Strengthening The Church

[0:00] Welcome and thank you for joining this message by David Entry at Carish Church. In this season of great awakening, may God pour out his spirit through his word, refreshing your heart and awakening you to his will.

[0:15] Let's turn our Bibles to Acts chapter 20 from verse 1. It says that, And after the apostles, Paul called unto him the disciples and embraced them and departed for to go into Macedonia.

[0:28] And when he had gone over those paths and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece. And there are both three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

[0:46] And there accompanied him into Asia, Sopata of Berea and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus. And Gaius of Debbie and Timothaius.

[0:59] And of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of our living bread and came unto them at Troas in five days, where we abode seven days.

[1:20] And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart the morrow and continue his speech until midnight.

[1:33] And there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together. And there sat in the window a certain man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep.

[1:50] And as Paul was long preaching, he sank down with sleep and fell down from the third loft and was taken up dead.

[2:03] And Paul went down and fell on him and embracing himself, trouble not thyself for his life is in him. When he therefore was gone up again and had broken bread and eaten and talked a long while, even till break of day, So he departed and they brought the young man alive and were not a little comforted.

[2:29] And we went before to ship and sailed on to Asos. There intending to take in Paul, for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.

[2:46] And when he met with us at Asos, we took him in and came to Metale. And we sailed then and came the next day over against Chios.

[3:01] And the next day we arrived at Sermos and tarried at Trigolion. And the next day we came to Meletus.

[3:15] For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus because he would not spend the time in Asia. For he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

[3:32] Here ends the reading of God's word. Father, what we don't know teach us, who we are not make us, where we are not take us. To the glory of your name in Jesus' name.

[3:45] Amen. Please put your hands together. We are now in Acts chapter 20. We saw in Acts chapter 19 how the mob were inspired by Demetrius and the craftsmen.

[4:07] They rose up against Paul because, not because they didn't like the gospel, but the effect of the gospel was having an economic impact on them.

[4:17] So, their economic interest made them call a gathering and started a revolt against Paul. Now, in chapter 20, verse 1 says that after the uproar was seized.

[4:36] You know, the uproar was seized by the governor, city clerk, who spoke to them and encouraged them that, you know, Ephesus is a great place and no one can dispute that.

[4:50] The 35th of chapter 19, and when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, ye men of Ephesus. Everybody knows that, you know.

[5:00] Ephesus is a worshipper of Diana. Verse 40 says that, And when he had that spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

[5:21] So, when the assembly was dismissed and the uproar was seized, the chapter 20, Paul decided to leave. So, Paul called unto him the disciples and embraced them.

[5:34] That tells you the fraternity. This is koinonia, the brotherly love that existed between him and the disciples. And embraced them and departed to go into Macedonia.

[5:48] This is what is called the missionary journey. Paul was always traveling from one place to the other place. And interesting, the author of Acts, the one who wrote Acts, you remember his name?

[5:59] Dr. Luke. Is that the only book he wrote? He wrote another book, isn't he? What was the other book? Luke. So, Luke wrote the gospel according to Luke, and then he penned the book of Acts of the apostles.

[6:17] And it's interesting, in between his two books was sandwiched a book called John. About the heavenly reality and the heavenly life of Jesus. The nature of Jesus.

[6:29] The heavenly person who was living amongst us. So, Luke, there seemed to be some parallels in his both narratives. His gospel narratives and Acts narrative.

[6:41] Because in all the beginning parts of the gospel of Luke, you see a young lady called Mary making an appearance. And he was the only one who also mentioned Mary again after the gospels.

[6:57] In Acts chapter 1, there was a mention of Mary. And then he didn't just mention Mary. He mentions the Holy Ghost coming down on Jesus. Then you can see the parable of the Holy Ghost coming down in the book of Acts.

[7:10] Then he mentioned how they preached the gospel and the gospel was gaining traction everywhere. Same thing. Jesus preached. They preached. And then miracles followed the preaching of the gospels.

[7:24] In Jesus' days, miracles followed the preaching of the gospel in the apostolic times. And then opposition by religious leaders against Jesus.

[7:35] And then opposition by religious leaders against the church. As they preach. See the parallels.

[7:46] But what is interesting is that his style of writing, he starts recording months. And towards the end, he starts recording weeks. Then days.

[7:57] After the book of Mark, it was very interesting. Mark was years and then months and quickly to days. But in the same way, so when you look at the book of Acts very carefully, you can see that it was slowing down to days in the time of Paul.

[8:11] And then we saw last week that Paul was purposed. Chapter 19, verse 21. He says that when these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit.

[8:24] Purposed in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem. No one could stop him from going to Jerusalem. There were prophecies that there's a problem coming in Jerusalem.

[8:37] But he wasn't. So he had purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem. Was it not the same thing happened that Jesus? Paul knew that he's going to Jerusalem. And possibly when he goes, he won't come back again.

[8:50] Jesus knew he was going to Jerusalem. And the persecution would be greatest. And he might never come back again. Physically. See there. But the slight difference is that in the book of Acts, he stops short of talking about the death.

