Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Undeserved Mercy for an Unbelieving Rabbi │ Msg 310

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Undeserved Mercy for an Unbelieving Rabbi │ Msg 310 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: I'll be honest here, I'm not too concerned about which
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Speaker 1: denomination your church may represent. But I am very interested
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Speaker 1: that everyone involved in that ministry, whether a leader or not,
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Speaker 1: sees herself or himself as one who serves. You see,
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Speaker 1: it's the attitude that is most important. Perhaps the finest
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Speaker 1: model other than Christ himself was that young Jew from
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Speaker 1: Tarsus who radically transformed from a strong-willed Pharisee in Judaism
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Speaker 1: to a bondservant of Jesus Christ. I'm referring, of course,
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Speaker 1: to Paul. What a remarkable person. This man, the one
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Speaker 1: who certainly could have expected preferential treatment, referred to himself
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Speaker 1: most often as a servant of God. I find this
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Speaker 1: extremely refreshing. What a model Paul was. Listen to his
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Speaker 1: own words as he shared his story in the first
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Speaker 1: chapter of 1 Timothy. I'm reading verses 12 through 17.
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Speaker 1: I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me,
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Speaker 1: because he considered me faithful, putting me into service, even
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Speaker 1: though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and
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Speaker 1: a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I
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Speaker 1: acted ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord
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Speaker 1: was more than abundant with the faith and love which
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Speaker 1: are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement,
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Speaker 1: deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world
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Speaker 1: to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
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Speaker 1: Yet for this reason I have found mercy, so that
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Speaker 1: in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His
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Speaker 1: perfect patience as an example for those who would believe
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Speaker 1: in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
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Speaker 1: the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
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Speaker 1: No one can ignore or deny the power of a
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Speaker 1: changed life. There are people who are able to out-think
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Speaker 1: us logically and out-argue us theologically and out-maneuver us philosophically.
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Speaker 1: But there's no one who can tell us that our
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Speaker 1: life has not been changed. And there's no one who
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Speaker 1: can deny the change That's being acted out in front
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Speaker 1: of them. As numerous and fierce as Chuck Colson's critics
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Speaker 1: in the political arena. And as many fingers of blame.
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Speaker 1: As they may push against him as they look back
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Speaker 1: over his political record. As he surrounded the Oval Office
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Speaker 1: with such blind loyalty. During the dark days of the 70s.
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Speaker 1: No one can this day. Deny or ignore the fact.
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Speaker 1: That Colson's life was transformed. You just can't deny it.
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Speaker 1: You just can't overlook it. You may disagree with him politically.
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Speaker 1: You certainly may criticize the blind loyalty. Which he himself criticized.
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Speaker 1: But there's something about. The incredible power of Christ. Coming
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Speaker 1: into a hardened society. proud life and turning it around
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Speaker 1: and softening and massaging it to life and to happiness.
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Speaker 1: So much so that you're left without a comment. I
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Speaker 1: was just reading again in John 9 of the man
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Speaker 1: who was born blind and those people around him so
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Speaker 1: proud and so critical of the one who had healed
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Speaker 1: him And so pushing for an answer from him and
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Speaker 1: finally an exasperation, he said, whether or not he's a sinner,
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Speaker 1: I don't know. But one thing I do know, once
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Speaker 1: I was blind, but now I see. And you know,
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Speaker 1: it's amazing. They could not ignore, they could not deny
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Speaker 1: the fact that his life had been transformed by Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: They were speechless. They kept arguing, but they knew that
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Speaker 1: they were maneuvering themselves into a corner that they themselves
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Speaker 1: couldn't get out of. Now, what is true of a
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Speaker 1: man born blind who's given sight and what is true
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Speaker 1: of a political man like Chuck Colson is all the
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Speaker 1: more true of a religious leader who finds that he
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Speaker 1: has been looking in the wrong direction. A proud man.
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Speaker 1: When he was young, he was brilliant beyond his years.
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Speaker 1: Studied in the best schools, under the best teachers. He
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Speaker 1: was a member of the Sanhedrin. Among the Pharisees, he
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Speaker 1: was the tops. Concerning zeal, there was no one who
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Speaker 1: could out-zeal this man. He was the synchronon of discipline
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Speaker 1: and determination and brilliance. He was a man... bent on
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Speaker 1: getting God's way, or so he thought. And suddenly, in
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Speaker 1: one epical moment, he dropped through the cracks. And I've
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Speaker 1: often thought how those people who trained him must have
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Speaker 1: gossiped about this change and how his mentors must have
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Speaker 1: frowned and stroked their beards together as they talked about
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Speaker 1: the young Saul who has, for some reason, no longer
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Speaker 1: decided to carry out the tradition of the tribe of Benjamin.
