1 00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:12,780 I'm excited that Evan Shealy's gonna be a dad. 2 00:00:12,780 --> 00:00:14,140 And there's no joke about that. 3 00:00:14,140 --> 00:00:15,140 That's for real. 4 00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:16,140 That's happening. 5 00:00:16,140 --> 00:00:17,140 That's real life. 6 00:00:17,140 --> 00:00:18,140 That's exciting. 7 00:00:18,140 --> 00:00:19,400 God is so faithful, is He not? 8 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,300 And He's been, man, God has been so good to us this morning. 9 00:00:22,300 --> 00:00:28,180 It's better than a 54-yard kick with nine seconds left in the game. 10 00:00:28,180 --> 00:00:32,900 When I start talking about football, things are, things are, things are happening. 11 00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:34,300 God is good. 12 00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:35,300 God is good. 13 00:00:35,300 --> 00:00:36,300 Amen? 14 00:00:36,300 --> 00:00:37,300 Amen. 15 00:00:37,300 --> 00:00:41,880 If you're joining us on live stream, yes, this is Springhouse and I am Kevin O'Day 16 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,760 and we're glad that you're here. 17 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,840 Couple other things this morning. 18 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,480 Following this service, following right out those doors into the fellowship hall, we are 19 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:56,680 going to have a luncheon for those who are newer to Springhouse, want to meet our pastoral 20 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:57,680 team. 21 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,480 If you're new today or maybe you didn't register, but you'd like to stop in, we have plenty 22 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:02,480 of food. 23 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,000 We'd love you to come and hang out with us. 24 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,480 We want to get to know you, tell you a little bit about our church and, and just meet you 25 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:08,480 and talk with you. 26 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:10,320 So that will be immediately following. 27 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,440 Barbies said, please make sure you dismiss them out that backside door. 28 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:14,920 I'm probably going to forget later. 29 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,760 So go out that door at the end of the gathering, right through those double doors into the 30 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,460 fellowship hall, if you're participating in that. 31 00:01:20,460 --> 00:01:27,860 And then on Tuesday morning, if you are a business leader, manager, owner, aspiring 32 00:01:27,860 --> 00:01:29,460 leader in a business, would you raise your hand? 33 00:01:29,460 --> 00:01:31,540 Put them up high, put them up high. 34 00:01:31,540 --> 00:01:34,060 I'm a business leader, manager, owner. 35 00:01:34,060 --> 00:01:35,060 Okay. 36 00:01:35,060 --> 00:01:38,920 We have something called the business collective that meets on the second Tuesday of every 37 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:39,920 month. 38 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,020 And let me tell you, it is rich and it is powerful. 39 00:01:43,020 --> 00:01:49,820 There is a free breakfast for you and Joshua McLeod with alongside Justin Bashir co-lead 40 00:01:49,820 --> 00:01:55,160 this and I want to invite you eight o'clock on Tuesday morning here in the foyer to join 41 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:56,760 us for breakfast and be a part of that. 42 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,940 Even if you're an aspiring leader, I, every time I've heard Josh speak, Justin speak, 43 00:02:00,940 --> 00:02:02,300 it's been, it's been great. 44 00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:07,200 And so I want to invite you to that this Tuesday, if you have capacity at eight o'clock. 45 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,400 Does that sound good? 46 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:10,400 Okay. 47 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:16,920 We are, we are today going to be in Acts chapter nine and you all, so many of you, because 48 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,820 you've been following along with us knew that already. 49 00:02:19,820 --> 00:02:23,560 And you've read Acts chapter nine and you've done the exhaustive study on Acts chapter 50 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:24,560 nine. 51 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,860 So I really don't have to teach much because you've already done the work. 52 00:02:27,860 --> 00:02:28,860 Right. 53 00:02:28,860 --> 00:02:32,660 But because so many of you are following along with us, we had a scheduling change with our 54 00:02:32,660 --> 00:02:35,060 staff in the next few weeks. 55 00:02:35,060 --> 00:02:37,640 So I want you to continue to read along with us. 56 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:39,060 So I wanted to inform you about that. 57 00:02:39,060 --> 00:02:41,960 So today we're going to be in Acts chapter nine, but here's the schedule for the next 58 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,140 three weeks. 59 00:02:43,140 --> 00:02:48,040 Next week we'll actually jump to chapter 13 and then we're going to backtrack 12 and then 60 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:49,040 11. 61 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:50,040 Okay. 62 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,720 So if this week you'll jump to 13, then we got chapter 13, chapter 12, and then chapter 63 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:55,720 11. 64 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:56,720 Okay. 65 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:58,480 That's just because we had a little bit of a scheduling change that needed to happen 66 00:02:58,480 --> 00:02:59,800 with our speaking team. 67 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:00,800 Okay. 68 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:01,980 So that's the plan. 69 00:03:01,980 --> 00:03:05,440 And then also before we get into this, we will be reading Acts chapter nine. 70 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,480 And if you know Acts chapter nine, because you have read it, correct. 71 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,740 We're talking about probably one of the famous, one of the famous stories in scripture that 72 00:03:13,740 --> 00:03:17,740 we know about the, the moment where Jesus Christ encounters Saul. 73 00:03:17,740 --> 00:03:18,740 Right. 74 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:21,000 Well, I wanted to go and say this off the top. 75 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:27,660 I want to clean up perhaps a misperception or a misconception of Saul and Paul. 76 00:03:27,660 --> 00:03:28,660 Okay. 77 00:03:28,660 --> 00:03:32,400 Cause we're, we're heading into this, this, we're going to be talking about Saul today 78 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,640 and Saul and Paul, this Saul we're talking about, they're, they're the same person, Saul 79 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:38,080 and Paul. 80 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:44,680 A lot of believers have thought for, I was one of them that the name change happened 81 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,200 with this moment in scripture we're about to read. 82 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,180 And that's not actually the case. 83 00:03:49,180 --> 00:03:50,420 That was not written in scripture. 84 00:03:50,420 --> 00:03:54,400 Actually it's an Acts chapter 13, which we're talking about next week where Saul, the first 85 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:59,200 time we look at Saul's name being changed over to Paul or, or, or, or whatnot. 86 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,480 So I just wanted to clean it up because today we're going to use the name Saul because that's 87 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,120 what's written in the scripture. 