¤
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¤
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>> Good morning, church family,
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here and also via media.
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It's so nice to be together
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in the Lord's house, isn't it?
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By the way,
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I was here during first worship,
00:00:32.53\00:00:35.33
and the message
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that Pastor Shane is gonna
00:00:36.67\00:00:38.03
be presenting to you,
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you'll be so glad you were here
00:00:39.83\00:00:41.37
because it'll grab your soul.
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It sure did mine.
00:00:43.64\00:00:45.24
Anyhow, it's so nice
00:00:45.34\00:00:46.94
to have you here.
00:00:47.04\00:00:48.21
Speaking of Pastor Shane,
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you have an announcement for us,
00:00:50.25\00:00:51.58
so please come and share.
00:00:51.68\00:00:53.72
>> Good morning, Pioneer family.
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It's good to see
00:00:54.58\00:00:55.05
you this morning.
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Happy sabbath.
00:00:55.72\00:00:56.75
>> Happy sabbath.
00:00:56.85\00:00:57.92
>> I want to remind you
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of the special weekend --
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actually, just the Sabbath
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day -- that will be taking place
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one week from today
00:01:03.53\00:01:04.56
on January 18th.
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It will be a Sabbath of emphasis
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on religious liberty.
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As I mentioned last week,
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we will be blessed to have
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elder Bill Knott.
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He is previously the editor
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of the "Adventist Review"
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for a number of years,
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and did a number of other things
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in the church, as well.
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Currently, he functions
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as the Director
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for the General Conference,
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Public Affairs and Religious
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Liberty Department.
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And what that means is,
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is that Elder Knott has
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interaction with many
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of the very same people
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that you see in the news,
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on your news feed and your iPad,
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wherever it is
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you get your news.
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He sees those people,
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he talks with them,
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and as a result,
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he will have some powerful
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things to be able to share
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with us next Sabbath.
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Elder Knott will be speaking
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for both services, the worship
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service in the morning,
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and then in the afternoon
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at 3:30 p.m.,
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right here in our sanctuary,
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he will be presenting
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some additional things
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on religious liberty,
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as will Jennifer Woods.
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She is the Public Affairs
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and Religious Liberty Director
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for the Lake Union Conference.
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I will be there as well.
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And Elder Ron Knott,
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our own local historian
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extraordinaire, will be here
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to share with us,
00:02:08.89\00:02:09.92
from history's perspective
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some interesting spotlights
00:02:11.56\00:02:12.49
on religious liberty.
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At the end of that presentation,
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there will be some time for Q&A.
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So, if you have questions
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about current issues
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in religious liberty,
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come and join us, 3:30 p.m.,
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next Sabbath afternoon,
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the 18th,
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right here in this sanctuary.
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And it will be
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live streamed, as well.
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Hope to see you there.
00:02:29.41\00:02:30.95
>> Thank you, Pastor.
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Again, it's so good to have
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you here to be together.
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Would you stand with me?
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The invocation is asking God
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to come and be with us, so
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that's what we're gonna do.
00:02:43.59\00:02:44.26
So, please rise.
00:02:44.36\00:02:49.23
Thank you.
00:02:49.33\00:02:50.97
Father in heaven,
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we want you to meet
00:02:52.60\00:02:53.80
with us here today.
00:02:53.90\00:02:56.20
We pray that your Holy Spirit
00:02:56.30\00:02:58.54
would make your presence and
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Jesus and the angels
00:03:01.61\00:03:03.51
very real to all of us.
00:03:03.61\00:03:06.58
So as we proceed into worship
00:03:06.68\00:03:08.55
now, be it the words, the music,
00:03:08.65\00:03:12.15
whatever, the prayers,
00:03:12.25\00:03:13.89
whatever we have to offer you,
00:03:13.99\00:03:15.46
we want to give it to you
00:03:15.56\00:03:16.99
in the name of Jesus.
00:03:17.09\00:03:18.69
So, thank you.
00:03:18.79\00:03:21.03
In his name, we pray.
00:03:21.13\00:03:22.53
Amen.
00:03:22.63\00:03:24.70
[ Organ plays ]
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[ Organ plays ]
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¤
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>> ¤ Jesus, guide our way
00:08:05.08\00:08:13.52
¤ To eternal day
00:08:13.62\00:08:19.66
¤
00:08:19.76\00:08:26.57
¤ Jesus, guide our way
00:08:26.67\00:08:31.51
to eternal day ¤
00:08:31.61\00:08:35.74
¤ So shall we, no more
00:08:35.84\00:08:38.71
delaying ¤
00:08:38.81\00:08:41.78
¤ Follow You, Your voice
00:08:41.88\00:08:45.12
obeying ¤
00:08:45.22\00:08:48.96
¤
00:08:49.06\00:08:55.20
¤ Lead us by the hand
00:08:55.30\00:08:59.57
¤ To our Father's land
00:08:59.67\00:09:04.97
¤
00:09:05.07\00:09:15.32
¤ When we danger meet
00:09:15.42\00:09:19.92
¤ When we danger meet
00:09:20.02\00:09:24.99
¤ Steadfast make our feet
00:09:25.09\00:09:29.40
¤ Lord, preserve us
00:09:29.50\00:09:31.90
uncomplaining ¤
00:09:32.00\00:09:35.47
¤ Mid the darkness
00:09:35.57\00:09:38.01
round us reigning ¤
00:09:38.11\00:09:46.58
¤ Through adversity
00:09:46.68\00:09:51.12
lies our way to You ¤
00:09:51.22\00:09:58.13
¤
00:09:58.23\00:10:03.97
¤ Guide our way,
00:10:04.07\00:10:09.00
Jesus ¤
00:10:09.10\00:10:15.08
¤
00:10:15.18\00:10:22.15
¤ Jesus, guide our way
00:10:22.25\00:10:27.12
¤ To eternal day
00:10:27.22\00:10:33.86
¤
00:10:33.96\00:10:39.30
¤ Till we safely stand
00:10:39.40\00:10:44.34
¤
00:10:44.44\00:10:49.78
¤ In our Father's land
00:10:49.88\00:10:56.02
¤ Land
00:10:56.12\00:11:02.56
¤
00:11:02.66\00:11:05.66
>> Amen. Amen.
00:11:05.76\00:11:07.86
>> On the wall here,
00:11:11.87\00:11:12.80
many of you signed this banner
00:11:12.90\00:11:15.24
earlier this school year.
00:11:15.34\00:11:16.34
It says "Founded in faith,
00:11:16.44\00:11:17.97
forward in mission
00:11:18.07\00:11:20.28
for the finishing of the work."
00:11:20.38\00:11:24.05
The series that we begin today
00:11:24.15\00:11:25.48
is very much in that vein.
00:11:25.58\00:11:29.18
Welcome to part one
00:11:29.28\00:11:30.39
of this new series
00:11:30.49\00:11:31.59
entitled "Church Works."
00:11:31.69\00:11:33.36
This is, as I mentioned last
00:11:33.46\00:11:34.79
week, kind of the partner
00:11:34.89\00:11:37.93
to the strategic planning
00:11:38.03\00:11:39.36
process that the elders are
00:11:39.46\00:11:40.33
going through right now.
00:11:40.43\00:11:42.23
We want to bring you along,
00:11:42.33\00:11:44.53
as I will be preaching
00:11:44.63\00:11:46.00
about some of the big-picture
00:11:46.10\00:11:47.24
items that the elders
00:11:47.34\00:11:48.30
are wrestling with
00:11:48.40\00:11:49.14
and seeking to implement
00:11:49.24\00:11:51.14
in this process here.
00:11:51.24\00:11:52.87
And my hope is in six months
00:11:52.97\00:11:54.81
or less, we will have
00:11:54.91\00:11:56.44
a strategic plan ready
00:11:56.54\00:11:58.41
to begin its trial runs.
00:11:58.51\00:12:00.72
And with that in mind,
00:12:00.82\00:12:02.38
would you please
00:12:02.48\00:12:03.05
turn in your Bibles
00:12:03.15\00:12:04.15
to Acts 1:2.
00:12:04.25\00:12:07.96
Acts 1:2, page 733
00:12:08.06\00:12:12.36
In the Red Bible, which is
00:12:12.46\00:12:13.40
probably somewhere around
00:12:13.50\00:12:14.30
where you're at.
00:12:14.40\00:12:15.33
733, Acts 2:1.
00:12:15.43\00:12:18.83
We are going to be moving
00:12:18.93\00:12:20.34
swiftly and looking at a lot
00:12:20.44\00:12:23.54
of Scripture today.
00:12:23.64\00:12:25.14
We're gonna let the Bible
00:12:25.24\00:12:25.51
speak.
00:12:25.61\00:12:26.81
And it is something
00:12:26.91\00:12:28.84
that your fingers need to
00:12:28.94\00:12:29.44
be limbered up for,
00:12:29.54\00:12:30.51
so if you're on your phone
00:12:30.61\00:12:31.21
or your tablet or whatever you
00:12:31.31\00:12:32.31
use for the Bible, or just a
00:12:32.41\00:12:34.35
book in your hands,
00:12:34.45\00:12:35.62
be ready because here we go.
00:12:35.72\00:12:38.35
Acts 2:1.
00:12:38.45\00:12:40.99
"When the day of Pentecost came,
00:12:41.09\00:12:43.12
they," meaning the disciples
00:12:43.22\00:12:44.36
and the other believers there
00:12:44.46\00:12:45.03
in Jerusalem,
00:12:45.13\00:12:46.39
"were all together in one place.
00:12:46.49\00:12:48.70
Suddenly, a sound
00:12:48.80\00:12:50.30
like the blowing of
00:12:50.40\00:12:51.37
a violent wind came from heaven
00:12:51.47\00:12:53.10
and filled the whole house
00:12:53.20\00:12:54.30
where they were sitting.
00:12:54.40\00:12:55.50
They saw what seemed
00:12:55.60\00:12:56.40
to be tongues of fire
00:12:56.50\00:12:57.57
that separated and came
00:12:57.67\00:12:58.67
to rest on each of them.
00:12:58.77\00:13:00.18
All of them were filled
00:13:00.28\00:13:01.21
with the Holy Spirit
00:13:01.31\00:13:02.41
and began to speak
00:13:02.51\00:13:03.21
in other languages
00:13:03.31\00:13:04.35
as the spirit enabled them."
00:13:04.45\00:13:06.51
Behold the normal church.
00:13:06.61\00:13:11.82
Acts 2: 40 --
00:13:11.92\00:13:15.19
"With many other words,
00:13:15.29\00:13:16.12
he," Peter, "warned them,
00:13:16.22\00:13:17.36
and he pleaded with them,
00:13:17.46\00:13:18.26
'Save yourselves from
00:13:18.36\00:13:19.09
this corrupt generation.'
00:13:19.19\00:13:20.60
Those who accepted his message
00:13:20.70\00:13:21.60
were baptized,
00:13:21.70\00:13:22.60
and about 3,000 were added to
00:13:22.70\00:13:24.90
their number that day."
00:13:25.00\00:13:26.84
Behold the normal church.
00:13:26.94\00:13:31.11
Now, shortly after this,
00:13:31.21\00:13:31.97
Peter and John,
00:13:32.07\00:13:32.84
they go to the temple to pray,
00:13:32.94\00:13:34.31
and along the way
00:13:34.41\00:13:35.28
they meet a lame man
00:13:35.38\00:13:36.41
who asks them for money,
00:13:36.51\00:13:38.21
and this is what happens next --
00:13:38.31\00:13:39.58
verse 6 of chapter 3, Acts 3:6.
00:13:39.68\00:13:42.68
"Then Peter said, "Silver or
00:13:42.78\00:13:44.45
gold I do not have,
00:13:44.55\00:13:45.65
but what I have, I give to you.
00:13:45.75\00:13:47.36
In the name of Jesus Christ
00:13:47.46\00:13:49.29
of Nazareth, walk.'
00:13:49.39\00:13:52.23
Taking him by the right hand,
00:13:52.33\00:13:53.06
he helped him up,
00:13:53.16\00:13:53.90
and instantly the man's
00:13:54.00\00:13:55.36
feet and ankles became strong.
00:13:55.46\00:13:56.83
He jumped to his feet
00:13:56.93\00:13:57.73
and began to walk.
00:13:57.83\00:13:59.13
Then he went with them
00:13:59.23\00:14:00.14
into the temple courts,
00:14:00.24\00:14:01.30
walking and jumping
00:14:01.40\00:14:02.47
and praising God.
00:14:02.57\00:14:04.14
When all the people saw
00:14:04.24\00:14:05.14
him walking and praising God,
00:14:05.24\00:14:06.51
they recognized him
00:14:06.61\00:14:07.54
as the same man
00:14:07.64\00:14:08.81
who used to sit begging
00:14:08.91\00:14:09.88
at the temple gate called
00:14:09.98\00:14:11.08
Beautiful, and they were filled
00:14:11.18\00:14:12.45
with wonder and amazement
00:14:12.55\00:14:14.02
at what had happened to him."
00:14:14.12\00:14:15.82
Behold the normal church.
00:14:15.92\00:14:21.19
Acts 4:23.
00:14:21.29\00:14:24.06
This healing of this lame man
00:14:24.16\00:14:25.99
gets the attention of many,
00:14:26.09\00:14:26.73
many people,
00:14:26.83\00:14:27.60
including the Sanhedrin,
00:14:27.73\00:14:29.13
the leaders of the --
00:14:29.23\00:14:31.00
the Jewish religious leaders.
00:14:31.10\00:14:32.30
They are not happy about this.
00:14:32.40\00:14:33.64
They call in Peter and John
00:14:33.74\00:14:35.20
to account for this.
00:14:35.30\00:14:36.54
They end up deciding
00:14:36.64\00:14:37.51
not to do anything about it.
