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Acts 19:21-41 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

• 0:00
  Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 19.
• 0:07
  So I want to take a little bit of credit for the bear song,
• 0:10
  !
• 0:30
  I want to take a little bit of credit for the bear song and dedication to that night or that morning.
• 0:34
  But I only think the only person that was actually still here that was there was Daniel Swanson.
• 0:39
  I don't remember looking for him.
• 0:41
  But he was there.
• 0:42
  But I promise, he'll tell you that he did, but he slept through the whole incident.
• 0:48
  So I was like, you probably would be eaten if we didn't wake you up.
• 0:52
  But the bear stole my backpack and ran up a hill.
• 0:56
  And me and Daniel Gentry and another guy chased it up the hill and threw things at it.
• 1:02
  And it eventually left.
• 1:04
  So there's a nice little hole, like claw hole, in the back of my military backpack downstairs.
• 1:10
  That bear's like trying to dig around.
• 1:12
  I forgot that I left a little candy bar or something on the bottom of that because it was covered up.
• 1:18
  So don't do that when you go camping.
• 1:21
  But take some credit for that song.
• 1:26
  We're going to be in Acts 19, kind of finishing up our time in Ephesus together.
• 1:32
  So before we do, though, just join me in a word of prayer.
• 1:40
  Lord, we still ourselves before you this morning.
• 1:44
  coming from busy weeks where stress and the approval of others and the seeking after the world.
• 1:57
  We have come this morning with your people hoping to have our spirits refreshed and renewed.
• 2:05
  And that is something that we cannot do naturally.
• 2:10
  And it's something that only you, through your word and by the power of the Spirit, can do.
• 2:16
  So we ask you to work in our hearts and our minds, Lord, to renew our faith.
• 2:23
  To strengthen us, Lord, to leave here later and to go into weeks for.
• 2:31
  To live for your glory and wherever we go, Father.
• 2:35
  So give us eyes to see and ears to hear this morning.
• 2:41
  And use this as you see fit.
• 2:44
  In Christ's name, amen.
• 2:45
  Amen.
• 2:47
  So, if you recall, we started in chapter 19.
• 2:52
  And this is when Paul first came into Ephesus.
• 2:56
  And Ephesus, just a tad review and then plus a little more.
• 3:01
  But the biggest city in Asia Minor is on the east side of the Aegean Sea.
• 3:06
  And it was the capital of the Roman province of Asia.
• 3:10
  Fifth largest city in the entire empire.
• 3:12
  And so a big, big place for the gospel to go to be exported into Asia.
• 3:20
  Kind of the launch pad into Asia.
• 3:22
  And so there is a lot in Ephesus that is really still there today that you can go and see.
• 3:30
  But most of all, I would say there was the Temple of Artemis.
• 3:35
  Which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
• 3:38
  And a lot of it still remains today.
• 3:39
  I tried to find some cool pictures to get into.
• 3:43
  So, for whatever those.
• 3:45
  That's what it looked like during the time of Paul.
• 3:50
  And it was built definitely several centuries before, like B.C.
• 3:58
  But it was a huge structure that was the boast of the ancient world.
• 4:05
  And it was bigger than all the temples and stuff in Athens and Rome.
• 4:10
  It was really a huge deal.
• 4:13
  And so all this was dedicated to Artemis.
• 4:16
  So you can flip to the next slide.
• 4:18
  And that's what remains of it today.
• 4:20
  So there's the glory of Artemis kind of destroyed over the centuries, right?
• 4:25
  But I have a friend, one of my best friends over in Ireland, Mark, who actually was there.
• 4:32
  And he was telling me he was just getting his mind in the narrative while he was walking around all that.
• 4:37
  Just thinking about how the gospel changed that culture and changed that city.
• 4:42
  And so I think it would be helpful, not just for the sake of blather, but to actually know who Artemis mythically was because it had an impact on the ancient world.
• 4:58
  And so Artemis was the Greek name of the goddess.
• 5:02
  Diana was the Roman name.
• 5:04
  She was the mythical daughter of Zeus.
• 5:07
  And her name kind of comes from a combination of meaning safe and sound.
• 5:14
  So she was the goddess who brought help and brought aid to people.
• 5:17
  And she was depicted carrying a bow.
• 5:20
  She was a huntress.
• 5:21
  She had a hunting dog with her.
• 5:23
  And she was really known for protection, but particularly for women and for women in childbirth and protector of the virginity of young girls.
• 5:38
  And she had a lot of masculine type characteristics about her.
• 5:44
  And so even today, she's kind of seen as like a goddess of feminism in a lot of ways.
• 5:50
  And she's also known as like the goddess of wild animals and nature.
• 5:57
  Like, you know, just that wild, rugged, you know, woman that we all see depicted in movies today that really isn't real, but it's on TV anyway.
• 6:04
  So that's kind of where a lot of that comes from.
• 6:09
  And so that was Artemis.
• 6:11
  And that's who these people cling to, who they worshiped.
• 6:17
  And it was a cult that lasted for thousands of years.
• 6:22
  And so that's where the controversy is over, like a lot of this.
• 6:27
  But it also spills into the amphitheater that's also in Ephesus, which is another picture.
• 6:33
  It's still there today.
• 6:36
  A huge amphitheater.
• 6:38
  It could hold around 20,000 people, which is pretty remarkable in that time.
• 6:45
  It had an emperor's box when the emperor actually came and visited.
• 6:49
  And like most amphitheaters in the Roman world, they were used for musical concerts, for plays, for gladiatorial combat, and dramas, whatever.
• 7:01
  But also, it was a place where religious, political, and philosophical things could be discussed.
• 7:09
  And that's a lot of what we see in our text today.
• 7:12
  But this is where the riot kind of happened.
• 7:15
  This is all where it kind of went down.
• 7:16
  And so I'm not like really big on doing this, but I actually thought about showing a video clip from a movie
• 7:28
  where it actually shows like mob hysteria and how scary it actually can be.
• 7:34
  It's a terrifying thing to encounter.
• 7:37
  And in our text today, that's kind of what we're coming up with was this riot that was in Ephesus.
• 7:44
  But it was time for, in God's providence, for the evangelism of Asia to begin.
• 7:50
  And it started here in Ephesus.
• 7:52
  It was, again, the launching pad for the gospel.
• 7:56
  It's also where Paul wrote 1 Corinthians.
• 7:58
  So that's a big deal.
• 8:01
  And I don't know if a lot of you know this, but the Colossian church wasn't really planted by Paul.
• 8:06
  It was planted by people who came to know Christ in Ephesus, and they took it to Colossae, which is pretty cool.
• 8:14
  And so that's why Paul's like, wow, this church was planted, and I've heard about them.
• 8:19
  So he writes to them.
• 8:21
  And so a lot of unique things about his time in Ephesus.
