Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP061408
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00:28 You're altogether lovely,
00:32 Altogether worthy 00:35 Altogether wonderful to me 01:07 Time measured out my days 01:14 Life carried me along 01:22 In my soul I yearned to follow God 01:29 But knew I'd never be so strong 01:35 I looked hard at this world 01:39 To learn how heaven could be gained 01:47 Just to end where I began 01:51 Where human effort is all in vain 02:01 Were it not for grace 02:08 I can tell you where I'd be 02:14 Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere 02:21 With my salvation up to me 02:27 I know how that would go 02:32 The battles I would face 02:38 Forever running but losing the race 02:45 Were it not for grace 02:55 So here is all my praise 03:02 Expressed with all my heart 03:09 Offered to the Friend who took my place 03:16 And ran a course I could not start 03:21 And when He saw in full 03:25 Just how much His would cost 03:32 He still went the final mile between me and heaven 03:39 So I would not be lost 03:46 Were it not for grace 03:53 I can tell you where I'd be 03:59 Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere 04:06 With my salvation up to me 04:11 I know how that would go 04:17 The battles I would face 04:23 Forever running but losing the race 04:29 Were it not for grace 04:35 Wandering down of pointless road to nowhere 04:41 With my salvation up to me 04:46 I know how that would go 04:52 The battles I would face 04:57 Forever running but losing the race 05:04 Were it not for grace 05:12 Forever running but losing the race 05:20 Were it not for grace 05:34 Oh, Father, where would we be 05:40 were it not for just what Jonathan just sang? 05:42 Were it not for Your grace? 05:46 Forever running 05:50 and never winning the race. 05:53 Dear God, as we near the end of a journey, 06:00 again this subject, 06:06 today's teaching will touch us 06:08 where it hurts, where it really hurts. 06:13 And so Father, please 06:20 don't let the preacher get in the way 06:26 of what You need to say. 06:28 I've added all of our minds, 06:30 I and all of us will be listening for You, 06:34 speak please a strong word for us. 06:40 We pray in Jesus name, amen. 06:47 I can understand why the first mother 06:52 would name her brand new baby boy, Saul. 06:56 I mean, please, after all the name means asked of God 07:01 and when you've been asking God for a baby 07:03 and that baby finally comes 07:06 we'd better name with more appropriate. 07:08 But for the life of me, 07:09 I cannot understand why the second mother 07:14 would have named her baby boy Saul as well? 07:20 Not after that tragic meltdown that sacred history 07:24 has so painstakingly preserved of the first Saul. 07:31 The story is so tragic that it ends with suicide. 07:36 I mean what mother is going to name her baby 07:38 after a good King turned bad 07:42 and that bad, to boot. 07:47 In order to understand the tale of second Saul, 07:49 we need to know the story of the first Saul. 07:56 And so we move close to a climax, not quite, 07:59 don't you dare miss next week. 08:01 No God humbler, that's the pinnacle, next week. 08:05 We move close to it. 08:06 In our series, "Not I but Christ, Tales of Humility", 08:13 todays teaching entitled, "A Tale of Two Sauls." 08:19 Once up on a time there was a God and a prophet, 08:23 who together were leading a nation. 08:27 But wouldn't you know as it so often happens 08:29 the people they were leading looked at the nation, 08:32 the world around them and said, 08:33 we got to be just like they are, 08:36 we got to have a king. 08:38 The God and the prophet were deeply hurt. 08:44 But the people are clamoring for a king, the God says, 08:49 let's give them a king and let's give them a good one. 08:54 And so that God scoured the land 08:58 until he found the perfect king. 09:02 Open your Bible with me please, to the first Book of Samuel, 09:06 first Book of Samuel, 09:07 there in the heart of the Old Testament. 09:08 If you didn't bring a Bible, 09:10 grab the pew Bible right in front of you, 09:11 its page 193 in the pew Bible. 09:14 The "Tale of Two Sauls," 1 Samuel. 09:19 And when you find 1 Samuel get over to chapter 9 please. 09:23 I'm in the New King James Version. 09:25 Those of you watching on the television, 09:26 listening on the internet, right now, grab a Bible, 09:30 doesn't matter the translation, 09:32 the word in the screen will be out of the New King James 09:36 and that's okay. 09:38 First Samuel Chapter 9, looking for a King. 09:42 Look what we found? Watch this. 09:44 First Samuel Chapter 9:1 "There was a man of Benjamin" 09:47 that would be the tribe of Benjamin, 09:49 "whose name was Kish he was the son of Abiel, 09:51 he was the son of Zeror, he was the son of Bechorath, 09:55 he was the son of Aphiah, 09:56 a Benjamite, a mighty man of power." 09:59 Papa was. 10:00 "And he had," look at verse two, 10:02 "And he had a choice and handsome son 10:04 whose name was Saul." 10:06 Asked of God. 10:11 "There was not a more handsome person 10:12 than he among the children of Israel. 10:14 From his shoulders upward 10:16 he was taller than any of the people." 10:18 Hey, how can you beat that ladies and gentlemen, 10:20 tall, dark and handsome? 10:21 God is on a winning streak already. 10:25 But he's not only tall, dark and handsome, 10:27 he's humble, as humble as they come. 10:30 Drop down to verse 17. 10:32 So God informs His friend and prophet, 10:35 Samuel, verse 17, 10:37 "So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him," 10:41 that's my man "There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. 10:46 This is the one who shall reign over My people." 10:50 Samuel responds, Chapter 10:1, 10:52 "Then Samuel took a flask of oil 10:54 and poured it on Sauls head, and kissed him and said to him, 11:01 'Is it not because the Lord has anointed you 11:04 commander over His inheritance?'" 11:09 King has been chosen. 11:11 Nobody knows and so God will go through an election. 