What's Your Story? - [1 Timothy 1:12-17]

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Well, good evening. I would invite you to get your Bible and open it to 1st
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Timothy the first epistle of Paul to young Timothy and we're gonna be looking at chapter 1 and verses 12 to 17
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This evening, you know a few weeks ago on a Saturday morning
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I had an overwhelming sense of the
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Holy Spirit Are you scared? Are you frightened?
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Of course, I don't mean in some kind of charismatic sense I didn't go into a trance.
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I wasn't transported anywhere There was nothing mystical about it. I was sitting under the ministry under the teaching of the
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Word of God And I was moved to tears It was at the preach -a -thon and no offense to anyone else who preached that morning
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But when Joey D Filippo my son -in -law preached Colossians 3
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Verses 12 to 17. It was an intense time for me Yes, I listened
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Yes, I learned Yes, the Word of God impacted me, but there was so much more
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I sat there and I just thought I don't deserve to be here.
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I Don't deserve to hear this I don't deserve to hear my son -in -law preach the
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Word of God I thought about my life and I thought I I don't deserve to be a
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Christian. I don't deserve to have Children who love the
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Lord a wife who loves the Lord a ministry serving the Lord Before I was saved
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I did everything I could to insulate myself from the gospel to insulate my wife and my children from the gospel and Listening to Joey was like having my life flash before my eyes
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The more he spoke The more I was aware of the grace of God in my life.
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I was sitting next to Megan My son -in -law was preaching the
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Word of the Living God. I Felt so blessed How did all this happen?
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How did it happen to me? Me, how could it be? By the time
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Joey ended his message I Don't know. I could have been blubbering. I don't know. I could have been sobbing
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I had tears streaming down my face, and I'm sure Megan had a bruise on her shoulder, but I sat there just in awe
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Transfixed by the grace of God that he would give me such a privilege such an honor
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That he would so orchestrate my life And it was really just a moment where I I just kind of thought, you know
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I'd like to die feeling like this. I could die right now And I think this evening as we go through our text we find the
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Apostle Paul in a similarly I could say that word similarly
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Reflective mood he's he's thinking about the grace of God in his life.
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Let's read the text verse 12 I Thank Christ Jesus our
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Lord Who has strengthened me? Because he considered me faithful Putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor
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Yet I was shown mercy Because I acted ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our
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Lord was more than abundant With the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus Came into the world to save sinners
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Among whom I am foremost of all Yet for this reason
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I found mercy So that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life now to the
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King eternal immortal Invisible the only
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God Be honor and glory forever and ever
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Amen Paul wrote this letter To encourage
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Timothy to be steadfast and what was not going to be an easy ministry Paul was calling him to a difficult task
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He wrote Timothy to instruct him on how a church should be run what a church should look like on how he should even conduct himself in the house of the
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Lord and First up he told him he gave him effectively a mission statement.
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He said Timothy I want you to stop some men certain men in the church from teaching strange doctrines unbiblical doctrines that would lead believers away from the truth to speculations guesswork and intuition and The last time
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I preached we saw how in spite of the misuse of the law by these false teachers Paul said the law is
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Good, it's good And that there are right and wrong uses for the law
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The law reminds us of our own shortcomings that condemns those who violated it gives us a picture of the holiness the transcendence of God and So much more now this evening as you may have already noticed is probably one of the most personal
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Messages I've ever preached and I want to ask you this evening six questions
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Six questions based on the words of Paul so that you can evaluate for yourself Whether you're thinking properly
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About your life Whether you're thinking properly and valuing properly the gift of salvation you have received
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I'm going to ask six questions As we examine what it was essentially
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Paul's testimony. This is his life It is as if he is having his life flash before his eyes
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And I want each of you to think about your own lives to review your own Story as it were
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Do you identify with the wonder and joy of Paul as He recounts all of the
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Lord has done on his behalf, or do you just kind of think well? That's really a nice Passage, but I don't get it
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You know when I first looked at this section of first Timothy It struck me as a little bit odd that he this is just kind of inserted in here
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He's given Timothy this important assignment and I thought why
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I Think we really have to look at the context here to sort of ferret it out to sort of draw that out
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We think about it Paul had just warned Timothy said stop these men from these from this bad teaching about the law stop them from this speculation about the law
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I'm gonna suggest I think Paul That probably struck a real chord with him because he
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I think had done that and we're gonna see that he'd done much worse than that As Paul reflects on his instructions that Timothy I think he just kind of takes a step back and looks and just marvels at the work of God in his life my first question for you is
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Are you thankful when you think about your salvation? We're gonna get back to the context in a minute, but are you thankful?
