Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #24464 - Believers Are Always on the Move - Acts 14:1-20

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#24464 - Believers Are Always on the Move - Acts 14:1-20 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the Study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co To learn
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more about the many resources available through Abounding
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Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services, visit us
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online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
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Church app. Now here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Amen.
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Open your Bibles, Acts chapter 14 as we start a new study, a
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new chapter in our study through the book of Acts, verse by verse
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Acts chapter 14. We're going to deal with a few
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of the verses in this chapter and I've entitled the Bible
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study. Believers are always on the
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move. It's true for you.
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It's true for me. We're always on the move.
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We're always doing something. We're physically on the move.
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Maybe you're unable to be so physically on the move.
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And you think, well, I don't know.
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Maybe I'm not like a missionary or I can't go to church all the
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time because I'm in a hospital bed or I've got an ailment.
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But, you know, you can be on the move.
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You know, you can travel. Did you know that you can travel
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the world from your prayer closet?
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You can pray all over the world. I mean, you can pray for all
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sorts of people. You can you can be in another
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place just through your prayer life, interceding, asking God
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for favor. But here this is a literal on
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the move physically and most of us, we are on the move
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physically. I like that phrase on the move
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is it implies so much about the Christian life and the the
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mandate of the church. It speaks of activity and
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action. It speaks of motion and
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movement. It reminds me of how the Bible
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describes our relationship as a walk.
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Sometimes it describes our relationship as running.
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And the idea is always forward, always on the move.
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Now the early church is literally on the move by sending
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out from the church in Antioch the missionary endeavor of Paul
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and Barnabas. And for a short time, John Mark
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was not part of the team. And then he went back to
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Jerusalem in our last study together.
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But they're on the move in the early church.
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Remember, they were on the move as being led by the Holy Spirit.
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This wasn't haphazard that they weren't, you know, in the
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missionary endeavor for the early church and for us, we
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don't just don't pull out a map and throw a dart at it and go,
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OK, I guess that's where we're going to go.
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But rather there's a lot of prayer, fasting, seeking of the
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Lord, and he gives direction, as we've seen in the early church.
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That's the model. And as they move out, there's
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great progress. The gospel goes out, lives are
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changed, people get saved. It's so exciting.
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But it's also important to remember that the calling of the
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believer, you and me, is not to a life without problems.
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So it's one thing to get all excited about being on the move.
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It's also important to remember being on the move.
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The more on the move you are, the more problems you're going
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to experience because you're going to meet more people and
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more progress. And with more progress comes
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resistance. Push back from the enemy
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himself. The the calling of the believer
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and this is something we need to accept, is to pain and
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suffering. There will be pain and suffering
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in relationship to your walk with Jesus Christ.
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It's going to happen. The more you interface with
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people, the more opportunity for difficulties to arise.
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Can I show you something? Let's go back.
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Hold your place. We'll get to 14 in a second.
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Go back to chapter nine of the book of Acts.
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Let's just remember the calling, the instruction and the
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explanation that God gave to Saul of Tarsus.
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Very particularly you remember Saul of Tarsus was to be met by
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this man by the name of Ananias. And Ananias was given a message
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pick up with me in verse 13 of Chapter 9.
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Ananias answers, Lord, I've heard from many about this man
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how much harm he has done to your Saints in Jerusalem.
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And here he has the authority from the chief priest to bind
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all who call in your name. Verse 15.
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But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen vessel of
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mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings and the children
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of Israel. And this was a special word for
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Saul. But by application it's all for
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us as well. Verse 16.
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For I will show him how many things he must suffer.
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That's the imperative for my name's sake.
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Jesus would say something similar to all of us.
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In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good
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cheer. I've overcome the world is his
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instruction. If you try to sidestep this
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truth in your walk with Christ, you're going to be making things
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harder for yourself. You're going to take a already
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difficult situation and make it more difficult.
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If you try to sidestep it, you're really trying to sidestep
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the will of God. This first missionary journey.
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Already there's a lot of pain that we've experienced.
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We've already seen there's already a lot of pain that
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they've experienced. Remember in pathos they were
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resisted by that man Alimus. He tried to hinder.
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The work came against them. John, Mark.
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We don't know all the details exactly of what happened, but
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the a key person that they relied upon abandoned them.
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Just left. I've got to go.
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Yeah, but we need you now. I've got to go.
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They they had Paul. It's often thought that he
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contracted a serious disease on this trip.
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They plagued him, the rest of his ministry onto Antioch and
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Pisidia. They shared the gospel.
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Many responded, but then many came against them.
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And it doesn't stop. We pick up back in chapter 13,
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notice in verse 50 just by way of review.
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But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and
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the chief men of the city. They raised up persecution
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against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their region.
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But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and came
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to Iconium. And the disciples were filled
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with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
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Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the
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synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude of
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both the Jews and the Greeks believed.
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But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and marked this
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phrase, poisoned their minds against the brethren.
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Therefore, verse three, they stayed there a long time,
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speaking boldly in the Lord who was bearing witness to the word
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of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their
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hands. They move on 50 miles into the
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area of Iconium, and it shouldn't surprise us.
