Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful
that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either
by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray
for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself?
The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really,
I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible,
they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will
do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a
non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't
hesitate to send us questions. It helps me, actually, to know, as I'm preaching, how to
deal with the types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless.
Let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, we give you thanks and praise that your infallible
word not only reveals the truth about you and the truth about salvation, but also reveals to us who
we really are, who we really are at the depths of our soul and in our day-to-day lives. We ask,
Father, that your Holy Spirit would gently work in us so that your word would form us. And we ask this
in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. Sort of interesting to do a sermon with
the sounds of happy children in the background. That's a nice thing to have happen. One of the
things that causes people trouble is dealing with people who think they're always right.
I think every single one of us would know at least one person who thinks that they're always right.
It would also probably horrify us if we were to discover that some people hearing this are
thinking about us because we don't think we're always right. But it is in fact a human problem
that there are some people at all the time who think that they're always right. And there are
most people who think that is true of themselves, at least sometimes. Some of us have suffered under
people who think that they're always right. And so it's actually made us quite insecure and sort of beat up.
And the other thing is, especially nowadays, a lot of people like to attach themselves to individuals
or movements or political ideologies or spiritualities that claim to be always right on everything.
And we attach ourselves to these types of groups and it just causes lots of trouble in our society,
in our day-to-day life. I mean, one of the things which we all know of, it's very hard to have
just a charitable, good faith, political discussion with people nowadays. If they find out a certain
thing about you, you're not just wrong, you're like the devil incarnate. It's increasingly hard in our
culture to have just a good faith conversation with people because there's this belief of infallibility.
So the Bible has some profound wisdom and help into this human problem of people thinking that
they're infallible or movements thinking that they're infallible. The Bible has, believe it or not,
some very profound and wise help and it has it in a very surprising way. So we're going to look at the
Bible. It's Acts chapter 15. We haven't announced this for a couple of weeks, but one of the things that
we're doing, we're preaching through the book of Acts. That's why I'm preaching on this topic today.
We're going to be looking at Acts chapter 15, 35 to following. We've bought these very nice ESV
journal Bibles, nice paper, just the text on one side, blank on the other, for people to take notes
and ask questions. They're available for you for free up at the front if you want to grab one.
You can even do it now if you want, or you can get it after the service as a gift. And I'm going to be
reading from that on page 92. And here's the text. But just before I read the text, it's a really odd
text. Not just what Chris read, but a little bit after. It's sort of like, it's as if there's these
big sections in the book of Acts and there's a few little detaily types of things between these
big sections. And that's what we're going to be looking at. One of those little detaily type things.
Because the book of Acts begins with Jesus appearing alive to his disciples and ascending
into heaven. And then it moves to this thing called the day of Pentecost. And then we see the early
life of Christians and the gospel being accepted by many Jewish people in Jerusalem. And the gospel
means trusting Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Then we see the start of persecution against Christians.
And then we see the gospel making this leap across an ancient divide to Samaritans. And then a little
bit after that, we see the gospel making an even bigger leap across an even bigger divide with pagans
starting to become Christians. And then we see the gospel really starting to go the very first missionary
journey as the gospel goes farther and farther into pagan lands and more Jewish people and Christians
farther away become Christians. And that causes a problem which is what just happens just before this.
And a decision is made about what it means for a pagan to become a Christian. And what we're looking at
right now is just between that decision that comes at the end of the first missionary journey
and the launching of the rest of the book which is going to be two more missionary journeys and Paul's
imprisonment and death. And this is how Luke has decided to structure his eyewitness-based account
of the first 30 or so years of the Jesus movement. And he wrote it while eyewitnesses are still alive.
So that's sort of where we are with a jumble of things. And here's what's... Actually, before I read it,
here's the big idea of these three different... Four different stories that we're going to look at. Four short
little stories. If you could put it up, that would be great, Claire. And this is the big idea.
There is a holy mystery in how the infallible, authoritative, life-giving word of the Lord
comes to fallible, self-centered, death-doomed human beings, me included. I read it again.
There is a holy mystery in how the infallible, authoritative, life-giving word of the Lord
comes to fallible, self-centered, death-doomed human beings, me included. Now, some of you might say,
George, whoa, George, one moment. You said the Bible's going to have some helpful wisdom and advice
about dealing with people who think they're infallible. Did you hear what you just said?
