Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #24494 - God is Guiding the Storm - Acts 28:1-20

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#24494 - God is Guiding the Storm - Acts 28:1-20 · 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.
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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 Acts chapter
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28. Acts chapter 28.
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We're going to look at the 1st 20 verses today and I've
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entitled our Bible study. God is guiding the storm such.
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Great confidence that we can have that God is guiding the
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storm. Now, although we only spent a
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couple of weeks studying chapter 27, it actually represents about
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six months of storm tossed travelling, 6 months of great
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difficulty, 6 months of ups and downs, six months of trials and
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trouble in the life of Paul and the various men that are with
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him. Or you could say that it
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represents 6 months of God's faithfulness or six months of
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God's protection or six months of God's care, to which some
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would say, well wait a minute, pastor, which is it?
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Is it ups and downs, trials and troubles, or is it God's care
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and protection? And I would say it's both.
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And then the answer would be, or the question would be, well, how
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do I know the difference or how do I approach it?
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And I would say this, everything depends upon your perspective.
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Perspective is everything because it's all of the above.
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It's been 6 months of ups and downs.
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It's been 6 months of trials for sure, but it's also been six
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months of trials. But God has been faithful and
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it's been 6 months of difficulty, but God has
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protected them. And it's been 6 months of again,
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storms, shipwreck, They're all getting to land as fast as they
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can and God has taken care of them.
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Now I know this doesn't provide as much comfort as it can, but
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it needs to be presented to us nonetheless.
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And that's this as bad as things.
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Are it could be worse. As bad as things have become, it
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could still be much more difficult.
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But God is faithful. He knows our limits.
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He knows your limits. There are those times where we
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throw up our hands and go, no, this is beyond my limit.
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But if you're in. Christ, you have the power you
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need to endure and the power you need to abide and the strength
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that you need to get through even this.
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We learned that in the life of Paul.
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Pick up with me. Let's go back to chapter 27 in
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verse 43 for by for context. It says but the centurion
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wanting to save Paul kept them from their purpose.
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You'll remember they were going to run away and escape all the
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prisoners on this ship, but the centurion stopped them.
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He commanded that those who could.
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Swim should jump overboard and get to land and the rest.
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Some on boards, some on broken. Pieces of the ship.
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And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.
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Why? Because God's Word is sure they
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all made it. There's a massive shipwreck, but
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they all make it to land verse one.
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Now when they'd escaped, they then found out that the island
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was called Malta. Let's pause there.
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If you like to write in your Bible circle the word Malta.
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It means refuge. After six months of storm or for
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Paul, three months of trials, three months of difficulties, he
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finally arrives at the island of refuge.
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There's finally a time of peace and.
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Rest they get there. It's the same for you and me.
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We're going to get there. When we meet the Lord in the
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air, when we finally meet the Lord in all for all of eternity,
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that will be our final place of refuge.
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Do you know that? It just reminds me, even on a
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smaller scale, when you come to know the Lord as your Savior,
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you immediately receive a peace and a refuge.
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You can get nowhere. Else, and here they are, the
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island of. Malta verse 2 And the natives,
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some of your Bibles might say Barbarians.
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And the natives showed us unusual kindness, for they
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kindled a fire and made us all welcome because of the rain that
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was falling, and because of the cold, the shipwrecked.
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And they all make it to land safely.
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They make it to the place of refuge.
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And who do they meet? A group of natives or
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Barbarians. Now Barbarians doesn't mean
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immediately what comes to mind. This wasn't a bunch of savages,
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but rather a group of people who noticed showed unusual kindness.
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Unusual kindness? Not what you would expect.
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That's what unusual means, not what you would expect.
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The word that's translated natives here or Barbarians is
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actually a simple word. It just refers to someone in the
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1st century that didn't speak Greek.
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Sometime this word was used to describe the Hebrew people
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because they spoke Hebrew and not Greek.
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And it's a word that describes someone outside of the Greek
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culture that does. Someone that doesn't speak
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Greek. That's all it means.
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This group of people were far from savage.
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They were actually helpful and caring.
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Remember, 276 people landed very violently in the midst and the
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the island of Malta also experienced part of that storm.
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It's still raining, it's still cold, it's still difficult. 276
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people just show up out of the blue and they receive
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hospitality. They're drenched, they're
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shivering, they're weak from the swim.
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Many of them are vicious criminals on their way to Rome
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to get their final judgement. Where they'll die.
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And what did they experience? Unusual kindness.
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These were people of peace. And we thank God for people of
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peace. We thank God for people of
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peace. That would seek.
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To help us no matter what we think.
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You don't know what to expect when you're crash landing on the
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island of Malta. You never met these people.
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And it reminds me for us as a church how careful we need to
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be, how careful we need to be to be open to a fresh work of the
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Holy Spirit, especially with strangers, especially with
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people we don't know. On top of that, how important it
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is for us as a church to lay aside our preconceived ideas
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about people and lay aside our prejudices because we don't know
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what we're dealing with except that we're dealing with human
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beings. They could have overreacted.
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Who knows how they could have acted on this very interesting
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time, but they remain. Paul and his colleagues remained
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open to work of the Holy Spirit and everybody was blessed by
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these strangers on an island that were moved with compassion
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to serve a soaking wet group of. Castaways, if you will.
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Lost on an island, the Holy Spirit was preparing the hearts
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of the people on this island for them to get saved.
