The Story - 30
May 15, 2011
You may not have known this, but there was time when two of the most famous men in history lived in the same city — the apostle Paul and the emperor Nero. Their lives actually overlapped for a short period of time. Of course, nobody took notice of Paul, he was overshadowed by Nero. Everyone was fascinated by this young flamboyant emperor. Nero would have been invited on Oprah to espouse his philosophy. Larry King would have interviewed Nero. We would have had a state dinner for Nero. Nero was a hero, while Paul was a zero.
If anyone knew anything about Paul, it would have been that he was an eccentric and fanatical Jew who always spoke about some guy, some teacher named Jesus, who he said came back from the dead. In those days in Rome, they took people like Paul and locked them up in prison. So, while he was suffering and growing old in prison, Nero was enjoying life in the palace. He was the one with a future ahead of him. If you asked the common person on the streets of Rome, ‘who’s going to make the biggest difference in the world, Nero or Paul?’ It would’ve been a no-brainer, of course it would be Nero, he’s a hero.
Nero had everything going for him. For one thing he was married to Poppaea Sabina, who was his 2nd wife and was reportedly very beautiful. She kept up her beauty, soft skin, and kept diseases away by taking daily baths in donkey milk. Nero had 400 donkeys in a stable just for her bath. You see, whatever Nero liked, Nero got. He loved to hold lavish parties and invite himself to be the entertainer. At the age of 25, he made himself a god, and had a huge statue erected of him.
According to a first century description of Paul, he wasn’t much to look at. He was bald, bow-legged, strongly built, small in size, meeting eye brows and a big nose. He didn’t look like much. If we were to take a close look at Paul, we’d see how there were scars all across his back, from all the beatings he endured. It had been a rough journey for Paul. Listen to what he endured,
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own people, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.
27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches ~ (2 Corinthians 11).
It’s amazing what he went through. Can you imagine going through all of that, and still being so passionate about Jesus. Paul was called to a life of suffering, and that’s what happened, and it only made his story and reliance on Christ all the stronger.
Imagine all of the places he went to . . . Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Galatia, Colossae, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Crete, Malta, Athens, Syracuse, Iconium, Philippi, Antioch and Rome. These weren’t vacations, these were working trips. Trips in which he would teach and heal and tell others about the hope he had in Jesus. And if he was accepted somewhere, he would often stay for a period of time, like in Antioch for 3 years, or in Ephesus for 2 years.
Paul would work in the morning, then he would teach and preach all afternoon or evening. He was a tireless and passionate worker for Jesus. Nothing slowed him down. And when he wasn’t visiting a city or preaching, he was writing. We cherish his writing today. He’s the author of almost ½ of the New Testament, and is the most influential writer in the history of the world.
He wrote letters which were read throughout the churches. Passages which help us in our times of trouble. Passages which remind us of God’s love and grace. Passages which encourage us. Passages like ~
• Do no be anxious about anything!
• Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, rejoice!
• Our citizenship is in heaven.
• God made Him who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
• For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• If God is for us, who can be against us?
• Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
• I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Great words which sustain us in our daily lives. And so many of us could come up with other great words from Paul. As we read Paul’s words, don’t you sense his passion, his love and his dedication to Christ. He was a prophet and pastor all in one. He could knock you over the head one second and then he’d be willing to die for you the next.
Whether he was comforting or confronting the church, we know for certain he was all in, sold out for Christ. I don’t believe he ever got over the road to Damascus experience. Remember the story, he was on his way to Damascus to kill Christians, when Christ made a personal appearance to Paul. That meeting left Paul blind and stunned — and his life was never the same again. I don’t think he got over the fact that this Jew of Jews was called to be a messenger to the Gentiles, and this old legalist would be the proclaimer of love; that he, the self-proclaimed chief of sinners would become the messenger of God’s mercy; and the master of God’s law would become the greatest proclaimer of God’s grace in history.
His entire theology can be summarized in this one sentence in the book of Ephesians, 8 It is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Paul is the one helped us for the first time understand that we cannot earn our salvation. It’s a gift. By grace you have been saved. Justified freely by God’s grace through the blood, the death of Jesus on the cross. And grace is what turned his world upside down. And Paul hit the road telling anyone who would listen about the amazing grace of Jesus.
On his final trip to Jerusalem, the religious leaders grew so jealous, that they tried to have Paul killed.
30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.
31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of
the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.
32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Acts 21
Now these are Paul’s countrymen. They shared his ancestry. These types of events were normal in Paul’s life. He was even warned not to go to Jerusalem, because of the fear of his death. But listen to what Paul said in response, 13I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21)
Then after this attempt on his life, he was sent to Caesarea Philippi and awaited trial for 2 years, then his journey took him to numerous places including a storm which left Paul and others shipwrecked, bitten by a snake and going hungry. Just a typical journey in Paul’s life.
