Paul suffered mentally because of the suspicions of the early Christians. GOD WILL MAKE A WAY OUT WHEN YOUR BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL (vv. At one point he tries to imagine this eternal weight of glory that outweighs all our present trials. Paul would have closely read and studied all these kingly Old Testament scriptures and more. The proof is that Paul was persecuted for his declaration that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. A voice that Saul believed to be the voice of God? His name was Barnabas, the son of encouragement. Etc. We are heading toward death. And we tend not to see what were not looking for. All the doubt, No doubt Paul cherished this time even though it was short. If He tells us that the Bible can be trusted, that it comes from God, that heaven and earth will pass away but the Word of God will never pass away, then we can trust the Bible. Philippians 2:8-11 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 2 + 2 = 4 is true regardless of how I feel about it. Matthew 7:21-23. The grace of God. You do the figuring. So what does our Christian faith say about death? Some days are dark and desperate. At one time Paul's idea of the Messiah would have been the same as that of the majority of the Jewish people of his day. Shepherd Gods Flock: Equipping Gods People. Ive missed more than 9000 shots in my career. Gods truth abideth still. 2. C. All suffering will have an end (Matthew 24:9-13). This was not like merely meeting a man walking along the road, this was a voice from heaven. Kicked off highway. God's hand will be there to lift me up." [We can say yet, but they will upon the resurrection.]. I often think about this principle when I speak at a funeral service for someone I have known and loved. I. Saul was an outright enemy. 26 times, Ive been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. [This last sentence is not in the original text, it was copied from Acts 26:14, but it still appropriate.]. Barnabas was a man who insisted in believing the best of others. Paul, at that point, pretty much represented every sinner. Jesus reminds us to never give up be persistent. As I was preparing this message, we received word of a man in his forties who was crushed to death between two cement trucks. He began with the question who are you, Lord? but then submitted himself to this One who was the Lord and asked quite properly, what will you have me do?. True, he had been resisting the goads of God concerning Stephen, but nevertheless he believed that the Christians were wrong. Lewis. Years ago (this illustration will date me) we used to sing Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Its not that every day seems sweeter or feels sweeter or that every day is a bed of roses. Thanks for your interest! The ox would not injure anyone but himself and neither would he gain anything by kicking at it. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. While others kept their distance, he stood his ground. Paul was a very bright man and a had a great deal of biblical understanding. All Rights Reserved. Following means to obey; to do with that master tells us and walk in His footsteps. 4) He returns and preaches in Damascus for a period of three years (Galatians 1:18). Paul could not have invented the story to get ahead, in fact the opposite happened. Phinehas was praised by God. True he was still young in the faith and needed time to learn and that is one reason why he went to Arabia and spent three years there. You have lost loved ones that you are interceding for and you feel as though the battle is in vain. The plan of God, Asked not to come back. This is very important to remember especially with the deceptions that are going on a mainstream Christianity today. That illustration is fitting because Paul encourages us to do our own moral and spiritual calculation. They cannot shut down the church because it belongs to God., Peter seemed relaxed when I talked with him. Now registering in the religion department, it was a thorough study of religion. David was the greatest of kings, but he grew old and died and his throne was taken over by another. Not just more exceeding. I love you, and I will be with you in experiencing this spiritual revival and growth. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. We are experiencing new life. As he was preparing to preach, police burst into the worship service, demanded that he stop preaching and ordered the people to disperse. There are promises for the present (Mark 10:29-31). Jesus also knows the fear that rests within the heart of Jairus. Unless Saul was hallucinating, the appearance of Jesus proved that Jesus was alive and that Jesus was God. The judge refuses at first but finally decides to give her what she wants. Sometimes when people are talking about their conversion they say things like well Im converted but I want to be inconspicuous about it, I want to be a silent Christian. Is that really possible, to be a silent Christian? He went to God for both. Psalm 38:20-22 Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good. And if we insist on believing in a person we will end up compelling him to justify that belief. Since this life is all that Woody Allen can see, his viewpoint leads only to darkness and existential despair. Trusting God