00:14:37.61\00:14:39.11
As Peter and John are leaving,
00:14:39.21\00:14:40.64
chapter 4, verse 23 --
00:14:40.74\00:14:42.11
"On their release,
00:14:42.21\00:14:43.24
Peter and John
00:14:43.35\00:14:44.15
went back to their own people
00:14:44.25\00:14:45.05
and reported all
00:14:45.15\00:14:46.15
that the chief priests and
00:14:46.25\00:14:47.08
elders had said to them.
00:14:47.18\00:14:48.52
When they heard this,
00:14:48.62\00:14:49.55
they raised their voices
00:14:49.65\00:14:50.75
together in prayer to God.
00:14:50.85\00:14:52.79
'Sovereign Lord,' they said,
00:14:52.89\00:14:54.12
'you made the heaven
00:14:54.22\00:14:55.19
and the earth and the sea
00:14:55.29\00:14:56.29
and everything in them.
00:14:56.39\00:14:57.73
You spoke by the Holy Spirit
00:14:57.83\00:14:59.39
through the mouth of
00:14:59.49\00:15:00.40
your servant, our father David:
00:15:00.50\00:15:02.56
"Why do the nations rage
00:15:02.66\00:15:04.47
and the peoples plot in vain?
00:15:04.57\00:15:06.43
The kings of the earth
00:15:06.53\00:15:07.14
take their stand
00:15:07.24\00:15:08.14
and the rulers gather together
00:15:08.24\00:15:09.57
against the Lord
00:15:09.67\00:15:10.81
and against his anointed one."
00:15:10.91\00:15:13.21
Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate
00:15:13.31\00:15:14.74
met together with the Gentiles
00:15:14.84\00:15:15.94
and the people of Israel in this
00:15:16.04\00:15:17.28
city to conspire against
00:15:17.38\00:15:18.81
your holy servant Jesus,
00:15:18.91\00:15:20.18
whom you anointed.
00:15:20.28\00:15:21.65
They did what your power
00:15:21.75\00:15:22.75
and will had decided
00:15:22.85\00:15:23.92
beforehand should happen.
00:15:24.02\00:15:25.42
Now, Lord, consider their
00:15:25.52\00:15:27.42
threats and enable your servants
00:15:27.52\00:15:29.82
to speak your word
00:15:29.92\00:15:31.29
with great boldness.
00:15:31.39\00:15:32.83
Stretch out your hand to heal
00:15:32.93\00:15:33.96
and perform miraculous signs
00:15:34.03\00:15:35.40
and wonders through the name of
00:15:35.50\00:15:36.50
your holy servant Jesus.'
00:15:36.60\00:15:38.50
After they prayed, the place
00:15:38.60\00:15:40.17
where they were meeting was
00:15:40.27\00:15:41.54
shaken, and they were all filled
00:15:41.64\00:15:43.07
with the Holy Spirit and
00:15:43.17\00:15:44.24
spoke the Word of God boldly."
00:15:44.34\00:15:48.58
Behold the normal church.
00:15:48.68\00:15:53.55
Acts chapter 5:12.
00:15:53.65\00:15:55.62
"The apostles performed
00:15:55.72\00:15:56.65
many miraculous signs and
00:15:56.75\00:15:57.89
wonders among the people.
00:15:57.99\00:15:59.09
And all the believers
00:15:59.19\00:16:00.06
used to meet together
00:16:00.16\00:16:00.89
in Solomon's Colonnade.
00:16:00.99\00:16:02.79
No one else dared join them,
00:16:02.89\00:16:03.93
even though they were highly
00:16:04.03\00:16:04.69
regarded by the people.
00:16:04.79\00:16:05.96
Nevertheless, more
00:16:06.06\00:16:07.30
and more men and women
00:16:07.40\00:16:08.53
believed in the Lord
00:16:08.63\00:16:09.60
and were added to their number.
00:16:09.70\00:16:11.47
As a result, people brought the
00:16:11.57\00:16:12.97
sick into the streets
00:16:13.07\00:16:13.97
and laid them on beds and mats
00:16:14.07\00:16:15.40
so that at least Peter's
00:16:15.50\00:16:16.67
shadow might fall on some
00:16:16.77\00:16:17.84
of them as he passed by.
00:16:17.94\00:16:19.31
Crowds gathered also
00:16:19.41\00:16:20.48
from the towns around Jerusalem,
00:16:20.58\00:16:21.84
bringing their sick
00:16:21.94\00:16:22.58
and those tormented
00:16:22.68\00:16:23.38
by evil spirits,
00:16:23.48\00:16:24.55
and all of them were healed."
00:16:24.65\00:16:26.98
Behold the normal church.
00:16:27.08\00:16:32.22
Same chapter, Acts 27,
00:16:32.32\00:16:34.86
the apostles are called in
00:16:34.96\00:16:35.82
to account for all
00:16:35.92\00:16:37.03
of this activity.
00:16:37.13\00:16:40.36
Verse 27 --
00:16:40.46\00:16:41.30
"Having brought the apostles,
00:16:41.40\00:16:42.16
they made them appear
00:16:42.26\00:16:42.96
before the Sanhedrin,
00:16:43.06\00:16:43.83
to be questioned
00:16:43.93\00:16:44.50
by the high priest.
00:16:44.60\00:16:46.13
'We gave you strict orders not
00:16:46.23\00:16:47.57
to teach in this name,' he said.
00:16:47.67\00:16:49.34
'Yet you have filled Jerusalem
00:16:49.44\00:16:50.31
with your teaching
00:16:50.41\00:16:51.27
and are determined to make
00:16:51.37\00:16:52.47
us guilty of this man's blood.'
00:16:52.57\00:16:55.51
Peter and the other apostles
00:16:55.61\00:16:56.44
replied: 'We must obey
00:16:56.54\00:16:59.01
God rather than men.
00:16:59.11\00:17:01.72
The God of our fathers
00:17:01.82\00:17:02.85
raised Jesus from the dead --
00:17:02.95\00:17:03.95
whom you had killed
00:17:04.05\00:17:04.99
by hanging him on a tree.
00:17:05.09\00:17:06.72
God exalted him
00:17:06.82\00:17:07.72
to his own right hand
00:17:07.82\00:17:08.72
as Prince and Savior,
00:17:08.82\00:17:09.79
that he might give
00:17:09.89\00:17:10.56
repentance and forgiveness
00:17:10.66\00:17:11.53
of sins to Israel.
00:17:11.63\00:17:12.76
We are witnesses
00:17:12.86\00:17:14.00
of these things,
00:17:14.10\00:17:15.00
and so is the Holy Spirit,
00:17:15.10\00:17:16.46
whom God has given
00:17:16.56\00:17:17.83
to those who obey him.'
00:17:17.93\00:17:20.20
When they heard this,
00:17:20.30\00:17:21.37
they were furious and
00:17:21.47\00:17:23.41
wanted to put them to death."
00:17:23.51\00:17:25.77
But then a man by the name
00:17:25.87\00:17:26.54
of Gamaliel stands up
00:17:26.64\00:17:27.68
and gives a speech
00:17:27.78\00:17:28.68
that persuades them
00:17:28.78\00:17:29.68
not to kill them, but simply --
00:17:29.78\00:17:31.51
Well, let's read verse 40.
00:17:31.61\00:17:34.02
"His speech persuaded them.
00:17:34.12\00:17:35.95
They called the apostles in
00:17:36.05\00:17:36.95
and had them flogged.
00:17:37.05\00:17:37.99
They ordered them
00:17:38.09\00:17:38.75
not to speak in the name
00:17:38.85\00:17:39.85
of Jesus and let them go.
00:17:39.95\00:17:41.62
The apostles left the Sanhedrin
00:17:41.72\00:17:44.26
rejoicing because they had been
00:17:44.36\00:17:46.53
counted worthy of suffering
00:17:46.63\00:17:47.73
disgrace for the name.
00:17:47.83\00:17:49.16
Day after day,
00:17:49.26\00:17:50.20
in the temple courts
00:17:50.30\00:17:51.20
and from house to house,
00:17:51.30\00:17:52.47
they never stopped teaching
00:17:52.57\00:17:53.97
and proclaiming the good news
00:17:54.07\00:17:55.80
that Jesus is the Christ."
00:17:55.90\00:17:59.34
Behold the normal church.
00:17:59.44\00:18:02.91
We look back at those days,
00:18:10.02\00:18:12.25
and it is tempting to think
00:18:12.35\00:18:13.92
that, "Oh, that was just
00:18:14.02\00:18:14.99
stratospherically unusual.
00:18:15.09\00:18:16.59
God was doing a special thing,
00:18:16.69\00:18:17.93
never to be repeated again."
00:18:18.03\00:18:18.93
Not so.
00:18:19.03\00:18:21.16
Not so.
00:18:21.26\00:18:23.47
We are the ones today
00:18:23.57\00:18:25.63
in the church around the world
00:18:25.73\00:18:26.97
too often
00:18:27.07\00:18:28.34
that are the exception.
00:18:28.44\00:18:29.77
They were normal.
00:18:29.87\00:18:30.87
We are not.
00:18:30.97\00:18:33.81
And yet we are specifically told
00:18:33.91\00:18:35.74
that the church today,
00:18:35.84\00:18:37.25
in the last days
00:18:37.35\00:18:38.21
before Jesus comes,
00:18:38.31\00:18:39.71
will indeed return to normalcy.
00:18:39.81\00:18:42.52
How do I know?
00:18:42.62\00:18:43.49
Well, some interesting tidbits
00:18:43.59\00:18:44.42
here.
00:18:44.52\00:18:45.32
Great controversy, page 611.
00:18:45.42\00:18:47.02
"The great work of the gospel
00:18:47.12\00:18:48.32
is not to close
00:18:48.42\00:18:49.82
with less manifestation
00:18:49.92\00:18:50.93
of the power of God
00:18:51.03\00:18:52.06
than marked its opening.
00:18:52.16\00:18:53.53
The prophecies
00:18:53.63\00:18:54.36
which were fulfilled
00:18:54.46\00:18:55.13
in the outpouring
00:18:55.23\00:18:55.90
of the former rain
00:18:56.00\00:18:57.23
at the opening of the gospel
00:18:57.33\00:18:58.73
are again to be fulfilled in
00:18:58.83\00:19:00.37
the latter rain at its close."
00:19:00.47\00:19:03.87
In other words, what we saw
00:19:03.97\00:19:06.04
in that 1st-century
00:19:06.14\00:19:07.71
Christian church is a baseline.
00:19:07.81\00:19:11.25
That is the bare minimum
00:19:11.35\00:19:12.41
that God intended
00:19:12.51\00:19:13.31
for his church.
00:19:13.42\00:19:14.18
Now, obviously we have strayed
00:19:14.28\00:19:15.48
far from that, have we not?
00:19:15.58\00:19:17.09
When was the last time
00:19:17.19\00:19:18.12
3,000 people were baptized
00:19:18.22\00:19:19.62
in a day in this country?
00:19:19.72\00:19:21.62
It's been a while, hasn't it,
00:19:21.72\00:19:22.46
you know?
00:19:22.56\00:19:23.86
But this is God's intent for us.
00:19:23.96\00:19:25.73
And notice carefully the first
00:19:25.83\00:19:26.96
part -- "The great work of the
00:19:27.03\00:19:27.60
gospel is not to close
00:19:27.73\00:19:28.60
with less manifestation."
00:19:28.70\00:19:30.13
In other words, we're gonna
00:19:30.23\00:19:31.07
equal it and possibly even
00:19:31.17\00:19:32.30
exceed it.
00:19:32.40\00:19:34.34
And notice carefully
00:19:34.44\00:19:35.54
how this is to take place.
00:19:35.64\00:19:38.87
The order of events
00:19:38.97\00:19:40.11
in the early Christian church
00:19:40.21\00:19:41.24
gives us a clue as to
00:19:41.34\00:19:42.41
how it will happen today.
00:19:42.51\00:19:44.15
In the early church,
00:19:44.25\00:19:45.78
the massive baptisms,
00:19:45.88\00:19:46.95
the healings, the speaking
00:19:47.05\00:19:48.18
in other languages
00:19:48.28\00:19:49.28
so that the world could hear,
00:19:49.38\00:19:50.65
the various languages and
00:19:50.75\00:19:51.62
cultures of the world,
00:19:51.72\00:19:52.49
could hear about the gospel
00:19:52.59\00:19:53.66
of Jesus Christ, that all
00:19:53.76\00:19:55.19
started with the outpouring
00:19:55.29\00:19:56.59
of the Holy Spirit.
00:19:56.69\00:19:58.26
It was Jesus Christ
00:19:58.36\00:19:59.29
in His Holy Spirit
00:19:59.39\00:20:00.60
filling his people.
00:20:00.70\00:20:01.90
That's what sparked all of that
00:20:02.00\00:20:03.40
and powered it
00:20:03.50\00:20:04.30
all the way through.
00:20:04.40\00:20:05.30
And consequently,
00:20:05.40\00:20:06.37
it is also clear in our day
00:20:06.47\00:20:09.27
for us to become
00:20:09.37\00:20:10.37
a biblically normal church
00:20:10.47\00:20:12.87
and to see the same things
00:20:12.97\00:20:13.98
that happened
00:20:14.08\00:20:14.88
in the early church.
00:20:14.98\00:20:16.08
Today, we will see that
00:20:16.18\00:20:18.31
by being filled with God's
00:20:18.41\00:20:20.18
spirit, but this time in
00:20:20.28\00:20:21.92
both his former
00:20:22.02\00:20:23.08
and latter rains.
00:20:23.18\00:20:27.46
Now, we studied this at length
00:20:27.56\00:20:28.99
at the end of December.
00:20:29.09\00:20:29.79
I did a series called
00:20:29.89\00:20:31.03
"Holy Hurricane."
00:20:31.13\00:20:32.19
If you missed that,
00:20:32.29\00:20:33.56
you may want to check it out.
00:20:33.66\00:20:34.50
If you've forgotten it,
00:20:34.60\00:20:35.36
need to see it again
00:20:35.46\00:20:36.73
'cause there's gold in there.
