1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:06,160 Well, good morning Inglewood. I hate your Bibles this morning 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,000 and turn to Acts chapter 8, if you will. 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,080 If you're a guest today, we're so glad that you're here. 4 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:14,920 We've been marching through these first few chapters of the 5 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:22,480 book of Acts. Some of you may wonder why we 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,960 are actually wanting to see what a biblical church, Biblical 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:32,119 church member, disciple, what the purpose of us being here all 8 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:34,800 about. Before I dive into that, I'll 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:36,280 catch up to you. Let me just remind you of a 10 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:37,800 couple things. Vacation Bible School is coming 11 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,200 up in just a few weeks. You can register out in the 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,560 lobby for that. Also, we're going to do a little 13 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,200 preparation for Vacation Bible School. 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,920 And so I need you back here Wednesday night. 15 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:52,800 Some of you've been coming to our Wednesday night study. 16 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,320 It's been a wonderful time. This week we're going to do 17 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,320 something different. We're going to meet at 6:30 in 18 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,280 the gym in the Lewis Building and I want to teach you a life 19 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,240 skill. I want to teach you about prayer 20 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,960 walking. And then we'll have some 21 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:08,040 assignments for those who are willing to go out into 22 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,560 neighborhoods and prayer walk and some who can't do that 23 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:11,640 physically. Don't worry about that. 24 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,840 You can prayer drive and or some folks who are going to pray 25 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,760 inside the facility. So we also have a guide for 26 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,760 that. Our students are going to join 27 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,280 us and many of them are going to pray inside the facility. 28 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:24,800 So don't worry about the going out part. 29 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,560 Come learn the life skill and we'll let the rest take care of 30 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:30,200 itself. Then in a couple of weeks, we're 31 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,360 actually going to hand out about 2000 of these door hangers to 32 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,920 help invite children and families to be a part of us for 33 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,480 VBS. So hope you'll be prepared to do 34 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,360 what's coming up over these next few weeks. 35 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,560 Next week we're actually going to observe the Lord's Supper 36 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,920 together. And I want you to please 37 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,800 prayerfully prepare by examining your own hearts, your own 38 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:52,840 relationship, your own fellowship with the Lord and 39 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,640 others. I take this very seriously 40 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:56,920 because I believe the Bible does. 41 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,080 And so in first Corinthians 11 it says this. 42 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,200 Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in 43 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,640 an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and 44 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,600 blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself 45 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:11,880 then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 46 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,400 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats 47 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,840 and drinks judgement on himself. That is why many of you are weak 48 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,200 and ill and some have died. So I pray that this week you'll 49 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,120 spend time in preparation for that. 50 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,640 For those who have trusted in Christ and, and we'll be 51 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:31,400 prepared. So come next Sunday, examined, 52 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:37,040 forgiven, committed, and ready to come join the King's mission, 53 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,920 which has been our theme in the book of Acts. 54 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:42,000 So in a bit, I'll give you an opportunity to begin that 55 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,040 preparation by responding to God's calling in your life, as 56 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,000 Pastor Jordan mentioned. And so just look forward to 57 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:49,640 that. Speaking of calling, last time 58 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:54,880 we were together, Stephen, a committed, called follower of 59 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:59,920 Christ, gave his life for the gospel and for our guests. 60 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,400 Like I say, we've been marching through these early chapters 61 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:04,840 together. Stephen might seem like a 62 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,680 tragedy to us, and there's certainly tragic elements to it, 63 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,760 but we're also going to see how God takes difficulties and 64 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,920 transforms them into opportunities and opportunities 65 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:18,480 for us, for our King, for his mission, for the spread of the 66 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:20,480 gospel. Because one of the things we're 67 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,560 going to learn is his mission always moves forward. 68 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:27,200 It may move forward with us, it may move forward without us, but 69 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,960 God's will will be done. I've read the book and in the 70 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,520 end, he wins. In the end, he will have his 71 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:34,480 way, and so he's always going to move forward. 72 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,640 The first 7 chapters of Acts have kind of shown us a group of 73 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,720 believers in Jerusalem closely tied to Judaism, still mainly 74 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,640 reaching out to other Jewish people. 75 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,040 But the church is going to be forced out of their status quo. 76 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,920 The church is going to be forced out of its comfort zone so the 77 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,160 gospel can spread. So change is a coming. 78 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:57,880 And how? Well, part of our question this 79 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,200 morning is how well do we deal with change? 80 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,240 How well do we work through difficulty in life? 81 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,000 So we're going to learn some lessons today on how to to deal 82 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,520 with difficulties and move through them and move forward 83 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,960 with King's mission. Because Stephen was just stoned 84 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,519 to death for his faith. We pick it up in Acts chapter 8, 85 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:21,839 verse 1. And so approved of his 86 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,680 execution. And there arose on that day a 87 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,160 great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they 88 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,280 were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and 89 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:34,600 Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and 90 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:36,400 made great lamentations over him. 91 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,400 But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. 92 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:45,400 He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 93 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:48,600 So for us to move forward in our difficulties, first to fulfill 94 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,480 the mission of God as He wants us to, we've going to have to 95 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,360 recognize that God must move us beyond our comfort. 96 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:58,560 God's going to do that. The same day Stephen was 97 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,000 martyred. We see violent persecution break 98 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,240 out against the church. Paul was ravaging the church. 99 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:07,880 This translation would present it. 100 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,000 That word is a very violent word. 101 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,440 It means to seek to destroy. In the Greek translation of the 102 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,800 Old Testament, the Septuagint, this word was actually used to 103 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,800 portray wild beasts tearing apart flesh. 104 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,160 I mean, there's a very violent image. 105 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:29,000 So house to house, he's dragging off men and women to prison. 106 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,760 This is very consistent with Paul's testimony that he'll 107 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,080 share later in his letters as he talks about his life before 108 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,760 Jesus. And so Christianity early on 109 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,040 begins to suffer intense persecution. 110 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,240 Suffering actually becomes a mark of the faith for many folks 111 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,640 in the early church, but it also continues today. 112 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,760 We may not recognize it here in our comfort. 