WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.520 Well, raise your hand if you're a Gentile here 00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:06.480 this morning. Wow, Merry Christmas to you all. 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:10.380 How blessed are you to have your sins paid for 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:15.900 by Israel's Messiah? Amen? This morning I want 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:18.440 to set the tone for this message by describing 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:20.780 for you a picture that I hope that you can sort 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:23.820 of see in your mind's eye. It's a way to step 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:26.100 back and see the world and to see God's plan 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:29.940 for the world. from way above, from 40 ,000 feet. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:32.740 Now, as I describe this, this is not my original 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:34.979 thought. This is something I heard John Piper 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:38.000 talk about some 20 years ago or so. But I think 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.200 it's beautiful, and it really helped me to understand 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:44.320 the big picture of this life on earth, salvation 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:48.259 here on earth. So picture in your mind an all 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:52.479 -wise, all -powerful artist who paints on an 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:56.170 expansive canvas. with more brushes than you 00:00:56.170 --> 00:00:59.570 can even count. The artist, of course, is the 00:00:59.570 --> 00:01:01.929 creator God, so you can't actually picture him. 00:01:02.009 --> 00:01:04.489 He is spirit. He's not visible to the physical 00:01:04.489 --> 00:01:07.370 eye. And obviously he knows that that is true, 00:01:07.469 --> 00:01:11.129 so his intention is that his handiwork, his artistry, 00:01:11.129 --> 00:01:14.549 be put on display as a visible demonstration 00:01:14.549 --> 00:01:18.549 of his power and wisdom. He wants it to be seen. 00:01:18.650 --> 00:01:22.409 He wants it to be appreciated. Now, this canvas 00:01:22.409 --> 00:01:24.829 that he's working on is so large that we can 00:01:24.829 --> 00:01:27.409 hardly even fathom it. It is the size of the 00:01:27.409 --> 00:01:30.109 universe itself. So he is painting a picture 00:01:30.109 --> 00:01:33.650 as wide as the universe, as old as creation, 00:01:33.909 --> 00:01:37.750 and as lengthy as eternity. And what's so beautiful 00:01:37.750 --> 00:01:40.650 and impressive about it is that God is painting 00:01:40.650 --> 00:01:43.430 with thousands upon thousands upon thousands 00:01:43.430 --> 00:01:47.189 of colors and shades and textures. We might even 00:01:47.189 --> 00:01:51.060 call this painting human history. This unfolding 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:54.799 of successive moments in what we call time, whether 00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:57.920 it's years or decades or centuries or even millennia. 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:00.719 And the central theme of this unfolding drama, 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:04.200 this human history, is God's preparing and calling 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:07.859 and drawing and the saving of a very unique people 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:11.580 that he has set apart for his own purposes, for 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:14.620 his pleasure and for his glory. And he's now 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:16.780 working through each of these set apart people 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:21.310 using them as his brushes. to paint on this canvas. 00:02:22.129 --> 00:02:24.210 Now, most of these brushes are quite ordinary, 00:02:24.389 --> 00:02:27.229 but as the artist guides them, each stroke of 00:02:27.229 --> 00:02:30.030 his hand is essential to this overall picture 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:32.949 that he is currently painting. Can you picture 00:02:32.949 --> 00:02:35.409 it in your mind's eye? Now, there's a reason 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:38.189 why that picture to me 20 years ago was helpful. 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:42.050 It's not only a way to see this in my mind, but 00:02:42.050 --> 00:02:44.240 guess what? It's actually biblical. That is a 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:46.639 biblical picture. In fact, you heard that image 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:49.300 being subtly described in our call to worship 00:02:49.300 --> 00:02:52.180 passage for this morning from Ephesians 3, verse 00:02:52.180 --> 00:02:55.340 10, where Paul says that God has revealed to 00:02:55.340 --> 00:02:58.479 us a mystery that had been hidden for ages, but 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.280 is now brought to light. And he's done it for 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.800 this reason so that, you ready? The manifold 00:03:03.800 --> 00:03:09.080 wisdom of God might be known. Now, the word manifold 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.639 in the original Greek is a very funky compound 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:15.560 word that looks like that. Okay? The second half 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:18.620 of that word, right there it is, poikilos, refers 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:22.479 to a variety of colors. And then Paul puts a 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.479 prefix on it, paulus, which is the Greek word 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:29.740 for many. Many varied colors. So the wisdom that 00:03:29.740 --> 00:03:32.319 God is making known to the world is described 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:35.800 in Ephesians 3 .10 as being fashioned in a variety 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:40.120 of shades and colors. Diverse, intricate, complex. 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:44.180 And the artist using all these brushes to produce 00:03:44.180 --> 00:03:48.780 his masterpiece. The story of God in the Bible, 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:50.819 you guys, is so much bigger than we can imagine. 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:52.939 So much more than just what's right in front 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:55.000 of you, what you can see with your visible eyes. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:57.439 And so sometimes we need to step back and go, 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:00.219 wow, look at this. We call this biblical theology, 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:02.759 right? Seeing everything from above. Now at the 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:04.580 center of God's painting, and this is the entire 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:07.460 story of the Bible, is what we often call mission. 00:04:08.250 --> 00:04:10.550 And by mission, I'm referring to the means by 00:04:10.550 --> 00:04:13.129 which God is gathering his people out of the 00:04:13.129 --> 00:04:16.569 world, how he's drawing them to himself and how 00:04:16.569 --> 00:04:19.370 he is saving them. They then become a people 00:04:19.370 --> 00:04:22.310 who participate in that same work of salvation 00:04:22.310 --> 00:04:27.069 by serving as the artist's ambassadors, proclaiming 00:04:27.069 --> 00:04:30.050 the gospel and inviting others to follow after 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:32.230 Christ and then to form communities of faith 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:35.069 like ours here at Oak Hill. where the word is 00:04:35.069 --> 00:04:37.730 taught and lived out in practical ways, all of 00:04:37.730 --> 00:04:40.069 which then point back to God's goodness and grace 00:04:40.069 --> 00:04:43.790 and serve as a testimony to his power and wisdom. 00:04:44.189 --> 00:04:48.490 See how it works? It's easy, right? Question, 00:04:48.649 --> 00:04:51.110 do you see yourself within the scope of this 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:55.149 big picture vision? Do you see yourself in it? 00:04:55.269 --> 00:04:58.250 You should. Life is so much more than what's 00:04:58.250 --> 00:05:01.290 right in front of you and what you can see. God 00:05:01.290 --> 00:05:03.750 is using you, every single believer here this 00:05:03.750 --> 00:05:07.389 morning, to paint in just a small portion of 00:05:07.389 --> 00:05:10.490 his canvas. And we would each do well to recognize 00:05:10.490 --> 00:05:14.329 that truth and embrace it and live it. Amen? 00:05:15.009 --> 00:05:18.589 Grab your Bibles. We're going to turn to our 00:05:18.589 --> 00:05:24.490 Advent theme passage once again. Acts chapter 00:05:24.490 --> 00:05:28.870 1, verses 6 through 8. I'm going to put it up 00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:30.730 on the screen. There it is. By the way, we're 00:05:30.730 --> 00:05:33.470 going to be looking at lots of selected scriptures 00:05:33.470 --> 00:05:35.509 this morning and we'll be moving quickly. So 00:05:35.509 --> 00:05:37.629 I'm going to be putting verses on the screen 00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:40.589 as we go along. But let's start in Acts chapter 00:05:40.589 --> 00:05:46.329 1. This is right before that moment when Christ 00:05:46.329 --> 00:05:49.149 gathers his disciples before he ascends to heaven 00:05:49.149 --> 00:05:51.930 after the resurrection. Acts chapter 1 verse 00:05:51.930 --> 00:05:54.850 6 says, So when they had come together, they 00:05:54.850 --> 00:05:57.089 were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this 00:05:57.089 --> 00:06:00.459 time? that you are restoring the kingdom to Israel. 