00:20:36.83\00:20:38.50
Because what it talks about
00:20:38.60\00:20:39.37
is what is required
00:20:39.47\00:20:40.34
for the church today
00:20:40.44\00:20:41.24
to receive that promised
00:20:41.34\00:20:42.74
corporate blessing of the latter
00:20:42.84\00:20:44.11
rain of the Holy Spirit.
00:20:44.21\00:20:45.07
Now, just a brief review.
00:20:45.17\00:20:47.11
The former rain,
00:20:47.21\00:20:48.01
on a personal level,
00:20:48.11\00:20:48.84
is the spark
00:20:48.94\00:20:49.74
the spirit puts in you
00:20:49.84\00:20:50.95
to accept Christ as your Savior,
00:20:51.05\00:20:52.41
makes a start in the faith.
00:20:52.51\00:20:54.25
The latter rain of the
00:20:54.35\00:20:55.32
Holy Spirit is what brings that
00:20:55.42\00:20:56.65
seed to maturity in you,
00:20:56.75\00:20:58.05
growing you up into
00:20:58.15\00:20:58.85
the fullness of Christ.
00:20:58.95\00:20:59.95
That's what it means on a on
00:21:00.12\00:21:00.76
a personal level
00:21:00.86\00:21:01.52
to receive the former
00:21:01.62\00:21:02.42
and the latter rains.
00:21:02.52\00:21:03.79
Corporately with the church,
00:21:03.89\00:21:06.23
the former rain was at
00:21:06.33\00:21:07.40
Pentecost, Acts chapter 2,
00:21:07.50\00:21:08.43
as we just read.
00:21:08.53\00:21:09.46
That got the gospel started.
00:21:09.56\00:21:10.90
It's going to be brought
00:21:11.00\00:21:11.77
to fruition and maturity,
00:21:11.87\00:21:13.50
full fruitfulness, in our day,
00:21:13.60\00:21:15.14
at the end of time,
00:21:15.24\00:21:16.04
by the outpouring of the latter
00:21:16.14\00:21:17.11
rain of the Holy Spirit.
00:21:17.21\00:21:18.37
On a personal level,
00:21:18.47\00:21:19.37
you can experience,
00:21:19.47\00:21:20.28
beginning today,
00:21:20.38\00:21:22.51
the former and latter rains
00:21:22.61\00:21:23.45
of the Holy Spirit.
00:21:23.55\00:21:25.08
Repent. Turn to him.
00:21:25.18\00:21:26.61
Ask by name,
00:21:26.72\00:21:27.72
"Lord, please fill me
00:21:27.82\00:21:28.68
with the former and latter
00:21:28.78\00:21:29.58
rains of your spirit."
00:21:29.68\00:21:30.89
Jesus will not turn you away.
00:21:30.99\00:21:32.25
You can begin
00:21:32.35\00:21:32.95
to experience that today.
00:21:33.05\00:21:35.76
For the corporate church,
00:21:35.86\00:21:36.83
though, it's a little different
00:21:36.93\00:21:39.09
because the corporate outpouring
00:21:39.19\00:21:40.80
of the latter rain
00:21:40.90\00:21:41.50
of the Holy Spirit
00:21:41.60\00:21:42.50
will be of such magnitude
00:21:42.60\00:21:43.77
that God dare not pour it
00:21:43.87\00:21:45.13
out on a church
00:21:45.23\00:21:46.07
that is not ready for it.
00:21:46.17\00:21:47.87
You have to be ready
00:21:47.97\00:21:49.40
to handle that kind of power.
00:21:49.50\00:21:52.87
And so there are specific steps.
00:21:52.97\00:21:54.01
We went through those.
00:21:54.11\00:21:54.81
You can look at it,
00:21:54.91\00:21:55.31
December 2023.
00:21:55.41\00:21:56.71
I encourage you to look that up.
00:21:56.81\00:21:57.65
I'm not gonna take the time
00:21:57.75\00:21:58.41
to review it now.
00:21:58.51\00:21:59.35
I will simply say this --
00:21:59.45\00:22:00.98
there is no substitute
00:22:01.08\00:22:02.98
for the presence and power
00:22:03.08\00:22:04.12
of the Holy Spirit.
00:22:04.22\00:22:06.12
You can't fake it.
00:22:06.22\00:22:07.52
You can't substitute for it.
00:22:07.62\00:22:09.22
He is supreme.
00:22:09.32\00:22:12.26
We're encouraged in the spirit
00:22:12.36\00:22:13.16
of prophecy to seek the blessing
00:22:13.26\00:22:14.56
of the outpouring of the latter
00:22:14.63\00:22:15.43
rain of the Holy Spirit
00:22:15.53\00:22:16.30
because it brings all other
00:22:16.40\00:22:17.60
blessings in its train.
00:22:17.70\00:22:20.37
So let the church begin there.
00:22:20.47\00:22:23.00
Which leads us
00:22:23.10\00:22:24.74
to a crucial point.
00:22:24.84\00:22:26.51
When we as a body,
00:22:26.61\00:22:28.34
as a global body,
00:22:28.44\00:22:29.41
when we begin to focus
00:22:29.51\00:22:30.58
on this blessing
00:22:30.68\00:22:31.58
and seek for it, pray for it,
00:22:31.68\00:22:32.91
ask for it, believe for it,
00:22:33.01\00:22:34.68
when we do these things,
00:22:34.78\00:22:37.29
there is a way in which
00:22:37.39\00:22:39.85
the spirit is going to guide us,
00:22:39.95\00:22:41.79
a way in which
00:22:41.89\00:22:42.92
we conduct ourselves.
00:22:43.02\00:22:45.33
1 Corinthians 15:58, please.
00:22:45.43\00:22:47.73
1 Corinthians 15:58, page 776
00:22:47.83\00:22:51.17
in your red Bibles.
00:22:51.27\00:22:53.00
776, 1 Corinthians 15:58.
00:22:53.10\00:22:58.81
The movings of the spirit in us
00:22:58.91\00:23:01.58
will lead us to order our lives
00:23:01.68\00:23:05.08
in a certain way.
00:23:05.18\00:23:07.25
Verse 58, 1 Corinthians 15
00:23:07.35\00:23:09.32
says, "Therefore,
00:23:09.42\00:23:10.32
my dear brothers, stand firm.
00:23:10.42\00:23:12.09
Let nothing move you.
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.19
Always give yourselves fully
00:23:14.29\00:23:17.09
to the work of --"
00:23:17.19\00:23:18.23
Whose work?
00:23:18.33\00:23:19.49
The work of the Lord.
00:23:19.59\00:23:20.60
"To the work of the Lord
00:23:20.70\00:23:21.76
because you know that your labor
00:23:21.86\00:23:22.83
in the Lord is not in vain.
00:23:22.93\00:23:24.63
Always give yourselves --"
00:23:24.73\00:23:25.60
How often? Always.
00:23:25.70\00:23:27.84
That's pretty clear, isn't it?
00:23:27.94\00:23:28.90
"Always give yourselves fully
00:23:29.00\00:23:30.44
to the work of the Lord."
00:23:30.54\00:23:31.81
Now, some of your translations
00:23:31.91\00:23:33.04
say "abounding in the work
00:23:33.14\00:23:34.01
of the Lord."
00:23:34.11\00:23:34.64
Excellent translation.
00:23:34.74\00:23:35.84
Abounding, effervescent,
00:23:35.94\00:23:37.05
overflowing
00:23:37.15\00:23:38.11
in the works of the Lord.
00:23:38.21\00:23:39.35
Now, here's the thing.
00:23:39.45\00:23:40.72
Do you see what this means?
00:23:40.82\00:23:42.18
What this means is,
00:23:42.28\00:23:44.25
is that we are to center our
00:23:44.35\00:23:46.25
lives around God's work,
00:23:46.35\00:23:48.09
not vice versa.
00:23:48.19\00:23:50.83
If you're going to abound
00:23:50.93\00:23:52.29
in the works of the Lord,
00:23:52.39\00:23:53.33
if you're gonna give yourself
00:23:53.43\00:23:54.56
fully to the work of the Lord --
00:23:54.66\00:23:56.03
Well, notice carefully -- the
00:23:56.13\00:23:57.63
work of the Lord is done through
00:23:57.73\00:23:59.00
his body, his church.
00:23:59.10\00:24:02.37
And yet for so many people,
00:24:02.47\00:24:04.24
the church is a hobby.
00:24:04.34\00:24:07.08
It's kind of a fun thing they do
00:24:07.18\00:24:08.34
every now and then, maybe get to
00:24:08.44\00:24:09.14
see some friends and family.
00:24:09.24\00:24:10.38
You know, if there's a good
00:24:10.48\00:24:11.25
speaker, they'll show up.
00:24:11.35\00:24:11.95
If not, you know, let somebody
00:24:12.05\00:24:13.11
else show up kind of thing.
00:24:13.21\00:24:14.88
And yet here
00:24:14.98\00:24:15.85
Paul just kind of pulls back
00:24:15.95\00:24:16.89
the curtain on that mediocre,
00:24:16.99\00:24:18.12
fake Christianity and says,
00:24:18.22\00:24:19.42
"No, no, no, no,
00:24:19.52\00:24:20.19
it's not a hobby.
00:24:20.29\00:24:21.32
You're not supposed to inject
00:24:21.42\00:24:22.36
God and his church into
00:24:22.46\00:24:23.53
the little corners of your life
00:24:23.63\00:24:24.56
if you happen to have the time.
00:24:24.66\00:24:25.49
No, no, no, no."
00:24:25.59\00:24:26.80
Instead, we are to orbit
00:24:26.90\00:24:28.66
our lives around his work,
00:24:28.76\00:24:31.10
abundantly overflowing
00:24:31.20\00:24:32.73
in the Lord's work.
00:24:32.83\00:24:34.60
That's to be
00:24:34.70\00:24:35.30
the organizing principle,
00:24:35.40\00:24:36.50
not the other way around.
00:24:36.60\00:24:39.74
And notice in what manner
00:24:39.84\00:24:41.04
the Lord's work is
00:24:41.14\00:24:42.14
to be accomplished.
00:24:42.24\00:24:43.38
I'm gonna put a text on the
00:24:43.48\00:24:43.98
screen here.
00:24:44.08\00:24:44.65
You've seen this before.
00:24:44.75\00:24:45.81
You'll probably see it again.
00:24:45.91\00:24:47.38
It is one of the most powerful
00:24:47.48\00:24:49.68
verses outside of the Gospels
00:24:49.78\00:24:51.49
that talks about --
00:24:51.59\00:24:54.02
Well, let me just show you.
00:24:54.12\00:24:55.96
Philippians 1:27-28.
00:24:56.06\00:24:58.89
"Whatever happens, conduct
00:24:58.99\00:25:00.70
yourselves in a manner worthy
00:25:00.80\00:25:02.40
of the gospel of Christ."
00:25:02.50\00:25:03.83
Well, what would that look like?
00:25:03.93\00:25:04.83
"Then, whether I come and see
00:25:04.93\00:25:06.67
you or only hear about you
00:25:06.77\00:25:08.10
in my absence, I will know
00:25:08.20\00:25:10.11
that you stand firm in one
00:25:10.21\00:25:12.21
spirit, contending as one person
00:25:12.31\00:25:15.51
for the faith of the gospel."
00:25:15.61\00:25:18.31
Now, back in 2023, when we first
00:25:18.41\00:25:20.18
studied this particular text,
00:25:20.28\00:25:21.65
we saw this as a call to unity,
00:25:21.75\00:25:23.02
absolutely.
00:25:23.12\00:25:24.05
I mean, this contending as
00:25:24.15\00:25:24.79
one person -- We are
00:25:24.89\00:25:26.12
to be unified in the church.
00:25:26.22\00:25:27.26
We're not to have backbiting and
00:25:27.36\00:25:28.56
gossiping, this kind of a thing.
00:25:28.66\00:25:29.92
We're to be brothers and
00:25:30.03\00:25:30.86
sisters in Christ,
00:25:30.96\00:25:32.09
unified together.
00:25:32.19\00:25:32.76
Amen?
00:25:32.86\00:25:33.36
>> Amen.
00:25:33.46\00:25:34.93
>> That was a fairly weak amen,
00:25:35.03\00:25:35.90
but we'll get going.
00:25:36.00\00:25:36.83
Stay with me, alright, okay?
00:25:36.93\00:25:38.37
Unity is one of the primary
00:25:38.47\00:25:40.20
calls here, but there is more.
00:25:40.30\00:25:41.50
It is not just a call to unity.
00:25:41.60\00:25:43.30
As important as that call is,
00:25:43.41\00:25:45.27
it is also a call to this --
00:25:45.37\00:25:47.34
as we orbit our lives
00:25:47.44\00:25:49.64
around God's work, his church,
00:25:49.74\00:25:51.95
we are to do that work together
00:25:52.05\00:25:55.18
in a systematic
00:25:55.28\00:25:57.09
and organized way.
00:25:57.19\00:25:59.89
You say, "Well, how
00:26:00.06\00:26:00.52
do you know?"
00:26:00.62\00:26:01.26
Well, I mean, "contending as
00:26:01.36\00:26:03.09
one person for the faith
00:26:03.19\00:26:04.39
of the gospel."
00:26:04.49\00:26:05.36
You know, if the church has any
00:26:05.46\00:26:06.70
size in it at all, how do you do
00:26:06.80\00:26:08.73
that unless you're organized?
00:26:08.83\00:26:10.87
It's impossible.
00:26:10.97\00:26:12.60
So, the message here,
00:26:12.70\00:26:14.07
even at this early stage,
00:26:14.17\00:26:15.10
is quite clear.
00:26:15.20\00:26:16.44
God's church is to be organized.
00:26:16.54\00:26:21.08
In fact, so serious is the need
00:26:21.18\00:26:23.18
for a healthy level
00:26:23.28\00:26:24.25
of organization in God's church
00:26:24.35\00:26:26.08
that the Spirit of God
00:26:26.18\00:26:27.28
has directly addressed this
00:26:27.38\00:26:28.75
on more than one occasion.
