“Paul’s Incredible Example”
Introduction:
Mickey Mantle, an almost mythical baseball star who feared he had failed to fulfill career expectations because of alcohol abuse and whose recent years were haunted by self-recrimination, died of cancer. He was 63. The former New York Yankees center fielder and a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame said at a news conference that he had squandered a gifted life and warned admirers he was no role model. “God gave me the ability to play baseball. God gave me everything,” he said. “For the kids out there, don’t be like me.”
We are people that like to have an example to follow. For so many people in the world today, they find their examples on the television screens and in many other places. Sadly, most of these examples are not good examples for people to follow and do not show how to live a Chris like life. It is a sad thing to hear a kid today tell you their examples and role models, because the example often stinks. I believe that we desperately need Godly examples for people to be able to follow. We need people who can show people what it means to live a Christian life and how Christ changes your life.
The Bible is full of examples of how to live our lives. We have examples for almost every different type of situation that we can be faced with. We have an example of Abraham and his unwavering faith. We have an example from Job for how to be faithful through trials that come in our lives, and of course our perfect example is Jesus Christ. Years ago a saying became popular, and that was “What would Jesus do?” The idea for that saying came from a verse in I Peter, which said, “to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example so you can follow in his steps.” Christ is the perfect example to follow because he lived a perfect life.
Another great example that we read about in the Bible is the Apostle Paul. He showed a great example to all those he was around, in fact he was able to instruct the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Paul set out and strived to be a good example. I believe that many of the character problems that we hear about in churches and many of the stories of unfaithfulness have something to do with them not having a spiritual example that they could follow. We are expected not only to be an example to the world of a Godly person, but also to the church.
Just getting out of the driveway is a major feat during a bad snow or ice storms. I heard a story of a man who used his seven-year-old son’s baseball bat to smash the slick coat of ice on his driveway. He got cold and went inside for a cup of coffee before attempting to clear the car. Several minutes later, his son, who had been outside with him, came in.
“Dad,” he said, “I got the ice off the car.”
“How did you do that?” his father asked.
“Same way you did,” the boy shrugged, “with the baseball bat.”
We must set a good example for people to follow, so they can see Christ living un us. People should see an example from us as Christians that we are different from the world. We think differently, we talk differently, we act differently, and we view others differently. We show through our examples what it means to be a Christian. Our lives are an example that people will follow, both to non-Christians and to Christians. I hope today you want to be a good example.
We too can take the example of Paul and of others and learn from his example and apply things to our lives. Paul was a person who had real struggles and real difficulties in life. He wasn’t given a special gift by God to be a better Christian. He was simply a real person living out the best he could what he believed. He showed a great example not just in what he said, but also in how he lived his life. We too should be an example in how we live.
Text: I Corinthians 11:1
I. Paul’s Example of a Relationship with God
What I am about to say may be the most important lesson that we can ever learn and I want everyone to grasp this thought. God, the Almighty, all-powerful, Holy, perfect, loving, Creator of the Universe wants to have a relationship with each of us. God does not love us as simply a mass of people, God loves us individually and wants to know us individually.
It is difficult for me to grasp having a relationship with God, it is difficult sometimes to see our faith as more than just we get to go to heaven, and we have to do certain things. God wants to have a relationship with us. That is the exact reason that God sent Jesus to die for our sins. We always say and rightly so that Jesus died so that we could be forgiven, but there is more to it than that.
When God created man, he made man without sin, and we learn that in the Garden of Eden after creation things were ideal, they were perfect. God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve and had a relationship with them. When Adam and Eve sinned a relationship was lost and contaminated. I want you to know today that God wants to have a relationship with you, He wants to know you, He wants to be help you through tough times, and to share in joys you may have.
