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Let's go ahead and open our Bibles to Galatians.

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If you're new, welcome.

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Thank you for coming to worship with us this morning.

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Thank you, worship team,

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for leading us in worship through song.

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We're gonna keep worshiping

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because that's what we're here to do.

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And we're gonna worship God by honoring his word

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and allowing him to speak to us in the book of Galatians.

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So if you would find Galatians chapter two,

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that's where we'll be.

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If you're wondering what all those good smells are,

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we have a member potluck and meeting

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that I'm so excited about after service.

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So that is a reminder to you covenant members

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to stick around, make sure you do.

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If you forgot your food, oh well, that's okay.

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You can still come and eat someone else's food, okay?

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So this morning, Galatians two, verses one through 10,

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that's where we'll be.

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Let me quickly catch you up to speed.

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Let me ask you this, how many gospels are there?

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It's a trick question.

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One, there's one gospel, right?

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The apostle Paul has made that very clear

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in chapter one, verse six.

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When he said, I am so astonished

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that you're turning to another gospel.

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Not that there is another gospel

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because there's only one gospel.

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Remember, Paul is under attack

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by the false teachers in Galatia.

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Paul is being misrepresented, so to speak.

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He's not a true apostle according to them,

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not like Peter, James, and John,

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those that walked with Jesus.

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So his gospel can't be trusted.

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It's been tainted by man's opinion.

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And what did Paul say to us last week

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in chapter one, verses 11 and 12?

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That's not the case at all.

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I'm not preaching man's gospel.

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I'm preaching God's gospel.

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And he gave us his testimony and his timeline.

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But the purpose of that was not just to give his testimony,

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although yes, we see the grace of God working through Paul

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in affirming the gospel he preached.

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But what we do see is that at no point

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during the apostle Paul's pre-conversion,

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or post-conversion life, did he ever have his gospel

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influenced or tainted by man.

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From the moment Paul was converted,

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we saw he preached the gospel.

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Because he wasn't taught the gospel like you and I.

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Where did he learn the gospel from?

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Man, we had some people pay attention last week.

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Good job, all right.

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So what we're gonna see today,

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we're gonna continue that timeline.

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Paul's gonna tell us he went back to Jerusalem,

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and he's gonna tell us what happened

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in his second visit to Jerusalem.

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He could have cowered and compromised, but he didn't.

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He didn't, because he knew

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if he would have compromised the gospel,

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he would have forfeited the great blessings

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that come alongside the gospel.

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Let's read verses one through 10.

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This is God's word to you and us this morning.

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Paul writes this.

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Then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem

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with Barnabas taking Titus along with me.

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I went up because of a revelation and set before them,

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though privately, before those who seemed influential,

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the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles

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in order to make sure I was not running

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or had it run in vain.

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But even Titus, who was with me,

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was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek,

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yet because of false brothers, secretly brought in,

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who slipped in to spy out our freedom

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that we have in Christ Jesus,

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so that they might bring us into slavery,

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to them we did not yield in submission,

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even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel

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might be preserved for you.

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And from those who seemed to be influential,

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and what they were makes no difference to me,

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God shows no partiality.

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Those, I say, who seemed influential,

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added nothing to me.

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On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted

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with the gospel to the uncircumcised,

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just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel

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to the circumcised, for he who worked through Peter

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for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised,

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worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles.

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And when James and Cephas and John,

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who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace

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that was given to me, they gave the right hand

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of fellowship to Barnabas and me,

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that we should go to the Gentiles,

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and they to the circumcised,

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only they asked us to remember the poor,

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the very thing we were eager to do,

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or the very thing I was eager to do.

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This is God's word.

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Let's pray.

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Father, you are holy and good and merciful and kind.

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We sang your praises now, Lord,

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we would give our attention to your word

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so that you would speak with us.

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You would speak to us.

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You would minister your word to our hearts this morning.

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So give us ears to hear this morning.

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Eyes to see that we would embrace

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what your word has said,

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and you would point us to Jesus.

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We would check our hearts for compromising the gospel,

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and we would see the great blessings

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that we have in Jesus when we rest in the gospel

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by faith in him.

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I pray that you would get me out of the way.

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You would speak to hearts this morning,

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and you would be glorified as we continue to worship you.

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In Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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I remember being a young child,

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probably around the age of eight or nine,

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and my parents had just bought new mattresses.

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And so they were replacing my old mattress

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with a new mattress,

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and the mattress didn't have any mattress pad

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or sheets on it.

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It was just the bare mattress.

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I remember it being in my room,

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and I saw the tag on the end of the mattress,

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and the tag read,

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do not remove under penalty of law.

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I'm an eight-year-old child.

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That seems to me like a very inquisitive statement.

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Seems to me like they wanna test this out.

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At least I wanted to test this out.

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So what does an eight-year-old inquisitive child do?

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Well, they grab a pair of scissors,

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and that's what I did,

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and I start snipping away the tag.

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And what I'm doing is I am just waiting for the moment

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that sirens go off,

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and the police start knocking on my door

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as I cut that tag away.

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And I cut it away,

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and I just sit there.

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Nothing.

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Right, nothing.

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So I crumble up the tag,

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I go on my way,

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and a few days later,

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my mom brings the tag to me,

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and my heart just melts.

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Oh no.

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Oh no, they found out, right?

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They have found out they're gonna go after my mom,

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they're gonna go after me,

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and my mom calmed my nerves,

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and she gave me some assurance,

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Joe, don't worry,

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the cops aren't coming.

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But what you did do is we had a warranty for that mattress,

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and because you cut the tag off the mattress,

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we don't have that warranty.

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Now, I didn't even know what a warranty was,

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but now I do, right?

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The benefits that come with being able to replace

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the mattress if something happens,

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I forfeited those because I simply cut the tag

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off the mattress,

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and I compromised it, right?

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Well, that's what Paul is saying

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about the gospel this morning.

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Two weeks ago,

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we likened the gospel to a water molecule.

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If you simply add just an element of oxygen

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to a water molecule,

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it's not water anymore, was it?

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What is it?

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Hydrogen peroxide.

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Yeah, we've got some people that have been paying attention.

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And that's not pure.

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That's not anything you wanna swallow,

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that's deadly.

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Well, in the same way,

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the gospel is somewhat like a mattress and its warranty.

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If you compromise it at all,

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the blessings and the benefits that come with the gospel,

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you have forfeited.

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We can put it like this.

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Compromising gospel truth forfeits gospel blessings.

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I'll get to those in just a moment.

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Now, remember our context.

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Our context, this is Paul's continuation of his defense

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that he began in chapter one.

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Remember, Paul is proving his point

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that despite what the Judaizers in Galatia have claimed

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regarding the origin of his gospel

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and the validity of his apostleship,

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he received his gospel from Jesus.

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He's an apostle just like the other apostles.

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Chapter one, verses 11 and 12.

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For I would have you know, brothers,

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that the gospel that was preached by me

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is not man's gospel,

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for I did not receive it from any man,

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nor was I taught it,

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but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

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Once again, where did Paul get his gospel?

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From Jesus Christ.

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Not like you and I.

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We get the gospel from the pen of Paul,

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the pen of the other apostles or prophets

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through a preacher exposing God's word,

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through a friend telling us the good news, but not Paul.

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He was on his way to murder Christians,

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and Jesus shows up and makes him a Christian.

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We saw that last week.

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So what Paul did is he gave a tight testimony, a defense.

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Remember, his alibi of everything that happened

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from the moment he was converted,

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really before he was converted,

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to the moment he was converted,

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to after his conversion,

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proving that at no point in time

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did he ever have his gospel influenced

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or tainted by man's opinion.

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As soon as Paul was converted,

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he began preaching the gospel, remember?

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He went to Damascus where he was gonna murder Christians

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and preached there, and that's what he had been doing.

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And so we saw last week, he did make a visit to Jerusalem,

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but that was for only 15 days,

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and he only saw Peter, and he saw James.

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That's not long enough to get a systematic theology class,

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is it?

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Now we see he goes back.

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He goes back, and what he does

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is he gets this affirmation of this gospel,

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and we see this picture of unity,

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but he had the pressure at this visit

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to compromise his gospel, but he doesn't,

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because he knows that if he does,

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the blessings that come with the gospel will be forfeited.

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So what we're gonna see is two blessings

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that are forfeited when we compromise the gospel,

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and the first one, it will be on the screen.

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If the gospel is compromised,

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the freedom that we have in the gospel,

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it's forfeited.

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That's in verses one through five.

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Let me show you that.

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Notice Paul says, then after 14 years,

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I went up again to Jerusalem.

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He goes again, second visit to Jerusalem

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after his conversion.

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It's been 14 years, and in ancient Jewish communication,

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a year could be part of a year.

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So if it's November, that's inclusive of the entire year.

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So this really could be 12 to 14 years

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00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,500
after Paul's conversion, the way we think of years.

269
00:10:44,500 --> 00:10:46,400
So it's been about 12 to 14 years

270
00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:47,940
since he's been converted.

271
00:10:47,940 --> 00:10:49,500
What has he been doing this whole time?

272
00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:51,940
Preaching the gospel.

273
00:10:51,940 --> 00:10:55,800
What he's been doing, he goes again to Jerusalem.

274
00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,440
This time, unlike last time, he doesn't go alone.

275
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,740
He brings Barnabas, and he brings Titus.

276
00:11:01,740 --> 00:11:03,320
It's very important that we know

277
00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:08,320
Titus is an uncircumcised, bacon-eating, rib-loving Jew,

278
00:11:09,260 --> 00:11:11,920
and Barnabas, I'm sorry, rib-loving Gentile,

279
00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,620
I apologize, sorry.

280
00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:16,220
Slow down, Joe.

281
00:11:16,220 --> 00:11:18,260
Barnabas is a Jew.

282
00:11:19,460 --> 00:11:21,460
There's a reason that Paul's doing that.

283
00:11:21,460 --> 00:11:22,840
We're gonna see that,

284
00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,100
especially in the last part of our text.

285
00:11:26,100 --> 00:11:28,080
But we do need to catch up to speed.

286
00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,180
What's happened to the Apostle Paul since then?

287
00:11:30,180 --> 00:11:32,640
Go to Acts 11, and we're gonna see

288
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,380
how Paul and Barnabas meet up.

289
00:11:34,380 --> 00:11:38,380
Where did this friendship, this partnership come from?

290
00:11:38,380 --> 00:11:41,420
So more than likely, it came from their time

291
00:11:41,420 --> 00:11:42,680
in Antioch together.

292
00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:44,220
Actually, we know that.

293
00:11:44,220 --> 00:11:45,620
More than likely, it was in Antioch

294
00:11:45,620 --> 00:11:48,260
that Paul also met Titus.

295
00:11:48,260 --> 00:11:51,060
Look at verse 19 of Acts 11.

296
00:11:51,060 --> 00:11:54,800
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution

297
00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:57,240
that arose over Stephen traveled as far as

298
00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:59,380
Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch,

299
00:11:59,380 --> 00:12:03,140
speaking the word to no one except Jews.

