Alright, turn back with me again
to Galatians 1. Galatians 1. We just read this text. Verses 1 to 5. And after I read this, these
10 statements Popped into my mind. 10 statements. This is our testimony. We don't stand up and give our
testimony here. This is our testimony. All right? This is what we believe. Let's
read this again. 10 statements. Let me tell you
what they are and then we'll read it. Here they are. Who I
am. What I am. by whom I am, who
I'm with, to whom this is, what it is, from whom it comes, what He did,
under whose authority He did it. And what do we have to say
to these things? That's our testimony, isn't it?
Alright, let's read this again. Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither
by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised
Him from the dead. And all the brethren which are
with me unto the churches of Galatia, Grace be to you in peace,
from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave
Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present
evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, to
whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I immediately thought of 1 John
1.5 that says, This then is the message, which we have heard
of Him and declare unto you. Verse 1 says, Paul. Now we just went to this Crossville
conference this weekend, and four men whom
I have known for a long time preached And the one thing that'll
stand out about all four of those men, if you listen to them, is
their humility. They're humble, humble men. They really are. I love the humility
in God's people. Religion can be a very arrogant
thing. But when the Lord reveals the
truth to a person, they get humble. Very humble. In this world of
pride and vanity, it is so refreshing, it's just refreshing to see the
humility of a believer. Now, Paul does not say Saint
Paul. He doesn't say Reverend Paul. He does not say Dr. Paul, Father
Paul. He doesn't even say the Apostle
Paul. I was driving back from Crossville yesterday and I passed
a van, I can't remember the guy's name, but it was the Dr. Reverend so-and-so on the side,
you know. That guy, man, he's something.
He just says Paul. And then he says an Apostle.
He doesn't deny that he was made that by God. He won't deny that. But he just calls himself Paul. The truth and the realization
of sin is going to keep a man very low. The more we learn about
sin, the lower we become. Just very low. I am just Gabe. That's all. I don't go around
introducing myself as Reverend Gabe or anything. I'm just Gabe. That's all I am. The flesh causes people to say,
look at what I'm doing for God. Look at what I'm doing. Don't
you know who I am? The truth is gonna cause a person
to say, who am I? Paul says, who am I? Paul's brethren, listen to what
they said. There are two Johns in the scripture. John the Baptist, And John the
Apostle, that was always confusing to me for a while. I used to
think John the Baptist wrote the Gospel of John. He didn't.
John the Apostle wrote it. John the Baptist, they asked
him, who art thou? And he said, I'm just a voice. I'm not even worthy to tell you
my name. I'm not going to tell you my name. John the Apostle
penned the Gospel of John. He would not write his own name
in the epistle. He just called himself the one
whom the Lord loved. That is humility. Isn't that
refreshing? I'd like to talk to those guys.
I will one day. Who am I? I'll tell you who I
am. Nobody. I'm nobody. All right, now, what am I? Okay, in Galatians 1 verse 1,
Paul calls himself an apostle. But he's only doing this to state
fact. That's all he's doing. He's only
doing this to give authority to his message. He's only saying
this out of obedience to the Master's command. The Lord said,
if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. So he
calls himself an apostle. But turn over to 1 Timothy 1. Here in 1 Timothy 1, this is
what he says about himself, okay? Verse 12, he said, I thank Christ
Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me For that He counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry. Who was before a blasphemer,
and a persecutor, and injurious, but I obtained mercy because
I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was
exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. He said, let me tell you the
truth. This is a faithful saying, and it's worthy of all acceptation,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom
I am the chief. I'm the chief. Isn't it amazing
how the Lord raised Paul up from being a murderer to being an
apostle? Isn't that amazing? He didn't
cause him to be born and live this perfect, wonderful life
of the Pope, you know, and he just, he was a murderer. God
made him an apostle. Most people in high positions,
they try to hide their past. You look at politics, some of
them won't even disclose their birth certificate. They try to
hide the past, right? Paul keeps bringing it up. Every
epistle, he keeps bringing it up. He keeps telling everybody. They said to John the Baptist,
so you're the man who's sent to prepare the way of the Lord,
huh? He said, man, I'm not worthy to unloose the latchets on his
shoes. I'm nobody. What am I? I'll tell you what I am. I'm
just a sinner. Nothing at all. And Jesus Christ
is my all and in all. Heaven, when the Lord brings us home
and we're in heaven with Him, heaven is a place full of nothings
and nobodies. You're going to be bumping into
nobody all the time. They're all going to be in total
agreement saying, Jesus Christ is everything. He is all. But Paul says here, praise be
to God, He's made me an apostle. One taught directly by the Lord
Jesus Christ. What he's telling is, how great
things the Lord has done for me. It's amazing. I was a murderer
and He made me an apostle. True believers say, I'm the lowest
of the least. But in the Lord Jesus Christ,
as long as I'm in Him, I can be called a saint of God. Isn't
that amazing? A child of God. I can be sanctified. I can be called righteous in
Him. By whom am I? That's our next
statement. Who I am by. Our text back in
Galatians 1 says, Paul, an apostle, not of
men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who
raised Him from the dead. Not of men. This calling is of
God. He said, I was called to be an
apostle. Look at verse 11. He said, I
certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of
me is not after man. For I neither received it of
man, and neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ. Paul was literally taught the
gospel by the Lord Jesus Christ in person. And so are we. They shall all be taught of God.
