1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,320 Well, I cannot think of a better way to start a new series in 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,440 First Corinthians than by going to Acts chapter #18 So if you 9 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:35,280 would, that's not a joke. Go to Acts chapter #18 this 10 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,960 evening and we are going to see the very first mention of the 11 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,480 church at Corinth here in our Bibles. 12 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:44,880 And if you will, maybe tonight's message is more of a prequel. 13 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,840 It it's not necessarily us being in the book of First 14 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:49,720 Corinthians. And we will next week. 15 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,320 But I just felt impressed as I was studying and considering 16 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,840 some things and praying on message, praying on the series 17 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:57,800 that we start at the very first place. 18 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,600 We even find Corinth, which would be here in Acts chapter 19 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,200 #18 and I think it's important for this reason. 20 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,600 You know, when we are going to get to 1st Corinthians, Lord 21 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:08,520 willing, next week. This is still part of the 22 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,800 series. But when we get to 1st 23 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,320 Corinthians next week, in the actual book itself, you're going 24 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:17,720 to see a camaraderie. You're going to see a closeness 25 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,680 between Paul and this church at Corinth that I'm not saying is 26 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:26,120 lacking in his other books, because I do think you can see a 27 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,800 warmth that he has to all these churches that he's ministered 28 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:30,400 in. But there's something special 29 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,520 about this church at Corinth. You know, camaraderie, closeness 30 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:37,880 can be built up a couple different ways, can't it? 31 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:39,960 Sometimes it just happens over time. 32 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,920 You know, I think of my best friend David Corley. 33 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:43,960 I've known him since I was in the eighth grade. 34 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,880 And it just happens to be that over the course of, you know, 30 35 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,800 plus years, we have told the jokes, we've experienced the 36 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:53,880 things. And sometimes we can laugh at 37 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,520 something without either of us even actually having to say what 38 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:00,520 needs to be said because we know the joke and the punchline 39 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,880 before either of us says it because we've been around each 40 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,400 other so long. So there's a closeness that he 41 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,360 and I have together. That can be the case sometimes 42 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,280 and there are other times that that closeness can come maybe 43 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,600 under pressure filled situations. 44 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,080 I think of maybe times you've been at work and maybe it's just 45 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,360 you and someone else. You work in close quarters every 46 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,800 day and maybe even have a supervisor. 47 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,560 You have a boss or someone that just they're not gracious. 48 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:29,880 Maybe we could put it this way. They don't know what they're 49 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:31,040 doing. They're putting a lot of 50 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,840 pressure on you and maybe the two of you and you haven't known 51 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,080 each other very long, but you're you're in the trenches together, 52 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:39,520 right? You're spending that time 53 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:40,760 together. And even though maybe you've 54 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,200 known each other a few months or a year, you feel close because 55 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,040 listen, you haven't really gone to battle. 56 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:47,800 Listen, we don't want to pretend like we have. 57 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,320 But at the same time, you've had to experience some things 58 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,480 together in very close quarters. And so because of that, there's 59 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,680 this closeness. Well, if I look at the people of 60 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:02,400 Corinth and Paul, I could almost look at both of those situations 61 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:08,560 and put them together and say that's how Paul got to know the 62 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,720 people of Corinth. That's why Paul was so close to 63 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,720 the people of Corinth. That's why we're going to see 64 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:22,280 some very, very personal, deep, thoughtful passages come out of 65 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,520 First Corinthians. Of course, Second Corinthians as 66 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,360 well, but we're not studying Second Corinthians, but but 67 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,440 understanding again, all of this is inspired by the Holy Spirit, 68 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:34,120 but yet there's this warp there and there's this depth there. 69 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,120 And, and we find some of the greatest passages and the 70 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,880 greatest explanations you will find anywhere in the word of God 71 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,360 in First Corinthians, First Corinthians 15, the explanation 72 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,520 of the gospel, 1st Corinthians 13, the love chapter where it 73 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,960 talks about charity. First Corinthians chapter 12 74 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,400 talks about how we relate to the church, our understanding that 75 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,560 the church is not just an organization that's an Organism. 76 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,920 I'm having trouble. 35,000 All right, whatever the number was, 77 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:10,560 I'm trying that that that we're not just here in static, but 78 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,000 that we're living, breathing, growing. 79 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,720 We're an Organism there. It is more than an organization. 80 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,720 We get that from First Corinthians 12A marriage in 81 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,800 First Corinthians 7, the way that Jesus Christ relates to 82 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,800 every area of our life. I mean, you'll find all of this 83 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:32,240 in First Corinthians, and I think you can find a lot of 84 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:33,720 this. Again, it's all inspired by the 85 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,080 Holy Spirit. But because of this great and 86 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,800 intense closeness that Paul had with the people of court. 87 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:43,520 And so as such, I thought, you know, we kind of need to see how 88 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,040 they came together. We kind of need to see when they 89 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,520 met one another. In fact, the title of my message 90 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:51,120 is this. This evening, Paul and Corinth 91 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,040 go way back. If we're going to understand 92 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,840 First Corinthians, I think it's good for us to know that there's 93 00:04:56,840 --> 00:05:00,720 some history between them all. And the fact is that they go way 94 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,000 back. So we're going to read the only 95 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,840 text that we know about Corinth outside of 1st and 2nd 96 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,240 Corinthians right here in Acts chapter #18 So you remain seated 97 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:12,720 and I'll read here starting in verse #1 It says this. 98 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:15,840 After these things, Paul departed from Athens and came to 99 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,280 Corinth and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontius, 100 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:23,720 lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. 101 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,080 Because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart 102 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,920 from Rome and came unto them. And because he was of the same 103 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,400 craft, he abode with them and wrought. 