Colossians chapter 1. Let's look
ahead. Next week's verse and this week's.
Next week we're going to talk about the mystery. This week
just ties right in. It's so wonderful. Colossians
chapter 1. And the name of the message is
according to the dispensation of God. According to the dispensation
of God. And tonight we'll be in verse
25. Verse 25. Where have I made a minister
according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for
you to fulfill the Word of God? So last week we looked at verse
24. We looked at how Paul rejoiced
in his sufferings. He didn't, like anyone, desire
sufferings, do we? No. But the sufferings that he
had, he rejoiced in them. He looked to God knowing that
it was God who brought them providentially and he could rest in that fact.
That it was of his Lord and of our God and that he would rest
and rejoice in the sufferings that he was going through. Because
they were ordained of God. Let's look at that verse. who
now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which
is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his
body's sake, which is the church." And let's turn to Philippians
chapter 1. Last week we also looked at how the sheep of God
are persecuted. That when the sheep of God are
persecuted, that Christ the head is persecuted also. Remember
in Acts, Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me? The connection. The
connection between the head and the body. And the Lord Jesus Christ knows,
remember this, beloved God, the Lord Jesus Christ knows of the
sufferings of His sheep. He knows. He knows everything
you're going through. He knows everything you're going through.
And when they suffer, He suffers. Because Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? However, all the suffering the
church goes through, each individual falls out for the furtherance
of the gospel. So everything we go through falls
out for the furtherance of the gospel. Remember that young man
that I told you guys about? That's for the furtherance of
the gospel. That's for the furtherance of
the gospel. Donny Bell, when he was five
years old, his parents kicked him out. We ponder that and go, how could
that happen? He's a gospel preacher. He looks back at all these things,
too, as well. It's all for the furtherance
of the gospel. It makes us who we are. It molds us. And when we're saved, we look
to Christ through all those situations. Look at Philippians chapter 1,
verses 12 to 17. You understand, brethren, that
the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather into
the furtherance of the Gospel." So what Paul was going through,
he's in prison writing this epistle. And he says, I want you to know
that these things that have happened have happened into the furtherance
of the Gospel. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all
the palace and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the
Lord waxing confident by my bonds. So they see him in prison. They're waxing strong in the
confidence of the Lord because they see the Lord sustaining
him. They see his joy through sufferings. And it strengthens
the believers. Many of the brethren in the Lord
waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the
Word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even
of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. But one preached
Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add afflictions
to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for
the defense of the Gospel." So Paul saw all that he was going
through, all that the church goes through, is the furtherance
of the Gospel. Remember how our dear brothers
and sisters and how much they were, while Nero used them as
candles. He'd burn them just to bring
light. Now we say, how can that be for
the furtherance of the gospel? But it was. But it was. The suffering that all they went
through in the Colosseum. Beloved, the gospel went forth.
People saw that. People saw their faith in Christ. And we don't know how the Lord
used that, but He did. And think of this, when they
were persecuted in Jerusalem, right? And the persecution started,
the Jews or the Christian church scattered, didn't they? Like
when you put a foot into a fire, what happens? That's what happened. The church
just went out. All over, beloved. All over. And think of this.
Before our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world, right? Greece was a huge power, right? And then they were overtaken
by Rome, right? And then the empire expanded
even further with Rome, right? But Rome kept the Greek language. And when our Lord died on the
cross and the New Testament was written, it was written in Greek
and it spread like wildfire. The Gospel went forth with power.
All for the furtherance of the Gospel. So all the sufferings
that we go through as believers is for the furtherance of the
Gospel. To help us to lean more upon
Christ and rest more upon Him and to know that these things
are ordained of God no matter what comes. And it's not easy.