300
00:12:03,140 --> 00:12:06,540
Remember the persecution in Acts chapter eight.

301
00:12:06,540 --> 00:12:11,060
God uses persecution, actually, not to stop the gospel,

302
00:12:11,060 --> 00:12:13,360
but to spread the gospel, and here we see it.

303
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,160
The gospel goes out.

304
00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,220
What the enemy meant for evil, God means for good.

305
00:12:18,220 --> 00:12:20,420
That's a mystery of God's sovereignty.

306
00:12:20,420 --> 00:12:24,400
The gospel goes out and starts to spread beyond Jerusalem.

307
00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,460
It goes as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,

308
00:12:27,460 --> 00:12:30,440
and here we see only Jews were being converted,

309
00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:31,700
but notice what happens next,

310
00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:34,280
but there were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene

311
00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,480
who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists.

312
00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:37,940
That's Greeks.

313
00:12:37,940 --> 00:12:39,620
Also preaching the Lord Jesus,

314
00:12:39,620 --> 00:12:41,040
and the hand of the Lord was with them.

315
00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:42,320
A great number believed.

316
00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,220
So what's happening is the gospel is going beyond Jerusalem.

317
00:12:45,220 --> 00:12:47,720
That's the point of the book of Acts,

318
00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:49,920
to see the growth of the church,

319
00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,620
the explosion of the gospel beyond just Jerusalem,

320
00:12:52,620 --> 00:12:54,360
to Judea, to the ends of the earth,

321
00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,860
and what happens is the church in Jerusalem,

322
00:12:56,860 --> 00:12:59,500
kind of the mother church, gets wind of what's happening,

323
00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:01,600
and they send one of their best missionaries,

324
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,200
someone they've raised up, they've trained.

325
00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,800
He's taken the systematic theology classes, right?

326
00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:07,140
He's the guy they've trained.

327
00:13:07,140 --> 00:13:09,440
He's sat under the apostles' leadership,

328
00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,480
and they send Barnabas to Antioch,

329
00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,640
not to check it out, but to go and support it,

330
00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:16,280
because there's a revival happening,

331
00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:17,520
and that's what happens.

332
00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:18,720
Look in verse 22.

333
00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:20,880
The word of this came to the ears of the church.

334
00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:22,420
They sent Barnabas to Antioch.

335
00:13:22,420 --> 00:13:24,120
When he came and saw the grace of the Lord,

336
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:28,060
he was glad, he exhorted them all to remain steadfast

337
00:13:28,060 --> 00:13:29,400
and faithful to the Lord,

338
00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,560
for he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,

339
00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,800
and a great many were added to the Lord.

340
00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:38,600
So Barnabas, a Jew, believing the good news of Jesus

341
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,140
by faith alone, goes.

342
00:13:40,140 --> 00:13:42,240
He sees Jesus is doing a work there.

343
00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,740
So God is doing a work not just in the Jews in Antioch,

344
00:13:45,740 --> 00:13:48,680
but also the Greeks, and now what's happened to Paul?

345
00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:50,920
Remember where we left off in Paul's timeline,

346
00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:55,380
he's in Tarsus, Cilicia, and he's ministering there.

347
00:13:55,380 --> 00:13:58,160
And remember, his reputation had been growing

348
00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,360
so much so that those in Judea had heard of this man

349
00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:03,760
who once murdered Christians

350
00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,600
is now preaching the gospel, right?

351
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:09,500
And we saw at the end of the chapter last week

352
00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:12,760
where we left off that they glorified God because of him.

353
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,100
So his reputation was growing so much

354
00:14:15,100 --> 00:14:16,900
so that Barnabas knew about him.

355
00:14:16,900 --> 00:14:17,940
Look at what he does.

356
00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:20,280
So Barnabas, this is verse 25,

357
00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,320
goes to Tarsus to look for Saul.

358
00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,520
When he found him, he brought him to Antioch.

359
00:14:25,620 --> 00:14:27,360
And then we see that Paul and Barnabas

360
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,520
are ministering in Antioch for a year.

361
00:14:31,780 --> 00:14:32,920
So that's where we're at.

362
00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,260
That's what's happened.

363
00:14:34,260 --> 00:14:37,120
Paul goes, I'm sorry, Barnabas goes to Tarsus,

364
00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,060
finds Paul, compels him to come back,

365
00:14:39,060 --> 00:14:41,660
work with him in Antioch because of the revival.

366
00:14:41,660 --> 00:14:45,800
That's a revival when the Lord is bringing people to faith

367
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:47,780
because of that work, and he goes,

368
00:14:47,780 --> 00:14:50,380
he works with the church in Antioch for a year.

369
00:14:50,380 --> 00:14:51,240
Let's keep going.

370
00:14:52,340 --> 00:14:54,980
Now in these days, we're still in Acts 11,

371
00:14:54,980 --> 00:14:57,240
prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,

372
00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,280
and one of them named Agabus stood up

373
00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:00,980
and foretold by the Spirit that there would be

374
00:15:00,980 --> 00:15:04,020
a great famine over all the world.

375
00:15:04,020 --> 00:15:05,860
This took place in the days of Claudius.

376
00:15:05,860 --> 00:15:09,460
So this is probably 46, 47 A.D.

377
00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,000
So the disciples determined, every one of them,

378
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,100
according to his ability to send relief

379
00:15:15,100 --> 00:15:16,860
to the brothers living in Judea.

380
00:15:16,860 --> 00:15:19,540
That's the area of Jerusalem.

381
00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,280
And they did so, notice how they send it to the elders,

382
00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,040
so to the church in Jerusalem

383
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,820
by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

384
00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,880
So here we see, because of famine, persecution,

385
00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:37,980
overpopulation, the churches in Jerusalem

386
00:15:37,980 --> 00:15:40,300
are experiencing severe poverty,

387
00:15:40,300 --> 00:15:42,500
and they're taking up a collection,

388
00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:45,300
an offering from the Gentile churches,

389
00:15:45,300 --> 00:15:48,060
which is referenced throughout the New Testament.

390
00:15:48,060 --> 00:15:50,240
And here we see the first time it's mentioned,

391
00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,600
they're gonna get Barnabas and Saul,

392
00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:57,600
a minister of the good news to the Gentiles and a Jew.

393
00:15:58,280 --> 00:15:59,980
And here we see also Titus comes,

394
00:15:59,980 --> 00:16:02,680
because it's probably in Antioch that Paul met Titus,

395
00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:03,840
and they're gonna go back

396
00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:05,380
and they're gonna give this offering.

397
00:16:05,380 --> 00:16:07,680
But while they're there, something else is gonna happen.

398
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,180
There's gonna be a private meeting that Paul references,

399
00:16:10,180 --> 00:16:12,720
go back to Galatians, in verse two.

400
00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,320
Paul says, I went up because of a revelation

401
00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,700
and set before them, though privately,

402
00:16:17,700 --> 00:16:20,540
before those who seemed influential,

403
00:16:20,540 --> 00:16:22,940
the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles

404
00:16:22,940 --> 00:16:24,440
in order to make sure I was not running

405
00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:25,800
or had not run in vain.

406
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,100
So Paul sets up a private meeting,

407
00:16:28,100 --> 00:16:30,280
and notice Paul's not forced to go here.

408
00:16:31,140 --> 00:16:33,640
He's not called into the principal's office.

409
00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,780
The apostles aren't like, Paul, it's been 14 years,

410
00:16:36,780 --> 00:16:38,380
we really gotta check this gospel out.

411
00:16:38,380 --> 00:16:41,560
No, he's compelled to go by a revelation,

412
00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:43,620
we've seen that word before.

413
00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:45,760
An apocalypse, a revealing.

414
00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,020
Either it's a revelation from Jesus himself,

415
00:16:48,020 --> 00:16:51,600
he doesn't tell us, and Jesus basically tells Paul,

416
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,260
you gotta go and lay this gospel out

417
00:16:53,260 --> 00:16:54,800
for the sake of the church,

418
00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:58,300
for the sake of the gospel, you've gotta go.

419
00:16:58,300 --> 00:17:01,180
Or maybe he's referring to the revelation that Agabus had,

420
00:17:01,180 --> 00:17:02,900
that there's a famine in the land,

421
00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:05,140
and the church is suffering.

422
00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:06,440
Either way, it doesn't really matter.

423
00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,220
The point is, Paul wasn't compelled to go

424
00:17:08,220 --> 00:17:11,620
by the apostles in Jerusalem,

425
00:17:11,620 --> 00:17:14,080
but he was compelled to go by a revelation,

426
00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:15,480
from Jesus, really.

427
00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,420
And he goes, and he lays before these apostles

428
00:17:18,420 --> 00:17:21,260
who are being held in such high esteem

429
00:17:21,260 --> 00:17:24,560
by the church in Galatia, the gospel.

430
00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:26,800
And notice he says, I went to make sure

431
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:28,240
that I wasn't running in vain.

432
00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:31,140
Now what Paul is not saying is that he thought

433
00:17:31,140 --> 00:17:32,500
his gospel could be wrong.

434
00:17:32,500 --> 00:17:34,780
He's not going to proofread his gospel,

435
00:17:34,780 --> 00:17:36,580
or have his gospel proofread.

436
00:17:36,580 --> 00:17:40,740
He's been preaching this gospel for 12 to 14 years, right?

437
00:17:40,740 --> 00:17:42,140
That's not what he's saying.

438
00:17:42,140 --> 00:17:44,920
He knows that if he goes and lays the gospel

439
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,420
before these Jewish apostles,

440
00:17:47,420 --> 00:17:50,660
and they're preaching a different gospel than his gospel,

441
00:17:50,660 --> 00:17:53,660
the church is in grave jeopardy.

442
00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,900
His ministry to the Gentiles would be greatly hindered

443
00:17:57,900 --> 00:17:59,460
from this point forward.

444
00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:01,740
Think about it, Christianity would be nothing more

445
00:18:01,740 --> 00:18:03,740
than a sect of Judaism,

446
00:18:03,740 --> 00:18:07,100
so this very private meeting, this is why I don't think

447
00:18:07,100 --> 00:18:09,300
this is referring to the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15,

448
00:18:09,300 --> 00:18:11,980
that was very public, this is private,

449
00:18:11,980 --> 00:18:14,080
was very important, even for us.

450
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:15,940
If Paul had not had this meeting,

451
00:18:15,940 --> 00:18:18,120
we probably would not be here today.

452
00:18:19,020 --> 00:18:20,780
That's how important it is.

453
00:18:20,780 --> 00:18:23,860
So he lays before them the gospel, not only that,

454
00:18:23,860 --> 00:18:28,420
he brings Titus, the Gentile, Barnabas, the Jew,

455
00:18:28,420 --> 00:18:30,560
and Titus is in front of these guys,

456
00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:32,660
and he's preaching the gospel.

