Transcript
Well, I was going to leave you last week with a question, but it kind of got lost in the
shuffle.
So allow me to pose that question to you this morning.
As you think back to the Apostle Paul's encounter with Elemas, the sorcerer in Paphos, in the
aftermath of this, what changes for the Apostle Paul?
What changes for the Apostle Paul?
This is a test.
Would anybody like to wager a guess?
It's a little tricky.
One is very obvious, the other is less obvious.
There are two things that change.
The first thing that changes is that Paul's name changes from Saul to Paul.
Listen to verse 9, that's where we already found this.
When Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elemas
and said, and then of course the story goes on, his name changes from Saul to Paul.
And historical legend has it that this comes at the instigation of the proconsul, Sergius
Paulus, Paulus is the Greek or the Latin version of Paul.
The difference is in Greek it has an O, in Latin it has a U.
That's speculation of course, there's no way to prove that.
More likely in my estimation, Paul changes his name in keeping with his philosophy to
be all things to all men, that he might by all means gain some.
Saul of course is the Hebrew version of his name.
Paul as I said is either Latin or Greek with minor spelling differences, Paulus means small
or diminutive.
And since Paul is now called to a ministry to the Gentiles and will from now on be largely
moving at least in a Gentile world, I would argue that he changes his name as part of
being all things to all men so that he might by all means gain some.
He is adapting himself to the Greek or Latin culture that he is living in so as to facilitate
the spread of the Gospel.
It was Hudson Taylor, missionary to China back in the 1800s who was one of the first
missionaries to introduce native dress for missionaries.
He began to not only speak their language but he dressed like them and at the time it
was a huge scandal but it was part of his attempt at lowering the bar so that he could
identify with the people that he was ministering to.
That I suspect is behind the name change in this story.
But there's a second thing that is not so easily spotted but I think even more significant
than that is this.
The sequence, listen to this, the sequence of the names changes.
The sequence of the names changes.
If you look carefully through the biblical record up until this point when Saul and Barnabas
are paired together it is always Barnabas first and Saul second.
That's not surprising because of course Barnabas is the older man.
He is Paul's mentor.
He's the one who opened his arms wide to allow Saul the persecutor into the heart of the
church when everybody looked at him askance.
He is the one who when he was at work in Antioch couldn't handle it alone, invited Saul of
Tarsus to come and join him.
And he is the one who is native to the island of Cyprus and who was instrumental in setting
the direction of this first missionary journey.
From this point on in the record of the book of Acts with rare exception and there are
three exceptions for reasons we won't go into now but with rare exceptions every time the
two are named it is Paul's name who comes first.
He clearly takes the lead.
Notice how that comes across in the words of our text from Paphos Paul and his companions
sailed to Perga in Pamphylia and then in verse 16 standing up Paul motioned with his hand
and said men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God listen to me.
It is Paul who takes the lead.
In fact after they are split up two chapters further on in Acts 15 over John Mark Barnabas
pretty much disappears from the biblical record and all the attention now goes to Paul.
Paul clearly rises to a new level of prominence in this Bible story after after the episode
with Elemas and the question that we want to look at this morning is why in the world
would that be and the answer in short is this.
When we know our authority in Christ and when we exercise our authority in Christ it is
God himself who establishes us.
Paul gets established in his apostolic credentials because he has demonstrated in the encounter
with Elemas that not only has God called him to this God has also equipped him for this
and there is I believe biblically a universal principle in that.
If you and I know what our authority is in Christ and as we faithfully try to exercise
that authority God himself is the one who establishes us.
Let me put it this way again in the context of these circles that we looked at quick review
God created Adam and Eve to have dominion he placed them in the garden it was theirs
to subdue and all their needs were met in their relationship with God.
The fall into sin comes along we lose our relationship with God Satan becomes the Lord
and master of this present world the result is suffering and chaos and all you need to
do is I often say is listen to the news and to watch the images from around the world
and you know the kind of pain we experience in fallen human nature.
The promise of the gospel as you know is that God wishes to redeem creation he wishes to
restore us to himself and to a position of authority and he's done that in the person
of Jesus Christ and when by faith we are joined to Jesus the victory that Jesus won over sin
death and hell now becomes our victory and the Apostle Paul summarizes it this way in
Romans 517 for if by the trespass of the one man death reigned through that one man
how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift
of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Notice the contrast there is death through one man but there is the reign in life through
Jesus.
