January 8, 2025 • 45 mins
Want to discover how a fierce persecutor became one of the most influential figures of Christianity? Dive into the powerful story of the Apostle Paul in our latest episode! What lesson resonates with you?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
butt.
Hi and welcome to the Cheer UpPodcast.
(00:22):
I am your host, kara Hunt, andwith me is the sweet, as always,
sherri Swalwell.
Sherri Saintly, sweet, sweetand saintly I like that better.
Sherri Sweet and SaintlySwalwell, how are you today?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Sherri, I have a lot of friends who would not agree
with you on that one, but, thankyou, I will take it.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I will take it, I will take it, I am doing great
and thank you, thank you, thankyou, thank you, thank you
everyone who has joined us againthis week for the Cheer Up
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So thank you, thank you, thankyou.
Okay, for those who have beenlistening for the past couple of
weeks, you know we've been kindof we've been going through
biblical figures.
Not kind of we've been goingthrough biblical figures, and
this week we are going to doPaul.
Am I right, sherry?
(03:44):
We are going to do Paul, am Iright, sherry?
We are going to do Paul, and Ican't wait to hear what Sherry
is going to talk to us todayabout the I was going to say the
Apostle Paul, that's correct,am I right, sherry?
For some reason I have a hardtime relating him to an apostle,
(04:05):
I don't know why, but yeah, soshe's going to talk to us a
little bit today about theApostle Paul.
So what do you want to sharewith us today, sherry?
About Paul.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I am super excited.
I asked Kara if I could talkabout Paul because he is like
the exact opposite of who I amas far as personality and things
like that go, and I always inthe past was really intimidated
by Paul and, to be honest withyou, I kind of still feel
intimidated by Paul.
So I'm not sure how I'm goingto greet him up in heaven, Like
I don't know if I'm going tostand back and people and be
like don't yell at me, becausehe just seems like a very
intense person.
(04:48):
But the more you read aboutPaul and the more I've read
about Paul, the more I actuallyone highly respect him, but two
kind of have grown to love him alittle bit like a, like an
uncle in a way.
So I don't know what you knowabout Paul or what you don't,
but there's a couple of thingsthat I want to highlight about
him.
Number one he was a Jew and heand if I say anything, if I get
(05:15):
anything wrong, interrupt me,Kara, but I'm pretty sure that
I've I've got, I'm pretty sureI've got it right.
But if I, if I do, go offcourse, hit me.
Well, not hit me, but interruptme.
You can't hit me.
Well, not hit me but interruptme.
You can't hit me people,because we're not even in the
same room, but but you can'tinterrupt with.
I can throw tomatoes, no goahead.
Here we go.
So paul was a jew and he was avery learned scholar.
(05:40):
So he, like, knew what he wastalking about.
He knew the Bible up and down,he knew the Torah, he knew all
of the biblical teachings.
He um, you could liken him inthat regard to Jesus as far as
he studied the Bible religiously.
He knew it in and out, upsidedown, all the way around.
But he also was a very mean,mean person.
(06:03):
I wouldn't say that he well, hedid not have the Holy Spirit in
him.
He did not have.
He had not accepted Jesus intohis heart.
He did not have a relationshipwith God.
He was all about religion andhe actually was.
What is the word that I want?
He is responsible for thestoning of Stephen, and Stephen
(06:28):
was the first believer who wasmartyred because of being stoned
.
And so, and it says in theBible when it talks about the
stoning of Stephen, in fact Ihave it right here, hold on, I
have it right here.
I had two different things thatare two different passages that
I want to talk about, but inthe stoning of Stephen he talks
(06:54):
about somebody with standing.
Here we go.
While they were stoning,stephen, stephen played.
Sorry, let me back up just aminute.
I'm so excited to talk aboutPaul that I'm like tripping over
my own words.
But anyway, stephen was stoned,saul.
Okay, so Paul was named Saulwhen he was the Jewish leader
(07:15):
and he did not have arelationship with God.
It was all about religion forhim.
His name was Saul, and so itsays the stoning of Stephen.
It's really short.
I'm just going to read it it's54.
It's Acts 7, 54 to 59.
(07:39):
God, look, he said.
I see heaven open and the Sonof man standing at the right
hand of God.
After they covered their earsthis is the same he's saying
he's in people and yelling atthe top of their voices they all
rushed at him, dragged him outof the city and began to stone
him.
Meanwhile, the witnesses laidtheir coats at the feet of a
young man named Saul.
(08:00):
That is Paul, the Apostle Paul,and he was the one who
instigated, coordinated, gotStephen martyred.
While they were stoning him,stephen prayed Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit.
Then he fell on his knees andcried out Lord, do not hold this
sin against them.
When he had said this, he fellasleep and Saul approved of
(08:24):
their killing him.
That is the very first sentenceof chapter eight, the very last
sentence of the incident wherehe was stoned.
Um, one thing that I want topoint out.
Even though we're talking aboutSaul turned to Paul.
Today, I want to point outStephen's story.
Him being st is really anencouragement to me.
(08:45):
I know you're going to be likewell, that's like really weird,
sherry.
How is that an encouragement?
But it's an encouragement to mebecause the Bible tells us how
Jesus was right there with him,how God was right there with him
.
There is no way that we shouldbe afraid.
I mean, there's the typicalhuman fear.
I get that of the unknown and,and you know, nobody I don't
(09:08):
think wakes up in the morningand says, hey, I want to be a
martyr today, I want to betortured and killed, and um,
that's how I want to die and goto heaven.
So at the end of the day I'mgoing to be in heaven, but until
then this is going to be fun.
Nobody says that.
(09:32):
But.
But the thing that I just wantto kind of have people tuck in
the back of their head is thatGod is with us.
If that happens to be ourmission and that happens to be
our assignment, and that's whatGod's plan is for our lives, we
don't have to worry because Godis going to be right there with
us the whole entire time.
He never loses or forsakes us.
He will be right there with usthe whole entire time.
He never loses or forsakes us.
He will be right there, andthat is something that has
really comforted me.
I don't want to say encouragedme, because I don't really want
(09:53):
to think about having to gothrough anything like that, but
it has really comforted me.
So I know we're talking aboutPaul today, but I really wanted
to talk about that part.
Well, anyway, chapter 9.
But I really wanted to talkabout that part.
Well, anyway, chapter 9.
So Stephen was martyred inchapter 7, the end of chapter 7.
So there's only one morechapter in between.
And then, in chapter 9, saul ison the road to Damascus, and a
(10:17):
lot of people have heard of hisstory, of his testimony.
But he was on the way toDamascus.
God strikes him blind and thenhe ends up being.
I think he fasted for threedays when he, when God blinded
him, he said the Lord called himin a.
(10:37):
You know?
Sorry, I gotta go up a littlebit, because that's the part I
want to talk about.
So, as he neared Damascus onhis journey, suddenly a light
from heaven flashed around him.
This is Saul.
He fell to the ground and hearda voice say to him Saul, saul,
why do you persecute me?
Who are you, lord, saul asked.
Saul knew right away who he wastalking to.
(10:58):
He knew that from the beginning, even though he didn't know
more about him.
But he knew who was doing thetalking.
I am Jesus, whom you arepersecuting, he replied.
Now get up and go into the cityand you will be told that you
must do so.
He stayed in the city for threedays, blind, and he didn't eat
or drink anything.
So he did fast in the city forthree days.
(11:23):
Well then, while he's in thecity for those three days,
fasting and praying and blind,god calls out to Ananias, and
Ananias is a disciple.
And it says in Damascus therewas a disciple named Ananias.
The Lord called to him in avision.
Ananias yes, lord.
He answered.
Now see the difference rightthere already.
So Paul had to ask who are you,lord?
(11:44):
And Ananias, he knew who he wasright away.
So we're talking religion versusrelationship.
Ananias already had arelationship with God and he
knew his voice.
He says yes, lord.
He answered.
The Lord told him go to thehouse of Judas on Straight
Street and ask for a man fromTarsus named Saul, for he is
praying.
In a vision, he has seen a mannamed Ananias come and place his
(12:08):
hands on him to restore hissight.
So this Ananias, he wants toobey God because that's what his
whole.
He's in a relationship with Godand he wants to obey God
because he's in thisrelationship with God.
But everybody, well, saul had areputation and his reputation
was I'm going to kill reputation?
Was I'm going to kill believers?
