1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Inglewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning into our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:21,360 according to the Bible. Well, good morning, Inglewood. 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 Take your Bibles this morning. Turn to Acts chapter 5. 8 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:30,120 Be with you in a moment. Appreciate everybody being here. 9 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,880 Appreciate the kind words that you all have been sharing to me. 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,560 Appreciate the kind words about Wednesday nights, some of you 11 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,920 listening to the podcast, those of you who are working in 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,960 worship arts and also with our children, our preschool and our 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,520 students. Appreciate you tuning in. 14 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,360 People been telling me they were listening at the gym, listening 15 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,000 on the way to the beach, listening on job sites. 16 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,720 So appreciate that very much. Appreciate God using that. 17 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:01,280 So this Wednesday night, you need to be here. 18 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,520 We're we have hundreds of people who are gathering here live. 19 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,640 We also create a podcast. It's been pretty remarkable. 20 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,200 I'm going to talk about work this week and you say, well, I 21 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:14,200 don't want to talk about that, but I want you to understand 22 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,600 theology of work. I actually teach a class called 23 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,520 businesses missions where you use business as a platform for 24 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,320 missions work around the world. And, and I teach about the 25 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:26,760 theology of work, which is something goes all the way back 26 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:28,400 to Genesis. When you think about it, God 27 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:32,840 gave Adam and Eve a job to do. Work is a part of who we are. 28 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,600 And and that's not just about your career or your job. 29 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:38,880 And so if you're retired, just sit there and say this week's 30 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:40,600 not for me. Well, this week's especially for 31 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,600 you. So you need to be here. 32 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,560 So appreciate that. Also want to call attention to 33 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,840 the front of your worship guide. I don't do this every week and 34 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,360 so don't get mad at me when I don't do your special thing, but 35 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,760 I want to call attention to the Women's Gathering on June 12th. 36 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,000 You need to sign up for that. It's going to be a very special 37 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,000 time. I appreciate very much Pepper 38 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,440 Manning and her leadership and what she's doing with this event 39 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,560 to where she's actually going to talk about how do we host people 40 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,560 in our homes? How do we gather our friends and 41 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,039 neighbors so we can share the gospel with them, but also show 42 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:09,639 hospitality. It's going to be a wonderful 43 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,360 time of skill and and also of spiritual matters. 44 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:14,960 And so I pray that you'll be there. 45 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,040 My wife's going to go and she's going to share a part of that. 46 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:18,400 Several ladies are going to be sharing. 47 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:21,280 So sign up for that. You'll enjoy that and learn from 48 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:22,720 it, and I pray that you'll be a part of that. 49 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,640 Well, I don't know if you've been here for every part of this 50 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:27,200 study or not. We've been working through the 51 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:28,880 1st 13 chapters of the book of Acts. 52 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,560 You may be a guest this morning. Thank you for being here. 53 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,000 We're in Acts 5. We're picking up the story. 54 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,600 Satan has failed. Isn't that good? 55 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,240 Turn to your neighbor and say Satan fails. 56 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,760 Yeah, every time. Because he's a, he's a slimy 57 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:44,240 snake. He's going to burn forever in 58 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:45,640 the lake of fire. And I just like saying it out 59 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:48,640 loud. I figure some demon will report 60 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:51,760 that to him. I'll have a flat tire on my 61 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:52,840 truck now. But that's all right. 62 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:56,760 That's all right. It's worth it. 63 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:59,240 Satan failed in his attempt last week. 64 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,480 If you were here to silence the first Church, he's been doing 65 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:03,160 that. Remember, there's a reason why 66 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,320 I'm sharing these messages. But you got to also remember 67 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,520 this about our enemy. One thing about him is in his 68 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,880 his horde is that they never quit. 69 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,160 They never sleep, they never relent, they never give up, 70 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,680 which means we can't either. And I shared this story with 71 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,440 some of you who were at a certain service several weeks 72 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,280 ago. But bear with me for a moment as 73 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,160 I elaborate on it just a bit. So when I worked, and I've 74 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,720 shared about working on some cattle ranches in my life, but 75 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,120 in when I worked in this, this bull breeding business that we 76 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,520 were in in Central Texas where we were kind of raising these 77 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,440 purebred bulls, it was kind of like raising thoroughbred 78 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,480 horses. You had to always make sure that 79 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:42,560 you knew who the Mamas and the babies were to keep the 80 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,080 bloodlines together, if that makes sense. 81 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:46,800 And so I'll keep this short and brief for those who do not care 82 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,520 about this. But but one of the things that 83 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:51,640 you would do and one of the things that they had me do is I 84 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,560 lived out there and I'd do a lot of pin work with the cattle 85 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:56,720 because you had to do a lot of that with these purebred 86 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:58,360 animals. And one of the things you had to 87 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,240 do is what we call paring calves, where you'd separate the 88 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:02,760 Mama and the baby for a little bit. 89 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,520 And they don't like that the Mama doesn't like that the Mama 90 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:07,600 wants the baby to eat. And the babies are hungry and 91 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:09,320 they're crying and yelling all night long. 92 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:10,640 And I'm trying to sleep through all that. 93 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,480 And, and and then what you do is you live in one Mama at a time. 94 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,680 And they would go and only let their baby nurse. 95 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,640 And then you could mark the calf and you know which calf belong 96 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:22,120 to which mom. You with me so far. 97 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,960 Yeah. So guess who worked the gate? 98 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,520 Well, so in those days, because I've suffered from massive 99 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,640 physical reconfiguration in those days, I was actually an 100 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,520 athlete and very strong and one of the bigger people around 101 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,560 there. And so I would work the gate 102 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:38,880 because I kind of a football player type in those days. 103 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,000 And, and one of the things I learned about the gate is this 104 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,680 cows are stronger than you are. I don't care how strong you are 105 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,000 as a human being, a cow is stronger. 