Let me say it again as we learn to know how in Christ we are restored to authority and
as we exercise that authority for the glory of God it is God himself who establishes us
and what that means is that one day we will reign with Christ over the new creation and
in the here and now and I'll talk a little bit more about this later on we receive the
share of inheritance that we talked about last week it is God who establishes us as
we trust in him.
Now there are many stories in the Bible that illustrate this biblical truth the ultimate
expression of this biblical truth is of course the person of Jesus himself who humbled himself
in obedience to the father even unto death he didn't grab hold of anything for himself
but trusted in the father and today where is Jesus he's at the right hand of God the
father he's got the name that is above every name because he was obedient unto death position
glory and power the things the world craves are not simply the result of being born with
a silver spoon in your mouth it's not simply the result of your cleverness your hard work
your brilliance it is a function of our relationship with God and God gives whatever he wants to
whoever he's pleased with that is a foundational and fundamental biblical truth and one life
in the Old Testament that really illustrates that is the life of Joseph and as I said last
week my latest book deals with the story of Joseph when dreams come true and I had wanted
to make a complimentary copy of this available to each of you today that's going to have
to wait one week for reasons that I won't get into but the story of Joseph is a fascinating
illustration of how God comes to us with his purposes walks us sometimes through deep valleys
to teach us the biblical principles of trust and faith and character and then ultimately
exalts us to the right hand of God the father we first meet Joseph in Genesis chapter 37
and just to show you how important his story is in the Bible there are 12 out of 50 chapters
in the book of Genesis devoted to Joseph alone that is as many chapters as are devoted to
father Abraham so it gives you some idea of Joseph's relative importance the reason for
that is there's multiple reasons for it he's the father of Ephraim and Manasseh who later
on become very significant tribes in Israel but he's also the one ordained of God to provide
a solution to the issues of famine that would have destroyed God's people were it not for
divine intervention and so Joseph almost serves as a type of Christ and by looking at his
life we get a good understanding of these principles that God uses to establish us and
so in the time that remains let me try to walk you through five stages that are demonstrated
in Joseph's life that sooner or later we must understand perhaps even go through to appreciate
what happens as God establishes us in life the first thing that we note in the story
of Joseph back in Genesis chapter 37 is that he is his father's favorite son we read in
Genesis 37 verse 3 now Israel that is Jacob of course his name got changed after he wrestled
with the angel of God now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he
had been born to him in his old age we know from the rest of the narrative that's only
part of this story why did he really love Joseph who remembers who was his mother Rachel
Rachel was Joseph's favorite wife she is the one he wanted to marry his father-in-law tricked
him Laban made him marry Leah it still boggles in my mind that Jacob wouldn't have known
the difference between the two of them but we leave that one alone Jacob in total has
12 sons at least one daughter six sons and one daughter by Leah two children by Rachel
who could not initially have children and that's why Joseph was born in his old age
so Israel loved Joseph and he demonstrated that love in the classic story that we all
know the coat of many colors which really in the NIV is translated as a richly ornamented
robe Joseph was his father's favorite son and I submit to you this morning that there's
an important principle there and that principle is this when God wants to elevate you and
bless you in his kingdom then he provides a stable foundation in your life we know today
that how well the average person fears in life is determined to a very large degree
by the amount of bonding that takes place in the early months of an infant's life show
me a person who goes through life broken and fighting and I will show you a person who
more likely than not never had that secure base foundation of love to build his life
on now that foundation of love can come from one of two sources it can come from your family
of origin and there is simply no substitute for healthy family life where an infant develops
what is known as basic trust and learns to be able to give and to receive love that is
a quality learned very early in life and as you know that whole theme is developed in
much more detail in olive shoots around your table and in blessings and curses Joseph was
privileged to have his father's approval made a huge difference in his life separated him
from many of his other siblings remember four out of the twelve were born not from Leah
and Rachel but from their servant girls so all told he really had four wives four women
who were the mothers of his twelve sons and so you can imagine the kind of family dynamics
that that generates good luck man how do you keep that all straight right but not everybody
has that kind of solid foundation and that's where it's very important to understand the
biblical teaching that even if father and mother forsake me the promise of the gospel
is that God will take me up why was Jacob's name changed to Israel Jacob's name means
the planter he always lived with this rejection he always lived with this idea if I don't
fight to get ahead myself I'm going to get shortchanged in life and you can see that
in his whole history with Esau already when he was born he was born second to Esau but
he was holding on to his heel and that's where he gets the name so planter he he didn't
