WEBVTT 00:00:01.329 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross -Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:18.429 here. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for another 00:00:18.429 --> 00:00:21.269 day. We thank you for this time to come together 00:00:21.269 --> 00:00:23.850 in praise and worship of you, to hear your word 00:00:23.850 --> 00:00:26.510 and to learn from it and to grow. We ask that 00:00:26.510 --> 00:00:28.570 you open the eyes of our hearts and our minds. 00:00:30.260 --> 00:00:34.159 Don't only lead us to know your word, but to 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:35.700 actually understand it and know how to apply 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:39.179 it in our lives and guide us in how to share 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:40.500 it with others in the world as we leave here 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:44.420 today. In Jesus' name. Amen. All right. While 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:48.539 they're figuring out the PowerPoint here, there 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:50.939 was some kind of an update with the software 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:53.439 that we use. As you guys know, for a couple of 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:56.579 weeks, we're having smooth sailing there. And 00:00:56.579 --> 00:00:59.549 then some update happened. Yeah, it's just been 00:00:59.549 --> 00:01:03.189 goofy ever since. Something just did not update 00:01:03.189 --> 00:01:06.730 properly. But that's okay. Again, it's great 00:01:06.730 --> 00:01:09.469 to have everybody here with us. Welcome to everybody 00:01:09.469 --> 00:01:14.090 joining us online as well. Last week, we looked 00:01:14.090 --> 00:01:18.930 at the question, are you a Scrooge? Right? We 00:01:18.930 --> 00:01:20.469 kind of picked up, we're using Scrooge as our 00:01:20.469 --> 00:01:23.950 illustration this month. You know, after we watched 00:01:23.950 --> 00:01:26.150 A Christmas Carol. But are you a Scrooge? And 00:01:26.150 --> 00:01:29.049 of course, the answer... That we came back with 00:01:29.049 --> 00:01:32.150 is that we should all be able to say yes, right? 00:01:33.209 --> 00:01:36.030 We tend to forget. We just think of the old Ebenezer. 00:01:36.230 --> 00:01:41.030 We don't think of the new Ebenezer, right? It's 00:01:41.030 --> 00:01:43.489 kind of like the Grinch. People think of the 00:01:43.489 --> 00:01:48.170 Grinch, and what do they think? Right? This grumpy. 00:01:49.300 --> 00:01:51.719 Goofy green guy. Probably has a medical condition. 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:54.159 I don't know. It's just not a natural color. 00:01:54.760 --> 00:02:00.540 But still, the Grinch was no different. What 00:02:00.540 --> 00:02:02.239 happens at the end? His heart grows how many 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:07.359 times? And he finds the reason for the season, 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:11.280 right? Just like Scrooge. And that's the thing. 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:13.400 And that's what we're going to be looking at 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:18.509 today. When we come to Christ, we have a new 00:02:18.509 --> 00:02:21.189 identity. We become a new person. As the word 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:26.810 says, a new creation. Right? And part of that, 00:02:26.870 --> 00:02:30.349 though, is we also have to be accepting of that 00:02:30.349 --> 00:02:33.849 new creation. And not only just for ourselves 00:02:33.849 --> 00:02:40.129 and what we become, but for others as well. We 00:02:40.129 --> 00:02:45.050 like to hold on to people's past. Instead of 00:02:45.050 --> 00:02:49.819 helping them to embrace their future. It's kind 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:52.840 of a hard pill to swallow. We cling to the old, 00:02:52.979 --> 00:02:55.699 right? And the Bible warns us about that, you 00:02:55.699 --> 00:02:59.139 know, not holding on to the good old days. And 00:02:59.139 --> 00:03:00.979 really, when we look at the good old days, if 00:03:00.979 --> 00:03:02.539 we actually reflect on it and we look back in 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:04.819 history, we quickly will realize they're not 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:07.280 quite as good as we remember. They had their 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.759 issues as well. All right. But like I said, we're 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:11.979 going to continue. We're going to continue to 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:16.560 use Scrooge as our illustration. As we start, 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:19.340 we have to ask ourselves, why is Scrooge still 00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:23.620 remembered for being a humbug, right? This is 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:28.500 a big thing. Bah, humbug. My mom is over here 00:03:28.500 --> 00:03:31.340 kind of smiling because she'll say something 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:33.759 when I'm leaving the house. Hey, be careful. 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:42.180 And I'll tell her, humbug. Right? Yeah, it's 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:45.259 funny. It's funny, but if we think about it, 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:48.180 and we think about the transition of Scrooge, 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:54.520 what is it really? Right? It's pretty sad, given 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.180 the fact that this is how his character is remembered, 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:02.000 even though he was totally transformed, totally 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:08.039 renewed as a man. He came to know the Christmas 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:17.839 spirit again. But it's like the old saying, you 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:20.620 can do a hundred good things, but you mess up 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:24.360 one time, one time, and that's what you'll be 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:28.220 