11:16 I got a question for you. 11:17 Wouldn't it be great if 11:19 in the United States of America, 11:20 we would conduct an election just like this? 11:23 You think of all the acrimony and money we would save. 11:26 Here's how they did the elections back then. 11:28 God says, bring all the children 11:30 of Israel to Mizpah, so they all come. 11:33 Samuel says, all right give me a hat. 11:35 So they'd give him a hat. 11:36 I mean, it would be like today, give me a hat. 11:38 All right, let's put all 50 names 11:40 of our states in the hat. 11:41 Good draw it. Alabama, fine, dump the rest out. 11:45 Put all the cities and towns in Alabama in that hat. 11:48 You filled the hat up with the cities and towns. 11:49 Draw a name. 11:50 Dothan, good, dump the rest out. 11:52 Now put every family, 11:54 who lives in Dothan, in that hat. 11:56 Put all the names in, draw. 11:58 Smith, good. Throw the rest out. 12:00 Now, put every Smith in this town, in that hat 12:03 and the fingers pull out the name, 12:06 ladies and gentlemen, the new President of the United States. 12:10 Wouldn't that be great? 12:12 Now, we could do this thing just like that 12:14 and God would make this selection 12:15 because that's exactly what happened. 12:17 That's how God made the choice. 12:20 Now, watch this, drop a little farther down 12:22 in 1 Samuel 10, this is verse-- 12:27 as soon as they announce the name, all right. 12:29 Verse 22, so that people said, hey, watch this, verse 22. 12:33 "They inquired of the Lord further, 12:34 'Has the man come here yet?'" Is he here in this crowd? 12:37 And God says, 12:41 he's over there, look, he's hiding in the luggage. 12:45 Sure enough, that's exactly where he was. 12:48 "And the Lord answered, 12:49 'There he is, hidden among the equipment.'" 12:50 "So" verse 23, "they ran" over to the suitcases. 12:53 Saul's trying to hide behind the suitcases 12:56 "and brought him from there, 12:57 and when he stood among the people, 13:00 he was taller than any of the people 13:02 from his shoulders upward. 13:04 And Samuel said to all the people, 13:05 'Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen 13:08 that there is no one like him among all the people?' 13:11 And all the people shouted and said, 13:14 'Long live the king!'" Long live the king. 13:17 They got their king at last, and a good one, by the way. 13:20 A humble king. 13:23 I went through this story, the first part of Saul's life. 13:25 And I said, Okay, I'm gonna collect humility markers. 13:28 I've found five humility markers. 13:31 Marker number one, when Samuel meets Saul 13:33 for the first time he says, 13:34 man, you're the one we've been looking for. 13:36 And Saul says, no way, 13:37 I'm the least of the least of the least 13:39 in the entire tribe, you're not looking for me. 13:41 Humility marker number one. 13:43 Humility marker number two, when Saul comes home 13:46 from having that secret visit with Samuel, 13:48 his uncle says, hey I heard you were with a prophet, 13:50 what did he tell you? 13:51 And Saul says, nothing, 13:52 we were just looking for some donkeys. 13:54 Humility marker number two. 13:56 Humility marker number three, he's hiding. 13:58 He's been anointed, he's still hiding, can't be me. 14:01 Humility marker number four, 14:02 as soon as they announce his kingship, 14:04 there are some, there are some hoods in the crowd 14:08 and they say, we will not have this man rule-- 14:09 rein over us. 14:11 And the Bible says, soldiers, held this peace, hey. 14:13 You don't have to make everybody happy. 14:15 Humility marker number five, they go in a battle, 14:17 it's a signal victory for God and now the people say, 14:20 you want us to kill those guys, those red necks? 14:24 And the Bible says, pause in as Saul says, 14:27 no way, no way, no way, just let them go. 14:29 Five humility markers, would to God 14:33 that the story of King Saul end right there, he would gone-- 14:36 he would go down in history as the greatest, 14:38 the first and the greatest king of Israel. 14:41 Because then we would know the truth that humble leaders 14:44 are Gods most successful leaders. 14:47 Humble people. 14:48 By the way, that truth has now been 14:49 discovered empirically by research 14:52 came out in that classic book of Jim Collins, 14:54 "Good to Great," where they studied 14:56 that top corporations in the United States, 14:59 to find out, what makes, 15:00 what Jim Collins calls, a level five leader? 15:04 There are level three leaders. 15:05 All kinds of level three leaders. 15:07 There are some good level four leaders, 15:09 but level five you are, you are the-- 15:12 You are at the top. 15:15 What are level five leaders like, 15:17 in politics, in business and institutions? 15:21 Let me read to you Jim Collins, 15:22 in fact this is in your study guide, 15:23 you'll need to fill it in. 15:24 Here's a level five leader 15:25 "Level five leaders are a study" 15:27 get this "in duality, modest" 15:31 write that in "modest and willful" 15:35 they're not namby-pambies "humble and fearless." 15:39 They're not cowards, but they are humble. 15:42 "To quickly grasp this concept, 15:43 think of the United States President Abraham Lincoln" 15:46 he writes "one of the few Level 5 presidents 15:48 in United States history, who never let his ego 15:51 get in the way of his primary ambition 15:53 for the larger cause of an enduring great nation." 15:56 Isn't that something, guys? 15:57 Ladies and gentlemen, isn't that amazing? 15:59 The number one leaders, 16:01 the most successful leaders in America today, 16:03 are men and women who are humble. 16:05 In fact, when the researchers were bringing back 16:07 the results to Collins, 16:08 I'll put this on the screen for you, 16:09 "Those who worked with 16:10 or wrote about the good-to-great leaders" 16:12 these level 5 leaders, 16:13 "continually used words like quiet, humble, 16:17 modest, reserved, shy, gracious, mild-mannered, 16:22 understated, did not believe his own clippings, 16:25 and so forth." 16:28 You know what, you and I right now 16:29 are thinking of the leaders we know, who fit the bill. 16:32 Level 5 leaders, who are humble leaders. 16:36 Reminds me, these words written a century ago 16:38 that they're in your study guide, 16:39 "If men and women desired to be honored by God, 16:43 let them be" write it in, "let them be humble. 16:47 Those who carry forward God's work 16:49 should be distinguished 16:50 from all others by their humility." 16:55 Would to God that King Saul has it, 16:59 had held the road, a highway that he was on. 17:04 It's sad that his tale begins to unravel 17:06 with almost breathtaking speed. 17:10 Symptomatic, it was downwards spiral. 