88 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,980 And I didn't want you to be confused about who we're talking about. 89 00:04:07,980 --> 00:04:09,640 We're talking about one in the same person. 90 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:10,640 That sound good? 91 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:11,640 Are we all on the same page? 92 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:12,640 Okay, great. 93 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:17,600 Well, we're going to stand this morning and we're going to read as if your favorite football 94 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,700 team won the game. 95 00:04:20,700 --> 00:04:25,960 And if they didn't, proclaimed by faith next week. 96 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:26,960 Let's read together. 97 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:33,000 "Saul was still breathing murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. 98 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:38,940 He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that 99 00:04:38,940 --> 00:04:44,940 if he found any there who belonged to the way, whether men or women, he might take them 100 00:04:44,940 --> 00:04:47,540 as prisoners to Jerusalem. 101 00:04:47,540 --> 00:04:53,800 As he reared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 102 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:59,980 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute 103 00:04:59,980 --> 00:05:00,980 me?' 104 00:05:00,980 --> 00:05:02,980 'Why are you, Lord?' 105 00:05:02,980 --> 00:05:03,980 Saul asked. 106 00:05:03,980 --> 00:05:07,280 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 107 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:12,320 'Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.' 108 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:16,320 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. 109 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,980 They heard the sound, but they didn't see anyone. 110 00:05:19,980 --> 00:05:25,240 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. 111 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,700 So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 112 00:05:28,700 --> 00:05:33,720 For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. 113 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,600 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. 114 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,140 The Lord called to him in a vision, 'Ananias.' 115 00:05:41,140 --> 00:05:43,700 'Yes, Lord,' he answered. 116 00:05:43,700 --> 00:05:49,660 The Lord told him, 'Go to the house of Judas on straight street and ask for a man from 117 00:05:49,660 --> 00:05:53,800 Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 118 00:05:53,800 --> 00:06:00,100 In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hand on him to receive 119 00:06:00,100 --> 00:06:01,100 his sight. 120 00:06:01,100 --> 00:06:07,460 'Lord,' Ananias answered, 'I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he 121 00:06:07,460 --> 00:06:11,060 has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 122 00:06:11,060 --> 00:06:16,520 And he has come here with authority from the chief priest to arrest all who call on your 123 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:17,520 name.' 124 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:24,460 But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go, this man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name 125 00:06:24,460 --> 00:06:29,260 to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 126 00:06:29,260 --> 00:06:33,380 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.' 127 00:06:33,380 --> 00:06:37,220 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. 128 00:06:37,220 --> 00:06:44,020 Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on 129 00:06:44,020 --> 00:06:49,860 the road as you were coming here has sent me so that you may see again and be filled 130 00:06:49,860 --> 00:06:51,880 with the Holy Spirit.' 131 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:57,920 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again. 132 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:03,400 He got up and was baptized and after taking some food, he regrained his strength." 133 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:08,260 Father, I thank you for great readers and I thank you Lord for your holy word. 134 00:07:08,260 --> 00:07:09,920 I pray that it transform our lives. 135 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:15,120 I pray Lord that you would open our eyes today to see you and what you want to share with 136 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:17,520 us in Jesus' name. 137 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,000 Amen. 138 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:25,980 So we are continuing our series in Acts paired with the theme of his church. 139 00:07:25,980 --> 00:07:27,600 We're watching the Holy Spirit move. 140 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:33,920 How many know that the Holy Spirit wants to be an active part of your day in day out life? 141 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:38,140 The Holy Spirit wants to be an active part of your life. 142 00:07:38,140 --> 00:07:41,180 He wants to show you things that you're not seeing. 143 00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:44,460 He wants to blind you from things that you shouldn't be looking at. 144 00:07:44,460 --> 00:07:47,740 The Holy Spirit wants to be active in your life. 145 00:07:47,740 --> 00:07:53,700 And if we let him, he will do some real incredible things in us and through us. 146 00:07:53,700 --> 00:07:56,540 I was in an accident on Monday. 147 00:07:56,540 --> 00:07:59,400 Another accident, yes. 148 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:01,300 And it was not fun. 149 00:08:01,300 --> 00:08:07,260 A hornet fell on my face and flew on my face and I freaked out. 150 00:08:07,260 --> 00:08:10,180 And I'm glad nobody else was in the car with me because it would have been a real special 151 00:08:10,180 --> 00:08:11,740 moment for them. 152 00:08:11,740 --> 00:08:16,920 But I freaked out and I slapped this hornet off of my face and it landed in my shoe and 153 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,500 stung my foot. 154 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:23,020 And as it proceeded to sting my foot, I rammed my truck into a tree. 155 00:08:23,020 --> 00:08:31,460 And so there's my truck and it is getting the work necessary to fix it. 156 00:08:31,460 --> 00:08:34,100 I want us to start this morning with this. 157 00:08:34,100 --> 00:08:41,560 The smallest distractions are often the most destructive. 158 00:08:41,560 --> 00:08:45,940 The smallest distractions are often the most destructive. 159 00:08:45,940 --> 00:08:52,020 When we look at Saul, the top of our scripture says that he had been vomiting murderous threats 160 00:08:52,020 --> 00:08:53,900 against those who are following the way. 161 00:08:53,900 --> 00:08:59,060 And you might think to yourself, well, this isn't necessarily a small distraction. 162 00:08:59,060 --> 00:09:00,460 That seems pretty big. 163 00:09:00,460 --> 00:09:04,620 What I want us to understand is actually Saul was in the majority. 164 00:09:04,620 --> 00:09:06,500 He was not in the minority. 165 00:09:06,500 --> 00:09:07,980 The church was just starting. 166 00:09:07,980 --> 00:09:13,140 The church was beginning and believers were being added to the numbers every day. 167 00:09:13,140 --> 00:09:19,540 But Saul's mentality and his thought process, he actually was in the majority of what people 168 00:09:19,540 --> 00:09:22,360 thought about those who are following the way. 169 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:27,560 He just had the guts to get out and say, I'm gonna do something about this, including going 170 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:31,540 to the high priest and saying, could I have letters that gives me the authority to walk 171 00:09:31,540 --> 00:09:35,580 right up into the synagogue, right up into the churches and say, I'm gonna yank you out 172 00:09:35,580 --> 00:09:39,480 if you believe in this Jesus, if you believe in this resurrected Jesus. 