Pastor Mac v.7 "My Purpose is Greater Than My Past!" Acts 9:10-16

words of encouragement and inspiration

"A Few Minutes with Pastor Mac"
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SPEAKER_02 0:18

Whatever you suck. Whatever you can do.

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Let's do this fucking boy. If you can't make service, we have to give the fucking house for donations and fresh fruits. Thanksgiving. If you can't make it to service, so don't forget about that. We always want to make sure we give opportunity to uh so season to us ministry. And if you can't make it again, our website as well. Uh Give website and on our app uh Gibbilify. And thank you again for uh tuning in, dropping by, another podcast with a few minutes with Pastor Mac, our podcast broadcast. We hope God is blessing you and keeping you. Uh this is our prayer for you. God's power and sustaining ability is Jehovah. Rafa is Jehovah Jaraness God covers you and provides for you. Uh in the midst of whatever you're going through, God is still good. He's still in control and he's running everything, despite what we see uh in Washington or DC or whatever. He's still in control. So we thank God for you and your presence. Uh uh this morning on Sunday, this fourth Sunday of June. And time is rapidly moving fast. 2026 is moving expeditiously on. Um gave you the text, Acts 9, 10 through 16 last week, and that's what we uh that would be our tent uh set up today this morning. And let's pray, oh God, we thank you for another chance, another time. We ask you, Lord, to bless us our minds and hearts and spirit, open us up. Pour into us what you want us to have. Remove everything that should not be. We forget to harm the whole harmony of life, the mundane of life. We forget to just stop and say thank you for what you've done and who you are. Lord, we look forward to what you're gonna do in the future, the best is yet to come. We're not harbored by our past, and we're looking forward to our future because you have plans for us. Lord, help us to reveal to us everything you have for us and be us to be able to fulfill what you have for us to do. We love you, we thank you. God bless this weak, feeble servant that I am. Give me strength from on high. I let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. Oh my Savior, my redeemer. In Jesus the Christ's name we pray it all. Amen. Acts nine, ten through sixteen will be where we set up our tent again. Uh next Sunday, first Sunday, nine seventeen through twenty-two, as we keep moving towards this journey called Acts of the Apostles. The movement of the Holy Spirit. Uh we're going through, I'm trying to stay dedicated and uh committed to the Acts book for the whole year. My first time. I've done that, but Acts the whole year. Acts for the AMP church. I'm reading the tr uh uh Amp translation. Uh whatever translation you have, we ask you to follow along. Now in Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he answered, Here I am, Lord. The Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Street, and answered the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying there. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him, so that he may regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, especially how much suffering and evil he has brought on your saints, God's people at Jerusalem. And here in Damascus he has authority from the high priest to put in chains all who call on your name, confessing you as Savior. The Lord said to him, Go, for this man is deliberately chosen an instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings of the sons of Israel. For I will make clear to him how much he must suffer and endure for my name's sake. The reading was the word the word of God for the people of God, for the edifying of God. I will make clear to him what you must suffer and endure. And I said, Lord, you know who he is. Know what he has done. You heard of him? You know what he what he does. I want to tag this few minutes with Pastor Mac. My purpose is greater than my past. My purpose is greater than my past. My brothers and sisters, beloved, all of us have a past. Some of it is public, some of it is private, some of it people know, some of it only God knows, some of it we can talk about now. Some of it still makes us bow our head when we remember it. And the truth is people have a way of remembering what you did. They may forget your growth, they may forget your tears, they may forget your repentance, they may forget how long you have been trying to do better, but they remember what you did. They remember the old version of you, they remember the mistake, remember the season, remember the failure, remember the rumor, and remember what they heard. And if they are not careful, you will start if you're not careful, you'll start believing that what people remember is stronger than what God has revealed. But Acts 9, this particular text teaches us that God is not intimidated by a bad past. Saul had a real past, he was not misunderstood, he was not just having a bad day, he had persecuted the church, he had been for real, for real, harming the saints. He had received authority to bind believers in Damascus. But while people remember what God, what Saul did, God remember who Saul was becoming. You know who we're talking about? Are you sure? God said, Go, because he is a chosen vessel unto me. That is the tension of the text. People remember the damage, but God reveals the destiny. People remember the pain, but God reveal reveals the purpose. People remember who you were, but God reveals who you called to be. And that's good news because my purpose is greater than my past. Well, first, firstly, people remember what you did. Isn't that always the case? Said in 13, Lord, I've heard by many of this man how much evil he has done. And I was trying to state his case, like, You sure, Lord. You sure go to Straight Street, talk to this man at the house of Judas, the man from Tarsus named Saul. You heard of him. He revealed And sees receives his vision from the Lord and tells him to go. And Anias has a problem. He says, Lord, you heard this