WEBVTT 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:14.039 Now, when they heard this, they were pierced 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:15.980 to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:20.780 the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:23.940 Peter said to them, Repent and let each of you 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:27.440 be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:30.510 for the forgiveness of your sins. and you shall 00:00:30.510 --> 00:00:34.210 receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:36.450 promise is for you and your children and for 00:00:36.450 --> 00:00:40.390 all who are far off, as many as the Lord our 00:00:40.390 --> 00:00:44.409 God shall call to himself. And with many other 00:00:44.409 --> 00:00:47.409 words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting 00:00:47.409 --> 00:00:51.609 them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. 00:00:52.450 --> 00:00:55.630 So then those who had received his word were 00:00:55.630 --> 00:00:58.990 baptized, And there were added that day about 00:00:58.990 --> 00:01:02.909 3 ,000 souls. They were continually devoting 00:01:02.909 --> 00:01:06.909 themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:11.090 to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone 00:01:11.090 --> 00:01:13.730 kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders 00:01:13.730 --> 00:01:16.430 and signs were taking place through the apostles. 00:01:17.430 --> 00:01:19.810 And all those who had believed were together 00:01:19.810 --> 00:01:24.010 and had all things in common. And they began 00:01:24.010 --> 00:01:27.209 selling their property and possessions and were 00:01:27.209 --> 00:01:29.989 sharing them with all as anyone might have need. 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:34.769 And day by day, continuing with one mind in the 00:01:34.769 --> 00:01:37.409 temple and breaking bread from house to house, 00:01:38.129 --> 00:01:40.810 they were taking their meals together with gladness 00:01:40.810 --> 00:01:43.870 and sincerity of heart, praising God and having 00:01:43.870 --> 00:01:47.590 favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:51.010 to their number day by day those who were being 00:01:51.010 --> 00:01:59.579 saved. The most potent threat to the work of 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:04.939 the Lord Jesus Christ in his church, the most 00:02:04.939 --> 00:02:12.219 potent threat in the world to the church, is 00:02:12.219 --> 00:02:17.560 not the ACLU. It is not the National Organization 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:21.800 of Women. It is not the Clinton administration. 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:27.180 The most dangerous threat to the Church of the 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:32.699 Lord Jesus Christ is the attitude found in too 00:02:32.699 --> 00:02:39.039 many pews. An attitude of consumerism and autonomy. 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:43.919 Somehow the world around us has generated among 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:48.639 some of God's people an attitude that the Church 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:53.979 is here to meet my needs, which is consumerism. 00:02:56.490 --> 00:02:59.189 And particularly in our culture, in the United 00:02:59.189 --> 00:03:02.870 States, there is a spirit that says, no one is 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:08.169 going to tell me what to do. Some Christians 00:03:08.169 --> 00:03:11.250 more closely reflect the declaration of independence 00:03:11.250 --> 00:03:16.710 than they do the New Testament. The believer 00:03:16.710 --> 00:03:22.550 is born into a family, God's eternal family. 00:03:24.650 --> 00:03:30.169 As a family of God, we are a community of regenerated 00:03:30.169 --> 00:03:36.610 people, a society of saints. This morning as 00:03:36.610 --> 00:03:40.349 we think about the SOS for today, the Society 00:03:40.349 --> 00:03:44.629 of Saints, I believe that this message is urgent 00:03:44.629 --> 00:03:48.090 because of what I've just described as a danger 00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:53.289 to the Church of Christ and the attitudes among 00:03:53.289 --> 00:03:57.360 some Christians. And when we talk about a society 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:01.439 of saints, we need perhaps to define the word 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:04.000 society because that has different ramifications 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:09.500 to us. A society, very simply, is those living 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:15.159 together as a community. A society is people 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:20.399 collectively coming together, constituting a 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:25.189 community of related and interdependent persons. 00:04:26.189 --> 00:04:28.589 Now there are two key words in that last sentence 00:04:28.589 --> 00:04:34.189 that I need to point out. The community of related 00:04:34.189 --> 00:04:41.529 and interdependent persons. Now if I may just 00:04:41.529 --> 00:04:44.370 illustrate from our secular society for a moment, 00:04:44.930 --> 00:04:47.910 in our culture, that's why our nation is coming 00:04:47.910 --> 00:04:53.560 apart at the seams. We no longer have anything 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:57.660 that relates us as a people. We are celebrating 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:02.259 our diversity to the exclusion of those things 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:08.019 that unite us. The result is that we don't perceive 00:05:08.019 --> 00:05:11.279 ourselves as a nation any longer as related, 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:18.439 nor are we interdependent. Everybody has their 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:25.569 own agenda for their group. be it a racial group, 00:05:26.269 --> 00:05:30.810 an economic group, a cultural group, a social 00:05:30.810 --> 00:05:35.009 group. Everybody has their own agenda so there's 00:05:35.009 --> 00:05:39.569 not this sense of interdependence anymore. The 00:05:39.569 --> 00:05:43.050 result is that our society in the United States 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:47.370 is coming apart at the seams and as a democracy 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:50.420 will not long be able to exist. unless something 00:05:50.420 --> 00:05:53.560 changes dramatically in the next few years, well 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:59.279 before our lifetime ends. Now that same spirit 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:03.660 is creeping into the church. In one sense we 00:06:03.660 --> 00:06:07.500 might say it's almost inevitable because we live 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:09.800 in this