173 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:41,540 And so Saul was ruthless. 174 00:09:41,540 --> 00:09:48,740 He was on fire for just going after those who had followed the way. 175 00:09:48,740 --> 00:09:53,460 And so he was distracted by what he could not really see. 176 00:09:53,460 --> 00:09:58,880 And can I tell you that sometimes even as believers, we are distracted and blinded by 177 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,640 what we cannot see, what we cannot see. 178 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:08,180 And so on the way on the road and on the way to Damascus, as he's going, the word tells 179 00:10:08,180 --> 00:10:12,640 us that a light appears, a bright light appears around him. 180 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:14,880 And it of course is the Lord Jesus. 181 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,540 And you know, there are portions of this scripture and all throughout scripture I find humorous, 182 00:10:18,540 --> 00:10:24,300 but the very man that he's persecuting is the man who appears before him in this moment. 183 00:10:24,300 --> 00:10:32,700 And he asked him, Jesus says, Saul, so why are you persecuting me? 184 00:10:32,700 --> 00:10:41,500 And I wonder how many of us need Jesus to ask that question of us in the way that we 185 00:10:41,500 --> 00:10:48,500 have chosen to not only live our lives, but we have chosen to remain blind though we have 186 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:51,900 been given the right to see. 187 00:10:51,900 --> 00:10:57,620 Saul, so why are you persecuting me? 188 00:10:57,620 --> 00:11:05,180 And Saul retorts, he answers, he says, who are you Lord? 189 00:11:05,180 --> 00:11:07,500 Who are you Lord? 190 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:12,840 I've resolved as a maturing Christian that I need to ask the question, who are you Lord? 191 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:14,380 Far more than I do. 192 00:11:14,380 --> 00:11:16,720 I need to ask the question, who are you Lord? 193 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,940 You know, I get to a place where I think I know him and I know him really well, and then 194 00:11:19,940 --> 00:11:23,500 he'll reveal something new about himself and in his character. 195 00:11:23,500 --> 00:11:27,580 Don't we ever get to a point where you think you've got all of the knowledge of who he 196 00:11:27,580 --> 00:11:28,580 is. 197 00:11:28,580 --> 00:11:33,640 He has so much more than you can even fathom on this, on this, on this earth and in this 198 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:34,640 world. 199 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:41,160 And Jesus answers, he says, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 200 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:45,660 And the word tells us that because of the light and because of his interaction, Saul 201 00:11:45,660 --> 00:11:47,980 was blinded for three days. 202 00:11:47,980 --> 00:11:52,180 Now what I want us to understand is we know that Saul was blinded for three days, but 203 00:11:52,180 --> 00:11:57,900 at the moment where his sight was taken away, that could have been eternity in his mind. 204 00:11:57,900 --> 00:12:02,040 He didn't know that three days there was going to be a man named Ananias coming around to 205 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:03,260 touch him. 206 00:12:03,260 --> 00:12:04,260 He was blinded. 207 00:12:04,260 --> 00:12:09,580 So for all intents and purposes, if you're putting yourself in his shoes, I'm blind. 208 00:12:09,580 --> 00:12:10,580 This is it. 209 00:12:10,580 --> 00:12:13,700 This is, this is the start of the rest of my life. 210 00:12:13,700 --> 00:12:18,020 And have you ever been in a situation where something extraordinary happens and you think 211 00:12:18,020 --> 00:12:20,700 it is the start of the rest of your life. 212 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:22,900 Something's taken away, something stolen from you. 213 00:12:22,900 --> 00:12:27,300 Some, some egregious act has taken place in your life, some relational conflict, and you 214 00:12:27,300 --> 00:12:30,940 begin to make up in your mind that this is now forever. 215 00:12:30,940 --> 00:12:35,820 But can I tell you that we have a glorious God who is awesome and wonderful and working 216 00:12:35,820 --> 00:12:40,760 on your behalf that just because something's going on today doesn't mean that it's forever, 217 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:45,140 that you're better is yet to come, that there's, that there is hope that you can lean into 218 00:12:45,140 --> 00:12:49,840 Christ Jesus, though you may not know the end for the beginning, you have a hope in 219 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:51,320 this savior. 220 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,860 You have a hope in this, in this savior. 221 00:12:54,860 --> 00:13:02,160 We want an experience with Jesus, but I want to ask you what if the most powerful experiences 222 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:07,560 in your life were the ones where Jesus took something from you rather than giving something 223 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:10,180 to you. 224 00:13:10,180 --> 00:13:16,080 With his desire for us to become more like him, he may choose to remove the thing that 225 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:21,800 is distracting you from him that you don't think is a distraction. 226 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:33,000 Your will, your rights, your comfortable lifestyle, your money, or a relationship. 227 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,020 But God would never want to take those things away from me. 228 00:13:37,020 --> 00:13:41,100 He absolutely would if they were in the throne of your life. 229 00:13:41,100 --> 00:13:43,220 We serve a jealous God. 230 00:13:43,220 --> 00:13:50,300 We serve a God who sees the end from the beginning and has an amazing plan for your life. 231 00:13:50,300 --> 00:13:53,180 He wants to be on the throne. 232 00:13:53,180 --> 00:13:57,680 He wants to be on the throne in your life and he's not going to share that seat with 233 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:02,640 anyone or anything. 234 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:08,520 So that we can get to a place where we can really see church in every situation. 235 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:14,360 Look for Jesus in every circumstance that you find yourself in. 236 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:21,100 Look for Jesus when you're tackling a hard question or even a decision, or maybe it's 237 00:14:21,100 --> 00:14:25,360 going to the grocery store and determining whether you need to buy this or that. 238 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:27,920 Look for Christ Jesus in the situation. 239 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,040 He will always present himself. 240 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,100 He can be found. 241 00:14:32,100 --> 00:14:34,080 He can be found. 242 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:39,080 The Holy Spirit gives us the power to see the things that we cannot see. 243 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,280 I worked at Chick-fil-A for a number of years. 244 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,920 And when I became a manager at the age of 16, I'd already been working there for a year 245 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:47,920 and a half. 246 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:52,600 And I remember my first night closing as a manager and being in that manager spot, the 247 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,240 owner came in and he said, I'm going to have you close the store and then I'm going to 248 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:57,280 come review what you've done. 249 00:14:57,280 --> 00:14:58,420 I'm going to come check it out. 250 00:14:58,420 --> 00:15:02,640 And so we had a team about five or six there and they usually stay till about 930. 