Turn with me, if you would, to
Galatians chapter one. Galatians chapter one. Our text is going to be the first
five verses. Let's read our first five verses.
Galatians 1. Paul, an apostle, not of men,
neither by 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 and peace from
God our 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 think this is a very sweet
text. I think that's the best way I
know to describe it. When I think of Galatians 1,
1 through 5, I think that's one of the sweetest texts I know. That is the gospel in five verses.
That is our message. And I don't go around giving
my testimony. Although, I guess that's what
I'm doing right now. But this is our testimony. This is our
testimony. This is what we believe. After I read this, these ten
statements popped into my mind. This text is saying 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 we have to say to these
things. Let's read it again. Paul, an
apostle, not of men, neither by 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 and
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. It says, This then is the message. This is the message which we
heard and declare unto you. Verse 1 says, Paul. Just Paul. I love the humility of God's
people. I truly do. You get out into
the world and it's just full of pride. It's full of vanity. I just love the humility of God's
people. It's refreshing, it's so refreshing
to see the humility of God's people. He doesn't say Saint
Paul. He doesn't say Reverend Paul.
He doesn't say Dr. Paul, and he sure doesn't say
Father Paul. He doesn't even say the Apostle
Paul. He just says Paul. An apostle,
he doesn't deny that he was made that by God, but he just calls
himself Paul. He's just Paul. The truth and
the realization of sin is going to keep a man and a woman low,
low, low, low. The flesh causes people to say,
look at who I am. Don't you know who I am? Look
at what I do. Look at everything that I'm doing
for God. But seeing the truth, seeing
sin and seeing God, seeing God, if a person ever sees God, it's
going to cause that person to say, Who am I? Who am I? Look at Paul's brethren, what
they had to say. They're two Johns. John the Baptist
and John the Apostle. They asked John the Baptist,
who art thou? And he said, I'm just a voice. That's all I am. I'm just a voice. That's all I am. Not even worthy
to say my own name. John the Apostle, who penned
the Gospel of John. The Lord wrote it. John the Apostle
penned it. He wouldn't say his name either.
I'm just the one whom the Lord loves. He wouldn't even say His
own name. The one whom the Lord loves.
Humility. Who am I? I'll tell you who I
am. I'm nobody. I'm nobody. Everybody's trying to be somebody,
and God's people want desperately to be nobody. I'm nobody. Well,
the next question is what am I? Who am I? What am I? In verse one, Paul calls himself
an apostle. He's only doing this to state
fact. He's doing this to give authority
to his message. He's saying this out of obedience
to the master's command, the Lord has said, if any man speak,
let him speak as the oracles of God. It took me a while to
understand that. Y'all, you know me. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. But this is what Paul said in
and of himself. Turn over to first Timothy one. He states fact that God made
him an apostle. But he says in 1 Timothy 1, verse
12, 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. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. Isn't it amazing how the Lord
raised up Paul from being a murderer, he murdered the Lord's people,
to being an apostle? You know, we have these elections
coming up and men who are elected to high places, they do their
best to hide their past, don't they? Paul keeps bringing it
up. He keeps writing it down. I'm
the worst. These are all the things I did.
Chief of sinners. They said to John, so you're
the man sent to prepare the way of the Lord. And he said, I'm
not even worthy to unloose the latches on this man's shoes.
I'm nothing. I'm low. I'm nothing. 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 end all. That's our testimony. That's
all we have to say. Heaven is a place full of nothings
and nobodies who are in total agreement with each other. They
are in complete and total agreement with each other. Jesus Christ
is everything. We are nothing and Jesus Christ
is everything. But Paul says here, praise be
to God, He made me an apostle. One who was taught by God. An apostle is one who is taught
directly by the Lord Himself. Paul is telling us how great
things the Lord has done for me. He's done great things for
me. I can't deny it. I loathe myself,
but I can't deny it. He's done great things for me. And I have to tell you, great things. True believers
say, in and of myself, I'm nothing. But in the Lord Jesus Christ,
I'm everything. As long as I'm in Him, I can
be called a saint of God. As long as I'm in Him, I can
be called a child of God, an actual child, a real, in the
family, child of God. I can be called sanctified. I can be called righteous. But
I can only be called this in Him. That's it. Only in Him. What am I? I am what I am by
the grace of God. That's what I am. Now, the next
question is, by whom am I? Paul says, Paul, an apostle,
not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father
who raised Him from the dead. A true calling is of God. A true calling is of God. A call to belief, a call of salvation
is a call of God. It's not by men. There's a man
who came into my store a few years back. He wanted to buy
something. And he was a nice enough man. But he told me his name and he
said, I'm an apostle. He said, I'm an actual apostle.
