Tag Archives: Paul

In The Eye Of The Storm

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IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

“And so, with the tearful goodbyes behind us, we were on our way. We made a straight run to Cos, the next day reached Rhodes and then Patara. There we found a ship going direct to Phoenicia, got on board, and set sail. Cyprus came into view on our left, but was soon out of sight as we kept on course for Syria, and eventually docked in the port of Tyre. While the cargo was being unloaded, we looked up local disciples and stayed with them seven days. Their message to Paul, from insight given them by the Spirit, was “Don’t go to Jerusalem.'” Acts 21:1-4 (The Message).

Was the Holy Spirit a bit mixed up? It looks like it at first reading. Did He give Paul one message and the believers in Tyre another? Since we know that the Holy Spirit would not do that, it is more likely that He was alerting Paul’s friends to pray for him, rather than stop him from going to Jerusalem.

As well-meaning as they were, they could not deter Paul from the course he had chosen, regardless of the cost. He knew that God wanted him to go to Jerusalem. He obeyed, not knowing then that it was the way to Rome, and Rome was his goal. It might seem a devious route but God knew the reasons and implications of that way. There was no other way for Paul to gain entrance to the household of Caesar but through imprisonment and, through it, to influence the entire palace guard for Jesus.

“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of my brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of the Lord more courageously and fearlessly.” Philippians 1:12-14 (NIV).

Paul did have to suffer hardship, danger and imprisonment but God was always with him, protecting him from the hatred of fanatical Jews and ensuring that he followed the right course for Rome. Plots to kill him were thwarted more than once and, strangely enough, it was the Roman government that protected him and gave him safe passage out of Jerusalem, offering him the benefits of a justice system that put the lid on the intentions of Jewish radicals.

Sometimes he was only a hairsbreadth from death, but he knew that, as long as he was in the hands of God, he was indestructible until he had fulfilled God’s purpose for him. A long life of living on a knife edge but secure in the hands of a loving Father, had taught him to rest in Him in spite of his circumstances.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (NIV).

For Paul this was not theory, and there is no way he could have written these words had he not experienced the hard reality of the difficulties, suffering and trials that gave birth to such security in God. It is only a person, like Paul, who refuses to give credit to the devil for his circumstances and lives in the awareness of God’s love, that can emerge from the worst that life can produce and still declare: “I am convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of God.’

There is a place of calm in the eye of the storm. We can only find that place if we choose to rest in the perfect love of God regardless of the whispered lies of the devil to discredit the intentions of our Father God.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18 (NIV).

Watch Your Connection

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WATCH YOUR CONNECTION

“‘And so this is goodbye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom. I’ve done my best for you, given you my all, held nothing back of God’s will for you.

“Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes — both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people — God’s people they are — to guard and protect them. God Himself thought they were worth dying for.'” Acts 20:25-28 (The Message).

What went through Paul’s mind as he spoke for the last time to his beloved leaders? A few decades before, they were all strangers to him, pagan people in a foreign city worshipping idols out of ignorance. What a price he had paid to share with them the Jesus who had met him, rescued him and sent him to tell them His story! Was it worth it? You bet it was! Nothing could match the joy he had in leaving behind a company of believers who were growing in their faith, led by men of maturity and integrity.

How painful it must have been for Paul to know that this was really goodbye! What was he to say to them, knowing that they were on their own, no Paul to call on for help when problems and troubles arose in the church? It was like cutting the umbilical cord between mother and child when the fledgling youngster leaves home to make a life in the big bad world.

He had the comfort of knowing that it was not his church and he was not ultimately responsible for it. He had played his part to the full but, like his Master, he could leave, knowing that it was in the hands of the Holy Spirit who had called and empowered these leaders to care for the flock. He would always be there to guide them long after Paul had left.

‘”I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard. Remember those three years I kept at it with you, never letting up, pouring my heart out with you, one after another.'” Acts 20:29-31 (The Message).

Paul was a realist. He knew that there would be those waiting to exploit people for their own ends when he was no longer there to deal with them. Was he aware of who they were even before he left or did he understand human nature so well that his warning came out of much experience?

It was up to these leaders to discern, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who were genuine sheep and who were wolves disguised as sheep. Jesus warned His disciples about the same thing. “‘Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off in some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.'” Matthew 7:15-20 (The Message).

