1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:07,960 Good morning. All right, so we are going into 2 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,520 the time of reading Scripture. If you don't have a Bible with 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,880 you, you can find one under your seat and we're going to be 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:19,440 reading Acts 8 one through 4. If you're using the Bible under 5 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:25,760 your chair will be on page 861. All right, let's read together. 6 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,800 And Saul approved of his execution. 7 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,320 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the 8 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,480 Church of in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered 9 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,280 throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,880 apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and 11 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:49,800 made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church 12 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:55,520 and entering house after house. He dragged off men and women and 13 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,280 committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered 14 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,920 went about preaching the Word as the word of the Lord. 15 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,040 What's going on? Port City family and friends, 16 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,920 how are we doing? Good. 17 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:13,960 My name is Tanner, one of the pastors here. 18 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:17,520 It is a privilege to be with you and y'all at Port City. 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:23,480 We are passionate about helping people understand what the 20 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,080 church is, or rather who the church is. 21 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,200 Y'all as we just had those verses read over us. 22 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:34,120 Hopefully you noticed that Saul went and ravaged the church. 23 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,840 He did not burn down buildings, he did not erase brands from 24 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:44,240 websites right Like what he did is he had names, people, faces, 25 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:49,080 associates, a list if you will. I spoke with some partners in 26 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,600 the gospel who live in Eastern Europe right now, and they told 27 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,160 me this week that in their context of about a million 28 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,960 people, there are 100 known believers. 29 00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,400 That's the church where they are. 30 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,000 They have names. And so we're we're passionate 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,160 about helping people understand that this is what you were 32 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,720 created to be a part of. You were created to be a part of 33 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,080 a people that know King Jesus, that make him known, that do 34 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,000 life together like a family and like a team. 35 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,560 And many times we can bring expectations of the way the 36 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,720 world does organizations to the church. 37 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,640 We like to say here that the church is a people that are 38 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,680 organized, not an organization with people, but the 39 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,480 organization of a people. So you could, I'll say this a 40 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,240 lot today. The church is a who, not an it. 41 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,880 It's a who, not an it. It's a who, not a what. 42 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:44,320 But we can bring a lot of it expectations to a who thing. 43 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,480 And it's a little confusing, if that makes sense. 44 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,400 And if you have only ever been at a church, but not a part of a 45 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:56,080 church, we invite you to be a part of our fellowship, our 46 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,320 community, our congregation, our who, if you will. 47 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,760 So I'm going to pray just over our understanding of this as we 48 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,760 as we dive into Acts 8 here. And then we'll, we'll, we'll 49 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,000 look at this text here today. OK, let's pray. 50 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,200 Our Father, God, we love you. Thank you that you came to 51 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:17,880 purchase a people, to make a people, united to you through 52 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,160 your Son by the Spirit and united to one another, a people. 53 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,000 And God, your people are gathered all over the world 54 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,960 right now. And Lord, there are multiple 55 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:27,840 local expressions of your people. 56 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,560 God, I pray you would help us grow on our understanding of 57 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,800 ourselves as a people. And God, there are some I 58 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:35,640 believe in our midst. You're calling to be a part of 59 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,000 your people, be a part of a local fellowship. 60 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,400 You know their stories, you know the timing, you know the things 61 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:43,280 you know, even if they believe in you. 62 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,400 So God, we just pray you connect dots for all of us as we sit 63 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,440 under your word and understand what you did back in Acts, 64 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:52,560 you're doing all over the world even now. 65 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,520 So we love you, Lord, open our eyes to understand these things. 66 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,520 We pray in Christ's name, Amen. Y'all don't know if you've ever 67 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,680 been in like a trying time, a hard time, a confusing time, 68 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:08,520 maybe a pressure filled time. But this is a pressure filled 69 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,200 moment in the life of the church. 70 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,840 Very confusing moment, very hard moment. 71 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,000 A huge moment in world history really where the church gets 72 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,360 forced up out of Jerusalem. Last week we ended with the 73 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,880 stoning of Steven. And just imagine like 74 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,120 persecution breaking out to the point you don't even get to go 75 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:27,920 back and pick a couple items from your house. 76 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:29,760 You don't have a house like you. It's over. 77 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:34,560 Like get your kids and let's go. People who are refugees often 78 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,520 tell stories like that of like, you don't get to go back and and 79 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,960 grab your five things like it's it's leave now. 80 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,600 Like that's kind of the situation. 81 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:46,000 A severe persecution broke out and the disciples started 82 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,080 scattering and the leaders stay behind in Jerusalem, The text 83 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,680 tells us. So it's a very intense time. 84 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,440 It's a confusing time. It's a a very huge moment in the 85 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,760 life of the church. And maybe you're here today and 86 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,240 you don't follow Jesus. You're not a part of the church, 87 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,760 but you could just relate to like, sometimes it's just a 88 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:07,280 little confusing what you're supposed to believe. 89 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,440 There's TikTok telling you everybody's a genius on TikTok. 90 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,280 You know what? I right they, they know how to 91 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:15,240 give you the best life in just three steps. 92 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,160 Even in the church, there could be mixed messages like, is my 93 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,160 life supposed to be easy if I follow Jesus? 94 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:21,960 What does it mean to follow Jesus? 95 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,520 Lot of people just put their trust and hope in politicians 96 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,320 and just be a good person. So there's a lot of confusion as 97 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:34,040 to even what to believe. We all in today's text, the 98 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,640 church is in a hard moment, but it thrives under these 99 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:39,440 circumstances. We're going to see the church 100 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,520 get scattered but thrive, come alive in many ways even without 101 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,480 their leaders. So what I want us to do is 102 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,400 imagine what it would have been like to be in Judea or Samaria 103 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,480 and some people come into your city and start telling you about 104 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,000 this Jesus stuff. So we're almost going to be like 105 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,600 a Co worker of a new believer, if that makes sense. 