INTRO.- Trust me. I’ve heard it said that you should never trust a person who says, “Trust me.” It’s more like never trust a politician who says, “Trust me.”
Someone said: Never trust a restaurant that has a sign that reads, “Mama’s home cooking.” Especially, if there are no cars at that restaurant.
What about trustworthy sayings? Have you ever heard any?
ILL.- For example, I’ve heard this saying all my life: Watch out for number one, meaning yourself. Is that a trustworthy saying? It is to some people but not to the Christian, because we are never to be only concerned about ourselves. THAT’S SELFISHNESS. And our Lord came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many!
“Watch out for yourself” is not something Jesus would endorse.
Now here are what some “wise old sayings." But are they trustworthy?
- Look before you leap.
- Beggars can’t be choosers.
- Better to be safe than sorry.
- Birds of a feather flock together.
- Brains are better than brawn.
- Clothes don’t make the man.
- Curiosity killed the cat.
- Do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today.
- Don’t burn your bridges behind you.
- Don’t go looking for trouble.
- Easy come, easy go.
- Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
- Every cloud has a silver lining.
- Every dog has its day.
- Everybody makes mistakes.
- Everything in moderation.
- First things first.
- Great minds think alike.
- Half a loaf is better than none.
- Haste makes waste.
- He who laughs last, laughs best.
- Hit the nail on the head.
- Let sleeping dogs lie.
- Like father, like son.
- Looks can be deceiving.
- No news is good news. (no, no news is no news)
- Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
- One day at a time.
- Out of sight, out of mind.
- Silence is golden. (not always)
- Take the bull by the horns.
- The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
- Waste not, want not.
- What goes up must come down.
- What you see is what you get.
PROP.- More trustworthy sayings. The real deal from scripture.
1- Salvation can come to the ignorant and unbelieving
2- Mercy can be shown to the worst of sinners
3- Glory will come to the eternal King
I. SALVATION CAN COME TO THE IGNORANT AND UNBELIEVING
12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
ILL.-True story from a Novell NetWire SysOp:
Caller: “Hello, is this Tech Support?”
Tech Rep: “Yes, it is. How may I help you?”
Caller: “The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?”
Tech Rep: “I’m sorry, but did you say a cup holder?”
Caller: “Yes, it’s attached to the front of my computer.”
Tech Rep: “Please excuse me if I seem a bit stumped. It’s because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional, at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark on it?”
Caller: “It came with my computer, I don’t know anything about a promotional. It just has ‘4x’ on it.”
At this point the Tech Rep had to mute the caller, because he couldn’t stand it. he caller had been using the load drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder, and snapped it off the drive.
When it comes to computers, many people are confused or are ignorant about them. SO WHAT? Everyone is ignorant about something in life. However, the worse ignorance of all is spiritual ignorance. AND MOST PEOPLE ARE VERY IGNORANT IN THIS AREA.
People have some of the craziest ideas about God and the next life. Of course, as we know, many don’t even believe in anything at all, let alone God and the next life.
Can spiritually ignorant people be saved? Well, yes, but obviously, they have to come to faith in God and Christ. They have to believe and surrender to the will of God.
God does things His way, not our way. Just because someone is a good person it doesn’t mean the door of heaven will be opened to them. And yet this is what many people think or believe.
Goodness is the key factor to most people rather than Christ.
John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
These scriptures should tell the story. They tell the truth of God.
13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
It sounds as though Paul who was formerly Saul wasn’t a very good Joe. A blasphemer. A persecutor. A violent man. Most of us wouldn’t give a man like this much of a chance, but it shows how gracious our God is. God sees what we cannot see. He sees the hearts of people and knows if there is hope for them to come to Christ and be saved.
All we can do is continue to point people to Christ as the only hope for life and eternal life. WE MUST POINT PEOPLE TO HM AS BEST WE CAN!
God is not willing that any should perish and we should be the same, feel the same. Salvation can still come to the ignorant and unbelieving if we can get them to believe!
14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This is our only hope of salvation or eternal life. It’s the grace of God being poured out on us, on anyone and everyone. Let’s continue to point to His saving grace.
