WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:07.280 I'm going to invite you to Acts chapter 18 is where we're going to be together today, at the end of the chapter 18 of the book of 00:00:07.560 --> 00:00:14.720 Acts and the reason we're ending in such a unique spot, this is really the last six verses of chapter 18, is because 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:19.330 this is where Paul begins his third missionary journey. 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:24.280 And so we've looked at this together in the book of Acts that Paul has gone on three missionary journeys. 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:27.710 This is the last of his journeys that are recorded in the book of Acts. 00:00:28.260 --> 00:00:35.320 Paul goes on more journeys after the book of Acts concludes, but we have three of those stories unfolding in the book of Acts and how the Spirit 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:38.240 of God worked in the people of God to accomplish the will of God. 00:00:38.260 --> 00:00:41.390 How the gospel went from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. 00:00:41.500 --> 00:00:45.680 And we're seeing this primarily now through the journeys that the Apostle Paul has taken. 00:00:46.080 --> 00:00:53.500 And because I like maps, and there's a little bit of nerd inside of all of us, I'm going to throw this up on the screen and just let you see where Paul 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:56.700 went on his third missionary journey. 00:00:56.720 --> 00:00:57.280 And look at this. 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:00.810 We're going to take the nerd level up a bit when I use the laser clicker. 00:01:02.060 --> 00:01:02.820 He's. 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:03.620 As you're familiar. 00:01:03.620 --> 00:01:10.170 The church started in Jerusalem and it quickly went to Antioch of Syria, which is where the Apostle Paul was when he goes on his missionary journeys. 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:18.040 Antioch of Assyria is a very influential city in that it's the second or third largest city 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:25.300 in the Roman Empire in the first century, when the Apostle Paul is there and it's from the church in Antioch, Paul launches out. 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:32.580 Now, when Paul goes on his three missionary journeys, one of the things I think that is important to remember about his third journey is he really doesn't visit 00:01:32.580 --> 00:01:33.830 anywhere new. 00:01:34.360 --> 00:01:42.360 Everywhere he went on his first and second journey, he now revisits on his third journey, the only city that we could really argue he may have 00:01:42.360 --> 00:01:46.230 stopped at on his third missionary journey would be the city of Ephesus. 00:01:46.860 --> 00:01:54.060 And the reason I say we could argue it is because he actually stopped there at the very end of his second missionary journey, and he spent just a very brief amount of time 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:55.160 there before he left. 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:58.760 And so he tells the people, if the Lord would lead me back, I'll come back to. 00:01:58.840 --> 00:01:59.800 To Ephesus. 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:05.170 And on his third missionary journey, he does in the city of Ephesus is right up in this area. 00:02:05.780 --> 00:02:12.820 And so Paul goes to Ephesus and he shares the gospel, and he spends a longer amount of time here than really any other 00:02:12.820 --> 00:02:15.030 city that he went to in all of his missionary journeys. 00:02:15.440 --> 00:02:15.500 So. 00:02:15.880 --> 00:02:20.150 So he's in Ephesus for over two years ministering to the people. 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:27.440 And so the apostle Paul we're seeing on this journey, he's really gone around the world to let people know exactly what Jesus has done 00:02:27.440 --> 00:02:34.600 for them because he's experienced what Christ has done, not just in seeing the resurrected Christ, which he did, but also finding 00:02:34.600 --> 00:02:38.780 the forgiveness of Christ in his own life, which Paul certainly needed it. 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:45.840 As you look at the Apostle Paul's life, we've studied this together, that he became one who persecuted Christians to the point of 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:46.840 even killing Christians. 00:02:47.660 --> 00:02:51.000 And then his life is radically transformed in Jesus. 00:02:51.140 --> 00:02:54.230 And now he goes around the world declaring that with other people. 00:02:54.720 --> 00:02:58.070 Now, as we look at the story of Acts unfolding. 00:02:58.300 --> 00:03:04.680 One of the things that I think is important, just as a as a Bible student for you to know, is when you read the Bible, you pick it up. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.040 Your Bible is not written in chronological order. 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:10.250 I think a lot of people pick up the Bible expecting that. 00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:13.000 It just kind of follows a timeline and it doesn't. 00:03:13.160 --> 00:03:19.240 Your Bible is put together according to literary genre, like if you, for example, picked up the New Testament. 00:03:19.260 --> 00:03:24.410 The Book of Matthew is not the first book written, although the New Testament certainly starts with the story of Jesus. 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:28.890 But what you discover when you read the book of Matthew is at the beginning of your New Testament. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:34.640 You had the first the four gospels that literary genre of the Gospels starts the New Testament. 00:03:34.740 --> 00:03:41.740 Then you have the book of Acts, which is a historical book of the early church, of how the Spirit of God worked in the people of God to accomplish the will of God. 00:03:41.880 --> 00:03:44.900 Then, after the book of Acts, you have the letters we call epistles. 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:52.720 The first letters you come to are the 13 that Paul wrote, and then the last half are what are general epistles 00:03:52.720 --> 00:03:56.680 that are written by several different authors. 00:03:56.760 --> 00:04:01.220 And then you end the book of or excuse me, you in the New Testament with the crazy book, right? 00:04:01.220 --> 00:04:02.640 The book of revelation. 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:06.790 Or everyone scratching their heads and wonders what in the world is going on here? 00:04:07.040 --> 00:04:09.740 But that's how your Bible is comprised. 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:16.760 Now, as we've studied the book of Acts together, one of the things I've tried to highlight for us is we've read is when each book of the 00:04:16.760 --> 00:04:18.410 New Testament was actually written. 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:19.779 Acts chapter 12. 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:22.430 I told you that was the time period of the book of James. 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:22.880 One of the reasons. 00:04:23.110 --> 00:04:30.700 One of the reasons I think that's important to know is that when you read these letters, you begin to discover what was actually happening in 00:04:30.700 --> 00:04:33.200 the time period of which that letter was written. 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:38.500 So you see, in the context of Acts, how the book of James was formulated, Acts chapter 12. 00:04:38.740 --> 00:04:45.240 And then we saw in Acts chapter 15 how the book of Galatians was written, what was driving the writing of Galatians. 00:04:45.640 --> 00:04:51.220 And then on Paul's second missionary journey you have written the book of first and second Thessalonians. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:54.920 After Paul had to abruptly leave the city of Thessalonica. 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:56.040 As he journeyed down to Corinth. 00:04:56.340 --> 00:04:57.740 He writes these two letters. 