Paul Archives - Paula Wiseman

Final Words Before Battle

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

You’re equipped.
You have a strategy.
One final word before you go into battle.

Be on the alert with all perseverance and petition.

Be ready for stealthy attacks.
Avoid traps and snares.
Watch out for weak spots of your own.

Don’t give up.
Don’t lose focus.
Don’t get impatient.

Pray for each other, for strength and courage.
Encourage and hold each other up.
Care for the wounded.
Refresh the weary.

But there is no mention of spectators.
You are in the battle.
Are you are equipped?
Are you alert?
Are you engaged?

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

In a heartfelt letter to his friends at Corinth, Paul opens up in a moment of transparency and vulnerability about his deep frustration with what he calls a “thorn in his flesh”. But more than just a venting session, Paul uses it to tell his friends what Jesus taught him through the experience. (That in itself is a great model worth imitating.) So let’s see what we can draw from the ‘no’ Paul received, not just once but three times.

Everyone struggles. Everyone from scholars to casual readers has offered up opinions as to what the thorn might have been. Frankly, I think that detail is left out so we can more readily identify with the struggle itself and apply the lessons given. Everybody wrestles with something that never seems to let up. It is there at every turn, ready to strip away all the progress we’ve made, making each step forward three times harder than it has to be. Paul was a better pastor for his suffering. His church and readers would know that they weren’t failures or weak or outside God’s favor because they struggled.

Grace – It’s not just for salvation. Paul demonstrates here, once again, the need for and the power of grace in our lives. You may be able to look back at a time in your life and wonder how you got through it. Grace. Even today, you may question how you’re going to go on. Grace. John MacArthur in his commentary on these verses lists several things that sufficient grace enables us to do: “to believe the gospel; to understand and apply the Word to all the issues of life; to overcome sin and temptation; to endure suffering, disappointment, and pain; to obey God; to serve Him effectively; and to worship Him.”
John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary – 2 Corinthians, (Chicago: Moody Press, 2004).

God knows what we need. Paul listed his impressive credentials a couple of times in Acts and in his letters. Pharisee. Scholar. Zealous for the things of God. It would have been easy and natural for him to devise a plan for evangelizing the known world and working tirelessly to carry out that plan. What Paul needed was Christ-reliance far more than self-reliance and this thorn was one way that Jesus moved Paul that direction. In fact, he used all sorts of difficulties to reinforce to the super-achieving apostle that he was not self-reliant. Neither are we. Following Christ is a life of dependence.

No one likes to be told ‘no,’ especially when the request is to ease pain, suffering, and hardships. The truth is, we learn more and we are better testimonies to Christ’s power in our struggles.

Next week we’ll finish up this series with a look at the most significant ‘no’ of all.

John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary – 2 Corinthians, (Chicago: Moody Press, 2004).

You’ve Been Sealed

By Paula

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13

You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. It’s not “sealed” like the marine mammal you see in circuses honking bicycle horns. And it’s not “sealed” like being trapped inside the mummy’s tomb forever … but that one is getting closer. So what is Paul getting at when he says we have been sealed? I think there are at least four things included in it.

Authenticity – Back in the days when software came on disks or CDs it often came with a certificate with a seal of authenticity to let you know you had the genuine item, that it wasn’t a pirated copy. You could be confident that it as going to function as expected and that it had all the features you wanted. The Holy Spirit ensures and attests that our salvation is the real deal and it rests in no one but the One True God accomplished by His Anointed. No fakes, no substitutes, no sub-contractors.

Security – If you have ever been drug-tested for work or had bloodwork, you may have noticed the technician or nurse putting a bunch of stickers on the sample containers or bags. Those are there to prove the samples have not been tampered with. They affirm the integrity of the sample so the results of the tests can be trusted. The Holy Spirit seals us so that our salvation cannot be tampered with. Because of that we know the results, like joy and peace and growth and answered prayers and so on can be trusted. Not only that, we can be confident that the end result of our salvation, our ultimate glorification in Christ’s presence is a sure thing.

Ownership – Cattlemen used to brand their herds so that even in a big group, it was easy for anyone to see which cows belonged to whom. Even now we mark our lunches, and our coffee cups and kids’ jackets so that ownership is clear. The Holy Spirit seals us so we never have to question who we belong to. Not only that, but it should be easy for anyone else to tell it as well.

Authority – Your high school or college diploma. Your driver’s license. Your building permit. All of them have some sort of seal affixed to them indicating that some governing entity with the requisite authority has conferred on you some right or privilege or standing. The Holy Spirit gives us the standing as children of God, joint heirs with Christ and further grants us the status as ambassadors for His kingdom.

You probably already knew it, but just for the record that’s an unbreakable seal.

We Think You Ought to Know

By Paula

We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 2 Corinthians 1:8 NLT

That’s Paul talking. You know, the Apostle.
Crushed. Overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure.
His words.