Don't you think if people think that the Bible is infallible, that you're just weaponizing
people's sense of infallibility? Like, you've just weaponized the problem. You haven't solved it.
The Bible is weaponizing the problem. And frankly, the whole idea is ridiculous, George,
that there could be an infallible word of God. And George, you know, not only is it ridiculous,
it's dangerous, it's anything other than, it's just not wise to say something like that.
Well, why am I saying it? Well, let's look at the text. Acts chapter 15, beginning at verse 35.
And after, but Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, that's a city in Syria,
teaching and preaching, note this, the word of the Lord with many others also.
And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers and sisters
in every city where we proclaimed, note this, the word of the Lord and see how they are.
So you'll notice here, twice, once each, in each verse, very close together, we have this phrase,
the word of the Lord. And the word of the Lord is, if you go back and do a word search, it appears
not only like that verbatim many times in the book of Acts, but different synonyms of the same thing
appear many, many times in the book of Acts. And in the original language, the word of the Lord has a
double meaning. And what it means, it comes from the Old Testament, what our Jewish friends call
the Tanakh, and it has this double meaning. It could be translated as saying the word from the Lord,
and it could also be translated as saying the word about the Lord. It has a double meaning.
It's saying two things, complementary things at the same time, and the original readers and the
original hearers would have understood this. And so taking the Old Testament meaning, it is saying
literally this, this is a word from God. These are words from the lips, so to speak, I know the
triune God doesn't have lips, of the triune God. That's just the book of Acts. This is the whole Bible.
That's what I'm holding in my hands, the actual words of the triune God to human beings. That's what
the text is claiming. And it's not just a word from the Lord, it's a word about the Lord. In other words,
it's God's words about himself and our relationship to him in light of the fact that he is God. It's saying
this double thing at the same time. That's why I said there is a holy mystery of how the infallible
authoritative, life-giving word of the Lord comes to fallible, self-centered, death-doomed human beings,
me included. That if in fact it is the very words of the Lord, they are infallible. They are
authoritative. And it could be that they're death-dealing, but we're going to see in a moment
that they're in fact not death-dealing, that they are in fact life-giving if we receive them in the right
type of way. Now, I'm not going to give you any arguments today as to why it's a completely
reasonable thing to believe this. I'll just say one thing about it. What I'm going to talk about
instead really is why we don't want this to be true. Why hearing that the word of the Lord is
infallible and authoritative is something that troubles many, many people. We worry that,
well, we worry that it's going to weaponize human tendencies to think, human beings' tendency to
think that they're infallible. We worry that it will take away our freedom because it's so
authoritative and infallible, that it will overpower us, that it'll take away our freedom, that it will
make us do weird things. That's what we worry about. And I'm going to deal with our worries about it.
I'm not going to give you an argument for why it's a reasonable thing. I just want to say this one thing.
Words are really important, aren't they?
You know, I mean, just, I mean, it's just, on the other hand, it just sounds like the most commonplace
thing in the world, but words are how we commit to each other. You know, words like to my wife that I said,
well, many, many decades ago, will you marry me? You know, those are life-changing words. Words can
wound us. We can, I know people, and probably some of you can think of words that wounded us
decades ago, and they still wound us. And words can bless, and words can heal, and words are very,
very powerful. So just one little thing to people who are wondering about their place in Christianity
or outside of the Christian faith, why is it that most of your understandings, if you're going to have
a God at all, is a God that can't speak?
Like, given how important words are,
why on earth would you pick a God that can't speak? Like, that God is everywhere,
or that God is everything, or that God is some power, some force?
How could that be God?
And if a God,
if the God that you think might exist,
that spiritual power and presence,
if it can't speak, how can it hear you?
How can it understand?
Like, don't you want there to be the case? Doesn't it make sense if there is a God that's worthy of
being God, that he must be a God who speaks?
And how could he be God and speak and be fallible?
That means he's under some other type of standard.
Well, how does that solve or help anything?
Just a question.
But this claim is being made,
and it's the ancient, historic claim,
it's the biblical claim,
that there is an infallible,
that the word of the Lord is infallible and authoritative
and life-giving.
So,
okay, George, you're not going to argue for it,
but it still bothers me.
I still think it's a dangerous thing.
Well, let's look.
The Bible here,
here's what's so interesting about the Bible
and how wise and helpful the Bible is,
that in the same place
where it makes clear by saying it twice,
close to each other,
it then gives a series of stories
that help to nuance
and reveal ourselves to ourselves.
Let's look.
You'll see how wise it is.
We'll read verse 36 again.
And after some days,
Paul said to Barnabas,
let us return and visit the brothers and sisters
in every city
where we proclaim the word of the Lord
and see how they are.
That's the missionary journey
that they just got on together,
Paul and Barnabas.
Verse 37.
Now, Barnabas wanted to take with them
John,
who's also called Mark.
But Paul thought best
not to take with them
one who had withdrawn from them
in Pamphylia
and had not gone with them to the work.
Basically,
if you go back to the earlier story,
John Mark abandons them
when the going got tough.
He abandons them.
Verse 39.
And there arose a sharp disagreement
between Paul and Barnabas
so that they separated from each other.
Barnabas took Mark with him
and sailed away to Cyprus.
But Paul chose Silas and departed,
having been commended by the brothers
to the grace of the Lord.
And he went through Syria,
Cilicia,
strengthening the churches.
Now, just pause here for a second.
This disagreement between Paul and Barnabas
is wrong.
And it's heartbreaking.
And it's shocking.
Some of you who know the Bible a little bit
will know that Paul was, in fact,
one of the early persecutors of Christians.
He consented and aided
in the death and murder of early Christians
and imprisoned them and beat them.
And then he has an encounter
with the risen Jesus
that completely transforms him.
And he ends up being called by Jesus.
He sees Jesus alive.
Jesus says,
you're going to be my apostle
and you're going to do all these things.
And Paul becomes a Christian.
Christian and the disciples,
the early apostles,
are afraid of Paul.
They don't believe
that he's become a Christian.
Who is it,
who is it
that has listened to Paul
and believes him
and introduces him
to the other apostles
and the early Christians?
Who uses,
who puts their authority
and their reputation on the line?
It's Barnabas.
And when Paul goes off to,
he has to flee
because people are after him
because he's preaching the gospel.
And he spends,
you know,
quite a few years
in a certain region
of what we now call Syria,
ministering.
And who is it
who goes and brings him
out of the wilderness
and brings him back
to this very important church
in Antioch
to be a teacher?
It's Barnabas.
Who works side by side
with Paul
for several years
in this important church
in Antioch?
It's Barnabas.
Who is it
who goes on a missionary journey
with Paul,
who suffers together
and is there
when Paul is stoned
and people think
they've stoned him to death
and maybe they have
the text is unclear
whether Paul is brought back to life
or just healed dramatically?
It's Barnabas.
And now they have
a disagreement over people
so strong
that they can't work together.
This is heartbreaking.
And some of you might say,
George,
you've just proved my point.
Thinking there's an infallible Bible
is just going to make it worse.
People are going to think
they're never wrong.
George,
you've just proved my point
about how dangerous it is.
Well,
it's a little bit more subtle than that.
We're going to come back to it.
But we need to see the next bit
before we come back
and talk about
what's really going,
what's going on here.
But it's just very,
very sad.
Well,
what happens next
before we come back
and look at this a bit more?
Look at what happens next.
Sort of the opposite thing,
but it's also distressing
and it touches on
many of our deepest fears
about dealing
with an infallible Bible.
Look at what it says.
Chapter 16,
verse 1.
Paul,
so they've gone
on their missionary journey
and sort of,
if you're sort of looking at it
from this point of view,
the original missionary journey,
they went from here,
down to here,
up to here,
across from here.
And what Paul
and his doing
with his new group,
he's going to go this way,
sort of in reverse order.
And so they come,
chapter 16,
verse 1.
Paul came also
to Derbe and to Lystra.
It was in Lystra
that he got stoned
by the crowd
until he died.
A disciple was there
named Timothy.
A disciple is another way
of describing a Christian.
A better way
to understand
what a Christian is
is that a Christian
is a disciple of Jesus.
It's one of the things
I sometimes talk about
with people
who are outside
the Christian faith
when they ask me
who I am.
I say I'm a disciple of Jesus.
He's my Lord and Master
and my Savior
and I'm his disciple.
Anyway,
a disciple was there
named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman
who was a believer
who'd become a Christian,
but his father
was a Greek,
a pagan.
Timothy was well spoken of
by the brothers and sisters
at Lystra and Iconium.