I'm going to kill christians,disciples, blah, blah, blah.
(12:28):
So ananias was like um, really,god?
Like, are you sure this is whatI have to do?
And he says lord, I have heardmany reports about this man and
all the harm he has done to yourholy people in jerusalem.
And he has come here withauthority from the chief priest
to arrest all who call on yourname.
But the Lord said to Ananias sothis man is my chosen
(12:50):
instrument to proclaim my nameto the Gentiles and their kings
and to the people of Israel.
I will show him how much hemust suffer for my name.
And that is the part that Iwanted to read to everybody.
So God has a mission for all ofus.
God has a purpose and a planfor all of us.
And I wanted to read toeverybody so God has a mission
for all of us.
God has a purpose and a planfor all of us.
And I used to think to myselfand again, if I'm, if I'm wrong
(13:13):
in this, kara, let me know andinterrupt me, but I I've always.
I don't think that God sitsthere and punishes people
necessarily for their choices,but at the same token, I believe
that God sits there andpunishes people necessarily for
their choices, but at the sametoken, I believe that God allows
us to have consequences for ouractions and for our choices.
And so I've always wondered youknow, paul had such a huge
(13:39):
ministry after he became Paul,so he was Saul at first.
He tortured, persecuted, wasabsolutely horrid to believers.
His conversion was real and hewas not afraid to speak the
truth in love.
(14:10):
And I always wondered, I'm like, so how is it that he just kind
of like gets off scot-free?
Well, anybody who chooses to bea believer, anybody who chooses
to cross that line fromreligion to relationship, to
really truly have a relationshipwith God, doesn't get off
scot-free.
In fact, the study notes in myBible talk about faith in Christ
(14:35):
brings great blessings, whichis so true.
I mean, there is no other waythat I would want to live than
to be a believer, but oftengreat suffering too, than to be
a believer, but often greatsuffering too.
Paul would suffer for his faith.
And then it tells us to see 2Corinthians 11, 23 to 27.
So I switched over to 2Corinthians 11, and it says this
(14:55):
it says are they servants ofChrist?
So whatever anyone else dare toboast about, I am speaking as a
fool.
This is Paul talking.
I also dare to boast about I amspeaking as a fool.
This is Paul talking I alsodare to boast about.
Are they Hebrews?
So am I.
Are they Israelites?
So am I.
Are they Abraham's descendants?
So am I.
Are they servants of Christ?
(15:15):
I am out of my mind to talklike this.
I am more.
I have worked much harder, beenin prison more frequently, been
flogged more severely, beenexposed to death again and again
.
Five times I received from theJews the 40 lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten withrods once I was culpated with
stones.
Three times I was shipwrecked.
(15:37):
I spent a night and a day inthe open sea.
I have been constantly on themove.
I have been in danger fromrivers, in danger from bandits,
in danger from my fellow Jews,in danger from Gentiles, in
danger in the city, in danger inthe country, in danger at sea
and in danger from falsebelievers.
I have labored and toiled andhave often gone without sleep.
(15:58):
I have known hunger and thirstand have often gone without food
.
I have been cold and naked.
Besides everything else, I facedaily the pressure of my
concern for all the churches.
So, basically, paul.
So I always grew up knowing thatthe Apostle Paul.
After his conversion, on theroad to Damascus, he became this
(16:21):
great, wonderful teacher.
He made tents and then hepreached also, so that he didn't
have to have other people likesupport his ministry.
He did all of these things andI always thought, okay.
So it talks about him going toprison, but he writes all these
books, these epistles from theNew Testament, in prison.
So he must have been in, likeyou know, the country club
(16:45):
prison, not the real prison.
But no, they direct me over to 2Corinthians 11.
And it tells me what kind ofstuff that he went through.
And he suffered greatly for hisfaith.
And you know what?
He never once stood down or henever once compromised or he
never once changed his mind.
(17:06):
And he also is famous I don'tremember where in the Bible it
says this but he's also famousfor saying I am content to live
in little, I'm content to livein much.
I've been rich, I've been poor,I've been everything in between
, I've been starving, I've hadtoo much to eat, and yet still
I'm content in whatever positionor place that God places me in.
(17:28):
So the apostle Paul is prettyamazing.
He he hated God but yet killpeople in the name of God quote
unquote because he was thisJewish scholar, sadducee, or
part of the Sanhedrin, so he waspart of the upper upper people
(17:51):
in the Jewish culture, but yetwhen he became a believer, he
became a believer.
There was like no going back.
And that I want to have.
I don't really want to live thelife that Paul lived.
To be honest with you, I don'twant to be flogged and I don't
want to go to jail and stufflike that.
Would I, yes, if I had to?
But I just have so much respectfor him.
(18:16):
Whenever I think of Paul, Ithink of the phrase he spoke the
truth in love.
He loved people so much that hedidn't care what culture said,
he didn't care what the popularthing was, he didn't want people
to go to hell.
And so he spoke the truth inlove, even if it hurt, even if
(18:40):
it wasn't what people wanted tohear.
And in that regard I liketotally respect Paul and can't
wait to meet him.
But in the other token, like hespoke the truth in love, so
like, what's he going to say tome up in heaven?
Um, sherry, dot, dot dot.
I don't, I don't really wantthat.
But then again, I'm halfkidding because I know up in
heaven it's not going to be likethat, like we're gonna.
(19:01):
We're going to all be perfect.
Tears are washed away, like allof our reunions and so forth
with people are going to beamazing.
So I'm half kidding about that,but I, I don't know, he, like
was a very intimidating person,but man, oh man, he was on fire
for God and he you knew, whenyou had an encounter with him,
(19:22):
who he loves, who he serves andwho his master was.
And so that's like myimpression of Paul in a nutshell
.
So what do you want to sayabout Paul?
Speaker 1 (19:37):
What is there not to say about Paul?
Because he, despite some thingsthat I'm like, really Paul, you
know, you know, at times, boyhas he always been one of my top
people, that I've always said Ican't wait to meet when I get
(20:00):
to heaven, because his ministryjust speaks to me.
I can't read the book ofPhilippians, for example,
without having a renewedstrength or renewed faith right,
without having a renewedstrength or renewed faith right.
This was a man and Sherry youtouched on this who had been so
badly beaten, who had been soblocked, who had been so in
(20:21):
prison.
And we're not talking, like yousaid, country club prisons,
we're talking like sewer-likeprisons in chains.
You know, you know, but yet OK,so I don't OK.
(20:46):
Like, for example, my husbandplays, plays guitar, and you
know, when you play the guitar alot, you get calluses on your
fingers Right, but they actuallyhelp you play longer, I mean
better, like in the long run.
And I guess the same thing couldbe said about anything like
people who use garden tools alot, or you know, and things
like that.
Your skin becomes a little bittougher and it seems like with
everything the enemy threw athim, or in every prison he found
(21:09):
himself in, or every time hefound himself in change, he got
changed.
He got stronger, he got tougher, he got bolder.
So it was almost as if everytest and I don't even know if I
can use the word test likeeverything that he went through
that was almost meant to breakhim, made him stronger, and I
(21:31):
think it's like that's gold.
Excuse me, I forgot what goldis called, but it's like that's
gold, the.
Excuse me, the the.
I forgot what gold is called,but it's like gold.
Right, sherry isn't Sherry.
The one isn't Sherry isn't gold, the one that's refined under
fire.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Oh no, that's a diamond.
Oh yeah, yeah, but gold.
I don't know what else golddoes, but yeah, that is a
diamond.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
You're right, yes, and it's like it's refined right
Under fire and I'm just likeboy.
If there was ever anyone whowas refined under fire, it was
him.
I mean, he grew thick skin, hehad the scars to prove
(22:13):
everything that he went through,and it didn't deter him, it
didn't stop him.
And, like you mentioned, sherry, I don't think any of us seek
out and say you know what?
I'm going to be a martyr and Ijust want all these things to
happen to me.
No, of course not.
We're human.
We don't desire that at all,and I don't even think Paul ever
(22:36):
desired that.
He just went where he was led togo by God, by the Holy Spirit.
He did what he was supposed todo and as a result of that, he
found himself in some verydangerous and very precarious
situations.
But he persevered, hepersevered and it was like every
(23:00):
flocking.
He got stronger Every time hewas in prison.
He just it just made him moredetermined and he just he did.