We cannot physically see Him like Paul did, but they shall
all be taught of God. This calling is of God. Now, I met a man, I think I told
you about him, in Rocky Mount. He came into my store that I
had. And a nice fellow. And he introduced himself as
Apostle, whatever his name was. He wanted to buy something from
me. And he said, you know, how are you doing, Apostle so-and-so?
I said, how are you doing? And he said, I'm an apostle in
Russia. He said, I've done a lot of humanitarian work over there.
He said humanitarian work. We did a lot of orphanages over
there and things like that. And he said, and thanks for all
that, they made me an apostle. That's not Paul's testimony.
He said, I saw God. God did this. Lord, what would
you have me to do? A true calling is of God. A call to salvation, a call to
believe, it is of God. And a sinner knows, God called
me. Nobody convinced me or put me
into this. God called me. Alright, now Galatians
1 verse 2. who I'm with, okay? Verse 2 says,
"...all the brethren which are with me." I'm with all the brethren
of light faith. All who believe in and only in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Any friend of His is a friend
of mine. You go to conferences and you
run into people that you never met before. And you find out,
you listen to them, you talk to them for a minute, and you
find out this person loves the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm with you. I am with you. I'm for you. What do you need? I'm here for
you. Turn over with me to Psalm 133. I love this verse. Psalm 133 verse 1 says, Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity. Is that not one of the sweetest
gifts that the Lord has given to His people? It's sweet. Unity. Don't turn. Just listen to Philippians chapter
4. This is verses 21 through 23. Salute every saint in Christ
Jesus. The brethren which are with me
greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly
they that are of Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen. Salute every saint. I love you. I really do. The Lord has put love in me for
you. God's people love God's people. That's who I want to be with.
Who I am, what I am, by whom I am, who I'm with. Now let's look at to whom this
is. To whom this is, okay? Who this message is to. Galatians
1 verse 2 says, the last half says, it's unto the churches
of Galatia. Paul wrote many letters to the
churches. There are many churches, but
there is one church. One church. One body. Although these letters were written
to different places, they all say, if you think about this,
they all say the exact same thing. They're all written to the same
people. Romans 1, you can turn if you
want to or I'll quote them to you, but Romans 1 verse 7 says,
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints,
grace to you and peace. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 2 says this, Unto the church
of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in
Christ Jesus called to be saints." That's who that's to. Ephesians 1 verse 1 says, Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints
which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. That's who that one's to. Philippians
1. Verse 1 says, Paul and Timotheus,
the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus,
which are at Philippi. That's who that was to. Colossians
1. Verse 2 says, to the saints and
faithful brethren in Christ, which are at Colossae. Grace
be to you. 1 Thessalonians 1 says, Paul
and Silvanus and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians,
which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace
be to you. That's who that one's written
to. Who is this message to? It's to all those who are called. All those who are chosen by God. Chosen to be saints. chosen to
be sanctified, chosen to be faithful. What that means is God is in
control. He's done whatever He pleases. And then He wrote a letter to
those whom He chose to save. That's what it means. The only
way any of that's possible is in the Lord Jesus Christ. This
Gospel Good News message is for all those who are in Christ.
Now, here's a side note. How does a person get in Christ? How does a person get? Isn't
that important? We talk about you must be in
Christ. You must be in Christ. Well, here's the next question.
