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0:52The grace of God is, period. Therefore, the message of grace will continue. Period. You know, every once in a while, a great phenom comes on the world scene. They are like magnificent stars burning brightly and lighting up the sky. And for a while, people can rejoice in their light. This was how Jesus described John the Baptist. In John 5:35, he said, he was the lamp that was burning and was shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

1:41But there are others who do not rejoice in such light. They want to get away from the light. For them, the truth that they speak is too intense. They find it unbearable. And so they seek to destroy the luminary, thinking that somehow they will destroy the message. This is what happened to John the Baptist. And many like him throughout history. We saw such a man cut down in his strength this last week. Some rejoiced in his light, but some did not like his message. So they sought to silence him, and one was successful. I'm speaking, of course, of Charlie Kirk as being such a luminary on the world scene. Painful.

2:46I can assure you today that they did not, nor could they, silence his message. And I want to explain to you. Why that is so true. You see, there is something behind the man, something greater than the man that made the man. Someone asked Charlie Kirk in an interview what he wanted to be known by, and his answer was courage for my faith. Faith. You see, Charlie was a man of faith, and his faith connected him to something much greater than himself. Something so brilliant that it eclipsed everything else in his life.

3:47His love for riches, his love for the applause or accolades of man, his love for his own personal safety, were completely overshadowed by the object of his faith. You see, he could have eased up and enjoyed some riches, praise of man, had a little more comfortable life, safe and secure. But something drove him, something bigger than himself. What was the object of his faith? The God of grace. The God revealed in Scripture. He is full of grace.

4:40And it is God's grace, this goodwill of the reality that God has goodwill to people. This grace is the one thing that the world needs to know about. Charlie was a man who was touched by grace, and then God used him to touch others. You see, the God of grace is. Therefore, the message of grace will continue. God's goodwill is something that is forever. It is a characteristic of God. And as long as there is life, there is going to be dialogue, conversation, testimony about how good God is. That message cannot ever be silenced because God is, therefore, his grace is a reality, and therefore, the message of grace will continue to be proclaimed.

5:52You see, God's grace preceded us, and God's grace will transcend us. Similar things can be said about the Apostle Paul. He was a man who was touched by God's grace, whom God used to touch others with grace. It was his faith in God who drove who he was and what he did. What did Paul look like? Well, the scripture doesn't tell us. When we first started into the book of Galatians, I read to you this one description of what he looked like from a second-century work of a young woman named Thecla. She describes Paul as, and I quote, a man of middling size, and his hair was scanty, and his legs were a little crooked, and his knees were a little projecting, and he had large eyes, and his eyebrows met. His nose was somewhat long, and he was full of grace and mercy. At one time, he seemed like a man, and at another time, he seemed like an angel.

7:19What was Paul's personality like? When we first meet him in the scriptures, he's a young man in need of grace, isn't he? And God touches him with his grace, and Paul comes alive. Picture this man, mid-30s, enthusiastic, full of life, and with a message burning in his heart that he cannot help but speak about. Picture that young man, and you have the persona of Paul. And his enthusiasm for the God of truth and the God of grace never diminished. It grew.

8:07Faith in the true God eclipsed everything in his life. And that is why I refer to him as the apostle of grace. The apostle of grace. I want to come back to this thought in a moment, but first I want to remind you of where we are in the pulpit ministry here at Emmanuel Baptist Church. We have kind of a unique way that we're going through the New Testament. We're kind of in the middle. I don't know if this message is a conclusion to Galatians or an introduction to Hebrews. We're somewhere in the middle. You'll find out why we're going to Hebrews next, next week.

8:57But I'm preaching through the New Testament. In somewhat of a unique fashion, I think the less talked about genre in Scripture is authorship. So I am, and there's really like four major personalities in the New Testament. There's Peter, there's John, there's Paul, and there's Matthew. Peter, John, Paul, and Luke was one of Paul's ministry team. So when you think about the gospel and all that, that Luke penned, it's in association with Paul and team. But those are the large personalities. And we're preaching through in more of an apostolic fashion. I call it at the feet series.

9:48We've been, you remember starting in 2010, for some of you who were here, we started at the feet of Peter. And we spent about five years there. We began in the Gospel of Mark, which some refer to as the memoirs of Peter. Eyewitness accounts of Peter. Then we spent a good bit of time in the first half of Acts looking at Peter's sermon, really wanting to understand Peter. And then we, beginning in 2014, we went through 1 Peter, and then we finished 2 Peter in 2015. And if I had to identify Peter in one word, what was his main teaching emphasis? I would say it would be faith. He shows us what faith is, who to put your faith in, and how to stand firm in the faith.

