1 Timothy 1:12-17 The Trustworthy Statement

You're listening to the podcast of Recast Church in Matawan, Michigan. This week,

Pastor Don Filsack preaches through his three -part series Overcoming Christmas Doubts. Let's listen in Well, good morning

Recast Church. I'm Don Filsack I'm the lead pastor here and I'd like to start off by welcoming everybody here to our gathering

I'm glad that you're here and have taken time out of your busy weeks Especially over the holidays to come out and and join us together in the worship of our great

God For the next few weeks. How many of you like Christmas? You enjoy Christmastime? I love this season.

It's really awesome For the next few weeks. We're gonna be hearing songs Celebrating the arrival of our

King in public places. Have some of you already heard that? I mean, they're celebrating the arrival of our

King That's a that's an awesome and glorious thing and you hear that in the shopping malls and you hear it around We see nativities

Celebrating the arrival of our King even in public spaces this country that we live in is an amazing place and still an amazing place and The reality is even right downtown,

Matawan There's a nativity scene in the public park right right down there And so it's a pretty cool thing that we're gonna see and we're also hopefully gonna have many opportunities to convey

The love of Christ to those around us in our families as well as even those

Coworkers neighbors and people around us and so I'm struggling a little bit because I'm used to having a head mic and I recognize every

Time I turn this way Some of you can't hear me. So I'm gonna try to talk a little bit louder here the my head mic

I loaned to the kids department, you know, they're doing this cute little thing this morning They're like, can we have your head set? And I was like, okay so and I don't do so good with one of these in my hands because otherwise

I can't I don't know if you notice I Can't talk when my hands are full like I just I don't have anything to say then so I've got to move my hands a lot

So anyways, that's why I'm talking into this thing. So that's not normal, but we'll get through that this morning in my introduction here

I'm this morning. We're gonna start a short three -part series on overcoming

Christmas doubts the reality in our culture and even in our own hearts is

The need to overcome those doubts that arise in every one of us at times

Here at recast we we value growing in faith That's one of our core values here

And let me say clearly that I do not believe that faith is the absence of all doubt

You can have faith and still struggle and wrestle from time to time with doubts I'm gonna be would just just raise your hand and testify that there are times in your life and season in your life where you've

Had doubts and you've had to wrestle through those and that's a that's a part of a growing faith That's part of admitting that and recognizing it and dealing with it not letting it go not pushing it off as a backburner issue but it's it's allowing that to to press in and and think that through and so that's a that's a regular and routine part of What it means to have a relationship with God with a

God you can't see right a God that a God that I mean How many of you actually have seen God you haven't seen him with your eyes?

And so it takes faith and it takes growing and it takes overcoming doubts But the reality is

I think we also know that as much as we recognize that all of us will struggle with doubt from time to time that we also know that Doubts in our hearts slow us down in our relationship with God and without without addressing them without dealing with them

They can really become a hindrance to what God wants to do and and further

Doubts in our culture keep people from taking Christ seriously. That's why that's been part

Why I'm Christmas is such a commercialized season that's in part because we like to add on and tack on things when we think that the

Base level is silly then we add other silliness to it and just make it kind of frivolous and fun

Without really getting down to of course the cliche the reason for the season So this morning we're gonna be starting from place of solid and stable ground

From God's Word the place that we turn to to know what God Says and to trust it and to believe it is true

We're gonna be looking at what the Apostle Paul calls a trustworthy statement in our text and this trustworthy and faithful statement

Transform the Apostle Paul in such a radical way that believing this statement that we're gonna be reading this morning

Actually turned his entire life upside down and it has the power to do that for each and every one of us

So then over the next two weeks leading up to Christmas on this series We're gonna be looking at the doubts of Mary and then the doubts of Joseph Both people who in a recorded for us

Their story is recorded for us in Scripture as people who actually struggled with doubt about Christmas straight up doubted how this whole thing was gonna come together and We're gonna see that trusting what

God is doing in our lives like Mary Overcomes doubts and further through Joseph will see trusting what

God is doing in others around us is Part of overcoming doubts as well But for this morning before the kids come and lead us in the

Christmas program Let's open up our Bibles if you're not already there to 1st Timothy chapter 1 verses 12 through 17

