The apostle Paul was preaching over in Asia Minor. He was preaching to a Jewish audience in Antioch of Pisidia. In verses 21 and 22 of the 13^th chapter of the book of Acts, he relates to them some of their history—what a glorious history some of it was, the history of Israel. And he says in verse 21, “And afterward they (the children of Israel) desired a king (that was after Samuel): and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. ²²And when He had removed him, He…raised…up…unto them…DAVID to be their king….” He gave them Saul, and He raised up David to be their king. God had a PURPOSE in the birth of David. He was born…to…be…king of Israel.

But, in verse 36, Paul goes back to mention David again. He says, “For David, after he had served his own generation by the Will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption….” Another translation [New International Version] says, '“For when David had served God’s purposein his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.” After he had served God’s purpose in his own generation… What about you and me?? By the grace of God, WE are given a part in the most GLORIOUS THING on the earth, and we didn’t even know it!

Everyone has a skill or a talent. Ben Franklin said, “Time is the stuff that life is made up of.” Well, he was partly right, because time is an important element, so we have the time, and we ALSO have the skill , we’re given the energy , we’re given the productivity ; and if we use our time and our energy and our skill and our productivity for the LORD …then great. And I used to think that was all there was to life. But there’s one other element that’s very essential to a full life, and that one other element is PURPOSE. If you live to be a hundred ten [110 years old], and you’re STILL active, and you’re STILL going strong, and you STILL have a lot of energy, and you STILL can exercise that gift of talent and skill that God has given you, and you’re very productive—you own lands and houses—and you live without a PURPOSE…its all to no avail.

God, by His grace, gives us a =reason to get up in the morning and to live life to the fullest, and that reason is, TO SERVE HIM AND BRING HIM HONOR. That’s what we’re taught in the book of Ecclesiastes—that we’re to glorify Him.

And so, Paul is saying, “You know, by the grace of God, I am what I am. I get to be an apostle to the Gentiles! Not because I’m worth of it! By God’s grace I get to do this.” [1 Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”] That’s what he told King Agrippa. He told King Agrippa, in Acts, the 26^th chapter, if you remember, that that was the reason that God appeared to him.

God didn’t appear to him to save him! Not at all. If you think that, you’re mistaken. Paul is relating his conversion to King Agrippa. He says that when the Lord appeared to him, he asked, “Who art Thou, Lord?” The Lord says, '“I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose!! ” HERE’S why Christ appeared to him: “…to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee….” WHY send him to the Gentiles? “…To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me (in Christ Jesus).” A NEW purpose. [See Acts 26:12-18.]

Do you know what you’re living for? How many in the church say, “I don’t know why the Lord lets me continue on this earth. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing here.” YOU have a talent, and YOU have the time, and YOU have the energy, and you CAN serve the Lord in some capacity. By God’s GRACE you can.

Finally…I don’t have a lot of time to go into a lot of other things. I’m going to have to keep to the three points in this lesson. My old high school Speech teacher said, “Don’t try to unload the whole load on them. Just tell them three things. That’s all they can remember, anyway.” And sometimes, a preacher has to have notes to even remember them himself!

So, the third thing that we observe about the grace of God (and it’s also characteristic in the life of Saul of Tarsus, or, the apostle Paul) is that when hardships come upon us—and they will—when hardships come upon us, we need some SUPPORT. [GOD’S GRACE GIVES US SUPPORT WHEN HARDSHIPS COME UPON US.]

We need the support of friends and brethren. We need the support of the church. More than anything else, we need God and His grace. And, here again, God’s grace is shed upon Saul of Tarsus, or, the apostle Paul, in such tremendous abundance! The reason I know that is, back here in second Corinthians, chapter 12, Paul talks about his “thorn in the flesh,” [see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10].