Paul

Let's bow our heads and pray together.

Our gracious Lord, we thank you so much for your holy word.

And we pray, Lord, that you would teach it to us.

We thank you, Lord, that this isn't like any other book,

but Lord, it is a book inspired by your Holy Spirit.

And so, Lord, we beseech you now to send your spirit upon us

that we may understand your word

and we may find strength to put it into practice.

And we pray these things in Christ's name.

Amen.

So, in Acts chapter 19, we read these words.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

I, in preparation for this talk, I had a kind of suspicion.

And my suspicion was, I wonder how much,

in the general tenor of things,

people really appreciate St. Paul.

In the modern world, he's been found and charged

and pronounced guilty by radical feminists as a misogynist.

And if you look at those lists of people of significance in history,

you will find lots of eminent and able people,

people like Thomas Edison, who, as you know, invented what?

The light bulb.

I don't know about you, you know,

I'm quite glad that he was able to shed light on us.

People like Isaac Newton.

Where would we be if we didn't really understand gravity these days?

And most of the lists do include Jesus Christ.

But none of the lists I looked at included St. Paul,

which seemed to me to be a mysterious thing.

Paul's letters have surely been a spiritual inspiration

to millions and millions and millions of people

since the time of his being here amongst us on earth.

You might ask yourself,

what would we be ignorant about

if St. Paul had not written his letters?

How would we know about Holy Communion?

Okay, Jesus did celebrate the Last Supper

and did this in remembrance of me.

But it's in 1 Corinthians chapter 11

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

that the great apostle spells out

A, the significance of Holy Communion

and B, reminds us that

we shouldn't take Holy Communion

without examining ourselves.

It's an interesting thing in modern church

with what they call the parish communion movement.

I sometimes hear clergy speaking about communion

as though it were medicine.

Come up and take this, it'll make you well.

It's not what Paul says.

Paul says exactly the opposite.

He says, if you receive communion

without examining your lives,

then he says, this is the reason

why some of you have become ill

and some of you have died.

For Paul, it was that critical.

That's why I'm not comfortable

with those churches that celebrate

Holy Communion every day of the week

because my fear is that familiarity

can breed a certain contempt.

What would we know about communion?

What would we know about the atonement?

The way Jesus puts sinners like us

right with God.

How would we understand that

without St. Paul?

How would we know about sanctification?

The fact that we're supposed to be

growing more like Jesus every day.

What would we know about the gifts of the Spirit

or the fruit of the Spirit

without St. Paul?

And what would we know

about the character of the church

without Paul's writing

in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 12

and Romans chapter 12

Romans 12 · chapter mention

where Paul likens the church

that's us

to a body.

He says when

all the parts of the body

are working in harmony

that's when we feel whole.

I'm at the age now

where it's in a little less harmony

than it used to be.

And I notice it.

No.

Without St. Paul

the gospel

would be absolutely

denuded of any meaning.

And my guess is

that without St. Paul's

careful explanations

in his epistles

throughout the New Testament

Christianity would have died

the death

of a kind of

slightly strange sect

of Judaism

based in Jerusalem.

So I want to say

four things

briefly

to you this morning

about this man

Paul of Tarsus.

Just to remind you

we're in the middle

of a

course

which is called

Great Journeys

of the New Testament.

It would actually

have been better

to have been called

Great People

of the Bible.

Paul

we note

was somebody

who was transformed.

In Acts chapter 7

Acts 7 · chapter mention

and the final verse

we read there

that

as the deacon

Stephen

was being brutally

killed by being stoned

you know what stoning was?

It meant

that they would bury you

up to your neck

in sand

so you could not move

and they would

chuck big rocks

at your head

until

you died.

