Praying with Paul: Start off Right
Praying with Paul • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro:
1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),
2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
Tonight, we will continue [Praying with Paul] and the subject of my message is, [Start off Right].
The first time we experience something is generally cemented in our minds.
I remember the first house I lived in on my own
I remember the first time I left the country to preach
I remember the first revival I held
I remember the first good steak I had, I was nineteen years old
I remember the first date I had with Bekah
I remember the first time I drove by Vulcan Assembly of God
I remember the first time I preached at our church for Brother Cuneio
I remember the first time I held Davis
I remember the first time I played a special in church
I could go on and on thinking back the the FIRST time I did something. For some reason our first time experiencing something is generally special to us.
That would the case for Paul. God saved Paul out of a life of legalistic adherence to his version of God, to meeting the resurrected Lord.
But something happened a few years after his conversion:
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Acts 13-14 details Paul’s first mission’s trip. A lot happened there:
It was his first trip with Barnabas
It was the first time Luke recorded his cast out a demon
It was there he preached his first recorded message
It was the first time he performed signs and wonders amongst the Gentiles
It was the first time he was stoned and people assumed he died
It was the first time God healed him and possible raised him from the dead
It was also the first time he began going by the name of Paul instead of Saul.
On all counts, Paul started off right in his trip to the Galatians. Something happened soon after he left though. False apostles and teachers attempted to undo all of Paul and Barnabas’s hard work.
These liars diminished Paul’s work and accused him of not being a true apostle. So Paul wrote his first letter in the New Testament— Galatians.
Though it falls after Romans and Corinthians, it was the first time he wrote to a church and he had to address their confusion about Scripture and truth.
He starts his letter of right— establishing who God is and praying for the Galatian churches.
Notice I mention churches. Unlike his other letters that were written to a specific church— Galatians is written to a number of churches in the same region.
Paul shows:
When we start off right, the enemy will try to derail us, it is important to trust God and pray.
Paul began his letter establishing that he was an apostle. Not because he wanted to brag, but to show that God had given him spiritual authority.
Then he begins to pray. Let’s look at three aspects of his prayer that deserve special attention, [God’s Grace], [God’s Gospel], and, [God’s Glory].
Let’s begin
1. God’s Grace
1. God’s Grace
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
I want us to notice two words: grace and peace.
First, these two words were common ways to greet people. The Greeks would often begin a letter or conversation with the word Grace and the Jews used the word peace.
But deeper than using cultural greetings, Paul wanted to remind them of what they recieved when he and Barnabas first ministered to them.
Paul never lost focus on the undeniable power of God’s grace. He was a recipient of God’s grace. He told Timothy:
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
15 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.
For Paul there was no one so far from God that they could not receive His grace.
When we place our faith in God, the moral and legal case against us has a verdict change, no longer are we guilty we are forgiven.
And when God forgives of sin, it brings peace. I like the way one author describes these two: “If “grace” summarizes God’s gift to us, then “peace” summarizes the personal results of that gift.”
The Galatians started off right, they experienced the grace of God and enjoyed the peace of God, but now they were in danger of turning from God.
The false teachers sought to distort Paul’s words and get the Galatians to forget about God, doing so would have caused them to forfeit the peace God gave them.
When we walk in the grace of God we will enjoy the peace of God.
If we ever lack peace in our lives, we should begin to thank God for His grace and remind the enemy that we are forgiven!
2. God’s Gospel
2. God’s Gospel
4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
After establishing THAT we have grace and peace from God, he shows WHY we have these gifts.
The main reason we have everything we need from God can come from one word— Gospel.
4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.
What an amazing truth, Jesus gave Himself for us. Paul wants them remember, each of us owed a debt to God and He canceled the debt because of His grace and mercy toward us.
One of the longest recorded messages of Paul happened in the Galatian churches. Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, spent the latter part of Acts 13 detailing what Paul told them.
The highpoint of his message:
38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;
39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
That is the summary of the Gospel, Jesus did what we could not do by ourselves.
Because Jesus gave His life for us, we have been rescued from this evil world.
We should NEVER get over the excitement of God’s grace.
I heard a song once entitled He Saw Me, the lyrics go:
On the balcony of space,
Stepped a pure and holy God.
And in awesome solitude, He stood alone.
Not one faint star to give Him light,
Just endless rolling, blackest night.
But somehow through all the darkness, He could see.
He saw mountains high and lofty.
He saw valleys lush and green.
He saw babbling brooks, wild flowers grow,
Even heard a robin sing.
But He felt a strange compassion
As close to love as pain can be.
Standing out there in his tomorrows,
He saw me.
He saw me in his likeness.
He saw me just like Him--
Pure, clean, and holy,
Spotless, white within.
But he saw me bound in heavy chains
And longed to set me free.
But He knew that if I became like Him,
He must become like me.
Because of the chains of sin, God sent Jesus to die in our place. Now, He wants to rescue us from this evil world.
Paul reminded the Galatians, you started off right, believing in the Gospel, make sure you stay close to God!
3. God’s Glory
3. God’s Glory
5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Notice what happened to Paul as he mentioned the grace, peace, and gospel of God— he erupted in praise to God for all He does.
When we think of the grace and gospel of God we will want to praise and glorify Him.
He glorifies God because of who He is and what He does for us!
Paul’s praise eruption reminds me of what Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him how to pray:
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
The Galatians were tempted to turn from the truth and start believing lies about what God had for them. Paul had to set the record straight.
The false teachers wanted to turn attention from God to themselves, so Paul let them know, ALL GLORY BELONGS TO GOD FOREVER AND EVER AMEN!
As I wrote this message I noticed, not only did Paul start his pray for the Galatians off right, he also finished it right.
He began with the Grace of God and ended by giving Glory to God.
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
One day, I trust it will be soon, we will live in the city where the Lamb is the light and forever and ever we will glorify God who deserves all glory forever and ever amen!
Close:
Paul enjoyed a fruitful ministry in Galatia, but
When we do something significant for God, the enemy loves to come and bring confusion and try to steal what God did.
Paul shows us a foolproof plan for overcoming Satan’s plans:
Start thanking God for His grace
Start remembering the power of the Gospel
Start glorifying God.
When we start to do this, God will give us victory and help us succeed in His plans and His will for our lives.