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:02.779 We looked at that two weeks ago, right? That's 00:06:02.779 --> 00:06:06.439 what's right in front of these guys. That's all 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:08.980 they can see at this point is this must be the 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:11.560 time that the kingdom is gonna be restored. Now, 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:13.259 Jesus doesn't correct them about a kingdom being 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:15.160 restored. He just talks about the timing. Verse 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:17.259 seven, he said to them, it's not for you to know 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:20.100 times or epics, which the Father has fixed by 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:22.959 his own authority. But he says, verse eight, 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.139 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:28.790 come upon you. and here's the key part, and you 00:06:28.790 --> 00:06:33.410 shall be my witnesses, my ambassadors, both in 00:06:33.410 --> 00:06:36.529 Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and even 00:06:36.529 --> 00:06:40.389 to the remotest part of the earth. So you read 00:06:40.389 --> 00:06:43.110 in that last verse what is often seen as three 00:06:43.110 --> 00:06:46.930 concentric circles for the gospel to go out to, 00:06:46.990 --> 00:06:49.250 right? Judea sits at the center, Jerusalem and 00:06:49.250 --> 00:06:52.610 Judea, then to the north, Samaria, and then this 00:06:52.610 --> 00:06:55.490 massive extension to the ends of the earth, and 00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:58.959 that is our focus. for this morning. So far in 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:00.519 the Advent series, we've talked about those first 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:02.019 two groups, right? God's heart for the Jewish 00:07:02.019 --> 00:07:04.620 people. And then last week, God's heart for the 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:07.579 Samaritans. Now, we're just going to go to the 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:09.379 ends of the earth now, nothing big. So this should 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:13.449 be a short message. Just kidding. By the way, 00:07:13.490 --> 00:07:16.069 that idea to the ends of the earth, to the disciples, 00:07:16.410 --> 00:07:18.569 who were, of course, first century men, would 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:20.329 have been beyond the world that you're really 00:07:20.329 --> 00:07:22.569 familiar with, beyond the world that you're used 00:07:22.569 --> 00:07:25.589 to. These men spent all of their lives in places 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:28.990 like Judea and Galilee, right? And so it's what's 00:07:28.990 --> 00:07:31.410 beyond that. And you think about how hard it 00:07:31.410 --> 00:07:33.230 was to travel back then. People didn't go on 00:07:33.230 --> 00:07:35.029 vacations across the world. You know that, right? 00:07:35.470 --> 00:07:38.490 So this is a relatively overwhelming concept 00:07:38.490 --> 00:07:39.829 for these guys. They must have been thinking, 00:07:39.889 --> 00:07:43.360 wait, beyond Egypt? The gospel is going to go 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.019 beyond Egypt or it's going to go beyond Asia 00:07:46.019 --> 00:07:51.000 Minor or Persia? Wait, beyond Rome? Is that even 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.180 possible? Now, when you hear about all those 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:57.079 places, what do they have in common? People who 00:07:57.079 --> 00:08:00.120 are not ethnically Semitic and people who are 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:04.040 not religiously Jewish. We call these people 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:08.639 Gentiles. You know, Gentiles, those idolaters, 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:12.879 those unclean dogs. that we Jews have to make 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:15.160 sure we're separate from. That's who we're talking 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:17.899 about here in Acts 1. I know it's hard for us 00:08:17.899 --> 00:08:20.980 to fathom, but in the minds of Jesus' very Jewish 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:23.259 disciples in this point in redemptive history, 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:27.360 the idea that a Gentile would trust in Israel's 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:30.879 Messiah and enter into a restored kingdom of 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.399 Israel, as described in Acts 1, that would have 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:36.850 been super difficult to accept. Incredibly hard. 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:39.250 There's all kinds of religious and ethnic and 00:08:39.250 --> 00:08:43.450 cultural barriers here to that concept. But here's 00:08:43.450 --> 00:08:45.870 the thing. The idea that the Gentiles would be 00:08:45.870 --> 00:08:48.429 included in God's plan, that was the plan from 00:08:48.429 --> 00:08:51.649 the very beginning. The very beginning. Make 00:08:51.649 --> 00:08:53.649 sure you understand this. The inclusion of the 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:57.610 Gentiles in God's plan of salvation was not a 00:08:57.610 --> 00:09:01.389 New Testament afterthought. It was not plan B 00:09:01.389 --> 00:09:04.190 once God saw that, oh, look, the Jews aren't 00:09:04.190 --> 00:09:06.460 receiving their Messiah. So I've got to adjust. 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:10.100 That is not the case. The picture being painted 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:13.879 by the great artist always included his elect 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:17.419 from every corner of the earth, Jew and Gentile 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:19.960 from every nation, every tribe, and every tongue. 00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:22.799 And through the revelation of his word, that 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.179 Bible that you currently have open in your hands, 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:29.279 the creator communicated that truth, communicated 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.720 to us about the Gentiles by leaving a long trail 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.000 of breadcrumbs. in the scriptures that we can 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.480 now look at and look back at and read and see. 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.700 So let me tell you a story about God. And I'm 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:45.419 going to start where we should start, which is 00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:49.320 where? In the garden. It all goes back to the 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:52.320 Garden of Eden. After humanity's plunge into 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:55.019 sin and death because of the fall, immediately 00:09:55.019 --> 00:09:57.840 we see the Lord promising a future restoration. 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:01.509 We see his intent to gather a people for himself 00:10:01.509 --> 00:10:04.690 who will obey his commands and honor his name 00:10:04.690 --> 00:10:08.509 and display his glory. And of course, then we 00:10:08.509 --> 00:10:11.409 fast forward to Genesis chapter 12 when Yahweh 00:10:11.409 --> 00:10:14.330 calls Abram out of Mesopotamia and calls him 00:10:14.330 --> 00:10:18.470 into a promised land of his choosing. And Abram, 00:10:18.470 --> 00:10:20.210 we're told, will not only be the founder of a 00:10:20.210 --> 00:10:23.389 great nation, but through him all the families 00:10:23.389 --> 00:10:26.809 of the earth will be blessed. Gentiles too? Yeah. 00:10:27.389 --> 00:10:30.289 All the families, all the families. And five 00:10:30.289 --> 00:10:32.710 chapters later, that is reinforced. Abram's name 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:36.009 is changed to Abraham because the Lord tells 00:10:36.009 --> 00:10:38.809 him, I have made you the father of a multitude 00:10:38.809 --> 00:10:42.799 of nations, not just Israel. Not just Samaria, 00:10:42.820 --> 00:10:45.500 but a multitude of nations. And the covenant 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:48.539 that Yahweh then makes with Abraham is unconditional. 00:10:48.659 --> 00:10:51.840 It doesn't depend on how well Abraham does. He 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.720 doesn't have to perfectly obey it for it to be 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:57.139 fulfilled. It's unconditional, and it's a good 00:10:57.139 --> 00:10:59.899 thing because Abraham is not a perfect man. Amen? 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:03.919 God staked his own glorious name on three promises 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:06.899 that he gave to Abraham that he will fulfill. 