WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:34.140 Good morning, I'm Terry Kochi and I'm a member of Women Reading Women and Oikos in the Oaks. 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:40.920 This morning there's reading from the Acts of the Apostles as printed in your liturgy. 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:47.700 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:01:00.299 He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any there who belonged to the way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:06.560 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:10.400 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.000 Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.299 Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. 00:01:18.420 --> 00:01:21.439 I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. 00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:27.060 Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do. 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:30.800 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:34.120 They heard the sound but did not see anyone. 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:39.920 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:43.540 So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:48.460 For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. 00:01:49.300 --> 00:01:52.980 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:57.659 But the Lord said to Ananias, 00:01:58.020 --> 00:01:58.579 Go. 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:06.460 This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:10.180 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:14.300 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:17.879 Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:24.680 Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, 00:02:25.299 --> 00:02:29.060 has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:36.099 Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again. 00:02:36.859 --> 00:02:42.319 He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food he regained his strength. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:46.859 Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 00:02:47.459 --> 00:02:52.180 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:57.019 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:02.539 Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:07.439 And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests? 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:13.900 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:16.699 by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:22.319 And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:25.099 speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:29.280 And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews, 00:03:29.539 --> 00:03:31.680 but they were attempting to put him to death. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:40.439 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. 00:03:41.219 --> 00:03:45.060 Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:46.980 it increased in numbers. 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:49.120 This is the word of the Lord. 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:50.860 Thanks be to God. 00:03:51.460 --> 00:03:52.500 All right, good morning. 00:03:53.100 --> 00:03:57.620 We all love a good transformation story, don't we? 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:04.580 My family has always loved watching those shows on HGTV where they take an old house 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:07.120 and they transform it into a new house. 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:08.860 And then at the end, you see the pictures. 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:12.340 You can see the massive difference in the before and the after. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:17.120 And how much more amazing when the thing that's being transformed is not a house, 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:18.579 but it's a person, right? 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:25.899 And Christians love to tell these stories about what happens when the love of God the Father 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:31.179 and the grace of Jesus Christ and the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit 00:04:31.179 --> 00:04:35.620 comes into the life of a person and just completely transforms them. 00:04:35.859 --> 00:04:40.919 And the transformation story before us is probably one of the most famous of all. 00:04:41.039 --> 00:04:45.560 It's when Saul of Tarsus was transformed into Paul the Apostle. 00:04:46.539 --> 00:04:49.019 And Saul is his Hebrew name. 00:04:49.179 --> 00:04:50.739 Paul is his Greco-Roman name. 00:04:51.139 --> 00:04:51.939 You can use either. 00:04:52.039 --> 00:04:53.679 I'm going to mostly say Paul, okay? 00:04:53.679 --> 00:04:53.739 Okay. 00:04:55.899 --> 00:05:03.539 But we not only love stories of transformation, we also, I think, enjoy origin stories as well. 00:05:04.299 --> 00:05:08.399 We want to know, like, how did Tony Stark become Iron Man? 00:05:09.099 --> 00:05:11.179 And how did Bilbo find the ring? 00:05:11.599 --> 00:05:14.879 And how did, you know, Endeavor Morse become Inspector Morse? 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:20.539 All these origin stories, Batman, Spider-Man, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, we could go on and on. 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:27.840 But I would say that the story that surpasses them all, of all those origin stories, is the Apostle Paul's. 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:33.460 And the reason we want to know it well is because Paul wrote 25% of the New Testament. 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:35.939 He's the greatest Christian theologian. 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:45.800 And particularly in the next few weeks, we're going to be looking at the story about how Paul planted a church in the city of Philippi. 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:51.279 And then later on, he would write a letter to that church in Philippi. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:57.500 And so we want to understand and appreciate who is this guy who founded that church and who wrote that letter? 00:05:57.659 --> 00:05:59.360 What was his origin story? 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:01.000 What was his transformation story? 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:05.899 Now, I don't mean to make you nervous, but this sermon today has five points. 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.399 And, right, I know, that's anxious laughter. 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:10.180 I can hear it. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:12.540 But don't worry. 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:15.500 I'm going to get you out of here like usual, and you will get lunch. 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:16.639 It's going to be okay. 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:17.560 But here it is. 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:19.300 Smart skeptic. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:22.399 Inconvenient truth. 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:24.839 Sacred darkness. 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:26.839 Radical relationship. 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:28.779 And passionate mission. 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:30.240 That's what I'm going to walk us through. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:31.259 Smart skeptic. 00:06:32.220 --> 00:06:33.240 Inconvenient truth. 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:34.960 Sacred darkness. 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:36.980 Radical relationship. 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:38.780 And passionate mission. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:43.360 Let's think about the smart skeptic that we meet here. 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:49.120 It says in verse 1 that Saul was breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. 00:06:49.280 --> 00:06:55.500 And I want to suggest to you that God had been carefully and patiently and providentially developing this guy. 00:06:55.620 --> 00:06:59.040 This smart skeptic in three significant ways. 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.260 Paul had been living in three worlds. 00:07:01.400 --> 00:07:03.300 He'd been straddling three different cultures. 00:07:04.100 --> 00:07:06.060 And what was Paul's first culture? 00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:08.180 Paul was primarily Jewish. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:09.260 Right? 00:07:09.340 --> 00:07:14.480 He sat at the feet of Gamaliel, which is the greatest of the teachers among the Pharisees. 00:07:14.640 --> 00:07:15.879 And Saul excelled. 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:18.120 And he became an expert in the scriptures. 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:20.640 He became zealous for the Torah. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:30.459 He became zealous for maintaining Jewish identity in this all-pervasive and all-encroaching pagan world. 00:07:30.579 --> 00:07:33.800 He became zealous for the coming of the kingdom of God. 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:40.039 That age to come that had been promised by the prophets when Israel would be blessed. 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:41.259 They would be vindicated. 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:42.319 They would be redeemed. 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:45.019 Because God had sent his Messiah. 