Our Hope, It's in the Lord!

Text: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Focus: Grace

Function: To reinforce grace

Form: Bible Study Narrative

Intro:

I enjoyed meeting Jesse's sisters during her father's funeral. One, of them, Edna, likes the humor of taking things too literally. For example, if someone says, “let me be honest with you....” She would reply with: “will you also tell me when you are not being honest?”

Sometimes people use exaggeration in speech to get a point across. Sometimes people say less because there is a part of the story that needs to remain hidden. Hence the phrase: “Let me be honest with you....”

When the mentor, Paul, is writing to his two young charges, Timothy and Titus, 5 times he gives this phrase from verse 15: “It is a trustworthy saying....”

He is telling them this part is very important and should never be forgotten.

In other words, this is something that I want you to repeat. This is something in which there is no debate. This is a truth that is settled. And this is a truth that needs to be emphasized over others.

The Truth? “Jesus came to save sinners.”

It is like Paul is saying to Timothy: “Son, in all you do in ministry, don't lose sight of Jesus' purpose. He came to save sinners.”

The word “save” in the Greek is sozo. It is a body word. It's a medical term. It means to heal.

A literal translation would be: Christ Jesus appeared in this world to heal sinners.

Sinners. I am one of them. It is important to Paul as well because Paul is impressed by grace that just keeps on flowing.

From his own story, he points out the extent of Christ Jesus' attempts to heal a sinner.

As it turns out, before he was a Christian, he was an enemy of everything Christian.

When Stephen, the first martyr for the faith was killed, Paul was right there, making it happen. The text tells us that he was watching over the belongings of those who did the killing. (Acts 7:58-8:3) It says it in such a way that it implies that behind the scenes was Paul (then known as Saul) and that he was part of the group that whipped the mob into a frenzy so that they were willing to commit this murder in a lynch mob fashion.

Paul describes himself as a sinner of the worse kind because he was behind the murder of the first Christian martyr. And he felt that he was worse than others because he wouldn't get his own hands dirty, instead, he used a mob to accomplish his purposes.

He was a murderer. And as a murderer, he targeted Christians. In Acts 8, we read that he then goes on a campaign to have Christians arrested. It got so bad that the Church had to flee Jerusalem.

He caused the Church to be in great fear of him and his judicial power over them.

He was their enemy.

It got so bad that when he finally does come to Christ, the first reaction of most of the Christians was that this was merely a ruse designed to infiltrate their inner circles so that he could identify them and have them arrested. (Acts 9:1-19)

And after wrecking havoc in Jerusalem against the Church to the point that they were forced to flee for their lives, breathing murder and hate, he heads to Damascus to arrest those who fled.

On the way, He literally meets Jesus.

The story is told. A blinding light from heaven appears and Saul is stricken blind.

God speaks to him and asks him why he is resisting God.

Saul doesn't understand and asks the voice how he is resisting God when he believes he is serving God. He says: “Who are you, Lord?”

And God answers: “I am Jesus.”

Immediately Saul believes in Jesus. God changes everything in his life. He changes his name to Paul. He becomes the first missionary. He brings the gospel to the entire world. And he writes many of the books in the New Testament. And eventually, he himself is beheaded for his faith.

But when he is first converted, he has a problem. The vision is so intense that it causes him to go completely blind.

He is lead by his cohort, the men with him who were to help him arrest Christians, into Damascus.

And there, while he is making request of the people in the Church to come and talk to him, they are hiding from him. After all, he is still with the people who were there to help him bring Christians back to Jerusalem in chains.

But finally, a Christian prophet named Annanias, hears from the Lord. The Lord Jesus tells him to go visit Paul, pray for him to be healed (he was blinded) and then baptize him.

Annanias is offended at the request because as far as he knows, Saul is anything but a Christian and it seems as if he is playing right into the enemies hand.

Remember last week how we learned that the Holy Spirit works in ways that we cannot imagine?

It is happening here. First off, this man, Annanias is given the gift of prophecy, one of the spiritual gifts we read about.

Second, the worse enemy of the Church has now become one of her greatest helpers.

And the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the believers in Damascus.

The Church is Damascus is amazing.

Lead by the prophet, who is lead in a supernatural way by the Holy Spirit, they receive and forgive Paul without any more fear or resentment.

I think that is an amazing example of forgiveness.

The prophet, in order to prove God's forgiveness of Paul prays for him, his sight is restored in a way that is obvious to everyone, scales fall from his eyes.