It's not easy. So we come to our verse tonight,
verse 25, keeping that in mind of verse 24. And let's read them
again together because they tie in totally together. "...who
now rejoice in My sufferings for you and fill up that which
is behind of the afflictions of Christ in My flesh for His
body's sake, which is the church." And then here's our text. "...whereof
I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which
is given to Me for you to fulfill the Word of God." Scripture declares
Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes, whereof I am
made a minister. I'm made a minister. Paul endured
afflictions for the sake of the church. Because if we tie it
into the other verse, which is the church, whereof I am made
a minister. See the connection there? The
two verses are intertwined together. And think of this. Before his
conversion, Paul persecuted the church. He went and caused riot
in the church, didn't he? So much so that after he was
saved, they said, this is the one who persecuted us. Oh my! But after his conversion, we
see from this text here that he served the church. He who
persecuted the church now served the church. What a marvel of
grace. What a marvel of God's sovereign
grace. And he states here that he's
a minister of the same church which he persecuted. When I was at 13th Street, I
mentioned how when the Lord saves us the things that we hated,
now we love. We have it right here before
us. The things which we loved, now we hate. Sin in ourselves
more than anything. But we have it right here. He's
made a minister to the very church that he persecuted. Now, minister
in the Greek is defined as this. One who renders service to another.
One who renders service to another. An attendant servant. One who
executes the commands of another. One who executes the commands
of another. Especially of a master. God is our... He's king. He's king. A servant, attendant,
minister. And then the last definition
I had to put in here because I thought it was wonderful. The
servant of a king, but God's preachers are servants of the
king. Servants of the king. So in the very Greek it defines
what we are. The servant of a king, the servant
of the king. And Paul was appointed to this
office. He never sought it out. He never sought it out. He was
appointed to it. And he never used it as an opportunity either
to lord over the saints. He never used it as an opportunity
to lord over the saints. Spurgeon says this on being a
minister, being made a minister by God. He says this. This is
a wonderful expression, made a minister. The true minister
is of God's making. A man made minister must be a
poor creature. But a God made minister will
prove his calling, whereof I am made a minister. See, Paul was
made a minister. God's preachers are made preachers.
Made preachers by God. And then, he grows us. Why? So we can't glory in anything.
We don't want to. We want him to get all the glory.
But the preacher never sees his own
growth. Others do. The same as you don't ever see
your own growth in grace. But others do. Others do. But they're made a minister.
Paul's made a minister. God himself had made Paul a minister. And as I said, the connection
from the last verse, he's a minister or a servant. Because remember,
all through the Greek definition, it talks about being a servant.
Paul's a servant of the church. God's preachers are servants.
We're servants. We're leaders, but we're servants.
We don't lord over the flock. We lead, but we serve. We serve
you. We serve God's people. And we
serve by preaching the gospel. It's meat. It's food. It's food. Think of this. If God had left
Saul of Tarsus in his ungodly state of spiritual deadness,
that sinful, self-righteous, religious Pharisee, which he
was, and most of us were religious, would have died in his sins and
he would have gone to the place of eternal torment. He would
have gone to hell. where he would have suffered
the never-ending righteous judgment of God against him. And beloved God, this can be
said of every one of us who is redeemed. We have obtained mercy. in Christ. We didn't obtain it
by our own works. We obtained it in Christ. Mercy. Oh, mercy. And let us notice
here, too, look at verse 1, what Paul, by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God, says about his calling, right in verse 1, right
off the bat. So there must have been some
questioning of his apostolic calling and of his ministry calling.
Because look at this. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God. And Timotheus, our brother, in
our text he says he's made a minister. Only God makes preachers. Only
God can put a man and call a man and equip a man. And that's what
he'll do. He calls a man to preach and
he equips a man to preach too. So, he does it all. Turn, if
you would, to 1 Peter 5. Now ministers are not like earthly
leaders. Earthly leaders like to lord over people, right? They
like to lord over people. Preachers aren't like that. Ministers
of the gospel are not like that. We're not supposed to be. We're
not supposed to be. We're called to serve the church
of God. Now how does God's preachers
Serve the church of God. They're to feed the church of
God. How? Through the preaching of Christ
and Him crucified. Through the preaching of Christ.
