1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,840 Have you ever tried to write a story? 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,160 Have you ever written a book? 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,840 Have you ever told a long story and a good storyteller? 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:16,400 Well, sometimes at the end of their story, do a few things. 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:21,200 They will try to wrap up the story by looping back 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,840 to the beginning of the story and giving a possible potential 7 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,800 for a sequel. 8 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,640 Have you ever seen a movie that at the end of the movie, 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,360 it did not wrap up the story well? 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,360 And you're like, what's going on? 11 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,960 Have you ever seen a movie that really it felt so linear 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,840 there was no connection to the beginning of the story? 13 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,720 And have you ever seen a movie that set up or did not set up a sequel? 14 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:54,480 The book of Luke is incredible because Luke not only writes the Gospel of Luke, 15 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,040 which is the story of Jesus, 16 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:02,320 he writes a sequel called the book of Acts, which is the story of the church. 17 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,400 And what you're going to see in these last few verses of Luke chapter 24 18 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,360 is Luke does all three of these things masterfully. 19 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,000 He ends the story of Jesus. 20 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,600 He loops back to the beginning of the story 21 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,880 by talking about the...well, you'll see. 22 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,200 And then he sets up a sequel called the book of Acts 23 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:26,720 that tells the story of the church. 24 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,160 If you're ready to see these things with me today, give me an amen. 25 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,080 Amen. Let's look at it together. 26 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,040 Luke chapter 24 and verse 44. 27 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:40,880 Luke ends this incredible story with an incredible anticipation for the future. 28 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,320 What exactly does Luke want us to see in this passage? 29 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:46,640 He wants us to see three things primarily. 30 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:51,520 Number one, he wants us to see the privilege of understanding. 31 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,880 I'm going to say number one, you say the privilege of understanding. 32 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,160 Number one, the privilege of understanding. 33 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,040 There's been a lot written about privilege in the last few years. 34 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:10,480 A lot about how certain individuals are privileged above other individuals. 35 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:12,240 Pastor, do you believe in privilege? 36 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:19,040 I do. I tell my children often, they are privileged to have me as a father. 37 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:22,720 They don't believe it all the time, you know what I mean? 38 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,680 But they are, you know it. They don't know. 39 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,160 But I'd like you to tell them how privileged they are. 40 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,720 How many of you agree that you're privileged just to be in the United States of America? 41 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:33,920 Can I get an amen right there? 42 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,040 Like we should not take that for granted. 43 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,840 We have been given a great place to live. 44 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:40,640 Thank God for it. 45 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,400 There's a lot of privileges that we could think about in our lives. 46 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:45,920 These are gifts from God. 47 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:49,280 But there is something in this room that most of you have. 48 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,200 I don't know if it's everybody, I don't. 49 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,440 But most of you have, and you need to today, I'm asking you, 50 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:57,360 I'm calling upon you as your pastor, 51 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,760 to recognize the privilege of understanding the gospel. 52 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,760 There are seven billion people who live on this planet, 53 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:16,320 and most of them do not understand the good news of Jesus Christ. 54 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,760 They may believe there's a Creator who made them, 55 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,520 but they don't know how to connect to that Creator. 56 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,800 They know deep down inside that they've sinned, 57 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:25,920 or they've done something wrong. 58 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:27,760 They're carrying a burden of guilt. 59 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:28,960 They don't know what to do. 60 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:32,240 Do some of you remember what it was like to carry a burden of guilt? 61 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:33,440 You didn't know what to do with? 62 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:37,280 You know there's a God. 63 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,800 You know there's sin or something guilty in your heart. 64 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:43,760 And you know that one day when life is over, 65 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,400 you're going to stand before your Creator, 66 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:47,520 and you're going to have to give an account, 67 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:49,360 and you don't know what to do with all of that. 68 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:54,160 Because you didn't have an understanding of the gospel, 69 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:58,640 the good news of Jesus Christ, that God made you, yes. 70 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,440 But even though you're a sinner, God loves you. 71 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,840 And he died upon the cross to pay for your sins, 72 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,000 and he was buried, and he rose from the grave, 73 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,680 and he offers salvation to anybody who lives in the world. 74 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,680 And he will freely receive it. 75 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,720 This is something that many of us in the room understand. 76 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,720 And your understanding of the gospel is a privilege 77 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:25,360 that you should not take for granted. 78 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,040 How many of you have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ? 79 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:30,480 If that's true of you, say amen. 80 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:34,880 To understand who you are and who he is. 81 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,000 This is what Luke wants us to see. 82 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,360 Verse 44, look what it says in Luke chapter 22 verse 44. 83 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:44,400 And Jesus said to them, 84 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,200 these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you. 85 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,680 Stop. It's almost like it's picking up in the middle of the story, 86 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,560 isn't it? Because chapter 24 is one full story. 87 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,120 And so it's picking up where Jesus has just showed up 88 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,600 and appeared to the disciples in the upper room. 89 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,760 Do you remember they thought he was a ghost at first? 90 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:07,200 We talked about it last week. 91 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,520 They were scared to death, and Jesus said, I'm not a ghost. 92 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,160 Look, I have flesh and bone. 93 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:13,440 Come and touch me. Feel me. 94 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,600 Like I'm real. Give me some food to eat. 95 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:16,880 I'll prove to you I'm not a ghost. 