Understanding Grace Pt 1

Good morning. It's good to see everybody. You guys want to go ahead and stand with us? We'll pray and we'll get started.

Father, thank you for the day. Lord, I just thank you for, God, just the opportunity to be here to serve you, Lord, and just to sit and spend some time in your word, Lord, and in your presence. We ask that you bless this time, Lord, and we love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Praise God. You guys can go ahead and have a seat if you like. We'll continue on.

Aside from my song.

Aside, aside.

Make straight a highway. A path Jesus has come.

Wake up the saints.

Jesus has come.

Your name is God.

God, I deserve prayer this morning, Lord. Just come, Lord. I count on the same God that never fails. Will not fail. You won't fail me now. In the way. The same God who's never late is working all things out. You're working all things out. Oh, yes, I will lift you high. Valiant. Bless your name. The God of Jacob. He's been with us through generations.

He'll keep your cup down to do the same thing.

I'm standing on your things. All parts. Simple.

You're a shepherd boy. You're a giant God. You answered prayers back then. Answer. The same God. The same.

The same God. You are the same God. You moved in power then. God. You are the same God.

Touch the left side.

Standing on. Standing on your.

Father God. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, Lord, God, God, you are so awesome. You never changed. You never will. Lord. God. I think that we can always rely on you. Lord. You are always faithful. Lord. Sing that course with me. One more time. Oh, God, my God, I need you standing over again. Father God, I just thank you for the for the day, Lord, and I just thank you, God, that

you are always faithful. You. You. You. I just thank you that you're not some harded dry great day, that you never change. God that you always the same. Would you not some moving goalposts? Would you not something that changes day-to-day. You're not some someone who changes their mind from day to day. But what you said then is true. Now, God, you are always faithful.

You never change. You are the same yesterday, today and forever, Lord. God. Thank you so much. thank you for who you are for your unchanging nature god thank you lord god as as pastor ryan comes this morning father i just pray that you would speak mightily through him lord overflow him with your holy spirit with your gift of teaching give him the words to speak lord

and let your word do its mighty and awesome work in our hearts lord god we love you god we praise you and we thank you in jesus name all god's people said amen amen let's have some fellowship good morning if you could start to locate your seats grab a bulletin we'll get ready to go over some announcements welcome to calvary chapel glad you could be here over on the left hand side of your bulletin are all of the things that go on throughout the week so uh find yourself a spot to uh to get plugged into and take note of that over in the middle section of your bulletin a couple of things to pay attention to number one if you are looking to get plugged into serving i've had a couple people come up to me

after service last week so if you're interested in serving in any area within the church we just ask that you've been here for about six months or so and if so then come talk to me if you're looking for a spot to get plugged into to serve the second thing to take note of is that those that are wanting to share their testimony at the outreach that pastor or that rick hawkins is doing in a few weeks they are going to be working on sharing those testimonies in the sanctuary today at two o'clock so meet here they'll be praying together and just kind of talking through how that how that works and then one thing that is not in your bulletin is that the new ladies study in first and second timothy starts on march the 16th and there are sign up sheets

out there in the lobby by where you got your bulletin so ladies take note of that if you're interested in getting involved those are the things that are going on if you'd make sure that your mobile device is silenced and for our responsive reading this morning we are going to be in psalm 26 psalm 26 looking at the new american standards so we sound the same and as you're turning to psalm 26 if you would stand in the honor of the reading of god's word i will read the odd verses if you will follow along with pastor allen and the even verses psalm 26 a psalm of david psalms 26 psalm 26 i do not sit with deceitful men nor will i go with pretenders i hate the assembly of

evildoers and i will not sit with the wicked i shall wash my hands in innocence and i will go about your all That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all your wonders. O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. Do not take my soul along with sinners, nor my life with men of bloodshed. In whose hand is a wicked scheme, in whose right hand is full of bribes.

But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity. Redeem me and be gracious to me. My foot stands on a level place in the congregations. I shall bless the Lord. And Father, we do just bless you this morning that you have given us the opportunity to hear your word. That you have given us your word as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. And that you have blessed us with salvation because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

And so Lord, as we spend time looking at your word this morning, I ask that you would move by the power of your Holy Spirit in this place. Father, give us a fresh understanding and a fresh vision of you. And Lord, draw us near to you, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the book of Galatians, chapter 1.

Galatians, chapter 1. The title of this morning's message is A Story of Grace. We have been following Paul along in this book of Galatians. He first of all introduced the importance... He introduced important things to us, himself as the writer, the Galatians as the recipient, and Jesus as the subject of the book. He then went on to talk to the people about two issues that they were having in Galatia.

