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Hello and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now come along, let's look
into the Bible and see what God has

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for us here today.

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All right, we're going to go
ahead and get our Bibles and we're

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going to turn to Acts, chapter 20.

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Acts, chapter 20.

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Can you believe we are already
to chapter 20 in the book of Acts?

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If you were here with us when
we started, you were, you were here

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a long time ago because we've
been in Acts for a long time now,

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but we've gotten all the way
here to chapter 20.

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And the, the whole premise of
studying the Book of Acts really,

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at the very beginning of the
study was to analyze what real church

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is, what is church, and the,
the acrostic that we have used a

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C T S.

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Acts, authentic church through scripture.

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So where do we find what the
church is?

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Scripture.

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Right.

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We go to scripture to tell us
what church is all about.

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And, and the first question
that, that I want to ask you here

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this evening and, and
tonight's going to be hopefully at

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the front end, a little bit
more interactive.

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And so I know this is
sometimes awkward, especially in

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like a Sunday service.

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We're not used to responding,
but I want that to kind of happen.

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It won't really transfer over
to the live stream or the podcast,

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and I do apologize for that.

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I will try to repeat what
people say.

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But, but so far, what have we
learned about the church?

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Number one, what or who is the church?

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I know I've kind of led that
question a little bit, but what is

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the church?

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Non rhetorical.

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Call it up the believers.

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Right.

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So is, is the building the
church in definition of scripture?

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No.

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Is a program the church
according to scripture?

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No, according to scripture, it
is the body of believers, the believers

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collective.

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Even the word church.

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There's a Greek word called
ecclesia, and that's where we get

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the word church from.

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Maybe you've heard of
something that, you know, someone

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was studying an ecclesiastical
idea that's studying the church.

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Ecclesia means assembly,
assembly, specifically of believers.

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And so the church, first and
foremost is a body of believers aligning

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under Christ.

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Okay, he is the head of the church.

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The pastor is not the head of
the church.

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We can see that through scripture.

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Some people go, yeah, but, but
you're the main guy.

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No, the Bible says that Jesus
is the head of the church.

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God does set up a hierarchy of
authority within the church.

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And we've seen that already in
the book of Acts.

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There, there in the case of
Acts, there's apostles and then there's

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pastors and then there's deacons.

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We even saw deacons at the
very early part of the book of Acts.

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But yet at the same time, none
of them are the head of the church.

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It is Jesus who is head of the church.

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So where do we get the ground
rules for church?

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Where do we get our marching orders?

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Well, the Bible, right.

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Acts, different areas of
scripture, we, we understand that

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this is the blueprint.

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This is the framework for why
and how we do church.

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And what's happened over the
years is we have allowed certain

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definitions, certain cultural
norms to absorb into the church.

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And like I said before this
morning, norms and, and traditions

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aren't necessarily bad things,
but if they become the first thing,

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and it's because we do what we
do, because this is how we've always

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done it can be problematic
because of the fact that if it contradicts

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scripture, we've, we've
deviated from scripture.

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Now, did the church and
multiple churches in Acts have it

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all together?

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No.

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We've studied the church of Corinth.

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Certainly the church of
Corinth didn't have it all together.

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We say the church at Ephesus,
they didn't have it all together.

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But we do know that early on
there were certain things that the

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church focused on.

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And, and we got to Acts
chapter two and we looked at verse

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42 and we've realized that
there are really four elements of

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the church when they got together.

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There was, there was the
apostles doctrine, the teaching of

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the word.

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And in formal settings and
informal settings, there was the

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Bible said in breaking of bread.

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And, and you could talk about
that being observing the Lord's table

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or just fellowshipping
together over a meal.

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There was fellowship, which is
again another aspect of the church.

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And then there was prayer.

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And so if those elements are
there, along with making disciples,

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as the Great Commission has
said, we have a church.

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What if we have this ministry?

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A church must have fill in the blank.

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And if it's not in scripture,
it's not a necessity.

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It's not a necessity.

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I, I, I know of churches that
say a church is not a church unless

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there's pews.

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Well, I always make a joke
that we're the compromising church.

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We have pews and chairs, so we
make everybody happy.

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Okay?

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But the truth is, is that
there, there are elements of society.

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There are elements of Western
culture, there are elements of Eastern

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culture that have drifted into
the church and sometimes taken precedent.

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And so the reason why we're
going through the Book of Acts is

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we're looking at really what
is church.

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It's the people, it's not the program.

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It's an organism, not an
institution, it's not a business.

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It's not.

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It's not an entity that we
now, in many ways in the.

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In our country, we have to
make stances upon.

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Okay, we're claiming this, and
we're claiming this so that we're

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official and that we're legal.

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But at the end of the day, it
is God who makes the rules for the

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church.

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And so when we're looking here
in the all of the Book of Acts, we're

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learning what the early church
looked like and we're getting a snapshot

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or a biography of the early church.

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And I don't think that we
should go back exactly necessarily

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how the early church was
working, because we are not in first

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century Jewish culture.

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Okay?

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So there are some differences.

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Like, by the way, I wouldn't
want the men to start dressing like

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the men that did.

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They did back then.

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I don't expect all of you to
come in with robes and things like

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that.

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Okay?

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That's not what I'm expecting.

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Now, if you're in a culture
that had those things, that would

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be totally acceptable.

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But in this case, what we're
seeing is it's the core, it's the

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essentials.

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It's what.

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It's what matters.

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And so we're going to get here
to Acts chapter 20.

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And Acts chapter 20 is very
interesting because it isn't necessarily

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a topic of scripture that we
would look at and we would say, wow,

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there's a lot of theology here
in these first verses, specifically

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in the first 12 verses.

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But there's a lot here that I
think we can glean from.

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And I wanted to review just a
little bit here tonight because I

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want us to understand the
purpose of why we're studying the

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Book of Acts.

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The Book of Acts is not just
history, even though it is history.

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I know that sometimes for me,
I can get so caught up in the history

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of the church or the history
in the Bible that I miss out on the

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spiritual truths that are there.

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And.

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And though the Bible is a
history book and we can look back

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to that and we can claim all
these things to be true, it's more

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than just a history book.

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I like to read history books.

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I don't know if Any of you
maybe are like World War II buffs

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or civil War history fans or
world, you know, World War I, if

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you go back even farther than
World War II.

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And there's nothing wrong with
studying history, but we read a history

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book different than we read
the Bible.

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The Bible is not just a
history book.

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The Bible is the truth of God
extended to all of us so that we

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can learn and grow and, and believe.

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And so Acts, chapter 20, verse 1.

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We see a really interesting
story here tonight, and I hope that

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it'll be a blessing for you.

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So Acts, chapter one, or
excuse me, Acts chapter 20, verse

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one.

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And after the uproar was ceased.

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Now you're saying what uproar?

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Well, if you were here before,
there was a big uproar in Ephesus

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and essentially Paul was, was
chased out again.

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And there was all of this
stress about them worshiping the

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goddess Diana, if you remember
that they were praising the name

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of Diana, and they were
fighting against Paul and fighting

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against the Christians there.

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And so there was this huge uproar.

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And, and I read verse one of
chapter 20, and I thought that sometimes

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characterizes the church today.

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Right?

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And after the uproar was
ceased, for some of you, that's after

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VBS week.

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Okay?

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After the uproar ceased.

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Okay.

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We're, we're, we're alive.

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And, and the reality is, is
that there are going to be trials

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in the ministry.

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It's not going to always be
smooth sailing for the church.

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There's going to be ups and
downs, there's going to be naysayers,

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there's going to be even
schisms and divisions within the

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church.

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And so I think it's important
to notice that even Paul and these

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apostles and all these people
that we highly look up to in Scripture

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dealt with stressors.

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They dealt with conflict, they
dealt with opposition, they dealt

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with persecution.

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And it says here, and after
the uproar was ceased, Paul called

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unto him the disciples and
embraced them and departed for to

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go to Macedonia.

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So, so he's going to leave
there in Ephesus after all the uproar.

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And he calls together and the
disciples there, he embraces them,

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which I think is so important
because this speaks of the compassion

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within the church.

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We should embrace each other.

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Church should be seen as a
place in which we can be transparent,

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in which we can be loving, in
which we can be compassionate.

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So many times you might walk
into a church and it seems cold,

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it seems distant.

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And we never want to be that
within the church.

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We want to be a church that's
warm and caring and loving.

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People can be different.

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Certainly people express their
compassion and their love in different

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ways.

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But the Bible clearly teaches
here that Paul embraces them and

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before he leaves, he.

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He gives them his love and
then he departs to go to Macedonia,

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which obviously is.

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Is.

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Is across there the water of
the Aegean Sea.

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And it says verse two.

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And when he had gone over
those parts and had given them much

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exhortation, he came into Greece.

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And it would be so easy to
look at verse two as a transitionary

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verse.

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Okay, that's just Paul traveling.

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But you would miss something there.

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What?

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What do we miss?

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There's a word there that
we've been really harping on for

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the last month or so, and that
is the word exhortation.

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What does Paul do when he goes there?

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It says that he had given them
much, much exhortation.

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What is exhortation?

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Exhortation is encouragement,
specifically encouraging by challenging

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them, coming alongside of them
and equipping them and.

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And challenging them in the
truth of God.

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And I think that's so much
more the reason why we as the church

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must look to exhort each other.

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If you go to the Book of
Hebrews, again, I would still consider

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the book of Hebrews written in
the time of the early church.

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It speaks of in chapter 10,
the necessity and the call to assemble

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together, right?

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00:10:28,224 --> 00:10:30,488
To be the assembly, you got to assemble.

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00:10:30,664 --> 00:10:35,368
Now, I know that in our
culture today, there are obviously

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more opportunities to not
assemble, right?

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00:10:39,402 --> 00:10:43,138
You can watch TV from home,
and for some people, that's the only

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00:10:43,194 --> 00:10:46,066
option because of health
reasons and maybe because of travel

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00:10:46,098 --> 00:10:47,714
and maybe because of other limitations.

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And we certainly understand that.

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But if we can, if we can, the
Bible says to assemble together.

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00:10:53,770 --> 00:10:56,962
It doesn't say that we have to
assemble on necessarily a certain

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00:10:56,986 --> 00:10:58,770
day of the week, even though
we're actually going to see here,

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interestingly enough, in the
Book of acts, acts, chapter 20, they're

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meeting on a Sunday.

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And some people don't know
that there are actually different

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instances of scripture where
they do meet on Sunday.

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But the Bible actually speaks
of the meeting daily.

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But.

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But nonetheless, the Bible
does speak of assembling together

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with the body of believers.

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00:11:13,898 --> 00:11:15,510
And so we're in Hebrews
chapter 10.

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And I want you to see what it
says here in verse number 23.

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00:11:20,866 --> 00:11:23,050
We're going to read verses 23
through 25.

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This speaks again to the
exhortation and the necessity of

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00:11:25,890 --> 00:11:27,470
exhortation within the church.

