Participants: Jeffery Rosario
Series Code: 13GYC
Program Code: 13GYC000014
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00:14 I want to invite you to pray with me tonight
00:18 as we close our three part series. 00:21 I'm gonna kneel, 00:22 I just invite you to bow your heads with me... 00:26 as we ask the Lord to make this time 00:29 together useful in edifying. 00:33 Let's pray together. 00:37 Father in heaven, all we want to praise You 00:41 for the awesome privilege of holding in our hands 00:46 the very oracles of God. 00:48 Lord we want to thank You 00:50 for having access to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:55 Father, as we have been meeting here, 00:58 as we've been gathering day after day, 01:02 we pray our prayer is that in heaven 01:06 this is all whether in song, whether in prayer, 01:09 whether in testimony, 01:11 whether through the foolishness of preaching 01:13 that I would bring a smile to your face. 01:16 Lord, our desire is to bring glory, 01:21 to bring glory to You. 01:23 Tonight Lord as we open, as we open your word, 01:28 I pray that the Holy Spirit 01:30 would take this ink on this paper 01:34 and send it straight into our hearts. 01:40 Father, I need the spirit to make this time useful. 01:43 I don't have the ability Lord to get the job done tonight. 01:50 I just pray for the spirit to be 01:51 with us in a special way. 01:55 And once again I pray 01:56 that you would occupy our minds 01:59 and then you would send extra angels in here 02:03 so that we would receive 02:04 what You are trying to present to us. 02:09 We ask these things in a precious 02:11 and glorious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. 02:16 Happy Sabbath by the way. 02:18 I'm the last one to get to say that-- 02:21 We were close the sacred hours of the Sabbath 02:23 during this sermon, so happy Sabbath 02:25 to you one last time. 02:28 Recap. 02:30 We began by looking at the basic framework 02:34 for this amazing declaration before men and angels. 02:39 The Apostle Paul 02:42 wants the Christian community to be aware. 02:45 He wants to raise awareness that the church is a spectacle, 02:52 that the church is on display. 02:55 And the reason he wants us to be aware of that is 02:57 because he wants us to be aware 02:59 that the world is watching. 03:04 Since the world is watching, 03:05 it matters what the world sees. 03:07 Can you say amen to that? 03:09 Because what the world sees, 03:12 how the world perceives us determines 03:16 how it will perceive him. 03:20 Yes, I could if I chose, 03:23 just be faithful to God and do my thing 03:25 and be loyal to God and not care about 03:28 what it looks like out there, 03:29 but that would not capture God's bigger vision, 03:32 because if I love God, I'm concerned for 03:35 how He is perceived. 03:37 Amen. 03:39 And therefore this paradigm, 03:41 this dynamic in the theology of Paul 03:45 becomes very, very challenging because as long as the church 03:48 can keep that in focus, 03:52 then the church could fulfill its mission. 03:54 God called Israel, elected Israel 03:58 as the church of the old testament 03:59 in order for Israel to be spectacle, a magnate. 04:03 God inaugurated a brand new fresh culture 04:09 into human civilization and He called it Israel 04:13 and in this culture, within this culture which, 04:16 you know, the sociologists tells us the culture 04:18 is the collection or the set or the grouping of ideals, 04:26 values, customs, traditions of a people group 04:30 and they express those ideals, 04:32 they express those values 04:34 and those customs through their literature, 04:36 through their music, through their food, 04:38 through all the different various 04:40 aspects of society and culture, 04:42 so this culture was to be put on display, 04:45 so that when the gentiles rub shoulders, 04:48 when the gentiles get exposed to Hebrew culture, 04:52 it will blow their mind 04:54 and they will through observation say wow! 04:57 What are we doing over here, that is awesome? 05:01 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 05:02 That was the whole point. 05:03 The story of the Old Testament 05:05 from the call of Abraham in Genesis Chapter 12 05:07 all the way through to Malachi is the long story, 05:10 history of the bumpy and messy journey 05:14 of the church wrestling and trying to figure out 05:18 what that thing looks like in reality. 05:24 Last night we turned the page because the church failed 05:30 and Jesus came to pick up where the church left off. 05:34 Jesus launches this new movement, 05:36 this fresh culture into 1st century Rome, 05:40 the Roman Empire and this new movement 05:43 is called Christianity and this new movement 05:46 was to continue this legacy, 05:48 this heritage that began at the call of Abraham. 05:50 God is looking for representation on earth. 05:53 He has put His very reputation 05:56 in the hands of frail human beings, 06:02 so Paul shows up in Acts Chapter 19 06:06 to the city of Ephesus 06:07 which is a cultural center in the Roman Empire. 06:11 Paul shows up to Ephesus and he begins in the synagogue 06:15 where he preaches for some three months. 06:18 The church doesn't want to hear it. 06:21 Paul rents a room somewhere, 06:23 some where in town and he begins 06:26 painting the picture of the kingdom of Jesus. 06:30 In the course of just two years 06:33 he Ephesian paganism is going bankrupt. 06:39 There's a riot in Ephesus. 06:43 They sent people to look for Paul, 06:45 they can't find Paul, but unfortunately 06:47 they find two of Paul's buddies 06:48 walking down the street one day and they grab them 06:51 and they drag them into this big old stadium, 06:54 this big theater. 06:57 And in this theater, these two guys, 06:59 representatives of Paul, 07:00 representatives of the Christian message 07:02 are put on display. 07:04 They are made a spectacle before Ephesian society 07:08 and it's fascinating as I alluded 07:09 to last night that the word-- 07:11 that word is only found 07:13 three times in the entire Bible, 07:14 that word theatron 07:16 where we get the word spectacle from. 07:17 That word is found three times in scripture, 07:20 one time in 1st Corinthians 4 and the other two places 07:24 where you find this word is in Acts Chapter 19. 07:27 in this very instance where these disciples 07:31 are in the stadium and there's a huge riot. 07:33 Why's there a riot? 07:34 Because people are getting nervous, 07:36 because the Ephesians 07:38 are losing confidence in their ways. 07:40 They are losing confidence in their culture. 