The issue of the false gospels, and then of course there was the issue of being a people pleaser. And then last week we just simply talked about the gospel. What the gospel message actually looks like. Because we don't want to spend time identifying the false without also identifying the true. And so as we move into... Now this next section of the book of Galatians, it really is going to be a defense of his message of grace.

You see, two things were under attack in the city of Galatia, or in the region of Galatia with the churches. The message of grace was under attack, but also the messenger of grace was under attack. And so in this next chapter and a half, starting here in verse 11, all the way through the end of chapter 2, we will see Paul defend those two things. The message of grace and himself as the messenger of grace.

And as we do so, as we see this story of grace, in the next two weeks we're going to see four things. We're going to see his message, we're going to see his testimony, we're going to see his commission, and we're going to see his defense. But as for this morning, we're going to look at two things. We're going to look at the message, and we're going to look at the testimony.

And so we pick up in verse 11 of chapter 1, and this is what it says. For I would have you to know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, as he defends, first of all, his message, and as he talks about his message, there's two identifying markers that he gives us about his message.

First of all, that this message that he gives to them, is not from man. Matter of fact, he says, the gospel that I preached to you. Now, we defined the word gospel last week, but if you weren't here last week, the word gospel literally means good news, or glad tidings. And so he says, this good news that I brought to you was not the message of man, because I did not receive it from man.

So when he says that this gospel that I preached to you was not according to man, what does he mean? Well, I think he means a handful of things. First of all, this gospel was not according to man, because it was not a message that came from man. It would be interesting, if you and I were to come up with a gospel message, you know who would be the hero of that gospel message?

I would be. And I would actually hope that the gospel message that you came up would also make me the hero of the gospel message, right? Because that's who we are as humans, right? If we want good news, we want to be the one who brings the good news. We want to be the hero of the gospel message. And quite frankly, that's the problem with most of the gospel,

of works, is that it makes myself the hero of the gospel. It makes me the subject of the message. Therefore, Paul says, this message was not according to man, because a man didn't write this message. A man didn't come up with this message, because if he had, a man would be the hero of the message. Every movie that we watch, right? There's always a hero, right?

I think I told you a few weeks ago, I finally watched the new Top Gun movie. I'm always a few months behind everybody when it comes to that sort of thing. But I watched the new Top Gun. And I was not surprised at who the hero of that movie was. I knew who the hero of that movie was going to be. Eric, right? Because that's his gospel message. That's his good news.

He's the hero, right? And all of us, especially as men, have innately within us the desire to be the hero. The one who saved everyone from destruction. The problem is we can't be, because we're not the hero. We're the problem. Therefore, this gospel is not, according to, Second reason why this gospel is not according to man is because this gospel is not about man.

It's not about man's ability to reach up to God. It's not about how man finally looked inside himself and saw that there was an issue. And so they began to reach up to God and say, I need a savior. Because that's not what happened. That's not what happens with humanity. Do you know that? Are we aware of that this morning? That in general, apart from the awakening power of the Holy Spirit,

man is not trying to reach up to God. And if man is trying to reach up to God, he'll fail. Because this gospel is not about man's ability to reach God. No, this gospel was not according to man because this gospel is the message of God reaching down to man to save him. It's fascinating to see what's happening in our nation right now. On one hand, the level of degradation in our country

is at a point that I've never seen before. But do you know what else is happening? Kind of under the surface, a little stirring that's taking place and it's starting on some of the college campuses, much like the first and second grade awakenings did. There's a revival that's beginning to spring forth. There's pockets of revival that are beginning to take place.

And listen, I need us to understand something. It's not because man is doing such a great job of preaching the gospel. Actually, if anything, I think that the church in the Western culture is failing more than they ever have before at getting the gospel. The message of the gospel out to people. So how is this happening? Because God is reaching down to man and he is stirring in the heart of man

a desire to know the truth. Because this gospel that Paul preached, this gospel that's presented to us in the word of God is not a gospel that's according to man. It's a gospel that is that of God reaching down to man to offer him help and to reveal his greatest need for a savior. Paul said, this message of the gospel that I brought to you, it's not a message that's according to man.

Why? Because I didn't receive it from a man, nor was I taught it. And then we come to the second point, but I received it from a revelation of Jesus Christ or through a revelation of Jesus Christ. He says, I did not receive this from a human. Now, listen, we need to understand something. That's not God's typical way of reaching people. God has seen fit that for the most part,

most people will be reached by the gospel message through a messenger. After all, Paul will go on in the book of Romans to write, how beautiful are the feet of those who carry the gospel message. After all, how can they hear unless they are sent? And how can they be sent unless they are called? How beautiful are the feet of those who carry the gospel message.