remembered for. In the case of Scrooge, it's 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:31.199 a bit reversed though, right? A hundred bad things, 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:36.600 and then he turns a new page. And really, in 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:40.800 our lives, that's how it is for us, right? We 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:43.540 lead these lives. We're born. We grow up in the 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:47.639 world. All this worldly stuff, regardless of 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:49.879 what our families may do, what our friends may 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:51.439 do who do go to church, who try to encourage 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:53.279 us to go to church, what do we still get hung 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:55.899 up on? What do kids still get hung up on today? 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:59.259 What do most adults still cling to? The world. 00:04:59.420 --> 00:05:05.180 The worldly stuff. But then you come to Christ. 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:11.329 You're born again. Do people see that? Do people 00:05:11.329 --> 00:05:14.509 want to see that? No. They want to cling to the 00:05:14.509 --> 00:05:20.629 past. You know, it's a paradox. You know, in 00:05:20.629 --> 00:05:24.810 fact, being in the Christmas season, someone's 00:05:24.810 --> 00:05:30.970 a bit grumpy, right? Kind of angry. Maybe a bit 00:05:30.970 --> 00:05:35.050 of a McCrudgen. What do we usually call them 00:05:35.050 --> 00:05:38.730 this time of year? Scrooge, that's right. Ah, 00:05:38.790 --> 00:05:41.910 don't be such a Scrooge. Lighten up, pal. It's 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:46.110 Christmas. Right? It's not the way we should 00:05:46.110 --> 00:05:47.949 be doing it, though. The sad thing, though, is 00:05:47.949 --> 00:05:50.569 because the life he did live up until the very 00:05:50.569 --> 00:05:55.589 end of the story, he did become a universal illustration 00:05:55.589 --> 00:05:59.350 of a Debbie Downer in this season of giving, 00:05:59.449 --> 00:06:04.649 in this season of love. He was. He was a miserable, 00:06:04.970 --> 00:06:12.810 old... angry man. Which in and of itself makes 00:06:12.810 --> 00:06:16.930 his transformation into a new man even that much 00:06:16.930 --> 00:06:21.490 more miraculous. Because he was a very, very 00:06:21.490 --> 00:06:24.069 hard man. We could safely say he's one of the 00:06:24.069 --> 00:06:29.649 hardest of men. And we could see the exact same 00:06:29.649 --> 00:06:31.990 thing about several other people in the Bible. 00:06:32.329 --> 00:06:34.250 And there's one specifically we're going to be 00:06:34.250 --> 00:06:38.170 looking at. So I'm going to encourage everybody, 00:06:38.209 --> 00:06:40.569 let's go ahead and open our Bibles, Bible app, 00:06:40.649 --> 00:06:46.829 whatever you have, to Acts chapter 9. So Acts 00:06:46.829 --> 00:06:48.810 chapter 9, we're going to start off with verses 00:06:48.810 --> 00:06:51.069 1 through 9. We're going to go through this chapter 00:06:51.069 --> 00:06:58.449 pretty good today. So Acts chapter 9, verses 00:06:58.449 --> 00:07:01.209 1 through 9. And just for time's sake, I'm going 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:02.790 to go ahead and start trucking through here while 00:07:02.790 --> 00:07:05.199 everybody's turning there. And the word says, 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:09.100 then Saul, still breathing threats and murder 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:12.439 against the disciples of the Lord, went to the 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:16.060 high priest and asked letters from him to the 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:20.319 synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:25.560 who were of the way, whether men or women, he 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:34.250 might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed, 00:07:34.250 --> 00:07:37.910 he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone 00:07:37.910 --> 00:07:42.750 around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground 00:07:42.750 --> 00:07:46.850 and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, 00:07:47.029 --> 00:07:50.610 why are you persecuting me? And he said, who 00:07:50.610 --> 00:07:54.370 are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, 00:07:54.509 --> 00:07:58.410 whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you 00:07:58.410 --> 00:08:04.089 to kick against the goads. So he, trembling and 00:08:04.089 --> 00:08:08.529 astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to 00:08:08.529 --> 00:08:14.110 do? Then the Lord said to him, Arise and go into 00:08:14.110 --> 00:08:17.550 the city, and you will be told what you must 00:08:17.550 --> 00:08:23.589 do. And the men who journeyed with him stood 00:08:23.589 --> 00:08:28.129 speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 00:08:28.790 --> 00:08:32.529 Then Saul arose from the ground. And when his 00:08:32.529 --> 00:08:37.309 eyes were opened, he saw no one. But they led 00:08:37.309 --> 00:08:41.789 him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:46.870 And he was three days without sight and neither 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:52.769 ate nor drank. So Saul, who we later know as 00:08:52.769 --> 00:08:55.669 Paul, that's who we're talking about here. He 00:08:55.669 --> 00:08:59.980 was a bad dude. He was a real bad dude. This 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:02.740 right here, this guy, he made it his personal 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:09.580 mission to go after Christians. He was the RoboCop 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:11.159 of his day. Dead or alive, you're coming with 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:14.320 me. Right? He didn't care. He wanted them done. 