Theme: Living a Life of Sacrifice and Service
Topic: Restored to Serve: Apostle Paul
Main Texts: Acts 22:1-16; 2 Corinthians 11:22-28
Key verse: Acts 22:15-16a – ‘For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting?’ (NKJV).
Introduction:
The Apostle Paul’s conversion and his life thereafter is an incredible illustration of how God creates us with a purpose and orchestrates the circumstances of our lives to bring about His will. It also shows the incredible impact obedience to our calling can have, as well as its tremendous cost. In today’s texts, Paul recounts how he gave up his former life of privilege, power, and zeal for the law to follow Jesus to a mob that had been trying to kill him for profaning God’s house. He tells how he was one of them, zealous for God’s honour to the point of killing and persecuting those he believed were heretics. His encounter with Jesus radically changed him – he was a different man. No one can meet the one true God and remain the same. Having understood his calling, Paul was now willing to pour out his life as a living sacrifice in imitation of His Lord Jesus who said in Mark 10: 45 that ‘…even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many’.
Q1. (1a) What does Paul’s transformation teach us about service and sacrifice? (1b) Read Acts 22:12-16. What role does Ananias play in Paul’s transformation journey, and why is this important? (1c) Let participants share how their conversion and transformation reflect a life of sacrifice and service.
Paragraph 2:
Paul obeyed the divine revelation from Jesus regardless of the cost and suffering. Jesus tells us repeatedly that to follow Him is to follow the way of the cross which involves suffering. The idea of a Christian life devoid of suffering has no basis in Scripture. In fact it is a flat denial of Jesus’ teaching (see, e.g., Matt 5:11-12; Matt 10:22; Jn 17:14. Also Rom 8:17; 1 Pt 2:21)). God sent Ananias, a devout believer and respected in the community, to go to Paul, pray for him to receive his sight and confirm his calling. God told Ananias that he would “show him [Paul] how much he must suffer for the sak of my name.” It seems clear that Paul embraced the call to service, sacrifice, and suffering right from the beginning. Jesus showed us that obedience to God’s will is not negotiable, regardless of the cost. In the garden of Gethsemane, close to the time of the crucifixion, Jesus uttered a heartbreaking prayer saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39). Living a life of sacrifice and service means obeying God’s revealed will whatever the cost.
Q2. (2a) Paul’s life story revealed much persecution, hatred, and several plots to kill him. What do you think made him unflinching to God’s call of sacrifice and service? (2b) Can you think of examples of believers in history and in contemporary times, that served God with similar determination in the face of persecution? Do the examples inspire you or make you uncomfortable? (2c) Let participants share how they have embraced challenges and opposition as part of service and serving others in faith.
Paragraph 3:
In 2 Corinthians 11:22-28, Paul presents his credentials to counteract charges that false teachers had made against him. He felt foolish recounting his pedigree and accomplishments but he wanted to stop the Corinthians being deceived by the so-called “super-apostles” and being turned away from the Gospel. Paul was angry that the false teachers had impressed and deceived the Corinthian church (2Cor 11:13-15) and felt compelled to list the trials he had endured in his service for Christ. It was a catalogue of extraordinary persecution, suffering, and endurance. Yet he declared “… none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God’ (Acts 20:24). Paul’s focus to the ministry that Jesus gave him was incredible. He simply refused to be distracted from his calling. Paul lived what he preached: he was “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord’ (1 Cor 15:58).
Q3. (3a) What lessons can we draw from Paul’s life as described in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28? (3b) Why do you think that God allows his people and servants to suffer in doing His work? (3c) We were all restored to serve. Reflect on how God may be calling you to serve and be a witness for Him this week. What will you do about it?
Prayer: Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for saving us and restoring us to serve. Help us to serve sacrificially regardless of the challenges and difficulties that we may face. May we, like Paul, run and finish our race with joy. Amen