The Mercy of God: A Criminal Turned Pastor in Kazakhstan
- Preacher
- Paul Washer
- Tradition
- Baptist — Reformed
- Published
- Length
- 9:06
About this sermon
“I was lying in that stinking, damp prison. Nobody cared about me. And Jesus just pulled me out of that… God truly found me in the depth of my despair and saved me from death.” Once a convicted criminal in Kazakhstan, Bagid’s story vividly illustrates the mercy of God described in Ephesians 2:4-5: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ.” As a young man growing up in poverty, Bagid tried to improve his life through crime and theft. But by his third prison sentence, he was in utter despair. The burden of his crimes and the bleakness of his future overwhelmed him. Broken and empty, he contemplated suicide. However, a fellow prisoner told him of a way of escape from the shackles of his anguish. This fellow prisoner spoke of his Savior, Jesus Christ, who had lived, died, and risen again for sinners like Bagid. After praying, Bagid’s soul was flooded with joy as the mercy and grace of God overwhelmed him. Now, driven by the mercy and love of his Savior, Bagid serves as a passionate evangelist and pastor in his spiritually barren homeland. HeartCry seeks to advance the Great Commission by supporting missionaries, training missionaries, resourcing missionaries, planting churches, and then declaring God's great works to God's people. HeartCry Missionary Society: heartcrymissionary.com Watch more HeartCry Films: heartcryfilms.com
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