Not probably your traditional text for Christmas But we'll see how it ties in here in just a moment

If you don't have a Bible with you, you can reach down on on the seat below you there is a

Bible and it's page 576 in that Bible, so if you don't have a device or a means to navigate to the

Bible or didn't bring your own we want everybody to be able to see that the Things that I'm reading are coming from God's Word to be able to follow along And I read out of the

English Standard Version just happens to be my favorite, but not the only one out there So again 1st Timothy chapter 1 verses 12 through 17

God's very words that we have the privilege of reading here together This morning and again 1st

Timothy 12 chapter 1 verses 12 through 17. I Thank him who has given me strength

Christ Jesus our Lord because he judged me faithful Appointing me to his service though formerly.

I was a blasphemer Persecutor an insolent opponent, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorant

Ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Of whom I am foremost but I received mercy for this reason that in me as the foremost

Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as An example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life to the king of the ages immortal

Invisible the only God be honor and glory forever and ever

Amen Let's bow our heads together in prayer Father I rejoice that here at the kickoff of our series on Christmas we have an opportunity to hear from the kids the the true meaning of what

Christmas is all about Father I just pray that even even just the the trying to get ourselves re -centered can become so cliche it can become even a cliche it on top of a cliche to Remember that you're the reason for the season and at the same time father

I pray that you would press in our hearts a new something that we've celebrated I've celebrated 44 of these so far this is the 44th

Christmas and Many of us could add our own number to that and recognize that it's a routine and it becomes a pattern and it becomes

Something that's cyclical in our lives and something that's fun and easy to celebrate but easy to miss the point

And so father I pray that over this Christmas that we would be able to identify and see That you sent your son into the world

He came into the world to save sinners Sinners like the Apostle Paul and sinners like us so father

I pray that you would press that down in us and allow it to flow out of us and allow it to bubble up and to just be proclaimed

As we interact with others around us fathers. We have an opportunity to praise you in song right now I pray that you would help us to lift our voices up and rejoicing to you in Gratitude and thankfulness for what you have done for us.

You have loved us so well You've given us so much grace and so much mercy and so many blessings

So I pray that we would respond in thankfulness now in Jesus name. Amen yeah, you can go to be seated and I do encourage you to get comfortable over the next half an hour or so and If you need more coffee or juice or doughnuts,

I don't know if there's any doughnuts left but coffee and juice back there At any time during the message, you're not going to distract me if you need to get up at all

I'm during the message, but I do ask that you please keep your Bibles open to first Timothy 1 12 through 17 if you lost your place there in the shuffle with all the cuteness and the kids and all that stuff you can open back up to that and see

I love it when you have the Bible open on a device or You know an actual paper copy that you can actually see and follow along with the things that I'm saying

The reality is the world has been changed by Christmas I think we all know that and we know that in our heads at least

I've personally been changed by Christmas the Apostle Paul here in our text is gonna say he was changed by Christmas and And my hope and prayer for each and every one of us is that somehow over the next season maybe even this morning by encountering

This text you may be changed by Christmas as well. And obviously when I'm talking about Christmas I'm not talking about just December 25th, you know, like you've had a really important Christmas sometime in your past But that you actually understand where it comes from the origin of it

What is Christmas but that very first Christmas when the Son of God was born to us as as a young Infant and so many of us have heard the story and I'm gonna dovetail that with Obviously at first Timothy is not the first place that you'd normally turn for the

Christmas story So we're gonna kind of see Paul's take on it in the way that he was transformed by it

And so many of you how many of you have heard the story of the conversion of the Apostle Paul? You're familiar with that story, you know something about it

The Apostle Paul is a pretty common story in the book of Acts in the New Testament It was an example of the power of the gospel to change a person

He was on his way to Damascus with with letters and papers from officials to go and arrest Christians Take them back to try them in Jerusalem separate families pull husbands away from their wives and dads away from their children

And persecute them and put them in jail and prison and even in cases put them to death.

He was not a Great guy to be around if you were a Christian, you did not want to talk with the

Apostle Paul You didn't want him to come knocking on your door Like that's the guy that we're talking about here

And he had this encounter on the road to Damascus going there to persecute Christians bright light

Brighter he said than the noonday Sun and Jesus Christ appeared to him and said why bro? Why are you doing this? Why are you persecuting me?

