RADICAL ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD: #12 Paul

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1 INTRODUCTION: WHAT WE VE SEEN SO FAR An encounter with God is life-changing. If there is no element of radicalness about our walk with Christ, our relationship with Him, at best, it is not complete. In our journey through lives of the Bible, we see what it can be: From Adam s encounter we see miracles From Abraham s encounter we see God-sized promise From Moses we see the power of God s Call From the adulteress we see the opportunity of the second chance From the cripple we encounter the radical healing of God From Nicodemus we see the opportunity to break down the spiritual brick walls From the shepherds & magi; God goes beyond salvation to relationship From Mary; we don t simply receive God s promise, we become part of it From Simeon and Anna; to recognize God s answers, we have to grow up From Peter s encounter, we see the level to which God can transform From Nathanael s encounter we see how radically personal God s knowledge is of each person And the final encounter is quite fitting. It is the radical encounter of the Apostle Paul. Let s start by looking at #1 THE LIFE EXPERIENCE OF PAUL His accomplishments and blessings: He is the only apostle to be called by Christ after Christ s ascension He has authored more books in the Bible than any other person; essentially, half of the New Testament He was the foundational bridge between the Hebrew culture (of which Christianity was merely a branch) to the rest of the world He guarded fledgling Christianity against the Judaizers. Through three missionary tours, and a final journey to Rome; he embedded Christianity into the Greek and Roman cultures which effectively transformed western civilization He raised up a number of well-trained men, such as Timothy to continue in his stead, he left no leadership vacuum He was blessed with visions of heaven even while he was living on earth In essence: We are here because he was there These are Kingdom-sized blessings and accomplishments in the life of the apostle Paul. How would you like those blessings as part of your life-walk? But on the other hand, let s take a look at some of Paul s experiences due to his Christian faith. This passage is a pretty good summary: (*Let s look it up together) 2 Cor From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26. in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27. in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness 28. besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? 30. If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. 31. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 1 P a g e

2 32. In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to apprehend me; 33. but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. Since we are not really in a position to identify with these experiences, let s peek into the significance of some of them: 39 lashes A Jewish punishment, from Deut 25:1-3; codified in the Mishnah; 39 lashes because over 40, would make the scourger liable. 1/3 on the front, 2/3 on the back to be given with all the person s might; the punishment was so severe that very likely offender could die. Paul received this 5 times; why? -For preaching Jesus Beaten with rods A Roman punishment, with a knife-thin rod of birch wood. It was so abusive and humiliating it was not a lawful punishment for Roman citizens; Paul was a Roman citizen. However, if the mob was violent and the magistrate weak, the rules would be broken Why beaten? For preaching Jesus Danger on the sea Sea travel was considered taking one s life into his own hands. There were still many robbers on the seas; like the shipping lanes near Somalia today, people were taken for ransom. The seas themselves were dangerous. And besides that, in ancient Jewish culture, the spirit was thought to drift homeless in open water. Paul lived the nightmare 3 times Why on the sea? Traveling to preach Jesus Stoned That was simply a death sentence, there wasn t supposed to be any chance of surviving! Why stoned? For preaching Jesus Over the wall in a basket It almost seems anticlimactic; but in fact Paul considers this the worse. He d rather be scourged than run away from the enemies of Christ. Letting Christ down would be the ultimate discouragement. Why the need to escape? Preaching Jesus Deep concern for the churches Caring for people, especially God s church, is not a 9 to 5 job; it s a weight that never lets up (Have you ever noticed how presidents age while in office?) Question: How would you describe the life of Paul? [Hard, challenging, painful] He d agree with you! Twice he refers to himself as a drink offering being poured out It s an interesting word-picture, as it refers to a heathen practice- the libation - Pouring out a drink before and after eating as a precious offering to the gods. In so doing it would bring the blessings of the gods. It was something the people were well aware of, they identified; the cost of blessing was sacrifice; the cost of making Kingdom things happen was sacrifice, of pouring one s life out. #2 RECONCILING THE TWO IMPAGES OF PAUL Paul speaks of his blessings in Christ with the deepest joy. And yet, that same blessed life has experiences that you wouldn t wish on your worst enemy! 2 P a g e