104 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,160 For by their occupation they were tent makers, and he raised 105 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,000 in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuade the Jews and the 106 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,080 Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus 107 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,160 were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the Spirit, and 108 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,480 testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 109 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,200 And when they opposed themselves and blasphemy, he shook his 110 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,400 raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own 111 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,800 heads, I'm clean. From henceforth I will go under 112 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,360 the Gentiles. He departed thence and entered 113 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,440 into a certain man's house named Justice, one of the worship God, 114 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:07,720 and whose house joined hard to the synagogue. 115 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,160 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed in the 116 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,800 Lord with all his house. That you read that right. 117 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,520 The ruler of the synagogue after most of the people who were in 118 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,520 the synagogue rejected Jesus. I mean, they rejected Paul, but 119 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:21,880 they're really rejected Jesus Christ. 120 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,440 Here's a leader of the synagogue who ends up trusting Jesus 121 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:27,240 Christ to say that's an amazing thing. 122 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:30,960 And many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were 123 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,880 baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in 124 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,880 the night by a vision. Be not afraid, but speak. 125 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,600 Hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall set 126 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,400 on thee to hurt thee. For I have much people in the 127 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,600 city. How many of you have verses #9 128 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,160 and 10 in red letters in your Bibles? 129 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:48,760 Anyone have that here? That's seen a few of you. 130 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,880 All right, that's interesting. And AJ as well. 131 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,080 You got to have a Bible in your hand. 132 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,920 Have that though. So we'll explain more about that 133 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,160 in just a minute. And he continued there a year 134 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,760 and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 135 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,840 And when Gallio was deputy of AKA, the Jews made insurrection 136 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:08,400 with one accord against Paul and brought him to the judgment 137 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,760 seat, saying, this fellow persuades men to worship God 138 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,040 contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to 139 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,680 open his mouth, Gallio said of the Jews, if it were a matter of 140 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,400 wrong or wicked lewdness, Oh, he Jews, reason, would that I 141 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,760 should bear with you. But if it be a question of words 142 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,880 and names, and of your law, look into it, for I'd be no judge of 143 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,480 such matters. And then he drave them from the 144 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,480 judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took 145 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,880 Saucenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before 146 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,840 the judgment seat. And Galileo cared for none of 147 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,560 those things. And then this text of Corinth 148 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,640 ends by saying, And Paul after this, Terry there yet a good 149 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,760 while, and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed 150 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:52,480 thence into Syria. And with him Priscilla and 151 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:58,200 Aquila having shorn his head in Sentra, for he had a vow. 152 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,480 Now looking at our text this evening, it's not my desire to 153 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,520 give a complete background of the church at Corinth or to give 154 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,080 a complete background of Corinth as a city. 155 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:10,480 Now there's a couple reasons for that. 156 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,600 One is because you might remember on Sunday morning, 157 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,000 maybe about two or three months ago, I preached on the fact how 158 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,280 amazing it was that a church was even planted in Corinth in the 159 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,440 1st place. And I gave quite a bit of 160 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,360 background about Corinth at that time. 161 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,200 And so I don't want to repeat that here tonight, But the 162 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,600 second reason is this. I will give some of the 163 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,320 historical background of Corinth, but I want to mix it 164 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:34,640 in. I want to weave it into the book 165 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,919 as we continue to teach from it and preach from it over the next 166 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,640 few months. But Needless to say, if you want 167 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,840 to know about Corinth, remember it was like Hollywood, Las 168 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:51,520 Vegas, Amsterdam and Wall Street all put together into one. 169 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,160 That's not a compliment. It's taking the seediest 170 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,400 elements of all of those places and being able to put them 171 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,960 together. That's what Corinth was. 172 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,880 To play a Corinthian was to be a fool. 173 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,320 To play a Corinthian was to be lewd and wicked in your actions. 174 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,720 It wasn't a compliment in any way. 175 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,600 Now for a little bit of geographical context. 176 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,280 I don't have a lot of slides here this evening, but I do want 177 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,600 to be able to show you just a little bit of an idea of where 178 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,200 Corinth is on the map. And you could see that you are 179 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,080 looking to the right of Italy. There's that boot that's hanging 180 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,040 out there. But at the right of that boot 181 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,080 you will see Corinth is right there on what's called an 182 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:35,360 isthmus. And that isthmus means that you 183 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,640 have water on either side. And Corinth is located on a very 184 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,720 narrow strip of land. Because of that, it was a 185 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,920 waypoint for ships that were going back and forth. 186 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,520 Typically, ships would not go way out into the Mediterranean 187 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,680 Sea. They would have to stay a lot 188 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:55,600 closer to land for their own safety because of the nature of 189 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,320 the wooden vessels of that time. And so there is Corinth. 190 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:03,360 It's perfectly located to be able to have people from all 191 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:08,080 over Europe, all over Asia, and all over Africa, to be able to 192 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:14,640 flow in and to be able to mix and to mingle and also to find 193 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,000 comfort. And I use that term loosely in 194 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,400 the arms of the Temple of Aphrodite. 