How does a person get in Christ? Well, if you feel that there's
a possibility, you might be outside. If you think there's a possibility,
you might be an outsider. And if you really want to know
how to get in Christ, ask Him that very question. That's what
I would do. I would ask Him that very question,
Lord, I see that I must be in You. How do I get in You? Would You put me in You? He said,
if you truly ask, you will receive. You will. Alright, well our text
says, Who I am, what I am, by whom I am, who I'm with, to whom
this is, And now, what is it? What is the message? Our text
in Galatians 1 verse 3, it says, Grace be to you and peace. Grace be to you and peace. We
preach grace. That's what we believe. By grace. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. It's all by grace. Grace is the
free gift of God. That's what grace means. That
gift is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the grace of God. Grace
be to you in peace. He is our peace. He's the Prince
of Peace. He's the giver and He's the gift. He is the giver and He's the
gift. Paul says, that's what I want
for you, peace. If we're in Him, we can have
peace with God. We really can. We can have peace
with each other. We really can. We can have peace within ourselves.
We really can. He will cause us to know He made
peace for us. Grace and peace be to you. Alright, now how did He do that?
Verse 4 says, He gave Himself for our sins
that He might deliver us from this present evil world. That's
how He did it. Turn with me over to Matthew
20. Matthew chapter 20, verse 27 says, And whosoever
will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as
the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister
and to give His life a ransom for many. That's what He came
to do. That song, I love it. It says,
As poor wretched sinners, no God and no hope. It seemed there
was no one to help. But God in His mercy, salvation
supplied. He emptied heaven and He came
down here Himself. Not to be ministered to, but
to minister. Why did He do that? He gave Himself. Why did He do that? Here's why. He loved me. That's the only
reason. That is the only reason. I didn't
do anything to merit Him leaving glory and coming down here and
shedding His own blood for my filthy, rotten sin. I didn't
do one thing to earn it or deserve it. The only reason He did is
because He loved me. Isn't that amazing? That's our testimony. He gave
Himself. Alright, now, under whose authority
did He do this? Our text back in Galatians 1
verse 4 says, He gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver
us from this present evil world according to the will. of God and our Father. He said, I delight to do Thy
will, O God. He was obedient unto death. Under whose authority did He
do it? He did it according to the will of God and our Father. Now, I love this verse. I want
you to notice this, okay? A good one to know. Verse 1 says,
Paul, an apostle, not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus
Christ and God the Father. Well, Jesus is not God. He's
the Son of God. By Jesus Christ and God the Father. Verse 3 says, Grace be to you
and peace from God the Father. and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, He's not God. God is the Father and then you
have Jesus Christ. Alright, now look at verse 4. "...who gave Himself for our
sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world
according to the will of God and our Father." Jesus Christ
is God. He is God. All authority has been given
unto Him. He said, if you've seen Me, you've
seen the Father. I and My Father are one. And I'm just going to very quickly,
you don't have to turn, John 5, verses 19 to 27. It's a wonderful
text to read. John 5, 19 to 27. It says this. Then answered Jesus and said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing
of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do. For what things
soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. His desire
is to glorify His Father. That's His desire. Verse 20 says,
For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that
Himself doeth. And He will show Him greater
works than these that you may marvel. For as the Father raiseth
up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom
He will. For the Father judgeth no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should
honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth
not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live. For as the Father hath life in
Himself, So hath He given to the Son to have life in Hisself,
and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because
He is the Son of Man. He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will. That's whose authority He did
it under. His own will. This then is the
message. This is our gospel. This is our
testimony. Who I am, I'm a sinner. What I am, nothing. I'm nothing at all. By whom I
am, Jesus Christ. Who I'm with, God's elect. Thanks be to God. To whom this
whole book is, who it's written to, the called in Christ. What it is? What is the message?
Grace and peace. It really is. It's a message
of grace and peace. From whom it comes? This comes
from the One who loved us. What He did? He washed us from
our sin, His own blood. Under whose authority He did
it? His own. He's God. And the last
one is, what do we have to say to these things? Verse 5 says,
To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. That's the only thing
we have to say to this. To whom be glory. To Him be glory. To God be the glory. Jude verse 24 says, Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise
God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now
and ever. Amen. Can you imagine hearing
a number of 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and thousands saying
that all with one accord at the top of their lungs? Revelation 1 verse 5 says, From
Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten
of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth, unto
Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. To Him
be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. That's our testimony. All right, let's stand together.