[9:06] Even though he spoke about the death of Jesus Christ. The burial and resurrection. Because Jesus Christ gave us an example, but not in his death.

[9:17] So we are not necessarily supposed to die for the producing of the church. We can die for the building or continuity of the church.

[9:30] But not for the producing. So Jesus' death was so unique that no human being. Paul said that he left some of the suffering for me. To continue. In Colossians chapter 1 verse 24.

[9:42] So he said, I bear in my body. He says that for now I rejoice in my sufferings for you. And fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.

[9:55] That means Christ didn't finish it. For the sake of the body which is the church. So he said, Christ suffered but he left some of the suffering for us. To suffer for the church.

[10:06] The only way we cannot suffer like Christ is to die to produce the church. Or die for redemption. His death was for redemption. So when you look at Acts, he didn't focus on the death.

[10:20] He didn't end with the death of Paul or the death of Peter. Paul's life, he was, Acts ended with how he was a prisoner. And he was suffering.

[10:30] But you see the parallels by this Dr. Luke. He was very structured in his way of thinking. And then we come to Acts chapter 20. And then the missionary journeys continue.

[10:42] And you see how Paul, after he had the uproar in Ephesus. Paul really had a hat for Ephesus. Because God had a hat for Ephesus.

[10:55] He left Ephesus. Now in chapter 20 is a very interesting chapter. Because it's divided into two. The first half focuses primarily on Paul's travels.

[11:07] And then the second half focuses primarily on Paul's talk. So in chapter 20 from verse 1 to verse 16 is Paul's travels.

[11:18] You see him traveling. Then from 17 to the end is Paul's talk. He was just talking. He was just, because he had a lot to say before he went to die. Because he left them.

[11:29] So let's look at it again. And after the uproar was seized, Paul called on to him the disciples and embraced them. And departed to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those paths and had given them much exaltation, he came into Greece.

[11:50] Did you see? So these two verses, theologians believe, span a period of two years. So sometimes you might see verse back to back and you may think it's just yesterday and today. No, these two verses span a period of two years.

[12:04] He was just traveling and he went to all those little, little places and cities he's preached. And what was he doing? He was giving them much exaltation. He charged them, encouraged them.

[12:17] And according to, I think, chapter 14, verse 21 or so, he said, verse 22, With purpose of heart they should serve God. He charged them. He says that confirming the source of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith.

[12:33] And that they must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom. He exalted them. And in one of the places he charged them that with purpose of heart they should continue.

[12:44] Because it takes a certain level of determination to serve God. I was preaching somewhere yesterday and I was telling them, godliness doesn't come naturally. Growth.

[12:56] And as you grow in life, you know, once upon a time, some of you are not aware, but you were a baby. Now you see, we think, oh, pastor has never been a baby.

[13:08] I was. We were, but we grow. And sometimes, you know, when it comes to natural growth, you don't have to do anything. Just live.

[13:19] Eat. Live. And you'll be growing. It comes automatically. But not the same with spiritual growth. Spiritual growth does not come automatically.

[13:30] Spiritual growth. So there are people who are 10 years old in the Lord, being born again for 10 years old. And in the spirit, they are still wearing pampers. In the spirit, they are babies.

[13:47] So the fact that you've been in church long does not necessarily mean you are growing or you've matured. Because spiritual maturity doesn't come with longevity.

[14:00] It comes with intentional application of self. You have to apply yourself. Last week, I mentioned ways for spiritual growth.

[14:13] What the core elements that guarantee spiritual growth. I mentioned it last week. And I'll mention it again today. Number one is your word intake. Feeding on God's word.

[14:25] Not only listening to preaching. You must take the responsibility to read. But some people only play. They will play it. And they say, I've read it.

[14:36] There's a difference between reading and playing. Is there anything wrong with playing? No. But it's better to read. Read. Read your Bible. Pray every day.

[14:48] All right. A little boy years ago in their home saw the Bible lying on a console table. Kind of next to the stairs.

[14:59] He's been lying there for a while. So he took the book and he said, Mommy, what book is this? Mommy said, oh, that's God's book. It's God's book. He said, okay. Then after a few weeks, came to Mommy.

[15:11] He said, Mommy, God's book. If we are not using it, why don't you give it back to him? Let's give God's book because we are not using it.

[15:23] Let's give it back to him. So, this is so important. Some people might think it's old-fashioned.

[15:34] Isn't eating, drinking, making babies old-fashioned? Isn't breathing through your nose old-fashioned? There are some things you can't change about life.

[15:47] That's how nature works. It's the same. So, Christian growth, the means for Christian development and Christian growth will never change.

[16:02] Like last week, I said, stop only staying at home when you can go to a place of fellowship. It's never been normal for somebody to absent himself from the gathering of the believers and expect to grow.

[16:18] It doesn't matter how much online teaching you are watching. In the absence of fellowship, you cannot grow. The Bible says that he called the disciples and embraced them.

[16:30] How can you embrace somebody online? We thank God for online teachings and online ministries and ability to watch online because some might be at work at the moment. But it is not complete.

[16:43] It's not complete. So, it doesn't matter how much preaching you are listening to. You must have a personal relationship with your Bible, Christian. You must have a personal relationship with your Bible.

