WEBVTT 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.240 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.519 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:19.760 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:22.940 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:27.160 you are through our website ecb .asia or our 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:30.960 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:36.259 by this week's sermon. Now we get to the meat. 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.359 of the time together, which is grace and peace. 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.799 Our last study in this series in the book of 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:48.320 Colossians. I do not know you, but I've enjoyed 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:52.219 this series. God has taught me so much. And just 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:55.420 to start thinking about his grace and his peace 00:00:55.420 --> 00:00:57.460 in our lives through whole different angles. 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:00.399 So I pray that he has been a blessing to you. 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:03.299 And today we will conclude with the very last 00:01:03.299 --> 00:01:06.519 section of the book. and expand a little bit 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:12.420 more deeply into it. Let's pray together. Lord, 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:17.879 your grace, your peace, what an amazing invitation. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:22.420 Thank you for what you've done through these 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:27.140 studies. And even today, as you invite us to 00:01:27.140 --> 00:01:29.459 experience your grace for the rest of our lives, 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:34.640 open our eyes to see what that looks like. And 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:39.620 if for some reason we are stuck, let it today 00:01:39.620 --> 00:01:42.219 be the day in which we find the freedom to be 00:01:42.219 --> 00:01:47.319 unleashed for you. So would you use me in your 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:50.680 power and your grace? I pray in Jesus' name. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:59.790 Amen. In this last study of grace for life, We 00:01:59.790 --> 00:02:02.150 will get to experience a little bit more what 00:02:02.150 --> 00:02:04.969 the Apostle Paul experienced in his life when 00:02:04.969 --> 00:02:09.590 he came to grace. But we are going to first review 00:02:09.590 --> 00:02:12.189 some of the major concepts before we dig into 00:02:12.189 --> 00:02:15.889 it. What we have learned in this study is that 00:02:15.889 --> 00:02:18.530 the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to Christians 00:02:18.530 --> 00:02:22.449 in the year 60 or so, which was the first generation 00:02:22.449 --> 00:02:26.870 of Christians in the history of our civilization. 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:31.349 These were people who lived in a town called 00:02:31.349 --> 00:02:35.449 Colossae or a small city. And they started following 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:39.069 Jesus, but they started being infiltrated by 00:02:39.069 --> 00:02:43.490 deceptive teaching that was compromising their 00:02:43.490 --> 00:02:46.310 experience of God's grace and his peace. So the 00:02:46.310 --> 00:02:49.960 apostle Paul writes to them. about these important 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.500 things. And one of the things we learned was 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:54.919 that grace and peace are the two legs of the 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:58.219 Christian walk. God wants us to follow him, but 00:02:58.219 --> 00:03:00.960 experiencing his grace and his peace along the 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:03.740 way. And if we're not experiencing it, it's because 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:06.400 we have to reframe the way we understand our 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.259 salvation and the way we see ourselves as channels 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:12.680 of God's grace. Because what we discover is that 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.879 if you are rooted in Christ and you really understand 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:20.530 what he has done for you, now you are free to 00:03:20.530 --> 00:03:24.110 live in his embrace. And now you are a recipient 00:03:24.110 --> 00:03:26.949 of his grace, you are a recipient of his peace, 00:03:27.289 --> 00:03:29.629 but that grace and that peace are not meant to 00:03:29.629 --> 00:03:32.310 stop with you, are meant to flow through you. 00:03:32.469 --> 00:03:34.990 Flow through you into your social relationships, 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:39.409 into your home, into your work, into the world 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:42.050 in which God has placed you, into the teams that 00:03:42.050 --> 00:03:45.770 God has called you to serve with. But also, God 00:03:45.770 --> 00:03:48.689 wants you to experience grace for the rest of 00:03:48.689 --> 00:03:53.569 your life. And to understand that this is indeed 00:03:53.569 --> 00:03:57.389 the foundation for our relationship with God. 00:03:57.490 --> 00:04:01.969 And this matters so much. Because if you do not 00:04:01.969 --> 00:04:04.590 understand and experience God's grace as Paul 00:04:04.590 --> 00:04:08.610 explains it in Colossians. then you will start 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:11.689 seeing God from a distorted perspective and you 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:14.050 will start seeing yourself from a distorted perspective. 00:04:15.870 --> 00:04:19.050 In other words, let me ask you this way. How 00:04:19.050 --> 00:04:23.170 do you see God today as you are here listening 00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:27.949 to this study? Is God an angry God that you have 00:04:27.949 --> 00:04:30.430 to work very hard at pleasing so that he won't 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:33.370 punish you? And that's a little bit exhausting? 00:04:35.310 --> 00:04:39.250 Or do you see God as a loving father who has 00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:41.850 reconciled you to himself and he will never leave 00:04:41.850 --> 00:04:45.029 you nor forsake you? And he's inviting you to 00:04:45.029 --> 00:04:49.209 love him, not to be afraid of him. Which one? 00:04:49.870 --> 00:04:53.689 Ah, it makes a big difference what you think 00:04:53.689 --> 00:04:56.810 of God. Because then what will start happening 00:04:56.810 --> 00:05:00.170 is that the way you see yourself, if you think 00:05:00.170 --> 00:05:02.170 that God is this angry God that you have to work 00:05:02.170 --> 00:05:05.250 very hard at pleasing, then you never feel good 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:08.029 enough. You're trying hard all the time, but 00:05:08.029 --> 00:05:10.149 you never know if your efforts are good enough. 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:15.709 And that is not grace and peace. But if you realize 00:05:15.709 --> 00:05:18.009 that God loves you and you can rest in His embrace 00:05:18.009 --> 00:05:21.430 and He's asking you to enter into this relationship 00:05:21.430 --> 00:05:23.550 with Him where not only He loves you, but He's 00:05:23.550 --> 00:05:28.230 inviting you to love Him, now you can engage 00:05:28.230 --> 00:05:30.449 in a whole different journey the rest of your 00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:34.680 life. The Apostle Paul wants you to understand 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:38.360 that grace is meant to be experienced for the 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:40.839 rest of your life. But if you do not think of 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:43.899 God and yourself in the right perspective, you 00:05:43.899 --> 00:05:48.160 will be held back. That's why as he writes this 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:52.019 letter, we must remember that he is now in the 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:56.699 last years of his life. We don't understand exactly 00:05:56.699 --> 00:05:59.279 because there are some details that seem to be 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:01.899 unclear in the New Testament. But what seems 00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:04.680 to have happened is that the moment the apostle 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:06.980 Paul went to prison, and this lasted a few years, 00:06:07.019 --> 00:06:10.540 and he ends up being in Rome. He ends up being 00:06:10.540 --> 00:06:13.740 under house arrest, but