[0:00] Welcome to our service this evening. Now there is one intimation that I would like to make and that is that I am hoping, God willing, to go on holiday for a few weeks.
[0:17] However, there will be sermons that have previously been preached here at North Tolstair but that was not placed on our website. These will be made available.
[0:32] Now as we come together to worship the Lord, let us seek his blessing upon his word. Let us pray. Eternal and ever blessed Lord, we give thanks unto thee that thou hast brought us together under this great privilege of being under thine own word.
[1:00] That thou, O Lord, hast given us the privilege of coming before thee to worship thee, to acknowledge thee as our God and as our Creator Redeemer through the Lord Jesus Christ.
[1:15] that in him we can have boldness and confidence to come into thy presence and to seek thy grace and to seek thy mercy, to seek the forgiveness for all our sins.
[1:31] Not because of any merit that belongs to us, but through the blood of thy Son, through the sacrifice that was offered on the cross of Golgotha, that in him is our boldness and confidence to be found.
[1:51] We give thanks unto thee, O Lord, for his finished work on the cross and we give thanks for the efficacy of that finished work, which is able to bring us to have peace with thee, that is able to reconcile us to our God.
[2:11] And we give thanks that through that sacrifice on the cross, that thou art able to bless us with all spiritual blessings.
[2:23] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for the gospel, for the proclamation of that good news. And we pray that as the gospel has been proclaimed throughout our communities and throughout our land and even to the ends of the earth, that it may go forth in the power and demonstration of thy Spirit.
[2:46] For we know that it is thine own Spirit that can open our hearts to receive it, that it is thine own Spirit that can enlighten our understanding to bring us to that place where we can see our need and we can see the sufficiency of Christ to meet with that need.
[3:10] That it is the drawing power of thine own Spirit that will enable us to embrace Christ as he is offered to us. We pray, O Lord, that we may indeed be aware of your own overshadowing care for us as we come together around thy word.
[3:35] And we pray, O Lord, that thou would bless our communities, our homes and our families, our loved ones, wherever they may be, that thy known everlasting arms would be around them, bless thy people, we pray thee.
[3:52] O Lord, grant to us that we may walk worthy of the gospel in an environment that is often so hostile to it.
[4:03] We pray, O Lord, that thou would enable us to renew our commitment to thee, enabling us, O Lord, to serve thee faithfully in this world.
[4:15] Bless, we pray thee, those who are ill. May thy healing hand be upon them. Those who mourn the passing of loved ones, who find empty places in their families, in their homes, in our neighbourhood and community.
[4:30] O Lord, reminding us that we are sojourners in this world, that we are all travelling through the world to our long home. We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless those who are slaves to addictions of various kinds.
[4:50] And we pray, O Lord, that thou would set them free from the bondage in which they find themselves. O, that we would come to have a refuge and a strength in thee alone.
[5:03] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for all the tokens of thy goodness and kindness that thou doth so abundantly outpour upon us every day.
[5:17] We pray that thou would bless any this night who may desire to know thee more and more. O Lord, those who find their life so empty, we pray that through thy spirit, thou would draw them to see the sufficiency and the fullness that there is in Jesus Christ.
[5:44] We give thee thanks for his continual ministry at thy right hand. We give thee thanks for the great promise that thou hast given to us, that he shall return not to offer himself as a sacrifice for sin, but to engather his people.
[6:01] Grant to us, O Lord, that we may go forth every day leaning upon thee. O, encourage us, we pray thee in our faith, strengthen us in our walk, that we may look unto thee as the author and the finisher of our faith.
[6:20] We ask, O Lord, that thou would bless our nation, have pity upon us. We pray that thou would bring us to days of repentance, turning us again unto thyself.
[6:33] Pray for our leaders, that they may come to understand that righteousness alone exalted the nation. We pray, O Lord, that thou would watch over us now and all that we ask with the forgiveness of our sins.