10:49I consider him the apostle of faith. He taught us what it means to put our faith in Jesus as the Christ, as the Son of God, and what standing firm in that faith looks like. I hope we can return someday and spend some studies. Wonderful study. Then we spent the next 10 years, just about 10 years, going verse by verse through all of John's writings. Beginning in 2015, we started actually working through Psalm 119, the ministry of the written word. So that would prepare us for the ministry of the incarnate word.

11:30We spent five years in John's gospel, verse by verse, line by line, phrase by phrase. Some of you began as a freshman in college and graduated as a senior, and we were still in the book of John. And then we worked through 1 John, 2 John, 3 John. Then we spent nearly three years just shy of it in the book of Revelation. And if I had to define John's emphasis in one word, it would be. Glory.

12:02I know many people see him as the apostle of love, and it's easy to see why. However, it's John's emphasis upon love that prepares us to live for his glory. How do you radiate God's glory? How do you manifest the presence of God? You love one another, you love God supremely, you love one another like Christ loves us, and you so put the God of glory on display to a world. That's how they're going to know that we are his disciples.

12:41So I consider him the apostle of glory. And he taught us what living for God's glory looks like and how it comes about by being transformed by the gospel, by letting the gospel settle into your soul, take root, transform who you are. And then last fall, we shifted gears, and now we're sitting at the feet of Paul. We started to work our way through the Pauling writings. I don't know, it's probably going to be a decade. I don't know. The Lord tarries.

13:25We relied upon portions of the second half of Acts to lay. Biographical and historical foundation for Paul's life and his writings. Then we began Galatians. We went through Galatians because that was the first major area that Paul came to on his first missionary journey. And he first began preaching the gospel and seeing a great message and response to the gospel of grace. I see Paul as the apostle of grace. The term grace is used well over 100 times in the New Testament. Over 80% of its usage is associated with Paul. Paul spoke about grace more than any other writings.

14:18Last time we finished the last verse of Galatians, and we noted that Paul concluded his letter emphasizing grace. He started the book of Galatians upon grace, and he ended it upon grace. This emphasis upon grace also brackets Paul's whole life. So what we're going to do today is start stepping back a little bit and looking at this ministry of grace, looking at his whole life. Remember, starting with his conversion that he describes in Galatians 1:15, he says this. But when God, who had set me apart, even from my mother's womb, called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles. Paul saw his life as being one big expression of God's grace, having been set apart and then called by God's grace, through his grace, to reveal his son in him. That's how Paul sees his life on the one end, beginning and purpose. But then at the end of his life, in 2 Timothy 4:22, the very last words that we have, Paul, as he's waiting his death, he says this to Timothy, Grace be with you.

15:52And this emphasizes, this ministry of grace emphasizes Paul's life, his heartbeat, his passion. Going back to our text this morning in Acts chapter 20, verse 24, listen to what he says. Listen to how Paul summed up his life. We had an, as I was coming in, another one of our ministry luminaries here, Marilyn, told me, this is her life verse. This is her life verse. I think it's safe to say this is Paul's life verse. Sums up nicely. I hope this will be a life verse of you and me here. Acts 20, verse 24. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

16:57Notice something that Paul was not about, something that Paul was not about at all. And that is, I don't want my life to be all about me at all. I do not consider my life of any account, of any subject matter, really dear or precious. Notice there is something that Paul was all about. Notice what he says: that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus. To finish his course, that race course that God had set out for him, that track, that paradigm, that place where God had set out for Paul individually to go. I want to finish the course that God has set out for me and the ministry, the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus. The ministry.

18:00The service, the giving aid. The course that God had mapped out for Paul was also a ministry, a service, a service to God, and a service to man. But then notice from this verse how he described, or how Paul defined his own ministry to testify to the good news of the grace of God. That's how he summed up his whole ministry. This was his service to God and to man to testify of God's grace, to testify.

18:49What does that mean? To witness, to urge forcefully, to earnestly speak about. So Paul saw the whole purpose of his life as that of a spokesperson for God, and specifically his grace. And this purpose, this testifying ministry to the grace of God that had touched him became overwhelmingly everything that defined who Paul was. He had been touched by grace, and he couldn't help but talk about that grace, and so he took God's grace. Into the highways and into the byways and to the meeting places and the marketplaces and the campuses of society. What an important calling to speak, to testify to the grace of God. Listen, that's the one thing this world needs to know. That's the one thing that you and I need to be reminded of over and over: God's good will to us.

