Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Three Proofs of Growth │ Msg 816

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Three Proofs of Growth │ Msg 816 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Did you know that you can download Chuck's messages to
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Speaker 2: I once heard a great line about mountain climbers. You
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Speaker 2: know why mountain climbers tie themselves together? The answer is
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Speaker 2: to keep the sane ones from going home. Such a
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Speaker 2: great line there, isn't it?
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Speaker 3: I love that.
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Speaker 2: Statement, to keep the sane ones from going home. And frankly,
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Speaker 2: I agree. If I'm going to risk my neck to
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Speaker 2: scale a jagged mountain face, I'd rather do that tied
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Speaker 2: to someone I trust than attempt to go it alone,
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Speaker 2: wouldn't you? In many ways, that applies spiritually. In all
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Speaker 2: my years of ministry, I can count on one hand
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Speaker 2: the times I've successfully accomplished anything significant climbing solo. But frankly,
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Speaker 2: I've lost track of the times I wish I had
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Speaker 2: sought wise counsel, solicited trustworthy, supportive partners, or brought along
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Speaker 2: much-needed reinforcements for my journey, especially when taking on those
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Speaker 2: more arduous and risky tricks. My ministry mentor and longtime friend,
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Speaker 2: the late Howie Hendricks, used to say this, there ought
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Speaker 2: to be no lone rangers in ministry. And he was right.
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Speaker 3: He usually was.
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Speaker 2: Sadly, as most of us have probably witnessed, that go-it-alone
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Speaker 2: approach to ministry and life proves not only foolish, but
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Speaker 2: it can be downright dangerous. As we shall discover, one
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Speaker 2: essential to growing up in God's family is developing a
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Speaker 2: genuine willingness to serve and work alongside others. The reason
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Speaker 2: we tie ourselves to one another, as it were, in
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Speaker 2: the body of Christ has nothing to do with sanity.
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Speaker 2: It has everything to do with humility and embracing the
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Speaker 2: biblical truth that God has bound us in Christ. to
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Speaker 2: labor together for His glory and the spread of His name.
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Speaker 2: In today's message, I hope to demonstrate for you what
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Speaker 2: that mark of spiritual maturity looks like, along with a
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Speaker 2: couple of other marks. I'm calling them proofs of spiritual
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Speaker 2: growth by seeing how each one was operational in the
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Speaker 2: early church, both by first looking closely at the ministry
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Speaker 2: strategy of Christ's first disciples, and then second, by zooming
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Speaker 2: in on the vibrant, Spirit-filled expansion of the church, which
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Speaker 2: is underscored all the way through the book of Acts.
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Speaker 2: In fact, that's where I'd like us to turn to
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Speaker 2: get things started. The book of Acts, chapter 4, beginning
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Speaker 2: at verse 32, from the New Living Translation, Acts 4,
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Speaker 2: 32 to 37. And I want to urge you, please
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Speaker 2: listen carefully. Acts 4.32 begins, All the believers were united
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Speaker 2: in heart and mind, and they felt that what they
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Speaker 2: owned was not their own. So they shared everything they had.
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Speaker 2: The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord
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Speaker 2: Jesus and God's great blessings was upon them all. There
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Speaker 2: were no needy people among them, because those who owned
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Speaker 2: land or houses would sell them and bring the money
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Speaker 2: to the apostles to give to those in need. For instance,
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Speaker 2: there was Joseph, the one the disciples nicknamed Barnabas, which
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Speaker 2: means son of encouragement. He was from the tribe of Levi,
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Speaker 2: and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a
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Speaker 2: field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
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Speaker 3: No two homes are ever the same. That is, not exactly.
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Speaker 2: I'm not referring to structure because you may live in
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Speaker 2: a home that is, if not identical, very, very similar
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Speaker 2: to the one nearest you.
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Speaker 3: I'm talking about what goes on inside.
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Speaker 2: Inside a home, there are not only different sights, but
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Speaker 2: even different smells. Have you noticed every family has its
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Speaker 2: own smell? And along with that, different appointments and different decorations,
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Speaker 2: and that's sort of what makes life rich and full
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Speaker 2: of variety and reward. I've often thought that if we
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Speaker 2: were blind, we would appreciate that all the more. We
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Speaker 2: would realize just how different homes are. This is especially
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Speaker 2: true when it comes to relationships that go on between
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Speaker 2: the members of a family. However, I have noticed in
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Speaker 2: most homes, for sure 90 to 95 percent of those homes,
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Speaker 2: there is the same thing present, especially in homes that
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Speaker 2: have been involved in rearing small children. This little thing
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Speaker 2: that's the same in all homes is found in different
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Speaker 2: places in the homes. Sometime it's on the back of
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Speaker 2: a closet door. Sometime it is in the kitchen on
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Speaker 2: the wall or maybe it's in a bedroom along the wall.
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Speaker 2: It may be in your home in the garage along
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Speaker 2: the wall of the garage. I'm referring of course to
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Speaker 2: a growth chart. Now most families have to interpret their
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Speaker 2: own growth chart. They're usually rather scary looking because they're
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Speaker 2: non-professionally done and There are a lot of horizontal lines
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Speaker 2: that run close together, and there are different names, and
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Speaker 2: sometimes there are various comments that appear along the wall.
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Speaker 2: I've seen comments like Amazon in the making or King
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Speaker 2: Kong on his way, or these names will appear of
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Speaker 2: different nicknames. But all along, you'll see these markings that
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Speaker 2: represent the growth of the people in the family.
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Speaker 3: In fact, during.
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Speaker 2: The 12 to 15, 16, 17 year period of our lives,
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Speaker 2: we grow the most rapidly. One authority writes it this
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Speaker 2: way to adolescents. The growing up process is a wonderful
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Speaker 2: and an interesting event. It's all controlled by a tiny
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Speaker 2: organ near the center of your brain called the pituitary gland.
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Speaker 2: This little organ is only the size of a small
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Speaker 2: bean Yet it's called the master gland because it tells
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Speaker 2: the rest of your glands.
