 First Timothy chapter 1, we're going to look today at verses 12 through 17. First Timothy, excuse me, 1, verses 12 through 17. Paul writes, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly and unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. However, for this reason, I obtained mercy that in me first, Jesus Christ might show all long suffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now, to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. So Paul is writing a letter of instruction to a young pastor by the name of Timothy. And as I've been mentioning to you, the city that Timothy ministered in was a very large, according to ancient standards, a very large city. It had a population of between 250,000 to 300,000 people. It was what was called the cosmopolitan city. It had a harbor. It was an intellectual center. And it was also filled with occultism, with magic. It was one of the, it was well known in the world at that time as being a city that was given over to the worship of Diana. And Diana had those who worshiped her in various ways, including prostitutes who would go out and have sexual relations with those who were worshiping Diana. And so it was a very, very debauched, if you will, a very, a very dark city in terms of sin. It was a very large city. And God sent Paul there to minister. And Paul went into the city and began to minister the word and God moved mildly through Paul. And as Paul was there, God was using him to preach the word of the gospel. And as a result, many were being saved. Well, whatever the Lord is moving, the enemy moves in order to try and counter that. And so there's great opposition there in the city. There was an especially intense rejection of Paul's call for the people to reject idolatry. And there was a near riot that broke out because Paul had made it clear that gods are not made by human hands. And when this took place, there was a arena there that was close to the temple. And we've been to that arena. It sat 25,000 people and the people began to enter into this, this theater, this arena near the temple of Diana. And for two hours, they began to cry out greatest Diana of the Ephesians. It was a near riot conditions. And finally, as you read through the book of Acts, you see that the city clerk calmed them down. And then Paul left for Macedonia. When he did that, well, Timothy remained. Timothy remained in the city of Ephesus. So Paul is writing to encourage and to instruct him. You see, it's difficult to pastor a church in any city, but this particular city was incredibly, incredibly difficult to minister in. And he was a young man, and he's in a very hostile environment. So Paul is writing in order to encourage him. And in order to do so, Paul begins to point to himself as an example of the power of God to change somebody's life. So Paul could say, Timothy, you're in a very dark place, but don't forget the gospel can change anybody's life. You see, before his conversion, Paul hated Jesus. He violently opposed Christians. He desired to wipe out both the message of the cross as well as the followers of Christ. And he speaks about that more than once. But in Acts 26, he said it like this in verses 10 and 11, as he was given his testimony, he said, many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly enraged against them. I persecuted them even to foreign cities. When he was writing to the Galatians in chapter 1, verse 13, he said, you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. So he's speaking to Timothy and he's saying to Timothy, you've been around people who are violently opposed to the gospel before, but remember, I am one of those who also was opposed to the gospel. Paul said I wreaked havoc on and I attempted to destroy the church, but God is rich in mercy. And God had shown his mercy to the apostle Paul. We've read the story of the conversion of Paul in Acts 9, how Jesus appeared to him while he was on the road to Damascus and how he had saved him. And this encounter humbled him. This encounter with Christ completely transformed the apostle Paul. And so instead of tearing down the church, he began to work to fill the church up. So that reveals to us that God is capable of saving anybody. I've shared this with you before, but it bears repetition at this point. I was a young believer. I think I was around 23 years old. And I went to a Christian concert. Need to understand that in the Jesus movement, Christian concerts were not held just to entertain people. Christian concerts were held to reach people. And so the people doing the music would also evangelize. And so you would go to a Christian concert and you would bring your friends who didn't know the Lord. And so during the concert, there would be great music and all, but there would be a message of repentance and coming to faith in Christ. And so how was that this particular concert? It was small by today's standards. There were maybe 200 people in it, in a small room in Downey. And I was seated behind a guy who was wearing a Levi jacket with the sleeves cut off. And it had, he was a motorcycle gangster. And it had his colors in the back. I don't remember the name of the particular group he rode with, but it was right in front of me. He was huge by my standards. Anybody's huge by my standards. But he was probably six, four, 300 pounds. That's a good size guy. And he was a big guy and his hair was all long. It was down past his shoulders. And actually it began at his shoulders. He had a hairy back. No, he, anyway, he was a big guy. And just big. And as the concert was progressing, the musician evangelist began to share the gospel. And as I was there seated behind this guy, this is the truth. He was so big. I had to try and look around him. I couldn't even see past him. He was so big. And I was kind of watching. And then I began to be fixated on him. He was just, just obviously a very, very bad dude. Obviously a very sinful guy. So I'm thinking, as I'm looking at him, I'm thinking, God can't save you. God can't save you. God can't save you. I was thinking that I can't save this guy. So when the invitation came and the evangelist