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00:11 Let's face it, it's not always easy to understand
00:14 everything you read in the Bible. 00:16 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 00:20 the Bible can generate a lot of questions. 00:23 To get biblical straightforward answers, 00:25 call into Bible Answers Live, 00:27 a live nationwide call-in radio program 00:29 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 00:32 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 00:34 For times and stations in your area 00:36 or to listen to answers online, 00:38 visit Bal.AmazingFacts.org. 00:55 Friends, are you afraid of heights? 00:57 If so, you might want to look away right now. 01:00 One of the most famous attractions 01:02 in the San Francisco Bay area 01:03 is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. 01:06 While this world famous bridge was named 01:08 as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. 01:11 Few people know the story of the brave men 01:13 who were involved in its construction 01:15 and also known as the Half Way to Hell Club. 01:19 Designed by a group of visionary engineers 01:21 at 4,200 feet from end to end, the Golden Gate Bridge 01:24 was at one time the longest suspension bridge in the world. 01:28 During its construction from 1933 to 1937, 01:32 the Golden Gate Bridge 01:33 had one of the best safety construction records 01:36 of any project during that time. 01:38 Keep in mind, they would factor in 01:40 and calculate that one man would die 01:42 for every million dollars that was spent. 01:44 So with a budget of $35 million, 01:47 they knew that loss of life would be unacceptable. 01:50 This is why the chief engineer Joseph B Strauss 01:53 was absolutely adamant 01:54 about using the most rigorous safety precautions 01:57 that it ever been used in bridge building. 01:59 He had a local manufacturer of safety equipment, 02:02 designed special headgear that he insisted be worn 02:04 on every job. 02:05 This became the prototype for the modern hard hat 02:08 worn for the first time ever, 02:10 but the safety precautions went even farther. 02:13 Strauss provided a special hand and face cream 02:15 to protect their skin from the cold biting wind 02:18 and glare free goggles to protect their eyes. 02:21 In addition, they also ate a special diet 02:23 to help ward off dizziness 02:25 when they were working at those epic heights. 02:27 But the most conspicuous safety precaution 02:30 was a gigantic net 02:31 that was suspended from end to end 02:33 under the entire construction area 02:35 of the Golden Gate Bridge. 02:37 In fact, during construction, 02:40 this net saved the lives of 19 men 02:43 who later became known as the Half Way to Hell Club. 02:47 Now you need to keep in mind, these were some of the most 02:49 dangerous construction conditions 02:50 you can imagine. 02:52 The wind was constantly blowing. 02:54 They were walking around on iron 02:56 that sometimes had ice from the freezing fog. 02:59 In places, they were over 700 feet above the icy waters. 03:04 Yet, the men coming from all walks of life 03:07 were willing to take these risks 03:09 because it was during The Great Depression 03:11 and they would get paid up to $11 a day 03:13 which was a fortune back then. 03:16 One of the other benefits of the net 03:18 was they discovered that the men 03:20 were much more courageous 03:21 even though they were walking high on those slippery surfaces 03:24 because they knew there was a mechanism 03:26 to protect them if they should fall, 03:28 this gave them the confidence and the courage to press on 03:31 and get the bridge built in record time. 03:33 You know, friends, as Christians 03:35 we have a great work to do. 03:37 The Bible tells us that we get to participate with Jesus 03:40 in building a bridge that connects heaven and earth, 03:43 and there are dangers along the way. 03:45 The devil would like to paralyze us with fear 03:47 that we might fall or make a mistake, 03:50 but we know that Jesus has provided a safety net for us 03:53 and we don't have to be afraid. 03:54 We can press on with confidence 03:56 because the promise is in the Book of Jude 24, 03:59 he is able to keep us from falling. 04:01 But sometimes we make mistakes, 04:03 still don't be discouraged, friends, 04:05 if you read in 1 John 2:1, the Bible says, 04:09 "If we fall, if we sin, 04:11 we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ." 04:14 So let's press on together and build that bridge 04:16 with Christ. 04:50 Hello, and welcome to yet another edition 04:51 of the Sabbath School Study Hour. 04:53 My name is Shawn Brummund, and it is always my pleasure 04:56 to be able to introduce one of my favorite studies 04:58 which is the Sabbath School Study Hour. 05:01 I want to extend a special welcome to all those 05:04 who are watching not only across America 05:06 but from the different countries across the world, 05:08 we are just so thankful 05:09 that you have decided to join us, 05:11 and I know that you are going to be blessed and enriched 05:14 because of the study that we'll be looking at here 05:16 today in the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 05:20 right here in Sacramento, California, 05:22 United States of America. 05:25 I am going to be introducing here 05:27 our special book that we've been looking at 05:29 for the last several weeks now 05:31 as we're finishing up this quarterly 05:32 by the end of September, 05:34 and it's entitled the Book of Acts. 05:36 Now today we're going to be looking at a very special study 05:39 and a very special topic. 05:40 Powerful topic in which Paul is finding himself 05:43 on his third and final missionary 05:46 tour or trip as we might want to call it, 05:50 and so there's just a whole lot of powerful things 05:52 that are happening there, and I look forward to studying 05:54 and finding what we will discover together. 05:58 Before we invite our singers out together though, 06:00 I want to offer you our special free gift that we always offer 06:04 every Sabbath School Study Hour, 06:06 and this what is entitled Three Steps to Heaven, 06:09 Three Steps to Heaven. 06:11 Now if you've never read this book, 06:12 I want to strongly recommend 06:13 that you take advantage of that offer 06:15 and that you phone into 1-866-788-3966. 06:21 Again, that's 1-866-Study-More. 06:25 Now for those of you 06:26 who are more digitally oriented, 06:27 and you would like to have a copy 06:29 of that particular gift offer, we do offer it through text. 06:35 And so you can actually receive that 06:36 in digital download on your phone, 06:38 all you need to do is text the code "SH068". 06:43 Again, that's "SH068", 06:46 and you text that to the number 40544, 06:50 and we'll be happy to be able to offer that to you digitally. 06:55 Now one of the thing, 06:56 if you don't have a physical copy 06:57 of this particular quarterly that we're going through 06:59 not only today but in the next month 07:01 or so as we continue to study the Book of Acts, 07:04 we want to offer that 07:05 with a digital download as well. 07:07 Again, you can go on your phone, your laptop, 07:09 and other digital devices and simply go to study.aftv, 07:14 that's for AmazingFactsTV.org. 07:18 Again, that's study.aftv.org, 07:23 and you can download a digital copy 07:25 of the Book of Acts and the quarterly study 07:27 that we're looking at. 07:28 Now if you're one of those people 07:29 that likes to have a paper copy, 07:32 that we always encourage you to find your closest local 07:34 Seventh-day Adventist Church 07:36 and as you go to visit them on a Saturday morning, 07:39 you'll find different services taking place 07:42 and 99% of the time they'll have 07:44 a extra quarterly copy 07:46 that they'll be able to give to you for free. 07:49 And so again, we're just so happy 07:50 that you've come to join us, 07:52 and we're going to invite our singers out 07:54 as they lead us in songs of praise. 