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learn from God's Word together. If you would like more
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Amen. I pray that it is truly the
desire of your heart is to delight in the Lord.
Thank you, Casey and our praise team, for reminding us of the
importance of delighting in the Lord.
You know what it was like, All of you who are in Christ, you
know what it's like to delight in your flesh.
You know what it was like to delight in this world.
Those things used to thrill you. And now that you were in Christ,
you know what it's like, and you were welcome to delight in the
Lord Himself as He commands us in His Word to boldly come
before His throne of grace. I'm thankful today that we can
come before that throne of grace and we can delight in Him.
We can bask in His love and in His glory.
We can, those of us who were once alienated from God and
counted as enemies, we can now approach our heavenly Father
crying out ABBA unto Him, knowing that we have that
intimate relationship because of his love and his love that was
displayed for us in Christ. So if you have your Bibles this
morning, let's turn to first Timothy.
First Timothy, and we're still in the 1st chapter as we are
walking through these pastoral epistles of the apostle Paul in
a series entitled Biblical Ministers and Biblical
Ministries. So today we're going to be
talking about the traits of an effective Christian leader.
Now, if all of us today were to think of some of the most
influential and the most effective Christian leaders
throughout history, we would all come up, I'm sure with a lengthy
list of people that we would somehow, because in in our human
thinking, we like to rank things, we would rank those
things in the order in which they have been used and have
affected our lives. We know at the top of that list
hands down would be the Lord Jesus Christ himself and we can
argue about most of the others on that list, right?
Some of you would say 1, some of you would say the other.
But I think if we were to all be honest, that number 2 on that
list of effective Christian leaders as we open up the New
Testament this morning as we see a letter that God used the
apostle Paul to pen to Timothy, his Co labor in the faith and
his true son. As we saw last week there at the
church at Ephesus, we would have to say that the apostle Paul
would be somewhere near the top of the list in effective
Christian leadership and. So today, that's what.
We're going to look at, we're going to see some traits in the
life of the apostle Paul that are evidenced not only in what
he writes here to Timothy and to the Ephesians, but we know these
traits are evidenced in his life throughout his entire earthly
ministry. And so there's no need to argue
where Paul would fit on the rankings of the most effective
Christian leaders of all time. It would be somewhere near
Christ there at the top. And he's one that we can, as we
will see, we can glean much insight from.
We're going to do just that in today's lesson.
But many of you at this juncture would say, you know what, Kirk,
I'm not really a leader. So I really don't need to really
pay attention to this. I'm simply just a stay at home
mom. Let me remind you, is leading
and discipling the next generation of believers, just as
we know. And we learned last week that
Timothy had his mother and his grandmother in his life,
discipling him and teaching him the Scriptures at a young age.
You as a mother have a very important role to lead your
children and to be an example to your children, to be an
effective Christian leader. I know that's a difficult task.
Many people are referred to it, just as I did a moment ago, just
to stay at home. Mom, no, You have been entrusted
with one of the most important jobs in all of humanity.
I have two believing children today.
Now I have two believing children #1 because of Jesus
Christ and what He did. We're gratefully indebted to His
grace, but also because they had a loving mother who led them
every day in prayer, who led them every day in Scripture.
While I was ministering to others, she was ministering to
our family. It is very important that you
see how important your role is after your dad's who were here
today. So you know, I'm, I'm a dad and
I'm just a worker. Your leader, you're leading your
home. If you're doing what the Bible
tells you to do, you are leading your home, you're leading your
family. You are a leader.
You need to pay attention to the model that Paul is going to give
us today so that you don't just settle for being a mediocre
leader, so that you realize I'm called to be an effective
Christian leader. I'm called to make an impact.
I'm called to make an effect. I'm to be intentional in my
leadership. And so we're going to learn from
one of the best. Today, doesn't that stand the
reason if if you want to be a great leader, you have to learn
from great leaders that you don't want to learn from someone
who was a failure in their leadership?
You want to learn from someone who would be on the top or near
the top of that list of effective Christian leaders.
And that's what we're going to do as we look at the life of the
apostle Paul today, as we examine some traits that I can
tell you this, Paul didn't intend on us to look at this and
see his traits that he demonstrates as a leader because
of the work of God and his life through Jesus Christ.
Those things just came out of his life.
We're going to see those things come out of his life today.
My prayer is this that we would see those things coming out of
our lives because all of you under the sound of my voice, if
you are doing what Jesus Christ commanded you to do and that is
to make disciples, you are at least being a leader in one
person's life. Are you being an effective
Christian leader? Let's look and see what Paul
says to Timothy into the church there at Ephesus.
Here in verse 12 of chapter 1 he says, I think Christ Jesus our
Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful,
pointing me to his service. Even though I was once a
blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.
I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with
the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 says Here is a
trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
the worst. But for that very reason I was
shown mercy so that in me the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus,
might display His unlimited patience as an example for those
who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.
Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
God be glory and honor forever and ever, Amen.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus.
We thank you so much for how Your Word guides us, how it is
truly a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Lord, as you lead us today by the example that you raised up
through the apostle Paul what it means to be an effective
Christian leader, may we do the same.
May we strive to bring You glory in our leadership.
May we strive to point others to Christ, and may we see the
effective way in doing that through the example that we've
been given of Paul. God, I pray for the person who's
here today who does not know Christ.
I pray that today they would see Paul's need for mercy and grace
and forgiveness, and that they would reconcile in their heart
that if the apostle Paul was in such great need of mercy and
grace and forgiveness, they too are in need of the same.
That it would propel them to cry out to Jesus, to have mercy on
their soul, to forgive them, to wash them and cleanse them of
their sin as they surrender their life to Him as Lord and
Savior this very day. Lord, we will be careful to give
you all the glory and all the praise for what you're going to
do as your word goes forth today.
