WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.679 I've been praying that this morning, that each one of us here, whether we belong to Christ and have known Him and experienced Him or we don't know where we stand with God. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:17.260 We're still thinking it over or we still are rejecting God. 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:29.920 Praying that our minds would be all here right now and not what's to follow, not where you're going to go eat later or who you're going to go hang out with. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:54.820 But our minds would be totally stuck in the Word of God this morning and that He would just use me to try to truthfully unpack some things that are before us and that our faces would light up when we think of Jesus this morning. 00:00:54.820 --> 00:00:59.880 It was really cool this morning when the kids were sitting there when we actually said the name Jesus. 00:01:00.020 --> 00:01:05.079 At least six or seven of them were just like their faces lit up with joy just by hearing that name. 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:09.519 And I pray that that would be the same for us as well. 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:24.060 So just to give you what's going on today, we're going to finish this story that we started last week of the conversion of Saul and how he met Jesus and how he was changed by Jesus. 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:26.740 We're going to finish the story of Saul. 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:44.039 But then next week, if you look like in your Bibles going down to verse 32 onto the rest of the chapter, there's some passages in regard to healing, physical healing and even raising from the dead. 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:58.160 And next week, I'm going to take a special time to use this text and explain it, but at the same time, actually talk about like, does God still heal? 00:01:58.320 --> 00:02:00.040 Does God still do miracles? 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:12.159 And I really hope that during that time, a lot of the myths would be exposed and rejected as well as like, what does God's word actually say about these things? 00:02:12.200 --> 00:02:15.960 And what can we believe and what can we take hope in and faith in? 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:19.560 So it's something that has been very dear to me. 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:29.020 Most of you know my past with all the physical trials I've been through and how that topic has been thrown in my face countless times over the years. 00:02:29.020 --> 00:02:33.300 And I've had to really pray and think over what does God say about these things. 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:34.260 So that's next week. 00:02:34.760 --> 00:02:40.120 And then Nathan will be back to you to go on going through Acts. 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:42.840 So just join me in a word of prayer. 00:02:46.100 --> 00:02:55.120 Father, I pray that as we approach you together this morning to worship you through listening to your word, 00:02:55.120 --> 00:03:00.620 soaring it up in our hearts and seeking to be obedient to it. 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:07.000 Lord, I pray that you would help me just expose what's there in your word, 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:16.240 that you would be seeing clearly and that no one would just walk away in disregard to what you have said this morning. 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:19.280 Lord, we offer up this time to you. 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:19.900 We love you. 00:03:19.900 --> 00:03:25.860 And we thank you for being ever present with us, even as we sit here this morning. 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:28.080 In Christ's name, amen. 00:03:29.540 --> 00:03:36.719 So last week, we began the story of Saul in Acts 9. 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:40.719 If you remember, he was a persecutor of the church. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:48.500 He was out to basically arrest, to throw in prison and or kill the followers of Jesus. 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:52.860 He was on a mission to ravage and to tear the church apart. 00:03:53.139 --> 00:03:58.039 And as he was on his way to Damascus to carry out this persecution, 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:02.979 he encountered the risen Son of God on the road. 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:12.979 And all of a sudden, he was faced with this blazing, glorious light that was coming from the person of Christ. 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:15.799 And he was blinded, thrown to the ground. 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:20.659 And Jesus said to him, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:04:21.459 --> 00:04:24.519 And he was going to persecute the followers of Jesus. 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:32.699 And so he was that encounter, not just blinded him, but like traumatized him, really shook him up bad. 00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:44.120 And when he went to Damascus, on to Damascus, God sent one of his people, Ananias, to go and to heal him of his blindness and then to encourage him. 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:48.039 So he was, he got up, he was baptized. 00:04:48.379 --> 00:04:49.599 He was filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:55.500 And he actually began starting a ministry, I guess, here in Damascus. 00:04:55.900 --> 00:04:58.640 But we read, just look at verse 18 of chapter 9. 00:04:58.760 --> 00:05:00.420 It says, he rose and was baptized. 00:05:01.260 --> 00:05:06.620 And taking food, he was strengthened for some days, was with the disciples at Damascus. 00:05:06.620 --> 00:05:15.759 So this inward change that Saul experienced, all of us who know Christ have experienced. 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:22.540 It may have been a little slower, a little more gradual, or it would have more have been like a bolt of lightning hit you and you were different. 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:28.280 And, but regardless of our story, we all have encountered Christ. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:31.259 And so what's the rest of this story? 00:05:31.259 --> 00:05:36.959 But before we dive into Acts, we're going to read verses 20 through 31 today. 00:05:38.039 --> 00:05:46.139 All of us here, I think I could safely say that all of us aren't always really happy with who we are. 00:05:46.659 --> 00:05:48.620 We always want to change. 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:50.800 We always want to be transformed. 00:05:51.139 --> 00:05:55.240 We're never normally content with where we are as people. 00:05:55.240 --> 00:06:04.639 So we spend thousands and maybe even millions of dollars at, like, on psychiatric help for people who are trying to change their behavior. 