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He was preparing the hearts of the people on this island for
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this one interaction, to hear the gospel and pause for a
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moment and consider just how Pagan they were and just how
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dark and difficult it was. And it will remind you of the
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culture that you live in. Just how Pagan and dark and
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difficult our culture is getting, how hard it is to live
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in this generation. Don't forget, God is using our
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culture to prepare people to hear the gospel, to bring them
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to the end of themselves, to reveal to them their hopeless
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estate. We have to be the church.
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And I wonder. What the world sees just with
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our little church does the world see.
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Unusual kindness from us, from you, from me.
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It is unusual kindness in a world when the church is just
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the church. You don't even need to go out of
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your way in order to help someone.
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All you need to be is yourself, filled with the Holy Spirit.
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Caring more for others than you care for yourself.
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Stepping into people's lives no matter what the situation is.
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Stepping into people's lives with the gospel because God is
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using culture to prepare people for you.
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But instead the church over the years, especially recently, that
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it's just not being the church, getting involved in things that
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have no eternal value. Looking like the world, sounding
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like the world. You know what the Bible says?
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The Bible says if you love the world, the love of the Father is
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not in you. And so the church doesn't sound
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like the church sounds like the world, you know, getting
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involved in things, arguing about things.
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I mean, you, you, you look at your life, you go, man, you're
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arguing about things that don't matter eternally.
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It's like, well, you know, you, why did you crash on?
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You put yourself on the island. Why'd you crash on our side of
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the line? We had an appointment.
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We had to do something like we don't have time to take care of
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you. Like that's not what happened.
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Or I think in the hyped up political climate we're in right
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now, where you just jumping in with all the political like,
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like, I don't know what you think is going to happen
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eternally with that. But I'm telling you right now,
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nothing, nothing. The cycle is going to go.
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President will be there for a while, another president,
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another mayor, nothing. But I'll tell you what you do
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for Christ that's going to last. Only one life will soon be
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passed, and only what's done with for Christ will last only.
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But you know Christians wasting their time getting involved in
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stuff and in no way showing kindness or even unusual
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kindness. This is not what the world
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needs. The light of the Gospel in a
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Dark World. Paul's met by these pagans, and
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the pagans are showing unusual kindness.
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And I'm reminded that we never want to let the world outshine
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the church because the world does good things.
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You know, people in the world, they do moral things, they're,
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they give gifts, they, they're benevolent.
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There's charity, charitable work.
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And that's great, fantastic, made increase.
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We need more nice people, more charitable people in the world.
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But you're different. You're different.
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Your charitable deeds are done in secret, so your Father in
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Heaven will see them. Your love is shared.
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So that it's seen as kindness from God.
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You, you step into someone's life so this God's story can be
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heard through your mouth. You're different.
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You're not the world and you're not of this world.
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You, you have been taken out, but also left in.
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It's not amazing. You've been take.
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We've been taken out, but we've been left in.
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Why? Because you need the world.
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And you're like, come on, pastor, I need the world like I
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need an ingrown toenail. What are you talking about?
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I need the world. But the world keeps you on the
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cutting edge of your spiritual life, keeps you seeking the
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Lord, keeps your prayer life deeper, right?
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Like the world refines us, this is the place where we grow and
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we're discipled. You need the world, but more
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importantly, the world needs you.
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You're the only ones. We're the only ones on the
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planet earth that can be the church and honor the Lord.
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We don't want the pagans to show unusual kindness.
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We don't want them to get all the attention.
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We want the kindness that the Lord gives to be lived out
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through our lives. Now notice what happens.
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It says in verse three, they can't hold a fire.
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Verse 2, they're taking care of them.
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They welcome them, them it's raining, it's cold.
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Verse 3. But when Paul had gathered a
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bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a Viper came out
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because of the heat. He's probably a little taking a
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nap in the sticks. The fire zip awakens him and
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what happens in verse 3? Fastened on his what does your
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Bible say? Fastened on his hand.
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Don't forget that. We're going to come back to that
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a little later. Fastened on his hand, which you
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like. Poor Paul, man, that guy never
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gets a break like he's getting the ship.
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This is the third time just in the last six months.
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This is the third life threatening situation that Paul
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has faced. The first one, six months of
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storm, the second one shipwreck. And now I did a little research
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this. The snakes that were on Malta
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during that time, the Viber, this would be a very poisonous
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snake that typically would bite and then take off.
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But you see this one fasten upon him maybe.
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He's a little lethargic from, you know, woke me up from a nap
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and you're like. And grabbed him by the hand and
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wouldn't let go. So when the natives verse four
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saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one
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another, no doubt this man is a murderer whom though he has
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escaped the sea yet justice does not allow to live.
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So you could basically say the guys that are on the island are
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tripping out on Paul and going that dude's bad news.
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That word justice there is technical.
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It probably is a reference to the Greek God Dyke, which was.
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The God of justice, Little G, the Greek God of justice.
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And like, finally, he can't run away.
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He made it all the way to the island and justice got him.
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And they're just waiting for him to die.
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But let's look at Paul for a moment because Paul was the kind
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of man that just couldn't sit still.
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He was always moving, always looking for ways to help.
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He was a servant's servant like he was the servant of all living
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out what Jesus taught us. He was the picture of Jesus
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teaching in Mark chapter 10, verse 45, you'll remember it
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says of Jesus that he came not to be served, but to serve and
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to give his life. Our answer for many.
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Jesus came to serve. And to give, but not to be
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served. That's where Paul is here,
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because Paul has the respect of these 276 people.
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If you were looking at Paul from their perspective, I mean, think
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about it, he's well respected by Julius, the Centurion.
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All the company on the ship respect him and honor him.
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They see him as very close to God.
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They see Him as what He says comes to pass.
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They see Him for His care as He tells them to eat and take care
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of themselves. He sees that God and they all
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see that God answers his prayers.
