Skip to content When Your Story Becomes Your Sermon Jun 1 · 58 min ...more
When Your Story Becomes Your Sermon
June 1, 2026 · 58 min
Hear God's living Word, join in prayer, and be moved by Paul's before and after testimony to seek your own spiritual transformation.
Series Unstoppable June 1, 2026 · 58 min · Unstoppable
Hear God's living Word, join in prayer, and be moved by Paul's before and after testimony to seek your own spiritual transformation. ...more Show the full description Show less Hear God's living Word, join in prayer, and be moved by Paul's before and after testimony to seek your own spiritual transformation.
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139K followers
Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub serves as president of Pastor Jeff Ministries, a national and global ministry designed to equip believers and challenge them to take
139K followers
In this video 0:00 Church Updates and Prayer3:42 The Power of Transformation Stories7:39 Remember Who You Were29:01 Recount What God Has Done37:34 Respond and Release to God's Mission
Church Updates and Prayer 0:00 Well, good morning. Would you help me welcome all of our campuses who are worshiping with us today? So good to be with all of you. 1 final reminder, I will not belabor the point, but this coming week, June fifth and0:11 sixth, the last stand is going to be here last week to register for that. We do have a Brave discount of 50 percent. If you can be here for Friday night or Saturday or all of it, it would be a great thing0:23 for you to do. 1 of the reasons we have not started renovations on our church yet is we wanted to host this event. Once that is done, we will be getting you information about what we're gonna do. We're gonna be doing all0:33 this area. The stage is gonna look a little different. We got new screens coming in, new chairs, all the stuff that we talked about in our capital campaign that we're gonna do. In Westminster, we're redoing the parking0:44 lot. We're adding more spaces. They're getting our LED wall here, up there, a lot of different things. What that means is we, here in Inglewood, will be worshiping next door at the academy for a period of0:55 weeks. Our hope is, and we'll know soon, our hope is that June 20 first is our last service in here for a period of weeks. Hope to be back in by the end of August, which would be giving us the fall1:07 to go ahead. As you know, with construction processes, it can be difficult to do everything when they say, so it's a prayer request, friends. Please be praying for what God wants to do. We will keep you informed as to
1:19 what that looks like, but we think God's gonna do some really neat things, so we're excited about that. And with that, let's continue our worship today as we go before the Lord and get ready to hear his living and active
1:29 word. Would you pray with me? Our father in heaven, we do give you all glory, all honor, all praise for who you are and for all you're doing. And Lord, we ask in these moments that we have together that you would speak
1:39 directly to us. Lord, it is a privilege to gather in your house. It's a privilege to worship your name. It's a privilege to be with other saints as we look around in community and see you do your work among
1:51 us. And, Lord, it's especially encouraging because we as a people believe that every time your word is expressed, every time your word is explained, every time your word is faithfully and
2:02 accurately proclaimed, that it is you who are speaking, Lord. So our prayer this morning is speak, for we are ready to hear. And so now for all those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak
2:11 directly to you, who will believe what he tells you, and who will by faith put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly this morning by saying the word amen. Amen.
2:23 Everybody loves transformation stories. Every single 1 of us love to see before and after pictures. Whether whether we're talking about transformation that happens at the gym when we
2:35 see someone and we see pictures before and they're big and unhealthy, and all of a sudden they look fit and athletic. And we see more than 1 of those stories that moves us and say, how can my story look like
2:47 that? Or when we see stories of a marriage that wasn't doing so well, that all of a sudden is doing well, and the after picture is here's what's happened to make our marriage better. We love that kind of story. When we
2:59 see people who are former prisoners now be productive citizens, we look and we say, that's incredible. Or when we see people that were former addicts that are now sober and walking in
3:11 a new way, it motivates us. Every single person loves stories of transformation. And deep down in our heart, there's something inside of us that says, I want to be transformed. In some way in my
3:22 life, when I look at all the different dimensions, I want to have those things going on for me. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a transformation story.