And you know, when you thinkabout him and I'm just going to
use David for a quick examplefrom the Old Testament David was
a mighty warrior and I mean thethings he'd done is beyond
(23:25):
explanation, the way God wasable to use him and his heart
towards God.
But David was kind of like hekind of whined about his
situations a little bit.
You know, you can go to thebook of Psalms, you know, and he
would just say, oh Lord, whyhave you closed your eyes to me
or your ears to me and thingslike that?
Right, sherry, you correct meif I'm wrong.
(23:47):
Paul doesn't do that, does he?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Well, that goes right back to the next point that I
was thinking about about Paul isthat he God?
God created him tough from dayone.
Yeah, he's tough before Pauleven knew what his purpose was
(24:12):
Like.
God creates certain people inthis world to be able to
withstand stuff that would breakthe majority of people and in
that regard, I have so much whatis the word I want Respect.
I have so much respect for Paulbecause he fulfilled the
(24:36):
purpose that God created in himbefore he was even born.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Mm-hmm, yeah, he was tough, he had thick skin and I'm
not going to go as far to saythat he didn't care that those
things were happening to himExcuse me, that's not the word
I'm looking for that he didn't.
That he wasn't in pain that'sthe word I'm looking for that he
wasn't in pain and that youknow he physically suffered from
(25:05):
that, but he wasn't acomplainer, right, he just
wasn't.
And he may have felt thosethings.
I mean, again, he's only human.
We do not worship Paul.
He's only human.
So, but he just, I don't thinkit was in his nature so it goes.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I don't think it was in his nature to complain, right
, he was kind of like the modernday or the old fashioned day,
rambo.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Yes, exactly, he just kind of, you know, he kept on
going.
And not only did he keep going,he praised the Lord in a
process, amen, he praised God ina process.
And it is just, I don't know,because I, you know, you can't
help but read through Paul'swhole entire journey, the good,
the bad, the ugly and the veryugly, and you ask yourself, hmm,
(26:00):
my, oh goodness, lord, would Ibe able to sustain that Like,
would I be able to just brush itall off and just keep my eyes
focused on you, like Paul did?
It's something we have to askourselves.
And only God knows the truth,right, only God knows the truth.
I, for instance, could say, ohLord, I would never do that,
(26:23):
never, never, never.
Kind of like Peter, right, whenhe was like, well, I would
never deny you, you know.
And then later he did.
Or I could say, oh Lord, I'llnever be able to do that, don't
put me in a position like that.
And he's like what are youtalking about?
You pass with fine colors,you'll come through, you know.
And so none of us really knowexcept God, and I think all we,
(26:48):
and I think all we can do isjust ask you, excuse me.
So just ask God Lord, whatevermay come is just ask you, excuse
me, to just ask God Lord,whatever may come, just give me
the strength that I need to beable to get through whatever
comes my way.
Just give us the strength tojust to get through it and for
me to accomplish your will in asituation.
And I think that's what Ilearned about Paul.
(27:09):
You know, yeah, I just that'sjust one of the things, you know
, I, I, I felt like I've I'velearned about Paul.
He's just, he's so resilient.
You know, um, it's one of thewords I just want to, I think,
emphasize he was just, he wasjust resilient, he was one tough
(27:32):
cookie, he was just resilient.
He was one tough cookie, youknow.
Yeah, he was one tough cookieand he never lost focus.
He just kept the path.
He just kept going.
He just kept going.
I think that's the word.
(27:53):
I just that's what I would liketo leave readers with is just,
no matter how down it looks, nomatter how hopeless it looks,
because while he's writing theseepistles in prison, he didn't
know if he was going to ever getout or not.
Right know, you know, but itdidn't matter.
(28:17):
It didn't matter.
He was going to still do whathe felt like the Lord had called
, that he had been called to do,and he just kept the faith and
he just kept going.
And I and again I just one ofthe things that really stood out
, stands out to me is that hejust did not complain.
That to me and I keepemphasizing that, because I'm
not sure I could have done thesame thing I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I think it's because he kept his focus on God and he
kept his focus on the mission.
Like he?
I honestly well not sometimes.
I honestly believe that peoplewho have either not grown up in
a Christian environment, withChristian parents and a
Christian upbringing, or peoplewho have strayed and then come
(28:59):
back, I honestly think that theyhave a deeper appreciation for
their relationship with.
God, because they know what itis to not have it, and I can't
stop thinking about when he,paul, was shipwrecked and I
believe you'd have to read thestory yourself because I don't
know if I have all the detailsright but I believe that, like
(29:22):
God had told him ahead of time,this is what's going to happen.
This is what I want you to do.
This is, you know, kind of likethose 007 movies or the like.
Get smarter.
The mission possible.
This is what's going to happento you, paul.
These are the you know, becausegod well, I think we've learned
(29:45):
from all of um the different uhbible stories that we have read
about that god does not makeyou guess, like he doesn't.
He doesn't keep you guessing,he tells you ahead of time
what's going to happen.
It's whether or not you want tolisten to him or whether or not
you want to obey, but anyway.
So he told Paul during this oneparticular time you're going to
(30:05):
get shipwrecked.
This is what's going to happen.
This is what I need you to do.
You're going to land on thisisland.
This is what I want to happen.
Blah, blah, blah.
Well, paul, you know,everything went the way that god
said it was going to.
Paul was not surprised.
They get to the um, the island,and they start looking for wood
, and so because they were goingto build a fire, because they
(30:27):
were cold and tired, and allthat stuff, and so there he
reached into this wood pile andhe pulled out a viper and the
viper bit him.
And Paul was so focused on whatGod had told him he needed to do
that Paul shook the viper offthe snake.
It was a poisonous snake.
For those who don't know what aviper is, I didn't necessarily
(30:47):
know that at first, a long timeago.
So if you're reading and youare listening and you don't know
what a viper is, it's a snake,a poisonous snake, and so all of
the people are watching inwonder, waiting for him to heal
over and die but let's go, we'vegot stuff to do people.
He's like you're wasting timetype of a thing.
So like he knew his mission, hewas on point and he didn't let
(31:09):
anything distract him.
I almost kind of feel and and Idon't think it says this in the
bible, maybe it does but Ialmost kind of feel, and I don't
think it says this in the Bible, maybe it does, but I almost
kind of feel like he was like Iwasted so much time earlier in
life chasing after the wrongthing that I've got a lot to
make up for.
So I don't have time for ifyou're not going to be part of
(31:30):
the program or part of thesolution, then you need to get
out of the way, because I gotstuff to do, places to go, I got
.
I got a God to take care of anda God to serve.
Not that he had to take care ofGod, but I mean he has a God to
serve, a mission that Godwanted him to do, and so I just
kind of I don't know.
I have a lot of respect forPaul.
Like I said, there's a littlebit of me that is intimidated by
(31:52):
Paul.
But the more I read about himand the more that I study him
and he just honestly goodness,we love people and he didn't
want anyone else to go throughwhat he went through of not
having that relationship withGod.
9, god used him mightily tospeak the truth, to speak God's
(32:19):
truth to the Gentiles, and thatis a key component.
Even though he was a Jewhimself, he was a key component
for the gospel being spread tothe Gentile people, being spread
to the Gentile people.
And if it wasn't for Paul, Iwould not necessarily be a
(32:40):
believer, because I'm a Gentileand I would not have heard or
had the opportunity to become abeliever.
So thank you, paul.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
And you know what I want to piggyback on something
you said earlier.
Piggyback on something you saidearlier how he was bit by a
snake and everyone was sittingthere waiting for him to kill
over and die.
He lived, right, he lived, hedid not die.
But it just made me wonder inour Christian journeys, how many
(33:11):
times have people thought wewere down and out and we were
about to kill over?
Right, not necessarilyphysically, but they didn't
expect for us to rebound afterthat job loss or after the loss
of a loved one.
You know they just thought wewere down and out.
Or you know we lost our homes.
(33:31):
Or you know cars were taken, oryou know careers were shattered
and or destroyed.
You know things like that, whenpeople just really counted you
out and they were just waitingfor you to kill over and be like
I'm done, I'm giving up thefaith.
I thought God was going to seeme through this.
He didn't, you know, and or youknow you just kind of just take
(33:55):
to your bed and never get out,and they were just sitting there
just waiting for him to killover.
But he was so focused on whathe was doing that it didn't even
bother him.