We thank you in advance and we pray all these things in the
mighty name of Jesus, Amen. So as we consider what it means
to be an effective Christian leader, Paul begins in this
section. With this he said, I think
Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he
considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
You write this down, one of the traits of an effective Christian
leader is this. This person will be thankful,
thankful and thankful unto Christ for what he has done.
And there there is an absence of this and so many Christian
circles in regard to leadership. The leaders are self promoting.
They are actually selfishly driven.
There's never any turning and re giving that thinks back to
Christ who deserves it. It's simply look at me and look
at what I've done and look at what I've accomplished and and
aren't I really great. However, Paul does not take that
stance. Paul says I think Christ Jesus
our Lord, he begins with that a thankful heart.
If you're going to be an effective Christian leader,
whether that's in the pulpit, whether that's around your
dinner table, whether that's in your playroom while you're
reading Christian books to your children, If you were going to
be an effective Christian leader, listen to me.
Be a thankful leader and nowhere to properly place.
That things Paul does just this, he says, I think Christ Jesus
our Lord, he's thankful first of all for God's work and his life.
I think Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, he's
thankful for the strength that he receives from the Lord,
strength to endure persecution, strength to endure temptation,
strength to continue preaching the gospel and places that the
gospel had not yet reached and and even places that are hostile
to the gospel. The apostle Paul was continually
being strengthened by the Lord. In fact, as you know, it is Paul
who wrote to the Philippians and he said in chapter 4 verse 13, I
can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I know that's often taken out of context.
When we put it in its proper context, Paul says I am able to
do whatever it is that God wants me to do.
However it is and how difficult it may be in that particular
situation, I can have strength to do it because of Christ who
is living in. And he begins with thanking
Christ for that strength. He has given me strength.
Strength to go against everything that he had ever
known in his prior life. Strength to lose every friend
and every family member who thought he was foolish and crazy
because he was following after this Jesus.
Strength to endure persecution in many places and imprisonment
and ultimately death. He says.
I am thankful to Christ Jesus because he's given me this
strength. He knew that in his weakness
Christ was his strength. And when he was weak, he was
strong because of Christ. And Christ would receive all the
glory for his life, and to that he was thankful.
He was thankful for the Lord's work of graciously strengthening
him. Are you thankful today that the
Lord does as He has promised, give you strength to do His will
and every situation that He leads you into?
He did the same in the life of the apostle Paul, and he's
returning that thanks unto the Lord to which it belongs.
He's thankful that the Lord would graciously strengthen him
to do the task that was laid before him.
He's also thankful to the Lord for graciously saving him.
He says I thank Christ. Jesus our Lord, who has given me
strength, that he considered me faithful, that he considered me
faithful. And I want you to pay close
attention to that phrase. He considered me faithful.
As we read the entirety of the text just a moment ago, we saw
that he was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent
man. It doesn't sound like he was
very faithful. In fact, it sounds like the
opposite, that he was very unfaithful.
But what Paul is recognizing here, he is recognizing God's
grace in saving him, because it was God who graciously
determined that Paul would be faithful even when Paul was
unfaithful. It was God who graciously
considered Paul faithful in eternity past.
Before Paul was ever born, it was God's will that he would
raise up a man who would be the apostle to the Gentiles and he
would sovereignly save him and he would sovereignly make him
faithful. Paul is recognizing that that I
think Christ Jesus my Lord, not only who strengthens me every
single day of my life. But that who considered me
faithful even long before I was ever faithful.
Do you know that, Christian? Long before you were ever
faithful to the Lord, the Lord considered you to be faithful,
and He did everything within His power to make sure that that
would be what you became. Many people get this backwards
in the theological sense. Did you know Abraham, who was
considered righteous, was not considered righteous because he
did something right first. In fact, he was a Pagan chasing
after idols, and God considered him faithful.
And God, because he had considered Abraham to be one of
his faithful ones, then did everything that needed to happen
so that Abraham would become exactly what God had decreed him
to be. He became faithful and that was
displayed through his obedience. We know the same from Noah.
Back when Noah was just a simple drunkard, he found favor in the
eyes of God. Do you think that he found favor
in the eyes of God because he was a drunkard?
No, he found favor in the eyes of God because of God's grace.
And it is God's grace that we see here that Paul is thanking
the Lord Jesus for when he says this, he says he considered me
faithful. You know this, none of you who
are faithful unto the Lord woke up one day and said, you know
I've been unfaithful to this point.
I think I want to be faithful now.
No one did that of their own. Accord.
In fact, it was even the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus
being totally unfaithful to the Lord, persecuting his church,
the church that he's writing to in this letter that we're
reading this morning. And Christ revealed to him that
God had a completely different plan for his life, that he was
going to raise up for himself a faithful minister of the gospel
to the Gentiles. And Paul proved that God was
right in raising him up as a faithful minister of the gospel.
He then dedicated his entire life.
Being faithful to the one who had considered him faithful long
before he was ever giving any evidence of faithfulness in his
life. That's God's grace.
Are you thankful for that this morning?
That long before you ever had one inclination of faithfulness
in your life, God consider you faithful.
And then He did everything in His power to make you the
faithful one that He considered you to be.
All glory and honor and praise and Thanksgiving unto Him.
We see Paul expressing that very clearly here.
That he's thankful that God considered him faithful, that he
graciously saved him. He's thankful here for God's
work in his life, acknowledging the grace that had been given
unto him to believe, to follow Christ, that God would in
eternity past foreknow him, considering him faithful.
So we see that he's thankful for God's work in his life, but he's
also thankful for God's will in his life.