00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:46.959 This is what Paul is all about. 00:07:47.039 --> 00:07:50.579 If you want to get Paul at all, you have to understand that he's zealously Jewish. 00:07:52.039 --> 00:07:54.399 But what was Paul's second and third culture? 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:55.759 Well, secondly, he was Greek. 00:07:56.339 --> 00:08:00.240 Paul, there were three great centers of Greek culture in the ancient world. 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:07.299 There was Athens in Greece, Alexandria in Egypt, and Tarsus in Turkey, which is where Paul grew up. 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:13.800 Which means that Paul could both quote the scriptures and he could quote the Greek poets and philosophers and moralists. 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:18.660 He was absolutely immersed in their framework of thinking and their entire worldview. 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:22.340 And then his third culture is that Paul was Roman. 00:08:22.460 --> 00:08:24.019 He was a citizen of the Roman Empire. 00:08:24.840 --> 00:08:33.180 The whole legal culture of Rome is where Paul developed his reasoning power, his logic, his arguments. 00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:38.559 And so what I want you to see is that Paul is this multicultural genius. 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:42.659 He's a Jewish, Greek, and Roman polymath. 00:08:43.479 --> 00:08:45.899 And he would fit in very well here in Berkeley, I think. 00:08:47.539 --> 00:08:51.099 One scholar in Oxford, N.T. Wright, he says, 00:08:51.099 --> 00:08:55.259 Paul is one of the most seminal minds of the first or any century. 00:08:56.179 --> 00:09:01.099 I persist in regarding him as the intellectual equal of Plato, Aristotle, or Seneca, 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:07.259 even though the demands of his overall vocation coupled with his dense style mean that what we possess of his thought 00:09:07.259 --> 00:09:10.600 is compressed into a fraction of their written compass. 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:14.159 So here's this really, really smart guy. 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:17.779 Why is he so skeptical? 00:09:20.180 --> 00:09:22.180 He's so adamantly opposed to Jesus. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:27.340 He's so zealously persecuting Jesus' people, putting them in prison, sending them to death. 00:09:27.800 --> 00:09:29.139 Why is he so skeptical? 00:09:29.139 --> 00:09:33.500 We read on in verse 1, and it says that he went to the high priest, 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:35.899 and he asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:39.759 so that if he found any there who belonged to the way, 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:44.199 whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:48.000 So Paul knows about this statement that Jesus made, 00:09:48.059 --> 00:09:49.600 this incredible claim where Jesus said, 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:52.279 I am the way, the truth, and the life, 00:09:52.340 --> 00:09:55.100 and no one comes to God the Father except through me. 00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:59.879 And that meant that all of Jesus' disciples were people who walked in Jesus' way, 00:09:59.980 --> 00:10:02.840 and trusted Jesus' truth, and lived Jesus' life, 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:07.920 and they said, we are the people who belong to the way of salvation that only comes through Jesus. 00:10:08.560 --> 00:10:11.700 And Paul said, looked at that in this community of people, 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:13.700 and he said, that's ridiculous. 00:10:15.300 --> 00:10:16.779 He said, you all are, 00:10:16.779 --> 00:10:19.079 you have it so wrong. 00:10:19.539 --> 00:10:20.919 You're misreading the Bible. 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:23.500 You're misinterpreting God's story. 00:10:25.019 --> 00:10:32.039 You're trying to persuade Jewish people that Jesus is the new Torah and the new temple. 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:36.500 You're trying to tell us that he came and fulfilled and brought to a climax 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:39.659 all the prophets and priests and kings of Israel. 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:43.639 You're trying to tell us that the kingdom of God is not just coming, 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:46.039 but it's already come in Jesus? 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:48.839 And Paul looked at that, and he said, 00:10:49.079 --> 00:10:52.600 this is a blasphemous heresy. 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:56.639 This is a dangerous movement that needs to be stamped out. 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:01.439 And so what I want us to remember is that when we read Paul, 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.019 we need to keep in mind that Paul is this multicultural genius, 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:09.159 this highly intelligent, superbly educated, supremely literate, 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:12.100 just seminal mind, towering intellectual figure, 00:11:12.759 --> 00:11:15.419 so that when we come to Paul, and if you ever read Paul, 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.839 and you say, I don't understand what Paul is saying here, 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:22.100 probably the misunderstanding is on your side of the conversation, 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:24.399 not on Paul's side, okay? 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:27.639 He is the supreme intellect in that conversation. 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:32.519 But also we need to remember that there was no one more skeptical, 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:38.500 there was no one more hostile than Paul until he encountered Jesus. 00:11:39.839 --> 00:11:42.139 And perhaps you have friends who are multicultural, 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:45.279 they're smart, they're intelligent, they're skeptical. 00:11:45.459 --> 00:11:47.500 Maybe that describes you. 00:11:48.419 --> 00:11:51.860 And I want to encourage you, as you hear the transformation of this young man, 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:53.879 he's in his late 20s, early 30s, 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:58.699 I want to encourage you to consider what it might mean for your own potential transformation 00:11:58.699 --> 00:12:04.539 from who you are now to what God wants you to become, okay? 00:12:05.339 --> 00:12:07.319 Here's a smart skeptic we're dealing with. 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:14.120 But what happens in the story is that the smart skeptic encounters an inconvenient truth. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:16.959 He encounters an inconvenient truth. 00:12:17.079 --> 00:12:23.399 He's walking this 150-mile, one-week-long journey from Jerusalem north to Damascus. 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:28.000 And the story starts to heat up in verse 3 where it says, 00:12:28.079 --> 00:12:32.120 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:34.799 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:37.860 Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 00:12:39.319 --> 00:12:43.399 Paul sees a light and he hears a voice. 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:44.500 Right? 00:12:44.500 --> 00:12:51.480 He sees this brilliant and blinding light and he hears this commanding and probing voice. 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:55.200 And he thinks to himself and he knows, this is the Lord. 00:12:56.299 --> 00:12:57.299 This is Yahweh. 00:12:58.259 --> 00:12:58.399 Right? 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:01.059 This is the creator God, the God of Israel, 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:05.480 that God that dwells in transcendent power and glory. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:06.919 Right? 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:08.539 That God of Genesis 1 who said, 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:09.480 Let there be light. 00:13:10.340 --> 00:13:11.700 And boom, there was light. 00:13:11.700 --> 00:13:14.820 That God who in Genesis 22 said, 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:16.000 Abraham, Abraham. 00:13:17.060 --> 00:13:18.400 And Genesis 46 said, 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:19.320 Jacob, Jacob. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:22.140 And Exodus 3 at the burning bush said, 00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:23.600 Moses, Moses. 00:13:23.780 --> 00:13:25.800 This is the God of the Exodus. 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:27.460 This is the God of the Passover. 00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:30.440 This is the God who parted the waters of the Red Sea. 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:32.560 And he is speaking to me now. 00:13:32.640 --> 00:13:33.379 The Lord is saying, 00:13:33.540 --> 00:13:36.480 Saul, Saul, I have a divine revelation for you. 00:13:36.540 --> 00:13:37.840 And Paul says in verse 5, 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:39.020 Who are you, Lord? 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:40.879 And the answer he gets back is, 00:13:41.500 --> 00:13:42.740 I am Jesus. 00:13:44.899 --> 00:13:46.740 I am Jesus. 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:49.439 Jesus is Lord. 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:51.759 The Lord is Jesus. 00:13:52.819 --> 00:13:55.879 And this is an extremely inconvenient truth for Paul. 