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Hello and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church Podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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

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this podcast.

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

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you in the word of God.

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

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for us here today.

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All right, well, we're going
to go ahead and conclude our study

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in the Book of Acts.

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If you have your Bibles, you
can turn there with me.

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Acts, chapter 28.

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I know it's been a while since
we've been in this book, obviously.

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Again, thankful for Pastor
John covering last week as we got

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a head start down to Alabama.

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But, and I believe weeks
leading up to that, we had our fellowship

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outside and we had an
abbreviated service.

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But here in Acts, chapter 28,
I want to just refresh your memory

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where we are.

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Paul has been on this long
journey to Rome.

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It started all the way back in
what we would say is the middle of

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the Book of Acts, when Paul
was on his missionary journeys and

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God pricked his heart,
convicted his heart, challenged his

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heart to go to Jerusalem.

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You remember, that was
something that all of his companions

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at that time said, hey, no,
don't go to Jerusalem.

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You're going to be persecuted.

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And Paul says, hey, you know what?

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I'm bound by the Spirit to go
to Jerusalem.

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And so whatever happens, I'm
okay with that.

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He says, so what?

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I'm bound.

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He goes, I'm willing to die
for what the Spirit has called me

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to do.

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But we know that even back
further in Acts, chapter nine, when

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Paul was called by God to be a
minister of the gospel, he said,

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he.

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He made God made a promise to
Paul by saying what?

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He said, you're going to
minister to the Jews and also the

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Gentiles.

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You're going to preach to
kings and leaders.

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And so I. I can't help but get
into the mind of Paul and say, lord,

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you.

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You said this all the way back
then, but it seems like you're.

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You're taking me down a lot of detours.

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But we realize that within our
Christian life that just because

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there's detours and just
because things aren't happening the

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way that we expected, that
doesn't mean that God has forgotten

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about us.

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We sang the song.

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We know he cares.

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And.

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And I thought about a verse in
the book of Hebrews, Hebrews, chapter

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10, verse 23, because I think
that this is a great summary of what

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Paul was dealing with in his life.

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And the concept of holding
fast or holding strong unto what

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God had promised him.

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Because there's times in our
life that we know what God has promised

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us through his Word.

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But yet we're tempted to doubt
because of the circumstances, because

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of the detours.

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What did Paul face?

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Well, Paul faced shipwreck.

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Paul faced being bit by a
venomous snake.

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Paul faced persecution by his
own people.

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Paul faced persecution from
the Romans.

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Paul was beaten.

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Paul was stoned.

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But through all of that, Paul
stayed faithful.

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Why?

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Because he went back to the
one who made the promise.

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He didn't look at the
circumstances around him and say,

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well, you know what that
situation that's happening to me

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must mean that God is not with me.

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No, he went back to the
promise keeper.

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And In Hebrews chapter 10,
verse 23 says, Let us hold fast the

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profession of our faith.

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Another way that you could say
this is let us hold fast to the hope

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that we have in God.

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And it says, without wavering, why?

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For he is faithful.

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That promised God has proven
over and over and over again that

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he is perfectly faithful.

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And so many times in our life
we'll doubt because of a situation

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or a doubt because of a detour.

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Some of you know how
frustrating those can be when you're

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on the road and you have your
ETA and all of a sudden there's a

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detour or there's a roadblock.

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And it takes us out of our
comfort zone.

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It takes us out of what we
have expected.

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But the Bible says that life
and the will of God is going to be

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faced with a bunch of detours.

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We're going to have a bunch of
conflict, we're going to have a bunch

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of issues.

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But ultimately God has made a
promise to Paul and that's what we're

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seeing fulfilled here at the
end of Acts chapter 28.

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And so go to Acts chapter 28
with me.

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We're going to start in verse
number 16.

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We're going to pick up where
Paul arrives in Rome.

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And we would essentially say
that this is the end for Paul, even

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though he doesn't die right away.

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We know that Paul spent some
time here in Rome, but this is the

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last leg.

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And we know that there's some
other things that are going to happen.

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But ultimately, if you want to
read Paul's last words, read second

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Timothy, because that's Paul's
real last words.

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But we come here to Acts
chapter 28, and we're going to start

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in verse number 16.

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It says, and when he came to
Rome, the centurion delivered the

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prisoners to the captain of
the guard.

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But Paul was suffered or
allowed to dwell by himself, the

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soldier that kept him.

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And so here we see the setting.

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What's the setting?

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The setting is, Paul is now
arrived in Rome through the shipwreck,

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through the difficulties,
through the detours.

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Finally, the promise of Jesus
was fulfilled in the life of Paul.

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And you might say, what
promise is that?

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Well, back in Acts, chapter
19, verse 21, it says that Paul purposed

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in the spirit when he had
passed through Macedonia and Achaya

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and to go to Jerusalem,
saying, after I have been there,

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I must also see Rome.

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We also know that in Acts,
chapter 23, verse number 11, after

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Paul was persecuted by his own
people, after Paul was thrown in

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prison, Jesus meets him and it
says, be of good cheer, Jesus.

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This is Jesus specifically
talking to Paul.

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He said, be of good cheer, Paul.

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He doesn't say, be of good
cheer, Paul, because everything's

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going to work out for you.

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He says, be of good cheer,
Paul, for as thou has testified of

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me in Jerusalem, so must thou
bear witness also at Rome.

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And so the promise all the way
back in Acts chapter 23 was, hey,

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Paul, have comfort in me.

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Have comfort in my call.

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Have comfort in my will.

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Because just as you've gone to
Jerusalem and preached, you will

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go to Rome and preach.

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Now, if you don't know the
full context of that, you might not

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understand the, the.

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The troubling nature of that.

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Because really, he went to
Jerusalem to preach, to be persecuted.

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And what is God saying to Paul?

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He says this, hey, just like
you went and preached in Jerusalem

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and got persecuted, you get to
go to Rome and do that.

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But Paul's excited.

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Why?

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Because he's following the
will of God.

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And this was a promise.

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He said, be of good cheer.

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This is going to happen.

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And we even know that he
repeated the promise during those

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two weeks of the storm at sea
in Acts chapter 27.

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And so here in Acts chapter
28, verse 16, we see the culmination

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of God's promise that Paul
would get to Rome and preach.

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We even know that Paul had a
desire to preach to those people

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there in Rome, to the Jews in
Rome, and to the Gentiles at Rome.

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And so we can stop here and we
can just think about the fact that

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God is going to keep his word.

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Even if it's not in our
timing, even if it's not in our way,

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God will keep his word.

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And we look over and over
again in Scripture and we see God

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making promises to his children.

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And sometimes we're tempted to
doubt those Promises, and we don't

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have time to go through all of
those here this evening.

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But some of the more popular
promises that you might know from

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Scripture is that God's never
going to leave us nor forsake us.

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That he's the same yesterday,
today and forever.

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That we can.

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That we can come boldly before
the throne of grace to find mercy

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and grace and help in time of need.

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There's all these different
promises that God gives to us and

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throughout Scripture.

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And so when we claim those
promises, it's not just claiming

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it by the circumstance that
we're in right now, but it's claiming

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that future.

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That's really what.

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That's really what faith is.

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It's believing that God is
going to keep his word in the future.

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It's in the here and now.

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But also he's going to keep it
tomorrow, he's going to keep it the

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next day.

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And so it says, what.

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What does Paul do here when he
gets to Rome?

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He could have done a lot of
things, but it says in verse 17,

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he says, and it came to pass
that after three days, Paul called

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the chief of the Jews together.

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This is what Paul does.

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He says, I'm going to preach
to my people.

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I'm going to preach to my
people here in Rome.

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And I think this is a
beautiful thing because it shows

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that Paul is consistently
holding fast to the confession of

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his faith.

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Paul is standing true to what
God has called him to do.

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And so he says, it doesn't
matter what circumstance I'm in,

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it doesn't matter that I'm in
the custody of Rome right now.

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I am going to preach the truth
because that is what God has called

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me to do.

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And you can read different
prison epistles.

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The book of Philippians is one
of the great ones that talk about

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how Paul can have joy and
confidence and hope in the midst

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of these trials.

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And so it says, and it came to
pass after three days that Paul called

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the chief of the Jews together.

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And when they were come
together, he said unto them, men

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and brethren, though I have
committed nothing against the people

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or customs of our fathers, yet
was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem

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into the hands of the Romans.

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So Paul is going to appeal to
the Jewish community here, and he's

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going to basically say, I
didn't do anything wrong to get here,

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but I'm here nonetheless.

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Verse 18. Who, when they had
examined me, would have let me go

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because there was no cause of
death in me.

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So he's giving his testimony here.

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Verse 19.

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But when the Jews spake
Against it I was constrained to appeal

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unto Caesar, not that I ought
to accuse my nation of for this cause,

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therefore I have called for
you, to see you and to speak with

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you, because that for the hope
of Israel I am bound with this chain.

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Find this so interesting that
he says this.

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He says he.

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He wants them to know that he
is a prisoner, not because of his

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own sin, but because of his
hope in the Messiah and because of

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the Gospel, because of Jesus.

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He says, it's worth it.

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And so he says, hey, there's.

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There's hope for Israel there.

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There's hope for all.

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And so he says that it's not
because I'm a sinner necessarily,

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it's not because I have
committed a crime.

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It's because I've preached the Gospel.

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And he wants them to know the
Gospel as well.

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And so verse 21 is the
response of the Jewish leaders.

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They're going to respond to Paul.

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And this demonstrates that the
religious leaders who accused Paul

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back in Jerusalem really
understood that they were in the

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wrong.