07:43 They are losing confidence in their religion. 07:46 They are losing confidence in their picture of the gods. 07:49 Why? 07:51 It wasn't because Paul directly 07:53 came into town to attack Ephesian paganism. 07:58 Paul didn't come into town with his boys 08:00 and throw dirt at society or at culture. 08:05 The Bible tells us that they could not be 08:07 accused of such things. 08:11 Which is very powerful because the reason 08:13 that the gospel was able to triumph in Ephesus 08:16 is simply because Paul was presenting 08:18 some thing even better than one Ephesus had to offer. 08:22 He didn't have to open his mouth 08:24 to say anything else because he presented 08:27 the truths of Christianity, the truth of the gospel 08:30 in such a compelling and accurate in beautiful way 08:34 that it wasn't even necessary to say 08:36 anything else and, and-- 08:40 and the temple in Ephesus came tumbling down. 08:47 We read how the clerk of that city 08:50 had to storm into the stadium to save these two poor guys. 08:52 He makes his big speech explaining 08:55 that these men are innocent 08:56 and then at the end of it he says look, 08:57 if you guys have any real evidence 08:59 against these Christians, bring it to court, 09:02 you know the system. 09:03 If not, shut up and get out of here. 09:06 That's essentially what happens 09:08 at the end of the Acts Chapter 19. 09:09 The people are taken out of the stadium 09:12 and the next thing tha you read in the Book of Acts 09:15 is that Paul packs his bags 09:18 because the Holy Spirit looks at his watch and he says, 09:20 okay, Paul, your work here is done. 09:23 The rest of these boys will take care of this town. 09:25 Now it's time for you to move on, 09:27 because they're not finished 09:29 conquering the Mediterranean world. 09:31 So now we enter into Acts Chapter 20 09:35 where Paul now is leaving this scene in Ephesus 09:41 and now he is going on the scenic traveling journey, 09:44 this missionary journey. 09:46 He is going to Jerusalem but on his way to Jerusalem, 09:51 he makes different stops to visit different churches 09:54 that he have founded in order to encourage 09:56 the saints and remind them what this thing is all about. 10:00 So in Acts Chapter 20 you find Paul having a meeting 10:02 with Ephesian elders and he is praying 10:04 and they are crying 10:06 and they are saying their goodbyes 10:08 and Paul's gone and in Acts Chapter 21, 10:11 Paul arrives in Jerusalem. 10:14 Everybody warned him, don't go to Jerusalem. 10:16 Paul, do not go to Jerusalem. 10:20 The scene is not friendly back home. 10:23 The rumors have been traveling very, very quickly. 10:26 People are beginning to get very nervous about you. 10:30 Don't go back to Jerusalem. 10:32 And Paul says, God has called me 10:35 to go back to Jerusalem. 10:37 So Paul enters his journey and he eventually 10:40 gets to Jerusalem. 10:41 When he arrives in Jerusalem, the brethren, 10:44 the church that receives them says, 10:46 Paul, we need you to make a very loud statement 10:50 to the brethren here in the city. 10:52 They are getting nervous that you are teaching 10:54 some new thing, you are teaching 10:55 some new doctrines, we need you to demonstrate 10:59 that they have nothing to be worried about 11:02 that you are upholding, that you are upholding truth, 11:05 so they basically convince him to go into the temple 11:08 and just basically make himself visibly known 11:12 that he is supportive. 11:14 Right? 11:16 And this is where we pick up our story. 11:18 I'm trying to just show you that this is-- 11:20 we are just following the narrative from Ephesus 11:26 back to Jerusalem and as I begin to read, 11:29 I want you to notice the intentional parallels 11:33 that Luke is framing here. 11:35 When you read this in Acts Chapter 21 11:37 about Paul in Jerusalem, 11:39 Luke wants you to have Ephesus on the back of your mind 11:43 and you'll see what I mean by that. 11:44 There's another temple here that is in danger. 11:49 There's another riot here that takes place. 11:52 There's another official that has to storm 11:55 in to stop the riot. 11:56 You have two temples, two riots, 12:00 two systems of belief that are going bankrupt 12:03 only because of the gospel that Paul is preaching. 12:05 Okay. 12:06 If you are in Acts Chapter 21 and if you are in verse 26, 12:11 I need to hear a loud amen. Amen. Okay. 12:14 That's my permission to read Acts Chapter 21 12:16 and I'm beginning from verse 26 and let's follow the story here 12:19 and see what the Holy Ghost has for us here. 12:23 Paul took the men companions with him 12:28 and the next day, having been purified with them, 12:31 going through different ceremonies, 12:33 they entered the temple to announce 12:36 the expiration of the days of purification, 12:40 at which time in offering should be 12:42 made for each one of them." 12:44 Verse 27, "Now when the seven days 12:46 were almost ended, the Jews from Asia." 12:50 Now stop right there the Jews from where. 12:52 Where is Asia? 12:54 Now you know in scripture 12:55 we are not speaking of our Eastern Asia 12:58 as we think of. 12:59 We are thinking of the Asian province of Rome. 13:02 We are talking about Turkey, we are talking about Ephesus. 13:06 They are Jews that are in Jerusalem 13:09 this very moment and they are walking 13:11 by the temple and they look inside 13:13 and they're like ooh, is that Paul? 13:18 Watch what happens? 13:20 They recognized Paul and seeing him, 13:24 verse 27, "They are seeing him in the temple, 13:26 they stirred up the whole crowd" 13:29 and they did what? 13:30 What does your Bible say? "They laid hands on him." 13:32 I want you to notice that 13:33 because the first guy that lays his hands 13:38 on Paul from that very second that's the last time 13:43 in the entire Bible in the entire record of Acts 13:46 that Paul is a free man. 13:48 The minute the first guy touches him, 13:50 from that second all the way, 13:52 read through the entire book of Acts 13:54 Paul is in custody, 13:55 Paul is a prisoner from that very second, okay. 13:59 They catch him in the temple. They make a big scene of it. 14:02 Why are they making a big stir about it? 14:05 Why are they making a big scene of it? 14:07 Verse 28 describes what is the nature of this riot. 14:12 We're not in Ephesus any more. 14:14 We are back home. We are in Jerusalem? 