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#14805 - You Can See Grace - Galatians 2:1-10 · 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.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Open your Bibles to Galatians
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chapter 2 as we start a new chapter today, I've entitled our
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Bible study. You can see grace.
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You can see grace. Remember Galatians is written to
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a series of churches in a region known as Galatia.
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Paul had planted those churches and then had to leave because he
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was on a missionary journey planting churches in various
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cities and areas when he left. It wasn't too long after he left
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that false teachers came in and disrupted the simplicity of
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faith among the believers and drew many of those believers
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after themselves. We learned who those false
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teachers were. We know them as the Judaizers.
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These were Jewish men that claimed to have followed Christ
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but were preaching another gospel.
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We know it was another gospel because they added to the true
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gospel. The gospel is very simple.
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Jesus Christ died for your sins according to the scriptures.
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He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
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The gospel reminds us. The good news is that by the
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finished work of Jesus Christ you can be saved today, or you
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are saved and born again already.
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It's His finished work. We are always and will always
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and always have been, and forever in eternity will be
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saved by by grace, through faith, not of works, but it's a
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gift of God, lest any man should boast.
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We'll get into more of this in Ephesians when we get to
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Ephesians chapter 2, But it is grace.
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There is nothing to be added. A person is not saved by grace,
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and which is what they're dealing with here.
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A person is saved by grace, not by works.
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You and I have nothing to add to the gospel.
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You and I, we have nothing to complete.
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We have nothing. What we have is the repentance
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of sin and believing what God has said.
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He has done the work, He will do the work and he'll continue that
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on into eternity. That's why Paul wrote the
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letter. He gets strong later on in verse
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three. He says, you foolish Galatians,
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who's bewitched you? What's happened to you guys so
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quickly? You turn away from the gospel of
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grace so quickly. You let people add to it.
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And today we wouldn't, we wouldn't use the name Judaizers.
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We are, we've replaced that name for us today that the group that
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would be doing this is a much broader group and we would refer
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to them today as legalists, those that would add to the
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gospel. You can be saved, but you have
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to be saved by doing this and you have to be saved by adding
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this. And you know, the grace of God
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is just fine. And actually the grace of God is
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a means by which, and churches teach this, the grace of God is
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a means by which you do all these other works.
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They're like, no, no, you're saved by grace.
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You're not saved by good works, but rather you are saved for
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good works. And salvation is very clear.
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They came against Paul. They had to attack him because
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if they if they couldn't undermine his ministry, then his
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ministry would continue. And you remember Paul said that
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his ministry came from God. He said that in chapter 1, verse
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one, his ministry came from God. And then in chapter 1 verse 11,
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he said his message came from God.
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This this message of grace wasn't new.
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He just got it at a different time because he was attacking
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Christianity. So he didn't get it in the time
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of those that follow Jesus. He received it afterward.
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Where? On the road to Damascus.
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He was saved on the road to Damascus.
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And then in the subsequent years he went into the desert, in the
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wilderness, and he was taught by Jesus himself as no doubt he was
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making tents waiting for what God wanted to do in his life.
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God called him to write this letter.
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He couldn't be there. I'm sure he would want to be
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there, but he couldn't be there. So he wrote this letter.
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He wrote the letter to encourage them, to rebuke them, to
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challenge them, and to help them see the error of their ways.
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Now some of you hear the, the words that I used and you paused
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that encouragement. You go wait a minute, Pastor.
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I don't see the encouragement in Galatians.
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I've read it a few times. We've studied the 1st chapter so
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far. Where's the encouragement?
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And I'm glad that you're thinking that because we need to
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broaden the scope of encouragement for a moment so
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you understand where the encouragement is.
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Because for sure, this is a strong letter.
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For sure. It is a letter of stern rebuke.
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It is a letter of Pastor Paul telling them the truth in love.
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And that's not always popular. It's not always popular to have
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someone sent to us with the truth in love.
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Nowhere in the letter does Paul praise them.
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He doesn't. This isn't one of those letters
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to praise them and encourage them in that way.
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And some might even say it sounds a little harsh, but
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rather than see it as harsh, I suggest that you see this as
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tough love. We use that phrase, a tough love
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where it comes from, a place where Paul is saying, look, you
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guys are too far now I got to get your attention.
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You're too far. You got to come back to the
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truth. You have left the truth.
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But it's interesting as you study through the Bible that you
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will find the same Greek word translated sometimes
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encouragement and sometimes exhortation.
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It's the Greek word para. Kaleo comes from two other Greek
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words. It's a combination para to come
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alongside kaleo to help or to aid.
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The word may sound familiar to you because it's the same Greek
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word Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit, that when I leave
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the Helper, the Holy Spirit, the paracaleo, the paracletos, I
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should say it's a version of that word will come the Holy
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Spirit, someone to come alongside and help.