106 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,080 Like imagine you work in a leather shop. 107 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:03,000 You're a Tanner, somebody, you're working in a leather shop 108 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,960 and some weird joker rolls up in your store looking for a job. 109 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,960 They're on the run and they follow some dude named Jesus. 110 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:11,800 You all know nothing. So we're going to put ourselves 111 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,640 in that coworker's shoes and just hear what they would have 112 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:15,840 been hearing. Does that make sense? 113 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,880 And start to understand who the church is, what this Word stuff 114 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,120 is, who Jesus is. And I got 2-3 points for us 115 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:24,520 today. Number one, we're going to talk 116 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,680 about the word #2 we're going to talk about the church #3 we're 117 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:29,680 going to talk about God. If you are ready, let me hear 118 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:34,240 you say I'm ready. OK #1 the word somebody say the 119 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,440 good news, good news. Let's read our text one more 120 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,600 time for today. And Saul approved of his 121 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,680 execution. And there arose on that day a 122 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:48,080 great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. 123 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,840 And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea 124 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,840 and Samaria, except the apostles. 125 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:58,360 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 126 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:02,320 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after 127 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,040 house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to 128 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,560 prison. Now those who were scattered 129 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:13,360 went about preaching the word. Somebody say the word in our. 130 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,640 Text there you you hear this language of preaching the word. 131 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,720 I don't want you to think. Like what I'm doing right now, 132 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,120 even though some of that was going on, it just means they 133 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:24,640 were good newsing. It literally means the the Greek 134 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,400 word is eongelion, like Evangelion. 135 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,800 Like evangelizing. They were good newsing their 136 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,520 area. Like I'm about to good news you 137 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:32,880 about some food in Norfolk. You ready? 138 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:34,920 How many all have had classic Donuts? 139 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,880 Anybody raise your hand? The rest of y'all just got good 140 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:39,160 news. They exist. 141 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,800 KLASSIC. You are now blessed with the 142 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:44,800 knowledge that it exists and you need to eat it. 143 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,280 OK, you have been good news. You have been gospelled. 144 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,560 OK, That's what they were doing. They were coming with news. 145 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:56,040 That's primarily what this whole Christian movement is. 146 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,840 It's a certain kind of news. OK, so they were preaching the 147 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,920 word means they were sharing the news about Jesus. 148 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,320 This is coming off the heels of last week's sermon where Steven 149 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,120 was stoned. So literally they took a bunch 150 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:10,920 of stones and killed him. After a sermon we studied last 151 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,400 week, they lay down kind of their their garments at the feet 152 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,560 of a man named Saul. And the church begins getting 153 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,600 persecuted like crazy. So they are scattering into the 154 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,040 surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria. 155 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,840 And they everywhere they go, like the leather shop we are in, 156 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,880 they they're getting jobs, they're relocating and they just 157 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,320 start good newsing those people with have you heard about 158 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,200 classic doughnuts? But it's not about classic 159 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,840 doughnuts. It's about the Lord Jesus. 160 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,360 So what I want to do is just think for a second what would an 161 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,000 early church? You're being good news. 162 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,680 What would the marks of their message to you be? 163 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:48,520 Does that make sense based on what we see in Acts? 164 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,880 What would they tell you if you worked with this person? 165 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,000 What are some of the things you've never heard about Jesus? 166 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:54,760 You don't know nothing. What would they tell you? 167 00:08:55,200 --> 00:09:00,600 Right here are 4 marks of the good news #1 The good news is 168 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:04,720 about the king. The good news is about the King. 169 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,320 Later in the book of Acts, in chapter 17, you can write this 170 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:13,560 down verses 6:00 and 7:00. Some followers of Jesus, we're 171 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:16,600 getting in some trouble for good news in their area, OK? 172 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,680 And what tended to happen is the news would offend people and 173 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:21,920 they started a mob. They're like, we don't like this 174 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,800 news, OK? And they reject the news and 175 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,280 listen to what they accuse these Jesus people of. 176 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,240 You ready? That's what it says. 177 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,640 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and 178 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,000 some of the brothers before the city authority shouting. 179 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,720 These men who have turned the world upside down have come here 180 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:40,880 also, and Jason has received them. 181 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,320 And they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying 182 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,600 that there is another king. Jesus, y'all, did you catch what 183 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,600 made their news unbearable for them? 184 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:58,040 They said these people are saying there's another king. 185 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,400 Y'all, The good news of the gospel is that Jesus is the 186 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,280 King. That's the first part of the 187 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,400 news. Caesar is not in charge and 188 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,680 y'all in that time period. Caesar was in charge. 189 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:12,400 He could kill you. You paid your taxes. 190 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:13,760 Or you got in a lot of. Trouble. 191 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,400 That the Romans were were the source of all comfort. 192 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:18,520 They could give you all pleasure. 193 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:20,520 They could give you everything if you bow the knee. 194 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,640 You could keep your gods, do your little religious game and 195 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,720 feel like a good person. Whatever you want to do, as long 196 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,200 as you acknowledge that Caesar is Lord. 197 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,160 But these Jesus people were saying there's another king. 198 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,880 It's not Caesar, it is Jesus. So y'all primarily what the 199 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:40,480 announcement. The good news is that the king 200 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,680 of the world right now is a dude named Jesus. 201 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,400 He is God himself. He is not dead. 202 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,040 That's some of the news you learn about this king. 203 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,200 He's not just a religious artifact. 204 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,840 He is currently reigning over all things. 205 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,640 And So what begins to happen as you're hearing this news in that 206 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:58,760 leather? Shop is you realize these 207 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,600 Christians, which they weren't even called that yet at this 208 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,560 point in the book of Acts, aren't a new religious group. 209 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:09,240 It's more like they're part of a entire new nation, a Kingdom 210 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,960 that doesn't geographically locate itself. 