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Speaker 3: What to do. It's the big boss upstairs.
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Speaker 2: And when it screams, your glandular system jumps. Somewhere within
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Speaker 2: your own pituitary gland is a plan for your body.
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Speaker 2: At just the right time, it will send out chemical
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Speaker 2: messengers called hormones, which will tell the rest of the
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Speaker 2: glands in your body Get moving. It's time to grow up. Now,
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Speaker 2: that's true physically. In fact, you can do nothing to
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Speaker 2: stop that gland. It's going to do its thing. You
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Speaker 2: may discover you're six feet nine in the eighth grade
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Speaker 2: and a girl at that. And you can't do a
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Speaker 2: thing about your height. You may worry, you may pray,
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Speaker 2: you may work and plan all kinds of things to
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Speaker 2: stop that, but you can't. It's automatic. It's built into
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Speaker 2: that little mid-brain gland.
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Speaker 3: Would that the same were true spiritually.
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Speaker 2: Would that we could say to our spiritual lives, just
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Speaker 2: take charge, and all of the growth would be automatic,
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Speaker 2: but we cannot. That's where the analogy breaks down. I've
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Speaker 2: often thought how interesting it would be to have a
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Speaker 2: growth chart somewhere along the wall of the church that.
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Speaker 3: We attend.
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Speaker 2: With names along the way marking spiritual growth By the way,
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Speaker 2: if you could measure your growth in inches, spiritual growth
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Speaker 2: that is, how many inches would you have grown during
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Speaker 2: the last three.
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Speaker 3: Four years? How much taller are.
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Speaker 2: You standing today than you were standing, spiritually speaking, three
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Speaker 2: or four years ago?
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Speaker 3: You say, well, that's not fair, Chuck.
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Speaker 2: I don't think three or four years is really very
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Speaker 2: much time to give a person to grow very far.
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Speaker 2: You know one of the reasons I am attracted to
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Speaker 2: the story of the Gospels and the early church?
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Speaker 3: Now listen to this.
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Speaker 2: Because when Christ left the earth, he handed the reins
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Speaker 2: of leadership to men who were not even four years
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Speaker 2: old in Christ.
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Speaker 3: Think of that.
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Speaker 2: Not one man who became an apostle to lead the
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Speaker 2: early church was five years old in the family of God. Now,
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Speaker 2: that challenges me and yet that bothers me. It challenges
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Speaker 2: me because I want to grow like that.
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Speaker 3: I want my adult years to be marked by growth.
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Speaker 2: By the way, interesting thing about growth charts in homes,
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Speaker 2: moms and dads are never on them.
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Speaker 3: Never.
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Speaker 2: I asked my folks why they weren't there one time
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Speaker 2: years ago and they said, well, honey, Adults don't grow.
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Speaker 2: They meant it one way, today I mean it another.
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Speaker 2: Adults must grow. In fact, one of the most tragic
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Speaker 2: scenes to observe in the family of God is an
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Speaker 2: adolescent inside an adult body.
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Speaker 3: Why is it that the early church apostles grew so
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Speaker 3: well and so rapidly.
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Speaker 2: I'm challenged by their growth. I'm also troubled by it
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Speaker 2: in light of today. Either Jesus' method and message and
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Speaker 2: model were so different from today, people aren't challenged to grow,
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Speaker 2: or we are not as teachable as the disciples were.
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Speaker 2: I want you to turn in your New Testament, if
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Speaker 2: you have one with you, Matthew chapter 10, and I'd
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Speaker 2: like to lift from the pages of this particular gospel
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Speaker 2: account three very important principles that stimulated the growth of
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Speaker 2: those young believers. Because I believe that somewhere in our
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Speaker 2: spiritual life is a plan for our spiritual growth. The
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Speaker 2: difference between it and the pituitary gland is, as I
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Speaker 2: said earlier, it isn't an automatic growth. Nothing inside says
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Speaker 2: to me, get moving, grow up, and then I automatically
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Speaker 2: jump in response.
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Speaker 3: Jump in obedience.
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Speaker 2: I may feel those nudgings, but I am not automatically
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Speaker 2: obedient to their call. Now I want to read the
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Speaker 2: first 10 verses of Matthew chapter 10. And while I do,
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Speaker 2: understand that the same account is found over in Mark's
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Speaker 2: gospel and even in Luke's gospel, not in John. But
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Speaker 2: this is the first time Jesus put these men of
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Speaker 2: his out into the streets. Up till now, they've been
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Speaker 2: fairly well-protected. They've been learning from him. They've been nurtured
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Speaker 2: by him. They've watched him. They have been passive recipients
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Speaker 2: of truth. But now they're getting into the action. And
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Speaker 2: this is kind of the pep talk before they leave.
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Speaker 3: To go out in the streets.
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Speaker 2: Having summoned his 12 disciples, he gave them authority over
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Speaker 2: unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every
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Speaker 2: kind of disease. and every kind of sickness. Now the
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Speaker 2: names of the 12 apostles are these. The first, Simon,
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Speaker 2: called Peter, Andrew, his brother, and James, the son of Zebedee,
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Speaker 2: and John, his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew,
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Speaker 2: the tax gatherer. That's the one who wrote this account. James,
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Speaker 2: the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and
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Speaker 2: Judas Iscariot, the one.
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Speaker 3: Who betrayed him.
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Speaker 2: These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, Do
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Speaker 2: not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do
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Speaker 2: not enter any city of the Samaritans, but rather go
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Speaker 2: to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and
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Speaker 2: as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is
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Speaker 2: at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper,
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Speaker 2: cast out demons. Freely you receive, freely give. Do not
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Speaker 2: acquire gold or silver or copper for your money belts
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Speaker 2: or a bag for your journey or even two tunics
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Speaker 2: or sandals or a staff. For the worker is worthy
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Speaker 2: of his support. Now, when I read through that account,
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Speaker 2: I find three, four, five principles. I want to land
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Speaker 2: on three of them because they seem to be the
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Speaker 2: most obvious and the most pronounced. One has to do
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Speaker 2: with unity. Another has to do with authority. And a
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Speaker 2: third has to do with generosity. I think because those
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Speaker 2: three principles are so much a part of growing up
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Speaker 2: acting adult, living maturely, they are worth emphasizing now. The
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Speaker 2: first principle I find in verses two through six, and
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Speaker 2: it has to do with unity. Let me give you
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Speaker 2: the principle and I'll show you why I say it
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Speaker 2: like I do. There is strength in staying close together.
