WEBVTT 00:00:05.840 --> 00:00:07.799 Hey friend, welcome back here to the Seminary 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:09.720 Seminary. In another week, another episode of 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:11.939 our Bible study series, we call the Bible for 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:14.839 Grown Ups. One of the things that we try to accomplish 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:19.500 in this series is actually looking at these stories 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.859 that we read about, we know about, we were taught 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:25.460 in the Bible and thinking of them in more adult 00:00:25.460 --> 00:00:28.899 ways. There's more to the story. I know there 00:00:28.899 --> 00:00:31.440 is. We're taking the time to kind of look at 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.899 that tonight. We're going to kind of wrap up 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:36.719 this discussion that we've been having for quite 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:40.240 some time on the Holy Spirit tonight. Our discussion 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.320 is called, Say What? I'll see you on the other 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:51.899 side. I'd like to talk tonight about, if you've 00:00:51.899 --> 00:00:54.159 been with us on Sundays, and actually we've been 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.969 talking about it down here. As well. But this 00:00:57.969 --> 00:01:01.070 is, I'm kind of finishing this one last little 00:01:01.070 --> 00:01:03.130 thing I want to talk about that we've really 00:01:03.130 --> 00:01:06.370 kind of been focusing on Sundays, but I'll catch 00:01:06.370 --> 00:01:09.390 you guys up. And what we've been talking about 00:01:09.390 --> 00:01:11.909 for, for just about every time we get together 00:01:11.909 --> 00:01:16.909 for well over a month now has been the Holy Spirit 00:01:16.909 --> 00:01:19.909 and the Holy Spirit's role in our lives, how 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:23.170 we can recognize the Holy Spirit, how we can 00:01:23.170 --> 00:01:26.439 recognize. the Holy Spirit working in us, how 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:28.859 we can notice when we feel like the Holy Spirit, 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:33.000 maybe we're getting in its way and we're not 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:38.180 feeling that kind of transformative change we're 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:40.260 looking for. We've been talking about that now 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:44.459 for about two months. And one of the things that 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:47.060 we've been kind of focusing on on our discussions 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:50.319 on Sunday morning has been the reason why this 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:53.920 is such an important topic. is because I think 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.459 we have this awesome illustration of its truth 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.920 in the Bible. And what that illustration is, 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:06.500 is that if you know any about the story at all, 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:09.340 you probably know there's a guy named Jesus. 00:02:09.460 --> 00:02:13.060 Most of us know, have heard of Jesus. And we 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:16.740 also know that during his public ministry, he 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:19.080 had about a three and a half year public ministry. 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:20.379 In other words, there were about three and a 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:23.530 half years. where he went around and he proclaimed 00:02:23.530 --> 00:02:27.389 that the kingdom of God has bent low to the earth. 00:02:27.449 --> 00:02:31.509 The kingdom of God is here. And he made several 00:02:31.509 --> 00:02:34.810 claims about himself. Now, that's not the topic 00:02:34.810 --> 00:02:36.389 of our discussion tonight. I'm just trying to 00:02:36.389 --> 00:02:38.569 make sure you remember the cat I'm talking about 00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:40.889 by the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And during 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:43.949 these three and a half years, he had folks that 00:02:43.949 --> 00:02:46.969 traveled around with him. And we have this group 00:02:46.969 --> 00:02:52.259 of disciples that were kind of, the entourage, 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:56.960 his crew, so to speak, that were close on the 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.300 inside, but there were concentric circles or 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:03.520 widening circles of people that during this public 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:07.199 ministry followed Jesus around, watched everything 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:10.500 he did, heard everything he said, but the story 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:12.879 in the Bible is typically focused on this very 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:17.080 close -knit group of 12 people plus Jesus. Now, 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:20.939 one of the things we also recognize, And this 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:25.280 is actually good news for us because one of the 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:28.699 things we find is these people who spent every 00:03:28.699 --> 00:03:32.479 moment with Jesus, they all slept in the same 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.500 house together. We can't even say every waking 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:38.360 moment because it was every sleeping moment too. 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:45.319 And we find that these disciples struggle throughout 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:48.620 the entire story of Jesus in his public ministry. 00:03:49.550 --> 00:03:54.310 Fully grasping what it means to be with Jesus. 