Good morning everyone, my name is Steve, Sandy Parsey here.
Welcome to St Paul's this morning.
It's great if you have your Bibles over there at one Timothy.
We've got some spare ones floating around if you want one.
And you can take them home with you if you don't have one at home.
And it's particularly mindful of the message you're coming through today.
We're coming to the end of the year.
Christmas is over.
And New Year is on upon us.
Let me pray as we launch into this text verse this morning.
Gracious God, we thank you for your love for us in the Lord Jesus.
We thank you for all we have just remembered and celebrated
and coming into this world to save sinners just like us.
We ask that as we launch into a new year,
that you would affect genuine and radical change deep in our hearts
and particularly our eternal status in him.
And we ask it for your glory.
Amen.
Andy Parke is an electrician in the UK.
He also goes by the name Mr Christmas.
It's a name that he's given himself.
He claims to have celebrated Christmas Day
every single day of the year since July 1993.
He claims that every day he eats turkey sandwich and mince pies for breakfast.
He then goes to work and then returns home for a full roast turkey dinner
before watching in the evening the recording of the Queen's Christmas speech
with a sherry in the UK.
In an interview that was published in 2006,
Mr Parke said that over the previous 13 years,
he has consumed 4,380 turkeys,
87,600 mince pies,
1,200 litres of gravy,
26,280,000 litres of gravy,
26,280 roast potatoes,
30,660 stuffing balls,
4,380 bottles of champagne,
4,380 bottles of sherry,
and 5,000 bottles of wine.
Now, it all strikes me as a little bit odd.
Although, his premise has a point,
even if I think he's entirely missed the point.
That is, his premise behind it all,
in declaring himself being Mr Christmas,
is that he thinks that Christmas is so wonderful,
why would you just leave it to one day a year?
It's something that needs to be celebrated every single day.
And I would say he's right,
even if he's got it entirely wrong.
But how?
How do we celebrate Christmas every day?
Well, if you open up that passage of 1 Timothy,
you'll see there the Christmas event
is right there in verse 15.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
Christ Jesus came into the world.
That's the Christmas event right there.
Christ Jesus came into the world.
And the coming of the eternal Son of God
into the world, Christ Jesus,
is a fact of history.
There is not a credible historian anywhere in the world
that would deny that.
It's a fact of history.
And that's what we remember we celebrate every Christmas.
But the coming of the Son of God into the world
is so much more than just an historical fact.
The historical event that we celebrate
in Christmas year in, year out,
is fundamentally a message of hope.
When you continue to read the rest of verse 15,
Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners.
The meaning of Christmas for you and me
from Jesus Christ
is that forgiveness and salvation
and therefore hope
is there and for our taking
every single day.
Since the Son of God lived,
died, rose, reigns, and is coming again,
God's message through him to us
is more than just remembering
an historical event.
The real meaning of Christmas
is about lives and destinies
being changed by God forever.
So what we are talking about here
is not just a celebration of a historical fact
and retelling of old stories.
There may be some questions
over the sanity and the authenticity
of Andy Park's daily celebration of Christmas,
but there is no mistake
about the impact of Jesus
coming into this world
and that impact being on a daily basis
in the lives of people across this globe.
The sentences in front of us today
are the words of the Apostle Paul.
He was one of the leaders
of the Christian church in the first century
and he's often, even to this day,
he is often features in the list
of top 20 most influential people of all time.
that's who's writing these words.
And they are the sentences,
are the testimony of the change
that Jesus Christ brought about in his life.
Have a look there in verses 12 to 14
if you've got in front of you.
I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord,
who has given me strength
and he considered me faithful,
appointed 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.
So this is one of the top 20
most influential people of all time
and he describes himself here
as a blasphemer
and a persecutor
and a violent man
before God graciously intervened
in his life
in Jesus Christ.
This is Paul
who used to hunt down Christians
in an attempt to devastate
the early Christian church.
Paul's biographer,
a guy named Luke,
Dr. Luke,
described him as a religious predator
who breathed out
murderous threats against Christians.
