“O, To Have the Faith of Paul”

Preached 10/18/20

O, TO HAVE THE FAITH OF PAUL

Imagine God approaching you and saying, “This is what you will look like in 40 years,” would you take the assignment?  Paul did.  Look back to Acts 9:15-16 where God tells Ananias that Saul will be told all he will have to endure.  But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (778)[1100]

And what was Paul going to have to suffer?  What anyone else dares to boast about — I am speaking as a fool — I also dare to boast about.  Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I.  Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.  Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:21-29) (822)[1164]

Paul knew, going in, what was going to happen to him if he answered Jesus’ call, and he knew how he was going to die.  With all that in mind Paul followed Christ to the end, proclaiming like no one else the Kingdom of God.  Paul was never shy, he always followed the words in his letter to the Romans – I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 (796)[1126]

We have been seeing a lot of what went on in Paul’s life.  From starting out as a gifted student of law under the great teacher Gamliel; to working hard to eliminate as many Christians as he could; to becoming the greatest evangelical preacher the earth has seen.  He met Jesus on the Road to Damascus and was never the same.  Have you had a true encounter with Christ?  Has your life changed in such a dramatic fashion?  Has anyone’s?

You can read a passage in the Bible over and over, then you read it once more and there it is, something that you had not “seen” before.  That’s what happens to a lot of people.  It is because God’s Word is Alive For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12a) (847)[1206]  Through this sermon series I have been anchored to a couple of verses, one in particular is Acts 9:16 – I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (778)[1100]

If we were to study a portrait of the Apostle Paul painted by a realistic artist, we would first notice his scars and bruises.  It got to a point with Paul that he had to write in very large letters the words he would pen by his own hand.  That is why he often had Timothy traveling with him as a stenographer.  Paul’s own handwriting, in some places, grew to letters an inch tall or more.

Though not that old, Paul already has scars from Philippi, bruises from Lystra, memories of mobs in Thessalonica, wounds from Berea, and still he persevered.  Paul’s Spiritual grit is not only inspiring it can be very convicting.  For example, in Philippi Paul and Silas were beaten with rods and thrown into a dark, damp cell with their open wounds untreated, for preaching the Gospel of Christ.  Turmoil, difficulty, persecution, and hardship are not essential indicators of being out of God’s will. On the contrary, there are times those things mean you are, in fact, in the nucleus of His plan.

So, what happened in Paul’s plan to preach to Philippi?  How could that happen now?  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.  The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.  But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.” (Acts 16:25-31)  (784)[1110]  When God wants you to preach the Gospel of Christ, it’s going to happen, one way or another.

Bad eyesight, migraine headaches, and possibly nerve damage in his arms and hands from persistent beatings and stonings could have been some of the contributing factors.  The extent of Paul’s injuries and suffering cannot be over exaggerated.  These things also helped Paul’s emotions bleed into the pages as he wrote.  Paul sometimes called these scars the “Brandings of Christ.”  In Paul’s days slave owners would actually burn their names into their slaves with a brand.  Much as we did with cattle in the old west.  Paul just considered those scars of service being branded for Christ, something he was glad to suffer.  Because he was rescued from their burning house, John Wesley was referred to by his mother Suzanne a “Brand plucked from the fire.”

Paul knew going in what was going to happen, how he would be treated.  And there was no room for doubt considering it was Jesus telling him directly.  No messenger angel was used here; it was Jesus Christ Himself delivering the message.

Crippled from the multiple mistreatments, Paul became broken in body, but never broken in spirit.  He used his mistreatments as license for his preaching of the Gospel of Christ.  Paul allowed the afflictions to strengthen him, depending on Christ for any and all deliverance.

One of the most important parts of Paul’s ministry was that it was saturated with the Word of God.  Revealing his Faith in Christ.  It would do well for each of us to begin our days that way, saturating ourselves with the Word of God as we begin to meet the day.  The time would be well spent.  You will always be rewarded for searching God’s Word for your sustenance each day.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  (Hebrews 1:3) (846)[1204]

We have a good number of schoolteachers in our congregation, and most of them follow the words of Francis of Assisi who said, “Preach Jesus every day, if necessary use words.”  I praise God that we have so many Godly teachers in our midst, and in our schools so they can show Christ to all they meet, without even using a word.

Dr. Charles Swindoll wrote in his biography of Paul, Paul, a Man of Grit and Grace, “I’ve said for years that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how we react to it.”  When you are mistreated by people who cross your path, when you are abused by the world, how do you respond?  Do you respond with the love of Christ?  Paul ALWAYS did.        Bostwick UMC 10/18/20