Dr. John Goetsch: Grace to Forgive

take your Bible let's go to Acts chapter 7 we're talking tonight about grace to forgive and I've enjoyed these Wednesday's in the word and the growth point that we've we've been having this year in this matter of grace and tonight we're going to look at grace to forgive in Acts chapter 7 I call your attention to verse 54 and it comes at the end of a sermon that a man by the name of Stephen has preached and noticed verse 54 when they heard these things they were cut to the heart and they gnashed on him with their teeth but he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God then they cried with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one Accord and cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes and a young man's feet whose name was Saul and they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit and he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge and when he had said this he fell asleep what a man says when he dies in large part describes how he lived what a man says when he's dying in large part describes the life that he has just lived many of you have heard the name in history Voltaire Voltaire was an atheist he spent his life denying God he spent his life rejecting God did his best to eliminate God from culture predicted that within a hundred years there wouldn't be a single Bible on the face of the earth did his best to destroy the faith of people in God but on his deathbed according to a book called last words of saints and sinners by Herbert Lockyer is recorded that on his deathbed he called his doctor to the side of the bed dr. Trott 'some and he said I will give you half of everything I am worth if you can give me six more months to live oh Jesus Christ oh Jesus Christ he died cursing why because that's the way he lived how different is our story in our text tonight Stephen dying but in that very act of dying forgiving the man who sentenced him to die how does one do that how does one get to death and be able to forgive the very executioner of your death well I think we'd all have to say the answer to that is grace but grace doesn't come just because you're in that moment of death that grace has to be a part of your life sin is the genesis of all abuse sin is the genesis of all vertical and horizontal wrongs sin is at the heart the root of all mistreatment all neglect all slander all hatred all crime yet one day all of those sins of mankind were placed upon Christ what a joy it was these past days to sit in this auditorium and hear that old old story again of Lord Jesus Christ death and burial and resurrection the fact that he was willing to go to Calvary go to that cross and take our sins and yet in that moment he said Father forgive them they know not what they do you can't fake that kind of forgiveness you can't muster it up from somehow and your human character it's not in our human nature to forgive it is only by grace that we can forgive now no one can die with grace to forgive without living their life with certain ingredients that produce that grace and so I want you to notice in Stephens life tonight three ingredients necessary for grace to forgive we see in Stephens life if we go back a little bit go back to chapter 6 if you will and I want you to see first of all the ingredient of a complete faith a complete faith in Acts chapter 6 and verse 5 the context here is that the church at Jerusalem was growing very rapidly the hundred-and-twenty had gathered in the upper room after the resurrection of Christ they prayed as God had commanded them to for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them and of course chapter 2 records when the day of Pentecost was fully come and they prayed and they asked for God to use them we see the results in chapter 2 of 3,000 people being saved and baptized and added to the church chapter 4 five thousand men are converted and brought into the church later in chapter four it says multitudes of men and women were added to the church through conversion so this early church at Jerusalem was growing very very quickly and with any kind of growth comes some challenge and we find in the early chapters here of Acts that the disciples the Apostles as we might call them they were overseeing the church there Jerusalem but the work was getting bigger than they could they could handle they some things were falling through the cracks we would say and primarily it mentions the ministry to the widows the daily ministrations the care of the people and and so the Apostles they said we've got to have help and so they chose seven men one of whom was Stephen and they chose these men to assist the Apostles with some of the daily chores of the church so that the Apostles could give themselves to the preaching of the word and the prayer and that's the primary function of our pastor his responsibility is to is to pray for us and and to feed us the Word of God and if we as a congregation don't take some of the load of the daily care off of our pastor if we don't have deacons who are willing to serve by the way Deacon is coming from the word diakonos which means to serve and so these men were chosen to serve alongside the Apostles to take some of the burden so they could give themselves to the preaching and the prayer and so the context here is the church is growing very rapidly now one of these men that was chosen was this man Stephen notice in verse five the same please the whole multitude and they chose stephen a man full of the Holy Ghost look at verse eight and Stephen full of faith and power did great wonders and miracles among the people so here was a man that the Bible describes as being full we see a complete faith now what does that involve what does a complete faith look like how would we flesh that out if we wanted to it to be said of us that we had a complete faith if if someone were to say they were full of the Spirit of God they