[6:49] It's in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. Let us now read the word of God as we find it in the gospel according to Matthew and chapter 1.
[7:03] And we shall begin our reading at verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When, as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
[7:22] Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But when he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
[7:45] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which were spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us.
[8:13] Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did, as the angel of the Lord had bitten him, and took unto him his wife. And you are not, till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.
[8:28] May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word. Now, seeking the Lord's help and blessing, let us turn to the first epistle of Paul to Timothy, and chapter 1, and we'll read at verse 12.
[8:46] First epistle of Paul to Timothy, chapter 1, reading at verse 12. And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious, but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
[9:15] And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all expectation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
[9:32] Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe in him to life everlasting.
[9:45] Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, being honoured and glory for ever and ever. Amen. Last week, we saw how Paul exhorted Timothy of the importance of holding on to true doctrine.
[10:10] Paul warns Timothy against false teachers, those who are turned aside from true doctrine, those who are deciding to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they were saying nor what they were affirming.
[10:28] while Paul opposed those who desire to be teachers of the law, he did not oppose the law itself.
[10:39] He said, but we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully. Obviously, those who desire to be teachers of the law did not use it lawfully.
[10:54] What is meant by using the law lawfully? There are three uses of the law.
[11:05] First, there is the spiritual use of the law as we studied recently. The law shows sinners their sin, it shows sinners their need and it leads them to Christ.
[11:17] Secondly, there is the civil use of the law to restrain wrongdoers. And then there is the third use of the law which is to teach God's will for our lives.
[11:29] As Christians, we meditate on the law and as we do so we are allowed to obedience and we are drawn from the path of sin.
[11:41] Now here in this passage, Paul is making reference to the civil use of the law for he says, knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
[12:25] Now Paul's concluding comment about the law may come as something of a surprise, where he says, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
[12:41] It's a reminder to us that the sins just mentioned are the result of unsound doctrine. Not only are they against the law but they also fail to conform to the glorious gospel.
[12:55] It's a reminder that the gospel requires the same conduct that the law requires. Now we have already learned that the gospel does not make the law obsolete.
[13:10] We have learned that the law is powerless to save us. It cannot justify us before God. Only the righteousness of Christ which is offered to us by faith is able to justify us.
[13:24] Nevertheless, the gospel does not lower God's standard. We know that we cannot keep the law in order to merit grace.
[13:36] but the Christian keeps the law as the appropriate response of thankfulness and gratitude. Then Paul here comes to express his thankfulness to God for entrusting him to minister the gospel.
[14:00] The privilege of serving as an apostle. Verse 12 He never lost his sense of personal unworthiness for the ministry or his profound gratitude to the Lord for the privilege of serving God.
[14:28] Paul is an example for us of how we should praise God for the ministry which he has entrusted to us to serve him whether that be in the church or in the workplace or at home in the family.
[14:43] We should always praise God for that ministry which he has entrusted to us to serve him. Let us note one or two things about Paul before his conversion.
[14:58] It is possible that he was born around the same time as Jesus for at the time of the death of Stephen which was shortly before his conversion he is called a young man.
[15:10] In Acts chapter 7 we read there and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul. We know that he was trained by Gamaliel in Jerusalem and he was the greatest Hebrew scholar of the day.
[15:27] We do not know at what age Paul was sent to Jerusalem from Tarshish but we do know that he had a sister who lived there at the time of his arrest.
[15:37] For in Acts 23 and verse 16 we read and when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait he went and entered into the castle and told Paul.
[15:50] In his letter to the church at Philippi he gives us an account of himself his pre-conversion and he says circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the law of Pharisee concerning seal persecuting the church touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless.
[16:14] Now this is an area of his life that we have already studied in recent times where he brings before us his pure Jewish pedigree where he placed all his confidence in his relationship with God.