00:03:55.030 --> 00:03:59.689 Something we today as Christians, we consider 00:03:59.689 --> 00:04:04.050 part of our spiritual journey. How do I acknowledge? 00:04:04.509 --> 00:04:08.030 How do I live with the fact that? And how can 00:04:08.030 --> 00:04:12.750 my life be different given the reality of Jesus 00:04:12.750 --> 00:04:17.810 in my life? Right? Except ours is kind of a spiritual. 00:04:19.599 --> 00:04:24.639 But theirs was quite literally dirty feet, sandals, 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:30.439 physical journey. And they had a hard time. They 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:34.259 struggled with the magnitude of the truth of 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:38.000 who Jesus really is. It was a hard time. They 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:41.430 had a hard time. And the whole time. That they 00:04:41.430 --> 00:04:44.230 were walking around with Jesus, listening to 00:04:44.230 --> 00:04:47.490 his teachings, and he's telling them that a new 00:04:47.490 --> 00:04:50.769 king is coming. There's a new way of life this 00:04:50.769 --> 00:04:53.310 whole time. They think that there's going to 00:04:53.310 --> 00:04:55.810 be an overthrow of the government and they're 00:04:55.810 --> 00:04:59.209 going to get to be the new guys in charge. And 00:04:59.209 --> 00:05:02.769 Jesus is like, my kingdom isn't of this world. 00:05:03.370 --> 00:05:07.670 And they had no, they could not grasp what that 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:13.079 meant. And the reality is it didn't even begin 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:18.959 to sink into them that Jesus actually was in 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.560 the whole magnitude of glory of who Jesus was 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:26.540 until after they, at least most of them, heard 00:05:26.540 --> 00:05:29.100 about because they were too chicken to even show 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:33.699 up to the crucifixion. There was only one disciple 00:05:33.699 --> 00:05:36.420 there. We're not really sure who that was. He's 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:39.160 named the beloved disciple. Many people think 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:44.480 it's John. But we don't know for sure. And the 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.079 women. John and the women were the only ones 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:50.160 that had the courage to actually show up to see 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.839 him die. The rest of these cats were all hiding 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:57.660 for their lives. Because they thought... What 00:05:57.660 --> 00:06:00.120 the Romans are now doing to Jesus, they are most 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:06.100 assuredly going to do to us next. Peter, before 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:09.980 this happens, says, Jesus, I'll never leave you. 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:13.480 I'll never forsake you, even if everybody else 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:20.519 falls away. I'll never forsake you. And in the 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:24.519 early morning hours of that final day of Jesus' 00:06:24.699 --> 00:06:30.250 earthly life, Peter denies him to a teenage girl. 00:06:30.889 --> 00:06:35.810 And when he does, through beaten and swollen 00:06:35.810 --> 00:06:42.910 eyes, Peter and Jesus make eye contact. Put yourself 00:06:42.910 --> 00:06:49.189 in those sandals. And when it's all said and 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:53.089 done, they run and hightail it back to the upper 00:06:53.089 --> 00:06:57.779 room, continuing to be. Afraid of their life. 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:03.980 For their life. Then we have this day of Pentecost 00:07:03.980 --> 00:07:06.120 when the Holy Spirit descends on the individual 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.000 believers and they leave that upper room. And 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:13.379 from that moment on, their life is 180 degrees 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:17.620 different. Instead of cowering in fear, waiting 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:21.459 to die, they go out into the temple square and 00:07:21.459 --> 00:07:25.519 they point fingers. They look these religious 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:28.459 leaders in the eye and they say, you killed him. 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:33.879 But he's back. And we're going to preach in the 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:37.100 name of Jesus. We have the day of Pentecost. 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:39.759 Thousands of people are baptized. We have these 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:42.420 early stories and acts where the guys go around 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:46.019 and they heal people. Right? And they're teaching 00:07:46.019 --> 00:07:49.459 and they're preaching this new reality about 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:51.920 the fact. That, you know, the guy named Jesus, 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.019 y 'all know he's died too, right? Y 'all know 00:07:55.019 --> 00:07:57.439 the Romans killed him, right? Well, guess what? 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:02.079 We've all seen him alive. And the emperor no 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:07.779 longer. He has the power of death over us. But 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:10.480 Jesus' resurrection showed that there is a limit 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:14.939 to the power of the emperor. That while the emperor 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:18.259 may have the power to take our lives, there's 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:22.300 only one king that actually can give life. Right? 