113 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,520 Yeah, we may think that Christianity is under 114 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,000 persecution in the United States of America, But you need to have 115 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,480 travelled with me where I go, and I can show you places where 116 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,200 persecution takes on a whole new meaning. 117 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:07,280 In fact, right now in the world, more Christians are killed in 118 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:11,160 the West African nation of Nigeria than any other nation on 119 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,360 the planet. In fact, in the year 2020, four 120 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,520 3100 Christians were murdered in Nigeria alone. 121 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,760 In fact, just the other day, about June 13th, while they 122 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:28,240 slept, Fulani militants, which is a tribal group, but it's also 123 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:32,520 a group known for its radical Islam in West Africa, attacked a 124 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,840 group of displaced believers from all sides and within two 125 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:38,080 hours, 200 of them were murdered. 126 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,440 And then they tried to attack 700 more in another place but 127 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,440 were stopped. So persecution, real persecution 128 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,640 takes place in our world today. I have friends, if you're 129 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,840 watching the news as I am staying up late praying through 130 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,480 what's happening in the Middle East and I have friends in both 131 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,720 nations. You've got to understand that. 132 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:02,040 And I've been talking to people inside Iran and, and they're 133 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,840 believers who are there. The fastest growing church in 134 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:07,720 the Muslim world is there and they're believers and they're 135 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:12,160 mourning the loss of life, but they're also perplexed because 136 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:14,880 they're praying that the regime would change so that there would 137 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:16,800 be freedom and there'd be worship. 138 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,280 I have I'm part of a ministry where we, we hope to start a, a 139 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:22,600 seminary in Tehran one day, as I've mentioned before. 140 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,560 And obviously we have friends in Jerusalem who are being slain 141 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,040 and attacked. So, so we need to pray for both 142 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,760 sides and think through what this means. 143 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,040 In fact, though, it's interesting because persecution 144 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,400 has never historically ever stopped God from spreading his 145 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,080 gospel, often the opposite is true. 146 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,120 Historically, the church has often grown more powerful when 147 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,320 it was persecuted and forced out of its comfort. 148 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,320 But we also need to stop for a moment. 149 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,360 It's easy to just kind of pass through this passage to get 150 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:57,600 maybe on to what happens to Saul, etcetera. 151 00:07:57,840 --> 00:07:59,560 But we don't want to. We don't want to move too 152 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,480 quickly to these people who are being dragged off and committed 153 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,480 to prison. These are real people and these 154 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,960 are persecuted people. 200 people that died in Nigeria is 155 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:11,000 not just a number in a newspaper article. 156 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,200 These are real people. And so persecution is also 157 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,360 something that that is horrific. It's a horrific experience. 158 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,800 And we don't want to pass over the personal pain. 159 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,000 We don't want to pass over the loss flippantly without concern. 160 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:27,000 Families were being torn apart. People were imprisoned by Saul. 161 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,520 People would die because of this and persecution would result in 162 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,320 that later in church history. But as I stated last week, what 163 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:39,360 Satan or what what man intended for evil, God is going to bring 164 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:41,600 good out of it. He's going to use it. 165 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,000 So their pain is not in vain. Their pain is not without 166 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,960 purpose. But sometimes in the middle of 167 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,160 personal pain and loss, we don't understand that. 168 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:53,360 And we don't understand why this is happening to me. 169 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,480 Some of you are going through things right now. 170 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,920 You've been sharing with me. And why is this happening right 171 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,400 now? And we can even accuse or 172 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,160 question or be angry with God. And to be frank, we may never 173 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,880 fully understand why this happened while we're in this 174 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:12,040 life, but I guess that's when our faith truly gets tested, 175 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,720 isn't it? We must keep in mind and trust 176 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:19,080 that God is seeing a much larger, much longer picture and 177 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,920 purpose than we can see. And faith must be, must replace 178 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,120 our fear and, and we must trust in His sovereignty, and that 179 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,280 trust must replace our confusion. 180 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:31,280 And I never said that was going to be easy. 181 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:33,440 I never said that was going to be simple. 182 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:35,560 And I certainly wouldn't tell you that it would be 183 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:38,560 instantaneous. Sometimes it takes a while. 184 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,480 We have the benefit in this story of looking back through 185 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,520 the filter of purpose. We're going to see how God uses 186 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,360 this to spread his gospel. We can look back at that. 187 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,720 But in the midst of this, you got to think in those moments of 188 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,640 terror, devotion must have been challenged. 189 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,320 And so we now know that without this persecution, they would 190 00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:58,240 likely have never left Jerusalem. 191 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,040 They would never have left on their own. 192 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,200 Travel would not have been a normal part of their life. 193 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:05,800 Going around the world wouldn't have been normal for them. 194 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:08,160 They would have likely stayed put in what they knew. 195 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,120 They would have likely just stayed put in that which they 196 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,200 were comfortable. But the gospel had to be spread 197 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:18,000 around the Empire. And sometimes I worry about us, 198 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,360 Inglewood. I worry about us because 199 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:24,120 sometimes I think we think we have a luxury of option. 200 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,360 We think we have a choice. I can get up on a Sunday morning 201 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,280 and decide whether or not I'm going to church, and if I don't 202 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,760 like this church, I can just choose another one. 203 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,440 And that luxury of option, that luxury of choice, or in many 204 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,360 places in the world, they just don't have that. 205 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,160 Sometimes I wonder if that doesn't help deepen faith. 206 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,680 Sometimes I worry that our comfort is actually our enemy. 207 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,520 Our luxury might actually be an obstacle. 208 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:54,520 I worry about that. And sometimes I wonder what God 209 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,720 might have to do about that in order for that to change. 210 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:00,160 So the gospel had to spread around the empire. 211 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,720 So all except that the apostles were the word is scattered in 212 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:05,080 English. This would sound familiar. 213 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,200 Diaspora that where you get the word diaspora. 214 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:10,120 The, the, the word just means seed. 215 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:12,480 So they're scattered like the seed. 216 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:17,320 So they got to go fulfil Acts 18 to go to Judea and go to Samaria 217 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,920 and not just stay in Jerusalem. And God is absolutely in 218 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,400 control, even in the middle of great difficulty, even when life 219 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:28,680 makes no sense, He still is. And we often will quote Romans 220 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:33,480 828 in moments like that. And we know that for those who 221 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:35,800 love God, all things work together for good for those who 222 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:37,240 are called according to his purpose. 