19:59What a high calling. And it cost him his life. He experienced God's grace, and then he became a herald of such grace. He was spent for God's grace, and he was silenced because of God's grace. He couldn't be silent. He was touched by grace, and then God wanted to use him to touch others with grace. And this is what has happened to many of us. And this is why the ministry of grace will continue to go forward. It's not that we should speak, it's that we cannot help but speak of the grace of God who has touched our soul.

20:50Paul saw his whole life as a testimony of God's grace, and his main purpose to testify to God's grace to every individual he came in contact with. With. That was his purpose. What a great way to live. So now that we have concluded Galatians and we're on our journey to Hebrews, I want to step back and look at this ministry of grace of Paul in the larger context of the New Testament. I want you to see this testimony or this testifying ministry to grace and how it permeates the whole of the gospel enterprise. We are constantly to be testifying to the grace of God entirely through the whole gospel enterprise. There isn't a place in the gospel enterprise where we cease to testify to the grace of God. And I want you to see that this morning. Testifying ministry permeates the whole of the gospel.

22:01I'm going to look at this this morning. Ministry of grace. First of all, there's grace in the commission. Grace in the commission. There is grace in being sent to proclaim grace. Paul saw that it was a great grace to be able to proclaim grace. And if you think about it, the whole gospel mission of grace began with our Lord touching people with his grace and then saying, Sending him out to touch others. As I read earlier, Galatians 1:15, Paul says this, but when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles. Called me through his grace. He says in Romans 1:1 that he is called as an apostle by Jesus Christ. And in verse 5 of Romans 1, he says, Through whom? Through Jesus Christ, whom we have received, grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles for his namesake. He saw it as a privilege, a grace, something that he received, this privilege to go speak on behalf of grace, to be touched by grace, to speak on behalf of grace. And then in Ephesians 3:1, he says, he's a prisoner, and he says this, I have been given a stewardship of grace. He saw the grace that God had given to him as a stewardship, something that he then needed to turn around and be a good steward of, that grace. And he goes on in verse 7 of Ephesians 3, of which I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me according to the working of his power. To me, Paul's saying, to me. Verse 8, the very least of all saints, this grace was given to me to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.

24:16Paul didn't think he deserved it after all he had been doing to the church. Life is a grace, friends. And a life testifying to God's grace is a grace of unfathomable riches. So says Paul. There's grace in being sent to proclaim grace. Look, everyone you come in contact with needs God's grace. What a privilege it is to be touched by grace, to have received in abundance through faith this grace. What a privilege to have in abundance what everyone else needs.

25:05You might be sitting here today and think, well, I have very little capacity to testify to God's grace. Well, guess what? You're in good company because so did Paul. Paul thought he had absolutely no right ability to speak about the grace of Christ, the very one whom he persecuted. And yet, Christ set him aside for it. So let this grace be seen in your words, your deeds, the way you work, the way you do your school, the way you serve others, regardless of where you are or what specifically God has called you to be doing or whatever route or course, race course that God has out for you.

25:51Even if you think your life is mundane, let me tell you this: testifying to God's grace turns the mundane into something extraordinary. Use these mundane moments of your life to testify to the grace of God. This ministry of grace, you can see it at the very outset in the commission. But then there's grace in evangelism. Grace in evangelism. There is grace in the message of grace. There's grace in the very message of grace. And we looked at this in depth. Remember when we went through Acts 13 and Paul was preaching there in Galatia and Pisity and Antioch specifically? You remember the message? Jesus Christ and him crucified. Jesus Christ resurrected. Jesus Christ exalted. Why? So that there's forgiveness of sins and redemption from the curse of the law and be delivered from the things that the law couldn't deliver you from.

26:53It was the message of salvation. There's grace in the message. Of grace. In Ephesians 1, 7, Paul says this, In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. And he goes on to it in Ephesians 2:8, and he says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Grace is like a great treasury. And friends, that's the only thing we really have of value, is God's goodwill to us. If you don't have God's goodwill to you, you have nothing.

27:42Yet the good news is in the gospel through Jesus Christ, that goodwill of the Father is sent to you, is extended to you. Romans 3, 21, Paul says this, but now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and prophets. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe, for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Isn't that interesting good news?

28:25Good news, first of all, we're all sinners. God's taking that into account. Every one of us. So don't think you have to be, we're all short. We all need what Christ gives. We need the redemption that's in Christ. We can be sure there will be peace on earth because God's will is toward man. So being able to testify to this is what the lost need. This is what you and I, as lost people, needed to hear. And someday, when at some point when you came to Christ, news got through that thick head and hard heart of yours that God really does show his grace towards you. And your eyes begin to see what he did and what he said upon the cross.

