Anush A. John Podcast
Anush A. John Podcast
The Submissive Storyteller - Telling Your Story
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This sermon examines the life of Paul and looks at a solution to tell your story.
Timonium, Maryland, USA
September 2024
https://www.anushjohn.com/post/the-submissive-storyteller
#evangelism #story #paul #prayer #persecution #conversionstory #conversion
anushjohn.com
Paul
Speaker 1Good morning . I'm worse at what I do best and for this gift I feel blessed . Our little group has always been and always wait until the end . Hello , hello , hello . How low With the lights out , it's less dangerous . Here we are now . Entertain us . I feel stupid and contagious . Here we are now . Entertain us . I feel stupid and contagious . Here we are now . Entertain us . A mulatto , an albino , a mosquito , a denial , a denial , a denial , a denial .
Speaker 1That was Nirvana's classic hit from 1991 , smells Like Teen Spirit and it was a pivotal song that marked a shift from the glam rock and pop of the 1980s to the grunge music of the 1990s . And it was a song that had raw vocals and it was known for its quiet , loud dynamics . And what tied it all together was the four-note riff that ran throughout the song . That brought cohesion to the song , but the lyrics were ambiguous and it reflected the culture in which Kurt Cobain wrote this song . And it was reflective of my culture , my generation , which obviously is the greatest generation , and it reflected the angst-ridden , skeptical , yet practical ideas of Generation X .
Speaker 1This morning we will look at a pivotal person that lived in the early part of the first century and after whom the Christian faith would never be the same again . This morning , in a sermon entitled the Submissive Storyteller , I want to look at the life of Paul and I've divided this sermon into three parts . In the three parts we will look at different aspects of Paul's life . First , let's look at Paul the skeptic . Paul the skeptic who was Paul ? I want to look at who Paul was from his own words . First , he was a Roman citizen . So in Acts , chapter 22 , verses 27 and 28 , it says so . The tribune came and said to him Tell me , are you a Roman citizen ? And he said yes . The tribune answered I bought the citizenship for a large sum , paul said but I am a citizen by birth .
Speaker 1A Roman citizenship at that time was a huge deal , was a prized possession . It's like having a passport today that can take you places . So the best passport to have today is a passport from Singapore , because it can take you to 195 countries without a prior visa . You can get a visa on arrival . The second best passport to have is if you have a passport from France , germany , italy , japan or Spain . You can go to 194 countries without a prior visa . There were multiple ways by which a person could become a Roman citizen . You could work in the Roman military and become a citizen , or you could pay huge sums of money and become a citizen or , like Paul , be born as a citizen .
Speaker 1Paul was from Tarsus , and Tarsus is a city in Cilicia which is about 900 kilometers away from Jerusalem . So , if you know the geography of that region , there is Israel , which is on the east side of the Mediterranean Sea , north of that is Lebanon , north of that is Syria and north of that is Turkey , and Tarsus is , in present day , turkey , and so the citizens of Tarsus had Roman citizenship . Thirdly , paul was a Jewish man , and this is what it says in Acts , chapter 22 , verses three and four . It says I am a Jew born in Tarsus , in Cilicia . It says I am a Jew born in Tarsus , in Cilicia , but brought up in this city , educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers , being zealous for God , as all of you are this day . I persecuted this way to the death , binding and delivering to prison both men and women , binding and delivering to prison both men and women . He was a Jew as much as he was a Tarsian and a Roman citizen . He was a Pharisee , which is one of the most strict and stringent sects of Judaism . It says here that he was educated under Gamaliel . Who was Gamaliel ?
Speaker 1At that time there were two main scholars in Judaism . One was called Shammai and the other one was called Hillel the Elder . The grandson of Hillel the Elder was Gamaliel , and Paul studied Judaism under Gamaliel . He studied Judaism under one of the biggest scholars at that time and that explains when you read the letters of Paul . That explains why and how Paul had such a powerful grasp of the Old Testament which he was able to bring into the new . I did not talk about the family or the status of Paul , but he was from a well-to-do family . Not anybody could study under Gamaliel . And fourth , paul was a persecutor . The verse that we just read said I persecuted this way to the death , binding and delivering to prison both men and women .
