WEBVTT

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Last week we started talking about Ephesians

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chapter 4 verses 11 through 13 and kind of the

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gist of it and this is really all we got to last

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week is it says that he gave some to be apostles

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he gave some to be prophets he gave some to be

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evangelists he gave some to be shepherds and

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he gave some to be teachers and he gave all of

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those for the equipping and building up of the

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saints. So today we're going to continue that

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and we're going to talk specifically about apostles,

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but just kind of help me here. This is kind of

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like the pre -test. How many would say that you

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already know that you're an apostle of the fivefold,

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that you're somebody that is, that he gave some

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to be apostles? How many apostles would are here

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so far. So you might change your story by the

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time we're done, we'll see. How many of you would

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say you're prophets? And there's kind of a little

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bit of an example up there, or maybe you've taken

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the test and that might help you. Also, if you're

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watching us online, let me know. Send us a note

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and you can just say apostle, I'll know what

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that means, or prophet, I'll know what that means.

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So you can do that even right now or when you

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watch throughout the week. How many of you would

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say that you're an evangelist? An evangelist.

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Actually, Jim, I would put you in that ballpark.

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I would put you in that ballpark. How many of

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you would say that you're a shepherd? Shepherds

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and teachers. How many of you would say that

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you're a teacher? So as we go through this, you

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might change that. And you might say, I think

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maybe I am an apostle. And I certainly want to

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know that too. So if you're like, man, that finally

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connects. kind of feel like I know where I land

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and all of that. That would be awesome. So today

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we're going to talk specifically about apostles.

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And apostles comes from a Greek word, apostolos.

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You don't need to know it, but it'll make you

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feel smarter if you say it. So if you say it

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three times, then you'll feel like you're a genius.

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Apostolos. And apostolos is somebody who is sent

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with a message and authority. That's really all

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it is Not anything that complicated message and

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authority so you could think of an apostle as

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one who is sent with full backing So there are

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a bunch of different kinds of apostles or types

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of apostles in scripture the twelve all of them

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are apostles, right? So they start off following

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Jesus and their disciples, which just means that

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they're students, that they're lifelong learners,

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that they're learning from Jesus. And he eventually

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calls them together and he gives them authority.

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He gives them a message. The message is go preach

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that the kingdom of God is here, right? That's

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the message. and he gives them authority. Matthew

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10 .1 talks about that. So Jesus calls the 12

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disciples to him. He gave them authority to drive

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out impure spirits and to heal every sickness

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and every disease. And from that moment on, it's

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a watershed moment. From that moment on, they're

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not called the disciples anymore. They're called

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the apostles. Why? Because they've been sent

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out with a message and authority. How did they

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get their authority? From Jesus. Jesus sends

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them out with a message. authority. You also

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have Paul. Paul describes himself as an apostle

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and others who are talking about Paul talk about

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him as being an apostle. And he was an apostle

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to a specific group of people. Paul was an apostle

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to who? The Gentiles, right? Paul was an apostle

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to the Gentiles. So you have others, you have

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Barnabas, and you have James, and you have somebody

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that we're going to spend a little bit more time

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talking about, Junia. How many of you have heard

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something about Junia at some point? Well, you

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won't be able to say that anymore because you're

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going to know something about Junia. And I do

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want to spend a little time talking about her

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because there's an important distinction that's

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made with Junia. How many of you caught what

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I just said? How many of you caught something

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in what I just said? So Danita caught something

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that I just said and so I want to I want to Walk

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through a little bit of stuff with Juni if you

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have your Bible there I want you to see this

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with me. I don't want you to take my word for

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it I want you to look at Romans chapter 16 verse

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7 Romans chapter 16 verse 7. It's an important

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verse So who wrote the book of Romans? How many

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of you say Paul? The Apostle Paul. You are correct

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if you said the Apostle Paul. He was writing

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to the believers in Rome and this is what he

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said in Romans 16 verse 7. Greet Andronicus.

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I just I love the name. I should have named one

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of our children Andronicus. I just love the name.

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And Junia. How many of you see that? And greet

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Andronicus and Junia. My fellow Jews who have

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been in prison with me, here's the phrase that

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I want you to see. They are outstanding among

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the apostles. In fact, say that with me. They

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are outstanding among the apostles. That was

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absolutely terrible. That was absolutely terrible.

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Say that with me. They are outstanding among

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the apostles. They... were in Christ before I

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was. Again, that's Romans 16, 7. So here's the

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mic drop. Are you ready for this? Are you ready?

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Junia was a woman. Junia was a woman. So... In

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the early church, there's this early church father.

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How many of you have heard of a guy by the name

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of Chrysostom? Chrysostom, he's an early church

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father. He's a big deal. He wrote a lot. So when

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he talks about something, it gives a lot of validity

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to us. So people who are understanding church

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history and studying church history, they look

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to him as being one of the major people that,

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like if he talks about it, hey, it's pretty legit.

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So Chrysostom, talks about the fact that Junia

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was a woman and she was an apostle. And that's

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obviously a big deal, right? So it really is

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a huge, huge thing. So later mistranslations

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tried to masculinize her name due to discomfort

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with female leadership. But make no mistake about

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it, Junia was an apostle and a woman. So this

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phrase I want you to notice this phrase with

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me So the phrase is outstanding among the Apostles

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and if you want to see it in Greek, I won't go

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through all of it right now I've got it in my

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notes. You can come see it afterwards. I'll show

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you the exact phrase in Greek outstanding among

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the Apostles so when I started playing baseball

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I started playing baseball at the age of four

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and I loved playing baseball and I wasn't very

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good starting out and eventually I found my niche

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And my niche was as a catcher. I mean, I loved

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it once I started catching. I'm like, this is

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amazing. But I wasn't good enough to start off

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as a catcher. I started off playing baseball.

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Does anybody want to guess? In right field. And

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do you know why you put somebody in right field?

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Because in baseball, you're not ever going to

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see a ball in right field. And they knew that.

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so I couldn't mess up anything, so they put me

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in right field. And I had a glove... in those

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early days that wasn't even my glove. It belonged

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to somebody in my family and was actually a softball

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glove. And I don't know if you realize this,

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but there is a difference between a baseball

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glove and a softball glove. But I was such a

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quality player that my family just said, the

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boy will do just fine with a softball glove.

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After all, he's playing in right field. He's

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never gonna see a ball anyways and it won't make

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any difference whatsoever if he's got this glove.

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But the thing on the glove was absolutely amazing

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to me because the glove in black letters written

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like right here on the thumb said outstanding

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in your field. And I'm like, see right there

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I have proof of it. I'm outstanding in my field.

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And it's all where you put the emphasis really

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because I was. I was just out. standing in the

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field. That's really what I was, because I would

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just stand there and kick the dandelions. I wasn't

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gonna see a ball. Anyways, I did eventually get

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a lot better. So this isn't that. This isn't

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just out standing in the field. This is that

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Andronicus and Junia were outstanding among the

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Apostles. Now I know that maybe Maybe there's

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some question about that in English because you

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could be outstanding in the field or outstanding

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in the field. So I understand that there could

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be some questions in English, but I want you

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to understand this and if you don't know it,

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come see the notes and I'll show you all of this,

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but it is crystal clear in the original language.

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Absolutely crystal clear. There's not a question

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in the world So this isn't that she was just

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known by the apostles, but that Junia was an

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apostle, and not only was she an apostle, she

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was like the cream of the crop. That's what's

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very clear in the original language. Well, why

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is that such a big deal? It's a big deal because

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Junia was recognized as an apostle. That challenges

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gender -based limitations on leadership in the

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church. not just in Paul's day, but in our day.

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Somebody say amen. So she represents a biblical

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precedent for women in apostolic ministry. If

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you agree with that, say amen. Junia represents

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biblical precedent for women in apostolic ministry?

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Well, what was Junia's apostolic role? I'm so

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glad that you asked. That's an important question.

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Junia was most likely, according to Chrysostom,

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was most likely a church planter, a missionary,

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and a teacher. Junia was imprisoned at the same

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time Paul was. So while Paul's vibing in one

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prison cell, Junia is in another prison cell.

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Both of them have been arrested for being apostles.

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Both were charged with the same crime. And they

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both were thrown in prison showing boldness and

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sacrifice. And you say, well, why is that such

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a big deal? Because what we just talked about

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with Junia checks all the boxes for biblical

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apostles. That's why it's a big deal. So if you

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look at Paul, we have no question that Paul was

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an apostle. Why? Because he meets those criteria.

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In the exact same criteria that you just used

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to say that Paul is an apostle, Junia checks

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every box. So if Paul's an apostle, Junia is

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an apostle. So bottom line Junia was a female

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Apostle now, here's the part that you got to

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get so Romans was written by who? Paul We all

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agree with that, right? It's not a trick question

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like asking you who wrote the book of Hebrews

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Because the answer is we don't know now we have

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some ideas Because that opens up an entire another

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can of worms and I have my own theory about that

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and maybe some other time We'll talk about that.