Look at this in 1 Peter 5, verses 2 and 3. Look at this. Feed the
flock of God which is among you. That's the preacher's call. To
feed the flock of God by preaching Christ. Taking the oversight
thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy liquor,
not to make a bunch of money. It's not about that. It's not about that. But of a
ready mind, neither is being lords over God's heritage, but
being examples to the flock. Now think of this. Contrast this
to the man in Rome. Contrast this to the man in Rome
called the Pope. What does he do? He sets himself
up as a ruler, doesn't he? Sets himself up as a ruler, and
he lords over people. He lords over a lot of people,
don't he? And he supposedly shepherds them,
but in reality they follow him. And the Catholic Church even
carries it so far as to say, and I came out of that, so I
know what I'm talking about because I came out of this. The Catholic
Church even carries it so far as to say that those who do not
submit to the Pope are not in a state of salvation. They think
we're all lost. Well, I'm saved by the grace
of God plus nothing. Not by what no man says. And
he tries to will his folk's conscience too. Think of that. He tries
to will his folk's conscience. And he probably sees himself
as superior in their eyes. And he's supposed to shepherd
the followers. And they even say that he's infallible. Brother Charlie, you came out
of that too. You know exactly what I'm talking about. How can a sinner be infallible,
I ask you? How can a sinner be infallible?
How can one who is born from the seed of Adam, the son of
Adam, which we all are, how can he be infallible? He can't. He can't. Here's one. How can a polluted fountain,
right? We're dead in trespasses and sins, becoming in this world
sinners, don't we? How can a polluted fountain produce
anything but a polluted stream? It's impossible, isn't it? But
oh, the Lord Jesus Christ, absolutely infallible, perfect, sinless,
the pure fountain which produces a pure stream. We drink of the
water of life, don't we? Which is from Him. Pure. Sinners are washed clean in that
fountain, aren't they? washed clean, there is a fountain
filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners
plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains." Oh,
this is good news, isn't it? Good news. So salvation is only
in the Lord Jesus Christ, in Him alone. Not in a man, not
in a pope, but in Christ, the God-man. Not in a church, not
in baptism, but only in the Lord Jesus Christ. And one other thing,
they go as far to say that he is to interpret scripture and
by what he says becomes what they call dogma. So basically
the Pope sets himself as king and he lords over the people. He lords over the Catholic Church
and tries to lord over the world by what he says. He tries to
influence people's conscience and their hearts all over the
world. But this is nothing, beloved,
but spiritual tyranny. That's exactly what it is. Pray
for my family. They're all locked in it. Lift
them up, if you could, and ask God to save them, if it's his
will. They have no clue. But the Pope
is a counterfeit. He's a counterfeit, and we are
subject to one King, beloved. One King. One King. The Lord
Jesus Christ. And His preachers and His teachers,
they don't lord over the church. We feed the church by this precious
Word. By the preaching of Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. That's how we grow in grace.
And we feast on the Word. We feast on the Word. So we say,
away with the false king who calls himself Pope. Away with
the false shepherd. We follow the Lord Jesus Christ
and Him alone. And God's preachers again are
called ministers and we feed the sheep of God. And it's a
blessed honor and a privilege to preach, it really is. And
none of God's preachers take it lightly. I remember one time
a grace preacher, we were at a conference and a grace preacher
was preaching and he said in the message, he said, I'd have
to step down from being a preacher to be the President of the United
States. That's how much an honor and a privilege it is to preach
the gospel. It's a high calling. It's a blessed
privilege. And it's nothing that God's preachers
take lightly. And this high calling, look in
our text, is according to the dispensation of God. It continues.
It's according to the dispensation of God. Where have I made a minster
according to the dispensation of God? Turn, if you would, to
Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians 3. Paul was made a minister according
to the dispensation of God. The divine stewardship of God
was given to Paul and he was made a minister. And beloved,
it was all according to God's plan and it was all according
to God's purpose. And what God plans and what God
purposes, it will come to pass. He's the nail in the sure place.
He's the one we can rest in. Look at Ephesians 3, verses 1-7. For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner
of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given to me to you, How that
by revelation He made known unto me the mystery. We'll look at
that mystery next week. As I wrote afore in few words,
whereby when you read When you read, you may understand my knowledge
to the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known
unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise
in Christ by the gospel. Whereof I was made a minister,
according to the gift of grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of His power. Look in verse 2, if you have
heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given
me to you, and then tie that in with verse 7 in Ephesians
3, whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the
grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of His
power, and tie that in with verse 25 tonight, whereof I am made
a minister according to the dispensation of God. Oh, beloved. All of God's planning and purpose. All of God's planning and purpose.