211 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,960 It can go anywhere. And the king of these people is 212 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:16,680 this Jesus. Does that make sense? 213 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:21,160 So like they, they still at some level obey Caesar and pay taxes. 214 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,440 They're not like, forget Caesar, but their ultimate allegiance is 215 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,680 not to Caesar. It is to this Jesus. 216 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,320 So as you're hearing this news as a Roman citizen, that would 217 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,360 blow your mind a little bit. There's somebody more powerful 218 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:35,840 than Caesar. How can that? 219 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,320 Be. So this is part of the news 220 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:40,080 you're hearing. Caesar's not in charge. 221 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,200 Jesus is. Here's the second mark of early 222 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,800 church. Good newsing or or preaching the 223 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,360 word, if you will #2 The good news is about the Kingdom. 224 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:51,880 The good news is about the Kingdom. 225 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:57,240 So every king has a Kingdom. OK, you can write down Acts 1/6 226 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,400 through 8, right before Jesus left the earth. 227 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,960 So he's, he dies, he raises from the dead, he's with his 228 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,280 disciples for 40 days. And before he leaves, one of his 229 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,080 disciples just goes, Hey, Jesus, So like, are you about to like 230 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:15,760 restore the Kingdom now or like the what's next? 231 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,000 They're basically asking, is heaven coming to earth right now 232 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:20,520 or like, where do I need to stand? 233 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,080 What is can I be on your right hand or your left? 234 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,160 What you going to do? And Jesus says back to him, the 235 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,320 Father knows those things. You just relax. 236 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:34,200 You're going to be my witnesses from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria 237 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,160 to the ends of the earth, and you'll be filled with the Spirit 238 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,000 in a number of days. Bye. 239 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,000 And then he. Leaves, then he leaves. 240 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,320 OK, another thing I encourage you to go do is go look at the 241 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:46,880 last verses of the book of Acts. I'm not going to do it for you 242 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:51,240 right now, but it literally says that the the main character by 243 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,400 the end of the book of Acts is a man named Paul, who is actually 244 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,040 the Saul in today's text. He goes, undergoes A radical 245 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,640 conversion, becomes a Jesus preacher instead of a Jesus 246 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:00,720 killer. OK. 247 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,600 And it says in the last words, the book of Acts is he was in 248 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:05,480 Rome preaching about the Kingdom. 249 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,240 You see the? King has a Kingdom and the 250 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,920 Kingdom is here. That's what the Bible teaches, 251 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,600 that these Jesus people were communicating. 252 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,320 The King has come, and the Kingdom is here. 253 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,280 So their question of are you going to restore the Kingdom? 254 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:22,360 Is them asking is it fully coming now? 255 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:25,240 Like, when does it fully come? It's still a broken place. 256 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,320 We just have to walk outside our door and see some of the things 257 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:30,640 we see in our neighborhoods. We see pain, we see people 258 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:34,800 lying, we see people dying. The the Kingdom is not fully 259 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,440 here yet, but it has come in part, you know, these early 260 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,160 believers, we're confident saying the Kingdom is here and 261 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:43,440 this Kingdom is different than Rome. 262 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,760 You do more than pay taxes. It's a whole new ethic of love. 263 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,240 It's not about power. It's not about pleasure. 264 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:51,440 It's about. Love of neighbor. 265 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,360 It's about forgiveness, loving your enemies. 266 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:55,680 These are the customs of this new Kingdom. 267 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,040 So again, you're in the leather shop like there's a king. 268 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:01,480 They operate different than us Roman citizens. 269 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,000 Their allegiances to this king. They operate in this Kingdom 270 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,600 with each other. They're like a family. 271 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,400 They hang out together. These people are different than 272 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:09,840 us. They eat this bread and drink 273 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:11,520 this juice. They're always together. 274 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,480 They're kind of blowing my mind. Here's the third mark about the 275 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:15,480 good news they would share with you. 276 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:21,120 The good news is about everything that matters, y'all? 277 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,240 This is really big so I want to understand what I'm about to say 278 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,480 in the New Testament after Jesus is risen. 279 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,840 I'll share a couple of verses again from Acts 17. 280 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,840 The early church was so confident and spoke with 281 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,600 authority because of 1 fact Jesus is alive. 282 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,200 OK, so here's what that means. Let me read these verses over 283 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,800 you again. Paul says this in a sermon to a 284 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,320 bunch of people who are not religious at all. 285 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,120 OK, this is what he tells them. The times of ignorance God 286 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,240 overlooked. But now he commands all people 287 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,120 everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will 288 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,920 judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. 289 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,440 And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him 290 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,000 from the dead. Here's the way the New Testament 291 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,080 writers and believers like in this leather shop we're 292 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,000 imagining, think because Jesus is alive. 293 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:16,040 Jesus is right about everything because he defeated death. 294 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,960 Here's what Here's what every human being is asking. 295 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:23,520 OK, whether you grew up in a religious home, what would be 296 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,960 called a Christian home, or any any religion of any sort, or 297 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:28,680 you, the most secular person in the world, you don't believe 298 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:29,360 nothing. That's fine. 299 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,520 Here's what your soul is asking. Where do we come from? 300 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,160 Where are we going? What is wrong with us? 301 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,360 Everybody pretty much agrees something's wrong. 302 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:41,120 How does it get made? Right. 303 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,800 And how can you be sure? Like how can you be sure of your 304 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,280 answers to those 4? And here is what the Bible 305 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,320 teaches. We came from Godfather, Son. 306 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:56,080 Holy Spirit made all things, and he made humanity in his image. 307 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:00,760 Where are we going To an eternal destination, either with him or 308 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:04,560 apart from him. What is wrong with us? 309 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,160 Sin is what's wrong with us. The Bible presents the story 310 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:12,160 that we were born to image God and His perfection and love and 311 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:17,280 outward focus on others and God. But in our sin Adam and Eve fell 312 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,520 and so did we. We are so focused on ourselves. 