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 --> 00:00:20.780 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.780 --> 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 --> 00:01:07.760 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:23.620 Let's pray. Father, we are in your presence. You have spoken to us through your Word. We ask, 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:30.100 Father, that you would so move in our hearts, that our hearts would be hungry for your Word, 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:37.000 open and receptive to your Word, and that your Word would form us, that your Word would give us life. 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:43.400 And we ask this in Jesus' name, your Son, Father, and our Savior. Amen. 00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:49.600 Amen. So this is going to be a big surprise to you, all of you. Thank you very much, John. This is going 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:55.239 to be a very big surprise to you all. But I was in a coffee shop this week, and something happened. 00:01:56.299 --> 00:02:01.799 Some of you might wonder if I have a life apart from coffee shops. I don't. I'm exceptionally boring. 00:02:02.699 --> 00:02:07.459 I think to myself, if the Canadian government or the Chinese government wants to follow me along 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:13.919 and listen in on me, I'd put them to sleep by how boring my life is, by the standards of the world. 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:19.939 Anyway, so I come into the coffee shop, and there's like a table. I'm sitting down, and then there's 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:25.139 like two other tables quite close. And there's a young woman at both of the other tables. They're 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:28.859 obviously friends. They're chatting away. They're probably... I'm getting really old. They're 00:02:28.859 --> 00:02:32.679 probably PhD students. I thought they were undergrads, but who knows how old they're. Young 00:02:32.679 --> 00:02:37.519 women, from my point of view. And they're chattering away. And as I'm putting my stuff down, I notice 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:42.880 that there's a bracelet on the... There's a bracelet on the ground. So I say to them, 00:02:43.040 --> 00:02:48.480 is this your bracelet? Because if it's not, I take and give it into the cash so that, you 00:02:48.480 --> 00:02:53.240 know, whoever had it could get it back. And one of the young women looked and said, oh, 00:02:53.300 --> 00:02:56.460 yeah, that's mine. And so I picked it up and give it to her. And she said, oh, thank you. 00:02:56.740 --> 00:03:03.580 That's my support Palestinians bracelet in the Hamas war, in the, you know, the liberation of 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:11.920 Palestine. So, you know, I gave it to her. And then we had this short conversation. She was very 00:03:11.920 --> 00:03:17.260 bubbly, not angry or aggressive. She was a very bubbly type of personality. And she said to me with 00:03:17.260 --> 00:03:22.540 a big smile, you support the Palestinians against the Israelis, don't you? Just like that, with a big 00:03:22.540 --> 00:03:30.240 smile. Like, of course, I'm going to say yes. And I said, so here's the thing. Some of you know, 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:40.340 I can be, I can be sinfully opinionated about politics. But I don't want to talk about politics 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:46.360 at a coffee shop. I want to be able to share the gospel with people and not talk about politics. 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:50.920 So I can't remember what I said. I sort of dodged it. But she was persistent. She, I guess, 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:56.200 was an evangelist for the Palestinian cause. So she's very insistent. And then finally, I said 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:01.479 something about how I, you know, I wasn't really in favor of what Hamas. And, you know, I didn't say 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:07.599 Palestinians as I was in favor of Hamas. And then she comes back all with this bubbly, almost flirtatious 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:14.259 type of encouraging me to agree with her. And then she said, well, you surely you don't agree with a 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:21.860 group of people who bomb hospitals. So I sort of, I probably went like this. Like, you really want me 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:27.860 to talk about this? So I said to her, well, they shouldn't hide missiles in hospitals. And they 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:32.720 shouldn't shoot Israelis from hospitals. And they shouldn't store their weapons in the hospitals 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:38.920 and underneath it. And she just looked at me with a big smile. She said this. And this was the part, 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:45.259 the parting word. The Jews are always killing Muslim babies. 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:56.079 The Jews are always killing Muslim babies. Now, I said it to you seriously. She said, the Jews are 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:02.319 always killing Muslim babies. Just like 30 seconds after that, she was talking with her friend about 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:08.339 where to get their nails done and what hairstyle to get with their haircut. It was just like a bubbly, 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:13.180 common sense thing, as if everybody knows that. The same thing that I would say, oh, that's King Edward 00:05:13.180 --> 00:05:20.079 over there. She would just say, oh, the Jews are always killing Muslim babies. I don't want anybody 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:25.600 to think that I always know the right thing to say in situations. And I didn't know what to say to that. 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:37.620 Like, I'd never come across such a deeply horrific, anti-Semitic statement. And some of you know, 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:42.759 there's a phrase about the banality of evil. And that was a perfect example. Like, she just, 00:05:43.620 --> 00:05:48.720 she was cheerful about making that statement. And I literally did not know what to say. 00:05:52.060 --> 00:05:55.680 I've prayed for her off and on, you know, since then. I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:59.800 see her again. I'd never seen her in that particular coffee shop before, but maybe I will. 00:06:00.899 --> 00:06:05.840 And maybe next time I come across such a statement, I'll know what to say. Now, I'm saying all of this 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:12.299 because the Bible text that we're looking at today is a story about prejudice causing division 00:06:12.299 --> 00:06:19.239 in the early church. And some biblical commentators try to downplay the prejudice, but they shouldn't 00:06:19.239 --> 00:06:24.939 downplay the prejudice. There is prejudice, and it becomes noticeable and a source of complaint 00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:30.759 in the early church. And so we're going to look at that story. It's not the same type of prejudice 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:37.719 prejudice as that prejudice of the Jews are always killing Muslim babies. But all prejudice 00:06:37.719 --> 00:06:47.039 is wrong. And all prejudice has the possibility to grow to murderous extremes and to banal extremes 00:06:47.039 --> 00:06:51.699 so that you don't even, you're not even thinking that you should repent of it. So let's look at this 00:06:51.699 --> 00:07:00.060 particular story. It's Acts chapter 6, verses 1 to 7. Acts chapter 6, verses 1 to 7. And some of you 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:04.680 are probably thinking, like me, that most of the times they've heard sermons on this, the prejudice 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:11.439 aspect sort of gets effaced or done away with, and they get into whether or not, you know, this is the 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:17.319 institution of deacons and stuff like that. But here's the story, and it begins like this. Acts chapter 6, 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:24.500 verses 1 to 7. Now, in these days, when the disciples were increasing in number, now just before we go any 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:32.560 further on that, just to explain, I've said that this is an eyewitness-based history of the first 35 years 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:45.319 of the Jesus movement, probably written before the year 67 or 68 AD. And there's two reasons for that. You can 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:49.680 ask me about that over coffee or send me an email, maybe even written in 66 or something like that. 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:54.379 Actually, very simply, there are two reasons it was probably written beforehand, is it ends not with 00:07:54.379 --> 00:08:00.439 Paul having been martyred, but just in jail. And he dies, I think, in 67. And the other thing is that 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:05.620 Jerusalem hasn't been destroyed, and that's in 70. So it's almost definitely written before those two 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:11.519 events, Paul's death by execution under Nero, martyred, and before the destruction of Jerusalem. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:18.419 And so in this phrase, it's not like once upon a time language. In fact, what it is, is in the 00:08:18.419 --> 00:08:24.639 original language, it's, you know, there's a God, I think it's a Greek God, Janus. He's a God that looks 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:30.379 both ways at the same time. And it's a very helpful thing. Sometimes there's parts of the Bible that are 00:08:30.379 --> 00:08:37.759 Janus texts. They look both ways at the same time. And so it's a linking phrase. It's referring to the 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:42.919 fact back to what's just happened. And this is all within probably a year of the death and 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:48.139 resurrection of Jesus. And it's looking at what just happened, which was the apostles all arrested, 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:56.240 spending the night in jail, rescued by the angel, their witness before the Sanhedrin, 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:03.539 Gamaliel having them spared from execution, but they're still whipped. And they rejoice that they 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:10.559 have this honor to bear witness to Jesus and the church grows. And so that's what they're linking 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:17.099 to this. The church is growing. There's hostility, but the church is growing. So now in these days, 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:23.980 when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:30.120 Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:37.779 And in the original language, the word neglected is a very good word. It's a very accurate word. They 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:46.539 were being neglected. Now, a couple of things. First of all, Hellenists and Hebrews, there's no really 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:53.220 good way to translate it into English. This is a cultural distinction. And so basically, it's a 00:09:53.220 --> 00:09:57.299 distinction between two groups of people who would have been living in Jerusalem in those days. 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:03.419 What they call the Hellenists are people who, the Jewish people, just like today, you know, 00:10:03.479 --> 00:10:11.479 there's Jewish people all over the world. Lots of Jewish people in Ottawa, Vancouver, Manhattan, 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:18.219 and there's also some in Israel, of course. So the Hellenists are Jewish people who have been part of 00:10:18.219 --> 00:10:25.519 this diaspora, maybe for decades, maybe for generations and generations. And they've lived in the pagan 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:31.779 world, the Greek-speaking, Latin-speaking world. But they've now come back to live in Jerusalem or in 00:10:31.779 --> 00:10:41.579 the area. And they have become culturally Greek. That's what they've become. So, you know, if they're 00:10:41.579 --> 00:10:46.960 going to have their salad, it's going to be a Greek salad with lots of feta cheese and black olives. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:53.820 It's, you know, so the food they eat, the jokes they tell, the stories they tell, the things they 00:10:53.820 --> 00:10:59.139 remember, they all come out of a Greek culture. What are called the Hebrew, so it doesn't, they all 00:10:59.139 --> 00:11:04.600 speak Greek probably, but it doesn't necessarily mean they don't speak Hebrew or Latin or Aramaic. 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:13.660 But they're culturally Greek. The Hebrews are long-time Palestinian Jews. And just one other aside, 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:19.559 we all know that in this culture, for me to talk about Palestinian Jews living in Jerusalem in the 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:25.179 year 34 is a political statement, would be viewed as a political statement, maybe even as something 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:35.199 colonizing, which is ridiculous. For most of this stuff, we have to have belly laughs at it, 00:11:35.419 --> 00:11:40.620 because it's ridiculous. C.S. Lewis once said the devil, I think he was quoting Thomas More or 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:46.679 something. The devil hates to be mocked, hates to be laughed at. Maybe that's what we need more of. 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:55.940 But this Hebrew group are people who are mainly long-term Palestinian Jews. Their primary language 00:11:55.940 --> 00:12:01.179 would not be Greek, but Aramaic. Now, they might also speak Hebrew and Greek, by the way, but culturally, 00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:07.159 they are comfortable, most comfortable that Palestinian Jewish culture. Now, just to show that 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:11.879 it's not specifically talking about language, is, you know, some of you know the Bible very well, 00:12:11.939 --> 00:12:17.939 know that later on in another place, Paul writes that he's a Hebrew of Hebrews. And he uses the same 00:12:17.939 --> 00:12:24.519 word for Hebrew. But he himself was from the diaspora. He himself grew up not in Jerusalem, 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:29.679 but somewhere else. But culturally, he's a Palestinian Jew, and he refers to himself that way. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:36.059 So there's this cultural difference, two culturally different communities in the same physical area, 00:12:36.059 --> 00:12:42.539 and there's tension between them. And people from both communities become Christians. And now people 00:12:42.539 --> 00:12:49.679 from the lesser, in a Jerusalem context, they are the lower ones. Like maybe if they were in Athens, 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:55.439 the Hebrews would be the lower ones. But in Jerusalem, they're the lower ones, the Greek-speaking 00:12:55.439 --> 00:13:03.219 Jews. And look what it says again. They arose a complaint by these group against the Hebrews, 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:09.320 the Hebrew Jewish Christians, because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 00:13:10.460 --> 00:13:18.500 Now, one of the things which must have made this neglect especially hard is the neglect comes in the 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:33.000 context of jaw-dropping generosity and love. Like just jaw-dropping, gobsmacking generosity and love. 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:38.779 If you go back and you read, what they're doing is they're caring for the poorest of the poor. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:47.899 And how are they caring for them is people with means are selling their property and making huge 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:55.639 financial contributions so that the least of the least can be cared for. That's like jaw-dropping, 00:13:55.639 --> 00:14:04.580 jaw-dropping generosity, jaw-dropping love. And in the context of jaw-dropping generosity and love, 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:11.319 there is prejudice still. And the prejudice leads to this one group being neglected. 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:19.580 So what do they do? What are they going to do about it in the rest of the story? 00:14:21.379 --> 00:14:27.760 And by the way, in the ancient world, in our Canadian culture, we all think we know what should 00:14:27.760 --> 00:14:33.820 be done. And one of the things, and if you haven't read Tom Holland's book, Dominion, or if you haven't 00:14:33.820 --> 00:14:39.680 read Glenn Scrivner's book, The Air That We Breathe, everybody should read Glenn Scrivner's book, The Air 00:14:39.680 --> 00:14:45.540 That We Breathe, which is shorter and easier than Tom Holland's book, Dominion. But in the ancient world, 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:51.759 the Roman centurion would say, what's the issue? Who cares about widows? 00:14:55.699 --> 00:15:00.019 They would say, in fact, the natural order of things is the strong. 00:15:01.339 --> 00:15:07.219 Stay strong. We earned it. We deserve it. The gods demand that we be fed. 00:15:08.099 --> 00:15:10.059 Who cares about widows? They're just women. 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:20.479 People in Canada who are going to critique this story unwittingly are speaking like Christians 00:15:20.479 --> 00:15:27.439 without realizing it. But what are they going to say? Well, let's see what the apostles say. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:32.599 And it's actually quite shocking to Canadian ears. If we just listen to it, you think about how you 00:15:32.599 --> 00:15:39.739 read this with your neighbors. Verse 2, so the 12 and the 12 summoned the full number of the disciples 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:45.620 and said, it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:52.419 What? What did they just say? There's a complaint about prejudice. There's a complaint about people, 00:15:52.539 --> 00:15:58.080 the least of the least, going hungry. And the first thing they want to say is, it is not right 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:01.279 that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables? 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:10.519 Now, let's be honest. All of our Canadian neighbors would say that's the wrong answer. 00:16:12.439 --> 00:16:13.600 That's the wrong answer. 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:27.279 Now, in a Canadian culture, we'd be expecting an apology. We'd be expecting resignations. 