were full of good works they were full of faith what would that look like well we see it would look like a reputable walk we see in verse number 1 of chapter 6 in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said it is not reason that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables wherefore brethren look ye out among you seven men of honest report full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and the Ministry of the word so we read here about Stephen that he was one chosen who had an honest report he was one that had a reputable walk later on when it talks about deacons in the New Testament and and gives instruction as to this office in the Church of a deacon in in first Timothy chapter 3 and verse 10 let these also be first proved and then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless a reputable walk blameless now the word blameless does not mean sinless we would know that if we just met some of our deacons not just kidding but we understand that no human being is sinless only Christ was sinless so so what does the word blameless mean well literally it means without handles Oh what does that mean have you ever noticed when you watch a football game that the fattest guys were the tightest uniforms ever notice that this is us big 300 pounders they've got they got two tightest jerseys in fact now they don't even have sleeves you know you can see their shoulder pads under there under their uniforms they're just they're so tight well why is that because down there in the trenches everybody's trying to grab something if you can grab on to a guy in some way down there in those trenches you can hold without that referee seeing you and if you can get ahold of that Jersey or ahold of some pad you can move that guy so they wear the tight jerseys so that nobody can grab on to them when I was playing football we didn't have tight jerseys but we put vaseline on our jerseys so their hands will slip off they made that illegal after I played but anyway you know you don't want to be controlled in there by somebody grabbing on to you that's exactly what this means there should be nothing in a servants life a deacons life that somebody could grab on to and pull down the testimony of Jesus Christ there to be blameless there'd be without handles nothing that could pull down the testimony of Christ or the church now the blamelessness is a demand for a deacon in other words it's a qualification it's a demand but it ought to be the desire of every person in this room that's saved in other words we may not be under a qualification as a church member to be blameless as a deacon or a pastor but we should desire that our life would not have handles that the gospel would not in any way be hindered by our testimony because somebody could say well I happen to know something about that that Christian I happen to know something about that church member I happen to know some about them and they're not as holy as they make themselves out to be God says we ought not to have any handles and so here was Stephen who had a reputable walk he had an honest report but notice also this complete faith has a recorded work if you look at verse number 8 and Stephen full of faith and power notice did great wonders and miracles among the people he had a resume of serving he had a resume of of working in the church for the Lord Jesus Christ I wonder what kind of a resume do we have as a Christian in this church lives were being changed because of the life of Steve and what a joy to see hands going up a moment ago a folks that led someone to Christ or or had a visitor come with them this weekend you know what you have on your resume some service there you you you you serve the Lord you went door knocking you invited people to come and as a result they got saved that well that's what was happening here in the life of Stephen he had a recorded work you know today we have people that come to church but they have kind of a consumer mentality they come to be entertained they come to see what the church can do for them you know okay I'm gonna sit here and entertain me you know make me happy and they have a consumer mentality what we need is a consuming ministry in first Corinthians 16 and verse 15 you know the house of stephanas and fortunate fortunate us that it is the firstfruits of them in a ki and it says that they have addicted themselves to the work of the ministry what a turn addicted to the ministry in all over the country I go to churches and I see signs up from the church reformers unanimous and some of you familiar with that ministry and where they they have a ministry to those that are enslaved by an addiction maybe alcohol or maybe gambling or or perhaps you know drugs or something like that and people come in usually on a Friday night and they they they hear some preaching and they get help and they get saved and they get discipled through what's called are you or reformers unanimous and we have these ministries to help those that perhaps have fallen to some kind of an addiction I wonder in our churches is there anybody addicted to the ministry well we battle all these addictions of of sinful pleasures and and sinful things but are we addicted to the ministry but not only here do we see in this complete faith these this reputable walk and this this this this resume of of alert Minh but notice a reproving witness now I'm not going to take time to read all of chapter 7 you can go home and do that it's a lengthy chapter but but but but Steve and preaches here now remember he's a layman he's not the pastor of the church he's not a leader in the church as far as the pulpit ministry he's simply a danaka NAS he's a servant he's been appointed because of his reputation because of his resume of serving he's appointed his one to help the Apostles but boy in Chapter seven he gets up and he preaches and if you read chapter seven it is filled with the history of