1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,880 OK, so the reading today is from Acts chapter 14, verses 1 to 20. 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:14,600 That's on page 1109. In the newish green Bibles at 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,880 Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,760 synagogue. There they spoke so effectively 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:23,280 that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 6 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:26,480 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,080 Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:31,960 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,240 speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,960 grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,360 The people of the city were divided. 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,560 Some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 13 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:46,960 There was a plotter for among both Jews and Gentiles, together 14 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,520 with their leaders to I'll treat them and stone them. 15 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,480 But they found out about it and fled to the Lyconian cities of 16 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:56,800 Lystra and Derby and to the surrounding country, where they 17 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:01,240 continue to preach the gospel. In Lystra there sat a man who 18 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,680 was lame. He had been that way from birth 19 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,680 and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was 20 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,480 speaking. Paul looked directly at him so 21 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,360 that he had faith to be healed, and called out. 22 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,080 Stand up on your feet. At that the man jumped up and 23 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,280 began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had 24 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,680 done, they shouted in the Laconian language. 25 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,920 The gods have come down to us in human form. 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,440 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because 27 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,760 he was the chief speaker. The priestess Use, whose temple 28 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,880 was just outside the city, brought balls and wreaths to the 29 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,800 city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices 30 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,480 to them. When the apostles Barnabas and 31 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,080 Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out 32 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,160 into the crowd, shouting, Friends, why are you doing this? 33 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,440 We too are only human like you. We are bringing you good news, 34 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,080 telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living 35 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,560 God who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything 36 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,360 in them. In the past He let all nations 37 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,600 go their own way, and He has not left himself without testimony. 38 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,240 He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops 39 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,759 in their seasons. He provides you with plenty of 40 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:10,600 food and fills your hearts with joy. 41 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:13,760 Even with these words, their difficulty keeping the crowd 42 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,520 from sacrificing to them. Then some Jews came from Antioch 43 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,640 and Iconium and won the crowd over. 44 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,880 They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he 45 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,640 was dead, but after the disciples had gathered around 46 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:28,360 him, he got up and went back into the city. 47 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,680 The next day, he and Barnabas left for Derby. 48 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,360 Thank you so much. Fabulous. 49 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,560 We have a clicker. Do we have a clicker that works? 50 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,240 We'll find out in a minute. Hello. 51 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:51,880 It's so good to be here. Yeah, it works. 52 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:53,000 You've got question cheats as well. 53 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,600 So if you want a question sheet, sorry, put your hand up and I 54 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,240 will do it. He comes to say preach, and then 55 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,280 he interrupts me at the first opportunity. 56 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,720 Unbelievable. Yeah. 57 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:05,960 So please keep your Bibles open. We're going to, we're going to 58 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,560 particularly focus on the kind of middle portion of, of Acts 59 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,560 14. But as Richard said, I've been, 60 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,920 I've been meeting with Richard for about 5 years and praying 61 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:18,640 with him. And which means I pray for you 62 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:21,720 all of the time. I'm regularly praying for you. 63 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,680 And so it's really, it's a real privilege to be here. 64 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,920 But I, even though I've been praying for you, I've never, 65 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:31,320 I've been here 15 years and I've never come to Ave. 66 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,720 And so it's great to be here. And so that's kind of the first 67 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,320 thing I say. I, I, you're, I want to tell 68 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,000 you, you're weird. You're really, do you know how 69 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,680 weird you are? Do you know how strange this is? 70 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,240 You are on a Sunday morning in church. 71 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,800 Do you know what everyone else is doing right now? 72 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,880 They are maybe sleeping. They might be taking their kids 73 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,960 to football. They might be reading. 74 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:00,880 They might be doing the gardening, doing a tip run. 75 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,240 They might be going for run. They are not in church. 76 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,720 And that is weird. And, and in church, you are 77 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,760 singing in public with other people who can hear you. 78 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:13,440 And you might not even be very good at singing, but you're 79 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,640 singing anyway. Like, that is really, really 80 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,279 weird. And it's not just on a Sunday. 81 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,560 Is it midweek? Many of you give up. 82 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:24,720 You put the kids up, you wrestle them into bed and instead of 83 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,800 doing what everyone else does, I'm told, and you sit down with 84 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,880 a nice glass of wine and watch the next episode of The Night 85 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,880 Manager. You are going out to a small 86 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:37,320 group to study a 2000 year old book, talk about your feelings, 87 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:38,960 and pray for one another to an invisible God. 88 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,880 That is weird. OK, It's really, really strange. 89 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:46,200 Many of you or some of you will be involved in helping and 90 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,480 teaching nought to a teams the Bible. 