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Why?

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Because it says in verse 21.

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And they said unto him, we
neither receive letters out of Judea

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concerning thee.

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Neither any of the brethren
that came showed or spake any harm

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of thee.

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And so Paul here is learning
that no one said anything about what

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00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:22,120
he did there in Jerusalem.

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00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,040
And I. I believe this shows
that the people there in Jerusalem

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00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,040
and even up in Caesarea later
on, they knew that their case was

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00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:28,440
hopeless.

248
00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,560
And so they didn't send any
documents confirming their case because

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00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:33,200
they knew they didn't have
anything against Him.

250
00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:34,440
Verse 22.

251
00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,120
But we desire to hear of thee
what thou thinkest.

252
00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,960
And, and so they didn't know
anything about Paul or his ministry

253
00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:42,640
necessarily.

254
00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,220
They had heard of
Christianity, obviously, but they

255
00:10:46,220 --> 00:10:47,260
wanted to know more.

256
00:10:47,580 --> 00:10:50,380
And so they wanted to
understand what Paul had to say about

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00:10:50,460 --> 00:10:51,500
what he believed.

258
00:10:51,580 --> 00:10:54,980
And so this says here, but we
desire to hear of thee what thou

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thinkest.

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00:10:55,660 --> 00:10:59,140
For as concerning this sect,
we know that everywhere it is spoken

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00:10:59,140 --> 00:11:00,940
against, they're like, well, why?

262
00:11:01,900 --> 00:11:04,260
We want to know why everyone's
speaking against Christianity.

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00:11:04,260 --> 00:11:05,820
We want to know why everyone's
against this.

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00:11:05,820 --> 00:11:06,940
We want to hear your case.

265
00:11:06,940 --> 00:11:09,620
We want to know what's so
compelling that's causing all these

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00:11:09,620 --> 00:11:11,820
people to believe and causing
all these people to come against

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00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:13,080
of the gospel.

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00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:13,880
Verse 23.

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00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,720
And when they had appointed
him a day, there came many to him

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00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,960
into his lodging, to whom he
expounded and testified the kingdom

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00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,760
of God, persuading them
concerning Jesus both out of the

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00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,040
law of Moses and now the
prophets from morning Till evening.

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00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:32,960
This shows Paul's heart, this
shows Paul's faithfulness, this shows

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00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,640
really where Paul had his
direction focused.

275
00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:37,880
And it was to preach the
gospel to his people.

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00:11:38,940 --> 00:11:40,860
And so I believe, I mean, I
would have.

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00:11:41,020 --> 00:11:43,540
There's certain times in the
Bible that I want to be there and

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00:11:43,540 --> 00:11:43,740
see.

279
00:11:43,740 --> 00:11:45,820
And there's other times in the
Bible I don't want to be there and

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00:11:45,820 --> 00:11:45,940
see.

281
00:11:45,940 --> 00:11:48,540
Okay, so there's some
situations I'm like, I'm glad I wasn't

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00:11:48,540 --> 00:11:48,780
there.

283
00:11:48,860 --> 00:11:51,260
I'm glad I wasn't there during
the plagues in Egypt.

284
00:11:51,260 --> 00:11:52,660
Okay, that was pretty crazy.

285
00:11:52,660 --> 00:11:55,140
But this would have been one
of the times that I would have loved

286
00:11:55,140 --> 00:11:58,620
to see Paul teaching from
morning till evening from the law

287
00:11:58,620 --> 00:12:02,300
of Moses, from out of the
prophets and pointing them to Jesus

288
00:12:02,300 --> 00:12:02,940
through those.

289
00:12:03,260 --> 00:12:07,550
Anytime we see that Paul went
to the scriptures, he's not going

290
00:12:07,550 --> 00:12:09,790
to the Gospels, those aren't
written yet.

291
00:12:09,870 --> 00:12:12,950
He's appealing to the Old
Testament and showing how Jesus is

292
00:12:12,950 --> 00:12:16,150
the culmination of the
prophecies that were found in the

293
00:12:16,150 --> 00:12:17,150
law and the prophets.

294
00:12:17,470 --> 00:12:21,230
And so ultimately we see that
he is pointing them to Jesus.

295
00:12:21,630 --> 00:12:24,510
It says there that he
testified of the kingdom of God.

296
00:12:25,390 --> 00:12:28,630
Paul taught, no doubt what
Jesus taught.

297
00:12:28,630 --> 00:12:30,030
Jesus taught about the kingdom.

298
00:12:30,110 --> 00:12:31,190
So what is Paul going to do?

299
00:12:31,190 --> 00:12:33,830
Paul is going to teach about
the kingdom, he's teaching about

300
00:12:33,830 --> 00:12:34,390
Jesus.

301
00:12:34,790 --> 00:12:38,630
And, and we see that here some
were persuaded by the things which

302
00:12:38,630 --> 00:12:39,430
were spoken.

303
00:12:39,830 --> 00:12:43,510
And, and so in response to
this day long teaching from Paul,

304
00:12:44,310 --> 00:12:47,910
there are people, as we see
here, that are going to come to believe

305
00:12:49,190 --> 00:12:49,990
verse 24.

306
00:12:49,990 --> 00:12:52,790
And some believed the things
which were spoken.

307
00:12:53,110 --> 00:12:54,310
What an amazing thing this is.

308
00:12:54,310 --> 00:12:57,270
Even in the midst of what we
would call the capital of evil in

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00:12:57,270 --> 00:12:57,710
the world.

310
00:12:57,710 --> 00:12:58,910
Rome was an evil place.

311
00:12:58,910 --> 00:13:01,600
Rome was the center of paganism.

312
00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,360
But yet even in this, we see
the gospel working.

313
00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,960
The gospel is working in this
passage of scripture, the gospel

314
00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,800
is working later on in the
different epistles.

315
00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,880
And we know that the gospel is
working today.

316
00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,520
There's a lot of times that we
are tempted to doubt the power of

317
00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:17,680
the truth of the gospel.

318
00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:22,120
And sometimes we as humans try
to get in the way of the power and

319
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:23,280
the message of the Gospel.

320
00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,480
But if you go to Romans
chapter one, what does it say?

321
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,060
It says that there is power in
the gospel.

322
00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:32,340
And so what we need to do is
unadulterated preach the message

323
00:13:32,340 --> 00:13:32,820
of the Gospel.

324
00:13:32,820 --> 00:13:33,380
That's what Paul does.

325
00:13:33,380 --> 00:13:34,460
He preaches the truth.

326
00:13:35,180 --> 00:13:38,060
But just as some believed, we
see at the end of verse 24 that some

327
00:13:38,060 --> 00:13:38,540
did not.

328
00:13:39,820 --> 00:13:43,140
So some believe and trust in
Jesus, others don't they?

329
00:13:43,140 --> 00:13:44,660
They're living in disbelief.

330
00:13:44,660 --> 00:13:45,780
They're living in rebellion.

331
00:13:45,780 --> 00:13:49,020
And even I think this is
comforting for me as a preacher and

332
00:13:49,020 --> 00:13:51,740
as a teacher sometimes,
because sometimes a preacher and

333
00:13:51,740 --> 00:13:55,470
a teacher in any of you have
ever taught adult classes or even

334
00:13:55,470 --> 00:13:58,790
children's classes, you're
tempted to think, well, if they don't

335
00:13:58,790 --> 00:14:00,670
get it, maybe I'm doing
something wrong.

336
00:14:01,550 --> 00:14:04,790
The reality is, is that we can
present a very clear message, but

337
00:14:04,790 --> 00:14:06,750
that doesn't mean that people
are always going to believe.

338
00:14:07,470 --> 00:14:10,550
Our job is not to necessarily
make everyone believe.

339
00:14:10,550 --> 00:14:13,790
Our job is to present the
truth of the gospel to people.

340
00:14:14,670 --> 00:14:15,630
And so you know what?

341
00:14:15,630 --> 00:14:18,910
There's times in our life
where we do see people gaining knowledge

342
00:14:18,910 --> 00:14:21,390
from our teaching, but
ultimately it's the power of God.

343
00:14:21,810 --> 00:14:23,330
And so some believe and some
don't believe.

344
00:14:23,810 --> 00:14:26,210
And so even in the best
circumstances, there are going to

345
00:14:26,210 --> 00:14:27,810
be some people that reject the
truth of God.

346
00:14:27,810 --> 00:14:29,090
That's not our fault.

347
00:14:29,890 --> 00:14:33,490
The only thing that we are at
fault in is when we don't present

348
00:14:33,490 --> 00:14:36,330
the truth of God to people
around us and the opportunities that

349
00:14:36,330 --> 00:14:36,850
we have.

350
00:14:37,090 --> 00:14:39,570
And so Paul preaches, Paul
takes the opportunity.

351
00:14:39,570 --> 00:14:42,610
And that's one of the things
that I think about Paul's life.

352
00:14:42,610 --> 00:14:46,010
I think about if we were to
write a biography about him, what

353
00:14:46,010 --> 00:14:47,130
would be his key phrases?

354
00:14:47,130 --> 00:14:50,750
And you know, one of his key
phrases is, I'm ready, I'm ready.

355
00:14:50,750 --> 00:14:51,470
I'm ready to go.

356
00:14:51,470 --> 00:14:52,430
He was always ready.

357
00:14:52,430 --> 00:14:55,390
He was always willing to walk
through an open door.