195 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:23,920 And we don't have to go too deep into what that would mean this 196 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,600 evening, other than to understand that would not be 197 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,600 comfort in the sense that they were going to a Comfort Inn and 198 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,920 suites, but rather that they were finding comfort in very 199 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:37,160 wicked and ungodly ways there with the temple prostitutes who 200 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:41,320 were part of that situation. So all of this is taking place 201 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:46,760 there in Corinth, and we find that Paul comes and has the 202 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,640 audacity to preach the gospel in a wicked place. 203 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,560 Thank the Lord for those who are willing to be able to preach the 204 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:57,600 gospel in wicked places and in wicked times. 205 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,200 And here's Paul and he comes in and thank the Lord. 206 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,800 He finds a couple of people who are also believers. 207 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:08,320 Aquila and Priscilla are their names and they love the Lord and 208 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:10,920 Paul and they have some commonalities. 209 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,280 The first commonality that they have is that, well, they're both 210 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:16,240 believers. The three of them are believers. 211 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,960 The second is that they have the same tray that they are tent 212 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,400 makers. Now Paul at times and seasons 213 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,240 would receive funding for preaching the gospel and the 214 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,160 Bible makes clear, Peter talks about this at the end of first 215 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,520 Peter, that there is nothing that is wrong or unseemly for a 216 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:36,320 pastor to receive funding for preaching the word of God so 217 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,680 that his needs are met, so that he then can meet the needs of 218 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:41,760 the flock. The Bible says that we're not to 219 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,320 muzzle the ox that treads out the corn. 220 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,200 There's nothing wrong with that, but the same time, the pastor's 221 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,960 not to be in it for the money. I mean, the way I looked at is 222 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,640 after the first Gulfstream jet that I got, that was enough for 223 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:53,280 me. Amen. 224 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,000 And so I was good, you know, I got enough. 225 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,560 Look, hey, look, I don't need to, all right? 226 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,320 That's just the way that it is. But you understand what I'm 227 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,680 saying, that that sure, it's good to have needs met so that I 228 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,440 can be free to be able to do the things that need to be done. 229 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:12,440 But yet at the same time, my goal, my driving desire should 230 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:14,360 not be funding. And if there are times where 231 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,240 there is no funding, guess what? Do you just pick up steaks and 232 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,640 leave? No, you keep preaching the Word 233 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:21,840 of God because this is what God has called you to do. 234 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:26,600 Very early on in my time here at Liberty, we had a drastic drop 235 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:31,120 of funding, about 6 to $700.00 a month that we lost just like 236 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,480 that, and there was nowhere in the budget for us to figure that 237 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,040 out. I came to the two trustees that 238 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,360 we had at the time because they want to know if we lost funding 239 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,240 to be able to tell them. I said I need to tell you that 240 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,760 we've just lost about $700.00 a month in funding and I want to 241 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:47,640 leave that in your capable hands. 242 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,280 Now, I knew that our offerings at that time were probably 243 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:55,080 somewhere between 1000 and $1500 a week, 1500 on a good week. 244 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,080 There was nowhere for that money to come to me. 245 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,000 And so they talked about it. They talked to me after service 246 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,600 on Sunday night. And as a pastor, we don't see 247 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,800 any way that the church can really give you any more funds 248 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:11,480 than what we are. We're barely making rent right 249 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,360 now. And I said to them, I agree with 250 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,760 you. This was the conclusion I came 251 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:18,680 to. But you told me that you wanted 252 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:19,960 to know when these things happened. 253 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,440 And I told you, I said. The Lord will. 254 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,440 Provide and he did. I worked for Uber for about 2 255 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,440 1/2 years and that was able to do that to be able to meet the 256 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:29,840 funds. But I remember one of them 257 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,360 looked at me and he said this to me and says, so you're not going 258 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,040 to leave? I said, who said anything about 259 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,000 leaving? I said when in the conversation 260 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,760 that we had this morning or this evening did I say that we're 261 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:42,960 going to leave? I said the Lord called us from 262 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:48,880 Florida to come all the way up here to work and labor for about 263 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,520 a year and a half here in this town. 264 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:56,000 And then because the check didn't clear, if you will, that 265 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,600 we're just going to disappear, I said, I just happen to feel like 266 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:01,680 the Lord has other plans for now. 267 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,200 And the Lord's taking care of us every bit of the way. 268 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,760 I thank the Lord for that. You know what I needed? 269 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,400 This is where I'm getting at. I needed a tent maker. 270 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,320 I needed something to be able to make a little bit of money to be 271 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,360 able to help supplement that which God had called me to do. 272 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:18,200 And where do we get that term from? 273 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,440 Sometimes you've heard that perhaps before from what Paul 274 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,320 did when he went places and they didn't have funds. 275 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:26,960 Listen, Paul didn't show up a court and say, hey, there's no 276 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:28,680 money around here. Why was there no money? 277 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:32,560 Because there was no church, nobody had sent money yet. 278 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:34,120 Now, there was discussions about that. 279 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,880 Remember, we've seen in Second Corinthians that there was 280 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,160 discussions about monies flowing to him so he could do what he 281 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:42,160 need to do. AJ, Hey, yo, hey. 282 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:43,240 Remember Me? I'm your dad. 283 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:44,080 Look up here. All right? 284 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,200 Good. There were times that that was 285 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,200 the case. Other times it wasn't. 286 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,160 And Paul didn't say, well, you know what, maybe I better go 287 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:52,760 back to Jerusalem because there's no funds. 288 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,880 He said, if God called me here, God's going to sustain me here 289 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:57,440 and I'm going to do what I need to do. 290 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,160 And so Paul already had a burden for these people because he was 291 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,440 willing to put himself out there. 292 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,840 He was willing to sit down and make tents, which I couldn't 293 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,240 have imagined was a very easy thing to do at that time or 294 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,240 well, anytime, now that I think about it. 295 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,800 But sure, here he was. He was doing this, and as he was 296 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,720 doing it, and as he was staying up late making these tents, 297 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:20,800 guess what? He saw people. 