Speaker 1What caused a skeptic and a hostile persecutor to turn around and become the greatest missionary of the first century ? It was coming face to face with the resurrected Jesus Christ . Bertrand Russell , in his book why I Am Not a Christian , gives several reasons why he is not a Christian , but he misses on one of the biggest parts of the Christian faith he doesn't talk anything about the resurrection of Jesus Christ . You cannot argue for or against the Christian faith without mentioning the resurrection of Jesus Christ . Christianity without the resurrection of Jesus is a dead religion . It is the resurrection that makes it alive .
Speaker 1Frank Morrison was an English advertising agent and a freelance writer who wanted to prove that the resurrection of Jesus did not happen . So he started to write this paper and started to accumulate evidence that the resurrection of Jesus did not happen . So he started to write this paper and started to accumulate evidence that the resurrection of Jesus did not happen . He titled his book Jesus the Last Phase , and as he was accumulating information about the evidence of the resurrection , he realized to his astonishment that there was evidence of a resurrection , and so he changed his book and he wrote another book that argues in favor of a resurrection . And so he changed his book and he wrote another book that argues in favor of the resurrection , called who Moved the Stone , which is a powerful book to read that argues for the resurrection .
Speaker 1There is substantial evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ , and one of the key pieces of the evidence is the conversion of two Christ , and one of the key pieces of the evidence is the conversion of two people . One is a skeptic , james , who was the younger brother of Jesus , and second was a hostile persecutor by the name of Paul . How did James and Paul overnight become proponents of the gospel ? Become proponents of the gospel ? Because they met the resurrected Jesus Christ . Second , let's look at Paul the storyteller . Paul's initial encounter with Jesus was in Acts , in the book of Acts , and if you have your Bibles , turn to Acts , chapter 9 . If you don't have your Bibles , use your phones to turn to Acts , chapter 9 , and I'm going to read for us nine verses . Okay , acts , chapter 9 , verses 1 through 9 . Let me read it for us .
Speaker 1But Saul , still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord , went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus so that if he found any belonging to the way , men or women , he might bring them bound to Jerusalem . Now , as he went on his way , he approached Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him and , falling to the ground , he heard a voice saying to him Saul , saul , why are you persecuting me ? And he said who are you , lord ? And he said I am Jesus , whom you are persecuting , but rise and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do . The men who were traveling with him stood speechless , hearing the voice but seeing no one . Saul rose from the ground and though his eyes were opened , he saw nothing . So they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus and for three days he was without sight and he neither ate nor drank .
Speaker 1That was Paul's dramatic conversion story . Maybe there are some of you here that have a dramatic conversion story , but maybe there are many of us that don't have a dramatic conversion story . My conversion story is I became a believer when I was five or six years old I don't even know when it happened . It was not what is called as a point conversion , it was a process conversion . One of my instructors in Fuller Theological Seminary during my studies on evangelism he taught us evangelism . He wrote a book for his PhD thesis and he compared the conversion of Paul and the apostles and he said that the other apostles had a process conversion right . None of the other apostles there is a one point when they became believers . It was a process conversion . So many of us may have more than a point dramatic conversion story , may have a process conversion story .
Speaker 1Now in the book of Acts , in Acts , chapter 9 , is the account of Saul's conversion . And yet two times later Paul gives an account of his conversion . So in Acts , chapter 22 , and in chapter 26 , there is Paul giving an account of his conversion . The first time it's to Jews who were trying to kill him in Jerusalem and the second time was to King Agrippa II . Paul was a powerful missionary who , if in the book of Acts there are two mentions of his conversion story , it probably means that he said his conversion story numerous times all over the place . He did evangelism all over the known world . In AD 57 , towards the end of his third missionary journey , paul finds himself in Corinth and from Corinth Paul finds himself in Corinth and from Corinth he writes the book of Romans . Look what he writes to the Romans in Romans , chapter 15 and verse 23 . He says but now , since I no longer have any room for work in these regions , now , since I have no longer room for work in these regions and since I've longed for many years to come to you , I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain For 35 years , as I preached , I would come to a topic like this on evangelism , and my application would be well , go and do evangelism .
Cross Connections
Speaker 1And that is the right application . Paul did evangelism , go out and do evangelism . About three years ago I saw a problem with that application without a buffer in between . The difficulty is how do I share the gospel in a secular setting ? Here it's a Christian setting . Inside church , I can speak the gospel . I mean , what do you expect me to say ? I'm gonna say the gospel , but when you go outside , in your secular setting , how do you say the gospel ? And if I said which I did for 35 years , I said , well , go and preach . And so the difficulty for me was well , how do I go and speak the gospel ? And so here's an idea . I want to call it cross connections . I want us to make cross connections and for cross connections I want to talk about two types of stories .