then he's free for a 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:16.939 period of time, and his case becomes finalized 00:06:16.939 --> 00:06:20.019 and he's arrested again, but this time for a 00:06:20.019 --> 00:06:24.139 time of final trial where he ends up being executed, 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:28.959 decapitated under the hands of the Romans. And 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.959 therefore, when he is writing Colossians, He's 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:36.300 writing this letter in the later stage of his 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:38.500 ministry. He has already preached the gospel 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:41.220 in all of these places. All of these new churches 00:06:41.220 --> 00:06:43.459 were established. New people started following 00:06:43.459 --> 00:06:49.800 Jesus. And because that was happening, then there 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:52.379 were some people that were trying to infiltrate 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:57.019 those places with distorted teaching. Have you 00:06:57.019 --> 00:07:02.220 ever gotten a fake email? Like fake business 00:07:02.220 --> 00:07:04.620 or something. They send you a link. Click here 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:07.339 and you're going to get free Netflix for a month 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:09.959 or something. And you look at it and it's like, 00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:14.279 is this legit? Do I click on it or not? Please 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:19.540 don't click on it. But those emails are fake 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:22.300 emails. Sometimes there are emails that we call 00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:28.420 fake news. Tendency to try to falsify information 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:31.579 and make you believe that it came from a source 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:35.740 that it was not. Didn't start with internet. 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:39.360 It started much earlier. And this is something 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:42.019 that the Apostle Paul is suffering from. Because 00:07:42.019 --> 00:07:45.139 there are some people who are writing letters. 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:47.759 You know, you hire a scribe to write the letter. 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:51.279 You just dictate it. But then they will pretend 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:53.779 that this letter was from the Apostle Paul. And 00:07:53.779 --> 00:07:56.730 they will send it to these Christians. So this 00:07:56.730 --> 00:08:00.370 time, as the apostle Paul finishes the letter 00:08:00.370 --> 00:08:03.370 to the Colossians, everything that he's saying 00:08:03.370 --> 00:08:05.750 there is so important that these Christians understand 00:08:05.750 --> 00:08:10.089 about God's grace and his peace that he's going 00:08:10.089 --> 00:08:13.509 to make the point of saying in the very last 00:08:13.509 --> 00:08:17.129 verse of the letter, here is my greeting in my 00:08:17.129 --> 00:08:21.769 own handwriting, Paul. So no doubt, oh, this 00:08:21.769 --> 00:08:24.529 was the apostle Paul writing this. And then this 00:08:24.529 --> 00:08:28.730 scribe keeps writing the rest. Remember my chains. 00:08:30.829 --> 00:08:37.909 And may God's grace be with you. And that's it. 00:08:38.870 --> 00:08:43.190 That's the end of the letter. It's just identifying 00:08:43.190 --> 00:08:48.389 that this is his letter. That the content he's 00:08:48.389 --> 00:08:52.950 teaching is really his. And then he's also giving 00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:57.570 the last call at the heart of the letter. Everything 00:08:57.570 --> 00:08:59.950 that he's been trying to tell them, summarized 00:08:59.950 --> 00:09:04.830 in a few words. May God's grace be with you. 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:09.190 If Paul was from Texas, he would have said, may 00:09:09.190 --> 00:09:16.169 God's grace be with you all. Why does this matter 00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:22.620 so much? And what does he mean? By grace. Well, 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:26.799 grace was a normal word that was used during 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:30.480 his time in the Greek culture. Remember, this 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:33.019 letter that we just read from Colossians was 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:35.379 originally written in Greek and translated into 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:37.120 other languages and we're reading in English. 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:40.519 But the word grace in Greek is the word kardes. 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:44.659 And the word kardes was basically used often 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:46.659 as a gift. Hey, you're my friend. I am giving 00:09:46.659 --> 00:09:50.899 you a kardes, a gift. And what he wants us to 00:09:50.899 --> 00:09:54.440 understand is that this relationship that God 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:58.279 is inviting us to have with him is not based 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:02.159 on your efforts, but is based on his love. It's 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:06.269 a gift that he has given us. And this relationship 00:10:06.269 --> 00:10:09.970 which we talk about salvation as this relationship 00:10:09.970 --> 00:10:13.289 with God is the core message that he's been preaching 00:10:13.289 --> 00:10:16.090 throughout all of these churches and that he's 00:10:16.090 --> 00:10:18.649 writing in his letters about. And if for some 00:10:18.649 --> 00:10:21.570 reason you don't understand what this salvation 00:10:21.570 --> 00:10:25.149 message is that is summarized in this word grace, 00:10:25.309 --> 00:10:30.250 let me explain it to you in a short way. There 00:10:30.250 --> 00:10:32.590 are key words that summarize what this is about. 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:35.500 This salvation that the Apostle Paul is talking 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:38.259 about, this relationship with God that he wants 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:41.899 you to walk on for the rest of your life, starts 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:45.700 by being summarized by the word love. God loves 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:49.159 you. He created you. You are not an accident. 00:10:52.009 --> 00:10:56.090 And he wants you to love him. He wants to have 00:10:56.090 --> 00:10:58.909 this relationship in which you see him for who 00:10:58.909 --> 00:11:02.110 he truly is. But the second word is sin. There's 00:11:02.110 --> 00:11:05.750 a problem. And the problem is even though God 00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:11.690 loves us, ever since our first humans were created 00:11:11.690 --> 00:11:15.009 to love God and they decided not to love God, 00:11:15.350 --> 00:11:20.809 they became what the Bible calls sinners. It's 00:11:20.809 --> 00:11:23.950 almost like, think of it like, just as if you 00:11:23.950 --> 00:11:26.509 have a cancer that is taking over your body. 00:11:26.990 --> 00:11:32.330 And it starts compromising your functions. Imagine 00:11:32.330 --> 00:11:37.850 this cancer, but of your soul. That starts compromising 00:11:37.850 --> 00:11:41.070 your ability to love God and be in relationship 00:11:41.070 --> 00:11:44.610 with Him. Because now you start seeing God and 00:11:44.610 --> 00:11:48.320 yourself and others through a distorted. And 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.659 then you start having desires that are distorted. 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:55.940 And we are all sinners. And that distortion leads 00:11:55.940 --> 00:11:59.940 us to the third word, which is broken. Our relationship 00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:02.639 with God is broken because of it. Our relationship 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:05.899 with ourselves is broken because of it. Our relationship 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:08.740 with other people is broken because of it. This 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:14.009 condition called sin is terrible. And that is 00:12:14.009 --> 00:12:17.490 the very condition that God wants to heal so 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:20.529 that he can restore that relationship with you. 00:12:21.029 --> 00:12:24.710 And that's why the next word is Jesus. Jesus 00:12:24.710 --> 00:12:28.490 came to break the power of sin over your life 00:12:28.490 --> 00:12:34.110 so that he can heal that from your life. And 00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:37.909 therefore Jesus had to come to die to pay the 00:12:37.909 --> 00:12:42.120 guilt that sin requires or sin costs. But also 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:44.539 so that through dying he could enter the domain 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:48.399 of the dead. And take the power that Satan had 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:50.779 established over that by introducing sin and 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:53.399 death into the world. And now that he resurrected 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:56.779 and overcame the power of sin and death. Jesus 00:12:56.779 --> 00:13:00.779 has the power to restore that which was broken. 