WEBVTT 00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:03.860 I want to invite you this morning, we're going to be in Acts chapter 14. 00:00:03.920 --> 00:00:06.620 If we're going to study the book of Acts chapter 14. 00:00:06.800 --> 00:00:13.900 And this particular chapter is critical for the life of the believer to be intentional in how you 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:16.219 represent Jesus in this world. 00:00:16.340 --> 00:00:23.340 And what I mean by that is the Lord has called all of us to be ministers for him, to those that know him, to be ambassadors representing Christ and 00:00:23.340 --> 00:00:25.160 the way you carry yourself in this world. 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:31.160 Acts chapter 14 is one of those chapters that really helps us think through how we do that. 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:39.020 In a world that's in some ways rapidly changing and in other ways more connected than it's ever been, especially 00:00:39.020 --> 00:00:40.440 over these last five years. 00:00:40.440 --> 00:00:43.360 I don't know if it was like Covid that helped spur some of this long. 00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:49.660 I'm not sure what it was, but people in some regards seem to have gotten way out in left field on some things. 00:00:50.540 --> 00:00:55.260 That's been different lately than than times past and in other ways. 00:00:55.420 --> 00:00:59.340 We're more united globally because of the way communication is made known. 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.530 But in all those changes and it feels like it's getting more and more rapid sometimes. 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:09.800 As a believer, if you're not careful, the tendency might be just to say, I'm throwing my hands up, I'm just done with it. 00:01:09.800 --> 00:01:13.160 I'm going to stick my head in the sand and wait for all this to go by, right? 00:01:13.160 --> 00:01:19.120 And just and just step out of what God has called you to do for him in this world. 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:21.680 And I want you to Acts chapter 14. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:26.790 If that's you tend to be more of an anxious soul and thinking about how things have progressed. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.610 Acts chapter 14 is a wonderful chapter for you to think through. 00:01:30.880 --> 00:01:37.560 And if you're just a believer in Christ and you just want to honor God with your life, it's also a critical chapter for us to think about. 00:01:37.860 --> 00:01:45.260 Because in Acts chapter 14, this is the chapter where Paul is on his first missionary journey, which we started to look at last 00:01:45.260 --> 00:01:50.360 week, and we looked at how Paul began this journey from Antioch, Syria. 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:57.420 But this is the first missionary journey the Apostle Paul went on, and he went from Antioch, Syria, with Barnabas to Cyprus, and from 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:04.440 Cyprus, they traveled north to what is modern day Turkey, and we read about how they went to Antioch, Pisidia, which is another Antioch, 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:05.320 and then to Iconium. 00:02:05.820 --> 00:02:09.919 That's where they end in chapter 13, in the beginning of 14. 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:14.610 And then they travel and the rest of their journey to Lystra and Derby. 00:02:15.040 --> 00:02:20.990 And then after they finish in Derby, they go back to the cities and towns they were a part of before traveling back to Antioch. 00:02:21.660 --> 00:02:28.720 And as Paul goes from these particular cities they're in, this predominantly in the region of Galatia is where they're ministering, where we get the book 00:02:28.720 --> 00:02:29.240 of Galatians. 00:02:29.540 --> 00:02:32.830 We'll look at that in the weeks ahead, how that book was formulated. 00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:37.140 But Paul, when he writes to Galatia, he's writing to all these churches in that region. 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:44.860 And as Paul goes to these different cities, what you discover is each one of these cities has a particular uniqueness 00:02:44.860 --> 00:02:46.470 to them. 00:02:46.600 --> 00:02:54.260 And so something that sets them apart from the other towns that are part of that was pretty customary in Roman society that every 00:02:54.260 --> 00:02:58.790 town you go to have would have a unique God in which that particular group of people would worship. 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:04.330 There was a pantheon of gods that people worshiped in the Roman Empire, including Caesar himself, at different points. 00:03:04.880 --> 00:03:12.120 And so as Paul would go to these different cities, he would have to learn a different way in which to engage the people where he 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:13.820 was, he was ministering to. 00:03:13.940 --> 00:03:20.960 Now, it didn't mean Paul changed his message, but it does mean Paul adapted his methods to better 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:23.150 minister to the hearts of people. 00:03:23.920 --> 00:03:31.100 And so when we think about the Apostle Paul on this missionary journey and seeing how he does this, he gives us a beautiful opportunity for us to consider where God has 00:03:31.100 --> 00:03:35.570 us and how we represent the Lord and the way we move in this world. 00:03:35.880 --> 00:03:37.220 And what is it God desires to do? 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:38.250 So this is what we're going to talk about. 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.990 How to how to have a gospel impact in a diverse world. 00:03:42.540 --> 00:03:45.500 And you have to know everything about everyone before the Lord can use you. 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:47.020 I mean, how is this even possible? 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:50.700 And all the different things people like to claim and do and belong to? 00:03:50.700 --> 00:03:57.190 How could you possibly see the effectiveness of Christ made known in the hearts of people, Acts chapter 14 is that chapter. 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:00.530 Now let me give you a point, number one, and we'll read this together. 00:04:00.760 --> 00:04:02.680 How are we effective for the gospel? 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:03.960 Number one, is this care? 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:07.260 You've got to care. 00:04:09.630 --> 00:04:13.460 It's hard to reach people when you hate them. 00:04:14.140 --> 00:04:15.910 In fact, we would just say it's nearly impossible. 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:21.640 And so if you want to be effective for the Lord, one of the first things you've got to do is care. 00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:30.120 And, one of the things I think is beautiful about followers of Jesus that we learn is that a forgiven people 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:31.890 are a forgiving people. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:33.060 Right. 00:04:33.080 --> 00:04:38.580 And it just it goes hand and foot with what it means to be a follower of Jesus that get this. 00:04:38.580 --> 00:04:45.160 If you claim to follow Jesus, your life should show evidence of looking like Jesus, right? 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:50.430 To say you belong to Jesus but to live different is to contradict what you say you're about. 00:04:51.340 --> 00:04:55.840 Your life as a follower of Christ should show evidence that you love Jesus and the things that you do. 00:04:56.020 --> 00:05:00.060 And one of the primary things that should be demonstrated in your life is the compassion. 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:03.400 You care towards other people, even when they disagree with you. 00:05:03.900 --> 00:05:06.340 Because get this, that's what Christ did for you. 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.620 He didn't give up on you even when you were enemies of God. 