WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.179 We're in a series now looking at the book of Acts, and we've been looking at this story 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:26.280 of how a tiny subculture of Judaism transformed the Roman Empire, and how this tiny subculture 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:34.920 grew into an international, multi-ethnic, multicultural, even multilingual movement. 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:40.820 And the answer to the question of how something like that would happen is the gospel. 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:45.560 The gospel is, if you will, the kind of secret sauce of Christianity. 00:00:45.760 --> 00:00:52.500 The gospel is the thing that makes Christianity unlike other religions, other philosophies, 00:00:52.900 --> 00:00:53.939 other worldviews. 00:00:53.939 --> 00:01:02.859 And one of the great things about the gospel, and the reason that this movement became international, 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:13.539 is that the same gospel is able to come into different people's lives in different ways. 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:20.340 So it's not just a static list of things that you have to agree to and abide by. 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:26.240 The gospel is different because it's dynamic, because it has a power of its own, and because 00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:32.920 it comes from the kind of God who wants to meet people where they are and is able to do that. 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:36.280 And that's why the gospel spreads so rapidly. 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:43.820 That's why, by many statistics, right now there are more people coming to faith in Jesus Christ 00:01:43.819 --> 00:01:47.159 right now than at any point ever in history. 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:49.399 Right? 00:01:49.419 --> 00:01:55.859 If you look at places like Asia and Africa, the gospel is spreading like wildfire as God meets 00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:59.659 each person where he or she is at that moment. 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:04.919 And so this morning we're going to look more at this by looking at Acts chapter 16. 00:02:05.119 --> 00:02:11.280 This is a story of how Paul plants his first church in Europe, on European soil. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:16.840 As he comes into Philippi, he's responding to the Holy Spirit, calling him, and he comes 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:18.219 into Philippi to plant a church. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:23.500 And what we see here are three vignettes, three case studies of how the gospel meets people 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:24.199 where they are. 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.740 We're going to see a businesswoman, a slave girl, and a working man. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.259 So let's pray and then we'll look at God's word. 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:34.080 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:40.700 And we thank you that as we prayed earlier, Lord, and as we'll see in this text, you're 00:02:40.700 --> 00:02:44.620 the kind of God who can open hearts and open eyes. 00:02:45.600 --> 00:02:46.660 And Lord, we need that. 00:02:46.720 --> 00:02:47.260 I need that. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:49.240 I pray that you would do that. 00:02:49.380 --> 00:02:53.500 I pray that you would open our eyes and hearts and that you would do your work through your 00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:54.120 word in us. 00:02:55.020 --> 00:03:00.939 Lord, that we might not only glorify you and be renewed, but that we might be salt and 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:02.439 light in this community. 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:05.079 Lord, we pray this in your son's name. 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:05.500 Amen. 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:10.199 So first of all, let's look at this businesswoman. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:16.199 The first person that we meet by name in Philippi is a woman named Lydia. 00:03:16.859 --> 00:03:19.520 Now, what do we know about Lydia from the text? 00:03:19.699 --> 00:03:22.579 Well, we know that Lydia is a successful businesswoman. 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:24.879 It says that she's a seller of purple goods. 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:30.060 And in the ancient world, purple dye was extremely hard to come by. 00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:32.240 It was hard to manufacture. 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:34.199 And it was thus very valuable. 00:03:34.699 --> 00:03:40.159 And Lydia's hometown was actually famous for purple dye and purple goods. 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:42.520 So she's a successful businesswoman. 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.020 We know that she is a homeowner. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:46.960 We know that from later in the chapter. 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:53.400 And it's unusual enough that she would be the primary homeowner that we assume that she's 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:54.600 probably a widow. 00:03:56.040 --> 00:04:01.100 She must have been very capable and very resourceful. 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:07.240 And we know that because you couldn't get to where Lydia was in life as a woman in the 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:11.620 ancient world unless you were very capable and highly resourceful. 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:15.219 So this is kind of a snapshot of Lydia. 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:20.120 So here's how I imagine Lydia if she were living here today in D.C. 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:28.019 Ivy League education, valedictorian of her class, plays three instruments, owns several 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:32.680 high-end fashion boutiques in major cities around the country. 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:37.360 I imagine that she's probably an Enneagram type three with a four wing. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:41.759 You know, she's an achiever but with an artistic side. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:48.600 And I imagine that she's probably been pretty successful at most everything she's tried. 00:04:48.699 --> 00:04:49.920 She's probably first born. 00:04:51.139 --> 00:04:53.319 But there's something missing in her life. 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:55.240 You say, well, how do we know that? 00:04:55.340 --> 00:04:59.180 Well, verse 14 refers to Lydia as a God worshiper. 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:05.660 And that's a specific term that refers to a non-Jewish person who wants a relationship 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:07.200 with the Jewish God. 