08:05 He leadeth me, O blessed thought 08:10 O words with heav'nly comfort fraught 08:16 Whate'er I do, where'er I be 08:23 Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me 08:30 He leadeth me, He leadeth me 08:35 By His own hand He leadeth me 08:42 His faithful foll'wer I would be 08:47 For by His hand He leadeth me 08:55 Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom 09:00 Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom 09:06 By waters still, o'er troubled sea 09:13 Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me 09:20 He leadeth me, He leadeth me 09:25 By His own hand He leadeth me 09:31 His faithful foll'wer I would be 09:37 For by His hand He leadeth me 09:44 And when my task on earth is done 09:49 When by Thy grace the vict'ry's won 09:55 E'en death's cold wave I will not flee 10:02 Since God through Jordan leadeth me 10:09 He leadeth me, He leadeth me 10:14 By His own hand He leadeth me 10:21 His faithful foll'wer I would be 10:26 For by His hand He leadeth me 10:37 At this time, Pastor Brummund will have our opening prayer. 10:43 Father in heaven, 10:44 we are so thankful to be able to stop, 10:46 and to be able to talk to You, and to know that 10:48 Your Spirit will come to us when we ask You to be with us, 10:51 and to teach us, and to enlighten us in the way 10:54 that You know that we need. 10:56 God, we thank You so much for Your Book of Acts 10:58 that You have given to us in Your Holy Bible. 11:01 We pray God in heaven that You'll enlighten us, 11:03 that You'll strengthen our faith, 11:04 and to help us to understand Your plan for our life 11:07 that much better. 11:08 Please be with Pastor Doug as he speaks, 11:10 and be with his heart, and with his mind, 11:12 today as well. 11:13 In Jesus' name we pray these things, God. 11:15 Amen. 11:17 Our lesson for today is lesson number 10, 11:20 it's the Third Missionary Journey of Paul, 11:23 we have a memory verse. 11:24 And the memory verse is from Acts 20:24. 11:28 And I would appreciate if you can say it with me, 11:31 Acts 20:24 here, and your lesson 11:34 is from the New Revised Standard Version. 11:36 You ready? 11:37 "I do not count my life of any value to myself, 11:42 if only I may finish my course and the ministry 11:46 that I received from the Lord Jesus, 11:48 to testify to the good news of God's grace." 11:52 You know if we stop right here, 11:54 if you were to memorize that verse, 11:55 and made it sort of a motto for your life, 11:57 the lesson would not be in vain. 12:00 For Paul to say, "I don't count my life, 12:03 the only thing that matters is that I might be faithful 12:06 and that I could tell others the gospel." 12:09 That's what he's saying here. 12:10 Wouldn't that be a great place to come 12:12 to in your Christian experience where you could have that? 12:15 That experience where he said, "Not I but Christ, 12:17 I'm crucified with Christ, the only thing that matters 12:20 is that I'm faithful to do whatever God wants me to do 12:23 and reflecting the gospel." 12:25 That's a great scripture reading for us to memorize. 12:27 All right, now we're on Paul's third missionary journey, 12:31 and maybe I'll begin... 12:33 And I should tell you what our assignment is today. 12:35 We're going to do our best to try to cover 12:38 Acts 18:24 12:43 through Acts 21:15. 12:47 You heard the story about the hunters 12:49 that were out in the woods hunting. 12:51 And one had a rifle, one had a shotgun, 12:55 and they came to the edge of the woods 12:57 where it opened up into a great meadow, 12:59 and they looked down into the meadow below 13:00 and there were 10 deer. 13:03 And the hunter that had the shotgun said, 13:06 "Don't move if I shoot now, I can hit them all." 13:11 And his friend said, 13:12 "You probably will hit them all, 13:13 but we won't take anything home." 13:15 He said, "If you could hold still, 13:17 let me shoot, I'll hit one, and we'll take it home." 13:21 Of course, you'll understand the difference 13:22 between a shotgun that sprays everywhere 13:24 and a rifle that has one bullet. 13:27 Well, you know, what the challenge is for me 13:28 as a Sabbath school teacher is people say, 13:32 Karen talked to me about it this morning, 13:34 they say, 13:35 "You're not covering the whole lesson." 13:37 And I say, "Well, there's so much to cover 13:39 that I just have to do a fly over, 13:40 and it's like firing a little buckshot at everything, 13:43 you know, you kind of hit a little bit everything, 13:45 but you don't take anything home 13:46 or I got to slow down trying cover something well." 13:48 So which way do you want it, friends, 13:50 rifle or shotgun today? 13:51 Rifle. You want rifle. 13:54 That make some of the teachers that are watching mad 13:56 because they watch my lesson 13:57 before they teach, and they say, 13:58 "You never even got to Wednesday and Thursday!" 14:01 Well, I'll do my best. Let's see what happens. 14:02 I just wasted time, didn't I? 14:04 Okay, well... 14:07 It's so hard to decide. 14:08 Let's go... 14:09 And I just want to read a little introduction 14:11 because we're talking about his third journey, 14:13 but we sort of need to wrap up his second journey. 14:16 Go to Acts 18, and you can go to verse 18, he's in Corinth. 14:21 Now we never did read this last week. 14:24 So Paul, Acts 18:18. 14:26 "So Paul remained a good while, 14:27 and then he took leave of the brethren 14:29 and sailed for Syria, 14:30 and Priscilla and Aquila are with him. 14:33 And he had his hair cut off in Cenchreae, 14:36 and he had taken a vow." 14:37 This is first of two times he does that. 14:40 And he comes to Ephesus. 14:42 Now he's in Ephesus, 14:43 we're going to go back to Ephesus in a minute, 14:45 and he left them there. 14:46 But he himself entered the synagogue 14:49 and reason with the Jews. 14:50 When they asked him to stay longer with them, 14:53 he did not consent, he took leave of them saying, 14:56 "I must by all means 14:57 keep the coming feast in Jerusalem, 15:00 but I will return again to you God willing," 15:03 and he sailed from Ephesus. 15:04 So on this third journey, 15:05 he does go back to Ephesus straight away. 15:08 And when he had landed in Caesarea and gone up 15:11 and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch, 15:14 and after he had spent some time there, 15:15 he had gone to Jerusalem, then he goes to Antioch. 15:18 And after he had spent some time there, 15:19 he departed and he went over to the region 15:21 of Galatia and Phrygia, in order to strengthen 15:24 all of the disciples. 15:26 Now it takes a little detour here, 15:28 and it introduces someone 15:30 who is to become a champion in the gospel 15:33 by the name of Apollos. 15:35 Now, I'm in Acts 18:24, 15:39 "A certain Jew, named Apollos, born in Alexandria..." 15:43 I want to give somebody upfront warning, 15:45 you're going to have a verse for me in a minute. 15:46 Okay, 1 Corinthians, you have that. 15:49 "A certain Jew name Apollos, born in Alexandria, 15:51 an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures, 15:54 he came to Ephesus." 15:56 Now Paul is in Ephesus, he's gone back there, 15:58 he also sees Paul there. 16:00 "This man having been instructed 16:02 in the way of the Lord being fervent in spirit, 16:06 he spoke and he taught accurately 16:08 the things of the Lord though he knew 16:10 only the baptism of John." 16:12 Now this concept of only understanding 16:15 the baptism of John comes up twice 16:17 in the next few passages. 16:18 You'll also see it in Acts 19. 