for the consequences, he might have said something like this: Oh no Lord youre mistaken. This poor soul had several things working against her, when came to court of law. NOT EVERYONE GETS TO GO TO HEAVEN. The world will know that what we believe comes from some other place they cant understand, cant see, and can never duplicate. A. It came to represent an obstinate and stubborn disposition and course of conduct. Even if they were, how could they have carried it off? Jesus Christ found some use for this intense zeal as He struck him down on the way to Damascus, diametrically reorienting Saul's priorities, forcing him to ask "Who are you?" It is resistance and rebellion against lawful authority. But she insisted there was. This is another proof that the Christian religion is a divine revelation. During the worst trials of life, it will not seem that there is any purpose at all. As he reflected on the Old Testament Paul would have been able to say that since Jesus is the Christ, He is a final word from God to us, He is the one from whom we are to learn what God is like. Now we know what Immanuel really means for God has been with us.. Luke uses phrases like, some days in verse 19 and after many days were past in verse 23. We see a light shining through the darkness that surrounds us. Paul got it right from the beginning. Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. As I thought about it later, it occurred to me that this sort of insight comes only through times of trouble. The true statement that Jesus is the Son of God has been redefined by progressive theological scholars in our day and beyond for hundreds of years, as we are hearing from John Ritenbaugh in his commentaries. But to be reduced to importunity in order to be heard, gosh - that's humiliating God can call anyone He wants, including a hopelessly stubborn, irascible drudge. He saves the most unlikely people. God is working. Its a wonderful thing to be young and full of energy. He said again. They do not want to know what to do, they want to know what to think and this is not necessarily a form of true Christianity either. Later he was the most influential man in the New Testament period, if not of all Western history. sermon: Don't Give Up (2015)! Christians see something that others dont see. Paul's lengthy apprenticeship, involving processing the guilt from Stephen's murder, the suspicions he faced from the people he had formerly persecuted, and his pastoral training in Arabia (lasting approximately three years) trained him thoroughly for the grueling missionary journeys he would later make, providing text and insight for the Epistles, a virtual roadmap for the totality of Christian living demanded of all God's called-out ones. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. It claimed not only that Jesus was the Son of God but that he also had proved this by His resurrection from the dead. A Story That Will Change Your Life (3 of 4), Are You a Dream Maker or Dream Breaker (4 of 8), CCPA - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. When Jesus was on earth many of His disciples followed and attended Him from place to place. Therefore in writing the letter to the Hebrews Paul would have understood Christs function as a profit. He is very emphatic about that. Im glad about that because it means that death is temporary. Was blind but now I see. Sunday P.M., May 19: Preached in St. Somebody Elses. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (v. 17). We will soon receive an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. The various translations say it in different ways, but I prefer the King James Version when it uses the phrase far more exceeding.. Paul, the unknown or the hardly known, was the way he was for those ten years. By this time next week, youll have lost 350 billion cells to programmed cell death. Galatians 1:22-24 And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. Sunday A.M., May 12: Preached in St. Judes. Indeed, for the worst things that happen, the terrible betrayals, the breakup of a marriage, the long years of chronic pain, the sadness of seeing our children struggle in their own marriages, none of that seems to have any purpose. It would have been a lot easier to begin his Christian witness somewhere where he was not known and where his past would not stand against him. They love doctrine but they are not very interested in practical matters. Every Christian in Jerusalem knew who Saul was. Paul had a bright future and that bright future was not with the persecuted Christians and he had been doing very well in Judaism. She had no money with to help her in law of justice. If this life is all there is, then Woody Allen is right in his grim assessment. It only means that we cannot see it. Then Paul must have reflected on the fact that that the priests were anointed as well and he must have concluded that if Jesus is the anointed one then He must also be God's great priest, and He must be the one who was to offer himself as the only true adequate sacrifice for human sin. E. We dont give up because we want a reward as well (John 14:1-3). In fact one of the joys of getting older in the Christian life is that you begin to see some of the things God is doing that you had missed earlier in life. United Methodist. Could Saul have given an address that powerful before his conversion? 