14:16 We are back in the headquarters. 14:18 Verse 28, "They are crying out." 14:21 And what do they cry out. "Men of Israel help." 14:27 Get the visual guys. 14:29 By the way this will make an amazing movie. 14:32 They are holding on to Paul and they're like help, 14:34 help there's like 8, 9 guys grabbing on Paul. 14:37 First of all Paul and the scholars tell us 14:41 Paul wasn't a big dude, right? 14:43 Paul is worn and torn, he is not putting up a fight 14:46 and they're like help, help us 14:48 and they are grabbing on to Paul 14:49 and they are men of Israel help. 14:51 This is the guy, I'm in verse 28. 14:54 This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against. 14:59 Okay, now I want you to listen here carefully 15:02 'cause this is the whole thing, this is the whole show. 15:04 This is the guy that has traveled 15:07 the world teaching against. 15:11 Okay, there are three things that they will mention. 15:15 There are three things, there are three accusations 15:18 that Paul is teaching against. 15:21 There are three things that Paul is attacking. 15:25 There are three things 15:26 that they are very nervous about. 15:31 What are those three things? 15:33 They are teaching against the people. 15:36 They are teaching against the law 15:39 and he is teaching against this place. 15:43 The people, the law, and this place. 15:47 Can you guys say it would be helpful to me 15:48 if you say that with me, the people, 15:52 the law, and this place. 15:54 Say one more time, the people, the law, and this place. 16:01 In other words the people identity, 16:04 the law, the message, 16:08 this place they are talking about the temple. 16:10 They are on the temple precincts. 16:12 This place the temple, so their place in the world, 16:17 okay, so their identity, their message 16:21 and their place in the world, can you say that one with me. 16:24 Their identity, their message 16:28 and their place in the world the people, 16:30 the law, this place, our identity our message 16:35 and our place in this world. 16:39 This is very profound to me because the follow up 16:43 from Ephesus here is very interesting. 16:45 Ephesus tells us everything about 16:48 Christianity in action in paganism. 16:52 And now back in Jerusalem this is Christianity 16:55 in action in the Judeo-Christian context, okay. 16:59 Ephesus is out there in the world. 17:01 Jerusalem is back home in church. 17:05 Now let's break these down one by one. 17:10 This is the guy who teaches against the people. 17:12 Now who are the people? 17:13 Who do you assume that they are speaking about? 17:20 It wasn't a trick question. 17:23 The Jews right, they are speaking about Israel. 17:26 This is the guy that speaks against Israel. 17:29 No way, Paul wasn't speaking about 17:34 Israel or against Israel. 17:35 Paul wasn't teaching against the people. 17:38 Paul wasn't attacking the nation of Israel. 17:42 Wasn't it Paul that loved the Jews passionately. 17:47 Wasn't it Paul in Romans, what is it in Chapter 9 17:50 that says, actually I'm going to read 17:51 that very quickly to you here. 17:53 Very quickly, you don't have to follow me 17:55 just believe me, just trust me 17:58 as you are not supposed to trust any preacher. 18:01 Romans 9:1 I tell the truth in Christ, 18:04 I'm not lying, my conscience bearing me 18:07 witness in the Holy Spirit. 18:08 Verse 2 Romans Chapter 9, "I have great sorrow 18:12 and continual grief in my heart. 18:14 Are you listening to this language? 18:16 What are you sorrowful about Paul? Verse 3, 18:18 "I could wish that I myself were accursed 18:23 from Christ for my brethren, 18:26 for my countrymen according to the flesh verse 4 18:29 they're the Israelites, they have the adoption, 18:33 the glory, the convenience, the giving of the law, 18:35 the service of God, the promises verse 5, 18:39 "Of whom are the fathers 18:41 and from whom according to the flesh Jesus Christ came 18:44 who is over all the eternally blessed God, amen." 18:47 Paul said I love the Jews; I love Israel so much 18:51 that if I had the option, I would be accursed 18:55 from Christ for them. 18:58 You know what that means? 19:00 That doesn't mean 19:02 he's just going to die for them. 19:03 It means he wants to be accursed from Christ. 19:07 He would rather be a lost man 19:09 if by him being lost, Israel could be saved. 19:11 Let me ask you a question. Did Paul love his people? 19:15 Yes or no? Mercy, Paul wasn't attacking the people? 19:23 What was Paul doing? 19:25 Paul was teaching that just being 19:27 merely a Jew wasn't sufficient. 19:30 Paul was teaching that God was not just 19:33 the God of the Jews 19:34 but God was also the God of the gentiles. 19:39 Paul was teaching that that Jesus or that God 19:42 was at work not only within Judaism, 19:45 not only within Israel but that God was busy, 19:49 that God was working, 19:51 that God was active with the gentiles... 20:00 that made them nervous and it turns out 20:03 in everyone of these points that we are going to cover, 20:05 all Paul is doing is copying Jesus. 20:08 Everything Paul said about the nation of Israel. 20:11 Everything Paul said about the Jews. 20:12 Everything I've just said Paul was just copying Jesus. 20:17 They interpreted it as an attack 20:20 against their own identity to hear that God 20:23 was not just active in their midst 20:27 and in their temple in among their people 20:30 but that God was also active with the outsiders as well. 20:33 They were like, whoa, whoa. 20:36 Was this business about God being busy 20:38 and active out there? 20:42 He is the God of Israel. 20:43 Are you catching what I'm saying? 20:44 Can you catch the atmosphere what's going on here? 20:47 It was a touchy situation. 20:49 He's speaking against the people. 20:50 Our identity is at risk. 20:55 And he is speaking against the law. 21:02 He is minimizing our message. 21:07 Paul exalted the law. 21:08 By the way we're not just talking about the tinkerman, 21:10 we're just talking about the law in the sense, 21:11 the mosaic literature. 21:12 We are talking about the writings of Moses. 21:14 We are talking about the Pentateuch. 21:15 We are talking about the system of Hebrew culture. 21:19 We are talking about the message. 21:25 Paul thought that the law pointed out sin 21:27 and then pointed the sinner to the savior. 21:30 That's what Paul thought. 21:32 Paul thought that justification 21:36 did not come through the stuff we do, 21:39 but the justification comes 21:40 because of the stuff that God does. 21:43 Amen. That's what Paul was teaching. 