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Speaker 1: And how many of his colleagues must have criticized him
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Speaker 1: in the shadows. But little by little, he came back.
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Speaker 1: A changed man, and no one could deny it. No
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Speaker 1: longer Saul the rabbi, but now Paul the apostle. And
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Speaker 1: have you noticed that every once in a while in
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Speaker 1: a letter, he will insert his testimonies. And when he
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Speaker 1: stands before an angry mob, it's his testimony that he uses.
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Speaker 1: When he stands before a governor, it's his testimony that
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Speaker 1: he uses. When he appears before the Sanhedrin, his own
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Speaker 1: body of men, just a few years earlier, it's his
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Speaker 1: testimony he turns to. Because you can't deny, you can't
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Speaker 1: ignore a changed life. He knew they could find all
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Speaker 1: kinds of loopholes in his theology. but they couldn't deny,
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Speaker 1: they couldn't ignore the fact that his life was changed.
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Speaker 1: And so this aged and scarred man, seasoned with years,
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Speaker 1: when he sits down to write a letter to young Timothy,
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Speaker 1: his friend, once again turns to his testimony and gives
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Speaker 1: it in just the briefest of words, but every time
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Speaker 1: we read it, it's a thrill. I'm referring to the
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Speaker 1: 12th through the 17th verses of the first chapter of
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Speaker 1: first Timothy. Paul has come again to this great moment
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Speaker 1: that he wishes to share with Timothy. Every time he
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Speaker 1: gives his testimony, there are more little vignettes. There are
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Speaker 1: more rays of light brought into the shadows so that
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Speaker 1: we see it better and better and better. And this
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Speaker 1: is no exception. We can tell immediately that his emphasis
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Speaker 1: is shifting in the letter because up to verse 12,
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Speaker 1: most of the pronouns have been you and yours and
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Speaker 1: they and them. Only a few I and me. But
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Speaker 1: when you get to verse 12, it's loaded with I
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Speaker 1: and me and my and mine. The transition actually occurs
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Speaker 1: in verse 11. He's been saying to Timothy, stay by
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Speaker 1: the stuff. Don't leave. Stay at the task. Keep instructing
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Speaker 1: the people that are in the congregation with the truth
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Speaker 1: because there are many false teachers that have arisen. And
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Speaker 1: there are some who are being led astray, Timothy. And
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Speaker 1: make sure that your teaching, Timothy, is based on the standard,
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Speaker 1: verse 11, which is the glorious gospel of the blessed
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Speaker 1: God with which I have been entrusted. Notice the words,
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Speaker 1: according to. The particular construction of the original suggests norm
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Speaker 1: or standard. We saw this the last time we looked
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Speaker 1: at this passage. He's saying in your instruction, make sure
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Speaker 1: that it is based on the norm of the glorious gospel.
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Speaker 1: Make sure that the house of truth that you build
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Speaker 1: is according to the ruler of the gospel. Make that
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Speaker 1: your standard. Notice a couple of things about this glorious gospel.
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Speaker 1: First of all, its origin is none other than the
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Speaker 1: blessed God. God thought of it. God, if you please,
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Speaker 1: holds the patent on it. God is its creator. God
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Speaker 1: is its instigator. God implemented the plan through his son,
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, when he went to the cross and thereby
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Speaker 1: looked beyond my faults and saw my need. When he
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Speaker 1: met me in grace because he had given the blood
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Speaker 1: of That was the perfect detergent to wash away my sins.
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Speaker 1: God implemented the gospel through his son, Jesus Christ. He
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Speaker 1: empowered it through his spirit. It's all of him. It
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Speaker 1: is according to the blessed God who is the originator
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Speaker 1: and observe also its deposit with which I have been entrusted.
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Speaker 1: That's a great thought. The emphasis in this verse is
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Speaker 1: on the pronoun I. The idea is I of all people. Me,
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Speaker 1: if you can imagine I, and he's going to tell
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Speaker 1: us why that's so amazing in a few moments. But
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Speaker 1: as I think about the blessed gospel, and as I
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Speaker 1: think about how it is able to change a life,
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Speaker 1: I am stunned with the fact that God deposited the
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Speaker 1: gospel into my hands and graciously gave me the chance
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Speaker 1: to share it with others. I thought of this illustration.
