1 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:12,000 Well, good morning, Englewood. Take your Bibles, if you will, 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:16,840 and turn to Acts Chapter 15. For those who are guests this 3 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,000 morning, let me make just a couple of words of announcement 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,800 to you. And also just to let you know 5 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:25,560 that we're in the middle of our missions month. 6 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:30,040 So I feel like almost that I'm giving a travel log this 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:34,880 morning, but I really do want us to see the entirety of a 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,280 missionary journey so that we can understand from beginning to 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:42,520 end what all Paul went through. There are many times that we 10 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,840 would take a bit or a piece of it, but this morning we're going 11 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,280 to try to approach this a different way later this month. 12 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,240 We've got a couple of special guests coming on the 23rd and 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:53,600 30th. You don't want to miss these 14 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,960 guys. These are dear friends of mine. 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,120 And one of them was a radical Muslim who was led to Christ. 16 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,520 It became a pastor. Both of these men have been 17 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,040 arrested for their faith, which is an interesting story. 18 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,600 And they want to testify. And so the other one is, I 19 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,000 believe he's still 93. He's a legend of our 20 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:17,440 international mission service and he and I have served much 21 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:18,640 together. So you're going to want to, 22 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:19,920 you're not going to miss these guys. 23 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:22,520 You want to be here these last, the last two Sundays of the 24 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,640 month for sure. Also, you can still sign up for 25 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,840 2026 mission trips. There's a poster if you go out 26 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,360 the worship center, go right, you'll see two glass display 27 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,320 cases. There's a poster that has all 28 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:38,520 the QR codes on one poster now and you can still sign up. 29 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,560 We've had well over 200 people expressed interest in our 30 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,320 mission trips for 2026 and my hope is to see about 300. 31 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:50,160 So that so keep on signing up so that we're and we're going to 32 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,720 have the dates for those things revealed here in the next week 33 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:54,960 or so. So that'll help you as well. 34 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,000 So it's not too late. You're not, you're not 35 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000 committing yourself to anything by signing up. 36 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:01,960 You're just saying I want to know more. 37 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,240 So we appreciate you doing that. And then also just the members, 38 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,000 forgive me for a moment. Guess budgets and happy birthday 39 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,680 Jesus offering information and goals will be coming your way 40 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,160 here very soon. And I'm actually we're going to 41 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,120 do something a little different this year, which shouldn't 42 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,680 surprise you. I'm here so things are always a 43 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,720 little different. But on December 7th, that Sunday 44 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:25,800 night at six, we're going to have a special town hall 45 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,600 meeting. I want to talk about the 46 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,680 strategy for stewardship, why certain decisions were made, and 47 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,600 also talk about the future of giving and how we want to give 48 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,280 to the and support the general budget. 49 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,440 I need to start teaching you about several important things 50 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,280 that I've been told you haven't heard as much about that I wish 51 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,080 you had. And that one of those things is 52 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,680 the cooperative program whereby just giving to our general 53 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,640 budget, you're supporting 10s of thousands of missionaries all 54 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:55,240 around the world as well as disaster relief, theological 55 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,000 education. It's a big deal. 56 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,240 Some of you know that very well. Some of you don't know anything 57 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,240 that I just said. And so we'll be talking more 58 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,840 about that as well as who Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong are and 59 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:08,320 some other things. So I'm going to be talking about 60 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,880 our strategy for stewardship for 2026. 61 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:13,320 You'll want to come and be a part of that. 62 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,600 I'm also just excited the fact that we have so much to cover 63 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:25,280 today. So so let's get started. 64 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,400 They told me that with this is a record number of slides in 65 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,680 recent years. So so buckle up. 66 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,400 We'll be done by 5. Hey, I got I got the first 67 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,680 service out sort of on time. Even I did better this week than 68 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,360 last week. So this see how this goes. 69 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,040 So last week again, we're in we're in our missions month. 70 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:47,160 If you're, if you're a guest, thank you so much for being 71 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:48,840 here. And I really do want to still 72 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,640 look at this overall trip. So last week we left Paul and 73 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,360 Barnabas back in Antioch. They were back from the first 74 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,320 trip and they were teaching and preaching and reporting to the 75 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,000 home church what was going on. They some opposition arise and 76 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,680 some questions arise because Gentiles were being saved and 77 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,840 some of the Jewish background believers thought, well, these 78 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,320 people need to become Jewish first before they can become 79 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,040 Christians. So they actually had to send 80 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,640 folks back to Jerusalem to the mother church to talk to the 81 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,000 apostles, including James, the brother of Jesus, to kind of 82 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,400 settle whether or not a person who's a non Jew can become a 83 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,520 Christian directly or they have to become a Jewish person first. 84 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,120 It was a big deal in those days and and and they wrote a letter 85 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,440 stating the results. And So what was exciting is as 86 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,880 they affirm salvation by grace through faith and that you don't 87 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,440 have to be Jewish first at a couple of things, they asked the 88 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:42,920 Gentile people and their Pagan backgrounds to observe. 89 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:44,360 And so this is really a big deal. 90 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,520 You might not think it's a big deal, but if you're a believer 91 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,320 and you're not from a Jewish background, this is a big deal. 92 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,960 And so I'm thankful for this. But there so there was joy and 93 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,200 excitement as they came back to Antioch and they report this and 94 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,440 now they recognize it's time for us to go and continue to go 95 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,520 fulfil the Great Commission. And so we want to participate in 96 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,360 missions with urgency and sacrifice. 97 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,160 One of our essentials of discipleship. 98 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,960 Acts chapter 13, verse 35. Buckle up, here we go. 99 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,160 So but Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch teaching and 100 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,600 preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. 101 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:22,760 And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and 102 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,400 visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of 103 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:27,800 the Lord and see how they are. So in other words, let's go 104 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,680 back, retrace our steps from the first trip and go see everybody 105 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,000 and, and, and talk about. So today what we're really 106 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,000 talking about is strengthening the church. 107 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,440 How can we strengthen the church because church planting is not 108 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:42,240 simply about starting the church. 109 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,760 Church planting is also how do you nurture that new church. 110 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,520 In fact, that's what my doctoral dissertation is about, not about 111 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,760 how do you plan it, but then what Jonathan Taylor talking 112 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,600 about and I talking about those kinds of things over in Tarboro. 113 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:57,240 So here's Paul and Barnabas. They're like family. 