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But anyways, I have my own theory, but it's just

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that it's just a theory But there's no question

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about who wrote the book of Romans Paul So Paul

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says great Andronicus and Junia Who were outstanding

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among the Apostles now? Here's what I want you

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to see so who's writing that Paul? And how many

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of you would say that Romans 16 -7 Paul is affirming

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Junia as an apostle? This is the same Paul who

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says that women should be silent in the church.

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So I don't know about you, but when I realized

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that this same Paul who is affirming Junia in

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Romans 16 verse 7 is the same Paul who said women

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should be silent in the church, it tells me that

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there's more to the story. And that I don't know

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that we need to take the tension and I don't

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think we need to see it as a contradiction. It's

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not a contradiction at all. It's an invitation

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for us to rethink some things. about what was

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really going on and when Paul says things like

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that, what's he talking about? And the answer

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is he was addressing a specific contextual situation

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that was going on in a specific church. And we've

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proof text that to disqualify some of the people

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who are the most outstanding as apostles and

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prophets and evangelists and shepherds. and teachers.

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It would be different. If Junia was the only

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female apostle I could point to this morning,

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it would be slightly different. It would be reckless

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for me to proof text that and say, okay, this

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is what's going on. Junia's not the only one.

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Let me give you one other example. How many of

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you are familiar with the lady by the name of

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Lydia? Lydia. Lydia was a business woman who

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sold purple fabric. And I could tell you all

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kinds of stuff about why that was significant.

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For today, it doesn't really matter. She was

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an entrepreneur. Everyone say that. You'll just

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feel smart. Entrepreneur. She was an entrepreneur.

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She was a very successful businesswoman. As a

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result, she was likely wealthy. She had great

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influence in her community. The Bible tells us

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that she was a worshiper of God. Here's the phrase

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that specifically said about her, that she was

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a God, she was a Gentile, God -fearing woman.

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She was a God -fearer who was spiritually hungry

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and receptive. Did you know that Lydia was the

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very first European convert? You can find that

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straight from the Bible. The Bible talks about

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that. You can also find it in church history

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if you talk to Josephus Chrysostom either one

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of those folks Historians they will tell you

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that she was in fact the very first convert in

00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:38.279
all of Europe and she was a household leader

00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:42.340
and a host so she led a house church and She

00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:45.799
led the people of her house to faith and get

00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:48.250
this So not only does she lead the people of

00:15:48.250 --> 00:15:52.830
her house to the Lord, but she started the very

00:15:52.830 --> 00:15:58.210
first house church in Philippi. So now, let me

00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:01.789
make sure you're following this. So Lydia starts

00:16:01.789 --> 00:16:04.809
a house church, the very first one in Philippi.

00:16:04.809 --> 00:16:10.409
What does that make her? An apostle. And because

00:16:10.409 --> 00:16:13.970
she leads the church in Philippi, that also makes

00:16:13.970 --> 00:16:19.799
her a shepherd, because she's providing pastoral

00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:22.539
care to the people in her house church in Philippi,

00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:24.500
and that also makes her, because she leads her

00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:27.279
entire household to the Lord, that makes her

00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:32.659
an evangelist. So she's an apostle, she's a shepherd,

00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:35.580
she's an evangelist, but today we're only talking

00:16:35.580 --> 00:16:38.519
about apostles, right? So how many of you would

00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:42.759
say that Lydia is at least an apostle? She started

00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:46.110
the very first church in Philippi. It actually

00:16:46.110 --> 00:16:48.149
doesn't matter what you say about her. That's

00:16:48.149 --> 00:16:53.970
what she is by definition, right? so Here's the

00:16:53.970 --> 00:16:55.690
thing I want you to get in all of that biblically

00:16:55.690 --> 00:16:58.570
men and women are included in all of the fivefold

00:16:58.570 --> 00:17:03.509
if you're with me say uh -huh This is not a good

00:17:03.509 --> 00:17:08.990
old boys club Everyone gets to play last night

00:17:08.990 --> 00:17:12.170
I I was looking at an opportunity when we talk

00:17:12.170 --> 00:17:13.869
about an evangelist I thought it was a great

00:17:13.869 --> 00:17:16.170
follow -up and I was going to talk to you guys

00:17:16.170 --> 00:17:19.369
about an opportunity that you have to go and

00:17:19.369 --> 00:17:23.210
be a part of evangelizing and they go to sporting

00:17:23.210 --> 00:17:26.529
events and in large community events and there's

00:17:26.529 --> 00:17:28.970
this group of people and I was going to talk

00:17:28.970 --> 00:17:30.650
to you guys about it and say hey I think this

00:17:30.650 --> 00:17:32.549
is if you're an evangelist or you're feeling

00:17:32.549 --> 00:17:34.769
like the Lord might be moving you in that direction

00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:37.130
this would be a great opportunity and I was reading

00:17:37.130 --> 00:17:39.029
through it again last night and I told Danita

00:17:39.029 --> 00:17:41.599
I said Actually, I'm not going to encourage our

00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:44.700
people to do that. Anyone know why? Because of

00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:47.319
one little line that said this, and if you want

00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:57.460
to pass this along to men in your network. Yeah,

00:17:57.460 --> 00:17:59.200
I'm not opposed to passing it on to men in my

00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:03.039
network. If I can also pass it on to women in

00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:07.930
my network too. Like this idea that it's a good

00:18:07.930 --> 00:18:11.029
old boys club only, that only men get to do this,

00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:18.190
is absurd. So we've talked a little bit about

00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:20.589
what, about who apostles are. I want to look

00:18:20.589 --> 00:18:23.779
at how they function, what they do. So here we

00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:26.299
go. They are foundational builders Ephesians

00:18:26.299 --> 00:18:29.119
2 20 This is what it says and are built upon

00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:31.660
the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets

00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:34.940
Jesus Christ himself being the chief in cornerstone.

00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:37.500
So they're foundational builders They're also

00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:41.079
pioneers of new works. They're stewards of revelation

00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:46.119
and doctrine their spiritual fathers and mothers

00:18:49.450 --> 00:18:52.990
spiritual fathers and mothers who serve as overseers.

00:18:53.230 --> 00:18:55.630
They operate in signs and wonders. You say, where

00:18:55.630 --> 00:18:57.829
in the world did you get that? I'm so glad that

00:18:57.829 --> 00:19:00.670
you ask. Second Corinthians 12, 12 says this,

00:19:01.150 --> 00:19:03.609
when I was with you, I certainly gave you proof

00:19:03.609 --> 00:19:05.829
that I am an apostle, for I patiently did many

00:19:05.829 --> 00:19:08.809
signs and wonders and miracles among you. So

00:19:08.809 --> 00:19:12.230
apostles are often... those who work in signs

00:19:12.230 --> 00:19:16.009
and wonders. Ephesians 4 11 through 13 affirms

00:19:16.009 --> 00:19:18.670
the fivefold for the equipping of the saints.

00:19:19.009 --> 00:19:21.289
So the reason that there are apostles in the

00:19:21.289 --> 00:19:23.450
church, you're gonna hear me say this like every

00:19:23.450 --> 00:19:25.829
time we talk about a new one, the reason that

00:19:25.829 --> 00:19:28.390
there are apostles in the church, the reason

00:19:28.390 --> 00:19:31.569
that there are apostles in the world is so they

00:19:31.569 --> 00:19:34.869
feel really jolly good about themselves. That's

00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:37.390
why that God calls some to be apostles, right?

00:19:37.909 --> 00:19:40.089
It's because, hey, I just want you to feel really

00:19:40.089 --> 00:19:42.289
good about yourself, and I want you to have a

00:19:42.289 --> 00:19:44.349
feather in your cap, and I want you to have something

00:19:44.349 --> 00:19:46.869
you can brag on. So, like, when people are doing

00:19:46.869 --> 00:19:49.470
the David Letterman stupid pet tricks, I want

00:19:49.470 --> 00:19:51.089
you to have something to bring to the table,

00:19:51.470 --> 00:19:53.170
and you can just tell people, I'm an apostle,

00:19:53.930 --> 00:19:56.210
and that way I feel good about myself, my identity

00:19:56.210 --> 00:19:58.829
gets all wrapped up in that. That's why he did

00:19:58.829 --> 00:20:05.210
it, right? Wrong. Why did he do it? To build

00:20:05.210 --> 00:20:08.740
up the body of Christ. That's the reason there

00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:12.539
are apostles. So in function, there's a little

00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:16.420
bit of overlap between apostles and shepherds,

00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:19.359
or apostles and pastors. So I have a little bit

00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.039
of a graphic that I think will help you with

00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:25.500
that. Actually, I took it out. So Elizabeth,

00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:28.880
sorry, that was me. So I'm looking at a graphic

00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:32.200
that you all don't have. I should have left it

00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:34.960
in, because it's a really good graphic. So apostles,

00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:38.579
they're sent to pioneer plant and expand. Pastors

00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:40.880
are called to nurture and guide the local flock.

00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:43.259
You see the difference? There's some overlap

00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:46.079
there, but there's a difference. So big picture

00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:50.019
versus personal details. Apostles focus on regions,

00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:53.220
systems, and strategies. They're the big picture

00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:56.880
folks. So in our relationship, Danita and I...