16:22 Let me just see if I can give you the picture. 16:25 Who is the greatest of the prophets 16:26 according to Jesus? 16:28 John the Baptist. 16:30 He was... 16:31 His ministry were short, but it was powerful. 16:35 The teachings of John, the call to repentance... 16:38 And what was John's message? 16:41 "Repent for kingdom of heaven is at hand, 16:44 so that I baptize you with water..." 16:46 What's the rest of that? 16:48 "But there's another one coming 16:50 who shoes I'm not worthy to wear. 16:53 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire, 16:55 I am the voice of one preparing the way of the Lord. 16:59 I'm here to announce the coming of the Messiah. 17:03 There's one who stands among you." 17:05 So they thought the Messiah was going to be, you know, 17:07 just some glorious king, but they remembered, 17:08 "You know, David was one of us, and he became a great king." 17:12 And then finally Jesus comes to the Jordan, 17:13 He's baptized, John the Baptist says, 17:15 "Behold." Now he says that several times. 17:18 So John introduced Jesus, John preach repentance, 17:21 Johnson said, "Prepare the way of the Lord," 17:22 John said, "I baptize you with water, 17:24 but there's a better baptism coming, 17:26 a Holy Spirit fire baptism 17:28 that will come through the Messiah." 17:31 So a lot of people were converted, 17:32 this is all of Judah and Jerusalem 17:34 went out to the Jordan, they were baptized with John. 17:36 There was a great awakening that happened 17:39 through the ministry and the teaching of John. 17:40 The great return to the Bible, and they'd heard that 17:46 Jesus was introduced, 17:47 but they hadn't really heard a lot about the teachings 17:50 of the apostles and of Jesus. 17:52 They didn't have email back then, 17:54 they didn't have printing presses back then. 17:56 The only way these things traveled was by foot, 18:00 you know, some things went by letter 18:01 but these gospels had not been written yet. 18:03 Okay, so Apollos believed in John, 18:06 he even believed that Jesus was a Messiah 18:08 that had been introduced, but he didn't understand 18:11 a lot of the teachings about how do you prove 18:13 that Jesus is Messiah, and so... 18:16 But he's an eloquent man, 18:18 and it says he's taught in the way of the Lord. 18:19 You might be interested to know the word 18:21 there which says, he had been instructed 18:23 in the way of the Lord that comes from where... 18:25 You know what a catechism is? 18:27 We think of catechism where we think Catholic Church 18:29 is not a bad word, it actually in the Greek here 18:32 it's katekhizo or something, but it's very similar, 18:34 it means to be taught. 18:36 Typically, a catechism is teaching through questions 18:38 and answers which is not a bad way to teach, 18:41 which is why the Catholic say, "If you give us your children, 18:44 they'll be Catholics for life." 18:46 Because they teach them through question and answer, 18:48 and they indoctrinate them. 18:50 Well, that principle, train up a child in the way he should go 18:52 is true in many respects. 18:55 And that's why we need to teach the children 18:58 questions and answers, 18:59 get them to think for themselves, 19:00 get them rooted in the truth, not in the counterfeit. 19:04 Amen? 19:05 And so anyway that's the word that was used. 19:07 And so Apollos is mighty in the scriptures, 19:10 but he knew only the baptism of John. 19:13 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue 19:17 and when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, 19:20 without embarrassing him, they took him aside. 19:22 Now if you got to correct a person, 19:23 do you do it publicly? 19:25 They say, "You know, 19:27 you're mighty in the scriptures, 19:28 you know, we can tell you love the Lord, 19:30 and God is using you, but can we share 19:32 a little Bible study with you? 19:33 There's something maybe you don't know yet 19:35 we'd like to share with you." 19:37 They take him aside, 19:38 they start talking more about Jesus, 19:40 and the baptism of the Spirit, and what the different parables 19:43 and teachings of Christ. 19:45 And he embraced it all. 19:47 Because, you know, John had announced 19:49 that Jesus was the Messiah. 19:51 "And so he became a mighty preacher 19:53 there in Ephesus, 19:55 and they taught him the way of God more accurately, 20:00 and when he desired to cross to Achaia, 20:02 to the brethren, they wrote, exhorting the disciples 20:05 that they should receive him, and he arrived, 20:08 and he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 20:12 for he vigorously refuted the Jews, 20:14 publicly showing from the scriptures 20:16 that Jesus is the Christ." 20:18 So how should we be presenting the truth, from the scriptures? 20:22 Now did the Jews believe the scriptures? 20:24 They did. 20:25 So here we are Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 20:28 the Lord's given us the three angles' message. 20:30 There are a lot of God's people in other churches. 20:32 Amen? Amen. 20:34 Some of them are mighty in the Word, 20:36 but they don't understand 20:37 the whole three angles' message, 20:39 maybe they don't know 20:40 or understand the state of the dead, 20:41 or they don't understand 20:42 that the Sabbath is still intact. 20:44 And in love we ought to go to them, 20:47 and study with them, 20:48 and teach them the Word of God more perfectly, right? 20:51 From what? The scriptures. 20:53 So there's a great revival that followed 20:55 because what Apollos did. 20:56 Now Apollos, he end ups, as far as we can tell, 20:59 he ends up being recognized in the same capacity 21:03 as an apostle. 21:05 And he really grew strong, at least he was an evangelist. 21:08 You're going to read a verse 21:09 just to give a little more insight on that. 21:12 1 Corinthians 3:5, 6. 21:16 "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, 21:19 but ministers through whom you believed, 21:21 as the Lord gave to each one? 21:24 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." 21:29 Now who is one of the greatest apostles 21:32 in the New Testament? 21:33 Well, Paul writes almost 50% of the New Testament. 21:37 Paul is one of the greatest evangelists. 21:38 I mean, we're talking now about 21:39 the third missionary journey of Paul, 21:41 there was actually four. 21:42 There may have been others we don't know about. 21:44 We don't know if he made it to Spain, 21:45 history is unclear about that. 21:49 Incredible evangelist from town to town, 21:51 raising up churches right and left. 21:53 You know, our church struggles to raise up a church. 21:56 I mean, our denomination at large not so much overseas 21:59 as in North America, it's getting more difficult. 22:01 We praise God, this is a church plant. 22:04 And God willing as we continue to grow, 22:06 we can plant churches in Folsom and other places. 22:09 Amen? 22:10 But Paul was a mighty... 22:12 So when they start comparing to the Corinthians, 22:14 two of the greatest evangelists, 22:17 just the fact that you would be listed with Paul 22:20 really says a lot about Apollos. 22:23 They saw the great work that had been done 22:25 by Apollos in Corinth and other places, and he was... 22:29 And you'll find his name mentioned many times 22:31 through the writings of Paul, 22:32 he ended up becoming just a real. 22:34 I mean, you got Billy Sunday, you got Dwight Moody, 22:36 you got Billy Graham. 22:37 You know, this is a few really great evangelists 22:40 we think of in the English world. 22:43 Apollos ends up becoming one of them. 22:45 So I just wanted you to understand 22:46 the statue of this man, and how powerful, 22:48 and eloquent he really was. 22:50 Acts 19, trying to continue, 22:53 not just do the whole shotgun thing. 