00:04:58.400 --> 00:04:58.980 And now, when? 00:04:59.080 --> 00:05:06.180 When Paul's going on his third missionary journeys, this is when he writes the book of first and second Corinthians and the book of Romans. 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:13.950 And so when you look at the formation of the New Testament, we're discovering how Paul has written six of his 13 letters. 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:21.280 Now, after Paul is arrested and eventually he's taken to prison in Rome, this is where he writes four more books. 00:05:21.280 --> 00:05:24.740 I'm telling you this now because I might forget down the road, but. 00:05:25.260 --> 00:05:29.360 But after this missionary journey, Paul's arrested, and during that time he writes four books. 00:05:29.460 --> 00:05:33.380 He writes Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:39.800 And then after he's his time in prison in Rome, once he's released, he finds himself in prison again. 00:05:39.840 --> 00:05:46.880 But during that time period, after the book of Acts concludes, he writes his three final letters, which is first and second, Timothy and Titus. 00:05:46.940 --> 00:05:50.800 So it gives you a little bit of idea of how the New Testament is formulated. 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:58.320 But Paul's intention in all of this is to help the world discover the transforming experience that 00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:05.320 he had in Jesus, knowing that the gift of God's grace that he received is intended for other people to freely 00:06:05.320 --> 00:06:06.750 receive it as well. 00:06:07.140 --> 00:06:14.320 And so as we look at this particular section of the book of Acts today, this is what we want to discuss together is the life 00:06:14.320 --> 00:06:15.580 changing opportunity. 00:06:15.580 --> 00:06:22.720 Not only that, Jesus gives us that we could experience, that we also have the opportunity to help other people to discover in 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:28.220 Jesus as well, to give other people the opportunity to find that life transforming power in the Lord. 00:06:28.320 --> 00:06:33.700 And I can't think of nothing more important to share with us on a day like today than that. 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:35.300 I'm not. 00:06:35.320 --> 00:06:38.160 Unless you've lived with your head in the sand over the weekend. 00:06:38.780 --> 00:06:43.040 Like we're reminded at times like this how frail life can be. 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:45.500 And sometimes we despair. 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:46.850 Sometimes we worry. 00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:54.260 But can I tell you the way that God has called you to move in this world is confidently, boldly in his power, because we know that no 00:06:54.260 --> 00:06:57.300 matter what happens, what we have in Jesus lasts forever. 00:06:57.660 --> 00:07:02.600 And the greatest gift that you have to offer in this world is what Christ gives to you. 00:07:03.320 --> 00:07:08.040 And the greatest gift that you should own as a believer is what you have in Jesus. 00:07:08.820 --> 00:07:15.440 And so what we do in this room this morning matters not just for our sake, but for the sake of the world around us. 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:23.560 And so looking at this life changing opportunity, this is why the apostle Paul is going to the extent where he's traveling to places where 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:24.550 it's unsafe. 00:07:24.760 --> 00:07:31.470 He's carrying burdens that aren't necessarily his own for the sake of others because of what Jesus has done in him. 00:07:31.900 --> 00:07:36.720 And so what does it look like for us as we see the Apostle Paul's story unfold? 00:07:36.840 --> 00:07:43.440 What does it look like for us to participate in a in a similar way, having our lives transformed in the Lord? 00:07:43.520 --> 00:07:51.080 Well, number one is this it's got to start with identifying the need that we would identify 00:07:51.080 --> 00:07:52.000 the need. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:59.180 And this is how you see the book of Aacts unfolding with these stories of these cities, that they're more 00:07:59.180 --> 00:07:59.920 than just cities. 00:07:59.940 --> 00:08:03.020 There are places where people live that have tremendous need. 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:06.540 And so the apostle Paul, he's going on these journeys. 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:11.040 Now, as I get ready to read this passage, I want you to know we're going to actually read about two figures. 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:18.400 We're going to read about a man named Apollos, and we're going to read about the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 18, verse 23 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:22.200 to the end of the book, or, excuse me, the end of chapter 18. 00:08:22.280 --> 00:08:28.020 You read primarily about Apollos, and then in chapter 19, we're going to read about Apostle Paul. 00:08:28.280 --> 00:08:33.860 And I'm going to share these stories in a way that just look, looks at them comparatively together to see how they parallel. 00:08:34.880 --> 00:08:41.919 And so in Acts chapter 18, verse 23, it starts this way after spending some time in Antioch, Syria, which I showed you 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:49.230 on the map, he Paul departed and he went from one place to the next to the region of Galatia and Phrygia, 00:08:50.020 --> 00:08:51.940 strengthening all the disciples. 00:08:52.160 --> 00:08:55.760 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. 00:08:56.140 --> 00:08:58.640 He was an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures. 00:08:59.740 --> 00:09:05.000 Now there's sharing names and all sorts of places, which can get confusing sometimes, but. 00:09:05.060 --> 00:09:10.800 But a couple of things I want you to see here when it talks about Paul going from Antioch, Syria, into the regions of Galatia and Phrygia. 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:18.600 Paul had already gone here on his first missionary journey, but instead of referring to them as regions or providences, we referred to them by the individual 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:23.740 cities within those providences where we read about Lystra, Iconium and Derby. 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:27.890 But now, rather than refer to those particular cities, now we're referring to them in terms of regions. 00:09:28.300 --> 00:09:35.720 And I think the reason that Luke is doing this, in this, in this verse is because he's saying to us not only as the church reached the city, 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:37.900 but now it's expanded beyond the city. 00:09:37.900 --> 00:09:44.940 They've taken the gospel beyond that particular place where God, where Paul first ministered, which is incredible to think about. 00:09:45.380 --> 00:09:52.420 But now the apostle Paul, going back now to this region, he's just he's just encouraging the church no matter where they find themselves in that 00:09:52.420 --> 00:09:56.080 area of Galatia or Phrygia, not just in those particular cities. 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:02.630 And then we read about this individual named Apollos from Alexandria, who is now ministering in Ephesus. 00:10:02.800 --> 00:10:09.820 Paul hasn't quite got to that city yet, but there's a man named Apollos who is in that city, and he's ministering to people in 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:10.640 the Lord. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:14.720 And then when you flip over to chapter 19, it says, like this, verse one. 00:10:15.280 --> 00:10:22.470 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. 00:10:22.780 --> 00:10:23.970 There he found the disciples. 00:10:24.900 --> 00:10:30.460 So Apollos, ministering in Ephesus, then went to Corinth, and Paul ministering. 00:10:30.740 --> 00:10:35.530 And in Galatia, Phrygia, those regions, he now comes to the city of Ephesus, and he ministers. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:44.080 Now one of the things I want to highlight about these particular towns that Paul is sharing about with us is just how impactful 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:51.640 this would be in the Roman Empire, because when you look at the early cities and first century Rome, Antioch, 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:53.720 Syria, we already talked about where Paul's from. 00:10:53.760 --> 00:10:58.200 This is the second or third largest city in the Roman Empire. 00:10:58.880 --> 00:11:06.140 The other city that people contest might be the second or third largest is the city of Alexandria in Egypt. 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:12.050 So Apollos and Paul are coming from the second and third largest cities in the Roman Empire. 00:11:12.400 --> 00:11:17.080 And now they both traveled to the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire, which is Ephesus. 00:11:17.920 --> 00:11:23.660 And Paul's desire is to ultimately get to the largest city in the Roman Empire, which is Rome. 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:28.210 Corinth, as well mentioned here is another significant city. 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:36.260 The reason I think this is important is when you look at the early church, what they're doing is they're saying, where can I go to make the biggest impact 00:11:36.260 --> 00:11:37.480 for the gospel? 00:11:38.380 --> 00:11:44.700 Where has God put me and what has God given me to reach certain places for his glory? 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:47.510 And they just have this willingness to go there. 00:11:47.860 --> 00:11:52.440 Now, looking at that, I'm not saying to you this morning and so everyone, it's time to rent a moving truck. 00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:53.320 Right. 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:59.230 What I'm saying is God also has you in places in this world to make a difference. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.580 And sometimes we just don't take those opportunities that God gives to us. 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:12.980 But if we want to see a world that's changed and transformed in the glory of God, it is necessary 00:12:12.980 --> 00:12:20.060 for us to first see the need in our own heart and in maturing in our own walk with Jesus. 00:12:21.020 --> 00:12:26.040 As Jesus grows us in him, that we would impart to others what we possess in the Lord. 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:31.500 So it's great to see the need, but just seeing the brokenness isn't enough, right? 00:12:32.470 --> 00:12:39.720 You've got to see your own life growing in the strength of who God is, so that when you encounter that need, you have something to pour 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:42.570 out of you because of what Christ has poured into you. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:47.040 And this has been the life of certainly the apostle Paul. 00:12:47.520 --> 00:12:50.050 And this is what we're beginning to learn about the life of Apollos. 00:12:51.280 --> 00:12:55.740 Both of these individuals have found their lives enriched in the Lord. 00:12:55.900 --> 00:13:03.160 As we looked at Paul and his days in Antioch of Syria, he spent a decade in that church before he was called out of that church to 00:13:03.160 --> 00:13:06.230 go minister well beyond that city. 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:13.380 But even as the Lord was maturing him, he was still pouring in the lives of others as he was growing within that community. 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:23.140 Maybe the question for us this morning is to consider in your own life, how are 00:13:23.140 --> 00:13:26.220 you doing in sharing what the Lord is filling up in you? 00:13:27.540 --> 00:13:34.680 Or maybe we should just simply ask, do you take the time to let Jesus pour into you so 00:13:34.680 --> 00:13:38.390 that the Lord could pour out of you the greatness of who he is? 00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:43.870 Seeing the need around us is recognizing that man. 00:13:44.420 --> 00:13:51.480 Our lives have had this beautiful blessing of the wealth of Christ, and God desires to use that I 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:53.340 would share his glory in this world. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:54.410 I love the way. 00:13:54.600 --> 00:14:00.720 If you ever take time to read Isaiah chapter six, how Isaiah walks through that Isaiah chapter six. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:07.560 If you remember the famous question asked in Isaiah six verse eight and nine, the Lord says, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? 00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:11.040 And then Isaiah responds, here am I, Lord, send me. 00:14:11.820 --> 00:14:13.240 It's a beautiful response. 00:14:13.280 --> 00:14:14.400 And look at that question. 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:17.400 It leads you to ask, what provoked Isaiah to do that? 00:14:17.400 --> 00:14:20.860 What would lead a heart to react that way to the Lord? 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:28.060 And if you just back up to the very beginning of Isaiah chapter six, you start to see it unfold, that Isaiah experiences the glory of who 00:14:28.060 --> 00:14:28.780 God is. 00:14:29.760 --> 00:14:32.280 And in the midst of that, he also recognizes his sinfulness. 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:39.240 He says in verse five, woe is me, for I am a dead man, and I dwell amongst of a people of unclean lips. 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:46.700 My eyes have seen the holiness of God, And then it tells us in that story that God sends one of his angels to take from off the altar 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:49.960 a burning coal, and he takes it down to Isaiah. 00:14:50.060 --> 00:14:54.610 And he touches his, touches his lips with it, the part that Isaiah claimed was unclean. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.820 And in those moments God forgives Isaiah. 00:14:58.740 --> 00:15:03.860 And so the radical forgiveness of this holy God that Isaiah is compelled to go into this world. 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:11.140 But one of the things I love about that story is that when Isaiah acknowledges who he is, he doesn't do it separate from his people, but with 00:15:11.140 --> 00:15:11.980 his people. 00:15:12.420 --> 00:15:14.190 Isaiah is a holy man. 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:18.360 And if you're going to look at anybody and say, well, if someone's got it all together, it's Isaiah. 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:19.620 You know, he's above us. 00:15:20.680 --> 00:15:22.140 But that's not what Isaiah does at all. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:27.060 He says, I am an unclean man, and I dwell in the midst of a people who are unclean. 00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:35.140 He identifies himself with the brokenness of life around him, that he wouldn't think higher of himself than others or looked 00:15:35.140 --> 00:15:35.960 down upon people. 00:15:37.260 --> 00:15:40.000 But to see the need and the place that God has put him in. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:44.260 So number one is identify the need. 00:15:45.020 --> 00:15:47.200 I love one of the there's a worship song called Hosanna. 00:15:47.300 --> 00:15:49.310 It's got my favorite line in it of any worship song. 00:15:49.380 --> 00:15:50.170 It says it like this. 00:15:50.880 --> 00:15:53.190 Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours. 00:15:53.980 --> 00:15:56.520 Everything I am for your kingdom's cause. 00:15:57.620 --> 00:16:04.760 You know, having that kind of outlook in life only happens by spending time with the Lord to know what his heart is about, and then 00:16:04.760 --> 00:16:06.370 sharing in his heart. 00:16:07.640 --> 00:16:14.050 If we start to identify the need, it should bring us to point number two, which is this surrender to the transformation. 