And think of this, too. The church of God is family. I heard Brother Jim's messages,
and I was really blessed by them on the way home. And he talked
about, we're family. I like that, because we are.
We are. We're family. We're family. And God's family is called the
house and household of God or the household of faith. And it
has one object, just one object, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ. God is the householder or the master of the family and
part of it is in heaven right now and part of it is on earth.
But one day, One day we'll be all together
in glory. One day we'll be worshiping our King
face to face. Sister Betty's there right now.
She's beholding the King. Beholding the King. Christ is
a son over his own house and ministers are stewards of it.
And their work is to give everyone their portion of meat. Remember,
feed the flock of God. Give everyone their portion of
meat in due season. And the authority comes from
God to do so. It comes from God to do so. The
economy or dispensation of the gospel committed to God's ministers
or preachers or teachers is not of God. It is of God and not of man.
My thoughts went, it's of God and not of man. God makes His
preachers. God gives them the grace to preach.
He gives them the gifts to preach. And it's all His doing. If you
had asked me when I was a teenager growing up and told me I'd be
a preacher, I don't know what I would have said. It wouldn't
have been good. But it was the furthest thing from my mind.
Furthest thing from my mind. Being a Christian was the furthest
thing from my mind. Because I already thought I was
okay, I was a Catholic. But I was lost as a wet goose
in a snowstorm. I had no clue. I didn't know
who God was. I didn't know who Christ was.
And praise God, He saved me by His mercy. And I know it's so
with you who believe too. That you're saved by His mercy
and His grace in Christ. So God's preachers and teachers
are called of God. And He calls His preachers and
teachers to teach and He has us grow and He gives us the power
to feed the church of God by the preaching of the Gospel.
And it's all by the power of the Holy Spirit. He must illuminate
the Scriptures. He must teach. I'm learning right
along with you. It's wonderful. We're growing
together. as we feast on the Word of God
each week. And it's purely the grace of
God that Paul is called, and it's purely the grace of God
that any grace preachers are called. It's purely by the grace
of God that any of us are saved. It's all His doing. It's all
His doing. Paul is a divinely appointed
steward, sent to feed the church of God through the preaching
of the gospel. God's preachers are divinely
sent men, sent to feed the church of God through the preaching
of the gospel. Through the preaching of the
gospel. Hendrickson, a commentator I like to look at, said this
on this portion, the Office of Administrator The office of administrator
of spiritual treasures had been entrusted to him, being Paul
and his helpers. The administrator of spiritual
treasures. I like that. We preach the unsearchable
riches of Christ. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
chapter 3, and I'll read 1 Corinthians chapter 4, which says, Let a
man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards
of the mysteries of God, Moreover, it is required in stewards that
a man be found faithful. And the Gospel preacher, he preaches
about the unsearchable riches of Christ. Look at Ephesians
3, verses 8 and 9. Look at this. Unto me, who am
less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable. You can't plummet. It's like digging in the mine
and you never hit the bottom. The unsearchable, what? Riches
of Christ. And to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ.
called by God according to the dispensation of God, and he was
called from persecuting the church to this ministry of serving the
church. And this is a marvel of God's grace. He's a trophy
of the grace of God, and so are every one of you who believe.
We're all trophies of the grace of God in Christ. It's amazing. Because we know we couldn't save
ourselves, right? We know left to ourselves, we
never would have came to Christ. We had no desire. We didn't even
see a need. But what does God do for a sinner? He shows you your need. He shows
you where you're at. He shows you your state before
Him. What does a sinner do? Oh, he's made willing, isn't
he? And he runs to Christ. He runs
to Christ. His Lord and Savior. His Lord
and Savior. And then, Look at verse 22 again,
tie this in with that. Let's look at verse 21. And you
that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through
death by the shedding of His precious blood on Calvary's cross
to present you. We were sinners, weren't we?
We were enemies in our mind by wicked works, O Beloved, but
to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight.