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:10.560 Cosmetics, people trying to change how they look and how attractive they are. 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:15.400 All these things, we always want to change how we think, how we look, and how we act. 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:19.180 And we're looking at the wrong things. 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:25.840 Jesus said in the Gospels, in Mark, that our problems come from within. 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.800 They can't be fixed from these outward, superficial means. 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:33.699 And all of us need to be transformed. 00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:36.879 And none of the things that this world offers can do that. 00:06:37.019 --> 00:06:40.780 Only Christ, only Christ can change us. 00:06:41.540 --> 00:06:43.160 Only Christ can change us. 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:49.400 And so, we want to read from verses 20 through 31 today. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:53.680 Just kind of pick up and here we go. 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:57.220 It says, look at verse 19. 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:00.060 For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:04.980 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue, saying, 00:07:05.060 --> 00:07:06.879 He is the Son of God. 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:10.259 And all who heard him were amazed and said, 00:07:10.620 --> 00:07:17.000 Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of all those who called upon this name? 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:23.100 And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? 00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:29.319 But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.040 by proving that Jesus was the Christ. 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:36.520 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:39.020 But their plot became known to Saul. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.660 They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. 00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:47.439 But the disciples took him by night and led him down through an opening in the wall, 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:49.540 lowering him in a basket. 00:07:50.820 --> 00:07:54.820 And when he had come up to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:59.640 And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:04.259 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:08.539 how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:12.439 and how in Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 00:08:13.019 --> 00:08:19.079 So he went out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:24.819 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. 00:08:24.819 --> 00:08:31.060 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:35.700 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace 00:08:35.700 --> 00:08:37.360 and were being built up. 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:43.019 And walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:46.259 So that's where we are this morning. 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:48.439 So the rest of that story. 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:56.480 And there is evidence in the life of this man of a transformed life, a life that's been changed. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:01.759 And I want us to do a few things while you're listening. 00:09:02.460 --> 00:09:05.980 I want you to look for a similar transformation in your own life. 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:09.919 Think about how Christ has changed you. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:18.319 Because it is impossible, impossible for you to actually encounter Jesus and just walk away unchanged. 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:20.419 It's not ever going to happen. 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:27.439 So if you say, like, I know Christ, I've experienced him, but you don't look any different than the rest of the world around you. 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:32.599 You don't act different, think different, talk different, live for something different. 00:09:33.479 --> 00:09:35.299 There could be a problem. 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:39.219 But all of us who have encountered Christ are not the people we once were. 00:09:39.939 --> 00:09:41.539 And again, that change may be gradual. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:45.159 It doesn't have to be like in a flash, necessarily. 00:09:46.339 --> 00:09:48.679 Paul's story is rare. 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:53.939 Very few people have, like, encountered Christ in this way and literally changed overnight. 00:09:54.939 --> 00:09:56.159 But it can happen. 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:02.500 So as we do this, let's look at how Paul was transformed by the risen Christ 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:04.659 and then look into our own lives as well. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:10.480 And so if we can see, at least I pulled out three things. 00:10:10.580 --> 00:10:14.679 I could have probably done more, but just three things this morning. 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:19.779 But number one, Saul's message is transformed. 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:22.240 Saul's message is transformed. 00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:26.559 And you see this 20 through 22 and 27 through 29. 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:33.879 But let's contemplate the previous message that Paul, or Saul, excuse me, was proclaiming with his life. 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:40.419 His message before this was to discredit the person of Jesus as the Messiah. 00:10:41.059 --> 00:10:46.539 It was to uphold the teachings and traditions of the Pharisees and of the law. 00:10:46.539 --> 00:10:49.399 Saul, he was zealous for these things. 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:53.899 He was proclaiming the message that the only way for you to be made right with God 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:58.019 is a strict, obedient observance of the law of Moses. 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:03.539 You have to maintain these standards to be right with God. 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:05.179 That was his former message. 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:06.559 So what? 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:10.399 Let me close the question this way. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:15.100 Why do you think Saul was so hostile to the idea of Jesus being the Messiah? 