Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Out of the Shadows │ Msg 622 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living (64k)

Transcript

Out of the Shadows │ Msg 622 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living (64k) · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

0:00
Speaker 1: Our Father, we pause, in an unusual experience of silence
0:11
Speaker 1: in our back to back, NonStop world, to express to you.
0:16
Speaker 2: Our adoration.
0:19
Speaker 1: For the Lamb, for the mercy, for the grace, for
0:27
Speaker 1: the blood, for the plan that of all things included
0:33
Speaker 1: people like us. Our Father, we have not the words
0:41
Speaker 1: to say, and therefore we entrust to you the feelings
0:47
Speaker 1: of our hearts, even as your word speaks these groanings
0:52
Speaker 1: that cannot be uttered. And we pause, as a people
0:59
Speaker 1: of yours, to reflect again upon that priceless gift that
1:06
Speaker 1: came from your heart of love and out of grace,
1:12
Speaker 1: came down to this earth, even to those who did
1:22
Speaker 1: not receive him, did not welcome him, and he gave
1:28
Speaker 1: himself fully. Thank you, Father, for lifting the curse that
1:35
Speaker 1: was against us. Thank you for freeing us from the
1:39
Speaker 1: command of our enemy ruler who controlled our thoughts and
1:47
Speaker 1: dominated our wills. Thank you for the victory he brings
1:54
Speaker 1: through Christ, our Father. We now want you to know
2:02
Speaker 1: that these offerings express to you just a measure of
2:08
Speaker 1: our gratitude. We give them joyfully and gratefully and generously
2:17
Speaker 1: again because of the Lamb who loved us and gave
2:23
Speaker 1: himself for us in his name, we pray, and everyone said.
2:33
Speaker 1: I want to speak today to all of you who
2:35
Speaker 1: find yourself in God's waiting room. For whatever reason, you've
2:43
Speaker 1: been pulled away from the action, certainly the action you
2:46
Speaker 1: once knew, and even though you are fairly well educated, experienced,
2:52
Speaker 1: and perhaps greatly gifted in that particular field, for some reason,
2:58
Speaker 1: you're not there now. And for some unrevealed reason, you
3:04
Speaker 1: are or have entered into a period of waiting now. Admittedly,
3:13
Speaker 1: your response to this waiting may not be all that great.
3:17
Speaker 1: It isn't easy to wait, and to make matters worse,
3:23
Speaker 1: you don't see the light.
3:24
Speaker 2: At the end of the tunnel.
3:27
Speaker 1: Matter of fact, it bears all the markings of being
3:30
Speaker 1: a long wait, and that doesn't seem fair. I want
3:39
Speaker 1: to encourage you today, but I don't want to encourage
3:41
Speaker 1: you to the point of unrealistic expectations. It may be
3:47
Speaker 1: a long time, and in fact the plan God has
3:54
Speaker 1: may not be revealed for a number of months, may
4:00
Speaker 1: be years. However, I have found that one of God's
4:08
Speaker 1: favorite methods of preparing us for something great is waiting
4:13
Speaker 1: and waiting, and waiting and waiting. One fine British author
4:22
Speaker 1: named James Stalker puts it this way, Waiting is a
4:27
Speaker 1: common instrument of providential discipline for those to whom exceptional
4:34
Speaker 1: work has been appointed. The exceptional work for David was
4:45
Speaker 1: that he lead the nation Israel for forty years, and
4:50
Speaker 1: he did that.
4:52
Speaker 2: By divine appointment.
4:54
Speaker 1: However, it is easy to forget that the previous twelve
4:57
Speaker 1: or more years he waited, counted and haunted by Saul,
5:04
Speaker 1: his predecessor, who was jealous of him, in fact, despised
5:08
Speaker 1: him and attempted to kill him more than once.
5:13
Speaker 2: Don't forget he waited before he was the king.
5:20
Speaker 1: The exceptional appointment for the point man of the Exodus
5:27
Speaker 1: was the leading of the children of Israel to the
5:29
Speaker 1: land of Canaan, and that was Moses' privileged to do that. However,
5:35
Speaker 1: it is easy to forget that forty of the previous
5:38
Speaker 1: years he waited as a bedouin, as a shepherd in
5:43
Speaker 1: the wilderness, keeping his father in law sheep.
5:48
Speaker 2: In the shadows of Sinai.
5:53
Speaker 1: The exceptional appointment the exceptional work of Elijah was to
6:00
Speaker 1: stand toe to toe against the forces of Ahab and Jezebel,
6:04
Speaker 1: and he did that. How easy it is to forget
6:08
Speaker 1: the long time he spent at the brook Kerrith, and
6:12
Speaker 1: when that brook dried up, his move to the unknown Zeriphath,
6:17
Speaker 1: where no headlines were made, no significant ministry or involvement
6:22
Speaker 1: took place.
6:23
Speaker 2: He was just hidden away there.
6:27
Speaker 1: The exceptional work of Joseph was to become the prime
6:30
Speaker 1: minister of Egypt and to hold that nation and part
6:33
Speaker 1: of other nations together during a time of enormous drought.