• 8:27
  He spent a little over two years there probably, and then came back, I think, another time.
• 8:33
  But thus far in chapter 19, we see that Paul came in, and he encounters some disciples of John the Baptist.
• 8:40
  That's in verses 1 through 7.
• 8:44
  And he basically tells them Jesus was the one that John was pointing to.
• 8:48
  And they were like, great, let's follow Jesus.
• 8:50
  So the quick summary of that.
• 8:54
  Then afterwards, he went into the synagogue, 8 through 10, and he taught about Christ in the synagogue and in the hall of Tyrannus.
• 9:02
  And then finally, well, not finally, but 11 through 12, God used Paul to heal many people and do miraculous acts to give testimony to the gospel.
• 9:11
  And then kind of a scary but also comical story of following that of some Jewish exorcists who really were willing to kind of lash on to, they saw Paul casting out demons in the name of Jesus.
• 9:27
  And they thought, we should try that.
• 9:29
  So they tried to invoke the name of Jesus without really knowing Jesus.
• 9:32
  And the demon beat the tar out of them and humiliated them.
• 9:38
  So that's what's kind of happened.
• 9:40
  But connecting to last week is the last segment that we went through.
• 9:46
  And this is where we see in 17 through 20, I think, after that, that many people renounced their sorcery and their magic and burned their spell books because of the miraculous acts that were happening in the name of Christ.
• 10:03
  That's, let's see.
• 10:06
  Sorry, I'm just picking this up right here.
• 10:08
  Let's just start reading in verse 17 today and we'll read through the rest of the chapter and we'll just start walking through it together.
• 10:21
  So it says,
• 10:22
  And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
• 10:32
  And also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.
• 10:40
  And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.
• 10:48
  And they counted the value of them and found that it came to 50,000 pieces of silver.
• 10:53
  So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
• 10:58
  That is a lot of money in the ancient world.
• 11:04
  And so that's kind of what launched this next part.
• 11:08
  So people were coming to know Christ and now there's going to be a backlash to the believers becoming too salty for some of the people in Ephesus.
• 11:18
  So it goes into the next section, verse 21.
• 11:21
  Now after these events, Paul resolved in the spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem saying,
• 11:31
  After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
• 11:34
  And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Eratos, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
• 11:43
  So this is kind of an outline of the rest of the book of Acts, sort of, where he wants to go.
• 11:48
  Rome eventually ends up in Rome.
• 11:51
  About that time, there arose no little disturbance concerning the way.
• 11:58
  For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.
• 12:06
  There he gathered together with the workmen and similar trades and said,
• 12:11
  Men, you know that this business, we have our wealth.
• 12:17
  And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but also, but in almost all of Asia,
• 12:23
  this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people saying that the gods made with hands are not gods.
• 12:31
  And there is danger, not only in that this trade of ours may come into disrepute,
• 12:39
  but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing,
• 12:46
  and that she may even be disposed from her magnificence, she whom all of Asia and the world worship.
• 12:54
  When they heard this, they were enraged and were crying out,
• 12:57
  Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
• 13:01
  So the city was filled with confusion,
• 13:03
  and they rushed together into the theater,
• 13:07
  dragging with them Gaius and Atreus,
• 13:10
  Macedonians who were with Paul's companions and travel.
• 13:14
  But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd,
• 13:17
  the disciples would not let him.
• 13:19
  And even some of the Erastic,
• 13:22
  Erastic, I can't remember this word right, sorry,
• 13:25
  who were his friends,
• 13:27
  said to him and urging him not to venture into the theater.
• 13:31
  Now some cried one thing,
• 13:33
  some another,
• 13:34
  for the assembly was in confusion,
• 13:37
  and most of them did not know why they had come together.
• 13:40
  That sounds like a typical riot,
• 13:42
  like why are we here?
• 13:43
  I'm just yelling again.
• 13:45
  So 33,
• 13:46
  some of the crowd prompted Alexander,
• 13:49
  whom the Jews had put forward,
• 13:51
  and Alexander, motioning with his hand,
• 13:53
  wanted to make a defense to the crowd.
• 13:56
  But when they recognized that he was a Jew,
• 13:59
  for about two hours,
• 13:59
  but when they recognized that he was a Jew,
• 14:03
  for about two hours,
• 14:04
  they all cried out in one voice,
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  Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
• 14:08
  And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd,
• 14:11
  he said,
• 14:11
  he said,
• 14:13
  Men of Ephesus,
• 14:15
  who is there who does not know
• 14:16
  that the city of the Ephesians
• 14:18
  is temple keeper of the great Artemis,
• 14:22
  and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?
• 14:26
  Seeing then that these things cannot be denied,
• 14:29
  you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.
• 14:32
  For you have brought these men here,
• 14:34
  who neither are sacrilegious nor blasphemous of our goddess.
• 14:38
  If, therefore, Demetrius and the craftsmen with him
• 14:42
  have a complaint against anyone,
• 14:44
  the courts are open,
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  and there are proconsuls.
• 14:48
  Let them bring charges against one another.
• 14:51
  But if you seek anything further,
• 14:53
  it shall be settled in a regular assembly,
• 14:55
  for we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today,
• 15:00
  since there is no cause that we can give
• 15:02
  to justify this commotion.
• 15:04
  And when he has said these things,
• 15:06
  he dismissed the assembly.
• 15:10
  All right?
• 15:11
  So that's kind of the background.
• 15:13
  That's the story.
• 15:14
  So we're just going to walk through this
• 15:15
  just through a series of questions
• 15:17
  and then draw out some application.
• 15:20
  Question number one,
• 15:23
  real simple,
• 15:24
  but what caused the riot?
• 15:25
  Let's kind of break the narrative down.
• 15:26
  Like, what caused the riot?
• 15:28
  Can you see this really clearly
• 15:30
  in verses 23 through 27?
• 15:34
  And a man named Demetrius,
• 15:37
  who built these,
• 15:39
  he was a silversmith,
• 15:40
  and built these little tiny goddess idols of Artemis
• 15:43
  that could be placed in the homes of people,
• 15:46
  so they could kind of worship an image of Artemis
• 15:48
  in their own homes
• 15:49
  and ask for protection inside their homes.
• 15:53
  He's furious because he's basically
• 15:55
  seeing what Paul's preaching
• 15:57
  as a threat to his welfare
• 15:58
  and the welfare of the other tradesmen in Ephesus.
• 16:01
  And so he thought,
• 16:04
  this has got to stop.
• 16:06
  I'm hearing my pocketbook is,
• 16:08
  you know,
• 16:09
  is getting really bad right now,
• 16:10
  and I have to cause a commotion.
• 16:13
  So that's what this is about.
• 16:14
  It's about the gospel is bringing down idolatry.
• 16:20
  Right?