But there are times where it is simply an act of God to call someone to salvation. And that's exactly what took place with Paul. He says, I received this message of the gospel through a, through a revelation of Jesus Christ. That word revelation means a revealing or an unveiling. And the source of this revealing, the source of this unveiling, the source of this revelation

was none other than Jesus Christ himself. Before we get to his testimony, may I remind you of how Paul came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. Conviction had already been taking place in his heart, but remember he was on that road to Damascus and what happened? As he was on that road to Damascus, none other than Jesus Christ himself appeared to him.

After all, when he was knocked to the ground, he said, Lord, who are you? And he said, I am Jesus Christ whom you are persecuting. He revealed himself to him. As a matter of fact, Paul then spent about three days in the city waiting for someone to come and pray with him with these great scales on his eyes. And I believe those three days that he was there waiting for someone to come pray for him

to have those scales removed from his eyes. I think that God was taking all of that Old Testament knowledge that he had and showing him how it was all fulfilled in Jesus Christ. So that when those scales were removed from his eyes, he was like a pit bull ready to be let off of the chain so that he could go and spread the gospel message with everybody that was around him. He says, I received it from a revelation that came through Jesus Christ.

But can I say one thing here? Each of us, though, we probably all heard the gospel message from a person and not from a direct revelation, not a vision of Jesus Christ. May I say the only reason that our spirits were quickened to understand it was because of the work of Jesus Christ in our hearts. Because if it truly is the message of the gospel, if it truly is the message of Jesus Christ, then the only one that makes that alive in our hearts and in our minds is none other than Jesus Christ himself.

That's why somebody can hear the gospel message, 35 times, but on the 36th time, it sinks in and they go, I need Jesus. It's because the Holy Spirit, through the working of Jesus Christ in our lives, made that alive for us. Now, it's important that Paul point out that this was not something that he received from man, but something that he received from Jesus Christ. Because as I mentioned, his apostleship was under attack.

The messenger was under attack. And I want you to think about something. How did the other, 11 apostles receive the message of the gospel? They received it directly from Jesus Christ by spending three years walking on top side of planet earth with him, right? So if Paul, who also is claiming apostolic authority, is to be able to truly claim that apostolic authority,

then just like the other 11 apostles, he needed to receive it directly from Jesus Christ. That's why he points this out, because it's important to the ministerial credentials that he has claimed. And so, he tells us about his message. But the second thing that he tells us about is his testimony. Starting in verse 11, or excuse me, starting in verse 13, it says this.

For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went away to Arabia and returned once more to Jerusalem, and returned once more to Jerusalem, and returned once more to Jerusalem, and returned once more to Damascus.

Then three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him 15 days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. Now, in what I'm writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying. Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea,

which were in Christ. But they only kept hearing, he who once persecuted us is now, preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy. And they were glorifying God because of me. Now, as we look at this testimony, there's actually four really interesting things that he's gonna point out to us. The first thing that he's gonna point out to us is who he was. And may I say, if you are going to share

your own personal testimony with somebody, the first thing that you should point out to them is who I was before I came to know Jesus Christ. Because we each have a story, of who I was before I came to know Jesus Christ. And before I get into Paul's story, because many of us know Paul's story, I wanna make sure that we all in this room understand something. I spent a lot of time in my life thinking that I didn't have a good enough testimony because I wasn't like some of the other Calvary pastors that I had heard their testimonies my whole life growing up.

Because their lives were so much different than mine. I grew up in a wonderful home with Christian parents who loved me very much. And I oftentimes felt like my testimony could not be as powerful as somebody else's. But I've been reminded about something over the years. And what I've been reminded of and continue to be told is this. Every testimony is powerful

because every testimony is the story of somebody going from dead to alive. It's just that some people, the decay had set in a little deeper than others. But everybody's story is powerful. Everybody's story is a story of how God's going to change. Everybody's story is a story of how God's going to change. Everybody's story is a story of how God's going to change.

grace has changed their lives. And so you should never feel like, well, I wasn't somebody out killing Christians. I wasn't somebody out selling drugs. I wasn't somebody out doing this. Therefore, my story is not as important as somebody else's. No, because your story is still yours. And it's still the story of how God took you from being dead to being alive. But this is Paul's story.

