WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.899 So this morning we continue in our The Jesus 00:00:01.899 --> 00:00:04.879 Church series through the book of Acts, and I'm 00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:07.059 very grateful for Brother Truman for filling 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:11.089 in last week and doing an amazing job. preaching 00:00:11.089 --> 00:00:14.029 the story of the early church's persecution and 00:00:14.029 --> 00:00:16.589 how they scattered, but their scattering didn't 00:00:16.589 --> 00:00:20.129 stop the movement. It didn't slow the movement 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:23.489 down. It actually increased the impact of the 00:00:23.489 --> 00:00:26.769 kingdom in the first century. So thank you, Truman, 00:00:26.850 --> 00:00:28.710 for that. And now I want to tell you a story 00:00:28.710 --> 00:00:32.380 about a man. who really did change the world. 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:35.960 So in 1985, the board of one of the most innovative 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:38.820 companies on earth looked at the man who had 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:42.259 co -founded the company, who started this thing 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:45.060 in a garage, this visionary behind the whole 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:47.479 thing, and they looked at him and they forced 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:50.060 him out because he was too difficult to work 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:53.250 with. He was too uncontrollable or unpredictable. 00:00:53.649 --> 00:00:56.469 One board member actually described him as a 00:00:56.469 --> 00:00:59.750 relentless zealot who got an idea in his head 00:00:59.750 --> 00:01:03.609 and didn't care what anybody else thought. We 00:01:03.609 --> 00:01:06.090 know some people like that, don't we? Well, they 00:01:06.090 --> 00:01:08.489 looked at this man and they realized what they 00:01:08.489 --> 00:01:11.569 had on hand and they said, we can't work with 00:01:11.569 --> 00:01:13.170 this. So they forced him out of the company that 00:01:13.170 --> 00:01:15.930 he built. This man's name, if you didn't already 00:01:15.930 --> 00:01:19.390 figure it out, is Steve Jobs or was Steve Jobs. 00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:23.480 And the company was Apple. And most of you in 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:26.599 your hands or in your pockets or in your backpack 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:29.439 have a iPhone. Maybe on your wrist, you have 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:33.959 a Apple watch or you have a Apple computer or 00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:36.799 an iPad. Like you've got a Apple product somewhere 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:40.439 in your belongings. Well, unless you were just 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:43.060 like anti -good technology and then you don't 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:47.019 have an Apple product. But Steve Jobs was the 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:49.719 mastermind behind all of this. And we look at 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:52.840 him today and we see this man who was a genius. 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:55.260 Like everybody just had to know that this guy 00:01:55.260 --> 00:01:59.799 was a genius. He was an innovator. He was a top 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:04.359 -notch technological mastermind. But in 1985, 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:07.159 the people that were closest to him, they saw 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:10.139 him as a liability. And they saw him as a risk 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:12.120 for their company. They saw him as a nuisance 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.150 that needed to be gotten rid of. Well, a little 00:02:15.150 --> 00:02:18.750 over a decade later, Apple finds themselves on 00:02:18.750 --> 00:02:21.669 the brink of bankruptcy. Their products aren't 00:02:21.669 --> 00:02:23.729 selling like they thought they should, and people 00:02:23.729 --> 00:02:25.789 just aren't really buying the vision of Apple. 00:02:25.930 --> 00:02:28.789 And so can you guess the solution that the board 00:02:28.789 --> 00:02:32.669 of Apple had? They would go crawling back to 00:02:32.669 --> 00:02:36.210 Steve Jobs, begging him to come back and save 00:02:36.210 --> 00:02:39.960 them. And he did. And eventually, he rebuilt 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:43.520 his company into one of the most valuable technology 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:47.620 companies in the history of the world. Apple 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:51.219 changed the game for everyone. And here's the 00:02:51.219 --> 00:02:54.740 point in telling you that story. The people making 00:02:54.740 --> 00:02:58.319 the decisions back then, in 1985, the ones that 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.219 were doing the evaluating for Apple, they saw 00:03:01.219 --> 00:03:05.979 jobs as a net negative to their cause. But ultimately, 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:09.580 he proved to be the greatest net positive, arguably, 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:12.520 in tech history. You see, history is full of 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.139 these types of stories. You have the record executive 00:03:15.139 --> 00:03:18.419 that tells a young band in Liverpool that guitar 00:03:18.419 --> 00:03:20.780 bands or guitar groups are on their way out. 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:24.460 Can anybody guess what band that was? The Beatles. 00:03:24.659 --> 00:03:27.439 And we know what happened there. Or maybe a newspaper 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:30.240 editor firing a young cartoon artist because 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:32.879 he lacked imagination. Can anyone guess who that 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:37.020 was? Walt Disney. See, what I want you to hear 00:03:37.020 --> 00:03:40.819 this morning is that God specializes in using 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:43.659 the people that everybody else has written off. 00:03:44.030 --> 00:03:47.449 God specializes in using the most unlikely people 00:03:47.449 --> 00:03:50.870 for his purposes. Now, Disney and the Beatles 00:03:50.870 --> 00:03:54.729 and Steve Jobs, God did not use them in like 00:03:54.729 --> 00:03:57.590 a ministerial way. And that's not what I'm saying. 