• 16:20
  He's angry
• 16:21
  because even a lot of these other people
• 16:24
  have been converted,
• 16:26
  renouncing their idolatry,
• 16:28
  burning their spell books,
• 16:29
  and the gospel is taking over.
• 16:33
  And so just note that
• 16:34
  when real change happens in the culture,
• 16:37
  there can be a lot of backlash from people
• 16:40
  because it's going to seem as a threat
• 16:43
  to how many of them are making their living.
• 16:46
  And so that's the most simple one we have.
• 16:48
  What caused it?
• 16:48
  Well, that was the threat to his money making,
• 16:52
  at least the great civic pride
• 16:55
  and religious pride
• 16:56
  that the city had as a whole of Artemis
• 16:59
  was being threatened.
• 17:00
  So this is sort of what caused the riot.
• 17:03
  We're going to spend most of the time
• 17:04
  in the next two questions, though.
• 17:07
  What are,
• 17:08
  question number two,
• 17:11
  what are the characteristics of the riot?
• 17:14
  Verse 28 through 34.
• 17:17
  Kind of see this.
• 17:18
  So what are some things you can kind of draw out?
• 17:20
  What characterizes this mob hysteria?
• 17:24
  All right, well,
• 17:27
  you see very clearly in verse 28,
• 17:29
  they were,
• 17:30
  the mob was enraged.
• 17:32
  Okay?
• 17:33
  So this word means like anger boiling up
• 17:36
  and soon overflowing.
• 17:37
  You can kind of picture like anger building up
• 17:40
  and then coming out of a,
• 17:42
  like a pot on the stove.
• 17:44
  A picture of that,
• 17:45
  but also the rage that a drunkard feels
• 17:48
  that eventually leads him to destroy himself.
• 17:50
  So it's almost like blind.
• 17:52
  They've lost all sense.
• 17:54
  They're being controlled by the rage they feel.
• 17:58
  Mindless fury characterizes riots.
• 18:02
  And they're indiscriminate about violence.
• 18:05
  That's why a lot of innocent bystanders
• 18:07
  are always either hurt or killed in riots.
• 18:09
  They're just,
• 18:09
  they're just sort of in the wake of it all.
• 18:13
  But just understand that,
• 18:15
  learning this myself,
• 18:17
  the anger blinds us from reason.
• 18:20
  We can't think.
• 18:21
  We can't stop and say,
• 18:22
  let me step back and assess a situation
• 18:25
  and then solve it.
• 18:26
  It's allowing sin to overcome us
• 18:30
  or we can't actually reason with one another.
• 18:34
  So we become unreasonable.
• 18:36
  Scripture says in Proverbs 29, 10,
• 18:39
  bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless
• 18:43
  and seek the life of the upright.
• 18:45
  And so this is a great example of that.
• 18:49
  Mob hysteria that is characterized by anger.
• 18:55
  So secondly, under this,
• 18:58
  another characteristic is confusion.
• 19:01
  Verse 29 is very clear.
• 19:06
  Immense confusion.
• 19:07
  So if you can just kind of picture,
• 19:09
  you know, in the ancient world,
• 19:10
  there's no social media.
• 19:11
  No one can kind of actually explain what's going on.
• 19:14
  And people are rushing to the theater in anger
• 19:18
  and they grab their buddies and say,
• 19:19
  hey, this is happening.
• 19:20
  Come join us.
• 19:21
  And he's like, all right,
• 19:22
  let's go yell and let's go,
• 19:24
  you know, get crazy.
• 19:26
  But they don't really know
• 19:27
  why they're even there.
• 19:28
  That's what it kind of says.
• 19:29
  Like a lot of them are like,
• 19:31
  what are we doing here again?
• 19:33
  And they're just yelling,
• 19:34
  yelling and yelling.
• 19:35
  And so confusion.
• 19:37
  And they even dragged two of Paul's friends violently
• 19:41
  into there without any kind of trial
• 19:44
  or asking them what they were about.
• 19:47
  They didn't actually sit down and ask.
• 19:49
  It was just, again, confusion.
• 19:52
  And then another thing you can note
• 19:54
  is they were also pretty close-minded.
• 19:58
  See that in 33 and 34.
• 20:01
  Alexander, who was a Jew,
• 20:03
  he came out to kind of,
• 20:04
  he motioned his hand.
• 20:05
  They kind of wanted to get the attention of the crowd.
• 20:08
  But they recognized he was a Jew
• 20:10
  and just sort of pushed him aside
• 20:12
  and didn't want to even hear what he had to say.
• 20:16
  So it's very unclear what Alexander's motive was.
• 20:20
  Maybe he wanted to be like,
• 20:21
  look, we're not, you know,
• 20:24
  we're monotheistic,
• 20:26
  but we're not Christians.
• 20:27
  So don't put us in the same boat as these guys,
• 20:31
  like we really quite don't know yet.
• 20:32
  But this is really interesting.
• 20:37
  Some of the word I have a hard time pronouncing.
• 20:43
  Azerarchs?
• 20:43
  Yeah, I think that's the right way to say it.
• 20:46
  That's pretty bad for a history major.
• 20:48
  I'm pretty embarrassed by that.
• 20:49
  I need to go look that up.
• 20:50
  But they were the keepers and promoters
• 20:54
  of the imperial cult throughout the empire.
• 20:57
  They were very wealthy.
• 20:59
  They were very prestigious.
• 21:01
  If they spoke, people listened.
• 21:04
  And isn't that interesting
• 21:05
  that they actually came and protected Paul?
• 21:07
  It kind of is mind-boggling.
• 21:10
  But even in my own life,
• 21:12
  as I know personally,
• 21:13
  some of you that I've had conversations with,
• 21:15
  you've won this kind of favor
• 21:17
  through your life
• 21:19
  with unbelievers
• 21:21
  that they would almost come to your defense
• 21:24
  if you were attacked.
• 21:24
  And it's kind of like
• 21:28
  the president of an atheist group
• 21:30
  who you befriended
• 21:31
  and gained their trust
• 21:33
  and had conversations with
• 21:34
  kind of rushing to your aid
• 21:36
  and protecting you
• 21:37
  from like an atheist group
• 21:40
  who's trying to mob you.
• 21:41
  And be like, look,
• 21:43
  we may disagree with this guy,
• 21:44
  but let me tell you,
• 21:44
  he's a good guy.
• 21:45
  Like, stay away from him.
• 21:47
  Chill out.
• 21:48
  And that's kind of what
• 21:49
  these men were doing.
• 21:50
  They were protecting Paul
• 21:51
  from this riot.
• 21:54
  And even knowing
• 21:56
  that he was a Roman citizen,
• 21:57
  like we can't have
• 21:58
  this kind of reflect on us
• 22:00
  as a city either.
• 22:02
  So, very close-minded.
• 22:05
  They're just sort of blinded again
• 22:06
  by sin and by pride.