00:08:23.019 --> 00:08:26.980 And that turned everything upside down. And it 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:29.980 was only then that they began to get it. And 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:32.559 when the Holy Spirit descends upon them, these 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:39.340 ordinary men and women, begin to do extraordinary 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:42.820 things, right? Because of the transformative 00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:48.019 power of the Holy Spirit. Now, you also know 00:08:48.019 --> 00:08:50.240 that I'm the kind of guy that is going to say 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:55.019 that if you have a choice as a Christian, and 00:08:55.019 --> 00:09:03.120 you do, to let how you live your life be an example 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:08.120 of Jesus in your heart to other people, Don't 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:10.899 worry about how you live. Have a really loud, 00:09:11.019 --> 00:09:14.419 good message about how cool Jesus is and about 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:18.100 how other people are sinning. Which do you think 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:21.759 is the most, the more effective? Your life as 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.460 your witness of Jesus far and away is the most 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:29.879 important part of your personal evangelism. And 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:31.500 that's what we're talking about tonight. Personal 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:37.450 evangelism. Right? Because. And this isn't just 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.809 Christianity. This is every other aspect of our 00:09:40.809 --> 00:09:44.769 lives too. It comes down to simple human decency, 00:09:44.850 --> 00:09:49.509 integrity, character. People are going to look 00:09:49.509 --> 00:09:53.090 and see how you live your life versus what you 00:09:53.090 --> 00:09:57.610 say all the time. And when those two conflict, 00:09:57.970 --> 00:10:01.149 you're never getting the benefit of the doubt 00:10:01.149 --> 00:10:03.190 about how you're living versus what you say. 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:07.000 Because it shows a complete lack of integrity, 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:11.960 a lack of moral character. In this case, it shows 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:18.200 a lack of spiritual genuineness, right? If we 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:21.379 really want to bring others that might not know 00:10:21.379 --> 00:10:26.139 Jesus to Jesus, the way you live your life is 00:10:26.139 --> 00:10:29.120 by far and away your best tool in your basket 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:37.009 or box or whatever, right? As we're tying the 00:10:37.009 --> 00:10:41.230 bow on this story of all of these things that 00:10:41.230 --> 00:10:45.870 the disciples are now doing. And the church is 00:10:45.870 --> 00:10:50.190 being birthed. And people are beginning to know 00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:53.950 Jesus that didn't know Jesus before. And as we, 00:10:54.190 --> 00:10:58.029 because we do. We look back. I hope you do. And 00:10:58.029 --> 00:11:00.210 if you don't, do some work on it. We'll talk 00:11:00.210 --> 00:11:02.830 more about it. Right? Whatever. But I hope you 00:11:02.830 --> 00:11:05.470 get to a place where you go, you know what? There 00:11:05.470 --> 00:11:10.250 was probably never a better time for Christianity 00:11:10.250 --> 00:11:15.450 than that first generation of believers. Because 00:11:15.450 --> 00:11:21.769 decade after decade, century after century, millennia 00:11:21.769 --> 00:11:28.110 now after millennia, humankind has come into, 00:11:28.269 --> 00:11:33.570 in the quotes, the church and changed it drastically. 00:11:34.429 --> 00:11:36.269 from what it appeared to be in the beginning. 00:11:36.690 --> 00:11:39.409 I don't think anybody... Now, some of those changes 00:11:39.409 --> 00:11:41.370 may be for the... Look, I'm not saying the church 00:11:41.370 --> 00:11:46.409 is the bad guy. I'm not saying any of that. I 00:11:46.409 --> 00:11:49.590 am saying, I think you can agree that the way 00:11:49.590 --> 00:11:52.429 it works today isn't the way we read about in 00:11:52.429 --> 00:11:55.330 that first book of Acts. And one of the things 00:11:55.330 --> 00:11:57.750 we noticed up here on Sunday mornings is when 00:11:57.750 --> 00:12:00.049 we do read those stories about life with the 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:03.690 early Christians in Acts, We see miracles happening. 00:12:03.870 --> 00:12:06.830 We see lame people getting up to walk. We even 00:12:06.830 --> 00:12:10.929 see dead people being resurrected. We hear things 00:12:10.929 --> 00:12:14.330 like, and everybody's needs were met. Can you 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:16.470 imagine living in a community? I'm not even talking 00:12:16.470 --> 00:12:19.690 about living in a city or a state or a country 00:12:19.690 --> 00:12:22.009 where everybody's needs are met. I mean, just 00:12:22.009 --> 00:12:25.289 imagine a small little personal community where 00:12:25.289 --> 00:12:28.330 everybody chips in to make sure everybody's needs 00:12:28.330 --> 00:12:33.139 are met. Today? That's crazy to even think about. 00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:36.179 That's something you only see on TV. But that's 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:39.340 what was going on in the book of Acts. And I 00:12:39.340 --> 00:12:42.259 would venture to argue that maybe because these 00:12:42.259 --> 00:12:46.000 guys and gals allowed the Holy Spirit to work 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:49.519 in their lives in such a dramatic way, that's 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:52.080 why their lives look different than our lives 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:57.000 do today. Because we don't live our lives in 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:59.240 many ways the way those early Christians do. 