00:03:57.650 --> 00:04:00.469 But I want you to hold on to those types of redemption 00:04:00.469 --> 00:04:03.449 stories, those types of underdog stories. And 00:04:03.449 --> 00:04:05.969 I want you to see that those types of stories 00:04:05.969 --> 00:04:09.030 happen in the kingdom of God more often than 00:04:09.030 --> 00:04:13.270 not. So hold on to this idea as we get into this 00:04:13.270 --> 00:04:17.209 lesson that God specializes in using the unlikely. 00:04:18.110 --> 00:04:20.370 And nobody in the New Testament proves that. 00:04:20.389 --> 00:04:22.730 Really, nobody in Scripture proves that greater 00:04:22.730 --> 00:04:25.269 than the man we're going to focus on today, and 00:04:25.269 --> 00:04:28.790 that is the man that was standing there approving 00:04:28.790 --> 00:04:32.069 of and aiding in the murder of Stephen, as you 00:04:32.069 --> 00:04:34.750 all discussed last week through Brother Truman's 00:04:34.750 --> 00:04:39.029 sermon. The man that was behind that. The man 00:04:39.029 --> 00:04:42.449 that was watching, that was helping in that murder, 00:04:42.610 --> 00:04:46.720 that martyrdom, was a man named Saul. Standing 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.079 right there approving of the killing of Stephen 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:52.779 was this young man who, if you would have asked 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:55.439 everyone in the early church, if you took a poll 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:59.339 on who would be the least likely to ever follow 00:04:59.339 --> 00:05:01.259 Jesus, who would be the least likely to ever 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:04.360 join the church, they would have said Saul. They 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:05.800 would have looked at Saul and said, there is 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:09.879 no doubt that guy is the most unlikely to become 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:13.259 a follower of Jesus Christ. But in Acts chapter 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:16.709 9, we get to see God prove. that he is a better 00:05:16.709 --> 00:05:19.490 evaluator of talent than anyone ever was. So 00:05:19.490 --> 00:05:21.129 I want you to look at Acts chapter 9 with me. 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:24.269 And for my church members here or regular attendees, 00:05:24.689 --> 00:05:26.730 if it's underlined, you know you need to read 00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:28.889 along with me so that I make sure you're awake, 00:05:29.009 --> 00:05:30.410 okay? And if you're a visitor, I'd love if you 00:05:30.410 --> 00:05:32.649 read along with me too, okay? Acts chapter 9, 00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:35.509 starting in verses 1 through 2. But Saul, still 00:05:35.509 --> 00:05:37.870 breathing threats and murder against the disciples 00:05:37.870 --> 00:05:40.569 of the Lord, went to the high priest and he asked 00:05:40.569 --> 00:05:42.970 him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, 00:05:43.069 --> 00:05:46.439 so that if he found any... belonging to the way, 00:05:46.540 --> 00:05:50.759 he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. So we 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:52.819 read that this morning to help illustrate just 00:05:52.819 --> 00:05:56.720 who Saul was. Luke in verse 1 is tying him to 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:58.740 the death of Stephen back in Acts chapter 8. 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:00.980 And this wasn't someone who was just curious 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:03.019 about the church. It wasn't someone who was seeking 00:06:03.019 --> 00:06:06.160 a connection to this Jesus guy. This was someone 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:09.199 who was determined to take down the church of 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.500 Christ. His mindset, his mission on this earth 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.779 was to destroy everything connected to this man 00:06:16.779 --> 00:06:20.610 named Jesus. And so in verse 2, it shows us that 00:06:20.610 --> 00:06:23.509 he was actively trying to secure arrest warrants 00:06:23.509 --> 00:06:26.029 so that if he found any that were connected to 00:06:26.029 --> 00:06:29.350 Jesus, if he came across any disciples of Jesus, 00:06:29.509 --> 00:06:31.490 he could arrest them. He could hunt them down, 00:06:31.589 --> 00:06:34.689 take them to jail, and possibly kill them. But 00:06:34.689 --> 00:06:36.670 I want you to look at what happens next in Saul's 00:06:36.670 --> 00:06:40.399 story in verses 3 through 6. Now as he went on 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:43.060 his way, he approached Damascus and suddenly 00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:46.079 a light from heaven shone around him and falling 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:48.139 to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:52.120 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:55.879 said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.980 whom you are persecuting, but rise and enter 00:06:58.980 --> 00:07:01.540 the city and you will be told what you are to 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:06.819 do. See, Jesus stops Saul dead in his tracks 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:09.740 and he asks him, Why are you persecuting me? 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:12.600 Why are you trying to take me out? Why are you 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:14.899 trying to end what I have started? Why are you 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:18.259 persecuting my people? And I just want to stop 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:20.600 and I want us to make a note of the fact that 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:23.879 Jesus identifies with his scattered children. 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:26.639 He identifies with his children that are being 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:28.639 hunted down. He identifies with his children 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.139 that are being chased into hiding his people 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:33.600 that are being murdered, his people that are 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:35.879 being arrested. He identifies with those people, 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:38.339 not only because he lived it, but because his 00:07:38.339 --> 00:07:41.819 church is his bride. And as you maybe have been 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:43.639 told when you got married, that you and your 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:47.000 spouse are now one. Jesus and his bride are one. 