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:11.780 He pursued you. 00:05:11.840 --> 00:05:16.260 He surrendered his life for you so that you could find freedom and forgiveness in him. 00:05:17.320 --> 00:05:23.860 And so knowing that Jesus has done this for us, knowing that it took his continued grace in our lives before we would surrender to him. 00:05:23.880 --> 00:05:30.900 Now you get to represent him in this world and care as one of those beautiful opportunities that before people care and know, care 00:05:30.900 --> 00:05:32.800 about what you say they want to. 00:05:32.860 --> 00:05:34.600 They want to know that you care about them as individuals. 00:05:34.940 --> 00:05:41.830 And so, Paul, as he goes on this missionary journey with Barnabas, this is this is what he demonstrates when he goes to the city of Lystra. 00:05:42.440 --> 00:05:49.840 Now, when Paul goes on this journey in Acts chapter 14, at the beginning, he tells it talks to us about Iconium, where Paul 00:05:49.840 --> 00:05:51.520 preaches a message there. 00:05:51.660 --> 00:05:53.220 And it's not giving me the ability to click. 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:54.540 So if you want to. 00:05:54.900 --> 00:05:55.460 There you go. 00:05:55.460 --> 00:05:56.180 Thank you. 00:05:56.380 --> 00:06:00.170 As he goes to Iconium, first he shares a message there. 00:06:00.340 --> 00:06:05.000 And what you see is when Paul first goes to Iconium, he goes to the Jewish synagogue. 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:07.410 And the reason he goes to the Jewish synagogue. 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:09.700 This is a common practice for the Apostle Paul. 00:06:09.940 --> 00:06:14.040 He would go to the Jewish synagogues because they had an understanding of the Old Testament. 00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:18.400 And it became an easy basis for pointing to who Jesus was. 00:06:18.400 --> 00:06:20.110 He would he would talk to them about the Old Testament. 00:06:20.320 --> 00:06:24.890 He would show them prophetically the Messiah who was to come and tell them how Jesus fulfilled that. 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:31.760 And so when Paul went on his missionary journeys, he would go to these particular areas, and he would he would begin in a Jewish synagogue. 00:06:32.020 --> 00:06:34.610 If a town had a synagogue, he would share the gospel. 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:39.430 What typically happened was some of the Jews would believe, but before long they would run them out of the synagogue. 00:06:39.700 --> 00:06:40.980 And so then he would turn to the Gentiles. 00:06:42.260 --> 00:06:44.980 And so that was his approach in towns that had a synagogue. 00:06:45.080 --> 00:06:49.740 But then he would go to other towns without synagogues, and they would be predominantly then Gentile. 00:06:50.640 --> 00:06:54.990 And so we'd have a different basis for beginning his message. 00:06:55.640 --> 00:07:01.470 And one of the things Paul does is he goes to the town of Lystra, which he begins in an area that doesn't have a synagogue. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:09.520 He starts to immediately share who the Lord is tangibly through what he does, and he demonstrates this 00:07:09.520 --> 00:07:10.810 through care for the people. 00:07:10.840 --> 00:07:18.170 And so in verse eight is helping us understand, if I want to begin to reach hearts, what I need to have is a care for the people around me. 00:07:19.020 --> 00:07:23.320 And so now at Lystra, it says there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. 00:07:24.200 --> 00:07:27.240 He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 00:07:28.020 --> 00:07:33.680 He listened to Paul speaking, and Paul looked intently at him, and seeing that he had faith to be made. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:34.880 Well said. 00:07:34.880 --> 00:07:37.900 And a loud voice, stand upright on your feet. 00:07:38.260 --> 00:07:41.250 And he sprang up and began to walk. 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:48.780 Now this particular passage is a rather unique passage, in that this is a miracle that's taken place. 00:07:48.780 --> 00:07:55.800 And, when you read the New Testament, I think especially the very beginning of the church, the testimony, the 00:07:55.800 --> 00:08:00.780 gospel that was presented was supported by miraculous signs that took place. 00:08:00.900 --> 00:08:08.060 Now, I certainly believe God can do miraculous things today, but I think in the first century, the way that the message began to 00:08:08.060 --> 00:08:12.920 take root was through the demonstration of what happened through signs and wonders meaning? 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:14.400 I think that it was amplified. 00:08:14.760 --> 00:08:19.040 The miracles that took place in the first century compared to what we would see today. 00:08:19.140 --> 00:08:26.320 God can certainly still do miracles, but in this moment, this was a demonstration of the power of the resurrection that 00:08:26.320 --> 00:08:30.500 they were proclaiming by seeing the healing that would take place. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.720 And this was a picture of ultimately what God desires to do in his second coming. 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:39.950 Meaning, when Jesus first came, the miracle that he worked was the rescuing of your soul. 00:08:40.400 --> 00:08:47.620 God desires to redeem you, to forgive you and help you belong to him by giving you new 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:49.780 life and forgiveness through the cross. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:53.350 So his first coming was the miracle of rescuing your soul. 00:08:53.620 --> 00:08:56.880 At his second coming, Jesus will restore shalom over the whole earth. 00:08:56.880 --> 00:08:58.820 It's like going back to the Garden of Eden. 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:05.920 He will bring peace and a way that God evidenced that was what he desired to do was through these miracles 00:09:05.920 --> 00:09:08.590 that would take place, especially in the first century. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:15.080 Now, looking at this, I want you to know God desires to work in a similar way in this fashion. 00:09:15.260 --> 00:09:22.420 Not that you're going to go out and see someone miraculously healed necessarily, but God does want you to demonstrate who 00:09:22.420 --> 00:09:26.120 he is through his, through being the hands and feet of Christ, through your care for others. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.420 The evidence of Jesus made known your heart should be demonstrated through the way that you live. 00:09:32.300 --> 00:09:39.820 And one of the most important ways you could show your love for the Lord is seen through your care for others, because Jesus pursued them with his life. 00:09:40.660 --> 00:09:45.960 Jesus made them in his image and Jesus desires to remake them through the cross. 00:09:47.140 --> 00:09:49.550 So care is critical for the life of the believer. 00:09:50.280 --> 00:09:57.300 One of the things I think is important to identify here and I want to be careful with is verse number nine specifically because I 00:09:57.300 --> 00:10:04.540 have seen this particular verse where people have taken it, extrapolated it, and created an entirely, entirely abusive system 00:10:04.540 --> 00:10:07.860 of belief out of it. 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:09.390 And what I mean by that is this verse. 00:10:09.660 --> 00:10:10.210 Let me read it again. 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:10.790 It says this. 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:18.660 He listened to Paul speaking, and Paul looked intently at him, and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 00:10:18.660 --> 00:10:21.520 said in a loud voice, stand upright on your feet. 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:29.200 People have taken this particular verse to say, well, if you've ever got something wrong that you're struggling with and you 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:36.320 need some healing from the Lord, if that doesn't take place, the reason that doesn't take place is because the problem isn't the Lord. 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:37.580 The problem is you. 00:10:38.260 --> 00:10:41.100 You didn't have enough faith in order to be healed. 