29:19And it illumines your soul. And you take into account and to the reality of your soul, God loves me on a profound level. And it has nothing to do with me, but with who he is. That's the good news of the gospel. And testifying to the grace of God in salvation is a manifestation of this ministry of grace. So there's grace in evangelism. But then there is also grace in instruction. I'm telling you, Paul sees grace permeating the whole of the gospel enterprise. There is grace in instructing others in the ways of grace. Grace in instructing others in the way of Christ. Titus 2:11, Paul says this: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.

30:49You see, we testify to grace because there's more than just salvation. Grace is not just simply a ticket to heaven, but instruction for man to live up to his potential, to image God. Can you imagine what this world is going to be like when all the creative energies of mankind are funneled toward good? Instead of studying war, we study how to bless, how to glorify. You see, not only does Grace brings salvation from sin and the curse of the law, but it gives instruction in the ways that are right and good and wise.

31:42Grace shows us that life has a purpose, a purpose that's worth pursuing, a purpose that is good for this world, a ministry of grace. That's your service to the world, testifying to this grace. It was grace that transformed Paul in the first place, but that grace kept at work in Paul, instructing him and causing him to grow in purity throughout his life. And that's why his zeal never languishes. Fourth, there's grace in exhortation. Grace exhortation. You see, there's grace in the encouragement to continue in grace.

32:35There's grace when those people come alongside and encourage you and remind you of God's grace and encourage you to continue in God's grace. You see, because people, you and I, we can easily forget God's grace. We can easily lapse into a sin or sins or pattern of sin. We can easily lap into a Lapse into a performance-based relationship with God, or we can buckle under the pressures of life and those who pressure us to renounce grace.

33:14This is the very thing that Paul and Barnabas were doing. They're in Acts 13:43, urging them to continue in the grace of God. This is exactly what we see in 2 Timothy is about. 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul says this, and Timothy seems like he's about to buckle under the pressures. He says, You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others. It's like one of the very last ministries that Paul has is to young Timothy, and he's encouraging him and urging him to continue in the grace. And I love the way this text reads in the Greek: you, therefore, son of mine, you be being empowered, you be strengthening yourself, you be being empowered. I know it's bad English, but it's a command. You be strengthening yourself. How are you going to strengthen yourself? In the grace of Jesus Christ.

34:44Grace strengthens. When you remind yourself of the God who is full of grace and you let your heart take in the realities of His grace and His good will, it strengthens a soul that's about to buckle. That was Paul's last exhortation on earth, really. Grace strengthens. So keep testifying to yourself and others to take courage, to take strength, and find strength in God's grace. Because God's grace is. Therefore, it's going to continue. Fifth, I want you to see the grace that's in indigenization. I know it's a long word. What am I trying to say there? Well, one of the things you see in Paul's ministry is that he loved to found churches. There is grace in establishing communities of grace. He would preach the gospel in the local soil, and he would.

36:01Enjoy seeing those that sprung forth out of the ground that God raised up. And then he loved putting those people into a community where they would relate to one another, grow in grace. So there's grace in establishing communities of grace, indigenizing, communicating God's grace, and then organizing those little communities of grace. Ephesians 4:7, Paul elaborates this. But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says, When he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. And in verse 11, he says, And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors, some as teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. You see, Christ establishes communities of grace.

37:21He establishes communities of grace that will celebrate his grace, that will nurture others in his grace, and will proclaim. His grace. It's a testifying ministry to his grace. That's what this church is about. When you get together, what do we talk about a lot? We talk about God. We talk about his goodness. We talk about his mercy. And to do this, Christ equipped each person with gifts that are to be used to build one another up in the faith. You see, we're not alone in this world.

38:02You may think you do not have much to give. Neither did Paul. But you do because who Christ is, not because who you are. And he wisely distributed gifts so that you would build up the community of faith. Celebrate his grace and nurture others in his grace. I love to see, I love to see people here in this church who are using their God-given gifts to build up this community of faith. And some of you are good at it. Thank you. You are a blessing of blessings.