91 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:49,960 That's weird. OK. 92 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:52,640 And when you get your pay cheques at the end of the month, 93 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:56,560 you take 10%, don't you? You take a chunk of your money, 94 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,360 let's say, and you give it away. That is weird. 95 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:05,360 Do you know how weird you are? Yes. 96 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,080 OK, good. We're all and it's not just you, 97 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,080 it's Christians. It's me. 98 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,960 Why are you weird? Because Acts 18 says that you 99 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,680 have been sent into a culture that is different from your own. 100 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,040 As Christians, this shapes our culture and we've been sent into 101 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,880 a world that does not have this culture and increasingly is 102 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,720 being removed from it. And, and you know this from the 103 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,280 book of Acts. It starts off in Jerusalem, it 104 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:35,360 starts off with the gospel in Jerusalem and then moves to 105 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:37,840 Judea and Samaria, the surrounding area, and then to 106 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:40,480 the ends of the earth. That is why we're here today, 107 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:42,840 because the gospel went out to the ends of the earth. 108 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:49,560 That is why we are here. And so we're weird because we're 109 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,600 in a culture that is different to the culture that God has 110 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,760 called us to live in. And what we're seeing in this 111 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,400 bit of the book of Acts, as I know that, you know, is the kind 112 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,840 of first engagement with Gentile culture. 113 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:06,520 It started as a Jewish thing and it's moved into the Gentile 114 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,000 world. And today we get the first 115 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,760 sermon given to a Gentile people group. 116 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,320 And so the question is how, how are Paul and Barnabas going to 117 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,880 act among a people that are totally foreign to them? 118 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,400 And therefore, how should we act among a people that have a 119 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,280 different culture to us? And I want us to see two. 120 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:25,640 There we go. There's a map. 121 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,600 OK, cool. I want to see two dangers as we 122 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:36,640 take the message of Jesus out. Holy Spirit, you're here. 123 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:40,960 This is your words. These are your people. 124 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:49,960 And so, Spirit of God, would you just work in us this morning as 125 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,600 we come with humility and fear and trembling to your word in 126 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,480 Jesus name, Amen. Two dangers. 127 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,240 The first danger is this compromising with culture. 128 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:06,240 I'm going to come back to the first 7 verses a little bit 129 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:07,960 later, but just to kind of summarize where we've got to the 130 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,280 start off at Iconium. Wait, then the map is important. 131 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,960 OK, Iconium, it's in Galatia. We're in Sat next to Noah and 132 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,880 we're going, how do you pronounce the DERBE 1? 133 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,880 Is it Derby? Because then you've got kind of 134 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:23,520 Leicester and Derby there, haven't you? 135 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:28,520 We're not quite sure, but Lystra and Derby we're going with, I 136 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:33,640 don't know, but we start off in in Iconium in verse one and 137 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:36,560 well, it, it starts off really, really good. 138 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:38,160 There's salvation in the synagogue. 139 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:40,720 Things are going really well, but there's Jewish unbelief and 140 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,240 that causes them to stir up the people. 141 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,480 And there's a plot to kill Paul and Barnabas. 142 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,040 Verse 5. And then so they run away. 143 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,560 They run away from Iconium to Derby. 144 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,560 And, and that's where we're going to pick things in 145 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,640 Leicester, not Derby. We're going to pick things up in 146 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,880 Lystra in verse 8. I'm confusing myself, OK. 147 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:05,240 Verse 8IN Lystra, there's a man who was lame. 148 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,000 He'd been that way from birth. He'd never walked. 149 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:12,720 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. 150 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,200 Paul looked directly at him and he saw the faith he had to be 151 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,640 healed and called out. Stand up on your feet. 152 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,560 At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 153 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,040 If you're planting a church in a new area and it starts off like 154 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,000 this. And he got a pretty good start, 155 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:32,520 right? Like I know you guys have 156 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,600 planted off into Esmon. So like anyone who's planting a 157 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,520 church or doing a ministry in a new area, this is like the dream 158 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,640 start basically. They absolutely smashed it. 159 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:43,960 And what's fascinating, we don't have time, but if you go back to 160 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,680 Acts 3, when Peter goes to the temple gate, beautiful and sees 161 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:51,360 a man, that is a lot of the same language going on here. 162 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,440 Peter looks directly at the man and all there's there's you can 163 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:56,640 have a look at it in your own time. 164 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,120 But I think what's happening is Luke is pointing out to us what 165 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,640 God has done in Jerusalem, he's now doing among the Gentiles. 166 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:04,280 Like this is a really, really good start. 167 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:07,240 And then it turns sideways slightly. 168 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:09,600 Verse 11. When the crowd saw what Paul had 169 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,280 done, they shouted in the Likeeonian language. 170 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,160 The gods have come down to us in human form, which is how I think 171 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,680 they sound. Barnabas called Zeus and Paul 172 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,040 and they called her and Paul. They called Hermes because he 173 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:23,920 was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple 174 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,400 was just outside the city, bought balls and wreaths to the 175 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,760 city gates because he and the crowd wants to offer sacrifices 176 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,640 to them. Less than ideal. 177 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,640 Like that's not how they anticipated this going. 