To He Who Overcomes

Paul’s Love of God’s People during Personal Suffering

2 Corinthians 11:24-28

1. A LIFETIME OF SUFFERING FOR CHRIST

2 CORINTHIANS 11:24-27

²⁴ From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness

• We really can’t understand the level of Paul’s suffering
• His suffering was continuous – it simply never stopped
• Paul could have chosen a different life – he could have slowed down, and he did maybe only once, he lived 2 whole years in the same rented house, this was a long time for Paul! (Acts 28 30-31) but his love of Jesus and understanding of the mission given to him by Jesus to spread the Gospel was his one and only focus – “woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” Evangelism was in Paul’s Blood. He was truly a “mission” first missionary.
• Throughout his travels and many perils and trials, tribulations, and much persecution, Paul set an example of being truly selfless. This doesn’t mean he ignored his own basic needs or was self-condemning or was self-harming, it means he always put other’s needs before his own. Paul worked hard to provide for himself as a ten-maker, a tradesman, took care of himself always giving God glory for the provision of his physical needs, and yet we clearly see here his heart posture, it was not selfish or inward, it selfless and outward. Paul said in 1 Cor 11:1 “imitate me as, just as I also imitate Christ” – Jesus is our perfect example a perfect way to life, a perfect way to relate and treat others and we are always to look to him and we are his disciples, but Paul is telling us here, “hey if you need to see what it looks like to live surrendered to Jesus and fully die to yourself, look at me, I’m your example of living”. In Paul’s life journey we get what I believe to be the greatest example of a regular dude living his life consecrated (sold out) for Christ. We get to see and learn of his earlier life and wicked ways, he was worldly and not believing for the first half of his life (roughly 27-33 years old at the time of his conversion and 60-65 at the time of his death), came to know Christ and lived a fully surrendered life to the finish line, he fought the good fight and finished well. A life lived wholly for Jesus and from the moment of miraculous conversion he was given over to the work of Jesus’ kingdom. He apprenticed under Jesus, listening, learning, observing, spent time with Jesus in spirit, learned from Jesus and God’s word, and eventually came to do what Jesus did. He was truly transformed by God’s grace and became an image of Jesus Christ, his heart was fully humble, surrendered and changed from the inside out. No longer concerned for himself, his heart longed for his brothers and sisters in Christ, his heart constantly yearned to be with God’s people. He was truly dead to himself but alive to Jesus, in Jesus, for Jesus and in turn, Alive to serve God’s People, to love God’s people, to set an example for God’s people.

• Paul’s Deep love and Concern for God’s people.

2 Corinthians 11:28

²⁸ besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

FROM THE ENDURINGWORD.com

my deep concern for all the churches: In addition to all the stressful perils Paul previously mentioned, he lived daily with another burden. Paul lived with a deep concern for all the churches.

i. The perils Paul mentioned were not everyday occurrences, but his deep concern for all the churches never left him. Paul’s burdens were not only physical, but they were also emotional.

Paul’s deep concern was not for himself. It was for others – for the weak and those made to stumble. Paul had many burdens, but few of them were for himself. He, like Jesus, was truly an others-centered person.

iii. Alan Redpath (A British Evangelist lived 1907-1989) on what comes upon me daily: “I could not possibly convey to you adequately in the English language the force of that statement. I tried to picture it in terms of being smothered under a blanket, or by being attacked and crushed by some great animal, for he could not have used a stronger word when he said, in effect, ‘That which bears me down, that which is upon me as an intolerable load, that which is a burden, that which is something that I can never shake off day or night. It is with me always. I have no vacation for it ever. It is upon me daily. The care, the compassion, the concern of all the churches.’”

iv. Paul’s deep concern was not a “faithless fussiness.” “This anxiety was based not only on disturbing reports which came to his ears, but on his knowledge of the savage subtlety of the enemy of souls (the Devil, that Serpent of Old, Satan) who, he realized, would stop at nothing in his attempts to overthrow the work of the gospel.”

