Heroes of the Faith – Patrick the Missionary to Ireland
Text: Hebrews 11:32-12:2
Well, we’re going to step aside from our study in 1st Corinthians this morning, because over starting next Sunday we’re going to begin focusing our hearts and minds on Resurrection Sunday, and I wanted to lead up to that. But today, we’re going to be looking at something that I hope is encouraging to you all, and that will strengthen you in your Christian walk.
Now some of you may know this, some of you may not, but I home-schooled my daughters. And one of the great things about home-schooling, especially in Oklahoma, is that you’re not bound by the calendar like public schools or private school. You don’t want to do a Spring Break, you don’t have to… or you can even add a few days to it if you need to get caught up in preparing assignments. But another cool thing about that is that you can actually have certain days off from school that you – the parent, feel are important or necessary.
For example; in our home-school, the girls always… well… almost always… got St. Patrick’s Day off. I think sometimes I gave them the option, and they decided to do school on that day. But there were also times when we didn’t.
Now I’m a firm believer that a person should know history. I believe that it’s vitally important that we understand where we came from, the struggles, and challenges our forefathers faced. The decisions they made, and why they made them. It’s just as important – maybe even more so to know Church history. To know the struggles and issues, and challenges of those who have gone on before us in the faith. To know how doctrine developed and why it developed the way it did. To know that men and women of faith have been kept, and sustained, and empowered, and lead by God throughout the ages. It helps us to know and understand that our faith isn’t a novelty. It’s not some fad or phase. But it is something that men and women, down through the ages have held to, and fought for, and even died for. Christianity has stood against all comers for 2000 years – and here we are today.
And when we get right down to it, Church history is a battle for the truth of God’s Word. It’s a long history of the war between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman… it started way back in Genesis, and still going on to this day.
So that’s why, this morning, we’re going to look at Patrick, the missionary to Ireland.
Now I know that everyone calls him Saint Patrick, and he was a saint in the sense of how all believers are saints. The Bible tells us that we are saints, called by God, in Christ Jesus… but he’s not a saint in the sense of the Catholic Church… in-fact; the Catholic Church has never canonized him as a saint. So a better, more accurate way to say it is – Patrick, the missionary to Ireland. And when it comes to his story, the truth is more exciting than the legends.
You’ve probably heard the story that Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland? Well, there were no snakes native to Ireland… that’s not what he did, unless you want to say the “snakes” were pagans and Celtic druids. He did pretty much drive the darkness out of Ireland with the light of the Gospel.
And this holiday we had a couple of days ago… it’s not about wearing green, or leprechauns, or pots of gold. It’s not about drinking Guinness until you turn green. Or river-dancing. Or even saying ‘Top O’ the morn’in to ya’. And even though I’m a Conner McGreggor fan, St. Patrick’s Day isn’t about crazy, red headed, read bearded Irishmen who give us the stereotype of what many in the USA think Irishmen are like.
It’s about a man, who loved God, and was used by God, to do amazing things for God!
Here’s the truth about Patrick. He was born in 385 A.D., in what is now modern day Scotland, and let me just read to you how he opened his autobiography “Confessions”: ‘My name is Patrick, I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was almost 16 at the time.” So that’s how his story began, nearly 16 years old he was kidnapped by Irish pirates, they took him to Ireland sold him as a slave to a Celtic tribal leader – a pagan. He was kept as a slave for 6 years until he finally escaped. While he was a slave, he was forced to keep the sheep for the tribal chief. He was beaten and under-fed, and sometimes forced to sleep outside in all kinds of weather. And it was during that time, that he began to remember the lessons he had learned from his grandfather and father, about Jesus, and about the Bible, and as he recalled the Gospel, he was born again, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Now like I said, he did escape, after 6 years, and he returned to Scotland. He went back to school, and finished, and then went to seminary, and after that, he returned to Ireland as a missionary.
Historians tell us that in Ireland, Patrick planted nearly 300 churches, and saw thousands of people come to faith in Christ. He was in constant danger from the Celtic Druids, he faced endless persecution, ridicule, and numerous threats on his life. He stayed in Ireland for the next 54 years until he died in 461 A.D.
Now there’s a lot more that I could say about Patrick the missionary to Ireland, but ultimately, what made him the man of God that he was, and what made him able to do and accomplish all that he did was God Himself! It was Jesus! Jesus was his source, his strength, and his motivation. So St. Patrick’s Day isn’t about wearing green, and pinching people. It’s not about singing “O Danny Boy”… it’s about God using a simple sinner to bring salvation to an entire nation of people. And with that in mind, I want you to open your Bibles to the Book of Hebrews chapter 11 and follow along as I read, beginning in verse 32 (READ Hebrews 11:32-12:2).