178 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:41,880 And this feels really weird. Why Zeus and Hermes, like, why 179 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,040 do they presume these guys? I was asking that question and 180 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:50,520 it turns out that there was like a, a cultural myth in this 181 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:54,240 particular specific city that a few 100 years before Zeus and 182 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,000 Hermes had visited them. There was this understanding 183 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,640 that's what happened. But nobody had recognised them 184 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:01,320 and nobody had shown them hospitality. 185 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,480 So Zeus and Hermes, disguised as humans, rocked up. 186 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,960 Nobody cared that they were there apart from one couple. 187 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:10,920 And this couple welcomed them into the home. 188 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,080 And then eventually, over the meal, I think, the cups kept 189 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,120 magically refilling. And they realised, oh, it's the 190 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,120 gods, they're here. But Zeus and Hermes were so 191 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,000 angry. They said, we are going to flood 192 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,080 the city, We're going to destroy it totally. 193 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,680 And so this couple, they go to high ground, the city is 194 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:30,160 destroyed. And the legend had it that this 195 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:31,960 couple's house became the temple. 196 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,040 And when they, instead of dying, they became trees outside the 197 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,120 temple. And so this is in the cultural 198 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,160 mindset of this city. That's fascinating, isn't it? 199 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,160 And so when we read Zeus and Hermes, this isn't just random 200 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,480 things written by a guy who's making up a story. 201 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,280 There's real cultural accuracy in this. 202 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,440 It makes sense that Zeus and Hermes are the ones they think 203 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:55,800 it is. And so when Paul and Barnabas 204 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:00,360 rock up and go and start healing fools like they go, what on 205 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,760 earth is it must be Zeus and Barnabas return. 206 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:04,240 They don't want to be wiped out again. 207 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:05,680 They don't want another flood to come. 208 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:07,200 So they go. We're going to worship them and 209 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,800 welcome them properly. And so that's what they do. 210 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:17,160 But I don't know about you, but if this was me, I've got a 211 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,040 slight temptation here. It's just to let them get on 212 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:21,880 with it. Do you know what I mean? 213 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,720 Like they've just been almost stoned, like they've been almost 214 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:32,040 executed for preaching. And now Can you imagine that 215 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:33,440 there's a slight bit of fear for them? 216 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,120 If we correct them, if we tell them what they're doing is 217 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:38,360 wrong, what are they going to do to us? 218 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:44,320 And they might stay silent. But probably more likely for me 219 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:49,360 is they've had a hard journey. Like it's been, it's been a 220 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:50,720 tough Rd. It's been a they've been away 221 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,640 from home for a while and now there's some people and they are 222 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:56,360 showing them some real hospitality. 223 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,880 Like these guys are amazing. Let's worship them as God. 224 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,080 Is there not a slight part of you that would go, ah, we'll let 225 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,480 it slide. We'll just, we'll just let them 226 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:08,440 get on with it. This is quite nice, really. 227 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:10,640 It's been a long time. You know, they're massaging my 228 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,120 feet. They're putting crowds on my 229 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:13,520 hair. Like, let's just go with it. 230 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:15,440 Is it not a small? Is that just me? 231 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:16,600 I don't know. It's OK. 232 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:17,520 Sorry. Just me. 233 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,960 My bad. I won't be invited back. 234 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,320 But what do they do? They're not motivated by fear. 235 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:25,680 They're not motivated by comfort. 236 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,640 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they 237 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:35,240 tore their clothes, rushed out of the crowd, shouting, Friends, 238 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,920 why are you doing this? We too are only human like you. 239 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:42,160 We're bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these 240 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,000 worthless idols to the the living God who made the heavens 241 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:46,560 and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 242 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,000 In the past. He let all the nations go their 243 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,440 own way. Yet He has not left himself 244 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,480 without testimony. He has shown kindness by giving 245 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,440 you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons. 246 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,400 He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with 247 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,240 joy. They don't stay quiet. 248 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:05,320 What do they do? They do three things. 249 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,160 Firstly, they correct their error. 250 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:09,800 We're not gods. Sorry. 251 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,120 This is lovely, but we're not gods. 252 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,920 They challenge false thinking. Your idols are worthless. 253 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,160 They're not Zeus and Hermes. Wonderful. 254 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:23,240 They're not real gods and they point to the truth. 255 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:28,920 Zeus, go to the air, lightning, all that kind of stuff. 256 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:30,600 We saw Percy Jackson at the Curve last night. 257 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:31,560 Wonderful. Brilliant. 258 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:34,520 Your your God is the God of the air. 259 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,040 Our God is the God of the land and the sea and the earth and 260 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,560 the air and everything in it. The challenge? 261 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:45,000 False thinking. Basically, they're saying 262 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:46,400 something that our culture hates. 263 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:54,240 Not all religions are equal. There is the truth that is found 264 00:13:54,240 --> 00:14:00,600 in Jesus and there are false religions and they don't know 265 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:02,880 what's going to happen to them when they say this, but they say 266 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,680 it anyway. And I think about my own life 267 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,120 and I think about the opportunities I have had to 268 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:14,520 share my faith that I've just totally missed. 