WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.780 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.760 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.920 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.520 for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.680 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.780 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:13.300 --> 00:01:19.760 Father, we ask that you would continue to gently but deeply pour out the Holy Spirit upon us. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:27.880 We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would move very deeply in us, that we might know that we are in 00:01:27.880 --> 00:01:35.820 your presence, that you are a great God, that Jesus is a great Savior, able to save all who put their 00:01:35.820 --> 00:01:42.780 faith and trust in Him, that you will help us to grow in knowing that the gates of hell will not 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:48.439 prevail against your church, and that even if we are weak, you are strong. So Father, we ask that you 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:53.780 would do a gentle but powerful work in our hearts this morning, bringing your word home to us in a 00:01:53.780 --> 00:02:03.179 deep way. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. So a couple of years ago, probably 00:02:03.179 --> 00:02:12.039 more than a couple of years ago, I was taking the cab to the airport early morning, and I was going to 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:17.679 some pastors' conference. And this is a different cab conversation than last Sunday's sermon, just in 00:02:17.679 --> 00:02:22.759 case you're wondering. The cab driver asked me why I was going to the airport so early where I was 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:27.039 going. I told him I was going to Vancouver. I told him, he said, oh, why? I said, I'm going to a 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:34.879 pastor's conference, meet with other pastors. And he looked at me through his mirror, and he started to 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:41.259 pepper me with some standard Muslim critiques of Christianity, about the Bible being corrupted, 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:46.379 and a few other things like that. And I'd had a bit of experience in handling some of those things. 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:53.439 I was able to parry them, you know, give some answers. And then he sort of paused, especially 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:57.579 after one of them when he talked about the Bible. And I said, well, that's actually not correct. 00:02:57.580 --> 00:03:04.400 Anyway, he paused, and I said, so I take it you're a Muslim. I said, are you a practicing Muslim? He said, 00:03:04.420 --> 00:03:09.920 I was a very, very devout Muslim for quite a few years. But then a couple of years ago, I realized 00:03:09.920 --> 00:03:16.580 that nothing written in the 7th century can have anything relevant to life today. Sort of interesting 00:03:16.580 --> 00:03:20.260 that he was trying to get me to stop being a Christian. That's what he said, nothing written in the 7th 00:03:20.260 --> 00:03:27.460 century can have any relevance to life today. And then he told me this other little detail. 00:03:27.460 --> 00:03:33.700 He said, when I said that to my mom, she's still sad over it, because I live a different way now. 00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:40.540 The reason I mention this is it's, as you know, there's many, there's always been people who walk away 00:03:40.540 --> 00:03:46.180 from the Christian faith. And one of the things which contributes to people walking away from the 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:52.260 Christian faith is the great disconnect between what we do on a Sunday morning, where what we do when we're 00:03:52.260 --> 00:03:57.439 with our Christian friends, and what happens when we walk out the door. And there's ways of, 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:01.800 talking about what it means to be a Christian, and there's ways of looking at the Bible, 00:04:02.420 --> 00:04:06.600 that are all, they can make us feel very comfortable, and they can make us feel very safe. 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:10.700 And by the way, I like people feeling comfortable. I like feeling comfortable. 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:18.519 But if we talk about things in certain type of way, almost ignoring how the world, how the doors out, 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:21.879 people on the other side of those doors, how they would look at the same text. 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:28.579 If we only talk about it in here with our in-house language, and never sort of connect what's outside 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:33.480 that door with what's going on inside, it will make it harder to be a Christian. 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:39.579 And in fact, it could even end up leading you to the conclusion that nothing written in the, 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:44.300 in this case, first century, has anything to say to life in this century. 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:49.759 So one of the things you can pray for me is that week by week, when I try to open the word, 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:55.680 and when other people like Steve open the word, that we'll be, we want to have the two worlds come 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:01.699 together. Because the fact of the matter is, Jesus really is the hope of the world. 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:05.460 There is no other hope. He is the hope of the world. 00:05:05.459 --> 00:05:11.599 So let's look at this text in light of what I've just said, because I think you'll see why I brought 00:05:11.599 --> 00:05:18.299 this up as an analogy. So if you turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 13, Luke chapter 13, and by the way, 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:22.939 I can't see what you're seeing on the screen. So if those of you who are watching this, maybe it's a 00:05:22.939 --> 00:05:28.579 sermon later, our service got delayed earlier because we were having trouble with pro-presenter. 00:05:28.919 --> 00:05:33.759 So I don't know if periodically you're just going to see a big pro-presenter advertisement rather 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:39.500 than me when I preach, and that's just, we'll fix the glitch next week. That's all I can say. 00:05:39.599 --> 00:05:45.120 Anyway, Luke chapter 13, I'm sorry, Acts chapter 13, not Luke, Acts chapter 13, sorry. 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:49.920 You see, I'm going to talk about sorcery. All sorts of things start to go wrong, you know, 00:05:50.219 --> 00:05:59.659 but it won't work, by the way. Christ is one, and we all know the end of the story. 00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:07.720 So Acts chapter 13, and here's, and actually before I go any further, you know, here's the 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:11.860 thing that the text is going to be about today, and you'll see why I'm using this as an analogy 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:17.420 and example at the beginning. What we're looking at today is the first true missionary journey. 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:24.040 The first true missionary journey. So up until now, the book of Acts is an eyewitness-based 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:32.860 history of the first 30 or so years of the Jesus movement, and it was written while eyewitnesses 00:06:32.860 --> 00:06:39.400 were still alive to critique it, and up until now, obviously there's been the Gospels making 00:06:39.400 --> 00:06:44.280 big jumps out of the Jewish community into the Samaritan community, out of the Jewish community 00:06:44.280 --> 00:06:50.100 into the pagan world. It's left Jerusalem. The story's going to take place in Antioch. Antioch's 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:54.660 the third most important city of the Roman Empire at that particular time. It's a very, 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:59.600 very important city. The third biggest as well. And so the Gospel's been doing this, but it's 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:04.920 in a sense all been done informally. People leaving and gossiping the Gospel. I can't remember who 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:08.879 invented that phrase. It wasn't me, but gossiping the Gospel. But what we're going to look at today 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:16.939 is the first missionary endeavor, where there's a conscious decision made to send missionaries 00:07:16.939 --> 00:07:22.899 out, and with financial and prayer support, the very, very first time. So here's the problem. 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:34.139 Outside the door. Outside the door, we learn to decolonize our minds. That's what they want to teach 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:41.079 you in school, don't they? The problem in the world is that there's been this terrible movement 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:45.399 of colonization. There's been these terrible, terrible people called missionaries. No offense, 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:51.120 I know there's at least one missionary in the room. No offense to you, but that's how the world speaks 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:58.039 about missionaries. Missionary activity, in principle, is wrong. It's narrow-minded, implying 00:07:58.039 --> 00:08:06.319 that Jesus is the only way. It, in fact, is trampling on the indigenous and other types of spiritualities 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:12.019 which exist in the world, and it tramples on them, and it's a form of colonizing which we need to rid 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:20.180 ourselves of if we want to flourish. That's what they say out there, right? Tell me I'm wrong. Well, 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:26.319 maybe not right now, but later on. Send me an email. But that's how the world understands this, 00:08:26.500 --> 00:08:32.299 and so here we are looking at a text. Christians, at least orthodox Bible-believing Christians, 00:08:32.299 --> 00:08:38.379 think missionaries are good guys. Out there, they think missionaries are bad guys. So we have to read 00:08:38.379 --> 00:08:44.159 the text putting those two things together, putting those two things together. So how does this story 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:48.200 go? And we'll talk about it a little bit more as we get into it to see the power of the story. 