1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Englewood 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 in to 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 --> 00:00:21,640 according to the Bible. Well, good morning, Englewood. 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,840 Take your Bibles this morning and turn to Acts Chapter 9, if 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,320 you will. I appreciate so much you being 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:29,800 here. If you're a guest this morning, 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,080 thank you so much. I saw a couple of guests earlier 11 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:34,640 today. Appreciate you being here so 12 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,520 much and look forward to what God's going to share with us. 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,400 We've been studying the book of Acts together and we're going to 14 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,400 continue that in just a moment. Then we're going to celebrate 15 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:46,640 the Lord's Supper. Forget to celebrate both the 16 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:52,120 ordinances, this ordinances this morning with Graceland being 17 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:53,720 baptized earlier, which we appreciate. 18 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,360 So last Wednesday night we did some prayer walking training. 19 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,680 Head over 200 people going out in about a three mile radius 20 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,440 around this building. They're going to prayer walk 21 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,320 over 2200 homes. They're doing that for the next 22 00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:09,600 three weeks in conjunction with preparation for vacation Bible 23 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,440 School. So I appreciated those of you 24 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,200 who did, who were here and are doing that this Wednesday night, 25 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,800 we're actually going to have our Midsummer prayer meeting right 26 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,040 back in here. And so students will be in the 27 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,160 edge. Adults will be back in here and 28 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:24,440 we're going to have a prayer time together. 29 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,480 That'll be very special, kind of like we did before Easter. 30 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,680 But we also are going to have testimonies from prayer walking 31 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,160 already heard a few. So I hope you'll be back this 32 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:32,680 Wednesday night. It'll be a it'll be a very 33 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,160 special night. And they're looking forward to 34 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:36,920 I'm a vacation Bible school of holic. 35 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,440 So looking forward to VBS Thank you those who are working and 36 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:46,160 serving. Few years ago I was, I was with 37 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:51,400 my daughter in Uganda. Uganda was a common destination 38 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,800 for us for many, many years. We have had a partnership with 39 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,080 the Uganda Baptist Seminary for a long time, one of the oldest 40 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,000 partnerships we had. And so we've trained all of 41 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,680 their faculty more or less with master's degrees. 42 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,680 And so I would go over and teach quite often and whenever I took 43 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,880 one of the kids or Teresa was with me, we would sometimes do a 44 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,920 little, little tourism. I didn't know a lot of that when 45 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:19,120 I was travelling, but we went up to a game park there and drove 46 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,160 around, saw some of the animals and whatnot like you do. 47 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,920 And then that night we were camping along the Nile River 48 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:26,000 because the Nile flows out of Lake Victoria there. 49 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:28,520 And that it that you know, you have tent camps. 50 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,600 I don't know if you know this. You can, you can safari in a 51 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,720 couple different ways. You can stay in a lodge or you 52 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:35,800 can tent camp. These are big tents. 53 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,640 They're big, heavy, heavy vinyl tints with, with windows and 54 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:40,920 they're pretty nice on the inside. 55 00:02:40,920 --> 00:02:43,120 Had a, had a, had a cot kind of idea set up. 56 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,120 And that night when we were eating dinner in the camp, the, 57 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,800 the, the leader of the camp, the person who ran it, warned us 58 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,800 that at night the hippos would come out of the river and graze 59 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,120 around the tents. And, and so don't worry about 60 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,480 them. Just don't startle them and 61 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,320 everything will be fine. And that, that didn't help me 62 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,480 sleep at all. But and so about two O clock in 63 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,320 the morning, my daughter, you know, wakes me up and she goes 64 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,280 dad, dad. And and right outside the, you 65 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,360 know, it's a, it's a mesh, you know, windows in a, in a tent. 66 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,160 They're mesh. This mesh tent about for me to 67 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,040 that keyboard was that you could, you could see this giant 68 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:23,720 shadow and then you could hear it. 69 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:28,560 It was, I don't know if you know this, but hippos come out at 70 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:30,440 night and graze on grass like cows. 71 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,200 And so they're out there chomping on the grass and you 72 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,120 can imagine that big old mouth and you just right, right by my 73 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,400 head. And so at that point I wasn't 74 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,600 going back to sleep, but so, so we sat there and we were kind 75 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:44,680 of, and you can, if you looked, you can see there's a whole herd 76 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:46,240 of them. There's a whole herd of hippos 77 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,200 right outside my vinyl mesh tent. 78 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:52,480 Well, now it's the middle of the night. 79 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:53,840 So of course I got to go to the bathroom. 80 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:59,160 So now the problem is, is that the bathroom was a little Wicker 81 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,760 spirally thing about where the drum set is. 82 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,880 And, and so I, you have to go outside your tent to get there. 83 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,240 And so I, I, my daughter is suggesting to me, this is not 84 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:16,440 the wisest choice to make, but I go and there's a big heavy duty 85 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,920 zipper on the tent and, and Velcro to keep the bugs and 86 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:21,959 stuff out snakes and bugs and whatnot. 