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Speaker 1: There is a disease today for which we have no cure.
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Speaker 1: Several diseases, but the most famous of all of them
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Speaker 1: is cancer. We're working on it day and night. Bright
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Speaker 1: minds are giving themselves to it as a lifetime project. Thousands,
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Speaker 1: even millions of dollars are poured into those laboratories and
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Speaker 1: into the skills of scientists so that there might somehow
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Speaker 1: be found a solution to this disease. damnable disease that
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Speaker 1: is continuing to take lives. There is no cure to
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Speaker 1: our knowledge at this time. No one has originated a remedy.
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Speaker 1: One day we believe someone will. And when that cure
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Speaker 1: is originated, and it is tested and it becomes a fail-safe,
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Speaker 1: absolute cure for cancer, that cure will be deposited into
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Speaker 1: the hands of qualified medical men and women. They will
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Speaker 1: have the deposit of the cure. I can't think of
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Speaker 1: anything more tragic than to have at my disposal the
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Speaker 1: cure for cancer and to keep it. You see, implied
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Speaker 1: in the deposit is the releasing of it to people
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Speaker 1: in need. That's the whole point of this transition in
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Speaker 1: verse 11. Timothy, make sure that your presentation of the
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Speaker 1: truth is according to the glorious gospel, which was given
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Speaker 1: by God, and of all things, Timothy, it was deposited
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Speaker 1: into my account, my account of all people. And now
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Speaker 1: Paul steps aside and tells us why it is so
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Speaker 1: amazing that he of all people Receive the deposit. Look
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Speaker 1: at verse 12. Here's a declaration of gratitude. I thank
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Speaker 1: Christ Jesus. Our Lord. He's done three things for me. First,
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Speaker 1: he has strengthened me. Second, he considered me faithful. Third,
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Speaker 1: he put me into service. See the word service? It's
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Speaker 1: the word diakonia. We get the word deacon from it.
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Speaker 1: God strengthened me. God considered me faithful. God put me
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Speaker 1: into service. Observe Paul's view of ministry. It isn't a drag.
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Speaker 1: It isn't a hassle. It isn't a burden. It isn't
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Speaker 1: an interruption. It isn't an inconvenience. It isn't even called
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Speaker 1: a sacrifice. It's called a service. What a great view
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Speaker 1: of ministry. God looked beyond my fault. God saw my
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Speaker 1: need and in grace, he deposited into my account a trust,
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Speaker 1: the gospel. He put me into service. Now, right about now,
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Speaker 1: a novice would think this man must have been something else.
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Speaker 1: He really must have had it all together. For God,
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Speaker 1: the originator of the gospel, to give his truth to
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Speaker 1: this man, and for this man to have it to
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Speaker 1: share in the service of his life, Paul must have
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Speaker 1: been a phenomenal individual. Wrong. Next couple of verses will
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Speaker 1: describe to you the kind of man he was. In fact,
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Speaker 1: if he were such a great man, verse 13 would begin, because.
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Speaker 1: But it begins differently. Even though right away that auto
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Speaker 1: alerts you that we're getting ready for a shock. God
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Speaker 1: entrusted me with the gospel, even though. Are you ready?
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Speaker 1: I was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor. I was
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Speaker 1: a violent aggressor. Just for a moment, let me pick
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Speaker 1: at those words. The word blasphemer means one who is
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Speaker 1: injurious to others. Insulting, one who speaks lightly of things sacred.
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Speaker 1: That was Paul. Persecute means to drive away, to put
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Speaker 1: someone to flight. It means to take advantage of every
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Speaker 1: opportunity to assault and, if necessary, annihilate. That's persecute. That's Paul.
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Speaker 1: I was a violent aggressor. He took sadistic delight in
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Speaker 1: hurting and inflicting pain. He was, in the core of
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Speaker 1: his life, cruel and brutal. That's Saul of Tarsus. That's
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Speaker 1: the man who was entrusted with the gospel. That's why
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Speaker 1: it's so amazing. Our pastors and elders got away for
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Speaker 1: a little retreat some time ago. And after our last
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Speaker 1: evening of meeting, we had been there through most of
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Speaker 1: the afternoon. In fact, all the afternoon, some of us retired.