223 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,320 But I always look at this verse and I say that doesn't mean that 224 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,440 I'm always going to enjoy God's definition of good. 225 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,080 Sometimes I don't like God's good in the moment. 226 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:55,960 Sometimes it's a tough, hard to understand good, you know, and 227 00:11:55,960 --> 00:12:00,240 Inglewood, this church has been stretched in her past, but God 228 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,840 can cause that to work together for a much greater good. 229 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,160 So let's not fight as stretching. 230 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,840 Let's learn from it. Let's move forward with him in 231 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,120 his goodness. Because remember, scattered 232 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,120 seeds will sprout and they'll grow. 233 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:15,600 And that's what we want to see happen. 234 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:21,320 So we don't have the luxury, we don't have the permission to 235 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:27,080 just sit comfortably in this room whenever we choose to, week 236 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,400 after week. That's not biblical. 237 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:32,160 We have to recognize there's more. 238 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,480 We must move beyond our comfort to join His mission. 239 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,640 So how, how does this happen? How do we do this? 240 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:42,320 Look at verse 4. Now those who were scattered 241 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,720 went about preaching the Word. So to fulfill His mission for us 242 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,120 to move through even the difficult times of life, He's 243 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:50,760 going to have to move us beyond our comfort. 244 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,160 But secondly, He's going to have to move us to spread His truth. 245 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,480 Persecution did not hamper these witnesses. 246 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,720 The spread of the gospel increased as they came out of 247 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,160 Jerusalem. It got even more and more. 248 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:05,480 It grew and they shared wherever they went. 249 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,800 Now I know to the point of ad nauseam. 250 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,320 I know to the point of I can't believe he's saying it again. 251 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,040 He says it every week. I know that I'm being redundant. 252 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,320 I'm, I'm purposely repetitively being redundant. 253 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,120 I'm purposely saying the same thing over and over. 254 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:25,920 Remember, we, we have 74% of those who live all around us who 255 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,720 aren't doing this. They're not even taking 256 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:32,960 advantage of the choice. They're not in a church, they're 257 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,280 not in a synagogue. They're not in, they're not in 258 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:40,120 any religious endeavor. 74% of people who live within 10 miles 259 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,560 of you right now, that's a lot of people. 260 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:45,240 That's a lot of people. And there are 1,000,000 more in 261 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,360 the county and the state and the nation, billions more around the 262 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,280 world like the ones we've prayed about. 263 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,920 And God has planted Inglewood right in the middle of a huge 264 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,480 harvest that is ripe. And that is no accident. 265 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,360 It could be the greatest spiritual awakening to ever 266 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,640 occur in the state of North Carolina if Inglewood will be 267 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,680 the tip of the spear. And today I'm going to be 268 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:10,680 sharing right after this service, right after Jordan lets 269 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,640 me get done and right after Jordan feeds everybody. 270 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,600 I get to share with all the Connect group leaders and all 271 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:21,560 the ministry family leaders as soon as Jordan let me about a 272 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,760 new strategy of practical discipleship, outreach, prayer 273 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,480 ministry, and missions that I'm expecting. 274 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:29,760 Just beware. I said this in the first 275 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:30,880 service. They almost groaned. 276 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:32,040 I thought they were going to leave. 277 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,960 I'm expecting 100% participation from everybody. 278 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:41,120 That's what I'm expecting. I'll be disappointed if I don't 279 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,800 have that. And so I need you to come 280 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,680 Wednesday night to learn the life skill of prayer walking so 281 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,680 we can be praying about this and other things. 282 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,600 And then you just wait. It's coming very soon. 283 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,200 But first, let's look at some specific examples that will 284 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,000 actually help us. Look at verse 5 S Philip went 285 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,800 down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 286 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,680 Where did he go? What did I just say? 287 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,760 Samaria? Don't, don't miss that Samaria. 288 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,880 And the crowds with 1 accord paid attention to what was being 289 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,800 said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he 290 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:15,840 did. For unclean spirits crying out 291 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:19,120 with a loud voice came out of many who had them, and many who 292 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,120 were paralyzed or lame were healed. 293 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,440 So there was much joy in that city. 294 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:30,840 Samaria, you got that right. Samaria is that place where Mama 295 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:34,440 told you never to go. You can get in trouble over in 296 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:39,360 Samaria. Samaria is them, not us. 297 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,920 That's them, Samaria. This is a huge step for the 298 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,560 mission. Samaritans were enemy half 299 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,760 breeds of the Jewish believers, but the Holy Spirit's helping 300 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:55,000 them to see there are no unclean half breeds in the Kingdom of 301 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,480 God. When it comes to the Gospel, 302 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,400 what an amazing the gospel is the great equalizer. 303 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,560 It's the great uniter. So we even spread God's truth to 304 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,680 those who are not like us. That's why we have people right 305 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,520 now. In fact, Pastor Dylan been doing 306 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:13,200 a tremendous job of shepherding and leading and, and they're 307 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,080 sending constant messages. My phone will be lighting up 308 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:18,640 even as it's up here because I'm looking at them and I'm reading 309 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:19,960 them. They're on the ground. 310 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:21,640 They're that they've had their breakfast. 311 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:23,640 They're going to worship, they're going to get trained for 312 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,320 ministry. There's going to be about 80 313 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,080 students all together, not all from Inglewood. 314 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,240 We're joining them, we just provide a lot, big chunk of 315 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,640 that, and they're going to be ministering all across Oaxaca 316 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,680 City with people who are not like them because they need the 317 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:39,760 gospel. So Philips preaching was 318 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:44,840 undergirded by miracles, by signs of both disease and demon 319 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,640 fleeing before the power of the Holy Spirit. 320 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,920 And every time we see somebody saved. 321 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:51,520 I got to get you to understand this. 322 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,840 Every time you see somebody saved, or you see somebody 323 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,280 called the ministry or missions, or you see somebody forgiven, or 324 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,640 you see an addiction cycle broken, every time you see that, 325 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,200 you're seeing the same miraculous power. 326 00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:07,119 Don't ever get tired of somebody standing up in that water 327 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,839 testifying to you. It's the same power. 328 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,920 So I'm praying for the miracles of the UPGS we pray for. 329 00:17:15,079 --> 00:17:17,760 I'm praying for miracles this week in Oaxaca. 330 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,440 I'm praying for miracles this week in Rocky Mount. 331 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:27,560 And there was much joy in that city, not just a little, but 332 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,080 much. What a thing to be able to 333 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,200 testify when this group of students come back over 334 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:35,200 overwhelmed by the joy of unreached peoples being reached, 335 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,400 churches being planted in Oaxaca, Mexico. 