GALATIANS 1-22005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Galatians 1-2

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005. We continue now this morning in the book of Galatians. Last week, Paul shared with us...

As he's ministering to the Galatians, he's writing to them. He gives a little bit of a greeting and says grace and peace to them, but he doesn't waste much time. He gets right down to business, and he begins to tell them that he is amazed. He's blown away. He marvels. He says, I can't believe that you're turning away Galatians.

from the gospel that I preached to a gospel of works. I can't believe you're turning away to these other teachers, these other followers who are not teaching about grace, but they're teaching about how you must keep the law and how you must follow every detail and be circumcised and how you must live according to what the law says in order to approach God. The gospel that Paul preached was not that gospel. The gospel that he preached was the gospel of grace.

It's not that we have anything to offer God, but he sent his son to die for us.

So that we can simply receive him and be saved. We come and approach God not based on what we do or how we live or how well we've been doing, but based on what Jesus Christ did for us. That no matter what our lives are like, we have full access to God by faith in Jesus Christ and the work that he did for us on the cross. We learned last week that the gospel of grace is not by the law, but it's through faith.

This morning as we continue on in chapter 1, Paul will tell the Galatians, you don't want to go there. They're going back to this other gospel and he'll share with them, that's where I came from. I came from that works-based relationship, that bondage of being under the law. I came from there, that's what God delivered me from and he gave me the gospel of grace.

And you can count on it. You can believe wholeheartedly without a doubt. The gospel that I preach to you, Paul says, is correct, is genuine. That's what this portion is about this morning. How you and I can know the gospel that Paul preaches is true and is real. The gospel, you cannot approach God on the basis of what you do for him or what you've done against him. But you come to him based on what God did for you. And how did Paul know this?

Because Jesus personally revealed it to him. Let's read it together, starting in Galatians chapter 1, verse 11. It says this,

For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace.

Verse 18, Verse 18,

Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God I do not lie. Afterward, I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, he who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy, and they glorified God in me. Chapter 2, verse 1.

Then, after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preached among the Gentiles, but privately, to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run or had run in vain."

The Apostle Paul, as he continues on in chapter 1, remember he's just finished telling them, I can't believe you're turning away to another gospel. He's told them if anybody preaches another gospel or if anybody comes and tries to say that an angel or someone else has revealed to them a different gospel, he says, let them be accursed. Let them be cut off. Let them be condemned. Because there's only one gospel. There's only one way out.

to spend eternity with God. There's only one way to enter in to heaven, and that is through the true gospel message, the one that Paul preached. And Paul says, if anybody preaches another one, let him be accursed because it's the wrong one. It's leading people astray, not leading people to God. And so Paul, wanting to make sure that they understand how he knows the gospel he preached is the correct one,

He goes on in the verses we read today and establishes proof for them, gives them a basis for understanding. And the general idea of that basis is this. Listen, I didn't receive the gospel from man. I received it from Jesus Christ. Just as if you and I were doing an investigation. Some situation happened. We wanted to find out what the truth was. What we would do is we would talk to the eyewitnesses, but we wouldn't put them all in a room and

Ask him what happened. We would talk to them individually, separately. We would question them and say, what's your story? What happened? And then we'd go to the next person. OK, what's your story? And we would compare the stories and find out where is the truth? Where does the truth lie between these two stories? Because oftentimes they'll be very different. But the Apostle Paul's point of this whole passage is he was independent.

From the other apostles, from Peter and James and John and all the apostles that Jesus had that walked with him, the apostles that were there in the book of Acts. He was independent from them. He was not with them. He did not learn from them. Yet when they came together some 14 years later, the message was identical. He received the message, the gospel from Jesus Christ.

And it was the same message that the apostles were preaching, yet he did it independent of the apostles. He received it from the Lord directly. And so this is what Paul is saying in verse 11. He says, I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which was preached by me is not according to...

To man. Here's what you need to know, guys. Here's what you need to know, Galatians. The gospel that I preached, I didn't get it from man. I didn't receive it from any man. Now, that word gospel, of course, you probably know it means good news or glad tidings. And what is the good news? Well, it's that message that we come to Jesus Christ by faith, believing in him, and we receive eternal life, forgiveness of sins, peace with God.

That's what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9, that it's by grace that we have been saved through faith. And that not of ourselves, it's a gift of God, lest any man should boast. It's all about grace and faith. It's God's grace, His goodness being poured into us. We receive it simply by faith, by believing.

