WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.299 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:10.800 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:14.480 use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:21.839 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:25.420 Good morning. 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:30.240 My name is Beth Todd and I'm a part of the Oakmore Community Group. 00:00:32.660 --> 00:00:38.600 A reading from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9, verses 1 through 18. 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:47.060 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:53.400 the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:59.640 found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 00:01:00.839 --> 00:01:07.900 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:08.219 him. 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:17.060 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting 00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:17.340 me? 00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:20.939 And he said, who are you, Lord? 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:26.159 And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:31.700 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:39.040 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:44.640 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:49.280 So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:55.400 And for three days he was without sight, and he neither ate nor drank. 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:00.439 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:03.939 The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:07.060 And he said, here I am, Lord. 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:12.780 And the Lord said to him, rise, and go to the street called Straight. 00:02:13.420 --> 00:02:17.159 And at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. 00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:23.960 For behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:27.060 lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight. 00:02:27.060 --> 00:02:35.840 But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:37.360 to your saints at Jerusalem. 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:43.219 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:50.340 But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:53.580 the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 00:02:53.580 --> 00:02:58.400 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:02.680 So Ananias departed and entered the house. 00:03:03.320 --> 00:03:08.540 And laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on 00:03:08.540 --> 00:03:13.960 the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:14.700 the Holy Spirit. 00:03:15.820 --> 00:03:21.600 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:27.039 Then he rose and was baptized, and taking food, he was strengthened. 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:29.799 This is the word of the Lord. 00:03:30.579 --> 00:03:31.659 Thanks be to God. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:37.780 Thank you, Beth, for that scripture reading. 00:03:37.859 --> 00:03:38.519 Good morning, everyone. 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:39.560 My name is Andrew. 00:03:39.859 --> 00:03:41.379 I'm on the pastoral staff here. 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:42.680 It's good to be back. 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:43.859 I've been gone two weeks. 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:44.939 Not sure if anyone noticed. 00:03:44.939 --> 00:03:50.280 We were in Hawaii two weeks ago, and last week I got to preach at a church in Vacaville. 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:51.659 That's part of our denomination. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.680 But it's good to be home with all of you today. 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:57.919 So will you join me in a word of prayer before we get into the scripture? 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:05.740 Lord God, we are coming before you on this Trinity Sunday wanting to experience the love 00:04:05.740 --> 00:04:11.300 of the Father and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:16.840 Would you convince us of the heights of your holiness and the depths of our sin and the 00:04:16.840 --> 00:04:20.560 overwhelming abundance of your grace toward us in Christ? 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:26.300 Convince us of that truth, and so convince us of that truth that we can't help but be witnesses 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:32.220 of Christ and everything that he's done, everything that he's going to do to make this world your 00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:32.860 new creation. 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.620 That's what we long for, that's what we hope in, and that's what we want to proclaim. 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:39.199 So be honored in the preaching of your word this morning, God, and I pray these things 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:39.980 in the name of Jesus. 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:40.960 Amen. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:47.199 All right, so we're in Acts chapter 9 today, and you know, preparing for this sermon from 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:53.120 Acts chapter 9, it took me back to an episode in my life that I'm like, honestly, super ashamed 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:54.939 about, super embarrassed about. 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:57.879 It's an episode from my high school days. 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:00.480 Two of my buddies and I were out running. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:04.200 We were on the cross-country team, and we were off campus running, and we were running 00:05:04.200 --> 00:05:07.040 by this local Catholic school. 00:05:07.340 --> 00:05:11.420 And it was around the time when this Catholic school was letting all the students out, so 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:13.060 there were students coming out of this Catholic school. 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:14.460 We were running there. 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:20.480 And some of these students from this Catholic school started jeering my friends and I. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:26.439 Now, one thing you need to know about where I come from is that I grew up in a very, you 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:31.600 know, conservative, evangelical, Protestant tradition of a church and a private Christian 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:32.040 school. 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:39.460 And so what I was taught in this church and school was that, you know, Roman Catholic Christians, 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:41.680 maybe you actually weren't really Christians. 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:46.439 They believed a different kind of theology of salvation than we did. 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:54.980 And so I took that, and as we were getting jeered by these Catholic school students, I said 00:05:54.980 --> 00:05:57.899 something that I still think about, you know, at least once a month. 00:05:57.980 --> 00:06:00.339 I said, you're all going to hell. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:03.399 I said that to them as they were jeering at us. 00:06:03.899 --> 00:06:05.000 I said, you're all going to hell. 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:08.980 And, you know, I said it with a smile on my face. 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:13.600 And also to the amusement of my fellow Protestant buddies. 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:21.379 And when I think about this shameful moment in my life, my immediate temptation is just 00:06:21.379 --> 00:06:24.420 to excuse my immature high school self, right? 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:31.540 But no matter how I slice it, I can't get around, you know, the tribal and dogmatic malice 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:33.860 that was in my heart. 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:40.819 And the way that I used even the beautiful Protestant doctrine of salvation by grace through 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:45.639 faith alone as a tool, I used it as a tool for my own superiority. 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:51.120 Even if what I yelled back was true, and we don't have time to get into that, it's quite 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:51.680 complicated. 00:06:51.900 --> 00:06:59.139 But even if what I said was true, that I told other human beings made in the image of God, 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:00.720 that they were going to hell. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:07.120 And that I said it with a smile on my face and delighting in my own religious supremacy. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:09.880 Man, it fills me with incredible shame. 00:07:10.300 --> 00:07:13.020 Incredible shame even to this day. 00:07:14.200 --> 00:07:17.880 Especially as someone preaching the gospel here at Christ Church. 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.680 But as someone who will soon be ordained, unless Jonathan changed his mind after hearing 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:27.500 that story, or the elders, as someone who will soon be ordained in the next couple weeks, 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:33.560 ordained as a minister of the gospel of God's grace, I hope this story goes to show you, 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:39.759 much like Saul's story here in Acts chapter 9 today, not just the depths of the sinful heart, 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:42.819 but the heights of God's gracious heart. 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:49.959 And that God can truly use anyone, anyone as his witness, to testify of his grace and his 00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:56.199 mercy and his radical inclusion, even those who previously weaponized his truths for their 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:57.539 own evil ends. 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:02.000 Now, if you're new at Christ Church, we've been going through the book of Acts, and we're 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:07.659 considering what it means to be witnesses of Christ, the crucified and risen Christ, to 00:08:07.659 --> 00:08:09.079 the ends of the earth. 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:13.500 And we've been seeing how when Jesus told his early church that you'll be my witnesses to 00:08:13.500 --> 00:08:16.719 the ends of the earth, man, he really, really wasn't kidding. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:22.180 And we cannot miss how crazy it must have been for the early church to see the Spirit of 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:27.340 God crossing all kinds of religious and social and cultural boundaries so much that it was 00:08:27.340 --> 00:08:32.720 like, man, is there anyone whom God's Spirit won't reach? 00:08:33.300 --> 00:08:38.800 Is there anyone who God is just not interested in pursuing, not interested in knowing by name? 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:44.220 Maybe, you know, someone whose heinously wicked deeds just went just too far, too far beyond 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:45.660 God's saving touch. 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:51.420 Or someone whose life is just so completely jacked up and opposed to God, so beyond repair, 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:55.740 that God could never turn such a life around and use it for his good purposes. 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:59.120 Or someone whose hard-heartedness was just too hard to be softened. 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:04.800 Surely there must be some despicable, undeserving, and stubborn person whom God's Spirit just 00:09:04.800 --> 00:09:09.620 principally refuses to dwell within and unite to his Son, right? 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:15.639 Well, in Acts chapter 9, today we see these questions really pushed to their limit in the 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:20.860 story of Saul from Tarsus, better known to us maybe as the Apostle Paul, right? 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:26.000 I mean, this text, it begins with Paul in verse 1, breathing threats and murder against the 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:26.980 disciples of the Lord. 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:33.779 And yet somehow, by verse 18, it ends up with him filled with God's Holy Spirit and baptized 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:34.799 in the name of Jesus. 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:37.719 So let's look at this Saul of Tarsus. 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.579 Just for some background, Saul of Tarsus, he was what was called a Pharisee. 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:46.839 The Pharisees believed that Israel's exile and their foreign occupation was due to their 00:09:46.839 --> 00:09:48.279 unfaithfulness to God. 00:09:48.339 --> 00:09:53.079 He was part of this distinct Jewish religious group that sought to restore Israel through 00:09:53.079 --> 00:09:55.759 faithful and extreme observance of the law. 00:09:56.319 --> 00:10:00.819 And thus the Pharisees especially saw, who was called a Pharisee of Pharisees, well known for 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:04.840 his teaching ability and his knowledge of the law and his devotion amongst his peers. 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:06.620 They were experts at the law. 00:10:06.900 --> 00:10:08.740 Externally, they were blameless. 00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:13.680 In their minds, their nation's whole future depended on their faithfulness and their blamelessness 00:10:13.680 --> 00:10:14.500 before God. 00:10:15.379 --> 00:10:20.520 So no one in this time was more righteous than the Pharisees and certainly not more righteous 00:10:20.520 --> 00:10:22.200 than this guy here, Saul of Tarsus. 00:10:22.280 --> 00:10:24.840 So zealous was he for the purity of Israel. 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:30.620 He even approved of the murder of those he considered to be theologically incorrect. 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:33.580 So what happens? 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:37.320 Earlier in Acts, this is an example of how zealous he was. 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:40.920 Earlier in Acts, we didn't actually preach on this, but earlier in Acts, what we see is 00:10:40.920 --> 00:10:46.420 he's actually watching the coats of people who stoned the first Christian martyr, Stephen, 00:10:46.680 --> 00:10:49.540 who is preaching that Jesus is Lord and Messiah. 00:10:49.660 --> 00:10:53.400 This is how hardcore he was about what he believed in. 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:57.639 And as we get here to Acts 9, we see that Saul, he still hasn't let up, right? 00:10:57.720 --> 00:10:58.079 Verse 1, 00:10:58.299 --> 00:11:02.279 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:07.840 the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:13.319 found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 00:11:14.199 --> 00:11:19.679 See, now that many of the followers of Jesus had scattered from Jerusalem after the martyrdom 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:25.039 of Stephen, so zealous Saul was for the purity of his religion. 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:26.959 He's like, no, I'm going to go pursue them. 00:11:27.319 --> 00:11:29.559 I'm going to go get the rest of these infidels. 00:11:29.599 --> 00:11:32.759 I'm going to bind them and make sure that they meet the same end as well. 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:35.639 Even as far as Damascus, a five-day journey from Jerusalem. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.979 Now, Saul was known by the early church as a persecutor, right? 00:11:40.239 --> 00:11:42.659 He was known as a persecutor, and Jesus himself called him that. 00:11:43.099 --> 00:11:46.620 But of course, Saul didn't think of himself as a persecutor. 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:50.419 Saul didn't think of himself as a persecutor, and this is a scary thing if you think about 00:11:50.419 --> 00:11:50.700 it, right? 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:51.960 It's a pretty scary thing. 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:55.100 No one ever says, all right, I think I'm going to be a persecutor today. 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:58.340 Like, it's a good thing to aspire to, right? 00:11:58.419 --> 00:11:59.299 No one says that. 00:11:59.560 --> 00:12:01.500 I mean, Hitler, Mao Zedong, right? 00:12:01.560 --> 00:12:06.100 Kim Jong-il probably didn't think of themselves primarily as persecutors, right? 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:11.680 Rather, Hitler and Kim Jong-il and Mao would probably say they were just being men of principle, 00:12:11.680 --> 00:12:12.120 right? 00:12:12.680 --> 00:12:16.039 Carrying out what they believed to be true and just and good. 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:17.120 What was best for their nation? 00:12:17.219 --> 00:12:19.779 What was best maybe even for the whole entire world? 00:12:19.899 --> 00:12:24.339 Simply carrying out a certain kind of coherent logic that, though twisted according to others 00:12:24.339 --> 00:12:29.860 like us, made lots of sense according to their values and their views of the world, which 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:32.799 they believed with certainty were absolutely right. 00:12:33.579 --> 00:12:39.360 And I don't say this to excuse this crazy, wicked persecution of these men, but to warn us. 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:42.039 To warn us of the real danger, right? 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:45.219 The real danger of becoming persecutors ourselves. 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:50.579 See, being a persecutor is not about whether or not you, you know, resolve to be a mean 00:12:50.579 --> 00:12:51.860 and prejudiced person. 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:56.879 It really starts with the most basic and ultimate beliefs that you devote your life to. 00:12:57.459 --> 00:13:03.099 If you are Hitler and your guiding foundational principles are Aryan supremacy, right? 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:04.439 And the Jewish peril. 00:13:04.440 --> 00:13:08.600 If you are Israel and these are the foundational values that you believe will make the world 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:13.380 a better place, then the Holocaust, according to such logic, is justified. 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:17.920 According to such fallacious premises, the Holocaust would then be justified. 00:13:18.040 --> 00:13:23.800 And really anything, anything that serves what you're ultimately devoted to is justified. 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:30.159 And see, this is how Saul, who believed he was the most devoted Yahweh worshiper ever, despite, 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.539 you know, Yahweh's commandments, thou shalt not murder and, you know, love your neighbor 00:13:33.539 --> 00:13:34.179 as yourself. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:40.079 This is how Saul of Tarsus was still able to justify his murderous intentions toward the 00:13:40.079 --> 00:13:40.740 followers of Jesus. 00:13:40.859 --> 00:13:45.719 This is how I justified my telling these Catholic students, you're going to hell with a smile 00:13:45.719 --> 00:13:46.419 on my face. 00:13:46.419 --> 00:13:53.360 According to Saul, these people he was pursuing, they were infidels who needed to be wiped out 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:54.919 to cleanse the promised land. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.519 This was his logic, and it justified his hate. 00:13:57.659 --> 00:14:00.679 Saul's religion was weaponized, just like mine was in high school. 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:03.959 And as Yale theologian Willie James Jennings writes, though, 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:09.959 no one is more dangerous than one with the power to take life and who already has mind 00:14:09.959 --> 00:14:12.299 and sight set on those who are a threat. 00:14:12.299 --> 00:14:17.699 Such a person is a closed circle relying on the inner coherence of their logic. 00:14:18.219 --> 00:14:22.219 Their authority confirms their argument, and their argument justifies their actions, 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:25.139 and their actions reinforce the appropriateness of their authority. 00:14:25.259 --> 00:14:28.519 The disciples of the Lord have no chance against Saul. 00:14:28.819 --> 00:14:29.679 They have no argument. 00:14:30.079 --> 00:14:34.659 They are betrayers of the faith who are a clear and present danger to Israel. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:36.299 This is how Saul sees them. 00:14:36.599 --> 00:14:39.899 His rationality demands his vision of justice. 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:46.939 See, you could be the most principled person in the world, but if your principles are off 00:14:46.939 --> 00:14:52.860 in the first place, your passionate devotion will only ever lead to harmful destruction. 00:14:52.980 --> 00:14:58.279 In Saul's mind, he was doing everything he thought was right and good and pure in the 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:03.639 supposed service of the Lord, and yet all it revealed was that he actually didn't know 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:05.019 the Lord at all. 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:11.980 And it should be incredibly sobering to us that while Saul of Tarsus absolutely believed 00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:16.480 that he was loving God and serving the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:20.980 and while he was even right to acknowledge the glorious light that knocked him off his 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:25.059 heart as a light that came from this God he worshipped, he still didn't actually know 00:15:25.059 --> 00:15:26.059 the Lord. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:27.500 He didn't know him. 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:28.960 Verse 3, 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:34.000 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:34.279 him. 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:36.759 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:40.600 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.240 And he said, who are you, Lord? 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:45.580 See, Saul knew that this was the Lord. 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:46.679 He knew that this was Yahweh. 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:49.580 Who else could encounter him with such power and such glory? 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:52.240 But he didn't know the Lord's true identity. 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:54.200 He says, who are you, Lord? 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:54.940 He didn't know him. 00:15:54.940 --> 00:16:00.980 And get this, the Lord answered, he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 00:16:01.880 --> 00:16:07.480 And man, we have to understand how mind-blowing this must have been for Saul to hear, right? 00:16:07.780 --> 00:16:14.120 He was so sure that this was the Lord getting his attention, yet this Lord was the same Jesus 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:17.760 that he detested and whose followers he committed his life to destroy. 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:20.820 It's a huge shocker, a paradigm-shattering revelation. 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:21.540 Jesus? 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:25.280 The crucified man from Nazareth? 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:32.660 The one who rejected so many of the traditions that my people, the law-abiding Pharisees, gave 00:16:32.660 --> 00:16:33.260 to the people? 00:16:33.760 --> 00:16:36.480 The one whose way I've been trying to exterminate from Israel? 00:16:36.640 --> 00:16:38.660 How, how, how could this be? 00:16:38.760 --> 00:16:43.160 How could the Lord Yahweh be a crucified man from Nazareth? 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:47.899 And how could I and the rest of the Pharisees, you know, experts in the law, how could we 00:16:47.899 --> 00:16:50.620 be so wrong about so much? 00:16:51.439 --> 00:16:56.480 In this moment, Saul realized that the God he thought he knew, the God he thought he served, 00:16:56.919 --> 00:16:59.899 was not the God he wanted nor expected. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:04.519 And an application question for us today, Christ Church, is could it be? 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:10.279 Could it be that many of us are actually searching for, many of us are actually devoting ourselves 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:16.420 to a God that we want to believe in, rather than the true Lord revealed to us in Jesus 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:16.920 Christ? 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:22.920 Could it be that the God we're either looking for or think we're serving is simply one made 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:27.319 in our own image, a God who fits in our box, right? 00:17:28.019 --> 00:17:33.200 And sure, you know, as people made in the image of God, we should definitely have many things 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:35.519 that resonate with us about this God. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:41.359 But if we also believe in sin, if we believe in the fallenness and brokenness of our world 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:45.200 and the fallenness of our head and our hearts and our hands, then if we are looking for or 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:51.180 giving ourselves to a God who never disagrees with us, never rubs us the wrong way, it is 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:56.740 quite likely that we are not worshiping the one true God who made us in his image, but a 00:17:56.740 --> 00:17:59.740 God we've crafted after our own images. 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:02.059 And this is called idolatry. 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:06.440 And if you don't think this is such a bad thing, I'm here to tell you that a God crafted 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:11.579 in your image, a God crafted in my image, is no real God at all. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:17.440 And certainly not the kind of God that can save and deliver us in any meaningful way, 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:17.740 right? 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:22.740 For to create a God in our own image is basically to equate ourselves with God. 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:23.559 But that puts us where? 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:25.359 It puts us back at square one. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:31.679 If I am my own God and my only hope for salvation is thus myself, man, I'm in huge trouble. 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:33.659 I'm in huge trouble. 00:18:34.659 --> 00:18:39.979 But, but if the God who called out to Saul and knocked him off his horse with a blinding 00:18:39.979 --> 00:18:46.139 light, if that God is my God, then even if my butt is sore from falling off a horse, even 00:18:46.139 --> 00:18:51.959 if my ego is sore from being so wrong and so blind about so many things in my life, then 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:58.600 perhaps this God, perhaps this God might have something better for me than anything I could 00:18:58.600 --> 00:19:00.019 come up with myself. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:02.220 And this is the gospel, right? 00:19:02.539 --> 00:19:06.779 This is the gospel that it is quite possible, even likely, that we are running the wrong 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:12.539 way to the detriment of ourselves and of others, but that we can never outrun the grace of God 00:19:12.539 --> 00:19:15.240 or escape his good purposes for our life. 00:19:15.840 --> 00:19:16.799 And this is the gospel. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:22.159 And through this encounter, Saul, he was just beginning to be acquainted with the truth. 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:29.039 The truth that though he had been terribly wrong about so much, the true Lord, Jesus Christ, 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:32.579 knew the way to restoration and wholeness for Saul. 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:37.079 And that's why Saul says, according to the conversion account he tells in Acts 22, after 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:41.680 being knocked down, blinded, and hearing the name of Jesus, Saul says, what shall I do, 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:42.000 Lord? 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:44.079 What shall I do, Lord? 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:48.799 And I love this little detail because check it, Saul began on the road of repentance without 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:49.779 having all the answers. 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:53.240 But he just says, what shall I do, Lord? 00:19:53.699 --> 00:19:57.299 He knew enough to begin asking the right questions of the right Lord. 00:19:57.399 --> 00:20:03.319 He didn't know exactly how Jesus could be Lord, but that Jesus was Lord was unmistakable 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:04.179 to him now. 00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:08.619 And though not having all the answers, but somehow knowing who the true Lord was, he just began 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:12.279 to bow the knee and say, what shall I do, Lord? 00:20:12.959 --> 00:20:18.279 To which Jesus replied in verse 6, rise, enter the city, and you'll be told what you are to 00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:18.479 do. 00:20:19.159 --> 00:20:21.519 So Jesus doesn't even tell him that much. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.579 He really just tells him, hey, I'm going to tell you later, just get up and go into 00:20:24.579 --> 00:20:25.000 the city. 00:20:25.939 --> 00:20:28.859 And Saul, he just goes, blind, led by the hand. 00:20:28.919 --> 00:20:31.000 He waits three whole days, right? 00:20:31.619 --> 00:20:34.880 I mean, this guy, it's just crazy. 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:35.740 Just imagine. 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.900 Imagine those three days without hearing what's in store for him. 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:41.819 He's just obeying the Lord Jesus. 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:42.779 I'm going into the city. 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:43.500 He's fasting. 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:45.140 He's praying for three days, hearing nothing. 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:46.859 And this guy, right? 00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:48.019 He knew the law. 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:49.700 Just imagine what was on his mind. 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:50.200 He knew the law. 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:53.819 He had the highest regard for the holiness of God and the high standards of Yahweh. 00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:58.740 And here he was realizing that this whole time he had been persecuting Yahweh rather 00:20:58.740 --> 00:20:59.799 than serving him. 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:05.579 Maybe his mind went to the curses in Deuteronomy chapter 28, all those curses listed for the 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:09.799 unfaithful and the disobedient, which apparently he was one of them now. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:15.079 In particular, Deuteronomy 28 says of the disobedient and the unfaithful, it says, 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:29.500 Wow, this was him, right? 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:30.839 Isn't that him? 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:32.440 This was bad. 00:21:32.919 --> 00:21:33.680 It was really bad. 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:35.240 Saul knew he was in deep water. 00:21:35.639 --> 00:21:41.700 And he knew according to Yahweh's holy and righteous law, he deserved nothing, nothing 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:42.419 but the curse. 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:47.859 So without knowing all the answers or what would now happen, he did the only thing he knew 00:21:47.859 --> 00:21:48.460 was right to do. 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:53.299 He bowed the knee to Jesus as Lord and simply asked, what shall I do now, Lord? 00:21:53.680 --> 00:22:00.140 His only hope now as the persecutor of Yahweh was a radically gracious and merciful inclusion 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:01.259 of Yahweh. 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:04.960 Now we're going to see what happens next, but I want to turn our attention to another character 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.720 who doesn't get talked about that much here in the church. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:12.900 But if you think about it, it's quite an integral figure in church history, and that is Ananias. 00:22:13.560 --> 00:22:16.320 Unlike Saul, Ananias was a faithful follower of Jesus. 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:18.680 You can see him kind of as a foil to Saul. 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:19.800 He had a vision too, right? 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.000 Just like Saul, he had a vision. 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:24.500 But this guy, he knew exactly who he was talking to. 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:28.039 When his name is called Ananias, he doesn't say, who are you? 00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:29.480 He says, here I am, Lord. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:32.799 He has a deep, personal, intimate relationship with God. 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:37.700 But then God asks him to go and do something crazy, right? 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:38.680 Something pretty crazy. 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:43.480 Go to this stranger you've never met before, but who you've heard about, and who you've 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:45.640 heard is extremely dangerous. 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:53.900 And this guy who's come to the very city to bind you and to murder people like you, why 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:58.040 don't you go over there and go lay your hands on him so that he will receive his sight back 00:22:58.040 --> 00:23:02.620 and so that he can receive the greatest power, the greatest honor imaginable, so that he can 00:23:02.620 --> 00:23:04.980 be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:11.300 And Ananias is understandably reluctant, probably just as confused as Saul was. 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:17.720 Like, God, don't you know who this guy is, how much evil he's done, how much evil he's planning to do? 00:23:18.159 --> 00:23:21.240 He's against us, God, and therefore he's against you. 00:23:22.379 --> 00:23:27.500 But do you see what's happening here with Ananias' reluctance? 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:31.740 Why, God, why should I help the other team, the evil team? 00:23:31.899 --> 00:23:38.379 Ananias, too, is tempted to fall into his own tribalistic logic, a logic that doesn't recognize 00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:41.560 the radically gracious inclusion of God. 00:23:42.660 --> 00:23:48.800 But praise God, right, that God's ways are far more gracious, far more creative, far more 00:23:48.800 --> 00:23:51.100 expansive than any of our ways. 00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:52.260 And verse 15 says, 00:23:52.340 --> 00:23:53.100 But the Lord said to him, 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:59.820 Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings 00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:01.800 and the children of Israel. 00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:02.360 God says, 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:21.179 And this was crazy because, you know, Ananias, he probably had, you know, no idea. 00:24:21.859 --> 00:24:26.759 There's no way he could have known how impactful this Apostle Paul figure would be, you know, 00:24:26.779 --> 00:24:29.039 who's written so much of the New Testament scriptures. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:32.899 There's no idea that, you know, he'd write these inspired words from God, so beautiful 00:24:32.899 --> 00:24:35.680 that we'd still meditate on and memorize today. 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:36.119 Things like, 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.779 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. 00:24:39.859 --> 00:24:42.980 It is the gift of God, not a result of work, so that no one may boast. 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:43.559 Or, you know, 00:24:43.579 --> 00:24:45.159 Oh, death, where is your sting? 00:24:45.339 --> 00:24:45.539 Right? 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:47.339 Oh, grave, where is your victory? 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:52.079 All Ananias knew is what God told him to do. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:58.220 And he did it with great faith in the God of a radically gracious inclusion. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:03.180 Look, he even calls Saul, this great persecutor of the church, 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:05.960 who just three days earlier wanted to kill him. 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:10.180 He even calls him Brother Saul in verse 17. 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:15.200 And he recognizes God's inclusion of this sinner among the saints of God's family. 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:21.180 And the application here for us today, Christ Church, is who could your Saul be? 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:24.720 Who could be your potential Apostle Paul? 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.740 Like last week when Jonathan asked, 00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:27.559 Who's your one? 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:28.860 Who's your one? 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:34.799 Who's that one person in your life that desperately needs to know about Jesus? 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:39.600 That desperately needs to know the love and the mercy and the grace and the compassion of God? 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:42.680 And why would we withhold such good news? 00:25:43.700 --> 00:25:44.420 Think about it. 00:25:44.620 --> 00:25:45.319 Think about it. 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:53.159 What amount of awkwardness should keep us away from offering Christ to others? 00:25:53.659 --> 00:25:58.659 And perhaps seeing God write an amazing story out of their lives and ours. 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:00.720 Think about it, Christ Church. 00:26:01.159 --> 00:26:06.099 What if we really believed in the radically inclusive grace of God? 00:26:06.159 --> 00:26:09.500 What if we believed in the God who pursued Saul of Tarsus? 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:15.559 What if we believed that the God who called upon Saul by name calls our names as well? 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:19.500 And not only our names, but the names of people in our lives we'd never expect. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:24.440 What if redemption were possible even for the most messed up amongst us? 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:28.680 Even for those whom we hate and those whom we cannot fathom? 00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:30.980 The idea of their redemption. 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:33.579 And even more than redemption, their shalom. 00:26:33.579 --> 00:26:40.539 In Christ, the possibilities of such beautiful stories are limitless. 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:42.199 They are limitless. 00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:45.119 And God invites us to take part in these stories. 00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:48.639 Every story testifying to his amazing grace. 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:51.399 That's what we're called to do as witnesses. 00:26:51.679 --> 00:26:54.199 See, this is what we're offering people as witnesses of Christ. 00:26:54.299 --> 00:26:55.419 We're offering them Christ. 00:26:55.559 --> 00:27:01.099 We're not offering people some kind of weird, self-harming cult or a lifestyle preference. 00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:06.199 We're inviting people into a relationship and an encounter with the crucified and risen Christ 00:27:06.199 --> 00:27:08.939 who pursues us in compassion and love. 00:27:09.879 --> 00:27:12.859 See, the main thing, you know, we could talk about the details of Saul's sinfulness. 00:27:13.139 --> 00:27:16.240 We could talk about, you know, Ananias' reluctance. 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:18.959 But the main thing here in Acts chapter 9 is not about Saul. 00:27:19.439 --> 00:27:20.839 It's not about Ananias. 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:24.419 The main thing here is the compassion of Christ. 00:27:25.059 --> 00:27:27.599 It's Christ's compassion that won Saul's heart 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:30.240 and turned this persecutor of Christ and his church 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:33.759 into perhaps the greatest missionary and theologian of the early church. 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:37.939 It's Christ's compassion that expanded Ananias' horizons 00:27:37.939 --> 00:27:42.459 and allowed him to play a part in the incredible salvation story of Apostle Paul. 00:27:43.319 --> 00:27:45.959 Christ's compassion is what we bear witness to. 00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:48.740 And it's a reality that wins people all by itself. 00:27:48.819 --> 00:27:50.959 Even in spite of my lips and my life, 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:53.399 it wins people all by itself. 00:27:53.879 --> 00:27:55.319 I have the easiest job in the world. 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:59.399 I get to sell Jesus, the grace of God, the gospel. 00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:02.460 Yeah, Ananias, he played an important role in this story, 00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:06.500 but the most important role was played by the compassionate Christ. 00:28:07.139 --> 00:28:10.220 If you don't see this, you're missing the main thing, 00:28:10.299 --> 00:28:11.960 the whole point of the Christian faith. 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:13.319 You're missing the gospel. 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:16.919 I mean, notice how tenderly Christ beckons Saul, 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:18.720 this persecuting murderer. 00:28:19.379 --> 00:28:21.079 He doesn't say, murderer, murderer. 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:22.799 He doesn't say, fool, fool. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:25.599 He doesn't say, self-righteous Pharisee or imbecile, imbecile. 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:28.119 He doesn't even say, stop, you're hurting me. 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:32.319 He doesn't try to explain why what Saul is doing is wrong. 00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:34.899 He simply asks a question. 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:39.980 He merely says, Saul, Saul, with a personal and intimate tenderness. 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:41.680 And then he simply asks a question. 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:44.579 Why are you persecuting me? 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:46.799 No accusation here. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:52.139 Just a gentle question that will forever change the life of Apostle Paul. 00:28:52.859 --> 00:28:55.799 And notice, he doesn't say, why are you persecuting them? 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:58.839 He says, why are you persecuting me? 00:28:59.700 --> 00:29:04.180 And we cannot miss how incredibly profound this was for Saul to hear. 00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:07.039 What do you mean I'm persecuting you, Jesus? 00:29:07.339 --> 00:29:10.539 Don't you mean I'm persecuting your followers, your disciples? 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:15.039 Well, what Jesus is saying here is, Saul, don't you see? 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:18.279 Don't you see that so intimate is my bond? 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:21.420 So intimate is my union with my people. 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:25.460 So near am I to them that what's theirs is mine and what's mine is theirs. 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:27.240 And I am in them and they are in me. 00:29:27.319 --> 00:29:31.019 This is the radically profound doctrine of union with Christ. 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:34.680 By which Paul would later say things like, I've been crucified with Christ. 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:37.340 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:41.880 Or that we've been raised with Christ and even seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:45.860 Jesus was subtly introducing Saul to a faith unlike any other. 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:51.580 Without at all compromising his divine nature, God covenanted to unite his very self 00:29:51.580 --> 00:29:58.000 with fallen and finite and frail human beings for their good that they might share in his glory. 00:29:58.320 --> 00:29:59.580 Partakers of his glory. 00:29:59.579 --> 00:30:06.000 See, every other faith either unites creator and creature by minimizing the distinction 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:12.419 or it eschews the possibility of union because of the creator-creature distinction. 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:13.319 It says it's not possible. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:19.139 Either it blurs the distinction or it says it's just not possible for the creator to be united to the creature. 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:24.439 But in the Christian faith, through Christ, the God-man, Christianity is altogether different. 00:30:24.440 --> 00:30:37.759 And see, Christ Church, this is what we as witnesses of Christ get to invite people into. 00:30:38.740 --> 00:30:39.840 Union with God. 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:41.500 Union with God. 00:30:41.539 --> 00:30:44.620 Not just any God, but union with the compassionate Christ. 00:30:45.120 --> 00:30:46.120 With the compassionate Christ. 00:30:46.119 --> 00:30:51.939 I want to close by drawing our attention to one extra detail that Paul introduces into his conversion story 00:30:51.939 --> 00:30:53.879 in the account in Acts chapter 26. 00:30:53.979 --> 00:31:00.299 A detail that I just absolutely love because I think it speaks volumes of the heart of compassion of Christ. 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:04.500 In Paul's retelling of the story in Acts 26, Jesus, again, he says, 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:07.319 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:12.139 And then he adds, it is hard for you to kick against the goats. 00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:17.960 And I love how this so beautifully demonstrates the heart of Jesus. 00:31:18.980 --> 00:31:22.300 For even here in mentioning Saul's persecution of himself, 00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:25.700 Jesus' primary concern is not the persecution of his own body. 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:31.000 But his preoccupation is Saul's self-harming kicking against the goats. 00:31:31.120 --> 00:31:36.560 And goats are these, you know, sticks with sharp pointy edges used to goad and herd livestock. 00:31:36.660 --> 00:31:40.620 The image here is of an ox, not wanting to be led in the right direction. 00:31:40.619 --> 00:31:46.799 But futilely and unnecessarily kicking at, you know, these prickly things, 00:31:46.899 --> 00:31:50.659 harming itself to its own dismay and to the dismay of its master. 00:31:51.399 --> 00:31:53.239 See, Jesus is a compassionate Lord. 00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:57.299 He does not delight in seeing us bloodied by the goats. 00:31:58.059 --> 00:32:03.979 And so we have to understand, we have to understand that bearing witness to Jesus is not a mere indictment. 00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:06.379 It's not merely a challenge to make people change. 00:32:06.479 --> 00:32:07.799 It's really an invitation. 00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:10.980 It's an invitation to a better and less painful way. 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:14.279 Jesus says, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 00:32:14.859 --> 00:32:20.960 In reality, Jesus can't stand to see us pierce our feet by kicking at the goats. 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:23.180 Because he's a compassionate Christ. 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:26.839 He doesn't want to see us bloody our feet by kicking at the goats. 00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:27.519 And why? 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:33.460 Because he already came to have his feet pierced in our place on the cross. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:38.940 There's no need for further bloodshed because of the compassionate Christ. 00:32:40.019 --> 00:32:45.039 And this radically inclusive God of grace called unto Saul by name. 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:47.200 And he's calling unto many of us by name. 00:32:47.299 --> 00:32:50.359 Perhaps he's calling you today and or someone in your life. 00:32:51.059 --> 00:32:52.940 Someone you might never have expected. 00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:56.059 He wants to be united with us, Christ Church. 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:58.440 God himself wants to be with you. 00:32:58.980 --> 00:33:00.700 And he wants you to be with him. 00:33:01.259 --> 00:33:02.639 No matter what you've done. 00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:04.399 No matter where you've come from. 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:07.299 No matter how broken you think your life is. 00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:09.879 He wants to be with you. 00:33:10.519 --> 00:33:12.079 He's got plans for you. 00:33:12.599 --> 00:33:15.839 And he's paid it all to free you from a life of kicking the goats. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.079 A life where you have to shed your own blood. 00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:20.379 Don't you want this? 00:33:20.380 --> 00:33:24.460 Don't you want this for your friends, your families, even your foes? 00:33:24.540 --> 00:33:26.440 Don't you want this for our world? 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:30.960 Christ Church, what if we believed in this compassionate Christ? 00:33:31.800 --> 00:33:32.380 Let's pray. 00:33:32.380 --> 00:33:36.300 you 00:33:36.300 --> 00:33:41.800 ?