336 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:39,920 What joy there. We could be in Rocky Mount when 337 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,480 we see people being saved, falling on their faces before 338 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:44,040 God, committing themselves to him. 339 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:47,680 What joy. But maybe you're here. 340 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,000 Maybe you're here and you're just going to say, John, I've 341 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,320 already got too much joy in my life. 342 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:55,160 I don't need anymore. Does anybody, anybody here have 343 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:57,120 too much joy? I'm just over. 344 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,360 I don't need any more of that. God just it's too much. 345 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:02,200 God, I got too much joy. I do. 346 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,880 Please don't give me anymore anybody in that place right now. 347 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,120 Did you know that between I don't make this stuff up, study 348 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:15,280 this stuff. Do you know between 60 and 70% 349 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,160 of the people in the United States of America would be 350 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:22,760 willing to have a spiritual conversation with somebody 60 to 351 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,680 70%, the majority of people. That's hundreds of millions of 352 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:30,800 people would be willing to talk about spiritual things and they 353 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,040 need Jesus and they need his joy and his truth. 354 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,440 It would be the largest spiritual awakening in human 355 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:39,840 history. And we could start that right 356 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,200 here. But we've got to take the truth. 357 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:44,080 We can't just hold on to the truth. 358 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,080 We have to take the truth. And we're going to bring you a 359 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,040 plan. Look at verse 14. 360 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,640 We'll go to verse 14. Don't worry, we'll come back. 361 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:52,840 We're going to cover all the verses. 362 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:54,400 You legalistic people. Hang on, there'll be all right, 363 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,840 everything will be good. Now when the apostles at 364 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,720 Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they 365 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,760 passed out. Is that what it says they 366 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:10,320 fainted on the spot? No, it says they sent to them 367 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,880 Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they 368 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,120 might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any 369 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:18,160 of them. But they had only been baptized 370 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,720 in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on 371 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,320 them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 372 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,320 Now I need you to really focus for a few minutes, and I need 373 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,520 you to really listen for a few minutes because you need to 374 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,040 understand some theology here, OK? 375 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,040 And there's some of that may have come from other traditions 376 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:37,840 where you learn something else, but I need you to hear what's 377 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,320 really going on here in the Bible, OK? 378 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:46,200 This is so unique, so new, so different. 379 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:47,880 The mother church has to check it out. 380 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,560 And Peter and John came to help at this very historic moment. 381 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,160 Now, this passage doesn't indicate judgement. 382 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,240 It indicates endorsement. So even the Samaritan can, the 383 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,120 Samaritans can be saved. I mean, they're going wow, God, 384 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:02,480 wow. OK. 385 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,360 But this and several other events that we're going to see 386 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:08,160 in the book of Acts coming up very quickly. 387 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:13,240 We're going to see these very unique moments in history and we 388 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,480 need to be very, very careful. Not to make them the normative 389 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,840 patterns for the rest of time. Let me explain this to you. 390 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:27,200 These Acts stories revealed the historic movement of God as he 391 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:32,600 saves different categories or different types of people on the 392 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,520 planet. OK, for the very first time. 393 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,240 So first you had Jewish people at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit 394 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,040 comes, now you have Samaritans, later you're going to have 395 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,880 Gentiles, and there's even going to be this weird little group of 396 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,000 John the Baptist followers later, because God's going to 397 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,880 make sure there's no exceptions. We're going to take care of 398 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:54,920 every kind of person, every type, every category of human 399 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,560 being can be saved. Doesn't mean everyone is, but 400 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:03,080 that type of person can. So God breaks these barriers to 401 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:08,760 salvation for the first time ever for each type or category 402 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,640 of person on the planet. And the Holy Spirit came in 403 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,320 special ways, just like He did at Pentecost for the Jews. 404 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,400 But these are very special, unique, historical, 405 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,920 one-of-a-kind moments. So these groups represent all of 406 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,320 us, including you. You're either Jewish or you're 407 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,840 Samaritan or you're Gentile, or maybe you're a weird little 408 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:32,960 follower of John the Baptist, OK. 409 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,080 And so you got to represent. This is representing everybody. 410 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:41,320 Now, why is this so important? This was absolutely crucial for 411 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:45,760 these Jewish believers to see. See, these Jewish believers that 412 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,640 the fact that the gospel movement was for all types of 413 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,560 people and not just for them, you remember they'd have an Old 414 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,880 Testament mindset which meant that God was theirs, Yahweh 415 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,560 belonged to them, and the fact that Yahweh would belong to 416 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,440 somebody else is a radical departure for them. 417 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,880 Even though Isaiah said we are supposed to be a light to the 418 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,160 Gentiles, the Hebrews did a really lousy job of that. 419 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,960 And so they had spent a lot of time condemning people who were 420 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,480 outside of their own people. So for the gospel to 421 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:20,520 breakthrough, that is quite dramatic. 422 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,440 Now, friends, unfortunately, I know churches who are this way. 423 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,440 I've worked with hundreds of them all across this country. 424 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,600 And, and churches that often condemn people who are outside 425 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,360 of us. I, I know churches that see the 426 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:37,080 lost people of their world as their enemies. 427 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:42,160 We have real enemies, folks. His name's Satan and he's going 428 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:44,200 to fry forever in a lake of fire. 429 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,000 Now His forces can report that to him. 430 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:53,080 His forces, his demonic forces, lostness, death, sin, those are 431 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,280 our enemies. Lost people around you are just 432 00:22:56,280 --> 00:23:02,760 lost, and they need our love and they need our help to learn His 433 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,880 truth. So these Jewish believers needed 434 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:09,400 the special affirmation of the Holy Spirit placed upon the 435 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,560 salvation of these other categories in these very unique 436 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,520 ways in order to accept them. So it was huge for them, still 437 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,400 is for us. Without it, none of us could 438 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,360 have ever been saved. Because last time I checked, I'm 439 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:22,400 not Jewish. I needed God to go to other 440 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,120 kinds of people. All right, I'm not Jewish. 441 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:28,240 I'm not a Samaritan. I don't think granddaddy was a 442 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:29,560 little follower, John the Baptist. 443 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:33,160 I think I'm a Gentile and I needed the gospel. 