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They all see he's the one that encouraged and gave them
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instructions and saved their lives.
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But see, Paul's not a man interested in power or status.
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He's not interested in taking advantage of people as many in
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the church are today, building a following, building a platform,
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looking for attention. Look, he that's not Paul.
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What's Paul doing? He has all of this going for
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him. And what is he doing picking up
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sticks? He's picking up sticks because
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he saw the fire was going out and he wants to keep the fire
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going for everybody that's there.
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Now, does he need to pick up sticks?
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No. Could he sit over there and say,
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you know what? You guys know who I am?
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I'm very tired. I'm very important.
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You guys know God hears for me. You pick up the sticks and I'll
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kick back. He doesn't do that because he
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has what we would call today a servant's heart.
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He has the heart of Jesus that he's living out in obedience.
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He literally is caring for people more than he's caring for
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himself. It would be so good for us to
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live the same way. He isn't interested in power.
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He's already had power in status.
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And remember, being a chief rabbi, being a student of
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Gamaliel, he already knows. What it's like to have quote UN
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quote religious power. And what did it get him?
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Pride, arrogance, rebellion. With his religious power, he
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destroyed families. He would rush into a home and
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separate families. He would be approving of death
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and murder. He doesn't want anything to do
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with man made power. He doesn't want anything to do
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with that anymore, and neither should you.
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Man made power, man given power. It means absolutely nothing.
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The way to stay close to the Lord is to be a servant.
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You want to be great in God's Kingdom?
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Then be the servant of all. Pick up some sticks, do what's
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needed over the years as we celebrate 25 years as a church,
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you know, you get pretty nostalgic.
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I start thinking back to different episodes and I think
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back when I was looking at this review in my notes, I was
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thinking back just like I've met a lot of people that aren't
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willing to pick up sticks, mostly guys.
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I can't really think of gals at this moment.
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I'm sure I've met some, but mostly guys.
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It's mostly guys. They just want to think for
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themselves. They want a ministry that they
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want. They want a ministry.
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They want a title. They they just want a ministry.
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That's it. They.
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They want, that's not how they started, but that's where they
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get they just want a ministry and they want to put on the
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website and they want their business cards and they just
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want a ministry. And when they want something
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more than they want to be a servant, then other things.
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Start to fade away. You know, like, for example,
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it's like, hey, I want to serve the Lord.
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I want. What do you want, pastor?
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What do you want me to you know, I need you to vacuum.
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That's what we the carpet's dirty and we don't have anyone
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to vacuum. Oh, you know, pastor, I'm not
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called to vacuum. All right, bro, I don't know
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what to tell you. Ask me what you, what we need.
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We need somebody to vacuum. Like I'm going to go take care
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of this over here. You need to.
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No, no, I'm not called to vacuum.
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What are you called to do? I'm called to and it's usually
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what they really want to do. I want a ministry.
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Yeah, bro, what makes you think you're going to be OK in a
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ministry if you don't? You can't even turn on a vacuum.
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Like, what do you, what do you mean?
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Like, how are you going to be able to be at the bedside of
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someone that's sick and dying when you won't even vacuum the
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carpet? If you can't take a care of
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carpet, what makes you think you can take care of people?
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If you don't care about the carpet, you don't care about
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what's in front of you. It's like maybe you should wash
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some windows or take out the trash and just serve.
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Paul, I'm sure he could have and even justified it.
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I am Paul the Apostle. I don't pick up sticks.
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But he would be wrong because, you know, even Paul the Apostle
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keeps fires burning to bless other people.
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You don't outgrow servanthood, you outgrow humility.
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I don't see you guys writing that down.
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I got pretty quiet here. You don't outgrow servanthood.
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You outgrew humility, and you become prideful and arrogant,
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only doing what you want to do instead of what needs to be
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done. And as the this interesting
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thing is, as you do what needs to be done, the Lord lifts you
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up. You don't need to worry about
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it. He creates ministries.
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He creates open doors. He leads and guides.
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But you're probably going to see God's will with a stick in your
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hand or a bag of trash, or cleaning a window.
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And if you've been around here long enough, you know that it's
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actually not even about the carpet, although it does need to
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be vacuumed. Or it's not even about The Dirty
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windows, although they do need to be cleaned.
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And it's not about the trash, although we go through a lot of
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trash on this property, believe me.
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But it's not even about the trash.
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It's about your heart. It's the heart of the matter.
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And then after God deals with your heart, it's about
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proximity. You go ahead.
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What do you mean proximity? Well, it's about as you're
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cleaning a window, you're around people that you normally
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wouldn't be around. And so God puts you in a place,
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He puts you in a place you can be around people.
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And when you're around people, that's ministry.
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And so you're walking out to you.
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Just think about it. You see the trash, you walk out
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and you go, oh, who's supposed to take out this trash?
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Let me answer that question for you.
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You. As you pull up the bag and you
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go, where's the trash in? It's all the way out in the
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parking lot. So you walk to the end of the
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parking lot with a bag of trash. You go, What am I supposed to do
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with this? I'm going to go out and as
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you're walking. Through, you see.
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Somebody out of the corner of your eye, they go, oh.
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Do you need any help? Can I help you?
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Can I pray for you? It's amazing what will happen
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when you are faithful with the little things.
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It's God that raises up and it's God that puts down.
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Never forget that now, as God has made him a servant, he
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learned this lesson. A true servant of God never sees
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a task that's too small for him, too little, too menial.
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And that attitude of I'm not. Called to that, we're called to
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exactly what's before us and I'll show you why.