00:26:28.85\00:26:29.85
Now, there's a whole bunch
00:26:29.95\00:26:30.69
of things I could show you here.
00:26:30.79\00:26:31.45
I'm just gonna show you two.
00:26:31.55\00:26:33.46
First, let's start with
00:26:33.56\00:26:34.12
Scripture.
00:26:34.22\00:26:35.19
Let me put it here on the
00:26:35.29\00:26:35.99
screen -- 1 Corinthians, chapter
00:26:36.09\00:26:36.89
14, verses 33 and 40.
00:26:36.99\00:26:39.39
Now, the Corinthian church
00:26:39.49\00:26:41.46
was an interesting church.
00:26:41.56\00:26:42.70
It had interesting issues,
00:26:42.80\00:26:43.63
and Paul had to address
00:26:43.73\00:26:44.60
some fascinating things.
00:26:44.70\00:26:46.03
Now, here's what he has to say
00:26:46.13\00:26:47.20
to them.
00:26:47.30\00:26:48.04
He says,
00:26:48.14\00:26:48.84
"For God is not a God
00:26:48.94\00:26:52.14
of --" What's that next word?
00:26:52.24\00:26:53.81
Disorder, okay?
00:26:53.91\00:26:55.28
"God is not a god of disorder."
00:26:55.38\00:26:56.51
Some translations say
00:26:56.61\00:26:57.21
"confusion."
00:26:57.31\00:26:58.55
"But everything --" verse 40 --
00:26:58.65\00:27:00.25
"should be done
00:27:00.35\00:27:01.25
in a fitting and orderly way."
00:27:01.35\00:27:04.02
How many things should be done
00:27:04.12\00:27:04.99
in a fitting and orderly way?
00:27:05.09\00:27:06.39
Everything.
00:27:06.49\00:27:07.89
I mean, now, let this sink in.
00:27:07.99\00:27:10.53
This is -- Let's just be honest.
00:27:10.63\00:27:11.99
This is an extreme statement.
00:27:12.09\00:27:14.40
And it's made intentionally.
00:27:14.50\00:27:15.30
The Spirit of God
00:27:15.40\00:27:16.16
inspired Paul to write
00:27:16.26\00:27:17.30
these very words, that,
00:27:17.40\00:27:19.03
"God is not a God
00:27:19.13\00:27:20.34
of disorder, but everything --
00:27:20.44\00:27:22.47
everything should be done
00:27:22.57\00:27:23.51
in a fitting and orderly way."
00:27:23.61\00:27:27.98
Now, isn't it true --
00:27:28.08\00:27:31.51
Present company excepted.
00:27:31.61\00:27:32.58
We're all okay.
00:27:32.68\00:27:34.75
But I've heard that there are
00:27:34.85\00:27:36.95
some Christians that actually do
00:27:37.05\00:27:38.45
the opposite with this.
00:27:38.55\00:27:39.79
They say that, "Because it's
00:27:39.89\00:27:41.86
for God, I can be sloppy,
00:27:41.96\00:27:45.99
because it's for God and for
00:27:46.09\00:27:47.50
Christians, well, they'll
00:27:47.60\00:27:48.60
forgive me if I don't do
00:27:48.70\00:27:50.00
a good job, right?"
00:27:50.10\00:27:51.97
You know, it's true he might
00:27:52.07\00:27:53.07
forgive you, but man, what a
00:27:53.17\00:27:54.27
slap in the face to the God
00:27:54.37\00:27:55.10
of the universe.
00:27:55.20\00:27:56.47
When we give
00:27:56.57\00:27:57.21
him haphazard stuff,
00:27:57.31\00:27:58.47
when we give him the leftovers,
00:27:58.57\00:28:00.11
when we say, "Ah,
00:28:00.21\00:28:00.94
it's just for God, you know?
00:28:01.04\00:28:01.81
It doesn't really matter."
00:28:01.91\00:28:02.64
No, no, no, no.
00:28:02.74\00:28:03.71
Because it's for God,
00:28:03.81\00:28:05.38
Jesus Christ, the one
00:28:05.48\00:28:06.55
who loves us and gave his life
00:28:06.65\00:28:07.75
for us on the cross,
00:28:07.85\00:28:08.88
the ultimate example
00:28:08.98\00:28:09.95
of sacrificial love,
00:28:10.05\00:28:11.25
because of who God is,
00:28:11.35\00:28:13.66
he deserves our best.
00:28:13.76\00:28:17.59
You know, I've heard of some
00:28:17.69\00:28:18.49
Sabbath school teachers --
00:28:18.59\00:28:19.63
not here -- that on their way
00:28:19.73\00:28:21.66
to church, plan what they're
00:28:21.76\00:28:22.70
gonna do for Sabbath school.
00:28:22.80\00:28:24.53
You know what?
00:28:24.63\00:28:25.73
Maybe you're a genius and maybe
00:28:25.83\00:28:26.63
you can get away with that.
00:28:26.74\00:28:28.44
But God here says very clearly
00:28:28.54\00:28:30.24
through his servant Paul,
00:28:30.34\00:28:31.07
"God is not a God of disorder.
00:28:31.17\00:28:32.31
Everything should be done
00:28:32.41\00:28:33.17
in a fitting and orderly way."
00:28:33.27\00:28:34.58
In an orderly way.
00:28:34.68\00:28:36.75
Spirit of prophecy
00:28:36.85\00:28:37.55
picks up on this theme
00:28:37.65\00:28:39.15
in a number of places.
00:28:39.25\00:28:40.02
Let me just show you one here.
00:28:40.12\00:28:41.15
This is "Patriarchs and
00:28:41.25\00:28:41.92
Prophets," 376.
00:28:42.02\00:28:43.28
"God is a God of order,"
00:28:43.39\00:28:44.99
probably referring back to
00:28:45.09\00:28:46.35
1 Corinthians, where we just
00:28:46.45\00:28:46.92
read.
00:28:47.02\00:28:47.92
"Everything connected with
00:28:48.02\00:28:49.16
heaven is in perfect order;
00:28:49.26\00:28:50.63
subjection and thorough
00:28:50.73\00:28:51.79
discipline marked the movements
00:28:51.89\00:28:52.69
of the angelic host.
00:28:52.79\00:28:54.10
Success can only attend order
00:28:54.20\00:28:56.06
and harmonious action.
00:28:56.16\00:28:58.03
God requires order and system
00:28:58.13\00:29:00.04
in His work now no less than
00:29:00.14\00:29:02.00
in the days of Israel.
00:29:02.10\00:29:03.67
All who are working for Him
00:29:03.77\00:29:05.27
are to labor intelligently,
00:29:05.37\00:29:06.81
not in a careless,
00:29:06.91\00:29:07.78
haphazard manner.
00:29:07.88\00:29:09.44
He would have His work done with
00:29:09.54\00:29:10.91
faith," yes, "and exactness,
00:29:11.01\00:29:13.31
that He may place the seal
00:29:13.42\00:29:15.12
of His approval upon it."
00:29:15.22\00:29:16.82
Huh.
00:29:16.92\00:29:18.39
Do you know what scripture
00:29:18.49\00:29:19.09
refers to as the seal
00:29:19.19\00:29:20.86
of God's approval?
00:29:20.96\00:29:23.73
It's the Holy Spirit.
00:29:23.83\00:29:25.39
You can look it up afterwards.
00:29:25.49\00:29:26.63
Ephesians 1:13 talks about this.
00:29:26.73\00:29:28.30
In the last days,
00:29:28.40\00:29:29.93
the seal of God
00:29:30.03\00:29:31.07
will have very much
00:29:31.17\00:29:31.83
to do with the observance
00:29:31.93\00:29:32.87
of the seventh-day Sabbath,
00:29:32.97\00:29:33.84
the Holy Spirit working
00:29:33.94\00:29:34.80
through us to observe
00:29:34.90\00:29:35.64
the seventh-day Sabbath.
00:29:35.74\00:29:36.97
And in general, the Holy Spirit
00:29:37.07\00:29:38.91
is the seal of God.
00:29:39.01\00:29:41.18
So, let this sink in.
00:29:41.28\00:29:42.58
Could it be that one of the main
00:29:42.68\00:29:45.41
reasons why the latter rain has
00:29:45.51\00:29:47.55
not been poured out
00:29:47.65\00:29:48.25
on the corporate church
00:29:48.35\00:29:49.12
around the world is
00:29:49.22\00:29:50.25
because there are
00:29:50.35\00:29:50.85
too many churches
00:29:50.95\00:29:51.49
that are sloppy in
00:29:51.59\00:29:52.55
how they do ministry for God?
00:29:52.65\00:29:55.69
God says, "I can place my seal
00:29:55.79\00:29:57.59
of approval on it
00:29:57.69\00:29:58.53
if it's done in an orderly way."
00:29:58.63\00:30:02.23
Now, to me, this begs the
00:30:02.33\00:30:03.40
question --
00:30:03.50\00:30:05.83
"Why is good organization among
00:30:05.93\00:30:08.60
God's people so important?"
00:30:08.70\00:30:10.64
I mean, again, these are not,
00:30:10.74\00:30:12.31
like, you know, demure
00:30:12.41\00:30:13.61
statements.
00:30:13.71\00:30:14.34
These are powerful,
00:30:14.44\00:30:15.04
power-packed things
00:30:15.14\00:30:16.18
that are being called for here.
00:30:16.28\00:30:18.51
How come?
00:30:18.61\00:30:19.55
Why is good organization
00:30:19.65\00:30:20.95
in a church so important?
00:30:21.05\00:30:22.32
Well, there's all kinds
00:30:22.42\00:30:24.22
of benefits to it.
00:30:24.32\00:30:25.55
Let me just give you
00:30:25.65\00:30:26.82
four this morning.
00:30:26.92\00:30:28.42
And the first one is found
00:30:28.52\00:30:29.72
in Titus chapter 1.
00:30:29.82\00:30:32.29
Titus, book of Titus, chapter 1,
00:30:32.39\00:30:34.10
beginning with verse 5.
00:30:34.20\00:30:35.20
It's page 802 in your
00:30:35.30\00:30:37.07
red Bible.
00:30:37.17\00:30:38.53
Page 802, Titus chapter 1,
00:30:38.63\00:30:40.77
beginning with verse 5.
00:30:40.87\00:30:42.17
Now, Titus was a protégé,
00:30:42.27\00:30:42.77
an understudy
00:30:44.51\00:30:45.54
of the Apostle Paul.
00:30:45.64\00:30:46.94
The Apostle Paul, of course, was
00:30:47.04\00:30:48.44
church planter extraordinaire.
00:30:48.54\00:30:50.08
Titus went with him, apparently
00:30:50.18\00:30:51.65
through a number of places,
00:30:51.75\00:30:52.48
including the Mediterranean,
00:30:52.58\00:30:53.78
the seaboard there in the north
00:30:53.88\00:30:54.68
of the Mediterranean Sea,
00:30:54.78\00:30:56.32
including the island of Crete.
00:30:56.42\00:30:58.65
And they didn't quite finish
00:30:58.75\00:31:00.89
what needed to be finished.
00:31:00.99\00:31:02.49
That's where we join the story
00:31:02.59\00:31:03.63
here, Titus, chapter 1, verse 5.
00:31:03.73\00:31:05.13
Paul says, "The reason I left
00:31:05.23\00:31:06.66
you," Titus, "in Crete
00:31:06.76\00:31:08.36
was that you might straighten
00:31:08.46\00:31:09.36
out what was left unfinished
00:31:09.46\00:31:10.90
and appoint elders in every town
00:31:11.00\00:31:13.64
as I directed you."
00:31:13.74\00:31:15.80
Now, pause for just a moment.
00:31:15.90\00:31:17.34
This is an organizational move.
00:31:17.44\00:31:18.81
Is it a spiritual move?
00:31:18.91\00:31:19.64
Absolutely.
00:31:19.74\00:31:20.61
But it is also
00:31:20.71\00:31:21.38
an organizational one.
00:31:21.48\00:31:23.41
Now, the verses
00:31:23.51\00:31:24.48
that immediately follow this
00:31:24.58\00:31:25.58
give the qualifications
00:31:25.68\00:31:26.65
for an elder, and usually
00:31:26.75\00:31:27.92
when we go to this portion
00:31:28.02\00:31:29.18
of Scripture,
00:31:29.28\00:31:29.95
that's why we're there.
00:31:30.05\00:31:31.25
It's a good reason.
00:31:31.35\00:31:32.15
But skip down to verse 9,
00:31:32.25\00:31:33.72
please, because there it tells
00:31:33.82\00:31:35.49
why, among other reasons,
00:31:35.59\00:31:37.16
this organizational change
00:31:37.26\00:31:39.39
needs to be made.
00:31:39.49\00:31:41.36
Verse 9 -- "He," the elder, "
00:31:41.46\00:31:42.93
must hold firmly to the
00:31:43.03\00:31:44.50
trustworthy message
00:31:44.60\00:31:45.73
as it has been taught --"
00:31:45.83\00:31:47.20
this is a reference to
00:31:47.30\00:31:48.07
the gospel -- "so that he can
00:31:48.17\00:31:49.74
encourage others by sound
00:31:49.84\00:31:51.17
doctrine and refute
00:31:51.27\00:31:52.64
those who oppose it."
00:31:52.74\00:31:53.91
So, encouraging those
00:31:54.01\00:31:55.01
who have already heard it
00:31:55.11\00:31:56.34
and opposing those
00:31:56.44\00:31:58.01
who oppose it, refute them.
00:31:58.11\00:31:59.38
Verse 10 -- "For there are
00:31:59.48\00:32:00.78
many rebellious people,
00:32:00.88\00:32:02.45
mere talkers and deceivers,
00:32:02.55\00:32:03.52
especially those
00:32:03.62\00:32:04.49
of the circumcision group.