Speaker 1There is an earth side story . Earth side story includes everything you would say earthside . You talk about your vacation , you talk about your weekend to your coworkers , you complain about your volleyball coach , or you complain about your kid's piano teacher , or you talk about the weather . That is all earthside stories . On the other side are heaven side stories . The heaven side stories are the story of the gospel , the condition of humans , the inability to save ourselves , the life , the ministry , the death , the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension and the promise of eternal life and the afterlife . Now most of us will know the heaven side story . So if I asked you to turn to your neighbor and tell the gospel , most of you would be able to . But the problem comes if I say , well , go to your colleague at work and turn around and share the gospel . But that is a secular setting . How are we to do it ? I suggest that we have a cross connection , a cross connection . Your earth side story , however amazing and powerful it is , it's not going to change the destiny of any person . It is your heaven side story that is going to change the destiny of people . How do you say your heaven side story , the gospel , in your earth side situation ? I suggest that we take our earth side story and make a heaven side cross connection so that we can say our heaven side story . I suggest that we take our earth side story and make a heaven side cross connection so that we can eventually say our heaven side story .
Speaker 1I'm sure you've been asked this question before . I mean there are many married couples here and I'm sure you've been asked how did you meet your spouse ? And as you think about the answer that you said numerous times , let me tell you a story of my own . Can somebody ask me how I ended up moving to Maryland ? Oh , thank you . Thank you for asking . Well , let me tell you the story that I've told numerous times .
Speaker 1Okay , I lived in Boston for a couple of years and I loved the East Coast . And then I moved to New Orleans for a one year of internship and then I moved to Kansas City to finish out my medical school and my surgical residency . Two years before everything would be completed in Kansas City , I wanted to plan to a place to move , and so what we did was I didn't want to go too far north of Kansas City because it was colder . I didn't want to go too far south of Kansas City because it would be too warm , but I loved the East Coast . So what did I do ? We looked at a map and I went all across to the other side , to the East Coast , and my finger fell on Northern Virginia . I looked at it . It was Leesburg Virginia . I looked at a radius of 50 miles around Leesburg , virginia , and I found 220 surgeons .
Speaker 1I had two filters . One filter was that it had to be a solo practice because I didn't want anybody breathing down my neck , and the second filter was that I wanted to buy a practice right off the bat . I did not want to be an associate and then be a partner and then go down that route . I wanted to be an owner right off the bat . I did not want to be an associate and then be a partner and then go down that route . I wanted to be an owner right off the bat . With these two filters , I went through the websites of 220 surgeons . I found 20 of them that would be compatible . I called them . Ten of them responded to my call . Two of them agreed to interview me . I flew from Kansas City to Washington DC interviewed at one practice . I came up to Maryland interviewed at a second practice . I loved the second practice . I bought the second practice and we moved to Maryland .
Speaker 1What did I not say in that story ? I did not give any of the heaven side details . You see , I had said all the earth side details but completely skipped the heaven side details that were part of that story , completely skipped the heaven side details that were part of that story . I should have said we pray a lot with every decision we make and we prayed a lot . I asked our small group to pray , we asked our church to pray , we asked our parents to pray and we pray that God would close certain doors . We pray that God would open certain doors and in the midst of that we did this search . And in the midst of that we did this search In the story that you would have said about how you met your spouse . I am thinking that you would have missed your heaven side details , isn't it ?
Speaker 1The purpose of making the cross connection is not just to make a cross connection to heaven side details , but is , at the end of the day , to say the heaven side story , the gospel , need to be said . At the end of the day , the purpose of making the heaven side cross connection is simply to get to a point where you can tell the heaven side story itself and we all have our outside story and we need to make those heaven side cross connections . One of the most powerful ways to make a heaven side cross connection is by praying for a person . There are people with all kinds of problems and the next time somebody tells you their problem and you have three minutes to spare , you can easily ask them do you mind if I pray for you ? How many are going to say no ? How many are going to say no ? And when you pray , you are inviting the supernatural into your natural situation , you are inviting the alive into your dead situation , you are inviting the infinite into your finite situation and you are making a heaven side connection to your earth-side story .