21:46 That the law was not in end of itself. 21:50 He put the law in the gospel context. 21:53 It's part of a bigger thing within the covenant of God. 21:57 It's a bigger thing. 22:00 When they heard that, they said, 22:02 oh, he's attacking our message. 22:04 He is attacking the law. 22:07 By the way, do you remember the story 22:10 where in Acts Chapter 10 the gospel 22:16 is going to the gentiles? 22:19 Do you remember the story where God calls Peter 22:23 and He says Peter I have a divine appointment for you. 22:27 There's a man his name is... 22:29 Can you help me Bible students. 22:31 Cornelius, his name is Cornelius, 22:35 here are the GPS coordinates, I need you to go to his house 22:39 because the Holy Spirit has set up an appointment 22:42 and this man is waiting to hear 22:45 because he is right at the gate and God is calling him 22:48 and his people to be part of the covenantal promises 22:52 and Peter says what? 22:57 The Holy Spirit leads Peter to Cornelius' house 22:59 and in Acts Chapter 10 this is completely bizarre 23:02 and related to the second point here. 23:04 In Acts Chapter 10 when Peter goes 23:07 and he makes it to Cornelius' house. 23:09 Do you remember what he says before-- 23:12 as he walks in the door, 23:13 he knows there's a bunch of gentiles in that house 23:16 and he is a good Jew. 23:18 Right? This is not right. We are not supposed to do this. 23:23 listen to what it says, 23:25 it says, "And he says to them, you are very well aware 23:32 that it is against our law for a Jew 23:37 to associate with a gentile." 23:42 Now wait a second Peter says it is against our law. 23:47 What does that mean? 23:48 It was God who sent Peter to go to Cornelius' house. 23:52 It was Jesus who sent him to go talk to Cornelius, 23:55 so when Peter says it's against our law 23:59 for a Jew to associate with the gentile, 24:01 what law was Peter talking about? 24:06 Brothers and sisters, please let this one sink in. 24:09 Is it possible that sometimes our law may not be God's law? 24:19 Is it possible that our law may even be... 24:26 against the current of what God's law is? 24:31 As a church in Adventism, we have a-- 24:35 what I should say Adventism is a tradition 24:37 that is very much against the traditions of men 24:40 and rightfully so and very helpful 24:42 to be able to distinguish, but is it possible 24:46 that within Adventist culture that we can easily 24:50 find ourselves making our own narrow traditions 24:54 that eclipse God's bigger vision. 24:57 Is that possible? 24:59 Here you have a man, a disciple 25:01 who sent to speak to this seeker, 25:03 but he has all of these inhibitions 25:06 because his law doesn't permit him to do that 25:08 and he just turns out at the end of the story 25:11 that after all his law had nothing to do with God's law. 25:15 Brothers and sisters... 25:19 I have noticed this spiritual journey of growing in Jesus 25:23 where you begin to realize 25:25 that there's a whole lot of things 25:27 that I felt were God's law that turns out 25:29 just to be Jeffry's law. 25:32 Anybody else? Am I the only one? 25:34 Am I the only weirdo? 25:36 It's a process of spiritual, it's a spiritual journey too, 25:40 to continue to walk in Christ 25:42 and to realize what is Jesus actually representing. 25:46 Who is Jesus? What is He like? 25:48 And what is the law thing all about so in summary 25:51 what I want to say. 25:53 If it's not, it is written 25:56 and if it's not in the revealed writings of the prophets 26:00 then keep it to yourself or just let it go. 26:07 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 26:09 Peter had a huge paradigm shift. 26:11 He was like wait a second what! 26:14 This is part of God's bigger vision. 26:16 It was huge paradigm. 26:18 Okay, rewind, Paul in Jerusalem, 26:22 he is against our law. 26:24 No, he is not. 26:25 Paul was elevating the law in a more powerful way, 26:29 bringing more attention and more emphasis 26:32 to what the law was actually intended to be. 26:37 It was intended to be 26:38 a marker to point us to the savior. 26:43 The third point we find in Acts Chapter 21... 26:48 after he's against the people and after he's against the law, 26:52 Paul is accused of being against this place. 26:57 He is referring to the temple. 26:59 They are referring to the temple, to their place. 27:02 The temple becomes 27:03 a symbol of their place on this earth. 27:07 Okay. 27:08 Their place in the world, this is the language 27:10 I'd like to use here. 27:13 And notice what they say 27:16 in the very second half of this verse 28. 27:18 "Not only is he against this place 27:21 and further more or you can just say 27:24 and even worse he also brought Greeks into the temple 27:30 and he has defiled this holy place." 27:35 They were concerned that Paul 27:37 was bringing people into church 27:39 that should not step foot in church. 27:43 Are you guys hearing me? 27:45 They were concerned that Paul was bringing 27:48 the temple into way too close contact with the gentiles 27:54 or you can flip that thing around 27:55 that Paul was bringing the gentiles 27:57 into far too close contact with the temple. 28:01 Are you with me? 28:04 It's bizarre that an accusation would even be 28:07 written that Paul is guilty of bringing Greeks to church. 28:10 Brothers and sisters, 28:11 what again was the purpose of church. 28:17 Forgive Paul for actually reading the Old Testament. 28:21 Forgive Paul for actually listening to the prophets. 28:26 Forgive Paul guilty as charged 28:29 for taking the writings of Moses 28:31 in the Major and Minor Prophets seriously, 28:34 because at the end of the day, folks, 28:36 when you read Isaiah Chapter 56. 28:39 When you read Isaiah Chapter 56, 28:40 if you'll turn up with me and verse-- 28:44 I wish we had unlimited attention span 28:46 'cause I would fully read this entire passage 28:48 but I won't do that to you. 28:50 Isaiah Chapter 56, 28:52 a description of the salvation of the gentiles 28:56 and in this very chapter the summary is basically this. 29:00 God has a passion to swing the doors open of the church 29:03 so that the gentiles can come in and God guarantees 29:08 that for those gentiles who are seeking to meet 29:10 the God of Israel that the door will never be shut on them 29:14 and then you jump down to verse 7. 29:17 "Even them, the gentiles, 29:19 I will bring to my holy mountain, 29:21 and make them joyful in my house of prayer. 