6:40
Speaker 1: And so it was his calling, and so he fulfilled it. However,
6:43
Speaker 1: it is easy to forget what led up to his
6:46
Speaker 1: becoming prime minister. His brother sold him into slavery, and
6:52
Speaker 1: once he came to Egypt, having to learn a foreign
6:56
Speaker 1: culture and a foreign tongue. He lived there, if you will, well,
7:00
Speaker 1: as a houseboy to Potiphar. And while there, Potiphar's wife
7:05
Speaker 1: attempted to take him sexually. He resisted her. She screamed rape.
7:10
Speaker 1: They threw him in prison, and he was in prison
7:13
Speaker 1: forgotten for more than two years.
7:15
Speaker 2: Waiting, waiting, waiting. The list goes on.
7:23
Speaker 1: Esther because of God's using her to preserve her people
7:28
Speaker 1: from wholesale annihilation extermination one of the early holocausts, she
7:35
Speaker 1: stepped out of the shadows and she faced her husband
7:38
Speaker 1: with the truth of the one whose conspiracy was well underway.
7:43
Speaker 1: She saved her nation. However, it is easy to forget
7:47
Speaker 1: that the other years of her life were spent in
7:50
Speaker 1: the shadows, waiting, waiting, waiting for her moment, for her time.
8:00
Speaker 1: Let me give you a principle, I hope you never forget.
8:03
Speaker 1: Exceptional work is preceded by extended waiting.
8:11
Speaker 2: Very very, very.
8:13
Speaker 1: Few people jump into exceptional work, even though we all
8:20
Speaker 1: want to. We get our diploma, we are ready for
8:26
Speaker 1: the big time. We're told how to write that resume
8:30
Speaker 1: that always looks better than we are and paints us
8:34
Speaker 1: in such a way they would think we were Billy
8:36
Speaker 1: Graham at age twenty three, ready for the next revival,
8:41
Speaker 1: when in fact, most guys who were twenty three and
8:43
Speaker 1: just out of seminary no just enough theology to be dangerous,
8:48
Speaker 1: and if you turn them lose at that time, they
8:50
Speaker 1: would be.
8:52
Speaker 2: And at thirty three, and often at forty three.
8:57
Speaker 1: It takes honing, It takes shaping, if you will, takes breaking,
9:02
Speaker 1: it takes polishing, it takes reshaping, It takes waiting. Listen
9:10
Speaker 1: to some verses Psalm twenty seven fourteen, wait for the
9:15
Speaker 1: Lord be strong, and let your heart take courage.
9:17
Speaker 2: Yes, wait for the Lord, Psalm sixty two. Five.
9:21
Speaker 1: My soul wait in silence for God only, for my
9:25
Speaker 1: hope is from him, Psalm thirty seven seven. Rest in
9:29
Speaker 1: the Lord and wait patiently for him. Verse thirty four.
9:33
Speaker 1: Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he
9:35
Speaker 1: will exalt you Psalm ninety one one. He who dwells
9:40
Speaker 1: in the shelter of the Most High will abide under
9:42
Speaker 1: the shadow of the Almighty, the shadow the shadow Isaiah
9:49
Speaker 1: forty nine twenty three. Those who hopefully wait for me
9:53
Speaker 1: will not be put to shame Isaiah forty thirty one.
9:57
Speaker 1: Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.
10:00
Speaker 1: They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will
10:03
Speaker 1: run and not get tired. They will walk and not
10:06
Speaker 1: faint Josea twelve, verse six. Wait for your God continually.
10:14
Speaker 1: The book is full of verses like that. That's just
10:17
Speaker 1: a sampling, my chorus, my concordance that I checked to find.
10:21
Speaker 1: Those verses had column after column after column of the
10:24
Speaker 1: tiniest print, each verse containing the word weight or rest, wait, rest, wait, rest.
10:33
Speaker 1: Matter of fact, I can hardly find the word hurry
10:35
Speaker 1: in the scriptures or easy. Perhaps It was one of
10:43
Speaker 1: those verses that lingered in Saul's.
10:47
Speaker 2: Mind and led him.
10:50
Speaker 1: To move into the shadows of Tarsus for a period
10:55
Speaker 1: of four or five six more years, if you figure correctly.
11:00
Speaker 1: He was about age forty two forty three before he
11:05
Speaker 1: stepped back to the limelight and began to minister effectively
11:10
Speaker 1: for the next twenty or so years. Forty three, John
11:17
Speaker 1: Pollock writes the best years of Paul's life were slipping
11:21
Speaker 1: away between the Taurus Mountains and the sea. It was
11:25
Speaker 1: harder to it was harder to bear, because he cared
11:28
Speaker 1: so deeply that all everywhere should hear and believe. Yet,
11:32
Speaker 1: during his later thirties and into his early forties, when
11:35
Speaker 1: a man approaches his prime, he drops out of history.