96 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:20,720 And he lets them know that he's alive. 97 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,080 He actually died and physically rose from the grave. 98 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:25,440 And they're all confused. 99 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:27,520 And so what Jesus does is say to them, 100 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,160 look, let me explain everything to you. 101 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,800 Wouldn't you love it if sometimes God would just show up 102 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:34,560 and explain everything that's going on? 103 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,120 He does it right here. 104 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,280 In this moment, he shows up to the disciples. 105 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:43,440 If you're a follower of Jesus, that includes you. 106 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,400 And he explains, these are the words which I spoke unto you 107 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,080 while I was still there with you. 108 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,080 That all the things that you just saw must be fulfilled 109 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:53,920 which were written in the law of Moses, 110 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:56,400 the prophets, and the Psalms. 111 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:57,280 Notice the three. 112 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,680 The law of Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets. 113 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,120 Jesus said, I know you're confused. 114 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,240 I died and I'm back and you're touching me 115 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,160 and it looks like I was a ghost, but I'm not a ghost. 116 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,160 I'm physically alive and all the disciples are like, 117 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:13,760 we don't get it, what's happening? 118 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,440 And Jesus said, don't you understand? 119 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:16,160 I think you do. 120 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,840 Everything that you've seen is what I've been teaching you. 121 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:23,280 That all that you have seen is a fulfillment 122 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:28,560 of the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. 123 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,320 Jesus is saying, I am the fulfillment of the Old Testament. 124 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,560 All of the stories you grew up with were pointing to me. 125 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,640 He's saying that the entire Bible is one story 126 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,520 that points to one person, Jesus Christ. 127 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:47,360 And I love how he does it. 128 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,440 He says, it begins with the law of Moses. 129 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,440 Let's look at the law of Moses itself. 130 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,320 You'll notice in the very next verse, by the way, 131 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,960 in verse number 45, if you look at verse 45, it says, 132 00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,280 and Jesus opened their understanding, 133 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:00,800 the privilege of understanding, 134 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,280 that they might comprehend the scriptures. 135 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:05,280 His desire was for them to understand 136 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:06,880 what the whole story meant. 137 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,520 What did you love it to be in that room with Jesus 138 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,240 as he spent the next hour walking through 139 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,640 the entire story of the Old Testament? 140 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,160 And he ends by talking about himself, 141 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,720 one hour with Jesus preaching. 142 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:21,760 How many of you would love that? 143 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:22,800 Can I get an amen? 144 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:26,800 Well, you're stuck with me, okay? 145 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:28,000 He's not here. 146 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:29,600 But I'll tell you what he did. 147 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,560 He pointed to the law of Moses, the prophets, 148 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,120 and the Psalms, and said they were all talking about me. 149 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:36,960 He said, what is the law of Moses? 150 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:38,560 Well, it goes by different terms. 151 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:44,080 The Torah or the Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 152 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:46,080 Numbers, Deuteronomy, the first five books 153 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,720 of the Old Testament are the law of Moses. 154 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,720 And Jesus was saying, don't you understand 155 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,760 that the law of Moses was pointing to me? 156 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,720 Maybe Jesus turned them to Genesis chapter 3 157 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,480 and verse 15, when Adam and Eve had just sinned 158 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,800 and God came and confronted them in the garden. 159 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,520 And said to them in the garden, you sinned, what did you do? 160 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,720 And then he cursed Adam and he cursed Eve because of the sin 161 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,720 and he cursed the ground and then he cursed the serpent. 162 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,280 Who was it that filled the heart of the snake? 163 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,440 Who was it that possessed the snake in the story? 164 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:18,080 Who was it? 165 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:19,360 You say, Satan. 166 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,760 And then Moses writes that God said, 167 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,160 and I will cause hostility between you and the woman, 168 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,560 between your offspring and her offspring. 169 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:35,840 And he will strike your head and you will strike his heel. 170 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,040 I wonder if Jesus in that upper room said, 171 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,160 don't you remember back when Moses wrote 172 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,360 that a child would come from the woman 173 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,640 and the child would be bitten by the snake 174 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:58,160 and would bleed, but the child would cry. 175 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,680 But the child would crush the head of the snake 176 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,480 even in the same moment that he's bitten. 177 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:07,680 Jesus says, that was talking about me. 178 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:11,040 When I died upon the cross and I bled, 179 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,200 that was Satan attacking me. 180 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,320 And now that Satan has attacked me and I died upon the cross, 181 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,240 by my shedding of blood, 182 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:20,320 I've paid for the sins of all mankind. 183 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:22,000 I won. 184 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,640 And then maybe, Jesus said, 185 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,120 not only was the law of Moses fulfilled in me, 186 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:30,880 but the prophets were fulfilled in me. 187 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,440 I don't know which prophets he quoted, 188 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,560 but maybe he quoted Isaiah chapter 7 in verse 14, 189 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:39,760 where Isaiah the prophet said, 190 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,680 hundreds of years before Jesus came, 191 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:43,760 he said, the Lord himself will give you a sign. 192 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,160 Behold, the virgin will conceive a child 193 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:48,160 and she will give birth to a son 194 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,400 and will call his name Emmanuel, 195 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,040 meaning God with us. 196 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:55,120 And so maybe Jesus said, 197 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,520 don't you understand when Jeremiah the prophet 198 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,680 and Ezekiel the prophet and Isaiah the prophet 199 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:01,520 were talking about the coming Messiah, 200 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,440 they were talking about me. 201 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:06,640 And he said, it wasn't just the law of Moses, 202 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:08,960 it wasn't just the prophets, it was the Psalms. 