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:17.399 He wanted them gone. He wanted to break the church 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:21.559 and destroy it. You know, it was his personal 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:24.600 mission. He was running Christians down. You 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:25.860 know, right here, it's talking about, he's getting 00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:28.220 papers, basically. He was getting... He was getting 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:31.419 the judgments, the decrees to say, hey, if you're 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:33.200 a Christian, you were to go with this man. He 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:37.240 was your bounty hunter. Plain and simple, right? 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:42.799 To put it in modern terms, of course. You know, 00:09:42.820 --> 00:09:45.360 he very much had that attitude that the only 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.419 good Christian was a dead one. That was his mindset. 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:54.679 He was very devout in his beliefs and what he 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:57.490 stood by. He didn't question it. He didn't question 00:09:57.490 --> 00:10:01.169 what he heard or was told by his elders. He latched 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:06.129 onto it and he ran with it. And he ran hot and 00:10:06.129 --> 00:10:13.590 heavy. That is until this moment. You could say 00:10:13.590 --> 00:10:17.909 he'd come face to face with Jesus. Right? He 00:10:17.909 --> 00:10:20.090 didn't see anybody. There was a light. He knelt 00:10:20.090 --> 00:10:22.330 down. He closed his eyes. He caught up. He didn't 00:10:22.330 --> 00:10:25.519 see nothing. He was blinded. Took away his sight. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.720 It's kind of like the song Amazing Grace, right? 00:10:31.059 --> 00:10:33.840 Once was blind, but now I see. Saved a wretch 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:41.360 like me. Literally blinded. Couldn't see. The 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.960 men who were with him heard the voice as well. 00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:47.639 Like, what's going on here? It's kind of scary, 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:51.000 isn't it? It's like, whoa, what? Where's this 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:53.409 coming from? There's only one place it could 00:10:53.409 --> 00:10:55.610 be coming from, right? Ooh, we must have messed 00:10:55.610 --> 00:11:05.610 up. Just like Scrooge, Saul was an evil, broken, 00:11:05.769 --> 00:11:09.590 hardened man. The hardest of the hard. He had 00:11:09.590 --> 00:11:13.029 no intention of changing at that point in his 00:11:13.029 --> 00:11:18.789 life. He was in desperate need of redemption. 00:11:19.690 --> 00:11:22.879 He was in desperate need. The salvation that 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:27.860 only comes from Jesus Christ. God saw the redeeming 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:30.919 qualities within him. The qualities that no other 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:36.360 Christian could see in him. Even his own people 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:44.000 were scared of him. So it's pretty incredible 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.639 to see this transformation, this metamorphosis 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:53.429 taking place. No, he was dead set against this 00:11:53.429 --> 00:11:56.730 Christian God and the people who followed him. 00:11:58.669 --> 00:12:01.509 I want to pick back up in the reading now. We're 00:12:01.509 --> 00:12:03.049 just going to keep on trucking through verses 00:12:03.049 --> 00:12:07.750 10 through 19. So Acts 9, 10 through 19. The 00:12:07.750 --> 00:12:11.190 word says, now there was a certain disciple at 00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:14.990 Damascus named Ananias. And to him, the Lord 00:12:14.990 --> 00:12:17.970 said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, here 00:12:17.970 --> 00:12:22.169 I am, Lord. So the Lord said to him, Arise, and 00:12:22.169 --> 00:12:26.809 go to the street called Straight, and inquire 00:12:26.809 --> 00:12:30.289 at the house of Judas for the one called Saul 00:12:30.289 --> 00:12:34.529 of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying, and in 00:12:34.529 --> 00:12:37.590 a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming 00:12:37.590 --> 00:12:41.169 in and putting his hand on him, so that he might 00:12:41.169 --> 00:12:45.409 receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, 00:12:45.610 --> 00:12:49.580 I have heard from many about this man. how much 00:12:49.580 --> 00:12:52.820 harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:56.340 And here he has authority from the chief of priests 00:12:56.340 --> 00:13:01.860 to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord 00:13:01.860 --> 00:13:06.840 said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:11.620 mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:15.470 and the children of Israel. for I will show him 00:13:15.470 --> 00:13:19.970 how many things he must suffer in my name's sake. 00:13:21.429 --> 00:13:25.750 And Ananias went his way and entered the house. 00:13:26.269 --> 00:13:29.950 And laying his hands on him, he said, Brother 00:13:29.950 --> 00:13:33.190 Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on 00:13:33.190 --> 00:13:36.730 the road as you came, has sent me that you may 00:13:36.730 --> 00:13:40.409 receive your sight and be filled with the Holy 00:13:40.409 --> 00:14:06.500 Spirit. Immediately there, Hallelujah is right. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.000 So much like Scrooge, his reputation preceded 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.600 him. People knew of him long before he even came 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:17.179 around the corner. It's kind of like my belly 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:19.080 before I turn a corner in a room, right? It's 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:23.000 just right there in front of me. But that's how 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:26.220 he was. That was his reputation. People were 00:14:26.220 --> 00:14:28.820 terrified of him. His own people even were like, 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:30.679 this is not a guy I want to run into in a dark 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:33.360 alley. I'm glad he's on my team. Because he's 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.159 very much the guy you want to make sure is on 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:39.899 your team. You did not want to upset him. Not 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:44.340 even in the slightest. People, to say that they 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:46.240 were intimidated by him is putting it lightly. 