culture, we are soaked in this culture, 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:13.120 and it's very difficult not to partake of its 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:17.870 attitudes. But because we have adopted so many 00:06:17.870 --> 00:06:19.930 attitudes of the world, including some of those 00:06:19.930 --> 00:06:23.569 I've already mentioned, the Church of Jesus Christ 00:06:23.569 --> 00:06:30.290 is in great peril in the United States. The fact 00:06:30.290 --> 00:06:34.250 is that we are related, but we've forgotten that. 00:06:35.649 --> 00:06:38.689 We have all been born into the family of God 00:06:38.689 --> 00:06:45.519 by the same Holy Spirit. And the fact is that 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:49.220 we are interdependent, although we've forgotten 00:06:49.220 --> 00:06:54.100 that so often also. And we see ourselves as autonomous 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:59.180 Christians who can fellowship sometimes and be 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:01.959 alone sometimes. It doesn't really make any difference. 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:09.759 And that's not true. God's new community, this 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:13.319 Society of the Saints, was born in Acts chapter 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:19.620 2 on the day of Pentecost. We do not expect in 00:07:19.620 --> 00:07:22.180 the text that we've read to see the church fully 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:25.279 developed. It's just a baby that's been born. 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:31.480 It's simple in its design here. Nonetheless, 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:34.500 we ought to see something of the essence of what 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:39.399 a church is all about. Of what the society of 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:42.790 saints should entail. even here in Acts chapter 00:07:42.790 --> 00:07:47.310 2. Just as when you look at a baby you don't 00:07:47.310 --> 00:07:51.170 see a mature adult, but you do see something 00:07:51.170 --> 00:07:54.410 of the essence of a person there that's going 00:07:54.410 --> 00:07:57.610 to grow. So as we come to Acts chapter 2, we 00:07:57.610 --> 00:08:03.610 see the baby church. And we can find here in 00:08:03.610 --> 00:08:07.459 this text certain features. that were present 00:08:07.459 --> 00:08:09.939 on this first day of the church that ought to 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:14.120 be now fully developed in the Society of the 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:16.579 Saints, this new community of God that we call 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:21.160 the church. Let's take a look at these features 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:24.399 as they're laid out for us here because these 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:28.600 are what makes the church unique. The features 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.220 we're going to talk about cause the church to 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:35.000 be unlike any other human institution. Among 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.519 all the various societies of the world, the communities, 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:41.220 the collections of people, things we're going 00:08:41.220 --> 00:08:43.960 to talk about from Acts chapter 2 are those features 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:47.679 that make the Society of the Saints, the Society 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:53.480 of the Saints, okay? Feature number one, this 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:59.399 new society is based on the crucified, resurrected 00:08:59.399 --> 00:09:06.440 Jesus as both Lord and Christ. Verse 37 begins 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:09.399 by saying, now when they had heard this, what 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:14.200 had they heard? Well, back up a verse. The conclusion 00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:17.039 of the sermon that Peter gives on the temple 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:21.399 steps, let all the house of Israel know for certain 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:27.759 that God has made him both Lord and Christ this 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:32.639 Jesus whom you crucified. That's what they heard. 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:39.830 That's the message. This new society of the saints 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:44.289 is based upon the crucified, resurrected Jesus 00:09:44.289 --> 00:09:48.350 as Lord and Christ. Now this has some significant 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:53.090 ramifications. Every society has its founder, 00:09:54.029 --> 00:09:58.769 its leader. The founder and the leader of the 00:09:58.769 --> 00:10:01.269 society of the saints is none other than the 00:10:01.269 --> 00:10:04.909 Lord, Jesus Christ. crucified and risen from 00:10:04.909 --> 00:10:10.490 the dead. This community is unique, however, 00:10:11.730 --> 00:10:15.549 in the sense that the founder and leader of this 00:10:15.549 --> 00:10:20.429 society still lives. We speak of George Washington 00:10:20.429 --> 00:10:25.149 as being the father of the United States. Long 00:10:25.149 --> 00:10:30.169 dead. You can go back to other societies and 00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:32.549 civilizations and talk about their founders long 00:10:32.549 --> 00:10:37.169 dead. But when we think about the Society of 00:10:37.169 --> 00:10:39.210 the Saints, we have to keep in mind this unique 00:10:39.210 --> 00:10:43.029 aspect. That its founder and its leader is still 00:10:43.029 --> 00:10:48.710 alive in heaven. The Society of the Saints is 00:10:48.710 --> 00:10:53.590 based on the crucified, resurrected Jesus as 00:10:53.590 --> 00:10:57.240 both Lord and Christ. His death His life, his 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:00.740 death, his resurrection establishes this society's 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:06.519 beliefs and its value system. What we believe 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:11.399 is true and the values that that produces in 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:15.259 our lives in this society of the saints come 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:20.440 from Jesus Christ. His life, his example, his 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.250 death, his resurrection, his teachings. We are 00:11:24.250 --> 00:11:26.850 based upon Him and everything in our society 00:11:26.850 --> 00:11:32.350 must be measured by Him. Whatever does not adhere 00:11:32.350 --> 00:11:38.169 to His life and to His truth must be rejected 00:11:38.169 --> 00:11:44.169 as not being a part of our society. So the first 00:11:44.169 --> 00:11:47.190 feature that we see beginning on day one of the 00:11:47.190 --> 00:11:51.149 Society of the Saints is its uniqueness in its 00:11:51.149 --> 00:11:56.879 founder. It's based upon the crucified, resurrected 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:03.279 Jesus as being Lord and Christ. That leads us 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.320 to a second feature found in verses 38 and 39. 