17:14 Chapter 14, just turn a couple of pages over. 17:17 There are two verses by the historian, 17:19 intentionally juxtaposed. 17:21 These two verses are placed side by side. 17:24 Look at this, downward spiral, here's the evidence. 17:27 This is Chapter 14 verse 23. 17:31 Saul's boy Jonathan and his armor bearer 17:33 have just taken down an entire Philistines' garrison, 17:36 a clearly is a divine victory. 17:37 There's no way two boys could bring down 17:39 an entire enemy fort, but they did. 17:42 And so, now the historian writes verse 23 17:44 "So the Lord" the Lord, please get that, 17:47 "The Lord saved Israel that day, 17:49 and the battle shifted to Beth Aven." 17:52 Now he purposely puts right up beside it, 17:55 verse 24 "And the men of Israel were distressed that day." 17:59 What's bugging you guys? 18:01 Oh, here it is. 18:03 They were distressed " that day, for Saul The king 18:06 had placed the people under oath, saying, 18:09 'Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening.'" 18:13 That was a stupid, 18:17 imperial command. 18:20 I mean, you got to eat to fight. 18:24 Whose honor is Saul, so eager to defend? 18:27 Watch this, "Cursed is the man who eats any food 18:29 until evening before I have taken vengeance on my enemies." 18:36 Hey, hey wait, time-out, time-out. 18:39 Saul, what do you mean, you? 18:41 We just found out, God is the one 18:42 who has achieved a signal victory. 18:44 This isn't about you, 18:45 this isn't about your vengeance. 18:49 The spiral has already begun. 18:51 In fact, the Bible commentary, 18:54 the author of the Bible commentary, 18:55 who ever was authoring this particular section, 18:58 I'll put the words on the screen for you, 18:59 they're in your study guide as well, 19:01 makes this a, this adroit observation. 19:04 "Saul's humility has forever taken flight, 19:07 it seemed, and in its place there appeared a false zeal, 19:12 a secret pride and an abuse of authority 19:14 that was to mature through the years 19:16 till he took his own life." 19:17 This is, this is so sad. 19:19 "Like Judas, Saul ran well for a season." 19:24 He started off strong. 19:26 "Had he died before calling Israel to Gilgal, 19:28 he would have been regarded 19:29 as worthy of the highest place in the kingly roll of honor. 19:32 Now, he had betrayed his sacred trust, 19:34 yet was permitted to live on that 19:36 all might see the fruitage of selfishness and perversity." 19:39 The moral spiral, from humility to pride plunges downward. 19:43 And we use an expression don't we? 19:45 We talk about, pride turning the head. 19:47 Don't we use that phrase? Pride turns the head. 19:51 Watch how the head gets turned. 19:52 Chapter 15 now, how sad, Chapter 15 verse 10. 19:56 "Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel," 19:59 what do you have to say to me God? 20:01 Oh, I got a word for you, Samuel verse 11 20:02 "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, 20:07 for he has turned back from following Me," 20:10 his head was turned-- has become turned 20:14 "he has turned back from following Me, 20:15 and has not performed My commandments." 20:17 The next morning, Samuel finds Saul, 20:19 look at these words verse 17. 20:21 "So Samuel said to Saul, 20:22 'When you were little in your own eyes'" 20:26 boy, do you remember when at one time, 20:29 you were little in your own eyes. 20:32 Something has befallen you. 20:34 "'When you were little in your own eyes, 20:37 were you not head of the tribes of Israel? 20:38 And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?'" 20:42 Last verse of that tragic chapter, 20:45 last verse, verse 35, 20:46 "And Samuel went no more to see Saul 20:49 until the day of Samuels death. 20:51 Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, 20:54 and the Lord regretted 20:55 that He had made Saul king over Israel." 20:58 You have a heartbroken God, 20:59 you have a heartbroken prophet, because we just lost. 21:04 He started with so much promise. 21:08 He was chosen because he was little in his own eyes. 21:11 What happened? 21:12 Soon he became, all there was, in his own eyes. 21:16 Tragic demise of humility, 21:18 the crash and burn into destructive, 21:21 self-destructive pride. 21:23 So getting back to where we started. 21:25 One word, wonder. 21:26 I mean, come on mom, you got a whole dictionary, 21:30 Bible dictionary full of names, 21:31 if you want to name that little boy something. 21:32 But why would you pick the name Saul, 21:35 after a story like this? 21:37 But that mother did. 21:39 That Hebrew mother did. 21:40 When that little baby boy was born, 21:42 she and her husband, 21:43 from the tribe of Benjamin, they said, 21:44 this boy was gonna be named after the first king of Israel. 21:46 They had ambitions. 21:48 Nothing wrong parents, 21:49 with having ambitions for that child of yours. 21:52 They had big ambitions. 21:53 This boy is gonna be like the first king of Israel. 21:55 Obviously, they're thinking of the positive side. 21:59 But wouldn't she know it, 22:00 because the boy is born in Tarsus, 22:03 which is a Roman colony in Asia Minor, 22:05 like all the other boys in the neighborhood, 22:08 he had a Greco-Roman name, as well. 22:10 It allow the house in Hebrew, he's Saul. 22:13 But around the neighborhood, he's Palos, is in the Greek. 22:16 He's Palos, little one. We'll call him little one. 22:20 He might have been short his whole life, for all we know. 22:23 Shorty, that was his nickname stuck? 22:28 Shorty grew up to-- like a lot of boys do, 22:31 he wanted to be just like his dad. 22:34 I want to be a Pharisee, when I grow up. 22:36 His father was a Pharisee, Paul tells us that. 22:38 His father was a Pharisee and so shorty said, 22:40 I'm gonna be just like dad. 22:43 And mom and dad saw the proclivity in that boy 22:45 and said, you're going off to boarding school, 22:46 we're gonna send you to Jerusalem. 22:48 And so he went to Jerusalem and he sat at the, 22:50 he sat at the knees of one of the brilliant sacred jurors 22:52 and scholars of the day, a rabbi by name Gamaliel. 22:56 Oh, boy, Saul was a proud boy. 22:59 Proud that he was of the tribe of Benjamin. 23:02 Proud that, that was the tribe that offered the first king. 23:05 Proud that he was gonna be a Pharisee just like his dad. 23:07 Proud that he kept a law of God with punctilious accuracy. 23:12 Proud that he 23:17 will live the life 23:20 of moral flawlessness, proud. 