251 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,480 I kept them there till 10 o'clock because I was going to have this place spick and span, 252 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,480 and I was going to make it look great for the owner when he came. 253 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,640 Well, the owner comes down at 10 o'clock and he says, Kevin, do you think you did a good 254 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:15,640 job? 255 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:16,640 I said, yes, sir. 256 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,080 The team and I, I think we executed this well. 257 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:19,080 I think we've gotten everything. 258 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,300 In fact, I think you're going to be so impressed with what we've done. 259 00:15:22,300 --> 00:15:27,300 Do you know that that man kept me there till 1 a.m. showing me everything that I did wrong 260 00:15:27,300 --> 00:15:29,640 and I missed and I had to clean it myself. 261 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,380 Can I tell you, I now have a curse in my life. 262 00:15:32,380 --> 00:15:36,960 When I walk into any environment, I see everything that is wrong with what's going on in the 263 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,800 room and I have to train my eyes to see the fruit. 264 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,480 I have to train my eyes to see the good. 265 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,820 And guys, is that not a Christian principle that we need to train our eyes to see the 266 00:15:46,820 --> 00:15:47,820 good? 267 00:15:47,820 --> 00:15:51,720 We need to train our eyes to see Jesus in the situations that we're in. 268 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:58,860 I have a propensity to see everything bad, but man, especially when it comes to looking 269 00:15:58,860 --> 00:16:02,720 at people, I hope that I can look and say, I see Jesus. 270 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,640 I see Jesus. 271 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:08,580 He's not hard to find. 272 00:16:08,580 --> 00:16:10,680 Have you ever been looking for something and it was in your hand? 273 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:11,680 Hey, where's my cell phone? 274 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,640 Have you seen my phone? 275 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:15,280 Have you seen my, where are my glasses? 276 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:16,760 You know, where are my, they're on your head. 277 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:17,760 Anybody, where are my keys? 278 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,700 And you're holding them, right? 279 00:16:20,700 --> 00:16:23,320 This is not hard to find. 280 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:24,320 He is not. 281 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,780 And what a privilege it is to look for Jesus. 282 00:16:27,780 --> 00:16:30,680 Where can I find Christ in this? 283 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:35,040 And most of the time, friends, it is not in the most obvious places. 284 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:40,560 Although once you find him, it's kind of like, how did I miss him? 285 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:41,560 Right? 286 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:46,160 Once you find the Lord, it's kind of like he was always there and I just, I can't believe 287 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:47,160 I didn't see him. 288 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:51,100 He was, he was always right there at the school. 289 00:16:51,100 --> 00:16:54,680 I played a game of hide and seek with the teenagers when I did lock-ins. 290 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,040 I used to do lock-ins, but I'm not a youth pastor anymore. 291 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:03,840 And I, and I, and I did a lock-in at the school and I hid in a great spot. 292 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:10,120 I hid at the top of a bookshelf in the library and I was just laying there and those teens 293 00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:12,320 circled that, that bookshelf. 294 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:15,660 I had to be a hundred times and I was right there. 295 00:17:15,660 --> 00:17:16,920 I was right there. 296 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:24,200 Well, about 10 or 15 minutes into the game, my weight took over and the bookshelf crashed 297 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,480 down and I fell. 298 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,180 And they said, "I couldn't believe you were there all the time." 299 00:17:30,180 --> 00:17:33,640 And I said, "Yeah, I was, I've been here the entire time. 300 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,080 I heard you searching. 301 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:36,920 I heard you looking saying, 'Would he be here? 302 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:37,920 Would he be here?'" 303 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,280 Guys, Jesus is not hard to find. 304 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,040 He's not, and he is in your situation. 305 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:46,560 He's not trying to not be found. 306 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,800 He wants to be found. 307 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:54,360 We look at Elijah and the story in the Old Testament, and we see him looking for the 308 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:58,540 Lord in the cave and, and the Lord provides a mighty wind and he provides an earthquake 309 00:17:58,540 --> 00:18:02,040 and he provides a fire, all spectacular things. 310 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:07,120 Can I tell you that most of the time, the Lord's not going to be found in the spectacular. 311 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:12,760 He's going to be found in those small moments, those mundane things. 312 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,260 This is why we don't come to a church where we just put, "Well, I could do fireworks. 313 00:18:17,260 --> 00:18:21,500 That's probably something I would do not to get your, not to get his attention or take 314 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:23,760 away from him, but that's because I use object lessons." 315 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,940 But we're not here to have a concert. 316 00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:31,920 We're not here, we're not here to, I mean, we want things done with excellent, but we're 317 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,800 not here to provide a show for you so you can keep your distance from Christ and go 318 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:40,120 home and live the same way that you've always lived. 319 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:44,280 We're here because we want to be sanctified as a church so that holiness can prevail and 320 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:48,840 that people can be added to the kingdom. 321 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,900 But in order to do that, we have to engage and look for Jesus Christ. 322 00:18:51,900 --> 00:18:52,900 This is what he says. 323 00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:58,340 He says in Jeremiah to the prophet, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with 324 00:18:58,340 --> 00:18:59,340 all of your heart." 325 00:18:59,340 --> 00:19:04,880 Also to Jeremiah, he says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden 326 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:06,580 things that you have not known." 327 00:19:06,580 --> 00:19:10,340 The book of Proverbs known as the book of wisdom, "I love those who love me," says the 328 00:19:10,340 --> 00:19:12,500 Lord, "and those who seek me," what? 329 00:19:12,500 --> 00:19:14,220 "They find me." 330 00:19:14,220 --> 00:19:15,680 Are you seeking the Lord? 331 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:17,980 Has anybody seen the movie The Matrix? 