358
00:14:55,870 --> 00:14:59,030
There's another opportunity
and where we can read in scripture

359
00:14:59,030 --> 00:15:02,990
that he says he, he prayed for
door, a door of utterance, which

360
00:15:02,990 --> 00:15:05,470
would essentially mean an open
door to present the gospel.

361
00:15:06,590 --> 00:15:10,190
And every situation that I see
in the New Testament, when Paul has

362
00:15:10,190 --> 00:15:12,830
an opportunity to preach the
gospel, he doesn't just knock at

363
00:15:12,830 --> 00:15:14,110
that door, he just pounds it down.

364
00:15:14,110 --> 00:15:15,150
He goes right through it.

365
00:15:15,690 --> 00:15:19,250
And I'm going to tell you
folks, if you want to have opportunities

366
00:15:19,250 --> 00:15:21,890
to present the gospel, pray
for those open doors, and God will

367
00:15:21,890 --> 00:15:22,970
send you those open doors.

368
00:15:23,050 --> 00:15:26,330
But when those open doors
begin to crack open, go through it.

369
00:15:26,330 --> 00:15:27,170
Don't be afraid.

370
00:15:27,170 --> 00:15:30,450
Because the truth is, is that
the worst thing that can happen is

371
00:15:30,450 --> 00:15:32,250
that people can reject what
you preach.

372
00:15:32,490 --> 00:15:35,130
But if people reject what you
preach, you're in good company.

373
00:15:35,770 --> 00:15:40,330
People rejected Paul, people
rejected Jesus, People rejected the

374
00:15:40,330 --> 00:15:42,090
best preachers throughout our history.

375
00:15:42,710 --> 00:15:44,870
And so the reality is, is that
it's not about success.

376
00:15:44,870 --> 00:15:47,670
It's not about coming and
saying, well, this is how many followers

377
00:15:47,670 --> 00:15:48,150
I have.

378
00:15:48,150 --> 00:15:50,710
No, it's about Paul going and
preaching and being faithful.

379
00:15:50,710 --> 00:15:52,150
To what God has called him to do.

380
00:15:52,630 --> 00:15:56,910
And Paul is going to explain,
basically he's going to explain from

381
00:15:56,910 --> 00:15:59,510
the book of Isaiah, Isaiah
chapter 6, verse 9 and 10.

382
00:15:59,510 --> 00:16:02,030
He's going to explain that
even though there are going to be

383
00:16:02,030 --> 00:16:05,430
some people in Israel and Jews
around the world that believe that

384
00:16:05,430 --> 00:16:07,510
for the most part there's
going to be a hardened heart to the

385
00:16:07,510 --> 00:16:07,910
gospel.

386
00:16:08,750 --> 00:16:11,670
He quotes that there in verse
25 and says, and when they agreed

387
00:16:11,670 --> 00:16:13,990
not among themselves, meaning
there was division amongst those

388
00:16:13,990 --> 00:16:15,790
that were listening, they departed.

389
00:16:15,870 --> 00:16:17,870
After that, Paul had spoken
one word.

390
00:16:18,030 --> 00:16:21,350
Well, spake the Holy Ghost by
Isaiah's the prophet unto our Father,

391
00:16:21,350 --> 00:16:25,790
saying, go unto this people
and say, hearing ye shall hear and

392
00:16:25,790 --> 00:16:26,670
shall not understand.

393
00:16:27,310 --> 00:16:29,470
Seeing ye shall see and not perceive.

394
00:16:30,110 --> 00:16:30,830
Verse 27.

395
00:16:30,830 --> 00:16:35,720
For the heart of this people
is wax gross and their ears are dull

396
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,840
of hearing, and their eyes
have they closed, lest they should

397
00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,560
see with their eyes and hear
with their ears and understand with

398
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,800
their heart and should be
converted and I should heal them.

399
00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,320
And so here we see Paul
quoting the book of Isaiah.

400
00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,200
And so when we see this
happening, there's a suggestion here,

401
00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,920
when it says that they did not
agree, the suggestion would be that

402
00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:01,360
those who believed were there
and those who didn't believe were

403
00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:01,560
there.

404
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:03,960
And there was probably some
arguing that was happening.

405
00:17:04,740 --> 00:17:08,420
And as Paul is watching this
happen, he's brokenhearted and he

406
00:17:08,420 --> 00:17:11,860
understands the prophecies
that there would be hardness of heart

407
00:17:11,860 --> 00:17:13,140
with the people of Israel.

408
00:17:14,100 --> 00:17:17,340
And so obviously Paul is happy
that some are believing, but he's

409
00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:21,060
also brokenhearted about his
own people rejecting the gospel of

410
00:17:21,060 --> 00:17:21,700
Jesus Christ.

411
00:17:22,740 --> 00:17:25,580
And we don't have time to go
there tonight, but we are going to

412
00:17:25,580 --> 00:17:28,100
go there in the future in the
book of Romans.

413
00:17:28,260 --> 00:17:31,540
But if you read Romans chapter
nine, you can really see the heart

414
00:17:31,540 --> 00:17:34,640
of Paul for his people,
specifically the Jewish people.

415
00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,800
His heart is that all the
Jewish people will come to know Christ.

416
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,560
And he's brokenhearted over
that because they're rejecting their

417
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:42,200
Messiah.

418
00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:45,560
Now we know again in the
future, we know that there will be

419
00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:47,560
a day when the nation of
Israel is revived.

420
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:48,800
And we are excited for that day.

421
00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:51,480
We, we are longing for that
day where they'll trust in Jesus

422
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:52,520
Christ as Messiah.

423
00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:54,640
But what Paul is saying here
is that there is going to be a time

424
00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,240
period where there's hardness
of heart, where there's blinding

425
00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,810
of the eyes, where there's
scales over the eyes of those people.

426
00:18:00,810 --> 00:18:05,210
And so essentially what Isaiah
was saying in the prophecy is that

427
00:18:05,210 --> 00:18:09,210
there will be people that
reject Jesus.

428
00:18:09,290 --> 00:18:13,570
They will hear the message,
but they won't understand they, they

429
00:18:13,570 --> 00:18:16,770
will see the things happening,
but they will close off to that because

430
00:18:16,770 --> 00:18:18,010
of their hardness of their heart.

431
00:18:18,730 --> 00:18:24,570
And just as that is true 2000
or so years ago in this time frame,

432
00:18:25,050 --> 00:18:26,600
so is it's true today.

433
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,680
I mean there, there, there are
going to be many people who hear

434
00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:34,320
and reject the word of God
simply because they don't want to

435
00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:36,960
turn to God, they don't want
to have accountability.

436
00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,440
Many people will say the
reason why they don't believe is

437
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:42,680
because of a lack of evidence.

438
00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:47,080
And that might be true for,
for some, but ultimately at the heart

439
00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,880
of that we know that the Bible
teaches that when people reject God,

440
00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:53,750
it's not necessarily an
evidence thing as much as it is an

441
00:18:53,750 --> 00:18:54,710
accountability thing.

442
00:18:54,710 --> 00:18:58,550
And coming to Christ and
saying, lord, I want you to, it's

443
00:18:58,550 --> 00:19:01,590
a relinquishing of power and
many people don't want to relinquish

444
00:19:01,590 --> 00:19:01,950
power.

445
00:19:02,670 --> 00:19:05,910
I saw this one famous atheist
and they asked him a question, they

446
00:19:05,910 --> 00:19:10,030
said, if God came down in
front of you and proved himself to

447
00:19:10,030 --> 00:19:10,830
you, would you still believe?

448
00:19:10,830 --> 00:19:14,790
And he goes, well no, I would
think that I was delusional or I

449
00:19:14,790 --> 00:19:18,070
would think that it was a
hologram or you know, the reality

450
00:19:18,070 --> 00:19:20,910
is that for some people there
will never be enough evidence.

451
00:19:21,610 --> 00:19:22,650
So what do we do in that case?

452
00:19:23,450 --> 00:19:25,370
Well, all we do is we preach
the word.

453
00:19:25,370 --> 00:19:27,450
We stay faithful to preaching
the gospel.

454
00:19:28,170 --> 00:19:30,170
Paul says it has the power to change.

455
00:19:30,650 --> 00:19:32,610
For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ.

456
00:19:32,610 --> 00:19:36,170
For it is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

457
00:19:36,170 --> 00:19:38,530
To the Jew first and also to
the Greek.

458
00:19:38,530 --> 00:19:41,010
For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from

459
00:19:41,010 --> 00:19:41,850
faith to faith.

460
00:19:42,090 --> 00:19:44,010
As it is written, the just
shall live by faith.

461
00:19:44,010 --> 00:19:47,910
And so what we can see here is
that this prophecy in Isaiah, though

462
00:19:47,910 --> 00:19:50,550
it's specifically dealing with
the nation of Israel, will still

463
00:19:50,630 --> 00:19:51,830
be the case for today.

464
00:19:51,990 --> 00:19:55,990
There will be people who even
sit in this building that come to

465
00:19:55,990 --> 00:19:59,670
church that, that read the
Bible, that will not believe because

466
00:19:59,670 --> 00:20:00,990
of certain hangups that they have.

467
00:20:00,990 --> 00:20:04,590
But ultimately, ultimately, if
we can boil it down, it's a lack

468
00:20:04,590 --> 00:20:07,990
of faith and trusting in Jesus
Christ as their Savior.

469
00:20:08,470 --> 00:20:11,310
And there's a self reliance
there, there's a selfishness there.

470
00:20:11,310 --> 00:20:14,790
And the original lie from the
very beginning was a humanistic lie.

471
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,040
What does Satan tell Eve and Adam?