II. MERCY CAN BE SHOWN TO THE WORST OF SINNERS
15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
ILL.- The story is told of a politician who, after receiving the proofs of a portrait, was very angry with the photographer. He stormed back to the photographer and arrived with these angry words: "This picture does not do me justice!" The photographer replied, "Sir, with a face like yours, you don’t need justice, you need mercy!"
With a face like mine I need mercy! The truth is we all need mercy from God. With a life like ours we need God’s mercy!
When it comes to mercy God demonstrates the greatest. If it weren’t for the mercy of God where would we be? Doomed. And perhaps in trouble every day and for eternity.
And I suspect that we never know how much mercy God sheds on us every day. Far more than we comprehend and deserve, because even when it comes to little things we often mess up. We desperately need HIS mercy!
Ephesians 2:1-5 “1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
Titus 3:4-6 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
ILL.- Long ago, a poor woman from the slums of London was invited to go with a group of people for a holiday at the ocean. She had never seen the ocean before, and when she saw it, she burst into tears. Those around her thought it was strange that she should cry when such a lovely holiday had been given her. "Why in the world are you crying?" they asked.
Pointing to the ocean she answered, "This is the only thing I have ever seen that there was enough of." God has oceans of mercy. God is an ocean of mercy.
16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
The worst of sinners. Is that how you feel about you?
I Peter 5:5-6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
We have to go down before we can go up. It pays to be humble before God.
It’s a trustworthy saying that God demonstrates mercy on the worst of sinners, that is, when those sinners humble themselves before God.
III. GLORY WILL COME TO THE ETERNAL KING
17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I think it’s a trustworthy saying that God will receive His due honor and glory and forever! Because of who God is and what He did for us, He deserves honor and glory.
ILL.- I read recently that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $10 billion over the next decade to research new vaccines and bring them to the world’s poorest countries. SO WHAT? That is nothing in comparison to what our God has done and still does for mankind!
God is eternal, immortal, invisible and the only God there is! He is also all-wise, all-powerful, rich in mercy, God of all grace, He is love, etc. And He has redeemed us from sin, death and hell!
I think that should very well qualify Him for honor and glory, both now and forevermore!
ILL.- Charles Wesley wrote his first hymn just three days after his conversion. That hymn was “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” What a testimony to his salvation! As the years passed, he is said to have written 6,500 hymns and gospel songs on every conceivable subject.
I think Charles Wesley had the right idea. The Lord deserves all the praise we can give Him. We may not realize this now but someday we will. When we come into His presence we will realize as never before why He deserves praise and glory and honor.
Revelation 5:11-14 “11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
There it is. There’s the picture of what shall be! And it’s a picture of what should be now!
ILL.- A good Presbyterian minister of Old Scotland, of the staid and orthodox type, had a poor old woman in his congregation who was in the habit of saying, "Praise the Lord," "Amen," when anything particularly helpful was said.
This practice greatly disturbed the minister and one New Year’s day he went to see her. "Betty," he said, "I will make a bargain with you. You call out, ’Praise the Lord’ just when I get to the best part of my sermon and it upsets my thoughts. Now if you will stop doing it all this year, I will give you a pair of wool blankets."
Betty was poor, and the offer of the blankets sounded good. So she did her best to earn them. Sunday after Sunday she kept quiet. But one day a minister came to preach who was bubbling over with joy.
As he preached on the forgiveness of sin and all the blessings that follow, the vision of the blankets began to fade and fade, and the joys of salvation grew brighter and brighter. At last Betty could stand it no longer and jumping up she cried, "Blankets or no blankets, Hallelujah!"
Blessings or no blessings, we should praise the Lord! And it’s a trustworthy saying that glory will come to our eternal king!
CONCLUSION-------------------
There are many trustworthy sayings in our world, but the truth of God’s Word stands forever. It is the most trusted word of all!
1- Salvation can come to the ignorant and unbelieving
2- Mercy can be shown to the worst of sinners
3- Glory will come to the eternal King