man. You that is that the right name? I'm not hearing you. Can you hear me now? And in other words, Lord, I know his reputation. I heard the reports, I know what kind of damage he has done. This man is dangerous. Are you sure? You said Saul. That's how some folks look at when you say you say, Are you sure? And I was not being petty, he's not being messy, he's not gossiping. He's telling the truth. Saul had done evil to the saints. Saul had authority to arrest believers. Saul was a threat to the church. Can I drop this in right here? That is how God works sometimes. He will call you beyond what is convenient, he will push you past what is familiar, he will stretch you beyond what feels safe. It's easy to say, here I am, Lord, until God says, go there. It is easy to say, use me, Lord, until God says, talk to them. It's easy to say have your way until his way takes you somewhere uncomfortable. And Ananias was gonna be real uncomfortable talking to Saul. So he hears his name. He said, You sure? He don't just hear the name, he hears the history. He you sure this dude, you heard what he's Ananias got to step out of his comfort zone. Because Saul, he knew what he was. Saul's name carries carried his story, like your name carries your story before you ever walk into a room. And I said, Lord, I know what he did. God says, I know what I put him in. And another sees a persecutor, God sees a preacher, and an eye sees a problem, God sees purpose, and an eye sees a man who attacked the church. God sees a man who would carry the gospel to the Gentiles and kings of the children of Israel. Somebody say, People remember. They remember what you said, they remember what you did, they remember where you were, they remember who you used to run with, they remember when you were angry, remember when you were wrong, remember the season when you did not look like what God was calling you to become and to be fair. Sometimes they remember because the pain was real. And we ain't gonna preach this like Paul was his victim. He had hurt people, yes, harm the church, cause fear among the believers. And this is important, but but but this is the important thing. Grace does not make us lie about the past. Grace does not say it did not happen, nor does it say it does not it was not serious or nobody was hurt. Grace does not erase accountability, but what does grace does say is that that is not the end of the story. Be careful writing people off too early. Be careful calling somebody finished when God has not finished working, be careful judging a person's whole destiny by one chapter of their story. And Anias remembered Paul's past, but God was not finished with Saul's life. And ought to have some hands in him. I may ought to have at least 15, I may 16 in the room who can raise their hand and say, He ain't finished with me yet. I haven't become all God has want me to be. Somebody need to hear this. People may remember what you did, but God remembers what he put in you. People may remember your worst day, but God sees your whole destiny. People may remember your failure, but God sees your future. They may remember your mess, but God sees your ministry. People may remember your history, but God sees his hands on your life. Do not let people remember about you become stronger. Don't let what people remember become stronger than what God has spoken over you. Some people only know one chapter. Some people only know the rough draft, but some some people only know the version of you before grace interrupted you. But there is somebody here who can testify. I did it, I was wrong, I needed mercy, I needed grace. Yes, but thanks be unto God. That is not all there is to me. I'm not denying what I did, I'm declaring what God said, my purpose is greater than my past. Well, but number two, uh God reveals who you are. Touch the day. So he's in the text. Look at the text uh uh verse 15, 15a um says that but the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, but he is a chosen vessel of mine, and I said, Lord, I heard about him. He said, Go thy way, he's a chosen. That one word changes everything, chosen. God does not say he is harmless now, he doesn't say he has a clean record, or everybody will understand it, or his past was not that bad. God said he is chosen. That means Saul's identity is not being defined by Ananias' fear, by the church's memory, or about what Saul's about or by Saul's mistake. He's uh his identity is being defined by the sovereign voice of God. God reveals who Saul is. And I didn't say he's dangerous, God said he's chosen. And I said he's done the evil, God said he's a vessel. And I said, I heard what he did. God said, I know what I'm doing. And that's the good news of this text. When God gets ready to reveal who you are, he does not need permission from people who only remember you who you were. I'm doing the best I can. God called Saul a vessel before the church trusted him, called him a vessel before Saul had preached his first sermon, called Saul a vessel before he wrote one letter, called him a vessel before the saints felt safe around him. Because God does not just see what you are, God sees what grace can make you. And can I put this in for something about it? That's why the enemy wants to try to choke your praise, he try to get at you because he's seen your future. He's seen what God is gonna make you. Yeah, he's seen it. Don't you don't you walk around here twisted and tricked. He knows what you can become, he's seen your future. That's why he keeps enticing you with fleshy things. He wants you to stay an alcoholic, wants you to stay a crackhead, wants you to stay a liar, deceiver, deceiter, gossiper. He wants you to stay there because he knows what God's plan has for you, and if God gets his hands on some of you, you ain't gonna look like what you've been through. God is saying Saul is gonna carry my name. A vessel is made to carry something. So he's gonna carry my name. Are you a vessel? Are you carrying the Holy Ghost? Are you carrying the Word of God? Carrying something. And the man who once carried letters is not gonna carry the gospel. The man who once carried hatred is gonna