[16:57] Pastor, when I read, I don't understand. Don't worry about what you don't understand. Be concerned about what you understand. What you understand. That's more important. So, reading your Bible.

[17:08] Praying. I'm not talking about corporate prayer. It's necessary. There's that part of Christian life. But also, the private prayer. The private prayer.

[17:20] Before you begin to comment recklessly about what somebody is doing or what a certain church is doing or what someone, a minister is doing in the church. Before you comment recklessly, make sure you are praying.

[17:35] Pray to get your spirit uplifted to where you can think spiritual sense. Else, you will end up being a Pharisee and destroying the work of God. Even though you might have legitimate reasons like Demetrius.

[17:49] So, reading your Bible, personal prayer, fellowship, which I've spoken about, fellowship with the brethren. And, seven, serve other believers. Serve other believers.

[18:01] It helps you to grow spiritually. Praise the Lord. And so, spiritual growth doesn't come naturally. It comes through application.

[18:12] It comes intentionally. It comes through worship. This is very, another core word that you need to remember when it comes to spiritual growth is consistency.

[18:25] Doing something consistent. You see the way your heart operates. You see the way your intestines operate. You see the way the body operates. Somebody was asked, Billy Sandy is a great revivalist.

[18:38] So, he was asked, why is it that you keep doing revival in different places you go, but people keep backsliding after they come to Christ. Some people will backslide. And so, it's like, is there a point in doing this revival, starting fires, starting fires?

[18:54] He said, you bath, but you don't bath once, do you? You have to keep bathing. Even though you've bathed, you have to keep bathing. Tomorrow, you'll bath.

[19:05] Many of us, today, when we get back home, we'll bath and then wash their makeup. We'll bath. We'll bath. Consistency.

[19:17] I realize anybody God has used mightily has been consistent in doing something. Don't forget that. Anybody God has ever used mightily has been consistent in doing something right, which enhances their relationship with God.

[19:34] Now, they've also been, if you stay consistent in doing what is right, the advantage is God gets to use you consistently.

[19:47] Did you understand that? God uses you consistently if you keep doing what is right consistently. One of the weaknesses of our modern generation is being flaky, being inconstant, being undependable.

[20:07] We oscillate. We are like the waves, a ball in the waves. We drift so quickly because we are inundated and bombarded with so many things every day.

[20:18] Somebody is here right now listening. Their emails notification keeps coming. So, that's why it's good to read your Bible from your Bible.

[20:30] Because you won't get any notification apart from spiritual notification. If you are reading from a tablet, you know, to all good intents and purposes, sometimes notifications and distractions.

[20:44] How many of you have ever taken your tablet to go and read something and you ended up somewhere else? So, it's necessary. Spiritual development does not come automatically. Please remember.

[20:56] And this is another point I want to make. Understanding the Bible. Watch this. This is so important. Understanding God's word doesn't come unilaterally.

[21:07] What do I mean by unilaterally? Just by yourself. Staying somewhere and just reading the Bible. You understand everything from the day you go born again. Reading it yourself. No. No. You have to read it.

[21:18] But that's why we listen to preaching. So, my job really, every sound pastor's job is to help people understand the Bible. By he himself taking time to study. Taking time to study.

[21:30] So, then if you sit down to study, you can stand to speak. Because you don't speak because you have to speak. You speak because you have something to say.

[21:43] It's very important. So, you study the word as a believer and read what others have said. There are all kinds of people who will purport all opinions and ideologies.

[21:55] But as you are groomed in sound doctrine, you'll be able to easily fish out. I said at that time, one of the signs of spiritual maturity is you notice some people you can't listen to.

[22:06] Because they are wasting your time. It's a sign. When you are growing, you can't listen to everybody. When you are growing, you can't listen to a lot of things. And a lot of everybody.

[22:16] It's a sign that somebody is growing. But you can't know God's word simply because you want to know God's word. I was teaching someone yesterday. I told them, stop depending on your good will alone to do God's work.

[22:28] Your good will and good intentions are not powerful enough to sustain your children's work. You'll be good intentions by the time you realize you are somewhere else.

[22:40] You are off. So, it takes spiritual maturity. Strengthen yourself spiritually. Be in alliance and agreement, in association, in fellowship with people of like-mindedness.

[22:52] Like-minded people. In 2 Timothy 2, verse 22, it says, Flee youthful last. But follow after. It says, flee also youthful. But pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with all those who call.

[23:06] You see, there are some people you can't do it with. You can't do it with everybody. With all those who call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart. You will tell when somebody is doing this thing from a pure heart.

[23:19] And Bible said, serve God. Pursue God. Pursue Godly things with such people. So, sometimes you must be intentional in separating yourself from certain people who don't have a positive impact on your Christian work.

[23:35] That's what is accounting for your inconsistency. Your lack of healthy association will account for your inconsistency. And your inconsistency will account for the lack of oil that is on your life.

[23:47] So, back to the text. I've said a lot. So, Paul embraced them and exhorting them went to Greece. Why was he exhorting them? For spiritual maturity for them to grow. Verse 3 says that, and there are both three months.

