I please God to be with us as
we meditate in his word as we continue our thoughts in the
first chapter of the epistle of Paul to the Galatians and
we'll read tonight from verses 10 to 12. That's Galatians chapter
1 and reading verses 10 to 12. For do I now persuade men or
God? Or do I seek to please men? For
if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man. For I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ. As Paul continues this letter
to the Galatians, we get some idea of the concern he has and
the sincerity by which he writes to them, desiring that they might
indeed truly hear and observe the words that he says, that
they're not just his words, but they are the word of God. It commences by asking the question,
for do I now persuade men or God? You might think that's a
rather unusual word. Well, this word persuade can
also be translated obey. And if we think of it in that
way, for do I now obey men or God? Well, we know, of course,
that the apostles' great concern was only to obey God. And may that be our concern to
only obey God and to leave men when they depart from the word
or the ways of God. You see, Paul didn't want to
be a man pleaser. You know, Paul wanted to please
God. And how important that is in
our lives today that we are concerned to follow the example and the
testimony of the Apostle Paul so that we might be concerned
to not please man, but please God, because as he says, for,
well, do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should
not be the servant of Christ. We cannot be those who please
men if we stay and stick to the great truth of the gospel. Because
the Word of God is like the sword, it's sharp, quick and sharp.
Sharper than any two-edged sword is God's Word and it pierces
us under. It digs deep into our heart and
therefore it's not something that is naturally attractive
to us. when the Holy Spirit applies
His Word. We should know that it is the
Word of God. And so, as the Apostle says,
do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should
not be the servant of Christ. And of course, the Apostle was
the servant of Christ, as we've thought upon previously. His
testimony to confirm that he was an Apostle, that God had
called him in a most wonderful way and a most gracious way to
declare the unsearchable riches of Christ. That was his wonderful
privilege and so it is to the Church of God, the servants of
God, to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ and nothing
that compare to it because those riches are not temporal, they're
not just Passing, they are eternal. And what a great blessing it
is if you and I are possessors of such wonderful favors. And so the apostle, therefore,
he said he didn't preach what people wanted to hear, but he
preached what they needed to hear. And there is a big difference. What a blessing it is when the
Holy Spirit applies the word of God to the hearts of those
that hear, so that they find they have a need, and they find
that need is supplied only in and through the merits of the
Lord Jesus Christ. But I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. It wasn't the gospel of a man. It was the gospel of God. And
the apostle tells us what that was when he wrote to the Corinthians. And in the first chapter of the
Corinthians, he tells us what he preached. But we preach Christ
crucified. That's the secret of the gospel. But we preached Christ crucified. Was it something which was acceptable
to men and women? He tells us, unto the Jews, it
was a stumbling block. And unto the Greeks, foolishness. We might say the majority of
mankind come under that category. But unto them which are called,
he mentioned this recently, this is the effectual call of God. It's not the general call, it's
the effectual call. And here we have this blessed
effectual call, but unto them which are called both Jews and
Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Well, you see, there is salvation
in none other name. but in the name of Jesus. And the Apostle desired that
Christ might be lifted up and that Christ might be honoured
and glorified and through such preaching there might be many
who might be taught of the Holy Spirit and brought to know themselves
as a sinner and the Lord Jesus Christ as their great and glorious
Saviour. Now, to preach such things, of
course, wasn't easy and when he wrote to Timothy he encouraged
him and he said for the witch cause I also suffer these things
nevertheless I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed
the Apostle had a testimony the Apostle had an experience the
Apostle had been called and therefore he was by the grace of God, able
to declare confidently and yet humbly, and it's right to be
able to confess humbly and yet rightly to know, for I know whom
I have believed. And not only that, he says, but
I am persuaded that he's able to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day. You see, if we come by God's
grace to commit our soul unto our God, we can be sure the Lord
will be gracious. He will not turn us away. He
will not forsake us. No, He will be unto us light
and life. And so here was the apostle saying,
for I neither received it of man, nor was I taught it but
by the revelation of God. Yes, and God had indeed spoken
to him and God had revealed his truth to him. And when the apostle
opened his letter to the Hebrews, he commenced with very deep and
yet very wonderful words. He said, God, who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son. Well, isn't that wonderful to
know that we have the Word of God, and we have the words of
Jesus in the... I know, of course, the Lord Jesus speaks through
the Old Testament, but also we have it here in the New Testament.
"...whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He
made the worlds." Yes, the Lord Jesus created all things, "...who
being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, the
word of God, what a powerful word it is, whom when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
majesty on high. Just three verses, my friends,
how wonderfully full and comprehensive they are. and to have the evidence,
as the Apostle had, that his sins had been purged. And to
know, therefore, that our sins are purged, that means taken
away, that means washed away. And to believe, therefore, that
when the Lord finished that work His Father gave Him to do, He
took His rightful place on the throne, with His Father on the
right hand. What a wonderful a blessing to
comprehend such a truth as this. For I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ. And he goes on to speak to us
about the evidence that he was indeed sent forth by the Holy
Spirit, whereof, he says in Ephesians 3, verse 7 to 8, whereof I was
made a minister. according to the gift of the
grace of God given unto me by the effectual working. We've
spoken about the effectual calling, and here we have the effectual
working of His power. You see, when the Lord works
by His power, it is effectual. And bless God, it can't be halted,
it can't be stopped. Unto me, the Apostle came to
confess what he was. And what a good thing it is when
the Holy Spirit enables us, by his grace, to see what we are.
And may it be just like the Apostle, unto me, who am less than the
least of all saints. Yes, less than the least of all
saints. He didn't view himself as a great man at all. He viewed
himself in this rightful position What a blessing when the Holy
Spirit brings us to realise that we are no better. In fact, we
may feel worse. It is this grace given that I
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Now, the Apostle lays before
us. the true gospel, and there is
only one true gospel. There are many false gospels
today, false gospels of decision, of words, charismatic and social
gospels. But you see, the gospel, the
true gospel is centered upon the Lord Jesus Christ and his
finished work. And without a personal knowledge
that you and I have an interest in it, then we are forever lost. But if we have the evidence that
the Holy Spirit has called us out of nature into the glorious
light of the Gospel, to know Him, whom to know, is life eternal. Then, my friends, what great
blessing is ours. So as we ponder these three verses
tonight, to realise how relevant they are, not only to the Galatians,
but to the Church of God, down through ages, and to us even
tonight. For do I now persuade men, O
God, or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should
not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man, for I
neither received it of man, Neither was I taught it but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ and of course we know that occurred when he
was on the Damascus road and also when he was caught up into
the third heaven. He had a very clear testimony
that God had revealed himself unto him as his saviour, as his
lord and his master. Blessed be God. Amen.