Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
If any person is in Christ, he is a new creation.
Grace is not about adding things to your life. You
can add a whole bunch of stuff, like patching up clothes.
I gotta put green patches, red patches, yellow patches, white patches.
You know what, that will make me a new person.
Something has to happen on the inside. Grace is about
getting on the inside of your soul and spirit and
(00:24):
transforming the very person you are.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
He says.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Therefore, if any person be in Christ, he is a
new creation.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Okay, if you've ever tried to do enough patching up
to make yourself acceptable to God, you know that's an
endless pattern of frustration and defeat. So today on in
Touch the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley, we'll be
encouraged to leave that cycle behind and embrace the transforming
power of God's grace. Here's part two of Grace on display.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Now. What I want us to do in this message
is this.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I want us to look at life before Grace, and
I want us to look at life by grace, and
I want us to look at life in grace. I
want you to see what life was like before Grace
in a particular person and that is in Saul of Tarsus.
We call him Paul the Apostle. But I want us
(01:24):
to see what life was like before Grace. In his life, now,
look at this man. He has one goal eradicate the
Christian faith blesphem the name of Jesus, destroy the church,
remove it from the face of the earth, so that
there's not only no influence, but no evidence of it. Now,
(01:45):
usually when you think about the apostle Paul, you think
of this very godly man. This is Paul the Apostle
before grace. The scripture says he assisted in the death
of Stephen, he consented to it. He destroyed people, He
intruded into their homes, dragging them out, husbands and wives
and probably children, imprisoning them, threatening them, killing them, binding them,
(02:10):
persecuting them, punishing them, beating them, opposing them, voting for
their death, torturing them to recant of their faith, raging
against them, blaspheming and injuring. And this man's in the Bible.
This man's a Christian. Yes, And here's the reason. Because
(02:32):
you see, the grace of God can reach out to anyone,
no matter who they are. On the Damascus Road, God
reached down in his loving favor and did what transformed
his life. And listen, this murderer became a missionary, and
this man who plotted against the church became a preacher
(02:52):
of the gospel of the Church. He absolutely totally revolutionized
and transformed his life. He can do the same thing
to you, because God is in the process of doing so.
That's what God is up to all over the world,
changing people's lives, making them godly, making them His servants,
transforming them for all eternity.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, then let's look at his life.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Now we have Paul before grace, by grace, and now
not watch this, not after grace, but in grace. Listen
very carefully because this part of the message is so
applicable to every single one of us.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So here's what he says.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Now in grace, having trusted Jesus, Paul says in verse twelve,
I thank Christ, Jesus, our Lord, who had first of all,
he strengthened me, he considered me faithful, and he put
me into service. He says, he chose him, he strengthened him,
(03:54):
he considered them faithful, and he put him into service.
Notice something about the apostle Paul. Here after this takes
place in his life. I want you to notice two things.
I want you to notice his attitude, and second, I
want you to notice his actions and his attitude here.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Is very clear.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Because you see second grength in Chapter five, verse seventeen
says Therefore, if any person is in Christ, that means
they've trusted Jesus Christ, and in says saving Christ is
in them. If any person is in Christ, he is
a new creation.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
You said, watch this.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Many people believe that salvation is putting on something new.
Now I'm going to start going to church, start giving money,
start praying, start the start that. That's not salvation. That's
not what grace is about. Grace is not about adding
things to your life. Grace is about getting on the
inside of your soul and spirit and transforming the very
person you are.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
You can add a whole bunch of stuff, like patching
up clothes.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
I can put green patches, red patches, yellow patches, purple patches,
white patches. You know what that one make me a
new person. Something has to happen on the inside. And
so when God changes our life, that's.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
What he does. We're not patching up anything.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
We're talking about Listen the grace of God making you
a new person. You say, well, look, I'm seventy years old,
how can I be new? Just watch God will make
you a new person. You will think differently, you will
act differently, You'll have different desires. Everything about you is
going to be different. Your body is still seventy years
of age. But you know what, when you do lay
(05:31):
it down, you go into glory. And that is an
eternal promise of Almighty God. So I want you to
watch the different attitude that Paul now has after the
grace of God's worked in his life. Look if you will,
beginning in verse twelve, and the first attitude you see
here is the gratitude that he has. I thank Christ, Jesus,
(05:54):
our Lord, who has strengthened me because he considered me faithful,
putting me into services the apostle. Paul could never thank
God enough for what he did. That he took him
a murderer and a destroyer and did what he so
transformed his life. Listen to what he did.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
He made him.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
The most outstanding, the most vocal person in his age
about the very Jesus whom he tried to destroy. That's
the work of grace. Gratitude beyond all measure. Let me
ask you a question. When's the last time you thought
about your life which you used to be, and got
(06:41):
on your knees and thanked God for what He's done
in your life. When's the last time you thanked Him
for forgiving you for sins that you would even mention
in public, Thanking God for the second opportunities and the
tenth opportunities, one hundredth opportunities he's given you. Thanking God
for not allow you to take some route in your
(07:01):
life and to drink this and to go with that,
and to commit this sin.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And that's and he rescues you from that.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
He put a block in your life at times to
keep you from destroying yourself. When's the last time you
thanked Him for it? Second attitude that's here. Listen, look
at this, he says verse fifteen. It is a trustworthy statement.