Speaker 1I have a friend who's a missionary now in Mumbai , india , and when he was a young Hindu boy , he went to his classmate's home , who was a Christian , and his classmate's dad prayed . He wasn't praying for him particularly , he was just praying , but that prayer stuck in his mind and years later he became a Christian because he heard that prayer and wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus . Your prayers , no matter how insignificant they may seem , is a direct connection to heaven and therefore it is very , very powerful . We looked at Paul the skeptic . We looked at Paul the storyteller . Third and finally , let's look at Paul the sufferer . Paul the sufferer the moment Paul switched sides , he had a target on his back . He had a target on his back . His life was always at risk from multiple sources . In Acts , chapter 9 , verse 23 , it reads the Jews plotted to kill him . In Acts 9 , 29 , it says and he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists , but they were seeking to kill him . Imagine having to look over your shoulder to see if somebody is coming to hurt you for the rest of your life .
Speaker 1Salman Rushdie is an Indian-British author who , in 1998 , wrote the book called the Satanic Verses , and that book was deemed unacceptable in the Muslim world , and so the supreme religious head in Iran , the Ayatollah Khomeini , decreed a death sentence against him , a fatwa , and from that point on , he is looking out behind his back so that nobody kills him . And if any Muslim kills him because they are obeying a fatwa , they get a direct access to heaven is what the belief is in Islam . And so he's always watching behind his back , and it's not always easy to be successful , and in 2022 , he was not successful . As he was giving a talk in New York City , a fanatic ran up from the audience and stabbed him numerous times , including in his eye . He's still alive . Of course , he can't see out of the right eye , but he is always still looking behind
Paul's Suffering and Perseverance
Speaker 1his back .
Speaker 1Paul was looking behind his back throughout his life . I want to tell you four things about the physical suffering of Paul . First , he was destitute . 1 Corinthians , chapter 4 and verse 11 says To this very hour , we go hungry and thirsty , we are in rags , we are brutally treated , we are homeless . He didn't have clothes to wear . He went hungry certain days . He was homeless . He was actually from a well-to-do family that had money . He didn't have to do this . Anyone who thinks that following Jesus and obeying Jesus guarantees physical blessings has not studied the life of Paul . In fact , they've not studied the life of any of the disciples For that matter . They've not studied the life of Jesus .
Speaker 1Second , paul had shipwrecks . In Acts , chapter 27 , it details the account of a shipwreck as he was on his way to Rome as a prisoner , and for two weeks they were adrift in the Mediterranean Sea in the midst of a tempest , going back and forth , not knowing when and which breath would be their last breath . And finally the ship crashes and they swim to shore on an island called Malta and once he gets there he now has to survive a snake bite . And that is just one of the shipwrecks . He writes that he had three shipwrecks . How many of you have been through a major car accident . Major car accident how many of you all have been through three major car accidents ? One person , yeah , remind us not to drive behind or around you . Around you , having a major car accident has major repercussions , right , physical and emotional and mental that stay with you for the rest of your life . Paul had three such shipwrecks .
Speaker 1Third , he was imprisoned Throughout his ministry . Paul was imprisoned multiple times . In Acts , chapter 16 , it talks about how he was in prison in Philippi and then , after his third missionary journey , after he wrote the book of Romans , he comes back to Jerusalem and he was imprisoned in Jerusalem and that's where he gave the talk to those Jews , where he shared his story . And then he was taken to Caesarea by the sea , where he was imprisoned for two years and that's where he gave his other story again to King Agrippa . And then he was taken by ship to Rome , where he had the shipwreck , and in Rome , where the book of Acts ends is when he has two more years of imprisonment .
Speaker 1Fourth , paul had physical assaults . Paul wasn't trying to be beaten , he wasn't trying to score points by physical suffering . In fact , there's an account when he was being stretched out to be beaten . He asked the officer is it legal to beat a Roman citizen without a trial ? And so they backed off and they were scared . So Paul wasn't trying to get beaten , but when you're looking over your back with multiple enemies , it's just a matter of time . And those threats became a reality .
Speaker 1Paul says that he was beaten with rods three times . If you look for persecution in other countries , there are YouTube videos of people getting beaten , pastors getting beaten with rods , lots of persecution in India and so many places . Pastors surrounded by a mob and getting beaten . Paul was beaten three times and he was scourged five times , and that scourge was 39 lashes , five times . And the scourge at that time were leather whips , multiple leather whips with bone and metal at the end of them so that when they whipped it would pull out a part of your flesh as well . He was beaten 39 times , 39 lashes , five times .