It didn't even bother him.
And to me, that's just anotherreason why I just admire his
tenacity so much and his passionso much, because it teaches us
(34:18):
that as long as we stay focusedon God, we're going to be all
right.
We're going to survive even whenthe enemy fires fiery darts our
way, even when we get bit byquote, unquoteunquote poisonous,
toxic snakes, you know, andeveryone else thinking well,
they're done for, oh, that's it.
(34:40):
They've been through a lot, butthey're not going to come out
of this one, you know, and God'sjust like oh yeah, you know.
Kind of reminds me of Job, whenSatan was like oh well, that's
only because you bless him, youtake away his blessings, and
he's not going to be that way.
Do you see what I'm saying?
They were just waiting him, hisfriends and everyone else was.
(35:01):
His wife even said why don'tyou just curse God and die?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Because there was just no everyone had counted him
out but God.
And somehow, intuitively,spiritually, I should say Paul
knew that, he knew it, he knew,he just knew and he just stayed
focused on what he knew.
And I'm sorry, Cher, I just ranoff on a rant.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
No, you didn't go off on a rant at all.
I want to actually piggyback onthat and say and God, okay.
So God created Paul with thepersonality that he did Because
he knew the mission that he hadfor him.
He also knew that Paul wouldeventually become a believer.
He knew that Paul would do thegreat things that he called Paul
(35:52):
to do.
He knew that Paul would do thegreat things that he called Paul
to do.
But he also used Paul's time.
So I don't think that he chosefor Saul pre-Paul days.
I don't think he chose for Saulto be a Sanhedrin and to kill
(36:16):
Stephen and to be a part of allof that.
But he knew that Paul saw wasgoing to and he used that time
in his life for good.
So it goes back to Romans 8, 28.
All things work together forgood.
Those who love God are calledaccording to his purpose.
Paul was absolutely 100% calledaccording to God's purpose and
(36:36):
he used all that training thatPaul got when he was Saul,
before he became Paul and beforethe conversion.
So again, I don't think thatGod, I don't think it was part
of God's plan for him to not bea believer and I don't think it
was part of God's plan forStephen to die at the hands of
(36:57):
Paul.
But God used all of that, andhe used that period of time,
that training, in his life forgood so that when he became a
believer he already had all thatknowledge.
He didn't have to then spend 20years learning the.
Torah learning the books of theBible.
(37:18):
He knew it, so he was able tojumpstart his ministry right
away, and so God is doing thesame thing for us.
So where are you in your lifeor let's say that you have lived
a life far from God and all ofa sudden you have become a
(37:39):
believer.
What in your past is God goingto use, or has he used, to
prepare you for the plan and themission and the purpose and the
destiny that he put in yourheart when he formed you in your
mother's womb?
God, that is the kind of Godthat we serve.
That is the God that we serve,not just the kind, but that is
(38:00):
the God we serve.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
He takes everything, every circumstance, every
instance, every experienceEverything that the enemy meant
for bad, exactly.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
And he uses it for good, and that, I think, is a
great way to end on our notetoday, because only God.
So if you are Stephen and youare being martyred, whether
physically or whether bullied orthreatened or persecuted at
(38:34):
work, remember God is rightthere with you.
You are not dealing with italone.
Look up and ask God to showhimself to you, ask him how he
is going to rescue you.
Sometimes the rescuing meansyou go to heaven, meaning he'll
take you out of the situation.
Sometimes it'll just providecomfort while you're in it.
(38:54):
If you are a stall and you'rerunning from god or you have,
you want nothing to do with god,but you're wondering, after
talking today or listening tothe podcast today is god really
real?
Does he do stuff like that in2024, like he did, you know, way
back when?
Have a conversation with him.
(39:15):
I'm challenging you to have aconversation and ask God to show
himself to you.
Show himself real to you.
And if you are Paul and you havemaybe you've grown up in the
church your whole life.
Maybe you've never had aconversion story, but you've
just always had a heart for GodOne kudos to you, because God
(39:36):
can use.
God uses everybody.
He uses the people who havegone astray and come back.
He uses the people who havechosen to never go astray and to
just stay on the straight andnarrow and just develop their
relationship with him.
But ask God to say what is itthat you want me to do and how
do you want to use my life?
What in my past training areyou going to use for your good?
(40:00):
And show me how you want me todo that, or how are you
preparing me?
What do you have me incurrently that you're going to
use for your good and use foryour service down the road, for
your good and use for yourservice down the road?
So I mean Paul, I just I hopethat we got you excited about
him and that you're ready toread about him yourself, because
(40:20):
Paul is so complex and there isso much about him.
He has written so many books ofthe New Testament that it would
take many, many, many episodesto cover all of Paul.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
And then we would even be touching on it.
That's just the beginning.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
And so, like we've always said in the past, we just
want to get you excited tolearn about these biblical
figures for yourself.
So drop us a comment in anemail cheeruppodcasts at
gmailcom, if you want to let usknow what your thoughts are
about the podcast today.
Or feel free to start aconversation in the Facebook
(41:05):
group Cheer Up Podcast onFacebook.
Um, also, we were talking atthe beginning of the episode
today that if you are interestedand you would want one of us to
be a part of the book club, um,email us at cheer up podcast at
gmailcom.
We would absolutely love to tojoin one of your um one of your
(41:29):
group nights, whether it's thefirst one, the last one, one in
the middle, whatever it is, wewould love to do that.
So if you want to feature oneof our books, feel free to email
us and we'll go from there.
Check out Tara's website,tarahrhuntcom, and remember her
(41:50):
books are all in audiobook aswell.
So if you like audiobooksversus reading the books
yourself, um, paper dolls all ofthem are in audiobook, which is
amazing, completely awesome.
If you want to check out themembership to grow your
relationship with god jesus inthe everyday, that's over on my
(42:10):
website.
We both actually also haveYouTube channels.
If you want to check those out,those are on our website.
So KaraRHuntcom andSherrySlowellcom.
And yeah, john1633 says thesethings.
I have spoken to you that in meyou may have peace In the world
.
You will have tribulations, butbe of good cheer, I have
(42:33):
overcome the world.
I think that Paul is a reallygreat example of finding his
peace in God, despite all of thetrials and the tribulations
that he faced in this worldbecause he most certainly didn't
start facing major trials andtribulations, it seems, until he
became a believer.
So from the outside worldlyperspective, it looks as though
(42:57):
he did worse in life once hechose to accept Jesus.
But we all know that thesuffering that happens on this
earth is temporary compared tothe eternal glory that we have
up in heaven with God.
And just like God was withStephen when he was being
martyred, god was with Paul whenhe was suffering as well.
(43:20):
So don't think that justbecause Paul had martyred or had
been a part of martyringStephen, that God wasn't he was
going to ignore him and notcomfort him or be with him when
he himself was being torturedand flogged and all those things
that.
1 Corinthians 11, 23 through 20.
(43:43):
Let me make sure I got thatright for you.
I wrote it down One second.
Well, sorry, I lost my paper,but it was 2 Corinthians 11, I
think, 23 through 27.
Um, god was with Paul just asmuch as he was with Stephen,
because God is with all of hischildren, and God was, was
(44:05):
paying attention to and callingSaul, even when he was running
from his purpose and his destinythat God had originally given
him.
So remember that too.
I want to give you thatencouragement as well, that God
loves us all so much that hedoesn't want anyone to not be a
(44:26):
believer, to not have arelationship with him.
He wants all of us to have arelationship with him, a true
godly relationship.
So I hope that our talk aboutPaul today was very encouraging,
and we would really love tohear your thoughts on Paul and
also on what we talked abouttoday.
(44:46):
So drop us an email, start aconversation in the Facebook
group, and next week we're goingto talk about Barnabas, who is
known as the encourager, and I'mexcited to hear what Kara is
going to tell us about Barnabas.
So have a great rest of yourday today, have a great week and
we will talk to you next week.
Thank you.
butt.
Hi and welcome to the Cheer UpPodcast.
(00:22):
I am your host, kara Hunt, andwith me is the sweet, as always,
sherri Swalwell.
Sherri Saintly, sweet, sweetand saintly I like that better.
Sherri Sweet and SaintlySwalwell, how are you today?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Sherri, I have a lot of friends who would not agree
with you on that one, but, thankyou, I will take it.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I will take it, I will take it, I am doing great
and thank you, thank you, thankyou, thank you, thank you
everyone who has joined us againthis week for the Cheer Up
Podcast.