said, if you know that Christ is calling you to get saved today, turn away from your sins and turn to him. You want a new life in Christ. They still remember as he was sharing, then why don't you stand to your feet and come here and stand in front of this platform here and pray with me. And as I was seated, they're looking at him and I'm thinking, this guy's not going to move. This guy won't get saved. He stands up. And when he stands up, he begins, he's weeping. His body is actually moving with tears. And I see him rubbing his eyes as he's crying. And he stumbles literally, and I'm not exaggerating, he literally was kind of stumbling as he went by the first row that he was in. The row he was in, people were moving very quickly to let him out. As he went through, he went and stood in the front and stood right in the center. As I was there, I saw him right in the center. And he was wiping tears from his eyes as the evangelist was looking at him and the others who came forward. And the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me in a way that I've never forgotten. And this is what he said, I can save anybody. I can save anybody. Do you believe that? God can save anybody. He's got the power. He's got the ability. And that's what he does. God saves people no matter what they have done, no matter how long they have done it, if they repent, they can be saved. God can change you. You see, God is willing and God is able to save all who come to him in repentance and faith. In Acts 2, 21, the Bible says it shall come to pass that whoever, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So Paul was a man who had been saved. He's reminding Timothy, you may be ministering in a very evil and very dark place, Timothy. You are. There's no doubt about it. There's so much occultism. There's so much idolatry. There's so much violence and evil. There's so much sexual sin. Yes, you're in the midst of hell in a sense. But don't forget, God can save anybody who comes to him in faith. And Paul was one who had been saved. So he's pointing in a way to himself, saying, look what he did in my life and he can do it with others. Paul became a man who tirelessly evangelized the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. When he was writing to the church in Rome in chapter 15, verse 20, Paul said, I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation. Paul had spiritual passion. And this passion moved Paul to come to Ephesus in the first place. And it is this spiritual passion that Paul wants to stir up in this young man named Timothy. You see, he had said in verse 11 that he had been entrusted with the glorious gospel, and the same gospel has been entrusted to Timothy. And Timothy needs to understand that he could proclaim this message and people will be saved. This glorious gospel needs to go forth. And Timothy, you have the honor and responsibility of proclaiming it. And so at this point, Paul begins to thank Jesus Christ. And he does so for three specific things. Notice in verse 12, he says, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. So he thanks him for three specific things. One, he thanks him for enabling him. Two, he thanks God for counting him faithful. And three, he thanks God for putting him in the ministry. But this all begins with a word of gratitude in verse 12 when he said, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord. Where does ministry begin? There are those who want to be ministered. Where does it begin? Where does ministry begin? It begins with a heart of gratitude. We love him according to 1 John 419. We love him because he first loved us. Paul in 2 Corinthians 514 said it like this. He said, the love of Christ compels us. You see, he was a man who had been forgiven. And a person who has been forgiven much will love much. And one of the things that we need to understand today is there are a lot of people who need to be reminded of that. We need to remember that. You see, you can be a Christian for a while. As a matter of fact, you can be a Christian for a long time and forget where you came in. You need to remember where you came from. You need to remember that by the grace of God you are who you are today because what you were in the past is not what you are now. God has done a work in you to transform you. And it ought to make you grateful. And you ought to thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, for what he has done. God is good, isn't he? And he has done a good work in us. And we ought to be grateful for that work that he's done. And it's from that attitude of gratitude that we take the gospel to people. I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, for putting me in the ministry, he said. I thank Christ for what he's done. I haven't walked away from that. I know what he's done on my behalf. And I'm so grateful to God for what he has done. I was in college at Cal Poly Pomona. As a young man, I was a sociology student. That was one of my majors. And I had arrived at class early. So it was just one other student and me. And I didn't know the student yet. And so it was just us in a classroom there at the school before class began. And because he was seated right next to me, we began to visit. And he began to share his life with me because we have a tendency of doing that, don't we? We just talk about ourselves. We do so easily. And so he did. He began to share with me his life. He said, I'm an alcoholic. And he told me how that he was now in a particular program. And he'd been sober for so long. And I've heard that story before. And all in all, I was listening to him and respectfully hearing him. That's his story. That's what he's gone through. So of course, I respect the fact that he wants to share it with me. And I was more than willing to hear it. And I did. And so he asked me, what about you? And I said, you know, I was an alcoholic too. I still remember when I was four years old, my mom and dad on occasion would have a Saturday night with friends. They'd come to dance at the house and all. And they'd drink vodka and orange juice and various drinks, you know, whiskeys and bourbons and various