After all of this, you wonder how did Paul survive all of this? One beating after another, one struggle after another, one calamity after another, one rejection after another! Let me just stop and say this, for many of us here this morning, this is a very real question, isn’t it? It’s a personal, real question, because we’re going through some things in life which are causing us to struggle.
One challenge after another, we struggle after another. Maybe your storms don’t come through shipwrecks, but maybe you feel like life has been shipwrecked. Our storms come in the form of health issues, family issues, financial issues, issues of depression and addictions and other emotional struggles. Our attacks don’t land us in Roman prisons, but we still feel imprisoned, whipped and attacked.
Does it help you to know that the most influential Christian of all time, other than Jesus, Himself, had to face so many challenges and struggles. We need to know that sometimes a Christian life is a rough life, but it’s a good life. And the apostle Paul wouldn’t have traded his life for any other life. We read from the man of passion and love, that he counted it all joy to suffer and struggle for Jesus.
2 Timothy is Paul’s final letter, and in his opening remarks to Timothy, a young man who was like a spiritual son to Paul, listen to these words from Paul,
8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am.
Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. (2 timothy 1:8-12)
You just read the secret of Paul’s strength. He anchored himself in a purpose that was higher than his life. He realized he was part of a work which began long before he was born, and will continue long after he would be gone from this earth. Do we do the same? Are we anchoring ourselves in something which is higher than this life? Not in some metaphysical sign, not in the sun, moon or stars. But are we anchoring ourselves in the One who gives life? In Jesus?
It’s been awhile since I spoke about the upper story and lower story. Remember the lower story, is our world, where life takes place. And in our world we find chaos, confusion, struggles, sickness, challenges, issues, temptations, selfishness, sin, death and more. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
But we know there’s more to the story than meets our eyes. Because we realize there’s an upper story. That God had a plan which began before time and will continue after this place is gone. And God uses the upper story to administer the lower story, and everything in the lower story fits into a perfect plan. It doesn’t always seem perfect while we’re living through it. We can all agree to that. But we don’t understand it, but like Paul, we can say this is for God’s glory.
Ultimately it works out for good. So, while we can be discouraged and challenged, we are not to give up, we hold on, we dig in, hang on, just like those posters, you know, those ones which shows a cat hanging for dear life from a tree. That’s what we need, just to hold on, digging our fingers into life, not just to endure, but because we believe that God has something good coming.
We see this coming through in Paul’s closing remarks to Timothy. It’s a passage I’ve used at many funerals, wonderful words from Paul. In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, we read these words from Paul ~ 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure has come.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Paul’s writing these words knowing his executioner is sharpening the blades. My time has come, but I don’t despair, because I’ve fought the good fight. Are you fighting the good fight? I know we’re fighting a fight, we all do. Life has it’s fights. But are you fighting the good fight? The fight for souls, the fight for what is right, the fight for what will endure, the fight for what is eternal. Are you fighting the good fight?
I would hate to reach the end of my life and say, everything I fought for is about to end. I want what I fight for to last into eternity, to carry on, beyond what we see. Because we will all finish the race. I’ve done what I was sent to do, I accomplished what God sent me to do. What a statement, what hope from Paul.
From what we know, not long after writing those words, Paul was beheaded. What began on the Damascus road, was concluded on the Roman chopping block. Most people probably didn’t notice. Remember, Nero was the hero. He was the one who was going to make the big difference in the world. Not some guy named Paul who was executed.
But history teaches us otherwise. Just 4 years after Paul’s death, Nero, at the age of 29, was being pursued by his own countrymen, and as they approached him, he killed himself. Some historians say, his 2nd wife Poppaea Sabina, killed his first wife. Some say that Nero, later killed her, this is of course, after he poisoned his half-brother and later poisoned his mother.
You know you have to look really hard to find a cathedral dedicated to St. Nero, but you don’t have to look to far to find one named St. Paul. I can’t say I’ve ever read an epistle written by Nero or anything he ever wrote which has survived time. I’ve never met anyone named Nero. I think there was a dog named Nero, though. But I know a lot of Paul’s.
And I know I’m looking into the faces of Paul’s and Pauline’s right now. Some ordinary people of quiet courage. Maybe you’re laboring away anonymously, just doing your thing for the glory of God. You’re loving your kids, teaching the kids you work with, watching over the office, showing up at work, hanging in there with the grumpy folks we know along the way. You’re taking it one day at a time.
Life comes with challenges and storms; and I want you to know you are a living epistle. And do not underestimate how God is going to use your life. When you watch television or read People magazine, you will see a lot of Nero’s, a lot of people walking the red carpets, lots of people with soft skin, lots of self proclaimed emperors. Don’t overestimate their influence. The real change makers are those who are working beneath the surface, under the radar screen, touching lives, one life at a time. Those are the real difference makers. And you are one of those, keep it up.
Don’t be discouraged, don’t be disheartened, most of us look very ordinary. And the church looks so, so ordinary, but look at what happens when we open our hearts and hands to others. The kingdom grows, one person at a time, one person at a time, one person at a time, and it never stops.
Remember, you are the church.