3:37 Able to get a hold of through the power of his holy spirit. Every single person who has been born again by the spirit of God has a transformation story.
The Power of Transformation Stories
3:52 Demonstration of the power of God in a life that is submitted to him. And so the reason we really enjoy transformation stories is spiritual 1.
4:04 Where we're going and what we're becoming, there's something motivating. It's why every time at Brave Church when we do baptisms, we have a couple of the people verbally share their story about what they were and what
4:15 God's done and what how they've responded because it motivates us. And if told correctly, all of us have the same story. We have different expressions of that story, but it's all the
4:27 same story. And today, we're gonna take a look at what transformation really looks like in acts chapter 22. In acts chapter 22, you're gonna see the story of transformation in the apostle Paul. And as we
4:39 see it in his life, I not only want you to be motivated by his before and after pictures, but I want you to be motivated and ask yourself the question, do I have a story like this? Every Listen to me.
4:51 You need to hear this part. Every single believer in Jesus Christ has this identical story. If you don't have this identical story, you're not a believer in Jesus Christ. I'm saying that from the onset.
5:02 Because a lot of times people hear me like, well, I haven't had that experience yet. If you don't have this story, you can have this story today. Amen? And so we're gonna be in Acts chapter 22, and we're gonna take a
5:14 look at when your story becomes your sermon. When your story becomes your sermon, how does your story give him glory? That's what we're gonna take a look at today. So if you turn your Bible to Acts 22, and
5:26 while you're turning there, you'll remember we're in the middle of a story. Acts chapter 21 ended, where Paul had gone to Jerusalem against the wishes of all the elders and all of his best friends. They told him they had
5:38 heard from the spirit that if he goes there, only chains await. Same thing too. But I'm willing to go there and even die for my faith because it's where God wants me to go. So you're
5:50 hearing God correctly as to what would happen if I go. You're just thinking self preservation is the answer.
6:04 Drops He gets chained. He gets dragged off. He's on his way to prison as all the Jewish people are furious with him and yelling at him and saying away with him. He doesn't even deserve
6:16 to live. And that's where we were in the middle of the story last week. And I'll end I'll pick up in verse 40 of chapter 21. Paul says
6:27 he's a Jew of Tarsus. And in verse 40, he said, when he had given him permission, this is a soldier, Paul standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand. And when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in
6:38 the Hebrew dialect saying. So now we're gonna hear what he said to the people. He said, Brethren and fathers, hear my defense, which I now offer to you. And when they heard that he was
6:50 addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. And he said, I am a Jew in Tarsus of Silicia and brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly
7:02 according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as you all are today. I persecuted this way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons.
7:14 And as also the high priest and all the council of elders can testify. From them, I also received letters to the brethren and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those
7:26 who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished. Now, I'm gonna give you 4 points of your story today that you'll have if you're a Christian, and the first is this, Remember who you were.
Remember Who You Were
7:39 Remember who you were. You could say, I was. If you're a Christian, there's part of your story that's I was, because you're no longer what you were. Because if you've been born again, you're
7:51 something fundamentally different. You're completely changed. Everything has been changed for you. So here's what Paul is saying. He begins to speak to them in the Hebrew dialect.