298 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,080 Lots and lots and lots of people. 299 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:25,640 And you know what? They weren't saved. 300 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,840 They didn't know Jesus like Aquila and Priscilla did, and 301 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,680 his backup wasn't there yet. You'll remember in Athens, he 302 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:37,200 was alone and and he was waiting for his backup, Timothy and 303 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,280 Silas to come meet up with him because they're on the second 304 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:43,080 missionary journey and he's waiting for the meet up, meet 305 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:44,880 up. But like Paul's habit was in 306 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:49,120 Athens, he gets there and he just says, I can't keep my mouth 307 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,520 shut. I've got to say something. 308 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:56,960 These people have no idea what they're doing if they have no 309 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,400 idea who Jesus is. And I just can't wait for my 310 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,880 backup to get here. I can't wait for the checks to 311 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,240 start clearing. I got to do something now. 312 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,200 And So what does he do? Look at verse 5. 313 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,920 I love this. He testified to the Jews that 314 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,760 Jesus was Christ. I mean, you want to boil down 315 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:16,960 the message of the gospel? Here's what it is Jesus is 316 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:21,040 Christ, I want to introduce you Jesus and I want you to know why 317 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,920 he should be your Lord and Savior. 318 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:26,160 So what did he do? He was pressed in the spirit. 319 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:30,720 He testified he preached the word of God, but what happened. 320 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:33,520 I love this as well. Look at verse #6 says they 321 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,560 oppose themselves. They oppose themselves when they 322 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,840 were starting the Jews. He's talking the Jews and 323 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,640 Greeks, but I believe this is really more in reference to the 324 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,760 Jews here because he's going to move to speaking more to the 325 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,320 Greeks, to the Gentiles here in just a moment. 326 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,320 But they oppose themselves. Listen, those who say there is 327 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,120 no God oppose themselves whether they realize or not. 328 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,760 Those who say that Jesus Christ is not God oppose themselves 329 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,680 whether they realize or not. I think our Sunday school series 330 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,520 is going to be really good and helping us with this even on 331 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,520 Sunday. I was preparing Sunday's school 332 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:10,520 lesson last night and it's going through it and realizing just 333 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,119 our faith is not about logic. Understand that faith is the 334 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,640 subject of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 335 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,480 But it is very logical to believe that a logical God 336 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,520 created all of this. You know what's not logical? 337 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:33,600 That everything exploded out of nothing and that nobody knows 338 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,960 what that original thing that exploded where it came from. 339 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:41,960 To me, that's logic. You know what's logical? 340 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,160 That because there's a God of order, that knowledge can be 341 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:49,400 understood, that reason can be understood, that morality can be 342 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,800 understood. That if, and this is if we're 343 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,960 just some big cosmic mistake, then how is knowledge knowledge? 344 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:57,560 Then who's the arbiter of morality? 345 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,400 You see what I'm saying? Listen, to disagree with God is 346 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,960 to oppose yourself. I'll be honest with you, I've 347 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,400 opposed myself a few times before I got saved. 348 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,240 And listen, even after I got saved when I disagreed with the 349 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:12,720 word of God and it's work within my own life. 350 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:17,320 And so I love how the Holy Spirit puts the nail right to it 351 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,480 here when it says they oppose themselves, they blasphemy. 352 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,440 He shook his raiment, He said this, your blood be upon your 353 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,000 heads. I am clean and from henceforth I 354 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,400 will go unto the Gentiles. It makes me think of what Jesus 355 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,040 said in Matthew Chapter 7, verse 6 in the Sermon on the Mount 356 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,040 where he said this. Don't cast your pearls before 357 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,720 swine. He said that there's a time when 358 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,360 they don't want it. Then you move on and you go to 359 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:41,160 someone else. Now I suggest that if you're 360 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:43,520 trying to teach someone about Jesus Christ, you're trying to 361 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,520 and they don't want anything to do, say you know what you are, 362 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:46,840 you're a swine. Don't say that. 363 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:48,160 I don't think that's what I don't think. 364 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:49,520 That's what Jesus is telling us to say. 365 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,600 You know, just say, say, say hey little piggy, I'm moving on. 366 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:53,960 You know, that's not we're talking about. 367 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,040 That's not what it is. But the idea is don't give that 368 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,840 which is precious to those who will trample over it and have 369 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,480 nothing to do with it. Maybe wait for another time when 370 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:04,440 the Lord has softened their heart, but this is not the 371 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,000 moment we want to give the gospel to everyone, but we 372 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,120 realize that some will be more open than others. 373 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,000 They were not open. And So what did he do? 374 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,040 He shook the dust off and said I'm moving on. 375 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,160 He went to a certain man's house named Justice. 376 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,160 He worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. 377 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,880 Crispus was there. Crispus got saved. 378 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,280 I believe that he left after some period of time. 379 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,960 And then another ruler of the synagogue was also believer 380 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:32,280 named Sasanese took his place. Because we see that in verse #17 381 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,560 how he was taken by this unruly mob and was beaten. 382 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:37,920 So there were Jews that were still getting saved. 383 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,840 You know what I love about this and and maybe this is just free 384 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,160 for us tonight, but but I want you to consider this, that even 385 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,000 though Paul it was done preaching and teaching to the 386 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,760 Jews in general, he was not done with the Jews as people. 387 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,000 Somebody get a little worried. You're saying what are you 388 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:56,200 talking about the Jews or any of that? 389 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:00,640 What I'm saying is this, the Jews in general in Corinth said 390 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,560 we don't want to hear you. But he didn't look at each 391 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,160 individual Jew and say, I won't tell you the truth. 