313 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,840 We were not made to be or made to be like a mirror focusing 314 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:25,880 outward. But in our sin we just are so 315 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,840 self absorbed on. All the pain in the earth goes 316 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,800 back to that issue that we are inwardly focused in our sin and 317 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:38,120 not outwardly focused on others. How can it be made right through 318 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,360 King Jesus Some kind of way, as we will talk about, we talk 319 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,920 about every week. The solution is through his 320 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,640 death, burial, and resurrection. His life, his death, his 321 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,040 burial's resurrection. Jesus came to do for us what we 322 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:55,280 could not do for ourselves. And how can you be sure? 323 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:57,680 Here's the Bible's answer. Here's the book of Acts answer. 324 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,440 Because Jesus is alive, that's how. 325 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:06,160 We know if he ain't alive, we should go home. 326 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:08,960 We should go to Classic Donuts right now. 327 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,359 If he ain't alive, none of it matters if he ain't alive, it's 328 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,560 just it's just a different version of be a nice person and 329 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,560 you can be sure if there is some afterlife, you can be confident 330 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,440 because you're a open minded good person, you know, and it's. 331 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,119 Just like that's just not what the Bible teaches y'all. 332 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:29,960 We believe this stuff because Jesus is alive. 333 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:35,880 So the early Christian movement was spreading like wildfire 334 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,560 because the questions everyone was asking, they had the 335 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,840 answers. To because Jesus was alive, so 336 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,960 the Jews were asking questions like how does the Bible story 337 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,600 about Yahweh, about Jehovah, about the the exodus, about the 338 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:52,000 people of God? How does it? 339 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:53,120 Where does it? Go. 340 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:55,440 When does it get fulfilled? When does it go to the next 341 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,360 level? And the answer is Jesus. 342 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,160 He fulfilled the story, and now he's taking it to a new level. 343 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:03,680 And the Greeks were asking questions like, what is the 344 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:05,800 point of life? You know, in Rome you could get 345 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,040 anything. You wanted if you had the right 346 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,640 money, right? Your, your, your sexual 347 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:11,080 preferences. You could do what you want. 348 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:13,440 There was gambling like crazy. There was all kinds of stuff. 349 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,840 Does that sound familiar to you? You could do whatever you wanted 350 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,080 in Rome. This is not new in world 351 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:20,880 history, the moment we live in right now. 352 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,320 But what also was happening in Rome is they had all power, all 353 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,440 comfort, all sense of. They could do whatever they 354 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,840 wanted, and they knew they still had nothing deep down. 355 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:31,880 I was made for more than my comfort. 356 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:33,560 I was made for more than my pleasure. 357 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:38,400 I was made to know God and the stories about Zeus and all this 358 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,080 stuff and chaos and the earth was made out of chaos ain't 359 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,160 working. That's because they're not true 360 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,560 stories. They're fake false gods that 361 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,560 don't tell the truth about where we came from. 362 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,520 And so for every question, Jesus was the answer. 363 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,800 For every problem, Jesus was the solution. 364 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:59,360 That's why the gospel was spreading like crazy. 365 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:03,520 So Port City Church, I just want you to hear that with your life, 366 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,000 what you get to do in front of your coworkers, like in that 367 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:10,680 leather shop, is live with joy and a looseness and then you 368 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,440 obey Christ. So they're watching you follow 369 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,080 this king. This isn't just like a cool 370 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:16,680 hobby. You're actually doing it. 371 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:18,440 You're living out the self sacrifice. 372 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:19,960 You're living out the Sermon on the Mount. 373 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,240 You're laying down your preferences, you're serving your 374 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,280 neighbor. You're doing these things. 375 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:26,360 And then with your words, you have a healthy. 376 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:30,280 Sense of authority One of the things that they said about 377 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,640 Jesus when he would teach is like people almost were 378 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,960 dumbfounded because he spoke with authority and true biblical 379 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,920 authority isn't me yelling at you in Jesus name it's actually 380 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,000 just. What you're saying is. 381 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,120 True. Like you have the words of life 382 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:46,760 and friends, I just. Want you to hear you have the 383 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:49,440 words of life. That doesn't make you arrogant. 384 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,640 I get the sense of a little bit of presumption. 385 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,600 How can you know? But you don't know 'cause you're 386 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,480 you. You know because he's alive. 387 00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,800 Your your confidence. Isn't in you. 388 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,880 It has nothing to do with you. It has to do with Jesus. 389 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,280 That's the great irony. So everybody thinks they has 390 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,560 answers to questions. The question is why you got your 391 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,080 answers to your questions. And our answer is, 'cause He's 392 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:12,080 alive. And he's God. 393 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,680 And I'm not that don't make you arrogant, that makes you humble 394 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:20,760 if it's putting your authority and your confidence in Jesus. 395 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,800 So does the church need more training on evangelism? 396 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:26,560 How to answer your neighbors questions? 397 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:30,000 Yes, and their specifics. But the church would. 398 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,200 Spread like wildfire if we realize you have the answers to 399 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,080 everything you need. You have all that you need. 400 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:41,120 You have all authority in Christ and you have the answers to the 401 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,320 questions they're asking even if they don't ask you them they 402 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,000 asking them. I promise you I promise you they 403 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,680 are last mark of the good news of the early church. 404 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:53,600 The good news is about. You here's the good news is 405 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:55,680 you'd be standing in that leather shot with your friend, 406 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,880 or you'd be the person hearing it from your new friend. 407 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,440 And then your friend would just say, you want to know this king, 408 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,960 you want to be in this Kingdom. Do you want the answers to all 409 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,840 of life? You would just be invited to 410 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:09,720 understand this and make it your own. 411 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,560 And you would be. If you're hearing this, you're 412 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,520 hearing, wow, these people actually love this king. 413 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,600 They know him. This is not just a set of 414 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:20,560 beliefs. This is a person they know. 415 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:25,440 This is a God that you can know. This isn't random stuff. 416 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,840 This is a God who loves them, who serves them. 417 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,000 They pray to him, They meet with him. 418 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,360 This is relationship. Some of the words that they 419 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:37,280 would use with you are identity, belonging, and purpose. 420 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:41,000 Yo, you were made to find your identity in this God, in this 421 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,920 King, in this Jesus. You were made by him. 422 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,200 You were made to know Him, to to relate to Him. 423 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,400 He made your personality. He puts you in your zip code. 424 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,520 He knows everything about your story. 