203 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:12,160 And I don't know what Psalms Jesus must have quoted 204 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:13,040 in that upper room, 205 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,200 but maybe he quoted Psalm number 22, 206 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,920 where David the king wrote a beautiful song 207 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,360 about what it was like to be surrounded by enemies. 208 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,720 And David wrote, my enemies are surrounding me 209 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:27,840 like a pack of dogs. 210 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:30,720 An evil gang closes in on me. 211 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,800 They have pierced my hands and my feet. 212 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:37,440 I can count all my bones. 213 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,760 My enemies stare at me and gloat. 214 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:43,280 They divide my garments among themselves. 215 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,920 They throw dice for my clothing. 216 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:52,080 This song by David was written a thousand years before Jesus 217 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,800 and now Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples 218 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:57,760 and says, don't you understand what you're seeing? 219 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:00,240 Moses was pointing to me. 220 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:02,720 The prophets were pointing to me. 221 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,800 The songs you sang as children, they're all about me. 222 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:08,960 And I came and I died and I was buried 223 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,320 and I rose from the grave. 224 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,120 This is the privilege that disciples 225 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:15,120 have of understanding the Bible. 226 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:17,840 And if there's a part of you right now 227 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,160 who's beginning to understand this truth, 228 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:21,920 you are privileged indeed. 229 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,640 If you're a Christian who's been saved for many years, 230 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,320 you say, I've always understood this, 231 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,120 then hear me, my friend, especially the Christian 232 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,440 who is so built up with their knowledge. 233 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,000 Do you understand the privilege that you have 234 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,400 to understand the story of the gospel? 235 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,880 And so then what does Jesus say to the disciples? 236 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,800 He says that he opened their understanding 237 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:47,680 that they may comprehend the scriptures. 238 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:50,480 Now, can I just stop and say, 239 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:56,400 if I have one desire in my life, 240 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:00,480 it's to do this verse. 241 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,480 Like me, Josh, Brandon, you understand? 242 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:06,960 God has dreams for you. 243 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:10,080 And God has dreams for me. 244 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:11,360 Do you know what my dream is? 245 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:12,880 This verse. 246 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:16,480 This is all I want in life. 247 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:17,840 All I want in life. 248 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:21,680 That I can help open your understanding 249 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:23,680 that you can understand the scriptures. 250 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:25,200 Here's why. 251 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,520 Because the scriptures are the key to eternal life. 252 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,400 The scriptures are not just the answer to eternal life. 253 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,160 They're the answer to daily life. 254 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:36,480 They give you wisdom every day. 255 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:39,280 And so what Jesus does is he teaches them 256 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:40,640 these principles of the Bible, 257 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,280 just as your pastor attempts to do even now, 258 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,680 and then he points back to verse 46. 259 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:46,480 Look what he says. 260 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,640 Jesus says to them in verse 46, 261 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,880 thus it is written and thus it is necessary 262 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,720 for Christ to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. 263 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,480 Jesus then says, that's why it was necessary for me to die. 264 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,680 My death upon the cross was an atonement for your sins. 265 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:07,360 My death upon the cross pays for the sins of mankind. 266 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,560 You can be saved if you repent of your sins 267 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:12,800 and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. 268 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,280 And that repentance and remission of sins 269 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,680 should be preached in His name to all nations 270 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:19,280 beginning at Jerusalem. 271 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,920 Jesus mentions not only the necessity of atonement, 272 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,360 He's talking about the necessity of repentance. 273 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:26,240 Say the word with me. 274 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:27,920 Repentance. 275 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:28,800 Say it with me, say it with me. 276 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:30,080 Repentance. 277 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:31,360 Say it with me, say it with me. 278 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:32,240 Repentance. 279 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:36,160 Hear this. 280 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,760 Guys like me have been saying to groups like you 281 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:41,120 for thousands of years, 282 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,200 beginning with John the Baptist in Jesus. 283 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,840 Listen. 284 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:48,160 Repent. 285 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:53,360 Repent. 286 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,040 Has there been a day in your life that you repented of your sins 287 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:00,640 and received Jesus as your Savior? 288 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:03,360 Say, well, I'd like to do it. 289 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:04,640 I don't know what it means to repent. 290 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:05,200 Okay. 291 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,080 Repent means to have a change of mind 292 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:12,560 that leads to a change of lifestyle. 293 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:17,520 It means you change your mind about believing in God. 294 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,880 You change your mind about believing in Jesus Christ, 295 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:22,000 the one who died upon the cross, 296 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:23,200 was buried and rose from there. 297 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:24,720 You change your mind and say, 298 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,320 He is the Lord of my life. 299 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:27,360 I want to give it to Him. 300 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,120 I want to live as a follower of Jesus. 301 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:33,200 You change your mind and it leads to a change of lifestyle. 302 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,080 But you have to make that choice. 