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:22.880 Surrender to the transformation that God wants to do in you, but also the transformation that God wants to bring to the people around you. 00:16:23.760 --> 00:16:29.010 And you see this again in these passages that parallel between Apollos and Paul when it says it like this. 00:16:29.340 --> 00:16:36.720 He Apollos, had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:40.060 the things concerning Jesus, which is all wonderful things, right? 00:16:40.060 --> 00:16:41.700 He's been taught the way of the Lord. 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:43.400 And I hope that's true for all of us. 00:16:43.520 --> 00:16:46.360 And then he's got this passion and the spirit because of what God's done in him. 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:47.480 He's fervent that way. 00:16:47.540 --> 00:16:48.880 He wants other people to experience it. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:56.400 And he teaches accurately the things of Jesus, which is fantastic, because if you spend any amount of time in this world and you ask people you 00:16:56.400 --> 00:17:01.560 know about Jesus, you find out there are a lot of weird thoughts people have about Jesus. 00:17:01.980 --> 00:17:06.980 And just because you call him Jesus doesn't make him the real Jesus, right? 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:10.180 Like every religion in the world has something to say about Jesus. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:12.020 And then when you look at the Bible, you're like, wait a minute. 00:17:12.300 --> 00:17:15.780 The Jesus you're describing is not the Jesus in the Bible. 00:17:15.780 --> 00:17:18.420 There is a disconnect here somewhere, right? 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:21.020 And so who Jesus is important. 00:17:21.140 --> 00:17:25.980 And it's telling us that Apollos, he's teaching accurately the things he knows about Jesus. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:27.010 But then it says something interesting. 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:31.800 It says, though he knew only the baptism of John. 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:34.480 What a weird statement, right? 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:37.710 Then verse 26, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:45.500 But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately, I love 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:45.900 that. 00:17:46.800 --> 00:17:48.270 Here's what it's saying is like really? 00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:56.520 Apollos learned under the teaching of John the Baptist, and he got so pumped about it, he started going around the world telling 00:17:56.520 --> 00:17:59.680 people about it, and he forgot to wait till the Messiah actually came. 00:17:59.780 --> 00:17:59.860 Right? 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:02.980 Like, he's like, what John's saying is so good, right? 00:18:03.040 --> 00:18:05.500 And he and he leaves and he goes, tells people about this. 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:09.760 And now and now when they show up and they meet Apollos, they're like, he's teaching things accurately. 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:12.700 But it's like he didn't even know Jesus came, right? 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:15.000 He's like, he knows that there's a messiah coming. 00:18:15.280 --> 00:18:18.760 John told him that, but he actually didn't meet the Jesus, right? 00:18:18.760 --> 00:18:22.590 So they pull him aside and they explained to him further. 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:26.560 And Apollos, he responds in a tremendous way, very humbled. 00:18:26.560 --> 00:18:27.880 He embraces it. 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:31.410 And now that he's learned more, he just continues to impart even greater. 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:32.880 And it's the same for us. 00:18:32.900 --> 00:18:39.000 Like on our faith journey, you don't have to wait till you're perfect in theology to go tell everybody about Jesus. 00:18:39.080 --> 00:18:41.940 It's saying this what you learn in Christ. 00:18:42.300 --> 00:18:44.250 Just start to share that with people. 00:18:44.540 --> 00:18:49.260 This is not a this is not about being professionals and representing Christ in this world. 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:54.360 This is about just simply taking what Jesus has done in me and sharing it with other people. 00:18:54.660 --> 00:19:01.160 And this is what Apollos has done, and it tells us about this through this really unique thing called the baptism of John. 00:19:01.620 --> 00:19:01.640 Right? 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:09.080 You learn about it a little bit in the gospel, and then John got his head lopped off, and then nothing else is talked about it until you get to this one 00:19:09.080 --> 00:19:13.660 unique passage in the in the book of Acts where it talks about John's baptism again. 00:19:14.060 --> 00:19:16.900 But then you find out, you read a little further on. 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:19.800 That thought pops up again in verse two. 00:19:19.800 --> 00:19:26.820 It says, and he Paul said to them, the believers in Ephesians, the followers of the Lord in Ephesus, did you 00:19:26.820 --> 00:19:29.050 receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:30.650 Now that's an important statement. 00:19:30.860 --> 00:19:31.500 Alright. 00:19:31.580 --> 00:19:33.460 Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:38.740 I want you to take that thought for a minute and just lock it away because I'm going to come back to it, okay? 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:44.270 And they said, now, no, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit that's a problem. 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:47.840 And he said into what were you baptized? 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:51.160 And here it comes again, they said, into John's baptism. 00:19:52.120 --> 00:19:55.700 And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance. 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:56.800 That's important. 00:19:56.800 --> 00:19:57.720 He's qualifying. 00:19:57.720 --> 00:19:58.630 What kind of baptism? 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:03.470 John's baptism was telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:04.500 That is Jesus. 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:07.180 On hearing this, look at this. 00:20:07.340 --> 00:20:10.750 They were rebaptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 00:20:11.040 --> 00:20:12.400 I get asked that question a lot. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:13.360 Should I be rebaptized? 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:21.400 And let me just tell you let me just tell you in a very simplistic way, if your first baptism was messed up, then your second baptism 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:22.580 should happen, right? 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:24.280 And we'll talk about what that means in a minute. 00:20:24.280 --> 00:20:25.200 I'll break that down. 00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:27.520 But they get rebaptized. 00:20:27.540 --> 00:20:33.490 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:35.880 They were about 12 men in all. 00:20:36.100 --> 00:20:40.700 Now I want to explain, really, two big thoughts in this section of Scripture that are important for us. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:47.720 I want to talk about the significance of baptism, what that means, and then I want to talk about whatever this the Holy Spirit thoughts are in verse two and verse 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:54.430 six, because some people take some, some theological ideas from this section, and they run with it in some wild ways. 00:20:54.580 --> 00:20:57.800 And I just want us to walk truthfully in God's Word. 00:20:57.860 --> 00:21:01.080 So I want to explain a couple things to us in that. 00:21:01.260 --> 00:21:08.220 But when you look at baptism in this passage, you find that there's mentioned John's baptism and there's Jesus's baptism. 