[16:28] He was full of self-confidence that he was right with God that God would not refuse him. He was a selfish Pharisee and he sealed the scene in the fact that he was convinced that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
[16:45] But there came a day and his whole view of himself was turned upside down. His whole world came crashing down to which he says what things were gained to me those I counted loss for Christ.
[17:03] In writing to Timothy Paul acknowledges his gratitude to God for enabling or empowering him for the ministry. Paul was very conscious of his dependency upon the Lord for all things.
[17:18] Again writing to the Philippians he says I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. In the midst of opposition and all alone he records for us in his second letter to Timothy chapter 4 Paul Paul Paul also acknowledges his gratitude God for having judged him trustworthy, faithful or reliable for the ministry.
[18:04] And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful. And writing to the Thessalonians he says of himself Silas and Timothy as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel.
[18:25] What a privilege but also what a responsibility. However Paul was well aware that all this was not of self.
[18:37] It was astounding to him that such grace and mercy would be bestowed on such a sinner as he was.
[18:47] Not only that he was saved but that he would be entrusted with the ministry of apostleship. Having acknowledged his gratitude to God Paul gives a short personal testimony of his conversion to faith in Jesus Christ.
[19:09] Paul brings before us this past describing himself as a blasphemer and as a persecutor and injurious. Or as the new King James has said was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, an insolent man or a violent man, an arrogant man.
[19:30] And you know Paul was not exaggerating as we read of his life in the book of Acts when he was then known as Saul. In writing his first letter to the church at Corinth he says, For I am the least of the apostles that I am not me to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God.
[19:53] And he reminds his Galilean converts, For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jewish religion, How that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it, And profited in the Jewish religion above many my equals in mine own nation, Being much more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
[20:17] And that is in accordance with the record that Luke gives us in the book of Acts. For we are told that after the death of Stephen in Acts chapter 8, And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.
[20:32] As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, Entering into every house and hailing men and women and committed them to prison. His own account to King Agrippa in Acts chapter 26, I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
[20:55] Which thing I also did in Jerusalem, And many of the saints that I shut up in prison, Having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them, And I punished them often in every synagogue, And compelled them to blaspheme, And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even into stanchities.
[21:20] From Paul's perspective in those days, Attempting to eradicate the church Was one of the best ways that he thought that he could serve God.
[21:30] In Acts chapter 9, We are told that, Yet breathing out threatenings and slaughtered against the disciples of Lot, That he went into the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus, To the synagogues, That if he found any of this way, Whether there were men or women, He might bring them bound into Jerusalem.
[21:52] On his way to Damascus, A journey of around 150 miles. And as he came near to Damascus, In his own words, He was apprehended by Christ Jesus.
[22:04] He was constrained to turn right round, And become a disciple, And supporter of a cause, Which up to that moment, He had been endeavouring to exterminate, He began building out what he had been doing, His best to destroy.
[22:22] John Calvin says, That the grace of God is seen in that, Not only is such a cruel wolf, Being turned into a sheep, But also in his assuming, The character of a shepherd.
[22:38] His whole life, Was turned around. What brought about this great change? Well in Paul's own words here, He says, But I obtained mercy.
[22:55] Mercy, Mercy as we noted last week, Is God not giving sinners what they do to say. When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, God forgave him all his violence, All his blasphemy, All his persecutions.
[23:11] Paul says, But I obtained mercy, Because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. Now Paul does not mean by this, That his ignorance and unbelief, Qualified him for salvation, Or that it made his actions less sinful.
[23:28] What Paul means is that, He did not really know, What he was doing. When he was going out, And persecuting, And bringing the Christians into prison, And when he was doing everything he could against them, He really did not know, What he was doing.
[23:52] He was, He went about persecuting the church, Through ignorance and unbelief. But Paul received mercy.
[24:05] And Paul received mercy, Because God is merciful. As he explains in his letter to Titus, Chapter 3, Not by works of righteousness, Which we have done, But according to his mercy, He saved us.