303 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:40,640 Just like I did last night. 304 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:49,440 Last night I was privileged to be invited 305 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:52,880 to a Filipino Christmas party. 306 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:00,960 Can I get an amen for Filipino Christmas party? 307 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,000 I love Filipino Christmas party. 308 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,560 Every time I show up to a Filipino gathering, 309 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,200 they call out, nobody in the Filipino community 310 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,080 calls me Josh. 311 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:10,880 They always call me, 312 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:11,680 Hey pastor! 313 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:14,720 Hey pastor! 314 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,080 And I know I'm at a Filipino bar. 315 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:19,440 I know I'm at a Filipino group. 316 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:21,120 I love it, man. 317 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:22,880 I got a call from Pastor Arman. 318 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:24,160 How many of you know Pastor Arman? 319 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,480 He's a great leader in this community, a godly deacon. 320 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,440 And he said, Pastor, are you going to come? 321 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:31,200 Pastor, are you going to come to the thing? 322 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:32,800 And I said, yeah, I'd love to come. 323 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:34,080 Is there going to be lumpia? 324 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:35,440 Yeah, there's going to be lumpia. 325 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:36,320 Chicken adobo? 326 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:37,920 Sure, chicken adobo. 327 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:38,960 Some pence. 328 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:39,600 I love it. 329 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:40,240 Let's do it. 330 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:42,320 Yes, thank you. 331 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:44,160 God bless pence, right? 332 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:44,800 I mean, it's just... 333 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:48,400 If you haven't had it, I'm serious. 334 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:49,520 Like, I'm like, it's... 335 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:49,680 It's... 336 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:52,800 I think God made it first 337 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,720 and then gave it to the Filipinos. 338 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,320 And the Filipinos give it to other people. 339 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,120 Is there going to be belute? 340 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,120 Oh, man. 341 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,000 How many of you have ever had belute? 342 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:06,560 Raise your hand. 343 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:08,160 For real? 344 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:10,720 Ah, yeah. 345 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:11,200 So am I. 346 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,280 Well, I am now because I had belute. 347 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:16,640 And so they told me I'm in. 348 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,240 So if those of you don't know, a belute is a fermented duck egg. 349 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:23,840 And so it's kind of half egg, half duck, 350 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:27,280 and you crack it open and you eat it with some hot sauce. 351 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,280 And you kind of eat it slash drink it. 352 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:32,080 That's culturally inappropriate. 353 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:32,960 Whoever, oon. 354 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:33,280 All right? 355 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,160 Remember, this is 2023. 356 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:37,520 You have to say, yum. 357 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:38,880 No matter how gross it sounds. 358 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:40,960 Right? 359 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:42,960 Like, you're evil. 360 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:44,480 Whoever you are, you're a bad person. 361 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:46,160 And it's delicious. 362 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:49,680 But I did. 363 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,000 I was at one like years ago, and they're like, 364 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,120 Pastor, would you like belute? 365 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:54,880 No, they said, pastore. 366 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:55,760 And I said, sure. 367 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:56,960 And I said, what is it? 368 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:58,560 And they cracked it open and they're all standing around. 369 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,720 They're like, ha, ha, ha, ha. 370 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:02,720 Eat it. 371 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:04,080 Eat it. 372 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:05,840 Eat it or we're not coming to your church. 373 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:11,920 So I went last night and I showed up. 374 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,800 And I was so excited because I really do love these parties. 375 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:16,400 And there's always good food. 376 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:17,520 There's always good fellowship. 377 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:19,360 There's always good music because karaoke, 378 00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:20,080 you know what I mean? 379 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:20,580 Right? 380 00:17:20,580 --> 00:17:21,520 Filipino, right? 381 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:22,360 All right. 382 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,000 And I showed up ready to party. 383 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,120 And Pastor Arman came out to the car and he greeted me. 384 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:32,680 And we went to the front door and he kicked off his shoes, 385 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,120 of course, and so did I, took off my shoes. 386 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:39,120 And I began to go in and I had a choice to make. 387 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:47,280 I could go into the party or I could stay outside 388 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,600 in the party, inside or outside. 389 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:55,200 I know some of you don't like the concept of binary, right? 390 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,320 Like one or the other, but it was really one, 391 00:17:57,320 --> 00:17:58,840 for this it was one or the other. 392 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:01,480 It was either I was inside the party 393 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,200 or I was outside the party, I couldn't stay between. 394 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,520 And to go inside the party I had to repent 395 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:13,080 that has changed my mind about being outside the party. 396 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,280 That led to a change of action or lifestyle 397 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:17,280 that led me into the party. 398 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,400 It wasn't like I could be both. 399 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:24,280 Do you know what happens with people 400 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:25,560 when they learn about Jesus? 401 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:27,680 At first some of you think you can be inside the party 402 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,280 and outside the party. 403 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:32,040 You can't be inside the party and outside the party. 404 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,680 You either change your mind and decide to come into the party 405 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:36,800 where all the music and the food and the fellowship is, 406 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,960 or you have to be outside the party and stay there. 407 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,200 It's a reality of what John the Baptist, through Jesus, 408 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,320 through every prophet, through every teacher of the word of God 409 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:48,760 has taught for thousands of years. 410 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:50,400 Here's what you need to do. 411 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,400 You need to change your mind about being outside. 