“Messengers of Mercy”
“Fight the Good Fight” 1 Timothy Message Series
March 12, 2017
Pastor Mike Clark
1 Timothy 1:8-11 includes one of those lists of wrongs and sins that make us cringe. We see things
that we don’t want to talk about. We see wrongs that we have committed and would rather forget.
We see harmful actions that we wish would never happen. We see behaviors listed that many want to
argue about. There is nothing in this list that is enjoyable to talk about. It is tempting to skip over
these verses, but a deeper reading reveals why the Apostle Paul included this list. (NIV)
We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9We also know that the law is made
not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy
and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10for the
sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and
perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11that conforms to the
gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me.
So why did the Apostle Paul include this list? Did he include it to make Timothy and others feel bad?
Did he include it so that some people would feel judged and condemned by God? No, Paul did not
include this list for a bad reason. Paul included this list because He wanted Timothy and all who read
this letter to know about God’s mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. We know this because of the next
paragraph Paul wrote. Paul is not condemning the people who do these kind of things. Paul is
including himself as one of them. Paul knows a lot about wrongs, because He used to commit them.
He was a rebel, ungodly, a murderer, and a mean, cruel persecutor of the followers of Jesus. Then
Jesus Christ freed Paul from his life of wrong, transforming him into a messenger of God’s mercy.
Listen to how Paul explained it in 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NIV)
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me
trustworthy, appointing me to His service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a
persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and
unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith
and love that are in Christ Jesus.
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Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown
mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense
patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.
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Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever
and ever. Amen.
If Paul, the worst of sinners, can receive the mercy of God in Jesus, then anyone can receive it no
matter what they have done. If the Lord can use someone as vile as Paul, a blasphemer, persecutor
and angry man, then the Lord can use any of us with our evil pasts of rebellious, ungodly, sinful and
unholy behaviors. Just as the grace of Jesus was poured out on Paul abundantly, so we too can bathe
in that grace showered upon us.
Jesus did not come into the world to condemn anyone. Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
including the worst. Do you consider yourself a sinner in any way? How bad a sinner do you think you
are? Well, look at Paul. He was worse than you. Jesus forgave Paul, then used him as an example to
the whole world of the patient love of God. No matter what you have done, Jesus’ love and
forgiveness is bigger. So let Jesus change you into an example of His mercy too.
In Jesus, God displayed that He works for our very best. He sacrificed whatever was needed to help
us. He gave His only Son Jesus to take away our wrongs and die for us. He did this to restore us to a
wonderful relationship with Him as His own eternal children. Paul wrote in Romans 8:32 (NIV) “He
who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along
with Him, graciously give us all things?” God wants the very best for us! He wants us
completely forgiven. He wants to use us as messengers of His mercy so those around us can see His
great mercy is available to them too. We all have a message of mercy to share. We all are examples
of God’s grace to all we meet. What is your message of mercy? How has Jesus forgiven you? How
have your shackles of enslavement been removed to set you free?
Watch this video of how the Lord brought mercy to these people so that they can become miracles of
mercy and messengers of mercy. (video.) Did you see yourself among them?
Notice that God does not end with mercy. Once we receive the mercy of the Lord, God desires for us
to become fully mature as His followers. He asks us to fully trust in Him. Once we become a follower
of Jesus, God does not take us out of this difficult world with all its trials and temptations. We wish
sometimes that He would. No, He leaves us here for a while so we can share our message of mercy
with others who need to see and hear our example. And He works to bring us to maturity so we can
be ready to enter into His eternal kingdom. He wants to remove the wrongs within us to bring us to
goodness and health.
To do this, sometimes God allows us to go through very difficult times. God allows whatever is
needed to bring us into maturity as His children. In these times, we learn to rely only on Jesus to get
us through. Our own strength, abilities, wisdom and drive won’t be enough. God places us in
situations where we must let Him lead us to the next level of maturity and health.
We might think of God as the Great Physician healing our minds, bodies and souls. Not many of us
like to go to a doctor but we know we need to when we hurt or are ill. Sometimes doctors must take
drastic measures and operations to bring healing. Suppose one of you needs a heart bypass surgery
because your blood vessels became clogged. So you go into the operating room. The doctor opens up
your chest, and begins to work around your heart. But before he actually does the bypass work, he
stops because he figures he has already hurt you enough. He has caused you enough pain so he
sows you back up. Yet that would be worse really. The doctor did not do what was really needed. He
did not complete the surgery to remove the problem. He needed to do it all to bring the healing.