Speaker 1And then he says that he was stoned and left for dead . And this is in Acts , chapter 14 , where it happened in Lystra . He was stoned and left for dead . And this is in Acts , chapter 14 , where it happened in Lystra he was stoned and left for dead , and the way they did stoning at that time , if they were not in a hurry is they would dig a hole in the ground and put the victim in the hole so that just the feet were inside and they couldn't run away . And they stepped back and they stoned with small and large stones , and the purpose of the stoning to their upper body was to kill . Paul was stoned , and when they stoned him they were trying to kill him . In fact , he became motionless once the stoning stopped because they thought he was dead . And so in Galatians , chapter 6 , verse 17 , he writes I bear on my body the marks of Jesus .
Speaker 1Did Paul complain about his sufferings ? No . In Philippians 1 , verse 12 , he writes I want you to know , brothers , that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel . He knew that the suffering that he was going through was for the sake of the gospel and if he persevered through this suffering , many more people would be able to hear the gospel story . And in Colossians 1 , verse 24 , he writes Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake .
Speaker 1He was imprisoned a second time in Rome that the Bible does not mention , and in AD 67 to 68 . He was beheaded under Emperor Nero . Let me ask you a question why did Paul suffer so much ? Why was Paul killed ? Paul suffered so much and he was killed because he wanted to tell his story . Because he wanted to tell his story , the love of Jesus had gripped him so much and he couldn't understand how the grace of God could forgive a person like him , that he could not rest until he spread the gospel of the love of God to every person that he could .
Speaker 1He was a storyteller that submitted to the will of his Lord . A couple of years ago , a friend of mine emailed me about a missionary that he knows in Iran and he said a mob came to his house , a group of fanatics came to his house , dragged him and his wife outside their house , tied them up and burnt the house down , and both the missionary and his wife were screaming as their house was getting burnt down because , ladies and gentlemen , their little two-year-old was inside the house . Their little two-year-old was inside the house . About a week later , my friend emailed me again and said that one of the fanatics who had come there came back to the missionary and wanted to know about the gospel . Let me ask you a question why did that missionary and his wife put themselves in that position and why did that little two-year-old get burned to death ? Because they wanted to tell the gospel story .
Speaker 1The ultimate submissive storyteller is the Lord Jesus Christ , who submitted to the will of his Father and came earthside to tell us the heavenside story so that we could go heavenside . And so , as the old chorus says , you came from heaven to earth to show us the way From the earth to the cross , my debts to pay From the cross to the grave , from the grave to the sky . Lord , I lift your name on high . Let me ask you a question . Then we will end . At what cost will we tell our stories ? At what cost will we tell our stories ?
Making Heaven-Side Connections
Speaker 1I want to give the opportunity for two groups of people to respond to this sermon . If you've never invited Jesus into your life , I'm going to ask you to stand up and we can pray together . Second , if there's anyone here who wants to tell their earth side stories with a heaven side connection , so that you can tell your heaven side story , you can also stand up . But I want you all to think about a person . I don't want it to be just a theoretical sermon . I want you to think of a person , one or two people , or two or three people that you are going to tell your heaven side connected story . Think of some people that will come to your mind right now so that over the next few weeks you can engage with them to tell if there's anyone here who's never invited Jesus into your life . I'm going to ask you to pray a prayer with me . This prayer is not a magical prayer , but if it's a prayer that comes from the bottom of your heart , god will answer it . You can pray something like this Dear Lord Jesus , I am a sinner and I cannot save myself .
Speaker 1Thank you for coming from heaven to earth to show me the way . Thank you for your perfect life . Thank you for your death in my place . Thank you for your perfect life . Thank you for your death in my place . Thank you for the resurrection and the promise of eternal life . I ask you to come into my life and make me complete .
Speaker 1Heavenly Father , I pray for the rest of us who have known about the gospel for all these years , and we know that we need to speak the gospel because that is what your heart is . You are not satisfied as long as there is one sheep outside the fold and you want us to go and share our stories . I pray for each person standing up who wants to tell their story . As we now try to make heaven-side connections , give us the wisdom to say the right thing at the right time . I pray , lord , that you would help us to do two things Help us to pray continuously for the people that we are thinking about , and I pray that you would help us to seek opportunities continuously for the people that we are thinking about , because there is an opportunity , lord , every single day . Help us to make the heavenside connection so that we can tell the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ . In Jesus' name , I pray , amen .