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Notice he's got the snake there, he's picking up.
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Put him in a position he got bit again and the snake is on his
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hand and it's and everybody's like he's a murderer.
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He's a murderer verse 5 But he shook off the creature into the
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fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting
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that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead.
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But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm came
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to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a God.
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Little G, this is so. So mark this phrase, You ready?
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This is what you need to do when you've been bit by a snake and
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it will not let go. You need to learn in verse 5 to
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shake it off, and this is an important principle today.
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If God is guiding the storms, then you need to learn along the
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way to shake it off. And that's what He does.
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He shakes it off. If you're a child of God and
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you've been bit by a snake, the snake of temptation, the snake
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of sin, the snake of our culture, you know, living in
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this world, being in the world, not of the world, you need to
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learn to shake it off. Paul here, why is he in the
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shipwreck and why is he in the storm, and why is he got a Viper
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fastened to his hand? Well, one of the reasons is
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because the enemy is after him. The enemy is after.
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Paul, we see this throughout his life.
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On the one hand, Jesus says I'm going to show him all the things
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he's going to do and suffer in my name.
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On the other hand, there's resistance from the devil
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himself. Now, I don't think I've ever met
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the devil myself personally, and there's a good chance many of
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many of you haven't. I think the devil is going after
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people that are so fruitful for the Kingdom, doing other things.
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But you know who we have met? The demonic realm.
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Spiritual warfare is. Real.
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And there is this pressure and resistance to to push back on
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all that God wants to accomplish in your life.
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And so the devil has been after Paul for some time now.
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He's been roaming, he's been scheming, he's been attacking.
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He is relentless. And the enemy's been trying to
24:15
take Paul out before Rome because when he gets to Rome,
24:18
he's going to disrupt the evil status quo.
24:21
God is going to use his mouth should bring great change to
24:25
Rome and he couldn't get Paul by ambush.
24:29
He couldn't get Paul by execution.
24:31
He couldn't get Paul by false accusations.
24:33
He couldn't get Paul by jail. He couldn't get Paul by
24:36
shipwreck. He couldn't get Paul by storms.
24:39
Now he tries with this stinking snake bite of a very venomous
24:45
deadly snake that will not let. Go and that snake becomes very
24:52
illustrative for us. It becomes a type of so many
24:56
things. Some of you have been bit by the
24:59
snake of this world and you're just the the.
25:02
World will not. Let go and you won't shake it
25:06
off. And so you're just going for
25:08
whatever this world has to offer.
25:10
That's all you're interested in. That's all you're into that.
25:13
That's it. You're just in this world, the
25:15
way of the world, the things of the world.
25:17
You've been bit by the world, I think.
25:20
Of. I think of the sin that is the
25:22
plague of the church today and in my generation, at least in
25:26
the last 10 to 15 years, Internet pornography, phone
25:30
pornography. It is a plague and has bit so
25:34
many of you and has fastened into you and you won't shake it
25:38
off. And it is sapped and completely
25:42
taken away. Your power, your authority, your
25:47
ability to stand strong. You are faithless because of
25:52
this sin. And it's just latched on.
25:55
Now, when I say latched on, I don't mean that you haven't
25:57
cooperated with it, but it won't let go.
26:00
I think of addictions. They just get into us.
26:03
They put their fangs into us and they just won't let go.
26:07
And here's the word of the Lord, you need to learn to shake it
26:11
off. Shake it off just like this
26:13
snake. Like if you were to shake it off
26:15
like, like, think Internet pornography, Just think of
26:17
pornography for a second. Just think like in the the
26:21
plague of this, the difficulty, the, the horrificness of this
26:24
sin. I mean, I'm not dumb enough, I'm
26:26
not naive enough to think that some of you were looking at that
26:29
junk even before you came to church today.
26:32
That's how much it's got its fangs in you.
26:34
And do you really think that's God's will for your life?
26:38
Do you really think that's the victory that God has given?
26:41
Do you really? I think that that makes you more
26:44
useful for the Kingdom because if you do, you're deceived.
26:49
Now it doesn't have to be that particular sin because some of
26:52
you go, well, that is not my problem, so preach it, pastor.
26:58
There's other things. I don't need to go through a
27:00
list, that's just real illustrative of how something
27:03
can get its fangs in you and you won't shake it off.
27:07
And I mean, shake it off like a snake.
27:10
If you had a snake and it was on your hand and you shook it off,
27:13
you would then what? Get as far away from it as
27:16
possible. You wouldn't go after it.
27:18
Go come here, little snake. Come here.
27:19
I want to take you home as a pet.
27:22
You're like, you're gone. It's gone.
27:23
It's gone. I'm gone.
27:26
And I want. Life.
27:28
But you've settled for death, and that's what you're living in
27:31
right now. The wages of sin is death.
27:35
And God has sent me here today to proclaim life and liberty to
27:40
you. But you got to shake it off.
27:42
You need to learn how to shake it off and to get as far away
27:46
from it as possible. That's what happens with Paul.
27:50
God wants to use his hands, not just his mouth, but he couldn't
27:55
use this hand with the snake attached to it.
27:59
And there are so many today where the snake has bitten you
28:02
and you need to shake it off. I was just with a group of
28:04
college students a couple weeks ago.
28:06
I got to spend a week with 27 young people.
28:10
And we were going through the book of Hebrews together, but
28:12
also having a lot of dialogue. And I introduced a concept to
28:15
them that they were wrestling with.
28:17
Not everyone, not all of them agreed with me.
28:20
They have to process it and see where they land.