How can we discern who the true and who the false prophets are? Jesus said, “Look at their fruit.” In the early church a prophet was judged, not by his message but by his attitude. How was his message delivered? If it was not delivered in the disposition of Messiah, in an attitude of gentleness and humility, it was rejected,

Paul said, “Look at their attachment.” To whom are they attaching the sheep, to themselves or to Jesus? He warns us to beware of leaders who insist that they are right, and often the only ones who are right, and that we follow them. Credible leaders are those who strive to attach people to Jesus, to become followers of Him, not them. They are only the messengers, not the message; facilitators, not objects of worship.

Your Jerusalem

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YOUR JERUSALEM

“But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about the extravagant generosity of God.” Acts 20:23-24 (The Message).

So Paul did know what was up ahead for him!

Like any other human being in a similar situation, Paul had one of two options — run from the trouble ahead or embrace it like Jesus did.

Why did God tell Paul beforehand what was going to happen? I think it was to enable him to set a steady course because he was sure of God’s will. Was he fazed by the revelation? Not at all! Long years of walking with Him had strengthened Paul’s confidence in God. He had suffered more hardship than many another person, but he had learned through experience that “those who put their trust in Him will never be disappointed.”

Like Jesus, Paul set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem because Jerusalem was in the mix for him. He could deal with whatever was to happen in Jerusalem because God was already there, preparing the way for him.

We all have our own “Jerusalem”, the place of trouble and testing and we are very often not aware of what is happening and caught off guard. Most of the time our first reaction is to blame the devil, or someone else, or ask the question, “Why me, God? What have I done to deserve this?”

Our outrage stems from the belief that we don’t deserve this kind of treatment — the “Job” response. With that kind of attitude, God will remain as silent with us as He did with Job. The quickest way to get an answer is not to ask “Why?” but “What?” God is sovereign. He is not obliged to respond to our whining but He gladly answers an honest question, “What’s this all about so that I can co-operate with your plan?”

Our answer comes from Peter who had his own “Jerusalem” to contend with and came out a humbler and wiser man. This was his conclusion: “In this you greatly rejoice (all the benefits of God’s salvation), though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV).

God is passionate about the quality of our confidence in Him. It’s all we have to link us to the resources of grace He provides for us to live this life. He has to do something to alert us to the “what ifs” and “if onlys” we hold onto that dilute our trust and make us wobbly and insecure. What better way to expose our insecurities than to orchestrate circumstances that show up what we are actually thinking and believing?

Instead of blaming God or life for giving us a bad deal, let’s use these times to ditch our suspicions and mistrust of God by owning our faulty thinking and changing our minds about God and His ways. Isn’t it true that, up to this point in our lives, many of us have wasted our trials by going the same route over and over again? We get upset and ask “Why?” In true “Dr Phil” style, how has that worked for you?

The height of folly is to do the same thing again and again and expect a different outcome! I know a way that works — admit to God that you mistrust Him and ask Him to reveal His ways. You’ll be surprised at the relief you will feel and the newfound confidence you will have in Him when you realise that He is at work in your circumstances to change you from the inside through what is happening on the outside!

Stuck On Jesus

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STUCK ON JESUS

“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the leaders of the congregation. When they arrived, he said, ‘You know that from day one of my arrival in Asia I was with you totally– laying my life on the line, serving the Master no matter what, putting up with no end of scheming by Jews who wanted to do me in. I didn’t skimp or trim in any way. Every truth and encouragement that could have made a difference to you, you got. I taught you out in public and I taught you in your homes, urging Jews and Greeks alike to a radical life-change before God and an equally radical trust in our Master Jesus.'” Acts 20:17-21 (The Message).

What a testimony! Saul, the Pharisee, who had poured his heart and soul into getting rid of Christians because he thought they were wrong, became Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, because he had experienced an encounter with the One he was vehemently persecuting.

Paul was not stuck on himself! He was passing the baton on to those entrusted with the church he had founded. What kind of leaders were needed to steer the believers in Ephesus through troubled waters during a time when they were the target of serious misunderstanding and opposition by Jewish radicals and Roman rulers who thought they were God? To declare that Jesus, not Caesar, was Lord, was treasonable and punishable by death. One after the other, the caesars zealously protected their “divine” status by persecuting those who insisted on worshipping this Jesus, not them, as Lord.