444 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,320 So the gospels for all people, including you, your neighbor, 445 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,960 your colleague, your classmate, that person down the street 446 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:43,000 that's lost as a goose, that person that acts horribly, the 447 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,080 gospels for them. So this new strategy I'm going 448 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:50,720 to share today with leaders is going to help mobilize 100% of 449 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,480 us to spread His truth to them, along with a whole lot of other 450 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,040 things. What, what level of 451 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,800 precipitation, what level of participation am I looking for? 452 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:08,920 100% So run now. But later on in Scripture, 453 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,680 you'll see the more normal biblical pattern that emerges. 454 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,280 The Holy Spirit comes in and dwells and baptizes a person at 455 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,480 the moment of salvation. So there's no need for a second 456 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:20,480 experience. There's no need for a second 457 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,360 blessing or a second baptism of the Holy Spirit. 458 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,640 And what's really interesting about it is the guy who writes 459 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:30,160 about that more than anybody is Saul, who becomes Paul. 460 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,400 Look at verse 25. Now when they had testified and 461 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,920 spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, 462 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,240 preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. 463 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,760 So not only did the apostles endorse the Samaritan mission, 464 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,480 they enthusiastically participated in it. 465 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,280 They share testimonies, they share the word of God. 466 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:52,720 And Samaritans, even Samaritans, can be saved. 467 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:58,120 But we also have another example and a more odd example, an 468 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:00,880 example of a power engagement. That could have been a great 469 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:02,400 distraction. It could have been a great 470 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,680 distortion of the truth. Go back to verse 9. 471 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:10,560 Let's cover this. But I always like that word. 472 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:15,480 There was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic 473 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,080 in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that 474 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,920 he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, 475 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,120 from the least to the greatest, saying this man is the power of 476 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:29,240 God that is called great. And they paid attention to him 477 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,720 because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 478 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:33,320 You think they paid attention to him? 479 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,680 See the redundancy? That's for emphasis and old 480 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,160 language. You see something more than 481 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,080 once. It means this is a big deal. 482 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,760 So to fulfil his mission through US, for us to move through the 483 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,160 difficulties to get to his mission, God going to have to 484 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,440 move us beyond our comfort. He's also going to have to move 485 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,440 us to spread his truth. Thirdly, he's going to have to 486 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,040 remind us of his power. Who's really in charge here? 487 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:02,000 Who's really in control? The sorcerer amazed them with 488 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,480 his power tricks. He even proclaimed himself to be 489 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,280 the great power. I mean, where's Gandalf in Lord 490 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:09,560 of the Rings music when you need it? 491 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,400 Simon was actually known in history. 492 00:26:15,120 --> 00:26:18,200 He's actually documented in church history and other places. 493 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,480 There's evidence about him and even from the early church 494 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,000 fathers who talk about that, those who followed him and there 495 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,520 were those who modelled themselves after him and there 496 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,120 were even those who worshipped him as a God. 497 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,600 So this is a fairly celebrity type level person. 498 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,440 Look at verse 12. But when they believed Philip as 499 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,920 he preached good news about the Kingdom of God in the name of 500 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,800 Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 501 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,040 Even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized, he 502 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:51,080 continued with Philip and seeing signs and great miracles 503 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:56,880 performed, he was amazed. So Simon believed something, but 504 00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:00,200 there's going to be a question about his commitment or about 505 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:04,080 the completion of his belief. Look at verse 18. 506 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,600 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the 507 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,040 laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money, saying, 508 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,840 Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands 509 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,440 may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, May your 510 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,320 silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain 511 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,360 gift of the gift of God with money. 512 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,400 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is 513 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,280 not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this 514 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,720 wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the 515 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,560 intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 516 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,800 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the 517 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,160 bond of iniquity. It's nothing like pastoral care. 518 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,080 And Simon answered, Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of 519 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,000 what you have said may come upon me. 520 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,640 So Simon was more amazed at the signs than he was at the 521 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,800 salvation. He, he made his money with his 522 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,280 magic in the past. And now he wanted to buy the 523 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,720 power of the Holy Spirit. He wanted to dispense the Holy 524 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:06,360 Spirit like a magic trick. In fact, the word simony or 525 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:10,560 simony actually comes from him and means the purchase of or the 526 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:14,920 sale of ecclesiastical pardon, or the sale of grace, or the 527 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,160 sale of a, of an ecclesiastical office, a church office. 528 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:24,600 And so he became known and for this, this idea of purchasing 529 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,880 God, sometimes I think I see that in church life. 530 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,040 I see people more impressed with the signs than the salvation. 531 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:39,000 I, I see people seeking A flashy show or shallow spiritual 532 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,320 emotionalism with no substance or, or, or to simply have their 533 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:47,960 personal perceived felt needs and once met their way that they 534 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:51,440 want the magic power without the sacrifice. 535 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,760 And, and it can be dangerous and, and Peter being Peter 536 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,520 didn't hold back. I, I like Peter, he harshly 537 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,040 condemned Simon's desire to manipulate God. 538 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:04,000 That's what he was trying because that's what magic is. 539 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,440 What magic is, is manipulating the powers to my benefit or to 540 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,720 your detriment. I can manipulate the powers, 541 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,480 right? And so instead of submitting to 542 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:18,080 the power of God, he wanted to manipulate the power of God for 543 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:19,600 his own good and for his own profit. 544 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,200 That's like the prosperity gospel, the prosperity gospel 545 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,360 movement of today where I can name it and I can control, I can 546 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:30,240 manipulate the power of God to claim it in my life. 547 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,160 We've got to be careful. That's magic. 548 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:35,440 That's not true spiritual maturity. 549 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,560 God the Holy Spirit is no person to be bought or controlled. 550 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,560 Simon had not fully or rightly responded to the gospel. 551 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:45,720 He responded to self. His heart was not right. 