We, of course, know John 3.16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That is the gospel of grace, believing in Jesus Christ and receiving eternal life. That is good news. That is wonderful news. It's better than the news of any other religion, because other religions, they're determined or they're based on grace.

Our works, what we do, how we perform, how good we've been. But Jesus comes and says, it's finished. I died on the cross. It's done. You simply receive me by faith. And that is the gospel message. That's the requirement. And so Paul says, it's not according to man. This gospel message that I preach to you, I didn't receive it from man. The gospel that you're turning away from is

It's not the one that I gave you that was just man's opinion. It's not something that man made up. And that would be very common in those days. The Greek culture was, they loved philosophy. They loved discussions. They would have nothing better to do than sit around and just hear other opinions and other ideas and other perspectives. And that's why there were so many philosophers in that time, because everybody just wanted to hear, well, what do you think? And what do you think? And what do you have to say?

And Paul says, I didn't receive this. It's not according to man. It's not that I was just seeking and that one sounded good or this one had something to say or this person had something to say and that's what I delivered to you. No, I didn't get it from man.

Well, if it didn't come from man, if you weren't taught it, Apostle Paul, if you didn't receive it from somebody, then where did it come from? Well, he goes on in verse 12. He says, I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. I didn't receive it. It's not according to man. I wasn't taught it. Paul's making sure we get the picture here, making it quite clear, reiterating himself. I didn't get it from anybody.

Nobody sat me down and taught me. I didn't go to some college to get this understanding. I didn't sit down and receive instruction. I didn't hear someone else say it, and I just quoted them. This message, this gospel, it came directly through revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself revealed this message to me. It was a supernatural experience, a revelation by the resurrected Lord, Paul says. He personally revealed it to me.

And that's the whole point that Paul is trying to get across to the Galatians and to us this morning. The gospel that he preaches. You can count on it. You can bank on it. You can stake your eternal life on it because he received it directly from Jesus Christ, not from any man. It's not man-made. It's not man-originated. But it's by revelation of Jesus Christ personally. And that's why Paul is saying, I can't believe you're turning away.

I can't believe you're turning away. This is the gospel. This is the only way. I can't believe you're chasing after. I marvel. I'm wondering. I'm amazed. You're turning away from this gospel of grace where you simply receive him by faith and you're turning to this burden, the bondage of the law, which really is no gospel at all.

Paul reminds him, it's not something I heard someone else teach. It's not just a good teaching or another religion. It's not another man's idea. I didn't watch a bunch of talk shows and kind of get the best one and deliver that to you. What I delivered to you, the gospel message, it's the only gospel message, was delivered to me personally by Jesus Christ. Paul knows that it's true because Jesus revealed it to him. That's important. That's what we need to know. Now, many might ask, well, haven't others claimed to have knowledge?

types of revelation and visions and things like that. And yes, they have. If you think about the Mormon church and Joseph Smith, that's the claim. We received a vision, a revelation. It's another revelation, another testament by the angel Moroni. Moroni or Moroni? Macaroni? I don't know. Something like that. Another revelation. But the difference is the rest of God's word is completely contradictory.

To what the Mormon church teaches. It's another Jesus. It's another gospel. We talked about that as we went through 2 Corinthians. Paul's message on the other hand. Paul's revelation. The point of this passage is I received it by revelation personally from Jesus Christ. Yet when I came back amongst the disciples. When I came back amongst the apostles. And we compared the message that we were preaching. It was exactly the same. It was identical.

Yet we were independent from each other. It was a work of God. And so he knows it's from God, it's of God, it's right. Other revelations, if they don't line up with Scripture, if they don't line up with the Word of God, this is the authority. If they contradict anything in here, they're not true, they're not valid, they're not real. But the Apostle Paul, his lined up exactly, specifically every detail.

That's why in Galatians chapter 1 verse 9, he says, as we have said before, so I now say again, if anyone preaches another gospel to you, then what you have received, let him be accursed. He even says, if an angel or anybody else comes and preaches to you a different gospel, let him be accursed. It doesn't matter who it is or what type of vision it is. The important thing is, does it line up with the word of God? Is it consistent with what the Bible teaches? Paul's revelation says,

received from Jesus Christ, of course, lines up exactly. The gospel of grace, it's the true gospel. It's the message we need to know. It's the message that we need to follow. And Paul says, I can't believe you're turning away. Now, how did Paul's revelation happen? He'll begin now to recount the story for us as we go on to verse 13 and 14 of Galatians 1. It says this,

For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. Paul, as he's recounting the story for us, he takes us back. He says, listen, guys, you remember, I'm sure you've heard of my former conduct, the way that I used to be, the way that I used to.