We thank you so much forjoining us every week, for
tuning in every week, fordownloading every week and for
(01:12):
those of you who have not hadthe chance to download and
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If you're listening on one ofthe various podcasting platforms
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(01:32):
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Just for, you know, joyful,inspirational, a little bit of
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(01:56):
share it and if you've beenblessed by it, and if it's even
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could you just please share it,and we would greatly appreciate
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You just have no idea how much.
And we want to say welcome andhi to different nations,
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(02:20):
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We just want to say thank youfor tuning in, thank you for
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Our downloads and listenersfrom there is growing.
(02:41):
We have people from cities thatare in other countries that I
don't know which country they'refrom, so please forgive me.
There's one from Kathmandu,bagmati province, another from
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(03:01):
Wales, is.
And Santiago, santiago,metropolitan.
I think that may be Chile,wales is.
And Santiago, Santiago,metropolitan.
I think that may be Chile, butanyway, for all of those who
continue to tune in nationwideand worldwide, we just want to
say thank you.
We want to personally say hiand thank you for tuning in
every week when you can and forjust always supporting us.
(03:24):
So thank you, thank you, thankyou.
Okay, for those who have beenlistening for the past couple of
weeks, you know we've been kindof we've been going through
biblical figures.
Not kind of we've been goingthrough biblical figures, and
this week we are going to doPaul.
Am I right, sherry?
(03:44):
We are going to do Paul, am Iright, sherry?
We are going to do Paul, and Ican't wait to hear what Sherry
is going to talk to us todayabout the I was going to say the
Apostle Paul, that's correct,am I right, sherry?
For some reason I have a hardtime relating him to an apostle,
(04:05):
I don't know why, but yeah, soshe's going to talk to us a
little bit today about theApostle Paul.
So what do you want to sharewith us today, sherry?
About Paul.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I am super excited.
I asked Kara if I could talkabout Paul because he is like
the exact opposite of who I amas far as personality and things
like that go, and I always inthe past was really intimidated
by Paul and, to be honest withyou, I kind of still feel
intimidated by Paul.
So I'm not sure how I'm goingto greet him up in heaven, Like
I don't know if I'm going tostand back and people and be
like don't yell at me, becausehe just seems like a very
intense person.
(04:48):
But the more you read aboutPaul and the more I've read
about Paul, the more I actuallyone highly respect him, but two
kind of have grown to love him alittle bit like a, like an
uncle in a way.
So I don't know what you knowabout Paul or what you don't,
but there's a couple of thingsthat I want to highlight about
him.
Number one he was a Jew and heand if I say anything, if I get
(05:15):
anything wrong, interrupt me,Kara, but I'm pretty sure that
I've I've got, I'm pretty sureI've got it right.
But if I, if I do, go offcourse, hit me.
Well, not hit me, but interruptme.
You can't hit me.
Well, not hit me but interruptme.
You can't hit me people,because we're not even in the
same room, but but you can'tinterrupt with.
I can throw tomatoes, no goahead.
Here we go.
So paul was a jew and he was avery learned scholar.
(05:40):
So he, like, knew what he wastalking about.
He knew the Bible up and down,he knew the Torah, he knew all
of the biblical teachings.
He um, you could liken him inthat regard to Jesus as far as
he studied the Bible religiously.
He knew it in and out, upsidedown, all the way around.
But he also was a very mean,mean person.
(06:03):
I wouldn't say that he well, hedid not have the Holy Spirit in
him.
He did not have.
He had not accepted Jesus intohis heart.
He did not have a relationshipwith God.
He was all about religion andhe actually was.
What is the word that I want?
He is responsible for thestoning of Stephen, and Stephen
(06:28):
was the first believer who wasmartyred because of being stoned
.
And so, and it says in theBible when it talks about the
stoning of Stephen, in fact Ihave it right here, hold on, I
have it right here.
I had two different things thatare two different passages that
I want to talk about, but inthe stoning of Stephen he talks
(06:54):
about somebody with standing.
Here we go.
While they were stoning,stephen, stephen played.
Sorry, let me back up just aminute.
I'm so excited to talk aboutPaul that I'm like tripping over
my own words.
But anyway, stephen was stoned,saul.
Okay, so Paul was named Saulwhen he was the Jewish leader
(07:15):
and he did not have arelationship with God.
It was all about religion forhim.
His name was Saul, and so itsays the stoning of Stephen.
It's really short.
I'm just going to read it it's54.
It's Acts 7, 54 to 59.
(07:39):
God, look, he said.
I see heaven open and the Sonof man standing at the right
hand of God.
After they covered their earsthis is the same he's saying
he's in people and yelling atthe top of their voices they all
rushed at him, dragged him outof the city and began to stone
him.
Meanwhile, the witnesses laidtheir coats at the feet of a
young man named Saul.
(08:00):
That is Paul, the Apostle Paul,and he was the one who
instigated, coordinated, gotStephen martyred.
While they were stoning him,stephen prayed Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit.
Then he fell on his knees andcried out Lord, do not hold this
sin against them.
When he had said this, he fellasleep and Saul approved of
(08:24):
their killing him.
That is the very first sentenceof chapter eight, the very last
sentence of the incident wherehe was stoned.
Um, one thing that I want topoint out.
Even though we're talking aboutSaul turned to Paul.
Today, I want to point outStephen's story.
Him being st is really anencouragement to me.
(08:45):
I know you're going to be likewell, that's like really weird,
sherry.
How is that an encouragement?
But it's an encouragement to mebecause the Bible tells us how
Jesus was right there with him,how God was right there with him
.
There is no way that we shouldbe afraid.
I mean, there's the typicalhuman fear.
I get that of the unknown and,and you know, nobody I don't
(09:08):
think wakes up in the morningand says, hey, I want to be a
martyr today, I want to betortured and killed, and um,
that's how I want to die and goto heaven.
So at the end of the day I'mgoing to be in heaven, but until
then this is going to be fun.
Nobody says that.
(09:32):
But.
But the thing that I just wantto kind of have people tuck in
the back of their head is thatGod is with us.
If that happens to be ourmission and that happens to be
our assignment, and that's whatGod's plan is for our lives, we
don't have to worry because Godis going to be right there with
us the whole entire time.
He never loses or forsakes us.
He will be right there with usthe whole entire time.
He never loses or forsakes us.
He will be right there, andthat is something that has
really comforted me.
I don't want to say encouragedme, because I don't really want
(09:53):
to think about having to gothrough anything like that, but
it has really comforted me.
So I know we're talking aboutPaul today, but I really wanted
to talk about that part.
Well, anyway, chapter 9.
But I really wanted to talkabout that part.
Well, anyway, chapter 9.
So Stephen was martyred inchapter 7, the end of chapter 7.
So there's only one morechapter in between.
And then, in chapter 9, saul ison the road to Damascus, and a
(10:17):
lot of people have heard of hisstory, of his testimony.
But he was on the way toDamascus.
God strikes him blind and thenhe ends up being.
I think he fasted for threedays when he, when God blinded
him, he said the Lord called himin a.
(10:37):
You know?
Sorry, I gotta go up a littlebit, because that's the part I
want to talk about.
So, as he neared Damascus onhis journey, suddenly a light
from heaven flashed around him.
This is Saul.
He fell to the ground and hearda voice say to him Saul, saul,
why do you persecute me?
Who are you, lord, saul asked.
Saul knew right away who he wastalking to.
(10:58):
He knew that from the beginning, even though he didn't know
more about him.
But he knew who was doing thetalking.
I am Jesus, whom you arepersecuting, he replied.
Now get up and go into the cityand you will be told that you
must do so.
He stayed in the city for threedays, blind, and he didn't eat
or drink anything.
So he did fast in the city forthree days.
(11:23):
Well then, while he's in thecity for those three days,
fasting and praying and blind,god calls out to Ananias, and
Ananias is a disciple.
And it says in Damascus therewas a disciple named Ananias.
The Lord called to him in avision.
Ananias yes, lord.
He answered.
Now see the difference rightthere already.
So Paul had to ask who are you,lord?
(11:44):
And Ananias, he knew who he wasright away.
So we're talking religion versusrelationship.
Ananias already had arelationship with God and he
knew his voice.
He says yes, lord.
He answered.