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:34.299 There's all sorts of things we'd be expecting. Now, just as we're trying to figure out what's 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:39.139 going on here, and by the way, this is the wonderful thing about walking towards difficulties 00:16:39.139 --> 00:16:46.059 in the Bible, is that it's when you walk towards difficulties in the Bible, you know, you've heard 00:16:46.059 --> 00:16:50.159 me say before, I wish I could find out where I, somebody asked me about it, and I'm not smart 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:54.059 enough to figure this out myself. Like, I read it somewhere. I just can't remember who I read it. 00:16:54.059 --> 00:17:00.579 Like, stories like this are both a mirror for us to see ourselves and a window to see God 00:17:00.579 --> 00:17:05.659 in the world as it really is. And so, it's when we walk towards difficult passages and 00:17:05.659 --> 00:17:11.579 think about them that we start to see ourselves. You see, so part of the problem is that for 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:19.200 Canadians, Canadians generally have a silent mantra that they say to themselves. And the 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:27.799 silent mantra is, I need the Bible like the fish needs a bicycle. I need a Bible like a 00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:34.480 fish needs the bicycle. I need Jesus like a fish needs a bicycle. So to say that the most 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:42.200 important thing is to open the Bible is like an eye-rolling comment. And that's partially because 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:51.980 that's how Canadians think. And so that's a bit of a problem. But the second problem with 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:55.940 their comment, and this is now, I'm going to talk about the Bible in a moment, but this 00:17:55.940 --> 00:18:01.299 is to make the apostles' words actually seem a little bit more difficult and also more relatable 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:07.779 to why it actually is, at least in appearance, a difficult response. See, one of the things which 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:15.859 is going on here in the text, and it happens with prejudice, it touches on a very deep human fear 00:18:15.859 --> 00:18:26.579 and a very deep human longing. And one of the things that we fear is being unseen and unheard. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:34.519 One of the things which many women say is that when they reach a certain age, they become invisible. 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:47.680 Nobody sees them. Nobody sees them. Nobody sees them. It's hard to talk about, but it sure doesn't feel good. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:59.519 But interestingly enough, the fear or the complaint of being unseen is genuinely an intergenerational issue. 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:05.900 One of the concerns for teenagers and young people is that they're unseen. 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:10.759 Nobody's seen them when they're thinking about what to do about the job market. 00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:15.000 Nobody's seen them when they're thinking about what to do with housing prices and rental things. 00:19:15.619 --> 00:19:18.099 Nobody sees them. Nobody hears them. 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:25.700 And then, of course, obviously for lots of other groups, people maybe even right here, 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:32.240 they're very frustrated because at their place of work, it feels as if when they speak, they're unheard. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:36.940 And that when they're even looking for promotions or for other types of people that contribute, 00:19:37.100 --> 00:19:38.680 they're completely and utterly unseen. 00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:43.779 In fact, if we were in the right type of context, maybe if you're in the right type of small group 00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:49.460 or mentoring group, if this topic came up, it might discover that one of the people in our congregation, 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:56.059 that they're moved to tears about the fact that they feel deeply unseen and unheard 00:19:56.059 --> 00:19:58.480 and how deeply wounding it is. 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:03.079 And so their initial response 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:07.840 sounds a lot like 00:20:07.840 --> 00:20:10.380 people, men, 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.039 who aren't seeing them and aren't hearing them. 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:17.160 But that's not what's going on. 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:24.080 Let's look again at what they say in verse 2 and then read the rest of what they say. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:29.040 And the 12 summoned all the full number of the disciples and said, 00:20:29.300 --> 00:20:33.880 it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 00:20:34.800 --> 00:20:37.940 Therefore, it's a funny thing there, therefore. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:39.900 See, what they're doing 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:42.259 is they say 00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:44.040 this neglect, 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:47.480 first of all, they're saying that this care 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:49.220 for the least of the least 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:50.659 is very important. 00:20:51.339 --> 00:20:53.879 This neglect is very important. 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:57.180 But before we give the response, 00:20:57.740 --> 00:20:59.379 you're also forgetting something else 00:20:59.379 --> 00:21:00.559 which is very important, 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:04.079 which is the word of God 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:04.539 and prayer. 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:07.200 So now we take 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:09.720 the importance, it is very important 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:10.720 important 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:12.160 to care for the least of the least, 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.039 especially amongst the community. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:16.640 It is very important 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:18.660 that there is no prejudice, 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:20.720 that that neglect is dealt with, 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:22.500 and it's very important 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:24.900 that God's word is preached 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:26.039 and that people pray. 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:27.240 Therefore, 00:21:28.360 --> 00:21:30.380 and in verse 3 00:21:30.380 --> 00:21:31.400 and following, 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:32.279 we see the therefore. 00:21:32.500 --> 00:21:33.400 Therefore, verse 3, 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:34.380 brothers and sisters, 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:36.540 pick out from among you 00:21:36.540 --> 00:21:37.920 seven men of good repute, 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:39.480 full of the Holy Spirit 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:40.040 and wisdom, 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:41.720 whom we will appoint 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:42.400 to this duty. 00:21:43.320 --> 00:21:44.960 But we will devote ourselves 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:45.740 to prayer 00:21:45.740 --> 00:21:46.600 and to the ministry 00:21:46.600 --> 00:21:47.259 of the word. 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:49.080 And what they said 00:21:49.080 --> 00:21:50.340 pleased the whole gathering, 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:51.460 and they chose Stephen, 00:21:51.560 --> 00:21:52.700 a man full of faith 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:53.880 and of the Holy Spirit, 00:21:54.380 --> 00:21:54.940 and Philip, 00:21:55.060 --> 00:21:55.720 and Prochorus, 00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:56.480 and Nicanor, 00:21:56.620 --> 00:21:57.180 and Timon, 00:21:57.259 --> 00:21:57.840 and Parmenas, 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:58.340 and Nicholas, 00:21:58.500 --> 00:22:00.240 a proselyte of Antioch. 00:22:00.620 --> 00:22:01.280 These they set 00:22:01.280 --> 00:22:02.140 before the apostles, 00:22:02.140 --> 00:22:02.900 and they prayed 00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:04.100 and laid their hands on them. 00:22:04.620 --> 00:22:05.340 Now you'll notice 00:22:05.340 --> 00:22:06.759 that they're all Greek names. 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:09.160 This doesn't mean 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:09.860 that they were all 00:22:09.860 --> 00:22:12.420 necessarily Hellenists, 00:22:12.860 --> 00:22:14.259 but it would be very unlikely 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:15.140 that none of them were. 00:22:16.120 --> 00:22:17.540 It was very common 00:22:17.540 --> 00:22:19.400 for Palestinian Jews 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:20.820 to also have a Greek name, 00:22:21.560 --> 00:22:23.100 just as it's very common 00:22:23.100 --> 00:22:23.920 for immigrants 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:25.040 to come to our country 00:22:25.040 --> 00:22:26.040 from another country, 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:28.300 and they have their Chinese 00:22:28.300 --> 00:22:31.020 or their Malaysian 00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:33.680 or their Nigerian name, 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:34.599 which might be hard 00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:35.720 for Canadians to pronounce, 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:37.240 so they have their Chinese name 00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:38.619 and a Canadian name, 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:40.839 or their Malaysian name 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:42.019 or their Rwandan name, 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:43.059 and they have a Canadian name. 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:44.240 It's a very common thing now, 00:22:44.279 --> 00:22:45.240 and it's a very common thing 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:45.759 back then. 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:47.839 But it definitely shows 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:48.819 that they pick people 00:22:48.819 --> 00:22:49.779 who obviously have 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:50.839 some degree of sympathy 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:51.960 with this, 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.920 and the whole congregation, 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:53.920 both the Hellenists 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:54.519 and the Hebraists, 00:22:54.579 --> 00:22:55.220 love the solution, 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:55.960 love the people, 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:57.299 and they go for it. 00:22:57.299 --> 00:23:01.299 So what we see here then 00:23:01.299 --> 00:23:05.220 is that the apostles added 00:23:05.220 --> 00:23:08.740 something which our culture 00:23:08.740 --> 00:23:10.059 thinks is not needed. 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:11.039 As I said, 00:23:11.419 --> 00:23:12.619 to the average Canadian, 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:13.839 I need the Bible 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:16.079 like a fish needs a bicycle. 00:23:16.639 --> 00:23:18.019 I need the gospel 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:20.019 like a fish needs a bicycle. 00:23:23.159 --> 00:23:24.399 In fact, you know, 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:26.399 and this deeply affects Christians, 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:28.840 I might be one of the few people 00:23:28.840 --> 00:23:29.320 in the room, 00:23:29.540 --> 00:23:30.680 because I'm a pastor, 00:23:30.780 --> 00:23:32.000 I read books about, you know, 00:23:32.040 --> 00:23:33.259 how to be a pastor and all, 00:23:33.360 --> 00:23:34.880 and there's a very, very common 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:38.660 saying in evangelical circles 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:39.900 right now which says 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:40.680 that if your church 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:41.620 was to vanish, 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:42.780 would anybody in the community 00:23:42.780 --> 00:23:43.500 notice it? 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:45.940 And the implication 00:23:45.940 --> 00:23:47.019 of the question is 00:23:47.019 --> 00:23:48.300 that it would be a terrible thing 00:23:48.300 --> 00:23:48.920 if we vanished, 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:50.180 and nobody noticed it. 00:23:50.780 --> 00:23:52.259 And what they mean by that, 00:23:52.259 --> 00:23:53.700 then, is that really what it is, 00:23:53.740 --> 00:23:54.940 is if the church isn't running 00:23:54.940 --> 00:23:55.700 the Boy Scouts 00:23:55.700 --> 00:23:56.640 and the food banks 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:57.279 and doing this 00:23:57.279 --> 00:23:57.960 and doing that 00:23:57.960 --> 00:23:59.880 and hosting the AA things 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:00.600 and all these things 00:24:00.600 --> 00:24:01.240 for the community, 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:02.319 if they're not doing that, 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:04.259 then we're unimportant. 00:24:06.019 --> 00:24:06.340 Well, 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:09.319 that's actually having the world 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:10.460 determine our agenda. 00:24:10.620 --> 00:24:11.819 It's not what the Bible says. 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:13.840 The fact of the matter is 00:24:13.840 --> 00:24:15.759 that there's only one group 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:17.319 in all of Canada 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:18.420 that will tell people 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:20.180 that there is a God 00:24:20.180 --> 00:24:21.420 who truly does exist 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:23.220 and there is a Savior 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:24.000 who loves them. 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:27.259 It's not the Boy Scouts. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.960 It's not any other group 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:30.380 like that. 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:31.300 It's only the church. 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:34.140 And so that's actually 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:36.100 a fundamentally important thing 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:37.019 for the church to do. 00:24:37.080 --> 00:24:38.100 I'm not saying that we shouldn't 00:24:38.100 --> 00:24:39.160 do other types of things 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:39.700 to help the poor. 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:40.600 That's not the point. 00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:42.240 But it's... 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:43.240 The point is that 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:44.880 there is this fundamental priority 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.060 upon the church 00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:47.839 to equip Christians 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:49.059 and to proclaim the gospel 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:50.279 so that people 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:51.299 who are lost 00:24:51.299 --> 00:24:52.000 can be saved. 00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:54.099 That's our fundamental priority. 00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:55.679 It's the number one job. 00:24:57.299 --> 00:24:58.659 The others are consequences 00:24:58.659 --> 00:24:59.899 of receiving the gospel. 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:02.179 And the consequences 00:25:02.179 --> 00:25:03.019 aren't the gospel. 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:05.200 The gospel has consequences. 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:07.919 Always does. 00:25:08.859 --> 00:25:09.879 But the consequences 00:25:09.879 --> 00:25:10.759 aren't the gospel. 00:25:10.879 --> 00:25:11.639 What is the gospel? 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:13.000 Well, 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:16.680 the gospel is 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:17.800 that Christ died 00:25:17.800 --> 00:25:18.720 for both 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:20.900 Hellenistic Jews 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:22.360 and Hebrew Jews. 00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:25.220 Like that very, 00:25:25.360 --> 00:25:26.720 very fundamental thing 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:28.220 that we worship 00:25:28.220 --> 00:25:28.880 a God 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:30.520 who saw human need 00:25:30.520 --> 00:25:31.980 and Jesus died 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:32.680 on the cross 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:33.500 for the Dalit, 00:25:33.620 --> 00:25:34.820 the lowest caste 00:25:34.820 --> 00:25:35.560 in India. 00:25:35.780 --> 00:25:36.440 He died 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:37.880 for the elite 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:38.780 in Nigeria. 00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:39.820 He died 00:25:39.820 --> 00:25:41.140 for the Politburo 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:42.259 in China. 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:43.180 He died 00:25:43.180 --> 00:25:43.960 for Biden 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:44.900 in the White House. 00:25:45.060 --> 00:25:45.800 He died 00:25:45.800 --> 00:25:47.280 for the slave. 00:25:47.540 --> 00:25:48.300 He died 00:25:48.300 --> 00:25:48.980 for, 00:25:49.820 --> 00:25:50.080 well, 00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:50.460 he died 00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:51.100 for everybody. 00:25:53.180 --> 00:25:53.500 I mean, 00:25:53.520 --> 00:25:54.060 not everybody 00:25:54.060 --> 00:25:54.720 receives. 00:25:56.420 --> 00:25:57.160 But God 00:25:57.160 --> 00:25:57.620 doesn't say, 00:25:57.680 --> 00:25:57.820 you know, 00:25:57.880 --> 00:25:58.380 I think I only 00:25:58.380 --> 00:25:59.200 want white people 00:25:59.200 --> 00:25:59.920 or I only want 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:00.660 black people. 00:26:01.020 --> 00:26:01.280 No, 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:02.980 there's absolutely 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:03.640 no prejudice 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:04.280 in God. 00:26:06.120 --> 00:26:06.940 And the other 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:07.520 thing about it 00:26:07.520 --> 00:26:08.560 is that the gospel 00:26:08.560 --> 00:26:09.480 is this message 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:10.240 that Jesus 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:11.940 sees you. 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:13.579 Like, 00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:15.359 he sees you. 00:26:16.620 --> 00:26:18.220 Nobody gets you 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:19.640 like God gets you. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:20.940 He sees you. 00:26:22.220 --> 00:26:23.519 And the amazing thing 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:24.240 about the gospel 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:25.539 is he sees you. 00:26:25.660 --> 00:26:26.400 He sees 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:27.359 how you have 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:27.960 screwed up 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:28.680 your marriage. 00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:29.539 He sees 00:26:29.539 --> 00:26:30.740 how you've been 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:31.900 fantastic at your marriage. 