What a marvel of grace! What a marvel of grace! So Paul
has been called by God according to the dispensation of God to
preach this wonderful gospel of the unsearchable riches of
Christ. Acts chapter 9 says this in verse
15, But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen
vessel. Remember earlier in chapter 9,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And then he says, But the
Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel. What
God has purposed and planned shall come to pass. He's one
of God's sheep. For He's a chosen vessel unto
me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children
of Israel. Mercy. This is mercy. Mercy. Matchless mercy. Boundless grace. And it's all
in and through Christ and Him alone. We must be faithful to
preach Christ in Him crucified. And oh, we pray that God will
give you ears to hear and eyes to look upon Christ and see your
desperate need for Him. He's all that a sinner needs.
And our text now continues. Look at this. Our text continues,
which is given to me for you. Now Paul was commissioned by
the pure, free, and sovereign grace of God as a minister. As a minister. Of which the benefactors
were the Gentiles as well as the Colossians. And think of
this. We're benefactors of his ministry tonight. As we study
this. As we go through this epistle.
Because it's food for us, isn't it? It's sheep food. We love
it. We love to hear about our Savior.
We love to see how He's moved, how God's providentially moved
and works things out all according to the counsel of His own will. And all for His glory and honor
and praise. Now, folks in religion, they
don't have a refuge like we have. Because they're always having
to do things. Oh, what a refuge we have for
our souls. What a refuge in Christ. Which is given to me for you.
Now this was given to Paul and it was not based upon any merits
of his. He was before what? A blasphemer,
a persecutor, an injurious person to Christ and to his gospel and
to the church. But all the grace of God, all
the grace of God was given to him and now he is made a minister. minister amongst the church which
he once persecuted. And it was given to him according
to the pure, free, and sovereign grace of God. And if you're saved
here tonight, it's by the pure, free, and sovereign grace of
God in Christ, plus nothing. Rejoice with me, beloved. It's
wonderful. It's wonderful news. Oh, it's wonderful. Wonderful. So this was given to him again
according to the pure grace of God. Not for himself though,
right? But for the good of others. For
the good of others. For the Gentiles. And especially
for the Colossians too, but for all the Gentiles. Now Vine's
Greek word study says of this statement, which is given to
me for you. The stewardship was assigned
to me with you as its object. Boy, oh boy, that's incredible.
This stewardship was assigned to me with you as its object. So the whole reason for Paul's
calling, the whole reason was that he would be the preacher
to the Gentiles. Not just to the Gentiles, too,
because we know he went in the synagogues and preached. But
you see how God's preachers are servants. It's incredible. It's incredible. The stewardship which God gave
Paul as the Gentiles as his object, that Paul would proclaim Christ
to them. My whole commission from God
is to preach Christ to you. To feed the flock of God. Feed the sheep right here in
Almonte. Right here. And we're amazed that as the
Gospel goes forth, and out it goes in the internet, and it
feeds God's sheep wherever they are. But I'm called right here
in Almonte, Michigan. And it's such a blessing. And
it's an honor. And it's a privilege. And our
text continues. Actually, turn if you would to
Romans 15, verse 16. I'm sorry. Think of this. How amazing is God's planning
and purpose in the fact that He is sovereign over all things,
right? God's sovereign over all things.
He's also sovereign over all events. And he's sovereign over
all people. This is a king. And we marvel,
we marvel, and may we never cease to marvel at the absolute sovereignty
of God. Absolute. There's some folks
who say they believe in the sovereignty of God and you get talking with
them and you find out real quick they really don't believe in
the sovereignty of God because once it steps on their toes then
they're like, oh, well, you know, hold on, that's enough of that.
No, we believe in the absolute sovereignty of God. He's in full
control. He does whatever he pleases. This is his creation. This is his world. It's His. Look at Romans 15,
16. That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
See, remember? Remember the stewardship was
assigned to me with you as its object, right? So the stewardship
which God gave Paul has the Gentiles as its object, right? That I
should be the minister of Jesus Christ, there's the object of
his faith, to the Gentiles. There's the object of who his
stewardship was assigned to. ministering the Gospel of God
that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable being sanctified
by the Holy Ghost. Marvel, just marvel at the grace
of God. He does whatever He pleases.
It's incredible. It's incredible. By the power
of the Holy Spirit of God, God's elect are given grace to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. And what do they do? They repent
of their sins and they flee to Christ. And it is Jesus Christ
our Lord who makes every one of us here to differ from anyone
else we know. It's God who's made us to differ.
