1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:08,520 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:12,200 Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,520 County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he 4 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,920 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:43,320 So he said Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners 6 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,840 and Paul's acknowledging and he says, and I am chief, I'm one of 7 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,160 the worst. And when he says that, he's not 8 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:54,080 saying while I compare myself to your sin, oh, my sins worse than 9 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:55,880 yours. That's not what he's talking 10 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:57,720 about. I've even heard that before 11 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,120 people comparing sins. Well, you should see what I used 12 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:04,080 to do. Paul's saying compared to God. 13 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:09,640 Would to God that we would see ourselves this way as sinners 14 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,080 saved by the grace of God, and also would to God that we would 15 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,600 see everyone else this way who has come into a saving knowledge 16 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,600 of faith in Jesus Christ. So often we do exactly what 17 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:27,440 Pastor Lewis said a moment ago. We compare, well, my sin isn't 18 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:32,120 as bad as his, but that's not what the point of sin is or the 19 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,200 fact that we are separated from God. 20 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,360 Yes, the point is that everyone is a Sinner and we all need 21 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:39,920 Jesus, no matter what we've done. 22 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:43,760 Now here's Pastor Lewis in the Book of First Timothy, chapter 23 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:47,560 one with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 24 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,400 We ain't getting started yet, so we're going to. 25 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,360 I want to thank also those who are listening behind prison 26 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,320 doors. I pray that the worship and the 27 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,360 praise today blessed you. And I pray that the Word of God 28 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,400 ministers to your heart today. Amen. 29 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:08,120 Well, let's get ready to get into the Word of God. 30 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,760 Can we please turn in our Bibles to the first chapter of First 31 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,560 Timothy? And this week we're going to 32 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:20,360 look at verses 12 through 21st Timothy chapter 1, verses 12 33 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,520 through 20. Let's pray and go into the word, 34 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,800 Father, God in Jesus name, just as the song said, Lord, have 35 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,520 your own way. Have your own way, Lord. 36 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:36,120 I pray, Father, that You speak through these scriptures to us, 37 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,960 Lord, that You would touch our hearts, Lord, that You would 38 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,640 open our eyes and show us the glorious and wonderful and 39 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:45,560 marvelous things that are in Your word. 40 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,240 I pray, Father, today that You reveal to us truth, because 41 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,600 truth is revealed and not discovered, Lord, so reveal to 42 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,080 us Your truth. Cause our hearts, O God, to be 43 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,200 made softly. So when we leave here today, 44 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,760 cause, us, O God, to know something more about You. 45 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,160 Cause us, O God, to have something more that we can pray 46 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,480 about giving over to You and 'cause this most of all, Lord, 47 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:16,320 to be more surrendered to you. So we ask these things in the 48 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:21,200 name of our Savior and our Lord. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 49 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,760 Amen. Let's go to first Timothy 50 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,520 chapter one verse, verse 12. I'm going to read this and then 51 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,760 we're going to go back and we're going to discuss it. 52 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,320 It says, and I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled 53 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,640 me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the 54 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,840 ministry, although I was formerly A blasphemer, A 55 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:46,160 persecutor, and an insolent man. But I obtained mercy because I 56 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,600 did it ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was 57 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,760 exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ 58 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,000 Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and 59 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:00,160 worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world 60 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,960 to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 61 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,360 However, for this reason I obtain mercy, that in me first 62 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,920 Jesus Christ might show all long-suffering as a pattern to 63 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,640 those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 64 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:21,120 Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible to God, who 65 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:25,920 alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. 66 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,920 Amen. This charge I commit to you, son 67 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,000 Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made 68 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:38,360 concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, or 69 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,840 that you may fight the good fight, or that you may fight the 70 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:46,640 battle wells other ways that some of the other participations 71 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,360 may have, some of the other versions of the Bible may have. 72 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,240 Verse 19 says having faith and good conscience, which some, 73 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,640 having rejected concerning the faith, have suffered shipwreck. 