Paul wanted Timothy
to accompany him.
Now notice this.
Don't skip over it.
Men,
let the full weight
of these next few words
hit you.
Timothy's at least
18,
19,
and 20
and there are no
anesthetics
back then.
Paul wanted Timothy
to accompany him
and he took him
and circumcised him.
He circumcised him
because of the Jewish people
who were in those places
for they all knew
that his father
was a Greek,
a pagan.
And as they went
on their way,
they,
through the cities,
they,
that's Paul
and Timothy
and Silas
and maybe some others,
delivered to people
they heard
for observance
the decisions
that had been reached
by the apostles
and elders
who were in Jerusalem.
So the churches
were strengthened
in the faith
and increased
in numbers daily.
So here's what's
really weird about this.
Remember,
one of our fears
is an infallible Bible
will cause us
to do weird things
and hurtful things.
And this,
once again,
people say,
George,
you're proving my point
why we don't want
to have an infallible Bible.
Like,
it's making Timothy
do weird
and hurtful things.
I don't want to get
anywhere near
an infallible Bible
and have to do
these weird things.
And it's even weirder
because,
at first glance,
because the decision
that they're telling
everybody about
is that
if you become a,
if you're a pagan
who becomes a Christian,
you don't have to be circumcised.
That's actually the decision.
Go back and read it
in Acts chapter 15.
So people are going like,
George,
this is just crazy talk.
Like,
here Paul goes and says,
you don't have to be circumcised
and Timothy gets circumcised.
What on earth is going on?
Well,
let's,
now we need to go back
and sort of tease out
what's going on.
Remember I said
that there is a holy mystery
in how the infallible,
authoritative,
life-giving word of the Lord
comes to fallible,
self-centered,
death-doomed human beings,
me included.
A holy mystery.
So here's the first thing.
If you could put up A,
that would be great.
It's part of the deep structure
of the Bible.
It's such a,
part of the deep structure
of the Bible
so that you might not
even notice it,
but it forms you
at an unconscious level
while you read it.
Only Jesus is sinless,
therefore,
only he can save.
Only Jesus is sinless,
therefore,
only he can save.
Paul and Barnabas
are revealed
as sinning.
It's going to be
my way or the highway.
My way or the highway.
Okay?
We want highway
because you're not going
my way.
Peter is revealed
in other places
in the Bible
as a sinner.
Mary,
the mother of Jesus,
I apologize to my
Roman Catholic friends,
this is maybe
a bit of a shock,
but Mary is revealed
as one who sins.
That's what the Bible says.
Old Testament,
all the way through,
James,
one of the half-brother
of Jesus,
revealed as one
who sins.
All,
and here we see this.
You go all the way
through the Bible,
you read from Genesis
chapter 1,
verse 1,
all the way to the end
of the book of Revelation,
there's only one person
who never sins,
and that's Jesus.
Only one
who never sins.
It's Jesus.
It's part of the deep
structure of the Bible.
And, you know,
part of,
when I just said to you,
part of the mystery
about this,
why is Timothy,
we're going to get to that
in a moment,
why is Timothy
being circumcised
when the elders
and the apostles
in Jerusalem
make a formal decree
that pagan men
who become Christians
don't have to get circumcised
and they don't have to follow
what our Jewish friends
call the tenacity,
back in what we call
the Old Testament.
Why did they say that?
It's because they understood
what Jesus said
time and time
and time and time
again of this.
In fact,
they probably even go back,
if you go back
and you read the Gospel of John,
a historical account of Jesus,
you'll see the very,
very, very first time
any of the apostles
or disciples meet Jesus
is when John the Baptist
points at this guy walking
and, you know,
you just think about this,
make it realistic.
They see Jesus,
his hair would not look
like a Hollywood person.
Maybe it looked like
a Hollywood person
trying to represent,
I don't know,
like after the zombie apocalypse.
You know,
I mean,
his hair would have been
a bit untidy
and he maybe had
a little bit of pita bread
in his beard,
you know,
some parsley in his beard
and John the Baptist says,
behold the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world.
And what they know
that they've come to understand
is that
you go back
and you read the Tanakh
and you understand
that Jesus says
that every single sacrifice
that is required
in the Old Testament
is fulfilled in me.
All of the moral laws
that nobody was able
to keep,
I fulfilled them all.
All of the promises
in the Old Testament
that have been made by God,
I fulfilled them all.
All of the types
and images
in the Old Testament,
I fulfilled them all.
All of the rituals,
I fulfilled them all.
All of the religious obligations,
all of the affection
that is required,
all of these things,
I fulfill them all.
And if you go back
and you read the book
of Leviticus
and this helps us
to understand
a very deep truth
that we understand,
we understand the need
for sacrifice
and you go back
and you read the book
of Leviticus,
you'll see that
the way Leviticus begins
is a way to give you
one of the two keys
to everything going on
in what we call
the Old Testament
but it's also what goes on
in all religions,
which all religions
and spiritualities
understand some type
of a need for sacrifice.
I just watched
that summer block
buster Twisters
and it requires
a sacrifice.
It's seen as
a high virtue
and it begins
with,
you say that
you bring the animal,
an innocent animal
that's done nothing wrong
and the person
who's offering
the sacrifice
puts their hands
on the head
of the animal
and the image there
is that that animal
is going to stand
for the human being
and that in a sense
all of my wrongdoing,
all of things
that make me
out of whack
with God,
all of my shame,
all of those things,
all of that,
that's laid on the hand
of the innocent animal
and that it takes my place
and the innocence,
in a sense,
in a sense comes to me
and that's why you see
it's part of the deep structure.
That's why I say
the infallible word,
the word of the Lord
is not just a word
from God,
it's also a word
about God
and what God has done
about our relationship
with him
and it reveals
that Jesus
is the sinless man
and he fulfills
all of these things
that the entire
Old Testament
is required of
and he dies
in my place.
When I put my faith
and trust in Jesus,
when you put your faith
and trust in Jesus,
that is the same thing
as putting,
it's like you put
your hand in him,
you give yourself
to him
and all of the wrongdoing,
all of the times
I should have done
what was right
and I didn't do it,
all of my times
when I arrogantly thought
that I was infallible
and never wrong,
all of the hurt
that I've done,
all of the shame
that I feel,
all of the uncleanness
that I feel,
all of the things
that I've done
to wound others
and how I've wounded myself,
all of those things
are laid on him
and he takes my place
and deals with
all of the consequences
that are required
and all that's required
to put that right,
that is all laid on him
and he gives me
the standing of being sinless.
That is why only a sinless man
can be the savior,
a sinless person,
in this case a man,
the second Adam.
Only Jesus is sinless,
therefore only he
can save you.
That is so life-giving.
It's not just life-giving
in terms of eternal life,
it's life-giving
in terms of our daily life.
It is a burden
that crushes you
to think you're infallible.
It is a burden
that crushes you
to think that you don't do wrong.
It is what drives us to lie.
It's what drives us
to alcohol and drugs.
It's what drives us
to pornography.
It's what drives us
to arrogance and bullying,
the inability to acknowledge
that we are not right,
that we have done wrong,
that we're not infallible.
It drives us to that
and to come to one
who saves us,
to come to know
that there is something infallible,
that it's not us,
and to know it
in the context of one
who loves you so much
that he dies for you,
it begins to say,
okay,
I was wrong about that.
Okay, yes,
that was my,
I am ashamed of that.
I can acknowledge I'm wrong.
I can acknowledge
I've done things that are wrong.
It provides that context
for us to be free.
It's why it's life-giving.
Now,
what about that weird story,
though,
about the fight, George,
and the circumcision?
Like,
those are still weird.
Like,
that's very interesting to hear
that it's part of the deep structure
of the Bible,
and it's helping us
to understand something important
about Jesus
and something very important
about us.
Well,
remember I said
the overarching story
is that there is a holy mystery
in how the infallible,
authoritative,
life-giving word of the Lord
comes to fallible,
self-centered,
death-doomed human beings,
me included.
And what we can see
by looking at this argument
between them
and the circumcision
is this.
If you could put up B,
that would be helpful, Claire.
The word of the Lord
comes into you
for your good
and his glory
without turning you
into his puppet.
You still sin,
yet sacrificial love
blooms in you as well.
That's partly
what's the mystery
about human beings
and how we change
in Christ.
Right?
He doesn't turn us
into his puppet.
Grace comes in
to perfect our freedom,
not to remove our freedom.
It is for freedom
that Christ died for us.
And so,
it's part of this mystery.
Well,
in heaven,
we'll understand
why it was for our good,
that there are still
parts of me,
and I've been a Christian
since I was 16 years old,
and you can tell by my hair
that was more than
just a few years ago
that I was 16.
And there's parts of me
that the sin
is just really hard
to deal with,
yet at the other time,
that's not the only thing
about me.
There is also things
about me
and things about you
where sacrificial love
blooms.
See,
we see it
in the double story.
Paul needs Jesus
as his savior.
Paul needs Jesus
as his savior.
And at the same time,
why is Timothy,
why is Timothy
doing this?
Why is Timothy,
an 18, 19,
20-year-old man
with no anesthetic,
willing to get circumcised?
Because he loves
Jewish people.
He loves Jewish people.
And he wants to remove
any barrier
that would stop them
from having him
spend time with him
and tell him about Jesus.
And if that means
he has to be circumcised,
he'll get circumcised
as a sacrifice of love
because he wants
Jewish people
to know Jesus
as their savior and Lord.
That's why he does it.
He knows he doesn't have to,
but he wants to
because he loves
Jewish people.
You see,
there's this mystery
about God's work
in our lives
as the infallible word
and as Jesus
becomes more real
to us as our savior
that there are some things,
friends,
brothers and sisters,
if Jesus doesn't tarry,
there's some sin
in your life
that you're going
to have to struggle with
for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years,
always struggling with it.
There'll be some great victories
you have over it.
You'll blow some people away
with how you've changed
and there's this act
of sacrificial love
that characterizes you
in some areas
of your life.
And it's a mystery
about how God works in us,
but God's at work in you
if you've given your life
to Christ.
That's the great,
profound promise.
And there's one other thing
about these two stories
and then we'll just close
very briefly
with this next little story
that comes after that,
which you could put up
this, Claire.
It's God's infallible word
does not make you infallible.
Okay?
God's infallible word
does not make you infallible.
It just stands to reason.
You can't have
two infallible sources.
It would be like having
two irresistible forces.
You can't have two irresistible
forces in the universe.
You can only have
one infallible source.
You can't have a second one.
God's infallible word
does not make you infallible.
It humbles you to accept
that you are fallible.
Now, it's not seen
directly in this text,
but it's seen indirectly
in this text.
If you...
It's not on the screen
because I forgot to send it
to Claire.
But most people agree
that the last part
of what we now call
the Bible
was a letter that Paul wrote
to Timothy
and he wrote it to Timothy
just shortly before he dies.
He knows that this time
there's not going to be
any miraculous escape
from his life here.
I can't find it
when I'm looking for it
in a rush.
He knows that there's not
going to be any miraculous
escape this time
and he knows
he's doing hard time
in a dungeon
and he knows
he's going to die
a martyr's death.
And by the way,
one of the things
he's going to die for,
he dies for a fact.
He could have saved
his life if he just said,
okay, I was kidding,
Jesus didn't rise
from the dead.
Ha ha, joke's on you.
I didn't really mean it.
Didn't rise.
If he had said that,
he would have got out
of jail.
But he's not going
to deny a fact
that he saw Jesus risen.
But look what he says
right towards the end
of his life.
2 Timothy 4 verse,
I think it's verse 11.
Luke alone is with me.
Get Mark
and bring him with you
for he is very useful
to me for ministry.
And it's not just
at the end of his life,
but if you go back
and go searching,
you'll see that somewhere
after this,
Paul realizes
that he was wrong.
He's not infallible.
And Paul and Mark reconcile.
You see, friends,
God's infallible word
does not make you infallible,
but it humbles you
to accept that you are fallible.
And it humbles you
in another way.
We'll look at that
very briefly
in the final story
in these final minutes
of the sermon.
Look with me
in verse 6.
Because you see,
the fact of the matter is
that some people
take this text
to mean
this idea
of the infallible Bible
means all I need
is the Bible and me.
It's all I need.
I don't need you.
I don't need to hear
what people wrote
about 100 years ago
or 500 years ago
or 1,000 years ago.
All I need is this and me.
I've met lots of people
like that.
I've suffered
under some people
like that.
But that's not
what the Bible teaches.
Look at the next story.
Verse 6 of chapter 16.
And they went through
the region of Phrygia.
So verse 5 says,
so the churches
were strengthened
in the faith
and increased
in numbers daily.
That's what we should
be praying for our church
so we grow in numbers,
that each person
grows in their faith
and that the church
grows in numbers.