106 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,600 They have a mechanical strength is just stronger than you are. 107 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:54,320 And So what you had to do is you had to figure out a way to kind 108 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,920 of fool them and and help them. And, and you're the whole idea 109 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,440 is I open that gate just a little and I let one mom in. 110 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,800 Well, now there's forty of them who won in but and the Cavs are 111 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,760 trying to get out and the moms are trying to get in and you're 112 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,120 working the gate and you let one Mama in and you're slapping the 113 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:11,880 calves back behind. You get back away. 114 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,120 You have a little help and a little sometime. 115 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,760 But anyway, you let the Mama in. Here's what I learned about 116 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,400 working the gate while you were pairing calves. 117 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,680 Here's the moral of the story, because I know you don't care 118 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,160 about the cows. You can never let go. 119 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,720 You can never take your eyes off the gate. 120 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,040 You have to stay extremely. I can't look back and look at 121 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,760 the cute little babies. Can't do that. 122 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:35,800 They push right through. You got to. 123 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,600 You got to stand your ground. You got to, you got to defend 124 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,320 the gate. You got to hold that gate. 125 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,760 You can never take your hands off, never take your eyes off. 126 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,200 Full strength, everything. You got to hold that gate in 127 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,520 place. Gang, that's a church. 128 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,840 Because Satan will never stop. He'll never quit. 129 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,840 He's got an army who's against us, and he doesn't want us to 130 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:57,920 succeed. He does not want us to do what 131 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,720 God wants us to do. So he seeks to fracture, He 132 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,080 seeks to fragment, He seeks to create disunity. 133 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:08,480 So a healthy church requires an intentional, continuous focus to 134 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,840 come join the King's mission. And that's what we've been 135 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:12,920 studying about in the book of Acts. 136 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,400 So I pray you're truly hearing these messages. 137 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:16,640 I pray. Well, that's nice. 138 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:17,840 We're working through that. No, no, no. 139 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:21,240 There's a reason for this. It's no accident that I'm 140 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:25,120 teaching about the church as one, as the strength of unity 141 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,800 that you see over and over and over again in this early church. 142 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,520 It's not by chance that I'm preaching about the power 143 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,640 engagements between the Holy Spirit and Satan. 144 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,280 As Satan is trying to stop the early church, trying to stop the 145 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:37,800 spread of the gospel, Holy Spirit has to come in and save 146 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,280 him. He tries from the outside, and 147 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:43,040 then he tries from the inside. We're going to see him today. 148 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,600 He's going to try again from the outside because last week he 149 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,960 tried from the inside. You can see this pattern over 150 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,360 and over again as they fight over the church. 151 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:55,400 Now, if you were here last week, you'll know that great fear has 152 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,040 now come upon the church and the entire city because God killed 153 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,560 Ananias and Sapphira for lying about money. 154 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:04,360 That was last week. You missed that one. 155 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,880 You really missed a good one. You got to kill you if you lie 156 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:07,960 about your money. How's that? 157 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:13,040 There's the sum. Maybe, maybe not, but they lied 158 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:14,840 to God about it. That was the main thing. 159 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,600 They sin. But the Holy Spirit was just 160 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:19,280 getting started. He's just revving up. 161 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,960 He's just beginning to display his power in this in this 162 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,520 series. And and I believe he's doing the 163 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,520 same thing here at Inglewood. Please don't take for granted 164 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,680 what you just saw in that baptistry. 165 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,520 Please don't take for granted the testimony you just heard. 166 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,160 We've been baptizing every single week and that's not by 167 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,160 accident, that's not by force. We're very careful about who we 168 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,800 baptize here. We have conversations with them. 169 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,480 We have long conversations to make sure people understand. 170 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:55,160 But God's blessing, God's working and he, he's just 171 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,680 getting started here and we need to embrace that. 172 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,200 And, and, but we also means that we got to be on guard. 173 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,600 We got to be on guard and pay close attention because when He 174 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,360 chooses to work, you cannot stop God. 175 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,520 So let's see what He does in Acts chapter 5, starting in 176 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,000 verse 12. It's a great story. 177 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:16,720 It's fascinating to see what He does here. 178 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,520 Verse 12. Now, many signs and wonders were 179 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:20,800 regularly done. Don't miss that. 180 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:23,640 They're regularly being done among the people by the hands of 181 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:25,960 the apostles. And they were all together in 182 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:30,000 Solomon's portico. None of the rest dare join them, 183 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:32,400 but the people held them in high esteem. 184 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,880 And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord, 185 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:40,159 multitudes of both men and women. 186 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:43,000 Now the first thing we're going to see four things today. 187 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,360 The first thing I just want us to see is that the power of God 188 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,320 cannot be stopped. It's up to him. 189 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,600 He's going to choose to display his power. 190 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,360 He's going to choose to, to reveal that power. 191 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,200 And we see that the apostles were all together at the temple 192 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:57,800 again. They, they're there. 193 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,720 They're these are all Jewish background believers. 194 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,560 So the place where they go is the temple. 195 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:03,120 They know that place. That's the place. 