00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:12.450 Land, seed, and blessing. And then the rest of 00:11:12.450 --> 00:11:15.009 the Old Testament focuses on how God deals with 00:11:15.009 --> 00:11:17.950 Abraham's descendants, particularly Abraham's 00:11:17.950 --> 00:11:22.830 grandson, who is Jacob, who is renamed Israel, 00:11:23.230 --> 00:11:26.269 right? And then his sons, who become the 12 tribes 00:11:26.269 --> 00:11:31.789 of Israel. Very good. So Yahweh chose the patriarchs, 00:11:31.789 --> 00:11:34.090 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants 00:11:34.090 --> 00:11:37.799 to be his set -apart people. through whom he 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:42.139 would fulfill his promises, and, key, through 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:45.940 whom his servant, the Messiah and Redeemer, would 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:48.519 come to save and restore. We saw this two weeks 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:54.360 ago. Salvation is of the Jews. Amen? So it's 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:56.480 important to see this. God's choice of Israel 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:00.559 to be his people in no way contradicted his universal 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.879 intentions. Quite the opposite. It was the foundation. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:08.460 on which his universal plan was built. And the 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:10.779 response of Israel to God's gracious choosing 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:14.279 of them was supposed to make them stand out among 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:16.759 all the other nations in the ancient world. They 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:19.559 were to be a holy people set apart from all of 00:12:19.559 --> 00:12:22.639 the idolatry that was present in the surrounding 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:25.399 nations. But here's something important about 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:27.360 Old Testament Israel that you should know. And 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.039 this is one of many things that makes Israel 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:33.100 different than the church. distinct from the 00:12:33.100 --> 00:12:35.519 church. We know that Israel was called by Yahweh 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:38.519 to be a light to the nations, right? You find 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:40.379 that language all throughout the book of Isaiah. 00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:42.700 In fact, I'll give you a few verses. Isaiah 42 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:46.019 says, I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:49.740 I will also hold you by the hand and watch over 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:52.659 you. And I will appoint you as a covenant to 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:56.580 the people, as a light to the nations, he says 00:12:56.580 --> 00:13:00.220 to his people, to open blind eyes. To bring out 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:02.440 prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell 00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:05.720 in darkness from the prison. Does that language 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:08.639 ring a bell, by the way? The end of that? Jesus 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.100 cites that when he goes into the synagogue of 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:13.500 Nazareth, right? And he reads from the prophet 00:13:13.500 --> 00:13:16.700 and then closes the book and says what? This 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:19.460 has been fulfilled today in your hearing. He 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:23.220 cites from Isaiah 42. Then in Isaiah 49, 6, we 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:26.850 see God promise his servant, the Messiah. will 00:13:26.850 --> 00:13:28.789 be a light to the nations. Look at this verse. 00:13:29.129 --> 00:13:31.870 Yahweh says this, it's too small a thing that 00:13:31.870 --> 00:13:33.929 you should be my servant to raise up the tribes 00:13:33.929 --> 00:13:36.769 of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of 00:13:36.769 --> 00:13:39.909 Israel. In other words, to the Messiah, he says, 00:13:39.950 --> 00:13:42.389 your mission will not be limited just to Israel. 00:13:42.570 --> 00:13:46.070 It's gonna be so much bigger. He goes on, I will 00:13:46.070 --> 00:13:49.309 also make you a light of the nations so that 00:13:49.309 --> 00:13:52.669 my salvation may what? Reach to the ends of the 00:13:52.669 --> 00:13:54.850 earth. Same language as in Acts chapter one. 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:57.860 Make sure you see these connections between Old 00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:00.340 and New Testament. They are critical to understanding 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:03.519 how God has been consistent from beginning to 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.759 the end. So catch this now. This is the important 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:13.299 part. Israel was not sent out by Yahweh. Israel 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:16.179 was not sent out. Israel did not receive a great 00:14:16.179 --> 00:14:20.700 commission from Yahweh to go out and make disciples. 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:22.879 This is one of the things that makes Israel different 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:26.480 from the church. No Jewish missionaries were 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:29.460 sent out to the Ammonites or to the Moabites 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:33.100 or any other idolatrous nation. Instead, Israel 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:36.340 was called to be a light to draw people to it. 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:41.080 That's an important distinction. A light to draw 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:43.120 the nations to it. A light that would shine the 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:46.720 glory of Yahweh and draw the nations to Jerusalem. 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:49.980 Now, in a broad sense, you can still say, all 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:52.200 right, well, their set -apartness and their response 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:54.860 to the covenant did have a missionary intent 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:57.639 to it, but the consistent picture in the Old 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:00.519 Testament is of the nations being invited to 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:03.580 come to the light of Israel, not Israel going 00:15:03.580 --> 00:15:06.179 to the nations. By the way, this is one of the 00:15:06.179 --> 00:15:08.740 reasons why you don't see Jews today proselytizing, 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:12.059 do you? It's not in their religious DNA. It's 00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:15.100 not in their practice of their faith. They do 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:18.679 not share Judaism with you or I. It's not called 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:22.360 for in the scriptures. So this is an important 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:24.419 distinction between Israel and the church, something 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:26.960 that our all -millennial covenant theology brothers 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:30.200 and sisters tend to overlook. And by the way, 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.500 yes, there is an eschatological feature in that 00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:34.519 distinction. If you go back to Isaiah again, 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:38.799 Isaiah 60, the Lord speaks of a restored and 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:42.919 glorified Zion, Jerusalem, something that will 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:45.899 happen in the last days. Isaiah 60, verses two 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.600 and three says, Behold, darkness will cover the 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:51.860 earth in that day and deep darkness the peoples, 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:56.080 but the Lord will rise upon you, Zion, and his 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.259 glory will appear upon you. Nations will what? 