Even Beatings and Death Cannot Stop a Man Who Is Determined! 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; 2 Corinthians 11:25 (KJV) Dont think that persecution is something that happened only in New Testament times. It is still happening today all over the world, and the believers who live and work in these dangerous regions need our prayers! Please remember to pray for them when you spend time with the Lord. But just as the apostle Paul was energized to get up and get moving again, those who lay claim to Gods power today are also energized to get past the times of intense persecution or opposition they endure. These believers know theyre not destined to live in defeat or despair as long as they dont waste time bemoaning what happened to them. They also know that crying about the attacks of the enemy doesnt change the fact that they happened; therefore, they just grab hold of Gods power and adamantly refuse to let the devil stop them or slow them down! In Second Corinthians 11:25, Paul tells us about similar events that happened to him. Although these events could have been devastating to someone else, they had almost no effect on Paul. He was determined to do his job and not to let anything hinder him! In this verse, he says, Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned.... Thrice Was I Beaten With Rods In the ancient world, a beating with rods was a horrible, ugly form of torture. A strong man would bind the victims arms tightly around his body, incapacitating the victims ability to move in much the same way as a straightjacket would do. Then while the victims upper chest and head still lay on the ground, his legs would be pulled up into the air. At this point, a man with a huge rod—normally made of metal—would begin whacking the bottom of the victims feet. He would whack and whack and whack until the feet of the victim were bleeding, broken, and maimed. At times this beating was so severe that the victim would afterward never be able to walk again. Its interesting that the book of Acts never gives us a specific example of Paul being beaten with rods in such a manner. However, as we continue to look at the entire list of what Paul encountered (2 Corinthians 11:23-27), we see that many events occurred during Pauls ministry that Luke never recorded in the book of Acts. But Paul never forgot any of them, and he tells us here about some of those events into which the book of Acts gives us no insight. We dont know when Pauls feet-beating experiences occurred, but he tells us that he was beaten with rods three different times during the course of his ministry. Its obvious that the devil didnt want this Gospel preacher to take the Gospel anywhere else! Satan attempted to maim Pauls feet to permanently knock him out of the race. You see, the feet of a Gospel preacher are threatening to the devil. Paul quoted Isaiah 52:7 when he wrote, ... How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10:15). This attack on Pauls feet was an attack against the Gospel. It is evident that rather than throw in the towel and quit because of this experience, Paul grabbed hold of the power of God, put his shoes back on, got up, and went on his way to keep doing what God called him to do. This was a man the devil couldnt keep down! No wonder Paul wrote about the resurrection power of God! He was writing from personal experience when he said, But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you (Romans 8:11). Once Was I Stoned This event occurred in Acts 14:19. After a successful campaign among the Gentiles in Lystra, Jewish opposers came from Iconium to stir up trouble for Pauls ministry. They were so effective in distributing bad information about Paul that the entire city turned against him. In a moment of fury, the people of Lystra stoned him and ... drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead (Acts 14:19). It may well be that Paul was dead. Stoning was a malicious act. The stoners aimed their sharp rocks at the victims head in order to deal a fatal blow. To assure the victims death, the people didnt usually stop the stoning until his head was crushed. When it was apparent that there was no possibility of survival, the remaining rocks were dumped and the victims corpse was dragged out of the city and left for the dogs and wild beasts to eat. So when Acts 14:19 says the people of Lystra supposed Paul was dead, there is no reason to think he was not dead at that moment. Acts 14:20 tells us that as the disciples came and stood near Pauls corpse, he rose up. Is it possible that these disciples joined hands and prayed for Pauls resurrection? This is precisely my view. Later Paul gave testimony of a visit he made to Heaven (see 2 Corinthians 12:1-4). He explained that he heard and saw things that he had never been given permission to speak. When did Paul make this visit to Heaven? Could it have been at the time he was stoned in Lystra? Yes, I personally think so. No wonder Paul could write with such conviction: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life... shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 8:38, 39). Even death cannot stop a man who is determined to keep on going! Paul could have resigned himself to his fate as the people were stoning him and thought, Well, I guess this is the end of the road. I guess Ill give up and die now. If he had done that, Im sure stoning would have been the end of him. But Im just certain that as they stoned Paul, he thought, Im not dying now! My job isnt done! If they kill me, Ill just have to be resurrected! Being stoned was never a part of Pauls plan. It was an unexpected roadblock that the devil orchestrated to try to stop him from fulfilling his call. But although the experience stole time and delayed Pauls plans a little, it did not permanently hinder him from going on. God can join Himself to this kind of person! God knows this is the kind of person who is really going to get something done! Are you this kind of person? Does God emphatically know that you will never surrender to any attack of the devil? Have you demonstrated that you are going to keep forging ahead to finish your assignment and that you will never quit until you can say the job is done? Dont get too upset if troubles come against you. It doesnt mean you have a lack of faith; it just means you live in a world where the devil operates and hassles people. The fact that you do have faith means you never have to be overcome by these attacks of the enemy. If youll grab hold of victory—the way Jesus did, Paul did, and so many others before you did—you can overcome the world and everything in it. So take heart, and be courageous! As you determine to keep on walking in Gods power, no matter WHAT comes against you, the victory really does belong to you! MY PRAYER FOR TODAY Lord, I want to be the kind of person who never allows the circumstances of life to stop me from accomplishing Your plan for my life. I am sorry for the times Ive acted weak and complained that the circumstances I faced were too hard to deal with. The truth is, You have given me Your Spirit and Your power. That means there is no problem, no challenge, and no hardship I cannot conquer and overcome. If I take the power You make available to me, I can do anything You tell me to do. So today I am making my choice. I am reaching out by faith to grab hold of Your Spirits power so I can be supernaturally quickened to complete every assignment Heaven ever asks me to do. I pray this in Jesus name! I declare this by faith in Jesus name! QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER 1. What is your initial reaction when you run into an especially difficult challenge? Do you immediately believe you can overcome it, or do you feel a stab of fear that youre going to fail or that youre not going to survive it? 2. What does your reaction to these challenges reveal about you and your level of faith? 3. When troublesome events occur to you, to your family, to your business, to your church, or to your ministry, what is the first action you take to repel Satans attacks against you? If someone you knew was being attacked, what steps would you tell that person to take to overcome the enemys strategies in his life? Sparkling Gems from the Greek
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 11:29:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015