things like that. And very often there were cups or glasses that still had the alcohol in it. So at the age of four, I was already drinking all the drinks that the people had left the night before. And I developed a taste for vodka and orange juice and all. And that was when I was four years old. So I became an alcoholic by the time I was a young teen. And so for me, a Friday night when I was 16 years old began with a quart of beer and a half gallon of wine. And that's how I started my night. So I was a confirmed alcoholic by the time I was 17. So I understand that. So I said, yeah, I understand that. I understand the drink and all of that. And I said, I used to do that. I shared it with them. I was an alcoholic. And I understand that. And he said, well, if you were an alcoholic, you're still an alcoholic because that's what you're taught in these 12 step and 10 step programs. You know, you begin with your name and you say, how long you've been drawing this and that. And I said, no. I said, I was an alcoholic. I am no longer an alcoholic. And I no longer identify as an alcoholic. I said, that's not me. He said, well, why do you say that? I said, because the Bible says, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, old things have passed away. Behold, all things are become new. I said, what I was is not what I am. What I am is free in Jesus Christ, because of what God can do through the power of the Holy Spirit. See, I've been sharing these, I've been sharing these things from the Bible. Since long before I was called Pastor David, I was a student at Cal Poly sharing the gospel. That's what God has called us to do. Why? Because even as Paul said, God used me as a template of his grace. If he could save me, he can save anybody. Well, I understand that because God can save anybody. And he saved me. And many of us in this room right now could say, I can add to that and even do greater things about God because of what he's done for me. As you look around out here, there are people that before Christ, I wouldn't have sat next to you, I'd have been afraid of you. We have people in this church that God has done such amazing works in, amazing works because he's so gracious as any, and he's so good. And that's where ministry begins, by the way. It begins by saying, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord. Look what he's done. I am a new creation because of him, this gospel that changed my life has been entrusted to me to give to others. He became like that woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears, whom Jesus pointed to, and spoke concerning the fact that the one who has been forgiven much, well, that same person is going to love much. All we need to do is remember who we were without Christ, what we did without Jesus, and where we are now. And you can't help but love him for all that he has done. He says, I want to thank God. So it is from this thankfulness that Paul served the Lord. And what's he thank him for again? In verse 12, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who enabled me. He's empowered me. He has strengthened me. Spiritual labor requires spiritual power. Spiritual labor doesn't simply rely on natural gifts and natural talents, because spiritual labor requires the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You should be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the most parts of the earth. It's not your natural speaking gifts. It's not your intellect. It's not your eloquence at all. What it is, it's the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 5, not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves. Our competence comes from God. You see, just because someone sings or speaks well or is educated does not enable them. It's good if you are able to do those things, but spiritual work always requires the power of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus anoints ministry and he also strengthens the minister to remain in ministry. Timothy, you're going through tough times and you're in a place that's filled with opposition. It's so dark. You need to remember that the Holy Spirit enables you to perform and to remain faithful. You see, sometimes ministry can be discouraging and sometimes it can be painful through the attacks, but the Lord uses those to strengthen us and reveal himself. In 2 Corinthians 12, 9 and 10, Paul said, he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Because he learned to rely on the Lord, to lean into the Lord and to be strengthened by him. You see, Paul knew that without Jesus, he would never last in ministry and Timothy needs to understand that too. We need to cling to the Lord as we serve him. In John 15, verse 5, Jesus said, I am the vine. You are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. And so we need to understand that. So I thank him for this. He also thanked Jesus, our Lord, because he says, he counted me faithful. He counted me faithful. That word counted in the original language means to consider, to think of or account. He deemed me faithful. He's saying, I have been tested and I have been proven to be faithful. And because I've been tested and proven to be faithful, I am also worthy of his trust. Through the various trials he'd endured, it had been revealed that he could be trusted. Paul didn't enter into ministry to make himself rich, and he didn't enter into ministry to become popular. He said in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 2, we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. He didn't do it to be garnering attention. He didn't do it to become well known. He didn't change the message in order for it to become acceptable to people. He just did what God called him to do. One of my favorite writers is a man by the name of A. W. Tozer. And Tozer said this, and he was writing somewhere in the late 50s, early 60s, when he wrote this, religion today is not transforming people, rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society, it is descending to society's own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender. When we change the message to appeal to sinners, when