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:49.120 It's not even a strong enough word. They were 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:53.519 downright terrified. You know, he's the kind 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:55.340 of guy, people would avoid him if they could. 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:00.659 He was a bloodthirsty zealot that was out to 00:15:00.659 --> 00:15:07.379 destroy the church. And going to visit him as 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:11.259 a Christian? This is like walking up to the hangman. 00:15:12.549 --> 00:15:15.129 It's your own noose saying, I'm ready. Here you 00:15:15.129 --> 00:15:23.190 go. String me up. That's what it was. 100%. And 00:15:23.190 --> 00:15:26.269 Ananias, he knew this. He absolutely knew. That's 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:27.789 what he's playing with. He's like, Lord, seriously? 00:15:28.830 --> 00:15:31.129 You want me to go to who? This dude's going to 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:35.289 kill me. At the very least, he's going to string 00:15:35.289 --> 00:15:42.860 me up and chain me up and take me to jail. Bad 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:45.799 stuff is going to happen. That's his line of 00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:52.039 thinking. Right? Not only that, here's a Christian. 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:55.840 This is one of God's children. It's like, this 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:59.279 is Saul. Lord, do you not realize how hard he 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:02.019 is? There's no way this guy can become one of 00:16:02.019 --> 00:16:03.500 your children. There's no way this guy could 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:06.360 ever be a follower of Jesus. Are you kidding 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:16.059 me? Really? Are you serious? But being a good, 00:16:16.059 --> 00:16:17.620 loyal Christian, you know, he's like, you know 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:20.399 what? I'm going to voice this concern because 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:22.500 we should. When we pray and we're worried about 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:25.600 something and something's scary, right? Because 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.679 this is a scary situation. We should definitely 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:30.659 be praying. We should be taking that burden and 00:16:30.659 --> 00:16:32.700 unloading it at the feet of Jesus Christ, right? 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:36.679 And that's what he's doing because he swallows 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:43.059 his pride and he goes. He steps out in faith. 00:16:44.069 --> 00:16:47.909 He's a loyal servant and does exactly what the 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:52.230 Lord told him to go and do. See, and this is 00:16:52.230 --> 00:16:53.929 why it's important. When the Lord puts it on 00:16:53.929 --> 00:16:56.389 your heart that you need to go somewhere, that 00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:59.129 you need to go and do something, you just do 00:16:59.129 --> 00:17:03.909 it. You don't question. Some of us, we go about 00:17:03.909 --> 00:17:05.329 it kind of half -hearted too. It's like, oh, 00:17:05.369 --> 00:17:08.450 I want you to go. I want you to go here and I 00:17:08.450 --> 00:17:11.089 want you to do this. Okay, fine. We kind of drag 00:17:11.089 --> 00:17:14.539 our feet, right? We're kind of slow because we 00:17:14.539 --> 00:17:17.299 don't know what we're going into. Instead of 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:18.339 being like, you know what? The Lord told me to 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:22.220 do this. Let's do it. I'm game. Tag me in. I'm 00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:28.319 going in, coach. Right? When the Lord says go, 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:30.259 he's doing it for a reason. When he's put it 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:33.019 on you, he's done it for a reason. And it very 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:35.980 well may be a reason like this because he's using 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:38.519 you as a tool for a miracle in somebody else's 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:44.400 life. To go and remove the seeds of doubt in 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:50.920 their life. That's what was happening here with 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:53.940 Ananias. That's what was about to happen with 00:17:53.940 --> 00:17:57.660 the disciples. They're bringing about a miracle 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:02.579 in Saul's life. Jesus has already taken away 00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:07.380 his vision. Ananias is going to be used to give 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:12.859 him back that vision. And then not only that, 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:19.039 but to spend time with the disciples to learn 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:24.119 what the word truly is, who the Lord truly is, 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:28.099 what had been missed by the Pharisees and the 00:18:28.099 --> 00:18:30.660 Sadducees and all these other people of high 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:32.640 esteem that he had known throughout his life. 