00:08:48.620 --> 00:08:54.600 And it begins in chapter 13, verse 1. It goes like this. Now there were in the church at Antioch 00:08:54.600 --> 00:09:00.419 prophets and teachers. It's the only place in the New Testament where it talks about the church being 00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:05.179 led by prophets and teachers. Nothing else is said about it. It's usually presbyters or elders 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:11.500 that are in charge of churches. Nobody knows why, but that's just the term that's used. And when it says 00:09:11.500 --> 00:09:18.559 the church in Antioch, we can't think of it, nothing personal against my Baptist friends, we can't think 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:24.179 of it like Baptists think of it. They wouldn't have had, there would have been way more Christians in this 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:28.679 room would hold, and there weren't many houses with rooms this big. So it would have been a whole pile of 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:33.500 churches. It would have been more like a community of local churches. So when they're using, a lot of times in the 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:38.000 New Testament, when they use words like the church in a city, what you really need to think of is 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:42.360 there's a whole lot of church, small churches, but there, and each one of them is a church, but the 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:47.240 bigger group is also a church, okay? Just so you understand what's going on. So there's a group of 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:53.679 people looking over the, all of the, in a sense, the Christian movement in Antioch. They're called 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:57.820 prophets and teachers, back to the text, and here's the names of the five of them. There's five of them. 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:26.300 Now, there's lots of interesting things which are going on in here, but I want to give you, and I 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:32.419 apologize. I thought I had, I thought I had made these points to send to Clara, and then I discovered 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:37.099 that I hadn't written them down and sent them to her in advance. So there's no point up on the screen. 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:45.079 That's all on me, but here's a big idea, and it's a big idea for all of the book of Acts, and it's a big 00:10:45.079 --> 00:10:50.359 idea in terms of how you're going to understand why missionaries are a good thing, Christian missionaries 00:10:50.360 --> 00:11:00.419 are a good thing. What Jesus did to save you is not narrow because it is cramped and weak. It is narrow 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:11.360 by being utterly unique and utterly huge. I'll say it again. What Jesus did to save you is not narrow 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:21.139 because it is cramped and weak. It is narrow by being utterly unique and utterly huge. You know what 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:25.840 the best example of it is? It would be as if people say it's awfully narrow-minded to think that this 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:33.560 solar gap, this solar, this solar system should only have one sun. You'd go. I mean, if you even said 00:11:33.560 --> 00:11:37.100 something like that, it would mean you don't know anything at all about physics or astronomy or anything 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:41.080 like that. If you added a second sun, you wouldn't have our solar system. Everything would end. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.500 And the fact of the matter is, just having one sun for our solar system, as I said, it isn't a problem. 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:54.200 There's a really interesting book that just came out, the 20th anniversary edition. I haven't read the 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:59.480 book, but I've watched two very long interviews about the book. It's called The Privileged Planet, 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:04.519 written by, I can't remember what the first guy's scientific specialty was. The other one is an 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:10.980 astronomer. It sounds like a fascinating book, and they've rewritten it or updated it for the 20th 00:12:10.980 --> 00:12:20.319 anniversary of it. But the fact of the matter is, is the sun is utterly unique and utterly huge and 00:12:20.319 --> 00:12:26.340 everything our solar system needs. And that's the same claim that's been made by Christians about the 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:33.819 gospel. That what Jesus did for us on the cross is like to the human race what the sun is to the solar 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:41.240 system. It's utterly unique and it's utterly huge and it provides everything that's needed for our 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:48.440 solar system to thrive and for us to live and thrive. Not narrow and cramped. I mean, you just think about 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:52.460 it for a second. This is the fundamental Christian claim. This is, you know, later on it's going to talk 00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:57.400 about how Paul goes everywhere talking about the Word of God and all, and that's a short form in a sense for 00:12:57.399 --> 00:13:03.439 saying that what he does is he talks about the Word made flesh by opening the Word of God. So he opens 00:13:03.439 --> 00:13:09.019 the Word of God to talk about the Word made flesh. And that all gets you that the message of the 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:14.879 gospel is that God, the Son of God, has done something absolutely huge. That the Father, the Son, and the 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:24.899 Holy Spirit, three persons, one God, a union of love and fellowship and communion, and they look at the 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:29.459 human race, they look at human beings made in the image of God, and they see that we have gone completely 00:13:29.459 --> 00:13:35.259 and utterly astray. That while we do some good things at the very, very center of who we are, we think that 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:40.579 we can all individually be the sun at the center of a solar system. And that, of course, just constantly 00:13:40.579 --> 00:13:50.500 causes chaos and messes up families and relationships and churches and governments and communities and 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:55.919 nations because you can't have everybody being the sun with all the planets revolving around them. If 00:13:55.919 --> 00:14:02.500 Louise and I both think we're the sun, we are always going to be in conflict. And so that God, the Father, 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:08.000 God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit, they look down at human race, they see that there is this huge need, 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:15.559 they see that we cannot save ourselves from this. And so God does a rescue mission. God, the Father, 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:20.479 God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit, three persons, one God, a union of love, a communion of love, 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:27.839 they do something to rescue us. And God, the Son of God, sets aside his glory, sets aside his splendor, 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:35.179 sets aside his prerogatives of God, sets aside his using the power of God, but still remains God and 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:47.799 takes into himself our human nature and descends, descends into becoming a zygote in the womb of Mary. 00:14:49.939 --> 00:14:59.019 What a remarkable idea. What a remarkable story. He humbled himself to become a zygote. And as a zygote, 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:04.919 he then goes through the normal nine-month gestation period that human beings go through. He goes through a 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:10.500 normal birth. He has a mother and a father. He eventually has brothers and sisters. He has 00:15:10.500 --> 00:15:16.620 cousins and nephews. He lives in a town. He works with his hands, and he learns language. He works 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:23.179 with his hands in his father's business. He has to bury his dad by the time his ministry begins. He 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:29.219 spends this three years of teaching and letting people know that the promises, the ancient promises 00:15:29.219 --> 00:15:34.779 that God had been making for thousands of years, that he would send a deliverer, that he is 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:41.459 that answer to those promises, that God has kept his word. He lives a completely human life. He suffers 00:15:41.459 --> 00:15:51.539 the trials and temptations that we suffer, only he doesn't sin. And then he goes and willingly allows 00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:58.339 himself to die on a cross. And if you go and you read the gospel stories, it's so completely and utterly 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:07.019 mind-boggling. It's something which should gobsmacked you, that the one that if those ancient eyewitness 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:13.860 biographies are true, and they claim to be eyewitness biographies written when eyewitnesses were still 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:20.019 alive, the man who could calm the sea, the man who could walk on water, the man who could heal 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:33.759 the sick, the man who could raise the dead, allows himself to be captured. And it is not the nails that hold him 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:47.840 to the cross. It is his love for you and me that holds him to the cross. And he dies in my place and in your 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:56.120 place to reconcile us to God. And he takes all there is to taste of death. He's buried. He's put in a tomb. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:03.340 So this descent, God, the Son of God, his descent to being a zygote, his descent to human life, and his 00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:09.079 deeper descent into tasting all there is to taste of death. He descends and he descends and he descends 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:16.380 all to save you. And then there is the ascent. On the third day, the stone is pushed away from the 00:17:16.380 --> 00:17:24.220 grave, not by any human power, but by the power of God. The grave clothes are left behind. Jesus rises 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:30.540 physically from the dead, and his body is never found. And over the next 40 days, he appears alive 00:17:30.540 --> 00:17:36.640 to many people in many places in many ways to show that he is completely and utterly alive, that he has 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:41.900 defeated death. He has tasted all there is to taste of death. He does not have a near-death experience. 00:17:41.900 --> 00:17:47.280 He is not like people that we might know who die, who enter into the place of dead and come to this 00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:52.820 side of death, only to have to die again. He tastes all there is to taste of death. He emerges on the 00:17:52.820 --> 00:17:58.860 far side of death. Death is now defeated, and that which causes death, which is a rebellion against God, 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:04.220 our desire to be the Son in every human relationship, that is completely and utterly defeated. 00:18:04.220 --> 00:18:11.640 The price has been paid. Our sins are forgiven, and he ascends into heaven, and this whole mighty act of 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:18.799 God to save us, his descent, his ascent, and of course we have his promise of the coming again. And that 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:28.880 is utterly unique and utterly huge. And it is huge enough for every human being. 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:34.080 Now why am I saying that at the beginning of the story? Well, not only because you need to remember 00:18:34.080 --> 00:18:42.360 this throughout the entire rest of the book of Acts, but you already see the hugeness of it to broach 00:18:42.360 --> 00:18:49.260 and break all sorts of social and racial and language categories. If you just look at the five names here, 00:18:49.340 --> 00:18:54.680 this is where you get it from. Look at the names again. Verse 1. Who's Barnabas? Barnabas is a rich 00:18:54.680 --> 00:19:01.660 land-owning Jewish man who becomes a Christian. Who is Simeon? Simeon, who is called Niger, he's somebody 00:19:01.660 --> 00:19:12.299 from Africa. He's black. These are the leaders of the church. How the gospel is huge enough to affect a person 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:19.080 who is from Africa, sub-Saharan Africa we would now call, and he's also someone who is, somebody is already 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:26.720 there who's a rich Jewish man, Lucius of Cyrene. Do we have any Syrians present? He's a Syrian. 00:19:28.159 --> 00:19:33.599 And then we have Manan, a member of the court of Herod the Tetrarch. Herod the Tetrarch was not a 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:40.480 Jewish man, but we have somebody who is of a very type of secular, rich, powerful Jewish family who has 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:47.159 become a Christian. And then last of all is mentioned Saul, who we now know primarily is the name of Paul. 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:56.240 And we now know in hindsight how important a person Paul is, but back then he lost everything by 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:02.720 becoming a Christian. There's evidence from his letters that he was completely and utterly 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:07.640 disinherited and lost all contact with his family when he gave his life to Christ. 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:11.120 And in the ancient world he is poorer than poor. 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:22.460 What Jesus did for us on the cross is big enough to encompass this very highly educated but now 00:20:22.460 --> 00:20:29.780 impoverished man, a wealthy man, a person with connections to the court, somebody from Syria, 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:34.339 somebody from sub-Saharan Africa. And that's the leadership of the church. 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:44.920 See, what Jesus did is huge. What he has done for us is sufficient for every sort of human being. 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:51.259 Some other time, because it's going to come up again, we'll talk a little bit about how it is, 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:56.339 but you'll see that what happens is in this part that we just read is that the Holy Spirit propels 00:20:56.339 --> 00:21:01.539 them to begin this missionary journey. And if you look again at just verse 3, 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:06.660 then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. You see, there's a very 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:12.119 conscious, there would have been financial provision, and there would have just been their blessing, 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:15.940 and there would have been their prayer support, they would have been pledging their ongoing 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:21.660 koinonia with them in this very, very first missionary journey. And now we get the account 00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:30.779 of the beginning of the Christian missionary encounter with the pagan world. I'm going to ask you 00:21:30.779 --> 00:21:39.000 once again, friends, brothers and sisters, could you pray, would you join me in praying that God would 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:47.000 in his kindness empower the Christian church today to have a new missionary encounter with Canada? 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:55.619 Pray that God will have mercy on our nation and allow us to have a new missionary encounter with 00:21:55.619 --> 00:22:05.599 our land. So what happens? Well, this is even a bigger problem, this next bit that I'm going to go to. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:09.819 It's going to show, yeah, I think hopefully you can get to see, I'm going to talk some other week a bit 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:16.000 more about why it's completely reasonable to believe that Jesus is the only way. But you'll see here the 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:22.659 fundamental Christian claim. It's going to be torn out time and time and time again. The gospel is not 00:22:22.659 --> 00:22:33.619 narrow because it's weak and cramped. It's utterly unique and utterly huge and utterly all that anybody needs. 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:39.480 Well, here we go with this very first story. Look at what happens, verse 4. 00:22:40.399 --> 00:22:42.240 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:47.319 being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:51.039 and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Seleucia is a port 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:52.959 and they sailed to Cyprus. 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:56.879 When they arrived at Salamis, which is the port in Cyprus, 00:22:57.199 --> 00:23:01.179 they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jewish people 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:06.000 and they had John to assist them. And just an aside, if you go reading a little bit earlier, 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:10.600 you'll see that John is the person we primarily know of as Mark. 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:15.799 And he's the one who wrote the gospel of Mark. 00:23:16.120 --> 00:23:17.700 Okay, so they had John to assist them. 00:23:18.060 --> 00:23:21.080 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:22.759 and just pause there, 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:26.539 in the original language it implies that they didn't just sort of go for a trip, 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:27.400 like a hike, 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:30.379 that they went and they preached as they went, 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:32.099 told people about Jesus. 