425 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,520 He loves you. He made you in His image and you 426 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,720 are invited to find your identity in your relationship to 427 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,280 Him belonging. You were made to belong to a 428 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:07,560 community of people who share this identity in Jesus who are 429 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,400 family, not because of blood, not because we all like the same 430 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,280 sports teams, but because we all trust this Jesus who has saved 431 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,680 us. And we were made to share the 432 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,320 purpose of just making him known to our neighbors and to go into 433 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,120 leather shops and tell people about them and, and good news, 434 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:26,160 our our environment, our workplaces. 435 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:28,640 And I just want you to hear today those of you who don't 436 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:30,200 know Christ. We invite you to. 437 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,360 Take your place to find your identity in Christ, to find your 438 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,680 belonging in this church, and to find your purpose being good 439 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:41,160 newsers with us to receive this good news as your own and the 440 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,840 the the hard news of the gospel. But it is good news is that you 441 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,760 don't default into this. God's not going to force your 442 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,360 hand, and neither are we. But you have to put your 443 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:55,880 volitional trust in this king. You have to step over the line 444 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,000 into his Kingdom. You have to be transferred out 445 00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,800 of darkness into His marvelous light. 446 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,000 You currently are in darkness. You follow a different king. 447 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,160 You're in a different Kingdom. You want nothing to do with the 448 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:07,920 Lord. And the hard news of the gospel 449 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,680 is that you've got to agree with God about. 450 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,560 That you have to agree with Him that you are a Sinner. 451 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:15,520 You have to agree with Him That you need a Savior. 452 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,160 You have to agree that you were wrong and He is right. 453 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:20,880 Peter would say in the first sermon in the book of Acts, he 454 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,640 said save yourselves from this crooked generation. 455 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,440 And they say that all in Acts are like yo, save yourself while 456 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:28,240 you can. And I just want you to hear 457 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:32,120 y'all, this place is busted. It just is, man. 458 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:34,760 We living on the Titanic a little bit and that's not 459 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,280 something that's not new. That's not because. 460 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,000 Anything going on in a current world event that's been going on 461 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,480 for 2000 years, This place is just busted. 462 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,880 It is it's, it's sinful. It plays to your desires. 463 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:50,240 It makes you feel like you're a king or queen and you're not. 464 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:52,560 You're not the creator of all things. 465 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,960 You're not in charge. You were made for more than just 466 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,960 pleasure seeking, more than comfort, more than feeling like 467 00:23:57,960 --> 00:23:59,920 you're a good person and reading a cool article. 468 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,120 Every once in a while. You were made to show your 469 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:06,920 allegiance to King Jesus. And to to love him and enjoy him 470 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,800 to get out of the center stage of the movie and let him take 471 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,680 over. But currently you are running 472 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:14,040 the show and that's your problem. 473 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,760 And you've got to repent of your sin and put your trust in 474 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:20,760 Christ. So please save yourselves from 475 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,280 this crooked generation. OK, That's the good news is 476 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,520 you're invited to all of that. All right, now let's talk about 477 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,360 the church. See all the word is the good 478 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:33,160 news. The Church are the good. 479 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:35,200 News. People, we are the ones who 480 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,320 carry all of this good news. We are the ones who embody this 481 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,160 good news. As I read back over our text, 482 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:42,880 there are 5 references to the church. 483 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,800 I want you to look for them. Some of them are direct, some of 484 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:47,680 them are indirect. But as we read, look for them. 485 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,800 You ready? And Saul approved of his 486 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,880 execution, and there arose on that day a great persecution 487 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:56,480 against the Church. There's number one in Jerusalem, 488 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,440 and they who is they? They is the church that's 2. 489 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,640 Were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria 490 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,000 except the apostles devout men buried Stephen and made great 491 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,800 lamentation over him but Saul was ravaging the church number 492 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,720 3IN entering house after house he dragged off men and women who 493 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,240 are those men and women they're to church and committed them to 494 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:19,880 prison. Now those who were scattered, 495 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,800 who are they? The church went about preaching 496 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,320 the words. That's. 5 references and all of 497 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,520 them, I hope, scream one message to you. 498 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:33,920 The church is the people. The church is the people. 499 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:38,720 The church is the people. It's the people who trust King 500 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:40,040 Jesus. It's the people. 501 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,960 Who are united to one another? Church. 502 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,480 This is who we are. We are the church. 503 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:51,160 The church is a who, not an it. It's a people, not a place. 504 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,280 It's a who, not a what. Hey y'all, Part of what we're 505 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,320 passionate about here at Port City is we're trying to 506 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,040 structure everything we do and don't do to help us understand 507 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,840 we're a who, not a what. We're a who, not an IT. 508 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:09,840 Now we got a website that's OK. We got an Instagram, that's OK. 509 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,680 We meet in a building, that's OK Will it always be this building? 510 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,880 Probably not OK. You know, in our family our 511 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,840 we'll drive around Norfolk and if we get an eye sight of this 512 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,560 building, I hear from the back. There's port city and I'm like. 513 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,080 Just the thought of, you know, in the the little brain thinking 514 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:29,480 that we own this giant building is hilarious. 515 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,600 But we try. When we're on our A game, we say 516 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,280 back, yeah, Port City meets there. 517 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,240 We're trying to communicate. Port City is the people who 518 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:45,880 chooses to gather in the second floor cheetah print, you know, 519 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:47,920 room. We are the people. 520 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,560 Amen. We are the people. 521 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,640 We're trying to communicate through everything we say and 522 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,040 do. Don't say don't do that. 523 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:59,280 The church is the people, and it's OK to be an organization of 524 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,440 a people. Yes, we are 5O1C3 all the good 525 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,840 things, but the church is the people. 