What's one thing thing to think about that God in his will has
sovereignly saved us? Let me just make this very
clear. If God hadn't willed to
sovereignly save you, you wouldn't be saved here this
morning. You would still be lost and dead
in your sin as you were when you came to Christ.
Paul recognizing this, but then he takes it a step further and
he says, I'm not only thankful to the Lord Jesus who gives me
strength every day and who considered me faithful before I
was ever born and graciously enacted that throughout my life.
I'm also thankful that he would ever appoint me to his service.
Oh, you see the humility there, especially in the day and age
that we live where so many so-called Christian leaders are
ineffective because there's a lack of humility.
They act as if they are somehow God's gift to ministry, or God's
gift to pastoral service, or God's gift to whatever under the
sun they endeavor to do. However, Paul's not approaching.
It like this. In fact, he's approaching it
from the opposite perspective. He's approaching it with utter
humility. He says I'm thankful to Christ
Jesus our Lord, who would appoint me to his service, that
He would not only graciously save me, but that He would
graciously allow me to accomplish His will with my
life, that I could now bring Him glory.
A man who once brought reproach upon his name and reproach upon
his church. Now in Christ I am thankful He
allows me. To serve him.
He's humbled by this thought. Wasn't it sad in the church
these days? We're not humbled by that
thought because I believe this. We were humbled by that thought.
There would be a whole lot more of us serving him.
Thank you, Lord. You would even consider me to be
one of your servants. Is that not what the psalmist
said? He said I would rather be a
doorkeeper in the House of God than to dwell in the tents of
the wicked. I would rather be the lowest
servant in God's house than to be what I once was.
Here's Paul saying, I'm so thankful that God has considered
me for service that he lets me minister for his glory.
May we remember that as we strive to be effective Christian
leaders. Moms, you have children because
God has graciously blessed you with them.
Fathers, you have a family because God has graciously
blessed you with them. Steward them properly.
And how do we do that? With compute complete humility,
we say. As the Apostle Paul, I am
thankful that you ever would consider to appoint me in
service to you. Every ounce of ministry that you
participate in ought to be a humbling experience, not a an
experience that causes you to stick out your chest or pat
yourself on the chest. Did I cause you to fall on your
knees as Paul is doing here and saying thank you Lord, that you
would even consider me to do such a thing?
There's so many people in our time who are so wrapped up in
themselves, right? They say things like it's my
ministry, this is not your ministry.
This is the ministry of Christ, it is the ministry of
reconciliation and we are sharing the gospel with others,
whether there be members of our family, whether they be Co
workers during our lunch break, whether they be people in the
church. This is the ministry of
reconciliation that was given to us by Christ himself.
This is Christ ministry. Paul is understanding that and
he's humbled that I would ever be counted as someone who would
be worthy enough to be a part of Christ ministry.
Here he finds himself. Thanking God for His will in his
life. In fact, in First Corinthians
chapter 15, Paul expresses just how humble he is about this.
The fact that God would use him, he says in verse nine, First
Corinthians 15, he says, for I am the least of the apostles and
do not even deserve to be called an apostle.
What humility there? One who wrote over half of the
New Testament. He says I'm not even worthy to
be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God.
He said I'm not worthy because I remember what I was.
Watch what he says in verse 10. But by the grace of God, I am
what I am. He says it's God's grace.
This made me what I am, not my choice, not my ability, not my
desire, but God's grace. And he said in his grace to me
was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of
them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was within me.
What is Paul saying here? He's saying I'm thankful to God
for His grace and allowing me to be one of His servants,
fulfilling His will for my life and bringing Him glory through
that will. He was honored that God would
ever choose him to be a vessel for His glory.
I want an honor. It is week after week after week
to have the privilege, and I do say privilege, being able to
stand behind this pulpit and open up the very word of God and
to lead God's people to know Him more through the Scriptures.
I'm so thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for that grace in
my life, appointing me to His service.
But did you know this? He has appointed all of you to
His service. If you were in Christ, He has
gifted you with gift from the Holy Spirit.
And those gifts are to be used in ministering to His people and
to ministering to the loss, to shining the light of Jesus
Christ and to serve Him. And if you would truly see the
honor that it is, you would not be lazy in your service, but
you'd be thankful. But I'm thankful that I can wake
up every day and I can serve you and I can bring glory to your
name. He was honored that God would
ever choose him to be that kind of vessel.
Ephesians 3, verse seven, He says about himself, I became a
servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me
through the working of his power.
He says I'm a servant of the gospel because God has worked
his power graciously in me. Although I'm less than the least
of all the Lord's people. This grace was given me to
preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.
Now Paul really wrecks the modern worship yourself
ideology, doesn't he? You're good enough and you're
smart enough and you got lots of things to offer.
Paul says I don't have anything to.
Offer his theology, Rex human psychology in our day, he said.
I have anything to offer. I am the least of the apostles
and I am thankful that God would ever even begin to consider me
one to be saved. But.
Secondly, to be used for His glory in ministry.
What an effective leader here to remind us that we are to be
thankful in our leadership, to be thankful every day that we
have been given that role in that position.
Moms, I've already mentioned you in the sermon.
I'll mention you again. I know some days it's difficult.
Someday it's days. It's difficult.
To teach your children and to
endure the things that you have to endure as a mother, you've
already made a sacrifice, right? While other families, they have
two incomes, you guys are pinching pennies because you
only have one, because you're still fit to lead your family
and to disciple them. For that I commend you and let
me. Just say this for free and God's
going to take care of you. He always has.
He always takes care of those who are seeking to do His will.
And I know you had this frustrating day.
Instead of being frustrated, why don't we try being thankful?
Why don't we, as the apostle Paul say, I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord that he has appointed me to raise up and to teach the
next generation of believers that will follow after us.