457
00:18:32,660 --> 00:18:35,060
He's in front of these guys, and I'm sure Paul looks at

458
00:18:35,060 --> 00:18:37,640
these apostles, Peter, James, and John,

459
00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,400
that's who they are, we know later in verse nine

460
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,300
that's who they are, and he says, what about Titus?

461
00:18:43,300 --> 00:18:46,340
Can he be a covenant member of the family just like you,

462
00:18:46,340 --> 00:18:49,640
Peter, just like you, James, just like you, John,

463
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,620
or does he have to be circumcised?

464
00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,480
Well, has he believed in Jesus by faith alone?

465
00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:56,620
Yes, he has.

466
00:18:56,620 --> 00:18:59,860
Welcome in, Titus, welcome in.

467
00:18:59,860 --> 00:19:00,700
How do I know that?

468
00:19:00,700 --> 00:19:04,760
Verse three, but even Titus, who was with me,

469
00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:09,760
was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

470
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:13,180
What's Paul saying?

471
00:19:14,100 --> 00:19:15,800
They affirmed.

472
00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,400
Galatians, these apostles affirmed that Titus

473
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,620
didn't need circumcision, that the only thing

474
00:19:21,620 --> 00:19:24,720
that makes you a Christian is the finished work of Christ

475
00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,720
appropriated to us by faith alone.

476
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,620
Now, why was circumcision such a big deal?

477
00:19:31,620 --> 00:19:34,060
This is the first time in Galatians

478
00:19:34,060 --> 00:19:35,800
that circumcision's even mentioned.

479
00:19:37,260 --> 00:19:40,560
Now, we've had to kinda sneak ahead, you know,

480
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:41,940
to gain some context for this book,

481
00:19:41,940 --> 00:19:43,640
so we've talked about it in the past sermons,

482
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,080
but why is circumcision such a big deal?

483
00:19:48,140 --> 00:19:50,340
If you'll put that slide about circumcision on the screen,

484
00:19:50,340 --> 00:19:52,340
I think this might help.

485
00:19:52,340 --> 00:19:55,780
Number one, circumcision in the Old Testament

486
00:19:55,780 --> 00:19:59,180
was a visible marker of belonging

487
00:19:59,180 --> 00:20:00,660
to the covenant people of God.

488
00:20:02,060 --> 00:20:03,860
This is important that we know this.

489
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:08,460
God gave a promise in the garden to Adam and Eve

490
00:20:08,460 --> 00:20:10,940
that through the offspring of Eve,

491
00:20:10,940 --> 00:20:14,000
there would come one that would crush

492
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:15,200
the head of the serpent.

493
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,700
Now, how are offspring made?

494
00:20:18,700 --> 00:20:20,500
I mean, we're not gonna get into the birds

495
00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:22,140
and the beast talk, right?

496
00:20:22,140 --> 00:20:26,280
There is intercourse that must happen.

497
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,620
That marker was always indicating

498
00:20:28,620 --> 00:20:31,280
because that's on a male reproductive organ.

499
00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:32,920
Parents, you can go have that talk with your kids.

500
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,920
I ain't giving you that talk today.

501
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:36,780
That promise would be fulfilled.

502
00:20:36,780 --> 00:20:38,720
It was a reminder of that promise,

503
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:40,060
and then when it got to Abraham,

504
00:20:40,060 --> 00:20:42,620
it was a marker, external marker,

505
00:20:42,620 --> 00:20:46,360
that one was a member of the covenant family of God, okay?

506
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:50,260
Even those proselytes, those that were not Jews,

507
00:20:50,260 --> 00:20:52,440
but were Gentiles and would be welcomed

508
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:54,900
into the covenant family in the Old Testament,

509
00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:58,180
they were made to be circumcised if they were a male.

510
00:20:58,180 --> 00:21:01,020
Now, but the Bible also teaches

511
00:21:01,020 --> 00:21:03,980
that that was just a mere external marker.

512
00:21:05,780 --> 00:21:10,020
Do you think that circumcision made one a real member

513
00:21:10,020 --> 00:21:11,620
of the covenant family of God?

514
00:21:11,620 --> 00:21:13,020
No.

515
00:21:13,020 --> 00:21:14,860
What always made someone a member

516
00:21:14,860 --> 00:21:16,560
of the covenant family of God?

517
00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,120
Faith in the promises of God

518
00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:21,860
made someone a member of the covenant family of God.

519
00:21:21,860 --> 00:21:26,340
They were looking forward to what we look back upon, right?

520
00:21:26,340 --> 00:21:29,240
That's what made them a covenant member

521
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,340
of the family of God, or we would say spiritual Israel.

522
00:21:33,380 --> 00:21:36,580
Because circumcision was always a matter of the heart.

523
00:21:36,580 --> 00:21:38,280
The Bible says it in the New Testament

524
00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:39,620
and the Old Testament,

525
00:21:39,620 --> 00:21:44,020
because circumcision is the cutting away of skin,

526
00:21:44,020 --> 00:21:48,260
but spiritually it is the cutting away of sin in our heart,

527
00:21:48,260 --> 00:21:50,260
pointing us to Jesus,

528
00:21:50,260 --> 00:21:53,660
who was the one that was cut off from the Father.

529
00:21:53,660 --> 00:21:54,660
That's Colossians 2.

530
00:21:54,660 --> 00:21:57,040
He is the fulfillment of circumcision.

531
00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:01,040
So circumcision doesn't make you a Christian, okay?

532
00:22:02,580 --> 00:22:05,140
Now, why was it so exalted and elevated?

533
00:22:05,140 --> 00:22:07,440
Well, we need to understand something

534
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:12,020
that Hellenistic influence was very intense

535
00:22:12,020 --> 00:22:13,180
during this day and age.

536
00:22:13,180 --> 00:22:17,520
In other words, Greek influence upon the world was massive.

537
00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:19,460
There was a lot of pressure from the Jews

538
00:22:19,460 --> 00:22:21,920
to adopt Greek practices.

539
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,100
What's this circumcision thing anyways?

540
00:22:24,100 --> 00:22:26,660
So to kind of stand their ground, right?

541
00:22:26,660 --> 00:22:28,160
These are the people of God.

542
00:22:30,300 --> 00:22:32,400
This was their identity badge.

543
00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:34,040
This was their pride.

544
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,640
This was their marker to set them apart from everyone else.

545
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,980
So it was exalted to this high place

546
00:22:40,980 --> 00:22:44,080
that it should have probably never been exalted to,

547
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:47,880
which there's nothing wrong to want to kind of stand firm

548
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,460
in who you are and your identity.

549
00:22:50,460 --> 00:22:53,220
However, they made it an issue of salvation.

550
00:22:53,220 --> 00:22:55,260
That brings me to number four.

551
00:22:55,260 --> 00:22:58,020
It's not bad, but it's not salvific.

552
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:01,800
It's not bad.

553
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,940
Titus wasn't circumcised, but you know who was?

554
00:23:07,300 --> 00:23:08,700
Timothy was circumcised.

555
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,100
Somebody's gonna say, wait, doesn't that,

556
00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:17,340
I knew it, Paul's a hypocrite, can't trust his word.

557
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,360
Titus wasn't circumcised, Timothy was.

558
00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:23,680
Why?

559
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,620
Well, number one, Timothy was not a Gentile.

560
00:23:26,620 --> 00:23:28,960
Timothy was part Jew.

561
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,560
It's in Acts 16, you can go read it.

562
00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:37,560
Number two, the reason why Paul circumcised Timothy

563
00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:41,540
was for contextual missional reasons.

564
00:23:41,540 --> 00:23:43,980
It was not for salvific reasons.

565
00:23:43,980 --> 00:23:47,600
It was not an issue of gospel doctrine.

566
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:52,340
If you read the text, he's taking Timothy into the synagogues.

567
00:23:52,340 --> 00:23:54,820
He's being loving towards these Jews

568
00:23:54,820 --> 00:23:57,220
who he is going to present the gospel to.

569
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:00,860
He's gonna preach the gospel

570
00:24:00,860 --> 00:24:04,320
that you are saved by the work of Jesus alone,

571
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,800
not by the cutting of your flesh or what you wear

572
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:11,660
or what you observe in terms of rituals and days.

573
00:24:11,660 --> 00:24:14,200
No, only Jesus.

574
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:16,700
So it was a contextual issue.

575
00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:21,100
If Paul had of circumcised Titus,

576
00:24:21,100 --> 00:24:23,140
it would have been a compromise

577
00:24:24,540 --> 00:24:26,380
because that was a gospel issue.

578
00:24:26,380 --> 00:24:29,720
So Paul stood firm and said, I'm not doing it.

579
00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:34,220
I do think it's important that we understand the difference

580
00:24:34,220 --> 00:24:38,860
between contextualizing the gospel

581
00:24:38,860 --> 00:24:40,220
and compromising the gospel.

582
00:24:41,900 --> 00:24:43,760
It's a good thing to contextualize the gospel.

583
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:44,700
What do I mean?

584
00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:48,160
To make it understandable, to make it relatable.

585
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,240
But we don't change it.

586
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:51,440
We don't change it.

587
00:24:52,300 --> 00:24:53,680
I mean, you're English Bible.

588
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:55,980
You have a Bible because of contextualization.

589
00:24:57,340 --> 00:24:59,520
Had faithful men like William Tyndale

590
00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,740
not taken God's word and preserved it for us

591
00:25:02,740 --> 00:25:04,620
by getting it into our language,

592
00:25:04,620 --> 00:25:06,320
we wouldn't be here today.

593
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:07,420
That's contextualization.

594
00:25:07,420 --> 00:25:10,920
But he didn't change the manuscripts

595
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,060
to leave out certain aspects of the gospel

596
00:25:13,060 --> 00:25:15,100
to make it more palatable.

597
00:25:15,100 --> 00:25:16,760
That would have been what?

598
00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:17,600
Compromise.

599
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,840
So I don't wanna go too far down a rabbit trail

600
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:24,340
because I could go all different places.

601
00:25:24,340 --> 00:25:28,340
But I will tell you, we live in a culture

602
00:25:28,340 --> 00:25:30,040
where we really need to know the difference

603
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,240
between contextualizing the gospel and compromising the gospel.

604
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,140
So just pastorally, a major hot button issue

605
00:25:37,140 --> 00:25:39,720
that has been an issue for the past several years,

606
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:44,520
like sexual identity, gender, homosexuality.

607
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:45,760
Like, listen, hear me.

608
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,060
Contextualizing the gospel is loving people

609
00:25:48,060 --> 00:25:49,700
that are same sex attracted.

610
00:25:50,820 --> 00:25:51,660
You love them.

611
00:25:53,260 --> 00:25:54,360
You serve them.

612
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:55,600
We welcome them.

613
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,060
We wrap our arms around them.

614
00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:00,000
We get the gospel to them.

615
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,140
We want them to come.

616
00:26:01,140 --> 00:26:03,180
But what we can't do is celebrate.

617
00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:06,740
That would be, we can't affirm.

618
00:26:06,740 --> 00:26:07,580
Why?

619
00:26:07,580 --> 00:26:09,480
Because that's compromising.