472
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:21,040
You can be like God, you can
be your own God, you can have that

473
00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,280
type of wisdom, you can have
that type of power.

474
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,360
And that is really what the
lie is today.

475
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,720
And sometimes what Satan does
is he packages it as atheism, but

476
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,560
sometimes he'll Package it as
religious, or sometimes they'll package

477
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:33,960
it as.

478
00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:35,400
As, hey, you're a good person.

479
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:36,560
You're an honorable person.

480
00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,280
But the folks we talked about
this morning, there is none good.

481
00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:40,000
No, not one.

482
00:20:40,570 --> 00:20:43,170
And so what we have to do is
we have to go back to this understanding

483
00:20:43,170 --> 00:20:45,130
of why is the gospel so important?

484
00:20:45,610 --> 00:20:46,610
Why do some believe?

485
00:20:46,610 --> 00:20:47,690
Why do some not believe?

486
00:20:48,090 --> 00:20:51,010
Ultimately, we have to go back
to the thing of, hey, you know what?

487
00:20:51,010 --> 00:20:53,130
It is not my decision who goes
to heaven.

488
00:20:53,450 --> 00:20:55,770
It is my decision who I tell
about heaven.

489
00:20:55,850 --> 00:20:59,810
It's not my decision about who
is going to come forward on a Sunday

490
00:20:59,810 --> 00:21:00,170
morning.

491
00:21:00,170 --> 00:21:00,690
You know what?

492
00:21:00,690 --> 00:21:05,930
There were times when I would
preach on a Sunday morning, and you

493
00:21:05,930 --> 00:21:06,260
know, it.

494
00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:07,700
My measure.

495
00:21:07,700 --> 00:21:09,580
I'm going to be really
transparent with you here this evening.

496
00:21:09,580 --> 00:21:11,380
I hope you guys can appreciate that.

497
00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:15,940
My measure of whether or not I
was successful or faithful was how

498
00:21:15,940 --> 00:21:19,700
many people were stirred, how
many people said, wow, that was a.

499
00:21:19,940 --> 00:21:20,300
And.

500
00:21:20,300 --> 00:21:25,300
And though I'm appreciative of
your thankfulness to the messages,

501
00:21:25,860 --> 00:21:29,860
if I think of that as my only
measure of success and faithfulness,

502
00:21:29,860 --> 00:21:30,900
I'm missing the point.

503
00:21:31,790 --> 00:21:34,550
Because really, at the end of
the day, all of us are really serving

504
00:21:34,550 --> 00:21:35,710
for an audience of one.

505
00:21:36,190 --> 00:21:38,870
And though I'm ministering to
different people, I'm ultimately

506
00:21:38,870 --> 00:21:40,510
ministering to people for him.

507
00:21:40,910 --> 00:21:42,750
I'm preaching the gospel for him.

508
00:21:43,550 --> 00:21:46,110
Now, I can't understand the
type of love that Paul had for people

509
00:21:46,110 --> 00:21:47,310
who were persecuting him.

510
00:21:47,310 --> 00:21:48,430
And he still loved them.

511
00:21:49,070 --> 00:21:50,550
He wanted them to come to Christ.

512
00:21:50,550 --> 00:21:53,630
He was even willing to give up
his blessings for his own people.

513
00:21:53,950 --> 00:21:57,070
But yet, at the same time, how
many of us have not even a shred

514
00:21:57,070 --> 00:21:59,150
of that compassion for the
lost around us?

515
00:21:59,910 --> 00:22:01,110
I know I struggle with that.

516
00:22:02,230 --> 00:22:05,510
I know that I want my family
to be saved.

517
00:22:06,070 --> 00:22:08,950
I know that the people that I
love, I want to go to heaven.

518
00:22:10,070 --> 00:22:12,630
But who cares about that one
that doesn't have a family member

519
00:22:12,630 --> 00:22:14,310
that's saved, who.

520
00:22:14,310 --> 00:22:14,510
Who.

521
00:22:14,510 --> 00:22:17,630
Who's going to be like Paul
and say, if it means I get shipwrecked,

522
00:22:17,630 --> 00:22:17,910
if I.

523
00:22:17,910 --> 00:22:21,870
Means I go to prison, if it
means that I'm willing to go to another

524
00:22:21,870 --> 00:22:25,550
place and maybe never even see
my homeland again, it's okay, because

525
00:22:25,550 --> 00:22:27,670
I'm following what God has
called me to do.

526
00:22:29,250 --> 00:22:31,850
And that's that type of
commitment that that's talked about

527
00:22:31,850 --> 00:22:35,130
there in Hebrews when it says,
let us hold fast the confession of

528
00:22:35,130 --> 00:22:35,730
our faith.

529
00:22:36,850 --> 00:22:42,650
Verse 28, Paul tells them that
though he's brought the message to

530
00:22:42,650 --> 00:22:45,850
the Jews, he's going to take
the message of Salvation to the Gentiles.

531
00:22:45,850 --> 00:22:48,850
Which again, that doesn't
sound really alarming to us now because

532
00:22:48,850 --> 00:22:51,730
we're completely comfortable
with Gentiles being saved.

533
00:22:51,890 --> 00:22:56,250
But for those folks, it was
alarming for Paul to say, those Gentiles

534
00:22:56,250 --> 00:22:58,890
over there in Rome are going
to get saved the same way you're

535
00:22:58,890 --> 00:22:59,610
going to get saved.

536
00:23:00,010 --> 00:23:04,130
The Jews did not like that
because the Jews had a way for Gentiles

537
00:23:04,130 --> 00:23:07,170
to come into the family of
God, but it was a different way than

538
00:23:07,170 --> 00:23:10,050
they came in because they were
able to be in it because of their

539
00:23:10,050 --> 00:23:11,209
bloodline and Abraham.

540
00:23:11,370 --> 00:23:13,770
But what Paul is going to say
is, no, it's, it's the same.

541
00:23:14,410 --> 00:23:14,890
It's.

542
00:23:14,890 --> 00:23:17,370
If you, if you question that,
read the book of Galatians.

543
00:23:17,690 --> 00:23:20,330
He says salvation is the same
across the board.

544
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,240
It's through Jesus Christ,
verse 28.

545
00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,600
He says, Be it known therefore
unto you that the salvation of God

546
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,720
is sent unto the Gentiles and
that they will hear it.

547
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,840
He's basically telling them
that as you that are rejecting the

548
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,560
gospel, hey, there's going to
be Gentiles who receive the gospel.

549
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:42,920
You better get used to this.

550
00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:44,640
And verse 29.

551
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,100
And when he had said these
words, the Jews departed and had

552
00:23:48,100 --> 00:23:49,780
great reasoning among themselves.

553
00:23:50,980 --> 00:23:54,260
And so these people rejected
the salvation of God.

554
00:23:56,660 --> 00:23:59,540
But what it means is that it
doesn't mean that God's less powerful.

555
00:24:00,340 --> 00:24:02,180
It just means that they
weren't willing to hear it.

556
00:24:02,420 --> 00:24:04,340
And now there's going to be a
new group of people here.

557
00:24:04,340 --> 00:24:05,100
That's the Gentiles.

558
00:24:05,100 --> 00:24:07,860
We know that in Romans chapter
one, it says that, that the gospel

559
00:24:07,860 --> 00:24:11,540
was for the Jew first, but
then to the Greek, then to the Gentile.

560
00:24:11,940 --> 00:24:16,800
And so those who preach the
gospel are preaching the truth.

561
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:22,960
They're preaching, if we
preach the gospel fully, we're preaching

562
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:27,280
sin, we're preaching truth,
we're preaching judgment, we're preaching

563
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:27,840
salvation.

564
00:24:28,639 --> 00:24:31,200
The gospel cannot be reduced
down to one word.

565
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,120
Well, you'll hear people say
the gospel is love, and if we just

566
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:36,640
love, everything will be okay.

567
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:42,190
But the reality is, is that
the love that's described in Scripture

568
00:24:42,430 --> 00:24:42,910
is a.

569
00:24:42,910 --> 00:24:45,870
Is a different type of love
than the world says is love.

570
00:24:46,670 --> 00:24:49,470
Love is not an acceptance or
an affirmation of evil.

571
00:24:49,630 --> 00:24:53,750
Love is care and concern
enough for a person to tell them

572
00:24:53,750 --> 00:24:55,630
the truth about their eternal destination.

573
00:24:56,830 --> 00:25:00,230
So Paul's heart was so
evidently clear here that he wanted

574
00:25:00,230 --> 00:25:03,790
them to know Jesus, but he
really wanted all those people there,

575
00:25:03,790 --> 00:25:05,710
the Gentiles as well, to know Jesus.

576
00:25:06,550 --> 00:25:08,550
And so there's a mixed group.

577
00:25:08,550 --> 00:25:09,550
There's some that are saved.

578
00:25:09,550 --> 00:25:10,710
There's some that are not saved.

579
00:25:12,070 --> 00:25:13,590
But Paul says, hey, you know what?

580
00:25:13,990 --> 00:25:17,470
There's going to be an
opportunity for these Gentiles to

581
00:25:17,470 --> 00:25:17,910
be saved.

582
00:25:17,910 --> 00:25:21,110
And we know that eventually
Jerusalem is going to be destroyed.

583
00:25:21,910 --> 00:25:23,190
God's judgment is coming.

584
00:25:23,910 --> 00:25:29,990
But in this case, ultimately
Paul is speaking to some people that

585
00:25:29,990 --> 00:25:31,430
don't understand that
completely yet.