[24:00] And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. Now, look at, you see chapter 19 verse 21 says that Paul, purpose in the spirit.

[24:15] Purpose in the spirit. And as we all know, which means that it wasn't just a mental exercise, but it was from a spiritual place. I believe he was praying.

[24:28] As he prayed, he knew in his spirit. Things that come from the spirit, you feel a bit more confident about them when you are in a time of prayer.

[24:39] When you are in a time of reading your Bible and fellowship, healthy spiritual fellowship. So, sometimes you've seen a potential spouse. Two of them. You are not sure which one you should choose.

[24:50] Where you should go. And they are all equally good. But you can't get both. You need one. So, now, which one should I go for?

[25:04] Sometimes, in the place of prayer, it gets clearer and clearer. You have clarity in your spirit. You might not hear a voice. Son, oh, my daughter, oh, my daughter.

[25:15] Stop looking for voices. Demons will speak to you. Yeah. Demons, and you might even start another religion or cult. Many cults and religions are started by somebody alone hearing a voice from a spirit.

[25:32] Hearing a voice. That's why the scripture was not produced by one person. Over 40 authors spanning a space of 1,400 years. Some of them never met each other.

[25:42] Living different, different backgrounds. But they spoke and it was one. No, that cannot be the work of man. That cannot be the work of man. Even Jesus' story, four people have to record it.

[25:54] Four, four, four. So, no one person can claim, ask for me, I heard this specially. And that's it. You end up being authoritarian. You end up controlling people because of what you believe you have seen.

[26:05] So, you have to be very careful of people who are always using the spirit said. The spirit has been told. Does that mean the spirit doesn't speak? He speaks and you should be listening. He bears witness with our spirits.

[26:17] The Bible says that Paul was purposed in his spirit. He didn't say the spirit said. He was purposed. But that was from a spiritual place. From an intensely spiritual place.

[26:29] But when you look at the verse 3 of chapter 20, it says that he purposed to return. That wasn't from the spirit. It was from reasoning. There are people waiting to kill you.

[26:41] Does the spirit have to tell you? God gave us our brains and expects us to use it. God gave you brains. He actually expects you to use it.

[26:51] He doesn't have to tell you everything. Am I complicated? So, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed.

[27:03] Okay. It was there for three. And then when the Jews laid wait for him. What does that mean? They wanted to kill you? They were laying in corners waiting.

[27:15] He found out. He found out. He got the intelligence. Yes. That they want to kill you. So, Paul said, no, no, no, no, no. Instead of sailing to Syria, sailing that way, I'm going to go back into Macedonia.

[27:31] So, he did a reverse trip. Originally, he was going to Syria. Then from there, he needed to go to Jerusalem. So, he was all the way in Achaia, Athens.

[27:43] And he was set to go to Jerusalem. And so, the right way is to go straight into Syria because there were ships. That would take people because of Passover and the ships for tourists.

[27:59] So, he was going to go there. But he found out that maybe they are on some of the ships waiting to kill him and throw him off board. So, he went back to Macedonia. So, we have Berea there.

[28:10] We have Amphipolis there. We have Apollonia there. We have Thessalonica there. We have Philippi. We have Neapolis. All those territories. You remember? So, he decided instead of going straight to Syria, because of his life, he purposed to go back.

[28:28] All right. Now, let's look at the text again. So, the text says that he purposed to return through Macedonia. Now, verse 4 says, These are people who were already following him as he traveled.

[28:50] Because remember, he'd been to Berea. All these names that were made. He went to Thessalonica from there. When they attacked him from there, he went to Berea. And then, he tried. And then, he went to Athens from Berea.

[29:05] He went to Acts chapter 16 and 17. So, everywhere he went, the disciples, he had some serious guys who also decided, We want to join your team.

[29:16] So, for instance, Timothy. Timothy was from Debbie. In Acts chapter 16, verse 1. He went to Debbie. That's where he found Timothy. So, he came to Debbie and Lystra.

[29:27] And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothius. So, it says that these guys also followed him. Looking at verse 4 again. And they accompanied him into Syria, Sopita of Berea, and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus.

[29:43] Actually, Secundus. Let me comment on Secundus. Secundus is a name, not a proper name, but he was his name. It means second. It means two.

[29:54] That tells you he was a slave. You know, slaves, those days, they just give you number. You know, when you watch some of these movies, prison or number, prisoner number 872.

[30:07] Yeah, so he was slave number two for his master. And that became his name, Secundus. He is not even complaining. He is still serving God.

[30:21] It was just your mother who was not in church and you're upset. We all come from all kinds of backgrounds. No background is strong enough to justify your unseriousness in Christ.

[30:37] No background. When you are a child of God and you are born again, something about the weight of God tends to do something to you. That you don't see what the naysayers and the skeptics see.

[30:51] When you read the Bible, you see God. You feast. How many of you have experienced that? Sometimes you are reading, this thing is so good. Sometimes you don't want to even stop reading. It's so good. Hallelujah.

[31:02] Hallelujah. So Secundus had a very interesting past and background. And then we have Secundus and Gaius of Debbie and Timothaius. So Debbie had two guys, Gaius and Timothaius.