3) He goes away to Arabia (Galatians 1:17). When I said there wasnt a Starbucks nearby, she said, Its only two blocks from here. It tells us that the believer in Christ dies into glory (what a wonderful picture). Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Thats why Paul isnt overly worried about whether or not his enemies kill him. I am sure all persecuted Christians down through history have had their moments. Scriptures: Each of us wants to go to heaven and we know if we quit the hope of that reward goes away. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. In Jerusalem, Saul receive what would have been called in that day, a religious education. In the words of playwright Noel Coward, we live in a death-sentenced generation. If they kill the body, it matters not. Intro: he does not give up, he does not give in, he does not give out. The fact is, we are changed by salvation, 2 Cor. The love of God, 5:13-16 (Ill. Thermostat and thermometer) Ill. He told the church in Smyrna that they could expect an end to their tribulation (Revelation 2:10). Years ago I served on staff with someone who loved to drink coffee. Acts 9:15-17 But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. is a FREE sermon outline that will open your churches understanding of how to cause the impossible to become possible. Therefore, since through Gods mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart (v. 1). I suppose most of us, at one time or another, have felt like giving up. All the heartache, Or as the NLT puts it, That is why we never give up. That is the great cry. Someone with this attitude gets into greater difficulty by attempting to shirk his normal responsibilities. This is what pleases God and this is what we need! I believe from this time on, more and more brothers and sisters will change from empty talking of faith to bending our knees to pray. Recently the legendary actor/director/author Woody Allen gave an interview to the New York Times in which he talked about his own faith at the age of 74. We have to ask: who would have deceived him? The promises of God, One of the ways to do that is to learn that when tough times come, ''Don't Give Up! Dont Give up trust the Lord who will help, granting us justice and mercy, fullness of life and everlasting salvation. That is why we never give up. Although he was zealous did he have a mind or personality naturally given to fantasies? As you know the word Christ is the same word as the Messiah. The greatest blessings that heaven has to offer are waiting for us: we cant give up now! Ive lost almost 300 games. All this conflicted in Pauls mind with what Judaism taught, even though it did not conflict with the Old Testament. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. If he did not then why would we be Christians? Now, dont misunderstand me. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. You think you will live forever even if you know you wont. And I dont seem to hear quite as well as I did ten years ago. They will have to find a new place to meet. When Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached on this text, he said the greatest need of the church today is for Christians to live as though these things are true. We are falling apart. This is the second part of a two-part message. No one can escape it. Phinehas killed an immoral man and woman with a spear and God honored the action by halting a plague. Saul was educated and so was Stephen. Sunday P.M., May 5:Preached in St. Johns. Did he have an education? Sir!" Tozer. Second, Jesus is the Christ. Apparently Paul understood a great deal since it says in Acts 9:21 all who heard were astonished And in verse 22. My body doesnt move as fast as it did twenty years ago. That was the beginning of many escapes for Paul and sometimes he did not escape. The young people seem a lot younger than they used to. In a sense that was his ministerial training. We pray for people and nothing seems to happen, but that does not mean that nothing is happening. People try and put a nice varnish on it, and say, well, you mellow. We are being renewed. However, this need for preparation does not mean that Paul was not ready to speak for Christ. }); Counterfeit Christianity is always safe but true Christianity is always in danger. Paul was searching out the Scriptures to learn about the faith more thoroughly and the bottom line is that Gods ways are not our ways and His timing is not our timing, so we need to learn to wait patiently for Him to act, preparing ourselves as Paul did for the responsibilities as kings and priests in His Kingdom. And so a friendly argument ensued. Malachi 1:14 But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemishedfor I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and My name is to be feared among the nations.. The priest and early Christians discovered it to have been empty. That is what I want to talk about this morning. Later on we find the Grecian Jews were impressed with him because he argued theology with them undoubtedly on the basis of the Old Testament. He logged a few of these instances in his diary: Sunday A.M., May 5: Preached in St. Annes. But the poets and the mythologies know all about it. Jesus has promised that He is coming back. We are not to allow the world