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:05.759 And he is inviting you to experience now his 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.740 grace. So that you can experience that inner 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:13.179 healing. So that sin can start being healed from 00:13:13.179 --> 00:13:15.539 your life. And now that relationship with God 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:19.899 can be restored. That's why the next word is 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:23.379 repentance. Because the only way in which I can 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:26.379 receive this transformation and this healing 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:30.500 from God is by repenting. I have to acknowledge 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:35.340 that indeed I am a sinner. And that my efforts 00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:39.259 will never be good enough. I have to acknowledge 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:43.899 with a humble heart before God. That I need help. 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:48.559 And I want that help. And I want Jesus to restore 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:54.000 my broken life. And that's why the next word 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.320 is Holy Spirit. Because God says that anyone 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:02.379 that comes to Him with a repentant heart and 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:06.559 invites Jesus to save them, then Jesus is going 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:09.840 to give them His Spirit. The Spirit of God now 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.740 living in that person to start restoring from 00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:17.559 within that which sin had broken. Only God can 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:21.240 reach that space of your life. No one else, no 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:24.220 effort, no discipline. It doesn't matter how 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:27.460 long you try. Only God can have access to that 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:30.940 space. And when the Holy Spirit comes to live 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:34.080 in you after you give your life to Jesus, he 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.879 starts a process of transformation in your life. 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:40.330 And that's why the last word is peace. Because 00:14:40.330 --> 00:14:44.149 the Holy Spirit starts healing the power of sin 00:14:44.149 --> 00:14:46.289 in your life and starts restoring things from 00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:50.070 within, you will start experiencing peace. Peace 00:14:50.070 --> 00:14:53.409 with God, peace with yourself, peace with others. 00:14:55.090 --> 00:15:00.690 And this is the gospel. This is what salvation 00:15:00.690 --> 00:15:06.389 is. And this salvation is a caress. It's a gift. 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:10.610 It's something given by grace. The only thing 00:15:10.610 --> 00:15:14.809 that you need is to ask God for it so you can 00:15:14.809 --> 00:15:20.629 receive it. And that is the foundation that the 00:15:20.629 --> 00:15:24.429 Apostle Paul says. It's something that has to 00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:26.929 stay with you for the rest of your life because 00:15:26.929 --> 00:15:32.610 the moment you start missing it, then that grace 00:15:32.610 --> 00:15:35.490 and that peace will be compromised. That's why 00:15:35.490 --> 00:15:38.470 these words matter so much. Can you read the 00:15:38.470 --> 00:15:41.110 very last words that he says as he concludes 00:15:41.110 --> 00:15:43.809 the letter to the Colossians? It's highlighted 00:15:43.809 --> 00:15:46.289 here in the screen for us. Let's read it together. 00:15:46.929 --> 00:15:55.090 May God's grace be with you. Always. May God's 00:15:55.090 --> 00:16:02.379 grace be with you. Always. The Apostle Paul had 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:05.139 lived his life. He had followed Jesus. He had 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:07.980 experienced many things. He shared about the 00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:10.580 message of God's grace with people. He saw the 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:13.480 power of God's grace in their lives. But also 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:17.919 he had his own journey. And as a mature believer 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:20.419 that has gone through so much, when he says, 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:25.240 let God's grace be with you. Those words. Have 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:29.279 so much depth. Because at different places in 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:32.620 his life. He had to encounter God's grace. And 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:37.399 let that grace become now a place of flow from 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:40.720 his life into his circumstances. And in his journey 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:44.460 there's going to be four moments. That are very 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:47.779 specific in which he writes with his own words. 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:52.269 How. He was able to experience God's grace in 00:16:52.269 --> 00:16:54.990 those spaces. And these are exactly the spaces 00:16:54.990 --> 00:16:58.929 that I want to explore today. Because if we will 00:16:58.929 --> 00:17:01.110 be able to do what he's telling us at the end 00:17:01.110 --> 00:17:03.509 of the letter, to experience God's grace always 00:17:03.509 --> 00:17:06.630 for the rest of our lives, we have to understand 00:17:06.630 --> 00:17:10.809 what those moments in his life were and what 00:17:10.809 --> 00:17:14.329 that looked like in experiencing God's grace. 00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:18.960 But in order to understand that, we have to dig 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:24.079 a little bit deeper. Because he is going to write 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:31.240 about these things later to Timothy. Who was 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:34.220 Timothy? You heard about him last week. He is 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:36.960 the young guy that had to get circumcised when 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:39.980 Paul invited him to the mission trip. But then 00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:42.619 they had a very important relationship and he 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:45.940 became a mentor for Timothy. But in case you 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:50.240 missed it, Let's go back to the very first verse 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:53.319 of Colossians. We just read the very last. Let's 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:55.900 go to the very first one and see what he says. 00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:59.119 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:04.619 of God. And who else? Timothy was with him when 00:18:04.619 --> 00:18:06.740 he was writing this letter to the Colossians. 