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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.

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Let's look into the Bible and
see what God has for us here today.

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Well, we're going to be here
in the Book of Acts, Acts, Chapter

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28.

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We have come to the last
chapter here.

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28 chapters later, we are
going to conclude our study here

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in the Book of Acts.

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Where did we leave?

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Where did we leave Paul?

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Does anyone remember what
happened to him last week?

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We left him in a place.

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Does anyone remember what
happened to him?

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Anyone want to take a guess
what happened to him?

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He was shipwrecked.

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That's right.

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So if you remember, and we're
going to go back a few sermons.

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Paul goes to Jerusalem.

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He was bound by the Spirit to
go to Jerusalem to preach the gospel.

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As he's in Jerusalem, he
preaches the gospel and his own people

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subdue him.

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His own people seize him and
throw him into jail.

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And as he's there, he's being
tried as someone who's causing an

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insurrection, even though he wasn't.

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And then what happened is, is
that the Jewish people turned him

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over to Roman control.

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He was shipped up to a place
called Caesarea.

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He was there for two years and
still really didn't get any answers.

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In the meantime, though, he's
praying, he's trusting.

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God spoke to him and gave him
comfort and security in his calling.

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And Paul knew that it was not
only his goal to preach the gospel

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to those people there in
Jerusalem and also to Rome, but it

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was also his.

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His.

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His command.

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God commanded him.

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God called him and directed
him to do that.

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We're going to talk a little
bit more about that as we go along.

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So after those years passed,
Paul appeals to Caesar.

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He says, I want to talk to Caesar.

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I want to go before him.

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And we know that that was the
highest authority of the land, earthly

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authority, so to speak.

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And he was going to preach the
gospel there in Rome, and so they

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sent him there.

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And last chapter, chapter 27,
we saw that as they were going on

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the ship, there was a lot of difficulty.

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But ultimately, the big
difficulty that we talked about last

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week was the storm that came.

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And in the midst of the storm,
Paul and the rest of the people on

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the ship were shipwrecked.

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And they were shipwrecked in
this place called Malta, which we're

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going to be talking about here
this evening.

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And we talked about how Paul
was able to overcome the difficulties

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of the shipwreck because his
heart or his soul was anchored in

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Jesus Christ.

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And there's a lot of things in
our life that can shake the ship,

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so to speak.

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And, and we can have a lot of
things in our life that can cause

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us doubt, fear, confusion even
in many cases, fear to the place

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where we would quit.

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And we see Paul moving forward.

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We see Paul in the sense of
the fact that he says, have joy,

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Be, be, be joyful in this.

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He says, have good cheer
because no one's going to die.

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God's made a promise and he's
going to keep his word.

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And, and at the very end he
explains basically this, that God

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is going to keep his word.

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And he does.

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And so though they are
shipwrecked, though they go through

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this huge trial and they're
marooned on this island, God is faithful.

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They all escape.

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And God is true to his word.

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So we're going to pick up here
in chapter 28.

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So so far Paul has been
seized, subdued, shipwrecked.

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And in this chapter we're
going to see that he's snake bitten.

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And we're gonna talk about the
implication with that.

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And so I, I have written down
here in my notes.

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Paul was seized, subdued,
shipwrecked, snake bitten, but he

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was safely secured in the
salvation and sanctification of his

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Savior.

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And so we're gonna see Paul go
through all of these hardships here

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in these last few chapters of
the book of Acts.

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But through all this, Paul is secure.

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He's safely secured in his
salvation and his sanctification.

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We, we see that he is grounded
in the truth of God.

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So here in verse number one,
it says, and when they were escaped,

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so they escaped the shipwreck.

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Then they knew that the island
was called Melita or, or we know

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it today as Malta.

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So they come to this island,
verse 2.

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And the barbarous people
showed us no little kindness.

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So these people that live
there, on the other side of this

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island, no little kindness
essentially means that they were,

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they showed compassion to
them, they, they showed hospitality

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to Paul and the rest of the
people on the ship.

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And so that was a blessing.

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No doubt they might have
questioned whether or not these people

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are going to be kind to them,
but nonetheless they are.

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So it says, they showed them
no little kindness, for they kindled

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a fire and received us,
everyone, because of the present

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rain and because of the cold.

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So if it wasn't enough, that
Paul was shipwrecked.

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It's now raining and it's cold.

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So if anyone had a right to
complain here at this place, this

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place, it was Paul.

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I mean, he could have been
like, hey, you know what, Lord, I

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give up.

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This is enough.

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I'm shipwrecked.

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I'm cold, it's raining.

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I'm with these barbarians
here, don't even know anything about

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them.

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They could kill me.

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And so there's a temptation
here, possibly for Paul to turn his

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back to the call of preaching
the gospel, to live and enjoy.

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And so here we see that Paul
is being given grace by the Lord

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and by extension, given grace
by these people on this island.

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And so one after another, one
issue after another issue after another

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issue, Paul is facing all
these things, but we see him staying

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steadfast in the truth of his call.

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Verse 3.

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And when Paul had gathered a
bundle of sticks, and so, you know,

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he could have been sitting on
that island complaining, he there,

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there were over 200 people on
that ship.

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He could have just said, hey,
they're going to go do the work.

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But no, Paul, always as a
servant to other people, is out gathering

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sticks for the fire.

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He's doing his work as a
servant of the Lord.

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He's trying to minister to people.

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And so the.

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The great apostle Paul, he
gathers wood for the fire so that

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other people can be warm.

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Paul is showing a servant's
heart in the midst of difficulty.

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And I want to pause right
there because I think there's a lot

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to learn from that.

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I, I know it's just a.

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What we would call a.

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A, you know, a narrative.

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Basically.

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They're just explaining here,
Luke and Holy Spirit are explaining

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in this case, what Paul was doing.

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But I think there's a lesson
to be learned because for me, it's

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easy to serve other people.

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It's easy to do the tasks that
are in front of me when everything's

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going my way.

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You know, like if.

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If everyone's kind to me, it's
easy for me to serve other people

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when, when everything is going
according to plan.

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It's easy for me to be what we
would consider to be selfless.

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But when the struggles come,
the temptation is to turn inward

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and become selfish.

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Well, I can't help those people.

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I can't do that for them,
because look at all the things that

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I have before me.

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And I think that's really when
the rubber meets the road.

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Are we going to be willing to
serve others and gather the sticks

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if we're going through a
difficulty in Our life.

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I know that there's going to
be some times where we need to pause

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and we need to take care of
the things and the matters at hand

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in our own life, whether it be
spiritual or physical.

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But I'm going to tell you that
as a believer, our service is not

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supposed to quit when things
get difficult.

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That's the true test and
whether or not we want to have a

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servant's heart.

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And so Paul is going to go
collect sticks.

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And we would think, okay, he's
in prison for doing right.

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Remember, it was his plan not
to go on the ship.

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If you remember, he said,
guys, the weather's really bad.

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Let's not go.

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So it wasn't a choice that he made.

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Sometimes we find ourselves in
difficult situations because of bad

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decisions that we make.

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Paul actually said, let's not go.

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But they didn't listen to him.

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So.

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So he could have a lot of
excuses now.

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He could say, well, I was
preaching the gospel and I got wrongly

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accused and I got thrown in prison.

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I told them not to go on the ship.

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I knew that it was going to be
bad, but yet nonetheless, they forced

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me to go.

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And now I'm shipwrecked, and
now I'm doing something good by trying

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to help them.

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Now what happens, we see
something very interesting happens

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here, Mike.

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This is one of Micah's
favorite passages.

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And when Paul had gathered a
bundle of snakes sticks and laid

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them on the fire, there came a
viper out of the heat, a snake out

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of the heat, and fastened on
his hand.

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Interesting.

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So after all of this, after
everything that Paul is doing, he

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gets bit by a venomous snake.

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We.

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We know it's venomous by
context because we see the natives

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here are expecting him to die.

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Go on a little bit further here.

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And when the barbarian saw the
venomous beast hang on his hand,

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they said among themselves, no
doubt this man is a murderer.

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So now again, he's being
falsely accused because of a wrong

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situation in his life.

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Their immediate assumption is
as, wow, he's going through a hardship.

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He must be a murderer.

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He must be a bad guy.

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He's getting paid for his wrongdoings.

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It says, no doubt this man is
a murderer, whom though he hath escaped

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the sea.

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So basically, he was a lucky
guy to escape the difficulty of the

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sea.

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Yet vengeance.

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And by the way, in the
original Greek, this is a reference

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to a Greek God or a false God
that was the God of essentially vengeance

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or repeal, repaying of.

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Of debt, of hard times and bad things.

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It says.

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So obviously they said it's
it's vengeance catching up with him.

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Vengeance suffereth not to live.

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This.

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This false God is not going to
allow him to live.

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And so, interestingly enough,
they say there's.

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There's this guy, he got
lucky, he gets bit by viper.

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This is obviously the goddess
of justice really paying Paul to

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do, even though Paul didn't do
anything wrong.

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And then it says verse five,
and he shook off the beast into the

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fire and felt no harm.

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Now, we're going to stop there
because I thought that this was a

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perfect time to do an object
lesson, a sermon analogy.

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I don't do this very often,
but as many of you know, Micah, he

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loves snakes.