God's people in other words this man had been listening to the Word of God he had been studying the Old Testament Scriptures he was filled in his life with the Word of God a layman but able to go through though the Old Testament accounts how God had worked with his people how God had brought them out of Egypt and so on and he tells the story of God's grace in their life I wonder could we stand up and be a reproving witness 2nd Timothy 2 and verse 15 God says study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed you and I have responsibility to learn the Word of God to study to think to know the scriptures why Paul said till i come give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine so that the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same you can eat then are able to commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also in the book of first Peter chapter 3 sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that lieth within you and meekness and fear and so here was Stephen we don't eat we don't know when Stephen got saved Bible doesn't tell us he may have gotten saved on the day of Pentecost maybe he got saved under the ministry of Christ we don't know if Stephen was a first-generation Christian or if he came from a family of believers we don't know much about Stephen we don't know if he was married we don't know if you had children we don't know his occupation we don't know his educational background all we know is he was full of faith he was he had a complete faith he was full and he was able to minister to people you know to many Christians today our containers of the truth but not conduits of the truth you come to church here for a while you're gonna you're gonna get some truth into your life then pastors gonna preach every weekend and he's gonna preach Bible filled messages and you sit here you're gonna learn the Word of God but don't just be a container be a conduit in other words like Stephen take what you're learning take what you learn tonight and Sunday and and next Sunday and take it out there beyond these walls that's what Stephen was doing he had a complete faith but notice a second ingredient if we're gonna have the grace to forgive we see a crucified flesh if we go back to chapter 6 and verse 3 and look again it says that Stephen was full of the Holy Ghost in verse 5 it says he was full of the Holy Ghost and a faith if you go to chapter 7 verse 55 but he been full of the Holy Ghost you know full also indicates empty if you're if your gas tank in your vehicle out in the parking lot is full of liquid fuel it is empty of air if it's full of air it's empty of fuel right now when the Bible says that Stephen was full of faith well there was no room for any doubt because he's full of faith and what says he was full of the Holy Ghost it means there's no room for that for flesh Stephen has a crucified flesh you see when you're full of the Holy Spirit there's no room for the flesh and God desires here and undefiled workmen Stephen was full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom there's no room the flash in his life there's no room for the human element in his life he is completely given over to God Paul said this I say then walk in the spirit and he shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh we ask ourselves all the time how am I gonna get victory over this thing in my life how am I gonna get victory over this habit this sinful habit it plagues me my thought life or or my pride or or my self ego or whatever it is you know how you get rid of that you get full of the holy spirit because when you're full of the holy spirit you force everything out at everything else out when you stick that gas nozzle into your tank and you start pumping fuel into your gas tank that air seeping out and when you get the Holy Spirit of God upon your life the hold the flesh has to leave and so Paul says walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh it's the natural byproduct of being filled with the spirit it means to be empty of the flesh that's what Paul was saying in Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not i but Christ liveth in me and so now the life that I live is not by the flesh but by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me and so he's filled he's he's an undefiled workman they they're after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they they're after the spirit the things of the Spirit Paul said in Romans 13:14 put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh how put on the Lord Jesus Christ put on the Holy Spirit is your life tonight characterized by the flesh or by the spirit is our life tonight self-oriented or God oriented are you living a me life or the life remember no man can serve two masters either you'll hate the one love the other else you'll hold the one and despise the other we think well I'm gonna serve God on Sunday and I'm gonna serve God on Easter and I'm gonna serve God sometimes but I want to live for me sometimes to know God says that's not gonna work you've gotta have a crucified flesh an undefiled workman but notice also an unadulterated worship we go to chapter 7 in the last part as we see this man's death and in verse 55 it says but he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfast into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God when it came time to die Stephen is not looking inward because he's not filled with the flesh he's not looking at the selfish things here he's not looking inward he's not looking outward at the secular crowd around him that's calling for his death and gnashing upon him with her teeth he's not looking downward at this world and the sin it offers him he's looking upward to his Savior an unadulterated worship to what tonight do we describe worth-ship word worship literally means worth-ship what is worth our adoration for Steve and it wasn't himself that desired or