620
00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:10,740
There's a difference.

621
00:26:10,740 --> 00:26:11,580
And we gotta know the difference.

622
00:26:11,580 --> 00:26:12,520
That's just one area.

623
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:13,480
That's just one.

624
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:14,680
There's many.

625
00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:15,720
And I don't wanna go too far on a rabbit trail.

626
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:16,920
I wanna get us back to the text.

627
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:18,020
But I do think that's important

628
00:26:18,020 --> 00:26:19,620
because Paul's a model for us

629
00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:24,160
of when to not to compromise and when to contextualize.

630
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:25,000
Let's keep going.

631
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:26,760
Notice verse four, he says,

632
00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:28,940
yeah, because a false brother secretly brought in

633
00:26:28,940 --> 00:26:31,740
and slipped in to spy out our freedom, underline that,

634
00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:34,900
that we have in Christ,

635
00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:36,540
so that we might,

636
00:26:36,540 --> 00:26:38,940
or so that they might bring us into slavery,

637
00:26:38,940 --> 00:26:40,440
to them we did not yield in submission,

638
00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:41,780
even for a moment,

639
00:26:41,780 --> 00:26:44,020
so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you

640
00:26:44,020 --> 00:26:45,280
and I would argue for us.

641
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:46,580
So what's happening here?

642
00:26:47,860 --> 00:26:51,320
Probably, now it's debatable if this happened

643
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,100
during Paul's Jerusalem visit

644
00:26:53,100 --> 00:26:55,200
or maybe when he was in Antioch.

645
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:56,800
No one's really sure.

646
00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:01,800
But he encountered the Judaizers, false brothers,

647
00:27:02,660 --> 00:27:04,740
the wheat and the tear always grow together,

648
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,940
and they had slipped in, they had snuck in,

649
00:27:07,940 --> 00:27:09,800
and what they were doing was spying out.

650
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,040
I don't know exactly what this looked like.

651
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:13,940
They spied out the freedom,

652
00:27:13,940 --> 00:27:17,420
notice that, that Paul, Titus, and Barnabas

653
00:27:17,420 --> 00:27:18,820
are enjoying in the gospel.

654
00:27:20,060 --> 00:27:22,960
So maybe they're watching Paul, Titus, and Barnabas

655
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:23,920
eat dinner.

656
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,180
They're sitting at another table, they're peeking over.

657
00:27:27,180 --> 00:27:30,620
Is Titus, is he really gonna eat that rib?

658
00:27:30,620 --> 00:27:32,420
Is he really gonna eat that pork?

659
00:27:32,420 --> 00:27:34,700
Maybe it was something like that.

660
00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:37,460
Maybe it was taking Paul off to the side,

661
00:27:37,460 --> 00:27:38,600
saying, Paul, look at us.

662
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,140
Like, you're just going to ignore our,

663
00:27:41,140 --> 00:27:43,900
like, you're a Jew, you're just gonna ignore this?

664
00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:45,240
Like, isn't this of some importance?

665
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,580
So it was a constant pressure from these brothers

666
00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:51,740
to have Paul compromise the gospel

667
00:27:51,740 --> 00:27:54,580
and circumcise Titus, but notice he says,

668
00:27:54,580 --> 00:27:56,880
I didn't do it, because if I would have done it,

669
00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,260
guess what, I would have, what he's implying is,

670
00:27:59,260 --> 00:28:01,460
I would have put the chains back on,

671
00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:04,420
and we would now be under the law again.

672
00:28:04,420 --> 00:28:05,420
That's what it says.

673
00:28:05,420 --> 00:28:07,600
That's what exactly, to spy on our freedom

674
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,500
that we have in Jesus, so they might bring us into slavery.

675
00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:12,740
Now notice, this is not slavery to sin.

676
00:28:14,740 --> 00:28:17,380
This is slavery to the law.

677
00:28:18,380 --> 00:28:21,380
If you're not, so before we came to this,

678
00:28:21,380 --> 00:28:22,580
we came to know Jesus.

679
00:28:22,580 --> 00:28:25,080
We're not just enslaved to sin.

680
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:30,080
Yes, we were, but we were also enslaved to the law.

681
00:28:31,220 --> 00:28:33,620
Remember the vision in Zechariah of the scroll

682
00:28:33,620 --> 00:28:35,460
that went out over the whole land?

683
00:28:35,460 --> 00:28:36,820
What was that a picture of?

684
00:28:36,820 --> 00:28:41,500
The curse of the law that hangs over every human, right?

685
00:28:41,500 --> 00:28:42,900
Over every human.

686
00:28:42,900 --> 00:28:46,260
We have God's moral code of conduct written on our hearts.

687
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:49,000
Paul would say in Romans two,

688
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,500
no one has an excuse to say there is no God.

689
00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:55,080
Yes, there is, and you know it,

690
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,340
because you have a conscience, and it's right there.

691
00:28:57,340 --> 00:29:01,680
The problem is that can only condemn you, right?

692
00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,620
So the law is much like an MRI.

693
00:29:05,580 --> 00:29:09,560
So if I'm getting massive migraine headaches,

694
00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:12,620
days, you know, day after day after day,

695
00:29:12,620 --> 00:29:14,260
I'm gonna go to the doctor,

696
00:29:14,260 --> 00:29:17,500
and the doctor's gonna say, we need to scan you,

697
00:29:17,500 --> 00:29:19,400
and he's gonna say, we need to get an MRI

698
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:20,600
to see what's going on.

699
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,400
But what the doctor's not going to do

700
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,340
is after he gets those results

701
00:29:24,340 --> 00:29:26,000
and he sees there's something going on,

702
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,740
he's not gonna look at any of us

703
00:29:27,740 --> 00:29:29,640
and say, I'll tell you the cure.

704
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:30,640
Let's get right back under there

705
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:31,880
and let's do another MRI.

706
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,180
What diagnosed you cannot cure you.

707
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,660
The law diagnoses the problem.

708
00:29:42,660 --> 00:29:44,460
The cure is the gospel.

709
00:29:44,460 --> 00:29:48,160
Jesus here has made the law,

710
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,120
that Jesus came, He kept the law perfectly,

711
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,600
He died for all of our failures to keep the law,

712
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:55,560
He rose proving that, right,

713
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,160
and He's making us into His image

714
00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:58,840
if we've trusted Him by faith,

715
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:00,560
and He's given us freedom in that,

716
00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:02,640
and that's not freedom from the law,

717
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:04,300
that's actually freedom to obey the law

718
00:30:04,300 --> 00:30:06,040
because the law is good.

719
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:07,240
It's from God.

720
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:08,500
It's how we should walk.

721
00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:09,980
It's how we should live.

722
00:30:09,980 --> 00:30:12,220
So now it's not a curse that hangs over us.

723
00:30:12,220 --> 00:30:13,980
We're free to walk in it.

724
00:30:13,980 --> 00:30:16,140
the gospel at all, if he would have caved,

725
00:30:16,140 --> 00:30:17,180
guess what he would have done?

726
00:30:17,180 --> 00:30:19,180
He would have put the chains back on him.

727
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,940
So listen, no one's gonna go out of here today

728
00:30:22,940 --> 00:30:24,620
and be tempted to circumcise it.

729
00:30:24,620 --> 00:30:27,360
I get it, we've talked about that every week.

730
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,180
But we are tempted to make something else

731
00:30:30,180 --> 00:30:34,700
a requirement to be a Christian.

732
00:30:34,700 --> 00:30:35,520
You know why?

733
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:36,360
Because I do it.

734
00:30:37,820 --> 00:30:38,820
Think about it.

735
00:30:38,820 --> 00:30:41,360
We say things like this and I hear it.

736
00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:42,700
And it's dangerous.

737
00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:47,340
Be careful, you can't be a Christian and be a Democrat.

738
00:30:48,780 --> 00:30:51,180
Last I checked, your political affiliation

739
00:30:51,180 --> 00:30:55,380
had nothing to do with whether or not you were a Christian.

740
00:30:55,380 --> 00:30:57,420
Last I checked, it's solely based on

741
00:30:57,420 --> 00:30:59,920
what Jesus has done for you.

742
00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:01,780
Now, I'm not saying that the Bible

743
00:31:01,780 --> 00:31:03,300
shouldn't influence how we vote

744
00:31:03,300 --> 00:31:05,260
because it absolutely should.

745
00:31:05,260 --> 00:31:08,400
The culture does not dictate how we vote, right?

746
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:09,360
We understand that, right?

747
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,860
The Bible does, but that's not a prerequisite

748
00:31:11,860 --> 00:31:14,900
to be a Christian, you guys do get that right.

749
00:31:14,900 --> 00:31:16,500
Or how dare you?

750
00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:19,400
You can't be a Christian and you can't send your kid

751
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:20,500
to a public school.

752
00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:23,120
Really?

753
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,380
Or you can't be a Christian and drink

754
00:31:27,380 --> 00:31:29,620
or you can't be a Christian and fill in the blank.

755
00:31:29,620 --> 00:31:30,720
You can't be a Christian.

756
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,580
What you've done is you've taken these qualifiers

757
00:31:34,580 --> 00:31:37,260
and you've elevated them to the status of the gospel.

758
00:31:37,260 --> 00:31:38,100
And you know what you've done?

759
00:31:38,100 --> 00:31:39,100
You've cut the tag off.

760
00:31:39,100 --> 00:31:40,960
You've compromised the gospel

761
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:43,860
because you've put a weight on yourself.

762
00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:45,500
You've put chains on yourself.

763
00:31:47,260 --> 00:31:48,640
So I don't know what it is.

764
00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:50,880
Maybe it is, maybe it is works.

765
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:52,040
Maybe it is serving.

766
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:53,840
Maybe it is reading your Bible

767
00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:55,080
that we've talked about a lot,

768
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,340
but maybe it's something like that.

769
00:31:56,340 --> 00:31:57,620
You don't think you can be a Christian and do this

770
00:31:57,620 --> 00:31:59,180
or be like this.

771
00:31:59,180 --> 00:32:01,440
Let's pause and let's park there for a second.

772
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,420
What makes you a Christian is Jesus and Jesus alone.

773
00:32:05,420 --> 00:32:07,020
That's it.

774
00:32:07,020 --> 00:32:08,660
That's it.

775
00:32:08,660 --> 00:32:11,460
If we get that wrong, we get it all wrong.

776
00:32:11,460 --> 00:32:12,700
We get it all wrong.

777
00:32:12,700 --> 00:32:16,060
And when you do that, you don't have freedom.

778
00:32:16,060 --> 00:32:17,960
Second blessing we compromise.

779
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,860
We compromise the unity the gospel creates.

780
00:32:20,860 --> 00:32:23,640
We're gonna see that in the last portion of the text.

781
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:27,800
Notice what Paul then says in verse six.

782
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,480
He says, and from those who seem to be influential,

783
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:33,580
but what they were makes no difference to me.

784
00:32:33,580 --> 00:32:35,040
God shows no partiality.

