Ice Breaker – “Hi My Name Is” 

Title:  What Can God Do With Someone Like You? 

Text:  Galatians 1:1-5

Introduction:   

Attention:

The Potter’s House

To the Potter’s house I went down one day,

And watched Him while moulding the vessels of clay,

And many a wonderful lesson I drew,

As I noted the process the clay went thro’

Trampled and broken, downtrodden and rolled,

To render more plastic and fit for the mould,

How like the clay that is human, I thought,

When in Heavenly hands to perfection brought,

For self must be cast as the dust at His feet.

Before it is ready for service made meet.

And pride must be broken, and self-will lost—

All laid on the altar, whatever the cost;

But lo! by and by, a delicate vase

Of wonderful beauty and exquisite grace.

Was it once the vile clay? Ah, yes; yet how strange,

The Potter has wrought so marvelous a change!

Not a trace of the earth, nor mark of the clay,

The fires of the furnace have burned them away.

Wondrous skill of the Potter—the praise is His due,

In whose hands to perfection and beauty it grew;

Thus with souls lying still, content in God’s hand,

That do not His power of working withstand.

They are moulded and fitted, a treasure to hold;

Vile clay now transformed into purest of gold.

—Selected

Need: 

            Bridging Sentences 

Textual Idea:  Paul is writing to the Galatians who were having a bit of an identity crisis.  There were four churches involved in Galatia, 1) Antioch 2) Iconium 3) Lystra 4) Derbe 

The problem they were having what that the Judaizers were going around preach a different Gospel than that of Paul and his followers. 

Hebrews 8:13 says that the old covenant has been made obsolete because of the New Covenant through the Blood of Jesus Christ!   

So Paul is writing to challenge their thinking and remind them of the true Gospel of Grace. 

In these few verses, we can see what God could do with someone like Paul…

Sermon Idea:  Imagine what God can do with someone like you! 

Interrogative:  Well, like what could he do?  I mean I’m a complete geek!  Or maybe you think you have sinned to badly….or maybe you don’t think you have the capability or talent to be used of God!

Transition:  I am so glad you are here tonight, I have such great news for you!  Can I give you some hope tonight?  As we work our way through this text tonight, I want you to see that God can take you and make you into a useable tool for his Glory!  Isn’t that cool to think about!  (everybody put your finger to head, like this, and say AHH, That is so cool!)  GOD can use you!  Just like he used that Christian killer Paul of Tarsus… 

Text – Galatians 1:1-5

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),

                                2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

                                3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

            4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

                                5 to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Body:

1) God Can Use You To Speak for Him (vs. 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),

Explanation:

Paul – Formerly Saul of Tarsus.  Christian killer extraordinar. 

Apostle – Ask and then explain…

No Apostolic Succession –

In the life and conversion of Paul it is so obvious that God was totally responsible for turning his life around…

                        Illustration:  Moses (as Jimmy Stewart) Exodus 3-4 

Argumentation:  You cannot be called to the Office of Apostle, but you can be a spokesperson for God.  Imagine that!  You can say words that are everlastingly powerful.  No man has sent you to do this.  No, the very God of the heaven has pushed you out of your comfort zone and made you his ambassador. 

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 

16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

                        21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the                                           righteousness of God in Him.

If you are a believer here tonight, you have a holy job to do.  You have a righteous responsibility to those that need Christ!  

                        Application: 

                        Tell –

                        Bring –

                        Red Book Team –

Some of you are wondering why it is you are not growing in your faith, it’s because you are not serving your Lord                  

                        Transition:  God Can Use You To Speak for Him

You know, some people who speak for God can tend to get a big head, not Paul…

2) God Can Use You To Be a Friend (vs. 2) - and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

Explanation: There is something I want you to notice about our friend Paul.  Although he was called and trained by Jesus Christ Himself (can you imagine?)  He had the full weight and authority of Jesus Christ behind his ministry.  Yet he looks to those that are traveling with him as brothers in Christ…on his level.  Paul, like God is no respecter of position.  He is not interested in being a man pleaser…

Galatians 2:6 - But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.

