Someone’s Praising Because of Me
Someone’s Praising Because Of Me
The Apostle Paul made a remarkable statement when he said people praised God because of him. This wasn't pride speaking, but rather a recognition that God's power was so evident in his life that others couldn't help but glorify the Lord. This should be the heart cry of every believer: that someone would praise God because of how He works in and through our lives.God uses our lives to bring glory to His name through four powerful ways. First, He gives us personal revelation of who He is. When we have genuine encounters with God that transform us from the inside out, people notice the difference. Second, He saves us from ourselves and our past, giving us powerful testimonies of transformation. Third, He calls us with specific purpose even before we're born, meaning our lives aren't accidents but divinely orchestrated for His glory. Finally, He fills us with His Holy Spirit, giving us the power and boldness to live out our calling.The challenge for every believer is to live surrendered to God's calling, whether in business, education, family, or ministry. When we're filled with the Holy Spirit and walking in our purpose, our lives become lights that shine in the darkness. This isn't about self-promotion or pride, but about allowing God to use us as vessels for His glory so that others will see our good works and praise our Heavenly Father.
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Someone's Praising God Because of Me: Living a Life That Brings Glory to God
Have you ever wondered if your life truly makes a difference? The Apostle Paul made a bold statement that might surprise you: "They praised God because of me." This wasn't arrogance—it was a Spirit-led declaration that reveals something powerful about how God wants to use each of our lives.
What Does It Mean When People Praise God Because of You?
When Paul said "they praised God because of me," he wasn't seeking personal glory. The New King James version translates this as "they glorified God in me." People saw Paul and recognized that what was happening in him and through him couldn't be explained by human ability alone. They saw God at work.
This should be our heart's cry: "Someone's praising God because of me." Not for our own recognition, but because God is using our lives to reveal His power and love to others.
Why Will Someone Praise God Because of Your Life?
There are four key reasons why God will use your life to bring glory to His name and change others' lives.
1. Because He Gave You a Revelation
Paul declared that his message wasn't based on human reasoning but came through direct revelation from Jesus Christ. When you have a genuine encounter with God—when you know that you know He's real—no argument or teaching can take that away from you.
The world isn't looking for us to win debates about God's existence. They're looking for people who have met the Savior and been transformed from the inside out. When you speak from personal revelation rather than mere head knowledge, people listen because they can see you're different.
2. Because He Saved You From Yourself
Paul reminded people of his dramatic transformation: "The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy." Your testimony of transformation is powerful.
Whether God saved you from destructive behaviors, healed you from past wounds, or simply gave you purpose where there was none—that's your testimony. When was the last time you shared what God has done in your life? When did you last remind yourself of where you've come from and how He's changed you?
Christians are looking for other believers who are on fire for God. The world is watching for people who have been genuinely transformed. Your joy, your peace in difficult circumstances, your hope—these things speak louder than any argument.
3. Because He Called You Before You Were Born
Paul understood something profound: "Even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace." You weren't an accident. God formed you specifically with gifts, talents, and a unique purpose.
Jeremiah 1:5 reminds us: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born, I set you apart." Do you believe this? Do you know that you've been chosen by God with a specific calling?
When you grasp this truth, it changes everything. You're not the master of your own destiny—God is directing your path. And when you align with His calling, you stand strong no matter what comes your way, just like Paul did through shipwrecks, beatings, and imprisonment.
4. Because He Filled You With His Holy Spirit
Paul didn't immediately consult with other apostles after his conversion. Instead, he went away to Arabia and Damascus, spending years seeking God, being filled with His Spirit, and receiving revelation after revelation.
If you want to change someone's life, if you want to step into your calling with confidence and boldness, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit fills your life, you're transformed. The things of this world fade away, and you get a fire in your belly that doesn't depend on human encouragement.
What's Your Calling This Year?
God has given each of us gifts and callings—not just within the church, but in our schools, workplaces, families, and communities. Some are called to business, others to teaching, parenting, or serving in various capacities. The question is: What has God called you to do in this season?
You are the light of the world. Jesus said no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, it's placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone. Let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father.
Don't Underestimate What God Can Do Through You
Sometimes we get so caught up in small problems that we lose sight of God's bigger plan. He didn't call you just to survive or get through life. He called you to be a world changer, to impact lives, to see souls saved, and to use your gifts for His glory.
God can use anyone—regardless of age, background, or experience. He just needs hungry hearts who say, "Fill me, Holy Spirit." When He fills you, He gives you both humility and confidence to step out in faith.
