If You Were God ...
Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted
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Please turn to Galatians 1. Even though we are studying Ephesians, the bulk of our text will come from Galatians one. We’re going to be all over the place.
As a young boy, he may have been rambunctious, energetic, reckless, fearless, often gave his mother a heart attack. Yet, he possessed an uncanny knack for wisdom and understanding. He was observant and even argumentative. Loved to debate.
When that young boy became a young man, those characteristics propelled him toward higher education. In his advanced studies, he was at the top of his class, surpassed his peers. He was dedicated, committed, disciplined ….
If you were God, what would you do with a young man like that?
One day this young man met a Christian and it radically altered the trajectory of his life. This encounter fueled a new fire - a new passion that he had never experienced before. As he watched his colleagues execute this Christian - as he watched the fury and rage and hatred of this mob - he too became enraged. And that very day he made it his life's mission to annihilate Christianity. He set out to imprison, terrorize and execute anyone who aligned themselves with Jesus Christ. And in so doing, he destroyed the lives of countless men and women and children - he wreaked havoc in Christian families and churches. Christians fled in fear because of him. They didn't even have time to pack their belongings as they ran for their lives.
If you were God, what would you do with a young man like that?
That young man became an older man, and at age 60, give or take a few years - found himself in prison. If you were God, what would you do with a man like that?
While in prison, he wrote these words,
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Paul, an apostle - a “sent one.” Paul, commissioned by Jesus to go preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul, the one who made it his life’s ambition to annihilate Christianity was now commissioned to expand it.
Paul wasn’t always Paul. His actual name was Saul, a Roman citizen but Jewish by birth - training to become a Pharisee. Reflecting on his early life, Paul wrote this,
And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
So this guy was at the top of his class - and in another letter he called himself a Pharisee of Pharisees. He’s the guy you want speaking at your Jewish conventions.
Understand that Pharisees were one of three subgroups of Judaism - Sadducees (political / liberal), Essenes (hippies / commune) and Pharisees (ultra conservative - known for their strict adherence to the OT Law). These were the guys who often confronted Jesus with the Law. “Hey Jesus, the law says you can't work on the Sabbath, but your disciples are picking little heads of grain.” That’s Saul - a Pharisee of Pharisees.
Saul first shows up in Scripture in Acts 7 and 8. There, he met a Christian named Stephen who had been apprehended by some Jewish elders, and upon hearing the Gospel they were so enraged they killed Stephen.
And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Saul began his career as an enemy and persecutor of the Church. He hated Christians. He terrorized the Church without mercy. He wanted to see these Jesus Freaks dead and gone.
If you were God, what would you do with a man like that?
Reflecting on his life, Paul wrote this in Galatians -
For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
One day, Saul was heading to Damascus to arrest Christians - and he met the risen Christ. Then God tells a disciple of Christ, Ananias to go find Saul in Damascus and pray for him.
But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
Ananias knows how violent and bad Saul is. Again, reflecting on his life, Paul wrote
And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.
And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Saul was a bad dude intent on exterminating Christians! We have many men and women in history who have sought to annihilate certain races and tribes and genders and so on. Saul is in that group. He had a lot of blood on his hands - a lot of sins.
If you were God, what would you do with a man like that?
How was it possible for Saul the Pharisee to become Paul the Apostle? How did a murderer and persecutor become a missionary and evangelist? How is it possible that this man who was responsible for killing Christians began to make Christians, wrote most of the NT, and planted churches, performed miracles, and eventually was martyred for his faith in Christ.
It’s rather simple - Saul encountered the risen Christ - repented of his sins and crimes - and he responded to the call of Jesus.
“Oh come on, Chad, this is the Apostle Paul we're talking about! He was extraordinary!” Ok - but what made him so extraordinary? “Paul was powerful in the faith!” Ok - what made him powerful in the faith? It wasn’t Paul. Paul was a sinful human being with strengths and weaknesses just like you and me.
So what did Jesus do with this man? Jesus said, “I’ve got a job for you.”
Paul could have said, “No, I can't do that. I'm not qualified. Lord, you know my past. You know what I’ve done. You know how many lives I’ve ruined. I'm not qualified to be a minister of the gospel. Sorry, God - got the wrong guy.”
Let me tell you something -
God never has the wrong guy or woman.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
This is something that God wanted to do. Paul wrote this in
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;
nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.
But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.
(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)
Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
And they glorified God because of me.
Paul did not live in his past. He did not allow his past to define him or diminish his identity in Christ or impede the calling of Christ.
Why? Because in Christ our sins are forgiven, washed, removed as far as the east is from the west - there’s no need to hold onto past sins - no need to hold onto your FORMER way of life when you have a relationship with Jesus!
If God can call a man like Paul, with a past like his - if God can forgive and love a man like Paul with a past like his - and if Paul can let go of his past and walk in the presence and the love and grace and in the power of God - what can God do with people like me and you?
“Well, I know but ….” We like to make excuses. But you know what? God has something to say about our excuses. I made a quick list of issues that might hinder us from reaching our potential in Christ.
1. Don’t believe or know Gods Word - meditate, live by every word that comes …
2. Listen to the wrong voice(s) - we are to listen to one voice - Shepherd
3. Comparing - don’t compare
4. Unrealistic expectations of self - sober judgement
5. Distracted - eyes fixed on Christ
6. Fear - God has not given us a spirit of fear
7. My past - a new creation
8. I’m not able - Scripture will equip, give the Spirit
9. Too old or too young - God will pour out Spirit on all people
10. Uneducated - God chooses the weak things of the world …
11. I’m too weak - not by might, nor by power …
Perhaps - biggest issue is Love
If you were God, what would you do with a person like you?
If you don’t know Jesus …