785
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,820
Those I say who seemed influential added nothing to me.

786
00:32:37,820 --> 00:32:41,760
Now Paul's not being snarky towards the apostles.

787
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:43,460
Paul respects the apostles.

788
00:32:43,460 --> 00:32:45,860
Paul's already acknowledged their apostleship.

789
00:32:45,860 --> 00:32:47,920
He would say in 1 Corinthians 15,

790
00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:50,400
I am the least and the last of the apostles.

791
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,260
What Paul is doing is taking a jab at the church in Galatia

792
00:32:54,260 --> 00:32:57,100
and the Judaizers who have elevated these apostles

793
00:32:57,100 --> 00:32:58,740
and said, you gotta listen to them.

794
00:32:58,740 --> 00:33:00,400
You can't listen to Paul.

795
00:33:01,700 --> 00:33:03,380
God shows no partiality.

796
00:33:04,940 --> 00:33:06,880
And he's going to say in just a moment,

797
00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,240
they're just stewards through whom the Lord has worked.

798
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:17,280
Quick note, I know like we get podcasts,

799
00:33:17,620 --> 00:33:22,360
we got YouTube, we got access to so much

800
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,160
and we got our favorite teachers.

801
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,000
You're thinking of them now.

802
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,460
You got your favorite podcast host.

803
00:33:29,460 --> 00:33:31,940
Listen, if they're preaching the gospel,

804
00:33:31,940 --> 00:33:33,880
great, listen to them.

805
00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:35,180
I have said this before,

806
00:33:35,180 --> 00:33:36,980
just remember they're not your pastor.

807
00:33:39,140 --> 00:33:41,980
You got pastors here that know you and love you.

808
00:33:41,980 --> 00:33:43,320
Remember that.

809
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,880
And they do not have an exclusive claim to truth.

810
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,520
And if you think they do and they've said that,

811
00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:51,520
I would suggest you don't listen to them.

812
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:54,760
Because at the foot of the cross,

813
00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:57,120
all of us are broken sinners.

814
00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,160
We need to remember that and Paul's teaching that.

815
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,940
Paul's even gonna say, if it wasn't for Jesus,

816
00:34:01,940 --> 00:34:03,260
I'd be nothing.

817
00:34:03,260 --> 00:34:05,400
This is what made Paul who he was.

818
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,000
Just remember that because we can get carried away

819
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,140
with our favorite people and this is what they said

820
00:34:11,140 --> 00:34:12,840
and what it does is start to cause division.

821
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:13,680
Just be careful.

822
00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:16,040
Be careful and then he keeps going.

823
00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:19,220
So he says, look, they added nothing to me.

824
00:34:19,220 --> 00:34:20,480
So what did they do?

825
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,620
Number one, they affirmed his gospel.

826
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,400
These Jerusalem apostles said,

827
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:29,900
yeah, Paul, this is the gospel.

828
00:34:29,900 --> 00:34:33,400
The Jerusalem apostles preach the same law-free gospel

829
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,040
and do not agree that anything should be added

830
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,480
to the work of Christ for one standing before God.

831
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,520
Jesus and Jesus alone, they added nothing.

832
00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:45,480
Number two, they acknowledged his apostleship.

833
00:34:46,180 --> 00:34:48,480
Verse eight, I'm sorry, verse seven.

834
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,960
On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted

835
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:53,960
with the gospel to the uncircumcised,

836
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,900
just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel

837
00:34:56,900 --> 00:34:59,060
to the circumcised, notice he says,

838
00:34:59,060 --> 00:35:00,960
the one who worked through Peter

839
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:02,960
for his apostolic ministry worked through me.

840
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:04,600
He's magnifying God.

841
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:05,500
What is he saying?

842
00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,800
They recognized that I was an apostle.

843
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,220
Now, I do think if you like, think about Paul.

844
00:35:14,220 --> 00:35:17,580
Like if I'm picking teams and I get to choose

845
00:35:17,580 --> 00:35:20,380
who's gonna go to the Jews and who goes to the Gentiles

846
00:35:20,380 --> 00:35:21,880
and I got Peter and I got Paul.

847
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:25,820
Wouldn't you pick Paul to go to the Jews?

848
00:35:25,820 --> 00:35:27,120
Wouldn't Paul go to the Jews?

849
00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:32,000
He's a Hebrew of Hebrews.

850
00:35:33,740 --> 00:35:37,100
He's a Pharisee, zealous for the law.

851
00:35:37,100 --> 00:35:39,140
If anybody can go minister to the Jews

852
00:35:39,140 --> 00:35:41,100
and the Jews only, shouldn't it be Paul?

853
00:35:41,100 --> 00:35:43,180
And you got Peter over here that walked with Jesus.

854
00:35:43,180 --> 00:35:44,680
He's from Galilee.

855
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,120
Galilee is Galilee of the Gentiles.

856
00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:50,120
That's what it was known as in the days of Peter and Jesus.

857
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:51,580
He ministered to many Gentiles.

858
00:35:51,580 --> 00:35:53,120
He's got experience with the Gentiles.

859
00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,220
Shouldn't Peter be the one that sent to the Gentiles?

860
00:35:55,220 --> 00:35:56,620
Listen, the way God does things

861
00:35:56,620 --> 00:35:58,660
is not the way you and I would ever do things.

862
00:35:58,660 --> 00:36:00,620
And also say this to yourself.

863
00:36:00,620 --> 00:36:02,920
I'm sorry, also never say this.

864
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:06,560
Never say, I will never go there, God.

865
00:36:08,740 --> 00:36:10,060
He'll blow your mind.

866
00:36:10,060 --> 00:36:11,740
He'll send you there.

867
00:36:11,740 --> 00:36:12,580
Never say it.

868
00:36:13,740 --> 00:36:14,880
And that's what he did.

869
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:18,300
Now, what we see here is not two gospels, right?

870
00:36:18,300 --> 00:36:21,220
We don't see a Jewish gospel and a Gentile gospel.

871
00:36:21,220 --> 00:36:22,480
What is Paul saying?

872
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,860
There's one gospel, Jews, Gentiles,

873
00:36:26,860 --> 00:36:28,660
same gospel, one gospel.

874
00:36:28,660 --> 00:36:32,120
And it's not like Paul only ministered to Gentiles

875
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:35,760
and Peter only ministered to Jews, is it?

876
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:37,760
Right, what was Paul's mission strategy?

877
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,200
Every single time, we've gone over this.

878
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:41,500
Let's go find a synagogue.

879
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:44,340
Let me preach the gospel.

880
00:36:44,340 --> 00:36:45,980
I'm gonna get beat up.

881
00:36:45,980 --> 00:36:48,040
I'm gonna get punched in the face a few times.

882
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:49,740
I might get arrested.

883
00:36:49,740 --> 00:36:51,120
Some of them are gonna believe.

884
00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:52,420
I'm gonna shake the dust off.

885
00:36:52,420 --> 00:36:54,020
I'm gonna go over here to these Gentiles.

886
00:36:54,020 --> 00:36:55,620
We're gonna start a church.

887
00:36:55,620 --> 00:36:56,460
Sound good?

888
00:36:56,460 --> 00:36:57,280
Let's go.

889
00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:58,480
That was his plan.

890
00:36:58,480 --> 00:36:59,780
That was Paul's plan.

891
00:36:59,780 --> 00:37:00,620
Everywhere, right?

892
00:37:00,620 --> 00:37:04,560
He didn't have a binder with a 50-page document

893
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:06,820
that said, I've got a great church planning strategy.

894
00:37:06,820 --> 00:37:08,000
That was his plan.

895
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,860
And what was, did Peter ever minister to Gentiles?

896
00:37:10,860 --> 00:37:12,060
Well, sure he did.

897
00:37:12,060 --> 00:37:14,940
He wrote two epistles to churches in Asia Minor

898
00:37:14,940 --> 00:37:16,340
that scattered this.

899
00:37:16,340 --> 00:37:18,440
Do you not think there were Gentiles in those churches?

900
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:21,000
So let's not assume that they only ministered

901
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:22,140
to Jews and Gentiles.

902
00:37:22,140 --> 00:37:26,280
What God is teaching is through Peter and through Paul.

903
00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:28,240
There's unity now in the gospel.

904
00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:31,160
Paul primarily ministering to Gentile territories.

905
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:34,060
Peter, in this situation, in this context,

906
00:37:34,060 --> 00:37:36,820
with his ministry in Jerusalem, primarily to the Jews,

907
00:37:36,820 --> 00:37:37,760
but there is what?

908
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:39,560
One gospel.

909
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:40,800
One gospel.

910
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,940
They agreed in unity because of the gospel.

911
00:37:43,940 --> 00:37:45,200
Verse nine says it.

912
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,560
When James, Cephas, and John, Cephas is Peter,

913
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,740
James the brother of Jesus, Peter, John the apostle,

914
00:37:52,740 --> 00:37:54,980
the same John that wrote first, second, third John,

915
00:37:54,980 --> 00:37:57,680
the gospel of John, Revelation, that John,

916
00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,680
they look at Paul and they said, yes, you're an apostle.

917
00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:03,020
What do they do?

918
00:38:03,020 --> 00:38:05,820
I'm gonna give you the right hand to fellowship, Paul.

919
00:38:05,820 --> 00:38:07,120
Now why is Paul saying this?

920
00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,180
Because the churches in Galatia were teaching

921
00:38:10,180 --> 00:38:14,060
that he's preaching a different gospel than those apostles.

922
00:38:15,300 --> 00:38:17,660
If any liberal theologian looks at you and says,

923
00:38:17,660 --> 00:38:21,800
you can't trust Paul, he doesn't preach that gospel

924
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:26,340
of love and acceptance like Jesus and his disciples.

925
00:38:26,340 --> 00:38:28,000
Would you take them to this text?

926
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:31,680
I've said it, I'll say it again.

927
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:33,920
The gospel that Paul preached

928
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:36,420
is the gospel that Jesus preached.

929
00:38:36,420 --> 00:38:37,920
Who gave Paul the gospel?

930
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:39,120
Jesus.

931
00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:40,860
Who gave the apostles the gospel?

932
00:38:40,860 --> 00:38:41,760
Jesus.

933
00:38:43,220 --> 00:38:46,100
He said, I'm unified in the gospel.

934
00:38:46,100 --> 00:38:48,620
They agreed, they extended the right hand of fellowship.

935
00:38:48,620 --> 00:38:49,820
You couldn't be more different

936
00:38:49,820 --> 00:38:53,160
when it came to Gentiles and Jews, could you?

937
00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:58,160
You got the poor, loving, non-circumcised Gentiles

938
00:38:58,780 --> 00:39:02,240
represented by Titus and you got the Jews,

939
00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:06,520
the covenant people of God, the circumcised, the clean,

940
00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:10,080
and they are now one in the gospel.

941
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:15,080
Unity is a big deal.

942
00:39:16,420 --> 00:39:18,220
Not just unity for unity's sake,

943
00:39:18,220 --> 00:39:22,500
that's the world and that unity never lasts, does it?