87 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:29,880 So of course I go and and the ground begins to shake because I 88 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,600 have now caused a hippo Stampede and the rest of the camp is now 89 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,440 awake and they're not appreciating whoever it was who 90 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,920 caused the hippo Stampede, as you can imagine, so that you can 91 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,080 hear them. They run to the river and then 92 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,560 they spin around and their mouths are open. 93 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:48,760 Because I don't know if you know this or not, but hippos kill 94 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,000 more people in Africa than any other animal. 95 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:53,400 But they, they do it in the water. 96 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,120 They're very territorial in the water. 97 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,080 They're, they run on the land and get back there, you know, 98 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,440 like that. And I wasn't going swimming 99 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,680 after I used the bathroom. And I, and I think about that 100 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:07,160 story. My daughter and I bought little 101 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,240 matching. We have little hippo bowls that 102 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,480 we have at the house. Remember the truth, You know, 103 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,400 it's amazing what produces fear in our lives. 104 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,920 Sometimes the real things, sometimes they're just perceived 105 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,400 things, threats, sometimes giant shadowy grass eating, grunting 106 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,120 fears. But it's also kind of amazing 107 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:31,920 how God can powerfully Dr. our fears away that he can he can 108 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:36,400 transform our fear into faith. And that's part of what we're 109 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,800 going to see in a passage today. We we got to walk closely with 110 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,280 him. We need to abide in him. 111 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:43,040 We we want to bring him great glory. 112 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:47,360 We want to live out his mission, but we're currently working 113 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,280 really hard behind the scenes, connecting people and ministries 114 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:56,400 and schedules and events into a unified vision to move forward 115 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,840 into this new chapter that he has for Inglewood. 116 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:03,640 And so we've met for hours upon hours upon hours in various ways 117 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:05,760 with various groups as leadership teams. 118 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:07,840 And so I'm going to have a whole lot to share with you. 119 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:11,560 And God is just revealing to us and we believe laying out for us 120 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,200 his plan for us. We're very excited about it, but 121 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:15,640 we need to listen very carefully. 122 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:21,720 And then we need to respond very actively in obedience to Him as 123 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,760 we come together and we come join the King's mission. 124 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:27,400 And that's been our theme throughout the the story of 125 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,600 Acts, because we're, we're studying about the early church 126 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,040 so that we can learn about church, we can learn about 127 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:35,120 church membership and discipleship. 128 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,160 But but always remember, even when we face giant, shadowy, 129 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:43,480 scary challenges in the darkness of life, that he's with us and 130 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,200 he never leaves us. He has great purpose for us. 131 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,120 And he and, and all of us must get on board with him with 132 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,360 whatever his plan is. And so as we've been learning in 133 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,240 our study of Acts, sometimes those challenges are very real. 134 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,040 Sometimes it's very dangerous. If you, if you haven't been with 135 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,880 us for the last couple of weeks, the church is experiencing great 136 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,720 persecution. It's a hard time. 137 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,760 Look at Acts Chapter 9, verse one. 138 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:11,680 But Saul still breathing threats and murders against and murder 139 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,240 against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and 140 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,320 asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus so that 141 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,400 if you found any belonging to the way men or women, he might 142 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,760 bring them bound to Jerusalem. And so so to join God's mission. 143 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,960 One of the things we got to make very clear is that it does not 144 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:29,840 depend upon our self righteousness. 145 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,920 And this is something we really need to be sure about because we 146 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:38,440 we see that Saul's intending to stamp out this new movement. 147 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,040 He he wanted to exterminate Christians. 148 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,120 Don't miss the violent language there. 149 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,120 He even uses the word murder. He's not just going to throw him 150 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,720 in jail. He's going to kill you if he 151 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,640 can. He wanted to exterminate 152 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,200 Christians in Christianity. But here's the part that's 153 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,640 important. He thought he was doing this in 154 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,000 the name of God. He really thought that he was 155 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,560 righteous in his mission. He thought that what he was 156 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,320 doing was the right thing. These Christians are escaping 157 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,360 Jerusalem, and I got to go get them so they don't get away. 158 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,000 So he gets letters of introduction, probably from 159 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,720 Caiaphas himself, probably the same high priest who crucified 160 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,840 Jesus and absolutely hated his followers. 161 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,640 And so these letters to the synagogues of Damascus would 162 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,640 rally local support to help him arrest Christians so he could 163 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,120 haul them back to Jerusalem for punishment. 164 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,360 But again, listen. Self defining the will of God 165 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,520 will fail. Self defining the will of God 166 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:42,280 will lead you to the wrong conclusion every single time. 167 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:46,720 Your plans alone are simply not enough. 168 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,560 Self righteousness will never be enough. 169 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:52,760 No matter how intelligent you think you are, no matter how 170 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:56,320 perfect you may think you are, you will simply never be perfect 171 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,880 enough or smart enough. So your imperfect ways will 172 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,920 always fall short. You were not created to live 173 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,480 this life on your own, no matter what you think. 