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4:30Thank you for this resurrection light. Father, that which speaks so loudly. Father, that indeed the curse has been turned backwards, that you have made a way for dying men and women to live again. Father, we thank you for the suffering of your son. We thank you that in his suffering you carried our sins away. Father, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to come under your grace, to come under your blessing, as opposed to remain under your curse. That is a work, a costly work of your son, and it's because of that we can gather today.

5:31Father, I know there are many here today, heavy hearts, sinful hearts, caught up in many things that they know they should not be caught up in. Father, but we can come before you because of the grace we have in Christ Jesus. And I pray for those, Father, today would be a day of turning to you. Pray for all of us, Father, that we would rejoice more and more. In the resurrection, hope, and light. Father, indeed, indeed, death does not have the final say.

6:10Father, it's our joy this morning to gather here and to know that we are people in you and under your blessing and your eternal blessing because of the work of Jesus Christ. So, Father, we thank you for sending your Son. We thank you for the sacrifice of your Son. And now we want to return the worship and give him the honor to do his name. Help us, Holy Spirit, to do so. In Jesus' name, Amen. Again, good morning.

6:50Please turn in your Bibles to Galatians 1. Galatians 1, verse 1. Galatians 1, verse 1. Paul, an apostle, not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. What does it mean to be on mission? What does it mean to be a missionary of God's grace? On March 2, I'm sorry, on May 27th, 1943, a crew of military personnel were engaging in a search and rescue mission over the Pacific when their plane suddenly lost power and crashed into the sea. Only three of the ship's eleven crewmen survived. Among them was a man named Louis Zamparini.

8:03He spent the next 47 days adrift in a lifeboat, enduring blistering heat, severe hunger, dehydration, death, sharks, a number of other things. After 47 days at sea, he was captured by the Japanese. And over the next two years, he suffered disease, exposure, starvation, and nearly daily beatings from the guards in the prisoner of war camp. One guard in particular took joy in torturing Zamparini. He beat him with clubs. He beat him with belts, fists, and regularly threatened to kill him.

9:10On one occasion, he had Zamparini hold a heavy wooden beam over his head and threatened to shoot him if he dropped. The list of what Zamparini suffered in that POW camp could go on and on. All that to say, few people suffered more in World War II than Zamparini. In fact, few people in history have had to pay a higher price for engaging in a search and rescue mission. It was a very, very costly search and rescue mission.

9:58Well, today I want to talk to you about another search and rescue mission. You know, we can think about the gospel as a very costly search and rescue mission, the greatest search and rescue mission ever launched, and the most costly search and rescue mission ever. We see this great cost first in the sending. Of the Son, the Father, enduring the cost of sending his Son, and what all that would involve, of watching his Son, one he dearly loved, go through.

10:47Then we see this cost again in the Lord Himself, who laid down His life in crucifixion to save, to rescue His people from God's curse. That was a costly mission. But we also see the great cost seen in the suffering of the Apostle Paul. You remember in Acts chapter 9, Jesus told Ananias of Damascus when he was reluctant to go and minister to Paul. He said in Acts 9:15, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. Listen to Paul's own words about the suffering he endured. Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was stoned. I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and in thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. What causes a man to endure such hardship?

12:47Oh, certainly a love for God, certainly a love for the mission itself. Paul certainly loved God, he certainly loved the mission. But beyond this, there was a special preparation of Paul to endure such hardships for Christ's name. And God was active in preparing Paul for just such a mission. We've been looking at this: God's sovereign grace in missions. We understand that the mission itself is under Christ's authority. He's the one who initially launched it. He is the mind behind the search and rescue mission of the gospel.

13:32We also see that the missionaries themselves are under Christ's authority. And we looked at this already. God has determined when and where Paul lived. God determined the home in which Paul was raised. And then in God's timing, God made Paul a monument to his grace. Before Paul would become a missionary of God's grace, he would become a monument to God's grace. And then God commissioned Paul to be a missionary of his grace. And I want to spend our time this morning looking at Paul's commission to be a missionary. Why?

14:16Because it's foundational to understanding Galatians. In fact, it's foundational to understanding the rest of Paul's writings. What happened on that road to Damascus that day forever changed Paul. And it became the very foundation on which he would minister, and the foundation on which all of his letters are written. Listen to what one commentator said. Paul's whole theology is nothing but the explanation of his own conversion. Another said it like this. It's a wonderful. Thing to have a great experience of grace. This was the true genesis of Saul's gospel, the revelation of Christ in him. In other words, everything that Paul writes about is really an explanation. His doctrine, his theology, his entire system of doctrine is nothing more than an explanation of what happened to him on the road to Damascus.