332 00:19:17,980 --> 00:19:23,740 It's an older movie now, but The Matrix, red pill, blue pill. 333 00:19:23,740 --> 00:19:28,540 Morpheus says this in the movie, he says this, "You take that blue pill, the story ends, 334 00:19:28,540 --> 00:19:31,100 you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. 335 00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:35,420 You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole really 336 00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:36,420 goes." 337 00:19:36,420 --> 00:19:38,420 This is the difference in the kingdom. 338 00:19:38,420 --> 00:19:41,080 After you get saved, you have an option. 339 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:42,340 You have a choice. 340 00:19:42,340 --> 00:19:47,180 You can continue to live your life blinded or you can wake up and realize that your life 341 00:19:47,180 --> 00:19:51,620 is far more than just the 80 years, 90 years that you have on this planet. 342 00:19:51,620 --> 00:19:56,420 I've showed this example a hundred times it seems, but this is not your only life. 343 00:19:56,420 --> 00:19:58,060 It's not just here. 344 00:19:58,060 --> 00:20:02,460 People who walk around blind believe that this is the extent of our lives, but this 345 00:20:02,460 --> 00:20:04,680 is just a portion of it. 346 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:05,780 This is a portion of it. 347 00:20:05,780 --> 00:20:07,900 What really happens is this eternity. 348 00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:13,760 Whenever you decide to believe, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, allow the Holy Spirit 349 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:18,040 to open your eyes, you realize that what you do in this red part determines what happens 350 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,820 in the white part. 351 00:20:19,820 --> 00:20:25,200 Your eternity is secure in him and you have an eternity to live with him. 352 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:28,260 What are you doing with your limited time here on earth, friends? 353 00:20:28,260 --> 00:20:29,260 What are you doing? 354 00:20:29,260 --> 00:20:30,260 How are you allowing? 355 00:20:30,260 --> 00:20:35,700 Are you walking around blind or are you allowing the Lord to open your eyes, to see the things 356 00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:38,060 that you need to change to become more like him? 357 00:20:38,060 --> 00:20:46,700 But more than that, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, I want you to use me, use me as a vessel to 358 00:20:46,700 --> 00:20:51,140 proclaim your gospel, to advance your kingdom. 359 00:20:51,140 --> 00:20:55,920 Unfortunately, many believers, even though they've received their sight, choose to walk 360 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,820 around as if they're still blind. 361 00:20:58,820 --> 00:21:05,660 May I submit to you this morning that you cannot follow someone you choose not to see. 362 00:21:05,660 --> 00:21:11,420 And the Holy Spirit will lead us to Jesus every single time because the Holy Spirit 363 00:21:11,420 --> 00:21:13,180 is a revealer. 364 00:21:13,180 --> 00:21:15,260 He reveals things to us. 365 00:21:15,260 --> 00:21:17,980 He reveals Christ to us. 366 00:21:17,980 --> 00:21:20,640 He opens our eyes to see the reality. 367 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:27,960 And once we see the reality, we stop our destructive behavior. 368 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,620 And so this man appears on the scene by the name of Ananias. 369 00:21:31,620 --> 00:21:34,980 Now, this is not the same Ananias we talked about several weeks ago. 370 00:21:34,980 --> 00:21:37,340 He's dead. 371 00:21:37,340 --> 00:21:38,340 He's dead. 372 00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:39,340 Okay. 373 00:21:39,340 --> 00:21:40,340 He died. 374 00:21:40,340 --> 00:21:42,180 Do you know that people can have the same name, right? 375 00:21:42,180 --> 00:21:44,980 This is a different Ananias, okay? 376 00:21:44,980 --> 00:21:48,760 And Ananias is on the scene and I love what happens here. 377 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:55,340 And it's in the small things if we pay attention in scripture, the Lord appears to Saul and 378 00:21:55,340 --> 00:21:57,220 he says, "Saul, Saul." 379 00:21:57,220 --> 00:22:00,700 And his response is, "Who are you, Lord?" 380 00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:05,180 And when he says, "Ananias," Ananias says, "Yes, Lord." 381 00:22:05,180 --> 00:22:11,780 Oh, that we would know the Holy Spirit's voice so well that our first response is, "Yes, 382 00:22:11,780 --> 00:22:12,780 Lord." 383 00:22:12,780 --> 00:22:13,780 "Yes, Lord." 384 00:22:13,780 --> 00:22:14,780 "I'm listening, Lord. 385 00:22:14,780 --> 00:22:17,660 I want to hear your — I want to hear what you have to say." 386 00:22:17,660 --> 00:22:22,500 And just like Pastor Ronnie said last week with that joke, "Knock, knock, who's there? 387 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:24,740 Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit who?" 388 00:22:24,740 --> 00:22:32,100 It takes a cultivation of a lifestyle to practice listening to the Holy Spirit's voice in order 389 00:22:32,100 --> 00:22:34,700 to know when he's speaking to us. 390 00:22:34,700 --> 00:22:36,540 He wants to speak to you. 391 00:22:36,540 --> 00:22:39,640 Do you know what the Holy Spirit's voice sounds like? 392 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,920 Ananias did. 393 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:48,360 And I love that Saul having no idea that he wasn't going to be blind in three days is 394 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:54,060 being taken to Damascus and the Lord is in the wing space prepping an Ananias for to 395 00:22:54,060 --> 00:22:58,740 deliver Saul out of his blindness and launch him into his ministry. 396 00:22:58,740 --> 00:23:03,260 How many Ananiases do we have in here where God is speaking to you and he has something 397 00:23:03,260 --> 00:23:09,240 for you in the preparation for someone else, in the preparation for you to be a vessel 398 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:14,020 to go and speak something to someone else so that their ministry can begin, so that 399 00:23:14,020 --> 00:23:16,100 thing can change in their life? 400 00:23:16,100 --> 00:23:20,060 Are we listening to the Lord with the spirit of an posture of, "Yes, Lord. 401 00:23:20,060 --> 00:23:23,940 I am listening to you." 402 00:23:23,940 --> 00:23:30,300 Go to Judas' house on Straight Street and ask for Saul, "I'm going to use you to restore 403 00:23:30,300 --> 00:23:31,300 his sight." 404 00:23:31,300 --> 00:23:37,020 Now, Saul has not written these letters to these churches yet. 405 00:23:37,020 --> 00:23:39,780 He's barely been introduced to Christ. 406 00:23:39,780 --> 00:23:42,340 We don't have the testimony yet of Saul. 407 00:23:42,340 --> 00:23:44,700 You know what we know about Saul? 408 00:23:44,700 --> 00:23:46,580 He's wanting to murder some Christians. 409 00:23:46,580 --> 00:23:48,620 And you know what he wants to do with Ananias? 410 00:23:48,620 --> 00:23:50,120 He wants to kill him. 411 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:53,520 That would be Saul's choice for Ananias. 412 00:23:53,520 --> 00:24:03,080 And so Ananias kind of goes, "Uh, Lord," and this is so funny to me, "Lord, do you know 413 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:11,940 that Saul is like, he went to the high priest and got a letter and permission to go in and 414 00:24:11,940 --> 00:24:15,840 yank the believers out of the church and arrest them. 415 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:20,480 Like do you know, like, 'Lord, excuse me, I hear what you're saying, but do you understand 416 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:28,360 that Saul, he might hurt me, he might hurt me.'" 417 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,740 And I love the Lord's response here. 418 00:24:30,740 --> 00:24:34,780 He says, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." 