Why are you kicking against me? Why are you persecuting my? People and Paul was radically transformed to being a a on -fire against the church kind of individual to an on -fire starting churches kind of Individual and so that's the

Paul that we're talking about that's writing the letter to Timothy here in our text first Timothy And we see it here in chapter 1

So here in our text this morning Paul is using his own personal experience of grace

That is found in Jesus Christ as a model in an example for all of us And he begins in verse 12 by giving thanks to Jesus Christ the one that he had persecuted the one that he was against the one

He was opposed to giving thanks to Jesus Christ the Lord for strengthening him and calling him to serve

Jesus to saying thank you Jesus for calling me to serve you a pretty radical thing

It's interesting to note that Paul by the way equates his calling to salvation as a calling into service

That says that's a separate sermon unto itself, but nobody is called to salvation Alone if you're saved, then you are called to serve

Jesus Did you know that if you're if you're here and you've asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior then you're called to serve

Him that's that's a that's that's what that calling equates to so nobody's just called to be like, okay

This is fire insurance. I get out of hell and I don't have condemnation and that's great How many of you are glad for that?

Like that's a good component of that, but you're also equally called to a life of serving him now according to verse 13

Paul says here's the state in which Jesus Christ found me. Here's what I was like when

I encountered The Lord I was a blasphemer That's that's someone who speaks wrong about God says the things that are not true about him

I was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor. He says one who was in hostile opposition of violent opponent of Christ insolent opponent it says in the

ESV violent is another word that that could be translated That's the base of the Greek word that's used there.

He was a violent opponent of Christ when he encountered him Paul even adds to that list by the way

Willingly says of himself a word that we wouldn't like to apply to ourselves as a matter of fact in our arrogance

It would be one of the last words We might we might take on blasphemy or persecutor before we take on this next word. He said

I was ignorant I was ignorant as well. Paul willingly calls himself ignorant. He says

I I was in my in my unbelief I was I was ignorant and had no knowledge about these things that I had such a fervor about but I didn't even really deep -down pursue knowledge about them

Does that define a lot of people in our lives that might even define some of us in the room in reality? We have strong opinions about things.

We haven't studied Have you ever been guilty of that? I've been guilty that I'll raise my hand on that one I've been guilty of that many times of having a strong opinion.

It's like I haven't really you know What have you done your study on this? What research? What are your sources and suddenly?

It's like oh and The reality is there's a lot of people in our lives who you might you might have somebody in your life

Who seems to be adamantly opposed to Christ and just really hasn't I don't really studied it doesn't really know and and deep down they might even be longing for someone to To share with them the truth to share with them some of these things and that they might be in the know

But Paul says I was ignorant and I wasn't on I was in unbelief. I was without faith

He was not merely a doubter But Paul says when I encountered Jesus Christ, I was a violent doubter

He was the kind of guy you didn't want to talk religion with You guys have some of those people in your life where it's just like, you know, that's a no -fly zone

Raise your hand I go ahead and interact with me You got some people in your life who you just know that it's a no -fly zone for them and the minute that you mentioned

Christ or you mentioned the meaning of Christmas or something like that You know the gloves come off and they get hostile with you

And so it was in this state that God gave him mercy in the state of opposition to Christ Paul received mercy and he says the grace of Jesus Christ overflowed to him in verse 14

God called a man with nothing to commend him and saw fit to call this one with unbelief and doubt

Into faithful the faithful service of Jesus Christ and when the sinful Darkened human heart come in con comes in contact with the true grace and mercy of God found in Jesus Christ Grace wins and the heart is changed and Paul was indeed

Transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light in his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus And he not only received grace according to verse 14, but he received a couple of other things as well

He also received faith and love from Jesus when God saves a person

He even supplies the faith necessary Paul says it right here I received the the the love and faith that is in Christ Jesus When God saves somebody there's no assembly required and the batteries are included it comes ready to function