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So this word is used sometimes and it's translated
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encouragement, sometimes it's translated exhortation, but it's
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the same thing coming alongside to help.
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So here's what I want you to think because context is king in
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the Bible. If you want to know what a word
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means, you've got to not only look up the definition, but then
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you've got to look at the context.
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So context is always king. For example, for example, we use
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the English words the same way where we use a word, but context
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means everything. So for example, if I said today
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that when I was in Tucson, AZ recently and I had some ice
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cream, I could say it's the most amazing ice cream in the whole
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wide world. And I love ice cream.
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And you would probably be able to track along you.
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I have my own favorite ice cream too.
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But then I also I got to spend time with Marie.
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We were together and I just want you to know I love Marie.
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Well, I hope that's not the same love.
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My love for ice cream and my love for Marie.
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I'm using the same word, but context means everything.
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It is a different thing. I'm describing my caring concern
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for my wife as it is for ice cream.
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The Bible does the same thing, same word, but the context means
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everything. So here's the difference.
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Ready. If you're taking notes, here's
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the difference between encouragement and exhortation.
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And by the way, if you want to just jot it down, exhortation is
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a gift, gift given to the church.
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Romans chapter 12, verses 6 through 8.
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So some of you have the gift of exhortation, some of you, that's
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how you operate. And I have found over the years
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that the gift of exhortation is usually exercised and given to
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people of a stronger personality, a stronger
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personality. Those that may not have a
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stronger personality might be given an encouraging heart, but
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it's the same thing. So #1 encouragers are those who
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lift people up. They lift people up.
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And we always want somebody like that.
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I'm down in the dumps. I'm feeling bad, and I need
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someone and I want someone just to come and be there with me and
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lift me up and say it's going to be OK, Ed.
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It's going to be fine, brother. We'll get through this and
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encourage her. We thank you for all of you that
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are encouragers. We want you to run with that.
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We want you. We need you to encourage more.
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Just like Barnabas, the son of encouragement, we need
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encouragers. Don't stop doing that.
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Exhortation, on the other hand, is a little different.
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An exhorter is not someone that comes and lifts you up, but
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rather exhorters are those that move people on.
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And I noticed this and all the services, even in this one, I
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noticed this, that when I describe exhorters, I'd push.
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And nobody likes to be pushed. Nobody wants to be pushed.
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You might even use the familiar phrase, nobody wants to be
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pushed out of their comfort zone.
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But that's what exhorters are, are sent to do.
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They're sent to move you. And that, that is the message.
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And I have examined my own life over the years.
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I've been walking with the Lord now for 34 years and been
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pastoring for almost thirty of those years.
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God has used me as an exhorter. That seems to be the higher when
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I'm putting a Bible study together, when I'm talking to
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someone, when I'm ministering to someone.
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God has made me a mover in the church and that's my desire.
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I want you to be moved when I teach a Bible study.
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I want to see you come in one way and leave another.
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I want you to know the Bible and I'll take care of that.
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And I want you to know the words and I want you to understand the
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context. I'll take care of all that.
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But I know that God has used me greatly when explaining the
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Bible. When you are moved, like, like
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for example, you're here and you get really mad at me, you know,
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I don't want to listen to this guy and I'm leaving.
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Then I have succeeded. Now, I wasn't intending to anger
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you, but here's what happened. My teaching and my explanation.
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You heard it, didn't like it, and it moved you.
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Now I wish you wouldn't leave, but it moved you right out the
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door. I'm sorry about that, but like,
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that's not my intent. But moving you now forces you to
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deal with what I said, and I'm very grateful for that.
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I want you to deal with what I said.
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I want you to take it to the Lord.
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I want you to pray over it. I want you to ask if it was for
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you. I want you to search the
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scriptures and see if I was accurate.
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I want you to be moved. And yes, over the years, I've
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also seen God add more encouragement into my life
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through pain and through difficulties.
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I've seen Him soften that part of my ministry, but He's only
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added to me, not taken away. And so you exhorters, we need
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you too. So here's the encouragement in
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Galatians, before we jump in, here's the encouragement.
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And when you have an exhorter come to you, here's the
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encouragement. I want you to think of it this
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way. God loves me so much that he
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sent someone into my life who also had to have courage and
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pray through and think it through that that God loved me
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so much that he put it on someone's heart to come to me
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and tell me the truth. That's encouraging.
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He's not going to let me wander away.
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He's not going to just let me listen to a false teacher and
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just wander away and get ripped off.
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But rather, God loves you so much and the person does too.
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The person loves you enough to be obedient to the Lord and send
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that note, send that e-mail, talk to you in person.
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And that's what Paul's doing. He loves this church so much.
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The condition of their life currently, they need to be moved
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back to the gospel. So the words are hard, they're
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short and quick, and they're direct.
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We, I believe, need to receive the power kaleo of encouragement
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as much as the power kaleo of exhorting.