He says, you can believe this. It deserves full acceptance. Well,
I'm going to say he says, there deserves full acceptance
(07:28):
that Christ Jesus came into the world the save sinners,
among whom I am foremost of all. Now here's what
most people would say, among whom a sinner. I used
to be a sinner till the day Paul died. This
is where he saw himself, foremost of all sinners, but
(07:50):
a work of God's grace. Foremost of all sinners, but
a work of God's grace.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
God hates pride. He hates it because it takes away
his glory. The apostle.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Paul never even begin.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
To think about what he had done. It was God
who reached down and saved him. It's God who used him.
It is God who was working in this life. It's
all about God, not about us. A spirit of humility,
not I used to be a worst sinner, but I
still see myself. Listen, Paul never got over what he
(08:22):
did to all of those people. What an attitude. But
I want you to watch this chapter. I want you
to turn to Romans chapter nine for a moment. This
is what he says in verse one. I'm telling the
truth in Christ.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I'm not lying.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that
I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated
from Christ. For the sake of my brethren, my kinsman
according to the flesh who are Israelites.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Here's what he said.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
He said, when I look back at my life and
see what I was like, and see how blind I
was to the truth and the way I lived, and
now that I'm experiencing grace in my life, he says,
I could wish because of my.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Love and compassion and concern for.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
My people, I could wish that even if I had
to be separated from Christ, so be it that they
may know the truth.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
It's what I want you to see.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
When you understand what grace is all about, you too
are going to have a heart of gratitude for your
salvation like you've never had before. Secondly, you're going to
have a spirit of humility. Won't be any bragging about
things in your life. And thirdly, you're going to have
a compassion for people and a love for people, because
(09:46):
you see, you want them to have what you have,
You want them to know what you know. When a
church has no missionary organization, when a church has no
missionary spirit, misstionary zeal, they've missed the point of their existence.
It isn't just the common worship and clap and have
a big time, and that are all kind of churches
(10:08):
out there, and not blaming anybody else what they're doing.
I'm just simply saying that according to the New Testament,
it is the work of the church, the mission of
the church, of the responsibility of the church. They get
this message of the grace of God to the whole world.
It's the only message that transforms a person's life. Now,
you think about all the other religions in the world.
They're trying to do this and do that and get acceptance,
(10:29):
and they got all kinds of promises, and when they
get to heaven, here's the truth.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Here's what God wants.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
He wants to transform your life and mind and have
a personal, intimate relationship with us so that you and
I listen, would be living walking examples of the Lord
Jesus Christ, so that by our very life, other people
would desire.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
To know Jesus Christ as their savior.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So what does grace do in a person's life changes
the way they think. And the second thing it does,
it changes the way they live and changes the way they.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Live out their life daily.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Notice what happens here, back to first Timothy a moment,
here's what he says.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
He says, now.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I think Jesus Christ, that Lord who has strengthened me
because he considered me faithful, he put me into his service.
What's the action of a person who is genuinely who
understands grace and genuinely savor the grace of God. You're
going to want to serve God. I'm talking about this
(11:35):
that when you and I wake up in the morning,
we wake up listen by the grace of God. We
wake up in the grace of God, and we live
with the grace of God every day. And because of
the grace of God, you and I have the privilege
of serving Him every single day of our life. Most
people today are wrapped up in three people, me, myself
(11:56):
and I. They forget all about there. It's the grace
of God that has you alive. It's the grace of
God that's protected you. It's the grace of God that's
going to get you to Heaven. And you and I
should be living with the attitude of gratitude and the
sense of humility and a compassion for the people. And
that should put our feet to that, helping, loving, listening,
(12:20):
doing in some way serving God. We should all see
ourselves as servants.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Now watch this.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
In order for me to see myself as a servant,
I have to forget myself and think about other people
and think about what's my motivation. Listen, watch this. My
motivation is not to get somebody's acceptance, that's pride. My
motivation can't be so somebody will think I'm doing well
so I get somebody's approval of somebody's accolade. No, I
(12:49):
want to serve somebody else because Jesus Christ save me.