C. S. Lewis describes God in this way as a spiritual surgeon who works to bring us to fullness in
goodness and life. “The terrible thing is that a perfectly good God is in this matter hardly less
formidable than a Cosmic Sadist. The more we believe that God hurts only to heal, the less we
believe that there is any use in begging for tenderness. A cruel man might be bribed - might grow
tired of his vile sport - might have a temporary fit of mercy, as alcoholics have fits of sobriety. But
suppose that what you are up against is a surgeon whose intentions are wholly good. The kinder and
more conscientious he is, the more inexorably he will go on cutting. If he yielded to your entreaties, if
he stopped before the operation was complete, all the pain up to that point would have been useless.
But is it credible that such extremities of torture should be necessary for us? Well, take your choice.
The tortures occur. If they are unnecessary, then there is no God or a bad one. If there is a good
God, then these tortures are necessary. For no even moderately good Being could possibly inflict or
permit them if they weren’t.” (C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, pg. 49-50)
What happens when we can do nothing else than to trust in Jesus? What happens when we come to
the end of our rope and can’t hang on any longer? What happens when we must let go and let Jesus
– totally trusting in Him alone?
Well, let us share with you 3 examples of our messages of mercy. I will share and then I have asked
2 others to share about what happened to them when they could do nothing else than trust in Jesus.
Have any of you come to the point when you were financially broke and unable to pay your bills?
Have you come to the end of your financial rope and not know what would help you get out of your
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debts? That happened to me. I came to experience the grace of Jesus when I was 15 years old. Like
Paul I learned that God loved me despite my failures. Then at age 18 I heard the call of the Lord to
study to become a pastor for His church. I went to college and struggled to get through financially. I
worked all sorts of jobs to make ends meet and somehow managed to get through to graduation.
Then after 4 years of college, I needed to attend 3 more years of graduate school at seminary. I had
no money, but felt this was God’s will, so I registered and went to seminary. I went to classes full
time and worked 3 jobs making minimal wage. It was not enough as my debt grew to become
overwhelming. By my 2nd year of seminary, I was in despair as I could not keep up. I broke down
physically and emotionally from trying to do it all by myself. I was lost in debt and did not know what
to do. I went to the Dean of the seminary and told him that I was in trouble and needed to leave
seminary. I thought that all my efforts were wasted. I thought that I was terribly wrong to think that
God wanted me to be a pastor. Then in that moment of despair, God reached me. 1st, that dean
helped me deal with my debt with some seminary loans that I did not know were available to me. 2nd,
my church came through with some financial aid. And my friends in seminary pitched in to help me
out too. From that moment, I learned to trust God with all my finances. I have never worried about
money again, even when I had 3 children in college at once and we were paying for all their tuition,
room, boarding and books. God came through in amazing ways to get all 3 of my children through
college and we were debt free. God takes us right where we are and leads us through the difficulties
to learn how generous He is as we faithfully follow Him.
The next example of totally trusting God comes from almost losing a child. My wife and I experienced
this at the birth of our 3rd child. That is another amazing message of mercy. But I have asked a COV
member to share her message of God’s mercy to her involving the life of one of her sons. You may
have heard some of this before, but she will give us all an update.
And now, one more message of mercy. What do you do when you realize you made wrong choices
with disastrous consequences? What do you do when you have nothing else to do but trust in God’
generous grace? Another COV member has agreed to share her message of mercy with us. I
appreciate her courage in doing this as an example of God’s great grace to her.
What is your message of mercy? What can you share to others who need to know of the great love
and grace of Jesus Christ? I hope you will take the time to put together your message. If you do, the
Lord may place someone in your path that needs to hear what you experienced so they too can
discover the great grace of the Lord. And maybe some of you today would like to personally know
God’s grace to you? Maybe you feel you are at the end of your rope? Maybe you feel you don’t know
what to do or where to turn for help? It’s time to trust in the One who can help you in any situation
you face. It is time to give that situation and your life over into the hands of our Savior. Will you do
that today?
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