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And some of you have seen
Micah carrying, like, rubber snakes

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around, and he loves these
rubber snakes.

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And Mike has been begging us
for a long time.

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He's like, can I just get a
real snake?

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And so I need to have a time
of confession.

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Growing up, I had a pet snake.

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So as a dad who had a pet
snake myself, you know, dad wants

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to get the snake where mom
says, no, we can't have that.

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00:10:48,140 --> 00:10:50,140
But, you know, we're telling
Mike, if you're.

244
00:10:50,140 --> 00:10:50,500
If you're.

245
00:10:50,500 --> 00:10:52,900
If you're good, you know, maybe.

246
00:10:52,900 --> 00:10:53,900
Maybe you can get one.

247
00:10:53,900 --> 00:10:54,820
So he goes to camp.

248
00:10:55,540 --> 00:10:57,300
And of course, he is.

249
00:10:57,300 --> 00:10:58,060
His first time at camp.

250
00:10:58,060 --> 00:10:58,820
He did really well.

251
00:10:59,140 --> 00:11:04,980
So I thought I would bring
tonight here what we got from Micah.

252
00:11:05,460 --> 00:11:06,020
So we.

253
00:11:06,020 --> 00:11:11,060
We have here in this box,
Micah's snake.

254
00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,400
So how many of you have ever
heard of a snake handling church?

255
00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:18,960
Well, we're about to be one here.

256
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:20,760
You want to look in here?

257
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,960
Okay, well, it's not a
venomous snake.

258
00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:25,560
I promise you.

259
00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:26,720
It's not a venomous snake.

260
00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:29,920
So should I get it out?

261
00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:32,640
Some of you are getting really
uncomfortable here.

262
00:11:37,290 --> 00:11:38,330
No, it's not really real.

263
00:11:39,690 --> 00:11:40,330
Micah.

264
00:11:40,650 --> 00:11:41,970
Micah had a snake here tonight.

265
00:11:41,970 --> 00:11:44,050
I'm like, micah, you should
put that up here, and we should pretend

266
00:11:44,050 --> 00:11:44,890
like it's a real snake.

267
00:11:45,770 --> 00:11:46,090
So.

268
00:11:46,090 --> 00:11:49,130
So, right, so Paul reaches
into the fire, and this.

269
00:11:49,130 --> 00:11:52,610
This venomous snake, this
venomous viper comes out and latches

270
00:11:52,610 --> 00:11:53,610
onto his hand.

271
00:11:53,770 --> 00:11:57,170
Now, at this point, most of
you are number one.

272
00:11:57,170 --> 00:11:59,690
You guys are super relaxed
that it's just a stuffed animal and

273
00:11:59,690 --> 00:12:00,890
it's not a real snake in the house.

274
00:12:00,970 --> 00:12:03,210
I wouldn't bring a snake into
the church building, I promise.

275
00:12:03,210 --> 00:12:03,450
Okay.

276
00:12:03,450 --> 00:12:03,850
I'm not.

277
00:12:03,850 --> 00:12:04,890
I'm not that crazy.

278
00:12:05,220 --> 00:12:07,340
Uh, so we really didn't give
Micah a real snake.

279
00:12:07,340 --> 00:12:08,980
I just love for the object lesson.

280
00:12:09,460 --> 00:12:12,300
But at this point in time,
Paul is.

281
00:12:12,300 --> 00:12:12,660
Is.

282
00:12:12,980 --> 00:12:18,420
He's bitten by this and I've
heard a lot of people spiritualize

283
00:12:18,420 --> 00:12:21,780
this here and, and I think to
a degree we can.

284
00:12:22,180 --> 00:12:24,980
Obviously in our lives, there
are a lot of things that are gonna

285
00:12:24,980 --> 00:12:25,980
jump out and bite us.

286
00:12:25,980 --> 00:12:28,940
And what we would say is
spiritually inject venom.

287
00:12:28,940 --> 00:12:33,430
And, and some of you know the
situation of a venomous snake.

288
00:12:33,430 --> 00:12:36,150
What they do is they
essentially have these teeth or their

289
00:12:36,150 --> 00:12:36,630
fangs.

290
00:12:36,630 --> 00:12:38,190
They're kind of like
hypodermic needles.

291
00:12:38,510 --> 00:12:43,550
And when they latch onto their
prey, they inject venom into the

292
00:12:43,550 --> 00:12:44,070
bloodstream.

293
00:12:44,070 --> 00:12:47,789
And that blood, that venom in
the bloodstream causes a lot of really

294
00:12:47,789 --> 00:12:48,590
bad things to happen.

295
00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:49,550
Very painful.

296
00:12:49,790 --> 00:12:53,030
And in a lot of cases, in most
cases specifically back in Paul's

297
00:12:53,030 --> 00:12:54,590
time, it would be.

298
00:12:54,590 --> 00:12:55,230
It would be.

299
00:12:56,110 --> 00:12:56,710
That would be it.

300
00:12:56,710 --> 00:12:59,090
That would be that because
there wasn't an antivenom.

301
00:12:59,090 --> 00:13:02,130
Nowadays you can get bit and
you can have this antivenom and you

302
00:13:02,130 --> 00:13:04,650
can, you know, sometimes in
some cases be saved.

303
00:13:05,450 --> 00:13:08,490
But a lot of times we look at
this and we say, you know what?

304
00:13:08,730 --> 00:13:12,610
I'm doing everything right, at
least the best that I can.

305
00:13:12,610 --> 00:13:15,690
I'm not perfect, but I'm
trying to follow God.

306
00:13:15,770 --> 00:13:21,530
God calls me to do this and I
stick my neck out, so to speak, and

307
00:13:21,610 --> 00:13:27,140
I take a risk, I take a leap
of faith and I'm snake bitten.

308
00:13:27,300 --> 00:13:31,380
Someone reaches out with their
venom and maybe questions what I'm

309
00:13:31,380 --> 00:13:32,140
doing for the Lord.

310
00:13:32,140 --> 00:13:35,780
Maybe they accuse me of
something that's not true.

311
00:13:36,180 --> 00:13:40,100
Maybe they're critical of my
heart or critical of my motives.

312
00:13:40,180 --> 00:13:45,900
And it's very easy for us in
that moment to see that lashing out

313
00:13:45,900 --> 00:13:48,620
of anger as an opportunity for
us to say, you know what?

314
00:13:48,620 --> 00:13:52,060
It's just not worth overcomes us.

315
00:13:52,540 --> 00:13:54,500
It takes us to a place where
we say, you know what?

316
00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:55,020
I'm done.

317
00:13:55,100 --> 00:13:55,660
I quit.

318
00:13:55,660 --> 00:13:58,020
How many of you don't raise
your hand, but how many of you have

319
00:13:58,020 --> 00:14:01,340
hurt someone, even within the
context of ministry within the church,

320
00:14:01,740 --> 00:14:05,060
that when they are faced with
criticism, when they're faced with

321
00:14:05,060 --> 00:14:06,380
a question, they go, you know what?

322
00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:08,380
I don't even need to serve anyway.

323
00:14:08,620 --> 00:14:11,620
I'm not even going to bring my
service to this church.

324
00:14:11,620 --> 00:14:11,820
Why?

325
00:14:11,820 --> 00:14:12,540
Because I'm not.

326
00:14:13,100 --> 00:14:14,860
I'm not appreciated.

327
00:14:15,510 --> 00:14:17,430
And of course, all of us want appreciation.

328
00:14:17,750 --> 00:14:21,510
All of us want to to some
degree be recognized for what we're

329
00:14:21,510 --> 00:14:22,110
doing for the Lord.

330
00:14:22,110 --> 00:14:27,030
But at the same time in our
lives, we are going to find difficulties

331
00:14:27,110 --> 00:14:29,110
that we could equate to a
shipwreck in our life.

332
00:14:29,110 --> 00:14:31,629
A storm's going to come, we're
going to feel broken.

333
00:14:31,629 --> 00:14:33,350
And that might be a situation
in Our life.

334
00:14:33,350 --> 00:14:36,510
Maybe it's a loss of a loved
one, maybe it's bad news from the

335
00:14:36,510 --> 00:14:36,950
doctor.

336
00:14:36,950 --> 00:14:40,310
But then we see that sometimes
there's the shipwreck and sometimes

337
00:14:40,310 --> 00:14:41,230
there's the snake bite.

338
00:14:41,230 --> 00:14:43,690
Someone's someone, someone
reaches out against us.

339
00:14:43,930 --> 00:14:46,290
Maybe it's someone that we
know, maybe it's someone that we

340
00:14:46,290 --> 00:14:46,810
don't know.

341
00:14:46,890 --> 00:14:49,050
Maybe it's a situation outside
of our control.

342
00:14:49,370 --> 00:14:53,290
But that snake bite grabs onto
us and latches onto us.

343
00:14:53,370 --> 00:14:57,410
And what we can see is that,
hey, those people say, well, obviously

344
00:14:57,410 --> 00:14:59,450
he's a bad guy because of this.

345
00:15:00,090 --> 00:15:02,490
And that's sometimes what
happens within church and within

346
00:15:02,490 --> 00:15:02,970
the ministry.

347
00:15:02,970 --> 00:15:05,810
Someone goes through a
difficulty and people go, yeah, I

348
00:15:05,810 --> 00:15:08,290
knew that person really wasn't
the real deal.