552 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,320 And, and, and if you are trying to control God, if you're trying 553 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,000 to manipulate him in some way, if you're just trying to get 554 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,320 pleased by the show, you better be careful. 555 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:56,640 If you're trying to control your own life, if you're even trying 556 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,480 to control the resources with what with which God has blessed 557 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,400 you, your heart's not right either. 558 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,760 Because Simon's motivation was inwardly focused and selfish, 559 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:10,280 it's amazing that we never find out if he repented or not. 560 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:13,960 We don't know he never appears again in Scripture. 561 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:19,520 So much for the great power. God's power cannot be bought. 562 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:21,520 God's power cannot be manipulated. 563 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,680 Salvation is a gift of grace that we cannot purchase, that we 564 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,080 cannot earn, but we must submit to it. 565 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,720 We must submit to this gift. We must submit to His mission. 566 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,520 We must submit to His power. This is the proper biblical 567 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,160 formula. He's going to move us beyond our 568 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:36,880 comfort. We got to spread His truth. 569 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:38,840 We've got to recognize His true power. 570 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:41,440 And then finally, God has to help us make disciples. 571 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:44,000 We can't do that by ourself either. 572 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:49,440 Look at verse 26. Now an age of the Lord said to 573 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,080 Philip, rise and go toward the South, to the road that goes 574 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:55,040 down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place. 575 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,240 And he rose and went and there was an Ethiopian, A eunuch, a 576 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,960 court official of Canada's Queen of The Ethiopians, who was in 577 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,960 charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to 578 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,200 worship. Just note what Philip does. 579 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,040 Philip always goes exactly where God tells him to go when he 580 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,280 tells him to go. You know, there's a willingness 581 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,200 and obedience that are great descriptions of Philip. 582 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:19,320 I pray they become the greatest descriptions of Inglewood, that 583 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,440 we're willing to go. We're willing to go wherever and 584 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,680 whenever he commands. Now, in this case, this 585 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,160 Ethiopian was probably from the Kingdom of what was called Maro. 586 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:31,000 It doesn't exist anymore. In the Old Testament, it was 587 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,680 Cush. And this was considered kind of 588 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,360 the end of the earth for the Greeks and the Romans. 589 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:38,640 So we're already seeing Acts 18 moving forward. 590 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,800 And he's basically the Minister of Finance for the Kingdom. 591 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,280 And he was also likely a God fearing Gentile. 592 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,400 So he wasn't a full convert to Judaism, but he was one who 593 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,760 believed in Yahweh and would come to Jerusalem to observe and 594 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:58,080 to worship some verse 28 and was returning seated in his chariot 595 00:31:58,080 --> 00:31:59,880 and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 596 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,520 And the Spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. 597 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,960 Again the Holy Spirit LED Philip goes, he obeys. 598 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,360 And I pray it may be so for Inglewood. 599 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:14,040 I'm begging you, Inglewood, listen to him and let's obey 600 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,360 him. Please pray He will lead us to 601 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:20,600 somebody seeking truth. Pray He'll lead you to somebody 602 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:22,400 who needs to understand the word of God. 603 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,400 Pray he leads you to somebody who needs to meet Jesus and 604 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,400 understand that. The Ethiopians reading from 605 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,520 Isaiah book about judgment, but it's also a book about hope and 606 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,440 a book about the future, but it's also the book that 607 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:38,800 describes the suffering servant of God, Israel's prophecy, or 608 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:42,960 excuse me, Isaiah's prophecies for Israel about Jesus. 609 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:48,040 Look at verse 30. So Philip ran to him and heard 610 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:50,640 him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, do you understand 611 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,400 what you're reading? And he says, how can I unless 612 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:57,000 someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up 613 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,560 and sit with him. So this Holy Spirit said go and 614 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,120 you couldn't stop Philip in his obedience, he sprints along with 615 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,480 the chariot and in obedience, I pray that's us Inglewood, that 616 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:08,600 we hop up to help people understand the Bible. 617 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,080 So he hops there, guiding somebody to understand God's 618 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:17,880 Word is an awesome privilege. And here we see this opportunity 619 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:20,760 to hop out of comfort zones and run to help others understand 620 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:22,520 God's truth. That sounds, I don't know, 621 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,160 Jordan, that sounds like a connect group to me. 622 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:28,080 Sounds like what we do on midweek services. 623 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:30,320 It sounds like what our family ministries are doing here with 624 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,320 her, our kids. That's why I harp so much in 625 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:36,040 being in them so much. Plus, you're going to hear some 626 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:40,600 great ways to become even stronger through them in our 627 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:43,320 training today. And I'm expecting what kind of 628 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:49,880 participation? I cannot wait for what is about 629 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,640 to be unveiled. So grab your unsaved, grab your 630 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:55,040 inactive, grab your uncommitted friends and get ready. 631 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,400 Get them to join you during these privileged moment because 632 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,560 that's what these are. These are privileges we got to 633 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:03,120 take advantage of the privileges we have to learn and to grow 634 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:05,600 because many don't have them. I was in Asheville, you know, 635 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:08,159 Asheville. I was in Nashville a few years 636 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:09,840 ago. I was ministering with a church, 637 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,040 consulting with a huge church out there. 638 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,920 And I was sitting at a little outdoor coffee shop on the 639 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:17,840 street there. And you can see the church 640 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:19,040 building from where I was sitting. 641 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:21,159 And a young man walks up to me, college age. 642 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:23,120 He wasn't in college. He was actually living out in 643 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:25,159 the woods. And he looked like he was living 644 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:26,840 out in the woods. I don't want to be mean, but you 645 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:28,280 know, he looked like he was living in the woods. 646 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:31,440 And he walked up to me and I just asked him, I said, you know 647 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:32,760 anything about that church over there. 648 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:34,800 And he goes, no man, I don't know anything about that church. 649 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:37,159 I said, would you like to learn something about it? 650 00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:38,560 I said, sit down, I'll buy you some coffee. 651 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:40,560 Sits down with me. I buy him coffee. 652 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:45,280 And I said, and we talked for a while about who he was and what 653 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,560 what he was doing. And he was very natural looking. 654 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:53,080 I'll just leave it at that. And I said, I said, yeah, I'm 655 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:54,239 helping this church out a little bit. 656 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:56,199 I said, did you know that they're, they have groups up 657 00:34:56,199 --> 00:35:01,120 there your age who made every single week to try to help each 658 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,280 other understand the Bible and to help each other live their 659 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,000 lives according to the Bible. He goes right up there. 660 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:06,880 And I said, yeah, right up there. 