38:46And you do it because you testify through your life and through your words the grace of God. Six, there's grace in edification, similar to To the last one. Grace and edification. There is grace in edifying others. When you talk about edification, you're talking about enriching. Christ enriches the lives of his people, and he extends that enriching influence, his grace, to others through the edifying speech of his people. He wants us speaking in a way that edifies everyone you come in contact with on an individual level, but also on a corporate level. Look at Ephesians 4:29, listen to this. Paul says, Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

39:59Colossians 4:6, let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. There are needs every moment of every person. Let your speech be that which is so characterized by grace that it edifies. It's a testifying ministry. Christ envisions that your speech. Will be speech that edifies, enriches, and strengthens, and encourages other people in the ways and in the things that they need the encouragement the most.

40:44Yours is to be a testifying ministry, as Paul saw his. But he also sees this on a corporate level. 2 Thessalonians 1:11, to this end, also we pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ, building up that community of faith through edifying words, deeds.

41:30Finally, there's grace in accommodation. There's grace in commodation. See, there's grace in having confidence in grace. Isn't it wonderful that we are exhorted to have confidence in grace? The ministry of grace begins, it's commissioned by God, and it goes back to him. The one who commissioned. It, he must be the one who completes it, not us. Acts 15, 40. You remember when they were going out on the journey, missionary journey? Paul chose Silas and being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. Missionary endeavors are committed to the grace of the Lord. I prayed for my grandson today, early this morning, and I commended him to the grace of God. Because at some point when grandpa is not going to be around, but God always will be. So we commend him to the grace, and his grace is a reality. And you can have confidence in the grace. The grace that began the work is going to commissioned the work is going to finish it, even if we pass off the scene.

42:56In Acts 20, 32, that's what Paul says just a few verses down from our text. And now I commend you to God, to the Ephesians and the Ephesian church and the elders. I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. See, Paul had come to the end. His ministry was done at Ephesus. They knew they weren't going to see him again. And inevitably, our individuals' ministries must come to an end. We are all. Terminal. And so our little ministries are going to wither.

43:36Disciples are going to move on, or we will be taken away. But we can be assured that this ministry of grace is going to continue because it did not begin with us. It never was dependent upon us, and it is not going to end with us. God's grace preceded us, it's going to transcend us. You see, the God of grace is. Therefore, the ministry of grace is going to continue. So you see, this ministry of grace: there's grace in the commission, grace in evangelism, grace in instruction, grace in exhortation, grace in the indigenization, grace in edification, and grace in accommodation. All of that. That sums up the whole gospel enterprise. And it was all a testifying ministry. God, Christ, or Paul testifying to the grace of Christ.

44:33It transcends all of it. We're always testifying to the grace of God in all of these situations. So is this an introduction to Hebrews or a conclusion to Galatians? Well, let me give you a little insight into what's coming in Hebrews. One of the big exhortations in Hebrews is about an invitation. In response to this grace. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. There's an invitation because God is full of grace, because he is a God who does show his goodwill to people who come under that in the person of Jesus Christ. That's where his grace is displayed.

45:25There's also a warning, also given in Hebrews: do not insult the Spirit of grace, do not treat Jesus Christ as a lightly figure. He is someone of great magnitude. You see, Paul spent his life testifying to the grace of God, and he was violently cut down sometime around 66 or 67 AD during Nero's persecution. He was executed, so says reliable tradition, by the imperial court. But the testifying ministry of grace continued. Why? Because there is more to Paul than the man.

46:17There is something greater than the man. There is something that made the man the man. And that was his faith in the God of grace. Because God was, because Paul was connected to the God of grace, God's glory eclipsed everything else in Paul's life. He could have been wealthy, he could have had accolades, he could have had safety, but there was something that wouldn't let him ease up, and that was his connection to the living God.

47:04We're not to be people who give up. This testifying ministry is the ministry. You who have been touched by grace are to continue in that grace and to continue testifying of that grace. So don't be silent when it comes to God's grace. Tell somebody what God has done. Do not be ashamed of the good things that God has done in your life. Chances are the very people that God brings in your life need to hear that.

47:40Until Christ returns, we can expect that God's going to continue this ministry of grace. He's going to continue touching people with his grace. We can expect that there are going to be those who oppose that grace, and some may be in the most violent kind of ways, but we can expect this ministry of grace to. To continue because God is. Because God is. His grace is. And because His grace is, we will forever be talking about His goodness and the goodness of His grace. Let's pray.

48:20Heavenly Father, we do come before you, thanking you for these truths. We thank you for the ministry of your grace. Father, may you transform our hearts. I know there are many here today that need to be reminded of your goodwill towards them. Help us all to respond to your grace. Father, there are some here who have never come to faith in you. Father, I pray this morning that you would draw them. Father, that you would put it in their heart to confess their sin before you and come to you. Father, thank you for your great grace. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.