419 00:24:34,780 --> 00:24:43,260 Oh, that's comforting, Lord. 420 00:24:43,260 --> 00:24:45,460 I'm going to show him how much he has to suffer for my name. 421 00:24:45,460 --> 00:24:52,600 I want you to go tell the guy who wants to kill you that you're going to suffer, that 422 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,880 you're going to suffer. 423 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,960 But I love that Ananias's yes was on the table. 424 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:06,180 Because when I read the scriptures, when I read these letters that Paul wrote, when I 425 00:25:06,180 --> 00:25:12,140 read these, that when I see that believers throughout the course of thousands of years 426 00:25:12,140 --> 00:25:17,280 have been added to the kingdom, guess what, Ananias's fingerprints are all over it because 427 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,840 he chose to have a yes on the table. 428 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:25,560 So when you render a yes to the Lord, you are a part of a greater picture of advancing 429 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:29,080 the kingdom of God. 430 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:37,040 Over in Judges, there is a guy by the name of Gideon. 431 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,240 And Gideon, I love this story. 432 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:45,940 And the Lord has told him to go out and kill some folks and he's scared. 433 00:25:45,940 --> 00:25:48,900 And he says, I don't know if it's really you, Lord, this is what I'm going to do. 434 00:25:48,900 --> 00:25:50,940 I'm going to put this fleece out. 435 00:25:50,940 --> 00:25:55,920 And if you make the fleece wet and the ground dry, then I will know it is you. 436 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:57,000 How many have ever tested the law? 437 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:58,000 Be honest. 438 00:25:58,000 --> 00:25:59,000 I've tested the Lord God in that. 439 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,360 I just said, Lord, if you'll do this. 440 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:05,360 Well, Gideon goes out and it's exactly like he said it would be. 441 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:06,720 Exactly like this. 442 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:10,320 Now, I don't know if anybody in here is like Gideon and Kevin O'Day, but then the next 443 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:15,160 day he said, you know what, Lord, I just want to make absolutely sure. 444 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:19,640 So let's do the opposite here, Lord, this time you make the ground wet and the fleece 445 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:20,640 dry. 446 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,060 And then I will know that I know that I know that it's you. 447 00:26:24,060 --> 00:26:26,440 The next day he gets up and guess what? 448 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:27,440 It's exactly that way. 449 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,840 Now, I have no problem with laying out fleeces, but let me tell you something. 450 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,920 God answers that fleece, you better do what he tells you to do. 451 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:42,240 Now, if anybody is still as weak as Gideon and Kevin O'Day, he musters 32,000 men to 452 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,040 go out to fight this battle. 453 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,400 And the Lord says, no, that's too many. 454 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:50,600 You're going to have to give up some of them. 455 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:51,600 So, okay. 456 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:52,600 All right. 457 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:53,600 I hear you, Lord. 458 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:54,600 Okay. 459 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:55,600 I know that's a bit aggressive. 460 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:56,600 10,000. 461 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:57,600 Let's get them out of the way. 462 00:26:57,600 --> 00:26:58,600 No, that's too many. 463 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:06,520 Let's go down to 300 because if you go out with 300 men, then when you're victorious, 464 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,100 I get the glory says the Lord. 465 00:27:09,100 --> 00:27:10,100 I get the glory. 466 00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:14,040 Guys, when we are looking for Christ, when we were looking for the Holy Spirit in our 467 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:19,360 circumstances and situations, it's always going to be in a situation where he gets the 468 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:20,360 glory. 469 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:26,280 Guys, unfortunately, I don't believe that God considers our circumstances as a prerequisite 470 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:31,600 for your obedience to him because a lion doesn't bother our Lord. 471 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,680 A fiery furnace does not bother the Lord. 472 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,800 The Red Sea is nothing for our God. 473 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,960 And so he wants his people to rise up in faith. 474 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,800 The book of Hebrews says without faith, it is what? 475 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:43,800 Impossible. 476 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:45,600 Can you say impossible? 477 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:47,640 Impossible to please the Lord. 478 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:54,280 We want to be a people of faith who please the Lord, but that takes us listening to the 479 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:59,520 voice of the Holy Spirit when he opens our eyes to see the things the way he sees them 480 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:05,040 and not the way we choose to see them in our flesh. 481 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:09,080 We have this misperception that God will never give you more than you can handle. 482 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:11,640 That is baloney. 483 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:13,120 That is absolute baloney. 484 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:14,240 He'd never give you Aaron. 485 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:15,600 He'll never give you more than you handle. 486 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,400 You just keep living that way. 487 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,920 You just keep carrying that yourself. 488 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:21,340 Are you kidding me? 489 00:28:21,340 --> 00:28:28,300 If God only gave you what you could handle, then you would have no need for God. 490 00:28:28,300 --> 00:28:33,400 And he is a God who desires to be needed and we need him. 491 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:38,120 You are going friends to be asked to suffer for Christ. 492 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,480 Ananias, you're going to be asked to suffer for Christ. 493 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:47,960 Jesus said, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross 494 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:48,960 and follow me. 495 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:55,640 And when you get up in the morning, you have flesh desires and Jesus is asking you to deny 496 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,040 your flesh, to deny the things that you want to do. 497 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,320 When I wake up in the morning, I want number one priority be Kevin. 