349
00:15:08,290 --> 00:15:11,270
I, I, I knew that they weren't
true to what they were saying.

350
00:15:11,910 --> 00:15:14,390
And, and at the end of the
day, what we can see is that there's,

351
00:15:14,390 --> 00:15:17,150
there's a lot of different
ways that we can react to these types

352
00:15:17,150 --> 00:15:17,910
of snake bites.

353
00:15:19,430 --> 00:15:22,790
In this case, we see what
happens with Paul, verse 5.

354
00:15:22,950 --> 00:15:25,350
And he shook off the beast
into the fire.

355
00:15:26,150 --> 00:15:29,190
I mean, no, no consideration
to the danger that it could be.

356
00:15:29,590 --> 00:15:31,190
He doesn't sit there and pout.

357
00:15:31,670 --> 00:15:35,870
He could have, I mean, if it
was me, if, if I was Paul, okay,

358
00:15:35,870 --> 00:15:37,870
I'm trying my best to put
myself in Paul's shoes.

359
00:15:37,870 --> 00:15:38,710
You know what I would do?

360
00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,280
The moment that snake reached
out and bit me, I just, I would have

361
00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:42,240
been like, okay, I'm done.

362
00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:44,240
Take me, Lord.

363
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:45,840
It's not worth it.

364
00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:49,200
After all of this, obviously
you don't love me anymore.

365
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,960
Obviously, I'm not supposed to
go to Rome, but no, what does he

366
00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:53,040
do?

367
00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:53,920
He just shakes it off.

368
00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:55,720
He just shakes it off.

369
00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:57,600
He, and it says there, he
suffered no harm.

370
00:15:57,680 --> 00:15:58,120
God.

371
00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,760
God preserved Paul from the storm.

372
00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:07,140
God preserved Paul through
being seized and subdued in prison.

373
00:16:07,620 --> 00:16:12,660
God preserved Paul from the
venom of this viper.

374
00:16:13,620 --> 00:16:14,700
Paul was protected.

375
00:16:14,700 --> 00:16:15,740
Why was Paul protected?

376
00:16:15,740 --> 00:16:17,220
Well, number one, he was a
child of God.

377
00:16:17,220 --> 00:16:20,100
Number two, God had a call for
Paul in his life.

378
00:16:21,220 --> 00:16:23,700
We go back to Acts, chapter
23, verse 11.

379
00:16:23,780 --> 00:16:27,100
If you go back just a few
pages, we see that God had made a

380
00:16:27,100 --> 00:16:28,420
promise to Paul.

381
00:16:29,540 --> 00:16:31,060
He had made a promise.

382
00:16:32,310 --> 00:16:37,670
Verse number 11 of chapter 23.

383
00:16:37,750 --> 00:16:39,910
Now, again, remember where
Paul is at this point.

384
00:16:39,990 --> 00:16:45,030
This is right after Paul has
been thrown in prison for preaching

385
00:16:45,190 --> 00:16:45,830
the truth.

386
00:16:46,630 --> 00:16:48,630
His own people turned their
backs on him.

387
00:16:49,510 --> 00:16:51,670
And no doubt Paul is discouraged.

388
00:16:53,670 --> 00:16:56,110
He might even had questions
about why God?

389
00:16:56,110 --> 00:16:57,430
Why my own people?

390
00:16:58,310 --> 00:17:00,470
Why did you send me all the
way to Jerusalem for this?

391
00:17:00,470 --> 00:17:08,550
But we see in the midst of the
conflict comes the comfort.

392
00:17:09,670 --> 00:17:13,430
And in verse number 11 of Acts
23, it says, and the night following,

393
00:17:13,669 --> 00:17:15,510
the Lord stood by him.

394
00:17:16,630 --> 00:17:20,230
So we see the presence of the
Lord in the midst of the problem

395
00:17:22,230 --> 00:17:24,390
and said, be of good cheer.

396
00:17:25,870 --> 00:17:28,470
The Lord spoke to Paul and
said this, Be of good cheer.

397
00:17:28,470 --> 00:17:30,990
And he's going to give the
reason why Paul can have joy.

398
00:17:31,310 --> 00:17:33,430
It's the same thing that Paul
said to the people on the ship.

399
00:17:33,430 --> 00:17:34,190
Be of good cheer.

400
00:17:34,350 --> 00:17:36,590
How can you be of good cheer
when the storm is coming?

401
00:17:36,750 --> 00:17:40,390
How can you be of good cheer
when there's no doubt a shipwreck

402
00:17:40,390 --> 00:17:42,830
that's about to happen, we're
going to die.

403
00:17:43,230 --> 00:17:44,590
Paul says, be a good cheer.

404
00:17:46,190 --> 00:17:48,190
Paul can say, be of good cheer.

405
00:17:48,190 --> 00:17:50,910
Because God told Paul, be of
good cheer.

406
00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,160
You see, what we show to other
people is really first experience

407
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,680
through our relationship with God.

408
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,240
Like, I can't show the love of
God unless I experience the love

409
00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:00,760
of God.

410
00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:06,360
I can't show the forgiveness
to other people if I haven't understood

411
00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:07,800
the forgiveness of God.

412
00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:13,760
The reason why Paul can
promote joy and cheer and exhort

413
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:18,130
people to love and good works
is because he himself has experienced

414
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,600
the presence and the provision
and the protection of God.

415
00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,520
As we go back to Acts, chapter
23, verse 11, God says to Paul, be

416
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:26,280
of good cheer.

417
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:35,000
For as thou has testified of
me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear

418
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:36,440
witness also at Rome.

419
00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:38,520
So what's the promise here?

420
00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:42,000
Now we would like it to say,
hey, you know what?

421
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:43,800
You've done really good job, Paul.

422
00:18:44,340 --> 00:18:46,260
So you're going to go preach
in Rome and everything is going to

423
00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:46,740
be okay.

424
00:18:46,740 --> 00:18:48,180
That's why you can be happy.

425
00:18:49,460 --> 00:18:53,580
If we wrote the story, we
would say, you know what, God make

426
00:18:53,580 --> 00:18:55,460
it where I don't have any problems.

427
00:18:56,580 --> 00:18:58,260
I want to do everything for you.

428
00:18:58,260 --> 00:18:59,620
I want to take risks for you.

429
00:18:59,620 --> 00:19:01,740
But I don't want anything to
be at stake.

430
00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:03,020
I don't want there to be any danger.

431
00:19:03,020 --> 00:19:04,980
I don't want to be there at
any risk at all.

432
00:19:05,140 --> 00:19:08,740
But what we see here is that
God does not promise Paul that when

433
00:19:08,740 --> 00:19:10,820
he goes to Rome, everything
will be okay.

434
00:19:10,900 --> 00:19:12,340
What is the reason for cheer?

435
00:19:12,910 --> 00:19:14,830
He says, be of good cheer, Paul.

436
00:19:15,630 --> 00:19:19,270
For as thou has testified of
me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear

437
00:19:19,270 --> 00:19:20,230
witness also at Rome.

438
00:19:20,230 --> 00:19:24,750
He says, be joyful because you
get to testify the truth of the Gospel.

439
00:19:25,230 --> 00:19:27,950
Just as you ministered in
Jerusalem and got thrown in prison,

440
00:19:28,110 --> 00:19:29,950
so you get to go to Rome and
do that.

441
00:19:30,990 --> 00:19:33,710
So the joy isn't necessarily
in the smoothness of life.

442
00:19:33,790 --> 00:19:37,790
The joy is, is not in avoiding
all the conflict the joy is not saying,

443
00:19:37,790 --> 00:19:38,430
hey, you know what?

444
00:19:38,430 --> 00:19:39,650
We, my life is perfect.

445
00:19:39,650 --> 00:19:42,370
The joy is I get to be used by God.

446
00:19:42,610 --> 00:19:46,930
And so the promise to Paul
was, hey, you get to preach in Rome.

447
00:19:46,930 --> 00:19:51,010
Now, that same promise is what
Paul is trusting in.

448
00:19:51,090 --> 00:19:54,290
When he's on the ship and
there's certain death coming.

449
00:19:54,290 --> 00:19:56,370
He goes, no, God's promised me
that I'm going to Rome.

450
00:19:57,410 --> 00:20:01,370
The ship might wreck, we all
might be thrown out into the cold

451
00:20:01,370 --> 00:20:03,890
water, we all might be in the
rain, we all might be struggling

452
00:20:03,890 --> 00:20:05,490
with that, but I know I'm
going to Rome.

453
00:20:06,380 --> 00:20:09,820
Now, you have not had the same
promise as Paul.

454
00:20:09,820 --> 00:20:12,380
Like, I don't think all of us
in this room have heard from God

455
00:20:12,380 --> 00:20:16,060
directly that you're going to
go preach the gospel in Rome, okay?

456
00:20:16,220 --> 00:20:19,900
But at the same time, God has
given us certain promises in His

457
00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:20,300
Word.

458
00:20:21,180 --> 00:20:25,580
And so the temptation for us
in life is to not trust in the promises

459
00:20:25,660 --> 00:20:28,300
because of the fact of the
things that are going on around us.