Paul

was a witness

to the stoning

of Stephen

and the last

verse of chapter 7

says

Paul in those days

was called

Saul

Saul of Tarsus

said

Saul

approved

of his murder

he was

an antagonist

of Christianity

he did not

like Christians

he went out

of his way

to try and bring

the Christian movement

to an end

just two chapters

later

in the book

of Acts

you can read

about the conversion

of St. Paul

how the risen

Jesus

appeared to him

on the road

to Damascus

and his life

was changed

and the greatest

antagonist

of the Christian

faith

became the greatest

protagonist

the man on whom

a lot of our

understanding

of the gospel

and its ramifications

for us

as disciples

is based

on his teaching

as I've said

he was transformed

and the Christian

life

starts

with an act

of transformation

that moment

when we own

our faith

in Jesus

for ourselves

what an amazing

transformation

took place

in Paul

what an amazing

transformation

is taking place

in some

in some

of you

and wouldn't

it be great

if that

transformation

could take

place

in those

of you

who know

that you've

not really

turned yourself

over to the

lordship

of Jesus

Christ

think how

different

this church

would be

if it were

full of people

who were full

on for Jesus

all for Jesus

I surrender

think of it

think what it

would be like

we would

change that

awful statistic

that in most

churches

20% of the

people supply

80% of the

money and 80%

of the horsepower

I always used

to tell my clergy

those of you

who can break

that terrible

statistic

will make

a difference

in this world

for the sake

of Jesus Christ

and his gospel

Paul was a

transformed man

secondly

he was a

well-travelled

man

I came across

some travel

blogs

and one of the

things that

travel blogs

like to tell

you about

is some

of the

ridiculous

excuses

that people

give for

trying to get

a refund

on their

holidays

somebody

seriously

wrote this

nobody told

me that

there would

be fish

in the

water

the children

were terrified

we were on

holiday in

Spain

and everybody

just spoke

Spanish

we booked

an excursion

to a water

park

but nobody

told us

we had to

take our

swimming gear

the beach

was too

sandy

the list

goes on

of stupidity

stability

St Paul

travelled

at a time

when travelling

was a risk

I mean

I get that

travelling today

in the United

Kingdom is

something of a

risk

when you sit

on that

carefully fashioned

car park

the M6

or you try

and travel

south to

Cornwall

and Devon

and can

end up

somebody told

me recently

it would take

them 13

hours to get

from Clevedon

to somewhere

down south

because the

motorway was

shut for

seven hours

Paul travelled

at a time

when

frankly

the risk

of being

stuck in

traffic was

pretty minimal

but the risk

of being

attacked

and killed

and robbed

was massive

what we know

about St Paul

is he did

three major

what we call

mission journeys

he went

out from

into

Asia Minor

and travelled

as far west

as Italy

some historians

think he actually

got to Spain

but I think

mainline

historians

believe that

he was

actually

put to

death

in Rome

the good

thing

about

St Paul

is

he teaches

us something

which is

generally

lacking

in the

21st century

church

in the

west

he understood

the great

commission

Jesus

didn't say

hang about

in churches

everybody

and hopefully

people

show up

no he

said go

go into

all the

world

and make

disciples of

all nations

all cultures

Paul

surely got

that

he didn't

jump on a

plane

or

get in a

fancy car

to drive

on his

journeys

no he had

to walk

or at best

would have

a donkey

with him

but he

understood

this

and we

need to

understand

this

the gospel

cannot just

be trapped

in our

church

buildings

amongst a

group of

people

who seem

to be happy

to grow

all together

imagining

that if we

sit on the

premises

we can stand

on the

promises

Paul knew

that the

principal

dynamic

of the

church

because it

is the

principal

dynamic

of the

Holy Spirit

was to

force energy

outwards

into the

world

that doesn't

mean you've

all got to

go home

from here

and join

the church

mission

society

and end

up somewhere

in the

world

in fact

there's a

reversal of

that going

and we're

now receiving

quite rightly

missionaries

from other

parts of

the world

where things

are going a

lot better

in the

churches

than they

are here

in the

west

did you

know that

the top

five fastest

growing churches

in the

United Kingdom