00:20:56.910 --> 00:21:00.549
This is 100 % me. I'm the big picture person.

00:21:00.829 --> 00:21:02.789
I've gotten better. Janita would tell you this.

00:21:03.009 --> 00:21:05.789
When we first started dating, I could tell you

00:21:05.789 --> 00:21:08.869
in vivid detail the big picture, and I couldn't

00:21:08.869 --> 00:21:10.690
tell you the first detail about what it was going

00:21:10.690 --> 00:21:12.789
to take to get there. It's just not the way that

00:21:12.789 --> 00:21:15.269
God wired me. Now, I've been forced to get better.

00:21:15.549 --> 00:21:18.430
I'm pretty good with details now. In fact, people

00:21:18.430 --> 00:21:20.970
who know me now and didn't know me then, they

00:21:20.970 --> 00:21:22.769
would probably say, well, I think you're too

00:21:22.769 --> 00:21:25.190
hard on yourself because I do pretty well with

00:21:25.190 --> 00:21:28.230
the details now. But that's not natural to me.

00:21:28.309 --> 00:21:30.630
I've worked at that. Big picture is very natural

00:21:30.630 --> 00:21:33.710
to me. Danita sometimes struggles to get the

00:21:33.710 --> 00:21:36.309
big picture, but she can see every detail that

00:21:36.309 --> 00:21:38.450
it's going to take to get there. Which one's

00:21:38.450 --> 00:21:42.069
more important? Well, duh, are you listening

00:21:42.069 --> 00:21:44.910
to what I'm saying? Neither one's more important,

00:21:44.930 --> 00:21:48.549
right? We need both of those. So apostles see

00:21:48.549 --> 00:21:52.250
the big picture and people more with a pastoral

00:21:52.250 --> 00:21:54.490
role. They focus on individuals, relationship,

00:21:54.890 --> 00:21:57.599
and healing. nitty -gritty. They're the ones

00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:59.779
who are the glue that keep the thing together.

00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:03.819
So founding versus sustaining. Apostles launch

00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:06.960
new works. They build from scratch. Pastors sustain

00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.799
and grow long -term ministries. So authority

00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:13.680
versus accessibility. Apostles govern across

00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.980
churches. They're strategic leaders. Pastors

00:22:16.980 --> 00:22:19.380
are deeply rooted and available to the local

00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:21.960
body. See the difference? Some overlap, right?

00:22:22.259 --> 00:22:26.940
So again, big picture. Small details. It's kind

00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:30.079
of the two things. Paul led apostolically. He

00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:32.940
was the guy who was the big picture guy. He was

00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:36.019
overseeing multiple churches. Timothy served

00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:39.059
pastorally under his mentorship. Paul launched,

00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:41.579
Timothy nurtured. One blazed the trail, the other

00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:43.680
kept the fire burning. You see how those work

00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:46.640
together? They're not in competition with one

00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:50.079
another. We need both of those. And they kind

00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:53.640
of overlap in some ways. So it's like what The

00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:55.579
apostles are kind of like the tip of the spear.

00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:58.819
And the pastors are the one who then come behind

00:22:58.819 --> 00:23:02.440
that and establish groups and care for the people

00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.539
who are there and keep the thing going. Does

00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:07.299
that make sense? So they always work together.

00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:10.160
Apostles bring vision and expansion. Pastors

00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:12.500
bring depth and stability together that they

00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:17.200
ensure that the church both goes and grows. And

00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:21.809
both are important. So here's the question. Do

00:23:21.809 --> 00:23:26.390
we still need apostles today? If the early church

00:23:26.390 --> 00:23:31.289
needed apostles like Barnabas, like Paul, like

00:23:31.289 --> 00:23:37.329
Andronicus and Junia, do we still need apostles

00:23:37.329 --> 00:23:43.779
today? Well, the short answer is yes. We still

00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:46.240
need them. They're vital because we still are

00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:48.279
about pioneering new work. We're still about

00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:50.920
equipping believers We're still about multiplying

00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:53.740
in the church So Apostles again kind of the tip

00:23:53.740 --> 00:23:56.759
of the spear for advancing the kingdom pastors

00:23:56.759 --> 00:23:59.460
then come along and they care for the What's

00:23:59.460 --> 00:24:01.519
been already planted and they make sure that

00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:04.000
it gets nurtured like other parts of the fivefold

00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.839
here. Let's just be honest for a second I've

00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:08.900
been honest. I feel like dr. Graves right now.

00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:12.240
I'm being honest, but Let's just talk about something

00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:14.960
And maybe you're not even aware of this, because

00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:17.400
we don't really talk about apostles a lot in

00:24:17.400 --> 00:24:21.640
our circle, but there's been abuse of that. And

00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:23.920
there are people who go around, many times they've

00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:26.440
kind of appointed themselves as that. They've

00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.220
given themselves that title. They'll be like,

00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:30.319
you know, I'm apostle so -and -so. Well, that's

00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:34.289
awesome. That's amazing. And then when they start

00:24:34.289 --> 00:24:36.529
giving themselves titles, then anyone who wants

00:24:36.529 --> 00:24:39.349
to challenge them on anything, they get pretty

00:24:39.349 --> 00:24:41.170
defensive pretty quick and be like, who do you

00:24:41.170 --> 00:24:44.589
think you are? I'm apostle so and so. And that's

00:24:44.589 --> 00:24:47.319
just clearly abuse. That's not what God intended.

00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:51.000
It's not about titles. It's not about wearing

00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:53.599
that title or grabbing power. It's about laying

00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:56.299
down your life to extend the gospel. So this

00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:59.200
morning I want to wrap up by helping us to identify

00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:01.940
if God might be calling you to be an apostle.

00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:06.079
There are 10 key indicators. So I'll try to make

00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:08.039
sure that you know that I'm moving on to the

00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:10.319
next one. So there are 10 things I want you to

00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:12.819
look at. If you're like, yes, that's me, I want

00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:15.599
you to give yourself one point. I'm gonna we'll

00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.220
talk about that in a second. Okay, ten indicators

00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:21.900
and I want you to say okay. Yes, that's me Because

00:25:21.900 --> 00:25:23.799
I also want you to know maybe if God's calling

00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:26.799
you to be an apostle So here's the first one

00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:31.579
you place mission over maintenance You place

00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:37.279
mission over maintenance now Before I go any

00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:43.069
further with that We talked about this last week

00:25:43.069 --> 00:25:45.970
if you're an apostle you probably will you probably

00:25:45.970 --> 00:25:48.589
bristle at this a little bit because you'll say

00:25:48.589 --> 00:25:51.569
yes Mission is more important than maintenance

00:25:51.569 --> 00:25:54.470
because we assume that everyone's wired like

00:25:54.470 --> 00:25:56.569
we are right. We talked about that It's the false

00:25:56.569 --> 00:26:00.309
consensus effect and if you're wired as an apostle

00:26:00.309 --> 00:26:02.910
you probably it'll probably rub you the wrong

00:26:02.910 --> 00:26:05.490
way just to even talk about maintenance because

00:26:05.490 --> 00:26:07.430
you'll say there'll be something inside of you

00:26:07.430 --> 00:26:11.819
that says yes Yes, we don't need to maintain

00:26:11.819 --> 00:26:15.240
anything. It all should be about mission. And

00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:17.660
if we lose everything that we have for the sake

00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:21.119
of mission, then that's fine because that's what

00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:24.019
matters most. And I would just say that you sound

00:26:24.019 --> 00:26:30.240
like an apostle. But outside of that, which one

00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:33.259
of those is most important, mission or maintenance?

00:26:34.819 --> 00:26:37.700
Again, duh, are you listening to me? Neither

00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:40.859
one's more important, right? We need both, but

00:26:40.859 --> 00:26:42.859
I just want you to understand that if you're

00:26:42.859 --> 00:26:45.240
an apostle, you're probably like, you know, we

00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:46.779
don't need to worry about maintenance at all.

00:26:46.779 --> 00:26:50.000
That's fine. God's wired you that way, but we

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.480
do need maintenance. We do need the people who

00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:54.240
are the tip of the spear, who are moving the

00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:56.599
kingdom forward, who are helping us to gain new

00:26:56.599 --> 00:26:59.660
territory. We need that, but we also need people

00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:01.799
who come behind and care for the people who are

00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:07.660
part of it. Because if we don't care for the

00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:10.900
people who are a part of it, We don't have a

00:27:10.900 --> 00:27:14.380
tip of the spear and The people who are the tip

00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:16.980
of the spear can't be the tip of the spear Because

00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:21.619
they don't have the support of the body Right,

00:27:21.619 --> 00:27:25.759
so you you value mission over maintenance Apostles

00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:27.940
work alongside prophets evangelists pastors and

00:27:27.940 --> 00:27:31.539
teachers apostolic Culture is outward -facing.

00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:34.640
It prioritizes reaching the unreached, planting

00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:37.480
new works, sending people on mission. Matthew

00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:39.980
28, 19, go and make disciples of the nations.