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And as Paul is speaking these words, he's reminding them to
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stand strong in Jesus and don't get ripped off from these false
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teachers. Verse 1.
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Chapter 2. Then after 14 years I went up
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again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus
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with me. And I went up by revelation, and
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communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the
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Gentiles, but privately to those who are of reputation, lest by
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any means I might run, or had run in vain.
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Chapter 2. Paul begins a defense of the
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gospel of grace that he was preaching.
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You see that he came and he explained what he was teaching
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to the leadership of the Jerusalem church.
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You'll remember in our Bible study through the book of Acts,
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you'll remember exactly where this took place.
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It took place at the Jerusalem Council in Acts chapter 15.
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There was a public part of it, but there was also a private
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part of it. Notice with me as well that when
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Paul came to Jerusalem, he came with a heart of humility.
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Do you see what he says at the Universe 2?
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I talked to them privately because I just wanted to know if
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I've been running in vain and have I been wrong?
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He was open to be corrected if he was in any error in what he
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received in his teaching from Jesus.
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Like, have I made any mistakes? Where am I wrong?
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I think I've been running well, but I needed to know if I ran in
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vain. And the reality is, is that he
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came for clarification and unity and the whole issue that we're
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dealing with with Galatians, the whole issue of a person to be
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saved. And in, in Galatians remember a
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person to be saved and add a work to it.
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What was that work? Circumcision.
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You, you can't be saved. They were teaching unless you
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are circumcised. You can't be saved unless you
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become a Jew first, then you can be saved and you come become a
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part of the old covenant so that you can be part of the New
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covenant. And that's not the message of
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grace at all. The message of grace is by the
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blood of Jesus Christ you are saved as a Jew, as a Gentile, as
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a male, as a female, as a slave or as free salvation is the same
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for everyone. He takes Titus with him.
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It says in verse 1 and Barnabas great partnership by the way as
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you look at it. Paul was the exhorter Barnabas
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the encourager. I'm not saying that that's why
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we're exclusively but they were a great partnership and many of
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your marriages are the same way. If you notice, many of your
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marriages are the same way. Your personalities differ, but
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they complement one another very, very well.
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Most likely in your marriage, one of you is stronger in
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exhortation, and one's an encourager.
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One's probably more emotional than the other one.
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One's probably not so emo. 1 is very expressive, 1 is not so
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expressive, and the very things that attracted you to your
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spouse are the things that bother you today.
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Stop it. You make a good team.
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You make a good team. If you use singles that that
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team is coming. You just need to wait on the
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Lord. The Lord will do the work for
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you. But the reality is, is that's
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how ministry can be too. I am surrounded in the ministry
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here by people that are so different from me and I
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appreciate it. I need that.
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I need all these diverse views and perspectives.
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I need other people's eyes and thoughts.
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And together we're A-Team. We like to say here that we is
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the language of ministry. And so I'm surrounding Marie and
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I, even in that relationship, very different people, but
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similar in many ways, just like Paul and Barnabas.
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So they come up, they've got Titus with them.
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And remember, Titus is a Gentile and, and you might ask, well,
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how do you know that? Look at verse 3.
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Yet not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, he's a
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Gentile. He is a Gentile that got saved
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under the ministry of Paul. He got saved under the ministry
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of Paul. So he comes as Exhibit A of the
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validity and power of the gospel of grace.
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Titus is proof that the gospel of grace saves people and
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transforms people. He's right there.
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Paul could say, here's an example right here.
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We roll into town, we tell the city about Jesus and the
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sufficiency of his work on the cross, and Titus and his whole
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family are radically changed. You can't argue with that.
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Now, while you may not have a Titus, I'm sure you do have
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friends that got saved. But you know, the greatest, the
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greatest reminder of grace in your life is you.
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I need you to remember that you are, as a born again believer,
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the greatest evidence and exhibit of grace.
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Some of you, you need to be reminded the grace of God.
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You've forgotten where you came from.
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You've forgotten what God has done in your life.
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It's been many years since you've been saved and you've
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forgotten how bad it was. You've forgotten how bad you
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were. You've forgotten about the
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radical transformation that God did in your life, how he saved
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your marriage, how he ripped addiction out of your life.
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And it may be a new practice where you just wake up in the
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morning. I know everybody looks in a
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mirror less at least once a day. And you just look in the mirror
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and you say thank God for the grace of God.
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I thank you, God for your grace in my life.
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Here I am alive, a new man, a new woman.
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And that sharing of your testimony is so powerful, your
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life. I know we're not all happy about
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our past. I know we're not all, I mean, I
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know we all wish we wouldn't. I, I, I mean, I was away this
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week with a whole new group of people that don't know Marie and
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me at all. They don't know anything about
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us. It's like we met believers.
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We're in the family, but we're complete strangers.
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So the, the question in moments like that is, well, tell us a
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little bit about yourself. And they wanted to hear our
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story. And it's actually a very
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fascinating story of the grace of God in our lives.