And we do see that in the book of Acts, chapters 8 and 9, give a very clear picture of how the Apostle Paul was. He hated the church. He hated anything to do with Jesus Christ. He was against it more than anybody else. In fact, let's take a moment and turn there. Acts chapter 8, if you can keep your thumb here in Galatians, we'll be right back. But Acts chapter 8 gives us the story of the Apostle Paul and gives us a great picture of the rage and the anger thereof.

that he had against Jesus Christ and the church. Acts chapter 8. Now, in chapter 7, we find the story of Stephen, who is the first recorded martyr of the Christian faith that we have here in the scripture. He died on behalf or for the name of Jesus Christ. And Paul was there agreeing with his death, agreeing with them putting him to death for preaching the gospel. And we pick it up here in Acts chapter 8, verse 1. It says this.

Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. Verse 3, As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Here in Acts chapter 8, we see the Apostle Paul. Now, this was before he was the Apostle Paul. His name, he went by Saul. He was Saul of Tarsus. And he was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was very religious. And he's there. He's consenting to Stephen's death. Glad that it's happening. Enjoying it. And then a great persecution breaks out amongst the church. Everybody's scattered except the apostles. Who is the persecution coming from?

Well, we see in verse 3, it says that Saul made havoc of the church. He made havoc of the church. He entered every house and dragged off men and women and put them in prison. Why? Well, because they named the name of Jesus Christ. They were part of what Paul calls the way. The way. He hated it. Absolutely. He was zealous against it.

Even to the point, Acts chapter 26, verse 11, Paul is recounting his story in another portion. And he says, I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly arranged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. Paul says in every synagogue, I would go and I would torture them. I would compel them. I would abuse them until they blasphemed the name of Christ, until they rejected or denounced Christ.

Paul was coming against them, and it says that he was exceedingly enraged. We get the picture here. We get the idea. Paul snapped. He freaked out. He completely lost it. It seems like he went insane. His rage against the church was so strong. In fact, you get even a better picture as you turn to Acts chapter 9 with me real quick. Just one chapter over. Acts chapter 9 verse 1 says, Then Saul...

So Saul basically is, he's ravaged all the houses and all the Christians in Jerusalem. And it's not enough. He's not content. He needs to go farther and kill them all. And so he goes and gets permission from the high priest to kill them.

Go and bring back Christians bound. They flee to other areas, Paul says. I'm going to go and I'm going to bring them back. But notice verse 1. It says, You get a picture here, an understanding of Paul's hatred for these disciples, for these Christians. He hated them. He snapped. He went insane. He was so enraged against them.

It says he was muttering under his breath, breathing threats and murder. And the idea was, he just, he flipped out. And he goes to the high priest and he's just, he's filled with rage. And you can imagine, I imagine, you know, like, almost like Tourette's Syndrome. He's just gone crazy. He's like, stupid Christians. I'll get them. I'll kill them. I'll chase them down. You know, Paul, he's just lost it completely. He hates Christians. He wants to see them dead. He's totally crazy.

against it. This was Paul's former conduct. Paul says in Galatians, you can turn back with me now, Galatians chapter 1 verse 13, you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. This is what I did. This is how I was. You heard about this, how I was enraged. And this is Paul's former conduct. This is part of Paul's point, by the way.

He says, look, you can count on, you can guarantee that the gospel message that I preach is true, is genuine, because it's not that I just heard it and I thought it was a good idea. I was completely against it until God revealed himself to me. Paul's conduct, number one, he was against the church. But number two, as we go on to verse 14, he says, I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my father's.

Not only was he against the church, but number two, he was advanced or he advanced in Judaism, advanced in Judaism. Now, Judaism is the Jewish religion. What we call the Old Testament today was their scriptures. That's what they base their life on. And that was the way that they approached God and came to God based on the letter of the law that we have there in the Old Testament.