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:49.939 So if you persecute his children, you persecute 00:07:49.939 --> 00:07:52.360 him. Just like he says, whatever you do for the 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:54.379 least of these, you've done to me. Whatever you 00:07:54.379 --> 00:07:56.779 do to his church, he identifies with. And so 00:07:56.779 --> 00:08:01.220 he looks at Saul and he says, for you to attack 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:06.980 them is to attack God. And as he's accusing Saul, 00:08:07.160 --> 00:08:10.720 he has him so shook. that Saul is on his knees 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.240 referring to this great light and this great 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:18.420 voice as Lord. This man who was so tough, this 00:08:18.420 --> 00:08:20.720 man who was so qualified, so knowledgeable, so 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.579 capable, this man who probably felt like and 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:26.180 everybody thought he had everything figured out, 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.259 he is now at a loss for words and he can't even 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:33.240 stand up because of the power and the might of 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:35.860 Jesus. And I feel like that is a lesson in itself. 00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:39.629 But even with all this power and might that Jesus 00:08:39.629 --> 00:08:43.169 has, he doesn't look at Saul and punish him. 00:08:43.210 --> 00:08:46.330 He doesn't strike Saul dead. He doesn't do that. 00:08:46.470 --> 00:08:48.750 He doesn't crush him like he probably should. 00:08:48.929 --> 00:08:53.230 Instead, he gives Saul instructions to go into 00:08:53.230 --> 00:08:57.230 the city, to receive guidance. Essentially, he 00:08:57.230 --> 00:09:00.610 tells Saul, I'm not going to hurt you. I just 00:09:00.610 --> 00:09:04.169 want you to go be discipled. I want you to go 00:09:04.169 --> 00:09:07.549 find out about my son, Jesus. I want you to go 00:09:07.549 --> 00:09:10.389 find out about this gospel message. I want you 00:09:10.389 --> 00:09:14.629 to go and become one of the very people that 00:09:14.629 --> 00:09:18.529 you have been persecuting. See, in this scene, 00:09:18.730 --> 00:09:23.029 we see Jesus humble Saul to his knees, and then 00:09:23.029 --> 00:09:26.590 he commissions him. And the tension there that 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:28.730 we need to sit with for a moment is this, that 00:09:28.730 --> 00:09:31.730 sometimes we're so perfectly comfortable with 00:09:31.730 --> 00:09:34.649 God saving good people. You know, like we might 00:09:34.649 --> 00:09:36.529 pray, that person, they are such a good man. 00:09:36.570 --> 00:09:38.870 I just hope that they will get baptized because 00:09:38.870 --> 00:09:41.289 it would be a shame for that good person to go 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:43.990 to hell. Or we may look at someone and we say, 00:09:44.070 --> 00:09:45.850 yeah, they're a good person. It makes sense that 00:09:45.850 --> 00:09:47.769 they're a Christian. Or yeah, they were always 00:09:47.769 --> 00:09:49.669 a good person. It makes sense that they became 00:09:49.669 --> 00:09:52.610 a follower of Jesus. But we get uneasy and sometimes 00:09:52.610 --> 00:09:55.850 we even get offended when God saves the very 00:09:55.850 --> 00:09:58.490 people who have hurt or who have threatened us. 00:09:58.690 --> 00:10:00.809 And I'm not saying that as a judgment. It's just 00:10:00.809 --> 00:10:03.490 an observation that I want us to understand as 00:10:03.490 --> 00:10:07.970 we go into this next part of this story. That 00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:12.309 sometimes... When God decides and when God chooses 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:16.649 to use the unlovable, when God chooses to use 00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:21.409 the unlikable, when God chooses to use the blue 00:10:21.409 --> 00:10:24.710 haired, tattooed up, piercings everywhere person 00:10:24.710 --> 00:10:27.450 for his good, when God chooses to use the guy 00:10:27.450 --> 00:10:30.210 that looks like he probably belongs in a bar, 00:10:30.309 --> 00:10:32.889 maybe belongs under the bar, when we look at 00:10:32.889 --> 00:10:34.389 those people and we say, how in the world is 00:10:34.389 --> 00:10:36.529 God using them? It's because that's what God 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:41.659 has always done. God chooses to use. He specializes 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:44.700 in using the unlikely. So hold on to that as 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:47.720 we go into this next part of the story. Verses 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:51.259 10 through 12. Now, there was a disciple at Damascus 00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:54.539 named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:58.240 Ananias. And he said, here I am, Lord. And the 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:00.759 Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.320 Straight. And at the house of Judas, look for 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:06.519 a man of Tarsus named Saul. For behold, he is 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.330 praying. And he has seen in a vision a man named 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:12.970 Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that 00:11:12.970 --> 00:11:15.769 he might regain his sight. You see, in Acts, 00:11:15.929 --> 00:11:18.549 we've seen God send the church into these dangerous 00:11:18.549 --> 00:11:21.049 places, these dangerous situations, and each 00:11:21.049 --> 00:11:24.129 time I find myself wondering how they did it. 00:11:24.149 --> 00:11:27.490 I think about the apostles that are in jail and 00:11:27.490 --> 00:11:30.409 how instead of giving up and renouncing Jesus, 00:11:30.610 --> 00:11:32.970 they just pray for boldness. I think about the 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:36.029 church witnessing the martyrdom of Stephen, and 00:11:36.029 --> 00:11:38.549 instead of going into hiding and instead of giving 00:11:38.549 --> 00:11:40.610 it up and saying, that's it, I'm done, I can't 00:11:40.610 --> 00:11:43.210 handle this, they actually go and they keep advancing 00:11:43.210 --> 00:11:45.960 the message. I look at them and I say, how in 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:47.899 the world do they do this? I sit there and I 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:51.259 think there is no way that I could possibly do 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:53.700 it. Especially like right now, Ananias, he doesn't 00:11:53.700 --> 00:11:56.120 know this guy Saul except for the bad things. 