460
00:20:29,340 --> 00:20:32,570
So the reason why Paul could
just shake off that snake, the reason

461
00:20:32,570 --> 00:20:34,970
why Paul could tell the people
on the ship, hey, be a good cheer,

462
00:20:36,010 --> 00:20:40,650
is because of the promise in
Acts chapter 23 that he was going

463
00:20:40,650 --> 00:20:41,290
to go to Rome.

464
00:20:41,370 --> 00:20:43,370
So he took God's word for what
it was.

465
00:20:43,610 --> 00:20:44,970
God is going to keep his word.

466
00:20:45,930 --> 00:20:49,370
And for us in our life, what
happens is that sometimes we're tempted

467
00:20:49,370 --> 00:20:53,170
to think, I know that God has
said this in His Word to me as a

468
00:20:53,170 --> 00:20:56,370
believer, but the
circumstances that I'm facing don't

469
00:20:56,370 --> 00:20:57,530
look like it's all adding up.

470
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,120
But instead of saying, I have
good cheer because everything's going

471
00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:04,400
my way, no, I have good cheer
because I'm being used by God.

472
00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:10,160
So God didn't just preserve
Paul from the storm just to let him

473
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,000
die from a venomous snake.

474
00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:14,480
Paul was protected.

475
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:17,840
Paul was protected by the
promise of God.

476
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,640
And Paul wasn't in Rome yet.

477
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:20,920
So.

478
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:25,360
So we know by way of logic
that God was going to allow him to

479
00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:25,920
get through all of this.

480
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:30,080
And so it wasn't so much that
Paul was the superhuman, it was just

481
00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:33,720
simply that Paul was trusting
in the promises of God to be fulfilled.

482
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:38,440
So Paul could take God's
faithfulness from his past and use

483
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:44,040
that as fuel to help him in
trusting in God's promises and his

484
00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:45,160
faithfulness in the future.

485
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,640
So what do we do when we're
tempted to doubt God's faithfulness

486
00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:50,120
today?

487
00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:52,400
What are we tempted to do?

488
00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,800
What should we do when we're
tempted to doubt the faithfulness

489
00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:56,800
of God tomorrow?

490
00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,440
Is to go back to the
faithfulness of God yesterday and

491
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:04,640
know that God has been
faithful, he will be faithful and

492
00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:06,080
he will preserve me.

493
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,680
When we're talking about these
types of things now, I will say this.

494
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:14,320
There is a group of people
within what we would call Christianity

495
00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:18,160
today that teach that if you
just have enough faith, God will

496
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:19,200
give you whatever you want.

497
00:22:19,740 --> 00:22:19,980
Okay?

498
00:22:19,980 --> 00:22:23,500
We have to be very careful
with that because I can look at passages

499
00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:26,860
of scripture that are not
meant for me and say, well, that's

500
00:22:26,860 --> 00:22:27,580
a promise to me.

501
00:22:28,780 --> 00:22:33,660
I, I can look at a descriptive
passage for Paul and say, you know

502
00:22:33,660 --> 00:22:33,900
what?

503
00:22:35,020 --> 00:22:37,700
Paul was promised that he was
going to go to Rome to preach the

504
00:22:37,700 --> 00:22:38,060
gospel.

505
00:22:38,060 --> 00:22:39,500
So I'm promised to go to Rome.

506
00:22:39,500 --> 00:22:41,340
No, that was Paul's promise.

507
00:22:41,580 --> 00:22:44,740
Now we can take the principles
of Paul's promise to the promises

508
00:22:44,740 --> 00:22:49,420
that we have directly to us,
but we cannot demand God to do things

509
00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:50,020
in our life.

510
00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:51,380
We have to be very careful
about that.

511
00:22:51,380 --> 00:22:54,380
Because some people will say,
I know that I'm not going to be harmed

512
00:22:54,380 --> 00:22:54,940
through this.

513
00:22:56,460 --> 00:22:58,340
And so I'm going to tell God,
you know what?

514
00:22:58,340 --> 00:23:01,180
This is what you're going to
do for me, God, and I'm not going

515
00:23:01,180 --> 00:23:01,740
to be harmed.

516
00:23:01,740 --> 00:23:04,340
The problem with that is that
sometimes we're speaking outside

517
00:23:04,340 --> 00:23:05,340
of the will of God.

518
00:23:05,340 --> 00:23:07,020
We're speaking in the will of ourselves.

519
00:23:07,820 --> 00:23:10,940
And at the end of the day, if
it's not God's plan for me to be

520
00:23:10,940 --> 00:23:13,990
preserved through this, then
what happens is, is that when God

521
00:23:13,990 --> 00:23:17,430
doesn't do what I expect him
to do, if God doesn't do what I'm

522
00:23:17,430 --> 00:23:20,110
commanding him to do, then I
start to question, is God really

523
00:23:20,110 --> 00:23:20,710
faithful?

524
00:23:21,670 --> 00:23:23,910
There's no promise in
scripture that says that we're going

525
00:23:23,910 --> 00:23:25,710
to have a smooth sailing life.

526
00:23:25,710 --> 00:23:27,990
There's no promise in
scripture that says we avoid all

527
00:23:27,990 --> 00:23:28,710
the storms.

528
00:23:29,350 --> 00:23:33,270
The promise of scripture that
I am aware of is that he will never

529
00:23:33,270 --> 00:23:34,630
leave us nor forsake us.

530
00:23:35,190 --> 00:23:37,270
That, that we have eternal
hope with him.

531
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,520
That, that we have a call,
that we have a commission to preach

532
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:42,200
the gospel.

533
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,720
And I want you to go to that
call and commission.

534
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,760
Because what does God tell us
to do?

535
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:47,360
What's our commission?

536
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:48,240
What's our job?

537
00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:49,840
What's our job as Christians?

538
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,040
A lot of people think our job
as Christians is just to wait till

539
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:53,440
he comes.

540
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,840
The Great commission is not
just sit and wait, wait till he gets

541
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:01,600
back and complain the whole
time till he does.

542
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:03,520
That's not what it says.

543
00:24:04,420 --> 00:24:08,420
When, when Jesus is ascending
to heaven, he looks at his disciples

544
00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:12,500
and he gives them a command,
he gives them a job.

545
00:24:12,660 --> 00:24:14,100
That's why we Call it the
Great Commission.

546
00:24:14,180 --> 00:24:15,100
Commission is just.

547
00:24:15,100 --> 00:24:15,780
It's our job.

548
00:24:16,260 --> 00:24:20,900
And In Matthew, chapter 28, we
see a promise.

549
00:24:20,900 --> 00:24:22,820
Here, we see a promise.

550
00:24:23,140 --> 00:24:25,060
If you look at it here, it
says, let's.

551
00:24:25,060 --> 00:24:26,020
Let's go to verse number 18.

552
00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:31,530
And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, all power is given

553
00:24:31,530 --> 00:24:32,810
unto me in heaven and earth.

554
00:24:33,770 --> 00:24:35,370
I want you to remember that
word, power.

555
00:24:35,610 --> 00:24:36,170
Okay?

556
00:24:36,410 --> 00:24:38,410
All power is given unto me in
heaven and earth.

557
00:24:38,650 --> 00:24:43,530
Go ye, therefore, and teach
all nations.

558
00:24:45,370 --> 00:24:49,650
Now, I. I need to be very
clear about this, because this verse

559
00:24:49,650 --> 00:24:54,250
or these verses 19 and 20 look
redundant because what does he say

560
00:24:54,250 --> 00:24:54,370
here?

561
00:24:54,370 --> 00:24:58,740
He says, go teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the

562
00:24:58,740 --> 00:24:59,940
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

563
00:24:59,940 --> 00:25:00,660
Teach them.

564
00:25:00,820 --> 00:25:01,460
So we're.

565
00:25:01,460 --> 00:25:03,060
So we're supposed to teach
them twice?

566
00:25:03,780 --> 00:25:08,500
No, that first instance, in
the original Greek, that first instance

567
00:25:08,500 --> 00:25:12,780
of teach all nations is
talking about, it literally means

568
00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:18,020
to make disciples, to
replicate what we are.

569
00:25:19,620 --> 00:25:19,940
So.

570
00:25:19,940 --> 00:25:26,690
So the initial call for us as
believers is to make disciples.

571
00:25:26,690 --> 00:25:27,770
How do we make disciples?

572
00:25:27,770 --> 00:25:29,570
Well, first we got to tell
people about Jesus.

573
00:25:30,450 --> 00:25:32,530
We got to tell them the truth
of the gospel.

574
00:25:33,810 --> 00:25:34,930
Then what happens?

575
00:25:35,010 --> 00:25:36,490
Says, well, we baptize them.

576
00:25:36,490 --> 00:25:40,130
That's the public profession
of their belief.

577
00:25:40,850 --> 00:25:42,170
So we teach them the word of God.

578
00:25:42,170 --> 00:25:43,010
That's evangelism.

579
00:25:43,010 --> 00:25:44,370
We teach them the word of God.

580
00:25:44,450 --> 00:25:44,770
We.

581
00:25:44,770 --> 00:25:47,810
We show them the truth of
their need for a savior.

582
00:25:47,970 --> 00:25:49,730
We tell them who that Savior is.