586
00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:34,060
Verse 30 and Paul dwelt two
whole years.

587
00:25:34,620 --> 00:25:37,300
So it's going to say that Paul
spent two years in Rome before his

588
00:25:37,300 --> 00:25:38,380
trial in Caesar's court.

589
00:25:38,700 --> 00:25:42,460
Paul dwelt two years in his
own hired house and received all

590
00:25:42,460 --> 00:25:43,820
that came in unto him.

591
00:25:43,820 --> 00:25:47,100
So even in these years, as
Paul was spending these two years,

592
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:50,820
he is going to still have
people come into his house and he's

593
00:25:50,820 --> 00:25:53,340
going to preach the gospel,
he's going to write letters.

594
00:25:53,740 --> 00:25:56,620
This is all part of God's plan
in preaching the kingdom.

595
00:25:56,700 --> 00:25:58,580
And verse 31 is how it all
really ends.

596
00:25:58,580 --> 00:25:59,580
The book of Acts at least.

597
00:26:00,090 --> 00:26:01,850
What does he do when they come
to him?

598
00:26:02,410 --> 00:26:05,850
Preaching the kingdom of God
and teaching those things which concern

599
00:26:05,850 --> 00:26:08,010
the Lord Jesus with all confidence.

600
00:26:08,170 --> 00:26:09,610
No man forbidding him.

601
00:26:10,490 --> 00:26:12,810
What does this, what does it
mean, no man forbidding him?

602
00:26:12,810 --> 00:26:15,609
It really is this idea that he
was just unhindered in preaching

603
00:26:15,609 --> 00:26:16,330
the Gospel.

604
00:26:18,010 --> 00:26:23,090
The chains that Paul had on
his hands and his feet, the Roman

605
00:26:23,090 --> 00:26:28,180
soldier that he was chained to
there in house arrest, it didn't

606
00:26:28,180 --> 00:26:28,460
matter.

607
00:26:28,940 --> 00:26:32,780
The word of God was unhindered
because nothing that Rome could do,

608
00:26:32,780 --> 00:26:35,380
nothing that the Jewish people
could do, nothing that anyone could

609
00:26:35,380 --> 00:26:38,140
do could stop the message that
God wanted Paul to preach.

610
00:26:38,700 --> 00:26:42,100
And so as Paul comes to Rome
and as he faces shipwreck, as he

611
00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:46,500
faces being snake bitten, as
he faces persecution, God delivers

612
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:49,060
him from all of those things
to get to the place where God wanted

613
00:26:49,060 --> 00:26:49,580
him to be.

614
00:26:49,740 --> 00:26:54,030
God shows him that he is
faithful, that the gospel cannot

615
00:26:54,030 --> 00:26:54,790
be stopped.

616
00:26:57,350 --> 00:26:59,590
Even though there are people
that don't believe, even though that

617
00:26:59,590 --> 00:27:02,110
there will be people who
persecute him, even though there

618
00:27:02,110 --> 00:27:05,470
will be people that eventually
put him to death, he is going to

619
00:27:05,470 --> 00:27:09,150
preach with all confidence,
knowing that he is doing the will

620
00:27:09,150 --> 00:27:09,470
of God.

621
00:27:09,470 --> 00:27:12,470
And that's why Paul can say at
the end of his life, I've I finished

622
00:27:12,470 --> 00:27:12,870
the course.

623
00:27:13,670 --> 00:27:14,790
He's ran the race.

624
00:27:15,590 --> 00:27:16,630
He's been faithful.

625
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:22,320
And so trusting in Jesus
Christ means to rely on his power,

626
00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:27,920
to rest in his promises, to
find his feet, to find his peace,

627
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:30,400
to perform his purpose.

628
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,160
And I want you to think about
that here this evening.

629
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:39,080
We have to rely on the power
of God to give us the strength to

630
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:44,080
trust in his promises so that
we can walk forward in his purpose.

631
00:27:45,300 --> 00:27:46,660
God has a purpose for all of us.

632
00:27:46,660 --> 00:27:48,260
God has a purpose for this church.

633
00:27:49,380 --> 00:27:53,140
And it's not some mystical
thing that we can't put our finger

634
00:27:53,140 --> 00:27:53,460
on.

635
00:27:53,620 --> 00:27:59,500
God's purpose for the church
is to present the gospel, to present

636
00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:04,900
the truth to a lost and dying
world, to win people to Christ, to

637
00:28:04,980 --> 00:28:10,540
evangelize the lost, then to
educate and to edify and to disciple

638
00:28:10,540 --> 00:28:13,630
folks, by the way, the Great
Commission is not just leading people

639
00:28:13,630 --> 00:28:14,950
to Christ in salvation.

640
00:28:15,190 --> 00:28:16,950
That's one aspect of the Great Commission.

641
00:28:17,430 --> 00:28:20,030
The other aspect of the Great
Commission is to teach them what

642
00:28:20,030 --> 00:28:21,350
it means to follow him.

643
00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:26,150
And then it goes on to say, to
make disciples so that they can make

644
00:28:26,150 --> 00:28:26,790
disciples.

645
00:28:27,590 --> 00:28:30,230
When we study the Book of Acts
and we look at authentic church through

646
00:28:30,230 --> 00:28:32,790
Scripture, what is the purpose
of the church?

647
00:28:33,110 --> 00:28:35,670
The purpose of the church is
to be the pillar and ground of truth,

648
00:28:35,670 --> 00:28:40,600
to be the hands and feet of
the body of Christ so that we can

649
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:47,080
move and we can change and we
can lead people to the truth of Jesus

650
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:47,320
Christ.

651
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:50,640
I want to take you to one last
passage of Scripture.

652
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:56,240
And, you know, I think that
this is appropriate as we conclude

653
00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,920
this study, talking about the church.

654
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:02,960
Matthew, chapter 16, verse 18.

655
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:08,960
This is before the church.

656
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:10,560
Now, some would argue this.

657
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:12,320
Well, this is before the Book
of Acts.

658
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:13,360
We can all agree to that.

659
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:16,680
And Jesus is having a
conversation with his disciples,

660
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,880
who we know will be the apostles.

661
00:29:19,279 --> 00:29:21,760
And we know that will be
leaders in the early church.

662
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:23,280
You can't argue that.

663
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,760
Peter was one of the early
church leaders.

664
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,120
He was the one that was
preaching in the day of Pentecost.

665
00:29:29,380 --> 00:29:33,860
He was the one who was going
to be at the top there in Jerusalem

666
00:29:34,340 --> 00:29:35,780
in many ways, in leadership.

667
00:29:36,580 --> 00:29:36,940
And.

668
00:29:36,940 --> 00:29:40,500
And we see in verse number 15,
we'll go back a few verses.

669
00:29:40,500 --> 00:29:42,020
Matthew, chapter 16, verse 15.

670
00:29:43,220 --> 00:29:48,940
Jesus has been asking the
disciples, who do people say that

671
00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:49,380
I am?

672
00:29:50,420 --> 00:29:53,020
And they say, well, some say
that you're John the Baptist.

673
00:29:53,020 --> 00:29:54,220
Some say that you're Elijah.

674
00:29:54,220 --> 00:29:56,340
Some say that you're Jeremiah
or one of the prophets.

675
00:29:57,220 --> 00:29:58,340
Jesus is okay.

676
00:29:58,340 --> 00:29:58,740
What.

677
00:29:59,860 --> 00:30:01,220
Who do you think that I am?

678
00:30:02,180 --> 00:30:07,020
And Peter answers and says,
thou art Christ, the Son of the living

679
00:30:07,020 --> 00:30:07,380
God.

680
00:30:08,580 --> 00:30:09,620
You're the Messiah.

681
00:30:09,700 --> 00:30:10,660
You're the Son of God.

682
00:30:10,660 --> 00:30:11,300
You are God.

683
00:30:11,300 --> 00:30:12,180
That's what he's saying there.

684
00:30:12,820 --> 00:30:13,500
Verse 17.

685
00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:17,260
And Jesus answered and said
unto him, blessed art thou, Simon

686
00:30:17,260 --> 00:30:20,580
bar Jonah, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but

687
00:30:20,580 --> 00:30:21,860
my Father, which is in heaven.

688
00:30:22,510 --> 00:30:25,590
Meaning there was no way that
you were able to find this in your

689
00:30:25,590 --> 00:30:26,190
own wisdom.

690
00:30:26,190 --> 00:30:26,750
This was.

691
00:30:26,830 --> 00:30:29,950
This is a truth From God, that
Jesus is the Christ.

692
00:30:31,470 --> 00:30:32,630
And this verse here is.

693
00:30:32,630 --> 00:30:36,430
Is a popular verse that gets
misappropriated to the fact that

694
00:30:37,470 --> 00:30:40,270
that Jesus is saying that he's
going to build the church on Peter.

695
00:30:40,670 --> 00:30:42,270
He's not going to build the
church on Peter.

696
00:30:42,270 --> 00:30:44,750
And we could have a breakdown
on the Greek here about the word

697
00:30:45,070 --> 00:30:45,630
rock.

698
00:30:46,110 --> 00:30:48,110
Really, the word for Peter is
little rock.

699
00:30:48,110 --> 00:30:50,510
The word for the rock that
he's about to say is the big boulder

700
00:30:50,510 --> 00:30:50,910
rock.

701
00:30:51,170 --> 00:30:52,170
But what is he essentially saying?

702
00:30:52,170 --> 00:30:55,890
He says this, and I say unto
thee that thou art Peter little rock.