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Speaker 2: There is strength in staying close together. Did you observe
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Speaker 2: as I read that to you that there were 12 disciples?
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Speaker 2: They often were known as the 12.
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Speaker 3: If you took the.
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Speaker 2: Time to read in Mark 6, verse 7, you would
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Speaker 2: observe that he sent them out in pairs, two by two.
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Speaker 3: They were never sent alone.
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Speaker 2: I remember in my days in the Marine Corps when
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Speaker 2: they were equipping us for combat, they made it clear
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Speaker 2: to all the recruits and all the young enlisted men
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Speaker 2: that when you dig a hole for battle, if you
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Speaker 2: can possibly find the time to do it, dig it
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Speaker 2: big enough for two people. There's something desperately frightening about
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Speaker 2: going into battle alone.
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Speaker 3: You go with someone else.
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Speaker 2: You find yourself encouraged when you are surrounded by 2, 3, 4,
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Speaker 2: in this case 12. And Jesus sent them out not
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Speaker 2: to do a job all alone, but to go together.
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Speaker 2: Keep it together. They are named together. Notice that right
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Speaker 2: here in this passage? All are named for us. And
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Speaker 2: the 12, verse 5, he sent out after instructing them
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Speaker 2: in this way. Remember Solomon's counsel from Ecclesiastes 4? Two
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Speaker 2: are better than one. Then he gives us four reasons
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Speaker 2: that's true. Number one, they have a good return for
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Speaker 2: their labor. Number two, if either one falls, the other
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Speaker 2: can pick him up. Number three, if they lie down
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Speaker 2: together and it's cold, they can keep warm. And number four,
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Speaker 2: if they're attacked, then it's easier to fight when someone
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Speaker 2: is with you. I remember when our older son, Kurt,
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Speaker 2: had his first bike. He decided to venture into the
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Speaker 2: world outside our immediate neighborhood. So he took a ride
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Speaker 2: down the hill and went across a busy intersection and
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Speaker 2: on into another section of the town with which he
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Speaker 2: was not too familiar. Understand, he was young and the
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Speaker 2: bike was shiny. He stood out like a sore thumb
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Speaker 2: in this particular part of the community where he found himself.
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Speaker 3: He looked up, and.
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Speaker 2: There were four or five guys who had old, crummy-looking bikes.
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Speaker 2: And one yelled at him and said, hey, you stole
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Speaker 2: that bike from us. Kurt didn't stay around and dialogue
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Speaker 2: with them about that particular disagreement. He simply set a
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Speaker 2: new record on a bicycle in Fullerton to get himself
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Speaker 2: back to the place where he could find safety.
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Speaker 3: He needed a buddy.
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Speaker 2: He needed two or three buddies if necessary, to fight
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Speaker 2: with him. The Mormons have learned the value of going
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Speaker 2: two by two.
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Speaker 3: Haven't they?
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Speaker 2: So have other religious organizations and cults learned the same.
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Speaker 2: You don't send out raw recruits on their own. You
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Speaker 2: keep them together, preferably in a bunch, because there is
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Speaker 2: strength in numbers.
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Speaker 3: Unity gives strength.
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Speaker 2: When we're all alone, it breaks down. Jesus prayed shortly
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Speaker 2: before the cross, Father, may they.
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Speaker 3: Be one even as we are one. I in them
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Speaker 3: and thou in me.
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Speaker 2: May they be perfected into a unit, John 17 tells us.
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Speaker 3: Literally.
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Speaker 2: May they become a team working close together. Nothing has
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Speaker 2: damaged the message of Christ more than the breakdown in unity. Nothing.
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Speaker 3: The splinter groups, the splits, the.
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Speaker 2: Scandals that have pushed people into isolated regions and ultimately
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Speaker 2: all alone in cynicism and bitterness, That has hurt the
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Speaker 2: cause of Christ more than any other issue. There's something
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Speaker 2: significant about remaining accountable. He tells them where to go
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Speaker 2: and where not to go, but he says, in effect,
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Speaker 2: stay together. There is strength in staying close together. The
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Speaker 2: second principle relates to authority.
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Speaker 3: See in verse 1, He gave them authority over unclean
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Speaker 3: spirits to cast them out.
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Speaker 2: He gave them authority over every kind of disease and sickness.
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Speaker 2: Drop down to verse 8. They had the authority to
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Speaker 2: heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cleanse the lepers.
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Speaker 2: By the way, lepers are never said to have been healed.
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Speaker 2: They're always cleansed. They cleansed the lepers. They cast out demons.
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Speaker 2: They were men of authority. The principle is this, there
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Speaker 2: is power in doing God's work. Just as there is
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Speaker 2: strength in staying close, there is power in doing God's work.
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Speaker 2: Notice there to be unintimidated men. By the way, no
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Speaker 2: other profession is promised this authority, only ministry. I'm not
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Speaker 2: saying all other professions are not important. I'm saying never
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Speaker 2: in scripture is there set apart a special sense of
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Speaker 2: divine authority like ministry. Few things are more tragic than
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Speaker 2: seeing a person in a pulpit who has lost his authority.
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Speaker 2: Few things more tragic than watching someone try to minister
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Speaker 2: in the energy of the flesh. It's a study in futility. Now,
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Speaker 2: this is not muscular authority. This isn't physical power. I've
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Speaker 2: seen some rather small messengers of God sway multitudes of people.
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Speaker 2: The difference is in authority and power.
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Speaker 3: Let me illustrate it.
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Speaker 2: In the parking lot outside the church where we worship,
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Speaker 2: There are two men who.