Now, Paul describes the situation. He was a rising star among the religious Jews. He was a radical follower of the Jewish religion. We see this. He recounts it several times throughout his epistles in Philippians chapter 3, verses 5 through 7, where he says, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. I was very strict according to every letter and every detail of the law. In Acts chapter 22, verse 3, he says, I am indeed a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of

of Gamaliel. Now Gamaliel was a very famous Jewish rabbi, Jewish teacher. He was the most famous of that day. In fact, he was the leader of the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish ruling body at that time. And so Gamaliel, this famous Jewish teacher, this famous Jewish rabbi, Paul says, I sat under his feet. I was taught by the best of the best and I was exceedingly zealous.

In fact, in Acts chapter 26, verse 5, Paul talking about the Jews to one of the Roman soldiers says, Hey, they knew me at first. If they were willing to testify that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. Paul says every detail, every part of the law, I lived it out. I was exceedingly zealous. I made sure that on every point I was following the law. I was keeping the law. I was doing things.

What my religion told me I needed to do. Not only the scriptures, but the traditions of our fathers and the rabbis had many traditions that also were to be kept in addition to the scriptures that we have before us. But we see the picture here. Paul, number one, he was against the church, but number two, he advanced in Judaism. He went all out for Judaism. And even today, if you

happen to meet or run into Orthodox Jews, they're very strict, following every detail of the law, every particular of the law. They make sure, because that is how they believe they approach God and have relationship with God. And many other religions do the same. They're very strict. They go all out. Now, the question I began to have, and the Lord began to ask me as I was preparing for this and looking at the life of the Apostle Paul and how he used to be, his former conduct,

The Lord began to ask me, do you go all out for Jesus? In the same passion, the same zeal that he had for Judaism, for these laws and regulations, do you have that same zeal, that same passion, that same fervor for the things of God, for the things that you believe? And he began to bring to mind some stories, which I won't share, but other religions go all out for Jesus Christ.

But unfortunately, it's a different Jesus. A Jesus that's not able to save. They teach Jesus and works or Jesus and this, Jesus and that. And that's not the gospel message. That's what Paul is preaching against. It's very easy for them to go all out. And yet for us, I wonder, do we go all out for Jesus? The difference being we have the truth.

We have the gospel message that can save. We have a better message than any religion can offer, relationship with God. Do we go all out for Jesus Christ in this relationship with God? Do we have the same passion and zeal for the things that are true that Paul had for the things that were false? Challenge me. I encourage you. Meditate on that. Allow God to speak to you if he needs to. Because we need to go all out for Jesus Christ. We have the truth.

And you can count on that. That's Paul's point this morning. The gospel message that he preached revealed to him by God. He was the least likely candidate for a change of religion. He was the last person that you would think would become a Christian. He wasn't one of those people that you think, man, just a little bit more discussion, a little bit more prayer. I know, man, he's so close. That's not what people would think about the Apostle Paul. They would tell each other, hey, don't even think about him because then he might know where you're at and he might come and beat you up and cause you to blaspheme Christ.

Stay away from that guy. He's crazy. He's insane. He wants to kill you. The Apostle Paul, the least likely candidate. But that's Paul's point.

I wasn't a likely candidate. You can believe the gospel that I preached to you is true because I was totally against it. I wasn't seeking it. I wasn't some just wandering seeker and trying to figure out what I should believe and this message sounded good and so that's what I gave to you. No, I was against it. I hated it. I persecuted all those who followed the way until Jesus Christ revealed himself to me personally.

And that's how you can tell. That's one way to know. Point number one, my life changed. I wasn't a likely candidate, but Jesus Christ revealed himself to me. Then going on.

Verses 15 through 17 says this. So Paul says, you remember how I was.

I hated the church. I was against the church. I was doing very well in Judaism. But in verse 15, he says, when it pleased God, in God's timing, he revealed himself to me. He chose at this time to reveal his son to me. We find the story in Acts chapter 9. Paul's conversion experience there on the road to Damascus. He was on the road to Damascus. He had just met with the high priest and he was going to go kill some other believers there in Damascus that had fled there.