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.619 To God's holy people in Colossae, the faithful 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:13.500 brothers and sisters in Christ, a grace and peace 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:16.259 to you from God our Father. I mean, he's saying 00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:18.380 it all over the place, you know, from the very 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:21.640 beginning verse to the very last verse, God's 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:24.779 grace, God's peace. But because he had this relationship 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:29.740 with Timothy, Timothy eventually left. And then 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:32.980 Paul wrote a couple of letters to Timothy, which 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:35.759 are known as 1st and 2nd Timothy. And in them, 00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:38.680 he is going to explain a little bit more about 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:41.019 what it was like to experience God's grace in 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:43.220 his life. And that's where we're going to go 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:54.359 next. 1 Timothy chapter 1. Timothy, I thank Christ 00:18:54.359 --> 00:19:00.920 Jesus our Lord who has given me strength that 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:06.200 he considered me, me, trustworthy, appointing 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:11.519 me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer, 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:17.099 And a persecutor and a violent man. I was shown 00:19:17.099 --> 00:19:20.960 mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:27.460 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly. 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:32.279 Along with the faith and love that are in Christ 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:38.140 Jesus. The more I think about my life, my experience 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:44.109 with God's grace, how can I put it? Let me say 00:19:44.109 --> 00:19:47.109 it like this. Here is a trustworthy saying, Timothy, 00:19:47.329 --> 00:19:52.950 that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came 00:19:52.950 --> 00:19:59.789 into the world to save sinners, sinners of whom 00:19:59.789 --> 00:20:09.390 I am the worst. But for that very reason, I was 00:20:09.390 --> 00:20:12.900 shown mercy so that in me, The worst of sinners. 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:17.640 Christ Jesus. Might display his immense patience. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:22.279 As an example. For those who would believe in 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:26.900 him. And receive eternal life. I was a guinea 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:30.599 pig. So that others will see. That this actually 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:34.099 did work. If he could work in Paul. It can work 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:44.509 in me. Now. To the king eternal. Immortal. Invisible. 00:20:45.289 --> 00:20:51.150 The only God. Be honor and glory forever and 00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:58.650 ever. Amen. And these were the words that he 00:20:58.650 --> 00:21:04.390 wrote after he wrote Colossians. As he is reflecting 00:21:04.390 --> 00:21:07.750 in God's grace in his own life. And we start 00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:10.450 discovering the journey that he has gone through. 00:21:11.130 --> 00:21:16.250 And something emerges. The first thing that he 00:21:16.250 --> 00:21:19.069 had to learn to experience God's grace in his 00:21:19.069 --> 00:21:24.369 life was when he was dealing with his past. Because 00:21:24.369 --> 00:21:28.109 before he came to know Christ, he had a past. 00:21:29.210 --> 00:21:33.349 And God saved him from that. But that past, it 00:21:33.349 --> 00:21:37.299 was not pretty. He says to Timothy, even though 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:40.500 I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and 00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:43.359 a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:48.880 in ignorance and unbelief. After you read the 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:50.920 letters of the Apostle Paul, after you hear all 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:55.279 these sermons about his letters, it's hard to 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:59.799 imagine an Apostle Paul that was a violent man. 00:22:02.410 --> 00:22:05.089 I remember that day when I told you that I feel 00:22:05.089 --> 00:22:08.009 anger here and I hate to hit the pillow or something. 00:22:08.630 --> 00:22:11.490 Many people go, Pastor Pablo, I would never imagine 00:22:11.490 --> 00:22:18.650 you that way. We are all humans. And the Apostle 00:22:18.650 --> 00:22:21.829 Paul had a past. He says, look, I used to be 00:22:21.829 --> 00:22:25.789 violent. And he wrote about this even more. In 00:22:25.789 --> 00:22:29.990 fact, it is documented in the book of Acts by 00:22:29.990 --> 00:22:32.869 his friend Luke who wrote the book. Everything 00:22:32.869 --> 00:22:36.309 that he experienced. And actually, as you go 00:22:36.309 --> 00:22:38.650 back and you see Colossians, as he's writing 00:22:38.650 --> 00:22:43.410 it from Rome in prison, you rewind. How did he 00:22:43.410 --> 00:22:46.650 end up going in prison to start with? And it's 00:22:46.650 --> 00:22:49.990 like in the very beginning, as his journey into 00:22:49.990 --> 00:22:53.869 prison began, he had the opportunity to talk 00:22:53.869 --> 00:22:56.910 about this past. His history that he's referring 00:22:56.910 --> 00:23:00.849 here in Timothy. And I want you to see it. Because 00:23:00.849 --> 00:23:03.230 he went to Jerusalem at the end of his third 00:23:03.230 --> 00:23:06.329 missionary trip. He went to Jerusalem to worship 00:23:06.329 --> 00:23:10.029 at the temple. And that is when a riot happens 00:23:10.029 --> 00:23:12.289 and all of these Jewish people in the temple 00:23:12.289 --> 00:23:15.029 thought these guys were Gentiles and shouldn't 00:23:15.029 --> 00:23:19.349 be there and they wanted to kill them. So the 00:23:19.349 --> 00:23:22.789 Roman soldiers came. to try to rescue them and 00:23:22.789 --> 00:23:26.130 put order in the riot in that area of the temple. 00:23:26.509 --> 00:23:29.170 And they discovered that Paul is actually a Roman 00:23:29.170 --> 00:23:31.470 citizen. So now they realize, oh, we need to 00:23:31.470 --> 00:23:34.710 protect this guy. So they have to protect him. 00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:37.430 But as they are trying to protect him from this 00:23:37.430 --> 00:23:40.910 crowd that want to kill him, Paul says, you know, 00:23:40.930 --> 00:23:42.890 give me a second. I want to address these people. 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:46.160 So they're speaking in Greek, you know, with 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:48.640 his Romans and everything. And then he turns 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:51.960 to the crowd and he starts talking to them in 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:55.299 Aramaic. And when the crowd starts hearing their 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:58.799 native language, they all quiet down. And Paul 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:03.759 starts saying to them, guys, listen to me. I'm 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.940 a Jew born in Tarsus. I'm not a Gentile like 00:24:07.940 --> 00:24:12.779 you think I am. A city in Cilicia. And I was 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:16.339 brought up. and educated here in Jerusalem under 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:21.160 Gamaliel. Oh, Gamaliel was a big name. Highly 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:25.160 respected religious leader and teacher, rather, 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:30.440 in Jerusalem. As his student, I was carefully 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:33.500 trained in our Jewish laws and customs, and I 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:36.599 became very zealous to honor God in everything 00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:42.599 I did, just like all of you today. Anah. He has 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:48.440 their attention. Oh, you're one of us. I persecuted 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:54.480 the followers of the way. The way, the followers 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:56.960 of the way was the name that was given to Christians 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:03.519 at the very beginning. Jesus was the way, the 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.079 truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:10.819 except through me. And they were addressed like, 00:25:11.130 --> 00:25:15.250 Oh, those are from the way. I persecuted those 00:25:15.250 --> 00:25:19.109 people, hounding them, even some of them to death, 00:25:19.490 --> 00:25:22.930 arresting both men and women and throwing them 00:25:22.930 --> 00:25:26.730 in prison. You can ask the high priest about 00:25:26.730 --> 00:25:29.809 this because he and the whole council of elders 00:25:29.809 --> 00:25:35.630 can testify that this is so. He's telling them, 00:25:35.690 --> 00:25:39.670 this is what I used to be. I used to persecute. 