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Number one. Are you thankful when you think about your salvation look at verse 12?
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He says I thank Christ Jesus our Lord Now again, I want to just introduce the flow a little bit.
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So let's go back and read verses 8 through 11 Paul writes but we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully
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Realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious for the ungodly and sinners for the unholy and profane for those who kill their fathers or mothers
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For murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers and get this part and Whatever else is contrary to sound teaching all those things are contrary to sound teaching
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How do we know that verse 11? According to the glorious gospel of the
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Blessed God with which I have been entrusted After Paul talks about the law and about how it exposes sinners for who they are in it
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And he can trust them with the Holy God. He holds up this glorious gospel. He says here is the truth
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Here's the standard that no man can meet the law the perfect law of God He says the gospel is glorious it it illumines this it brings this all to light.
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It shows us our deficiencies Sound teaching is that which is in accord with the
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Word of God It is the Word of God through which we see the gospel, but Paul it's noted here
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He said that the Bible or the the gospel was entrusted to him he'd been appointed as a kind of a guardian or a protector of the gospel of God and Paul doesn't sit there and think to himself
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Wow. I've got a really important job. I'm really something
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Look at what I have done. Look at how I have risen through the heights. I've really ascended this
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Organization and now I'm kind of in charge. I am entrusted with the glorious gospel Instead we wind up at verse 12
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Why because to the contrary instead of being filled with himself He loses his breath
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There's just he's just kind of I I can't even believe this. I Thank doesn't really even do it justice literally means that I have in verse 12 again.
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I have continuously a response a continuous response to the generosity of Christ Jesus our
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Lord He's constantly thankful. He's constantly reminded of the goodness of Christ to him
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The very concept of Paul that he would be given such a stewardship to guard the gospel that it would be entrusted to him
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It caused a constant outpouring of gratitude from him He's overwhelmed by thankfulness for the truth of the gospel and the duty bestowed upon him
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For the more Christ strengthened Paul again. Look at verse 12. I Thank Christ Jesus our
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Lord who has strengthened me It's kind of amazing kind of stunning that the man who?
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Once denied Jesus could be the Christ the Chosen One the Messiah and Denied that he could be
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Lord Now thanks him in both of his offices. He says I thank Christ Jesus our
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Lord who has strengthened me He was both Messiah and Lord the
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Lord Jesus gave Paul spiritual strength and it was
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Strength of a nature that few men have ever enjoyed few in the history of the church have ever had this level of strength spiritually speaking he gave him boldness in the face of persecution and suffering and Calm even in the midst of great calamity shipwrecks.
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No problem Beating on the back. No problem. Why could he do that because Christ had strengthened him
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I don't think any believer any student of the Bible could ever study the life and work of Paul and Think there was a man who was prepared for a life of ministry
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There was a man who from the womb was kind of dedicated to a life of serving the Lord Jesus Christ It's not like Paul went.
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He was a pastor's son who went to seminary not that there's anything wrong with that But it's not like he had that kind of life
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He didn't have a lot of Christian theological degrees He did have a theological degree though, but it was all anti -christian in Acts 22 verse 3
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We're gonna be looking a lot at acts tonight just kind of looking because it's interesting this is a real brief testimony of Paul, but he gives his testimony of number of times and so we're gonna draw from Different sources where he did do that acts 22 verse 3
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Paul said I am a Jew born in Tarsus of Silesia and brought up in this city
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Educated under Gamaliel strictly according to the law of our fathers being zealous for God just as you all are today
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He was zealous for God for the God of Judaism He had kind of instead of being prepared for the ministry.