[24:21] What remarkable words, With the man that we have studied, Recently in our letter to the Philippians. And now writing to Titus, He says, Not by works of righteousness, Which we have done, But according to his mercy, He saved us.
[24:41] God's mercy is always held out to us, To plead for, Despite what is true of us as sinners, We are encouraged to come like the publican, Who came and said, God, Be merciful to me, The sinner.
[24:59] This mercy that Paul obtained, And grace are always united. And the grace of our Lord, Was exceedingly abundant, With faith and love, Which is in Christ Jesus.
[25:19] Grace is the undeserved, Unmerited favour of God. And Paul says, That a sin abounded in his experience, That the grace of our Lord, Was exceedingly abundant, Or superabounded.
[25:33] This must have been, The passage that John Bunyan, Had in his mind, When he wrote of his own conversion, And entitled the book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.
[25:48] Along with grace, Came faith and love, Which is in Christ Jesus. This faith and love, Are centred in Christ Jesus.
[25:59] Where there is grace, There is mercy, Faith and love, It is a combination, That cannot be broken. Paul writing to the church at Ephesus, Says, But God who is rich in mercy, For his great love, With he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, Hath quickened us together with Christ, By grace are you saved, And hath raised us up together, And made us sit together in heavenly places, In Christ Jesus.
[26:30] That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches, Of his grace, And his kindness touteth, Through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved, Through faith, And that not of yourselves, It is the gift of God.
[26:44] Not of worthless, Any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, Created in Christ Jesus, And to good works, Which God hath before ordained, That we should walk in them.
[26:58] Paul then proceeds, To bring his personal experience, And to apply it to every Christian. When he says, This is a faithful saying, And worthy of all acceptation, That Christ Jesus came into the world, To save sinners.
[27:18] Paul gives emphasis, That what he is about to say, Is reliable, And deserving of, Full acceptance, That Christ Jesus came into the world, To save sinners.
[27:33] This is a faithful saying, And worthy of all acceptation. This saying of Paul, Incapulates the whole gospel, From the incarnation to the cross, The whole work of atonement.
[27:47] The question can be asked, Why does Paul say, Christ Jesus, Instead of Jesus Christ? Well, There is probably no special significance, That is to be, Attached to the exact order, In which the two names occur.
[28:06] Although, The title Christ, In the early church, Was never a mere name, As it may be, Among us. For the early church, Whenever it was pronounced, The followers of Jesus, Thought of him, As the anointed one, Christ, The anointed one.
[28:26] The name Jesus, Was the personal name, Given to him, By the angel, When his birth, Was announced, That we read of earlier. And thou shalt call, His name Jesus, For he shall save his people, From their sins.
[28:41] Here we are told, That Christ Jesus, Came unto the world. This is a faithful saying, And worthy of all acceptation.
[28:52] It is reliable, That Christ Jesus, Came unto the world. Now I'm not going to say, Too much upon this, As we so recently, Looked at this in quite detail, In our study on Philippians.
[29:07] However, It is never wrong, To repeat truth. And so, I will draw attention briefly, To some of the things, We dealt with at that time, To refresh our own memory.
[29:20] In Philippians, We were told that, Jesus in coming into the world, Took upon him, The form of a servant, And was made in the likeness of men, And been found in fashion, As a man, He humbled himself, And became obedient to death, Even the death of the cross.
[29:38] Christ Jesus, In coming into the world, We are told that, He made himself of no reputation, That he took the form of a servant, That he humbled himself, And he was not forced, It was all his own, Voluntary action.
[29:54] That brings before us, The marvel of his condescension. And when he came into the world, It was not an emptying of deity, Or an exchange of deity for humanity.
[30:07] Jesus never ceased to be God, During any part of his earthly ministry, But he did veil his heavenly glory. He was truly God, And he became truly man, But remained truly God.
[30:24] In the person of Jesus Christ, We have the God man. Jesus became something, He had not previously been. The word became flesh.