As I know, you have to go to work every day and then on top
of that, you have to lead your wives and you, you have to lead
your families and you, you have to devote yourself to the Lord
and you have to continue to grow so that your family will
continue to grow. And sometimes this is difficult.
I don't stand before you saying this is an easy task.
It's a task that most of the world just doesn't even consider
at all. But yet you've considered it.
And now through the help of the apostle Paul, I want you to be
effective in it. And how can we be effective in
it? Every day that you get to serve
your family, every day that you get to minister to your wife
who's ministering to the next generation.
Every day see it as a privilege and get on your face and say
thank you God that you have entrusted me to lead a home for
your glory. For those of you who serve the
Lord in any other ministry capacity.
Do the same. Perhaps you serve the Lord here.
You find yourself on things like the lawn crew or the janitorial
crew. You might find yourselves
unclogging a stuffed up toilet or cleaning a nasty bathroom.
Can we do it with thankfulness in our heart?
I'm thankful God, that you would even consider me a fit candidate
to scrub a toilet in your church for your people.
You say, well, Kirk, how can you be thankful for such things that
that's grace you deserve hell everlasting.
And He's let you serve Him by bringing Him glory through
something as simple as cleaning a bathroom.
Paul is a thankful leader. You want to be a an effective
leader. Wherever you find yourself
leading, be thankful. Secondly, he goes on and he says
even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and
a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and
unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured
out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in
Christ Jesus. We see the second trait here of
an effective Christian leader, and that is the trait trait of
being transparent. That's transparency.
And so we see in Paul's life, he is very transparent.
He's not hiding from anyone what he.
Used to be. He's not trying to be
self-righteous any longer. He's already done that in his
past life, hasn't he? He was climbing the Pharisaical
ladder, a Jew among Jews, a Pharisee among Pharisees,
looking the part, cleaning up the outside, but knowing full
well that on the inside, as Jesus declared about the
Pharisees, it was nothing but dead men's bones.
He's not seeking to do that in his leadership in the church.
No, he values transparency, and he's not afraid to say exactly
what he was before Christ mercifully saved him.
He says I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.
He says exactly what he really was apart from Christ.
You want to be an effective leader, Be transparent.
Be honest about your depraved condition.
That's what he's doing here. He's being honest about his
depraved condition. He's saying to everyone who's
listening that I have a past, but Christ has rescued me from
my past and my past. Was this?
I was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor of the
church. I was a violent man bringing
violence and even death to those who would follow Christ.
He was honest about this. Can I?
Can I say to all of you, you want to be an effective
Christian leader? Be transparent.
Don't ever jump into the self-righteous pharisaical
attitude of teaching your children that you're perfect
when you're not. They know you're not perfect.
If they spend any time in the Word of God, they'll know no one
save Christ. Was ever perfect.
But what so many times parents do in the church, you know what
they do? They present themselves to their
children as if they have it all together.
Do you know what you do when you do that?
You teach your children self righteousness and not to depend
on the righteousness that is apart from the law of
righteousness that comes from God according to what Paul
teaches the church in Romans chapter 3.
You teach them to base their righteousness upon themselves or
to base their righteousness upon what they do.
You also teach them to hide the fact that they don't do things
right all of the time and they are in need of grace and they
are in need of mercy. Paul, you're being transparent.
He's being honest about his depraved condition because the
self righteousness that once held him captive no longer has a
hold on him. He's not trying to impress
anyone. He wants them to be impressed.
With Christ and Christ alone. And he clearly states I was a
blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, and I was shown
mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
He was honest about his depraved condition.
He was transparent. Not only was he honest about
that and his transparency, he was honest about his desperate
need for Christ. When we're honest about who we
are apart from Christ, and then we can be honest about how much
we desperately need Christ. Paul knew that he desperately
needed Christ. He knew that the people
listening to this letter, when they would have received it and
Timothy would have read it to the church, that there would be
some there who desperately needed Christ, and if he would
have presented himself as someone who had his act all.
Together, instead of being transparent about what he once
was apart from Christ, he would have kept them from seeing their
true need for Christ. But he doesn't do that.
He was honest about his depraved condition.
He was also honest about his desperate need for Christ, that
he was completely dependent upon God's mercy and that had God not
shown him mercy, he would still be lost.
He would still be headed straight to hell with all the
religiosity and all the self righteousness that he had had
his entire life. But because of Christ's mercy,
he now has hope and forgiveness, restoration.
He was eternally indebted to God for the mercy that he had been
given. That mercy was, as we see here,
abundant. He says the grace of our Lord in
14 was poured out to me abundantly.
You know, I was poured out to him abundantly because he needed
a lot of it. I made you think that God pours
out His grace abundantly in our lives.
I made you think that God's words.
Says that were sin increased, grace did that much more
increase that His grace is always bigger than our sin.
Paul and his transparency clearly communicates that he's
being honest about his desperate need for Christ.
I wish we would see some leaders raised up in the church in our
time who would be honest about their desperate need for Christ,
not only at salvation, but continually.
I desperately need Christ. Why?
I don't want to return back to being the blasphemer and the
persecutor and the vile and wicked, violent man that I once
was. I want to constantly depend upon
Christ, desperately needing him. Paul here showing his
indebtedness to Christ, what Christ had done for him.
He says the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly.
Watch this along with faith. Faith being a gift for all you
people who think faith came from you.
Faith came from God. It's a gift.
He says. The faith and the love that are
in Christ Jesus. He's saying I received believing
faith because of the grace that I have been given in Christ that
was abundantly poured out on me. Not only that, but I received
love, enduring everlasting love that God has for his children.
He was indebted to Christ. He was being honest about his
desperate need for what Christ had provided for him.
He personally understood the things that he's writing here.
He's not writing these things secondhand.
