Acts 13, Divine Appointments

Covenant Reformed Baptist Church

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Acts chapter 13 here the word of the Lord Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers

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Barnabas Simeon who was called Niger Lucius of Cyrene Manian a member of the court of Herod the

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Tetrarch and Saul While they were worshiping the Lord in fasting the Holy Spirit said set apart for me

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Barnabas and Saul for the work To which I have called them then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off So being sent by out by the

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Holy Spirit They went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus when they arrived at Salamis They proclaimed the

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Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews and they had John to assist them When they had gone through the whole island as far as pathos they came to a certain magician a

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Jewish false prophet named bar Jesus He was with the procouncil Sergius Paulus a man of intelligence

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Who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the Word of God? But Elemus the magician for that is the meaning of his name opposed them seeking to turn the procouncil away from the faith

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But Saul who was also called Paul Filled with the Holy Spirit looked intently at him and said you son of the devil you enemy of all righteousness

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Full of all deceit and villainy Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the

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Lord and now behold the hand of the Lord is upon you and you will Be blind and unable to see the

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Sun for a time Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand

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Then the procouncil believed when he saw what had occurred for he was astonished at the teaching of the

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Lord Now Paul and his companions set sail from pathos and came to Perga and Pamphylia and John left them and returned to Jerusalem But they went on from Perga and came to Antioch and Pisidia and on the

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Sabbath day They went into the synagogue and sat down after the reading from the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue

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Sent a message to them saying brothers if you have any word of exhortation for the people say it

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So Paul stood up and motioning with his hand said men of Israel and you who fear

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God listen the God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt and with uplifted arm, he led them out of it and For about 40 years he put up with them in the wilderness and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan He gave them their land as an inheritance all this took about four hundred and fifty years and after that He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet then they asked for a king and God gave them

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Saul the son of Kish a man of the tribe of Benjamin for 40 years and When he had removed him he raised up David to be their king of whom he testified and said

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I have found in David the son Of Jesse a man after my own heart who will do all my will

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Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior Jesus as he promised

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Before his coming John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel and as John was finished finishing his course

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He said what do you suppose who what do you suppose that I am? I am NOT he no

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But after me one is coming the sandals of whose feet I am NOT worthy to untie brothers son to the family of Abraham and those among you who fear

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God to us has been sent the message of this salvation for Those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every

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Sabbath day Fulfilled them by condemning him and though they found in him no guilt worthy of death

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They asked Pilate and to have him executed and when they had carried out all that was written of him

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They took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb But God raised him from the dead and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem Who are now his witnesses to the people and we bring you the good news that what

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God promised to the fathers? This he has fulfilled to us their children by raising

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Jesus as also it is written in the second Psalm You are my son Today I have begotten you and as for the fact that he raised him from the dead

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No more to return to corruption. He has spoken in this way. I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David Therefore he says also in another

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Psalm you will not let your Holy One see corruption For David after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation

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Fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption But he whom God raised up did not see corruption.

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Let it be known to you Therefore brothers that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you and by him

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Everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses Beware of therefore, that's what is said and the prophets should come about Look you scoffers be astounded and perish for I am doing a work in your days a work that you will not believe even if one tells it to you as they went out the people begged that these things be told them the next

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Sabbath and After the meeting of the synagogue broke up many Jews and devout converts to Judaism Followed Paul and Barnabas who as they spoke with them urged them to continue in the grace of God The next

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Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord But when the Jews saw the crowds they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul reviling him and Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly saying it was necessary that the

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Word of God be spoken first to you Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life behold

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We are turning to the Gentiles for so the Lord has commanded us saying I have made you a light for the

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Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth and when the Gentiles heard this they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the

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Lord and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed and The Word of the

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Lord was spreading throughout the whole region but the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the cities stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and Drove them out of their district but they shook off the dust from their feet against them went to Iconium and the disciples were filled with joy and with the

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Holy Spirit May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word Well, do you have an appointment any appointments for this week coming up?

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You know, most of our lives are are kind of regular or routine We have to be at the same places at the same time at least most for most people five days a week

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Maybe at school or the job We don't normally think of those as appointments. We might have a doctor's or dentist appointment

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At which we're supposed to be at their office at a specific time we schedule them or at least we kind of Negotiate the schedule mutual agreed upon time.

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So we like to think then we're in control of those appointments, right? We get to decide whether we can go to the doctor's office at such as time such as at the time

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But ever had something that reminds you that you're not really in control of your life

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That it is being scheduled for you You know most of the time if someone if the doctor just called you up and said be at my office 9 a .m.