Life Application
This week, make it your goal that someone will praise God because of your life. Start by asking God to fill you fresh with His Holy Spirit. Remind yourself of your testimony—how He's saved and transformed you. Then look for opportunities to let His light shine through you.
Consider these questions as you apply this message:
When was the last time I shared my testimony with someone?
Do I truly believe God has called me for a specific purpose?
Am I filled with the Holy Spirit, or am I trying to live the Christian life in my own strength?
Who in my sphere of influence needs to see God's love through me?
What gifts has God given me that I can use more boldly for His kingdom?
Remember, this isn't about pride or self-promotion. It's about surrender—saying "Here's my life, God, use it for Your glory." When you live with this heart, you'll discover the incredible privilege of being used by God to change lives and bring glory to His name.
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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All right. Galatians 1. Galatians 1, verse 11 to 24. I'm going to read a few verses. This is the Apostle Paul explaining a little bit of what he's gone through.
The Apostle Paul went through a lot in his life, and he liked to talk about that Sometimes we're going to read a few verses of what he went through. And then there's a phrase at the end that I want us to focus on today. And it's a powerful phrase, one I'd missed before, but as I was looking through this again in the last few weeks, it stood out to me. And I want to talk to you about this phrase, but we're going to read the preceding verses first. Galatians 1:11.
Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion, How I violently persecuted God's church. I did my best to destroy it.
I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. And then it pleased him to reveal His Son to me so that I would proclaim the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles. And when this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
And then three years later, I went to Jerusalem and I got to know Peter. And I stayed with him for 15 days. You notice Paul likes details. 15, not 14, not 10. 15 days.
He was with Peter. And the only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord's brother. I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie. After that visit, I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn't know me personally.
All they knew was that people were saying, the one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy. And they praised God because of me.
Now I stopped when I heard that, because I went. That's unusual to say something like that because normally we're so busy trying to be humble, we're so Busy saying, oh, it's not me, it's not me, it's only God. Oh, don't, I don't want the credit. And we sometimes I believe this. I felt the Holy Spirit say, adrian, sometimes you're so focused being humble that you stop being confident in who I've called you to be.
And I think we do this. The Apostle Paul comes out with this statement right at the end of everything he's gone through. He says, and they praised God because of me.
It sounds arrogant, doesn't it? But I don't believe it's arrogant. I believe it's a spirit led statement that he wants each of us to grab ahold of. The new King James version says this. They glorified God in me.
It's this. So this is the sensitivities. It's when they saw Paul and they saw what was happening in him and who was in him, they realized that this was not a man or a person that could be this and have this happen and be and carry that. They realized someone and something greater was in him. And that person they saw was God.
It was the Lord Jesus Christ. And they said, because of what's happening in you and through you, Paul, we can see God in you. And they glorified God in Paul. And that's the key. Not that they glorified Paul, they praised God, they glorified God because of what they saw in Paul.
And so I want to ask you this question. Who this year is going to be praising God because of you? Who's going to be glorifying God because of your life? I've titled today's sermon Someone's Praising because of Me. And I believe that should be the cry of a heart.
That should be the motto that we put on our life this year. Someone's praising because of me, because of what's happening in my life. I want to talk to you about four things. Four things, four reasons actually. On why someone's going to be praising because of your life.
Why were they praising God because of Paul? What are the four things that were happening in Paul and through Paul? That if we let them happen in us and we declare them in our lives, that God's going to use us to do something mighty. Isn't that what you want?
That's what I want. Sometimes we're so caught up in our own issues, sometimes we're so small minded. I've got a fence that fell over. It was a front brick fence and some banana trees. Roots pushed it over and we had to knock it down.
And I'm like, oh, man, this is hard work. This is hard, Yacka. And I don't know how to fix it. This is going to cost me money. It's not fair.
And I'm caught up. And it's stressful. And we're out there, we're trying to knock over. I had a friend come out, we're getting a jackhammer and we're doing all this. And I'm like, man, this is hard.
What do we do? And I go. I was reminded going, adrian, you're so caught up in thinking about how you're going to fix a fence, like it doesn't matter. And I felt the Holy Spirit saying, like, it's going to work out. It's not a big deal.
You're going to get it fixed and you're just going to move on with your life and you're probably never going to talk about it again. I was like, but we can get so obsessed with these little things that seem so big. And yet God has a far bigger plan for you, brothers and sisters. He didn't call you to survive. He didn't call you to just get through.