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:59.659 Because he has thought to himself, 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:02.460 You know, there's no way that God could become human. 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:06.340 And there's no way that a man who'd been crucified, 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:08.320 Who died the death of a crucifixion, 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:09.400 Could be God's Messiah. 00:14:09.500 --> 00:14:12.480 And there's no way that one guy in the middle of history 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:14.680 Would be raised from the dead. 00:14:14.780 --> 00:14:16.519 And yet, here he is. 00:14:17.060 --> 00:14:19.840 Two to three years after that crucifixion, 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:23.040 Paul is being accosted from above 00:14:23.040 --> 00:14:27.580 By this person who identifies himself as both Lord and Jesus. 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:33.500 He's being confronted by this resurrected and ascended Jesus, 00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:34.920 Who is the living Lord. 00:14:35.660 --> 00:14:37.180 He's the commanding Lord. 00:14:37.900 --> 00:14:39.440 He's a probing Lord. 00:14:41.160 --> 00:14:42.520 And, you know, as I said before, 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:44.500 Many of us are not unlike Paul. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:45.340 We're multicultural. 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:46.360 We're smart. 00:14:46.680 --> 00:14:47.280 We're skeptical. 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:49.139 And the question for you is, 00:14:49.900 --> 00:14:52.620 What do you do with this Jesus, 00:14:52.800 --> 00:14:54.840 Who has been thoroughly crucified? 00:14:55.060 --> 00:14:56.540 The Romans were very good at this. 00:14:56.539 --> 00:14:58.799 He's been thoroughly crucified. 00:14:58.919 --> 00:14:59.819 This is one of the greatest, 00:15:00.079 --> 00:15:02.299 Most established facts in human history. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:05.599 What do you do with this Jesus who's been crucified, 00:15:05.939 --> 00:15:09.819 And yet, here he is stubbornly and inconveniently alive? 00:15:12.099 --> 00:15:15.839 What do you do with this Lord who doesn't seem bothered at all, 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:20.219 With meddling in the lives of people who don't believe in him? 00:15:22.459 --> 00:15:22.939 Right? 00:15:22.939 --> 00:15:25.219 You've got to deal with this inconvenient truth, 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:27.320 That Jesus has been resurrected from the dead. 00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:31.180 You've got to deal with all of the compelling evidence that we have, 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:34.320 That this is a historical event. 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:36.139 The empty tomb, 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:38.259 The appearances of Jesus, 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:42.600 The eyewitness testimony of the people who saw Jesus, 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:46.540 The changed lives and the martyrdoms of those eyewitnesses, 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:48.659 The birth of the church, 00:15:48.659 --> 00:15:56.579 The springing up out of the blue and overnight of this utterly new and distinct worldview, 00:15:56.579 --> 00:16:03.240 The absolute explosion and growth of the Christian movement over the next three centuries, 00:16:03.459 --> 00:16:07.919 Under intense pressure and persecution in the Roman Empire. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:09.799 How do you explain any of that? 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:15.059 Have you dealt with this as an inconvenient truth, 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:19.279 That none of these things that changed the world would have happened, 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:22.259 Without Jesus rising from the dead? 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:26.339 And that the best explanation by far that all of this happened, 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.719 Is that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:35.100 Paul's eyes in this moment are open to the brilliance of Jesus, 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:36.379 The beauty of Jesus, 00:16:36.540 --> 00:16:38.139 The authority of Jesus. 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:41.220 He sees that God has raised Jesus from the dead, 00:16:41.300 --> 00:16:45.259 And it begins to turn his world upside down and inside out. 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:48.759 If you're here and exploring Christianity, 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:50.500 I want to ask you, 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:54.240 Are you willing to put all of your intellectual gifts, 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.139 And all of your smart mind to work, 00:16:56.139 --> 00:17:00.679 On what this blinding light and this commanding voice is all about? 00:17:01.100 --> 00:17:05.420 Especially all the evidence that I just listed of Jesus' resurrection. 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:10.059 Are you able to come up with an alternative plausible explanation 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:12.200 For Jesus' empty tomb, 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:14.480 And the appearances of Jesus? 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:17.420 And are you willing to consider, 00:17:18.379 --> 00:17:19.660 That maybe, just maybe, 00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:24.500 There's this uncreated reality that's beyond you, 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:27.420 That is seeking you, 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:31.759 That there's this Lord who's up there, 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:34.779 And he's calling your name, 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:39.599 And there's this resurrected and living person named Jesus, 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:41.400 Who's summoning you, 00:17:42.140 --> 00:17:45.039 With his commanding and his probing voice, 00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:45.319 Saying, 00:17:45.460 --> 00:17:45.859 Jonathan, 00:17:46.059 --> 00:17:46.460 Jonathan. 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:49.720 And if that's you, 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:51.000 If he's trying to get your attention, 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:52.859 In the circumstances of your life, 00:17:52.859 --> 00:17:54.059 Through a friend, 00:17:54.619 --> 00:17:55.019 By just, 00:17:55.219 --> 00:17:56.659 Somehow you're here at church today, 00:17:56.719 --> 00:17:57.919 If he's trying to get your attention, 00:17:58.479 --> 00:18:00.379 What is keeping you from answering back, 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:01.639 And with an open mind, 00:18:01.699 --> 00:18:02.199 Just asking, 00:18:02.539 --> 00:18:03.259 Who are you, 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:03.519 Lord? 00:18:06.179 --> 00:18:06.699 You know, 00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:10.019 Paul would go on about 20 years after this unforgettable moment, 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:11.959 That he couldn't unsee, 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:13.079 And couldn't unhear, 00:18:13.939 --> 00:18:16.339 And he would write this in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, 00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:16.740 Where he says, 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:17.339 For God, 00:18:18.259 --> 00:18:18.759 Who said, 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:20.659 Let light shine out of darkness, 00:18:21.899 --> 00:18:23.919 Made his light shine in our hearts, 00:18:23.959 --> 00:18:27.000 To give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory, 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:29.740 Displayed in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:18:31.659 --> 00:18:34.279 God made light to shine in our hearts, 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:35.919 So that he could give us a knowledge, 00:18:36.339 --> 00:18:37.939 Of the glory of God, 00:18:38.419 --> 00:18:40.000 That was shining in the face, 00:18:40.659 --> 00:18:41.639 Of Jesus Christ. 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:43.480 And the question for all of us is, 00:18:44.320 --> 00:18:45.620 If the light of God's glory, 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:47.720 Is displayed in the face of Jesus, 00:18:49.540 --> 00:18:51.259 Then won't you allow that light, 00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:53.180 To come into your life? 00:18:54.460 --> 00:18:55.700 Won't you allow that light, 00:18:55.800 --> 00:18:57.980 To come into all those dark places of your heart, 00:18:58.520 --> 00:18:59.360 And of your life? 00:19:00.600 --> 00:19:01.920 It's an inconvenient truth, 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:03.480 It'll turn your world upside down, 00:19:04.860 --> 00:19:07.300 But have you considered it? 00:19:09.259 --> 00:19:10.580 Here's this smart skeptic, 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:12.319 He encounters an inconvenient truth, 00:19:13.159 --> 00:19:14.759 It throws him down on the ground, 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:16.559 He's completely humbled by God, 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:18.039 He can't live in denial, 00:19:18.419 --> 00:19:20.240 Of the resurrection of Jesus anymore, 00:19:21.199 --> 00:19:22.879 And he's told in verse 6, 00:19:24.439 --> 00:19:27.119 He's told in verse 6, 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.399 That now get up and go into the city, 00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:32.799 And you will be told what you must do. 00:19:33.939 --> 00:19:34.179 Right? 