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And I always love sharing it with Marie because she has such
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a different angle on our whole story.
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I remember it one way, she remembers it another way.
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And then together, like, oh man, it was really bad.
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It was really bad. And so we're sharing it and
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we're talking about the grace of God.
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We're going back to our teenage years.
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We're going back to, you know, all of the just all of the mess
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to ramp up right to the point where God has done his work and
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who we are today. But we should have known better.
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Like we should have known ahead of time that sharing our
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testimony would would for me. You know that not to have bad
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dreams. And when I told Maria in the
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morning, Hey, you won't believe I have these so I knew it would
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happen. She is so she's I knew it would
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happen. Being the encourager that she
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is, I knew it would happen and she was right.
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I should have known. I knew it would happen too,
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because when you start rehearsing that, you start
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unlocking all this nonsense and then you go to bed and rest and
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it's all in your head. And I mean, it wasn't
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debilitating or anything, but it's just a bummer.
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It's just a bummer. However, that's not that.
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I'm not that person anymore. So it was just a moment.
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It was just a time. Just a little bit of dreams to
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endure was worth sharing. We shared our testimony probably
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five times over and over the same thing over and over and
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over again, reminding us of the grace of God reminding us.
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And then you're listening and you're like, Oh my gosh, that's
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an amazing story. That that's, that's something
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that that when you're listening to, you're like, no, that's not
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true. No, that's not oh, bro, it's
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true. It's worse than true.
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Like it's even worse than I remember it.
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And that's where you as you, this is the entry point into
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people's lives. You are exhibit A of the grace
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of God. You don't need Titus.
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You don't need an example, although I'm sure you do.
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You're the example. You sometimes you have to remind
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yourself of the work of God. You're in a place where I don't
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think I'm going to make it and I don't think we're going to
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survive. And I don't think, yes, I know
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it's really, really bad, but you are born again and God loves you
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and he is your strength and your sufficiency.
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How? By the grace of God, I didn't
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earn it. I don't deserve it, but I
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receive it and live in it. And as you're sharing, you know,
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it's interesting because we didn't experience this.
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But as you're sharing at work and you're wanting to tell
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people about your story and they're asking about it and it's
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bridge into the gospel. I mean, don't you ever get
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tired? I know some of you do get tired
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of hearing that Christianity. Oh, it's just a crutch.
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It's just a fairy tale. You're following a book that
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that is been made-up by man. And it's a false belief system
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for weak people. So you're a weak person.
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You need Christianity, you weak person.
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Or Ted Turner, if you've ever met him.
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He's quoted as saying before he died, Christianity is just for
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losers. And you can get real defensive
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and you you can like, wait, wait, wait a minute.
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Nothing could be further from the truth, although there is a
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kernel of truth in that we are weak.
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A lot of our sin, we didn't lose out on things.
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So it's not completely, you know, the accusation is not
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completely inaccurate, but on the wrong day you can start to
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be ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
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You can forget how far God brought you for some of you, you
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like you walk in today all beat up because of current situation.
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You made a mistake, you sent, you're all messed up.
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And so you're like, oh man, look at me, I'm not a good Christian.
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I'm a horrible boy. Look at my marriage like and you
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just have forgotten how far you've come.
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You're looking at the moment, but you're like, Oh no, no, no.
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If this argument or whatever happened 20 years ago, you
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wouldn't even be here. Like you would have just pieced
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out you're done. I don't want anything to do with
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that. But look how far you've come
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where God is what taking you from glory to glory and strength
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to strength. So I could be another mirror, a
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component, right? Thank God and thank you, Lord,
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for your grace and I thank you for how far you brought me.
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You have been so faithful in my life.
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And so when in the days where I've been accused of all, you
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know, Christianity is a crutch, you know, I picked, I think I
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picked this up from Greg Glory, but I don't know, it's mine now.
22:49
It's like, you know, not only is not only is Christianity in my
22:52
crutch, it's also my stretcher, my ambulance and the hospital I
22:58
have put my whole life in following Christ.
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And if I need a little help along the way, I'll take it.
23:05
If I need to be held up, I'll take it.
23:07
If I need to get on a stretcher and transport it to a more
23:12
suitable place where I can heal and be strengthened, I have laid
23:16
my life. I'm not.
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I don't want just a little bit of help in my life.
23:20
I have surrendered my life to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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And remember the gospel, the good news, you're not following
23:28
a system of theology. You're not following a book.
23:33
You're following a person, a person.
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The gospel is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ.
23:41
You have a new relationship with the living Savior and he has
23:45
given us a book and to understand God in theology, yes,
23:49
and identity. But the gospel itself is a call
23:53
to a person, not to a church, not to a denomination, not to a
23:57
system of thinking. It's a relationship that over
24:01
time you grow in that relationship.