And then they baptize Paul as a new Christian brother in the Lord. In a matter of seconds, from these people's eyes, he goes from their worst enemy to their brother in the Lord.

This is about grace. And Paul remembers Jesus grace to him. He remember that Christ Jesus forgave Paul before he ever believes in him.

Straight from heaven itself, Jesus Himself shows kindness to Paul

Paul didn't believe. But when the Lord addressed him as a man, man to man, or God to man, he knew that grace was real.

Paul is grateful that Jesus didn't abandon him to his hatred of Christians.

Back to the “trustworthy statement” that Paul makes to Timothy in this passage.

Christ Jesus came to heal people from their sin and brokenness.

It is important to remember that Jesus appeared on earth to heal sinners.

Last week we saw how the Holy Spirit got the attention of the whole city of Jerusalem with this loud noise and the tongues of fire and the gift of tongues and the ability of unbelievers to hear the good news in their own language.

We saw that God did what no human could have done.

God did a miracle to win a crowd.

This week, God does a miracle to win a single person.

That is the value of every sinner in the eyes of God.

And this is personal to Paul. Paul remembers that among sinners, he is one of the worse.

And yet, it seems as if God goes the extra mile to heal him from his sin.

I want to focus on that idea of healing.

We can look at our deliverance from sin and brokenness two ways, both are correct. We are saved from sin (1) and, we are healed from sin (2).

Sin and brokenness separate us from God.

Romans 5:8-9 tells us that to be saved means that the penalty for our sin has been taken off of us and placed on Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ died in our place. Jesus Christ died on our behalf.

Before Paul was a Christian, he was busy trying to earn favor with God when he was persecuting the Church.

His hope was in his own performance. And so, just like other religious zealots, the consequences of his zeal, the cost in human lives and relationships didn't matter to him as long as he could prove to God that he deserved God's salvation.

He was busy doing the wrong thing. His hope was in his own performance.

And then he met Jesus Christ. He met Jesus in a very personal way, right there on the road to Damascus. He met Jesus during his campaign to persecute Jesus by having his followers arrested.

God's grace flowed freely to him.

And he learned that there nothing he could do make God love him more.

God loves us. His plan is to heal and restore us.

Let me read to you that passage from Romans 5:6-10:

^6-8Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

^9-10Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. (AND) If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!

Listen to these words again: (AND) If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!

We are saved.

But it is much more than that. We are healed by God.

He saved us to heal us.

The two go hand in hand.

We are changed, transformed and our minds and reactions are renewed.

God's salvation is not merely a fire escape from hell. It is redemption. It is restoration to all that is right. It is a calling back to loving and caring for others, as much as God cares for us.

And it is proven to Paul. Who, while an enemy of God, is sought out by God in a fantastic way.

That is how much God cares for people.

He seeks and saves the lost.

Remember, the greatest rejoicing in heaven is when a lost sheep comes back. This is what brings joy to God.

From heaven, Jesus himself delighted to call Paul back to Him. It was and still is Jesus' joy.

Paul reminds Timothy of this primary purpose of Jesus.

So how do we look at sinners?

There is a change in Paul.

In the middle of an act of sin, the persecution of the Church, God heals and restores him to God's family.

Before that change, Paul was offended by the sins of others.

His religious zeal was nothing more than sin. And it comes from a form of self-righteousness. It springs out of the fact that he was taking it upon himself to force others to be like him.

Instead of looking at people as those whom God gave the life of His Son to heal, he merely takes offense at them.

And he changes.

He can't hate sinners, because he one of the worse.

He no longer resents them.

He knows this because God didn't hate him when he was steeped in one of the worse forms of sin: self-righteousness and judgment of others.

How do we look at sin and sinners?

Do we take up an offense against others?

Or, do we, like Jesus Himself, look at them as people that God is in the process of healing?

Salvation is healing.

It starts with our own acceptance of grace and the healing Jesus gives.

Paul is amazed that in spite of himself, God's love touched him.

How do we look at our own sinfulness and brokenness?

This grace and mercy always begins here (point at my heart).

It starts with that prayer: (looking toward heaven) Save me! Heal me! Lord Jesus, I believe!

Paul had no idea what changes would take place in him.

Instead of being a bitter religious zealot, he becomes a grace filled preacher.

It is hard for us to admit that we are still broken people.

But remember, when Paul was God's enemy, Jesus Himself came down from heaven to heal and restore Paul.

He admits that he is the chief of sinners.

And Jesus is the chief of healers.

Our hope is and always will be in Jesus.

(End with prayer for renewed grace)