8:05 Fathers. This mob of people is wanting to kill. They are saying away with him. He doesn't even deserve to live. And when he speaks, God gives him a platform. How does he get his
8:17 platform? Through his persecution. How does he get a pull up? Through his pain. Many of us are always looking, I need a pulpit. I need a platform. I need people to recognize me. All you have to do is walk with
8:29 Jesus. I promise you, he'll give you a place to speak into what he's doing. So here's Paul getting dragged off the prison. This is his opportunity to open his mouth. And when he gets the God given opportunity,
8:41 God takes a riot and calms them all down so they can hear what Paul's gonna say. And Paul, who likely spoke 3 different languages, it says here he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, which was likely Aramaic. He spoke
8:53 Hebrew. He likely spoke Aramaic. He also clearly spoke Koine Greek and wrote that because that's where all the New Testament letters are written in. So he's trilingual. Trilingual means 3 languages at least. Bilingual
9:05 means 2 languages, 1 language, American. Okay. So he's at least trilingual. And so he's speaking to them in a Hebrew dialect. He's talking to them in a way that basically says, I'm 1 of
9:17 you. And while all these people are wanting to kill him, what's he doing? He's saying brothers and fathers. Like, I'm a Jew just like you. I was born a Jew. I get you. When you're telling your story about
9:29 what you were, you're identifying with people that are still in that predicament. And that's what he's saying. I was just like you. I'm a Jew born in Tarsus of Solicita. I was brought up in this
9:41 city, educated under Gamaliel. You remember in Acts chapter 5, Gamaliel was the 1 who gave great counsel and said if these people are the way or or if they're not of God, they'll die out. You remember how every time a
9:51 spiritual uprising starts and then the person dies, it dies, but if it's of the Lord, you won't be able to stop it. That was Gamaliel. Paul studied under him. Paul was taught by him. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
10:03 And he said, I was strictly according to the law of our fathers being zealous for God, just as you are today. What's he telling him? You guys are all zealous for God. I get that. I was
10:15 just like you. I kept the law. I did what you did. I'm I'm 1 of you. I'm a Jew of Jews. I'm a Pharisee of the Pharisees. That's to the law. Blameless. That's who I am.
10:27 I I that's what I was. Let me tell you my background. I get you. I understand you. He goes on to say, I persecuted this way to the death. The
10:39 way, this way, that's the Christians. They were called the way. In other words, I persecuted Christians to the death, binding and putting both men, notice this, and women in prisons.
10:51 Hear about the Apostle Paul, and we're like, man, what a great missionary theologian. I can't wait to meet Paul when I get to heaven. I look forward to meeting Paul when I get to heaven too. You should as well. But you
11:02 need to know who he was, few moments. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem. Not only did I lock up
11:14 many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priest, but also when they were being put to death. I cast my vote against when he had the opportunity. Hey, liberty,
11:27 if I had a chance to vote down with the when he was at Stephen's death, he gave approval to Stephen's death. After Stephen's death, acts 9
11:39 1, he's still breathing out what? Murderous threats. He wasn't just a quote bad guy. He was a Christian killer.
11:52 Jealous for the Jewish law. I tried to get every Christian I could find to be dead or dragged off into prison so that they could be tried because I did everything I could to stop this
12:04 movement. That's who I was. And so what's he doing? He's identifying. He's identifying with their anger. He's identifying with their rage. He's identifying with their Jewish heritage. He's identifying with
12:16 how they think. He's telling them brothers and fathers. He's telling them that they're zealous for God. He's speaking to their heart, like, I get you. I totally understand you. That's who
12:28 I was. And also as the high priest and also the councils and elders can testify. From them, I also received letters to the brethren, and I started off to Damascus. He goes, Even your chief priest and council
12:40 can tell you to this day, they gave me letters so that I could go find these people. I was appointed as the chief so and so Christian sniper to go get them and to
12:52 bring them back. That that was my life. That's what I did. I get it. I know how you feel about me. So he's identifying with them. When you tell the story about what you were, it's not to
13:03 glorify what you were. It's to say what you were. When I went off to college at the University of Illinois, I went to a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting. I went for about 3 weeks or 4 weeks because I was told
13:15 that when I went out to school, I'd just become a Christian like 3 or 4 weeks earlier before I went off to college. And they said, you need to get involved in a ministry. And I found Campus Crusade for Christ. And I went
13:26 to there and they would do what was called a testimony, which is what I'm teaching you today. What they were, what Christ had done, and who they had become. But here's what I heard. I don't know that it was said this
13:36 way, but here's what I heard. I heard the glorified, here's what I was. If it was a guy, it was like, I used to do drugs. I got drunk all the time. I partied. I slept with all these women. I mean, it was incredible and
13:47 blah blah blah. It sounded like what they were was really exciting. Then they would say, then I met Christ, and then it got really serious. And now I do bible studies, and I go to church. So what
13:58 I heard was, you need to have a really radical term, and then when you meet Jesus, your life's gonna become boring. And I heard for 3 weeks people tell stories like this.