00:26:31.980 --> 00:26:32.759 He sees how you've 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:33.620 screwed up with this. 00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:34.240 He sees 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:35.500 the things that you're, 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:37.259 he sees you 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:37.900 and yet even 00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:38.859 seeing you, 00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:40.500 you all the way 00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:41.319 down for you, 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:43.279 he dies for you. 00:26:45.779 --> 00:26:46.259 And 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:48.759 we have to 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:49.539 acknowledge that 00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:50.279 being seen 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:51.220 is a complicated 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:51.960 issue. 00:26:56.180 --> 00:26:56.940 How is it 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:57.400 complicated? 00:26:57.920 --> 00:26:58.579 Being seen 00:26:58.579 --> 00:26:58.900 and heard 00:26:58.900 --> 00:26:59.740 is a bit more 00:26:59.740 --> 00:27:00.240 complicated 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:01.299 because all of us 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:01.879 are involved 00:27:01.879 --> 00:27:02.700 in a dance. 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:04.480 I want you 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:04.920 to know me 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:05.559 and see me. 00:27:07.120 --> 00:27:07.920 I don't want you 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:08.180 to know 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:08.920 and see the things 00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:09.319 that I've done 00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:10.080 that are really wrong. 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:16.660 And you don't 00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:17.000 want that 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:17.600 with me either. 00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:19.759 One of the issues 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:20.400 in marriages 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:21.039 is, 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:23.299 you know, 00:27:23.340 --> 00:27:24.200 the desire 00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:25.120 that, 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:25.319 you know, 00:27:25.340 --> 00:27:25.720 the husband 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:26.220 and the wife 00:27:26.220 --> 00:27:27.019 keeping things 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:27.700 from each other. 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:31.360 things that 00:27:31.360 --> 00:27:31.799 are embarrassed 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:32.120 about 00:27:32.120 --> 00:27:32.600 and ashamed 00:27:32.600 --> 00:27:32.960 about. 00:27:34.080 --> 00:27:34.480 And so, 00:27:35.420 --> 00:27:35.759 you see, 00:27:35.960 --> 00:27:36.460 there's, 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:37.380 we think 00:27:37.380 --> 00:27:37.860 that what we 00:27:37.860 --> 00:27:38.400 want is to 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:39.019 be seen, 00:27:39.819 --> 00:27:40.539 but we all 00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:40.900 know that 00:27:40.900 --> 00:27:41.340 in a different 00:27:41.340 --> 00:27:41.940 context, 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:42.259 what we 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:42.620 definitely 00:27:42.620 --> 00:27:43.360 don't want 00:27:43.360 --> 00:27:43.980 is to have 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:44.920 certain things 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:45.460 about us 00:27:45.460 --> 00:27:46.080 be seen. 00:27:47.840 --> 00:27:48.580 Listen to, 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:49.539 listen to the 00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:49.940 gospel, 00:27:50.120 --> 00:27:51.140 how psychologically 00:27:51.140 --> 00:27:52.440 insightful 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:53.600 and profound 00:27:53.600 --> 00:27:54.380 the gospel 00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:54.680 is. 00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:55.120 If you could 00:27:55.120 --> 00:27:55.559 put up 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:56.740 the text 00:27:56.740 --> 00:27:58.099 of John 00:27:58.099 --> 00:27:58.779 chapter 3, 00:27:58.859 --> 00:27:59.120 we're going 00:27:59.120 --> 00:27:59.400 to just 00:27:59.400 --> 00:27:59.859 slip to 00:27:59.859 --> 00:28:00.160 John 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:00.900 chapter 3 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:01.880 verses 16, 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:02.640 a very famous 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:03.079 verse, 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:05.200 16 to 21. 00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:08.839 And this 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:09.620 is Jesus 00:28:09.620 --> 00:28:10.160 speaking. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:12.019 For God 00:28:12.019 --> 00:28:12.779 so loved 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:13.359 the world 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:13.960 that he 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:14.500 gave his 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:15.339 only son 00:28:15.339 --> 00:28:16.420 that whoever 00:28:16.420 --> 00:28:17.180 believes in 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:17.759 him should 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:18.500 not perish 00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:18.960 but have 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:19.680 eternal life. 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:20.980 For God 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:21.420 did not 00:28:21.420 --> 00:28:22.039 send his 00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:22.660 son into 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:23.140 the world 00:28:23.140 --> 00:28:23.779 to condemn 00:28:23.779 --> 00:28:24.319 the world, 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:25.160 but in 00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:25.759 order that 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:26.220 the world 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:26.720 might be 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:27.200 saved 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:27.500 through 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:27.880 him. 00:28:28.620 --> 00:28:28.940 Whoever 00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:29.579 believes 00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:30.140 in him 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:30.960 is not 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:31.519 condemned, 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:32.980 but whoever 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:33.500 does not 00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:34.019 believe is 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:34.360 condemned 00:28:34.360 --> 00:28:34.860 already, 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:36.079 because he 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:36.480 has not 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:37.079 believed in 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:37.420 the name 00:28:37.420 --> 00:28:37.680 of the 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:38.140 only son 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:38.600 of God. 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:40.000 Here's 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:40.200 the, 00:28:40.360 --> 00:28:40.799 that's all 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:41.980 profound 00:28:41.980 --> 00:28:42.440 stuff, 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:43.200 worthy of 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:43.600 profound 00:28:43.600 --> 00:28:44.160 meditation 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:45.180 and memorization. 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:46.420 Listen to 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:46.900 this next 00:28:46.900 --> 00:28:47.220 bit, 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:48.460 verse 19. 00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:50.200 And this 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:50.539 is the 00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:50.940 judgment. 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:52.720 The light 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:53.579 has come 00:28:53.579 --> 00:28:54.000 into the 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:54.360 world, 00:28:54.359 --> 00:28:55.500 and people 00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:56.359 loved the 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:56.859 darkness 00:28:56.859 --> 00:28:58.079 rather than 00:28:58.079 --> 00:28:58.579 the light 00:28:58.579 --> 00:28:59.779 because their 00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:00.299 works were 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:00.679 evil. 00:29:01.459 --> 00:29:02.240 For everyone 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:02.759 who does 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:03.699 wicked things 00:29:03.699 --> 00:29:05.079 hates the 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:06.259 light and 00:29:06.259 --> 00:29:06.699 does not 00:29:06.699 --> 00:29:07.299 come to 00:29:07.299 --> 00:29:07.859 the light 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:09.179 lest his 00:29:09.179 --> 00:29:10.479 works should 00:29:10.479 --> 00:29:11.339 be exposed. 