like to be number two and you know without going into all the details of that story you
know how God wrestles him to the ground changes his name to Israel because when all has been
said and done the security that we need in life is not just the result of what we grow
up with it comes from a revelation of a spirit of sonship that God gives us in the person
of Jesus Christ and if you see somebody who is insecure if you see somebody who is always
wanting to get beyond where they are in unhealthy ways people who have a spirit of rejection
are a bottomless pit until and unless that rejection gets healed in the name of Jesus
and one of the things that God wants to do to his people is rid us of that spirit that
sense of there's never enough nobody loves me there is no place for me in God's kingdom
let me say it again there is room for everybody if only we will step out and receive it by
faith amen a spirit of sonship is what God makes available in the person of Jesus and
that's the function of the cross when we die to all our striving know that we can't earn
it we can't fight for it we can't connive for it we can't steal it we can't we can't
make it happen ourselves it is God's free gift in Christ that is when God comes along
and he gives us a spirit of sonship and he shows us wonder above wonders that he loves
us that he's there and that he can give us whatever it is that we need see that's how
God's people learn how to love you can only love because you have first experienced God's
love a good amen would be good it's a profound issue that God wants to drive home to all
of his people Joseph had the privilege of having a solid foundation second thing we
notice in the story of course is that Joseph was a dreamer that's why I call my book when
dreams come true Genesis 37 verse 5 we read Joseph had a dream verse 9 same thing then
he had an other dream he made the mistake as you know of telling his whole family that
shows how incredibly immature he was not only did that make his brothers hate him all the
more even his father and his mother were shaking their heads at this boy who do you think you
are because in his dreams of course he saw himself at the center and everybody in his
family bowing down before him if you've ever tried that in your family of origin you know
that's not how you get popular that really doesn't work very well but here's what's
interesting about these dreams there is no record in the scripture that these dreams
are inspired by God did you know that it simply says he had a dream and yet the interesting
thing is by the time the story finishes the dreams come true and it is clear that they
have been prophetically inspired by God and again there is here for us I think an incredibly
important spiritual principle and that principle is this that when God wants to establish you
whatever it is that he has in mind for you in terms of your life he will plant in your
heart a dream he will plant in your heart a longing he will plant in your heart a vision
he will plant in your heart a desire that is usually an odd combination of who you are
by nature illumined and anointed and magnified by the presence and the power of the Holy
Spirit last week I showed you the pie chart if this represents the fullness of the inheritance
that God has given to Jesus the restoration of all that Adam lost in the garden and more
then you and I in Christ we own a sliver of that pie and that sliver may be a career that
sliver may be a ministry that sliver may be being a father or a mother or accomplishing
this that or the other thing it can be as varied as we are individuals who are varied
but I can guarantee you that in your quiet moments when you put aside all the baggage
that sin produces and the brokenness that flows out of that inside there in your heart
of hearts and we talked about this in some detail last week in your heart of hearts there
will be a longing and a vision one of the ways by the way in which you can get a handle
on that is ask yourself this question if money and time and resources were not a limitation
what would I like to do with my life interesting question isn't it most of us are realistic
enough to know well I don't have the talent I don't have the resources can lay that all
aside for a moment what would you want marked on your gravestone after you're dead and gone
what would you want to live for well chances are pretty good that the closer you get to
that the closer you get to the dream that God places in your life and what I love about
Peter's quotation from Joel in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost let's read it
and then I'll comment on it in the last days God says I will pour out my spirit and all
people your sons and daughters will prophesy your young men will see visions your old men
will dream dreams even on my servants both men and women I will pour out my spirit in
those days and they will prophesy did you note as we read that together that the promise
of the spirit and the promise of vision and the promise of dream is not limited to gender
sons and daughters men and women it's not lit it's not limited by age it is young men
and old men when old men dream dreams you know that God is alive and at work because
the tendency of the old is to lay it all down and to say my life is over isn't that true
not only that but there is no distinction either between social position because even
on my servants I will pour out my spirit so don't give me this stuff about I'm not educated
I'm too young I'm not smart enough I'm not strong enough I come from the wrong side of
the tracks God delights in taking people from the wrong side of the track if need be just
to demonstrate his power and his glory you have a hope and you have a future once you
are joined to Jesus for the glory of God that's what God's people need to lay hold of never
mind who defines you what you have experienced in the course of your life God is bigger than
all of that if God is for me what's the rest of the phrase who can be against me Joseph