114 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,040 They're best buddies. They've been colleagues, They've 115 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,480 been been Co workers on the trips and it's time to plan 116 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:04,560 their next mission trip. I mean, how exciting. 117 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,440 Everything's going well. What in the world could possibly 118 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:14,400 go wrong? Verse 37 Now Barnabas wanted to 119 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,040 take with them John called Mark, but Paul thought best not to 120 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,160 take with them one who had withdrawn from them and 121 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,320 Pamphylia, and had not gone with with them to the work. 122 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,760 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they 123 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,720 separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and 124 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,080 sailed to Cypress. But Paul chose Silas and 125 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,440 departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of 126 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:35,680 the Lord. And he went through Syria and 127 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,760 Cilicia strengthening the churches. 128 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,400 So to fill to fulfill God's mission to strengthen the 129 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,960 churches, sometimes change might be necessary. 130 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,120 So the first thing we're going to see is we're going to see a 131 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,560 new strategies defined. And it was born out of crisis. 132 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,200 So John Mark Bonner, Bruce's cousin, went with him on the 133 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,040 first trip for a while when things got tough, he ran home 134 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,480 and and kind of abandoned the the mission. 135 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:04,720 And it was not perceived in a positive way by Paul. 136 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,400 And so Paul knew that they were going to go back to some of the 137 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,160 same difficult areas where they've been persecuted before. 138 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,120 And so could a man who abandoned the mission the first time be 139 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,600 trusted to hang in there if he if they brought him again? 140 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,760 But Barnabas, the encourager, obviously, and also the 141 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,040 relative, believed in giving Mark a second chance. 142 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:28,040 For Paul, the mission was too great or too important to risk. 143 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,360 For Barnabas, the people were too important to risk. 144 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:35,160 In fact, in verse 37, that verb wanted different translation. 145 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,120 I have a different verb there. It actually means that Barnabas 146 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:39,920 won't let it go. He keeps bringing it up. 147 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,040 You ever had an argument or a conversation with that person? 148 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,600 They just won't let it go. That's what's going on. 149 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,120 All right. So eventually it leads to a 150 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,840 sharp disagreement. That's a passionate emotional 151 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,920 argument with one another. In fact, there's a medical term 152 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,400 related to this wording that refers to the spasms you have 153 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:01,840 during a seizure. So in other words, they're 154 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:06,160 they're spazzing each other out. And so the only other time this 155 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,080 word's used is in Hebrews 10, when we're told in a positive 156 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,360 way to provoke one another to good works. 157 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,720 So we're actually to, to, to seize one another and provoke 158 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:16,520 one another to actually do the right things. 159 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,720 And so I'm going to cause all of y'all to have a spasm before 160 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,480 this one's over. So, so it might not have been 161 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,200 the best way to handle it. We see these two brothers having 162 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,400 a sharp disagreement. But it's also interesting 163 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,280 because no sin is ever indicated. 164 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:36,120 And so sometimes not all agreements are one person being 165 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:37,840 right and another person being wrong. 166 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,760 Sometimes there can be strong different opinions. 167 00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:43,120 So your heart kind of goes with Barnabas. 168 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,160 Your head might kind of go with Paul. 169 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:51,280 And and so finding an objective, respectful, patient Ave. of 170 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,600 communication that actually results in compromise or 171 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,520 agreement is so very rare in our culture today. 172 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,120 So rare in our current culture where it's more normal to lash 173 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:07,400 out in anger, lack of trust, poor motive, attribution and 174 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:09,400 blame. And sometimes that's even true 175 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,960 in the church. And so sometimes Christian 176 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:14,560 brothers have to go in separate directions. 177 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:16,520 Sometimes that happens for a while. 178 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,360 And, and, and, and, and their separation and how they 179 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:23,280 separated actually mattered. So the way they split up 180 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:24,720 mattered. It can leave scars. 181 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,960 It can leave heartache. It can leave bad testimonies. 182 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:31,960 And so God uses these two missionary teams instead of 1. 183 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,920 And he blesses both of them. And then later on we see 184 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,200 reconciliation. Paul even uses the ministry of 185 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,280 Barnabas as an illustration to the Corinthians. 186 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,560 Later. Listen to 1st Corinthians 9 it 187 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:45,360 says. Or is it only Barnabas and I who 188 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,080 have no right to refrain from working for a living? 189 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:50,000 No words. Barnabas is out there getting 190 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,120 after it. And Paul later famously names 191 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,000 Mark as a useful member of his team. 192 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:01,200 He does it in Philemon 24, but also in Colossians chapter 4, 193 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:05,240 where he where he says, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, 194 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,680 greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you 195 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:13,160 have received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him, 196 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,880 or even in Second Timothy 4. Luke alone is with me. 197 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,920 Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for 198 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,520 ministry. So we see this reconciliation 199 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:26,240 taking place later. In fact, most scholars believe 200 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:30,280 that Mark becomes very close to Peter and that the Holy Spirit 201 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,880 uses Mark to write the Gospel of Mark based upon the experiences 202 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:39,440 of the apostle Peter and Jesus. And so we see how useful this 203 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,800 becomes. So second chances are amazingly 204 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,800 healing in the hands of God's Amazing Grace. 205 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,640 And so instead Silas, who's a leader from Jerusalem, they met 206 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:51,920 when they went back there to deal with that issue and he 207 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:56,320 followed them back to Antioch. So Silas goes with Paul and 208 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:58,800 they're sent out to strengthen the churches. 209 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:03,680 Acts 16, verse one. Paul also came also to Derby 210 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:07,280 into Lystra, and a disciple was there named Timothy, the son of 211 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,600 a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a 212 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,160 Greek and he was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and 213 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,600 Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany 214 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,760 him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the 215 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,640 Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his 216 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,000 father was a Greek. As they went on their way 217 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,480 through the cities, they delivered to them for observance 218 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:27,840 the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and 219 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,600 elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were 220 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:35,560 strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily. 221 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,560 So the second thing we just see is as the mission continues, 222 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:41,520 more people are converted, more people are discipled. 223 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,200 That's what we want to see. So I'm so thankful for the 224 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,400 testimony of baptism this morning. 