The grace of God is living within me, and I
want to give away to other people what He has
given to me. When you understand grace, you can't keep
it to yourself. You just cannot. Now, I realize you
can listen to all this and say, well, but you know,
you just don't know my circumstance. What I want you
(13:11):
to say is this, we are here but the grace
of God. Suppose you had to go to bed tonight
with the weight of all of your sins, all the
sins that you've committed all of your life. Suppose you
had to go to bed tonight with the guilt of
all that resting on you.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Could you go to sleep? I doubt it.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
You don't have to, you know, Why, because you have
the peace that passes all understanding. You have grace, grace
greater than all of our sin. All these wonderful hymns
we sing about the grace of God. Why because God
chose to love you? Was there anything worth loving in
any of us before we were saved? No, we were carnal,
(13:52):
sinful and human beings. But God, in his awesome love
and favor and mercy, kindness and goodness to it us.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
What did he do?
Speaker 1 (14:01):
He reached down and chose to save us, And He'll
do the same for you. When I think about service,
I think about the apostle Paul, where he went, all
the places he traveled, preaching the gospel, writing the epistles
in jail, all the things that he did.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
You can read the Book of Acts. They're all there.
But watch this now.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
We said his attitude was threefold. Tell me what it is.
First was what gratitude? Then what humility? And third compassion?
And his actions were service. But there's something else we
forget sometime, and that is, if we are going.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
To shure our gratitude to God for his grace, we
willing to suffer. It's suffering. It's not only serving, but
it's willing to suffer. Now, watch this.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
When you trust Jesus Christ as your savior, your sins
are forgiven. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book
of Life. The Holy Spirit seals you as a child
of God forever. What I want you to understand is
that does not cancel out all the consequences of your sins.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Doesn't cancel the Are you forgiven for them? Forgiven? Totally forgiven?
Is God paying you back? No, he does not pay back.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
But you not living a life and their consequences for
sin forgiven? Yes, but the consequences of their and the
sooner you trust the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal savior,
the better. And when those consequences come into our life,
what do we do. Well, God, here's what you said.
He's keeping his word, their consequences of sin, And what
(15:48):
does God? You say, Well, that's not love. Yes, it is,
because God's being true. And here's how he turns that
for your good.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Watch this.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Think about the grace of God in your life. You say, well,
I'm thinking about that. Let me tell you how you
can experience grace right now. If you willing to acknowledge
that you have sinned against God, and that you are
a sinner by nature, and you willing to acknowledge that
(16:17):
the Bible is true, that Jesus Christ was and is
the son of God, and that God the Father sent
him to Calvary and his perfect life was the only
acceptable sacrifice. He died on that cross, shed his blood,
and the Father accepted his blood as the final sacrifice
(16:40):
for your sins. If you willing to ask him to
forgive you of your sins, and you willing to believe
that he's the son of God and that he'll forgive you,
he will forgive your sin.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And the moment you ask.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Him in belief, with the repentant heart, your life against
the check, at that buried moment, you cannot ever be
the same again. The only sure thing friend is Jesus.
I don't care where you've been, what you've done, how long,
and how bad. Remember that list you have done, all that.
(17:17):
God saved him, and listen. Not only did he save him,
but look.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
What he made out of him.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Not only was he the foremost sinner, but the foremost
evangelist and missionary the world has ever known.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
You say, yeah, but that was Paul. Let me ask
a question.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Do you know what God would do in your life
if you surrendered yourself to him.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
No, you don't.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Could Paul the Apostle ever have believed riding on the
Damascus Road before he got saved. Could he ever have
believed that he would have become a missionary and a
preacher and an establisher of church, and that his teaching
would be the foundation of the whole Christian Church. He
would never have believed that. Listen, don't condition yourself to believe.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
What you think you can do.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Give yourself to Jesus Christ and see what he can do.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
The Gospel is the same, the power of God is
the same.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
And you're not so evil, and you're not so wicked,
you not so ignorant that God can't absolutely transform your life.
