How the Persecutor Turned Into a Preacher [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright is true preaching of a man what transformation might still be in store is nothing too difficult.

That's faster Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life will deliberate excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series Galatians is presented at renewal the church in North Carolina able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month made to Alan Wright Ministries so as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today special offer. Contact us Pastor Alan.org Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860.

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Now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright. My favorite story I saw this week was of a little boy who was a kindergartner and kept telling his kindergarten teacher how excited he was that he was going to become a big brother that he was going to have either a baby sister baby brother and how excited he was about all of this and I one day boy's mother. She called Amanda and she was had gotten pretty far along pregnancy and the baby was really active. That morning is kicking and moving around to come over here and you put your hand on my tummy and feel the baby and came only to feel the baby moving around in there and I had a real look of of shock on his face and and almost little downcast, but he didn't say anything about it.

In fact, he quit talking about the baby altogether and until his kindergarten teacher was concerned that maybe something happened and so she asked him one day. She said what's become of this this baby that you were expecting to come be your little brother little sister and first he just hung his head down like this finally looked up said, I think my mommy ate it they were asking little children questions about mother's. How did God make Mother's Day asked some kids. One said magic powers and a lot of stirring. Another said he made my mom just the same as he made me just use some bigger parts asked why did God make others. One child said.

Think about it. It was the best way to get more people. Another said she's the only one who knows where to find scotch tape why God gave you your mother and not somebody else's.

One kid just said because were related to get said reason that God gave you your mother, not someone else's was God knew she likes me a lot more than other kids moms like me. What kind of little girl was your mother. One child said I don't know because I wasn't there but my guess would be. She was pretty bossy. I like the one child is bonded to what caliber was your mother by just saying they say she used to be nice to go there, why did your mother marry her father once since he got too old to do anything else with him. I like the best one child said why did you marry what your mother marry her father tells that my grandma says that mommy didn't have her thinking cap on.

Okay, who's the boss around your house and one child said mom you can tell by how she does room inspection she sees stuff under the bed. Another child said. I guess my mom is but only because she has a lot more to do than my dad. What makes a real woman once said a real woman is a just be really bossy without looking bossy last question was the difference between dads and moms.

One child said moms work at work and work at home and dad's just have to work at work.

I like this one though once a dancer stronger and taller, but moms have the real power because that's who you gotta ask if you want to sleep over at your friends amazing thing is that mothers though they can when their children grow be the smallest and physically weakest person in the house could still seem to have the authority over these kids and it's amazing thing authority is in it. I was reminded of the story of a former governor is I was campaigning at the time and not North Carolina. I think it actually was in Massachusetts and he he was campaigning was started. I went to some function of the chicken lunch and governor got up to liner going through the line and the lady put a piece of chicken on his plate and he just was so hungry he just said you mind if I had a second piece of chicken as he said no sir. They told us only get one piece of chicken per customer. So you got to move along and he is normally pretty humble man.

He didn't said didn't want to leverage his position. But just so hungry they find this, he said.

Manny said you know who I am on the governor of this state, and she looked at him and said you know who I am no she said on the lady in charge of the chicken. Now move the same gospel revelation of who Jesus is.

That change the primary persecutor of the early church into the primary preacher of the early church that same gospel in that same revelation is at work right now, if God would build the church through the preaching of a man who used to hate the church. What transformations might still be in store for you and for me there's nothing too difficult for God. That's Alan Wright will have more teaching moment.

Today's important series an option for 99 days in a row. Someone tells you, I love you I'll never forsake you. When you feel cherished. What would happen if I'm hundred same person. Sad sugar cut enough for me.

My Shabbat on the Colletti anymore. When not one day contaminate the meaning of the other 99 days when 1% of conditional love poison.

The other 99% will just 1% of lies enough to spoil grace bit of luck in introducing unlimited capacity for fear that if I don't measure up. When might be rejected.

When the Judaizers infiltrated the Galatian church, the apostle power was outraged and read a letter that describes the essence of the gospel of grace and why it must not be mixed with any form of Alan Wright's 12 message idea series trumpets the power of the gospel in order to set you free empower you with pure grace.

It's called Galatians and asked the gospel discover the purity and power the grace of God. When you make your gift to Alan Wright ministry said I will send you Pastor Alan's messages check to see them with your digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website Pastor Alan.work.