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00:11:28,210 --> 00:11:32,282
It says verse 23, let us hold
fast the profession of our faith

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without wavering for he is faithful.

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That promise, meaning stand
true to your faith.

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00:11:36,636 --> 00:11:36,860
Why?

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00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:38,268
Because God is faithful.

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00:11:38,444 --> 00:11:43,532
And let us consider one
another to provoke unto love and

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00:11:43,556 --> 00:11:44,476
to good works.

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00:11:44,588 --> 00:11:47,596
The Bible says that we are to
provoke each other, but not provoke

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00:11:47,628 --> 00:11:49,020
each other to anger.

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00:11:49,180 --> 00:11:49,500
Right?

283
00:11:49,540 --> 00:11:51,612
The Bible says that I
shouldn't provoke my children to

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00:11:51,636 --> 00:11:52,124
wrath.

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00:11:52,252 --> 00:11:54,204
The Bible says that we
shouldn't provoke each other in the

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00:11:54,212 --> 00:11:57,276
church to anger and bitterness
and confusion.

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00:11:57,308 --> 00:11:58,460
What are we to do?

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00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:02,600
We are to provoke unto love
and to good works.

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00:12:02,780 --> 00:12:06,160
And so we talk about good peer
pressure and bad peer pressure.

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00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,952
Some of you that had teenagers
growing up in your house, I hope

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00:12:09,976 --> 00:12:11,424
that you talk to them about
peer pressure.

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00:12:11,472 --> 00:12:14,992
Don't allow someone to make
you do something that you know you

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00:12:15,016 --> 00:12:15,616
shouldn't do.

294
00:12:15,688 --> 00:12:17,024
That's bad peer pressure.

295
00:12:17,152 --> 00:12:19,984
But the Bible actually speaks
of what we would call here good peer

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00:12:20,032 --> 00:12:23,312
pressure in the concept of
provoking them or challenging them

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00:12:23,336 --> 00:12:24,896
to love and good works.

298
00:12:25,088 --> 00:12:28,992
And so my actions, your
actions, should stir the hearts of

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00:12:29,016 --> 00:12:31,732
others to want to have that
love and good works within the church

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00:12:31,856 --> 00:12:32,476
body.

301
00:12:32,628 --> 00:12:37,452
And so it says there in verse
25, not forsaking the assembly, assembling

302
00:12:37,516 --> 00:12:42,280
of ourselves together as the
manner of some is meaning this.

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00:12:42,740 --> 00:12:45,212
Some people are already
forgetting the importance of assembling

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00:12:45,276 --> 00:12:45,740
together.

305
00:12:45,860 --> 00:12:47,800
I don't need to get together
with other people.

306
00:12:48,260 --> 00:12:50,060
And maybe you have heard this.

307
00:12:50,100 --> 00:12:51,628
I have certainly heard this.

308
00:12:51,764 --> 00:12:54,268
People say, you know what, I
can have church anywhere, so I don't

309
00:12:54,284 --> 00:12:55,996
need to get together with
other Christians.

310
00:12:56,188 --> 00:12:58,348
It's not a church if you're
out on your own.

311
00:12:58,404 --> 00:13:00,200
Okay, that's one Christian alone.

312
00:13:00,300 --> 00:13:03,440
Now, that doesn't mean that
you can't be a saved Christian on

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00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:03,888
your own.

314
00:13:03,944 --> 00:13:07,776
And that God, you know, can
only, you know, be there if there's

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00:13:07,808 --> 00:13:08,816
more than two people.

316
00:13:08,888 --> 00:13:11,424
You know, even if you're
isolated on an island by yourself,

317
00:13:11,472 --> 00:13:13,568
God is still there because he
lives within our hearts.

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00:13:13,664 --> 00:13:16,688
But the Bible speaks of the
benefit and the blessing of coming

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00:13:16,744 --> 00:13:19,472
together, but not just coming
together and sitting in a pew and

320
00:13:19,496 --> 00:13:19,792
going home.

321
00:13:19,816 --> 00:13:20,800
What does it say here?

322
00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,648
Don't forget the assembly of
ourselves together as the manner

323
00:13:23,664 --> 00:13:24,432
of some is.

324
00:13:24,536 --> 00:13:28,060
But exhorting, there's that
word, exhorting one another.

325
00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:30,912
And so much the more as you
see the day approaching.

326
00:13:30,976 --> 00:13:35,520
So the Bible calls us as a
church to not only assemble, but

327
00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:36,304
to exhort.

328
00:13:36,432 --> 00:13:38,176
And Paul understood that challenge.

329
00:13:38,288 --> 00:13:40,816
And so therefore, as Paul
understands that challenge from God,

330
00:13:40,848 --> 00:13:41,660
though he.

331
00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:45,056
Though there are struggles in
this, he does challenge others.

332
00:13:45,128 --> 00:13:46,704
Now, they don't always follow him.

333
00:13:46,792 --> 00:13:48,080
They don't always follow God.

334
00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:52,240
I mean, if you look at Paul
and his ministry, there are certain

335
00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:54,682
people that he stirred and
then there are other people that

336
00:13:54,706 --> 00:13:56,282
he tried and they rejected.

337
00:13:56,346 --> 00:13:58,950
And even we would even say
with Jesus, right?

338
00:13:59,330 --> 00:14:04,042
If we look at Jesus in his
ministry, we would say, man, if Jesus

339
00:14:04,106 --> 00:14:07,642
walked the streets of the usa,
everyone would believe.

340
00:14:07,826 --> 00:14:08,778
Everyone would believe.

341
00:14:08,834 --> 00:14:10,442
The truth is that isn't the case.

342
00:14:10,546 --> 00:14:12,266
Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem.

343
00:14:12,298 --> 00:14:13,674
Jesus walked the streets of Israel.

344
00:14:13,722 --> 00:14:14,874
Not everyone believed.

345
00:14:15,002 --> 00:14:15,338
Why?

346
00:14:15,394 --> 00:14:18,186
Because it wasn't a matter of
them understanding that he existed.

347
00:14:18,218 --> 00:14:20,756
It was a matter, like we
talked about this morning, of accepting

348
00:14:20,788 --> 00:14:24,596
him as Jesus Christ the
Messiah and understanding his message.

349
00:14:24,628 --> 00:14:29,172
And so even if Jesus walked
the streets of the usa, there would

350
00:14:29,196 --> 00:14:31,812
be still people who would not
believe because of their pride and

351
00:14:31,836 --> 00:14:33,044
because of their rebellion.

352
00:14:33,172 --> 00:14:35,684
And, and so therefore what we
have to do is we have to challenge

353
00:14:35,732 --> 00:14:39,316
people and not worry about
whether or not they are going to

354
00:14:39,388 --> 00:14:42,484
obey or they are going to
follow, because that's not up to

355
00:14:42,492 --> 00:14:42,660
us.

356
00:14:42,700 --> 00:14:46,772
It's up to us to sow the seed
to, to, to show them the truth of

357
00:14:46,796 --> 00:14:50,084
God, to demonstrate to them
what it means to be a, a Christ follower.

358
00:14:50,132 --> 00:14:54,852
And so Paul there exhorts, and
then it says, verse two, he came

359
00:14:54,876 --> 00:14:58,836
into Greece and there abode,
and there abode three months.

360
00:14:58,988 --> 00:15:01,280
And when the Jews laid wait
for him.

361
00:15:02,140 --> 00:15:05,284
So, so this is a common thread
for Paul's ministry.

362
00:15:05,332 --> 00:15:09,572
As Paul goes to a place, there
are those religious Jews that are

363
00:15:09,596 --> 00:15:12,612
ready to stir the pot because
they don't agree with what Paul is

364
00:15:12,636 --> 00:15:13,188
preaching.

365
00:15:13,284 --> 00:15:15,546
It's contrary to what they're
used to.

366
00:15:15,668 --> 00:15:16,526
Same thing with Jesus.

367
00:15:16,558 --> 00:15:19,326
Remember, Jesus preached and
the Pharisees were upset, the Sadducees

368
00:15:19,358 --> 00:15:20,030
were upset.

369
00:15:20,110 --> 00:15:24,078
And so Paul even being a
Pharisee himself before, understands

370
00:15:24,094 --> 00:15:26,734
where they're coming from, but
yet still they're laying in wait

371
00:15:26,782 --> 00:15:27,342
to catch him.

372
00:15:27,366 --> 00:15:31,246
And it says as he was about to
sail into Syria, he purposed to return

373
00:15:31,318 --> 00:15:32,126
through Macedonia.

374
00:15:32,158 --> 00:15:33,710
So he goes through Macedonia.

375
00:15:33,870 --> 00:15:37,422
And the reason why he wanted
to go to Syria, we won't get into

376
00:15:37,446 --> 00:15:40,926
the geography of all this, but
Syria, Antioch was Paul's home church.

377
00:15:40,958 --> 00:15:44,214
And so no doubt he wanted to
go back to Syria where his home church

378
00:15:44,262 --> 00:15:44,758
was.

379
00:15:44,894 --> 00:15:48,758
But it says there that he
returned through Macedonia and there

380
00:15:48,814 --> 00:15:50,262
accompanying him into Asia.

381
00:15:50,326 --> 00:15:55,126
So potter of Berea, where Paul
had seen the church there, in Berea,

382
00:15:55,158 --> 00:15:59,094
remember the Bereans, they
were more noble than the Thessalonicans

383
00:15:59,142 --> 00:16:00,822
because they sought the Scriptures.

384
00:16:00,886 --> 00:16:03,654
And so this is a reference to
one of the churches there that Paul

385
00:16:03,702 --> 00:16:08,362
had ministered to and of the
Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus

386
00:16:08,486 --> 00:16:12,338
Angaeus, of Derbe and
Timotheus, and of Asia, Tychicus

387
00:16:12,434 --> 00:16:14,370
and Trophimus, you would say.

388
00:16:14,410 --> 00:16:15,842
Why are those names there?

389
00:16:16,026 --> 00:16:19,314
Well, a couple of those names
you probably are familiar with, at

390
00:16:19,322 --> 00:16:21,090
least Timotheus or Timothy.

391
00:16:21,250 --> 00:16:25,170
But we see these individuals
there to show us, I believe, to show

392
00:16:25,210 --> 00:16:26,658
us that Paul was not alone.

393
00:16:26,754 --> 00:16:29,522
Obviously, we know he was not
alone in the concept that God was

394
00:16:29,546 --> 00:16:31,746
with him, but also Paul had help.

395
00:16:31,818 --> 00:16:34,050
When Paul was doing these
missionary journeys, he wasn't doing

396
00:16:34,090 --> 00:16:34,856
it alone.

397
00:16:35,018 --> 00:16:37,036
He wasn't a man on an island,
so to speak.

398
00:16:37,068 --> 00:16:40,396
At least in the case where he
was serving and ministering, though,

399
00:16:40,468 --> 00:16:42,396
you don't hear a lot about
those that helped him.

