May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Holy Word.
Let us turn to the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter
15, and we'll read verse 10. The first epistle of Paul to
the Corinthians, chapter 15, and reading verse 10. But by
the grace of God, I am what I am. and his grace which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than
they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me. Well, I hope we can thank God
tonight that we have in the Word of God the life of the Apostle
Paul, at least in some detail. And we see then how he was able
to write such statements as this. And what a blessing it would
be for all of us if we were asked to write down God's dealings
with us, and be able to say, with all humble sincerity, but
by the grace of God, I am what I am. I hope we all realize that
grace, of course, is the free, unmerited favor of God. There's
nothing in us that warrants it, demands it, is the free favour
of Almighty God and therefore how very humbling it should be
if we can trace out in our life God's gracious working within
us. You know the Apostle Paul tells
us how the Lord did come and how the Lord did indeed convert
him. And perhaps one of the simplest
occasions is when he was before King Agrippa. And he gave a testimony
of how the Lord came and dealt with him and what he was before. and to realize that really, left
to ourselves, we won't be able to throw any stones at the Apostle
Paul, we'll have to acknowledge that he writes honestly and truthfully. And he tells us about his life,
he says, my manner of life from my youth, which was at the first
among my own nations at Jerusalem, know all the Jews which knew
me from the beginning, if they would testify that after the
most straightest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. Many people today, just like
Paul, they live a Pharisee. They pretend the reality of religion. They don't actually walk it out. And so now he comes and tells
us, and now I stand and am judged for the hope and the promise
made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise are twelve
tribes instantly serving God, day and night, hope to come,
for which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. And then we read what happened
to him when he was urgent and keen to convict all those who
professed the name of Christ, willingly taking them and cast
them in prison and sometimes having them executed. And he
tells us, being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them
even unto strange cities. Well, we may not have been physically
mad against them, but we may have been mad inside. We may
have not wanted to listen to what God's people speak about. Then, in Paul's life, he tells
us, he was going to Damascus. And at midday, O king, I saw
in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun.
shining round about me, and them which journey with me. And when
all were fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto
me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. I wonder whether any here are
in that condition, are rebelling against God. In essence, they're
saying, I don't want this man to rule over me. I want to run
my own life. I don't want to be handicapped
by being a Christian. I don't want to follow the things
of God. I want to follow my own way. And the apostle was moved to
ask the question, who are thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus,
whom thou persecutest. Well, again, I wonder whether
we're amongst those who persecute the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, that
means walking contrary to Him. That means not doing His will. What a sad thing it is. The Apostle
Paul had been brought up, defeated Gamaliel, he'd heard the truth
of God, and he rebelled against it. But the blessing is that
God had mercy upon him. And what a blessing for us today,
if God has mercy upon us. And that's why the Apostle was
able to come and speak like this, and say, but by the grace of
God, I am what I am. Left to himself, he would never
have been a Christian. My friends, left to ourselves. We would never be Christians.
We might be an outward Christian. We may pretend that we're a Christian. but we would never be a true
Christian until, like it was in the case of the Apostle Paul,
the Lord came and called him, called him by the grace of God. And as we think of the Apostle
Paul, we might think, well, that's a very outstanding, of course,
position, and so it was. But we're thankful that God in
his great mercy has also recorded a simple account of Lydia, who
was a seller of purple, she was a merchant, and she was by the
riverside at a prayer meeting, and what happened was, Paul was
preaching, and God opened her heart. to receive the truths
that the apostle preached. Well, perhaps we may not be able
to say, well, I wasn't, I've never seen a great light, but
we may be able to say the Lord's touched our hearts. The Lord's opened our hearts
to receive the Word of God. Now, both of those situations
needed the grace of God, the free unmerited favour of God. But my friends, every one of
us needs to have the blessed testimony and experience that
Almighty God has not passed us by He's not passed us by, but
he's come where we were, come where we are, and spoken to our
hearts. And what a blessing, like it
was with Paul, like it was with Lydia, they were changed people.