28:22
And here's the concept. I've talked to it to you many
28:24
years, but I'll repeat it when you when it comes to using the
28:27
word struggle, you know how someone will come up after a
28:31
service? Pastor Ed, I'm struggling with
28:33
so and so and sin or whatever struggle.
28:35
There's two types of struggle. You ready?
28:36
Number one, the first type of struggle is a struggle for life.
28:42
You know, kind of like a person drowning in the in the middle of
28:45
the ocean. They go, I'm really struggling
28:46
and you know what they mean. They're trying to get their head
28:48
above water. They want life.
28:51
They they want to live. They are fighting for life.
28:54
That's the kind of struggle you want in your life, but there's
28:57
another type of struggle that isn't for life at all.
29:02
It's actually a word that is used as an excuse for continuing
29:08
to sin because you shake it off and you go right back to it.
29:12
You shake it off, you go right back to it, you shake, and
29:14
that's your life and all. I'm struggling with sin.
29:17
I'm like, really? It sounds like you like it.
29:20
It sounds like you've taken that Viper and made it a pet.
29:23
And even though you get bit once in a while, you'll like it and
29:27
that is not the. Type of struggle is going back
29:29
to the person drowning right if a person was rescued from
29:32
drowning the last thing they're going to do is hop in a boat go
29:35
to the middle of the ocean and jump back in they're going to
29:39
stay as far they'll probably be land lovers the rest of their.
29:42
Lives. It's a pretty traumatic
29:44
experience. But so is.
29:45
Sin. Sin is a very traumatic
29:48
experience and the things in our lives, they need to be shaken
29:52
off. We should not be living for this
29:55
world, for the things of this world we shouldn't be.
29:57
We need to shake it off. It's limiting our effectiveness.
30:00
As a church. Our time, our talents, our
30:03
treasures belong to the Lord. They don't belong to this world.
30:07
Our time doesn't belong to this world.
30:09
Oh yeah, we have to go to work and provide for our families for
30:12
sure. But that's what we give so that
30:14
we can serve the Lord. And then even then we kind of
30:17
slip in, right? If I'm going to work 8 or 9
30:19
hours somewhere, I'm there for the gospel, right?
30:22
Whatever I do in Word or deed, I'm going to do in the name of
30:26
the Lord Jesus Christ. So the world doesn't even get my
30:29
time. It belongs to the Lord.
30:30
He just wants me there. He just wants me there.
30:33
That wherever I am, that's where the Lord wants me.
30:36
Isn't that great? Don't get too silent here.
30:39
I want you to come along. You need to leave here today,
30:42
shaking off the things that have.
30:43
Bitten you, you have to church. You're coming up a couple weeks
30:47
here. You don't need to wait for a
30:48
calendar change. You know I'm going to make big
30:51
changes and I don't even know if I'm going to be here in January
30:54
1st. Today is the day that change
30:56
needs to take place right now in this place among us.
31:01
This is the time. And I want to hear when I hear
31:03
you say I'm struggling, I want to hear how you shook it off and
31:07
you ran away because you know the enemy is.
31:09
Relentless. There is a real struggle for
31:12
sure. I think of those plagued by
31:15
addictions that there's a real struggle, no doubt.
31:19
But don't get into a mole where you just make excuses for your
31:22
behavior. Hey, Paul, why are you so sick?
31:25
Well, you know, I I have a snake on my hand.
31:28
Well, shake it off, dude. I'm trying.
31:31
I'm trying. No, the brother he tried.
31:34
We know he was successful and he's alive today.
31:39
We need to take the authority that is ours in Christ Jesus and
31:43
shake off those things that are hindering and holding you back.
31:48
Here's an example of it. Remember Paul, excuse me?
31:51
Peter was heading up into the temple and as he was going up in
31:55
the book of Acts, they had that beggar that was always at the
31:57
gate. They're begging.
31:58
And he came and he told them, and I'll read it to you directly
32:03
from Acts chapter 3. It says Peter told him he's
32:05
asking for money. Peter didn't have any money.
32:07
Here was his answer. Silver and gold I do not.
32:10
Have. But what I do have, I give you.
32:13
And I just wonder if he changed his voice here for a moment.
32:16
You know, I don't have any money.
32:17
I don't really have anything to give you.
32:19
But in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise.
32:24
Up and walk. That's authority.
32:27
That wasn't his authority. He didn't have the ability to
32:31
help heal that man. It was in the authority of Jesus
32:34
Christ and so important that you and I walk in the authority and
32:38
the identity that we have, living out the power of God,
32:42
supernatural power. Notice with me verse 7.
32:44
Now come back. Well, verse 6 for a second, we
32:47
didn't get to that. These guys, they're watching
32:50
him, waiting for him to die. They don't know what to do.
32:54
He's under the judgement of the gods.
32:56
And let me just speak real quick to this.
32:58
When you shake it off and you come back to the Lord, not
33:01
everybody thinks you're going to succeed.
33:04
Did you know that? Especially those who have been
33:06
in a pattern, in a habit, you just been back and forth, back
33:09
and forth. People get tired of that.
33:11
They don't know how to do it. They may not be walking in the
33:13
Spirit, so they might be watching you, waiting for you to
33:15
fail. Again, you might even see
33:17
yourself this way. I've been back.
33:20
I'm in bags with my whole pattern.
33:22
You've adopted this identity as you'll never live in victory,
33:25
and you need to shake that off too.
33:28
Because it doesn't matter what people, all their opinions,
33:30
everybody thinks about you and what they're saying.
33:32
You need to learn and get an ear to hear the voice of the Lord.
33:36
Why? Everyone has an opinion, but
33:39
only God's opinion matters, and He is for you, not against you
33:43
and when you come. Back you come back to stay.