we change the message so that it doesn't cut the heart, when we intentionally transform the message to make it acceptable to the hearer, we are gutting it of its power to convict. God doesn't want to have happy goats. He wants to have well fed sheep. And the only way that takes place is through the word of God, because it's a word that actually confronts us. It's like a mirror that reveals to me who I truly am and it causes me to say, God, be merciful to me. I'm a sinner. And so Paul knew that without the Lord, that Timothy would never last in ministry, and he also knew that there would be a testing to demonstrate faithfulness. He said in 1 Thessalonians 2,4, we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. Even so, we speak not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. You see, from the moment of his conversion, Paul became a fearless preacher of this gospel that he once opposed. In Acts 9 in verses 20 through 22, Luke records immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed and said, is this not he who destroyed those who called on his name in Jerusalem and has come here for that purpose so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. And then third, he thanks God for putting him in the ministry. When it says he was put in the ministry, that speaks of a strategic placing for a particular service to the Lord. God placed me strategically in this place. Paul, in other words, didn't push for attention. God called Paul to minister as an apostle and he was in what is called ministry. Ministry is not a vocation, it's not a way to gain attention. It really is a lowly place of service. Ministry is diaconia in the Greek and diaconia speaks of humble service to the Lord. You see, some covet the pulpit, some covet pastoral positions because they think it'll be profitable for them. But not so. The pastor is the chief servant, not the center of attention. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3, 5 through 7, he asked the question, who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed as the Lord gave to each one. I planted Apollos watered, but God gave the increase so that neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. That's how he saw himself and that's how Timothy should see himself also. He said, he put me into the ministry verse 13, although I was formally a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. I was formally a blasphemer. Once again, as a person who is new in Christ, I could point to what I was, but that is not what I am today. And so he speaks of his former life. He's no longer what he once was. What was he? Well, he said, I once was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor and an insolent man. When he says I was once a blasphemer, the word blasphemer speaks concerning someone who cursed the name of Jesus. And he also forced others to do it because he thought that the worship of Jesus had no value. And that's what he would do. He was a persecutor. He was someone who would injure people. He would harm people, and he was insolent. He was a man who would heap insulting language upon others, and he would do them great harm. This is what he did. I would resist, I would reject, and I was violent in my opposition. But verse 13, I obtained mercy. The word mercy speaks of divine pity. I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. I obtained mercy because I was not willfully rejecting Jesus, but was rather more ignorant of him. I honestly believed, he's saying, that what I was doing was right and that I was honoring God. In Acts 26, verse 9, he said, I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I did it ignorantly, but I obtained mercy. God is merciful. God is merciful because he's compassionate and he loves us. The Psalmist in Psalm 103 verses 13 and 14 says, as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. He knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. God is merciful. There are those who think that they've gone too far, but God's mercy extends much farther than you could ever run. You can run and run and run and come to the end of yourself and God is still waiting there. The hound of heaven, the spirit of God, follows you to the ends of the earth. And his desire is for all people to come to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. His desire is for all to be saved and he has compassion and mercy. Understand that about the Lord. And Paul had come to know that. I obtained mercy. I did it ignorantly in unbelief. He said in verse 14, the grace of the Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love. That gives us insight into the love of God. When man sinned abundantly, grace abounded. The deeper the sin, the greater amount of mercy. In Romans 5 20, it simply says, where sin increased, grace increased all the more. And this amazing grace, this incredible mercy provoked Paul to serve Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1510, it says, by the grace of God, I am what I am. His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was in me. The grace of God provoked him to service. And I serve with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. You see, grace kindles faith and love and floods the soul with those divine gifts. Grace provokes us to have faith and love towards Christ. Psalm 116 verse 1 says, I love the Lord. He heard my voice. He heard my cry for mercy. And that's what God has done. He has loved you and He's given His Son for you. So, Timothy, don't forget that. And let me highlight it. He says in verse 15 in this way, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. You're surrounded by evil. You can get to the point where you think this world's gone too far. But that's not true at all. Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. When God grabbed hold of your life and began to transform you and changed you, you became a template. You became an example of how deeply God loves and how merciful God is and how powerful God can be in transforming sinners into new creation. God has done that. God does that through His Son Jesus Christ. And Paul could point to himself and he can say, this is a faithful saying, this is worthy of all acceptance in the King James. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's why he came. He didn't come for the righteous, but for sinners, even as the well don't go to a physician, only the sick, even so sinners come to the Savior. The righteous who think that they're good without God would never even think about coming to Him. But people like us who know that we're not good, we're the ones who come to faith in Christ. And Jesus Christ came in order to save sinners. There are people in this room right now that the Lord is speaking to specifically who He is saying to you in one form or another, that He can save you. You may be even arguing in the back of your mind, you may even be thinking or entertaining the thought or you have in the past that you're too far gone and that's not true. God can reach you. God can save you. God can change you. God loves you. God is merciful and He's gracious and He is able. He by the power of His Holy Spirit can do a new work in you that is so intense and so great that those who know you best won't even believe the change that has taken place. I've mentioned to you before how more than once in this church, I've had someone approach me and say to me this, they've said that they came to church and invited a friend and the friend came and sat in the church service and after the service told the friend who had invited them to this church that they knew who I was. They said, that was David Rosales up there. And they go, yeah, he's the pastor. And they have said, this has happened twice to my memory. They said, I won't listen to what he says. I know him. I went to school with him. I know him. I know what he was. Yeah, but the key word is what I was. It's not what I am. God changes lives. He does it through the power of the Holy Spirit. He can transform you in such a way that those who knew you best would not believe at what has happened. And they'll look and they'll say, no, you're not the same person anymore. And that's the fact, isn't it? It's because God has a way of entering into your life. Through His Word, He transforms the way that you think. Your behavior is altered and you bring glory to God. And that is something we, the church, ought to be glad about and happy about and praise God for. You're a new creation. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. You can become unrecognizable to those who knew you best. That's the gospel. And that's what Paul can point to. And Paul can say it. He can say, I formerly was this. This is what I was. You know that. You're in the midst of all of this sin. Remember, I was one who opposed the gospel. I put people in jail. I witnessed as someone who was saying they're worthy of death. From the first martyr in the Christian church, when Stephen died, I held the clothing of those who were putting them to death. I was a witness to that. I regarded that. I thought it was right. I was a blasphemer. I was injurious. I was a complete opponent to the gospel. But God used me as a template to show others how deeply he can change a life. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. The purpose of the incarnation, to save sinners, even one who had persecuted believers. In Matthew 1811, it says, the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. Isaiah 53 verse five says, he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him by his wounds. We are healed in Matthew 121. It reads, she will give birth to a son. You are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. This is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. However, verse 16, for this reason, I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show all long suffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life. I obtained mercy as a pattern. That word pattern means a sketch. God, in other words, saved me and revealed the amazing depth of his mercy. Now, one thing that I want to point out here in this too by way of application. When he says, for this reason, I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show all long suffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life. This reveals the depth of his personal sorrow over sin. I was the greatest of sinners. He didn't have a bad sense of self-esteem. There are those who would say, oh, look at him. He's just a miserable wretch of a man. He doesn't understand who he was. I've heard so-called Christian teachers say that about the apostle Paul. That's not what Paul is saying. Paul isn't there just having a very deep sense of disregard for his personhood. He's just aware of his sinfulness and he's never forgotten what he was. And because he hasn't forgotten what he was, that has enhanced his thankfulness for what God has done. I have a belief that I want to remember who I was. I don't have a desire to go back. God knows that. I don't have a desire to return to the vomit. I don't want to go back to the mud that I as a pig had been washed from. No, I don't want to return to that. I don't look at commercials on TV where all these healthy people are drinking beers and bars after going bowling and say, boy, that looks like fun. I don't do that. I remember too many wasted days and wasted nights as the prophet Freddie Fender once said. I remember, some of you don't even know who he is. That's okay. That was for the old people. But I remember those things. I remember them. I haven't forgotten. I haven't forgotten what it's like to wake up in the morning with a hangover. I haven't forgotten what it's like to have vomit all over my body because I vomited on myself or others did it on top of me. I haven't forgotten that. I haven't forgotten what it's like to wake up in a shack in somebody's backyard with black widows all around me laying on the ground because I was so drunk I couldn't even find my way to a car to get myself home then. I haven't forgotten that. I haven't forgotten what it's like to rob my own parents to get some money to try and hack some things appliances at a pawn shop so I could buy dope. I haven't forgotten that. I haven't forgotten what it's like to be arrested, put in