29:25 Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices 29:27 will be accepted on my altar." 29:32 And then he says, "For my house 29:34 shall we called a house of prayer 29:37 for how many nations, folks? 29:39 For all nations. 29:41 He is talking about the foreigners. 29:43 It's talking about the gentiles. 29:46 And it turns out once again that all Paul was doing 29:49 was copying with Jesus himself 29:52 would have said if he was standing right there 29:54 because you remember 29:56 that when Jesus enters the temple 29:58 and He walks in during His earthly ministry 30:01 he looks like-- 30:03 This doesn't resemble in anyway 30:05 what the whole purpose of this thing will suppose to be 30:07 You remember when He begins to cleanse the temple, 30:10 you remember when people begin to freak out 30:13 and say, who is this and what on earth is he doing? 30:16 Do you remember what Jesus said in Mathews 21:13? 30:22 He says "My house shall be a house of prefer all nations." 30:28 He quotes Isaiah Chapter 56. 30:31 Was Paul preaching against the temple, guys? 30:34 Absolutely not. 30:35 Was Paul, was Paul bringing gentiles into the temple? 30:40 As a matter of fact it actually turns out 30:42 if you read the next couple of verses 30:43 that it was even a false accusation. 30:45 There was no evidence that Paul had even brought 30:47 a Greek into the temple. 30:48 Matter of fact when you read Acts Chapter 21 30:50 a basically Luke tells you 30:53 that it was based on an assumption. 30:55 He says here in verse 29 "For they had previously seen 30:58 Trophimus the Ephesian with Paul in the city, 31:03 and they just supposed 31:04 that Paul had brought him into the temple." 31:07 And all the city was disturbed 31:09 and there was a crazy riot that came out 31:11 and there were literally gonna rip Paul apart to pieces 31:16 if it wasn't for the officials that stormed in 31:19 and broke out the riot in exactly the same passion 31:23 as you read about in Ephesians-- 31:25 excuse me, in Acts Chapter 19 in the Ephesians episode. 31:28 This is basically history repeating itself. 31:30 Luke is showing you a pattern here 31:33 of what's taking place when the gospel is unleashed 31:37 and up against the penetrated into existing cultures 31:40 even religious culture. 31:41 Here's my summary guys, here's the point, 31:43 tonight's message it pretty simple, 31:46 is pretty straight forward. 31:47 Paul wasn't attacking the nation 31:49 or the law or the temple but His gospel expose 31:54 their false conceptions of their own identity, 31:58 of their own message 32:00 and of their own place in this world. 32:04 Can I say that one more time? 32:05 His gospel exposed their false conceptions 32:11 or perceptions of their own religion, 32:13 their own identity, their own message 32:16 and their own place in this world. 32:20 That's why they reacted because they felt threatened. 32:23 The light shined in placed that made them feel vulnerable. 32:27 It was better for them to remain 32:29 devoted to their version of religion. 32:33 Safer for them to remain committed 32:38 to their caricature of God, 32:40 to their picture of what the whole thing was about. 32:46 In the minute that came into close contact 32:50 with a message of Paul everything changed 32:55 because everything became apparent 32:57 that this was a threat. 32:58 Brothers and sisters... 33:02 is it possible to be committed 33:04 to a religious reputation or to a morality, 33:11 while at the same time not actually being 33:13 committed to Christ? 33:20 Jesus was a threat to their religion. 33:24 As I was sitting reading this my wife looked at me 33:27 and she said you know, 33:31 everything you are reading there 33:34 the thing that came to my mind is a question. 33:38 And I said what question? 33:39 And she said, the question is Jesus a threat to my Adventism? 33:46 And I was like oh, that's what wives are for, right? 33:52 And she said that's your title for that sermon, 33:54 is Jesus a threat to your Adventism or is Jesus 33:58 a threat to your Christianity? 34:00 Can we take that? 34:03 Can we put that in our pockets? 34:05 Is Jesus a threat to my Adventism? 34:10 That gives me a creep, 34:11 the creeps to just even think about that question. 34:13 Let me tell you something that... 34:17 was spent down in a way that I can't repeat. 34:19 Here what it says at this point, 34:23 let us pause for a moment 34:25 in our religious enthusiasm for the law, 34:29 for the strictness of order, for sectarian contentions, 34:33 for pharisaical distinctions and ask the question. 34:37 What affect our lives having on the world 34:43 which is watching us? 34:46 At the end of the day Paul's visit to Jerusalem 34:49 was a visit were God would expose the reason 34:53 why the nation was not spectacle in the sense 34:58 that God intend it to be, it exposed. 35:01 The reason why that culture 35:04 wasn't a magnet to the nations around them 35:06 because, they totally eclipse the whole thing, 35:11 they got it all wrong 35:12 and they put the emphasis in the wrong places. 35:14 And matter of fact, 35:15 when Jesus came into this world, 35:18 Jesus found the religious landscape a complete mess. 35:22 Do you remember that when Jesus 35:23 came to this world He found Judaism 35:28 with two primary expressions? 35:30 Last year we were kind of reflecting on this. 35:32 Do you remember 35:33 the two prominent expressions of Judaism in Jesus' day? 35:37 It's what the New Testament calls them 35:39 the Pharisees and then the Sadducees, right. 35:45 To completely opposite poles. 35:48 You have this culture in society trying to figure out 35:52 how to relate to the world. 35:54 How does the covenant, 35:56 how does the promises of God relate 35:58 to society and culture around us 36:00 and the solution to that took two completely different roads? 36:05 As you know the Pharisees 36:06 were primarily concerned to protect, 36:11 to protect the religion against 36:14 the corrupting influences of Greek culture. 36:18 Their entire framework their posture 36:20 was protection okay, it was defense. 36:25 And because of that they ended up 36:27 writing all kinds of news scripts, 36:29 all kinds of extras in ordered to build up 36:32 sufficient walls to provide sufficient protection. 36:36 Are you with me? 36:38 That was the thing, protect and preserve who we are. 36:43 Then you have on the way opposite pole 36:45 which I'm gonna suggest to you seems to me 36:48 to be simply a reaction to that thing. 