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:49.380 And I want you to know, to take that kind of thinking and extrapolate that from this verse, I think is not only wrong on what this verse is saying, it's 00:10:49.380 --> 00:10:51.510 untrue for the rest of Scripture. 00:10:53.020 --> 00:10:58.500 Whether or not God heals you is not entirely based on the thought of faith. 00:10:58.560 --> 00:11:04.350 Now, I think there's some important to talk about in this verse, because I think what Paul is doing here is a bit of double entendre. 00:11:05.680 --> 00:11:07.210 And let me explain it like this. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:15.500 There are times in Scripture where God heals people without any faith, and there are other times where people of 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:17.640 faith ask for healing and don't experience it. 00:11:18.800 --> 00:11:26.340 And the easiest way to see that, I think, is when you read the Gospels, Jesus at three different times in the Gospels 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:28.680 raises people from the dead. 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:29.920 And guess what? 00:11:29.920 --> 00:11:32.190 People from the dead can't exercise faith. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.070 There is no way they're saying being dead. 00:11:37.420 --> 00:11:38.300 Lord heal me. 00:11:38.400 --> 00:11:39.880 They are dead. 00:11:39.880 --> 00:11:40.970 It is an impossibility. 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:45.830 And so it's not it's not about you've got to have enough faith in order to be healed. 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:53.020 At the same time, when you read passages like Second Corinthians chapter 12, verse seven and nine, the apostle Paul, a man of faith, says this I 00:11:53.020 --> 00:11:57.920 pleaded with the Lord three times that he would take away the thorn in the flesh from me. 00:11:58.560 --> 00:12:05.880 But God said to me, my grace is made perfect in your weakness, or even in second, or excuse 00:12:05.880 --> 00:12:13.120 me, first Timothy chapter five Timothy tells Paul that he's got an ailment in his stomach, and Paul tells Timothy to drink a little wine to comfort 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:13.740 his stomach. 00:12:14.420 --> 00:12:18.770 So here you got a couple of people of incredible faith with no divine healing. 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:22.540 And then other times in Scripture, people that can't even exercise faith who are healed. 00:12:23.540 --> 00:12:30.860 What I think what's happening in this verse is Paul is using a bit of a double entendre to help us understand the power of the gospel, because that specific 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:36.000 word at the end of verse nine made well, can actually be interpreted two ways. 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:40.940 It can be a word for made well from spiritual healing, meaning salvation. 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:45.750 Or it can be a word made well for physical healing, meaning you're cured. 00:12:47.460 --> 00:12:54.960 When you think about the idea of healing in Scripture, there's a particular passage in the Gospels where Jesus heals ten 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:55.600 lepers. 00:12:55.640 --> 00:13:03.020 Or let me say it like this he actually cures ten lepers, but only one of them returns and acknowledges who Christ is. 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:10.360 And in that instance, I would say that individual was healed even when it comes to our own life and having physical ailments or 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:13.820 battles, we may ask God to cure us those things. 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:18.020 The Lord may do that, but ultimately those things are just temporal. 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:22.040 The state of your soul is eternal. 00:13:23.700 --> 00:13:31.580 And I think what's happening in verse nine is Paul is looking at this individual who is believing the gospel, and 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:39.140 Paul realizes this individual has been healed spiritually, but he's also recognizing that this individual 00:13:39.140 --> 00:13:45.460 has come to know the Lord, that now this individual can be a mouthpiece for who has healed him. 00:13:46.920 --> 00:13:54.080 And so, Paul, he calls out to this individual and tells him to stand upright, because not only is he has he been spiritually 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.200 healed in Christ, now he's being cured. 00:13:56.660 --> 00:14:04.120 And now this person can go through this town pointing to Jesus as the reason Jesus is the hope of mankind. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:12.160 And so Paul uses this person as a demonstration for the care of God in the in the hearts 00:14:12.160 --> 00:14:12.780 of people. 00:14:12.880 --> 00:14:20.860 But not only do we as individuals need to care, and not only does Paul care, but point number two in your notes is this we 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:21.560 need to contextualize. 00:14:24.260 --> 00:14:25.330 We need to contextualize. 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:32.770 And what that means is not only do we care for people, but it really becomes a further expression of how we care. 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:35.550 And that is being willing to meet people where they are. 00:14:36.040 --> 00:14:36.730 And so contextualized. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:40.290 By the way, I'm going to check your spelling later and make sure everyone got that correct. 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:40.760 All right. 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:49.300 But we're going to we need to contextualize the gospel, which means we need to meet people where they are to love 00:14:49.300 --> 00:14:54.100 them as Jesus loves them, not expect them to meet us where we are. 00:14:54.540 --> 00:14:56.600 But we're called to be the ambassadors of Christ. 00:14:57.460 --> 00:14:59.500 We're called to be servants of the Lord. 00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:06.730 And so we want to understand where people are, to understand how the uniqueness of the gospel can meet them where they're at. 00:15:07.060 --> 00:15:08.700 And this is exactly what Paul does. 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:10.170 He goes into this town. 00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:13.400 He they see the concern that Paul has for them. 00:15:13.660 --> 00:15:18.390 And then in order to better communicate the gospel, he does it in a way that's unique. 00:15:19.140 --> 00:15:22.580 From Iconium in Iconium, he went into the synagogues. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:30.240 He, as he preached the message of the Lord, he quotes from the Old Testament over and over again, because in the synagogues the people 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.060 understand the Old Testament. 00:15:32.920 --> 00:15:36.140 But now when he's going to Lystra, a predominantly gentile area. 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:38.070 They're not familiar with the Old Testament. 00:15:38.280 --> 00:15:45.670 So rather than begin with the Old Testament, Paul begins his message more general and the identity of who God is. 00:15:46.060 --> 00:15:53.260 It's not because Paul's changing his message, but rather he's adapting the method to best meet people where they 00:15:53.260 --> 00:15:53.960 are. 00:15:54.380 --> 00:16:01.660 And so in Acts chapter 14, verse 11, it says, and when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying 00:16:01.660 --> 00:16:05.900 in Lycaonian the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:10.210 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 00:16:10.920 --> 00:16:17.930 So it's not like this when they see these two individuals, even though Paul was the one that the Lord used for the divine healing of the individual, 00:16:18.040 --> 00:16:18.570 that was lame. 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:21.100 They don't see him as the primary leader. 