00:32:04.59\00:32:05.99
They must be silenced
00:32:06.09\00:32:08.26
because they are ruining
00:32:08.36\00:32:09.29
whole households by teaching
00:32:09.39\00:32:10.66
things they ought not to
00:32:10.76\00:32:11.86
teach -- and that for the sake
00:32:11.96\00:32:13.36
of dishonest gain."
00:32:13.46\00:32:15.30
A first benefit to the local
00:32:15.40\00:32:17.67
church, a good organization,
00:32:17.77\00:32:19.43
is this.
00:32:19.53\00:32:20.54
Good organization keeps
00:32:20.64\00:32:22.30
the main thing the main thing.
00:32:22.40\00:32:25.51
It keeps the main thing
00:32:25.61\00:32:26.68
the main thing.
00:32:26.78\00:32:28.08
On Crete, apparently,
00:32:28.18\00:32:29.34
no sooner had these church
00:32:29.44\00:32:30.45
plants been planted that there
00:32:30.55\00:32:32.08
are other people, they said,
00:32:32.18\00:32:33.21
particularly the group
00:32:33.31\00:32:34.02
of the circumcision --
00:32:34.12\00:32:34.78
so, these are unwilling Jews,
00:32:34.88\00:32:35.88
the Jews that have no interest
00:32:35.98\00:32:36.75
in the Christian faith --
00:32:36.85\00:32:37.95
they are teaching a false
00:32:38.05\00:32:39.19
gospel.
00:32:39.29\00:32:40.22
They are trying to get something
00:32:40.32\00:32:41.06
which is not the main thing,
00:32:41.16\00:32:42.29
into the spotlight
00:32:42.39\00:32:43.19
of the main thing.
00:32:43.29\00:32:44.39
Paul says,
00:32:44.49\00:32:45.33
"Organizational change.
00:32:45.43\00:32:46.59
We need to up
00:32:46.70\00:32:47.50
the level of organization.
00:32:47.60\00:32:48.50
We're gonna add these leaders,
00:32:48.60\00:32:49.96
these elders, and they will keep
00:32:50.07\00:32:51.83
the main thing the main thing.
00:32:51.93\00:32:53.34
They will refute error,
00:32:53.44\00:32:54.64
and they will teach
00:32:54.74\00:32:56.27
the right thing, the mission,
00:32:56.37\00:32:57.47
the gospel message
00:32:57.57\00:32:59.04
of the church."
00:32:59.14\00:33:00.38
That's what it's for.
00:33:00.48\00:33:02.38
This is never to be dispensed
00:33:02.48\00:33:05.21
with in any church.
00:33:05.31\00:33:08.92
And yet there are churches
00:33:09.02\00:33:10.25
today out there in the world
00:33:10.35\00:33:13.86
that do not keep the main thing,
00:33:13.96\00:33:15.52
the main thing.
00:33:15.62\00:33:16.29
And to me, the worst thing
00:33:16.39\00:33:17.93
that I see is when I see
00:33:18.03\00:33:19.63
churches doing good things
00:33:19.73\00:33:22.03
that have nothing to do
00:33:22.13\00:33:23.10
with the unique message
00:33:23.20\00:33:23.90
and mission of the
00:33:24.00\00:33:24.67
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:33:24.77\00:33:26.10
Let that sink in.
00:33:26.20\00:33:26.87
You can chew
00:33:26.97\00:33:27.64
on that one over potluck.
00:33:27.74\00:33:30.07
Good organization keeps
00:33:30.17\00:33:31.27
the main thing the main thing.
00:33:31.37\00:33:32.44
And there is a second thing
00:33:32.54\00:33:33.51
that we see here
00:33:33.61\00:33:34.48
in the advice given to Titus.
00:33:34.58\00:33:36.98
Good organization makes mission
00:33:37.08\00:33:39.25
fulfillment the responsibility
00:33:39.35\00:33:41.38
of the many, not the few.
00:33:41.48\00:33:45.65
Now, again, let that sink in.
00:33:45.75\00:33:47.79
Who is the authority up to
00:33:47.89\00:33:49.09
this point for the churches
00:33:49.19\00:33:50.13
planted on Crete?
00:33:50.23\00:33:51.13
Well, I can tell you who
00:33:51.23\00:33:52.19
it would be without even having
00:33:52.29\00:33:53.19
it specifically laid out.
00:33:53.29\00:33:54.20
Paul and Titus.
00:33:54.30\00:33:56.26
They're the planters.
00:33:56.36\00:33:57.60
I mean, it only stands to
00:33:57.70\00:33:58.20
reason.
00:33:58.30\00:33:58.93
They were the authority.
00:33:59.03\00:34:00.17
And what Paul is, in essence,
00:34:00.27\00:34:01.40
saying is, "That's not good
00:34:01.50\00:34:02.47
enough.
00:34:02.57\00:34:03.57
We cannot be --
00:34:03.67\00:34:04.61
We two cannot be
00:34:04.71\00:34:05.97
the sole arbiters of keeping
00:34:06.07\00:34:08.31
this mission on track.
00:34:08.41\00:34:10.45
It's got to be spread out
00:34:10.55\00:34:11.65
to other leaders."
00:34:11.75\00:34:14.15
Pastors, those of you that are
00:34:14.25\00:34:15.45
pastors and listening right now,
00:34:15.55\00:34:16.85
one of the tests of
00:34:16.95\00:34:17.92
whether or not you have given
00:34:18.02\00:34:19.25
enough authority to lay leaders
00:34:19.35\00:34:21.49
is whether or not
00:34:21.59\00:34:22.46
they have the ability
00:34:22.56\00:34:23.43
to really mess things up.
00:34:23.53\00:34:26.63
It's true, isn't it?
00:34:26.73\00:34:28.50
If you do not have the ability
00:34:28.60\00:34:30.17
to really mess things up,
00:34:30.27\00:34:31.47
you don't have the ability
00:34:31.57\00:34:32.50
to really do things right.
00:34:32.60\00:34:34.70
You follow me?
00:34:34.80\00:34:36.47
This is one of the simple but
00:34:36.57\00:34:38.74
genius principles that Christ is
00:34:38.84\00:34:40.21
laying out for his church.
00:34:40.31\00:34:41.81
He says authority is not to be
00:34:41.91\00:34:43.41
centered in just one or two
00:34:43.51\00:34:44.35
people.
00:34:44.45\00:34:44.95
It's to be dispersed
00:34:45.05\00:34:45.95
throughout a congregation,
00:34:46.05\00:34:47.38
that there are many now
00:34:47.48\00:34:48.48
who are invested
00:34:48.58\00:34:49.38
in this gospel work
00:34:49.48\00:34:50.42
and this mission,
00:34:50.52\00:34:51.55
many people who are seeking
00:34:51.65\00:34:52.75
to keep the church on track.
00:34:52.85\00:34:54.96
You know, ladies and gentlemen,
00:34:55.06\00:34:55.49
I have bad news.
00:34:55.59\00:34:57.33
Adventism in the West
00:34:57.43\00:34:59.33
has fallen head over heels
00:34:59.43\00:35:01.33
in love with centralized
00:35:01.43\00:35:03.47
authority in the local church.
00:35:03.57\00:35:06.50
And it is killing us.
00:35:06.60\00:35:08.54
It is like a noose
00:35:08.64\00:35:09.77
around our neck
00:35:09.87\00:35:10.84
and the knot is getting
00:35:10.94\00:35:12.14
tighter and tighter
00:35:12.24\00:35:13.14
and it is choking off
00:35:13.24\00:35:14.48
our effectiveness.
00:35:14.58\00:35:16.51
And some of you might be
00:35:16.61\00:35:17.41
thinking, "Well, how so?
00:35:17.51\00:35:19.31
I'll tell you some other time.
00:35:26.29\00:35:27.36
[ Laughter ]
00:35:27.46\00:35:29.26
You need to keep coming back.
00:35:29.36\00:35:30.23
We're gonna talk about that.
00:35:30.33\00:35:31.43
We'll come back in a future
00:35:31.53\00:35:32.16
installment of the
00:35:32.26\00:35:33.09
"Church Works" series,
00:35:33.19\00:35:33.76
but I'm not gonna tell
00:35:33.86\00:35:34.50
you about that today.
00:35:34.60\00:35:35.30
Stay tuned, alright? Stay tuned.
00:35:35.40\00:35:36.73
This brings us
00:35:36.83\00:35:38.17
to benefit number three,
00:35:38.27\00:35:39.83
and this one is a whopper.
00:35:39.93\00:35:42.17
It's huge.
00:35:42.27\00:35:43.87
Turn your Bibles, please,
00:35:43.97\00:35:44.54
to Acts 6:1.
00:35:44.64\00:35:46.88
Acts 6:1.
00:35:46.98\00:35:51.01
Being in the book of Acts,
00:35:51.11\00:35:51.98
obviously, again, this is
00:35:52.08\00:35:52.98
the early Christian church.
00:35:53.08\00:35:54.08
This is the normal church.
00:35:54.18\00:35:55.52
They are growing
00:35:55.62\00:35:57.45
in their level of organization.
00:35:57.55\00:35:59.32
And we're gonna see firsthand
00:35:59.42\00:36:00.56
here what this third benefit is.
00:36:00.66\00:36:03.36
to Acts 6:1, page 737.
00:36:03.46\00:36:05.53
My apologies. 737.
00:36:05.63\00:36:07.83
"In those days
00:36:07.93\00:36:09.30
when the number of disciples
00:36:09.40\00:36:10.20
was increasing,
00:36:10.30\00:36:11.53
the Grecian Jews among them
00:36:11.63\00:36:12.77
complained against
00:36:12.87\00:36:13.60
the Hebraic Jews
00:36:13.70\00:36:14.67
because their widows
00:36:14.77\00:36:16.10
were being overlooked in
00:36:16.20\00:36:17.41
the daily distribution of food.
00:36:17.51\00:36:20.04
So the 12 gathered
00:36:20.14\00:36:21.51
all the disciples together
00:36:21.61\00:36:22.68
and said, 'It would not be right
00:36:22.78\00:36:24.78
for us to neglect the ministry
00:36:24.88\00:36:26.48
of the Word of God
00:36:26.58\00:36:27.82
in order to wait on tables.'"
00:36:27.92\00:36:29.58
Pause right there, please.
00:36:29.68\00:36:31.02
So, they are dealing with
00:36:31.12\00:36:32.19
an organizational problem.
00:36:32.29\00:36:34.56
There's a legitimate need, okay,
00:36:34.66\00:36:36.62
the ministry needs to take care
00:36:36.73\00:36:38.09
of, but they are not
00:36:38.19\00:36:39.26
organizationally
00:36:39.36\00:36:40.53
set up to deal with it.
00:36:40.63\00:36:41.76
So, what's the solution?
00:36:41.86\00:36:42.60
Verse 3 --
00:36:42.70\00:36:43.93
"'Brothers, choose seven men
00:36:44.03\00:36:45.70
from among you
00:36:45.80\00:36:46.67
who are known to be full
00:36:46.77\00:36:47.80
of the spirit and wisdom.
00:36:47.90\00:36:49.50
We will turn this responsibility
00:36:49.60\00:36:50.77
over to them and will give
00:36:50.87\00:36:52.31
our attention to prayer
00:36:52.41\00:36:53.71
and the ministry of the word.'
00:36:53.81\00:36:55.58
This proposal
00:36:55.68\00:36:56.64
pleased the whole group.
00:36:56.75\00:36:58.08
They chose Stephen,
00:36:58.18\00:36:59.28
a man full of faith
00:36:59.38\00:37:00.08
in the Holy Spirit,
00:37:00.18\00:37:01.28
also Philip, Procorus,
00:37:01.38\00:37:02.75
Nicanor, Timon, and Nicolas
00:37:02.85\00:37:04.49
from Antioch,
00:37:04.59\00:37:05.35
a convert to Judaism.
00:37:05.45\00:37:06.99
They presented these men
00:37:07.09\00:37:08.02
to the apostles, who prayed
00:37:08.12\00:37:09.39
and laid their hands on them.
00:37:09.49\00:37:11.19
So the Word of God spread.
00:37:11.29\00:37:13.93
The number of disciples
00:37:14.00\00:37:15.00
in Jerusalem increased rapidly,
00:37:15.10\00:37:16.56
and a large number of priests
00:37:16.67\00:37:17.93
became obedient to the faith."
00:37:18.03\00:37:22.27
A third benefit
00:37:22.37\00:37:23.94
to good organization
00:37:24.04\00:37:25.27
in the local church
00:37:25.37\00:37:26.41
is this -- good organization
00:37:26.51\00:37:28.44
reduces or eliminates
00:37:28.54\00:37:30.21
a church's weaknesses.
00:37:30.31\00:37:32.65
It reduces or eliminates
00:37:32.75\00:37:34.55
a church's weaknesses.
00:37:34.65\00:37:36.75
Now, this is crystal clear
00:37:36.85\00:37:37.82
in Acts chapter 6.
00:37:37.92\00:37:38.82
The weakness was,
00:37:38.92\00:37:39.82
is that people were starving.
00:37:39.92\00:37:40.72
That's a pretty
00:37:40.82\00:37:41.32
big weakness, okay?
00:37:41.42\00:37:43.06
If humans don't have food,
00:37:43.16\00:37:44.13
after a little while,
00:37:44.23\00:37:44.73
things get bad.
00:37:44.83\00:37:45.39
And so this is
00:37:45.49\00:37:46.19
a serious problem.
00:37:46.29\00:37:47.13
It's an organizational problem.
00:37:47.23\00:37:48.23
The apostles gather under
00:37:48.33\00:37:49.50
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
00:37:49.60\00:37:50.30
They expand
00:37:50.40\00:37:51.70
the level of organization.
00:37:51.80\00:37:53.47
And in this case,
00:37:53.57\00:37:54.90
they eliminated the problem.
00:37:55.00\00:37:56.77
They didn't just reduce it.
00:37:56.87\00:37:57.84
They eliminated it,
00:37:57.94\00:37:58.91
which is exactly
00:37:59.01\00:38:00.14
what good organization
00:38:00.24\00:38:01.41
is supposed to do.