11:43
Speaker 1: When's the last time you encouraged someone who did very
11:45
Speaker 1: well in school to just wait? Don't be ambitious. You're gifted,
11:55
Speaker 1: you're good, you're capable. I got news for you. They'll
12:03
Speaker 1: find you. They'll find you. And I say that, especially
12:10
Speaker 1: in God's work, few things are more distasteful than ambition
12:16
Speaker 1: among the young who are called don't be ambitious, don't
12:24
Speaker 1: push yourself, don't get in a hurry. God knows what
12:29
Speaker 1: he's about on your way to Acts eleven. Stop off
12:35
Speaker 1: at Romans chapter eight. When you do that Romans eight,
12:40
Speaker 1: verse twenty five. I rarely tell congregations this, but I'm
12:45
Speaker 1: going to do it today.
12:46
Speaker 2: I wish you would.
12:47
Speaker 1: Memorize Romans eight twenty five. I wish you would make
12:51
Speaker 1: that your project this week. Put it on a card,
12:55
Speaker 1: Put it under the glass at your desk, or on
12:57
Speaker 1: your mirror in your bathroom, preferably not on your sonweiser
13:02
Speaker 1: in your car. You need pay attention where you're driving.
13:05
Speaker 1: But look at Romans eight twenty five enough to where
13:09
Speaker 1: you can memorize it. If we hope for what we
13:13
Speaker 1: do not see with perseverance.
13:17
Speaker 2: We wait eagerly for it. Look at that verse.
13:23
Speaker 1: Now he's on another subject, and I won't go into it,
13:25
Speaker 1: the whole subject of the creation and the travail of
13:28
Speaker 1: the creation, and our bodies longing to be clothed upon
13:32
Speaker 1: with the eternal, and we wait for that eagerly. But
13:36
Speaker 1: the point is taken, and it's taken well. I think
13:38
Speaker 1: Paul learned this in Tarsus between ages thirty eight and
13:42
Speaker 1: forty two forty three.
13:44
Speaker 2: I think he learned waiting.
13:47
Speaker 1: It happens when we hope for what we do not see,
13:50
Speaker 1: and who doesn't Every person hearing my voice at this
13:56
Speaker 1: moment has something she or he is hoping for that
13:59
Speaker 1: hasn't yet happened. My answer, wait eagerly for it with perseverance, Relax,
14:10
Speaker 1: be still, as my kids would say to me, cool
14:15
Speaker 1: your jets, Chill, chill. I don't find that in the scriptures,
14:22
Speaker 1: but maybe it is there, hidden in the meaning of
14:26
Speaker 1: the Greek or something. Look at Acts chapter eleven, Acts eleven.
14:32
Speaker 1: Our culture says just the opposite. Remember our sayings. If
14:37
Speaker 1: you've got it flauded, that's a good verse to Claimuh
14:44
Speaker 1: how about name? Recognition is everything? I mean everything. Don't
14:49
Speaker 1: worry about character, worry about image. Don't concern yourself with substance.
14:54
Speaker 1: Make sure you look good on television. After all, image
14:58
Speaker 1: just what selves. Name recognition nonsense. In God's work, neither matters.
15:07
Speaker 1: It is always substance, it is always character. And that's
15:13
Speaker 1: what happened in Saul's life when the Lord pulled him aside,
15:17
Speaker 1: set him aside from all of the activity that's going
15:21
Speaker 1: on in Acts chapter ten and Acts chapter eleven, and
15:24
Speaker 1: hides him away in Tarsus. We'll get to that in
15:29
Speaker 1: just a minute. But in the meantime, this is no
15:32
Speaker 1: sleepy village. We come upon in chapter eleven an enormous
15:37
Speaker 1: number of things are happening. First of all, the spotlight
15:40
Speaker 1: has turned from Saul to Peter. Peter's gotten a glimpse
15:45
Speaker 1: of the gentile ministry. The sheet was let down in
15:48
Speaker 1: chapter ten, and all kinds of food were provided for
15:51
Speaker 1: him to eat, and he wrestled with his kosher diet
15:54
Speaker 1: as opposed to what the Lord said was now provided
15:57
Speaker 1: under grace. And his eyes were opened, and gentiles began
16:01
Speaker 1: to believe, including Carnelius. And along with the Gentiles the
16:05
Speaker 1: people of Cyprus and the people of Syreene. And they
16:09
Speaker 1: move across the islands of the eastern Mediterranean, and they
16:12
Speaker 1: come all the way to Antioch. And by the time
16:15
Speaker 1: you get to Antioch, it is downright electric. There is
16:18
Speaker 1: a revival that is broken out. Look at verse nineteen.
16:21
Speaker 1: Those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose
16:25
Speaker 1: in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and
16:29
Speaker 1: Cyprus and Antioch. Checked the map sometime you'll see it
16:32
Speaker 1: all moving to the east and then up from Jerusalem
16:36
Speaker 1: speaking the word to no one except Jews only. But
16:39
Speaker 1: there were some men of Cyprus and Syreene who came
16:43
Speaker 1: to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks, also preaching
16:47
Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus. And the result, well, the hand of
16:49
Speaker 1: the Lord was with them, and a large number who
16:52
Speaker 1: believed turned to the Lord. And the news about them
16:56
Speaker 1: reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem. I imagine
16:59
Speaker 1: it did, and they sent, of course Barnabas. Why would
17:03
Speaker 1: they send Barnabas to Antioch. Well, check chapter four of Acts.
