Galatians Seris Sermon (4)- ch1:15-17
Notes
Transcript
Paul’s Calling and Continued Education
Paul’s Calling and Continued Education
“God always trains His servants; and the more critical their task, the more intense their training”.
John Butler
God does not send us into the thick of battle without being prepared.
“God does not employ men in important service for Him without preparing them adequately for that particular task.” - John Butler
I. His Calling. v.15
Pleasing to God.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
2. Planned by God.
Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
And now the Lord says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
3. Perfected by God.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
II. His Continued Education. v.16-17
The Purpose
a. The Reveal the Son through Me.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
b. To Preach him among the heathen
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
2. The Professor.
a. Was not a Secular Professor
b. Was not a Christian Professor
c. It was a Heavenly Professor
Points to support this claim.
A. Where He went
Scripture doesn’t give us a clear description of the location just a general one
ARABIA
Arabia covered a great deal of land and includes Mt Horeb where Moses and Elijah spent time alone.
So for us to say that we know for sure that’s where he went would be based just out of sentiment for him being where Moses and Elijah went.
Also during this time there was a war going on with Rome and King Aretas, so it would be very dangerous to be around Mt Horeb during this time
Arabia also backs up to the outskirts of Damascus.
He could have just went out into the wilderness east of Damascus to be able to get alone.
B. Why he went
He just wanted a place to go out and be Alone with God
Moses did this
Elijah did this
John the Baptist did this
Jesus did this
John the Beloved did this
Everything that Paul New and accepted as Saul was now changed. It didn’t just gradually leave either. It had been blasted away on that Damascus Road.
He needed some time with God just to get his focus off what it had been and on to what it needed to be on.
He had spent his entire life building upon the Pharisaic thought structure of the religious world.
He had his Masters in Religion
Now it was time to get his Doctorate in Christology and Christian Ministry.
all together we don’t know how long this solitude lasted
all together from his conversion to his return to Jerusalem was 3 years.
I would say to us it took as long as needed for God to teach him to Doctrines of the Gospel he needed for the ministry God called him into.
Galatians 1:15-17 “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.”
“Paul did not conceive his gospel, he received it.”
Lehman Strauss
Application Points :
His calling is the same for us as it was for Paul.
God has wanted you before you ever came into existence.
2. His Continued education is as necessary for us as it was for Paul.
God wants to prepare you for what He has planned for you. Never do we find in scripture where God wants us to fail. If we succeed the gospel goes out.
3. If we want to be an effective force in the fight for right - We must spend regular time in solitude with God.
Alone time is the best time for a Christian
We can’t focus on and fellowship with a God that we never spend time with.
God doesn’t want to speak over your noise.
He wants to teach us where nothing else has our attention.
He wants to feed and inform us for what’s to come
How many of us are running on fumes and without much information about what we are doing?
It’s because we have not made it priority to spend time listening to the Great Teacher.