as we’re told in quite a long time.
And yet Barnabas goes there and finds him. It says in verse 26, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So he must have come.
You can imagine the reunion at this connection. Barnabas shows up and sees Saul and tells him, whatever he tells him, you got to come and see what’s going on. And Saul had been part of the Sanhedrin.
And he’s now just learning that this man Barnabas that had so befriended him and saved him, wants him to travel with him to this place called Antioch. And he agrees. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
This relationship begins. But how did it begin? God connected them. Barnabas was listening to God and he decided to leave Antioch and go to Tarsus.
And then Saul, we know who he becomes. He also had learned to listen to God and recognize this invite that it wasn’t just a friend that says, I’m lonely here and want to go and have a beer. But this was someone that he needed to go with.
Separated for the Work God Had Called Them To
And he spent this time. And now go to Acts 13, please. Acts 13.
Because as a result of this, what was going on, we learn here, Acts 13 and verse 1. This is some time later. And it says, now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaan, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul, certain prophets and teachers. Saul is now included in this list of prophets and teachers.
And then verse 2, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work were unto I have called them. Barnabas didn’t know this when he was up in Antioch, that God was going to specifically say to the leadership that he was part of that had sent him up to Antioch to separate Barnabas and Saul. And they’ve got to go on an itinerary.
Because I’ve called them. But see, God sees this. He makes these connections.
What do we do? We listen. We endeavor to do our utmost to just walk with the Father, to walk in the grace, to do the things that we’ve been taught, to walk in the steps of Jesus Christ, to share grace with one another, to pray for one another, to be with one another, to fellowship with one another, and to speak the word. And that’s how these things happen.
Connections That Meet Needs Today
Just to share one quick incident that I was a part of. When I left Florida, I learned about this family from Trinidad, this mom and dad that had a seven-year-old daughter that had severe needs. She’s deaf.
She’s got cerebral palsy. She’s got precocious puberty. She has all these things that have crippled her.
And we were able to connect with them, with this family. And here, I had moved over a thousand miles away, up to New Hampshire. But I was able to, with the fellowship that we continued to have week after week, to connect this family with some of the believers down in Florida.
And there’s one couple, Kevin and Wendy Stutsman, that were living over at this time, living over in Fort Myer. And as I’ve worked with this family of this young girl, we were able to get them in touch with the Shriners organization, who offered their help. It was great the way this came about.
But they were in the Miami area, and the Shriners were up in the Tampa area. And they had no way to get their daughter there. And this couple took it upon themselves to drive across Florida, pick up this family, bring them to their own house in Fort Myers, spend the evening there, and then bring them up to Tampa, to Shriners the next day.
And I think they stayed an extra day. And then when they were done, came back down to Fort Myers, had them spend the night again, and then drove them home. And they did this for them on a number of occasions, helping them to get this assistance that the Shriners made available.
But then after some time, Shriners shut down in Tampa. And they were so disappointed, because they were getting some help for their daughter. And now the help, the door was closed.
And then they were distraught. And a few months went by. But one of the people in our fellowship, who lives up in North Carolina, took it upon himself to, you know what, I’m going to call the Shriners organization.
Nobody told him to do this. I didn’t think to do this. But he called the Shriners organization, whose headquarters was in Ohio.
And he brought up this incident, and told them, you know, we had this young girl that was being taken care of in Tampa. And is there anything that can be done? And they said to him, Oh, I’m so glad you got ahold of us, because we didn’t know how to get ahold of the family. And we’ve got an appointment for her here in South Carolina in two weeks.
And then he was able to get ahold of me. We got ahold of the family. And they moved up, this was two years ago, to South Carolina, and reconnected with Shriners, and have been a part of it ever since.
I talked to the family all the time. As a matter of fact, she called me up, the mom called me up yesterday. And we prayed for her daughter, because her daughter had surgery this morning at 630.
She called me at 6am. I told her to call me anytime. And we prayed for the daughter for this surgery she had.
And then we’ve been in touch since the surgery was very successful. But look how God connected the parts together, helping this little girl. The girl’s now 10 years old, or going to be 10 in a few weeks.
But this was over three years time, God put this together. God’s in the business of connecting us together. We just need to listen to Him, like this guy David listened to God and decided to call the headquarters of Shriners, you know, just like these records in the Word.
And so we can be at the right place at the right time to take care of the need as we walk with God. How exciting is it to be connected with God? Thank you very much.
Key Takeaways
- God is not restricted by time and can prepare connections before the people involved understand what He is arranging.
- The body of Christ is compared with the physical body: every member has a distinct function, and the members are designed to work together.
- Joseph recognized that God had sent him ahead to preserve life and used that perspective to restore his family.
- God worked in both Moses and Aaron so the brothers could reunite and serve together in delivering Israel.
- Barnabas followed God’s leading to find Saul, and their connection developed into a teaching partnership and later a shared calling.
- Believers can listen to God, recognize where they have been placed, and respond when a need calls for their contribution.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does God connect believers in the body of Christ?
The teaching uses the physical body as the illustration: God sets the members in the body as it pleases Him, giving different people distinct functions that are meant to cooperate and attend to needs.
Which biblical examples show God connecting people?
The teaching highlights Joseph being reunited with his brothers to preserve life, Moses being reconnected with Aaron for the deliverance of Israel, and Barnabas finding Saul and bringing him into the work at Antioch.
What responsibility do believers have when God creates a connection?
Believers have the freedom to acknowledge God, listen for His guidance, value the other members of the body, and act when they are positioned to meet a need.
Scripture References
Ephesians 1:4; Isaiah 46:9–10; 1 Corinthians 12:12–18; Acts 8:26–40; Genesis 45:1–8; Exodus 4:10–16; Acts 11:19–26; Acts 13:1–4; Proverbs 3:5–6
Verification Note
This WordPress pack was prepared from the complete source transcript. Topical headings were added for navigation, while the transcript paragraphs were retained in their original order. Scripture references, names, and transcription wording should be checked against the original audio or video before final publication.