22:55 "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth." 22:57 And Apollos was doing a great revival at Corinth. 23:00 "That Paul, having passed through the upper coast, 23:03 he comes to Ephesus. 23:04 And finding some disciples, he says to them, 23:07 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit 23:08 when you believed?' 23:10 So they said to him, 23:11 We've not heard whether there is any Holy Spirit.' 23:13 " You know, every Jew and even the gentiles 23:17 understood there was a spirit, 23:19 so they're speaking a little bit 23:22 in exaggeration here, hyperbole you might say. 23:25 And they said, 23:26 "Well, no there's been no teaching on this, 23:27 what are you talking about?" 23:28 "He says, 23:29 'Into what then were you baptized?' " 23:32 Remember, there's both baptisms, 23:33 Jesus said, 23:34 "Unless you are born of the water," 23:37 John's baptism, "and the Spirit," 23:39 Jesus' baptism, "you cannot enter the kingdom." 23:43 You need both baptisms, right? 23:46 And they said, "Well, we've heard about 23:47 the baptism or repentance of John, 23:48 but what is this the Holy Spirit 23:50 being poured out?" 23:51 They didn't know much about Jesus. 23:54 "Paul said, 'Indeed John baptized 23:55 with a baptism of repentance 23:57 saying that the people should believe on Him 23:59 who would come after him, that is on Jesus,"' 24:02 who John announced. 24:03 "When they heard this, they were baptized 24:06 in the name of the Lord Jesus." 24:07 And I want to pause right here. 24:09 People often ask, "Pastor Doug, 24:11 is there ever a time for rebaptism? 24:15 Is it ever appropriate to be rebaptized? 24:17 I was baptized as a child." 24:19 You know, 24:20 maybe they were baptized as a baby, 24:21 you should be rebaptized 24:22 because the Bible doesn't support infant baptism 24:25 because before you're baptized, 24:27 you need to believe with all your heart, 24:29 baby can't really do that, you need to be repenting, 24:32 baby, what's he gonna repent off, 24:34 and you need to be taught, it's hard to teach a baby. 24:39 And so when you look at the criteria 24:41 of what is needed for baptism, babies shouldn't be baptized. 24:45 But when a child gets old enough to understand 24:47 the claims of the gospel, to believe, to be taught, 24:50 they have their own personal relationship 24:52 with Jesus, 24:53 this may happen at different times. 24:55 People say, "How old should a child be 24:57 before they're baptized?" 24:59 I've seen children that maybe were nine years old 25:01 that were ready 25:03 because they just had a spiritual maturity about them 25:04 and a personal relationship with Jesus. 25:07 You go to Europe, 25:08 I know we have some of our friends here 25:10 from Eastern Europe, and they say, 25:12 "Sixteen, twenty-one, 25:13 we don't baptize until they get older." 25:14 Is that right? 25:16 Yeah, I see some nods there. 25:17 And so it varies. 25:21 Someone... 25:22 James White was once 25:23 taking some children to the river to be baptized 25:26 during a camp meeting, and they said, 25:28 "Elder White, 25:29 don't you think those children 25:30 are a little young for baptism?" 25:33 And he said, "Well, let me ask you a question, 25:34 do you think these children are old enough to be lost." 25:36 They said, "Yes." 25:37 He said, 25:39 "Then they're old enough to be saved." 25:41 So the idea is they need to be able to understand, 25:45 you know, what's right and wrong. 25:46 And what that exact age of accountability is... 25:49 You've got to be careful about fixing a point, 25:51 you know, as a sort of a rough meter you might say, 25:54 "How old was Jesus when he was bar mitzvah, 25:57 and he went to the temple?" 25:58 He was 12. 25:59 So that's sort of a ballpark. 26:00 But some are ready earlier, some are ready later. 26:03 If a person has a mental deficiency, 26:05 they may never be ready, you know what I mean? 26:08 And so it's just... 26:11 You understand. 26:12 So there is a time for rebaptism. 26:14 Three reasons you should be rebaptized. 26:17 One is you and I baptized biblically, 26:20 I baptized as a baby. 26:23 Two, if you were baptized 26:26 and you've backslidden in a big way, 26:29 baptism's like marriage... 26:31 You know, if you're married to someone 26:32 and you divorce them legally, you got to get remarried. 26:35 Now that doesn't mean 26:36 if married people have an argument, 26:38 they've got to get remarried. 26:40 Some people say, "Pastor Doug, 26:41 I slipped and fell, I should be rebaptized." 26:43 Not necessarily because some of you 26:45 get baptized every week. 26:48 And so, you know, you say, "Well, what's the appropriate?" 26:51 You know, if a person turns their back on the Lord, 26:53 they turn from the church, and they go out in the world, 26:56 if they're returning, 26:58 there might be a need for rebaptism. 27:02 And a person comes to me, and they're getting rebaptized 27:04 for the fifth time, there's something wrong, 27:06 they don't understand it. 27:08 And then the third reason for rebaptism 27:10 falls in the category of Acts 19 27:12 where these Ephesian believers... 27:15 There was just the whole truth... 27:16 They were baptized by immersion, 27:18 correct baptism, 27:20 but John the Baptist, right ministry did it, 27:24 but there's so much they didn't understand. 27:28 And when they finally learned all this truth about Jesus 27:30 that they had missed, 27:32 they were baptized into the entire truth. 27:34 I remember hearing about a Baptist minister 27:37 went to an evangelistic meeting 27:38 and then after hearing the entire series, 27:41 he accepted the Sabbath truth, and he went to the pastor 27:43 and said, "You know, I think, I should be rebaptized." 27:45 Pastor said, "Now you're Baptist." 27:47 He said, "Right." 27:48 He says, "You baptized by immersion." 27:49 "Right." 27:50 He said, "Well, you technically were baptized correctly, 27:54 you could join the church by profession of faith." 27:57 He said, "Well, I was baptized into nine commandments, 27:59 I want to get baptized into all ten. 28:02 And so that would be this kind of case. 28:04 Now there's something else that happened here 28:06 when they rebaptized. 28:07 Read on. 28:08 It says here that Paul rebaptized them, 28:12 I'm in verse 5, "In the name of the Lord, 28:17 and he laid hands on them 28:18 and the Holy Spirit came upon them, 28:21 and they spoke with tongues, and they prophesied." 28:24 Now that does not mean they babbled. 28:26 What does the word prophesied mean 28:28 when Paul uses the word? 28:30 It means to preach. 28:33 It means teaching the Word, preaching the Word. 28:35 Prophesying does not... 28:36 Sometimes we think of a prophet like Elijah 28:38 or somebody foretelling the future. 28:40 John the Baptist was a great prophet, 28:42 isn't that right? 28:44 Tell me a, you know... 28:46 I guess the only prophecy John the Baptist made 28:48 was about Jesus as one coming after me, 28:50 but John didn't really foretell the future. 28:53 He was a teacher of repentance. 28:56 The Bible says Philip had four daughters 28:58 that did prophesied. 28:59 That doesn't mean they went around 29:01 foretelling the future. 29:02 It means the four daughters of this evangelist 29:04 were also doing evangelism. 29:06 They were teaching. 29:07 And so when these men were speaking in tongues, 29:12 what were they saying? 29:13 They were prophesying. 29:14 They were teaching in other languages. 29:16 Whenever you have the speaking of tongues in the Bible, 29:18 there's three examples. 29:20 I told you this before but some, I'm sure, 29:21 were not here. 29:23 Acts 2, what's the other one? 29:26 Acts 10 and Acts 19. 29:28 This is the last example of speaking in tongues 29:31 in the Bible. 29:33 I'm not talking about where Paul talks about speaking 29:35 in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14. 