And as he's on the way, Jesus appears to Paul and reveals himself to him. And he says, hey, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It's hard to kick against the goads. And by that, the goads on a plow that they would use back in that time. Of course, they would have oxen pulling the plow and they would have goads. There would be these sharp sticks that would be attached to the plow so that if the ox decided to be rebellious,

And wanted to kick at the one who was causing him to plow. These goads there would poke them in the legs and it would keep them from kicking. Not necessarily to pierce their skin and cause them to bleed, but it would just be a little bit sharp that it would cause a little bit of pain and say, hey, it's going to be hard. It's going to be painful if you want to continue down that road. And we get from what Jesus says to the Apostle Paul there that he had been speaking to Paul.

His spirit had been ministering to Paul. And that's why Paul was so enraged. And that's why Jesus says, it's hard to kick against the goads. It's painful. You're doing everything you can. You're killing everybody you can and causing them to blaspheme. But it's hard to kick against the goads, Saul. You're running from me, but you can't run for long. I'm right here. And Jesus revealed himself to Paul. It was very real. It was radical. And it changed Paul's life. Another important note for us.

The word Christian means Christ-like. And that's how we're to be. We're to be Christ-like in our lifestyle and in our manners. And it's an important reminder to us, what can happen to a person when Jesus Christ is revealed to them? And as Christians, as we're called to be Christ-like, we're called to let His light shine through us and through our words, through our lives, that He would reveal Himself to those around. So I would ask you to remember, remember Christ.

We talked about it all through 2 Corinthians. We have the ministry of reconciliation. So walk with God. Be more like God. Watch Him reveal Himself to those around you and change their lives. We're being transformed into the image of His Son that others might have Jesus revealed to them, even the unlikely candidates like the Apostle Paul.

The least likely candidate. Yet God, in revealing Himself, touched Paul in a way that no one else could and nothing else could. Paul says, in God's time, He revealed Himself to me. I wasn't looking. I wasn't searching. I was going against it with all that was in me.

But he revealed himself to me. And he says that this God separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace that I might preach among the Gentiles. Paul had no idea. He was completely against the church. But the interesting thing, the ironic thing, God had called him separated since before he was born. He'd separated him, set him aside to spread the gospel message and establish the church again.

among the Gentiles. Isn't God amazing? The way that he works, the least likely candidates, the ones who are against everything about God, many times are the ones that God uses very powerfully to accomplish his work. Paul says, God, he set me aside from my mother's womb. He already knew before I was born what I was going to do and what he had called me to do. And that was to preach him among the Gentiles. And did you know

that he has done the same for you and I. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 tells us that we are God's workmanship, where his work of art were created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Just like God had the apostle Paul's life laid out right before him, and Paul had no idea he was clueless until God revealed it to him. The same is true for you and I, that God has created us

As works of art in Jesus Christ. And he's laid out before us good works. Things that he's going to use us to accomplish for his glory. Ways that we're going to affect his kingdom. Ways that he'll use us to bring others to a saving knowledge of him. God has laid out before us. He's prepared beforehand the things that he has called us to as individuals and as believers. Amazing the way that God works.

All we need to do is walk in them and accomplish what he set before us. Now, Paul says...

As we go on here, he says, I didn't immediately confer with flesh and blood. So God revealed himself to me. I didn't know it, but he called me before I was even out of my mom's womb. And he called me to come and preach to the Gentiles, but I had no idea. But in his time, he revealed himself to me. And Paul says, when that happened, I didn't immediately go and talk with people of flesh and blood. And he goes on, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me.

It might be a logical idea. It might be what you would think. You know, Paul sat under Gamaliel. He was the teacher of teachers in the Jewish religion. And so you might think, hey, well, Apostle Paul, he gets saved. It makes sense if he would go to the other extreme now, since he was so zealous for the things of the Jewish religion.

He sat under Gamaliel that he would go to Jerusalem and he would sit under the apostles and hear what they had to say and hear their teachings and hear the gospel that they preach and learn it from them. But that's not what the apostle Paul did. He says, I didn't confer with flesh and blood. I didn't go to Jerusalem. I didn't sit down and have a meeting or have some counsel with human beings. And I believe this is an important point. It's about the simplicity of the gospel message.

Because I believe that you do not have to receive the gospel message from a particular church or from a particular person. You receive the gospel message, the same one that's preached by the Apostle Paul, the same one that's preached by all the other apostles, simply by understanding what God's word says. He's given us his word that we might understand his message.

And it's so simple, it's simple enough, and it's very clear and very apparent throughout his whole word. So that you don't have to have some special interpretation. You don't have to have some special vision or revelation. You simply, by reading his word, can come to the same conclusions the Apostle Paul came to, the gospel of grace.

