In my first article, we discussed the fire triangle of heat, fuel, and oxygen as a way to understand a faith-sharing movement in our lives and in our churches. Looking to God’s word, we see these three elements as well, especially in the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
Heat: Paul’s Encounter With Jesus on the Damascus Road
Paul encounters the Heat of his faith when he’s on the road to Damascus going to persecute Christians (Acts 9). Jesus meets him right where he is, even asking him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Jesus invites Paul to surrender to Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Paul already had an intensity for his faith tradition, but it was about rules and regulations. He meets Jesus, gets baptized and is filled with the power of the Spirit. His passion shifts from persecuting the followers of Jesus to reaching people who do not know Jesus, so there can be more followers of Jesus.
His faith ignites from his experience with Jesus Christ. He cannot contain it. He is filled with a passion to want to share the gospel with the people who do not know Jesus, both Jews and the Gentiles. If we also want others to know Jesus, we need to check our passion. Our passion needs to be for Jesus. We must surrender to Jesus as Lord and be filled with the Holy Spirit to have heat for our faith. Our passion will shift to follow Jesus and reach others who do not know him.
Fuel: How Paul Prepared to Share the Gospel
Now, when Paul is on fire and has the heat, he actually doesn’t immediately go on his missionary journeys. It says in Galatians 1 that he goes away to study in Arabia, where he receives the right knowledge of Fuel for his faith. He studies God’s Word in a new and fresh way, through the lens of Jesus. After three years, he goes to meet with Peter and the other apostles who walked with Jesus, so he can be filled by their stories of Jesus and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. When he finally goes out, he carries with him a powerful fuel to share the gospel. Everywhere he goes, he observes where he’s at in order to find a way to connect with people.Â
One of the greatest examples of this is in Acts 17 when he goes to Athens. He goes to Mars Hill and says, “I see you are very religious. I see that you have a statue about an unknown God. Let me tell you about who that unknown God is; His name is Jesus”. To tell them about Jesus, he uses two different Greek poets. He understands their context and simply offers them Christ. Some people respond and believe, while some persecute and ridicule him. Often, we feel the weight of sharing our faith because we want a certain outcome, but the outcome is not our responsibility. We are called to plant seeds and water seeds; God gives the increase. We need to be like Paul and be fueled with God’s Word and by the community of faith to go out to share the Gospel in a contextually relevant way. We need to see where people find meaning and direct them through relationship and care to the Gospel.
Oxygen: Calling, Accountability, and a Plan for Movement
When it comes to Oxygen for our faith, it needs to be built on commitment to the call, accountable relationships, and movement. We see this lived out deeply in Paul’s life. He is adamant and clear in his calling to be the apostle to the Gentiles, which helps him persevere through all of the challenges he faces — being thrown in prison, stoned, bitten by a snake, shipwrecked, and ridiculed. His call is extremely powerful in his life. We all as followers of Jesus are called to be witnesses of the Gospel. We need to ground our faith in this reality. It will sustain us.Â
When it comes to accountability, he models it beautifully. It’s not just Paul; it’s Paul and Barnabas, Paul and John Mark, Paul and Silas, Paul and Timothy, Paul and Lydia, Paul and Titus. He does faith sharing together and equips others for the work. Who is journeying with you through your faith journey? Who is supporting you through the challenges of following Jesus? Who are you sharing this ministry of faith sharing with?
Paul also exemplifies movement as he follows a plan for the transformation he wants to see. When he goes to a new city, he has a strategy. He goes to the synagogue first, and when people do not listen, he goes to people who have not heard, the Gentiles. Then he starts building up leaders, so that when he leaves, those leaders take over. He has a great plan to keep the fire spreading. We too need to think strategically about how we and our churches reach people who have never heard the Gospel.
I am grateful for the faith-sharing fire that burned within Paul. He allowed his encounter with Jesus to transform his passions to a heat that burned within him. He spent time in God’s Word to fuel him for the journey; sharing the Gospel in a faithful and contextual way. He continued to persevere in his faith and faith-sharing journey like Oxygen on a flame as he remembered his call, leaned into others, and planned for how God could work so more people could know Jesus. Because Paul told someone, who told someone, who told someone, who eventually told you. Who might it be in your life that doesn’t know Jesus? I encourage you to pray for them every day this week, that the Lord might open a door and a place for you to go in and connect.