00:25:40.109 --> 00:25:43.769 All these Christians, taking them to prison and 00:25:43.769 --> 00:25:48.210 even to death. And as he's telling them all of 00:25:48.210 --> 00:25:51.950 this story of what was his journey and who he 00:25:51.950 --> 00:25:55.630 was and what he had done, he's going to tell 00:25:55.630 --> 00:26:00.410 them how much he had really done before he himself 00:26:00.410 --> 00:26:04.690 became a Christian. Would you help me for a moment 00:26:04.690 --> 00:26:06.849 with the clicker because it stopped working for 00:26:06.849 --> 00:26:14.160 some reason. Thank you. For I received letters 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:17.559 from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:21.299 authorizing me to bring the followers of the 00:26:21.299 --> 00:26:24.619 way from there to Jerusalem in chains to be punished. 00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:29.059 That's what I did. And then after he's telling 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:31.720 them everything he did, he's going to tell them 00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:34.519 how in that mission Jesus appeared to him and 00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:37.539 that is why he became a Christian. And at that 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:40.490 moment, They couldn't take it. And they started 00:26:40.490 --> 00:26:43.329 saying, oh no, kill this guy, kill this guy. 00:26:44.589 --> 00:26:50.069 But it is true. This was his past. He was a violent 00:26:50.069 --> 00:26:53.089 man who had persecuted Christians. He was instrumental 00:26:53.089 --> 00:26:56.849 in the initial effort to put Christianity to 00:26:56.849 --> 00:27:02.890 the ground. And then he reflects about these 00:27:02.890 --> 00:27:05.490 things. In fact, the book of Acts tells us that 00:27:05.490 --> 00:27:08.410 as he went back from Damascus to Jerusalem to 00:27:08.410 --> 00:27:10.930 start preaching the gospel there, the Christians 00:27:10.930 --> 00:27:13.650 were afraid of him. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, 00:27:13.849 --> 00:27:16.130 he tried to meet with the believers, but they 00:27:16.130 --> 00:27:18.750 were all afraid of him. They did not believe 00:27:18.750 --> 00:27:21.930 that he had truly become a believer. How could 00:27:21.930 --> 00:27:25.029 that be? This might be an undercover operation 00:27:25.029 --> 00:27:28.349 of some sort. So they were trying to avoid him. 00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:32.059 And it was Barnabas that came and took Paul and 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:35.759 took him to the apostles to corroborate, no, 00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:39.359 no, this is the real thing. He's really a follower 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:42.299 of Jesus. Jesus appeared to him and now has called 00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:46.839 him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. This 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:51.400 was his background. So as he writes about these 00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:54.980 things to Timothy, there's another moment in 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:57.359 which he's writing to the church in Corinth about 00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:02.430 these things. How he felt, you know? And he says, 00:28:02.470 --> 00:28:06.289 you know, guys, I know that people call me the 00:28:06.289 --> 00:28:09.809 Apostle Paul, you know, but I am the least of 00:28:09.809 --> 00:28:14.349 the apostles. I do not even deserve to be called 00:28:14.349 --> 00:28:18.970 an apostle because I persecuted the church of 00:28:18.970 --> 00:28:24.190 God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. 00:28:25.930 --> 00:28:31.750 And his grace to me was not without effect. And 00:28:31.750 --> 00:28:36.529 this is where it shifts for him. Because for 00:28:36.529 --> 00:28:39.390 a long time, especially as he began following 00:28:39.390 --> 00:28:43.849 Jesus and meeting Christians, can you imagine 00:28:43.849 --> 00:28:50.990 the weight that he carried? I was the very person 00:28:50.990 --> 00:28:53.890 that was behind killing all of these people. 00:28:55.640 --> 00:28:59.380 I was taking them to prison. I grabbed some of 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:01.359 them from their hair. It didn't matter whether 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:03.539 they were men or women. I grabbed them. For me, 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:07.759 these people didn't deserve to live. I was violent 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:13.480 with them. And now he's meeting some of them. 00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:19.480 He's meeting the apostles. He struggled with 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:26.480 his past. Until he came to the point in which 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:30.539 he had to trust his past and his story to God 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:33.380 and to his grace. And he's able to say, by the 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:39.200 grace of God, I am what I am. Because in this 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:42.220 part of the journey of following Jesus, what 00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:46.200 happens, go to the next slide please. What happens 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:52.700 is that regret. Can start becoming so strong 00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:55.019 in your life that keeps you from experiencing 00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:58.319 God's grace. Because you look at your past with 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:01.299 so much regret. And you have not allowed the 00:30:01.299 --> 00:30:06.779 grace of God now redeem that altogether. Many 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:10.180 years ago I was discipling a new believer. He 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:13.279 was in his 50s. He already had adult children. 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:16.460 He had already concluded his career as an engineer. 00:30:16.599 --> 00:30:19.700 And he was like in a second career now. And he 00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:23.740 had a very good career, but a destroyed marriage. 00:30:25.619 --> 00:30:27.900 And as we were talking and reflecting on that 00:30:27.900 --> 00:30:30.000 journey, he says, you know, Pastor Pablo, I just 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.460 wish the more I learn about God's grace and what 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:38.740 God has done, I look at my life and the more 00:30:38.740 --> 00:30:42.299 I wish I would have known about this when I was 00:30:42.299 --> 00:30:46.099 a child. So many mistakes would have been avoided. 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:52.759 So many years wasted. And it's in that moment 00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:56.359 that we find ourselves. And it's in that moment 00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:58.299 that I have to tell him. I said, you know what? 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:02.960 When God saves you, there's no such a thing as 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:07.079 wasted years. He's going to redeem your story. 