00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:42.759
If you're an apostle, you hear verses like that

00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:46.539
and you're like, yes, yes, that's what I'm talking

00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:49.660
about. That's awesome. That's absolutely awesome.

00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:52.440
But it just might mean that you're an apostle.

00:27:52.579 --> 00:27:56.460
So if you value mission, Over maintenance like

00:27:56.460 --> 00:27:58.660
if you would say to me, you know what? Listen,

00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:02.200
the church is not the building the building can

00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:06.359
burn down and The church will still move forward

00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:09.579
That's fine. I hear you. There's nothing wrong

00:28:09.579 --> 00:28:15.819
with that But you might be an apostle And what

00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:17.579
I want you to hear is there's nothing wrong with

00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:20.160
the people who say no the church does matter

00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:23.500
and Us being a lighthouse in this community does

00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:26.849
matter And we do need to honor that. And this

00:28:26.849 --> 00:28:29.190
is what Jesus wants us to use to reach the world.

00:28:29.410 --> 00:28:32.309
Both are right. We're not in competition with

00:28:32.309 --> 00:28:35.049
one another. But if you're like, yeah, burn the

00:28:35.049 --> 00:28:38.910
church down and the church will still be fine,

00:28:38.950 --> 00:28:40.890
you might be an apostle. Does that make sense?

00:28:42.190 --> 00:28:46.690
Second one. You might be an apostle if you stand

00:28:46.690 --> 00:28:50.779
upon biblical authority and truth. apostolic

00:28:50.779 --> 00:28:53.539
leaders anchor ministry in the Word of God scripture

00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:56.359
is the plumb line for doctrine practice and discernment

00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:59.200
so here's what I want you to see you might be

00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:02.220
an apostle if there's just something inside of

00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:04.740
you that you're like no I'm gonna base everything

00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:08.960
I do on the Word of God I'm not gonna believe

00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:11.759
it I'm not gonna practice it it's not gonna be

00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:13.519
part of my life if it doesn't line up with the

00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:15.900
Word of God if that's you that's awesome you

00:29:15.900 --> 00:29:19.779
might be an apostle That's all good. Acts 2 42,

00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:22.039
they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching.

00:29:22.380 --> 00:29:25.980
There's this commitment to what does the Word

00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:28.380
of God say? You might be an apostle. Number three,

00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:31.319
you might be an apostle if you want multiplication

00:29:31.319 --> 00:29:35.799
and not just addition. You might be an apostle.

00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:40.980
So the goal for you for Apostles the goal isn't

00:29:40.980 --> 00:29:43.900
just gathering but reproducing So you want to

00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:46.019
see disciples who make disciples churches who

00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:48.759
plant churches leaders who raise up other leaders

00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:52.460
So if you are the kind who's like, okay. Yeah,

00:29:52.460 --> 00:29:56.640
that's awesome I'm glad that we're reaching people

00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:00.099
for Jesus, but But I think that every person

00:30:00.099 --> 00:30:01.839
who's reaching somebody for Jesus should then

00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:03.440
immediately turn around and reach somebody else

00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:06.339
for Jesus. And why isn't our church a part of

00:30:06.339 --> 00:30:08.700
planting another church? Because we should be.

00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:10.400
There's still people who need to be reached.

00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:12.779
And why aren't we doing that? Why aren't we partnering

00:30:12.779 --> 00:30:16.059
with that? And if you measure leaders, like,

00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:19.680
okay, like our pastor's a fine guy. He tells

00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:23.069
great jokes. He's ruggedly handsome, but I want

00:30:23.069 --> 00:30:25.410
to know how is he investing in other pastors?

00:30:25.769 --> 00:30:28.569
How is he raising up other leaders? What's he

00:30:28.569 --> 00:30:31.589
doing so that the next generation of the church

00:30:31.589 --> 00:30:34.509
exists? What's he doing in that regard? All of

00:30:34.509 --> 00:30:37.390
those things are great, but if that's what burns

00:30:37.390 --> 00:30:41.069
inside of you, you might be an apostle. Number

00:30:41.069 --> 00:30:44.309
four, you might be an apostle if you long to

00:30:44.309 --> 00:30:47.259
see empowered discipleship. You might be an apostle

00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:50.380
if you long to see empowered discipleship. Everyone

00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:53.779
has a role. Apostolic culture requires believers

00:30:53.779 --> 00:30:55.779
to live out their calling, not just to consume

00:30:55.779 --> 00:30:58.599
religious services. So, like, you wouldn't say

00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:00.819
this because we love Jesus, right? You wouldn't

00:31:00.819 --> 00:31:03.380
come out and say it. But you might be an apostle

00:31:03.380 --> 00:31:05.099
if you come to church and you'd be like, you

00:31:05.099 --> 00:31:07.920
know what? I'll tell you what drives me nuts

00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.720
is I come and I worship with these people and

00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:13.599
I love them. They're important to me. They're

00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:17.059
significant to me. But I just feel like we're

00:31:17.059 --> 00:31:22.059
so consumeristic. And like people come and they

00:31:22.059 --> 00:31:24.220
do their time in church and they feel better,

00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:27.259
but they don't do a thing with that. They're

00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:29.460
not telling anybody about it outside of the church.

00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:31.740
They're not being an example to anybody. They're

00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:33.940
not sharing their resources with anybody. They're

00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:36.099
not giving a cup of cold water in Jesus' name.

00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:40.339
And I get frustrated with that. Hey, God wired

00:31:40.339 --> 00:31:43.319
you that way, but guess what that means? You

00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:46.420
might be an apostle. You might be an apostle.

00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:50.440
So apostolic, the cry of the apostolic heart

00:31:50.440 --> 00:31:53.839
I think is best described in the prayer of Jabez.

00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:56.519
I think this is the prayer that just resonates

00:31:56.519 --> 00:32:01.279
with every apostle. So among the fivefold apostles,

00:32:01.700 --> 00:32:04.720
apostolic leaders, are the first to grow restless

00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:08.819
with the status quo. And that isn't rebellion.

00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:16.170
It's actually vision. Are you following me? So

00:32:16.170 --> 00:32:18.089
apostles, if you're an apostle, you're probably

00:32:18.089 --> 00:32:21.890
not vibing with the status quo. You always want

00:32:21.890 --> 00:32:23.609
to be moving forward. You want to be doing something

00:32:23.609 --> 00:32:26.029
different. And it's not rebellion, it's vision.

00:32:26.410 --> 00:32:29.069
It's really the cry of Jabez. This is found in

00:32:29.069 --> 00:32:31.589
First Chronicles 410. Oh, that you would bless

00:32:31.589 --> 00:32:34.950
me and enlarge my territory. And I understand

00:32:34.950 --> 00:32:37.690
the apostolic wasn't fully revealed until the

00:32:37.690 --> 00:32:40.319
New Testament, but this is the heartbeat. to

00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:43.680
expand the kingdom at all costs, to start new

00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:46.559
works, to break new ground. Instead of silencing

00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:48.500
that impulse, what would happen if we blessed

00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:51.039
it? And what would happen if we prayed that it

00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:55.180
would become contagious? So if we have people

00:32:55.180 --> 00:32:57.440
in our church and they're just never satisfied

00:32:57.440 --> 00:32:59.440
with the status quo, like we get to a point where

00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:02.220
we're good and things are good and they're never

00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:05.480
happy with that. They're just like, well, that's

00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:07.299
awesome, but let's get on to the next thing.

00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:10.039
There's still people to be reached. Well, you

00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:12.420
might be an apostle. There's nothing wrong with

00:33:12.420 --> 00:33:17.680
that. So, I want to give you this. I want to

00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:19.519
take this from concept and I want to throw it

00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:22.220
right in your face this morning. Okay? Can I

00:33:22.220 --> 00:33:24.819
do that? Do I have your permission just for a

00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:27.000
second? Because I don't want this just to be

00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:29.799
concept. But I want to throw it right in your

00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:32.680
face. And I'm going to throw it in your face

00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:35.799
because if you're an apostle, this is going to

00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:41.839
rub you the wrong way. It's gonna make you uncomfortable

00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:44.519
now if you're not an apostle this might not get

00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:48.559
you fired up But if you're an apostle There's

00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:50.500
a good chance that after service you're gonna

00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:53.039
want to come up to me and talk to me about this

00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:55.660
Is that alright if I do it if you're watching

00:33:55.660 --> 00:33:59.279
in Facebook land or on YouTube land? Drop me

00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:01.140
a comment about this. So here it is. Here's a

00:34:01.140 --> 00:34:03.740
little graphic I put together just to throw it

00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:05.680
take it from concept and throw it right in your

00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:08.539
face So it's the one with the four boxes on it

00:34:09.190 --> 00:34:11.349
I think the one's orange, green, yeah, this one.

00:34:11.869 --> 00:34:15.349
Okay. I'm gonna take it from concept. I'm gonna

00:34:15.349 --> 00:34:18.550
throw it right in your face. So this is a good

00:34:18.550 --> 00:34:22.710
test for me to see if you're an apostle. So this,

00:34:24.010 --> 00:34:25.789
and actually I wish that I had never done the

00:34:25.789 --> 00:34:31.949
research. Because it's troubling to me. It really

00:34:31.949 --> 00:34:36.250
is. I'm gonna preface what I'm about to say.