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Speaker 3: Have a lot of authority.
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Speaker 2: All they have to do is put up their hand
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Speaker 2: out in the street and cars, hopefully, screech to a halt.
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Speaker 3: That's all it takes.
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Speaker 2: Just a thumb and four fingers pushed in your windshield
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Speaker 2: and you stop. They may not be big enough to
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Speaker 2: hold back your large car, But connected to the hand
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Speaker 2: is an arm that's got a uniform wrapped around it.
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Speaker 3: And that uniform says, in effect, you better do what
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Speaker 3: I say.
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Speaker 2: If the Greeks were living and talking today in our
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Speaker 2: midst and giving us the term to describe those men,
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Speaker 2: they would use the word exousia.
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Speaker 3: We get the word exercise from it. Exousia. It means exercise.
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Speaker 2: The power of one whose will and command must be obeyed.
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Speaker 2: That's the term used in verse 1. When that uniformed
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Speaker 2: officer puts his hand up, I put on the brakes,
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Speaker 2: or I would wish that I would.
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Speaker 3: Have, because he has authority.
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Speaker 2: This particular body of men had no authority, educationally or physically.
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Speaker 2: The brightest one of the bunch, it may surprise you
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Speaker 2: to hear this, was Judas Iscariot. That's why he held
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Speaker 2: the purse. Probably one of the few guys that knew
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Speaker 2: how to handle all the business of the group. Matthew
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Speaker 2: could have, but he was a tax gatherer, so they
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Speaker 2: wouldn't trust him with it.
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Speaker 3: But Judas, they would trust.
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Speaker 2: These were ignorant and unlearned men, but when they spoke,
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Speaker 2: they spoke with authority. There is power in doing God's work.
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Speaker 2: Alexander White lived and ministered in Edinburgh for 47 years,
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Speaker 2: almost five decades in the same church. He was the
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Speaker 2: assistant pastor, and then he was the senior pastor and
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Speaker 2: remained until his death at Edinburgh. He spent from 8
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Speaker 2: o'clock in the morning until 2 o'clock or more in
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Speaker 2: the afternoon every.
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Speaker 3: Day of the week alone with God. No breakfast, necessarily,
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Speaker 3: to speak of. No lunch. Time with God.
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Speaker 2: He was respected for that, and it's not surprising to
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Speaker 2: know that his pulpit became a place of magnetism for
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Speaker 2: all of Scotland. After delivering a magnificent message, a friend
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Speaker 2: said to him afterward, you preach today as if you
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Speaker 2: had come straight from the presence of Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 3: To which White replied, in all humility, but with the truth,
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Speaker 3: perhaps I did. That's authority.
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Speaker 2: Authority is not because the person is clever or well-educated,
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Speaker 2: because he is well-dressed or well-versed or naturally eloquent. Authority
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Speaker 2: comes from the throne. And Jesus says to the twelve,
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Speaker 2: when you go out into the streets, you are invincible.
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Speaker 3: Invincible. Don't be intimidated. Take charge.
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Speaker 2: Speak the truth. Dare them not to believe it. That's
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Speaker 2: exactly what they did. And it must have been a
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Speaker 2: remarkable experience for these men.
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Speaker 3: Outside themselves, with no sense of.
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Speaker 2: High and mighty self-respect, these men stood alone and preached
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Speaker 2: the truth, having had it drilled into them by the Savior.
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Speaker 2: It's marvelous to be around someone who speaks with that
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Speaker 2: kind of authority. I love it when I see it
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Speaker 2: in people today.
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Speaker 3: I love it.
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Speaker 2: I see the power of God at work. There is
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Speaker 2: power in doing God's work. Are you doing God's work?
27:01
Speaker 2: By the way, let me just add a little extra here.
27:06
Speaker 2: Do it with authority. Do not do it reluctantly. Do
27:10
Speaker 2: not do it in an intimidated manner. You are a
27:14
Speaker 2: representative of the Savior. Do it in His might. Do
27:20
Speaker 2: it for His glory. Apologize to no one. Declare his message.
27:28
Speaker 2: Third principle is relating to generosity. And we just read
27:31
Speaker 2: the beginning of it in verse 8. Freely you received,
27:35
Speaker 2: freely give. There is freedom in giving without restraint. That's
27:40
Speaker 2: the third principle. There's strength in staying close together. There's
27:45
Speaker 2: power in doing God's work. There is freedom in giving freely.
27:50
Speaker 2: without restraint. I was interested in the way he described this.
27:54
Speaker 2: You have received everything freely. There was no tuition. Nothing
27:58
Speaker 2: was charged those disciples for the training they learned at
28:01
Speaker 2: Jesus' feet.
28:03
Speaker 3: They had no place to lay their head.
28:06
Speaker 2: They had no great financial benefits awaiting them at the
28:09
Speaker 2: end of the line. The employee benefits, I'm sure, were
28:14
Speaker 2: few and far between. They had the sky for their
28:18
Speaker 2: ceiling and they had the the earth for the floor.
28:22
Speaker 2: They had the world for their mission. Jesus, however, said
28:26
Speaker 2: to them, don't hold on to it. Freely you received,
28:30
Speaker 2: freely give. In fact, look at how he described it.
28:32
Speaker 2: Don't acquire gold, silver, or copper for your money belts.
28:37
Speaker 2: The Jews in those days wore what they called a girdle,
28:40
Speaker 2: which was wrapped around the waist and tied in the back,
28:43
Speaker 2: and there were folds in it. It became a a
28:46
Speaker 2: very practical wallet, if you please, and they tuck their
28:50
Speaker 2: money inside these folds within this girdle. Speaking often of
28:55
Speaker 2: that in the New Testament, you'll read of tightening the
28:58
Speaker 2: girdle that is about the waist.
28:59
Speaker 3: That's what they had reference to.
29:01
Speaker 2: In fact, he told them in the next verse, don't
29:03
Speaker 2: even take a suitcase. Now, that's the way to travel,
29:08
Speaker 2: isn't it?
29:10
Speaker 3: It's amazing.