[30:35] He added a human nature, To his divine person. So that in accordance, Without catechism, He had two distinct natures, That is divine and human, But he remained one person forever.
[30:49] He was not part man, And part God. He was not a mixture of both. Two distinct natures, But one person. He became what he was not, But he continued to be, What he always was.
[31:09] Christ Jesus, In coming into the world, Often functioned within, The limitations of humanity. He was hungry, He was thirsty, He was tired, But God never gets hungry, Thirsty or tired.
[31:21] But Jesus functioned, Within the limitations of humanity. And the method, By which he came into the world, Was by the miraculous, Conception in the womb, Of the virgin Mary.
[31:36] In Galatians chapter 4, Paul wrote, But when the fullness, Of time was come, God sent forth a son, Made of a woman, Made under the law.
[31:46] The eternal son of God, Became the earthly, Son of Mary. He became the last Adam, Whereas the first Adam, Had a beginning, But no birth.
[31:59] The last Adam, Had a birth, But no beginning. And here Paul is saying, What I am telling you, Is reliable, And it is deserving, Of full acceptance, That Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save sinners.
[32:17] That he became Emmanuel, That he became God, With us. Yes, To those, Who looked at him, He was in fashion, As a man. All they saw, Was the appearance, Of a man, And that was all.
[32:31] An ordinary man. They saw nothing, To distinguish him physically. There was, No sign, Of his unique, Divine status. All they saw, Was that which was ordinary.
[32:44] He was a man, In poverty, Homeless, Frail, Not exceedingly popular, And rejected, By the religious elite, Of the day.
[32:55] No one was able, To see the deity, That was sitting, Beneath the veil, Of his humanity. It required faith, To see, Beyond the veil, An appearance, Of humanity. And here, Paul is, Reminding us, He is, Reminding us, That what he is saying, Is something, That is, Reliable.
[33:19] Something, That ought to, Be accepted. I am telling you, You see, What is, Reliable, And deserving, Of full acceptance, And that is, That Christ Jesus, Came unto the world.
[33:33] But Christ Jesus, In coming into the world, Came with a mission. He says, Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save sinners. He came into the world, As a servant of Jehovah.
[33:47] We noted, This morning, The words of, John chapter 4, Verse 34. My meat is to do, The will of him, That sent me, And to finish, His work.
[34:01] Paul is telling us, That this is a, Reliable saying, And deserving, Of full acceptance, That the ultimate, Reason that Jesus, Came into this world, And became a man, Was to bear our sin, And die on the cross, For sinners.
[34:18] To do the will, Of the father, To do the will, Of him that sent me, And to finish, His work. Yes, Much was done, By Jesus, Of which we read, In the gospels.
[34:35] But at the heart, Of his coming, And taking our human nature, Was this purpose, To bear our sin, And to die. What an amazing truth.
[34:46] The eternal son of God, Condescended from heaven, And took our human nature, For one ultimate, Prevalent, And central purpose, To bear the sin, That we have committed, And to die the death, That we deserved, Because he knew, That only in this way, Would we sinners, Be saved.