412 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,240 And say I believe that Jesus Christ died upon the cross 413 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:57,800 for my sins, I believe he rose from the grave, 414 00:18:57,800 --> 00:18:59,680 I'm calling upon him and I'm gonna follow him 415 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,360 as the Lord and master and savior of my life I am in. 416 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,160 Say is everybody in the party a great person? 417 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:11,120 Well actually last night that was pretty great, 418 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:13,120 yeah that was pretty good. 419 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:15,040 But once you enter the church, 420 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,040 not everybody is gonna be your favorite person. 421 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,040 And sometimes things go badly in the party. 422 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,440 But it doesn't change the fact that you've had a repentance, 423 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,400 a change of mind that leads to a change of location, 424 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,400 a change of lifestyle. 425 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,160 And so what Luke wants to do as he ends this story 426 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,160 is he wants to remember the things 427 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,160 that lead to the change of the world. 428 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,160 And what he wants to do as he ends this story 429 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,160 is he wants to remind the reader of the privilege 430 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,160 of their understanding, yeah? 431 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:51,160 He also wants to do one other thing, two other things. 432 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:54,160 He wants to teach them the privilege of their understanding 433 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,160 and number two, he wants to teach them 434 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,160 their responsibility to witness. 435 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,160 I'm gonna say number two, you say responsibility. 436 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,160 Number two, responsibility. 437 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,160 Believer in Jesus Christ if you are, say amen. 438 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,160 Believer in Jesus, say amen, amen. 439 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,160 Okay, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, 440 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,160 you've repented of your old life, 441 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,160 you are inside with Christ, 442 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:16,160 you are in Christ and he is in you. 443 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,160 You've walked through the door that is Christ, 444 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,160 into the party that is Christ. 445 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,160 Okay, you now have a responsibility. 446 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,160 And that responsibility is to tell people 447 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:34,160 about Jesus Christ, to witness. 448 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,160 That's what he says in the next verse, look at what he says. 449 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,160 And you are witnesses of these things. 450 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:41,160 What does that mean? 451 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,160 Jesus looks and says, look, you understand the gospel 452 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,160 and you've been a witness of the gospel. 453 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,160 You have literally seen it with your own eyes. 454 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,160 How that I taught people that Jesus, that God loves them 455 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,160 and that I came to die upon the cross for their sins 456 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,160 and you saw that I was buried and you rose from the grave 457 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,160 and now you are eyewitnesses. 458 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,160 So what does a witness do? 459 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,160 A witness sees something and that goes and testifies 460 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,160 of what they've seen. 461 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,160 As a Christian, it's a courtroom setting. 462 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,160 Can you picture it? 463 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,160 As a Christian, as a disciple of Jesus, 464 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,160 you are not called to be the judge in the courtroom. 465 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:16,160 Can I get an amen? 466 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,160 Somebody thought you became a Christian in your life. 467 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:20,160 Fantastic, where's the robe, right? 468 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,160 You're not there to be a judge. 469 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:25,160 You're also not there to be a prosecuting attorney. 470 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,160 Now that I'm a believer in Jesus and I understand the gospel, 471 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,160 it's my responsibility to judge everybody 472 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,160 and to prosecute the sinner. 473 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,160 That's not your job. 474 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:36,160 Have you ever met a Christian, by the way, 475 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,160 who thought that was the job? 476 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:39,160 That's not the job. 477 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,160 The job is to be a witness, 478 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,160 to say this is who Jesus was, 479 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,160 this is what He did in my life, 480 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,160 this is why I'm different now. 481 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:51,160 You too can be saved. 482 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:55,160 You can be born again. 483 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,160 And so Jesus goes on and says, 484 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,160 behold, I send you, 485 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,160 excuse me, he says, behold, 486 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,160 I send the promise of my Father upon you. 487 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,160 Wait a second. 488 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,160 So Jesus says I want you to be witnesses, 489 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,160 and then he says I'm sending the promise of my Father. 490 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:11,160 Why? 491 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:12,160 Because some of you might be thinking, 492 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:13,160 I want to tell people about, 493 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,160 how many of you want to tell people about Jesus, 494 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,160 but sometimes you don't know how? 495 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,160 And you're like, that's scary and it's hard and I don't know. 496 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,160 So Jesus says I get it. 497 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:23,160 So I'm going to send, 498 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:28,160 the Father is going to send through the Son, 499 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,160 somebody to help you. 500 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,160 It's not the Father, it's not the Son. 501 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:34,160 Who do you think it is? 502 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,160 The Holy Spirit. 503 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,160 So Jesus says, look what he says, 504 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,160 he says, behold, I send the promise of my Father unto you, 505 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:44,160 but tari ye in the city of Jerusalem 506 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,160 until you are in dude with power from on high. 507 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,160 You are not asked to be a witness on your own. 508 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,160 You are asked to tell people about Jesus, 509 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,160 being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to do so. 510 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,160 You don't have to do it on your own. 511 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,160 The Holy Spirit of God is there to help you. 512 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,160 You just have to open your mouth. 513 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:07,160 I thought a lot about this on Monday. 514 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,160 I thought, okay, like, I'm going to be talking to my friends. 515 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,160 Right? 516 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:13,160 Are you talking to Vicki? 