661 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:13,000 He goes, no way. I said Yahweh and I said, 662 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,360 listen, I said this gets better. I said, did you know they have 663 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,320 people your age in a group like that and that they would love 664 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:21,880 for you to join them tomorrow morning at 9:30? 665 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:27,360 No. Yeah, you, you, you don't know 666 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:28,360 that. Yeah, I do. 667 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,720 I'm sitting right here telling you this because you mean they 668 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:36,480 would let me the way I look, the way I smell and the way I'm 669 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,000 living. They'd welcome me up there to 670 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,280 come sit in their group and they'd teach me the Bible. 671 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,320 I said, my friend, I promise you they would. 672 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:46,920 And he goes, threw my coffee out the table. 673 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:50,440 He goes, I've been looking for this my whole life. 674 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:54,440 You mean somebody would actually help me? 675 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:56,360 I've been, I've been trying to read the Bible and I can't 676 00:35:56,360 --> 00:36:00,000 understand it. You mean somebody up there my 677 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,440 age would accept me just the way I am and would help me 678 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,840 understand the Bible? I said, let me tell you, it gets 679 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:08,080 even better. I'll tell you what I'm going to 680 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:08,880 do. You see that door right there? 681 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:10,360 We could see a door right there. We're sitting there. 682 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,080 We can see the door. I said I'm going to stand at 683 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,120 that door tomorrow at 9:29. I'll be outside watching for 684 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:19,320 you. You come find me. 685 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,280 I'll walk you to this group. I'll introduce you to this 686 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:25,280 group. If you're not comfortable, if 687 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:27,880 you're not happy, I'll pull you right out with me, I promise. 688 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:29,360 And I'll take you, and I'll bring you back down here. 689 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:36,680 Buy another cup of coffee. I wasn't sure if he did 929, I 690 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:40,800 was late. He was standing there and I take 691 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:41,640 him in. Now, Friends, you got to 692 00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:44,160 understand something before 929. Guess where I was? 693 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,640 I was in that small group with my finger pointed at him. 694 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:55,200 Here's what's finning to go down, folk, get your doughnuts 695 00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:57,280 ready. And somebody needs a spare Bible 696 00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:58,520 because he ain't going to have one. 697 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,680 I walk him over there, lovely people welcoming him, loving 698 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:05,440 him, taking. And he looks at me and goes, 699 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,640 John, I'm good. And I left him there. 700 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:12,160 We make so many assumptions. He actually said to me, you mean 701 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:17,200 I can show up without a ticket? I can show up just by myself. 702 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:19,600 I don't have to be invited by somebody who's already there. 703 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,480 I can just show up. I don't have to have a member 704 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:26,480 want me there. We make a lot of assembly. 705 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:29,080 We think they all know church. They don't know church. 706 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:33,160 I didn't know church. My first church was Fellowship 707 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:34,840 of Christian Athletes. I didn't know I could just go to 708 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:38,880 church. People don't know they can just 709 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:42,680 come. We got to walk alongside of 710 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:47,920 them, put our arms around him. We take so much for granted, we 711 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:50,160 take so many privileges as a choice. 712 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,240 I know so many who would give so much around the world, so many 713 00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:56,600 people I know around the world to have comfortable rooms, to 714 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:58,320 have small groups to study the Bible. 715 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:06,760 In verse 32. Now the passage of the scripture 716 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,440 that he was reading was this. Like a sheep he was led to the 717 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:13,440 slaughter, and like a lamb before its Shearer is silent, so 718 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,720 he opens not his mouth in his humiliation. 719 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:19,040 Justin was not justice was denied him. 720 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:22,680 Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from 721 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:24,720 the earth. And the eunuch said to Philip, 722 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:27,680 about whom I asked you, does the prophet say this about himself 723 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:31,240 or about someone else? Then Philip opened his mouth, 724 00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:34,280 and beginning with this scripture, he told them, told 725 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:36,920 him the good news about Jesus. Pointing to Christ from the book 726 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:40,120 of Isaiah is easy. In fact, one of the greatest 727 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,840 ways to share the gospel with somebody in Judaism is from the 728 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,080 book of Isaiah. Go to the suffering servant 729 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,320 passages. There's no question they know 730 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,280 that he'll be describing Jesus. The Old Testament prophecies 731 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:54,000 about Jesus needed a New Testament interpretation. 732 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:57,840 So Philip explains how how the fulfillment of these and many 733 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:01,040 other Old Testament passages were true and the host stories 734 00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:02,880 about him from Genesis to Revelation. 735 00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:06,800 The host stories about Jesus. Look at verse 36. 736 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:10,640 And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, 737 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,520 and the eunuch said, see, here is water what prevents me from 738 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,000 being baptized? Now go to verse 38. 739 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,280 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down 740 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,720 into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 741 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:25,000 Now some of you are looking at your Bibles and you're saying, 742 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,840 where's verse 37? Well, verse 37 doesn't actually 743 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:32,520 appear in some of the earlier manuscripts, but some English 744 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:35,080 translations will include it either in the text or as a 745 00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:36,920 footnote. And this is all it says. 746 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,560 It says if you believe with all your hearts, you may. 747 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,960 Or another translation, if you believe with all your hearts, 748 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:44,120 you may. And the eunuch answered, I 749 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:46,160 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 750 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:49,560 So it certainly doesn't hurt theology to include verse 37 751 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:52,720 with its emphasis that Philip would not have baptized him had 752 00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:56,000 he not believed God's Word, been saved, and knew he needed to 753 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,080 identify with Christ, just like Kaylee did this morning. 754 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:04,080 The word baptism is frustrating to me. 755 00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:05,720 I've said this, I think Wednesday night, but it's 756 00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:08,520 frustrating to me. Sometimes we transliterate Greek 757 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:10,440 words and make new English words out of them. 758 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:13,840 I wish we would just translate them because if we just 759 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,520 translated the word baptism every time it showed up in the 760 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:18,840 Bible, the word immersion would just be there. 761 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:20,640 Because that's what the word means. 762 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,960 It can't mean to sprinkle, it can't mean to pour. 763 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,800 John the Baptist did not sprinkle water on Jesus head. 764 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:28,280 That word would not have been used. 765 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:30,480 There are other words for sprinkling and pouring. 766 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:33,560 Greek is that specific. So this is immersion. 767 00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:36,480 You are completely covered. You are submerged, you are 768 00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:38,560 thoroughly covered. That's the whole idea. 769 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:42,440 Because it's a symbol of what Christ has already done for you 770 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:44,960 in salvation. You've been completely covered 771 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,560 by his blood, You've been completely cleansed by his 772 00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:49,720 sacrifice. You have been put to death, the 773 00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:52,600 old self, and now you're risen to a new life in him. 774 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:56,240 Roman says that's what Kaylee testified today. 