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:10.399 This new society is entered by repentance and 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:17.820 faith. In most societies, you enter by some ritual 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:22.299 or rite that brings you into it. If you belong 00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:30.539 to a club, for example, or you are born into 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:34.580 it, as most of us were born into this society 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:38.860 of the United States, or you might immigrate 00:12:38.860 --> 00:12:43.019 and be a part of it that way. In the case of 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:45.700 the Society of the Saints, the only way to enter 00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:50.679 it is through repentance and faith. Now those 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:53.240 two words are used interchangeably in the New 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:55.620 Testament. You don't have one without the other, 00:12:55.779 --> 00:13:02.500 ever. Genuine repentance leads one to faith. 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:08.059 And when one repents, it's because he believes. 00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:11.159 So the two work together, you see. Repentance 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:14.740 is a change of mind and heart. It says that what 00:13:14.740 --> 00:13:17.340 I believed before, how I acted before, I now 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:21.649 reject. And I turn from that and I now believe 00:13:21.649 --> 00:13:25.789 another thing. My life is moving a different 00:13:25.789 --> 00:13:30.289 direction. Faith means that we rely upon, we 00:13:30.289 --> 00:13:32.950 depend upon something. And what is it? It is 00:13:32.950 --> 00:13:37.610 Jesus Christ. We repent of who we were before, 00:13:37.710 --> 00:13:41.370 we come to Him, we believe on Him alone as our 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:44.149 Lord and Savior. That gives us entrance into 00:13:44.149 --> 00:13:48.700 the Society of Saints. This society of saints 00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:52.779 is traveling together. It's along a narrow road. 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:55.600 We're kind of scrunched together. But it was 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:57.740 a narrow gate that we entered and it's a narrow 00:13:57.740 --> 00:14:00.860 road that is leading us on to our eternal destiny. 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:06.940 Who is it that's going to repent and believe? 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:10.620 It is those that God calls. As it says in verse 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:13.240 39, the promise is for you, your children, and 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:16.879 all who are far off. specifically talking here 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:21.059 about people like you and me, Gentiles, as many 00:14:21.059 --> 00:14:27.200 as the Lord our God shall call to himself. So 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:29.460 this society of the saints is entered through 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:33.679 repentance and faith. There's a third feature. 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:37.919 This new society is symbolized by water baptism. 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:43.590 Verse 41. So then those who had received his 00:14:43.590 --> 00:14:45.909 word were baptized. What was the word? Verse 00:14:45.909 --> 00:14:49.669 38, repent and let each one of you be baptized 00:14:49.669 --> 00:14:52.529 in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness 00:14:52.529 --> 00:14:55.830 of sins. This is one of the more debated verses 00:14:55.830 --> 00:14:57.990 in the New Testament regarding the relationship 00:14:57.990 --> 00:15:01.669 of faith and baptism. And it's worth at least 00:15:01.669 --> 00:15:04.750 one message on its own. We don't have time to 00:15:04.750 --> 00:15:08.330 do that this morning. The whole key here however 00:15:08.330 --> 00:15:15.059 lies in that preposition in my NAV for the forgiveness 00:15:15.059 --> 00:15:19.960 of sins. It is a Greek preposition that can be 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:24.340 taken a dozen different ways, hence the debate 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:28.960 over it. If anyone is confused about whether 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:32.559 baptism is necessary for salvation, let him go 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.600 to other clear statements in the New Testament 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.799 where there's not any debatable prepositions. 00:15:38.350 --> 00:15:43.289 where it's very clear that baptism is not a part 00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:47.950 of the saving process. Salvation is by faith 00:15:47.950 --> 00:15:54.629 alone, but that salvation leads to baptism, inevitably 00:15:54.629 --> 00:15:57.789 in the New Testament. The two are not separated. 00:15:59.029 --> 00:16:02.610 Why is that? Because this new society that one 00:16:02.610 --> 00:16:05.289 enters through faith and repentance is symbolized 00:16:05.289 --> 00:16:10.720 in baptism. Baptism being immersion. It's the 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:12.740 meaning of the term. It's what it was practiced 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:15.679 as in the New Testament. For the first 200 years 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:18.240 of the Society of the Saints, there was no sprinkling 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:23.480 or pouring. It was all by immersion. Now, immersion 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:27.460 was not uncommon to the people of that day. In 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:32.179 fact, some people think that Jesus created immersion. 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:36.679 He did not. He did not start immersion. John 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:41.659 the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner, practiced immersion 00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:45.279 out in the wilderness. And Jews who were repenting 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:47.500 of their sins and preparing their hearts for 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:50.419 the coming of Messiah went through that baptism. 