00:23:33.140 --> 00:23:34.000 So verse 6 again, 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:36.779 when they had gone through the whole of the island as far as Paphos, 00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:39.039 they came upon a certain magician. 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:43.660 Now, it's a bit of an unfortunate translation in the ESV. 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:45.480 I think a couple of times I said, 00:23:45.560 --> 00:23:50.320 sometimes the ESV is a bit too precise. 00:23:51.620 --> 00:23:53.860 And if you look, there's another sense of magician. 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:55.420 But the better word, 00:23:55.540 --> 00:23:57.940 and I'm going to say this when I read it from now on, 00:23:58.000 --> 00:23:59.540 it's a better word is to say sorcerer. 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:04.620 So they're not talking about a person who'd get a show at Las Vegas. 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:12.019 They're talking about a person who deals with dark powers, 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:17.639 who deals with potions and rituals and draws down, 00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:19.619 claims to draw down, 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:23.639 and does powerful forces, 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:25.339 which we would understand to be demonic, 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:30.019 and has potions and spells, 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:34.139 and gives power to amulets and all of that stuff. 00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:35.579 So I'll read it again. 00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:37.740 They came upon a certain sorcerer, 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:40.799 a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:43.440 That means he's called himself a prophet. 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:46.559 He calls himself the son of salvation. 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:49.519 And he was with the pro-council, 00:24:49.659 --> 00:24:52.619 and the pro-council is the head of a Roman province. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:54.819 So he's a very big deal. 00:24:56.579 --> 00:24:57.500 And he was with, 00:24:57.579 --> 00:24:58.819 and when it says here he was with, 00:24:58.879 --> 00:25:01.480 it means that he's part of his team of advisors. 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:02.619 He's a key advisor. 00:25:02.619 --> 00:25:07.259 So Bar-Jesus claims to be a prophet, 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:10.299 and claims to be a son of salvation. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:12.659 He is a sorcerer as well, 00:25:12.979 --> 00:25:16.119 and he's one of the key advisors to Sergius Paulus. 00:25:16.679 --> 00:25:17.819 And then it continues, 00:25:17.939 --> 00:25:19.039 a man of intelligence, 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.139 who summoned Barnabas and Saul, 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:24.279 and sought to hear the word of God. 00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:25.939 Now just sort of pause here for a second. 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:27.559 There's a couple of things that we need to do 00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:29.440 to understand what's going on in this story, 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:33.000 and to be able to experience the story emotionally. 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:36.819 So first I'm going to give like another point, 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:38.919 a bit of a bigger point, 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:40.799 which I wish it was up, 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:42.240 but I forgot to email it. 00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:44.059 In a sense, 00:25:44.159 --> 00:25:46.399 one of the things that's at the heart of this whole story 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:50.940 is that God calls us to go in weakness 00:25:50.940 --> 00:25:53.840 to an upside-down world 00:25:53.840 --> 00:25:55.920 with demonic opposition 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:57.900 that has, you know, 00:25:57.940 --> 00:25:59.160 an upside-down world 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:01.320 that has demonic opposition to us. 00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:02.280 I'd have to word it better. 00:26:02.600 --> 00:26:04.660 Go in weakness to an upside-down world 00:26:04.660 --> 00:26:05.980 with demonic opposition, 00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:08.600 and bear witness to Jesus 00:26:08.600 --> 00:26:10.940 in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:26:11.780 --> 00:26:13.040 That's in a sense the message. 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:14.940 Now why do I say it's an upside-down world? 00:26:15.080 --> 00:26:15.519 Once again, 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:16.900 think of the difference between us 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:17.900 and when you go through the door. 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:21.879 How do we start to enter into this? 00:26:23.819 --> 00:26:25.059 Well, here's the first one. 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:27.859 Imagine you get invited to a party 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:29.339 in your neighbourhood, 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:31.039 maybe with your work. 00:26:31.379 --> 00:26:32.299 You know, maybe you work 00:26:32.299 --> 00:26:34.339 for some social media network, 00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:35.740 maybe you work on Parliament Hill, 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:37.240 maybe you work for the Civil Service. 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:39.420 Maybe it's just a neighbourhood party, 00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:40.639 and you get invited to a party, 00:26:40.740 --> 00:26:41.879 and you happen to go into the party 00:26:41.879 --> 00:26:42.940 around the same time, 00:26:43.019 --> 00:26:43.700 or just a little bit 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:45.339 before two other people who come in. 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:47.579 And they don't come in together. 00:26:48.059 --> 00:26:49.460 Two, let's say, we'll just say them, 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:50.819 two men come in, 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:52.160 one after the other. 00:26:52.259 --> 00:26:53.299 They're about the same age. 00:26:53.639 --> 00:26:55.180 And you're just sitting there having a drink, 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:56.220 or standing there having a drink, 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:58.539 and you can sort of overhear what happens. 00:26:59.019 --> 00:26:59.619 People come up, 00:26:59.639 --> 00:27:00.779 and they start to have conversations. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:01.299 And this, 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:02.940 we'll do this one over here. 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:04.500 This fellow over here, 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:05.920 says to people, 00:27:07.340 --> 00:27:08.500 and they ask him who he is and what he does. 00:27:08.539 --> 00:27:08.900 He says, 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:11.500 I've decided to become a missionary, 00:27:12.340 --> 00:27:14.820 and I'm going to go to an unreached people group. 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:16.100 That means a people group 00:27:16.100 --> 00:27:17.580 that's never heard anything about Christianity. 00:27:17.580 --> 00:27:19.180 I've decided I'm going to be a missionary 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:20.559 to go to a group of people 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:22.420 who've never heard of Jesus at all. 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.160 Okay? 00:27:24.820 --> 00:27:27.320 The other person says, 00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:28.440 they ask him what he does, 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.259 and he says, 00:27:29.340 --> 00:27:30.640 I'm a sorcerer. 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:34.640 Now, who's going to have 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:36.200 the interested crowd around him? 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:42.880 If this guy has a crowd around him, 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:46.799 it will be because people want to challenge him 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:48.180 for his colonizing, 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:49.880 imperialistic, 00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:51.220 narrow-minded, 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:53.759 backwards, 00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:55.059 ignorant, 00:27:55.860 --> 00:27:56.880 knuckle-dragging, 00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:58.680 behavior, 00:27:58.800 --> 00:27:59.320 and beliefs. 00:28:02.260 --> 00:28:03.440 People for that guy, 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:04.920 they might be a bit amused, 00:28:05.760 --> 00:28:06.840 but most of them, 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:08.380 they'll be pretty interested in it. 00:28:08.460 --> 00:28:09.540 What do you do for sorcery? 00:28:09.600 --> 00:28:10.120 Does it work? 00:28:10.120 --> 00:28:10.500 Like, 00:28:10.800 --> 00:28:12.120 oh, could you tell me some spells? 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:15.600 That's the real, 00:28:15.780 --> 00:28:17.300 that's the world we're going out to. 