WEBVTT

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Talk about a beautiful picture of trusting and

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obeying. I may have a pit in my stomach about

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inviting someone to our candlelight soup supper

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and service this December and think about what

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they're doing. Talk about trust and obey, which

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is where we're going to go after the sermon.

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We're going to sing that song, but... The song

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nonetheless has this line in it as we continue

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our sermon series in the book of Acts. For there

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is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust

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and obey. I'm going to ask right off the bat.

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When you think of the words trust and obey, how

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many people equate the word happy with that?

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It's about what I thought. Maybe three of you.

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Why? Because trusting is very, very difficult.

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How do I know? A bunch of you have told me over

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the last seven years that trusting people is

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not something that comes easy or natural to you.

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And usually the reason why, well, let me ask.

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Why is it that sometimes trusting people, for

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a majority of us, I'd say, and I don't even have

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to make that statistic up, for the majority of

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us, why is it hard to trust people? We got in

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the back. When your trust has been taken advantage

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of, or another way of saying it, Nikki, is we

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got burned. Okay? Right? There's a little bit

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of difference in language there. But when we've

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been taken advantage of or burned by trust, I

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could probably ask how many of us have ever been

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burned or taken advantage of in our trust, and

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my guess is all of us would raise our hand. And

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if I said how many of that were the people closest

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to us, a lot of our hands would stay up. This

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understanding of trust, I think our Father in

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Heaven knows that, which is why there are over

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hundreds of verses that talk about trust. One

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is the life verse that I have. It was the verse

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that I really kind of got attracted to when I

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made Profession of Faith, Proverbs 3, 5, and

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6. Trust in the Lord with... all your heart,

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lean not on your own understanding, in all your

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ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your

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paths, make your paths straight, whatever translation.

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And I'd love to say, that's so easy to do, right?

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But we all know that's not the case. And for

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some of us, we look at the weather and we go,

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man, it's just hard to trust anybody. See how

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fickle that is? Because it's junky weather out,

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we just don't want to be around people. We don't

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want to trust people. The only thing we want

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to trust is being bedside Baptists and going

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back to bed. Now what about obeying? We got trust.

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We got obey. That wasn't a shot at Baptist. That's

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just the verbiage. Restless reformed. I don't

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know. I don't care what it is. Obeying. How many

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of us love to obey? Come on, oldest borns. That's

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deep inherited in you if you're the oldest born,

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right? Oldest born, we only learn it once. I'm

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not the oldest born, but I've talked for my sister.

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She only had to break the rules a couple times

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and she kind of fell in line, right? And then

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you got the middle ones who kind of see that

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and see the way to kind of... tip -throw through

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the tulips, if you will, right? But then you

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usually come to fall in line, and then you're

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the youngest born. How many youngest borns or

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third -borns do we have? You don't think the

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rules apply to you, okay? And so you just don't

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obey anybody. But obedience, isn't it hilarious?

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We have to take our, how many of you have ever

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taken a pet, a dog, because if you've taken a

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cat to obedience training, never mind. How many

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people have ever taken a dog to obedience training?

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Right? Those are good dog owners, right? A lot

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of you knew us when we first came. We had a dog

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named Pierce. Smarter than most humans, right?

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I would have a bumper sticker that said, my dog

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is smarter than your honor student if I could

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have found it, right? That it was he, I mean,

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just by a look, he knew what to do. And we call

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that a really good dog, right? It's a great dog

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when you can just look and they sit. Pierce had

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a manipulative side none of you knew about. I

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would tell Pierce no about something, he'd go

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and literally ask it, not verbally, don't make

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it weird, you know, but he would go to Carrie.

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Though in front of other people, he put on a

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show, behind the scenes, he ran that house. And

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how many of you have ever met Annie and Archie,

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our dogs now? Absolute idiots, right? Like they

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don't do either. They don't trust, they don't

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obey. They just... Who knows, right? And our

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boys just follow their lead in a lot of ways.