He called you to be a world changer. He called you to go impact lives. He called you to save souls. He called you to use your gifts for his glory. And so I want to talk about that today because some of us need to get a little bit of boldness in our spirit.
We need to go, you know what? Yes, God, I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna do it even when I've gone through a difficult time. God, I'm gonna make a stand for you and you're gonna use it for your glory. So I wanna encourage you today, we're gonna talk about four things and I want us to be like I was.
I heard this story. My mum told me this and dad. But I want us to be like this little kid. We've got our kids ministry just started, right? Well done.
Our kids are awesome. Some of us. Yeah, they've done a brilliant job. And can I say, when you see the kids leaders, can you go and say thank you? Because they've spent all week setting that whole.
All those rooms up and working hard. And they're amazing people. They are absolutely brilliant people in there. And our kids love them too. It's great.
But I got told this story when you come and do an item on the stage in church and the kids get up and they sing a song, right? And I remember I was this little kid and we all got up and they put out, they line up all the kids and I think I was about three and then they have a couple of mics so they can capture all the voices, right? And it's nice, isn't it? It's like, yeah, we get nice, the kids voices singing all together. We don't want to hear a solo, we just want to hear all their voices together.
Well, someone forgot to tell me that because I got up as little 3 year old Adrian and I got up on stage and I'm standing there and they put me in my little spot and we're about to sing and I see a microphone on the stand and I'm like, we all know what that's for. And so I just get up, I walk up to the front, grab ahold of that mic and I jammed it right in my gob and I started singing my heart out as loud as I could. And then I was confused as to why the whole church was laughing. I was like, some of us, some of us, that wasn't arrogance, that was a confidence going, hey, I was going to sing, I'm going to sing. Some of us need to get a bit of that kind of confidence, childlike confidence that God wants to use us.
He wants to use our life to change someone else's life. And he's going to do it through you. Here's the four reasons why God's going to use your life to change people today. The first one is this. Because he gave you a revelation.
He has given you a revelation that no man, no science teacher, no philosopher can take away from you. They said this. Paul said this. Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source and no one taught me.
Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. I want to ask you today, what revelation have you got from God? Has he revealed Himself to you so that you know that you know that he's real? And no man, no teaching, can take it from you? Because when you got a revelation, brothers and sisters, you got something to say.
The world isn't looking for us to give them an argument as to why God is real. Because I can have that argument and I think I've won the argument. But they think they've won their argument and neither the twain shall meet, right? They don't. You just get hardened in your viewpoint.
Do you know what changes a life? Someone who's got a revelation from God. Someone who says, I don't know, maybe I Don't know about all that stuff, and I can't answer all your questions, but I met a savior, and he's real to me. And he's changed me from the inside out. And I know that.
I know that. I know that he's real. And I don't care what the world says. He's the one that's there for me when I walk through pain and suffering and loneliness and fear. Fear.
He lifted me up. I've had a revelation. And when you speak that truth, brothers and sisters, people listen because they can see you different. Have you got a revelation from God himself? Because when you do, someone's going to praise because of your life.
Don't belittle it. The second thing is this. Because he saved you from yourself, they're going to praise God because of you, because you got a revelation. And then they're going to see that he has saved you from your old life. From the person that I once was and that I was suffering and struggling.
Maybe it was stuff I did wrong. Maybe it was stuff wrong that happened to me. Maybe it was fears I have. Maybe I didn't have a reason for being. I didn't have a purpose.
And then Jesus Christ met me and he gave me a purpose and he transformed my life. That's why they say Paul said, they've glorified God in. In me. Because they saw the transformation. They go, this man is completely different.
Listen to what he says. He says in verse 13, you know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion? How I violently didn't just speak. I violently persecuted God's church. I did my best to destroy it.
I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. All they knew was that. And in verse 23, all they knew about him was that people were saying, the one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy. They said, we don't know much about Paul, but we know he used to be like this. And now he is radically transformed.
He's a different man. He's preaching Christ where he tried to destroy those who believed in Christ. I want to ask you, have you been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ? Because when you have, it's going to change lives. Your testimony, declare it.
When was the last time you shared your testimony with someone? When was the last time. Let me ask you this. Some of us Christians, when was the last time you shared your testimony with yourself?
Have you reminded yourself of where you've come from? Have you reminded yourself of what Jesus has done in your life. Because I've got to do that in my own life. Remind myself, he saved me. He changed me.
There's a reason I'm following him. And when I remind myself of that, I want to tell people about it. I want to live for Him. It lifts my spirit where I had. Sometimes, you know what?
