They Glorified God Because of My Story | Sermon | The Grove Church

Why You Can't Find Truth, But It Must Find You

Christian Freedom: Galatians, Week 3 | All sermons

"Truth revealed produces transformation and worship."

Summary

In this message on Galatians 1:10-24, David Hancock, pastor of The Grove Church in Port St. Lucie, Florida, addresses the confusion everyone feels about where to find truth. We look outward to parents, institutions, and teachers until they let us down, then we look inward until that voice fails us too. Paul answers the confusion not with a better authority or a sharper argument, but with a story. He had the best education of his day, total conviction, and hundreds of prophecies in the scriptures he studied daily, and he still could not see Jesus. The biggest truths about God are not found by us. They must find us.

Key Takeaways

Sincerity is not the same as truth. Paul had the full weight of religious authority and total conviction, and he was devastatingly wrong.
The hinge of the passage is one word: reveal. It implies something covered that has just been uncovered.
God set Paul apart before he was born and revealed His Son by grace, not because of anything impressive about Paul.
There is one objective gospel, revealed in a personal way to every Christian, which is why your story is worth telling.

Read Galatians 1:10-24 (ESV)

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God because of me.

Talk about it

1. Think of a time when you were completely convinced about something and turned out to be wrong, about a person, a belief, or a situation. What shook that conviction loose? Was it an argument, an experience, or something else?

Where Do We Look for Truth?

The Galatians faced a crisis of competing truth claims. Paul had started their churches with a radical message of grace. When he left, the Judaizers arrived with a letter from James, a powerful credential, and told the churches Paul couldn't be trusted. Today the same confusion exists: we trust outward authorities until they fail us, then we go inward, and find that voice isn't reliable either.

Talk about it

2. The sermon describes a cycle: we trust outward authorities until they let us down, then we go inward, and that fails us too. Where are you in that cycle right now? Is there an authority or institution you've lost trust in? Has looking inward given you the clarity you hoped for?

3. Deconstruction, pulling apart what you once believed, is common today. The sermon says it often happens when outward authorities fail us. Have you or someone close to you been through that? What was lost, and was anything gained?

Sincerity Isn't Truth: Can You Be Completely Convinced and Completely Wrong?

Paul walks through his past: a rising star in Judaism, trained under the greatest teacher of his day, more zealous than all his peers, and completely wrong about Jesus. He didn't just disagree with Christianity; he hunted Christians, tore families apart, and ordered executions. And he was convinced he was doing God's work.

KEY IDEA Just because you believe something with all your heart doesn't make it true. Paul had the full weight of religious authority, the best education, and total conviction, and he was devastatingly wrong.

Talk about it

4. Paul had hundreds of Old Testament prophecies pointing to Jesus in the scriptures he studied every day, and still couldn't see it. What does it say about us that even the most educated, most committed person can miss the truth that's right in front of them?

Truth Finds You: What Does It Mean That God Revealed His Son?

The hinge of this passage is one word: reveal. Paul didn't discover the truth about Jesus through better study or sharper reasoning. God was pleased to reveal his Son to him. You don't find truth about God; God must reveal it to you. He does it by grace, not because of how impressive you are. Paul's travel log after the Damascus road isn't filler; it's the shape of what to do when truth finds you.

Talk about it

5. Paul says he received the gospel through a revelation, not from any man, not through study alone, but through a direct act of God. Does that claim make you more skeptical or more curious? What would it take for you to take that kind of claim seriously in someone else's story?

6. The sermon says truth is humbling because it comes by grace, not by how hard you searched or how smart you are. What does that mean for someone who feels like they haven't found God yet? And what does it mean for someone who has?

7. Paul confirmed his encounter with scripture before going to anyone else. What's the difference between letting scripture interpret your experience versus letting your experience interpret scripture? Why does that order matter?

Your Story Isn't Just Yours: Who Does Your Story Belong To?