174 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,360 And you can be a guest today and you, you could say I'm just kind 175 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,120 of abiding my time to get through this Christianity junk. 176 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,960 But you may be hearing me online today and think that, but you've 177 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,600 got to understand your ways will be imperfect and they will fail 178 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,400 you. So we cannot work our way. 179 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:28,680 We cannot earn our way. We cannot somehow gain through 180 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:31,760 our own work the the acceptance of God. 181 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,640 That's not how salvation works. That's not how our relationship 182 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,400 with Him works. And that's why we're going to 183 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,480 celebrate the Lord's Supper in a minute because he demands 184 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,240 something far more than our self righteousness. 185 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,880 I don't I don't care how how much you think you got a handle 186 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,320 on it. That handle will slip and he 187 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,560 demands more because self righteousness won't get us 188 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:54,400 there. Look at verse 3. 189 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:58,080 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus and suddenly 190 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,760 a light from heaven shone around him and falling to the ground, 191 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,600 he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you 192 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,040 persecuting me? And he said, who are you Lord? 193 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,200 And he said, I am Jesus whom you're persecuting. 194 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:16,680 So, so joining God's mission, self righteousness is not going 195 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:22,000 to work, but instead it demands spiritual transformation. 196 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:27,560 It's difficult to overestimate the significance of Saul's 197 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:32,840 conversion this soon to be preacher, missionary, theologian 198 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,200 who not only spreads the gospel and plants churches, but 199 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,800 actually helps write a large percentage under the leadership 200 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,800 of the Holy Spirit of what we call the New Testament. 201 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:49,200 He's blinded and the light was extremely bright because later 202 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:53,400 on in chapters 22 and 26, he'll tell you that it's midday, it's 203 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,320 the middle of the day, and so this light had to be extremely 204 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,760 bright, right? The glory of the Lord knocks him 205 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,680 to the ground, knocks him to his knees. 206 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,960 The words of Jesus hit him like a tidal wave. 207 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,480 It was that you got to hear me. It was the opposite of 208 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:12,040 everything he believed to be true. 209 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:17,640 This was a smart guy. Saul might have had a genius 210 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,800 intellect. He was a student of the great 211 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,720 Gameliel. This is a smart person and and 212 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,600 everything he thought was right, everything he had it all figured 213 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:29,160 out. Everything in his self 214 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:33,200 righteousness, everything he had packaged up was wrong. 215 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,880 His self defined righteousness and truth were wrong. 216 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,560 His self perceived perfection was imperfect. 217 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:44,920 Saul was persecuting believers because he thought the 218 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:49,000 Christians were telling lies about Jesus rising from the dead 219 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,760 and being the Messiah. But instead he's the one that 220 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:55,200 the genius is the one who's living the lie. 221 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:58,760 And our world does the same thing. 222 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,880 Friends, maybe you do the same thing. 223 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,680 Maybe you justify your own beliefs and you disregard belief 224 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:10,160 in Jesus. Maybe you think Christianity is 225 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,480 myth or all a lie. Or maybe you have the attitude 226 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,040 and this is what I see a lot of. I've seen this even as I've 227 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,600 visited with some folks here. Here's the attitude I get a lot. 228 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:22,880 I'm OK. I'm as good as the next guy. 229 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:25,600 So I don't need Jesus. I don't. 230 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,040 I don't need the church. Listen to me. 231 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:31,920 That philosophy is flawed and it will fail you. 232 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:38,400 So Saul beheld Christ's glory and the undeniable proof and 233 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:43,520 truth of who Jesus really is. Not only does Jesus lives, but 234 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,640 the Lord Jesus reigns. He is the Lord, He is the 235 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:53,400 curious, and he recognizes it. So the one who held the power of 236 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,240 the Sanhedrin in his hands, the one who screened threats of 237 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,000 imprisonment and even murder against the church was blinded 238 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,800 and broken. Before Jesus, Saul had been 239 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,800 persecuting what he thought were a band of heretics and he had 240 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,600 actually been fighting God himself and his self 241 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,280 righteousness now was like filthy rags before Christ and 242 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,240 his self defined truth was lying in the dirt. 243 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:24,640 No more arguments, no more threats, no more debate and 244 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,960 gang, I remember being in that place before Christ. 245 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:34,480 I remember he had to break me so I could realize the truth. 246 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:40,120 No more arguments, no more debate on my knees. 247 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,480 And I pray you remember when you were convinced of who Jesus 248 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,280 truly is, the real truth. That's what we're going to 249 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:51,120 celebrate in a minute. And and so in a moment, those of 250 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,400 us who already know that and have experienced personal 251 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,040 transformation by him, we're not only going to remember what he's 252 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:00,480 done for us, we're going to remember what he's done to us as 253 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,040 we celebrate the Lord's Supper. Because only Jesus Christ had 254 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,320 this has the true power. Only he has control. 255 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,440 Only he can transform you into who you're supposed to be. 256 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:13,640 Only he could transform somebody who once denied him. 257 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:19,200 So do not dare deny Jesus any long any longer. 