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Kalamazoo SDA Church

Jermaine Gayle

By the Grace of God

Father, we're asking in a very special way for your Holy Spirit to touch down in this audience, that your word be spoken, and that you, O Lord, our Savior, be lifted up.

I chose for our title for my first sermon here, By the Grace of God.

I do like to read, and I recently stumbled on a book called Jerusalem sinner saved the author of the book is John Bunyan the man who wrote the famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress.

He tells a story in the book, The Jerusalem Sinner Saved, of a conversation that the devil was having with someone who was leaving his camp.

Someone who was now leaving the devil's territory and going to serve the Lord.

Someone who had experienced conversion and the devil was pleading with this person to stay with him.

My old servant, the devil says, will you forsake me now?

Having so often sold thyself to me to work wickedness?

Do you not know that you have sinned yourself beyond the reach of grace?

And do you think you will find mercy now?

You are a murderer, a thief, and a sinner of the greatest size.

Do you think that Jesus would put his fingers on your foul person?

Such a vile person as yourself would dare to knock on heaven's door.

And yet, God was so far off from rejecting me.

Because when I turned to Jesus, instead of rejection, heaven shouted for joy.

My best friend took me to an Adventist church for the very first time.

The pastor had preached a sermon and the pastor made a call.

And we were best friends, still are growing, were growing up and he knew that I couldn't say no out of our friendship So he asked me to come to church with him and I went I remember the moment I walked through the door I came across an evangelist an old lady by the name of mrs.

Miller She walked up to me as she said young man, would you be willing to study the Bible with me?

Not because I wanted to, but just because I wanted the conversation to end.

Miller would come to my house and I would leave 15 minutes before she arrived.

She never got to study the Bible with me.

I moved from Portland, Jamaica to Mandeville.

And I found myself on my knees praying for the very first time.

The kind of prayer that requires deep surrender.

And the Lord gave me a job at a pharmacy Where everyone was an Adventist I was running and running and running and now I'm stuck the interview was on a Sunday night I was not dressed for for a job interview.

I had earrings in my ear and I know you can't imagine it, don't try.

I had a cutout jeans, a t-shirt and a bad attitude.

I found out years later that they had decided not to hire me.

But then that night the group prayed together and the Lord told them hire him and they gave me a chance.

I was a professed atheist, bought me a Bible for my birthday and said read this.

I read it and my life was forever changed.

I was the Jerusalem sinner saved and I remember how hard it was, how bittersweet, how joyful, how amazing when I experienced the work of God for the first time.

I remember preparing for my baptism the night before I couldn't sleep.

I was staying with some friends and the whole time I was praying I said, Lord I'm making this decision.

Please inspire 1 of my friends to do the same.

And the day that I got baptized, 1 of my friends got baptized with me.

And when she found out that I got baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist, her first words were, Finally, God got him.

When I became a pastor I spoke to her before she passed and there's nothing like hearing an old lady say who never got to study the Bible with you, I'm proud of you.

I'm here to tell you that God is good and he has this ability to rescue folks from wherever he finds them.

I'm here to tell you that God's grace is so powerful that it can reach down to the lowest of lows and save the worst of us and use us to tell the world how good he is.

I'm here to tell you today that I am the worst sinner saved by grace.

I reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul when he wrote to Timothy in 1st Timothy chapter 1, 12-13.

If you have your Bibles, please turn there with me.

The Apostle Paul writing to Timothy's protege, this young man who was just starting out in ministry the Apostle Paul by this point is in prison and He uses his own story to encourage Timothy and this is how he begins and I thank God I thank Christ Jesus who has what everyone who has enabled me who has what everyone who has enabled me because he counted me faithful putting me into the what everyone putting me into the ministry Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.

Can you imagine when Paul showed up for the first Sabbath service in Jerusalem?

He was popular for all the wrong reasons.

He was the 1 that led to the death of 1 of the best deacons ever, Stephen.

Can you imagine when Paul walked down the center aisle in the church in Jerusalem and the people looked back and saw his face, dressed the way he usually does, in his Pharisaical robes.

Can you imagine what that first Sabbath must have been like for the Apostle Paul?

Maybe people might have whispered 1 to another, isn't that Saul?

Did he come to report us back to the Jews?

Is he about the Pharisees business still?

Someone else might have whispered, I know him, I know what he's done.

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By the Grace of God

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