or deemed any worth it wasn't the world it wasn't sin it was only God set your affection on things above not on the things of the earth in the dictionary work world and worry all come before worship in the dictionary work the world and worship and worry all come before worship but that cannot be true in our life we've got to be focused on worship in Luke 10 Jesus tells a story about coming to the house in Bethany of Mary and Martha and Martha was cumbered about much serving Mary sat in his feet and heard his word and Martha she was very comfort with this work that she wanted to be just right for the Lord and and I believe her motive was correct he wanted to please the Lord she wanted her house to be neat an excellent she wanted the food to be just right there was a justified come brain but justified come bring leads to jealous comparison and all of a sudden she's not focused on the Lord she's focused on her sister Lord my sister has left me alone bid her that she helped me in other words all of a sudden she's comparing herself to her sister and when that happens you are jeopardizing your communication with the Lord because jesus said Martha Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things but one thing is needful and Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her folks be careful that you don't just work take time to worship we took some time this morning in Chapel to just worship I told the students to begin Chapel we worked hard over the weekend if you're not careful Easter goes right by you serving and all of a sudden Easter is over and all you did was serve and today we just sat back and for about 45 minutes we listen to some music and underneath that music the scriptures of the death the burial and the resurrection of Christ and had a number of students come up and say well gosh that was helpful because you're right all weekend man I worked I served I did this I did that and I didn't even get a chance to enjoy Easter I didn't have time to think about what Christ did for me I was busy serving be careful because worship is what God created us for and when you worship God in the right way Oh it'll lead to that addiction to serve but if you just are all about work you'll jeopardize your communication with a holy God and so there's a an unadulterated worship but then notice that leads to a unique welcome in Chapter 7 verse 55 but he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God this is the only time in the New Testament where it ever tells us that Jesus Christ stands up he is described after finishing his work here on earth ascending back to heaven and sitting at the right hand of his father and many times the scripture Jesus Christ is described as sitting at the right hand of God this is the only time in the scriptures where tells us he stood up why why did Jesus stand here I don't know because the Bible doesn't tell us I'm gonna offer my opinion you can take it forever it's worth it's just my opinion I believe Jesus Christ stood out of respect for the first martyr of the church we stand out of respect when we pledge allegiance to the flag we stand why we respect the flag we respect our country certain people walk in a room we stand up respect I don't know but I believe as Steven comes in to heaven as the first martyr of the church the Lord stood up what do you need welcome why because of a complete faith a crucified flesh but then notice finally a caring fervency describes this man who has grace to forgive a caring fervency we see a serving priority you know there's no mention of Stevens family in the book of Acts there's no mention of his conversion when and how that took place there's no mention of his occupation as I said there's no mention of his economic status there's only one thing worth mentioning about Steven and that was his service he was a servant Paul says let this mind be in you in other words here's how you ought to think let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God when Jesus Christ came to this earth and declared himself be God they picked up stones to throw at him because they thought that was blasphemous to claim to be God he was not robbing god of anything he was God so it's not robbery for Jesus Christ to call himself God he was the perfect spotless sinless son of God but that God made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant Wow that kind of flies in the face of the resume Patti in society we live in isn't it yeah we lie to make ourselves look good we embellished the truth about ourselves to impress to put something on the resume to build our name Jesus Christ made himself of no reputation I wonder how hard do we work at making herself of no reputation and just being a servant and a joy to serve there's joy in serving Jesus the Lord didn't Sanders joins Jesus he said this joined serving Jesus he said if you know these things happy are you if you do them he didn't say if you know these things happy are ye there are people that know a lot more about the Bible than I do and they're called higher critics they've studied this book from cover to cover looking for discrepancy they're not happy there's no joy in their life they're atheists they know the Bible Karl Marx had Matthew Mark Luke and John memorized as a teenager could recite it word perfectly in public he died an atheist you can know all 31,000 verses in this book that will make you happy the joy comes when you take the word of God and you put it into your life and serve there's joy in serving now with eyeservice as men pleasers but as servants of christ doing the will of god from the heart with good will doing service as to the Lord and not unto men the psalmist said I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house my god that dwell in tents of wickedness well yeah if you held a door on Sunday that's a whole lot better than living out there and sin if you serve somebody a cup of lemonade or a cup of