• 22:10
  Then, finally,
• 22:12
  question number three,
• 22:14
  what is the outcome
• 22:15
  of the riot?
• 22:18
  35 through 41.
• 22:20
  Of all people,
• 22:23
  right?
• 22:23
  Isn't it interesting
• 22:23
  that the people
• 22:24
  you least expect
• 22:25
  can stand up
• 22:26
  and actually change the situation,
• 22:28
  but was the town clerk.
• 22:32
  He was the chief administrative
• 22:34
  officer of the city.
• 22:35
  He was kind of like
• 22:36
  the liaison
• 22:37
  between the Roman officials
• 22:39
  and the city officials.
• 22:40
  They were there.
• 22:41
  And he was really worried.
• 22:44
  Like,
• 22:45
  if we make a ruckus,
• 22:46
  if we are accused of rioting,
• 22:48
  this could get back
• 22:49
  to Claudius.
• 22:50
  Claudius could get angry.
• 22:52
  That could come back on us.
• 22:53
  Let's stop.
• 22:55
  You know,
• 22:55
  calm down.
• 22:56
  Take a deep breath, guys.
• 23:00
  He's like,
• 23:00
  we all know Artemis is real.
• 23:02
  We all know she's the stuff.
• 23:03
  Okay?
• 23:04
  Like,
• 23:04
  and then we got the meteor
• 23:05
  to even prove
• 23:06
  that she's the stuff.
• 23:07
  It was like a sacred meteor
• 23:09
  that had kind of fallen there.
• 23:10
  So,
• 23:11
  I mean,
• 23:12
  if we believe that's not to be true,
• 23:13
  then why are we scared?
• 23:14
  Just calm down.
• 23:15
  Like,
• 23:16
  we're all together here,
• 23:17
  but it's not okay for us
• 23:20
  to be rash.
• 23:21
  Like,
• 23:21
  let's be reasonable.
• 23:23
  And he kind of gets everybody
• 23:23
  to kind of just
• 23:24
  chill out and listen.
• 23:27
  And then he says,
• 23:28
  look,
• 23:29
  the courts are open.
• 23:30
  If Demetrius and his homies
• 23:32
  really have a problem,
• 23:33
  they can go to the court
• 23:34
  and take Paul
• 23:36
  and whoever else
• 23:36
  and they can go deal with this
• 23:38
  in a peaceful manner.
• 23:39
  There's pro-consuls there
• 23:41
  who are basically
• 23:42
  sort of like the judges
• 23:43
  and they'll hear the complaint.
• 23:46
  But if there's a problem,
• 23:47
  like,
• 23:47
  we're going to deal with this
• 23:48
  like lawful Roman citizens
• 23:49
  and y'all are going to stop
• 23:51
  rioting
• 23:52
  and they just go,
• 23:54
  all right.
• 23:55
  And everything sort of subsides.
• 23:58
  But it's very interesting,
• 24:00
  though,
• 24:01
  that Luke gives a long account here
• 24:04
  to show how there's like
• 24:06
  careful reasoning
• 24:07
  on the part of the court
• 24:10
  to show that the Christian gospel
• 24:12
  wasn't contrary to Roman law.
• 24:14
  Like,
• 24:14
  look,
• 24:15
  they can go make a defense.
• 24:16
  They haven't,
• 24:16
  they even says
• 24:17
  they haven't done anything
• 24:19
  blasphemous.
• 24:20
  Right?
• 24:21
  Go and deal with them
• 24:22
  in the right way.
• 24:24
  So,
• 24:25
  that was the outcome.
• 24:26
  It subsided.
• 24:27
  It subsided.
• 24:29
  So,
• 24:30
  in closing,
• 24:32
  not really in closing,
• 24:33
  but,
• 24:34
  now like,
• 24:35
  to really draw out
• 24:35
  some application
• 24:36
  because you're reading this
• 24:37
  and a lot of commentators
• 24:39
  are like,
• 24:39
  just like,
• 24:41
  yep,
• 24:41
  there was a riot.
• 24:44
  Great.
• 24:44
  So,
• 24:45
  how are we supposed to apply this
• 24:46
  unless we actually encounter a riot?
• 24:49
  So,
• 24:50
  which I have one time
• 24:51
  in my life
• 24:53
  and I wasn't the,
• 24:54
  I wasn't the one being attacked.
• 24:56
  It was in Belfast
• 24:57
  and it was when Protestants
• 24:59
  and Catholics were,
• 25:01
  like,
• 25:01
  seriously beating the snot
• 25:02
  out of each other
• 25:03
  and we had three girls
• 25:05
  stuck in a car
• 25:05
  in the middle of it
• 25:07
  trying to go home.
• 25:08
  So,
• 25:09
  being the brave men we are,
• 25:10
  me and my friend Mark
• 25:11
  went up there
• 25:11
  and got them out of the car
• 25:12
  and we ran.
• 25:13
  So,
• 25:15
  but yeah,
• 25:15
  mob violence.
• 25:17
  Very scary
• 25:18
  to be a part of.
• 25:20
  So,
• 25:22
  I have some application
• 25:23
  and I was lost.
• 25:25
  I was like,
• 25:25
  Lord,
• 25:25
  what do I do here?
• 25:26
  And finally,
• 25:28
  I think,
• 25:29
  through the words of Alistair Begg
• 25:30
  and some others,
• 25:31
  I began to kind of form,
• 25:34
  this is what we can learn about this
• 25:35
  as a church,
• 25:36
  as believers
• 25:38
  and as citizens of America.
• 25:42
  All right?
• 25:44
  But,
• 25:46
  think about how the church in America,
• 25:48
  I should say the West,
• 25:49
  but especially America,
• 25:50
  has tried
• 25:51
  politically
• 25:53
  to change our culture.
• 25:55
  It's failing.
• 25:58
  Right?
• 25:59
  Right?
• 25:59
  Right?
• 26:00
  There is a huge failure
• 26:02
  of conservative,
• 26:03
  religious,
• 26:05
  right
• 26:05
  in a lot of ways.
• 26:08
  So,
• 26:08
  I'm going to suggest to you,
• 26:09
  kind of as a premise here,
• 26:11
  that Christians in America today
• 26:13
  seek to change culture
• 26:15
  more like
• 26:16
  the rioting Ephesians
• 26:18
  than the gospel,
• 26:22
  peace-loving,
• 26:24
  truthful,
• 26:25
  but wise,
• 26:26
  shrewd,
• 26:27
  humility,
• 26:29
  preachers of the gospel
• 26:30
  nephesis.
• 26:30
  And it's true.
• 26:33
  It's just true.
• 26:34
  We're more like
• 26:35
  the rioting Ephesians
• 26:37
  than the humble gospel servants.
• 26:40
  And we've failed
• 26:42
  as a church
• 26:43
  probably over the last
• 26:44
  two generations
• 26:45
  to really bring about
• 26:46
  real change
• 26:47
  in our culture.