517 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,160 I'm going to be talking to Josh. 518 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,160 The people in this congregation, 519 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:18,160 we were talking to Brandon, 520 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,160 how do you actually be a witness? 521 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,160 So I came up with three simple steps 522 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,160 in order that Christians in Southern Hills 523 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,160 can be a simple witness. 524 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:27,160 Here they are. 525 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,160 Step number one, to be a simple witness, 526 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:30,160 how do I witness? 527 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,160 Number one, you must, number one, find the right one. 528 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:35,160 See it on the screen? 529 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,160 Find the right one. 530 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:38,160 Now some of you are thinking, 531 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,160 pastor, I think they misspelled something on the slide again. 532 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,160 No, that's the right spelling. 533 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:50,160 Find the right one. 534 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,160 When I was a kid, 535 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,160 I have a friend, a cousin named Brent, 536 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,160 who lived in Pennsylvania. 537 00:23:57,160 --> 00:23:58,160 And when we would go visit Brent, 538 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,160 we would jump inside of his dune buggy, 539 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:04,160 and we'd go through all of the fields of western Pennsylvania. 540 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,160 And there was one field where a farmer had, 541 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,160 not in rows, but randomly haphazardly planted 542 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:13,160 several crab apple trees. 543 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,160 How many of you have ever eaten off of a crab apple tree before? 544 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,160 Tart and sweet, like a Granny Smith, but better. 545 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,160 And I remember we would climb up in that tree, 546 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:24,160 and now I'm from the city of Las Vegas, 547 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:29,160 so I'm not used to things like living plants, 548 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,160 you know what I mean? 549 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:33,160 But he was. 550 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:34,160 And I remember we'd climb up in that tree 551 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,160 and we'd pick these crab apples, we stole them, 552 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:38,160 we stole them, I'm confessing it now. 553 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,160 Statue of limitations is over, he can't do nothing. 554 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:43,160 Sue me already, all right? 555 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,160 I'm telling you, to stole all these crab apple trees 556 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:52,160 and these crab apples. 557 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,160 Here's what I didn't know that my cousin Brent knew. 558 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,160 That if you go to pluck one of these apples 559 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:04,160 and it's not ripe, you can tell by how hard you have to pull on it. 560 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,160 So I'd be like, oh man, that one looks good, 561 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,160 and I go to grab it, and I'm pulling on it, you know what I mean? 562 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,160 I'm swinging, trying to get this grabbed. 563 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,160 And then you grab it, and once you finally, 564 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:18,160 you finally rip it from the branch, you try to eat it, 565 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,160 it's really bad. 566 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,160 It's disgusting, it wasn't ready. 567 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,160 But a good apple that's really ripe, 568 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,160 you can go up to it and just with a small touch, 569 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:32,160 just, it's ready. 570 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:34,160 And then you eat it. 571 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:35,160 Do you know what's happening with a lot of you 572 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,160 trying to tell people about Jesus right now? 573 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:42,160 You are focused on the wrong person. 574 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,160 Right? You've got that kid that ran away, 575 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:48,160 you've got that family member who is just so angry all the time. 576 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,160 They're not ripe, they're not ready. 577 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,160 You've got that co-worker, and here's your answer. 578 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,160 You're like, I'm just going to watch more YouTube videos 579 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:59,160 and I'm going to prove that I'm right. 580 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:05,160 I'm going to show them Jesus. 581 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,160 And your answer to winning them is argument. 582 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:14,160 An argument never won anybody to Jesus Christ. 583 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:19,160 You're just wrestling this apple that's not ready to... 584 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,160 You see? 585 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:24,160 Stop it. 586 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:26,160 You're not helping them. 587 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,160 You say, okay, fine, I'm just going to give up. 588 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,160 No, no, look for the ripe one. 589 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:34,160 See, maybe if you stop focusing on the wrong one, 590 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,160 there's going to be a ripe one in your life, 591 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,160 a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, a relative. 592 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,160 And their life has been in such turmoil, 593 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,160 or maybe such blessing, or maybe down a certain path 594 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,160 in such a way that they are perfectly ready 595 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,160 for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 596 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,160 They've been set up perfectly, 597 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,160 and God and His divine plan has brought you to that moment. 598 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:55,160 And you're like, that's the one? 599 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,160 And God's like, the Holy Spirit's like, yep, that's the one. 600 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,160 And you go to pluck it, and it's like, 601 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,160 they want to get saved. 602 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:04,160 That's how it works. 603 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,160 They're ripe. They're ready. 604 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,160 You know what the Bible says in the book of Acts, 605 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:12,160 which happens to be the sequel to the book of Luke? 606 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,160 It talks about a guy named Paul, who is a witness, 607 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,160 a pastor like me, and he goes into the city of Colossae, 608 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:19,160 and he meets a woman there by a river. 609 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,160 Her name was Lydia, a very wealthy business woman. 610 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:30,160 And the Bible says of Lydia that God had made her heart ready. 611 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,160 Do you know why it is that you got saved when you got saved? 612 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,160 Because somewhere in the weeks and the months previous, 613 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:42,160 God was making your heart ready to be plucked. 614 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:47,160 And so, who in your life is God doing that with? 615 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:48,160 Does this make sense? 616 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,160 So somebody at school, somebody at work, 617 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,160 somebody in your neighborhood, a family, a friend, 618 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,160 who you need to ask, oh God, who's ready to receive Christ? 