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Tomorrow You know, we would know way no way. We're not cooperating. We're not going along with that We like to think we're kind of in control

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But ever had something that reminds you maybe you you're not in control and disappointments that you didn't arrange

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Well, there are divine appointments I Told this in Sunday school last week, but since some of you don't make an appointment to be there

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I'll tell it again in seminary in California I had a notable visiting professors well, very well respected visiting professor who was normally professor at Western, Kentucky University She's in Bowling Green.

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I was in seminary in Pasadena, California, but his name was William Lane Here's a he was a dynamic lecturer

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Went above and beyond the call of duty By inviting any interested students to meet with him and talk about any subject having to do with New Testament theology

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This is the class I took from him out in the out in the quad after classes to meet there and I Took advantage of the opportunity.

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I went and talked to him personally and I liked dr. Lane That was in 1988. I thought it was remark a remarkable coincidence if you believe in coincidence or a divine appointment that in 2003

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I got to preach at a church that he had been an interim pastor of in Bowling Green You know when he was a professor of there

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I remember asking about dr. Lane when I was there who by that time had already passed away Just a little over a week ago

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And Josh was graduation, you know as we're waiting for it to begin just kind of sitting in the arena there

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I hear a man directly behind me talking about Western, Kentucky University And I you know,

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I turn around and say hey I lived in Bowling Green for a for a year He introduced himself as so -and -so got his first name.

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Sorry, but so -and -so Lane and I commented Yeah, hey, you know, there was a famous professor at Western, Kentucky named

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William Lane and he said yeah, he was my father Well, I could see the resemblance now because he's like when

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I'm now He's about the age that that I remember his that I had met his father when he was my professor So 31 years after I had first met dr.

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Lane on the other side of the country in, California I happen to be sitting directly in front of his son watching dr.

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Lane's grandson graduate with my son I Don't know what

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I'm supposed to do with that. You know what what that means other than say just Wow But maybe that is the point.

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Maybe that's just Wow. Sometimes we need to do that We believe in God's invisible invisible hand orders all things and sometimes he makes his guiding so obvious It's just hard to miss

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What about you? Have you ever had things happen that you know our divine appointments?

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Maybe it's maybe more most of the time is more subtle than that Are you like you bump into somebody do you know at the store and you have an opportunity to share with them?

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They're at a particular time of need Something's happened and you have an encounter like that Maybe it's having a little extra money that you did you now have and that someone else?

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needs that Needs that has a need for that money and you're able to give it Maybe it's praying you pray for a but you want to just an opportunity to the witness to somebody

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And you go out to eat and you just happen to get a waiter or waitress There's just opens up about their spiritual life and their needs and ever had something like that happen

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Divine appointments are situations when God brought you and someone else together So that you could minister to them somehow

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Ever had that happen to you What do you think the odds are that we decided on a

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Friday in 2009 to buy this building After wrestling with whether it was

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God's will to buy it Knowing that if we did buy it we would not get

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The $1 ,200 a month that we've had been expecting had been promised by from another organization

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We think that we decided that on a Friday We think that you think it's just a coincidence that the very next day

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Saturday morning I get an email from a man who knew absolutely nothing about any of this pledging

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Can you guess how much? $1 ,200 Think the odds are that that happens

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I'm Sorry, they can't be here But more recently last summer on a Sunday morning as I'm I'm getting ready for church thinking about all that's going on early last summer

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I reached the cold Calculated conclusion you may be

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Surprised by this hopefully not discouraged, but I reached the conclusion just looking at things the

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Covenant is beginning a Death spiral like a plane lots an engine is just gonna crash

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And it's gonna dissolve That very morning. I just concluded that okay. It's just you know, I've got to be realistic

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You got to look at what's happening and that very morning I come To new people introduce themselves.

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Hi. My name is Robert. This is my wife Rachel I'm sorry, they can't be here today. They can listen to this I guess my first thought was actually my first thought was that's neat their names alliterate

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Robert Rachel I always hear things like that and then then that's my my other thought was

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Hmm, maybe I was wrong maybe God isn't done with us yet and Already that summer

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God had arranged for Joshua and to just by means we don't understand to be with that family in Huntsville, Alabama Which is good for for them.

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I think especially their son and good for Joshua leading to that baptism. We had last

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November There are divine appointments There are people though who believe that yeah, okay, okay, okay,

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God may make appointments, but it's like you and the doctor You know, you got both of you got to keep it. We got to cooperate

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It depends on us using our free will to work with what he wants that God sovereign

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You know this kind of the slogan goes around God has sovereignly decided not to be the sovereign

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But he's to leave his he leaves his plans Including his plans for the salvation of people up to whether we will choose to keep his appointments.