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:02.960 We do have sense enough to look back on those 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:08.480 stories and go, I might not ever get there, but 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:10.980 I sure would want to get as close to it as I 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:14.419 could. Right? I mean, we want to emulate those 00:13:14.419 --> 00:13:17.860 early followers, those eyewitness account folks 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:21.519 that saw Jesus alive. Don't we want to emulate 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:25.440 their lives in community as well? I think we 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.620 do. And I think the stories are incredibly... 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:34.919 Inspirational. But when we talk about this ordinary 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.299 to extraordinary kind of thing, shift happening, 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:42.480 it's not necessarily just how these folks lived. 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:46.399 Every time we hear these stories and acts where 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.080 it goes from ordinary to extraordinary, what's 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:53.460 happening are these disciples, who are now apostles, 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:55.600 that's for another day, what a difference between 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:59.179 a disciple and apostle, but... These new apostles 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:05.340 are speaking the truth about Jesus, which shows 00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:12.259 us that, yes, if we are simple -minded enough 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:14.840 to think that we have to choose between our words 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:17.039 and our actions, we're going to choose our actions, 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:20.000 right? That doesn't mean our words don't have 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.039 value. In fact, all of this stuff happening... 00:14:24.409 --> 00:14:27.389 in the early church, begins with the apostles 00:14:27.389 --> 00:14:30.710 speaking the truth about Jesus. And we're talking 00:14:30.710 --> 00:14:33.649 about personal evangelism. And it means you and 00:14:33.649 --> 00:14:37.289 I have a responsibility to live like Jesus and 00:14:37.289 --> 00:14:41.429 to speak to others about Jesus. We don't get 00:14:41.429 --> 00:14:44.289 to get excused one from the other. It doesn't 00:14:44.289 --> 00:14:49.110 fully work that way. So while we do focus on... 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:52.019 Living like Jesus. Tonight I'm going to talk 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:55.480 about speaking about Jesus and why it's important. 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:57.700 And let me give you an example at this point 00:14:57.700 --> 00:15:02.659 in the game because I think you will grasp. So, 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:09.659 example versus words. When I was a kid, I spent 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:12.320 so much time outdoors. I've hiked everywhere. 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:15.539 I was in Boy Scouts forever. In this church, 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:18.120 in that room was our scout hut, room, whatever, 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:22.090 right? And I've been out in the woods a lot. 00:15:22.129 --> 00:15:26.909 And let's just say, as a result of my experience, 00:15:27.230 --> 00:15:31.309 and even just my time in the woods, let's say 00:15:31.309 --> 00:15:36.110 I can see things that maybe you as someone that 00:15:36.110 --> 00:15:38.169 comes from the city can't. And we're on a hike 00:15:38.169 --> 00:15:42.210 somewhere. And because of that experience, we're 00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:46.860 walking down the trail, you and I. And right 00:15:46.860 --> 00:15:50.740 in front of you, I see a copperhead snake. But 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:52.799 you might not see that copperhead because you're 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.860 not used to looking for things like that in the 00:15:55.860 --> 00:15:58.179 woods. And to you, it might even look camouflaged. 00:15:58.179 --> 00:16:01.559 But to me, I can see it right there, right? Now, 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:06.360 if I'm letting my light be my example, then as 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:09.279 I walk around to make sure that snake can't get 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:13.500 me, that's one thing. But what happens if... 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:19.480 If unwarned, you get bit by that copperhead you 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:23.980 didn't see. Means you probably will end up being 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:28.840 very miserable. And you won't come to want to 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:32.159 go hiking with me ever again. Right? I don't 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:38.220 think so. I think what you would much more appreciate 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:43.200 would be if as we're walking, I went snake. Right? 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:46.700 Because sometimes we might be able to see things 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:48.700 in people's lives that they can't see for themselves. 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.120 And most certainly other people can see things 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:53.600 in our lives we can't see about ourselves. And 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:56.120 that's a big way I think that God works is through 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:59.039 community where people can hold each other with 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.759 some level of accountability and talk about these 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:07.440 things in our life. And why we can do that, why 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.480 we feel comfortable doing that, or we should, 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:16.109 is because we have this belief. That when we 00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:19.869 speak to each other, when we maybe even chasten 00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:23.089 each other at times, that it comes to us out 00:17:23.089 --> 00:17:26.910 of love. Right? And when we give it, we give 00:17:26.910 --> 00:17:31.309 it out of love. Because we have this belief that 00:17:31.309 --> 00:17:36.609 together we're in the same place. I'm saying 00:17:36.609 --> 00:17:38.670 these things to you. You're saying these things 00:17:38.670 --> 00:17:42.630 to me out of love. Not to shame. Not to condemn. 