400
00:16:42,468 --> 00:16:43,724
It definitely was a group effort.

401
00:16:43,772 --> 00:16:45,260
And so why do we need to know that?

402
00:16:45,300 --> 00:16:48,028
Because anytime we're trying
to do something in the ministry,

403
00:16:48,204 --> 00:16:52,172
we're not the only one that is
qualified to do a work of God.

404
00:16:52,316 --> 00:16:54,700
There are a lot of people
around us that we need to call out

405
00:16:54,740 --> 00:16:55,980
for and accept help from.

406
00:16:56,020 --> 00:16:58,700
And I know it's sometimes hard
to ask for help, especially some

407
00:16:58,740 --> 00:16:59,420
of us men.

408
00:16:59,540 --> 00:17:01,450
We've got our ego and we got
our pride.

409
00:17:01,540 --> 00:17:01,742
And.

410
00:17:01,766 --> 00:17:03,022
And I'm the first one to say this.

411
00:17:03,046 --> 00:17:03,182
I.

412
00:17:03,206 --> 00:17:04,350
I'm the first one to say, you
know what?

413
00:17:04,390 --> 00:17:07,038
I'm just going to go ahead and
do it myself, because I know it's

414
00:17:07,054 --> 00:17:08,030
going to get done right.

415
00:17:08,150 --> 00:17:10,142
But the truth of the matter
is, is that there's times in our

416
00:17:10,166 --> 00:17:13,310
life where there's benefit to
bringing people along to the work

417
00:17:13,350 --> 00:17:13,822
of God.

418
00:17:13,886 --> 00:17:18,686
With you, I won't say who it
is because I don't want to embarrass

419
00:17:18,718 --> 00:17:19,198
him.

420
00:17:19,334 --> 00:17:19,918
But there.

421
00:17:19,974 --> 00:17:23,130
There was someone up here at
the church doing some work, and,

422
00:17:23,430 --> 00:17:25,630
you know, I was like, do you
want to do it?

423
00:17:25,670 --> 00:17:26,702
He goes, no, I did it.

424
00:17:26,806 --> 00:17:27,502
You saw me do it.

425
00:17:27,526 --> 00:17:27,710
You.

426
00:17:27,750 --> 00:17:28,684
You go ahead and do it.

427
00:17:28,782 --> 00:17:29,088
And.

428
00:17:29,144 --> 00:17:30,832
And I was like, oh, man, I'm
nervous about doing this.

429
00:17:30,856 --> 00:17:31,152
I'm not.

430
00:17:31,176 --> 00:17:32,400
I'm not great with my hands.

431
00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:32,768
But.

432
00:17:32,824 --> 00:17:36,000
But he showed me how to do it,
and then he trusted me to do it,

433
00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:36,912
and I didn't mess it up.

434
00:17:36,936 --> 00:17:37,312
And that was.

435
00:17:37,336 --> 00:17:39,088
That's part of discipleship, right?

436
00:17:39,224 --> 00:17:42,704
We show people what it means
to follow Christ.

437
00:17:42,792 --> 00:17:45,616
We show people what it means
to study the word of God.

438
00:17:45,728 --> 00:17:50,800
We show people what it means
to serve in certain capacities and

439
00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:52,880
maybe to pray and maybe to sacrifice.

440
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,020
And then we allow them to do it.

441
00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,984
And then when they mess up, we
come alongside of them with grace

442
00:17:58,032 --> 00:18:00,832
and with mercy and say, hey,
look, this might be a better way

443
00:18:00,856 --> 00:18:02,160
to do it, but.

444
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,272
But we don't just say, nope,
you're done, you're cut off.

445
00:18:04,376 --> 00:18:04,832
Right.

446
00:18:04,936 --> 00:18:05,200
That.

447
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,336
That's sometimes our first
step is, you know, or maybe we're

448
00:18:08,368 --> 00:18:08,880
on the other side.

449
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,808
I could never be used like,
that's pastor's job.

450
00:18:11,944 --> 00:18:13,088
And what we have done.

451
00:18:13,144 --> 00:18:13,360
One.

452
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,360
One of the travesties that we
have seen within the church in America

453
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,386
is that we see this diet.

454
00:18:20,488 --> 00:18:25,630
You basically the diagram of
the pastor is the one who is vocational.

455
00:18:25,790 --> 00:18:27,982
The pastor is the one who is qualified.

456
00:18:28,126 --> 00:18:31,486
The pastor is the one who is
the professional Christian.

457
00:18:31,598 --> 00:18:34,670
And then all of us just sit
out there and pastor basically does

458
00:18:34,790 --> 00:18:38,622
all the work of the ministry,
and we sit in and we are beneficiaries

459
00:18:38,686 --> 00:18:40,782
of that, or we want to get a
part of that.

460
00:18:40,806 --> 00:18:41,966
But we can't do those things.

461
00:18:42,038 --> 00:18:44,782
We can't give the gospel the
way a pastor does or the way the

462
00:18:44,806 --> 00:18:45,710
evangelist does.

463
00:18:45,830 --> 00:18:49,214
I don't see a distinction in
the great commission to pastors,

464
00:18:49,262 --> 00:18:50,532
deacons and then the church.

465
00:18:50,646 --> 00:18:52,232
It's all of the church right now.

466
00:18:52,256 --> 00:18:52,440
There.

467
00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,800
There are certain elements of
a pastor's role or a deacon's role

468
00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,440
that is distinct from other
elements of the church body.

469
00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:00,568
But everybody is a member of
the church body.

470
00:19:00,624 --> 00:19:02,744
Therefore, all of us have a
call to serve God.

471
00:19:02,792 --> 00:19:04,380
All of us are ministers.

472
00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:05,352
And so I.

473
00:19:05,376 --> 00:19:07,272
I want to go on record to say this.

474
00:19:07,456 --> 00:19:11,352
Pastors are not any better
than anybody else.

475
00:19:11,496 --> 00:19:14,232
We are not on a higher echelon
of God's love.

476
00:19:14,336 --> 00:19:19,360
We are just believers that are
serving at a certain capacity because

477
00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,152
of God's preparation in our lives.

478
00:19:21,256 --> 00:19:24,496
But everyone in the room has
an opportunity to know God in a personal

479
00:19:24,568 --> 00:19:28,352
way and to serve at the
capacity of evangelism, of discipleship.

480
00:19:28,416 --> 00:19:31,856
And so it's all of our jobs,
and it's my job as Ephesians Chapter

481
00:19:31,888 --> 00:19:34,768
four as a pastor, and Pastor
John's job and Pastor Carlos's job

482
00:19:34,824 --> 00:19:38,580
is to equip the saints for the
work of the ministry.

483
00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,672
And so it's me to say, it
takes upon me the understanding to

484
00:19:42,696 --> 00:19:47,372
say, I know I need to show
these folks what it means to look

485
00:19:47,396 --> 00:19:50,956
at the word of God, to dissect
the word of God, to have a lifestyle

486
00:19:50,988 --> 00:19:51,452
of prayer.

487
00:19:51,516 --> 00:19:52,236
If I'm.

488
00:19:52,348 --> 00:19:55,692
If I'm encouraging you to
raise your children for you that

489
00:19:55,716 --> 00:19:59,068
have children still in those
young years, if I'm encouraging you

490
00:19:59,124 --> 00:20:01,596
to raise your children in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord,

491
00:20:01,708 --> 00:20:03,100
I got to do the same thing.

492
00:20:03,220 --> 00:20:05,852
If I'm encouraging you to read
your Bible, I got to do the same

493
00:20:05,876 --> 00:20:06,348
thing.

494
00:20:06,484 --> 00:20:09,148
If I'm encouraging you to have
integrity in your workplace, I've

495
00:20:09,164 --> 00:20:10,212
got to do the same thing.

496
00:20:10,356 --> 00:20:12,308
I'm not above anybody else.

497
00:20:12,484 --> 00:20:13,972
And so that's what Paul is
doing here.

498
00:20:13,996 --> 00:20:15,796
Paul is working alongside of
these folks.

499
00:20:15,908 --> 00:20:17,364
And really what we see is that.

500
00:20:17,452 --> 00:20:17,700
That.

501
00:20:17,740 --> 00:20:19,476
That they're coming alongside
of him.

502
00:20:19,548 --> 00:20:22,212
They're encouraging Paul, and
ultimately he is encouraging them,

503
00:20:22,236 --> 00:20:24,132
and they're reaching people
for the gospel.

504
00:20:24,276 --> 00:20:27,956
So it says, verse five, these
going before tarrying for us at Troas.

505
00:20:28,068 --> 00:20:29,396
And we sailed away.

506
00:20:29,548 --> 00:20:30,260
And I love.

507
00:20:30,300 --> 00:20:31,508
In verse six, it has.

508
00:20:31,564 --> 00:20:32,276
It has shifted.

509
00:20:32,308 --> 00:20:33,160
Intense.

510
00:20:33,580 --> 00:20:35,844
And when I say intense,
meaning, you know, some of you that

511
00:20:35,852 --> 00:20:38,720
are big into grammar, you have
first person, second person, third

512
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:39,152
person.

513
00:20:39,256 --> 00:20:42,912
Well, in this case, we see now
Luke is the author of the Book of

514
00:20:42,936 --> 00:20:43,312
Acts.

515
00:20:43,376 --> 00:20:46,128
He is now again with Paul
because that's why he says, w.

516
00:20:46,184 --> 00:20:46,496
We.

517
00:20:46,568 --> 00:20:46,944
Right?

518
00:20:47,032 --> 00:20:48,320
He says, and we sailed away.

519
00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:53,376
So this is Luke the physician,
writing about how he's traveling

520
00:20:53,408 --> 00:20:55,072
with Paul and his associates.

521
00:20:55,216 --> 00:20:57,616
So we sailed away from
Philippi after the days of unleavened

522
00:20:57,648 --> 00:20:59,984
bread and came unto them to Troas.

523
00:21:00,032 --> 00:21:01,456
In five days will we abode.

524
00:21:01,488 --> 00:21:01,968
Seven days.

525
00:21:02,024 --> 00:21:04,910
Now, this is where the story
gets really interesting.

526
00:21:05,250 --> 00:21:06,282
And I would.

527
00:21:06,386 --> 00:21:08,778
This was one of my favorite
stories to learn about when.

528
00:21:08,834 --> 00:21:14,710
When I was in Sunday school,
because I don't know about you.

529
00:21:15,250 --> 00:21:17,322
Again, this is no judgment to anybody.

530
00:21:17,466 --> 00:21:19,498
I don't know about you, but
there was time in my life where,

531
00:21:19,554 --> 00:21:20,938
you know, I was.

532
00:21:20,994 --> 00:21:22,410
I was having chapel three days
a week.

533
00:21:22,450 --> 00:21:24,826
I was having church Sunday
morning, Sunday night, Wednesday

534
00:21:24,898 --> 00:21:26,170
night, we were coming, and.

535
00:21:26,210 --> 00:21:27,706
And I fell asleep in church sometimes.