[31:15] That's Timothy, the same as Timothy. And of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. They were all part of Paul's traveling team. And watch something that happened in the next verse. These going before, tarried for us.

[31:33] Luke has joined. So they went and waited in Troas. These guys, they went ahead because Paul wanted to go through these other places.

[31:46] So from Athens, he asked them to go ahead. His team, they went ahead. But Luke was still with Paul. Luke, the author, said, us. There are times you realize he didn't add himself.

[31:57] This time he has joined the team again. He's added himself. So Luke says that these going before, tarried for us in Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unliving bread.

[32:12] And came unto them to Troas in five days. So we came to meet them in Troas. Troas is a very interesting place. You remember Troas?

[32:24] In Acts chapter 16, they were trying to preach. When the second missionary journey started, after chapter 15 talks about how Paul and Barnabas split.

[32:35] They went their separate way. The end of chapter 15, verse 40, says that Paul took Silas and being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. Now the next verse. The next verse says that, and they went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

[32:51] Did you see what Paul has been doing? Wherever he's preaching, he keeps going there and strengthening it. Then look at the next verse, chapter 16. The next verse. The next verse says that, and they came to Debbie and Lystra. So from Antioch, they went confirming the churches in Syria and Cilicia.

[33:06] And then they came to Debbie and Lystra. And then from Debbie and Lystra in the verse 6, they tried to go. That's all the missionary journey. Okay. Full of journeys and traveling.

[33:18] Why is it in the Bible? Because it's necessary. And when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. So look at the next verse.

[33:29] Seven trials come. After they were come to Mysia, they are said to go into Bithynia, but they say to them, they don't let them. Then passing by Mysia, they came to Troas. Troas was a very central place that that's where Paul had the vision.

[33:44] Go to Macedonia. That's where Paul had the vision. And the Bible said a vision appeared to Paul and they concluded that we are supposed to cross into Europe. So from Troas, they went to Europe.

[33:55] Now, after going round and round, Paul was heading back and then he had to go back through Macedonia into Troas. Does that make sense? And look at the next verse.

[34:08] And we sailed away from, oh, that's Philippi. So they left Philippi. Verse 6. Let's look at verse 6. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of our living bread. Our living bread is the same as Passover.

[34:20] So they waited for Passover, spent Passover, and left, and came unto Troas in five days. And they spent seven days there. Verse 7 says that, and upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread.

[34:35] This is very important. Now, this is not necessarily communion. Breaking bread. I want to explain something to you, church. The early church, central part of their fellowship was not even just praise and worship.

[34:51] It was meals. So every gathering of the believers, when they came together, one important furniture there was not puppet.

[35:04] It was a table. Come on, Jesus. It was a table. So the early church were always breaking bread. So they came together to share fellowship. And in breaking bread, you strengthen the koinonia.

[35:17] You strengthen the friendship. They had a better intercourse through eating together and breaking. So they came to share their food. That is why Paul said that those of you, now communion on the back of that, eat at home before you come and create problems with communion.

[35:32] In 1 Corinthians chapter 11. So he said, but watch this. There's a phrase there which I want you to notice. The first day of the week.

[35:43] That is so important. What is the first day of the week? What is the seventh day of the week? Saturday. Okay. So they came together.

[35:55] Normally, the Jewish Christians in those days, they were busy on the weekends because they will usually go to the temple, which every Jew normally does on the Sabbath day to observe the Sabbath.

[36:09] But on the, they used to call it the Lord's day. The Roman calendar changes and we call it the Sunday and all that. But it's actually the Lord's day.

[36:21] The early church used to, so he said, I was in this, Revelation chapter 1 verse 10. I was in the spirit on the, the Lord's day, which is the first day of the week.

[36:33] So on Sunday. Now, why did I say it's important? Because there are some people who believe that worship should be on a Saturday. But when you study the text very carefully, Christians got it on the last day.

[36:48] Why is it called the last day? Before we get into that, I want you to understand the necessity or the importance of the Sabbath day.

[36:59] God created man in six days, Genesis chapter 2. And on the seventh day, God rested and blessed the seventh day. I'm called the Holy. We have some covenants.

[37:10] What's a covenant? A covenant is an agreement between God and man. A covenant in the Bible between God and man, which comes with benefits and comes with conditions.

[37:21] So every covenant comes with what you are supposed to do and what God will do. Right? So we have the Noahic covenant, the covenant with Noah. The covenant with Noah, God said, he brought the rainbow and he said, I will never destroy you and the face of the earth with water anymore.

[37:41] And he said, as long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest time shall not cease. So he gave the rainbow to make a covenant that I will not destroy the earth again.

[37:52] That was the Noahic covenant. Just walk with me. I've made a covenant. And then we have the Abrahamic covenant. We told Abraham that I'm going to bring a precious seed, a seed from your loins.

[38:04] I'm going to raise the people from you and a seed is going to come from you. That is called the Abrahamic covenant. And it was a promise to Abraham. Remember he said that when God made a promise to Abraham because he could not swear by anyone greater.