It's yours for the asking and believing, and it's my
prayer that you be wise enough to receive Jesus Christ
as your personal savior and father. How grateful we are
(18:36):
that you included all when you said, whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord will be saved. That
if we confess with our mouth Jesus's Lord, believe in
our heart that you raised him.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
From the dead, we would be saved.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I pray that every person who hears this message would
be honest, would be honest and look at their life,
look at their alternatives. It is Jesus, the shere person,
versus all those patch up jobs and all the things
that they've heard, and all these gods and all these
prophets who know nothing about love, nothing about grace, nothing
(19:14):
about the goodness and love of the One True God.
I pray in Jesus's name, penetrate their heart, God, and
help them to see that your love.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Is the most powerful.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Thing on the face of this earth, expressed in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, whose name we pray.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Amen.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
You're listening to in Touch the teaching ministry of doctor
Charles Stanley. What was true for the apostle Paul is
true for anyone. The transformation of your life begins with
the transformation of your soul by confessing your sin and
surrendering your life to Jesus. To listen again, click Today
(19:56):
on Radio at InTouch dot Orgene and take a look
around our website to learn more about living a life
of faith in God. You can order a copy of
today's complete message, Grace on Display from our online bookstore.
It's also included in doctor Stanley's teaching set How Grace
Changes Everything Again. You'll find these resources at InTouch dot
(20:21):
org or call one eight hundred in Touch to write
to us. Address your letter to in Touch Post Office
Box seventy nine hundred, Atlanta, Georgia, three zero three five seven.
Does the thought of sharing your faith make your heart
rate go up and your palm sweat? Today's moment with
(20:41):
Charles Stanley can help relieve your stress.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
It's just ahead in our spiritual journey. We often have questions,
how do I know God's will for my life? Does
God hear my prayers? Why do bad things happen? The
answers are found in the Word of God, But how
do we know where to start? The free in Touch
devotional can help points you in the right direction. With
biblically based content from doctor Charles Stanley, you'll gain insight
(21:05):
and wisdom through daily devotions, Bible studies and more. Be
in Touch devotional delivered monthly to your mailbox. Subscribe for
free at InTouch dot org. Slash Daily.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
Do everyday challenges ever leave you feeling the weight of
the world on your shoulders. No matter what we go
through in life, sometimes prayer can be a struggle, but
there is nothing too big or small for God. In
doctor Stanley's book When you don't know what to pray,
learn to overcome the obstacles you face when praying through
life's challenges and victories. With one hundred essential prayers, you'll
(21:40):
find the words to guide you as you pour out.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Your heart to the Lord.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
Visit in touch dot org slash books.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
You're listening to. In Touch believers don't have to have
formal training to tell others about Jesus. Here the basics
of sharing the Gospel in a moment with Charles Stanley.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Think about what is involved in sharing f faith. First
of all, it's an act of love. You are expressing
love to someone when you willing to pour out your
heart to them, share what God has been doing in
your life, and explain to them how to be saved. Secondly,
it's an act of obedience, he said, as you go
make disciples of all nations. Third is an act of
(22:28):
faith when you share your faith and you explain to
someone what the Bible says, and you explain to them,
for example, what John three sixteen means for God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,
that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have
eternal life. It's an act of faith on your part
that when you share your faith with someone else, God
(22:49):
always honors that, and He always blesses that. Would you
not agree that it is not just an obligation, It
is an awesome opportunity. The Bible says, for by grace,
you've been saved, not by yourself, but by faith, not
of works, lest any person should boast. Then he says
that He predestined that you and I would walk in
(23:11):
good works. What is a better work in the Christian
life than sharing your faith with someone else? And you say,
but suppose I don't know what to say. And here's
a wonderful passage in Luke, chapter twelve, verse twelve. It's
a very simple passage, And here's what he says. For
the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour
what you ought to say. Remember, when you trust the
(23:31):
Jesus Christ as your personal savior, the Holy Spirit came
into your life to live.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
And what does he do?
Speaker 1 (23:38):
He works through you and in you to accomplish the
things that God has said.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Before you learn more about the believer's life of faith
at in touch dot org. And if this program has
encouraged you to let Jesus be more visible in your life,
please tell us your story tomorrow on in Touch. The
grace of God is deeper and wider than we could
ever imagine. It surrounds us completely. I hope you'll join
(24:05):
us Friday to hear about the inexhaustible riches of God's
grace on in Touch, the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley.
This program is a presentation of in Touch Ministries Atlanta, Georgia,
and remains on this station through the grace of God
and your faithful prayers and gifts.