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:21.790 They see Barnabas. 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:26.420 And the reason for that is Paul is a mouthy person and Hermes is a spokesman for Zeus. 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:29.390 That's what it's teaching you a little bit about the personality of these two. 00:16:29.640 --> 00:16:31.900 Barnabas is more calm and docile. 00:16:31.900 --> 00:16:33.860 Paul's always shooting off at the mouth, right? 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:41.120 So he gets the title of Hermes, and then he goes on verse 13, and the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:48.180 oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifices with the crowds in this particular region. 00:16:48.180 --> 00:16:52.100 The God that they are worshiping is are giving most praise to. 00:16:52.160 --> 00:16:53.080 Here is Zeus, right? 00:16:53.080 --> 00:17:00.840 They have a temple dedicated to him, and according to a first century tradition, these particular people had a belief that Zeus 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:08.319 and Hermes once visited a town, and the people of that region didn't recognize him except for an 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:10.020 elderly, poor couple. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.060 And when they identified him, they invited him into the home. 00:17:14.060 --> 00:17:16.560 And they cared for them, ministered to them. 00:17:16.619 --> 00:17:23.700 And because of that, Zeus, they believed, blessed the lives of those individuals, and then turned around and cursed and destroyed 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:24.900 everyone else. 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:31.340 So believing that the town thought the next time they show up in a town, we're going to be ready, right? 00:17:31.340 --> 00:17:37.720 And so here they are as Paul goes into this town to minister and the people start to respond to it. 00:17:38.820 --> 00:17:44.450 And in response to it, they adapt it based on their worldview. 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:52.840 And guys, it's the same for us when you think about ministering to people in this world, all that we have to go off is our 00:17:52.840 --> 00:17:55.840 worldview, our understanding, the knowledge that we have. 00:17:56.700 --> 00:18:03.020 And so when Paul goes into this town, he's starting to share the truthfulness of who the Lord is. 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:08.480 But we've got to understand that we come as individuals from all sorts of different worldviews. 00:18:08.620 --> 00:18:16.100 And so we're introducing a new thought, a new idea in who Christ is, especially if the people aren't familiar with it. 00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:20.620 And so it's critical to not only meet people where they are, but to be patient. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:28.920 In fact, one of the things that we try to encourage people to here at ABC is, look, God doesn't call you to be someone else's Holy 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:29.520 Spirit. 00:18:30.020 --> 00:18:34.640 And sometimes it takes people time to understand the truthfulness of who Jesus is because of their worldview. 00:18:35.340 --> 00:18:42.480 And so, rather than be annoying to people, rather than press people, just be faithful to Jesus and just leave a pebble in his shoe. 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:49.720 Something that when people walk away from you, they can just churn in their own soul and let the Lord use that in their lives. 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:56.920 And so Paul is coming into this environment, and he begins to contextualize the gospel, to meet people where they are. 00:18:56.980 --> 00:18:57.780 And this is how he does it. 00:18:57.800 --> 00:19:04.880 In verse 14 he says, but when the apostle Barnabas and Saul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out of the crowd, crying out, 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:07.260 men, why are you doing these things? 00:19:07.280 --> 00:19:11.440 We also are men, like nature, like nature with you. 00:19:11.540 --> 00:19:13.430 And we bring you good news. 00:19:15.260 --> 00:19:15.300 So? 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:17.840 So Paul is immediately running into this crowd, and he. 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:24.660 And he wants him to begin to understand that what he has to present to them is the word we as Christians would call the gospel or good news. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:27.660 I have an incredible message for you. 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:31.700 And it's different than than than what you're turning to right now. 00:19:31.700 --> 00:19:33.960 It's different from what you've heard. 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:35.930 And this is important for you to know. 00:19:36.260 --> 00:19:43.620 This is why Paul is willing to step out and to meet the people where they're at and begin to help them think through who 00:19:43.620 --> 00:19:46.940 the true God is and why this matters for their lives. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:55.600 And guys, it's the same for us in representing the Lord in this world to think 00:19:55.600 --> 00:19:56.250 through. 00:19:57.180 --> 00:20:01.280 What does it mean to best minister to the people in my context? 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:07.660 Maybe we could think in terms of finite down to family or just a close friend. 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:11.700 Maybe we just think more regionally and in Utah County or the state of Utah. 00:20:11.760 --> 00:20:16.140 I don't know if you know this, but Utah is unique from everywhere else in our country, right? 00:20:16.520 --> 00:20:21.200 So what does it look like to meet people where they're at, rather than expect them to meet me where I'm at? 00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:27.220 How can I contextualize the beauty of Jesus in their life or even in terms of globally. 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:35.500 Do you know Missiologists put into practice that thought of how do we how do we think through 00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:38.900 how the gospel ministers to regions even in this world? 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:46.780 In fact, when I when I got my undergrad in theology, I had some different tracks that I could put my focus on, like in 00:20:46.780 --> 00:20:52.700 getting a theology degree, there was a pastoral track you could go down and there was even a youth minister track. 00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:58.520 There were several different tracks, but the one that I ended up picking was a missionary track, and I took pastoral classes. 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:02.380 When you get a theology degree, it turns out you just learn a lot of pastoral things, right? 00:21:02.380 --> 00:21:09.420 But I took a theology distinctive, and the reason I did that is because I knew wherever I went in this world, I wanted 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:10.630 to go where there were fewer Christians. 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:19.540 And in order to minister the gospel, well, I knew I needed to learn the importance of thinking like the people in that culture, 00:21:20.860 --> 00:21:23.830 because I wanted them to know who the truth of Jesus was. 00:21:24.800 --> 00:21:30.350 Even the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be on the East Coast sharing with missionaries from all around the world. 00:21:30.380 --> 00:21:37.560 And they're going through training to be church planters globally, and they talk about different things people need to be considering 00:21:37.560 --> 00:21:40.380 as they go into different contexts with the gospel. 