00:38:01.51\00:38:02.41
Now, I cannot emphasize
00:38:02.51\00:38:05.08
this third benefit enough.
00:38:05.18\00:38:07.22
It is crucial because if,
00:38:07.32\00:38:10.72
instead of good organization,
00:38:10.82\00:38:13.36
there is bad organization,
00:38:13.46\00:38:16.96
then that bad organization
00:38:17.06\00:38:19.13
will not only not reduce
00:38:19.23\00:38:21.23
or eliminate a church's
00:38:21.33\00:38:22.46
weaknesses, it will instead
00:38:22.56\00:38:24.30
magnify and perpetuate those
00:38:24.40\00:38:26.40
weaknesses.
00:38:26.50\00:38:30.44
Which reminds me of a story.
00:38:30.54\00:38:34.68
Let's see.
00:38:34.78\00:38:36.21
t a church within 10,000 miles
00:38:36.31\00:38:38.01
of here in the last 30 years,
00:38:38.11\00:38:41.02
I had a Sabbath off.
00:38:41.12\00:38:43.35
Aha.
00:38:43.45\00:38:45.72
Didn't happen very often,
00:38:45.82\00:38:47.16
but every now and then, it did.
00:38:47.26\00:38:48.46
And my wife and I talked
00:38:48.56\00:38:49.36
and said, "Hey,
00:38:49.46\00:38:49.99
why don't we go visit
00:38:50.09\00:38:51.39
such and such a church?"
00:38:51.49\00:38:52.49
It was a bit of a drive
00:38:52.59\00:38:53.46
to get down there.
00:38:53.56\00:38:54.50
Said, "Hey, that'd be great.
00:38:54.60\00:38:55.86
Get to hear somebody else
00:38:55.96\00:38:56.50
preach," and I thought
00:38:56.60\00:38:57.23
that would be a great idea,
00:38:57.33\00:38:57.80
so let's go.
00:38:57.90\00:38:59.17
So, we get in the car
00:38:59.27\00:39:00.27
and there's traffic
00:39:00.37\00:39:01.37
and it's a bit of a drive.
00:39:01.47\00:39:02.97
We end up late to the church.
00:39:03.07\00:39:06.47
It's after Sabbath school
00:39:06.57\00:39:07.11
has started.
00:39:07.21\00:39:08.61
And we get there to
00:39:08.71\00:39:09.58
where the church is,
00:39:09.68\00:39:10.81
and there's no parking.
00:39:10.91\00:39:12.38
There's no place to park.
00:39:12.48\00:39:14.28
We drive around in circles there
00:39:14.38\00:39:15.45
a couple of times.
00:39:15.55\00:39:16.35
"Oh, man, I don't know."
00:39:16.45\00:39:17.49
Finally found a spot.
00:39:17.59\00:39:18.82
Now we're definitely late, okay?
00:39:18.92\00:39:22.42
So, we get out of the car.
00:39:22.52\00:39:23.69
We go into kind of
00:39:23.79\00:39:26.59
the sidewalk area there,
00:39:26.70\00:39:27.76
leading up to what is
00:39:27.86\00:39:28.56
very clearly
00:39:28.66\00:39:29.63
an official entrance
00:39:29.73\00:39:30.67
of the church -- you know,
00:39:30.77\00:39:31.70
glass windows, atrium,
00:39:31.80\00:39:32.87
this kind of thing there.
00:39:32.97\00:39:34.04
I walk up to the door and I pull
00:39:34.14\00:39:35.57
on it and it's locked.
00:39:35.67\00:39:39.61
Look at my watch.
00:39:39.71\00:39:40.38
Yeah, it's Saturday, and
00:39:40.48\00:39:41.74
it says Seventh-day Adventist
00:39:41.84\00:39:42.81
on the sign, so I think we're
00:39:42.91\00:39:43.78
in the right place, okay?
00:39:43.88\00:39:45.08
Now, this is a church of,
00:39:45.18\00:39:46.21
like, maybe 100 people,
00:39:46.31\00:39:47.32
150 people in attendance.
00:39:47.42\00:39:48.85
So it's not huge, it's not tiny,
00:39:48.95\00:39:49.82
but, you know,
00:39:49.92\00:39:50.39
certainly somebody
00:39:50.49\00:39:51.09
should be there to unlock
00:39:51.19\00:39:51.95
the doors, but not today.
00:39:52.05\00:39:53.49
And I look inside.
00:39:53.59\00:39:54.82
There's nobody
00:39:54.92\00:39:55.52
there in the lobby.
00:39:55.62\00:39:56.83
So I say to my family,
00:39:56.93\00:39:57.73
"Okay, wait here."
00:39:57.83\00:39:59.06
I go through the wet grass
00:39:59.16\00:40:00.30
and find this side door.
00:40:00.40\00:40:02.20
And just on a whim,
00:40:02.30\00:40:03.20
I tried it, and it was unlocked.
00:40:03.30\00:40:05.70
I thought, "Well, this must be
00:40:05.80\00:40:06.53
the guest entrance," okay?
00:40:06.63\00:40:07.90
So, I open the door,
00:40:08.00\00:40:09.34
make my way back to the atrium,
00:40:09.44\00:40:10.51
don't see a soul,
00:40:10.61\00:40:11.44
let my family in,
00:40:11.54\00:40:13.11
and then we're kind of like,
00:40:13.21\00:40:14.18
"Well, where is Sabbath school?
00:40:14.28\00:40:15.51
You know, where is
00:40:15.61\00:40:16.95
anything here?"
00:40:17.05\00:40:18.28
I hear some voices talking.
00:40:18.38\00:40:21.55
And I follow the voices
00:40:21.65\00:40:22.58
down a hallway.
00:40:22.68\00:40:23.92
And turns out,
00:40:24.02\00:40:25.42
just a hallway away,
00:40:25.52\00:40:26.69
there's a Sabbath school
00:40:26.79\00:40:27.49
class meeting in the hallway
00:40:27.59\00:40:29.32
there.
00:40:29.42\00:40:30.76
And I walk up, you know,
00:40:30.86\00:40:32.16
clearly with this kind of,
00:40:32.26\00:40:32.93
you know, guest "I don't know
00:40:33.03\00:40:34.00
what I'm doing" look on my face.
00:40:34.10\00:40:35.36
The Sabbath school teacher,
00:40:35.46\00:40:36.16
she looks up at me,
00:40:36.26\00:40:38.17
pauses for a moment,
00:40:38.27\00:40:39.90
says nothing,
00:40:40.00\00:40:41.40
and goes back to teaching
00:40:41.50\00:40:42.40
her Sabbath School class.
00:40:42.50\00:40:45.67
Alright.
00:40:45.77\00:40:47.31
Nobody in the class looks up.
00:40:47.41\00:40:48.64
Nobody says anything.
00:40:48.74\00:40:49.71
Okay.
00:40:49.81\00:40:50.68
I stood there for a little bit.
00:40:50.78\00:40:51.75
And I guess I'll go back
00:40:51.85\00:40:53.48
to the lobby.
00:40:53.58\00:40:54.25
And I said,
00:40:54.35\00:40:55.28
"Well, let's just wait it out.
00:40:55.38\00:40:56.32
You know, maybe Sabbath school
00:40:56.42\00:40:57.25
should be over not too long.
00:40:57.35\00:40:58.12
We'll go into the church
00:40:58.22\00:40:59.49
service, and maybe things will
00:40:59.59\00:41:00.76
get better, okay?"
00:41:00.86\00:41:02.16
Sure enough, people start
00:41:02.26\00:41:03.29
to come into the lobby.
00:41:03.39\00:41:04.33
Not a soul says hello,
00:41:04.43\00:41:06.53
not a soul.
00:41:06.63\00:41:07.60
This is not a megachurch,
00:41:07.66\00:41:08.50
ladies and gentlemen.
00:41:08.60\00:41:09.10
There's easily
00:41:09.20\00:41:10.20
a low enough number of people
00:41:10.30\00:41:11.03
that they know we
00:41:11.13\00:41:11.90
don't belong there, okay?
00:41:12.00\00:41:12.90
We're guests.
00:41:13.00\00:41:14.64
Nobody says a word.
00:41:14.74\00:41:16.27
Go into the sanctuary,
00:41:16.37\00:41:17.51
endure the worship service.
00:41:17.61\00:41:19.64
When it finishes --
00:41:19.74\00:41:21.14
Now, my wife had to correct me
00:41:21.24\00:41:22.31
on this 'cause I said this part
00:41:22.41\00:41:23.04
wrong in first service.
00:41:23.14\00:41:24.35
We actually did check ahead
00:41:24.45\00:41:25.48
of time to see if there was
00:41:25.58\00:41:26.51
a potluck for guests afterwards.
00:41:26.61\00:41:28.42
I was mixing it up
00:41:28.52\00:41:29.52
with another church.
00:41:29.62\00:41:30.32
I thought we didn't know whether
00:41:30.42\00:41:31.02
or not it was for guests.
00:41:31.12\00:41:31.42
It was.
00:41:31.52\00:41:32.45
It was a potluck for guests.
00:41:32.55\00:41:33.99
I didn't know where it was,
00:41:34.09\00:41:35.02
and nobody's talking to me,
00:41:35.12\00:41:36.09
so I thought, "Well, let's just
00:41:36.19\00:41:37.29
wait for the crowd to go."
00:41:37.39\00:41:38.39
Right, the we'll follow the
00:41:38.49\00:41:39.13
crowd where it's downs--
00:41:39.23\00:41:40.53
We follow the crowd.
00:41:40.63\00:41:41.93
We go downstairs.
00:41:42.03\00:41:43.30
We're like the last in line.
00:41:43.40\00:41:45.00
By the time we
00:41:45.10\00:41:46.33
funnel into the fairly small
00:41:46.43\00:41:48.10
fellowship hall,
00:41:48.20\00:41:50.07
all of the tables are filled,
00:41:50.17\00:41:51.71
all of the members are eating,
00:41:51.81\00:41:53.21
and -- I kid you not,
00:41:53.31\00:41:54.28
true story -- we spent the next
00:41:54.38\00:41:56.28
about 20 minutes
00:41:56.38\00:41:57.71
standing against the wall.
00:41:57.81\00:42:00.58
We got a picture.
00:42:00.68\00:42:01.55
There's like three or four
00:42:01.65\00:42:02.32
tables right here,
00:42:02.42\00:42:03.05
just two, three away,
00:42:03.15\00:42:04.22
filled with very happy church
00:42:04.32\00:42:05.69
members all eating their food.
00:42:05.79\00:42:07.76
And me and my family
00:42:07.86\00:42:09.52
and maybe a couple other guests
00:42:09.62\00:42:10.79
were all standing against
00:42:10.89\00:42:11.86
the wall waiting for our turn.
00:42:11.96\00:42:15.60
[ Chuckles ]
00:42:15.70\00:42:18.13
And I'm thinking to myself,
00:42:18.23\00:42:18.77
"I'm gonna preach
00:42:18.87\00:42:19.47
about this someday."
00:42:19.57\00:42:20.90
[ Laughter ]
00:42:21.00\00:42:25.74
When our 20 minutes was done,
00:42:25.84\00:42:27.24
the first person to speak to us
00:42:27.34\00:42:32.01
went like this.
00:42:32.11\00:42:32.91
They kind of waved a little bit.
00:42:33.01\00:42:34.25
And they motioned
00:42:34.35\00:42:35.25
that when they were finished,
00:42:35.35\00:42:36.18
we could have their table.
00:42:36.28\00:42:38.19
So gracious.
00:42:38.29\00:42:39.69
They finished.
00:42:39.79\00:42:40.56
We got plates.
00:42:40.66\00:42:41.69
We went in and took the scraps
00:42:41.79\00:42:42.96
from the remainder of
00:42:43.06\00:42:43.83
what was left on the potluck
00:42:43.93\00:42:44.99
table, went down, and we had
00:42:45.09\00:42:47.93
our potluck meal there
00:42:48.00\00:42:49.83
at that church.
00:42:49.93\00:42:52.83
And I'll tell you what -- if I
00:42:52.93\00:42:53.87
had not been an employee of the
00:42:53.97\00:42:56.40
Seventh-day Adventist Church...
00:42:56.50\00:42:57.51
[ Laughs ]
00:42:57.61\00:42:59.37
Well, anyway,
00:42:59.47\00:43:00.74
we never went back again.
00:43:00.84\00:43:03.24
Never went back, right?
00:43:03.35\00:43:06.35
And here's the thing.
00:43:06.45\00:43:08.82
Good organization
00:43:08.92\00:43:11.92
would have caught that.
00:43:12.02\00:43:16.16
And some of you are thinking,
00:43:16.26\00:43:16.99
"Well, common sense
00:43:17.09\00:43:18.09
would have caught that," right?
00:43:18.19\00:43:19.63
As it turns out, good
00:43:19.73\00:43:21.06
organization and common sense
00:43:21.16\00:43:22.33
have some things in common.
00:43:22.43\00:43:23.90
Okay?
00:43:24.00\00:43:26.33
Do you see why bad organization
00:43:26.43\00:43:28.30
can be so deadly?
00:43:28.40\00:43:30.64
You can miss people.
00:43:30.74\00:43:33.94
You can miss opportunities
00:43:34.04\00:43:35.74
to share Christ with people
00:43:35.84\00:43:38.18
if you are poorly organized
00:43:38.28\00:43:39.81
as a church.
00:43:39.91\00:43:40.78
If any church is poorly
00:43:40.88\00:43:42.95
organized, guests can come,
00:43:43.05\00:43:45.02
guests can go, and they are no
00:43:45.12\00:43:46.76
better for having been
00:43:46.86\00:43:47.52
in your presence.
00:43:47.62\00:43:49.46
This thing of organization
00:43:49.56\00:43:50.39
is not a small deal.
00:43:50.49\00:43:51.33
It's huge.