If any person is in Christ, he is a new creation.
Grace is not about adding things to your life. You
can add a whole bunch of stuff, like patching up clothes.
I gotta put green patches, red patches, yellow patches, white patches.
You know what, that will make me a new person.
Something has to happen on the inside. Grace is about
getting on the inside of your soul and spirit and
(00:24):
transforming the very person you are.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
He says.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Therefore, if any person be in Christ, he is a
new creation.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Okay, if you've ever tried to do enough patching up
to make yourself acceptable to God, you know that's an
endless pattern of frustration and defeat. So today on in
Touch the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley, we'll be
encouraged to leave that cycle behind and embrace the transforming
power of God's grace. Here's part two of Grace on display.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Now. What I want us to do in this message
is this.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I want us to look at life before Grace, and
I want us to look at life by grace, and
I want us to look at life in grace. I
want you to see what life was like before Grace
in a particular person and that is in Saul of Tarsus.
We call him Paul the Apostle. But I want us
(01:24):
to see what life was like before Grace. In his life, now,
look at this man. He has one goal eradicate the
Christian faith blesphem the name of Jesus, destroy the church,
remove it from the face of the earth, so that
there's not only no influence, but no evidence of it. Now,
(01:45):
usually when you think about the apostle Paul, you think
of this very godly man. This is Paul the Apostle
before grace. The scripture says he assisted in the death
of Stephen, he consented to it. He destroyed people, He
intruded into their homes, dragging them out, husbands and wives
and probably children, imprisoning them, threatening them, killing them, binding them,
(02:10):
persecuting them, punishing them, beating them, opposing them, voting for
their death, torturing them to recant of their faith, raging
against them, blaspheming and injuring. And this man's in the Bible.
This man's a Christian. Yes, And here's the reason. Because
(02:32):
you see, the grace of God can reach out to anyone,
no matter who they are. On the Damascus Road, God
reached down in his loving favor and did what transformed
his life. And listen, this murderer became a missionary, and
this man who plotted against the church became a preacher
(02:52):
of the gospel of the Church. He absolutely totally revolutionized
and transformed his life. He can do the same thing
to you, because God is in the process of doing so.
That's what God is up to all over the world,
changing people's lives, making them godly, making them His servants,
transforming them for all eternity.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, then let's look at his life.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Now we have Paul before grace, by grace, and now
not watch this, not after grace, but in grace. Listen
very carefully because this part of the message is so
applicable to every single one of us.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So here's what he says.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Now in grace, having trusted Jesus, Paul says in verse twelve,
I thank Christ, Jesus, our Lord, who had first of all,
he strengthened me, he considered me faithful, and he put
me into service. He says, he chose him, he strengthened him,
(03:54):
he considered them faithful, and he put him into service.
Notice something about the apostle Paul. Here after this takes
place in his life. I want you to notice two things.
I want you to notice his attitude, and second, I
want you to notice his actions and his attitude here.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Is very clear.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Because you see second grength in Chapter five, verse seventeen
says Therefore, if any person is in Christ, that means
they've trusted Jesus Christ, and in says saving Christ is
in them. If any person is in Christ, he is
a new creation.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
You said, watch this.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Many people believe that salvation is putting on something new.
Now I'm going to start going to church, start giving money,
start praying, start the start that. That's not salvation. That's
not what grace is about. Grace is not about adding
things to your life. Grace is about getting on the
inside of your soul and spirit and transforming the very
person you are.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
You can add a whole bunch of stuff, like patching
up clothes.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
I can put green patches, red patches, yellow patches, purple patches,
white patches. You know what that one make me a
new person. Something has to happen on the inside. And
so when God changes our life, that's.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
What he does. We're not patching up anything.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
We're talking about Listen the grace of God making you
a new person. You say, well, look, I'm seventy years old,
how can I be new? Just watch God will make
you a new person. You will think differently, you will
act differently, You'll have different desires. Everything about you is
going to be different. Your body is still seventy years
of age. But you know what, when you do lay
(05:31):
it down, you go into glory. And that is an
eternal promise of Almighty God. So I want you to
watch the different attitude that Paul now has after the
grace of God's worked in his life. Look if you will,
beginning in verse twelve, and the first attitude you see
here is the gratitude that he has. I thank Christ, Jesus,
(05:54):
our Lord, who has strengthened me because he considered me faithful,
putting me into services the apostle. Paul could never thank
God enough for what he did. That he took him
a murderer and a destroyer and did what he so
transformed his life. Listen to what he did.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
He made him.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
The most outstanding, the most vocal person in his age
about the very Jesus whom he tried to destroy. That's
the work of grace. Gratitude beyond all measure. Let me
ask you a question. When's the last time you thought
about your life which you used to be, and got
(06:41):
on your knees and thanked God for what He's done
in your life. When's the last time you thanked Him
for forgiving you for sins that you would even mention
in public, Thanking God for the second opportunities and the
tenth opportunities, one hundredth opportunities he's given you. Thanking God
for not allow you to take some route in your
(07:01):
life and to drink this and to go with that,
and to commit this sin.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And that's and he rescues you from that.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
He put a block in your life at times to
keep you from destroying yourself. When's the last time you
thanked Him for it? Second attitude that's here. Listen, look
at this, he says verse fifteen. It is a trustworthy statement.