17:07
Speaker 1: You'll find Barnabas was a Cypriot. There were people from Cyprus.
17:12
Speaker 1: Barnabas knew that culture, he knew that language, he understood
17:16
Speaker 1: those people. He had also had his eyes open regarding
17:20
Speaker 1: the Gentiles. So Barnabas was prime and ready for this call,
17:24
Speaker 1: and the people of Jerusalem sent him to Antioch. Look
17:28
Speaker 1: at the revival at Antioch verse twenty three. When Barnabas
17:31
Speaker 1: had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced
17:36
Speaker 1: and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to
17:40
Speaker 1: remain true to the Lord, for he was a good man,
17:44
Speaker 1: full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable
17:48
Speaker 1: numbers were brought to the Lord. They weren't brought to
17:51
Speaker 1: the church. They were brought to the Lord. This isn't
17:55
Speaker 1: about a church, it's about revival. Bringing people to the
18:00
Speaker 1: church does form and take shape in Antioch becomes a
18:04
Speaker 1: significant first century church, but observe a considerable number were
18:10
Speaker 1: brought to the Lord at Robertson, in his book were
18:14
Speaker 1: pictures in the New Testament, writes, these people were added
18:18
Speaker 1: to the Lord Jesus before they were added to the church.
18:21
Speaker 1: If that were always true, what a difference it would
18:24
Speaker 1: make in our churches. How true that is. Revival is
18:29
Speaker 1: not about what happens in a church. Revival is about
18:32
Speaker 1: what happens when people turn their lives over to the Lord.
18:36
Speaker 1: And these people do that in large numbers. I can't
18:40
Speaker 1: speak for you, but I have been in a setting
18:42
Speaker 1: where that kind of thing was happening, and it's absolutely phenomenal.
18:47
Speaker 1: You can't stop it because you didn't start it. You
18:50
Speaker 1: can't explain it because you didn't manufacture it. You can't
18:54
Speaker 1: duplicate it because you didn't create it. You are witnessing
18:59
Speaker 1: the Lord's hand, and he moves through his spirit in
19:03
Speaker 1: and among his people, so that the lost are saved
19:06
Speaker 1: and the saved are revived. That is what revival means,
19:10
Speaker 1: a regiving of life to those who have life. The
19:15
Speaker 1: saved are revived and the lost are evangelized. And all
19:19
Speaker 1: of this is happening at Antioch. You know what's also interesting,
19:24
Speaker 1: Saul isn't anywhere around. Where's Saul? You're ready for a shock,
19:33
Speaker 1: probably in some cave near Tarsars because I think by
19:37
Speaker 1: now his family has thrown him out, the synagogue has
19:41
Speaker 1: flogged him. According to several New Testament students, back in
19:46
Speaker 1: those days, flogging was accepted when you were being excommunicated.
19:51
Speaker 1: He was adopting the gentile lifestyle far too much for them.
19:54
Speaker 1: He had changed his diet from Kosher to more of
19:57
Speaker 1: a gentile diet. He probably found himself gentile homes in
20:01
Speaker 1: places of establishment.
20:03
Speaker 2: He was held aloof from that. When he grew up
20:05
Speaker 2: in Tarsus.
20:06
Speaker 1: His whole life is changing, and the Lord is using
20:10
Speaker 1: these four five, six, however many years, to reshape him
20:14
Speaker 1: for an incredible ministry. But he's not ready for it
20:17
Speaker 1: until he goes through the breaking of what happens in Tarsus.
20:20
Speaker 2: Do we get it?
20:22
Speaker 1: While he is in Tarsus, he loses confidence in the flesh.
20:27
Speaker 1: While he is in Tarsus, he realizes he doesn't have
20:30
Speaker 1: it within himself. You know what else happens in Tarsus
20:34
Speaker 1: the thorn in the flesh emerges. What else happens is
20:39
Speaker 1: great revelation are given to him. According to Second Corinthians,
20:44
Speaker 1: Chapter twelve, let me show you something. Hold your place here.
20:46
Speaker 1: Look at Second Corinthians twelve. I think it's about verse two,
20:52
Speaker 1: for he mentions a period of time which ties in
20:56
Speaker 1: perfectly yeah verse two. Second Corinthians twelve. I know a
21:05
Speaker 1: man in Christ who fourteen years ago, whether in the
21:10
Speaker 1: body I do not know, or out of the body,
21:12
Speaker 1: I do not know.
21:13
Speaker 2: God knows.