A FEW EXAMPLES OF PAUL’S LOVE and PRAYER FOR THE CHURCHS:

ROMANS 1:8-12

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve ^[a]with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— ¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

EPHESIANS 1:15-21

¹⁵ Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your ^[a]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality^[b] and ^[c]power and ^[d]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

PHILLIPIANS 1:3-8

³ I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷ just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. ⁸ For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-4

² We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, ³ remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, ⁴ knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.

• PAUL’s EXAMPLE FOR US TODAY – Steadfast devotion to Jesus Christ, Persevering through personal Suffering and Trials, and a Love for God’s people, both in word and conduct but also specifically through fervent, enduring, and unwavering Prayer.

• Christ was Selfless, he came to serve and not to be served, Paul was Jesus’ disciple, or apprentice, he learned from Jesus and did was Jesus did, they are both our examples today in how we should see the world and interact with the others both unbelievers and believers.
• Do we get hung up on personal sufferings and trials? Do we go inward, complaining, moaning, groaning over the hurdles in our own lives? Paul called his suffering “light afflictions” – who are we to complain and gripe and moan? We could and should often think about the incomparable blessings we all have living in this country. God’s Provision is beyond what any of us could say we deserve. He loves us and takes care of us – he loves his people in this country and around the entire world. Please read “when Faith is Forbidden” put out but the not for profit Organization “the Voice of the Martyrs” – there are 40 quick testimonies of God’s work in our brothers and sisters globally around this world, many of which suffer daily persecutions for their Faith, many have better understanding of Paul’s sufferings than we do and yet as you read their stories, you also see undeniable Joy, love, and compassion that have, even for their tormentors. This is not to make anyone feel guilty, this is to bring some perspective into our own hearts and minds.
• What are we willing to give up for the work of Jesus in our country, state, and culture? Are we willing to be “set apart” as Christ is, to be Holy as he is, to “consecrate ourselves” as God says to israerl in Levitate 20:7? Think of the things we waste our precious time on. TV, Movies, Youtube, Doom Scrolling on social media, Instagram or facebook, sports, music, concerts, or worse, things like drugs, or alcohol, partying, looking at pornography, the list keeps going and going. One thing is certain, Our time on the planet is short – our days are numbered; we are but a vapor in the wind the bible says – when is enough of the world ever enough? Will we ever be willing to admit to ourselves that we are still entirely compromised by the ways of the world? Will we admit that the world will never satisfy us? will the longing in our hearts ever be filled in this life? The world will never fill the void, only Jesus can fill the void, only Jesus can give us true life and life more abundantly. As I’ve given up more and more for Christ, I haven’t found myself bored, I haven’t found myself lacking, nor even wanting to be a slave to the TV or internet anymore, I’ve found peace, comfort, calm, love, mercy and all sufficient grace from Jesus Christ, which is daily transforming me into his image. With all we do, with all the time we waste, can we not spare our time to be with Jesus, to learn from him, to marvel in his presence and allow his glory to shine on us? Might it be time to take a step of Faith or a further step of Faith? To surrender your time and life and your resources over to Jesus? Can we not spare a few minutes a day to pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we have a heart outward towards others, or inwards only thinking of ourselves and our needs, captives inside the bubble of our own little worlds and routines, slaves to the hurry of life and the to do list? Are we imitating Paul as he was (and still is) imitating Christ? If not, you can start today, right now, by coming to Jesus, putting your faith and trust in him, surrendering your life and your will and your desires to Jesus and asking him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. As a body of Believers, we are the body of Christ, your body is his body in this world, we must come around one another in prayer. We must be lifting each other up in full awareness and knowing that our enemy wants to tear this down, this community, this love, this family, he wants to tear us all part, to kill us, causing division from within, causing distractions and for us to wander way, to destroy any sense of joy we have in Jesus, to leave us alone and in despair and returning to the old ways of self-medicating ourselves with so many worldly things, self-medicating to the point of self-harming.  but my friends, my brothers and sisters, be of good cheer, for Jesus has over come the world and he (the Holy Spirit) who lives inside of us, is greater than he who lives in the world. Hebrews 3:7-8 says “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says ‘Today if you will hear His (Jesus’) voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness” – if you hear his voice calling you, respond by accepting his free gift of salvation today.