00:29:12.459 --> 00:29:13.159 But whoever 00:29:13.159 --> 00:29:13.939 does what is 00:29:13.939 --> 00:29:14.959 true comes 00:29:14.959 --> 00:29:15.539 to the light 00:29:15.539 --> 00:29:17.019 so that it 00:29:17.019 --> 00:29:17.719 may be clearly 00:29:17.719 --> 00:29:18.419 seen that his 00:29:18.419 --> 00:29:19.099 works have been 00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:19.679 carried out in 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:20.000 God. 00:29:23.560 --> 00:29:24.580 This text 00:29:24.580 --> 00:29:25.259 brilliantly 00:29:25.259 --> 00:29:27.340 captures the 00:29:27.340 --> 00:29:30.000 fact that 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:30.660 on one hand 00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:31.140 we have a 00:29:31.140 --> 00:29:32.019 profound desire 00:29:32.019 --> 00:29:32.860 to be seen, 00:29:33.860 --> 00:29:35.279 but that if 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:35.880 we're honest, 00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:36.720 our desire to 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:37.460 be seen is 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:38.200 complicated 00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:39.940 because we 00:29:39.940 --> 00:29:40.440 don't want 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:41.060 those bad 00:29:41.060 --> 00:29:41.740 things in 00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:42.220 our current 00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:42.740 life and in 00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:43.360 our past 00:29:43.360 --> 00:29:44.080 to be seen. 00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:46.039 And the 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:46.580 wonder of the 00:29:46.580 --> 00:29:47.279 gospel is 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:47.820 this. 00:29:47.819 --> 00:29:50.259 God sees 00:29:50.259 --> 00:29:51.099 those things 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:51.639 that you 00:29:51.639 --> 00:29:52.259 hide from 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:52.720 yourself. 00:29:52.919 --> 00:29:53.419 He sees 00:29:53.419 --> 00:29:54.079 those things 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:54.539 that I 00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:55.119 hide from 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:55.759 myself and 00:29:55.759 --> 00:29:56.379 from others. 00:29:57.139 --> 00:29:58.059 He sees 00:29:58.059 --> 00:29:58.319 it. 00:29:58.839 --> 00:29:59.659 He sees 00:29:59.659 --> 00:29:59.980 me. 00:30:01.019 --> 00:30:01.679 And still 00:30:01.679 --> 00:30:02.319 he loved 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:02.939 me, Jesus 00:30:02.939 --> 00:30:03.839 did, and 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:04.539 died for me 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:04.899 that I 00:30:04.899 --> 00:30:05.319 might be 00:30:05.319 --> 00:30:06.579 forgiven and 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:07.000 made right 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:07.639 with God. 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:12.519 Some of us 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:13.220 know that one 00:30:13.220 --> 00:30:13.639 of the best 00:30:13.639 --> 00:30:14.519 possible gifts 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:15.019 that we can 00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:16.399 get is when 00:30:16.399 --> 00:30:17.079 somebody gives 00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:17.639 us a gift 00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:17.920 that we 00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:18.300 don't know 00:30:18.300 --> 00:30:18.620 that we 00:30:18.620 --> 00:30:19.040 need. 00:30:20.300 --> 00:30:20.860 But we 00:30:20.860 --> 00:30:21.500 really do. 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:23.920 Maybe it's 00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:25.140 going to 00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:25.940 another country 00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:26.460 or entering 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:27.060 into a new 00:30:27.060 --> 00:30:27.860 stage of life 00:30:27.860 --> 00:30:28.320 or moving 00:30:28.320 --> 00:30:28.880 to a new 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:29.500 city or 00:30:29.500 --> 00:30:30.380 entering a 00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:30.840 new stage 00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:31.240 of life 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:31.800 like in 00:30:31.800 --> 00:30:32.280 university 00:30:32.280 --> 00:30:33.520 or living 00:30:33.520 --> 00:30:33.840 on your 00:30:33.840 --> 00:30:34.220 own or 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:34.540 whatever, 00:30:34.800 --> 00:30:35.400 and somebody, 00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:36.080 a parent or 00:30:36.080 --> 00:30:36.660 a grandparent 00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:37.300 gives us a 00:30:37.300 --> 00:30:37.840 gift, and we 00:30:37.840 --> 00:30:38.259 sort of get 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:38.759 the gift, and 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:39.060 we sort of 00:30:39.060 --> 00:30:39.460 look at it 00:30:39.460 --> 00:30:39.700 and think 00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:40.100 that's sort 00:30:40.100 --> 00:30:40.520 of odd, and 00:30:40.520 --> 00:30:40.940 then a couple 00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:41.520 of months in 00:30:41.520 --> 00:30:42.380 or a year 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:43.460 in, all of a 00:30:43.460 --> 00:30:43.800 sudden we 00:30:43.800 --> 00:30:44.400 realize that, 00:30:44.540 --> 00:30:45.480 whoa, I 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:45.920 really needed 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:46.440 that gift. 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:48.140 I didn't 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:48.620 realize I 00:30:48.620 --> 00:30:49.019 needed that 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:49.320 gift. 00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:50.160 And that's 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:50.700 also part of 00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:50.940 the thing 00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:51.360 which is so 00:30:51.360 --> 00:30:51.880 wonderful about 00:30:51.880 --> 00:30:52.380 the gospel. 00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:52.900 The average 00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:53.340 human being 00:30:53.340 --> 00:30:54.019 doesn't realize 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:54.500 they need a 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:54.779 savior. 00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:56.600 And God 00:30:56.600 --> 00:30:57.680 saw and 00:30:57.680 --> 00:30:58.500 heard our 00:30:58.500 --> 00:30:59.720 deep needs, 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:01.700 and even 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:02.299 when we did 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:03.299 not desire it, 00:31:03.380 --> 00:31:03.980 he provided, 00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:05.400 and even 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:06.019 when we did 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:06.640 not realize 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:06.960 that we 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:07.700 needed a 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:08.900 savior, he 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:09.580 sent Jesus 00:31:09.580 --> 00:31:10.279 to be our 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:10.660 savior. 00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:10.800 savior. 00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:14.140 And you 00:31:14.140 --> 00:31:14.980 see then, if 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:16.060 you understand 00:31:16.060 --> 00:31:17.000 why do we 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:17.360 need the 00:31:17.360 --> 00:31:17.660 word of 00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:17.900 God? 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:18.320 You see, what 00:31:18.320 --> 00:31:18.740 the word of 00:31:18.740 --> 00:31:19.320 God is, the 00:31:19.320 --> 00:31:19.640 word of 00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:20.940 God is sort 00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:21.400 of expressed 00:31:21.400 --> 00:31:21.700 in a bit 00:31:21.700 --> 00:31:22.900 of a, sort 00:31:22.900 --> 00:31:24.080 of a funny 00:31:24.080 --> 00:31:24.560 type of 00:31:24.560 --> 00:31:24.940 phrase. 00:31:25.620 --> 00:31:26.200 If you go 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:26.580 through all 00:31:26.580 --> 00:31:26.759 of the 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:27.060 book of 00:31:27.060 --> 00:31:27.600 Acts, the 00:31:27.600 --> 00:31:27.980 word of 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:28.740 God refers 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:29.340 to the 00:31:29.340 --> 00:31:30.040 good news 00:31:30.040 --> 00:31:30.759 about Jesus 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:31.900 understood in 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:32.180 light of 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:32.640 the Bible, 00:31:33.300 --> 00:31:34.700 and the 00:31:34.700 --> 00:31:35.019 word of 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:35.820 God is the 00:31:35.820 --> 00:31:37.160 Bible understood 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:38.600 in light of 00:31:38.600 --> 00:31:39.160 the good news 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:39.779 about Jesus. 