Saul with a "P" | Viny Costa

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Thank you, guys.

Good morning, Church.

All right.

Thank you.

Good morning, you watching online.

It's uh it's a privilege to be here this morning sharing God's word with you.

My name is Vini.

I am 35 years old, and uh I am part of staff here of Celebration Orlando where I have the privilege of overseeing worship and production uh team.

I feel very excited, very excited to preach today, especially because we will be talking about my favorite guy in the Bible after Jesus.

Let's make that clear.

After Jesus.

So this morning we'll be talking about Paul.

All right, Dave, where's Dave?

Oh, right here.

Are you excited about this?

Come on, your name, bro.

It's Dave Paul, by the way.

But um, so as we engage the Bible this morning, I pray it engages us as well.

Welcome to week two of our Change the Narrative series.

Last week, Pastor Keith did a great job um unpacking the interaction Jesus had with that woman at the well.

It was a great message, and next Sunday, Pastor Keith will be back here.

He will wrap up the series, and he will be preaching about spoiler alert, Peter.

Shh!

It's our secret, don't tell him, I told you guys, but also mark your calendars because next week we will celebrate our 90th anniversary here at Celebration.

Come on, yes, so be sure to join us and invite someone along.

We'll have a great time together.

Cool?

Are we ready to start?

Okay, so we find in our Bibles 13 epistles written by the apostle Paul.

Some theologians might argue that the correct number is actual actually 14 epistles, as they include Hebrews in the list.

However, it remains uncertain who the author of Hebrews truly is.

Theologians broadly um categorize the thirteen Paul's epistles into two groups: general epistles, pastoral epistles.

Who?

General, pastoral epistles.

General epistles are addressed to various Christian communities and the emphasize theological matters.

Now, pastoral epistles are directed toward specific individuals and focus on pastoral and practical aspects of church leadership and ministry.

So, if we talk about Romans, for example, do you guys think Romans is general or pastoral?

What about Galatians?

General or pastoral?

Mmm, Galatians is general or pastoral?

General, it was written for a church.

What about Titus?

General or pastoral?

Okay, you guys are ready to graduate in theology.

So in our Bibles, we have three pastoral epistles written by Paul: First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus.

Come on, you are guys are paying attention.

That's amazing.

Today we will spend the majority of our time together in First Timothy.

This beautiful uh letter Paul wrote to this young pastor in Ephesus.

So I would love to encourage you to open up our Bibles in First Timothy chapter one.

We will start on verse 12, and uh we will read through it once, and then I'll ask for your patience because we will revisit this passage later on.

It says, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the world.

The worst.

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example of those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, expect, invisible, expect the only God be honor and glory forever and ever and ever.

Amen.

If you are taking notes this morning, I have titled his message Saul with a peach.

Saul with a peace.

Would you pray with me?

God, Father, we are so ready to receive a word fresh from you.

Our hearts are ready.

Our minds are ready.

And we ask you to plant in us eternal eternal seeds.

For your glory.

We're here open for you.

We receive your word in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Today it's a very special day for me.

Because I am celebrating.

Pay attention.

12,934 days of life.

It's a lot.

How many stories could I share with you?

How many stories could you share with me?

The majority of those days of these days were were were ordinary days filled with routine, you know.

But at least four, four of these 12,934 days completely changed my life.

Four days completely changed my life.

The first was day 7172 when I graduated from theological seminary.

What a day.

What a joy.

I felt so equipped, but not fully prepared for for a life and ministry.

I was just a young man, full of dreams.

The second was day 87575 when I married my beloved wife.

And let me tell you, we parted for hours.

And we experienced lots of miracles that day.

The third day, 10,575, when we packed five suitcases full of clothes, and we decided to move from Brazil to US to learn English, to experience a new culture.

And we found this church, we found community, but we are still working on learning the language and the culture.

The fourth and last day was day 11,280.

When God bless us with our unique part Chinese, part Brazilian, part American gift.