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They had great success and great opposition, as was their custom.
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They found the local synagogue. They went in to begin to reach
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out to those that in synagogue because there was already a
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bridge built. Because they're studying the
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Torah, they know the Scriptures. There's great not only Jews that
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believe, but also the Greeks looking in.
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They believe. And there is a group of
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unbelieving Jews that stir up trouble.
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And there's just always people hanging around, believers
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hanging around the church that I don't know why.
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We don't need to figure it out, but we don't even need to know
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the reason. But there's just always those
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folks that want to stir up trouble in a church.
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I don't understand it. I certainly don't like it
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because a lot of my time is trying to solve these problems
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and put people's eyes back on the Lord.
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But this is very real. Wherever there's great progress,
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there's always going to be great opposition and there will be
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people that want to stir up trouble.
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This is the same old story. God moves and the enemy opposes.
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God moves and there's opposition.
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God moves forward in great ways and then the devil and the world
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system pushes back so heavily against the work.
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And this one is this one. I really don't like this verse
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because I watch this play out. Geez, I don't know.
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At least monthly, perhaps even weekly.
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I get this testimony of something happening even around
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here. Or some brother or sister gets
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picked off by some YouTube video or some false teaching, and it's
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this right here. Unbelieving Jews stirred up the
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Gentiles and poisoned their minds, and that's just a battle
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for your mind. It's a reminder that in the
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spiritual warfare and the armor that we've been given, one of
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the most important pieces of armor is your helmet of
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salvation, your identity in Christ.
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You put that on and you're protected from a lot of this
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stuff, or you just know who you are in the Lord.
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You know when someone says something that's not doesn't
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sound like God, doesn't sound like the word, You know the word
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of God, but you've just got your head protected because most of
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the spiritual warfare that you experience is in your mind.
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It's a battle for your belief because the devil knows, and by
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now you should know that what you believe will dictate how you
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behave, and that's why you want to have your mind renewed by the
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word of God. And you just know that.
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You know that you know so that when people come and want to
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mess with you, you can't be messed with because you're
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abiding in Christ, You're strong in him.
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You won't be taken advantage of. And it's just unfortunate, you
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know, if some of your Bibles might translate the word
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poisoned, embittered, You know what that is?
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That's people getting you involved in their problems and
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sucking you in. And you know what?
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You willingly get sucked in. You get involved in third
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parties. You know, if you think about
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most of the conflict you have with other people, it's very
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rarely one-on-one. It's almost always about a third
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party like you had. You had a great relationship
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with someone until someone else got involved and they're like,
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oh, what's going on? And if somebody just poisoned
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your mind and bittered and the mind some this, it's also going
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to be translated the soul. So troubling your soul.
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Some of you are troubled right now, and I'll tell you the
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number one weapon. You ready?
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It won't shock you, but you need to hear it.
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Here's the number one weapon of how people get their minds
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poisoned. You ready?
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Gossip. Gossip.
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And there are two parts. The gossip, you know.
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There is the mouth, the gossiper.
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And there are the ears. I don't know what you call that,
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but the person that listens, I was going to say gossipy, but I
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have no idea. I don't want to get an e-mail to
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be corrected later. So the one that speaks and the
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one that listens. And let me just say some of you
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that had your mind poisoned by gossip, it's your fault.
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You're responsible for who you choose to listen to, what you
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choose to receive and how you you know, and I I think if
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you're a person that gets a lot of gossip coming to you, you
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have to just maybe go home today, look in the mirror and
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say what has happened to you, that people think you want to
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hear all that gossip. Why do they come to you?
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You've got to assess something in your own life, that you're
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surrounded by gossips and maybe one yourself.
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And this is what happens. This is the the sin of gossip
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doesn't get a lot of attention. There's other sins that have all
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the popular attention, but this is devastating.
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This hurts people deeply. You Jack with people's soul when
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you gossip. You ruin reputations.
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You ruin seemingly other innocent people because you want
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somebody to sympathize with you. You want somebody to take your
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side instead of taking your issues to the Lord.
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And it's always a sin and it'll always be dealt with by the
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Lord. It's something to be forsaken.
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The worst enemies of the church were these guys that just
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wouldn't move on. So it's one thing not to
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believe. It's another thing to take that
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and try to undermine the faith of other people and to trouble
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them. To undermine them.
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Gossip is evil. It ruins lives, and the way
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around it is to repent from it, to keep our mouths shut and to
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learn to have a holy fear of God in order to keep our tongue in
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check and choosing what God says to build one another up, to
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encourage one another. Instead of talking about
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someone, you should talk to that person and see if you might
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resolve it through Matthew 18, not leaving it to someone else
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to resolve the mess that was created because you didn't do
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that. It's not from the Lord.
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The enemy loves for our hearts to be hardened toward each other
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fracturing this bond of love, turning each other against one
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another, having us wonder and question and on and on and we
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don't want any root of bitterness causing springing up
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causing trouble. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 15.
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So this is serious stuff here and as a pastor it's it's just I
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get I get upset. I go from getting upset about it
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to being sad about it because innocent people that just want
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to serve the Lord and and I said seemingly innocent because some
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of you invite gossip and I can't do anything about that.
