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You matter beyond yourself
"God exists to do for you""God blesses by doing Through you for others
To his ultimate glory"
You matter beyond yourself
"God exists to do for you""God blesses by doing Through you for others
To his ultimate glory"
You have a Call on your lifeThat beganBefore you were born
A circle was drawnIt's about more than just you
…that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation
"This Good News thatYou received is not from man
No man told me itNo man taught it to meBut I know it well nonetheless"
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I
received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ
And God says it's exclusive"No other name…by which wemust be saved…"- Acts
"No one comes to the Father but by me"- Jesus
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I
received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ
For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it
Scorched earth/lay waste
And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age
among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions
of my fathers
I was in violent oppositionTo the church of Jesus Christ
And completely sold onPurifying the Jewish Religion
But when he who had set me apart before I was born…- Divinely appointed for a
Specific Purpose- To draw a circle around
With a Destiny
In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus
Christ, according to the purpose of his will
- Eph. 1
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers- Romans 8
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should
walk in them- Eph. 2:10
Every Call of GodContains the Purpose of God
And it will always be aboutMore than just me (reconciling)
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me
Make plain what is hidden
So Grace precedes faithAnd is activated by faithIt's all God's doing- no one brags
We humbly worship our King
…when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me
...in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles
The Call has a purposeThat involves reconciliation
Insane Assertion:"The gospel didn't come from man. But Jesus spoke to me and
told me what to preach"
Insane Assertion:"The gospel didn't come from man. But Jesus spoke to me and
told me what to preach"
Proof: My changed life
From destroying the Church
To giving his life to bringThe Gospel of Reconciliation
To unclean Gentiles
You were set apart from beforeYou were bornYou have a Calling, a Destiny
God revealed Jesus to youIn order that you might…?
Jesus died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised…
Changed life
…that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation
You were set apart from beforeYou were born
You have a Calling, a Destiny
God revealed Jesus to youIn order that you might…?
Changed, not Perfect
- Authentic- Real- Struggles, pain and hardship- And a God who is Present in it
Your greatest evidenceOf this insane belief in Jesus
Is your changed lifeEven if you grew up
Knowing Jesus
...nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days
Former friends, former victimsRisks disfellowship and death
But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. (In what I am writing to
you, before God, I do not lie!)
Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia
Tarsus= HomeAnger, mocking, rejection…The Call to Ministry
They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy”
Changed life=…?
A circle was drawn around youWith a Destiny- before birth
You have the Call to be aMinister of Reconciliation
What I want to hear:"God will help you achieve your dreams"
What I need to hear:"Die to self and live for God"
Your Call is notSomewhere else
It begins right here, right nowBefore it ever goesOver there, at that time
Will I live authentically- Warts and all-
In front of the peopleGod has placed in my life for HisGlory, my Calling, their blessing?
When we live in unityAnd authenticity as a churchForsaking man's religionAnd following JesusWe evidence the Truth of our Faith