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:58.960 He doesn't know that Jesus humbled him. All he 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.759 knows or for all he knows is that Saul is going 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:04.539 to be waiting there with an army ready to throw 00:12:04.539 --> 00:12:08.289 stones at him. For all he knows, Saul is going 00:12:08.289 --> 00:12:10.610 to be there with handcuffs, ready to take him 00:12:10.610 --> 00:12:12.769 into prison to be sentenced to death. He does 00:12:12.769 --> 00:12:17.990 not know that Saul has had his life shook. And 00:12:17.990 --> 00:12:19.730 we're not out of line to think that way either. 00:12:19.830 --> 00:12:22.409 At least if we are, then so is Ananias. But I 00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:25.250 want you to look at this encounter between Ananias 00:12:25.250 --> 00:12:28.830 and God in verses 13 through 14. But Ananias 00:12:28.830 --> 00:12:31.610 answered, Lord, I've heard from many about this 00:12:31.610 --> 00:12:34.330 man, how much evil he has done to your saints 00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:37.590 at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from 00:12:37.590 --> 00:12:40.210 the chief priests to bind all who call on your 00:12:40.210 --> 00:12:44.230 name. So Ananias is just like us. He thinks about 00:12:44.230 --> 00:12:46.110 Saul and he thinks about the danger. He says, 00:12:46.190 --> 00:12:48.789 look, I've heard about this guy. I know the bad 00:12:48.789 --> 00:12:50.889 things he's done. It's kind of like there was 00:12:50.889 --> 00:12:53.809 a guy that I grew up with. We graduated high 00:12:53.809 --> 00:12:55.210 school. He started getting into some trouble 00:12:55.210 --> 00:12:58.710 and he's had a pretty rough life the last couple 00:12:58.710 --> 00:13:01.490 of years. And the other day I saw on Facebook 00:13:01.490 --> 00:13:02.950 that he was going to be teaching a Bible study 00:13:02.950 --> 00:13:05.850 at a church I'm connected to. And I was like, 00:13:05.909 --> 00:13:09.690 huh, of all the people to be teaching a Bible 00:13:09.690 --> 00:13:13.330 study. And so I'm talking to my youth minister. 00:13:13.389 --> 00:13:17.309 I'm like, you know what this guy has done? And 00:13:17.309 --> 00:13:18.990 it's funny, I'm thinking this, and then I read 00:13:18.990 --> 00:13:21.590 this story between, you know, Ananias and God, 00:13:21.669 --> 00:13:25.210 and I'm thinking, that's exactly that. I've heard 00:13:25.210 --> 00:13:27.269 about this guy. I know what he's done. I know 00:13:27.269 --> 00:13:29.190 where he's been. I know what kind of person he 00:13:29.190 --> 00:13:34.480 has been. But remember, God specializes in using 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:39.600 the people that we think we know about. So we 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:44.120 get to verse 15. But the Lord said to him, Go, 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:47.620 for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry 00:13:47.620 --> 00:13:50.840 my name before the Gentiles and kings and the 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:55.120 children of Israel. Can you believe that? That 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:59.029 God is going to use this murderous man. That 00:13:59.029 --> 00:14:01.490 God is going to use this enemy of the church, 00:14:01.590 --> 00:14:04.009 that God is going to use this man whose mind 00:14:04.009 --> 00:14:07.809 was hell bound to destroy everything that Jesus 00:14:07.809 --> 00:14:12.549 had ever desired to build. God's going to use 00:14:12.549 --> 00:14:15.669 that man. He's going to use that man that the 00:14:15.669 --> 00:14:19.350 church sees as an enemy to become what we believe 00:14:19.350 --> 00:14:23.610 is the greatest missionary of all time. And something 00:14:23.610 --> 00:14:25.750 I want you to note is that the Greek there actually 00:14:25.750 --> 00:14:30.139 means chosen vessel. This jar, this container 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:34.019 that God is going to fill with a message to go 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:38.080 pour out to all nations, all creation. The reason 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:40.480 I find that important is because a vessel doesn't 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:44.059 contribute anything to its own usefulness. Like 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:46.620 a cup doesn't earn the right to hold water. A 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:49.039 cup doesn't earn the right to carry my coffee. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:53.179 No, a vessel's value is determined by what gets 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:55.960 poured into it and who decides to use it. I've 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:58.500 got a favorite coffee cup. It is not my favorite 00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:00.519 coffee cup because it looks cool. It does look 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:02.559 cool. It's a Braves coffee cup. But that's not 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:04.679 why it's my favorite. It's not my favorite coffee 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:07.159 cup because it's strong enough. It's not my favorite 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:09.419 coffee cup because it feels good. You know why 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:11.440 it's my favorite coffee cup? Because it holds 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:14.519 more coffee than any cup I have in my cupboards. 