• 26:50
  And so many
• 26:51
  in the U.S.
• 26:52
  who identify as
• 26:53
  evangelical Christians,
• 26:56
  they really,
• 26:57
  if you really look close
• 26:58
  and watch their life,
• 26:59
  watch how they think,
• 26:59
  watch their worldview,
• 27:02
  you'll see that
• 27:03
  they're more
• 27:04
  trying to follow
• 27:05
  traditional
• 27:05
  American culture
• 27:07
  rather than
• 27:08
  what God's Word
• 27:09
  says
• 27:09
  a lot of the time.
• 27:12
  And they identify
• 27:13
  themselves more
• 27:14
  with
• 27:15
  the red,
• 27:16
  white,
• 27:16
  and blue
• 27:17
  than
• 27:17
  the cross.
• 27:20
  And they're more
• 27:21
  concerned with,
• 27:23
  and this isn't a pun
• 27:24
  on any candidate,
• 27:25
  okay?
• 27:26
  I just stole his slogan
• 27:27
  because that's what
• 27:28
  we're trying to do.
• 27:29
  But
• 27:29
  more Christians
• 27:31
  seem to be more
• 27:31
  concerned about
• 27:32
  making America
• 27:32
  great again
• 27:33
  than making
• 27:33
  Christ great
• 27:35
  again in America.
• 27:37
  And that isn't
• 27:37
  a pun on Trump.
• 27:38
  If you've ever
• 27:38
  Trump,
• 27:39
  no problem.
• 27:40
  That's not what
• 27:40
  I'm trying to say.
• 27:41
  But like,
• 27:41
  that cannot be
• 27:42
  our focus
• 27:43
  as the church.
• 27:44
  You are not
• 27:45
  citizens of this
• 27:46
  world.
• 27:47
  You are citizens
• 27:48
  of the kingdom
• 27:48
  of God.
• 27:49
  people.
• 27:50
  And a
• 27:51
  professor at
• 27:53
  Southern Seminary
• 27:54
  named Russell Moore,
• 27:55
  he kind of
• 27:55
  wrote this
• 27:56
  about some
• 27:58
  evangelical
• 27:58
  movements
• 27:59
  in America.
• 28:01
  And he said,
• 28:02
  politically,
• 28:03
  it was about
• 28:04
  getting back
• 28:04
  to the real
• 28:05
  America.
• 28:06
  the times
• 28:07
  before the
• 28:08
  sexual
• 28:08
  revolution.
• 28:10
  The order
• 28:10
  they had in
• 28:11
  mind,
• 28:11
  at least for
• 28:12
  America,
• 28:13
  wasn't the
• 28:14
  sort of new
• 28:14
  order envisioned
• 28:15
  by the Sermon on
• 28:16
  the Mount,
• 28:16
  or in the
• 28:18
  Revelation of
• 28:19
  Patmos,
• 28:20
  it was about
• 28:20
  getting back
• 28:21
  to the
• 28:21
  vaguely
• 28:22
  Protestant
• 28:22
  civil religion
• 28:24
  of our
• 28:25
  Judeo-Christian
• 28:26
  values.
• 28:28
  Alright?
• 28:28
  So he's saying
• 28:29
  that this
• 28:30
  really isn't
• 28:30
  about following
• 28:32
  the gospel.
• 28:33
  It's really
• 28:33
  not about
• 28:34
  the word
• 28:34
  of God
• 28:35
  or living
• 28:36
  out as
• 28:36
  the church,
• 28:37
  the Sermon
• 28:37
  on the Mount.
• 28:39
  It's more
• 28:39
  about we've
• 28:40
  got to get
• 28:40
  back to
• 28:41
  America.
• 28:42
  Right?
• 28:43
  And as a
• 28:43
  Southerner,
• 28:44
  and as a
• 28:44
  guy who grew
• 28:45
  up in the
• 28:45
  South,
• 28:46
  and a
• 28:46
  guy who
• 28:46
  was very
• 28:47
  patriotic,
• 28:48
  like that's
• 28:48
  me,
• 28:49
  I was that
• 28:49
  guy,
• 28:50
  I've learned
• 28:52
  in a lot
• 28:53
  of ways
• 28:53
  just how
• 28:54
  flawed a
• 28:55
  lot of my
• 28:55
  thinking was.
• 28:56
  Like this
• 28:57
  is the
• 28:58
  filter,
• 28:59
  right?
• 29:00
  Not what we
• 29:01
  see in here,
• 29:01
  out here.
• 29:03
  And the
• 29:05
  conservative
• 29:06
  religious right
• 29:07
  activism really
• 29:09
  reveals that it's
• 29:10
  not a theological
• 29:11
  or gospel
• 29:12
  movement,
• 29:13
  it's the
• 29:13
  political one,
• 29:14
  one that really
• 29:15
  even includes
• 29:16
  people who
• 29:16
  don't believe
• 29:17
  what we
• 29:17
  believe at
• 29:17
  all,
• 29:18
  like
• 29:18
  Orthodox
• 29:19
  Jews,
• 29:21
  and Roman
• 29:21
  Catholics,
• 29:22
  and Latter-day
• 29:22
  Saints,
• 29:23
  they're all
• 29:23
  part of that
• 29:24
  conservative
• 29:24
  movement,
• 29:25
  and we
• 29:25
  don't serve
• 29:26
  the same
• 29:27
  savior.
• 29:29
  So it's just
• 29:29
  good to show
• 29:30
  you that it's
• 29:30
  not a
• 29:31
  theological,
• 29:33
  led by God's
• 29:35
  word kind
• 29:36
  of movement.
• 29:37
  It's not about
• 29:38
  the kingdom
• 29:39
  of God.
• 29:40
  It's just a
• 29:41
  conservative
• 29:42
  movement.
• 29:42
  movement,
• 29:43
  and it's
• 29:43
  about getting
• 29:44
  back to
• 29:44
  traditional
• 29:45
  American
• 29:45
  religious life
• 29:46
  rather than
• 29:47
  transformed
• 29:48
  lives by
• 29:49
  the gospel.
• 29:52
  Another
• 29:52
  cultural
• 29:54
  commentator
• 29:55
  wrote this
• 29:56
  about the
• 29:58
  conservative
• 29:58
  religious
• 29:59
  groups in
• 30:00
  America
• 30:01
  saying that
• 30:03
  they're basically
• 30:03
  failing to
• 30:04
  change culture.
• 30:05
  This is kind
• 30:05
  of like what
• 30:06
  he says.