74 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:03,680 Of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I deliver to 75 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,680 Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. 76 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:10,040 Amen. Lord bless His word. 77 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,200 So as we go into this, the first thing that we have to do is to 78 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,120 think about what we talked about in verses one through 11. 79 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:20,760 So if we go back and we look at that, just a couple of things. 80 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,720 Now, Paul is writing this letter to Timothy, and this is one of 81 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,960 the three epistles, one of the three pastoral or leadership 82 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,080 epistles that Paul is writing to. 83 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,760 And the purpose of this is to give encouragement and direction 84 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,440 and the things for the New Testament church, the things of 85 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,440 the Lord for the New Testament church. 86 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,280 And as he's writing this, he's commanding Timothy that the 87 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:46,480 first thing you have to do is to make sure that they don't teach 88 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:48,920 any other doctrine, no other doctrine. 89 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,080 Don't let teachers come in, false teachers come in and 90 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,000 totally derail the people by teaching things that are not in 91 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,280 accordance with good doctrine. And then he lists a number of 92 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,840 different things as he talked about how this false teaching 93 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:08,520 was mainly connected to the law, the teaching of the law and how 94 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,240 it the law was misrepresented Senate. 95 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,600 And he talked about some of the sins or some of the lawless 96 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,800 deeds that people could commit that are listed in the law. 97 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,280 And and he talked about how it's not, this is not an exhausted 98 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:23,040 list, but he says, and if there's any other thing 99 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,160 concerning sound doctrine, then he gets to verse 11. 100 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,800 And this is going to be key for where we're going today. 101 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:34,160 In verse 11, he says, according to the glorious gospel of the 102 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,440 blessed God, which was committed to my trust. 103 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,320 And that's where we're going today. 104 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,880 Paul is now mentioning that this gospel, he's acknowledging that 105 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:48,200 this gospel, this glorious gospel, the very gospel that he 106 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:53,000 heard that changed his life, the very gospel that he heard that 107 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:59,320 he rejected, that very gospel is now committed to his trust. 108 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,520 And so as we go over to verse 12, from there to the end of 109 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:08,200 this chapter, we are basically going to hear Paul talk about 110 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,360 how amazing it is that this gospel is committed to him 111 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,120 because he does not deserve it. His efforts in his life was 112 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:20,720 totally to go against this gospel, but yet because of God's 113 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,160 grace and mercy, it is now entrusted to him. 114 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,960 So as we look in verse 12, we see a couple things. 115 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,520 He says, I thank Christ Jesus and he's very thankful. 116 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,240 He's very thankful. Paul spent many years going down 117 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,280 the wrong track. He spent many years as a 118 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:43,720 legalist, many years as a religious person persecuting and 119 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,520 going after people who were going the way of Jesus Christ. 120 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,760 He spent many years, but in God's faithfulness, when it was 121 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:56,000 right for God, he came and he delivered Paul from that. 122 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,000 He saved them and delivered them from that. 123 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,640 And Paul is grateful. Paul is grateful. 124 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,960 And I can understand that because I feel like I felt I 125 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:08,640 spent a majority of my life running after something that was 126 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,760 empty, running after something that had no eternal value. 127 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,800 And I thank God that he didn't leave me there. 128 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,520 So I'm thankful. And if we think about our own 129 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,560 lives, if we think about the things that we did prior to 130 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,720 coming to Christ, we should be thankful. 131 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,080 We should be thankful. So Paul says, I'm thankful. 132 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:29,280 And he's given three things that he's thankful for. 133 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:34,520 Right here in verse 12. He says #1 I'm thankful because 134 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,280 the Lord enabled me. So not only was Paul called to 135 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,760 the ministry, but the Lord enabled him. 136 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:43,240 What does that mean? That means that the Lord 137 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:47,280 strengthened him. The Lord equipped him to do the 138 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,840 ministry, which is the same thing He does for you. 139 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,120 When the Lord calls you in the ministry, He doesn't just put a 140 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,760 passion on your heart to go and do something in the ministry, 141 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,480 but as He's calling you, He's enabling you. 142 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,680 He's equipping you supernaturally. 143 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:08,240 He is strengthening you to be able to do the ministry so that 144 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,840 you can do it as unto him. So Paul says, first of all, I 145 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,480 thank God for enabling me. Second of all, he says that he 146 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,240 thank God because God counted him faithful. 