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:17.860 And so it is my favorite coffee cup because I 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:21.500 know I can fill it. with as much coffee as I 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:23.639 need to get through a Saturday at home alone 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:29.220 with my toddlers. And so God looks at Saul and 00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:33.279 he says, Saul, he's not earning the right to 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.580 be my child. He's not earning the right to be 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:40.299 my chosen vessel. He simply is my chosen vessel 00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:43.440 because I know that I can do something really 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:47.259 special. I can maximize his potential. So a vessel 00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:50.700 is not valuable because of who it is or what 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:53.120 it's done. It is valuable because of who decides 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:57.320 to pour what in it. And Saul, he had the pedigree. 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:01.009 He had the training. He had the notoriety, he 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:03.490 had all the status, but none of that was why 00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:05.789 he was valuable. His value came when God chose 00:16:05.789 --> 00:16:08.970 to fill him and use him. All credit goes to God 00:16:08.970 --> 00:16:12.509 in whatever success Saul is gonna have. And the 00:16:12.509 --> 00:16:14.850 same could be said for all of us, right? Any 00:16:14.850 --> 00:16:18.909 success we have, any good things we do are only 00:16:18.909 --> 00:16:21.850 because of the grace and goodness and power of 00:16:21.850 --> 00:16:25.129 God. So now watch what Ananias does in verses 00:16:25.129 --> 00:16:29.070 17 through 19. Ananias departed and entered the 00:16:29.070 --> 00:16:31.649 house and laying his hands on him, he said, Brother 00:16:31.649 --> 00:16:34.490 Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the 00:16:34.490 --> 00:16:37.389 road by which you came has sent me so that you 00:16:37.389 --> 00:16:39.870 may regain your sight and be filled with the 00:16:39.870 --> 00:16:43.309 Holy Spirit. And immediately something like scales 00:16:43.309 --> 00:16:46.149 fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. 00:16:46.470 --> 00:16:49.769 Then he rose and was baptized and taking food, 00:16:49.850 --> 00:16:52.929 he was strengthened. Ananias was obedient to 00:16:52.929 --> 00:16:56.330 God. Ananias, even though he was doubting, even 00:16:56.330 --> 00:16:58.309 though he wasn't so sure about the Saul guy, 00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:00.789 even though he didn't know what this might hold 00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:03.629 for him, he was obedient to God. He goes and 00:17:03.629 --> 00:17:05.609 he does exactly what God commissioned him to 00:17:05.609 --> 00:17:08.769 do. He lays hands on a man that just a few verses 00:17:08.769 --> 00:17:11.450 ago he was terrified of, and he says these two 00:17:11.450 --> 00:17:13.470 words that to me are pretty powerful, and I hope 00:17:13.470 --> 00:17:18.470 you noticed them. He says, Brother Saul. Brother. 00:17:19.890 --> 00:17:24.180 The man that just killed. one of the first deacons, 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:28.079 the man who has been trying to arrest your people, 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:30.319 the man who has been trying to pour water on 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:34.400 this fire that God has lit, that man, the man 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:38.700 we would call enemy, that man is now family. 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:41.579 And I want you to think about the people sitting 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:44.579 next to you in the chairs that we have here. 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:47.619 There's all kinds of backgrounds. There's all 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:50.019 kinds of differences of opinion. There's all 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:53.119 kinds of choices and preferences. There's all 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:55.640 kinds of religious leanings. There's all kinds 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.779 of socioeconomic differences. There are all kinds 00:17:58.779 --> 00:18:02.019 of dividing lines that outside of these walls, 00:18:02.220 --> 00:18:06.039 the world says, these make us enemies. But inside 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:09.039 these walls, God takes the enemy and says, we're 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:11.980 now family. And family takes care of each other. 00:18:12.970 --> 00:18:15.849 And so Ananias does what family does and he lays 00:18:15.849 --> 00:18:21.470 hands on Saul. And because of this new family 00:18:21.470 --> 00:18:23.950 connection and because Ananias was obedient to 00:18:23.950 --> 00:18:29.309 God in healing and restoring, Saul finds healing. 00:18:30.490 --> 00:18:35.609 He finds restoration. And ultimately, he becomes 00:18:35.609 --> 00:18:41.349 a disciple because Ananias baptizes him. He does 00:18:41.349 --> 00:18:45.799 the very thing. that we believe brings someone 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:50.259 from outside of the family into the family. He 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:52.900 does the very thing that we believe takes someone 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:57.140 from enemy of God to child of God. He does the 00:18:57.140 --> 00:18:59.519 very thing that we believe takes someone who 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:02.319 is filthy, someone who is stained, someone who 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.619 is seemingly unredeemable, and it gives them 00:19:05.619 --> 00:19:09.839 all restoration. So Saul... goes from enemy of 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.460 the church to family of God. He goes from enemy 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:20.119 to agent of kingdom mission. And I want you to 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:22.420 notice this all happens before Saul ever preaches 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:25.180 a sermon. It happens before he does anything 00:19:25.180 --> 00:19:28.420 special. He's simply sitting and being discipled 00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:33.440 by other disciples. And that's Ananias doing 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:36.230 what the church was meant to do. The church was 00:19:36.230 --> 00:19:38.309 meant to go to the broken. The church was meant 00:19:38.309 --> 00:19:40.470 to go to the enemy. The church was meant to go 00:19:40.470 --> 00:19:44.750 to the outcast, to the bad person and disciple 00:19:44.750 --> 00:19:48.990 them, to bring them into the family. Not