• 30:06
  he says,
• 30:08
  their inability
• 30:10
  to use their
• 30:11
  political power
• 30:12
  to lower the
• 30:13
  abortion rates,
• 30:15
  install a
• 30:16
  sense of
• 30:16
  obedience and
• 30:17
  respect for
• 30:18
  authority among
• 30:19
  teenagers,
• 30:20
  and urge the
• 30:21
  courts and
• 30:22
  legislatures to
• 30:23
  give special
• 30:23
  recognition to
• 30:25
  Christianity's
• 30:25
  power role in
• 30:27
  America creates
• 30:29
  among them a
• 30:29
  perpetual outrage
• 30:31
  machine.
• 30:32
  Because we
• 30:33
  failed.
• 30:34
  And what do we
• 30:35
  do?
• 30:35
  We get angry.
• 30:36
  We turn to
• 30:36
  the mob at
• 30:38
  Ephesus.
• 30:40
  That's what
• 30:40
  happens.
• 30:41
  And that's why
• 30:41
  there's a lot
• 30:43
  of negative
• 30:44
  thinking towards
• 30:45
  the church
• 30:45
  today.
• 30:46
  Some of it
• 30:46
  is right.
• 30:48
  We're being
• 30:48
  persecuted for
• 30:49
  Christ's sake
• 30:50
  in some cases,
• 30:51
  right?
• 30:52
  The way it
• 30:52
  should be.
• 30:53
  But some of
• 30:53
  it is just
• 30:54
  because we
• 30:55
  refuse to
• 30:57
  identify or
• 30:58
  talk to anybody
• 30:58
  who doesn't
• 30:59
  share our
• 30:59
  political view.
• 31:01
  Right?
• 31:03
  So forget
• 31:03
  all that.
• 31:04
  Stop.
• 31:06
  Stop.
• 31:08
  We need to
• 31:08
  look to the
• 31:10
  example of our
• 31:11
  brothers and
• 31:11
  sisters and
• 31:13
  Paul and
• 31:14
  even our
• 31:15
  Lord, like
• 31:16
  how he
• 31:17
  handled this
• 31:17
  stuff in
• 31:18
  Ephesus.
• 31:19
  So what we
• 31:19
  don't see,
• 31:20
  let's kind of
• 31:20
  replay the
• 31:21
  tape.
• 31:21
  What we
• 31:22
  don't see in
• 31:23
  Ephesus is
• 31:25
  Paul gathering
• 31:26
  a mob crowd
• 31:26
  to go and
• 31:27
  boycott and
• 31:28
  picket the
• 31:29
  temple of
• 31:29
  Artemis.
• 31:31
  Right?
• 31:31
  doesn't do
• 31:33
  that.
• 31:34
  He allows the
• 31:35
  gospel to
• 31:36
  bring down the
• 31:37
  idolatry, the
• 31:38
  sin of Ephesus
• 31:39
  as well as
• 31:39
  anywhere.
• 31:40
  So you don't
• 31:41
  hear him saying
• 31:41
  so, forget
• 31:43
  preaching the
• 31:43
  gospel.
• 31:44
  That takes too
• 31:44
  long.
• 31:45
  It's too
• 31:46
  difficult.
• 31:47
  We don't have
• 31:47
  any power to
• 31:48
  make it work.
• 31:49
  Let's forget
• 31:50
  that and let's
• 31:51
  get a group of
• 31:51
  people to go and
• 31:52
  picket the
• 31:53
  temple and we'll
• 31:54
  shout and
• 31:54
  chant and let
• 31:56
  them know we're
• 31:56
  opposed to what
• 31:57
  we stand for and
• 31:59
  we'll shout them
• 31:59
  down.
• 32:00
  We'll show
• 32:00
  them just how
• 32:00
  stupid it is to
• 32:01
  worship an image
• 32:03
  made of marble
• 32:04
  or stone.
• 32:05
  Paul for
• 32:06
  mayor.
• 32:06
  You know,
• 32:07
  like, that's
• 32:08
  not how they're
• 32:08
  dealing with
• 32:09
  this.
• 32:10
  Right?
• 32:11
  They, it
• 32:12
  sounds more
• 32:13
  like, we
• 32:13
  sound more like
• 32:14
  the sinful
• 32:14
  idolaters and
• 32:15
  how we handle
• 32:16
  this stuff.
• 32:18
  So, not by
• 32:19
  political rallies
• 32:20
  or boycotts or
• 32:21
  denunciations,
• 32:23
  carrying signs,
• 32:25
  living in a
• 32:27
  very self-righteous
• 32:28
  manner like the
• 32:29
  Pharisees would
• 32:29
  be.
• 32:30
  We don't
• 32:31
  attack people.
• 32:32
  Rather, we
• 32:34
  see Paul and
• 32:34
  other Christians
• 32:35
  speaking the
• 32:35
  truth in love
• 32:37
  and persuading
• 32:38
  others by the
• 32:39
  power of God.
• 32:40
  That's like what
• 32:40
  we see.
• 32:41
  That's what
• 32:42
  caused all this
• 32:43
  to happen.
• 32:44
  Right?
• 32:45
  So, one
• 32:48
  place to turn,
• 32:49
  look at 1
• 32:50
  Peter 3 and
• 32:51
  3.15.
• 32:52
  Very familiar,
• 32:54
  but here's the
• 32:56
  question I want
• 32:56
  you to ask.
• 32:57
  do I do this
• 32:58
  in my life?
• 33:02
  And does the
• 33:03
  church do this?
• 33:04
  1 Peter 3.15.
• 33:06
  But in your
• 33:14
  hearts, honor
• 33:15
  Christ the
• 33:16
  Lord as
• 33:17
  holy,
• 33:19
  always being
• 33:19
  prepared to make
• 33:20
  a defense to
• 33:21
  anyone who
• 33:22
  asks you for
• 33:23
  the reason for
• 33:24
  the hope that
• 33:25
  is in you.
• 33:26
  Amen.
• 33:27
  We're all ready
• 33:27
  to do that.
• 33:28
  We're all ready
• 33:28
  to fight,
• 33:28
  right?
• 33:29
  Yet, do this
• 33:31
  with gentleness
• 33:31
  and respect,
• 33:33
  having a good
• 33:34
  conscience,
• 33:35
  so that when
• 33:36
  you are slandered,
• 33:39
  those who
• 33:39
  revile you,
• 33:40
  your good
• 33:41
  behavior in
• 33:41
  Christ may be
• 33:42
  put to shame,
• 33:44
  for it is
• 33:44
  better to suffer
• 33:45
  for doing good
• 33:46
  if that should
• 33:48
  be God's will
• 33:49
  than for doing
• 33:50
  evil.
• 33:51
  And that's
• 33:52
  what was
• 33:52
  happening.
• 33:53
  They spoke
• 33:54
  the truth.
• 33:55
  They didn't
• 33:55
  back down from
• 33:56
  the truth,
• 33:56
  but they
• 33:57
  spoke it in
• 33:57
  a way that
• 33:58
  won their
• 33:59
  hearers.