14:10 That's not a testimony. A testimony is I was this. You could be that until you were 4. Then I met Jesus, and I've been walking with him ever since. That's a testimony. Amen?
14:23 But I didn't know that. So week 3, they asked me. They found out I played football. They said, you need to give your testimony. I said this. I said this. I don't have 1 of those. Because I didn't think I did, but I
14:34 left that night convinced I was gonna go build 1, and I tried. And I was miserable, having 1 foot firmly planted in the world and 1 foot trying to be Christian because I didn't know how to get that testimony
14:46 thing. I'm here to tell you, you don't need to go off the rails to have a Christian testimony. A Christian testimony is Jesus changing you. Amen? And it's the most exciting thing that can
14:58 happen. So Paul's not excited about who he used to be. He's not glorifying what he once was. As a matter of fact, he hated who he once was. First Timothy, he calls himself an aggressor
15:10 of the church. I mean, he he was a violent aggressor of the church. I mean, Paul is a violent terrorist towards Christians. That's who's writing your New Testament 2 thirds of it. If we were
15:21 Christians in the first century, we would have been terrified of him. You wouldn't have wanted to shake his hand. You would have been running from him, wanting to know where he was at at all time. And so Paul writes this
15:33 throughout all his letters. In Philippians chapter 3, he's like, even though I might have confidence, even in the flesh, and he goes through who he was, and a Jew, and a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and circumcised on the
15:44 eighth day, and all this stuff. But he says, I consider that rubbish. Literally, the Greek word excrement to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ. First Timothy 1 13, even though I
15:56 was formerly a blasphemer and persecutor and violent aggressor, yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. See, here's the
16:08 story you need to understand before you come to Christ, that you're dead in your sins. Romans 3 23 says, for we have all sinned and fallen short of the
16:19 glory of God. As Paul writes to the Ephesian church in Ephesians chapter 2, 1 of the great chapters on salvation, he says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins. As a sinner,
16:31 you're dead. Physically, you're alive. Spiritually, you're dead. When we go to the hospital and we see a newborn, we get so excited because they're so cute, and they're moving, and they're doing all this stuff, and, oh,
16:41 they're starting to smile. Physically, they're alive. Spiritually, every 1 of them is dead. And they remain dead until they've come to Christ. Everybody's spiritually
16:54 dead. And if you're dead, you are under the wrath of God. Why? Because of your heredity of sin. And because of your heredity of sin, you will have symptoms of it creep out all
17:06 over the place. You will either become hyper religious and go churchy and do all this stuff and not deal with your deadness, or you'll just live out a sinful pattern that's definitely
17:17 sinful. Either way, you're still what? Dead and under the wrath of God. So Bible makes clear, it's appointed on demand to die once and after that face judgment. That's Hebrews 9. And so
17:29 when you die in your sin, God will cast you into hell. That's true for every single person who has breathed their first breath. It's just true. It's true
17:41 of every single 1 of you here. If you come to Brave Church since our inception but you've never trusted Christ, you're still dead in your transgressions and sins. And Paul said, and you were, he's talking to
17:53 the Ephesians, y'all were this way, In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working among the sons of disobedience.