Paul's story spread on its own. Churches that had never met him were glorifying God because of what happened to him. The sermon presses a direct challenge: if God has done something real in your life, that story doesn't belong to you alone. It belongs to God. Hiding it is a choice. So is telling it.

Talk about it

8. The sermon says too many Christians are hiding what God has done in their lives. Why do you think that is? What makes it feel risky or awkward to tell your story, even in a group like this one?

9. Paul's story cost him his family, his reputation, his former community, and eventually his life. And he still couldn't stop telling it. What would it look like for you to tell your story with that kind of freedom, not to convince anyone, just because it's true?

How Do You Know Truth Has Found You?

The sermon ends with four practical steps for testing and sharing the truth you've encountered. These aren't steps to earn revelation; they're how you confirm and carry what God has already given.

FOUR STEPS Step 1: Ask yourself. Have I been found by truth? Not inherited it, not performed it, but personally encountered it? Step 2: Confirm it with scripture. Look for Jesus in the Old Testament. If your story can't survive contact with scripture, it needs examining. Step 3: Bring it to community. Genuine encounters get recognized by genuine communities. Step 4: Tell it beyond the church. You don't need eloquence or a platform; just your story.

Talk about it

10. Step 1 is the hardest for many people: is my faith built on my own encounter with Christ, or on someone else's? On revelation or inheritance? Sit with that honestly. If your faith feels more inherited than personal, what would it look like to make it your own?

11. Think of one person in your life right now who is spinning between outward authorities that have failed them and an inward voice that isn't reliable. What would it look like to share your story with them, not to argue, just to tell what happened to you?

The Heart of It: Why Must Truth Be a Person?

The sermon closes with a striking idea: truth is not a concept, a system, or an institution. Truth is a person. In John 1, the Word of truth became flesh and dwelt among us, in Christ. That's why truth must be personally encountered. Christ stepped into the low places, sat with sinners, and drew near to outcasts. He was put to death and rose as the great light out of the darkness of death. All of it was grace, from the beginning.

JOHN 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Talk about it

12. The sermon says truth is a person, not a concept, and that's why it must be personally encountered, not just intellectually agreed to. What's the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus? Where do you land on that spectrum right now?

13. Pilate stood face to face with Jesus, asked, "What is truth?" and then handed him over. The sermon says: don't be Pilate. Is there any way you've been holding truth at arm's length, curious, even respectful, but not willing to be changed by it? What would it look like to stop managing it and just let it find you?

Questions This Sermon Answers

Does believing something sincerely make it true?

Just because you believe something with all your heart doesn't make it true. Paul had the full weight of religious authority, the best education, and total conviction, and he was devastatingly wrong.

How do you know if truth has found you?

Step 1: Ask yourself. Have I been found by truth? Not inherited it, not performed it, but personally encountered it? Step 2: Confirm it with scripture. Look for Jesus in the Old Testament. Step 3: Bring it to community. Genuine encounters get recognized by genuine communities. Step 4: Tell it beyond the church. You don't need eloquence or a platform; just your story.

What does "reveal" mean in Galatians 1:16?

The word implies something was covered, like a mystery, and has just been uncovered. It is where we get the idea of "I was blind, but now I see." Truth about God is not something we locate by searching harder. It is something God uncovers for us, in His timing and by His grace.

What does it mean that Paul was "zealous for the traditions of my fathers"?

Zeal in that world was not merely enthusiasm. It meant living with a willingness to act forcefully, even violently, to defend truth if it was being violated. Paul did exactly that, hunting Christians, imprisoning them, and ordering an execution, convinced the whole time that he was serving God.

Vision for the Christian Life

To be a community where every person has their own personal story and experience of grace; not borrowed faith, not inherited religion, but a personal encounter with the risen Christ; and where those stories, told honestly, make the watching world glorify God.