The Lord told him go to thehouse of Judas on Straight
Street and ask for a man fromTarsus named Saul, for he is
praying.
In a vision, he has seen a mannamed Ananias come and place his
(12:08):
hands on him to restore hissight.
So this Ananias, he wants toobey God because that's what his
whole.
He's in a relationship with Godand he wants to obey God
because he's in thisrelationship with God.
But everybody, well, saul had areputation and his reputation
was I'm going to kill reputation?
Was I'm going to kill believers?
I'm going to kill christians,disciples, blah, blah, blah.
(12:28):
So ananias was like um, really,god?
Like, are you sure this is whatI have to do?
And he says lord, I have heardmany reports about this man and
all the harm he has done to yourholy people in jerusalem.
And he has come here withauthority from the chief priest
to arrest all who call on yourname.
But the Lord said to Ananias sothis man is my chosen
(12:50):
instrument to proclaim my nameto the Gentiles and their kings
and to the people of Israel.
I will show him how much hemust suffer for my name.
And that is the part that Iwanted to read to everybody.
So God has a mission for all ofus.
God has a purpose and a planfor all of us.
And I wanted to read toeverybody so God has a mission
for all of us.
God has a purpose and a planfor all of us.
And I used to think to myselfand again, if I'm, if I'm wrong
(13:13):
in this, kara, let me know andinterrupt me, but I I've always.
I don't think that God sitsthere and punishes people
necessarily for their choices,but at the same token, I believe
that God sits there andpunishes people necessarily for
their choices, but at the sametoken, I believe that God allows
us to have consequences for ouractions and for our choices.
And so I've always wondered youknow, paul had such a huge
(13:39):
ministry after he became Paul,so he was Saul at first.
He tortured, persecuted, wasabsolutely horrid to believers.
His conversion was real and hewas not afraid to speak the
truth in love.
(14:10):
And I always wondered, I'm like, so how is it that he just kind
of like gets off scot-free?
Well, anybody who chooses to bea believer, anybody who chooses
to cross that line fromreligion to relationship, to
really truly have a relationshipwith God, doesn't get off
scot-free.
In fact, the study notes in myBible talk about faith in Christ
(14:35):
brings great blessings, whichis so true.
I mean, there is no other waythat I would want to live than
to be a believer, but oftengreat suffering too, than to be
a believer, but often greatsuffering too.
Paul would suffer for his faith.
And then it tells us to see 2Corinthians 11, 23 to 27.
So I switched over to 2Corinthians 11, and it says this
(14:55):
it says are they servants ofChrist?
So whatever anyone else dare toboast about, I am speaking as a
fool.
This is Paul talking.
I also dare to boast about I amspeaking as a fool.
This is Paul talking I alsodare to boast about.
Are they Hebrews?
So am I.
Are they Israelites?
So am I.
Are they Abraham's descendants?
So am I.
Are they servants of Christ?
(15:15):
I am out of my mind to talklike this.
I am more.
I have worked much harder, beenin prison more frequently, been
flogged more severely, beenexposed to death again and again
.
Five times I received from theJews the 40 lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten withrods once I was culpated with
stones.
Three times I was shipwrecked.
(15:37):
I spent a night and a day inthe open sea.
I have been constantly on themove.
I have been in danger fromrivers, in danger from bandits,
in danger from my fellow Jews,in danger from Gentiles, in
danger in the city, in danger inthe country, in danger at sea
and in danger from falsebelievers.
I have labored and toiled andhave often gone without sleep.
(15:58):
I have known hunger and thirstand have often gone without food
.
I have been cold and naked.
Besides everything else, I facedaily the pressure of my
concern for all the churches.
So, basically, paul.
So I always grew up knowing thatthe Apostle Paul.
After his conversion, on theroad to Damascus, he became this
(16:21):
great, wonderful teacher.
He made tents and then hepreached also, so that he didn't
have to have other people likesupport his ministry.
He did all of these things andI always thought, okay.
So it talks about him going toprison, but he writes all these
books, these epistles from theNew Testament, in prison.
So he must have been in, likeyou know, the country club
(16:45):
prison, not the real prison.
But no, they direct me over to 2Corinthians 11.
And it tells me what kind ofstuff that he went through.
And he suffered greatly for hisfaith.
And you know what?
He never once stood down or henever once compromised or he
never once changed his mind.
(17:06):
And he also is famous I don'tremember where in the Bible it
says this but he's also famousfor saying I am content to live
in little, I'm content to livein much.
I've been rich, I've been poor,I've been everything in between
, I've been starving, I've hadtoo much to eat, and yet still
I'm content in whatever positionor place that God places me in.
(17:28):
So the apostle Paul is prettyamazing.
He he hated God but yet killpeople in the name of God quote
unquote because he was thisJewish scholar, sadducee, or
part of the Sanhedrin, so he waspart of the upper upper people
(17:51):
in the Jewish culture, but yetwhen he became a believer, he
became a believer.
There was like no going back.
And that I want to have.
I don't really want to live thelife that Paul lived.
To be honest with you, I don'twant to be flogged and I don't
want to go to jail and stufflike that.
Would I, yes, if I had to?
But I just have so much respectfor him.
(18:16):
Whenever I think of Paul, Ithink of the phrase he spoke the
truth in love.
He loved people so much that hedidn't care what culture said,
he didn't care what the popularthing was, he didn't want people
to go to hell.
And so he spoke the truth inlove, even if it hurt, even if
(18:40):
it wasn't what people wanted tohear.
And in that regard I liketotally respect Paul and can't
wait to meet him.
But in the other token, like hespoke the truth in love, so
like, what's he going to say tome up in heaven?
Um, sherry, dot, dot dot.
I don't, I don't really wantthat.
But then again, I'm halfkidding because I know up in
heaven it's not going to be likethat, like we're gonna.
(19:01):
We're going to all be perfect.
Tears are washed away, like allof our reunions and so forth
with people are going to beamazing.
So I'm half kidding about that,but I, I don't know, he, like
was a very intimidating person,but man, oh man, he was on fire
for God and he you knew, whenyou had an encounter with him,
(19:22):
who he loves, who he serves andwho his master was.
And so that's like myimpression of Paul in a nutshell
.
So what do you want to sayabout Paul?
Speaker 1 (19:37):
What is there not to say about Paul?
Because he, despite some thingsthat I'm like, really Paul, you
know, you know, at times, boyhas he always been one of my top
people, that I've always said Ican't wait to meet when I get
(20:00):
to heaven, because his ministryjust speaks to me.
I can't read the book ofPhilippians, for example,
without having a renewedstrength or renewed faith right,
without having a renewedstrength or renewed faith right.
This was a man and Sherry youtouched on this who had been so
badly beaten, who had been soblocked, who had been so in
(20:21):
prison.
And we're not talking, like yousaid, country club prisons,
we're talking like sewer-likeprisons in chains.
You know, you know, but yet OK,so I don't OK.
(20:46):
Like, for example, my husbandplays, plays guitar, and you
know, when you play the guitar alot, you get calluses on your
fingers Right, but they actuallyhelp you play longer, I mean
better, like in the long run.
And I guess the same thing couldbe said about anything like
people who use garden tools alot, or you know, and things
like that.
Your skin becomes a little bittougher and it seems like with
everything the enemy threw athim, or in every prison he found
(21:09):
himself in, or every time hefound himself in change, he got
changed.
He got stronger, he got tougher, he got bolder.
So it was almost as if everytest and I don't even know if I
can use the word test likeeverything that he went through
that was almost meant to breakhim, made him stronger, and I
(21:31):
think it's like that's gold.
Excuse me, I forgot what goldis called, but it's like that's
gold, the.
Excuse me, the the.
I forgot what gold is called,but it's like gold.
Right, sherry isn't Sherry.
The one isn't Sherry isn't gold, the one that's refined under
fire.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Oh no, that's a diamond.
Oh yeah, yeah, but gold.
I don't know what else golddoes, but yeah, that is a
diamond.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
You're right, yes, and it's like it's refined right
Under fire and I'm just likeboy.
If there was ever anyone whowas refined under fire, it was
him.
I mean, he grew thick skin, hehad the scars to prove
(22:13):
everything that he went through,and it didn't deter him, it
didn't stop him.
And, like you mentioned, sherry, I don't think any of us seek
out and say you know what?
I'm going to be a martyr and Ijust want all these things to
happen to me.