It's what we should be
praying for every ministry
in the church.
That people involved
in the ministry,
you know,
the men's group
or the women's group,
that they grow
and they strengthen
their faith
and that the ministries grow.
We should be praying
for our missionaries
that they grow
in the faith
and that we have
more missionaries.
That's a Christian way
to pray.
To not pray for growth
is to miss how to pray.
But verse 6,
and they went through
the regions of Phrygia
and Galatia
having, note this,
been forbidden
by the Holy Spirit
to speak the word,
short for the word
of the Lord,
in Asia.
And when they had
come up to Mysia,
they attempted
to go into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus
did not allow them.
Two times in a row
the Spirit says no.
So passing by Mysia,
they went down to Troas.
Now just pause here.
The Bible doesn't make clear
how it is
that the Holy Spirit
says no.
But this isn't just
a simple no once.
They walked 400 miles,
640 kilometers of walking
with a regular no
of the Holy Spirit.
640 kilometer walk.
Pushing them in one direction.
They can't go this way,
they can't go this way,
they're going to go this way.
We want to go up there,
no.
Want to go down there,
no.
Want to go up there,
no.
Want to go down there,
no.
No, no, no, no, no.
Then verse 9.
And a vision appeared
to Paul in the night.
A man of Macedonia
was standing there
urging him and saying,
come over to Macedonia
and help us.
Paul knows that
the help they need
is they need to hear
the word of the Lord.
The best help
we can give
to any human being
is to tell them
about Jesus.
And when Paul
had seen the vision,
immediately
we sought to go
into Macedonia,
concluding
that God
had called us
to preach
the gospel to them.
And you'll notice there
that the word
we shows up,
that Luke,
the writer of this,
is now actually
part of the story.
But here's the thing,
in the original language,
concluding that God
had called us
to preach the gospel
to them,
it doesn't mean
that Paul just said,
whoa,
I have this vision,
you guys all
have to come along.
Concluding implies
there was sustained
conversation
amongst the brothers
to discern
what God
had called
them to do.
It wasn't just,
I got my Bible
and I got God
and I just do
whatever I
bloody well want
because I think
I'm infallible.
No,
here's,
can you put up
the point?
Since you are
not infallible,
you need to learn
his infallible word
with the help
of the Holy Spirit
and other Christ followers.
So I'm,
you know,
I'm broadening out
the general point
of the text,
which is just this,
that they needed
the Holy Spirit.
They needed God's
help and direction.
But they also needed
conversation
with their brothers.
And you could add
to make it more extensive,
brothers and sisters.
And you could add
for us as a general thing
as I need help
when I read the Bible
from people who lived
a hundred years ago.
I want to tell you
right now,
if you want to get,
if you just want to buy
some commentaries
on the Gospels,
you cannot beat
getting J.C. Ryle's
commentaries on the Gospels.
And he wrote them
in the 18th hundreds.
And they're absolute dynamite.
We need help
from earlier generations
of Christians.
It's a good thing
if you discover
what Augustine
or Chrysostom said.
It's a good thing
if you discover
what Ambrose
or Basil the Great
or Calvin or Luther said.
It's a good thing
to learn from brothers
and sisters from the past.
And it's a good thing
to consult with other
brothers and sisters today,
to be part of a local church,
to be part of a men's ministry
or a women's ministry
or a youth group
or a small group,
to come to church,
to together hear
the word of the Lord
and discuss what it means
trusting in the help
of the Holy Spirit.
That's,
there is a holy mystery
in how the infallible,
authoritative,
life-giving word
of the Lord
comes to fallible,
self-centered,
death-doomed human beings,
me included.
And we not only need
the word of the Lord,
we need the Holy Spirit.
We need conversation
amongst us.
Brothers and sisters,
that's what we need.
Please stand.
I invite you to stand.
Just as you're standing,
if there's any here
or any who are watching,
live or down the stream,
is the word of the Lord
is for you.
I've just tried to tell you
what the Bible teaches,
not on my own authority,
but I have consulted
with other brothers,
in this case,
you know,
mainly brothers.
Throughout my life,
I've learned from brothers
and sisters,
and I've studied,
and I try to open
the word for you,
and this is a word
of the Lord for you,
that Jesus died for you.
He wants to be your Savior
and your Lord.