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:20.220 In here, 00:28:20.800 --> 00:28:22.340 we think 00:28:22.340 --> 00:28:24.160 that sorcery 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:26.620 is spiritually dangerous. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:29.560 because there really are occult powers 00:28:29.560 --> 00:28:31.700 that only want to hurt you. 00:28:33.020 --> 00:28:34.040 That, in fact, 00:28:34.420 --> 00:28:35.940 if you think you're manipulating 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:37.860 these powers for your benefit, 00:28:38.460 --> 00:28:39.900 the truth is 00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:41.520 you're only being manipulated 00:28:41.520 --> 00:28:43.380 by those demonic powers 00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:44.380 for their benefit. 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:46.880 And you are being led 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:47.920 into greater and greater 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:49.220 deception and weakness. 00:28:50.620 --> 00:28:52.100 That's what we believe. 00:28:52.540 --> 00:28:53.260 Out there, 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:54.680 it's cool. 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:01.619 And all the way through the text, 00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:02.000 you see, 00:29:02.099 --> 00:29:03.000 in a sense, 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:04.680 what the Bible is saying 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:07.460 is why is it that often 00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:08.579 after you've been a Christian 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:09.180 for a while, 00:29:09.259 --> 00:29:10.379 you feel like the world 00:29:10.379 --> 00:29:11.640 is a bit of a funny place? 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:14.079 Because the Bible wants us 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:14.900 to understand 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:16.299 that the world 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:18.019 is upside down. 00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:22.599 But they don't think 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:23.960 it's upside down. 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:24.900 When I was in the world, 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:25.400 I didn't think 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:26.139 it was upside down. 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:27.019 I thought Christians 00:29:27.019 --> 00:29:27.740 were weird 00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:29.460 and completely 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:30.900 and utterly unattractive. 00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:35.019 But Christians think 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:36.819 that Jesus came 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:39.119 to turn the upside down world 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:40.200 upside down, 00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:41.240 which is another way 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:41.660 of saying 00:29:41.660 --> 00:29:42.940 to turn it right side up. 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:45.980 to understand 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:47.880 that prayer 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:48.799 is good, 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:49.759 casting spells 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:50.500 is bad, 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:51.860 that openness 00:29:51.860 --> 00:29:52.820 to the Holy Spirit 00:29:52.820 --> 00:29:53.519 is good, 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:55.259 openness to demonic powers, 00:29:55.559 --> 00:29:56.500 and they won't call them 00:29:56.500 --> 00:29:57.259 demonic powers, 00:29:57.360 --> 00:29:57.900 they'll call them 00:29:57.900 --> 00:29:58.519 white magic 00:29:58.519 --> 00:29:59.340 and all that other 00:29:59.340 --> 00:29:59.920 type of stuff 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:00.360 is that they're 00:30:00.360 --> 00:30:01.140 misnaming them. 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:02.799 We're being asked 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:03.259 by God 00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:04.820 to go to an upside down world. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:06.080 And if we think 00:30:06.080 --> 00:30:06.900 about it for a second, 00:30:07.059 --> 00:30:08.000 that's part of the reason 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:08.920 why we have a bit 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:10.019 of discomfort 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:10.779 when we go out 00:30:10.779 --> 00:30:11.360 into the world 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:12.179 is because, 00:30:12.899 --> 00:30:14.319 in a sense, 00:30:14.399 --> 00:30:15.299 we're talking to people 00:30:15.299 --> 00:30:15.919 who are standing 00:30:15.919 --> 00:30:16.839 upside down 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:18.059 on thin air. 00:30:18.879 --> 00:30:19.919 And they look at us 00:30:19.919 --> 00:30:20.339 and say, 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:21.879 why are you walking 00:30:21.879 --> 00:30:22.539 on the ceiling? 00:30:24.179 --> 00:30:25.119 And we look at them 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:25.439 and say, 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:26.319 actually, 00:30:26.399 --> 00:30:26.719 we're walking 00:30:26.719 --> 00:30:27.299 on the floor. 00:30:27.639 --> 00:30:28.219 Why are you standing 00:30:28.219 --> 00:30:28.819 upside down 00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:29.399 on thin air? 00:30:31.099 --> 00:30:31.779 You can see 00:30:31.779 --> 00:30:32.319 those can be 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:33.819 difficult conversations, 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:35.939 awkward conversations, 00:30:37.179 --> 00:30:37.919 ones that we don't want 00:30:37.919 --> 00:30:38.439 to maybe even 00:30:38.439 --> 00:30:39.379 acknowledge are there. 00:30:40.299 --> 00:30:41.219 We might want to say, 00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:41.500 well, 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:42.039 if you sort of 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:42.500 look at it 00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:43.100 the right way, 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:44.259 they're not really 00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:45.680 standing upside down 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.279 in thin air. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:46.559 No, 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:47.279 the Bible wants 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:48.000 to make it clear 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.360 that if you live 00:30:50.360 --> 00:30:51.360 as if there is no God, 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:52.180 that's upside down, 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:52.779 there is a God. 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:55.220 If you live as if 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:56.500 you somehow 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:57.559 are a little sun 00:30:57.559 --> 00:30:58.240 in the center 00:30:58.240 --> 00:30:59.600 of your own solar system, 00:30:59.700 --> 00:31:00.460 the fact of the matter 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:02.160 is you're at best 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:02.740 a moon 00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:04.460 circling one of the planets 00:31:04.460 --> 00:31:07.140 that circles the sun. 00:31:07.140 --> 00:31:08.900 And you won't actually 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:09.720 be healthy or whole 00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:10.700 until you realize 00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:11.820 you're a moon 00:31:11.820 --> 00:31:13.220 around a planet 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:14.960 going around the sun. 00:31:15.120 --> 00:31:16.180 You're not the sun. 00:31:16.360 --> 00:31:17.500 You'll never be the sun. 00:31:18.360 --> 00:31:19.120 You'll only start 00:31:19.120 --> 00:31:20.000 to be less anxious 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:20.720 and more happy 00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:21.360 when you realize 00:31:21.360 --> 00:31:22.060 you're not the sun. 00:31:22.120 --> 00:31:22.960 Never will be the sun 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:23.500 and being the sun 00:31:23.500 --> 00:31:24.580 would be bad for you. 00:31:25.020 --> 00:31:25.640 Good grief. 00:31:25.780 --> 00:31:26.940 Imagine how terrible 00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:27.840 it would be for all of you 00:31:27.840 --> 00:31:28.600 if I was God. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:29.480 Let me tell you, 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:30.540 that would suck 00:31:30.540 --> 00:31:32.180 for every single one of you 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:33.600 because I can be petty. 00:31:33.840 --> 00:31:34.860 I can be anxious. 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:36.560 I can be filled with fears. 