Young People's Group

HIS GRACE TOWARDS ME WAS NOT IN VAIN

by Pastor Mitch
April 10, 2015

The Least Of All The Apostles

It must have been a most amazing experience for Paul to see Jesus as a living Saviour. One of the criteria of apostleship was for the person to see our Saviour alive after His resurrection (Acts 1:21-22). Paul was the last of all the apostles to have seen Him alive. Of course, the Lord appeared to him on his way to Damascus in a special way and called him to be His servant (Acts 9:4-19). As he took on this great privilege, he felt that he was totally unworthy to serve the Lord.

“Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” 
1 Corinthians 15:8-9

His sense of unworthiness could be seen in how he figuratively saw his birth as an untimely one. He felt strongly that he was the least in terms of dignity among all the other apostles and not fit to be called an apostle because he had persecuted the church. It is good for us to feel a deep sense of unworthiness even as we seek to serve the Lord.

The Example Of Paul In Serving God By His Grace

1. Strongly Motivated By Grace

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all” 
1 Corinthians 15:10

Paul recognised that although he was totally unworthy to serve God, it was only by His great grace that salvation and the privilege of being His servant was extended to him. He received a special standing before God to be an apostle. Paul wrote in the text of 1 Timothy 1:12-16 of how it was through the Lord’s exceeding abundant grace that he was saved and was counted faithful in ministry. Paul’s experience of the Lord’s grace highly motivated him to labour hard for Him. He did not want the grace of God that was showered on him to be in vain. He went to the extent of working even harder than all the other apostles. Paul determined that the Lord’s grace that was given towards him would not end up void. He made sure of it through his hard work. Young people, let’s learn to appreciate the greatness of the Lord’s grace given to us and let’s learn to labour hard for Him in our school and in ministry.

2. Strengthened By Grace

“Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 
1 Corinthians 15:10

As Paul sought to labour hard for the Lord, he recognised that his work was not done through his own effort. He was able to labour hard through the grace of God that was enabling him. The grace of God was working together with him as he served. Paul also wrote of how he was a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to him by the effective working of His power (Ephesians 3:7). It was the dynamic power of God that was energising Paul to do the work of the Lord. As He laboured hard for God, there was also the Lord’s grace enabling him to serve Him. Young people, let’s also learn to rely on the grace of God to do our school work and Church work. Let’s seek to humbly relate to God and to depend on His grace to serve Him.

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