[38:16] So it was a promise, but it was a covenant. God made a covenant that he was going to bless his people, his children. And he gave them the covenant principle of circumcision.

[38:27] So every male that is born from Abraham's loins to entitle you into the covenant, you needed to be circumcised. So every Jewish male had to be circumcised.

[38:39] It was a covenant between the Jews and God, which God made with Abraham. Then we have the Mosaic covenant, which was their law. God said, I will bless you. If you obey my law, I will bless you wherever you go.

[38:52] I will bless you and continue to make you a blessing. And to keep that law, he gave them the Sabbath. So you have to keep the Sabbath day every Jew. So in fact, they don't do it work.

[39:03] They don't work. So that's why Jesus used to have problems with them. Somebody is sick. Jesus said, you are cleansed. Take your mat and go. They say, hey. John chapter 5. Who asked you to carry?

[39:14] They didn't say who healed you. Who asked you to carry your mat on the Sabbath day? The Pharisees. And he said, sorry. The one who healed me, the same said, get up. So if I disobey, I will not be healed. In Luke chapter 13, a woman bowed.

[39:28] You could never lift yourself up. Came into the synagogue. And they were watching to see what Jesus would say. And Jesus said, you hypocrites. He asked them, which one is it to do? He asked the woman, you are loose from your infirmities.

[39:39] And the woman straight right away. And then they were upset. And Jesus said, which of you, your sheep or your goat, falls into the well on a Sabbath day? You say, I will come and remove it the next day. You will quickly pull the sheep because life is at stake.

[39:52] Jesus said, ought not this woman who is a daughter of Abraham being bound by the devil all this year. She should not be healed or set free or be loosed. You know, so they were very much into the Sabbath day.

[40:03] And unfortunately, it spilled over into the church. Now, in Exodus chapter 31, verse 16 and 17, see what God said about the Sabbath day.

[40:14] Shall we all read it all together? Is that okay? Okay, let's do it. Let's go. Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

[40:26] Verse 17, It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.

[40:39] Now, he said, it is a covenant between me and who? The children of Israel. It's a covenant between me and the children of Israel. Don't let us impose it on the church.

[40:52] He clearly said it's a covenant between him and Israel. It's between him and Israel. It's not between him and the church. So Colossians chapter 2, verse 16 said, don't let anyone bother you with holiday, Sabbath, or what you eat and what you eat.

[41:03] Let no one judge you in food or in drink or regarding festival or a new moon or Sabbath. Why? The next verse says that, which are a shadow of things to come.

[41:16] The substance, if you have Christ, you have all of them fulfilled in your life. All right. So the reason why the church does not worship or the church started worshiping on Sunday is because Sunday is the Lord's day.

[41:27] Why is it the Lord's day? That's the day he resurrected. Two things I want to throw in quickly because this, I know some of you will be meeting people and say, okay, why don't you worship on a Sabbath day and all that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Listen, Christ resurrected in the book of John, in the book of Luke, in the book of Matthew.

[41:44] The Bible said the first day of the week when the women, John chapter 20 from verse one and Luke chapter 24. The first day of the week, John chapter 20 from verse one.

[41:56] Mary Magdalene, what's the first day of the week? After the Sabbath, right? The first day of the week, they went to the tomb and Jesus was not in the tomb. So then he appeared to them on the first day of the week again in John.

[42:10] He appeared to them and said, peace be still on that same day. Look at verse 18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and spoke to them. All right, verse 19.

[42:21] The same day, you see that? The same day at evening, the first day of the week. So that's when the disciples, he appeared to them as it were like a church.

[42:35] He appeared. The day of Pentecost was a Sunday. The day of Pentecost, it was a Sunday. So it looked like, now, why is this so special? I'm mentioning this because people are sometimes confused.

[42:47] Why are we not serving God on a Sabbath day? Why are we not doing church? Why should we? When Jesus resurrected on the Sunday, on the first day of the week. Why? Because our, oh, our gathering is to make a statement that he's alive.

[43:04] We are the new, watch this. Even more importantly, this is more importantly. God, oh, I like this. From Exodus chapter 31 verse 17.

[43:15] The reason why he said the Sabbath day is holy, because he said, for in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day, he rested. Genesis chapter two.

[43:26] It is there. I think verse one or two. He rested on the seventh day. And on the seventh day, verse two, he said, on the seventh day, God ended his work, which he had done. And he rested on the seventh day from all his work, which he had done.

[43:40] God rested. It wasn't because he was tired. Ah, ah, after creating man. Ah, he, no, no, it wasn't that kind of rest that he was tired.

[43:51] That rest there means that he paused. He's finished creation, but he's about to do another creation. Oh, he didn't get it. He's about to start another creation.

[44:04] In Ephesians, he says, for we are the workmanship of God. Ephesians chapter two, verse 10, for we are God's workmanship. Create, oh, oh, creation. Created.

[44:15] In Ephesians chapter two, verse 15 and 16, that he will create in himself. So creation started again. This is so important. Look at this.

[44:27] How many days are there in a week? How many days of the week did God create? What was the first day of creation? The first day.

[44:39] In our terms. Monday. Sunday. I know you want to go to work tomorrow. Sunday.