coffee or put a doughnut in their mouth that's a whole lot better living out there in the flesh because you know what you did it as unto the Lord you didn't care about your reputation oh I get the doughnuts Wow cool maybe next year pastor let me preach but right now I got the doughnuts hey and we ought to rejoice in heaven the doughnuts we ought to be rejoicing in parking cars we ought to be rejoicing in changing some diapers in the nursery ought to be rejoicing in being able to usher some folks into the auditorium we ought to be able to rejoice that we prayed for the service why because jesus said let that mind be in you a serving priority but then we see a selfless prayer in verse 60 as they stone this man to death the Bible says he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge he's dying he's being stoned he's in pain he's in suffering but he's not focused on himself he's focused on those who need to be saved his prayer no doubt was as the Lord's not my will but thine be done now why is this so important if you notice there in this passage that in verse 57 they they cried out with a loud voice they stopped their ears they ran upon him with one Accord they cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul when these people stoned Stephen to death before they threw the rocks they took off their outer clothing and they laid it at the feet of a man whose name was Saul why did God record that what's the significance of this God didn't just put it in there well we know who Saul was Saul had authority from the chief priests and scribes to put anybody to death who was following Jesus Christ he had written documentation on his person from the religious leaders that if he found somebody like you in a church like this he could harass you he could put you in prison or he could kill you he had the authority Saul later on becomes Paul God changed his name after he got saved and in acts 26 he's standing before King Agrippa and he's given his testimony and he says in chapter 26 when we killed those Christians I gave my voice against them you know what he is saying there he's saying I was the last work I was the one who decided their fate I was the one who decided that guy goes to jail we're gonna harass that one and we're gonna kill that one Saul was the man who decided Stephen was gonna die and when these people put their clothes at his feet that's exactly what they were saying to everybody watching they were saying yes we've been commanded to stole this man to death but we're putting our clothes at his feet because we're not killing him he is just like today if a judge in a courtroom tried a case and found somebody guilty of some crime and the judge said he's to die capital punishment we don't hear about it much anymore in fact it's illegal in some states to put a man to death for killing another man but if a judge said I'm saying the sentences death we would not hold the doctor responsible for that death who puts the needle in the guy's arm through lethal injection and and he dies we don't hold the doctor responsible we hold the judge responsible the judge has made the decision the judge has interpreted the law and he's made the decision that's exactly what's happening here as these people are picking up these stones to stone Steve and they're saying we're not doing this he is and Saul of Tarsus this man with a hardened conscience stands there and watches as a man dies and if Stephen had not died with grace he would have jeopardized the conversion of the Apostle Paul Stephen as he's being stoned says Lord lay not this sin to their charge if he missed steps here Saul may never get saved on the road to Damascus in acts 9 Saul is going to Damascus gonna find some more Christians to put to death and suddenly there's a bright light out of heaven he's blinded he falls to his knees and him everybody said who art thou Lord he answered his own question how did he know it was the Lord because he had watched a man die with grace to forgive and it made the difference you see your example of forgiveness leads others to forgiveness the example of Steve and Saint Lord don't lay this sin to their charge I forgive him as he's suffering as he's dying he's forgiving the man that is executing his death and yet it is that forgiveness that leads Saul to Christ and when you have that kind of grace you experience a sustaining peace the Bible says in verse 60 of the last phrase he fell asleep he's not dying bitter he's not dying cursing he's not dying saying God why is this happening he's not angry at God or selfishly won in his life no the grace that enables you to forgive well will enable you to finish well he fell asleep if we will live with grace to forgive I'll guarantee you when you get to the end however it happens you will have the grace to die well I had a professor in college by name of Richard weeks dr. weeks taught a number of classes he was the academic dean and he taught a number of classes just a little guy probably about five five wait maybe 150 pounds at the most he was a very energetic man he had pastored in Chicago for years and his later life he devoted to teaching young men how to preach I I took Baptist history from dr. weeks I took the book of Acts I took revelation I took homiletic sigh I took a lot of classroom dr. weeks he was not an easy teacher my grades would prove that dr. weeks was uh was a favorite though he was the statistician on our football team and he would travel with us and keep the stats and I kind of got to know him you know a little bit outside the classroom which made an impact in my life after I graduated his wife Marilyn got cancer and the cancer went right to her bones very serious cancer a very painful cancer every time I would go near the hospital where she was I would stop and visit her and I had taken some pastoral classes from dr. weeks and he had taught us how to make hospital visits he would grill us about what are you