196 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,000 And and yet others you'll see in this passage are afraid to join 197 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,440 them at this point, probably because of two things, probably 198 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,040 because of the persecution of the Jewish leaders, but also 199 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,920 because of what had happened to Ananias and Sephora. 200 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,520 So great fear was upon them. But it's also interesting in 201 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,840 this weird balance that they still hold them in high esteem. 202 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:23,760 They're still listening from afar. 203 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:27,280 It's interesting because church membership being a part of the 204 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:32,800 body has a high price and should have a high expectation. 205 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:36,520 We're going to be talking in the weeks to come in great detail, 206 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:42,120 great detail, huge detail about what does it mean to be a member 207 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,800 at Inglewood, What does it mean to be a true fruit producing, 208 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:48,960 reproducing, multiplying disciple of Jesus Christ? 209 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,880 When we talking about that a lot it, it, it, this must have a 210 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:54,800 high price. It must have high expectation. 211 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,640 But this movement also, if you notice, it's not going 212 00:09:57,640 --> 00:09:59,360 unnoticed. The Jews who are coming to the 213 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:01,240 worship at the temple, they're saying this. 214 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:03,120 I mean, there's thousands of people have been a part of this. 215 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:05,600 They've hearing about these stories and they're being 216 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,200 influenced. And so many people were 217 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,120 submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit and we're being 218 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,640 saved. Multitudes of them are added to 219 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,560 the church still, even in these scary times. 220 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,560 And one of the things that's interesting, and it may not seem 221 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:23,000 that interesting to you today, but you've got to understand in 222 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,200 this context, this is a big deal. 223 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:29,800 Luke mentions for the first time the specific salvation of women. 224 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,240 And this is a big deal because you need to understand the 225 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:38,800 inclusive nature of the gospel, especially in this Jewish world 226 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:40,960 where the religion tend to flow through the men. 227 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,360 And so now you're seeing women coming to know Christ, too. 228 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:45,600 They've been doing that the whole time. 229 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,800 But he calls attention to this in a special way because a woman 230 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,800 now has this incredible standing, personal standing 231 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,600 before God. It's a big deal because the Holy 232 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:56,480 Spirit's breaking through barrier after barrier. 233 00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:58,560 He's going to do this through the entire book of Acts, 234 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:01,840 including gender barriers. He's still doing that today 235 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,320 around the world. And then what's really 236 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:10,760 interesting too is we're seeing in chapter 5 answers to prayer. 237 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,600 They prayed back in chapter 4. And you may not make that 238 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:14,960 connection. You may not have been here. 239 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,640 So listen to this chapter 4, verse 29. 240 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:22,440 It says this is them praying. And now, Lord, look upon their 241 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,640 threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak 242 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:29,480 your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand 243 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,320 to heal. And signs and wonders are 244 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:35,680 performed through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. 245 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,760 So these signs and wonders had a very important purpose. 246 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,520 They were evidence to authenticate that Jesus really 247 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,640 was the Messiah and that the Holy Spirit really had come. 248 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:50,240 They didn't have the whole Bible yet. 249 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:51,760 They didn't have everything that we have. 250 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:55,000 And so they needed this this evidence, They needed this 251 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:59,440 testimony. They needed this authenticity 252 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,960 related to the reality of Christ and the Holy Spirit. 253 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,080 The writer of Hebrews comments on this. 254 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,760 In Hebrews chapter 2 he says, How shall we escape if we 255 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,960 neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the 256 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,080 Lord and then listen, and it was attested to us by those who 257 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,440 heard, in other words, the apostles, while God also bore 258 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:25,200 witness by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts 259 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,040 of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. 260 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,880 So these were testimonies, just like the testimony you heard of 261 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:34,560 a changed life in this baptistery. 262 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:37,800 But wait, just like that, not for the glory of man, but for 263 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:43,400 the validity and as a witness to God's mission and God's power. 264 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:45,720 And then healing was taking place. 265 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,680 Whether whether spiritual, physical, mental, relational, 266 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:50,440 they're all going to point to his power. 267 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,280 Look at verse 15. Look at how dramatic this gets. 268 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:58,640 So that they even carried out the sick into the streets and 269 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:03,040 laid them on cots and mats that as Peter came by, at least his 270 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,160 shadow might fall on some of them. 271 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,120 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, 272 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:13,000 bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, 273 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:17,240 and they were all healed. So it it must have been 274 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,600 difficult to even walk through the streets at times because 275 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,440 they would have been just cluttered by these cots in these 276 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:27,200 mats by by people who were sick. Now, now you understand there's 277 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,800 a part of the story that might not make sense to us today. 278 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:34,320 There was a Jewish superstition that taught that a person's 279 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:38,080 shadow represented them. So they were clamoring even to 280 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:42,960 be touched by Peter's shadow and people from all around Jerusalem 281 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,960 were being healed. They they needed proof. 282 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:49,720 They needed proof that Jesus was truly the Messiah. 283 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,640 And and they needed, they needed to understand that and to 284 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,440 receive healing from him, whether it was disease or demon. 285 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,360 And I wonder today, what do you need some of you? 286 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:07,000 What do you need to believe? What do you need to validate 287 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:12,040 that all this stuff we talk about Jesus is real, that he 288 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,600 really did die on the cross for you, He really did rise again, 289 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,840 That He really is the only one who can save you and He wants 290 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:21,000 to. What do you need to believe to 291 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,840 nail that down, to allow Him to heal you? 292 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:26,960 Because see, Satan wants to divide you. 293 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:28,960 Satan wanted to decrease the church. 