147 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,120 Now this is not ability. This has nothing to do with his 148 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,520 ability. It has nothing to do with his 149 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:26,880 gifting. It has nothing to do with him 150 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,520 being able to go out and preach people to tears. 151 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:34,560 Has nothing to do with that. Paul says that he entrusted this 152 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:39,200 ministry to me because he counted me faithful. 153 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:44,400 That just simply means that he counted him to be trustworthy. 154 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,960 He accounted him to be trustworthy in the ministry. 155 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,400 There's a lot of things that we cannot control about the 156 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,280 ministry. We can't control how well we do 157 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:54,960 it. The power of God does that. 158 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:57,520 But what God is looking for, he's looking for faithful 159 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,440 people. He wants people who would be 160 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,240 faithful to the call, people who would be committed and 161 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,440 surrendered to Him to do what he called you to do. 162 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,640 That's all He'll do the rest, He'll take care of the rest. 163 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,280 But we need to be faithful. And it's even God that helps us 164 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,600 to do that. He doesn't even leave that up to 165 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,560 just ourselves. So he says, first of all, I'm 166 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:23,720 thankful that he counted me faithful or, or I'm thankful 167 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,840 that he counted me trustworthy. And then the third thing is that 168 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,200 he put me into the ministry. And this is really important 169 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,840 because there's some people who put themselves in ministry. 170 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:35,920 There's some people who put themselves in ministry. 171 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,160 When I was younger, I used to hear my grandmother. 172 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:41,800 They would say, she would say to me, you know, well, you know, 173 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,920 this person's having trouble in ministry and, you know, he's not 174 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,520 necessarily preaching the word. And I said, well, Mama, Mama, 175 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:49,080 why? Why? 176 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,920 Why, you know, would he be standing up there if if he's not 177 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,080 doing it right, why would he be standing up there? 178 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,240 She said, because some people were sent and some just went. 179 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,080 That has more meaning to me today than what it ever did when 180 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,200 I was 11 or 12 or 10. And it's so true. 181 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,880 Some people just go and just do whatever they think they, they 182 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:14,840 want to do. It doesn't matter what they're 183 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:16,440 called to do. They just do whatever they want 184 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,440 to do. And, and that's why he's saying 185 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,640 that he put me into the ministry. 186 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,640 All the ministries that we're involved in are ministries that 187 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,920 the Lord put you in. It doesn't matter what it is, 188 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:29,800 doesn't matter what it is. The Lord puts you there. 189 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:32,360 And if he puts you there, he puts you there for a purpose. 190 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:36,360 He has a purpose. He has a purpose and if His 191 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,720 purposes are fulfilled through you, we know His word does not 192 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,880 return unto Him void. So whatever He purposes to do, 193 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:45,920 it's going to be accomplished. It's going to be accomplished. 194 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:50,120 So he puts you there, He enabled you, and we can do all these 195 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,600 things through Christ Jesus. You know, you know Paul in first 196 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:58,120 Corinthians 15 and 10, Paul says I am what I am by the grace of 197 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,960 God, I am what I am. And then in Philippians 4 and 198 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:06,440 13, he says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens 199 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,000 me. So you never have to question 200 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:13,280 your qualifications or your ability to do a ministry. 201 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,520 You never have to question that God will empower you to do it. 202 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:20,080 He will strengthen you, enable you to do it. 203 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,240 If he puts you there, he will make sure that you have what you 204 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,040 need to do the ministry to fulfill that ministry. 205 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:30,440 So then we go on to verse 13 and he says although I was formerly 206 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:35,440 A blasphemer, A persecutor and an insolent man, Paul's now 207 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,040 getting into his testimony a little bit. 208 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,440 Paul's looking back and saying he did all this for me. 209 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:43,760 He put me into this place. He's counting me trustworthy. 210 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,000 He's enabling me to do this ministry. 211 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,040 And formerly this is the kind of person I was. 212 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,520 I was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor and an 213 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:56,920 insolent man. Paul's talking about his BC for 214 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,000 Christ's life when he when he conducted themselves in a manner 215 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,720 in which in which he, you know, before he conducted himself in a 216 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:06,040 manner which he does now. Paul shares about his testimony 217 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:07,680 and and he's very humble about it. 218 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,720 He says I was a blasphemer. A blasphemer mean that Paul 219 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,080 denied the deity of Jesus Christ and forced others to deny it. 220 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,920 He slandered them, he cursed them. 221 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,200 He hated those who follow Jesus Christ. 