The Life of Paul
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
The Life of Paul
The Life of Paul
The Life of Paul
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
INTRODUCTION
Salvation VS Sanctification
I. PAINFUL AND PERMANENT
• Last week we talked about Paul’s traveling struggles.
• The truth is Paul’s were life struggles.
• Wow that is a highlight list isn’t it?
• Whipped, stoned, beaten, shipwrecked, floating in the sea (sharks wanted to eat him!)
• This was all spoken beforehand by God when He first put His hand on Paul.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
• Paul understood the terms he served under.
• God Himself would lead him into situations of suffering, like one sent to a Roman arena to be devoured by lions.
• He said God did this to reveal His power in and through Paul.
9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
• But there is still more, more suffering for Paul.
• He was ill, long-term ill. It was painful and permanent.
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
• How can you deal with suffering?
• And believe in a God that allows pain and suffering in good people’s lives.
• Read II Corinthians 12:7-9
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
• Hold it we need to read that closely…
• “I was given” = didômi = an opportunity, a gift is how it is usually used. Jesus was God’s gift.
• This was a good thing the word Paul chose
• God giving a good gift…and Paul says “in order” or “for this reason” there is a purpose
• I was given a gift. Really what? A thorn! Really that did what? Torment
• A thorn – a pointed stake, a sharp splinter
• That tormented me. Literally - “that struck me,” hit me with your fist.
• So a messenger of Satan. What? We don’t know what Paul meant here, but obviously Satan had attacked Paul.
• What is clear Paul had a sickness, an illness that wouldn’t leave.
• We don’t know what it was: epilepsy, blindness, we don’t know.
• But we know it was difficult to bear.
• It was permanent and painful.
II. SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
• You do what Paul did…ask God to take it away!
• This guy was almost single handedly responsible for the spread of the story of Jesus to the known world.
• He wrote one half the New Testament and so do what he did.
• Three times he asked God to remove it from him.
• It appears there were three seasons of time that this thing threw him down and buried him.
• So he had to wait and believe.
• Don’t tell me this was about him not having enough faith. If it was, he would have told us. He told us everything else.
• Or about not being able to speak about illness. Paul clearly did.
• He was a man of faith.
• “He said to me…”at least God spoke. So often He doesn’t speak while we wait, but He spoke to Paul.
• Not the first time or the second time, but the third time.
• “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
• Reverse a couple of words here, “My power is sufficient for you for my grace is perfected in weakness.”
• The answer is no. It will remain, but I will give you the power to press on.
• I will put power in you that you have never known, but the pain will remain. The trial will continue. The difficulty is here.
• Not for a season - permanently.
• And by the way Paul, “I love you” and I am going to use you and people will name their kids after you!
• But the answer is no, with a promise - my grace.
III. IS THERE A THE SILVER LINING?
• For Paul it is found in next verse.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
• Paul learned that there is something worse than sickness, and that is sin; and the worst sin of all is pride.
• No! Paul says I will own it and boast of it!
• Not hide with it.
• “I will boast so the power of God rests on me.”
• Embracing your inability allows you to experience Christ’s ability.
• Don’t hide and don’t pretend. Deal with it. Paul saw it as a gift.
CLOSE
• Vss. 10 - “...I delight in my weaknesses...” NIV
• When I am weak then I am strong, but that isn’t what I have been told.
• In order to…I was given a thorn.
• There is a reason while you wait.
• But you may need to receive it as a gift. That is an option, not always but sometimes.
• Jesus’ cry His last night. Take this cup away. No! Aren’t you glad God said no? Ask Him about you!
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.