258 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:24,120 And that's about as fair and an honest warning as I could ever 259 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,560 give you. Verse 6. 260 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,040 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you were 261 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,360 to do. The men who were travelling with 262 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,960 him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one. 263 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,080 Saul rose from the ground. Saul rose from the ground, and 264 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:40,560 although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. 265 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,640 So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 266 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,600 And for three days he was without sight and neither ate 267 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,080 nor drank. Now here and later again in 268 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:56,920 chapter 22, we will read that Saul sees this light and hears 269 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,160 the voice. The people with him saw the 270 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:00,920 light. They heard a noise, but they 271 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:05,560 couldn't hear the voice. The voice was only for Saul. 272 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:11,640 But that's the way salvation is. See, salvation, true salvation, 273 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:15,640 is very personal. Just like Graceland testified 274 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,400 earlier and was baptized in their other service. 275 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,320 You must be saved. It doesn't matter what your Mama 276 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:22,440 did. It doesn't matter what your 277 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:24,360 grandmama did. It doesn't matter if it's Ram or 278 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,720 tradition to go to church. It doesn't matter if everybody 279 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:28,560 goes to church because you're supposed to go to church. 280 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,120 That's not going to save you. It's not enough. 281 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:35,920 You have to be saved between you and the Lord. 282 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:41,280 And Jesus could not and would not be ignored any longer by 283 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,320 this persecutor. The King's mission can't be 284 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,640 ignored. He calls us to pursue. 285 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,760 He calls us to seek. He calls us to get on board. 286 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,080 But Paul. But excuse me, Saul hadn't 287 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,680 changed his name yet. But Saul was not the only one in 288 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,640 this story who needed transformation. 289 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:01,800 Look at verse 10. Now there was a disciple of 290 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,240 Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a 291 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,400 vision, Ananias. And he said, Here I am, Lord. 292 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:09,680 And the Lord said to him, Rise and go to the street called 293 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,120 Straight, And at the House of Judas look for a man of Tarsus 294 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,520 named Saul. For behold, he is praying, and 295 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,400 he has seen a vision. Seen in a vision a man named 296 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,320 Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might 297 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:26,440 regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I 298 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,880 have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done 299 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:33,320 to your Saints at Jerusalem, and here he has the authority from 300 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,920 the chief priest to bind all who call on your name. 301 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,600 But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of 302 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,160 mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the 303 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:48,360 children of Israel. For I will show him, I will show 304 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,800 him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. 305 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:56,040 So Christians were already in Damascus, which may be why 306 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,720 others for fleeing from Jerusalem to Damascus. 307 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:00,760 It might have been they wanted to be there in that community. 308 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,800 And Ananias actually responds kind of like an Old Testament 309 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,000 prophet. You see it often when God calls, 310 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,079 he says, here I am, Lord, I'm here. 311 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,839 And then he's given these specific instructions about Saul 312 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,119 and he responds to God with us. Say what? 313 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:22,599 You want me to do what I mean? Saul's reputation was well 314 00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:24,520 known. His mission was obviously even 315 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:26,520 well known. They knew what he was doing. 316 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,720 They knew what he was about. And Ananias's fear was well 317 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,360 founded by every earthly standard. 318 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:36,600 Let me give you a piece of advice. 319 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:40,400 It's not smart to go out in the African night and use the 320 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:47,480 bathroom in a herd of hippos. Now don't let that be the only 321 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:48,960 thing you remember from this morning. 322 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:56,240 But Ananias fear required some transformation, didn't it? 323 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,560 Something had to change. I mean, his fear is real. 324 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:03,560 Our fear of responding to God, our fear of obeying him 325 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,800 sometimes in service, must be transformed into faith. 326 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,680 We we might ought not always be confident even of what God wants 327 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,120 from us. You're calling me to do what? 328 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,520 Me. Me You. 329 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,960 You want me to volunteer in Vacation Bible school? 330 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,920 You want me to take a turn working in the nursery? 331 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:27,640 You You want me to help with children? 332 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:30,480 You want you want me to serve on a ministry team. 333 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:32,720 You, you want me to join a connect group. 334 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:34,800 I mean the preacher harps about it non-stop. 335 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:36,600 You want me to join one of those? 336 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,120 You want me to lead a connect group? 337 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,720 You, you want me to teach? You want me to serve full time 338 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,640 on the mission field? You want me to be on a mission 339 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:49,160 trip? You. 340 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,040 You want me to be in full? Me. 341 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,080 Lord, you don't know me. But wait a minute. 342 00:18:56,120 --> 00:19:01,520 Yeah, you do. You know me better than than I 343 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,320 know me. Listen there. 