222 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,640 He said he was a persecutor. He was physically. 223 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,920 Paul used physical power to try to destroy the church. 224 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:33,280 He was violent. He tried to destroy the church 225 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,200 through physical means. I mean, he actually, and Jesus 226 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,040 said in Acts 9 and four, he said, why are you persecuting 227 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,200 me? Paul thought he was just 228 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,440 persecuting the people. Paul is persecuting Jesus 229 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:47,840 Christ. When somebody offends you or 230 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,160 when somebody persecutes you, you're not the only one. 231 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:52,600 He's being persecuted. They're persecuting Jesus Christ 232 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,240 when they don't receive you in your word. 233 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,880 They're not rejecting you, they're rejecting Jesus Christ. 234 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,880 They're rejecting Jesus Christ. So when someone says I don't 235 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,400 agree with you, no, it's not me you don't agree with, You don't 236 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,720 agree with Jesus Christ. This is his word. 237 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,520 I didn't write it and that's exactly what Paul is saying. 238 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:17,800 I used to persecute Jesus Christ and he said he was an insolent 239 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:19,440 man. That means he was violent. 240 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:22,920 He was a murderous man. He was arrogant, injurious. 241 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:27,560 Paul was an angry man. He was an angry man and this was 242 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,400 just part of who he was. I want to go over to Acts real 243 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:31,960 quick. If we can drop over to Acts 244 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:34,640 chapter 26. Paul kind of. 245 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:40,240 He articulates, in my opinion, he articulates his testimony a 246 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,240 little bit more clearly over here in Acts 26. 247 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,560 Look at verse 9. He says, indeed, I myself 248 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,960 thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of 249 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:56,000 Nazareth, verse 10. This I also did in Jerusalem and 250 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,680 in many Saints. I shut up in prison, having 251 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,720 received authority from the chief priests, and when they 252 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,920 were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 253 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:11,040 In other words, Paul is saying that I was supporting the death 254 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,120 of people when they were being put to death, these Christians 255 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,160 who they will find in the way, and they would mandate that they 256 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:18,840 be put to death. Paul said I was one of the 257 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:20,760 people who gave my vote to put them to death. 258 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:21,160 Yeah. Yeah. 259 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:22,400 Kill them. Get rid of them. 260 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,280 How Can you imagine that on your conscience? 261 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,120 But he didn't care at that particular time. 262 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,080 He didn't care. Just like the sins that we used 263 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,680 to commit. We didn't care if it was hurting 264 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,000 somebody else. We were selfish. 265 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,720 Long as we got what we wanted out of it, that's what we really 266 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,800 cared about. And this is what Paul is saying. 267 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:40,600 I didn't care that I was hurting people. 268 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:42,800 I didn't care that I was tearing up families. 269 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,640 I didn't care. He thought he was actually doing 270 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:49,400 God's work. He thought he was actually doing 271 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:51,920 God's work. He said I voted against them and 272 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,120 then in verse 11 says and I punish them often in every 273 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,720 synagogue and compelled them. This is interesting and 274 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:03,000 compelled them to blasphemy. So not only did I blasphemy, but 275 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,200 I wanted to convince them or compel them to blasphemy. 276 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:11,840 I wanted to force them to renounce Jesus Christ in that 277 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,120 life. I wanted to convince them to do 278 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:16,600 it. And there's people like that 279 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,840 today, not only do they not believe, but they didn't want 280 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:21,320 other people. They try to convince other 281 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,080 people to not believe. They want you to denounce him. 282 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,520 And they do it all kind of different ways. 283 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:29,040 Mainly they do it through peer pressure. 284 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:31,680 That's one of the ways they do it. 285 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,960 You can't, you know, we, we just won't call him or her up to hang 286 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:37,520 with us because if they going to keep talking like that and keep 287 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,640 acting like that and they keep talking about that Jesus, then 288 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:42,240 we just won't hang out with them at all. 289 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,080 And that's one of the ways that they try to get you to denounce 290 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,160 Jesus Christ. But you stay strong. 291 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,880 You stand on that faith, You stand on that truth. 292 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,920 You may have to stand alone, but stand, but stand. 293 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:02,360 It may be lonely, but stand. You may feel like you missing 294 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,520 out on a lot of things, but stand, your reward is coming. 