This is who he was before he came to know Jesus as his Lord and savior. He says, for you have heard verse 13 of my former manner of life in Judaism. Paul's story was somewhat well known by this point in time. As a matter of fact, Paul didn't go anywhere without telling his story. And I don't think it's because he had what I would call a bragamony. Have you ever been around somebody

that when they tell you about who they were before they knew Jesus, you almost think, do you still wish you were that person because of how much they bragged about who they were before they came to know Jesus? I call those, I call those bragamonies and you get drug through all of the garbage with them. I don't think that's why Paul told his story everywhere that he went. I think Paul was so amazed by God's grace that he just wanted people to know that he just wanted people to know that God could even love someone like him, but the love of God did not stop at somebody like him.

And so he said, you've, you've heard my story before, you know, of my former manner in Judaism. And then he goes on to describe it. He says, who I was formerly was somebody who persecuted the church of God. In other words, I stood against and tried to destroy the church of God. He actually uses two defining terms to point out how much he persecuted God. First of

all, he says beyond measure and that he tried to destroy it. Those are, those are qualifying words for just how much he persecuted the church of God. It wasn't just that he had a bad attitudes toward them. It wasn't just that he talked bad about them when no one was around. It's that he literally took active measures to destroy the church of God. It wasn't just that he talked bad about them when no

one was around. It was that he talked bad about them when no one was around. It wasn't just that he tried to destroy the church. If you want a little bit clearer picture of this in the margin of your Bible, you might write Acts nine, because that tells the story of Paul's conversion. And it tells us in Acts chapter nine, that after the death of Stephen, Paul was breathing out threats

and murders against the church. In other words, it was every fiber of his being caught up with his desire to destroy the church and everybody who believed in this, in his mind, false messiahs, named Jesus. You heard about my former manner in Judaism, how I tried to destroy the church. He goes on from there to say, and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen. As a matter of fact, in some of the other writings of Paul, he said,

I was a Jew among Jews. As far as a Pharisee goes, as far as the law goes, I was blameless. I did everything that I was supposed to do. I had excelled beyond the rest of them. Matter of fact, he goes on to give one more statement about it. He says, I was extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. Now, why does Paul spend so much time talking about who he was in Judaism before coming to know Jesus? It's understandable why he spends so much time

talking about being a persecutor of Christians, because that is what sin had done to his life. And that's what his sin had done to the lives of others, like we talked about last week with the message of the gospel. But why does he point out who he was in Judaism? Because the false teaching that had come into the Galatian church was that they needed to know Jesus, but also follow the law. They needed to know Jesus, but also keep the Sabbath day. They needed to follow

Jesus, but also be circumcised. They needed Jesus plus the law. If anybody knew that they didn't need Jesus plus the law, it would be someone who had excelled more than anyone else in Judaism. If anybody should have been a person to enforce the law upon the lives of new believers, it would be somebody who had at one time considered himself a Pharisee among Pharisees. If anybody was going to add law to grace, it should have been Paul, because he

understood the law just about as well as anyone contemporarily alongside him. And he didn't. His testimony was that if anybody knew the law, it was me. Therefore, if anyone was going to enforce the law, it was me. After all, I hated all of these grace-sharing Christians, but that's who I was before Jesus. And brothers and sisters, who you are before Jesus is just that,

who you are before Jesus. That's not who Paul is anymore. And listen to me, that's not who Paul is anymore. And listen to me, that's not who Paul is anymore. That's not who you are anymore. In just a minute, he's going to tell us about what God had done in his life. But I want to tell you right now that who you were before Jesus is just that. It no longer identifies you. Because too many of us as believers in Jesus Christ walk around wearing the

guilt of who we were before Jesus. Walk around living in the same sins that we lived in before we knew Jesus. And who we were needs to remain who we were, because it's not who we are now. That guilt no longer defines us. That sin no longer defines us. Therefore, that guilt is not something we should walk in. And listen, those sins are not something we should walk in. Whom the Son has set

free is free indeed. Well, after he describes who I was, he goes on to describe what God had done. What God did. In verse 15, it says, But when God, who had set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood. When he talks about what God did,

the entire tenor of the language changes. Did you notice that? Who he was before Christ was caught up with me. I did this. This is what I did. This is what I was involved in. This is what defined me. But once he starts talking about what God did, himself absolutely takes a backseat because he says, but God and God, he revealed his Son in me. Everything is about the Lord and what God had done

in his life. And before we get into what God had done in his life, I want to look at that very first phrase that's given, but God. I know it says, but when God, but let's take the word, but God. Two of the greatest words in our language are the words, but God. After all, in my own life, I know who I would be right now, but God. I know that if God had not stepped into

my life when I was 17 years old and told me, you have to quit living a double life. You have to quit living after the world and pretending like you attend church. You have to quit living after the world and pretending like you know God. I know that if God had not stepped into my life when I know me, you have to quit living after the world and pursuing the things of the world and all of the things that you've been doing. You have to stop doing that. If he had not intervened in my life,