carry a holy assignment. The man who once carried pain is gonna carry purpose. And this is what grace does. Grace does not just pardon you, grace repurposes you. Grace does not forgive your past, grace gives you an assignment. Grace does not just get you out of trouble, grace puts you into service. Help me, Holy Ghost. Somebody ought to thank God that he did not just save you from something, he saved you for something. I put extra on there. I wrote, I put some attributes by this. I put this, I wrote that. And somebody ought to, yeah, let me say that again. Somebody thank God that he did not just save you from something, he saved you for something. Uh yeah, my brother and sister, he saved you for worship, he saved you for witness, he saved you for service, he saved you for your family, he saved you for the church, he saved you for somebody. Somebody ought to help me. He saved you for somebody who needs your testimony. Somebody came in still calling yourself by what you did. You've been calling yourself failure. God calls you forgiven. You've been calling yourself damaged, God calls you chosen, you've been calling yourself unworthy. He calls you a vessel. Calling yourself too far gone, but God calls you mine. Yeah, you've been calling you, you said you're disqualified. God said I can still use you. And I know people may still have their opinion, but the opinion of people does not outrank the word of God. If God says I'm chosen, I'm chosen. If God says I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven. If God says I'm called, I'm called. If God says I'm useful, I'm useful. If God says I have purpose, I still have purpose. Elbow somebody in the room with you and say, God knows who I am. Not just who I was, not just what I did, not where I failed, not just what I lost. God knows who I am in his hand. Help me, Holy Ghost. Well, well, first, people remember what you did. Second, God reveals who you are. Thirdly, finally, purpose redeems the pain. 15B 16, it says, To bear my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel. So I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name. And Saul, when he becomes part, he's gonna suffer. God told him my grace is sufficient, he's gonna he gonna suffer. He called him a chosen vessel. But then he explains the assignment. He will bear my name for the Gentiles and children of Israel. That means God does not change Saul for Saul. God changes Saul for me. That's why He didn't change you for you. We talked about it in Bible study Thursday night. Some of us got this twisted idea that we do what we want to do, it's for us. But no, we're our pleasure is for God. Yeah, we we made it for God. You may not get to do what you want, but God already defined what he wants us to do. I told you last Sunday, he changed his plans. You thought you had plans. Saul was on the road to the map, but his plans were changed. God changes Paul Saul for the mission. Saul's conversion is personal, but it's not private. God has a public purpose attached to Saul's redeemed life. He's gonna carry the name of Jesus to people who need to hear it. This is where the text gets heavy. The man who calls suffering will now suffer for the name of Jesus. That does not mean God is gonna be cruel. That does not mean God is gonna take revenge. That does not mean Saul is earning forgiveness. It means Saul's life is being completely turned around. The one who once opposed Christ. Yeah. Would now strengthen believers. The one who opposed will now proclaim. The one who opposed, who scattered the church will now help spread the church. The one who once made people suffer for the name will suffer for the name. Purpose redeems the pain. Now be careful here. Be careful right in here. This does not mean pain is good by itself. Pain hurts. Sin wounds failure, has consequences. People were really hurt by so, but God is so powerful that He can take a painful story and bring purpose out of it. Ought to have somebody in the room right now. You're listening under the sound of my voice. You you had pain, and but you had purpose out of your pain. He can take that pain and make it purposeful. He can redeem the years, he can redeem the scars, he can redeem the tears, he can redeem the mistakes, he can redeem the testimony. Purpose does not pretend the pain did not happen. Purpose is God is going to get glory even from this. I feel like taking off right in there. That's why you cannot let shame silence you forever. Somebody needs your testimony. Somebody needs to know God can save us all. Somebody needs to know God can change a hard heart. Somebody needs to know God can interrupt the wrong road. Somebody needs to know God can put purpose in a person's past. With the past, your pain may become somebody's else. Proof. Proof that grace still works. Proof that Jesus still saved. That God still calls, that mercy still reaches, that nobody is too far for the Lord. Devil wants to use your past to bury you, trying to choke your praise. God wants to use your testimony to bless somebody. The devil says, be quiet. They know what you did. God says, speak up. They need to know what I did. The devil says you disqualified. God said, You a vessel. The devil said your story is over. God said, Your assignment is just beginning. And I need somebody who has ever been rescued by grace to declare my purpose is greater than my past. I feel my help coming because Acts 9 is not just Saul's story, it's our story too. It's me and your story. Maybe you were not on the road to Damascus with letters in your hand, but all of us were on the wrong road one day. We were lost, we were blind, we were stubborn, we were headed in the wrong direction. We were doing what we thought was right, but we were outside the will of God. But Grace Oh Grace met us and Saul did not find Jesus, but Jesus found Saul. Saul did not schedule a revival, but Jesus interrupted his road. Saul was not looking for mercy. Mercy came looking for him, and that is why I shout today because the Lord knows how to stop you because before you destroy yourself, the Lord knows how to blind you so he can make you see. The Lord knows how to knock you down