are all

Nigerian

black led

churches

somebody say

hallelujah

Paul understood

this

Paul knew

that there

needed to be

an outward

dynamic

in the

churches

and friends

in these

days when

all we're

reminded

about is

our

decline

we need

to really

take note

of this

the third

thing is

Paul

taught

he was a

teacher

he understood

something that

Dallas Willard

the great

spiritual writer

noted about

the 21st

century church

he said

this

there is a

great omission

he wrote a

book called

the great

omission

can you

imagine for a

moment what

that omission

was in

Dallas Willard's

mind

Dallas Willard

says all

we've been

interested in

is getting

people to the

point of

conversion

getting people

to come to

church

Dallas Willard

says and I

believe he was

right that the

missing dimension

is discipleship

how we grow

together into

the likeness of

Jesus Christ

how the process

of sanctification

works in us

that we might

become conquerors

of those parts

of our life that

Paul called the

flesh

the parts of our

lives that get us

into trouble

if you have

a serious issue

with an issue

of the flesh

today

I want to say

this to you

there is hope

however desperate

it feels

however much

in debt you

feel

however addicted

you feel

there is hope

for you

because the

Holy Spirit

if you will

allow him

can deal with

any of those

things that

push you towards

behaviour that

undermine Jesus

Jesus said of

the Holy Spirit

when he comes

he'll convict you

of what is right

and wrong

and Paul taught

us that the

Holy Spirit

will give us

the strength

to overcome

these things

stop drinking

that extra

drink

stop taking

those tablets

or smoking

that tobacco

stop looking

at members

of the opposite

sex

of sexual

objects

St. Paul

knew all

about the

flesh

knew all

about the

sins of the

flesh and the

devil

and showed

us a way

that we

can overcome

he was

a teacher

imagine this

in Acts chapter

Acts 19 · chapter mention

19

we're told

that he went

to the

hall of

tyrannous

it was a

big debating

place where

the Greek

philosophers

would come

together

and the

general public

would gather

did you notice

what it said

about Paul's

ministry there

it said he

remained there

for two

years

until what

everybody in

Asia Minor

had heard

heard the

gospel

what an

amazing

commitment

that is

I'll tell you

something

I am

troubled

by the

increasing

godlessness

of our

times

and sometimes

dear friends

it feels a

very lonely

life

but I'm

troubled by

it

I am so

troubled by

it that I

wake up in

the middle

of the

night

and think

about unsaved

people and

their lot

and then

I start to

think to

myself

how much

of this

has happened

on your

watch

Mike Hill

what are you

going to do

about it

I am

ashamed

when I

hear that

John Wesley

a great

Methodist

thank God

that we're

in partnership

with the

Methodists

and pray

that the

spirit of

John Wesley

would permeate

all of us

John Wesley

I worked

out on my

calculator

preached

44 sermons

a week

knocks into

a cocked

hat

doesn't it

those churches

which have

one main

service

on a

Sunday

knocks into

a cocked

hat the

fact that

most of

our preaching

takes place

within the

hallowed

walls of

a church

you're sitting

saying well

street preachers

are weird

tell you

something

when I

was a

17 year

old moron

grade A

my heart

was stirred

by a

man who

stood

outside

Old

Trafford

football

ground

with a

sandwich

board

on

which

read

probably

not the

most

positive

message

it said

the wages

of sin

is death

and for

years we

used to

take his

bowler hat

off it

and chuck

it into

the river

Irwell

chucked his

hat and

one day

he said

to me

why don't

you come

round to

my house

for tea

so my

friends and

I went

round there

ready to

cause mayhem

and for

five minutes

I suppose

we did

and then

for the

first time

this dear

man

explained

the gospel

to me

I went

away

thinking

I could

never be

good enough

for this

deal

you know

I don't

know if

I could

keep it

going

but you

know

the idea

that death

won't be a

brick wall

the idea

that I

can be

forgiven

for the

many bad

things

I've

done

really

appealed

to me

it was

a year

later

in God's

right time

when I

surrendered

to Jesus

Christ

and my

life

not quite

as dramatically

as St.

Paul was

transformed

the last

thing I want

to say

he was

transformed

he travelled

he taught

and the

fourth thing

which I

really admire

about St.

