Paul – An Encouragement to Believers

INTRODUCTION

Do you remember the last time you felt discouraged, misunderstood, helpless, hopeless and wondering what was happening in your life? Or are you going through some struggle today? So what to do when you are down? Let’s look at the life of apostle Paul who had all circumstances to be down and low but yet lived a very purposeful life.

Apostle Paul is such a character in the NT that his historical footprints will never be erased as long as our planet endures.

The renowned German scholar, Adolf Deissmann, in his book Paul: A study in Social and Religious History, 1957 said: “There is no single person since Nero’s days who has left such permanent marks on the souls of men as Paul the New Man.” He noted that the grand apostle of Christ, “rising from the mass of the insignificant many” is “still moulding the world at the present moment.”

So what are some of the characters of Paul out of many that encourage me when I am down?

BRIEF BACKGROUND

Paul was a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia which was one of the top cities of is time. He studied under Gamaliel and persecuted the churches because for him Christianity was blasphemy. But then God brought him a very dramatic transformation on the road to Damascus when he was going to persecute the church. This brought him an absolute change of life, change of mind, and change of action. Now he started working for Christ and his church where he faced persecution, yet he finished his race, fulfilled his purpose and he started out as a great example for us.

So what are some of the troubles Paul faced? Acts 20-28 mention the sufferings Paul faced.

Acts 20:23

I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. He knows that trouble is ahead of him at every point.

Sufferings of Paul in Acts

Beaten (Acts 21:30-31; 23:3)

Threatened (Acts 22:22; 27:42)

Arrested many times (Acts 21:33; 22:24, 31; 23:35; 28:16)

Accused in lawsuits (Acts 21:34; 22:30; 24:1-2; 25:2, 7; 28:4)

Interrogated (Acts 25:24-27)

Ridiculed (Acts 26:24)

Ignored (Acts 27:11)

Shipwrecked (Acts 27:41)

Bitten by a viper (Acts 28:3).

Tradition says that Paul eventually was beheaded Rome.

In spite of facing all these troubles, Paul never gave up. He faced everything that he came across in life and fulfilled his call.

See how Luke ends Acts:

Acts 28:30-31

³⁰For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. ³¹He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

So, what to do when you are down as a Christian? What would have motivated Paul?

I want to give you a couple of characteristics of Apostle Paul out of the many others that kept Paul going.

1. CONVERSION

Paul’s conversion experience

Paul could never forget his conversion experience on the road to Damascus as he was going to persecute the church. That scene, that experience kept him going through his difficult times. We all should have one or two incidents of encounter with the Lord wherein we can look back and take encouragement by the way God has called us and dealt with us in the past.

Now, Paul is recalling his salvation experience after almost 16 years speaking to the crowd as he was arrested:

Acts 22:3-16

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ ⁸“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.⁹My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. ¹⁰“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹²“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.

His conversion experience was an unforgettable experience in his life. After three days, his blindness was taken away. God later used Paul to preach. Luke when he wrote Acts he mentions this Damascus experience in 3 places, Acts 9, Acts 22, Acts 26

Paul writing his epistles is again writing about this experience:

1 Corinthians 9:1

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?

1 Corinthians 15:8

and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Paul’s salvation experience, the encounter he had with God was a very vital point in Paul’s life. That was what he could always look back to and gain encouragement from.

This experience brought in Paul a total transformation:

Faith in Jesus.

New Creation.

Fervor in supplication.

Filling of the Spirit.

Faithful in Service.

Fellowship with the saints.

He could always relate back to this incident that transformed him. Friends, your encounter with God is a vital point of your life. There must be a reflection back to those experiences especially in our tough times.

So when you are down, one of the first things that must come to your mind is that Jesus saved you. You are a child of God. He did not save you to stay down, but he saved you so that no matter what you are going through in life you can get up and keep going. Apostle Paul is the perfect example for that.

Firstly, conversion or experience of with the Lord that you had.

2. COURAGE

Now, what type of courage am I talking about? Courage in the Lord.

Paul’s courage cannot be passed over in silence. When we read his life and ministry, his courage, his boldness in the Lord just stands out.

It is unrealistic to imagine that Paul was never afraid. In Corinth, Paul was having a great time in ministry. Crispus, the synagogue leader and his entire household believed in the Lord and many Corinthians believed and were baptized. In spite of the great success in ministry, Paul was afraid. The Lord spoke to Paul in a night vision, cautioning:

Acts 18:9

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you…”

You are saying, pastor Paul was afraid. Friends, courage is not the absence of fear; it is doing what is right even when you are afraid! It is trusting God when things are against you. It is moving forward when you feel you are down.

In Acts 14, on the first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas came to the city of Lystra in Asia Minor. There they encountered a man who had been crippled all his life. By God’s power Paul healed the man, and the crowds that witnessed the event were enthralled, attempting even to worship the apostle and his companion. They called Paul Hermes and Barnabas Zeus. Paul and Barnabas tore their own clothes and rushed out saying, “We are men like you. We have come to tell you about the living God.” But they brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates and the their priests started killing those animals to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas which they did not want.

Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and stoned Paul:

Acts 14:19

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

Paul was stoned, dragged outside the city, and left for dead.

According to the Jewish Mishnah or their oral tradition, a stoning victim was substantially stripped of his clothes, thrown from an elevated place twice the height of a human person, positioned with his heart upward, and huge rocks were then dropped (or thrown) upon him until he was dead. The vicious mob at Lystra “supposed” Paul was dead and obviously left the site. This was just what they did to Stephen. Stephen died but Paul did not die.