No, of course not.
We're human.
We don't desire that at all,and I don't even think Paul ever
(22:36):
desired that.
He just went where he was led togo by God, by the Holy Spirit.
He did what he was supposed todo and as a result of that, he
found himself in some verydangerous and very precarious
situations.
But he persevered, hepersevered and it was like every
(23:00):
flocking.
He got stronger Every time hewas in prison.
He just it just made him moredetermined and he just he did.
And you know, when you thinkabout him and I'm just going to
use David for a quick examplefrom the Old Testament David was
a mighty warrior and I mean thethings he'd done is beyond
(23:25):
explanation, the way God wasable to use him and his heart
towards God.
But David was kind of like hekind of whined about his
situations a little bit.
You know, you can go to thebook of Psalms, you know, and he
would just say, oh Lord, whyhave you closed your eyes to me
or your ears to me and thingslike that?
Right, sherry, you correct meif I'm wrong.
(23:47):
Paul doesn't do that, does he?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Well, that goes right back to the next point that I
was thinking about about Paul isthat he God?
God created him tough from dayone.
Yeah, he's tough before Pauleven knew what his purpose was
(24:12):
Like.
God creates certain people inthis world to be able to
withstand stuff that would breakthe majority of people and in
that regard, I have so much whatis the word I want Respect.
I have so much respect for Paulbecause he fulfilled the
(24:36):
purpose that God created in himbefore he was even born.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Mm-hmm, yeah, he was tough, he had thick skin and I'm
not going to go as far to saythat he didn't care that those
things were happening to himExcuse me, that's not the word
I'm looking for that he didn't.
That he wasn't in pain that'sthe word I'm looking for that he
wasn't in pain and that youknow he physically suffered from
(25:05):
that, but he wasn't acomplainer, right, he just
wasn't.
And he may have felt thosethings.
I mean, again, he's only human.
We do not worship Paul.
He's only human.
So, but he just, I don't thinkit was in his nature so it goes.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I don't think it was in his nature to complain, right
, he was kind of like the modernday or the old fashioned day,
rambo.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Yes, exactly, he just kind of, you know, he kept on
going.
And not only did he keep going,he praised the Lord in a
process, amen, he praised God ina process.
And it is just, I don't know,because I, you know, you can't
help but read through Paul'swhole entire journey, the good,
the bad, the ugly and the veryugly, and you ask yourself, hmm,
(26:00):
my, oh goodness, lord, would Ibe able to sustain that Like,
would I be able to just brush itall off and just keep my eyes
focused on you, like Paul did?
It's something we have to askourselves.
And only God knows the truth,right, only God knows the truth.
I, for instance, could say, ohLord, I would never do that,
(26:23):
never, never, never.
Kind of like Peter, right, whenhe was like, well, I would
never deny you, you know.
And then later he did.
Or I could say, oh Lord, I'llnever be able to do that, don't
put me in a position like that.
And he's like what are youtalking about?
You pass with fine colors,you'll come through, you know.
And so none of us really knowexcept God, and I think all we,
(26:48):
and I think all we can do isjust ask you, excuse me.
So just ask God Lord, whatevermay come is just ask you, excuse
me, to just ask God Lord,whatever may come, just give me
the strength that I need to beable to get through whatever
comes my way.
Just give us the strength tojust to get through it and for
me to accomplish your will in asituation.
And I think that's what Ilearned about Paul.
(27:09):
You know, yeah, I just that'sjust one of the things, you know
, I, I, I felt like I've I'velearned about Paul.
He's just, he's so resilient.
You know, um, it's one of thewords I just want to, I think,
emphasize he was just, he wasjust resilient, he was one tough
(27:32):
cookie, he was just resilient.
He was one tough cookie, youknow.
Yeah, he was one tough cookieand he never lost focus.
He just kept the path.
He just kept going.
He just kept going.
I think that's the word.
(27:53):
I just that's what I would liketo leave readers with is just,
no matter how down it looks, nomatter how hopeless it looks,
because while he's writing theseepistles in prison, he didn't
know if he was going to ever getout or not.
Right know, you know, but itdidn't matter.
(28:17):
It didn't matter.
He was going to still do whathe felt like the Lord had called
, that he had been called to do,and he just kept the faith and
he just kept going.
And I and again I just one ofthe things that really stood out
, stands out to me is that hejust did not complain.
That to me and I keepemphasizing that, because I'm
not sure I could have done thesame thing I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I think it's because he kept his focus on God and he
kept his focus on the mission.
Like he?
I honestly well not sometimes.
I honestly believe that peoplewho have either not grown up in
a Christian environment, withChristian parents and a
Christian upbringing, or peoplewho have strayed and then come
(28:59):
back, I honestly think that theyhave a deeper appreciation for
their relationship with.
God, because they know what itis to not have it, and I can't
stop thinking about when he,paul, was shipwrecked and I
believe you'd have to read thestory yourself because I don't
know if I have all the detailsright but I believe that, like
(29:22):
God had told him ahead of time,this is what's going to happen.
This is what I want you to do.
This is, you know, kind of likethose 007 movies or the like.
Get smarter.
The mission possible.
This is what's going to happento you, paul.
These are the you know, becausegod well, I think we've learned
(29:45):
from all of um the different uhbible stories that we have read
about that god does not makeyou guess, like he doesn't.
He doesn't keep you guessing,he tells you ahead of time
what's going to happen.
It's whether or not you want tolisten to him or whether or not
you want to obey, but anyway.
So he told Paul during this oneparticular time you're going to
(30:05):
get shipwrecked.
This is what's going to happen.
This is what I need you to do.
You're going to land on thisisland.
This is what I want to happen.
Blah, blah, blah.
Well, paul, you know,everything went the way that god
said it was going to.
Paul was not surprised.
They get to the um, the island,and they start looking for wood
, and so because they were goingto build a fire, because they
(30:27):
were cold and tired, and allthat stuff, and so there he
reached into this wood pile andhe pulled out a viper and the
viper bit him.
And Paul was so focused on whatGod had told him he needed to do
that Paul shook the viper offthe snake.
It was a poisonous snake.
For those who don't know what aviper is, I didn't necessarily
(30:47):
know that at first, a long timeago.
So if you're reading and youare listening and you don't know
what a viper is, it's a snake,a poisonous snake, and so all of
the people are watching inwonder, waiting for him to heal
over and die but let's go, we'vegot stuff to do people.
He's like you're wasting timetype of a thing.
So like he knew his mission, hewas on point and he didn't let
(31:09):
anything distract him.
I almost kind of feel and and Idon't think it says this in the
bible, maybe it does but Ialmost kind of feel, and I don't
think it says this in the Bible, maybe it does, but I almost
kind of feel like he was like Iwasted so much time earlier in
life chasing after the wrongthing that I've got a lot to
make up for.
So I don't have time for ifyou're not going to be part of
(31:30):
the program or part of thesolution, then you need to get
out of the way, because I gotstuff to do, places to go, I got
.
I got a God to take care of anda God to serve.
Not that he had to take care ofGod, but I mean he has a God to
serve, a mission that Godwanted him to do, and so I just
kind of I don't know.
I have a lot of respect forPaul.
Like I said, there's a littlebit of me that is intimidated by
(31:52):
Paul.
But the more I read about himand the more that I study him
and he just honestly goodness,we love people and he didn't
want anyone else to go throughwhat he went through of not
having that relationship withGod.
9, god used him mightily tospeak the truth, to speak God's
(32:19):
truth to the Gentiles, and thatis a key component.
Even though he was a Jewhimself, he was a key component
for the gospel being spread tothe Gentile people, being spread
to the Gentile people.
And if it wasn't for Paul, Iwould not necessarily be a
(32:40):
believer, because I'm a Gentileand I would not have heard or
had the opportunity to become abeliever.
So thank you, paul.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
And you know what I want to piggyback on something
you said earlier.
Piggyback on something you saidearlier how he was bit by a
snake and everyone was sittingthere waiting for him to kill
over and die.
He lived, right, he lived, hedid not die.
But it just made me wonder inour Christian journeys, how many
(33:11):
times have people thought wewere down and out and we were
about to kill over?
Right, not necessarilyphysically, but they didn't
expect for us to rebound afterthat job loss or after the loss
of a loved one.
You know they just thought wewere down and out.
Or you know we lost our homes.