703
00:30:56,930 --> 00:31:03,490
And upon this rock, what Peter
just said the boulder, I will build

704
00:31:03,490 --> 00:31:04,130
my church.

705
00:31:05,010 --> 00:31:06,130
So what is he saying here?

706
00:31:06,370 --> 00:31:10,530
He's saying that the church
will be built on the gospel of Jesus

707
00:31:10,530 --> 00:31:14,730
Christ, the truth, that Jesus
is Messiah, that Jesus is king, that

708
00:31:14,730 --> 00:31:17,880
Jesus alone is the way for
salvation the church.

709
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,920
And I'm going to speak frankly
here this evening.

710
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,280
The church is not just a
social club.

711
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:25,840
Are we going to find social
elements within the church?

712
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:26,320
Of course.

713
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:27,840
We are the family of God.

714
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,280
But if the church is reduced
just to a social club, we're missing

715
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:32,720
the point.

716
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:36,880
Is a church a place where we
can show off our gifts?

717
00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:40,080
Yes, but not show off our gifts.

718
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,160
Serve in those gifts.

719
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:43,040
Why?

720
00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:44,240
For the cause of the gospel.

721
00:31:45,190 --> 00:31:47,830
It always goes back to the
truth of Jesus Christ.

722
00:31:48,070 --> 00:31:55,270
If we lose sight of that, if
the programs and the machine, so

723
00:31:55,270 --> 00:32:00,030
to speak, of the church take
priority over the purpose of the

724
00:32:00,030 --> 00:32:01,670
gospel, we've missed the point.

725
00:32:03,990 --> 00:32:09,850
The Great Commission is our
purpose to go, to share, to.

726
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,920
To evangelize, to edify, to disciple.

727
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:18,440
And that's not just a
responsibility for the pastor, though.

728
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,280
It is my responsibility to equip.

729
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:27,360
Ephesians, chapter four, equip
the saints, you, me, for the work

730
00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:32,000
of the ministry, meaning my
job is not to do the Great Commission

731
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:32,440
alone.

732
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,640
And everyone just watch from
the grandstands.

733
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:36,160
It is that we come together.

734
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,600
And my goal is to point you to
scripture and encourage you to do

735
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,320
the things that God has called
every Christian to do within the

736
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:42,680
church.

737
00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:45,800
And that's what Paul is trying
to do throughout all of this time,

738
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:47,600
is not just a spoon.

739
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:49,640
There's a time and a place to
spoon feed people.

740
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,160
Micah is not in the same place
as Silas.

741
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,240
Like Silas, we have to spoon
feed still.

742
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,160
I mean, he's getting better at
it, but he's a baby still.

743
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,360
It's hard for me to know that
he's a year and a half, you know,

744
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:05,360
and it's like, man, it's crazy.

745
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:11,000
But if I treated Micah the
same way I treated Silas, I would

746
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:12,640
not be doing a service to Micah.

747
00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:13,920
He's 10 years old.

748
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:17,200
All right, son, come get your
mush here and let me be the CEO.

749
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:19,120
He's gonna be like, oh, no,
Dad, I can do this myself.

750
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:21,719
But we, we.

751
00:33:21,719 --> 00:33:24,880
You, you maybe you've seen
instances where someone has coddled

752
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,920
their child so much to the
point where they can't live without

753
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:28,720
somebody.

754
00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,320
And that's what we have
created within the church environment,

755
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:36,430
specifically in Western
society, is we've spoon fed individuals

756
00:33:36,430 --> 00:33:39,870
in the church so much to the
point where they're not able to find

757
00:33:39,870 --> 00:33:41,470
truth in the word of God themselves.

758
00:33:41,470 --> 00:33:44,270
They rely on a leader to do
all the work.

759
00:33:44,270 --> 00:33:45,030
And hey, you know what?

760
00:33:45,030 --> 00:33:46,070
Just spoon feed me.

761
00:33:46,070 --> 00:33:46,910
I'm ready to go.

762
00:33:48,270 --> 00:33:51,110
And though there is a time and
a place for the feeding corporately

763
00:33:51,110 --> 00:33:54,430
within the church, there is a
time and a place for individual growth

764
00:33:54,430 --> 00:33:57,550
within the work of the Lord in
the individual's life.

765
00:33:58,030 --> 00:34:00,670
And so the point I'm trying to
make is that the church is not just

766
00:34:01,230 --> 00:34:02,310
like the body of Christ.

767
00:34:02,310 --> 00:34:04,270
The church is the body of Christ.

768
00:34:04,830 --> 00:34:05,710
He is the head.

769
00:34:06,510 --> 00:34:08,670
And I don't know about any of
you guys, but last time I checked,

770
00:34:08,670 --> 00:34:10,270
if we don't have a head, we
don't have life.

771
00:34:10,270 --> 00:34:15,310
Okay, the head is Christ, but
the body is the church.

772
00:34:15,390 --> 00:34:17,229
You are the body, we are the body.

773
00:34:17,630 --> 00:34:20,030
And when the body hurts, the
body hurts.

774
00:34:20,830 --> 00:34:23,630
When the body is not working
in unison, the body is not working

775
00:34:24,110 --> 00:34:25,310
the way it should work.

776
00:34:25,710 --> 00:34:28,030
And what we have to do is we
have to say, what is our purpose?

777
00:34:29,700 --> 00:34:31,060
What's our ultimate purpose?

778
00:34:32,180 --> 00:34:35,180
The ultimate purpose, we must
come alongside in one accord and

779
00:34:35,180 --> 00:34:37,620
say the ultimate purpose is
the gospel of Jesus Christ.

780
00:34:37,780 --> 00:34:39,620
That's what Paul demonstrated here.

781
00:34:39,700 --> 00:34:41,380
That's what Peter demonstrated there.

782
00:34:41,940 --> 00:34:45,740
That's what the church fathers
demonstrated, that this is what really

783
00:34:45,740 --> 00:34:46,340
matters.

784
00:34:47,540 --> 00:34:52,780
And when we get that focus,
when we're, when we're ready to get

785
00:34:52,780 --> 00:34:56,620
to business, a lot of the
other things that are distractions

786
00:34:56,620 --> 00:35:00,180
in our Christian life and in
our church life will go away if we're

787
00:35:00,180 --> 00:35:01,780
all just focused on that same mission.

788
00:35:03,060 --> 00:35:06,100
And I don't know about any of
you, but like there is like a bond

789
00:35:06,500 --> 00:35:09,380
ever gone through like a
really traumatic situation with somebody

790
00:35:09,780 --> 00:35:12,140
and you have like a bond with
them now because you were in that

791
00:35:12,140 --> 00:35:14,020
tragic situation or difficult situation.

792
00:35:14,740 --> 00:35:17,300
It's somewhat like what it
means to be within the church.

793
00:35:17,300 --> 00:35:19,220
Like we're supposed to go
through it together.

794
00:35:20,590 --> 00:35:22,550
Well, we're not designed to be isolated.

795
00:35:22,550 --> 00:35:25,630
And so the church is to be the
body and we're to come alongside

796
00:35:25,630 --> 00:35:28,710
of Everyone that's going
through pain and struggles and to

797
00:35:28,710 --> 00:35:31,590
encourage them and lift them
up and challenge them, as the Bible

798
00:35:31,590 --> 00:35:32,430
says, exhorting.

799
00:35:32,990 --> 00:35:33,750
That's why it's.

800
00:35:33,750 --> 00:35:37,390
That's why In Hebrews chapter
10, it says to not forsake the assembling

801
00:35:37,390 --> 00:35:38,350
of ourselves together.

802
00:35:39,870 --> 00:35:43,310
It's not so that we can check
our boxes and say, all right, they're

803
00:35:43,310 --> 00:35:44,990
in church, okay, they're good
Christians today.

804
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:48,000
The reason why we're supposed
to get together is, as it says later

805
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:48,560
on to.

806
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:49,920
We are to exhort one another.

807
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:52,360
The exhortation is what matters.

808
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,720
To come together and exhort
each other in love and in good works,

809
00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:57,680
to provoke each other to love
and good works.

810
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:01,120
And so I'll end with Matthew
16, verse 18.

811
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,800
He says, on this rock will I
build my church.

812
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:05,680
And here it is.

813
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:09,760
The gates of hell shall not
prevail against it.

814
00:36:11,370 --> 00:36:12,490
The evil will not win.

815
00:36:12,570 --> 00:36:13,730
The church will prevail.

816
00:36:13,730 --> 00:36:17,530
And actually, does a gate
attack us?

817
00:36:17,610 --> 00:36:19,210
Have you ever had a gate
attack you?

818
00:36:19,610 --> 00:36:21,090
Maybe some of those automatic gates.

819
00:36:21,090 --> 00:36:22,290
I don't know if you ever had
your car.

820
00:36:22,290 --> 00:36:23,850
But a gate doesn't attack, right?

821
00:36:24,890 --> 00:36:28,130
You attack a gate like you
think about in the picture of the

822
00:36:28,130 --> 00:36:28,650
old times.

823
00:36:28,650 --> 00:36:32,290
There would be like, the gate
of the city, and the army would attack

824
00:36:32,290 --> 00:36:33,290
the gate of the city.

825
00:36:33,850 --> 00:36:36,330
So what we see here is that a
lot of times we think, well, the

826
00:36:36,330 --> 00:36:39,290
church is just passively
waiting and evil is attacking us.

827
00:36:39,290 --> 00:36:41,890
And we're just like, okay,
we're going to preserve.

828
00:36:41,890 --> 00:36:42,410
We're going to.

829
00:36:42,410 --> 00:36:43,330
We're going to prevail.