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They think rules don't apply to them. Annie,

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come here. She runs the other way. But trusting

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and obeying, we look for it in our animals. If

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you're a parent, you kind of look for it in your

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kids, but at the same time, you also kind of

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remember what you were like as a kid, and you

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have that friction. Yet that was the very first

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thing God asked of his, no, not asked, called

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of his people. Be holy as I am holy. Knowing

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that is an impossible task, but striving for

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that and holy, not holier than thou, holy the

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way Jesus tells us to be holy, i .e. loving one

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another. They will know that you are my disciples

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by your love one for another. That is the obedience

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of the Lord, the obedience of Christ, to trust

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and obey. Sounds simple. Carries a lot of deep

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truth. When I have a couple come in for either

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premarital or marriage counseling, Because I

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offer that. When I do premarital for a couple,

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I always offer about a year and a half or so

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of marriage counseling. Not because I know everything.

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That's not the case. You all know that. But understanding

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that there are times your first year of marriage,

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that honeymoon phase, things can go awry. You

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need an objective third party, someone cheering

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you on. Because you may wake up one day and the

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wife goes to the husband, I think we should get

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a dog. And the husband goes, I hate your mom.

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And you're like, whoa, that took a turn. We probably

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need to sit down and talk to somebody. Counseling

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in that is a good thing. You want to see what

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the root of most conflicts in marriage are? A

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lack of trust. And a lack of obedience one to

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another. A lack of submission, if you will, one

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to another. And lack of communication. That would

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be the third. It's not easy to do. But in Acts

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chapter 5, the church learns this lesson in a

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sobering way, as many times the Israelites did

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in the Old Testament, as the disciples did in

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the Gospels, as the church will do in the New

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Testament. They learn it in a very sobering way.

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The Spirit of God is moving powerfully. People

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are being healed. We saw that last week. The

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gospel is being spread. And the gospel is not

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your gospel or their gospel or my gospel. The

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gospel is clear. Christ was alive. Christ died.

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Christ was buried in a tomb. And he rose again.

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He is the Messiah. He is the son of the living

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God. So we need to follow his words, as he says

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in the Great Commission. But then deceit enters

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the story. And this shouldn't be a surprise to

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us because it took all of about three chapters

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in the beginning of the Bible for deceit to come

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upon the people. We've done this before, guys.

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We've entered the Garden of Eden. We've had that

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conversation. Surely you won't die, Satan says,

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Lucifer says to Eve with Adam who was with her.

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I always want to point that out. A lot of people

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like to blame Eve, but if Adam was doing his

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job, I don't think it would have happened. The

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seat enters the story. Ananias and Sapphira,

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they lie. I'd love to ask how many of you lied

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this week, but I'm not going to because I don't

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want you to lie in church and not raise your

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hand, proving my point. They didn't lie just

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to the people, but they lied to God himself.

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Their story is shocking, but it's also revealing.

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The presence of God demands purity for his people.

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God wants the church to be pure. Okay, then why

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did you fill it with us? That's a question I

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have. Why did you make me the pastor? Because

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that's not going to work. But if the goal is

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to strive after Christ's holiness, We need to

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recognize when they're in the wrong. We need

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to offer forgiveness one to another. And we need

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to continue to keep walking. Yet the church stifles

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that because we don't get our way, because we

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don't like what's happened, because this person

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said this, or this person thought that, or I

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thought this person thought and then said this,

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even though it never happened. Yet I will talk

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to the elder or the pastor about it without verifying.

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And so then we get this huge hornet. That's never

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happened here. You see, we make a mess of it

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because at the end of the day, we should trust.

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It says trust and obey here, but we're going

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to set the scene in a minute. We should trust

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one another. We should obey Christ and walk together

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in obedience. I could stand up here and say,

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I'm the pastor. You should trust and obey everything

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that I say. But if I did that, none of you would

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be a part of this church because that's not a

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good way to lead. We need to all be obedient

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to the same thing. Because guess what? I'm no

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better than you. You're no better than me. Surprise!

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But we all fall on our knees at the foot of the

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cross and walk it out together. Let's set the

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scene. We're going to be in Acts chapter 5. Sorry,

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Acts chapter 4. Yeah, sorry. Thank you, Nikki.

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Yeah, we're going to be in 4 and going into 5.

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That's where I got confused. So Acts chapter

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4, we're going to start with verse 36 and go

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to chapter 5, verse 2. Okay? Thus Joseph, who

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was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which

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means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native

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of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him

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and brought the money and laid it at the apostles'

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feet. But a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira

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sold a piece of property, and his wife's knowledge

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he kept back for himself some of the proceeds

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and brought only a part of it and laid it at

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the apostles' feet. So we see the movement of

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the church is still very simple. Speak the gospel,

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because a lot of these people saw Jesus go through

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all the things. They're going to speak that.