00:17:43.529 --> 00:17:45.869 Not the holier -than -thou somebody. None of 00:17:45.869 --> 00:17:48.549 that stuff, but out of love because I care enough, 00:17:48.769 --> 00:17:54.509 right? And I believe that so boldly that I can 00:17:54.509 --> 00:17:59.470 speak boldly about it. Remember, because a couple 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:04.309 of Sundays ago, we realized that our behavior 00:18:04.309 --> 00:18:09.509 is born out of what we believe. If we believe 00:18:09.509 --> 00:18:12.309 we're going to fail, if we believe that there 00:18:12.309 --> 00:18:16.470 is certain adversity coming our way, our actions 00:18:16.470 --> 00:18:19.190 are going to be more timid. We're not going to 00:18:19.190 --> 00:18:23.910 act with such confidence or boldness because 00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:27.349 we don't have confidence in what we believe might 00:18:27.349 --> 00:18:31.250 happen. But the opposite is true as well. If 00:18:31.250 --> 00:18:37.009 we are confident, and for these disciples, apostles, 00:18:38.190 --> 00:18:40.869 They saw Jesus dead and they saw Jesus alive. 00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:44.849 And they've had the Holy Spirit descend upon 00:18:44.849 --> 00:18:47.950 them. And they've been with each other with the 00:18:47.950 --> 00:18:51.069 speaking of other languages and tongues with 00:18:51.069 --> 00:18:53.390 each other. They have seen each other perform 00:18:53.390 --> 00:18:56.849 the same kind of miracles they saw Jesus perform. 00:18:57.029 --> 00:19:00.170 And so why can they go out into the temple courts 00:19:00.170 --> 00:19:03.309 and speak so boldly? It's because that's what 00:19:03.309 --> 00:19:09.700 they believe now about Jesus. Right. That's exactly 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:12.720 in Acts chapter 14. It says Paul and Barnabas 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.299 spent considerable time there. What were they 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:18.680 doing? They were preaching. Right. And they were 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:22.039 under extraordinary persecution. And even when 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:24.480 they were under extraordinary persecution, we 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.319 talked about last week that they prayed for even 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:30.980 more boldness. And we talked about how silly 00:19:30.980 --> 00:19:33.819 that would be in our world today. Like, you know. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:38.640 If you had just gotten thrown in jail on something, 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:43.779 and I bailed you out, and you said, you know 00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:46.640 what I need to do? Whatever that got me thrown 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:49.440 in jail, I need to go out and do it bigger, bolder, 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:52.460 more in public, right? As your attorney, I would 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:57.460 advise against that. Right? And those aren't 00:19:57.460 --> 00:19:59.519 the same thing, but that's what's happening here. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:04.099 Right? Give us the power to speak the truth about 00:20:04.099 --> 00:20:08.980 Jesus. That's what got him thrown in jail. If 00:20:08.980 --> 00:20:12.140 I was their attorney, I'd say, lay low on this, 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:15.240 guys. And they're saying, no, give us bigger 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:21.900 microphones. And miraculously, things like this 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:27.359 lame man, crippled guy, 40 years, everybody knew 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:31.680 it. And one day, because of their, they're just 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:35.420 praying in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. He's 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:41.039 able to walk and they can't deny it. And I love 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:43.480 this about that story because I think this happens. 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:46.880 As a matter of fact, I get to see it fairly regularly, 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:49.720 even in my little church that I share with you 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:51.980 here too. You know what? You do too. I love it 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:55.380 whenever things happen and God works in such 00:20:55.380 --> 00:20:59.819 miraculous ways that I have to look on and say, 00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:05.910 I don't know if I understand it. I'm not even 00:21:05.910 --> 00:21:10.150 quite sure I believe it, but I can't deny it. 00:21:11.430 --> 00:21:14.970 It is a reality. I love it whenever God does 00:21:14.970 --> 00:21:17.809 something so miraculous in our world that the 00:21:17.809 --> 00:21:20.069 world looks on and says, I don't believe it, 00:21:20.089 --> 00:21:23.269 I don't understand it, but I cannot deny it. 00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:27.630 And we know people, or maybe you, you've got 00:21:27.630 --> 00:21:31.390 a marriage, and maybe it's going south and fast. 