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:03.659 Come to your light. Come to your light and kings 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:06.419 to the brightness of your rising. That's the 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:09.539 promise in the last days. It gets even more clear 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:12.039 if you go back to Isaiah 2. This is a long verse, 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.039 but listen carefully to the language here. Now 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:17.200 it will come about in the last days that the 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:19.860 mountain of the house of the Lord will be established 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:24.120 as the chief of the mountains. Imagine, the chief 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:26.200 of all the mountains of the world will be Zion 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:29.220 and will be raised above the hills and all the 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:33.279 nations will what? Stream to it. And many peoples 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.740 will come and say, come, let us go up to the 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:38.000 mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.860 of Jacob, that he may teach us concerning his 00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:44.629 ways and that we may walk in his paths. For the 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:46.610 law will go forth from Zion and the word of the 00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:50.210 Lord from Jerusalem. And he, the Lord, will judge 00:16:50.210 --> 00:16:53.570 between the nations and render decisions for 00:16:53.570 --> 00:16:56.250 many peoples. So the only way to understand this 00:16:56.250 --> 00:16:59.230 is that this is the Lord in physical form, which 00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:01.990 can only refer to the return of God the Son, 00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:05.329 Jesus, who will come to Jerusalem and the people 00:17:05.329 --> 00:17:07.650 will then seek him. And then look at that last 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:09.529 statement. And they will hammer their swords 00:17:09.529 --> 00:17:12.140 into plowshares. And their spears into pruning 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:16.859 hooks. Yes, global peace. Global peace. So obviously 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:19.819 this is distant future. This has to be the millennial 00:17:19.819 --> 00:17:22.759 reign of Christ. There is no other logical explanation 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:27.140 for this passage in Isaiah 2. Now, it's not just 00:17:27.140 --> 00:17:32.700 Isaiah that says this, but Micah. predicts this 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:34.940 exact same thing in Micah chapter four of his 00:17:34.940 --> 00:17:37.500 prophecy. Look at it yourself, Micah chapter 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:39.460 four. Then there's Zechariah. Listen to what 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:42.240 Zechariah says in chapter eight. Many peoples 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:45.640 and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:49.160 of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.019 of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, in 00:17:52.019 --> 00:17:55.539 those days, 10 men from all the nations will 00:17:55.539 --> 00:17:58.859 grasp the garment of a Jew saying, let us go 00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:01.640 with you. for we have heard that God is with 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:07.299 you. Has any of that happened yet? Not even close. 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:11.559 This remains to be fulfilled. Not to dredge up 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:13.700 an old sermon, but give me just a little bit 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:16.400 of latitude here. For all the people out there 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:19.480 saying, Israel's been rejected. Israel has no 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:22.680 part in God's future. Those passages we just 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:26.019 read are really difficult to explain. It's become 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:28.119 a trendy thing these days to claim that God is 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:30.359 done with Israel, that the land doesn't matter 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:32.980 anymore. But I wonder if the folks that are saying 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:36.480 that are listening to podcasts and looking on 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:38.500 Twitter for their theology, but they're not really 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:42.779 reading difficult books, admittedly, like Isaiah 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:45.940 and like Zechariah. They've never really dug 00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:48.859 into the myriad of promises that are given to 00:18:48.859 --> 00:18:50.839 ethnic and national Israel in the Old Testament. 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:53.440 And I know some of them will say, well, all those 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:55.500 promises have been fulfilled in Christ and now 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:58.880 assumed by the New Testament church. But how 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:02.859 does the language in those verses line up with 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:05.380 that idea? It makes it illogical completely. 00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:08.019 So friends, I think it's clear there's coming 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:11.119 a day when Christ will return to the earth. His 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:13.920 feet will be on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.460 says, and he'll come in great glory and he will 00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:19.039 rule the earth from Zion. And in that day, the 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:21.819 nations will stream to see him because he is 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:25.660 God in the city of Jerusalem. Of course, they'll 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:29.880 stream to Jerusalem to see his light and to hear 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:32.839 him judge from Zion. And what a day that will 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:37.440 be, right? Man. Okay, so that was a rabbit trail. 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:40.400 Thank you for that. Back to our story. So Yahweh 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.099 has now established a chosen nation in his land 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:45.519 of promise, and there to be a light to the other 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:48.000 nations, and there to be the conduit through 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.579 whom the Redeemer will come and arrive. But as 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:55.339 we know, one of the main themes of the Old Testament 00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:58.559 is the failure of Israel to be that light, correct? 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.640 They're described as a stubborn, stiff -necked 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:04.289 people. They're constantly running after foreign 00:20:04.289 --> 00:20:06.710 gods. They're thumbing their nose, not just at 00:20:06.710 --> 00:20:09.130 Yahweh, but at the prophets that he sends to 00:20:09.130 --> 00:20:12.250 them to warn them. But here's the question. Did 00:20:12.250 --> 00:20:16.349 that surprise God? Did that surprise the sovereign 00:20:16.349 --> 00:20:19.569 God? Of course not. But to preserve his holy 00:20:19.569 --> 00:20:22.759 name like any good father. The Lord disciplined 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:25.599 his children by sending them into exile. He had 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:27.500 promised that that would be the punishment for 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:30.000 disobedience. He's a good father, a faithful 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.039 father, and he did that. Yet, yet, in his faithfulness 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:36.759 to the covenant to Abraham, he preserved his 00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:41.779 remnant of believing Jewish followers. Still, 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:45.240 as we close the Old Testament, it's a grim picture, 00:20:45.339 --> 00:20:48.359 isn't it? Prophecies are unfulfilled. The Messiah 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:51.240 hasn't arrived yet. And Israel is still waiting 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:55.099 for its deliverance. But then comes Christmas. 00:20:55.980 --> 00:20:59.019 Right? Are we not excited for Christmas? Then 00:20:59.019 --> 00:21:01.720 comes Christmas. In what Paul calls the fullness 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:06.460 of time. God moved. Out of love for humanity. 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:09.720 Out of love for this picture that he is painting. 00:21:10.140 --> 00:21:12.579 He moved. And he sent forth his one and only 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:15.519 son on a mission into the darkness of this world. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:19.180 that desperately needed light. And the focus 00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:21.140 of that mission was twofold. First, Jesus came 00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:23.559 to reveal the identity and the nature of his 00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:25.779 father. And he did that through his life and 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:28.380 through his teaching. And secondly, he came to 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:32.079 die for sin, right? As a ransom for sin. And 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:34.220 yeah, we saw two weeks ago that his primary mission 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:37.240 was the Jewish people. But guess what? He also 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:40.200 left us a whole bunch of breadcrumbs about the 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:43.140 Gentiles. About you and I. In fact, we get a 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:44.819 little bit of foreshadowing right out of the 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:47.480 gate in the Christmas story at the birthplace 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:50.539 of the Christ child. We just read about it. The 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:53.079 Weiss has just read about it. Who shows up to 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:55.980 pay him honor while he's sleeping there in Bethlehem? 