This is the Paul
who was a callous,
pious,
self-righteous,
bigoted murderer
held bent
on the full-scale extermination
of the early Christian church.
He was one of the main enemies
of Jesus Christ
and the early church.
And he lived day by day
with God at his back.
And yet,
that reality to him
in that moment
was a surprise for him.
He says here
he acted in ignorance
and unbelief.
That is,
he was totally oblivious
that his day-by-day existence
was standing opposed
to God,
his creator.
He was under the assumption
that he and God were okay.
He had religious pedigree.
He had piety
that set him apart
from all of his peers.
He was zealous
to do what was right
and obey God's law.
When he persecuted Jesus
and the followers of Jesus,
he thought he was actually
doing God a favour.
He was ignorant of the fact
that when he stood opposed
to Jesus,
he stood opposed
to the God
that he said
that he worshipped.
all of his religious zeal
in fact
made him
an enemy of God.
It's noticeable
that he twice says
in these verses,
verses 15 and 16,
he refers to himself
as the worst
of sinners.
In other bits
of the New Testament,
he refers to himself
as the chief
of all sinners.
a whole lot of people
struggle with that
kind of declaration.
He actually says
it multiple times.
Of all the people
that he knows,
of all the people
in the world,
I am the worst.
One commentator
in fact on this text,
unhappy with Paul's
self-assessment here,
says that Paul
is either morbid
or he's being
unreal.
He's not telling
the truth.
We might say
Paul is using
pious exaggeration.
This can be
a tendency
in religious circles
and even
in Christian circles.
You can call it
spiritual hype,
you can call it
spiritual hyperbole,
but it's actually
spiritual posturing.
It's spiritual pride.
How many Bible verses
I can memorise
and how pious
I've been.
But it's not that
for Paul.
That's not what
he's talking about here.
Paul is here
articulating
a well-considered
position.
This is not a bit
of spiritual
false humility
to make him
look righteous.
selfishness.
But it's also
not Paul
being morbid.
Paul is not
a person
with any
sense of
low self-image.
You can read
the rest of the
New Testament.
That is,
of course,
the common view
in our society
for Christianity.
It's a crutch
for those
with low self-esteem
and a guilty
conscience.
the argument
is that
Paul
and Paul's
type
are such
perfectionists
who are,
they just get
bent all out
of shape,
turned upside
down
over the
smallest mistakes,
over the
tiniest
failures.
They just
go to
jelly.
And so
for those
who think
Paul's
being morbid
here in
saying that
he's the
worst of
sinners,
they'd say,
oh,
come on,
Paul,
stop being
so morbid.
Goodness me.
Lighten up,
Paul.
You know,
50% is a
pass mark.
See,
he's get
degrees.
You know,
come on,
stop being a
perfectionist.
You just need
a therapist,
Paul.
That's what
you need.
Lighten up.
So why
is he
saying here
that he
is the
worst?
What's
in verse
13?
Where he
describes himself
as a
violent man.
In the
original
language of
the New
Testament,
the word
translated
violent there
in our
English
Bibles
is the
same
root
word
where we
get the
English
word
hubris
from.
Verse
13
means,
in reality,
in the
form of
verse 13,
it means
that I
am a
trampler
of people.
That's
what it
literally
means.
I'm a
trampler
of people.
So Paul's
saying here,
I'm not
being morbid.
Yeah,
it's true.
I did a
whole heap
of good
stuff.
But the
motive that
was under
all of my
actions was
driven by
pride and
a desire to
be superior
than everyone
else.
As I
pursued things
to please
God, I
trampled all
over everyone.
everyone.
In other
words, what
he's saying
there in
that verse,
everything I
did was
about me.
It was
all about
me.
At the
heart of
every one of
his actions
was a need
for him to
be the
absolute
ruler and
controller of
his world
and he
would wreak
destruction on
anyone and
everyone that
stood in
his way.
What the
New Testament
tells us,
what the
Bible tells us
is that's the
very essence
of what it
means to be
a sinner.
And Paul
recognises
that he is
the worst of
sinners,
purely because
he is a
sinner.
In that
sense, we
are all
violent people
and acting
in ignorance
in our
violence.