00:31:36.560 --> 00:31:38.840 I can be unbelievably judgmental 00:31:38.840 --> 00:31:40.060 about how people drive 00:31:40.060 --> 00:31:42.140 and how people shop in Costco 00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:43.680 as if those things 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:44.460 really matter 00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:46.799 and all sorts of terrible things 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:47.299 would happen 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:48.299 if I was the sun. 00:31:48.360 --> 00:31:49.720 You should all be glad I'm not 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:51.100 and brothers and sisters, 00:31:51.220 --> 00:31:52.259 I don't mean to offend you. 00:31:52.580 --> 00:31:54.200 I'm glad you're not God either 00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:56.039 because you would make 00:31:56.039 --> 00:31:56.940 just as big a mess. 00:31:58.140 --> 00:31:58.580 Well, no. 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:00.380 Probably I'd make a bigger mess. 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:01.039 No, never mind. 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:02.160 We won't get into a mess. 00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:02.980 It's just as to who would make 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:04.480 a worse God 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:05.740 than either of us. 00:32:06.100 --> 00:32:07.380 So here's the thing. 00:32:08.060 --> 00:32:08.779 So the first thing 00:32:08.779 --> 00:32:09.640 about this story 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:11.580 is to understand 00:32:11.580 --> 00:32:13.880 the dynamics. 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:16.140 And there's the exact same dynamics 00:32:16.140 --> 00:32:17.519 that are going on here. 00:32:18.320 --> 00:32:18.519 Right? 00:32:18.840 --> 00:32:20.940 This is exactly like our world. 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:22.980 In their world, 00:32:23.380 --> 00:32:24.820 all the smart people 00:32:24.820 --> 00:32:26.940 are fine with sorcerers. 00:32:27.620 --> 00:32:29.220 And all the smart people 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:30.880 think the idea of God, 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.660 the Son of God, 00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:32.220 of the Trinity 00:32:32.220 --> 00:32:32.940 and the only one. 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:34.960 They all think that's wrong. 00:32:35.080 --> 00:32:35.800 It's upside down 00:32:35.800 --> 00:32:36.440 and wrong-headed. 00:32:36.800 --> 00:32:37.860 But that's where Paul 00:32:37.860 --> 00:32:38.880 has gone to speak. 00:32:39.320 --> 00:32:40.040 And the other thing 00:32:40.040 --> 00:32:40.640 about it is, 00:32:40.740 --> 00:32:41.800 we need to remember, 00:32:42.100 --> 00:32:42.920 is that now we know 00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:44.140 that Paul is famous. 00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:45.640 But in Paul's day, 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:47.200 Paul is a nobody. 00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:49.140 And Sergius Paulus 00:32:49.140 --> 00:32:50.000 is famous 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:51.180 and powerful. 00:32:51.500 --> 00:32:53.279 And Paul is a weak, 00:32:53.620 --> 00:32:54.480 poor person 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:56.019 who nobody has heard of. 00:32:56.019 --> 00:32:57.740 And here's the other thing 00:32:57.740 --> 00:32:58.639 about this story. 00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:01.059 Paul is going into 00:33:01.059 --> 00:33:03.980 Sergius Paulus' place. 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:05.660 Sergius Paulus 00:33:05.660 --> 00:33:07.139 didn't go to visit Paul 00:33:07.139 --> 00:33:08.059 where he was staying 00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:08.740 in an inn. 00:33:09.240 --> 00:33:10.240 Sergius Paulus 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:11.599 asked Paul 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:13.599 to come into his place 00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:15.339 where Sergius Paulus 00:33:15.339 --> 00:33:17.000 is surrounded by his buddies 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:18.740 and his advisors. 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:20.660 And in a moment here, 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:22.940 we're going to see what... 00:33:22.940 --> 00:33:23.359 Well, here. 00:33:23.539 --> 00:33:24.440 Look what happens. 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:25.319 Look what happens. 00:33:25.420 --> 00:33:26.200 This is... 00:33:26.200 --> 00:33:26.720 And then I'll tell you 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:27.839 how to... 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:28.079 Okay. 00:33:28.420 --> 00:33:29.480 Here's how to put it. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:33.579 Imagine for a second, 00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:34.279 and I'm going to be 00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:35.160 politically neutral, 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:37.359 you've gotten invited 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:38.359 to speak 00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:41.279 at a place 00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:42.880 that Trudeau has rented 00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:45.980 and he has Gerald Butts 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:47.359 and Katie Telford 00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:47.799 with him. 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:50.660 And you're going to now 00:33:50.660 --> 00:33:51.420 say these things 00:33:51.420 --> 00:33:54.160 to Gerald Butts. 00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:56.240 Politically neutral? 00:33:57.500 --> 00:33:58.400 Pierre Polyev 00:33:58.400 --> 00:33:59.319 has invited you 00:33:59.319 --> 00:33:59.980 to his place 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:01.480 and you're going to say 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:03.099 what Paul just says 00:34:03.099 --> 00:34:03.400 right now 00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:04.339 to Jenny Burns. 00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:06.160 Okay? 00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:07.099 Being politically neutral. 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:08.159 Just imagine 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:08.920 if you could go 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:10.460 in Pierre Polyev's place 00:34:10.460 --> 00:34:12.519 surrounded by his buddies 00:34:12.519 --> 00:34:13.360 and you're going to say 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:14.139 the following words 00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:14.960 to Jenny Burns. 00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:16.960 Or you're in a Trudeau place 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:17.480 and you're going to say 00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:18.619 the following words 00:34:18.619 --> 00:34:19.779 to Gerald Butts. 00:34:23.139 --> 00:34:24.219 If you start to think 00:34:24.219 --> 00:34:25.059 of it in this way, 00:34:25.859 --> 00:34:27.980 you'll get nervous. 00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:29.139 Verse 8. 00:34:30.279 --> 00:34:31.259 But Eliamis, 00:34:31.699 --> 00:34:32.199 the magician, 00:34:32.299 --> 00:34:33.079 the sorcerer, 00:34:33.579 --> 00:34:34.299 Elias means 00:34:34.299 --> 00:34:35.319 wise dreamer, 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:36.559 for that is the meaning 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:37.219 of his name, 00:34:37.699 --> 00:34:38.940 opposed Paul, 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:40.859 seeking to turn 00:34:40.859 --> 00:34:41.859 the proconsul 00:34:41.859 --> 00:34:42.839 away from the faith. 00:34:42.840 --> 00:34:44.260 but Saul, 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:45.700 who was also called Paul, 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:47.059 filled with the Holy Spirit, 00:34:47.180 --> 00:34:48.160 looked intently 00:34:48.160 --> 00:34:50.800 at LAMS 00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:51.700 and said, 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:52.760 he looked intently 00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:53.620 at Jared Butts, 00:34:53.660 --> 00:34:54.519 he looked intently 00:34:54.519 --> 00:34:56.100 at Jenny Burns, 00:34:56.420 --> 00:34:57.079 or pick your, 00:34:57.340 --> 00:34:57.579 you know, 00:34:57.640 --> 00:34:57.900 whatever, 00:34:58.059 --> 00:34:58.980 Elon Musk's 00:34:58.980 --> 00:34:59.820 personal attendant, 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:01.059 or I don't know 00:35:01.059 --> 00:35:01.760 who owns Facebook 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:02.140 nowadays, 00:35:02.240 --> 00:35:02.720 whoever they're, 00:35:02.920 --> 00:35:04.060 just think of that, 00:35:04.160 --> 00:35:05.220 and he says to them, 00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:05.800 verse 10, 00:35:05.880 --> 00:35:06.820 you son of the devil, 00:35:09.080 --> 00:35:09.580 you enemy 00:35:09.580 --> 00:35:10.500 of all righteousness, 00:35:12.500 --> 00:35:14.380 full of all deceit 00:35:14.380 --> 00:35:15.140 and villainy, 00:35:16.200 --> 00:35:17.140 will you not 00:35:17.140 --> 00:35:18.680 stop making crooked 00:35:18.680 --> 00:35:19.620 the straight paths 00:35:19.620 --> 00:35:20.220 of the Lord? 00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:27.500 Paul's a nobody, 00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:29.259 and he just said it 00:35:29.259 --> 00:35:30.159 to powerful people 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:31.079 who can just literally 00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:32.119 say off with your head, 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:35.839 off with your head. 00:35:40.919 --> 00:35:41.399 See, 00:35:41.799 --> 00:35:42.819 God calls us 00:35:42.819 --> 00:35:44.319 to go to the upside down world 00:35:44.319 --> 00:35:45.399 that also has 00:35:45.399 --> 00:35:46.239 demonic opposition, 00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:47.279 and he calls us 00:35:47.279 --> 00:35:47.919 to bear witness 00:35:47.919 --> 00:35:48.459 to Jesus 00:35:48.459 --> 00:35:49.699 in the power 00:35:49.699 --> 00:35:50.500 of the Holy Spirit, 00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:51.359 and the point 00:35:51.359 --> 00:35:52.159 of the text here 00:35:52.159 --> 00:35:53.019 is this. 00:35:53.719 --> 00:35:54.879 The point of the text 00:35:54.879 --> 00:35:55.799 isn't that Paul 00:35:55.799 --> 00:35:56.559 is bold. 00:35:57.239 --> 00:35:58.679 The point of the text 00:35:58.679 --> 00:35:59.980 is in verse 9. 