Paul looked to those people that were serving with him as his brothers in the Lord. 

In fact, we know that Paul really thought very little of himself.  He called himself the worst of all sinners.  He was humble and knew that it was only by God’s mercy that he was alive to this point in his life.  And it was by God’s grace that he had received the gift of eternal life. 

Paul wasn’t the kind of guy that just said humble things to make himself look good, he truly meant them! 

Paul didn’t lord his authority over those he traveled with, he looked to them as comrades in a war that was being waged.  A spiritual war that needs those on Christ’s side to be united and purposed in wining! 

Argumentation:  How do you look at those around you?  Do you secretly think of yourself as better than them?  That’s pride and that is exactly what Satan wants you to do, you are playing right into his hand. 

I am working with the Young Adults in our church and we cam up with a purpose statement for our group that I think Paul would agree with whole heartedly, “It is our purpose to be united from within so that we may effectively reach out!” 

Teen’s this youth ministry will go nowhere fast if you keep looking at others as if they were beneath you.

Paul didn’t do that, and we can’t afford to either…

Application:  God can use you to be a friend!  A friend accepts people the way they are!  A friend encourages someone to reach their full potential for Jesus.  A friend builds up.  A friend doesn’t look down on others, he recognizes that they are a gift from God and he needs them as much as they need him. 

Transition:  God used Paul to be a friend, and he wants to use you as one as well.  Can you imagine what three friends who were sold out for the Lord could accomplish?  “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” 

Illustration:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

                        11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?

         12  And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

                        Paul valued his friends, do you?  Let God use you as a friend. 

3) God Can Use You Only After He Has Rescued You (vs. 3-4) - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

                        Explanation:

Grace and Peace – Paul emphasizes these two aspects of the Christian life to the Galatians because they were losing their perspective do to the teaching of the Judaizers. 

Paul goes on in this passage to explain why it is they can enjoy grace and peace, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. 

The problem the Galatians were having was they felt it necessary to go back to observing the law of Moses.  In fact, they would go so far as to say that in order for someone to become a Christian, they needed to become a Jew first.                                               

Paul throughout this letter goes to great lengths to prove that salvation is not because one follows the law, rather it is by grace, it is a Gift!  We can’t please God with our actions…

Isaiah 64:6 - For all of us have become like one who is unclean,

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

And all of us wither like a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is Death”

Revelation 20:15 – “Cast into the Lake of Fire”

Rescue - εξαιρέω [exaireo /ex·ahee·reh·o/] 1 to pluck out, draw out, i.e. root out. 2 to choose out (for one’s self), select, one person from many. 3 to rescue, deliver.

From this wicked time that we live in!  By the way, have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life?  That you would allow Him to rescue You…

Illustration: Rescue at sea / reluctant rescue at sea…

Argumentation:  Some of the people that Paul was dealing with thought that they could, on their own merit, get into heaven.  In fact they thought they were being used of God by preaching their gospel of adding works to Grace. 

Application:  Teens, look at me in the eye…GOD LOVES YOU!  HE IS CRAZY ABOUT YOU…AFTER ALL, HE CREATED YOU!    Why don’t you let him rescue you!  Don’t wait until the end of your life, when you are standing before him (Romans 14:12 – So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.) making excuses because you continually rejected him. 

Repent – Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

Believe – John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,”

Everlasting Life – John 3:36  “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who                 does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

                        Transition:  Do you want God to use you?  Let him rescue you! 

Conclusion: 

Visualization: Think about this for a minute, What could God do with someone like me?  Do you have what it takes to be used of God? 

Reiteration: 

Will You Let God Use You To Speak for Him -

Will You Let God Use You To Be a Friend

Will You Let God Rescued You So He is Able to Use You? 

Action: 

Appeal: