WEBVTT

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 Well, good morning again. St. Paul's, it's great to connect in with you. It was about 28 years

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 ago or so. It was really not long after I became a Christian, I ran into a former work colleague

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 in a supermarket. And he asked me straight away if it was true, the rumor that he'd heard

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 that in his words, I had found religion and was now involved in working in a church.

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 When I said to him that, yes, it was true that I'd become a Christian before I said anything

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 else, he very sharply and very quickly replied. He said, mate, keep it to yourself. He says,

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 if you ever speak to me about it, he said, we are finished. Just like that. So nearly 30 years later,

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 and it feels like that sentiment that I experienced in the supermarket on that day

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 is running right through our society. If you're a Christian, the pressure is to be quiet. It's a

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 subtle pressure, but sometimes it's a little more than subtle. I've read of Christian teachers

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 choosing not to wear crosses to work because they know that their credibility will be lost

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 if they are known to be Christian. Only a couple of years ago, the graduate intake at a major bank

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 in Sydney were told on their first day that this company does not do religion.

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 Talk of faith was not welcome and in fact would be considered a breach of corporate policy.

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 And so if you want to advance in this bank, you must be quiet.

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 There are plenty of other examples. Many Christians today are afraid to speak about the good news of

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 Jesus Christ in this city. Now it might come as a surprise to us as we open the book of Acts this

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 morning that the devout, single-minded, bold Apostle Paul also battled fear in mission and speaking

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 about Jesus. This is what Paul talks about. This is what he has written about. He's a rival to the city

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 of Corinth, which was just read out to us by Noll in 1 Corinthians chapter 2.

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 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. So what has got Paul so fearful?

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 And how was that fear overcome? That's our question today. Now we're in the second half of the New

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 Testament book of Acts and so far we've seen a whole range of people in a whole heap of different places,

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 range of different people, ethnic, economic, social backgrounds have come and put their faith in

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 Jesus Christ. There is no Christian type. Jesus is for everyone and everyone needs Jesus. Now some of

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 the places that the Apostle Paul has visited have been fairly small, insignificant kind of rural villages

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 and towns, but that could not be said of the city of Corinth. And so open your Bibles, Acts 18 is where

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 we're up to the St. Paul's app also has a bit of an outline if you want to follow me through for

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 today. First of all, I want to introduce us to the city of Corinth, the cosmopolitan Corinth.

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 The first thing that we need to know about this city is it's a city that was on the up and up

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 where Athens was the intellectual center of the ancient world. Corinth was the commercial center.

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 The population of Athens that Paul has just visited, you know, the chapter before was around about 10,000

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 people at Paul's time. Corinth, on the other hand, was three quarters of a million people.

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 Corinth was strategically placed at the crossroads of trade routes. Corinth was unusual in that where it

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 geographically sat on the end of a peninsula meant that in fact it boasted two shipping ports.

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 Trade would travel north and south from Corinth via land and east and west via the sea.

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 Its markets were stocked with goods, the finest goods from all over the world. It's literally

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 the world converged on Corinth. People from all over the Roman world had in fact moved into Corinth

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 to take up the cosmopolitan lifestyle. And so the apostle Paul in coming to Corinth must have seen the

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 strategic importance of Corinth. If trade could radiate from and to Corinth, so could the good news of

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 Jesus Christ. The second thing we need to know about Corinth is that Corinth was world famous for its

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 immorality. Behind the city of Corinth rose the mountain Acro-Corinth. On the flat summit stood the temple of

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 Aphrodite, the goddess of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. And serving Aphrodite at the temple was 1,000 female

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 slaves who roamed the streets as prostitutes for Aphrodite, the streets of Corinth. And Corinth was famous for its

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 immorality. In fact, so much so, particularly their sexual promiscuity, that a name was given for

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 sexual promiscuity in the ancient world and it was called to Corinthianize. Corinth was a large,

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 upwardly mobile, progressive, confident, proud, inclusive, pleasure-seeking, wealthy, immoral city.

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 And so will the good news of Jesus Christ that is at impact in villages and towns and different people,

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 will it have impact in a city like Corinth?

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 And so we now come to Paul's mission in Corinth and along comes Paul. Why did the courageous,

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 bold, poor, come to Corinth in his own words, weakness, fear and trembling?

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 Now partly, he must have felt at least a little dejected as he walked the 80 kilometers from Athens to Corinth.