225 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,280 I'm so thankful for the way God continues to bless people and, 226 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,040 and, and to him be the glory. But it's just fascinating to 227 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,640 watch. We've already baptized almost 228 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,920 twice as many people as you did last year, and so it's very 229 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:03,080 exciting just to see people being led to the Lord and LED to 230 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,680 decision and LED to commitment. I also want you to know we have 231 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,440 over 40% more people in Connect groups. 232 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,200 You didn't think I'd fit that in today, did you? 233 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,320 We have over 40% more people in Connect groups than we did just 234 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,360 six months ago. And so I just want you to 235 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,400 understand that people are are being converted, people are 236 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,200 being discipled, right? I'm just excited about that and 237 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:27,640 just give God all the credit for that. 238 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,360 And so Paul had Timothy circumcised. 239 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,400 This was just a pragmatic contextualization issue so that 240 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:37,080 he would be welcomed in the synagogues, which was going to 241 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,600 be their their place to preach often because rabbinic law 242 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,400 taught that if a person had a Jewish mother and a Greek 243 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:46,960 father, he was still considered Jewish. 244 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,800 And so Timothy would have been an offence to the Jews that they 245 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,440 just didn't need to deal with. So they share the good news 246 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:56,320 about Gentiles becoming Christians. 247 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,880 And then that last verse, the churches grow quantity or 248 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,080 qualitatively. First they grow qualitatively, 249 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,240 they're strengthened in the faith, and then they also grow 250 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,360 quantitatively. The word strength in there is 251 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:16,880 often used for a, a, a, a young boy who's becoming a man and 252 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,240 he's turning baby fat into muscle. 253 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:22,440 That's what that word means. It's a interesting word. 254 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,720 In it, I'm turning my baby fat into muscle. 255 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:26,680 Now, as you get older in life, you kind of go the other 256 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:31,680 direction, but in but as a child, as a child, this is what 257 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:33,720 happens. So they're being strengthened 258 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:36,920 and the verbs are literally they are or were being strengthened 259 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:38,800 and they were increasing. In other words, it never, it 260 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:40,720 wasn't stopping. It wasn't an event. 261 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:42,880 This was a process. It was never ending. 262 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:45,720 This is continuous, continuously taking place. 263 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,440 And that's what we want to see. And you'll see this. 264 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:52,160 They're continuing to grow deeper and they're then they 265 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,440 continue to grow larger. And that's the proper order. 266 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:57,880 We always want that to be the proper order. 267 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,040 We've got to grow in quality. We've got to grow in our depth 268 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,760 of discipleship. Let that overflow into the 269 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,120 quantitative, evangelistic, and missions growth that we hope 270 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:09,680 that we'll see. Look at verse 6. 271 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,840 And they went to the region, region of Phrygia and Galatia, 272 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,680 having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in 273 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:19,760 Asia. And when they had come up to 274 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:22,920 Missia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of 275 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,160 Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Missia, they went 276 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:29,800 down to Troas. The third thing you need to see 277 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:35,280 is this. Sometimes God says no. 278 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:39,400 See, Paul wanted to go one way. He wanted to go deeper into 279 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:43,680 Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbid him and and the word means to be 280 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,400 cut off. Like think about chopping your 281 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,520 hair off. The Holy Spirit cuts him off, 282 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,240 clips him. And they walked so closely with 283 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:54,080 God, they were able to perceive this from the Lord and they 284 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,840 recognize God's sovereignty and they obey him. 285 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,360 And, and, and you got to just follow this for a minute. 286 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:05,240 Sometimes God wants us to stop doing something or to do 287 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,640 something in a new and different way. 288 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,880 When God closes the door we wanted to enter and we when we 289 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,400 don't get to do what we want to do the way we want to do it, we 290 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:20,560 often just see this as a bad thing, when in fact it might be 291 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:25,760 Him redirecting our lives in the best possible way and the way 292 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:29,440 that's truly needed. And that's when our faith needs 293 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,480 to be strong. That's when we need to stand 294 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,800 with Him, believe God is in control, believe God knows 295 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,360 better. Trust in God because He has 296 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,800 something better planned for us than we could have ever planned, 297 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:43,920 even when it doesn't seem that way. 298 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,320 And that's exactly the time to trust in Him. 299 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,080 So they go to Troas. Now, you just got to understand 300 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,720 Troas is a very unremarkable place on the edge of the ocean. 301 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:55,560 I mean, it's kind of the dead end. 302 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:57,440 It's kind of like a nowhere place. 303 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,680 And so they they find themselves in this dead end place. 304 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,800 And you would think, well, what in the world are we doing here? 305 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,000 But sometimes in life, when you think you've reached a dead end, 306 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,760 just hang on, because God might just have another door. 307 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,480 He's waiting to swing wide open, right? 308 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,920 And in those moments of unclear direction, in those moments of 309 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,280 fear, in those moments of disappointment, hang on because 310 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:23,520 he might just be bringing you to the remarkable. 311 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:28,000 So always remember, before God can use us, he might have to 312 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,480 stop us. He might have to change us. 313 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,520 William Carey wanted to go to Polynesia. 314 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,840 The great missionary wanted to go to Polynesia, but was sent to 315 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,360 India. David Livingstone, another great 316 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,400 missionary, he wanted to go to China, but he was sent to 317 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:45,680 Africa. Both of them making incredible 318 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:49,680 missions, history. So he got to open and close 319 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,000 opportunities according to his timing, and his timing is always 320 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,640 perfect. G Campbell Morgan once wrote, 321 00:16:55,640 --> 00:17:00,200 Oh, to go not where I may choose even by my love of the Lord, but 322 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,960 where I am driven by the Lord's command. 323 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:08,280 Circumstances of difficulty are opportunities for faith. 324 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:13,640 So wait upon the Lord to receive the remarkable. 325 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,880 Just watch. Look at verse 9. 326 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:21,920 And a vision appeared. So you, you need a vision from 327 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:23,240 the Lord. You need directions from the 328 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,200 Lord. Sometimes he might have to stop 329 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,599 you in your tracks. Sometimes he might have to put 330 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:30,640 you in a place you don't want to be in first in order to reveal 331 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,600 to you what you're supposed to do next. 332 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,360 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. 333 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,920 A man of Macedonia was standing there urging him and saying, 334 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:41,640 come over to Macedonia and help us. 335 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,720 And what Paul had seen the vision. 336 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,360 Immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that 337 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:50,200 God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 338 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,360 So the fourth thing you need to see is that the new visions 339 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:55,000 clarified. But before we can see the new 340 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:56,920 vision, sometimes he's got to stop the other one. 341 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,320 And so they must hear the gospel in Macedonia. 