536
00:21:27,738 --> 00:21:30,646
Okay, now, again, this is no
judgment upon anyone.

537
00:21:30,678 --> 00:21:32,822
I know everyone's got
different things going on in their

538
00:21:32,846 --> 00:21:36,566
life, but this is actually a
story of a guy that falls asleep

539
00:21:36,758 --> 00:21:40,358
in church and actually dies
because of it.

540
00:21:40,414 --> 00:21:40,886
Now, I.

541
00:21:40,958 --> 00:21:44,006
I've heard some preachers warn
against the fact that this is a passage

542
00:21:44,038 --> 00:21:45,958
of scripture that says, you
better not sleep in church or you're

543
00:21:45,974 --> 00:21:46,502
gonna die.

544
00:21:46,566 --> 00:21:47,862
But that's not what he's
talking about here.

545
00:21:47,886 --> 00:21:49,302
Okay, this is something else.

546
00:21:49,366 --> 00:21:49,590
But.

547
00:21:49,630 --> 00:21:50,006
But it's.

548
00:21:50,038 --> 00:21:52,182
But it's somewhat humorous
when you read it.

549
00:21:52,206 --> 00:21:52,870
Now, I.

550
00:21:52,910 --> 00:21:53,238
I was.

551
00:21:53,294 --> 00:21:55,014
I was looking through this
today, and I was thinking, how am

552
00:21:55,022 --> 00:21:55,366
I gonna.

553
00:21:55,398 --> 00:21:56,552
How am I gonna talk about this?

554
00:21:56,646 --> 00:21:59,444
And I came up with few jokes,
and I'm like, man, I don't know if

555
00:21:59,452 --> 00:22:00,404
that's going to go over well.

556
00:22:00,492 --> 00:22:02,484
It usually never does, so I'm
not going to go there.

557
00:22:02,572 --> 00:22:04,116
But verse number seven, it
says this.

558
00:22:04,188 --> 00:22:05,812
And upon the day, the first
day of the week.

559
00:22:05,836 --> 00:22:08,820
Again, we had referenced that,
you know, they met all the time within

560
00:22:08,860 --> 00:22:09,940
the church back then.

561
00:22:10,060 --> 00:22:13,268
They met daily in their homes,
but in this case, they meet corporately

562
00:22:13,364 --> 00:22:14,772
on the first day of the week.

563
00:22:14,956 --> 00:22:17,556
And so I, I've heard some
people say actually that it's wrong

564
00:22:17,588 --> 00:22:18,836
to meet on, on Sundays.

565
00:22:18,868 --> 00:22:22,090
You have to meet on Saturdays
because that's the true Sabbath.

566
00:22:22,220 --> 00:22:24,574
Uh, but we see here is there's
an example of them meeting on the

567
00:22:24,582 --> 00:22:25,102
first day of the week.

568
00:22:25,126 --> 00:22:26,622
So there's nothing wrong with
doing that.

569
00:22:26,726 --> 00:22:30,510
And I believe it's actually
appropriate because of Jesus's resurrection.

570
00:22:30,670 --> 00:22:33,230
So they meet on the first day
of the week when the disciples came

571
00:22:33,270 --> 00:22:34,414
together to break bread.

572
00:22:34,542 --> 00:22:37,326
So, so again, there's that
breaking of bread in the fellowship

573
00:22:37,358 --> 00:22:37,930
there.

574
00:22:38,310 --> 00:22:41,662
And as they're fellowshipping
and they're breaking bread, Paul

575
00:22:41,726 --> 00:22:42,622
preaches unto them.

576
00:22:42,646 --> 00:22:44,570
It says, paul preached unto them.

577
00:22:44,950 --> 00:22:48,966
Now I, I've had a lot of
people tell me that, hey, Pastor,

578
00:22:49,118 --> 00:22:52,422
we love you, but, you know,
sometimes you preach too long.

579
00:22:52,606 --> 00:22:53,990
And I, I, I heed that.

580
00:22:54,030 --> 00:22:55,510
Okay, I understand that.

581
00:22:55,550 --> 00:22:59,574
I, I, I love preaching, but,
but I'm very cautious of time.

582
00:22:59,742 --> 00:23:00,710
But let's see here.

583
00:23:00,750 --> 00:23:02,102
Paul is not cautious all the time.

584
00:23:02,126 --> 00:23:02,678
Let's see how long.

585
00:23:02,734 --> 00:23:03,974
Actually, Paul preached here.

586
00:23:04,062 --> 00:23:09,318
Okay, so it says verse number
seven, Paul preached unto the, unto

587
00:23:09,334 --> 00:23:10,838
them ready to depart on the morrow.

588
00:23:10,854 --> 00:23:12,278
So he's got a big day on the
next day.

589
00:23:12,334 --> 00:23:13,622
It's a travel day, right?

590
00:23:13,646 --> 00:23:15,846
So none of us really want to
do a lot on the day before we travel.

591
00:23:15,878 --> 00:23:18,974
Paul says, well, I'm actually
going to preach and I'm going to

592
00:23:18,982 --> 00:23:19,886
preach into midnight.

593
00:23:19,918 --> 00:23:23,370
Okay, now, we don't know when
they started their worship service.

594
00:23:23,910 --> 00:23:26,606
Most people actually, if you
read the commentary, say they probably

595
00:23:26,638 --> 00:23:29,342
started in the evening because
Sunday was still a work day in their

596
00:23:29,366 --> 00:23:29,646
culture.

597
00:23:29,678 --> 00:23:31,598
It would have been Saturday
that they were off.

598
00:23:31,734 --> 00:23:34,846
So regardless of when they
started, it's a long sermon.

599
00:23:34,878 --> 00:23:37,678
Okay, so he preaches, as it
says there, until midnight.

600
00:23:37,774 --> 00:23:39,582
He says he continued, I like
how it says there.

601
00:23:39,606 --> 00:23:41,742
He continued his speech until midnight.

602
00:23:41,886 --> 00:23:44,782
And so whatever Paul had to
say to them, no doubt it was about

603
00:23:44,806 --> 00:23:47,654
the Gospel and about the truth
of God, but whatever he had to say

604
00:23:47,662 --> 00:23:49,730
to them, he felt like there
was a lot to be said.

605
00:23:50,190 --> 00:23:53,686
And I don't know about you
guys, I don't know if, if I preached

606
00:23:53,718 --> 00:23:56,050
into midnight, how many people
would actually stay?

607
00:23:56,510 --> 00:23:59,270
My family probably would
because they rose me today.

608
00:23:59,310 --> 00:24:02,550
But about that, I understand
that, that that's a difficult thing.

609
00:24:02,670 --> 00:24:03,590
And it says verse 8.

610
00:24:03,630 --> 00:24:08,470
And there were many lights in
the upper chamber where they were

611
00:24:08,510 --> 00:24:09,478
gathered together.

612
00:24:09,614 --> 00:24:12,022
So I, I read that Multiple times.

613
00:24:12,046 --> 00:24:13,894
And I'm like, why is that there?

614
00:24:14,062 --> 00:24:16,806
The only thing I can think of
is that's just describing the setting.

615
00:24:16,838 --> 00:24:17,078
Okay?

616
00:24:17,094 --> 00:24:18,022
There's a lot of lights in there.

617
00:24:18,046 --> 00:24:19,570
They wanted to see what they
were doing.

618
00:24:19,870 --> 00:24:20,566
Verse 9.

619
00:24:20,638 --> 00:24:24,726
And there sat in a window a
certain young man named Uticus being

620
00:24:24,798 --> 00:24:26,886
fallen into deep sleep.

621
00:24:27,078 --> 00:24:31,254
And the actual Greek phrase
there for him falling into deep sleep

622
00:24:31,302 --> 00:24:34,022
actually has the connotation
of him fighting against it.

623
00:24:34,126 --> 00:24:35,734
Okay, he's fighting against
the sleep.

624
00:24:35,782 --> 00:24:36,134
Okay.

625
00:24:36,182 --> 00:24:39,238
So as, as Paul is preaching,
he's fighting against his sleep,

626
00:24:39,254 --> 00:24:42,620
but he gives into it, or the
deep sleep overtakes him, as it says

627
00:24:42,660 --> 00:24:43,052
there.

628
00:24:43,156 --> 00:24:45,200
And as Paul was long preaching.

629
00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:49,132
So if, if anyone had a
critique on Paul, it might be that

630
00:24:49,156 --> 00:24:51,292
he is preaching a long, long time.

631
00:24:51,476 --> 00:24:51,916
Also.

632
00:24:51,988 --> 00:24:54,636
I, I, Peter even said that
Paul's writings are kind of difficult

633
00:24:54,668 --> 00:24:55,400
to understand.

634
00:24:55,780 --> 00:24:59,500
So, so even though we think
that Paul is this great preacher,

635
00:24:59,580 --> 00:25:02,204
he, you know, obviously had
his human nature to him, and so he

636
00:25:02,212 --> 00:25:03,356
preaches a long time.

637
00:25:03,508 --> 00:25:06,204
And by the way, I don't think
long preaching is necessarily bad

638
00:25:06,292 --> 00:25:07,784
as long as there's good
content there.

639
00:25:07,892 --> 00:25:11,376
But it says he sunk down with
sleep and fell down from the third

640
00:25:11,448 --> 00:25:13,072
lot, third story.

641
00:25:13,176 --> 00:25:15,840
And it might not be exactly
three stories, but he falls down

642
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,280
from a high distance and it
says, and was taken up dead or he

643
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:19,776
died.

644
00:25:19,888 --> 00:25:22,992
Now, there are some people
that read this passage, and they

645
00:25:23,016 --> 00:25:26,656
interpret it to be that he
fell and he looked dead.

646
00:25:26,768 --> 00:25:29,776
Because of what we're about to
say, they try to remove the supernatural

647
00:25:29,808 --> 00:25:30,480
from the situation.

648
00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:32,192
Now, remember, who wrote.

649
00:25:32,256 --> 00:25:34,500
Who is the human author of the
Book of Acts?

650
00:25:35,130 --> 00:25:35,650
Luke.

651
00:25:35,730 --> 00:25:36,162
Okay?

652
00:25:36,226 --> 00:25:39,110
If what, by the way, what was
Luke's profession?

653
00:25:39,690 --> 00:25:40,466
He was a doctor.

654
00:25:40,498 --> 00:25:41,330
He was a physician.

655
00:25:41,410 --> 00:25:43,858
So if anyone would have known
that this guy actually had passed

656
00:25:43,874 --> 00:25:44,754
away, it would have been Luke.

657
00:25:44,802 --> 00:25:45,202
Okay?

658
00:25:45,266 --> 00:25:46,898
There would have been no
confusion with that.

659
00:25:46,954 --> 00:25:47,218
So.

660
00:25:47,274 --> 00:25:48,834
So this guy falls out the window.

661
00:25:48,882 --> 00:25:52,866
And, you know, he was a young
man, he was a youth, classic youth

662
00:25:52,898 --> 00:25:53,090
group.