00:21:40.820 --> 00:21:43.770 I mean, they'll even get as nuanced as thinking about your own diet. 00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:52.180 Not because they're worried about weight gain or weight loss or anything like that, but they recognize this, that when you eat a particular 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:59.300 food, get this, you start to have a particular smell, like when you when you move to a different region 00:21:59.300 --> 00:22:05.700 of the world, sometimes it stands out to you that you notice that the people of that region eat a specific type of diet. 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:11.030 And therefore there's a particular type of aroma that comes through the diet that you eat. 00:22:11.560 --> 00:22:15.400 Now, the reason they do that is not to tell people that you stink. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.080 And I'm not telling you this to tell you stink. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:25.100 I'm saying this because what they're teaching their missionaries is we have this way about us through our sense of smell, to start to categorize things 00:22:25.100 --> 00:22:26.300 without even realizing it. 00:22:27.100 --> 00:22:28.730 Even the smell we get off as people. 00:22:29.560 --> 00:22:36.700 And when you want to be received by a culture, they start to teach missionaries to eat the diet of the people that you're going to minister to before 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:43.860 you even arrive, so that they begin to see you becoming like them rather than expecting them to become 00:22:43.860 --> 00:22:44.380 like you. 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:47.900 Because what's more important is the message of Christ. 00:22:49.080 --> 00:22:56.440 When we think in terms of our own context, missiologists, even in studying cultures today, will say cultures primarily really 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:59.190 fall into three buckets, one of three buckets. 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:05.280 And it's important to understand how cultures think through these three buckets, because the gospel speaks into those. 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:09.060 And to be honest, all of us fall in all of these three categories at different times. 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:16.860 But depending on where you minister the types of people you minister to, it's important to think how those people think and therefore how the gospel 00:23:16.860 --> 00:23:18.720 ministers to their hearts. 00:23:19.080 --> 00:23:26.400 For example, if you're from eastern cultures tendency of eastern cultures are to be based on honor, 00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:29.600 shame based or founded on an honor shame basis. 00:23:30.060 --> 00:23:35.760 And what it means, what it means is this in eastern cultures, they tend to think more in community and more in family. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:39.820 And what you do in your life is intended to represent that family. 00:23:39.840 --> 00:23:43.900 And you can do things to honor that family and the traditions they hold. 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:47.340 Or you can do things that bring shame to you and to your family. 00:23:47.380 --> 00:23:49.180 And so when you do that, you're shamed. 00:23:50.280 --> 00:23:53.020 And so we should think through knowing cultures. 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:55.340 Cultures think that way. 00:23:55.600 --> 00:24:02.800 How can I minister to the God the gospel to care to that particular culture, or here in our Western cultures, rather than predominantly being shame 00:24:02.800 --> 00:24:04.920 based, we're more innocent, guilt based. 00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:12.280 And the reason for that is we're more individualistic and so individualistic, individualistic cultures, the 00:24:12.280 --> 00:24:19.840 responsibility that you carry, the personal responsibility is a step of being either guilty and making the wrong 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:23.160 Decisions are innocent because, well, you've made the right decisions. 00:24:23.380 --> 00:24:30.460 In fact, from a Western culture, when you read the Bible, words like justification and righteousness stand out to you more because those are those are judicial 00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:35.940 terms represented you as a as an individual trying to discover, am I guilty or am I innocent? 00:24:36.080 --> 00:24:40.790 Am I righteous, am I justified, or does the penalty come on me? 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:48.500 And so certain cultures think in different ways, and it's critical for us to consider how they perceive themselves as 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:49.940 we minister the gospel. 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:57.280 Because get this, the gospel responds to all of these fear, shame, and guilt. 00:24:57.320 --> 00:25:04.260 I mean, you see on the map certain countries that are labeled that way, and then there's a few countries that are gray that didn't get a label. 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:07.170 And I think the reason they didn't get a label is because they were afraid. 00:25:08.340 --> 00:25:11.520 And so they didn't say anything except for Greenland at the top. 00:25:11.600 --> 00:25:13.070 And they just didn't ask him because nobody cared. 00:25:13.260 --> 00:25:14.420 So that was that was that. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:15.180 I'm just kidding. 00:25:15.380 --> 00:25:17.760 But that was that was the basis of these countries. 00:25:17.760 --> 00:25:24.980 So let me just say this for all of us, when we realize as people we really wrestle in all three of those categories guilt, fear, and shame. 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:28.300 But we need to understand how the gospel transforms all of those. 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:35.560 That when it comes to your guilt, Jesus bore it all in the Christ on the cross so that you can be set free. 00:25:36.980 --> 00:25:41.250 When it comes to your shame, Jesus covers your past so that you can be forgiven. 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:49.840 When it comes to your fear, we talked about that last week that you have a God that is greater and fear the Lord is far more important in knowing that 00:25:49.840 --> 00:25:51.280 he's a good God. 00:25:51.320 --> 00:25:53.820 You recognize that God cares for you. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:26:01.840 So as we struggle in the idea of fear of guilt and shame, it's important for us to even know, as followers of Christ, that 00:26:01.840 --> 00:26:04.640 the gospel is not something that you believe once for salvation. 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:11.200 The gospel is something that transforms you every day, because the enemy always wants you to walk in fear. 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:14.080 The enemy always wants you to walk in shame. 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:16.920 The enemy wants you to walk in that guilt. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.000 But Jesus wants you to recognize how you've been freed from it all. 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:30.160 And it gives us the privilege and the power and the authority in Christ to speak into the hearts of people and how Jesus transforms 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:32.550 your life now and every day. 00:26:33.340 --> 00:26:37.150 And this is the apostle Paul as he's coming to this environment. 00:26:37.260 --> 00:26:44.800 He's contextualizing the gospel in this sense and in helping him see the good news, the liberation in which Christ 00:26:44.800 --> 00:26:53.660 brings, so that we can get to point number three in your notes, which is this confront Paul confronts. 00:26:54.640 --> 00:27:01.820 Now, when we talk about contextualizing, it's taking the thought of the gospel, the knowledge 00:27:01.820 --> 00:27:03.020 and sharing it. 00:27:04.840 --> 00:27:09.260 But to be honest, our problem as people is not an intellectual problem. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:12.400 Our problem is a heart problem. 00:27:13.800 --> 00:27:20.480 We need to know the information of the gospel, but at some point you've also got to surrender your heart to it. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:28.960 And because of that, there comes this place where we've got to confront, and what we're confronting is the idols that we've trusted, and 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:33.220 we're handing those over to the Lord and saying, but now, God, I trust in you. 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:41.120 When we talk about confronting, I think it's important to know that I am not talking about attacking. 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:49.020 I'm talking about bringing things to a place where people need to know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. 00:27:50.520 --> 00:27:54.110 And you can do that like a jerk, or you can do that tenderly. 00:27:55.800 --> 00:27:59.420 And God's desire is for you to minister in a way that honors him. 00:28:00.740 --> 00:28:07.760 And when we move into this world, we want to represent the Lord and the way that we carry him and concern 00:28:07.760 --> 00:28:08.580 for the people. 00:28:08.580 --> 00:28:15.720 Now, having said all that, though, the Apostle Paul, when he confronts the people and the importance of who Christ is, he decides to 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:16.560 go Hulkamania. 00:28:16.820 --> 00:28:23.410 And the reason I say that is because it tells us that he tears his garments, which in our culture you only do that in a wrestling ring now. 00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:27.870 But in his culture, apparently you did that whenever you were lamenting over something. 00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:30.640 And so the Paul he tears his garments. 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:33.520 But this is really just speaking to the importance of what he's sharing. 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:40.880 He's trying to get the attention of the people to recognize how critical this is, to understand what he's saying. 00:28:41.580 --> 00:28:42.780 And it's the same for us. 00:28:42.780 --> 00:28:46.810 And when we get to that place of confronting, we've got to recognize, I'm about to step on some idols. 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:49.500 I'm going to step on some idols that people have. 00:28:49.800 --> 00:28:55.420 And when we do that, we should realize that people don't take that lightly. 00:28:56.940 --> 00:29:00.680 And the reason they don't is because they've found their identity in their idols. 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:06.560 And for them to forsake it is a reorientation to who they are. 00:29:07.620 --> 00:29:10.660 They've got to surrender that and believe that Jesus is enough. 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:19.540 And you, as a follower of Christ, should understand why it's important to be gracious in that moment because you 00:29:19.540 --> 00:29:21.600 fought the same battle against the Lord too. 00:29:23.340 --> 00:29:26.400 And eventually you surrendered and Christ won. 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:29.540 The grace of God. 00:29:29.540 --> 00:29:31.920 The kindness of God is what leads you to repentance. 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:36.380 And the Apostle Paul, as he's contextualizing this, he's sharing this. 00:29:36.380 --> 00:29:36.860 Look what he says. 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:40.560 He says that you should turn from these vain things to the living God. 00:29:40.560 --> 00:29:46.480 These vain things are literally it's idolatry to a living God who made the heavens and the earth and sea and all that is in them. 00:29:46.580 --> 00:29:49.990 In past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 00:29:50.360 --> 00:29:57.900 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food 00:29:57.900 --> 00:29:58.860 and gladness. 00:29:58.980 --> 00:30:05.470 Even with these words they were scarcely restrained, restrained the people from offering sacrifices to them. 00:30:05.860 --> 00:30:12.880 And when Paul is sharing this message, I want you to recognize that what he's saying, he doesn't quote a Bible verse because he realizes they're not familiar 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:13.460 with the Bible. 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:18.280 Now, he may have gotten to a place where he could have done that, but the people revolted against him too quickly. 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:26.100 But where he starts is from a general worldview, and he wants them to understand this, that there is a God who didn't give up on you even when you were 00:30:26.100 --> 00:30:27.500 moving away from him. 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:29.160 He may have been gracious to you. 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:30.520 He allowed you to do that. 00:30:30.620 --> 00:30:35.390 He was even kind to you and bringing you rain and genuinely, genuinely caring for you in this world. 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:38.560 But he also continued to pursue you. 00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:45.660 And so Paul is saying, this is why it's important for you to give up this idolatry in order to turn to him. 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:54.060 And as we think about what this looks like in our lives, one of the things I think that helps us to be compassionate to people that follow, follow 00:30:54.060 --> 00:30:58.220 a path of idolatry, is just to acknowledge we all have idols in our lives. 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:01.140 We all have idols that we uphold. 00:31:01.380 --> 00:31:07.920 And one of the things that's interesting when we talk about the topic of idolatry is how blinded we can be to them. 00:31:08.800 --> 00:31:15.880 I mean, if you were to travel to another country and just get inundated by that country, it becomes very easily within, within a day or 00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:18.740 two to start identifying the idols of that country, because you're not from there. 00:31:20.380 --> 00:31:27.460 But growing up in a in a specific country or being a part of a country for a long period of time, the idols that country start to become a part 00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:30.200 of who you are, and you begin to be blinded to it. 00:31:31.260 --> 00:31:38.260 So one of the things that helps us be compassionate to other people, and the idolatry they may hold is just recognizing even 00:31:38.260 --> 00:31:45.380 right now in our room, we likely have some of us that hold to idolatry and in ways that 00:31:45.380 --> 00:31:47.100 we don't even realize, if not all of us. 00:31:47.120 --> 00:31:54.220 And if I just for a moment just highlighted some of those, some of the hidden idols that Americans tend to hold to. 00:31:54.260 --> 00:31:56.540 Let me just give you a few as time permits. 00:31:56.540 --> 00:32:01.210 But number one, it would be this self autonomy, the idea of self autonomy. 00:32:01.900 --> 00:32:03.850 It's the thought of be true to yourself. 00:32:04.620 --> 00:32:08.310 Self becomes the highest authority for truth, morality or meaning. 00:32:08.760 --> 00:32:10.760 My feelings determine what's right. 00:32:10.780 --> 00:32:12.550 My identity is self-constructed. 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:15.700 It's not received as one made from the image of God. 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:22.760 Repentance is replaced by self-justification and the spiritual cost is this God just simply becomes 00:32:22.760 --> 00:32:26.180 a tool for personal fulfillment rather than Lord of my life. 00:32:27.140 --> 00:32:34.340 There's the idol of success and achievement that your worth is measured by productivity, results and visible impact, which means 00:32:34.340 --> 00:32:37.730 we seek after primarily career advancements. 00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:45.020 Even being a part of a church the size of your church, your grades, your resumes, your platforms, you start to believe the thought I 00:32:45.020 --> 00:32:53.050 am, what I accomplish, and the spiritual cost is this faithfulness and hidden obedience are devalued. 00:32:53.360 --> 00:32:57.630 Money and security, not just wealth, but financial control. 00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:00.180 Savings becomes our Savior. 