When I'm getting anxious about something, I'm getting worried. I'm fixating. I'm fixing a wall. I remind myself, he saved me from Jesus. You saved me from being obsessed about things of the world that don't matter and will fade away.
I don't have to be obsessed with that. I don't have to get caught up in that stuff. I can be on fire for you. I can thank you for who you are. I can praise God.
And that lifts me up. And then others are lifted up. When you're lifted up, people are looking. My brothers and sisters, there's people in our church. You know what Christians are looking for?
Other Christians who are on fire for God. Because they realize he saved me from myself. Share your testimony. Share your joy. Share what God's done in you.
That's why there's this song that used to be. And I tried to sing it the last two services, and no one liked it. And, well, they didn't. Well, they didn't. Maybe they didn't know it, but it was.
Who knows the song, Margaret? You know it. Look what the Lord has done. You know this song. Look what the Lord has done.
Look what the Lord has done. He healed my body he touched my mind he saved me it was just in time I'm gonna praise his name each day he's just the same. Come on and praise him look what the Lord has done.
I'll tell you what's happening next week when Phil was preaching, I'm gonna make him sing. Because he just was looking up the back at me, and he was just like, Thanks for all your support. You should have been on the Keys with me, man. You knew I was gonna do it now. I was listening to that song.
I mean, some of you are going, thank God we're not in church when you're singing that stuff anymore. But I remember that song, you know. Cause those little songs, and there's many of them, you know what they were about. They're simple things. But they were declaring, look what God has done.
This is my testimony. He saved me. He transformed me. He did something in me. And I'm going to declare it.
And this is what we need to do. Are you declaring Christians?
The world is looking for people who have been transformed.
So you got to ask yourself, have I been transformed? Am I being transformed? Because if you're not, the world ain't gonna listen. No one's gonna be praising because of us. If we're not walking, going, God's doing a work.
Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Cause I rod and thy staff, they're with me. And you guide me. And God, you're my source and you're my strength. And yet will I praise thee.
That will change your life.
But he's got to do it in you. You've got to see it. That's why they did it in Paul, because Paul said, I've had a transformation, and I'm going to declare it. And I don't come what what comes my way. He was shipwrecked, he was beaten, he was put in prison, and nothing could push him down.
We heard it the other week, Paul and Silas in the prison. What were they doing? Praising God.
Brothers and sisters, praise the Lord with all your heart. Titus 3 in verse 3 says, Once we too, were foolish and disobedient. We were m and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But when God our Savior, revealed his kindness and love, he saved us not because of the righteous things we'd done, but because of his mercy.
He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth, a new life. Through the Holy Spirit, he generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. And because of his grace, he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. Oh, thank you, Jesus. Someone's got to get excited about that.
And you take that excitement about what he's done in you, and then you say, God, use my testimony, my life, to see someone else. Find you to lift. Someone who's in the doldrums. Say jesus is still Lord. When someone else is going through a difficult time, you be the one that comes alongside and says, they're gonna see something in me.
I once was going through pain and suffering, but I held onto Jesus and He saw me through. Amen. Oh, I thank God. We got so many people in our church that are full of faith and have got a testimony to share. Someone.
People have been telling me in the services we've had, they've come up to me afterwards. They go, oh, Adrian, I've got a test testimony. Someone said, I was in prison and my life was dark. But I found him in prison. He said, I read the.
I could only. There was not much to read in prison. But I found a Bible and I started reading it and God saved me and my life has been transformed because of him. Oh, you take that testimony and declare it, grab the mic and start saying, God, I got something to say because of what you've done in me. That's.
Can I tell you this? That's why we're doing Alpha. We're doing growth nights. We want to disciple people, we want courses. But I'll tell you what my heart is, we're doing Alpha for one reason.
I want people to find Jesus and I want to give you a pathway for them. Some people won't come to church, but you know what they will do? They'll come to a one night dinner where they might be interested in Christianity or I've got questions, why don't you bring them along? Because this course ain't just for people that are already here. The Alpha course is to bring someone, invite someone and say, come with me.
Come on, God's done something in me. Why don't you check it out for one night? Just bring them to one night and say, see what you think. If you don't like it, have a free dinner and you don't have to come back. We're trying to make it easy because we know he wants to change your family's lives, your friends, the people that you've been caring about.
Who can you invite and see God use you to change their life. The third thing is this, and it's powerful. Someone's going to praise God because of you. Because he called you before you were born. He called you before birth.
Do you believe this? God chose you. He made you in his image with your gifts. Everything you've gone through, God knows. And he's going to use it for his glory if you let him.