344 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:08,120 There's absolutely one of the greatest miracles you've ever 345 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:09,760 witnessed in your life is me standing here. 346 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,680 You, you have no idea. But there's nothing in my DNA, 347 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,720 my background, my culture, my tradition that would say that 348 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,480 this is where I was going to end up. 349 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,320 Nothing. Me. 350 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:28,840 We may need our faith and our fears transformed to understand 351 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,160 His way, to understand His calling and purpose for us. 352 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:37,840 He has a reason for you existing today, and He'll guide us. 353 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,120 He wants us to know His mission. He's not trying to keep it a 354 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,960 secret from us. He wants us to know what he 355 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,720 wants. Listen to what he says, Verse 356 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:48,240 15. He lays the foundation for 357 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,920 Paul's life purpose. He's a chosen instrument of mine 358 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,000 to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the 359 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,960 children of Israel. I mean, here's a clear 360 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:59,160 understanding of the whole reason why Saul or Paul exists. 361 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,480 Here's his why. Here's his who of calling and 362 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:08,080 ministry and mission right now. If I were to ask you, what would 363 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:12,040 that verse need to say about your life? 364 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,840 What's your calling? If you're a believer, you have 365 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,240 one. What's your giftedness? 366 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:21,760 If you're a believer, you have that. 367 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,320 What's your purpose? We all have a reason for being 368 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,120 alive. What is your why and what is 369 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,560 your who? Why are you here and who are you 370 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,200 supposed to be? God has those answers for you, 371 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,960 and we're going to give you avenues here at Inglewood to 372 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,720 begin to live them out through our discipleship process that 373 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,640 we're getting ready to unveil be because I want you to behold the 374 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,280 power of the King's mission. I don't want to just talk about 375 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:49,480 it. We're going to live it. 376 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,440 Look at verse 17. So Ananias got on a boat and ran 377 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:55,480 away. Is that what it says? 378 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,480 No. So Ananias departed and entered 379 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,120 the house. Now you're going to see one of 380 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:05,720 the most brilliant testimonies of grace right here. 381 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,200 And laying his hands on him, he said. 382 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:13,800 What did he call him? Huh, man? 383 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:21,520 The gospel, he said. Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 384 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,080 who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, 385 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,440 so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the 386 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:28,720 Holy Spirit. And immediately something like 387 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,520 scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. 388 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,440 Then he rose and was baptized, and taking food he was 389 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,840 strengthened. For some days he was with the 390 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,480 disciples at Damascus and. And I just listened. 391 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:44,720 And even though he's scared to death, even though it makes no 392 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,280 sense, God, this is totally illogical. 393 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:49,920 You're going to get me killed. I'm going to end up in prison in 394 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,840 Jerusalem. This is crazy. 395 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,520 God. He did it anyway. 396 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,160 He obeyed. And that's some real fear 397 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:03,160 transformed into faith right there. 398 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:05,640 And then. You see that amazing greeting, 399 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,640 brother Saul? I mean, see what Christ can do. 400 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:14,720 See what grace creates. He makes enemies into brothers. 401 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,640 So Saul was spiritually transformed and physically 402 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,160 healed, and Anais was faithfully transformed and obeyed. 403 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:25,760 And I just want you to see the wonderful cycle of discipleship 404 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,320 and evangelism that he calls us to that never, ever ends. 405 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:34,760 Look at verse 20 and immediately this is Saul. 406 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,320 He proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying He is the Son 407 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,200 of God. And all who heard him were 408 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,120 amazed and said, is this not the man who made havoc in Jerusalem 409 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:45,920 of those who called upon this name? 410 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,680 And has he not come here for this purpose to bring them bound 411 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,240 before the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more 412 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,280 in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by 413 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,320 proving that Jesus was the Christ. 414 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:01,960 See, joining God's mission does not depend upon our self 415 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:03,520 righteousness. We're never going to be good 416 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:04,920 enough. This isn't about whether we're 417 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,160 good or bad. This is about who we believe in. 418 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,000 And then it does demand our spiritual transformation. 419 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,680 But it also thirdly, is going to expect sacrificial service. 420 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:16,960 You don't just get to be saved and sit back. 421 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,400 That's not how this works. It's never worked that way. 422 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:27,680 Jesus transformed a raging, zealous persecutor into a 423 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:32,000 passionate, zealous preacher. I can't wait for you to meet my 424 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,680 friend in November who's going to come and share with us during 425 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:39,520 Missions Week who was a radical Muslim and then became a radical 426 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:44,960 house church pastor in the middle of Iran, preaching in the 427 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,120 synagogue about who Jesus truly was. 428 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,400 His complete transformation absolutely shocked them. 429 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,400 It absolutely astounded them. He was just as passionate for 430 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,640 Christ as he had been about stopping Christ. 