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:36.339 That someone gets radically saved, wife got radically 00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:40.200 saved, the dad decided to become the spiritual 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:42.500 leader that his family needed to be, and all 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:45.660 of a sudden they're like newlyweds again. And 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:48.180 their friends set, their other friends, they 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:52.200 look on and say, I don't understand it. I'm not 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:54.579 even sure I believe how it's possible, but I 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:58.180 can't deny it. I mean, something has happened 00:21:58.180 --> 00:22:02.329 in their life. Or maybe... Maybe you were addicted 00:22:02.329 --> 00:22:04.450 to something, you were in bondage over something, 00:22:04.630 --> 00:22:08.650 you lived in fear, and something rose up inside 00:22:08.650 --> 00:22:10.869 of you, and now you're just not the same, and 00:22:10.869 --> 00:22:13.269 other people look on and say, there's nothing 00:22:13.269 --> 00:22:16.529 but God that could have made that happen. And 00:22:16.529 --> 00:22:19.730 I don't want to look at anybody in the eyeballs 00:22:19.730 --> 00:22:22.930 right now. I don't want to put anybody on the 00:22:22.930 --> 00:22:25.049 spot, but I'll tell you, I see people in this 00:22:25.049 --> 00:22:30.339 room right now that I could say, Only God could 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:34.940 have done that. And praise God for that, right? 00:22:35.019 --> 00:22:39.339 Praise God for that. I mean, this is the creator 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:45.420 of the universe that loves and cares enough to 00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:49.559 enter your life, change your world in a way that 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:54.980 everybody else looks on and says, that is a miracle. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:01.779 So, If how we behave is what we believe, last 00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:04.819 Sunday we talked about what we pray about. I 00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:05.980 just want to throw this out here. If you weren't 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:08.019 with us on Sunday, come join us on Sunday. We've 00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:11.420 got church at 1045. Love to have you. But last 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:13.740 Sunday we talked about this. I just think this 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:17.119 is so great because this hits me right in the 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:20.660 chest. It might hit you too. If your world, because 00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:25.079 what you pray about reflects what you believe 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:27.750 about God. If you pray little personal prayers, 00:23:27.829 --> 00:23:30.269 you think God just handles little personal prayers. 00:23:30.690 --> 00:23:34.750 If you pray and you believe God can and will 00:23:34.750 --> 00:23:38.930 heal someone of their cancer, you believe a God 00:23:38.930 --> 00:23:42.769 that's big enough and powerful enough to can 00:23:42.769 --> 00:23:46.869 and do just that. Right? Whether you want to, 00:23:46.930 --> 00:23:51.210 if you didn't pray at all, that says a lot about 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:53.089 what you believe about God. You either believe 00:23:53.089 --> 00:23:56.670 God can't or God won't. Answer your prayers. 00:23:57.450 --> 00:24:00.769 None of us can run from it. And we're all on 00:24:00.769 --> 00:24:04.410 some scale between one and ten, so to speak. 00:24:04.630 --> 00:24:08.190 Right? But how would the world have been different? 00:24:08.630 --> 00:24:11.950 How would the world be different today? If every 00:24:11.950 --> 00:24:14.950 prayer you prayed about last week came true, 00:24:15.069 --> 00:24:17.730 if every prayer you prayed, how would the world 00:24:17.730 --> 00:24:21.630 be different today if God answered every, said 00:24:21.630 --> 00:24:25.279 yes to everything? For most of us, it would be 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:29.200 just stuff immediately around us. We might get 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.380 the job. We might find a place to live. Grandma 00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:38.740 might be healed of cancer. But the larger struggles 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:45.319 in the world might still be there. So what we 00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:47.740 pray about reflects what we think about God. 00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:50.980 What we believe deeply, we also need to speak 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:58.170 boldly. Whenever these guys are confronted, they 00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:05.170 say, when speaking about Jesus, Peter and John 00:25:05.170 --> 00:25:08.009 reply this. They say, judge for yourself whether 00:25:08.009 --> 00:25:10.329 it's right in God's sight to obey you rather 00:25:10.329 --> 00:25:14.650 than God. But I love this. They say, but for 00:25:14.650 --> 00:25:20.390 we, we cannot help speaking about what we have 00:25:20.390 --> 00:25:24.859 seen and what we have heard. The Greek word that's 00:25:24.859 --> 00:25:28.319 translated there as cannot help quite literally 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:33.220 means it is impossible. It is not possible for 00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:36.640 us to stop speaking about what we have seen and 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:41.099 what we have heard. You can threaten us, but 00:25:41.099 --> 00:25:43.299 we're still speaking. You can beat us. We'll 00:25:43.299 --> 00:25:47.259 speak louder. You could put us to death and our 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:49.779 last words are going to be a proclamation of 00:25:49.779 --> 00:25:55.380 Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Why? Because if you've 00:25:55.380 --> 00:25:59.700 seen what we've seen and you've heard what we've 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:03.920 heard, you've got to tell people about it. It's 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:08.460 that good. If you saw the people that we were 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:11.759 at the beginning of our story with these