342 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:02,920 That's why we had to go through this. 343 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:07,160 That's why we ended up here. So so this really isn't about 344 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,000 us. It's about the Holy Spirit and 345 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,840 what he wants to do through US and in US and because of us. 346 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,640 And they went immediately. They were excited to get after 347 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:19,400 it. They were excited to do the will 348 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:21,800 of God. In fact, that word concluding 349 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,760 that God had called us. The word concluding means to put 350 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,160 together a jigsaw puzzle. I don't know about you all, but 351 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:32,400 but almost every Christmas my sweet wife and daughter buy one 352 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,200 of those thousand piece jigsaw puzzle things. 353 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:37,360 I want to throw them out the window. 354 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:40,080 I have. I have zero. 355 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:41,400 I mean zero. I mean you just got to 356 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,720 understand less than 0 tolerance for such things. 357 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,600 They're over there figuring out where the edges are and what why 358 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,480 that puppy looks just like the next puppy and the next puppy 359 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:59,320 and the next puppy. Talk about spasms. 360 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,120 But that's what that word means. So the picture becomes clear. 361 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:08,040 You got to go to Macedonia and you got to go now. 362 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,040 So they end up in a city. You'll know this name. 363 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,480 They end up in Philippi. And so in verse 13, and on the 364 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:19,440 Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the Riverside where we 365 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,040 were, where we suppose there was a place of prayer. 366 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,000 And we sat down and spoke to the women who had come, who had come 367 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,440 over. And one who heard us was a woman 368 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:31,440 named Lydia from the city of Theatyra, a seller of purple 369 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:33,320 goods, who was a worshipper of God. 370 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:36,560 The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by 371 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:38,920 Paul. And after she was baptized and 372 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,480 her household as well, she urged us, saying, If you have judged 373 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,000 me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. 374 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,640 And she prevailed upon us. Now, Philippi was settled by a 375 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,520 lot of Romans and a lot of former Roman military people. 376 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,080 It was an important economic and cultural place. 377 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:58,240 But they didn't have a synagogue. 378 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,640 And so whenever there was a city didn't have a synagogue, the 379 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,640 Jewish people, if they were there, would often meet in a 380 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,840 park or by the river or someplace that was easy to find. 381 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:07,080 And so that's what they're doing. 382 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,560 They're gathering in this place for teaching and prayer and so 383 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:12,800 people. So Paul shared with these 384 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,760 ladies, many of them were probably wives of Romans at this 385 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,920 point, frankly, including Lydia who imported this. 386 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,800 Expensive purple dye or cloth. That purple dye or cloth was 387 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,200 worth its weight in gold. So she was doing really well and 388 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,280 she saved. The Bible says the Lord opens 389 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:30,400 her heart and that's what He has to do. 390 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,800 The Holy Spirit has to illuminate your heart in order 391 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:35,840 to be saved. Some of you here this morning 392 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:37,480 might need that to happen right now. 393 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,080 You may have friends that you know out in this community that 394 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:44,880 you need that to happen to them. The good verse 16 as we were 395 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,520 going to the place of prayer, see everything ought to be going 396 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,240 great now people are being saved, everything's going along. 397 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,680 Guess what happens? We were met by a slave girl who 398 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,680 had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by 399 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,560 fortune telling. She followed Paul and us crying 400 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,480 out these men are servants of the most high God who proclaimed 401 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,880 to you the way of salvation and this she kept doing for many 402 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,360 days. This next part's always funny to 403 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,640 me. Paul, having become greatly 404 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,880 annoyed, turned and said to the Spirit, I command you in the 405 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,120 name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. 406 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,400 And it came out that very hour. So the fifth thing we need to 407 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,680 see is whenever the gospel is successful, the enemy is going 408 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,280 to attack. But let me tell you something, 409 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:32,720 friends, the enemy will lose. I've read the book. 410 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,480 And So what we see is as they ministered, the enemy shows up. 411 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,480 He always shows up. These superstition Romans love 412 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,080 these fortune tellers. They used them for war and they 413 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,000 used them for business. They love them. 414 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,080 This girl is, bless her heart, as demon possessed. 415 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,240 But it's also interesting because the demon knows who they 416 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,840 are, keeps following them, keeps shouting out. 417 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,480 And so Paul finally had had enough and he cast a demon out. 418 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,200 It's always interesting to me because demons have no trouble 419 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:04,720 believing who Jesus is, and demons have no trouble obeying 420 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:06,560 immediately the commands of Christ. 421 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,080 It's always interesting. Demons do that. 422 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,000 Men have trouble with that. Sometimes demons have a lot 423 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:17,360 better theology than we do. Verse 19 But when her owner saw 424 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:20,600 that their hope again was was gone, they seized Paul and Silas 425 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:22,880 and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 426 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,720 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, 427 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,240 These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 428 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,440 They have to take customs that are not lawful for us Romans to 429 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,280 accept our practice. The crowd joined in attacking 430 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,840 them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave 431 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:42,280 orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many 432 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,880 blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer 433 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,360 to keep them safely. Having received this order, he 434 00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:52,680 put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the 435 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,520 stocks. Now seeing their business run, 436 00:22:56,360 --> 00:22:58,640 they had them arrested. And since they couldn't bring 437 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,440 honest charges against them, they accused them of practices 438 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:05,040 that were dangerous to their belief system. 439 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:07,480 This, this story ought to start sounding familiar. 440 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,240 This story ought to sound familiar to our friends that we 441 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,160 know. And so, so a word used in verses 442 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,400 22 means they could have caused a riot. 443 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,080 So a mob. And they beat them, and they 444 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,240 would beat them with these big wooden rods. 445 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,480 That's what they used, and then they lock them up in prison, and 446 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,080 the inner prison place them in stocks again. 447 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:31,200 This should have been the end of them. 448 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:36,560 So much for the missionaries. Poor old Paul and Silas, We 449 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:43,200 never knew what happened to you. Verse 25 about midnight, Paul 450 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,760 and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God again. 451 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:47,520 This ought to sound pretty familiar. 452 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:50,880 And the prisoners were listening to them. 453 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:52,880 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the 454 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:54,960 foundations of the prison were shaken. 