Paul is saying I'm that guy. The one who was a blasphemer, a
wicked man, a persecutor of the church, violent even.
This is what God in Christ showed me, my desperate need for
Christ, and I desperately need him, and you desperately need
him as well. And is he the Lord who pours out
grace upon those who desperately need him?
In fact, Ephesians chapter 2, Paul who wrote this same text in
Ephesians that we're reading from here in first Timothy, he
says this verse 2, As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler, the Kingdom of
the air, the Spirit who is now at work and those who are
disobedient. He's talking about your past
life and his past life where he followed after sin and Satan.
He says in verse 3, in case you think that this doesn't apply to
you, All of us lived among them at one time.
And those who follow sin and those who followed Satan, he
said, gratifying the cravings of her flesh and following his
desires and thoughts like the rest.
We were by nature deserving of wrath.
Watch his indebtedness here, he said, but because of his great
love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with
Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions.
And he says this famous saying, it is by grace you have been
saved. Paul personally understood what
it means to be saved by the grace of God, by no, no, no work
of his own, by no merit of his own, but to be saved by God's
grace. He's being honest here about his
desperate need for Christ because he was desperately in
need of God's grace. So we see this effective leader
doing what so many are afraid to do in the church today.
That is to be transparent. I stand before you today a
transparent man. Oh, please put no faith in Kirk
Hall. Why?
Because I was once a blasphemer. I was once a wicked Sinner.
I was once anything that you can think of that would describe
someone who was in opposition to God.
But His grace and the grace that he poured out on me in an
abundant fashion allowed me to believe by the faith that He had
given me and allowed me to experience the love that He had
for me that I never otherwise would have experienced.
So we see Paul's transparency here again.
Mothers, fathers, leaders of any kind, it is important that we
are. Transparent to those who are
following us parents, show your children that you are flawed and
you are in need of Christ. Why?
So that they will see that they are flawed to and in need of
Christ. I have seen family after family
in churches for for years making this mistake.
Now when you're around people don't do this, this and this.
Play like you're perfect when you're not around them.
Do those things. No teach your children this.
You are always in the presence of God.
Live your life, Cormdale, like you really are in the presence
of God. And when you blow, it depend on
the grace of God, because it's only the grace of God that will
rescue you from you. Yet instead, oh, let's just
learn how to play the Christian part and never be transparent.
Parents, you will raise up the next generation to be
self-righteous hypocrites. If you do one thing on a Sunday
morning and you come in here and you pretend to be perfect and
that everything is all right, and then you live your life not
depending upon the grace of God, hiding all the things that
you're ashamed of instead of being honest about them, You are
not being an effective leader. Oh, you're a leader all right.
You're going to lead them down the path of self righteousness
with it, which is as detestable of a sin as any you will read
about in Scripture. Be very careful.
An effective Christian leader will always be transparent as
Paul is here. Thirdly, he says in verse 15,
here's a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
So this is important. Pay attention to this.
It's a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
This is something that we need to fully embrace.
There is no discussion about this.
Christ. Jesus came into the world to
save sinners. And then he adds this little
footnote there, of whom I am the worst.
Now I want you for a second to imagine what's going on here,
because this is really how it happened.
Often we forget this. This was a letter Paul wrote to
his, as we saw last week, true son in the faith, Timothy.
And he's writing him because Paul has left him in Ephesus to
pass through this church, and he knows that he needs some
leadership in his life still, don't we all?
And he's writing him this letter.
And he knows that this letter is going to be written to the
churches, and it's probably going to, as all the letters did
in the New Testament, be cycled around to all of the churches of
the day. Can you imagine when, Timothy?
Stood up to read this letter there in Ephesus because Ephesus
was a place that we know historically was prone to
idolatry. They would worship the goddess
Artemis or otherwise known as Diana.
And in those temples of Artemis or Diana, there were temple
prostitutes. And did you know this, the
gospel going forth in Ephesus, It was probably under the sound
of Timothy's voice when he read this letter the first time.
A former temple prostitute had come to faith in Jesus Christ,
who still kind of sat in the back of the church because she
knew that people knew her past and knew how awful she was and
knew that her whole life she had been a prostitute.
She was potentially sitting in the back when this was read, and
she would have heard this. Here's a trustworthy saying that
deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, and you know, it entered into her mind as it
once entered into my mind. Yeah, but not sinners who are as
bad as me. Have you heard that lie before?
Only to have Paul follow up with this, of whom I am the worst.
She is hearing a letter from the apostle to the Gentiles read by
her pastor. And the apostle to the Gentiles
says to the church, I am the worst of sinners.
And I needed Jesus to come to this earth.
And the purpose that he came to this earth was so that sinners
could be saved. Do you see what's happening
here? Oh, don't read past these things
in Scripture. Paul's letting you know that God
can and does save the most wicked of sinners.
He saves all of those who like he are fully trusting in Jesus
atonement. That's what he's doing here.
Paul understood that that his once thought righteousness
counted for nothing and the only thing that counted for his
salvation is Christ, the one who came to save even the worst of
all sinners. Paul says this about himself in
Philippians chapter 3 verse four.
He says, though I myself have reasons for such confidence, if
someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the
flesh, I have more right. There were those who were saying
that I have confidence in my flesh because I've done certain
things. Paul says I've done good things
too. They were often the wrong
motives. He says in verse 5 circumcised
on the eighth day of the people of Israel of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews in regard to the law of Pharisee.
As for zeal persecuting the church As for righteousness
based on the law faultless. He said I lived what people
would say was a pretty righteous.
Life. But it was nothing because he
did it in his own power and he did it in his own strength.
He wasn't fully trusting in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, he
says in verse 7. But whatever were gains to me, I
now considered a loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for his
sake. I have lost all things, he says.