295 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,280 Your reward is coming. Amen. 296 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,119 And then he says, and being exceedingly enraged, that means 297 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:17,839 he was greatly he was just angry, angry. 298 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,960 He was enraged against them. I persecuted them even to 299 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,599 foreign cities. Paul's saying not I was so angry 300 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,160 with these people who were in the way at that particular time 301 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,320 that I persecuted them from one city to the next city to the 302 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,040 next city to the next city. I followed them to track them 303 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,600 down so that I can drag them out of the synagogues and bring them 304 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,640 before the council so they can be pronounced to death. 305 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:47,960 And just like he did with Steven and when he was just a little 306 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,840 kid, he stood there and the people put, you know, their 307 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:53,040 clothes because when they stoned people, they would take their 308 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,040 clothes off. They would put their clothes at 309 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,160 Stevens feet. He guarded the clothes and he 310 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:02,600 was in agreement with that Stony in agreement with it. 311 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:06,280 This is where Paul was delivered from, and this is what Paul is 312 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:11,040 saying here. He says, but I obtained mercy. 313 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,040 Wow. But I obtained mercy. 314 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,880 Think about your life, think about things you've done, and 315 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,240 then think about the fact that God gave mercy. 316 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:26,400 He gave you mercy and didn't even go on any further. 317 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,680 And he said, because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief. 318 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:31,600 And I just want to throw this out at you now in the Old 319 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,040 Testament, because Paul was very, very, very adapt to the 320 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:36,960 law. He knew the law very well. 321 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,520 So when he says this here, there's a chance, there's a good 322 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:44,040 chance that he was probably referring to the law because 323 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:46,880 back in the law in Leviticus chapter 5, it talks about the 324 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:52,240 fact that if you sin unintentionally, you can be 325 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:53,840 forgiven. All you have to do is give your 326 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,160 give your sacrifices, the, you know, the appropriate sacrifice 327 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:58,880 for that sin and you'll be forgiven. 328 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:00,480 You'll be forgiven. It's all good. 329 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:03,520 It's all good today. We don't have to worry about 330 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,200 that. Jesus Christ paid the cost for 331 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,600 all those sins. He was the sacrifice. 332 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,400 But this is probably what Paul's referring to because he, he 333 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:15,760 understood the law and he knew he was talking, you know, the 334 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,840 people who were probably listening to the law or gone by 335 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:21,880 the law. But he said he did it ignorantly 336 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,360 in unbelief. And now, son, our sins were in 337 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:27,680 unbelief. We didn't believe that Jesus was 338 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:29,800 who he was. And it wasn't until that was 339 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,800 revealed to us that we realized that our sins were abominable or 340 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,360 that our sins were against him and that it was wrong. 341 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,760 But until then we didn't care. And then in verse 14, so he says 342 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,640 he obtained mercy. And then in verse 14 he says, 343 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,560 and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith 344 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:51,400 and love which are in Christ Jesus. 345 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:55,840 You know, I read that and I just think about the grace of God. 346 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,080 So he talked about in 13 he talked about having the mercy of 347 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,360 God. And then in 14 he talks about 348 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:06,600 the grace of God being exceedingly abundant on his 349 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:10,560 behalf. What we know that God is rich in 350 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,000 his mercy. He tells us that over in 351 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:18,800 Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4, God is rich in mercy, and thank 352 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,560 God He is because that means He had enough leftover for me 353 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,040 because I needed it. I needed a lot of it. 354 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,640 But he also tells us in Ephesians 2 and seven that it's 355 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:33,800 the riches of His glory, the riches of his grace, the riches 356 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,480 of his grace. In Ephesians 2 and seven, he 357 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:39,800 talks about the riches of his grace. 358 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:44,000 So he's rich and in mercy and he's rich in grace. 359 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:48,920 And all that was pulled upon Paul, all of that was poured 360 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,960 upon Paul. And then he goes on, and for me, 361 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:54,840 this is the thing that's most exciting. 362 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,760 He says it was exceedingly abundant with faith and love 363 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:01,760 which are in Christ Jesus. That's the first part of what's 364 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:03,760 exciting to me. And when you think about this, a 365 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,840 picture word to me, because when I think about this exceeding 366 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:11,040 abundance of grace and in his mercy, I just think about the 367 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,280 ocean. I think about the ocean and I 368 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,880 remember one time being out at the ocean and going out, being 369 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,800 on vacation and going out to the ocean very early in the morning. 