33:47
You don't need to worry about wandering off again because as
33:50
you press into the things of the Lord, just like Paul, they're
33:53
all waiting for him to die, which probably wasn't so
33:55
encouraging for him, and they're all going he's going to die,
33:58
he's going to die, he's going to die and what happens?
34:01
He lives and that's the will of God.
34:03
For you, isn't that great? It's so good.
34:05
That's a Bible study in and of itself.
34:07
Verse 7. Now in that region there was an
34:09
estate of a leading citizen on the island, whose name was
34:12
Publius, who received us and entertained us.
34:15
Courteously for three days. And it happened that the father
34:18
of Publicus lay sick with fever and dysentery which would kill
34:22
him. This is a deadly disease.
34:24
Paul went into him and prayed and he laid his hands on him and
34:28
healed him. So when he was done, the rest of
34:30
those on the island who had diseases also came and were
34:33
healed. And they also honored us in many
34:36
ways when we had departed. They provided such things as
34:39
were necessary. This is amazing here because
34:43
again, going back to the servants heart, most people want
34:46
to jump up to Publius and have this prominent ministry where
34:49
everybody knows what they do and how important they are.
34:52
That's what I want to do. I just want to heal people.
34:54
I just want to be no, no, no, no, it would never happen if
34:57
Paul had not picked up the sticks.
35:00
And you go, what do you mean, Ed?
35:01
How do you how do you connect that?
35:03
Well, I want you to read this and you might even circle it in
35:05
your Bible and put a little arrow there so you never forget
35:08
this. The same hands that were picking
35:12
up sticks and the same hand that got bit by the Viper, and the
35:17
same hand that he shook it off. Is now laying hands on a sick
35:23
man and God's using those hands to bring healing into a family
35:29
and on the island. To me that the enemy is like
35:34
right on going after what was going to be used.
35:38
Haven't you found that to be the case?
35:40
I have seen that in my life countless times where the enemy
35:46
goes right after something in my life, some emotion.
35:50
Sometimes you go after my voice, What after my thinking, right?
35:54
Whatever I'm God was going to use, the enemy was going right
35:58
after it, and Paul would have nothing.
36:02
He was used in his humble servanthood the same hands.
36:09
See, that's why you don't skip the sticks.
36:11
You never skip the sticks. You never outgrow picking up
36:14
sticks. You only outgrow humility.
36:18
The same hand that picks up the sticks is the same hand that God
36:23
uses to bring healing. It's the same hand, but this
36:26
time he's got a testimony because as his hands are there
36:31
and healing comes, who knows? The guy could have say, hey man,
36:34
what happened to your hand? Because the marks.
36:36
Are still there, he could say, let me tell you a story.
36:42
Let me tell you about the God who healed my hand and save me
36:47
from death. You see, it's all.
36:50
Listen, everything we have in life, it's all from him.
36:55
It's all for him, and it's all to him.
37:00
Every scar you have, every hurt you carry, every worry you deal
37:05
with, every sickness you're battling, every loss you've ever
37:10
had, it's for the Lord. It's to the Lord.
37:15
Sometimes those things are even from the Lord.
37:20
Paul's ministering to this family.
37:23
No doubt this opened the door in the midst of Malta fever.
37:28
God brings healing. Word gets out more healing.
37:32
And Paul started a ministry. He did get his ministry.
37:37
He's already in ministry, but he did get his ministry.
37:40
But he didn't need a website and he didn't need a video and he
37:43
didn't need a business card and he didn't need the prominence
37:45
and he didn't need the following and he didn't need the people.
37:49
He had the Lord, and as he was picking up sticks, the Lord led
37:53
him. And as the Lord led him, he had
37:56
prominence and got open doors that no man can open.
37:59
Got into the life with Publius, healed him, then the Word got
38:02
out, and now he has people to serve on that island.
38:05
He has people to receive on that island.
38:08
And as he's there, God uses him in a great way.
38:11
And God gets the glory because he's leaving.
38:14
He's not staying. This is just the beginning of
38:17
what one that God wanted to do on Malta.
38:21
He does begin a ministry there on that island and he begins to
38:24
touch many people with the power.
38:26
But here's the pathway for Paul because it's all different for
38:28
all of us. Here's the pathway for Paul.
38:30
You ready? He said.
38:31
How do I start a ministry, Pastor?
38:33
How do I start a ministry? Well, most people don't want to
38:35
hear what I'm saying right now. They don't want to hear pick up
38:38
sticks or clean toilets or they don't want to hear that.
38:41
They just want to go right to the healing, right to the
38:43
prominence. And, and so they don't want to
38:46
hear that. But it even starts before the
38:47
sticks, doesn't it? Well, you want to start a
38:49
ministry, you know, say something that gets you
38:52
arrested. I don't know.
38:54
I don't think so. And then face all these false
38:56
accusations. No, I don't want any false
38:58
accusations and then have to face the the people lying about
39:01
you. I don't want people lying about
39:03
me. And then go ahead and go from
39:05
leader to leader and get thrown in jail.
39:06
I don't want to be thrown in jail and on and on.
39:09
Then get put on a ship for six months and be sick to your
39:13
stomach for six straight months. Throw all of your food overboard
39:17
and on and on the list goes. And then only then.
39:21
Why use you to heal Publius and all the people on the island?
39:26
And you're like, yeah, no thanks.
39:29
No thanks. I'll go back to my website.
39:35
I'll go back to my video. And even though God uses all of
39:41
those things, they're so secondary as a revelation of our
39:46
hearts. And if you want to serve in this
39:49
church here today, you need to learn how to pick up sticks and
39:52
never stop. Because people matter.