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They're going to talk, teaching them everything

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I have commanded you. Love God with all of your

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heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor

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as yourself. They're going to go to the Beatitudes.

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They're going to go to the Sermon on the Mount.

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They're going to do the thing, speak those, not

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their own words, but Jesus's. But what else were

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they doing? They were selling their possessions.

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Now the easy thing is, okay, as we go to a potential

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building campaign, if we vote, no, I'm not going

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to do that. That's too easy and somewhat manipulative.

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We're going to talk through what actually happened.

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They sold things like property, their possessions.

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They were giving it to the movement of the way.

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Again, this wasn't Christianity yet. This was

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the way of Jesus. And Luke, as he normally does,

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sets up a contrast for us. Luke sets up a story

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with Barnabas, who gave honestly, and Ananias

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and Sapphira, who gave deceitfully. faith. Let's

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pause there. Giving out of faith. That's a struggle.

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I sat with that for a minute. That when I give,

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when we all give to things like missions, we

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have faith that the organization, the individuals

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are going to use it in the way that they've told

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us to and what they've said to the missions committee.

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that they're going to use it to further the cause

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of the mission of Christ. And when we have organizations

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that it's kind of muddy and we don't really know

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what the stewardship's like there, guess what?

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We pull back and we ask more questions. It's

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what the committee does. It's what the elders

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do. It's what the deacons do. What the council

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does. They work in tandem with missions to make

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sure that we are being good financial stewards,

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time, talent, treasures of those missions. Well,

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Pastor, why do we do this? Acts 5 is why. Acts

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4 and 5 is why. Because I think it's right and

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good. This deliberate, what I'm going to call

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juxtaposition, Luke's writers are going to put

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this at odds, shows that sin is the most dangerous

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when it hides under the appearance of godliness.

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Let me say that again. That sin is most dangerous

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when it hides under the appearance of godliness.

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What other good kind of visual? Wolf in sheep's

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clothing. Okay? That has to do more with the

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leader of it. But first we're going to dive into

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the deception, verses 1 and 2. There's a deception

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here. Verses 1 and 2. But a man named Ananias

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and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property,

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and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for

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himself. some of the proceeds, and brought only

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a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.

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If we don't know what Barnabas does, is this

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a problem? I'm going to throw it to you. Let's

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say we don't find out that Luke's writer doesn't

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give us what Barnabas does, and all we get is

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this. Let's say we started with this. Is it a

00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:23.399
problem? What say you? See? Oh, I didn't tell

00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:24.899
him to say that, but that's exactly what I was

00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:31.279
looking for. Seems like a tithe. Right? A tenth?

00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:34.679
Sure, we could probably say that. I mean, we

00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:37.779
don't know that for a fact. He kept back for

00:14:37.779 --> 00:14:40.820
himself some of the proceeds and brought only

00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:44.320
a part of it and laid it at the apostles. feet.

00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.759
They sell part of the property, or they sell

00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.759
the property and bring part of the money, but

00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:53.799
here's the thing, while pretending to give it

00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:59.120
all. That's the key difference here. That's what

00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:01.580
makes this not tithing, even though I would have

00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:03.320
said the exact same thing I did when I was working

00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:05.679
through it. Like, is this really a bad thing?

00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:08.000
I mean, the church is still getting some. Like,

00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.059
giddy up. Is that the right heart that Jesus

00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:16.110
talks about as far as giving? No. The issue is

00:15:16.110 --> 00:15:18.889
not withholding. Peter later says the property

00:15:18.889 --> 00:15:22.490
was theirs to control, but pretending full surrender

00:15:22.490 --> 00:15:27.210
while holding back. The hypocrisy here reveals

00:15:27.210 --> 00:15:31.049
the desire for spiritual recognition without

00:15:31.049 --> 00:15:35.649
spiritual submission. Let me say that again because

00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:37.769
there's kind of some theological terms here.

00:15:38.110 --> 00:15:41.990
Spiritual recognition, look at me, without spiritual

00:15:41.990 --> 00:15:47.250
submission. Here's my everything. Remember, the

00:15:47.250 --> 00:15:49.649
sermon is called Trust and Obey, but we'll get

00:15:49.649 --> 00:15:53.149
there. So let's go to verse 3, what I call Satan's

00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:57.210
influence. But Peter said to Ananias, Why has

00:15:57.210 --> 00:16:00.409
Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit

00:16:00.409 --> 00:16:03.350
and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds

00:16:03.350 --> 00:16:09.789
of land? Let's put this in our terms right now.