Why Jesus came. Why Jesus died. What He did for us. God's given us His Word so that we don't have to have someone explain it to us. Oh, we can, for sure. Anybody who teaches the Word and shares the Word with us, we can receive from them. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can, on our own, simply read His Word and receive the same message. And I would challenge you this morning.

If you're here and you do not believe or you have not received the gospel message, Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord, the gospel of grace, I would challenge you to read. To get a Bible and read. Start reading. Learn for yourself. Read it at face value. What does God's word have to say? And God will take you to the same conclusions that the Apostle Paul came to. He came, he died, and he offers salvation to you and I, free of charge, by faith.

Nothing else is required. Believe in him and you will be saved. The Bible teaches us that if you seek the Lord with all your heart, you will find him. And so I would encourage you this morning to seek the Lord, find him, see what his word has to say, because it's the authority and it will lead you to a faith-based relationship by the grace of God.

Well, Paul says, I didn't receive it from some man. I didn't confer with flesh and blood. Instead, what did he do? He says, I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus. He didn't go to Jerusalem, which might be the logical thing or might make a lot of sense. Christianity started there. Jesus ministered there. He died there. That's where the apostles were. But he doesn't go there. Instead, he goes to Arabia. Now, do you know what is in Arabia? Absolutely nothing. It's a lot of dirt.

And some sand and wind and sun. And that's about it. It's just the desert. It's east of Jerusalem, east of Israel. Just this big, huge desert. Paul goes, that's where I went. Why did he go there? Why would Paul go into the desert after hearing this great news, after receiving this revelation from Jesus Christ? He says, I didn't immediately spend time with man. In fact, I did quite the opposite. I went alone to this desert. Why?

Well, understand the Apostle Paul for his whole life. He's learned the word. He knew the word inside and out better than you and I know anything probably. Realizes the truth as Jesus reveals himself to him. And so he does what we should do. He goes and spends time with the Lord just one on one, personally, individually. He had to get things worked out in his heart with God because for so long he's believed things that are not true.

For so long he's been zealous for things that cannot save. And so he goes just to spend some time alone with the Lord, to get re-centered around Jesus Christ, to get the revelation from Jesus Christ. What is the message? What is the gospel? What am I supposed to be living for? So he goes to Arabia and spends time alone with God. Then it says that he comes back to Damascus. We don't know how long he was in the desert.

What we know is three years before he went to Jerusalem. He spends some time in Arabia and then some other time in Damascus. Now, Damascus was not in Israel either. It was actually 130 miles northeast of Jerusalem, outside of Israel, to the north of Israel. Damascus, it was the capital of Syria. And so Paul spends his time there. Three years allowing God to speak to him and minister to him. Revealing the gospel message to him. Then continuing on.

Verses 18 through 21 of Galatians 1 says, So Paul is in Arabia. He's in Damascus for three years.

And then after three years, he goes up to Jerusalem. So finally, three years later, he's received the message already. He's been spoken to already. He spends three years in the desert and in Damascus. And now he goes down to Jerusalem. But before he went to Jerusalem, he received this foundation, this time alone with God, away from others, not basing his conclusions upon what people say, but based on what Jesus reveals to him,

through the Word of God. This is Paul's foundation. This is where God prepared him for the calling in his life. He spent three years at the desert Bible college and allowed God to shape him and form him in the way that he wanted him to be. And God would often do that. As you see examples in the scriptures, he often used the desert to prepare his servants. Think about John the Baptist. Many believe that he was 13 years old when he went into the desert.

Spent another 15 years in the desert preparing for the ministry. Many years of preparation for six months of ministry. That's what John the Baptist had. But it was very effective. It was very powerful because God had prepared him there in the wilderness. Moses, he was in the wilderness for 40 years before God appeared to him in the burning bush. 40 years God prepares him. He's out there with the sheep by himself.

And God speaks to his heart and prepares. And think about Jesus as well. 40 days in the wilderness as he begins his ministry. God used the wilderness as times of preparation. It's those times of loneliness, of isolation, when it's just you and the Lord. And God says, those are great times of preparation. Those are times that I will prepare you to do the things that I've called you to do. It's because that's when God has our complete attention. That's when we're right where he wants us. When it's just

Me and God. And there's nobody else in the picture. There's nobody else to be concerned about or worried about. It's just me and you, Lord. My relationship with you. Communion with you. Fellowship with you. And that's what God desires. And that's how God prepares us for the works at hand.