583
00:25:50,260 --> 00:25:53,060
And then what happens is, is
that they then publicly proclaim

584
00:25:53,060 --> 00:25:55,700
their truth of what they
believe in Jesus Christ baptizing

585
00:25:55,700 --> 00:25:57,540
them in the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

586
00:25:57,700 --> 00:26:01,740
Then we teach them what to
observe all things whatsoever.

587
00:26:01,740 --> 00:26:02,660
I've commanded you.

588
00:26:03,060 --> 00:26:06,180
We teach them how to walk in
obedience to Jesus Christ.

589
00:26:06,820 --> 00:26:07,220
That's.

590
00:26:07,220 --> 00:26:10,900
That's the discipleship
process, teaching them to observe

591
00:26:10,900 --> 00:26:11,620
all things whatsoever.

592
00:26:11,620 --> 00:26:12,500
I've commanded you.

593
00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:17,220
And lo, I am with you alway,
even to the end of the world.

594
00:26:18,330 --> 00:26:21,010
So there's a promise, as
there's the job here, so there's

595
00:26:21,010 --> 00:26:21,690
the Great Commission.

596
00:26:21,770 --> 00:26:24,410
But within the Great
Commission comes two promises.

597
00:26:25,770 --> 00:26:30,850
That it's his power and his
presence that will preserve us as

598
00:26:30,850 --> 00:26:34,010
we do this, as we make
disciples, as we go.

599
00:26:35,450 --> 00:26:37,210
And so I want you to think
about that.

600
00:26:37,210 --> 00:26:37,970
That's a promise.

601
00:26:37,970 --> 00:26:39,930
The promise is, is that it's
not in your strength.

602
00:26:39,930 --> 00:26:43,330
If we're trusting in his
power, we are tapping into a power

603
00:26:43,330 --> 00:26:45,040
that none of us can match.

604
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:50,080
And so we go with the Great
Commission with the promise of power

605
00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:51,760
and the promise of his presence.

606
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,000
He says, and lo, I'm with you always.

607
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,960
I'm always going to be with
you, even to the end of the world.

608
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,400
And so I say all that to say,
look, trusting in God means trusting

609
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:03,200
what he has said.

610
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,760
It's not trusting in what I
want him to say.

611
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,400
I've heard people say, well, I
mean, God wants what's best for me.

612
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,840
That means that I'm gonna have
all the money in the world.

613
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:13,040
That.

614
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:13,360
That.

615
00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:14,440
I mean, he's gonna.

616
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,560
Now, is it God's will for some
people to have a lot of money?

617
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,600
Yes, but it's not God's will
for everybody.

618
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,600
And is it God's will for me to
have perfect health?

619
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,920
For some people, it is for
other people.

620
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,160
It's not God's will for us to
be perfectly healthy in our physical

621
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:29,520
state.

622
00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:32,240
How do I know that?

623
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,880
Look at some of the greatest
followers of God in scripture.

624
00:27:38,010 --> 00:27:43,410
Look at Paul, look at, look at
Job, look at Daniel, look at, look

625
00:27:43,410 --> 00:27:44,090
at Joseph.

626
00:27:44,090 --> 00:27:45,930
Look at, look at all these people.

627
00:27:45,930 --> 00:27:46,850
Look at Moses.

628
00:27:46,850 --> 00:27:50,010
All of them, all of them had struggles.

629
00:27:50,730 --> 00:27:53,690
So if we were to say that God,
if he loves us enough, won't let

630
00:27:53,690 --> 00:27:56,290
us go through a struggle,
we're missing the point of what God

631
00:27:56,290 --> 00:27:58,010
has said throughout his whole word.

632
00:27:58,650 --> 00:27:59,810
And so we go back to Acts.

633
00:27:59,810 --> 00:28:02,970
Chapter 28 says that he shook
it off.

634
00:28:02,970 --> 00:28:03,330
How did.

635
00:28:03,330 --> 00:28:05,450
How could he shake off this
venomous snake?

636
00:28:06,420 --> 00:28:09,140
Well, he did it because of the
promises of God.

637
00:28:09,300 --> 00:28:11,300
So, so let's see what the
response of the people are.

638
00:28:11,300 --> 00:28:14,580
Because, like, the responses
of the people are so interesting.

639
00:28:15,140 --> 00:28:19,300
Verse number six, howbeit they
looked when he should have swollen.

640
00:28:20,100 --> 00:28:23,380
So they were seeing it from
the perspective of man, right?

641
00:28:24,020 --> 00:28:25,140
Which is understandable.

642
00:28:25,620 --> 00:28:29,380
Like if today, if a venomous
snake came in here and bit somebody,

643
00:28:30,260 --> 00:28:34,260
most of us, including myself,
we would expect what naturally happens

644
00:28:34,260 --> 00:28:35,460
when that goes down.

645
00:28:35,940 --> 00:28:37,700
So it's how be it they looked
when they.

646
00:28:37,700 --> 00:28:41,180
When he should have swollen
and fallen down dead suddenly.

647
00:28:41,180 --> 00:28:43,300
So they're like, all right,
it's a ticking time bomb.

648
00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:44,180
When's he gonna die?

649
00:28:45,700 --> 00:28:49,060
But, but, but after they had
looked a great while.

650
00:28:49,060 --> 00:28:50,180
So they're like, they.

651
00:28:50,180 --> 00:28:53,540
They've seen people bit by a
venomous snake before.

652
00:28:53,620 --> 00:28:54,700
They know the time frame.

653
00:28:54,700 --> 00:28:58,870
They know the typical amount
of time before someone passes, says,

654
00:28:58,870 --> 00:29:02,070
but after they had looked a
great while and saw no harm come

655
00:29:02,070 --> 00:29:06,030
to him, they changed their
minds and said that he was a God.

656
00:29:06,670 --> 00:29:09,230
You see how fickle these
people are, how, like, extremist

657
00:29:09,230 --> 00:29:09,710
they are.

658
00:29:09,950 --> 00:29:14,869
One side, they're saying, he's
being judged by God because he's

659
00:29:14,869 --> 00:29:15,150
been.

660
00:29:15,150 --> 00:29:16,270
He has difficulty.

661
00:29:16,350 --> 00:29:19,150
And now they're saying, well,
he must be a God.

662
00:29:19,710 --> 00:29:24,270
And it, it just shows you that
that's the human reaction.

663
00:29:24,770 --> 00:29:28,090
The human reaction is to
number one, not understand the situation,

664
00:29:28,090 --> 00:29:32,450
to see it from a very selfish
humanistic mindset.

665
00:29:33,010 --> 00:29:34,050
And that's what they did.

666
00:29:34,450 --> 00:29:40,529
And then we see also that the,
the change would be that when things

667
00:29:40,529 --> 00:29:44,090
happen outside of our
understanding, we either reject it

668
00:29:44,090 --> 00:29:45,090
or we worship it.

669
00:29:45,570 --> 00:29:48,090
And what I would be very
cautious with in your life is in

670
00:29:48,090 --> 00:29:51,650
my own life as well is when we
see things that we can't understand

671
00:29:51,650 --> 00:29:52,450
or explain.

672
00:29:52,980 --> 00:29:56,180
Don't worship the person who
is the blessing.

673
00:29:56,820 --> 00:30:00,060
Sometimes that's what we do
within our own circles is we see

674
00:30:00,060 --> 00:30:05,620
someone go through an awesome
experience, maybe a miraculous situation,

675
00:30:05,700 --> 00:30:09,620
or maybe we just see someone
that's highly gifted by God.

676
00:30:09,860 --> 00:30:14,940
And instead of attributing the
worth to God and his grace, we attribute

677
00:30:14,940 --> 00:30:16,820
the worth to that person and
we lift them up.

678
00:30:16,820 --> 00:30:18,100
And that happened to Paul many times.

679
00:30:18,100 --> 00:30:20,740
If you think about it, a lot
of times when Paul would show the

680
00:30:20,740 --> 00:30:22,940
power of God, they would start
to worship him and he would reject

681
00:30:22,940 --> 00:30:23,660
that worship.

682
00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:26,340
And I think this goes down the
vein of man worship.

683
00:30:26,340 --> 00:30:31,500
We have to be so, so careful
about in any way, in any fashion

684
00:30:31,820 --> 00:30:36,460
giving any praise or worship
to an individual that is not Jesus

685
00:30:36,460 --> 00:30:36,780
Christ.

686
00:30:37,580 --> 00:30:42,220
And though we might not like
get down on our hands and knees and

687
00:30:42,220 --> 00:30:46,180
bow down to a person, there
are some times in our life that we

688
00:30:46,180 --> 00:30:50,930
are tempted to attribute
worship to somebody that is not our

689
00:30:50,930 --> 00:30:51,890
Lord and Savior.

690
00:30:52,370 --> 00:30:54,130
So these people want to
worship him.

691
00:30:54,850 --> 00:30:56,530
And so what happens after this?

692
00:30:57,330 --> 00:31:01,250
You know, Paul could have used
this situation a lot of different

693
00:31:01,250 --> 00:31:01,730
ways.

694
00:31:02,450 --> 00:31:07,210
But what Paul does is he uses
this situation to point people to

695
00:31:07,210 --> 00:31:12,210
the power and the life giving
grace of our our lord.