Those, my friends, who've been blessed with the grace of God
are changed people. They're a new creature. They
possess the wonderful gift of the new birth. And their desires
are changed. Their attitudes change. What a wonderful blessing it
is, if that is true for us. My friends, let us be very clear. Real religion is so important. and so vital. We cannot just
sail along on life's sea thinking, well, everything will be all
right in the end. We don't know whether it will
be, whether we're suddenly taken from this earth. What a blessing
it will be then to have this evidence that we're able to say,
by the grace of God, I am what I am. Well, Paul was able to
bring this to the Corinthians and it was an honest statement.
Yes, he was called to preach the gospel. Not everyone's called
to preach the gospel, but my friends, everyone needs the grace
of God and everyone wants to be able to come and say this,
by the grace of God, I am what I am. I'm not what I was. The Lord has graciously come
and touched my heart. Indeed, the Lord has graciously
come and called me. Called me. He called the apostle.
He called Lydia. He calls every true believer.
A divine call from the majesty on high. What a mercy. Therefore, if you and I can look
back in our lives, look back in our lives and if we can't
look back in our lives to be earnestly praying that we may
know the grace of God the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ you
know it's so important it's so vital it's so necessary people
today are so easily swayed to follow the vanities of this world
the devil's a great deceiver. He always has been, and he always
will be, down to the end of time. But friends, be encouraged, the
devil is a vanquished foe, because the Lord Jesus Christ died that
glorious death upon the cross at Calvary, and Satan was not
able to overturn it. He never will be able to. He
may try to sometimes in our lives and try and pretend to us when
it wasn't real. But my friends, may we be able
to understand and may we be able to truly believe the great and
glorious word of God so that even when we were spiritually
dead, The Holy Spirit came and made us alive. It's a great blessing,
you know, if that happens. The second chapter in Ephesians
is a well-known chapter, and I hope we're aware of it. He
tells us in the second chapter in the fifth verse, he says this,
well, perhaps verse four, but God who is rich in mercy for
his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in
sins, no spiritual life, dead in sins, following the course
of this poor world, pleasing ourselves, walking contrary to
the word of God, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened,
made us alive together with Christ. what a blessing that is and so
he goes on and says by grace ye are saved it's a tremendous
statement isn't it how wonderful it is if you and I tonight able
to agree with that statement that by God's grace we have been
saved that means we've been made spiritually alive once we were
dead but by God's grace we're now alive well it's a great and
wonderful mercy and you can read through this second chapter of
Ephesians we won't read it but just come on to this 8th verse
which is very similar for by grace are you saved through faith
God gives faith God gives faith to believe not something you
and I can drum up It's not something you and I can work up, it's God's
gift. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and he says, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God. Just ponder that, the thing that
God gives. And what a mercy if we have the
evidence that God has given it to us, this wonderful gift of
grace, unmerited favour of God, so that whereas we were dead,
spiritually, now, by God's favour and mercy toward us, we are spiritually
alive. Surely we can, if we have the
evidence of it, go on our way rejoicing and praising God for
his love toward us, utterly unmerited. He tells us, not of works, lest
any man should boast. You and I won't be able to boast
of what we've done, but we will be able to boast of what the
glorious God has done in our souls. Not of works, lest any man should
boast, for we are his workmanship. It's God's work. God's made the
change. We were dead in trespasses and
in sins. And it's caused us to live. As we can read in Ezekiel, he
passed by and saw us in our blood and said, live. Well, my friends,
what a mercy. If you and I have the evidence
of spiritual life, we have natural life. the more important thing
is to have spiritual life. Because if we have spiritual
life, we will be eternally alive in glory with the Saviour forever
and ever. It's a wonderful prospect to
contemplate to meditate upon. When all the things of time are
finished, when this earth is no longer, realize that we shall
be forever with the Lord. And so here he tells us, for
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Yes, we're not to just waste
our time on this earth. Probably we can all look back
in our lives and realize how much time we've wasted. How much time we've given to
the devil. We've listened to his encouragements
and we've done things contrary to the truth of God's word. And