Paul is

he was

tenacious

in the

second

Corinthians

you read

there

Paul

apostleship

is seriously

under scrutiny

by the

people in

Corinth

there were

some people

there who

doubted

that he

could claim

to be an

apostle

because he

had only

met a

kind of

vision

of the

risen

Christ

not met

the risen

Christ

in person

and I

can imagine

that this

was really

undermining

you know

he tried

to teach

this

church

he tried

to

present

himself

as an

authentic

apostle

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and on

this

occasion

Paul

tells him

here are

my

qualifications

let me

read them

to you

he says

this

are they

servants

of Christ

speaking of

his

opponents

are they

servants

of Christ

I am

out of my

mind to

talk like

this

I am

more

I have

worked

much

harder

been

imprisoned

more

frequently

been

flogged

more

severely

and been

exposed

to death

again and

again

five times

I received

from the

Jews

the forty

lashes

minus one

three times

I was

beaten

with rods

once I

was stoned

three times

I was

shipwrecked

I spent

a night

and a

day

in the

open

sea

I have

been

constantly

on the

move

I have

been

in danger

from

rivers

in danger

from

bandits

in danger

from my

own

countrymen

in danger

from

Gentiles

in danger

in the

city

in danger

in the

country

you'd think

wouldn't

you that

any sane

person

who'd been

through that

kind of

stuff would

say

you know

what I

think I

need a

sabbatical

I need

a break

from this

this is

too much

Lord

and you

know I

know you

understand my

need for

not Paul

oh no

before he

started his

ministry

he went

to we

don't know

much about

this but

he went

to Arabia

and spent

a while

there after

his conversion

you know

quite what he

was doing

there was

he kind

of learning

the Old

Testament

trying to

work out

to himself

well what

does this

gospel mean

how could I

articulate it

how can I

go into the

world and

talk about

it

but he

did

and the

first sign

of opposition

he didn't

give up

he was

tenacious

in his

willingness

to suffer

for his

faith

and he

was tenacious

because he

would stand

up for the

gospel

when people

threatened

him

interesting

to me

that in

the early

church

the patriarchs

the early

fathers of

the church

all saw

that this

was a

really

important

role

for them

and that

was to

stand up

for the

gospel

you could

get the

impression

today

couldn't

you

this

truly

disturbs

me

that the

church

is more

concerned

with

kind of

accommodation

of

20th

century

godlessness

I remember

once a big

argument in

some synod

I was

gently

snoring

through

and the

debate

was

should

people

who never

have anything

to do

with the

church

have never

darkened

the door

of the

church

should

they

have a

vote

at the

annual

general

meeting

of the

church

I mean

I was

young and

rash

and I

thought to

myself

this is

wrong

you know

I wouldn't

go down

to the

masonical

and tell

them how

to run

their show

because I

don't

believe in

freemasonry

I wouldn't

go down

you know

when the

women's

institute

have invited

me to

give a

tour

can tell

them

how to

kind of

you know

recover

the

crime

wouldn't

do

that

not

interested

why

would

we

allow

people

this is

still

the

law

if you

don't

believe me

you can

read the

booklet

on it

but there

were serious

people

standing up

defending

to the

hilt

the idea

that godless

people could

come into

your church

and vote

at the

AGM

I had

this in

my ministry

we once

put some

floodlights

we haven't

got the

right permissions

for it

put some

floodlights

in the

churchyard

so at

night

we could

sort of

highlight the

tower

do you know

what I

mean

so we

did it

and we

were very

very careful

at 10 o'clock

it switched

off

in the

winter

I got to

the

AGM

we normally

would get

about 300

people at

it

which was

surprising

this time

450 people

showed up

150 of

them

nothing to

do with

the church

nothing to

do with

the gospel

they came

to complain

about light

pollution

guess who

won

the

Lord

won

they gave

speeches

which were

terrible

were just

angry

and when it

came to a

vote

they were

silenced

should we

allow that

is that

the kind

of

accommodation

that really

means the

church is

going to

go nowhere

slowly

when Paul

got to

Ephesus

he found a