455 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,040 And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bonds 456 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,880 were unfastened. And when the jailer woke and saw 457 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,560 that the prison doors were open, he drew a sword and was about to 458 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,920 kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 459 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:08,160 But Paul cried with a loud voice. 460 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,040 Do not harm yourself, for we are all here. 461 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,960 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling 462 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,400 with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. 463 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,680 Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be 464 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,240 saved? And they said, Believe in the 465 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,040 Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. 466 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:26,920 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were 467 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,600 in his house. And he took them the same hour 468 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:31,320 of the night and washed their wounds. 469 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,200 And he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 470 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,880 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. 471 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,200 And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he 472 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:45,160 believed in God. Now, listen, you got to really 473 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,080 put yourself in this spot for a second. 474 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:50,000 These guys are all bruised and battered. 475 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:52,360 They just been beaten with wooden rods. 476 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,720 I mean, it would have been so easy for Paul to say, see, God 477 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:00,560 told you we should have gone to Asia. 478 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,400 This can't be right. I obey. 479 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,960 I do everything you tell me, and this is what I get. 480 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:20,440 But instead, they prayed, they praised, they sang, they 481 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:22,920 testified to God and to the other prisoners. 482 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:26,400 It ought to remind you of our friends. 483 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,280 And right when you think you have reached a dead end, hang 484 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,760 on, because God might just have a door. 485 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,160 He's ready to swing wide open when there are no options. 486 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:40,080 You think you're all shackled up in your confusion, your fear, 487 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,840 your doubt, your unbelief, your unclear direction, your 488 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,240 disappointments. Hang on, cuz he might just be 489 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:51,520 shaking out the remarkable. The foundation of your prison 490 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,640 can be shaken. Locked doors can swing open. 491 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,960 Chains that have bound fall off. That is our sovereign, gracious 492 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,360 God of deliverance. Paul says we're all here. 493 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:05,160 We're all here. The other prisoners had 494 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:06,720 witnessed all this too. Don't forget that. 495 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,120 They saw all this. They they saw what was going on. 496 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:14,000 Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 497 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,600 The most vital question you'll ever ask. 498 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,760 Some of you in this room might need to ask that question right 499 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:20,960 now. What do I need to do to be 500 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:23,960 really saved? What do I need to do to really 501 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,360 trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior? 502 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,480 Because the only answer is Jesus. 503 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:31,640 So they followed up with discipleship. 504 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,080 The whole family saved. The whole family is baptized. 505 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:35,840 It's interesting. They start the night as 506 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,320 prisoners and end up the night in fellowship as brothers and 507 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,880 sisters in Christ. Only by God's remarkable 508 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,160 conquering grace can something like that happen. 509 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,880 Look at verse 35. But when it was day, the 510 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,760 magistrates sent the police saying, let those men go. 511 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:53,440 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, the 512 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,560 magistrates have sent to let you go, therefore come out now and 513 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,880 go in peace. But Paul said to them, They've 514 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,480 beaten us publicly uncondemned men who are Roman citizens and 515 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,040 have thrown us into prison. And do they now throw us out 516 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,360 secretly? No, let them come themselves and 517 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:11,480 take us out. The police reported these words 518 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:13,720 to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that 519 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:16,880 they were Roman citizens, so they came and apologized to 520 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,880 them, and they took them out and asked them to leave the city so 521 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,200 that they went out of the prison and they visited Lydia. 522 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:26,120 And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them 523 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,800 and departed. Paul used this opportunity to 524 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,320 show them their own wrong, that they had violated their own 525 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,560 laws. And he also did this to protect 526 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:41,400 the believers that they'd leave behind when they left because 527 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,080 they wanted to strengthen those believers, which they did before 528 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:46,960 leaving. My suggestion to those of you 529 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,120 who understand the story that's going on with our friends 530 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:52,640 overseas is that before you go to bed tonight, pray. 531 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:56,080 And when you wake up in the morning, pray because the timing 532 00:27:56,080 --> 00:28:01,040 at that point of what they're facing in there tomorrow will be 533 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,200 about right. And my prayer is, is it before 534 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:06,880 it's over? They owe our friends an apology. 535 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,960 Acts chapter 17, verse one. Now when they had passed through 536 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,880 Amphibolis and Apple, that's hard to say by the way, and 537 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,360 Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a 538 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:24,520 synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his 539 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,800 custom, And on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from 540 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,640 the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary 541 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:34,320 for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying 542 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,880 This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ. 543 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,560 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as as 544 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,920 did a great many of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the 545 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:45,320 leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and 546 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,480 taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set 547 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,160 the city in an uproar, and attacked the House of Jason, 548 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:52,760 seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 549 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,400 But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and 550 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,680 some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting. 551 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,400 These men who have turned the world upside down have come here 552 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,320 also and Jason has received them and they are all acting against 553 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,640 the decrees of Caesar, saying that there's another king Jesus. 554 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,440 And the people in the city authorities were disturbed when 555 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,120 they heard these things. And when they had taken taken 556 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,040 money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 557 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:20,160 Here's what's funny or interesting. 558 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:24,560 So Paul, who had been beaten by these wooden rods, thrown in 559 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:29,520 jail, didn't sleep, basically walked about 100 miles over the 560 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:33,880 next three days. Now it makes me wonder, how 561 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,920 enthusiastic am I about God's mission? 562 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:44,000 What trip would I go on? How far would I travel to? 563 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,040 What links would I go to fulfill the Great Commission, to 564 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,960 participate in missions with urgency and sacrifice? 565 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,080 So Paul's led the Thessalonica. You ought to know some of you, 566 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,000 that city. He'll write to them later. 567 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,160 He follows his normal pattern, preaches in the synagogue for 568 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,360 several weeks. He reasoned with them, explained 569 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:05,240 to them and demonstrated the gospel. 