00:21:08.600 --> 00:21:15.760 And one of the things I have found people do with this passage is Paul is certainly saying that whatever John's baptism 00:21:15.760 --> 00:21:22.860 was, it is not as significant as what Jesus's baptism is and what Jesus's baptism 00:21:22.860 --> 00:21:24.420 represents for us. 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:29.300 And in seeing that some people will just blow by it, they'll be like, oh, well, there's John's baptism. 00:21:29.340 --> 00:21:32.040 But since since Jesus baptism is more important, who cares? 00:21:32.040 --> 00:21:34.460 Whatever John's baptism is a baptism of repentance. 00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:37.200 Let's just go to Jesus's baptism, right? 00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:41.380 And I think that is critical to understand Jesus, the baptism in Christ. 00:21:43.280 --> 00:21:50.380 But to just jump to that and move quickly past John's baptism, I think skip something incredible that 00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:54.680 John is teaching his followers in the first century. 00:21:55.100 --> 00:21:56.780 Now, by this point, John's dead. 00:21:57.320 --> 00:22:04.660 But I think it's important to understand what baptism is about in Scripture broadly, and then specifically what John's baptism is, 00:22:04.660 --> 00:22:07.600 and then more specifically Jesus's. 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:14.780 When you think about baptism in the Bible, the idea of baptism really begins from the beginning of Scripture meaning in the book of 00:22:14.780 --> 00:22:19.780 Genesis when God creates the earth, it tells us that the earth is covered without form and it's void. 00:22:19.860 --> 00:22:25.170 It's not living it's purpose, it's chaotic because all this water is covered it and out of the water. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:27.120 God brings order out of the chaos. 00:22:27.300 --> 00:22:31.950 God brings beauty, and there's land and there's creatures and humanity, the crown of his creation. 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:34.060 And so out of chaos, order. 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:41.260 And then as you start to read through the book of Genesis, you see the flood of Noah, and it's through the chaos of the waters that God saves the family 00:22:41.260 --> 00:22:43.300 of Noah, bringing them through. 00:22:43.360 --> 00:22:49.520 And then when you get to the book of Exodus, you find the children of Israel are enslaved in Egypt, and God sets them free. 00:22:49.520 --> 00:22:56.950 But the Egyptian army pursues after them, and they find themselves cornered at the Red sea, and they're crying out to the Lord. 00:22:57.080 --> 00:23:03.210 And God splits the waters, and they walk through the waters of baptism to the other side safely. 00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:08.940 And the Egyptian army tries to pursue them, and they're crushed by the power of God. 00:23:09.020 --> 00:23:14.320 And they're brought into what's called the years of wandering before they get to the Promised Land. 00:23:14.600 --> 00:23:21.980 And after 40 years of unfaithfulness, when that generation dies off, God allows the next generation to go into the Promised Land all 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:23.560 that God is promising them. 00:23:23.560 --> 00:23:24.930 And they come to the Jordan River. 00:23:25.520 --> 00:23:29.080 And again, God parts the river and they walk across. 00:23:29.780 --> 00:23:32.920 And then when you get to the New Testament, there's the baptism of John. 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.820 And after the baptism of John, there's the baptism of Jesus. 00:23:35.820 --> 00:23:41.720 Matthew 28 Jesus tells us, go into the world and baptize in the name of the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:50.360 Now when you look at baptism very broadly throughout the Bible, one of the things that it symbolizes for us is how God takes us 00:23:50.360 --> 00:23:57.910 from this place of chaos to this place of order, this place of darkness, to this place of light, this place of despair, 00:23:58.060 --> 00:24:00.120 to this place of hope and a future. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:07.660 It's very symbolic of what it means to leave behind the old life apart from the Lord, and walk in the new life because 00:24:07.660 --> 00:24:08.730 of the Lord. 00:24:09.600 --> 00:24:11.560 Now why does John baptize? 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:13.240 Interesting. 00:24:13.280 --> 00:24:15.640 It only happened for a unique period of time. 00:24:16.300 --> 00:24:20.290 And more specifically, we should ask the question why the Jordan River? 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:23.250 Like, why didn't John just pick the closest water? 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:25.450 Why did he have to go to the Jordan? 00:24:25.800 --> 00:24:31.280 And it was very significant for the children of Israel and the preparation of the Messiah. 00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:36.460 To understand why John was choosing to do what he was doing in this baptism of repentance. 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:44.980 When the children of Israel first crossed the Jordan River onto the side of the Promised Land, they left behind the slavery of Egypt, and 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:46.760 they're walking into the promises of God. 00:24:47.780 --> 00:24:53.280 If you read the Old Testament, what you discover is they never faithfully followed as a people. 00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:57.560 Now John knows the Messiah is coming. 00:24:59.340 --> 00:25:06.400 And what he's saying is, guys, we have fumbled and we have fallen all over ourselves, stepping into the promises God's 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:06.960 given us. 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:12.940 But now comes the moment we've all been waiting for and our hearts aren't ready. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:19.980 And so he calls people back to that very river as if to say, we're going to do it right. 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:24.340 We're going to surrender our hearts to who the Lord is. 00:25:25.540 --> 00:25:29.640 And look, this is very important that even in coming to a baptism of repentance. 00:25:29.860 --> 00:25:36.000 I want you to know that when it comes to baptism, baptism is not a religious work for your salvation. 00:25:36.060 --> 00:25:38.500 In fact, baptism does not save you. 00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:46.630 This is why even when John was going to the river of baptisms, when the religious leaders were coming to the waters to see what John was doing, 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:52.240 John was very critical to them, because it's not about this religious performance. 00:25:54.020 --> 00:26:00.860 It's about the posture of your heart before a holy God and whether or not your life is truly received him. 00:26:01.020 --> 00:26:08.520 One of the things that I love about the baptism of John is it reminds us, as individuals and even collectively, how 00:26:08.520 --> 00:26:11.220 we're just capable of messing up time and time again. 00:26:12.360 --> 00:26:19.520 But God always gives us a place to come back, to reset, to renew myself in the wealth of who he is because his 00:26:19.520 --> 00:26:21.100 mercies are new every morning. 00:26:21.340 --> 00:26:23.340 And that's why John's calling people to the river. 00:26:24.120 --> 00:26:25.060 Because we've messed up. 00:26:26.260 --> 00:26:27.860 But we need the Lord. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:32.340 And this is why, John said, prepare the way of the Lord. 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:32.980 Repent. 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:36.360 And in Matthew chapter three verse two, for the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:26:37.060 --> 00:26:43.360 This is why John said in John chapter one verse 27, I am not worthy to untie the laces of his sandals. 