I've lost it all and I'm gladly in a position where I have lost
it all. I'm thankful that I have lost it
all because I've gained Christ, he said.
I consider everything else that I've lost.
I consider it to be garbage. Skibulan in the Greek, he says
that I'm a gained Christ to be found in Him not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law.
Why He knew what a righteousness that come from the law.
Looks like I left him empty. He just said that, He said.
As for the law, righteousness. I lived a good life, man.
People would look at me and think he's got it all together.
I didn't have anything together. About that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from
God on the basis of faith. Faith in who faith in what faith
in Christ and who he is and the atoning work that he did at the
cross. Here we see Paul fully trusting
in Jesus atonement and that alone for salvation.
He understood and he wants everyone else to understand that
the. Law can never save.
Only Christ can save sinners. He plainly says that here.
Now look at it in the context of his life.
He was obedient unto the law, but yet he was lost.
He was a Pharisee among the Pharisees, but yet he was lost.
He was of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the 8th day, but
yet he was lost. And all those things mean
nothing, why? They were all done in the flesh,
but he is fully trusting his fully putting his faith and his
trust in the atoning work of Jesus Christ to save him because
he knew the law never could and it wasn't designed to do that.
Romans 8 verse one. There he says, therefore there
is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life
has set you free from the law of sin and death.
What the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the
flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh to be a. Sin offering.
And so he condemns sin in the flesh.
He's saying my hope is not in observing the law.
I once put my hope in that and it was futile.
My hope is in Christ. Galatians 2 verse 16 He gives
clarity to the Galatians. He said no, that a person is not
justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus
Christ. So we too have put our faith in
Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and
not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law
no one will be justified. This is Paul fully trusting in
Jesus atonement. An effective Christian leader
will always be trusting in the atoning work of Jesus Christ and
that alone. Not their ministry accolades,
Not their achievements. Not awards, Not success.
They will be trusting in Jesus atonement.
Paul understood this. That's why he says here's a
trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
You can take this to the bank as 100% true.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
the worst. What was he saying?
I even I needed salvation from Christ because I was the worst
of sinners. I was the one who was a
blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man against God's
people. Yet by fully trusting in the
atoning work of Christ, I even I can be washed and can be
cleansed and can be for forgiven of all of my sin and my
defilement. Not only do we see him trusting
here, fully trusting in Jesus atonement, he's also fully
trusting in Jesus ability. I told you he put that tag on
there, of whom I am the worst. He was putting that on there
because there would be people who were in the church again who
thought there's no way that he could ever save me.
Paul put himself in the position of the worst so that others
would realize. He can save the most wicked and
the most vile. He can save the drunkard and the
adulterer and the sexually immoral.
He can save the coveter. He can save the murderer.
He can save anyone if he can save the one who is the worst of
sinners. Paul is saying see this as the
example that it is and fully trust in Christ's ability to
save anyone. I don't care how vile or how
wicked they are. Paul said if he saved me, he can
save anyone. Paul clinging the words of God
in Isaiah chapter one verse 18. The Lord says through Isaiah,
come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord.
Let's settle this once and for all.
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as
snow. Though they are red as Crimson,
they shall be like wool. What confidence Paul had, what
confidence Isaiah Speaking of, and the fact that we can trust
in Jesus ability to cleanse us from the dirtiest, the most
wicked, the most heinous sin in our lives.
Paul wanting them as a good and and effective Christian leader
to learn how to trust not in themselves.
He had already spent his life trusting in himself.
And he learned the hard way that we're not to trust in ourselves.
Why? Because you can be self
deceived, but to instead fully trust in Christ.
I know what some of you do because I've done it in my life.
Or you take inventory of your life and you say, you know what
man, I've really blown it this time.
I just don't know if God's going to forgive me of this.
And you know why you think like that?
Because what you're doing, you're putting yourself in the
position of God. What you're really saying, if I
was God, I wouldn't forgive me. Aren't you thankful today that
you're not God? Let me say that again.
Aren't you thankful today that you're not God?
God can and he does forgive. According to our example today,
the worst, those sinners, Paul was the worst until I was born.
He's now second worst. I stand here before you today to
say, as he has said, if God can forgive me of all the vile and
wicked things that I have done and I have thought in my
lifetime, there's not a person under the sound of my voice in
this room today who He will not forgive if you repent of your
sin and you turn to Christ this very day.
Paul teaching those who are following him to fully trust not
only in the atoning work of Christ, but also in the ability
of Christ to do exactly what he said that he can do.
And what is that? That is to save all who call
upon His name. Stop gauging the magnitude of
your wickedness by your sin. Look to the ultimate sacrifice
of Jesus Christ that relieves you and frees you from that sin.
Effective leader will constantly be reminding others to do just
that. Trust in Christ, reminding them
what John said in his gospel as he penned the words of Jesus in
John 638 where he says, For I have come down from heaven not
to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me.
This is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of
all he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son
and believes in Him shall have eternal life.
And I will raise them up at the last day, even the worst of
sinners who fully trust in Christ.
Paul being an effective Christian leader by teaching us
to be people who are trusting Christ in every situation, His
atonement, his ability, we moved to the 4th trade of an effective
Christian leader today. He says in verse 16.
But for that very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me the
worst of sinners. Christ Jesus might display his
unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on
Him and receive eternal life. Paul begins talking about this
fourth trait, which is the fact that he has been transformed.
He begins talking about. This.
By letting us know that this transformation that he has
actually experienced in his life through Christ, it is a
compelling transformation. Paul, as he wrote in 2nd
Corinthians 517, he said if we're in Christ, we're in new
creation. All the old is gone.
Behold, all things have been made new, not some things, all
thing. And this is a supernatural
transformation that is only done by God through Christ.