00:33:00.180 --> 00:33:05.960 Fear driven generosity is what we're led by, anxiety masked as responsibility. 00:33:06.080 --> 00:33:08.930 The lie is if I'm financially secure, then I'm going to be okay. 00:33:09.520 --> 00:33:16.990 And the spiritual cost is this trust shifts from God's provision to personal planning, comfort and convenience. 00:33:17.020 --> 00:33:17.990 An idol of America. 00:33:18.300 --> 00:33:23.030 Americans uniquely idolize ease, avoiding suffering at all costs. 00:33:23.420 --> 00:33:29.720 Consumer Christianity is what it creates resistance to sacrifice, endurance or discipline. 00:33:29.940 --> 00:33:35.510 Discomfort means something is wrong and the spiritual cost the cross becomes optional. 00:33:36.560 --> 00:33:38.860 The freedom as Americans is an idol. 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:42.040 Freedom defined as no one telling me what to do. 00:33:42.520 --> 00:33:43.930 Can I just tell you that's not freedom. 00:33:44.040 --> 00:33:45.820 That's anarchy. 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:47.820 Authority is suspect. 00:33:47.820 --> 00:33:49.620 Submission is weakness. 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:53.220 God's commands feel restrictive rather than life giving. 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:55.080 Limits destroy my freedom. 00:33:56.260 --> 00:33:57.820 Can I can I just tell you? 00:33:58.840 --> 00:34:00.880 You will never be truly free. 00:34:01.220 --> 00:34:04.460 Until your life is surrendered to the one who created you for his purposes. 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:09.960 Living a life of anarchy is annihilation of your soul. 00:34:10.760 --> 00:34:11.699 It destroys you. 00:34:12.679 --> 00:34:16.219 It's not until your life is surrendered to the one that you're truly free. 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:24.760 And just a few more image and reputation curated lives from social media fearing of being exposed, 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:26.380 canceled, or misunderstood. 00:34:26.540 --> 00:34:28.600 Protecting reputation more than integrity. 00:34:28.980 --> 00:34:33.260 The lie is being seen as good matters more than being faithful to the Lord. 00:34:34.139 --> 00:34:34.840 How about this and I'll. 00:34:35.139 --> 00:34:35.900 I'll end with this one. 00:34:36.659 --> 00:34:37.500 Politics and power. 00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:41.940 Politics becomes a functional savior. 00:34:43.300 --> 00:34:49.560 More moral hope placed in elections, opponents treated like enemies, not neighbors. 00:34:50.020 --> 00:34:54.159 Kingdom priorities confused with national ones and the lie. 00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:57.240 We believe if the right people are in power, then will flourish. 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:03.810 But guys, can I just tell you, if the Lord has your heart, that's how you flourish. 00:35:05.560 --> 00:35:07.000 And we have all sorts of idols. 00:35:07.060 --> 00:35:10.180 And I could continue to go on, but for time's sake, I'll stop there. 00:35:10.180 --> 00:35:14.200 And can I, can I just tell you, out of all the idols we could follow, the cure is simple. 00:35:14.220 --> 00:35:16.880 There's really one, one way, one path. 00:35:18.200 --> 00:35:20.120 Proverbs three five and six says it like this. 00:35:21.520 --> 00:35:22.940 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:25.350 Do not lean to your own understanding. 00:35:25.520 --> 00:35:30.060 In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. 00:35:31.600 --> 00:35:32.190 It's the Lord. 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:39.280 And there's contention in this world and in identifying the significance of Jesus. 00:35:39.340 --> 00:35:46.420 You'll notice as you engage the world with Christ, they'll say things like this that I don't like the exclusivity of 00:35:46.420 --> 00:35:46.970 Jesus. 00:35:47.020 --> 00:35:52.420 It feels arrogant that Jesus claims to be the only way, the truth and the life. 00:35:53.380 --> 00:36:00.460 And we could say in response to that, yeah, it could be arrogant to say that Jesus is the correct 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:00.880 way. 00:36:01.060 --> 00:36:03.140 Jesus is the truth, that Jesus is the life. 00:36:03.140 --> 00:36:04.580 No one comes to the father but by me. 00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:11.240 Jesus says that it could be arrogant unless it's true, and if it's true, it changes everything. 00:36:13.880 --> 00:36:20.900 The most important thing I could share with someone, if Jesus is who he says he is the purity of the gospel. 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:27.540 It's helping him understand the significance of Christ like every other belief system in this world. 00:36:27.540 --> 00:36:33.200 If you just kind of rip away the foundation as if it were a lie, people, people could just still hold to the philosophy. 00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:35.760 Like they could just believe the basis of their religion isn't true. 00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:37.360 Still hold to the philosophy of it. 00:36:38.100 --> 00:36:43.070 But if you rip away from Christianity the basis of the death, burial, and resurrection, then there is no Christianity. 00:36:44.640 --> 00:36:48.820 Our faith is founded on what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. 00:36:49.040 --> 00:36:52.560 It has certainly philosophical teachings to it, but it's far more than that. 00:36:53.180 --> 00:36:57.220 It's about a historical event of what Jesus accomplished for you and for me. 00:36:57.960 --> 00:37:01.930 The second things people, people tend to say is, well, there's a little truth in everything. 00:37:02.380 --> 00:37:02.720 And it's. 00:37:03.100 --> 00:37:07.960 And so we can appreciate, all things because everything's got a little truth to it, even religions. 00:37:08.420 --> 00:37:10.500 I wish I could say, yeah, I would agree with that. 00:37:10.500 --> 00:37:13.180 There's half truths and nearly everything. 00:37:13.180 --> 00:37:18.040 That's why people believe in religions, because the half truths get them to buy into it. 00:37:18.620 --> 00:37:21.900 But can I tell you one of the most destructive things for the soul is a half truth. 00:37:23.120 --> 00:37:30.240 And the reason I can say that is because if you start from the very beginning of the Bible with Adam and Eve, what they believed was a half truth, and 00:37:30.240 --> 00:37:32.900 what it brought was the destruction of their lives. 00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:41.680 And even when you read the Gospels, you find the, the people that Jesus was most critical to were the religious leaders and 00:37:41.680 --> 00:37:44.360 the people that Jesus was most compassionate to get. 00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:46.150 This was the sinful people. 00:37:46.860 --> 00:37:54.960 And the reason Jesus was most compassionate to the sinful people was because the sinful people knew they were sinful, and 00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:58.840 in knowing they were sinful, they were in a place where their hearts would turn to Christ. 00:37:59.480 --> 00:38:05.900 It was the people boasting in the pride of their performance that wouldn't bow the knee to Jesus, and that led to their destruction. 00:38:06.420 --> 00:38:12.660 That's why Jesus was critical to the religious people, because they couldn't see their need for Christ in their life. 00:38:12.660 --> 00:38:17.140 The sinful people understood how much they needed the rescue of a Savior. 00:38:18.840 --> 00:38:20.100 Or last, I'll say this one. 00:38:21.040 --> 00:38:23.440 Well, as long as you're a good person, that's all that matters. 00:38:24.080 --> 00:38:25.640 Typically, they'll try to chalk it up to that. 00:38:25.680 --> 00:38:28.640 And let me just say, if people want to be good, great. 00:38:28.640 --> 00:38:31.340 Like I don't want I don't want to say you're wrong, you should be bad, right? 00:38:31.340 --> 00:38:32.390 That's the that would be terrible. 00:38:32.860 --> 00:38:38.140 But if people are going to be disagree with Jesus and be kind, wonderful. 00:38:38.220 --> 00:38:42.040 But can I tell you the message of Christianity is not as long as you're good, that's all that matters. 