269 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,760 I was speaking to someone earlier this week and he was 270 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,200 telling me his experience of how when he hangs out with 271 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,040 Christians or he sees Christians, that they will say 272 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:31,120 one thing and live another way. And yet his experience was that 273 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,840 when he spends time with Muslims, there's a real 274 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:40,280 integrity to them. And inside I'm dying. 275 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:46,080 And what do I say? Nothing. 276 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:52,400 Which means the impression he gets as he leaves that 277 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,720 conversation is that I'm in agreement with him and the glory 278 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,080 which should go to God goes to Allah. 279 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:05,560 Because of my silence as a church, because I was afraid. 280 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:07,800 I was afraid. Let's just be honest, I was 281 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,640 afraid that if I challenged if I go actually that's not my 282 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,160 perception at all that that I see totally differently to that 283 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,080 that I would lose some relational capital with him. 284 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,600 He might get crossed him. It might I might look weird to 285 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:24,400 him. As a church, we we do loads of 286 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,040 stuff in our community. I've already said that and that 287 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,440 means people in the community think quite highly of us, which 288 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:31,560 is wonderful. It's lovely. 289 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,280 And people say things like, you know, when I come in the church 290 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:36,560 building, I just feel the sense of peace and it's wonderful. 291 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,720 And everyone I meet from your church is, is so kind and lovely 292 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,440 and generous with their time and and wonderful and, and the 293 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:46,280 temptation and, and what I have done many times is just go. 294 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:51,240 That's so nice to hear. Where does the glory go there? 295 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,320 To us? Because we're great, aren't we? 296 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,240 We're great, lovely people. But what? 297 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:00,840 What do? What do we do in that situation? 298 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:04,760 Because the reality is, anything good in US, it doesn't come from 299 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,240 us, does it? It comes from God who is at work 300 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,600 in US. What an opportunity to go. 301 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,640 I'm so pleased you've noticed. Can I tell you? 302 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,480 Can I tell you that actually we're not any better than anyone 303 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,080 else, or any worse, actually, God has worked in US and he's 304 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:23,360 making us more like Jesus. That's what I could say. 305 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,440 But so often by my silence I deny God glory. 306 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:34,360 And yet these guys, they can't stay silent, can they? 307 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,080 They tear their clothes, they rush into the crowd. 308 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,040 Do you, do you see their zeal for the glory of the Lord? 309 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:44,640 There are other gods getting glory. 310 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,000 They're getting glory, and they're having none of it. 311 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,680 And I just go, where's my zeal for the Lords? 312 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,760 Where's my desire for his name and his renown that overrides my 313 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,480 comfort or my fear of, of telling people about my faith? 314 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:02,280 Where's my brokenness at the lostness in the world around me? 315 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,280 So often we just go through just plod through life and the zeal 316 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:12,400 just runs dim and we we stop seeing how lost people really 317 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,040 are. The danger is that we compromise 318 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,079 with culture. That's all the same. 319 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:21,560 Doesn't really matter what I believe you believe. 320 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,760 We might not say that, but we sometimes act like it. 321 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,079 The second danger is that we ignore culture. 322 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:30,040 There are loads of sermons in the book of Acts. 323 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:31,480 You'll know this if you've read it. 324 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,680 And they're all different, but they all got similarities up 325 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,680 until this point. So this is the sermon in Acts 2 326 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,160 on the day of Pentecost that Peter gives. 327 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,840 And I've highlighted all of the times that Peter refers to the 328 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:45,680 Old Testament. So this is Acts 2. 329 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:47,320 Those are all the Old Testament references. 330 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,440 This is Acts 3. These are all the Old Testament 331 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,200 references. So it's maybe slightly less, but 332 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:53,960 there we go. This is, you know, when Stephen 333 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,680 was martyred. This is his speech and all the 334 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,600 it's basically all Old Testament like this dude know knew his 335 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,840 stuff. This is actually Paul last 336 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,880 chapter when he's preaching in the synagogue again, loads of 337 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:07,640 Old Testament. Let me show you the Old 338 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,000 Testament references in Acts 14, this little sermon. 339 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,600 There we go. Nothing. 340 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,040 He doesn't quote the Bible once. Is it even a sermon? 341 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,200 Like what's what's going on here? 342 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,800 Well, he's not speaking to Jews anymore. 343 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,280 He's speaking to Gentiles, isn't he? 344 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:30,440 And so he does look slightly different. 345 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,800 He speaks about what they know, idols. 346 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:41,560 Verse 15 a He speaks about what they have seen in the world, the 347 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:43,560 earth, the natural order of things. 348 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:49,120 Verse 17 he speaks about what they have experienced, what they 349 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:53,160 know, what they see, and what they experience. 350 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:57,480 In other words, he starts with where they're at. 351 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,480 He starts by stepping into their culture before he brings them 352 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:09,320 into his culture. He brings the timeless truths of 353 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:13,200 the gospel in a language the culture can understand. 