392 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:08,840 No, he still wanted to give people the truth. 393 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,520 You know, he didn't get jaded. He didn't get bitter. 394 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,960 He said, you know what, this group, I may not be going to 395 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,480 their synagogue anymore, but I'm still going to try to reach 396 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,640 people if they'll listen to me, whether Jews or whether Gentiles 397 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,440 listen. There are people who are of 398 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,320 different political persuasions that we are. 399 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,440 And in general, most of them are not interested in the gospel. 400 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,360 Say, pastor, what are you talking about, liberals? 401 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,760 You made me say it, all right? You beat it out of me. 402 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:41,240 OK. Are you happy, Vince? 403 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:45,200 All right. So listen, a lot of them, 404 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,520 because of their very positions, don't want anything to do with 405 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,080 God. But does that mean we should 406 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,480 never tell someone who is a liberal about Jesus Christ? 407 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:56,920 I don't think Paul's pattern was that at all. 408 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:58,520 Was it? Oh, no. 409 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:00,960 You know what? We need to try to reach as many 410 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,320 people as we can wherever they were. 411 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,240 I'm thankful that there are people who had a liberal 412 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,840 position. Listen, I know people had 413 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,200 liberal positions. They were, they were for 414 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,880 abortion, the murder of a child that they were for some of these 415 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,160 things that are just so anti Bible. 416 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,000 They got saved and they changed. Listen to their political 417 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,280 persuasion didn't change. They changed in their heart and 418 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,640 their soul. And then other changes came. 419 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,760 Look, we're not trying to make political converts here, but I 420 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,560 don't work for the RNC or the DNC because I work for the King 421 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:36,560 of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and that's it. 422 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,160 And I'm not worried about building a political party. 423 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,440 I'm worried about this trying to win souls of Jesus Christ. 424 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,560 And while a whole thought process may say no, we don't 425 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,600 want Jesus Christ, there are individuals who are inside those 426 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,240 thought processes that say this. I would listen because nobody's 427 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:54,640 ever approached me about this before. 428 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,920 Do you see how Paul didn't give up on the Jews, even though. 429 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:58,200 Do you understand what I'm saying here tonight? 430 00:21:58,200 --> 00:21:59,840 Just do this, if you understand. If not, just. 431 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:00,720 OK, good. We're good. 432 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:05,960 All right, Some good things going on here. 433 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:09,280 There's a church growing in a. Wicked. 434 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:13,960 Place the Jews were against them, the Greeks, the Gentiles 435 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:20,520 had this temple to Aphrodite that was Amsterdam beyond our 436 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:25,080 comprehension, a red light district, all in the name of 437 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:30,760 religion. All this is taking place and I'd 438 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,880 like to think this way. I think Paul's a pretty tough 439 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,120 guy. Do you feel that way? 440 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:40,440 I mean, I like to think about Paul as AI think his countenance 441 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,120 of stature was not very big. There's some historical accounts 442 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:46,480 that perhaps he was around 5 foot somewhere around there, 443 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,800 maybe even stooped over because some of the things, because the 444 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:52,160 Bible basically said the people saw him and they were like, 445 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,040 you're Paul. Like we thought you were a tough 446 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,320 guy. Now he was tough. 447 00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,880 He was tough. Think about this. 448 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:01,360 He's in the middle. Of the second missionary 449 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:04,240 journey, this is what he has gone through so far. 450 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,880 He's been stoned and debt left for dead in Lystra. 451 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,960 He was persecuted and expelled in Antioch of Pasidia. 452 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,080 He was threatened to be stoned in Iconium. 453 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,240 He was beaten and imprisoned in Philippi. 454 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,400 He fled Thessalonica and Chase was chased out of Berea. 455 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,680 And one commentator said this, there had been culture shock in 456 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,200 Athens and now Paul was experiencing moral shock in 457 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,560 Corinth. I mean, sure, people are getting 458 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:32,400 saved, but you wouldn't blame Paul for maybe being a little 459 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,440 bit. What's the word I'm looking for? 460 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,800 Afraid. Where would you come up with 461 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:40,120 that? Well. 462 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:42,440 Go to verse #9 and 10. We do that. 463 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:47,720 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision. 464 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:49,640 Now this is where that red letter thing comes in. 465 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,120 We just saw a few moments ago that this red letter, maybe you 466 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:57,720 ask yourself, why do we know? Why would we think and we can't 467 00:23:57,720 --> 00:23:59,320 know. You understand that when Luke 468 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:03,080 was writing this, he wasn't using a quill with black ink and 469 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,080 then changed to a quill with red ink as he was writing in Greek. 470 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,960 That's not what took place. Our publishers have supplied 471 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,480 this later on and they're doing the very best that they can to 472 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:13,800 guess. Although I I do believe this 473 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,560 would be the case for a few different reasons. 474 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:22,760 One was because the Lord the term Lord was used often when 475 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:27,200 Paul spoke to Jesus, whether it was on the Damascus road or 476 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:31,440 looking Later in Acts chapter 22 and 23 when he recounts what 477 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:36,040 happened on the Damascus Rd. That the the term Lord was often 478 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,760 used in Acts to describe Paul talking to Jesus Christ. 479 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:43,320 So that that's the first part. Second, it was the Lord who also 480 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:45,480 said in the gospels, be not afraid. 481 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,000 And so that's not unusual as well. 482 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:53,480 And it also could be the case he said I am with thee. 483 00:24:53,800 --> 00:25:00,640 And Paul's encounters with the Lord post ascension have all 484 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,480 been with Jesus and not with the Father. 485 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:06,840 So I think this being Jesus Christ here is a very normal 486 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:09,960 thing for us to think. So here's Jesus and he says 487 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,720 this. Be not afraid, but speak, hold 488 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,720 not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall set on 489 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,680 thee to hurt thee. For I have much people in this 490 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:23,080 city. So here is Jesus Christ, who 491 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,320 appears to. Paul in Corinth. 