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If you want your life ruined then go ahead and keep gossiping
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and go ahead and keep hanging out with gossips and go ahead
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about talking about everybody else's life, then your own and
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you just ruin your life and waste it.
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But that's not God's will for your life.
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That's not why he saved you. That's not why you are born
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again. To go around poisoning minds or
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having your mind poison. So just when you wake up in the
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morning you put on the helmet of salvation.
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You're just like Lord today. I'm going to walk in the newness
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of life. I'm going to walk in biting and
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you, Christ, and and just protect my mind and guard my
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ears that I might have. Remember what Jesus said in
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Revelation, that we would have ears to hear what the Spirit is
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saying. That's the voice.
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When you hear from the voice of the Lord again, in verse 3 is a
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great passage as well, because there's all kinds of opposition,
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all kinds of difficulty. What was their response?
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Because of all the difficulty, therefore, they stayed there.
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So not only are they moving forward, but when times get
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tough, they stay there a long time, speaking boldly in the
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Lord, bearing witness to the word of his grace granting signs
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and wonders so God is even affirming them being there.
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But I love this because their response to the opposition was
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the response to the problems. The response to the resistance,
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to the gossip, to the persecution is, you know what?
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We need to stick it out. We're going to stick it out for
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a while. We're going to preach the gospel
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boldly into this area. This is an evangelistic movement
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of Paul and Barnabas. This is God.
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And so he's like, man, this city needs us a little bit longer.
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Then we're going to head out just a little bit longer.
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And I love this boldness here. And I want to be clear that this
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boldness is different than what gets defined as boldness.
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Today. There is a new I don't even want
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to call it boldness, but this. There's a new swagger, I guess.
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Or some attitude in the church. Like like if the church just
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yells louder and posts more on Facebook and gets really angry
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and shakes our fist in the air, somehow we're going to reach the
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World. And I always just have to ask,
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how's that working out? Like, how's the world
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transformed by the screaming and yelling and the perceived
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boldness of the church? There is a need for boldness,
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but not the way that you might be operating right now.
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This is notice what it is. The phrase is very clear.
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They were speaking boldly. How?
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In the Lord it is led by the Spirit.
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It's not like you know when the world does something that's just
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horrible. You're watching the news, you
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can't believe it's you. And your response to sin is
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something in your own flesh. That's not going to make any
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progress for the Kingdom. Flesh.
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Sin met with flesh is just going to lead to more sin.
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You have to be in the Lord and boldness could be a quiet.
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Boldness doesn't have to be loud, It could be a steady
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boldness. It could be the fact that
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they're just didn't leave and it wasn't big scale anymore.
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It was little opportunities they have.
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We don't, we don't know all the details, but we do know that
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what was needed in that area was a reminder of the grace of God,
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How much God loves this city with all the opposition.
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Not just a bold in your face, you know, attitude that's been
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picked up lately. It's not anything new, but we're
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certainly seeing a resurgence of it because the days are growing
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darker and the world's like yelling, screaming of its
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immoralities and its central proclivities and the church,
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Sometimes believers just think, well, if we scream louder, we'll
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win. No, winning is seeing lives
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changed and screaming louder. I don't know how you feel, but
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somebody's up in your grill screaming at you, how you
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respond. It just doesn't.
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You just don't listen anymore because there is a invitation
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into someone's life that needs to be earned relationally, and
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it can be boldly. It's like they weren't ashamed
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of the gospel. But I don't want you to see this
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as a proof text of well, that's why I'm so loud and that's why
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I'm like your identity is in Christ.
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And here they are a lot of problems.
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They didn't quit. They didn't leave.
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They stayed there a long time. Verse 4, The multitude of the
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city was divided. Why?
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Because Jesus always divides. So of course the gospel message
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divides. Some sided with the Jews, some
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with the apostles. And a violent verse five.
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It doesn't. It gets worse.
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A violent attempt was made by both Jews and Gentiles with
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their rulers to abuse and stone them.
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They became aware of it and now notice it's time to go.
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They want to kill us. Let's go.
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And it's just a sanctified common sense here because
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somebody could come up and watch their lives and go, Wait a
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minute, man. You said you made a commitment.
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You're going to stay here a long time.
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You said no. And you're like, no, bro, I just
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think it's time to go. They want to kill me.
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And I think it's probably best I can serve the Lord better if I'm
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alive. It's just simple common sense.
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Not everything has to be super spiritual.
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Well, you know, I saw the third star that left and it moved and
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the moon turned like blood. And I think now I can get a
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hamburger tonight. It doesn't have to be all
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spiritual. You're hungry.
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Yes. Do you want a hamburger?
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Yes. Go get it in and out.
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Of course. Best one.
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Don't be trying to substitute. Don't even, don't even e-mail me
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about Whataburger. OK.
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They named that restaurant for a reason.
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You get your burger and you go, what is this?
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Are you guys with me? I just felt like you need to be
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woken up a little bit here. Not everything has to be super
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spiritual. Not everything has to be all
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like sometimes it's just common sense.