354 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,160 Timeless truths of the gospel and a language the culture can 355 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,640 understand. Imagine we're going on a journey 356 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,440 to, well, Derby, let's say Derby. 357 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,960 And that's what you look like. If you're in a car with me, they 358 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:32,200 are stairs of terror. And if I'm going to take you on 359 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,080 this journey, what's the first thing I do is I go to your house 360 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:40,040 and I pick you up, right? I pick you up and then we go to 361 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,440 Derby. If I just go straight to Derby, 362 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:44,600 I've missed you, right? I've totally missed you. 363 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:50,960 But so often in our mission, in our evangelism, we do that. 364 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,440 We we don't go to where people are. 365 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,040 We just go straight to where we want to take them and we miss 366 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,000 them. But that's not what Paul and 367 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,280 Barnabas do. They step into their culture. 368 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,720 They go to their house before they take them to the gospel. 369 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,320 They use their culture and see where does it intersect with the 370 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:12,120 good news of Jesus. And there is a danger for the 371 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,960 evangelical church. As culture, it feels like 372 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:19,280 culture removes further and further away from where the 373 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,640 Bible is. You saw the votes this last week 374 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,640 in the House of Lords and I know complicated, all that kind of 375 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:28,280 stuff. It feels like culture is 376 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,320 constantly moving further away from where the Bible causes us 377 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:38,480 to live. The danger from that is we we 378 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,800 stop. Well, the, the danger is that 379 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,520 actually the, the biblical understanding, the biblical 380 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,080 framework that culture has had in previous generations, it no 381 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,680 longer does. Many of the people we're working 382 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,600 with and many of the people who have come to faith in the last 383 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,200 few years have never been to church before. 384 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:58,280 They don't know any of the Bible stories. 385 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,480 It's like it's brand new to them. 386 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:09,960 And so if we start with how we might have articulated the 387 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:14,000 gospel or what we might have expected of people in terms of 388 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,360 biblical literacy, we're going to miss the mark totally. 389 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,760 It'd be like Paul going into into Lystra and going and 390 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,800 talking about the Messiah and talking about the prophets and 391 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:25,160 talking about the old. They wouldn't have a clue. 392 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:31,640 They've got no framework for it. And so there is a danger that we 393 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:37,040 ghettoize as culture moves away, that we just form this Christian 394 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:42,400 culture and we just look inward because it's safe here. 395 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:46,800 When they call the gospel is always look out. 396 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,320 But the the problem is in order to understand the culture, in 397 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,760 order to understand how the gospel intersects with culture, 398 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,840 we need to be in culture. We work with Christian vision 399 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:04,240 for men quite a lot and they have a four point evangelistic 400 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:05,440 strategy. And the first point is get some 401 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,520 mates. And if you don't have mates, 402 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:13,800 borrow someone else's. And it's really hard, actually, 403 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,520 the older you get to maintain relationships with people who 404 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:23,760 aren't followers of Jesus. Do you have people that you're 405 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,400 doing life with who aren't followers of Jesus, who aren't 406 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:29,120 in this church or other churches? 407 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,480 I know it's difficult to life is busy, right? 408 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,560 Do you have about ability to understand what makes people 409 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:40,200 tick? Because the reality is our 410 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:41,960 culture, I think, is driven by three things. 411 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:43,840 Justice. That's what cancel culture is 412 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,000 all about. It's about justice and identity. 413 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:54,960 Who am I and hope or lack of? We live in a hopeless world. 414 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,240 And friends, the gospel intersects with those three in 415 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,280 beautiful places. But are we with people who don't 416 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:05,560 know Jesus to listen to what their hopes and dreams are, to 417 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,880 listen to how they shape and form their identity, to be able 418 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,360 to speak into these things and go actually, as a Christian, 419 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,160 this is what I believe. And we're we're frightened 420 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,040 because because we don't want to come across as weird. 421 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:17,880 But I think we've already established, haven't we? 422 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:19,920 You're weird. OK. 423 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:21,560 So it's OK. Let's get over that together. 424 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:29,360 We can have these conversations. It's OK to communicate the 425 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,200 timeless truth of the gospel and the language culture can 426 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,560 understand. To do that, we need to be in 427 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,000 culture. And when we do this, I think we 428 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,920 can expect to see two things from our passage. 429 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,320 Firstly, we can expect to see fruit. 430 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,840 Verse one, they spoke so effectively that a great number 431 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:53,320 of Jews and Greeks believed. Verse three, they were speaking 432 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,240 boldly and the Lord confirmed His message of grace by enabling 433 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:57,640 them to perform signs and wonders. 