And Paul was made to be one of the Lord's apostles, one of the
Lord's ministers. He was made to differ by God.
And this is the marvel. This was all according to God's
eternal purpose. And beloved, if you're one of
His sheep, it was all according to God's eternal purpose. It's marvelous. It's marvelous. It's marvelous. May we never
cease to marvel at God's absolute sovereignty. So what our Lord
has designed Paul To be, think of this, what our Lord had designed
Paul to be before the beginning of time was to preach the gospel
to the Gentiles. Now that's a sovereign God. That's
a sovereign God. It wasn't based on his decision,
Paul's decision. This is a God who's in control,
isn't it? He's not up there wringing His hands, is He? Not from what
we read. No. No, this is a God who's absolutely
sovereign. Look at the end of this verse
here. It says, to fulfill the Word of God. To fulfill the Word
of God. The stewardship was given to
Paul for the church, for God's saints to fulfill the Word of
God. And this is what our text says. So Paul fulfilled his commission
by carrying out the will of God, for he preached the whole counsel
of God. Beloved, he didn't hold back
nothing. And God's preachers don't hold anything back. Nothing. We are not to hold anything back.
Turn, if you would, to Acts 20. And we're looked at verse 27. And what's the result of Paul
declaring unto them the whole counsel of God? Well, sinners
were saved, right? Sinners were saved. Churches
were planted. And the Gospel was faithfully
carried forth. And it was all about Christ.
Look at this. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all
the counsel of God. Acts 20, verse 27. God's preachers
do not hold back. We preach and proclaim Christ
and Him crucified. For I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. And we talk about God's absolute
sovereignty, don't we? Folks don't like it, but we preach
it because it's truth. We preach that God elects a people.
Folks don't like it, but we preach it because it's truth. We preach
that man's absolutely depraved and there's no way you can come
to God on your own. Folks hate it, but we still preach
it because it's truth. We preach that salvation's in
Christ alone, plus absolutely nothing based upon no merit in
us and nothing we do. And folks just grind their teeth.
What? There's nothing I can do? No.
No. Just look to Christ. And we preach
it because it's truth. It's truth. It's what God's Word
declares. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
of the Lord. I stand before you, a man saved
by the grace of God in Christ, plus absolutely nothing. Saved by everything that Christ
has done for me. And I know you who believe, believe
the same way. That it's all His doing. Now
think of this as we've read about how God has purposed all this
with Paul, right? And we know that He planned it
all out before eternity. What rest we have as we go through
this world of woe. Because it's hard sometimes,
isn't it? It's tough. But what comfort
we have is believers. That the God who saved us keeps
us, and he keeps everything going. It's incredible. Oh, we don't
serve a weak God. We serve a sovereign, almighty,
absolute, sovereign God. And we rejoice in that fact.
So Paul was ordained. Turn, if you would, to Romans
15. And I'll read that little portion
again. It says, "...to fulfill the word of God." So Vine says of the word fulfill,
fully discharge my office so that the divine intent will be
fully carried out in the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles,
no less than to the Jews. So the Gospel is going forth
with power. Look at Romans 15. We'll look
at verses 15-21. Nevertheless, brethren, I have
written a more boldly unto you in some sort as putting you in
mind because of the grace that is given to me of God, that I
should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles." So that's
what he was. He was the one who was to go
to the Gentiles. He was the one. ministering the gospel of God,
that the offering up to the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified
by the Holy Ghost. I have therefore wherever I may
glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to
God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which
Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient
by word and deed. Through many signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and
round about I Lyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of
Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach
the Gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build
upon another man's foundation. But as it is written, to whom
he was not spoken of, they shall see, and they that have not heard
shall understand." Was there a day when you who did not see and
you who did not hear was given understanding. Oh, rejoice, beloved. Rejoice. So Paul was the ordained apostle
to the Gentiles that God would use in calling His chosen people
of the Gentile nations by the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. Paul preached then what faithful
men preach today. The message has not changed.