And I didn't say anything. I didn't tell him that you had
to be taught directly by the person of the Lord Jesus Christ
to be an apostle. But he said, I've done a lot
of humanitarian work in Russia. And the church in Russia has
apostolized me. I'm an apostle over there. That's not Paul's experience.
Go over to Acts chapter 9. If the Lord God does something
to a sinner, If he calls a sinner, it's going to be obvious to everybody
and it's going to be directly of God. That sinner is going
to know this is of God. This is not of the church in
Russia. This is of God. Acts chapter
nine, the Apostle Paul's name used to be Saul. Verse one, yet
breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples
of the Lord. He went unto the high priest
and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues,
that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or
women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. If he found any
worship in the true God, he's going to bring them bound to
Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven and it knocked
him off his horse. He fell to the earth. And he
heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? And Saul said, Who art thou,
Lord? Who are you? It's clear you're
God. Who are you? And the Lord said,
I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. And Saul, trembling and astonished,
said, Lord, what will you have me to do? And the Lord said unto
him, Arise and go into the city. That calling was of God. And
it's still that way today, if God calls a sinner. It's of God. He did it. Well, the next question is who
I'm with Galatians 1 verse One Paul, an apostle not of men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who
raised Him from the dead, and all the brethren which are with
me." That means I'm with all the brethren
of like faith. That means I love you. I love
you. I love you. I really do. All who believe in and only in
the Lord Jesus Christ. We had some visitors here last
week. They came to the church. I've never met them. I travel
and I go to congregations and I meet new people I've never
met in congregations before. And it doesn't take long. You
talk to somebody and they start to talk back and you start to
realize that person loves Jesus Christ. And I love you. Any friend of His is a friend
of mine. Truly, I mean that. It's sincere. I mean that. All
the brethren which are with me. Go to Psalm 133. 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 us on this earth? While we look for Him and we
hope in Him and we trust in Him and we have faith in things that
we've never seen. He's given us each other right
here, right now, to have and to hold from this day forward
forever. Eternity. Me and you. Eternity.
Sweet gift. Philippians 4 says, Salute every
saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me
greet you. All the saints salute you. And they do. They do. Love. True love. God's people love God's people.
That's what it is. For Christ's sake. For Christ's
sake. It's who I want to be with. Who
I am. What I am. By whom I am. Who I'm with. And next, to whom this is. Who is this message to? Go back
to our text. Galatians 1 verse 2 says, It's
unto the churches of Galatia. Paul wrote many letters to the
churches. There are many churches, but
there is only one church. Some of us assemble here, and
some of us assemble there, but there is one church. These letters were written to
different places, but every one of them says the same thing.
Our pastor is going through Ephesians 1, and I guarantee you I'm saying
the same sentences he said last week. Same things. And I'm running
out of time. Go to Romans 1. Who is this message to? It's written unto the churches.
But let's look at Romans 1, verse 7. It says, to all that be in
Rome. Rome is a big place. It's a big
city. This message is not to all that
be in Rome. It's to all that be in Rome,
beloved of God, called to be saints. That's who the message
is to. Particular people, the people
who are beloved of God, called to be saints. First Corinthians,
go to first Corinthians one. It says. First, to unto the Church
of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in
Christ Jesus. called to be saints. That's who
this message is to. That's who we're with. And I have all of them written
down, but you've seen them all. Ephesians 1 is to the saints,
the faithful in Christ Jesus. Philippians 1 is to the saints
in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1 is to the saints
and faithful brethren in Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1 says, Unto
the church which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus
Christ. This message is to those who
are called, chosen by God to be saints. Chosen to be sanctified. Chosen to be faithful. But the
only way that's possible is in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
it. This gospel good news message
is for all those who are in Christ. Now, how does a person get in
Christ? If this message is for those
who are in Christ, how does a person get in Christ? If you feel that
there's a chance that you might be outside of Christ, If you really want to know, sincerely
want to know, from the depths of your soul, how to get in Christ,
ask Him. Ask Him. And He'll tell you. Ask Him that. If a person will truly ask God,
I don't know if I'm saved. I don't know if I'm Your child.