29:37 The example of speaking in tongues is three examples. 29:40 All three examples, 29:41 there are multiple language groups present. 29:45 Purpose for tongues is that 29:46 you might communicate the gospel 29:48 in the languages of people present 29:50 that they may not understand. 29:51 These are Ephesians believers Paul and others with him 29:54 spoke different languages. 29:56 They heard what they were saying. 29:57 What were they saying? They were prophesying. 29:59 They were teaching in these other tongues. 30:02 And around Ephesus, there were many languages 30:04 that were spoken in the Roman Empire 30:06 or local tribal languages. 30:07 There was Latin, there was a Greek, 30:09 and Paul spoke Hebrew. 30:10 So is that clear? Okay. 30:13 Anyway, and it's also interesting 30:16 that tells us there were 12 of them in all. 30:19 Now do you think he mentions that by accident? 30:24 Or is this just sort of one of the Bible ways of saying 30:26 the gospel now is going from 12 Jewish apostles, 30:31 the Holy Spirit is now being poured 30:33 on 12 gentile apostles? 30:36 See what's happening? 30:37 They are being baptized with the Holy Spirit, 30:40 just like at Pentecost, 30:41 you got the 12 in the upper room 30:44 that are preaching about 120 in the upper room, 30:46 but you have 12 apostles, and there's another 12. 30:49 And the God is kind of saying the church now 30:51 is exploding among the gentiles. 30:53 It's not just for the Jews. 30:56 All right. 30:57 Now another interesting story, 30:58 I just don't want to rush past this. 31:00 Acts 19:13, 31:03 "Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists..." 31:08 Any exorcists present? 31:13 There was a movie a few years ago 31:14 that became very popular called "The Exorcist" 31:18 about, you know, 31:19 Catholic priests that specialize 31:20 in casting out devils. 31:22 And for a while, 31:23 there were some Protestant churches 31:25 that became involved, and we get those 31:27 who specialize in casting out demons. 31:30 I always find that's a dubious practice 31:32 that anyone who is a minister that says, 31:35 "That's my special gift 'cause I cast out devils." 31:38 I don't think you ever ought to go looking for it. 31:41 Jesus did say the disciples, the Holy Spirit 31:43 will come upon you, 31:44 and you will be able to cast out devils, 31:47 but I don't think you ever hang out your shingle 31:49 and say, "You know, demons or us, 31:51 we cast out devils or anything like that." 31:54 So here are these young men are going out, 31:55 they are Jewish exorcist, 31:56 "Took it upon themselves 31:58 to call on the name of the Lord Jesus 31:59 over those who had evil spirits, 32:01 and they would say, 32:02 "We exorcise you by Jesus who Paul preaches." 32:06 That's sort of like, you know, 32:07 a second-hand exorcism, I suppose. 32:10 "And there were seven sons of Sceva, 32:12 a Jewish chief priest, who did so." 32:15 Another interesting number, how many sons? 32:18 Just went from 12 to 7. 32:20 These things have spiritual significance. 32:23 And these are from the Jewish priests. 32:26 "And the evil spirits answered and said, 32:27 'Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?' 32:32 And the man in whom the evil spirit 32:34 was leapt on them and overpowered them 32:37 and prevailed against them, 32:38 so they fled out of the house naked and wounded." 32:42 That's very interesting. 32:44 You've got these seven sons of a Jewish priest 32:47 who are trying to cast out devils, 32:48 and it's like they're using the old method. 32:51 And the devil say, 32:52 "You know, you can't just call out Jesus' name, 32:55 like you're saying open sesame or abracadabra 32:58 and some magic word." 33:00 You ever heard people do that? 33:02 They think if they just call up the name of Jesus 33:05 without knowing Christ or what it means 33:06 to praying His name in His character 33:09 or having a relationship with Him, 33:10 that there's some magic in the word. 33:12 The Bible doesn't teach that. 33:14 There's authority in the name of God. 33:16 It's especially in the character of God. 33:19 And so if you're just calling out this name, 33:22 they have no relationship, did not surrendered to Jesus, 33:24 and the demons say, "Oh, yeah, we know Paul, 33:27 and we know Jesus, but who are you?" 33:32 And the devil is one demon possessed man overpowers 33:36 seven young men, beats him up, wounds them, 33:40 strips them, and they flee naked. 33:44 Now this is, again, 33:45 filled with spiritual significance 33:46 because what happened to Adam and Eve 33:50 after they wrestled with the devil? 33:52 Did they end up wounded and naked, 33:54 spiritually wounded and naked? 33:57 What did the devil do to that man 33:59 in Acts 5 that was filled with a legion of demons? 34:02 Was he wounding himself a naked? 34:07 And you can find just through the Bible 34:10 when that man fell among thieves, 34:12 the devil was the thief in that story, 34:14 the Good Samaritan story, they stripped him. 34:18 The devil strips us of all righteousness 34:21 and he wounds us with sin, 34:24 and it's through Christ coming along, 34:26 He heals us and He binds up our wounds. 34:28 And so, it also I think is significant, 34:30 it says these are seven sons of a priest. 34:34 It's like they're trying to pour the new wine 34:37 in old wine skins of Judaism, and there was no power there. 34:41 They had a form of religion without power. 34:43 There are a lot of churches out there 34:45 that are taking the name of Jesus, 34:46 and they don't know Jesus. 34:48 Hey, you've read that prophecy in Isaiah 4 where it says, 34:54 "In that day, seven women will take hold of one man, 34:56 saying, 'We will eat our own bread, 34:59 and we will wear our own apparel, 35:01 only let us be called by your name 35:03 to take away our reproach." 35:05 Kind of like a picture of a lot of churches and the last name, 35:07 they want to use the name of Jesus, 35:09 but they don't want the righteousness of Christ, 35:11 they don't want the teachings of Christ, 35:12 they got their own bread, their own Bible, 35:14 they got their own apparel, their own righteousness, 35:17 but they want His name 35:18 that describes a lot of churches in the last days. 35:21 All right, so they're not able to cast off the devil. 35:24 One more thing, there's so much here. 35:27 I just, you know... 35:28 I just want you to share my frustration. 35:32 It's just hard to rush through this stuff. 35:34 It's so rich. 35:37 The devil said, "Paul, I know." 35:41 But he said to these seven young men, 35:42 "Who are you?" 35:45 Are there some workers for God that the devil knows? 35:49 Why does the devil know... 35:51 Why did the devil know who Paul was? 35:55 Paul was just invading his territory. 35:58 Now the devil, is he all-knowing? 36:00 Now God knows everybody, doesn't He? 36:01 But the devil and his demons, they don't know everybody. 36:03 They're not omniscient. They don't know everything. 36:06 But there are some that the devil knows. 36:07 The devil knows the ones that are taking his people. 36:13 And Paul was a real threat to the devil. 36:16 And, now how many of you would like to pray 36:18 that the devil knows who you are? 36:22 You don't want to raise your hand, do you? 36:24 You kind of, do you say, 36:25 "Yeah, I want to cause the devil trouble, 36:26 but I don't want his special attention, 36:28 but I do want the Lord to be pleased, 36:29 but I don't want the devil to..." 36:31 You don't know how do I this. 36:33 All right, moving on, go to Acts 19:21 36:37 and someone's going to read for me a minute in Romans 5. 36:43 And it says, 36:45 "These things were accomplished..." 