At the
deepest level,
we want to
make sure
that no
one,
including
God
himself,
tells us
how to run
our lives.
That's the
very essence
of sin.
Sin differs
in its
objects for
each of
us.
It will
look different
for each
of us,
but it
won't differ
in its
nature.
Imagine
two
eucalypse
seeds.
One falls
onto the
ground where
there is no
soil and
there is no
moisture.
The other
seed falls
into a
place of
really rich
soil and
lots of
rain.
The first
one rots,
the other
one grows
into a
great tree,
which
eucalypt
seed had
more
vitality
and
strength.
Neither.
There's no
difference in
the seed.
It had
everything to
do with
the
environment.
the Bible
says that
most of
us do
not grow
up to
be
Ivan the
Terrible or
Adolf Hitler,
God.
But it
isn't for
a lack
of talent.
It's not
because of
lack of
talent.
Underneath
the religious
self-righteousness
sorry,
underneath the
religious
self-righteous
to the
hardened
criminal
is a
violent
pride
that
elevates
the self
over
everyone
else.
Some
use
religion
and
morality.
Others
use
irreligion
and
immorality
to achieve
the exact
same
end.
And Paul
is saying
that his
heart
is no
different
in its
principle
and power
than the
very worst
of sinners.
That's what
he's saying
here.
Don't look
at my
actions per
se,
look at
my heart
and my
heart is
in its
principle
and its
power
exactly the
same as
the worst
of sinners.
And it's
only by
the grace
of God
that he
is who
he is.
That is
the message
of Christmas
right there.
That Jesus
Christ came
into the
world to
save Paul
and you
and me
from the
deepest
recesses
of our
hearts.
That's the
hope of
Christmas.
See it
halfway down
in verse
13.
I was
shown
mercy.
Verse
14.
The grace
of our
Lord was
poured out
on me
abundantly.
See what
he's saying
here is the
hope of
Christmas,
the message
of Christmas
is that
it's the
grace and
the mercy
of God
that has
transformed
him.
God's
undeserved
favour to
him has
transformed
him.
God did
not give
Paul what
he deserved
or what
he had
coming to
him.
That would
have been
rejection
and death.
Instead
he was
shown
mercy.
That is
Paul's
first hand
account of
the impact
of Jesus
coming into
the world
to save
sinners.
So why
is Paul
here in
this moment
telling us
about his
experience of
God's radical
change in
his life
through Jesus
Christ?
Why is he
doing that?
Verse 16.
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.
What Paul's
saying there
is Jesus
Christ changed
me, Paul,
the chief enemy
of the church
in its infant
days and Paul
tells us
about that
change so
that in
here on
the last
day of
2023 you
and I
could grasp
the meaning
of Christmas
on the other
side of the
world two
centuries later.
The word
example there
in verse 16
means that
Paul is not
just a
pattern but
that he is
the ultimate
pattern.
He is the
ultimate type
of what a
Christian is.
Jesus Christ
picked the
chief of
sinners to
demonstrate to
you and to
me today in
2023 what his
mercy and his
power can do
in your life
now.
That's what he's
saying in verse
16.
There is no
sinner that the
grace of God
in Jesus cannot
overflow to and
deal with.
And so when
you're sitting
here and you've
lived a long
life and
particularly when
you're cynical,
do not
belittle the
mercy of
God at the
end of this
year saying
well I am
who I am and
I just can't
change.
That is
nonsense.
What
happened to
Paul can
happen to
you.
Notice it
there in
verse 15.
Here is a
trustworthy
saying that
deserves full
acceptance.
Christ Jesus
came into the
world to save
sinners of
whom I am
the worst.
To save
sinners.
Paul's
personal reason
to give
thanks to
God is
now widened
to the
praise of
the universal
significance of
Christmas.
Jesus came
into the
world for
the world.
For you.
Not just
Paul.
Purpose of
Jesus coming
into the
world to
save sinners
has been
welcomed by
2,000 years
of human
beings from
every culture
and tribe
who conscious
of their guilt
before God
have gratefully
accepted what
the saving
death of
Jesus Christ
has accomplished
for them in
bringing them
back into
relationship with
God.