[35:12] He came, And died, And it was not a common death, He went to the cross, His mission was to die, The death of the sinner, So that sinners could be saved, Jesus did not die, A gentle death, But he died as a slave, Or a common criminal, In torment, On a cross of shame, Christ taking our place, Substituting himself, For us, In his death, On the cross, He paid the penalty, That was due to our sins, By taking our sin, Upon himself, Paul in 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, Preach said for us, For he hath made him, To be sin for us, Who knew no sin, That we might be made, The righteousness of God, In him, Isaiah 53, Brings to us, The nature of Christ's death, Surely,
[36:13] He hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows, Yet we did esteem him, Streaking, Smitting of God, And afflicted, But he was wounded, For our transgressions, He was bruised, For our iniquities, The chastisement, Of our peace, Was upon him, And with his stripes, We are healed, All we like sheep, Have gone astray, We have turned everyone, To his own way, And the Lord, Hath laid on him, The iniquity of us all, Paul says, This is a reliable saying, And deserving of full acceptance, That Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save sinners, Of whom I am chief, Now this clause, Have caused a variety, Of interpretations, However, What we have here, Is a man, Who is troubled, By the recollection, Of his past deeds, Now when Paul says, That Christ Jesus, Came into the world,
[37:14] To save sinners, Of whom I am chief, He is not at all, Saying that he is, The worst sinner, Both past, Present and future, What he is saying, Through the inspiration, Of the Holy Spirit, Is that of all sinners, From Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save, He is the greatest, In other words, Of all the redeemed sinners, He is the greatest, Paul writes, I am, Not I was, So that even now, As a pardoned sinner, He deeply regrets his past, Why does he say this, About himself, Well he draws our attention, To the depth of his sin, In order to exalt, The wonderful theme, Of what he has just, Been speaking about, The grace, And the mercy, That was given to him, How be it for this cause, I obtained mercy, That in me, Jesus Christ, May show forth, All long suffering, For a pardon to them,
[38:15] Which should, He had after believe, On him to life everlasting, He is the, Chief of, Redeemed sinners, He is the, Chief of sinners, Nevertheless, He is the recipient, Of infinite mercy, Paul obtained mercy, And said, As an example, For us, Of the long suffering, Of Jesus Christ, In his divine, Patience, By virtue of which, Is throth, Is withheld, The sinner spared, And mercy is shown, In the case of Paul, This long suffering, Had been exhibited, To the fool, For he says, All long suffering, Of Jesus Christ, All long suffering, Of Jesus Christ, Paul says, Paul says, That he is a, Patron to them, Who should, Hereafter, Believe on him,
[39:16] To life everlasting, Paul uses, Himself, And his, Personal testimony, As the, Chief of sinners, Who found, Mercy, And abundant grace, In Jesus Christ, As an encouragement, To come to Christ, Whatever your past, Has been, That should not, Keep you back, From coming, To Jesus Christ, That's what Paul is saying, He's giving us, A summary, Of his own, Past life, He is the, Chief of sinners, But he says, I obtained mercy, Certainly, Some features, Of Paul's conversion, On Damascus road, Was unusual, Quite a, A dramatic, Supernatural event, One could say, With a flash of light, In the appearance, Of the resurrected, And glorified Jesus, However, In order to be converted, It is not necessary, For us to have, The flash of lightning,
[40:16] Or fall to the ground, Or hear our name, Being called, And suddenly, It's not possible, For us to be granted, A visible, Resurrection appearance, Of Jesus Christ, Or receive, A commission, To apostleship, But what is important, In conversion, Is the inward, Experience, Of the, Although many, Aspects of, Paul's conversion, Are unique, There is a sense, In which the uniqueness, Is true of every conversion, Every conversion, Is unique, Nevertheless, Every Christian, Can see himself, Or herself, In Paul's conversion, There are practical, And principle features, That belongs, To Paul's conversion, That are essential, To conversion, And must be the experience, Of all, Who are genuinely converted, Everyone, Must experience, A personal encounter, With Jesus Christ, We must surrender, Our wills to him, We must become,
[41:17] A willing people, We must come, In repentance, And in faith, And we must, Serve the Lord, We must come, To see our need, And we must come, To see the sufficiency, Of Christ, To meet with our need, Paul gives here, The only qualification, That is needed, To be saved by Christ, And that we see, Ourselves, And acknowledge ourselves, As sinners, That really is a summary, Of it all, Is it not?