It's all that you need they're found in Jesus to live for him and to honor him with your life it's all wrapped up in that package of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ But what comes next in verse 15 is something that could easily be missed until we slow down and think about it by the way verse 15 is the heart of this testimony of Paul and he testifies that when he came to understand the meaning of Christmas He found in that meaning of Christmas ultimately the meaning of his life

What he was born for what he lived for what the truth was that he was going to share with others here he tells us that he's going to supply for each and every one of us a trustworthy and faithful statement

That is worth our attention That is worth us Trusting in I want this by the way this trustworthy statement

I just challenge you and encourage you and just think about this as a church I want this to be our church's focus over the over the

Christmas season this Christmas season I would love for everybody in this room to that calls recast church your home to memorize this memorize verse 15 here and take that on and let it saturate your

Christmas celebration let it saturate your minds and the way that you work at your workplace and the interactions that you have with others

Please look with me at verse 15 and I'll just go ahead and read it for us again The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Paul adds of whom I am the foremost Of whom I am the foremost

The reality is all scripture is Trustworthy. It's all trustworthy. It's all faithful yet.

Paul singles this sentence out for special attention for us this morning It is a summary statement

Paul gives us a purpose statement It's a statement that had the power to change and transform the life of this man who is radically opposed to God It also the statement informed

Paul of his mission what he had been set out to do What his calling was and it was the content of what he went around the

Roman Empire telling everyone Christ Jesus came into the world why to save sinners

And he said further of which I am the foremost Now we often have focused our attention so much on Paul's humility that last phrase there

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am foremost So we focused our attention so much on Paul's humility that many times in the church

We miss the content of the statement that he is ultimately declaring for us as trustworthy

Paul's main point is not that he was the greatest of all sinners That wasn't his main point.

It's not like hey, this is a trustworthy statement. I'm the worst sinner that ever lived He was super bad

But he only adds that to the end of the statement. He wants us to really pay attention to To highlight the power of the saving mission of the incarnation of Jesus Christ At Christmas we celebrate the think about it this way.

It's the covert rescue operation of the Almighty God Operation save sinners began with the birth of a little baby in Bethlehem and Paul communicates to all that this

One truth has the power to transform Anyone's life even someone as violent and hostile as the

Apostle Paul So, let me break this phrase down for us the statement the sentence First we look at the first three words

Christ Jesus came Well, the first word is Christ in this sentence that he wants us to pay special attention to Christ means

Messiah the Anointed One The Chosen One that was promised from the Old Testament Christ Second word is

Jesus Christ Jesus came Jesus means he who saves the Anointed One who comes to save The Messiah the

Anointed One who saves came to us. He was somewhere else and he arrived

Here he came Christ Christ Jesus came But not only did he come he came into the world

Jesus came into the world that he had created remember that all of this comprises is

All this composes a trustworthy statement that is deserving of full

Acceptance says the Apostle Paul Christ Jesus came into the world. He was not in the world, but he came into this world

We find from other scriptures that he came to us from the Father in The beginning was the

Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God John 1 1 and then John 1 14 and the

Word became flesh and dwelled among us Jesus came

To the world, but where did he come from he came from glory and the majesty of heaven

And where did he come to he came to this dirty ball of dust hurtling around the Sun? He came to this place of infestation sin pain plague and hardship.

He came here by choice Why Statement goes on Christ Jesus came

Christ Jesus came into the world Christ Jesus came into the world to save What could possibly move the divine to come to this place of the curse?

Why would the Son of God take on flesh with pain receptors and hunger and thirst and even death?

The mission was clear He came to save That first Christmas was a rescue mission.

He came to save and that purpose statement is clear But who did he come to save?

The statement goes on Christ Jesus came Christ Jesus came into the world Christ Jesus came to save Christ Jesus came to save sinners

It wasn't surprising enough that the sinless Son of God came into the world. That's that's a surprise, right?

Is that an amazing thing he came and he came into the world? But if it wasn't surprising enough that he took on flesh to come and save Then let your jaws drop at who he came to save he came to save sinners

Now some may think You know in our weaker moments, we might be tended that we might tend to think that he came to save petty sinners petty sinners like You know, maybe us

Those who cheated on a test way back in high school, right? That was a long time ago I cheated once, you know when a high school tested that was a long long time ago

And you know those kinds of sinners who the most recent sin you could remember is barely in your memory, right?