294 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,360 Satan wanted to disgrace the early church. 295 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:35,080 But the church experiences complete triumph over his 296 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,480 attacks by the power of God. You can see the warfare going 297 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,800 on, but that never meant that the church wouldn't have 298 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,240 trouble. It doesn't mean that you won't 299 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,360 either. We don't get to avoid the storms 300 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,400 of this world. We just get to walk through them 301 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:54,360 and triumph now that we're going to have lessons that He wants us 302 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,840 to learn. But God cannot be stopped. 303 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,480 His mission will move forward, and it'll move forward 304 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,800 Inglewood, with or without us. God doesn't need us. 305 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:07,760 God doesn't need you. He wants you. 306 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,080 You got to understand that. You got to wrap your head around 307 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:14,280 that theology. He wants you to join Him. 308 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,080 He wants us to be a part of it. And that's why I believe I'm 309 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,040 here, because I believe that about what He's doing here and 310 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:23,480 what he's going to. He's just getting started here. 311 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,480 But now listen, just like clockwork, then God's working, 312 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,760 God's powers being displayed, God's missions moving forward. 313 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:35,200 So guess who steps in? Here He comes, the enemy, Satan 314 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,520 going to attack. That's what he does every time. 315 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:39,040 Got to keep your hands on the gate. 316 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:45,520 Look at verse 17. But there's that word book of 317 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:47,800 Acts, every time you see it, you know, there's contrast coming 318 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:52,480 something different. But the high priest rose up and 319 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:56,240 all who are with him, that is the party of the Sadducees and 320 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:00,400 filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put 321 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,360 them in the public prison. Don't miss that word public. 322 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,280 That word public is important. I'll show you in a minute. 323 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,160 So secondly thing, not only do we see this, the power of God 324 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,920 can't be, we're going to see that the obedient of God, those 325 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:12,880 who are obedient of God, they can't be stopped. 326 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,280 You can't stop obedient people. Just like in the previous 327 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,680 episode, in the earlier chapters, they're arrested again 328 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:24,400 by the Sanhedrin. If Satan can't win one way, 329 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,200 he'll try even harder. So Peter and John have broke, 330 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,760 they've broken the note testifying about Jesus rule that 331 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:33,440 they were given last time they were arrested. 332 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,320 So they arrested Peter and John, but this time you'll see there's 333 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,120 a plural, there's more apostles. So it's more than just Peter and 334 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:41,760 John this time. There's a group of them. 335 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,720 We don't know exactly which ones, but there's a group of 336 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,080 them and they round them all up and you can just hear them. 337 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,680 Let's stomp this out. Let's stop this for good. 338 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:53,240 And it says the Sanhedrin was filled with jealousy. 339 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,560 The word means zeal, zealous to stamp this out. 340 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:01,360 Jealous over their popularity, jealous over their rising power, 341 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,599 jealous over the competition. It was giving them fear of 342 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:06,520 losing our own position and power. 343 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:11,359 And they put them. They put them in the public jail 344 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:12,960 they're going to. The persecution is going to 345 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:14,560 intensify. They put them in the public. 346 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:15,760 That means everybody can see them. 347 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,720 It's an open jail where people can see you. 348 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,640 They want everybody to see it. And that's going to become 349 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:27,000 really ironic in a minute as this story continues because God 350 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,760 is hilarious. Verse 19. 351 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,440 But that word shows up a lot in this passage. 352 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:42,080 During the night, an Angel of the Lord opened the prison doors 353 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,600 and brought them out and said, go and stand in the temple and 354 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,000 speak to the people all the words of this life. 355 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,280 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at Daybreak 356 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:55,160 and began to teach. I want you to understand, I want 357 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:59,760 you to embrace, I want you to feel the total helplessness of 358 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:04,520 the Jewish leaders. God is in complete control. 359 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,080 And an Angel leads them out and commands them to go right back 360 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,320 to the same place, start preaching the same message for 361 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:13,680 what they've just been arrested for. 362 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,440 Go preach the gospel. And so they obeyed. 363 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:19,160 Notice this, they didn't. They go, What we gonna do when 364 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,760 an Angel opens your prison door, you go do what he tells you to. 365 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,120 They go and they preach. And they're at the early 366 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:26,880 morning, so there's big crowds coming. 367 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:29,600 Now, this is when the morning sacrifice at the temple's going 368 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:30,960 on. So there's a big crowd that'll 369 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:32,040 come. It's a good time. 370 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:34,920 But they had No Fear for their safety. 371 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:40,520 Their fear of God far outweighed their fear of men. 372 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,960 How about you, Inglewood? Who you afraid of? 373 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,040 What are you afraid of? Who do you fear? 374 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:51,200 Are we ready to obey no matter what? 375 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:53,960 Lottie Moon, a missionary to China. 376 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:55,920 Some of you know that name Will. Some of you've never heard it 377 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:57,760 before. She'd stand about right here. 378 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,920 This is 4 foot something. Maybe here. 379 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:11,840 She died while serving in China. Lottie Moon once said this. 380 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,680 She said I have a firm conviction that I am immortal 381 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:20,200 till my work is done. God's in control. 382 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,040 And here's another incredible irony of this story. 383 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:28,280 Don't miss this. Don't miss God's sovereignty and 384 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,240 and the fact that I'm telling you he is so funny because you 385 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,360 got to remember the Sadducees didn't even believe in angels. 