24:04
Over time, you understand the book that God wrote and you
24:08
grow. And so I'm sorry about your
24:10
past. I wish it wasn't that way.
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But I'm telling you every day you walk with Jesus, you are
24:16
becoming a new woman and a new man.
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And we are grateful that you are part of the family of God and no
24:23
longer living in sin, but living for the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We are grateful for you. And so you share that testimony
24:29
as best that you can. And don't let anyone shame you
24:33
into thinking that God isn't real or you're falling some
24:35
fairy tales. They're wrong.
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Jesus is right every single time.
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Every single time. That's what Titus would always
24:48
remember and Paul had it too. And just like you and me.
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So verse three now. Yet not even Titus, who was with
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me, being a Greek or a Gentile, was compelled to be circumcised.
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So they came in and they they said, okay, he's a gentile, he
25:03
needs to be circumcised. Disrupting the gathering.
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There were Judaizers there too, disrupting the gathering.
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And it says this occurred because of false brethren that
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secretly brought in, who came in by stealth to spy out our
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liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us
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into bondage, to whom we did not yield submission even for an
25:25
hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
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And you know that last one, we didn't yield an hour.
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Can you imagine Titus going, thank God we didn't yield.
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Acts 15 was the very hinge of what Christianity would become
25:42
if they chose the route of these false teachers.
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Then Christianity would just be a little sect in Judaism and not
25:50
what Jesus taught and intended it to be.
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They didn't yield. Titus wasn't circumcised.
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And notice what happened in verse four.
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There were false brethren secretly brought in.
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If you like to take notes are jotted down secretly.
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Brought in. That phrase literally means that
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they came in to steal. They were brought in to steal.
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That's where we get the phrase ripped off.
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They came in to RIP off these gentile believers.
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Then notice it says they came in by stealth.
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That phrase in the original language means they snuck in to
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steal. So now you have two Greek words
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repetitively being used. They came to RIP off.
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They came in to be. Do this secretly and then notice
26:40
to spy out is the next phrase, our liberty or our freedom.
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That word spy out means they came to inspect it, check it out
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so so that they might plot against it.
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And they came in to disrupt and to steal and to destroy.
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Later on. You can jot it down.
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Acts chapter 20. Paul would call people like this
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savage wolves who came in among you, not sparing the flock.
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Even some among yourselves will rise up.
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He said savage wolves, which reminds us of the teachings of
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Jesus. Remember what Jesus taught us.
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Turn back to Matthew Chapter 7, Matthew Chapter 7.
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You see how relevant the Bible is to today, to this very moment
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that you're listening to my voice.
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This is God's Word to you and to me.
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Notice Matthew Chapter 7, verse 15, the teachings of Jesus that
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predate the teachings of Paul, but the same Spirit, same
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Spirit, verse 15. Beware of false prophets who
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come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous
27:49
wolves. You will know them by their
27:51
fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn
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bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears
27:58
good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
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A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear
28:04
good fruit. Every tree that does not bear
28:07
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
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Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.
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The problem with false teachers is that you can't tell right
28:19
away. It takes time.
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It can't tell right away. They come in disguised wolves in
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sheep's clothing. They're not easily noticed, but
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until someone gets hurt, then you notice, you begin to pay
28:34
attention. You see people walk going
28:37
astray. False teachers hurt people
28:40
emotionally. Some hurt people physically, but
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all hurt eternally. And this is the warning to us
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today. Beware of false teachers.
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And you say, OK, then what's the fruit?
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What's the fruit? What kind of fruit?
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Using the analogy of a tree, what kind of fruit are we to
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look for? I believe later on in Galatians
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when we look at the difference with the contrast between the
29:06
fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh, that Paul
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included it because of this teaching of Jesus.
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He gives you fruit to look for Lovejoy, peace, patience,
29:19
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness is the
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one in the new King James and self-control without which there
29:29
is no law or there is no law against these.
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You want to look for those things.
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But often what you'll see the way you can tell a false teacher
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very quickly is they have wounded people behind them,
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bloodied sheep following false teaching, following false
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leaders. And Jesus said beware, Paul said
29:54
beware. Jude said beware God in his word
29:58
says watch out for this. There are two two things to look
30:02
out for right away that you can dismiss people right away.
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Number one, they have a false Jesus, not a Jesus who revealed
30:10
himself in the scriptures. That's how we know who he is.
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Jesus, the eternal unique Son of God, God in in human flesh, who
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died for our sins and rose again singularly.
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Not any of these other weird ways that Jesus has been
30:27
described #1 but #2 another false fruit or bad fruit of a
30:31
false teacher is that they call you to follow them.
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You are now following them and they undermine the teaching that
30:40
you're under, the undermine what you've been taught, not in a way
30:43
to help you understand the truth, but in a way to confuse
30:46
you so that you can follow them. Those are two things that you
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can see that's bad fruit and you want to be careful of, you know,
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even false teachers are the works of the flesh.