00:11:15.740 --> 00:11:18.000 Why did he want to exterminate the followers of Jesus? 00:11:19.079 --> 00:11:19.919 And here's why. 00:11:20.459 --> 00:11:28.720 Because for him to affirm that Jesus was the Messiah was to assign Jesus a saving role in salvation 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:33.019 that in his mind robbed the law of the power to save. 00:11:33.939 --> 00:11:36.039 That's what his whole life was dedicated to. 00:11:36.439 --> 00:11:38.039 Keeping the rules, keeping the law. 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:41.439 And if Jesus was the Savior, all that was going out the door. 00:11:41.599 --> 00:11:46.939 Because the gospel of Christ struck at the very essence of what he'd been taught his whole life 00:11:46.939 --> 00:11:50.759 by the Pharisees and by the rabbinical traditions. 00:11:51.719 --> 00:11:55.500 So Saul's extreme devotion to the Jewish religious system 00:11:55.500 --> 00:12:00.519 is what triggered that adamant persecution against Christ and against his followers. 00:12:01.319 --> 00:12:03.139 So that was his former message. 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:07.419 If you want to be right with God, you've got to observe the law of Moses. 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:08.399 You have to be righteous. 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:10.079 You have to make yourself righteous. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:13.759 Today you might just say, be good enough. 00:12:13.979 --> 00:12:14.719 Be a good person. 00:12:14.839 --> 00:12:15.599 Keep all the rules. 00:12:16.439 --> 00:12:17.939 So what is the new message? 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:21.240 What's Paul's or Saul's new message now? 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:23.740 It says, we read right there, 00:12:24.199 --> 00:12:29.579 he was preaching, proclaiming, and he was proving that Jesus was, in fact, the Son of God 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:32.100 and the long-awaited Messiah. 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:38.100 And that salvation and right standing with God is only found in Christ alone. 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:42.480 It's the exact opposite of what he was preaching a few days prior. 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:44.160 Pretty crazy. 00:12:45.020 --> 00:12:48.780 Not by strict observance of the law of Moses, but only in Christ alone. 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:54.299 So very shortly after he recovered his sight, he went out, right after that almost, 00:12:54.459 --> 00:12:58.459 and was telling people that Jesus is the Christ, he is the Messiah. 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:00.459 A drastic switch. 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:05.220 Immediately, he said, he went and proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues. 00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:06.620 And just imagine the shock. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:17.779 Can you imagine, like, a person in our nation that is most adamant about pro-choice and abortion 00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:20.580 and who thinks that babies are a waste of time? 00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:25.460 And they were studied, they were well-read, they were well-respected, and they were cruel, 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:30.420 and they just showed up at, like, the most liberal university in the U.S., 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:35.339 and they just said, I know you thought I was going to say this today, but I'm wrong. 00:13:35.719 --> 00:13:39.120 And just totally switched what they believed almost in a day. 00:13:40.079 --> 00:13:41.559 It's their shock. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:42.639 They're like, they're surprised. 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:43.500 Like, wait a minute, wait a minute. 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:47.459 Isn't this the guy who came to bring persecution to the name of Jesus? 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:49.759 And now he's saying the very opposite? 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.039 And so it is the exact opposite. 00:13:53.319 --> 00:13:57.259 Saul's encounter with the risen Christ had changed him drastically. 00:13:57.259 --> 00:14:02.059 His convictions, it compelled him to believe the opposite of what he had. 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:06.819 And as I said last week, Jesus hunted down Saul. 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:10.200 And he hunted down you, too, whether you know it or not. 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:15.039 And if we're out there today and some of us may be thinking, not me. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:17.240 Jesus won't hunt me down. 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:20.620 I'm strong enough to resist that. 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:22.019 No, you're not. 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:24.679 God spoke life into you. 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:27.519 He can take it away from you, and he can change you if he wants to. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:30.939 He is the Son of God. 00:14:32.739 --> 00:14:35.319 None of us can stand before him if he wants us. 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:40.120 And when he saves us, what joy comes from that. 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:47.459 Aren't we glad that he didn't let us just go on our way, seeking our own destruction, loving stupid things of this world? 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:52.280 But they were shocked, and they were amazed, and they were confounded, like, by his words. 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:58.620 They were saying, this is the exact guy who came here to stop this kind of stuff. 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:00.700 So what was the new message? 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.360 Well, at least a couple of things. 00:15:04.040 --> 00:15:06.500 The new message was Jesus was the Son of God. 00:15:07.180 --> 00:15:08.680 He was the Son of God. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:10.580 And that he was the Messiah. 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:18.920 So the term Son of God, if you ever did a study on this in the Old Testament, it's used in a lot of different ways. 00:15:20.259 --> 00:15:26.780 But most people would agree that Saul here is not trying to use it in every single sense that the Old Testament does. 00:15:27.520 --> 00:15:36.040 The main idea Saul is trying to convey from the Old Testament is that the long-expected Messiah would, in fact, be the Son of God. 00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:38.920 It was connection to his deity. 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:45.579 Jesus is completely the same in his being as the Father, the exact expression of the Father. 