21:14
Speaker 1: Such a man was caught up to the third heaven
21:18
Speaker 1: pause a moment. If you go back fourteen years Second
21:20
Speaker 1: Corinthians was written AD fifty six, that would take you
21:24
Speaker 1: back to AD forty two. Saul is about forty one
21:30
Speaker 1: forty two years old. That's when he's in Tarsus. So
21:34
Speaker 1: he doesn't tell us he's at Tarsus. But if you
21:36
Speaker 1: figure it chronologically you go back, that's where you find him.
21:40
Speaker 1: He describes himself as a man. Whether in the body
21:43
Speaker 1: or out of the body, I do not know. God knows.
21:45
Speaker 1: We'll look at that more detailed later. I know all
21:47
Speaker 1: of you are saying, what does that mean. Let's just
21:49
Speaker 1: go past it for right now. Let me just solve
21:52
Speaker 1: it by saying, I don't know.
21:53
Speaker 2: Verse four.
21:55
Speaker 1: He was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words
21:59
Speaker 1: which a man is not remitted to speak.
22:01
Speaker 2: I'm being facicious with you.
22:03
Speaker 1: Perhaps after a flogging when he was halfway between conscious
22:06
Speaker 1: and unconscious, Perhaps have been stoned by now. Perhaps he
22:12
Speaker 1: was in a trance which the Lord took him into,
22:15
Speaker 1: back in the days when revelation was not completed in
22:18
Speaker 1: the scriptures, he says, on behalf of such a man,
22:21
Speaker 1: I will boast. But on behalf of such a man
22:24
Speaker 1: will I boast. But on my own behalf I will
22:27
Speaker 1: not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. He learned
22:30
Speaker 1: that in Tarsus, I do not wish to boast, he
22:33
Speaker 1: says verse seven, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations.
22:37
Speaker 1: For this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there
22:40
Speaker 1: was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger
22:44
Speaker 1: of Satan, to buffet me, to keep me from exalting myself.
22:48
Speaker 1: That happened while he was in the shadows, hidden away.
22:53
Speaker 1: Back to Acts, chapter eleven.
22:55
Speaker 2: There are so.
22:55
Speaker 1: Many things we want to go into, but time doesn't permit.
22:59
Speaker 2: I just want you.
22:59
Speaker 1: To see, this was Saul while he was hidden away
23:03
Speaker 1: in the shadows. Nobody knew about it. It never made
23:07
Speaker 1: the headlines. Your waiting period will never be something that
23:11
Speaker 1: will be all that's significant in other people's minds. All
23:15
Speaker 1: they know is you sort of dropped out of history.
23:20
Speaker 1: You're gone from the scene. It may begin with a bankruptcy.
23:27
Speaker 1: It may start with some horrible experience you go through.
23:29
Speaker 2: It may be a.
23:30
Speaker 1: Tragic accident, car accident. It may be an illness. Perhaps
23:36
Speaker 1: it would be a torn reputation passed along by someone
23:40
Speaker 1: who didn't tell the truth. And it breaks you and
23:43
Speaker 1: it hurts you, and you go to your own tarsus,
23:47
Speaker 1: and you're in the waiting room, and you live there
23:51
Speaker 1: for an undetermined period of time, because that's where God
23:54
Speaker 1: begins to work on you deep within. I hope you're
23:58
Speaker 1: hearing this. You who are there are hearing it. You
24:03
Speaker 1: who haven't gone there yet can hardly imagine the need
24:06
Speaker 1: for this. F. B. Myer writes, the disciples brought the
24:12
Speaker 1: hunted preacher to Cessarea sent him forth to Tarsus, and
24:17
Speaker 1: not improbably he resumed his tent, making their content to
24:21
Speaker 1: await the Lord's will and bidding. But the years passed slowly,
24:26
Speaker 1: possibly four or five were spent in comparative obscurity and neglect.
24:32
Speaker 1: And I want to tell you our society respects neither.
24:38
Speaker 1: Obscurity means forgotten, unproductive, unimportant. Neglect means irresponsibility and who
24:45
Speaker 1: needs you? But it's in obscurity and neglect. It's when
24:50
Speaker 1: you are hidden in the shadows. God does his best
24:54
Speaker 1: work in your life. That's when Saul became Paul. That's
25:02
Speaker 1: when the Pharisee was broken, stripped.
25:08
Speaker 2: Of his self.
25:10
Speaker 1: Will, and through the thorn in the flesh, was molded
25:15
Speaker 1: into Paul, the man God could use, who said, when
25:21
Speaker 1: I am weak, he is strong. On verse twenty five
25:29
Speaker 1: of Acts eleven, something happens to Barnabas. Considerable numbers were
25:36
Speaker 1: brought to the Lord, and between verse twenty four and
25:40
Speaker 1: verse twenty five, Barnabas gets alone with the Lord and.
25:44
Speaker 2: Realizes he needs help. He needs help.
25:50
Speaker 1: He's got this enormous revival on his hands. He doesn't
25:54
Speaker 1: have the gifts necessary, or the energy necessary, or for
25:57
Speaker 1: that matter, the knowledge necessary.
26:00
Speaker 2: To teach these people as he should. And he remembers.
26:04
Speaker 2: One who does.