15:30In other words, the gospel was first good news to Paul before he proclaimed it as good news to anyone else. Paul experienced God's grace and then he proclaimed his grace. So what does it mean to be on mission? I mean, it's kind of a buzzword today. It's cool to be on mission. We're on mission. And that's good. But what does it really mean? And specifically, what does it mean to be on biblical mission? I mean, corporations around America now, they're on a mission. They usually have mission statements and all that. They're on a mission to do something.

16:16But what does it mean to be on a gospel mission? Well, look back at verse 1. Paul, he's an individual. That was our first sermon, remember? Introducing the series, just trying to get our mind around who Paul is. Then we looked at the second part, second sermon, Paul, an apostle. And now we're going to cover a whole lot more territory. And we're going to look at the rest of verse 1. We're really moving fast. But you see that mission, the individual, Paul, an apostle, the sent-out one, a delegate, a missionary, a messenger, a man on a mission, Paul, a man on a mission. And then the rest of verse 1, we see the sending agency. Look back. Not sent from men, nor through the agency of man. So he's not, this doesn't come from a group of men or an institution of man. It's not of man. Paul's going to make that, stress that over and over, because there were many in Galatia who were accusing him, well, his message is just from men. And he's saying, no, it's not. It's from Revelation. And specifically, an encounter with the resurrected Christ.

17:44Yeah, he is Paul, a man on mission, but not on a mission that comes from man or through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. That's the sending agency. Jesus Christ, Jesus, the one from Nazareth, who is Messiah, who is King, God's anointed one, ruler of humanity. And God the Father, the one who sent Christ, His Son, the One who raised him from the dead. You start seeing the prominence of the resurrection and Paul's thinking.

18:32Paul's gospel, the gospel, the resurrection. And so, what I want to do this morning is I want to look at Paul's commission. He has said it's through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. I want to spend some time looking at this commission from different texts to continue introducing yourself, myself, and yourself, to the book of Galatians and to all of Paul's writing. I hope to sit at the feet of Paul for a while, learn from him. We get the opportunity to know him a little bit better today by looking at his commission. And we'll do that largely through Acts 26. So I encourage you to turn to Acts 26. Keep your finger at our marker in Galatians 1. We'll flip back there.

19:33But I want you to see how God commissioned Paul to be a missionary of his grace, so you too will not only know what it's like to be on mission for Christ, but you will truly be on mission with Christ. So, first of all, what can we say about a missionary of God's grace? Well, a missionary of God's grace is commissioned by God's grace. Of course. Christ's commissioning of Paul was certainly an act of his grace.

20:05It was an act of God's grace that Paul would ever have been selected to be on mission with Christ. Think about what Paul's resume looked like at that time. His resume qualified him to be an enemy of Christ, but certainly not an ambassador for him. Could you imagine if Kamala wins the election? Do you think for a moment that she would hire Donald Trump to be on her cabinet? Or vice versa? Suppose Trump wins. Kamala sends him her resume. Do you think he's going to look at that resume? Ah, this is exactly what I want. Of course not. Well, that's how Paul's resume would have appeared.

20:54Far worse. Majorly worse. The disconnect couldn't have been more profound. And yet, Paul meets Christ on the road to Damascus. There are three accounts of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. In Acts 9, in Acts 22, and in Acts 26. Acts 9, Luke is telling the account as it fits into the greater picture of Acts. Acts 22, that's where Paul is talking to the hostile Jewish crowd, but ultimately, it's the reason why he's going to appeal to Rome.

21:43And Acts 26 is where he is going to stand before King Agrippa. Each account is different, has different purposes, but they harmonize very nicely. And so last week, we looked mostly at the events in Acts 9. Today, I want to look more at the details in Acts 26. Paul is before Agrippa defending his actions. We read about, we read the whole part of it a few moments ago. I won't read it again. But look at Acts 26, verse 12. And that's where Paul. Picks up the account as he is defending the gospel before Agrippa. He says this, I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven brighter than the sun shining all around me and those journeying with me. So he's going up, midday, that's when the sun would be at the highest. And all of a sudden, there's a light that absolutely embarrasses the sun.