944
00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:24,560
Unity for the sake of the gospel.

945
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:28,100
Imagine if Paul would have circumcised Titus.

946
00:39:29,300 --> 00:39:30,900
Would the apostles have extended

947
00:39:30,900 --> 00:39:32,340
the right hand of fellowship?

948
00:39:33,460 --> 00:39:34,300
No.

949
00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:36,140
They would have looked at Paul and said,

950
00:39:36,140 --> 00:39:37,820
that's not the gospel we've been preaching here

951
00:39:37,820 --> 00:39:40,420
for the last 14 years.

952
00:39:40,420 --> 00:39:41,860
No.

953
00:39:41,860 --> 00:39:44,020
What Paul would have said was,

954
00:39:44,020 --> 00:39:45,900
there can be no diversity in the church.

955
00:39:45,900 --> 00:39:47,380
Everyone has to be a Jew.

956
00:39:48,340 --> 00:39:50,340
But praise God, there is diversity.

957
00:39:51,380 --> 00:39:56,220
And what unifies us is the gospel, not our differences.

958
00:39:56,220 --> 00:39:57,060
Think about that.

959
00:39:57,060 --> 00:39:59,320
Think about how the world operates.

960
00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:00,600
The world wants to be unified,

961
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:02,740
but what do they unify around?

962
00:40:02,740 --> 00:40:05,180
They unify around their differences.

963
00:40:05,180 --> 00:40:07,380
Their skin color, their skin color,

964
00:40:08,900 --> 00:40:12,180
bank accounts, social status, right?

965
00:40:12,180 --> 00:40:13,180
Keep going.

966
00:40:13,180 --> 00:40:14,700
They unify around that.

967
00:40:14,700 --> 00:40:16,860
The beauty of the church is this.

968
00:40:16,860 --> 00:40:20,740
We all come from different places, different likes.

969
00:40:20,740 --> 00:40:23,500
I mean, I'm a Georgia fan playing cornhole yesterday

970
00:40:23,500 --> 00:40:24,980
with a guy that likes Michigan.

971
00:40:24,980 --> 00:40:28,540
You can't get any more different than that, right?

972
00:40:28,540 --> 00:40:30,940
My great friends in this church don't even care

973
00:40:30,940 --> 00:40:31,940
about sports.

974
00:40:31,940 --> 00:40:33,340
What makes us unified?

975
00:40:33,340 --> 00:40:34,860
It ain't sports.

976
00:40:34,860 --> 00:40:35,860
It's what?

977
00:40:35,860 --> 00:40:37,460
The gospel.

978
00:40:37,460 --> 00:40:38,580
The gospel.

979
00:40:38,580 --> 00:40:42,460
So stop dividing over things that aren't important, right?

980
00:40:42,460 --> 00:40:45,820
Can we be a church that rallies around the gospel,

981
00:40:45,820 --> 00:40:48,340
not our petty preferences and differences?

982
00:40:48,340 --> 00:40:50,380
I've been a pastor for eight years

983
00:40:50,380 --> 00:40:52,180
and here by God's grace for four years.

984
00:40:52,180 --> 00:40:55,020
And I will say this, the number one reason,

985
00:40:55,020 --> 00:40:57,900
the number one reason that anybody leaves a church,

986
00:40:57,900 --> 00:40:59,740
not just this church, a church,

987
00:40:59,740 --> 00:41:02,420
is a non-important reason.

988
00:41:02,420 --> 00:41:05,860
It is a petty reason of preference.

989
00:41:05,860 --> 00:41:06,820
You leave the church

990
00:41:06,820 --> 00:41:09,300
because they didn't sing the right worship song.

991
00:41:09,300 --> 00:41:12,300
You leave the church because the carpet color wasn't right.

992
00:41:12,300 --> 00:41:14,020
The lights are too dark.

993
00:41:14,020 --> 00:41:17,460
You leave the church because you get keyboards up there,

994
00:41:17,460 --> 00:41:18,340
not an organ.

995
00:41:18,340 --> 00:41:20,220
Are you serious?

996
00:41:20,220 --> 00:41:22,260
You leave the church because that pastor

997
00:41:22,260 --> 00:41:25,180
doesn't have the same eschatological views as I have.

998
00:41:25,180 --> 00:41:26,340
Are you kidding me?

999
00:41:27,340 --> 00:41:30,180
If you're gonna leave a church, leave it over the gospel.

1000
00:41:30,180 --> 00:41:32,500
If the church isn't preaching the gospel, leave.

1001
00:41:32,500 --> 00:41:33,940
If they are, stay.

1002
00:41:35,500 --> 00:41:38,660
Because to be honest, there's not many that are, sadly.

1003
00:41:39,580 --> 00:41:41,060
And that's not my job to criticize.

1004
00:41:41,060 --> 00:41:45,340
I pray they would, but at least rally around the gospel.

1005
00:41:45,340 --> 00:41:46,580
So check your heart, right?

1006
00:41:46,580 --> 00:41:48,220
I don't want us to be the church

1007
00:41:48,220 --> 00:41:50,100
that divides into the homeschool cliques

1008
00:41:50,100 --> 00:41:53,620
and the old sect and the young bucks.

1009
00:41:53,620 --> 00:41:54,700
I don't want that.

1010
00:41:54,700 --> 00:41:57,900
We want every group here to look like heaven.

1011
00:41:57,900 --> 00:41:59,820
Someone told me early on,

1012
00:41:59,820 --> 00:42:02,260
don't segregate the church based on age.

1013
00:42:02,260 --> 00:42:04,620
There's nothing wrong with having friends your age,

1014
00:42:05,580 --> 00:42:08,740
but there's also nothing wrong with gaining some wisdom

1015
00:42:08,740 --> 00:42:10,580
from a well-seasoned man.

1016
00:42:11,580 --> 00:42:13,420
Nothing wrong with that either.

1017
00:42:13,420 --> 00:42:14,860
Because when you get to heaven

1018
00:42:14,860 --> 00:42:17,020
and everybody gonna be a homeschool mom,

1019
00:42:19,220 --> 00:42:21,940
and everybody gonna look like you or think like you

1020
00:42:21,940 --> 00:42:23,780
or dress like you or talk like you,

1021
00:42:23,780 --> 00:42:25,820
you're gonna have a people from every tribe,

1022
00:42:25,820 --> 00:42:29,740
every nation, every tongue gathered around the table.

1023
00:42:29,740 --> 00:42:32,020
What unites you is gonna be the lamb

1024
00:42:32,020 --> 00:42:34,500
you're sitting there feasting with.

1025
00:42:34,500 --> 00:42:38,260
How dare we divide over petty preferences?

1026
00:42:38,260 --> 00:42:39,860
That is what the world does.

1027
00:42:39,860 --> 00:42:42,060
The church is to be different.

1028
00:42:42,060 --> 00:42:45,020
So what you do, when you take your preference,

1029
00:42:45,020 --> 00:42:47,340
whatever it is, you know your preference,

1030
00:42:47,340 --> 00:42:49,420
and you say, that's a gospel issue.

1031
00:42:49,420 --> 00:42:51,420
You know what you've just done?

1032
00:42:51,420 --> 00:42:53,940
You have compromised the gospel.

1033
00:42:53,940 --> 00:42:55,980
You've cut off the tag, bro.

1034
00:42:55,980 --> 00:42:57,780
That ain't the gospel.

1035
00:42:57,780 --> 00:42:59,140
That ain't the gospel.

1036
00:42:59,140 --> 00:43:00,340
And what you're doing is say,

1037
00:43:00,340 --> 00:43:02,340
I'll walk away from the unity

1038
00:43:02,340 --> 00:43:04,940
that's offered to me in the gospel.

1039
00:43:04,940 --> 00:43:06,620
Don't do that.

1040
00:43:06,620 --> 00:43:07,460
Don't do that.

1041
00:43:08,780 --> 00:43:09,980
Please don't do that.

1042
00:43:09,980 --> 00:43:11,860
I'm begging you, let's be a church

1043
00:43:11,860 --> 00:43:13,580
that rallies around the,

1044
00:43:13,580 --> 00:43:14,580
because it's so easy.

1045
00:43:14,580 --> 00:43:16,860
Satan wants to take pride in our hearts.

1046
00:43:16,860 --> 00:43:18,740
He wants us to say, I'm right.

1047
00:43:18,740 --> 00:43:19,580
Look at what I've got.

1048
00:43:19,580 --> 00:43:21,700
I've got it all figured out.

1049
00:43:21,700 --> 00:43:22,900
You don't.

1050
00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:24,140
You don't.

1051
00:43:24,140 --> 00:43:25,780
Let me go find the people

1052
00:43:25,780 --> 00:43:27,380
that will believe that I do.

1053
00:43:27,380 --> 00:43:28,220
Right?

1054
00:43:28,220 --> 00:43:29,060
And we elevate that.

1055
00:43:29,060 --> 00:43:31,060
And it's just gonna cause division.

1056
00:43:32,180 --> 00:43:34,980
Let's be unified around the gospel.

1057
00:43:34,980 --> 00:43:35,980
So if you're taking notes,

1058
00:43:35,980 --> 00:43:37,460
if you elevate your preferences

1059
00:43:37,460 --> 00:43:38,900
to the level of the gospel,

1060
00:43:40,380 --> 00:43:42,500
you compromise the gospel,

1061
00:43:42,500 --> 00:43:43,940
and you make that the gospel.

1062
00:43:45,540 --> 00:43:46,820
You know what you do?

1063
00:43:46,820 --> 00:43:47,900
You forfeit unity.

1064
00:43:50,460 --> 00:43:51,300
Number 10.

1065
00:43:51,300 --> 00:43:52,860
I'm sorry, number 10.

1066
00:43:52,860 --> 00:43:53,700
Verse 10.

1067
00:43:54,820 --> 00:43:56,380
Only they asked us,

1068
00:43:56,380 --> 00:43:57,300
remember the poor.

1069
00:43:58,340 --> 00:43:59,940
Notice Paul says,

1070
00:43:59,940 --> 00:44:01,740
I was eager to do that anyways.

1071
00:44:02,980 --> 00:44:05,260
Which is why I believe that this is a,

1072
00:44:06,500 --> 00:44:08,180
this is a reference back to Acts 11.

1073
00:44:08,180 --> 00:44:09,900
This is the event of Acts 11, right?

1074
00:44:09,900 --> 00:44:11,540
What happened at the end of Acts 11?

1075
00:44:11,540 --> 00:44:13,420
Paul and Barnabas were sent

1076
00:44:13,420 --> 00:44:15,460
because of that prophecy about Agabus

1077
00:44:15,460 --> 00:44:17,260
to go and take this relief fund

1078
00:44:17,260 --> 00:44:19,340
to the poor churches in Jerusalem.

1079
00:44:19,340 --> 00:44:20,180
So note this,

1080
00:44:20,180 --> 00:44:23,340
because of war, famine,

1081
00:44:24,500 --> 00:44:26,060
persecution, the people of God

1082
00:44:26,060 --> 00:44:27,580
have always been persecuted.