Discussion Questions for Small Groups: Galatians 1

Think of a time when you were completely convinced about something and turned out to be wrong, about a person, a belief, or a situation. What shook that conviction loose? Was it an argument, an experience, or something else?
The sermon describes a cycle: we trust outward authorities until they let us down, then we go inward, and that fails us too. Where are you in that cycle right now? Is there an authority or institution you've lost trust in? Has looking inward given you the clarity you hoped for?
Deconstruction, pulling apart what you once believed, is common today. The sermon says it often happens when outward authorities fail us. Have you or someone close to you been through that? What was lost, and was anything gained?
Paul had hundreds of Old Testament prophecies pointing to Jesus in the scriptures he studied every day, and still couldn't see it. What does it say about us that even the most educated, most committed person can miss the truth that's right in front of them?
Paul says he received the gospel through a revelation, not from any man, not through study alone, but through a direct act of God. Does that claim make you more skeptical or more curious? What would it take for you to take that kind of claim seriously in someone else's story?
The sermon says truth is humbling because it comes by grace, not by how hard you searched or how smart you are. What does that mean for someone who feels like they haven't found God yet? And what does it mean for someone who has?
Paul confirmed his encounter with scripture before going to anyone else. What's the difference between letting scripture interpret your experience versus letting your experience interpret scripture? Why does that order matter?
The sermon says too many Christians are hiding what God has done in their lives. Why do you think that is? What makes it feel risky or awkward to tell your story, even in a group like this one?
Paul's story cost him his family, his reputation, his former community, and eventually his life. And he still couldn't stop telling it. What would it look like for you to tell your story with that kind of freedom, not to convince anyone, just because it's true?
Step 1 is the hardest for many people: is my faith built on my own encounter with Christ, or on someone else's? On revelation or inheritance? If your faith feels more inherited than personal, what would it look like to make it your own?
Think of one person in your life right now who is spinning between outward authorities that have failed them and an inward voice that isn't reliable. What would it look like to share your story with them, not to argue, just to tell what happened to you?
The sermon says truth is a person, not a concept, and that's why it must be personally encountered, not just intellectually agreed to. What's the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus? Where do you land on that spectrum right now?
Pilate stood face to face with Jesus, asked, "What is truth?" and then handed him over. The sermon says: don't be Pilate. Is there any way you've been holding truth at arm's length, curious, even respectful, but not willing to be changed by it? What would it look like to stop managing it and just let it find you?

Related Messages in This Series

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Pastor David Hancock is the Lead Pastor of The Grove Church in Port St. Lucie, FL, a church where believers and skeptics wrestle honestly with faith and doubt.

Wrestling with a question this raised? You can text in your question on any Sunday and hear it answered after the sermon. Or come sit with people asking the same things. Plan Your Visit

Read the full sermon manuscript

Everyone is trying to figure out what is true about who God is, who we are, how we should live, and where all of this is heading. Often, people either look within themselves to find what is true, known as subjective truth, or outside of themselves, for some objective truth. There is great debate today about whether truth is objective or subjective. But if you examine your life you will find something else.

Most of us spend our lives oscillating between the two, inward and outward truth. We look inward when outward authorities like our parents, the church, or the culture let us down. We look outward when our inner voice doesn't give us the life we want. What is clear is that we don't really know where to look. Why is it so hard to find truth? Today we learn truth is hard to find, because the big truths about God can't be found. These truths must find us.

We are in our series called Christian Freedom in the book of Galatians, and our aim is to remove the invisible chains that hold us and become not just free but fully alive. But that full life can't be found unless we find these big truths, otherwise we remain in a religious prison, unsure of our standing with God.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

The people in these verses aren't very different from us. They are confused about where to find truth about God, where this all leads, and how we get ourselves right with God. What got them so confused? The same thing that confuses us: competing truth claims from different authorities, and being unsure who to trust.

Paul started the church in Galatia when he brought this radical message of Christ. The word gospel doesn't mean advice but news. News that, as hard as it is to believe, God himself came into the world, gave his life, and rose to offer radical grace to undeserving sinners. A grace so radical that your record is wiped clean and you are clothed with the perfect record of Christ, and given a standing with God so high that you become a royal son or daughter of God.