00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:01.899 But Saul, 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:03.500 who was also called Paul, 00:36:04.779 --> 00:36:05.679 is filled 00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:06.799 with the Holy Spirit. 00:36:07.059 --> 00:36:07.879 That's the point. 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:10.919 God uses weak people 00:36:10.919 --> 00:36:11.839 like you and me. 00:36:12.579 --> 00:36:13.639 That's the point. 00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:17.819 God uses weak people 00:36:17.819 --> 00:36:18.739 like you and me. 00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:22.699 And you never know. 00:36:23.019 --> 00:36:23.719 It might be 00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:25.879 a couple of years ago 00:36:25.879 --> 00:36:27.500 I was... 00:36:27.500 --> 00:36:28.279 Who's the guy 00:36:28.279 --> 00:36:28.579 who started 00:36:28.579 --> 00:36:29.239 the Daily Wire? 00:36:29.359 --> 00:36:30.079 Is that Ben Stein? 00:36:31.359 --> 00:36:31.500 Eh? 00:36:31.960 --> 00:36:32.659 Ben Shapiro. 00:36:32.819 --> 00:36:33.439 Ben Shapiro. 00:36:33.559 --> 00:36:33.899 That's right. 00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:34.539 Ben Shapiro. 00:36:34.879 --> 00:36:35.579 A couple of years ago 00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:36.419 when I was in Israel, 00:36:36.879 --> 00:36:37.480 it turned out 00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:39.299 that the hotel beside me, 00:36:39.500 --> 00:36:40.079 Ben Shapiro, 00:36:40.139 --> 00:36:40.639 was staying there 00:36:40.639 --> 00:36:41.460 at the same time. 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:43.219 Because some of the people 00:36:43.219 --> 00:36:43.939 who were in the group 00:36:43.939 --> 00:36:44.519 that I was... 00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:45.000 One of the people 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:46.179 who joined us in the group, 00:36:46.259 --> 00:36:47.159 he'd been in that hotel, 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:47.779 and he actually was 00:36:47.779 --> 00:36:48.359 in the elevator 00:36:48.359 --> 00:36:49.179 with Ben Shapiro. 00:36:50.779 --> 00:36:52.339 So here's the thing. 00:36:53.379 --> 00:36:54.059 You nobodies, 00:36:54.319 --> 00:36:54.879 you never know 00:36:54.879 --> 00:36:55.199 when you're going 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:56.359 to be in the elevator 00:36:56.359 --> 00:36:57.819 with Ben Shapiro. 00:36:59.619 --> 00:37:01.399 I was on Parliament Hill 00:37:01.399 --> 00:37:03.219 and once visiting somebody, 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:04.159 I was in the... 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:06.059 I was in an elevator 00:37:06.059 --> 00:37:06.519 with a couple 00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:07.339 of captain ministers. 00:37:07.739 --> 00:37:08.399 Like, you never know 00:37:08.399 --> 00:37:08.679 when you're going 00:37:08.679 --> 00:37:09.359 to bump into them 00:37:09.359 --> 00:37:09.899 at a restaurant 00:37:09.899 --> 00:37:10.859 or something like that. 00:37:10.899 --> 00:37:11.339 And you never know 00:37:11.339 --> 00:37:11.559 when you're going 00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:12.400 to have a conversation. 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:13.960 And if you get a chance 00:37:13.960 --> 00:37:15.000 to bear witness to Jesus, 00:37:15.219 --> 00:37:16.179 everything within you 00:37:16.179 --> 00:37:17.139 and the devil within you 00:37:17.139 --> 00:37:17.820 is going to tell you 00:37:17.820 --> 00:37:18.500 not to say anything 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:19.099 about Jesus. 00:37:19.320 --> 00:37:19.880 But it might... 00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:20.860 I'm not saying you should, 00:37:20.940 --> 00:37:21.219 by the way. 00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:21.820 I'm not saying you should 00:37:21.820 --> 00:37:22.519 just automatically 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:23.179 blot it out. 00:37:23.820 --> 00:37:24.820 But it... 00:37:24.820 --> 00:37:28.199 God does things 00:37:28.199 --> 00:37:30.059 through weak people. 00:37:33.719 --> 00:37:34.799 He does things 00:37:34.799 --> 00:37:35.559 through weak people 00:37:35.559 --> 00:37:36.340 like you and me. 00:37:36.860 --> 00:37:37.739 He just asks us 00:37:37.739 --> 00:37:38.440 to bear witness. 00:37:39.239 --> 00:37:40.759 Conversion is God's business, 00:37:40.860 --> 00:37:41.360 not mine. 00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:42.079 It's his power, 00:37:42.160 --> 00:37:42.640 not mine. 00:37:47.900 --> 00:37:49.200 I mean, back in the day, 00:37:49.620 --> 00:37:50.960 Trump used to walk around 00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:51.660 when he was building 00:37:51.660 --> 00:37:52.480 one of his hotels 00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:53.099 and chat away 00:37:53.099 --> 00:37:54.300 with construction workers. 00:37:55.519 --> 00:37:56.280 Like, you get a chance 00:37:56.280 --> 00:37:57.240 to chat with Trump? 00:37:57.960 --> 00:37:58.940 Tell him about Jesus. 00:38:03.539 --> 00:38:04.920 Like, that's the astounding thing 00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:05.539 here in this story. 00:38:05.640 --> 00:38:07.240 Don't think of Paul as being... 00:38:07.240 --> 00:38:08.599 Remember, Paul's a nobody 00:38:08.599 --> 00:38:10.280 in this particular story. 00:38:10.280 --> 00:38:11.280 The Lord... 00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:12.280 The Lord... 00:38:12.280 --> 00:38:12.960 Take heart. 00:38:13.060 --> 00:38:14.060 The Lord knows 00:38:14.060 --> 00:38:15.320 that your weakness, 00:38:15.620 --> 00:38:17.040 but he is strong 00:38:17.040 --> 00:38:19.460 even in your weakness. 00:38:19.660 --> 00:38:20.640 And it's his strength 00:38:20.640 --> 00:38:21.680 which matters, 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:23.000 not yours. 00:38:24.519 --> 00:38:25.620 And then it goes on 00:38:25.620 --> 00:38:26.280 in verse 11. 00:38:27.560 --> 00:38:28.600 And now, Peter, 00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:29.380 Paul continues. 00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:29.880 And by the way, 00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:31.940 some people think, 00:38:32.019 --> 00:38:32.460 get mixed up 00:38:32.460 --> 00:38:33.300 with Saul and Paul. 00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:34.460 So Saul is... 00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:35.860 Saul and Paul 00:38:35.860 --> 00:38:36.720 are the same person. 00:38:38.139 --> 00:38:39.159 I just met 00:38:39.159 --> 00:38:40.179 a couple of weeks ago. 00:38:40.300 --> 00:38:40.460 In fact, 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:41.539 I think she's here again today. 00:38:41.659 --> 00:38:42.300 I met somebody 00:38:42.300 --> 00:38:42.860 who's an immigrant 00:38:42.860 --> 00:38:44.099 from China. 00:38:44.659 --> 00:38:45.980 And she told me 00:38:45.980 --> 00:38:47.000 her Canadian name. 00:38:47.539 --> 00:38:48.079 And I asked her 00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:49.199 what her Chinese name was. 00:38:49.300 --> 00:38:49.519 Right? 00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:51.460 And I have a hard time 00:38:51.460 --> 00:38:52.900 pronouncing her Chinese name. 00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:54.099 But I can pronounce 00:38:54.099 --> 00:38:54.740 her Canadian name. 00:38:54.740 --> 00:38:55.059 It's a very, 00:38:55.159 --> 00:38:55.940 very common thing. 00:38:56.039 --> 00:38:57.000 So a lot of Jewish people 00:38:57.000 --> 00:38:58.179 had pagan or Roman... 00:38:58.179 --> 00:38:59.400 They had Roman names as well. 00:38:59.820 --> 00:39:01.220 So Saul is his Jewish name. 00:39:01.680 --> 00:39:04.099 And I meant to write this 00:39:04.099 --> 00:39:04.539 in my notes. 00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:05.360 I was telling somebody 00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:06.059 just before this. 00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:07.760 I think in Greek, 00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:10.119 in the language of that time, 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:10.940 Saul, 00:39:11.220 --> 00:39:12.160 if you just hear it said, 00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:13.320 it sounds a little bit 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:14.700 like somebody who waddles 00:39:14.700 --> 00:39:15.860 and has diarrhea 00:39:15.860 --> 00:39:17.360 or something like that. 00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:17.960 Like it's not 00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:19.160 an attractive name. 00:39:19.420 --> 00:39:21.019 So he has a Roman name. 00:39:21.300 --> 00:39:21.920 And throughout the rest 00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:22.639 of the book of Acts, 00:39:22.639 --> 00:39:25.059 he's now in the pagan Roman world. 00:39:25.539 --> 00:39:26.880 He's always going to go by Paul. 00:39:27.260 --> 00:39:27.500 But anyway, 00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:28.280 go back to this. 00:39:28.280 --> 00:39:29.760 So verse 11, 00:39:29.840 --> 00:39:30.460 and now behold, 00:39:31.120 --> 00:39:32.160 the hand of the Lord 00:39:32.160 --> 00:39:32.860 is upon you. 00:39:32.920 --> 00:39:33.920 This is Paul speaking. 