3 This is what we learn from Paul s life: The radical Christian life goes beyond living extremes; often, the worst sacrifices are necessary to see the greatest blessings. The bottom line: KINGDOM-SIZED BLESSINGS COST! This spiritual reality caused Paul to give a vital warning to his young protégé, Timothy: 2 Tim 4 3. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4. and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. In Timothy s day, there was a group of professional teachers called sophists. Basically, they made a living by telling people whatever they wanted to hear. They were professionals in rhetoric. They could teach you how to take your argument or thinking, however wrong it might be, and spin it in such a way that people couldn t argue with it. It was a kind of personal righteousness for hire. Feeling good was the main objective; truth was at best, incidental. Pointing the limelight back on us: Does feeling good; as a main objective, exist in today s religion? Here s the summary of a quick search I made. There is: From pastors, Hagan, and Copeland: -A brand of Christianity that revolves around the power of positive confession. Words release power, either positive or negative. So the formula of successful Christian living is to only speak positive things and avoid anything negative. I found this critique of Joel Osteen s cornerstone book, Your Best Life Now: Osteen proclaims a message of pure positivism. The title of his first book, Your Best Life Now, summarizes what Osteen has to offer his many audiences. If we will follow certain principles or steps (seven to be exact), so the storyline goes, our existence will be happy, healthy, and blessed with everything that would make this life wonderful. What Osteen believes concerning the gospel is uncertain, but what is undeniable is that the emphasis of his ministry is maintaining a positive outlook on life rather than a right relationship with God. This theme resonates with the thinking of those whose lives and minds are in conformity with this world system rather than being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). ~Pastor Gary Gilley (Southern View Chapel, Springfield, IL; an Independent Bible Church) Wanting a positive outlook certainly isn t wrong, but when that becomes the main objective, where does it lead us? Here s a quote from an avid Osteen follower named, George Adams: "Right now, I'm above average!" he exclaims. "It's a new day God has given me! I'm on my way to a six-figure income!" Good for George, but how does that line up with what we ve heard from the Apostle Paul? Well if a six figure salary wasn t the payoff for Paul, what exactly was? In short, it was 3 P a g e

4 Kinship with God Paul become so close with God that the fingerprint of Paul on this world began to look remarkably like God s fingerprint. The holy, life-giving influence of Paul on others; he considered that his crowning achievement. He had the deep satisfaction of finishing what he was put on this earth to do. -Could anything give a person greater sense of fulfillment? And he could stand with confidence at the King s appearing. That is an event so awesome that others will cringe in dread because of the lives they led. #3 EXCEPTION OR THE RULE? Was Paul the exception or an example? This is what he said himself: Philippians 3: 17 Dear brothers, pattern your lives after mine and notice who else lives up to my example. In the word-for-word translation it starts fellow-imitators of me and instructs us to take notice of other imitators as an example. In modern terms, this is the mental picture Paul is setting up: When you buy a puzzle it shows you a beautiful completed picture on the box. When you properly and completely put all the pieces together, you ultimately build that beautiful picture. Paul says; if you live the Christ-mentality that he has lived; when you put all the pieces together, you will end up in that beautiful picture which all its power, intimacy, and experience of God through Christ. CONCLUSION: SO WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN IN PRACTICAL TERMS? When we process this spiritual truth we find: It is not really an issue of sacrifice or suffering at all; it is a question of motive. So, that means I have to ask you and myself, in all honesty: What is the number one motive behind your faith? This is very important because; if you follow Christ for the wrong reason; at worst your faith will not survive; at best, it will be superficial, diluted, skewed, and/ or a pathetically weak version of what it can really be. What I m about to share may not be easy to accept and is certainly not popular in our present Christian mentality; but it is the truth. If the main reason you follow Christ is for your children; you are in trouble, you will never have a full or real relationship with Christ. If the number one reason you follow Christ is to experience a better life, or even if the main reason you follow Christ is to be saved, you are off track Biblically. Those motives point to you; what God can do for me. If your foundational motive is me-centered your faith experience will only be as deep as you are. If your faith is me-centered it will be very resistant to really growing up. If it is me-centered it will never take on the personality of God. If it is me-centered you will never really get on track with why God has put you here. Here s a disturbing question: What are some of the most popular motivations for church people in our culture? 4 P a g e

5 Second disturbing question: What are the consequences of that brand of faith? Now, please don t misunderstand: It is not wrong to desire the things that benefit you. That s natural and healthy. What I am saying is: If any of those me reasons are the basic motive for your faith (and only one can be number one) they will rob you of depth, cripple your soul, and deny you the experience with Christ that He is really offering. There is only ONE right number one motive! And what is that? Jesus taught it over and over again from several angles. Here is one of the clearest: Matt "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. You can say it however you want; but the only first and foremost reason to seek God is: Because He is God! Because He is right Because He is true Because He alone is worthy Because He deserves it The promise is all that other good stuff is incidental, it will be added to you. If we seek first the rightness which IS God; we will naturally find where sacrifice and suffering fit in to the Christian picture. It is this: We are not on a quest to sacrifice and suffer, but we are not afraid of it either. If that s what it takes on our particular journey, then that s what it takes; but we will not lose sight of the One who is right, true, and worthy. -Buying into the right one will make all the difference of where your faith leads you, and what you become and experience because of it. Paul s life is your irrefutable proof. As we close in prayer, the best give me prayer we could pray is give me hunger. Lord make me ravenous and lonely for you for no other reason than; because YOU are YOU. WHAT IS YOUR NUMBER ONE MOTIVE FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST? [Take time to write it down, even as we sing] 5 P a g e