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:46.760 He wants us to understand the significance of who Christ is. 00:26:46.860 --> 00:26:53.860 And I would even say this for you and for me, that I think in our own faith journey, it is critical to have a place that we can look back to that 00:26:53.860 --> 00:26:59.840 we know was the moment that was going to define who we are in every step we took moving forward. 00:27:01.100 --> 00:27:04.580 And for John coming back to that Jordan River, that's what it represented. 00:27:04.600 --> 00:27:05.970 Like we got it wrong in the past. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:14.120 But for you this moment, this is going to be the marker of who you are in your identity in the Lord as 00:27:14.120 --> 00:27:16.150 your heart awaits for his arrival. 00:27:16.560 --> 00:27:21.870 So this repentance was just turning back to him to receive who Christ was. 00:27:22.260 --> 00:27:25.650 Now, when it comes to the New Testament and the baptism of Jesus. 00:27:25.820 --> 00:27:29.020 Again, I would reiterate baptism is not what saves you. 00:27:29.020 --> 00:27:32.640 In fact, it tells you in first Corinthians chapter one, Paul says it like this. 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:40.000 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:41.750 be emptied of its power. 00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:44.390 Here's what Paul's saying I came to preach the gospel. 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:45.890 The gospel is not baptism. 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:49.190 And the reason the gospel is not baptism is because the gospel is not what saves. 00:27:49.780 --> 00:27:56.960 And he tells you what saves at the very end because he says, if we emphasize this idea of baptism over the gospel, we lose sight 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:01.110 of what the power, where the power is truly found and it's through the cross of Christ. 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:09.160 Your salvation happens in the name of Jesus because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross, Jesus paid for you 00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:09.810 fully. 00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:11.200 So. 00:28:11.320 --> 00:28:16.970 So Paul is emphasizing the significance of the gospel and you receiving what Jesus has done on your behalf of the cross. 00:28:18.040 --> 00:28:21.220 Now, baptism has a beautiful place in this. 00:28:21.760 --> 00:28:26.730 What is the place of baptism if it's not for your salvation, but for the life of the believer. 00:28:27.020 --> 00:28:31.860 It's the public declaration of the salvation you've received in Christ. 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:35.840 It's your proclamation of your desire to follow him. 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:42.220 And it's symbolic of everything that Jesus has done for you and now your identity rooted in him. 00:28:43.120 --> 00:28:47.520 For us, it's representation of the covenant, the new covenant in Christ. 00:28:48.100 --> 00:28:55.160 It's similar to a Christian wedding day, like when two believers in Christ come together and their union 00:28:55.160 --> 00:29:01.160 in Jesus, they come in this covenant relationship of marriage. 00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:03.470 And when a marriage ceremony is performed. 00:29:03.620 --> 00:29:07.720 Look, that couple in their hearts have surrendered themselves to one another. 00:29:07.780 --> 00:29:14.850 But now publicly, they're helping and allowing other people to participate in the work that God has done in bringing them together. 00:29:16.020 --> 00:29:17.660 And so they share those vows of commitment. 00:29:19.360 --> 00:29:22.740 For Christian, a baptism is much like that wedding day. 00:29:23.380 --> 00:29:27.040 It's this public declaration and the beauty of what Jesus has done for us. 00:29:27.040 --> 00:29:29.130 In fact, in Romans chapter six. 00:29:29.300 --> 00:29:31.400 It describes for us that life in Christ. 00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:38.460 It says, do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his 00:29:38.460 --> 00:29:39.180 death? 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:46.280 We were buried there for with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of 00:29:46.280 --> 00:29:50.540 the father, we too might walk in the newness of life. 00:29:52.120 --> 00:29:59.160 I mean, the whole picture of baptism is you go into the water, your old self, and you go under the 00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:02.720 water and come out of the water, representing the new self that you have in Christ. 00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:05.340 That covenant in the Lord. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:13.080 So it's this public declaration of what God has done, really a defining moment of saying to the world, this is what I'm about. 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:21.550 And even more personal than that, it's this place of sacred worship between you and the Lord Saying, 00:30:22.420 --> 00:30:27.980 God, you belong to me and I belong to you. 00:30:29.300 --> 00:30:34.520 My life this day forward is about your glory being made known. 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:43.300 Now, some people may ask the question, I was baptized at certain points in my life, and it wasn't really this exact 00:30:43.300 --> 00:30:43.960 reason. 00:30:44.820 --> 00:30:45.560 Should I be rebaptized? 00:30:46.360 --> 00:30:47.140 And I would say yes. 00:30:49.340 --> 00:30:56.020 And the reason for that is sometimes we're taught that baptism is necessary in order to have salvation. 00:30:56.560 --> 00:30:58.280 Or sometimes you didn't even really have a choice. 00:30:58.280 --> 00:31:00.260 You were just told that's what you're supposed to do. 00:31:01.320 --> 00:31:07.810 But in Christianity, it's this free decision of saying, no, this is who I am, and this is what I want to be about. 00:31:08.740 --> 00:31:15.920 And so for us, it becomes the sacred place of worship among God's community to publicly profess our desire to want to follow Jesus, that 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:23.180 we would continue on that journey of transformation in Christ, that as God does his work in me, that God would also do his work 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:26.380 through me as I desire to honor him in this world. 00:31:28.100 --> 00:31:36.720 Life changing opportunity and identifying the need in surrendering to the transformation. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:42.900 And as Paul is sharing this with the church of Ephesus, he says something unique. 00:31:42.900 --> 00:31:50.060 And this is worth highlighting for us simply because I find people, people sometimes will read this and then do some strange things 00:31:50.060 --> 00:31:51.270 with it. 00:31:51.820 --> 00:31:53.560 And in verse two it says this. 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:55.480 Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? 00:31:56.940 --> 00:32:03.600 And then in verse six it says, But the Holy Spirit really comes upon them when Paul lays his hands on him. 00:32:04.300 --> 00:32:06.820 And we should ask the question like, which is it? 00:32:06.820 --> 00:32:13.080 Like, do you get the Holy Spirit when you believe, or do you get the Holy Spirit when someone lays hands on you? 00:32:13.800 --> 00:32:17.820 And I want you to know that this is a narrative in the Bible. 00:32:17.840 --> 00:32:18.560 Right? 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:25.040 And it's different than, say, like you read a New Testament epistle, new Testament epistle is really laying out for the church. 00:32:25.040 --> 00:32:29.570 This is what it looks like, and this is what you should do in following Jesus in a narrative. 00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:32.380 Sometimes they're just sharing with us the story and it's not telling you. 00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:34.420 And this is what you're supposed to repeat. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:42.200 Because if you look at verse two and verse six, you might think, well, it's telling me to do two different things like I believe and get the spirit or 00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:43.400 hands on me and get the spirit. 00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:44.510 Which is it? 00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:51.300 What I want you to know in the book of Acts, three times in Acts, there's something unique that happens in Acts chapter eight. 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:53.400 This is in your notes, by the way. 00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:55.770 If you if you got a paper note, it's in the box at the bottom. 00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:59.930 If you if you've got that and it's just listed in point number two if you've got the digital notes. 00:33:00.620 --> 00:33:05.120 But in Acts chapter eight, Acts chapter ten, in Acts chapter 19, something unique happens. 00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:09.280 And the unique thing that happens is that there's a delay in the Holy Spirit coming on. 00:33:09.360 --> 00:33:09.460 People. 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:11.690 The question we should ask is why? 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:13.500 Why is that delay there? 00:33:13.500 --> 00:33:19.700 Well, if you look in Acts chapter eight, it's because the Holy Spirit is coming to the Samaritans and for the Jewish people. 00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:22.440 They were suspect of the Samaritans and their mind. 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:25.970 They would be wondering, can the Samaritans really receive the Holy Spirit? 00:33:26.800 --> 00:33:29.890 And then in Acts chapter ten, it was the same thing, but this time it's the Gentiles. 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:36.140 And as the Jewish people were ministering among the Gentiles, they're going to ask the question, Can the Holy Spirit really come upon the Gentiles? 00:33:37.140 --> 00:33:43.380 And now in Ephesus, you've got this unique little church that's been formed under the baptism of John. 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:49.180 It's like its own own little sect of somewhat following the Lord, but not truly Christian yet. 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:49.860 And it's understanding. 00:33:51.380 --> 00:33:53.530 And then there's the delay in the coming of the Holy Spirit. 00:33:53.820 --> 00:33:55.040 Now, why is there a delay? 00:33:55.440 --> 00:33:56.560 And is this the norm? 00:33:57.760 --> 00:33:59.140 And I would say it's not. 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:05.460 And let me just tell you the reason that there's a delay in the coming of the spirit in Acts chapter eight. 00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:05.880 Acts chapter ten. 00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:14.460 Acts chapter 19 is because the intention of it is to unite God's people as one church in 00:34:14.460 --> 00:34:15.210 Samaria. 00:34:15.620 --> 00:34:22.699 If the if the Holy Spirit just instantly came upon the Samaritans, then the church could have been left thinking, well, there's the church in Jerusalem for 00:34:22.699 --> 00:34:23.300 the Jews. 00:34:23.600 --> 00:34:25.650 And then there's the church in Samaria for the Samaritans. 00:34:26.840 --> 00:34:28.900 And we're kind of a separate group of people. 00:34:29.560 --> 00:34:35.780 But when the apostles went into Samaria, seeing they received Jesus, they laid hands on him, and the Holy Spirit came upon him. 00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:40.330 And because the apostles were there participating in that, it's showing a unified church. 00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:41.980 Acts chapter ten. 00:34:41.980 --> 00:34:42.460 With the Gentiles. 00:34:42.739 --> 00:34:46.880 It was the same thing rather than a Gentile church and a Jewish church. 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:48.330 It's one church in Jesus. 00:34:49.380 --> 00:34:52.840 And now in Acts chapter 19, it's the same thing again. 00:34:53.760 --> 00:34:56.280 Here's this group of John the Baptist people. 00:34:57.540 --> 00:35:05.160 And now the apostles come in and he's showing them that this is one church in the Lord together, serving him. 00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:10.890 Now, the reason I say all that is so that when you read verse two and he asks the question, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? 00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:14.410 I want you to know that is how the Spirit of God works. 00:35:14.560 --> 00:35:21.840 In fact, when you look throughout the New Testament and the role of the Holy Spirit, it tells you as a believer, the moment you trust in Jesus, there 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:25.270 are things promised to you by the power of the spirit that you receive instantly. 00:35:26.420 --> 00:35:28.520 You're immediately baptized in the spirit. 00:35:28.520 --> 00:35:31.290 Anyone that's in Christ is baptized in the body of Christ. 00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:32.220 You belong to him. 00:35:32.240 --> 00:35:38.690 That word baptized literally means immersed when you read it in the New Testament, sometimes you ask the question, is this talking about water baptism? 00:35:39.020 --> 00:35:40.810 Or is this talking about the spirit baptism? 00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:46.630 Because the word baptism just simply means immersed and the context matters as to what we're talking about. 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:50.500 So don't just assume you read the word baptism, you're talking about getting dunked in water. 00:35:50.940 --> 00:35:53.920 But it could literally be the Holy Spirit coming into your life. 00:35:54.360 --> 00:35:56.840 And then it tells you that the spirit indwells you. 00:35:56.840 --> 00:35:59.320 It makes its home in you, which is saying to you. 00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:04.020 This is why as Christians, we don't build temples because you've become the temple wherever you go. 00:36:04.020 --> 00:36:05.810 That's where the presence of God is. 00:36:05.960 --> 00:36:10.740 And not only that, you're sealed in that spirit, meaning you belong to the Lord forever. 00:36:11.160 --> 00:36:12.880 Now some people, sometimes people ask me a question. 00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:15.060 Well, I just said, did I just lose my salvation? 00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:20.270 And I would just tell you, that's not possible because you're sealed in the spirit to your day of redemption. 00:36:21.060 --> 00:36:24.690 Look, I would even ask maybe further, did you do anything to earn your salvation? 00:36:25.560 --> 00:36:25.860 No. 00:36:26.760 --> 00:36:29.230 Then do you expect that you're going to do anything to keep your salvation? 00:36:30.770 --> 00:36:31.220 No. 00:36:32.380 --> 00:36:33.800 It rests in the hands of the Lord. 00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:37.740 Now, that doesn't mean you go and dishonor God, but it rests in the hands of the Lord. 00:36:37.820 --> 00:36:38.240 You're sealed. 00:36:38.240 --> 00:36:39.020 You belong to him. 00:36:39.040 --> 00:36:40.120 You're adopted. 00:36:40.120 --> 00:36:41.770 It tells you, and you're regenerated. 00:36:41.940 --> 00:36:42.770 You have new life. 00:36:43.020 --> 00:36:48.860 And then there's certain works of the spirit that I think are important to understand, that do impact us in an ongoing way. 00:36:49.660 --> 00:36:56.800 Meaning, the Bible commands you as believers to be filled with the spirit, and the reason it commands you is because we're not always filled with the 00:36:56.800 --> 00:36:57.280 spirit. 00:36:58.140 --> 00:37:01.240 You ever been out with one of your friends, and if it has, you don't have to tell me this. 00:37:01.240 --> 00:37:01.920 I don't want to know. 00:37:02.180 --> 00:37:09.220 But they call themselves Christian, and then the next thing they do is like one of the most embarrassing public things you've ever seen a Christian say that they do after they call themselves 00:37:09.220 --> 00:37:09.620 Christians. 