775 00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:00,160 So what prevents you from being baptized? 776 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:07,920 Also, see, here's water. And I promise you in a moment 777 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:10,120 you could come talk to a pastor and say I've never been 778 00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:12,600 baptized, but I've been saved. I need to be baptized. 779 00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:15,480 And I promise you, we'll make sure that there's water up 780 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:16,720 there. Jordan, was the water warm this 781 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:18,240 morning? It was warm this morning. 782 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:19,920 It did me warm water. What a luxury. 783 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:22,960 I baptized where the water wasn't warm. 784 00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:28,200 You understand what I'm saying? Lost a guy in a river one day. 785 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,080 His hands were up in the air and he was shouting Hallelujah as he 786 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:36,680 drifted away. That's no joke. 787 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,360 No joke. I learned that day. 788 00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:43,240 When you're baptized, put the head upriver to or you'll drown 789 00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:45,480 somebody if you're going right down his nose. 790 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:49,760 But anyway, lost him. He went all the way around the 791 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:56,400 bend screaming Hallelujah. Let's finish this up, verse 39. 792 00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:00,120 And when they come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord 793 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:03,960 carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more and went 794 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:06,160 on his way, rejoicing. A lot of joy in this passage. 795 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,800 But Philip found himself at Asitus, and as he passed 796 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,960 through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came 797 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:15,040 to Caesarea. Holy Spirit moves his people 798 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:18,000 according to his plan to fulfill his mission. 799 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:21,120 People were baptized, people rejoicing, servants were 800 00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:23,280 preaching the gospel to all the towns. 801 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:26,480 Philip finds himself in the Old Testament, Ashdod, the old 802 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:28,560 capital, the old enemies of the Philistines. 803 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:31,800 He preaches along the coast and finds herself finally at 804 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,280 Caesarea. So the gospel spreads according 805 00:42:34,280 --> 00:42:36,360 to Acts 18. Everything's coming true until 806 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:39,120 finally it reached some of you and it reached me. 807 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:42,520 See one of the things you got to understand is his mission always 808 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,640 moves forward with or without us. 809 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:48,360 Persecution in crisis couldn't stop it instead of pushed it 810 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,320 forward in new ways. My God takes difficulties and he 811 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,320 makes them into opportunities. Last time I checked he can even 812 00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:58,120 command the storms. Listen to what the gospel says 813 00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:03,920 in Mark four and he being Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and 814 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:08,360 said to the sea, peace be still. And the wind ceased and there 815 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:12,280 was a great calm and he said to them, why are you so afraid? 816 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:16,160 Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great 817 00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:19,720 fear and said to one another, who then is this, that even the 818 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:24,680 wind and the sea obey him. Well, let me tell you and answer 819 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,320 that question this morning, folks. 820 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:31,320 He is Jesus, the Christ God Incarnate, who came to be one of 821 00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:35,240 us to show us how to live and to die for our sins is a perfect 822 00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:38,680 sacrifice on the cross, because He's the only one perfect enough 823 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:42,040 to make that incredible payment. And then he destroyed death 824 00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:45,480 through his resurrection so that we might have eternal life if we 825 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:49,480 believe by faith in grace, in the grace He offers us, to be 826 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:51,400 saved. That's who He is. 827 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:55,760 And He is absolutely the only one who can give you true peace 828 00:43:55,760 --> 00:44:01,600 and save your eternal soul. And if I were you, I would 829 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:08,480 listen to him right now. I believe I'd ask Him to forgive 830 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:10,960 you. I'd ask Him to save you. 831 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:15,720 Allow Him to remove your fears, calm the storms. 832 00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:17,840 It doesn't matter what's raging in your life right now. 833 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:21,240 Be still and allow Him to bring you peace. 834 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:23,640 He can rebuke those winds and waves for you. 835 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:28,920 Peace. Be still and respond. 836 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:35,400 Father, thank you. Thank you that we are not trying 837 00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:39,960 to tackle the winds and waves of this life on our own. 838 00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:41,840 It's too much. It's too much, Father. 839 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:45,400 It's too much. Thank you, Father, that you 840 00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:48,200 don't leave us alone to do that. But Father, you are equipping 841 00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:53,560 us, discipling us, making us, sanctifying us to be the people 842 00:44:54,240 --> 00:45:00,800 who believe, to be the people who take your truth to a world 843 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:05,360 that's crumbling. Father, this morning, maybe 844 00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:08,480 there's somebody here and they're they're at that first 845 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,120 step. They need to be saved. 846 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:14,640 They need to ask Christ to come into their heart as the Lord and 847 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:17,000 Savior to believe he died for them and rose again. 848 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:20,040 Well, Father, I just pray, Father, don't let him leave. 849 00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:21,480 Don't let him sit. Don't let him. 850 00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:24,080 Father, as soon as we begin to sing that they would come down 851 00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:27,040 an aisle and take a pastor by the hand and say, I, I've got to 852 00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:33,760 know what it means to be saved. Father, many believers here, the 853 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:36,240 Lord, sometimes we take you as a luxury. 854 00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:38,920 We take Christianity as an option. 855 00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:43,160 We take church as a choice. We take obedience. 856 00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:49,000 That's just one other thing, Father, forgive us. 857 00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:53,240 May people around the world forgive us, Father, who don't 858 00:45:53,240 --> 00:45:59,040 have any opportunities. Father, I pray that we'll 859 00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:01,480 recognize our responsibility, our stewardship. 860 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,040 Father, for some, that means they need to be baptized. 861 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:09,680 They need to publicly identify their salvation with the church. 862 00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:13,800 Others need to join the church so they can serve and be held 863 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:17,120 accountable for that service. Others need to come and they're 864 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:18,560 called. They're called the ministry. 865 00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,840 They're called the missions. Maybe some just need to come and 866 00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:23,800 unload some of the storms in their life. 867 00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:27,160 They just need to come and pray. Maybe they need to pray for 868 00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:28,600 Oaxaca. Maybe they need to pray for 869 00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:30,440 Rocky Mount. Maybe they need to pray for the 870 00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:32,680 meeting getting ready to happen in just a couple of minutes. 871 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:36,880 Father, we ought to all be stirred to something. 872 00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:44,600 Surely apathy is not an option. Surely same old, same old isn't 873 00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:46,600 the right choice today. Surely not. 874 00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:51,720 So let us listen and let us obey in Christ's name. 875 00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:55,080 Hey man, stand with me. We're going to sing together. 876 00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:56,840 There'll be some of us standing up here. 877 00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:58,360 You don't have to even talk to one of us. 878 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:00,200 You can just come and pray if you want to do that. 879 00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:03,960 But whatever God tells you to do, you do it, and do it now.