But it is tedious to describe in detail all my labours one by one. I will tell briefly how our most holy God frequently delivered me, from slavery, and from the twelve trials with which my soul was threatened, from man traps as well, and from things I am not able to put into words.
I would not cause offense to readers, but I have God as witness who knew all things even before they happened, that, though I was a poor ignorant waif, still he gave me abundant warnings through divine prophecy. Whence came to me this wisdom which was not my own, I who neither knew the number of days nor had knowledge of God?
Whence came the so great and so healthful gift of knowing or rather loving God, though I should lose homeland and family. And many gifts were offered to me with weeping and tears, and I offended them, and also went against the wishes of a good number of my elders; but guided by God, I neither agreed with them nor deferred to them, not by my own grace but by God who is victorious in me and withstands them all, so that I might come to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure insults from unbelievers; that I might hear scandal of my travels, and endure many persecutions to the extent of prison; and so that I might give up my free birthright for the advantage of others, and if I should be worthy, I am ready [to relinquish] even my life without hesitation; and most willingly for His name.
And I choose to devote it to him even unto death, if God grant it to me. I am greatly God’s debtor, because he granted me so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth, just as he once promised through his prophets:
“To you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited naught but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit [Jeremiah 16:19].” And again: “I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth [Acts 13:47].”
Month: March 2013
Offering Yourself As A Living Sacrifice
Patrick discusses his calling to Ireland. He intends to tell us all the things he lived through to spread the word to those in Ireland. I love the concept Patrick presents when talking about answering God’s call. He says when we answer our calling from God we “offer ourselves as living sacrifice for Christ”.
Again, boldly, but God knows, if this had been made known to me by man, I might, perhaps, have kept silent for the love of Christ.
Thus I give untiring thanks to God who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I may confidently offer my soul as a living sacrifice for Christ my Lord; who am I, Lord? or, rather, what is my calling? that you appeared to me in so great a divine quality, so that today among the barbarians I might constantly exalt and magnify your name in whatever place I should be, and not only in good fortune, but even in affliction?
So that whatever befalls me, be it good or bad, I should accept it equally, and give thanks always to God who revealed to me that I might trust in him, implicitly and forever, and who will encourage me so that, ignorant, and in the last days, I may dare to undertake so devout and so wonderful a work; so that I might imitate one of those whom, once, long ago, the Lord already pre-ordained to be heralds of his Gospel to witness to all peoples to the ends of the earth.
So are we seeing, and so it is fulfilled; behold, we are witnesses because the Gospel has been preached as far as the places beyond which no man lives
People look at lives like Patrick’s and see the sacrifice. Return to the land where you were held a slave and be persecuted in order to spread the word of God. Yet we forget we are all called. No, we are not all called to a foreign land.
Sometimes we are called to humble ourselves and be a servant to our family or to a stranger who crosses our path.
A person with incredible talents, who could be rich and famous, is called to use those talents in a manner where no one may ever know them. Or a person with celebrity status called to tell the world of their love for Christ and then face the ridicule and mockery.
Too often we think about Christ answering our prayers and we fall into the trap of believing God molds to our will. He does answer our prayers, but we are suppose to conform to his will. We might want to be the wealthy doctor with a big practice who goes once a year on a mission trip. God may have called us to be a part time doctor, a mother homeschooling her children and working at the free clinic on weekends.
When we heed God’s call, there will be voices trying to either tear us down or flatter us into a different path. But we need to ignore those voices and listen intently for God’s plan for our life.
Patrick believed he gave his life as a living sacrifice when he obeyed God and returned to Ireland.
Romans12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Patrick Grieves For The Friend Who Betrayed Him
Friends betray us sometimes intentionally often with no malice. Patrick’s friend promises to fight for him. The missionary has decided to return to Ireland and tell them about Jesus’ love for them. He left without defending himself. The friend who once forgave him now attacks.
But rather, I am grieved for my very close friend, that because of him we deserved to hear such a prophecy. The one to whom I entrusted my soul! And I found out from a goodly number of brethren, before the case was made in my defense (in which I did not take part, nor was I in Britain, nor was it pleaded by me), that in my absence he would fight in my behalf.
Besides, he told me himself: “See, the rank of bishop goes to you”– of which I was not worthy.
But how did it come to him, shortly afterwards, to disgrace me publicly, in the presence of all, good and bad, because previously, gladly and of his own free will, he pardoned me, as did the Lord, who is greater than all?