26:05
Speaker 1: Conspicuous by its absence is Saul of Tarsus. That's why
26:10
Speaker 1: the next verse reads like it does. He left for
26:14
Speaker 1: Tarsus to look for Saul. You know what, I'm impressed with.
26:20
Speaker 1: Saul had not sent him his resume. Saul had not
26:27
Speaker 1: sent a couple of messengers saying, if Barnabas needs a hand,
26:30
Speaker 1: I got the gifts.
26:33
Speaker 2: He didn't do that. He stayed in saw.
26:36
Speaker 1: He stayed in Tarsus, removed from the limelight for as
26:39
Speaker 1: long as was necessary, And Barnabas went next verse says
26:45
Speaker 1: and found him.
26:47
Speaker 2: That implies a search. Where was he? I don't know.
26:53
Speaker 2: Barnabas didn't know he found him?
26:59
Speaker 1: Yes, Saul, is that you? Yeah, it's Barnabas. Barnabus come in,
27:10
Speaker 1: have a seat on the rock there by me. It's
27:14
Speaker 1: kind of damp in here, but it's the best I
27:16
Speaker 1: can do, Barnabas is Saul could never believe it.
27:24
Speaker 2: You remember Antioch?
27:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, I do. Do you have any idea what's going
27:28
Speaker 1: on there?
27:29
Speaker 2: I haven't heard Let me tell you.
27:32
Speaker 1: And He tells him about the work that God's doing
27:34
Speaker 1: in Antioch, and he says, Saul, come with me, help
27:39
Speaker 1: me out. He brought him to Antioch. It came about
27:44
Speaker 1: that for an entire year they met with the church
27:46
Speaker 1: and taught considerable numbers, and the disciples were first called
27:50
Speaker 1: Christians in Antioch.
27:52
Speaker 2: Is that great, Saul? All right?
27:55
Speaker 1: Listen, great, but there's no self in it. Four or
28:00
Speaker 1: five six years to get rid of that stuff. Those
28:03
Speaker 1: things that were considered great to him earlier were nothing now.
28:07
Speaker 1: He wasn't there to make a name. He wasn't there
28:11
Speaker 1: so his folks would brag on him. He wasn't there
28:14
Speaker 1: because his mama thought he ought to be a preacher.
28:17
Speaker 1: He he was there for all the right reasons. The
28:21
Speaker 1: Lord called him from weakness and brokenness and obscurity and neglect.
28:29
Speaker 2: The Lord placed his feet.
28:31
Speaker 1: On a rock and said, now is the time.
28:37
Speaker 2: And he did it, and.
28:39
Speaker 1: Their first called followers of Christ in Antioch. What a
28:46
Speaker 1: difference Saul's teaching made, because Saul was different. Under the
28:57
Speaker 1: shadow of the Almighty, he had been humbled, and while
29:00
Speaker 1: there he had been given fresh revelation of the Lord's
29:03
Speaker 1: plan and insight regarding the Church and grace. While there,
29:07
Speaker 1: the foreign in the flesh intensified so that he needed
29:12
Speaker 1: the Lord just to survive.
29:14
Speaker 2: The pain.
29:14
Speaker 1: Would look at that closer next time, and in great weakness,
29:18
Speaker 1: he ministered with great strength.
29:23
Speaker 2: Because he waited.
29:25
Speaker 1: I want to give you four principles that I think
29:27
Speaker 1: you can take with you, and they will mean something
29:30
Speaker 1: to you, perhaps more later than now, but I've thought
29:33
Speaker 1: them true carefully, and I'd like to pass him along.
29:36
Speaker 1: Number one, When God prepares us for effective ministry, he
29:43
Speaker 1: includes what we would rather omit, a period of waiting.
29:51
Speaker 2: You say it again.
29:52
Speaker 1: When God prepares us for effective ministry, he includes.
29:57
Speaker 2: What we would rather omit, a period of waiting.
30:03
Speaker 1: Add to that that cultivates patience. You know what occurs
30:11
Speaker 1: to me. I've never met anyone young and patient. Matter
30:16
Speaker 1: of fact, I've not met many old and patient either.
30:19
Speaker 1: Come to think of it, we don't like to miss
30:22
Speaker 1: one panel of a revolving door. We really don't like
30:26
Speaker 1: yellow lights and red lights. If you're like me, you
30:30
Speaker 1: time them. They're all too long. I'd have red lights
30:34
Speaker 1: three seconds, in green lights five minutes and ten seconds,
30:38
Speaker 1: and then a quick yellow light, quick red, and then
30:40
Speaker 1: green again, especially on my lane would be green. Patience
30:46
Speaker 1: hard for me, hard for me. When God prepares us
30:52
Speaker 1: for effective ministry, he includes what we'd rather omit, a
30:55
Speaker 1: period of waiting that cultivates patience.
30:58
Speaker 2: Here's a second.
31:00
Speaker 1: God makes us waight, hiding us in his shadows. He
31:04
Speaker 1: shows us we're not indispensable, and that makes us humble.