00:15:46.459 --> 00:15:50.899 He is divine, fully God, yet became fully man as well. 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:53.679 The mystery of all of that. 00:15:54.740 --> 00:16:05.299 And the New Testament idea of sonship is also linked to how a son would reflect his father, represent his father, as well as do the will of his father. 00:16:05.439 --> 00:16:07.919 That's a New Testament idea of the Son. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:10.759 And Jesus fulfilled that role perfectly. 00:16:11.459 --> 00:16:14.419 He perfectly represented God before man. 00:16:14.479 --> 00:16:17.019 He said, if you want to see the Father, look at me. 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:21.019 And he also said, I've come to do the will of my Father. 00:16:21.099 --> 00:16:23.639 And no one did that perfectly but Jesus. 00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:29.459 And that's why, you know, in the Gospels it says, when he was baptized, he heard the word from heaven. 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:33.540 This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:39.680 So it's this transcendent aspect of Christ's relationship with the Father. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:41.879 He is the Son of God. 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:46.500 And as Paul wrote later on, convinced of this, he said, 00:16:46.500 --> 00:17:00.179 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 00:17:00.179 --> 00:17:03.939 So this Messiah, the Savior, was the Son of God. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.720 He was divine, sent from God himself. 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:08.839 And that he was the Christ. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:17.099 The Hebrew word for that was the Messiah, the Anointed One, the one that the Spirit of God would rest on without measure. 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:22.059 The one whom God would empower to come and do his will on the earth. 00:17:22.719 --> 00:17:34.399 He was the Deliverer, the Savior, not just for Jews, but for all the nations, for people from all nations, to deliver them from the power of death, hell, and sin. 00:17:35.379 --> 00:17:37.319 So fallen man cannot save himself. 00:17:37.399 --> 00:17:38.480 And that's what he was realizing. 00:17:38.579 --> 00:17:39.879 I can't do it. 00:17:39.939 --> 00:17:40.980 This is my new message. 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:44.379 Convinced that Jesus is the Savior, the Deliverer. 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:49.220 And he saves us from the judgment of God and restores us to God. 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:52.480 So that was one of the things in his new message. 00:17:52.600 --> 00:17:55.800 But another one, this one I want to spend a lot of time on. 00:17:57.320 --> 00:18:09.920 The new message that Saul was proclaiming was that salvation is not by strict observance of the law of Moses, being good, trying to keep all the rules. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:17.560 His new message was that salvation comes completely through faith alone in Christ alone. 00:18:18.320 --> 00:18:18.880 Completely. 00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:23.259 If anyone was qualified to talk to the Jewish audience, it was Saul. 00:18:23.259 --> 00:18:34.200 So later on, writing as the Apostle Paul, he explains, like, if anybody could take confidence in their own ability and their own morality, it was me. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:35.599 It was me. 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:43.299 And he did that to kind of silence anybody else and make take confidence in their own flesh to earn right standing with God. 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:49.740 So hold your hand in Acts and turn to Philippians chapter 3. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:59.319 And this is where Paul kind of lists out his pedigree and all his qualifications that he thought were going to make him right with God. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:05.039 Philippians chapter 3. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:17.299 So, although some of these things Paul is about to list aren't bad things, they were bad in the sense that he was trusting in them to make him right with God. 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:25.359 He was studying the signposts that pointed to Jesus, but he never traveled the road to where the signs were pointing. 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:27.539 And that's what this was. 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:29.240 This was all a fulfillment of Jesus. 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:36.880 And he had woven a garment of self-righteousness for himself that he thought he could stand before God with one day. 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:45.079 And if he had, that garment of self-righteousness would have just melted under the holy presence of God and he would have been damned. 00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:58.120 So, as we read through this, we're going to compare, like, what would that sort of look like in our culture, right, as opposed to this, this time. 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:01.779 But we're going to read Philippians 3, 3 through 9. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.079 He says, this was Saul, not writing as Paul. 00:20:07.659 --> 00:20:17.899 For we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. 00:20:17.900 --> 00:20:22.880 Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. 00:20:23.600 --> 00:20:28.759 If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. 00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:30.980 Like, you think that you had it all together? 00:20:31.340 --> 00:20:33.660 I had it more together than you ever could imagine. 00:20:33.660 --> 00:20:55.519 And then he says, circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, and as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:58.099 So, let's just stop there for a second. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.099 I want you to just unpack this with me. 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:02.559 Because to us, it's like, what does all that mean? 00:21:02.639 --> 00:21:03.480 You know, big deal. 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:04.079 So what? 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:06.259 Well, let's walk by it. 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:11.079 And what I want you to see is that he's counting all these things as loss. 00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:14.180 Like, he's saying, these aren't the things that made me right with God. 00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:18.559 These aren't the things that can restore me back to fellowship with God again. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:26.159 And so, under this title, just list out these things in your mind or on your notes or whatever. 