830
00:36:43,410 --> 00:36:45,530
No, the Bible says that we are
on the go.

831
00:36:45,530 --> 00:36:47,130
We are on the initiative.

832
00:36:47,130 --> 00:36:47,890
We are to attack.

833
00:36:48,370 --> 00:36:50,450
And it says the gates of hell
will not prevail against.

834
00:36:51,170 --> 00:36:55,970
And so it's an encouragement
to us that we are not just only a

835
00:36:55,970 --> 00:36:58,130
defensive church.

836
00:36:58,290 --> 00:37:00,250
The Bible says that there's an
offensive weapon.

837
00:37:00,250 --> 00:37:01,490
What's the offensive weapon?

838
00:37:01,490 --> 00:37:04,050
The sword of the spirit, which
is the word of God.

839
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,120
We are to use this as our
weapon against evil.

840
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:11,120
Now, maybe some of you have
heard of a Bible thumper.

841
00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:13,480
I don't literally mean use
this as a weapon, okay?

842
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:14,680
Don't use this a weapon.

843
00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,160
Don't hit anyone with your
Bible, but hit them with the truth

844
00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:22,840
of the Bible unapologetically,
with grace, with love, with patience,

845
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:26,400
with meekness, but at the same
time understanding that that is our

846
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:27,320
purpose as a church.

847
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:33,450
Our purpose is to be the
proclaimers of the message, the proclaimers

848
00:37:33,450 --> 00:37:34,610
of the gospel.

849
00:37:35,250 --> 00:37:37,090
So authentic church through Scripture.

850
00:37:37,330 --> 00:37:38,250
That's the Book of Acts.

851
00:37:38,250 --> 00:37:39,330
We've been in it A long time.

852
00:37:39,330 --> 00:37:42,690
We've studied a lot of things
through that, and there's a lot of

853
00:37:42,690 --> 00:37:43,730
lessons that we could take.

854
00:37:44,210 --> 00:37:47,530
And again, I think we can
summarize it all just with that simple

855
00:37:47,530 --> 00:37:50,050
fact that we build the church
on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

856
00:37:50,850 --> 00:37:53,170
The heart of Jesus is a heart
of unity.

857
00:37:53,170 --> 00:37:54,690
He wants this church to be unified.

858
00:37:55,740 --> 00:37:58,300
As a pastor, I want the church
to be unified.

859
00:37:58,780 --> 00:38:01,220
In reality, we're going to
have struggles.

860
00:38:01,220 --> 00:38:02,860
The church will always have struggles.

861
00:38:03,340 --> 00:38:06,980
I was having a conversation
with someone today, and we were having

862
00:38:06,980 --> 00:38:09,220
the conversation of, hey, you
know, the church has brought a lot

863
00:38:09,220 --> 00:38:10,300
of evil in this world.

864
00:38:10,540 --> 00:38:11,980
And I understand that argument.

865
00:38:11,980 --> 00:38:14,100
There are a lot of people that
say I can't be a Christian because

866
00:38:14,100 --> 00:38:16,220
the church has just had a lot
of atrocities over the years.

867
00:38:16,220 --> 00:38:21,640
And to some degree, that's a
false narrative because the church

868
00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:23,560
isn't as bad as what the media
has portrayed it.

869
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:25,600
But at the end of the day, the
church has done wrong things.

870
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,480
The church is still doing
wrong things today at large.

871
00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:29,720
But why is that?

872
00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,640
Is that because God is failing?

873
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:37,840
No, it's because the church is
made up of humans who are sin, cursed

874
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:38,720
and marred.

875
00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:41,640
And when people go their own
way and try to do church their own

876
00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:44,960
path, that's when the church
has gotten into a lot of problems

877
00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:47,200
and fallen into sin.

878
00:38:48,150 --> 00:38:49,830
Is anyone exempt in the church
of sin?

879
00:38:49,830 --> 00:38:50,150
No.

880
00:38:50,150 --> 00:38:52,710
But what we do is we don't
base a church off of a person.

881
00:38:52,950 --> 00:38:55,030
We don't base a church off of
a movement.

882
00:38:55,110 --> 00:38:57,110
We base the church off of
Jesus Christ.

883
00:38:57,110 --> 00:39:00,310
There is no one that's
irreplaceable other than Jesus Christ.

884
00:39:01,110 --> 00:39:03,389
And so I want you to
understand here this evening, is

885
00:39:03,389 --> 00:39:04,310
that as.

886
00:39:04,390 --> 00:39:06,950
As a church, we will make mistakes.

887
00:39:08,790 --> 00:39:14,120
As a church member, you will
have an offense against you.

888
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:14,520
It's.

889
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:15,520
It's an inevitability.

890
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:16,800
It's not justifying it.

891
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:18,280
It's not condoning it.

892
00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:20,880
But the reality is, is that
there will always be issues because

893
00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:21,600
we're humans.

894
00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:25,120
But at the end of the day, we
always go back to the bigger purpose

895
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:26,000
and the bigger plan.

896
00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:29,120
The bigger purpose and the
bigger plan is again, presenting

897
00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:31,040
the gospel of Jesus Christ to
love people.

898
00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:33,200
I'm so thankful for Middletown
Baptist Church.

899
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:36,640
I. I can't share all the
details with you, but, you know,

900
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:41,850
I've been to a lot of
different places, and there are different

901
00:39:41,850 --> 00:39:43,650
churches that have different strengths.

902
00:39:44,210 --> 00:39:47,450
And one of the things I will
say about this church, among the

903
00:39:47,450 --> 00:39:49,930
many things that I'm thankful
for, is this church is a loving,

904
00:39:49,930 --> 00:39:50,530
caring church.

905
00:39:50,530 --> 00:39:51,130
Is it perfect?

906
00:39:51,130 --> 00:39:51,490
No.

907
00:39:52,290 --> 00:39:55,330
They're Going to be people
that have bad days, of course.

908
00:39:56,370 --> 00:40:00,250
But I will say that I believe,
I truly believe this is that there's.

909
00:40:00,250 --> 00:40:02,490
The spirit of God is moving at
Middletown Baptist Church.

910
00:40:02,490 --> 00:40:05,930
I do believe that there is
true, genuine concern and care and

911
00:40:05,930 --> 00:40:06,770
love for the lost.

912
00:40:08,170 --> 00:40:11,170
And sometimes it's just we
don't know what to do or we're misguided

913
00:40:11,170 --> 00:40:13,690
or maybe I'm just not sure how
I fit into this plan.

914
00:40:13,850 --> 00:40:15,050
That's the beauty of scripture.

915
00:40:15,050 --> 00:40:18,170
The beauty of scripture tells
us that all of us have been gifted

916
00:40:18,170 --> 00:40:21,210
uniquely for the purpose of
the gospel.

917
00:40:21,770 --> 00:40:24,850
And one of the most rewarding
things that I can tell you in your

918
00:40:24,850 --> 00:40:28,410
life is when you find that
gift that God has gifted you in.

919
00:40:28,730 --> 00:40:31,970
And when you are working in
that gift, that is the most rewarding

920
00:40:31,970 --> 00:40:32,330
process.

921
00:40:32,330 --> 00:40:33,090
Because you know what?

922
00:40:33,090 --> 00:40:35,910
No one can throw shade on your
day, right?

923
00:40:35,910 --> 00:40:38,350
Because every day is a
beautiful day when you're walking

924
00:40:38,350 --> 00:40:39,430
in the truth of Jesus Christ.

925
00:40:39,510 --> 00:40:40,310
Can I tell you that?

926
00:40:40,310 --> 00:40:40,950
Ministry.

927
00:40:41,030 --> 00:40:43,950
And by the way, when I say
ministry, I used to grow up thinking

928
00:40:43,950 --> 00:40:47,470
the pastor and the deacons are
ministry people and all we are just

929
00:40:47,470 --> 00:40:48,070
church people.

930
00:40:48,470 --> 00:40:50,030
There's been a lie that was told.

931
00:40:50,030 --> 00:40:51,110
All I'm going to.

932
00:40:51,190 --> 00:40:52,190
How much time do I got?

933
00:40:52,190 --> 00:40:52,910
Nine more minutes.

934
00:40:52,910 --> 00:40:54,750
Okay, I got you, got me till 7 o'.

935
00:40:54,750 --> 00:40:54,950
Clock.

936
00:40:55,030 --> 00:40:59,670
There was a lie that happened
back in the Middle Ages that the

937
00:40:59,670 --> 00:41:04,730
clergy was above and different
and more privileged than the, what

938
00:41:04,730 --> 00:41:05,690
we call the laity.

939
00:41:06,730 --> 00:41:08,130
And there was this big division.

940
00:41:08,130 --> 00:41:09,370
Laity, you can't read.

941
00:41:09,930 --> 00:41:13,210
So just trust us, we've got it
all under control.

942
00:41:13,210 --> 00:41:15,530
We want to make money, we want
to have all this.

943
00:41:15,610 --> 00:41:20,250
And the idea for that has
changed a little bit in the Reformation,

944
00:41:20,250 --> 00:41:21,370
a little bit throughout the years.

945
00:41:21,450 --> 00:41:24,330
But what I will say is that
there is still some of that ingrained

946
00:41:24,330 --> 00:41:27,730
in our society that, well, the
ministry is for the people that are

947
00:41:27,730 --> 00:41:29,730
pastors, vocational people.

948
00:41:30,210 --> 00:41:33,330
But folks, the ministry of the
gospel is everyone's ministry.