[41:48] To see ourselves, To see our need, To see ourselves, As sinners, You know that, Christianity, Is the only religion, In the world, That is for sinners, Every other religion, Says that, People can become, Good enough for God, There was a day, And this man, Paul, Had that mindset, He actually thought, He was good enough, For God, But now he has come, And what is he saying, To me and you tonight, This is a faithful saying, This is reliable, This is worthy, Of acceptance, This is a faithful saying, And worthy, Of all acceptation, That Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save sinners, Of whom I am chief, Jesus Christ, Is the only one, Who can, Or will save us, Because he came, Into the world, To save sinners, What is the cross, Of Golgotha, All about, It is about, Saving sinners,
[42:50] Sinners like me, And you, Paul has just given, His testimony, He has testified, How God saved him, From a life of violence, And blasphemy, And how God gave him, Grace, Mercy, Faith, And love, In Christ Jesus, He has confessed, That Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save sinners, He has explained, To the mercy of God, Was shown to him, The chief of sinners, Now, It would be easy, For Paul, To end his testimony, There, And that is always, The danger, When we come, To give our own, Personal testimony, That it becomes, Self-centered, But how does Paul, End his personal testimony, He ends it, By giving, Glory to God, Now he says, And to the king, Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, The only wise God,
[43:53] Be honoured, And glory, Forever, And ever, Amen, According to, John Calvin, Paul, Admonishes us all, By his example, That we should, Never, Think of the grace, Shored in God's calling, Without being lost, In wondering admiration, The sublime praise, Of God's grace, Swallows up, All the memory, Of his former life, How great, And deep, He says, Is the glory of God, There comes a time, When we are, To leave off, Praising God, For what he has done, In my life, And yours, And simply praise him, For who he is, In himself, So this is the message, Of Paul, This is a faithful saying, And worthy, Of all acceptation, That Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save sinners, Of whom I am chief, What wonderful words, Seasoned with grace,
[44:55] That comes from the lips, Of this proud, Pharisee man, That man, Who tried, To do away, With the church of God, With the church of Jesus Christ, With Christianity, The man, Who tried, To do away, With, And do things, That were contrary, To Jesus of Nazareth, The man, For whom the word, Jesus of Nazareth, Was, Words that he did not, Care about, That he did not love, Words that he hated, With a bitter hatred, And yet, By God's grace, And mercy, He is the man, Who is saying to me, And you tonight, This is a faithful saying, And worthy, Of all acceptation, That Christ Jesus, Came into the world, To save sinners, Of whom, I am chief,
[45:56] Well do you know this man, Jesus Christ, This man, Who came into the world, To save sinners, There is no other way, By which I, Or you, Can be saved, But, Through Jesus Christ, Will you not, Commit yourself to him, Will you not, Follow him, Will you not, Follow the example, Of all, Whatever has been, In your past, This man, Receiveth sinners, And anyone, Who will come to him, Whatever was, In your past, He will in no wise, Cast, You out, He received, The chief, Of sinners, He can receive you, Tonight, If you come, To him, May the Lord, Bless our thoughts, Let us pray, Eternal,
[46:58] And ever blessed God, We give thanks, For that revelation, Which thou hast made, Of thyself, And we give thanks, That these words, That we have, Read and meditated, Upon tonight, That they are reliable, And worthy, Of all acceptance, That Christ Jesus, Thine own, Beloved son, The son of thy bosom, That he came, Into the world, That he took, Our nature, Into himself, That he went, To the cross, Of Golgotha, That there he suffered, And died, In order, To save sinners, O Lord, We give thanks, That whatever was, In our past, That we can be forgiven, In the Lord Jesus Christ, Grant to us, O Lord, The grace, To enable us, To come to him, To bow down,
[47:59] Before him, To commit ourselves, To trust in him, And to follow, And serve him, For in him, Is salvation, Alone, There is no other name, Given, Under heaven, By which sinners, Such as we are, Can be saved, Impress that truth, Upon us, O Lord, We pray, We pray, That thou will continue, With us, During this coming week, That the grace, Of our Lord Jesus Christ, And the love of God, And the fellowship, Of the Holy Spirit, May be with you all, Now and forevermore, Amen.