434 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:02,080 Lord, do it again in our day. Verse 10 stand up on your feet. 435 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,080 And the man jumped up and was healed and began to walk. 436 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,480 When we go out with the gospel of Jesus, the good news of 437 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:13,160 Jesus, when we engage with culture, we can expect to see 438 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,400 fruit. And you know what, we are living 439 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,480 in a time where the fruit is ripe. 440 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:28,160 So long in the evangelical church, it's been, come on, give 441 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,320 it a go and it's going to be really hard and you might see 442 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:32,840 odds and ends. But we are moving into a 443 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,840 different season. We are starting to see a greater 444 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,600 openness to the gospel of Jesus. And what I think is happening is 445 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,200 as cultures moved away from the Bible, there is now a curiosity 446 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,520 about it. Do you know the Bible sales went 447 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,680 up by record amounts last year. People are just buying the Bible 448 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:54,640 and reading it. We've just, we're going to next 449 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,200 term, we're going to do Alpha, not alpha. 450 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:57,360 We're going to do the Bible course. 451 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:59,680 We run alpha regularly for non believers. 452 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,440 We're going to run the Bible course for non believers. 453 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:03,160 Well, I'll let you know how it goes. 454 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,560 But we're going to have, if you started reading the Bible in the 455 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,480 last year, do you want to come and let us explain it to you? 456 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,600 I don't know. We'll see what happens, but 457 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:13,280 we'll, we'll give it a go. I think there's an increased 458 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,960 curiosity. We've you've probably heard 459 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,000 about the quiet revival more than you'd like to. 460 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,720 I don't know this and people are starting to go. 461 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,120 Is it really happening? What about the major 462 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:26,040 denominations? But the reality is whenever I 463 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,080 speak to church leaders, they are all saying there is 464 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,440 something different going on at the moment. 465 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,360 There are people coming into church who've never come to 466 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:34,080 church before. There's an increased openness, 467 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,400 an increased curiosity. We're seeing it all over the 468 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,080 place and we're seeing it at Hope. 469 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:42,120 This week. I spoke to a guy who works for a 470 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:44,520 shop in Wigston, so I know him in that. 471 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:48,160 I go into his shop that he works in and he sent an e-mail to the 472 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,880 church and he said, can I please speak to Matt? 473 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,560 I need to speak to Matt. And so we met him on Monday and 474 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,640 I'd no idea. I'd no idea what's coming in, 475 00:25:57,640 --> 00:25:59,600 what I was kind of stepping into. 476 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,440 And, and he, he, we did the pre, you know, the weather, we did 477 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,200 the weather chat and that and did the preamble. 478 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:12,440 And he said, Matt, I have as much money as I want. 479 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,280 I have a great job. I have a family who I love and 480 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:18,320 who love me. I have a great hobby. 481 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:23,040 He does battle reenactments. So I I love my life and yet 482 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:28,440 there is a hole and there is something missing and I'm not 483 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,640 happy. What am I missing? 484 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:39,000 What, what? And I just got to share the 485 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,880 gospel with him. Let me tell you about the hole 486 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,800 that you're missing. You know, the scary thing I said 487 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:47,920 to him isn't that you feel this way. 488 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:51,520 The scary thing is that more people don't because you were 489 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:55,440 made for more than just family and work and money. 490 00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:58,560 You were made for G And of course, I had this sermon in my 491 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:00,440 mind as I was doing it. Like I've got to intersect with 492 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,280 culture somehow here, haven't I? Wow. 493 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,120 He took away a gospel. He's going to come to church. 494 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,080 We're going to meet up again. Wonderful. 495 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,840 I I run an Instagram channel, which Richard has been on, 496 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:15,280 haven't you? And a few months ago, walk with 497 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,000 the word if you want to. It's just daily summaries of 498 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000 Bible passages. It's, it's simple. 499 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,480 And I had a message from someone a little while ago saying I'm a, 500 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:25,960 I'm brand new to this faith thing. 501 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,640 I don't really know what I believe, but can you help me 502 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,120 find a church roundabout? I used to be in the army, so not 503 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:33,760 like your typical bloke who would normally expect to rock up 504 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,960 to a church. He, he lives in Chichester, so 505 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:37,560 miles away. And I found a couple of churches 506 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:38,600 that might be interesting to him. 507 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,520 I got a message this week and he said thank you so much for 508 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:44,520 recommending this church. My kids love it. 509 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:46,280 And I'm getting baptized on Easter Sunday. 510 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,200 How cool is that? That's wonderful. 511 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,840 And this is just two things from this week. 512 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:59,400 God is doing stuff. As we go out, we can expect to 513 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:04,080 see fruit. We're so used to having the red 514 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,240 light in evangelism. We have moved, I think even 515 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,120 beyond the amber light into the green light. 516 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:15,880 I think people are ready to hear your friends may not be as 517 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:17,960 closed off to the gospel as you think. 518 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,480 The people on your streets may not be as closed off to the 519 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,280 gospel as you think. The people in your college, in 520 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:27,160 your school, may not be as closed off to the gospel as you 521 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:28,400 think. Your colleagues may not be. 522 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:33,000 You know, the stats of the quiet revival gave out. 523 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,160 About one in three people would come to church if they're 524 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,200 invited. We put that to test over 525 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,160 Christmas and we gave people 3 invitations to our Christmas 526 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,960 Carol service and one couple took it to heart and they've 527 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:48,640 been praying that year for 35 friends in their in, 528 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,520 particularly in their neighborhood and praying by name 529 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,120 for them. They invited every single one of 530 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,440 them to the Carol service. 