663
00:25:53,130 --> 00:25:54,242
They fell asleep and they.

664
00:25:54,346 --> 00:25:56,354
Good thing we don't have
someone, by the way, don't have them

665
00:25:56,362 --> 00:25:57,138
sleeping near the windows.

666
00:25:57,154 --> 00:25:57,346
Okay?

667
00:25:57,378 --> 00:25:58,354
That, that would not be good.

668
00:25:58,442 --> 00:26:01,126
But, but he falls and he dies.

669
00:26:01,318 --> 00:26:02,950
And you would say, well,
what's this?

670
00:26:02,990 --> 00:26:03,286
What.

671
00:26:03,358 --> 00:26:04,690
What's the point of this?

672
00:26:05,390 --> 00:26:10,246
Well, we're going to see here
that God is at work, and Paul, he's

673
00:26:10,278 --> 00:26:13,206
allowing himself to be
distracted with something that happens

674
00:26:13,238 --> 00:26:13,718
here.

675
00:26:13,854 --> 00:26:17,050
And there are certain things
in life that are good distractions.

676
00:26:17,470 --> 00:26:19,862
It was good to see Pastor
Spicer here this morning with his

677
00:26:19,886 --> 00:26:20,454
wife Jackie.

678
00:26:20,502 --> 00:26:22,086
Love, love those dear folks.

679
00:26:22,198 --> 00:26:24,310
And I remember Pastor Spicer
had a sermon one time.

680
00:26:24,350 --> 00:26:25,974
He was preaching about God's interruptions.

681
00:26:26,022 --> 00:26:29,794
And I think that so many times
in my life, I have the characteristics

682
00:26:29,842 --> 00:26:31,202
of be busy about it.

683
00:26:31,226 --> 00:26:31,938
I got my list.

684
00:26:31,994 --> 00:26:33,058
I got to take care of everything.

685
00:26:33,114 --> 00:26:34,706
I got to make sure I get all
my things done.

686
00:26:34,778 --> 00:26:37,538
But sometimes God sends things
in the way that, hey, you know, that's

687
00:26:37,554 --> 00:26:39,522
going to take over the
importance of that moment.

688
00:26:39,586 --> 00:26:41,378
And this was pretty important,
all right?

689
00:26:41,434 --> 00:26:45,138
There would be, like, someone
in our service having an emergency,

690
00:26:45,234 --> 00:26:45,586
okay?

691
00:26:45,618 --> 00:26:47,950
They maybe had a heart attack
and they fell over.

692
00:26:48,410 --> 00:26:50,674
I don't think it would be wise
for me just to say, I'm going to

693
00:26:50,682 --> 00:26:51,074
keep preaching.

694
00:26:51,122 --> 00:26:52,418
Everyone just keep listening, okay?

695
00:26:52,434 --> 00:26:54,208
That think it would be
important to.

696
00:26:54,264 --> 00:26:55,616
To deal with that situation.

697
00:26:55,728 --> 00:26:57,200
That's the heart of God.

698
00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,600
And I know that that would be
what we should do.

699
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,580
But anyway, what we see here
is this.

700
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,232
Paul goes down.

701
00:27:03,336 --> 00:27:06,912
He leaves his preaching, he
leaves his pulpit, so to speak, and

702
00:27:06,936 --> 00:27:10,160
it says, and fell on him,
embracing him, and shows his love

703
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:10,896
and his compassion.

704
00:27:10,928 --> 00:27:13,008
And we don't know how well
Paul knew this guy.

705
00:27:13,024 --> 00:27:13,952
He couldn't have been that well.

706
00:27:13,976 --> 00:27:15,632
But he shows compassion to him.

707
00:27:15,656 --> 00:27:18,400
He embraces him, and then he
responds to the people.

708
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,318
He says, trouble not
yourselves, for his life is in him.

709
00:27:21,504 --> 00:27:26,794
Now, again, if you read that
on the surface there, it kind of

710
00:27:26,802 --> 00:27:28,154
seems like he didn't really die.

711
00:27:28,202 --> 00:27:29,290
He still has life in him.

712
00:27:29,330 --> 00:27:33,978
But again, in the original
context, it's the idea that he's

713
00:27:33,994 --> 00:27:35,034
going to come back to life.

714
00:27:35,122 --> 00:27:36,090
He is going to come back.

715
00:27:36,130 --> 00:27:37,114
So there's faith there.

716
00:27:37,202 --> 00:27:39,338
There's faith that God is
going to restore this situation.

717
00:27:39,434 --> 00:27:43,610
Now, there are very few times
in Scripture where someone is actually

718
00:27:43,650 --> 00:27:44,906
brought back to life.

719
00:27:45,058 --> 00:27:48,250
You can count them on a very
short list, Old Testament and new.

720
00:27:48,370 --> 00:27:50,298
And the question that some
people have when.

721
00:27:50,354 --> 00:27:53,290
When you read the story or
when they read the story would be,

722
00:27:53,330 --> 00:27:58,506
why did God choose Eutychus to
be brought back to life and not Stephen

723
00:27:58,698 --> 00:27:59,146
or.

724
00:27:59,218 --> 00:28:02,298
Or somebody else that was a
noble person.

725
00:28:02,354 --> 00:28:03,130
And I.

726
00:28:03,170 --> 00:28:05,514
I have this really great
theological answer that I want to

727
00:28:05,522 --> 00:28:05,802
give you.

728
00:28:05,826 --> 00:28:06,234
And it's.

729
00:28:06,282 --> 00:28:07,146
I don't know.

730
00:28:07,298 --> 00:28:10,122
I don't know why God chose
this situation to bring Uticus back

731
00:28:10,146 --> 00:28:11,162
to life and not others.

732
00:28:11,266 --> 00:28:13,514
Ultimately, it's God's
prerogative and it's God's will and

733
00:28:13,522 --> 00:28:14,074
he's sovereign.

734
00:28:14,122 --> 00:28:15,918
But ultimately, what we see
here is the.

735
00:28:15,974 --> 00:28:19,610
The picture of God's power to
bring people back to life.

736
00:28:19,910 --> 00:28:23,038
And so says there in verse
number 11.

737
00:28:23,174 --> 00:28:25,294
Excuse me, verse number 10,
trouble not yourselves.

738
00:28:25,342 --> 00:28:26,718
And so there's no Trouble needed.

739
00:28:26,814 --> 00:28:28,078
God is still at work.

740
00:28:28,214 --> 00:28:31,454
And again, Paul is an apostle.

741
00:28:31,582 --> 00:28:34,222
And so in Paul's apostleship,
there's going to be things that are

742
00:28:34,246 --> 00:28:37,086
happening that are outside our
understanding, the supernatural.

743
00:28:37,118 --> 00:28:40,286
And God allowed Paul and the
other apostles to have these supernatural

744
00:28:40,318 --> 00:28:43,152
gifts to validate the message
of the gospel.

745
00:28:43,216 --> 00:28:44,460
Mess come up again.

746
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:50,304
And had broken bread and eaten
and talked a while, even till, till

747
00:28:50,352 --> 00:28:51,056
break of day.

748
00:28:51,128 --> 00:28:51,872
So he departed.

749
00:28:51,936 --> 00:28:54,352
So the Uticus comes back to life.

750
00:28:54,456 --> 00:28:57,952
They get a little food and he
goes back to speaking.

751
00:28:58,016 --> 00:29:01,968
And it says that he spoke
there until the morning and then

752
00:29:02,024 --> 00:29:03,060
he departed.

753
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,688
And so man Paul was like,
okay, we're going to preach till

754
00:29:06,704 --> 00:29:07,380
midnight.

755
00:29:08,170 --> 00:29:10,466
We're going to work this
miracle and then we're going to preach

756
00:29:10,498 --> 00:29:11,186
into the morning.

757
00:29:11,258 --> 00:29:15,858
And, and so we see their great
dedication from, from Paul to preach

758
00:29:15,874 --> 00:29:16,626
the word to these folks.

759
00:29:16,658 --> 00:29:18,930
He wanted to give everything
that he could to them before, before

760
00:29:18,970 --> 00:29:19,710
he left.

761
00:29:20,170 --> 00:29:23,650
And, and so Paul receives the
gift of faith from God.

762
00:29:23,810 --> 00:29:26,722
He, he sensed that God would
raise this boy up from the dead.

763
00:29:26,746 --> 00:29:28,402
And obviously God did.

764
00:29:28,586 --> 00:29:33,396
And Paul obviously gets their
attention by doing this and continues

765
00:29:33,428 --> 00:29:34,436
preaching unto daybreak.

766
00:29:34,468 --> 00:29:37,924
Now again, I, I have to insert
a little bit of my, my interpretation

767
00:29:37,972 --> 00:29:38,884
on this, okay.

768
00:29:39,012 --> 00:29:41,188
I guarantee you a lot of them,
I think would have got.

769
00:29:41,244 --> 00:29:44,116
They, they woke up after that,
okay, if someone, if someone died

770
00:29:44,148 --> 00:29:46,292
in the middle of the service
and, and God brought them back to

771
00:29:46,316 --> 00:29:48,724
life, I think all of us would
be a little bit more attentive to

772
00:29:48,732 --> 00:29:49,492
what was going on.

773
00:29:49,516 --> 00:29:52,260
But nonetheless, we see that
God is still at work there.

774
00:29:52,300 --> 00:29:54,868
And I think that's obviously,
it's obviously a literal picture

775
00:29:54,884 --> 00:29:58,116
of God bringing Uticus back to
life, but I think it's also a symbolic

776
00:29:58,148 --> 00:29:59,886
picture of how God brings us
back to life.

777
00:29:59,988 --> 00:30:02,154
When it comes to our
salvation, all of us are dead in

778
00:30:02,162 --> 00:30:04,890
our sins and ultimately God
brings us back to life.

779
00:30:04,930 --> 00:30:07,930
And I think it's important to
notice that when we talk about salvation,

780
00:30:08,090 --> 00:30:10,234
I might be taking a little bit
too far of a stretch here, but I

781
00:30:10,242 --> 00:30:14,250
do know that God uses the
analogy of death to life, not bad

782
00:30:14,290 --> 00:30:18,634
life to good life, you know,
making a mistake and now being forgiven

783
00:30:18,682 --> 00:30:19,354
for my mistake.

784
00:30:19,402 --> 00:30:21,690
The Bible speaks of, in our
sin, we are dead.

785
00:30:21,770 --> 00:30:22,714
We are dead in our sins.

786
00:30:22,762 --> 00:30:25,536
Now, I don't believe that
means enabled to respond.

787
00:30:25,698 --> 00:30:27,764
Some people teach that when
we're dead in our sins, we're not

788
00:30:27,772 --> 00:30:28,404
able to respond.

789
00:30:28,452 --> 00:30:31,204
God forces us to be saved and
therefore we have no choice.