[44:53] Sunday. And what was the sixth day? Friday. This is simple mathematics.

[45:06] Why are you so quiet looking at me like that? Is there anything confusing I'm saying? All right. So Sunday is the first day.

[45:17] Okay. For you to know which day is the first day, which day is the seventh day? That's the Sabbath day. Saturday. So from there you can work your way either forward or backwards. Okay.

[45:28] So first day of creation, Sunday. Second day, Monday. And then sixth day, Friday. Seventh day, Saturday.

[45:39] Eighth day. Saturday. Saturday. Saturday. Saturday. Saturday. Saturday is what day? Saturday. So after seven, eighth day will be what?

[45:51] Saturday. Eight day will be the first day again. Yeah. That's his way. So the second week starts. The first day of the second week is the eighth day of the previous week.

[46:04] Yes. The first week. That doesn't make sense. You are confused about this? So watch this. The church, God created everything we see physically.

[46:18] And he rested on the seventh day. And then on the eighth day, he started creation again. We are the workmanship of God created it. So he says that if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation.

[46:32] He created. So really, the creation of the church happened on the first day of the second week, which happens to be the eighth day of the second week.

[46:43] So after the Sabbath, Jesus resurrected on the first day of the second week. And the first week, the church always had met on the first day after the Sabbath, which was the Sunday, which is the last day.

[46:58] So here is there. The text says that upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to be, that was the time they come together to break bread. Who am I to change it?

[47:12] So how about those who are doing it on a Sabbath day? It's your choice. It doesn't spoil anything. It doesn't spoil anything if you want. But I have something interesting here. Two theological positions. To a Jew, the day doesn't start in the morning.

[47:26] According to Genesis, evening and morning were the first day. Evening, not morning, evening. So evening. So to the Jew, the Sabbath day starts Friday 6 p.m.

[47:40] Because that's when Saturday starts. And Saturday ends on Saturday 5.59. Sunday starts Saturday evening.

[47:50] So to all intents and purposes, the first day of the week in the evening was actually Saturday evening. After 6 p.m.

[48:02] So they are meeting, Paul was going to travel. Others also believe that it's Sunday. But it cannot be Sunday evening because that would be Monday. Sunday evening is a Monday to the Jew.

[48:16] Monday evening is a Tuesday to the Jew. Tuesday evening is a Monday evening. Yes. So when he said on the first day of the week. Let's look at the text again.

[48:28] And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples are coming together, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart the next day. The next day being Monday.

[48:39] Monday. Okay. But Monday starts from Sunday evening. So from that time he can depart. Be ready to depart. Watch the day. And continue his message until midnight.

[48:52] So he was preaching in the evening. Because there's only one midnight in every day. In our terms, the days switch from midnight.

[49:03] In the other days, it's 6 p.m. So from 6 p.m., 6 hours later, we are. Midnight is in the middle of the Sunday. So Paul was preaching Saturday evening. And this guy continued preaching.

[49:15] Continued preaching. Continued preaching. Till midnight. Quickly, because of time, I have to end now. Because I don't want to be like Paul. Unless somebody will be like you, take us.

[49:28] Preach till midnight. And then he continued his message. Verse 8 says that. And they were. Do we need these details? Yes, we do. There were many lamps in the upper room.

[49:39] Because they didn't have lights. And they are in the upper room. Do you know that higher you go, the warm eye becomes. In the rooms. No, no. Not just geography. But in the room.

[49:50] So because heat rises. He didn't know that. Heat rises. That's why some loft rooms are very hot. Because heat rises. Second floor is always hotter than ground floor. Yeah.

[50:01] Convection and conduction. Because it's convection and conduction. So. So. So they were on the third floor. And most of the homes.

[50:12] Usually the lofts is open. So people can. For fresh air. You get more fresh air. So they were on the third floor. Teach it. Now watch this. And let's look at the text again. Very importantly. Verse. We are dealing with verse 8, right?

[50:24] And they said there were many lamps. Why do we need the lamps? Because you need to see it was in the evening. That tells you it was Saturday night. Our Saturday night. You need to see it was in the evening.

[50:35] And that meant the place was packed. And humidity will be high. And then when you light a lot of lamps. The place will be hot. The place will be hot with.

[50:50] You know. When we come together. We warm up the place. We heat the place. So ventilation will be a bit less. And so anyone sitting by the window. Is premium. And sit by the window.

[51:03] Or being around. You get fresher air. So. Those who are always smart. And wanting the best place. Sometimes it works for them. Other times it might not work for you. So he went.

[51:13] This young man. So that's why the place. There was lamps there. It was hot. It was humid. It was packed. And then verse 9 says that. And they sat at the window. The word window.

[51:25] Let me tell you something semantically. The word window comes from the original. Is the door for the wind. It's a wind door.

[51:38] It's a wind door. It's a wind door. It's a wind door. It's a wind door. It's a wind door. So you sit at the window.

[51:48] To get the wind. That's the door for the wind to enter. But in those days. The wind doors were not that high. The wind doors were all the way down. All the way down.

[52:00] It's just like a French door. Something like that. Windows. So they're all the way down. And this guy wanted fresh air. So he was sitting at the wind door.