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:14.480 All those years, God will use now to lead people 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:18.319 to the knowledge of Christ. He has the power 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:22.079 to turn your wounds into scars. and those cars 00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:27.680 into tools that can have kingdom impact. But 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:30.319 you have to start by letting God's grace enter 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:34.720 that space. Are you living in regret as you look 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:39.579 back? Or have you allowed God's grace to enter 00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:44.680 that space and redeem that story? The Apostle 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:48.630 Paul did, and he tells us about it. The second 00:31:48.630 --> 00:31:51.730 part of his journey that he had to learn, he 00:31:51.730 --> 00:31:54.650 had to encounter God's grace in that space, is 00:31:54.650 --> 00:31:57.509 that as he was pursuing Jesus and following Jesus 00:31:57.509 --> 00:32:01.529 now, he really believed in this because it's 00:32:01.529 --> 00:32:04.130 not that he heard the gospel from somebody. It 00:32:04.130 --> 00:32:08.130 was Jesus himself that appeared to him and proved 00:32:08.130 --> 00:32:11.509 him wrong from being an instrument to destroy 00:32:11.509 --> 00:32:14.430 the church, now became an instrument to build 00:32:14.430 --> 00:32:21.049 the church. But as he's following Jesus, he realizes 00:32:21.049 --> 00:32:25.089 that there's a reality within him. And he's not 00:32:25.089 --> 00:32:29.289 very happy about it. He's experiencing some desires 00:32:29.289 --> 00:32:32.809 and things that are just not right. And he's 00:32:32.809 --> 00:32:35.869 very aware of his sin. And that's why he writes 00:32:35.869 --> 00:32:38.730 to Timothy what we just read. Here's a trustworthy 00:32:38.730 --> 00:32:42.109 saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ 00:32:42.109 --> 00:32:45.009 Jesus came into the world to save sinners of 00:32:45.009 --> 00:32:52.680 whom? I am the worst. There's a very interesting 00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:58.480 effect. The more you know God, the more you know 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:03.160 his word, the more intimacy we have with the 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:08.359 Lord, the more you realize how much a sinner 00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:14.500 you are. And the opposite is also true. The less 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:16.720 you understand the gospel, the less you know 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:18.960 the Lord, the less intimacy you have with God, 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:21.799 the more you think that you are holier than thou 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:26.160 and you are, you know, the man. I remember I 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.960 experienced that when I finished my master's 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:31.519 in theology. You know, I finished my undergrad. 00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:35.220 Okay, I finished a degree. But then when I went 00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:37.420 to do my master's at Dallas Theological Seminary, 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:40.880 that was four years of a lot of study, a lot 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:45.180 of study. And I was like, done. My last semester 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:49.319 finally finished everything. And the weirdest 00:33:49.319 --> 00:33:53.619 thing happened. You might imagine that after 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:55.920 studying four years, you know, the Bible and 00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:58.500 theology, you may leave thinking, oh, I know 00:33:58.500 --> 00:34:01.539 so much now. I am ready to preach, you know. 00:34:01.940 --> 00:34:05.940 And it was completely the opposite. I felt like 00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:09.969 there's so much I do not know. Am I really even 00:34:09.969 --> 00:34:12.909 equipped to be able to do this ministry and serve 00:34:12.909 --> 00:34:15.789 God, you know? It's like I discovered that the 00:34:15.789 --> 00:34:19.170 most education you get, the more you realize 00:34:19.170 --> 00:34:24.829 how much you do not know. But the less education 00:34:24.829 --> 00:34:27.969 you have, the more strong opinions you have about 00:34:27.969 --> 00:34:29.909 everything and you think you are right and everybody 00:34:29.909 --> 00:34:33.650 else is wrong, you know? And spiritually, it 00:34:33.650 --> 00:34:36.269 was something like that. Because the apostle 00:34:36.269 --> 00:34:38.289 Paul came from a background where he was taught 00:34:38.289 --> 00:34:42.210 self -righteousness. It's your effort that makes 00:34:42.210 --> 00:34:45.570 you right before God. So he thought he was the 00:34:45.570 --> 00:34:49.769 man. He was able to obey the whole law, so he 00:34:49.769 --> 00:34:53.230 thought. And now that he has encountered the 00:34:53.230 --> 00:34:55.610 grace of Jesus that says, actually you're not 00:34:55.610 --> 00:34:59.349 the man. You're a sinner and you need me to forgive 00:34:59.349 --> 00:35:01.809 you because your efforts are not good enough. 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:10.039 That message of God's grace opened his eyes for 00:35:10.039 --> 00:35:13.920 him to see that he had a reality within him called 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:17.639 the sinful nature. And he had to learn to experience 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:24.920 God's grace in that space. That's why when he 00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:27.960 writes about this in Romans chapter 7, a classic 00:35:27.960 --> 00:35:32.280 passage, he says, look guys, I love God's love 00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:37.619 with all my heart. But, and that's a big one, 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:42.280 but there is another power within me that is 00:35:42.280 --> 00:35:45.960 at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave 00:35:45.960 --> 00:35:48.860 to the sin that is still within me. Can you believe 00:35:48.860 --> 00:35:53.039 it? I still struggle with sinful desires in my 00:35:53.039 --> 00:35:56.900 life I'm not proud of. And I don't like that. 00:35:56.960 --> 00:36:00.260 It's just a tension. Oh, what a miserable person 00:36:00.260 --> 00:36:03.079 I am. I just want to be free from all this stuff, 00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:08.019 you know? Who will free me from this life that 00:36:08.019 --> 00:36:12.619 is dominated by sin and death? And then, not 00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:15.280 even a second later, he gives the answer himself. 00:36:15.940 --> 00:36:21.000 Thank God. The answer is who? Jesus Christ, our 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:27.860 Lord. Because he is the one. That has paid for 00:36:27.860 --> 00:36:30.860 all my sin and all my struggles. And he is the 00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:33.039 one that gave me the Holy Spirit. And he is going 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:35.300 to heal me all these things along the journey 00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:38.639 until the day of Jesus Christ. Thank Jesus for 00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:42.659 his grace. So you see, this is how it is. In 00:36:42.659 --> 00:36:45.579 my mind, I really want to obey God's law. But 00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:48.219 because of my sinful nature, I'm a slave to sin. 00:36:48.300 --> 00:36:51.079 So now, there's no condemnation for those who 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:54.760 belong to Christ Jesus. I belong to Christ. He 00:36:54.760 --> 00:36:57.920 already paid for my sins. Therefore, I'm free 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:00.480 from condemnation, but I'm not free from struggle. 00:37:01.420 --> 00:37:04.820 And that's a difference. I don't have to live 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:08.059 in fear that God is going to think less of me 00:37:08.059 --> 00:37:10.400 because I'm struggling with some sort of sin. 00:37:10.699 --> 00:37:12.860 He already knew that. That's why Jesus came. 00:37:14.579 --> 00:37:18.820 But the Holy Spirit is not interested in fixing 00:37:18.820 --> 00:37:27.730 me. Done. Okay, now it works. No. The Holy Spirit 00:37:27.730 --> 00:37:33.829 is interested in loving me through healing. And 00:37:33.829 --> 00:37:36.650 that's an invitation for the rest of my life, 00:37:36.670 --> 00:37:39.389 which means that for the rest of my life, I have 00:37:39.389 --> 00:37:44.389 to stand in God's grace. Thank be to God for 00:37:44.389 --> 00:37:48.889 our Lord Jesus Christ. When we don't understand 00:37:48.889 --> 00:37:53.900 that, then we start struggling with shame. Because 00:37:53.900 --> 00:37:56.139 the thought of, but I've been a Christian for 00:37:56.139 --> 00:37:58.460 a long time now. How come I'm struggling with 00:37:58.460 --> 00:38:02.840 this? I think I was already done with this thing. 00:38:02.980 --> 00:38:05.960 How come I'm having these thoughts? How come 00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:08.440 I'm having these desires? God, I don't want these 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:11.099 desires. Boy, people would just know. And now 00:38:11.099 --> 00:38:14.079 you start struggling with all that shame. That 00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:17.659 is not God. God doesn't want you to be living 00:38:17.659 --> 00:38:22.500 in shame. If you are struggling with sinful desires 00:38:22.500 --> 00:38:25.380 that you're not proud of. If you are struggling 00:38:25.380 --> 00:38:27.539 in your thinking life with thoughts that you 00:38:27.539 --> 00:38:33.519 are ashamed of. Welcome to the kingdom. We are 00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:36.840 sinners. Endowed by the Holy Spirit in a journey 00:38:36.840 --> 00:38:39.119 of transformation that will last the rest of 00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:43.000 our lives. But what a difference does it make. 00:38:43.820 --> 00:38:46.380 When you're able to be in a safe space with people 00:38:46.380 --> 00:38:49.719 that understand grace and understand the journey. 