39:57
They matter more than you do, more than I do.
40:01
People matter more than me. And God did not bring me from
40:04
California to Colorado to build a ministry.
40:07
He brought me here to serve. And I'll be most successful in
40:11
what God's called me to do when I serve.
40:14
And I serve and I serve. I've met some of you cleaning
40:19
toilets. You're on the other one.
40:21
Hey, how's that toilet? How's your toilet?
40:23
My toilet's great. I'm going to clean mine.
40:26
More shiny than yours or whatever.
40:28
You know, it's like I met you taking out the trash.
40:30
I met you at the hospital side of a hospital bed.
40:33
I've met you because that's ministry, folks.
40:37
That's why we're in this city. We're here to be a blessing, to
40:41
show kindness. But to the world, it's unusual
40:44
kindness, isn't it? Because they have their idea of
40:47
what the church is. The world already thinks they
40:49
got our, got us. And you know, quite frankly, the
40:51
reputation of the church, some of it's actually true, The bad
40:56
reputation, the world seems to know more.
41:01
What? The church is.
41:01
Against than what we're for, that's on us.
41:08
But we could change that in our generation.
41:10
We can change that if the Lord. Doesn't come back within the
41:13
next 25 years. We can change that, whatever.
41:17
God has for us. We have to yield.
41:20
I think the Lord speaking right now, like just in a real simple
41:22
way, there's a word of the Lord for someone here as God's
41:25
calling you back to Styx, no matter what you've experienced,
41:29
what you've been a part of all that you all that He's let you
41:32
see. He's calling you back to Styx
41:33
because that's where it's at. Just building fires.
41:36
Yeah, but I build fires. There's snakes in there.
41:38
All right. You got to learn what?
41:40
Shake it off. Of course you're going to be
41:42
bit. You're going to be bit A.
41:44
Lot in ministry just shake it off.
41:47
Run away, shake it off and run away.
41:50
Don't be flirting with those types of things.
41:53
Let the Lord minister to you will notice now as we wind down
41:57
here after three months. We sailed in an Alexandrian ship
42:01
whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers which had winnered at
42:04
the island and landing at Syracuse.
42:06
We stayed 3 days from there. We circled around and reached
42:10
Reggium, and after one day the South wind blew, and the next
42:13
day we came to Poutioli where we found brethren.
42:16
Mark that we found brethren. We're invited to stay with them
42:20
seven days. And so we went down toward Rome
42:22
from there when the brethren heard about.
42:24
Us, they came to meet us as far as the APPI forum and the three
42:29
ends. And when Paul saw them, we
42:31
thanked. He thanked God and took courage.
42:34
Marked that phrase he found brethren.
42:37
Now he had Luke with him and he had he had some brethren with
42:41
him, but he needed fellowship. That's what the word Koinonia.
42:45
He needed to be together with the brothers and when he got
42:47
together with the brothers it encouraged him and that's why we
42:52
gather together. That's why God created the
42:53
church. At least one of the reasons for
42:55
encouragement. I know many are listening live
42:57
on the radio right now or even live online.
43:00
Some of you have to but many of you like you're watching online,
43:03
but it's only a portion. It's not the same.
43:06
It's not the same. It's not the same of being in a
43:09
room together and hearing the songs like I'm here before
43:13
church starts. I'm here when the room is empty.
43:15
When the room is empty, it's just a room.
43:18
Did you know that? And it's a cold room because the
43:20
heat takes time for the heat to kick in.
43:22
So it's just a cold room filled with chairs.
43:25
You know when it comes alive, when you show up, the church
43:29
brings life into a cold room. And that's what we need at
43:33
times. We need life.
43:35
And so you come in and you go, well, I don't even feel like
43:37
singing today. That's fine.
43:40
Don't sing at all. We'll sing for you.
43:42
We'll sing for you so that the atmosphere of song of the
43:45
brothers next to you blesses your heart.
43:48
He's like, well, you know I don't, you know.
43:49
Then we have that little time of greeting.
43:51
Oh, I don't want to be greeted. God wants you greeted.
43:54
He wants you acknowledged. You might even sit by someone
43:56
because you're moving around trying to avoid people.
43:58
Can't do it, but you're going to try.
44:00
And then the Lord put you by that sister that can read your
44:04
mind just by looking at your eyes.
44:08
They go, oh, you're going through a rough 1 today.
44:10
How can I pray for you? You know, that's the last thing
44:13
I want to talk about, but it's the first thing God wants to
44:15
deal with. He wants to comfort you, wants
44:18
to minister to you. He, he wants you to hear a word
44:22
of God. He wants you to to receive it in
44:24
the atmosphere where there's Koinonia and we share life
44:27
together. He wants us to learn.
44:29
That's why we have small groups. That's why we have the men
44:32
gathering, the women gathering the marriages, why we have life
44:34
groups, why we have the gathering like this.
44:36
Because we were meant for this. It's not enough to be just
44:41
connected externally. We have to be a part.
44:44
God has called us to be a part. He has told us not to neglect
44:48
the gathering together as as of some because we need it.
44:52
We need. This look at what happens when
44:54
Paul found the brother and he was encouraged.
44:58
There's encouragement waiting for us as we get together.
45:00
Verse 16. Now when they had come to Rome,
45:03
he made it. Yes.
45:05
He made it to Rome. The centurion delivered the
45:08
prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was permitted to
45:11
dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.
45:16
So he's still under arrest, but now he's attached to a soldier.