23:23 So you can understand, he hated to lose, 23:26 when you're proud, you hate losing. 23:29 But one day he went to church, 23:32 and it looks like he had lost big time. 23:35 I'm gonna show you this. Go to the Book of Acts. 23:39 Surprising encounter one day in church, 23:42 and I'll tell you what, we're setup for Paul Harvey's 23:44 "The Rest of the Story" with this line 23:46 that lot of people just race over, 23:48 they don't get what's happening here. 23:49 I want you to slow down a bit 23:50 and look at Acts Chapter 6, watch this. 23:53 This is fascinating. Acts Chapter 6. 23:56 In your pew Bible that'd be page 737. 24:03 Because Saul shows up in church one day, 24:05 the synagogue, watch this. 24:08 He shows up in the synagogue 24:10 and there is another young man in church that day. 24:13 He's also, he's also a Jew, but he's a proselytized, 24:17 he's a Greek who's been want the Judaism and get this, 24:22 he's not only a Jew, 24:24 but he's now a disciple of this dead Jesus of Nazareth. 24:27 And he gets up in the synagogue, 24:30 maybe he was set up, we don't know 24:32 but they've fallen in to a ferocious debate. 24:35 And the young rabbi, scholar from Tarsus, takes him on. 24:40 He said, Dwight, you reading this in to the story, 24:42 look at this, verse 8, Acts 6:8, 24:46 "And Stephen, full of faith and power, 24:49 did great wonders and signs among the people." 24:50 Now hold on, verse 9, "Then there arose some 24:53 from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen" 24:57 people who are "Cyrenians, Alexandrians, 25:00 and those from Cilicia." 25:02 Cilicia is the Asian province that has Tarsus, 25:06 so there's some people from Cilicia "and Asia," 25:10 and they began to "disputing with Stephen." 25:12 They're having a public debate. 25:13 "And they were not able to resist the wisdom 25:16 and the Spirit by which he spoke." 25:18 He outwitted them, he out scripture them, 25:20 he out maneuvered them. 25:21 Every single time, this young follower of this Jesus, 25:24 called the Christ, wins the debate, 25:27 to perhaps the titter of the synagogue audience. 25:30 And when you're proud and you love to win 25:33 and you fail in public, you have the last say 25:37 and notice what happens after Stephen wins the debate. 25:41 "They were not able to resist him", verse 10. 25:42 "And then they secretly after the debate 25:45 induced men to say, 25:47 'We have heard him speak blasphemous words 25:50 against Moses and God.'" 25:53 setting up the first marker of the Christian faith. 25:59 Because the Ecclesiastical trials convened in chapter 7, 26:04 its over, its over before it even started, 26:05 Stephen gives and eloquent defense, 26:07 but he ceased the end, it's over. 26:09 Now watch this, they drag him out of the trough, 26:11 outside the walls, they summarily stone him, 26:14 but notice this other young adults posture. 26:19 Chapter 7, near the end, verse 58, 26:21 "And they cast Stephen out of the city and stoned him. 26:24 And the witnesses laid down their clothes 26:27 at the feet of a young man named Saul." 26:30 He never picked up a stone, 26:33 but his heart was saying it's what you get. 26:39 Stood there and watched the death 26:42 of another young scholar. 26:43 Chapter 8:1, 26:44 "Now Saul was consenting to Stephen's death. 26:47 At that time a great persecution 26:48 arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, 26:50 and they were all scattered 26:52 throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, 26:53 except the apostles." 26:54 Verse 3, "And ask for Saul, he made havoc of the church, 26:58 he entering every house, and dragging off men and women, 27:00 committing them to prison." 27:01 Kill them, kill them, kill them, 27:02 kill them, kill them. 27:05 Man, I hate to lose, 27:09 when I'm proud, I win. 27:14 He thinks, he's so passionate to rid this hated sect 27:19 from the face of the earth 27:20 that when he finds out that some are fled northward 27:22 to the ancient city of Damascus, 27:23 the young rabbi and scholar assembles his own posse 27:27 and leads them to Damascus. 27:28 And just outside the city gates, on his way, 27:33 the messiah of Israel 27:36 personally meets the young man. 27:41 You know the story. 27:43 I love reading it every time, Acts 9:3, 27:47 "And as Saul journeyed he came near Damascus, 27:50 and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 27:54 Then he fell to the ground, 27:55 and heard a voice saying to him, 27:57 'Saul, Saul, 28:04 why are you persecuting Me?' 28:06 And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?' 28:09 Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, 28:10 whom you are persecuting. 28:12 It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'" 28:14 Isn't it? 28:15 "So he, trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, 28:18 what do You want me to do?' 28:20 Then the Lord said to him," 28:21 you get up off of those feet you, 28:22 "Arise and go into the city, 28:23 and you will be told what you" to do next. 28:26 Good bye, gone. 28:28 For three days, in a home inside the walls of Damascus, 28:33 three days and nights, without water or food, 28:37 the young scholar and rabbi brewed over the meaning 28:42 of what happened on that Damascus road. 28:45 Three days later, there's a knock at the door. 28:47 I love this part too. 28:49 Because it was a tough visit for that young pastor to make, 28:52 but he made it. 28:55 Verse 17, "And Ananias went his way" 28:57 after God had told him, 28:58 you get the man who has come to kill you. 29:00 "And Ananias went his way and entered the house 29:02 and he laid his hands on him Saul said, 29:03 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 29:05 who appeared to you on the road as you came, 29:07 has sent me that you may receive your sight 29:08 and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'" 29:10 And "Immediately there fell from his eyes" 29:12 Saul's eyes "something like scales," 29:14 just running down his cheeks 29:16 "and he received his sight at once, 29:18 and he arose and was baptized. 29:20 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. 29:22 Then Saul spent some days 29:24 with the disciples at Damascus." 29:25 And I love verse 20, 29:26 "Immediately he preached the Christ" 29:29 the messiah "in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God." 29:33 For three long days and nights, 29:36 the proud Pharisee is being disassembled, 29:40 layer by layer, until he's nothing at the end 29:43 but a humble follower of this Jesus in Nazareth. 