18:04 Jesus said there's a narrow road and a wide road, and many are on the wide road, and very few are on the narrow road. If you're going the way the world's going, like, if you call yourself a Christian and you're still
18:12 walking all the way that every non Christian walks, you're not a Christian. You're not a Christian because of what you say you believe. You're a Christian because of how you live. Wait. I thought I all I had to do is
18:23 pray a prayer and I'd go to heaven. No. That's the truth of where you need to give allegiance. Who's in charge of your life? Who's the allegiance in your life? Paul's saying the allegiance in my
18:35 life used to be me and my Jewish faith. That was the allegiance in my life. That's what I was. That's how I live. That's what I did. He's not saying I'm proud of it, but he's not hiding what
18:47 he was. By the way, if you are a Christian, you don't need to hide anything about your past because it's all washed. You don't brag about it like it was really, really good because if you are a Christian, you'll know I
18:59 hated that. I don't want to go back to it. But you don't need to apologize for it because sometimes in church, some Christians are afraid to talk about their past and you don't need to glorify it and you don't need to
19:08 tell everybody about it, but you don't need to be embarrassed by it. Christ came and died for you so you could be freed from whatever that was. Amen?
19:21 So I was. I was. I mean, the Bible makes clear that the law is really, really good, but what the law does, it shows you the holiness of
19:33 God and it points out that you're not good enough to get there. That's the purpose of the law. So if you're thinking, well, when I get to heaven, my good outweighs my bad. You are so wrong. Your bad so outweighs your
19:45 good. It's not even a contest. Not even close. Because you're not comparing yourself to a perfect holy God that says, 1 mistake, you're out. You break 1 part of the law, you're guilty of breaking it all.
19:57 Romans chapter 3 verses 19 and 20 says, Now we know that whatever the law speaks, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become
20:09 accountable to God. Why? Because when you walk through the law, do not steal. Have you ever stolen anything? Yes. Do not covet. You ever seen anybody else's stuff from the time that you were born and say, I wish I had
20:19 that? Yeah. Have you ever lusted? If you've hit puberty, you have. Have you ever lied? Have you ever cheated? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever talked bad about somebody that wasn't there? Have you ever bare false
20:31 every single 1 of us has broken every single 1 of the laws. So when you stand before Jesus, you can look really good before everybody else and paint yourself up and look really good. But when you stand before the God
20:41 that's watched you in every single circumstance and not only sees your behavior but knows your mind, you can't stand before him and say, not guilty. Because you know you're guilty. It'll the law will shut
20:53 your mouth. This is what I'm judging you according to. I'm judging you according to perfection. And there's only 1 who's ever lived perfect, the God man Jesus Christ. Amen? So here's
21:05 what you have to understand. If you're not a sinner and you don't see yourself as being punished by the wrath of God and going to hell, there is no such thing as good news. There is no such thing. And because the church
21:16 won't tell people about their sin, which is their only problem that they have, it's the only problem Jesus came to solve because they don't want to tell people that God's wrath is on you from the time that you're born.
21:26 And no matter how good you are, you're still going to hell. And because we don't tell people the truth, then we have to pivot the gospel and make it all about this. Okay. Well, Jesus is really, really good. I know your
21:35 life's good, but Jesus is good too. And if you accept Jesus, he's gonna make your life better. And it'll be better financially. It'll be better with your health. It'll be better with your money. It'll be better every
21:44 other way. Your relationships will get better. Don't you wanna have that kind of life? And we sell something that's not the gospel. Jesus didn't die on the cross so you could have a better life. He died on the cross
21:55 because you were on your way to hell and deserve the wrath of God. And he said, dad, I'll take all the wrath. I'll take it all so that no human being ever has to take it.
22:07 And when he said, it is finished, it wasn't like, it's so finished so the people can now have prosperous lives.