All throughout college I got the opportunity to meet and get to know many different people. I would say though I only built a very small amount of meaningful relationships. I had a lot of acquaintances, but very few strong relationships. There is a difference in an acquaintance and a relationship, and today God wants a relationship and not just an acquaintance.
a. In a Relationship Communication is Easy
Relationships are built through communication. Have you ever been around someone you don’t know very well and it is hard to think of things to talk about? You get in those awkward situations where both of you are sitting around thinking about what to talk about? The reason for that is communication is difficult when a relationship is not present. God wants to have a relationship with us and wants communication to come easily. We communicate to God through prayer. Perhaps you find talking to God very difficult, if that is the case you must realize that the primary means to build and form a relationship is communication. Without good communication no relationship can grow. God want to be able to communicate easily with us. Paul was a man of prayer, he constantly would pray for the churches and even in his writing he would just randomly break into a prayer. It came easily because being a Christian wasn’t just about a free ticket to Heaven, it wasn’t about just doing certain things and not doing others, it was about being in a relationship with God. In the Scriptures we are instructed to devote ourselves to prayer and to pray continually and that shouldn’t be a burden if you want to build a relationship. Prayer is a very difficult thing when you are just God’s acquaintance.
b. In a Relationship Time Together is Easy
In my friendships where the relationships are the strongest, spending time together is always exciting. I usually am not looking at my watch to see how much longer we have. Time usually flies and it is usually enjoyable and not a burden. Often times in the gospels we read that Jesus would withdraw from the crowds in order to be with God. In a relationship that time together is something you look forward to and don’t see as an obligation and a burden, but rather an opportunity. Time with the people I have the best relationship is always enjoyable.
If we are in a relationship with God then time with God should come easily. We should long to spend time with God in His Word. We should love to spend time with God through prayer and we should love to spend time with God in worship. When we are in a relationship with God spending time together should be something that we look forward to.
c. In a Relationship Sharing Problems is Easy
One thing that is great about the few good relationships that we may have here on this Earth is that in those relationships, sharing problems is easy. It is easiest to be open and honest about things with people we are close to. I believe that God calls us into an open and an honest relationship. He wants us to be able to come to Him and to share our doubts, struggles with sin, temptations, and frustrations. A relationship without honesty is bound to fail.
In the book of II Corinthians Paul speaks of the time he prayed for God to remove from him what he called a “thorn in the flesh”. No one exactly knows what that thorn was, but most likely it was some struggle that he was having. The interesting thing is that Paul didn’t see God as so distant that he couldn’t speak to Him about those struggles. In a relationship sharing struggles is easy.
d. In a Relationship Service is Easy
Whenever a close friend asks me to do something, I am usually willing to help out because of the way I feel about that person. Usually with Stephanie and my honey do list, I don’t have much choice about serving. In relationships serving that person and helping them is not a burden, but is something you are willing to do. We are all called servants of God and we should be willing to do whatever service we can in the Kingdom because we are in a relationship with God. A relationship is a two-sided thing. It is not just about receiving things from one or giving things to the other it is a mutual thing. Serving within a relationship is seen as an opportunity to help and not a burden.
e. In a Relationship Trust is Easy
One of the key aspects of a good relationship is trust. People within a relationship trust each other, can depend of each other, and take each other for their word.
We are called to trust God and lean not on our own understanding; we are called to trust that He will provide for us. Trust comes a lot easier within a relationship. We can trust God and we can rest assured that He is faithful to His promises because His Word is true and He is faithful.
Paul demonstrated through His life that he had a relationship with God. He set an example for what it means to have a relationship with God, he could say, “follow me as I follow Christ.” He showed through how he lived that being a Christian should transform all of us. He showed that being a Christian is more than believing certain things and doing certain things, it is about having a relationship with God. God calls us also to have a relationship with Him, to come to know Him personally and to open ourselves up to Him. Today, maybe you have just been going through the motions, but you have no relationship with God. Perhaps for you God is just an acquaintance that you may know, but I want to ask you do you have a relationship with God, one that has open communication, one where you enjoy spending time together, one where you can share your problems, one were you want to serve the other, and one where you can trust wholeheartedly?
II. Paul’s Example A Commitment to do Right
Do you ever read some of the things that Paul says and are blown away that a human could have the faith to live like that? When I read of Paul being in prison and being beaten, and he says it is a joy, I am blown away. When I read of Paul saying, that he gave up everything to follow Jesus and counts it all a loss for the sake of Christ, I am amazed that someone could really live like that. When he speaks of his love and faithfulness in prayer to the other Christians, sometimes I wonder if he could really be as dedicated of a person as it appears he was. He is a great example for us to follow, and his character was impeccable.