to raise you up. The Lord knows how to interrupt your plans so he can reveal his purpose. Somebody say purpose. Purpose found me when shame had me when Purpose found me when sin had me. Purpose found me when my past had a grip on me. Purpose found me. When people had counted me out and I came to preach to somebody who's been living under the weight of what used to be. You are not just your mistake. You are not just your divorce. You are not just your failure. You are not just your band season. You are not just your addiction. You are not just your temperament. You are not just your shame. You are not just your old reputation. But the Bible says if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are new. And I know what they heard. I know what they remember. I know what they said. I know what happened. But I also know what God said. He said purpose. He said assignment. And he said, I still have plans for your life. And when Jesus went to Calvary, one Friday, one Friday night, Jesus went to Calvary. He did not just die for the clean parts of me. He died for the messy parts. For my shame. Died for my sins. Died for my failure. Died for the stuff I did. Died for the stuff I hear. Died for the stuff I cannot fix. He stretched him wide and hung him higher. He dropped his head. For me he died. But that's not the end of the story. That's not how it stopped. But early. Sunday morning. He got up with all power in his hands. And because he got up, my past cannot hold me down. Because he got up. Shame cannot keep me buried. I high five your neighbor and say failure cannot have the final word. Because he got up. Grace can rewrite my story. And I need somebody who knows the Lord gave you another chance to open up your mouth. I got it, I got it. My past was real. But mercy was greater. My mistake was great. We got it, we got it. But grace was greater. My shame was greater. But the love was greater. Something about that blood. Something about this clean.

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You beat it to the flood.

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Hello and good morning. Thank you for tuning in to another podcast of a few minutes with Pastor Matt. We hope God is blessing you thus far on this Sunday morning. And we hope God's power, favor, and strength be upon you for this new week that is upon us. We do want to remember our school teachers, administrators, and students, as most districts have begun our school virtually, but some have begun in person. And we want to pray for the safety and protection of everyone who's out in the school district. And certainly lift them up in prayer. Certainly pray for our students and returning to school. And we're praying for them as they go with mask on to learn and to eradicate ignorance. Amen. We will be having a um revival in September, virtual revival. The dates 15, 16, 17. That's a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Dr. McClendon, Austin, Dr. Timothy Brown, Dallas, and Pastor Eshawn Williams of Waco will be supplying the words and messages for that week. One each night. And it'll be virtually. Since we're doing everything else virtually remotely, we can have a revival with different speakers. It may not be the only one we try to attempt. We're going to do this and see how it goes and works. And I know the Lord will uh stamp it with his approval. And um we hope to use this in the even after the pandemic, hope to use this kind of um transmission of message and gospel uh even after um we do return back to our church. And speaking of returning, uh we'll try we're trying to get together and um do a return to church, parking praise, and um I still feel it's not safe to be back in um especially with flu season coming up and um all of that, and telling us we need to be mad, we need to adhere to a steady mandate nationally, uh, but with uh inferior incompetent uh governmental leadership, uh we haven't been able to get on that same page. So um we're gonna do that properly and uh plan that um coming up. Uh just listen out and listen up for Facebook posts, announcements, and even our church call. And um we'll be playing that coming up, amen. Until then, just listen in to our podcast, keep doing that. Uh pass the word to someone else who may want to um hear a message and uh Sunday mornings at 10 o'clock, and uh we'll be glad to have them. Don't forget you have your grace givings and offerings. Um you can do that on Giblify. Please don't forget that God is not out of business and has not changed his plan. So therefore, um remember to give God your your first fruits and um even do it during the pandemic, and uh God will bless you through it. Amen. Amen. So remember those things coming up, and again, we're being proud of our students and all those who work for the district. And invitation is extended now. If you don't know Jesus and the pardon of your sins, if you would like to get to know him better and get saved, allow him to come into your life, simply say this prayer Jesus, I need you in my life. I believe you died and rose again on the third day. I trust you to control my life and to enhance my future. If you said that prayer, uh it's as simple as A B C accept, believe, and commit. If you did that, we would love to hear from you. You may contact us through our email, get praise on at house of praise pp.org. Or you may go simply to our website, www.house of praisep.org, contact us, and someone from our discipleship team will get back with you with all the information you need in order to begin this new life in Christ. We love you to life, we look forward to hearing from you. Thank you again for listening to our podcast. We hope something was said to be a blessing for you, and be a blessing for you this week. Uh we know that we are still in the hands of God, and we will trust Him to keep and deliver us. Bless you, God bless you. County Line, we love you to life, and you can't do anything about it. Look forward to next week. The Lord says the same. We hope that you are praying and reading the word and staying true and standing on the promises of the Lord. God bless you, and we'll see you next week.