00:21:57.500 --> 00:22:00.880 Magi from the east. Probably from Parthia or 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:05.059 Persia. Guess what? They're Gentiles. They're 00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:08.029 Gentiles. They appear to have messianic expectations. 00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:10.369 They're looking for the one born king of the 00:22:10.369 --> 00:22:12.809 Jews, but they're not Jews, they're Gentiles. 00:22:13.269 --> 00:22:15.970 Right out of the gate, we get that sort of foreshadowing 00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:17.829 of what's to come. But that is just the beginning. 00:22:17.970 --> 00:22:21.089 If you look in Luke 13, Jesus tells this short 00:22:21.089 --> 00:22:24.529 parable about the narrow door to salvation and 00:22:24.529 --> 00:22:26.509 how some Jews are gonna be shut out of the kingdom 00:22:26.509 --> 00:22:29.849 because he says God never knew them. Here's what 00:22:29.849 --> 00:22:33.819 he says. In that place, There will be weeping 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:36.579 and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and 00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:39.240 Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:43.859 of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And 00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:47.220 they will come from east and west and from north 00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:49.819 and south and will recline at the table in the 00:22:49.819 --> 00:22:53.160 kingdom of God. Behold, some that are last will 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.099 be first and some who are first will be last. 00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:58.640 So see the four directions of the wind there 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:01.180 in that verse. That is a reference to every part 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:04.200 of the world. People will come from every part 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:06.359 of the world and they will be at the table in 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:09.019 the kingdom of God. It's a breadcrumb that's 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:13.380 left that even in America, even as far away as 00:23:13.380 --> 00:23:16.400 America, will be able to come to the table in 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.180 the kingdom of God. That's good news. In John 00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:22.240 chapter 10, Jesus talks about sheep that are 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:25.319 not of the Jewish fold, right? And he says this, 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:27.880 he says, I'm the good shepherd. I know my own. 00:23:28.410 --> 00:23:30.630 And my own know me, even as the Father knows 00:23:30.630 --> 00:23:33.289 me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my 00:23:33.289 --> 00:23:37.230 life for the sheep. Right? The lost sheep of 00:23:37.230 --> 00:23:39.890 the house of Israel. I have other sheep, he says, 00:23:40.049 --> 00:23:43.210 which are not of this fold. I must bring them 00:23:43.210 --> 00:23:46.210 also. They will hear my voice, and they will 00:23:46.210 --> 00:23:50.269 become one flock with one shepherd. Gentiles, 00:23:50.289 --> 00:23:52.970 people like you and I, sheep from another fold, 00:23:53.029 --> 00:23:56.069 but sheep nonetheless, who he will know, and 00:23:56.069 --> 00:23:58.660 we will know his voice. That's good news for 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:01.700 us. And then we have the Gentile centurion in 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:04.700 Matthew chapter 8 of whom Jesus says this, truly 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:07.119 I say to you, I have not found such great faith 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:11.299 with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:14.799 will come from east and west and recline at the 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:17.839 table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.420 of heaven. Gentiles, Gentiles from the far expanses 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:24.519 of the world will come and recline at the table. 00:24:25.309 --> 00:24:27.650 So Jesus leaves us these breadcrumbs. And then, 00:24:27.690 --> 00:24:29.910 by the way, he clearly spells it out after the 00:24:29.910 --> 00:24:31.849 resurrection. Remember, he said, I'll meet you 00:24:31.849 --> 00:24:34.470 up in Galilee and we'll talk some more. And when 00:24:34.470 --> 00:24:37.390 he gathers his disciples, he gives them the ultimate 00:24:37.390 --> 00:24:40.190 missionary instruction. Go, therefore, and make 00:24:40.190 --> 00:24:45.470 disciples of just Judea. No, of all nations. 00:24:46.109 --> 00:24:49.200 All nations. baptizing them in the name of the 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.579 Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:53.779 them to observe all that I've commanded you. 00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:56.559 And this, you guys, is this beautiful full circle 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:59.539 statement. Listen, just as the Father sent the 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:02.359 Son into the world to represent and reveal the 00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:05.619 Father, now the Son sends his children into the 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:09.480 world to represent and reveal the Son. We're 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:12.900 just living out our family commitments as believers. 00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:15.579 We get to share the good news of his kingdom. 00:25:16.509 --> 00:25:19.089 As we get to the Great Commission, that now brings 00:25:19.089 --> 00:25:23.509 us up to speed with our verse for Advent. Cue 00:25:23.509 --> 00:25:26.369 Jesus talking to the disciples just before he 00:25:26.369 --> 00:25:28.210 ascends. He says, you're going to be my witnesses. 00:25:29.230 --> 00:25:31.609 Beginning here in Jerusalem and Judea, but also 00:25:31.609 --> 00:25:36.269 to Samaria. And then, think really big. Think 00:25:36.269 --> 00:25:38.450 really big. The ends of the earth. And of course, 00:25:38.470 --> 00:25:42.470 again, the pattern that Jesus describes in Acts 00:25:42.470 --> 00:25:46.000 1. completely unfolds just as he says throughout 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.579 the book of Acts. Acts is the story of the church 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:53.019 going out to those three circles. It's beautifully 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:55.720 designed for us. Now, at first, all the action 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:57.599 takes place right there in the center, right 00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:00.299 in Jerusalem. Here's what we read in Acts chapter 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:04.359 six. The word of God kept on spreading and the 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.940 number of the disciples continued to increase 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:10.690 greatly in Jerusalem. To the point that even 00:26:10.690 --> 00:26:12.710 a great many of the priests were becoming obedient 00:26:12.710 --> 00:26:15.930 to the faith. So it starts in the inner circle. 00:26:16.049 --> 00:26:19.049 But then we read about Stephen knowing. Stephen's 00:26:19.049 --> 00:26:23.089 martyred for his testimony. And we're told that 00:26:23.089 --> 00:26:25.470 on that day a great persecution began against 00:26:25.470 --> 00:26:28.990 the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered. 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:32.990 Where? Throughout the regions of both Judea and 00:26:32.990 --> 00:26:37.970 Samaria. And that persecution. Then drives Philip 00:26:37.970 --> 00:26:41.730 into our second circle, to Samaria in Acts chapter 00:26:41.730 --> 00:26:45.049 8, where crowds of Samaritans embrace the gospel 00:26:45.049 --> 00:26:47.230 with great joy. We saw that last Sunday, didn't 00:26:47.230 --> 00:26:50.309 we? Fast forward then to Acts 10, and we see 00:26:50.309 --> 00:26:53.309 Peter encountering another Roman centurion. This 00:26:53.309 --> 00:26:57.869 guy's name is what? Cornelius. Cornelius is described 00:26:57.869 --> 00:27:00.549 as devout, God -fearing, generous to the poor, 00:27:00.730 --> 00:27:04.630 but still a Gentile. And that's problematic, 00:27:04.869 --> 00:27:07.849 isn't it? But around noon on a certain day, an 00:27:07.849 --> 00:27:10.750 angel appears to Cornelius in a vision and he 00:27:10.750 --> 00:27:13.349 commends him for his prayers and his works and 00:27:13.349 --> 00:27:16.309 commands him to send for a man named Peter who's 00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:19.490 in Joppa. And Cornelius does it. He dispatches 00:27:19.490 --> 00:27:22.029 some of his servants to find Peter. Meanwhile, 00:27:22.089 --> 00:27:24.690 at the same time in Joppa, Peter goes up onto 00:27:24.690 --> 00:27:27.990 the rooftop to pray and he gets a vision, right? 