Our lovely daughter Serena.

At least four times the narrative of my life was completely changed.

And I praise God for it.

So let me ask you this.

Can you stop for one second and think of a day in your life when something happened that changed your story?

A day that changed who you are, changed your routine, changed the way you think, the way you live.

Can anybody think of one day?

Yes?

Okay.

I have four.

I just would love to have the same conversation we we're having right now with Paul.

And I would love to ask him the same question.

Hey Paul, listen.

Can you just tell me what was the day that your life changed forever?

I would love to ask him that question, even though I feel I already know the answer.

I know him pretty well.

I know his answer because in almost all 13 epistles, pastoral and general, he writes about that day.

The majority of his writing is about the day his life changed forever.

But before we talk about the day when Saul's life changed, I think we need to talk a little bit about Saul.

Who was this man?

Who was Saul?

Who was the man that from Jerusalem to the Illyrican he preached the gospel and planted churches?

Who was the man who was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, faced shipwrecks, hunted everywhere from all sides, yet he left established churches and leaders behind?

Who was this man?

A missionary who preached the gospel for three continents.

Who was this man that today is more influential than all the Caesars of Rome combined?

Well, his narrative starts in Acts chapter 22.

Acts 22 · chapter mention

Bible says he was born in Tarsus, today as known as Turkey, making him a Roman citizen by birthright.

He was circumcised on the eighth day of people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.

He was some type of pure-blooded Jew and a Roman citizen.

He was sent by his father to Jerusalem to live with his sister to study under the great rabbi Gamaliel, who was the grandson of the greatest rabbi of all times, Helo.

In Philippians chapter 3, Paul or Saul writes about himself, and this is what he says.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

As for zeal, persecuting the church.

As for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

Can you imagine you writing something like this for yourself?

What he's saying is, look at me, I am perfect, faultless.

I am a perfect Pharisee.

He graduates, receiving instruction and knowledge, and in Galatians chapter 1, verse 14, the Bible says, He stands out among those of his age, becoming remarkable and unique.

Galatians 1:14

There was nobody like Saul.

He evolves into a well-educated individual, multilingual, displaying a resilient personality and a natural leadership spirit.

He was a man dedicated to his religion, devoted to God.

Saul, a prodigy, soul smart, a Pharisee from Jerusalem.

Saul.

However, while Saul was being trained and maturing in Jerusalem under the guidance of Gamaliel, another rabbi was simultaneously gaining prominence in Israel.

Not in Jerusalem, where the Pharisees were based, but in a small, humble, disregarded town, Nazareth and Galilee.

He was not being trained in a classroom of an academy, but in the midst of the grind and labor of a carpentry workshop.

The Galilean rabbi, at the age of 30, he goes to the Jordan, he is baptized by John, and he begins his public ministry.

And the Bible tells us that he did not preach like the Pharisees.

He was preaching with power and authority.

The blind could see, the lame could walk, the deaf could hear, the mute could speak, the lepers were cleansed, the captives were set free, and the dead were raised.

The gospel was preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, sparking jealousy among the Pharisees.

The Pharisees arrested him.

The Pharisees crucified him.

They were trying to kill the Son of God that was challenging their tradition and their religion.

However, blessed be the name of the Lord, on the first day of the week.

The tomb of the Galilean rabbi was found open.

And open from the inside out.

He had reason, he had conquered death.

That's Jesus, that's our Savior, that's our Lord.

Jesus appeared to the disciples and they began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God and salvation was available to everybody.

And at that moment, Saul of Tarsus rose as the strong arm of the Sanhedrin, becoming the greatest and most relentless persecutor of Christianity.

He wanted to wipe out Jesus' followers.

He hated them.

He would enter households forcibly arresting both men and woman and imprisoning them.

He unleashed a reign of terror upon the church.

He became a serial killer.

A monster.

Acts chapter 8, verse 3, it says, but Saul began to destroy the church.