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:31.139 But the first thing he says that cannot make you right with God is rituals. 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:34.000 Rituals cannot make you right with God. 00:21:34.059 --> 00:21:36.179 He says, I was circumcised on the eighth day. 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:42.559 This was the prescribed day for a boy, a Jewish boy, to be circumcised under the Levitical law. 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:45.940 So he was an eighth dayer, literally, in the Greek. 00:21:45.940 --> 00:21:54.840 He followed all the rituals and all the ceremonies from day one, from the beginning, that he thought would make him right with God. 00:21:55.980 --> 00:22:04.759 And now, in our context, understand that no ritual, no ceremony held in this building or in any building can make you right with God. 00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:10.140 No infant baptism or adult baptism, for that matter, can make you right with God. 00:22:10.140 --> 00:22:15.120 No taking the Lord's Supper every week does not make you right with God. 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:20.120 It's not by attending church services, that make you right with God. 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:22.080 So it's not by ritual. 00:22:23.120 --> 00:22:25.700 Secondly, it's not by race. 00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:27.299 A big one. 00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:28.440 Second one, not by race. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:30.440 He says, I was of the nation of Israel. 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:34.940 So he was a direct descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:44.000 He was born into this race that God chose to manifest himself to, to give them his laws and his ways so they would know him. 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:49.320 So Jews strongly relied on their heritage, in a sense, to make them right with God. 00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:51.900 And some of them still do to this day. 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:55.480 Then he goes on, he says, of the tribe of Benjamin. 00:22:55.480 --> 00:23:00.220 And so Benjamin was the second son of Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife. 00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:02.940 And most, why is this a big deal? 00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:09.480 Because at this time, in the first century A.D., most Jews had no idea what tribe they came from at all. 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:15.839 Because of the exiles and because of them being conquered over and over and intermarriages that the nation went through, 00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:18.099 most people had no idea what tribe they came from. 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:21.039 Ephraim, Dan, Levi had no idea. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:24.740 But Paul was like, oh, we know who we are. 00:23:24.859 --> 00:23:28.920 We remain true to, like, the tribe of Benjamin from the very beginning. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:33.700 He says, a Hebrew of Hebrews, Hebrew-speaking parents, grandparents, 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:38.899 taught all the traditions and customs from day one, from the very beginning. 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:40.819 So a rich heritage, right? 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:47.319 But understand, back in our context, no racial heritage can make you right with God. 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:53.720 Neither can living in a certain nation, like America, or in the Bible Belt, make you right with God. 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:59.779 No rank in society or in the church can make you right with God. 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:04.819 It doesn't matter if you're a well-known person in the community. 00:24:05.299 --> 00:24:07.559 Again, don't put your hope in those things. 00:24:07.659 --> 00:24:12.579 If you've been taught all the right, proper Christian language and Christian norms, don't put your hope in those. 00:24:13.139 --> 00:24:15.279 No value before the judgment seat of God. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:20.859 Thirdly, he says, not by religion can you make yourself right with God. 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:28.759 He says, as to the law, I was a Pharisee, the most orthodox and strict of all the sects at this time. 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:32.759 As I said last week, Pharisees literally means like separated ones, 00:24:32.879 --> 00:24:40.460 people who get themselves away from the average and say that we are extremely devoted to the law and to God. 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:46.380 Paul was a Pharisee, one of the top ones of his time. 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:49.360 He lived a very strict, disciplined life. 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:55.160 He had the scripture memorized, and he taught it by the interpretation of the elders at the time. 00:24:55.160 --> 00:25:06.140 So, in our world, even if you are the most talented, popular Christian teacher, pastor, writer, theological scholar, 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:07.600 that can't bring you salvation. 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:10.100 Cannot bring you salvation. 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:16.700 No strict religious lifestyle of, like, don't touch this, don't eat that, don't behave this way or that way, 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:20.540 don't drink alcohol, whatever, cannot make you right with God. 00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:24.460 Going on mission trips, not by religion. 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.639 Number four, not by sincerity. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:31.539 He says, as to zeal, I was a persecutor of the church. 00:25:32.859 --> 00:25:37.899 He makes a point to say, of all these people who think they have a lot of zeal, I had far more, 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:41.079 because I didn't just say what I believed from my mouth. 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:44.839 I actually went to persecute the people who disagree with me. 00:25:45.700 --> 00:25:48.680 So, you can be very passionate about something and be wrong. 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:52.860 So, just because you feel it, doesn't mean you're right. 00:25:52.940 --> 00:26:01.220 You have to put your zeal and your passion in the right place, which is Christ, and not by religion or sincerity. 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:07.980 And then a big one, number five, is not by legalistic righteousness. 