29:11
Speaker 2: When we go up to Forrest's home for an overnight,
29:13
Speaker 2: Takes a pickup and two cars to get there.
29:16
Speaker 3: It's remarkable.
29:19
Speaker 2: I was amazed when the Sailhammer family went over to
29:22
Speaker 2: Europe for a time of several weeks. In fact, about,
29:27
Speaker 2: as I recall, about five weeks of travel. Went over
29:29
Speaker 2: there to say goodbye to them, the Stevenson's and I
29:32
Speaker 2: were there and we were bidding them farewell. And I said,
29:35
Speaker 2: let me help you with your luggage. And Paul had
29:39
Speaker 2: a bag and Sue had a bag and the two
29:42
Speaker 2: little fellows and their family James and Michael John had
29:46
Speaker 2: a little packs for their back and one carry-on and
29:52
Speaker 2: I said.
29:53
Speaker 3: Well where is your luggage? They said well we decided
29:55
Speaker 3: to travel light. I thought light?
29:59
Speaker 2: Boy, you'll have a distinct smell when you are finished
30:03
Speaker 2: with this. You'll fit right into Europe. But I'll tell you,
30:07
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what. I just thought I'd throw that
30:12
Speaker 2: in just for the sake. I learned years ago that
30:16
Speaker 2: if you travel abroad, you need two things, a great
30:18
Speaker 2: sense of smell. I mean, no sense of smell and
30:20
Speaker 2: a great sense of humor. And these people travel so lightly,
30:25
Speaker 2: I couldn't believe it. Two little carry-ons and a, Lord,
30:28
Speaker 2: you carry on in the little packs.
30:29
Speaker 3: And that was it. Said it was terrific. We never
30:33
Speaker 3: travel like that. Never.
30:35
Speaker 2: These guys weren't even to take a bag for their journey.
30:38
Speaker 2: They weren't to take an extra tunic. They weren't to
30:40
Speaker 2: take an extra pair of sandals.
30:41
Speaker 3: No staff.
30:43
Speaker 2: The worker's worthy of his support. God will provide for you.
30:46
Speaker 2: Just trust me.
30:47
Speaker 3: By the way, that gives freedom. That gives freedom to minister.
30:55
Speaker 3: When you don't have to worry about all the financial trappings,
30:58
Speaker 3: you don't do what you do for what you're going
31:00
Speaker 3: to get out of it.
31:01
Speaker 2: You don't plan ahead on your commitment so that you
31:06
Speaker 2: know you're going to make a bundle when it's over.
31:09
Speaker 2: Nothing wrong with planning ahead. You know better than that.
31:13
Speaker 2: Don't make this thing.
31:16
Speaker 3: Walk on all fours.
31:18
Speaker 2: He says many places through the New Testament that wise
31:22
Speaker 2: planning is indeed wise. But if you want to be
31:26
Speaker 2: in bondage, you spend your life captured with thoughts of
31:31
Speaker 2: your personal financial future.
31:35
Speaker 3: Daily walk that through. Think it through. Plan on it.
31:40
Speaker 3: You'll live in bondage. You want to live freely? Give freely.
31:46
Speaker 3: Give of yourself. Give of your things. Give of your treasure.
31:50
Speaker 3: Let it go. Release it.
31:55
Speaker 2: There is freedom in that kind of lifestyle. Now, the
31:59
Speaker 2: reason I'm hammering these principles away is because that's what
32:02
Speaker 2: got embedded in their brains. These young recruits in ministry
32:09
Speaker 2: listened to Jesus and more importantly, they watched his model.
32:14
Speaker 2: They watched his model and they discovered there's integrity, there's
32:20
Speaker 2: credibility here. What the man requires of us, he's doing.
32:27
Speaker 2: So when they were past the scepter of the early church,
32:30
Speaker 2: guess what? Acts chapter 4. That's precisely what they carried out.
32:36
Speaker 2: You're going to see all three of those principles at
32:39
Speaker 2: work right here in this passage we're looking at. Now
32:42
Speaker 2: let me give you the setting.
32:43
Speaker 3: For Acts 4.
32:46
Speaker 2: These men and women have already gone through some persecutions.
32:49
Speaker 2: They have been ordered to be quiet, not to spread
32:52
Speaker 2: the message. They've ignored that order, obviously. They've been told
32:56
Speaker 2: not to meet. They ignored that. They've been told not
33:00
Speaker 2: to speak, and they have ignored that. They've been with Jesus.
33:05
Speaker 2: Jesus has now left the earth. They're his representatives. It's
33:09
Speaker 2: time to do his business. It's time to live invincible lives.
33:14
Speaker 2: So the young church has been born, and guess how
33:17
Speaker 2: large it is. 4,000, 5,000 people. Some of us don't
33:22
Speaker 2: have difficulty identifying with a church that size. This was
33:25
Speaker 2: in the city of Jerusalem. They never met in a
33:29
Speaker 2: single building. That wouldn't be allowed. They met underground. They
33:33
Speaker 2: met in homes. They usually met every day. They broke
33:39
Speaker 2: bread together. They observed the table of the Lord together
33:42
Speaker 2: on a daily basis. Life was simple, and the message
33:45
Speaker 2: was clear. Thousands of them were meeting. Look at the
33:51
Speaker 2: congregation in verse 32 down through verse 37 of Acts
33:55
Speaker 2: 4 and see if you can't pick out right away
33:58
Speaker 2: the same principles at work a few years later after
34:02
Speaker 2: Jesus has gone and they have taken the reins of leadership.
34:07
Speaker 2: The congregation of those who believed were of one heart
34:14
Speaker 2: and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything belonging
34:19
Speaker 2: to him was his own, but all things were common
34:24
Speaker 2: property to them.
34:26
Speaker 3: There's unity in action. Do you see it?
34:30
Speaker 2: One congregation, one heart, one soul, no one claimed that
34:38
Speaker 2: anything belonging to them was his own, All things were
34:44
Speaker 2: in common. Now critics read that and say that has
34:47
Speaker 2: the roots.