a jail cell. I haven't forgotten that. I don't want to forget that. Why? Because, forgive me, because it makes me grateful for what I have now in Jesus Christ. It makes me grateful. I don't want to go back. I have no admiration. I don't have any joy in that. That is not something I long for. But he uses us as a pattern of his mercy. He wasn't somebody who wanted to forget all of that in the sense of, oh, it's causing me to be feeling so bad. No, he's simply saying, God, use that in my life to make me a pattern of his divine mercy for others. Listen, God can change your life and make you a testimony of the power of his grace and transformation. He can do that. And God wants to do that. You may be thinking you've gone too far. No, you haven't. You may be thinking, oh, I've committed the unpardonable sin. No, you haven't. As long as there is breath, there is hope. And the Holy Spirit can draw you and can change you because that's what he does and he does it best. And he's saying, I obtained mercy as a pattern, as a sketch. I've obtained this because when God saved me, he revealed his amazing mercy to others. In 1 Corinthians 15, 9, he said, I'm the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. So, Timothy, you're in the midst of a city that rejects the gospel and you can be overcome by how dark it is, how sinful it is, how accepting this society is towards all of these sins that God has rejected and commanded us to come out of. And as a pastor, a young man, you can be there thinking, what am I going to be able to do? What kind of plan should I have? How can I reach these people? Just remember that God enables you, that God sustains you. Just remember that in the darkness, the light shines the brightest. And just remember that the message of the gospel is a message of transformation, that the message of the gospel is a message of the love of God. And how God loved man so much, he gave his son. And just remember that I, Paul could say to Timothy as your mentor, as your pastor, that I'm a sketch of mercy, that God saved me, I who persecuted the church, he put me in the ministry, he counted me faithful. And Timothy, he can do the same for you. Trust him. My heart has been broken over sin. I persecuted the church, but I am grateful for this, for the salvation that I have in Christ. And I'm so thankful for his grace. As a matter of fact, he says in verse 17, to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, the honor and glory forever and ever. That's a song. That's actually a song. You wouldn't see that as you're reading that. Therefore, I point that out to you. That's a song. It's a song of praise. He, in his thinking about where he was and what he'd done and who God is and what God has done, he can't help but praise the Lord in song. He has put a new song in our hearts, a song of salvation and the song of praise for what he has done. That's why in services like this church services, music is not an afterthought. Music is a prelude, as we're about to receive the word. It's an offering to God of gratitude because if your heart has been touched by God, you can't help but sing to him words of praise and gratitude. That's where it comes from. It comes from a heart of praise. You see, God has done something. He has changed your life. God has done something. He's forgiven you of your sins. God has done something. He's given to you his Holy Spirit. God has done something. He's given you his word. God has done something. He's created a family. God has done something. Why can't we praise him? We ought to praise him for all that God has done. We're going to go through this place into another place into heaven. Why wouldn't I be grateful? And that's why you sing. And that's why you praise the Lord. And music in a church isn't just a song and a band and a style. What it is, it's an outpouring of gratitude. Oh God, you've been so good to me. I can't help but say thank you in song. That's worship. And that's what God would have us to do. Worship him. Has God been good to you? Has God been good to you? Indeed. Indeed he has. Salvation puts a new song in your heart. Somebody said, from my smitten heart with tears to wonders I confess, the wonders of his glorious love and my own worthlessness. When you see the Lord for who he is, he has a way of showing you who you are. And when you see yourself in the light of who he is, it breaks you. And when it breaks you and you turn to him and say, God, be merciful to me, I am a sinner. I have sinned in thought. I have sinned in word. I have sinned in action. Lord, I am thoroughly in need of your forgiveness. And you hear God say, if any man confesses their sin to me, I will forgive them a hundred percent. If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And you say, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. God says, I forgive you. Then this old song that you had, this song that was so down and so depressed, has replaced with the new song of praise and happiness. That's what God does in us. Isn't it? He awakens in us the joy of forgiveness. Yeah, sometimes life is tough and who's to say it isn't. And sometimes it's filled with heartbreak and who's to say that doesn't happen. But see, I'm just passing through. This world isn't my home. One of these days, I'm going to close my eyes here only to open my eyes there. And when I open my eyes there, I'm not going to be thinking of what I went through here. I'm going to be worshiping and praising him for what he's done because of Jesus Christ. And I'll be singing to him unshackled. I'll be singing to him unhindered. I'll be singing to him in praise. Does that sound odd? No, that's Christianity. That's why we live. We live and we breathe because of him. And we want to worship and praise him because he is worthy. Why? Because he saved us. He took us from the Myrie clay. He put our feet on solid ground. He wrote my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. He's one day going to say, come up here. He's going to say, enter into the joy of thy Lord and that will make all of this worth it. May we worship and praise God today for what he has done, for what he has done.