00:19:34.199 --> 00:19:35.119 If Jesus is Lord, 00:19:35.179 --> 00:19:36.460 And if the Lord is Jesus, 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:39.460 We're no longer in control, 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:42.220 We're no longer calling the shots, 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:43.620 We're no longer creating the agenda, 00:19:43.620 --> 00:19:44.420 Of our lives, 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:45.960 As Paul says in one of his letters, 00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:47.100 You are not your own, 00:19:48.120 --> 00:19:48.340 Right? 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:49.299 You have a new master, 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:50.440 When he says go, 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:50.900 You go, 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:52.420 And he says do this, 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:53.259 You do this, 00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:54.019 You just have, 00:19:54.100 --> 00:19:54.880 There's no other way, 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:55.680 But to surrender, 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:57.100 To his authority, 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:59.000 And when Paul does that, 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:01.319 It plunges him into this moment, 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:02.980 Of sacred darkness, 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:05.340 Sacred darkness, 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:06.980 Right? 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:07.319 This is, 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:09.639 This is what we see, 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:10.480 Paul is, 00:20:10.639 --> 00:20:11.019 The problem, 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:11.899 He's been blind, 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:13.059 He's seen the light of Jesus, 00:20:13.220 --> 00:20:14.399 But he's been blinded by, 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:15.859 The light of Jesus, 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:17.119 And in verse 8, 00:20:17.939 --> 00:20:18.720 The story goes on, 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:18.980 It says, 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:20.199 That Saul got up from the ground, 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:21.480 But when he opened his eyes, 00:20:21.539 --> 00:20:22.839 He could see nothing, 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:24.139 So they led him by the hand, 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:24.819 To Damascus, 00:20:24.879 --> 00:20:26.059 And for three days, 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:27.419 He was blind, 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:28.319 He was in the darkness, 00:20:29.099 --> 00:20:30.279 And he did not eat, 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:31.059 Or drink, 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:32.199 Anything, 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:35.880 He's been blinded, 00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:37.140 By the light of God's glory, 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.160 Shining in the face, 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:39.220 Of the resurrected Jesus, 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:42.840 And it's so radiant, 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:43.779 The face of Jesus, 00:20:43.900 --> 00:20:44.680 Is so radiant, 00:20:44.840 --> 00:20:45.740 It's so brilliant, 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:46.759 It's so beautiful, 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:48.539 That ironically, 00:20:48.840 --> 00:20:49.880 It renders Paul, 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:51.200 Unable to see, 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:51.799 Right? 00:20:51.840 --> 00:20:52.600 For three days, 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:53.420 He's sitting there, 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:54.700 Just blind, 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:55.500 And in the darkness, 00:20:56.900 --> 00:20:58.000 And you may be wondering, 00:20:58.200 --> 00:20:58.380 You know, 00:20:58.460 --> 00:20:59.720 If God loves, 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:00.819 Paul so much, 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:01.600 Why would he allow him, 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:02.240 To experience, 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:03.359 The darkness, 00:21:04.679 --> 00:21:05.899 But I want to suggest to you, 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:07.039 That God allows people, 00:21:07.159 --> 00:21:07.839 That he loves, 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:09.419 To enter into, 00:21:09.579 --> 00:21:10.659 The sacred darkness, 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:12.819 As a severe mercy, 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:13.459 Right? 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:13.879 As a, 00:21:13.879 --> 00:21:15.779 As a grace disguised, 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:17.559 As a sacred gift, 00:21:18.919 --> 00:21:19.699 And here is Paul, 00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:20.559 Like Jesus, 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:23.419 Paul's this Jewish guy, 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:25.099 He's got so much of the Bible, 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:25.419 The, 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:27.059 What we call the Old Testament, 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:27.899 Memorized, 00:21:27.899 --> 00:21:29.599 And he's got no phone, 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:30.079 Right? 00:21:30.139 --> 00:21:30.819 To distract him, 00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:32.539 He's got nobody to talk to, 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:33.240 He's in the dark, 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:34.119 For three days, 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:35.079 And so he starts going, 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:36.259 Back in his mind, 00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:37.039 Through the scriptures, 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:39.079 That he's memorized, 00:21:39.439 --> 00:21:40.339 And he begins to think, 00:21:40.679 --> 00:21:41.299 And pray, 00:21:41.819 --> 00:21:42.639 Through the scriptures, 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:44.179 In the darkness, 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:45.079 And he's rethinking, 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:47.039 He's rethinking God, 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:48.460 In his darkness, 00:21:49.419 --> 00:21:50.439 Right? 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:51.359 He's thinking to himself, 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:52.679 If the creator God, 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:53.720 If the God of Abraham, 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:54.299 Isaac, 00:21:54.379 --> 00:21:54.779 And Jacob, 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:55.720 Whose glory, 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:56.500 I am so, 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:58.019 Zealous to defend, 00:21:58.160 --> 00:21:58.960 If this God, 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:00.440 Has, 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:01.639 Raised, 00:22:01.639 --> 00:22:02.839 This crucified man, 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:03.440 To life, 00:22:04.660 --> 00:22:05.779 Then he must be, 00:22:05.879 --> 00:22:06.500 The son of God, 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:08.519 Right? 00:22:08.579 --> 00:22:09.740 If Jesus has been raised, 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:10.899 Then he must be, 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:11.500 The person, 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:12.200 In whom, 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:12.720 And through, 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.180 Whom God has come, 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:15.160 To rescue us, 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.079 And if he's been, 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:17.720 Raised from the dead, 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:18.579 Then surely he, 00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:19.460 Wasn't crucified, 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:20.640 For his own sins, 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:21.420 Or for the curse, 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:22.900 For his own sins, 00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:24.079 But he must have come, 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:25.720 And paid for the sins, 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:26.579 Of other people, 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:27.000 Right? 