00:43:51.43\00:43:54.20
If there had been good
00:43:54.30\00:43:55.36
organization in that church,
00:43:55.46\00:43:56.70
or even moderately good
00:43:56.80\00:43:58.13
organization, here's what
00:43:58.23\00:43:59.00
might have happened.
00:43:59.10\00:43:59.63
Maybe a board meeting
00:43:59.73\00:44:00.57
later that week, right?
00:44:00.67\00:44:02.20
"Hey, George, did you see that
00:44:02.30\00:44:04.07
we had guests standing against
00:44:04.17\00:44:05.34
the fellowship hall wall?"
00:44:05.44\00:44:06.41
"Yeah, Bob, I saw that.
00:44:06.51\00:44:07.61
What did you think about that,
00:44:07.71\00:44:08.28
huh?"
00:44:08.38\00:44:08.98
"Well, I think maybe
00:44:09.08\00:44:09.84
they wanted to eat."
00:44:09.94\00:44:10.88
"I think they probably did,
00:44:10.98\00:44:11.58
too."
00:44:11.68\00:44:12.31
"I've got an idea.
00:44:12.41\00:44:13.55
Why don't we let guests go first
00:44:13.65\00:44:15.25
at the at the potluck meal?"
00:44:15.35\00:44:17.19
"Oh, I don't know, George.
00:44:17.29\00:44:17.99
That's pretty extreme.
00:44:18.09\00:44:18.95
You think we should do that?"
00:44:19.05\00:44:20.62
And then they could debate
00:44:20.72\00:44:21.66
about it, and maybe, hopefully,
00:44:21.76\00:44:22.46
if the Spirit has its way,
00:44:22.56\00:44:23.49
they'll say, "Oh, yeah,
00:44:23.59\00:44:24.49
that's a good idea.
00:44:24.59\00:44:25.36
Let's let guests go first."
00:44:25.46\00:44:26.73
Simple matter of organization.
00:44:26.83\00:44:29.53
Because, you see, good
00:44:29.63\00:44:31.10
organization invites critique.
00:44:31.20\00:44:33.77
Good organization in a church
00:44:33.87\00:44:35.30
is constantly asking itself,
00:44:35.40\00:44:36.77
"How are we doing
00:44:36.87\00:44:37.84
at fulfilling the mission
00:44:37.94\00:44:39.24
that God has given us to do?"
00:44:39.34\00:44:41.51
And if we're doing great,
00:44:41.61\00:44:42.38
praise the Lord.
00:44:42.48\00:44:43.18
Let's keep doing those things.
00:44:43.28\00:44:44.15
If there's parts
00:44:44.25\00:44:44.85
that we have weak spots,
00:44:44.95\00:44:45.88
then let's fix those things.
00:44:45.98\00:44:47.48
That's what good organization is
00:44:47.58\00:44:48.82
for in a local church.
00:44:48.92\00:44:51.39
Acts chapter 6 did it.
00:44:51.49\00:44:52.69
Who makes themselves
00:44:52.79\00:44:53.89
an exception?
00:44:53.99\00:44:56.39
Oh, how we need
00:44:56.49\00:44:57.46
good organization.
00:44:57.56\00:45:01.76
Which brings me to a final
00:45:01.86\00:45:04.30
benefit for this morning.
00:45:04.40\00:45:06.10
Acts 13:1, please.
00:45:06.20\00:45:07.80
Acts 13:1.
00:45:07.90\00:45:13.68
We're gonna visit here.
00:45:13.78\00:45:14.41
This is page 743
00:45:14.51\00:45:15.71
in your red Bible.
00:45:15.81\00:45:17.41
In Acts chapter 13,
00:45:17.51\00:45:18.55
we visit the church at Antioch.
00:45:18.65\00:45:20.15
This was a good church.
00:45:20.25\00:45:21.55
They were doing well.
00:45:21.65\00:45:22.35
They were in tune
00:45:22.45\00:45:23.12
with the spirit.
00:45:23.22\00:45:24.09
They were in tune with the word.
00:45:24.19\00:45:26.05
This is what happens there.
00:45:26.15\00:45:27.22
Acts 13:1 --
00:45:27.32\00:45:28.46
"In the church at Antioch,
00:45:28.56\00:45:29.79
there were prophets
00:45:29.89\00:45:30.79
and teachers:
00:45:30.89\00:45:32.46
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,
00:45:32.56\00:45:35.46
Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen,
00:45:35.56\00:45:37.30
who had been brought up with
00:45:37.40\00:45:38.40
Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
00:45:38.50\00:45:41.14
While they were worshiping
00:45:41.24\00:45:42.10
the Lord and fasting,
00:45:42.20\00:45:43.20
the Holy Spirit said,
00:45:43.30\00:45:44.81
'Set apart for me
00:45:44.91\00:45:46.04
Barnabas and Saul
00:45:46.14\00:45:47.48
for the work to which
00:45:47.58\00:45:48.68
I have called them.'
00:45:48.78\00:45:50.51
So after they had fasted
00:45:50.61\00:45:51.55
and prayed,
00:45:51.65\00:45:52.51
they placed their hands on them
00:45:52.61\00:45:54.25
and sent them off."
00:45:54.35\00:45:57.72
Benefit number four
00:45:57.82\00:46:00.06
of good organization
00:46:00.16\00:46:01.36
in the local church
00:46:01.46\00:46:02.02
is this.
00:46:02.12\00:46:03.43
Good organization
00:46:03.53\00:46:05.19
recognizes people's gifts
00:46:05.29\00:46:06.63
and deploys them
00:46:06.73\00:46:07.73
into meaningful ministry,
00:46:07.83\00:46:09.06
usually in teams.
00:46:09.16\00:46:11.27
Spectatorship can thus
00:46:11.37\00:46:12.47
be dramatically reduced,
00:46:12.57\00:46:14.07
and member fruitfulness and
00:46:14.17\00:46:15.60
fulfillment can skyrocket.
00:46:15.70\00:46:19.37
Do you see what's
00:46:19.47\00:46:20.11
happening here in Antioch?
00:46:20.21\00:46:21.88
The Holy Spirit is setting
00:46:21.98\00:46:23.78
the pattern
00:46:23.88\00:46:24.95
for every other church to come.
00:46:25.05\00:46:26.55
The Holy Spirit says
00:46:26.65\00:46:27.62
to the church,
00:46:27.72\00:46:28.52
"I want you to recognize
00:46:28.62\00:46:29.78
the giftedness of Saul,
00:46:29.88\00:46:31.19
soon to be Paul, and Barnabas.
00:46:31.29\00:46:33.39
I want you to recognize it,
00:46:33.49\00:46:34.79
and I want you to deploy them
00:46:34.89\00:46:36.52
into the ministry that I have
00:46:36.62\00:46:37.86
equipped them to do."
00:46:37.96\00:46:40.03
Well, you know what?
00:46:40.13\00:46:40.80
They did this, and it was
00:46:40.90\00:46:42.56
incredibly successful.
00:46:42.66\00:46:43.87
How do I know?
00:46:43.97\00:46:45.27
Because Paul and Barnabas
00:46:45.37\00:46:46.74
planted a lot of churches.
00:46:46.84\00:46:48.04
Gross understatement.
00:46:48.14\00:46:49.20
They planted a lot of churches.
00:46:49.30\00:46:50.97
Those churches were organized
00:46:51.07\00:46:52.37
the same way that they saw
00:46:52.47\00:46:53.81
the Holy Spirit organized
00:46:53.91\00:46:55.11
Antioch, namely this --
00:46:55.21\00:46:56.75
that in those churches,
00:46:56.85\00:46:58.25
spiritual gifts were identified
00:46:58.35\00:46:59.58
and the members were employed
00:46:59.68\00:47:00.92
into meaningful ministry.
00:47:01.02\00:47:02.32
That happened,
00:47:02.42\00:47:03.18
and other people became
00:47:03.28\00:47:04.45
converts to Jesus Christ.
00:47:04.55\00:47:06.05
That meant that more churches
00:47:06.15\00:47:07.26
were planted in new areas.
00:47:07.36\00:47:08.86
And that's why you're sitting
00:47:08.96\00:47:09.79
here today --
00:47:09.89\00:47:11.99
because the chain was unbroken.
00:47:12.09\00:47:13.66
Churches acknowledging
00:47:13.76\00:47:14.76
the giftedness
00:47:14.86\00:47:15.60
of individual members
00:47:15.70\00:47:16.73
and deploying them
00:47:16.83\00:47:17.87
into fruitful ministry for God.
00:47:17.97\00:47:20.80
And notice this carefully.
00:47:20.90\00:47:22.04
I don't think that Saul, soon to
00:47:22.14\00:47:23.94
be Paul, was sitting around
00:47:24.04\00:47:25.71
Antioch feeling -- you know,
00:47:25.81\00:47:26.84
moping and groaning, right?
00:47:26.94\00:47:27.91
I think he probably had
00:47:28.01\00:47:28.91
a fair level of fulfillment,
00:47:29.01\00:47:30.11
but nothing compared
00:47:30.21\00:47:31.81
to the fulfillment and
00:47:31.91\00:47:33.35
fruitfulness that he experienced
00:47:33.45\00:47:35.12
when the church sent him out
00:47:35.22\00:47:36.58
and deployed him into ministry,
00:47:36.69\00:47:39.19
and they did it as a team.
00:47:39.29\00:47:42.96
You know, this team thing occurs
00:47:43.06\00:47:44.73
over and over and over
00:47:44.83\00:47:46.43
in the New Testament --
00:47:46.53\00:47:48.33
and for good reason.
00:47:48.43\00:47:49.80
You know, I've heard people
00:47:49.90\00:47:50.57
when they when they go into
00:47:50.67\00:47:51.60
a large church, they attend a
00:47:51.70\00:47:52.67
large church, they say,
00:47:52.77\00:47:53.57
"This church is so big,
00:47:53.67\00:47:54.47
I don't know how to make
00:47:54.57\00:47:55.27
friends here."
00:47:55.37\00:47:56.94
But when a church is filled
00:47:57.04\00:47:58.11
with ministry teams,
00:47:58.21\00:47:59.24
there can be meaningful,
00:47:59.34\00:48:00.18
fulfilling place for
00:48:00.28\00:48:01.31
nearly everyone.
00:48:01.41\00:48:02.78
A ministry team can be
00:48:02.88\00:48:04.05
the perfect place
00:48:04.15\00:48:04.88
for building friendships
00:48:04.98\00:48:05.88
that last forever.
00:48:05.98\00:48:07.82
We are not meant to be
00:48:07.92\00:48:09.78
in this world alone.
00:48:09.88\00:48:11.12
Amen?
00:48:11.22\00:48:11.82
>> Amen.
00:48:11.92\00:48:13.15
>> So God says,
00:48:13.25\00:48:14.89
"I strongly want my children
00:48:14.99\00:48:16.73
to live and work and serve
00:48:16.83\00:48:18.76
together in this team
00:48:18.86\00:48:19.96
environment," and good
00:48:20.06\00:48:21.53
organization in a local church
00:48:21.63\00:48:23.03
can make that happen.
00:48:23.13\00:48:26.53
Pioneer family, there's much
00:48:26.63\00:48:27.64
more that could be said
00:48:27.74\00:48:28.10
about this.
00:48:28.20\00:48:28.84
We'll talk more about these
00:48:28.94\00:48:29.40
things later on.
00:48:29.50\00:48:31.17
But for now, suffice it to say
00:48:31.27\00:48:32.74
this -- good organization can
00:48:32.84\00:48:34.68
bring some very good benefits
00:48:34.78\00:48:36.24
to a local church.
00:48:36.34\00:48:38.28
That's why the elders are
00:48:38.38\00:48:39.15
going through the strategic
00:48:39.25\00:48:40.02
planning process.
00:48:40.12\00:48:41.02
There's so many good things
00:48:41.12\00:48:42.32
that are already happening here.
00:48:42.42\00:48:43.72
We want to take those things
00:48:43.82\00:48:44.72
and capitalize on them
00:48:44.82\00:48:46.09
and multiply them even further
00:48:46.19\00:48:47.56
for the glory of God.
00:48:47.66\00:48:49.39
We want to continue to stay
00:48:49.49\00:48:50.63
focused on our mission,
00:48:50.73\00:48:51.63
and we want as many people
00:48:51.73\00:48:52.56
as possible working
00:48:52.66\00:48:53.83
to maintain that focus.
00:48:53.93\00:48:55.60
And if we find weaknesses,
00:48:55.70\00:48:56.97
well, we want to identify them,
00:48:57.07\00:48:58.77
eliminate them if possible,
00:48:58.87\00:49:00.27
or at least reduce them
00:49:00.37\00:49:02.00
to a manageable size.
00:49:02.10\00:49:03.91
We want to find the giftedness
00:49:04.01\00:49:05.11
of as many of you as possible
00:49:05.21\00:49:06.54
and deploy you into
00:49:06.64\00:49:07.44
meaningful and effective
00:49:07.54\00:49:08.48
ministry for Christ.
00:49:08.58\00:49:10.01
And we long for as many of you
00:49:10.11\00:49:11.81
as possible to find strength
00:49:11.91\00:49:13.78
and courage and meaning
00:49:13.88\00:49:15.48
in a team of fellow believers
00:49:15.58\00:49:17.59
that is actively working to
00:49:17.69\00:49:18.89
expand God's kingdom on earth.
00:49:18.99\00:49:21.19
That's why we're doing this
00:49:21.29\00:49:21.76
process.
00:49:21.86\00:49:26.39
I want to leave you
00:49:26.49\00:49:27.23
with a final text here.
00:49:27.30\00:49:28.16
I'm gonna put it on the screen.
00:49:28.26\00:49:29.23
These are the words of Jesus.
00:49:29.33\00:49:30.27
He's speaking
00:49:30.37\00:49:31.37
with his disciples.
00:49:31.47\00:49:32.23
Here's what happens.
00:49:32.33\00:49:32.97
Matthew chapter 16,
00:49:33.07\00:49:34.14
beginning of verse 13.