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He was anti prepared. He was contra prepared He was prepared for exactly the opposite type of life and in spite of that Christ gave
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Paul Spiritual muscles put him on steroids. He made him a mighty man of God Not only did he strengthen him he also put him to use look at again at verse 12
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Because he considered me faithful Putting me into service Right there there it is see it
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Paul says he was faithful. So Jesus put him into service What about that? Mr.
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Sovereignty of God man, Paul was faithful. That's why God used him you got me.
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Well, let's see if we can kind of sort that out If we look at 1st Corinthians 725
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We see very similar language In fact Paul gets called again refers to himself as being the same
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Greek word translated in 1st Timothy faithful and a 1st Corinthians 725
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It's translated trustworthy same word Listen to 1st Corinthians 725 now concerning virgins.
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He's talking about marriage Says now concerning virgins. I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the
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Lord is trustworthy exact same word
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But notice he doesn't say I am inherently trustworthy or I was trustworthy and therefore
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Christ put me into service. He says I Give an opinion as by as one who by the mercy of the
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Lord is trustworthy It was the mercy of God in fact that verb it's actually a verb there and it says that Paul was
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Mercied he was the recipient of mercy. He was the vessel through which mercy was visited
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This whole idea had nothing to do with Paul's worthiness or his preparation for a gospel ministry but his utter transformation by the mercy of Christ Considered him worthy.
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He made him worthy in Damascus after Saul is interrupted
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Saul later to be Paul is interrupted on it on the road to Damascus When he's going to persecute the church
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And he winds up with Ananias in Damascus He's blinded and in Acts 9
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Verses 15 to 17 we read this But the Lord said to him talking to Ananias go
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For he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel For I will show him how much he must suffer for my namesake
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So Ananias departed and entered the house and after laying his hands on him He said brother
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Saul The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming Has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the
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Holy Spirit What had happened? Between the time that the
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Lord appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus and this time What what was it exactly that Saul could have demonstrated his worthiness and his readiness for ministry
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What was it that he did while he was blind in? Damascus to rate this kind of ministry
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Nothing and in fact look back at verse 16 and verse in Acts chapter 9 if you didn't turn there, that's okay
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I'm gonna read it again for I will show him how much he must suffer for my namesake
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He doesn't say I'm gonna give Paul a great ministry. He says he's going to suffer the
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Lord Jesus gave him a great ministry and it was a ministry of Suffering there was nothing he could have done to prove himself faithful In fact
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Christ called him to suffer for his sake for Christ's sake and it was into that service
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That Paul willingly entered but noted. Well, it was only after having his
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Physical spiritual eyes open. He was blind. He'd already had a spiritual eyes open, but now he had his physical eyes open to Paul was thankful that he'd been put into spiritual service
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Delighted that he'd been put into spiritual service He might have been shocked that he wasn't put in spiritual service
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And my question for you would be are you engaged in any form of? spiritual service
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I Don't think it's a stretch to say that every Christian ought to be serving in the body of Christ How could
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I say that because Paul wrote it himself in 1st Corinthians 12 7? Every part of the body has a spiritual gift
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Service using employing that spiritual gift is an indication of your gratitude toward the master who bought you
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May I urge you beg you plead with you? To be faithful to the
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Lord in finding some way to serve in the local body Second question, are you amazed when you think about your sin from which you've been rescued?
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Are you amazed when you think about your sin from which you've been rescued look at verse 13 back in?
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1st Timothy chapter 1 Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor
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When you think about your life before Christ what you were like before God saved you you ought to be amazed that he would die for someone such as you and How can
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I say that because I'm amazed that he would die for someone like me I say, you know what I didn't even like me
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I wouldn't have died for me and you know, sometimes we get into comparing testimonies.
