Paul – An Encouragement To Believers

Follow us on:

Website: https://cityharvestag.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityHarvestA...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cityharvestag/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CityHarvestAGChurch/featured

Introduction:

Do you remember the last time you felt discouraged, misunderstood, helpless, hopeless and wondering what is happening in your life? Or are you going through some struggle today?

More Sermons: https://www.cityharvestag.in/category/sermons/

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.

Paul – An Encouragement to believers

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 molding the world at the present moment.”

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

Brief Background:

Paul was Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia which was one of the top cities of his time. He studied under Gamaliel and was persecuting 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 stated working for Christ and his church where he faced persecution, yet he fished his raced, fulfilled his purpose and he starts out as a great example for us.

So what are some of the troubles Paul faced?

Acts 20-28 mentions 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, 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, in Acts 22, Paul is recalling his salvation experience after almost 16 years speaking to the crowd as he was arrested. 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.