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I wonder though How could I have chosen not to sit in front of my old professor's son?

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How could I have stopped that I didn't know what's coming. How do I choose not to have the bees arrive that very day?

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Divine appointments are outside of our ability to affect them. And do you think that the most important thing?

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The success of God's plan to seek and save the lost that the mission that acts is about, you know

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Getting the gospel to the ends of the earth that that plan you really believe that God has made that plan

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Dependent on us on us making the right choices Or is it appointed?

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We see that here in four parts the separate second Cyprus third the sermon and the selected first the separate separate

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God says some people to especially work for the mission God has for all the church all the church is the mission

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But some people especially are needed to carry it out The church is meeting in those first three verses at least five key leaders were meeting

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Barnabas the son of encouragement. We've heard a lot about him already. Who's relocated now from Jerusalem to the now thriving church in Antioch That's where they're meeting in Antioch and he's moved there

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Simeon we don't know anything about him except that he's black that who's called Niger Niger's Latin means black

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Lucius which just tells us black people were part of the leadership of the church from the beginning Lucius is from Cyrene, which is in current -day

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Libya. You don't know anything else about him about that. Menian was from the aristocracy He was a high flyer.

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Otherwise, he was part of the former rulers staff It's like having a man in your church who used to be in the president's cabinet or something

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You know, I think was he was the secretary of the Treasury. Here's this guy something like that And Saul who we've already been introduced to and we're about to hear a lot more from him

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They were worshiping and they were seeking the will they were seeking God's will so as part of that they were abstaining from any distractions

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It might keep them from hearing the voice of God including food And the

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Holy Spirit speaks to them set apart for me separate to me

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Barnabas and Saul Notice first that that Barnabas is mentioned first He's more prominent, you know up to now

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Barnabas is he was this leader in Jerusalem. He's a leader He's a he's the leader here. Apparently the first among equals that kind of guy

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He's separate them set them apart from the rest of you from the rest of the church. They are distinct

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They are set aside for the special purpose That's not for everyone now Everyone may need to support this in one way maybe by giving money because they you know

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Paul and Barnabas are gonna need food as they travel around and that kind of thing But not everyone is called to that particular task and not even the all the rest of those other those other prophets and teachers

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Separate them for the work to which I have called them the Holy Spirit says so they are separated

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They are set apart not for a special status laid hands on them. It's not to give them a status now

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They get to wear special robes and be called great titles having a rank but is for a particular work the separation is for a task a

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Specific task that the Lord has called them to he has a divine appointment as many divine appointments for them

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There are two errors that Christians fall into when regarding Whatever you want to call it ordination clergy

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Special people in the church. There's kind of two errors and two extremes one is that there are that well

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Those are the ordained ones They're the holy ones they're the anointed they're some

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Some places they're even the priest and so they do all the work They do all the preaching and the teaching and the pastoring and the visiting and the encouraging and the correcting they do everything

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The rest of us just come and listen right That's called clerical ism

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Certain people the professionals are set aside for the work of the ministry and the rest of us really have nothing to do

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That's what we pay them for Obviously, we don't believe that that's why we encourage every member to be active in doing something, you know, sometimes we maybe we need to find something for some people to do but But we want you to take part and have some ministry of your own just to show that every member has something to contribute besides just money

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In this culture, I think clerical ism shows up in some churches when if there's a need someone

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You know is there's been a death in the family or whatever. Someone's in the hospital something's going on that instead of instead of thinking

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How can I meet this need? What can I do? they think What does it he do it what does the pastor do it that's what you're paying for It's also seen and instead of looking how

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I can serve the body some want to be You know if they want the status they want they want to be quote in the ministry

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And then they think either they're totally passive or they are Preachers they're pastors like there's no in -between they're doing nothing just sitting there listening or they're delivering sermons

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That's that's the way many people in our culture think so we have men in our culture here who are attracted to the ministry it seems to me

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I Be rough and say this about any one particular person But it seems to me that there some are attracted to ministry for the same reason that others are attracted to politics

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So they can be seen as somebody and we have a lot of people who want to preach

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And now are they set apart for that? Are they or do they just want the status the rank?

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To be seen as somebody The person who gets to speak Everyone else has to listen

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Right for the for their ego You know, it's hard to tell sometimes But I think there's some telltale signs if they won't relocate

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You know if it's really a call you're gonna you're gonna go where you can do the call if it's just like a hobby like Fishing you're not gonna relocate just to go fishing, right?