696
00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:14,970
So verse 7 in the same
quarters were possessions of the

697
00:31:14,970 --> 00:31:19,110
chief man of the island whose
name was Publis, who received us

698
00:31:19,110 --> 00:31:21,550
and lodged us three days courteously.

699
00:31:21,550 --> 00:31:25,870
So through that they have this
person who is, is a, is a high end

700
00:31:26,030 --> 00:31:27,150
person on the island.

701
00:31:27,390 --> 00:31:28,830
He hosts them for three days.

702
00:31:28,910 --> 00:31:34,109
And it came to pass that the
father of Publis lay sick of a fever

703
00:31:34,109 --> 00:31:35,390
and of a bloody flux.

704
00:31:35,390 --> 00:31:38,990
So he's sick, he's dying, to
whom Paul entered in and prayed and

705
00:31:38,990 --> 00:31:40,550
laid his hands on him and
healed him.

706
00:31:40,550 --> 00:31:44,350
So Paul is always looking for
an opportunity to extend the gift

707
00:31:44,350 --> 00:31:45,390
of God to other people.

708
00:31:45,810 --> 00:31:48,690
So when this was done, others
also which had diseases in the island

709
00:31:48,690 --> 00:31:52,930
came and were healed, who also
honored us with many honors.

710
00:31:53,090 --> 00:31:56,770
And when we departed, they
laded us with such things as were

711
00:31:56,770 --> 00:31:57,570
necessary.

712
00:31:58,370 --> 00:32:02,250
And so through all of this
Paul uses this not as an opportunity

713
00:32:02,250 --> 00:32:05,170
for people to praise him, but
as an opportunity for people to experience

714
00:32:05,170 --> 00:32:06,130
the power of God.

715
00:32:06,930 --> 00:32:10,850
And so God blesses Paul, but
through this process, God blesses

716
00:32:10,850 --> 00:32:12,280
other as well.

717
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:17,040
And so, so ultimately what we
can see in our own life is that we

718
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:21,120
can use God's power and his
provision, not so that we can brag

719
00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:25,720
to people like, I'm a super
Christian, I'm really a good prayer,

720
00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:29,640
or I'm really a good preacher,
I'm a really good Bible study person.

721
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:33,720
No, when we are able to see
God's power working through our life,

722
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:34,960
we point other people to him.

723
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:36,960
We show them the power of God.

724
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,830
We show them that you can know
this same God.

725
00:32:39,830 --> 00:32:44,990
And so Paul, he extends the
gift of healing to these people that

726
00:32:44,990 --> 00:32:45,750
are around him.

727
00:32:46,310 --> 00:32:49,790
And ultimately we can extend
the gift of spiritual healing to

728
00:32:49,790 --> 00:32:52,910
all those that are around us
by pointing people to the fact that

729
00:32:52,910 --> 00:32:55,550
it's not our power, it's the
power of God.

730
00:32:55,550 --> 00:32:59,790
So again, do I feel, do I
believe that everyone in this room

731
00:32:59,790 --> 00:33:02,710
can just handle venomous
snakes and be bitten and it's okay?

732
00:33:02,710 --> 00:33:03,370
No, I.

733
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:05,960
We are not one of those snake
handling churches.

734
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:07,920
I believe that's a
misunderstanding of scripture.

735
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:10,680
I think it's a
misunderstanding of the context of

736
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:11,120
scripture.

737
00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:15,720
But did Paul claim, did Paul
have the power to do that?

738
00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,880
Well, Paul didn't, but God
gave him the power to miraculously

739
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:19,960
be preserved through that.

740
00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:22,320
And God's going to give
different people different aspects

741
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:24,400
of miraculous blessings as well.

742
00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:26,560
But what do we learn from this?

743
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:27,760
We learn a lot of things.

744
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,280
We learn that through the
midst of shipwreck, through the midst

745
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,440
of being seized, through the
midst of the midst of being subdued,

746
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:39,680
through the midst of being
snake bitten, all of this could shake

747
00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:44,440
the faith of an individual if
not grounded in the anchor of Jesus

748
00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:44,760
Christ.

749
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:49,080
And so we see in verse number
11 through all of that.

750
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:52,360
And after three months, we departed.

751
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,040
So three months goes by.

752
00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:58,040
They depart in a ship of
Alexandria which had wintered in

753
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,600
the isle, whose sign was
Castor and Pollux.

754
00:34:01,070 --> 00:34:04,070
And eventually we see that
Paul does go to Rome.

755
00:34:04,070 --> 00:34:05,470
God keeps his word.

756
00:34:06,190 --> 00:34:10,550
And through all of this, I
could tell you, I would be lying

757
00:34:10,550 --> 00:34:13,390
if I told you this, that when
Paul got to Rome, everything was

758
00:34:13,390 --> 00:34:13,710
better.

759
00:34:14,030 --> 00:34:17,310
You know, Paul goes to Rome
and there's more struggles.

760
00:34:17,790 --> 00:34:22,510
But Paul is doing the work of
the Lord for the gospel.

761
00:34:23,070 --> 00:34:26,670
And so the takeaway for me
through this, and I think the takeaway

762
00:34:26,670 --> 00:34:29,840
for all of us could be the
simple fact that sometimes we're

763
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:30,800
looking for the wrong things.

764
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:34,560
Sometimes we take peace in the
Wrong promises.

765
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:39,240
Sometimes we create our own
promises of God that are not there

766
00:34:39,240 --> 00:34:44,360
in Scripture and then in turn
we miss the promises that are actually

767
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:46,720
there and the significance of
those promises that are actually

768
00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:47,040
there.

769
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,800
I know I quote this verse
quite a bit and I also mentioned

770
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,609
how often it is misunderstood, understood.

771
00:34:54,169 --> 00:34:57,169
But Philippians chapter 4,
verse 13 says I can do all things

772
00:34:57,169 --> 00:35:01,409
through Christ, but at the end
of the day that doesn't mean that

773
00:35:01,409 --> 00:35:04,089
I can do everything that I
want and God's just going to bless

774
00:35:04,089 --> 00:35:04,409
me.

775
00:35:04,409 --> 00:35:07,489
It means that if God is
calling me to do something, he will

776
00:35:07,489 --> 00:35:08,969
give me the power to do it.

777
00:35:09,209 --> 00:35:11,089
He will give me the protection
to do it.

778
00:35:11,089 --> 00:35:12,729
He will give me the provision
to do it.

779
00:35:13,289 --> 00:35:16,809
I, I, I can think of many
times in my life and I could list

780
00:35:16,889 --> 00:35:22,940
for you multiple things, being
a teacher, being a parent, being

781
00:35:22,940 --> 00:35:28,300
a husband, being, being a
pastor, that I have realized my inadequacy.

782
00:35:28,780 --> 00:35:33,060
And the only reason that I'm
able to do anything is because of

783
00:35:33,060 --> 00:35:36,380
the promises and the power of
God and a complete reliance on Him,

784
00:35:36,940 --> 00:35:40,060
a complete reliance on his
grace and his mercy.

785
00:35:40,300 --> 00:35:44,740
Because folks, the purpose
that we have in our salvation is,

786
00:35:45,210 --> 00:35:47,450
the purpose is not to glorify self.

787
00:35:48,810 --> 00:35:56,210
If our faith, our salvation,
our ministry, our service, our sacrifice

788
00:35:56,210 --> 00:36:01,049
is all about me and what I'm
getting out of this and who's noticing

789
00:36:01,049 --> 00:36:01,370
me.

790
00:36:02,010 --> 00:36:06,810
Eventually we are missing,
eventually we are going to be completely

791
00:36:06,810 --> 00:36:10,250
missing the mark when it comes
to God's call for us in our life.

792
00:36:11,050 --> 00:36:14,650
Because ultimately the call in
our life is, and I would summarize

793
00:36:14,650 --> 00:36:20,290
it this way, and this is, some
of you knew that we were going to

794
00:36:20,290 --> 00:36:25,210
camp and one of the, so the
junior camp speaker was a guy who

795
00:36:25,210 --> 00:36:26,090
basically he works.

796
00:36:26,090 --> 00:36:28,730
Some of you may or may not
know this, but there's a ministry

797
00:36:28,730 --> 00:36:29,730
called Patch the Pirate.

798
00:36:29,730 --> 00:36:33,530
There's this guy who created
music and a lot of really great content

799
00:36:33,530 --> 00:36:34,170
for kids.

800
00:36:35,130 --> 00:36:39,370
So his son in law was the
speaker at the camp and he was, he's

801
00:36:39,370 --> 00:36:41,250
a Paul, he was a politician,
he's a lawyer.

802
00:36:41,250 --> 00:36:44,890
I mean this guy has a lot of,
a lot of really great accolades and

803
00:36:44,890 --> 00:36:49,450
wonderful speaker, but he
summarized it to the kids in a really

804
00:36:49,530 --> 00:36:50,290
great way.

805
00:36:50,290 --> 00:36:53,130
And I'm gonna take his, his summary.

806
00:36:53,450 --> 00:36:59,770
The whole goal for us as
created beings of God, there's really

807
00:36:59,770 --> 00:37:00,410
two goals.

808
00:37:00,570 --> 00:37:02,250
To praise him and to please him.

809
00:37:03,290 --> 00:37:07,600
To praise him for what he's
done, for who he is, and to please

810
00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:09,400
him by obedience and service.

811
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:11,880
That's my goal in life.