We think you ought to know.
In case you think being in leadership, or in ministry is easy.
In case you think I’m exempt.
In case you think following God means everything is smoothed out …
We think you ought to know.

It was too much.
I did not see how we were going to get through it.

Not the words we typically think of coming out of the mouth of someone who wrote a big chunk of the New Testament.
But there they are. Unvarnished.

If you read the whole passage, though, you find Paul learned three important things.
He learned God’s comfort rains down. (v.5)
He learned to rely on God alone. (v. 9)
He learned how many people were praying for him and how necessary those prayers were. (v.11)

If you are in a place like Paul, may God comfort you with the assurance that the things he learned are true for you as well.

If you are not in a place like Paul …
Pray for those who are.

What we can learn about spreading the gospel from Paul’s encounter with a demon-possessed girl in Philippi

By Paula

This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” Acts 16:17

In Acts 16, Paul arrives in the city of Philippi. Not long after his initial contact with Lydia, he and his companions were on their way to prayer when they were confronted by a slave girl who was demon-possessed. Unlike the demon possessions in the gospels where the victims were unfit for society or stricken with physical ailments, this girl had the ability to foretell the future … kind of. But she was able to bring in a handsome profit for her owners. She loudly proclaimed, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

She was one hundred percent correct.

Paul and his friends were absolutely servants of the Most High God. Most High God was a regularly-used Old Testament name for God. And the whole reason that they were in Philippi was to preach the gospel, the way of salvation. She nailed them. So why was Paul so irritated with her?

It was the demon talking, not the girl.

But the demon was telling the truth. Isn’t that a good thing?

Actually, it presents several problems which may give us some insight as we carry out the gospel.

Since the demon was saying the same kinds of things Paul was saying, the hearers would have a hard time seeing the difference between the occultism the girl and her masters were promoting and the life-transforming gospel Paul preached. The logical conclusion then is if the words were the same, then it really didn’t matter which one you followed, right? It’s the “all religions are the same” argument that we still hear today. That argument is patently false. Christ alone saves us by His atoning death as a result of His great grace, mercy, and love.

Second, Paul refused to accept the “help” of demons when it came to spreading the message of Christ. Granted, Romans and Greeks put a lot of stock in divination and having their message “certified” might have opened doors for Paul and his team. However, he was determined to seize the opportunities God presented him and to walk through the doors the Holy Spirit opened. He had enough discernment and faith NOT to partner with those who would ultimately undermine the gospel, no matter what kind of promotional advantage they offered. Even when it resulted in a riot, arrest, and jail. We, too, have to be wise and discerning as we carry out the Commission Jesus gave us.

Finally, no matter what the girl was saying, the reality was that she was in bondage, not to her owners, but to the demon that controlled her. Her “testimony” was empty and meaningless. Paul knew that until she was free of the demon and her heart changed, it didn’t matter that her words were true. We encounter people all the time who can use all the right “church-y” words but their hearts and lives show no evidence of transformation. We like Paul need to recognize what the root problem is. While we may not be able to command the chains to fall away, we can pray to the One who can.

So what can we learn from Paul’s encounter with a demon-possessed girl in Philippi?
The gospel stands alone among all other religious systems and messages.
In carrying out the gospel, make sure the only spirit helping is the Holy Spirit.
What’s in the heart matters, not the words.

That I May Know Him

By Paula

“[T]hat I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” Philippians 3:10

Paul has just said he gave up everything he had gained in ordered to know Christ.
This is experiential knowledge, not academic.
Being saved was the beginning of that knowledge rather than the end.

What is the power of His resurrection?
Assuring me the payment for my sins was accepted.
Being justified, made right, in the eyes of God.
Securing my future hope.
Imputing me with His own righteousness.
Becoming more Christ-like each passing day.
Raising me from spiritual death to life and walk as a new creation.
Encouraging me to endure whatever comes my way.
Counting me an heir to the great riches of heaven.
Enjoying access to God.
Receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit.

But Paul doesn’t stop there.

He wants to know, to experience the fellowship of His sufferings.
It is when we suffer that we learn what a Savior we have.
He is our High Priest touched with our infirmities.
He is the one who will never leave us nor forsake us.
He was tempted in points like we are so He responds to us with grace and mercy.

Paul wanted to be conformed to Christ’s death.
In Christ’s death, He exhibited the highest, unquestioning obedience to and trust in God the Father.
He was utterly focused and surrendered to carrying out the task the Father had given Him.

Can we say with Paul, O that I may know Him…?

Final Words Before Battle

When God Told Paul ‘No’

You’ve Been Sealed

We Think You Ought to Know

What we can learn about spreading the gospel from Paul’s encounter with a demon-possessed girl in Philippi

That I May Know Him

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series