498 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,240 That's if I'm honest with myself, it's like, what do I want to do? 499 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:06,920 How's my day going to go? 500 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:08,640 How do I want to interact? 501 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:13,240 And I have to quickly first thing in the morning, surrender and deny myself. 502 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,620 I have to quickly in the morning say, God, you've got to have this day because I know 503 00:29:16,620 --> 00:29:22,120 if I take it, I'm gonna mess it up really, really bad. 504 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:27,900 Paul would come to write this very Saul that's been persecuting Christians and now is blind. 505 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:30,800 He writes this in a letter to the Galatians. 506 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:32,660 I have been crucified with Christ. 507 00:29:32,660 --> 00:29:35,960 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who is in me. 508 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:42,040 And then he would write to the Philippians for to me to live is Christ and to die is 509 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:43,680 gain. 510 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:55,160 Guys, do we have a heart posture that says to live is Christ, to die is gain. 511 00:29:55,160 --> 00:30:04,140 And so Ananias, he finds brother Saul and when he finds him, he boldly proclaims what 512 00:30:04,140 --> 00:30:06,280 the Lord told him. 513 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:10,340 And the Lord meets them there and he says, I'm not just here. 514 00:30:10,340 --> 00:30:11,340 Listen to this. 515 00:30:11,340 --> 00:30:15,060 I'm not just here to restore your sight. 516 00:30:15,060 --> 00:30:21,640 I'm here so that you may see and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 517 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:25,360 You see Saul, it's not enough for you to set, retain your sight. 518 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:27,460 It's not enough for you to see. 519 00:30:27,460 --> 00:30:32,760 You need the power of the Holy Spirit because God has some churches that he's gonna use 520 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,760 you to write some letters to. 521 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:39,900 He's going to use you, he's gonna have you thrown into prison for proclaiming the way, 522 00:30:39,900 --> 00:30:41,600 the truth and the life. 523 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:46,040 You're gonna need some supernatural strength that you don't have within yourself. 524 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:51,880 You need the Holy Spirit and friends, believers, can I tell you, you need the Holy Spirit. 525 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,080 You need the Holy Spirit in your life. 526 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:59,120 You do not have the strength to suffer for Jesus the way he's asking you to, but the 527 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,080 Holy Spirit gives you the strength. 528 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:06,440 And thus this begins a new life for Saul, a life filled with the Holy Spirit. 529 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:12,460 And I'll tell you, there's nothing better than having a life filled with the Holy Spirit. 530 00:31:12,460 --> 00:31:17,800 Ananias could have justified his way out of obeying the Lord. 531 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:22,860 In fact, I believe if Ananias was here today, I believe some of us would tell Ananias, it's 532 00:31:22,860 --> 00:31:27,300 not God's will for you to go to Saul. 533 00:31:27,300 --> 00:31:30,220 God would not want you to, I mean, do you know that he could arrest you and throw you 534 00:31:30,220 --> 00:31:31,220 in the jail? 535 00:31:31,220 --> 00:31:32,220 Surely there's another way. 536 00:31:32,220 --> 00:31:33,220 Don't worry about going. 537 00:31:33,220 --> 00:31:36,200 I don't, I don't really resonate with, and what we're actually saying is I don't have 538 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:40,340 the faith to believe that God said what he said. 539 00:31:40,340 --> 00:31:46,520 And because of my lack of faith, I'm going to tear down your, your faith. 540 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,520 Always follow the voice of the Holy Spirit. 541 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:54,080 Always follow the voice of the Holy Spirit. 542 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,240 Bruce Coble, this is Bruce Coble. 543 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,360 He was our mission pastor for two decades, a little over two decades. 544 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,920 And I, he told me a story once and I'm going to share it with you. 545 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:10,460 I've shared it before, but he said, in listening to the Holy Spirit, he painted this picture 546 00:32:10,460 --> 00:32:13,300 of a catastrophe that had happened. 547 00:32:13,300 --> 00:32:18,620 And in this catastrophe, there was a young girl along the way who needed a cup of water. 548 00:32:18,620 --> 00:32:22,960 And the Holy Spirit has told me, I want you to go take this girl a cup of water. 549 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:27,480 And so I've got this cup of water, but along the path, there are these casualties from 550 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:29,080 this accident. 551 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:34,120 And to my left would be, let's say a woman whose arm has literally blown off because 552 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:38,340 of this, this, this, this, this massive explosion that has happened. 553 00:32:38,340 --> 00:32:40,960 And she's screaming out to me for help. 554 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,060 She's screaming out and calling me by name. 555 00:32:44,060 --> 00:32:47,920 And there would be a man over here who would need something else and he would be crawling 556 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,920 out to me and I might even have what he needs on my person. 557 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,720 The question is, am I going to go help those people or am I going to, am I going to do 558 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,660 what the Holy Spirit's told me to do? 559 00:32:58,660 --> 00:33:00,080 And that's hard. 560 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:01,160 Why? 561 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:05,760 Because these people need me. 562 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:09,900 But my job and my role is to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. 563 00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:14,600 Because you see, by my choice to obey the Holy Spirit and what he's asked me to do, 564 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,000 I trust him with this lady and this man. 565 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:23,760 But when I go and I try to get into this situation with this woman and this man, when the Holy 566 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:30,840 Spirit hasn't told me to do that, then I don't just cause mess and wreak havoc in their lives. 567 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:37,000 I wreak havoc in my own because I'm listening to my own voice. 568 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,360 We can trust the Holy Spirit. 569 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:44,320 We can trust his voice and we can do what he tells us to do. 570 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:49,000 And I would argue that probably the harder thing is for us not to do the things he's 571 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:53,000 telling us not to do. 572 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:57,840 And so what I want us to understand today is you have a choice. 573 00:33:57,840 --> 00:33:59,840 The Holy Spirit is not a manipulator. 574 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,040 He doesn't force you to do anything. 