23:06In verse 14, and when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Hebrew, Saul, Jesus is referring to him by his calling him by his Hebrew name, Saul. Why are you persecuting? What is persecuting me? It means to drive out, to pursue with the intention of harm. And it's Jesus' question that reveals what is going on in the heart of Paul. Listen to what Brad Clausen says. His hatred was directed not only against the church, but against the one whom the church worshipped. Jesus takes persecution of the church personally. Personally, persecution of the church is persecution of Jesus. Paul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? That's the real battle going on in Paul's heart. Being hostile to Christians is being hostile to Christ. And whether that happens on a personal level, I don't like Christians on a personal level, or whether it's to legislate out on a governmental level, or to philosophize Christ out on an academic level, or to theologize the Christ of Scripture out of existence from a religious or a denominational standpoint. It all amounts to persecuting, driving out Christ Himself. That's where the real war is.

24:59People who despise Christians and what Christians stand for really are attacking the one that Christians worship, the Christ who is revealed in Scripture. That's where the war is. That's what this world wants driven out. Why? I don't know. I don't know what Christ has ever done. Do you want to be driven out? We should drive him out. He's good. He's really good. It doesn't make sense, but that's exactly what sin does. It's the way it was in Paul's time. It's what was going on in Paul's heart. It's what happens in ours as well. It's a war against the Lamb.

25:55But notice Jesus' statement. It's hard for you to kick against the goads. The goads is the ancient cattle prod. We know about that in Texas. A little different, though. It had pricks and little spikes or points that would actually, when you had a pair of oxen, cattle in a yoke, and you were wanting them to plow, you would prod them, poke them. And what that expression is, it's a proverbial expression to refer to the futility of resisting a superior power. And that's exactly what Paul was doing. He was resisting God in the way that Stephen called him out on.

26:41And what Jesus is saying, such resistance is futile. You remember, even Paul's persecution of the church was being used by God to expand it. That's why Paul's on the road to Damascus. Because he persecuted the church in Jerusalem and they spread, and then all. Of a sudden, the gospel starts going all over, and as Acts chapter 10 and chapter 11, and so he's on the road to Damascus to bring back those who his persecution initiated to leave.

27:18Look at verse 15. Look at Paul's question. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now, the very next question, when you harmonize these accounts, is in Acts 22:10. At this very juncture, Paul's next question in this sequence is, What shall I do? What shall I do? And the Lord said, Get up, go to Damascus, and there you'll be told what to do. But in chapter 26, Jesus goes right into the statement, get up, stand on your feet, and he explains the purpose more clearly.

28:16And Paul gives a record of that. All this happened on the road, but before the Jewish mob, Paul had a little bit different message than he did before King Agra. And so he goes into the details of his commissioning. Who are you, Lord? Verse 15, I am Jesus, who you are persecuting. Get up, stand on your feet, for this purpose I have appeared to you to appoint you a minister and a witness, not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things which I will appear to you, rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me. Notice the two commands.

29:17In Acts 26, verse 16, get up, stand. It's evident that if Jesus wasn't there to destroy Paul, but he had a different purpose for his life. And it's clear that Jesus didn't want Paul, Saul, wreaking any more havoc on the church. He wanted Saul to become a blessing to the church. By the way, you can be sure that this is God's pleasing will for your life, too, not to wreak havoc. Not to be indifferent, but to use your God-given tasks to be a blessing to the church, to the people that you congregate with.

30:14But notice what Jesus says: for this purpose I have appeared to you. I have appeared to you. It's passive. I have allowed you to see me, Paul. And in Paul's case, that was both physically and spiritually. But Jesus had a purpose for revealing himself to Paul. And as he does to everyone, he has a purpose. But notice, we'll look at some of the major details of Jesus' commission to Paul. Certainly a commissioning by God's grace. A missionary of God's grace is commissioned by God's grace. First of all, to be a minister and a witness. To be a minister. To be an assistant. A helper. Paul, I have appeared to you so that you will become my assistant, a minister, and a witness. It's where we get martyr from. What does a witness do? A witness testifies to somebody, to the validity of something. That's what a Witness does.

31:33I want you my helper, you are my assistant, and you're going to witness. You're going to testify to the validity of some things. And Jesus' appointment has something in mind. Notice. He's commissioned by God's grace to be a minister and a witness to open blind eyes. 18. To open. That is to give access to something, to cause people to see, to hear, to understand, to give them access, so that they too can see what Paul has seen.