But it was time for Paul to leave and start other churches in the surrounding region. When he left, a highly organized, persuasive, and winsome group called the Judaizers swooped in. And with them was a letter of recommendation from James, Jesus' half-brother and the leader of the Christian movement in Jerusalem.

Back then teachers would carry letters of recommendation with them, and if they were from the right people they would have immediate influence. They couldn't have a more powerful letter than one from James.

Immediately they are influential, and they say Paul is not to be trusted, his message is wrong. Yes, Jesus is Lord and King, but what He did for you at the cross and the empty grave wasn't enough. You must also keep the law of Moses. They probably said something like: do you really think salvation is by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone? Come on, salvation for all of eternity can't be that easy.

Who would they believe? Paul, who started the church, or the Judaizers who have the endorsement of James? How would they know who to believe?

This ancient problem still exists for us today. Where do we go to find truth?

Some trust in their parents, many just believe what the masses believe, others trust institutions like the church, or a persuasive teacher or theologian. These aren't bad things, but at some point we see holes in our parents' faith, we watch institutions drift from truths they once believed, or great teachers fail morally. This is what led to the popularization of deconstruction, where people begin to pull everything they once believed apart.

The common response after we have been let down like this is to look within. So we go out into the wilderness to get alone and look within us. We empty ourselves of every tradition and institution and try to follow our hearts to our own truth.

But eventually we find the inner voice is not a reliable guide to God. If it were, we wouldn't need Bibles or religious books, or teachers or traditions. There are some people today who would say, yes that's right, you don't need a religious book, you need to look within, and then they write religious books about how you don't need religious books.

Humanity is all over the place trying to find out where to find truth.

Paul's answer to the confusion we all feel is not to point to a better human authority or institution, and to my surprise, it wasn't even to point them to the Bible, but to his story. And in his story we find something disturbing about our pursuit of religious truth.

Let's look at his miraculous story. By the way, if you are skeptical, like I often am of the miraculous, I understand, but listen to his story. He will show you how to confirm his encounter with Jesus wasn't some hallucination.

He starts us at the beginning of his story.

He says he was advancing in Judaism beyond all his peers. Paul was sent by his family to train under Gamaliel, the best teacher in his day. He had the ancient version of a Harvard education. And he was a brilliant student, advancing beyond his peers. Everyone knew Paul was a rising star.

Paul joined the ranks of the Pharisees, a group highly committed to theology and the laws of the Bible. They did not care at all for this traveling teacher named Jesus who was claiming to be God in the flesh, so when He died, they probably thought the movement had ended, but instead it exploded.

Paul positioned himself as the antagonist to Christianity.

He was extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers. Zeal was not merely enthusiasm back then; it meant to live with a willingness to act forcefully, even violently, to defend truth if it was being violated.

And Paul did just that against Christianity.

He says he persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.

He traveled around hunting Christians, throwing them in prison. Imagine parents being ripped from the arms of their children.

It gets worse. Stephen, a Christian leader, was preaching, and for the truth claims he made about Jesus and his death, resurrection, and path to grace, Paul ordered his execution.

Paul was convinced he was serving God. Why wouldn't he? He had the full weight of the institutional religious authority behind him, even letters from the high priest, the most important religious title of the day.

Paul is telling this part of his story to help us and the Galatians understand that just because you believe in something with all your might doesn't make it true. Sincerity is not the same as truth. Paul, like many people through history, did some horrible things in the name of his religion.

Then Paul points to his miraculous encounter with Jesus.

Paul was on his way to a city called Damascus with letters from the high priest that gave him authority to arrest Christians and probably do worse if needed.

But on his way a light shone on the road so bright that it blinded him. Then he heard a voice. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He says, Lord, who are you? It is Jesus whom you are persecuting.

There, blind in the dark, he discovers the light of truth, and everything he built his life on just collapsed in a blinding light. The system he trusted led him there. The inner voice that told him he was doing God's work led him there.