Acts 8:3

Destroy the church.

Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and woman and put them in prison.

Acts chapter 9, verse 21, it says, Is not this he that destroyed Jesus' followers in Jerusalem?

Acts 9:21

Destroyed Jesus' followers in Jerusalem.

This is what he writes about himself, Acts 22.

I persecuted Jesus' followers until the death.

Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor of Jesus for the glory of God.

Saul of Tarsus, a man of tradition trying to extinguish love.

Saul of Tarsus, a man who loved God and hated Jesus.

How is that possible?

A serial killer Pharisee.

A monster, a man of religion.

And while Saul lived what he believed to be the righteous life under the law, hunting down Christians, he was in fact being pursued by the King of Kings.

He thought he was persecuting Christians, but he was being pursued by the Lord himself.

And then Paul was just walking from city to city trying to fight someone to kill, but Jesus is coming after him.

Saul is just going to a different synagogue to teach then about the law.

But guess what?

Jesus is coming after him.

And then Saul, he saw, Saul, he tried to hide, and the Bible says that now he's going to Damascus.

He's going to this city and he's going to kill more and more Christians.

But Jesus is coming after him.

And the Bible says, Acts chapter 9, that he was on his way to Damascus.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

He had an encounter with Jesus.

Right there.

And this was so powerful that the Bible said he fell.

He couldn't.

It was too much for him.

And Jesus just asking, Saul, Saul, what are you doing?

Who are you persecuting?

And then Saul was just like, Who are you?

You need to remind, he's blind right now, right?

He's blind.

Who are you?

And then Jesus goes, I am Jesus.

The one that you are persecuting.

Do you know what Saul did?

He surrendered.

I cannot fight you anymore.

I cannot.

I cannot do this anymore.

Thank you, Jesus, for coming after me.

Jesus was ready to change his narrative.

Jesus is ready to tame the killer beast.

The serial killer will surrender his life.

The persecutor was pursued by love.

Saul would now begin to use another name.

Hey, from now on, you guys can call me Saul with the P.

I am not the same man anymore.

I once was a killer and now I am a pastor of pastors.

I once was a man of religion, and now I am Jesus' follower.

I once was a Pharisee, and now I am a missionary.

I once tried to kill Christians.

Now I write letters to equip them.

I once was a man of theology.

Now I am someone who understands the power of relationship with God.

I once was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

Now I am a son of God through Jesus.

I used to go by Paul, that means desire, but after Christ, I go by Paul, that means small, humble.

I used to live by the law.

Today I live by the understanding that Jesus can change everything.

So, Vinnie, if you would ask me what day changed my life, I would say the day I surrender my life to Jesus, the King of Kings.

But Paul understood something very important as well.

He understood that when we had an encounter with Jesus, when we have an encounter with Jesus, and when Jesus changed our narrative, he understood that along with the change in narrative, we also receive the responsibility to share it.

So Paul decided to share his story with everybody and writes his testimony in the majority of his letters, the majority of his epistles.

And now he's writing about his testimony to his friend Timothy.

A young pastor in Ephesus.

Lovely.

And this is what Paul says.

I would love to go back to the verse we read at the beginning of our conversation.

First Timothy chapter 1, verse 12.

1 Timothy 1:12

This is what Paul says.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank Jesus our Lord.

Years ago, I was killing Jesus' followers.

But now I thank him because he's my Lord and He has given me strength.

He considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service, even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.

I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

Timothy through Christ is there is nothing difficult to you that it's not easy for God.

I was a persecutor, I was a violent violent man.

It is all behind.

Paul is saying that his narrative was changed because of God's mercy and grace.

God can change your situation, my friend.

God can change it right now.

Because I don't know if you notice or not, he is still merciful and graceful.

Gracious.

God can heal your husband.

God can drag you out of depression.

God can give you hope.

God can give you a second chance, a new reality, because he's merciful, he's gracious, and if he did with Saul, he will for sure do it for me and for you.