00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:53.679 Well, now you can open up about those struggles. 00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:56.960 Because one of the things that we have learned 00:38:56.960 --> 00:38:59.440 is that typically the struggles that we have 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:03.139 are just the symptom, not the problem. I often 00:39:03.139 --> 00:39:05.860 see it this way. If you're struggling with sexual 00:39:05.860 --> 00:39:08.000 addiction, for instance, pornography and things 00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:11.500 like that. If you are struggling with alcohol 00:39:11.500 --> 00:39:13.920 and drinking too much and all the social drinking 00:39:13.920 --> 00:39:19.000 and then you feel drawn to it. Every time I have 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:23.000 to sit down with someone in the privacy of the 00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:25.619 counseling space and we start digging into the 00:39:25.619 --> 00:39:29.440 story, I always have to remind them, look, that 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:33.960 is a symptom. That is not the root. So let's 00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:36.369 start talking about. Where the roots are. And 00:39:36.369 --> 00:39:38.730 when the Holy Spirit leads us into those spaces. 00:39:39.389 --> 00:39:43.329 And he starts revealing all these things. That 00:39:43.329 --> 00:39:47.409 have shaped you. That he wants to heal. Suddenly 00:39:47.409 --> 00:39:50.610 a whole journey begins. And your relationship 00:39:50.610 --> 00:39:52.650 with God. And intimacy with God takes a whole 00:39:52.650 --> 00:39:58.369 new level. That is because. God's grace is meeting 00:39:58.369 --> 00:40:01.929 you in that struggle. He doesn't want you to 00:40:01.929 --> 00:40:04.789 be living in shame. He wants you to experience 00:40:04.789 --> 00:40:12.170 his grace. Let his grace be with you always. 00:40:14.070 --> 00:40:17.230 So if you're in a space where you are struggling 00:40:17.230 --> 00:40:19.389 like that, remember, freedom in Christ is, of 00:40:19.389 --> 00:40:22.289 course, for you. But sometimes you may need to 00:40:22.289 --> 00:40:24.110 make an appointment with your counseling ministry 00:40:24.110 --> 00:40:26.929 to be able to meet with someone and really explore 00:40:26.929 --> 00:40:30.349 things. These are things that feel like external. 00:40:30.710 --> 00:40:33.599 It's a struggle that is like, I don't know why 00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:35.440 I'm struggling with this. I don't want it. But 00:40:35.440 --> 00:40:39.880 it feels as if it's like something that is just 00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:42.159 attacking me or something. I don't understand 00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:47.159 it. If that is your case, contact our counseling 00:40:47.159 --> 00:40:51.139 ministry. Because God wants you to experience 00:40:51.139 --> 00:40:54.059 freedom as you encounter his grace in that space. 00:40:54.579 --> 00:40:57.639 But the third part of his journey for the Apostle 00:40:57.639 --> 00:41:02.000 Paul, as he learned that following Jesus is not... 00:41:02.670 --> 00:41:07.909 A journey of perfection. He started serving God. 00:41:08.190 --> 00:41:11.610 Now he was the apostle Paul. Not just a Christian. 00:41:12.110 --> 00:41:16.769 And God started using him. With power. I mean. 00:41:16.849 --> 00:41:19.409 He even prayed for people. And people became 00:41:19.409 --> 00:41:23.010 healed. He was able to experience God's power. 00:41:23.409 --> 00:41:26.309 As he pursued his calling. In serving the Lord. 00:41:26.489 --> 00:41:30.670 And it's in that space. That he tells Timothy. 00:41:30.869 --> 00:41:34.039 What we already read. But for that very reason, 00:41:34.059 --> 00:41:36.300 I was shown mercy so that in me, the words of 00:41:36.300 --> 00:41:39.539 sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense 00:41:39.539 --> 00:41:42.500 patience and an example for those who will believe 00:41:42.500 --> 00:41:46.739 in him and receive eternal life. God wants me 00:41:46.739 --> 00:41:49.739 to be a channel of his grace and his peace so 00:41:49.739 --> 00:41:53.960 that people will come to know him. And that was 00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:56.820 going to be now his role. He had to stay in that 00:41:56.820 --> 00:42:00.760 place of flow because if that place of flow became 00:42:00.760 --> 00:42:04.000 compromised, then that power will become compromised. 00:42:06.179 --> 00:42:10.460 But there was a struggle. We don't really understand 00:42:10.460 --> 00:42:13.840 it, but he writes about it. A struggle as he 00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:17.840 pursued this calling in serving God, that he 00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:20.199 also had to experience God's grace in a very 00:42:20.199 --> 00:42:25.900 unique way. And he writes about this to the church 00:42:25.900 --> 00:42:29.599 in Corinth. Listen to the struggle as he puts 00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:34.659 it. To keep me from becoming proud, guys, I know 00:42:34.659 --> 00:42:37.599 you think highly of me. I know I'm the apostle 00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:42.260 Paul. I mean, I cannot help it. But you know 00:42:42.260 --> 00:42:46.420 what? To keep me from becoming proud, I was given 00:42:46.420 --> 00:42:51.539 a thorn in my flesh. What do you mean, Paul? 00:42:51.699 --> 00:42:55.019 What thorn in your flesh? Well, a messenger from 00:42:55.019 --> 00:42:58.659 Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming 00:42:58.659 --> 00:43:02.539 proud. Tell me more about it. No, no, I'm not 00:43:02.539 --> 00:43:06.179 going to tell you more about it. I just experienced 00:43:06.179 --> 00:43:10.119 a moment of spiritual oppression. And three different 00:43:10.119 --> 00:43:13.280 times I begged the Lord, take it away, Lord. 00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:18.340 Each time he said, my grace is all you need. 00:43:18.460 --> 00:43:22.340 Don't worry about it. My power works best in 00:43:22.340 --> 00:43:27.159 weakness. I was like, what? Did I hear you right, 00:43:27.239 --> 00:43:30.610 Lord? I'm going to pray again. Lord, please take 00:43:30.610 --> 00:43:34.309 this away from me. And God says, nah, don't worry 00:43:34.309 --> 00:43:38.010 about it. My grace is enough. But I don't understand. 00:43:38.090 --> 00:43:41.489 I don't want this experience. I'm not sure why 00:43:41.489 --> 00:43:44.309 this is happening to me. You have the power to 00:43:44.309 --> 00:43:47.590 remove it. Would you please remove it? I don't 00:43:47.590 --> 00:43:51.289 want it. It's hard to serve you while at the 00:43:51.289 --> 00:43:54.849 same time I'm feeling this opposition from the 00:43:54.849 --> 00:43:59.360 enemy. Can you do something about it? No. It's 00:43:59.360 --> 00:44:05.099 just resting my grace. So by the third time he 00:44:05.099 --> 00:44:08.719 got it. So now I'm glad to boast about my weakness 00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:11.940 so that the power of Christ can work through 00:44:11.940 --> 00:44:14.500 me because that is what at the end this whole 00:44:14.500 --> 00:44:17.179 thing is about. God's grace, his peace flowing 00:44:17.179 --> 00:44:20.119 through me. So if God is not going to remove 00:44:20.119 --> 00:44:22.659 this thing, okay, he's not going to remove it. 00:44:22.900 --> 00:44:25.940 But I'm not going to take that into an opportunity 00:44:25.940 --> 00:44:30.440 to compromise that flow. Because in that moment, 00:44:30.500 --> 00:44:33.619 when you're asking God to remove this thing, 00:44:33.719 --> 00:44:37.039 and he says, no, I won't. I want you to live 00:44:37.039 --> 00:44:40.800 with it. At that moment, confusion can come in. 00:44:40.940 --> 00:44:43.579 And the oppression that you're experiencing, 00:44:43.719 --> 00:44:45.840 the struggle that you're experiencing, that you 00:44:45.840 --> 00:44:47.639 think God could fix just like that, and he's 00:44:47.639 --> 00:44:51.280 choosing no to, can cause you to start doubting 00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:57.690 God and his heart and his love for you. And in 00:44:57.690 --> 00:45:00.150 that place of doubt, the apostle Paul had to 00:45:00.150 --> 00:45:03.090 learn, God, I have no idea why you're not going 00:45:03.090 --> 00:45:06.309 to remove this from me. I prayed about it. I 00:45:06.309 --> 00:45:09.369 