619 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,160 And then once you do, step number two. 620 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:02,160 Once you know who it is, step number two. 621 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,160 Very simple. Step number two. 622 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:08,160 Invite them to church. 623 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:10,160 Say, tell me what to say. 624 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,160 Okay, this is going to blow your mind. 625 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,160 Do you want to give you the right words? 626 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,160 Are you ready to practice with me? 627 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,160 Okay, here it is. Here it is. 628 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,160 Hold on. Where's my... Here it is. 629 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,160 Come. 630 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:28,160 Thank you. 631 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,160 Two. 632 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:32,160 Thank you. 633 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:33,160 Church. 634 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:37,160 Oh, give us a round of applause. You did it. 635 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,160 You say, but that's not a really great argument. 636 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,160 You don't need an argument if their heart is ripe. 637 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:43,160 They're already ready. 638 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:44,160 The Holy Spirit already did that. 639 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,160 You just figure out the right one, the ripe one, 640 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,160 and then you say, hey, come to church. 641 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:50,160 You give it to them. 642 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:51,160 That's why we gave you this this week. 643 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,160 You give it to that person. 644 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:58,160 Who is the person that God wants you to bring to Jesus? 645 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:01,160 No, no, no. Some of you are like, I'm working on them. 646 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:02,160 Stop it. Leave them alone. 647 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,160 Who is the ripe one that you need to just say, hey, come to church? 648 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,160 Now, some of you are like, hey, Pastor Josh, you know, I did that. 649 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:14,160 I invited them to Easter in 2018, and they said, no. 650 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,160 Well, repeat. 651 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,160 You know, you could go back to them and be like, hey, you should come. 652 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,160 And you could ask again and ask again and ask again. 653 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:29,160 And there's all sorts of tricks you can play, you know, like, 654 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:33,160 like come to church and we'll go to brunch afterward. 655 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,160 And I'll buy you lunch, and then you could forget your credit card at home. 656 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:37,160 It's perfect. 657 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:46,160 Like, these are the tricks, right? 658 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,160 When you go to lunch after church, I'm telling you, you could say, 659 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,160 you could say very simply, you could say, so what'd you think? 660 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:53,160 That's it. 661 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:54,160 Hey, man, that was great. 662 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:55,160 Thanks for coming. 663 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:56,160 I'm glad you came. 664 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:57,160 Hey, so like honestly, what'd you think? 665 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:58,160 You're not going to offend me. 666 00:29:58,160 --> 00:29:59,160 What'd you think? 667 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:02,160 And sometimes they're going to be like, that was really great. 668 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,160 And sometimes they're going to be like, I don't, I'm not, I don't. 669 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:05,160 Like, that's great. 670 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,160 I just, I like to hear your thoughts. 671 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:08,160 No judgment. 672 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:12,160 And then after they come, invite them again, invite them again. 673 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,160 Be like, hey, on your third day, you get a teacher. 674 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:22,160 And everybody does it like, what? 675 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,160 A t-shirt? 676 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,160 Oh yeah, I'll find Jesus for a t-shirt. 677 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:27,160 Amen, right? 678 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:29,160 Then why do we do it? 679 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:34,160 Just giving you another, you know, another thing to say. 680 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,160 So number one, find the right one. 681 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,160 Number two, invite them to church. 682 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,160 Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. 683 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:44,160 Then number three, number three, tell them to meet Pastor Josh. 684 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:47,160 Like, oh, okay, wow, thank you. 685 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,160 All right, I'll tell you, yeah, this guy. 686 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:50,160 So why do we do that here? 687 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,160 Okay, this scenario works for us. 688 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,160 I'm not saying this is, somebody's going to watch this online in North Carolina and be like, 689 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,160 well, there's no other way to, I'm saying our church. 690 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:03,160 Like, the YouTube people need to chill out seriously. 691 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,160 This is a church with people. 692 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:09,160 What works for us in our church, do you understand? 693 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:13,160 Like, you find the right one, you invite them to church, and then you say to them, you say, hey, 694 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,160 like, you've been coming, you should go talk to Pastor Josh. 695 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:20,160 He's a nice guy, you know, go to coffee. 696 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:24,160 He'll do the whole, you know, spiritual diagnosis thing. 697 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,160 You should go. 698 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:27,160 It works for us. 699 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,160 And then I'm going to sit down. 700 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:31,160 I'm going to walk him through the gospel of Jesus Christ. 701 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:32,160 Amen? 702 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,160 Right, so, like, this is exactly what Isaac did. 703 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,160 Isaac did this just probably about six to eight weeks ago. 704 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,160 This is a photograph of Isaac. 705 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,160 Isaac is not on the right, and on the left is me. 706 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,160 I don't know if you recognize. 707 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:51,160 But behind the guy who is a selfie photo bombing, that's Isaac. 708 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:53,160 All right, that's Isaac in the middle. 709 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:58,160 And Isaac has been bringing Denzel to our church, just like some of you are being brought to our church, 710 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,160 and you're like, wait a second, there's like a big master plan? 711 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:01,160 Oh, we're going to get you. 712 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:07,160 What do you think this is about? 713 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:11,160 Like, God wants you, and we're like workers with God, and we want to get you for God. 714 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,160 So that's what we're doing here. 715 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:17,160 And so Isaac, Isaac, after like three times, told Denzel, he's like, 716 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:21,160 you want to go talk to him and like bring him, you know, like, you go talk to him. 717 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,160 And Denzel's like, all right, all right. 718 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:26,160 Denzel's 18 years old, and they came up after the service. 