492 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:31,720 This is serious, this is a big deal and he has a three fold 493 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:36,680 message that he wants to give Paul here in the midst of this. 494 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:41,480 The first was comfort. Be not afraid, for I am with 495 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,080 thee and no man shall settle me to hurt thee. 496 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:49,000 The second was a command. Speak and hold, not thy peace. 497 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,760 The third was confirmation. I have much people in this city. 498 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,360 That's an incredible message. He says don't be afraid and 499 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:00,720 listen. Maybe you think Paul was a tough 500 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,280 guy, but here's the thing. If Jesus says that he's afraid, 501 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,600 he was afraid. And. 502 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:09,240 Listen, this whole idea of people having not being afraid 503 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,160 is is a farce. You know the people that are 504 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,800 able we all deal with fear. It was Mark Twain who said 505 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,160 courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not the absence 506 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,600 of fear. Only a fool is never afraid. 507 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,120 But yet we are not to be controlled by our personal 508 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:30,360 fears. I was told in Bible college when 509 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:33,240 we were trying to 1st get up to speak publicly, they would say 510 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,120 this. The goal is not to eliminate the 511 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:38,080 butterflies. The goal is to get them to fly 512 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,000 in formation. And I like that. 513 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,280 Hey, you're going to be afraid. It's OK. 514 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:49,360 Just deal with it and move ahead and give it to the Lord. 515 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:53,720 So here's here's Jesus Christ who comes here to Paul, this man 516 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,640 who did all those things I talked about earlier and he says 517 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:00,440 this listen, I. Know you're afraid right now, 518 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,160 but I want you to keep preaching because there's people in the 519 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:09,240 city that need to get saved. Even though this is a wicked 520 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:14,320 city, even though this is a lewd city, even though this is a city 521 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:22,640 that is crazy about money and sex and politics, He says listen 522 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,080 to me. They need you to keep preaching 523 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,920 the word. Keep going, don't be afraid. 524 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,840 It may not look like it, but there's profitable work to do. 525 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,000 Now, let's be clear about something. 526 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:41,880 This is an incredible promise, but Jesus is giving that promise 527 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:46,480 to Paul, not to us. This Paul. 528 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:48,680 I can't. I wish I could preach those two 529 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,120 verses and say look at what Jesus told us. 530 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:54,160 No one will be hurt. Keep preaching. 531 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:55,560 And there's a lot of people here. 532 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:57,520 I can't say it. Listen, that wasn't always true 533 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:02,680 in Paul's life, because later on he's going to get arrested, and 534 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,040 later on he's going to die a martyr's death. 535 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:09,200 But was this promise for this period of time true? 536 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:10,600 Yes. You know why I know it's true? 537 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:12,040 Because it came from Jesus Christ. 538 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,960 But this promise in its specificity is not for us today. 539 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,600 Here's what is for us today. There's a lot of promises from 540 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,400 the Lord to not be afraid. There's a lot of promises from 541 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,480 Him for us not to be afraid. I want to read some to you. 542 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,440 Isaiah 41, verse 10. Fear not thou, for I am with 543 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:32,920 thee. Be not dismayed. 544 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,360 I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. 545 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,440 Yeah, I will help thee. Yeah, I will uphold thee with 546 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:40,280 the right hand of my righteousness. 547 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:42,400 My light verse. Joshua 19. 548 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,520 Have I not commanded thee? Be thou strong, and have a good 549 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,040 courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou 550 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,320 dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou 551 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,560 goest. Psalm 56, verse three. 552 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:56,400 What time I am afraid I will trust in thee. 553 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,920 Second Timothy 17, Another one of my favorite verses. 554 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:01,720 The Lord had not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, 555 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:03,400 and of love, and of a sound mind. 556 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:06,400 John 1427. Peace I leave with you. 557 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,560 My peace I give unto you not as the world giveth, give unto you. 558 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,760 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 559 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:17,480 Deuteronomy 31 verse 6 Be strong and of a good courage. 560 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,080 Fear not, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it is 561 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,000 that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee, nor 562 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:26,960 forsake thee. Is that enough to help? 563 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:31,720 Maybe give us the realization that we don't need to be afraid 564 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,080 in the face of the difficulties that we go through. 565 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:38,560 Sure, we have those fears that naturally rise up within our 566 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:42,080 emotions, but what do we do when they well up within us? 567 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:46,000 We give them to the Lord and say I fear you. 568 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:52,200 I honor, respect, Revere you. I don't cower before God, but I 569 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:53,960 respect you. I fear you. 570 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,240 I trust you so much. That I take these. 571 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,760 Other fears and I give them to you and I'm going to go forward. 572 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:01,000 I'm going to do what you call me to do. 573 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,240 And what happened? Well, a lot of people were saved 574 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:11,800 and baptized. A church was established, and if 575 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:13,800 you were to take a focus group and say, hey, where should you 576 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,960 plant a church up here? Nobody's picking Corinth. 577 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,720 God did. God allowed it to happen. 578 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,440 God. God made a way when human logic 579 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,120 and reasoning didn't make a way, even when trouble crept up. 580 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:31,000 Did you see that at the end of our text? 581 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,120 Inevitably the trouble comes. It's like it's always nipping at 582 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,560 the heels of Paul, isn't it? Every town he goes to, he's 583 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,160 there for a couple weeks and it's like the trouble catches up 584 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:42,320 with him. And that's what happened here in 585 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:44,240 Corinth. Eventually the Greeks get 586 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:45,400 involved. They say, look at what he's 587 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,600 doing to our city. Look, look, look, he's causing 588 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:49,920 problems around here. You know, he's preaching about 589 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,080 Jesus Christ. And they bring him before 590 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:56,560 Gallio, who was the leader there in the region and before Paul 591 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:58,560 could even. And I love how specific the 592 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:00,880 Bible is about this. It said before he even opened 593 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:02,320 his mouth. And you know, Paul, Paul, he 594 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,320 loved to open his mouth. So did Peter, but a little bit 595 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,040 different of a problem. But Paul had no problem speaking 596 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,160 out in front of people and saying what need to be said. 597 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:11,600 And he was about to defend himself. 