I don't know if I belong to You. Lord, how is this possible? How do I get in You? Ask Him. He'll tell you. Ask Him, Lord, put me in You. That's the answer. He has to
do it. He has to do it. Who am I? What am I? By whom
am I? Who I'm with? To who this is?
And what it is. What is this message? Back in
our text, Galatians 1, verse 3 says, Grace be unto you. Grace be unto you. And peace. Grace. We preach grace. We love grace. We live by grace. That's the message. Grace be
unto you. We're saved by grace. Grace is
the gift of God. That gift is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ be unto you in peace,
he is our peace, the prince of peace, he's the giver, he's the
gift. Paul says, that's what I want
for you. I want peace for you. I want
peace for you. I felt turmoil for three days,
and turmoil for three days. I want to come here and I want
the Lord to make the message clear and plain. So you don't
have any turmoil, because I love you and I want peace for you. In Him, we can have peace. We
have peace with God. In Him, we can be at peace with
each other. Me and you at peace. In Him. In Him, we can have peace inside
ourselves. When there is no peace. Outside
of Him, there is no peace. But in Him, there is peace. Peace. It's the peace that passes
understanding. I can't explain it. We have peace because He made
peace. How did He do that? Our text,
verse 4, says, He gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver
us from this present Evil world. Turn over to Matthew 20. Matthew, Chapter 20. Verse 27 says, 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 the only reason he came. He came to minister unto and
to give his life a ransom for many. We love the song that 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 Himself and a ransom was found. He gave Himself. gave Himself. Galatians 2 verse
20 says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now
live in this flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who
loved me and gave Himself for me. He gave Himself. Why did he do that? He loved
me. He loved me. He loved us, and
this is our testimony unto him who loved us and washed us from
our sins in his own blood. How could he do that? Under whose
authority did he do that? Verse four says he did it according
to the will of God. according to the will of God.
He said, I delight to do Thy will, O God. He was obedient. He did it under the authority
of God. Obedient unto death. It says He did it according to the
will of God, our Father. All authority has been given
to the Son. God the Father said to God the
Son, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. He said, I and
my Father are one. Go over to John chapter 5. John 5. Look at verse 19. 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. What he's saying
is, I don't do anything differently from the Father. The Father doesn't
do anything differently from me. Verse 20, 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 judges
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. That all
men should honor the son, even as they honor the father. That
is what is missing. All men honor the father. But
they don't honor the son. 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 to 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 Himself,
and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because
He is the Son of Man. Under whose authority did he
do this? His own. Our testimony is Jesus Christ
is God the Father. They are one. This man, Jesus,
is the highest God who holds all authority. He does all things after the
counsel of his own will. This is our message, our gospel. This is our testimony. Who am
I? I'm just a sinner. What am I? I'm nothing. But the Lord has done great things
for me. He took me from a dunghill and set me among princes. By
whom am I? Jesus Christ. I'm just a sinner. Nothing at all. Jesus Christ
is my all and in all. Who am I with? Thanks be to God,
I'm with the saints. I'm counted with the saints.
I'm in the family of God, adopted into the family. To whom is this? Who is this for? The called in
Christ Jesus. What is it? What is the message?
It's grace. It's grace. It's free gift. Saved
by grace. I was saved by grace. He'll save
you too. It's a free gift. From whom it
comes? It comes from the One who loved
us. What He did? He washed us from our sins in
His own love. Under whose authority He did
it? He did it under His own authority. And the last thing is what do
we have to say to these things? Verse 5 says, to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. We say, let God be true. Let us be liars. We're going
to give him all the glory from now throughout all eternity.
Jude 24 says, and I love this, The last two verses of Jude 24
and 25. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you thoughtless 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 forever. Amen. That's what we have to
say. May the Lord bless his word.
You're dismissed.