1083
00:44:31,460 --> 00:44:33,380
Overpopulation.

1084
00:44:33,380 --> 00:44:37,180
Jerusalem and Judea were very poor.

1085
00:44:38,060 --> 00:44:40,260
The people there were impoverished.

1086
00:44:41,180 --> 00:44:44,780
So what Paul is doing by giving to the poor

1087
00:44:44,780 --> 00:44:46,780
is yes, being compassionate.

1088
00:44:46,780 --> 00:44:49,660
I don't wanna downplay that, right?

1089
00:44:49,660 --> 00:44:52,020
I don't wanna downplay, of course.

1090
00:44:52,020 --> 00:44:53,540
And I'll talk about that in a moment.

1091
00:44:53,540 --> 00:44:55,140
But primarily what Paul is doing

1092
00:44:55,140 --> 00:44:56,500
is actually not just saying

1093
00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:59,220
we're gonna be unified as Jews and Gentiles.

1094
00:44:59,220 --> 00:45:02,220
He's actually showing unity.

1095
00:45:02,220 --> 00:45:04,540
It's one thing to say I'm unified.

1096
00:45:04,540 --> 00:45:07,780
It's another thing to actually show it, right?

1097
00:45:07,780 --> 00:45:10,380
It's one thing to say I'll learn from older people.

1098
00:45:10,380 --> 00:45:12,260
It's another thing to actually go to their house

1099
00:45:12,260 --> 00:45:14,020
and let them feed you a meal

1100
00:45:14,020 --> 00:45:15,020
and sit down and listen to them.

1101
00:45:15,020 --> 00:45:15,860
You with me?

1102
00:45:16,940 --> 00:45:18,540
It's one thing to say it.

1103
00:45:18,540 --> 00:45:19,540
It's another thing to do it.

1104
00:45:19,540 --> 00:45:20,540
And Paul's actually doing it.

1105
00:45:20,540 --> 00:45:23,420
And I know that's what he's doing from Romans chapter 15.

1106
00:45:23,420 --> 00:45:25,780
Paul says this to the churches in Rome,

1107
00:45:25,780 --> 00:45:26,820
or the church in Rome.

1108
00:45:28,060 --> 00:45:29,700
He talks about this offering,

1109
00:45:29,700 --> 00:45:32,820
which by the way, would be kind of a big deal for Paul,

1110
00:45:32,820 --> 00:45:35,860
right, this offering that he would constantly be collecting

1111
00:45:35,860 --> 00:45:37,380
from the Gentile churches

1112
00:45:37,380 --> 00:45:40,900
to give back to the church in Jerusalem.

1113
00:45:40,900 --> 00:45:42,340
He says this in verse 26,

1114
00:45:42,340 --> 00:45:44,820
For Macedonia and Achaia, those are Gentile churches,

1115
00:45:44,820 --> 00:45:47,260
they're pleased to make some contribution for the poor

1116
00:45:47,260 --> 00:45:49,220
among the saints at Jerusalem.

1117
00:45:49,220 --> 00:45:50,780
They were pleased to do it.

1118
00:45:50,780 --> 00:45:52,420
Indeed, they owe it to them,

1119
00:45:52,420 --> 00:45:53,900
for if the Gentiles have come to share

1120
00:45:53,900 --> 00:45:55,060
in their spiritual blessings,

1121
00:45:55,060 --> 00:45:57,940
they also ought to be of service to them

1122
00:45:57,940 --> 00:45:58,980
in material blessings.

1123
00:45:58,980 --> 00:46:01,100
So it's a theological issue with Paul.

1124
00:46:03,780 --> 00:46:06,820
Like God's covenant people were the Jews,

1125
00:46:06,820 --> 00:46:09,980
but the Gentiles are now grafted in by faith in Jesus alone.

1126
00:46:09,980 --> 00:46:11,780
What makes one a covenant people of God

1127
00:46:11,780 --> 00:46:13,220
isn't your Jewishness.

1128
00:46:14,180 --> 00:46:16,140
It's the promise of God fulfilled

1129
00:46:16,140 --> 00:46:17,540
in the perfect work of Jesus.

1130
00:46:17,540 --> 00:46:18,580
And he's telling these Gentiles,

1131
00:46:18,580 --> 00:46:20,260
hey, that blessing is yours.

1132
00:46:20,260 --> 00:46:23,060
Because of the Jews, you need to show them unity in that

1133
00:46:23,060 --> 00:46:25,460
by giving to them in a time of need, right?

1134
00:46:25,460 --> 00:46:27,300
That's what Paul is doing here.

1135
00:46:27,300 --> 00:46:31,380
So it's an expression of unity, right?

1136
00:46:31,380 --> 00:46:33,180
And unity is a big deal.

1137
00:46:33,180 --> 00:46:34,940
As I said, the gospel creates this.

1138
00:46:34,940 --> 00:46:37,060
Ephesians two is a great place to go

1139
00:46:37,060 --> 00:46:39,740
to show the unity that the gospel creates.

1140
00:46:39,740 --> 00:46:41,380
But we need to understand,

1141
00:46:41,380 --> 00:46:43,140
like when Jesus went to the cross,

1142
00:46:43,140 --> 00:46:46,260
it wasn't just that Jesus went to the cross

1143
00:46:46,260 --> 00:46:49,460
merely for you to have this private relationship with him.

1144
00:46:49,460 --> 00:46:51,180
Yes, that's available to you.

1145
00:46:51,180 --> 00:46:54,060
But do you know that you're now brought into a family?

1146
00:46:55,260 --> 00:46:57,540
There's a horizontal aspect to the gospel

1147
00:46:57,540 --> 00:46:59,820
that we wanna see everyone experience.

1148
00:46:59,820 --> 00:47:01,740
And it happens through the church, right?

1149
00:47:01,740 --> 00:47:03,420
So Jesus was broken.

1150
00:47:03,420 --> 00:47:05,340
His body was torn in two

1151
00:47:05,340 --> 00:47:07,220
so that his people could be what?

1152
00:47:07,220 --> 00:47:08,040
One.

1153
00:47:09,140 --> 00:47:13,940
Jesus stood in the place of a bunch of diverse sinners

1154
00:47:13,940 --> 00:47:17,540
so that we would stand together in the gospel.

1155
00:47:17,540 --> 00:47:21,620
So the cross is a unity issue too, and Paul knew that,

1156
00:47:21,620 --> 00:47:23,820
which is why we wanna be a church

1157
00:47:23,820 --> 00:47:26,740
that's about unifying in the gospel.

1158
00:47:26,740 --> 00:47:29,220
So it's not just about us here, right?

1159
00:47:29,220 --> 00:47:30,540
That's why we have partnerships

1160
00:47:30,540 --> 00:47:32,220
with other churches in the gospel.

1161
00:47:32,220 --> 00:47:33,380
That's why we go to Ecuador.

1162
00:47:33,380 --> 00:47:35,440
That's why I encourage you as a Christian,

1163
00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:36,860
don't just look to us and say,

1164
00:47:36,860 --> 00:47:38,660
how can I partner in the gospel?

1165
00:47:38,660 --> 00:47:41,180
We'll help you, but use your resources.

1166
00:47:41,180 --> 00:47:42,620
Use your time, find places.

1167
00:47:42,620 --> 00:47:44,820
We'll put you in the right direction.

1168
00:47:44,820 --> 00:47:46,420
But that's on you too

1169
00:47:46,420 --> 00:47:47,980
to be partnering with places in the gospel.

1170
00:47:47,980 --> 00:47:49,660
Now be careful, make sure it's a place

1171
00:47:49,660 --> 00:47:52,300
that really loves the gospel, right?

1172
00:47:52,300 --> 00:47:54,020
That's very important, Paul would say,

1173
00:47:54,020 --> 00:47:55,980
because there's only one gospel.

1174
00:47:57,820 --> 00:47:59,420
That's why we go to Ecuador, right?

1175
00:47:59,420 --> 00:48:01,420
To display this unity we have in the gospel.

1176
00:48:01,420 --> 00:48:03,740
And I don't wanna diminish what also is happening.

1177
00:48:03,740 --> 00:48:05,440
They're giving to the poor saints.

1178
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:06,700
They're giving to those in need.

1179
00:48:06,700 --> 00:48:07,900
We should be a people,

1180
00:48:07,900 --> 00:48:10,500
looking out for the needs of other people in our church,

1181
00:48:10,500 --> 00:48:11,340
right?

1182
00:48:11,340 --> 00:48:15,420
We should have eyes that are aware of the needs of others,

1183
00:48:15,420 --> 00:48:18,620
but we should also be people that are compassionate

1184
00:48:18,620 --> 00:48:20,840
towards those that might not be in our church,

1185
00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:23,600
that are less fortunate than us, shouldn't we?

1186
00:48:24,500 --> 00:48:26,260
It's all of that.

1187
00:48:26,260 --> 00:48:28,220
So we should be generous and sacrificial

1188
00:48:28,220 --> 00:48:29,180
with our pocketbooks.

1189
00:48:29,180 --> 00:48:30,780
We should look for ways to serve.

1190
00:48:30,780 --> 00:48:33,900
We should, hey, I've got people I can put you in contact

1191
00:48:33,900 --> 00:48:35,640
with in our church that will help you,

1192
00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:38,140
that will get you plugged in there, if that's you.

1193
00:48:38,140 --> 00:48:41,780
But giving to people less fortunate

1194
00:48:41,780 --> 00:48:46,380
isn't just about philanthropy.

1195
00:48:48,420 --> 00:48:49,940
Do you know why we do that?

1196
00:48:51,780 --> 00:48:53,780
It's about the gospel.

1197
00:48:53,780 --> 00:48:55,060
Unity is a gospel issue,

1198
00:48:55,060 --> 00:48:58,660
but so is giving to those that are poor,

1199
00:48:58,660 --> 00:49:02,860
because the gospel tells us all of us actually are poor.

1200
00:49:03,820 --> 00:49:07,100
Apart from Jesus, we are bankrupt and broken.

1201
00:49:07,100 --> 00:49:08,740
We've got nothing to offer him.

1202
00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:13,220
We're orphans, and what does God do?

1203
00:49:13,220 --> 00:49:16,540
God that is rich beyond all imagination, right?

1204
00:49:16,540 --> 00:49:20,680
We cannot comprehend the riches of God's throne ring.

1205
00:49:22,420 --> 00:49:23,300
You can try.

1206
00:49:24,660 --> 00:49:25,820
I think I've told you this.

1207
00:49:25,820 --> 00:49:28,220
Think about that destination you love to go to,

1208
00:49:28,220 --> 00:49:31,780
that dream vacation, and multiply it by infinity,

1209
00:49:31,780 --> 00:49:33,340
which is a number we can't comprehend,

1210
00:49:33,340 --> 00:49:37,220
and you don't even come close to what God enjoyed.

1211
00:49:38,700 --> 00:49:40,060
And then what did he do?