34:47
Speaker 3: Of communism in it.
34:48
Speaker 2: It has nothing to do with communism. The economy of
34:52
Speaker 2: this is not the issue. If it were communistic, everyone
34:56
Speaker 2: would have been liquidated of his own funds and it
34:59
Speaker 2: would all go in one great pot, governed by one
35:03
Speaker 2: authority or an untouchable group of people. That's not the
35:07
Speaker 2: issue here. The point is when there were needs, the
35:10
Speaker 2: needs were met. Someone was hungry, food was provided. Someone
35:15
Speaker 2: was without a place to live, a home was provided
35:18
Speaker 2: or a room for them to stay in. That's Christianity
35:22
Speaker 2: in action.
35:23
Speaker 3: This is unity. Paul would write later, with all humility
35:28
Speaker 3: and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love,
35:33
Speaker 3: be diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit and
35:36
Speaker 3: the bond of peace. Do you do that? Do you
35:41
Speaker 3: do that?
35:41
Speaker 2: On your growth chart, are you any further up in
35:45
Speaker 2: your unity? Or are you a peace killer rather than
35:50
Speaker 2: a peacekeeper? You happen to be a minister in a
35:56
Speaker 2: local church. One of your assignments is to keep the
35:59
Speaker 2: unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. You
36:01
Speaker 2: have the authority, or at least the power, not from
36:05
Speaker 2: God but from the flesh, to split that thing right
36:08
Speaker 2: down the middle. You're commanded of God to keep it
36:13
Speaker 2: in unity. That means you give up some of your
36:17
Speaker 2: rights and you negotiate and you with wisdom give as
36:21
Speaker 2: well as take. This congregation modeled unity. It's beautiful. By
36:30
Speaker 2: the way, there are a few things that are less
36:34
Speaker 2: Christian than this ultra-independence that has kind of emerged.
36:40
Speaker 3: I live my life and you live your life and
36:43
Speaker 3: I leave you alone and you leave me alone. A
36:46
Speaker 3: sense of unaccountability. I don't find that in the early church.
36:52
Speaker 2: He sent them out in pairs and I take it
36:54
Speaker 2: that when they met, they began to be perfected into
36:57
Speaker 2: a unit. One of the reasons that we encourage involvement
37:03
Speaker 2: in adult fellowships in our church is that we know
37:07
Speaker 2: the value of meeting in small groups. I know the
37:11
Speaker 2: value of my small.
37:13
Speaker 3: Group of pastoral staff.
37:15
Speaker 2: Of men and women to whom I'm accountable and with
37:18
Speaker 2: whom I'm to spend time. And it never comes easily,
37:23
Speaker 2: I notice, but it's never without its benefits. What group
37:27
Speaker 2: are you a part of? If you suddenly began to
37:31
Speaker 2: slip and started to fall, would there be anyone there
37:34
Speaker 2: to catch you, to even know that you were so
37:37
Speaker 2: tempted or struggling? Maybe that's when you stop growing, when
37:45
Speaker 2: you just settled for a big worship service and let
37:48
Speaker 2: it go at that. Watch out for that kind of isolation.
37:55
Speaker 2: That's not guarding the unity of the Spirit.
38:00
Speaker 3: We need each other.
38:03
Speaker 2: And verse 33 speaks of authority. Here's our word again.
38:06
Speaker 2: With great authority, the apostles were giving witness to the
38:10
Speaker 2: resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon
38:14
Speaker 2: them all. I take that to mean favor. There was
38:19
Speaker 2: a mutual respect within the assembly. The leaders didn't look
38:24
Speaker 2: down upon the congregation. The congregation didn't look down upon
38:27
Speaker 2: the leadership. There was a mutual sense of grace. Christ
38:32
Speaker 2: had come. They had repented of their former lifestyle. And
38:36
Speaker 2: they had turned their lives over to the lordship of
38:39
Speaker 2: the Savior. So they decided the way to live was
38:43
Speaker 2: in grace. And the apostles preached with authority the resurrection
38:47
Speaker 2: of the Lord Jesus.
38:50
Speaker 3: Let's put it this way. They were kingdom people, not
38:53
Speaker 3: church people. Kingdom people. One man writes very well of that.
39:00
Speaker 2: I quote, the church gets in trouble whenever it thinks
39:03
Speaker 2: it is in the church business rather than the kingdom business.
39:07
Speaker 3: Then he describes it.
39:08
Speaker 2: In the church business, people are concerned with church activities,
39:12
Speaker 2: religious behavior, and spiritual things. In the kingdom business, people
39:17
Speaker 2: are concerned with kingdom activities, all human behavior and everything
39:22
Speaker 2: God has made, visible and invisible. Kingdom people see human
39:26
Speaker 2: affairs as saturated with spiritual meaning and kingdom significance. Kingdom
39:32
Speaker 2: people seek first the kingdom of God. Church people often
39:36
Speaker 2: put church work above concerns for justice, mercy, and truth.
39:41
Speaker 2: Church people think about how to get people into the church.
39:44
Speaker 2: Kingdom people think about how to get the church into
39:48
Speaker 2: the world. Church people worry that the world might change
39:52
Speaker 2: the church. Kingdom people work to see the church change
39:57
Speaker 2: the world. Isn't that good? We want to be kingdom people.
40:02
Speaker 2: We're not in the church business. We're in the kingdom business.
40:07
Speaker 2: That's why this particular huddle we call a worship service
40:10
Speaker 2: is just enough time to get us understanding the plays,
40:15
Speaker 2: and then we run the plays.
40:17
Speaker 3: Through the week. Just a touch to get the spark back,
40:22
Speaker 3: to get the priorities back in order. Just enough instruction
40:25
Speaker 3: to spur us into the streets so that evangelism can
40:30
Speaker 3: happen and edification can take place.
40:34
Speaker 2: These people knew that. That's why there was abundant grace.
40:37
Speaker 2: There was a presence of respect.
40:39
Speaker 3: There was an absence of suspicion.