36:49 Well, actually, let me see, I want to read... 36:55 Yeah. 36:59 okay, Acts 19:21, 37:02 so it says, "These things were accomplished 37:04 that Paul purposed in the Spirit, 37:06 he had passed through Macedonia and Acacia 37:08 to go to Jerusalem saying, 37:10 'After I've been there, I must also see Rome."' 37:13 And so it doesn't say exactly why he's going to Rome here 37:16 in Acts 19, but we find out in Romans, 37:18 and in 1 Corinthians 16 why he's going to Rome. 37:22 If you look in 1 Corinthians 16:1, 37:25 "Now concerning the collection for the saints 37:27 as I've given orders to the churches of Galatia, 37:29 so you must also do, on the first day of the week, 37:31 let each one of you lay by him something, 37:34 in storing up as God may prosper him 37:37 that there be no collections when I come." 37:38 This is not a church offering. 37:39 He says that you don't have an offering when I come, 37:42 and I'll come to you whatever you give, 37:45 you might approve by your letters, 37:46 I will send and bear your gifts to Jerusalem. 37:49 They were bringing a special gift 37:51 from Ephesus down to Jerusalem if it is fitting. 37:55 Go and read your verse for us. 37:58 Romans 15: 25-26, 38:00 "But now I am going to Jerusalem 38:03 to minister to the saints, 38:05 for it be pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia 38:08 to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints 38:12 who are in Jerusalem." 38:14 So it's pretty clear, they're bringing a gift down. 38:17 Now during this third journey, 38:19 and I think we've got a map up on the screen. 38:21 I'm going to pop up there real quick. 38:22 And I know some of the towns 38:25 are going to be small in your map, 38:26 so I'll just give it to you here. 38:28 This journey sort of begins in the Antioch, 38:30 and he makes his way through Tarsus, 38:32 which is where Paul used to live, Derbe, 38:34 Lystra, Iconium, Pisidia. 38:37 He stops in Laodicea, 38:39 and then he goes directly to Ephesus. 38:41 He promised them he'd come back. 38:42 He spends time there in Ephesus. 38:46 Makes his way up through Smyrna, Pergamus, 38:48 goes to Chios, crosses over into Macedonia, 38:52 and that's where he spends time in Philippi, Thessalonica, 38:57 Berea, circles down, goes to visit Corinth again, 39:01 goes around Athens, has an adventure there, 39:04 and ends up making his way back. 39:06 He's bringing a gift to the believers 39:08 back in Jerusalem, 39:09 goes back down through Mitylene, 39:15 Miletus, Chios, Patra, and stops in Tyre, 39:21 makes his way back up to Jerusalem. 39:23 So this is a big circuitous trip 39:25 he takes going through Macedonia, 39:28 spends significant time in Ephesus on that trip. 39:32 Anyway, they have some problems in Ephesus. 39:35 You go to Acts 19:21. 39:40 "When these things were accomplished, 39:41 Paul purposed in the Spirit 39:43 that when he had passed through Macedonia and Acacia 39:46 to go to Jerusalem saying, 39:48 'After I've been there, I must see Rome.' " 39:49 We just read that. 39:51 So he sent into Macedonia 39:52 two of those who ministered to him, 39:55 Timothy and Erastus, 39:56 but he himself stayed in Asia for a time. 40:00 And about that time, there arose a great commotion 40:04 about the way, for certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, 40:08 who made silver shrines of Diana, 40:11 he brought no small profit to the craftsman, 40:13 he called them together with the workers 40:14 of a similar occupation and said, 'Men...'" 40:17 They had a union meeting is what it was. 40:19 "You know that we have our prosperity 40:20 by this trade. 40:22 Moreover, you see and hear that not only at Ephesus 40:24 but throughout almost all of Asia, this Paul...'" 40:28 Not only did the devil know who he was 40:30 but all the silversmiths. 40:32 They were making and selling idols 40:33 throughout Asia knew he was. 40:35 "Throughout almost all of Asia, Paul has persuaded 40:39 and turned many away saying that they are not gods 40:43 which are made with hands.'" 40:45 Now was that a special Christian teaching? 40:46 Is that also a Jewish teaching? 40:49 That's Ten Commandments, don't make idols. 40:52 Paul was just doing what the Jews 40:53 should have been doing all those years 40:55 that they were in Asia. 40:59 That's not very popular, is it? 41:00 To go through a culture and tell them, you know, 41:02 "Those silver gods you guys make, 41:04 they're not gods." 41:07 I mean, one of the politically correct thing be to do, 41:10 you know, we don't want to upset them. 41:13 But Paul was a bold preacher. 41:14 And he was more concerned about offending God 41:17 than offending man. 41:18 And so he was telling them those are worthless idols. 41:21 He was saying what Isaiah said. 41:23 And so much so that the market began to fall out 41:26 in the idol business. 41:28 And Demetrius said, 41:29 "Look, we've got to have a meeting. 41:30 We're going to rally and turn this thing around. 41:32 This guy is wrecking our business." 41:36 "Not only is this trade of ours in danger 41:38 of falling into disrepute," 41:40 as it should, 41:42 "And also the temple of the great goddess Diana," 41:44 Artemus, 41:46 "May be despised in her magnificence destroyed 41:48 whom all of Asia and the world worship." 41:51 That's another example of hyperbole in the Bible. 41:54 "Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath 41:55 and cried out." 41:57 And they also have this big get together, 41:59 and they gather in the theater, and they say, 42:01 "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." 42:02 They have a pep rally. 42:04 "So the whole city was filled with confusion, 42:06 and they rushed in to..." 42:08 "And they seized the altar with one accord, 42:09 having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, 42:12 the Macedonians, Paul's traveling companions. 42:15 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, 42:18 the disciples would not allow him." 42:21 Paul, whenever he saw crowd, said, 42:23 "Let me add them. Let me add them. 42:25 Now that's evangelist for you. 42:26 You know, when they're torturing you, 42:27 he wants to convert the torturers. 42:30 Evangelists gets hit by a car, in the ambulance, 42:33 he wants to convert the paramedics. 42:36 Paul was being torn limb from limb in the temple 42:39 and the Romans rescued him. 42:40 Paul says to the Romans, 42:41 "Can I preach to them? I got a crowd." 42:44 And I kind of know the feeling. 42:45 Whenever I see a crowd, I think, 42:46 "Oh, man, where's the microphone." 42:48 You know, you want to preach. 42:51 And so he wants to go and they said, 42:52 "Paul, they will kill you in there. 42:54 They're all mad. 42:55 This whole rally is 42:57 because you are wrecking their business, 42:58 and you want to go preach to them?" 43:00 "Yeah, but I want to tell them why idols are so bad." 43:02 "These are the idol makers. 43:04 You sure you want to go in there?" 43:06 And they probably were wise 43:10 in telling Paul not to do that. 43:13 And they had this big commotion, 43:15 I don't have time to read it all. 43:16 For two hours, they're shouting, 43:17 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians.'" 43:20 And finally, you get one of the officials 43:24 in the community says... 43:25 He calms everyone down, he says, "What's going on here? 43:28 What kind of uproar is this? 43:29 This is the Romanly governed community. 43:31 We have laws. 43:32 If the silversmith have something against others, 43:35 the courts are open. 43:36 File a claim, they can do it in an orderly matter. 43:40 See, there's no excuse for this raucous concourses riot." 43:45 And he speaks very reasonably. 43:48 You know, Romans had some good laws. 43:50 Matter of affect, even some of the American laws 43:53 are based on Greco-Roman laws. 43:56 We've got a Senate, we've got a Congress, right? 