1212
00:49:40,960 --> 00:49:43,180
He gave up his riches.

1213
00:49:44,260 --> 00:49:47,420
Paul would say he who was rich became what?

1214
00:49:47,420 --> 00:49:48,840
Poor.

1215
00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:50,220
Yeah, he lived a life of poverty.

1216
00:49:50,220 --> 00:49:52,900
I mean, Jesus didn't have a home, y'all.

1217
00:49:52,900 --> 00:49:54,980
I mean, we idolize our homes.

1218
00:49:54,980 --> 00:49:56,560
Jesus had no home.

1219
00:49:59,980 --> 00:50:02,220
Bro was born on hay, right?

1220
00:50:02,220 --> 00:50:07,220
He laid, his first night was not in a warm hospital room,

1221
00:50:07,460 --> 00:50:10,220
in a bed, it was on hay,

1222
00:50:11,980 --> 00:50:13,740
with animal poop surrounding him.

1223
00:50:15,740 --> 00:50:16,900
That's reality, right?

1224
00:50:16,900 --> 00:50:18,420
That's what the Bible teaches.

1225
00:50:18,420 --> 00:50:20,300
To show us what God was doing.

1226
00:50:20,300 --> 00:50:22,940
It wasn't just this physical poverty.

1227
00:50:22,940 --> 00:50:25,440
It was coming down all the way to us,

1228
00:50:25,440 --> 00:50:27,160
being the lowest of lows,

1229
00:50:27,160 --> 00:50:30,520
going to the worst possible place, a Roman cross.

1230
00:50:30,520 --> 00:50:33,700
God gave up all of the riches to become the most poor,

1231
00:50:33,700 --> 00:50:35,500
most pitiful creature,

1232
00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:38,940
because Jesus traded places with you and with me.

1233
00:50:38,940 --> 00:50:43,360
He became our sin so that we get his righteousness,

1234
00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:46,420
and that in Jesus, who was rich but became poor,

1235
00:50:46,420 --> 00:50:48,300
if we've looked in by faith, what are we?

1236
00:50:48,300 --> 00:50:50,140
We are now rich.

1237
00:50:51,460 --> 00:50:54,680
Right, what defines our wealth isn't the car we drive,

1238
00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:58,780
it's not the number of zeros in our bank account,

1239
00:50:58,780 --> 00:51:00,440
it's not the home we live in,

1240
00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:01,980
it is Jesus.

1241
00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:05,580
Because Ephesians 2 says, we've been raised with him,

1242
00:51:05,580 --> 00:51:07,740
seated with him far above all places,

1243
00:51:07,740 --> 00:51:09,140
and actually in him we are rich.

1244
00:51:09,140 --> 00:51:12,500
So we give because it displays the gospel.

1245
00:51:12,500 --> 00:51:13,340
You with me?

1246
00:51:14,420 --> 00:51:16,100
But that's not what this is all about, right?

1247
00:51:16,100 --> 00:51:18,260
That's a sub point here.

1248
00:51:18,260 --> 00:51:19,180
What is this about?

1249
00:51:19,180 --> 00:51:21,900
Paul didn't compromise, because if he did,

1250
00:51:21,900 --> 00:51:24,260
he would have forfeited that blessing of unity,

1251
00:51:24,260 --> 00:51:26,020
and if he did, he would have forfeited

1252
00:51:26,020 --> 00:51:26,980
the blessing of freedom.

1253
00:51:26,980 --> 00:51:28,660
So listen, if you're here this morning,

1254
00:51:28,660 --> 00:51:31,220
and maybe you're riddled with anxiety,

1255
00:51:31,220 --> 00:51:33,580
some of you probably are, and worry,

1256
00:51:34,580 --> 00:51:35,540
let me remind you,

1257
00:51:37,740 --> 00:51:40,900
Jesus is enough.

1258
00:51:42,260 --> 00:51:43,180
You want freedom?

1259
00:51:44,300 --> 00:51:46,780
Preach the gospel to your heart.

1260
00:51:46,780 --> 00:51:48,580
Jesus is enough.

1261
00:51:48,580 --> 00:51:50,660
You want the worry to go away?

1262
00:51:50,660 --> 00:51:53,660
You are in his hands if you've looked to him by faith.

1263
00:51:53,660 --> 00:51:55,420
Nothing can take you away from him.

1264
00:51:55,420 --> 00:51:57,940
Rest in the truth of the gospel and be free.

1265
00:51:57,940 --> 00:51:58,900
You want unity?

1266
00:51:58,900 --> 00:52:00,640
You want to find acceptance and belonging?

1267
00:52:00,640 --> 00:52:02,500
The world's gonna offer you false unity.

1268
00:52:02,500 --> 00:52:04,380
You realize that, right?

1269
00:52:04,380 --> 00:52:05,900
As soon as you're different from them,

1270
00:52:05,900 --> 00:52:09,020
the world's gonna, it's gonna run the other way on you.

1271
00:52:09,020 --> 00:52:11,380
The gospel doesn't offer you that.

1272
00:52:11,380 --> 00:52:14,020
The gospel says come to me just as you are.

1273
00:52:14,020 --> 00:52:15,820
With your differences, with your baggage,

1274
00:52:15,820 --> 00:52:18,420
Jesus takes you, he forgives you,

1275
00:52:18,420 --> 00:52:19,860
he heals you, he redeems you,

1276
00:52:19,860 --> 00:52:21,860
and he welcomes you into a family

1277
00:52:21,860 --> 00:52:25,540
that's centered around the rock solid truth of the gospel.

1278
00:52:25,540 --> 00:52:28,960
Let me end with this, if the band would come up.

1279
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:31,520
A quote from Martin Luther.

1280
00:52:34,200 --> 00:52:37,680
If we're not to compromise, what are we to do?

1281
00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:38,860
We're to contend.

1282
00:52:40,740 --> 00:52:43,800
Right, the warning here is if you compromise,

1283
00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:45,920
you forfeit the blessings of the gospel.

1284
00:52:45,920 --> 00:52:46,760
So what do we do?

1285
00:52:46,760 --> 00:52:48,560
We need to daily contend for the gospel.

1286
00:52:48,560 --> 00:52:49,380
What does that mean?

1287
00:52:49,380 --> 00:52:51,200
Never assume the gospel, number one.

1288
00:52:51,200 --> 00:52:54,180
Never assume you know it, your kids know it,

1289
00:52:54,180 --> 00:52:56,520
your neighbor knows it, why?

1290
00:52:56,520 --> 00:52:59,420
Because we are hardwired to naturally be bent

1291
00:52:59,420 --> 00:53:01,640
towards works righteousness and forget

1292
00:53:01,640 --> 00:53:04,880
that salvation is a free gift from God

1293
00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:06,540
through the person and work of Jesus.

1294
00:53:06,540 --> 00:53:07,880
You never assume it.

1295
00:53:08,800 --> 00:53:11,080
You never stop talking about it.

1296
00:53:11,080 --> 00:53:13,320
Because if you stop talking about it, guess what?

1297
00:53:13,320 --> 00:53:14,480
You'll forget it.

1298
00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:17,200
And you contend for it.

1299
00:53:17,200 --> 00:53:19,380
Martin Luther contended for the gospel

1300
00:53:19,380 --> 00:53:21,180
during the Protestant Reformation,

1301
00:53:21,180 --> 00:53:22,920
and he says in one paragraph,

1302
00:53:22,920 --> 00:53:24,920
what it took me 50 minutes to say.

1303
00:53:25,800 --> 00:53:26,940
Listen to his words.

1304
00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:31,240
The issue before us is grave and vital.

1305
00:53:31,240 --> 00:53:34,440
It involves the death of the Son of God,

1306
00:53:34,440 --> 00:53:38,960
who by the will and command of the Father became flesh,

1307
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,920
was crucified and died for the sins of the world.

1308
00:53:41,920 --> 00:53:45,960
If faith yields on this point, if it's anything else,

1309
00:53:45,960 --> 00:53:49,140
if it's your works, if it's your political agenda,

1310
00:53:49,140 --> 00:53:50,800
if it's the way you homeschool,

1311
00:53:50,800 --> 00:53:54,200
if it's how many times you read your Bible a day,

1312
00:53:54,200 --> 00:53:56,520
if it's how good you think you are, fill in the blank.

1313
00:53:56,520 --> 00:53:59,180
If it yields on this point,

1314
00:53:59,180 --> 00:54:01,880
the death of the Son of God would be in vain.

1315
00:54:02,740 --> 00:54:04,200
Then it's only a fable.

1316
00:54:04,200 --> 00:54:06,480
It's made up that Christ is the Savior of the world.

1317
00:54:06,480 --> 00:54:07,640
God's a liar.

1318
00:54:07,640 --> 00:54:09,240
He's not lived up to his promises.

1319
00:54:09,240 --> 00:54:12,680
Therefore, our stubbornness, our unwillingness

1320
00:54:12,680 --> 00:54:16,440
to compromise on this issue is pious, it is holy.

1321
00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:18,960
For by it we are striving to preserve the freedom

1322
00:54:18,960 --> 00:54:22,280
we have in Christ Jesus and to keep the truth of the gospel.

1323
00:54:22,280 --> 00:54:25,600
If we lose this, we lose Christ,

1324
00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:29,560
all the promises, faith, righteousness, and eternal life.

1325
00:54:29,560 --> 00:54:31,720
If you compromise gospel truth,

1326
00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:33,760
you will forfeit gospel blessings.

1327
00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:34,800
Don't compromise.

1328
00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:35,620
Let's pray.

1329
00:54:35,620 --> 00:54:37,360
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gospel.

1330
00:54:37,360 --> 00:54:41,420
May we be unwavering, steadfast,

1331
00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:45,080
in our unwillingness to compromise for the gospel.

1332
00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:48,240
Help us rest in the freedom we have.

1333
00:54:50,080 --> 00:54:51,720
If we're not finding freedom in the gospel,

1334
00:54:51,720 --> 00:54:53,520
it's because we have turned to something else.

1335
00:54:53,520 --> 00:54:54,740
Forgive us.

1336
00:54:54,740 --> 00:54:56,840
May we rest in the finished work of Christ.

1337
00:54:56,840 --> 00:54:58,760
If we're not finding unity in the gospel,

1338
00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:01,400
it's probably because we've made a preference the gospel.

1339
00:55:01,400 --> 00:55:02,400
Forgive us.

1340
00:55:02,400 --> 00:55:03,960
May we find unity in the gospel

1341
00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:06,720
and be a church that is united around the gospel.

1342
00:55:06,720 --> 00:55:08,760
Thank you, Jesus, for the gospel.

1343
00:55:08,760 --> 00:55:09,640
We love you.

1344
00:55:09,640 --> 00:55:14,640
May we be a people dedicated to pursue with passion

1345
00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:18,880
other people for the sake of the gospel.

1346
00:55:18,880 --> 00:55:21,480
Be resolved to not compromise.

1347
00:55:21,480 --> 00:55:40,480
We love you in Jesus' name, amen.