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Just God has given you common sense and you leave.
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It's time to go. It says in verse six they went
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to Lystra, Derby, cities of Laconia and the surrounding
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regions. And as they went, we know it's
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from the Lord because as they went, they're not hiding,
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they're not running away. They're preaching the gospel.
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They're preaching the gospel. And it was in Lystra verse eight
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that a certain man without strength in his feet, was
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sitting a cripple from his mother's womb who had never
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walked. This man heard Paul speaking,
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and Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to
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be healed, said with a loud voice.
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Stand up straight on your feet, and he leaped and walked along
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with preaching the gospel. God was using them to bring
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physical healing too. You got spiritual healing and
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physical healing. The man God Sovereign
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Sovereignly chose here was truly lame physically.
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Luke's mentions it three times. He's really lame.
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He's been that way since birth. He also becomes a picture.
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His calamity, his difficulty, his illness also becomes a
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picture of our lives spiritually.
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We too are spiritually lame from birth, separate from God, unable
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to do anything for ourselves. Spiritually.
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We need to be revived or what. Jesus said Unless a man is born
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again, he won't see the Kingdom of God.
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You need life. You're born spiritually dead.
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You need spiritual life. Paul sees this guy and sees
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something in him, the manifestation of the spirit.
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He has discernment. He's got this manifestation.
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Getting a faith gift here. Enough faith to tell this guy to
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stand up. And then the many healings,
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First Corinthians chapter 12, all the many healings.
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He's gets an opportunity to be a part of a healing here, because
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we already see that God is using signs and wonders to validate
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the message and here he is. He receives healing from all of
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the difficulty that moved Paul and Barnabas out of the city
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into Lystra, which we're studying you if you weren't here
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this last Wednesday. It was such a epic passage
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chapter we study in the book of Genesis about Joseph finally
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revealing himself to his brothers.
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But there was a real deep lesson that I'm still thinking about
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myself because it came fresh to me when I was teaching it where
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Joseph is there and and when he is revealing himself to his
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brothers, he basically tells him, hey, look, I know you sold
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me as a slave, but God sent me here and he didn't get hung up
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on. And and it has to be
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supernatural. Of all the pain that he
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experienced that he didn't get hung up on all the secondary
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causes, he just stuck to what God was doing.
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And it's such a great pathway for us.
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I just need to stick to what God's doing.
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I just, I I know a lot. My life's full of difficulty.
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I know there's a lot of hardship.
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I know there's a lot of injustices.
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I know and it makes life harder. But I also know even though I
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don't see it right now, God is doing something.
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He's moving me. He's taking care of me.
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He's cutting away. He's adding.
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I I don't always know. It's always with hindsight that
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I find out I can look back and go, oh, now I remember now I can
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see it right now we see in a glass dimly the Bible says, But
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then face to face and there's coming a time where things will
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be explained to us. But right now we live by faith.
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And that's where this man is. He's lit Paul's living by faith,
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and God uses him in the moment. And you know, God still works
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that way today. He saves people spiritually.
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He saves people emotionally. And when we pray for people to
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be healed, God still heals today.
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He's the same today, yesterday and forever.
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You know when you come up and you obey God and James and says,
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hey, come to the elders, anoint with oil, We've got oil here.
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We pray and we pray by faith. I don't know what God's going to
23:09
do, but I believe he can do it. I believe he can touch you.
23:12
I believe he can speak to you. I believe he can heal you
23:14
physically. Broken arms.
23:16
I believe he can heal you mentally.
23:18
Broken brains, broken emotions. Trauma.
23:21
I believe that God can heal you spiritually, which is where it
23:26
all begins. It all begins with your heart
23:28
being right with God. And this is an amazing thing.
23:32
Don't. Sometimes we'll look at the book
23:34
of Acts. Why isn't God doing that today?
23:36
He is. You're just seeing a different
23:38
facet of it, and you want to see it.
23:41
And you walk in faith, you'll see more of it.
23:42
You know, I'll tell you, no little organization can do this.
23:45
No cult system can do this. No drug can do this.
23:49
No drink. No relationship.
23:51
No set of good works. No set of rules.
23:54
Only Jesus Christ can heal a soul and heal a broken arm and
23:59
heal a broken brain and a broken marriage and a broken kids.
24:02
Only Jesus can do this. No system, no belief.
24:07
Only Jesus. He's the key.
24:09
Now notice again in verse 11 it says.
24:12
Now when the people saw that Paul had done this, they raised
24:15
their voices saying in the Laconian language the gods that
24:20
come down to us and the likeness of men and Barnabas they called
24:24
Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
24:29
And other translations might say Jupiter and Mercury.
24:32
These gods have come to us, then, the priest of Zeus.
24:36
So there was a group already worshipping Zeus in this area.
24:40
His temple was in front of the city.
24:42
He brought oxen and garlands to the gates.
24:45
He wanted to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas here with the
24:48
multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas
24:51
and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes, ran in among
24:55
them, ran in among them, crying out and saying, Men, why are you
25:00
doing these things? We are also men with the same
25:04
nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these
25:07
vain things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and
25:11
sea, and all the things that are in them, who in bygone
25:15
generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.