719 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:27,160 I'm like, what's your story? 720 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,160 He's like, I think I believe in God. 721 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:30,160 I want to learn more about this. 722 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:31,160 I've never been to church. 723 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,160 I want to find out, you know, I'm like, yeah, that's great. 724 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,160 So we got a selfie, and then Isaac jumped in because he's an egoist or something. 725 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:43,160 And then we set up a coffee appointment two weeks later, or three or something like that, 726 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:44,160 and went to coffee. 727 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:50,160 And I sat down with Denzel, and I shared with him the truth of Jesus, the gospel, 728 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:54,160 that I have the privilege of understanding, that you have a privilege of understanding. 729 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,160 And I clearly expressed to him that God loves him, even though he's a sinner. 730 00:32:58,160 --> 00:32:59,160 Do you believe you're a sinner? 731 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:00,160 Do you repent of your sin? 732 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,160 Do you turn your back on that life? 733 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:03,160 Do you receive? 734 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:06,160 Do you have a change of mind about who you were so that you can receive? 735 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,160 Do you have a change of mind about who you were so that you can receive? 736 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,160 Do you have a change of mind about who you were so that you can receive? 737 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:14,160 I explained the whole gospel. 738 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,160 He died to pay for all your sins, was buried, rose from the grave, 739 00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:23,160 and all you must do to be saved is repent and receive Jesus as your savior. 740 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:24,160 Would you like to do so? 741 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:32,160 And three minutes before this picture was taken, Denzel, who was grown up around religious symbolism, 742 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:37,160 received Jesus Christ as his savior. 743 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:38,160 Amen. 744 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:43,160 He's going to get baptized in January, you see, and then he's going to be part of my young man's mentorship group, 745 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,160 which is a group, an invite group from 18 to 28. 746 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:47,160 What's the point? 747 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:51,160 The point is, in this little place, this is how we do this. 748 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:54,160 And I want to inform you that you can do this too. 749 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:55,160 Be a witness. 750 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:56,160 Be a witness. 751 00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:00,160 Now, if you've got a better way, do the other way and get them to Jesus. 752 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:01,160 Do you see what I'm saying? 753 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:02,160 Amen. 754 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,160 So that's what Luke is trying to do is he's ending this story out. 755 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:10,160 He's trying to say, as he closes, the privilege of understanding the gospel. 756 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:14,160 Number two, the responsibility you have to witness of the gospel. 757 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:18,160 And then number three, he ends the entire letter of the book of Luke. 758 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:23,160 He ends it by talking about the victory of Jesus. 759 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:24,160 I'm going to say victory. 760 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:26,160 You say victory of Jesus. 761 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:27,160 I'm going to say victory. 762 00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:29,160 You say victory of Jesus. 763 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:30,160 Victory. 764 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:32,160 Victory of Jesus. 765 00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:39,160 What do we mean by that? 766 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:50,160 The story of Jesus ends with Jesus ascending in the clouds to meet God the Father in the 767 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,160 air and enter the gates of glory. 768 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:58,160 Look at what it says, verse 50, and Jesus led them as far out as Bethany. 769 00:34:58,160 --> 00:34:59,160 Where was he? 770 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:00,160 Say Bethany. 771 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:01,160 Where was he? 772 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:02,160 Bethany. 773 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:04,160 And he lifted up his hands and he blessed them. 774 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:08,560 Now it came to pass while he blessed them that he was parted from them and was carried 775 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:09,560 away into the heavens. 776 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:13,160 The other gospels in the book of Acts all tell the same story from different angles. 777 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:15,720 The clouds came and he ascended. 778 00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:21,320 He literally rose in front of them into the sky. 779 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:24,400 The ascension of Jesus Christ. 780 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:28,640 And they worshiped him. 781 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:34,080 It's interesting to me because the story of the book of Luke begins with a group of 782 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:38,800 poor shepherds out in the middle of a field only two miles from Bethany in the fields 783 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,920 called Bethlehem. 784 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:49,440 As they find out about Jesus Christ, Messiah being born, and they worship Jesus when they 785 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:51,200 arrive at the manger. 786 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:58,600 And now the story loops back and now we see a bunch of poor disciples out on a field. 787 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:03,120 On the side of a mountain called Bethany. 788 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,360 And they're worshiping Jesus. 789 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,640 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the 790 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:14,520 temple praising God and blessing God's name. 791 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,880 Amen. 792 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,680 Why does Luke end the story this way? 793 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:31,840 Because we forget that sometimes we forget that sometimes the story is not about us. 794 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:33,440 You understand? 795 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,800 This story is not about you. 796 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,680 This story is about Jesus. 797 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:43,040 And it ends where Jesus ascends into the clouds and is now being lifted on high. 798 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:49,000 And I want you to imagine what that would be like for Jesus. 799 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,040 We see Jesus disappear in the clouds. 800 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:58,520 Jesus rises to the gates of glory and he enters into heaven to the sounds of trumpets, maybe. 801 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:00,720 The praise and the glory of all the angels. 802 00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:05,760 The gates open up like a Super Bowl hero coming back to his hometown after winning. 803 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:12,160 Like an astronaut coming back to the planet and all of us shouting, Jesus has won! 804 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:16,600 And he arrives for the very first time back at the gates of glory to his father and he 805 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:25,600 announces, I've done it, I've saved mankind! 806 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:35,160 And for the first time in human history since the fall of Adam and Eve, mankind has a chance. 807 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,640 And so we adore him. 808 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:47,240 Jesus the shepherds adored him in Luke chapter 2, the disciples at the very end adore him. 809 00:37:47,240 --> 00:37:52,680 And I want to invite you to do exactly the same thing with me tonight. 810 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:59,000 Today as we close, I'm going to pray and we're going to go right into a song where I'm asking 811 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:04,600 you to come and let us adore him. 812 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:09,600 Father.