• 34:00
  They were
• 34:00
  persuasive in
• 34:02
  how they
• 34:02
  spoke,
• 34:04
  right?
• 34:04
  And I
• 34:06
  could read,
• 34:07
  I'll read
• 34:07
  Philippians 2.13
• 34:09
  through 15 to
• 34:09
  you,
• 34:10
  very similar.
• 34:12
  Do all
• 34:12
  things without
• 34:13
  grumbling or
• 34:14
  disputing,
• 34:15
  that you may be
• 34:16
  blameless and
• 34:17
  innocent,
• 34:18
  all right?
• 34:19
  Children of
• 34:20
  God without
• 34:20
  blemish in the
• 34:21
  midst of a
• 34:21
  crooked and
• 34:22
  twisted generation
• 34:23
  among whom
• 34:24
  you shine as
• 34:25
  lights,
• 34:26
  in the world.
• 34:28
  So please
• 34:29
  hear me say,
• 34:29
  I'm not saying
• 34:30
  this isn't a
• 34:30
  sermon about
• 34:31
  this,
• 34:31
  okay?
• 34:31
  This isn't a
• 34:32
  sermon about
• 34:32
  should Christians
• 34:33
  be involved in
• 34:34
  politics.
• 34:35
  That's not what
• 34:36
  the sermon's
• 34:37
  about.
• 34:37
  I'm just saying
• 34:38
  that like if
• 34:38
  you want to
• 34:39
  see a culture
• 34:40
  and a nation
• 34:42
  and a world
• 34:42
  change,
• 34:42
  it comes by
• 34:43
  the power of
• 34:43
  the gospel.
• 34:44
  It's not
• 34:44
  going to come
• 34:45
  by a lot
• 34:46
  of the stuff
• 34:46
  that's associated
• 34:47
  with contemporary
• 34:49
  evangelicalism.
• 34:52
  And so you
• 34:55
  look and you
• 34:56
  see that these
• 34:57
  believers here
• 34:58
  in Ephesus,
• 34:58
  they were
• 34:59
  blameless.
• 35:00
  In verse 37,
• 35:01
  look what he
• 35:01
  says,
• 35:03
  for you have
• 35:03
  brought these
• 35:04
  men here who
• 35:05
  are neither
• 35:05
  sacrilegious nor
• 35:06
  blasphemous about
• 35:07
  our God.
• 35:08
  So they were
• 35:09
  able to talk
• 35:09
  about Christ in
• 35:10
  a way that
• 35:12
  wasn't personally
• 35:13
  insulting to
• 35:14
  them.
• 35:15
  Now did they
• 35:15
  preach against
• 35:16
  idolatry?
• 35:17
  Yes they did.
• 35:18
  But they did it
• 35:19
  in a manner that
• 35:20
  was respectful,
• 35:21
  right?
• 35:21
  so they
• 35:22
  could walk
• 35:23
  away with a
• 35:24
  clear conscience.
• 35:26
  So they
• 35:27
  could not
• 35:28
  really accuse
• 35:28
  them of the
• 35:29
  crimes committed.
• 35:31
  So they
• 35:31
  allowed the
• 35:32
  gospel to
• 35:32
  bring down
• 35:33
  the sinful
• 35:33
  system.
• 35:35
  Very similar,
• 35:37
  very similar.
• 35:38
  Why did
• 35:38
  Jesus not come
• 35:39
  as a political
• 35:40
  activist to
• 35:40
  end slavery
• 35:41
  and to end
• 35:42
  a lot of
• 35:43
  other bad
• 35:43
  things that
• 35:44
  were happening
• 35:44
  in the ancient
• 35:45
  world?
• 35:46
  Well he knew
• 35:46
  that his
• 35:48
  word,
• 35:50
  his message
• 35:50
  through the
• 35:51
  gospel,
• 35:52
  that if that
• 35:52
  was unleashed
• 35:53
  that would
• 35:53
  transform culture
• 35:54
  and slavery
• 35:55
  would naturally
• 35:56
  die.
• 35:57
  So he treated
• 35:58
  the problem
• 35:59
  like the real
• 36:00
  disease and
• 36:01
  not just the
• 36:01
  symptoms.
• 36:03
  He knew that
• 36:03
  if sin was
• 36:04
  dealt with,
• 36:05
  men would
• 36:06
  treat each
• 36:06
  other with
• 36:07
  love and
• 36:07
  respect and
• 36:09
  kindness and
• 36:10
  not with
• 36:11
  hatred.
• 36:12
  So he allowed
• 36:13
  the gospel to
• 36:13
  bring it down.
• 36:15
  And we've
• 36:16
  got to change
• 36:16
  how we think.
• 36:17
  We know that
• 36:18
  homosexuality
• 36:20
  could be another
• 36:20
  example of
• 36:21
  this.
• 36:21
  Most people
• 36:23
  who I know
• 36:23
  and I've
• 36:24
  encountered
• 36:25
  who are
• 36:25
  homosexual,
• 36:27
  they have
• 36:27
  very closed
• 36:29
  views of
• 36:29
  the church
• 36:30
  because all
• 36:31
  they've received
• 36:31
  is the bad
• 36:33
  news and not
• 36:34
  the good
• 36:34
  news.
• 36:35
  You guys are
• 36:36
  terrible,
• 36:37
  you guys are
• 36:37
  going to
• 36:38
  hell,
• 36:39
  your lifestyle
• 36:39
  is terrible,
• 36:40
  a very
• 36:40
  self-righteous
• 36:41
  condemning
• 36:43
  approach,
• 36:43
  more like the
• 36:44
  Pharisees of
• 36:45
  old.
• 36:46
  And Paul
• 36:47
  followed the
• 36:48
  pattern of
• 36:49
  Christ.
• 36:50
  He spoke
• 36:51
  the truth
• 36:51
  with loving
• 36:52
  tenderness
• 36:53
  and a
• 36:54
  sincere
• 36:54
  invitation to
• 36:55
  come and be
• 36:56
  transformed by
• 36:56
  the gospel.
• 36:58
  Right?
• 36:59
  Yesterday,
• 37:01
  Kathleen and
• 37:01
  I were on
• 37:02
  the way up
• 37:02
  to Blairsville
• 37:03
  and we
• 37:03
  picked a
• 37:04
  woman up
• 37:04
  on the
• 37:05
  off-ramp
• 37:05
  who was
• 37:06
  running.
• 37:07
  And she
• 37:08
  had nothing
• 37:09
  but one
• 37:09
  shirt in
• 37:10
  her hand.
• 37:11
  And she
• 37:11
  looked pretty
• 37:12
  desperate,
• 37:12
  so we
• 37:13
  stopped.
• 37:13
  and she
• 37:15
  said she
• 37:16
  didn't have
• 37:17
  any signs
• 37:17
  of drugs
• 37:18
  or alcohol.