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:27.799 He must have come, 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:29.440 So that we could be, 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:30.400 Forgiven of our sins, 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:31.279 By grace, 00:22:32.620 --> 00:22:33.200 And Paul, 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:34.420 That everything starts, 00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:35.440 To click into place, 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:35.720 For Paul, 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:35.960 He says, 00:22:36.140 --> 00:22:37.339 If Jesus has been, 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:38.299 Raised from the dead, 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:39.700 Then there's a hope, 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:40.700 For us in our future, 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:42.559 That we too, 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:43.639 Are going to be raised, 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:44.500 That in the future, 00:22:44.639 --> 00:22:45.079 God, 00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:46.460 Is going to take, 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:47.399 All that's wrong, 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:48.079 With this world, 00:22:48.139 --> 00:22:49.059 And he's going to set it, 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:49.919 Right? 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:50.599 And he's going to take, 00:22:50.679 --> 00:22:51.659 The whole world, 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:52.759 And it too, 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:53.819 Is going to be raised, 00:22:54.460 --> 00:22:55.419 And remade, 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:57.259 And you see, 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:58.079 What's going on, 00:22:58.119 --> 00:22:59.359 In the darkness, 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:00.339 Is that the light, 00:23:00.379 --> 00:23:01.059 Of the gospel, 00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:03.319 Is starting to glow, 00:23:03.399 --> 00:23:03.960 In the dark, 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:09.019 And in that place, 00:23:09.159 --> 00:23:10.240 We're told that Paul, 00:23:10.419 --> 00:23:11.039 He's fasting, 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:11.980 He's not eating, 00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:12.480 Or drinking, 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:13.379 For three days, 00:23:13.619 --> 00:23:14.220 In the dark, 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:16.119 We're told in verse 11, 00:23:16.179 --> 00:23:16.859 That we didn't read, 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:17.799 That he's praying, 00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:18.799 Earnestly praying, 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:21.359 And I imagine that Paul, 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:22.940 In this very dark place, 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:23.700 That he's in, 00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:25.159 He's saying to himself, 00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:26.039 Oh God, 00:23:26.139 --> 00:23:27.059 I'm so sorry, 00:23:27.899 --> 00:23:29.119 That I've been so blind, 00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:29.440 To you, 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:30.159 I'm so sorry, 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:30.879 That I've been so, 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:31.980 In the dark about you, 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:32.700 This whole time, 00:23:34.159 --> 00:23:34.960 Oh God, 00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:35.359 Would you, 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:36.859 I thank you, 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:37.679 For your mercy, 00:23:37.679 --> 00:23:38.859 That you've given to me, 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:40.279 In Jesus, 00:23:40.419 --> 00:23:41.720 In revealing Jesus to me, 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:42.680 And God, 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:44.220 Would you please, 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:45.740 Forgive me, 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:46.500 And would you please, 00:23:46.600 --> 00:23:48.180 Give me new life, 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:48.980 Give me a fresh, 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:50.000 Beginning, 00:23:50.660 --> 00:23:51.860 You see, 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:53.059 The sacred darkness, 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:54.500 Is what drove Paul, 00:23:54.600 --> 00:23:55.240 Over the course, 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:56.259 Of those three days, 00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:58.100 To repentance, 00:23:58.420 --> 00:23:59.120 And to faith, 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:00.000 And that's what darkness, 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:01.140 Is always meant to do, 00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:01.740 In our lives, 00:24:02.100 --> 00:24:03.440 Is to drive us, 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:04.019 To repent, 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:05.680 And to believe, 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:08.420 Okay, 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:09.080 So you with me now, 00:24:09.140 --> 00:24:10.680 This smart skeptic, 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:12.560 Faces an inconvenient truth, 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:13.920 It plunges him into, 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:15.400 A sacred darkness, 00:24:16.220 --> 00:24:18.860 And then in that sacred darkness, 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:19.560 I think Paul, 00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:21.539 Realizes a radical, 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:22.860 Relationship, 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:24.759 He realizes, 00:24:25.060 --> 00:24:26.140 A radical relationship, 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:27.519 During those three days, 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:29.299 In the darkness, 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:30.100 Here's one thing, 00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:31.400 I'm absolutely confident, 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:33.620 That Paul was thinking, 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:35.740 About and praying about, 00:24:36.620 --> 00:24:37.400 He was thinking about, 00:24:37.400 --> 00:24:38.740 Those words that for the rest, 00:24:38.780 --> 00:24:40.280 Of his life would ring in his ears, 00:24:40.360 --> 00:24:41.600 And that he could never unhear, 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:42.620 And it was these words, 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:43.259 That Jesus said, 00:24:43.300 --> 00:24:43.540 He said, 00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:45.600 Why do you persecute me? 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:48.040 He says, 00:24:48.120 --> 00:24:49.320 I am Jesus whom you, 00:24:49.600 --> 00:24:50.560 Are persecuting, 00:24:50.600 --> 00:24:52.000 And I'm sure Paul was sitting there, 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:52.840 In the dark thinking, 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:54.060 Wait Jesus, 00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:55.120 Didn't you mean to say, 00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:57.220 Why am I persecuting your disciples? 00:24:57.540 --> 00:24:58.759 Why am I persecuting, 00:24:59.100 --> 00:25:00.600 Those who are following your way? 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:01.539 Why am I persecuting, 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:02.599 The members of your church? 00:25:04.919 --> 00:25:06.159 Shouldn't you have said, 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:06.500 Jesus, 00:25:06.879 --> 00:25:08.500 Why are you persecuting them? 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:10.619 Not why are you persecuting me? 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:13.119 But, 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:15.359 This moment I think, 00:25:15.439 --> 00:25:16.619 Is like an absolute, 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:17.639 Lightning bolt, 00:25:17.879 --> 00:25:18.619 For Paul, 00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:19.759 In the darkness, 00:25:20.899 --> 00:25:23.000 Because Paul begins to see, 00:25:23.259 --> 00:25:25.899 That Jesus is so, 00:25:26.199 --> 00:25:26.740 United, 00:25:27.659 --> 00:25:28.839 To his people, 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:30.539 That, 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:30.539 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:30.539 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:32.019 They are in Jesus, 00:25:32.199 --> 00:25:32.779 And Jesus, 00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:34.000 Is in, 00:25:34.399 --> 00:25:34.919 Them, 00:25:35.179 --> 00:25:35.819 And it's as if, 00:25:35.959 --> 00:25:37.059 He is the body, 00:25:37.419 --> 00:25:37.980 And Jesus, 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:39.399 Is the head, 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:40.079 So that if, 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:42.500 You do something to them, 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:43.779 You're doing something to me, 00:25:44.419 --> 00:25:46.619 And boom, 00:25:47.339 --> 00:25:49.299 Something goes off, 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:49.919 In Paul's, 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:51.179 Genius mind, 00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:53.400 Two things happen, 00:25:53.460 --> 00:25:53.759 I think, 00:25:54.100 --> 00:25:54.880 Simultaneously, 00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:55.500 First of all, 00:25:55.600 --> 00:25:56.360 Paul sees, 00:25:56.360 --> 00:25:56.759 That this, 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:58.519 Resurrected and living Jesus, 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:00.620 Is wanting to have, 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:02.600 That kind of a radical relationship, 00:26:03.120 --> 00:26:03.420 With, 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:04.259 With him, 00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:05.560 You want to have that kind of relationship, 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:06.500 With me? 