He says, you can believe this. It deserves full acceptance. Well,
I'm going to say he says, there deserves full acceptance
(07:28):
that Christ Jesus came into the world the save sinners,
among whom I am foremost of all. Now here's what
most people would say, among whom a sinner. I used
to be a sinner till the day Paul died. This
is where he saw himself, foremost of all sinners, but
(07:50):
a work of God's grace. Foremost of all sinners, but
a work of God's grace.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
God hates pride. He hates it because it takes away
his glory. The apostle.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Paul never even begin.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
To think about what he had done. It was God
who reached down and saved him. It's God who used him.
It is God who was working in this life. It's
all about God, not about us. A spirit of humility,
not I used to be a worst sinner, but I
still see myself. Listen, Paul never got over what he
(08:22):
did to all of those people. What an attitude. But
I want you to watch this chapter. I want you
to turn to Romans chapter nine for a moment. This
is what he says in verse one. I'm telling the
truth in Christ.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I'm not lying.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that
I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated
from Christ. For the sake of my brethren, my kinsman
according to the flesh who are Israelites.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Here's what he said.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
He said, when I look back at my life and
see what I was like, and see how blind I
was to the truth and the way I lived, and
now that I'm experiencing grace in my life, he says,
I could wish because of my.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Love and compassion and concern for.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
My people, I could wish that even if I had
to be separated from Christ, so be it that they
may know the truth.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
It's what I want you to see.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
When you understand what grace is all about, you too
are going to have a heart of gratitude for your
salvation like you've never had before. Secondly, you're going to
have a spirit of humility. Won't be any bragging about
things in your life. And thirdly, you're going to have
a compassion for people and a love for people, because
(09:46):
you see, you want them to have what you have,
You want them to know what you know. When a
church has no missionary organization, when a church has no
missionary spirit, misstionary zeal, they've missed the point of their existence.
It isn't just the common worship and clap and have
a big time, and that are all kind of churches
(10:08):
out there, and not blaming anybody else what they're doing.
I'm just simply saying that according to the New Testament,
it is the work of the church, the mission of
the church, of the responsibility of the church. They get
this message of the grace of God to the whole world.
It's the only message that transforms a person's life. Now,
you think about all the other religions in the world.
They're trying to do this and do that and get acceptance,
(10:29):
and they got all kinds of promises, and when they
get to heaven, here's the truth.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Here's what God wants.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
He wants to transform your life and mind and have
a personal, intimate relationship with us so that you and
I listen, would be living walking examples of the Lord
Jesus Christ, so that by our very life, other people
would desire.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
To know Jesus Christ as their savior.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So what does grace do in a person's life changes
the way they think. And the second thing it does,
it changes the way they live and changes the way they.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Live out their life daily.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Notice what happens here, back to first Timothy a moment,
here's what he says.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
He says, now.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I think Jesus Christ, that Lord who has strengthened me
because he considered me faithful, he put me into his service.
What's the action of a person who is genuinely who
understands grace and genuinely savor the grace of God. You're
going to want to serve God. I'm talking about this
(11:35):
that when you and I wake up in the morning,
we wake up listen by the grace of God. We
wake up in the grace of God, and we live
with the grace of God every day. And because of
the grace of God, you and I have the privilege
of serving Him every single day of our life. Most
people today are wrapped up in three people, me, myself
(11:56):
and I. They forget all about there. It's the grace
of God that has you alive. It's the grace of
God that's protected you. It's the grace of God that's
going to get you to Heaven. And you and I
should be living with the attitude of gratitude and the
sense of humility and a compassion for the people. And
that should put our feet to that, helping, loving, listening,
(12:20):
doing in some way serving God. We should all see
ourselves as servants.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Now watch this.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
In order for me to see myself as a servant,
I have to forget myself and think about other people
and think about what's my motivation. Listen, watch this. My
motivation is not to get somebody's acceptance, that's pride. My
motivation can't be so somebody will think I'm doing well
so I get somebody's approval of somebody's accolade. No, I
(12:49):
want to serve somebody else because Jesus Christ save me.