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I've heard people say this well, you know, I I don't like to share my testimony because my testimony is kind of boring you know,
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I was just kind of a I was raised in a Christian home and I I didn't really do anything kind of crazy
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You know, I think I once stuck gum under the table or you know something like I mean, you know, it's really a dull
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Testimony and then I just God saved me and opened my eyes to what I Needed to do. I don't care if your testimony is boring or if it's thrilling if there's a dramatic
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Transformation or just it seems like well, you know My affections just kind of changed one day, but it just wasn't a dramatic transformation like that If you were a sinner in any part of the law you were sinner in the whole law
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Whatever you thought of yourself you stood condemned before a holy God You were a transgressor were the only of his wrath of being a vessel of his unending
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Outpouring of justice for all eternity Saul he says
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Paul Saul. I like to call him Saul because this is before he gets saved We're looking back at his life and he says, you know what
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I was a blasphemer Which means one who is slanderous or uses. I love this word scurrilous
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You know, it kind of harkens back to the Civil War. Well, that's scurrilous. It's a scurrilous accusation
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One who is slanderous or uses scurrilous words again consider Paul's testimony elsewhere
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When he says this So then I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth and This is just what
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I did in Jerusalem This is Acts 26 verses 9 to 11 and this is just what I did in Jerusalem Not only did
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I lock up many of the Saints in prison in prisons having received authority from the chief priests
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But also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them
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Verse 11 and as I punished them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them listen to blaspheme and being furiously enraged at them
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I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities Which is what he was doing on the day when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus He went and got a warrant as it were he was going to be the spiritual police and go down and track down these
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What he would see as Wayward souls and he was going to throw them in prison or even possibly have them put to death
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Paul not only said scurrilous things about Christ, but he tried to Saul tried to force believers to recant and to say things against Christ.
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I mean, it's it's it would be stretching imagination beyond imagination to think that for one single moment before he was saved that Saul ever had a positive thing to say about Jesus a
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Blasphemer Saul was also a Persecutor and I would argue he was a persecutor par excellence.
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There was nobody better at persecuting than Saul Acts 22 verses 4 and 5 listen to this.
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I persecuted this way this way meaning Christians the church
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That's how they're referred to it and that's why if you have a Bible you'll see that way is capitalized
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Because it refers to a specific entity that is Christians says I persecuted this way to the death
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Binding and putting both men and women in prisons as also the high priest and all the
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Council of the elders can testify from them I also received letters to the brethren and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished to paraphrase what
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JFK once said there was no price Saul was not willing to pay No barrier.
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He was not willing to climb. No, I mean he was willing to go the extra mile We think about the hatred that he had for Christians The things that he would do
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I mean there had to be a certain amount of detachment He had to numb his emotions to even be able to do these things and Paul had to Saul He could have called in some great witnesses.
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All the religious leaders were behind him. He had the entire religious establishment They'd all come in and testify.
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He was good But there was nobody better than Saul if you wanted somebody persecuted. He was the guy to hire He was also a violent aggressor
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Means especially of one who takes a superior attitude and mistreats others Listen to this out of his own revolt against God's revelation of truth
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He didn't believe and he took it out on others One man says it emphasizes the element of outrageous disregard of other men's rights
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What rights how about to life and limb? You know to being at home
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Safely Saul believed that he was doing the Lord's work. That's what he thought and he put aside any kind of niceties
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Any concerns about the people he was persecuting being image bearers of God or anything like that?
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They were Saul's targets and he pursued them without mercy
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All this going through his head as he's writing to Timothy and he's just thinking about how
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He has been saved Are you thankful when you think about your salvation?
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Are you amazed when you think about your sin? The sin that you've been rescued from Number three, are you stunned by the mercy of God look at verse 13?