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If they won't relocate like Barnabas and Paul would Right here. They're both relocated. Barnabas is from Jerusalem Paul's from Tarsus They're in the

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Antioch and then they're about to go if they won't invest some time and getting trained like they did

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If they won't sacrifice much Then it may be that they're using the church to be the man to be somebody the other error

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Which I couldn't I couldn't find a term for it. So there's no real word for it. But the other error is

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That no one is separated for any special work That we're all called to the same roles in the body with the same authority

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We're just kind of each individual. We're not even a body really in their view. It's just we're all bodies unto ourselves

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We're the church is just a I don't know. There's no this is a place where Whoever can speak does their thing

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I guess and no one isn't appointed to do this or that they would often say Refer to the priesthood of believers and then they would take that to mean that we can all be preachers

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Whether or not you're gifted to be preachers. You want me to try that with singing? Priesthood of believers I can sing this special anyone wanted to hear that it didn't work with other things does it?

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But the priest but they will have to take the priesthood of believers and think well that can be that I can be the preacher the pastor there's actually no title of our position of Preacher in the

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Bible you understand that preachers are something you do It's pastor is the role anyway when we were back in Singapore in 2015

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We spoke briefly with a pastor of a Plymouth Brethren Church Plymouth Brethren don't believe in pastors Maybe you want to figure out how that works

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But so it's kind of odd but when they do have one and often many of them have come to realize they need pastors

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But most of them are essentially administrators who don't usually do the preaching

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They have guest preachers all the time And he said that because we believe in the priesthood of believers so far so good.

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I'm with you I'm with you so far then he said that means that we don't have a preaching pastor a man set apart for that special role

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And I was thinking I didn't say anything because I'm gonna be nice, but Oh total logical failure a

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Non -sequitur it does not follow Okay, that that makes no sense.

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We're all priests before God. Therefore we can all preach. Okay, try that with singing We're all priests before God so we can all sing you ever heard me, you know, it's not true.

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I can prove it And but so it doesn't follow with preaching either Yes All believers are priest and that we all have free access to God were justified by the high priestly work of Christ sure

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But that doesn't mean that some members in the church are not set apart for some special Purposes a work like here being missionaries or like being a pastor who regularly preaches the word now in this culture

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This undifferentiated idea of the body. I don't know what you call it laicism

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The other is clerical ism is lazy whatever that we're all just detached bodies unto ourselves that there really is any body with different parts for different people that the church is a

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Restaurant we go to in the pastors the chef and that shows itself in the common thinking That maybe

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I don't need a pastor. I Can be a pastor myself, so I don't need one for poor me.

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I'm pastor unto myself I can be my own pastor, you know what they say about Benjamin Franklin I think he said he about lawyers said he was himself for his lawyer has a fool for a client

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You know the same is true for pastors, by the way, so you have a shelf for your pastor Yeah, you have a bad church member, but they would they would think pastors kind like a restaurant

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I you know, if I don't I can stay home and eat I could cook for myself What I need to go somewhere.

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I'll have someone else cook for me I'll stay home make my own dinner like some people homeschool their kids.

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They'll home church. That's a new term I heard recently home church, which is contradiction in terms church means assembly

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I'm not assembling by not assembly. I'm going to the non assembly. It doesn't make any sense or maybe even if some people think

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You know some something they may think well some people like my cooking or my preaching I'll start my own restaurant church of my own.

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There's no one called. There's no one set apart Separated they think to be a pastor a shepherd or elder over over me.

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We're all just free agents Drifting here and there accountable to no one because no one there's no one called to be accountable to It's a shame we don't have a word for that because it's very common around here, isn't it?

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Now here we see that both those are wrong The church in Antioch had members all of whom were disciples and these five leaders were recognized as either prophets or teachers or both

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Barnabas and Saul were even more especially recognized not for a rank or a fancy title, you know the right reverend.

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Dr. Barnabas It's not for that but for a work To do something and for that work in verse 3 there in set off With the church's blessing and they go on from one divine appointment to another as we will see

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Next is Cyprus that large island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea And we're not told why they go there except I guess they're led by the

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Holy Spirit sure it's also Barnabas's home Barnabas is from Cyprus. So maybe he wants to start out in familiar territory

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They start on the east side of the island That's where that first city is mentioned is in the east side

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They land there and they go from synagogue synagogue. They go through the whole island They have John Mark with them as an assistant.

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They cover the island and end up on the west side So they go over the whole place the capital city then is the

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West pathos there they have two divine appointments waiting for them one with another magician or Sorcerer, what do you want to call them?

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So the second magician and book of Acts remember like Simon in Samaria chapter 8 Well this magician here in and pathos on Cyprus.

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It's called bar. Jesus bar means son of and Jesus actually means salvation.