Can you imagine the highlight reel playing through Paul's mind? Ripping Jesus' followers from their children. Executing a leader of Jesus' movement.

What would happen to Paul? What would God do to him?

The text says, but when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me.

The key word is reveal. Paul says the gospel, this truth about Jesus, he didn't learn from any man, nor receive from man.

How did he receive it? Through a revelation.

A revelation of Christ. God was pleased to reveal his Son to me. The word reveal implies something was covered, like a mystery, that has just been uncovered.

It's where we get the idea of, I was blind, but now I see. Truth isn't something we find; it's something God reveals to us in His timing.

Paul was blind to the truth about Jesus.

Look at this. Paul had all the access to the truth of scripture anyone could ask for. He had the best training about the truth of God. And he labored over studying the scriptures. But even with all of that, he missed the truth about Jesus that was under his nose for hours a day for years upon years. Scholars have identified hundreds of direct fulfillments the Old Testament had about Christ. And there are thousands of threads through the Bible that lead to Jesus.

But Paul couldn't see it. Why? Because we can't find the truth about God without God opening our eyes and showing us.

Paul didn't find truth; it found him.

God had to intervene for Paul. And it wasn't because of how great Paul was.

God set Paul apart before he was born and waited for the perfect moment to reveal himself, not because of how great Paul was, but all by grace.

So you see, you don't find truth in you, out there, or in here, but only when God, by grace, reveals it to you.

And this is humbling. Grace is humbling. That's why the scriptures keep saying the prideful can't find God. They won't admit they can't.

Then Paul, after pointing to his story on the road, does something strange. He gives them his travel log.

Why? There is a message in the travel log about what to do when you encounter the truth of Christ.

He says he didn't go and consult with Peter or James, the apostles before him, to get their approval of his experience. He went to Damascus, the place he was going to persecute, and meets a Christian man he probably intended to arrest, and that man prays for him and heals his blindness. Then he went to Arabia.

Almost certainly, Paul is having a wilderness moment to search the scriptures.

He is going to look for Jesus, to look for all the ways it was pointing to Him.

Then his tongue is set ablaze in Arabia, and he starts speaking of all the ways the scripture pointed to Christ.

And then he comes back to Damascus with his tongue on fire, and ironically, is eventually driven out of the city for preaching the message he came to destroy.

Then after three years, he went to visit Jerusalem to see Peter and James.

Notice something. Paul stops mid-story and swears an oath before God: in what I am writing you, before God, I do not lie. Do you know why he does this? The Judaizers claimed they should be listened to and not Paul, because they had letters of recommendation from James. Paul is saying, look, I met James, he knows my story, and didn't add anything to it.

It turns out that later they would find out the letter from James was a fake. Often people try to gain a following not for your sake but for theirs, to make a name for themselves. Be careful about the people you listen to; most want something from you that serves them.

After fifteen days with Peter, Paul goes to Syria and Cilicia for over ten years to teach the truth, from the scriptures, about the faith he once tried to destroy. He started in his hometown in Cilicia, where scholars say he was disowned by his family, and then to Antioch in Syria, where he would eventually, with his friend Barnabas, set up a hub for future church planting.

Ironically, this is where he probably received five times the forty lashings minus one, where it was said that forty lashings lead to death, so he got just one less. It was as if he were facing his old self in his persecutors.

Then news about Paul began to spread everywhere, that the one who once tried to destroy Christianity was now not only one of them, but the fiercest and most zealous preacher of the truth he was trying to destroy.

And they glorified God because of his story.

Why does Paul tell this story? To show us not only that truth must be revealed, but that it is revealed to all of us in a unique way. Does personal revelation of Christ mean truth is objective or subjective? The surprising answer we find is that there is one gospel, one objective truth, revealed in a subjective way to every Christian.

There is one gospel, but each of us has a different story of how God, in his perfect timing, reveals it to us by grace.