31:14
Speaker 1: As God makes us weight, hiding us in his shadows,
31:17
Speaker 1: he reminds us. He shows us that we are not indispensable,
31:21
Speaker 1: and that makes us humble. You know what I believe
31:27
Speaker 1: When Saul heard that God's hand was on Peter, and
31:30
Speaker 1: God's hand was on Barnabas and the revival had struck
31:34
Speaker 1: at Antioch, I think Saul thought, hot dog, that's wonderful news,
31:39
Speaker 1: and never once thought, well, why don't you call on
31:42
Speaker 1: me earlier?
31:44
Speaker 2: Never once.
31:46
Speaker 1: By Now he's humble, he's amazed.
31:49
Speaker 2: If he's ever going to.
31:50
Speaker 1: Be used, it's another subject. I'll get to that on
31:53
Speaker 1: my fourth one number three.
31:55
Speaker 2: While God hides us away.
32:00
Speaker 1: He reveals new dimensions of himself and new insights regarding ministry,
32:07
Speaker 1: and that makes us deep. While God hides us away,
32:13
Speaker 1: he reveals new dimensions of himself and new insights regarding ministry,
32:19
Speaker 1: and that makes us deep. Remember I've said before, what
32:25
Speaker 1: we need today is not more intelligent people or busier people.
32:29
Speaker 1: What we need is deeper people. Deep people will always
32:34
Speaker 1: have a ministry.
32:36
Speaker 2: Always.
32:40
Speaker 1: While God hides us away, he reveals new dimensions of
32:43
Speaker 1: himself and new insights regarding ministry, and that results in
32:48
Speaker 1: our deepening.
32:49
Speaker 2: Here's the fourth.
32:51
Speaker 1: When God finally chooses to use us, it comes at
32:57
Speaker 1: a time least expect, when we feel the least qualified.
33:07
Speaker 1: When God finally chooses to use us, it comes at
33:09
Speaker 1: a time we would least expect, it when we feel
33:13
Speaker 1: the least qualified, and that.
33:15
Speaker 2: Makes us effective.
33:20
Speaker 1: The perfect setup for a long lasting, effective ministry begins
33:26
Speaker 1: with surprise.
33:31
Speaker 3: Me.
33:33
Speaker 1: You sure you don't want the guy next door. It's
33:36
Speaker 1: a great guy in that cave. May want to talk
33:39
Speaker 1: to him. F. B.
33:43
Speaker 2: Meyer.
33:44
Speaker 1: At last, one day, as he waited, Saul heard a
33:46
Speaker 1: voice saying, in the doorway, does Saul live here? And
33:51
Speaker 1: in another moment, the familiar face of his old friend
33:54
Speaker 1: was peering in on him with a glad smile of recognition.
33:58
Speaker 1: And he brought him to Anti. And he taught many
34:02
Speaker 1: people this man adds, be not afraid to trust God.
34:06
Speaker 2: Utterly.
34:08
Speaker 1: As you go down the long corridor, you may find
34:10
Speaker 1: that he has preceded you and locked many doors which
34:13
Speaker 1: you fain would have entered. But be sure that beyond
34:16
Speaker 1: these there is one which he has left unlocked. Open
34:20
Speaker 1: it and enter, and you will find yourself face to
34:23
Speaker 1: face with a bend of the river of opportunity, broader
34:27
Speaker 1: and deeper than anything.
34:29
Speaker 2: You dare to imagine. Launch forth on it.
34:33
Speaker 1: It conducts to the open sea.
34:40
Speaker 2: That's it.
34:44
Speaker 1: The tragedy is because of our impatience, because of our
34:47
Speaker 1: hurried nature.
34:50
Speaker 2: But not careful.
34:52
Speaker 1: We'll push at the doors, and with our crowbar of
34:56
Speaker 1: self will, we'll break the locks because we are determined.
35:01
Speaker 1: This is his plan for me. That is what I
35:04
Speaker 1: had in mind. I've waited long enough.
35:08
Speaker 2: You can step into it. You won't necessarily.
35:14
Speaker 1: Make you blind or take your life, but he sure
35:17
Speaker 1: will make the ministry miserable, and there'll be no sense
35:21
Speaker 1: of satisfaction, and the pressure will get to you and
35:24
Speaker 1: you'll look back and regret the day you ever forced
35:28
Speaker 1: a door that was locked.
35:30
Speaker 2: Don't go there. God's able.
35:36
Speaker 1: I know you're weary of waiting. I know it's hard,
35:42
Speaker 1: but it's a plan A in God's curriculum starts there.
35:52
Speaker 2: Let's bow our heads.