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So he is son of Salvation that's his Lisa's Hebrew name and elements. It's also called

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Luke calls him a false prophet Like Simon who you know got his living in a claim by being seen as somebody great

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Well, this guy this bar Jesus son of salvation guy has a very cozy relationship

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With the governor of the island or the pro council is the term with whom they with whom this governor they have a

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The other divine appointment the pro council is named Sergius Paulus He heard about Barnabas and Saul and he summons them

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To tell him their message. What's this? You know, you heard about this message there. These new guys are bringing I want to hear it and he's being a man of intelligence

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Well, he takes a liking to the gospel He's he's he's he's he's favorable to it, but elements

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Sees this and he's right actually he sees us as a threat to his livelihood You know, he figured say if Sergius Paulus starts believing what these guys are saying, he's not gonna listen to me anymore

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So he's probably slandering them. He's arguing with them He's making up whatever he could to poison the mind of Sergius Paulus against Barnabas and Saul To turn him away from the faith

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Did maybe just to confuse him throwing up all kinds of irrelevant things just to get in his way in verse 8 and so Paul so Saul It's not called

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Paul yet. So Saul in verse 9 also called now we're told he's also called is the second name

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Like a lot of Chinese people in America. They have their Chinese name and then maybe have the English name He has his

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Hebrew name Saul and he apparently has also a Gentile name Paul and now after he meets and it now he is combating for the soul of Sergius Paulus Saul is also called

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Paul and Will always be called Paul from here on out after this divine appointment with a polis

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After starting to focus on the Gentiles, he is filled with the Holy Spirit So he's not losing his temper in case you've wondered if he's that's what's behind this

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Here's what he says. He looks at the saucer says he looked directly at him and states, you know, he's not typing this on You know cowardly

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Keyboard warrior he's saying it right in his face you son of the devil. Otherwise, he's not Son of salvation.

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He's not bar Jesus son of salvation. He's son of the adversary you enemy of all righteousness full of deceit and Villainy or the word could be fraudulence

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You're a fraud. Maybe he wasn't even a little sorcery He's just like a you know slight of hand guy make things look like their magic when they really weren't

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That's who he is. He's an opponent He's a fraud and he asked him will you not stop making? Crooked or perverted the straight paths of the

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Lord the straight paths of the Lord lead to faith in Christ People who teach that we can have faith in something else

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Maybe our religion our morality our our law keeping in magic Whatever say you've got to do this ritual and that really belong to this organization, whatever

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They make them crooked elements. The magician is trying to confuse Sergius Paulus so we won't see those straight paths

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Will he stop? trying to confuse muddy the water obfuscate

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Willie We don't we don't know but since that's what he's doing

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Paul says the hand of the Lord is upon you for judgment

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So since he's trying to keep Sergius Paulus blind to the truth He will be physically blind unable to see the

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Sun for a time in verse 11 You know if you're so blind, you can't even see sunlight

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You're totally blind so immediately it says mist and darkness fell upon him and He who had tried to mislead

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Sergius Paulus Now needs to be led This was another power encounter the power of God Meeting the power of other so -called gods claims to be

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God Satan demons sorcery the occult Whatever it is The Bible doesn't say that all those claims are fraudulent

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Pharaoh's magicians were able to copy some of the plagues on Egypt Satan can't can't have real power

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That's why we shouldn't play with Satan with magic or seances or anything occult as though as though we're nothing

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But the Lord's power is greater when they meet God's power overcomes

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Satan's power the Apostle Paul here triumphs over the the magician elements

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Well next there's the sermon Notice by the way, what's already happened on this trip?

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They come into Cyprus It was look what's Changed from the time they landed on the east side of Cyprus walked all the way through it and they leave from the west side

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By ship going up to what we would now call Turkey when they came in verse 13

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I don't know in here when they came earlier They were Barnabas and Saul and here now as they're leaving in verse 13.

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They are Paul and his companions Paul is now clearly the leader and they leave

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Cyprus and sail to Perga and There John Mark leaves them Paul will have a lot more to say about that They go inland north

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Upward to another Antioch. This is a different Antioch than the one they started at this one is in the middle of current -day

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Turkey and They go to the synagogue is their custom and after the law and the prophets were read there They're invited to speak in case you're wondering they didn't just crash into synagogues and speak unpermitted

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They they were given permission, you know brothers if you have any word of encouragement for the Lord say it so with that Paul gives one of his faith his major sermons in the book of Acts from verses 17 to 41 and There are two major things we won't go through this like verse by verse

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There's a lot in there But there's two major things to notice about this sermon that just stand out One is

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God's activity his appointments and second is Paul's consistency with earlier sermons in Acts How he's carrying on from before he's not breaking with what's before first The emphasis is on God's gracious initiative

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He how he is the active one Notice how God is the subject the active one taking the initiative over and over again as Paul speaks in verse 17

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Paul says the God of this people Israel Chose he chose

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God chose our fathers and God made the people great with uplifted arm he

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Led them out. They didn't break out themselves in verse 18. He God Put up with them in the wilderness

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His forbearance, you know with their sins all that trials and verse at 19.