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:08.660 Right? 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:11.360 There's no synagogue in Philippi. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:15.240 You had to have at least ten Jewish men to start a synagogue. 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:16.580 There weren't even that many. 00:05:17.320 --> 00:05:23.620 And so Lydia has started attending a small Jewish worship gathering that is happening down 00:05:23.620 --> 00:05:26.740 by the river about a mile outside the city gates. 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:33.280 And these women are meeting next to a river so that they can do the ceremonial washing, 00:05:33.780 --> 00:05:37.180 which is a necessary part of Jewish worship. 00:05:37.400 --> 00:05:38.819 So that's what's going on. 00:05:39.780 --> 00:05:44.160 So I imagine someone like Lydia in D.C., right? 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:47.379 I imagine this woman who is super successful by day. 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:48.900 Right? 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:50.800 Super impressive by day. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:06:00.300 But every night, behind closed doors, after her Peloton session, she lays in her bed drinking 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:05.900 box wine and looking at houses on Zillow, and she feels profound loneliness. 00:06:07.139 --> 00:06:12.920 And she finds her mind wandering away from her iPhone, and she finds herself thinking, 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:15.220 does God really exist? 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:18.740 You know, I know people who believe in God. 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:21.820 You know, my family kind of went to church sometimes. 00:06:22.900 --> 00:06:24.500 Is there anything to that? 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:27.060 Does God really exist? 00:06:27.140 --> 00:06:32.460 And if so, does that God, whoever or whatever it is, does that God know me? 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:35.700 You know, does this God care about me at all? 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:42.080 Or, as she suspects, is she ultimately alone in the universe? 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:51.459 And, you know, the first century Jewish religion would have been very appealing to someone like Lydia. 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:54.319 At least Lydia as I imagine her to be. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.579 Because first century Judaism was all about achievement. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:03.879 If you want to know God, if you want to have a relationship with God, then you need to stay clean. 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:06.199 You need to follow the law. 00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:08.339 You need to fulfill the requirements. 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:10.819 And that would have been very appealing. 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:16.980 I mean, Lydia is probably the kind of person who says, whatever standard there is, I will match it. 00:07:17.099 --> 00:07:18.540 I will exceed it. 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:21.139 And that's really what it means to be a religious person. 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:29.439 If you want to have a relationship with God, then you need to be willing to follow the rules and prove your devotion and live well enough as a good person. 00:07:29.659 --> 00:07:34.180 And then God will love you and bless you because God loves and blesses the good and faithful people. 00:07:34.180 --> 00:07:38.980 So Lydia was probably thinking, you know, I was valedictorian of my class. 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.019 I can be valedictorian of this religion. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.720 If anybody's going to do it, I'm going to do it better. 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:52.140 So then we ask the question, well, how does the gospel come into the life and the heart of someone like Lydia? 00:07:52.440 --> 00:07:58.960 And I suspect there are a lot of people probably in our city, maybe even in this church, who would fit this description, men and women. 00:08:00.400 --> 00:08:02.860 What Lydia really needs is the truth of the gospel. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:05.860 She needs the truth at the heart of the gospel. 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:09.500 The thing is, Lydia is already a seeker. 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:11.319 She's already spiritually hungry. 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:12.800 She's already open. 00:08:13.819 --> 00:08:15.120 She's searching for God. 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:21.360 And so what Lydia needs is simply someone to sit down and tell her the good news about Jesus. 00:08:21.780 --> 00:08:27.620 And we can imagine what Paul might have said based on what he says in lots of other places in Scripture. 00:08:27.780 --> 00:08:32.259 We can imagine Paul sitting down and beginning to talk about maybe his own life. 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:39.259 You know, you can imagine Paul sitting there next to Lydia and saying, you know, I was also valedictorian of my class. 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:49.740 You know, you may, I don't know if you've heard of him, but I studied under Gamaliel, who was kind of a pretty well-known, highly respected Jewish leader. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:50.819 Yeah, I studied under him. 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:53.019 It's like going to Harvard or Cambridge. 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:59.799 You know, Paul might have said, you know, I used to be not just a Pharisee, but a Pharisee among Pharisees. 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:04.439 I was kind of, I was the example that other people wanted to live up to. 00:09:05.219 --> 00:09:09.259 You know, people used to talk about how zealous I was for the traditions of my fathers. 00:09:10.819 --> 00:09:13.759 And then Paul would have said, but then let me tell you what happened. 00:09:15.259 --> 00:09:19.599 Then I was on my way to Damascus in something that I never could have predicted took place. 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:21.319 I met Jesus face to face. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:24.139 And by the way, this was after his resurrection. 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:27.379 I saw Jesus in his full glory. 00:09:28.740 --> 00:09:30.699 And all I could do was fall on my face. 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:39.279 And then maybe you can imagine Paul kind of tearing up and saying, you know, I realize that there's no amount of washing that I can do. 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:44.819 There's no amount of washing that I can do like you're doing that will ever bring me close to that glory. 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:49.500 I will never be clean compared to what I saw on the road that day. 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:52.059 I realized all of this is ineffectual. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:54.759 Nothing compares to the glory of Jesus. 00:09:55.480 --> 00:10:01.320 And then maybe he would have gone on to say what he lays out later when he writes the book of Romans. 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:09.039 You know, I realize there's actually no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between somebody like me and somebody like you, Lydia. 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:10.259 There's no difference. 00:10:11.500 --> 00:10:12.980 No amount of washing will change that. 00:10:13.059 --> 00:10:15.500 We all fall short of that glory. 00:10:15.500 --> 00:10:15.899 Right? 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:21.759 And then you can imagine his face lighting up and saying, you know, and then the penny dropped. 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.220 You know, and I realized that's the whole point. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:35.179 Jesus didn't come to give us a new way to be faithful to God, a new way to prove our devotion to God, a new set of rules to obey. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:39.960 Jesus actually came to live the life that we should have lived but can't. 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:43.580 He came to die the death that we deserve to die. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:45.299 Because there's no difference. 00:10:45.299 --> 00:10:46.740 We've all rebelled against God. 00:10:47.599 --> 00:10:50.459 We're all living out our own self-salvation projects. 00:10:51.699 --> 00:10:54.779 But Jesus came to die so that we could be forgiven. 00:10:54.979 --> 00:11:02.539 So that we could know the God who made us, not as just a Lord, but as a father who wants us to be his children. 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:06.379 And you can imagine Lydia hearing this. 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:14.259 You know, Lydia, all her life, maybe you can identify, all of her life, people have probably loved Lydia because of what she could do. 00:11:14.379 --> 00:11:16.639 Because of how impressive she is. 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:21.659 What Lydia really needs, she doesn't know this yet. 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:28.139 But the reason she lays there at night longing, wondering, thirsting, searching for God, 00:11:28.139 --> 00:11:37.679 is because what she really needs is a God who loves her and delights in her regardless of her successes, regardless of her failures. 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:45.739 A God who fully knows her and fully loves her, not because of who she is, but because of who he is. 00:11:46.839 --> 00:11:48.779 Because of the kind of God he is. 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:51.879 And it says God opens her heart to these words. 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:55.059 I love it because the same word is used when God opens a womb. 00:11:57.059 --> 00:11:57.580 Right? 00:11:57.820 --> 00:12:04.820 He opens her heart and makes it possible for the word to come in and to begin to create new life there. 00:12:05.179 --> 00:12:06.939 And that's exactly what happens. 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:10.240 Lydia's heart is opened. 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:14.720 She immediately believes the gospel, immediately gets baptized, 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:20.639 and she has her entire house baptized along with any children who would have been there. 00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:28.240 And immediately you see the change in Lydia, which is evidenced by her generosity and hospitality. 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:30.600 She prevails upon them to stay. 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:32.460 This is a woman who does not take no for an answer. 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:35.220 She prevails upon them to stay with her. 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.460 And then by the end of chapter 16, there's already a church meeting in her home. 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:44.439 So Lydia becomes the patron and the hostess of the church in Philippi, 00:12:44.500 --> 00:12:48.200 the first church that Paul plants in Europe meets in Lydia's home. 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:53.500 And so when you look at Lydia, you realize sometimes people are already open. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:55.440 They're already searching for the Lord. 00:12:55.800 --> 00:12:59.840 All they need is for somebody to sit down and share the gospel with them. 00:13:00.040 --> 00:13:05.680 I've had these conversations with people over the years as a pastor where I think I'm going to go in 00:13:05.680 --> 00:13:08.379 and there's going to be all of this apologetics and this kind of hard sell. 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:09.620 And I realize, oh, no, no, no, no. 00:13:10.060 --> 00:13:12.120 God is already at work in this person's life. 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:13.940 I'm just kind of a placeholder. 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:18.140 God just needs somebody to come in and just speak the gospel. 00:13:18.420 --> 00:13:19.800 This person's ready to receive it. 00:13:20.180 --> 00:13:21.520 That's where Lydia is. 00:13:22.040 --> 00:13:25.080 I think it's easy for us to imagine as Christians that everybody's hostile. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:26.500 Everybody's closed. 00:13:26.900 --> 00:13:28.880 Everybody thinks that it's ridiculous what we believe. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:37.660 No, God is at work in all kinds of ways that we can't see as he is in Lydia's life. 00:13:38.140 --> 00:13:40.000 So what she needs is the truth of the gospel. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:48.059 Now, other times, other times, people already know the truth. 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:51.000 That's not what they need. 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:52.220 They know the doctrine. 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:55.580 What they actually need is the power of the gospel. 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:59.679 And this is what we see in the next vignette with the slave girl. 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:06.899 They're on their way to the place of prayer and a woman starts following Paul and his companions. 00:14:06.899 --> 00:14:14.779 And as I said, unlike Lydia, this woman knows the truth about Paul and Silas and the message that they bring. 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:17.519 So Lydia's obstacle was theological. 00:14:18.459 --> 00:14:21.559 But this woman's obstacle is spiritual. 00:14:21.819 --> 00:14:22.759 It's actually demonic. 00:14:24.139 --> 00:14:25.759 She's oppressed by some kind of demon. 00:14:26.959 --> 00:14:32.240 And some men have realized that as a result of this, she has certain abilities of divination. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:34.639 And so they have made her a slave. 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:36.139 So she's a slave to a demon. 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:44.779 And now she's been a slave enslaved by these men who are exploiting her, taking advantage of her condition, and making money off of her. 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:47.919 So she starts following behind Paul and his companions saying, 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:49.799 These men are servants. 00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:51.440 And the word there is really slaves. 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:56.680 These men are slaves of the Most High God who proclaim to you the way of salvation. 00:14:56.679 --> 00:15:01.339 The word servant actually means slave. 00:15:03.219 --> 00:15:07.620 So this woman is a slave to a demonic being and these wicked men. 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:13.059 And yet she also calls Paul and his companions slaves as well. 00:15:13.459 --> 00:15:15.799 So one slave calling another person a slave. 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:18.579 There's something here we need to see. 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:20.019 Right? 00:15:20.099 --> 00:15:21.719 Most of us don't want to admit this. 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:29.620 But one of the things the Bible is really clear on is the fact that we are all slaves to someone or something. 00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:35.279 Every human being by nature is a slave to someone or something. 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.680 Someone or something is calling the shots. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.519 You say, well, I'm not a slave. 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:46.360 Well, if you can't stop overeating, you're a slave to food. 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:50.259 If you can't stop drinking too much, you're a slave to drink. 00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:54.899 If you can't stop scrolling on your phone, right? 00:15:54.980 --> 00:15:56.139 Looking at Zillow maybe. 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:58.740 I think Zillow is like a big deal. 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:00.899 I think a lot of hours are spent flipping through Zillow. 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:03.480 You're a slave to your phone. 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:04.860 Right? 00:16:04.939 --> 00:16:08.200 If you can't stop losing your temper, you're a slave to anger. 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:11.179 If you say, oh, this is the last time, I'll never do it again. 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:13.240 Then two weeks later you blow up, you're a slave to your anger. 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:25.740 If you can't stop compromising your faith or your values or your standards so that some person out there will like you or be attracted to you or approve of you, you're making that person your master. 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:26.960 You're saying, I'll be a slave. 00:16:27.220 --> 00:16:30.399 And you can call the shots about the most important things in my life. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:35.059 And like it or not, we have an economy that thrives off addiction. 00:16:36.439 --> 00:16:45.279 You know, we have an economy that hopes, that wants us to be addicted to our phones and to outrage and lust and envy and all the feelings that come from social media. 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:51.799 You know, we have an economy that really wants us to be dissatisfied with what we have so we'll go out and buy and consume more. 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:58.219 We have an economy that really thrives when we are full on enslaved by these appetites and desires. 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:06.139 And so this image of enslavement and exploitation, this is very, very widespread in our culture. 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:17.659 Not to mention all of the ways it actually happens, like sex trafficking and pornography and all of the other more sort of kind of low-hanging fruit examples of this kind of thing in the modern world. 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:23.240 And what we need to be clear on is Paul is not just annoyed. 00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:27.840 It's easy to read the ESV translation and to be like, Paul's family, like, oh, will you please shut up? 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:28.300 Demon committal. 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:29.759 And that's not the way Paul is. 00:17:30.080 --> 00:17:32.900 The word is actually, should be translated, greatly disturbed. 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:35.980 He is greatly disturbed by this woman. 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:47.080 And I think the reason is, it's deeply disturbing to hear Christian truth come from the lips of someone who so obviously hasn't experienced it themselves. 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:49.900 That's really disturbing. 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:52.900 Right? 00:17:52.980 --> 00:18:01.380 It reminds me of a conversation I had with somebody who was telling me all about what he had learned at AA. 00:18:02.300 --> 00:18:06.820 And all the truisms and all the aphorisms and all of the things that he was learning at AA. 00:18:07.060 --> 00:18:11.040 But he was slurring his words because he was so drunk as he was telling me about it. 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:13.019 That was disturbing. 00:18:14.120 --> 00:18:14.580 Right? 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:15.820 There's a disconnect there. 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:19.519 The purpose of the gospel is to set us free. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:27.859 And either we find freedom by serving Christ or we will become slaves of something else. 00:18:27.939 --> 00:18:32.839 And that's really the contrast between Paul and this woman. 00:18:34.159 --> 00:18:36.179 Some of us know the Christian gospel. 00:18:36.339 --> 00:18:38.559 I mean, some of us have really good theology. 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:44.220 We can talk all day long about grace and freedom and atonement and all of these things. 00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:46.859 But that's not the obstacle to faith for us. 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:51.000 The obstacle is that we are spiritually oppressed. 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:53.159 Right? 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:58.819 Maybe you're crippled by generational sin or unresolved trauma. 00:18:58.819 --> 00:19:07.939 Maybe you're enslaved by your appetites or your needs or your addictions or your fears or your anger. 00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:12.980 If that's you, then you don't need words. 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.299 You don't need another book. 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:20.980 What you need is the power of God in your life. 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:23.240 You need the power of God in your life. 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:28.039 This woman, only the power of the name of Jesus Christ can liberate her. 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:35.700 It reminds me of Jesus in Mark 9 when he encounters the boy who's demonically possessed. 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:39.720 And he says, this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:41.200 Some of us are in that place. 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:43.360 We have something that has a hold on us. 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:46.420 And that can only be driven out by prayer. 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:52.180 And this is one of the reasons why it is so important for us to gather together for worship. 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:57.700 This isn't just about coming together to see each other, sing a few songs, hear a little teaching. 00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:03.000 This is a time to come together hoping and expecting and seeking spiritual liberation. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:10.500 There is a rehabilitative function of Christian worship that is always at the very center of what we do. 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:13.980 This is one part cathedral and one part emergency room. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:19.279 And we expect that even though you don't look like it, you look really good and like you have it all together, 00:20:19.500 --> 00:20:21.420 that a lot of you are coming in on a gurney. 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:23.539 You're coming in with an arterial bleed. 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:25.339 You're coming in on the verge of death. 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:26.619 You're coming in hopeless. 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:27.920 You're coming in in despair. 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:30.579 Marriages are maybe falling apart on the inside. 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:31.640 You need an ER. 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:34.000 You need the power of God. 00:20:34.360 --> 00:20:35.460 You need to be set free. 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:37.280 Right? 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:42.480 So there are many, many, many people who are in the state that this woman is in, 00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:44.660 who don't necessarily need another book. 00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:46.800 They don't necessarily need medication. 00:20:47.600 --> 00:20:48.920 They need the Holy Spirit. 00:20:49.020 --> 00:20:50.180 They need spiritual liberation. 00:20:51.360 --> 00:20:53.880 And, you know, this is why we're, you've hopefully heard already, 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:56.380 we're taking steps to start a healing prayer ministry at Advent. 00:20:56.380 --> 00:21:01.880 It's just one of the ways that we want to focus on this need in our church. 00:21:02.020 --> 00:21:05.540 I meet with people over the years, and more and more I find myself sitting with somebody thinking, 00:21:05.860 --> 00:21:09.900 I don't think there's anything I can say that's going to be able to help this person. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.800 I don't think there's any direction that I can point them, any person that they can talk to. 00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:15.800 I don't think there's any book that they need. 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:21.000 What they really need is somebody to sit down and pray with them that the Spirit would deliver them. 00:21:22.659 --> 00:21:24.099 And so that's why we're doing it. 00:21:25.819 --> 00:21:30.200 So this church is a place that takes freedom very, very, very seriously. 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:33.559 If you want to break out of whatever it is that's enslaving you, you're in the right place. 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:34.659 Keep coming. 00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:37.680 So Lydia needs the truth of the gospel. 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:40.079 This slave girl needs the power of the gospel. 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:42.740 What about the third and final vignette, the working man? 00:21:42.740 --> 00:21:51.019 Well, this working man comes about a little later in the story. 00:21:51.180 --> 00:21:54.019 The slave girl's former owners are furious. 00:21:54.200 --> 00:22:00.019 Once the demon is gone, she loses her abilities of divination, and she's no longer profitable. 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:03.200 They go to the authorities, the magistrate. 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:06.160 They drum up all kinds of charges against Paul and his companions. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:12.660 They are mistreated by the way no Roman citizen, as Paul was, should receive this kind of treatment. 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:14.120 But they do it anyway. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:20.180 And so they basically, the authorities come, and they strip Paul and his companions. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.839 They rip their clothes off. 00:22:22.120 --> 00:22:23.640 They beat them with rods. 00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:25.460 And then they throw them in jail. 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:29.460 And then they order the jailer to keep them secure there. 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:33.420 And so the jailer, to make sure they don't escape, puts their feet in stocks. 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:35.180 It's incredibly uncomfortable. 00:22:35.180 --> 00:22:39.480 And we know from the later context that he doesn't even wash their wounds. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:44.180 So they've been beaten, they're bloody, they're half naked, and their feet are thrown in stocks. 00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:49.420 Now this jailer, there's some things that we can actually infer about this guy. 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:52.180 We know that he's ex-military. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:53.680 How do we know that? 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:59.320 Well, all civil service jobs were given to former soldiers, so he's ex-military. 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:03.000 We know that because of that, he's probably fairly cynical. 00:23:03.179 --> 00:23:05.779 He's probably seen a good deal of suffering and death. 00:23:06.099 --> 00:23:07.399 And probably fairly cynical. 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:10.619 Probably pretty hard in his heart as a form of self-protection. 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:14.119 Probably the kind of guy who doesn't really get into theology too much. 00:23:14.159 --> 00:23:15.539 He's just kind of there to follow orders. 00:23:15.539 --> 00:23:21.399 If you try to sit down in a coffee shop and talk to a guy like this about the gospel, 00:23:21.639 --> 00:23:23.359 he's just going to kind of wave you off. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:25.819 He's probably the kind of guy who today would say, 00:23:25.899 --> 00:23:27.259 yeah, I'm not really the spiritual type. 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:29.119 I'm not really the religious type. 00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:31.960 You save that kind of mumbo-jumbo for other people. 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:33.399 This is not my thing. 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:37.819 But don't make the mistake of thinking that a guy like this isn't religious. 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:39.759 Everyone is religious. 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:42.279 Everyone is religious. 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:46.599 In the sense that everyone has something in their life that they worship. 00:23:46.980 --> 00:23:49.000 It's just a question of what that is. 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:52.519 And most people don't think of it in religious terms. 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:54.240 But it nevertheless is. 00:23:55.259 --> 00:23:58.680 So, you know, our culture here in D.C. prizes intelligence. 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:02.899 People say, as long as I'm the smartest person in the room, right, life is worth living. 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:05.879 We prioritize achievement and influence. 00:24:06.579 --> 00:24:07.799 Being an amazing parent. 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:08.879 Being very attractive. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:10.279 Or being all of those things. 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:14.680 A lot of people, I think a lot of women, feel the pressure to be all of those things at the same time. 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:15.420 Right? 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:18.299 For this man, it was his job. 00:24:19.099 --> 00:24:20.240 It was his job. 00:24:20.859 --> 00:24:26.440 The difference between Lydia and this man, Lydia had been very successful. 00:24:27.139 --> 00:24:29.599 But her job wasn't really the center of her life. 00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:30.920 You know, she's hungry. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:31.519 She's thirsty. 00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:32.200 She's seeking. 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:35.460 But for this man, he wasn't hungry. 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:36.619 He wasn't seeking. 00:24:36.899 --> 00:24:38.359 His job was everything. 00:24:38.359 --> 00:24:40.519 You say, well, how can we possibly know that from the text? 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:42.839 Well, look at how he responds when he fails. 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:46.779 You want to know what really matters to you? 00:24:50.639 --> 00:24:52.339 Take something away from you. 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:54.359 Or fail. 00:24:54.919 --> 00:24:56.219 And see how you respond. 00:24:57.259 --> 00:24:57.619 Right? 00:24:57.779 --> 00:24:59.240 The things that matter most to us. 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:01.459 The things that we worship are the things that if we lose them. 00:25:01.460 --> 00:25:05.920 If we fail in that endeavor, it makes life no longer worth living. 00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:06.660 That's how you know. 00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:09.680 God sends an earthquake. 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:11.779 All the prison doors open. 00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:13.759 The jailer wakes up. 00:25:13.819 --> 00:25:15.500 He thinks that the prisoners have escaped. 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:19.779 He thinks that he's failed at the one thing that makes him who he is. 00:25:20.620 --> 00:25:22.059 So what does he immediately do? 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:28.179 He draws his sword thinking that the only way he can preserve some of his honor, and this 00:25:28.179 --> 00:25:31.279 is an honor culture, is to take his own life. 00:25:31.720 --> 00:25:35.579 Which is, according to this culture and his values, no longer worth living. 00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:38.859 The best thing I can do now is end my own life. 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:44.559 And as I said before, that's how you really know what it is you worship in your life. 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:50.039 What is there in your life that if you were to lose it, it would make your life no longer worth living? 00:25:51.659 --> 00:25:55.419 So this man doesn't need truth alone. 00:25:55.799 --> 00:25:57.759 He doesn't even just need power. 00:25:58.559 --> 00:25:59.859 This man needs hope. 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:02.819 And he needs to see hope. 00:26:03.379 --> 00:26:07.480 He needs a living example of hope to offer him some alternative. 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:10.539 Because the only other alternative that he knows is the sword. 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:14.899 And he sees this hope in Paul. 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:16.720 Right? 00:26:16.879 --> 00:26:21.180 The first way he sees it is Paul's inexplicable joy. 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.599 You know, by most standards, Paul looks like a failure. 00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:29.879 Paul has one job. 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:32.299 You know, start a church. 00:26:33.159 --> 00:26:34.399 What happens instead? 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:35.379 He's mocked. 00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:36.379 He is stripped. 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:37.460 He is beaten. 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:38.799 And now he's in prison. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:40.339 He looks like an abject failure. 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:53.399 However, even at midnight, as the blood is running down his legs in the stocks in a dark dungeon where his life looks like an utter failure, he's singing. 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:56.500 He's singing. 00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:00.139 He's praising God. 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:01.839 He's full of joy. 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:06.299 The text seems to imply that he gets all the other prisoners in on it too. 00:27:06.379 --> 00:27:07.819 So they're all singing at midnight. 00:27:07.919 --> 00:27:10.959 Can you imagine singing in the darkness of the dungeon at midnight? 00:27:13.859 --> 00:27:14.659 Inexplicable joy. 00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:22.320 What the jailer sees there is, here's a man whose hope is completely separate from his circumstances. 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:27.600 His joy is completely independent from his circumstances. 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:30.980 And that's because Paul wasn't defined by his success. 00:27:31.179 --> 00:27:32.779 He wasn't defined by his performance. 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:37.759 Paul was entirely defined by what Jesus had already done for him. 00:27:37.819 --> 00:27:43.179 And Paul knew that no matter what happened to him in this life, that he belonged to God. 00:27:43.399 --> 00:27:45.519 And that his life was eternally secure in Christ. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:50.660 And the thing is, if your life is built on that, then it's secure. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:59.960 If you build your life on anything else, you know, your family, your kids, your job, anything else, that thing could be taken away from you. 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:02.559 And then your hope and your joy is really circumstantial. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:06.859 But Paul's life was built on what Jesus had done for him. 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:08.859 You could take everything away from Paul. 00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:09.899 He's still going to sing. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:14.940 And so he sees this inexplicable joy. 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:18.460 The jailer also sees mercy in Paul. 00:28:19.679 --> 00:28:22.819 You know, Paul easily could have escaped when this earthquake comes. 00:28:23.299 --> 00:28:24.819 He easily could have led a revolt. 00:28:25.339 --> 00:28:29.819 And most people, what they would have done is, they would have immediately come out of their prison cell. 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:32.500 They would have grabbed whatever weapon or blunt object possible. 00:28:32.740 --> 00:28:34.500 And they would have killed all the guards and escaped. 00:28:34.659 --> 00:28:37.139 That's probably what most people would have tried to do. 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:39.339 Paul stays in the prison. 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:40.720 He keeps everybody else there. 00:28:40.779 --> 00:28:41.339 He says, no, no, no. 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:43.779 The jailer comes rushing in. 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:45.619 Paul says, don't worry. 00:28:46.539 --> 00:28:47.579 He stays his hand. 00:28:47.639 --> 00:28:48.439 Don't kill yourself. 00:28:49.079 --> 00:28:49.539 It's okay. 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:50.240 We're all here. 00:28:50.879 --> 00:28:52.200 Your honor is preserved. 00:28:52.899 --> 00:28:54.319 You know, your job is safe. 00:28:56.379 --> 00:28:58.159 And what we need to understand is, 00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:00.920 from Paul's perspective, 00:29:02.320 --> 00:29:03.300 right, you ask, 00:29:03.580 --> 00:29:07.080 how could Paul do this unbelievable act of mercy? 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:08.160 Right? 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:09.360 The way they had mistreated him. 00:29:09.600 --> 00:29:10.779 All the things they had done to him. 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:15.940 The answer is because Paul himself was a recipient of even greater mercy. 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:20.279 I mean, no matter how badly this Philippian jailer had mistreated Paul, 00:29:20.279 --> 00:29:27.680 Paul knew that he had done worse to men, women, and children who were Christians before his conversion. 00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:29.099 He knew that he had done worse. 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:33.160 But then Jesus had appeared to him on the Damascus road. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:36.279 And you ask, well, what did Jesus do then? 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:37.180 Did he smite him? 00:29:38.119 --> 00:29:40.000 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:29:40.639 --> 00:29:41.700 Lightning, you know? 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:42.779 No. 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:46.460 He says, as Paul relates in Acts chapter 26, 00:29:46.599 --> 00:29:47.019 rise. 00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:53.960 I have appointed you to go out and tell people that I will forgive them and make them holy if they have faith in me. 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:57.500 And that's exactly what he did for Paul. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.899 And so you ask, well, what was the secret to Paul's joy and mercy? 00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:06.279 And it's the fact that he saw his entire life as a gift of undeserved mercy. 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:10.539 And if you see your life as a gift of undeserved mercy, 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:14.119 if you realize that there's nothing that anybody can do to you, 00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:18.759 that you have not done a thousand times over to God, 00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:24.160 and that God has actually forgiven you and blessed you and filled you with the Spirit, 00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:26.559 if you live your life that way, 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:31.440 how can you not show the same grace and mercy to people when they wrong you, right? 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:37.340 So what you see here is God sent one kind of earthquake to open the prison doors, 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:40.080 but it seems as though God sent another earthquake, 00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:42.820 which is happening at the center of this man's life, 00:30:43.259 --> 00:30:45.160 a kind of holy disruption, 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:48.680 where he takes away the thing that matters most 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:52.880 in order to open this man's heart to the truth of the gospel. 00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:56.420 Here's the thing that you can build your life on that can never be taken away from you. 00:30:56.420 --> 00:31:01.460 And so the jailer falls down before Paul and Silas, 00:31:01.500 --> 00:31:02.039 and he asks, 00:31:02.380 --> 00:31:03.620 What must I do to be saved? 00:31:03.779 --> 00:31:04.200 In other words, 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:06.019 How do I get this into my life? 00:31:06.220 --> 00:31:07.620 And they tell him about Jesus. 00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:10.460 And again, just like Lydia, 00:31:10.820 --> 00:31:12.660 this man and his entire family, 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:14.100 they all hear the gospel, 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:14.960 they're all baptized. 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:20.420 And what we learn here is that sometimes God loves you so much 00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:23.019 that he sends an earthquake into your life 00:31:23.019 --> 00:31:27.460 to loosen your hold on the things that you are clinging to 00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:29.740 to open your heart to his truth. 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:32.059 And, you know, there are people, 00:31:32.639 --> 00:31:35.240 I've had this happen enough in my own life, 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:37.319 and some other time, maybe over coffee, 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:38.879 I'll tell you some of the details, 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:40.920 but I've had this happen enough in my own life 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:45.019 that there are times when I'm talking to somebody or meeting with them 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:46.799 and I just think, I ask God, I say, 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:49.139 God, I think maybe this person needs an earthquake. 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:50.920 You know? 00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:53.560 That's the only thing that's going to open them up. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:55.380 I think this person needs an earthquake, 00:31:55.520 --> 00:31:56.820 I think this marriage needs an earthquake. 00:31:58.320 --> 00:32:00.380 Now you say, how could you possibly ask that? 00:32:01.100 --> 00:32:02.680 Well, it's because I know the kind of God 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:03.780 that's going to send that earthquake. 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:07.160 And it's the most profoundly loving that God can do 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:11.000 to defibrillate that heart, 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:13.120 to bring that person back to life. 00:32:15.140 --> 00:32:17.740 So we have here, as we look at Acts chapter 16, 00:32:17.740 --> 00:32:19.039 between three different people, 00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:21.799 three different circumstances, 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:24.240 three completely different conversions 00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:26.200 that look completely different from one another, 00:32:27.299 --> 00:32:30.099 same gospel, same Jesus. 00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:33.400 And the reason is because different people 00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:35.160 need different things. 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:37.059 Every single person in this room, 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:39.880 for you to take the next step in your walk, 00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:41.859 the next step in your faith, 00:32:42.140 --> 00:32:44.420 to become more trusting of the Lord, 00:32:44.420 --> 00:32:47.519 to become more given over to God's agenda for your life, 00:32:47.740 --> 00:32:49.160 we all need different things. 00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:51.059 Some of us need truth, we need a Bible study, 00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:52.940 some of us need power, deliverance, 00:32:53.120 --> 00:32:54.319 some of us need an earthquake, 00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:58.740 to be re-centered on the source of hope 00:32:58.740 --> 00:33:00.180 that's never going to be taken away, right? 00:33:00.299 --> 00:33:01.420 We need different things. 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:03.819 The good news is, God knows that, 00:33:04.380 --> 00:33:06.200 and he's able to give it to us if we ask. 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:09.680 So this should inspire you to be willing 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:11.319 to share your faith with other people. 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:13.779 This has been a consistent source of inspiration for me, 00:33:14.099 --> 00:33:16.079 especially people who are different from you. 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:20.259 You know, one of the best things about this passage, 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:23.139 one other interesting thing to note 00:33:23.139 --> 00:33:24.660 about these three vignettes, 00:33:25.779 --> 00:33:29.799 growing up, Paul as a child would have grown up praying, 00:33:29.960 --> 00:33:32.259 as most Jewish men did every day, 00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:34.839 thank you, Lord, that I am not a slave, 00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:36.259 that I am not a woman, 00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:37.839 and that I'm not a Gentile. 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:42.119 And who are the first three conversions in Philippi 00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:43.199 through Paul's ministry? 00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:45.799 One is a slave, two are women, 00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:48.079 and all three are Gentiles. 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:49.220 That's amazing. 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:50.099 Let's pray. 00:33:51.399 --> 00:33:53.139 Lord, we thank you for your word, 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:54.379 we thank you for your gospel, 00:33:54.699 --> 00:33:57.399 and we thank you for the fact that it has truth, 00:33:58.240 --> 00:33:59.139 that it has power, 00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:02.599 and that sometimes it brings a holy disruption 00:34:02.599 --> 00:34:06.099 so that it can offer us an unshakable hope. 00:34:06.099 --> 00:34:08.519 And I just pray for us, Lord, 00:34:08.599 --> 00:34:11.559 even now as we sing this song of response, 00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:13.659 as we come to you in prayer and confession, 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:15.299 as we come around your table, 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:17.920 that you would be giving each one of us 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:19.259 exactly what we need, 00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:20.500 meeting us where we are, 00:34:21.799 --> 00:34:24.420 drawing us each in our own way closer 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:26.880 to your embrace, Lord. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:28.480 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:28.900 Amen. 00:34:36.099 --> 00:34:38.139 Amen. 00:34:38.319 --> 00:34:38.880 Amen. 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:39.420 Amen. 00:34:39.420 --> 00:34:39.719 Amen. 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:40.139 Amen. 00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:40.659 Amen. 00:34:40.659 --> 00:34:42.839 Amen. 00:34:42.900 --> 00:34:43.440 Amen. 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:45.799 Amen. 00:34:45.799 --> 00:34:46.739 Amen.