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:12.860 He says, as to righteousness which is in the law, I was blameless. 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:17.759 So, he had perfected the outward keeping of the law. 00:26:18.740 --> 00:26:19.859 The outward keeping. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.359 And most of the Pharisees had, and that's when Jesus was here, he was saying, 00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:28.059 you may be out here, but inward, you're not. 00:26:28.139 --> 00:26:29.919 Your heart is far from these things. 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:32.439 You don't belong to God. 00:26:33.179 --> 00:26:38.439 So, our own morality and our own keeping of all the rules cannot make us right with God. 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:41.299 You cannot be good enough. 00:26:42.420 --> 00:26:42.820 Cannot. 00:26:43.740 --> 00:26:48.039 You can't do enough good works or be moral enough to make yourself right with God. 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:49.820 Paul is trying to tell you that. 00:26:49.880 --> 00:26:51.680 Do not place your hope in these things. 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:54.100 Because he's saying, I was the best. 00:26:54.920 --> 00:26:57.400 So, let's look at the rest of the text in Philippians. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.900 And I want you to see that he's sort of using like an accounting term here. 00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:05.580 He used the term gain and loss a few times. 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:07.000 Then he also used the word count. 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:12.599 So, all these things we just read, he throws them in the loss column, like worthless. 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:15.700 And then he picks up what he's gained. 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:17.839 Verse 7, he says, 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:22.319 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 00:27:23.019 --> 00:27:29.579 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. 00:27:30.259 --> 00:27:35.640 For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish. 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:37.200 That's dung. 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:40.200 That's what he's trying to say, as refuge. 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:47.700 I count them as that in order that I might gain Christ and be found in him. 00:27:48.600 --> 00:27:49.200 Here it is. 00:27:49.280 --> 00:27:56.680 Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. 00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:00.440 The righteousness from God that depends on faith. 00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:03.220 So, this is it. 00:28:03.320 --> 00:28:04.360 This is the message. 00:28:04.580 --> 00:28:11.220 We come to God helpless, not bringing anything of our own with us and saying, I cannot do this. 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:13.180 I come to you. 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:13.779 I repent. 00:28:13.779 --> 00:28:18.920 I place my total trust and faith in your life, your death, and your resurrection. 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:24.000 Make me righteous before God because I can't make myself righteous. 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:28.399 So, all of us are preaching a message with our lives, whether you believe it or not. 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:33.079 You're preaching like this is the most valuable thing in life or this is the most valuable thing in life. 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:39.200 But how you talk, how you act, how you dress, what you spend your time and money on. 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:44.840 But more importantly, what is the message you're relying on to make you right before God? 00:28:45.819 --> 00:28:47.819 It only can be in Christ. 00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:49.860 This is what Saul is telling you. 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:50.580 Paul is telling you. 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:53.500 Please don't put your hope in any of those things. 00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:55.039 It cannot make you right with God. 00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:59.680 Only by faith and the righteousness of Christ can you be made right. 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:09.799 So, looking to Christ through faith, completely trusting in him to provide for you, which you cannot provide for yourself. 00:29:10.840 --> 00:29:11.920 He is the Savior. 00:29:12.080 --> 00:29:12.860 He is the Messiah. 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:13.980 That's why he came here. 00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:17.759 Not to enable you to save yourself, but to save you. 00:29:18.360 --> 00:29:19.100 To save you. 00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:21.700 That's number one. 00:29:22.259 --> 00:29:23.320 The other ones are shorter. 00:29:24.100 --> 00:29:26.000 So, his message was transformed. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:29.600 Exact opposite as the previous day, right? 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:33.860 So, secondly, Saul's mission is transformed. 00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:38.460 If you go back to Acts, Saul's mission is transformed. 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:43.299 And you see this in verses, if you back up a little bit, verse 15 and 16. 00:29:44.580 --> 00:29:45.960 Verse 15 and 16. 00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:49.620 So, how do you know what the mission of your life is? 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:55.740 The mission, really, is just how you propagate the message of your life. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:00.160 It's the means by which you propagate the message of your life. 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:10.559 And remember that Saul's previous message, or his mission was to uphold the law, uphold the tradition of the Pharisees, 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:16.759 and to hate all those who were actually placing their faith in Christ. 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:18.379 But it goes a little further. 00:30:19.379 --> 00:30:22.960 He also, most Jews consider Gentiles as like outsiders. 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:31.640 You know, that God has cursed them, that they were unclean before God, disregarded by God and outside of God's grace. 00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:34.819 They had confused belief systems. 00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:37.340 They were inferior to the Jewish people. 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:43.959 And they, so Saul's mission was to put an end to the followers of Christ and to keep the Gentiles out. 00:30:44.679 --> 00:30:45.539 To keep them out. 