This unique story of yours is a parable of grace. A living parable of hope. It's your own personal encounter with the unchanging God.

You have a story, and Paul has a story.

Paul couldn't hold his story in. And guess what, he didn't have the right not to tell it. Why? It wasn't his story alone. It was God's story in his life.

The same is true for every Christian. Your story doesn't belong to you alone. It also belongs to God; you belong to Him. In a way it's more His story than yours. You have a choice to make. Tell your story or hide it.

Too many of you are hiding what God has done in your life. I don't know why.

Tell your story, God's story in your life, to the world.

It might cost you the approval of others, but once grace has revealed truth to you, like Paul, you aren't seeking that anymore.

And when you tell it, you will now have the honor of watching people worship God because of what He did in your life. What greater honor could there be? To see people worship God because of you.

That is the end result of truth revealed: the worship of God, because of your transformed life.

So how do you know if you have found truth? If you have found the right religion? How do you know if you are really a Christian?

Step one: ask yourself, have I been found by truth? You must experience the objective truth of the gospel finding you in a personal way. You must have your own encounter. Not everyone who grew up in church has had their own encounter. That is not an accusation, it's an invitation. Ask yourself honestly, is my faith built on revelation or on my parents' faith, my culture, my pastor's faith? It's not bad to have your faith passed down from someone, but it must become your own. If it hasn't, that is not a verdict but a starting point. The grace that found a man hunting the church of God can find you exactly where you are. If you haven't experienced Christ and want to, what do you do? Humble yourself before God and ask that he would be gracious to you and reveal the truth about Christ. You can't earn it; it must be received by faith.

Step two: confirm it with scripture. If you have had an encounter with Christ, confirm it like Paul did. Scripture itself is revelation. If your story cannot survive contact with scripture, it needs to be examined. And specifically, what are you looking for? What Paul looked for. All the ways the Old Testament was pointing to Jesus. He is everywhere; you just have to learn to see Him.

Step three: bring your story to the community. Peter and James didn't give Paul the revelation, Christ did, but genuine encounters get recognized by genuine communities. Tell us your story so we can encourage you about what God is doing in you, and so we can be encouraged by what God is doing in you.

Step four: tell it beyond the church. Your story has the capacity to travel like Paul's. In your workplace, your neighborhood, the friend who has been pulling down every institution, authority, and even their own thinking, but hasn't found anything solid. You don't need eloquence, you don't need a platform, you need your story, and so do they.

We have been saying that you can't find truth, it must find you. But that sounds so abstract and strange. How do we make this practical? How do we make sense of it?

In John 1 we learn that the Word of truth became flesh and dwelt among us, in Christ.

The Word of truth is not a concept, something an institution owns, a religious system, or a moral framework. It is a person.

And that's why truth must be experienced personally.

Christ, the truth, stepped out of eternity into time, into space, and came to be experienced often not in the high places, but the low.

The truth was born in a feed trough. He walked the roads of Galilee, sat with sinners, touched lepers, and was drawn to the outcasts.

A visual picture of truth among us, not because we earned it but because of God's grace.

Then Jesus, the truth among us, was arrested, put on trial, questioned, and stood before the highest authority, Pilate. Pilate didn't know what to make of Jesus. The crowd wanted him dead, but his wife had a dream about him, and she said have nothing to do with that man. What would he do with truth?

He handed Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, over to be put to death.

But that was the true plan before the foundation of the world. Why?

Because when Jesus entered the darkness of death, John 1 says that the darkness couldn't comprehend Him. It didn't understand the truth, and then that darkness couldn't overcome Him. He rose as the great light that came out of the darkness of death, revealed as the King of Heaven, the Son of God, come in grace to make us sons and daughters of the living God, who can walk forever in the light of life, not because we earned it, but because it was the good pleasure of God, by grace, to reveal this to us.

Don't be like Pilate and hand over the truth of Christ. Embrace Him, and let truth be revealed and embrace you, and tell that story, and watch as the world glorifies God as you tell it.