WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.440 Uh hey, it's a great privilege to get to preach again uh here uh to you guys. 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:10.560 Um we are continuing in uh a sermon series in the book of Acts. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:17.199 Uh if you're not familiar with this book in the New Testament, the first one that comes after the four gospels, it's incredible. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:18.559 I highly recommend it. 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:37.840 It's the story of the birth of the church as we know it, the transition from the people of God being solely and primarily the nation of Israel under a monarch to a people and a kingdom where the king is seated in heaven and its bounds uh are not physical. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:40.799 And so it's an incredible story. 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:44.799 Uh, as amazing as it is, it is deeply human. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:51.439 And there are there are many things, and we'll see that this morning, that we can relate to even in 2023. 00:00:52.479 --> 00:01:02.000 Uh last week you saw uh Russ preached on a huge turning point in the life of the early church, and this was the death of Stephen. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:07.040 This was the first martyrdom uh in the church, after Jesus, of course. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:15.040 Um, but he had just preached this incredible sermon, and uh the Jewish leaders uh riled up the Jewish people. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.280 They were furious, and they stoned him to death. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:29.359 Uh and we're told in verse 1 that Matt just read, this was the spark that lit a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:33.760 And I just want you to try to put yourself there at that time and in that place. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:36.400 What must the early Christians have felt? 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:36.959 Right? 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:41.120 They're they're at this point all Jewish believers. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:57.599 And as far as they understand it, the Messiah had come, their long-awaited king who was coming to uh restore Israel to its former glory, uh, to bring peace on the earth. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.879 This was their long-awaited Savior. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:06.400 Uh and yes, he was murdered and died on the cross, but then he rose on the third day. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:10.159 Certainly now he was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:16.319 This was the question that all Jews were wondering and asking. 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:33.120 And yet the powers that be are now going house to house, entering into people's homes, uh, interrogating people, and anyone who confesses Jesus as the Messiah is hauled off to prison. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:39.680 I mean, we've seen these things happen in our own day and age in the last hundred years. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:47.039 And it's terrifying to be threatened with prison and potentially death. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:50.879 Again, it's terrifying and confusing, right? 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:52.639 What is God doing in the world? 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:53.840 Messiah has come. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:55.919 We've been waiting for this for hundreds of years. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:03.039 This has got to be the watershed moment, and yet it doesn't seem like much has changed. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:08.800 But then we're told that those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:10.960 And we're told the story of Philip. 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:13.120 We we kind of we're told that in general. 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:27.280 It's happening through a lot of individuals in a lot of places, but Luke brings us to the story of Philip fleeing the persecution, he heads north into the region of Samaria, where he begins to preach the gospel. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.840 But I don't want you to miss that this is significant. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:31.120 This is not random. 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:37.199 Luke wants us to hear this story because of where he goes and to the people he goes to, the Samaritans. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:45.919 Now, if you're not that familiar with uh New Testament background or biblical background, this may this may be lost on you. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:52.159 And if you know the parable of the good Samaritan, you may have a very positive view of Samaritans. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.240 But it's important for you to know that the Jews hated the Samaritans. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:08.319 Historically, they were like cousins who had uh apostasized, they had rebelled, they had turned against uh worshiping Yahweh in an orthodox manner. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:14.879 They had uh inbred with other pagan uh peoples and had kind of muddied the waters. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:21.199 And if you remember the story of Jesus uh meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, they have this interchange. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:29.600 They both claim Abraham as their spiritual father, and yet they have vastly different views of who God is and how he works. 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:38.480 And so the fact that Philip is bringing the gospel to Samaria is huge in the history of redemption. 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:46.000 Uh and so we're told that Philip went uh there preaching the gospel and doing signs and wonders. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.879 He's casting out demons and healing the sick. 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:53.920 And if you're familiar with the gospels, there's a there's a resonance, there's an echo here of Jesus' own ministry. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:55.279 This is what Jesus often did. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:01.120 He would go about proclaiming the kingdom of God, he would cast out demons, and he would heal the sick. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:02.319 Why these details? 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.959 Why is Luke honing in on these things? 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:20.240 Well, it's because he wants us to see a resonance with Jesus' ministry, that what is happening here through Philip, note, not one of the apostles, one of the kind of early proto-deacons of the early church. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:24.319 Through Philip, the work of Jesus continues. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:28.879 In fact, we should hear the echo of Jesus' own words at the end of his ministries. 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:39.600 He says to the disciples, he says, You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:42.800 The kingdom of God is spreading. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:48.000 It's spreading through persecution, it's spreading through the pain of the church. 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:57.519 In verse 12, we're told that they believed Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, and they were baptized, both men and women. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:04.399 And verse 8 concludes with this so there was much joy in that city of Samaria. 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.000 And that brings us to our first point. 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:12.879 That we see here, and we're meant to see here, the gospel pattern of life coming from death. 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:15.439 This was the pattern of Jesus' own ministry, right? 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:21.439 Who uh who could have imagined uh what was actually happening when Jesus was hanging on the cross? 