25:18
Verse 17. Nevertheless he did not leave
25:21
himself without witness, and that he did good gave us reign
25:24
from heaven and fruitful seasonings, filling our hearts
25:27
with food and gladness. And with these things they could
25:30
hardly or scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to
25:37
them interesting situation. This is a little bit different
25:42
Attack of the enemy. I want you to see it that way.
25:45
Remember, you have a threefold enemy, the world, the flesh and
25:48
the devil. This is the devil using people
25:51
now to in a different angle. I remember that time when Jesus
25:55
was fasting and in the wilderness and the devil came
25:58
and tempted him and he came back.
26:00
Thus saith the Lord this, this what the word says three times
26:02
and then the at the end it says the devil left him for an
26:06
opportune time. This is another opportune time
26:10
with Paul and Barnabas and it's a different.
26:12
Let me give you a little background and let's look at it
26:14
real briefly because a background I think will help you
26:17
understand why they did this. There's an ongoing myth in urban
26:21
legend in Lystra at the time that years earlier, two false
26:26
gods came to town disguising themselves as poor men.
26:30
They walked around as beggars, asked for help, asked for food,
26:34
asked for a place to stay and they were rejected except by one
26:38
couple. And that couple invited him into
26:41
home and took good care of them. And from that couple's house it
26:45
was protected. But a flood of judgement came
26:48
and wiped out the city and so that was the story going on.
26:52
Now they see the miracle, the same town with this urban legend
26:56
in their minds, this story that's been handed down
26:59
generations. They see Paul and Barnabas come
27:01
out of nowhere, just show up, perform, be at least it appears
27:06
to perform a miraculous, amazing, verifiable miracle.
27:12
And their conclusion is the gods came again, and we better
27:16
worship them this time. We better do it right.
27:19
Paul and Barnabas don't know what they're walking into.
27:22
They have no idea. They're just doing what God's
27:23
called them to do. But they're walking into the
27:25
background of that area, which when we prepare missionaries to
27:30
go out, they need to study where they're going so they understand
27:32
what they're walking into. So here they are, They're about
27:36
ready to be worshipped. And here's where you take note
27:40
here. I believe that Paul and Barnabas
27:42
face their greatest danger here, their greatest danger in
27:47
ministry. You know, it's in your life and
27:50
mine. It's really not through the
27:51
problems that we're the weakest. Because you know what problems
27:55
do? They drive you to your knees and
27:57
you seek God like you never saw them before.
27:59
So I can't believe this. Lord, I'm just hurting.
28:01
I need this. Look what's happening?
28:03
And you plead and you beg and you have your prayer.
28:06
Life increases during times of difficulty.
28:10
No, it's not. When problems come that you're
28:12
we're our weakest. It's not during the persecutions
28:15
that force you to seek the Lord. It's when you're praised, you're
28:19
in danger. You think of the children of
28:22
Israel. You watch the pattern that God
28:24
gives us. Their greatest issues were not
28:27
when they were struggling and wrestling.
28:29
Remember, even as we get into the book of Exodus, we'll learn
28:32
as they're working, working, working.
28:33
They're crying out for a deliverer.
28:35
They want help. Lord, I can't believe it's so
28:38
hard. It's so hard.
28:38
I don't know what's happening. God help us.
28:41
Then when they're helped, they turn their back on God and try
28:44
to worship a false idol at the base of Mount Sinai because God
28:49
had delivered them. You see this pattern in the Book
28:52
of Judges all throughout the Bible, and you have to see it in
28:55
your own life, too. Those times of difficulties and
28:58
hardships that none of us want are actually used by God to draw
29:02
us to Him. And then we have sweet
29:04
fellowship and encouragement, and if we're not careful when
29:07
things are over, then we'll walk away from our prayer closet, and
29:11
then you'll be right back when another crisis comes.
29:14
But also in this realm of praising, especially, this is
29:16
especially important for those of you that serve God in the
29:20
church. Serve God in the world, and
29:23
you're known as a Christian. You want to be very, very
29:26
careful when you are praised for the obvious work of God through
29:32
you. It's not you or me.
29:36
And I don't want to say that It's like a false thing, like
29:38
God didn't use you and that you didn't place some effort into it
29:41
or study or anything. But it's not you.
29:44
It's God. All praise goes to him, all of
29:49
us. We have to be very, very careful
29:51
when appreciation comes because it should come, You know, over
29:55
the years we were taught that we shouldn't give public
29:59
appreciation because if you gave public appreciation somehow you
30:03
would steal someone's rewards in heaven as if God's going.
30:07
I can't believe I was ready to give these rewards to Ed, but
30:09
somebody came into heaven and stole them like like God's.
30:13
God knows how to sort even our best motives and making
30:16
mistakes. We should express appreciation
30:19
generously. We should tell someone how much
30:22
we appreciate them and love them and for what they've done in
30:24
Christ. It's OK.
30:26
You won't steal rewards. It really relies to the person
30:29
and their motives, right? That's how things get lost.