So this preparation has taken place. He's been three years in the desert and in Damascus, and now he comes to Jerusalem to see Peter. And he sees Peter. He sees James, the Lord's brother, but he doesn't stay very long. Fifteen days, he says, he stays. Two weeks, and that was it because he was driven out. Actually, the Jews were plotting against him to kill him, and so they send him away. Acts 9, verses 26 through 30 tell us about this. He leaves quickly because they were...

Greek-speaking Jews, the Hellenists, that were plotting to kill Paul. And so what they do is they take him down to Caesarea and they send him off. Basically, they send him home. Galatians 1 here, it tells us that he went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia, which is his hometown. He was born in Tarsus, which is there in Cilicia. And so he goes home and he spends the next 11 years or next really couple of three, four years at home. He doesn't come back to Jerusalem until 11 years later.

And you get the picture. Paul's saying, look, I wasn't a part of Jerusalem. I was independent of them. I went there three years after I received the gospel message, three years after Jesus revealed himself to me, but I was there two weeks. And then I didn't go back for another 11 years. I was away. Yet when I came back, we'll see the gospel message was exactly the same as what they taught. Paul takes a moment as well and throws in a parenthetical thought.

He says, concerning the things which I write to you, indeed before God, I do not lie. Paul says, these things are the truth. The story that I'm telling you, this event that happened in my life, it's the truth. It's real. You can believe it. I was with Peter. I saw James and I went to Syria and Cilicia. I went back home to Tarsus and I stayed there for some years, still in preparation, still being shaped and molded by God, still becoming a useful tool for God.

Those years back at his hometown were years of obscurity. Nobody knew who he was. Look at verse 22. It says, And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea, which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith, which he once tried to destroy, and they glorified God in me. As he goes home, he spends time still alone with the Lord. They're years of obscurity.

The years of obscurity. Nobody knew who he was. He didn't go in and announce himself. He wasn't recognized. He didn't tell everybody who he was. He was just some unknown guy spending time with Jesus Christ, spending time with God. And he remained that way for about five years after his conversion. In Acts chapter 11, verses 19 through 26, it tells us that Barnabas goes and searches for Paul and takes him to Antioch to be a part of the work that God is doing there.

But up until that time, Paul is there not doing any great works for the Lord, not just simply receiving, being taught, learning, hearing from God. And then in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 2, it says, Then after 14 years...

So Paul says, Now, that's not 14 years later. It's 14 years after his conversion.

11 years since the last time he's been there, he comes back to Jerusalem now. And we have it recorded for us in Acts chapter 15. Paul and Barnabas, they're in Antioch. They get into a big dispute because Jewish people have come in and they have been telling the Gentiles, the Greek people there at the church, that, hey, if you want to be saved,

It's not enough just to believe these things that Paul and Barnabas are teaching, but you have to be circumcised and you have to become a Jew and follow the law. And so they have this big dispute with the Apostle Paul and Barnabas. And so the church says, OK, let's take this to Jerusalem, to the council there, the church there, the headquarters, so to speak, of the church. And so they take it there. This is when Paul goes back to Jerusalem 14 years after his conversion.

And they go there and they get it settled. And we'll see a little bit more of that next week as we continue on in chapter 2, why he took Titus with him and so on and so forth. But the point is, 14 years after his conversion is when he actually spends time in Jerusalem. And in verse 2, it tells us very clearly, Paul says, When I went, I communicated to them the gospel, that gospel that I preach among the Gentiles,

But I did it privately to those who have reputation, to the leaders of the church, probably Peter and John and James, the Lord's brother, who were pillars of the church there. He says, I revealed it to them privately. I kind of pulled them aside and I shared with them the gospel message that I had been preaching. The message that I did not receive from any man, but the message I received from Jesus Christ, the gospel of grace.

I pulled these guys aside when I came and I shared with them, this is what I've been preaching. This is what I've been teaching. And the apostles say, great. That's the same message that we've been teaching. They didn't have points of correction for the apostle Paul. They didn't have points that they needed to add on to

The things that he was teaching. In fact, in verse 6 of chapter 2, which we'll look more in detail next week, but it says that those who seem to be something, those leaders that he talked about, they added nothing to me. They had nothing to add to the message. When I came back 14 years later, independent of Jerusalem, yet when we came together, our message was exactly the same. The gospel message, the gospel of grace was exactly the same.