00:34:36.269 --> 00:34:39.340
I'm gonna give you one thing of preface. And

00:34:39.340 --> 00:34:41.579
you can, if you want, you can fact check me on

00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:43.860
this. You can ask Danita, she'll tell you this.

00:34:44.179 --> 00:34:47.800
For 20 years, at least 20 years, I have been

00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:51.780
saying, why in the world are we not planting

00:34:51.780 --> 00:35:00.099
a church in Parma? Did you know that Parma, per

00:35:00.099 --> 00:35:04.460
capita, at least 10 years ago, it might still

00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:07.840
be, but at least 10 years ago, was the largest

00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:17.380
suburb in the nation. At least 10 years ago.

00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:19.920
It could still be current, but 10 years ago,

00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:24.179
at least, it was the largest suburb in the nation.

00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:29.000
And there's not a Nazarene church anywhere to

00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:33.260
be found. So, again, I just want to take this

00:35:33.260 --> 00:35:36.789
from concept, throw it right in your face. And

00:35:36.789 --> 00:35:38.570
if you're an apostle, it's going to do something.

00:35:38.690 --> 00:35:42.250
And you're going to be like, thanks, Phil. You

00:35:42.250 --> 00:35:45.070
just made us really uncomfortable. So this is

00:35:45.070 --> 00:35:49.070
evangelical churches per capita. So let me kind

00:35:49.070 --> 00:35:51.030
of flesh that out just a little bit. What do

00:35:51.030 --> 00:35:54.130
I mean by that? So what I mean by evangelical

00:35:54.130 --> 00:35:56.769
church per capita is this. I'm talking about

00:35:56.769 --> 00:35:59.929
any church that teaches that Jesus is the way,

00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:01.989
the truth, and the life, that no one comes to

00:36:01.989 --> 00:36:03.929
the Father except through him. That's what I'm

00:36:03.929 --> 00:36:07.059
talking about. that they stand upon that and

00:36:07.059 --> 00:36:10.179
they'll die by that. That Jesus is the way, the

00:36:10.179 --> 00:36:12.159
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father

00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:15.840
except through him. So like, if it's Jesus plus,

00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:19.840
that's not an evangelical church. There is nothing

00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:23.659
else other than Jesus. It's okay to say amen

00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:26.119
there. By the way, we're an evangelical church.

00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:28.440
So let me make sure that we're clear. There's

00:36:28.440 --> 00:36:30.679
no way to come to the Father except through Jesus.

00:36:30.900 --> 00:36:33.320
He's the way, the truth, and the life. There

00:36:33.320 --> 00:36:37.940
isn't a plan B. There's not a plan B. This isn't

00:36:37.940 --> 00:36:41.599
multiple choice. This isn't a smorgasbord. You

00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:43.619
can't take Jesus and a little bit of this and

00:36:43.619 --> 00:36:45.639
a little bit of that and expect to get to heaven.

00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:52.039
It's Jesus and Jesus only. That's what I mean

00:36:52.039 --> 00:36:57.800
by evangelical church. So per capita, let's start

00:36:57.800 --> 00:37:00.190
with North Royalton, shall we? It's a good place

00:37:00.190 --> 00:37:03.630
to start in North Royalton. There is one evangelical

00:37:03.630 --> 00:37:11.150
church for every 5150 people. Think about that.

00:37:12.510 --> 00:37:17.130
There's one church that will gladly say Jesus

00:37:17.130 --> 00:37:18.849
is the way, the truth and the life. There's no

00:37:18.849 --> 00:37:20.570
way to come to the father except through him.

00:37:20.769 --> 00:37:25.150
There's one church doing that for every 5150

00:37:25.150 --> 00:37:30.219
people. So let's go over to Strongsville, shall

00:37:30.219 --> 00:37:32.800
we? By the way, we're planting a church in Strongsville.

00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:36.079
We're planting a church in Strongsville. So in

00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:38.440
Strongsville, there's one evangelical church

00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:42.420
for every 5 ,721 people. Not quite as good as

00:37:42.420 --> 00:37:43.980
North Royalton. We're doing a little bit better

00:37:43.980 --> 00:37:46.980
in North Royalton, but still relatively close,

00:37:47.239 --> 00:37:50.739
right? So we're planting a church. So that number

00:37:50.739 --> 00:37:56.119
will be skewed. So now it'll be probably... that'll

00:37:56.119 --> 00:37:59.099
probably be under, it'll be under 5 ,000 now.

00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:01.699
It'll be in the 4 ,000s now because we're planting

00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:04.880
another evangelical church. Let's look at independence

00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:07.739
for a second. Independence, there's one, now

00:38:07.739 --> 00:38:10.940
this one's strange to me, but this is, it is

00:38:10.940 --> 00:38:14.519
what it is. So in independence, there's one evangelical

00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:19.360
church for every 1 ,880 people. There's one church

00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:22.389
in independence. who says that Jesus is the way,

00:38:22.469 --> 00:38:26.530
truth, and the life for every 1 ,880 people in

00:38:26.530 --> 00:38:32.929
Independence. So if you're an apostle, you look

00:38:32.929 --> 00:38:35.269
at that and say, where's the last place we need

00:38:35.269 --> 00:38:44.590
to plant a church? Independence. Right? Are you

00:38:44.590 --> 00:38:48.820
ready for one? Let's talk about Parma. I should

00:38:48.820 --> 00:38:51.559
have done this if the number wasn't up there.

00:38:51.820 --> 00:38:53.679
I should have done it that way so I could say,

00:38:53.960 --> 00:38:56.320
okay, are there any guesses? What do you think

00:38:56.320 --> 00:39:00.840
it is in Parma? So I'll tell you what it is.

00:39:01.500 --> 00:39:04.780
In North Royalton, it's every 5 ,150 people.

00:39:05.079 --> 00:39:08.639
There's one church for every 5 ,000 people. What

00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:12.260
if we had a tithe on that? So that means that

00:39:12.260 --> 00:39:15.699
in our community, we're responsible for 5 ,150

00:39:15.699 --> 00:39:31.449
people. So what if we had just a tithe on that?

00:39:33.750 --> 00:39:35.789
That would still mean that 90 % of our community

00:39:35.789 --> 00:39:41.610
is going to hell without Jesus. So in Parma,

00:39:41.809 --> 00:39:43.050
does anybody want to guess? Oh, you don't have

00:39:43.050 --> 00:39:45.170
to guess. It's up there on the screen. So in

00:39:45.170 --> 00:39:48.710
North Royalton, it's 5 ,150 people. In Parma,

00:39:48.829 --> 00:39:54.090
it's 9 ,919 people. There's one church saying

00:39:54.090 --> 00:39:56.090
that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

00:39:56.300 --> 00:39:58.260
that the only way you're going to get to heaven

00:39:58.260 --> 00:40:01.079
is through Jesus. There's one church for every

00:40:01.079 --> 00:40:08.599
10 ,000 people in Parma. So where should we plant

00:40:08.599 --> 00:40:18.400
a church? Parma. Why? Because there are 10 ,000

00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:25.309
people who are counting on that one church. to

00:40:25.309 --> 00:40:34.110
tell them the truth about Jesus. So, I wish I

00:40:34.110 --> 00:40:36.329
never did that research because I'm telling you,

00:40:36.630 --> 00:40:41.869
there's enough apostle in me that rubs me the

00:40:41.869 --> 00:40:46.630
wrong way. And maybe it rubs you the wrong way

00:40:46.630 --> 00:40:50.489
too. If that rubs you the wrong way, you might

00:40:50.489 --> 00:40:58.409
be an apostle. You need to ask me that question

00:40:58.409 --> 00:41:00.630
later. That's a great question. So you might

00:41:00.630 --> 00:41:03.789
be, if that, if you're like, man, I wish you

00:41:03.789 --> 00:41:07.130
never showed me that, then you might be an apostle.

00:41:07.210 --> 00:41:09.289
You also might be an apostle if you've learned

00:41:09.289 --> 00:41:12.349
the balance, spiritual authority with humility.

00:41:12.650 --> 00:41:14.829
Apostolic leaders walk in spiritual authority

00:41:14.829 --> 00:41:17.050
because they've been given that by God, right?

00:41:17.510 --> 00:41:19.170
They've been given authority. They have a message

00:41:19.170 --> 00:41:20.989
and authority. They've been given that by God.

00:41:21.329 --> 00:41:24.030
Not because the church, not because a board.

00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:26.880
because God gave them that authority. They have

00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:31.340
authority, but they serve with humility. And

00:41:31.340 --> 00:41:33.679
I think that maybe this is the most important

00:41:33.679 --> 00:41:36.460
of all of them. So apostles, of course we want

00:41:36.460 --> 00:41:38.519
them to walk in authority. We want them to walk

00:41:38.519 --> 00:41:40.920
into a community and say, you know what, the

00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:43.239
Lord has put me here on purpose. He knew what

00:41:43.239 --> 00:41:46.219
he's doing. And we don't want them to be cowards.