gonna read for scripture when you go in that room if a person certainly facing surgery what scripts are you gonna read if they're if they're if they're having a baby what Scripture maybe he made us memorize that stuff and you'd be prepared know what you're gonna pray and make it about a five minute visit you know they're there to get well not not hear you and so he he he went through all that and so I blind every time I go see mrs. weeks I want to remember all that because I knew she'd tell her husband but my hospital visit and so I'd get a scripture I'd have my Bible and I'd have a scripture picked out I was gonna read to her something about comfort something about peace something about grace and huh and I I'd kind of memorize a little prayer that I was gonna pray for you know and I'd walk in that room and there she was her bones were so brittle when she died both of her collar bones were broken one of her legs was broken horrible pain weighed about 70 pounds dying and I would walk in that room with my Bible my prayer read in wanting to be an encouragement of blessing and she'd see me come to the door she saved brother catch come in come in get my Bible and she'd have her Bible there on the nightstand she'd said get the Bible now open it up and and and and turn to and I want to read you some scripture and she'd read scripts and then she said nah let me pray for you she pray for my meetings and pray God would bless my preaching then she'd said I know you need to go about five minutes she did shoo me out the door I guess she took the class I don't know she was such a blessing one day the phone call came from dr. weeks he said John Maryland's gone to be with the Lord I was in Texas preaching a revival and he says there any way you could get here for the funeral I'd like you to read some scripture all it was an honor it was an honor I drove from Texas straight through to Wisconsin got there just in time for the funeral and what a wonderful time we had rejoicing you know st. going home and shortly after mrs. weeks died dr. weeks had a stroke wasn't a terrible stroke it was what they called a mini stroke and it it took him out of the classroom he he lost some of his memory boy when he'd teach Baptist history he could do it without notes he just had all kinds of dates and people in his mind and he was just so sharp and yet this stroke had taken a little bit of that and so he stepped out of the classroom for a bit and I remember visiting him and he said he said gosh if had a little setback but I'll get back in the saddle soon then he had another stroke and then another then another and they said by the time he died he had about 200 of these many strokes and every one of them took a little more of his mind a little more of his physical abilities he was in the hospital in the year Freeport Illinois where his daughter lived his only daughter and so I would try to go by there every time I could visit him and I remember one time I went into his room and he was sitting in a wheelchair near his bed there he couldn't control his his saliva he he'd had these strokes and he he couldn't move his arms much and it was hard to kind of understand cuz he couldn't and unseat his words it was so unlike what I knew him to be and we sat we chatted for just a minute and then he looked at me he's he said John I just got right with the Lord I thought I mean when one of your professors who's mentored you and taught you and you've looked up to all your life tells you they just got right with the Lord you're thinking what did what I said dr. Lewis we mean he said well II guess when Marilyn died I got bitter I started having these strokes and I got angry at God I couldn't understand why God was taking my wife and why God was allowing these physical problems I wanted to teach I wanted to preach I wanted to serve the Lord and God had taken these things away and I got bitter he said I was sitting here last week in this chair and I thought about how Marilyn died how she won one of the nurses to the Lord the day before she died in that suffering in that pain of bone cancer she still witnessed and still had a joy on her heart and a smile on her face and she died with God's grace he said I sat here and I said I don't want to die bitter I don't want to die miserable I want to die with grace he said I got right with the Lord he said brother get would you pray for me but I'll live the rest of my days with grace do you have grace to forgive tonight it's not gonna happen because somebody throws a switch it's not gonna happen in that last moment of time if we're not living in that grace now and much of that grace is needed when we're wrong when something doesn't go the way we had planned when persecution comes or perhaps even as in Stephens case martyrdom but the grace to forgive we don't know much about Stephen very little information other than he was full of faith for the Holy Ghost full of good works and full of power that's about all it says about it we sure know a lot about Paul don't we man that guy by acts 17 to turn the world upside down with the gospel you know what your ability to forgive in grace those wrongs in your life will lead someone else to the Savior that will hear about grace to forgive duty to ask God for some grace tonight all of us has been wronged all of us have had things said all of us has been stabbed in the back some way shape or form ask God for some grace to forgive it may even make the difference in the person who's putting the knife in your back it sure did work on Saul

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

Views: 1,913

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Keywords: preaching, sermon, Christian, God, Jesus, Lancaster Baptist Church, Lancaster Baptist, Pastor Paul Chappell, Paul Chappell, Dr. John Goetsch, grace, forgiveness

Id: GutdXYV7MoI

Length: 48min 38sec (2918 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 20 2017