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Speaker 1: In fact, most of us would have probably run on
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Speaker 1: to bed if several hadn't just stuck around and stuck
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Speaker 1: our feet up on the table and rapped a while
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Speaker 1: about our lives. And the longer we talked, the more
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Speaker 1: we told. And we dipped into our high school days
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Speaker 1: and we talked about our college days and I want
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Speaker 1: you to know tonight I've got some information that will
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Speaker 1: blow some men right out of the water. If I
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Speaker 1: were to tell you that, it was wonderful to have
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Speaker 1: such a spotless past and listen to those men as
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Speaker 1: they told of their... You haven't any idea what hellions
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Speaker 1: there are at the root of this ministry. It is unbelievable,
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Speaker 1: the background and the past. While the stories kept us
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Speaker 1: laughing and gasping through the evening, it was a lot
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Speaker 1: better than two hours sleep. I've got enough to gossip
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Speaker 1: about for at least three months for the next few days.
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Speaker 1: I'll tell you, it was remarkable, the past of every
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Speaker 1: one of those men sitting around the table. Some of
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Speaker 1: it funny, some of it tragic. All of it notorious.
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Speaker 1: And yet every one of us sitting there today as
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Speaker 1: church leaders, not one of us qualified to do this
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Speaker 1: kind of job. And I came across this passage in
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Speaker 1: 1 Timothy chapter 1 and I thought, Paul could have
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Speaker 1: told some things himself. You men wouldn't believe it. You
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Speaker 1: wouldn't believe this, but let me tell you what I did.
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Speaker 1: And while we're at it, did you ever know? And
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Speaker 1: let me add, and on and on, he'd keep us
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Speaker 1: there through the evening. A violent aggressor. A persecutor. A blasphemer.
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Speaker 1: I acted ignorantly in unbelief. I was blinded to the
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Speaker 1: truth and the very root of my problem was an
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Speaker 1: unbelieving heart. Can you imagine? Here I was a professional rabbi.
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Speaker 1: Here I was a member of the Jewish Supreme Court.
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Speaker 1: People came to me for answers. I was one of
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Speaker 1: the 70. I was a Pharisee. I knew the rules
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Speaker 1: and regulations. I led camps of people against Christians. I
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Speaker 1: threw some in prison and I said, thumbs down to
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Speaker 1: those that ought to die. And they killed them. I
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Speaker 1: was there. I am responsible. And I acted in unbelief.
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Speaker 1: And of all things, Timothy, I sit writing you this
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Speaker 1: letter and I'll tell you, I have been put into
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Speaker 1: God's service. Now that's a testimony. And just in case
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Speaker 1: some of you think you've got to work really, really
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Speaker 1: hard to get good enough for God to notice, forget it.
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Speaker 1: You'll never be saved if that is your plan. Because
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Speaker 1: the emphasis will continue to be on what you will
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Speaker 1: do and how you will earn the favor of God
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Speaker 1: and what good things you can give God to outweigh
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Speaker 1: the bad things. It's impossible. All our righteousnesses are as
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Speaker 1: filthy rags. And you don't want to know the literal
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Speaker 1: Hebrew of the term filthy rags. You really don't want
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Speaker 1: to know it. This man says, I was a filthy
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Speaker 1: rag and God came to my rescue. I left it
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Speaker 1: out on purpose. I was shown mercy. Well, I'm very
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Speaker 1: grateful that that's there because that's the only thing that
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Speaker 1: would solve a life like Saul. Mercy. Someone has called
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Speaker 1: it God's ministry to the miserable. That's not bad. I
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Speaker 1: was given mercy in my misery. I needed grace. I
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Speaker 1: needed undeserved mercy. I needed favor from God based on
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Speaker 1: his love and not by works because I had no works.
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Speaker 1: And God came to my rescue. Verse 14. Here's how
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Speaker 1: it happened. The grace of our Lord was more than abundant.