526 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,240 We're trying to make it so that literally, if this whole church 527 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,040 right now got scattered all over the United States or elsewhere 528 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,800 and you did not have a pastor with you, you'd be fine. 529 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,640 Like, I genuinely believe that about the people who are part of 530 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,360 this church, not just at this church, but a part of it, you'd 531 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:23,280 be fine. You would find some people to 532 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:24,800 gather with. You would practice the 533 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,240 sacraments, you'd sit under leadership, you would submit to 534 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,000 one another. You would good news, your 535 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,600 environment, your coworkers. You would tell them Jesus is 536 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:32,840 king and not Caesar and not your. 537 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,400 Boss, OK, that's what you would do. 538 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,040 You wouldn't. You wouldn't need us now. 539 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,120 We are called in our roles to be here. 540 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:42,880 The apostles who stayed behind in Jerusalem, we're doing what 541 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,440 God called them to do. God had just set the church up 542 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,080 where they did not need them to go forward and praise the Lord 543 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:54,400 or we would not be here today. So if you only ever seen the 544 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:58,600 church as an it and not a who, maybe today is the day you go 545 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,320 from seeing it as an IT to a who. 546 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,480 Maybe if you just, and again, thinking of it as an IT is you 547 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,000 like it's. I like organizations, I like 548 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,680 Planet Fitness, I like that gym. I go to it and then when I'm 549 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:10,360 done with it, I can't afford it no more. 550 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,320 I just hit unsubscribe, you know? 551 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:15,120 And listen. I'm not knocking you. 552 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:17,080 I used to think of the church that way. 553 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:21,000 OK, but if you've only ever operated within that headspace, 554 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,520 there's so much joy and so much calling that God is calling you 555 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,640 to as a who that you're just not going to experience if you think 556 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,240 of the church as an it. So maybe today is the day that 557 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,320 you step into I belong to this people. 558 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,480 I'm not just at this place. I belong. 559 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,280 I I I, I take my place. I'm a glue myself to these 560 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,800 people in covenant. We going to chase King Jesus 561 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:44,560 together. Here's the last little thought 562 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:46,880 experiment about the whole people versus place. 563 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:52,000 How would somebody have gotten on Saul's list? 564 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,400 Think about that. There were no bibles, so even if 565 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,640 you owned one that don't get you on the list. 566 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:05,040 What got you on the list? It's through your repeated. 567 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,600 This is how it happens even now in certain parts of the world. 568 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,600 Want to know how they found out and put you on the list? 569 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,920 How certain governments put you on the list is who through, who 570 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:17,080 you associate with is the house you keep going to on a Sunday. 571 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:18,680 It's the place you keep going to. 572 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,080 And that girl that we know is on that list and you keep being 573 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,240 with that girl on that list. Listen, this is the point I'm 574 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:27,800 trying to make. We think people think of us for 575 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,200 how we relate to him. What I'm trying to get you to 576 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,920 see is you wouldn't even get on the list if you didn't have a 577 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:34,480 them. Does that make sense? 578 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,600 Some of us think we die for Jesus, but you don't have a 579 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:39,120 them. You just think it's you and Him 580 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,960 and actually you want a hymn without a them. 581 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,280 But if you have a hymn without a them, they wouldn't even view 582 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,160 you as one of them. Does that make sense? 583 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,360 You don't even get on the list if you don't got a them. 584 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,320 You get on the list for how you operate in them and how it 585 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:55,120 associates. You with him, does that make? 586 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,800 Sense the way. The New Testament thinks about 587 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,080 it. It is your neighborly action and 588 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,040 identity that gets you associated with him. 589 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,920 It's not you saying I know him. They'd be like, no, you don't. 590 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:10,040 You don't do that meal. You don't do that thing. 591 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:11,520 You ain't with those people. You don't say those. 592 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,800 You don't you don't you ain't, you ain't you ain't one of them. 593 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:15,760 If you ain't one of them, you can't claim him. 594 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,000 Does that make sense? That's how you got on the list 595 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:20,680 was they knew you were with that girl. 596 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,880 So go get that girl who's always with that guy you got on the 597 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:25,320 list because you were one of. Them. 598 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,240 Does that make sense? So if you just know him and you 599 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,320 think you're getting the advantage of not having a them 600 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:33,280 but I know him and I don't got to deal with them. 601 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:36,560 Hey, I understand because them's can be annoying. 602 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,240 Amen. And all of us got a story of 603 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,800 them one time messed with my Mama and now all of us, my 604 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:45,560 family will even have an allergy to them. 605 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,040 We just like him. Let me just let me tell you, I 606 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:53,720 got allergies to them and I'm one of them y'all. 607 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,880 The point isn't that port city is the best them of all time. 608 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,160 The point is we just to them united to him and you going to 609 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,480 have to learn how to do them different and all of us got 610 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:05,080 baggage. None of us have a great family. 611 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,640 None of us know what we doing, but we learning how to them 612 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,520 because we know him. But if you look at them and say 613 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,000 I don't want them, I just want him. 614 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:16,480 Him is trying to make you with him. 615 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:18,080 Him died to make us. With them? 616 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,840 Does that make sense? Like imagine, like a family. 617 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,000 Photo that Jesus would take. Does that make sense? 618 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:27,040 Like. There's no category for hymns 619 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:29,960 without them's in the Bible. That's just how the Bible thinks 620 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:31,920 about it. And I know you're at we're all 621 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:35,040 at different stages in terms of even how many times you've been 622 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:38,360 here, but just take what I'm saying, Download it, process it. 623 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,000 I'd love to process. It with you and we'd love for 624 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,520 you to be a part of this them united to him. 625 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:45,640 Amen. I do that a lot by the way, 626 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:49,280 where I either that made a lot of sense or this might not be 627 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:51,400 the church for you. You know what I'm saying? 628 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:56,120 If he don't make no sense. I'm sorry man, our other, our 629 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,200 other teachers are much clearer, I can assure you. 630 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:04,440 OK, point #3 God, yo, we are the word is the good news. 631 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:06,760 The church is the good news, people, God is the good news 632 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,040 God. The irony of this text is God. 633 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,240 Is not mentioned in it. Right. 634 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,720 But he's orchestrating the whole thing, right? 