29:48 As you just struggle with the same sin? 29:52 Those of us that struggle with the same sin, 29:54 isn't it good to know? 29:56 God can work quickly if we're willing. 30:03 And so it was, this man 30:07 becomes the most intrepid missionary 30:08 in the history of Christianity. 30:10 He finally becomes-- can you believe this, 30:12 the greatest follower of Jesus Christ, 30:15 ever to have lived on this planet, 30:18 bar none, the end. 30:20 The story's over. 30:22 Except for one obscure piece of the biography 30:27 that we must share together. 30:29 This little piece holds perhaps 30:31 the greatest secret of all to humility, 30:34 which is why we've saved it until today. 30:38 A newly converted Paul 30:40 eventually disappears for several years. 30:42 We don't know for sure 30:44 but when we take scrapes of the New Testament, 30:45 little bits and pieces, from the record, 30:47 it becomes clear that eventually 30:48 he heads back to Cilicia 30:50 and he's in his home town of Tarsus. 30:52 While in Tarsus, the God who called him 30:55 on the Damascus road comes to him 30:57 and personally ushers him 31:00 into supernatural visions and revelations. 31:05 And then suddenly, a few years later he reappears 31:07 and we can track him till his beheaded. 31:13 That divine entrustment, while he was obscurely hidden 31:15 from human view as it were precipitated, 31:18 what turns out to be 31:19 the great principle of humility. 31:21 And I want to end in this passage. 31:23 Find 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, please, we'll end it here. 31:28 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, 31:30 now I need to set you up for 2 Corinthians 12, 31:32 what's happened in here is that Paul 31:34 has become accused by some people in Corinth 31:38 where he's writing this letters, 31:39 its a second letter at Corinth. 31:41 He's being accused and really not being a real deal apostle. 31:44 You're not a real deal, you're not the real McCoy, 31:47 there's something wrong about you. 31:49 Your background, something, I don't know. 31:51 But beginning in chapter 10 he sets out 31:54 to reestablish for the Church in Corinth 31:56 his credentials as a genuine apostle. 31:59 If he had simply kept silent, 32:01 he would've played in to that lie, 32:04 and he would've done this service to his master. 32:05 He has to speak up now. 32:07 And so through chapter 11, 32:09 he is establishing his credentials 32:11 and then he says, I got one more piece, 32:13 one more piece to tell you about, 32:14 chapter 12, here we go, Chapter 12 verse 1, 32:17 "It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast." 32:20 I'm not here bragging guys, but I need to tell you this, 32:22 "I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 32:28 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago 32:32 whether in the body I do not know, 32:34 or whether out of the body I do not know, 32:36 God knows I know such a one 32:38 who was caught up to the third heaven." 32:40 Hold it right there. 32:41 You know what the third heaven is? 32:42 First heaven is atmosphere, second heaven the stars, 32:44 third heaven is where God lives. 32:46 Paul says, I knew a man once. 32:49 You know what he's doing? 32:50 You know what he's doing, don't you? 32:51 It's a literary device. 32:52 It's the very same device, humble John ceases, 32:56 when he writes the life story of Jesus in the Gospel of John, 32:59 inserts himself five times into that story, 33:02 but never ever utter his name. 33:04 Remember that? 33:05 The first part in this series, 33:06 the disciple that Jesus kept on loving, you remember that? 33:10 That's a device, it's me, 33:12 but I'm not gonna ever use my name in the story, 33:13 I'm not worth it. 33:15 Paul does the same thing. 33:16 He said, I know a man once, he's talking about himself. 33:19 I knew a man once, 14 years ago. 33:21 He could have just said, 33:23 hey, let me tell you about the visions I've had. 33:24 No, no, no, no, no. 33:25 We're dealing with the very humbled and humble man. 33:29 I knew a man, he went up to the third heaven. 33:32 Now, verse 3 says, 33:33 "I know such a man whether in the body 33:35 or out of the body I do not know, 33:36 God knows" he repeats himself, verse 4, 33:38 "how he was caught up into Paradise" 33:39 he got into heaven somehow, 33:41 "and he heard" while up there, "inexpressible words, 33:45 which it is not lawful for a man to utter." 33:48 I cannot even tell you what this man heard. 33:53 Someday we'll find out, we'll find out. 33:56 Verse 5, "Of such a one I will boast" 33:59 I'm gonna boast about this guy. 34:01 I'm not gonna boast about me, understand, 34:02 I'm gonna boast about this guy. 34:04 Isn't that something? 34:05 "Of such a one I will boast yet of myself I will not boast, 34:08 except in my infirmities. 34:10 For though I might desire to boast, 34:11 I will not be a fool," 34:13 let me tell you something, some of you, 34:15 perhaps we'll find this verse handy, 34:16 Proverbs 27:2, listen to this, 34:19 "Let another man praise you, and not your own lips, 34:22 let a stranger, and not your own lips." 34:24 I'll tell you, once in a while, 34:25 I bump into a person who's just praising himself or herself 34:27 and I'm thinking to myself, 34:28 what is the problem here? 34:30 What is it, you're so insecure that you've to praise yourself? 34:34 If you did something great, the word will be out. 34:36 If it wasn't that great, that's why you're telling me. 34:40 Don't ever praise yourself. 34:41 Let me just give you that little bit of advice 34:42 from the apostle Paul. 34:45 I know a man once, I still man once. 34:48 Oh, oh, by the way, that's the disciple 34:50 that Jesus kept on loving. 34:51 I know what's the guy's name is, 34:52 but he's the disciple Jesus just kept on loving. 34:54 Never praise yourself. 34:57 If it's worth praising somebody else 34:58 will step up for you, trust me. 35:00 Otherwise, just leave it alone, 35:02 God knows and that's all accounts anyway. 35:06 "For though I might desire to boast, 35:07 I will not be a fool for I will speak the truth. 