32:16And there's an intention for that. So that people will do three things. So that people will do three things. Back at the verse 18, second part. First of all, that they may turn to God. That they may turn to God. That they may turn around. It's the word about face. That, Paul, I want you to be a minister. I want you to be my assistant, testifying for the purpose of people seeing what you have seen and know what you know, so that they may turn to. God change their directions. This is the word for conversion. They may turn to God, much like Saul needed to do. Instead of opposing God and persecuting Christ, he needed to turn to Christ. But look at what he wants people to change: change from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God. Verse 18.

33:31Notice that they may turn. Second. So that people would do a second thing, having their eyes open so that they can see and understand, so that they would turn to God and so that they would receive forgiveness of sins. It's an active verb. It's not passive, so that they would receive, like in a sense, like have nothing to do with it. It's a grasping. It's a taking hold. It's that they may take hold. I'm going to get a little English here. Take hold of a noun.

34:13Paul, I want them to turn to God and grasp a noun. What is that noun? Forgiveness of sins. That they may take hold of pardon. That they may grasp by faith. Faith, their release of their sins. That, Paul, I want you to be an instrument that will open up people's eyes so that they will see their need for forgiveness and they will take hold of the forgiveness that's in Jesus Christ. That's why I'm sending you, Paul.

34:58That they would receive. You know what? This incredible, there's this document called a quit claim. I don't know if you've ever heard that term before, but like, suppose there's a property and it gets contested, and in order for that property to be sold, a title, the company has to go and figure out how to get a release. It's called a quit claim. They may go to somebody and say, okay, this property is still, you still have a right to this land, but we want you to fill out this or sign this quit claim. That means forever release your claim. That's the idea of forgiveness for sins. That in Christ there is a cancellation of sin.

35:50That God no longer has a claim to curse you, but only to blame you. You. That's what forgiveness of sins. To take hold of the pardon is in Christ Jesus. Have you taken hold of the pardon? That's in Jesus Christ. Third, that they may receive an inheritance with God's people. Look back. To open their eyes, verse 18, so that they may return from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me. What's an inheritance?

36:43It's a portion, an allotment. So here we go. So the people will do three things. Turn to God. So that they would take hold of one noun. So then they'll take hold of another noun. What's that other noun? An inheritance. What's that? Their portion. To take hold of their place, their share, that which is assigned to them among this very special class of people who have been sanctified, set apart for God's purposes through faith in him. It's the most special class of people by faith. What is faith? It too is active. Not only is the receiving taking hold of pardon. Not only taking hold of the inheritance, but it is, that's what faith does. It takes hold. It's a person holding on to something.

37:40What is that? The truth revealed. Abraham, this is what Abraham did. He believed God and he was justified and he was cleansed. There is no relationship with God unless you believe him. Of course. It's not hard to understand. But Abraham is justified. He was cleansed by faith. And so will you. And so is everyone who turns to him in faith. Years ago, I wrote a story trying to explain what faith is to my children. I lost the story, by the way. But it was really about a rope, a rope called faith. And the idea was this Texan lasso, really good with the rope. But the rope, I think of faith, it's like a heart lasso connected to God.

38:46And that's what faith is. It is active, it is being connected by faith. We can't see him with our eyes, but he's real. Connect to him by faith. So Missionary of God's grace is commissioned by grace, by God's grace, to be a minister and a witness, to open blind eyes so that people will turn to God, receive forgiveness of sins, and receive an inheritance with God's people. There's a second thing: a missionary of God's grace also embraces the mission of God's grace. Not only does he commission by God's grace, but he embraces the mission of God's grace.

39:31And so, insight into how Paul understood his commission is given in the very next verses in Acts 26. Look back again at verse 19. Look at what Paul says in verse 19. So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision. You see, Paul saying, I embraced the mission, and I went to work right away. And so, Paul's understanding of the commission is announced in the next few verses. Look at how Paul embraced the mission. First of all, look at verse 20 by declaring what God expects of all people. Notice what he said. So, King Agrippa, verse 19, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring, verse 20, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus, first. And also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea and even to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.