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:53.600 They later went through another baptism when 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:58.899 they became followers of Jesus. The first baptism 00:16:58.899 --> 00:17:02.159 had its purpose, but then they became followers 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:04.539 of Jesus and were baptized again because it had 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:08.119 a different meaning the second time. But not 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:15.119 only so, the Jews who did not convert also practiced 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:21.180 the immersion of converts. It was their way of 00:17:21.180 --> 00:17:23.819 ritually introducing someone into the Jewish 00:17:23.819 --> 00:17:27.220 religion. And beyond that, the pagans practiced 00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:30.960 immersion. When people became a part of some 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:33.779 of the pagan religions of that day, they also 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:36.019 were immersed. So you understand Jesus didn't 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:42.019 start baptism. He took something that was familiar 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:44.680 in the culture of that day and he sanctified 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:52.440 it. He washed it off. He gave it a new definition. 00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:57.160 And he said, now this baptism pictures your entrance 00:17:57.160 --> 00:18:05.799 into my society, into my faith. And so the Society 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:09.059 of the Saints is symbolized by water baptism. 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:14.079 It was sanctified by Jesus' command. He said 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:15.920 that we're to go into all the world to preach 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:20.339 the gospel, baptizing those who believe. It was 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:24.049 sanctified by Jesus' command. powerfully established 00:18:24.049 --> 00:18:27.589 in the early church as a ceremony of entrance 00:18:27.589 --> 00:18:32.369 into the community of the saints. Baptism needs 00:18:32.369 --> 00:18:36.069 to be practiced today. It's not an optional thing. 00:18:37.009 --> 00:18:42.250 It is closely tied to faith. And inevitably, 00:18:42.450 --> 00:18:45.569 the biblical order is faith, then immersion. 00:18:49.230 --> 00:18:51.450 Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, then being 00:18:51.450 --> 00:18:56.079 baptized. indicating that one has entered into 00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:01.859 the society of the saints. There's a fourth feature 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:05.680 that we see in this embryonic church. That is, 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:08.920 the new society is marked by certain core essentials. 00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:16.460 Verse 42 neatly lines them up for us. They were 00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:19.960 continually devoting themselves to, number one, 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:24.400 the Apostle's teaching. One of the core values 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.019 of the Society of the Saints is the importance 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:32.279 of the teaching of God's Word. Now then, of course, 00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:35.140 it was the apostles who were there personally 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:39.880 delivering their teaching. The apostles have 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:43.319 long been dead, but we have a written record 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:45.799 of what they taught in the Bible, in the New 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:50.400 Testament. And so today, when we think about 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.779 the church and its core values, we're talking 00:19:53.779 --> 00:19:58.440 about the teaching of the Word of God. A church 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:01.140 cannot be a church apart from this core value 00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:06.420 of teaching what the Bible has to say. The Bible 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:11.700 is the permanent record of God's revelation to 00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:16.880 the apostles. Doctrine is not subject to change. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:22.900 in the culture. It is not subject to popular 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:27.259 vote of those who are in the Society of the Saints. 00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:31.460 Doctrine is revealed by God and we're to accept 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:38.579 it, period. In a bit of a different context, 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:40.680 I think you'll understand I'm simply trying to 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:45.349 illustrate what we're facing today. We see Pope 00:20:45.349 --> 00:20:47.930 John Paul struggling with the Catholic Church, 00:20:48.109 --> 00:20:51.750 especially in the United States, where our culture 00:20:51.750 --> 00:20:58.529 has, I don't know which word to use, evolved, 00:21:00.789 --> 00:21:06.490 evolved into ideas that are contrary to the teachings 00:21:06.490 --> 00:21:10.490 of the Church, which in some cases coincide with 00:21:10.490 --> 00:21:15.619 the teachings of the Bible, by the way. And the 00:21:15.619 --> 00:21:18.960 Catholics in the United States are just agitating 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:22.759 for a change in the church's teachings on certain 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:27.799 things. Whether he's on target or off target 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:30.619 doctrinally, at least he has the idea, that is, 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.819 the pope does, that doctrine doesn't change just 00:21:33.819 --> 00:21:37.660 because people's attitudes change. Doctrine is 00:21:37.660 --> 00:21:42.359 not established by democratic vote. Doctrine 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:45.039 is revealed to us by the Word of God and one 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:47.500 of the core values of the true Church of Jesus 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:50.220 Christ of the Society of the Saints has to be 00:21:50.220 --> 00:21:52.940 the teaching of the Bible and adherence to what 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:56.799 it says. Secondly, we notice the core value of 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:02.200 fellowship. The Society of the Saints meets to 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:05.460 share together is what the word means. There 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:09.660 was a sense of belonging and the sense of being 00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:14.930 responsible. for one another. That's what fellowship 00:22:14.930 --> 00:22:19.630 means. It's not cake and coffee after church. 