35:09 But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above 35:13 what he sees me to be or hears from me." 35:15 I'm not gonna elevate myself, now here comes, 35:17 hold on to your pew right now, here we go, 35:19 verse 7, "And lest I should be exalted above measure 35:23 by the abundance of the" visions "these revelations, 35:26 a thorn of the flesh was given to me." 35:28 Now let me tell you about that word, 35:29 the Greek word for thorn, 35:30 it's not the crown of thorns thorn 35:32 that Jesus had on His head. 35:33 It's another word that means a wedge of wood 35:36 that is jammed into human flesh. 35:38 Let me ask you a question. 35:39 Have you ever gotten a splinter underneath your nail? 35:43 Have you? Isn't that about the worst of the worst? 35:46 I mean, it starts to bleeding, 35:47 you finally get the bleeding stopped 35:48 and you can see that dark line, there's something in there. 35:50 But I can't get in to get it out. 35:53 Paul says, I was given a splinter 35:55 that went straight into my flesh. 35:58 Not into my heart, 35:59 not into my mind, it's in my flesh. 36:04 Scholars and students of the Bible say, 36:06 well, I wonder what this is, this thorn in the flesh. 36:09 They begin to pull pieces together 36:11 and they remember that Paul, 36:12 when he was writing to the Galatians said, 36:14 oh, I'm so grateful for you people. 36:16 You are willing to tear your eyes out, 36:18 to give your eyes to me. 36:19 And then-- and then in fact, 36:21 all the way through Paul's epistles he keeps using, 36:24 he keeps using what they call an amanuensis, 36:27 which is a scribe. 36:28 He keeps to having other people write for him 36:30 and then there's that letter where he says, 36:32 I just took the pen myself 36:33 and in real big letters you have me. 36:37 And students of the Bible say, it must be his eyes, 36:41 it must be something in the eyes 36:44 that publicly embarrassing, 36:46 something that is an awful inconvenience, 36:49 something that humbles him wherever he goes. 36:51 He's always having to be dependent on other people. 36:53 He have, must be something here. 36:56 A thorn in the flesh was given to me. 37:00 And notice what he calls it "a messenger of Satan" 37:05 the Greek word for messenger is aggelos, it means angel. 37:08 A demon was sent to me, a demon. 37:11 And by the way, its demon of Satan, it's not from God. 37:13 This isn't an angel from God, poking him, poking him. 37:15 No, this is a demon straight 37:17 out of the kingdom of darkness as it were. 37:20 God never causes evil. 37:21 God never is the author, of what is evil. 37:25 A demon of Satan has been tracking me 37:28 in this thorn in the flesh. 37:31 "A messenger of Satan to buffet me," 37:34 the very word used in Jesus, arrest there, 37:39 in that mock trial, late early Friday morning, 37:41 when they struck him, struck him with their fists, 37:45 same Greek word. 37:46 This demon has been beaten me into a pulp. 37:52 Why? 37:53 "Lest I be exalted above measure." 37:55 Would you write it down in your study guide please? 37:57 "I.e.," 38:01 so that I might be kept humble, 38:06 "to keep me humble." 38:07 There's a thorn in the flesh. 38:12 Verse 8, "Concerning this thing 38:13 I pleaded with the Lord three times," 38:16 just like Jesus in Gethsemane, 38:17 begging, begging God to take it away. 38:21 "That it might depart from me" I begged. 38:23 Verse 9, and you know what "He said to me," 38:25 Here we go, this is that classic line 38:27 that beloved line remembered through out history, 38:30 "'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength 38:33 is made perfect in weakness.' 38:37 Therefore" Paul exclaims, "most gladly 38:39 I will rather boast in my infirmities, 38:41 that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 38:43 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, 38:47 in needs, in persecutions, 38:48 in distresses, for Christ's sake. 38:50 For when I am weak, then I am strong." 38:54 Did you get that? 38:55 "When I am weak, 38:58 then I'm strong." 39:06 Regarding the Apostle Paul, 39:09 I found great comfort in comparing my puny little, 39:14 puny little life, 39:17 begins to grand devotion of this noble, 39:21 serving of the most high God. 39:22 I find comfort in discovering that what I struggle 39:26 with night and day, he struggled with, too. 39:30 This is from that little classic 39:31 "Ministry of Healing," fill it in your study guide. 39:33 "The life of the apostle Paul was a constant" constant 39:37 "conflict with self." 39:41 Isn't that amazing? "Constant conflict with self. 39:47 His will and his desires 39:49 every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. 39:52 Instead of following inclination, 39:53 he did God's will, 39:54 however crucifying to his nature." 39:57 Hey, you know, that line has becamekind of a part of 39:59 the title of this mini series, Not I but Christ. 40:03 Those words are directly out of the King James Version. 40:06 The great confession of the Paul's humility, 40:08 Galatians 2:20, 40:10 "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, 40:14 but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live 40:19 by faith in the Son of God, 40:21 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 40:23 Not I but Christ, we sing the words. 40:26 They are straight out of the confession of this man 40:28 who has been buffeted by a demon of hell 40:30 and hell pin down his entire ministry, 40:34 pin down by that thorn in the flesh. 40:40 And because this greatest of Christian battles self, 40:43 like you and I do, God allowed, now listen, 40:45 God allowed into Paul's life, even as He does with us. 40:51 He allowed that which Paul very much wished 40:55 were not in his life. 40:57 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome 40:59 to the hard path of humility. 41:04 cIts suffering, suffering. 41:12 You know, we talk with the life of Moses 41:14 in this little mini series, about how important 41:16 it is for humility to embrace our failures. 41:20 But you know, the thing about failure is, 41:22 if did the failure, I know who to blame. 41:24 I'll embrace it, I'll admit I really screwed up. 41:26 I deserve to be humiliated in front of everybody, 41:29 that's my fault. 41:31 But when something comes to me from outside of me, 41:34 over which I have zero control, and it pulls me and it pins me 41:38 and it thrust itself into me, I'm telling you guys, 41:41 where do I turn? I have no relief. 