bunch of

people who'd

been baptized

by John

the Baptist

that was a

good thing

it was a

baptism for

repentance

and forgiveness

of sins

but Paul had

a rather

penetrating

question for

them

did you

receive the

Holy Spirit

when you

were baptized

they're like

what

did you

receive the

Holy Spirit

we didn't

even know

there was

one

so Paul

did what

Paul does

he gone

together

he laid

hands on

them and

those elders

were empowered

refitted

for ministry

in the name

of the

Trinitarian

God

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit

and things

began to

happen

in Ephesus

you know

what

I'm praying

for the day

when we

begin to

say

as a

common

occurrence

things are

beginning to

happen in

Clevedon

why

because the

people of

God

are

transformed

the

people of

God

understand

that the

dynamic of

the church

needs to

be outwards

not inwards

because they

will understand

that discipleship

is taught

not caught

and they

will

understand

what it

is

to be

a genuine

follower

of Jesus

Christ

to

conclude

you're sitting

here this

morning saying

I don't

I've never

known this

transformation

maybe God

is whispering

in your ear

this morning

maybe you're

the kind

of Christian

who is

sitting in

church

and thinks

that

I'm going

to sit

here and

hopefully

you know

if we

jazz up

the music

a bit

and

you know

do a bit

of arm

waving

and hip

swinging

not too

much

people

will come

no people

want to

God wants

a people

who are

ready to

go

are you

a person

that understands

that teaching

is critical

to sanctification

becoming

becoming more

like Jesus

if it's

true that

the gospel

is caught

and not

taught

it is only

true that

discipleship

is taught

and not

caught

well obviously

I'm preaching

to the choir

because you're

here this

morning

but how

many of you

are prepared

to commit

yourselves

for instance

to a home

group

where you

can really

get to

grips

with

scripture

and discuss

it

and work

out

what that

might mean

for you

and for

your group

and if you

want to

join a

home

group

where's

Carolyn

there she

is

I see

an arm

waving

stand up

for a

moment

Carolyn

give us

a twirl

you go

and talk

to Carolyn

because you

need to

do that

she

coordinates

our

home

groups

in this

church

and finally

for those

of you

who are

feeling

a bit

not quite

right

those of you

who are

even thinking

of giving

up on

church

those of you

who are

thinking of

giving up

on God

remember the

tenacity of

St. Paul

remember what

he went

through

and of course

one of the

most significant

things I

haven't said

to you about

St. Paul

was if it

was not for

St. Paul

it's not

clear whether

the earliest

of the early

church people

thought

that the

gospel would

ever be for

Gentiles

for non

Jewish

people

and we're

here

and God

is waiting

for us

to say

yes

God is

wanting to

hear from

us

not just

the lyrics

of a hymn

but from

our hearts

all to

Jesus

I surrender

friends

if ever

there was a

game changer

in human

history

it was

this man

if there

was an

example

for us

to take

up and

follow

it was

this man's

example

if ever

there was

a time

for the

church

to hear

this message

it is

surely

today

let us

pray

our

gracious

father

we thank

you

for

Paul

and for

his

amazing

exposition

of

atonement

of

sanctification

of the

gifts of

the spirit

of all

those

wonderful

doctrines

Lord

that we

read not

just to

know about

but to

appropriate

into our

hearts

Lord this

morning would

you short

circuit the

difference between

our heads

and our

hearts

Lord that

we might

believe and

in believing

we might

show forth

evidently our

belief in

this troubled

and godless

world

did you

receive the

holy spirit

when you

believe that's

a great

question Lord

and for

those of us

who feel

disempowered

unempowered

whatever

Lord we

pray that the

holy spirit

would come

to us

transform

us

teach us

and make

us tenacious

in this

matter of

bringing the

mission of

the church

to the

world

and Lord

thank you

that we

are a

church not

just with a

mission

but with a

message and

we pray that

you would

raise up

men and

women who

would be

able to

articulate that

gospel in

the way that

Saint Paul did

that many

might come to

know you and

be saved for

eternity through

Jesus Christ

our Lord

Amen