we've tried to excuse ourselves and we've tried to think it was
all right. Reality is we walk contrary to God. But because
of His grace, He hasn't cast us off. It's because of His love,
He hasn't cast us off. It's because of His mercy, He
hasn't cast us off. So where are we tonight? Which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. What a mercy, therefore, if we
are under this blessed and wonderful influence from Almighty God. When God came and it pleased
Him, pleased God to separate us. There we were in the world
of it, pleased to be of it, until the time when Almighty God came
and separated us. And what a mercy it is. The Apostle
tells us, when he wrote to the Galatians, but when it pleased
God, the appointed time rolls on a pace, not to propose, but
call by grace. I wonder if we can agree that's
occurred in our lives. Yes, the time came. when God
didn't just propose it to us, but he called us. And so the apostle says, when
it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by his grace. Wonderful, isn't it? The apostle's
able to testify that as he wrote to the Galatians to reveal his
Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood. It was that personal relationship
that the Apostle had with Almighty God. What a mercy if God deals
with us likewise and deals with us in love to our souls. Well, here we have this statement
then, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. Can we say that tonight? Can
we say it in our little lives? It's important, isn't it? By
the grace of God, I am what I am. That change is through the unmerited
favour of God. He looked upon me, saw me ruined
in the fall and yet loved me notwithstanding all. My friends
don't forget real religion is personal. It's a personal dealing
between our soul and God. You can't go to heaven on your
parents' religion. You can't go to heaven on your
friend's religion. My friends, it's a personal religion
which you and I need. And it's a wonderful blessing
if by the grace of God we are able to testify the Lord has
looked upon me and he's called me just like he called Paul. Paul was on the Damascus road
pleasing himself. God knew where he was. And therefore the time came when
the Holy Spirit called him. All of us need to know that,
my friends, in our life. Let us not just carry on aimlessly,
just hoping somehow things will be all right in the end. We do need to know. And if we
need to know, to be able to praise God for what he's done and to
testify of what he's done. You know, the testimony of a
believer is God-honoring. And again, let me recite, you
and I are on this earth not for our own joy or privilege, it's
to bring honor and glory to our God. The whole purpose of the
plan of salvation is to glorify the name of the Savior. And if
the Lord has come and touched our hearts, and caused us to
receive this grace of God, our desire will be to honour and
to glorify God. When we think of what He's done
in order to redeem our soul, what He's done in order for us
to receive this grace of God, it's not something which is negligible,
it's a great and glorious work of God in our hearts and caused
us to receive his word. Well, what a wonderful blessing
it is. Well, the apostle tells us, and
his grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain. You see, if God calls us by his
grace, it's for a purpose. It's for a purpose. And we have
to come and realize this great truth. You're not your own. You're bought for the price. I've told you sometimes, I knew
very well, a very wealthy farmer. I knew him towards the end of
his life. And he told me on one occasion, you know, God came and called me. when I was 14. And he said, I realized I was
bought with a price. He said, I also realized, therefore,
I was not my own. I was to serve the Lord. And for all his life, by the
grace of God, he served the Lord. and the Lord wonderfully blessed
him spiritually and wonderfully blessed him naturally what was
true in his case surely should be our desire that we might realise
that the Lord's come and spoken to us quicken us as the Word
of God tells us we're not our own no, but the Lord Jesus Christ
has bought us He's bought us. And do you know what the price
was? To buy you, to buy me, it was
the death of the Savior. That was the price that was required. What a price was paid to such
unworthy and hell-deserving sinners. who didn't deserve any notice. And it's good when the Holy Spirit
brings us to that position, to realize we didn't deserve any
notice. Indeed, the Apostle tells us
in the earlier verses in this chapter, he tells us about the
Apostles, etc., and he comes and says, And last of all, he
was seen in me also. as one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles,
that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted
the church of God. It's good you know he wrote also
to Timothy when he said he was less than the least of all saints. that's the wonderful evidence
of God's work in our hearts when he's called us by his grace yes
we're not any great person the apostle said and just note what
he said less than the least of all saints that was the view