598 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,520 And Galileo almost does this. He says, hey, listen, Paul, you 599 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,160 don't need to say anything. You all are out of line. 600 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,520 Leave him alone. What you have a problem with has 601 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,920 nothing to do with politics. He has nothing to do with our 602 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,320 laws. It has to do with religious 603 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:28,480 questions. He says I got nothing to do with 604 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:30,760 this. He says leave them alone. 605 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:38,040 And go away, and even the Roman. Government protected him there 606 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,760 in Corinth, allowing that church to flourish even more. 607 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:46,480 So God did a great work and it was from that 18 month period. 608 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,040 It's from that 18 month period that we got the intensely 609 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:56,160 personal epistle that we call First Corinthians. 610 00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,480 It was from this 18 month period. 611 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:08,560 Of fear and growth and promises from God, the time they spent 612 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:13,520 together and the pressure cooker of being under all of those 613 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:18,160 difficulties that brought them together and what gave us that 614 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,880 most intimate of epistles that we'll be studying over the next 615 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:26,880 several months. So here's what I want to pose to 616 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:30,960 you. What if Paul had given up 617 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:36,280 because of his fears? What if he decided to leave when 618 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,040 the Jews rejected him? What if he decided it wasn't 619 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:44,040 worth the trouble to reach a lousy, lewd place like Corinth? 620 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:46,360 What if he just said, you know what? 621 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:51,320 This ain't worth it, I'm tired of this, I'm afraid. 622 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:54,360 Get We know he was afraid because Jesus said he was 623 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,360 afraid. I'm done with this. 624 00:32:58,200 --> 00:32:59,920 My body can't take much more of this. 625 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:02,480 My spirit can't take much more of this. 626 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:05,320 I'm laying myself out here, and for what? 627 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:09,680 Now the Jews, they, they, they chase me out of the synagogue 628 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,600 again. What's the point? 629 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:18,440 Well, if he left because of his fear, then we wouldn't have this 630 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:22,840 epistle that told us about the gospel in First Corinthians 15. 631 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,960 We wouldn't have the words of First Corinthians 13 about love. 632 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:29,920 We wouldn't know about the church in First Corinthians 633 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:33,400 chapter #12 we wouldn't know about marriage in First 634 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:35,600 Corinthians 7. We wouldn't have the 635 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,800 instructions on the Lord's Table from First Corinthians Chapter 636 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:40,920 11. We wouldn't have this intimate 637 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,840 portrait of how Jesus is involved in every area of our 638 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,720 life. This epistle in my estimation, 639 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,040 and I don't think I'm overreaching to say this as well 640 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,520 as Second Corinthians, just, well, it would not exist. 641 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:54,800 You know, I, I know the sovereignty of God and I know 642 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,360 God had had this to be in place for us. 643 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:01,400 But I'm just saying, humanly speaking, if Paul leaves and no 644 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:04,200 church is established, then there's no church for him to 645 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,520 write to. And we don't have this letter. 646 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,120 So here's what I want us to think about the last few 647 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:11,960 minutes. And we're done. 648 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:17,840 When we give in to our present fear, we will never see future 649 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,400 fruit. We give in to the fear that we 650 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:24,040 have now. And we will never see the fruit 651 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,239 that God has for us in the future that we can't even 652 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:30,920 imagine yet. Think about the negative. 653 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:37,000 There were 10 spies who never got to see Canaan because they 654 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,320 didn't believe King Saul feared the people. 655 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,560 So we offered a sacrifice that he knew he couldn't have offered 656 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:47,960 and lost his Kingdom. The rich young ruler feared of 657 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:51,520 losing his wealth and never trusted Christ. 658 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:56,600 The pilot feared the people and never truly listened to what 659 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,960 Christ was saying right in front of him, because he was more 660 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,000 afraid of Rome and he was more afraid of the mob than he was 661 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:05,880 about standing before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 662 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:11,720 But what about the positive? Well, there were 10 bad spies, 663 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:15,520 but there were two good ones. Joshua and Caleb were mightily 664 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,920 blessed because they didn't give in to their fear. 665 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,920 They said, yeah, those giants are big, but our gods bigger. 666 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,640 David saw a giant, but he saw a bigger God. 667 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:36,120 Esther said if I go in and talk to the king, he could kill me. 668 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,080 But you know what? Perhaps God has prepared me for 669 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:42,120 such a time as this. And she went in anyway. 670 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:47,240 Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, right down the line, 671 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:53,800 they could have all died at multiple junctures, but every 672 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:58,480 time they kept trusting God and listen, we're the beneficiaries 673 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:03,880 of all of their faith. No, we benefited because Paul 674 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:08,000 didn't give in to his fear. We benefited because we get to 675 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,400 read of Queen Esther. We're benefited because we get 676 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:13,520 to know about. David and we're. 677 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:15,480 Benefited by all of these things. 678 00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:18,720 And listen, it's true for us as well. 679 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,040 Does fear cause you to not do some of the things that you know 680 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:28,440 you ought to do for the Lord? I wrote some of these down here. 681 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:31,400 Does fear cause you not to serve at the church? 682 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:34,040 You know you ought to, but you're afraid. 683 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,440 Maybe you, you know you should teach, you should speak, you 684 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,440 should minister in front of others, but you're afraid. 685 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:46,040 Afraid to share your faith? Afraid to give your tithe? 