So my question to you is are you ready to surrender?

If you need something to be changed in your life, are you ready to surrender?

When Saul had his encounter with Jesus, that's what he did.

Would you do the same?

Would you allow his mercy and grace change your circumstances?

What is the area you are struggling with?

What is the area you need him to change?

Let me encourage you, surrender it.

Surrender it right now.

And let mercy and grace take care of the rest.

Paul writes to Timothy and he says, Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.

Can we read this together?

Christ Jesus came.

Come on.

I saw the majority of you adjusting the glasses.

So let's let's try again.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

The second lesson Paul is trying to teach Timothy through Christ is you have a story to tell.

And sometimes it's very easy for us to think, I don't have a strong testimony.

Right?

I don't have a great story to share.

But what Paul is saying is the greatest testimony of all time is salvation.

I was lost and now I'm found.

Salvation.

Folks, think with me.

For Paul, his most important story is not the one when he got arrested.

It's not the one when he faced a shipwreck.

He's not telling Timothy about hundreds of sermons he preached, about hundreds of miracles he saw.

What he's telling Timothy, his friend, is the most important testimony is Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners like me, like you.

So yes, you have a story to share.

You have something to tell, a testimony that will bless somebody.

Stop thinking there's nothing extraordinary in my story.

Your story is powerful.

You are saved.

Come on.

Can you imagine?

Imagine for a second if Paul had the same attitude sometimes we have.

Can you imagine if Paul is ready to write his testimony to Timothy and he goes, you know what?

My story is not powerful enough.

Because think about it, I was just a man of religion, and one day I had an encounter with Jesus.

There's nothing extraordinary in there.

Can you imagine if he if he had the same attitude?

He's doing the opposite.

Because he understood that the most precious and valuable testimony is the one who tells this story that Jesus came, died for us, and now we're saved.

Saved.

I was dead, now I am now I live, I was condemned, now I am saved.

Your story is powerful.

Jesus Christ saved you.

Go tell somebody.

Paul ends his portion of scripture to Timothy saying, Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God be honor and glory forever and ever.

Amen.

And the third and final lesson he's teaching Timothy through Christ.

He's saying, you know what, Timothy?

He changed our narrative, but all glory belongs to him.

All glory belongs to the Lord.

Your testimony will glorify God.

And that's one more reason for you to share.

The other day I was having a conversation with Lindsay.

I didn't ask her if I could share that with you guys.

So, Lindsay, when you hear this, I apologize.

I was just having a conversation with her, and I told her, last time she preached here was so beautiful.

And I told her, I think you should take the YouTube link of your message, and I think you should post in your personal Instagram.

And then she said, Ah, I don't know how I feel about that.

I don't know about feel about how I feel about that.

I don't know what people think about that.

I don't know if that will send a message.

I'm some type of I'm praising myself.

And then I told her, Can you stop thinking about yourself for one second?

What if God wants to use the story you share to bless somebody else?

So about your testimony, it's not about you, it's not about your deed.

It is definitely about what he has done.

Share it, say something.

I want to wrap up by saying this.

Paul had his narrative changed by Christ and he shared with Timothy.

Can we picture ourselves here for one second?

Can you see yourself seated here right now?

Because you already surrendered your life.

He already changed your narrative.

You have something to tell because of him.

Who is your Timothy?

Who is your Timothy?

Is it a family member?

Your neighbor.

Your boss.

You guys are so quiet.

Hopefully you were thinking, oh, who is my Timothy?

Who is your Timothy?

A South American theologian that I love once he said, if you believe that God has transformed your life and you are not sharing it with others, it's likely because your life hasn't truly truly been transformed.

He's changed he changed your narrative.

And now what?

Your name is not Saul with a peak.

But he changed your narrative.

Because Jesus can change everything.

He's merciful, he's gracious to meet you where you are in your struggle.

And he can change your reality.