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:09.680 This doctrine, 00:26:10.420 --> 00:26:11.339 That we call, 00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:13.039 The union with Christ, 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:15.180 What Paul says, 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.319 Over and over in his letters, 00:26:16.420 --> 00:26:16.960 About being, 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:17.579 Quote, 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:18.519 In Christ, 00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:19.200 Or belonging, 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:20.920 To Jesus, 00:26:21.059 --> 00:26:22.640 In this unbreakable bond, 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:24.160 Of covenant, 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.359 And communion with Jesus, 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:27.500 It's a central theme, 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:29.140 And everything Paul will preach, 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:30.700 And write from this moment on, 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:32.579 Because he cannot unhear that voice, 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:35.220 And here's just a couple of examples, 00:26:35.220 --> 00:26:35.819 He says, 00:26:35.860 --> 00:26:38.279 This is a famous example, 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:39.860 In Galatians 2, 00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:40.240 20, 00:26:40.420 --> 00:26:40.980 Paul says, 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:42.480 I have been crucified, 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:43.500 With Christ, 00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:45.039 And I no longer live, 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:48.019 But Christ lives in me, 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:50.360 And the life I now live, 00:26:50.380 --> 00:26:50.839 And the body, 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:51.880 I live by faith, 00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:52.720 In the Son of God, 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:53.860 Who loved me, 00:26:53.940 --> 00:26:55.000 And who gave himself, 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:56.180 For me, 00:26:58.140 --> 00:26:59.420 In his greatest letter, 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:00.559 The letter to the Romans, 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:01.600 He says in Romans 6, 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:01.900 4, 00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:03.059 We were therefore, 00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:04.460 Buried with Christ, 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:06.620 Through baptism, 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:07.200 Into death, 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:07.700 In order that, 00:27:08.120 --> 00:27:09.380 Just as Christ was raised, 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:10.000 From the dead, 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:11.480 So we too might, 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:13.660 Live a new life in him, 00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:15.819 We've been buried with Christ, 00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:17.220 And we've been raised with Christ, 00:27:18.360 --> 00:27:19.079 Ephesians 2, 00:27:19.140 --> 00:27:19.339 6, 00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:19.620 He says, 00:27:19.700 --> 00:27:20.779 God raised us up, 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:21.519 With Christ, 00:27:21.600 --> 00:27:22.940 And he seated us with him, 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:23.960 In the heavenly realms, 00:27:24.500 --> 00:27:25.920 In Christ Jesus, 00:27:26.059 --> 00:27:26.299 Friends, 00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:26.880 Union, 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:28.420 With Jesus, 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:29.360 Means that everything, 00:27:29.579 --> 00:27:30.640 That happened to Jesus, 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:32.220 Has happened to me, 00:27:32.220 --> 00:27:34.839 And that I am honored, 00:27:35.120 --> 00:27:36.839 With all the honor, 00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:38.279 That God gives to Jesus, 00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:39.220 I am loved, 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:41.740 I am crucified, 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:43.720 I am buried, 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.759 I am raised to new life, 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:48.319 I am seated even now, 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:49.640 In that place of honor, 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:50.620 And authority, 00:27:51.140 --> 00:27:52.720 With Jesus Christ, 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:54.579 And Paul's genius mind, 00:27:54.860 --> 00:27:55.600 Is blown, 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:57.059 Why are you persecuting me, 00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:58.039 Don't you realize, 00:27:58.420 --> 00:27:59.339 That they are in me, 00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:01.299 And I am in them, 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:04.319 But there's another aspect, 00:28:04.500 --> 00:28:06.000 To this union, 00:28:07.419 --> 00:28:09.159 Because if Jesus, 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:09.940 Is in such, 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:11.319 An intimate union, 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.940 In such radical solidarity, 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:14.200 With his people, 00:28:14.299 --> 00:28:15.700 Then if I want to know, 00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:16.460 Jesus, 00:28:16.639 --> 00:28:17.879 Then I must be in union, 00:28:18.139 --> 00:28:18.919 With his people, 00:28:19.079 --> 00:28:19.919 And with his church, 00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:22.419 And here's what it says, 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:23.180 In verse 17, 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:24.099 I love this man, 00:28:24.159 --> 00:28:25.379 We never hear about him again, 00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:27.019 In the rest of the New Testament, 00:28:27.159 --> 00:28:27.579 But it says, 00:28:27.720 --> 00:28:28.359 In verse 17, 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:29.299 Then Ananias, 00:28:30.259 --> 00:28:31.019 Went to the house, 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:31.700 And entered it, 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:33.500 And placing his hands on Saul, 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:34.379 He said, 00:28:34.879 --> 00:28:35.980 Brother Saul, 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:37.639 Ananias didn't want to do this, 00:28:37.700 --> 00:28:38.720 He had to have God come, 00:28:38.779 --> 00:28:39.639 And tell him to do this, 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:41.960 Because Paul is public enemy number one, 00:28:42.339 --> 00:28:43.900 Paul has been killing people, 00:28:43.900 --> 00:28:45.160 Like Ananias, 00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:46.299 But he says, 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:46.900 Okay Lord, 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:48.079 If that's what you want me to do, 00:28:48.139 --> 00:28:49.480 And Ananias goes, 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:51.420 And he puts his hands on Paul, 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:53.379 In this gesture, 00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:55.200 Of tender love, 00:28:55.339 --> 00:28:55.839 And blessing, 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:58.159 This sign, 00:28:58.159 --> 00:28:59.259 Of welcome, 00:28:59.259 --> 00:29:00.179 And acceptance, 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:01.859 And what does he call Paul, 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:03.039 He says, 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:03.500 Brother, 00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:05.859 You, 00:29:06.220 --> 00:29:07.740 You're an adopted child, 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:08.379 Of the father, 00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:11.039 You