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Speaker 1: I thought of Romans 5, verse 20, where sins abound,
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Speaker 1: grace does much more abound. And who doesn't find himself
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Speaker 1: smiling deep within with that verse? Where our sins came
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Speaker 1: and washed over us time after time after time, there
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Speaker 1: was always a greater wave. There was always a more
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Speaker 1: massive amount of grace to cover over us. the bare
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Speaker 1: ripples of our sins. See how he puts it. The
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Speaker 1: grace of our Lord was more than abundant and the
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Speaker 1: faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. Now,
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Speaker 1: how could that be? What was it that caused God
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Speaker 1: to step into Saul's life and demonstrate his grace? How
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Speaker 1: could it be that the living God would slip into
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Speaker 1: the ranks of humanity and pull you? Of all people
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Speaker 1: out of the ranks of humanity and say to you,
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Speaker 1: here is my grace and you take it. Well, verse
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Speaker 1: 15 is the basis of all the gospel. It is
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Speaker 1: a trustworthy statement. It is a timeless principle, we could say,
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Speaker 1: deserving of full acceptance. And what is it? That Christ
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Speaker 1: Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's the
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Speaker 1: basic spiritual axiom of the gospel. Christ Jesus came into
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Speaker 1: the world to save sinners. That's the plan. That's like
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Speaker 1: saying the hunter went into the forest to shoot a deer.
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Speaker 1: The purpose of his going into the forest is to
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Speaker 1: shoot a deer. The physician went into the operating room
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Speaker 1: to remove a tumor. The purpose of his scrubbing up
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Speaker 1: and preparing for the operation is to remove a tumor.
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Speaker 1: Paul says, if I had been a deer and God
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Speaker 1: had been the hunter, I would have been the largest
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Speaker 1: stag in the forest. If I had been the one
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Speaker 1: with a tumor and God had been the one to
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Speaker 1: do the surgery, I had the largest tumor in the
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Speaker 1: history of man. That's the thought of verse 15. Christ
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Speaker 1: Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That was
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Speaker 1: his purpose. And when he looked for sinners, verse 15,
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Speaker 1: he found me first of all, foremost, literally of whom
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Speaker 1: first am I. I am the classic case of if
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Speaker 1: you were to look in the corners of life for
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Speaker 1: the one least likely to be found and loved and saved,
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Speaker 1: I qualify. Don't think he's exaggerating. If you do, you
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Speaker 1: don't understand his past. You're still impressed with his present.
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Speaker 1: Aren't you glad that it's impossible for somebody to lower
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Speaker 1: a screen and to flash up on the screen the words,
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Speaker 1: your past, And then to start the movie running and
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Speaker 1: all of us get to watch the last 40 years
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Speaker 1: or the years of your life before Christ. Aren't you
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Speaker 1: glad we can't see it? I'll say this. If that
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Speaker 1: were to happen, you would then understand of whom I
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Speaker 1: am foremost. Because you would know that everyone else would
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Speaker 1: suddenly see the very things that Christ washed away. The
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Speaker 1: good news is, that it'll never happen. As far as
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Speaker 1: east is from west, he has removed our transgressions from us.
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Speaker 1: It is the only way of describing an infinite removal.
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Speaker 1: Just as you can never get west by going east,
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Speaker 1: you can never again be held accountable for your sins.
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Speaker 1: He has washed them away. Past, present, and future, it
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Speaker 1: is done with thanks to the cross. Friend, that's good news.
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Speaker 1: That's grace. And you and I don't deserve it. The
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Speaker 1: filth And the dirt of our lives removed. Why? Verse 15.
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Speaker 1: Because of the axiom. Christ Jesus came into the world
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Speaker 1: to save sinners. Verse 16. For this reason. I found mercy.
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Speaker 1: In order that in me. As the foremost. Most. Jesus
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Speaker 1: Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for
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Speaker 1: those who would believe in him for eternal life. Keep
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Speaker 1: looking at the verse. It's really quite simple. It's the
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Speaker 1: purpose God had in mind for saving Saul of Tarsus.
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Speaker 1: In order that, here's the purpose clause. For this reason,
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Speaker 1: I found mercy in order that in me Christ might
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Speaker 1: demonstrate his perfect patience. God wanted to use me as
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Speaker 1: an example. See the word as an example for those
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Speaker 1: who would believe in him. It means an outline, a
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Speaker 1: sketch plan, a preliminary model, a sample. Years ago, it
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Speaker 1: was called a first fruit. He wanted to slice me
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Speaker 1: out of life and give me as an illustration or
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Speaker 1: a pattern for others to see there is more available.