JESUS HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE

Ephesians 2: 14-18

What are some ideas we have of Peace? Could it mean peace from war between nations? Peace within our homes? Feeling safe and provided for in our lives. Safe and at ease within our relationships and marriages, no arguments between husbands and wives? What are your ideas for peace?

Here is the million-dollar question, where do we go to find peace in times of trouble? Do we go to the world? Maybe to drugs, alcohol, pornography, maybe food, or TV, or some other worldly pleasure that promises to make us feel better or give us a moment of rest – of “peace” – but in the end, these worldly things can never bring us peace – they will always leave us wanting, hung out to dry, guilty, and full of shame, these things only lie to us. So, can we ever hope to attain peace in our lives? Oh boy, yes!

Jesus says in John 14:27 before his crucifixion:
”Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (NKJV)

I love the translation from the “Easy English Bible”:
“I will go away but I will give you a gift of peace. It is mine to give and yours to keep. It is not like a gift that this world gives. Do not let yourselves be sad. Do not be afraid.”

• A Gapping Hole – There is a hole in our hearts left behind by the fall of man – we were not gracefully “sent” out of God’s presence. Adam and Eve were ripped from the Garden of Eden because of sin – they were cast out of the God’s presence and into the evil and darkness of the world. Since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, there has been no peace in the world. There has only been what the bible calls “enmity”. The enmity between good and evil, self and God between flesh and spirit.
• Enmity means “the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something. – we, in our sinful natures are opposed to God, we have no peace with God in our flesh, before we are born again we are at enmity with him, however, we read in Eph Chapter 2, God made a way for this enmity to be conquered – God, because of the love with which he loves us reconciled us unto himself through his Son Jesus Christ and Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. We who were once dead in our trespasses and sins have been made alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord – Jesus won the Victory over this Enmity and has hence made peace – not only in the world, but within his own Human body the war is over!
• What is “The PEACE” Jesus Gives? What is the peace that Jesus left behind for us? It’s clearly something special. It’s a gift that Jesus gives us and It’s clearly something new and something only Jesus can give us. The world cannot give us this peace that Jesus leaves behind for us. The peace is a new Humanity, a glorified body with no more war within, this is the true Peace Jesus offers to us as a gift.

We read in Ephesians 2: 14-18 just how Jesus won the war within himself:
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Both becoming one verse 14: This passage is mainly speaking of two people groups – In Verse 14 the “both” becoming “one” is talking of Jews and Gentiles – Jesus had brought the two groups together via his resurrection into one body of Christ, one Church filled with redeemed Jews and Gentiles – he broke down the all between those two groups so this in turn is one sense of the Peace Jesus won on the cross but there is more.

Jesus the NEW HUMAN: but Verse 15 is key to understand the peace that Jesus offers us now. This happened not through some political agenda or some earthly laws, as he clearly did away with the “law of commandments contained in ordinances” but rather he “abolished” the enmity within his very flesh. He, through a supernatural process by the Holy Spirit, created peace within his own body. The word “abolished” is in fact a legal term – it means “ to formally put an end to a system, practice, or institution.” – this means Jesus formally put an end to the enmity within himself never again to return – he put an end to the war between flesh and spirit – put to death the enmity within his new resurrected body and look at these words “so to create in Himself one new man from the two” – Jesus, in his new man – the Bible calls him the “last Adam” – the first was created in the Garden of Eden, sinned and fell, the Last Adam was completed the morning of the resurrection and will reign for all eternity in Heaven in a new Glorified body, a new form of humanity –There is now peace within his body, no more spirit versus flesh and no more self vs God.