of himself what a mercy it is if God brings us to that condition
and that situation, to look at ourselves and realize, quoting
another scripture, in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. And yet God, in his infinite
mercy and love, calls us in the same way that he called the Apostle
Paul out of darkness into the glorious light of the Gospel. And when that call comes, and
it's a change in our lives, and we wonder that we never realised
it before, we never really understood the great truth of the Gospel,
but what a mercy if God has come therefore and called us and touched
our hearts. Well the apostle of course was
indeed greatly blessed. We know he was greatly blessed
because he was the last of the apostles. He took the place of
Judas Iscariot and what a mercy it was and therefore he was caught
up into the third heaven and he tells us about that amazing
experience he had in the second epistle to the Corinthians and
in the 12th chapter he says, it is not expedient for me doubtless
to glory in himself. I will come to visions and revelations
of the Lord and it's very interesting how he gives this account. He
gives it in the third person so that he doesn't say, I this
and I that. He gives it in the third person
so that God would receive the glory and not the apostle. I
knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, quite a long time
before, wasn't it? Whether in the body, I cannot
tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth such
a one caught up to the third heaven And I knew such a man,
whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God
knows how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a
man will I glory, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine
infirmities. Well, that was a very wonderful
and glorious revelation to the Apostle Paul, and it was needful
for him in the office that he fulfilled. But nonetheless, it's
a blessing if God gives us a spiritual experience. It won't be like
that. but nonetheless a spiritual experience
to know that we are amongst those whom Almighty God has called
and Almighty God is leading and Almighty God is directing. Well, so the Apostle tells us,
but by the grace of God I am what I am. It was only through God's grace. So where do we stand tonight? Do we agree with Paul? Can we
stand alongside Paul? Can we say in our little lives,
by the grace of God, remember the free unmerited favor of God,
I am what I am. God has made the change. It's through his great mercy
and love towards me. It is calm and it called me out
of this sinful world. What a mercy then to have such
a God. And as we realise, again coming
back to the cost of our salvation, The cost of this grace which
God gives to all of his church and every true believer is a
recipient of this wonderful gift of God's grace and a mercy when
God gives it to us and we ponder and realise the cost of it. And that brings us into a good
position to realise How wonderful it is that Almighty God should
have looked upon me. He saw me ruined in the fall,
and yet loved me, notwithstanding all. The hymn writer has it right,
doesn't he? He saw me. Well, can we testify
to God's glory? He saw me. He saw me. There I was, in this sinful world,
carrying on the poor things of time, until that gracious call came.
And like the Apostle Paul, we are therefore able to come and
say, yes, by God's grace, I am. what I am. It doesn't mean to
say our life will be easy. The Apostle's life wasn't easy. If you read the Apostle's life
in the Acts of the Apostles you will see it wasn't easy at all. No, he had to suffer very much
but we're thankful to know that he was indeed blessed and as
we read the second of Corinthians in the 12th chapter And there
we read about the Apostle Paul and what he had to suffer. And
he tells us, he says this. I read how he had that glorious
vision. And then we can read on. For
though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I
will say the truth. But now I forebear, lest any
man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be,
or that heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted
above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was
given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet
me, lest I should be exalted above measure. Now, my friends,
we don't know what that was. except that it was a messenger
of Satan and it buffeted him. Perhaps we have that in our lives.
Other people don't know anything about it. You know about it. You find it very difficult. You find the devil perhaps, as
it were, almost at your right hand buffeting you. Perhaps you
might pray earnestly that this may be taken from you. And you
might think that's a very good and honourable prayer, and so
it is. But we read of the apostle, for
this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart
from him. You might think, well of course,
the apostle was a godly man, he's prayed, and God will deliver
him from it. We're told this, the Lord said,
my grace, is sufficient for thee. For my
strength is made perfect in weakness." He wasn't delivered from it.
