This is the fourth and final message in Pastor Chuck Bernal's series, "UNCHAINED" (Breaking Free From The Pain, The Power And The Prison Of The Past). The message is titled, "MESSAGE - Sharing Your Story Is Powerful And LifeChanging". In this message Pastor Chuck talks about how God can turn our greatest problems into His greatest platform by using our stories to impact the lives of others. Only God can turn our mess into a message and our tests into our testimonies. God doesn't just want to set us free from the pain, the power and the prison of the past - He wants to use us to help others be set free as well. This message was delivered at LifePointe Church on Sunday, April 24, 2016.

1. THE BIBLE VERSES
THAT UNDERGIRD
THIS ENTIRE SERIES!

2. MASK + MOSAIC +
MERCY = MESSAGE

3. STEP 1:

4. To forget the past, you
first gotta remove the
mask!

5. STEP 2:

6. God can turn broken
pieces into
masterpieces!

7. STEP 3:

8. Forgiveness
is setting a prisoner
free only to find the
prisoner is me

9. STEP 4:

10. God can turn your
greatest problem into His
greatest platform

11. All praise to the God and Father of
our Master, Jesus the Messiah!
Father of all mercy! God of all
healing counsel! He comes
alongside us when we go through
hard times, and before you know it,

12. he brings us alongside someone
else who is going through hard
times so that we can be there
for that person just as God
was there for us.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – The Message)

13. God can turn our mess
into our message and our test
into our testimony!

14. TESTIMONY
Telling the truth about what
you saw, heard or
experienced. Describing
What happened to you

15. We cannot stop talking about
what we’ve seen and heard.
(Acts 4:20 – God’s Word)

16. MY HISTORY BECOMES
“HIS STORY”

17. God helps us through our pain
so that we can help others
through theirs!

18. What a wonderful God we
have—he is . . . the one who
so wonderfully comforts and
strengthens us in our hardships and
trials. And why does he do this?

19. So that when others are troubled,
needing our sympathy and
encouragement, we can pass on to
them this same help and comfort
God has given us.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – Living Bible)

20. PAUL’S HISTORY

21. Before he was “Paul” he was
“Saul” a first-century terrorist.
He was a religious zealot
intent on destroying anything
or anyone that was a threat
to Judaism.

22. He hated Christ and
Christians and was willing
to go to any lengths to keep
this belief from spreading,
including persecution
and murder.

23. He would stop at nothing
to eradicate this dangerous
teaching from taking hold.

24. And Saul was not only consenting
to Stephen’s death, he was pleased
and entirely approving. On that day
a great and severe persecution
broke out against the church
which was in Jerusalem;

25. and . . . Saul shamefully
treated and laid waste the church
continuously with cruelty
and violence;

26. entering house after house,
he dragged out men and women
and committed them to prison.
(Acts 8:1-3 – Amplified Bible)

27. PAUL’S HISTORY
BECOMES
“HIS STORY”

28. If anyone ever had reason to hope
that he could save himself, it would
be me. If others could be saved by
what they are, certainly I could . . .
Yes, so much so that I greatly
persecuted the Church . . .

29. But all these things that I once
thought very worthwhile—now I’ve
thrown them all away so that I can
put my trust and hope in
Christ alone.

30. Yes, everything else is worthless
when compared with the priceless
gain of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord . . . I am still not all
I should be,

31. but I am bringing all my energies to
bear on this one thing: Forgetting
the past and looking forward
to what lies ahead.
(Philippians 3: 4, 6-8, 13 – Living Bible)

32. Turning My Mess
Into My Message
Q & A With Edgar Gonzalez

33. YOUR HISTORY
BECOMES “HIS STORY”
THE MESSAGE
PRINCIPLES

34. MP 1: We are all
“messed up” it’s just
a matter of degrees!

35. MP 2: Because everyone
is a mess, everyone
has a message!

36. MP 3: God doesn’t cause
the mess in our lives,
but He can use it to
help others

37. It is God himself, in his mercy, who
has given us this wonderful work of
telling his Good News to others,
and so we never give up . . . We
stand in the presence of God as we
speak and so we tell the truth . . .

38. But this precious treasure—this light
and power that now shine within
us—is held in a perishable
container, that is, in our weak
bodies. Everyone can see that
the glorious power within must be
from God and is not our own.

39. We are pressed on every side by
troubles, but not crushed and
broken. We are perplexed because
we don’t know why things happen
as they do, but we don’t give up
and quit. We are hunted down,
but God never abandons us.

40. We get knocked down, but we get
up again and keep going . . . this
gives us constant opportunities
to show forth the power of Jesus
Christ . . . These sufferings of
ours are for your benefit.

41. And the more of you who are won
to Christ, the more there are to
thank him for his great kindness,
and the more the Lord is glorified.
That is why we never give up . . .

42. These troubles and sufferings of
ours are quite small and won’t last
very long . . . so we do not look
at what we can see right now . . .
but we look forward to the joys
in heaven . . .

43. The troubles will soon be over,
but the joys to come
will last forever.
(2 Corinthians 4:1-2, 7-9, 15-18 – Living Bible)

44. Turning Our Test
Into Our Testimony
Q & A With Adam & Sheha Joyner

45. MP 4: When your history
becomes “His Story” it can
impact others for God

46. Let’s Pray