00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:13.820
Let's say we find out that, like, I don't know,

00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:17.500
that you, in a more grand sense, you win the

00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:22.759
lottery. Say, I don't know, $10 million, just

00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.120
for our purposes today, right? After taxes, let's

00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.000
just call it five, okay? That what's 10 % of

00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:35.440
$5 million? I don't know that math. $500 ,000,

00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:39.509
right? And let's say that a check comes in, right?

00:16:39.570 --> 00:16:45.250
The deacons see it, and it's 50 bucks. We all,

00:16:45.350 --> 00:16:50.549
50 bucks. Let's say it's $5 ,000. Person just

00:16:50.549 --> 00:16:55.529
won 5 mil. I already see it. There's tension

00:16:55.529 --> 00:16:58.629
going on. A lot of you, right, are trying to

00:16:58.629 --> 00:17:00.929
tense up different parts of your body because

00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:03.669
like, oh, pastor, you're treading on money. You're

00:17:03.669 --> 00:17:06.700
treading on stuff. Well, the Bible talks about

00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:10.680
giving. Now, we'll never ask for your W -2s.

00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:12.079
We're never going to be that kind of church.

00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:15.400
But understand that it's the trust and the obedience

00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:19.240
of the giver in how they worship the creator.

00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:22.220
Peter asked, why has Satan filled your heart

00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:28.880
to lie to the Holy Spirit? Oof, that hurts. But

00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:31.299
think about where we just were two and a half

00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:34.339
chapters ago. Wait for the Holy Spirit to be

00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.769
at work. The Holy Spirit comes in in a very,

00:17:37.829 --> 00:17:41.089
very visible way and Pentecost drives the whole

00:17:41.089 --> 00:17:44.650
thing. They haven't lost that inertia. They haven't

00:17:44.650 --> 00:17:47.210
lost that momentum. The Holy Spirit's the one

00:17:47.210 --> 00:17:51.789
doing it. The word filled recalls back to Acts

00:17:51.789 --> 00:17:55.009
2 verse 4 where the disciples were filled with

00:17:55.009 --> 00:17:57.490
the Spirit. Now instead of being filled with

00:17:57.490 --> 00:18:00.529
God's presence, Ananias is filled with deceit.

00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:05.039
Sin even within the church. is a form of spiritual

00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:08.799
warfare. There are some of us that are going

00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.299
to struggle with this text. And that's okay.

00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:13.660
Dive into it this week. I'm going to give you

00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:19.640
a point of view. Dive into it for yourself. Sin,

00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:21.559
even within the church, is spiritual warfare.

00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:25.539
So he says, the lie to God, right? Satan, yeah,

00:18:25.619 --> 00:18:28.519
he loves it when we lie to each other. Sure.

00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:31.440
But what Satan's ultimate goal is, the lie to

00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:36.079
God. He tries to discredit God in Genesis chapter

00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:38.880
3. Same thing going on here. The lie to God is

00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:43.220
verse 4. While it remained unsold, did it not

00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:47.839
remain your own? And after it was sold, was it

00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:51.119
not at your disposal? Why is it that you have

00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.440
contrived this deed in your heart? You have not

00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:59.390
lied to man, but to God. Some of you. are going,

00:18:59.490 --> 00:19:04.170
this is uncomfortably hardcore by Peter. I don't

00:19:04.170 --> 00:19:08.529
like it. I think that's fair. I think that there's

00:19:08.529 --> 00:19:11.329
a rub. There's a friction here, right? You have

00:19:11.329 --> 00:19:15.809
not lied to men, but to God. What is he saying?

00:19:17.750 --> 00:19:20.769
At the end of the day, if the Barnabas thing

00:19:20.769 --> 00:19:23.349
didn't happen, I don't know if the people would

00:19:23.349 --> 00:19:25.549
have known. Outside of the people that made that

00:19:25.549 --> 00:19:28.470
deal, The real estate agent, or however they

00:19:28.470 --> 00:19:31.349
did it in the first century, what the proceeds

00:19:31.349 --> 00:19:36.009
were, they wouldn't have known. God does. You

00:19:36.009 --> 00:19:37.910
have not lied to men but to God. This is one

00:19:37.910 --> 00:19:40.849
of the clearest affirmations of the Holy Spirit's

00:19:40.849 --> 00:19:45.529
divinity in the entire scriptures. You have not

00:19:45.529 --> 00:19:48.609
lied to men but to God. Remember when we joke

00:19:48.609 --> 00:19:50.750
that you try to play hide and seek with someone

00:19:50.750 --> 00:19:53.309
that's omnipotent and omnipresent? We can't do

00:19:53.309 --> 00:19:56.019
it. Friend, there is nothing that you can hold

00:19:56.019 --> 00:19:59.240
and hide that God doesn't know or see. That's

00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:02.619
why God says, confess it to me. Confess it one

00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:05.440
to another. That's why we do the prayer of confession

00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:09.640
and affirmation. To lie to the Spirit is to lie

00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:11.779
to God himself. How do we know? Our confessions

00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:14.599
help us. Belgian Confession, Article 11, affirms

00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:17.539
this truth. The Holy Spirit is true and eternal

00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:20.819
God, proceeding from the Father and the Son.

00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:23.380
Guess what? The Holy Spirit is still working

00:20:23.380 --> 00:20:25.680
in the church. The Holy Spirit has never said,

00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:29.539
peace out, I'm gone. No. That will happen when

00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:33.369
who comes back? Jesus. Right? And everything

00:20:33.369 --> 00:20:36.130
comes to fulfillment, comes to culmination. The

00:20:36.130 --> 00:20:38.529
Holy Spirit is still at work. How do I know?

00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:41.109
He's gifted all of you. He's gifted the church.

00:20:41.250 --> 00:20:46.130
This church has been here for 155 years and no

00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:49.029
one is that old here. So you guys have gone through

00:20:49.029 --> 00:20:53.849
the generations of spirit -filled lineage to

00:20:53.849 --> 00:20:58.049
keep this church open. This church is still moving.

00:20:59.069 --> 00:21:02.529
None of you, not your family line, not your family

00:21:02.529 --> 00:21:05.170
money, not what you bring to the table, keeps

00:21:05.170 --> 00:21:08.329
churches open. Revelation tells us it's the Spirit

00:21:08.329 --> 00:21:11.230
of God that keep churches open. How do we know?

00:21:11.349 --> 00:21:13.490
Because it's the Spirit of God that blows out

00:21:13.490 --> 00:21:17.730
the lampstand when they're done. And if that

00:21:17.730 --> 00:21:20.269
doesn't terrify you, it does as your pastor,

00:21:20.349 --> 00:21:23.210
so join me, will you, that we want to be faithful.

00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:26.500
And there's an immediate judgment. Don't worry,

00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:28.039
we'll get to some of the lighter stuff in a second.

00:21:28.180 --> 00:21:31.519
There's an immediate judgment starting in verse

00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:35.019
5. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down

00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:39.680
and breathed his last. We're not going to read

00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:42.259
this if we do a vote for the building. Don't

00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:44.960
worry about that. And breathed his last. And

00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:47.440
great fear came upon all who heard of it. The

00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.539
young men rose and wrapped him up and carried

00:21:49.539 --> 00:22:00.000
him out and buried him. This is such a weird

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:22.480
story. Immediately she fell down at her feet.

00:22:22.829 --> 00:22:25.369
breathed her last. When the young men came in,

00:22:25.410 --> 00:22:28.150
they found her dead, and they carried her out

00:22:28.150 --> 00:22:35.869
and buried her beside her husband. How are we

00:22:35.869 --> 00:22:40.430
feeling right now? Go ahead. It's a weird couple

00:22:40.430 --> 00:22:45.349
verses here. I can see why we don't read this

00:22:45.349 --> 00:22:48.549
before a congregational meeting. But how are

00:22:48.549 --> 00:22:54.900
we feeling? A couple people. What? Scary. Yep.

00:22:55.519 --> 00:23:02.519
Anyone else? Inadequate. Boom. Gone. Two people.

00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:06.579
One's calling right now saying, don't do it.

00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:12.539
Don't do it. Be honest. Trust and obey. Oh, oh.

00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:16.000
Well, go ahead, Mike. Go ahead, pastor's kid.

00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:24.160
Where's the grace? What? I was tracking with

00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:26.299
you before that. Lisa's like, I'm used to it.

00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.799
But understand, there's an immediate judgment.

00:23:30.140 --> 00:23:32.960
Ananias falls dead, and later Sapphira meets

00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:38.160
the same end. God's judgment here is what? Long

00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:42.839
-suffering? That's exact. Who said that? And

00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:44.440
I didn't even tell you I was going to say that.

00:23:44.579 --> 00:23:47.920
God's judgment here is swift. But here's the

00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:51.920
thing. I had to wrestle with this. Not because

00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:58.640
he's but because he is holy. I offer that for

00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:02.680
a minute. God's not doing this because he's cruel,

00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:08.240
but because he is holy. Their sin threatens the

00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:12.920
integrity of the newborn church. If hypocrisy

00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:18.519
grows unchecked, the witness of the gospel collapses.

00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:26.319
There's a direct tie to hypocrisy, and as one

00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.279
of the number ones, something I have to keep

00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:34.279
in check, as we all do, because what is hypocrisy?

00:24:36.819 --> 00:24:40.180
Talking the talk, but not walking the walk. Simple

00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:43.500
definition, right? Pharisees, Sadducees, they

00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:48.170
were hypocrites. At times, us, we can be hypocrites.

00:24:48.230 --> 00:24:50.930
If hypocrisy grows unchecked, the witness of

00:24:50.930 --> 00:24:56.109
the gospel collapses. God's plan is never in

00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:59.410
jeopardy because God is sovereign and we're not

00:24:59.410 --> 00:25:03.049
on his level. But as we see throughout the scriptures,

00:25:03.269 --> 00:25:07.069
there can be a fear that grows. And the fear

00:25:07.069 --> 00:25:11.319
here is among the church. Verse 11. And great

00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.859
fear came upon the whole church and upon all

00:25:13.859 --> 00:25:17.400
who heard these things. Think about the testimony

00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:22.400
of the people in this meeting. Peter and the

00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:27.119
rest. These people deceived and they were dead.

00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:30.799
And notice, no one shot them. Partly because

00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:33.400
they didn't have guns. But no one killed them.

00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:35.940
They fell and breathed their last. What does

00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:39.839
that tell me? That not a hair can fall from my

00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:42.579
head without the will of my Father in heaven,

00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:45.700
Lord's day one. That he is my comfort in life

00:25:45.700 --> 00:25:48.039
and in death. Well, Jim, I'm not feeling a whole

00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:52.420
lot of comfort in this verse. I get that. I'm

00:25:52.420 --> 00:25:55.200
with you. Great fear came upon the whole church.

00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:59.000
This is the first time Luke uses the word ecclesia

00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:04.220
to describe the church. Holiness and community

00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:08.579
belong together. Church is not a social club.

00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:12.960
It is the dwelling place of God. Belgian Confession,

00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:16.779
Article 27. This holy church is not confined,

00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:20.859
bound, or limited to a certain place or persons,

00:26:20.940 --> 00:26:24.420
but is spread and dispersed over the whole world,

00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:30.119
yet joined and united in one and the same spirit.

00:26:32.910 --> 00:26:36.569
It doesn't end. This story doesn't end. It continues

00:26:36.569 --> 00:26:38.430
because there's things that kind of continue

00:26:38.430 --> 00:26:41.789
to go on. You talk about signs and wonders. We

00:26:41.789 --> 00:26:44.049
always think that they're happy. We always think

00:26:44.049 --> 00:26:46.269
they're good. We always think that they're edifying

00:26:46.269 --> 00:26:51.809
to the body. I submit so was this. Ooh, we're

00:26:51.809 --> 00:26:53.049
going to struggle with that because two people

00:26:53.049 --> 00:26:56.730
are dead. How is death edifying to the body?

00:26:57.390 --> 00:27:00.369
Thank God God is sovereign and we're not. Verse

00:27:00.369 --> 00:27:04.019
12. Now many signs and wonders were regularly

00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:06.400
done among the people by the hands of the apostles,

00:27:06.579 --> 00:27:09.420
and they were all together in Solomon's portico.

00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:12.859
None of the rest dared join them, but the people

00:27:12.859 --> 00:27:15.720
held them in high esteem. And more than ever,

00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:18.559
believers were added to the Lord, multiples of

00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:23.029
both men and women. So that they even carried

00:27:23.029 --> 00:27:25.710
out the sick into the streets and laid them on

00:27:25.710 --> 00:27:30.089
cots and mats, that as Peter came by, at least

00:27:30.089 --> 00:27:33.250
his shadow might fall on some of them. So people

00:27:33.250 --> 00:27:35.609
also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem,

00:27:35.690 --> 00:27:38.549
bringing the sick, those afflicted with unclean

00:27:38.549 --> 00:27:43.990
spirits, and all were healed. Man, this puts

00:27:43.990 --> 00:27:46.089
in perspective the issues we got going on here.