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 You know, since he has arrived in Europe, he has suffered a terrible beating in Philippi, civil rejection in

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 Thessalonica and Berea and indifference and apathy in Athens. And the next thing he has is Corinth.

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 The size, the pride, the immorality of this city must have been intimidating to the tired, bruised Paul.

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 He knew his message would come into direct conflict with the whole culture of this city.

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 And he tells us, as we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 2,

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 I resolved to know nothing while the world was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

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 That's his message. And he knew that message was going to come in total conflict with the city of Corinth.

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 Now for Christians tuning into us right now,

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 that message there, Christ and him crucified, means that Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God,

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 died on a cross as a once for all substitute in our place so that we would not have to suffer eternal death,

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 but would enjoy the abundant and eternal life that Jesus purchased for us.

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 That is, Jesus swapped his life for our death so that we might have his life.

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 Now the problem with that view of the cross is that it leaves out one huge fact.

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 I mean, it's all good, it's just that it leaves out one huge fact.

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 One aspect that is so crucial.

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 And Jesus stated it in Luke chapter 9 verse 23.

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 If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

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 You see, when Christ died on the cross for sinners,

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 he not only stood in my place doing what I could never do,

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 and that is forgive my own sin against God,

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 but he also showed me what I must do in order to save my life.

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 I take up my cross and I join him on the Calvary road of death to self.

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 Christ died to save us from God's judgment forever,

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 but not to save us from the cross.

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 He died so that we could be glorified,

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 not to keep us from being crucified.

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 For the Christian, the cross of Christ is not merely a past place of substitution for our sin

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 and the justice of God being satisfied.

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 It is certainly that.

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 But it is also the present place of daily execution.

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 In other words, never let the cross of Christ lose its crucifying power in your life.

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 Never let the cross slip into the past as though Jesus died for sinners so that we could live for pleasure.

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 Oh, make no mistake, friends.

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 The pleasures are coming.

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 Jesus has promised them.

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 And some, if you're a Christian, some are already here and you know they're already here.

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 Things like forgiveness and acceptance and a measure of holiness and healing.

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 And oh my goodness, right now, hope, hope for life forever is just so, so pleasurable.

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 The Christian has life and hope.

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 But just like Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him,

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 so it is with us in this age according to the book of Hebrews.

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 Most of the joy that we long for as Christians is just over the horizon and Jesus' guarantee that it will come.

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 And so, as Hebrews says to us in chapter 13, verses 13 and 14,

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 The great tragedy of much of contemporary Christian thought is that the cross of Christ is safely relegated to a distant past.

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 Practically what that means, for it's way too many, particularly in the Western world,

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 is that Jesus was soaked in blood so that I can soak in a jacuzzi.

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 That is not the Christian faith.

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 Jesus Christ was restrained on a cross so that we might be truly free, liberated from sin, set free from slavery to self.

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 The message of Christ and him crucified means that if you would save your life, you must lose it.

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 And if you would follow Jesus, you must take up your cross daily.

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 And that is Paul's message to Corinth.

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 In the same way, it's our message to Sydney.

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 It was Corinth, like Sydney, a self-confident, proud city.

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 It was full of self-made people.

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 And the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified undermines all human pride.

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 Corinth was a city of self-indulgence, a pleasure-seeking city.

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 And the message of Christ crucified would warn them that the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God.

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 The good news calls them to repent and to live a life of holiness.

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 It calls them to die to self.

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 In other words, the good news that Paul preached at Corinth called for both self-humbling and self-denial.

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 And so Paul must have wondered, of all the places in the ancient world, would Corinth receive it?

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 And the early signs is yes.

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 Yes, they did.

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 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, became a Christian.

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 That's what we know first of up.

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 But the apostle Paul fell prey to fear and discouragement.

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 And I think verse 6 is the trigger point where this discouragement really sets in for Paul.

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 He tells the Jews in verse 6 that the blood is on their own heads for rejecting Jesus.

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 And then he takes the newly converted synagogue leader next door to start a church amongst the Gentiles.

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 He must have known this is the moment of trouble.

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 This is the moment where it's about to go bad.

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 He's rejected the temple.

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 He's moving the synagogue leader next door to a church.

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 He's now reaching this immoral, proud, pagan, Gentile city.

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 This is when it's going to go bad.

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 His previous experience tells him this is the moment that the riots start.