The grace of God is living within me, and I
want to give away to other people what He has
given to me. When you understand grace, you can't keep
it to yourself. You just cannot. Now, I realize you
can listen to all this and say, well, but you know,
you just don't know my circumstance. What I want you
(13:11):
to say is this, we are here but the grace
of God. Suppose you had to go to bed tonight
with the weight of all of your sins, all the
sins that you've committed all of your life. Suppose you
had to go to bed tonight with the guilt of
all that resting on you.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Could you go to sleep? I doubt it.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
You don't have to, you know, Why, because you have
the peace that passes all understanding. You have grace, grace
greater than all of our sin. All these wonderful hymns
we sing about the grace of God. Why because God
chose to love you? Was there anything worth loving in
any of us before we were saved? No, we were carnal,
(13:52):
sinful and human beings. But God, in his awesome love
and favor and mercy, kindness and goodness to it us.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
What did he do?
Speaker 1 (14:01):
He reached down and chose to save us, And He'll
do the same for you. When I think about service,
I think about the apostle Paul, where he went, all
the places he traveled, preaching the gospel, writing the epistles
in jail, all the things that he did.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
You can read the Book of Acts. They're all there.
But watch this now.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
We said his attitude was threefold. Tell me what it is.
First was what gratitude? Then what humility? And third compassion?
And his actions were service. But there's something else we
forget sometime, and that is, if we are going.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
To shure our gratitude to God for his grace, we
willing to suffer. It's suffering. It's not only serving, but
it's willing to suffer. Now, watch this.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
When you trust Jesus Christ as your savior, your sins
are forgiven. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book
of Life. The Holy Spirit seals you as a child
of God forever. What I want you to understand is
that does not cancel out all the consequences of your sins.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Doesn't cancel the Are you forgiven for them? Forgiven? Totally forgiven?
Is God paying you back? No, he does not pay back.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
But you not living a life and their consequences for
sin forgiven? Yes, but the consequences of their and the
sooner you trust the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal savior,
the better. And when those consequences come into our life,
what do we do. Well, God, here's what you said.
He's keeping his word, their consequences of sin, And what
(15:48):
does God? You say, Well, that's not love. Yes, it is,
because God's being true. And here's how he turns that
for your good.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Watch this.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Think about the grace of God in your life. You say, well,
I'm thinking about that. Let me tell you how you
can experience grace right now. If you willing to acknowledge
that you have sinned against God, and that you are
a sinner by nature, and you willing to acknowledge that
(16:17):
the Bible is true, that Jesus Christ was and is
the son of God, and that God the Father sent
him to Calvary and his perfect life was the only
acceptable sacrifice. He died on that cross, shed his blood,
and the Father accepted his blood as the final sacrifice
(16:40):
for your sins. If you willing to ask him to
forgive you of your sins, and you willing to believe
that he's the son of God and that he'll forgive you,
he will forgive your sin.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And the moment you ask.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Him in belief, with the repentant heart, your life against
the check, at that buried moment, you cannot ever be
the same again. The only sure thing friend is Jesus.
I don't care where you've been, what you've done, how long,
and how bad. Remember that list you have done, all that.
(17:17):
God saved him, and listen. Not only did he save him,
but look.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
What he made out of him.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Not only was he the foremost sinner, but the foremost
evangelist and missionary the world has ever known.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
You say, yeah, but that was Paul. Let me ask
a question.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Do you know what God would do in your life
if you surrendered yourself to him.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
No, you don't.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Could Paul the Apostle ever have believed riding on the
Damascus Road before he got saved. Could he ever have
believed that he would have become a missionary and a
preacher and an establisher of church, and that his teaching
would be the foundation of the whole Christian Church. He
would never have believed that. Listen, don't condition yourself to believe.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
What you think you can do.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Give yourself to Jesus Christ and see what he can do.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
The Gospel is the same, the power of God is
the same.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
And you're not so evil, and you're not so wicked,
you not so ignorant that God can't absolutely transform your life.