790
00:30:31,252 --> 00:30:34,036
I don't believe that, but I do
believe in the fact that we are dead

791
00:30:34,068 --> 00:30:36,052
in our sins means that that is
our end.

792
00:30:36,156 --> 00:30:38,852
Our, our, you know, our what if.

793
00:30:38,876 --> 00:30:40,916
Whatever you want to call when
you're going to jail, your.

794
00:30:41,068 --> 00:30:41,524
What is it?

795
00:30:41,532 --> 00:30:44,388
When you're going to jail and
they give you a time frame that you're

796
00:30:44,404 --> 00:30:45,120
going to.

797
00:30:45,420 --> 00:30:47,636
Some of you, some of you that
went to jail, tell me.

798
00:30:47,788 --> 00:30:48,292
Sentence.

799
00:30:48,356 --> 00:30:48,756
Sentence.

800
00:30:48,788 --> 00:30:49,668
That's the word I'm thinking of.

801
00:30:49,724 --> 00:30:50,324
Sentence.

802
00:30:50,452 --> 00:30:50,948
Just kidding.

803
00:30:50,964 --> 00:30:52,840
Now I know who the sentence.

804
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:57,176
So, so when it says that we
are dead in our sins, it's talking

805
00:30:57,208 --> 00:30:58,776
about our death sentence.

806
00:30:58,968 --> 00:31:02,632
When we are sinners, we are on
the way to destruction, we are on

807
00:31:02,656 --> 00:31:03,400
our way to death.

808
00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:06,168
The Bible says the wages of
sin is death, but the gift of God

809
00:31:06,184 --> 00:31:07,912
is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.

810
00:31:07,976 --> 00:31:10,952
So when we have salvation, we
are taken from a death sentence through

811
00:31:10,976 --> 00:31:13,960
a life sentence in the concept
of eternal life with Jesus Christ

812
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:14,520
our Lord.

813
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,272
And I think that's an awesome
picture to see there, even in the

814
00:31:17,296 --> 00:31:20,154
life of Eutychus being brought
back to, to life.

815
00:31:20,322 --> 00:31:24,186
And so that's an interesting
story that I think a lot of times

816
00:31:24,258 --> 00:31:27,818
we skip over as just this one
off miracle that Paul works.

817
00:31:27,834 --> 00:31:30,986
But I think there's so much to
be learned about that in the concept

818
00:31:31,018 --> 00:31:36,010
of exhortation, in the concept
of fellowship, in the concept of

819
00:31:36,130 --> 00:31:38,090
the emphasis of the word of God.

820
00:31:38,250 --> 00:31:40,890
I do know that there are
certain aspects of the church that

821
00:31:40,930 --> 00:31:41,914
are more than just preaching.

822
00:31:41,962 --> 00:31:43,910
I was having a conversation
with someone today.

823
00:31:45,180 --> 00:31:48,932
Preaching should not alone be
the only intake of scripture that

824
00:31:48,956 --> 00:31:50,564
you should be receiving
throughout the week.

825
00:31:50,652 --> 00:31:51,428
Okay?

826
00:31:51,604 --> 00:31:54,372
I don't care how good a
preacher is, I don't care how much

827
00:31:54,476 --> 00:31:55,988
he brings out from scripture.

828
00:31:56,084 --> 00:31:59,880
If you only eat one day a
week, you're going to be starving.

829
00:32:00,220 --> 00:32:01,604
You're not going to be healthy.

830
00:32:01,732 --> 00:32:04,596
You say, well, Pastor, I eat a
really, really, really good meal

831
00:32:04,628 --> 00:32:08,116
on Sundays and then I fast for
the rest of the week, every single

832
00:32:08,148 --> 00:32:08,292
week.

833
00:32:08,316 --> 00:32:10,298
That's not a healthy way to
live physically.

834
00:32:10,444 --> 00:32:12,290
It's not a healthy way to live spiritually.

835
00:32:12,710 --> 00:32:15,566
And I do believe that the
preaching ministry from the pulpit

836
00:32:15,598 --> 00:32:16,990
of the church is vital.

837
00:32:17,070 --> 00:32:19,998
I think it's one of the
elements of the church, but it's

838
00:32:20,014 --> 00:32:21,650
not the only element of the church.

839
00:32:22,710 --> 00:32:24,062
And so what do I mean by that?

840
00:32:24,086 --> 00:32:26,142
I mean that we should be
taking in scripture throughout the

841
00:32:26,166 --> 00:32:29,790
week in various aspects
through our own scripture reading,

842
00:32:29,950 --> 00:32:32,622
through different Bible
studies, through good books that

843
00:32:32,646 --> 00:32:35,774
point people to the truth of
scripture through other preachers.

844
00:32:35,822 --> 00:32:36,078
Okay?

845
00:32:36,094 --> 00:32:39,154
I don't, I, I don't have, I
don't have a monopoly on the market

846
00:32:39,242 --> 00:32:40,674
of the sermons that you intake.

847
00:32:40,722 --> 00:32:41,154
Okay?

848
00:32:41,202 --> 00:32:44,482
I would caution you to take in
sermons that are aligned with scripture.

849
00:32:44,626 --> 00:32:49,170
I would caution you to be very
careful about what the content of

850
00:32:49,210 --> 00:32:52,018
the messages and the podcast
and YouTube videos that you're taking

851
00:32:52,074 --> 00:32:52,530
in.

852
00:32:52,650 --> 00:32:55,346
Because just as much as there
are really, really, really good preachers

853
00:32:55,378 --> 00:32:58,338
out there, there are a lot of
bad, false preachers out there.

854
00:32:58,474 --> 00:33:00,066
We have to be very, very cautious.

855
00:33:00,178 --> 00:33:05,228
But what I would say is this,
you as the church member, you as

856
00:33:05,284 --> 00:33:09,212
the fellow believer in Christ,
can have access to the Word, just

857
00:33:09,236 --> 00:33:11,420
as I have access to the Word there.

858
00:33:11,460 --> 00:33:14,204
You know, there's other
elements of studying the Word of

859
00:33:14,212 --> 00:33:14,684
God.

860
00:33:14,812 --> 00:33:17,324
There's elements of
understanding some of the Greek words.

861
00:33:17,372 --> 00:33:18,620
And some folks go, I.

862
00:33:18,660 --> 00:33:19,756
I cannot do that, Pastor.

863
00:33:19,788 --> 00:33:20,476
I don't know Greek.

864
00:33:20,508 --> 00:33:20,652
I.

865
00:33:20,676 --> 00:33:22,188
I don't speak fluent Koine Greek.

866
00:33:22,204 --> 00:33:23,724
I'm just going to tell you
that I don't.

867
00:33:23,852 --> 00:33:24,764
I would like to.

868
00:33:24,852 --> 00:33:25,884
I would like to believe that.

869
00:33:25,892 --> 00:33:27,676
I know some Greek, but I'm not
good in coin.

870
00:33:27,708 --> 00:33:28,286
A Greek.

871
00:33:28,388 --> 00:33:28,650
There.

872
00:33:28,690 --> 00:33:32,234
There are apps, and there are
resources that can help you understand

873
00:33:32,322 --> 00:33:35,290
the Word and allow it to jump
off the page and, and when.

874
00:33:35,330 --> 00:33:37,594
We've got the church library
coming up here soon, but there's.

875
00:33:37,642 --> 00:33:37,946
There's.

876
00:33:37,978 --> 00:33:40,554
There's apps on your phone
and, And I would encourage you to

877
00:33:40,562 --> 00:33:42,586
embrace those things to the
point where it helps you.

878
00:33:42,658 --> 00:33:45,978
Some of you that work in the
field, maybe it's, you know, I don't

879
00:33:45,994 --> 00:33:48,970
know, maybe it's a field of
technology or maybe it's in.

880
00:33:49,010 --> 00:33:50,090
In the field of.

881
00:33:50,210 --> 00:33:51,930
Of, you know, construction or something.

882
00:33:51,970 --> 00:33:54,150
You want to use the right
tools for the right job.

883
00:33:54,810 --> 00:33:55,314
I.

884
00:33:55,402 --> 00:33:59,430
I remember all the time, I
remember calling my dad.

885
00:33:59,850 --> 00:34:02,914
I'm an only child, and my dad
did a lot for me when I lived in

886
00:34:02,922 --> 00:34:03,490
Florida.

887
00:34:03,570 --> 00:34:05,810
So I would be like, my car
would break down or I'd have issues.

888
00:34:05,850 --> 00:34:06,834
I say, dad, help me out.

889
00:34:06,842 --> 00:34:08,962
And he'd drive over to the
house and he fixed it for me.

890
00:34:09,066 --> 00:34:10,338
And then I moved to Delaware.

891
00:34:10,354 --> 00:34:13,042
And I said, dad, he's not
going to fly here every time I had

892
00:34:13,066 --> 00:34:13,710
a problem.

893
00:34:14,010 --> 00:34:17,362
So I would say, like, okay,
I've been down underneath this trying

894
00:34:17,386 --> 00:34:19,904
to fix this for like, three
hours, and I can't figure it out.

895
00:34:20,002 --> 00:34:22,932
He's like, first thing, he
asked me, what tool are you using?

896
00:34:23,036 --> 00:34:24,564
I said, well, I'm using this
wrench over here.

897
00:34:24,572 --> 00:34:25,844
He's like, that's not the
right tool.

898
00:34:25,932 --> 00:34:27,732
He's like, you're going to be
all day trying to figure that out.

899
00:34:27,756 --> 00:34:29,028
Just get this tool over here.

900
00:34:29,084 --> 00:34:31,316
And I would get that, and it
would pop right off, and I'd be Like,

901
00:34:31,388 --> 00:34:32,196
well, that was easy.

902
00:34:32,228 --> 00:34:33,972
He goes, yeah, son, if you
have the right tools for the right

903
00:34:33,996 --> 00:34:35,300
job, it's going to be a lot easier.

904
00:34:35,380 --> 00:34:36,756
It's the same thing when it
comes to scripture.

905
00:34:36,788 --> 00:34:39,284
If we're trying to go out into
the world and try to figure out all

906
00:34:39,292 --> 00:34:41,956
these things and live a
Christlike life, and live a godly

907
00:34:41,988 --> 00:34:44,132
life according to the Bible,
but yet we're not using the tool

908
00:34:44,156 --> 00:34:45,044
that God gives us.

909
00:34:45,132 --> 00:34:47,070
We're not using the sword of
the spirit.

910
00:34:47,260 --> 00:34:49,514
The Bible says the sword of
the spirit and many times we use

911
00:34:49,522 --> 00:34:52,490
the sword of the spirit in the
concept of like battling.

912
00:34:52,570 --> 00:34:53,370
And that is the case.

913
00:34:53,410 --> 00:34:55,870
We, we do use it as an
offensive weapon.

914
00:34:56,610 --> 00:35:00,490
But the, if you actually study
the swords that that's talking about

915
00:35:00,530 --> 00:35:03,578
in the Bible, it's not just
about a battle weapon.

