Title: Saul Flees/Acts 9:23-25
Contents Saul flees/Acts 9:23-25 Rev. Lim Hyeong-jun
On the road to Damascus, Paul is converted and enters Damascus, where he finds sight and health with the help of Ananias.
When Paul preached in Damascus, the Jews were perplexed at first, and then they tried to kill him. Verse 23 says, “Many days passed.” It seems that three years have passed.
Paul knows this and escapes in a basket at night.
Paul faces unfathomable difficulties in his life as an evangelist. In 2 Corinthians 11:23 and below, Paul describes his sufferings like this:
I have toiled more, more imprisoned, more beaten lashes, and nearly died. I was beaten by the Jews five times, forty to one less, three times with rods, once with stones, three times shipwrecked, a day and a week. and traveled many times in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from our own people, in danger in the wilderness, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers, and toiled and toiled, and many times did not sleep, hunger and thirsted many times. I was hungry, cold and naked.
Paul's near death in Damascus was the beginning of all these sufferings. It was the signal of hardship, or the opening ceremony of hardship.
It can be said that persecution is essential in our religious life, especially in the process of becoming an evangelist. And through this kind of persecution, the saints confirm their sense of mission and become more mature Christians.
The medieval saint Francesco (1181-1226) was the son of a wealthy merchant. At the age of 25, he heard the voice of the Lord and began a life of poverty. He devoted himself to prayer, meditation, pilgrimage and relief. He brought the wealth of the house and gave it to the poor. His father expelled him.
After being expelled from his home, Francesco plunged deeper into a life of poverty and left a profound impact on the history of the Church.
Sanda Singh, an Indian mystic evangelist, grew up in a Hindu family, and when he converted, his family expelled him. It is said that he poisoned the lunch box he packed while exiling. He almost died from eating that lunch, but he survived.
He gained more strength from here and preached the gospel in the Himalayas while experiencing various mysteries.
The church also grows through suffering.
The most amazingly growing church in the world today is the Chinese church. The Chinese church suffered a lot of persecution until 1979 when China became communist in 1949. In particular, the Cultural Revolution started in the mid-1960s and suffered great persecution. Even now, compared to the churches in liberal countries, they are still very limited. In the midst of that, I see it growing rapidly.
Earlier, I said, 'What Paul experienced in Damascus can be said to be a signal of suffering.' Both personally and as a church.
As I prepared today's sermon, I prayed, 'Lord, our church has also suffered a lot, so please revive it now.'
Paul's crisis in Damascus was, in fact, serious.
Paul speaks of this experience in 2 Corinthians 11:32 and 33.
At Damascus, the prince of Aredas king guarded the city of Damascus to arrest me, but I rode in a basket and went down the wall through the window, and escaped his hand.
King Aredas here is the king of Arabia who ruled over Damascus at that time. The Jews tried to kill David by making one of the king's officials on his side. The gates are sealed. In today's language, a departure ban has been put in place.
Verse 24 says, “And the scheme was made known to Saul, and they guarded even the gates day and night to kill him.” If you look at the phrase ‘they guarded even the gates’, you can guess that a thorough search was carried out to arrest Paul.
Now Paul was in a difficult situation to get out of Damascus.
How does Paul get out of this crisis?
At night, the disciples put Paul in a basket and run him off the wall. There were already disciples of Paul in Damascus, and they became zealous disciples to such an extent that they took such positive actions.
God is a God who provides a way of escape. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, so that you can make you bear it.”
God is also a God who protects those who have a mission.
The God who chose Paul as a vessel to convey the name of God to the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, protected him to do the work.
When Martin Luther started the Reformation movement, the Vatican held a parliament in Borroms Castle and summoned Luther. And he told Luther to cancel all the claims he had made so far. They said that life cannot be guaranteed unless canceled.
Luther said it could not be undone. Now, Luther's life has become like a windmill. God moved the heart of a prince named Frederick to protect Luther.
Prince Frederick had his men disguised as bandits to kidnap Luther. Rumors spread around the world that ‘Luther was kidnapped by bandits and gone missing’. Meanwhile, Luther hides in a safe place to translate the Bible into German.
What difficulties are you guys having?
Please know that it is a process of growth.
Trust that God will open a way for you to escape.
I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will overcome it and become all of you who fulfill the mission you received from God.