575 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:04,620 Ananias had a choice. 576 00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:07,760 He stated his case, but he had a choice. 577 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,020 And you too have a choice. 578 00:34:10,020 --> 00:34:12,680 And the choice really boils down to two things. 579 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:16,640 I will obey or I won't obey. 580 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:21,440 I will obey or I won't obey. 581 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:27,360 Comfortable circumstances are not a prerequisite for our obedience to the Lord. 582 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:31,440 I don't believe that the Lord changes his mind based on our circumstance, but he looks 583 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,160 for our faith. 584 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:35,720 You have a choice. 585 00:34:35,720 --> 00:34:37,120 You have a choice. 586 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:43,980 And with that choice, the Holy Spirit empowers us to do hard things. 587 00:34:43,980 --> 00:34:46,780 He empowers us to do hard things. 588 00:34:46,780 --> 00:34:47,960 Worship team, you can make your way back. 589 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:50,640 I'm going to close with this story. 590 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:52,120 Well this. 591 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:55,720 On Wednesdays, our staff meets in here. 592 00:34:55,720 --> 00:35:01,640 It's huge on my heart that the pastoral team at this church meets regularly and prays together. 593 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:03,060 And thankfully we all meet. 594 00:35:03,060 --> 00:35:04,060 We are all here. 595 00:35:04,060 --> 00:35:07,420 We all meet together and we pray for you and for the church. 596 00:35:07,420 --> 00:35:14,640 And this last Wednesday, I asked everyone to bring an answer to the question, "When 597 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:17,760 was the last time you were wrong?" 598 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:21,880 When was the last time you were wrong? 599 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:22,960 And we went around the circle. 600 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:25,480 We shared and had a time of fellowship together. 601 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:32,600 And one of the pieces of conversation that happened in that had to do with my position 602 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:37,760 here as lead pastor and leading from a vulnerable point of view. 603 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:41,720 And guys, can I just tell you, I hate it. 604 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:45,680 I hate illuminating my mess for you guys. 605 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:51,840 You know, it's like, Lord, what mess do you want to eliminate for me, you know, in me? 606 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:54,140 But it's part of what I feel like I'm called to do. 607 00:35:54,140 --> 00:35:57,920 And so I'm gonna get real vulnerable with you guys here for a minute. 608 00:35:57,920 --> 00:35:58,920 Okay. 609 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:03,300 Something happened this very recently. 610 00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:10,200 And I, a group of guys, they were talking, they were bantering back and forth and just 611 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:11,400 chumming it up and whatnot. 612 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,860 And my name got brought up in that group. 613 00:36:14,860 --> 00:36:23,760 And in this group was somebody I care so much about, deep love for this guy. 614 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:29,760 And so in the context of the conversation, my name got brought up and they started to 615 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,820 say some real hurtful things about me. 616 00:36:32,820 --> 00:36:38,080 And what they didn't know is they were doing that around students at the school. 617 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:39,380 This was late in the afternoon. 618 00:36:39,380 --> 00:36:44,280 And one of the students was recording the conversation. 619 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,360 And so I, this is fresh off the press. 620 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:53,320 And so the student apologized and said, I think that you need to hear this, especially 621 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:56,840 because of who was in the conversation. 622 00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:59,240 And guys, it crushed me. 623 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:05,120 It crushed me because I never thought that this person could say or be a part of conversations, 624 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:10,400 really none of them, but especially this person I care so deeply about. 625 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:18,260 And so after listening to it for like 40 times, hoping that there's some, like, I missed something. 626 00:37:18,260 --> 00:37:20,360 There's this can't be, this person loves me. 627 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,800 I know I just, and it's just, there's no way around it. 628 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:28,080 I just went to the Lord and I said, Lord, I'm going to have to talk to this person about 629 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:29,080 this. 630 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,880 I don't know how to do it. 631 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:39,720 And in tears, as I'm crying there, the Lord said, I want you to love them above the hurt. 632 00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:45,960 And I said, Lord, but when I look at them, I'm going to know that they have, or they 633 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,400 have the propensity to say and do. 634 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:55,400 And the Lord said, but yeah, when you look at them and you know that, you also know how 635 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:59,200 much you actually love them. 636 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:03,440 And so I haven't shared that with the people or the person I don't plan to. 637 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:09,520 I have just chosen to love harder and love deeper because the Holy Spirit empowers me 638 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:12,920 to do hard things. 639 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:20,520 Guys, the Holy Spirit will empower you to do hard things. 640 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:26,000 If you allow them to open your eyes, allow yourself to be used by Him. 641 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,120 You'll see Jesus. 642 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:30,640 And He's really the only one that matters in the first place. 643 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:33,520 Would you stand with me? 644 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:38,680 Those who are ministering to people, if you'll come forward, I don't know if some of you 645 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:45,520 are hurting today or you need a special touch from the Lord today. 646 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:49,160 But if that's you, I invite you to come. 647 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:54,920 You can leave here the same way you came, or you can leave a changed person because 648 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:57,620 of the Holy Spirit, not because of anything these people have done. 649 00:38:57,620 --> 00:39:00,720 They're just going to go to the Holy Spirit with you. 650 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:03,720 So let's worship together and do some business with the Lord. 651 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:04,220 Amen. 652 00:39:04,220 --> 00:39:05,220 Amen.