guys 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:15.720 and who we are now, if you've seen the miracles 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:17.960 that we've seen, you wouldn't be able to keep 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:24.869 it to yourself. It would be not possible. Now 00:26:24.869 --> 00:26:26.829 what I want to do, very quickly, I want to just 00:26:26.829 --> 00:26:30.190 talk about a few specific areas that I believe 00:26:30.190 --> 00:26:34.190 God wants you to speak. Not just live as a witness, 00:26:34.390 --> 00:26:37.809 but actually to speak boldly. Why? Because you 00:26:37.809 --> 00:26:42.349 believe it so deeply. Because we believe so deeply, 00:26:42.609 --> 00:26:46.029 there are times I want you to realize you can't 00:26:46.029 --> 00:26:52.130 help but speak boldly to yourself. David does 00:26:52.130 --> 00:26:54.609 this in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel, Hebrew 00:26:54.609 --> 00:27:00.589 Scripture 30 and 6. The Bible says David was 00:27:00.589 --> 00:27:04.230 greatly distressed for the people spoke of stoning 00:27:04.230 --> 00:27:08.130 him. Now we might be distressed and there might 00:27:08.130 --> 00:27:10.930 be hard stuff going on. There was certainly hard 00:27:10.930 --> 00:27:13.849 stuff going on in King David's life in this moment. 00:27:13.950 --> 00:27:17.750 The Bible says David encouraged himself in the 00:27:17.750 --> 00:27:21.890 Lord his God. What does that mean? It means he 00:27:21.890 --> 00:27:25.369 preached himself a sermon. He encouraged himself. 00:27:25.650 --> 00:27:30.329 He spoke boldly to himself. It doesn't record 00:27:30.329 --> 00:27:32.789 what was said, but it could be. I just remember 00:27:32.789 --> 00:27:35.049 the time when God gave me the strength to kill 00:27:35.049 --> 00:27:37.609 the lion and the tiger and the bear. Oh, my. 00:27:38.710 --> 00:27:41.509 Right. I remember when God gave me the faith 00:27:41.509 --> 00:27:47.089 to stand down a giant and to say bold words like, 00:27:47.170 --> 00:27:51.170 who are you, Philistine? To come against the 00:27:51.170 --> 00:27:55.769 armies of my living God. Everybody else says 00:27:55.769 --> 00:27:59.250 you're too big to beat. I think you're too big 00:27:59.250 --> 00:28:03.230 to miss. Somebody give me a rock and duck. Right? 00:28:03.609 --> 00:28:06.130 Whatever it might have been. He preached himself 00:28:06.130 --> 00:28:09.650 a sermon to encourage himself. And you and I, 00:28:09.710 --> 00:28:15.089 we can do the same thing. Right? I won't. I mean, 00:28:15.109 --> 00:28:18.890 this. Being comfortable doing this. You don't. 00:28:19.309 --> 00:28:21.809 Fly into flying, being comfortable preaching. 00:28:23.930 --> 00:28:27.670 I've had to preach to myself a lot about preaching 00:28:27.670 --> 00:28:31.329 to you. But let me encourage you these words 00:28:31.329 --> 00:28:35.529 from Old Testament prophet Isaiah 61. Spirit 00:28:35.529 --> 00:28:38.190 of the sovereign Lord is upon me. He's anointed 00:28:38.190 --> 00:28:41.430 me to preach the good news to the poor. He's 00:28:41.430 --> 00:28:44.089 anointed me to bind up the brokenhearted. He's 00:28:44.089 --> 00:28:46.630 anointed me to proclaim freedom for the captives. 00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:50.339 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me and 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:53.279 has anointed me to preach God's word and I will 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:58.359 preach myself to faith. You too. Those words 00:28:58.359 --> 00:29:01.299 are for you too. The next time you're overwhelmed, 00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:04.859 maybe you're overcome with simply just too much 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:08.440 to do. I've got babies everywhere, diapers, dishes, 00:29:08.700 --> 00:29:12.539 domestic duties. No, I can do all things through 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:16.549 Christ that strengthens me. You're overwhelmed 00:29:16.549 --> 00:29:18.329 at business that just seems like there's too 00:29:18.329 --> 00:29:21.970 much. When I'm weak, he's strong. It's not by 00:29:21.970 --> 00:29:25.269 my power or my might, but it's by his might, 00:29:25.349 --> 00:29:29.650 saith the Lord. When you're afraid, preach to 00:29:29.650 --> 00:29:34.569 yourself. Right? God has not given me a spirit 00:29:34.569 --> 00:29:36.990 of fear. God has not given you a spirit of fear, 00:29:37.069 --> 00:29:40.730 but of power and of love, of sound mind. Sometimes 00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:44.630 you just have to preach to yourself. Secondly, 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:51.059 I believe so deeply, we believe so deeply, that 00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:56.200 I can't help but to encourage you. Hebrews 3 00:29:56.200 --> 00:30:01.920 .13, Scripture says, Encourage one another, and 00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:05.680 I ask, how often? It says, encourage one another 00:30:05.680 --> 00:30:11.869 daily. Every single day. As long as a day is 00:30:11.869 --> 00:30:15.269 called a day, you should be encouraging one another, 00:30:15.430 --> 00:30:21.009 using God's word to lift people up. Third thing, 00:30:21.089 --> 00:30:27.329 this is where it gets tricky. Because I believe 00:30:27.329 --> 00:30:30.609 so deeply, I can't help but lovingly correct 00:30:30.609 --> 00:30:36.430 you. This is where this is a heart matter. You 00:30:36.430 --> 00:30:38.589 have to hear these words with the heart that 00:30:38.589 --> 00:30:41.029 I'm saying them. There are times when we love 00:30:41.029 --> 00:30:44.509 others so much that I believe so much in what 00:30:44.509 --> 00:30:47.849 God is saying is right and what God is saying 00:30:47.849 --> 00:30:51.089 is wrong that I have to lovingly correct you. 00:30:51.710 --> 00:30:58.609 I said lovingly, right? Don't go out and be a 00:30:58.609 --> 00:31:04.119 jerk in the name of Jesus. Don't go out and hold 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:08.119 big obnoxious signs thinking you're being bold, 00:31:08.339 --> 00:31:13.220 right? That's not bold. Biblical correction is 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:15.380 when someone steps outside of the word of God 00:31:15.380 --> 00:31:17.880 and you love them enough. You're not better than 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:20.740 them, but you correct them lovingly according 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:26.500 to Matthew 18. So many people have corrected 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:31.440 me. It could be you're a woman. Right? And girlfriends 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.900 always talking trash about her husband. He's 00:31:33.900 --> 00:31:35.420 not a spiritual leader. He's a bump on the log. 00:31:35.480 --> 00:31:39.000 No, you need to encourage them. I love you and 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:42.039 I love your marriage too much for you to be talking 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:47.099 this way. God wants you to be with him. Right? 