386 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,800 God showed him the truth. God showed him that he was in 387 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:44,760 control. But meanwhile back in the 388 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:48,600 chamber, the council chamber, Verse 21 B. 389 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:52,120 Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, 390 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,120 they called together the council, all the Senate of the 391 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:57,160 people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought 392 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,560 out. But when the officers came, they 393 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,240 did not find them in the prison. So they returned and reported. 394 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:04,720 We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing 395 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,680 at the doors. But when we can't open them, we 396 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,760 found no one inside. Now when the captain of the 397 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:11,800 temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were 398 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:14,920 greatly perplexed about them. Wondering what this would come 399 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,000 to. And someone came and told them, 400 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,520 look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the 401 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,400 temple and teaching the people. Then the captain with the 402 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,720 officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were 403 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:29,840 afraid of being stoned by the people. 1st order of business, 404 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:33,840 call the Sanhedrin to order. Let's go get these lousy 405 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:35,560 Christian preachers and take care of them. 406 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,120 Let's fetch them out of the prison. 407 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:46,280 And there's a big oops, is the guards there, the doors locked, 408 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:50,680 but nobody to home, nobody there. 409 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,280 So hear the irony. Instead of stopping miracles, 410 00:20:55,920 --> 00:21:00,600 they actually enable one see. So the presence of these guards, 411 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:02,480 don't miss that either. Don't miss these details. 412 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:04,840 The presence of these guards actually authenticate the 413 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,600 reality of the miracle. It's amazing. 414 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:13,560 Finally, somebody shows up and reports to the apostles back 415 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,200 that these guys are that these apostles are back at the temple 416 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:17,480 again. These guys, you're right, 417 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:18,960 they're back there doing it again. 418 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,080 So this time note this, this is, I'm telling you, don't miss 419 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,360 this. The the captain himself has to 420 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:26,320 go. He's going to go to make sure 421 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,200 this is done the right way. There's no mistakes. 422 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,720 But then when he gets there, he has to ask him nicely because if 423 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:33,280 he doesn't, the people are going to stone him. 424 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,520 Who's afraid of what now done. Yes. 425 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,120 See the irony? So here's the Sanhedrin. 426 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,960 The most powerful man made authority of the Jewish people 427 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:48,360 completely in the hands of God, and they didn't even know it. 428 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:54,760 And my friends, so are you. Whether you believe in him, 429 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,920 whether you reject him, He still has you. 430 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,880 And he wants you to know him because he's in control. 431 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,600 And the only reason the apostles appeared before him this time is 432 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:08,920 because they were willing to do so. 433 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:11,360 They knew they were in the hands of God. 434 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:14,200 Corey Tenboom. And I've quoted Corey Tenboom 435 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,240 more at Inglewood than any other place in my entire life. 436 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:18,960 I don't know why that is, but but Corey Tenboom once said 437 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,600 this. She said there's nothing anybody 438 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,520 else can do to stop God from using us. 439 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,520 We can turn everything into a testimony. 440 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:30,720 In other words, it doesn't matter what anybody else does. 441 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:32,240 You can't stop me from serving God. 442 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,080 You can't stop me from obedience. 443 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,200 You can't stop me from doing what God wants. 444 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:41,200 We are the only ones who can stop ourselves because of our 445 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,320 disobedience. God can't be stopped, but He may 446 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,400 refuse to use us. He may be refused to bless us if 447 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:50,880 we're not walking closely with Him. 448 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,440 Inglewood, I'm begging with you to believe that we are in the 449 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:55,600 hands of God and that He wants to do something special, 450 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,160 something abnormal here or I wouldn't be here. 451 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,800 He's real and He has an amazing purpose for us and God's 452 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:05,960 mission. We'll move forward and I just 453 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,360 pray we join Him. Look at verse 27. 454 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,880 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council 455 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,800 and the high priest questioned them saying, we strictly charge 456 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,760 you not to teach in this name. Yet here you have filled 457 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,640 Jerusalem with your teaching. And then don't miss this last 458 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:22,840 phrase. It's really important. 459 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:27,960 And you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. 460 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,600 So the third, the, the, the third thing you need to see is 461 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:33,920 that the gospel of God cannot be stopped. 462 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:36,160 I want you to understand what's going on here. 463 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,040 The leaders try to protect themselves and they're trying to 464 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,400 protect their dead, their dead traditions and their and their 465 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:48,240 positions of, of pseudo power, while the apostles are willing 466 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:49,720 to risk their lives for the truth. 467 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,960 Don't miss the contract. Who's really on trial here? 468 00:23:56,120 --> 00:23:58,240 But the Sanhedrin, they bring 2 charges. 469 00:23:58,240 --> 00:23:59,520 Here are the two charges they bring. 470 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,120 First, you disobeyed the previous command not to teach 471 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:04,800 about Jesus. We told you not to do that. 472 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,440 You're out there doing that. Shame on you. 473 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:12,560 Second, Peter and John, we're trying to lay the guilt of the 474 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:16,400 blood of Jesus on them. So that phrase to bring this 475 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,840 man's blood upon us is an Old Testament expression for a 476 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,600 charge of murder according to their law. 477 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,280 And according to the law, it demanded the death penalty. 