916
00:35:03,594 --> 00:35:07,226
It's actually they would use
those for surgeries like on the battlefield.

917
00:35:07,258 --> 00:35:09,946
If they needed to take care of
something, they would use these swords,

918
00:35:09,978 --> 00:35:13,146
these sharp swords to, to cut
themselves and to do surgery.

919
00:35:13,178 --> 00:35:15,364
And sometimes surgery is
difficult, but sometimes that's what

920
00:35:15,372 --> 00:35:16,820
the word of God is for us too.

921
00:35:16,940 --> 00:35:19,668
It's not just a tool that we
use to fight against Satan, but it's

922
00:35:19,684 --> 00:35:22,500
a tool that we use to, to get
rid of things in our own life.

923
00:35:22,540 --> 00:35:26,372
And sometimes the Bible tells
us to cut this out, cut, cut this

924
00:35:26,396 --> 00:35:30,068
cancer out of your life, allow
this to be removed so that it doesn't

925
00:35:30,084 --> 00:35:31,124
plague you more.

926
00:35:31,292 --> 00:35:34,900
And so just as much as the
sword of the spirit is used to fight

927
00:35:34,940 --> 00:35:37,092
against the enemy, so the
sword of the spirit is used in our

928
00:35:37,116 --> 00:35:40,228
own life for an opportunity to
grow into to.

929
00:35:40,284 --> 00:35:43,866
It even says in Hebrews
chapter four that, that the sword

930
00:35:43,898 --> 00:35:48,106
of the spirit, it's alive,
it's quick, it's powerful, sharper

931
00:35:48,138 --> 00:35:49,530
than any two edged sword.

932
00:35:49,690 --> 00:35:52,138
And there's this idea in our
life that we need to allow the word

933
00:35:52,154 --> 00:35:53,498
of God to inspect us.

934
00:35:53,634 --> 00:35:57,738
And even in the book of James,
it speaks of us looking at the word

935
00:35:57,754 --> 00:35:59,242
of God and not responding to it.

936
00:35:59,266 --> 00:36:02,202
Like someone who looks into a
mirror and sees all the things that

937
00:36:02,226 --> 00:36:04,282
they need to take care of, but
then they just reject it and walk

938
00:36:04,306 --> 00:36:04,682
away.

939
00:36:04,786 --> 00:36:05,802
And that's what the Bible is.

940
00:36:05,826 --> 00:36:08,570
The Bible is a mirror to show
us where we need to be and how we

941
00:36:08,610 --> 00:36:09,478
need to grow.

942
00:36:09,634 --> 00:36:12,062
And so I would encourage you
to think about that when it comes

943
00:36:12,166 --> 00:36:16,142
to the aspects of church and
exhortation and even fighting the

944
00:36:16,166 --> 00:36:18,490
battles that you might fight
in your own Christian life.

945
00:36:18,950 --> 00:36:23,950
The reality is, is that church
and discipleship and evangelism is

946
00:36:23,990 --> 00:36:27,130
not always a cut and dry clean Business.

947
00:36:28,470 --> 00:36:31,870
Sometimes there is messiness
in discipleship.

948
00:36:32,030 --> 00:36:33,406
What do I mean by that?

949
00:36:33,558 --> 00:36:34,302
Means this.

950
00:36:34,406 --> 00:36:37,310
I can sit and I can invest in
someone's life, and I can see growth

951
00:36:37,350 --> 00:36:39,666
in their life, but yet there's
going to be some times where there's

952
00:36:39,698 --> 00:36:41,810
going to be setbacks.

953
00:36:41,970 --> 00:36:44,274
Sometimes there's going to be
times where you feel like, what in

954
00:36:44,282 --> 00:36:45,138
the world was I doing?

955
00:36:45,194 --> 00:36:47,218
Because they didn't obviously
get it.

956
00:36:47,274 --> 00:36:49,090
But that's the point of discipleship.

957
00:36:49,170 --> 00:36:51,630
Did Jesus quit on Peter the
first time?

958
00:36:52,170 --> 00:36:53,506
No, he didn't.

959
00:36:53,698 --> 00:36:57,154
He kept discipling, kept discipling.

960
00:36:57,202 --> 00:36:59,186
And so we as Christians should
do the same.

961
00:36:59,338 --> 00:37:00,322
It's our family.

962
00:37:00,426 --> 00:37:01,170
I don't give up.

963
00:37:01,210 --> 00:37:01,538
I don't.

964
00:37:01,554 --> 00:37:04,470
I don't give up on my children
the first time they make a mistake.

965
00:37:04,770 --> 00:37:07,162
Sometimes I'm tempted to give
up, honestly.

966
00:37:07,306 --> 00:37:09,914
But the truth is, is that if
I'm a good parent, if I'm a loving

967
00:37:09,962 --> 00:37:12,058
parent, I'm going to be
patient with them.

968
00:37:12,194 --> 00:37:13,594
I'm going to come back and I'm
going to try to.

969
00:37:13,602 --> 00:37:15,350
I'm not going to be easy on them.

970
00:37:15,650 --> 00:37:17,242
There's going to be a
challenge there.

971
00:37:17,346 --> 00:37:19,914
And that's the same thing when
it comes to our fellow brothers and

972
00:37:19,922 --> 00:37:20,986
sisters in Christ.

973
00:37:21,138 --> 00:37:26,058
Loving somebody does not mean
accepting somebody's wrong actions.

974
00:37:26,234 --> 00:37:26,810
Okay?

975
00:37:26,890 --> 00:37:30,106
So if I love somebody, I don't
go, well, I know they're doing wrong,

976
00:37:30,138 --> 00:37:32,058
but I love them so much, I
just can't tell them that they're

977
00:37:32,074 --> 00:37:32,540
doing wrong.

978
00:37:32,610 --> 00:37:33,032
Okay?

979
00:37:33,096 --> 00:37:33,368
That.

980
00:37:33,424 --> 00:37:35,768
Don't equate biblical love to acceptance.

981
00:37:35,864 --> 00:37:38,568
And I would even say, don't
equate biblical love to empathy.

982
00:37:38,664 --> 00:37:40,120
Empathy means I feel for you.

983
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:42,680
You know, sometimes we don't
need to feel the same way someone

984
00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:43,400
else feels.

985
00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:45,848
Even though sometimes some of
us are just naturally empathetic

986
00:37:45,864 --> 00:37:48,008
to people and we just feel
their emotions.

987
00:37:48,104 --> 00:37:49,976
Well, sometimes their emotions
might be wrong.

988
00:37:50,008 --> 00:37:52,152
And we don't need to, like,
commiserate with them.

989
00:37:52,176 --> 00:37:54,536
We need to wake them up and
say, no, you're thinking the wrong

990
00:37:54,568 --> 00:37:54,712
thing.

991
00:37:54,736 --> 00:37:55,544
That's against the Bible.

992
00:37:55,592 --> 00:37:58,030
I love you and I understand
why you feel that way.

993
00:37:58,120 --> 00:37:59,906
I might even feel that way if
I was in your shoes.

994
00:37:59,938 --> 00:38:01,330
But here's what the Bible says.

995
00:38:01,450 --> 00:38:03,730
And so if I love someone, it
doesn't mean that I accept them.

996
00:38:03,770 --> 00:38:05,602
It doesn't mean that I condone
their wrongdoing.

997
00:38:05,666 --> 00:38:07,698
It doesn't mean that I
empathize with them.

998
00:38:07,754 --> 00:38:10,722
It means that I lead them to
truth and what's best for them.

999
00:38:10,826 --> 00:38:12,274
And that's what it means to be
a church.

1000
00:38:12,322 --> 00:38:14,610
It means we're going to go
through Ups and downs.

1001
00:38:14,690 --> 00:38:17,762
We're going to be in verse
one, when coming off of the uproar.

1002
00:38:17,906 --> 00:38:20,082
There's going to be times in
our life where we need to go back

1003
00:38:20,106 --> 00:38:24,942
and realize that we need a
Timothy, we need these helpers.

1004
00:38:25,006 --> 00:38:26,846
There's gonna be times in our
life where we need to understand

1005
00:38:26,918 --> 00:38:29,214
that, hey, I need to be the exhorter.

1006
00:38:29,262 --> 00:38:31,182
There's gonna be times in my
life where I need to realize that

1007
00:38:31,206 --> 00:38:32,878
I need the exhortation from
somebody else.

1008
00:38:32,894 --> 00:38:34,542
I need to be open to exhortation.

1009
00:38:34,686 --> 00:38:36,046
And that's the church.

1010
00:38:36,238 --> 00:38:38,222
And there's gonna be times in
our life where we just need to go

1011
00:38:38,246 --> 00:38:40,862
back to say that it's really
ultimately God that holds life and

1012
00:38:40,886 --> 00:38:41,502
death.

1013
00:38:41,686 --> 00:38:44,382
And, and he is the one that
extends salvation to us.

1014
00:38:44,486 --> 00:38:48,494
And therefore we wash our
hands of our responsibility in the

1015
00:38:48,502 --> 00:38:49,884
concept of saving ourselves.

1016
00:38:50,022 --> 00:38:52,736
All we do is we're responsible
to come to him in faith and trust

1017
00:38:52,768 --> 00:38:54,160
in him and allow God to do the work.

1018
00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:56,820
And that's what Paul did there
for Udus.

1019
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:01,680
So next week we won't have an
evening service, but when we come

1020
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:05,088
back in, in two weeks, we're
going to be talking about Paul.

1021
00:39:05,264 --> 00:39:08,432
He calls the Ephesian elders
or the Ephesian pastors together

1022
00:39:08,536 --> 00:39:10,880
and he's going to give them
this long discourse.

1023
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:13,136
He's going to address, address
the Ephesian elders.

1024
00:39:13,168 --> 00:39:16,922
And he actually says at the
very end of all this, I might not

1025
00:39:16,946 --> 00:39:17,450
see you again.

1026
00:39:17,490 --> 00:39:18,430
I'm ready.

1027
00:39:18,930 --> 00:39:20,950
I'm joyful to come to the end.

1028
00:39:21,250 --> 00:39:24,202
Now, we know that Paul
inevitably understood that there

1029
00:39:24,226 --> 00:39:27,626
was going to be a point in his
life where he would have to pay for

1030
00:39:27,698 --> 00:39:28,410
his faith.

1031
00:39:28,490 --> 00:39:30,698
He would have to be a martyr.

1032
00:39:30,874 --> 00:39:34,202
And when you read Paul's
writings, you can definitely see

1033
00:39:34,226 --> 00:39:35,514
it kind of getting to that.

1034
00:39:35,602 --> 00:39:37,802
So even when he gets to second
Timothy, there's a.

1035
00:39:37,826 --> 00:39:39,466
There's an understanding that,
hey, I'm.

1036
00:39:39,578 --> 00:39:39,818
It's.

1037
00:39:39,834 --> 00:39:41,248
It's my time is near.