40:42
Speaker 2: In verses 34 to 37, I find generosity. There wasn't
40:47
Speaker 2: a needy person among them.
40:48
Speaker 3: Wait a minute.
40:50
Speaker 2: We're talking 4,000, 5,000 people. If it's true, and indeed
40:54
Speaker 2: it is, there wasn't a needy person among them. All
41:00
Speaker 2: who were owners of land or houses would sell them
41:04
Speaker 2: and do what? Bring the proceeds of the sales and
41:07
Speaker 2: lay them at the apostles' feet. That took a great
41:11
Speaker 2: deal of respect, didn't it? They trusted the apostles. And
41:16
Speaker 2: they would be distributed to each as any had need.
41:20
Speaker 2: One of the greatest things that's ever happened in the
41:24
Speaker 2: church happened without much notoriety. Some time ago, we finished
41:31
Speaker 2: the Lord's table, serving the Lord's table. And as is
41:35
Speaker 2: our custom, we announced that following this observance of the table,
41:42
Speaker 2: we would have ushers that were at the door and
41:45
Speaker 2: Whatever monies would be given would be used strictly to
41:49
Speaker 2: help those who are needy in our midst. $ 7, 000 were
41:56
Speaker 2: given by the congregation simply as a spontaneous over and
42:01
Speaker 2: above gift to the needy.
42:05
Speaker 3: When I heard.
42:06
Speaker 2: About that, and I seldom get those kind of specific reports,
42:11
Speaker 2: first because I don't ask for them and Second, I
42:15
Speaker 2: figure the men in charge of that are far more
42:17
Speaker 2: capable than I to direct that part of our ministry.
42:21
Speaker 3: When I heard about that, I thought, that is great.
42:25
Speaker 3: That is generosity.
42:28
Speaker 2: How terrific that we would respond to the needs of
42:33
Speaker 2: our congregation.
42:34
Speaker 3: How easy to.
42:35
Speaker 2: Keep for ourselves and just give kind of the leftovers.
42:43
Speaker 2: When my children were small, Cynthia and I had left
42:48
Speaker 2: our roots in Texas to live out here, and so
42:51
Speaker 2: we didn't have any grandparents for our kids, at least
42:55
Speaker 2: not locally. And so there was a lady who lived
43:00
Speaker 2: not far from us named Erna Homer. Some of you
43:03
Speaker 2: know Erna. She now lives in Idaho with her husband Roland.
43:07
Speaker 2: And Erna informed our family that She would be the grandmother,
43:12
Speaker 2: and fine.
43:14
Speaker 3: That was great.
43:15
Speaker 2: In fact, she taught them to like pizza and took
43:20
Speaker 2: them on swims, and they had all kinds of fun
43:23
Speaker 2: picnics in the park. And when she'd get them all
43:25
Speaker 2: fat and messy and dirty, she'd bring them back to us,
43:28
Speaker 2: and we would have to do the disciplining and all
43:31
Speaker 2: of that. But what a fun lady. She had given
43:35
Speaker 2: the children pieces of fruit to eat while they finished
43:39
Speaker 2: their swim, and Our younger daughter, Colleen, had finished her
43:43
Speaker 2: little apple and she was still hungry. And on the
43:46
Speaker 2: way home that afternoon, Erna tells me this terrific story.
43:51
Speaker 2: Colleen was breathing over her neck as Erna was eating
43:55
Speaker 2: her apple. She wanted to have her apple, you know.
43:58
Speaker 2: And so Colleen said, Mormor, would you share that with me?
44:05
Speaker 2: And Ernest said, well, yes, honey, but, you know, I
44:10
Speaker 2: want some of it. So she said, thank you. And
44:13
Speaker 2: she ate it all up and came down to a
44:16
Speaker 2: tiny little core that you could hold with the stem.
44:19
Speaker 2: And she put it back in front of Ernest. She says,
44:22
Speaker 2: Ernest says, what is that?
44:23
Speaker 3: She said, well, that's sharing. That's sharing.
44:28
Speaker 2: I love that story. That's our idea of sharing. God,
44:33
Speaker 2: here's the core. I'll keep the apple.
44:41
Speaker 3: Cut that apple in two. Cut that apple in fourths.
44:45
Speaker 3: Give three-fourths of it away. There's freedom in that. There's
44:51
Speaker 3: joy in that kind of generosity. He'll take care of you.
44:56
Speaker 3: He really will.
44:57
Speaker 2: I've never seen his own begging bread. God didn't bring
45:03
Speaker 2: us into his family to starve us. As Churchill said,
45:09
Speaker 2: I didn't take over this responsible position to watch the
45:14
Speaker 2: liquidation of the empire. You didn't take your part in
45:18
Speaker 2: the family of God to starve to death. These people,
45:23
Speaker 2: right down to a man he named, Barnabas, who owned
45:26
Speaker 2: a piece of land. He owned a tract of land.
45:30
Speaker 2: I mean, that was some nest egg. He was going
45:32
Speaker 2: to cash in on it when he got a little older.
45:36
Speaker 2: But he was suddenly infected with this generosity disease.
45:43
Speaker 3: And he sold it, and he brought the money, and
45:45
Speaker 3: he laid it at the apostles' feet. By the way,
45:48
Speaker 3: you see what they nicknamed him? Verse 36, they nicknamed
45:52
Speaker 3: him Barn Abbas, son of encouragement. Son of encouragement.
46:01
Speaker 2: Everett Harrison writes, the church caught up in the enthusiasm
46:04
Speaker 2: of sacrificial giving. was content to leave the future with God.
46:10
Speaker 2: What a thrilling thing to be in a generous church.
46:14
Speaker 2: What an exciting spirit sweeps over us when we give
46:20
Speaker 2: as we've never in our lives given.
46:24
Speaker 3: It's not a matter of stewardship, it's a matter of lordship.
46:27
Speaker 3: Remember that.
46:30
Speaker 2: It isn't a sermon about money, this is a sermon
46:32
Speaker 2: about the master. I have never seen an exception. When
46:38
Speaker 2: Christ is Lord, generosity follows because we become like our Savior.