Today's teaching now continues once again is looking Galatians chapter 1. This is our third message in the first chapter of Galatians. We're going to be unhurried and literally go through line by line release paragraph by paragraph section by section. The epistle of Paul to the Galatians notice. We do a variety kind of preaching. Sometimes a printer series on character of the role of the old or New Testament. The biblical story and how we see that person's life, pointing us to the gospel sometimes will do serious its somatic about maybe a theme that is woven through all of Scripture, we come to different places and look and see how that theme is at work, as it builds upon itself and then sometimes we just take a book of the Bible. Or maybe I section of the Bible and just go through and do a more expositional study of Scripture. And that's overdoing now and for many coming weeks. In the book of Galatians. This is by way of review. One of Paul's letters in the New Testament. He wrote most agree 13 of the books that you have in your New Testament. 13 such epistles, and this epistle to the Galatians is written with special passion because what evidently has happened is that Paul proclaim the gospel and people were born by the spirit they were born by the revelation of who the son of God is Jesus Christ and their lives became filled with the spirit, and they became infused with the gospel, but in a very short period of time they were being lured away from the purity and the simplicity of the gospel by some people that we call Judaizers. They were essentially coming in and teaching that in order to be a true air in order to be a true heir of all the promises of Abraham to be a child of God that yes you need Jesus, but you need Jesus plus something and what they were saying was that you need the Old Testament covenantal sign of inclusion circumcision and so they were essentially teaching people yes except Jesus, but also add some Old Testament old covenant rituals to assure your place and people are so hungry to belong people so want to know that there included that there is a temptation always for Christians to gravitate to Jesus plus something else in order to make sure that I really fit in as a last times were looking at the earlier part of chapter 1 we saw that Paul was not only adamant that no you cannot mix the gospel with any outward works of the flesh or by any emphasis on outward conformity to old rituals. As if that is somehow guaranteeing your inclusion was so important to him. He said if anybody preaches a gospel other than what I have preached to you, let him be anathema, considerate, accursed thing and have nothing to do with it and he said if I were or even an angel were to preach something other than the pure simple gospel of what God is done in Jesus Christ. If somebody would've contaminated including myself. He said let it be anathema. Let it be something you have nothing to do with let it be accursed, and so he is absolutely passionate. In fact, in chapter 1, what you see is he skips over some of his usual parts of his prayer of gratitude in the salutation and he just jumped right in and he says I am astonished that you could so quickly dessert the gospel.

Now in verse 11 we begin this new section which we get today 11 through 24 in which he gives some autobiographical narrative and at first.

You wonder why is he telling us this information. I want to share today partly why Paul thinks it's important that you share some of his story, but only use this as an opportunity to think back on Paul's conversion story about some of things we learn about the gospel because in a real sense what he's doing by sharing some of his personal story is he is reminding the Galatians that the afar NT in his life is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and that he is not the one that gives authority to the gospel. The gospel is the one that has authorized him. In other words, he is painting a portrait from his life bill help explain so much of what is going to be talking about in Galatians. So follow along with me. Galatians 1 verse 11 Paul writes for I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel, but I do not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard about former life in Judaism how to persecute the Church of God violently and try to destroy it, and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age.

Among my people so extremely zealous. Was I the traditions of my father when he would set me apart before I was born and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him amongst the Gentiles did not immediately consult with anyone Norton I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus and after three years I went to Jerusalem to be visit Cephas as Peter and remain with him 15 days, but I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother and what I'm writing to you but forgot. I do not lie. Then I went to the regions of Syria as Alysia was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said he used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy and they glorify God because of me was Paul talking about here, evidently there were those almost the Judaizers is false teachers that were adding external rituals to say that this is what must complete the gospel.

Evidently some of these in order to try to refute Paul were claiming that Paul was not a legitimate apostle that perhaps they were saying that since he had not been with Jesus as the other apostles that Paul had just derived his message from other people from other apostles from other and so it is likely that part of what Paul is saying here is that I I did not receive this gospel message from any man I received it directly from the Lord is probably saying he's goes through some of his own history explain it. I this was not because some counsel in Jerusalem or some group of people told me what ought to be saying and that somehow I've modified this message. What he's saying in the first place is that the message of the gospel that I preach is the message of the gospel. The gospel is is so powerful you say that it is not that I have to legitimize myself before you. Instead, I want you to know is that the gospel of the Lord Jesus is is powerful and authoritative in and of itself.