18 of them came to the Carol service 531 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:58,840 and they had so many conversations with them 532 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:00,760 afterwards. I think you're running alpha in 533 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:04,040 their road for their neighbors because they, they, they see 534 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,400 their life and they're intrigued by what they see because there's 535 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:11,360 something different. Your friends may not be as close 536 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:15,640 off as you think. You see fruit, but you'll also 537 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:21,560 see opposition. Verse 2, the Jews who refuse to 538 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:23,160 believe. That's interesting, isn't it? 539 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,200 Refuse to believe. Stirred up the minds, stirred up 540 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,880 the other Gentiles, and poisoned their minds against the 541 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:37,360 brothers. Verse 5A Plot among both Jews 542 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,360 and Gentiles to I'll treat them and stone them. 543 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:45,120 Verse 19. They stoned Paul and dragged him 544 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:47,520 outside the city, thinking he was dead. 545 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:55,000 There will be fruit if you go out with confidence and courage, 546 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:59,000 but there will be opposition. And there'll be opposition not 547 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,480 because people don't like it, but because Satan doesn't like 548 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,480 it. And when the God's people step 549 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:10,920 out, the enemy will step up. If you want to live this kind of 550 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:16,600 life, if you want to be bold for the Kingdom of God, it is going 551 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,080 to cost you. It may cost you relationally, 552 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:31,320 may cost you financially in that cost you promotions at work, but 553 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:36,720 the reality is we often want the fruit of mission without the 554 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:42,040 cost. How many of us would love to see 555 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:46,680 this church rammed full on a Sunday morning of new believers 556 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:50,640 having to run discipleship courses for people who who are 557 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,840 coming to faith and you're having dozens of baptisms 558 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,720 multiple times a year. We would love that, wouldn't we? 559 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:02,520 Yeah, we'd love that, wouldn't we? 560 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:10,640 I think we want the fruit. I don't know if we're willing to 561 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:12,480 pay the cost. I don't know if I'm willing to 562 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,520 pay the cost of stepping out of feeling uncomfortable where I 563 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:24,400 am, but look what we see here. Verse 5. 564 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,320 Again, there's a plot afoot among both Jews, Gentiles and 565 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,360 Jews together with their leaders to I'll treat them and stone 566 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,640 them. But they found out about it and 567 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,160 fled to the Likeeonian cities of Lystra and Derby into the 568 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:36,600 surrounding areas where they continue to preach the gospel. 569 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,440 They've just almost been killed and they go, OK, we'll just go 570 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:40,680 to the next place and do the same thing. 571 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,960 Verse 19 And Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the 572 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:45,840 crowd over. They stone. 573 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:47,560 Paul dragged him out the city thinking he was dead. 574 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,680 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got back 575 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:54,400 up and went into the city that they just taken him from to try 576 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,880 and kill him. And then the next day he travels 577 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,000 60 miles. What state is he in having just 578 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,960 been stoned to the point where they think he's dead and he goes 579 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,520 60 miles to the next place to do the same thing. 580 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:12,240 He's relentless, these guys and I don't know if a healing 581 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:13,480 miracle or a resurrection miracle. 582 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,400 I don't know what has gone on there, but he is single minded. 583 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,800 How can he do this? How can and, and, and let's take 584 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,640 even just evangelism out. When you do ministry in any 585 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,640 length of time in any form, you will get knocks and you'll get 586 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:29,320 pushed back and you'll get hard at times. 587 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:30,760 You go, do I want to do this anymore? 588 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,680 How does he just get up and go again? 589 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:39,920 Well, Acts 18, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes 590 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,520 on you. They're not doing it by 591 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:47,600 themselves. The Spirit of the living God is 592 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,760 in them and pushing them into greater and further ministry. 593 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:56,160 And it might be where they are and it might be somewhere else, 594 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:02,120 but the point is they are sent Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and 595 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:06,120 the ends of the earth. They are the filled and scent 596 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:09,000 people of God. And so they are going to filled 597 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,240 with the Holy Spirit. Go. 598 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:15,440 And I believe and the challenge for me this week and the 599 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:19,760 challenge for my church in this season is that in this season of 600 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:24,920 renewed fruit in this nation, I believe the church is being 601 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:32,160 called to recover its sentness by Jesus in the power of the 602 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:36,960 Holy Spirit into the world that God loves for the Kingdom of the 603 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:44,600 Sun Avenue. You are the sent people of gods. 604 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,200 You are sent into Clarendon Park. 605 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:52,040 It's not just because there's a school here that you're hits 606 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:55,160 because God has planned for you to be here. 607 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:57,720 You are sent into your neighborhoods. 608 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,160 You are sent into your workplaces as ambassadors for 609 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:03,320 Christ with the good news of Jesus. 610 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:11,960 Let's get our going shoes on so very quickly. 611 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,239 How do we live out identity as a sent people of God just from 612 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:18,840 this passage? Three things. 