30:32
Where you're doing it for the praise, that's a problem, or
30:35
you're doing it for attention that's a problem.
30:38
Or even worse, you're doing something so that you get the
30:41
glory and you don't even mention God.
30:43
That's a problem. But it's an equal problem.
30:45
When we're not appreciating one another, we're not encouraging
30:48
one another. We're not edifying one another.
30:50
We're not expressing. You know what, brother?
30:52
Thank you for that word. Thank you for that insight.
30:54
Thank you. It's OK.
30:56
You won't be stealing anything from anyone.
30:58
God will sort it out. Even if you make a mistake.
31:02
You have to be careful, personally, that when someone
31:05
praises you, that you don't take it to yourself.
31:09
It is God that has chosen to use you.
31:12
You're just an instrument. He's in.
31:17
As much as you go to the mechanic and say, what guy just
31:21
worked on my car, he's over there in the back.
31:24
And you go to him and you say, you know what, bro, my car is
31:27
running amazing. Yeah, it's really amazing.
31:30
I had to spend 15 hours on it and was like, we couldn't figure
31:32
it out. And you go, but you know, I
31:33
don't want to talk to you right now.
31:35
Where is that wrench you used? So what are you talking about?
31:38
I just want to. I want to meet the wrench.
31:42
All right, dude, you're weird. But I'll do it.
31:44
And he brings out the wrench and he puts it in your hand.
31:47
You're like, oh, wrench, yours been so good.
31:49
You fixed my car. And and they're already calling
31:52
somebody to pick you up, like, because that doesn't make any
31:54
sense. But it happens that way in the
31:56
church all the time. Oh, Pastor Ed.
31:58
Oh, Pastor Ed. Pastor Ed.
31:59
You don't want to understand you.
32:00
God, thank you so much. Thank you so much.
32:03
And you give me way too much credit for the work that God
32:06
did. Sir.
32:08
He used me. That's great, but there's
32:11
nothing different between you and me.
32:13
I'm doing what God's called me to do, and if anything happens
32:15
here, it's because of his word and the gifting of pastor
32:19
teacher. Like that's the key.
32:21
It's like, you know, I'm just a wrench in God's hands.
32:26
And yeah, there could be appreciation or anything.
32:28
But I have to learn. Like if you come and say
32:30
something, I go, oh, yeah, you don't you.
32:32
You will not believe what a hard week I've had.
32:35
And I had to go to the mountains to be alone for 45 hours just to
32:39
get that Bible study. So you're right.
32:41
Finally someone appreciate like that could be, you know that
32:45
lightning. You just stand out.
32:46
Remember what happened earlier in Acts where Herod was taking a
32:50
credit to himself and worms are eating him up?
32:52
Like you've got to be careful with praise just to make sure
32:55
where you take the human appreciation, which is always
32:58
good because you're going to build one another up but you
33:00
give God all the glory. It's a very important skill to
33:05
learn because if you don't learn this, it'll hinder how much
33:07
you're used by God. You want to know why?
33:09
Let me read it to you in Psalm #42 in verse 8.
33:15
Actually, I want you to turn there because I I have it here,
33:17
but I want you to see it in your bibles.
33:19
Psalm 42. This is one of those psalms you
33:23
need to tuck away. It's OK to give appreciation.
33:26
It's OK to receive appreciation. It's never OK to take the glory
33:30
of God, you guys with me. That's that's the process.
33:34
It's OK to appreciate. It's OK to be appreciated.
33:37
But you're just a wrench. So just know that you're you're
33:41
a wrench that is really not very useful unless it's in the right
33:45
hands. Because that mechanic's story
33:47
that fixed your car with that wrench, that wrench was only
33:51
helpful in that guy's hands. They're same wrench in my hands.
33:56
Your car is hopeless. I don't know how to use it.
34:01
I don't know what to do. And it won't work in my hands.
34:05
And it's like me and you, we're what are we in?
34:07
If we weren't in the Lord's hands, we're just a wrench.
34:12
And in the Lord's hands, we're a very important wrench because we
34:15
are used by God to accomplish his will.
34:17
It's so good. So mark this.
34:19
Mark this. Isaiah 42, verse eight.
34:22
You can't. You.
34:24
What did I say? Well, you guys should be in
34:26
Isaiah. Isaiah 42.
34:31
I don't know what I'm saying. Isaiah 42.
34:34
Sorry. Isaiah 42, verse 8.
34:40
Just a wrench. Don't you forget that Isaiah 42,
34:45
verse eight. I am the Lord and this is the
34:47
keyword. If you notice in the new King
34:49
James, it's all caps, Jehovah here, Yahweh, This is the word
34:53
that declares that describes all of God's essence and character.
34:58
I am Jehovah who have called you in.
35:01
I am the Lord that is my name, my glory.
35:05
I will not give to another, nor my praise to graven images.
35:12
So what we learn in that is that all praise and glory goes to
35:16
God. This is a dangerous place for
35:19
Paul and Barnabas because they have experienced so many
35:21
wonderful things and they have seen lives changed and they have
35:25
lived out healings and signs and wonders.
35:29
They have had this amazingly dynamic life.