[52:11] But at the wind door. There's nothing blocking it. And you shouldn't be sleeping at the wind door. And he was sinking into a deep sleep. And he was over.

[52:22] It got to a time. He couldn't help it. Sleep over took him. And he went downwards. And they could hear Tim. What has happened?

[52:35] What has happened? What has happened? But Paul was so caught in this teaching. The revelation was changed. It was so good. He was so good enjoying it. People were enjoying it. They heard something. But how did they know he's dead?

[52:47] Because in those days. When someone dies. The women have a way of waving. So they could hear downstairs. Oh no. There's a problem. Paul. I think we have to go down. So Paul had to pause his teaching.

[52:58] Went down. And lied on him like Elijah did. Embrace him. Paul raised the dead only once. Peter raised the dead only once. That tells you raising of the dead is not a regular expectation for a Christian.

[53:12] But why? Peter was the only. Jesus did it about four times. Paul did it only once. And that time Paul did it. So don't be going to the mortuary or going to the hospital. And say I am anointed.

[53:24] The anointing is upon me to raise the dead. Check in scripture. How many people after Jesus left were raised from the dead? So he went in.

[53:34] Embraced him. And prayed for him. So Paul went down. Fell on him. Embracing him. He said trouble. His life is evaking him. He breathed the life back into him.

[53:46] And went up. And continued. Oh. He says that. He went up again. And had broken bread. And eaten. Talked a long while.

[53:56] Even till day break. So he departed. Did you see that? He kept teaching. And he departed. When the time came for him to leave. Now look at what happened.

[54:07] He says that. And they brought the young man alive. Brought where? Not just upstairs. He came to also say bye bye to Paul. Wow. He came.

[54:18] He joined the team. No Paul. We met you. He was even the loudest. I love you Paul. Paul I love you. I love you Paul.

[54:29] Mwah mwah mwah. You are the best. You are the best. Paul we love you. You have to come back. We love you. Bye. Bye Paul. Paul. Paul. And we went.

[54:42] Before to ship. And sailed into Isos. There intending to take in Paul. For so had he appointed. Minding himself to go afoot.

[54:54] So Paul decided. It's about 20 miles journey. He decided he wanted to walk. Because he's going to Jerusalem. He knew what was ahead. So sometimes you want to be by yourself. And clear your head. You just want to be by himself.

[55:05] 20 miles journey. So they managed to convince him. Paul you have to join us. Let's go. He. Because he had purpose. That he know what. From Troas to Isos. Okay. And then.

[55:16] To Isos. And sailed on to Isos. Yes. There intending to take. So they met him at Isos. And then they took him. And brought him to. Where they were going. When we met. Yeah. So. Paul wanted to walk.

[55:28] So he can. I believe maybe. He had to clear his head. And a lot has gone on. And a lot is ahead of him. And he had to. Build his resolve. He had to be. Because when he met the church of Ephesus.

[55:39] Next week we'll go into it. He was telling them. I am determined. I'm going. Nothing can stop me. Because my life is not as important. I'm a man of sacrifice. To my heart.

[55:50] My head. My life is ahead of me. All right. So in conclusion. I want us to appreciate the fact that. God called Paul. Paul knew what he was getting himself into. He was ready.

[56:01] He was so yielded to God. And he gave himself to all these journeys. In spite of the negativities. That he went through. The resistance. The opposition that he went through. One thing he never stopped. He never stopped.

[56:12] Strengthening the church. And teaching the word. To the extent. And fellowship with the burden. Fellowship with the burden. Teach the word. To strengthen the church. Fellowship with the burden. Teach the word.

[56:23] To strengthen the church. Fellowship with the burden. Teach the word. To strengthen the church. That was his mission. To the extent that. When he was even going through. To Jerusalem. He was stopping somewhere. In the way.

[56:33] To fellowship with the burden. To teach the word. And to strengthen the church. So when the gentleman died. He said. This will not abort my mission. This will not interfere with my mission. He went. Got him healed.

[56:44] Got him saved. Came back. And continued talking. Because he knew they wouldn't see him. And he's going. And he needed the church to be strong. He needed the church to be strengthened. Based on teaching.

[56:55] The future of any church. Is at the mercy of the teachings. Next week I'll probably go a bit more into it. The future of any church. Is at the mercy of the sound doctrine. The church has been exposed to.

[57:06] The soundness of the doctrine. That's the only way you can fight the wolves. The only way you fight is not with sword. It's with the sword of the spirit. That's the only way we can fight.

[57:19] Paul said I wanted to go and spend Ticos in Jerusalem. They spend Passover in Philippi. Passover. They broke bread. Today being the first Sunday of the month. We will also break bread. We are going to have our communion.

[57:30] We have an communion. Happy birthday. We're so glad you joined us for this message by David Entry. We pray the word has inspired and strengthened you. You can connect with David Entry. On Instagram.

[57:42] LinkedIn. And other social platforms. And you can listen to more messages. On all major streaming platforms. And the Karish Church app. Remember to like. Share.

[57:53] And spread the blessing. Thank you. Thank you.