Paul the Apostle

"To live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

Whoa.

I'm awe-stricken.

Not by the idea that you literally have to die in order to gain, but I'm amazed by the faith and love for God that Paul has as he made this statement. For to him, he would rather live to spread the word of God and fulfill the mission that God has assigned him than to take easy way out and give up. And "giving up" for him at that moment in time was to, honestly, die.

What?! Yes, it's paradoxical, is it not? Who on earth would choose death over life if given the option? The answer is nonsensically obvious. However, if we look into the life of Paul as God's worker then we may look at things from a different perspective.

As you can see his journey as he travels from Cyprus to Greece to Crete to Rome to Galatia to Thessaloniki, etc, he carried with him not a heavy obligation to God but his faith and love for Him. Throughout his mission, he was heavily persecuted but he was not ashamed of being persecuted nor imprisoned.

At Lystra, Paul was stoned. (Acts 14:19-20)

At Philippi, Paul was imprisoned. (Acts 16:25-34)

At Jerusalem and Rome, Paul was seized by a mob and trialed.

His life clearly demonstrates how powerful God is in our lives. Time and time again, he was rescued by the grace of God; he was obedient to the point of death. In face of all these persecutions, he was suffering so much and yet, when death seemed the easier option over life, he chose God, still. His love for God and his brothers and sisters made that commitment possible.

Can you make the same choice if you were in his shoes? Perhaps. However, we can never experience the sufferings Paul underwent. A fraction, maybe.

But what we can learn from the way he faced his trials and persecutions in his life is a great deal.

In the face of persecutions and sufferings in our lives, we can :

1. Become a man of prayer.

Prayer, other than the Bible, is the most direct form of communication with God. It's our source of strength, solace and peace. His admonition to the church at Ephesus was, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18). It is clear that Paul's instructing and advising others to never stop praying. In Acts 16:25, we also learn that in time of trying circumstances we can always direct our troubles to God just as Paul and Silas did when they were imprisoned. And without fail, we will eventually overcome.

2. Become a stronger and more spiritual person.

1 Corinthians 3:
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

From this we see that Paul was rebuking the Corinthians for their spiritual immaturity. In his eyes, they were still, spiritually speaking, babies, unable to receive the meat of God's word, and had to feed on the milk of God's word, rather than the meat.

We can - and should - grow in spirit and in faith, through the trials and tests that God has set in our lives. Is this not the ultimate, or rather a life-long - goal of being a Christian? Thanks be to God!

3. Become a man of self-sacrifice and self-control.

This idea can be seen 1 Corinthians 9. In verse 26-27 : Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Here Paul is speaking the importance of giving not a part of us or a small portion of our time but our whole body and spirit to God, for we wholly belong to Him.

In the face of suffering we must learn to rely on His strength, be still and self-controlled and know that He is God.

Even amidst our sufferings, we can show Christ-likeness by continuing to love and help our fellow brothers and sisters. This is the true spirit of Christ.

4. Become a man unashamed of the Gospel but one who demonstrates our love for God through preaching it.

Romans 1:16 states, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Ephesians 6:19-20 : Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

I'm certain that today, many of us tend to have difficulty or are, to a certain extent, embarrassed to share the Gospel to our friends. We must pray for the courage that Paul had in his preaching of the Gospel. For what we are preaching - the Gospel - is the truth.

Is the truth so hard to tell?

4. Become a man who believe in and preach the reality of the kingdom of God.

Paul described the church as the body of Christ to illustrate the important relationship that exists between Christ and the church, as well as, each member of the church to one another (Ephesians 1:22-23). We are members of the body and of one another (1 Corinthians 12:27; Rom. 12:5). Paul described the church or the kingdom as "the household of God" (1 Tim. 3:15). Such a metaphor emphasizes the family relationship each one enjoys being in Christ. Paul also described the church or the kingdom as the temple of God (Eph. 2:19-22).

5. Become a man of wisdom.

Wisdom is acquired by means of a knowledge of God's word, coupled with a faithful living of it day by day. This helped to produce a man like Paul, who was wise in the work of preaching the gospel through out the ancient Near East. The experiences of being stoned at Lystra, of being put in prison in Philippi, of facing the mob in Jerusalem, and countless other occasions, where the gospel was met with opposition, were rich experiences. As terrible as these experiences were, they produced wisdom upon the part of all, who faithfully endured them for Christ and the gospel's sake.

With wisdom - knowledge of God - can we grow in spirit and faith.

6. Become a man of Christ.

Through our sufferings we are able to identify with Jesus Christ. John 15:20 : If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

Through our trials, be it physical pain or emotional battles, etc, we are able to share a bond that connects man and Christ. For Jesus suffered and endured the frailties and limitations of being human while living in a sinful world despite being the Son of God. But because Jesus lived in our world and now lives within believers - us - he shares the pains, sorrows and frustrations we feel. (Hebrews 4:15) He joins with us in suffering and - even more encouragingly - he also offers us comfort

2 Corinthians 1:5 beautifully demonstrates this, "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."
WOW?!! Amen to that?! Christ's comfort can come in various and even tangible, practical ways... His comfort may come in physical presence of our friends, families, etc, or spiritual strength that overpowers us, etc. One thing that we can be assured of is that we need not walk it alone. Liverpool's slogan : You are not alone. Yes!!! Christ is with us, always, no doubt.

7. Become a man of obedience.

Hebrews 5:8 puts this clearly : Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

Through suffering, Jesus explained obedience in human terms. Suffering is a necessary price of obedience, fulfilling the will of God. Paul, as Jesus was, was obedient to the point of death. And obedience to God comes with the price of persecution, trial and sufferings. But in so doing, we are able to become a spiritually stronger person! Is the reward for obedience not worth the cost?

And rest assured that Christ will ALWAYS be with us to give us comfort and His spirit to guide us.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" Oh Lord, what more can we ask of you? For in our weaknesses, his glory and power are manifested.

His grace is more than enough for us.

More than sufficient.

His grace...

Amen.