I know where I'd be today. I would be a life that is miserable, a life that is lost, a life that would amount to nothing because I would still be living after the things of the world. I would have enough of Jesus to make me miserable and enough of the world to bring me destruction. That's who I would be, but God. And I'm so well aware of that. And I know many of you in this room

are well aware of that. And I wish everybody, I hope everybody in this room can be so well aware of this is who I would be, but God. Because they're the two greatest words. Because it indicates a change that took place. Paul says, that's who I was, but God. And then notice, what he says when he talks about, but what God did. The first thing he says is, he set me apart

from my mother's womb. It says right there, but when God who had set me apart from my mother's womb, that is such a fascinating statement because I looked this up to make sure that I was understanding this correctly. I did a word study on what it means by he separated me from my mother's womb. Like when, when did Paul say God's plan actually began in his life? And so I did a little

bit of word study. And according to the Greek there, it indicates that God's plan actually began in his life. And according to the Greek there, it indicates that this is before his birth, but while he was still in his mother's womb. You know what that tells us? That tells us something really interesting. God has a plan for unborn babies. Isn't that beautiful? That God looks inside the womb and as

he is knitting that baby together. I don't know how you picture that in your mind, but I know how I picture it in my mind. I picture God physically being involved in the knitting together of a child in the womb of a mother. Because he is so intimately, intricately involved in the forming of that child. And he's so intimately, intricately involved in the forming of that child. And he's so intimately,

intricately involved in the forming of that child to make that baby exactly what they're supposed to be. Because he has a plan for that baby that's in that mother's womb. You know, Paul's not the first guy to say that. God told Jeremiah the prophet, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you and I set you apart as a messenger to the nations. Brothers and sisters, if you're

here this morning, I want you to know that you're not here on accident. Your life is not on accident. God had a plan for you even before you were born. You did not show up on this earth by accident. Even though your mom and dad might have said, oops, God did not. He knew exactly what he was doing. And when he knit you together, he knit you together for a purpose. And I think that we have to remember that. Because

sometimes in this world that we live in, we think, I don't have a purpose in this world. I can't do what all of these other people do. I have disabilities. I can't do what these people do. No, but you can do what God wants you to do. Because God didn't make you to be just, everybody else he made you to be just like you i battled with that for a really long time in my

life i battled with lord i can't be like all of these other people i can't do what all of these other people do i'm not talented like all of these other people and he said it's okay i still have a plan for you and that plan has been around since before i knit you together in your mother's womb he actually used that verse for me to help call me into ministry when i was in bible college because i was looking at all of the other people around me i'm going lord i'm not talented like they are not gifted like they are i don't have the knowledge that all of these other people have i'll probably just give up i don't think i can ever go into ministry and he said

no before i formed you in the womb i knew you and i called you god has that exact same plan for every person that's here this morning god has that exact same plan for every person that's listening on and if there's a mom listening online that's questioning whether or not that child that's in their womb whether or not that's really from god and whether or not she can go through with this pregnancy i want to tell you god knew exactly what he was doing when he gave you that baby and you need to trust that he has a plan and he'll work it out he says but when god who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his grace i love how much paul always points out grace when he talks about god's work in his life

what god did because he says not only did god know him even before he was born and had a plan for him even before he was born but that god called him through his grace that word grace as defined it means god's unmerited favor a gift that we don't deserve and by god's grace he called paul it wasn't because of what paul had done it wasn't even because of who paul was it was simply because of the grace of god his unmerited favor in his life when it comes to the thought of election and god calling people by his grace charles spurgeon has a great quote on this charles spurgeon said i have no problem believing that god elects some i have a problem believing that god would elect me

because he understood that he had been called by the grace of god and may i say i couldn't agree with charles spurgeon more i don't have a problem believing that god calls people by his grace sometimes i have a problem believing that god would call me because i know how undeserving i am of god's grace in my life and i think paul knew how undeserving he was of god's grace in his life of god doing anything with him and yet god had called him through his grace he goes on from there to say and he revealed jesus in me he revealed his son in me now there's an interesting choice of words that are used there he doesn't say he revealed his son to me it says he revealed his son in me what does he mean by that he means that now the life that i

live by the grace of god is a reflection of jesus christ to the people around me in other words my life is now the greatest testimony to the grace of god that i can imagine my life is the greatest testimony to who jesus is and his ability to save that i can imagine my life is now the greatest i can imagine and can i say i feel the exact same way in my life i hope you feel the exact same way in your life you ever talk to somebody that you used to go to high school with and they tell you that they love jesus now and they're like whoa god's grace really is amazing right like sometimes i'm that person for people they're like oh wow god's grace really is amazing i'm like i know

