How To Forgive Ourselves – Totally Ch 7, Pt 4: The Apostle Paul
RT Kendall was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, England, for twenty-five years. He is well known internationally as a speaker and teacher. Doctor Kendall is the author of more than forty books, including The Thorn in the Flesh, Grace, In Pursuit of His Glory, The Sensitivity of the Spirit, Total Forgiveness, Pure Joy, Just Say Thanks! and The Anointing: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
Visit RT Kendall’s Web site at www. rtkendall ministries.com to find these books and much much more. Everything RT Kendall writes is powerfully life-changing.
How To Forgive Ourselves – Totally Ch 7, Pt 4: The Apostle Paul
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus [a]by the will of God,
To the [b]saints who are [c]at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before [d]Him. In love 5 [e]He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the [f]kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In [g]Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He [h]lavished on [i]us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He [j]made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His [k]kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration [l]suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things [m]in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 [n]also we [o]have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in [p]Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In [q]Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [r]believed, you were sealed in [s]Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is [t]given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and [u]your love for all the [v]saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the [w]knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart [x]may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the [y]saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Footnotes:
Ephesians 1:1 Lit through Ephesians 1:1 Or holy ones Ephesians 1:1 Three early mss do not contain at Ephesus Ephesians 1:4 Or Him, in love Ephesians 1:5 Lit having predestined Ephesians 1:5 Lit good pleasure Ephesians 1:7 Lit whom Ephesians 1:8 Lit made abundant toward Ephesians 1:8 Or us, in all wisdom and insight Ephesians 1:9 Lit making known Ephesians 1:9 Lit good pleasure Ephesians 1:10 Lit of Ephesians 1:10 Lit upon Ephesians 1:11 Lit in whom also Ephesians 1:11 Or were made a heritage Ephesians 1:12 I.e. the Messiah Ephesians 1:13 Lit whom Ephesians 1:13 Or believed in Him, you were sealed Ephesians 1:13 Lit whom Ephesians 1:14 Or a down payment Ephesians 1:15 Three early mss do not contain your love Ephesians 1:15 V 1, note 2 Ephesians 1:17 Or true knowledge Ephesians 1:18 Lit being Ephesians 1:18 Or holy ones
Take Time With God #93 – Suffering for Christ is worth it
Ray shares Colossians 1:24-29 where the apostle Paul is rejoicing in his suffering. Was Paul a masochist or was he trying to tell the Christians in Collasae something equally important for you and Ray?
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I [a]do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking [b]in Christ’s afflictions.25 Of this church I [c]was made a minister according to thestewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might [d]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His [e]saints,27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man[f]with all wisdom, so that we may present every man [g]complete in Christ.29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His [h]power, which[i]mightily works within me.
The apostle Paul finally arrives in Rome as God had promised. He is a prisoner without charges against him. He isn’t put in prison, but is given a house to live in with a Roman guard where he can minister to those who come there. This is the final video from Ray on the book of Acts. His two-year project is complete with this teaching.
Acts 28:11-31 You and I are meant to be Acts 29
11 At the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had [a]the Twin Brothers for its figurehead.12 After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.14 [b]There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome.15 And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the[c]Market of Appius and [d]Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
17 After three days [e]Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “Brethren,though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our [f]fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.18 And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground [g]for putting me to death.19 But when the Jews[h]objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation.20 For this reason, therefore, I [i]requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”21 They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you.22 But we desire to hear from you what [j]your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”
23 When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.24 Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe.25 And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,26 saying,
‘Go to this people and say, “[k]You will keep on hearing, [l]but will not understand; And[m]you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 27 For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.”’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.”29 [[n]When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]
30 And he stayed two full years [o]in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him,31 [p]preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.
Footnotes:
Acts 28:11Gr Dioscuri; i.e. Castor and Pollux, twin sons of Zeus
When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan [a]cohort named Julius.2 And embarking in an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of [b]Asia, we put out to sea accompanied byAristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica.3 The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care.4 From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter ofCyprus because the winds were contrary.5 When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.7 When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone;8 and with difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9 When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the [c]fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them,10 and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the [d]captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul.12 Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
13 [e]When a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close in shore.
14 But before very long there rushed down from [f]the land a violent wind, called[g]Euraquilo;15 and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along.16 Running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s[h]boat under control.17 After they had hoisted it up, they used [i]supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the [j]sea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along.18 The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, [k]they began to jettison the cargo;19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.20 Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.
21 [l]When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have [m]followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and [n]incurred this damage and loss.22 Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.23 For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’25 Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that [o]it will turn out exactly as I have been told.26 But we must run aground on a certain island.”
27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that [p]they were approaching some land.28 They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms.29 Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the[q]rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and [r]wished for daybreak.30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’sboat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow,31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.”32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.
33 Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing.34 Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”35 Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat.36 All of them [s]were encouraged and they themselves also took food.37 All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six [t]persons.38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.
39 When day came, they [u]could not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could.40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach.41 But striking a [v]reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves.42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape;43 but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should [w]jump overboard first and get to land,44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.