36:52 On the opposite pole you had Sadducees 36:54 that were like, the world thinks 36:59 we are a bunch of freaks, right. 37:01 They took the opposite road and they decided 37:04 that the answer to how to relate 37:06 to the world was to assimilate, 37:08 was to blend, was to blur the lines 37:11 and to basically remove any distinctions 37:13 between Roman society between the road 37:16 and what they were about. 37:17 Are you with me? 37:19 No, obviously they didn't do this completely, 37:21 they simply began to vigor and to blur different lines. 37:24 And when you read the New Testament 37:27 the one doctrine that was the hardest one 37:29 for Roman society to swallow was this thing about 37:31 the resurrection, right. 37:37 Is that a coincidence that the one thing 37:39 we're told in the New Testament that the-- 37:40 that the Sadducees were like, cut that one lose. 37:44 What was the doctrine that they didn't believe in? 37:46 The resurrection from the dead. 37:48 They were blurring the lines. 37:49 These were the two prominent extreme poles. 37:55 So in one line it looks like this, 37:57 the Pharisees clung to their identity at the expense 38:03 of their relevancy, yeah, they clung to these 38:06 to who they were into their identity, 38:07 but what happen was they took that thing 38:09 so far that they lost touch with reality. 38:12 They were no longer relevant to the world 38:14 and then this opposite pole here, 38:16 they decided that it was better for them 38:18 to secure relevancy at the expense of identity. 38:22 Are you with me? 38:24 And here's your question, 38:25 does that sound familiar to you in anyway? 38:29 Does this bare any semblance with the world you live in? 38:34 Is the ancient history just repeats itself. 38:37 And the stuff we're reading about 38:38 in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the Book of Acts, 38:40 all it is guys, is loud picture staring us 38:43 right in the face of where we are today. 38:46 Can you say amen to that? 38:48 Is scripture relevant or what? 38:52 There's this divisions in the culture, 38:57 these crazy divisions that has caused people 39:00 to go so extreme in different directions that... 39:06 they have essentially 39:07 become useless to capture Gods bigger vision, division. 39:11 And this morning it was interesting I heard the-- 39:13 I heard the word unity come up a lot. 39:15 How many of you heard that, unity, unity, unity, unity? 39:19 I'm gonna take you here on a very, very brief side note 39:24 because this theme here, this theme 39:27 that we've all gathered to reflect on is based on 39:30 the 1 Corinthians 4:9 and you know 39:33 as I was thinking about this theme 39:35 I began to say well, 39:36 what's the whole Corinthian letter about? 39:39 What's the thing about? 39:41 And why the Paul even get to that? 39:43 I mean what does-- 39:45 what does the stuff before that verse say? 39:47 Is that a good question by the way? 39:49 What does the stuff in the previous chapters say? 39:52 Is that a good question? 39:53 See we know what that stuff says 39:55 and we may better understand 39:56 what was Paul trying to say with that thing? 39:59 Are you with me? Can I do something very quick? 40:03 Will you bear with me? 40:04 Open your Bible to first 1 Corinthians, 40:06 0I just want to show you something very quickly here 40:08 that it just blows my mind 40:11 how it's a perfect parallel to everything 40:13 we've just said here. 40:14 In 1 Corinthians Chapter 1, Paul opens this letter... 40:21 with his typical greetings, with his typical prayers, 40:24 with his typical the typical opener right in 40:26 and then finally he's okay, lets cut to the chase here, 40:29 here's why I'm writing. 40:31 Why is he writing? 40:33 Verse 10 "I plead with you brethren, 40:38 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 40:41 that you all speak the same thing that there is no" 40:44 that there's no what among you? 40:46 "That there's no divisions among you, 40:48 but that you be perfectly join together 40:51 in the same mind and in the same judgment." 40:53 When Paul opens his letter 40:55 and he is done with the whole a small talk, 40:58 he drops to his knees and he says, 41:00 I'm pleading with you church, please church at Corinth... 41:08 let there not be divisions among you, right. 41:13 That's the beginning thing then he goes on in verse 11 41:15 "It has been declared to me" concerning you Corinthians, 41:20 "my brethren, by those of Chloe's households, 41:23 that there are contentions among you." 41:25 Verse 12 "Now I say this, that each of you says, 41:29 I'm of Paul or I'm of Apollos 41:36 or I'm of Cephas or I'm of Christ." 41:43 Verse 13 "Is Christ divided? 41:47 Was Paul crucified for you?" It's a powerful question. 41:53 "Or were you Baptize in the name of Paul?" 41:57 Verse 14 "I thank God I didn't baptize any of you" 42:00 except for just like two, right, 42:04 and then later on he's like 42:05 oh, my bad there was another family too, 42:08 go to chapter 3. 42:09 Will you quick, chapter 3 as you send it 42:11 to chapter 3 everything between what we just read 42:14 or about to read is just Paul saying the things about Jesus, 42:18 its about Jesus, its about heavenly wisdom, 42:23 its about Jesus and then you get to chapter 3, 42:25 and when you get to 1 Corinthians Chapter 3 42:27 what does this say? 42:29 He says in verse 1 "And I, brethren, 42:31 could not speak unto you as unto spiritual people, 42:35 but as unto carnal, 42:37 like if you were babes in Christ." 42:38 Why? 42:39 And then look at verse 3, there's some teeth here 42:42 because you are still carnal. 42:45 In another words, you are unconverted. 42:47 There is envy, there is strife, there is divisions among. 42:50 You are you not carnal and behaving like 42:53 if you were mere men. 42:56 Verse 4 "Because when one says, 42:58 I am of Paul, and when another says, 43:01 I am of Apollos, you are unconverted." 43:05 What he's saying? 43:09 Can you say, wow? That's powerful. 43:14 Okay verse 4 and let's get to the point here all right. 43:16 What's the point, Jeffery? 43:18 Chapter 4, 1 Corinthians 4, 43:23 we are getting close to home here and verse 6. 43:24 "Now these things, brethren, 43:25 I have figuratively transferred to myself 43:28 and Apollos just for your sakes, 43:31 that you may learn in us not to think beyond 43:34 what is written," don't think beyond 43:36 what is written and don't add your own sub 43:38 to what's already be written, all right. 