Now of course the greater context there is Hebrews 11 – the “Faith Chapter”, and it’s talking about all of these great and amazing things that God did through men and women who had faith. It talks about Abel offering a more acceptable sacrifice. About how Enoch was taken up, and how Noah built an ark. It talks about Abraham leaving his home in Ur and following God’s leading to a place, he didn’t even know where it was… and about Sarah receiving the ability to have a baby, even though she was really… REALLY old. It talks about how Abraham offered up Isaac by faith, and how Moses stood against Pharaoh by faith. And then our text… it talks about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.
By faith they followed God! They did God’s will. The accomplished God’s purpose for them.
They did amazing things for God, and in the service for the Lord… and at the same time… If you look at verses 35-38, “Some were tortured… others suffered mocking and flogging, and even being thrown in prison… Some were stoned, or sawn in two, killed with the sword.” Others were, “Destitute, afflicted, mistreated, with no homes, or permanent place to live.
And we can add to that, Patrick, who through many dangers, toils, and snares, brought the Gospel to Ireland. We can add Augustine, who defended the truth of God’s Word against the heresy of Pelagianism and who not only saw the fall of Rome, but strengthened the Church during that time. We could add Polycarp – a disciple of John (the author of Revelation) who was burned at the stake… or John Wycliffe who translated the Bible into English and was heavily persecuted for it… or Jan Huss, burned at the stake for fighting against heresy and false teachings… Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox – Great men of God responsible for the Protestant Reformation. Whitefiled, Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon, Moody.
The list goes on and on. We are truly surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Great men and women, who by faith, were used of God to bring about His plans, and His purposes, and His will… most of the time through ordinary means of just being faithful, of not compromising on the truth of God’s Word… sharing the Gospel, living moral, upright Christian lives.
So what’s the point of this? What does knowing this do to help you and me, right here, right now, where we are today, and with what we’re facing today?
Well, let’s look at our text again… Hebrews 12:1-2 (READ).
There’s that word “THEREFORE”. In other words, because of all those things we just read in chapter 11… and since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… here’s what we should do, “Lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
You look back at these men and women of faith… you look back at those believers who have gone before us… you see what God did through them, and with them and you see what they endured and how they were persecuted, and all that they had to go through. And we can see, that all of these folks weren’t any different than you and I. I can’t say they put their pants on one leg at a time, but they put their toga’s, and tunics, and robes on the same way everyone else did. They were sinners, flawed, fallible people. And yet, God used them. So it’s really not about them… it’s about Jesus. They serve as an inspiration of what someone who is solely devoted to the Lord can do, but it’s Jesus who is working in them and through them.
It’s like I said to y’all last Sunday, our faith is only as good as the object we place it in. And our faith isn’t in a politician or political system. Our faith isn’t in the Federal Reserve or the economy. It’s not in our nation’s military might. It’s not in ourselves, in our ability, our education. Our faith isn’t in our faith… that would be foolish. No... Our faith in in God Almighty! Our faith is in the God who created the universe with a word. The God who parts seas and walks on water. Our faith is in the God who declares the end from the beginning. Our faith is in the God who knows all things, sees all things, and is an ever present help in times of trouble.
That’s why the author of Hebrews says what he says… “Lay aside the weight. Lay aside the sin. Throw it off… don’t let it hinder you as you run the race.” It’s going to drag you down… it’s going to slow you down… it’s going to wear you down if you don’t lay it aside.
And we run the race… with endurance – some versions say patience… and understand that patience isn’t waiting, it’s HOW you wait… you can wait patiently or impatiently. The Greek word is “hypomone”… it literally means to persevere in faith… to keep going. To not give up, or give in. That’s why we’ve got to throw off every weight and the sin that clings to us. And as we do we look to Jesus – the Founder and Perfecter… the Author and Finisher of our faith.
IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS! He is the object of our faith.
He’s the one who makes it all possible. He went to the cross for the joy that was set before Him (that’s you and me, and all who would come to Him), and He’s seated at the right hand of the Father.
So I’m thankful we have a holiday when we can remember this missionary to Ireland… I wish more people understood what it was about… We should probably wear orange rather than green… as orange is the Protestant color rather than the Catholic (which is green)… But I am thankful that we have a day to remember a faithful man of God. But I’m even more thankful that we have a day every week to remember, and praise, and worship, and learn about our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, because as interesting as Patrick was, he could do nothing without Jesus.
CLOSING