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yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief in spite of all
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Paul had done Saul had done How he had blasphemed Christ and persecuted the church
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Paul was mercied again that kind of passive Verb that mercy was
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Shed on him But the word yet at the beginning there of the quote I gave yet.
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I was shown mercy There's really kind of unfortunate because it fails to indicate the strong Contrast in fact in my outline.
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The only color I have in my outline is red Bolded underlined capitalized because it really is the word the strongest word of the
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Greek language for buts to show the contrast In spite of all that he had done.
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It's there's a but there It's as if Paul saying kind of but God there's no
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God there This is what I did But God did this God showed me mercy in spite of everything that I had done
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He didn't give me what I deserved To receive mercy is to be the compassion of someone else's compassion in this case
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The Lord saw Saul's pitiable condition His need and he poured out divine mercy upon him on the road to Damascus to those who mattered to the religious elite
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Saul was the one to watch He was a comer. He was a keeper. He was a zealot
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What a worker for the cause of Judaism, but to God Saul was nothing more than a blasphemer a
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Persecutor and a thug There was nothing about Saul That would draw the saving grace of God In fact quite the opposite if there was anybody that God should have outright condemned it would have been
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Saul Saul's need was obvious He didn't know any better he was as he describes it
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Ignorance, he thought he was doing the right thing He pursued it with a vigor and he was quite sincere in what he believed
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As one man used to say in our seminary classes all the time. He'd say you could be sincere and be sincerely wrong
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Saul was sincerely wrong But it wasn't because Strictly because he didn't know any better that God showed mercy.
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God simply chose to be merciful Saul didn't know that Jesus was the
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Messiah But ignorance is no excuse for what he did. In other words, he could have heard the claims, but he didn't believe them
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Ignorance doesn't justify what he did. It's merely a description of what he did and those things he did in ignorance.
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He did heartily Number four, are you thrilled by the grace of Christ?
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Look at verse 14 and The grace of our Lord was more than abundant
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Paul certainly was thrilled by the grace of Christ. In fact, he uses a verb here. Let me see if I could even say it
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Hooper Epilepsy close it appears only here the
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New Testament and it means to experience extraordinary abundance To have something abound or if it's applied to a vessel
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It means to just have it poured in there till it just overflows till you know It's way over the top and a light of all
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Saul's sins Paul's love of the gospel of grace was heightened
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Do you think that Paul loved the doctrine of grace? I think he did The concept of grace here specifically and in Paul's life overall could not be more clear
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There was nothing in Saul that could merit the favor of God. In fact, as I said, it would be demerited
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He deserved nothing but the full wrath of God but by God's transforming of Saul the vile persecutor of the church into Paul the servant of the church
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God's work in Paul his power Was made evident
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By more than abundant grace and overflowing grace His spirit accomplished more through Paul than any mortal
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I would say in the history of the church When commentator says this this grace talking about the grace of Christ not only forgives and strengthens
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But brings one into a sphere described as faith and love right back to the verse there as faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus, what does that mean?
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It's a transforming grace. It changes him. It gave Paul a completely different outlook on everything 180 degrees different by virtue of the saving grace of Christ Everything had changed.
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He no longer was trying to be saved by the works of the law He knew that it was a possibility to be saved by the works of the law now
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He was no longer a slave of the law, but a child of the grace of God Those he once hated and persecuted and chased all over the map
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We're now as brothers and sisters His sons and daughters in the faith and they were spread all across the known world
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Paul no longer traveled to persecute the church but to establish and strengthen her
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She was his sole concern For him what was better was it better for Paul to stay or for Paul to?
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Depart and to be with Christ. Well, of course, it would have been better for Paul to leave But it was better for the church for Paul to stay
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Paul was thrilled by the grace of Christ. He wanted to make sure he gave an accurate picture of how great that grace was
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When he thought about what he deserved, I don't know
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But he might have had tears streaming down his face Are you thankful when you think about your salvation?
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Number two, are you amazed when you think about? Your sin from what you've been rescued number three.