00:27:28.569 --> 00:27:31.170 He sees a vision of a sheet descending from heaven 00:27:31.170 --> 00:27:34.809 filled with what? unclean animals. Oh, those 00:27:34.809 --> 00:27:37.990 things Gentiles eat, right? And then he hears 00:27:37.990 --> 00:27:41.009 a voice commanding him to what? This is every 00:27:41.009 --> 00:27:46.269 hunter's favorite verse. Rise, kill, and eat. 00:27:47.769 --> 00:27:54.470 To which Peter protests, I would never do that. 00:27:54.650 --> 00:27:57.009 I'm a Jew. I would never do that. But the voice 00:27:57.009 --> 00:28:00.450 then says, what God has cleansed, no longer consider 00:28:00.450 --> 00:28:03.660 unholy. which reveals to us a whole other aspect 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:07.000 of the mystery of Gentile inclusion, that now 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:11.759 the dietary laws are changing. As Peter's pondering 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:14.599 this, Cornelius' men arrive, and then Peter goes 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:17.619 back with them to Caesarea, and they enter into 00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:23.380 a Gentile house. I know, gasp. Something an observant 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:26.839 Jew would never do. But Cornelius is there. And 00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:29.140 you picture him with big arms open, right? His 00:28:29.140 --> 00:28:31.799 close friends there are there, his family's there, 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:34.880 and he tells Peter about this vision. And he 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:36.779 falls at Peter's feet. Peter says, get up, don't 00:28:36.779 --> 00:28:40.299 do that, right? But in response, in Acts chapter 00:28:40.299 --> 00:28:43.119 10, we hear this incredible statement. It says, 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:46.720 opening his mouth, Peter said, I most certainly 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:51.000 understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:54.640 but in every nation, how many nations? Every 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:58.000 nation. The man who fears him and does what is 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:02.400 right is welcome to him. And then he goes on 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:05.200 to preach this concise message about Jesus. And 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:08.579 mid -sermon, what happens? The Holy Spirit falls 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:11.440 dramatically on everyone in the household. They 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:14.059 start to speak in tongues. They start to magnify 00:29:14.059 --> 00:29:17.579 God. Why is that happening? It's mirroring what 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:19.980 had happened among the Jews in Acts chapter 2. 00:29:20.140 --> 00:29:24.019 Now it's happening among the Gentiles. It's sending 00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:28.150 a message. It's sending a message. That's when 00:29:28.150 --> 00:29:30.390 we get this important confirmation, Acts 10, 00:29:30.650 --> 00:29:33.930 verse 45. The gift of the Holy Spirit has been 00:29:33.930 --> 00:29:37.829 poured out on the Gentiles also. So at this point, 00:29:37.869 --> 00:29:40.650 there's no question that a fundamental change 00:29:40.650 --> 00:29:44.230 in the way God operates with his people has taken 00:29:44.230 --> 00:29:49.049 place. This is a new dispensation, as we say 00:29:49.049 --> 00:29:52.089 in theology terms. God is now operating in a 00:29:52.089 --> 00:29:56.039 different way with his people. Jews and Gentiles 00:29:56.039 --> 00:29:58.960 together. And in the very next chapter, Jesus' 00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:02.619 witnesses now move beyond Judea and Samaria into 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:04.900 the largest of our three circles, to the ends 00:30:04.900 --> 00:30:07.940 of the earth. In Acts chapter 11, it says these 00:30:07.940 --> 00:30:10.180 scattered Jewish believers make their way to 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:14.720 Phoenicia and to Cyprus and to Antioch in Syria. 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:17.839 And in Antioch, they establish a church that 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:21.339 is purposely built to do what? To send out missions 00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:25.390 into Asia Minor and into Greece. to the west. 00:30:26.589 --> 00:30:28.630 It's all happening, isn't it? Look at the picture. 00:30:28.690 --> 00:30:31.309 It's all happening. And by the time we get to 00:30:31.309 --> 00:30:34.309 Acts 13, we have another confirmation of Gentile 00:30:34.309 --> 00:30:36.710 inclusion in the kingdom. This is important. 00:30:36.950 --> 00:30:40.650 One that is directly connected to the prophecy 00:30:40.650 --> 00:30:43.130 of Isaiah. And this is so important. Old Testament 00:30:43.130 --> 00:30:45.829 and New Testament coming together. In Acts 13, 00:30:46.170 --> 00:30:49.069 Paul and Barnabas declared this to the Jews in 00:30:49.069 --> 00:30:52.009 Asia Minor. It says, it was necessary that the 00:30:52.009 --> 00:30:55.460 word of God be spoken to you first, you Jews, 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:59.460 but since you repudiate it and judge yourselves 00:30:59.460 --> 00:31:02.900 unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:06.539 to the Gentiles. Now, here comes the citation 00:31:06.539 --> 00:31:10.400 from Isaiah 49. For so the Lord has commanded 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:14.980 us. What? Old Testament, Isaiah, now we apostles 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:17.200 under the new covenant have been commanded to 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:20.390 do this. What? For the Lord has so commanded 00:31:20.390 --> 00:31:23.569 us, I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles 00:31:23.569 --> 00:31:27.309 that you may bring salvation to the ends of the 00:31:27.309 --> 00:31:31.769 earth. Wow. And when the Gentiles heard this, 00:31:31.890 --> 00:31:35.329 this is us, you guys. We should be rejoicing, 00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:39.230 right? Yeah. When the Gentiles heard this truth, 00:31:39.309 --> 00:31:41.750 they couldn't help themselves. They began rejoicing 00:31:41.750 --> 00:31:45.730 and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many 00:31:45.730 --> 00:31:49.140 as had been appointed to eternal life, Uh -oh, 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:54.920 doctrine of election. As many as been appointed, 00:31:55.039 --> 00:31:58.400 they believed. And the word of the Lord was being 00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:01.980 spread through the whole region. By the time 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:04.119 we get to the Jerusalem Council, just two chapters 00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:07.559 later, in Acts 15, the truth about the Gentiles 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:09.740 being included has been widely accepted by the 00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:12.900 Jewish leadership, hasn't it? The only question 00:32:12.900 --> 00:32:15.900 that remained was, okay. God's doing a work among 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:18.680 them. Now, what does he require for them to join 00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:21.480 us in the kingdom of God? That becomes the question. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:24.420 And with Paul and Barnabas and Peter all in attendance, 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:27.279 James takes the lead at the Jerusalem council 00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:30.319 in Acts 15. And guess what he does? He cites 00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:33.140 another Old Testament passage from Amos chapter 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:37.220 nine that says this, I will rebuild the tabernacle 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:40.200 of David, which has fallen, says God. I will 00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:44.380 restore it so that the rest of mankind The rest 00:32:44.380 --> 00:32:48.099 of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:52.059 who are called by my name. That's the Jerusalem 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:55.440 Council quoting from the Old Testament about 00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:58.380 the inclusion of the Gentiles. You see how it 00:32:58.380 --> 00:33:02.200 fits together? Later, Paul will write to the 00:33:02.200 --> 00:33:04.180 church in Rome, which, by the way, was filled 00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:07.400 with Gentiles. The gospel is the power of God 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:10.740 for salvation to everyone who believes. First 00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:15.069 to the Jew. but also to you Greeks. We looked 00:33:15.069 --> 00:33:17.410 at that two weeks ago, right? But then he says, 00:33:17.470 --> 00:33:19.470 look, all fall short of the glory of God, both 00:33:19.470 --> 00:33:22.410 Jew and Gentile, all enter into God's family 00:33:22.410 --> 00:33:24.910 through the promise given to Abraham long ago 00:33:24.910 --> 00:33:29.730 by faith, not by works. Jew and Gentile. And 00:33:29.730 --> 00:33:31.789 to the Ephesian church, he writes plainly and 00:33:31.789 --> 00:33:34.490 bluntly to the Gentiles there, warning them that 00:33:34.490 --> 00:33:36.630 they should be thankful for what has transpired. 