00:22:20.730 --> 00:22:23.450 Fellowship is a sense of belonging to each other 00:22:23.450 --> 00:22:27.470 and responsibility for each other. That's a core 00:22:27.470 --> 00:22:29.910 value in the church. A church can't be a church 00:22:29.910 --> 00:22:35.470 without that core value. And then it speaks about 00:22:35.470 --> 00:22:38.089 the breaking of bread, which in the context here 00:22:38.089 --> 00:22:43.049 of Luke's writing, refers to the Lord's Supper. 00:22:43.869 --> 00:22:46.849 Now it may be that they incorporated a meal, 00:22:47.849 --> 00:22:52.029 a full meal around that, but the heart of it 00:22:52.029 --> 00:22:55.650 was their time of fellowship when they remembered 00:22:55.650 --> 00:23:02.839 the Lord's sacrifice in communion. broadening 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:05.579 that idea to say that a core value of the church 00:23:05.579 --> 00:23:09.460 is that of worship, of recognizing the presence 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:14.140 of the Lord Jesus in its midst and focusing on 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:18.019 Him so that we're not coming to have our needs 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:24.599 met. We're coming to worship Jesus. We're coming 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:31.059 to remember Him and His sacrifice. The fourth 00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:33.400 The core value of the church is that of prayer. 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.900 Here is the expression of the community to its 00:23:38.900 --> 00:23:43.099 founder. Adoring Him, confessing sins, giving 00:23:43.099 --> 00:23:47.299 thanks, offering petitions. Broad concept, of 00:23:47.299 --> 00:23:51.220 course, in prayer. A church is not a church if 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:55.579 it's not a praying church. A church can get together 00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:58.019 and have a good time. It can accomplish a lot 00:23:58.019 --> 00:24:01.109 of things in its own efforts. But it's not really 00:24:01.109 --> 00:24:03.549 the Society of the Saints unless there's a place 00:24:03.549 --> 00:24:07.730 for prayer, corporate prayer, the congregation 00:24:07.730 --> 00:24:09.930 praying together. That's one thing we're trying 00:24:09.930 --> 00:24:12.690 to capture in these circles of intercession. 00:24:14.089 --> 00:24:17.170 It's not just that we have individuals who come 00:24:17.170 --> 00:24:19.549 to a service with pressing needs on their own 00:24:19.549 --> 00:24:22.089 hearts. It's the fact that all of us need to 00:24:22.089 --> 00:24:25.009 be caught up with them in the spirit of prayer. 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:30.259 And so the new society is marked by certain core 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:32.039 values and I want to tell you it doesn't make 00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:33.799 any difference if this church is in the other 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:39.180 side of the world in a tribal situation or if 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:42.200 it's in the middle of an inner city or suburban 00:24:42.200 --> 00:24:44.039 setting. It doesn't make any difference if it's 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:50.599 in the 1800s or the 1900s or the 2400s. A church, 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:53.539 a society of the saints will always have these 00:24:53.539 --> 00:24:58.339 core values. Always. There are features of it. 00:24:59.859 --> 00:25:02.539 There's a fifth feature of the Society of the 00:25:02.539 --> 00:25:04.839 Saints that we see in Acts 2, and that is that 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:08.319 the new society is characterized by the active 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:13.359 power of God. Verse 43 tells us that everyone 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:20.279 kept feeling a sense of awe. Our God is an awesome 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:27.339 God. That word awesome means that He evokes from 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:32.119 our hearts a sense of wonder and mystery and 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:38.059 admiration at such a God. In that early church, 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:43.000 there was this sense that God was there with 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:48.880 them. And there was this response in their hearts 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:55.339 that has said, God is here. And it says that 00:25:55.339 --> 00:25:57.700 many wonders and signs were taking place through 00:25:57.700 --> 00:26:05.019 the apostles. God's power was revealed through 00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:09.759 the apostles in specific ways, in signs, wonders, 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:12.400 and miracles. And according to the New Testament, 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:18.039 even as the apostles left the scene, their work 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:21.000 being finished, so the signs, wonders, and miracles 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:26.369 ceased. as such. But I want to say something 00:26:26.369 --> 00:26:29.650 to you. That doesn't mean that God's power left 00:26:29.650 --> 00:26:34.730 the church. It only means that the signs, wonders, 00:26:34.849 --> 00:26:38.670 and miracles as done by the apostles were gone 00:26:38.670 --> 00:26:42.430 in the first century. I believe that we should 00:26:42.430 --> 00:26:46.609 expect that in the society of the saints there 00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:54.779 will be the supernatural workings of God. The 00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:59.940 most important one being salvation. That is supernatural, 00:27:00.099 --> 00:27:05.940 my friend. That any human heart would turn to 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:10.559 God requires supernatural intervention. Because 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:16.720 we are depraved, degenerated people. And anytime 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:19.880 a heart turns in faith to Jesus Christ, God is 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:22.619 intervened. It is God who works in you, both 00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:25.259 the willing and the doing of His good pleasure, 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:29.339 says the apostle. But I'm also talking about 00:27:29.339 --> 00:27:33.799 answers to prayer. We ought to expect that in 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.740 the society of the saints, there are answers 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:40.740 to petitions that we offer to God. God intervening. 