35:33
It could be easy for them or you and I in the same boat to say,
35:38
you know, let's take a little bit of appreciation.
35:41
Let's take it. Let's let them worship just a
35:43
little bit. Maybe they could have
35:44
rationalized this. Maybe in their mode of worship,
35:47
we can tap into that and we can point them to the Lord.
35:51
But they do the right thing. They run in, they tear their
35:53
clothes, which is a sign of of great grief, you know, and and
35:59
great emotion. What are you guys doing?
36:01
Don't do this. We didn't come here for your
36:04
worship. We came here to teach you about
36:06
the one true God, which is what they did.
36:10
They didn't take the worship. And then they said verse 15.
36:14
Why are you doing these things? We are men just like you, and
36:20
that's important. The ministry of God will stop
36:26
when you take the glory to yourself.
36:29
You will stop seeing his effectiveness.
36:32
You will stop seeing his miraculous when you think it's
36:36
all about you. This is a a bold way of.
36:39
I mean, it's kind of a big way of thinking of it, but it
36:42
happens on smaller scales all the time.
36:45
For example, you might choose to serve here at an event or
36:49
something just because you want to serve your church and be
36:51
faithful to God, and then you start copping an attitude.
36:55
Well, nobody even saw me. Well, why do you need people to
36:58
see you? I thought you were serving the
36:59
Lord. I mean, nobody even thanked me.
37:03
Well, why do you need people to thank you?
37:05
I thought you were serving the Lord.
37:07
And you know, nobody even knows what I do around here.
37:10
Why do you need people to know what you do around here?
37:13
I thought you were serving the Lord, and I could go on and on.
37:16
Now, of course, we would want to see you and we would want to
37:18
appreciate you, and we would want to serve alongside of you.
37:21
But I'm telling you, this happens a lot.
37:24
Like if you're serving the Lord, then just serve the Lord.
37:26
That's where your joy will come from.
37:28
That's where your peace will come from.
37:29
And if you're waiting for men and women to see you and
37:32
acknowledge you and how, then then you're just.
37:35
You're men and women. They're so fickle.
37:38
You got to learn how to serve the Lord.
37:40
He's faithful, not fickle. God will take care of you.
37:44
He will affirm you, and and along the way, he'll send people
37:47
to affirm you for sure. That's the love of the body of
37:49
Christ. But if you're not careful, yeah,
37:52
you may not have people coming with oxen ready to slit their
37:55
neck and worship you for what you've done, but that's really
37:58
not how it gets lived out right now.
38:01
It's like you don't know how many hours I gave to.
38:05
You know, if you don't want to give hours to the Lord without
38:07
complaining, then don't. It would be better that you not
38:12
give and that you not serve. If you're giving and serving is
38:16
just going to be complaining and murmuring, it'd be better you
38:19
not do it until your heart gets right before the Lord.
38:22
Because there's going to be opposition, there's going to be
38:24
trials, there's going to be difficulties, there's going to
38:27
be people that want to stone you, they're going to want to
38:31
poison your mind. And if you are not abiding in
38:36
Christ, it's going to be so hard for you.
38:38
Notice as we close here in these last two verses in verse 19, it
38:43
says Then the Jews from Antioch anaconium came there, and having
38:48
persuaded the multitude, they stoned Paul and dragged him out
38:52
of the city, supposing him to be dead.
38:56
So they were talking about it before and planning it.
38:59
They finally get it, because if there's one thing that the devil
39:04
has demonstrated, not in a spiritual way but in a practical
39:07
way, is that he's patient and he'll wait for the opportune
39:12
time. So they drag him out and
39:14
everybody looked at him and thought he was dead.
39:17
However, when the disciples gathered verse 20 around him, he
39:20
rose up, went into the city, and next day he departed with
39:23
Barnabas to Derby. Paul is you got some group and
39:29
this is the fickleness of man, right?
39:31
You have in one moment they're ready to worship them and give
39:34
them of their goods and their animals and sacrifice to them.
39:37
Then when some people come in and it does take some time, it's
39:40
not like in the same moment, but when people come in and start to
39:42
influence them, some of these same people that wanted to
39:45
worship him now stone him. That's how fast people change
39:49
their minds. He's like, man, what's happening
39:51
here? Well, I don't know, but God has
39:53
allowed it. And for you Bible students,
39:56
you'll recall in Second Corinthians chapter 12, Paul
40:00
gave a illustration of his life. He says, I know a man that I
40:03
don't know if I if it was in the spirit or out of the spirit, but
40:07
he got a vision of paradise. Remember that Second Corinthians
40:09
12. Many, many scholars point this
40:13
passage here in Acts 14 to what Paul's describing in 2nd
40:18
Corinthians 12 because Paul didn't even know if he died.
40:23
He just knows he got a vision. The people thought he died, but
40:26
he ended up getting up, which had to be a really emotional
40:29
thing too, right? Because we don't even have time
40:31
to develop all the emotions that are going on here.
40:34
This rapid fire, progress, resistance, progress,
40:38
resistance, poisoning of the minds, discouragement up and
40:41
down. And then these guys come to town
40:43
and you heard they came to town. But you know what's going to
40:45
happen. The next thing they stir
40:46
everybody up and you're laying there like you're dead and
40:50
everybody's watching what's going on, what happened?