00:27:46.809 --> 00:27:49.710
Or at least it should. I'm not going to list

00:27:49.710 --> 00:27:51.980
them all. But friends, we get in each other's

00:27:51.980 --> 00:27:54.220
way. Some of us don't like things that are going

00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:55.940
on. Some of us with other things we're going

00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:58.680
on. Some of us still are wondering why we don't

00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:01.859
have the candy monsters to drop candy in. Well,

00:28:01.859 --> 00:28:03.539
you haven't been listening. We're not doing the

00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:05.259
trunk or treat this year. We're going to do something

00:28:05.259 --> 00:28:09.339
else at Christmas. But see where the spirit was

00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:13.019
kind of discontent, disagreement, discouragement.

00:28:13.099 --> 00:28:15.819
See how that can be the enemy of the church if

00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:20.000
gone unchecked? That's why all of those discord,

00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:22.200
disagreements, discouragement, all of that can

00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:26.000
be resolved by following God's word. So we should

00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.400
probably trust God's word and obey God's word.

00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:34.740
See, it's not some creative title. If we do this,

00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:39.779
the church can continue. The story doesn't end

00:28:39.779 --> 00:28:43.220
with judgment. It ends with revival. I don't

00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:45.500
know about you, but that's revival. It's a beautiful

00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:49.769
thing. God's purifying work leads to power. Miracles

00:28:49.769 --> 00:28:52.630
continue. The sick are healed. The number of

00:28:52.630 --> 00:28:55.650
believers increased. The fear of the Lord does

00:28:55.650 --> 00:28:58.950
not crush the church. The fear of the Lord strengthens

00:28:58.950 --> 00:29:02.309
it. We should already be there, Munster Church.

00:29:02.410 --> 00:29:08.150
We went through Revelation. Seven churches. Not

00:29:08.150 --> 00:29:11.599
all of them stay. Some get judged and are wiped

00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:14.180
out because they lost their first love, because

00:29:14.180 --> 00:29:19.299
they reviled in hypocrisy. They loved it. They

00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:21.700
loved saying one thing and doing another, or

00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:24.079
doing one thing and saying another. Churches

00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:29.559
can make their identity out of those. The Munster

00:29:29.559 --> 00:29:31.859
Church, what should we be about? Trusting and

00:29:31.859 --> 00:29:37.769
obeying, even when we don't like it. There's

00:29:37.769 --> 00:29:39.690
a reason why God is a God of order and not a

00:29:39.690 --> 00:29:44.569
God of chaos. He took chaos and created. It's

00:29:44.569 --> 00:29:46.990
not our job to do. Our job is to be good stewards

00:29:46.990 --> 00:29:50.849
of it. Even the shadow of Peter, one of the weirdest

00:29:50.849 --> 00:29:53.930
things in all of Scripture to me, becomes a mean

00:29:53.930 --> 00:29:58.410
of healing. Remember Peter? Right? Foot and mouth

00:29:58.410 --> 00:30:01.869
Peter? The one that denies his rabbi gets restored.

00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:05.589
Now people are like, oh man, only if his shadow

00:30:05.589 --> 00:30:09.130
would pass by. I don't like that. That might

00:30:09.130 --> 00:30:12.009
be something I talked to somebody about in heaven.

00:30:12.329 --> 00:30:14.049
I'm sure it would be a long line to talk to Jesus.

00:30:14.130 --> 00:30:17.170
I'll talk to Elijah. That's fine. It's one of

00:30:17.170 --> 00:30:20.329
the things I love about what our sign guys did.

00:30:20.569 --> 00:30:23.609
Do you guys see the sign? That I don't walk on

00:30:23.609 --> 00:30:25.230
water. At first I thought it was a shot for my

00:30:25.230 --> 00:30:28.750
swimming ability. It's not. If you can't read

00:30:28.750 --> 00:30:30.529
it, our pastor doesn't walk on water, but he

00:30:30.529 --> 00:30:32.849
knows someone who does. Guess what? It's none

00:30:32.849 --> 00:30:37.650
of you. It's not me. It's Christ. A symbol of

00:30:37.650 --> 00:30:41.470
God's mercy flowing through obedience and holiness.