right who knew because he revealed jesus in me did he reveal jesus to me yes he showed me the grace of god but now he's using that to reveal jesus in me because everybody can look at my life and say that's got to be jesus because there's no other way that guy's standing up in front of us today he set me apart from my mother's womb he called me according to his grace and then he revealed jesus in me and as he revealed jesus and paul he then began to preach to the gentiles because he had a purpose what does it say to reveal his son in me so that i might preach him among the gentiles i want you to notice the fact that paul was not just called so that he could be happy that he was saved i fear sometimes in the church today

that what we have are people that think their one calling in life is simply to not go to hell that's why god called you into salvation is so that you wouldn't have to go to hell don't get me wrong wonderful fringe benefit god called you to salvation because he has something now that he wants you to do he has a purpose for your life we've talked about it before and i love telling kids this especially but why not tell the non-kids this too right that's all of us uh i tell everybody you were created for a purpose the purpose to know god and the purpose to serve god most people can't seem to find a place where they're happy in life because they think that their one purpose in

life is to live for me how can i feel fulfilled how can i feel good about me how can i make the world a better place your job your calling your purpose in life is not so that you can feel fulfilled so that you can feel good about the things that you do your purpose is to live for you your purpose is that you would serve god and when he saved paul he saved him not just so that he could be happy that he was saved but so that he could take his message to the gentiles he had a purpose for his life and god has a purpose for your life too he did not save you so that you could sit in that sweet chair that you're sitting in right now he saved you so that you could take

that message of what he's done in your life to the people that are around you some of you will do that through the works of your hands some of you will do that through the works of your hands that you speak. Some of you will do that through the songs that you write. Some of you will do that through the Bible studies that you teach. Some of you will do that as you minister to your kids. But each of us has been called for a purpose, and that purpose is to serve God with the things

that he has given us to do. And that's what God had done in him. God set him apart, called him by his grace, revealed Jesus, and then sent him out to preach among the Gentiles. And so how did Paul respond? Notice what it says. Middle of verse 16, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia

and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas. And stayed with him 15 days. But I did not see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. Now what I'm writing, I assure you before God, I'm not lying. I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea, which were in Christ.

What was the first thing that Paul did? The first thing that Paul did was not go hang out with all of the other Christians and make sure that he understood the doctrine. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. That's just not what Paul did. What did Paul do? He went away to Arabia. He went into the desert for a little while. There's some debate as to how long Paul actually went into the desert. Some people say three years.

Some people say a little bit less. Whatever amount of time it was, he went off into the desert. Why did he go off into the desert? Because he needed to go and hear from God. He needed to go and hear exactly what God had for him. Now, there's a couple of things that I want to point out to you about this. One, sometimes we need to shut off the noise that's around us so that we can hear from God.

Sometimes we just need to shut off the noise. I listened to a short clip of a guy. I'm not sure I agree with this guy, so I won't give you his name. But I listened to a short clip because what he had to say was very interesting. He said, I want you to think about what most of our days look like. We get up and the first thing that we do is we turn on the news, or we check the news on our phone,

or we listen to something. And then on our way to work, we listen to a podcast, or we listen to talk radio, or we listen to music. While we're at work, we're talking to people or listening to music all day long. Then we come home, and on our way home, we usually listen to whatever's going on on the radio. Once again, talk radio or music. We come home and we turn on the TV to figure out what show we want to

binge for that night. And we watch that show until we fall asleep on the couch. And then we finally turn that show off and we go to bed, oftentimes by falling asleep to more TV or music playing. Our world is addicted to content. We feel like we constantly need noise. And yet, where did God speak best to Elijah? Through a still, small voice. He didn't speak to him through the fire. He didn't speak to him

through the wind. He didn't speak to him through the earthquake. It was a still, small voice. God spoke to Elijah. And sometimes, God speaks to us through the wind. God speaks to us through the wind. And sometimes, we as human beings right now in our world need to learn to turn off the noise. We are so trained to have the AirPods in our ears all the time. We're so trained to have the TV on

all the time, the radio on all the time, that sometimes we forget that all of those things, as good as they can be at times, can block out the voice of our Savior that wants to speak to us. Have you ever just sat in a silent room, any time recently? Sometimes, that's a hard thing to do, isn't it? It's really hard for me because I have two dogs, especially Carl, and he barks all the time. So, sometimes, I have to put them outside too.

But there's so much beauty in sitting in a little bit of quiet so that you can hear from God. Why did Paul go into Arabia? Because he needed it to be quiet so that he could hear from the Lord. But you know, there's a second reason why he needed it to be quiet. The second thing that I think is really important to point out here, Paul had to go through what we would call a wilderness time in his life.