570 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,240 People believed. They become the the nucleus of 571 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:10,840 that church that he'll write later. 572 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,000 Now, others don't believe because that's always the case. 573 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,840 There's always going to be those who don't, who don't believe. 574 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,760 And so they gathered thugs. It says from the rabble. 575 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:22,880 Your translation might say from the market. 576 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,200 So they get thugs from the market to come cause trouble, 577 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:30,040 but they couldn't find Paul. So they drag us hosts out in 578 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:34,200 front of the local leaders and her accusations at them and and 579 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,360 this great line, these men who have turned the world upside 580 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,760 down have come here also. And since Paul and his team 581 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:45,480 weren't there, they could only charge bail or a bond and let 582 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:46,880 them go. Look at verse 10. 583 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,280 Their brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to 584 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:53,440 Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish 585 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,440 synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble 586 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,880 than those in Thessalonica, and they received the word with all 587 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,200 eagerness. Examine the examining the 588 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,400 Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 589 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,600 And many of them therefore believe with not a few Greek 590 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:10,840 women of high standing as well as men. 591 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,480 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the 592 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:17,040 word of God was proclaimed by Paul Berea also, they came there 593 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,400 too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 594 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:22,640 And then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his 595 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,880 way to the sea. But Silas and Timothy remained 596 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,880 there, and those who conducted Paul brought him as far as 597 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,600 Athens. And after receiving a command 598 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:35,000 for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they 599 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,800 departed. So they once again, normal 600 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,440 pattern, they're preaching in a synagogue, they listen. 601 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:43,600 These people are listening. They're more noble. 602 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:45,440 The word can kind of mean a higher class. 603 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,200 They're more noble. They're not just listening, 604 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,880 they're actually cross checking. They're making sure that what 605 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:51,440 these people are teaching are true. 606 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,960 You need to do that. Don't just listen. 607 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:59,280 Study the word, understand the word for yourself. 608 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:03,120 In fact, in the upcoming podcast that we're doing and our midweek 609 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:06,040 study in January, we're going to start talking about how do we 610 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:09,120 engage the Bible? How can I have the best personal 611 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:11,720 Bible study? How can I teach others what the 612 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,040 Bible says? Doctor Danny Aiken is going to 613 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,520 join us on some podcast to help us with this, but we're also 614 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:18,560 going to be teaching this in our midweek time. 615 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:21,560 Now you need to come this Wednesday night in our personal 616 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,080 evangelism series. This Wednesday night is that 617 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:28,680 turning point where we lead that that conversation to Christ. 618 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,120 This is the big deal for a lot of people. 619 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:33,200 Be here Wednesday night with hundreds of other people. 620 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,280 So many people believed, including these prominent 621 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,080 citizens. But the enemy can't lose a 622 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:45,520 struggle that easily, and the Thessalonians can show up to 623 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:49,600 cause trouble. So Paul heads on while Silas and 624 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,480 Timothy actually stay put to face him, to defend the church, 625 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:55,800 to, to deal with the opposition's. 626 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,280 And God helps his people to conquer fears, to stand, to 627 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,480 serve. Because God wins and the enemy 628 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,360 loses. Always, always. 629 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:10,480 Look at verse 16. Now, while Paul was waiting for 630 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:14,680 them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw 631 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:19,000 that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue 632 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,040 with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace 633 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:24,800 every day with those who happen to be there. 634 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,880 The sixth thing I want us to see is that that darkness must be 635 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:33,120 confronted. We can't just sit back in our 636 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,200 world today. We've got to confront the 637 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,880 darkness. Paul was in the very epicenter 638 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,600 of Greek culture and Greek mythology and Pagan worship. 639 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:45,360 It was an ancient place of paganism, and it burdened him, 640 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,080 it provoked him, it agitated him when he saw that around him. 641 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:52,760 It's been said in history that in Athens it was easier to meet 642 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:57,080 a God than it was a person. They had more statues in Athens 643 00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:59,400 than all the rest of Greece combined. 644 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,640 You couldn't, you couldn't round a corner without a temple, 645 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:07,680 without seeing a Pagan God. And so as Paul sees that he's 646 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:10,080 provoked. This translation says he's 647 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:14,280 deeply distressed. He has a an emotional response 648 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:18,560 to what he sees. When you look at the world 649 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:23,280 around you and you look at your city, when you look at your 650 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:28,159 neighborhood, are you provoked by the darkness? 651 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,239 Does it burden you? Are you grieved by the darkness 652 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:37,120 that swirls around us? Someone, us, we must take a 653 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,080 stand. So once again goes to the 654 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,719 synagogue. He also goes to the market, 655 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:45,920 which is the center of community activity. 656 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,880 Look at verse 18. And some of the Epicurean and 657 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,440 Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. 658 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:56,760 And some said, what does this babbler wish to say? 659 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,240 Others said he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities 660 00:35:01,240 --> 00:35:04,240 because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 661 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:09,400 And they took him and brought him to the Erapagus, saying, May 662 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:13,120 we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 663 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:19,240 So Athens was not only the center of idolatry, but Athens 664 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:22,400 is also the center of Greek mythology and philosophy. 665 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:25,960 And the philosophers didn't actually believe in the old 666 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:28,400 system anymore. They felt like the, the old gods 667 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:30,280 were failing. They felt like the gods were too 668 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:32,680 distant or some of them thought they were too holy. 669 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,040 They, they, they had no interaction with humanity 670 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,080 anymore. So they were hopeless and they 671 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,880 were lost and, and no, and no matter what their own self 672 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,600 concepts, no matter how they might present themselves as 673 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,200 being intellectually elite, they were lost in their own 674 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:51,680 brilliance and sophistication. So they call Paul a babbler. 675 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,800 That word means a seed picker. And what it means is a person 676 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,000 who can't even pick the right seeds. 677 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:01,880 In other words, they they mix their seeds up. 678 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,160 And so when they plant you, you have radish, corn and you have 679 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:10,480 cucumber, cucumber, okra, everything's all mixed up. 680 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:13,880 And so he's mixing the seeds. So in other words, he's 681 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,720 confusing, he's not logical. And they bring him to a council 682 00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:20,160 that would hear new teachers and kind of judge whether they ought 683 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:23,400 to be censored or listened to. So Paul presents to them in a 684 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,440 very lengthy sermon. He presents to them the 685 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:29,280 judeo-christian worldview. But then he also goes right to 686 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:34,280 the gospel and he contextualizes the message to his audience. 