812
00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,640
Whether, whether it's what I
want, that's a totally different

813
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:15,840
thing.

814
00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:16,840
And that's a hard matter.

815
00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:20,040
But really, no matter if I'm
atheist, no matter if I'm Christian,

816
00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:22,720
no matter if I'm from America, from.

817
00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:27,120
From whatever country,
ultimately we are created in God's

818
00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:29,400
image to please him and to
praise Him.

819
00:37:29,970 --> 00:37:31,770
And it's going to be my
decision on whether or not I want

820
00:37:31,770 --> 00:37:34,330
to take that as my goal or do
I want to create my own goal in my

821
00:37:34,330 --> 00:37:34,610
life.

822
00:37:35,410 --> 00:37:38,170
And so, folks, I would
encourage you to find your purpose.

823
00:37:38,170 --> 00:37:43,610
Paul evidently, very clearly
had his purpose.

824
00:37:43,610 --> 00:37:46,690
His purpose was to preach the
Gospel to the Jews, the Gentiles,

825
00:37:46,690 --> 00:37:48,770
to preach to kings, to preach
to leaders.

826
00:37:49,010 --> 00:37:49,850
That was his goal.

827
00:37:49,850 --> 00:37:51,970
He would do everything he
possibly could to do that.

828
00:37:52,210 --> 00:37:53,570
And he was joyful in that.

829
00:37:54,610 --> 00:37:58,060
And I'm going to tell you that
true joy, and I can speak by way

830
00:37:58,060 --> 00:38:02,580
of testimony to some degree in
this true, complete joy is only found

831
00:38:02,580 --> 00:38:05,300
when you are fulfilling God's
purpose in your life.

832
00:38:06,740 --> 00:38:11,820
When, when we are going down
other trails of purpose, there will

833
00:38:11,820 --> 00:38:13,060
be temporary joy.

834
00:38:13,780 --> 00:38:20,780
But the Bible says here, Acts
23, Acts 27, all throughout the book

835
00:38:20,780 --> 00:38:26,670
of Philippians, joy, complete
joy, true, substantial, eternal joy

836
00:38:26,670 --> 00:38:29,590
is only found when we're
walking the way that God has ordained

837
00:38:29,590 --> 00:38:30,190
us to walk.

838
00:38:31,150 --> 00:38:33,630
And I would encourage you to
think about what that means for you.

839
00:38:33,870 --> 00:38:35,150
It starts with faith.

840
00:38:35,630 --> 00:38:37,550
It starts with a relationship
with Him.

841
00:38:38,270 --> 00:38:39,710
Then the next step would be, what.

842
00:38:39,790 --> 00:38:42,190
What area of service does he
have me to serve in?

843
00:38:42,510 --> 00:38:45,190
All of us have the Great
Commission, but not all of us are

844
00:38:45,190 --> 00:38:47,630
called to serve in the Great
Commission the same exact way.

845
00:38:48,830 --> 00:38:50,670
Not everyone is called to be a pastor.

846
00:38:50,670 --> 00:38:52,550
Not everyone is called to be a missionary.

847
00:38:52,550 --> 00:38:57,990
Not everyone is called to work
in, in the nursery or in whatever

848
00:38:57,990 --> 00:38:59,230
ministry it might be.

849
00:39:00,030 --> 00:39:03,950
But all of us are called to
some degree to have a gospel ministry.

850
00:39:05,310 --> 00:39:09,310
For some, the Bible says in
First Peter that some, some of those

851
00:39:09,310 --> 00:39:11,790
ministries are more public
ministries, speaking ministries.

852
00:39:12,110 --> 00:39:14,910
Other times it's service
ministries, behind the scene ministries.

853
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:18,840
But at the end of the day, all
of us are called to proclaim the

854
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:21,360
message of the gospel of Jesus
Christ to those around us.

855
00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:24,080
And when we're in, that
doesn't mean that things are going

856
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:25,200
to go completely smooth.

857
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:27,120
Doesn't mean you're going to
be perfect.

858
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:30,960
It doesn't mean that you're
going to be, you know, liked in every

859
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:31,280
way.

860
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:34,680
But what it does mean is that
you're fulfilling what God has ordained

861
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,000
you to follow.

862
00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:39,400
And I think that's an amazing,
amazing place to be.

863
00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:42,330
And my prayer for Middletown
Baptist Church, really, I want to

864
00:39:42,330 --> 00:39:48,410
tell you that my heart is that
I want Every single person that's

865
00:39:48,410 --> 00:39:51,050
involved in Middletown Baptist
Church, number one, know Jesus Christ

866
00:39:51,050 --> 00:39:53,130
and salvation, to understand
him in faith.

867
00:39:53,130 --> 00:39:58,170
But number two, to be able to
grow in your knowledge of his grace

868
00:39:58,410 --> 00:40:02,250
so that you can serve at that
capacity, so that you can walk in

869
00:40:02,250 --> 00:40:04,970
that capacity to know your
purpose in Jesus Christ.

870
00:40:06,330 --> 00:40:09,810
Other than that, I'm not too
concerned about other stuff.

871
00:40:09,810 --> 00:40:10,250
Okay.

872
00:40:10,250 --> 00:40:13,890
I'm not too concerned about
what sports team you follow, even

873
00:40:13,890 --> 00:40:16,170
though we can have
disagreements on that and fun.

874
00:40:16,410 --> 00:40:18,890
I'm not too concerned about,
you know, what.

875
00:40:18,890 --> 00:40:19,850
What ministry.

876
00:40:20,010 --> 00:40:21,410
Well, Pastor, I like.

877
00:40:21,410 --> 00:40:22,330
I want to serve here.

878
00:40:22,490 --> 00:40:23,530
I can't serve here.

879
00:40:23,530 --> 00:40:24,170
That's okay.

880
00:40:24,330 --> 00:40:26,490
My concern for you is, where
are you at in the Lord?

881
00:40:26,730 --> 00:40:28,570
Where are you at in his plan
for you?

882
00:40:28,970 --> 00:40:36,560
And for Paul, it was prison,
shipwreck, snake bites, being whipped.

883
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:37,440
I don't think.

884
00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:39,920
Hopefully none of us have to
go through that.

885
00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:41,600
Hopefully none of us have to
go through it.

886
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:46,160
But at the same time, I would
be lying if I told you that there

887
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:48,160
won't be struggles and difficulties.

888
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:49,400
But what did Paul say?

889
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:50,680
Paul's like, it's joyful.

890
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,600
It's joyful to go through
these things for the Lord.

891
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:54,920
It's.

892
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:55,160
It's.

893
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:56,080
I count it all joy.

894
00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:59,090
When I fall into diverse
temptations, talking about.

895
00:40:59,090 --> 00:41:02,290
Talking about trials, and I. I
can't explain that completely.

896
00:41:02,290 --> 00:41:02,570
I.

897
00:41:02,650 --> 00:41:06,690
That's not in our human minds,
something that is compatible, because

898
00:41:06,690 --> 00:41:09,850
what's compatible in our minds
is comfort, safety, security.

899
00:41:10,570 --> 00:41:13,690
But at the end of the day,
that's God's economy.

900
00:41:13,770 --> 00:41:15,530
And God's thoughts are
different than ours.

901
00:41:16,490 --> 00:41:21,250
And when I saw those kids at
camp and I. I call them kids, a lot

902
00:41:21,250 --> 00:41:23,090
of them, the teenagers and even.

903
00:41:23,090 --> 00:41:27,470
Even the counselors, man, I
was so impressed with these college

904
00:41:27,470 --> 00:41:27,870
kids.

905
00:41:28,030 --> 00:41:31,550
I say kids, college young
people that are taking their summer,

906
00:41:31,550 --> 00:41:32,990
they could be doing a lot of
different things.

907
00:41:32,990 --> 00:41:34,750
But they're like, we're going
to come and we're going to minister

908
00:41:34,750 --> 00:41:35,470
for Jesus Christ.

909
00:41:35,470 --> 00:41:36,910
Now, I don't know all their hearts.

910
00:41:36,990 --> 00:41:38,990
I don't know if all of them
are doing it for the right reasons,

911
00:41:39,230 --> 00:41:41,750
but I know that they could
find a lot more jobs that could pay

912
00:41:41,750 --> 00:41:43,390
a lot better and have a lot
less hours.

913
00:41:43,950 --> 00:41:45,550
Think about those junior
camper workers.

914
00:41:46,270 --> 00:41:49,310
They're working 24 7, okay?

915
00:41:49,710 --> 00:41:51,470
They're not going to be able
to let a fourth grade.

916
00:41:51,630 --> 00:41:52,670
They don't take breaks, okay?

917
00:41:52,670 --> 00:41:53,550
They got to watch these kids.

918
00:41:53,550 --> 00:41:54,310
They got to take care of them.

919
00:41:54,310 --> 00:41:55,310
They got to make sure that
they're doing.

920
00:41:55,310 --> 00:41:57,180
They're not losing them out in
the woods, okay?

921
00:41:57,180 --> 00:41:59,020
And I say all that to say there.

922
00:41:59,020 --> 00:42:02,380
There is so much more to life
than just, you know, what, what.

923
00:42:02,380 --> 00:42:03,740
What can I get out of this?