And it is a compelling transformation.
Watch how Paul actually worded that.
He said, But for that very reason, the fact that I am the
worst of sinners, who was once a blasphemer, A persecutor, and a
violent man, and I have been saved simply because Christ came
into this world to save Sinner. Of which I am the worst, and he
says, and the reason that he saved me and he showed to me
mercy, He who's the worst of sinners.
So Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an
example for those who would believe on Him and receive
eternal life He. Says, because God has
transformed me through the gospel, let that be an example
to all of you that he can as well transform you and it just
ought to compel you. When you see the worst of
sinners being transparent, telling you exactly who he once
was and now who he is in Christ. It ought to compel you to say, I
need that kind of transformation in my life.
Now don't be that person who sits back and says, well, I need
that kind of transformation in my life.
But man, there's no way that God could ever save me because I've
been too awful. Paul is taking that away from
you right here. He's saying there's no one who's
been as awful as me, and let this serve for you as an example
of God's patience. If God was patient with me,
bringing me to salvation, he's also been patient with you,
bringing you to salvation. And you were here this very
morning to hear the gospel message and to believe that
message and to turn from your sin so that your life will be
transformed just as He has transformed my life.
Wasn't it amazing when we read the Bible instead of just
reading the Bible? We see what he's really getting
at here. We put it in the right
perspective that this is a real man, a real leader in the
church, writing to real people. We struggle with the real things
that we all struggle with. To all of us.
He's saying this as an effective Christian leader.
If God can transform me, and He did, he can transform you in
Christ as well. In fact, that's what He came to
do to save sinners, of whom I am the very worst.
And if he can save the worst, he can save you and he can save
you, and he can save you and he can save you and he can save you
and he can save you and you and you, and you, and you, and you,
and you, and you, and you and you and you.
He can save all who repent and turn to Christ by faith,
trusting in Him. Oh, this should compel us to
desire that transformation today.
Hear the words of the apostle Paul that I was transformed by
the grace of God, the patience of God.
And he too has been patient with you so that you can hear the
same message today and believe on Christ as Lord and Savior,
resulting in eternal life for you, just as it resulted in
eternal life for me. He says, But for that very
reason, I was shown mercy, so that in me the worst of sinners
Christ Jesus might display is unlimited patience as an example
for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.
I'm so thankful for God's unlimited patience in my life.
Oh, how many times I have looked back on my life and I've asked
this question, God, why didn't you just kill me and sentence me
to hell? Because that's what I deserve.
Why didn't you just let me die in my sin?
Why would you so graciously, lovingly and kindly and
mercifully rescue me? Well, the answer is this.
So that others would see that if he can rescue Kirk Hall and he
can be patient with Kirk Hall, he can rescue me.
He can save me. One effective leader will speak
of this compelling transformation so that others
will be compelled to follow Christ.
Galatians chapter 1 verses 13 through 24 and rather lengthy
portion of scripture. Apostle Paul gives us a
description of what happened in his life and I want to read it
with you if that's OK. He says where you have heard of
my previous way of life and Judaism, how I and intensely
persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it.
I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among
my people, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my
father. But when God, who set me apart
from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to
reveal His Son and me so that I might preach Him among the
Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human
being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to
see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into
Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus,
Paul going to Arabia, being taught by Jesus himself there in
verse 18 it says. Then after three years I went up
to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas, that's Peter, and
stayed with him 15 days. And I saw none of the other
apostles, only James, the Lord's brother.
I assure you before God that what I'm writing you is no lie.
Then I went to Syria and Cilicia.
I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in
Christ. They only heard the report.
The man who formally persecuted us is now preaching the faith he
once tried to destroy. And they praised God because of
me. How do you see how this
transformation is compelling? These people heard of Paul.
They knew him when he was still referred to as Saul, the
persecutor of the church. And he said they, they they had
no other way of knowing me other than by mouth.
And what they heard by mouth was this, this vile, wicked
persecutor of the church and blasphemer and violent man.
He has been transformed. And if he can be transformed,
anyone can be transformed. What a compelling
transformation. An effective leader will always
speak of that transformation, not that he has something to
offer, that he has any wisdom of himself.
So he will always speak of the transformation and live that
transformed life that only the gospel bring.
You see, this compelling transformation before can be a
compelling transformation. It has to be a complete
transformation. They noticed that the man who
formally persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once
tried to destroy. That is the exact opposite.
That is what we call repentance. He was a persecutor of the
Church. And a violent man toward the
church and a blasphemer toward God.
And now he has turned 180°. And the message and the people
who preached the message that he once persecuted, he's now
preaching the same message. All glory and honor and praise
be unto Jesus Christ our. Lord an effective leader.
We'll be a transformed leader. He'll be completely transformed
from Violet blasphemer to a true worshipper and a follower of
Christ. Watch what happens next in this
text, verse 17. The Apostle Paul has a moment
here, as we all ought to have moments when we think back on
what we once were apart from Christ.
He says I was a blasphemer and a persecutor of the church and a
violent man. I am the worst of sinners and
apart from God's grace I am nothing.
You know what he doesn't do? He doesn't say, oh, we look at
me now. No, he breaks, breaks into a
doxology unto the Lord now, to the King eternal now.
Because of all of this, now here's my response to him.
He is King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, and to
him be honor and glory, forever and ever.
Amen. Because he has been totally and
completely transformed from a blasphemer and a persecutor and
a man who did violence to the church.
Now he is a true worshipper. Falling on his face.
I'm saying it's you, King. It was done at all.
It is you, O God, King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
one true God. Honor and glory to you forever
and ever. Amen.
We see that complete transformation, that violent
blasphemer transformed into a true worshipper of the one true
God, King, eternal, immortal, invisible, his entire life
transformed for his glory and for his praise.