Maybe he came to save sinners like that Or those who tell little white lies, you know

But are actually pretty helpful in society and do good to others and you know Basically pull their own weight and do their part, right?

That's who he came to save people like that right people who look pretty good But make you know make up make a mess once in a while but clean up after themselves

Paul's already told us what kind of sinner That Jesus came to save a sinner like him a sinner like the

Apostle Paul What kind of sinner was he what we just saw a list we read it earlier. We talked through it blasphemers persecutors of Christ Persecutors of his church

Those who are ignorant in their unbelief those who are hostile towards Jesus Christ people like us

Those who are just like the Apostle Paul This is the trustworthy statement that is the bedrock of overcoming doubts

It is a faithful or better yet. Maybe even to state faith filled statement

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners And Paul was all too willing to throw himself under the bus on our behalf here in this text

He threw himself under the bus as the model example of a sinner and opposition to God Before he encountered the grace of the one who came on this rescue mission

He says I was I was that bad that I get the privilege of being an example to us all

To everyone of the extent of God's willing sacrifice and grace toward us

He received mercy Paul received mercy so that God might display his perfect patience as An example to all who would believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life

That's you and me folks. That's us Paul is an example to us that God can save anyone

Are you glad for that? I'm gonna raise your hand if you're glad for that if you're glad that God can save anyone into that And Paul erupted then at the end of our text here

He erupts in praise as he reflects on how bad he was and how deep

God's grace ran toward him He serves as A living example of the power of the mission that began at Christmas With Jesus coming into the world to save sinners

And so he declared Here at the end of our text honor and glory forever to the king of the ages the immortal one the invisible and only true

God Paul has moved to worship He just he just kind of explodes with worship at the end at the recognition of how little he deserved grace at how much grace

Was given to him So, let me wrap up by three challenges for each one of us

Three challenges that we're gonna look at here and just consider from this text first is consider the centrality of this

Trustworthy statement for you personally Is it the basis upon which you're living?

Do you believe that Jesus came into the world to save a sinner? Just like you As your trust placed in that real and true historical event

Let me just suggest to you that even if you've already acknowledged Jesus Christ as your Lord and have prayed

To ask Jesus to be your Savior Let me encourage you to reflect this holiday on this trustworthy statement to spend this

Christmas season Reflecting on this Jesus came into the world to save Sinners, this is a faith inducing statement

It's trustworthy Paul says it is true. It is faithful Second let me encourage you that as you reflect internally, you don't let it stay there

But keep it on the tip of your tongue over this holiday season. I Want to challenge every single person in this room to take this rock -solid truth out into the world with you for the next several weeks

Take the opportunities that you're granted Maybe even just now I would challenge you before you get up out of your seat and leave this place to think of a name

Think of somebody that you could Do you could challenge that you could talk with about these things and somebody that you know needs to hear this and it's not like Oh, they're so bad.

They need this. It's just a reality that you know that there are people who need Jesus around you

You make it a personal goal to ask at least one person Maybe a neighbor a friend a co -worker a family member ask them this question to open the conversation

I know sometimes how many of you know that sometimes those conversations are really especially with family Those can be some of the most awkward things.

Did have you have you tried that? Have you do you know what I'm talking about? So here's a good question to ask It kind of ties in with Christmas.

It's just to grab something on the way by that's already going on in our culture Why do you think

Jesus came into the world? Could you ask somebody that question this this Christmas season? Do you think you could kind of find a normal natural way to ask that it?

Is there enough hooks in our culture still to be able to make that a reasonable question? I think it is

I think that's not too far out there to just say to someone that you're that you're praying for that you're kind of God's laying on your heart to just say why do you think

Jesus came? Listen to him Listen to don't be don't be too quick to jump to this answer

Listen and then see if there's a way that you might be able to interact with what the scriptures say about this

What does the Bible say about this? It actually says he came into the world To save sinners what kind of sinners sinners like the

Apostle Paul? Let me just give you his list This is the kind of guy that Jesus can save.