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:46.579 I'm talking about healings. Not in the sense 00:27:46.579 --> 00:27:49.059 that anybody has the gift of healings as was 00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:51.839 common in the New Testament time, but we ought 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:55.160 to see people healed. We can come to God and 00:27:55.160 --> 00:28:02.500 pray. Because of the world view that we inherit 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:05.259 in our educational system that God is up there 00:28:05.259 --> 00:28:07.259 somewhere and we're down here and what's up there 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:09.720 isn't real and what's real is all you can see. 00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:13.579 When we're sick, the first thing we do is go 00:28:13.579 --> 00:28:18.750 to the doctor. The first thing we ought to do 00:28:18.750 --> 00:28:24.730 is pray. The first thing we ought to do is pray. 00:28:25.190 --> 00:28:27.230 Doesn't mean then you don't go to the doctor. 00:28:27.869 --> 00:28:30.569 God has a place for doctors, but the first place 00:28:30.569 --> 00:28:33.549 is to prayer in our sickness. Read James chapter 00:28:33.549 --> 00:28:38.930 5 and other texts in the New Testament dealing 00:28:38.930 --> 00:28:43.490 with this issue. We ought to see deliverances 00:28:43.490 --> 00:28:48.519 from demons. Again, our whole world view causes 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:52.880 us to ignore this vast area of spiritual warfare. 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:00.440 But we ought to see the supernatural power of 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:04.660 God liberating people from Satan's bondage. That's 00:29:04.660 --> 00:29:07.980 not just New Testament days. That's not just 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:11.480 the first part of the church's existence. That's 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:19.799 for the whole age. We ought to see awakenings. 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:24.980 We ought to see revivals. The supernatural working 00:29:24.980 --> 00:29:27.859 of God, the society of the saints is characterized 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:31.059 by the active power of God. Not just the benign 00:29:31.059 --> 00:29:37.980 belief that God can do anything. That's nothing. 00:29:40.619 --> 00:29:48.220 We ought to see the active power of God. I have 00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:50.180 to tell you that I've seen more of this in the 00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:52.980 last year at Grace Church Roosevelt than I've 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:58.259 seen in any ministry I've been in. We've seen 00:29:58.259 --> 00:30:04.059 people healed in the last year. God hasn't always 00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:06.559 healed according to the prayer of the elders, 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:12.920 but He has healed. We've seen people delivered 00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:19.259 from demons. and the bondage that they bring 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:23.519 to the lives of people. People that sold themselves 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:32.359 to that kind of control of the enemy. God's active 00:30:32.359 --> 00:30:34.859 power has been displayed and I tell you it's 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:40.140 done something to this pastor. It's done something 00:30:40.140 --> 00:30:43.880 to my faith in the last year. It's done something 00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:48.079 to my conviction. is I've seen God working in 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:57.640 ways that I've never seen before. I'm tempted 00:30:57.640 --> 00:31:00.519 to be anecdotal and I don't think I will tell 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:04.339 you any stories at this point, but you will want 00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:07.000 to hear the testimony on GraceFest Sunday morning. 00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:13.480 It's a very special testimony and one that is 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:16.319 going to tell you something about the active 00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:19.579 power of God in the midst of this congregation. 00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:22.819 Through some of you and you didn't even know 00:31:22.819 --> 00:31:30.099 it. A society of the saints in whatever age will 00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:32.319 have the feature of the active power of God at 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:36.500 work in its midst. Number six, the new society 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:41.779 is demonstrative in its relationships. You notice 00:31:41.779 --> 00:31:45.819 what it says here in verse 44. Those who had 00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:48.019 believed were together and had all things in 00:31:48.019 --> 00:31:49.700 common and they began selling their property 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:52.619 and possessions and sharing with all as anyone 00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:55.759 might have need. Now some people have incorrectly 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.539 labeled this as Christian Communism. God help 00:31:58.539 --> 00:32:03.099 us. This is not Christian Communism. Communism 00:32:03.099 --> 00:32:07.500 says what's yours is mine. What we have here 00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:11.240 is what's mine is yours. It's just the opposite 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:15.480 of communism. It's people out of the love of 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:19.599 Christ demonstrating their compassion and concern 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:23.039 for others. The new society is demonstrative 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:25.980 in its relationships. It's not satisfied just 00:32:25.980 --> 00:32:28.859 to say, well, we're the people of God. It demonstrates 00:32:28.859 --> 00:32:31.940 that within the fellowship and to the world. 