687 00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:36,200 And, and, and it's very important. 688 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:40,120 He takes their familiar, what they're familiar with, and he 689 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,960 takes them to the unfamiliar. He starts with what they would 690 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:47,840 understand in their philosophy, takes them to the gospel. 691 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:50,880 That would be brand new to them and that's what we're talking 692 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:53,920 about doing. That's what you need to do this 693 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,920 mid this, this Wednesday night, we're going to come and talk 694 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:00,800 about how do I take my neighbor from something very familiar to 695 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,640 them, but lead them in a conversation to the gospel. 696 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:08,000 Very important time that you need to be here. 697 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:13,280 Look at verse 29. Being then God's offspring, we 698 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,800 ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or 699 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:19,000 silver or stone and image formed by the art and imagination of 700 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,560 man. The times of ignorance God 701 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:25,600 overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, 702 00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:29,120 because he is fixed today on which he will judge the world 703 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:32,200 and righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. 704 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:36,560 And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him 705 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:38,720 from the dead. So he zeroes in on Jesus. 706 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:44,360 So a God that cannot be seen was hard for these Greeks to 707 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:45,640 understand. I mean, everywhere you look, 708 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:48,080 there's a statue. Everywhere there's a look, 709 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:51,920 there's an image. So an unseen God that you can't 710 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,640 see, something like that was very weird to them, and it's 711 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:58,720 weird to our world today. Our world is just as spiritually 712 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:02,560 blind as these people were. They're blind to the gospel and 713 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:05,600 they're blind because they can't see God, so to speak. 714 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:09,440 So we need to understand them. We need to help them the best 715 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:12,520 way we can to move to a place where they can understand and 716 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:15,080 see God with the power of the Holy Spirit. 717 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:18,400 Look at verse 32. Now when they heard the 718 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:22,480 resurrection of the of the dead, they some mocked, but others 719 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,560 said we will hear you again about this. 720 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,120 So Paul went out from their midst, but some men joined him 721 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:32,680 and believed among whom also were Dionysius the the Arapogite 722 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:36,480 and a woman named Damaris and others with him. 723 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,160 So the idea of the resurrection was just too much for him, but 724 00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:43,160 God still saves. You never know what God will do 725 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:46,520 when this story is shared honestly, when his story is 726 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:50,840 shared faithfully with people. So let's wrap this up by going 727 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:57,000 to chapter 18 verse one. After this, Paul left Athens and 728 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:01,080 went to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila and a native of 729 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:05,320 Pontius, recently come recently come from Italy with his wife 730 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:07,800 Priscilla. Because Claudius had commanded 731 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:11,360 all the Jews to leave Rome and he went to see them, and because 732 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:13,920 he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for 733 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:17,520 they were tent makers by trade. And he reasoned in the 734 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:21,080 synagogue's every Sabbath and tried to persuade Jews and 735 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,520 Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived 736 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:26,040 from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word 737 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:29,960 testifying to the Jews that that the Christ was Jesus. 738 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:33,280 And when they had opposed and reviled him, he shook out his 739 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:36,880 garments and said, your blood be on our on your own heads. 740 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,480 I am innocent. From now on I will go to the 741 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,520 Gentiles. So the next thing we've got to 742 00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:45,120 see is that God's mission still must compel us. 743 00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:49,840 He travels to Corinth, now again a city you would recognize which 744 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,120 which again is full of Roman culture and worship. 745 00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:58,320 In fact, Corinth Corinth had a well known reputation in the 746 00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:00,120 ancient world for its immorality. 747 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:01,920 They actually made a verb out of it. 748 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:05,040 To Corinthianize was to be immoral. 749 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:09,280 It had a horrible reputation. So Paul meets this tent making 750 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:12,920 couple who become dear friends of his set up shop shop and once 751 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:14,280 again they're going to the synagogue. 752 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,880 Paul was compelled by the Spirit to preach the gospel. 753 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:22,480 He could not do this and and and was even rejected at times. 754 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,920 And so he would move on to those who were more receptive. 755 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,520 Look at verse 7. And he left there and went to 756 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:33,520 the House of a man named named Tidius Justice, a worshipper of 757 00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:36,200 God. His house was next door to the 758 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:38,080 synagogue. Now you see that he leaves the 759 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:40,920 synagogue, doesn't go very far, just goes next door. 760 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,600 And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord 761 00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:47,080 together with his entire household. 762 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,320 And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were 763 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,840 baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one 764 00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:55,640 night in a vision, do not be afraid, but go on speaking and 765 00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:59,720 do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you 766 00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:02,880 to harm you. For I have many in this city who 767 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:06,200 are my people. And he stayed a year and six 768 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:09,760 months teaching the word of God among them. 769 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:13,280 Listen to how God reassures him to keep on preaching. 770 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:17,560 I mean, it's empowering to be compelled by God to share his 771 00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:19,960 word. I have many people in this city. 772 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:23,960 I believe that about ours. I believe that about our area. 773 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,200 He already knew how many would be saved. 774 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:28,480 He knows how many are going to be saved here too. 775 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:31,960 So Paul stays there longer than he'd stayed anywhere else so 776 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:34,760 far. And the gospel succeeding. 777 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,680 So one last time, if the gospel succeeding, guess what? 778 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:45,560 The enemy is going to step up. Verse 12 But when Gallio, who 779 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:49,360 was pro counsel of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on 780 00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:52,840 Paul and brought before and brought him before the tribunal, 781 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:56,920 saying, This man is persuading people to worship God contrary 782 00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:00,320 to the law. But when Paul was about to open 783 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:03,640 his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If it were a matter of 784 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:07,360 wrongdoing or vicious crime or Jews, I would have a reason to 785 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:10,680 accept your complaint. But since it's a matter of of 786 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:14,760 questions about words and names in your own law, see to it 787 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:16,640 yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these 788 00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:18,560 things. And he drove them from the 789 00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:20,440 tribunal. And they all see. 790 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:23,840 So they all see Sothanes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat 791 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:27,320 him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to 792 00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:29,160 any of this. So they dragged Paul in front of 793 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:30,720 this Roman leader who could care less. 794 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:33,400 He could care less about any of it. 795 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,600 He didn't want to get involved in their religious squabbles and 796 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:39,240 so Paul's about to speak, but the Roman leader cuts him off 797 00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:42,040 and instead they turn on the Jewish leaders for causing such 798 00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:44,800 trouble and they beat this guy. It's interesting because later 799 00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:49,880 Paul mentions a sophones in his greeting to the church in 800 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:52,040 Corinth. I don't know if it's the same 801 00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:54,960 guy or not, but if it is, it'd be remarkable. 