478 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,480 And So what the Sanhedrin is interpreting or saying is you 479 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:35,560 guys are trying to get us killed for, for our responsibility in 480 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,520 the death of Jesus Christ. Now notice there was no mention 481 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,760 of the miraculous escape. That would have been a little 482 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:45,840 too embarrassing. Don't know how you guys, 483 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:47,200 Houdini, did your way out of that. 484 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,840 We're not going to talk about that verse 29. 485 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:58,000 But Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God 486 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,640 rather than men. The God of our fathers raised 487 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,880 Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on the tree. 488 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,600 God exalted him at his right hand as leader and Savior to 489 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,440 give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 490 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,680 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy 491 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,000 Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. 492 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:19,880 Peter. And it's more than just John 493 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,080 now. It's the apostles. 494 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,280 They don't want the Sanhedrin killed. 495 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,080 They, they, they didn't want them to suffer the death 496 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,600 penalty. They, they wanted them saved, 497 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,560 not killed. It's amazing. 498 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:33,760 They preached the gospel to them. 499 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,560 They had, they had one sermon and they kept preaching the one 500 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,600 sermon, the gospel, the good news and, and friends, if you'll 501 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:43,480 bring people here, they'll hear that message too. 502 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,880 Or better yet, better yet, you tell them yourself. 503 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:52,000 Go ahead and tell them yourself and then bring them here and, 504 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,000 and let us hear the testimony in baptism and, and, and have them 505 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,280 join like we had that whole line of people join in church 506 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,920 membership. So the apostles call for 507 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,600 repentance and forgiveness. I mean, they're literally say 508 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,760 it's not even too late for you Sanhedrin, like I've said 509 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:13,520 before, but you got to respond to God's grace through faith and 510 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,200 you got to obey. But then here we go. 511 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:21,640 Here it all is verse 33. They all fell to their knees and 512 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,080 cried out serves what? What must we do to be saved? 513 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:28,880 And they were all saved that what the Bible says No, when 514 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:33,240 they heard this they were enraged strong word. 515 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:37,200 They wanted to kill them. This was too much. 516 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:41,160 Us, the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, the Sadducees need to 517 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,320 repent. How dare you? 518 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:46,880 They were furious. The, the word enraged means to 519 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:49,960 be sawn into. It's a very, very strong word. 520 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:52,320 And they called for the death penalty. 521 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:56,680 We want you dead. So again, one of the things you 522 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:58,880 always got to remember, and the book tells us this, not 523 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:00,720 everybody's going to believe what a tragedy. 524 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,280 People are going to go to hell forever. 525 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,680 That's a tragedy. I, I, I don't want anybody I 526 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,680 know doing that. I want them all in the throne 527 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,160 room with my friends from all around the world worshiping him, 528 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,520 people from every tribe, every tongue and every nation together 529 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:16,040 praising him. That's, that's where I want my 530 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,520 neighbors. That's where I want my friends. 531 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:24,520 But not all are going to make it so I'm going to reject. 532 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:26,080 Some are going to react negatively. 533 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,600 Some are going to act very negatively to the message I did 534 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,440 to it first, very negatively, violently, the one of the times 535 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:37,040 I heard the gospel. But that doesn't lessen our 536 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:42,840 responsibility, shouldn't lessen our love, doesn't change the 537 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,760 mission, and God won't forget our faithfulness. 538 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,120 So once again, the Holy Spirit has to step in. 539 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:52,760 Satan's raging got them all riled up. 540 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:56,000 Holy Spirit has to step in to win the battle. 541 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:59,760 This is what's going on in the book of Acts over and over and 542 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,320 over, because we're not in this by ourselves. 543 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:05,120 We're not in this by our own power or trusting in the power 544 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:07,000 of God. And he steps in, but he uses a 545 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,120 very unique vessel this time. Look at verse 34. 546 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:11,440 Very unique moment here. But a Pharisee. 547 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:16,880 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamilio, a teacher of the 548 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,360 law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders 549 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:21,000 to put the men outside for a little while. 550 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:23,840 And he said that the men of Israel take care of what you are 551 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:28,000 about to do with these men. For before these days Theodus 552 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:32,240 rose up claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about 400, 553 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,080 joined him, and he was killed. And all who followed him were 554 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,520 dispersed and came to nothing. And after him Judas the Galilean 555 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,120 rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the 556 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,200 people after him. He too perished, and all who 557 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:49,000 followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell 558 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,120 you, keep away from these men and let them alone. 559 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,960 For if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will 560 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,600 fail. But if it is of God, you will 561 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:02,400 not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing 562 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,880 God. So they took his advice. 563 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:10,600 Let me, let me just help you for a moment to understand who this 564 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,120 is. See, see the Pharisees and 565 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:16,000 Sadducees were different. The, the Pharisees believed in 566 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,520 the coming Messiah. They believed in the 567 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,400 resurrection. They believed in life after 568 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,080 death. But the Sadducees did not. 569 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,480 And so the Pharisees actually would not have been offended 570 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,080 quite as much by Peter's preaching, but the Pharisees 571 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,760 actually had an oral tradition where they could interpret the 572 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,280 written law. And this oral tradition is 573 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,360 called the Torah. And they would interpret the 574 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,720 law, which gave them a little more flexibility and they were a 575 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,160 little more open to change. But the Sadducees only accepted 576 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:43,160 the written law and were far more rigid, far more 577 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,840 conservative. And so a Pharisee from the 578 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,320 minority party steps in and calls for moderation. 