<p style="text-align: left;"><b>Summary</b>:<br>After three years, Paul went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. During that visit, he saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. Paul then solemnly insists that what he is writing is not false.<br><br>Afterward, he traveled into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. Meanwhile, he remained personally unknown to the churches of Judea that were in Christ; they did not know him by face. They only kept hearing reports about him—namely, that the one who once persecuted them was now preaching the very faith he had once tried to destroy. Because of this change, they were glorifying God because of him.<br> <br><b>Teaching</b>:<br>“And they were glorifying God because of me.”<br>Do not forget that God is glorified through the transformation of one person. The essence of God receiving glory is that God is pleased. No matter how much we say “glory to God, glory to God,” if God is not pleased, it is not truly glory.<br>So what is it that God considers good? Why did Jesus become a man according to God’s will and offer Himself as the atoning sacrifice on the cross? It was to gain people—to save them.<br>What pleases God most is gaining people. Jesus, who died to gain us, gave us a calling: to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth and gain people.<br><br>Whatever our job is, whatever gifts or talents we have, we must live for the purpose of gaining people. We must be able to devote everything we have in order to gain people, and we must be able to deny everything we possess. When we are changed in this way, God receives glory and is pleased.<br><br><i>Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Feb 17, 2026</i><i><br></i><i>Galatians 1:18-24</i></p>
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