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:37.180 Some people say, should we not practice what 00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:41.029 it says here and live communally? Well, there 00:32:41.029 --> 00:32:43.150 are some people who choose to do that. I don't 00:32:43.150 --> 00:32:48.069 understand this to be a form that is normative 00:32:48.069 --> 00:32:52.650 for this age. That is, a form of acting out our 00:32:52.650 --> 00:32:55.890 love that is intended to be practiced in all 00:32:55.890 --> 00:32:59.069 times. It's one expression of it, and it was 00:32:59.069 --> 00:33:02.109 fitting at this particular time, but it's not 00:33:02.109 --> 00:33:07.289 always fitting in every situation. However, the 00:33:07.289 --> 00:33:09.869 Society of the Saints will always demonstrate 00:33:10.059 --> 00:33:16.539 in some manner, in its relationships, that God 00:33:16.539 --> 00:33:20.259 is at work in its midst, that it's real, that 00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:24.980 it's different. The final feature that I want 00:33:24.980 --> 00:33:27.559 to point out in our text regarding the Society 00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:30.299 of the Saints is that this new society is observed 00:33:30.299 --> 00:33:38.140 as both dynamic and magnetic. Verses 46 and 47. 00:33:38.819 --> 00:33:44.259 Day by day, continually, continuing in one mind, 00:33:45.099 --> 00:33:47.799 in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:50.660 they were taking their meals together with gladness 00:33:50.660 --> 00:33:54.359 and sincerity of heart, praising God and having 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:57.259 favor with all the people. See the dynamic that 00:33:57.259 --> 00:34:01.799 is there? Openly, the power of God is at work. 00:34:01.819 --> 00:34:06.900 It's not static. It's not lifeless. There's evidence 00:34:06.900 --> 00:34:12.559 of life. and vitality in this church. This church 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:16.480 is not a closed system or community. It's open. 00:34:16.659 --> 00:34:21.739 It's embracing others. It's dynamic in its constancy. 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:26.199 Day by day. It wasn't just a Sunday, first day 00:34:26.199 --> 00:34:30.820 of the week kind of operation. But every day, 00:34:31.219 --> 00:34:33.940 constantly, there was dynamic in this church. 00:34:34.820 --> 00:34:39.190 It's dynamic in its unity. With oneness of mind 00:34:39.190 --> 00:34:42.650 they were coming to the temple dynamic in its 00:34:42.650 --> 00:34:46.829 methodology both in the temple in these large 00:34:46.829 --> 00:34:52.550 public arenas and From house to house and in 00:34:52.550 --> 00:34:56.909 private situations This church was was moving 00:34:56.909 --> 00:35:01.030 ahead. It was dynamic dynamic in its methods 00:35:01.030 --> 00:35:05.460 dynamic as testimony They were praising God and 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:08.719 having favor with all the people, referring to 00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:12.980 the people who were not Christians. Now this 00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:17.460 changed as there began to be more confrontation 00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:20.780 and more hostility developed between the message 00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:24.219 of Christ and the message of the Jewish religion. 00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:28.559 There was hostility that developed. But you notice 00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:31.920 the dynamic in the testimony here at least. that 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:35.300 they were having favor with the people. God was 00:35:35.300 --> 00:35:39.300 at work. And the result of all this was magnetism. 00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:43.039 There was an attraction to this fellowship. The 00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:46.320 Lord was adding to their number day by day those 00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:49.219 who were being saved. There was increase in the 00:35:49.219 --> 00:35:53.980 church. There was growth in the church. And they 00:35:53.980 --> 00:35:58.159 weren't transferring from up in Samaria, from 00:35:58.159 --> 00:36:00.840 across town at the other church. There was only 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:05.300 one. Here we see genuine growth as people were 00:36:05.300 --> 00:36:10.179 converted. That leads me to say that in the Society 00:36:10.179 --> 00:36:13.400 of the Saints, there needs to be growth through 00:36:13.400 --> 00:36:18.119 new conversions. There's a whole lot of church 00:36:18.119 --> 00:36:21.780 transplanting going on in our culture. There 00:36:21.780 --> 00:36:24.820 are some churches that are written up as being 00:36:24.820 --> 00:36:28.519 super churches. They've grown to be multiple 00:36:28.519 --> 00:36:32.039 thousands of people, and people applaud and say, 00:36:32.099 --> 00:36:35.320 isn't that wonderful? But if you look behind 00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:37.559 the scenes, you find out that most of those people 00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:41.159 are not new converts, but they have sucked up 00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:44.079 lots of people from other churches around them 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:50.019 because of whatever. That isn't church growth. 00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:53.699 That's an anomaly. I'm not even sure it's healthy. 00:36:55.110 --> 00:36:57.369 In fact, I'm pretty sure in some cases it's not 00:36:57.369 --> 00:37:02.889 healthy. But in a church that's a real society 00:37:02.889 --> 00:37:05.750 of the saints, there's going to be growth. Now 00:37:05.750 --> 00:37:08.329 here it was very rapid growth. There were 3 ,000, 00:37:08.449 --> 00:37:11.909 my goodness, the first day. And then every day 00:37:11.909 --> 00:37:14.309 after that, the Lord kept adding people to their 00:37:14.309 --> 00:37:18.190 number, those being saved. That just tells me, 00:37:18.289 --> 00:37:20.429 though, that if it is a healthy church, it's 00:37:20.429 --> 00:37:24.550 going to grow. And if anybody has the mindset 00:37:24.550 --> 00:37:28.210 that a church ought to just stay we for no more, 00:37:29.110 --> 00:37:32.170 then that's not godly, that's not spiritual, 00:37:32.210 --> 00:37:34.690 it's not biblical, it's devilish, it's worldly. 00:37:35.969 --> 00:37:38.570 God intends for the church to grow and to multiply 00:37:38.570 --> 00:37:42.409 and to increase in new conversions as the Lord 00:37:42.409 --> 00:37:47.869 adds those being saved. What I've tried to do 00:37:47.869 --> 00:37:49.909 in looking through this paragraph briefly this 00:37:49.909 --> 00:37:53.449 morning is simply to point out for us the features 00:37:53.449 --> 00:37:59.869 of the society of the saints. Now this society 00:37:59.869 --> 00:38:01.989 of the saints is under attack in our culture 00:38:01.989 --> 00:38:04.510 unlike it has been in our culture previously. 