to force us into its mold, Rom. It is that important! Psalm 47:2-3 For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. Paul uses a word that means to gaze intently upon. It means that we make a conscious choice to believe that some things are true that we cannot see at this moment. Fill yourself with the bullets of hope and you will kill failure with one shot. Israelmore Ayivor, Dream Big. Obviously and rightly Luke considered Sauls conversion to be a watershed event in the history of Christianity. He was about to embark on the journey of a different life and he needed two things: guidance for a strange new life and strength for a seemingly overwhelming task that had been assigned to him. So we sing on, we preach on, we pray on, and we keep on believing. This was an extraordinary life-changing event. The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11). We need both questions that Paul asked. Where did that power come from? Look Up!''. A. Now since Paul was now back in Gentile territory one would think that he began his missionary activity at once, but as a matter of fact he did not. Here, we also find the beginning of something else Jesus spoke of, Paul sufferings for Jesus sake. If He was but a man, it could have only been for Himself, it could not have been of infinite worth. It is my prayer that the ideas and thoughts contained here will merely stimulate your own thinking and lead you into the greener pastures of His Word. There are people who are naturally shy and afraid to speak up, other people no doubt have a difficult time speaking for Christ because of various circumstances. For Their Sakes, Dont Give Up. It is that important. He said. And when the Christians learned of this they took Paul to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus. If God could do that with Saul, God could do the same thing today with anyone. When S. Lewis Johnson preached on this passage, he quoted the words of Dan Crawford, a missionary in Africa, about the death of a fellow missionary. Remember in his trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin and all the leaders that was part of the argument whether he was just a son of God, which they all were, or whether he was the Son of God. Even though I had driven by that Starbucks a hundred times, it had never registered in my brain. Christianity begins with the question who are you, Lord? and that is because the deity of Jesus Christ is the foundation for everything that follows. You are familiar with the scripture in Isaiah 55 where it says: Isaiah 55:7-9 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormentedof whom the world was not worthy. g! You dont gain any wisdom as the years go by. Besides, he was one who had heard stories of Jesus resurrection but did not regard them as valid. She was a widow and they were often oppressed and often taken advantage of. We dont deny our tears or pretend the pain isnt real. Im not a coffee drinker so I dont look for coffee shops. "My Mom said that I should never give up. He thought that the power was coming from Stephen, but it was actually Gods Spirit empowering Stephen with the proper words. What do you suppose he and Peter talked about during those momentous 15 days? It is God's So that is what Saul must have thought. Acts 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake. [speaking to Saul, at the time.]. If He tells us God is a certain kind of God we can believe it because He is God Himself and speaks truthfully. Pastor, The Next Time You Attend A Conference, Do This! But life has been let loose through the victorious resurrection of the Son of God. The government thinks if they close down our meeting place, they have shut down the church. About ten years had passed before Paul finally emerged again at Antioch and was chosen by God. The Old Testament offices of prophet, priest, judge, and king all coalesce in the New Testament in Jesus Christ who is the exalted king over all and to whom every need will bow. In Acts 9 we see him seeking out Paul when everybody else was afraid of him, listening to him, recognizing that his testimony was genuine, and then bringing him to the apostles. Now during Jesus life on earth the Holy Spirit was with the disciples and after the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the Spirit was within them as it had been in Christ. First was that he immediately bore his witness in Damascus. This FREE DOWNLOAD includes the full sermon outline, the sermon image pack and much more! Not just exceeding, We tend to see what we want to see. He was the one who had now redeemed His people. Thats what my friend Pastor Peter told me when we talked a few days ago. When we live like this, when we see the invisible and make it the rule and ground of our life, the world will know that what we have is more than theory, that it cant be explained away as mere religious enthusiasm. Therefore we do not lose heart (v. 16). Not only would Paul have considered Christianity wrong, he would have considered it as deceptive and this is because it made such great claims. Jesus makes the point that God, like the judge, will "grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night," and he encourages his followers to be like the widow, praying persistently and faithfully. To save items to a SermonFolder, please sign in to