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You want to be careful from them and that's where we see in verse
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6. Now he contrasts, he says now
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moving on from the false teachers to the leaders, he
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says, but from those who seem to be something whatever they were,
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it makes no difference to me. God shows personal favoritism to
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no man for those who seem to be something added nothing to me.
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Now we know who they are because he's going to say it later, but
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let me give it to you now. These are the apostles, the
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leadership of the Jerusalem church that was primarily being
31:28
used of God to reach the Jews. Paul was sent out with Barnabas
31:32
from the church in Antioch. Remember, that was where the
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missionary heart of God really launched out was from Antioch.
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And these guys were the apostles.
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These are the ones that walked with Jesus.
31:44
These are the ones that Jesus personally picked and their
31:47
accusation against Paul is that he wasn't personally picked,
31:51
that he's not a real apostle, that he's no big deal.
31:54
Don't listen to him. He's a liar.
31:56
He, he's all this stuff is being said about him, accusations.
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And then Paul says, OK, wait a minute.
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When I went to Jerusalem, I just want you to know how I went.
32:04
I went knowing that God's going to show no favoritism to these
32:07
men. I I he went in as a peer because
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he understood his calling as an apostle.
32:14
He told us, and we've already learned that his calling in
32:17
ministry happened in the womb. We learned from Jeremiah, it's
32:21
before the womb that God's work was in his life, that the grace
32:25
of God just didn't show up in Damascus.
32:27
The grace of God was all over Paul's life, solved Tarah all
32:30
over his family. Just like the grace of God is
32:33
all over you, even those that are not believers, the grace of
32:38
God is all over you. What do you mean by that?
32:41
I'll tell you, you're alive and God has given you chance after
32:46
chance after chance to believe Him, that He loves you, that He
32:50
wants to be in relationship with you.
32:53
He's given you chance. The Bible even puts it this way.
32:55
It's very clear the long-suffering of God is for
32:59
salvation. That's the grace we aren't
33:03
receiving as in the immediate judgment that we all deserve.
33:07
Some of us have the blood of Jesus Christ covering us and
33:10
others have a patient God waiting for you.
33:14
Today could be the day actually. So he's been waiting for this
33:17
very moment. So Paul, he says when I came in,
33:20
he wasn't picking a fight because you can read this and
33:22
sounds like he's picking a fight.
33:23
He's not picking a fight. He just letting you know, I
33:25
walked in as a peer. I'm confident what God called me
33:28
to do. I'm confidence from the Lord and
33:31
I'm confident that the message, even though I went in, I'm
33:34
confident, but I'm willing to be corrected.
33:37
I don't want to run in vain. And so it's possible to be both
33:40
confident and humble at the same time.
33:42
It's a work of the Holy Spirit. So he says in verse 7.
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But On the contrary, when they saw the gospel for the
33:49
uncircumcised have been committed to me and what's 1 of
33:52
the ways they saw the gospel? I just taught it to you.
33:57
What's one way they saw the gospel that was committed to
33:59
him, to the Gentiles? His name is Titus.
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Titus is right there. Now, of course, Paul shared his
34:06
story and they all rejoice, but they got Titus.
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Here's one of them right here. There are thousands of him.
34:14
Paul would say they saw it. You can see grace.
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You can see the work of God through people's lives.
34:21
So when they saw that as well as at the end of verse 7, the
34:24
gospel for the circumcised was to Peter.
34:27
So again, definitions uncircumcised as a phrase being
34:30
used for the Jew or circumcise a phrase being used for the Jew,
34:35
uncircumcised for the Gentiles. That's how you can use those
34:38
words here. For he who worked verse 8
34:42
effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised
34:46
or the Jew also worked effectively in me toward the
34:50
Gentiles. And when James Cephas, which is
34:54
another name for Peter and John, who seemed to be pillars,
34:59
perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me
35:02
and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to
35:06
the Gentiles, they to the circumcised.
35:08
They desired only that we should remember the poor.
35:11
The very thing which I was also eager to do.
35:16
And God is so gracious. His desire is to reach everyone
35:20
at every strata of society. Don't forget the poor, don't
35:23
forget the widow, Don't forget the one that can't speak for
35:26
themselves. Don't forget the weak.
35:28
He's adding that in their Commission and how to share the
35:32
gospel. Don't forget the poor, which
35:34
they were very grateful to do. So God shows no favoritism.
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Verse 6. That's important for us today
35:43
because in our current cultural climate, there's a lot of
35:47
favoritism being shown, especially in the church.
35:50
And one of the places that favoritism is being shown or
35:54
even demanded is the pulpit by leaders, by pastors demanding
36:00
something from you. Don't you know who I am and how?
36:03
And don't, don't, don't listen to that.
36:06
In the Church of Jesus Christ at the cross, we are all equal,
36:13
pastors and followers, men and women, Gentiles, Jews, free and
36:21
slaves. We are all equal.