Paul says this, verse 15. I love Paul because he got this. He just heaves off. This is true. I'm going to live it.
But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. And then it pleased him to reveal his son to me so that I would proclaim the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles. He chose me before I was born. Who knows that scripture in Jeremiah 1:5, Some of you got it on your walls, some of you got it in the toilet. And it's a good place to have it.
Cause you got it. There you go, reminded of scripture Every time Jeremiah 1:5. I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb, before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations. Do you know that you've been chosen by God? Do you know that before you were even born, he has a plan for you.
You think you've got it all worked out. You think you are the instigator and in charge of all your life and your destiny. Well, the answer is no, you're not. Because you didn't make yourself and even your parents didn't make you. They were part of the process.
You know who made you? God. God. And you know what I love about God? What I love about God is he didn't just make you and say, go work it out, mate.
He said, I formed you specifically, and I've got a purpose and a plan and a calling for you. And all you need to do is go to him and say, lord, what's the plan for me? Because I want to follow it. And he will direct your paths and he will live your life. Come on.
The people. I see a difference in people who know that. They know that they were born with a calling from God. Do you believe it? You gotta grab ahold of it.
You gotta grab ahold of it. Don't be the master of your own destiny. Let God direct your destiny and your future. The apostle Paul did when he realized the call on his life. He said, I'm standing strong.
And then you know what you do? You stand in a it. No matter what, you stand in it. You say, God, you called me to do this. I'm going to stand no matter what happens, no matter what comes my way.
I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep reaching out. The apostle Paul, shipwrecked, put in prison. They tried to kill him. What did he do?
God's called me to preach to the Gentiles, to all the non Jewish people. So I'm going to keep doing it. He went on multiple missionary journeys, going to talk about that in weeks to come. He got shipwrecked and almost died, but God protected him. You know what I love about this church?
People all over this place who realize the calling I've been called by God. I'm going to use my calling. I'm going to use my gift to build the kingdom of God. So someone will be praising because of me and I want to say a big thank you. I said we'd mention him later, but James Woodthorpe is here, standing up the back, just looking at me with this like the old kind of, oh, here we go again.
Knew it was coming, so I told him, thank you. But James Woodthorpe has been in our church many years. James and Elise finally got married. Have been married a few years now. How many years you been married?
How many years you been married, James? Four years. They've grown up in this church together, and they finally got together, and that's awesome. And Elise serves in many areas, but particularly in our kids ministry. Been serving many, many years there.
James came to me one Sunday and he said. He said, adrian, he goes, God's been speaking to me. He goes, I'm a carpenter, as I knew. And he goes, I'm pretty good at what I do. He goes, but God's stirring me.
I want to use it. I want to use it for God and for his church, and I want to help you do what God's called us to do as a church together. I said, james, I said, I've been praying and believing for people with the call of God and with the right giftings. And I showed him a scripture about where people with different skills and trades served God to build the house of God. And James said, well, I want to help you with this.
And so he came and he designed the plans for the kids area and for the office space, and then he redesigned them because we changed it. And then he redesigned. And then he came back in for another meeting, and then he redesigned it again. And I think we went through about 15 different designs of how to do this and that. And he was like, man alive, you guys, you know, we gotta get it.
We finally got it set in. Set in place. And then he came in on his holidays. He took January off of work, and he came in on his holidays, and he volunteered and served to help build all the carpentry work and oversight, the whole process. And, James, I want you to come on up the front.
Come on. So we want to say a big thank you.
And James isn't the only one. James isn't the only one. There are other people in this church, people like Dave and Danny and Hamish and. And Rob and Ray, and so many people that have come in that I can't name you all who've volunteered and given time, but I wanted to invite James because he's a representative of that kind of heart, and we do want to say a big thank you. And there's so many others, and you worked with them and you encouraged them, and that's what I love about James.
He said, hey, there's so many other people that have helped make this happen. And so as a representative of all those people and a big thank you for you getting the heart of God saying, God's given me a call and I want to use it for his glory. We want to say thank you, we love you and we've got a little something we just wanted to thank you with and say you're a legend. So give James another hand.
And this church is so full of people that are using their gifts. But can I say to each and every one of us, it's time, the start of this year to go. God, what have you called me to do? And it's not just, can I say this? It's not just in this church.
In actual fact, the greatest thing you're gonna do is outside this church. The greatest thing. And we wanna champion that. We say that's what God has called you to do. Something significant.