40:44What did he do? What is the mission? Declaring what God expects of all people, Jew, Gentile, everywhere. What does he expect? That they should repent, that they should have a change of mind and heart towards the direction that they are going. Like Paul needed a change of mind and heart on the road to Damascus as he was going to pummel and persecute the Christians. He needed a change of heart because he was persecuting Christ. His hostility was against God, and he needed a change of heart, and so do you, and so do I. It's the message that they should repent and turn to God. There's that word conversion, that you repent and turn to God. Now, here we need to take a moment for what I call a theology moment.

41:34The response that God is looking for in people involves some interrelated concepts: conversion, repentance, and faith. These are things that happen simultaneously. And the moment you start separating them, it gets confusing. You get confused because the Bible doesn't separate them. And in the end, In this passage, Paul's talking about repentance, a change of mind. What is conversion? Conversion is about an about face. Repentance is the negative aspect of that. I'm turning away from something. The about face is I'm turning to something. That's faith, trust. Do you see how these concepts, you can't have one without the other? Where there's conversion, there's repentance and faith. Where there is repentance, there's conversion and faith. All of it is bound together, and it happens at the time one is born from above, as Paul was.

42:43A missionary of God's grace embraces the mission of God's grace by declaring what God expects of all people. And look back at verses 22 and 23, by testifying to what the scriptures say. Notice what he says in verse 21: For this reason, some Jews seize me, Grippa. That's why I'm here before you today in the temple and tried to put me to death. Verse 22: So having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying. That's what he's doing. He's testifying. That was what Christ sent him to do, was to be a witness. And that's what a witness does, testifies. Paul says, I stand this day testifying both to small and great, all classes, stating nothing. But what the prophets and Moses said was going to take place.

43:35See that? Paul saying, I'm not going beyond the bounds of Scripture at all. I'm testifying to what the scriptures say. Paul understood that his testifying ministry was to what had been revealed in the scriptures. He said, I'm not going beyond that, King Agrippa. And then there's some specifics of what the scriptures say. Verse 23: that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of his resurrection from the dead, he would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. What do the scriptures emphasize? Christ's death and Christ's resurrection.

44:20And that that resurrection, Christ's resurrection, was the first light. Look at that. News. This is the light. By reason of his resurrection from the dead, he would be the first to proclaim light to both the Jewish people and the Gentiles. Listen, somebody was raised from the dead, made it through the curse. Somebody is living outside the curse of God. It is Jesus Christ, the one who suffered. Why? To take away the curse of God from his people, to bring them under the blessing of God. God, and here's one, one in human history who is not dead and stayed dead, but one who is raised from the dead. That's the beginning of the good, the light, the beginning of the good news, resurrection from the dead. And that's what Paul is testifying.

45:24So the resurrection is integral to the message of Christ and the hope that we have. This life isn't all there is. You see, Paul understood that his message was a testifying ministry. He understood his audience, small, great, Jew, Gentile. He understood where his message came from. Moses and the prophets. He testified to Christ's death and resurrection. He testified to what God did in his own life. And it's in this narrative that Festus interrupts. And then in a moment, we're able to see Paul's heart, his heartfelt embrace of this commission. Look in verse 28. Agrippa replied to Paul, in a short time, you will. Persuade me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I wish to God that whether in short time or long time, not only you, but all those who hear me this day might become such as I am, except for these chains.

46:49See the heart? Paul, he completely embraced his mission, whether he's standing before the king or anyone else. But it's important to note that Paul's conversion and call to ministry were simultaneous. And what I mean is they happened in the same encounter. Paul didn't view his conversion and call to ministry as separate encounters. I'll turn back to Galatians 1. Let me show you this again in Galatians 1, verse 15. As Paul is speaking to the Galatians, he says this in verse 15, Galatians 1, 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. Same encounter. God revealed his grace to Paul so that Paul would become a missionary. Of his grace. And he commissioned him by his grace. Paul embraced that mission of grace. But it all happened. Many of the specific details are going to come later, but the general content, Paul understood. General content of his mission had already been given. And you know, I believe that's the same truth today. I remember when I first came to Christ, there was already a love for God, the things of God, the mission of God. I didn't have the specifics worked out, but I knew I was called to be engaged and active with Christ in His enterprise. Same is true today. Each of us uniquely called, uniquely gifted, uniquely prepared. We are to step in and minister in this great search and rescue mission we call the gospel.