924
00:42:04,700 --> 00:42:06,380
But what can I give to the Lord?

925
00:42:06,380 --> 00:42:06,540
What.

926
00:42:06,540 --> 00:42:07,460
What can I do for him?

927
00:42:07,460 --> 00:42:09,100
How can I invest into eternity?

928
00:42:09,260 --> 00:42:10,740
And so Paul's a great example
of that.

929
00:42:10,740 --> 00:42:11,220
We're gonna.

930
00:42:11,220 --> 00:42:12,020
We're gonna close here.

931
00:42:12,020 --> 00:42:13,740
I could go longer, but I won't.

932
00:42:13,740 --> 00:42:15,020
But not next week.

933
00:42:15,020 --> 00:42:15,420
Cause.

934
00:42:16,380 --> 00:42:20,140
Cause we'll have Brother Nick
preaching next week, but in two weeks,

935
00:42:20,140 --> 00:42:22,100
we'll come back and we'll
conclude the Book of Acts.

936
00:42:22,100 --> 00:42:23,420
We'll see Paul get to Rome.

937
00:42:23,900 --> 00:42:27,580
It won't be the end of Paul's
story yet, but we do know through

938
00:42:27,580 --> 00:42:30,660
other passages of scripture
that he spent some time there in

939
00:42:30,660 --> 00:42:32,460
Rome, basically under house arrest.

940
00:42:33,180 --> 00:42:35,580
That's where a lot of the
epistles were written.

941
00:42:36,140 --> 00:42:40,700
A lot of people were impacted
by Paul's ministry there at that

942
00:42:40,700 --> 00:42:41,020
time.

943
00:42:41,020 --> 00:42:44,540
And we know by way of
extension, countless people have

944
00:42:44,540 --> 00:42:48,220
been impacted by Paul's
ministry through the vast majority

945
00:42:48,220 --> 00:42:50,780
of the New Testament being
written from prison there.

946
00:42:50,780 --> 00:42:53,420
And so I encourage you to
think about that and.

947
00:42:53,420 --> 00:42:55,500
And pray about what God's
purpose is for you.

948
00:42:56,220 --> 00:42:58,700
And you say, well, I don't
know what my purpose is.

949
00:42:58,860 --> 00:43:00,700
Like, I. I just know I go to church.

950
00:43:01,020 --> 00:43:01,380
I'm.

951
00:43:01,380 --> 00:43:02,460
I'm a. I'm a Christian.

952
00:43:02,780 --> 00:43:03,860
Well, I would.

953
00:43:03,860 --> 00:43:04,300
I would.

954
00:43:04,300 --> 00:43:06,700
I would challenge you to pray
about what God's.

955
00:43:07,820 --> 00:43:10,460
Ask the Lord to give you a
clear direction on the.

956
00:43:10,460 --> 00:43:13,580
On what he has for you in his
gospel ministry.

957
00:43:14,060 --> 00:43:15,500
And, And I. I know.

958
00:43:15,500 --> 00:43:18,830
I. I know for a fact that that's.

959
00:43:18,990 --> 00:43:20,870
And God will answer that
prayer for you.

960
00:43:20,870 --> 00:43:23,150
God will give you clarity if
you want that.

961
00:43:23,550 --> 00:43:24,190
Okay.

962
00:43:25,150 --> 00:43:27,990
And it'll be the same thing as
when you ask God for an opportunity

963
00:43:27,990 --> 00:43:28,830
to give the gospel.

964
00:43:29,070 --> 00:43:29,750
He'll bring that.

965
00:43:29,750 --> 00:43:30,950
He'll bring that opportunity
for you.

966
00:43:30,950 --> 00:43:31,150
Why?

967
00:43:31,150 --> 00:43:32,110
Because it's in his will.

968
00:43:32,270 --> 00:43:32,910
We know that.

969
00:43:32,910 --> 00:43:35,310
We ask God's will, He will
give it to us.

970
00:43:35,310 --> 00:43:36,310
What's always God's will?

971
00:43:36,310 --> 00:43:37,310
That people hear the gospel.

972
00:43:37,310 --> 00:43:38,030
So if you want to.

973
00:43:38,030 --> 00:43:40,030
You want an opportunity to
give the gospel, pray.

974
00:43:40,030 --> 00:43:43,150
He'll give you an opportunity
if you want to serve in a ministry.

975
00:43:43,150 --> 00:43:45,640
If you want to serve in a
church, ask God.

976
00:43:45,640 --> 00:43:47,400
It's his will that you're
serving in a church.

977
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:51,040
Now, you might not know what
area that is, but God, I think, will

978
00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:51,480
bring you.

979
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:53,960
I believe he'll bring you
clarity and understanding, at least

980
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:56,000
in a certain direction of
where to get started.

981
00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:58,840
And then, you know, then he'll
close doors, and then he'll adjust

982
00:43:58,840 --> 00:43:59,120
things.

983
00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:01,720
And I think that that will be
something that all of us could benefit

984
00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:01,880
from.

985
00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:04,240
If we ask him, he'll give that
to us.

986
00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:08,640
So I've had some people asking
where we're going after the Book

987
00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:09,280
of Acts.

988
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:13,130
We won't announce that till
two more weeks, but in two weeks

989
00:44:13,130 --> 00:44:15,650
at the end of the Book of
Acts, we're going to go somewhere

990
00:44:15,650 --> 00:44:16,730
that I'm excited for.

991
00:44:16,890 --> 00:44:21,250
I think it'll be a change of
pace going from the New Testament

992
00:44:21,250 --> 00:44:24,530
church to a long time before
that in the Old Testament.

993
00:44:24,530 --> 00:44:28,650
I think that we'll see some,
even some parallels from what's happening

994
00:44:29,050 --> 00:44:31,970
even today in the church from,
from the Old Testament and what was

995
00:44:31,970 --> 00:44:34,530
happening there and which
we'll talk about in a couple weeks.

996
00:44:34,530 --> 00:44:36,530
So I'm going to go ahead and
close in a word of prayer and then

997
00:44:36,530 --> 00:44:38,450
after that I'll have a few
announcements and then you guys can

998
00:44:38,450 --> 00:44:39,090
be dismissed.

999
00:44:39,090 --> 00:44:40,770
Lord, I thank you for this
time that you've given us.

1000
00:44:40,770 --> 00:44:43,870
I thank you for this
opportunity to come together here

1001
00:44:43,870 --> 00:44:45,350
this evening to study your word.

1002
00:44:45,350 --> 00:44:49,350
Lord, we thank you for the
example that you've given to us in

1003
00:44:49,350 --> 00:44:51,790
scripture through the life of Paul.

1004
00:44:52,430 --> 00:44:56,830
But we know that even Paul
understood that we shouldn't follow

1005
00:44:56,830 --> 00:45:00,030
him, only that we should look
at his example so that we can follow

1006
00:45:00,030 --> 00:45:00,350
you.

1007
00:45:00,990 --> 00:45:06,030
So, Lord, I pray that we can
point folks to you, point folks to

1008
00:45:06,590 --> 00:45:10,790
your grace, your word, your
power, your direction.

1009
00:45:11,350 --> 00:45:17,150
Lord, I pray that all of us
here this evening can clearly see

1010
00:45:17,150 --> 00:45:20,630
where God has us in our
calling, in our promises.

1011
00:45:21,430 --> 00:45:24,550
Lord, help us to have that
confidence in our calling, Lord.

1012
00:45:24,550 --> 00:45:26,870
If we don't have that
confidence, Lord, help us to find

1013
00:45:26,870 --> 00:45:27,510
that soon.

1014
00:45:27,910 --> 00:45:31,070
But Lord, also if we have
found that direction, Lord, help

1015
00:45:31,070 --> 00:45:34,110
us to point other people to
the direction that God has them in

1016
00:45:34,110 --> 00:45:34,950
their life as well.

1017
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:37,520
So, Lord, I just thank you for
this time that you've given us this

1018
00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:37,760
evening.

1019
00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,840
Thank you for this church,
family and what it means to me, Lord,

1020
00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:42,080
what it means to so many other people.

1021
00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:44,640
Thank you for your gift
through that.

1022
00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:48,040
And so we just ask for your
blessing here this week, your protection

1023
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:51,239
this week, your provision this
week, and most importantly, your

1024
00:45:51,239 --> 00:45:51,520
power.

1025
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:55,400
So we just ask that you go
with us as we go our separate ways

1026
00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:55,840
this evening.

1027
00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:57,040
In Jesus name, Amen.

1028
00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:00,800
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1029
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:01,440
podcast.

1030
00:46:01,930 --> 00:46:04,010
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1031
00:46:04,730 --> 00:46:07,010
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1032
00:46:07,010 --> 00:46:10,490
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1033
00:46:10,730 --> 00:46:13,290
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1034
00:46:14,010 --> 00:46:16,090
You can also email me directly at.

1035
00:46:16,090 --> 00:46:18,730
Josh
Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch dot

1036
00:46:18,730 --> 00:46:22,930
com if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1037
00:46:22,930 --> 00:46:25,690
along for future podcasts and updates.

1038
00:46:26,410 --> 00:46:27,370
Thank you so much.

1039
00:46:27,610 --> 00:46:28,330
God Bless.

1040
00:46:28,570 --> 00:46:29,850
Have a wonderful day.