For the
past couple of weeks we have been studying Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus.
In his letters, Paul identifies himself as “a servant of God and an apostle of
Jesus Christ.” He does not only claim to believe in Christ, but he commits his
life to the Lord as a servant and an apostle. However; like every single one of
us, Paul had a past (He was formerly called Saul). He had to forfeit his old
life in order to claim his new identity. Saul, before changing his name to
Paul, was a very angry man who persecuted and killed Christians. His mission
was to destroy the Christian church, but God had a different mission for Saul.
As Saul
traveled to Damascus (In Acts chapter 8), the Lord appears and physically
blinds him.
Acts 8:3-9 As he
neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around
him. He fell to the ground and
heard a voice say to
him, “Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting,” he
replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you
must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard
the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could
see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was
blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
Paul's blindness is a metaphor about our
spiritual blindness before we accept Christ as savior. When Christ opens our
eyes, we are able to see things differently. When Paul's sight was restored,
his spiritual eyes were opened and he immediately repented of his former ways.
As Paul, he devoted himself to the service of Christ.
Even though Saul passionately worked to ruin the church, the Lord did
not reject him, but pursed his heart. Christ was not only able to restore Saul’s
heart, but was also able to change his passions, and as Paul, he significantly
spread Christianity!
This
story of conversion teaches us about the nature of God and also the nature of
salvation. God will meet us no matter where we are, even on our mission to
disobey. Because Christ died on the cross, there is no sin too deep or too dirty.
There is no heart too hard or too cold. Jesus offers each of us salvation; all
we have to do is accept God’s grace and mercy. We must put Saul in the past and
allow Christ to convert us into a Paul.
The
conversion will not magically make things easy. There are powerful forces at
work; this world (Satan) wants us to slip back into our old habits. The world
bombards us with false messages and temporary pleasures, while our flesh desires these things...
And the devil craftily lays his traps, taunting us to
disobey God. It is so easy for us to forget the grace and mercy Christ has
provided. These worldly temptations make God seem distant and if we are not reminded
of God’s grace DAILY, then we will revert back to our old habits.
In Paul’s
letters to Timothy and Titus, Paul reminds us of
God’s love and mercy. As we wrap
up the series in Timothy and Titus, we will see this theme of grace is the
conclusion of his letters.
1.) Remember: you were just like the ungodly
people of the world
Titus 3:3
At
one time we too WERE foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all
kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating
one another.
·
We too WERE guilty- I love how Paul uses the word we instead of YOU or
I. Everyone has a past, none of us are innocent- we are all guilty of something.
Therefore we all need a savior!
2.) God’s undeserved kindness and mercy saved
& changed US
Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and
love of God our Savior appeared, he
saved us, not
because of righteous things we had done, but
because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of
rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom
he poured out on us generously
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so
that, having been justified by his grace, we
might become heirs having
the hope of eternal life.
Really this is the gospel, which can be
summed up in one word- Grace!
If we fail to address our sins, and don’t let go of our past, we cannot receive
the freedom through Christ’s grace. If we miss this, then we miss the gospel.
We cannot experience freedom in Christ, we cannot grow in our relationship with
Jesus, until we let go of the past!
Let’s go all the way back to Genesis, guilt
and shame is not something new…. In the story of Joseph, we will see how insecurity
and guilt can destroy our lives.
STORY OF JOSEPH & HIS BROTHERS
Genesis 37: 3-4 Now Israel loved Joseph more
than any of his other sons, because he had been
born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate
robe for him. When his brothers saw
that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
We
see two things as the story opens:
1)
Joseph’s Insecurity-
·
Joseph knew his brothers did not like him and at the same
time he knew how much his father loved him. Joseph’s coat was his security
blanket. It is natural to show off or
flaunt the things that we are proud of- because we are human- but many times it
is evidence of insecurity in another area of our lives.
2)
The Brothers Jealousy
·
Because of their
jealousy they plotted to kill him, but because some of the brothers thought
this was too harsh (he was their brother after all) they instead decide to sell
him into slavery.
Genesis 37: 26-27 Judah said to his
brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him;
after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and
blood.” His brothers agreed.
