Sermon Central
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God's Trophies
Contributed by Grant Adams on Jun 9, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: Most of us like to have trophies, which we can display. At school, home, business, and church. Trophies for sports, hunting, etc. I ask myself, “Does God have any trophies?” Does He have anything He can glory in? Yes, He does! Both in the Old and New Testaments.
Most of us like to have trophies, which we can display. At school, home, business, and church. Trophies for sports, hunting, etc. I ask myself, “Does God have any trophies?” Does He have anything He can glory in? Yes, He does! Both in the Old and New Testaments.
1. Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Elijah
2. Peter, James, John
3. More than any other man, I feel God could say Paul is my greatest trophy.
God does not show partiality. God is no respecter of persons. God has had and used men in our day as well as Bible times.
Billy Sunday, won over 1 million people to the Lord, just a high school education.
Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Billy Graham, Jack Van Impe, Jerry Falwell. Let me hasten to say, not all of God’s trophies are big names. Many in small churches just like ours. All of us can be trophies in God’s eyes. I want to hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” Don’t you? What made Paul great?
I. He Realized Who and What He Was
1. Nobody great in the eyes of God because of there own goodness or ability. Proverbs 16:18
2. Matter of facts, Paul asked, “Who is sufficient for these things?” 2 Corinthians 2:16
a. The answer is in 2 Corinthians 3:5.
b. What God did for Paul, He can do for any man who is fully committed to His will.
c. It was all of God and none of Paul. 1 Corinthians 15:10
II. Let’s Look at Paul’s Past. Verse 23
1. For many a person, their past has kept them from serving or doing anything for Christ.
2. Saul of Tarsus was one of the prize products of Judaism.
a. Son of a Roman Jew; wealthy.
b. Philippians 3:5-6; deeply religious man, devout.
c. Acts 22:3; trained at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the greatest teachers of His day. Acts 5:34
3. Acts 7:58, 1st mention of Saul.
4. Paul could never forget what he tried to do to the cause of Christ and His church.
a. Acts 8:1-4.
b. 1 Timothy 1:13
5. Yes, Paul could never forget who he was and what he did, but instead of hindering him it helped him in serving God.
III. Let’s Look at Paul’s Present Commitments
1. What made the difference? He met Jesus. Acts 26:13-19. Paul never forgot when he met Jesus. He is always giving his testimony.
2. You can never meet Jesus and stay the same. You come away a different person.
a. Moses
b. My call to preach.
3. I feel nobody drifts into usefulness for the Lord. You must first make a commitment to Him and for Him.
a. You grow after the commitment.
b. You suffer after the commitment.
c. Paul was stoned, beaten, imprisoned, persecuted, but his labor of love for Christ did not cease.
IV. Let’s Look at Paul’s Pattern for All Believers
1. 1 Timothy 1:12-16
2. My what a pattern.
3. Paul never regretted his choice for one minute.
a. Philippians 3:7-8
b. 2 Timothy 4:6-8
4. Paul was a good example. Are we a trophy for God?
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