Title: The Posture of Paul the Trailblazer
Introduction
The word Posture means:
“A frame of mind affecting one’s thoughts or behaviour; an overall attitude.”
The posture of our heart and mind determine our behaviour and overall attitude. I remembered sharing with you sometime ago in my sermon entitled “The posture of a revivalist” that when a person had a low self esteem, he will normally slouched and when he talks he would rarely look the person in the eye.
A person who is proud walks with his nose in the air and when he comes into contact with others his attitude stinks.
For this reason Jesus said in Matt 12:34
“You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”
The Pharisees had an evil posture in their heart and this is demonstrated in their outward speech and actions.
The last few weeks we have been examining the life of Paul. You have heard the preparation and the personality of Paul. I want to conclude this series by expounding on the posture of Paul.
It is important to see what is within the man himself. Today we have a host of successful ministers who looked like trailblazers on the outside. They have big successful ministries, some were even involved in works of revival, however when you look into their inner posture, you will be shocked that many are driven by fame and greed.
Was Paul driven by a hunger for fame? What were his inner motives that drove him to do what he did? Was he a proud and arrogant man who had such a strong mind of his own that he refused to listen to anyone around? He even disputed with Barnabas who was the one who brought him into the ministry. And if that is not enough, Paul scolded Peter who was one of the pillars of the church in Jerusalem and if that is not enough, he even published the incident in his letter to the church in Galatia (Galatians 2:11-14)
This afternoon I want to expound on the posture of Paul that made him such an amazing trailblazer for the Lord.
1. Posture of Love
RO 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Paul often referred to himself as a bond-servant of God. According to Jewish laws, no Hebrew is to be a permanent slave of another Hebrew. After 6 years of service, a slave was to be released. However if a slave who has been freed desired to continue with the master, out of his love for the good master, he would have a mark made in his ear to signify that he is a bond-slave. (Ex 21:5-6)
Paul understood the master’s love for him. From a man with a murderous heart, God showed his mercy upon Paul, saving him and called him into ministry. Paul knew the depth of God forgiveness in his life and that is why he often referred to himself as the chief of all sinners.
Having understood God’s love and forgiveness, Paul chose to become a bond-slave or a love-slave. He chose to permanently serve his master as a servant because he so love his master.
Paul’s action for God as a trailblazer was not spurred by fame or greed but out of a pure love for Jesus. When it was within his rights to demand financial support for his ministry expenditure, he chose to work as a tent maker.
Ac 20:33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
Ac 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
Ac 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Through the years, there were many ministers whom I looked up to as models. I have learnt much from their writings and their ministry. Sometimes it hurt my heart when I found out that they demand a certain fee and certain class of hotel for them to come to a country to minister.
Paul was so different, though it was right for the people to support him, he chose not to in order not to stumble anyone.
His posture of love for is demonstrated by his love for the churches and the unsaved.
In Acts 20:36-21:1, how much Paul had endeared himself to the church in Ephesus. It was indeed a moving scene.
2. Posture of total reliance
The Apostle Paul was a born leader. Right from the beginning his leadership traits was seen in the way he systematically hunt down those who belonged to the way. Paul was the lead man in persecuting Christians. When he became a believer, that leadership nature surfaced once again. He started preaching vehemently. It is interesting to note that Barnabas was the one went to look for Paul to assist him in the ministry at Antioch. In the later chapters of Acts, it seemed that Paul became the leader of the mission team.
It is so easy for Paul to trust in his natural abilities and talents to do the things of God. However through the work of the Spirit through Paul’s life, he understood that the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God cannot be achieved through raw human strength.
In Paul’s First letter to the Corinthian church, you will catch a glimpse of this posture in Paul’s life.
1Co 2:1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
1Co 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1Co 2:3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
1Co 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
1Co 2:5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Paul never relied upon his own talent, knowledge or even charisma but he is always leaning upon the Lord for His wisdom, for His guidance, for His message, for His strategy. In doing so, the faith of his converts did not rest on men’s wisdom but upon God’s power.
3. Posture of Humility and Brokenness.
Let us do a simple exercise. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 highest) how to you rate yourself in terms of boldness and confidence in doing things for the Lord?
Next on a scale of 1-10, how do you rate yourself in terms of boldness and confidence?
How many of you feel that you are high in confidence and high in humility?
Many of us carry this false belief that if we are to be humble and meek then we cannot to bold and confident before the Lord.
Jesus was bold and confident. He spoke with authority. He even acted with aggression when he went into the temple and turn the tables. Yet he Jesus was as meek as a lamb.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Paul fashioned himself after the master whom he loved. And through the work of the Spirit in his life, Paul was a bold and confident evangelist who was also humble and broken before the Lord.
This posture of humility was demonstrated by his willingness to yield to the will of God.
When we refuse to yield, we are actually saying to God I prefer to live life my way, do the things I like to do. It is telling God I know better than you do and that is pride.
The posture of humility was also demonstrated by doing whatever that God directed him to do. When we refuse to do that which God directs us to do, that is pride. Why? The reason why we stop short of performing deeds for the Lord is because of the fear of embarrassment or failure. “What if?” often pops up in our mind and “What if?” are words of pride. When we stop short of doing things for God, we are actually looking at our own ability. Trusting our own ability is pride.
Conclusion
The human posture can be improved. Let me show you an exercise used to improve our posture when we walk.
How do we improve our posture?
The Jews had a Passover meal to commemorate how God delivered them in Egypt. They ate the Passover Lamb which was a picture of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
For Paul, he remembered what a great sinner he was and how Christ came and died for him on the cross. If you read Paul’s writing, he constantly spoke about the cross.
Action: Make it a practice to think about your former life and how God saved you and transformed you. In your prayers thank God again and again for His work of salvation in your life. Do not forget the goodness of the Lord.
To improve the posture of total reliance upon God, if you have multiple talents, learn not to rely upon your human talents. Always commit what you have to do to the Lord. Seek him for empowerment and guidance.
To improve the posture of humility, learn to obey God and do what he has called you to do. Remember that humility is not equal to a refusal to act for God. When you do well for the Lord, learn to accept praises without allowing your head to get big. Come to God and thank Him for using you and give God all the glory.
If you learn to do this, you will soon develop a posture that will make you a trailblazer like Paul.
