Paul - An Encouragement to Believers! | Rev. Shine P. Thomas | City Harvest AG Church

Paul - An Encouragement to Believers
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Do you remember the last time you felt discouraged, misunderstood, helpless, hopeless and wondering what is happening in your life? Or are you going through some struggle today?
So what to do when you are down? Let’s look at the life of apostle Paul who had all circumstances to be down and low but yet lived a very purposeful life.
Paul was a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia which was one of the top cities of is time. He studied
under Gamaliel and was persecuting the churches because for him Christianity was blasphemy.
But then God brought him a very dramatic transformation on the road to Damascus when he was
going to persecute the church. This brought him an absolute change of life, change of mind, and
change of action. Now he stated working for Christ and his church where he faced persecution,
yet he fished his raced, fulfilled his purpose and he starts out as a great example for us.
So what are some of the troubles Paul faced? Acts 20-28 mentions the sufferings Paul faced.
Acts 20:23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing
me. He knows that trouble is ahead of him at every point.
Sufferings of Paul in Acts
Beaten (Acts 21:30-31; 23:3)
Threatened (Acts 22:22; 27:42)
Arrested many times (Acts 21:33; 22:24, 31; 23:35; 28:16)
Accused in lawsuits (Acts 21:34; 22:30; 24:1-2; 25:2, 7; 28:4)
Interrogated (Acts 25:24-27)
Ridiculed (Acts 26:24)
Ignored (Acts 27:11)
Shipwrecked (Acts 27:41)
Bitten by a viper (Acts 28:3).
Tradition says that Paul eventually was beheaded Rome.
1. CONVERSION
Paul’s conversion experience
Paul could never forget his conversion experience on the road to Damascus as he was going to
persecute the church. That scene, that experience kept him going through his difficult times. We
all should have one or two incidents of encounter with the Lord wherein we can look back and
take encouragement by the way God has called us and dealt with us in the past.
Now, Paul is recalling his salvation experience after almost 16 years speaking to the crowd as he
was arrested: Acts 22:3-16 3
2. COURAGE
Now, what type of courage am I talking about? Courage in the Lord.
Paul’s courage cannot be passed over in silence. When we read his life and ministry, his courage,
his boldness in the Lord just stands out.
Acts 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a
vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you…”
3. COMPANIONS
The third aspect which kept Paul going is his good Christian companions. When he was dragged
out of the Lystra after being stoned, his friends did not abandon him but came and stood around
him until he got up.
Conclusion:
“It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. All that matters is you get up one
more time than you were knocked down.” ― Roy T. Bennett
City Harvest AG Church, Bangalore is a multi-lingual full-gospel Assembly of God (AG) Church in Bangalore City, India. Our Vision and Mission is to bring the unreached to Jesus Christ through evangelism, lead them to worship the Almighty God, make them true disciples of Christ with due fellowship with the body of Christ, and cater to the needs of the society through humanitarian services.
Sunday Worship Services
English: 9:30 am & 11:30 am
Sunday School: 8 am, 9:30 am, 11:30 am
Tamil: 7:45 am
Kannada: 6:30 am
Hindi: 11:20 am
Teens Church: 9:30 am
Paul - An Encouragement to Believers | Rev. Shine P. Thomas | City Harvest AG Church
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