Those whom God has used greatly throughout Scripture, and may I say also throughout history, have gone through a wilderness time in their life. All the way back to the very beginning, Abraham went through a wilderness time in his life when God called him away from everybody that he knew to get away from his home, his family, everything, and go to a place that I'll show you. He went to a wilderness time in his life. And he went to a wilderness time in his life.

He went to a wilderness place where God taught him about faith. Moses had to go and be in the wilderness all by himself for 40 years watching the sheep in order to be trained to be the man that God would use to lead the children of Israel. David spent 15 years living in the wilderness, running for his life. And it was in that wilderness where he learned what it meant to be a shepherd, where he learned what it meant to be a worshiper, and where he learned what it meant to be a shepherd. And he learned what it meant to be a worshiper, and where he learned

from God. Jesus even spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting before he went into that earthly ministry to prepare himself in his humanity for what he would do in his job as Messiah. Paul spent time in the wilderness preparing. Listen, brothers and sisters, I tell you this for a reason. You're going to go through times in your life where things feel a little bit desert

like, where things feel dry, where it feels like you're in a wilderness, a wilderness, in your job, a wilderness in your family, a wilderness in your spiritual life, whatever it is. But God uses those dry wilderness times as the greatest time that we look back on as a time of training. When I graduated from Bible college and came back and moved back to Kansas City, I started being a groundskeeper. And I would call that absolutely my wilderness time. It was the

most difficult time I went through in my faith. It was the most difficult time I went through as I learned to become a minister. And I sat on a mower all day long. Now, listen, I didn't hate that because I really like to mow, but I still just sat in silence all the time with this mower going. And do you know, many of the spiritual lessons that I still use in my teaching today, God showed me while I sat on

that mower in those very hard times right after Bible college, when I was being tested more than I ever had been spiritually. You know why? Because you can't despise those wilderness times. God uses those wilderness times as foundational times in our lives. We fight against it sometimes. I tell you, don't. If you see the wilderness coming, if you feel the quiet coming, don't fight against it. Embrace it and ask God to teach you what he

wants you to learn. Because I believe it was in that wilderness time that God really began to lay out everything that Paul would be doing and prepare him for the things that he would suffer. So after he goes into this time in Arabia, he returns once more to Damascus. As a matter of fact, if you were to look at Acts chapter nine, you would see that it says, after many days, I was preaching in Damascus. I think that that's that stretch of time where it talks about him

being gone in Arabia. After many days, he was once again preaching in Damascus. But while he was preaching in Damascus, in between verses 17 and, excuse me, in between verses 17 and 19, something happens. It says, then three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas. Why? Did he leave Damascus? Well, if you know anything about the book of Acts, you know that while he was

preaching in Damascus for those three years, something began to happen. People started hating him because he was standing up for the truth. He was preaching the gospel. The guy who at one point in time had persecuted it is now preaching it and his life was in danger. So what did they do? They let him down the wall in a basket. Remember, they had to sneak him out of Damascus. They're

like, you go down to Jerusalem. Get yourself acquainted with those guys. And so that's exactly what he does. He goes down to Jerusalem. And when he goes to Jerusalem, what does he do? He says, I became acquainted with Cephas. Cephas also is Peter. And I stayed with him 15 days, but I did not see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. He says, I went down there and I hung out with two guys.

I hung out with Peter and I hung out with James. Not because I thought they would add something to my ministry, but because I wanted to get acquainted with them. And so I went down to Jerusalem and I with those who also loved the gospel. Now, we also know from the book of Acts that when Paul went to Jerusalem, everybody sort of went, whoa, what's that guy doing here? Because remember,

what was he doing the last time that he was in Jerusalem? Breathing out murders and threats against the church. And so the church wasn't really quick to receive him, were they? If you remember the story, the church looked at Paul and they were like, hey, what's going on? Why is this guy here? It wasn't until he was in Jerusalem that he was able to receive him. And so he was able to receive him.

And so a fellow by the name of Barnabas came along and said, it's okay, guys, he's with me. And finally they said, okay, he can be a part of it. He can be a part of the gang. And so he spent this time with Peter and he spent a little time with James. But after he spent time with those guys, notice what happens. Verse 20. Now in what I'm writing to you, I assure you before God that I

am not lying. Then I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. Why did he leave Jerusalem to go to the regions of Syria and Cilicia? Because when he was in Jerusalem for those 15 days, he started preaching the gospel and all of the chief priests and elders who thought he was on their side now saw that he was not. And so what did they threaten to do? Kill him. And so they're like, dude, you've got to get out of here, man.