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:38.420 You see, when we look at this, you have to realize 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:40.980 he didn't just spend a little time with them. 00:18:41.990 --> 00:18:43.569 He didn't spend minutes with them. He didn't 00:18:43.569 --> 00:18:47.710 spend hours with them. He spent days with them, 00:18:47.789 --> 00:18:53.970 learning, soaking it in. See, and this is a thing, 00:18:54.049 --> 00:18:58.430 this is one of those places as well, as we're 00:18:58.430 --> 00:19:04.170 about to see a little bit more of. The word tells 00:19:04.170 --> 00:19:05.950 us that we need to forgive, that we need to pray 00:19:05.950 --> 00:19:08.430 for our enemies. We need to forgive everybody. 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:11.799 Doesn't say we have to trust them right away 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:14.640 though, does it? Forgiveness and trust are two 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.339 different things. Trust, just like a relationship, 00:19:17.660 --> 00:19:25.259 takes time. It takes time. It takes effort. Because 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:29.380 once you've broken trust, it takes time to get 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:33.880 back in the door. It does. Amen, Ted. Amen. So 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.460 we're going to finish off this passage here in 00:19:36.460 --> 00:19:41.460 verses 20 through 28. There's a few more verses 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:43.359 after that, but this is what we're looking at 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:48.559 for today, right? So Acts 9, 20 through 28, the 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:53.000 word says, Immediately he preached the Christ 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:57.000 in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:01.359 Then all who heard were amazed and said, Is this 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:04.839 not he who destroyed those who called on this 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:09.299 name in Jerusalem? And he has come here for that 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:12.779 purpose so that he might bring them bound to 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:17.660 the chief priest. But Saul increased all the 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:20.579 more in strength and confounded the Jews who 00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:24.180 dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:28.400 the Christ. Now, after many days were passed, 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:32.410 the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot 00:20:32.410 --> 00:20:36.029 became known to Saul, and they watched the gates 00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:42.869 day and night to kill him. Then the disciples 00:20:42.869 --> 00:20:46.150 took him by the night and let him down through 00:20:46.150 --> 00:20:49.970 the wall in a large basket. And when Saul had 00:20:49.970 --> 00:20:53.369 come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, 00:20:53.509 --> 00:20:56.910 but they were all afraid of him and did not believe 00:20:56.910 --> 00:21:00.740 that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:05.279 and brought him to the apostles, and he declared 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:09.140 to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, 00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:13.579 and that he had spoken to him, and how he had 00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:16.779 preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:21.480 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and 00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:26.460 going out. Think of it this way. Your sworn enemy. 00:21:27.099 --> 00:21:31.380 The guy who is out to end your life, right? And 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:32.819 he doesn't just want to beat you. He doesn't 00:21:32.819 --> 00:21:35.000 just want to cripple you. He wants you dead. 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:42.339 And now all of a sudden you're expected to welcome 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:48.519 him in the door. How would that go over? Think 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:50.700 about that for a second. How well would that 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:54.240 go over? You're supposed to welcome this guy 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:58.980 in the door and worship God together. Some of 00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:00.900 us can't even bring ourselves to talk to certain 00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:06.220 coworkers or certain managers, let alone invite 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:10.160 them to church, which is exactly the place we 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:14.339 should be inviting them. We should be praying 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:17.759 over them. There's a hesitancy on this part. 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:19.259 They're just in fear of him. Like, no, this is 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:22.660 a bad dude. I'm not even a waste of breath. You 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:30.640 should. You absolutely should. And that's what's 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:34.319 happening here. You see, as a church, all too 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:40.200 often, we fail worldly people. Not only that, 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:45.759 we fail new Christians. We fail new Christians. 00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:51.380 You ever think of that? I mean, they come in 00:22:51.380 --> 00:22:54.900 the door and we're like, oh, cool. You know Jesus. 00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:56.799 You want to get baptized. Great. And now all 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:58.619 of a sudden we expect them to know everything 00:22:58.619 --> 00:23:02.519 that's in the word. I can tell you right now. 00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:07.200 I'm a pastor. I don't know everything that's 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:09.900 in there. I have a lot to learn. We got Pastor 00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:12.880 Mike. He still learns stuff all the time. Darren, 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:16.700 Gary, my wife. We got Brother Ted over there. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:20.109 I guarantee. Ted's great. He can pull up. He's 00:23:20.109 --> 00:23:21.630 one of these people who's really great at citing 00:23:21.630 --> 00:23:25.569 the book, the chapter, the verse. But even he 00:23:25.569 --> 00:23:28.309 still learns. All of us have stuff to learn. 00:23:30.009 --> 00:23:32.069 I don't care if you have one of those photographic 00:23:32.069 --> 00:23:33.450 memories where you read something once and it's 00:23:33.450 --> 00:23:36.750 still there. You have things to learn. We all 00:23:36.750 --> 00:23:44.349 do. But we fail people because we put them at 00:23:44.349 --> 00:23:48.559 bay. We want to stick to our clicks. Barnabas 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:51.279 himself, he knew this well. He'd seen it himself. 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:56.960 He himself was a new convert, right? Not as new 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:59.559 as Saul, but he was a recent convert to Christianity 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:01.740 as well. And he recognized this because he'd 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:04.220 seen the same thing that we deal with in our 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:07.019 day with kind of pushing people away happened 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:12.200 back then as well. So he stepped out. He used 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:16.180 his voice. That's right. He spoke up. And he 00:24:16.180 --> 00:24:20.799 became the bridge between Saul and the apostles. 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:24.160 Saying, brothers, brothers, brothers, you're 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.599 missing. It's like you of all should know better. 00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:32.599 Forgive him and give him a chance. Let me tell 00:24:32.599 --> 00:24:35.660 you what I saw. Let me share some testimony with 00:24:35.660 --> 00:24:39.740 you. And that was what was needed to bring down 00:24:39.740 --> 00:24:43.099 those walls. He knew Saul had become a new creation 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:46.039 in Christ. So he stepped into that gap and it 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:50.059 interceded for him. Literally, Saul, who'd become 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:54.660 a full 180 degrees from who he was and has now 00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:58.960 been preaching for the Lord instead of persecuting 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:10.859 him. It's hard when we see it. We see it in churches 00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:15.630 all the time. People we know are drunkards, but 00:25:15.630 --> 00:25:19.309 we don't say anything. We turn a blind eye. People 00:25:19.309 --> 00:25:22.569 we know that have other addictions, porn, gambling, 00:25:22.769 --> 00:25:27.009 maybe certain drugs because they're legal now 00:25:27.009 --> 00:25:31.690 or they're the acceptable type in society, right? 00:25:34.509 --> 00:25:36.450 But then somebody comes through the door who's 00:25:36.450 --> 00:25:41.329 desperately in need, and we don't want them here. 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:45.920 They're down and out. And all of a sudden, oh 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.059 no, you can sit here, but don't make a ruckus. 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:54.799 Don't cause a scene. And as soon as we're done, 00:25:54.900 --> 00:25:57.039 back out the door. That's even if they get in 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.819 the door in the first place. There are places 00:25:58.819 --> 00:26:01.500 in this city that have people looking at the 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:03.640 doors and watching cameras, and if they see somebody, 00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:07.099 get them off the property. That's not right. 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:14.619 That's not what we're called to do. For all we 00:26:14.619 --> 00:26:16.279 know, this is somebody who just got out of a 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:17.839 rehab facility themselves. They have nowhere 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:20.740 to go. They have no one to go to other than going 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:23.559 back to their old life. So they're coming in 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:27.079 desperate, looking for Jesus because they've 00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:29.680 heard just a little bit and they want to know 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:32.960 more. And then we're shunning them and pushing 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.779 them back out the door. I could tell you last 00:26:36.779 --> 00:26:39.339 night, we had a lady. She came in here. She'd 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:40.700 just gotten out of the hospital. She still had 00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:44.500 her bracelets on her. She was coming in. She 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:47.279 was just looking for a little help and a little 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:56.619 joy. We welcomed her in. It was wonderful. She 00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:59.460 did what she needed to do. She used the bathroom. 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:02.720 She got some coffee. She visited a little bit. 00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:07.940 She hung out for a while. She got warm. And I'm 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:10.720 not doing this to boast because then we had other 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:13.339 people in here. This whole back row, was filled 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:15.579 for quite some time than a few of these other 00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:16.920 benches. We had a lot of people come through 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:19.599 last night. Matter of fact, we ran out of cocoa, 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:21.279 so at first I didn't think we had enough cocoa. 