I have said enough. But all the same, I ought not to conceal God’s gift which he lavished on us in the land of my captivity, for then I sought him resolutely, and I found him there, and he preserved me from all evils (as I believe) through the in-dwelling of his Spirit, which works in me to this day.
When we feel betrayed by friends, acquaintances or just people remember God does not betray us. Walk in obedience to His commands and He walks with you. No promise of an easy path, but a promise to never leave you. Patrick felt the Spirit as a gift which preserved him from all evils.
Whose Voice
Patrick must decide whose voice to hear. The voice of God telling him to return to Ireland where he will work with those who have not heard about Christ. Or the voice of those who do not wish him to go.
Ephesian 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Patrick’s words:
On the other hand, I did not proceed to Hibernia of my own accord until I was almost giving up, but through this I was corrected by the Lord, and he prepared me so that today I should be what was once far from me, in order that I should have the care of– or rather, I should be concerned for– the salvation of others, when at that time, still, I was only concerned for myself.
Therefore, on that day when I was rebuked, as I have just mentioned, I saw in a vision of the night a document before my face, without honour, and meanwhile I heard a divine prophecy, saying to me:
“We have seen with displeasure the face of the chosen one divested of name.” And he did not say “You have seen with displeasure”, but “We have seen with displeasure” (as if He included Himself) .
He said then: “He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye.” For that reason, I give thanks to him who strengthened me in all things, so that I should not be hindered in my setting out and also in my work which I was taught by Christ my Lord; but more, from that state of affairs I felt, within me, no little courage, and vindicated my faith before God and man.
Hence, therefore, I say boldly that my conscience is clear now and hereafter. God is my witness that I have not lied in these words to you.
Patrick decides to listen to God’s voice. My favorite line in the write up of Patrick’s vision.
“He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye.”
This was Patrick’s vision, but I think it is true for all who love the Lord and who decide to follow the path God has laid out for them.
With Friends Like These
God forgives sins.
Psalm 103
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
But humans remember everything they think we have done. They judge and attack when the whim suits them. Once God has forgiven us we should not allow people to hold us bondage to our past sins. We are free to follow God. He washed away our sins and prepares us for a great work.
People often try to keep us bound to our sins and sabotage the work we would do for the Lord. They attempt to make us doubt ourselves. They refuse to do the work God has laid out and they will try to stop you from following His instructions.
As Patrick found out.
“ And then I was attacked by a goodly number of my elders, who [mentioned] my sins against my arduous episcopate. That day in particular I was mightily upset, and might have fallen here and for ever; but the Lord generously spared me, a convert, and an alien, for his name’s sake, and he came powerfully to my assistance in that state of being trampled down.
I pray God that it shall not be held against them as a sin that I fell truly into disgrace and scandal. They brought up against me after thirty years an occurrence I had confessed before becoming a deacon.
On account of the anxiety in my sorrowful mind, I laid before my close friend what I had perpetrated on a day– nay, rather in one hour– in my boyhood because I was not yet proof against sin. God knows– I do not– whether I was fifteen years old at the time, and I did not then believe in the living God, nor had I believed, since my infancy; but I remained in death and unbelief until I was severely rebuked, and in truth I was humbled every day by hunger and nakedness.
The Call
Before we read this section of Patrick’s story, let’s look at a few references he makes. Hibernia is a Roman name for Ireland. Victoricus was a Roman missionary who brought the gospel to the celtic people of Europe. Foclut is likely a forest on the western side of Ireland and people suspect the place where Patrick was a slave.
And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Hibernia with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: “The Voice of the Hibernians”, and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: “We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.” And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke.
Thanks be to God, because after so many years the Lord bestowed on them according to their cry.
And another night– God knows, I do not, whether within me or beside me– most words which I heard and could not understand, except at the end of the speech it was represented thus: “He who gave his life for you, he it is who speaks within you.” And thus I awoke, joyful.
And on a second occasion I saw Him praying within me, and I was as it were, inside my own body , and I heard Him above me– that is, above my inner self. He was praying powerfully with sighs. And in the course of this I was astonished and wondering, and I pondered who it could be who was praying within me. But at the end of the prayer it was revealed to me that it was the Spirit. And so I awoke and remembered the Apostle’s words: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we know not how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for utterance [Romans 8:26].” And again: “The Lord our advocate intercedes for us [Romans 8:27].”
God placed dreams in Patrick’s head involving a famous missionary who died for Christ and letters from those of the land where Patrick had escaped. God called Patrick to return to Ireland and tell those who lived there about Jesus.