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:47.740 So, what was his new mission? 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:52.439 So, he was also highly qualified to go to the Gentiles, if you remember. 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:57.039 Because he was raised learning the ways of the Greco-Roman societies and traditions. 00:30:57.619 --> 00:30:59.179 He understood that culture. 00:30:59.180 --> 00:31:09.519 So, after this encounter with Jesus, Saul fervently dedicated his life to building the church and to going to the Gentiles. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:12.240 Like, crazy transformation. 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:15.519 The exact opposite, again, of what he was doing. 00:31:16.060 --> 00:31:22.120 So, opposed to tearing down the church and from a hater of the Gentiles to a missionary to the Gentiles. 00:31:22.820 --> 00:31:24.100 Look at verse 15. 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:27.320 This is what God said to Ananias. 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:29.019 But the Lord said to him, 00:31:29.379 --> 00:31:37.480 Go, for he is my chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel. 00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:42.399 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. 00:31:43.439 --> 00:31:51.559 So, Saul was God's vessel of election for the task of carrying the gospel of Jesus across the Roman world. 00:31:52.059 --> 00:31:54.039 Not just to the Jews, but to the Gentiles. 00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:57.259 And as we read in our text today, that suffering started early. 00:31:58.039 --> 00:32:00.079 Twice they wanted to kill him for doing this. 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:01.759 This early in his ministry. 00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:06.319 So, again, what is the mission of your life? 00:32:06.460 --> 00:32:10.799 What message are you propagating through all the stuff that you do in your life? 00:32:11.679 --> 00:32:14.799 Where do you spend your time, money, energy, emotion? 00:32:14.939 --> 00:32:15.779 What do you put it into? 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:24.339 Or are you seeking to take all the areas of your life, all that you do, to display the supreme worth of Christ in them? 00:32:25.420 --> 00:32:28.039 That's the mission of your life. 00:32:28.039 --> 00:32:32.920 Thirdly, something else is transformed. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:37.420 Saul's relationship with the church is transformed. 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:40.339 See that through 23 through 31. 00:32:40.339 --> 00:32:43.459 So, we all know the previous relationship with the church. 00:32:43.639 --> 00:32:44.199 He hated them. 00:32:44.679 --> 00:32:45.720 Wanted to silence them. 00:32:45.859 --> 00:32:46.679 Wanted to imprison them. 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:51.199 He thought that they were blaspheming the name of God. 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.220 And he wanted nothing to do with the church whatsoever. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:56.740 So, what is his new relationship? 00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:06.039 So, after he recovered his sight, we see a serious change in regard to his relationship with the church. 00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:10.839 He began to see them as family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:20.299 And if you observe the story, the brothers, the disciples, they saved his life twice in this story. 00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:23.500 Like, well, before, like, why would they have done that, right? 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:28.940 But in Damascus, they lowered him down in the opening of the wall to escape the wrath of the Jews there. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:32.359 But then when he went up to Jerusalem, the same thing happened. 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:34.559 They wanted to kill him again and again. 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:36.940 And the church helped him escape. 00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:41.460 And so, and they sent them on to Tarsus. 00:33:41.940 --> 00:33:46.079 So, the result of all of this was verse 31. 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:50.579 It says, the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace. 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:54.119 It was being built up in walking in the fear of the Lord. 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:57.659 And in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. 00:33:58.659 --> 00:34:01.899 So, this, if you remember, was more of a Jewish persecution. 00:34:01.899 --> 00:34:04.220 It wasn't a Roman persecution. 00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:11.519 And what a lot of the historians will tell you is that when Rome kind of found out this was going on, they kind of said, hey, Jews, like, chill out. 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:12.900 You're causing a lot of unrest. 00:34:13.699 --> 00:34:17.679 Until the persecution from Rome came around 70 A.D. 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:23.019 And so, the church kind of enjoyed this little tiny period where there was actually peace. 00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:30.239 So, Saul's attitude towards the church had changed drastically overnight. 00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:32.319 No longer enemies, but friends. 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:38.980 So, the application for us is, is your relationship with the people of God changed? 00:34:40.160 --> 00:34:46.080 Do you still think they're just a bunch of weirdos and people that have no idea about reality? 00:34:46.740 --> 00:34:52.700 Or have you actually come up to them, been around them, and see if they're not the people that you thought they were? 00:34:52.699 --> 00:35:00.299 And not only that, but they loved you and wanted to serve you and wanted to walk with Christ with you, help you grow in your walk with Christ. 00:35:00.300 --> 00:35:07.720 So, a fourth thing I could throw out there, but if you just make a note, I won't really spend any time on it. 00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:11.260 But Paul's character was also transformed. 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:19.039 He went from like an arrogant religious bigot to like a loving, humble, and compassionate man. 00:35:19.720 --> 00:35:21.940 Which, again, doesn't just happen overnight. 00:35:22.080 --> 00:35:25.760 But when you encounter Jesus, he changes you from the inside out. 00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:29.280 But that could be a fourth thing that just sort of came into my head. 00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:32.220 So, the conclusion of all this. 00:35:33.740 --> 00:35:36.140 The last place we're going to look before we close. 