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He God Gave them their land in verse 20.

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He God gave them judges in verse 21 God gave them

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Saul in verse 22 He God removed Saul. He God raised up David in verse 23

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God brought to Israel a Savior Jesus Jesus was foretold by someone they probably heard about in Asia Minor But he was very famous very renowned all over the place

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John the Baptist He said one is coming after him who sandals. He is not worthy to untie

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If Jesus came after him The second thing to notice about this sermon is how much of how much it is like the previous sermons we've heard in acts like from Peter and from on the day of Pentecost and Stephen when he was on trial

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The servant sermon comes in two halves the first half versus 17 to 25 is like Stephen's speech

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Remember Stephen's long speech how he recounts the history of Israel our El Shaddai song did a little of that today

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He recounts the history of Israel and like Stephen Paul recounts that history both showing that God had been working graciously

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He God had been taking the initiative, but they had tried him. They had resisted the Holy Spirit God had to put up with them and then the second half of Paul's sermon from verse 26 in the one word

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Where Paul, you know, he began kind of begins again grabs their attention brothers sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear

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God Now there was Gentiles who are who are believing in the Lord like like Peter in the second half

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Paul quotes some of the same passages. They both quote Psalm 16 and Paul uses the

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Old Testament in the same way That Peter did to point to Jesus like Peter Paul recounts how

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Jesus was killed for Peter speaking in Jerusalem just soon after Jesus had been raised You crucified and killed him killed

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Jesus for Paul speaking in Asia Minor in verse 27 for those Who lived in Jerusalem and their rulers?

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Because they did not recognize him or understand the utterances of the prophets. That's interesting. It's a lot in there think of that They did not understand

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The utterances of the prophets like we like we just sang though his word contained the plan.

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They did not understand And notice how he insists that the Old Testament testifies about Jesus They did not understand the utterance of the prophets that they were about Jesus.

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He just says You know, it's not my interpretation. We interpret the Old Testament like this. No, that's what it's about.

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He's saying If you don't see that You don't see

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Jesus in the Old Testament It's because you don't understand it You don't see what it is really saying

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And notice something amazing about verse 27. I just read Paul says that Because they didn't understand the prophets, you know, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets

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Like what we saw in Isaiah 53 Because they didn't see Jesus there that it was about him because they didn't understand it they fulfilled it

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You think about that because they did not understand it they fulfilled it their inability to understand prophecy

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Led to their fulfilling prophecy. They didn't find him guilty, but they had

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Jesus killed Anyway in verse 29, they carried out all that was written of him They took him down dead from when he saw the tree thus cursed they laid him in a tomb.

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He's dead But in verse 30 again, God Subject to the verb the active one

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God raised him up in Acts chapter 2 verse 32 when Peter says

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We it means him and the other the others on the day of Pentecost Were all witnesses that he was raised here in verse 31

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Jesus appeared to his witnesses Paul says he's not talking about himself. He's talking about Peter and the others

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Those who follow Jesus from from Galilee to Jerusalem his disciples like Peter they are now Paul says his witnesses

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Jesus's witnesses He's he's he Paul is not saying he's one of those witnesses, but he is now a messenger.

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We bring you the good news That what God promised to the fathers What he's promised this he has fulfilled

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He's done it now Waiting for it to be fulfilled when he comes again, it has been fulfilled to us their children by raising

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Jesus Then just like Peter in Acts chapter 2 Paul argues, you know the phrase the sentence you will not let your

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Holy One see corruption, which is from which is from Psalm 16 He says, you know that Psalm was written by David.

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Some people say well David talking about himself Remember Peter said no

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Peter we have David's tomb with us It could not and Paul is saying the same thing here

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David could not have been talking about himself because David died and was buried his tomb was still occupied

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Paul says he saw corruption It's the same argument exact same argument that Peter used the

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Psalm 16 is about Christ So since he's the Holy One that the Psalm is about He's the one who brings you forgiveness of sins by him in verse 39 through Jesus.