belong, 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:12.679 To the family of God, 00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:13.119 You, 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:13.859 Are, 00:29:14.439 --> 00:29:15.159 A brother, 00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:15.859 With us, 00:29:15.899 --> 00:29:16.619 As siblings, 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:18.199 Of Jesus, 00:29:18.399 --> 00:29:18.679 Welcome, 00:29:19.139 --> 00:29:20.159 Welcome to the family, 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:20.539 He says, 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:22.039 Brother Saul, 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:22.940 The Lord, 00:29:23.099 --> 00:29:24.359 Jesus who appeared to you, 00:29:24.420 --> 00:29:25.019 On the road, 00:29:25.059 --> 00:29:26.000 As you were coming here, 00:29:26.399 --> 00:29:27.579 Has sent me to you, 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:29.180 That you might see again, 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:30.639 And that you might be filled, 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:32.059 With the Holy Spirit, 00:29:33.259 --> 00:29:33.980 And immediately, 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:35.180 Something like scales, 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:36.259 Fell from Saul's eyes, 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:37.220 And he could see again, 00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:37.920 And he got up, 00:29:38.379 --> 00:29:39.099 And was baptized, 00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:40.319 And after taking some food, 00:29:40.399 --> 00:29:41.159 He regained, 00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:42.319 His strength, 00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:45.779 Beautiful moment, 00:29:46.659 --> 00:29:49.139 We need someone, 00:29:49.399 --> 00:29:50.680 To pray for us, 00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:52.220 That the presence, 00:29:52.340 --> 00:29:52.880 And the power, 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:53.840 Of the Holy Spirit, 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:55.740 Would come upon us, 00:29:55.779 --> 00:29:56.620 And would fill us up, 00:29:57.759 --> 00:29:59.299 And when Ananias does that, 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.259 The healing power of God, 00:30:02.360 --> 00:30:03.460 Flows into Paul, 00:30:04.320 --> 00:30:05.840 Flows into his optic nerves, 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:07.460 So that he can see again, 00:30:08.840 --> 00:30:09.720 And then, 00:30:10.100 --> 00:30:11.360 He's baptized, 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:12.600 As a sign that, 00:30:12.900 --> 00:30:13.820 He's been washed, 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:15.160 All of his sins, 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:16.240 Have been washed away, 00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:18.259 By the blood of Christ, 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:20.259 He's baptized, 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:21.660 This amazing symbol, 00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:22.519 That he too, 00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:23.920 Has been buried with Christ, 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:24.740 And that he too, 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:25.559 Has been raised, 00:30:25.980 --> 00:30:27.240 To walk in the newness, 00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:28.259 Of life, 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:30.980 And last but not least, 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:32.700 This is very important, 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:35.420 Ananias gave him some food, 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:38.220 He took him to the potluck, 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:38.680 And said, 00:30:38.819 --> 00:30:39.039 Hey, 00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:41.720 Welcome to the table, 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:43.019 Fellowship of the church, 00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:44.220 Welcome to the breaking, 00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:45.019 Of the bread, 00:30:45.140 --> 00:30:46.720 Welcome to the sacred meal, 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:49.039 That gives us strength, 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:51.839 So the question friends, 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:52.920 Is are we living, 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:54.279 In union with Jesus, 00:30:55.319 --> 00:30:56.799 Are you in him, 00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:58.079 And is he in you, 00:30:58.879 --> 00:31:01.139 Are you a real, 00:31:01.139 --> 00:31:03.359 Member of the body of Jesus, 00:31:04.359 --> 00:31:05.159 Or do you just show up, 00:31:05.259 --> 00:31:05.899 From time to time, 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:08.159 Are you an authentic, 00:31:08.159 --> 00:31:08.879 Brother, 00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:10.200 An authentic sister, 00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:11.819 In the family of God, 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:12.799 That's woven in, 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:14.019 With his people, 00:31:14.019 --> 00:31:15.920 Do you have, 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:17.139 A living relationship, 00:31:17.139 --> 00:31:18.299 With the living Lord, 00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:20.039 And with his living church, 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:22.839 Alright, 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:24.420 We gotta go to lunch, 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:24.720 So I gotta, 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:25.660 I gotta land the plane, 00:31:25.879 --> 00:31:26.099 But, 00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:27.519 Smart skeptic, 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:29.200 Encounters an inconvenient truth, 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:30.859 Plunges him into sacred darkness, 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:31.799 Where he realizes, 00:31:31.940 --> 00:31:33.000 This radical relationship, 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:34.700 And out of that comes, 00:31:35.059 --> 00:31:35.700 This passionate, 00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:36.480 Mission, 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:39.460 Paul gets a passionate mission, 00:31:39.559 --> 00:31:39.700 You know, 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:40.319 Sometimes our, 00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:41.119 Our transformations, 00:31:41.339 --> 00:31:42.059 Might be sudden, 00:31:42.059 --> 00:31:43.559 And dramatic like Paul, 00:31:43.639 --> 00:31:44.940 Very often they're slow, 00:31:45.299 --> 00:31:45.940 And they're subtle, 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:48.079 But either way, 00:31:48.159 --> 00:31:49.379 We realize that Christianity, 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:50.940 Is not a set of beliefs, 00:31:51.099 --> 00:31:52.099 It's not a set of teachings, 00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:53.419 It's not a set of ethics, 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.579 That we decide to take up, 00:31:55.700 --> 00:31:56.720 Rather it's a person, 00:31:56.819 --> 00:31:57.559 And it's a power, 00:31:58.059 --> 00:31:59.159 Who takes us up, 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:01.899 And when he takes us up, 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:03.859 He also sends us out, 00:32:04.059 --> 00:32:05.019 With a new mission, 00:32:05.099 --> 00:32:05.919 And a new purpose, 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:07.119 For our lives, 00:32:08.299 --> 00:32:09.759 It says in verse 15, 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:11.619 That Ananias, 00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:13.119 Gives the words, 00:32:13.159 --> 00:32:13.859 Of Jesus to Paul, 00:32:13.919 --> 00:32:14.179 He says, 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:16.139 This man is my chosen instrument, 00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:17.859 To proclaim my name, 00:32:17.919 --> 00:32:18.659 To the Gentiles, 00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:19.379 And their kings, 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:20.899 And to the people of Israel, 00:32:20.940 --> 00:32:21.419 And obviously, 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.359 The task of the apostle Paul, 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:24.759 Is a unique task, 00:32:24.980 --> 00:32:25.200 But, 00:32:25.460 --> 00:32:28.460 All the disciples of Jesus, 00:32:28.679 --> 00:32:29.599 Are meant to share, 00:32:29.919 --> 00:32:30.899 In the mission of Jesus, 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:34.159 Every baptized Christian, 00:32:34.339 --> 00:32:35.559 In their own unique, 00:32:35.639 --> 00:32:36.539 And individual way, 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:38.720 Is a chosen instrument, 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:40.899 To share the good news, 00:32:40.900 --> 00:32:43.840 And how did Paul do it, 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:44.519 Well it says, 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:45.700 Immediately, 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:47.200 He didn't go and, 00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:47.820 You know, 