22:22 We love transformation stories. Some of you will know the name Chuck Colson, who who went to prison during the Watergate hearings and was found guilty and in prison he met Christ, started a prison fellowship
22:34 because of what he experienced in prison and got the gospel out to many who were in prison. And it's interesting to see the song Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now
22:44 I'm found, was blind, but now I see. But we probably don't realize that John Newton who wrote that song was a slave trader, he was a blasphemer, and he was an enemy of God long before he ever wrote that song. Right? That
22:56 was his before story, and then, But God did this. I mean, I think about my story every single time I'm getting up to preach, because you guys get to see my after story. Some of you got to see my before story, and
23:08 some of you didn't get to see enough of my before story, but I know my before story because I live my before story. And I'm not excited about my before story, but I know what it was, and I'm not embarrassed about it, and
23:16 I never wanna go back and relive it. But the reason I understand anybody that comes in here, if you tell me, I'm totally steeped in sin. I get it. I'm consumed with alcohol. I get it. I'm totally immoral. I
23:28 get it. I've walked where you walked, and I can tell you that Jesus can heal it all. Amen? I know that. And here's the important thing to know about
23:40 your I was. Like, I look back on my life, and I'm like, man, lord, it would have been so cool if I'd have been homeschooled, gone to Moody Bible for college, gone straight to seminary. That would have been great. But God
23:52 uses my story to connect with certain people that if I hadn't had my story, I couldn't connect with. I know what it's like to play 5 years of college football and only play 10 downs
24:05 and be looked over. I I know the disappointment. So So you say, I've been overlooked for my job. I've been get it. Totally understand that. I I know what it's like to live for a success in this world and be going after
24:16 it and feeling totally empty on the inside. Totally get it. I know what I was. I don't like what I was, but I know what I was. I'm not embarrassed about what I was because Jesus saved me from what I was. Amen? Don't be
24:28 embarrassed about what you were, but be grateful that you're no longer that. I mean, it's really interesting because when Paul writes to the Corinthian church, which was a great church and a messed up church all at the
24:38 same time, lots of sin going on in the church, he wrote to them in First Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9. He says, Or do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Don't let
24:50 anybody tell you differently. Only righteous people enter the kingdom, effeminate, nor homosexual, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkers,
25:01 nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Like, let me just be clear. Nobody like that goes to heaven. Such were some of you. It's
25:13 what you were. But you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God.
25:26 Don't you love that? Heaven is not a place for people who've tried to make the most out of their lives and become the best versions of themselves. Heaven's a place for people that know they're dead in their sins and
25:37 deserve the wrath of God, who have called on him for their mercy and been set free. That's salvation. Amen? So remember who you were. Have part of your story that says I was, because if you're sitting here today and say,
25:47 What I am now is what I've always been, then you don't have an I was. Because if you've been saved for 5 seconds, you have an I was because you were that, but now you're no longer that.
25:59 Amen? So the application is this, the gospel begins with honesty, not pretending, not performing, not hiding, not adding value to your life. It's honest that I'm dead, and
26:11 I'm a sinner, and I'm in need of God. Remember who you are. Then secondly, do this, Recount what God has done. Recount what God has done. This is where you say but God. I was, but God.
26:23 And notice what he's gonna say. That's what Paul's gonna tell us. He's telling them, I get you. I was that. It. But it
26:35 happened that I was I was on my way to I was on my way approaching Damascus about noon time. A very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven around me, and I fell to the ground, and I heard a
26:46 voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And I answered, who are you, Lord? And he said to me, 'I am Jesus
26:58 the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' And those who were with me saw the light, but to be sure, they did not understand the voice of the 1 who was speaking to me. And I said this, what shall I do, Lord?'
27:11 And the Lord said to me, Get up and go into Damascus, and there you'll be told of all that has been appointed for you to do. Now understand this, the gospel says, For it is by grace you've been
27:22 saved through faith. It's not your own doing, it's a gift of God so that no 1 should boast. Ephesians 2 10, the very next verse says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for works which God prepared
27:35 beforehand so that we would walk in them. So he's gonna get saved and being told, here's what I've already appointed for you. Every person I've ever met that's come to Christ, I would be 1 of them, says this,
27:47 I wish I would have met him sooner. I met him when I was 18. Wish I would have met him sooner. Some people meet him at 40. Wish I would have met him sooner. Some meet him at 75. Wish I would have met him sooner.