00:41:46.280 --> 00:41:49.480
We want them to lead courageously, right? But

00:41:49.480 --> 00:41:52.570
we also want them to serve with humility. We

00:41:52.570 --> 00:41:54.409
don't want people walking around being like,

00:41:54.409 --> 00:41:57.650
you know what? I just showed up. I'm the Apostle.

00:41:58.230 --> 00:42:05.030
No, you missed it Bozo. No, you're a clown. Because

00:42:05.030 --> 00:42:08.889
yes, that's true. But Apostles have learned to

00:42:08.889 --> 00:42:14.929
balance that with a basin and towel. And they're

00:42:14.929 --> 00:42:16.789
quick just to say, you know what? How can I serve

00:42:16.789 --> 00:42:19.429
best? You might be Apostle if you've learned

00:42:19.429 --> 00:42:23.159
that balance. First Corinthians 4 one there servants

00:42:23.159 --> 00:42:25.840
of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God

00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:27.980
You might be an apostle if you operate in prayer

00:42:27.980 --> 00:42:30.500
and the power of the spirit apostolic culture

00:42:30.500 --> 00:42:33.320
depends on the Holy Spirit for direction empowerment

00:42:33.320 --> 00:42:40.400
and fruitfulness hard stop It doesn't rely on

00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:49.829
you having the best tips and tricks If we're

00:42:49.829 --> 00:42:53.670
going to reach Parma, it's not because we find

00:42:53.670 --> 00:42:57.750
somebody who knows all the best ways of getting

00:42:57.750 --> 00:43:01.329
stuff done. If we're going to reach Parma, I'll

00:43:01.329 --> 00:43:05.190
tell you why it is. Because the Spirit of God

00:43:05.190 --> 00:43:07.889
has directed and empowered and given us what

00:43:07.889 --> 00:43:11.309
we need. If we're going to ever reach North Royalton

00:43:11.309 --> 00:43:14.949
or Strongsville or Independence, it's not because

00:43:14.949 --> 00:43:17.730
we found the right person with the right mojo.

00:43:19.260 --> 00:43:22.219
It's because the Spirit of God empowered and

00:43:22.219 --> 00:43:28.360
directed and provided Acts 13 2 through 3 says

00:43:28.360 --> 00:43:30.679
this while they were worshiping and fasting the

00:43:30.679 --> 00:43:34.760
spirit said It's so important. So when we're

00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:36.559
talking about apostles So like if we want to

00:43:36.559 --> 00:43:39.280
see God move the way that we see God move is

00:43:39.280 --> 00:43:42.480
we get on our face It's not that we work harder

00:43:42.480 --> 00:43:45.360
at it that we put in more hours that has nothing

00:43:45.360 --> 00:43:48.530
to do with it whatsoever In fact, I think that

00:43:48.530 --> 00:43:50.309
that would probably keep the spirit from being

00:43:50.309 --> 00:43:53.449
poured out. But when we get on our face and we

00:43:53.449 --> 00:43:56.429
fast and we pray and we allow God to work, that's

00:43:56.429 --> 00:43:58.409
when the spirit shows up and begins to speak.

00:43:59.409 --> 00:44:02.369
You might be an apostle if all that matters is

00:44:02.369 --> 00:44:04.670
kingdom advancement over church competition.

00:44:05.449 --> 00:44:07.949
Apostolic culture seeks to advance God's kingdom,

00:44:08.170 --> 00:44:10.550
not build personal empires or brand loyalty.

00:44:12.050 --> 00:44:17.050
Do you know what I mean by that? Here's what

00:44:17.050 --> 00:44:24.610
I mean. Who cares if the sign out front says

00:44:24.610 --> 00:44:34.610
Church of the Nazarene? Who cares? If there's

00:44:34.610 --> 00:44:36.929
somebody who's saying that Jesus is the way,

00:44:36.989 --> 00:44:38.610
the truth, and the life, there's no way to come

00:44:38.610 --> 00:44:40.909
to the Father except through him, why can't we

00:44:40.909 --> 00:44:43.369
get behind it and celebrate it, regardless of

00:44:43.369 --> 00:44:46.969
the sign that's out front? Why are we so concerned

00:44:46.969 --> 00:44:49.130
about brand loyalty when we should be concerned

00:44:49.130 --> 00:44:57.030
about kingdom? Just one verse. Matthew 6 33,

00:44:57.210 --> 00:44:59.170
seek first the kingdom of God and all these things

00:44:59.170 --> 00:45:04.210
will be added unto you. We want to focus on all

00:45:04.210 --> 00:45:07.650
the other things. All we really need to focus

00:45:07.650 --> 00:45:09.710
on is seeking him first and he'll take care of

00:45:09.710 --> 00:45:15.210
the rest. Next one, see suffering as normal.

00:45:15.289 --> 00:45:17.650
He might be an apostle if you see suffering as

00:45:17.650 --> 00:45:20.570
normal, not exceptional. Apostolic ministry embraces

00:45:20.570 --> 00:45:23.489
suffering as part of the call, not as a sign

00:45:23.489 --> 00:45:28.710
of failure. What do I mean? If you're called

00:45:28.710 --> 00:45:35.550
to be an apostle, you're going to suffer. Yay,

00:45:35.550 --> 00:45:43.750
Jesus. The Apostle Paul, did he suffer? He sure

00:45:43.750 --> 00:45:50.349
did. Did Junia suffer? She sure did. You can't

00:45:50.349 --> 00:45:55.550
be an apostle and not suffer. So apostles just

00:45:55.550 --> 00:45:57.670
understand, hey, you know what? It's just normal.

00:45:58.309 --> 00:46:02.130
I'm not exceptional. I'm not a failure. It's

00:46:02.130 --> 00:46:04.809
just part of what God's called me to do. You

00:46:04.809 --> 00:46:07.730
might be an apostle if you maintain a global

00:46:07.730 --> 00:46:10.530
perspective. Apostolic vision goes beyond local

00:46:10.530 --> 00:46:13.570
impact. to a global reach, thinking beyond my

00:46:13.570 --> 00:46:17.190
church to his kingdom. X1 -8, you'll be my witnesses

00:46:17.190 --> 00:46:20.230
in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, to the ends

00:46:20.230 --> 00:46:24.090
of the earth, that all of that matters. Last

00:46:24.090 --> 00:46:28.690
one. You might be an apostle if you prioritize

00:46:28.690 --> 00:46:32.110
team -based leadership. Apostolic culture functions

00:46:32.110 --> 00:46:36.469
through collaboration with teams, not solo leaders.

00:46:38.150 --> 00:46:41.199
So, like, what if you're a one -man band? Like,

00:46:41.300 --> 00:46:43.219
what if you're like, you know what, I've got

00:46:43.219 --> 00:46:46.260
all of this figured out. I really am God's gift

00:46:46.260 --> 00:46:49.840
to the church. I'm not. I'm speaking as if I

00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:52.840
was this person. I've got this all figured out.

00:46:52.860 --> 00:46:56.519
I'm really God's gift to the church. Like, all

00:46:56.519 --> 00:46:59.460
the local church really needs is me. You know,

00:46:59.579 --> 00:47:02.760
if I'm here, I mean, hey, things are looking

00:47:02.760 --> 00:47:06.179
up. Well, then what are you if you're that? You're

00:47:06.179 --> 00:47:11.210
an idiot. That's what you are. But you're certainly

00:47:11.210 --> 00:47:20.429
not an apostle. Because apostles understand that

00:47:20.429 --> 00:47:23.789
we need everybody. And I need to do what he's

00:47:23.789 --> 00:47:26.570
called me to do. And you need to do what God's

00:47:26.570 --> 00:47:29.789
called you to do. And that's the only way we

00:47:29.789 --> 00:47:33.510
move the needle. Is if we all do what God's called

00:47:33.510 --> 00:47:37.650
us to do. It's not a solo thing at all, but we

00:47:37.650 --> 00:47:41.210
work together as a team. We need apostles working

00:47:41.210 --> 00:47:43.409
with prophets, and we need prophets working with

00:47:43.409 --> 00:47:45.610
an evangelist, and we need evangelists working

00:47:45.610 --> 00:47:47.510
with pastors, and we need pastors who work with

00:47:47.510 --> 00:47:50.849
teachers. He gave some to be apostles. He gave

00:47:50.849 --> 00:47:53.489
some to be prophets. He gave some to be evangelists.

00:47:53.730 --> 00:47:56.969
He gave some to be pastors. He gave some to be

00:47:56.969 --> 00:47:59.989
teachers. And he did all of that for the building

00:47:59.989 --> 00:48:03.050
up of the body of Christ. And we all work together.