431 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,120 And it says that he was proving that Jesus was the Christ. 432 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:03,960 That word proving is a Greek word that means to join, to 433 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,040 think of a jigsaw puzzle, join things together. 434 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:10,000 So what he's doing is he's taking the Old Testament texts 435 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,880 and he's connecting them, showing how Jesus fulfills them 436 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,000 and how the the whole stories about him, that's what he's 437 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,160 doing. And they're unable to refute the 438 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,520 skillful interpretation of the former student of the mighty 439 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,760 Rabbi Gamilio. And the Bible says that Saul 440 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:28,240 increased all the more in his strength. 441 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,200 He kept on growing and kept on growing. 442 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,120 And his ability to share about Jesus. 443 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,560 One of the things that I'm going to do this fall is I want to 444 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:38,760 teach you how to naturally relationally share your faith. 445 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,160 I want you to learn how to be evangelistic, not just how to do 446 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:46,360 evangelism. 1 is a state of being 24 hours a day, seven days 447 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:47,960 a week. The other one is a program you 448 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,320 learn. And we're going to I want to 449 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,960 teach you how to be in that state of being just a natural 450 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,920 overflow of who you are in Jesus to share about him with others. 451 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:01,360 So salvation and sanctification continually transform us into 452 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:04,560 the disciples that God uses for his glory. 453 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,680 And it never ever stops. So first you means to be truly 454 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,800 saved by Jesus. I appreciated the testimony in 455 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:12,480 the lobby. I heard of someone who recently 456 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,760 has done that. And then you must grow in 457 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:18,240 discipleship as his follower. And that never stops. 458 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:23,080 It never stops. So new vision and mission 459 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,600 statements are coming your way. We've been working as leadership 460 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,240 on these with supporting essential discipleship 461 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,520 descriptions and goals that we believe God has guided us to 462 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,640 that guide us to create. That will be presented very, 463 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:35,840 very soon. And we're going to, I'm going to 464 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:37,800 preach about these things. We're going to teach about these 465 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,800 things. We're going to share about these 466 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:41,320 things. And it's going to guide us to 467 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:45,600 become, to become better at who we must be and to know what we 468 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:49,680 must know and to do what we must do in order to be disciples, in 469 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,920 order for us to increase in strength and to prove to others 470 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:58,160 that Jesus really is the Christ. And my prayer soon is that 471 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,280 there's not an empty seat in here for either service, because 472 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,600 we're drawing people to come hear about our Lord. 473 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,320 How will you serve him, all of you? 474 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,840 What percentage of participation do I expect? 475 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,880 Crazy man? Absurd. 476 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,520 But then again, I walk with herds of hippos, so who am I to 477 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,320 tell you it's time to mobilize, It's time to move. 478 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,800 But remember, our enemy never stops. 479 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,960 Our enemy never sleeps. He'll never relent. 480 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,040 Look at verse 23. When many days had passed, the 481 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:34,560 Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. 482 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:37,880 They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. 483 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:40,680 But his disciples took him by night and let him down through 484 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,600 an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 485 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:44,800 They couldn't stop him, so let's just kill him. 486 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,960 The persecutor turned preacher becomes the persecuted. 487 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,880 The hunter becomes the haunted. And there's a price to pay. 488 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:58,840 There's a sacrifice to make when you fully follow Jesus. 489 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:03,040 Remember, Jesus even told him in verse 16, I'm going to show him 490 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,200 how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. 491 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:08,480 There's a price to pay. So they helped him escape. 492 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:10,840 If you were reading in Galatians, it's interesting to 493 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,920 read the letters of Paul, compare them to the book of 494 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:13,840 Acts. You'll learn a lot. 495 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,080 There's a lot of commentary back and forth between the two In 496 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,960 Galatians chapter 1, he'll, he'll share how he goes down to 497 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,680 Arabia, eventually back to Damascus, and then finally to 498 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,440 Jerusalem after about three years. 499 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,320 And so time frames in the book of Acts are kind of slippery, 500 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,240 kind of tricky. So what you're getting ready to 501 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,440 see is actually three years later, verse 26. 502 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,400 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join 503 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,720 the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not 504 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,000 believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and 505 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,840 brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road 506 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,920 he had seen the Lord who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he 507 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:51,720 had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 508 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:55,520 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly 509 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,240 in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed 510 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:00,800 against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. 