You get the sense of it as you continue to study Galatians that when Paul speaks of the gospel. He's not talking about mere mental assent to Christian doctrines about the death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus he's talking about something that is alive and powerful.

Where he says elsewhere, I'm not ashamed of the Gulf of writ is the power of God unto salvation that there is something that he has experienced in the revelation of the gospel what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. That gospel announcement is itself incredibly powerful. Now if what Paul is saying is true.

This is revolutionary for how we do church is revolutionary for how people's lives are transformed. It is revolutionary for the way we see what Christianity is all about and what he's saying essentially is that while you might want for me to tell you about all the reasons that I should be authorized to announce the gospel. What I'm really saying is that the gospel speak for itself because it is God who proclaims this gospel. The gospel is is authoritative. I don't have to tell you about my Genesee.

I just have to tell you the gospel and in the gospel is this way. This is not in any way to diminish the importance of being a good student is not any way to diminish the importance of having the consent of the wise, and for all that that we learn and grow into be weighed amongst the body present, not in any way to to diminish any of those things which are important, but what you realize is in this text Paul is not so much defending his own apostolic legitimacy. What he's doing is he is elevating the place of the gospel and saying that whatever authority I have is under the power of the gospel and in so doing, he's telling his own story.

Paul's story is an amazing amazing story of a conversion and what happens you realize that what he's laying out here. Verse 11 through 24 about his life. It is not only to say everything. I'm going to tell you about the gospel is derived from the power of the gospel which is proclaimed by God in Jesus Christ. But what he is saying also is that look at my life. It is so laden with irony that Paul only called Saul. Saul of Tarsus could become a preacher of the gospel to the Gentiles seek Saul was by his own description, a Jew and Jews you like. If you think you're Jewish, I would say I'm more Jewish as if you could be our is that I'm a Pharisee of Pharisees like if you think you're a Pharisee and you have studied the law that you can keep the commandments that your zealous for the traditions of the brothers. I was more so in fact, when he says, is that I was resorting advancing in Judaism beyond many of our own age. Among my people so extremely zealous. Was I the traditions of my father and so what he's saying, essentially, is that he is the essence of Judaism. He is the essence of being a Pharisee and and proud and was so proud of how ironic, therefore, one of the layers of irony amongst all these ironies is that he the Jew Jews would have is his primary mission to proclaim Jesus to the non-Jews. Alan today's teaching how the persecutor turned into a preacher and there's hope for me to go out of his back in a moment with additional insight on this for your life in a final word.

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Just a click away. Pastor Alan got away and knocking for 99 days in a row. Someone tells you, I love you I'll never forsake you. When you feel cherished. The what would happen if I'm hundred today that same person. Sad that Shayna got enough for me to measure that on the Colletti anymore. When not one day contaminate the meaning of the other 99 days when 1% of conditional love poison. The other 99% will just 1% of lies enough to spoil. Grace is bit of luck in introducing unlimited capacity for fear that if I don't measure up.

When might I be rejected when the Judaizers infiltrated the Galatian church. They pass Apollo is outraged and read a letter that describes the essence of the gospel of grace and why it must not be mixed with any form of Alan writes 12 message Adia series trumpets the power of the gospel in order to set you free empower you with pure grace.

It's called Galatians and asked the gospel discover the purity and power the grace of God. When you make your get to Alan Wright Ministries today will send you Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album with your digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership.

Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor Alan.work Ellen for someone driving right now are listening in their sitting along with this in their thinking. You don't know my deep dark secrets will listen. We talk about Paul here is a persecutor of Christians turned into one of the greatest preachers we've ever seen. It is one of the most important things you could ever ever ever know about the gospel in that is that the gospel is powerful enough to change anyone's life and that that change doesn't come by any of our own merits.

And if Paul, who was the chief persecutor of the Christians in the early church if he could be used by God in diametrically opposite way to become the preacher of the gospel, how much more so can you be used by God. No matter your history. Thanks for today.

Visit us online@pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources@pastoroutand.org.

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