Acts 14:20-21

²⁰But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. ²¹They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch.

Apparently, they worked in Derbe for some time, for “many disciples” were won for the Lord. they determined they would return to Antioch of Syria, from where they had begun their gospel adventure. They might well have taken a more direct route, thus avoiding the dangerous cities visited earlier. But no, they would revisit the churches previously established—even the deadly Lystra—in order to confirm the disciples and exhort them to continue in the faith. Look at the courage of Paul to do the right thing.

When our life is in danger, when you and I get down, count on the courage that God has given us.

Some of you may wonder what if Paul had died? Well do you know what Paul said? Absent in the body is what? Present with the Lord, 2 Corinthians 5:8. Look at his confidence, no matter what happens to him, he will never give up in doing what God called him to do.

What is the basis of our courage? The basis of our confidence is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who is the power of God. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

2 Corinthians 5:5 says God has given us the Spirit as a deposit.

Ephesians 1:13 When you believed you were marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit.

It is to empower you, The Holy Spirit will always be with you, to give you direction for your life. So you have the Holy Spirit in you. Do you consider yourself a courageous person or do things frighten you easily?

We live in a fearful age. Fear comes suddenly and calamity comes suddenly but because of who we are we are to live on the basis of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who will encourage us in every single situation of life.

3. COMPANIONS

The third aspect which kept Paul going is his good Christian companions. When he was dragged out of the Lystra after being stoned, his friends did not abandon him but came and stood around him until he got up.

Friends, you need to have somebody or a group of people who you can really count on in the Lord. For that to happen you need to develop good friendship in the Christian circle. Friendship is a two-way process. It is something that we take time to develop, it does not happen automatically.

We all need the encouragement of fellow believers who will help us get on our feet again so we can finish carrying out the work God has planned for us.

Friends, do you know that Paul was a team person. Paul was a church person. Paul was a people person. Luke lists in Acts more than a dozen people as his associates. Even Luke who wrote this book is a companion. The “We” passages in this book states that Luke was a traveling companion with Paul. In Romans 16 Paul mentions more than 30 names of his associates.

Paul never did ministry alone. He always traveled with people. On the flip side, Christian companions also come with its own challenges. Working with people is not easy.

Barnabas and John Mark was Paul’s travel companions in the first missionary journey. When Paul wanted to start his second journey, he did not want to take John Mark.

Acts 15:36-41

36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Acts 16:1-3

¹Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. ²The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. ³Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

I am sure it is not easy to work with people.

Tips to from Paul’s life working with Companions:

1. Working with people can sometimes be painful.
2. When one leaves God brings another into our life.
3. Those who leave us are not our enemies.

Paul parted ways with John Mark but see Paul’s writing one of his last letters and how he mentions about John Mark:

1 Timothy 4:11

Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. Paul took time to reconcile with Mark. Paul also worked on reconciliation with Barnabas because in 1 Corinthians 9:6 he mentions Barnabas in the passing in a respectful way.

On the other hand Paul had some good companions that refreshed him.

Develop godly friendships.

CONCLUSION

“It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. All that matters is you get up one more time than you were knocked down.” ― Roy T. Bennett

Whatever has you down, can’t keep you down if you respond the way apostle Paul did. You have the same Holy Spirit to pick yourself up and move on like the Apostle Paul.

If you are not saved, you cannot have this assurance without receiving the Lord Jesus Christ into your life. You can have forgiveness of sins and also get up from where you are down. If you are down this morning and are a churchgoer, give those down feelings to God this morning, and receive his strength, confidence, assurance, boldness, and courage so that when you walk out of the church today, you will be ready to face life and the world.

God uses some unusual means to bring people to salvation. Charles Spurgeon tells of a man who once went to a chapel to listen to the singing, but he didn’t want to hear the preaching. So as soon as the pastor began speaking, the man put his fingers in his ears. But after a while, an insect landed on his face, and so he had to take one finger out of his ear to brush it off. Just as he did, the pastor said, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.” The man listened, and God met him at that point to his soul’s conversion (Spurgeon’s Sermons [Baker], 1:306).

A missionary to Africa many years ago told of a woman who came to every service, accompanied by her dog.  She would sit on the outside, next to the aisle. At the end of the service, when the pastor gave the invitation to come forward for prayer, she would go forward, and the dog would come along beside her.

The woman’s husband was a hard, abusive man. In fact, he beat her so severely because of her Christian lifestyle that she died. There must not have been any law enforcement in that part of Africa then, because the man was not arrested. So he was left alone with the dog. He began to notice that every Wednesday evening about 7 p.m. the dog would disappear for about two hours. Also, every Sunday morning, the dog would leave at about 9 and return at about noon. Sunday evening, again the dog would leave for a couple of hours and then return.

The man’s curiosity was so aroused that he decided to follow the dog. He followed it to the church and he took a seat in the back to watch. The dog sat down near the aisle, in his usual place. After the service, he watched the dog go forward and take his place at the altar, where his wife had prayed. The man was so touched in his spirit that he, too, went forward and gave his life to Christ. So God used a dog to lead a hardened sinner to repentance!

We may not have any stories quite like that here today, but if we went around the room, we would hear some very different ways that God worked to bring each of us to