635 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,680 God be like that. Stephen gets murdered, which is 636 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:25,520 a mournable tragedy, y'all. When we use terms like God, God 637 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:27,280 made this happen, or God is sovereign. 638 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,720 What we mean by that is God is orchestrating the moment with 639 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:36,600 all the ingredients at play, but God is not capable of evil. 640 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,880 God did not kill Stephen. The people stoning him did and 641 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,440 they will be held accountable for their stoning of Steven. 642 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:46,320 But God used Steven stoning to scatter his church which 643 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,320 accomplishes his purposes and Acts 1. 644 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:52,680 The Jesus said you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea 645 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,960 and Samaria. They are now in Judea and 646 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,200 Samaria because Steven got stoned and God. 647 00:32:57,560 --> 00:32:59,960 Took him like a salt shaker. You're the salt of the earth and 648 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:01,840 is just shaking them around the area. 649 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:04,280 That's what God is doing through this tragedy. 650 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:06,320 It doesn't mean he threw a stone at Stephen. 651 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:08,920 Does that make sense? God is incapable of evil. 652 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:16,080 He tempts no one, but he is so smart that he uses even the 653 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:20,400 schemes of those most opposed to him to afford his purposes. 654 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:25,360 Does that make sense? So God is a genius. 655 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:30,040 We learned later in Acts 11 that actually they're scattered even 656 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,800 further than Jerusalem in Judea, like in Samaria, they go further 657 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:36,200 than this and we'll we'll pick up on that later in our series 658 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,400 in Acts y'all. So a few quick things about God 659 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:42,280 and I'm done. Number one, God is a genius 660 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,280 y'all I feel. The need to say that because we 661 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:47,160 don't put God in genius category. 662 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:51,320 He's nice, he's loving, he's judgy, I guess, which we think 663 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,080 is a bad thing. But you need a good judge, 664 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:55,160 people. I promise you, you do let a 665 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,240 tragedy come to your family and then say no judge. 666 00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:59,000 Not a big deal. You need a judge. 667 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,960 You just need a kind one who is just y'all. 668 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,560 God is judge. He is good, He is loving. 669 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:08,000 He's also a genius. He is a strategic genius. 670 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,880 He's a better leader than any leader book you ever read. 671 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:12,719 God's a better leader. He just took a. 672 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:17,480 Movement of 11 people. In chapter 1 and within a few 673 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:21,199 months it's now thousands of people and doesn't need a leader 674 00:34:21,199 --> 00:34:23,520 to be healthy. And it is spread geographically 675 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,080 pre phone, pre anything. God is a genius. 676 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,880 He leaves the apostles behind and says y'all good, go ahead. 677 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:34,960 And the movement, you could argue, would not get to where it 678 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,600 would go had God done it any other way. 679 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,639 That's because God is a genius. I just want you to hear God is a 680 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:43,880 genius. We separate this up of like I 681 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:47,080 need all my. Leadership stuff away from the 682 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:48,760 Bible, but then I go to the Bible for spirit. 683 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:50,679 We've so allowed our culture to tell. 684 00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:52,960 This Bible goes in this one category. 685 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,440 This one tiny little thing. Let me tell you, it goes in 686 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:58,960 every category. God is the greatest. 687 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:05,640 OK #2 God loves the nations, He loves people, He loves 688 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,480 geographies. He loves every zip code. 689 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:11,200 He loves all types of people and languages. 690 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:13,680 He wants everyone to be good news. 691 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:16,480 Everybody deserves to be good news. 692 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:20,920 You can't make nobody go to classic doughnuts, but you could 693 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,120 tell them it exists. You know what I'm saying? 694 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,480 Nobody makes you do nothing. But news is something you live 695 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:31,120 in light of. Everybody deserves to hear that 696 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,480 there's a king. It ain't Trump, it ain't Putin, 697 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:34,880 it ain't Harris, it ain't none of them. 698 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:38,320 The King is Jesus. America ain't in charge, your 699 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,280 boss ain't in charge, your mom ain't in charge. 700 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,120 Jesus is in charge. Everybody deserves to hear that 701 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,280 that he's alive. Everybody deserves to hear that 702 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:47,840 they're a Sinner and they need a savior. 703 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:50,440 So y'all just tell people about them? 704 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,080 Just good news. People ain't your job to do 705 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:56,720 nothing to them or for them. We just get to good news then 706 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,920 and let God have his way in them and then get them around the 707 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:01,400 good news. People, they need to hear the 708 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:02,760 news. They need to see the news. 709 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,000 Third thing God is. Way ahead of us. 710 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:11,040 He's a genius. He loves the nations and he is 711 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:14,560 way ahead of us. Y'all, God is so ahead of us. 712 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:16,360 We never would have conceived of this plan. 713 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:18,360 Never. And I think. 714 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:20,920 We could see God is a genius in the book of Acts, but then we 715 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:23,680 take our life, we're like, but why am I going through this 716 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:26,840 thing? I get that God's a genius in the 717 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:28,400 big level. I see he's doing that, but 718 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:31,200 where's he a genius for me, you know? 719 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:36,000 And we think that we can. Oh the big he applies to but not 720 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:38,440 mine. I just want you to hear that God 721 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,160 is way ahead of you and God is with you. 722 00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:43,560 He's not telling you. Get over it and just wait and 723 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:45,320 watch. He is with you in it. 724 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,680 But y'all just hear me. He's way ahead of you. 725 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:51,600 He can. See what you'll see and then go, 726 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,640 oh, I see now. I see now why you didn't load me 727 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:59,280 up on goldfish before we went. To Golden Corral I see now, but 728 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:01,840 the kid can't see that. They just want the goldfish. 729 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:03,800 I'm like just. Trust me, they got soft serve 730 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,400 for days. Just trust me, just trust me. 731 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,480 Good things are coming y'all. God sees what you can't see. 732 00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:10,960 I don't know what you're going through. 733 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,280 If I sat with you I would sit in it with you and so would God. 734 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:17,240 And he is trying to sit in it with you, but he's also ahead of 735 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:18,200 you. You could trust. 736 00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:21,480 Him. OK y'all, many of you know the 737 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,080 story of Jim and Elizabeth Elliott. 738 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:25,800 OK? Such a cool story. 739 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:30,040 They're they're a missionary couple in 1956, they're in 740 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:32,520 Ecuador with a group of people who'd never heard about Jesus. 741 00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:33,760 They didn't know there was a king. 742 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:38,280 They had their own kind of system of religious thinking of 743 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,080 who gets to go to the blessed place, all that stuff. 