Do you believe that?

Your name is not Saul with a P.

But know this morning that your story matters.

The most important miracle is salvation.

Jesus He didn't die on a cross to give you a brand new car and a brand new house in Orlando's market right now.

He can do it, but he died on a cross to save you.

So go ahead and share it with somebody.

Your simple story.

Maybe not a violent man.

Not a persecutor.

But he saved me.

So you received his word this morning?

I wanted to pray with you.

For two specific things.

And I would love you to bow your head and close your eyes.

And think for one second.

Maybe you were here this morning, you heard all of this, and you think like, you know what?

I have some areas of my life that I need to surrender.

I have some some some areas in my life that I need him to change the narrative.

Some areas that I need him to be merciful and gracious right now.

And as I was preparing yesterday, I felt God telling me, Hey, why don't you surrender this area?

Why don't you surrender this area?

Because I want to change your narrative right there.

So maybe you are struggling with something.

Maybe you are frustrated at something.

Maybe you have something right now in your heart that you think, like, you know what?

I need God to change my narrative in that area.

I struggle with that.

And I would love to surrender this morning.

I would love to tell Him one more time, hey, I surrender and I let your mercy and your grace take care of the rest.

I'm not asking you to come here, but if you are one of, if you're feeling that way, if you feel God wants to change some area of your life and you want to surrender, would you please raise your hand for one second?

All right.

Thank you.

The second question I wanted to ask you is you heard about Paul and you saw yourself seated in that seat.

And you think like Jesus already changed my narrative, but I always think my testimony is not powerful enough enough.

I always think I I am not empowered enough to share with somebody.

You have a Timothy in your heart.

Maybe this morning you need to pray and you need to say, God, this is very uncomfortable to me, this is a challenge, but would you please help me because I want to share my testimony.

I want to share with my boss, with my friend, with my family.

You change my narrative, but I need to I need to find my Timothy.

If that's you, would you please raise your hand for one second?

Thank you.

We have lots and lots of hands, and we're going back to worship.

And I what I would love to encourage you to do is to pray.

You don't need somebody to pray for you.

That's good, but you don't need that.

You have access to God, and you can tell Him, hey God, this area I surrender right now.

This is me going to Damascus right now, Jesus, and I need an encounter with you today, this morning, and I will surrender my family, my finances, my future, my dream, whatever that is.

I would love you to pray.

I would love you to tell him that.

And I also would love you to tell him.

Maybe I am not brave enough to share my testimony, but this morning, I got it.

The most precious, the most powerful testimony is salvation.

So would you please empower me?

Would you please challenge me?

Because I have Timothy.

I have people I want to share with.

Would you please empower me as we worship, as we sing this song that says, Jesus, you can change everything.

I know this can become reality in your life.

So pray and worship with everything you have.

Would you please stand up as we pray?

Jesus, we're so ready to worship, and we thank you, we thank you for this morning.

We thank you because we know you can change our you can change everything, you can change our lives, and we surrender, we surrender every single aspect of our lives, every single area, we surrender our family, we surrender our kids, we surrender our future, we surrender our jobs, we surrender our dreams.

We surrender our habits, we surrender it all.

So you can come and change our narrative.

We understood this morning that we have a responsibility.

It's not only having a narrative, but it is also sharing it with somebody.

Maybe we have people in here that feels that their testimony is not powerful enough enough.

They feel they are too shy, too uncomfortable.

And I asked you Jesus right now.

Would you please empower us?

Would you please challenge us?

Would you please bother us?

To go and find our Timothy and save Jesus Christ! Thanks to the world to save theater, and I am one of them.

Thank you for this amazing grace.

Thank you for changing our narratives.

We worship you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Thanks again for listening.

We hope you enjoyed today's message.

We'd love for you to subscribe to our podcast and review and share what you've heard today.

If you'd like more content like this, or you'd like to connect with us, go to celebrationorl.org.

We hope you join us next time.