43:40 This is what affecting your divisions. 43:42 Check this out, "that none of you may be 43:45 puffed up on behalf of one against the other." 43:50 And guys, just the few verses later 43:52 you get to verse 9 and when you get to verse 9 43:54 what does Paul say? 43:58 Here's what he says... 44:02 what are you doing? 44:06 You're a spectacle before men and angels, 44:08 you're on display, 44:11 the world is watching the gentiles is watching 44:14 what on earth are you doing? 44:18 I'm a Paul, I'm a Cephas, 44:20 I'm of whoever else you want to include there, 44:22 what are you doing? 44:26 Jesus was crucified for your baptism 44:28 in the name of Jesus. 44:29 The world has divisions, 44:31 the world has contentions, amen. 44:36 The world has lack of unity. Are you with me? 44:39 What in the world are you doing? 44:41 You're on display the world is watching. 44:44 What are they gonna think about God 44:46 when you cut up with this foolishness about 44:49 who you are with and what click you 44:51 with in the church. 44:52 Are you with me? 44:55 The world is watching, this is ridiculous 44:59 that's what he is saying. 45:01 Improved my mind, I was like on the plane reading 45:03 and I was thinking Lord, have mercy this verse 45:06 which is our theme is set in the-- 45:09 this is the punch of a long argument of Paul 45:14 smacking the Corinthian church 45:15 because of these petty divisions 45:18 inside the church and the upper cut is 45:21 you're on display. 45:23 Come on, get back on focus to what really matters. 45:27 Can you guys say, amen to that? 45:28 Amen. 45:29 Brothers and sisters, 45:30 you know I have to be honest with you. 45:35 I don't even know where in fit in anymore. 45:38 I don't even know where I fit in. 45:40 We have this thing, well, I'm a liberal, 45:42 well, I'm a conservative. 45:46 Really? Because I just missed that verse. 45:51 I just skipped over that part and I didn't get the script, 45:53 I didn't get to email, I didn't get to text. 45:55 What's that thing all about? 45:58 Are you guys with me? 46:00 Frankly, I feel completely unrepresented. 46:02 I don't even-- what so liberal 46:04 and what so conservative, right. 46:06 If Paul were writing today and if Paul wanted 46:09 to communicate to the advent movement 46:12 and remind us that hey guys, if the church in Corinth 46:15 was on display what do you take it 46:17 for the Adventist global movement 46:20 right or Revelation 14 it says unraveling 46:24 where the three angels message need to go 46:26 to a very sophisticated, a very modern 46:29 and a very complex world 46:31 and we are bickering about foolishness, 46:36 as if we had the time 46:37 and the energy to deal with this stuff, 46:40 we have a whole lot going on out there, amen. 46:42 What would Paul say if he was writing to our church? 46:46 What would Paul say? 46:48 I mean, he'll be bald, he'll be out of hair, 46:50 he'd be pulling out all his hair. 46:52 All his hair will be gone, he just be like, ah! 46:56 No offense guys, who are bald. 47:00 You see here that Jesus dilemma in the complexity 47:03 that He comes into is so close to the picture 47:08 that I find myself in my church today, 47:13 and that the same stuff that's just bogging us down 47:18 when we can't get the thing to-- 47:19 we can't get the beast to go forward fast enough. 47:22 We can't get this stuff done, the work done. 47:25 We can't the-- I don't know what else synonyms to use. 47:30 We can't get the instrument tuned right 47:32 to play the right note, because we're, 47:34 we have so many foolish distractions 47:38 and I know I'm being general Jeffery 47:40 just in making this a sake. 47:44 I'm just kidding. 47:47 When you find Jesus in His dilemma 47:49 there's a new culture that comes out, new culture. 47:53 And this new culture guys, guess what? 47:56 He gets heat from the Sadducees 47:59 and he gets heath from whom? 48:01 From the Pharisees. 48:02 And you do know that the crucifixion 48:03 of your Lord Jesus Christ came through 48:05 a coalition of the liberals and the conservatives. 48:09 So you tell me which camp are you in? 48:12 Go ahead with pride, with conviction 48:15 what camp are you in? 48:16 Be careful, be careful what camp you are in 48:19 because as far as I know, I mean it seems like 48:21 just simple logic if this side is attacking Him 48:25 and in this side is attacking, it kind of seems like 48:27 probably He is somewhere in the middle right. 48:30 Isn't that what it seems like? 48:31 Okay, so what are you and what am I? 48:33 I'll tell you what I am. 48:36 I'm a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 48:41 Is that what you are? 48:43 I want to simply ask that we abandon 48:49 these completely used to this labels 48:52 that are meaningless and that we return 48:55 to what the thing is all about. 48:57 I'm a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, 49:01 I may a disciple of my Lord Jesus Christ. 49:05 That's what I am. 49:07 And if that doesn't fit in this box or that box 49:09 well, hey, I really jump into Jesus box. 49:11 Amen. 49:12 You can summarize this whole dilemma 49:15 into two major ways. 49:17 I'm gonna share two dimensions 49:19 of what Hebrew culture experiences 49:22 and I'm gonna draw direct applications 49:23 and then we're gonna land this plane here, okay. 49:26 Number one, I'm talking about 49:30 what Christ encounter with Israel 49:33 tells us about ourselves. 49:35 Let me repeat that. 49:36 I want to make sure this is in context. 49:39 What Christ encounter with Israel tells us 49:44 about ourselves. 49:46 Okay, number one, there's two things, just two. 49:50 Number one, Israel had a warped picture 49:56 of what the covenant was all about. 49:59 And by covenant I'm using the Old Testament, 50:01 what the gospel was all about, okay. 50:04 That's number one. 50:07 We're told very clearly that all of the symbols 50:10 that were given to Israel, all of the symbols 50:13 were there to simply point them to the Messiah. 50:16 What happened? 50:17 They got so engross with the symbol of the thing 50:21 that they lost sight of the actual thing, yeah. 50:25 The symbols superseded the actual real thing 50:28 that it was pointing to. 50:29 Messiah came the world wasn't ready. 50:33 The Jews lost the spiritual life 50:35 of their ceremonies. 50:37 The spiritual thing behind it, the love, the joy, 50:40 the beauty behind that they lost sight of that 50:43 and all that was left was dead formality. 