was a dreamer the story goes on his brothers hated him I'd love to be able to tell you
that once you start dreaming dreams everything will line up the whole world will stand and
applaud you and help you along life's journey well I hate to give you a rude awakening because
typically it doesn't happen that way why did Joseph's brothers hate him so well there
were multiple reasons for it one of the fact one of the facts we've already mentioned and
that is the fact that he was his father's favorite son when his brothers saw Genesis
37 for that their father loved him more than any of them they hated him and could not speak
a kind word to him another reason of course and we touched on that too is that he flaunted
his dreams verse 8 his brothers said to him do you intend to reign over us will you actually
rule us and they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said and still
a third reason is that Joseph as his father's pet would rat on his brothers and you can
imagine how that went over and so it's not surprising when you read the biblical narrative
that when they saw the opportunity to get even with Joseph they took it without any
hesitation the story is they were shepherding their flock far removed from home Jacob sends
Joseph to find out how they are doing they see him come and they say to each other here
is our chance to get even let's kill him we'll pretend a wild animal killed him and we'll
be rid of this troublemaker and it was only the intervention of Reuben and Judah two of
his older brothers that actually got his death sentence commuted to being thrown in a well
and Reuben and Judah thought maybe they could pull him out of there but as their backs were
turned you know the story along came a traveling caravan of Midianites and the brothers sold
Joseph into slavery and for the next 13 years he was 17 years old when this happened 30
years when he becomes of age when he becomes governor of Egypt for 13 years he languished
in the life of a slave and you can imagine how tough that would have been and again there
is an important biblical principle here and the obvious message is that dreaming God inspired
dreams can get you in to trouble how many of you know that is true if it doesn't get
you into trouble with people it gets you into trouble with the devil and if it doesn't get
you into trouble with the devil it gets you into trouble with anybody that's in league
with the devil why is that why do people generally hate successful people jealousy is one of the
primary reasons Joseph's brothers were jealous another reason is that people are threatened
by successful people because you could use your power over me and and people tend to
impose their own sinful patterns on other people and so this is how I would act in that
situation and therefore I don't trust you but the ultimate reason for the children of
God is this if Jesus lives in you you give off the aroma of Christ and the aroma of Christ
means that you cannot be bought or sold the aroma of Christ means that you yield to no
greater authority than God and I'll tell you something that you'll find in the world is
people love you as long as they feel they have power and control over you and when you
stop bending to people's agendas and goals you become a threat to their kingdom and they
will do whatever they have to do in order to kill you and the more like Jesus you are
the more trouble you will get because Jesus would never have been crucified if he had
catered to the Pharisees isn't that true if he had allowed them a little when you go
around calling the Pharisees whitewash sepulchers you know that you're heading for trouble and
it may be the truth but you better have a life insurance policy because you know that
trouble is coming your way and you've often heard me say we should never go looking for
trouble we should always graciously exhibit the character of Jesus but there was nobody
more like Jesus than Jesus and there was nobody whom they crucified with more determination
because of jealousy because of anger because of fear and because they didn't like the Spirit
of God and Jesus in a verse that you've often heard me quote says to his disciples John
chapter 15 verse 20 remember the words I spoke to you no servant is greater than his master
if they persecuted me they will persecute you also and as we'll have plenty of opportunity
Lord willing to see as we go on in the book of Acts everywhere Paul went he was followed
by Jews who did their absolute level best to make his life and his ministry impossible
you and I will experience something similar the more we pursue the goals that God has
for us I I've never forgotten an article that I read in readers I just many years ago and
I've referred to this story before but readers I just of course there's a lot of first-person
type stories and and all of this kind of thing and they have a pretty large mass market they
they know how to gauge what works with the readership but surveys consistently demonstrate
that the stories that are the most popular are stories of people who have been majorly
disadvantaged in life they've either been handicapped or they've had a major accident
or they've gone through a lot of trouble and out of the ashes came forth beauty and I've
often thought the reason for that is that people who have success after much suffering
are not a threat because they've borne of the pain Joseph knows the reality of bearing
the pain well there's lots more to say about it I think we'll stop there Lord willing come
back to it next week and see how this story continues and how at the end of the day it
is God himself who establishes Joseph and does so to the great astonishment and amazement
of his own brothers and how in the redemptive purposes of God he becomes the instrument
that saves not only the Egyptian Empire from seven years of famine but it especially saves
the redemptive purposes of God so that ultimately Jesus Christ can be born and Jesus Christ
can bring about the ultimate fulfillment of the life that Joseph so clearly modeled for
us in the Old Testament.