511 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,600 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to 512 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,240 Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 513 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:10,000 They, the disciples, were just as afraid of him as Ananias was. 514 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:15,920 So in steps, Barnabas, it's nice to have an encouraging mediator 515 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,200 in your life. We need fellow followers. 516 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,040 We, we need to stand and support one another. 517 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,360 We need people to encourage us at times. 518 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:26,120 Sometimes we need people to catch us. 519 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,680 We, we need to stand and serve together. 520 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,400 And I don't know about you, that sounds a whole lot like connect 521 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:33,800 groups. But then again, I just rant and 522 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,880 rave about those all the time. But between our family 523 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:39,400 ministries and our connect groups, we stand together on 524 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:44,280 teams, working together. So Saul preached, he preached 525 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,680 too, and he debated with these Jews in Jerusalem until 526 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,920 persecution came and they send him home to Tarsus. 527 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,240 And he ministered there for some time and we'll pick up his story 528 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,920 later again. But what price will you pay to 529 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:01,600 see God's mission fulfilled? Are you willing to serve, even 530 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:05,080 sacrifice? Let me get more pointed. 531 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,880 Where do you sacrificially serve in the life of this church right 532 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,200 now? Or would you? 533 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,000 I want you to think of this initial quadrant of four things. 534 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,960 100% participation. Now, there are other things I 535 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,800 know and I'm not, I'm not disputing those, the importance 536 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:28,200 of other things, but I just want you to think about these four 537 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:29,360 things. I want you to think about the 538 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,000 worship service. I want you to think about 539 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,920 connect groups, I want you to think about midweek, and I want 540 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,200 you to think about service. Let's start with those four 541 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,000 things, 100% participation in those four things. 542 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,760 Now other opportunities exist and we're going to continue to 543 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,600 talk about it and give you specific ways and places to 544 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,480 serve. But first, join that connect 545 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:53,480 group so we can work together. And let's see what God does with 546 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,600 people fully on board. Because joining His mission is 547 00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:01,160 not dependent upon our self righteousness and who we are. 548 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:04,200 It demands spiritual transformation. 549 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,320 It expects sacrificial service. And then look at verse 31 before 550 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,440 we take the Supper. So the church throughout all 551 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:16,240 Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up 552 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,240 and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the 553 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,280 Holy Spirit. It multiplied. 554 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,440 The last thing we see is, is that joining God's mission will 555 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:31,720 result in our growth. And they had peace, they had 556 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,320 growth, they had fear, they had comfort. 557 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,720 And it's remarkable they have it all at the same time. 558 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,560 You got to understand these are issues of worship and authority. 559 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,160 The Holy Spirit blessed and comforted them because of their 560 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:47,320 complete dependence upon Him. And the Lord once again steps in 561 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,200 and brings His people through crisis, brings them through 562 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:54,200 transition. That giant, that giant danger, 563 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:56,600 dangerous Stampede could not overwhelm them. 564 00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:00,120 Instead, the monster became a messenger instead of a thread 565 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,480 anymore. And through the deliverance of 566 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:06,440 the Holy Spirit, the Church flourishes us and flourishes. 567 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:08,080 But I want you to see this formula. 568 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,120 I want you to take careful note of this. 569 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:18,040 Qualitative growth and spiritual transformation led to God 570 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,920 glorifying quantitative growth. And it's in that order. 571 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,760 You got to understand the significance of the order of 572 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,800 things. We must have a qualitative drive 573 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:34,680 with the expectation of quantitative growth and not 574 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:40,720 simply a quantitative drive with the hope of qualitative growth. 575 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,080 And you really need to understand what I just said. 576 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:48,200 Quality must come first. We need to develop our 577 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,600 discipleship. We need to be transformed. 578 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:53,680 We need to be willing to grow and to serve and to sacrifice. 579 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:55,760 We need to be saved and then pursued. 580 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,920 Personal discipleship and the discipleship of others. 581 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,640 And so then we'll see. God bless. 582 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:03,520 We've seen it. Teresa and I have seen this over 583 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:05,880 and over and over again. When you do it in the right 584 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:07,240 order, you do it in the right way. 585 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,400 God blesses it. If we just start off with 586 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:14,200 numbers and we're just about drawing the crowd, we don't know 587 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,400 whether we're producing disciples or not. 588 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,360 We don't know whether we're bringing God glory or not. 589 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:23,280 But if we're actually making disciples, we know that's going 590 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:24,840 to bring him glory. He's going to bless that. 591 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:29,280 He's going to bring more people, and we'll see us grow and grow 592 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:31,680 and grow. So who? 593 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:38,640 Tough question, Who and how many are you discipling personally 594 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:43,560 right now? Don't just be a disciple, be a 595 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:47,320 disciple maker. Because what a powerful 596 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,360 testimony this text presents to us. 597 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:52,200 It's a testimony of transformation. 