Christmas
declares
your
marriage is
going to
work so
put it here
in the
confused children, cynical teenagers, the poor, the outcast, the guilt-ridden, the tired parents,
the financially stressed, the aged, the lonely, the preachers, for lovers, for haters, for you and for me.
Paul, in these verses, calls across the centuries to celebrate Christmas in 2023.
Don't despair. He saved me, the worst of sinners. He can save you too and he can change you too.
There's one more thing. Because Jesus came into this world to save sinners,
what is most precious to us doesn't need to ever be lost. This is the greatest hope of Christmas.
Verse 16 again.
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.
The deepest hope of Christmas is eternal life.
And life is good. Life is precious. And we don't want to ever lose it.
We can talk all we like about all the good things of life.
But if you don't have life, you don't have anything.
And the promise of Christmas is that you need never lose the most precious thing in your life.
Your life.
Your life is precious and can be saved.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save us and to change us forever.
He came into this world to change our eternal status.
And so that's got to be one of the biggest motives for allowing him to change us right now.
Right now, each day.
And I think that's how we celebrate Christmas.
By holding on to the good news of the mercy and the grace of God.
And allowing that news to change us day in and day out.
That's how you celebrate Christmas.
Every day of the year.
And I happen to think that it's a really happy connection.
That every year, one week after celebration of Christmas and the great salvation event,
we enter into the new year.
We move from the celebration of God's salvation for all of humanity in Jesus Christ
to the dawning of a new age, a new era, a new year.
The promise of a reset.
Resolutions of change.
And these verses are declaring that real change is possible.
The meaning of Christmas.
God's mercy to sinners through Jesus Christ
should be pushed down into our hearts day by day
and it should rise again in change day by day in our lives.
What God did on that very first Christmas
and what he did in changing Paul's life forever
and what he does in forgiving and changing people across the globe
nowadays is utterly free mercy.
So let me just first of all say
if you're not a Christian and you're here today,
you're tuning in online,
mark this year,
mark this year
by coming to Jesus today.
recognise that through the actions of your life,
even though they may not warrant you being declared the worst of people,
but the actual motive of your heart,
if you allow yourself a moment of silence to dig deep enough,
the motive of your heart declares that you do need saving.
You do need rescuing.
And the good news of Christianity is that though we are worse
than we could possibly even imagine,
in Jesus Christ,
we are more loved and affirmed
than you could ever possibly dream.
That's the wonder of Christmas.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
That is God's gift to the world.
It's his gift to you this Christmas
and it's worthy of full acceptance today.
If you are a Christian,
how has God changed you this year?
Because that is the reason he has saved you.
How has he changed you?
Can you actually mark how he's changed you?
Paul is the ultimate example of a life changed.
In this past year at St. Paul's,
we have constantly been asking you,
what is your next step?
Another way you might want to put that,
what is your next step of change and transforming
to become more like Jesus
as you cling to the grace and his mercy to you?
We began this year looking at the example of others
who have been changed by God's mercy
and have run the race of faith,
focused on Jesus alone.
And then we spent a whole term
looking at Jesus and the good news of Christianity
and why that news today is still plausible,
why it is still relevant
and why it is so immensely good.
From there we got glimpses of God's glory and majesty
in term two as we jumped into the book of Isaiah.
In term three we again soaked in God's generosity
and his grace and his mercy to us
and the way that it transforms our life
in every sphere of life
as we walk through the latter sections of Luke's gospel.
And then we just finished out just before Christmas
discovering again the abundant life
on offer in Jesus in John's gospel.
The constant theme throughout this entire year
has been the goodness,
the plausibility and the relevance
of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
the good news
and the change it must bring into your life now.
Right through the year we have used virtually every Sunday
the word what is or the statement what is your next step?
How has God changed you in 2023?
Jesus Christ came into the world to save you
and to change you forever.
How has that been evident?
And if you say that you're Christian
and that is not evident,
how might you be taking your next step
in celebrating the meaning of Christianness
tomorrow and every day of 2024?
Thank you.