The church needed leaders with the same measure of loyalty to Jesus as Paul had, who would shepherd the believers with the same integrity and passion that they saw in him. They needed men who were followers of Jesus, not leaders who were intent on binding people to themselves and building little kingdoms around them. They needed shepherds who would show them the way as well as teach them the Word of God.

Paul could write to congregations he had founded and taught: ‘Follow me as I follow Christ.’ That was a bold and dangerous statement unless it was absolutely true. How many pastors and teachers can say that today? Yet is this not the role of the true shepherd of God’s flock? Jesus has entrusted His sheep to men and women with the confidence in them that they will fulfil their commission as those who are accountable to Him.

It is a shameful thing that many so-called “shepherds” use their position to lord it over their congregations and to milk them in the name of “faith”, or “sowing seed”, or even unashamedly declaring, ‘God will save a soul for every dollar you give,’ and then build bigger houses and drive better cars because God is “blessing” them. What has happened to the Paul-like generosity that spends itself for the sake of others?

For Paul there was a guiding principle that he followed, remembering that there was more to life than a few short years on this earth. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV). Like his Master Jesus, Paul always took the long look. To live only in the now, forgetting that this life is an apprenticeship for the life to come, is the height of folly.

He could look in his Master’s face with confidence, knowing that he had not wasted or prostituted the gifts and calling he was given on his own pleasure and comfort. He gave himself fully to his task because he knew there was an eternal reward for a job well done.

Smooth Sailing

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SMOOTH SAILING

“In the meantime, the rest of us had gone on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos where we planned to pick up Paul. Paul wanted to walk there and so had made these arrangements earlier. Things went according to plan. We met him at Assos, took him on board, and sailed to Mitylene. The next day we put in opposite Chios, Samos a day later, and then Miletus. Paul had decided to bypass Ephesus so that he wouldn’t be held up in Asia province. He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem in time for the Feast of Pentecost, if at all possible.” Acts 20:13-16 (The Message).

For once things were going according to plan for Paul. He had set his sights on Jerusalem in time for Pentecost and he was well on his way to getting there on time. The weather favoured the sailors; he was accompanied by his dear friends and behind him was the result of his faithful labour for Jesus.

He was still a Jew at heart, with the memory of Jewish festivals deeply ingrained in him. He had spent the most part of his life among pagans, gathering in the harvest of souls for the kingdom of God from city to city with toil, hardship and suffering — imprisonment, beatings, stoning, walking thousands of miles, experiencing the rigors of heat, cold, hunger and loneliness, but he was not daunted because he was gathering experience no one could take from him.

Jerusalem was his goal, the centre of the Jewish world and the city of his own people. Like Jesus, Paul was on a determined course for Jerusalem but, unlike Jesus, he did not yet know what awaited him there. He had been the butt of Jewish hostility throughout his travels. Many times he had been forced to turn his back on them and give his attention to the Gentiles because they had rejected him and threatened his life. He had been hounded from one city to the next and often had to change plans to escape their murderous plots but he still loved them and longed for their favourable response to the good news.

“‘I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit — I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” Romans 9:1-4a (NIV).

How could Paul say a thing like that when his own people had treated him so badly? Surely he must have held a grudge against them for the scars on his body and on his soul? Not at all! Paul, how could you be so forgiving and so caring in the face of all you have suffered at their hands?

Jesus uttered words on the cross that, if we would really take them to heart, would take the sting out of the things we suffer at the hands of others. “‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'” Luke 23:34 (NIV).

Like his Master, Paul realised that the way they treated him was just like the way he treated the believers before he met Jesus on the Damascus road, because he didn’t know what he was doing. Isn’t that true? Ignorance is not an excuse but often a reason for our foolish behaviour. If we really knew what the consequences of our words and actions would be, would we treat others the way we do?

One of the reasons why we withhold forgiveness from another is that we think we are better than he. What he has done to us we would never do to him. Really? We feel so outraged. How could he, she? But we forget that we are just as guilty because we are just as ignorant of the consequences.

Only a compassionate heart that really cared about the lives of those who hated him, could cause Paul to say, “‘I have great sorrow…'”