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Are you stunned by the mercy of God number four? Are you thrilled by the grace of Christ? Number five.
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Do you ever sense? You are the poster child for the work of Christ do you ever have that sense that somehow
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They ought to just put your picture all around the post office as it were That you are the poster child for the work of Christ Want to draw your attention to the words of Paul at the end of verse 15 in the beginning of 16 where he describes himself as the foremost or the chief
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I Think some translations even say the worst of sinners And this can mean first as an order.
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It can mean chief or foremost And it's certainly true that Paul viewed himself in that way
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But there's a nuance here of him being an example and we're gonna see that in verse 16 an example a trophy as it were of the grace of Christ Think about it before salvation
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Saul was a terror to the people of the way There was no one who was more feared by the early church
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And I think it's certainly a reason a reason maybe not the only reason that he changed his name
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Post salvation, I mean who would want to associate with Saul they'd find out Saul was coming to church and I think everybody's stay home, but as a believer in those days as a part of the church
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It would be difficult to think of anyone less likely or less worthy of salvation than Saul So when he says that he's kind of this chief this foremost of all sinners
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How does that work out? Why do
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I call him the poster child I think again if we think of our own lives and I think about my own life my I have a friend
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Tony the lawman Miano and he and I go a long way back and when
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I first Was interested in Christ and I came to him and I had questions for him and he kind of mocked me a little bit because He didn't think
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I was serious and there's a good reason why he didn't think I was serious It's because I used to mock him all the time but you know as we
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Whenever we see each other now, he goes, you know, that's my Saul of Tarsus over there. You know, that's
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In love he says that because I used to just batter him all the time not physically But I would question everything about Christianity because I didn't believe it.
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I wanted to torment him. I I wanted to embarrass him And I think he referred me to me of Referred to me as Saul of Tarsus because I seemed like a very unlikely candidate for Salvation in that same way
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Paul saying look I'm the chief. I'm the foremost. I am as it were the poster child for the grace of God because who would think
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That God could save me Who would think that God could save a blasphemer and a persecutor and a brute like I was?
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Who could think that? Humanly speaking it seems impossible
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Now look at verse 15 where Paul says it is a trustworthy statement
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Deserving full acceptance. It is literally a faithful word Something upon which you can depend
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Paul saying this is an axiom. This is a truth. This is a truism. It is always 100 % of the time
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Correct. It is the Word of God But it's not something that he just wants us to put up on a wall somewhere
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You know, this is a true statement put it up on the wall. Look at it admire it. He wants us to embrace it
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To employ it and what is the trustworthy statement verse 15 that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners?
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There's so much truth even in these few little words here. I mean beyond the titles the title of Christ just the fact that It says he came into the world that implies the eternality of Christ he had to come from somewhere
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Implies he existed before that which is absolutely consistent with the words of Jesus himself
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Which is why the Jews wanted to stone him in John 8 When he said even before Abraham was
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I am quoting Exodus 314 Jesus did not metaphorically or spiritually come into the world
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Jesus actually Physically came into this world surrounded by sinners and by a sin -filled system
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And he came on a mission that was clear from the announcement from the time. It was announced by an angel to Joseph About naming the baby
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Jesus why? because he will
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Save his people from their sins It's as if Paul was saying to Timothy the truth that Jesus Will save people his people from their sins can be no better demonstrated than but why
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Then by what Christ did in my life Me Paul If he can save me
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Why would anybody doubt his ability to save anyone it is a trustworthy statement
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Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners of whom I am the chief. I am the foremost.
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I am the worst And if he could save me He could save anyone. Do you ever think like that?
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Do you ever think if he could save me? With all the things that I did with all the things that I've done with all the things.
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I've thought I Do I thought about that Saturday morning?
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Look at the perfect patience of Christ verse 16 Jesus Christ that Jesus in order that Jesus Christ might
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Demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life
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Paul's life is an example a prototype as it were a Pattern of the patience of Christ and what is that?