• 37:20
  She said
• 37:20
  she was
• 37:21
  running from
• 37:21
  a man who
• 37:23
  was beating
• 37:23
  her and
• 37:24
  she wanted
• 37:25
  to go home
• 37:26
  to Bryson
• 37:26
  City.
• 37:28
  And so we
• 37:29
  sat and
• 37:29
  listened to
• 37:30
  a very
• 37:30
  sad,
• 37:31
  dark story
• 37:32
  and she
• 37:34
  said she
• 37:35
  wanted to
• 37:35
  get home
• 37:36
  to her
• 37:36
  wife back
• 37:38
  in Bryson
• 37:39
  City.
• 37:39
  And I
• 37:42
  was kind
• 37:42
  of weighing
• 37:43
  sometimes
• 37:43
  it's a
• 37:44
  discredit for
• 37:44
  me to
• 37:45
  say I'm
• 37:45
  a pastor.
• 37:46
  Sometimes I
• 37:47
  just rather
• 37:47
  them not
• 37:47
  know because
• 37:48
  then they'll
• 37:48
  begin to
• 37:49
  carry a lot
• 37:49
  of negative
• 37:50
  thinking.
• 37:50
  But at
• 37:51
  least in
• 37:52
  the situation
• 37:52
  I judged
• 37:53
  that she
• 37:54
  might actually
• 37:54
  respect that
• 37:55
  so I'm
• 37:55
  just going
• 37:55
  to say
• 37:56
  it.
• 37:56
  So I
• 37:57
  said that's
• 37:58
  what I
• 37:59
  did.
• 38:00
  And she
• 38:00
  goes,
• 38:00
  oh really?
• 38:01
  Well, I'm
• 38:02
  dying to
• 38:02
  know.
• 38:02
  Like what
• 38:03
  do you
• 38:03
  think?
• 38:03
  Like is
• 38:04
  God okay
• 38:04
  with
• 38:04
  homosexuality?
• 38:06
  And I'm
• 38:06
  like,
• 38:07
  here we
• 38:08
  go.
• 38:09
  And Kathleen
• 38:12
  will tell
• 38:13
  you that I
• 38:14
  didn't back
• 38:15
  down from
• 38:15
  saying God
• 38:16
  is not
• 38:16
  okay with
• 38:16
  it.
• 38:18
  It's sin.
• 38:19
  It's against
• 38:19
  what he
• 38:20
  says.
• 38:21
  But I
• 38:21
  also want
• 38:21
  you to
• 38:21
  know that
• 38:22
  I'm just
• 38:22
  as sinful
• 38:22
  as you
• 38:23
  are.
• 38:23
  And that
• 38:23
  anything I
• 38:24
  do is
• 38:25
  my sin
• 38:26
  is no
• 38:27
  cleaner or
• 38:27
  better than
• 38:28
  yours.
• 38:29
  My
• 38:29
  heterosexual
• 38:30
  lust or
• 38:31
  idolatry is
• 38:31
  no better in
• 38:32
  God's eyes
• 38:33
  than your
• 38:33
  homosexuality.
• 38:35
  And she
• 38:36
  said she
• 38:36
  was going
• 38:37
  to a church
• 38:37
  that loved
• 38:38
  her and
• 38:38
  welcomed
• 38:39
  her.
• 38:39
  I don't
• 38:40
  know what
• 38:40
  that really
• 38:40
  means.
• 38:41
  If they're
• 38:41
  like approving
• 38:42
  or if
• 38:42
  they're
• 38:42
  saying come
• 38:44
  and be
• 38:44
  with us
• 38:44
  anyway even
• 38:45
  though we
• 38:45
  don't agree
• 38:45
  with you.
• 38:46
  But she
• 38:47
  said that
• 38:48
  for the
• 38:48
  most part
• 38:49
  she and
• 38:49
  her partner
• 38:51
  have only
• 38:51
  received
• 38:51
  condemnation
• 38:52
  from believers
• 38:53
  and not
• 38:53
  like you
• 38:54
  need a
• 38:55
  savior.
• 38:55
  And I
• 38:55
  told her
• 38:56
  you need
• 38:56
  Jesus.
• 38:58
  Like you
• 38:58
  need,
• 38:58
  we need
• 38:59
  the savior.
• 39:01
  And it
• 39:01
  was kind
• 39:01
  of a
• 39:02
  spence
• 39:02
  she hadn't
• 39:02
  heard before
• 39:03
  obviously.
• 39:03
  She just
• 39:04
  hears
• 39:04
  you're
• 39:05
  okay in
• 39:06
  your sin
• 39:06
  or you're
• 39:07
  condemned.
• 39:09
  She doesn't
• 39:09
  hear the
• 39:10
  good news.
• 39:12
  And it's
• 39:12
  easier for
• 39:13
  us to be
• 39:14
  outraged and
• 39:15
  try to change
• 39:15
  a culture
• 39:16
  through rioting
• 39:17
  and picketing
• 39:18
  and political
• 39:20
  whatever.
• 39:20
  but it's
• 39:22
  harder to
• 39:23
  sit down
• 39:23
  and talk
• 39:24
  through the
• 39:24
  gospel of
• 39:25
  somebody.
• 39:26
  Something that
• 39:27
  you have no
• 39:27
  control over.
• 39:28
  Something that
• 39:29
  God has to
• 39:30
  change a
• 39:31
  sinner's
• 39:32
  heart.
• 39:33
  And if
• 39:33
  we're not
• 39:34
  careful we're
• 39:34
  going to
• 39:35
  produce a
• 39:35
  generation of
• 39:36
  angry men
• 39:38
  and women
• 39:38
  who try to
• 39:39
  advance
• 39:39
  man-made
• 39:40
  cultural
• 39:41
  Christianity
• 39:42
  through
• 39:43
  outrage,
• 39:44
  picketing,
• 39:45
  and rioting
• 39:45
  rather than
• 39:46
  the tenderness,
• 39:48
  wisdom,
• 39:50
  boldness,
• 39:50
  and persuasive
• 39:51
  words of
• 39:52
  Jesus of
• 39:53
  Nazareth.
• 39:54
  Okay?
• 39:55
  So we have to
• 39:56
  stop and ask
• 39:56
  ourselves,
• 39:58
  what's going to
• 39:58
  ultimately change
• 39:59
  culture in the
• 39:59
  world?
• 40:01
  And it is
• 40:01
  Christ and
• 40:02
  the gospel.
• 40:04
  So let's not
• 40:04
  be like the
• 40:06
  angry Ephesians.
• 40:07
  Let's be
• 40:07
  heralds of
• 40:09
  the good news.
• 40:12
  I think I'll
• 40:12
  stop there
• 40:13
  before I get
• 40:13
  in more trouble.
• 40:14
  Come and talk
• 40:15
  later.
• 40:16
  Let's pray
• 40:17
  together.