35:53
Speaker 1: Please, Lord, I want to thank you for loving us
36:00
Speaker 1: enough to crush us, to break our wills, and to
36:04
Speaker 1: push us in such a pressured situation that we're forced
36:08
Speaker 1: to surrender. I want to thank you, also, Father, for
36:12
Speaker 1: your patience with us when we have so often rushed
36:15
Speaker 1: and run ahead, when we have dictated to you what
36:19
Speaker 1: the plan ought to be, rather than quietly listened to
36:22
Speaker 1: what plan you have for us. Forgive us, our Father,
36:26
Speaker 1: for wasted effort, for hurried moments when we must have
36:33
Speaker 1: tried your long suffering. Now I pray that you will
36:38
Speaker 1: use this simple message in a special way in the
36:41
Speaker 1: lives of a few people Saul Like people greatly gifted,
36:48
Speaker 1: who seemed to be eminently qualified but ill timed for
36:51
Speaker 1: the task.
36:53
Speaker 2: That you'd pulled them back.
36:56
Speaker 1: Deliberately, teach them to wait in the process, deepen them
37:02
Speaker 1: for that exceptional work to which you have called him,
37:06
Speaker 1: whatever it may be, I ask it through Christ, how
37:14
Speaker 1: well our heads are bowed as we prepare for this
37:16
Speaker 1: time around the table, we're in a perfect mood for
37:23
Speaker 1: soul searching. This is the Lord's table. That means he
37:30
Speaker 1: is the host and we are the guests. It's not
37:33
Speaker 1: the church's table, so you ought to be a member
37:36
Speaker 1: of this church to take of the Lord's table. But
37:40
Speaker 1: you do need to know the Lord must have been
37:43
Speaker 1: a time in your life when you've given your heart
37:46
Speaker 1: to Christ. If that's true, you're walking in the light.
37:51
Speaker 1: Please partake with us. This is also a time for
37:55
Speaker 1: you to make a determination. If your heart isn't right,
38:00
Speaker 1: I invite you to come to Christ and celebrate this
38:05
Speaker 1: first moment of new birth by tasting the bread and
38:09
Speaker 1: drinking from the cup.
38:13
Speaker 2: Those who know the.
38:14
Speaker 1: Lord, I urge you to make sure that your heart
38:17
Speaker 1: is pure and clean. There's any area that needs to
38:20
Speaker 1: be addressed, ask the Lord to reveal it to you.
38:24
Speaker 1: Some sin that's come between you and him, some selfish act,
38:31
Speaker 1: some misspoken word, some wilful decision. You just claim his
38:38
Speaker 1: forgiveness and his blood will cleanse you and make you
38:43
Speaker 1: ready for the table. If you're not willing to make
38:47
Speaker 1: these adjustments, then I urge you to let the cup
38:49
Speaker 1: pass and let the bread pass. This is not about
38:53
Speaker 1: impressing the person sitting next to you. You show the
38:57
Speaker 1: courage to let it pass. If you're determined to stay
39:02
Speaker 1: in your own will rather than walk in his. And
39:08
Speaker 1: may our time now around the table be meaningful as
39:11
Speaker 1: we sit quietly before him, first to take the bread,
39:17
Speaker 1: and we'll all retain it until everyone has been served,
39:19
Speaker 1: and then we'll take it together, and then we'll take
39:23
Speaker 1: the juice. The bread represents his body, and the juice
39:27
Speaker 1: his blood. Set apart these moments, our Father, in a
39:32
Speaker 1: special way, as we walk with you through the garden
39:37
Speaker 1: of our memories, as we take your hand and claim
39:42
Speaker 1: your forgiveness. We take this bread now, and we hold
39:47
Speaker 1: it in remembrance of your son, the Lamb, in whose
39:52
Speaker 1: name we pray Amen. Just a small piece of pastry
40:00
Speaker 1: to piece of the bread from the last meal they
40:04
Speaker 1: had together. And our Lord Jesus looked his disciples, bewildered
40:10
Speaker 1: as they were, and told them that he would not
40:13
Speaker 1: eat or drink with them again until he did so
40:15
Speaker 1: in the kingdom. Paul said that he told him to
40:22
Speaker 1: tell the church that they were to do this as
40:26
Speaker 1: long as we are in existence, to do it in
40:28
Speaker 1: remembrance of him. That's how we eat this bread now,
40:32
Speaker 1: in remembrance of Christ. In the same manner, also, he
40:41
Speaker 1: took the cup after supper saying, the cup is the
40:46
Speaker 1: new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink
40:49
Speaker 1: from it, drink it in remembrance of me. We now
40:54
Speaker 1: hold this little representation of the blood of Christ in
40:59
Speaker 1: our hands, and we, in a few moments will drink
41:02
Speaker 1: it in remembrance of him. It was at the cross
41:13
Speaker 1: the lamb was slain. It was there his blood was
41:16
Speaker 1: given on our behalf. It only stands to reason that
41:20
Speaker 1: the symbol be that which represents that which washes away
41:24
Speaker 1: our sins. We take it in remembrance of him.
41:34
Speaker 3: The preceding message, Out of the Shadows was copyrighted in
41:37
Speaker 3: two thousand and one, two thousand and three, and twenty
41:40
Speaker 3: twenty four, and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty
41:43
Speaker 3: twenty four by Charles R.
41:45
Speaker 2: Slindahl, Incorporated.
41:46
Speaker 3: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
41:50
Speaker 3: commercial use is strictly prohibited.