36:24
We are. There are no differences with
36:26
between us when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.
36:29
He loves us all equally. There's no favoritism.
36:33
You can't let this, which is another tactic of false
36:35
teachers. They like to use position and
36:37
authority to manipulate you. And Paul reminds us here, no,
36:40
no, God doesn't show any favoritism.
36:41
God doesn't. My role in the church here is
36:44
different than yours. That is true.
36:46
I have a role and I have a position.
36:48
I even have a gifting that's different, but it does not
36:51
elevate me above you. I'm no better than you.
36:55
I'm a believer like you, obediently living out God's call
36:59
upon my life. That's what I'm doing here.
37:01
That's what we get to be a part of, and you get to do the same
37:04
thing. You're a woman, a man of God who
37:07
is obediently living out your call, His calling upon your
37:10
life. But I'm no better and I don't
37:12
have authority over you any more than anyone else in the sense
37:17
that you have to follow me blindly or follow any man or
37:23
woman blindly. Your pastor and shepherd is
37:27
Jesus Christ. He's the chief shepherd.
37:30
We all follow him, which you also know the fruits of my life
37:35
or anyone else. In the early church they had
37:38
this. There was an elevation of men.
37:41
Some churches have carried on that tradition where men are
37:43
more important than any. No, you don't follow any man.
37:47
You follow Jesus and it just needs to be said out loud so
37:50
that you, if those that are in need of you, you need to get
37:53
your eyes back on the Lord because as you're, you know,
37:55
following someone, you hear somebody on YouTube, you see a
37:58
TikTok video and now all of a sudden this guy's teaching so
38:01
important to you, you don't even know him.
38:05
You don't even have any idea to check the fruit in his life.
38:09
God never intended you to follow men that way or follow women
38:12
that way. Where do you go to church?
38:13
I go to church on YouTube. You can't you can't do that now
38:20
again, you some of you might watching online.
38:22
You go well want my health and that that's different.
38:25
Obviously you can't do something that you physically can't do.
38:29
But you you in the current culture today, what happens is
38:33
you somebody catches your ear and then they begin to use this.
38:36
Well, you know who I am. I'm impossible so and so and I'm
38:39
prophets own so I'm pastor so and so to which you can say OK,
38:42
brother, that's what they are. OK, sister, because that's what
38:47
they are. We're on the same plane.
38:49
Even though there is authority of church discipline or
38:52
something has to happen. Certainly God is given structure
38:56
and authority. That's a different Bible study.
38:58
But here, understand when Paul went in, he could go in as a
39:01
peer. He says I'm with you guys.
39:05
I received my calling a little bit different than you did at a
39:08
different time than you did, but I'm with you guys.
39:11
I know everyone's looking up to you and thinking you're very
39:14
important because the time you sent with Jesus, but your
39:16
importance is the same as my importance because we're both
39:19
believers and we're both servants of the Lord and, and no
39:23
man to be followed. No woman is to be followed, only
39:26
Jesus. And so you have the two
39:28
ministries. Paul was sent out from Antioch
39:31
and he's primarily used among the Gentiles.
39:33
Peter is called in his dream to not call anything unclean that
39:39
God has called clean. You would think he's going to
39:41
reach the Gentiles, but he actually is called to reach the
39:43
Jew. And what was settled in Acts 15?
39:46
And what is Paul telling in the church right now?
39:48
This is what he's saying. All those guys saying I'm a liar
39:51
and accusing me, they're not true, and I'll tell you why.
39:53
I was at the council. I brought Titus with me.
39:56
I had Barnabas with me. We determined that I was
39:59
preaching a gospel. Peter was preaching a gospel.
40:02
We were reaching different. People and here was the
40:05
determination. It was the same gospel and
40:08
that's what they settled. So this is again dealing with
40:11
the false teachers that were trying to say, Oh no, it's a
40:14
different gospel. No, it's not.
40:16
It was the same gospel that was settled back and taking us back
40:19
in time, which we studied as a church already in Acts 15,
40:22
taking us back in time. All that Paul is saying with
40:25
this section here is you can see the grace of God and change
40:30
lives from the same gospel that's preached in Jerusalem.
40:34
Those apostles are preaching the same thing I'm preaching and
40:38
lives are being changed. That's the summary of our Bible
40:41
study. I could have done it in three
40:42
sentences, but I chose 45 minutes instead because God is
40:47
taking you along, ministering the word.
40:49
Amen. So, Father, we thank you for
40:51
your word today, the power of your Word, the significance of
40:58
freedom and grace, that we're not saved by circumcision, we're
41:01
not saved by water baptism, we're not saved by good works.
41:06
We're saved by the blood, and we're grateful for that today.
41:12
Thank you for the rescued marriages among us.
41:15
Why are they rescued? Because of the grace of God.