Scientists now say that a series of slits, not a giant gash, sank the Titanic. The opulent, 900-foot cruise ship sank in 1912 on its first voyage, from England to New York. Fifteen hundred people died in the worst maritime disaster of the time.
The most widely held theory was that the ship hit an iceberg, which opened a huge gash in the side of the liner. But an international team of divers and scientists recently used sound waves to probe the wreckage, buried in the mud under two-and-a-half miles of water. Their discovery? The damage was surprisingly small. Instead of the huge gash, they found six relatively narrow slits across the six watertight holds.
It is the same with our character; we need to be just as afraid and careful not to get those little slits in our character as we do the big gashes, because the sits are more likely and more subtle. I want it to be clear that small lapses in our character can be a devastating thing. Perhaps today you are thinking that the small slits in your character aren’t that big of a deal. “It’s just a little lie” or “it was just one Sunday”. I want you to know that sin starts small, with a small breach of your character and then ends in a Titanic size disaster. Sin will take you further than you are willing to go. We need to be people of character. In our world today we do not need more knowledge we need more character. We do not need more things, we need more character, we do not need more laws and legislation to better our world, and we need character. Paul showed for us an example of character in a world, which lacked character. He had a commitment to doing what was right. We learn that even as he persecuted the church and killed Christians he was doing what he thought was right and pleasing to God. Paul said, that we are all in a race and we should run in such a way as to get the prize. We should not be content with close, but only with victory. In II Timothy near the end of his life he likened his Christian walk to fighting the fight of the faith. Paul was able to say in retrospect that he had fought the good fight.
A. Fight Against the Fleshly Desires
We are in a battle against the desires of our flesh. In Romans 7, Paul honestly and openly discusses his struggle to do what is right and he speaks of the battle that is taking place within him. He spoke of how he wanted to do what was right, but his fleshly desires often times took over and he would struggle not to give into them. Those fleshly desires are going to be a constant battle. There will never be a time we are not fighting against those desires within us to do what is wrong, but we must always strive to do what is right and live lives of integrity.
a. Even when under trials
Paul had a unique ability to put things into the proper perspective. Paul’s greatest example may be seen in the way in which he handled the trials he was undergoing. He faced more persecution than I could even mention. Despite all of that he was faithful to God. Many people when pressed like Paul was would quit. They would say that it was not worth all the heartache and difficulty. Paul literally gave up everything even himself for the sake of Christ. Many of us as we go through difficult circumstances begin to waver, but Paul stayed true. He kept his hope in hopeless times. He kept his faith under persecution. He saw and understood that this was all just temporary.
II Corinthians 4:8-10, 16-18, 5:1
Paul remained faithful regardless of the circumstances surrounding him.
b. Even when no one sees
Joseph’s life is a story where we can see a person of integrity and character. He was sold into slavery by his brothers and then eventually ended up working in a man named Potiphar’s house. He was elevated and given more power because of his character. Apparently, Joseph was a strapping, strong, and good-looking man much like myself, and Potiphar’s wife thought so to. She tried to get Joseph to sin with her, but he refused. No one ever would have known had Joseph given in, but he refused because he knew that God would have known and he would have known and had to live with the guilty conscience of having compromised his morals.
It is said that as the great Michelangelo painted the magnificent frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel--lying on his back for endless hours to finish every detail with great care--a friend asked him why he took such pains with figures that would be viewed from a considerable distance. "After all," the friend said, "Who will notice whether it is perfect or not?" "I will," replied the artist.
Sin is still sin even if no one is watching us. We serve a God who see everything and nothing is hidden from his sight. Some people have the mindset that it does not matter if they do something wrong if no one sees them. I think though that we should strive to be God pleasing, more than people pleasing. We need to keep our character even when no one is looking, that is called integrity. I am sure that even when Paul was alone he sought to live by the same principles as he did with others around him. I am sure that he strived not to sin even when no one was watching
c. Even when wrong is acceptable
Paul came across places in his travels where sin was abundant. The Roman world, which was the backdrop for Paul’s life was a world, filled with immorality. We live in a world today where many things are acceptable and even praised that God clearly states are wrong, but the truth is wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. Wrong is wrong even if it is acceptable in the world. Paul was a man of integrity and that is why he was able to instruct the Christians to put into practice the things that he did.
Wouldn’t it be great for us to be able to say that to people about ourselves? We need examples in the church, who will set examples for everyone as to what it means to live with integrity and character because it really does matter what we do. God really does see all that we do and sees inside our hearts. One day everything will be revealed before God, let us live with integrity and be a godly example for people to follow.
B. Fight Against the Opposition
II Corinthians 11:23-29
Paul had all sorts of opposition to his work and it could have been easy and tempting at times to give up. Perhaps it was a temptation to say, “I quit, and everywhere I go the road is difficult, people are against me, and I am tired of all the opposition.” It seems that everywhere Paul went he faced opposition. That opposition can be attributed to two forces. One the Devil and his power and secondly, wicked people who hate the truth. Right from the start while in Cyprus, Paul was opposed by a sorcerer named Elymas. In Pisidian Antioch after a great number of converts, Paul was driven from the region. An Iconium a plot was developed to stone Paul and Barnabas. In Lystra Paul was stoned and dragged outside of the city and was in such severe condition they thought he was dead. In Philippi Paul along with Silas were beaten and thrown into prison. In Thessalonica a riot started due to Paul’s preaching. In Berea Paul was forced to flee because of the opposition. Paul was put on trial in Corinth and incited another riot in the city of Ephesus. Later he was put on trial before the Sanhedrin, Felix, Festus and King Agrippa, plots were developed to kill him. He faced opposition on every corner that eh sought to preach. That had to be frustrating, but nevertheless he remained faithful.
Perhaps we will at times face opposition. Paul did teach that anyone who seeks to live a godly life would face persecution. Maybe if you have no opposition you aren’t doing enough. Have you ever had opposition to what you believe and proclaim and your standard of living? Perhaps in the workplace as you seek to tell others about Jesus people ostracize you because you believe Jesus is the only was to Heaven. Maybe among peers you feel mocked because you have a different standard for how you will live and you do not condone or approve of certain actions. Perhaps among your family members as they see you as narrow-minded because you want them to be saved and to come to Jesus. In the midst of your opposition do not give up, but remain faithful because that is our duty.
C. Fight Against the False Teaching
Paul also had to fight against false teaching. Several of his letters were written to correct false teaching. I John was written to correct the doctrine of Gnosticism, which taught of secret knowledge and how Jesus didn’t really appear as God in the flesh. Galatians was written to correct the attempts of a group called the judaizers from convincing the Christians that they needed to become Jews before they could become Christians and still they must uphold the Law. It had to be frustrating to say the least. Imagine going into a city and teaching and pouring your heart out only to learn that the people were being corrupted by false teachers. Paul too had to fight against the modern philosophies and beliefs.
We are flooded with messages of modern philosophy, which contradict the Word of God, and we must fight against them. Our culture tells us that homosexuality is not wrong, but it is an alternative lifestyle that people were born into. Our modern culture floods us with the idea that it is okay and acceptable. If you believe and speak out that it is a sin, then you will be labeled a intolerant bigot or homophobe. There is legislation in the works now to make it so we do not call our spouse’s husband and wife any longer, but rather our partner so people living the homosexual lifestyle do not feel left out. We must fight the good fight. We are told that life does not begin until one’s birth and if you believe life begins in a mother’s womb than you are labeled as narrow minded and fundamentalist. If you value life and believe that God is the giver and taker of life and if you see innocent life as precious than you are in a minority in the world today. If you tell people that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and that we are not all heading to the happy hunting ground in the sky you will be called hateful, judgmental, and condemning and even run the risk now of being arrested for hate crimes or slander. Our culture does not want us to offend the Muslim, the Hindu or the Atheist by telling them they are lost. We must fight the good fight. God’s truth still prevails and no matter how many people reject it the truth is still the truth, and we must hold to it because we do not have the authority to change it.
In all of this Paul was able to stand strong because of his commitment to do what is right in the eyes of God and not in the eyes of man.