Acts chapter 22, verse 3. It says this Paul giving an
account of himself. He said, I am a Jew, born of
Tarsus and Cilicia, but brought up in this city.
I studied under Gamma Liu and was thoroughly trained in the
law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as
any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of
this way to their death, resting both men and women, throwing
them into prison as the high priest and all the council can
themselves testify. I even obtained letters from
them to their to their associates in Damascus and went
there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be
punished. About noon, as I came near
Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around
me, and I fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me,
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?
Who are you, Lord? I asked.
I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you were persecuting, He replied.
My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the
voice of him who was speaking to me.
What shall I do, Lord, I ask. Get up, the Lord said, would go
into Damascus, and there you would be told all that you have
been assigned to do. My companions led me by the hand
into Damascus because the brilliance of the light had
blinded me. A man named Ananias came to see
me. He was a devout observer of the
law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.
And he stood beside me and said, Brother Saul received your
sight, and at that very moment I was able to see him.
And then he said, The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know
his will and to see the righteous, 1 and to hear words
from his mouth. You will be witness to all
people of what you have seen and have heard.
Or what grace is this, that God would completely transform a man
simply by encountering the Lord Jesus Christ?
We see this example of that kind of transformation, a man who was
on his way to Damascus to arrest more Christians and bring them
back to Jerusalem to be tortured and even killed.
And Jesus could have, with that same light that he blinded him
with, struck him dead on that road right in front of all of
his companions. God had a different desire, and
his desire was to transform him completely.
Take a blasphemer and the persecutor, the wicked and vile
and violent man, to use him for the will of God and the glory of
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A once totally sinful blind man, spiritually dead.
He receives Christ and he's completely transformed.
Paul in writing this letter, when he gets to that part, can't
help fall on his knees and praise and adoration for the
king who rescued him, lover of his soul, who did not let him
die in his sin, but who paid the penalty for his death on the
cross so that he could be saved. Or the 4th trade in the final
trait that we will see today of the effect of Christian leaders.
It's obvious, isn't it? They will be transformed, and
they will be transformed because they have truly encountered the
Lord Jesus Christ. He has truly transformed them.
That transformation will be compelling to others, and it
will be complete as long as the apostle Paul lived.
He lived all of his days to bring glory and honor and praise
to God and to bring others to faith through the gospel message
that he preached. And he did it with honor for God
because of the glory of God, seeing it as a privilege that he
would ever be counted worthy to live and to even suffer for the
Lord Jesus Christ. What an effective Christian
leader. As I told you when we started
this morning, you're all leaders to some degree.
If you're in Christ, you're a Christian leader.
If you are doing it ineffectively, you are leading
people to get the wrong idea about Christ, maybe even members
of your own home, maybe those you work with.
But if you're doing it effectively, you'll be thankful
and they'll see it. You'll be transparent about who
you once were and how much you need Christ, and they'll see it.
You'll be trusting. You'll be trusting in everything
that Jesus did on the cross and nothing that you have done.
You'll see that you'll be transformed.
Why? Because if you're in Christ,
you're a new creation. You are transformed and they
will see it. They will desire the same
transformation when they see you.
The worst of sinners receiving grace and mercy and forgiveness.
They will ask you about that hope that you have, the only
hope that can save sinners. So whether your dad leading your
home, your mom teaching her children you're a Bible study
leader or reach group leader in this church, you're one of our
pastors. You're one of our elders.
Whoever you are, you can settle for being a mediocre leader.
You can see the example of the life of Paul, what an effective
Christian leader he was, and watch this even 2000 years
later, still is. May we desire to be leaders who
lead in that way. Perhaps you're here today and
you're an unbeliever. I would encourage you to look to
the honesty and the transparency of Paul today.
You've made excuse after excuse, week after week after week, and
hearing the gospel that God could never save you because
you've been too bad. Oh, you might have been bad, but
you're not the worst of sinners. And through the apostle Paul and
his leadership, God raised him up to show you that if He can be
patient with Paul, the worst of sinners, and exercise His grace
and His mercy upon him, He can do the same for you today.
Repent of your sin and cry out to Jesus desperately to save you
from the wrath and the hell that you deserve.
Trust in Jesus Christ today as Lord and Savior and be saved.
Stop making excuses and inventing clauses that God does
not state. You are not too far gone.
In fact, you were brought here today.
You are hearing my voice today because God wants you to know
there is still hope for you, and that hope is in Christ.
Turn to Christ today and be saved.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
thank you for your word. We thank you for all the lessons
that you give us. But as we have discovered today,
we are all leaders to some capacity, and You have entrusted
us with that as Christians. May we do it effectively, may we
do it for Your glory, and we do it according to Your word.
Lord, I pray for the soul who's here today does not know Christ.
Whether they know it or whether they don't know it at this time,
they are completely dependent upon Your mercy.
They are not dependent upon a message from a preacher.
It has already gone out. I've done what I can do.
I've done what I've been entrusted to do.
Lord, they are dependent upon Your mercy, and I pray that You
would have mercy on them, drawing them unto Yourself
today, out of darkness and into Your marvelous light as You have
revealed the gospel to them. May they see their sin.
May You by Your grace give them faith to believe and strength to
repent. By Your Spirit may they follow
Christ all their days. From this point forward, we pray
and we ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
Once again, we like to thank you for joining us online this
morning. We pray that if you have any
questions about the sermon today or perhaps you would like more
information on how to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please
click on the QR code there on the screen and it will give you
all the information that you need.
Also, if you have any prayer requests or would like to talk
to a pastor, we would love to hear from you.
And again, May God bless you as you seek Him and His will for
your life. You've been listening to Key
Life Fellowships Pulpit Ministry podcast.
Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.