"I Am What I Am"
September 7, 2003 Chester’s First Baptist Church, Chester, Illinois
I Cor. 15:8-10 Mike Fogerson, Speaker
INTRODUCTION:
A Have a video tape of "Popeye" saying his famous line, "I Am What I Am."
B Our lesson today is entitled, "I Am What I Am"
a This may be a line made famous in popular culture by Popeye, but that squinty eyed sailor copied it from a part-time tent maker named Paul.
b *Historical & Contextual Background
Paul was being criticized by Judizers for being a lesser apostle than Jesus’ original 12.
Paul spent a good deal of his life persecuting God’s people, church, & community.
One day while Paul was traveling to Damascus, Jesus appeared to him.
I Cor. 15:8-10 (NIV)
[8] and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. [9] For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and 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 with me.
C God saved Paul so Paul could serve God. (ETS)
a God will do great things through those who saves. (ESS)
b I hope you will allow God to do great things through you. (Objective)
c How does God chose who will use to do great things through? (P.Q.)
T.S.: Lets look at two distinctives that a person that God chooses to do great things through may likely posses.
I The first distinctive of the person who God chooses to do great things through is. . .THEY CHASE AFTER GOD.
1 Paul came to know Jesus differently than the other apostles.
A The 12 disciples knew Jesus, ate with him, heard him preach, saw him heal, feed five thousand with a few fish sticks & biscuits.
a Peter, James, John, Philip (and the rest) had front row seats with Jesus’ ministry. (Legitimate, proud starts/beginnings)
b [8] and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. [9] For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle,. . .
NIV "Abnormally born", NAS "Untimely born", KJV "one born out of due time", NCV "Not born at a normal time"
Grk: Abortive, premature birth. . .snatched out. What did God snatch Paul out of? The same thing he snatches all of us out of, sin.
*Paul says he was the "least of the apostles." I disagree. Jesus had an old boy form the IRS on staff. To me, Matthew would have been "the least of the apostles."
B Paul’s sin was chasing after God’s church. (9b . . .because I persecuted the church of God.)
a Paul hunted down Christians and put them in prison. (ref. Acts 8:3)
b Paul chased down God’s church and by default God himself.
2 God can do great things through men/women/students who chase after him.
A You do not have to come from a family of saints, preachers, or choir directors in order for God to do great things through you.
a You may be the first in your family to fall in love with Jesus. He can use you!
b You may have spend more time. . .
on a barstool than a church pew, God can use you.
reading Playboy than reading the Pauline epistles, God can use you.
playing the field than praying to the father, God can use you.
B Chasing God means you are seeking him.
a Word (Read the book), Worship (Public & Private), Want Him (Lust/Passion)
b You either chose to chase God or you chose to chase the world. (What ever you chose to chase is your choice.)
3 God uses those who chase him!
a The Australian coat of arms pictures two creatures--the emu, a flightless bird, and the kangaroo. The animals were chosen because they share a characteristic that appealed to the Australian citizens. Both the emu and kangaroo can move only forward, not back. The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to go backwards, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving in reverse by its large tail.
Those who truly choose to follow Jesus become like the emu and kangaroo, moving only forward, never back (Luke 9:62).
b Chasing God means we are constantly moving forward to pursue him. God uses those people who chase him!
II The second distinctive of the person who God chooses to do great things through is. . .THEY CHANGE AFTER THEY’VE CAUGHT HIM.
1 Once Paul caught God, he was never the same again. (v.10a) But by the grace of God I am WHAT I am,. . .
A Did God love Paul when he was out persecuting the church, his people, his community, putting them in prison? (Absolutely yes! God loved Paul just the way he was but he loved him too much to let him stay that way.)
a By God’s grace, "I am WHAT I am" NOTICE: I am WHO I am
*Who=Identity What=Integrity
b God changed Paul’s character, morality, virtues, world view.
B Paul didn’t waste God’s grace. (v:10b . . .and 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 with me.
a Paul compared his ministry to the other apostles? PAUL
Who preached more sermons, at more places to more people? PAUL
Who made more disciples than any of the disciples? PAUL
Who started more churches? PAUL
b God used Paul to increase his Kingdom more than any other disciple in the first century.