look 00:19:48.990 --> 00:19:51.609 at them and say, you're so awful. Not look at 00:19:51.609 --> 00:19:53.470 them and say, you're bound for hell. Not look 00:19:53.470 --> 00:19:55.750 at them and say, your life is a mess. Not look 00:19:55.750 --> 00:19:58.170 at them and place judgment, but instead offer 00:19:58.170 --> 00:20:00.789 healing. That's what the church was made to do. 00:20:00.890 --> 00:20:05.920 And that's what Ananias did. He made a disciple 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:11.059 out of even the worst enemy. And that reminds 00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:13.440 me of my own story. You know, as a kid from a 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:15.500 super dysfunctional family, a broken family, 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:19.319 I walked into this church building with a chip 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:22.539 on my shoulder. I walked through life with anger 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:26.440 and I walked through life with this hurt, this 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:29.539 mistrust. And then add on top of that all of 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:31.839 my hyperactivity and this aggressive nature that 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:34.039 I had, and you get this awful kid that would 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:36.500 be very easy to cast out. I think I've told you 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:38.559 before, I may be the only person I've ever known 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:43.720 to get suspended from church. I did. It wasn't 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:47.519 fun. But yeah, I got suspended from youth group. 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:53.160 But despite all of that, the church in Long Beach, 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:55.799 Mississippi treated me like the church in Acts 00:20:55.799 --> 00:21:00.640 treated Saul. They looked at this enemy and they 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.619 gave me access to healing. They gave me access 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:08.019 to redemption. And they discipled me so that 00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:12.839 God could use me for his purpose. I had my own 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:15.730 real life Ananias. In fact, I had several. And 00:21:15.730 --> 00:21:17.609 they weren't ministers by trade. They weren't 00:21:17.609 --> 00:21:19.890 Bible scholars. One was a parts counter rep at 00:21:19.890 --> 00:21:22.369 a Ford dealership. Another was a retired Air 00:21:22.369 --> 00:21:25.549 Force member. Another was an insurance salesman. 00:21:25.569 --> 00:21:27.509 And then there was a nurse and even a school 00:21:27.509 --> 00:21:32.490 bus driver. But all of these men acted like Ananias. 00:21:32.490 --> 00:21:34.549 And they laid hands on me. They prayed over me. 00:21:34.589 --> 00:21:37.369 They supported me. They trained me. They baptized 00:21:37.369 --> 00:21:41.849 me. They were just ordinary saints that were 00:21:41.849 --> 00:21:45.660 willing to obey God's call. to love the unlovable. 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:49.359 They saw this kid who fit the bill of Saul in 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:52.680 verse 13, this how much evil he's done, but they 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:55.660 knew what God wanted and they obeyed like Ananias 00:21:55.660 --> 00:21:58.619 in verse 17. And now because of their obedience 00:21:58.619 --> 00:22:01.119 to God, I stand before you proclaiming the gospel. 00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:04.700 And I want you to think about the people in your 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:07.519 life that you know like that. The people that 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:10.700 maybe were your Saul, that you helped disciple, 00:22:10.819 --> 00:22:13.950 or maybe you were Saul. And you had some Ananiases, 00:22:13.970 --> 00:22:16.150 the people that didn't write you off, the people 00:22:16.150 --> 00:22:18.289 that didn't give up on you, that didn't say you're 00:22:18.289 --> 00:22:20.890 too far gone, you're too messed up, you're too 00:22:20.890 --> 00:22:23.329 difficult to work with, the people that didn't 00:22:23.329 --> 00:22:25.509 look at you and say, that is just a chunk of 00:22:25.509 --> 00:22:29.490 clay that is far too hard to mold. But the people 00:22:29.490 --> 00:22:32.049 that said, God wants me to disciple, so I'm going 00:22:32.049 --> 00:22:37.190 to disciple. And now because of their obedience, 00:22:37.329 --> 00:22:42.259 you are able to be an example. And you are able 00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:46.140 to proclaim the gospel. So I want you to hold 00:22:46.140 --> 00:22:50.099 on to that as we get to verses 20 through 22. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.539 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue 00:22:54.539 --> 00:22:58.299 saying, he is the son of God. And all who heard 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:01.599 him were amazed and said, is not this the man 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:04.299 who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:07.640 upon his name? And has he not come here for this 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.240 purpose to bring them bound before the chief 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:13.700 priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:16.759 and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:22.660 by proving that Jesus was the Christ. The same 00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:25.759 mouth that had caused serious harm and threat 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:29.869 to the church, the same one. that was going to 00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:32.329 the chief priest trying to get warrants so that 00:23:32.329 --> 00:23:35.109 he could arrest and kill Christians. That same 00:23:35.109 --> 00:23:38.150 mouth is now in the synagogues proclaiming the 00:23:38.150 --> 00:23:40.089 gospel, preaching the gospel, and the people 00:23:40.089 --> 00:23:42.029 listening, they're astonished, they're confused 00:23:42.029 --> 00:23:44.210 because they're thinking, is this not the guy 00:23:44.210 --> 00:23:46.329 that just a few days ago we would have thought 00:23:46.329 --> 00:23:50.009 would never preach Jesus, much less identify 00:23:50.009 --> 00:23:53.589 with Jesus, and now Saul is in the synagogues 00:23:53.589 --> 00:23:56.500 preaching. It's like the teacher that comes up 00:23:56.500 --> 00:23:58.700 to me and says, I would have never guessed you'd 00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:00.039 be a preacher. I would have thought you'd be 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:02.740 in jail by now. That is what they're looking 00:24:02.740 --> 00:24:05.660 at when they see Saul. They are seeing someone 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:09.740 who makes no sense. They are seeing someone who 00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:13.319 could only have the new life that he has by the 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:16.960 power of the Holy Spirit and the redemptive work 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:22.859 of Jesus Christ. This is only possible. All redemption 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:30.079 stories. are only possible because of God. In 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:32.180 fact, can we say that out loud like we believe 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:35.920 that to be true? This is only possible because 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:40.039 of God. I'm not strong enough. I'm not smart 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:43.400 enough. I'm not entertaining enough. I'm not 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:46.579 as good of a communicator as I probably should 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:50.299 be. I'm not qualified enough to just go and find 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:52.980 the most difficult person and transform them 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:55.880 into a preacher. And neither are you. The only 00:24:55.880 --> 00:25:02.200 person who is able to do that is God. And I say 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:06.519 all of this to say, please, for the love of God, 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:12.750 stop disqualifying yourself. And stop disqualifying 00:25:12.750 --> 00:25:17.269 others. Because God doesn't. God doesn't look 00:25:17.269 --> 00:25:19.390 at you. He doesn't look at me and he doesn't 00:25:19.390 --> 00:25:21.650 look at the people out there and say they are 00:25:21.650 --> 00:25:25.349 too far gone. He doesn't look at us and say, 00:25:25.470 --> 00:25:29.450 I can't work with that. There was a preacher 00:25:29.450 --> 00:25:32.029 named Marshall Keeble and he used to say that 00:25:32.029 --> 00:25:35.410 God was the physician who never lost a case. 00:25:35.849 --> 00:25:39.450 He never looked at a case and said, I can't heal 00:25:39.450 --> 00:25:42.359 that. He never looked at a broken bone and said, 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:44.579 I can't fix that. He never looked at someone 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:46.299 who was dealing with an addiction and said, I 00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:50.660 can't treat that. He never lost a case and he 00:25:50.660 --> 00:25:54.680 never will. So we have to stop disqualifying 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:57.319 people that God doesn't. We have to stop using 00:25:57.319 --> 00:26:01.799 the past to make final verdicts on other people's 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:04.680 usefulness in the kingdom of God because it's 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:07.720 not our place. The only thing that matters is 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:12.970 who? and what God identifies as his chosen vessel. 00:26:13.849 --> 00:26:16.069 And the vessel's job isn't to be impressive. 00:26:16.490 --> 00:26:19.369 It's not to have a great resume. The vessel's 00:26:19.369 --> 00:26:22.569 job is simply to be available, to be filled. 00:26:23.150 --> 00:26:25.990 And when God humbled Saul to his knees on the 00:26:25.990 --> 00:26:31.829 road, Saul was there made available. And in your 00:26:31.829 --> 00:26:36.569 life, where has God made you available? Has he 00:26:36.569 --> 00:26:38.230 made you available? Maybe it's this morning. 00:26:38.289 --> 00:26:40.950 Maybe you are being humbled to the point of availability 00:26:40.950 --> 00:26:44.130 for God. I don't know, but what I do know is 00:26:44.130 --> 00:26:48.390 that we do our best work. The unlikely, the unimaginable 00:26:48.390 --> 00:26:51.109 is able to happen when we open ourselves up to 00:26:51.109 --> 00:26:53.730 be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be commissioned 00:26:53.730 --> 00:26:57.769 by God to go and do the work of the kingdom. 00:26:58.549 --> 00:27:00.390 And so I want you to ask yourself right now, 00:27:00.609 --> 00:27:05.269 where have you been telling God, not me? Or where 00:27:05.269 --> 00:27:08.069 have you been telling God, not them? Where have 00:27:08.069 --> 00:27:10.690 you been telling God, God, you could use anybody, 00:27:10.890 --> 00:27:14.769 just don't use me. Because I don't really like 00:27:14.769 --> 00:27:17.670 those people. Or I don't feel good enough about 00:27:17.670 --> 00:27:21.609 my role in this plan. Or God, anybody but them. 00:27:21.710 --> 00:27:25.670 Because they can't be the person that's going 00:27:25.670 --> 00:27:28.690 to disciple others. You know their resume, God? 00:27:29.349 --> 00:27:33.279 As if God doesn't already know. I want you to 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:36.440 imagine what it would look like to stop closing 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:39.339 the door on ourselves or to stop closing the 00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:43.140 door on others because of our past. And instead, 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:45.480 we leave the door open for God to do incredible 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:49.220 work through whomever He chooses. Just imagine 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:51.500 what that would be like. And I want that to be 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:54.059 our mindset as a church family. In fact, this 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:57.240 lesson is titled, The Unlikely Church. Because 00:27:57.240 --> 00:28:00.059 I want this church to be so full of people that 00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:01.519 when the world looks at it, they say, there's 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:04.180 no way that those are the people that God would 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:07.720 use. There's no way that those are the people 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:10.380 that God would use. It's like if God takes the 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:12.859 introvert and puts him on stage and makes him 00:28:12.859 --> 00:28:15.559 a preacher, or if God takes the person that just 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:18.619 has way too much anxiety to be in front of a 00:28:18.619 --> 00:28:20.180 crowd of people and makes them a song leader, 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:23.259 if God takes the person that is kind of shy and 00:28:23.259 --> 00:28:25.579 makes them a greeter, I want you to imagine what 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:28.720 it would look like for God to transform the unlikely 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:34.519 into the unimaginable. I want us to be like Ananias. 