50:47 What happens when there's nothing 50:48 but formality remaining? 50:50 Well, what happens is we begin to add stuff 50:54 to their formality to try to compensate 50:57 for the missing component. 50:59 Are you with me? 51:00 And before we know it there is so much added to the thing, 51:03 they're so many extras that the thing 51:06 it doesn't even resemble what it was before. 51:08 That's what happened. 51:10 They multiplied and multiplied and multiplied 51:13 and created an entirely different thing 51:16 that would happen basically was to the character of God 51:19 was completely warped in the minds of the people 51:23 and the faith and culture of Israel 51:28 came into contempt. 51:32 I want to put something on the screen here. 51:33 I'm gonna read something to you from Desire of Ages, 51:37 page 309. 51:40 I have to read this all the way through, 51:41 they tell me back there. 51:42 So follow with me here. 51:44 "The greatest deception of the human mind 51:46 in Christ's day was that a mere assent 51:50 to the truth constitutes righteousness. 51:55 In all human experience 51:56 a theoretical knowledge of the truth has been proved to be 52:00 insufficient for the saving of the soul. 52:03 It does not bring forth the fruits of righteousness." 52:08 Do you hear that? 52:09 "A jealous regard for what is termed theological truth 52:14 often accompanies a hatred of genuine truth 52:18 as made manifest in the life. 52:21 The darkest chapters of history are burdened 52:24 with the record of crimes 52:25 committed by bigoted religionists. 52:28 The Pharisees claimed to be children of Abraham, 52:30 they boasted of their possession 52:34 of the oracles of God, yet these advantages 52:36 did not preserve them from hypocrisy. 52:38 They thought themselves 52:39 the greatest religionists of the world, 52:43 but their so-called orthodoxy led them 52:46 to crucify the Lord of glory. 52:51 The same danger still exists. 52:53 Many take it for granted that they are Christians, 52:55 simply because they subscribe to certain theological tenets. 52:59 But they have not brought the truth into practical life. 53:02 They have not believed and loved it, 53:04 therefore they have not received 53:05 the power and grace that come through 53:07 sanctification of the truth. 53:09 Men may profess faith in the truth, 53:15 but if it does not make them sincere, 53:17 kind, patient, forbearing, heavenly-minded, 53:21 it is a curse to its possessors, 53:26 and through their influence it is a curse to the world." 53:32 I got to confess guys, 53:34 I read that and it hit me with the ton of, 53:37 it hit me like a ton of bricks, it hit me so hard, 53:39 it was such an eye opener that the truth 53:42 could become a curse to the possessor, 53:46 and then the truth could become a curse to the world. 53:49 How can truth become curse to the world? 53:56 How can truth become a curse to a person to an individual? 54:01 Its quite simple guys, the way truth 54:03 becomes the curse to the possessor 54:04 and to the world is if Jesus not living in it, 54:09 it's the bottom line there. 54:11 This is what happened. 54:15 Number two, not only did they have 54:18 the warped concept of the covenant, 54:21 not only did they have a miss conception 54:24 of the character of God that automatically 54:28 leads to a misconception of the world. 54:35 Misconception of the character of God 54:37 and His gospel automatically leads 54:40 to a misconception of the world that we live in. 54:44 I want to put something on the screen here. 54:46 "The chosen people did not become the light of the world, 54:52 but shut themselves away form from the world 54:56 as a safeguard against being seduced into idolatry. 55:01 The restriction which God had given, 55:04 forbidding intermarriage 55:05 between His people and the heathen, 55:06 and prohibiting Israel form joining 55:10 in the idolatrous practices of surrounding nation, 55:13 were so perverted as to build up a wall of partition 55:16 between the Israelites and all other peoples, 55:21 thus shutting from others the very blessings 55:23 which God had commissioned Israel to give to the world." 55:30 These are the two dilemmas, these are the two dynamics 55:32 that Jesus encountered when He came into this world. 55:36 These are the two things from Jesus encounter 55:39 with the Jews that teach us something about ourselves. 55:42 Number one, we are prone to misunderstand 55:46 the character of God and what the gospel is all about 55:50 and because we're prone to that 55:52 we are prone to misunderstand 55:53 and how we're to relate to the world. 55:56 If that's clear can you say amen? 55:58 Brothers and sisters, this is the last time 56:02 Paul ever sees the temple. 56:03 The verse says there that immediately extra guys come 56:06 and they close the doors the temple, 56:09 they shut the gate and Paul never ever 56:12 gets a glimpse inside of the temple in Jerusalem. 56:15 That's it and that is a symbol of how, 56:18 of how Hebrew culture closed the door to the message 56:22 and to the gospel of Jesus Christ, 56:24 the temple doors were closed. 56:26 But what happened, guys? God had a bigger vision. 56:28 Can you say amen to that? 56:30 God's vision is always 56:32 bigger than the vision of the church, amen, 56:35 as elevated and as focused as we can seek to understand 56:40 what the mission of the church is. 56:42 We can know for certain, 56:44 that God's vision will always be bigger and boarder than 56:47 what our vision will ever be, right. 56:50 The Bible says that the gospel had by that time 56:53 taking over the Mediterranean world. 56:54 That gospel went out. 56:57 The gentiles received the light. 57:02 The world was transformed. 57:04 The world was turned upside down. 57:07 How it was turned upside down? 57:09 It was turned upside down 57:11 through the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 57:15 Brothers and sisters, today young people today... 57:25 where are you? 57:28 Today, tonight, where are you? 57:34 What has your experience been? 57:36 What has your journey been? 57:39 Could it be that the thing we had in our mind? 57:44 Could it be that the picture that we had in our mind 57:47 of what we thought Jesus, 57:49 Christianity and Adventism was all about? 57:52 Could it be-- 57:56 Could it be that the picture falls short of the real thing? 58:00 Could it be that is even better than 58:02 what we thought all along? 58:04 What has your experience been? |
Revised 2015-01-22