27:59 Yeah. You get to spend eternity with him so you'll get plenty of time, but all of us wish we would have met him sooner. Thought this way, if I would have only known Christ like I do now then. Right? That's what's going
28:10 on. But here's what you got to understand. From the moment you trust Christ, God has things appointed for you which he's going to succeed in in your life. Point is. But since I cannot see because of the
28:22 brightness of that light, I was led by the hand of those who were there with me and came into Damascus. And a certain in an eye, who was a who was devout by the standard of the law and well spoken of by all the Jews who
28:33 lived there, came in and standing near said to me, Brother Saul, receive your sight. At that very time, I looked up at him and then he said, the God of our fathers has appointed you to know
28:45 his will and to see the righteous 1 and to hear an utterance from his mouth, for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. Now why do you delay? Get up
28:57 and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on his name. Here's what he's gonna do. He's gonna recount what God has done. He's gonna say, this is who I was,
Recount What God Has Done
29:10 trinity God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all 1 Godhead, distinct, 1 essence, and 3 distinct persons that have co equally existed for all eternity, and none of them were ever created.
29:24 Bible teaches. Our God is so awesome and so magnificent that when we spend eternity, there's not going to be a moment where we're not in awe of who he is as our God.
29:36 He he's awesome. I mean, incredible. And here's what God does. God is the 1 who does the work in our lives. God is the 1 who does the saving saving. And Paul's like, I'm on my way to Damascus. I'm persecuting
29:48 Christians. I'm killing them. It's about noontime. I see a light. I hear a voice. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? I'm like, who are you? Like, Lord, who are you? I am Jesus the
29:59 Nazarene whom you are persecuting. Why? Because when you attack 1 of Christ, you attack Christ. When you attack 1 of Jesus', you attack his church.
30:12 That's a fact. So Jesus was feeling the persecution of Paul going after Christians. Right? God feels it when Christians are persecuted.
30:24 Then Paul asks, what do you want from me, Lord? What do you want me to do? He's like, I want you to go to this house and I want you to wait and see what you're appointed to do. Like,
30:39 truth. We talked about in Ephesians chapter 2, how you were once dead in your transgressions and sins. But what we read about is what Verse 4, but God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which
30:51 he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Recount what he's done. When did he save you? When did he save you?
31:03 When was that moment in time? Oh, you're now you're talking Baptist. Oh, now you're talking Pentecostal. Oh, now you're saying I have to have 1 of those stories. No. I'm not talking Baptist. I'm not talking Pentecostal.
31:14 I'm not talking fundamentalist. I'm talking Bible. If you don't have a testimony of what you once were and what you are now, you're not a Christian. Period. You can go to church your whole life.
31:26 Your parents could take you there your first week of infancy. You can get baptized there. You can profess Christ there. You can go through all the motions there and still not be saved.
31:38 Every single Christian has a story of I was but God. And what did God do? But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
31:50 Jesus paid the price for us. He died in my place so that I could live. Before he left this earth, he took the full measure of the wrath of God on himself, so I'd never have to experience so you'd never have to
32:02 experience. And when I knew I was dead and I knew there was no way out, I came running to Jesus. Remember they gave an invitation at the camp I was at I was the first person to stand. I'm like, I want that, and I want it
32:13 now because I I can't wait for it anymore. I thought I had that. I want him. Because the gospel is changing allegiances. It's not giving lip service. It's I was.
32:26 I served the God of this age. I followed sports. I followed career. I followed wealth. Or I followed money. Or I followed my desires. But now, I follow Christ. But now I follow Christ. He's
32:38 the Lord of my life. He's my God. He's the 1 I give allegiance to. He's the 1 I give praise to. He's the 1 I seek. Amen? But God, here's what he did. Second
32:50 Corinthians 5 17 says, Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold, all things have passed away. All things have been made new. What happens when you come to Christ? You get a new identity.