43:58 And so, he settles them all down. 44:02 They had a representative government, 44:04 they had courts, 44:05 and he dismisses the assembly, but it turned into a riot 44:10 because of Paul's preaching. 44:11 All right, journeys in Greece. 44:13 We're going to move on, chapter 20. 44:16 And. 44:18 If you look in... 44:20 We're talking about Troas now. 44:22 Acts 20:7, let's jump here to Eutychus. 44:25 This is a great story, 44:28 "And now on the first day of the week, 44:30 when the disciples came together to break bread..." 44:32 Now what does that mean? 44:33 First day of the week, that's Sunday, huh? 44:36 Disciples come together to have a communion service. 44:39 There you got it. 44:40 Saturday has been changed to Sunday. 44:43 This is the verse I often hear when people say, 44:46 "We can prove, the apostles were keeping 44:48 the Sunday as a day of worship." 44:50 Because here you have it, the disciples came together 44:52 on the first day of the week to break bread. 44:54 Keep reading. 44:56 I've heard pastors just read that one spot and they stop. 44:59 "Paul, ready to depart the next day..." 45:03 It says he continued his messaged until midnight. 45:06 Now first of all, let me ask you this, 45:07 during this meeting, is it day or night? 45:10 Night. 45:11 When does the day begin biblically? 45:14 When the sun goes down. 45:16 So when it says, 45:17 "They got together on the first day of the week, 45:20 they have an evening meeting. 45:21 They've been together all day Sabbath. 45:23 They gather that Sunday evening 45:25 'cause why Paul is going to leave the next day, 45:28 it's his last chance to build them up 45:31 before he leaves, 45:32 they're also going to break bread, 45:33 but isn't that a communion service? 45:35 No. 45:36 Go ahead and read for us, Dan, Acts 2:46. 45:41 I know I didn't give the cameras a chance 45:43 to track in on you but... 45:44 Acts 2:46, 45:46 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple 45:49 and breaking bread from house to house, 45:52 they ate their food with gladness 45:53 and simplicity of heart." 45:55 Breaking bread, they ate their food, 45:58 not all breaking bread is a religious ceremony. 46:00 The Bible uses the word breaking bread, 46:02 talking about eating. 46:04 Jesus broke bread with the disciples on the road 46:06 to Emmaus, that story. 46:08 They were just eating together, not every time 46:10 they eat was it a religious ceremony. 46:12 It just means they're going to break bread. 46:14 Keep reading here, go back to the Eutychus story, 46:17 It says, "There were many lamps with them in the upper chamber 46:20 where they were gathered together. 46:22 And in the window, sat a certain young man 46:24 named Eutychus who was sinking into a deep sleep, 46:28 and he was overcome by sleep as Paul continued speaking." 46:31 Now that could be either a sermon about not sleeping 46:34 during church, he could fall out the window 46:35 or it could be a lesson to ministers 46:37 not to preach too long or people will fall asleep 46:39 and fall out the window. 46:42 Either way, there's a lesson there. 46:45 And Paul went down, 46:46 "He fell out the window, he's taken up dead." 46:48 He dies. 46:49 "And Paul went down and fell on him 46:51 and embraced him and said, 46:52 'Do not trouble yourselves for his life is in him.'" 46:55 Paul embraced him just like when Elijah to Elisha embraced 47:00 two different times. 47:01 They each embraced a boy, they touched the boy 47:04 that had died, and they were resurrected. 47:06 And Paul does... 47:07 He's got the same power of Elijah and the Elisha. 47:10 And this greatly encouraged the church there, 47:13 that was in Chios. 47:14 But Paul went down, he fell on him, 47:16 "And they came up, and they broke bread." 47:18 Here, they're breaking bread again. 47:19 They had eaten, and he talked a long while 47:21 even till daybreak, and he departed. 47:24 And they brought the young man alive, 47:26 and they were not a little comforted." 47:27 It mentions a young man at the end of the story, 47:29 why is this story in the Bible? 47:30 Is this story there to tell us, 'This is the story 47:33 where they inaugurate a new day as a Sabbath." 47:37 It's not at all what it's saying. 47:38 That's a dishonest interpretation of the verse. 47:41 It's saying they had been together all day Sabbath, 47:43 after the first day of the week began in the evening, 47:46 Paul is making his final presentation to him, 47:49 it's what we would call Saturday night. 47:52 They're just coming together 47:53 to have an evening meal of vespers, 47:55 doesn't say it's a religious service. 47:57 And you know what? 47:58 It doesn't matter even if it was a religious service. 48:00 What day of the week was the first communion? 48:04 Was it Sabbath? 48:06 Was it Friday? 48:07 It's Thursday. 48:09 So is there anything in the Bible that says 48:10 that if you break bread, it has to be on the Sabbath? 48:14 No, it could be any day of the week. 48:16 So to use this verse to say, "This is the inauguration 48:18 of a new Sabbath," 48:20 is, I think, a very weak and it's frankly 48:22 a very dishonest text to use. 48:24 This story is in the Bible to tell us Eutychus died, 48:28 Paul resurrected him. 48:29 It ends by saying they were not a little comforted 48:31 that the young boy survived. 48:33 Amen? 48:34 I mean, what a... 48:35 I mean, you think about God 48:37 speaking the Sabbath from the mountain, 48:38 "Remember the Sabbath day," and they say, 48:40 "Yeah, this is the place 48:41 where you find Him changing it." 48:43 That'd be a very mild way to change 48:46 one of the commandments of God, 48:47 sort of a fleeting reference like this. 48:50 So that's not what this is talking about. 48:52 All right, I got time for maybe a little bit more. 48:55 Miletus, Acts 20:15, 48:58 "And we sail from there, on the next day, 49:00 we came up opposite Chios. 49:03 The following day, we arrived at Samos 49:05 and stayed at Trogyllium, and the next day, 49:08 we came to Miletus. 49:10 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus 49:13 so he would not have to spend time in Asia, 49:16 for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, 49:18 if possible, on the day of Pentecost. 49:20 He's hastening back to Jerusalem, 49:22 he wants to be there 49:23 not only because he's bringing relief to the saints, 49:26 there was a famine also in Jerusalem. 49:28 There was great poverty, the saints were struggling, 49:31 he's bringing an offering with him. 49:33 And he also wants to be there for obviously Pentecost. 49:37 When was the Holy Spirit poured out? 49:40 Pentecost. What happened to Pentecost? 49:42 Devout Jews out of every nation under heaven were there, 49:45 what a great opportunity to preach to the devout Jews 49:48 that had come to Jerusalem for all over the Roman Empire, 49:51 indeed from Africa and Ethiopia, they'd come up, 49:54 and he's said, "Oh, man, 49:55 it'd be a great time to be there 49:56 and have an evangelistic meeting." 49:58 So he's trying to get there to witness and to celebrate 50:02 the Passover as well as to bring relief. 50:06 And, you know, 50:08 one of the most beautiful passages, 50:09 Dan, and you need to read this, 50:11 Acts 20:17-37. 50:16 I'll just read this to you, and I'll close with it. 50:18 He makes his last appeal. 50:20 From Miletus, he sent to Ephesus, 50:22 and he called for the elders of the church, 50:24 and when they came to him, he said, 'You know, 50:27 from the first day that I came to Asia, 50:29 in what manner I always lived among you, 50:31 serving the Lord with all humility 50:33 and many tears and trials, 50:34 which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews, 50:36 how I kept back nothing that was helpful 50:39 but proclaimed it to you, and taught publicly 50:42 and from house to house, 50:43 testifying to the Jews and the Greeks, 50:45 repentance towards God in faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. 