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 This is when the crowds form.

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 This is when he gets flogged.

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 This is when he gets imprisoned.

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 This is when he gets thrown out of town.

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 This is the moment.

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 And so what Paul does in my mind here in this moment is he borrows worries.

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 He's worrying about troubles that he's yet to face.

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 Can you experience?

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 Can you experience?

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 You know that?

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 What that feels like?

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 You do that in day by day life?

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 We often worry about a thousand tribulations that we never go through.

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 Maybe Paul thinks that whatever happens next, it will be bad news for him.

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 And so God ministers to him in this moment.

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 It's a vision bearing words of just refreshment for this apostle.

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 God loves and cares for his children.

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 So have a look at verse 9.

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 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision.

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 Do not be afraid.

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 Keep on speaking.

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 Do not be silent.

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 For I am with you and no one is going to attack and harm you because I have many people in this city.

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 1 John 4 verse 18 teaches us there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.

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 And the simple words, not to be afraid, must have just filled Paul's heart here with God's love.

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 God's word tells us again and again and again, do not be afraid.

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 Do not fear.

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 To stop worrying about tomorrow.

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 To stop borrowing trouble.

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 In Jesus, all fear has been cast out.

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 In Jesus, we are God's much-loved children.

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 And he has tomorrow in his hands.

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 And Paul is told to speak.

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 His fear made him afraid to speak.

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 Silence for the apostle.

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 Paul in this moment would have imprisoned his fear.

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 But boldness for the gospel would cause him to overcome it.

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 And he's also promised here in this moment divine presence and protection.

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 God tells him, I am with you.

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 And no one is going to attack and harm you.

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 It's the promise of the resurrected, death-defeating, sin-destroying, all-conquering Lord Jesus Christ.

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 As he sends his disciples into the world on the mission that we are still partaking in 2,000 years later, he said to us, I am with you.

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 I am with you.

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 I am with you.

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 No harm would come to Paul in Corinth.

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 That wasn't true for Paul in the previous months.

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 And it won't be true for him in the future.

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 But it was true right there in that moment.

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 But those words also meant for the apostle Paul that nothing would ultimately and totally harm Paul and bring him down.

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 And that, my friends, is the promise for every Christian.

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 God's protection for us does not mean that in some way we'll be free from difficulties.

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 But God will never allow us to face more than what we can bear.

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 Nothing can harm the freedom, the eternal life, the hope, and the joy we have in Jesus.

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 Not even a city-wide lockdown.

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 Nothing will hinder the advance of God's work in this world.

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 Even a city-wide lockdown.

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 Jesus keeps his promise to protect Paul in Corinth.

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 And the amazing irony in this moment is that the chief means of that protection is, in fact, Roman law and Galileo.

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 Unexpectedly, the ruling authorities were on Paul's side.

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 And his right to speak about Jesus.

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 The opposition, this time, backfired.

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 And the crowd miraculously turns on the synagogue leader.

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 And commentators are of the view that the crowd here that turned on the synagogue leader were not the Jews who were against Paul,

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 but the Gentiles of the city turned on the synagogue leader for trying to stir up trouble.

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 It was a miraculous turnaround.

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 The apostle Paul was worrying about things that he didn't need to worry about.

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 And the surprising events here means that Paul was free to bring the word of God in Corinth for the next 18 months.

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 And he did.

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 There were many who belonged to Jesus in Corinth was God's promise to Paul.

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 As intimidating as this city was,

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 compared to almighty God and his purposes,

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 it was no more than a little Lego town.

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 So what does this mean for us and our mission to Chatswood and beyond?

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 There are many who belong to Jesus in this city too.

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 We know God's mission is for all people from every tribe, language, nation, and culture to find life in Jesus Christ,

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 to find hope in Jesus Christ.

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 That's what God has been doing for 2,000 years.

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 Despite persecutions, hardships, political oppression, lockdowns, God is still at work.

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 And even though the city and the society that we find ourselves here in Sydney is intimidating to the Christian,

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 there are still many who belong to Jesus in this place.

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 There are those who love this city,

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 and there are those who are just tired of the culture of it.

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 They're feeling enslaved by it too.

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 There are plenty in this city filled with guilt and shame from the pleasure-seeking life,

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 realizing that it has come up empty.

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 It is ultimately not satisfying.

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 It's an addiction, and all addictions enslave you.

