Part 2 - What Moves You?
Oh, how I desire Paul's passion. How I pray that God would instill in me the kind of desire that Paul had for other people and for the ministry. I find myself falling short in so many areas.
Let's look for a moment at what Paul is talking about when he makes the statement, "none of these things move me."
Turn with me please to 2 Corinthians 11:23-27
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Paul suffered for the cause of Christ as much as anyone mentioned in the Bible. When he says he received five times forty stripes save one, this meant that he had suffered beatings with whips. History tells us that in practice among the Hebrews, the number of blows inflicted was limited to 39, just in case there was an accident in counting, the criminal should receive more than the number prescribed in the Law, which only allowed 40 stripes (see Deuteronomy 25:3). They would use whips consisting of 3, 6, or 9 lashes with pieces of metal, bone, or glass attached to the ends that would literally rip flesh from the bodies of those being beaten. (For a good understanding of what these whips may have been like, look here.) This was the same type of beating (scourging) that the Lord Jesus Christ had to endure before he was crucified. Here Paul tells us that he had endured such beatings on 5 different occasions. That would amount to 195 brutal lashings of the worst kind. If you were to look upon the Apostle Paul's back you would be appalled at the scars that he must have had.
Not only was Paul beaten but he suffered many hardships on his journeys; shipwrecks, robbers, hunger, thirst, pain, nakedness, he suffered greatly in order to spread the Gospel. Yet, he says, "none of these things move me."
How many of us sitting in church today in our nice padded pews in a nice air conditioned building with our nice full stomachs, can honestly say we know what it is like to suffer for the cause of Christ? Sunday after Sunday we see church members enter the church with chips on their shoulders just begging for someone to knock it off. Being offended at the least little thing said to them. Somebody looked at me wrong. Somebody said something about me. Somebody thinks something about me. Anything and Everything will move them! I've seen people give up their ministries over the silliest little things. I've even seen people quit coming to church because somebody else got their feelings hurt. It reminds me of a 9-year old child getting mad at their parent’s because they made them mind. “I’ll show them, I’ll just pack up my things and run away!” We’ve got too many 9-year old adults in church today.
In part 3 we will look closer at things that move people today and what the Apostle Paul may think of our modern church.
You can read each of the post by following the links below:
Part 1 - What Moves You?
Part 2 - What Moves You?
Part 3 - What Moves You?
Part 4 - What Moves You?
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