00:30:42.769 --> 00:30:45.490
So what do we do with that? Let's land the plane

00:30:45.490 --> 00:30:49.549
with these. What does God value in the church?

00:30:49.670 --> 00:30:53.150
God values integrity more than image. And this

00:30:53.150 --> 00:30:55.369
is coming from a pastor of a growing church.

00:30:56.490 --> 00:30:58.829
Friends, I could take credit for all of this.

00:30:59.230 --> 00:31:01.430
It would be the dumbest thing I would do. Because

00:31:01.430 --> 00:31:04.369
guess what? It would be gone like that. This

00:31:04.369 --> 00:31:07.920
isn't... My work? I'm not that good. Neither

00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.019
are you. This is the work of the Spirit. The

00:31:11.019 --> 00:31:14.339
church's witness depends on truth -telling hearts.

00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:19.059
God cannot bless hypocrisy. If you've wronged

00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:21.819
somebody, seek forgiveness. If they've wronged

00:31:21.819 --> 00:31:27.400
you, seek forgiveness. Grace is free, but never

00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:31.759
cheap. The cross shows both the severity of sin

00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:35.210
and the depth of Christ's love. When grace is

00:31:35.210 --> 00:31:37.369
treated lightly, it loses its power. We've talked

00:31:37.369 --> 00:31:40.730
about that many times. I've already made this

00:31:40.730 --> 00:31:42.230
point. I'm going to bring it up. The Spirit,

00:31:42.430 --> 00:31:45.230
guess what, is personal and present. How do I

00:31:45.230 --> 00:31:47.769
know? There are so many of you going through

00:31:47.769 --> 00:31:50.410
crazy things in your life, and you're keeping

00:31:50.410 --> 00:31:53.529
the faith, though it's hard. You're keeping the

00:31:53.529 --> 00:31:57.829
faith. Whether a surprise pregnancy or all of

00:31:57.829 --> 00:32:00.150
a sudden an illness or something else going on

00:32:00.150 --> 00:32:03.220
in your family, you are... clinging to Christ

00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:06.839
as your only hope. That is the work of the Spirit,

00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:09.779
because you and of yourself would never do it.

00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:12.059
Me and of myself, I would never do it. I would

00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:14.099
take it on what Jim could do, not what Christ

00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:17.980
can do through me. I say this all the time, right?

00:32:18.059 --> 00:32:21.839
A holy fear of God leads to a lasting joy. I

00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.140
don't know about you, but the last seven years

00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:25.599
of this church have been a lot of fun. And what

00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:28.650
do I say? Let's stay humble. Let's stay excited

00:32:28.650 --> 00:32:31.349
and slightly terrified. Where do you think I

00:32:31.349 --> 00:32:35.529
get it from? The beginning of the church. Fear

00:32:35.529 --> 00:32:39.250
here is reverent awe. The realization that God

00:32:39.250 --> 00:32:42.170
who judges sin is the same God who heals the

00:32:42.170 --> 00:32:47.569
broken and forgives the sinner. Finally, as we

00:32:47.569 --> 00:32:50.990
get ready to sing that last song, obedience invites

00:32:50.990 --> 00:32:54.720
power. After the church is purified, the spirit

00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:57.460
moves freely. God works through vessels that

00:32:57.460 --> 00:33:05.660
trust and obey. For there is no other way than

00:33:05.660 --> 00:33:12.900
to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey. Stand

00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:17.240
and let's all pray together. Let's pray our closing

00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:20.990
prayer together. Holy God. You are righteous

00:33:20.990 --> 00:33:24.529
and full of grace. Forgive us for pretending,

00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:28.289
for holding back part of our hearts. Teach us

00:33:28.289 --> 00:33:32.569
to trust you completely and obey you fully. Fill

00:33:32.569 --> 00:33:36.109
us with reverent awe and deep joy in your spirit.

00:33:36.529 --> 00:33:40.289
Make us a people of truth, so your power and

00:33:40.289 --> 00:33:43.670
presence may dwell among us. In Jesus' name we

00:33:43.670 --> 00:33:47.650
pray, amen. And may the Lord, the giver of life,

00:33:47.769 --> 00:33:48.089
the Savior,