686 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:49,800 Afraid to take a missions trip? Afraid to invite a visitor to 687 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:52,560 church. Afraid to confront sin and love 688 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:55,560 when necessary. You know, there are times and 689 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:58,720 seasons that we are afraid and we know God has told us to do 690 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:01,560 things from His Word and we don't do it. 691 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:07,320 But we miss out on the future fruit when we don't step out by 692 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,120 faith. You know what makes the 693 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:13,400 difference a lot of times? Love. 694 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:17,240 Here, here. Here's what I mean. 695 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:21,320 My mom, bless her soul, We, we're getting stuff ready for 696 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:26,040 Bethany's wedding and we're scanning a lot of pictures, you 697 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:28,680 know, because, you know, negatives and photos. 698 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:30,360 Remember photo albums? Yeah, those were a thing. 699 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,600 I I was in on that generation. And so we have pictures we need 700 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:36,800 to scan to get ready. A lot of them. 701 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:40,960 My mom, you know, my mom passed 10 years ago from cancer. 702 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:44,360 And trying to get some of the pictures of my mom and Bethany, 703 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:47,480 my mom and the girls specifically together in a few 704 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:52,880 with AJ. But my mom had this intense fear 705 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:55,320 of flying. She did not want to fly. 706 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,640 She did not like to fly. She flew once when she was very 707 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:02,360 young, young adult. It was a bad flight. 708 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:04,560 It was a little puddle jumper. I believe it was going to Key 709 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:08,760 West, Tampa. And it never stopped shaking 710 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:12,120 from the moment it he took off from Tampa until it landed in 711 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,080 Key West. And when she got home on the 712 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:15,840 return trip, she says I'll never do that again. 713 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:22,880 And to her word she never did until her first grandchild was 714 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:26,640 going to be born, Bethany in Oklahoma City. 715 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:32,560 And my dad says I am not driving from Florida to Oklahoma City 716 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:33,600 again. He already did that for the 717 00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:35,320 wedding. I'm not going to do it again. 718 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,880 He says that's a 24 hour drive. It's crazy. 719 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,800 He says I'm going to fly and I suggest you come along with me. 720 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:48,080 And so my mom, for the first time in 30 years, got on the 721 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:51,280 plane. The only reason she overcame the 722 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:56,880 fear, the love of a grandchild. Her first grandchild, when we 723 00:38:56,880 --> 00:38:59,560 moved up here, become an only child. 724 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,520 And so that was some separation for us as a family. 725 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:08,120 My mom wanted to come see us. Well, guess what, Mom? 726 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:10,320 Logan Airport is a great airport. 727 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:12,400 Actually, it's not, but that's OK. 728 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:18,000 But but will Mom flew to Logan. Did I tell you another. 729 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:19,680 Another fear. She had tunnels. 730 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:24,480 She's not a fan of Ted Williams, let's put it that way. 731 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,920 I didn't tell. Her till she landed that we're 732 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:30,840 going to have to go through a few tunnels to be able to get 733 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:36,280 you know what she was willing to do it love for us compelled her 734 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:38,000 to fly when she never would have. 735 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:41,880 She overcame her fears because of that first. 736 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:47,320 John 48 says this 418 There is No Fear in love, but perfect 737 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:52,200 love casteth out fear. Paul said this as well. 738 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:55,720 Paul said this Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. 739 00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,560 There's some fear there, knowing how the Lord judges. 740 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:01,600 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. 741 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:05,280 We persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust 742 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:07,560 also are made manifest in your consciousness. 743 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,920 For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you 744 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,080 occasion to glory on our behalf, that you might have somewhat to 745 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:16,840 answer them, which glory in appearance and not in heart. 746 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,960 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God, or 747 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:21,920 whether we be sober, it is for your cause. 748 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:26,040 Listen, for the love of Christ constraineth us. 749 00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:29,120 Now that doesn't mean it restrains us, it means it 750 00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:32,960 propels us. It constraineth us because we 751 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,720 thus judge. If one died for all, then we're 752 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:40,080 all dead. Our love for the Lord, our love 753 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:43,280 for souls, should make us be able to go out and do things 754 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:47,800 that we normally would not do on our own because there's future 755 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:51,840 fruit that's available. Paul and Corinth go way back. 756 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:56,200 There was a camaraderie, A blessedness, a joy, heartache, 757 00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,040 sadness, and a host of other emotions that we're going to 758 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:02,480 find in First Corinthians. But none of it would have ever 759 00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:09,520 happened if he didn't confront his fear and obey God. 760 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:12,320 You know, if you're willing to overcome your fear, you'll be 761 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:17,760 able to not just go way back, but you'll be able to look back 762 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:21,960 at what God has done and say, on my own, I couldn't do any of 763 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:26,160 this. I, I couldn't speak in 8th grade 764 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:30,280 in front of my class. And now my son can have a 765 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:32,080 meltdown and I can preach standing right next to him. 766 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:36,240 I can't speak about the quality of it, but God's brought me a 767 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:39,040 long way and I'm not saying that much, but whatever I am, it's 768 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:42,280 thanks to Him because I didn't want to talk in front of people. 769 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,200 I didn't want it. I didn't want to talk to them. 770 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,880 I didn't want to look at Him. Praise be to God, you know, 771 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:52,520 don't miss out what God has for you because of fear. 772 00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:56,400 We have a book today because Paul was not afraid. 773 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:02,000 And think of how God could use you if you just submit yourself 774 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:03,840 to him. Don't miss that future fruit. 775 00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,680 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 776 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:10,560 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 777 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:14,040 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 778 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:18,640 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 779 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:23,480 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 780 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:26,280 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 781 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:27,480 grow in His Word.