Some of us have got callings, we've got businesses, we've got professions, we've got dreams and desires in our schools. Some of us are teachers and building to people's lives. Some of us are parents. And your calling is to, to invest into your kids and other people's kids as an example and speak life. What has God called you to do in this season, for this time and say, God, I realize that I'm going to step into it.
I'm going to grab a hold of that mic and I'm going to go for it this year. I'm going to go for it this year. I'm not going to be pushed back. Jesus said this in Matthew 5, you're the light of the world. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.
It. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father. Why do we do all this? Not for our glory.
In fact, if you're doing it for that, it's all wasted. It's all for nothing because your glory fades away and is gone like that. Your glory can be over in a second. But when we do it so that others praise God, when we do it for the glory of God, my friends, it is the greatest investment. It is the greatest use of our lives, our energies, our time, our giftings that we can ever give for the glory of God.
Do you realize you are called before birth? Then the last one is this. That's an interesting one with Paul because he talks through and he takes us on all these things he says, I've got a revelation. I've been saved from myself.
He says, I realized that God's put a call on me before I was even born, and I'm going to use it to preach the gospel. And the fourth one I want to add to it is probably the most important because he's filled you with his Holy Spirit. Why is someone gonna praise God and have their life changed because of you? Because you are full and filled with the Holy Spirit of God. The apostle Paul, he doesn't say it explicitly here, but in verse 17, he says this.
He says, I didn't go to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. You know what he's saying? He said, I didn't go to people and get in their system and go. I'm gonna follow their system and I'm gonna build good relationships and get the experience, and that's gonna be the thing. Me into my destiny.
He said, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. And scholars look at his time that he spent away. It was years. He went away into Arabia, then he went to Damascus. And in that time we get little glimpses.
In the letters in Corinthians, it says, 2 Corinthians, he says, I won't tell you, but the time I was caught up in, in the third heaven. And I saw things I can't even express. Another place, he says he goes, I praise God that I speak in tongues more than you all. In other places, he says, I went away and I didn't go to Peter and the apostles, but I went away and God showed me things. Other people came and invested and prayed over him.
Scholars say that the Apostle Paul spent years seeking after God, burying himself in Scripture and getting revelation after revelation, letting the Holy Spirit bathe him in his presence, fill him with his life, give him his calling. And so when Paul came in, he didn't go. I'm here because Peter gave me an opportunity. I'm here because I went through this Bible college. And they're all good things.
Peter was a great man of God. We should let men and women of God invest into our lives. Bible college is great, but that ain't gonna change a life. You want to change someone's life? You want to know your calling.
You want to step into it with confidence and boldness and not arrogance. You want to bring glory to the Lord. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. He must fill your life. Because when the Holy Spirit fills your life, You are transformed.
The things of this world fade away. You get a fire in your belly. And you don't need Adrian to tell you, well done. You're doing a good job. You got the spirit of God in here going, come on, come on, come on.
You go for it. You go. You speak it out. You declare it. Oh, I was so encouraged.
Steph was here before. Steph has been in our church for the last year, and she got radically saved, Radically saved. And she's a first responder, and she's involved in that. And she told me. You know what she said to me in the earlier service?
I think it was Saturday night last night. She came up to me and she said, adrian, she said, oh, yeah, God's done that to me. I've been transformed. I've been changed. He's done a work in me.
And she goes, you know what? The other week, they invited me to. Up in Sydney to the Bondi beach memorial service they had in a cathedral. They invited her to represent the first responders and come and speak to hundreds and hundreds of people gathered in that place. And she said, adrian, I did it.
And she said, I was crying. People were crying. She goes, God used me. And I shared the thank yous for the first responders and what they go through, But I was able to share part of my testimony. I've been changed and transformed, and I was blown away because I went, she's in our church.
She's been changed and saved by the power and the glory of God. And there she is, stepping in to the calling she has, ministering to people because she's full of the Holy Spirit, because she's got a fire in her belly. And I want to ask you, where's your fire? Where's your fire? Oh, has the Holy Spirit of God filled your life?
That's why we're doing Wednesday night, because I need to be filled again with the Holy Spirit. I need my brothers and sisters and my leaders and volunteers that serve with me that we're in this place together, serving God together. I need us to be full of the Holy Spirit, crying out for God, because we can't do it in our own strength. No one's getting saved in our own strength. It's not the power of the Holy Ghost.
What do you remember when God used you when you've been filled with the spirit of God? I don't care how old you are. We got some kids in this place. You know, when I was a kid, I got filled with the Holy Spirit. I was about 12 years old, 11, 12 years old.