00:48:04.750 --> 00:48:09.429
I'm not in competition with anybody else. I don't

00:48:09.429 --> 00:48:14.110
want them to be like me. Let's face it, one of

00:48:14.110 --> 00:48:22.269
me is more than enough. But when I'm me, and

00:48:22.269 --> 00:48:27.730
you're you, and we do what we can to move the

00:48:27.730 --> 00:48:37.980
kingdom forward, we become unstoppable. So Just

00:48:37.980 --> 00:48:41.099
how many of you scored six or above you got one

00:48:41.099 --> 00:48:42.820
point for every one of those I gave you ten of

00:48:42.820 --> 00:48:47.219
them How many of you scored six or above? Did

00:48:47.219 --> 00:48:53.920
you keep score of all of them? Six or above anybody

00:48:53.920 --> 00:49:05.510
You have five five anybody five Also, if you're

00:49:05.510 --> 00:49:07.949
watching in Facebook land or YouTube, let me

00:49:07.949 --> 00:49:10.590
know how you scored too. So here's the thing.

00:49:11.130 --> 00:49:14.090
If you scored five, you at least need to consider

00:49:14.090 --> 00:49:16.570
that maybe that's part of what the Lord's up

00:49:16.570 --> 00:49:21.409
to. So like if you're watching in Facebook land

00:49:21.409 --> 00:49:24.190
and you're like seven, eight, nine, let's just

00:49:24.190 --> 00:49:26.210
put it like this. If it looks like a duck and

00:49:26.210 --> 00:49:30.550
quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck anyways.

00:49:32.239 --> 00:49:34.159
Let me know how you scored, I would love to know.

00:49:34.239 --> 00:49:37.619
So if you scored five, we'll go with five, here's

00:49:37.619 --> 00:49:40.940
your assignment. Anybody else at five? Deena,

00:49:40.960 --> 00:49:45.199
what was your score? Three? Alright, so Adele,

00:49:45.199 --> 00:49:47.519
here's your assignment. And anybody watching

00:49:47.519 --> 00:49:50.300
in Facebook land, but Adele, here's your assignment.

00:49:52.579 --> 00:49:54.400
And this is just to kind of flesh out whether

00:49:54.400 --> 00:49:56.159
this might be something the Lord's talking to

00:49:56.159 --> 00:49:59.519
you about. Map out how your ministry could embody

00:49:59.519 --> 00:50:02.139
apostolic culture. That's the first thing. What

00:50:02.139 --> 00:50:05.179
does it look like if our ministry embodied apostolic

00:50:05.179 --> 00:50:08.059
culture? The second thing is develop a plan to

00:50:08.059 --> 00:50:11.280
mentor emerging apostolic leaders. So what you

00:50:11.280 --> 00:50:13.460
just said is so vitally important. I don't want

00:50:13.460 --> 00:50:16.059
to be alone, right? So what does it look like

00:50:16.059 --> 00:50:19.940
for us to say, okay, as new apostolic leaders

00:50:19.940 --> 00:50:23.340
emerge, How do we train them? How do we equip

00:50:23.340 --> 00:50:25.559
them? That's the second part of your assignment.

00:50:25.699 --> 00:50:28.239
Third part of your assignment is chart communities

00:50:28.239 --> 00:50:31.480
or regions your ministry could impact apostolically.

00:50:31.719 --> 00:50:43.199
I think I already did that. And I think, at least

00:50:43.199 --> 00:50:48.599
for right now, the answer to that is a quarter

00:50:48.599 --> 00:50:57.199
mile away. The last thing is your assignment.

00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:02.039
You don't have to do this. We're going to do

00:51:02.039 --> 00:51:05.400
this for you. So we're going to pray with Adele

00:51:05.400 --> 00:51:08.380
in a little bit. Anybody else on Facebook, I'll

00:51:08.380 --> 00:51:12.440
do this myself and I'll follow up as well. But

00:51:12.440 --> 00:51:15.239
we're going to pray for her. And it's not that

00:51:15.239 --> 00:51:18.579
this is, but we're just going to kind of explore

00:51:18.579 --> 00:51:20.940
that, right? That's what we're going to do. And

00:51:20.940 --> 00:51:24.159
we're going to pray for her and commission her.

00:51:24.610 --> 00:51:26.829
and just pray that God would help her to take

00:51:26.829 --> 00:51:29.590
next steps in what it looks like to be an apostolic

00:51:29.590 --> 00:51:34.050
leader. So, I want to close with a little bit

00:51:34.050 --> 00:51:36.090
of a story to kind of take all of this and give

00:51:36.090 --> 00:51:38.630
you an example, to kind of give you flesh and

00:51:38.630 --> 00:51:41.829
blood of what I'm talking about. Somebody who,

00:51:42.369 --> 00:51:45.610
super important to me, and I don't know that

00:51:45.610 --> 00:51:48.269
I would always put this individual in this category,

00:51:48.429 --> 00:51:51.340
but certainly this is really what he is. And

00:51:51.340 --> 00:51:54.079
when I realized that, it helped some things get

00:51:54.079 --> 00:51:57.079
cleared up in my own head. Many of you will recognize

00:51:57.079 --> 00:51:59.719
the name Phil Batten, right? He was like a second

00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:04.360
dad to me. So Phil Batten, he had a burden for

00:52:04.360 --> 00:52:07.280
a hurting city and he didn't just see problems,

00:52:07.360 --> 00:52:10.659
but he saw potential. He began to see what God

00:52:10.659 --> 00:52:15.480
could do and what would happen if he was faithful.

00:52:16.059 --> 00:52:18.460
So he did not wait for the loss to come to his

00:52:18.460 --> 00:52:20.840
church. At this time he was pastoring in Willow

00:52:20.840 --> 00:52:25.300
Lake. He was the pastor there and he started

00:52:25.300 --> 00:52:28.519
to have a major burden for the city of Cleveland,

00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:31.920
specifically the central projects in Cleveland.

00:52:32.969 --> 00:52:35.869
and so his first step was he would take volunteers

00:52:35.869 --> 00:52:38.550
from the church and they would go in on every

00:52:38.550 --> 00:52:40.630
Saturday and they started to try to let people

00:52:40.630 --> 00:52:42.869
know that they were going to come around they

00:52:42.869 --> 00:52:45.210
would have like Bible study sort of things and

00:52:45.210 --> 00:52:48.570
he took volunteers and they bought a not really

00:52:48.570 --> 00:52:50.969
a bus but like a truck kind of vehicle that they

00:52:50.969 --> 00:52:53.690
were able to do services in they quickly outgrew

00:52:53.690 --> 00:52:55.769
that and and here's the thing that I want you

00:52:55.769 --> 00:52:58.940
to see so he's pastoring in Willow Lake And it's

00:52:58.940 --> 00:53:01.199
a traditional congregation. He had stability,

00:53:01.360 --> 00:53:04.639
he had structure, but God was calling him to

00:53:04.639 --> 00:53:08.260
something riskier, something more raw, to give

00:53:08.260 --> 00:53:10.679
himself fully to a ministry among the poor and

00:53:10.679 --> 00:53:12.739
the forgotten in the central projects of Cleveland.

00:53:13.159 --> 00:53:19.059
And he did something apostolic. He left a pulpit

00:53:19.059 --> 00:53:24.380
where he had security and stability, and he planted

00:53:24.380 --> 00:53:26.900
a movement. The movement became Heaven Train,

00:53:27.039 --> 00:53:28.900
a mobile church on wheels that brought the gospel

00:53:28.900 --> 00:53:31.519
to the streets. Heaven Train wasn't a strategy,

00:53:31.539 --> 00:53:34.420
it was a calling. It was a bus, yes, but it was

00:53:34.420 --> 00:53:37.019
more than that. It was a vision of the kingdom

00:53:37.019 --> 00:53:42.860
breaking in where it was needed the most. Phil

00:53:42.860 --> 00:53:45.219
Batten did not just preach from platforms. He

00:53:45.219 --> 00:53:47.320
was a phenomenal preacher from platforms, by

00:53:47.320 --> 00:53:49.980
the way. I used to love hearing him speak. He

00:53:49.980 --> 00:53:52.219
wasn't just preaching from platforms, he was

00:53:52.219 --> 00:53:55.860
preaching from sidewalks. in the middle of what

00:53:55.860 --> 00:53:58.559
at the time was the toughest place in the city

00:53:58.559 --> 00:54:01.179
of Cleveland. And he paid an ultimate price for

00:54:01.179 --> 00:54:04.119
that. See, so remember, we're talking about the

00:54:04.119 --> 00:54:06.900
fact that if you're in apostolic ministry, suffering's

00:54:06.900 --> 00:54:09.000
not exceptional. It's just part of the deal.

00:54:09.739 --> 00:54:12.079
And you all know this, so he came in one Saturday

00:54:12.079 --> 00:54:14.019
and he was gonna preach on the resurrection of

00:54:14.019 --> 00:54:16.920
Jesus. And not everyone gets happy about that.

00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:19.849
I mean, we should. I mean, it's the... The greatest

00:54:19.849 --> 00:54:21.750
story ever told, and we should get really happy

00:54:21.750 --> 00:54:23.730
about it, but not everyone's happy to hear about

00:54:23.730 --> 00:54:27.210
the resurrection of Jesus. So he came into Cleveland

00:54:27.210 --> 00:54:30.289
and preached his heart out about the resurrection

00:54:30.289 --> 00:54:34.889
of Jesus. And some people who did not share our

00:54:34.889 --> 00:54:37.969
faith, they were pretty opposed to our faith

00:54:37.969 --> 00:54:40.570
specifically about the resurrection of Jesus.