00:37:10.080 --> 00:37:12.220 And you're like, oh my gosh, stop telling people this, right? 00:37:12.300 --> 00:37:13.360 Like, this is not good. 00:37:13.420 --> 00:37:15.840 I don't want I don't I don't want to be associated with. 00:37:16.020 --> 00:37:17.360 This is embarrassing, right. 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:19.610 You would say that is not being filled with the spirit. 00:37:20.240 --> 00:37:24.200 And so God calls us as people to be filled with the spirit. 00:37:24.700 --> 00:37:27.890 I know that no one here at ABC has ever done that, by the way, so that's good. 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:30.620 Unless it's in traffic, then it's forgiven. 00:37:31.710 --> 00:37:33.870 We're called not to be filled with the spirit. 00:37:33.940 --> 00:37:35.020 Don't quench the spirit. 00:37:35.020 --> 00:37:38.580 Meaning the Spirit of God wants to work in your life or to walk in the spirit. 00:37:38.620 --> 00:37:40.780 This is again about being surrendered to the spirit. 00:37:40.920 --> 00:37:42.060 Don't grieve the spirit. 00:37:42.060 --> 00:37:47.170 And this is this is living contrary to how the Holy Spirit wants to work in our lives. 00:37:48.200 --> 00:37:50.920 God desires to do the transforming work in us. 00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:54.220 Some of it he does instantly as we're in him. 00:37:55.160 --> 00:37:59.420 And then there's parts of our lives we continue to learn and grow as we surrender to him. 00:37:59.880 --> 00:38:01.590 So that number three, let me give you the last point. 00:38:03.060 --> 00:38:04.200 We can get involved. 00:38:06.280 --> 00:38:07.690 We can get involved. 00:38:09.400 --> 00:38:11.880 I gotta say this quickly because we're going to run out of time. 00:38:12.020 --> 00:38:15.250 But if I just kind of encapsulate this idea, I would say it like this. 00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:23.460 Love always moves to responsibility because love 00:38:23.460 --> 00:38:25.020 is a verb. 00:38:27.680 --> 00:38:33.020 Sometimes as Christians, we can sit on the sidelines and claim, well, we're just keep keeping peace. 00:38:34.200 --> 00:38:40.400 But can I just tell you, keeping peace can sometimes be a lame excuse of remaining passive. 00:38:42.040 --> 00:38:49.240 There is some wisdom sometimes in discerning how to best engage, but God has called us to be 00:38:49.240 --> 00:38:55.000 strong in him, to not fear in him, to be bold in him. 00:38:55.920 --> 00:39:03.000 And this is why the Apostle Paul is going on these journeys, not because his eyes are on the world, but because his 00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:04.410 eyes are on the Lord. 00:39:05.340 --> 00:39:12.620 And with Apollos and Paul, if I just parallel these passages together in Acts chapter 18, it says, and when Paul, when he Apollos, wished 00:39:12.620 --> 00:39:18.360 to cross to Achaea, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him and the body of Christ. 00:39:18.360 --> 00:39:24.440 Just inspired by that, when we arrived, we greatly help those who through grace had believed. 00:39:24.440 --> 00:39:29.990 For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. 00:39:30.560 --> 00:39:31.280 So here's Paul. 00:39:31.280 --> 00:39:32.280 He's going to the region of Achaea. 00:39:32.500 --> 00:39:33.900 He's ministering in the city of Corinth. 00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:40.960 And he's involved because he wants to see the work of God going around the world, even for the Apostle Paul. 00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:47.280 It says in verse eight, he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 00:39:48.180 --> 00:39:55.240 But when some became stubborn and continued unbelief, speaking evil of the way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took 00:39:55.240 --> 00:39:59.830 the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus in verse ten. 00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:07.700 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks, 00:40:08.360 --> 00:40:10.040 and think how incredible this is. 00:40:11.180 --> 00:40:17.440 The entire region of Asia, which at this point was in the continent, it was a province, but all of that region. 00:40:18.300 --> 00:40:19.720 Here's the gospel. 00:40:20.580 --> 00:40:22.460 This church is ignited for the Lord. 00:40:22.500 --> 00:40:27.270 In fact, if you ask me, man, what was what was the most influential church in the first century? 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:33.190 It certainly Jerusalem was an influential church, certainly Antioch of Syria, because they sent the Apostle Paul a missionary journeys. 00:40:33.940 --> 00:40:39.810 But I think by the mid to the end of the first century, the most influential church in all of the New Testament was the church of Ephesus. 00:40:40.780 --> 00:40:42.590 This is where the Apostle John was. 00:40:43.140 --> 00:40:46.600 This is where Jesus's mother is said to have ended her days. 00:40:46.900 --> 00:40:54.020 This is where Paul writes to Timothy, who was pastoring this church here, a lot of, I'll 00:40:54.020 --> 00:40:56.350 say, heavy hitters for the sake of the gospel. 00:40:56.580 --> 00:41:02.060 We're in the city of Ephesus and the church of Ephesus, very influential in this area of the world. 00:41:03.780 --> 00:41:04.260 Why? 00:41:05.820 --> 00:41:07.040 Because they weren't ashamed of their god. 00:41:08.500 --> 00:41:12.880 And they knew the God that they believed in was far greater than any problem this world would throw at them. 00:41:13.700 --> 00:41:13.800 Which? 00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:15.010 Which leads me to this. 00:41:16.220 --> 00:41:23.280 If you've ever read Chronicles of Narnia, one particular story, The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe, I realizing I was going 00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:30.320 to share this story, I kept laughing in my head because I have to tell you that in this, there's this particular moment in the story where the children are 00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:32.700 talking to animals, which feels weird to say out loud. 00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:34.710 Here we are as adults talking about kids talking to animals. 00:41:35.160 --> 00:41:37.960 But the children were talking to Mr. 00:41:37.980 --> 00:41:38.360 and Mrs. 00:41:38.360 --> 00:41:46.060 Beaver in this story, and they asked an interesting question, because they've heard that there's one who promises them great things, 00:41:46.700 --> 00:41:48.940 and they find out that this one is a lion. 00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:53.890 And one of the girls asks the question, is he safe? 00:41:55.880 --> 00:41:56.510 Is he safe? 00:41:57.420 --> 00:42:03.050 Because they know automatically if they're going to meet this lion who's promising great things, that this lion is also powerful. 00:42:04.600 --> 00:42:06.400 And if you ever thought about meeting a lion. 00:42:07.040 --> 00:42:12.200 Someone told you one of the first things you're going to wonder is, are you so sure that I can meet this lion? 00:42:12.300 --> 00:42:12.960 I'm meeting him. 00:42:12.960 --> 00:42:13.940 Hungry or full? 00:42:13.940 --> 00:42:14.860 Which one is this? 00:42:14.860 --> 00:42:15.360 Right. 00:42:15.380 --> 00:42:16.440 That's what she wants to know. 00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:16.660 And? 00:42:17.120 --> 00:42:18.580 And the animals respond this way. 00:42:18.580 --> 00:42:19.290 They said safe. 00:42:20.560 --> 00:42:22.000 Who said anything about safe? 00:42:23.140 --> 00:42:24.260 Of course he isn't safe. 00:42:25.220 --> 00:42:25.840 But he's good. 00:42:26.600 --> 00:42:27.700 He's the king, I tell you guys. 00:42:29.620 --> 00:42:37.080 Can I tell you more than anything in this world, a God that we need is not a God who's safe, but 00:42:37.080 --> 00:42:41.980 a God who's great, and a God who's good and a God who's powerful. 00:42:43.640 --> 00:42:44.840 And that is the God you follow. 00:42:46.120 --> 00:42:52.080 And when our lives rest in him, we move as people of tremendous hope because of who Christ is.