your account. The people had been thinking in terms of the political king but Paul must have realized that Jesus came to fulfill a prophetic and priestly function too. Sunday A.M., June 2: Preached at the edge of town. Into Paul's life had come a shattering change and for while he had to be alone with God. As he died he repeated the words of his Master. He had the best education that was possible to get his day and it was a secular education. "I give up!" His education was the equivalent of going to Harvard University, which was first established as a religious university. As Russias war against Ukraine continues, much of the focus has been on the apparent war crimes being committed. On the way to Damascus there was a bright light from heaven and a voice. In his famous War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy put forward the argument that humane war is as absurd an idea as humane slavery, and that Now put that sum on the other side of the ledger. The conversion of Paul, his subsequent training, and lengthy service was not a walk in the park. Have trials weighed you down to the point of despair? Some might do something like this to try to get ahead in life, it might be a way of impressing people and making a mark for oneself. "Faith Like This!" Ive failed over and over and over again in my life. portalId: "8432277", All of us struggle with the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. You never know what you truly believe until the crisis comes. It is impossible to figure out what God is going to do because God does not do what we might expect. But they were hearing only, He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God in me. But although it is often hard, at some point early in the life of a person who has come to believe God's truth there must be a verbalized expression of that faith. John Wesley, the great Methodist preacher, encountered many times of refusal, and denial, during his early years in the ministry. John 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. We are told in this section that as soon as he was converted he had received his sight again. We understand that no matter what we endure now, there awaits for us an eternal glory that far outweighs what happens to us in this life. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. The so-called mainstream Christianity has redefined the term Son of God to mean merely that everyone is made in God's image, meaning that we are all sons of God and daughters of God. us that any hardships we endure are only temporary. What was his state of mind? All the sadness, When we put the two accounts together we find that the chain of events runs like this: 1) Saul is converted on the Damascus road. Jesus had not done this of course, so in speculating, Paul must have gone back to the Old Testament and asked himself, if the Messiah was not one whose primary function was to drive out the Romans, what was He to do? Paul probably reflected on the word anointed and asked, who, in the Old Testament, was anointed for a specific function? The answer was prophets, priests, and kings. My God is much bigger now.. If they do, he wins! Jesus is Lord whether I believe it or not. I think I begin to see what it means. Satan wants us to grow weary in well doing when we dont see immediate results. And old people dont seem as old as they seemed when I was young. Even as we may have wanted to give up from our deluge of trials, our predecessors have had similar sentiments. The young boy never left his side. And it had evidently been there a long time. Right now dead people dont rise. We see in the distance all the saints of God. Is there a greater assurance of safety than that, if we can continue to be obedient and to overcome? 4.) We have a goodknowledge of the Bible, but now we will have that faith in our hearts. It had started in Jerusalem and Saul was doing everything he could to stamp it out there but he heard rumors that the faith was taking root in Damascus, a Gentile city in Syria. It would have had to have been the Christians, and could they even have thought of the possibility of inventing something to deceive their great enemy? It must be a trick.. Q. The Word of God, If there is not, it is doubtful that the new life of Jesus Christ is really there. In one way, of course, God has given us the Morning Star already: you can go and enjoy the gift on many fine mornings if you get up early enough. Jesus rose from the dead to live and reign forever. There is a strange irony in this situation. This is not a picture of a crazy man, but rather the picture of a man who says something like: I know that the Bible teaches that there will be a resurrection at the end time and I believe the Bible, but Ive lived a long time, and although there may be a resurrection someday its for the future. We want something else which can hardly be put into words-to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. Others want to be popular as some type of religious leader so they invent impressive stories of how God spoke to them and called them into the ministry. trust Me and if you dont trust Me I wonder then whether when Truth is truth, regardless of my personal feelings about it. Acts 9:22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
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