I Mean the chances are you're probably not talking to somebody who's killed Christians, right? Like So, I mean it's a awesome example and and Paul says

I I'm giving this to you as an example use it Use me use me as an example of the extent of the grace of Jesus Christ So, can you talk with people about that ask them that question?

Listen to them and then if you can if you get an opportunity share what scripture says is the answer to that question

Jesus came into the world to save sinners wicked and evil people like the Apostle Paul Hope is found in this glorious and beautiful message of Christmas We don't celebrate just merely the tame and gentle night of a baby asleep in heavenly.

Peace We celebrate the infiltration of the kingdom of darkness by the very king of light and glory

Because Jesus came into the world to save sinners Lastly I hope this is a pretty simple application.

I hope it's one that comes quite natural Especially if you're here and you recognize how much you've been forgiven if you know

Like I do the depth of your sin and what it deserved and the condemnation that was over your shoulders and what's been removed from you

Then the only thing left to do is rejoice Rejoice Spend this

Christmas fueled by this reality that Jesus came into the world to save sinners and he saved you

If that's true of you What a radical thing what a glorious and beautiful thing that gets very muddy with all the tinsel and the lights and the bright colored baubles and the and the

Commercialism and the catalogs and the Amazon packages being delivered and all of that Do you see how in a man?

We've got our traditions and my family and I love our traditions and a lot of those involve the tinsel and the lights and the Amazon and things like that but here's the thing is do you see how small that is and how

Insignificant that is in light of the glory of your salvation Are you taking the time to think that through this this

Christmas season and to genuinely rejoice And then the reality is for some of us man

I'm not I'm not getting into your family here at all But the fact is some of us need to maybe pare things down a bit

Maybe your traditions are literally getting in the way of your ability to focus and rejoice about right things this

Christmas Maybe you and your spouse or you and your family need to sit down and just talk about doing some things

A little bit different just tweaking those practices so that because I know that this is this is a this a busy time of the year

This is an anxiety inducing Time of the year why because we've added all these traditions on top of what's the intention of this time of the year?

What should we be doing this time of the year? rejoicing Giving thanks

Celebrating together the great salvation that's been given to us The great gift of the one who came from heaven

To be here as our Savior Give all honor and glory to the king of the ages

The immortal one the invisible and only true God Recast let me encourage you to let your praises ring with all the more fervor

Because you're allowing this trustworthy statement to saturate your hearts and minds pushing aside doubts this

Christmas We're gonna take communion now together And I believe that my goal is that that communion when we take this every week that it really flows out of the text

And it's an application of the things that we're seeing because I think it always is because it's the center point of our faith

Sure, Jesus came, but he came with an intention with a purpose and when we take communion

We're remembering the one who came into the world to save sinners by reflecting on the finale of that rescue mission

Christmas is the start the initiation of operation save sinners but that culminates in a cross and an empty tomb and so this finale is to celebrate that we come to the communion table to Rejoice in the way that he saved us.

He intentionally came to die for sinners the rescue involved sacrifice

His sacrifice he lived to die for us and we celebrate his willing sacrifice

So those who have asked Jesus to save you that you're here today Please come to one of the tables in the four corners of the room this morning and take a cracker to remember his body

That was broken for you Take the cup of juice to remember his blood shed for you and As you do this do it in remembrance of the one who came to rescue sinners

Just like you and me and rejoice Give him thanks

If you're here and you've not asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior And let me just encourage you just to take an extra step of boldness

If you're curious about these things you want to talk more about these Feel free to catch me at the door and let me know that you'd like to talk more about how you could be rescued

By the one who came into this world to save sinners Let's pray father.

I thank you so much For the grace that is found in Christ.

Thank you for Paul's testimony his willing testimony of even throwing himself under the bus and identifying his own sin

Heaping up his own garbage for us to to identify and see his blasphemy his persecution

And the types of things that we see in our own hearts our own our own seeds and messes and The things that we have problems in our hearts and sins that bind us and hold us

And we see that your grace extends to certainly be able to cover the sins that we have committed

So father, I pray that you would help us as we go throughout this this Christmas holiday to Focus our hearts on this statement that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners

And that you would allow that to be on the tip of our tongue and that it would move us all to rejoice deeper with celebration and thankfulness