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:40.220 That's what 00:31:40.220 --> 00:31:40.559 the word of 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:41.059 God is. 00:31:42.399 --> 00:31:43.119 And why do 00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:43.579 we desperately 00:31:43.579 --> 00:31:44.059 need it? 00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:45.019 Because if you 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:45.480 think about 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:46.039 this, this is 00:31:46.039 --> 00:31:46.940 exactly the 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:47.440 type of 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:48.099 medicine we 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:49.500 need to 00:31:49.500 --> 00:31:49.960 deal with 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:50.899 neglect and 00:31:50.899 --> 00:31:51.859 sin and not 00:31:51.859 --> 00:31:52.379 being seen 00:31:52.379 --> 00:31:52.920 and not being 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:53.359 heard. 00:31:53.899 --> 00:31:54.500 We are 00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:55.339 reminded from 00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:55.859 the Bible 00:31:55.859 --> 00:31:56.339 that God 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:57.319 sees me. 00:31:57.859 --> 00:31:58.299 He even 00:31:58.299 --> 00:31:58.819 sees the 00:31:58.819 --> 00:31:59.319 things about 00:31:59.319 --> 00:31:59.720 me which 00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:00.500 are terrible. 00:32:01.379 --> 00:32:02.059 And still 00:32:02.059 --> 00:32:02.940 he loves me 00:32:02.940 --> 00:32:03.339 and still 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:03.960 he sent his 00:32:03.960 --> 00:32:04.660 son to die 00:32:04.660 --> 00:32:05.099 for me. 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:05.819 And he 00:32:05.819 --> 00:32:06.299 does that 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:06.960 for me and 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:07.379 for people 00:32:07.379 --> 00:32:07.819 that I think 00:32:07.819 --> 00:32:08.259 I'm better 00:32:08.259 --> 00:32:08.799 than and 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:09.299 people that I 00:32:09.299 --> 00:32:09.539 think, 00:32:09.779 --> 00:32:10.359 I'm worse 00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:10.779 than. 00:32:11.220 --> 00:32:11.599 And he 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:12.139 does that. 00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:12.279 And he 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:12.500 does it 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:13.279 without prejudice. 00:32:13.559 --> 00:32:14.000 And if we 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:14.779 realize that 00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:15.460 the very 00:32:15.460 --> 00:32:15.940 heart of the 00:32:15.940 --> 00:32:16.619 gospel is a 00:32:16.619 --> 00:32:17.039 God who 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:17.960 sees us and 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:18.779 acts to us 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:19.759 without any 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:20.579 prejudice but 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:21.139 only with 00:32:21.139 --> 00:32:22.039 love, how 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:22.639 on earth can 00:32:22.639 --> 00:32:23.319 I then have 00:32:23.319 --> 00:32:23.859 prejudice? 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:25.680 And how 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:26.420 could I not 00:32:26.420 --> 00:32:27.339 desire to be 00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:27.819 one who 00:32:27.819 --> 00:32:29.000 sees people 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:31.299 and hears 00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:31.660 them? 00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:33.779 how could I 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:34.759 not be one 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:35.080 that if 00:32:35.080 --> 00:32:35.680 somebody says 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:36.000 you're not 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:36.600 listening to 00:32:36.600 --> 00:32:36.960 me that 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:39.960 I potentially 00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:40.460 am really 00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:41.140 struck to the 00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:41.660 heart by 00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:41.920 that? 00:32:42.040 --> 00:32:42.420 And at the 00:32:42.420 --> 00:32:43.100 same time 00:32:43.100 --> 00:32:43.820 as that 00:32:43.820 --> 00:32:45.080 sin comes 00:32:45.080 --> 00:32:45.560 to me and 00:32:45.560 --> 00:32:46.560 confronts me, 00:32:47.560 --> 00:32:50.000 because I 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:50.560 know that 00:32:50.560 --> 00:32:51.600 Jesus saw it 00:32:51.600 --> 00:32:52.000 and has 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:52.759 forgiven me, 00:32:52.820 --> 00:32:53.380 it gives me 00:32:53.380 --> 00:32:54.040 a place to 00:32:54.040 --> 00:32:54.620 stand. 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:56.279 And rather 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:56.719 than getting 00:32:56.719 --> 00:32:58.119 defensive, and 00:32:58.119 --> 00:32:58.579 rather than 00:32:58.579 --> 00:33:00.119 attacking, and 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:00.559 rather than 00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:01.079 getting on my 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:02.599 high horse, and 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:03.119 rather than 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:04.099 trying to cause 00:33:04.099 --> 00:33:04.899 a power play, 00:33:04.959 --> 00:33:05.659 or anything else 00:33:05.659 --> 00:33:06.159 like that, that 00:33:06.159 --> 00:33:08.079 I can say, it 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:08.500 might not be 00:33:08.500 --> 00:33:08.959 right away, it 00:33:08.959 --> 00:33:09.579 might be 48 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:10.299 hours, 72 00:33:10.299 --> 00:33:10.939 hours, it 00:33:10.939 --> 00:33:11.679 might be 72 00:33:11.679 --> 00:33:12.259 days, it 00:33:12.259 --> 00:33:13.000 might be 20 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:13.799 years, but say, 00:33:13.859 --> 00:33:14.079 you know what, 00:33:14.099 --> 00:33:14.479 you're right. 00:33:16.439 --> 00:33:17.079 You're right. 00:33:18.719 --> 00:33:19.179 Only the 00:33:19.179 --> 00:33:20.059 gospel gives us 00:33:20.059 --> 00:33:21.039 a secure place 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:21.979 to stand that 00:33:21.979 --> 00:33:22.459 does not 00:33:22.459 --> 00:33:23.439 unmake us. 00:33:24.619 --> 00:33:25.759 that we can 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:26.559 acknowledge those 00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:27.599 things, and 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:28.159 repent and 00:33:28.159 --> 00:33:28.599 amend our 00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:29.359 lives, as the 00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:30.199 gospel becomes 00:33:30.199 --> 00:33:30.879 more real to 00:33:30.879 --> 00:33:31.099 us. 00:33:31.659 --> 00:33:32.319 And that's why 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:32.919 you see, brothers 00:33:32.919 --> 00:33:34.319 and sisters, it 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:35.479 is so essential 00:33:35.479 --> 00:33:37.259 that the first 00:33:37.259 --> 00:33:38.059 thing that goes 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:38.859 on in a church 00:33:38.859 --> 00:33:39.339 is that the 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:40.039 word of God 00:33:40.039 --> 00:33:41.399 is shared 00:33:41.399 --> 00:33:43.259 to those who 00:33:43.259 --> 00:33:43.739 do not know 00:33:43.739 --> 00:33:44.299 Jesus, to 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:44.859 those who do 00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:45.639 know Jesus. 00:33:46.099 --> 00:33:47.579 It is our 00:33:47.579 --> 00:33:48.579 life, it is 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:49.159 our health. 00:33:50.739 --> 00:33:51.259 In fact, actually, 00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:51.819 if you look, if 00:33:51.819 --> 00:33:52.439 you could go back 00:33:52.439 --> 00:33:53.119 to Acts, and 00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:53.679 go to Acts 00:33:53.679 --> 00:33:54.359 chapter 6, 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:57.419 verse 7, Luke 00:33:57.419 --> 00:33:58.519 sort of coins a 00:33:58.519 --> 00:33:59.079 phrase, he 00:33:59.079 --> 00:33:59.579 invents an 00:33:59.579 --> 00:34:01.279 expression, and 00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:02.539 it's in verse 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:03.699 7, and the 00:34:03.699 --> 00:34:04.399 word of God 00:34:04.399 --> 00:34:05.199 continued to 00:34:05.199 --> 00:34:05.759 increase. 00:34:06.539 --> 00:34:06.959 Well, what does 00:34:06.959 --> 00:34:07.399 that mean? 00:34:08.299 --> 00:34:09.179 Sorry, I'll read 00:34:09.179 --> 00:34:09.519 the whole thing. 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:10.000 And the word of 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:10.819 God continued to 00:34:10.819 --> 00:34:11.460 increase, and the 00:34:11.460 --> 00:34:12.000 number of the 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:12.960 disciples multiplied 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:13.639 greatly in 00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:14.440 Jerusalem, and a 00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:15.199 great many of the 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:15.799 priests became 00:34:15.799 --> 00:34:16.460 obedient to the 00:34:16.460 --> 00:34:16.619 faith. 00:34:16.659 --> 00:34:17.279 It's a wonderful 00:34:17.279 --> 00:34:18.019 picture of what 00:34:18.019 --> 00:34:18.359 happened. 