802 00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:58,120 He goes from being the accuser and the beaten leader of the 803 00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:01,040 synagogue to a brother in Christ, if that's who it is. 804 00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:03,840 Well, let's wrap this up, verse 18. 805 00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:07,640 After this Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of 806 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:09,400 the brothers and set sail for Syria. 807 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:12,920 And with him Priscilla and Aquila at Syncrea. 808 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:16,280 He had he had cut his hair for he was under a vow. 809 00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:19,480 And they came to Ephesus and he left them there. 810 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:21,840 But he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the 811 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:24,400 Jews. When they asked him to stay for 812 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:28,080 a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he 813 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,040 said, I will return to you if God wills. 814 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:34,000 And he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, 815 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:36,840 he went up and greeted the church and then went down to 816 00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:38,960 Antioch. And the last thing we see is 817 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:40,760 simply this. The mission continues. 818 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:43,640 It was time to go home. It was time to report. 819 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:48,000 So he takes a Nazaretic vow and cuts his hair, which is just a 820 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:53,680 pledge of full time service in this work of missions to the 821 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,560 Gentiles. They stopped in Ephesus, another 822 00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:58,880 well known place. God saw God work in the 823 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:01,600 synagogue and and then he actually goes to Jerusalem 824 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,640 before he goes home and he sees the apostles and greets them 825 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:07,360 there too before he heads on home. 826 00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:10,720 And the question as we talk about this story, I know it was 827 00:44:10,720 --> 00:44:13,760 a long thing and I know it might be complicated to you, but I 828 00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:17,840 wanted you to one time just to see it as a whole, easy to go 829 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:21,040 back and pick it apart. My concern is we might not 830 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:25,360 understand context, but to understand this as a whole and 831 00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:31,040 to recognize what all Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, all 832 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:35,760 these people went through. How flexible are you? 833 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:41,280 How flexible would you be in following God's mission? 834 00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:46,200 Is your faith strong enough to serve Him and persevere no 835 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:48,680 matter what? Would you praise Him even in the 836 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:52,320 hard times? Would you sing praises to Him at 837 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:58,200 midnight in a jail cell? Will you praise Him no matter 838 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:00,720 what happens to you? Are you provoked by, are you 839 00:45:00,720 --> 00:45:04,680 burdened by the darkness of this world around you? 840 00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:09,560 Will you contextualize and share the gospel to this world? 841 00:45:11,240 --> 00:45:13,680 Listen, I believe with all my heart God is opening new, 842 00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:17,440 remarkable doors to US. One of the reason we're going to 843 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:20,560 go to some new places in 2026 is because of this. 844 00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:24,560 And we're going to see God work in new places, in new ways, as 845 00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:27,760 well as some of the old ones. But it's time for us to gather 846 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:30,840 as one. We've got to do this together as 847 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:33,800 a church. A writer once said the reason 848 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:38,360 mountain climbers are tied together is to keep the sane 849 00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:47,420 ones from going home. We got a mountain of grace 850 00:45:47,420 --> 00:45:50,780 behind us. We got a mountain of mission 851 00:45:50,860 --> 00:45:54,540 ahead of us. We got to be roped together. 852 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,800 We got to be in this together. We need that encouragement. 853 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:03,560 We need a united strength of 1. So are you first of all bound to 854 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:06,000 Christ? Have you been saved? 855 00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:08,200 And then are you bound to one another? 856 00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:11,440 Are you a part of this church? Are you, are you serving? 857 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:14,520 Are you, are you 100% participation person? 858 00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:16,600 Are you in? Are you going to do this? 859 00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:20,960 Are you on board? So how bound to Christ are you? 860 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:24,240 How tightly are you bound to him and one another? 861 00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:26,680 Because frankly, my friends, it's time to tie up some loose 862 00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:29,040 ends. So let's do that, Father. 863 00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:33,280 Thank you. Thank you for your grace. 864 00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:38,640 Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, Father. 865 00:46:38,640 --> 00:46:41,760 We don't deserve any of that, Father. 866 00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:44,480 Thank you for the examples, the demonstration of these 867 00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:51,600 missionaries, the way you use them so powerfully, Father, even 868 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:59,320 in in great difficulty, even under great persecution, even 869 00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:02,480 when beaten, imprisoned, shackled. 870 00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:10,360 Now, Father, I just wonder how you could use us here in this 871 00:47:10,360 --> 00:47:14,440 place of freedom, here in this place of comfort. 872 00:47:15,280 --> 00:47:18,120 Maybe, Father, sometimes a place of apathy. 873 00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:22,360 Maybe we're too comfortable, maybe that's part of the 874 00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:25,760 problem. But Father, I pray that we will 875 00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:27,560 be bound together and bound to You. 876 00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:31,120 Now for some, that means salvation. 877 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,680 They need to be saved. They need to ask Jesus Christ 878 00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:36,760 into their heart to be the Lord and Savior. 879 00:47:37,240 --> 00:47:40,440 They know that's true right now. Father, help them to know that's 880 00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:43,320 true. Father, I pray your Holy Spirit 881 00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:46,480 would convince them. Illuminate their minds to that 882 00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:49,440 truth. Others need to take steps of 883 00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:53,320 commitment and service. For some, it might be baptism. 884 00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:55,560 For some, it might be church membership. 885 00:47:55,560 --> 00:47:57,600 For some, it might be a calling to missions. 886 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:00,960 They need to take that vow to say, I want to do this full 887 00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:02,600 time. This is what I'm called to do. 888 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:05,120 For others, they need to sign up for a trip. 889 00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:07,560 For others, they need to sign up to serve in one of our 890 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:10,760 ministries right here. For others, just like after the 891 00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:13,000 first service, they need to say, all right, I'm going to the 892 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:14,280 Connect group for the first time. 893 00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:17,320 Father, we need to be bound together. 894 00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:20,320 It's time to tie up loose ends so we can move forward. 895 00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:26,040 So Father, I pray that as we sing, people will commit and 896 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:28,440 they'll commit to you. So thank you for that in 897 00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:32,520 Christ's name, Amen. So as we stand together, our 898 00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:33,720 worship team is going to lead us. 899 00:48:33,720 --> 00:48:36,120 They'll have, we'll have some pastors here we'd love to visit 900 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:37,520 with you. You can just come and kneel at 901 00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:39,080 these steps and pray if you want to. 902 00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:42,600 There's also a room over there. We call that the Next Steps 903 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:44,560 Room. There are people in there who 904 00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:47,320 would just love to have a private conversation and prayer 905 00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:50,200 time with you. Whatever it is that you need to 906 00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:52,680 do in your life, whatever God's doing in your life, they just 907 00:48:52,680 --> 00:48:55,280 love to pray with you. They're going to visit with you 908 00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:57,840 and pray over you and help you to understand what God's doing. 909 00:48:57,840 --> 00:49:01,400 So let's stand together and let's worship and let's 910 00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:02,040 surrender.