INTRODUCTION
I love being a preacher. I have had great joys come to me in
the preaching of the word of God. The vast majority of my experiences
as a pastor have been enjoyable. But I would not continue in
the ministry if I did not believe God had called me. I believe
the preacher must receive a divine call.
Paul had the same theology. He knew God had sent him to preach. Tonight I want to look at this subject "SENT TO PREACH".
1. How . . Was Paul Sent to Preach?
2. What . . Was Paul Sent to Preach?.
3. Why . . Was Paul Sent to Preach?.
A. Sent to Preach as One Who Has . .Apostleship.
v 1 a "Paul, an apostle . . . "
B. Sent to Preach as One Who Has . . Authority.
v 1 b ". . . (not {sent} from men, nor through the agency of man, but
through Jesus Christ, and God the Father,
C. Sent to Preach as One Who Has . . Associates.
v 2 "and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia:
1. Every pastor needs associates
who stand with him for the word of God.
Illustration # 1
As a new Christian I got to spend a lot of time with some of our deacons.
One in particular talked of how as a brand new deacon he was helped by
some of the great old deacons in our church.
He related an experience in one of the first deacon meetings he attended.
It seems the new pastor who follow a man who had been there for 29 years
was not liked by some of the people of the church. One deacon stood
in the deacons meeting and made a motion "lets fire the preacher."
He is on vacation and we can just notify him not to come back to our church."
Another deacon named Ira Keeny stood and said "I would not treat
a dog that way much less my pastor." This new deacon said "that man's
courage helped me. It also helped the preacher.
Illustration #2
About 6 months ago there was a distrubance in our church that could
have gotten out of hand. I went to talk to a deacon about it.
I found him in the prayer room, and he had already taken care of the problem.
All pastor need those kind of associates.
ILLUSTRATION #3
There are three types of Christians who respond to the call of service:
1. Rowboat Christians -- have to be pushed.
2. Sailboat Christians -- always go with wind.
3. Steamboat Christians -- make up their minds where they ought to go
and go
there regardless of wind and weather.
APPLICATION
Paul was the kind who knew God had sent him to Preach and set out to do it.
SENT TO PREACH: We Looked at: How Paul Sent to Preach,
Now Look at What Paul was Sent to Preach
A. Sent to Preach the . . Definition of Grace.
v 1 a "Grace to you . . . "
B. Sent to Preach the . . Development of Grace.
v 1 b ". . . and peace . . . "
1. Peace is a bi-product of Truth.
Grace is truth, and it produces peace.
a. In Eph 6:15 peace is mentioned after truth.
b. Think about a situation where you want peace,
reflect upon the
grace and truth of God and watch peace follow.
C. Sent to Preach the . . Derivation of Grace.
v 1 c ". . . from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ,
ILLUSTRATION
I recall a story about a man who had to cross a wide river on the ice.
He was afraid it might be too thin, so he began to crawl on his hand and
knees in great terror. He thought he might fall through at any moment.
Just as he neared the opposite shore, all exhausted, another man glided
past him nonchalantly sitting on a sled loaded with pig iron.
How like some Christians! Headed for Heaven, they tremble at every step lest the divine promises break under their feet. They need only to look at the context of Isaiah 12:2 to realize that God is their salvation and the Lord is their strength and song.
By resting completely upon Him and taking His promises at face value, we can drive out the paralyzing fear that hinders our effectiveness in serving Christ. The biblical antidote always works: "I will trust, and not be afraid."
APPLICATION
SENT TO PREACH :
We Looked at: How Paul Sent to Preach, and What Paul was Sent to preach.
Now look at: Why . . Was Paul Sent to Preach?.
A. Sent to Preach the . . Expense of the Message. v 4 a
". . . who gave Himself for our sins, . . . "
B. Sent to Preach the . . Effect of the Message. v 4 b
". . . that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, "
1. The
non Christian does not realize it but he or she is not free.
They are
in the control of this present evil age.
2. Paul emphasizes they
need to be delivered.
a. Note the addictions of our day.
b. Drugs. Alcohol, pornography. Etc.
C. Sent to Preach the . . Explanation of the Message. v 4
c - 5
". .
. according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom {be}
the glory forevermore."
D. Sent to Preach the . . End of the Message. v 5 b
". . . Amen. "
1. John said "even
so come Lord Jesus AMEN."
ILLUSTRATION
A skyrocket is lovely to watch but its beauty doesn't last long. There
are people who have Christian experiences as brilliant as skyrockets or
like giant Roman candles. They fairly dazzle our eyes for awhile. But then
they sputter and go out and their lives are sick or disappointing and disillusioning.
All of us know that it's the people who through the years maintain the spiritual glow who make us believe in the genuineness of Christianity. Their devotion is deep and constant because it is real.
Our lives should not be like sky rockets. The Amen to a full life of Christian expression should be the End of the message of Christ in our lives.
Paul was sent to preach and his life can be summarized in the word Amen.
APPLICATION
1. How . . Was Paul Sent to Preach?
2. What . . Was Paul Sent to Preach?.
3. Why . . Was Paul Sent to Preach?.