00:33:36.650 --> 00:33:40.950 He says this, remember, he writes, And Gentiles, 00:33:40.950 --> 00:33:42.829 we need to be careful that we don't get arrogant. 00:33:42.930 --> 00:33:45.150 That's Romans 11, right? We don't get arrogant 00:33:45.150 --> 00:33:47.589 about this. He says, remember, you were once 00:33:47.589 --> 00:33:52.009 separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth 00:33:52.009 --> 00:33:54.910 of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, 00:33:55.150 --> 00:33:57.789 having no hope and without God in the world. 00:33:58.589 --> 00:34:01.930 Gentiles, remember that. But now, he joyfully 00:34:01.930 --> 00:34:05.289 reports, in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were 00:34:05.289 --> 00:34:08.409 far off have been brought near by the blood of 00:34:08.409 --> 00:34:16.869 Christ. Wow. It's all by his grace, right? For 00:34:16.869 --> 00:34:19.929 he himself is our peace, who made both groups, 00:34:19.949 --> 00:34:23.269 Jew and Gentiles, into one and broke down the 00:34:23.269 --> 00:34:27.110 barrier of the dividing wall. He came and he 00:34:27.110 --> 00:34:31.369 preached peace to you who were far away and peace 00:34:31.369 --> 00:34:34.070 to those who were near, both Gentile and Jew. 00:34:34.449 --> 00:34:38.010 For through him we both have our access in one 00:34:38.010 --> 00:34:41.969 spirit to the Father. We have one Father. So 00:34:41.969 --> 00:34:44.010 then he concludes, you Gentiles are no longer 00:34:44.010 --> 00:34:47.070 strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens 00:34:47.070 --> 00:34:49.610 with the saints. You are of God's household. 00:34:52.030 --> 00:34:55.989 Man, this is good news for us. We who are Gentiles 00:34:55.989 --> 00:34:59.389 living in the West, in America, so far from Jerusalem, 00:34:59.690 --> 00:35:03.710 right? So far from Samaria, we're no longer strangers 00:35:03.710 --> 00:35:06.230 to God. We've been brought near because of the 00:35:06.230 --> 00:35:08.840 blood of Christ. We're now fellow citizens in 00:35:08.840 --> 00:35:11.059 this new kingdom. We're members of God's own 00:35:11.059 --> 00:35:13.539 house. We inherit every promise in scripture. 00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:16.400 We are sons and daughters of the most high. We 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:21.239 are co -heirs with Christ. And according to Ephesians 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:24.019 2, 7, it's gonna take all of eternity for us 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:26.780 to discover the unsearchable riches of God's 00:35:26.780 --> 00:35:29.280 goodness and glory that we have in Christ Jesus. 00:35:31.099 --> 00:35:33.539 I don't know how we just go home after this. 00:35:34.639 --> 00:35:36.760 I don't know how we just go back to regular life 00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:40.320 after seeing the goodness of God in all this. 00:35:41.219 --> 00:35:45.079 This should be life -changing, you guys. In the 00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:47.099 very next chapter, we come to the passage that 00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:49.579 we read earlier as our call to worship, Ephesians 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:52.559 3, 1 through 10, where Paul calls all of this 00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:56.760 a mystery. I love this. He refers to it as my 00:35:56.760 --> 00:35:59.500 insight into the mystery of Christ. He's not 00:35:59.500 --> 00:36:01.179 boasting, by the way, than that. He's just saying, 00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:03.260 look, this has been revealed to me so I can tell 00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:05.679 you about it. my insight into the mystery of 00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:08.400 Christ, which in other generations was not made 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:11.199 known to the sons of men. It's now been revealed 00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:14.699 to his apostles and prophets in the spirit. This 00:36:14.699 --> 00:36:17.699 has been graciously revealed to me by God. Then 00:36:17.699 --> 00:36:19.559 he writes, to be specific, here's what I'm talking 00:36:19.559 --> 00:36:22.460 about, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and 00:36:22.460 --> 00:36:24.679 fellow members of the body and fellow partakers 00:36:24.679 --> 00:36:27.619 of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:30.500 Do you see the three fellows there? Three of 00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:33.719 them. Gentiles, you are now heirs, members, and 00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:37.179 partakers with Jewish believers in the promises 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:41.860 given to Abraham long ago. And here's the thing 00:36:41.860 --> 00:36:44.440 we have to understand. Gentile salvation wasn't 00:36:44.440 --> 00:36:47.920 unheard of in the Old Testament. It wasn't. There 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:50.300 are examples of non -Jews joining the community 00:36:50.300 --> 00:36:53.699 of Israel under the law, under the covenant in 00:36:53.699 --> 00:36:56.280 the Old Testament. They were called proselytes, 00:36:56.300 --> 00:36:58.619 right? Think about Ruth, the Moabite. You think 00:36:58.619 --> 00:37:01.280 about Uriah, the Hittite. We have examples of 00:37:01.280 --> 00:37:03.820 this. What's new here under the new covenant 00:37:03.820 --> 00:37:08.340 is the absolute equality of Jew and Gentile in 00:37:08.340 --> 00:37:10.940 the promise of salvation. That's really what's 00:37:10.940 --> 00:37:14.599 shocking and new. Absolute equality. One God, 00:37:14.760 --> 00:37:17.900 one Savior, one Spirit, one faith, one people, 00:37:17.940 --> 00:37:20.880 one body, one hope. This is the mystery of the 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:24.969 ages, Paul says. This is a mind -blowing truth. 00:37:25.050 --> 00:37:27.710 We see this in Romans 11. We looked at this two 00:37:27.710 --> 00:37:29.969 weeks ago, but I'm gonna expound on this. There 00:37:29.969 --> 00:37:33.070 is this rich root of promises that God has made 00:37:33.070 --> 00:37:36.269 to his people. And growing from this root, Paul 00:37:36.269 --> 00:37:40.150 describes a cultivated olive tree, right? And 00:37:40.150 --> 00:37:42.429 that olive tree is the archetypal example of 00:37:42.429 --> 00:37:46.869 what? Of Israel. But because of Israel's unbelief, 00:37:47.489 --> 00:37:50.070 Because they sought salvation by works and not 00:37:50.070 --> 00:37:52.789 by faith, Paul says the door of salvation was 00:37:52.789 --> 00:37:55.909 open to the Gentiles. So Israel's failure means 00:37:55.909 --> 00:37:59.489 riches for you and I who are not Jews. Isn't 00:37:59.489 --> 00:38:03.130 that good news? So he says, look, natural branches 00:38:03.130 --> 00:38:06.150 from that olive tree have been cut off and thrown 00:38:06.150 --> 00:38:09.389 into the fire because of disbelief. And believing 00:38:09.389 --> 00:38:12.230 Gentiles, who are nothing more than wild olive 00:38:12.230 --> 00:38:16.400 shoots, we've been grafted in their place. Now, 00:38:16.400 --> 00:38:18.800 here's how you understand this metaphor. This 00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:22.179 is so important. Wild olive shoots, and if you 00:38:22.179 --> 00:38:24.300 go to Israel, you can talk to any farmer in Israel, 00:38:24.360 --> 00:38:26.860 he'll tell you this. Wild olive shoots are useless. 00:38:27.860 --> 00:38:30.920 In fact, they're less than useless. They're a 00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:34.699 nuisance. Why? Because they produce terrible 00:38:34.699 --> 00:38:36.980 fruit that can't be used. They just take up space. 00:38:38.059 --> 00:38:41.300 No good fruit. They cannot be used. Wild olive 00:38:41.300 --> 00:38:45.300 shoots are simply thrown out. But when those 00:38:45.300 --> 00:38:47.800 shoots are grafted into the tree and they can 00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:51.619 tap into that rich root, guess what? They produce 00:38:51.619 --> 00:38:55.420 good fruit. That's when they produce the same 00:38:55.420 --> 00:38:57.920 fruit as natural branches would because they're 00:38:57.920 --> 00:39:00.960 tapped into the root, which are the promises 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:05.639 of God. Do you get the metaphor? And so Paul 00:39:05.639 --> 00:39:08.380 is so humbled by this truth, by the fact that 00:39:08.380 --> 00:39:11.320 God has chosen him to be the point man to declare 00:39:11.320 --> 00:39:14.670 this mystery to the world. That's what he writes 00:39:14.670 --> 00:39:17.250 in Ephesians 3. He says, to me, the very least 00:39:17.250 --> 00:39:20.230 of all saints, this grace was given. That I get 00:39:20.230 --> 00:39:23.090 to preach to the Gentiles, look, the unfathomable 00:39:23.090 --> 00:39:26.610 riches of Christ. And this, last night as I was 00:39:26.610 --> 00:39:29.289 pondering this, it blew my mind. Because we tend 00:39:29.289 --> 00:39:34.130 to think of Paul as so wonderful, right? We admire 00:39:34.130 --> 00:39:36.710 him. I would say the Bible calls him the most 00:39:36.710 --> 00:39:39.690 outstanding of the apostles. But Paul doesn't 00:39:39.690 --> 00:39:42.449 even see it that way. He says, I'm the least. 00:39:43.150 --> 00:39:47.090 I'm the least of all. It testifies to his awareness 00:39:47.090 --> 00:39:50.289 of his unworthiness, of how much grace has been 00:39:50.289 --> 00:39:53.289 extended to him. And yet, and yet, this is so 00:39:53.289 --> 00:39:56.610 important for us. As concerned as Paul must have 00:39:56.610 --> 00:39:59.969 been about his past, a murderer, a persecutor 00:39:59.969 --> 00:40:02.949 of the church, he doesn't let the past paralyze 00:40:02.949 --> 00:40:06.869 him. He says, look, I'm at the bottom rung of 00:40:06.869 --> 00:40:09.369 the kingdom. I'm the least of the saints, but 00:40:09.369 --> 00:40:11.789 I will not let that stop me. I have been called 00:40:11.789 --> 00:40:16.150 to a task. I've been forgiven. Christ has told 00:40:16.150 --> 00:40:18.429 me I'm forgiven. I've been called to this mission. 