370 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:25,120 And it was still a little dark. And as the waves were coming in, 371 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:30,000 you can see the foam of the waves and they just kept coming 372 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,560 and they just kept coming and they just kept coming over and 373 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,120 over and over again coming these waves. 374 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,480 And I, I sat there and I thought about, I said, that's just like 375 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,400 God's mercy in his grace. It just keeps coming. 376 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,160 It just keeps coming whenever we need it. 377 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:50,360 It's there whenever we need it. Paul said. 378 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:53,240 Let us go boldly before the throne of grace that we may 379 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:58,840 obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. 380 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,400 Well, you'll find that grace and you'll find that mercy because 381 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,880 he's rich in both. We're sin abound, grace bound 382 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:13,440 even much more. We are blessed that we serve a 383 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:17,880 God that has so much more grace and mercy even than we have 384 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,680 sinned. It's abundant, exceeding, 385 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:24,360 abundant. And then in verse 15, the best 386 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:29,040 line in this whole Scripture, he said this is a faithful saying. 387 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,800 That means it's a trustworthy saying and worthy of all 388 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:37,520 acceptance. That means everyone, everyone 389 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,920 should accept this. It's worthy for everyone to grab 390 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,480 hold of this. What is that word? 391 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:49,560 This is the best news in this entire chapter, that Jesus 392 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:58,840 Christ came into the world to save sinners, to save sinners. 393 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,120 He didn't come to save the righteous. 394 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,000 He didn't come to save those whose garments have never been 395 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,960 soiled. He didn't come to save the 396 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,200 perfect. He didn't come to save the ones 397 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,360 who had never sinned, those who were so good, you know, oh, 398 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:13,160 that's a good person. And that's a good person. 399 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:17,080 Then God didn't come for you. God came for us who are messed 400 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:22,560 up, those who were sinful, those who blew it in the past, those 401 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,760 who understand our need for him. That's who God came for. 402 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:28,880 That's who Jesus Christ came for. 403 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:35,080 So he said Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. 404 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:40,400 And Paul's acknowledging and he says, and I am chief, I'm one of 405 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,640 the worst. And when he says that, he's not 406 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,680 saying, well, I compare myself to your sin. 407 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,200 Oh, my sins worse than yours. That's not what he's talking 408 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:48,960 about. I've even heard that before 409 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,280 people comparing sins. But you should see what I used 410 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,120 to do. Paul's saying compared to God. 411 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,400 Here on Living Waters of Grace, we're in the books of First and 412 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,960 Second Timothy. Pastor Lewis Harrell is walking 413 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,800 us through these letters written from Paul to Timothy. 414 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,120 Toward the end of these letters, Paul is anticipating that his 415 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:13,320 time here on earth is coming to a close. 416 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,600 He's giving some final words of advice to his mentee. 417 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,240 Paul writes in Second Timothy 4, verse seven. 418 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,000 I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. 419 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:27,000 I have kept the faith. Wherever you are in your journey 420 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,240 of faith with God, our hope is that you have the willingness to 421 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:36,000 fight for what's true, not compromising, but holding fast 422 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,640 to the word of God. Paul was reminding Timothy of 423 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,960 this. And it's a good reminder for you 424 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,920 and for me today, too. For helpful input throughout 425 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:49,440 this series, why not listen to all of these teachings from 426 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,840 First and Second Timothy on our website? 427 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:57,800 Go to calvarychapelonline.com to access teachings, download our 428 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,400 app, and more. If you'd like to visit us this 429 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,440 weekend, we'd be delighted. Living Waters of Grace is a 430 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:10,200 ministry of Calvary Chapel Westmoreland in Greensburg, PA 431 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,960 Come to our service held at 10:30 AM on Sundays. 432 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,840 We're located at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 433 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,840 Ste. 6B. For any other information on our 434 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:25,640 weekly service, visit calvarychapelonline.com. 435 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,840 You can also join our e-mail list, give online or submit a 436 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:32,680 prayer request right from the site. 437 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:36,880 If you can't make it in person, be sure to tune into Calvary 438 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,000 Chapel Westmoreland's YouTube channel. 439 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,240 Subscribe so you never miss new teachings. 440 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,800 We thank you for tuning in today and ask that you come back for 441 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:51,360 more solid and biblical teaching from Pastor Lewis right here on 442 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:52,840 Living Waters of Grace.