49:00Well, Jesus commissioned Paul to be his ministry assistant, witness, so that eyes would be opened, so that people can turn from darkness to light, from dominion to Satan, to the blessings of God, to have forgiveness of sins and inheritance among the best community ever. That was Paul's commission and the means. How was Paul to carry it out by testifying to all peoples everywhere what Moses and the prophets declared would happen? He was to testify to the reality of Christ's suffering, the reality of Christ's resurrection, and the personal and life-changing encounter he had with Christ and the necessity of faith. He was to testify to all of these. And it would be through that testifying ministry that Christ would continue to search and rescue people from the dominion of Satan.

50:12And God had uniquely prepared Paul to endure the loads of suffering that would inevitably come as a result. And part of that involved his former life as a persecutor. The persecutor himself would endure many of the same afflictions he forced upon others. Do you see how, even in how God was shaping and preparing this instrument of his grace? He even used Paul's past life as a persecutor to galvanize him and to forge him into the tool that he needed him to be.

50:56And I think that's part of why Paul was able to endure so much. Because he had dished out so much to others. And now he was going to be called upon to take it. You see, not only did God decide when and where and to whom Paul was born, but he also used his former life in shaping the man for the mission that he had. And he does it today. The new light that Paul experienced that day on Damascus reconstituted his being.

51:40It played upon the experiences, life experiences he previously had, and it forged him into this unconquerable spirit who God was going to send into enemy territory to rescue countless souls from the dominion of darkness. God prepared the missionary. And it would be a costly mission. And you know what? It still is today. That is why Jesus says many things like, if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily. Luke 9:62, no one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 14, 27, whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Where Jesus is going.

52:33You see, Jesus is still very much on a search and rescue mission. And when he saves a person, that person becomes part of the mission. Because we're with Christ. I want to come back to World War II for a moment. Zamparini, that search and rescue mission that he was on that day proved to be very costly for him. But you know what? In God's providence, Zamparini actually survived the war. And he was rescued. But returning to civilian life was very difficult for him. You see, even though he had been rescued from the dominion of the Japanese war prison, he had not been rescued from the dominion of Satan.

53:35He had a terrible time in his return into society. Anger and unforgiveness plagued him. The dreams of the war haunted him. He became a drunkard. On one occasion, he had a dream of strangling his Japanese persecutor only to awaken and realize he was strangling his wife. It's no wonder that his wife decided to divorce him. The only hope for Louis Zamparini was the success of another search and rescue mission, that of the gospel. His wife happened to go to a Billy Graham crusade. And she came back and said, I'm not going to divorce you anymore.

54:25And this got him to go to the crusade. And it was in this moment of greatest despair back in 1949 that Zamparini went into the tent of that Billy Graham crusade. His eyes were opened, his sins forgiven, and a new man was born that day. God's grace used him. It used his past experiences. And those experiences, enlightened by the truth of the Spirit of God, changed him into a mighty minister of God's forgiveness. In a moment, his nightmares vanished.

55:21He ceased hating his tormentors. Forgiveness filled his heart, and he became a champion. For God's grace and the ministry of forgiveness. He even went back to Japan, sharing the gospel with his former Japanese war persecutors who had become criminals and incarcerated for their war crimes. Appropriately, in 1998, it was Zamparini who carried the Olympic torch to the games in Tokyo. All a testimony to God's forgiving grace. There are some of you here today who are under the dominion of darkness and you need to turn to God. You need to take hold today of the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ. You need to be transformed by his grace and you need to step into the life that God has for you. Let faith anchor your heart to the God, to Jesus Christ, who is now behind the veil, who you can't see with your naked eye, but he's real. And you can behold him now by faith.

56:51And just as Christ first rescued Paul from his own enslavement to Satan, and then he commissioned him to be part of this. Ongoing search and rescue mission. So, Christ comes to you today to rescue you from you, to rescue you from your enslavement to sin and to commission you to a life worth living. That's what mission is all about. What is mission about? It's about being supremely devoted to the supreme cause. That was Paul. Supremely devoted to the supreme cause.

57:36Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we hear in these words our call to come and to give ourselves completely to you and to be part of the greatest cause that has ever crossed the horizon of this earth, your gospel mission. Father, we come to you as those in need of grace, recognizing that you are the God of grace, and it is because of your grace there is hope, there is resurrection, there was an answer for our sin in Jesus Christ, that there is hope beyond the grave, there is life beyond the grave, and there is a life worth living here and now.

58:26Father, by your Spirit, turn our hearts to That in faith, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.