I got Filled with the Holy Spirit in a meeting. And God spoke into my heart. As I was in that place. I felt him put on my heart, say, there's a girl from your school. She was a bit older than me.
And he goes, go, put your hand on her head and pray for her. I was like, that's weird. I don't want to pray for a girl.
He's like, just go and pray for her. And it was so strong, I had to obey this prompting from the Holy Spirit. And so I did. I just was in the presence of God, and I just put my hand on my head, and I don't even know what I prayed. And then I stopped.
It was about 30 seconds, and then I went off. And I was just in the presence of God, just spending time crying in his presence. That girl came to me afterwards, and she said, adrian. She goes, I come from a main church, but she goes, I've been encountering and wanting to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I've been wanting to be baptized in the Holy Spirit for years, and it hasn't happened to me.
And she goes, I was sitting on that front row saying, God, is there something wrong with me? Because I've been asking you to fill me the Holy Spirit, but I haven't been. And she said, and you came, and suddenly I felt your hand on my head. And she said, as soon as you put your hand on my head, she goes, I suddenly started speaking in tongues. And she goes, I felt the presence of God, and she was crying, and she just said, thank you.
And, you know, I go, it wasn't me, but God used me as a little kid. Not some great preacher, something. He filled me with his Holy Spirit. So this is why I believe God can use any of us. He doesn't need all your background and your stuff and all your experience.
He just needs hungry hearts who say, fill me, Holy Spirit. And he comes and fill our vessel. He comes to fill our lives. And then he'll speak to you, and he'll give you confidence. He'll say, I've put a calling on your life.
Come on. No man can push you down. No one can determine who you are because I'm the one who made you. And I'll determine who you are. And you listen to me and you follow my prompt things, and you watch what I do through you, and it'll give you a humility and a confidence to go with it.
And then you step out in faith. And then we see some lives changed. Someone's gonna be praising God because of you. This year, someone in your school, in your uni, wherever you are, in our church, wherever you go, in your home, who's gonna be praising God because of you. Don't you want that?
That's my heart's desire. I thank God all over this church, people are doing that. Well done. But there's more. Oh, we're going out on the streets and lives change.
Murder and Jocelyn, they tell me stories of people crying and people getting saved because. But there's a flood of more people, isn't there, Steve? There's a flood more. So I'm. You know what?
This is what God stirred my heart with. So, Adrian, I keep saying it to you, but God's saying it to me. We're just getting started. We're just getting started. I've got a few stories here and there about we're just getting started.
I'm not saying those things to boast. I'm saying, hey, God's done some good things. Look what more. Hey, imagine what more he can do. Why don't you think about.
God's done some good things through you, hasn't he? Oh, he's done some mighty things. He's done some great things through us. But imagine what he can do. Imagine what he's gonna do if we let him.
If we say, God, fill me with your Holy spirit. I'm gonna step out in confidence. I'm gonna grab a hold of that mic, I'm gonna step into in faith, and I'm going to declare this year someone's going to glorify God. Someone's going to praise God. Someone's going to be lifting their hands to Lord Jesus Christ this year.
Someone's going to say the sinner's prayer. Someone's going to be delivered. Someone's going to get healed, Lord Jesus, because of what you've done in me.
So I want us to pray today. We're going to pray and we're going to ask God, say, lord, would you use my life this year? Can that be the cry of your heart? Say, lord, I want someone to praise God, because here I am. This is not a boast.
This is a surrender. This is. Here's my life, God, use it for your glory. And then it's not just a humility. There's a confidence that God wants to rise up in you.
Come on, cj. God wants to rise up. There's more people, more lives. I can see more people coming into our church, being transformed and changed because of you. Because of you.
You feel it. God's called you. He's given you a gift. You can draw people in. He says, you watch.
If you let me. You watch. Get filled with the Holy Spirit. You watch. There will be a flood of people praising God because of you.
And it doesn't make you proud, it makes you humble and it makes you cry because you say, what an honor and what a privilege that God used my life. Isn't that his purpose? He's given us the ministry of reconciliation. The Lord Paul said, as though God were pleading through us, be reconciled to Christ. What a calling, what a privilege.
So let's bow our heads, close our eyes for a moment, and we're going to pray. And I want you to pray before God and say, lord, use me. Oh Lord, I want someone. Who's that? Someone that you want praising God because of you.
Maybe it's not just for someone. Some of you are seeing multitudes. Some of you are seeing people overseas. Some of you are seeing young people in schools. Some of you are seeing.