00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:19.279 But you see, the 00:34:19.279 --> 00:34:19.759 fact of the matter 00:34:19.759 --> 00:34:20.380 is, it's because 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:21.380 it's the word of 00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:23.000 God that feeds the 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:23.819 church, that creates 00:34:23.820 --> 00:34:24.380 the church. 00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:25.760 The church is a 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:26.559 creature of the 00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:27.200 word of God. 00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:28.500 That's what we're 00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:29.100 seeing here in 00:34:29.100 --> 00:34:29.380 that sect. 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:30.039 That's why it's so 00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:30.539 important. 00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:32.000 And so what's 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:32.860 going on here is a 00:34:32.860 --> 00:34:33.539 very important 00:34:33.539 --> 00:34:34.380 principle, and it's 00:34:34.380 --> 00:34:34.880 an important 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:35.320 principle. 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:35.860 You know, when I 00:34:35.860 --> 00:34:36.420 said that we need 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:37.220 to be praying about 00:34:37.220 --> 00:34:37.820 whether we're doing 00:34:37.820 --> 00:34:38.640 God's work and 00:34:38.640 --> 00:34:40.000 God's way, and just 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:41.539 pray that God will 00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:41.960 provide. 00:34:42.380 --> 00:34:43.039 And part of the 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:43.680 thing here is to 00:34:43.680 --> 00:34:44.760 showing that it's 00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:46.880 not a matter that 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:48.200 preaching the word of 00:34:48.200 --> 00:34:49.019 God is like this, and 00:34:49.019 --> 00:34:49.680 everything else is 00:34:49.680 --> 00:34:51.000 completely unimportant. 00:34:51.100 --> 00:34:51.720 No, it's not a 00:34:51.720 --> 00:34:52.019 matter of 00:34:52.019 --> 00:34:52.480 importance. 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:54.139 There is a need for 00:34:54.139 --> 00:34:54.920 care and for 00:34:54.920 --> 00:34:56.079 organization and for 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:57.159 administration and 00:34:57.159 --> 00:34:59.420 looking after the 00:34:59.420 --> 00:35:00.460 little kids in Sunday 00:35:00.460 --> 00:35:02.539 school and all that 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:03.239 type of stuff. 00:35:03.820 --> 00:35:05.000 That's very important. 00:35:05.179 --> 00:35:06.039 It's not like there's 00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:07.440 this and there's this. 00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:08.139 There's this. 00:35:08.940 --> 00:35:09.739 And the church needs 00:35:09.739 --> 00:35:10.440 to say, we need to 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:11.519 make sure that it's 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:12.860 not that my only job 00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:14.119 should be sharing the 00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:14.840 word and praying. 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:15.739 And by the way, 00:35:15.820 --> 00:35:16.539 prayers here would have 00:35:16.539 --> 00:35:17.360 meant both private 00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:18.360 prayers and what we're 00:35:18.360 --> 00:35:19.179 doing now, which is 00:35:19.179 --> 00:35:19.919 corporate prayer. 00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:22.059 You need to make sure 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:22.599 I'm spending enough 00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:23.679 time on that, folks. 00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:25.919 And you need to have 00:35:25.919 --> 00:35:26.739 your small groups that 00:35:26.739 --> 00:35:27.679 are taking time with 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:27.919 that. 00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:30.000 And the Sunday school 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:30.799 needs to have that as 00:35:30.799 --> 00:35:31.719 first and foremost. 00:35:33.259 --> 00:35:34.259 But on the other hand, 00:35:34.419 --> 00:35:35.519 like what Shannon does 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:36.960 for the church, like 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:37.699 she's going to be 00:35:37.699 --> 00:35:38.679 stepping aside because 00:35:38.679 --> 00:35:39.839 God's blessing her and 00:35:39.839 --> 00:35:41.239 Owen with another baby 00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:42.559 and like there should be 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:43.619 high fives all around 00:35:43.619 --> 00:35:44.440 for what she does. 00:35:44.519 --> 00:35:45.259 It's so important. 00:35:45.399 --> 00:35:46.319 And for Barbara Allen 00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:47.620 and, you know, for 00:35:47.620 --> 00:35:48.800 Marlene and what she's 00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:49.580 done for the Sunday 00:35:49.580 --> 00:35:50.780 school and I could go 00:35:50.780 --> 00:35:51.720 on and on with people 00:35:51.720 --> 00:35:52.680 have a service heart 00:35:52.680 --> 00:35:54.220 for the needs of 00:35:54.220 --> 00:35:55.740 children and just the 00:35:55.740 --> 00:35:56.519 whole congregation. 00:35:56.780 --> 00:35:57.780 Those things are very, 00:35:57.940 --> 00:35:58.440 very important. 00:35:58.539 --> 00:35:59.180 They have to be done. 00:35:59.260 --> 00:35:59.900 That's the lesson of 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:00.340 the text. 00:36:01.680 --> 00:36:02.960 Lesson of the text is 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:04.340 these things really have 00:36:04.340 --> 00:36:04.860 to be done. 00:36:05.800 --> 00:36:07.820 And don't just think of 00:36:07.820 --> 00:36:09.180 organization at the end 00:36:09.180 --> 00:36:09.580 of the day. 00:36:10.039 --> 00:36:11.080 You need to have that 00:36:11.080 --> 00:36:12.180 organization involved in 00:36:12.180 --> 00:36:13.100 such a way that the 00:36:13.100 --> 00:36:14.340 word of God is being 00:36:14.340 --> 00:36:15.440 proclaimed and shared and 00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:16.260 taught and modeled. 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:18.039 And that there's prayer 00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:21.100 because that's our food. 00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:23.280 That's what we desperately 00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:23.400 need. 00:36:23.400 --> 00:36:24.300 That's what I desperately 00:36:24.300 --> 00:36:25.260 need every week. 00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:27.400 That's what we all need. 00:36:27.860 --> 00:36:28.740 I invite you to stand. 00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:30.680 Bow your heads in prayer. 00:36:36.280 --> 00:36:37.000 Let's pray. 00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:44.980 Father, you know the 00:36:44.980 --> 00:36:47.000 different things of prejudice 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:49.079 that we're blind to. 00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:50.260 Just are. 00:36:50.659 --> 00:36:52.019 Just part of our culture 00:36:52.019 --> 00:36:53.179 and we just sort of 00:36:53.179 --> 00:36:54.019 accept it. 00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:56.920 But you see it and you 00:36:56.920 --> 00:36:57.400 hate it. 00:36:58.240 --> 00:36:59.179 Father, we give you 00:36:59.179 --> 00:37:00.800 thanks and praise that you 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:02.199 really do see us. 00:37:02.360 --> 00:37:04.059 That at the last judgment, 00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:05.659 nobody will be able to say 00:37:05.659 --> 00:37:06.760 to you at the last judgment 00:37:06.760 --> 00:37:08.659 that, God, you didn't see me. 00:37:08.940 --> 00:37:09.940 Like, nobody will be able 00:37:09.940 --> 00:37:10.519 to say that. 00:37:10.659 --> 00:37:11.719 Nobody will be able to say 00:37:11.719 --> 00:37:12.480 at the last judgment. 00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:13.719 God, you didn't hear me. 00:37:14.379 --> 00:37:15.019 You do see. 00:37:15.099 --> 00:37:15.619 You do hear. 00:37:15.699 --> 00:37:17.000 You sent Jesus to be our 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:17.339 Savior. 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:19.679 And so, Father, we ask that 00:37:19.679 --> 00:37:22.139 this precious Jesus, the 00:37:22.139 --> 00:37:23.219 person of Jesus and what 00:37:23.219 --> 00:37:24.219 he's done for us, which is 00:37:24.219 --> 00:37:25.659 so precious, will become 00:37:25.659 --> 00:37:26.859 more and more real to our 00:37:26.859 --> 00:37:28.719 heart so that we will be 00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:31.079 less defensive when we're 00:37:31.079 --> 00:37:32.099 caught out doing wrong. 00:37:32.099 --> 00:37:34.619 We will be more open to 00:37:34.619 --> 00:37:36.619 repent for you and when 00:37:36.619 --> 00:37:37.980 necessary before others of 00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:38.940 the wrong that we've done 00:37:38.940 --> 00:37:40.619 and make amendment of life. 00:37:41.579 --> 00:37:42.460 Father, we thank you for 00:37:42.460 --> 00:37:43.579 the wonder of the gospel. 00:37:43.759 --> 00:37:45.579 We ask that you would kill 00:37:45.579 --> 00:37:48.659 any prejudice, any racism 00:37:48.659 --> 00:37:49.339 within us. 00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:51.639 And we ask all these things 00:37:51.639 --> 00:37:52.779 in the name of Jesus, your 00:37:52.779 --> 00:37:54.880 Son and our Savior, and all 00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:56.960 God's people said, Amen. 00:38:02.099 --> 00:38:03.099 Amen.