45:20
History tells us these soldiers were switched out every four
45:23
hours. Can you imagine these guys?
45:26
They have to hear Paul every four hours.
45:28
And you know he's sharing with them.
45:30
People are coming to him there. She's sharing the gospel with
45:32
them every four hours. And I believe some of them
45:35
listened and heard it. We know that because of
45:38
Philippians chapter one in verse 13, so that it became evident to
45:42
the whole palace guard and to all the rest that might change.
45:46
Chains are in Christ and God used Paul even in the chains,
45:51
and then it says he's in house arrest.
45:53
Verse 17 It came to pass after three days that Paul called the
45:57
leaders of the Jews together so that when they had come
46:00
together, he said to them, men, brethren, though I have done
46:03
nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet
46:06
I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of
46:09
the Romans. Who, when they'd examined me,
46:12
wanted me to let me go because there was no cause for putting
46:15
me to death, but when the Jews spoke against it, I was
46:18
compelled to appeal to Caesar. Not that I had.
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Anything of which to accuse my nation.
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For this reason, therefore, I have called for you to see you,
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to speak with you, because for the hope of Israel, I am bound
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with this chain. The hope of Israel, technical
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phrase if you want to mark it, it refers to Messiah, the hope
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of Israel. You could look at it two ways,
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the hope of Israel who has come and the hope of Israel who is to
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come. And he says all this is
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happening to me. I've all my whole life story
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summarizing 2 verses is all because of the hope of Israel.
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What a testimony to have. How can he say that?
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Well, he's freshly encouraged after all that he's been through
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everything, he's still standing, he's still alive.
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And instead, you know his custom when he got to a town would go
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where? To the synagogue.
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But he can't do that. He's at house arrest.
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So he calls them to him and he begins to share with them, which
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we'll see in the last part of this chapter.
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But before we go, I want to show you something of what I believe
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God has for you in the coming days.
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Turn over to Joshua with me, would you?
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Just one last place, the book of Joshua.
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It's a great way to live our lives.
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Paul shows us at every turn the power of Jesus through the
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Spirit. He's encouraged.
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He's facing such, he's faced such great difficulty barriers.
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And problems? They didn't exist for Paul.
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Not that he didn't face them, but that they didn't stop him.
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2nd Corinthians 6 lists all the things he went through.
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And of course, I think the best way to put it is in language you
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would understand today Paul's life.
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He would. We we would say today that Paul
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did not live his life with all of these things.
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Happening to him, he did not take the posture of a victim.
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He lived in the victory that was his in Christ.
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So important perspective. He didn't take the posture of
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look what's happening, look at how bad my life is, look how
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hard it is. I can't believe he's like, wait,
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I got a hard life. But man, what a right it.
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Is I'm just going to use everything that's happened in my
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life. He becomes a great example to us
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how God is going to use everything.
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That's what he promises, right? Romans chapter 8.
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God's working all things together for the good.
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Not everything's good, not everything's easy, not
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everything is what we want. But we know we're in the hands
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of God. He's going to use it.
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And so I was thinking of Joshua. It's not unusual, God, it's not
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unusual. We all concerned about the
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future. It's not unusual that we don't
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want to battle. And, you know, Joshua's here.
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He's about ready to take this new nation into the promised
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land. 40 years of wilderness wandering.
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His leader, his mentor, his. Best friend is gone, Moses has
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died and Joshua has lived his whole life ready for this
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moment. But he's not as ready as you
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would think. Notice in verse 6 God tells him,
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Joshua be strong and of good courage.
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For to this people you will divide as an inheritance the
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land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
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Joshua one be strong, good courage.
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Look at verse 7. Only be strong and very
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courageous that you may observe to do according to the.
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All the law. Which Moses, my servant
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commanded you. Don't turn from it to the right
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hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
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And then notice verse 9. I'm going to set you up so you
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can read it with me. So have I not commanded you?
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And that's going to be you. I want you to jump in and read
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it with me. You ready?
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Have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage?
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Let's try it again. Have I not commanded you be
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strong and of good courage? 3 * 3 times.
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Peter was a three timer. Joshua was a three timer.
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He needed it. Be strong, Joshua, you're going
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to make it. Be strong.
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There's battles. You can trust me.
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You're going to make it through whatever you're facing right
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now. It is not the end.
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You're going to learn how to shake it off.
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He'll learn that at AI with great failure, he could have
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wallowed in that failure. People lost their lives.
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But he learned how to shake it off.
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He learned how to move forward. He learned how to.
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Cast his cares upon the Lord. And here's the key says don't be
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afraid. Verse 9 Don't be discouraged,
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for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go, and that's
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the word of the Lord to you today.
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The Lord is with you. Be strong, be courageous.
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God's guiding the storms. He's strengthening your life.
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He's helping you along the way. He's giving you ability.
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I know you've been bit, but you can shake it off Amen.
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Shake it off, church. Lord, thank you for your word as
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we come to the close today that you would have your way with us.
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You pour out your spirit. I pray freedom over our church
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today, Lord, I pray freedom and I pray courage.
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I, I speak, Lord, the power of your victory over our church
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today. I speak, Lord, the truth of your
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promises. I speak for those that are
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hurting today, those that are are wrestling today.
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I pray for those God, and I speak victory over those that
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are struggling for life. And I also speak victory over
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those that are. Struggling that might have been
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in this pattern of excuses that you might set them free for all
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that you have for them. And whatever you have for the
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future of our church, God, whatever the future holds, we
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pray God that you would help us keep our eyes firmly fixed on
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you in Jesus name, 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, call us at 87730
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Grace that's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
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integrity or to join us for 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. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
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this week.