The message has not changed. Now, religions change things
around They've made a perversion of the Gospel and they've added
works, which in Galatians it says it's not a Gospel. It's
a perversion of the Gospel. But the free grace of God in
Christ is still proclaimed by faithful men, and they teach
that salvation is all of the Lord, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the
washing, the regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. It's
all the work of God, which He shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior, not by works of righteousness. Every blood-bought saint is either
saved by the grace of God in Christ, as it is He who has saved us. It's He who has saved us and
called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. Well, what's that say about all
those folks out there trying to work their way to heaven?
It says that they're on the broad road to destruction is what it
says. They're on the broad road to
destruction. not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace. We've been given grace,
we who believe. God's given us grace and faith
to believe, which was given us in Christ
Jesus when? Before the world began. Before
the world began. Oh, what a magnificent Savior.
He's the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And
that which was purposed and planned by God came to pass, didn't it?
Christ died on the cross. The sinner's substitute. And
He redeemed His people from their sins. Remember, He's going to
present us unblameable and unapprovable sinners. Unblameable. Don't you marvel at the grace
of God in Christ? Don't you marvel at the mercy
that He's shown you? It's incredible. And these words from the lips
of our blessed Savior were recorded for our learning and for our
comfort and for our hope. They're in John 6.37. Turn there
if you'd like. Oh, what words of comfort from
our Lord Jesus Christ. What words of hope All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Right? Shall come to me. There's not a doubt there, is
there? Oh, isn't this wonderful? In Him that cometh to me, if
you've come to Christ, look at this. Oh, what rest we can find
here. What hope we can find here as
we go through this world. In Him that cometh to me, I will
no wise cast out. What a great God. What a magnificent
Savior. And God will accomplish His own
eternal purpose, making sure that His written Word shall come
to pass exactly as He intended, right? His Word goes out and
it will not return unto Him. So we've looked at tonight how
Paul has combated the false teachers who say that he has no authority
to teach. who cast doubt on his apostolic
authority and cast doubt upon his being a preacher, a minister. So he's combated these false
teachers by God's Word. And God's ministers are his ministers. They're his. We're God's servants
just like everyone else. We've been called to preach and
it's a high privilege and an honor, but we're God's ministers. He can do with them whatever
He pleases because we're His servants. We're His servants. And I'll tell you from experience,
from being called from Oregon to here, We just stand back amazed. Amazed at what he does. Amazed
at his sovereignty. Amazed at how things have come
to pass. Three years ago, I didn't even
know about y'all here. And I was telling the folks down
in Ashland, I said, I've only been there seven months and I
feel like our hearts are knit together and I feel like I'm
home. And Alan Eisen and I were talking about that, we were going,
Isn't that amazing? That's just the Lord. That's
His doing. That's His doing. And we just
rejoice. We rejoice. We stand back amazed
at the sovereignty of God. And God's preachers are amazed
at how He uses our feeble words to feed the sheep of God. We
never feel adequate in our preaching. We talk to many preachers, we
never do. And we hope we never will. as our strength to proclaim these
words come from God the Holy Spirit, right? Enabling us to
preach Christ. Strengthening us to preach Christ. Pray for me when I study that
God would illuminate the Scriptures. Oh, that I would be able to preach
the unsearchable riches of Christ. It's a mind that just keeps pouring
out gems. And think of this too. When someone
feels like they've arrived, they are in a world of trouble. They're
in a world of trouble, right? God keeps us relying upon Him.
Relying upon Him. And I talked about this this
weekend with the folks down on 13th Street because I remember
listening to a lot of Henry's messages and he always brought
this up. And it's something that has stuck with me. And I'll close
with this. He said, may God never have us
to forget the rock we were hewn from. And you've heard me say
that often. Don't ever forget where you came
from. Don't ever forget the pit you were in. Don't ever forget
the misery you were in. And He saved us. And because
of that, right, we'll be sure to give Him all the glory, won't
we? And give Him all the praise and all the honor. All of it. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for tonight. We pray that you
would teach us as we have looked at the scriptures, Lord, that
you would have us to grow in thee. You must increase, but
we must decrease. And oh, we pray that you take
these words, take this message and use it for your glory and
for your honor. Pray you be with each of us this
week. Give us travel mercies as we travel around, we pray.
And we pray that we would have our eyes focused upon Thee and
our hearts focused upon You. And we love You because You first
loved us. In Jesus' name, Amen.