41:45 I can't embrace that. 41:49 The shining principle that the hard 41:51 pathway of humility is through suffering, 41:56 but I need to insert this caviar very quickly, 41:59 I cannot walk into your hospital room 42:01 and there's some of you watching right now 42:03 or listening in a hospital room. 42:05 I cannot walk into your hospital room 42:07 and declare to you that you're suffering 42:09 from the-- by the hand of God 42:11 because you have a problem with pride and this is Gods' 42:14 way of getting it out of your life. 42:15 Number one, that would be ludicrous. 42:17 How do I know, what you're going through 42:19 and why you're going through it? 42:21 Number two, it's not form God, it's always from Satan. 42:24 Evil always is from Satan. 42:25 Jesus said, an enemy has done this. 42:28 I cannot walk into your hospital room 42:30 and say, oh, looks like every sick person 42:32 I know is struggling with pride. 42:33 That would be so bad. 42:36 But you know what? In the same breath 42:38 I need to tell you, I can walk into my own sick room 42:44 and declare just as Paul did. 42:48 I'm going through this because God,in His love me, 42:54 is drawing me closer to His love and humility. 43:00 I must be going through this for a reason, right now. 43:05 I can do that to me. 43:07 No where in Paul's epistles does he ever say, ah, 43:10 you know the reason why you're suffering, 43:12 the reason you're suffering 43:13 is because you got a problem with pride. 43:14 God will humble you, just endure it never. 43:17 But he says, so utterly clearly, 43:20 I have this thorn in my flesh and I'm suffering because 43:25 I have a problem with pride 43:27 and God is keeping me humble. 43:29 Therefore, I will embrace what humbles me. 43:33 That's what's happening here. 43:36 Suffering is the hard path way to humility. 43:43 I want to close with three quotations 43:44 that make the case and I'll sit down. 43:46 Three quotations, watch this. 43:50 And by the way, I need to ask you just before 43:51 I share these last three. 43:52 Are you following this? 43:55 Are you understanding what we're talking about here? 43:58 This is crucial. 43:59 Does it make sense to you? 44:01 Because right now the bolt is gonna tighten, 44:03 it's gonna screw down even harder, 44:05 but you need to understand 44:06 what's going on. 44:07 I want to share with you a quotation 44:09 from a writer named Derek Kidner, a friend of mine 44:12 gave me a two volume set 44:14 of Commentaries for the book of Psalms. 44:17 Read them both through, just a marvelous commentary. 44:20 Derek Kidner, in commenting on David's illness in Psalm 38, 44:25 makes the point that boy jumped off the page to me 44:27 and I'm passing it on to you. 44:28 It's there in your study guide. 44:31 David groaning before God because of his illness, 44:33 now read it there, "The wording in Psalm 38 leaves no doubt 44:37 that this sickness was a punishment." 44:41 Now here comes a key line, hang on to this. 44:43 It would be as wrong to think that this is never so, 44:47 as that it is always so." 44:50 We can't make the conclusion, 44:51 nobody ever suffers as a consequence of God 44:54 doing something in his life. 44:55 We can't make that. 44:56 Nor can we make the conclusion, everybody who's suffering, 44:59 God is dealing something really big. 45:01 We can't make either extreme. 45:04 And in fact, then he lists two verses, John 5:14. 45:07 You remember Jesus raising a paralytic by the pool 45:09 of Bethesdaon the Sabbath day once. 45:10 And when He bumps into the man again in the synagogue you. 45:13 He says, hey, listen, you better stop sinning 45:14 or something worse is gonna come up on you. 45:16 What's He saying? You got what you got 45:17 because of your sin, very clear. 45:19 But in John 9:3 Jesus says, did the blind man sin 45:23 that he's born blind? Did his parents sin? 45:25 No, nobody sinned. 45:26 Sin's not an issue. 45:27 So Jesus, very clearly, steps between those extremes 45:31 and that's what Kidner is noticing here. 45:33 Now read on, "Whether David's suffering 45:36 was the natural out come of his own sin, 45:39 as are the diseases of lust and excess, 45:41 there is no sure way of telling. 45:43 What is clear is that the illness opened David's eyes 45:46 to his spiritual plight by humbling him." 45:50 He got to use that illness, to humble David. 45:55 Kidner is joining with the apostle Paul in declaring 46:01 that physical afflictions can indeed humble us. 46:06 I want to share the quotation number two, Gregory Boyd, 46:10 the most brilliant theodicy 46:11 I've ever read as written 46:15 the title is, It's God to Blame. 46:17 Gregory Boyd makes a similar conclusion 46:22 and I want you to read this. 46:23 This is something. 46:24 "It was Satan" quoting Boyd now, 46:27 "It was Satan, not God, 46:28 who originally gave Paul his thorn in the flesh. 46:30 But even though Jesus uniformly expressed God's will 46:34 as being against sickness and disease, in this case" 46:36 those are Boyd's italics, "in this case Jesus saw 46:39 that with Paul it was more beneficial 46:41 to leave the infirmity in place." 46:44 Now hold on, "Indeed, Paul suggests that in this case 46:47 Satan was specifically allowed to torment him" Paul 46:51 "for this very reason." 46:52 Now notice, "It wasn't God's ideal to have Paul afflicted, 46:57 but given Paul's struggle with pride 47:00 allowing him to be afflicted with closer to God's ideal 47:04 than removing it." 47:06 Isn't that something? 47:08 You've to take that home brewed on that one. 47:10 Isn't that something? Brewed on that one. 47:16 Of course I could take this away from you, 47:17 My ideal is that you be in health. 47:19 But actually letting you go through this gets you closer 47:22 to My ideal, spiritually for you. 47:24 So I'm not taking it away, you suffer. 47:27 Isn't that amazing? 47:29 And just like Derek Kidner and Gregory Boyd, 47:33 along comes a writer,preceding both of them named Ellen White. 47:37 And she makes the identical point, 47:39 those brilliant theologians have made to us. 47:42 She describes an intense period to suffering 47:44 and I want to end with this quotation. 47:45 It's there in your study guide. 47:47 "Through all my sickness the last eight months," 47:49 some of you know what it's like to endure 47:52 prolonged pain and suffer, 47:54 I know, we've talked. 