00:27:21.460 --> 00:27:25.599 We ran out quick. We had some people that would 00:27:25.599 --> 00:27:27.339 come in, though, and they would take a look at 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:28.559 her sitting over here, and they'd turn around 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:31.839 and they'd walk right back out that door. We 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:33.799 had people who were over here, and as soon as 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:39.119 they saw her, they moved over here. That is not 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:42.420 right. That is not the way it should be. I have 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:44.940 to applaud Brian. He did a wonderful job last 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:48.299 night. Tess was out here, and she's telling people, 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:49.759 hey, if you need the restroom, you want something 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:51.440 to drink, or you just want to warm up, our doors 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:54.799 are open. Come on in. And he's out here with 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:56.779 everybody. Hey, what can I help? We got cups 00:27:56.779 --> 00:27:58.579 over here. We got coffee over here. We got cocoa 00:27:58.579 --> 00:28:00.240 over here. Yeah, the restrooms are back here. 00:28:00.299 --> 00:28:02.619 What else can I get you? Very warm, very welcoming, 00:28:02.759 --> 00:28:06.359 the way it should be. It was wonderful. Yeah, 00:28:06.380 --> 00:28:08.880 praise God indeed. Amen. Just like the other 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:10.859 day after we got done with our movie and Pastor 00:28:10.859 --> 00:28:13.819 Mike and Darren here, both of them, they went 00:28:13.819 --> 00:28:16.920 right out. We had a ton of food. And what did 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:18.720 they do? Hey, we got some food. Are you hungry? 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:23.599 That is the way we should be acting every time. 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.480 Because just that little bit of kindness may 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:30.299 be the only kindness that they're going to find. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:32.119 And it may be the only time that they get to 00:28:32.119 --> 00:28:34.759 see Jesus for a while. Because the stuff that 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:36.720 they're dealing with and the world that's in 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:38.589 front of them. that they're trying to escape. 00:28:39.390 --> 00:28:42.269 It may be the one thing that brings them to knowing 00:28:42.269 --> 00:28:47.130 Christ and being saved. But then when we see 00:28:47.130 --> 00:28:50.650 someone who comes from that background, all of 00:28:50.650 --> 00:28:53.029 a sudden we're judging. Next door in the tattoo 00:28:53.029 --> 00:28:56.430 shop, we have some amazing people. One of the 00:28:56.430 --> 00:28:58.089 guys himself is more than happy to share his 00:28:58.089 --> 00:29:00.950 testimony. He was sharing it last night. People 00:29:00.950 --> 00:29:02.730 see him like, this is a scary dude. He looks 00:29:02.730 --> 00:29:05.970 like a thug. He's got the tattoos, right? And 00:29:05.970 --> 00:29:09.980 the bald head. And all that. But he's a wonderful 00:29:09.980 --> 00:29:14.559 dude. He says, you know what? I wish I had this 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:16.440 when I was a kid so I didn't have to learn it 00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:22.480 from the county. But people see him and they 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:25.019 still want to run the other way. Shouldn't be 00:29:25.019 --> 00:29:27.220 that way. Like, you know what? God bless you, 00:29:27.259 --> 00:29:34.660 man. How can I pray for you? We should be recognizing 00:29:34.660 --> 00:29:40.240 it's a new creation. This is temporary. This 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:44.619 is what binds us to earth. This is what fights 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:47.960 us every step of the way because it's not going 00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:52.079 with us. So it doesn't care about Jesus. It cares 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:54.279 about what it can get right now because it knows 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:58.420 it's borrowed time. And we need to recognize 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:01.960 that when somebody comes to us and be like, you 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:04.259 know what? Even if you are new in Christ and 00:30:04.259 --> 00:30:06.019 you're still an infant, you're still on milk 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:08.279 and you're not up to meat yet, we will get you 00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:12.059 there. Come in and have a seat. Welcome to the 00:30:12.059 --> 00:30:13.779 family, brother. Welcome to the family, sister. 