579 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,720 But this guy, Gamilio the first is famous. 580 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,720 He's respected. He's even referred to often in 581 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,560 Jewish rabbinic literature. It's the Mishnah, which is a 582 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,680 written version of that. Oral tradition actually says 583 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,520 this. When Robin Gamilia the elder 584 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,840 died, the glory of the law ceased and purity and abstinence 585 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:13,680 died. He was very well respected. 586 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:17,680 He was the son or grandson of a very famous rabbi named Hillel 587 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:21,680 that Jesus himself would often quote, and he had great 588 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:23,600 influence. He was also the president or the 589 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:26,720 Nazi of the of the court. But here's what you know him 590 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,000 for. He had a student. 591 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:34,800 He had a pupil named Saul of Tarsus, the apostle Paul. 592 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,080 So he gives these two examples from Jewish history. 593 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,320 See, this wasn't the first time that a false Messiah or somebody 594 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,480 claiming to be in the Messiah had arose and risen up or, or, 595 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:46,880 or there were there were there were people who wanted 596 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,720 revolution against Rome or people who rebellious against 597 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:51,640 this or that. So these movements would come 598 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,280 and go and this court would see him and, and judge them often. 599 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:59,280 And so for them, this was just one of those which was part of 600 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,600 their problem. God wasn't in them and thus 601 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,800 didn't sustain them. He says God's going to work out 602 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,760 His will. A movement that has its backing 603 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:11,560 is going to prevail. Otherwise it will fail. 604 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,920 So leave them alone, lest you find yourself fighting God. 605 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,560 I wonder sometimes because of the history in your life, 606 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:23,720 because past experiences in your life, how many of you are 607 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,440 fighting God today? I really feel like some of you 608 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:29,680 are supposed to respond today. I've been feeling that all day. 609 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,120 I've been telling Charles that. It's been bugging me a little 610 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:34,680 bit today. Something's supposed to happen. 611 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,120 Maybe I'm not going to see it in the service, but maybe it's 612 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,040 going to come later. But somebody something and I 613 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:45,120 don't talk like this often, but what do you do in fighting God 614 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:50,760 based on your past, based on history something be careful. 615 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,320 Are you abiding in him and he and you so that you know what is 616 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:57,880 perfect will is for you and your life and so and so and so this 617 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:00,920 church can move together to bear fruit. 618 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,400 Well, look at verse 40. Look at verse 40 and when they 619 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,360 had called in the apostles, they beat them. 620 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,960 Don't miss that. It's 2 little words in it, but 621 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:12,360 it's going to mean a whole lot more than that. 622 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,520 Beat them and charge them not to speak in the name of Jesus and 623 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,240 let him go. So after his counsel, they beat 624 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:21,000 the apostles. This is not some minor thing. 625 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,800 Now this is not the same as the scourging that Jesus went 626 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:31,160 through, but this is a a flogging which would be 39 627 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,560 lashes save one. According to Deuteronomy chapter 628 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,960 25. They would only give 39 in case 629 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,200 they miscounted. So they wouldn't violate the law 630 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:41,200 because you couldn't go above 40. 631 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:47,120 And they used a triple strap of chalahyde and the victims would 632 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:50,720 be bare chested and kneeling and you got 2 lashes on the back for 633 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,720 every lash on the front. And this was not a small thing. 634 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:58,760 People died from this and they were ordered not to preach 635 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:05,200 anymore. Suffering may come, but God 636 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,800 can't be stopped. So they just quit. 637 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:10,960 The apostles gave up. Never hear from them again. 638 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:13,680 That's what happened. It's too hard. 639 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,280 It's too much. Didn't have my way. 640 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:18,680 Had to suffer for Jesus. I'm not doing that. 641 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:24,040 That's too uncomfortable. Didn't like the way the chairs 642 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:25,520 were arranged, didn't like the temperature. 643 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:27,600 I didn't like that song or something. 644 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,480 It's too hard. Too hard. 645 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,680 I quit. I'll go find a better show 646 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:38,880 somewhere else. Starting the middle now, aren't 647 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:42,280 I? But it's too hard. 648 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,720 Look at verse 41. Then they left the presence of 649 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:51,080 the Council. I'm not sure we can relate to 650 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:52,880 this next part. I'm not sure we can even 651 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,520 understand this next part. Rejoicing that they were counted 652 00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,160 worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 653 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,760 And every day in the temple and from house to house, they did 654 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,520 not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. 655 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:12,000 See #4 the mission of God cannot be stopped. 656 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:14,000 They could not be persuaded to stop. 657 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,560 They could not stop. They would not stop. 658 00:34:17,199 --> 00:34:21,600 Instead, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy enough to 659 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:23,920 suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ. 660 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,320 Again, I'm just not sure we can even relate to this. 661 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:29,880 I know people who are paralyzed when things in life don't go 662 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:31,520 exactly the way they want them to. 663 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,679 Are we worthy enough to even join the mission? 664 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,520 Are we worthy enough to be used by God? 665 00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:45,639 Is Inglewood worthy enough to obey even when it's hard for His 666 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:49,159 glory? Will we pay the price? 667 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:54,120 Because I promise you, the enemy, we'll be right at the 668 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,160 gate. He's going to press and he's 669 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:01,480 going to try. But the apostles didn't stop 670 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:03,480 their testimony. Not only did they do it in the 671 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:06,320 temple and they're now going house to house every day, not 672 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,440 Sundays, not just Wednesday nights, but every day. 673 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:16,520 Tell they weren't Baptist, they didn't cease, couldn't shut up. 674 00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:21,320 So what God calling you to do today? 