00:54:40.909 --> 00:54:42.510
They came and they said, hey listen, you need

00:54:42.510 --> 00:54:45.670
to shut up old man. Don't come in here talking

00:54:45.670 --> 00:54:50.150
about that stuff. This is our neighborhood. Don't

00:54:50.150 --> 00:54:54.090
you disrespect us like that. You can talk about

00:54:54.090 --> 00:54:56.789
Jesus. You can say that, you know, say everything

00:54:56.789 --> 00:54:59.929
that you want. He was a good guy. You can even

00:54:59.929 --> 00:55:02.670
say that he was a prophet. We're fine with all

00:55:02.670 --> 00:55:04.969
of that. Say whatever you want about that. But

00:55:04.969 --> 00:55:07.289
you've got to stop this resurrection of Jesus

00:55:07.289 --> 00:55:12.590
stuff. So it feels like I'll take that on advisement.

00:55:14.010 --> 00:55:15.349
And you know what we did the following Saturday?

00:55:17.019 --> 00:55:19.519
He came back with double the fire in his belly

00:55:19.519 --> 00:55:24.619
and preached the resurrection of Jesus. And they

00:55:24.619 --> 00:55:28.539
put arsenic in his drink. Because they said,

00:55:28.719 --> 00:55:33.699
we told you, you've got to stop doing that. Don't

00:55:33.699 --> 00:55:36.500
come in here preaching that stuff. So they put

00:55:36.500 --> 00:55:41.099
arsenic in his drink. God's spirit is life, obviously,

00:55:41.159 --> 00:55:44.099
but he had problems from that time on. So he

00:55:44.099 --> 00:55:51.760
came back the following Saturday. Kind of with

00:55:51.760 --> 00:55:56.539
this message You thought that was gonna stop

00:55:56.539 --> 00:56:02.000
me You'll have to do better next time Because

00:56:02.000 --> 00:56:04.219
that's the resurrection of Jesus. That's the

00:56:04.219 --> 00:56:06.920
power that raises Jesus from the dead now It's

00:56:06.920 --> 00:56:09.159
living inside of me and continue to preach the

00:56:09.159 --> 00:56:11.719
same fire about the resurrection of Jesus You

00:56:11.719 --> 00:56:13.719
all know this heaven train didn't just stay in

00:56:13.719 --> 00:56:17.119
the city of Cleveland the Lord used Philbatten

00:56:17.119 --> 00:56:19.920
apostolically to plant heaven -train type ministries

00:56:19.920 --> 00:56:23.039
all over the world, not just the nation. There

00:56:23.039 --> 00:56:25.340
are ministries like that in Atlanta, there are

00:56:25.340 --> 00:56:28.219
ministries like that in Kansas City, there are

00:56:28.219 --> 00:56:30.599
ministries like that in Nashville, there are

00:56:30.599 --> 00:56:34.420
ministries like that in Mexico, Mexico City specifically,

00:56:34.420 --> 00:56:36.960
and the Lord allowed him to plant heaven -train

00:56:36.960 --> 00:56:42.719
type ministries in Russia. All over Central America,

00:56:42.760 --> 00:56:45.920
South America, there are church type Ministries

00:56:45.920 --> 00:56:51.679
like heaven train all over the world so That's

00:56:51.679 --> 00:56:53.519
what Apostles do they don't just hold titles

00:56:53.519 --> 00:56:56.519
they carry burdens They don't preserve what is

00:56:56.519 --> 00:56:59.659
they pioneer what could be they preach? Resurrection

00:56:59.659 --> 00:57:02.260
in the face of death and they come back and do

00:57:02.260 --> 00:57:04.659
it all over again And when somebody tries to

00:57:04.659 --> 00:57:06.980
poison them to shut up they come back and do

00:57:06.980 --> 00:57:09.820
it all over again So when somebody asks you do

00:57:09.820 --> 00:57:12.949
we need Apostles today? Point to people like

00:57:12.949 --> 00:57:15.710
Reverend Phil Batten point to a bus point to

00:57:15.710 --> 00:57:17.909
the central projects point to the resurrection

00:57:17.909 --> 00:57:21.130
That still echoes in the streets and then maybe

00:57:21.130 --> 00:57:25.030
just maybe Point to the stirring in your own

00:57:25.030 --> 00:57:29.429
heart because God is still sending Apostles men

00:57:29.429 --> 00:57:33.469
and women sent with a message and with authority

00:57:33.469 --> 00:57:36.530
Is it possible that God's calling you to apostolic

00:57:36.530 --> 00:57:39.489
work? You've been looking for a pulpit when he's

00:57:39.489 --> 00:57:43.159
been pointing you to a neighborhood So the question

00:57:43.159 --> 00:57:46.739
for all of us is, where might God be sending

00:57:46.739 --> 00:57:51.539
you? Where might he be sending you? So Adele

00:57:51.539 --> 00:57:53.699
was the only one who scored five, is that correct?

00:57:54.539 --> 00:57:57.900
At least in -house. There might be somebody who's

00:57:57.900 --> 00:58:00.579
watching and we'll follow up with that as well.

00:58:01.159 --> 00:58:04.380
So Adele, if we could, with your permission,

00:58:05.760 --> 00:58:07.500
I would just like to have some people gather

00:58:07.500 --> 00:58:11.150
around with you and just pray that. If this is

00:58:11.150 --> 00:58:13.949
what the Lord has for you, that he'd make it

00:58:13.949 --> 00:58:18.510
clear and that we would support you well as you

00:58:18.510 --> 00:58:23.230
help us to live in apostolic community, in an

00:58:23.230 --> 00:58:28.289
apostolic culture. Is that fair? Alright. Especially

00:58:28.289 --> 00:58:31.489
those who are close. You just became Adele's

00:58:31.489 --> 00:58:34.230
prayer team, so I want you to gather around her

00:58:34.230 --> 00:58:40.760
and pray for her. Pray for others. Do we need

00:58:40.760 --> 00:58:48.780
Apostles today? Yeah. Does God call women to

00:58:48.780 --> 00:58:52.679
be Apostles? Well, he sure seemed to in the Bible.

00:58:53.679 --> 00:58:58.239
He sure seems to today, so. How many of us are

00:58:58.239 --> 00:59:03.440
glad for that? Let's pray together. Father, we

00:59:03.440 --> 00:59:05.079
thank you for today. We thank you for the time

00:59:05.079 --> 00:59:08.449
we've had to be gathered here. We thank you for

00:59:08.449 --> 00:59:11.130
the gifts that you've given to the church and

00:59:11.130 --> 00:59:14.769
apostles and prophets and evangelists and teachers.

00:59:14.789 --> 00:59:16.889
We give you thanks for all of them. We need all

00:59:16.889 --> 00:59:20.610
of them. Lord, specifically today, we're talking

00:59:20.610 --> 00:59:22.750
about apostles and we give you thanks that you're

00:59:22.750 --> 00:59:24.630
still in the business of calling people to be

00:59:24.630 --> 00:59:27.250
apostles, that you're sending people out with

00:59:27.250 --> 00:59:30.210
a message and with authority. And Lord, I don't

00:59:30.210 --> 00:59:32.530
know all that's going on. I don't know what you're

00:59:32.530 --> 00:59:34.610
calling Adele to, but if that's what it is, I

00:59:34.610 --> 00:59:37.099
pray that you make it crystal clear to her. And

00:59:37.099 --> 00:59:39.260
all those who might be watching online as well,

00:59:39.340 --> 00:59:41.260
I pray that you'd speak to their hearts, that

00:59:41.260 --> 00:59:44.099
you would encourage them, that you would give

00:59:44.099 --> 00:59:46.940
them a crystal clear message, that you would

00:59:46.940 --> 00:59:49.219
help them to know that this is what I'm sending

00:59:49.219 --> 00:59:51.960
you forth to proclaim. And Lord, I also pray

00:59:51.960 --> 00:59:56.280
that you'd give Adele and those like her authority.

00:59:58.300 --> 01:00:02.000
Lord, remind all of them, remind Adele today

01:00:02.000 --> 01:00:06.739
that she's precious to you. Allow her to hear

01:00:06.739 --> 01:00:11.260
again that this is my girl. With you I'm well

01:00:11.260 --> 01:00:16.280
pleased. And I pray that you give her courage

01:00:16.280 --> 01:00:19.739
and everyone like her to be the tip of the spear

01:00:19.739 --> 01:00:23.519
to help the church move into communities and

01:00:23.519 --> 01:00:30.300
neighborhoods where you're needed most. Lord

01:00:30.300 --> 01:00:34.619
help us to do our part to support and encourage

01:00:36.960 --> 01:00:42.880
Just to say we're with you Let's go move the

01:00:42.880 --> 01:00:49.239
kingdom forward no matter what We give you thanks

01:00:49.239 --> 01:00:51.480
for all of this we ask it all in the strong and

01:00:51.480 --> 01:00:54.099
powerful name of Jesus and everyone said