Every time I read this story, I stand amazed at the great grace of God. I see the Lord take this man Saul, save him by grace, and transform him into the great Apostle to the Gentiles and I realize that there is hope for people like you and me to be used of the Lord.
The truth is, Saul was a very unlikely candidate for the service of the Lord. Here was a man who was feared and hated by Christians and one who did everything in his power to destroy the name of the Lord Jesus. Yet, God reached down in grace and took this man from where he was and used him to change the world. God used him in such a great manner that Paul's ministry is still reaping fruit today. Just the fact that we are talking about his life and the impact he had on the world is a testimony to way God used him than and is using him now.
We may feel that there is no possible way that the Lord could use us like He did Paul, or that God could even use us at all.
I suppose that we all feel inferior and unworthy to be used of the Lord in His work, but I am here today to tell you that Jesus can and will use us if we will make ourselves available.
I. Our Past Condition Is No Obstacle v1
A. Paul was a Murderer.
1. This is according to his own testimony.
2. He was guilty of doing every thing in his power to put Christianity to death.
(Acts 22:4) And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
(Acts 26:10) Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
3. Paul was a rebel against the Lord Jesus.
4. Religiously, he was a man to be envied, but internally, he was as wicked as any man who had ever walked the face of the earth.
5. In Acts 7:58, the Bible recounts how Paul gave his approval to the murder of Stephen.
6. Paul was a wicked man, but this proved to be no obstacle to the grace and saving power of the Lord.
7. When Paul received Jesus into his heart, he was changed forever by the grace of God!
B. Our past will not prevent us from being used by God.
1. Regardless of what we may have done before we received Jesus as our Savior, it matters no longer.
2. When He saves our soul, He washes our past away forever!
3. It is just as though we got a brand new start at that precise moment.
4. In fact, the Bible refers to that event as a "new birth".
(John 3:7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
C. There are 3 records of our past deeds in the world today.
1. First there is the record we carry in our mind.
2. Secondly, there is the record carried by all those who knew what we were before.
3. Third, there is the record carried by Satan, and he will throw your past up to you all the time.
4. But, may I remind you today that even though I may remember my past, my friends and family may remember my past and even though Satan surely remembers my past, God in Heaven has forgotten my past and it is no obstacle to Him using me now or into the future!
(Psa 103:12) As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
(Isa 38:17) Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
(Isa 43:25) I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
D. Throughout the Bible, God used people in spite of, and after their greatest of failures.
1. Simon Peter preached his greatest message and had his greatest ministry after he denied the Lord.
2. Moses was a murderer, yet God used him for His glory.
3. Samson sinned against God, yet he slew more Philistines in the end of his life than he had during his entire ministry.
4. Abraham lied, yet he was used of the Lord.
5. Jacob was a deceiver, yet the Lord transformed and used him greatly.
6. There are many others that could be named among these, but these are sufficient to show that the Lord can take those who have failed in the past and that He can still use them for His glory today, and into the future!
II. Our Present Circumstances Are No Obstacle v2
A. The example of Paul.
1. Paul was on his way to Damascus to find Christians to arrest and to take them to their deaths.
2. He was filled with hatred and wanted nothing more than to completely destroy anyone or anything connected with the name of Jesus Christ.
3. Yet, in spite of all this, the Lord was able to change this man and to use him for the glory of God.
B. God can do the same thing in your life and mine.
1. He can take us, with all the baggage that we carry, and He can use us for His glory.
2. We all bring certain liabilities to the table.
3. Some are uneducated, others have few resources; some are weak in faith, while others are arrogant and filled with pride.
4. However, the Lord is able to take us exactly where we are, change what needs to be changed and then use us greatly!
C. Again, the Bible is filled with this kind of story.
1. Moses was 80 years old when the Lord called him into the ministry.
a. He had other problems as well.
b. He was not very eloquent.
c. He was filed with fear.
d. He was totally opposed to the Lord's plan for his life.
e. Yet, despite all this baggage, God was able to use this man for His glory.
2. The Gadarene Demoniac.
a. He was a man feared by everyone.
b. A demon possessed mad man.
c. But, the Lord was able to take this man, who had caused has caused so much trouble and He was able to use him as a witness for the glory of God.
d. God took him where he was and used him for God's glory.
D. What I want us to see this morning is that our present circumstances have not caught the Lord by surprise!
1. He knows everything there is to know about us.
2. He knows where we are spiritually, and He knows what is going on in our lives right now.
3. But He can still use our life if it is yielded to him for His glory.
III. Our Personal Characteristics Are No Obstacle to God. v11-16
A. Paul was feared by the followers of the Lord Jesus.
1. His conversion was seen by many to be nothing more than some sort of a trap designed to find them and their leaders.
2. In fact, when he went to Jerusalem to meet the Apostles, Barnabas had to go with him and introduce him.
3. Yet, God was able to overcome this hurdle and still used Paul in a great fashion.
4. If you take the time to look at Paul's life, you will find that he was a man with many personal characteristics that seemed to be unfavorable to his success.
(2 Cor 10:10) For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
(2 Cor 11:6) But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.
(Gal 4:13-14) Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. {14} And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
5. Paul had many personal hurdles to get over to be used by the Lord, but God was able to use him in spite of what was wrong with him physically.
B. If we get into the business of comparing ourselves with others, then we are in for a rough ride!
1. Many of us have personal characteristics that may make us feel that we cannot be used of God effectively.
2. However, God can take that thing that we consider to be a weakness and can use us anyway.
3. He excels in taking the weak and foolish things of this world and using them in a great way.
(1 Cor 1:27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
C. Let us again turn to the pages of the Bible to find proof of this great truth.
1. We have already mentioned Moses, but God took this old man who had a speech impediment and used him as the arm of God.
2. God used a young Jewish girl named Esther to save His people from slaughter.
3. God used a young, unknown boy named David to be the greatest king to ever sit on the throne of Israel.
4. God used a beggar named Lazarus to preach a daily sermon to a rich man.
5. God used 12 unknown men, many who were uneducated, some who were social outcasts, all from various walks of life to set the world on fire for God.
D. It doesn't matter…
1. Who you are
2. Where you came from
3. What problems you have
4. What personality quirks you exhibit
5. What your level of education
6. What you level of acceptance by others
7. God can and will use you if you will make yourself available to Him and His work!
Can God use our life? Yes He can! Let me close with a few spiritual questions.
If the answer to any of these question is "no", than the Lord cannot use you until those things are taken care of by His grace. I challenge every person in this room to examine your hearts and do that thing that you need to do right now.