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Everyone who believes is freed From everything from which you could not be freed from by the law of Moses The law can show you your sin

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But it can't release you from it The law shows you your shows you your need of a

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Savior But it can't save you so Paul concludes a lot like Stephen Beware Lest you resist the

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Holy Spirit Lest you stiffen your neck in verse 42 beware

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Let's you scoff Thinking all this that's the old stuff. That's old ladies religion.

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That's boring stuff I don't care unless you scoff because you will if you do you'll perish because God has done something new in Christ they've had their divine appointment

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Now will they believe it Now we do all that to show how much

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Paul's sermons like Peter's and Stephen's he's picking up from where they left off That he's to show that Paul is not inventing something new

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He's not making a break from the past that he's not How can

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I re -say that this is Continuing on from exactly from what Peter and Stephen in the church before him said he's perfectly in harmony with them he's preaching the same message and So from now on as we're following Paul in the book of Acts We're just continuing from what came before.

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This is not a break. It's a continuation And so many of you think well, what happened to Peter though?

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Does Peter now just kind of fades away we'll hear from him in chapter 15, but that's about it. He's disappear

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And don't think what happened to him Well, remember Peter was given the keys of the kingdom Matthew chapter 16 over Jesus He said you are the

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Christ the son of the Living God Jesus says to him you you are Peter which means rock and on this rock

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I will build my church and you have the keys of the kingdom Unlike a lot of evangelicals

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I'm willing to concede that Jesus was talking about Peter the Peters that rock that he has the keys of the kingdom and acts though shows us

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What Jesus meant Peter is the leader of the church in chapter one?

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He leaves the church to replace Judas he's the one with the keys that open the door on the day of Pentecost He's the one who speaks and many flood in opens the door

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He's the one Peter's the one who slams the door on Ananias and Sapphira He opens it for the

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Samaritans in chapter 8 Remember, they won't even they don't see the Holy Spirit until he comes up there and prays for them

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He lets them into the church in chapter 10. It's Peter who God uses to open the church to the

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Gentiles But oddly enough if you remember last week in chapter 11 as the doors were opened to let him out of prison he nods to James as the prominent man in the

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Jerusalem Church By chapter 15, we'll see that James is the leader of the church in Jerusalem and for the rest of the book of Acts We're following Paul not

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Peter Peter sure he had the keys of the kingdom But his role by now is over.

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He opened some key doors But that role didn't last a lifetime It certainly didn't create a quote chair of st.

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Peter in office of the papacy He didn't create some kind of institution this passed down, you know from one

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One person to another no, there's nothing like that didn't even last his whole lifetime. He was key before time

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Peter opened the door And now Paul walks through it The work of fulfilling

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God's mission is dynamic. It is and the literal sense of the term charismatic a product of God's Terrace is grace.

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It's not institutional. It's not hierarchical It's not about offices and chairs and you know in rank and people in positions and you got to be in line with the right institution

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The Positions that are conferred through through a rigid organization

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Have passed down like that. No, it's it's spiritual It's done by God's Spirit by him raising up men like like Paul and Barnabas from fasting and praying leaders

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Who are not looking for rank or for titles, but are willing to go to work listening to the voice of the

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Spirit Beginning of listening Paul's audience like what they heard and so they begged to verse 42 for Paul to come back next week and tell them more and Many of them many of them followed

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Paul and Barnabas and Paul and Barnabas urged them says they urged them to continue in The grace of God in verse 43, but the next week when they show up by popular demand

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Paul and Barnabas, you know attracted a crowd word had gotten out that they had exciting news The crowds packed the place standing room only overflowing

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Some of the organs so the organizational people now the religious people the institutional people we've got to guard the sanctity of this

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Synagogue this institution knowing that they can hardly they can you know They can hardly get a handful to show up on most

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Sabbaths now. These guys have packed it So they're jealous Now Paul was making them look bad

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Hey, you know some guys the head honcho there was thinking what's wrong with me, you know I I speak here almost every

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Sabbath and they don't like me and this guy comes and they're packing the place makes me look bad So they argue with him.

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They they tried to contradict him probably bring me out old whatever nonsensical arguments about Isaiah 53

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It's really it's really not about Jesus. It's about You know, whatever Israel corporately or Somehow and and they would make up whatever they could about Paul.

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He's a blasphemer He's a fraud. They said they didn't really care about the truth. It just says they're motivated by jealousy

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They just cared that how they were being made to look and so Paul and Barnabas said It was necessary that the

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Word of God be spoken first to you Since you trust to decide and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life by not believing in Jesus Behold We are turning to the

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Gentiles and then they quote Isaiah 49 Which is that second servant song that we looked at last just last month when it two months ago

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I have made you a light for the Gentiles That you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth

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Does that sound familiar the ends of the earth? What acts is about right? We're getting the gospel to the ends of the earth

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Well, the sermon as steeped as it was in the Old Testament in Jewish history leads them to the

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Gentiles the sermon Leads them to the selected

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What makes the difference you think? What makes the difference between those who heard this sermon and scoffed at it?