00:35:36.220 --> 00:35:39.720 Look at Galatians chapter 1. 00:35:41.460 --> 00:35:42.800 Galatians chapter 1. 00:35:45.300 --> 00:35:53.280 So, many years later, Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, is riding to the church at Galatia. 00:35:53.280 --> 00:36:04.180 And a lot of the Jews in this area were trying to get the believers to come back to the old system of making themselves right with God. 00:36:04.820 --> 00:36:08.220 So, Paul is telling them like, no, don't go back. 00:36:08.940 --> 00:36:09.700 Don't go back. 00:36:11.420 --> 00:36:14.160 Don't say the gospel is Jesus plus this. 00:36:14.220 --> 00:36:15.100 It's Jesus. 00:36:15.099 --> 00:36:21.139 And so, what happens to Saul after this section in Acts? 00:36:21.739 --> 00:36:23.440 Because he disappears for a while. 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:25.539 He disappears for a while. 00:36:25.639 --> 00:36:27.519 And it kind of goes, Luke goes back to Peter. 00:36:28.279 --> 00:36:33.139 And then Paul resurfaces in chapter 11 as the Apostle Paul. 00:36:33.980 --> 00:36:35.179 So, where does Saul go? 00:36:35.259 --> 00:36:36.380 What does he do during this? 00:36:36.440 --> 00:36:39.099 Some people would say almost an 8 to 10 year period. 00:36:39.219 --> 00:36:40.599 Like, where does he go? 00:36:41.460 --> 00:36:42.199 What happens? 00:36:42.199 --> 00:36:45.319 And think about this. 00:36:45.939 --> 00:36:53.439 To be an Apostle, capital A, to be an Apostle, for Paul to be on the same level with other Apostles, 00:36:54.059 --> 00:36:58.899 he had to be personally chosen and taught by Jesus himself. 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:03.439 And if you remember, all the other Apostles spent three years with Jesus. 00:37:04.279 --> 00:37:05.519 So, what happened? 00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:09.139 How could he actually get on par with the other Apostles? 00:37:09.139 --> 00:37:19.339 Well, many Pauline scholars believe that it was during this season where Paul goes off the stage and acts, 00:37:19.960 --> 00:37:27.400 is where the risen Christ actually communes with Paul, talks with him, and teaches him, 00:37:28.379 --> 00:37:31.400 in explaining, like, how all the Scriptures point to him. 00:37:31.400 --> 00:37:35.800 And as we read this section, I want you to look for that. 00:37:36.579 --> 00:37:38.000 Look for these ideas. 00:37:39.200 --> 00:37:42.559 And he says these things like, I didn't just learn this from somebody. 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:45.400 I was taught this by Jesus himself. 00:37:46.300 --> 00:37:48.880 Like, I was taught all the things I'm writing from Jesus himself. 00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:55.039 So, he is full throttle taking the gospel to the lost world in Acts 11. 00:37:55.180 --> 00:37:57.680 But observe and see if you see any of this. 00:37:58.680 --> 00:38:00.300 Verse 11, chapter 1. 00:38:01.300 --> 00:38:02.059 He says, 00:38:02.059 --> 00:38:30.820 There he is, reflecting on his former life. 00:38:30.820 --> 00:38:36.820 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people. 00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:41.360 So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 00:38:41.360 --> 00:38:48.440 But when he who had set me apart before I was born and called me by his grace, 00:38:48.700 --> 00:38:54.980 was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, 00:38:55.180 --> 00:38:58.019 I did not immediately consult with anyone, 00:38:58.760 --> 00:39:03.079 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were the apostles before me. 00:39:03.079 --> 00:39:08.380 But I went away to Arabia and returned again to Damascus. 00:39:08.380 --> 00:39:12.220 And then after three years, there's the three years, 00:39:12.300 --> 00:39:18.059 I went up to Jerusalem to visit with Cephas and remain with him 15 days. 00:39:18.059 --> 00:39:23.119 But I saw none of the other apostles except for James, the Lord's brother. 00:39:24.259 --> 00:39:28.679 In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie. 00:39:28.900 --> 00:39:30.619 I'm just telling you, I'm not lying. 00:39:31.539 --> 00:39:34.279 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Sicilia. 00:39:34.280 --> 00:39:40.800 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea who are in Christ. 00:39:42.160 --> 00:39:43.880 They only were hearing it said, 00:39:44.640 --> 00:39:50.080 He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. 00:39:51.260 --> 00:39:55.000 And they glorified God because of me. 00:39:56.080 --> 00:39:58.680 That is the evidence of a transformed life. 00:39:58.679 --> 00:40:05.799 There was a time where you were God's enemy and he saved you and he made you a son. 00:40:07.159 --> 00:40:09.579 He washed you and cleansed you in the blood of Christ. 00:40:10.099 --> 00:40:13.879 The only way that you can be changed and made right with God is through Christ. 00:40:14.779 --> 00:40:15.659 Encounter Christ. 00:40:16.440 --> 00:40:18.279 Be transformed by his presence. 00:40:19.559 --> 00:40:20.659 He is your only hope. 00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:24.239 In this life and definitely in the next life. 00:40:24.980 --> 00:40:26.000 So what is the message? 00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:27.659 What is the mission of your life? 00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:29.359 Is it Christ? 00:40:30.500 --> 00:40:32.419 The gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:40:33.460 --> 00:40:37.619 I want to just close with a quote from John Newton. 00:40:38.299 --> 00:40:40.059 The guy who wrote Amazing Grace. 00:40:40.159 --> 00:40:45.759 Who was a bigot, a brawler, a drunkard, and a slave trader before he came to know Jesus. 00:40:47.279 --> 00:40:49.219 And many of you may feel this way. 00:40:49.259 --> 00:40:50.099 I definitely do. 00:40:50.219 --> 00:40:51.299 But I think you'll agree. 00:40:52.299 --> 00:40:53.079 He said, 00:40:53.879 --> 00:40:55.599 I am not what I ought to be. 00:40:56.539 --> 00:40:58.500 I am not what I wish to be. 00:40:59.219 --> 00:41:01.379 I am not even what I hope to be. 00:41:02.319 --> 00:41:07.239 Yet, I can truly say I am not what I once was. 00:41:08.199 --> 00:41:10.000 A slave to sin and Satan. 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:18.239 And I can certainly join with the apostle by acknowledging by the grace of God, I am who I am. 00:41:19.199 --> 00:41:21.519 So none of us are there, but we're all on our way. 00:41:21.900 --> 00:41:22.079 Right? 00:41:22.079 --> 00:41:26.059 So let's rejoice that Christ is enough for us. 00:41:26.119 --> 00:41:27.480 That Christ has changed us. 00:41:28.460 --> 00:41:29.980 And if you don't know Christ, 00:41:30.739 --> 00:41:35.259 I just pray he is constantly bringing himself up to you. 00:41:35.400 --> 00:41:36.400 That he is seeking you. 00:41:36.960 --> 00:41:39.819 And that he is revealing himself to you. 00:41:39.820 --> 00:41:42.019 Let's just pray together. 00:41:42.019 --> 00:41:42.080 Let's pray together. 00:41:42.080 --> 00:41:42.260 Let's pray together.