613 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,760 There you go. Go where the need is. 614 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:27,440 So often they go where there is brokenness and hurt and struggle 615 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:29,679 and that's where they see the fruit. 616 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:32,159 Initially. Here it's a man who couldn't 617 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:35,040 walk. In Wigston, it's often isolated 618 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:37,880 and vulnerable people, people with mental health challenges, 619 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:42,199 people with financial poverty. They're the people that we see 620 00:34:42,199 --> 00:34:45,840 most fruit among Go with Anitas. Secondly, go with the 621 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:49,960 opennesses. They go to one place, they have 622 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,199 some fruit, door closes and move on. 623 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,040 Same happens here and then again and again. 624 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,520 Wherever there's welcome, whether there's openness, that's 625 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:00,880 where they go. They're asking the question, 626 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:03,240 God, where are you already at work? 627 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,160 So we can jump in. And I would encourage you as a 628 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:09,280 church to ask that same question, where, where do you 629 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:14,280 see God at work already? And how do we go there? 630 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:19,560 But then as an individual, as families, where do we see God at 631 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:21,560 work in our neighborhoods, in our communities? 632 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:24,120 Where are the people of peace? Where are the people who are 633 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,240 open to these conversations already? 634 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:29,680 Maybe, maybe you've never even thought of that question, but 635 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,720 why don't you prayer walk your Rd. with your family once a 636 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:36,720 week, take 10 minutes to do it and just say, God, this is your 637 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:38,200 place. Would you show us? 638 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:40,080 Would you give us eyes to see where you're at work already? 639 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:42,600 You'd be really surprised about the conversations that come out 640 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:44,920 of that and the dreams that he puts in your heart. 641 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,240 Thirdly, go together. Paul and Barnabas, they go 642 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:55,160 together. Now you can't necessarily take 643 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:56,600 your mate from church into work with you. 644 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:00,200 They might ask questions, bring your mate to bring a Christian 645 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,080 to work day. Although if you're a boss, maybe 646 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,400 that's a great day to have. But you know what you can do? 647 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:09,880 I love community groups. I have small groups, home 648 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:10,880 groups, whatever you call them here. 649 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:13,360 What do you call them here? Home groups love home groups. 650 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:18,200 And they're, they're so good and it's so good to pray together. 651 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:19,920 And it's really important to pray for your financial 652 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:23,320 situation and it's really important to pray for the 653 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:25,240 diagnosis that you've just received. 654 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:27,520 And it's really important to pray for Aunt Muriel's cat. 655 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,360 And it is, these are, these are valuable things to pray for. 656 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:35,600 But why don't we make time to pray for one another, for Person 657 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:37,920 X who you work with? Because I'd love to share the 658 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,280 gospel with them this week and the next time you can go, How 659 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:42,360 did that go? Can you pray? 660 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,200 Can we back one another in prayer, missionly as well as 661 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:48,000 pastorally in these groups as we do life together? 662 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:58,560 The problem with preaching the Bible is the Lord convicts you 663 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:02,080 first. And then the Lord's been 664 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,960 breaking me this week for my lack of zeal for his name and 665 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:10,440 His glory and for my lack of care for the lostness and I, 666 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:14,640 when it comes down to it, but also just kind of a point where 667 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,600 you're tired and the call to go again. 668 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:24,360 And I just wonder if there's folk here and any of that sticks 669 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:30,840 for you, that call to go again. Maybe you got out of the habit 670 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:36,080 of sharing your faith. Maybe you've been disappointed 671 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:43,960 or you've faced opposition and the call is to go again and to 672 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:48,200 ask the Holy Spirit to fill us afresh with his power and with 673 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:52,040 his courage. It is conviction to go. 674 00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:56,040 And so I'd just love to take a moment of quiet. 675 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,600 There's often so much noise and so much talking in our services. 676 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:05,040 We're just a moment of quiet. And I'd love for us to pray the 677 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:10,760 ancient prayer of the church, which is come Holy Spirit, He's 678 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:18,200 here, but it's just an invitation to come and apply to 679 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:24,240 our hearts what He said to us generally today through His 680 00:38:24,240 --> 00:38:27,040 word. So you might want to close your 681 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,160 eyes. I find it helpful just to put my 682 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:30,640 hands out in front of me. It's like, it's just like a 683 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:34,960 physical posture of receiving, just like an outward expression 684 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:36,000 of what's going on in your heart. 685 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:37,840 You may want to do that. No pressure too at all. 686 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:44,880 Just close our eyes and let's just invite the Holy Spirit to 687 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:58,530 come. Holy Spirit, please, would you 688 00:38:58,530 --> 00:39:03,170 just come, and would you minister among us now? 689 00:39:08,770 --> 00:39:18,570 Where there's hurt, would you bring healing, Where there's 690 00:39:18,570 --> 00:39:23,410 fear, would you bring courage? Lord, like a rod up a spine, 691 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:28,520 help us stand straight for you. Where there's disappointment, 692 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:34,400 would we bring renewed hope? And spirit of the living Gods, I 693 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:38,320 pray that you would even now just drop names of people into 694 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:46,760 our minds that you're already at work in and you're calling us to 695 00:39:46,760 --> 00:40:04,520 go to. And if you, if you just have a 696 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:09,480 name or since he's just impressing something on your 697 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:12,520 heart, just I'd encourage you in your heart just to say yes, I'll 698 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:19,480 go like Isaiah, here I am. Send me yes, I'll do it. 699 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:22,120 But I need your help, Lord.