00:38:05.250 --> 00:38:07.789 And not just by outside forces, as I've tried 00:38:07.789 --> 00:38:14.849 to say, but by attitudes internally. The church 00:38:14.849 --> 00:38:16.690 is to be in the world, but when the world gets 00:38:16.690 --> 00:38:21.920 in the church, we've got big problems. And broadly 00:38:21.920 --> 00:38:24.500 speaking, in America today, that's where we are. 00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:28.840 Lots of worldly attitudes in the church. Some 00:38:28.840 --> 00:38:31.599 of them so cleverly cloaked and disguised as 00:38:31.599 --> 00:38:35.000 being spiritual. That's what makes some of them 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:42.119 so hard to expose. As we come here, we see the 00:38:42.119 --> 00:38:45.320 church in its infancy and its simplicity. And 00:38:45.320 --> 00:38:48.119 just laid out for us in a very wonderful fashion 00:38:48.119 --> 00:38:51.619 are seven of the features of what the Society 00:38:51.619 --> 00:38:54.639 of the Saints ought to be all about. Now, some 00:38:54.639 --> 00:38:56.840 of you are visiting here today from other churches. 00:38:57.820 --> 00:39:00.219 Many of you are part of Grace Church, Roseville. 00:39:01.739 --> 00:39:05.440 But wherever you may be from, if you are a saint, 00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:09.719 if you are one who has been called by God to 00:39:09.719 --> 00:39:15.099 belong to Jesus Christ, then your commitment 00:39:15.099 --> 00:39:19.039 to the Society of the Saints is not only vital 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:22.780 to your earthly experience, it's really a measurement 00:39:22.780 --> 00:39:29.699 of your walk with God. We have the idea that 00:39:29.699 --> 00:39:32.219 somehow we can be wonderful Christians and be 00:39:32.219 --> 00:39:36.400 detached from the church. But if we see our participation 00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:38.940 in the church, the Society of the Saints, as 00:39:38.940 --> 00:39:44.099 being fringe and not focused, then somehow we've 00:39:44.099 --> 00:39:50.010 lost it. The world's gotten in us. If we see 00:39:50.010 --> 00:39:55.449 the church as a place for our convenience and 00:39:55.449 --> 00:39:58.250 not a place that we're committed to out of conviction, 00:40:00.650 --> 00:40:02.869 then somehow the world has gotten into our hearts. 00:40:04.690 --> 00:40:11.489 You cannot think of a church apart from its people 00:40:11.489 --> 00:40:17.579 any more than you can think of an ocean. without 00:40:17.579 --> 00:40:22.780 thinking of its water. Or think of a fire without 00:40:22.780 --> 00:40:25.579 considering its flame. Or a harvest without thinking 00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:29.019 of its grain. Or God without acknowledging the 00:40:29.019 --> 00:40:34.000 Trinity. You see, a church is not a thing out 00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:38.400 here somewhere that I plug into when I want to 00:40:38.400 --> 00:40:44.159 and I detach when it asks too much. A church 00:40:44.159 --> 00:40:50.130 is who I am. A church is what I've been born 00:40:50.130 --> 00:40:55.550 into. A church is a new society that I've become 00:40:55.550 --> 00:40:59.829 a citizen of by the grace of God. And I want 00:40:59.829 --> 00:41:04.309 my life and I want my church to have the features 00:41:04.309 --> 00:41:07.389 of what God wants His new community to look like. 00:41:08.309 --> 00:41:11.769 I believe that most of you feel the same way. 00:41:12.710 --> 00:41:16.130 We want our lives to correspond with this book. 00:41:18.090 --> 00:41:20.849 I'm going to spend several weeks this fall talking 00:41:20.849 --> 00:41:24.750 more about this subject, but it's such an urgent 00:41:24.750 --> 00:41:27.369 message in the Church of Jesus Christ today that 00:41:27.369 --> 00:41:30.829 I felt that needed to be an SOS to our hearts 00:41:30.829 --> 00:41:39.590 today. Let's bow together. Truly the commitment 00:41:39.590 --> 00:41:42.989 that we have to the Society of the Saints is 00:41:42.989 --> 00:41:47.119 the commitment we have to Jesus Christ. You can't 00:41:47.119 --> 00:41:52.219 separate the two. The devotion, the loyalty that 00:41:52.219 --> 00:41:56.099 I have to Christ is exactly proportionate to 00:41:56.099 --> 00:41:59.900 the devotion and the loyalty that I have to His 00:41:59.900 --> 00:42:04.460 church, to His new society. That's the measurement. 00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:11.639 And today there's cause for repentance, there's 00:42:11.639 --> 00:42:15.099 cause for renewal of commitment. in the hearts 00:42:15.099 --> 00:42:21.900 of many of God's people. I'd like you to sing 00:42:21.900 --> 00:42:25.340 this chorus with me if it reflects the spirit 00:42:25.340 --> 00:42:51.460 of your heart. Lord, be glorified today. And 00:42:51.460 --> 00:42:57.800 with that we have to also sing. In your church, 00:42:58.039 --> 00:43:11.199 Lord, be glorified. Be glorified. In your church, 00:43:11.239 --> 00:43:22.389 Lord. My friend, if you're not a child of God, 00:43:22.510 --> 00:43:24.530 if you've not trusted this Savior that we've 00:43:24.530 --> 00:43:28.449 talked about this morning, He was crucified and 00:43:28.449 --> 00:43:33.110 risen from the dead for you. Will you today trust 00:43:33.110 --> 00:43:36.650 Him and become a part of His society and the 00:43:36.650 --> 00:43:41.829 world? I hope you will. Let's all stand together. 00:43:43.659 --> 00:43:46.219 If we can help you in that decision to trust 00:43:46.219 --> 00:43:48.659 the Savior, will you please call us at the church 00:43:48.659 --> 00:43:50.880 office this week or stop by here at the door 00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:53.199 where I'll be shaking hands in the front afterward? 00:43:53.920 --> 00:43:55.860 I'd be glad to talk with you personally about 00:43:55.860 --> 00:44:01.179 that. And Father, I pray that all of us who are 00:44:01.179 --> 00:44:03.840 part of the Society of the Saints will understand 00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:08.860 its features and will measure ourselves and our 00:44:08.860 --> 00:44:13.050 church by what the Word says. And I pray that 00:44:13.050 --> 00:44:15.349 you will give us grace not to keep doing things 00:44:15.349 --> 00:44:19.110 the way we always have, or to be content with 00:44:19.110 --> 00:44:21.730 the attitudes that lie upon our hearts today. 00:44:21.889 --> 00:44:26.130 May we check those attitudes by the Word and 00:44:26.130 --> 00:44:29.329 bring into conformity anything that is lacking. 00:44:30.849 --> 00:44:35.349 Truly, Jesus, be glorified in the Society of 00:44:35.349 --> 00:44:41.300 the Saints, your body, your new community. We 00:44:41.300 --> 00:44:45.539 pray this for your sake as well as ours and in 00:44:45.539 --> 00:44:47.440 your name Amen