40:52
What's God? How can you let this happen?
40:54
God, who are you? All the emotion that could be
40:56
contained in here. And then right then Paul gets up
40:59
and he goes right back into the city and he's like, that's that.
41:03
There's another emotion. Here you go.
41:04
Paul don't go back. But he was determined.
41:10
And I'm certain you have a few people like Paul.
41:13
Paul's a unique man because in all the Bible, there's only one
41:17
of them. And he had Timothy, and he had
41:20
Titus, but Timothy and Titus were not Paul.
41:24
There's this Paul. He's like, you got to have a
41:26
Paul in your life because he'll challenge you.
41:31
He'll stir your faith when you're like, hey, I just got
41:35
stoned and I'm almost dead. Last time when they were talking
41:38
about stoning, he left. This time the brother did get
41:42
stoned and left for dead, and he went back.
41:47
And we ask. It's a good question.
41:48
What is? Why?
41:50
How do I even make decisions, Ed?
41:51
I don't know which way to go. Should I go?
41:54
Should I stay? And the answer is very simple.
41:57
As you abide in Christ, he'll tell you when to go and he'll
42:00
tell you when to stay, and you can trust him.
42:05
Sometimes you'll be moving on and you're like, I think I can
42:07
stay. Sometimes you'll be staying and
42:09
you think, I think I want to move on, but you're in the
42:11
Lord's hands. It was the founder of the
42:17
Vineyard Church movement, great group of churches around the
42:21
country, actually started as a Calvary Chapel.
42:24
Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda, Pastor by a man by the name of
42:27
John Wimber. He ended up moving on into a new
42:30
season of ministry. They started the Vineyard
42:33
movement, many, many churches around the country serving the
42:36
Lord, doing great things. John Wimber had these sayings
42:41
very similar to what Pastor Chuck Smith who was used of God
42:45
to start Calvary Chapel. They call him Chuckisms.
42:48
And there's all these little tidbits that you learn through
42:50
Chuck's teachings where he was able to take very complex
42:54
thoughts and have these little quick sayings that you can
42:57
remember them. John Wimber had one.
42:59
As I think about the wrench and I think about abiding in Christ,
43:03
and I think about being used by him and trust him, he would say
43:07
this. He would say I'm just a coin in
43:10
my master's pocket and he can spend me however he wishes.
43:16
And that's so true. You and I.
43:18
We belong to the Lord, and He can do with our lives whatever
43:22
He wishes for His purposes, His glory.
43:27
And as you and I learn how to abide and surrender, we'll also
43:30
learn how God spends us and uses us and invests us.
43:34
Sometimes they'll move us on. Sometimes they'll have us stay.
43:37
Sometimes they have us speak. Sometimes they'll have us be
43:39
silent. Whatever it may be.
43:41
God is in your life, and you can leave here today, trusting Him
43:46
just as we see. Believers are always on the
43:48
move. We're always going to be facing
43:50
these things, and God is going to be there with us.
43:53
Amen. That's so good.
43:55
I love this, love the book of Acts.
43:57
I love it. I love God the the example you
44:01
give us with Paul, the the sensitivity he had.
44:04
And I'm glad you didn't tell us exactly how it happened because
44:08
we would try to figure it out and and we would make a system
44:11
out of it and and say these are the 10 ways that you can always.
44:14
Because Paul did that. And I'm so grateful you didn't
44:17
say in your word how Paul did it.
44:21
You just showed us how he did it.
44:25
You gave us inside of his relationship with you.
44:27
You you showed us how you use a man through hardships and
44:34
difficulties and by extension, how you use a woman, a believer
44:38
that's always on the move. And so God help us as we discern
44:41
the things going on in our lives right now.
44:43
And maybe we made a big decision and we're second guessing it
44:46
because the enemy would just love to poison our minds.
44:48
And we're like, no, no, the Lord led me to this.
44:50
I don't know what the outcome is going to be, but God told me to
44:53
do this and I'm going to do it. And there's opposition and
44:58
there's this and that. Everything seems to be falling
45:00
apart. And no, no, no, nothing's
45:03
falling apart. You wanted a man healed.
45:10
You wanted people. Their false worship revealed.
45:14
You wanted Paul to experience great hardship for the sake of
45:18
everybody watching him. And whatever you're doing in our
45:22
lives or somehow you're using our lives to display your glory
45:26
and help us with God. That we don't take the glory or
45:29
the praise. That we don't think we're
45:31
something when we're nothing. Like it says in First
45:34
Corinthians 8, that knowledge puffs up, but it's love that
45:39
edifies. So God just lead us and guide us
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today as we leave here in courage, in a in a season that's
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full of activities, even guard us from that, that we don't lose
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sight of the joy of loving people in your name.
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That's what we pray in Jesus name.
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Amen. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
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Call us at 87730 Grace. That's 877-304-7223.
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To listen to this message in its entirety or to join us for our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary, Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Be blessed as You Worship Jesus this week.