949
00:41:33,810 --> 00:41:36,050
You, you, you are all in the ministry.

950
00:41:36,050 --> 00:41:36,890
Whether you like it or not.

951
00:41:36,890 --> 00:41:39,730
If you're a believer in Jesus
Christ, you are signed up for the

952
00:41:39,730 --> 00:41:40,210
ministry.

953
00:41:40,290 --> 00:41:42,290
Some people are vocationally
in the ministry.

954
00:41:42,450 --> 00:41:45,890
Some people are, are Christian
businessmen, some people are Christian

955
00:41:46,210 --> 00:41:48,490
housewives, some people are
Christian whatever.

956
00:41:48,490 --> 00:41:51,010
But you are in the ministry of
Jesus Christ.

957
00:41:51,650 --> 00:41:54,370
And so what it is, is like I
want to be equipped in every tool

958
00:41:54,370 --> 00:41:57,530
that I can to, to be in the
ministry that God has me to be in.

959
00:41:58,330 --> 00:42:02,610
And the ministry doesn't
necessarily have to be, well, this

960
00:42:02,610 --> 00:42:06,730
ministry sanctioned by the
church, the ministry is pointing

961
00:42:06,730 --> 00:42:08,890
serving people in the truth of
Jesus Christ.

962
00:42:09,610 --> 00:42:13,130
And so I know that I have the
Sunday night crowd here, the faithful

963
00:42:13,290 --> 00:42:14,330
Sunday night crowd.

964
00:42:14,330 --> 00:42:17,850
But what I'm going to tell you
is that change happens when individuals

965
00:42:17,850 --> 00:42:20,970
realize that there is a
responsibility to make that heart

966
00:42:20,970 --> 00:42:21,690
change ourselves.

967
00:42:22,390 --> 00:42:24,950
We pray for revival, but
revival starts with the individual

968
00:42:25,190 --> 00:42:28,030
that then corporately comes
together and say, we're all going

969
00:42:28,030 --> 00:42:29,670
to unify together in Jesus Christ.

970
00:42:30,230 --> 00:42:32,710
The gospel is presented by the individual.

971
00:42:33,510 --> 00:42:36,270
Yes, the church can be a
beacon of light to the world, but

972
00:42:36,270 --> 00:42:39,230
it takes the individuals to go
in the power of God to preach that

973
00:42:39,230 --> 00:42:40,950
gospel, to share that gospel.

974
00:42:41,910 --> 00:42:42,710
Folks, there's.

975
00:42:42,710 --> 00:42:44,310
It's been laid upon my heart recently.

976
00:42:46,310 --> 00:42:48,790
I want to take the gospel
further than Middletown.

977
00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:50,680
Middletown is a great mission field.

978
00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:51,880
We need that mission field.

979
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,880
But folks, I think God has so
much more planned for our church,

980
00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:58,480
and I'm excited to see what
he's going to do through you.

981
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:01,640
And you might say, well,
Pastor, I. I'm long gone past the

982
00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:03,560
days of leaving Middletown and
going somewhere.

983
00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:04,040
I get that.

984
00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:08,040
But God still gifted you in
some capacity, and the world now

985
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:09,400
is more connected than ever.

986
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:12,600
We can get creative with the gospel.

987
00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:15,400
Paul was certainly creative
with the gospel.

988
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:17,160
Paul didn't have the same
tools we have today.

989
00:43:17,670 --> 00:43:18,630
Paul didn't have the Internet.

990
00:43:18,630 --> 00:43:19,790
Paul didn't have smartphone.

991
00:43:19,790 --> 00:43:21,830
Paul didn't have all those
types of things.

992
00:43:21,830 --> 00:43:24,830
But I guarantee you, if there
was an opportunity for them back

993
00:43:24,830 --> 00:43:27,390
then to have the same tools
that we have today, they would utilize

994
00:43:27,390 --> 00:43:28,070
those tools.

995
00:43:28,950 --> 00:43:31,710
And so I would encourage you
to think about how God has you in

996
00:43:31,710 --> 00:43:33,510
your place at Middletown
Baptist Church.

997
00:43:35,030 --> 00:43:39,470
We're not the only church, but
we are a church that has been called

998
00:43:39,470 --> 00:43:40,990
to present the gospel to the world.

999
00:43:40,990 --> 00:43:43,510
So we're going to conclude
there with that.

1000
00:43:43,970 --> 00:43:50,450
But what I will say is this,
as a pastor, I'm no different than

1001
00:43:50,450 --> 00:43:54,130
you when it comes to my value
in Christ.

1002
00:43:54,850 --> 00:43:56,410
God sees us all the same.

1003
00:43:56,410 --> 00:43:58,330
Are there different
requirements for different positions?

1004
00:43:58,330 --> 00:44:01,530
Of course we know that there
are different responsibilities for

1005
00:44:01,530 --> 00:44:01,930
different people.

1006
00:44:01,930 --> 00:44:03,010
Of course we know that.

1007
00:44:03,250 --> 00:44:06,090
But don't ever see, well, that
person has that ministry and they

1008
00:44:06,090 --> 00:44:09,450
must be more valuable than me
or that person is more public or

1009
00:44:09,450 --> 00:44:10,450
more outgoing than me.

1010
00:44:10,450 --> 00:44:11,100
So they.

1011
00:44:11,100 --> 00:44:11,340
They.

1012
00:44:11,340 --> 00:44:12,260
They have been gifted different.

1013
00:44:12,260 --> 00:44:15,100
No, all of us in the eyes of
God are.

1014
00:44:15,180 --> 00:44:18,540
Are fit for the master's use,
as the Bible says.

1015
00:44:19,260 --> 00:44:21,580
And so what I want you to
think about here this evening is

1016
00:44:21,980 --> 00:44:22,660
not what.

1017
00:44:22,660 --> 00:44:24,940
What has that person been
gifted in, but what has God gifted

1018
00:44:24,940 --> 00:44:25,340
me in?

1019
00:44:26,140 --> 00:44:26,460
And.

1020
00:44:26,460 --> 00:44:30,620
And I really, really think
that we can come together as a church

1021
00:44:31,260 --> 00:44:35,540
and do miraculous things, even
if Just even like three or four of

1022
00:44:35,540 --> 00:44:37,470
us said, you know what?

1023
00:44:37,470 --> 00:44:40,110
We're going to dedicate
ourselves to the Gospel and reaching

1024
00:44:40,110 --> 00:44:41,750
Middletown, reaching the world.

1025
00:44:41,910 --> 00:44:45,190
Think about how much it
started with 12, right?

1026
00:44:45,190 --> 00:44:46,470
Well, actually 11.

1027
00:44:47,030 --> 00:44:48,710
And then they had to replace
the 12.

1028
00:44:49,190 --> 00:44:50,590
But think about how that worked.

1029
00:44:50,590 --> 00:44:54,510
I mean, just amazingly, how,
how the gospel in a short amount

1030
00:44:54,510 --> 00:44:56,150
of time covered the known world.

1031
00:44:56,150 --> 00:44:57,470
We saw that it reached all the
way to Rome.

1032
00:44:57,470 --> 00:45:00,390
They said, paul, we've heard
about all these people that are rejecting

1033
00:45:00,390 --> 00:45:02,470
what you're preaching, what's
going on.

1034
00:45:02,990 --> 00:45:05,390
So just think about how much
impact we can have in the world today.

1035
00:45:05,470 --> 00:45:06,070
And that's.

1036
00:45:06,070 --> 00:45:06,990
That's an exciting thing.

1037
00:45:06,990 --> 00:45:09,470
So we'll go ahead and close in
a word of prayer, and then I'll have

1038
00:45:09,470 --> 00:45:11,510
a few announcements, and then
we'll be dismissed.

1039
00:45:11,510 --> 00:45:13,070
Lord, I thank youk for this
time that yout've given us.

1040
00:45:13,070 --> 00:45:16,990
I thank youk for the
opportunity tonight to conclude our

1041
00:45:16,990 --> 00:45:18,110
study in the Book of Acts, Lord.

1042
00:45:18,110 --> 00:45:21,910
But help us to move forward in
what yout've called us to do, Lord.

1043
00:45:21,910 --> 00:45:27,110
Challenge us, make us more
like youe, Lord.

1044
00:45:27,110 --> 00:45:29,920
Help us to be busy about the
work that you've called us to do.

1045
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:33,400
I thank you for these
individuals who have seen fit to

1046
00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:39,040
be here this evening, others
that maybe are listening via the

1047
00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:39,360
Internet.

1048
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:44,120
Lord, I just do pray that you
encourage us and equip us for the

1049
00:45:44,120 --> 00:45:45,400
work that you've called us to do.

1050
00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:47,560
So we ask all these things in
Jesus name.

1051
00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:48,200
Amen.

1052
00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:49,560
Amen.

1053
00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:53,000
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1054
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:53,560
podcast.

1055
00:45:54,060 --> 00:45:56,220
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1056
00:45:56,860 --> 00:45:59,140
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1057
00:45:59,140 --> 00:46:02,620
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1058
00:46:02,940 --> 00:46:05,500
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1059
00:46:06,220 --> 00:46:10,660
You can also email me directly
at joshmissaroiddletownbaptistchurch

1060
00:46:10,660 --> 00:46:15,140
dot com if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1061
00:46:15,140 --> 00:46:17,820
along for future podcast and updates.

1062
00:46:18,620 --> 00:46:19,580
Thank you so much.

1063
00:46:19,740 --> 00:46:20,540
God bless.

1064
00:46:20,780 --> 00:46:22,060
Have a wonderful day.