46:48
Speaker 3: Now, how do we put it into practice? Well, it
46:51
Speaker 3: isn't that complicated.
46:54
Speaker 2: I don't have any special magical formula like magic dust
46:58
Speaker 2: that we spread on this scene.
47:01
Speaker 3: You want unity, you have to stay close together.
47:05
Speaker 2: You want authority in an assembly that grows up into adulthood,
47:09
Speaker 2: then we must remember who's Lord. We want generosity in
47:13
Speaker 2: our midst. We have to hold our treasure loosely. I
47:19
Speaker 2: love the words of the late Corrie Ten Boom. She said,
47:22
Speaker 2: I learned in my later years to hold everything God
47:27
Speaker 2: gave me loosely because when I didn't, it hurt when
47:31
Speaker 2: he pried my fingers loose and took what he wanted.
47:39
Speaker 2: One of the desires of our financial seminar is to
47:43
Speaker 2: help you hold your treasure loosely. It isn't a fly-by-night
47:52
Speaker 2: afterthought that we've sort of thrown together now that we're
47:55
Speaker 2: talking about getting out of debt. This was planned months
47:59
Speaker 2: before that. a very carefully arranged series of meetings, not
48:05
Speaker 2: just one time, but a series of them, designed to
48:08
Speaker 2: help you understand what that treasure is all about, how
48:13
Speaker 2: to invest it wisely, what to do with savings, how
48:17
Speaker 2: to give, how to keep, what seems biblical about treasure
48:24
Speaker 2: and how does it relate to me today with my money.
48:33
Speaker 2: Churches are like homes, no two are exactly the same.
48:37
Speaker 2: We may look alike on the outside, but when you
48:40
Speaker 2: get inside, it's interesting. But unlike homes, I've never seen
48:46
Speaker 2: a church with a growth chart. I think somehow they're
48:51
Speaker 2: known by the person who sits in the pew.
48:56
Speaker 3: You know whether you're growing or not.
48:59
Speaker 2: And a pretty good checkpoint along these adolescent years is unity, authority,
49:06
Speaker 2: and generosity. There's only one reason, one excuse for not growing,
49:16
Speaker 2: and that is that you're not a Christian. You're not
49:23
Speaker 2: even in the family.
49:26
Speaker 3: Let's start there. Let's bow together, will you please? Please
49:32
Speaker 3: close your eyes and set apart just a few moments
49:36
Speaker 3: of silence. Just to think. Just think.
49:44
Speaker 2: As I look back over my life, can I find
49:49
Speaker 2: the point where I personally repented and came to Christ?
49:57
Speaker 2: Was there a point in my life where I turned
50:00
Speaker 2: around spiritually? I was once walking east and now I'm
50:05
Speaker 2: walking west. I was once bound for hell and now
50:09
Speaker 2: I'm on my way to heaven. Have I ever believed
50:13
Speaker 2: in Jesus?
50:15
Speaker 3: Christ personally.
50:19
Speaker 2: Jesus paid it all, all to him we owe. Sin
50:24
Speaker 2: left a crimson stain.
50:27
Speaker 3: He washed it. He washed it with his blood, white
50:31
Speaker 3: as snow. There are people dotted all around this world
50:36
Speaker 3: by the millions who've turned from darkness to light by
50:40
Speaker 3: believing in Jesus. Believing in him. Today is your day.
50:48
Speaker 2: Now.
50:49
Speaker 3: Do it now.
50:57
Speaker 2: A growth process will begin and it will never end
51:01
Speaker 2: as Christ becomes the Lord of your life. Our Father,
51:06
Speaker 2: how thankful we are today for your Son who in
51:10
Speaker 2: His last hours before He died prayed in earnest that
51:15
Speaker 2: we as your children would be one, that we would
51:20
Speaker 2: be bound together by the inseparable cord of supernatural love,
51:26
Speaker 2: superabounding grace, and spirit-born courage, impenetrable to the enemy's assaults.
51:35
Speaker 2: Deliver us, our Father, from any remaining tendency towards self-sufficiency
51:41
Speaker 2: and self-promotion, that can and does so easily and swiftly
51:47
Speaker 2: unbind us from each other and leave us bare and vulnerable,
51:52
Speaker 2: weak and needy. Knowing our enemy, the devil, is very
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Speaker 2: active and opportunistic in his subtle and relentless prowling through
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Speaker 2: our lives and the midst of our thoughts, I pray
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Speaker 2: that you'd place a guard of your divine protection over
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Speaker 2: each of us. over our families, and around the outskirts
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Speaker 2: of our ministries, so that the cause of your gospel
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Speaker 2: can continue to advance unhindered, even flourish among us, and
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Speaker 2: in the most difficult and perilous places on earth, where
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Speaker 2: the name of Christ, your Son, is not yet fully.
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Speaker 3: Known or embraced.
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Speaker 2: Be especially near to those who are in chains, for
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Speaker 2: your cause, who serve and preach at this moment in
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Speaker 2: the dark and evil shadows of oppressive regimes, secretly advancing
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Speaker 2: the gospel in unknown corners of the world. I pray
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Speaker 2: for them especially. I ask that you personally and powerfully
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Speaker 2: stand by their sides, comfort them, and protect them from
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Speaker 2: all harm, our Father. Deliver them from the lion's mouth,
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Speaker 2: as you did for the Apostle Paul, as he suffered
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Speaker 2: alone in a dungeon in Rome. It is to this
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Speaker 2: end I pray and ask all these things, our Father,
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Speaker 2: in the powerful, always triumphant name of Christ our Savior,
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Speaker 2: our Lord. Amen.
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Speaker 1: The preceding message, Three Proofs of Growth. was copyrighted in 1985,
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Speaker 1: and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2016 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
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Speaker 3: All rights are reserved worldwide.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for downloading this message. Insight for Living Ministries
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Speaker 1: is a listener-supported ministry. Messages like these are made possible
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Speaker 1: by generous donations from our listeners. Visit insight.org for more information.