Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit (Great Lives from God's Word)

by Charles R. Swindoll

Change.

very few people who enjoy change. It threatens our comfort, interrupts our routines, challenges our priorities, and introduces anxiety. Yet, I’m convinced that living a life of obedience is an...

In our study of the life of Paul, we watched closely as that remarkable man of grace and grit handled many crucibles of change. They marked him in ways that prepared him uniquely for the task God had planned for him.

strangely wonderful definition of the word “change”:

“To make different in some particular.” It appears to be an unfinished sentence. You want the last word, don’t you? But it stops with the word “particular.”

The definition goes on to include “to transform, to undergo a modification, to become different.” Maybe that explains why it’s so challengin...

Allowing someone to mold and make us into something different is uncomfortable and, at times, downright painful. If we were like clay—moldable and flexible and easy to reshape—changes would be a lot easier. But we’re more like hard pottery—brittle and inflexible.

God is portrayed as the Potter and we, His children, as the clay.

In that fifty-first psalm, David called upon the Lord to change ugly habits that had held him in their grip much too long.

Realizing the depth of his sinful condition, he acknowledged, “I need my heart changed and only You, Lord, can make it happen and cause it to last.”

We need to pause and remember his remarkably pure life was directly related to his willingness to accept change. I’m convinced the main reason the man lived so cleanly before God had to do with the constant regimen of change he learned to accept.

Doubtless rejected by his family and excommunicated from his familiar ties to Judaism, he lived cut-off from all he once held dear. A converted Jew, living in his hometown, a man no one wanted . . . friendless, homeless, directionless. For multiple years he lived as a hermit, if you will, willingly submitting to the Potter’s firm, but gracious hands.

The congregation loved it because they got substantive truth, incredible encouragement, and great worship. Remember that. This was no religious entertainment center that dumbed down the truth. The place thrived on the solid meat of the Word. The diet was wholesome and nourishing. The teaching was rich and deep.

The entire gospel must be presented from the pulpit; the whole faith once delivered to the saints must be proclaimed by us. The truth as it is in Jesus must be instructively declared so that the people may not merely hear, but know, the joyful sound. . . Nothing can compensate for the absence of teaching.2

To be honest, among the most important factors in deciding where you and your family should attend church, the commitment to consistent delivery of substantive teaching should rank first.

It was God’s way of telling Barnabas and Saul it was time to move.

By the way, the Lord did the speaking. In those days the Lord revealed Himself in a number of ways. Today, I believe He speaks to us through His Word, through the gentle nudging of the Spirit, and through the collective witness of His people. Then it may have been in a night vision, or during a time while the disciples were praying, meditating on the Scriptures, or while fasting.

The way God chooses to lead His ministry is often difficult to get our arms around.

Ministry matters are rarely that obvious and objective. We serve a Head we cannot see, and we listen to a voice we cannot literally hear. Often we feel as if we’re being asked to follow a plan we do not understand. And I need to repeat here, during the process of discovering God’s leading, we are subject to enormous changes. These are changes we must embrace in the power of the Spirit, if we are to obey our Lord’s lead. Though we are accountable to the churches we serve, ultimately, each one of God’s servants answers to God.

Nothing good ever comes from a ministry devoted to pleasing people.

My responsibility is to deliver what God’s people need, not what they want. As I do, that truth hits me with the same authority as it does the folks to whom I communicate.

May God deliver every honest pastor, every truth-seeking board of elders, and every church leader from the bondage of pleasing people.

Let’s be willing to release gifted men and women without reluctance. Think of it this way: By releasing them we enable them to obey. And when you are called by God to go to a place you would never have expected to go, there’s no need to be afraid of change. Change brings adventure, and adventure stretches your faith.

Growth happens within us when we face risk. Head-on. Faith and risk go hand in hand. That may be a completely new concept for you.

I want to live my whole life like that. I want to love with much more abandon and stop waiting for others to love me first. I want to hurl myself into a creative work worthy of God.

Releasing and obeying requires that kind of fearless devotion to God’s will. Learn to welcome the risk. Stop waiting for all the answers.

Funny how human nature is put together, isn’t it? Since we’re often ill informed, we form false conclusions and struggle with reality.

Not in Antioch.

No strong-voiced leader stood up and attempted to block the board’s decision. None of that. The Spirit spoke and Go...

Serving in the center of God’s will can be dangerous business. But whether in times of relative ease or abject hardship the primary principle stands:

Obedience requires change.

I want to take the truths we’ve wrestled with here and make them into a softening ointment you can regularly apply when a change is on the horizon.

First negative: Do not remove any possibility.

Stay open to whatever it is God may have for you by removing all the limitations.

Second negative: Do not allow a lot of activity to dull your sensitivity.

“The greatest threat to your ministry may be your ministry.”

Be sure you’re carving out regular time to be with the Lord, keeping an open mind, meditating on His Word, remaining devoted to prayer, and taking sufficient time to relax. Only then can you hear and discern His still, small voice amid the din of church activity. When you begin to sense He is speaking, stay sensitive, and open and ready.

First positive: Let G...

Our sovereign Lord does as He pleases, and when it’s clear, our response is to obey.

Others are called to leave—you’re just as called to stay. Let God be

God. You’ll never regret it. Don’t assume anything beyond this moment.

Second positive: Be ready to say yes.

Don’t wait for all the details to be ironed out before you agree to release and obey.

Still, His leading is clear. Only one thing is needed: saying yes. Oh, I almost forgot. You also must be willing to risk.

I’m convinced that there are two lasting benefits of focusing one’s ministry on God’s Word: We know we are getting reliable truth, and our faith is strengthened.

A ministry that commits to communicating the truth of the Scriptures has the assurance of God’s blessing.

This is no time for a deliberate softening of truth, to make Christianity more palatable to unbelievers. What strange thinking? That thought would have never crossed Paul’s mind. Nor should it cross ours.

At the heart of this crisis is a lost confidence in God’s power to use His Word.

While many hold to the inerrancy of Scripture, some pastors do not seem convinced of its sufficiency when preached to bring about God’s desired results.

Pastors would do well to revisit the ministries of God’s servants in the Scriptures and heed their examples as proclaimers of God’s Word.1