00:31:47.500 --> 00:31:49.720 God also doesn't want you constantly taking him 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:52.519 out on his knees. We have to learn to speak life, 00:31:52.579 --> 00:31:56.259 to speak love, to speak encouragement. Not just 00:31:56.259 --> 00:32:00.019 speak so we can hear our own selves talk. Not 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:02.819 because you're better, but because you believe 00:32:02.819 --> 00:32:06.059 and you love so deeply. And when you believe 00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:08.420 so deeply and you love so deeply, you'll speak 00:32:08.420 --> 00:32:12.400 boldly. The last one is this. It's we rap. I 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:15.079 believe so deeply I can't help but try to lead 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:18.599 you to Christ. This is what the disciples actually 00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:20.559 essentially were doing and said. You can beat 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:22.859 us. You can lock us up. You can threaten to kill 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:25.380 us. But we cannot help speaking about what we 00:32:25.380 --> 00:32:27.799 have seen and heard. We can't help it. We just 00:32:27.799 --> 00:32:31.559 have to do it. If we're emulating these early 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:35.759 Christians, we should be that way too. Because 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:39.700 it's never, ever, ever going away. Some of us, 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:41.220 you might know what I'm talking about because 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:43.900 you've been there. You've been saved. You've 00:32:43.900 --> 00:32:48.160 been set free. You've been transformed. And you 00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:53.759 can't contain it. Other people are like, relax, 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:58.740 dude. Why so excited? I mean, I just came to... 00:32:58.940 --> 00:33:01.740 Bible study tonight. It's supposed to be fun. 00:33:01.859 --> 00:33:06.579 I want to feel good. Look, truth is, if you don't 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:08.240 speak boldly, perhaps it's because you don't 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:12.880 believe deeply. If you don't speak boldly, perhaps 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:18.220 it's because you don't believe deeply. So you're 00:33:18.220 --> 00:33:20.299 not going to just let your life be a witness 00:33:20.299 --> 00:33:23.420 because sometimes it's just too great of an opportunity. 00:33:23.559 --> 00:33:26.690 You can't keep it to yourself. We've just got 00:33:26.690 --> 00:33:30.990 to say who he is and what he's done. Because 00:33:30.990 --> 00:33:32.809 I can't stop talking about what I've seen and 00:33:32.809 --> 00:33:36.250 heard. Because we speak so boldly about what 00:33:36.250 --> 00:33:41.750 we believe so deeply. Amen? Amen. Thanks, guys. 00:33:46.789 --> 00:33:49.670 You know, the truth of the matter is, for a lot 00:33:49.670 --> 00:33:54.349 of what might be defined as mainline Christians, 00:33:55.369 --> 00:33:58.170 But I don't think there's necessarily any big 00:33:58.170 --> 00:34:02.690 label on it. I think there's a lot of Christians 00:34:02.690 --> 00:34:06.670 who are great Christians, but struggle with personal 00:34:06.670 --> 00:34:12.829 evangelism. We struggle with it because we see 00:34:12.829 --> 00:34:17.090 counterexamples in our culture all the time. 00:34:17.489 --> 00:34:23.300 And we have forever people who... claim to be 00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:26.280 and believe one thing, but then we find out they 00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:29.960 live their lives in completely different ways. 00:34:30.099 --> 00:34:33.260 We've definitely learned to become cynical about 00:34:33.260 --> 00:34:39.119 flowery words and beautiful voices and saith 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:44.000 the Lord kind of language. We've learned enough 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:46.579 now that those words sometimes, if they're not 00:34:46.579 --> 00:34:49.420 backed up by real character and integrity, they're 00:34:49.420 --> 00:34:54.639 meaningless. No doubt about it. Living Christ 00:34:54.639 --> 00:34:57.119 in our lives, letting the Holy Spirit transform 00:34:57.119 --> 00:35:01.199 our lives by the way we live is our best witness. 00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:06.340 But the truth remains. We also have a responsibility, 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:10.860 just as those early disciples did, just as every 00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:15.179 Christian. Between them and you and me, we have 00:35:15.179 --> 00:35:19.380 a responsibility to speak boldly about what we 00:35:19.380 --> 00:35:22.190 believe about Jesus. We have a responsibility 00:35:22.190 --> 00:35:28.409 for personal evangelism. But with that responsibility 00:35:28.409 --> 00:35:35.849 comes this realization that to do so, we must 00:35:35.849 --> 00:35:40.650 do it in love. And we must make sure that what 00:35:40.650 --> 00:35:47.510 we say matches up with how we live. Because if 00:35:47.510 --> 00:35:53.239 we don't, We've just become the hypocrite. So 00:35:53.239 --> 00:35:59.980 many non -believers think we all are. I think 00:35:59.980 --> 00:36:03.780 that's something to think about. Until next week, 00:36:03.820 --> 00:36:05.599 friend, be blessed.