WHY NOT FAINT

Ephesians 3:8-13 (KJV)

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

By way of introducing tonight’s message allow me to remind you of the context of the verses 1-7 of Ephesians 3.

Paul had given the believers in Ephesus the causes of his imprisonment in Rome. He summed it all by saying that he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

Everything that had happened to him had happened in the will of God and for the glory of Jesus Christ.

From there is gave some details, listing at least three reasons he was a prisoner

·   Because of his calling to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles

·   Because of his understanding that their was no difference between Jews and Gentiles and

·   Because of his message that the two were to be one body in a local church

Now he is a prisoner.

The causes of his imprisonment is just but the risk that the Christians would be embarrassed by it was also real.

·   Can you see someone maybe trying to disassociate themselves from him?

·   Can you see someone wondering if the gospel was worth it?

·   Can you see someone shrinking back from their faith for fear they would be in jail next?

Paul must have seen it as a real possibility. So he writes, in vs 13, Ephesians 3:13 (KJV)

Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

I want to give you tonight Paul’s three reasons not to give up or faint, even when you think things don’t look so good…

  

I. BECAUSE PAUL IS THE "LEAST OF ALL SAINTS"

Vs 8

There was no reason to think more highly of him than ye ought.

·   He had an amazing ministry and

·   He was amazingly used of the Lord but

·   He was, after all, just a man

Isn’t it true that we make way too much of men?

One of the most successful online businesses right now is buying and reselling celebrity posters. 

Kids tack them up in their rooms like idols to be worshipped at bedtime and while waking up.

Some adults have the names, weights, ages, college attended, physical stats of dozens of professional athletes.

It is, I have to tell you, a little bit obsessive looking to those of us who have little interest in sports.

We make too much of actors and singers

Holding nationwide wakes when someone like Prince accidentally kills himself through misuse of drugs.

We make too much of athletes

Expecting them to live up to a moral code simply because our kids see them as role models.

We make too much of politicians

Viewing them as the answer of our country’s woes.

I have been listening to a series of podcasts on the presidents of the United States.

One of the things that has impressed me is just how corrupt some of them have been, and just how little damage they have really done.

We think we are doomed because our current choices are so bad.

Did you know Martha Washington thought the same thing when it looked like Jefferson would be President?

·   Chester Arthur was a corrupt money-grubber

·   Warren Harding was a vile womanizer

·   James Polk provoked the Mexican-American War to steal Texas from them[1]

Harding died just two years into his first term but in just that short time his administration was so filled with scandals that two high ranking officials committed suicide and one left the country under threat of legal action.

Harding, who was married, had a mistress who was investigated for influencing Harding in favor of the Germans during WWI.

When he ran for president, the Republican Party paid his mistress and her husband a huge sum of money and sent them on an all expense paid trip to Japan so they would be out of the country until after the election.

And the reason the party nominated Harding was because he had fewer skeletons in the closet than any of the other possible nominees!

And our country still survived and we are still patriotic.

I think we will survive this election too.

Paul’s first point was that we shouldn’t faint because he was in prison.

He was after all, just one man.

Don’t let the failure and falling of a spiritual hero turn you away from Jesus Christ.

·   So what if a preacher sins

·   So what a television evangelist was an embezzler

·   So what if Joel Osteen doesn’t want to talk about hell and Billy Graham believes hell is not literal

They are, after all, only men.

Secondly, Paul said we should not faint 

II. BECAUSE OF THE MANY PEOPLE HIS MESSAGE REACHED

Ephesians 3:8-10 (KJV)

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

He may have gone to prison but his message had gone around the world.

I see at least three audiences Paul brings to our attention:

A. Gentiles

Vs 8

that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ

This was the original call of Christ to Paul,

Acts 9:15 (KJV)

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

It went further to,

B. All Men

Vs 9

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery

Ananias was told that Paul’s ministry would be to

·   Gentiles

·   Kings and the

·   Children of Israel

Paul personally influenced the regions of

·   Israel

·   Asia Minor

·   Italy

And likely

·   Spain and the

·   British Isles

Plus the letters he wrote while in prison have been an influence for 2000 years and all around the world.

That is nothing to be ashamed of.

Paul even brings to our attention

C. Principalities and Powers in Heavenly Places

Vs 10

…now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known 

Because of its supernatural element, it even influences the angels.

Paul’s imprisonment should be no reason for anyone to faith

·   Because he is just a man

·   Because his message had a powerful reach and

III. BECAUSE THIS ALL HAS WORKED OUT ACCORDING TO GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE

Ephesians 3:11-13 (KJV)

According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

My head keeps going to a similar passage,

Philippians 1:12-18 (KJV)

But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

Can’t you see someone absolutely panicking when they heard that Paul had been captured in Rome?

Over the course of the next couple of years, the word kept getting worse and worse:

·   Someone had conspired to kill him

·   Festus had kept him in jail waiting for a bribe

·   Paul had been remanded to Rome

·   His ship sank in a storm

·   Paul had been sentenced to death

People weren’t any different then than they are now:

·   Someone was crying all the time

·   Someone was fretting that Christianity would die out of existence

·   Someone was working out how to spin the bad news to make it seem better than it was

Paul’s own take was that this was all the plan of God and it was working out exactly as God had planned it.

I am confident that the same it true right now.

Conclusion

I want to finish tonight by looking once again at verse 13,

Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

How do you command another person’s emotions?

Paul could not require them to stay positive, upbeat and focused on the spiritual in the midst of a storm.

But he could ask it of them.

Things look a bit bad these days don’t they?

·   Islam is growing

·   Atheism is raping up

·   Anger against Christians is flaring

·   The politicians are becoming mean spirited.

·   Churches are turning from the faith

I want to ask you not to faint.

My desire is that you:

·   Stay strong in the Lord and

·   Grow stronger through His grace

·   Some people are given more to worry and fret.

·   Some people tend to let things roll off of them like water

But all of us can keep on an not faint if we:

·   Keep our faith in Christ and not men

·   Recognize that God is working in our world right now and

·   Remember that the worst looking of things can work out for the good of the gospel.

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[1] At least that was the opinion of General Winfield Scott and later of President U.S. Grant. (Based on the word of President Grant in his Memoirs.)