00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:36.220 And you will be blind, 00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:37.900 unable to see the sun 00:39:37.900 --> 00:39:38.380 for a time. 00:39:38.460 --> 00:39:40.080 He's speaking to Bar-Jesus, 00:39:40.500 --> 00:39:40.860 Eleamus. 00:39:41.740 --> 00:39:42.500 And immediately, 00:39:42.860 --> 00:39:43.760 mist and darkness 00:39:43.760 --> 00:39:45.420 fell upon Bar-Jesus, 00:39:45.640 --> 00:39:46.100 Eleamus, 00:39:46.420 --> 00:39:47.160 and he went about 00:39:47.160 --> 00:39:48.019 seeking people 00:39:48.019 --> 00:39:49.300 to lead him by the hand. 00:39:51.040 --> 00:39:53.060 Then the procouncil believed. 00:39:54.280 --> 00:39:55.620 Now in our English, 00:39:55.760 --> 00:39:56.940 it looks as if he believed 00:39:56.940 --> 00:39:58.700 because he saw what it heard. 00:39:58.880 --> 00:40:00.159 But what he saw, 00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:02.059 when he saw what had occurred, 00:40:02.220 --> 00:40:03.760 that made him pause. 00:40:04.679 --> 00:40:06.800 But what he was astonished by 00:40:06.800 --> 00:40:07.920 wasn't the miracle. 00:40:08.559 --> 00:40:09.880 He was astonished 00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:12.300 at the teaching about Jesus. 00:40:13.720 --> 00:40:15.260 He was astonished 00:40:15.260 --> 00:40:16.720 that God, 00:40:16.800 --> 00:40:17.679 the Son of God, 00:40:17.760 --> 00:40:18.840 would leave heaven 00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:20.519 to seek him, 00:40:20.860 --> 00:40:21.900 to save him. 00:40:21.900 --> 00:40:24.039 that's what he was astonished by. 00:40:26.980 --> 00:40:28.400 One final thing in closing, 00:40:28.559 --> 00:40:29.119 for those of you 00:40:29.119 --> 00:40:29.960 who know your Bibles, 00:40:30.059 --> 00:40:31.240 or if you were to start to read 00:40:31.240 --> 00:40:32.200 from the book of Acts 00:40:32.200 --> 00:40:33.160 at the beginning to now, 00:40:33.240 --> 00:40:34.480 you'll know that before this, 00:40:34.539 --> 00:40:35.599 there's one other time 00:40:35.599 --> 00:40:38.000 when somebody struck blind. 00:40:38.000 --> 00:40:41.980 That was Paul. 00:40:44.440 --> 00:40:45.739 And it was part of his 00:40:45.739 --> 00:40:47.300 coming to faith in Christ. 00:40:48.760 --> 00:40:49.760 So the Bible here 00:40:49.760 --> 00:40:50.820 leaves open-ended. 00:40:53.340 --> 00:40:53.760 Elymas, 00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:54.420 Bar-Jesus, 00:40:54.940 --> 00:40:56.340 comes under God's judgment, 00:40:56.699 --> 00:40:57.599 but you'll see that 00:40:57.599 --> 00:40:58.619 even in this judgment, 00:40:58.780 --> 00:41:00.500 there's an aspect of mercy to it. 00:41:01.460 --> 00:41:02.840 There's an invitation 00:41:02.840 --> 00:41:04.900 for him to pause 00:41:04.900 --> 00:41:07.480 and be astonished 00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:09.480 by what Jesus has done 00:41:09.480 --> 00:41:10.599 for him on the cross. 00:41:11.460 --> 00:41:12.900 There is a pause 00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:14.820 that leads to a hope 00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:15.900 for conversion. 00:41:16.180 --> 00:41:17.059 Now, it never tells us 00:41:17.059 --> 00:41:18.280 whether he's converted or not. 00:41:18.780 --> 00:41:19.599 And I think that's partly 00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:22.360 the art of Luke 00:41:22.360 --> 00:41:24.000 writing the book of Acts 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:25.660 to bring before us 00:41:25.660 --> 00:41:27.840 this great message. 00:41:28.039 --> 00:41:29.539 It's repeated three times 00:41:29.539 --> 00:41:30.579 in the book of Ezekiel. 00:41:30.579 --> 00:41:32.039 And if you use the old 00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:33.079 book of common prayer 00:41:33.079 --> 00:41:34.500 from 1662, 00:41:34.500 --> 00:41:35.659 actually goes all the way 00:41:35.659 --> 00:41:37.099 back to the mid-1500s 00:41:37.099 --> 00:41:37.659 for your morning 00:41:37.659 --> 00:41:38.579 and evening prayer. 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:40.260 I try to do that every day. 00:41:40.980 --> 00:41:42.559 It has this wonderful line, 00:41:42.760 --> 00:41:43.860 God takes no delight 00:41:43.860 --> 00:41:44.800 in the death of a sinner, 00:41:45.199 --> 00:41:46.179 but rather that they will 00:41:46.179 --> 00:41:47.699 turn from their wickedness 00:41:47.699 --> 00:41:49.000 and live. 00:41:49.780 --> 00:41:50.539 And you see this 00:41:50.539 --> 00:41:51.800 even with the sorcerer. 00:41:52.619 --> 00:41:53.800 God offers him 00:41:53.800 --> 00:41:55.380 a chance to repent 00:41:55.380 --> 00:41:56.480 and come to Christ. 00:41:58.539 --> 00:41:59.340 Let's stand. 00:41:59.340 --> 00:41:59.400 Let's stand. 00:42:04.500 --> 00:42:07.739 Our heads in prayer. 00:42:12.860 --> 00:42:14.860 Father, if we're honest 00:42:14.860 --> 00:42:15.699 with ourselves, 00:42:16.039 --> 00:42:16.860 there's people 00:42:16.860 --> 00:42:17.639 that we just think 00:42:17.639 --> 00:42:18.360 they would never 00:42:18.360 --> 00:42:19.199 become Christians. 00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:19.980 In fact, Father, 00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:20.679 if we're honest, 00:42:20.780 --> 00:42:21.280 there's people 00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:21.940 that we don't even 00:42:21.940 --> 00:42:22.840 want to have become 00:42:22.840 --> 00:42:23.619 Christians because 00:42:23.619 --> 00:42:24.780 we like hating them 00:42:24.780 --> 00:42:26.719 or being angry at them 00:42:26.719 --> 00:42:27.360 and it would mess 00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:28.139 our lives up 00:42:28.139 --> 00:42:28.880 if all of a sudden 00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:29.739 we had to call them 00:42:29.739 --> 00:42:31.159 brother or sister in Christ. 00:42:31.159 --> 00:42:32.299 And Father, 00:42:32.440 --> 00:42:33.219 you know that we're 00:42:33.219 --> 00:42:34.779 reluctant to confess that 00:42:34.779 --> 00:42:35.719 because we like to try 00:42:35.719 --> 00:42:36.879 to pretend we're pious. 00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:37.639 But Father, 00:42:37.739 --> 00:42:38.579 you know our hearts. 00:42:39.259 --> 00:42:40.000 And you know, 00:42:40.139 --> 00:42:40.379 Father, 00:42:40.480 --> 00:42:42.420 how often we measure 00:42:42.420 --> 00:42:44.059 what we do 00:42:44.059 --> 00:42:44.719 or don't do 00:42:44.719 --> 00:42:46.279 by our own strength, 00:42:46.759 --> 00:42:48.779 not knowing that 00:42:48.779 --> 00:42:49.920 you know that we're weak 00:42:49.920 --> 00:42:51.259 and that what matters 00:42:51.259 --> 00:42:52.480 isn't our strength 00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:53.339 but your strength. 00:42:53.980 --> 00:42:54.719 You are the one 00:42:54.719 --> 00:42:55.399 who is strong 00:42:55.399 --> 00:42:56.339 and mighty to save. 00:42:57.859 --> 00:42:58.599 And you know, 00:42:58.879 --> 00:42:58.920 Father, 00:42:59.019 --> 00:43:00.299 how we can feel 00:43:00.299 --> 00:43:00.879 uncomfortable 00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:02.740 being in an upside-down world 00:43:02.740 --> 00:43:04.680 beginning through the gospel 00:43:04.680 --> 00:43:05.460 and your scriptures 00:43:05.460 --> 00:43:07.099 and our fellowship together 00:43:07.099 --> 00:43:08.059 in the means of grace 00:43:08.059 --> 00:43:09.160 to start to understand 00:43:09.160 --> 00:43:11.000 how to live right-side up 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:12.519 in an upside-down world. 00:43:13.220 --> 00:43:13.940 But we ask, 00:43:14.200 --> 00:43:14.240 Father, 00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:15.240 that your Holy Spirit 00:43:15.240 --> 00:43:16.320 would move in our lives 00:43:16.320 --> 00:43:18.480 so that we can increasingly 00:43:18.480 --> 00:43:20.380 with humble confidence 00:43:20.380 --> 00:43:21.680 and joy in the gospel 00:43:21.680 --> 00:43:23.539 live right-side up 00:43:23.539 --> 00:43:24.840 in an upside-down world. 00:43:25.400 --> 00:43:26.599 And even in the face 00:43:26.599 --> 00:43:27.260 of opposition, 00:43:28.019 --> 00:43:28.860 that in weakness 00:43:28.860 --> 00:43:30.640 we might recognize 00:43:30.640 --> 00:43:31.460 those opportunities 00:43:31.460 --> 00:43:32.079 you give us 00:43:32.079 --> 00:43:32.680 to bear witness 00:43:32.680 --> 00:43:33.220 to Jesus. 00:43:33.820 --> 00:43:34.740 And we thank you, 00:43:34.860 --> 00:43:35.039 Father, 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:39.120 that you take no pleasure 00:43:39.120 --> 00:43:40.500 or delight 00:43:40.500 --> 00:43:40.920 in the death 00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:41.380 of a sinner, 00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:43.019 that your heart is 00:43:43.019 --> 00:43:43.660 that we will turn 00:43:43.660 --> 00:43:44.500 from our wickedness 00:43:44.500 --> 00:43:44.880 and live. 00:43:45.539 --> 00:43:46.260 And we give you 00:43:46.260 --> 00:43:46.960 thanks and praise 00:43:46.960 --> 00:43:47.539 those of us 00:43:47.539 --> 00:43:48.059 who are here 00:43:48.059 --> 00:43:49.240 who are in Christ. 00:43:50.120 --> 00:43:50.940 We thank you, 00:43:51.079 --> 00:43:51.160 Father, 00:43:51.220 --> 00:43:52.000 that you so moved 00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:52.700 in our hearts, 00:43:53.460 --> 00:43:54.519 unworthy as we are, 00:43:55.180 --> 00:43:56.280 to lead us to Christ. 00:43:56.280 --> 00:43:58.040 And so, 00:43:58.140 --> 00:43:58.240 Father, 00:43:58.320 --> 00:43:59.280 we ask and thank 00:43:59.280 --> 00:44:00.340 all these things 00:44:00.340 --> 00:44:01.440 in the name of Jesus, 00:44:01.600 --> 00:44:02.140 your Son, 00:44:02.380 --> 00:44:03.080 and our Savior, 00:44:03.500 --> 00:44:04.760 and all God's people say, 00:44:05.260 --> 00:44:05.880 Amen.