47:59 "Through all my sickness the last eight months, 48:00 I have had during my sleepless hours 48:03 the most precious contemplations of the love 48:06 of God for to man and woman, 48:07 expressed in the wonderful sacrifice 48:10 made to save us from ruin." 48:12 Now notice this, "Looking upon the cross," I love this, 48:16 "Looking upon the cross at the humiliations 48:19 and sufferings endured in bearing our sins, 48:24 that His righteousness might be imputed to us," 48:27 looking upon the cross, 48:28 softens the heart, do you know why? 48:30 Because suddenly I'm reminded, 48:32 somebody else has been through this insanity ahead of me 48:35 and has been humiliated, 48:37 stripped naked on that centre cross. 48:39 Humiliated, begging God, take it away, take it away. 48:44 And God says, nope, your pathway is going straight 48:49 through the cross. 48:51 Looking upon the cross softens the heart. 48:55 Man, I'm not alone, thank you, Jesus. 48:58 Somebody has gone heading me. 49:00 "Softens the heart and fills the soul with His love." 49:03 Now the clincher here comes, 49:06 "When pain has seemed to be almost unbearable," 49:10 and some of you listening right now, 49:11 some of you watching on television, 49:12 some of you who are in this sanctuary 49:15 know exactly what that means 49:16 when pain has almost becoming unbearable. 49:20 "I have looked to Jesus and I've prayed most earnestly, 49:25 and He has been beside me, and the darkness 49:28 has passed away and all has seemed light." 49:30 And here it is, "I believe now that my sickness 49:35 in this strange country is a part of God's plan." 49:41 After eight months of suffering, 49:45 I've come to the conclusion, 49:48 God wants me here. 49:51 Ladies and gentlemen, it is the hard truth 49:58 about humility and its pathway. 50:02 It goes straight through suffering. 50:06 I told you, when we were talking to God 50:08 at the beginning of this, this is gonna touch us all 50:11 where it hurts the most. 50:15 I cannot say to you that what you're enduring right now 50:19 is sent of God, I would be a fool to. 50:24 But I can say of me, 50:27 every cross of suffering 50:33 has been allowed into my life to deal with my pride 50:39 and to leave me up the high pathway to humility, 50:45 for when I am weak, only then, 50:50 when I'm weak, then I'm strong. 50:56 I believe now that my sickness is part of God's plan. 51:02 The hard pathway because there's nothing worse 51:05 than appearing before others as weak. 51:09 You're nothing harder than that. 51:11 And high, highway, it's the highway, 51:16 because it's the way of Christ and the cross, 51:18 it's the only highway 51:22 to heaven, the only one. 51:28 I want to read you some words. 51:33 I want you to just close your eyes right now, please. 51:37 Contemplate these words, 51:40 written by Katharina Von Schlegel. 51:44 "Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side. 51:50 Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain, 51:54 leave to thy God to order and provide, 51:59 in every change He faithful will remain. 52:01 Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly friend 52:08 through thorny ways leads 52:12 to a joyful end." 52:16 I want you to pray that prayer 52:19 to the God who's inside your soul right now. 52:21 I want to sing only this first stanza of hymn 461. 52:25 I'd like you to find that hymnal. 52:28 Sing these words to yourself, sing to your heart. 52:32 This confession is so beautiful. 52:35 We're gonna sing this first stanza. 52:39 With fervor and then Ministry of music, would you please 52:43 lead us into a very quiet repetition 52:46 of the first stanza? Very quiet, 52:48 as we conclude this service. 52:49 Let's stand together, shall we? 52:51 Let's stand and sing 52:52 this beautiful confession. 53:15 Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side 53:26 Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain 53:36 Leave to thy God to order and provide 53:48 In every change He faithful will remain 54:00 Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly friend 54:13 Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end 54:32 Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side 54:46 Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain 54:59 Leave to thy God to order and provide 55:13 In every change He faithful will remain 55:28 Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly friend 55:42 Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end 55:58 O Father, we can sing these words 56:03 only because it is Christ, our Lord who whispers 56:10 My grace would be sufficient for you. 56:15 So wherever this pathway goes, 56:18 wherever Your gentle hand will yet lead us, 56:24 may we know with Paul 56:30 that it is true, 56:32 when we are weak at last, we will be strong. 56:38 Grant us that weakness, 56:42 so that we might possess 56:45 that strength for the glory 56:49 of the God who has gone before us. 56:53 In Jesus name, amen. 57:00 I wanted to take one more moment here at the end 57:02 of the telecast to let you know how grateful 57:04 I'm for your journey with us, 57:06 with our New Perceptions ministry. 57:08 You may think that New Perceptions 57:10 is only about television but I need to tell 57:12 you we do have a website, 57:14 which is more than just the study guide. 57:16 I know we go to the study guide every week 57:17 but if you go to our website let me put the address 57:19 on the screen again, www.pmchurch.tv, 57:24 you will find at that website a blog. 57:27 Every Wednesday I sit down on my laptop 57:28 and write up a blog something as commenting 57:30 on world events, something local, 57:32 something national, you get the blog. 57:34 You want to archive previous teachings from here 57:37 in the Pioneer pulpit you go to that annotated archive 57:40 you can pick out a message it will be sent to you. 57:43 You want to get into the podcast business 57:46 I'm not real hi-techie on this but if you click podcast 57:50 you will be able to connect instantly 57:51 with every new teaching 57:52 that comes from the Pioneer pulpit. 57:54 The point is we're trying to connect with a generation 57:56 on the move, on the go. 57:58 Thanks for being a part of it. 57:59 Thanks for your prayer partnership. 58:01 We've got to connect with this generation 58:03 at this time in earth's history 58:05 and I'm grateful you and I are sharing the mission. 58:08 God bless you, until next time. |
Revised 2015-07-23