Jesus never Sinned but he didn’t have peace: he lived a perfect life in our place, but this does not mean that in his pilgrim on this earth that he had peace within himself. He was of the same human nature as us, the same war between spirit and flesh raged within him yet he was without sin, the same everyday battle. Tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin we read in Hebrews. Do not think these temptations were easy for him, people downplay this way too often by saying “well Jessus was fully God and Fully man so of course he was able to overcome the temptations and not sin” My friends, Jesus suffered in the flesh in the war against the flesh, more than most of us can ever understand – We see this very clearly the night before the crossing:

• In the garden of Gathsemane, we see the extent of this war within Jesus – Jesus resisted temptation (likely the temptation to run away and flee from the task at hand) so strongly, that he sweat great drops of blood as he was praying to his Father.
• Hematohidrosis – hee-mat-ih-DROH-sis
• (or hematidrosis) is a rare medical condition where a person sweats blood or blood-tinged fluid through intact skin, often triggered by extreme physical or emotional stress, fear, or intense anxiety. It is believed to be caused by the rupture of dermal capillaries feeding the sweat glands. Now, does that sound peaceful? No, Jesus did not have peace in the war between flesh and spirit at that moment.
• However, Jesus went to the cross, obeyed his Father, Died and rose again and won utter victory when he rose from the dead! Now, there was peace within his glorified body. No more struggle, no more temptation, Jesus was a new creation, a new form of humanity (AKA the Last Adam) that we cannot yet comprehend but that we will fully understand when we wake up with Jesus in Heaven.
• JESUS BRINGS PERFECT PEACE: Does anyone recall What Jesus’ first words to the disciples were after he rose from the dead ? “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). Now of course the word Jesus used was a common greeting that is “shalom” however, considering what we’ve just learned, can you see the deeper meaning in Jesus’ greeting? Not only is he saying, “hey there and I hope you are having a peaceful day today” no, he’s saying” the perfect peace is with you – literally with you right now in this room”. Jesus now brought them a perfect form of peace. He offered them the opportunity to follow him and to begin to experience that perfect form of peace here in this life and one day, have it fully in Glory.
• BUT HOW? The more time we spend with Jesus, walking with him, talking with him, coming purposefully into his presence, the more this perfect peace rubs off on us. We will forever be in our sinful natures until heaven however, the peace Jesus left behind for us, this new form of peace, this gift of peace within ourselves, can be experienced right now.

We read in Phillipians 4: 6-7 a few very well known verses:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We have all heard this passage, but how many of us have claimed the promise held within these verses? Have you come to Jesus to claim this peace that is within his presence? I for one need that peace in my life. I need the peace that surpasses all understanding because after half a lifetime of seeking peace and fulfillment from all the garbage the world has to offer me, Drinking, Smoking, Pornography, endless wasted hours on TV, Movies, and Youtube, all of which the world tells me are “pleasures” and will help me ‘relax”, I come to find and witness to the truth that they left me in a bottomless pit of despair . No longer partaking and sinning in these ways, I have now learned to find peace with God, from God, and in God through the Lord Jesus Christ. We must put off the “old man” Paul says and we must put on the “new Man” we must walk in Christ following him, letting go of the world and coming out of the darkness and evil of the world and into the Glorious Light of Christ.

I want to further draw our attention to what follows these two well know verses – in verses 8-9 Paul teaches us how we can attain, at least at times, some of this peace in our lives now. We will never be fully peaceful, without fear or anxiety, we can grow in the Lord and with the help of the Holy Spirit we will be more like Jesus daily, but we will still have “off” days. Moments of unbelief or moments of fear. This is our nature and as often as those come up for us we can bring them to Jesus, repent, further trust in him, and continue to grow. However, if we follow these next words of Paul, I believe the Peace of God that surpasses all understanding can truly, and foundationally begin to take shape in our lives right now and we will begin to experience more and more peace in this life:

Ephesians: 4: 8-9

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

So, if you’ve put your faith and trust in Jesus, if you’ve surrendered to his will for your life giving up of your own desires, if you take up your cross and follow hard after him one day at a time, the Victory that Jesus won over the war between flesh and spirit, between self and God, can be yours. He started a new line Humanity, he made perfect peace within his body, the war within is over and there will never be a trial, temptation, or struggle within ever again in Heaven! Jesus now offers it all to us, we need only come into his presence and spend time with him and the light of Jesus will shine upon us, the peace of Jesus will overtake us, the heart of Jesus will fill us and we will radiate the love of Christ and we will begin to feel that perfect peace within us today.

So I leave you with this benediction – in the words of the Apostle Paul:

2 Thess 3:16 “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.” Amen