00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:48.860 Take three years, 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:49.759 Of seminary classes, 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:50.420 It just says, 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:51.160 Immediately, 00:32:52.100 --> 00:32:52.840 At once, 00:32:52.920 --> 00:32:53.480 He began, 00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:55.080 To tell people, 00:32:55.280 --> 00:32:55.720 That Jesus, 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:57.160 Is the son of God, 00:32:58.000 --> 00:32:59.680 And in verse 22, 00:32:59.800 --> 00:33:00.019 It says, 00:33:00.100 --> 00:33:01.360 He began to prove to people, 00:33:01.540 --> 00:33:03.060 That Jesus is the Messiah, 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:04.360 That the Messiah is Jesus, 00:33:05.420 --> 00:33:06.380 And in verse 28, 00:33:06.380 --> 00:33:07.180 That he was speaking, 00:33:07.340 --> 00:33:08.540 Boldly in the name, 00:33:09.320 --> 00:33:10.680 Of the Lord, 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:11.420 What this means, 00:33:11.520 --> 00:33:12.600 Is that Jesus wants, 00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:14.300 To work through his people, 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:16.540 That we might faithfully pray, 00:33:17.620 --> 00:33:18.700 For our friends, 00:33:19.540 --> 00:33:20.380 Our family, 00:33:20.600 --> 00:33:21.560 Our co-workers, 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:22.140 And our neighbors, 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:23.220 For their hearts, 00:33:23.320 --> 00:33:24.580 To become open to God, 00:33:25.280 --> 00:33:27.260 And Jesus wants, 00:33:27.360 --> 00:33:28.240 Through his people, 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:29.640 He wants us to initiate, 00:33:30.320 --> 00:33:31.420 Simple conversations, 00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:32.320 That can become, 00:33:32.320 --> 00:33:33.720 Serious conversations, 00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:35.600 That can lead to spiritual conversations, 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:38.440 And Jesus wants us, 00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:38.960 Humbly, 00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:40.180 And yet boldly, 00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:40.779 Like Paul, 00:33:41.559 --> 00:33:42.400 To just invite people, 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:42.960 To consider, 00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:43.640 Jesus, 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:45.220 Is he the son of God, 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:46.940 Is he the Messiah, 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:48.259 Is he the Lord, 00:33:49.460 --> 00:33:50.420 If you ask anybody, 00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:51.500 On our alpha team, 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:52.700 Anybody going through, 00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:53.420 Our alpha course, 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:54.140 Anybody who came, 00:33:54.220 --> 00:33:55.120 To our alpha weekend, 00:33:55.640 --> 00:33:56.319 Last weekend, 00:33:56.420 --> 00:33:57.019 They will tell you, 00:33:57.019 --> 00:33:58.059 That this has been, 00:33:58.059 --> 00:33:59.680 An amazing new thing, 00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:00.299 In our church, 00:34:00.360 --> 00:34:01.240 As a way to, 00:34:01.660 --> 00:34:03.420 Engage with Jesus, 00:34:03.420 --> 00:34:04.240 In his mission, 00:34:04.460 --> 00:34:05.539 And we can't wait, 00:34:05.600 --> 00:34:06.640 For it to begin again, 00:34:06.740 --> 00:34:07.860 We wish it were starting sooner, 00:34:07.980 --> 00:34:08.820 So I encourage you, 00:34:09.139 --> 00:34:10.039 If you weren't part of this, 00:34:10.099 --> 00:34:10.740 First go round, 00:34:10.900 --> 00:34:12.139 To get ready, 00:34:12.240 --> 00:34:13.019 And to come, 00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:13.800 And be part of alpha, 00:34:13.880 --> 00:34:14.320 Next year, 00:34:15.240 --> 00:34:17.820 But I'll just close, 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:18.500 With these words, 00:34:18.619 --> 00:34:19.500 That Jesus gave, 00:34:19.740 --> 00:34:20.760 To Paul, 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:23.340 When in Acts 26, 00:34:23.460 --> 00:34:24.300 Paul is recounting, 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:24.960 This experience, 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:27.619 We get a bit of a fuller, 00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:28.880 Explanation of the mission, 00:34:29.099 --> 00:34:30.000 That Jesus gave him, 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:31.880 And Jesus says, 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:32.180 Paul, 00:34:32.179 --> 00:34:32.219 Paul, 00:34:32.299 --> 00:34:33.119 I'm sending you out, 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:35.799 Into a very dangerous world, 00:34:36.460 --> 00:34:38.199 I'm sending you out, 00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:39.699 Among people who, 00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:41.119 Are going to think you're crazy, 00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:43.139 I'm sending you out, 00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:43.940 Into the wider, 00:34:44.539 --> 00:34:45.919 World of Greco-Roman, 00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:46.859 Paganism, 00:34:47.079 --> 00:34:49.239 And he says, 00:34:49.299 --> 00:34:50.460 The reason I'm sending you, 00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:51.279 Is because I want you, 00:34:51.339 --> 00:34:52.379 To open their eyes, 00:34:53.059 --> 00:34:54.239 And I want, 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:55.739 To turn them, 00:34:55.859 --> 00:34:56.919 From darkness to light, 00:34:56.920 --> 00:34:58.800 I want to turn them, 00:34:58.800 --> 00:34:59.880 From the power of Satan, 00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:00.900 To the power of God, 00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:01.940 That they might receive, 00:35:02.200 --> 00:35:03.300 The forgiveness of sins, 00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:04.139 And find a place, 00:35:04.200 --> 00:35:04.760 Among those, 00:35:04.760 --> 00:35:05.980 Who are sanctified, 00:35:05.980 --> 00:35:07.260 By faith in me, 00:35:07.260 --> 00:35:10.040 I think this is, 00:35:10.040 --> 00:35:11.520 One of the most funny stories, 00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:12.680 In the New Testament, 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:14.220 It's absolute, 00:35:14.540 --> 00:35:14.820 Pure, 00:35:14.980 --> 00:35:16.000 Comedic gold, 00:35:16.640 --> 00:35:19.480 Because here's this man, 00:35:19.540 --> 00:35:20.720 Who's been the most skeptical, 00:35:21.720 --> 00:35:23.000 The most hostile, 00:35:23.720 --> 00:35:24.700 The most keen, 00:35:24.780 --> 00:35:26.260 To stamp this message out, 00:35:26.340 --> 00:35:26.720 And now, 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:28.380 He's the one being sent out, 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:29.240 With this message, 00:35:29.239 --> 00:35:31.979 About the light of Jesus, 00:35:32.819 --> 00:35:34.099 And the power of Jesus, 00:35:34.959 --> 00:35:36.299 And the forgiveness of Jesus, 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:37.899 And the belonging, 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:39.019 That can only be found, 00:35:39.479 --> 00:35:40.039 In Jesus, 00:35:41.479 --> 00:35:42.299 And friends, 00:35:42.379 --> 00:35:43.839 If God can change Paul, 00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:46.399 Is there anybody, 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:47.559 He cannot change, 00:35:48.359 --> 00:35:51.239 If God can change Paul, 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:53.199 There is no one, 00:35:53.279 --> 00:35:54.119 He cannot change, 00:35:55.259 --> 00:35:56.299 And so the question, 00:35:56.479 --> 00:35:56.979 For us today is, 00:35:57.379 --> 00:35:58.379 Has he changed you, 00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:00.979 Have you received, 00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:01.699 This new mission, 00:36:01.859 --> 00:36:02.899 Do you see yourself, 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:04.199 As a chosen instrument, 00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:05.959 For the good news, 00:36:06.039 --> 00:36:06.659 Do you see yourself, 00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:07.339 As a messenger, 00:36:07.899 --> 00:36:09.439 Of Jesus to the Bay Area, 00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:11.259 Are you willing, 00:36:11.359 --> 00:36:12.459 To be a strong advocate, 00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:13.219 For the gospel, 00:36:13.399 --> 00:36:13.839 In Berkeley, 00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:14.539 Or Oakland, 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:15.219 Or San Francisco, 00:36:15.319 --> 00:36:16.439 Or wherever you find yourself, 00:36:17.059 --> 00:36:19.579 Because this is an essential part, 00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:20.479 Of the transformation, 00:36:21.919 --> 00:36:22.759 That God, 00:36:23.399 --> 00:36:24.019 Wants to work, 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:24.879 In each of our lives, 00:36:25.959 --> 00:36:27.279 So I pray he'll do it, 00:36:27.319 --> 00:36:28.019 In the name of the Father, 00:36:28.179 --> 00:36:28.379 Son, 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:29.660 And Holy Spirit, 00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:30.660 Amen. 00:36:30.659 --> 00:36:30.759 Amen.