41:18
Thank you for the prodigal kids that have come home.
41:20
Why? Because of the grace of God,
41:24
we're thankful, God, that you answer and hear our prayers.
41:26
Why? Because of your grace.
41:29
And we acknowledge that to you today, ask you to help us along
41:34
the way that we would understand clearly that you have done the
41:38
work. We get to respond and thank you
41:42
for drawing us into a relationship that's the most
41:45
fulfilling and most satisfying I've ever had in my entire life,
41:50
the most love I've ever experienced and given.
41:53
And thank you for that because it's made me a better man, a
41:56
better husband, a better dad, better friend, a better pastor
42:00
because of your grace, Lord, your rescuing power.
42:05
And I pray for those that are listening to me right now that
42:07
have never, I pray God that you would start drawing out faith.
42:12
You would start drawing out decision right now in this
42:14
moment of the men and women that are listening to me that have
42:17
never confessed their sins. They've never asked you to
42:21
forgive them. They've never chosen to follow
42:24
you with their lives, but they're ready.
42:25
You've brought them to the edge. You brought them to the edge
42:29
where they recognize that they need a crutch and they need a
42:32
stretcher and they need an ambulance and they need a
42:34
hospital. They need the great physician
42:39
that they would yield themselves to you and choose to follow you
42:42
surrender and throw their hands up and ask you to forgive them
42:47
by the finished work of Jesus. So move in our midst right now.
42:51
Move through technology. Bring men and women to yourself.
42:56
That's you in this room. I want to ask you would you just
42:59
stand to your feet If you've never for the very first time
43:02
ask God if you're you're not born again, but you want to be
43:05
born again. You want to follow Jesus.
43:07
I want to invite you right here in the room.
43:09
Just stand to your feet. I want to pray with you that
43:12
today would be the day that you get saved is the phrase that we
43:15
use Bible uses it. The Bible says if you confess
43:19
with your mouth, the Lord Jesus, God bless you over here.
43:21
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you believe
43:24
in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
43:28
saved. And that's our desire for you to
43:33
help you along the way that today you, you will be saved.
43:37
Your sins will be forgiven. The turning point in your
43:41
testimony will begin that you recognize that you're far from
43:49
God and that you respond to the conviction of sin in your life.
44:00
You know all those accusations that kind of make you timid,
44:02
right? I don't need a crutch.
44:03
I don't need. OK, but you need help.
44:08
We all do. The Bible's crystal clear.
44:10
Your testimony may not give you bad dreams, but you still need
44:15
Jesus. It may not be as bad as mine,
44:18
but you still need Jesus. It may not even cover all the
44:23
nonsense I got myself into, all the people I hurt, all the bad
44:28
things and things I said and did, but you still need Jesus,
44:31
and I invite you to follow him today.
44:34
Would there be anyone else who would say God bless you?
44:36
Anyone else who would say that's me?
44:38
And I acknowledge you? Because even in the Bible study,
44:41
I want to be clear, standing is not required.
44:43
I'm not. I'm not saying that raising a
44:45
hand is not required, but what it what it does is it builds a
44:50
core memory for you. Go.
44:52
That was the day. That was the time, March 9th,
44:55
1217. That was the time.
44:57
I know that I know I remember the day just like Paul, right?
45:01
He had the Damascus. I remember I was there.
45:04
I remember it. So those of you that responded,
45:06
you have a pastor, you have someone standing with you.
45:08
Don't be alarmed by that. They're there to help follow up
45:12
and to help you and know that you're not alone.
45:14
And I want to help you about this.
45:15
Confessing with your mouth. We call it prayer.
45:17
You guys can connect downstairs or online or on the radio right
45:21
now. God sees you and he acknowledges
45:24
you and he receives your prayer. You could pray to him like this.
45:27
You could say, God, I admit that I've sinned against you and I
45:32
ask you to forgive me of all of my sin.
45:35
I believe Jesus died according to the Bible and that he rose
45:39
again according to the Bible and I choose to follow him today.
45:45
Invite you into my life. Jesus, help me to turn away from
45:50
my sin and to follow you all the days I have left.
45:55
I want to learn about how much you love me.
45:58
I want to learn about your care and concern.
46:01
I want to learn about how you desire me to live my life and I
46:09
choose to follow you, Father, anyone, anywhere.
46:12
I know your word says if they come to you, you won't cast them
46:15
out. So bless those this weekend.
46:18
And, and just to think, all the churches around the world, men
46:22
and women are giving their lives to you, responding to the
46:24
gospel, following you. It's just a glorious time.
46:29
Bless those here that we get to be a part of.
46:31
We welcome them to your family as brothers and sisters, Co
46:36
equal heirs with us in Christ in Jesus name, Amen.
46:41
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study,
46:44
delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
46:47
For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
46:56
To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
47:00
live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
47:05
or download our free Calvary Church app.
47:08
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.