And that's why Paul this whole time says, I can't believe that you're turning away from this gospel, the gospel of grace, and you're turning now to the gospel of works. Now you have to approach God based on what you do, and that can't save you. I know, Paul says, because this gospel was revealed to me personally, individually, independently, yet when I came together in fellowship at Jerusalem with the other apostles who were before me,

The message was identical. It was the same. The Old Testament principle was by the mouth of two or three witnesses, a thing is established. Just like as if you were doing the investigation and there's two people, their stories agree, it can be established. The same thing is true. We have these two sources. The apostles who walked with Jesus, who lived with Jesus, they were his disciples for three years as they walked with him.

They watched him be crucified and resurrected. They watched him be ascended. They had the gospel message delivered to them directly from Jesus Christ as he walked this earth. The apostle Paul, not with them at all during those times, completely against them after those times. Yet Jesus reveals himself to Paul later after he's ascended and he delivers to him the gospel message independently of the other apostles.

He delivers to him the message. And then Paul, he didn't walk with Jesus for three years. He spent three years in the wilderness in isolation with Jesus. And he comes back and they get together and they have the same message. Two or three witnesses. It's established. It's the gospel. It's what you can believe. You can base your eternal life on it. It's true. You approach God based on what he did for you and not on what you do for him or have done against him. It's the gospel of grace.

I like the way that the New Living Translation or version translates Galatians chapter 2 verse 2, if I may. I'll read this to you. It says, I went there to Jerusalem because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there, I talked privately with the leaders of the church. I wanted them to understand what I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that they did not disagree or my ministry would have been useless. Paul says, I pulled them aside. I wanted to make sure that we

We have the same message. We're teaching the same gospel. Kind of like, you know, if you've ever taken a test with someone and afterwards you're like, hey, that was tough. Hey, what did you get for question 40, man? That was a tough one, huh? Same kind of idea, only the Apostle Paul. He wasn't concerned about whether he was wrong or not, but he wanted to make sure that they were united. They had the same message. They compare their stories, they compare the gospels, and they're exactly the same. And that's Paul's point this morning. You can believe without a shadow of a doubt the gospel message.

So don't run to another. Don't try to approach God based on your works. Don't try to come to him based on what you can do. Salvation is received by faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us. The apostles knew this because they received the message as they walked with Jesus. The apostle Paul knew this independent of the other disciples because Jesus revealed it to him personally. And when they met together 14 years later, it was the same. It's established. It's confirmed. The gospel is true.

The message that God wants to deliver to you and I. It's the way that we approach him, come to him. It's the gospel of grace. And this morning, if you have not received this gospel message, if you have not believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you can do that so easily, so simply, simply by believing. Simply by receiving what Jesus did on the cross in dying for your sins and my sins. In paying for, atoning for our sin.

so that it's paid for, it's done, it's finished. The punishment that we should have got was all given to Him so that we can come to Him regardless of how we've lived, of what we've done, of how we've been in our relationship with Him. We come to Him, have full access to God because Jesus Christ died for us and His blood cleanses us and washes us. It's God's message to us. He loves us. He sent His Son to die for us. The Galatians, they were trying to approach based on their works.

It's a very easy temptation for us to do as well. We determine how well we're doing or how much we have access to God or how much God loves us by how much time we spend at church or in our Bibles or praying or whatever the case may be. But it's not that way. God says it's by grace. He wants relationship with you and I. Paul says, I've been there. Don't go that way. Don't rely upon your works. Don't let them keep you from God.

Approach him by the grace. What we need is a real relationship with God based on what he has done for us. I'd like to close with one last thought. Maybe you're here this morning and you've received that. And maybe on your heart, you've been struggling with something entirely different. With the thought, why isn't God using me? Why does it seem like there's not very much going on in my life and in my heart? And I want to encourage you with the example of the Apostle Paul here that it takes time.

Of course, we want everything instantly. That's our society. That's how we live. But it takes time. God has set you aside. You can know that. He set you aside from your mother's womb. From before you were born. He has good works in store for you. Ways that he's going to use you to impact the kingdom of God. Ways that he's going to use you to glorify his name.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.