(33:31):
Or you know cars were taken, oryou know careers were shattered
and or destroyed.
You know things like that, whenpeople just really counted you
out and they were just waitingfor you to kill over and be like
I'm done, I'm giving up thefaith.
I thought God was going to seeme through this.
He didn't, you know, and or youknow you just kind of just take
(33:55):
to your bed and never get out,and they were just sitting there
just waiting for him to killover.
But he was so focused on whathe was doing that it didn't even
bother him.
It didn't even bother him.
And to me, that's just anotherreason why I just admire his
tenacity so much and his passionso much, because it teaches us
(34:18):
that as long as we stay focusedon God, we're going to be all
right.
We're going to survive even whenthe enemy fires fiery darts our
way, even when we get bit byquote, unquoteunquote poisonous,
toxic snakes, you know, andeveryone else thinking well,
they're done for, oh, that's it.
(34:40):
They've been through a lot, butthey're not going to come out
of this one, you know, and God'sjust like oh yeah, you know.
Kind of reminds me of Job, whenSatan was like oh well, that's
only because you bless him, youtake away his blessings, and
he's not going to be that way.
Do you see what I'm saying?
They were just waiting him, hisfriends and everyone else was.
(35:01):
His wife even said why don'tyou just curse God and die?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Because there was just no everyone had counted him
out but God.
And somehow, intuitively,spiritually, I should say Paul
knew that, he knew it, he knew,he just knew and he just stayed
focused on what he knew.
And I'm sorry, Cher, I just ranoff on a rant.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
No, you didn't go off on a rant at all.
I want to actually piggyback onthat and say and God, okay.
So God created Paul with thepersonality that he did Because
he knew the mission that he hadfor him.
He also knew that Paul wouldeventually become a believer.
He knew that Paul would do thegreat things that he called Paul
(35:52):
to do.
He knew that Paul would do thegreat things that he called Paul
to do.
But he also used Paul's time.
So I don't think that he chosefor Saul pre-Paul days.
I don't think he chose for Saulto be a Sanhedrin and to kill
(36:16):
Stephen and to be a part of allof that.
But he knew that Paul saw wasgoing to and he used that time
in his life for good.
So it goes back to Romans 8, 28.
All things work together forgood.
Those who love God are calledaccording to his purpose.
Paul was absolutely 100% calledaccording to God's purpose and
(36:36):
he used all that training thatPaul got when he was Saul,
before he became Paul and beforethe conversion.
So again, I don't think thatGod, I don't think it was part
of God's plan for him to not bea believer and I don't think it
was part of God's plan forStephen to die at the hands of
(36:57):
Paul.
But God used all of that, andhe used that period of time,
that training, in his life forgood so that when he became a
believer he already had all thatknowledge.
He didn't have to then spend 20years learning the.
Torah learning the books of theBible.
(37:18):
He knew it, so he was able tojumpstart his ministry right
away, and so God is doing thesame thing for us.
So where are you in your lifeor let's say that you have lived
a life far from God and all ofa sudden you have become a
(37:39):
believer.
What in your past is God goingto use, or has he used, to
prepare you for the plan and themission and the purpose and the
destiny that he put in yourheart when he formed you in your
mother's womb?
God, that is the kind of Godthat we serve.
That is the God that we serve,not just the kind, but that is
(38:00):
the God we serve.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
He takes everything, every circumstance, every
instance, every experienceEverything that the enemy meant
for bad, exactly.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
And he uses it for good, and that, I think, is a
great way to end on our notetoday, because only God.
So if you are Stephen and youare being martyred, whether
physically or whether bullied orthreatened or persecuted at
(38:34):
work, remember God is rightthere with you.
You are not dealing with italone.
Look up and ask God to showhimself to you, ask him how he
is going to rescue you.
Sometimes the rescuing meansyou go to heaven, meaning he'll
take you out of the situation.
Sometimes it'll just providecomfort while you're in it.
(38:54):
If you are a stall and you'rerunning from god or you have,
you want nothing to do with god,but you're wondering, after
talking today or listening tothe podcast today is god really
real?
Does he do stuff like that in2024, like he did, you know, way
back when?
Have a conversation with him.
(39:15):
I'm challenging you to have aconversation and ask God to show
himself to you.
Show himself real to you.
And if you are Paul and you havemaybe you've grown up in the
church your whole life.
Maybe you've never had aconversion story, but you've
just always had a heart for GodOne kudos to you, because God
(39:36):
can use.
God uses everybody.
He uses the people who havegone astray and come back.
He uses the people who havechosen to never go astray and to
just stay on the straight andnarrow and just develop their
relationship with him.
But ask God to say what is itthat you want me to do and how
do you want to use my life?
What in my past training areyou going to use for your good?
(40:00):
And show me how you want me todo that, or how are you
preparing me?
What do you have me incurrently that you're going to
use for your good and use foryour service down the road, for
your good and use for yourservice down the road?
So I mean Paul, I just I hopethat we got you excited about
him and that you're ready toread about him yourself, because
(40:20):
Paul is so complex and there isso much about him.
He has written so many books ofthe New Testament that it would
take many, many, many episodesto cover all of Paul.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
And then we would even be touching on it.
That's just the beginning.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
And so, like we've always said in the past, we just
want to get you excited tolearn about these biblical
figures for yourself.
So drop us a comment in anemail cheeruppodcasts at
gmailcom, if you want to let usknow what your thoughts are
about the podcast today.
Or feel free to start aconversation in the Facebook
(41:05):
group Cheer Up Podcast onFacebook.
Um, also, we were talking atthe beginning of the episode
today that if you are interestedand you would want one of us to
be a part of the book club, um,email us at cheer up podcast at
gmailcom.
We would absolutely love to tojoin one of your um one of your
(41:29):
group nights, whether it's thefirst one, the last one, one in
the middle, whatever it is, wewould love to do that.
So if you want to feature oneof our books, feel free to email
us and we'll go from there.
Check out Tara's website,tarahrhuntcom, and remember her
(41:50):
books are all in audiobook aswell.
So if you like audiobooksversus reading the books
yourself, um, paper dolls all ofthem are in audiobook, which is
amazing, completely awesome.
If you want to check out themembership to grow your
relationship with god jesus inthe everyday, that's over on my
(42:10):
website.
We both actually also haveYouTube channels.
If you want to check those out,those are on our website.
So KaraRHuntcom andSherrySlowellcom.
And yeah, john1633 says thesethings.
I have spoken to you that in meyou may have peace In the world
.
You will have tribulations, butbe of good cheer, I have
(42:33):
overcome the world.
I think that Paul is a reallygreat example of finding his
peace in God, despite all of thetrials and the tribulations
that he faced in this worldbecause he most certainly didn't
start facing major trials andtribulations, it seems, until he
became a believer.
So from the outside worldlyperspective, it looks as though
(42:57):
he did worse in life once hechose to accept Jesus.
But we all know that thesuffering that happens on this
earth is temporary compared tothe eternal glory that we have
up in heaven with God.
And just like God was withStephen when he was being
martyred, god was with Paul whenhe was suffering as well.
(43:20):
So don't think that justbecause Paul had martyred or had
been a part of martyringStephen, that God wasn't he was
going to ignore him and notcomfort him or be with him when
he himself was being torturedand flogged and all those things
that.
1 Corinthians 11, 23 through 20.
(43:43):
Let me make sure I got thatright for you.
I wrote it down One second.
Well, sorry, I lost my paper,but it was 2 Corinthians 11, I
think, 23 through 27.
Um, god was with Paul just asmuch as he was with Stephen,
because God is with all of hischildren, and God was, was
(44:05):
paying attention to and callingSaul, even when he was running
from his purpose and his destinythat God had originally given
him.
So remember that too.
I want to give you thatencouragement as well, that God
loves us all so much that hedoesn't want anyone to not be a
(44:26):
believer, to not have arelationship with him.
He wants all of us to have arelationship with him, a true
godly relationship.
So I hope that our talk aboutPaul today was very encouraging,
and we would really love tohear your thoughts on Paul and
also on what we talked abouttoday.
(44:46):
So drop us an email, start aconversation in the Facebook
group, and next week we're goingto talk about Barnabas, who is
known as the encourager, and I'mexcited to hear what Kara is
going to tell us about Barnabas.
So have a great rest of yourday today, have a great week and
we will talk to you next week.
Thank you.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!