00:49:34.24\00:49:36.40
"When Jesus came into the region
00:49:36.50\00:49:37.57
of Caesarea Philippi,
00:49:37.67\00:49:38.74
He asked His disciples,
00:49:38.84\00:49:40.28
saying, 'Who do men say that I,
00:49:40.38\00:49:42.91
the Son of Man, am?'
00:49:43.01\00:49:45.05
So they said,
00:49:45.15\00:49:46.28
"Some say John the Baptist,
00:49:46.38\00:49:47.38
some Elijah,
00:49:47.48\00:49:48.22
and others Jeremiah,
00:49:48.32\00:49:49.35
or one of the prophets.'
00:49:49.45\00:49:51.05
He said to them,
00:49:51.15\00:49:52.75
'But who do you say that I am?'
00:49:52.85\00:49:55.59
Simon Peter answered and said,
00:49:55.69\00:49:57.93
"You are the Christ,
00:49:58.03\00:49:59.73
the Son of the living God.'
00:49:59.83\00:50:02.80
Jesus answered and said to him,
00:50:02.90\00:50:04.57
blessed are you,
00:50:04.67\00:50:05.70
Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and
00:50:05.80\00:50:07.34
blood has not revealed this
00:50:07.44\00:50:08.30
to you, but my Father
00:50:08.40\00:50:09.30
who is in heaven.
00:50:09.40\00:50:10.87
And I also say to you,'"
00:50:10.97\00:50:12.34
pointing at Peter,
00:50:12.44\00:50:13.81
"'that you are Peter,'"
00:50:13.91\00:50:15.34
and then pointing back
00:50:15.44\00:50:16.21
at himself,
00:50:16.31\00:50:17.51
"'and on this rock
00:50:17.61\00:50:19.15
I will build my church.'"
00:50:19.25\00:50:20.75
And notice this last phrase.
00:50:20.85\00:50:22.42
"'And the gates of Hell
00:50:22.52\00:50:24.29
shall not prevail against it.'"
00:50:24.39\00:50:29.22
That last phrase may be one
00:50:29.32\00:50:31.79
of the strongest statements
00:50:31.89\00:50:33.86
of organization in the church
00:50:33.96\00:50:36.36
that Christ ever made.
00:50:36.46\00:50:39.37
You say, "How can that be?
00:50:39.47\00:50:40.47
Help me understand."
00:50:40.57\00:50:41.50
You know, I remember
00:50:41.60\00:50:42.24
when I first read this text.
00:50:42.34\00:50:43.51
I was probably like 13,
00:50:43.61\00:50:44.47
14 years old.
00:50:44.57\00:50:45.74
And I got it wrong
00:50:45.84\00:50:46.64
the first time.
00:50:46.74\00:50:48.28
When I read it, for whatever
00:50:48.38\00:50:49.68
reason, to me, what came out of
00:50:49.78\00:50:51.61
it is that the local church is
00:50:51.71\00:50:54.32
a fortress and it's got gates
00:50:54.42\00:50:56.38
that Satan can't penetrate.
00:50:56.48\00:50:58.62
Okay?
00:50:58.72\00:50:59.85
But if you think about
00:50:59.95\00:51:00.82
the metaphor
00:51:00.92\00:51:01.66
that Jesus is using here,
00:51:01.76\00:51:03.02
that's actually the opposite
00:51:03.12\00:51:04.33
of what he's saying.
00:51:04.43\00:51:06.63
You see, the church is not
00:51:06.73\00:51:07.76
merely a fortress to run into
00:51:07.86\00:51:09.13
and slam the doors behind us.
00:51:09.23\00:51:11.10
It is instead to be
00:51:11.20\00:51:12.73
like an army, an army
00:51:12.83\00:51:15.90
that uses a battering ram.
00:51:16.00\00:51:19.34
Do you see that there?
00:51:19.44\00:51:21.04
What does it say?
00:51:21.14\00:51:21.88
It says, "The gates of hell
00:51:21.98\00:51:23.18
shall not prevail against it."
00:51:23.28\00:51:24.21
So, the gates of what?
00:51:24.31\00:51:25.11
Of hell. Okay.
00:51:25.21\00:51:26.82
This is not the kingdom.
00:51:26.92\00:51:27.75
This is not a church.
00:51:27.85\00:51:28.28
This is not God.
00:51:28.38\00:51:29.45
The gates of hell.
00:51:29.55\00:51:30.25
So, in other words,
00:51:30.35\00:51:31.05
hell is being symbolized
00:51:31.15\00:51:32.45
as a fortress here with gates.
00:51:32.55\00:51:36.96
And a battering ram was the
00:51:37.06\00:51:39.23
weapon against gates
00:51:39.33\00:51:40.60
in those days.
00:51:40.70\00:51:41.50
Actually, for hundreds of years
00:51:41.60\00:51:42.16
after that, as well.
00:51:42.26\00:51:43.13
If you don't know what
00:51:43.23\00:51:43.73
a battering ram was,
00:51:43.83\00:51:44.57
it was simply this.
00:51:44.67\00:51:45.57
An army trained
00:51:45.67\00:51:46.77
and organized to do so,
00:51:46.87\00:51:48.10
if they came to a fortress
00:51:48.20\00:51:49.47
of the enemy and they needed
00:51:49.57\00:51:50.57
to break through the gates --
00:51:50.67\00:51:51.34
The gates were almost always,
00:51:51.44\00:51:52.71
you know, maybe metal crossbars
00:51:52.81\00:51:54.71
here and hasps and thick wood,
00:51:54.81\00:51:56.71
often very thick wood,
00:51:56.81\00:51:57.95
very hard to get through
00:51:58.05\00:51:59.28
unless you had a battering ram.
00:51:59.38\00:52:01.58
And so this trained
00:52:01.68\00:52:02.25
and organized
00:52:02.35\00:52:03.08
army would go to the forest.
00:52:03.18\00:52:03.95
They would cut down
00:52:04.05\00:52:04.49
the biggest tree
00:52:04.59\00:52:05.35
they felt they could carry.
00:52:05.45\00:52:06.52
You get 20 guys on one side,
00:52:06.62\00:52:07.79
20 guys on the other.
00:52:07.89\00:52:09.06
You know, the little
00:52:09.16\00:52:09.72
branches left over here
00:52:09.82\00:52:11.16
so you have a handle.
00:52:11.26\00:52:12.53
And that trained,
00:52:12.63\00:52:13.43
organized army would take
00:52:13.53\00:52:15.00
that battering ram in one arm
00:52:15.10\00:52:16.70
and their shields
00:52:16.80\00:52:17.63
over their head
00:52:17.73\00:52:18.53
to keep the arrows off of them,
00:52:18.63\00:52:19.77
and they would march up
00:52:19.87\00:52:20.87
to the gates of the enemy.
00:52:20.97\00:52:23.67
And in an organized fashion
00:52:23.77\00:52:25.21
they would begin this rhythm --
00:52:25.31\00:52:26.57
one -- pow! -- two --
00:52:26.68\00:52:28.54
pow! -- three -- pow! --
00:52:28.64\00:52:30.35
until at last
00:52:30.45\00:52:31.88
those gates came down.
00:52:31.98\00:52:34.45
Do you see the power
00:52:34.55\00:52:36.05
of the picture
00:52:36.15\00:52:36.99
that Jesus is creating here?
00:52:37.09\00:52:39.55
Jesus is saying
00:52:39.65\00:52:41.42
that we're not to be a fortress
00:52:41.52\00:52:43.22
that we all huddle in scared.
00:52:43.32\00:52:44.16
No, no, no, no.
00:52:44.26\00:52:44.96
We are instead
00:52:45.06\00:52:45.73
to be like his army,
00:52:45.83\00:52:47.03
an army that takes
00:52:47.13\00:52:48.90
the battle to the enemy.
00:52:49.00\00:52:51.00
We're not to sit
00:52:51.10\00:52:51.93
around waiting for the devil
00:52:52.03\00:52:53.34
to make the first move.
00:52:53.44\00:52:54.40
We are to actively move,
00:52:54.50\00:52:55.70
to engage the spiritual
00:52:55.80\00:52:57.34
strongholds of evil
00:52:57.44\00:52:58.64
on this planet,
00:52:58.74\00:53:00.08
powered by God's Spirit,
00:53:00.18\00:53:01.28
organized in the keeping
00:53:01.38\00:53:02.31
with His Word,
00:53:02.41\00:53:03.48
working together in a systematic
00:53:03.58\00:53:05.15
and orderly fashion.
00:53:05.25\00:53:06.82
And when we do that,
00:53:06.92\00:53:08.22
it's as though the gospel
00:53:08.32\00:53:09.58
becomes this battering ram
00:53:09.68\00:53:11.25
that we keep working together
00:53:11.35\00:53:12.39
in united effort,
00:53:12.49\00:53:13.82
and eventually the gates of hell
00:53:13.92\00:53:15.69
will not stand
00:53:15.79\00:53:18.49
because that's what happens
00:53:18.59\00:53:19.56
when a church becomes normal.
00:53:19.66\00:53:21.63
A church becomes organized
00:53:21.73\00:53:23.26
and unified
00:53:23.37\00:53:24.83
in an orderly fashion,
00:53:24.93\00:53:26.23
working for
00:53:26.33\00:53:26.87
the cause of Christ.
00:53:26.97\00:53:28.10
And, ladies and gentlemen,
00:53:28.20\00:53:28.94
I'll tell you the truth,
00:53:29.04\00:53:29.87
not because I say so,
00:53:29.97\00:53:30.84
but because God says so.
00:53:30.94\00:53:32.37
That kind of church will win
00:53:32.47\00:53:37.41
because the gates of hell
00:53:37.51\00:53:38.95
will not prevail against it.
00:53:39.05\00:53:41.88
I'll tell you what,
00:53:41.98\00:53:43.02
ladies and gentlemen.
00:53:43.12\00:53:43.62
I want to see that.
00:53:43.72\00:53:44.75
I want to be there.
00:53:44.85\00:53:45.85
I want to be a part of that.
00:53:45.95\00:53:49.02
How about you?
00:53:49.12\00:53:50.83
>> Indeed, Lord Jesus,
00:56:15.27\00:56:16.20
by your grace,
00:56:16.30\00:56:17.31
we will be more than conquerors.
00:56:17.41\00:56:20.04
Lord, rally us.
00:56:20.14\00:56:22.08
Rally your troops.
00:56:22.18\00:56:23.61
Show us our part.
00:56:23.71\00:56:25.08
Give us your courage
00:56:25.18\00:56:25.98
and strength.
00:56:26.08\00:56:27.28
Please, Lord, send the former
00:56:27.38\00:56:28.52
and the latter rains
00:56:28.62\00:56:29.65
of your Holy Spirit to fill us
00:56:29.75\00:56:31.75
and your people
00:56:31.85\00:56:32.82
all over the world,
00:56:32.92\00:56:34.22
that your work might be finished
00:56:34.32\00:56:35.42
in and through us,
00:56:35.52\00:56:36.96
and we will give you the glory,
00:56:37.06\00:56:38.33
for we ask it in
00:56:38.43\00:56:39.13
the name of Jesus.
00:56:39.23\00:56:39.96
Amen.
00:56:40.06\00:56:40.76
>> Have you ever wondered
00:56:44.67\00:56:45.27
what Jesus was like
00:56:45.37\00:56:46.27
when He walked on this planet
00:56:46.37\00:56:47.24
2,000 years ago?
00:56:47.34\00:56:49.44
Have you ever wondered where
00:56:49.54\00:56:50.81
He traveled, who He talked to,
00:56:50.91\00:56:52.64
who His friends were,
00:56:52.74\00:56:53.74
what His family was like?
00:56:53.84\00:56:55.54
Or have you heard about
00:56:55.64\00:56:56.31
the astonishing miracles
00:56:56.41\00:56:57.51
that Jesus did,
00:56:57.61\00:56:58.98
like feeding 5,000 people
00:56:59.08\00:57:00.65
with just five loaves of bread
00:57:00.75\00:57:01.88
and a couple of fish
00:57:01.98\00:57:03.25
or giving sight back to a man
00:57:03.35\00:57:04.82
born blind?
00:57:04.92\00:57:06.55
What would it have been like
00:57:06.65\00:57:08.36
to be there with Jesus
00:57:08.46\00:57:09.89
in those unprecedented days?
00:57:09.99\00:57:12.79
I hold in my hands a free book
00:57:12.89\00:57:14.46
that I'd like to give to you.
00:57:14.56\00:57:15.40
It's called
00:57:15.50\00:57:16.20
"The Desire of Ages,"
00:57:16.30\00:57:18.07
and it's one of the finest
00:57:18.17\00:57:18.90
biographies of Christ
00:57:19.00\00:57:19.90
ever produced.
00:57:20.00\00:57:21.54
It goes into incredible detail
00:57:21.64\00:57:22.90
of who Jesus was,
00:57:23.00\00:57:24.31
what His life was like,
00:57:24.41\00:57:25.84
who His enemies were, and what
00:57:25.94\00:57:27.11
His followers were like,
00:57:27.21\00:57:28.91
and, of course, ultimately how
00:57:29.01\00:57:30.55
He died on the cross and rose
00:57:30.65\00:57:32.15
from the grave to give freedom
00:57:32.25\00:57:33.88
to people just like you and me.
00:57:33.98\00:57:36.02
"The Desire of Ages" can be
00:57:36.12\00:57:37.92
yours for free by calling
00:57:38.02\00:57:39.55
877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:39.65\00:57:41.79
That's 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:41.89\00:57:44.96
Jesus is the most influential
00:57:45.06\00:57:46.76
person in all of human history.
00:57:46.86\00:57:49.13
You owe it to yourself
00:57:49.23\00:57:50.73
and those you love to find out
00:57:50.83\00:57:52.67
who he really was.
00:57:52.77\00:57:53.90
¤
00:57:59.81\00:58:09.75
¤
00:58:09.85\00:58:19.49
¤
00:58:19.59\00:58:27.64