744 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:43,000 And they'd never been good news. They never heard the news. 745 00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:45,640 So they gave their lives to getting the gospel to these 746 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:47,880 people. They were violent people. 747 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:50,040 They were known to kill. Outsiders don't come near. 748 00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:52,160 So they made the agreement, their whole team. 749 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,840 We will not use weapons in any way to share the gospel because 750 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:58,040 if we die, we know where we going. 751 00:37:58,040 --> 00:38:00,400 If they die, we know where they going. 752 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:06,120 So things kind of went the way maybe on paper they thought they 753 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,360 would go, which is the group of men who were sharing the gospel 754 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,320 with them were speared to death and died. 755 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:13,000 OK. Two years later. 756 00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:16,800 Jim's wife Elizabeth and another person related that team and 757 00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:21,080 Elizabeth's daughter reenter that area in 1958 with those 758 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:22,920 people and they keep good newsing them. 759 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,240 They let them stay. They live there for a while. 760 00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:26,920 She works on translation with them. 761 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,960 They share the gospel with them over and over and over and crazy 762 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:35,160 stories go down and the whole tribe ends up believing the good 763 00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:37,120 news. They believe like you are right, 764 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:38,800 we are wrong, like we were trapped. 765 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,840 We we were enslaved to the wrong ideas about who God is. 766 00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:45,240 Now we see the radical forgiveness that they displayed. 767 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,600 And one of the things that's so amazing, y'all, is that God is 768 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:51,960 doing that kind of stuff all over the world in different ways 769 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:56,360 and big flashy ways and little ways when we just forgive people 770 00:38:56,360 --> 00:39:00,320 in our workplace who wrong us. And one of the things I love 771 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:02,440 about I I love listening to Elizabeth Elliott. 772 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:06,240 She's dead now, but has a lot of talks and stuff recorded. 773 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,960 Y'all, her life was a hard life. She lost another husband after 774 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,160 that early died early, I think of cancer. 775 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:14,320 I could be wrong, but I think that's right. 776 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,280 It's just funny how many people would ask her. 777 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:21,760 They would ask and she she, they'd be like, they basically 778 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:23,320 said this every time, some kind of way. 779 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,560 Is my life going to be like yours if I follow Jesus? 780 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:34,360 She's like, what do you? Mean well, God do that stuff he 781 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,600 did to me. If I follow you, she's like, I 782 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,600 don't know. She's like, well, do you? 783 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:40,320 Like him. It's like, of course I love him. 784 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,240 So you don't like basically they were saying I don't want to do 785 00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:45,640 it if my life gets hard to the extent it's getting hard for 786 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:47,760 you. And she would like graciously 787 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,160 imagine being asked that like, everywhere you went, every city 788 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:53,360 in the country. Do you like your life? 789 00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:56,200 Yeah, what I love. About it, though, because 790 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:59,080 obviously Jim is sort of the Steven character in our you 791 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:01,640 know, he's killed the gospel goes forward, but even for the 792 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:05,280 people left behind, life is life is challenging and it's not not 793 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:08,440 everything feels like a cool it. Looks cool when you read it. 794 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:11,960 Living it is hard. Can we say that being in that 795 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:15,200 leather shop on the run, a refugee life is hard? 796 00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,400 I met a young man one time from a a country where he was a 797 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:20,520 refugee. He was in the States, had just 798 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:22,360 gotten there. And it's not true of all 799 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:25,720 refugees, but for some of them the dream is to stay in America. 800 00:40:25,720 --> 00:40:27,160 I'm safe now. I'm good. 801 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:30,680 We hit the Lotto. We here, we good. 802 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:32,920 Well, this guy was like, I got to go back. 803 00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:36,920 He was like 18. He worked at Walmart. 804 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:39,840 He's like, we got to go back. Baby, they don't know nothing. 805 00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,160 They don't know this. He got the gospel in a camp in 806 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:44,840 his process of coming to America. 807 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:47,240 And instead of viewing it as the promised land, he's like, I got 808 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:48,840 to go back. They don't know. 809 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:54,560 I was so challenged by that. So hear me that I understand 810 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:58,480 that life doesn't always feel as hype and as cool maybe as these 811 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,520 verses make it seem when we could zoom out and. 812 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:03,360 See what God's doing? I know that tomorrow we're just 813 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,480 in the leather shop and that dude ain't listening to us. 814 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:07,960 Are y'all tracking with me? But y'all, God is in it. 815 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:14,120 Your labor is not in vain. Keep sharing, keep trusting. 816 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:16,720 God is way ahead of you. He loves you, He is. 817 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:19,880 With you and then you can look at people a little behind you on 818 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:21,280 the journey going. Is it worth it? 819 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:23,400 We're all Elizabeth Elliott a little bit. 820 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:25,120 Hey, man, somebody somewhere is looking at you. 821 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:26,960 Maybe it's your kids, or maybe it's a friend going. 822 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:29,680 Is it worth it? You can look back at them and 823 00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:33,080 say, yeah, it's worth it. It's way better than going back 824 00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:35,880 where Jesus ain't king and out of the king, like I hated that. 825 00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:38,200 I'll take this. Any version of this is better 826 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:40,440 than any version of that. And that's the truth. 827 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:42,920 So if you don't know Jesus, we invite. 828 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,800 You to take your place with us. And if you do know him? 829 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:47,680 Don't give up. Your labor ain't in vain. 830 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:51,480 Keep good news in everybody, including yourself in your 831 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:52,200 midst. OK? 832 00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:54,560 Let's pray. Our Father, we love you. 833 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:56,400 Thank you so much for the good news. 834 00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:58,120 God, it's just news that invades us. 835 00:41:58,120 --> 00:41:59,360 There was a time we didn't hear it. 836 00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:02,560 There was a time we didn't know it, and then once we hear it, we 837 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:04,880 can't unhear it. God, you are king, we are not. 838 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:07,960 You're in control, we are not. You are good, we are not. 839 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,160 God, We agree with you. Right now I pray for my friends 840 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,120 who have not yet agreed with you, have not repented of their 841 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:16,120 sin, have not turned, have not given their life over to you. 842 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:18,960 Would you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, lead them to give 843 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:21,720 it all up, to lay their lives down, to trust you with 844 00:42:21,720 --> 00:42:25,240 everything they have? God, would you save them? 845 00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:27,680 And I pray for your church, your people here. 846 00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:30,200 God, help us grow in our identity as a people. 847 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:32,360 Would we? Good news, our friends, our 848 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,640 coworkers, the streets we live in. 849 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:36,480 We pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.