repeatedly asked you, but if you are not going 00:45:09.369 --> 00:45:13.210 to remove this from me, I'm just going to learn 00:45:13.210 --> 00:45:16.389 to trust you with it. And I'm going to continue 00:45:16.389 --> 00:45:19.909 to serve you with full commitment and let your 00:45:19.909 --> 00:45:22.969 power continue flowing through me. I'll just 00:45:22.969 --> 00:45:29.559 trust you with it. That is God's grace in that 00:45:29.559 --> 00:45:34.219 place. If you are struggling in that place where 00:45:34.219 --> 00:45:38.139 God is not doing this and solving the whole situation, 00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:41.119 and he's asking you to go through that passage, 00:45:41.179 --> 00:45:44.219 even though he could have the power to fix it 00:45:44.219 --> 00:45:48.000 in a moment, and he's choosing not to. It's a 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:52.039 place in which you will have to rest in his grace, 00:45:52.139 --> 00:45:56.579 rest in his heart, and not fall for the attack 00:45:56.579 --> 00:45:58.940 of the enemy that is asking you and wanting you 00:45:58.940 --> 00:46:01.980 to doubt the goodness of the Lord that you are 00:46:01.980 --> 00:46:09.760 serving. And the final moment that can only be 00:46:09.760 --> 00:46:12.400 experienced at the final stage of his journey 00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:16.409 in which he's experiencing God's grace. It's 00:46:16.409 --> 00:46:22.849 as he is becoming face to face with dying. When 00:46:22.849 --> 00:46:26.389 you think of dying, do you have peace about it? 00:46:27.590 --> 00:46:31.670 Or there's fear and anxiety. The Apostle Paul 00:46:31.670 --> 00:46:35.550 now is in prison. The last stage of his imprisonment. 00:46:36.190 --> 00:46:41.130 Now he knows his case is coming to a close. And 00:46:41.130 --> 00:46:43.550 he writes the last letter to his friend Timothy. 00:46:44.170 --> 00:46:46.369 The very last thing he ever wrote from prison. 00:46:47.650 --> 00:46:52.210 And he tells him these words. Timothy. My friend. 00:46:54.650 --> 00:46:58.570 Wow. After all of these years. Following the 00:46:58.570 --> 00:47:02.630 Lord. Telling people about his grace. Peace. 00:47:04.389 --> 00:47:07.369 About experiencing God's grace. Flowing through 00:47:07.369 --> 00:47:11.929 me. At all of these different experiences. Now 00:47:11.929 --> 00:47:15.789 that I'm in this stage. I can see that my life 00:47:15.789 --> 00:47:18.210 has already been put out as an offering to God. 00:47:19.389 --> 00:47:27.630 The time of my death is near. And I can tell 00:47:27.630 --> 00:47:30.289 you, I have fought the good fight. I have finished 00:47:30.289 --> 00:47:32.610 the race and I have remained faithful to the 00:47:32.610 --> 00:47:36.429 Lord. And if you were to ask me how I feel about 00:47:36.429 --> 00:47:42.650 these things, I have peace. Because I know my 00:47:42.650 --> 00:47:49.179 Savior. Yes, my Lord will deliver me from every 00:47:49.179 --> 00:47:55.420 evil attack. And he will bring me safely into 00:47:55.420 --> 00:48:00.400 his heavenly kingdom. He will do it. I don't 00:48:00.400 --> 00:48:04.420 have to worry about it. He'll do it. He already 00:48:04.420 --> 00:48:07.900 covered all my sins. He already gave me his spirit. 00:48:08.079 --> 00:48:10.519 He has already walked with me throughout my journey 00:48:10.519 --> 00:48:14.369 of life. His grace met me at every intersection. 00:48:15.489 --> 00:48:17.730 And now that I'm in this final intersection, 00:48:18.150 --> 00:48:24.769 His grace is meeting me too. I have peace. And 00:48:24.769 --> 00:48:28.070 I know that He will bring me safely into His 00:48:28.070 --> 00:48:31.789 kingdom. So if I can say anything, Timothy will 00:48:31.789 --> 00:48:38.929 be this. All glory to God. Forever. And ever. 00:48:40.860 --> 00:48:45.679 Amen. He is the beginning and the end of everything 00:48:45.679 --> 00:48:55.019 I am. The day will come in which you will be 00:48:55.019 --> 00:48:59.980 face to face with death or the potential of it. 00:49:00.920 --> 00:49:03.579 The day will come where you will hear a diagnosis 00:49:03.579 --> 00:49:10.119 that you were not expecting. And you will realize 00:49:10.119 --> 00:49:15.480 that you are mortal and finite. And at that moment, 00:49:15.579 --> 00:49:21.219 may the grace of God be with you. Because God 00:49:21.219 --> 00:49:24.619 did not save you so that you will be in fear. 00:49:25.639 --> 00:49:29.380 And start feeling anxiety and an anxiety, a panic 00:49:29.380 --> 00:49:34.059 attack. Because death for us, who are followers 00:49:34.059 --> 00:49:38.800 of Jesus, simply means an invitation. To encounter 00:49:38.800 --> 00:49:43.159 Jesus to the fullest. Like the Apostle Paul said 00:49:43.159 --> 00:49:46.079 to the Philippians. I do not know which one to 00:49:46.079 --> 00:49:49.519 choose. To stay alive or to go. And die because 00:49:49.519 --> 00:49:52.579 to die for me. Is to be with Christ which is 00:49:52.579 --> 00:49:59.539 better by far. Is the fear of death. Holding 00:49:59.539 --> 00:50:04.219 you back. If it is. Remember the words of the 00:50:04.219 --> 00:50:11.280 Apostle Paul. May his grace. Be with you. So. 00:50:12.159 --> 00:50:16.679 Now you can see. What the apostle Paul has done. 00:50:17.420 --> 00:50:21.840 Is an invitation for us. To let the grace and 00:50:21.840 --> 00:50:25.219 peace of God meet us. In that place of regret. 00:50:26.300 --> 00:50:30.059 So that regret can be broken. To meet us in that 00:50:30.059 --> 00:50:32.380 place of shame. So that shame can be broken. 00:50:33.070 --> 00:50:35.769 To meet us in that place of oppression so that 00:50:35.769 --> 00:50:39.110 oppression and victimhood can be broken. To meet 00:50:39.110 --> 00:50:44.150 us in that place of fear so that fear can be 00:50:44.150 --> 00:50:49.440 broken. And you can be now free. To live from 00:50:49.440 --> 00:50:52.940 a place of flow. Where God's grace and his peace. 00:50:53.059 --> 00:50:55.719 Not only have changed you and transformed you. 00:50:55.860 --> 00:50:58.599 And keep to change you and transform you. But 00:50:58.599 --> 00:51:01.119 also where they are flowing from you. Into the 00:51:01.119 --> 00:51:03.840 calling that God has given you. And may God's 00:51:03.840 --> 00:51:07.619 grace. Meet you at every intersection of the 00:51:07.619 --> 00:51:11.840 journey. So that you can remain faithful until 00:51:11.840 --> 00:51:14.159 the very end. And say the same words that he 00:51:14.159 --> 00:51:18.570 said. I've been faithful. And I count on one 00:51:18.570 --> 00:51:26.030 thing. He got this. So would you please stand 00:51:26.030 --> 00:51:31.710 up and read aloud with me the very last words 00:51:31.710 --> 00:51:34.550 of the book of Colossians that we conclude with 00:51:34.550 --> 00:51:43.210 today. May God's grace be with you. So, are you 00:51:43.210 --> 00:51:48.659 trusting in God's grace? If for some reason Jesus 00:51:48.659 --> 00:51:51.179 is not your savior. You have never given your 00:51:51.179 --> 00:51:57.280 life to him. Would you do that today? Today the 00:51:57.280 --> 00:52:00.079 day you come with a repentant heart. Acknowledging 00:52:00.079 --> 00:52:05.300 that you are broken. And that Jesus wants to 00:52:05.300 --> 00:52:07.280 meet you with his grace in that place. If that 00:52:07.280 --> 00:52:10.920 is you. Come to the front. So that we can pray 00:52:10.920 --> 00:52:13.699 with you. Whether through the worship or at the 00:52:13.699 --> 00:52:19.039 end. We'll be here. Lord, thank you for your 00:52:19.039 --> 00:52:21.619 grace and your peace that have changed everything, 00:52:21.840 --> 00:52:25.519 everything for our lives. And if any of us here 00:52:25.519 --> 00:52:28.639 today, Lord, have been held back in any of these 00:52:28.639 --> 00:52:31.380 intersections that we discover today, that the 00:52:31.380 --> 00:52:33.719 Apostle Paul was able to experience your grace. 00:52:34.300 --> 00:52:37.360 Help us experience it in this place. Here and 00:52:37.360 --> 00:52:40.739 now. So that the power of fear, regret and shame. 00:52:41.059 --> 00:52:43.219 And the spiritual oppression. And the attitude 00:52:43.219 --> 00:52:46.119 of victimhood. And all of these things Lord that 00:52:46.119 --> 00:52:49.079 come along the way. Will be broken today in your 00:52:49.079 --> 00:52:51.739 presence. Because we stand in your presence. 00:52:53.000 --> 00:52:56.599 Resting and trusting in your grace. And your 00:52:56.599 --> 00:53:05.789 grace alone. In Jesus name. Thank you for tuning 00:53:05.789 --> 00:53:09.949 in to the ECB sermon podcast. Whether near or 00:53:09.949 --> 00:53:13.110 far, if you are looking for community or are 00:53:13.110 --> 00:53:16.690 in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage by 00:53:16.690 --> 00:53:22.170 sending us an email to office at ecb .asia. If 00:53:22.170 --> 00:53:24.650 God is calling you to support our ministries, 00:53:24.710 --> 00:53:27.369 you will find giving options on our website. 00:53:28.130 --> 00:53:31.610 And remember to join us next week. God bless 00:53:31.610 --> 00:53:31.849 you.