598 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:54,880 And for those of us who have already experienced his 599 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,520 transforming power, what we're going to do now is celebrate him 600 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:02,240 by remembering what He's done for us. 601 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,440 The Lord's Supper is an ordinance of the church. 602 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:09,240 It's not a sacrament. I want to be very clear now. 603 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:13,320 Sacrament is a ritual in which it's believed that God's grace 604 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,520 is dispensed when you observe it. 605 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:20,560 So Sacramento theology means that salvation comes through 606 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,280 these works as part of your salvation. 607 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,920 We don't practice sacraments here. 608 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:29,560 We don't believe that's what the Bible teaches. 609 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:33,160 We believe the Bible clearly teaches that salvation is by 610 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:35,680 grace through faith and not the result of works. 611 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:40,840 So an ordinance therefore is an act of obedience where believers 612 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:45,040 observe to fulfill command of Christ and to testify about what 613 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:47,320 he has already done in their lives. 614 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,840 So these, these ordinances, baptism, Lord's Supper, these 615 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,360 are visuals of the gospel we share, not to be saved or to 616 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,600 maintain our salvation, but because we are saved. 617 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,920 So we take the supper to testify, We take the supper to 618 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:07,040 remember what Christ has already done for us on the cross through 619 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:09,199 his sacrifice. He gave his body, He gave his 620 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:12,520 blood to pay for the price for our sins that had to be paid 621 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,560 and, and, and we could never pay ourselves. 622 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:18,320 He's the only one who was perfect enough, the only one 623 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:23,040 capable, the only one qualified to pay the debt of our sin. 624 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,880 We also take the supper to remember. 625 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,800 We take the supper to renew. We renew our commitment to be 626 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,040 the disciples He desires for us to be. 627 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:36,159 So this is a time of renewal. There should be a time of 628 00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:37,960 recommitment. There should be a time of 629 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,360 revival of our understanding, our appreciation, and our 630 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,800 participation in our covenant relationship with Christ. 631 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,199 So the Supper does not make that happen in some supernatural way. 632 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:54,080 We do not believe the bread and the cup transform into ways to 633 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,560 receive grace. They are just symbols of grace 634 00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,840 already received and the opportunity to proclaim what 635 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:02,480 Christ has already done. So the only one. 636 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:05,640 This is important because the Bible gives us very strict 637 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:09,360 warnings about this. So only the one who has 638 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:12,960 experienced true salvation can actually prepare to take the 639 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,800 Supper in a worthy manner. Only those who've been saved by 640 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:20,840 grace through faith can recognize the sin that would 641 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,800 cause them to be unworthy to take the supper. 642 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:28,240 So the Lord's Supper, just like baptism, is for believers. 643 00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:31,920 And I want to thank Graceland again in the earliest service 644 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:36,520 for testifying for us. So a non believer has not yet 645 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,800 experienced the saving grace which the Supper proclaims and 646 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,080 therefore cannot remember or celebrate what they have not 647 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,640 experienced yet. So those of you who have not 648 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:50,000 personally trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior, I just 649 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,040 encourage you not to take the supper. 650 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:56,480 I encourage you to observe how we participate and take the 651 00:35:56,480 --> 00:36:00,760 supper first, be saved, then share in the supper with us to 652 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:04,680 remember to proclaim what has then also happened to you. 653 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,600 So we're going to prepare now to take this supper, this 654 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:12,480 celebration of remembrance. After I pray, we're going to 655 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,200 have a moment of just silent reflection as the instruments 656 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,920 play. It's not a time there will be no 657 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,400 one standing at the front. This is just a time for you to 658 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,680 stay where you are. This is a time for reflection. 659 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:26,920 It's a time for confession. It's a time for repentance. 660 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:29,960 It could be time for preparation for those of you who need to 661 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:31,640 trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior. 662 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:33,080 It could be a moment of salvation. 663 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,960 So I'm going to pray. We're going to reflect for just 664 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:40,640 a moment, then we're going to take the supper together. 665 00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:45,760 Father, I thank you so much for the testimony of Saul. 666 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:56,520 Father, I thank you so much for the way that you used him, for 667 00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:01,120 the way that you changed him. And then, Father, it just forces 668 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:04,960 me to thank you for the way that you've changed me. 669 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:11,120 I needed to be changed. Still in the process of 670 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:12,600 changing. Father, thank you. 671 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:16,440 And so, Father, I thank you for salvation. 672 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:21,800 I thank you for dying on the cross to pay for our sins 673 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,640 because we could not. Thank you for your victory over 674 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:33,280 death so we could live. And now I pray that we will 675 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:37,320 prepare our hearts well, examine ourselves and prepare well so 676 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:41,160 that we might celebrate, we might remember, we might 677 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:51,930 proclaim. Thank you so much for listening 678 00:37:51,930 --> 00:37:53,530 today. And I also hope that you'll go 679 00:37:53,530 --> 00:37:55,770 to ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 680 00:37:55,770 --> 00:37:58,810 as well as our app and find many other resources that will bless 681 00:37:58,810 --> 00:38:01,010 you and your families. Thank you once again.