You need to leave again. And so he leaves again. And where does he go? The regions of Syria and Cilicia. Ultimately, he ends up back in his hometown of Tarsus. And he's there, listen, for almost 10 years before he ever gets called to go do missionary work. This is a lot of time of waiting in between Paul getting saved and Paul becoming the missionary. I think sometimes we discount this. We forget just how much time it took for Paul to ultimately

become the missionary that God called for him to be. You're talking somewhere between 10 and 15 years. And what was he doing that whole time? He was actively waiting on the Lord. What does it mean to actively wait? He was taking in everything that God wanted him to learn. He was serving where he could, waiting for God to call him. He was taking in everything that God wanted him to learn.

He was taking in everything that God wanted him to do, what God had called him to do. He says, that whole time, I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea, which were in Christ. That was how he responded. He responded by pouring into his walk with the Lord, receiving from God and following the leading of the Lord. But the last thing that we see is the result

of his testimony, the result of the gospel that took place. It says in verse 23, Listen, the result of the work of God in the lives of believers, the result of the true gospel message is that ultimately people glorify God. People glorify God. Paul said, I was completely unknown to the churches of Judea and that whole area, the churches of Christ in those places. They only knew one thing. He who used to persecute the

church now preaches the gospel that he tried to destroy, now preaches the message that he tried to destroy. And they glorified God because of me. It's a beautiful thing when the gospel changes our lives, is it not? It's a beautiful thing when the gospel changes our lives, is it not? It's a beautiful thing when the gospel changes our lives, is it not? And people begin to say, all I know is he was lost and now he's found. All I know is this is who he

used to be and this is who he is now. And it's a beautiful thing. I remember coming back to school my senior year of high school when I showed up after the summer because over the summer was when I really got close to the Lord. After I'd given my heart back to Jesus at the end of my junior year, I spent the summer not going around all the parties that I used to go to, not being around all the people that I used to go to. And I remember coming back and I was like, I'm not going

back and sitting in an English class. And I remember one of my friends asking me, dude, what happened to you? What's wrong? And I was like, man, nothing's wrong. I think everything's right. He said, what do you mean? Of course, I was really nervous at that point in time to share my faith. I'm like, you know, kind of started getting into the whole church thing and loving God and stuff

like that, you know, it was kind of like that. But all I knew is all my friends went, he's not the same guy that he used to be. He used to go to all the parties with us and now he doesn't. Anymore. We used to always see him out doing all the same things we were doing and now he doesn't anymore. And I hope that's in some way, shape or form, they glorified God because of me.

And that's the way it is with you too. People now see you and they say, I know who he used to be and I know who he is now. That must be the work of God. I know who she used to be and I know who she is now. That must be the work of God. Because listen, brothers and sisters, when the grace of God comes upon you, the one person that truly gets the credit for it, the one person that truly

gets the glory for it is none other than Jesus Christ himself. After all, what did Jesus tell us? Do your good works before men so that they see those good works and they glorify your father who is in heaven. Amen? Let's all stand. The story of grace is such an amazing story because it's so much like, all of our stories. The story of how God took us from who we were, has made us who we are,

and we've now responded by following him wholeheartedly. If you're here this morning and you have that story of grace, make sure that somebody else knows the story of grace in your life. If you're here this morning and you haven't yet achieved that story of grace because God is still calling you, God is still trying to reveal himself in you, God is still trying to call you by the power of his grace, then today is the day to respond. Respond by leaving the things of the world behind. Respond by leaving behind all of the self-righteousness, following Jesus with all of

your heart. Father, we come to you now and I just lift up every person that's here this morning and I thank you for what you're able to do in our hearts and in our lives because of your grace. And so Lord, I pray that you would remind us just what you've changed us from and help us to live in the freedom and the joy of being born again believers. Father, we thank you and we praise you for who you are. In Jesus' name, amen. Be blessed.

I could sing these songs as I often do. Every song will stand. So I throw them because all that I have is a heart. Nothing else fit for a king. Death for a heart singing high response. I just long stretched why. Because all that except for a hope to get shy. Lift up your song. You've got a lion inside. And again, there's all else fit for except for a heart singing. God, we just want to lift praise to you this morning, God. God, just let everything

about us, God, just lift praise to you. And the words that we speak and the way that we live, the actions, Lord, just speak praise to you, Lord, that everything that we do, point to you, God. Lord, I just pray that as we leave here today, Lord, I just pray that your Holy Spirit go with us, Lord, and just continue your good work in our lives. We love you and we praise you in your precious and holy name. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week. Be blessed.