00:40:18.530 --> 00:40:21.469 I will push ahead by God's grace and by his power 00:40:21.469 --> 00:40:24.550 and I will preach to the Gentiles what I know, 00:40:24.630 --> 00:40:28.849 the unfathomable riches of Jesus Christ. And 00:40:28.849 --> 00:40:30.809 that word unfathomable in the Greek refers to 00:40:30.809 --> 00:40:33.829 something so high that you can never reach it. 00:40:34.250 --> 00:40:36.730 If it were a reservoir, it'd be so deep that 00:40:36.730 --> 00:40:38.789 you could swim and swim and never get to the 00:40:38.789 --> 00:40:42.420 bottom. It's unfathomable. So Paul says, what 00:40:42.420 --> 00:40:45.139 a privilege I've been given to preach this glorious 00:40:45.139 --> 00:40:47.940 truth to a people who now have this opportunity 00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:53.599 to be grafted into the tree of life. And then 00:40:53.599 --> 00:40:55.980 Paul says this, it all has one ultimate purpose. 00:40:56.260 --> 00:40:59.159 He says, so that the manifold wisdom of God, 00:40:59.300 --> 00:41:04.179 the variety of colors and textures of God's infinite 00:41:04.179 --> 00:41:07.800 wisdom might now be made known through the church. 00:41:08.579 --> 00:41:12.960 Oh. There we are. Through the church to the rulers 00:41:12.960 --> 00:41:15.139 and authorities in the heavenly places. So this 00:41:15.139 --> 00:41:17.360 is the telos. This is the ultimate goal of God's 00:41:17.360 --> 00:41:21.760 sovereign plan. To show off his gorgeous wisdom 00:41:21.760 --> 00:41:24.320 in the way that he is saving and gathering his 00:41:24.320 --> 00:41:27.099 people from every corner of the world, from every 00:41:27.099 --> 00:41:30.599 nation. To see that there are no wasted strokes 00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:33.619 on this canvas. It is gloriously intricate in 00:41:33.619 --> 00:41:37.440 design. It is multinational, multiracial, multicultural. 00:41:38.409 --> 00:41:41.250 all united in this living organism we call the 00:41:41.250 --> 00:41:46.769 church. So dynamic. And notice how this beautiful 00:41:46.769 --> 00:41:48.909 truth is communicated. Through the church it's 00:41:48.909 --> 00:41:51.690 communicated. That's us, everybody in this room. 00:41:51.789 --> 00:41:54.769 We are a part of this. We're the ordinary brushes 00:41:54.769 --> 00:41:57.969 that God is using to paint the picture of his 00:41:57.969 --> 00:42:00.690 power and wisdom in Santa Clarita and beyond. 00:42:02.449 --> 00:42:10.090 Us. We're the brushes. Do we take that seriously? 00:42:11.090 --> 00:42:13.909 Does this get lived out in our lives? Are we 00:42:13.909 --> 00:42:17.590 taking this really small version of Christianity 00:42:17.590 --> 00:42:21.070 and miss the whole big picture, the big canvas? 00:42:22.650 --> 00:42:25.789 We, the church, visibly testify to God's wisdom 00:42:25.789 --> 00:42:29.429 as we worship him together, as we glorify him 00:42:29.429 --> 00:42:32.909 in our lives together. And that testimony is 00:42:32.909 --> 00:42:35.349 aimed at who? Paul says, at the rulers and authorities 00:42:35.349 --> 00:42:37.730 in the heavenly places. So get this, when they 00:42:37.730 --> 00:42:40.309 see us together, the angels stand in awe of what 00:42:40.309 --> 00:42:43.510 God is doing. Peter says they like to stoop down 00:42:43.510 --> 00:42:46.010 and get as close as they can to the wonders of 00:42:46.010 --> 00:42:48.969 redemption to see how God is doing this. He's 00:42:48.969 --> 00:42:51.550 saving these sinners. He's gathering them into 00:42:51.550 --> 00:42:55.329 his body and they're blown away by it. And the 00:42:55.329 --> 00:42:58.269 demons, they see it too and they gnash their 00:42:58.269 --> 00:43:03.110 teeth. So that truth should change the way you 00:43:03.110 --> 00:43:07.130 view every time you gather with the body. When 00:43:07.130 --> 00:43:09.170 this local church is worshiping the Lord and 00:43:09.170 --> 00:43:11.510 loving each other well, as we say every week, 00:43:11.610 --> 00:43:14.610 we demonstrate to the demonic powers in this 00:43:14.610 --> 00:43:17.630 world that they are in fact powerless to stop 00:43:17.630 --> 00:43:20.349 the progress of the gospel and the forward motion 00:43:20.349 --> 00:43:25.349 of the church. Amen. As we gather in unity and 00:43:25.349 --> 00:43:29.750 charge the gates of hell together. Big picture. 00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:34.559 Big canvas. So let me wrap it up. Let's come 00:43:34.559 --> 00:43:37.039 back to where we started. We are living within 00:43:37.039 --> 00:43:40.260 this thing called human history. You are a part 00:43:40.260 --> 00:43:44.300 of that. And each successive moment in time exists 00:43:44.300 --> 00:43:47.440 to display the infinite power and wisdom of our 00:43:47.440 --> 00:43:50.849 great God. By his mercy, God has seen fit to 00:43:50.849 --> 00:43:53.530 include Gentiles like us in his sovereign plan, 00:43:53.730 --> 00:43:56.809 and he intends to use ordinary paintbrushes like 00:43:56.809 --> 00:44:00.349 us to keep painting on that canvas. Guys, every 00:44:00.349 --> 00:44:04.309 stroke of the brush matters, both the good things 00:44:04.309 --> 00:44:07.090 in life and the hard things in life. The victories 00:44:07.090 --> 00:44:08.710 we get and the suffering that we go through, 00:44:08.750 --> 00:44:11.070 it's all part of God painting that picture, and 00:44:11.070 --> 00:44:14.579 we have to see it that way. It all matters. And 00:44:14.579 --> 00:44:16.760 we trust that he's good. We know he's an infinitely 00:44:16.760 --> 00:44:19.760 wise artist. We trust that he knows exactly what 00:44:19.760 --> 00:44:22.460 he's doing with our lives. And so not one stroke 00:44:22.460 --> 00:44:27.780 of his brush is wasted. This Christmas, are you 00:44:27.780 --> 00:44:31.320 thankful for these things? It's an important 00:44:31.320 --> 00:44:34.760 question. Oh, we love Christmas, all the feels, 00:44:34.960 --> 00:44:37.940 right? All the vibes, enjoy it, that's fine. 00:44:38.179 --> 00:44:41.300 But come back to this truth. about what God has 00:44:41.300 --> 00:44:43.679 done for you in Christ. Are you thankful for 00:44:43.679 --> 00:44:45.820 it? If so, does your life reflect the spirit 00:44:45.820 --> 00:44:48.260 of thankfulness? Someday, you guys, the vision 00:44:48.260 --> 00:44:50.880 that we see in Revelation 7 is not gonna be future. 00:44:51.679 --> 00:44:54.559 It'll be present and for all eternity. And if 00:44:54.559 --> 00:44:56.619 you're a believer here this morning, you will 00:44:56.619 --> 00:45:00.139 be part of it. Here's what it says. John says, 00:45:00.179 --> 00:45:02.639 I looked and behold a great multitude, which 00:45:02.639 --> 00:45:06.360 no one could count. Think about that. From every 00:45:06.360 --> 00:45:09.519 nation, every tribe, every people, every tongue. 00:45:10.059 --> 00:45:12.639 all standing before the throne and before the 00:45:12.639 --> 00:45:16.559 lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches 00:45:16.559 --> 00:45:18.800 in their hands. And they cry out with a loud 00:45:18.800 --> 00:45:23.079 voice saying, salvation to our God who sits on 00:45:23.079 --> 00:45:26.960 the throne and to the lamb. That will happen 00:45:26.960 --> 00:45:29.920 because long ago in the fullness of time, God 00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:32.039 sent forth his son into the world with the message 00:45:32.039 --> 00:45:36.460 of salvation to both Jew and Gentile. But listen 00:45:36.460 --> 00:45:41.309 now, God's still painting. God is still painting 00:45:41.309 --> 00:45:44.389 his instruction to go and to make disciples and 00:45:44.389 --> 00:45:46.989 to baptize and to teach is still active today. 00:45:47.690 --> 00:45:50.250 It still calls on you and I to play a role in 00:45:50.250 --> 00:45:53.449 the work of evangelism and missions and discipleship. 00:45:53.469 --> 00:45:59.210 Are we being obedient to our part in this? Oh, 00:45:59.230 --> 00:46:02.230 the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge 00:46:02.230 --> 00:46:06.010 of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and 00:46:06.010 --> 00:46:09.889 how inscrutable his ways. Amen? I want you to 00:46:09.889 --> 00:46:14.230 bow your heads. Father, thank you for your amazing 00:46:14.230 --> 00:46:17.710 grace. Lord, we think distance -wise, we are 00:46:17.710 --> 00:46:22.489 so far from Judea here in America, so far from 00:46:22.489 --> 00:46:25.070 all of these things that happened in the book 00:46:25.070 --> 00:46:28.190 of Acts. And yet you have told us, God, you have 00:46:28.190 --> 00:46:30.010 promised us that we've been brought near by the 00:46:30.010 --> 00:46:35.670 blood of Christ. And so I can't add anything 00:46:35.670 --> 00:46:38.090 more, Lord, to what your word has already told 00:46:38.090 --> 00:46:42.260 us. That, God, by your spirit, to ask you to 00:46:42.260 --> 00:46:45.800 make us thankful people. To really understand 00:46:45.800 --> 00:46:50.539 what we deserved and what we've been given. And 00:46:50.539 --> 00:46:52.420 to understand that we have a role to play in 00:46:52.420 --> 00:46:56.840 your great painting. That you are doing in this 00:46:56.840 --> 00:46:59.679 thing we call time. Help us to see that big picture, 00:46:59.760 --> 00:47:03.400 Lord. And help us even now as we sing, Lord, 00:47:03.500 --> 00:47:05.300 that we would have those things in our minds 00:47:05.300 --> 00:47:08.260 and hearts. and that we would give you the glory 00:47:08.260 --> 00:47:10.139 that you deserve. So help us to sing well now, 00:47:10.179 --> 00:47:11.880 we pray. In Christ's name, amen.