Some of you are lifting your voice and your hands in worship and you're leading people in worship and you're seeing them encounter God because of what you're doing and leading them in the presence.
There's a Holy Spirit all over this place today, watching online.
Ah, you are moving, Lord, and you're just getting started. You're just getting started. Oh, Lord, I pray for hungry open desperate hearts that say, lord, my heart's desire is that you would use me to change a life this year. Love God, love people, change lives. Use me, God, to bring glory to your name.
We're gonna say a prayer and maybe you're far from God and now's the time. You've been far from God, but you say, lord, I want to serve you with my life. I want your destiny, I want your forgiveness. I want your plan for me. And we're gonna say this prayer.
I want you to repeat it after me. We'll all repeat it together. Dear Lord Jesus, I'm giving my life to you today. I believe you're the Son of God and you died on the cross for my sin. And you rose again from the dead.
So forgive me Jesus. Be my Lord and my Savior. In Jesus name I pray.
Amen. Keep your heads bowed. If you said that prayer to rededicate your life or to do it for the first time, we've got a Bible we want to give you. It's over by the bookshop on the right hand side. You'll see Bibles label there and go there.
We want to give you a Bible to help you in your walk with God, you are just getting started on what God has for you. It's an exciting journey for the rest of us. We're going to declare the words of this song and say, lord, for your glory. And this is what I want us to do. If you're comfortable with this, I want you to stand to your feet and I want you to lift your hands out to the Lord and say, God, as for me, Lord, let someone praise God.
Because of my life, God, will you fill me with your holy spirit? Lord, will you help me step into who you've called me to be? I'm forgiven, I'm saved, I'm redeemed. I'm empowered by the spirit of God today.
Thank you, jesus.
It's all for your glory.
Christ alone. Let's declare it Christ alone.
Yes, he is, is.
My God.
Thank you, jesus.
Thank you lord, All over this place. We're about to finish tonight, but I'd say this morning. But if you can, why don't you reach out your hands to the Lord. I want to pray for you this morning.
He loves you, my brothers and sisters.
And some of us have gone through difficult times. But he says, you know, I'm your source. I've been your strength. And I'm going to even use the pain that which the enemy has sent to destroy you. The Lord says, I will use to build you.
And for my glory. You watch what I do. You watch what I do. Those of you who feel weak, says the Lord, be strong in me. Receive my strength today.
Those of you who've been been pushed down and feel like you've gone off track, the Lord says, I will give you my strength again today. Take it, it's yours. It's a new day. It's a new season. It's the season of saying someone is going to praise God again because of me.
Someone's getting saved because of me. Someone's giving glory to the King of kings because of me today. And so Lord, I pray, I pray for your blessing upon my brothers and sisters. They are men and women of God. They have a stronger calling than they know.
And Lord, I pray you would reveal it to them. And let them rise up on wings like eagles and let them soar above the things of this world and let them soar in the the spirit and let him be mighty and pull down strongholds and deliver people from darkness. Lord, we pray it in the name of Jesus Christ. We give you glory. All God's people said amen.
Thank you Lord. Thank you, Jesus. God bless you. Brothers and sisters through the storm he is alone Lord of Come on, let's declare it one more time. Christ alone Christ alone.
In the Savior's arms through the door he is Lord, My day you keep me on your mind God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful for you all my life you've been right here by my side God, I'm just grateful for you I'm just grateful Come on, let's declare our gratitude this morning oh, oh, where am I that you give me all your God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful all my life all my life you have been right here by my side God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful for you yeah.
Yes, God. Wow, what a morning. Hey, I hope you enjoyed this morning service. Would love for you to stick around and join us for some morning tea and coffee. See you out there.
Bless you, church.
Related Bible Verses
Galatians 1:11–24 (NLT)
Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God's church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord's brother. I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie. After that visit, I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn't know me personally. All they knew was that people were saying, "The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!" And they praised God because of me.
Click here to read Galatians 1:11–24 on Bible.com
Titus 3:3–5 (NLT)
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—"When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Click here to read Titus 3:3–5 on Bible.com
Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)
"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations."
Click here to read Jeremiah 1:5 on Bible.com
Matthew 5:14–16 (NLT)
"You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Click here to read Matthew 5:14–16 on Bible.com
2 Corinthians 12:2–4 (NLT)
I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don't know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.
Click here to read 2 Corinthians 12:2–4 on Bible.com
2 Corinthians 5:18–20 (NKJV)
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.