And if you just say,
Jesus,
I want you to be
my Savior and Lord,
he's alive.
He will hear it.
He will answer it.
He will come into your life.
You come into his life
and what he's done.
There is no shame,
so shameful,
that he will not embrace you.
There is no sin,
so highness,
that he has not paid for it.
There is no woundedness
or brokenness
that is so bad
and so longstanding
that he cannot overcome it.
He sees you as you are,
and he loves you.
He died for you.
He'd like to be your Savior
and your Lord.
He will welcome you.
Let's pray.
Father, you know
how we believe
we're infallible.
And you know,
Father,
how each one of us
can be blind to that.
And you know,
Father,
how we're a lot better
at seeing
in other people
than we are
at seeing in ourselves.
And Father,
we ask that
your work of grace
in our lives
would continue
so that we would have
the freedom
to lift this
huge crushing burden
of infallibility
from us,
to know and trust
that only your word
is infallible
because it comes from you
who are infallible
and authoritative.
So we ask,
Father,
that you help us
to read,
mark, learn,
and inwardly digest
your word.
We ask that you
help us to engage
in humble,
good faith conversations
with other Christians
that we might grow
and learn
and be ministered to
and ministered to others.
That you would grow us
as a church
and in all of our ministries,
Father,
where we're strengthened
in the faith
and we grow in numbers,
Father,
all for our good
and your glory.
And we ask all these things
in the name of Jesus,
your Son
and our Savior,
and all God's people said,
Amen.
Let's just be seated.
The service has been shortened.
We're going to go into,
but just before we do announcements,
I'd like to say
a couple of prayers.
I know people have to go
to the bathroom
and all that's good,
but we need to say
a couple of prayers
before we go into,
I'll do the announcements
and then we'll set the table
for the Lord's Supper.
Some of you might know
there's a very momentous day
happening in a couple of days
in the United States of America.
It would be wrong
if we didn't pray
for our friends
south of the border.
So let's just pray for that
and a couple of other things as well.
Let's just bow our heads
in prayer
and yeah,
let's just pray.
Father,
we thank you.
We thank you
that we get to live
beside the United States of America
and there are many things
about that country
that are great
and of course,
many things about it,
that country
that they need to repent of
and that are worrisome.
We ask,
Father,
that you would have mercy
on our friends
to the south,
that in your mercy
you would grant them
a government
better than they deserve,
that you would raise up
men and women
despite whatever rhetoric
they might say now,
that you would move their hearts
and move their wills,
that they would seek
the true good
of that whole nation,
the true prosperity
of all the people
in that nation
and that they would be
a force of good
in the world.
Father,
we ask that you would,
that regardless of who wins
and who loses,
that you would work
in the hearts of the winners,
that that would be the result.
And Father,
we ask for ourselves
who will be having an election
before we know it as well,
that you will have mercy on us,
that you give us leaders
better than we deserve.
Father,
we also pray
for the other gospel-hearted,
gospel-centered churches
in this city.
We ask that you grow
the bonds of affection
between our churches,
that you would help us all
to thrive
in proclaiming Jesus.
We thank you
for the missionaries
that we support
and missionaries
who are part of our congregation.
We think of those involved
in outreach
to international students
at Ottawa U,
and we think of our brother here
preparing to go to Asia
to work once again
as a missionary,
and the other missionaries
that we support
around the world
in North Africa
and in South America
and in the rest of Africa.
The missionaries
that we're about to support
as well,
ministering to Afghanistan
and in Kuwait.
Father,
we ask your blessing
upon these missionaries,
and we ask that you
increase our generosity
towards these really important works.
And Father,
we ask that you bless
those who still work
in the public square,
whether it's in the civil service
or whether it's in private industry
or in the arts
or education.
We ask, Father,
that you help them
to work well
for your glory,
grant them wisdom
and discernment,
how they can speak
into their places of work
and their places of influence
in a way
that's good
and true
and just
and merciful
and wise
so that our city
and our nation
will thrive.
And for all of us,
Father,
we ask that you help us
to have a winsome,
humble courage,
to share the gospel.
Help us to recognize opportunities
to share the gospel.
And Father,
we all have loved ones
that we are praying
will come to a saving faith
in Jesus.
And we ask, Father,
that you would bring
our loved ones
to a saving faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we ask these things
in the name of Jesus,
your Son and our Savior.
Amen.