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:24.900 That is what Saul was dealing with. That's exactly 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:28.099 what he was dealing with. We don't see the struggle 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:31.059 that people deal with to reconnect with loved 00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:36.380 ones. who have turned against them. The struggle 00:30:36.380 --> 00:30:40.000 that they go through with dealing with jobs or 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:46.740 adjusting to a new life. When people look at 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:50.299 us and they look at our past, we want them to 00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:52.700 know, hey, stop looking for me there. I don't 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:56.759 live there anymore. But what about when it comes 00:30:56.759 --> 00:31:01.240 to us and how we look at them? We start judging 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:03.440 them based on their past, not where they are 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:09.440 now. We need to change this. This is a failure 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:12.660 on our part as the church. This is the failure 00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:15.759 that Saul had to deal with. Saul, who became 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:21.019 Paul, one of the greatest disciples, right? He's 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:28.200 one that we look at very endearingly now. So 00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:30.460 we need to extend that same courtesy to others 00:31:30.460 --> 00:31:34.000 that we want to extend it to us. For Saul, the 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:35.980 struggle was very, very real. He had a long, 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:39.519 long road in front of him. He'd gone from being 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:44.660 the persecutor to being the persecuted. His old 00:31:44.660 --> 00:31:49.900 reputation did him no favors. None. However, 00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:52.480 like Scrooge, his life had come a full circle. 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:55.400 He was no longer the man he used to be. He was 00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:58.480 no longer hardened, softened to the Lord. He 00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:01.460 was a new man, a new creation. And just like 00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:03.880 each of us, he had to leave the old behind and 00:32:03.880 --> 00:32:06.579 embrace the new. That can be hard. That can be 00:32:06.579 --> 00:32:09.980 scary. You have to start walking with the new. 00:32:10.819 --> 00:32:14.640 You have to start walking with Jesus. And I'll 00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:17.140 remind you, nothing, absolutely nothing in this 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:20.700 world is too hard for our Lord to overcome. There's 00:32:20.700 --> 00:32:22.839 nothing in this world that is too big for us 00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:24.599 to ask for the Lord to help us to overcome, and 00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:27.539 he will walk us through it. He has the power 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:30.819 to transform every man, woman, and child on this 00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:34.160 planet and to give us a new life, something new 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:38.920 to run toward and to embrace, provided we put 00:32:38.920 --> 00:32:43.079 our trust in him. But the biggest part of this, 00:32:43.140 --> 00:32:44.680 though, is in order to do so, we have to learn 00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:47.000 to forgive others. We have to learn to forgive 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:51.640 ourselves. And it's never too late to do so. 00:32:52.579 --> 00:32:54.619 We hold on to grudges and we hold on to them 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:59.119 way too long. So I'm going to encourage you all. 00:32:59.380 --> 00:33:02.200 I'm not saying to trust everybody. Trust is different. 00:33:02.839 --> 00:33:04.980 Trust takes time. Just like a relationship takes 00:33:04.980 --> 00:33:07.539 time. But we have to learn to forgive and we 00:33:07.539 --> 00:33:10.420 have to learn to love. And that is what we are 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:13.160 called to do in our commandments and in our hearts. 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:17.500 Life becomes so much better when that happens. 00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:20.420 In doing so, like I said, you will find the greatest 00:33:20.420 --> 00:33:24.799 gift of all, that gift from the Lord of love, 00:33:24.920 --> 00:33:28.500 mercy, and grace in your own heart from the one 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:32.619 who came and died for you so that you could be 00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:37.220 reunited with the Father. All right, and before 00:33:37.220 --> 00:33:38.660 we go to pray here, I'm going to encourage everybody 00:33:38.660 --> 00:33:40.140 to just hang out just a little bit longer as 00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:42.680 I get done because Brian's going to come up and 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:45.519 he's going to lead us in a communion here after 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:50.119 I get done praying. So let us pray. Lord, we 00:33:50.119 --> 00:33:52.039 thank you for your love and never giving up on 00:33:52.039 --> 00:33:55.400 us, even when we've given up on ourselves. You 00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:58.299 pick us up. You dust us off. You help us get 00:33:58.299 --> 00:34:00.940 reoriented and start moving forward again in 00:34:00.940 --> 00:34:04.440 the way that you need us to go. Help us to accept 00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:08.139 that none of us that believe and trust in you 00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:09.739 are the same person that we used to be, that 00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:12.579 we're changed. And we're continuing to change. 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:16.210 We're continuing to grow. Our character is changing 00:34:16.210 --> 00:34:19.449 and evolving with it to become more like you 00:34:19.449 --> 00:34:23.750 and less like the world. Help us to accept that 00:34:23.750 --> 00:34:27.969 in you, we've all been made new as well. Help 00:34:27.969 --> 00:34:29.929 us to see that there's a better life and a better 00:34:29.929 --> 00:34:34.809 future ahead as we follow you. We thank you for 00:34:34.809 --> 00:34:36.309 all this, all that you've done, all that you're 00:34:36.309 --> 00:34:38.389 doing, and all that we know you will do because 00:34:38.389 --> 00:35:04.269 of your promises. In Jesus' name, amen. Until 00:35:04.269 --> 00:35:07.469 next time, take care and God bless.