1038
00:39:41,434 --> 00:39:45,028
But nonetheless, you know, he,
he definitely shows joy.

1039
00:39:45,124 --> 00:39:46,228
Rejoice evermore.

1040
00:39:46,244 --> 00:39:47,588
And again I say rejoice.

1041
00:39:47,764 --> 00:39:51,620
There's the idea that Paul is
going to encourage to the very end.

1042
00:39:51,740 --> 00:39:53,492
And I think that he's a great
example for that.

1043
00:39:53,516 --> 00:39:55,892
So when we come back, we're
going to study the end of chapter

1044
00:39:55,956 --> 00:39:56,468
20.

1045
00:39:56,604 --> 00:39:59,620
And, and he essentially ends
some of his thinking there with,

1046
00:39:59,660 --> 00:40:01,220
it's better to give than receive.

1047
00:40:01,380 --> 00:40:03,764
It's better to give to others
than just sit there and try to be

1048
00:40:03,772 --> 00:40:04,548
a receiver of that.

1049
00:40:04,604 --> 00:40:06,484
And that's actually going to
be a principle that we're going to

1050
00:40:06,492 --> 00:40:07,722
talk about within the church.

1051
00:40:07,836 --> 00:40:10,446
There is a principle that it's
better to give than receive.

1052
00:40:10,478 --> 00:40:12,366
Now we usually tell that to
our kids around Christmas.

1053
00:40:12,398 --> 00:40:13,966
Like it's better to give than receive.

1054
00:40:13,998 --> 00:40:15,134
So you should give some gifts.

1055
00:40:15,182 --> 00:40:18,190
And that's true, but it's a
bigger picture than just getting

1056
00:40:18,230 --> 00:40:20,130
a gift at Christmas or your birthday.

1057
00:40:20,550 --> 00:40:23,102
It's better to give than
receive as a concept of how we should

1058
00:40:23,126 --> 00:40:23,934
live as Christians.

1059
00:40:24,062 --> 00:40:28,142
It's better to give love to
people than just expect it to happen

1060
00:40:28,166 --> 00:40:28,510
to me.

1061
00:40:28,550 --> 00:40:29,742
Like, why doesn't anyone love me?

1062
00:40:29,766 --> 00:40:32,206
Well, when's the last time
I've demonstrated love to somebody

1063
00:40:32,238 --> 00:40:32,850
else?

1064
00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:35,208
No one ever sacrifices for me.

1065
00:40:35,264 --> 00:40:37,048
When's the last time I
sacrificed for somebody else?

1066
00:40:37,064 --> 00:40:39,672
I have to ask my question,
that question to myself all the time

1067
00:40:39,776 --> 00:40:41,416
because I get so focused on myself.

1068
00:40:41,528 --> 00:40:44,520
I get so focused on the things
that I have and I forget that this

1069
00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,976
church thing that we're doing,
this thing that God has instituted

1070
00:40:48,008 --> 00:40:52,040
in our lives as his method of
his gospel message being furthered

1071
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:54,888
is the point of coming
together and being, being a body,

1072
00:40:54,944 --> 00:40:55,880
a unit.

1073
00:40:56,040 --> 00:41:00,576
And, and so I, I know that we
are, I would say, overemphasizing

1074
00:41:00,608 --> 00:41:03,088
that, but I think to a good
degree that we need to understand

1075
00:41:03,144 --> 00:41:04,620
what the church really is.

1076
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:09,008
And as, as I continue to study
the book of Acts and other aspects

1077
00:41:09,024 --> 00:41:12,560
of the early church, I realize
how easy it is to get off track and

1078
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,504
how we can miss the mark and
how we can get to a place in our

1079
00:41:15,512 --> 00:41:17,712
life where we're so caught up
in the day to day that we miss the

1080
00:41:17,736 --> 00:41:18,624
bigger picture.

1081
00:41:18,752 --> 00:41:22,220
And so let's be the church
that God has called us to be.

1082
00:41:23,240 --> 00:41:26,648
Let's show the love of Christ,
let's show the grace of Christ, let's

1083
00:41:26,664 --> 00:41:29,752
show the forgiveness of Jesus,
but let's also show the truth of

1084
00:41:29,776 --> 00:41:33,656
Christ and the concept of like
not condoning the wrongdoing, standing

1085
00:41:33,688 --> 00:41:34,860
out in our society.

1086
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:36,552
I mentioned this last week.

1087
00:41:36,576 --> 00:41:39,192
I think there's two elements
to our church that I think that we

1088
00:41:39,216 --> 00:41:41,656
should take with us as
marching orders.

1089
00:41:41,768 --> 00:41:45,304
We should preach, come and
see, come and see Jesus, come and

1090
00:41:45,312 --> 00:41:46,376
see the difference.

1091
00:41:46,568 --> 00:41:50,120
But we also should go and be
the church to people that might not

1092
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:51,162
come and see.

1093
00:41:51,336 --> 00:41:53,782
And you've heard me say this,
and I'm not the first one to bring

1094
00:41:53,806 --> 00:41:56,950
this up, but you might be the
only Jesus that someone comes across

1095
00:41:57,070 --> 00:41:59,974
in their life, you know, you
might be the only Christian that

1096
00:41:59,982 --> 00:42:00,850
they know.

1097
00:42:01,470 --> 00:42:04,150
Are they going to understand
the truth of Jesus Christ through

1098
00:42:04,190 --> 00:42:06,534
you, or are they going to
understand, hey, they just go to

1099
00:42:06,542 --> 00:42:09,910
a place on Sunday mornings and
come back and they just do that every

1100
00:42:09,950 --> 00:42:10,770
single week.

1101
00:42:11,230 --> 00:42:12,950
Or is it, hey, they're different.

1102
00:42:13,070 --> 00:42:14,690
Jesus has changed their life.

1103
00:42:14,990 --> 00:42:20,222
On Easter Sunday, we're going
to talk about how Jesus's disciples

1104
00:42:20,366 --> 00:42:25,326
and his followers, their lives
were changed because of who Jesus

1105
00:42:25,358 --> 00:42:25,930
was.

1106
00:42:26,870 --> 00:42:32,958
We know that because all of
the apostles went to great persecution.

1107
00:42:33,054 --> 00:42:37,278
All of them, except for John,
were killed for their faith.

1108
00:42:37,454 --> 00:42:42,662
And, you know, if they knew it
was a lie, they knew it was a lie.

1109
00:42:42,846 --> 00:42:46,102
And they knew Jesus really
wasn't who he said he was, they would

1110
00:42:46,126 --> 00:42:48,422
have not gone to the end and
died for it.

1111
00:42:48,526 --> 00:42:51,030
There are people who have been
deceived and died for things, but

1112
00:42:51,070 --> 00:42:51,782
they were there.

1113
00:42:51,886 --> 00:42:53,734
And so they knew that Jesus
conquered death.

1114
00:42:53,822 --> 00:42:55,718
They knew that the
resurrection was a real thing.

1115
00:42:55,774 --> 00:42:58,438
And so we're going to talk
about how Jesus truly changed the

1116
00:42:58,494 --> 00:43:01,894
life of his inner circle and
how Jesus can truly change our lives

1117
00:43:01,982 --> 00:43:04,726
if we understand him for who
he really is and what he has done.

1118
00:43:04,798 --> 00:43:06,934
So, anyway, come back on
Easter and we'll.

1119
00:43:06,982 --> 00:43:07,996
I'll talk about that.

1120
00:43:08,118 --> 00:43:09,168
Go ahead and close in a word
of prayer.

1121
00:43:09,184 --> 00:43:11,024
And then after that, I have a
few announcements and you guys can

1122
00:43:11,032 --> 00:43:11,632
be dismissed.

1123
00:43:11,696 --> 00:43:13,104
Lord, I thank you for this
time that you've given us.

1124
00:43:13,112 --> 00:43:15,216
I thank you for the
opportunity to come together tonight

1125
00:43:15,328 --> 00:43:19,580
as the church to fellowship,
to encourage and to exhort and to

1126
00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:20,544
edify.

1127
00:43:20,592 --> 00:43:23,840
Lord, I pray that you can
allow us to grow closer to you through

1128
00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:27,904
studying your Word, through
speaking to you, through spending

1129
00:43:27,952 --> 00:43:30,800
time with you, through the
opportunity to serve you.

1130
00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:34,384
Lord, I thank you for many
ways in which you have revealed yourself

1131
00:43:34,432 --> 00:43:39,250
to us through in your word and
in your creation, really and through

1132
00:43:39,290 --> 00:43:40,770
just circumstances in our
life, you.

1133
00:43:40,810 --> 00:43:42,850
You have opened the door of
truth to us.

1134
00:43:42,970 --> 00:43:45,426
And, Lord, I pray that we can
utilize that truth for the cause

1135
00:43:45,458 --> 00:43:46,178
of the gospel.

1136
00:43:46,274 --> 00:43:48,210
I pray that you be with our
families this week.

1137
00:43:48,250 --> 00:43:51,682
I pray that you be with the
folks that aren't able to be here

1138
00:43:51,706 --> 00:43:53,634
because of various illnesses
and surgeries.

1139
00:43:53,682 --> 00:43:54,994
I just pray that you be with them.

1140
00:43:55,082 --> 00:43:57,714
I pray that you work in the
hearts of those that aren't necessarily

1141
00:43:57,762 --> 00:43:59,826
physically hurting, but
spiritually hurting.

1142
00:43:59,858 --> 00:44:02,592
Lord, I pray that you can and
be the great physician to them as

1143
00:44:02,616 --> 00:44:02,944
well.

1144
00:44:03,032 --> 00:44:05,168
And so, Lord, I pray that you
be with us as we go our separate

1145
00:44:05,184 --> 00:44:05,536
ways tonight.

1146
00:44:05,568 --> 00:44:07,840
Lord, help us to be the church
that you called us to be.

1147
00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:09,104
Help us to be the salt and light.

1148
00:44:09,192 --> 00:44:13,376
Help us to go and be and
invite people to come and see.

1149
00:44:13,448 --> 00:44:15,728
Lord, we thank you for all
that you do and love you, Jesus name.

1150
00:44:15,784 --> 00:44:16,500
Amen.

1151
00:44:17,720 --> 00:44:20,384
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1152
00:44:20,432 --> 00:44:21,136
podcast.

1153
00:44:21,248 --> 00:44:23,900
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1154
00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:26,416
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1155
00:44:26,448 --> 00:44:30,202
and this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1156
00:44:30,346 --> 00:44:33,070
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1157
00:44:33,570 --> 00:44:38,794
You can also email me directly
at Josh Massaro Middletown BaptistChurch.com

1158
00:44:38,962 --> 00:44:42,506
if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1159
00:44:42,578 --> 00:44:45,550
along for future podcast and updates.

1160
00:44:45,890 --> 00:44:47,050
Thank you so much.

1161
00:44:47,170 --> 00:44:47,994
God Bless.

1162
00:44:48,122 --> 00:44:49,170
Have a wonderful day.