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Speaker 1: The first fruit in the days of the Old Testament
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Speaker 1: was an interesting thing. It was a very, very small
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Speaker 1: amount of much more yet available. And those who had
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Speaker 1: raised their crops in thanksgiving to God would slice from
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Speaker 1: the crop or pick from the crop, pull from the
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Speaker 1: crop a very small amount and would place it before
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Speaker 1: the Lord God as a first fruit offering of gratitude
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Speaker 1: for the prosperity in allowing the sun and the rain
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Speaker 1: to massage the crops and give growth. I remember coming
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Speaker 1: home from school and smelling fresh baked cake in the oven.
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Speaker 1: And I wanted a slice of that cake so badly.
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Speaker 1: And my mother would say to me, now, honey, I'm
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Speaker 1: going to give you a little bit, but you've got
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Speaker 1: to wait until after supper to have as much as
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Speaker 1: you want. What she didn't know is I wanted all
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Speaker 1: of it. And she went in and she would take
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Speaker 1: this knife and she would slice about a paper thin
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Speaker 1: slice from that cake. And then she would say here,
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Speaker 1: and it was like a Mix my mouth, just juice up,
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Speaker 1: just thinking about that warm cake. And she would give
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Speaker 1: me just a tiny little slice. And it was an
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Speaker 1: example of more to come. That's what's used here by Paul.
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Speaker 1: God did that so that he might slice me out
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Speaker 1: and give me as a taste, as an example. to
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Speaker 1: other people as a prime example that if God could
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Speaker 1: do that for a blaspheming, aggressive persecutor who acted ignorantly
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Speaker 1: in unbelief, think of what he could do to you.
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Speaker 1: Think of what he could do for you. Paul said,
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Speaker 1: I was made, as it were, a prime example of
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Speaker 1: how God can reach sinners where they are. By the way,
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Speaker 1: did you miss something rather important in verse 16? There's
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Speaker 1: a distinction between something in us and something through us.
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Speaker 1: God demonstrated his perfect patience in me. But notice that
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Speaker 1: he is through me providing an example. Let me read
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Speaker 1: it again. I found mercy in order that in me,
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ might demonstrate his patience. And now notice through me.
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Speaker 1: as an example for those who would believe in him
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Speaker 1: for eternal life. God not only saved you for himself
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Speaker 1: but God saved you and put you available to the
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Speaker 1: world so that they might see through you the message
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Speaker 1: of the gospel marvelous thought the point is if he
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Speaker 1: can do that in the life of Saul he can
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Speaker 1: certainly do it in you And he can certainly continue
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Speaker 1: to do it through you. Now, when this kind of
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Speaker 1: thing happens to a life, there's only one thing left
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Speaker 1: to do aside from living out the message, and that's
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Speaker 1: give him praise. So here we are in the very
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Speaker 1: first part of this first letter Paul wrote Timothy, and
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Speaker 1: we find the man singing a doxology. By the way,
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Speaker 1: do you ever sing the doxology just as an expression
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Speaker 1: of your praise? Do you, every once in a while,
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Speaker 1: while in the shower or while driving or alone, just
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Speaker 1: as an expression, sound forth your praise? I could tell
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Speaker 1: you some amazing stories of what's happened to me because
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Speaker 1: I'm a singer when I drive. And it's as though
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Speaker 1: there's nobody around. I sometimes sing the harmony. I sometimes
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Speaker 1: sing the melody. But I always sing loudly. Always. Late
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Speaker 1: at night, early in the morning, ask my family. I
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Speaker 1: have awakened more children from the shower singing than I
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Speaker 1: think any other method ever used in our home. I
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Speaker 1: really sing loud. When I sing the doxology, I think
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Speaker 1: I have that kind of heart that the apostle writes
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Speaker 1: with in verse 17. Now to the king eternal. Immortal. Invisible.
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Speaker 1: The only God. Be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
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Speaker 1: Isn't that a grand conclusion? I think on my past.
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Speaker 1: And I try to forget the lives that were snuffed out.
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Speaker 1: I think of the stupid things I did. I think
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Speaker 1: of the cruel acts I carried out. I think of
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Speaker 1: the havoc I wrecked in lives. I think of the
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Speaker 1: fresh graves that I caused. I think of my zeal
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Speaker 1: and my training all being used in ways that were
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Speaker 1: hurtful to the cause of Jesus Christ. I think of
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Speaker 1: all my past and all my zeal and all my
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Speaker 1: discipline and all those long hours and hard work at
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Speaker 1: trying to act religiously but against Christ. And then I
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Speaker 1: remember the day on the road to Damascus when I
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Speaker 1: was blinded and I heard a voice from the one
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Speaker 1: I had tried to silence. And once I had sight,
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Speaker 1: but now I'm blind. And God showed me in my
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Speaker 1: blindness His grace. And He said to me, I want
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Speaker 1: to use you as an example to the world. And
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Speaker 1: now I say to the king eternal, and I am
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Speaker 1: only temporal. Immortal, and I am only mortal. Invisible, and
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Speaker 1: I am only sight. I am only visible. The only God,
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Speaker 1: for I am no God. Be honor, and I take
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Speaker 1: honor to him from this dishonorable vessel. And glory from
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Speaker 1: this inglorious individual forever and ever. And I say it.