675 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:27,600 If God's calling you to salvation, do not stop. 676 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,920 If God's calling you to baptism or church membership, do not 677 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:33,360 stop. If God's calling you to 678 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:36,040 volunteer to serve, do not stop. If you know you should join a 679 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,600 Connect group, do not stop. If God is calling you to 680 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:40,800 missions or ministry, do not stop. 681 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:46,080 Remember what the Latin says. Semper avante deos valente. 682 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:52,440 Semper avante deos Valente ever forward, if God wills. 683 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,840 We constantly press forward. The King has a mission in the 684 00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:00,600 plans of man and the plans of this world will not be able to 685 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,480 stop him. Satan will not be able to stop 686 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,160 him. And I believe with all my heart 687 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:09,360 God has a mission for Englewood Baptist Church and and he cannot 688 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:12,600 be stopped because He is God. He is real and you can be 689 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:14,520 certain of it. He changed their lives. 690 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:16,480 He changed the lives of multitudes. 691 00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,200 He changed mine and He can change yours. 692 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:21,920 He's been changing others all around you. 693 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:30,080 So is it your time now, no matter how hard that may seem to 694 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:31,680 you got to listen to him speak to your heart. 695 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:36,280 In fact, listen to these words from God through the prophets. 696 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:42,760 Listen to the prophet Isaiah. He says, for my thoughts are not 697 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:48,600 your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 698 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:54,360 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways 699 00:36:54,360 --> 00:37:00,680 higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 700 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:03,400 Or listen to the prophet Jeremiah. 701 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:09,200 Oh Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth 702 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:13,120 by your great power and by your outstretched harm. 703 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:19,280 Nothing is too hard for you. Behold, I am the Lord, the God 704 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:24,200 of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? 705 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:33,080 Your life, your past, your sin, your lostness, your future, your 706 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:37,920 present, none of these things are too hard for Him. 707 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:42,480 Doesn't matter. Mark Twain once said the secret 708 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,920 of getting ahead is getting started. 709 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,080 What do you need to do right now to get started? 710 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:53,560 What? One step, one prayer, one 711 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:58,400 decision, one choice that you need to make this morning for 712 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:00,400 you to be in step with the mission of God. 713 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:04,120 Maybe it's salvation, maybe it's baptism, maybe it's church 714 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:06,680 membership, maybe it's recommitment, maybe it's prayer 715 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,200 and intercession. What do you need to do this 716 00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:12,800 morning as we go to Him in prayer? 717 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:21,760 Father, thank you. Thank you for your word. 718 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:32,240 I'm thankful, Father, that what I say really doesn't matter, but 719 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:41,560 what you say can transform us. And Father, I'm no Mystic. 720 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:45,120 I don't know what you're doing in the hearts of people. 721 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:49,880 You just impressed upon me strongly this morning that I 722 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:54,560 felt like that something needed to happen today. 723 00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:58,040 Maybe it's in me, Father. Maybe it was me. 724 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:02,360 We'll see. The Father. 725 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:03,720 I just thank you that you're working. 726 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:09,080 I thank you that we are in your hands and that, Father, we, 727 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:11,960 we're not doing this on our own. We're not doing this by our 728 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:15,600 strength. We, we can't do that, Father, 729 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,360 we're depending upon you. So Father, I pray for those here 730 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,080 that right now, Lord, that your Holy Spirit, because your Holy 731 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,360 Spirit is the only one that can do this according to your word 732 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,840 in Corinthians, that Father, you need to remove the spiritual 733 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,400 blindness. You need to help those people 734 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:33,280 who need to move forward with you in some way. 735 00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:37,200 For some it's salvation. They, they need to be saved. 736 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:41,720 For others, it's a it's the testimony of baptism after their 737 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:43,400 salvation that they need to make. 738 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:48,600 For some, they they need to quit being visitors and attenders and 739 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:52,360 they need to join the church. They need to become an official 740 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,440 member so that they can serve and so that we can help one 741 00:39:55,440 --> 00:40:00,040 another in a greater way. Father, I'm burdened for those 742 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:03,720 who serve overseas that were sent out by our church. 743 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:07,000 Father, I'm thankful that Pastor Charles and I could be visiting 744 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:08,240 with him over the last several weeks. 745 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:10,880 And Father, I just pray that there are more people who would 746 00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:13,360 go. There are unreached people 747 00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:18,200 groups who need. Somebody with the gospel, so 748 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:20,320 maybe they're called to ministry or maybe they're called to 749 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:23,760 missions today. Others might just need to come 750 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:26,800 and kneel at these steps as an altar before you Lord and pray. 751 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,080 Then you pray for themselves. Then you pray for the families. 752 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:32,120 Then you pray for the friends, whatever it is or, or they need 753 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:34,440 to take a pastor by the hand and say, would you pray with me? 754 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:43,720 Surrender obedience to your control, your power. 755 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:47,200 That's it. Help us to do that, whatever it 756 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:50,400 is, right now, in Christ's name, Amen. 757 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,720 Stand with me if you would. Pastors are going to be standing 758 00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:56,280 here. We'd love to pray with you. 759 00:40:56,280 --> 00:40:59,160 We'd love to share about whatever it is the Lord's laying 760 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:01,240 on your heart. Maybe you just want to come and 761 00:41:01,240 --> 00:41:03,720 pray. Whatever you need to do, you do 762 00:41:03,720 --> 00:41:05,840 it right now as we go before you. 763 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:12,200 Thank you so much for listening today, and I also hope that 764 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:14,720 you'll go to ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 765 00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:17,800 as well as our app and find many other resources that will bless 766 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,000 you and your families. Thank you once again.