But we're told God's strength was made perfect in the Apostle's
weakness. And so he comes and says this,
most gladly. Therefore would I rather glory
in my infirmities and the power of Christ may rest upon me. And we might think, what does
that really refer to? Well, I believe it refers to
this, that you and I, by God's grace, may enter into, in small
measure, the sufferings of Christ. I've said to you on many occasions
that it's one of the greatest blessings and favours to be united
to Christ in his sufferings. To the flesh, it's not a pleasant
position, but to the spirit, it's a wonderful evidence that
we are joined to Christ and we're privileged to walk with him. And that's why the apostle is
able to make such a statement, most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my affirmations that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. He wanted the power of Christ
to be seen. The power of Christ which gave
him patience and willingness to endure. Yes, sometimes we
don't like suffering, we don't like difficulties. But when the
Lord Jesus comes and shows us what he had to suffer, what he
had to endure, and he prayed to his father, didn't he? Remember
in Gethsemane, there he was, sweating as it were, great drops
of blood, and he prayed to his father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. What was that? It was submission.
to the will of his Father. And my friends, it's a blessing
today if we are blessed with this grace from God to endure,
yes, to endure until the end. And there will be an end of our
little sufferings on this earth. And the most is only for a few
years and then to be with Christ and to go and to be with Christ,
that one who we've been joined to. on this earth. We've understood
something of what he endured to save our souls. How humbling
it is to have this fellowship with his sufferings. That's what,
isn't it, the Apostle Paul desired, again when he wrote to the Philippians,
and he tells us that wonderful, glorious truth when he says,
and he says that I might know the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his
death. It's good that the apostle wrote
such great truths when he addressed the Philippians. And my friends,
it's good that you and I have these statements addressed to
us today. They're appropriate for you and
me. We might think, well, None so tempted as me. None has to
live such a difficult path as me. No one has so much opposition
as me. Well, just ponder what the Apostle
wrote to the Hebrews and he advised this. Consider him. That's the
secret. Consider him. And as you and
I consider him, everything falls into place. And we have a right
perspective of our little life. And we have a right understanding
of the mercy and goodness of God in leading us in this path. Remember, as we read in the Psalms,
107th Psalm, He led them forth by the right way that they might
go to a city of habitation, that eternal place of glory. And it is In this path, the Lord
leads his people by the right way that they might go to a city
of habitation. Don't expect an easy life, but
do expect a good end. What a mercy, therefore, to realise
that we have a suffering saviour. Again, who knows what you and
I are passing through. He's planned it. It's all planned
for us. And the purpose is to make us
conformable unto his image, to prepare us for our eternal home,
for that place reserved for us in glory, and to recognize this
great truth by the grace of God I am what I am. God gives us
grace to endure unto the end. God gives us grace to hold on
our way. God gives us grace to resist
the devil, that he may flee from it, from us. It's all of grace,
my friends, the wonderful mercy of God. And it comes down to
this, doesn't it? His love toward us. His love
in time past. forbids us to think, He'll leave
us at last in trouble to sink. No, God is faithful. Let us not forget that. We have
a kind and gracious God and we have the whole Word of God to
guide us and direct us as we journey on through our little
life here on this earth. Well, can we say, with the Apostle,
I hope we can, and if we can't, I hope we desire to be able to
say this truly from our heart, not just a mere theory or just
a mere statement, but really from our heart, and be able to
say, by the grace of God, I am what I am. It's only because
of his favor towards me, so I'm merited, that I have a hope of
the great gift of eternal life. And to think that one day, by
his grace, I shall be in glory with the Saviour. All things
on this earth will pass away. Our life will pass away. But
remember, the Lord remains. The Lord remains. My friends,
may we by grace be enabled to set our hearts and our affections
upon things above and not on things on the earth. The things
of the earth pass away. The things above are eternal. What a difference! It's good
to try and ponder the difference between time and eternity. You won't be able to. It's just
too vast a subject. but nonetheless to try and have
a little understanding of eternity and look forward to the glorious
prospect. of being with the Saviour forever
and ever, no parting, no parting, and in glory, no sin, no sorrow,
no pain, peace and everlasting happiness with the Saviour and
with the whole Church of God. Well, may we ponder these things
and rejoice in them and recognize the wonder of God's grace. And if we have the evidence of
it in our lives, as the apostle had, as the saints of God had,
to be able to rejoice in it and to thank God for it and to praise
him for it, we have to come and say, what was there in me? to
merit esteem, or give my creator delight. Was even so, Father,
we ever must sing, because it seemed good in thy sight. Oh, the grace of God. My friends,
let us come tonight and let us praise God. from the bottom of our hearts
and praise God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.