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Speaker 1: Because no one else operates in grace. No one else
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Speaker 1: accepts us as we are. No one else gives love
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Speaker 1: in spite of us. No one else cleans us up within.
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Speaker 1: Gives us mercy. And I say that may this go
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Speaker 1: on forever and ever. Amen. When is the last time
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Speaker 1: you gave God your sheer and unadulterated praise? For loving
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Speaker 1: you and seeing beyond your faults. Addressing your needs and
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Speaker 1: coming to your rescue. This is the last time you've
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Speaker 1: done that. I think for some it may have been
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Speaker 1: a long, long time. The point is clear. If the
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Speaker 1: Apostle Paul toward the end of his life would take
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Speaker 1: the time with a close friend to give such a
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Speaker 1: statement as this, I think it's appropriate we do the same.
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Speaker 1: You know what I suggest as a practical outworking of this?
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Speaker 1: Some of you are married and some of you are unmarried.
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Speaker 1: Those of you who are unmarried, I suggest within this
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Speaker 1: week that's in front of us that you take the
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Speaker 1: time with your friend to tell that person your testimony.
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Speaker 1: You pull that individual aside, ask for time, perhaps around
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Speaker 1: a cup of coffee or an evening meal. If you
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Speaker 1: can't work it any other way, over the phone. preferably
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Speaker 1: face to face, and you sit alone with that person
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Speaker 1: and you take the time to express to this individual
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Speaker 1: how Christ has changed your life. Don't be afraid to
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Speaker 1: get specific. Paul did. He called himself all these things
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Speaker 1: in verse 13, including a violent aggressor. I think there's
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Speaker 1: something wonderful that happens in the giving of our testimony.
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Speaker 1: And you entrust the truth of your life to some
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Speaker 1: close friend. Now you anticipate If you're married, do that
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Speaker 1: with your mate. You know, I find couples all the
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Speaker 1: time that have never heard at length the testimony of
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Speaker 1: their mate. Does that seem amazing to anybody else? There
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Speaker 1: should be no one else on earth who knows more
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Speaker 1: of the details of your conversion than the person you're
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Speaker 1: sharing your life with until death parts you. That person
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Speaker 1: ought to know those things with which you struggle, the
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Speaker 1: pit from which you have been dug out, And the
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Speaker 1: mercy that's been demonstrated by God on your behalf. Don't
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Speaker 1: hide that. There's something very, very wonderful about knowing the
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Speaker 1: secrets of your partner. And holding those things in absolute trust.
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Speaker 1: Those are the things that make each other melt when
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Speaker 1: you sit across the room and blink. And the other
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Speaker 1: one understands. Maybe something's been said that triggers trust. Some
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Speaker 1: particular intimate truth that you've shared that goes back to
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Speaker 1: that moment when you talked about it. Take the time
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Speaker 1: to talk, share your past and how Christ has changed it.
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Speaker 1: I suggest that as a very helpful project for making
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Speaker 1: this testimony of Paul an even more beautiful thing. Our
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Speaker 1: God and our Father, through Jesus Christ, We give you
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Speaker 1: our praise, our adoration, the expression of our deepest gratitude
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Speaker 1: for changing our lives. No one can deny or ignore
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Speaker 1: that once we were blind, but now we see. With
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Speaker 1: this statement of praise, we conclude this moment of worship.
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Speaker 1: but we begin a whole new week of it in
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Speaker 1: the declaration of our testimony to a world that has
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Speaker 1: never in its life sung that kind of doxology. In
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Speaker 1: Jesus' strong name. Amen. The preceding message, Undeserved Mercy for
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Speaker 1: an Unbelieving Rabbi. was copyrighted in 1983 and the sound
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Speaker 1: recording was copyrighted in 2015 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
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Speaker 1: All rights are reserved worldwide.