After Joseph is sold to the
Ishmaelites, then they sell him to the Egyptians, where he becomes Potiphar’s salve, he is later thrown in jail
for being falsely accused of rape, after that he becomes the chief jailer, and eventually he interprets Pharos (the
Egyptian King’s) dream. From the dreams, he interprets that they will
experience 7 years of prosperity followed by 7 years of famine. Once Joseph has
made these predictions and gained the King’s favor, he is named Prime Minister
of Egypt. Joseph spends the next seven years executing his grain storage plan,
and as predicted, the famine hits seven years after.
Looking at Joseph, we
see that God really can use awful things in our life (like insecurity, and jealousy)
to equip us for something greater. Joseph, who was an average Joe, salve, and
also prisoner, ultimately became the Kings second hand and through his
spiritual gifts, he saved thousands from starvation! (Including his brothers
who had originally sold him into slavery)
As we continue the
story, after the famine has hit the land, many went to Egypt for grain,
including Joseph’s brothers. When they came to Joseph, he recognized them, but
they did not recognize him. (It had been nearly 40 years).
Genesis 42: 6-21
Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with
their faces to the ground. As soon as
Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger
and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you
come from?” he asked. “From the
land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
Although Joseph recognized his
brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
“No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food.
We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
“No!” he said to them. “You
have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of
Canaan. The youngest is now with our
father, and one is no more.”
Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes
here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the
truth. If you are not, then as surely
as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” And he put them all in custody for three days.
On the third day, Joseph said
to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you
go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your
youngest brother to me, so that your
words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of
our brother. We saw how
distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not
listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”
It has been nearly 40
years and Joseph’s brothers STILL live in guilt! They STILL believe that
anything bad is punishment for selling their brother. They do not recognize
Joseph, because He is no longer hiding behind his robe of insecurity, but
Joseph is now placing his identity in the Lord. The brothers have also not yet
realized that God has used their sin to not only bless Joseph, but also save
them from starvation.
Continuing through the
story, we would see that Joseph, unlike his brothers, has let go of the past. He
has removed the old, God has given him a loving and forgiving heart.
*Genesis 45: 4- 8
Then Joseph said to his brothers,
“Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph,
the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry
with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent
me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the
land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God
sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your
lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but
God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of
all Egypt.
*Genesis 45: 16-18
When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace
that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and
return to the land of Canaan, and bring your father and your families back to
me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of
the land.’
If we want to
experience God’s grace, blessings, and freedom, we have to let go of insecurity
and guilt. We have to be like Joseph and Paul. If we choose to hold on to the
past, we too will spend the next 40 years believing we are unworthy!
1 John 3:20-
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than
our hearts, and he knows everything.
Many of us are wearing a robe of
insecurity or guilt- I know I have been for a long time. This weekend I started
moving into a new house. My sweet mother met my movers at our storage unit,
while I was at work on Friday, and had them grab every box that said Laura.
When I showed up to start unloading, my new bedroom was covered in boxes full
of my childhood items. As I began opening boxes, I found some things that made
me realize: I too have been holding on to things of the past, and like Joseph,
my parents had given me a special robe too.
I brought my “robe” (MY ZEBRA
CURTAINS) to show my Sunday school class and wrapped myself up for the full
effect.
Growing up, my parents called me their
princess. I took this name to the extreme and anytime someone came in my room
they knew who the princess of the house was. Looking back, I think I was
desperate for attention- I wanted my parents (and others around me) to treat me
as a “princess” should be treated.
As I was putting together this lesson,
I started relating myself to Joseph. This robe (MY ZEBRA CURTAINS) that were at
one time my security blanket. I made sure everyone knew who mommy and daddy
loved, but now (although these are funny) they kind of embarrass me. In attempt
to save money, I thought about hanging them in my new room, but I realized
these are no longer me. A) I have
gotten too old for these. And B) It is time for me to remove insecurities
and shame in my life and replace
them with Christ’s GRACE- just like it was time to buy new curtains. (The new ones are beige- my room became 20
years older this weekend…. In case you were wondering)
I know this illustration is a stretch,
but as I put away these old curtains and hung up the new ones I had to ask
myself… Am I still holding on to my past?
Am I ashamed, do I feel unworthy? And am I hiding behind guilt- using that as
an excuse to ignore the Lord’s call on my life? What God is trying to teach
me, and maybe what He is also saying to you is:
“Laura, get rid of the old- take off your robe
of guilt and insecurity and put on the GRACE and MERCY I have given you!”
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