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Who turned against it and Paul who preached it on the one hand? I mix the difference between them

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And on the other hand those who believed it those who loved it those who had faith because of it what's the crucial difference between the two groups of people

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Intelligence open -mindedness or something else Well the

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Gentiles the non -jewish people of Antioch and Pisidia they heard this That now they're turning to the

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Gentiles. They were glad they're happy for themselves So they glorified the Word of the Lord glorified.

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They made much of it They declared it was great and in verse 48 verse 48 the key verse look at verse 48 many believed

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So the Word of the Lord was spreading from there this one city to the whole region around it's going out

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People are getting converted converted. They're hearing it. Maybe they're just traveling through they go to the little towns out the villages

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They spread it to people there but others in verse 50 Including devout women

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Look out for the devout women sometimes devout women of high standing Religious people aristocratic people

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Some with some money they have they have something to lose. They liked Society as it is.

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They're the proper people the leading men he says They stirred up persecution

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Encouraged the government to cause Paul and Barnabas some trouble and eventually they drive them away so what's the key difference between those who

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Rejoice in the gospel and we're glad because I want to make much of the Word of God who love it who cherish it and who?

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Take the opportunities to hear it to share it with others to follow it Who organize their lives around it?

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What's the difference between them on the one hand those believers? and on the other hand

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Those who reject it to revile it who suppress it teach contrary to it to make up whatever excuses they can to speak against it a few might hate

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Jesus Will say that but others, you know few really very few people do that Most will say something like you know,

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Jesus is a good teacher. Sure. There are a lot of good teachers Here in this culture. Maybe they're saying yeah,

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Plato was a good teacher Socrates was a good teacher Okay, Jesus is one of them. Maybe you could say Confucius was a good teacher

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Buddha was a good teacher I mean as long as you're moral you're a good family person. You're a decent neighbor. That's all that matters

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They are they maybe they argue it against it like that Or maybe they're just bored with it

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That's the way some people in our culture argue against it. They're so disinterested. They're just unchallenged by it

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They don't bother to argue against it. Hey, just stay home and watch TV Or they think it's not nearly as important as Making a few more dollars on Sunday morning their statement, which they would never say with their mouths

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Is that Jesus isn't as valuable as? Whatever cash I can gather at that time or maybe they do go to church since they're the social kind and They have nothing better to do on Sunday morning, but they don't really choose to believe in and follow

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Jesus. What makes the difference? between those and The real believers who know that Jesus demands my life my soul

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My all who are filled like here with joy by the gospel. What's the crucial difference between the two?

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Free will Well verse 48 tells us tells us as plain as they possibly could

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What's the difference a Divine appointment Being selected

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Paul preached and some reviled some believed why did they believe because notice the second half of the verse as Many that means all of them as many as were appointed

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All of all who were appointed as many as who were appointed to eternal life believed

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Who made the appointment by the way You know it notice it does not say as many as made an appointment to eternal life, you know called up God I'd like to be saved in such a such a time.

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No, it doesn't say that The appointment was made for them. They were appointed Like meeting someone totally beyond your control

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God made an appointment and eternity passed It's so and so Would be saved

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He ordained that they would have eternal life he enrolled them in the book of life from before creation and That book that book of life.

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It's also an appointment book a little time their name appointment time When the faith will show up So he makes an appointment that everyone enrolled in it all those that he selected will believe at a certain time

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Because of Whatever God is appointed to happen. Someone knocks on their door shares the gospel a book, they happen to pick up like for me a book happened to pick up in the high school library public school a

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Parent or a preacher sharing the gospel with them. Maybe they read the Bible for themselves

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They don't believe because they made themselves believe they believe because They have a divine appointment

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They were selected to believe that's the crucial difference between those who believe and those who don't a

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Divine appointment as many as were appointed to eternal life believed

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Have you had a divine appointment if not yet We can't manufacture it

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Okay, we can't gin it up for the right combination of emotional pleading and the organ softly playing just as I am

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We can't we just say we can't do that. We do not have the power It's between you and the

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Holy Spirit We can tell you the good news That through Jesus you can have forgiveness of sins.

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We can warn you like Paul warn these people. Don't be a scoffer Don't be a resistor. Don't be bored

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We can encourage you Seek and continue in the grace of God Because it's grace that makes that crucial difference.

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It's by grace that he makes those appointments so know that believe that and if you do now