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:40.460 I want us to be people that say, God, I don't 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.700 know how you're going to work through them. I 00:28:42.700 --> 00:28:44.440 don't know how you're going to use them. I don't 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:46.740 know how you're going to transform them, but 00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:51.839 if this is your will, I will go. I'll lay hands 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.680 on them. I'll pray over them, and I will call 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:56.799 them brother. I will call them sister. I will 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:59.319 disciple them and bring them into the family 00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:05.180 because it is your will. Can we as a church be 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:08.960 like Ananias? See, the church astonishes and 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:11.920 it amazes people when it's full of these unexpected 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:15.420 vessels. And that can only happen when the saints 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:19.059 take the risk of pouring into them. So let's 00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:21.599 be a people that look around for the Saul's in 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:23.319 our community, that look around for the Saul's 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:26.579 in this room. Let's be a people that listen for 00:29:26.579 --> 00:29:29.500 who God may be calling us to reach and pour into. 00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:32.279 It may just be the person that you've already 00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:37.039 written off. Remember Steve Jobs? The person 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:39.319 in that boardroom that the experts, the people 00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:41.079 with all the information they looked at, their 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:44.160 most valuable asset, and they saw a reject, they 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:46.799 saw a mess, they saw an enemy to success, but 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:50.130 our God... specializes in restoration projects. 00:29:50.569 --> 00:29:53.849 Our God specializes in restoring the reject. 00:29:53.970 --> 00:29:56.250 He majors in ministering through the mess. He 00:29:56.250 --> 00:29:59.289 has no problem turning the enemy of the kingdom 00:29:59.289 --> 00:30:02.569 into an agent of success. And we need to know 00:30:02.569 --> 00:30:05.430 that and live like that's true because we are 00:30:05.430 --> 00:30:07.750 called to do the will of God. And if the will 00:30:07.750 --> 00:30:10.190 of God is to bring all people into his family, 00:30:10.230 --> 00:30:13.829 guess what we do? We bring all people into his 00:30:13.829 --> 00:30:17.259 family. His will is to bring the worst of this 00:30:17.259 --> 00:30:22.400 world into the best of his. And the church is 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:25.740 the best of God's world. And that is just for 00:30:25.740 --> 00:30:28.440 right now. It's a foretaste of what is to come 00:30:28.440 --> 00:30:31.839 because that truly will be the best. So like 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:35.839 Ananias, we seek, we serve the unexpected. Because 00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:38.619 those are the very ones that God is going to 00:30:38.619 --> 00:30:41.240 show his grace and his power to the world through. 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:45.019 In fact, Saul is so transformed by God's grace, 00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:48.359 by God's power, that he changes his name to Paul. 00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:50.759 And Paul goes on to be the greatest missionary, 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:53.319 church planter of all time. He writes over half 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:55.599 of the New Testament. Paul is viewed as the greatest 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:58.579 leader in church history besides Jesus Christ 00:30:58.579 --> 00:31:01.160 himself. And who knows, maybe the next Paul is 00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:03.539 sitting in this room right next to you. Maybe 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:06.440 there is a Saul sitting next to you that God 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:09.079 is just waiting for you to lay hands on and disciple. 00:31:10.140 --> 00:31:13.299 Maybe it's you. And if it is, I want to invite 00:31:13.299 --> 00:31:16.480 you to come, have hands laid on you. by the leaders 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:19.599 here and begin being discipled by some men and 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:22.480 women here that are modern day Ananiases. Or 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:24.380 maybe you're in this room and you need to be 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:27.039 like Ananias, but you're too caught up on who 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:29.440 people are or who people have been or where they 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:32.380 come from to really be obedient to God. Whatever 00:31:32.380 --> 00:31:35.099 weight you're carrying this morning or whatever 00:31:35.099 --> 00:31:37.960 is stopping you from being an agent of success 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:41.240 in the kingdom of God, the invitation is the 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:44.619 same for all of us. Please come as we stand and 00:31:44.619 --> 00:31:45.180 as we sing.