33:02 You get a new name as saint, And everything that's true of Christ is now in you through the Holy Spirit. Positionally, you're holy. Positionally, you're righteous.
33:14 Positionally, you're good. Now our behavior hasn't always caught up with that and we spend the rest of our lives allowing God to change us into our new identity. But you are fundamentally different from the moment
33:26 that you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? That's why they tell Paul, you ready for this? You heard the Lord. You heard him say what you're gonna do. What what do you gotta do now? You need to get up and give your
33:37 allegiance to him so that your sins can be washed away. Do you want Christ? If you do, give your allegiance to him. The first step of obedience is that you'd be baptized, and that's the way we want you to walk, which is
33:48 the norm of every single conversion in the New Testament. Salvation followed by baptism. Not so that you're saved, but you get baptized because you now are saved.
34:00 Amen? It's so simple. It's clear. It's everywhere in the New Testament, and that's what he's going to do. Because you see, God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
34:11 Or how about Colossians 1 13 and 14? Kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Guys, you not only change allegiances, you change them
34:23 change dominion. Your once living in darkness thinking you're living in light, and all of a sudden now you're living in the kingdom of God's beloved son. That's where
34:35 every Christian resides. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let me live your kingdom values here until you get here. And Jesus, come and come
34:47 soon and set them all up so that everybody's living them out. That's our prayer. Amen? That's what we see. I was but God. I mean, we see
34:58 it in our world. Some of you remember Nikki Cruz from years ago, the gang leader, the violent criminal that was transformed by Christ, did a movie called the Switchblade. I forget what it's called. What was it called?
35:10 Crossing Switchblade. Thank you. Or Zacchaeus, you know, this white collar criminal, this thief that all of a sudden becomes immediately generous when he receives the love of Christ into his heart.
35:22 What would the prodigal son have said? Obviously not a true story, but it's an account of Jesus telling what his father's like. When the son runs off and sins wildly and decides to come home and repent, the
35:34 father runs to him. Or Lazarus, Lazarus is dead. His sister's like, Jesus, if you'd have been here he'd be alive. He's like, He'll rise on the resurrection. Yeah, yeah,
35:46 but if you'd have been here today he'd still be alive. He's like, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will not die, will live even though he dies. Do you believe this? And what's
35:57 Jesus do? He takes dead Lazarus and all he says is, Lazarus, come forth, and this man's been dead for 4 days, gets up and walks out. That's salvation. That's what it looks like. Here's the application.
36:09 Nobody's gone too far, nobody's beyond God's grace, nobody's unreachable. There's not 1 of you here that would say, if God only knew what I did, he knows everything you've done. And he still
36:21 came on purpose to wash away all your sins. Christianity is not behavioral modification to appease a God that's mad at you. Christianity is a total life
36:33 transformation when you give your allegiance to Christ and he changes you from the inside out. Behavior will change as you live out your identity, but you can't change behavior to change
36:45 your identity. Identity starts first. Amen? I was, but God. And then we get to this third part. We need to respond to what God commissions.
36:57 Respond to what God commissions you to do because then you say, and now. I was, but God, and now. Like, what what am I doing as a result of this Christianity? Because there needs to
37:09 be evidence of the change in your life. Right? People will see the evidence of the change in your life. If there's a group of people that you spoke bad on and you hated and you're really repentant, then the change that
37:20 you would see is you speak lovingly towards them. You're reaching out to them. You're changing your behavior. Repentance always has a change of behavior. I once was, but God, and now. So I'm living differently
37:33 than what I once did. Before I knew Christ, I lived for me and the idols of my own life, but God got a hold of me. Now I live for Jesus. And now, let me tell you what's going on as a result of what heShow more
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