50:49 And see, now I go bound in spirit to Jerusalem 50:53 not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 50:55 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, 50:58 saying that chains and tribulations await me.'" 51:02 Paul said, "I'm going to Jerusalem 51:04 even though I know what's going to happen to me." 51:06 Did Jesus say the same thing? 51:09 Did the disciples tried to talk Paul out of going to Jerusalem? 51:13 But he said, "There's nothing that can turn me away." 51:15 Did Peter try to talk Jesus out of going to Jerusalem? 51:19 And Jesus said, "Get behind Me, 51:21 Satan this is part of God's plan." 51:23 See, Paul knew God wanted him to go. 51:25 It was through his arrest 51:26 and his tribulations in Jerusalem, 51:28 he ended up going to Rome, 51:30 a number of miracles happened along the way. 51:32 There were many converts, 51:33 a whole island of Malta was converted through Paul. 51:36 He went to Rome, he ultimately preached 51:38 to Caesar's household. 51:39 He knew that God wanted this to happen. 51:41 He did more in prison through his trials... 51:44 Most of the letters you and I read, 51:45 Paul wrote in jail. 51:47 And so God had worked out all out. 51:49 Anyway, there's a lot more I could say about that, 51:51 but I got through 80% of the lesson. 51:54 So with that, I want to remind you, 51:56 we do have a special gift, 51:58 and it's called Three Steps to Heaven, 52:00 offer number 102. 52:01 If you like a free copy of that, 52:03 just dial 866-788-3966. 52:07 If you've not invited Jesus into your heart, 52:09 if you've not accepted Christ, you can do that right now, 52:13 but then, order this book, and it'll take you 52:15 through those steps, you'll be glad you did. 52:17 If nothing else, read it, then share it with someone. 52:20 It's a great witnessing resource. 52:21 God bless you, until we study His Word 52:23 together again next week. 52:26 Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible Study, 52:29 you don't have to wait until next week 52:31 to enjoy more truth-filled programming, 52:33 visit the Amazing Facts Media Library at aftv.org. 52:38 At aftv.org, you can enjoy video and audio 52:42 presentations as well as printed material 52:45 all free of charge, 24 hours a day, 52:48 7 days a week, right from your computer 52:50 or mobile device. 52:51 Visit aftv.org. 53:07 I'm here in the beautiful island nation of Fiji. 53:09 It's filled with exotic animals, 53:12 beautiful vegetation, and spectacular scenery. 53:15 The people here are some of the nicest in the world, 53:18 but it hasn't always been that way. 53:19 This was once known as the cannibal island. 53:24 The Fijian warriors were some of the fiercest 53:26 in the South Pacific and greatly feared. 53:28 You can understand why. 53:29 This is one of the weapons that they used 53:32 for breaking the neck of their adversaries. 53:35 And long before they were killing any missionaries, 53:37 they were fighting with 53:38 and killing and eating each other. 53:40 The fact is you go 53:41 to the different tourist locations 53:42 on the island, they'll sell you remakes 53:45 of some of the forks they used 53:47 for eating human brains. 53:51 In fact, there was one cannibal chief, 53:53 Ratu Udre Udre during the 1800s, 53:55 that is in the Guinness Book of World Records 53:57 for having killed and eaten the most victims. 54:00 He brags that every time he killed someone, 54:02 he set a stone side. 54:04 By the end of his life, 54:05 he had a pretty big pile of stones. 54:07 It's estimated, he ate somewhere 54:08 in the neighborhood of 900 people. 54:11 Oh, my. 54:14 You know, the Fijians were not the only ones 54:16 that had a monopoly on cannibalism. 54:18 In fact, the Bible says 54:19 that we are all capable of being cannibals. 54:22 Galatians 5:15 says, 54:24 "If we bite and devour one another, 54:26 we may end up consuming one another." 54:28 That's talking about destroying people's reputation 54:30 by mean gossip. 54:32 One famous missionary named Pattin, 54:34 when he was preparing to go to the Cannibal Isles, 54:37 his friends and family begged him not to go. 54:39 They said, 'You'll be eaten." 54:40 He said, "It doesn't matter to me if I die and I'm eaten 54:43 by worms or if God wills that I'm eaten by cannibals 54:46 as long as I'm doing the will of God." 54:48 Well, he went to the Cannibal Isles 54:50 and brought many to Christ and died peacefully 54:52 in his old age. 54:54 Some of the ancient cannibal cultures believed 54:56 that when you killed 54:57 and when you devoured your enemy, 54:58 you would somehow take within you 55:00 their spiritual strengths or powers. 55:02 But that's really absurd, 55:04 but there is a kind of cannibalism 55:06 endorsed in scripture. 55:07 That's right. 55:08 Jesus said in John 6:53, 55:11 "Except you eat My flesh and drink My blood, 55:14 you have no life in you." 55:16 And you don't need these tools to do it. 55:18 What you need is to read His Word 55:20 and learn about His life, 55:21 accept by faith His sacrifice in your place, 55:24 and you can have a new heart and be a new creature. 55:26 You can even do it right now. 55:36 Did you know that Noah was present 55:38 at the birth of Abraham? 55:39 Okay, maybe he wasn't in the room, 55:42 but he was alive and probably telling stories 55:45 about his floating zoo. 55:47 From the creation of the world 55:48 to the last day events of Revelation, 55:51 BibleHistory.com is a free resource 55:53 where you can explore 55:54 major Bible events and characters. 55:57 Enhance your knowledge of the Bible 55:59 and draw closer to God's Word, go deeper. 56:02 Visit the Amazing Bible Timeline 56:04 at BibleHistory.com. 56:18 On several occasions, scientists have demonstrated 56:21 that people, and even creatures, 56:23 can struggle with the depression 56:25 when exposed to continual darkness. 56:27 This can be seen every year in the winter months 56:29 in the Arctic regions. 56:32 The beautiful village of Rjukan, Norway 56:34 is situated in a deep valley where mountains 56:37 block the sun's rays for about six months every year. 56:40 This, of course, keeps the 3,400 residents 56:43 in a state of shade 56:44 and sometimes depressing darkness throughout the winter. 56:48 Then the town leaders got a bright idea 56:50 to help illuminate their village 56:51 during the murky months. 56:54 In October, 2013, Rjukan installed on array 56:58 of three gigantic 550 square foot mirrors 57:02 on the nearby mountain, a 1,000 feet above the town. 57:06 The computer control and solar-powered mirrors 57:09 track the sun through the winter months 57:11 and reflect that giant beam of sunshine 57:14 down to the Town Square brightening their lives. 57:18 If you visit Rjukan in the winter months today, 57:20 you can often see the people gathered or sitting on benches 57:23 around the Town Square bathing in the reflected sun shining. 57:28 Like those mirrors on the mountain, 57:30 the Bible says that 57:31 Christians are to reflect the light of Jesus 57:33 who is the light of the world into this dark planet. 57:36 Matthew 5:14 says, 57:38 "You are the light of the world. 57:39 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 57:42 Nor do we light a lamp and put it under a basket, 57:45 but on a lampstand, 57:46 and it illuminates everybody in the house. 57:49 Let your light so shine before men 57:52 that they may see your good works 57:53 and glorify your Father in Heaven." 57:56 So, friends, use today 57:58 to brighten the life of someone else 58:00 by reflecting Jesus. |
Revised 2018-09-05