Since God spoke to Patrick through a series of dreams, I have a notion Patrick was not wild about the idea at first. It took more than one call. He never says it, but remember he mentioned his mom and dad did not want him to ever leave again. But eventually, Patrick heard God’s call.
Home
On the sixtieth night the Lord delivered me from their hands.
On the journey he provided us with food and fire and dry weather every day, until on the tenth day we came upon people. As I mentioned above, we had journeyed through an unpopulated country for twenty-eight days, and in fact the night that we came upon people we had no food.
And after a few years I was again in Britain with my parents, and they welcomed me as a son, and asked me, in faith, that after the great tribulations I had endured I should not go any where else away from them.
God deliver’s Patrick once again. He eventually makes it home to his mother and father. Don’t you love it. His parents asked that after all he has gone through that he should not go any where else.
I imagine his mother seeing a son she believes is gone for good rushes out to grab him around the neck when he nears their home. Captured and carried to a foreign land, she could not even know if her son was alive or dead. Like the prodigal son’s father I envision Patrick’s dad running to his son. They must have shaken their heads in disbelief as their son recounted all he had lived through.
Mom clings to her son kissing his head (the son she feared dead) and telling him to never ever leave her again.
Patrick must feel God has delivered him to the place where he is suppose to be.
Again? Really?
Some Christians hold to the idea that if we believe in God and trust Him; then we will not see trouble in our lives. Patrick’s life shows a man of great faith and prayer. A man obedient to God’s commands who faced many trials. God acted over and over in Patrick’s life, but that does not mean hardships didn’t also come into Patrick’s life. He had one reaction each time–prayer.
Patrick,as a slave, prayed night and day. God answered the prayers and set him free. He reached a ship but they tell him “no go”. Then in a flash, after prayer, they agree to let him sail with them. The ship lands and they end up in no man’s land for days with no food. Patrick prays and food appears. Those with Patrick take Christ as their savior. Immediately after, Patrick is attacked in his sleep.
And a second time, after many years, I was taken captive. On the first night I accordingly remained with my captors, but I heard a divine prophecy, saying to me: “You shall be with them for two months.” So it happened.
Patrick trusted God. But when I hear Patrick talking here, I think I know how he felt. You lean on God and come through a spiritual journey. You are on the back side and you are thinking how God brought you through. You might even be feeling a little good about how you trusted and God was faithful. How you learned a spiritual lesson.
And then there you are and you are back where you started. In Patrick’s case, a slave again.
The Spirit Speaks What We Do Not Know To Speak
Patrick, a man of prayer, at this moment cries out without even understanding his own prayer. He believes the Holy Spirit prayed for him when he did not know what to pray.
The very same night while I was sleeping Satan attacked me violently, as I will remember as long as I shall be in this body; and there fell on top of me as it were, a huge rock, and not one of my members had any force. But from whence did it come to me, ignorant in the spirit, to call upon Elijah?
And meanwhile I saw the sun rising in the sky, and while I was crying out “Elijah, Elijah” with all my might, lo, the brilliance of that sun fell upon me and immediately shook me free of all the weight; and I believe that I was aided by Christ my Lord, and that his Spirit then was crying out for me, and I hope that it will be so in the day of my affliction, just as it says in the Gospel:
“In that hour”, the Lord declares, “it is not you who speaks but the Spirit of your Father speaking in you [Matthew 10:20].”
Romans 8:26
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Questioning God.
Do people ever ask you questions about God? Why does God allow things to happen? Here those on the boat started questioning Patrick.
. And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight days journeyed through uninhabited country, and the food ran out and hunger overtook them; and one day the steersman began saying: “Why is it, Christian? You say your God is great and all-powerful; then why can you not pray for us? For we may perish of hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we shall ever see another human being.”
Matthew 17:
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
And thus, Patrick told them they should trust Jesus and have faith.
In fact, I said to them, confidently: “Be converted by faith with all your heart to my Lord God, because nothing is impossible for him, so that today he will send food for you on your road, until you be sated, because everywhere he abounds.”And with God’s help this came to pass; and behold, a herd of swine appeared on the road before our eyes, and they slew many of them, and remained there for two nights, and they were full of their meat and well restored, for many of them had fainted and would otherwise have been left half dead by the wayside.And after this they gave the utmost thanks to God, and I was esteemed in their eyes, and from that day they had food abundantly. They discovered wild honey, besides, and they offered a share to me, and one of them said: “It is a sacrifice.” Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.
Fourth Day Adventures 