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 They rule you.

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 You don't rule them.

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 And maybe that's you right now listening to this.

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 You've somehow turned into this,

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 and you're hearing this.

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 And my word to you is come to Jesus.

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 Come to Jesus now and find freedom from slavery to sin.

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 Jesus was constrained to a cross so that you might be set free.

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 His offer to you is freedom.

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 And his offer is free.

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 The message of Jesus Christ crucified means that you are more sinful,

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 and you are more wicked and proud than you ever imagined,

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 and yet you are more loved and forgiven and affirmed and free than you could ever imagine possible.

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 For those who are Christian, however, listening to this,

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 it is so important that you not be intimidated by the city and its culture.

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 God is bigger and more powerful.

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 Those who are his in this city are his.

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 The apostle Peter was told,

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 earlier in the book of Acts,

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 was told not to speak about Jesus by the religious authorities of his day in Acts chapter 4.

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 And his reply was this,

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 salvation is found in no one else,

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 for there is no other name under heaven given to humanity by which they must be saved.

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 And as Ash has reminded us earlier in this service,

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 the same Peter tells us in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15,

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 always be prepared to give an answer to anyone and everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

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 And so if you're a Christian listening to this,

00:23:38.159 --> 00:23:40.659
 and if you're one of those people who's gone quiet about Jesus,

00:23:40.660 --> 00:23:51.019
 I wonder if the reason you aren't freer and more natural in testifying to the reality of the hope that you have in Jesus,

00:23:51.820 --> 00:23:56.900
 is mostly because you don't feel hopeful.

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 I wonder if that's it.

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 I think we don't talk about Jesus when our hearts are not full of hope in the promises of Christ.

00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:13.519
 If Jesus is our treasure and our hearts devotion,

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 then I think there's a delight to tell someone why we are so hopeful.

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 And particularly in days of difficulty,

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 why we still are so full of hope.

00:24:24.120 --> 00:24:29.720
 I fear that too many church people cannot make a case for the hope that's within them

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 because they don't actually feel any hope brimming up within their hearts.

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 And so the way you get ready to make a case for the hope that is in you

00:24:43.539 --> 00:24:46.680
 is to get hopeful.

00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:52.799
 Apply yourself to settling the questions of your own heart.

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 We must find for ourselves reason enough to get over the fear of people and to live a lively hope.

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 Search out the promises of Christ and meditate on his character

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 and his work for the sake of your salvation and for the banishment of your fear

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 and for the kindling of your hope.

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 The same loving, caring ministry that God offered the apostle Paul,

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 he offers directly to you as well.

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 The same ministry that came to Paul is exactly the same ministry that can come to you.

00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:39.099
 He spoke to Paul, ministered to Paul,

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 and he speaks to you and wants to minister to you.

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 In these troubled times, God wants to give you hope.

00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:55.539
 He wants his promises to be real to you as well and clear to you as it was for Paul.

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 Day after day, therefore, we must be in the Bible.

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 Not to anxiously amass arguments for every possible rebuttal someone might have in our secular age,

00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:13.160
 but because you and I are so desperately needy,

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 desperately needy,

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 our own hope waxes and wanes day in and day out.

00:26:23.600 --> 00:26:27.080
 We have fears that need to be overcome by the promises of God.

00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:28.880
 We have doubts that need to be answered.

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 The fight of faith is waged in the word of God and prayer.

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 And so let me add to Nick's challenge.

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 Pick it up.

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 Do it.

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 Four or more a week.

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 And when we emerge from that encounter with God,

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 with a renewed and lively hope in his promises,

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 we will be ready to make a case for our hope.

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 The Bible reveals God's intimate knowledge of his people,

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 even to the point where he knows the number of hairs on each head,

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 which in my case, the figure changes rapidly.

00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:20.299
 Fear is incompatible with faith.

00:27:21.139 --> 00:27:25.480
 Fear simply means that we must grow our confidence in God.

00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:28.500
 Fear assumes God is distant,

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 unacquainted with the trials of his people.

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 And that is not the God of the Bible.

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 He knows everything we face today and tomorrow and next year.

00:27:43.120 --> 00:27:44.380
 But he promises us,

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 never will I leave you,

00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.819
 never will I forsake you.

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 Turkey is

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 word Eastern.

00:28:07.419 --> 00:28:09.159
 Turkey is