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That is another attribute of God. He's long -suffering. He's patient Not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance if you understand rightly what the
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Lord has Endured at your hand Before he saved you You have some idea of why
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Paul is so thankful day after day rejecting his grace worshiping false gods storing up wrath for yourselves
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Deserving of hell at any single moment
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For any single sin deserving it fully Yet God and Christ patiently endured your provocation
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So at the right time he might make you yet another trophy of his magnificent grace
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Question number six our last question Does your understanding of the work of God in your life result in praise to God Does your understanding of the work of God in your life result in praise to God?
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Look at verse 17 This is Paul's kind of summary statement all this now to the King eternal immortal
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Invisible the only God Be honor and glory forever and ever
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Amen Paul's just given a brief account of his own salvation and the illustration that is
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Of the grace and mercy that are available to all he quite naturally moves to praise.
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I recall when Jesus and Peter are talking and Jesus says to Peter, you know a
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Master has two men who own money one owes a hundred denarii and the other owns a thousand dinner
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I may have the numbers wrong He says he forgives them both who will love him more and Peter says well the one whom he forgave more
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The point there is what That the more you recognize Your guiltiness before God the more you praise him the more you can say man.
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I cannot believe God would forgive that the more you rejoice in what he's done for you and That's exactly where Paul is
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Paul acknowledges Christ is King. God is eternal everlasting having no beginning or end
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He's immortal the forces of nature beyond time no nothing has effect on him
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He is changeless not subject to corruption cannot be diminished if we could see
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God If we could see Christ Ten billion years from now and we can see him today there would be absolutely no difference
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He will not change nothing impacts him. God is invisible simply put he can't be seen
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He alone is God there has never been another and there can never be Consistently through the
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Bible. I mean, it's amazing to think that people would believe that they could become a God it is never
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It's there's never a smidgen of that in the scripture to him alone be all honor and glory
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Well, who else is worthy of it when Paul reflects on what God has done in his life? Not because of anything good in Paul.
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He knows he knows what Saul did. He's fully aware of that he's even aware of his own limitations as He writes this
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Doesn't want any honor or glory because he knows where it all belongs He knows who stopped him on the road to Damascus who stopped the persecution of the church and who brought him to salvation
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All the praise glory and honor belong to Christ How about you
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Does the grace of God in your life sometimes take your breath away? Are there times when you are just overwhelmed by the love of Christ?
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Where you just simply cannot believe that he died for your sins that he died for you that you might be justified declared righteous before a holy
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God the grace and mercy of God Extended to Paul changed everything not only how he viewed
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Christ, but how he viewed life now everything came through the prism of The grace and mercy of Christ he had new affections new desires new sensitivities
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So that even as he instructed Timothy on how to put a stop to false teaching
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He was reminded of his own sorry past But it didn't make
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Paul sad he didn't think oh if only I could do that over if only
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I could take back All the things that I did joy overwhelmed him
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Gratitude flooded over him. Is that how you think?
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When I consider all that the Lord has given me as I think of all I did for so many years to earn his wrath
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Putting enmity I did that I put enmity between God and me
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The very idea that he would save me save my wife save our girls give us two godly sons -in -law
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That is Incomprehensible to me I don't deserve it
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I Can't fathom it I Can't think about it enough
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Can you we know Paul's story and we know his response
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What's your story? let's pray our father you are a
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Great God a saving God a God filled with compassion and mercy
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Father you grant grace to those Who cannot merit it who never would merit it
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Who would never even desire it? Lord, I would pray for Those here tonight who might not know your grace who might not yet have been recipients of it
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Lord I pray that you would mercy them That you would open their eyes
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That they would be able to see that the things that they've done in ignorance Our sin nonetheless
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Father would you open their eyes to the glorious gospel of? You our great
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Savior Father would you make us a people that are so thankful?
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so filled with joy as We consider all the great things that you have done on our behalf father.
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Would you make us? vessels of mercy Would you make us those with feet quick?