It's yours for the asking and believing, and it's my
prayer that you be wise enough to receive Jesus Christ
as your personal savior and father. How grateful we are
(18:36):
that you included all when you said, whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord will be saved. That
if we confess with our mouth Jesus's Lord, believe in
our heart that you raised him.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
From the dead, we would be saved.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I pray that every person who hears this message would
be honest, would be honest and look at their life,
look at their alternatives. It is Jesus, the shere person,
versus all those patch up jobs and all the things
that they've heard, and all these gods and all these
prophets who know nothing about love, nothing about grace, nothing
(19:14):
about the goodness and love of the One True God.
I pray in Jesus's name, penetrate their heart, God, and
help them to see that your love.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Is the most powerful.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Thing on the face of this earth, expressed in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, whose name we pray.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Amen.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
You're listening to in Touch the teaching ministry of doctor
Charles Stanley. What was true for the apostle Paul is
true for anyone. The transformation of your life begins with
the transformation of your soul by confessing your sin and
surrendering your life to Jesus. To listen again, click Today
(19:56):
on Radio at InTouch dot Orgene and take a look
around our website to learn more about living a life
of faith in God. You can order a copy of
today's complete message, Grace on Display from our online bookstore.
It's also included in doctor Stanley's teaching set How Grace
Changes Everything Again. You'll find these resources at InTouch dot
(20:21):
org or call one eight hundred in Touch to write
to us. Address your letter to in Touch Post Office
Box seventy nine hundred, Atlanta, Georgia, three zero three five seven.
Does the thought of sharing your faith make your heart
rate go up and your palm sweat? Today's moment with
(20:41):
Charles Stanley can help relieve your stress.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
It's just ahead in our spiritual journey. We often have questions,
how do I know God's will for my life? Does
God hear my prayers? Why do bad things happen? The
answers are found in the Word of God, But how
do we know where to start? The free in Touch
devotional can help points you in the right direction. With
biblically based content from doctor Charles Stanley, you'll gain insight
(21:05):
and wisdom through daily devotions, Bible studies and more. Be
in Touch devotional delivered monthly to your mailbox. Subscribe for
free at InTouch dot org. Slash Daily.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
Do everyday challenges ever leave you feeling the weight of
the world on your shoulders. No matter what we go
through in life, sometimes prayer can be a struggle, but
there is nothing too big or small for God. In
doctor Stanley's book When you don't know what to pray,
learn to overcome the obstacles you face when praying through
life's challenges and victories. With one hundred essential prayers, you'll
(21:40):
find the words to guide you as you pour out.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Your heart to the Lord.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
Visit in touch dot org slash books.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
You're listening to. In Touch believers don't have to have
formal training to tell others about Jesus. Here the basics
of sharing the Gospel in a moment with Charles Stanley.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Think about what is involved in sharing f faith. First
of all, it's an act of love. You are expressing
love to someone when you willing to pour out your
heart to them, share what God has been doing in
your life, and explain to them how to be saved. Secondly,
it's an act of obedience, he said, as you go
make disciples of all nations. Third is an act of
(22:28):
faith when you share your faith and you explain to
someone what the Bible says, and you explain to them,
for example, what John three sixteen means for God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,
that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have
eternal life. It's an act of faith on your part
that when you share your faith with someone else, God
(22:49):
always honors that, and He always blesses that. Would you
not agree that it is not just an obligation, It
is an awesome opportunity. The Bible says, for by grace,
you've been saved, not by yourself, but by faith, not
of works, lest any person should boast. Then he says
that He predestined that you and I would walk in
(23:11):
good works. What is a better work in the Christian
life than sharing your faith with someone else? And you say,
but suppose I don't know what to say. And here's
a wonderful passage in Luke, chapter twelve, verse twelve. It's
a very simple passage, And here's what he says. For
the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour
what you ought to say. Remember, when you trust the
(23:31):
Jesus Christ as your personal savior, the Holy Spirit came
into your life to live.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
And what does he do?
Speaker 1 (23:38):
He works through you and in you to accomplish the
things that God has said.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Before you learn more about the believer's life of faith
at in touch dot org. And if this program has
encouraged you to let Jesus be more visible in your life,
please tell us your story tomorrow on in Touch. The
grace of God is deeper and wider than we could
ever imagine. It surrounds us completely. I hope you'll join
(24:05):
us Friday to hear about the inexhaustible riches of God's
grace on in Touch, the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley.
This program is a presentation of in Touch Ministries Atlanta, Georgia,
and remains on this station through the grace of God
and your faithful prayers and gifts.
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