Paul knew that. Yet, he didn’t take the credit, he pointed to God!
God changed Paul with his grace.
2 When we are born again, God loves/takes us just the way we are, but he loves us too much to let us stay just the way we were. (Rms. 5:8 Ref.)[8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
A God want to make us WHAT he wants us to be.
a What=Ingredients Character issues, morals, integrity. (We are nothing but what God makes us.)
b WHO=We get hung up on who we are.
The world can call us fat, thin, stud, slut, divorced, damaged or deranged. It doesn’t matter who calls us what as long as God calls us His! THAT SETTLES THE "WHO" QUESTION!
B When you become "His" you are never the same again.
(IL.)R. G. Lee told about walking down the street and a drunk staggered up to him and said, "Oh, Preacher, I’m one of your converts." The preacher looked at him and said, "Yeah, you look like one of mine. You certainly don’t look like one of the Lord’s."
a If we "do" look the same as we’ve always looked. . .we’ve let God’s grace go to waste! (Some of us are wasting God’s grace!)
b We’re saved, going to heaven,. . .that’s about it.
*Were not reaching people for Jesus. . .wasting God’s grace!
*Were not making a difference for God. . .wasting God’s grace!
*Were not serving the Kingdom. . .wasting God’s grace!
*Were not growing His Church. . .wasting God’s grace!
3 Tony Campolo has told a stirring story about a drunk who was miraculously converted at a Bowery mission. Prior to Joe’s conversion, he was viewed as a hopeless, dirty wino. It seemed as though his existence in the ghetto would fade away one night in a drunken stupor. But God had a different plan for Joe. He made a life-changing commitment to Christ and was supernaturally transformed. He became a compassionate and caring person who spent his days helping in the mission. No task was too lowly for Joe. He cleaned up the vomit of alcoholics, scrubbed down the restrooms of careless drunks, assisted men into bed when they were too drunk to find their bunk, and always maintained a smile that communicated his gratitude for being able to help. One night when the mission’s director was giving an evangelistic appeal, a repentant drunk came to the altar and began to pray. He prayed, "Oh God, make me like Joe. Please make me like Joe!" He shouted this prayer over and over. Finally, the director stepped down and said, "I think it would be better if you prayed, ‘Make me like Jesus!’" The man looked up and asked, "Is he like Joe?"
a If a person didn’t know about Jesus, would he want to be like you?
b God uses those who chase Him and are changed after they have caught Him.
Conclusion:
God saved Paul so Paul could serve God. (ETS) God will do great things through those who saves. (ESS)
A We’ve looked at two distinctives that a person that God chooses to do great things through may likely posses.
a They chase after Him.
b They change after they’ve caught Him.
B I hope you will allow God to do great things through you. (Objective)
a Chase God, Chase the world.
b Allow God’s Grace to change you, waste God’s grace!
C How does God chose who will use to do great things through? (P.Q.)
a The eagles is an interesting bird. It makes its nest from briars and thorns and then inlays the nest with animal skin, to stop the thorns and briars hurting the newly hatched eaglets. For the eaglets, this is the life. Mum brings the food and the eaglets hangs around the nest getting fat. UNTIL one day, when Mum decides it is time to fly. Naturally the eaglets are not keen and so the mother eagle pulls away the animal skins and the eaglet is soon keen to leave the nest. He clambers on his mothers back and the mother flies high, 1000 ft, 2000 ft till she reaches about 5000 ft over the ground. If the eaglet suffers from vertigo, this isn’t the job for him. Suddenly, the mother tips the eaglet off and it goes hurtling down. It flaps it wings but nothing happens and the earth looks closer and closer. Just as the eaglet is about to be splattered all over the ground, the mother eagle swoops down and catches the eaglet and the process is repeated until the eaglet can fly.
And so it is with us in the Christian life.
b When we first become Christians we feel protected in the nest, but God soon takes us out of it, so that he can teach us to "soar on wings like eagles"
*God want’s to use us to do great things through. (Chase and be changed.) We can only become what God wants us to be through his grace.