00:38:42.220 --> 00:38:49.280 And if and if you agree to that, as a Christian, I think we are undermining the significance of what Christ has done for us. 00:38:50.200 --> 00:38:58.080 And the reason I say that is if being good is all that mattered, then what Jesus accomplished on the cross was unnecessary, 00:38:59.560 --> 00:39:04.930 and for me to agree with that is to spit on the sacrifice that Christ accomplished for me. 00:39:06.920 --> 00:39:14.320 If all that mattered was that you were a good person, Jesus would have showed up in the first century and said, every religious person keep being religious. 00:39:14.320 --> 00:39:15.180 Great job. 00:39:16.080 --> 00:39:16.510 But he didn't. 00:39:17.940 --> 00:39:23.960 He gave his life, and the reason he gave his life is because it was necessary for you and for me. 00:39:25.220 --> 00:39:28.560 We contextualize, we confront kindly. 00:39:28.740 --> 00:39:31.700 And the last is this we commit, we commit. 00:39:31.700 --> 00:39:32.660 And I need to share this fast. 00:39:33.860 --> 00:39:40.980 But I want you to see the Apostle Paul tells you that in verse 19, but the Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and have persuaded the crowds. 00:39:40.980 --> 00:39:44.660 They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 00:39:44.780 --> 00:39:51.950 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derby. 00:39:52.560 --> 00:39:54.820 This is the second greatest comeback in history. 00:39:54.980 --> 00:39:57.540 The greatest comeback was Jesus from the grave, right? 00:39:57.600 --> 00:39:59.760 The second greatest was Paul was thought to be dead. 00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:00.810 He's like, just kidding. 00:40:01.180 --> 00:40:05.280 And then he gets up and walks right back into the town that tried to kill him. 00:40:05.860 --> 00:40:07.100 Why would he do that? 00:40:07.680 --> 00:40:11.060 And most of us, we would wipe our hands clean and be like, okay, God, I tried. 00:40:11.060 --> 00:40:12.680 Time to go back home now, right? 00:40:12.720 --> 00:40:13.200 We would. 00:40:13.220 --> 00:40:14.800 We gave the old college try. 00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:15.630 We gave the effort. 00:40:15.680 --> 00:40:16.000 Right? 00:40:16.140 --> 00:40:17.020 But Paul doesn't do that. 00:40:17.040 --> 00:40:18.440 And why does Paul not do that? 00:40:19.680 --> 00:40:22.820 Because the whole purpose of his life was not to get a result out of people. 00:40:24.220 --> 00:40:27.860 The whole purpose of his life was to glorify God regardless of what people did. 00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:31.960 His commitment was not to the response of others. 00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:35.220 His commitment was to Jesus all of his days. 00:40:36.360 --> 00:40:38.280 And so rather than quit, he continued on. 00:40:39.180 --> 00:40:45.060 He was committed that regardless of what people chose to do or not do, he glorified God with his life. 00:40:46.040 --> 00:40:49.850 Now it tells us in the story he went back through those cities that he had visited previously. 00:40:50.880 --> 00:40:53.590 But I want you to see when Paul went to Lystra. 00:40:55.100 --> 00:41:00.360 He, as he was ministering there he met a young man named Timothy. 00:41:02.020 --> 00:41:03.380 And Timothy came to know the Lord. 00:41:04.680 --> 00:41:11.900 20 years later, Paul writes to Timothy, two Timothy, and he talks about one of those moments that was impactful in Timothy's life. 00:41:11.900 --> 00:41:12.860 And he says it like this. 00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:20.060 You, however, Timothy, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 00:41:20.780 --> 00:41:23.100 my persecutions and sufferings that happen to me. 00:41:23.380 --> 00:41:23.840 Look at this. 00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:29.900 At Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which persecutions I endured. 00:41:30.520 --> 00:41:32.880 Yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 00:41:33.840 --> 00:41:37.390 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:45.020 Paul wants you to know there is adversity, but the challenges aren't the dictator of why you do what you do. 00:41:45.540 --> 00:41:47.600 It's because the beauty of who Christ is. 00:41:48.880 --> 00:41:55.700 And here's Paul saying, and as I was committed to Jesus, Timothy, you saw that and that impacted your life too. 00:41:57.240 --> 00:42:00.410 Because when you think about the way you follow the Lord, you may have an uphill climb. 00:42:02.020 --> 00:42:03.840 There may be adversity around you. 00:42:04.640 --> 00:42:08.960 People may not always want to receive you, but you can still care for them. 00:42:10.080 --> 00:42:10.810 You can still contextualize. 00:42:11.320 --> 00:42:12.100 Meet them where they're at. 00:42:13.140 --> 00:42:17.700 You can still help them see the greatness of who Christ is and how the gospel transforms our life. 00:42:18.640 --> 00:42:23.700 Because your commitment while you care for them isn't ultimately about them, it's about the Lord. 00:42:24.140 --> 00:42:25.500 I need to close with this last story. 00:42:25.560 --> 00:42:30.770 There was a young lady named Mary Slessor who in the 1850s, gave her life to serve the Lord in Africa. 00:42:30.840 --> 00:42:31.990 She went to Nigeria. 00:42:32.080 --> 00:42:36.200 She heard David Livingstone share about the needs in Africa. 00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:38.940 And in that moment, she decided that's what her life was going to be about. 00:42:39.060 --> 00:42:42.640 And so she went to Nigeria and she ministered for decades there. 00:42:42.640 --> 00:42:47.140 She died in the early 1900s, and she was very influential in the way the Lord used her. 00:42:47.140 --> 00:42:49.780 She helped put an end to infanticide in Nigeria. 00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:55.160 At that time, there was a belief that when someone had twins, that meant they were cursed and so they would often kill their twins. 00:42:55.900 --> 00:42:57.880 Women who were forced into marriages. 00:42:58.260 --> 00:43:01.620 She would advocate for children who were abandoned. 00:43:01.620 --> 00:43:09.060 She would take into her home, and she would share the love of Jesus, to the point that the tribal leaders began to respect her, and they would use her to arbitrate 00:43:09.060 --> 00:43:16.120 conflict among tribes, and the people were asked why they embraced Mary Slessor, why they let her come 00:43:16.120 --> 00:43:16.740 into their lives. 00:43:16.820 --> 00:43:18.480 And they said, because she was like us. 00:43:19.120 --> 00:43:22.160 Even though it was apparent she was from Scotland, she looked different than them. 00:43:22.680 --> 00:43:23.780 She lived like them. 00:43:24.520 --> 00:43:25.620 She ate like them. 00:43:25.620 --> 00:43:26.760 She dressed like them. 00:43:27.240 --> 00:43:31.490 She became among them to minister the love of who Jesus was. 00:43:32.420 --> 00:43:39.560 People ask Mary Slessor how did she endure that kind of life, knowing she came from Scotland to live the way that she lived and do what 00:43:39.560 --> 00:43:40.100 she did? 00:43:41.140 --> 00:43:48.380 Mary Slessor said the person in her life that made the biggest impact was her mother, because as a child, 00:43:48.440 --> 00:43:49.640 she grew up in the home of an alcoholic. 00:43:50.520 --> 00:43:54.680 Her father couldn't hold down a job, and by the age of 12 he drank himself to death. 00:43:55.940 --> 00:44:02.920 But her mother was a lady of faith, and despite the adversity they went through, she continued to seek after the Lord. 00:44:03.640 --> 00:44:09.120 And that, Mary said, gave her the grit to follow Jesus with her own life, even into some of the most difficult parts of the world. 00:44:10.740 --> 00:44:17.760 You never know the way God can use you, but the desire of her heart is not just birthed out of wanting to see 00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:19.020 a response of people. 00:44:20.340 --> 00:44:23.880 It's this deep love of Jesus wanting to honor him and everything that we do. 00:44:24.640 --> 00:44:26.660 Because of that, we can care for others. 00:44:27.160 --> 00:44:34.320 We can contextualize the gospel and evenly, even boldly confront the idols of this world with compassion because of who Christ is.