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:21.920 Right? 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:27.439 It was at that moment that his disciples fled and they thought that all was lost. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:35.680 This one who they had put their faith in had been arrested, had been tortured, and now was being executed. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:41.519 But it wasn't until three days later that they realized that this was the great point of victory. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:50.000 We celebrate Jesus' resurrection as his victory over death, his announcement, his proclamation, his proof that he did what he came to do. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:53.279 And yet it was looking at him on the cross. 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:57.360 In that moment, he was gaining the victory. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:15.920 And so we see that pattern again here that through the pain of persecution of the church in Jerusalem, what comes out of that is the spread, the diaspora, the scattering of God's people, and so the scattering of the gospel throughout the regions. 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:19.680 John Calvin, one of the great reformers of the church, put it this way. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:30.879 He said, The government of the church of Christ has been so divinely constituted from the beginning that the cross has been the way to victory and death is the way to life. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:44.079 And I think this is not only important for us to see in the history of the church, but in our own lives, that we often experience bad things in our lives and we immediately interpret them as bad things. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:51.839 And yet, because of the gospel and because of this pattern, Jesus invites us to have faith that he may be up to something different. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.680 There's a great story I love. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:56.160 Um read in a book recently. 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:01.920 There's a man who had a son, and uh, you know, this is kind of in an ancient rural uh culture. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:12.639 This the son had a horse, and one day the horse was stolen by horse thieves, and and so the people of the community, the people of the village came around this son and they consoled him for his very bad luck. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:17.759 And yet his wise father said to his son, What makes you think this isn't a blessing? 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:24.399 Months later, his horse returns, bringing with it a magnificent stallion. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:25.120 Ah. 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:33.279 Well, over the next year, having this magnificent stallion actually makes the family very rich. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:37.519 Let's see. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.600 Oh, yeah, and everyone congratulated the son over his great fortune. 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:45.279 But the father said to him, How do you know that this isn't a disaster? 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:51.600 A few months later, riding this great horse, the son falls and breaks his hip. 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:55.279 You know, and this there's no modern medicine, like he's in bad shape. 00:08:55.440 --> 00:09:00.159 And again, the community comes around him and tries to console him for his very bad luck. 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:04.159 And his father comes to him and says, How do you know that this is not a blessing? 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:11.519 A little bit later, war breaks out in the region, and all the able-bodied men were conscripted into the army. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.720 And in that region, nine out of ten men were lost. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:18.720 But the father and son survived because of his injury. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:25.440 Brothers and sisters, we often experience blessing and disappointment. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:30.159 And we can, I can, often cry out to God and say, Why is this happening? 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.039 Why is this bad thing happening in my life? 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:43.519 But because of the gospel, and because of this gospel pattern, the gospel invites us to ask the question, what is God doing? 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:48.399 Seldom do we know exactly what God is doing in any situation. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:55.600 But I do know, and we do know this that He is always bringing life out of death. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.919 Okay, let's keep going. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:03.200 Uh something happens uh in Samaria that's very interesting. 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:09.120 As Philip is preaching the gospel, uh, many come to faith. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:15.759 They they believe, they put their faith in Jesus and they're baptized, including a local celebrity named Simon. 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.559 Now we're told that Simon is a magician. 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:22.799 Uh that's a that's not necessarily what we think of today as a magician. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:38.960 This is someone who used the mystic and pagan arts to uh amaze and um uh the people, and and he was known in that city and in that region as uh someone very great. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:39.279 Right? 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:41.519 He had a again, he was a local celebrity. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:48.159 But when Philip came down proclaiming the gospel, doing these signs and wonders, the whole community was kind of caught up in it. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:11:01.600 And and just a huge number, it's like a revival, a huge number of people put their faith in Jesus, including this man, Simon the magician, or you may have heard of him rendered Simon Magus in church history. 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:11.919 Now things got so uh so big and so out of hand that the apostles Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem up into Samaria to help. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.399 Uh, there was an issue where the people had believed in the gospel, but they hadn't received the Holy Spirit. 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:20.240 We're not going to talk about that this morning, though that's a very interesting tidbit. 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:21.919 Um, but this is what we're told. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:24.879 Let's let's pick up the story in verse 18. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:44.399 Um, when Simon saw the Spirit was given through the laying of hands by the apostles, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, so that anyone whom I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit. 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:48.399 But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:58.159 And because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money, you have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:05.919 Repent, therefore, on of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:12.559 For I see that you are in the g gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:14.799 So what's going on? 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:20.240 Uh, this guy, Simon, this magician, we're told that he himself believed and was baptized. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:31.360 And yet here he's trying to buy the power of God, the power uh given to the apostles to bestow the giving of the Spirit. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:35.360 So, why does Luke include this story and how are we to understand it? 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:45.679 In short, I want us to see that in the midst of amazing outpouring of God's grace and power, danger is afoot. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.159 Signs and wonders are one thing, right? 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:52.720 Philip does them, and the people are convinced they believe the gospel. 00:12:52.879 --> 00:13:00.080 Uh, but it's the message of the gospel that is central to our faith and to the Christian faith. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:04.399 Simon the Medicium himself, he had been known for doing signs and wonders. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:09.679 That's what had gotten him such a great name and made him so influential among the people. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:26.399 Uh and so, as the local celebrity, his misunderstanding of the gospel thinking that he could purchase the power to give the Holy Spirit, which some historians believe that this is how paganism and kind of magic use worked in that time. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:31.519 You found a more powerful magician and you you literally purchased spells from them. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:41.200 And so as I read this, I think this is kind of an ignorant pagan, maybe a new Christian, maybe not, just doing what he his culture has told him is what he should do. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:43.840 He should go and purchase this spell. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:48.799 But in this, he puts his finger on the heart of the gospel. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:54.720 And Peter's response is over the top. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.360 Or it's not, it's he hits the nail on the head, right? 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:59.840 He sees exactly what's going on here. 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:05.360 He says, How dare you try to buy the gift of God with money? 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:18.960 You see, even in the midst of celebration and great things going on in the church, Peter and John and Philip, they knew, they understood that the message of the gospel was central. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:28.080 If they let that get out of hand, if they if they allowed a false gospel to get out, then all was lost. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:30.720 And I love the fact that the story is here. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:36.639 And this is a pattern, again, that's throughout the scriptures, that this is a very human incident. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:43.279 We would love to tell the story of the explosion of the church growing in all different regions, and oh, isn't Philip great? 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:44.720 And aren't the apostles great? 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:57.120 But Luke wants us to see that as the gospel is going out and as signs and wonders are being done, and as people are believing and being baptized, there were things were not going off without a hitch. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:05.440 And Luke wants us to see that we must fight to maintain the truth of the gospel. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:14.399 If we believe that we can buy or earn the favor and power of God, then we have lost the gospel, right? 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:22.639 We understand we preach here every week that we are far worse than we would care to admit, but but we are far more loved and forgiven than we ever dreamed. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:27.200 The message of the gospel is that we have nothing to bring. 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:37.519 And yet God loves us, forgives us, and has given us Jesus only out of grace. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.440 Again, Peter's words are strong. 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:46.000 Literally, he says, May you and your silver go to hell. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:48.799 He is jealous for the gospel. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:52.159 Because if we lose grace, we lose everything. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:54.000 Alright, let's keep moving. 00:15:54.240 --> 00:16:02.399 The third and final part of this chapter, uh, we get to see God's heart for all who are afar off. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:07.919 We're told that an angel of the Lord comes to Philip and specifically tells him, Go south, young man. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:15.919 There's a road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza, which is a city southwest of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean Sea. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:22.080 And on his way, Peter comes into contact with a fascinating, another fascinating figure. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:24.559 Uh he is an Ethiopian official. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:31.200 He he works in the courts of the Queen of Ethiopia, Queen Candace. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:32.960 He's head of the treasury. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:38.240 And we're given this little this little detail that he is seated in a chariot. 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:40.240 Uh this guy was rich. 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.759 Most 90% of people walked. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:49.360 If you were an officer in the army, you might ride a horse. 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:53.440 If you were royalty, you were you were carried. 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:58.080 And if you were rich, you would be seated in a chariot. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:16:59.679 So this is a rich guy. 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.000 He's head of the treasury. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:11.759 He's also a eunuch, which was not unusual for someone working as a royal servant, especially connected with female royalty. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:20.240 Uh it was a way to ensure loyalty and uh sort of protect um the women of the court. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:24.079 But we're also told that he's a god fearer, which was a technical term. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.279 He was a gentile who worshipped Yahweh. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:27.759 Right? 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:36.240 We're told that he's in the story, which I did not read, uh, that he is leaving Jerusalem after worshiping in Jerusalem. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:39.440 Now, this is a big deal. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:46.319 Because as an Ethiopian and as a eunuch, the fact that he was there worshiping, he was an outsider. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:46.720 Right? 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:53.359 If you know anything about the Jewish temple, uh he was not allowed, Gentiles were only allowed in the outer courts. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:59.680 They were not allowed into the inner areas closest to the Holy of Holies, where God's presence resided. 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:03.920 But also as a eunuch, he was not allowed in the temple at all. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:08.880 Now, probably because he was rich and influential, they probably let him in. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:17.279 But as a eunuch, the Old Testament said, You because of your deformity, you are not allowed into the temple of God. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:23.200 Let's pick up the story here in Acts 8, verse 30. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:32.720 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, Do you understand what you are reading? 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.839 And he said, How can I unless someone guides me? 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.640 And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:49.440 Now the passage of Scripture that he was reading was this: like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:53.279 In his humiliation justice was denied him. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:19:02.000 He who he can who can describe his generation, who for his life is taken away from the earth. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:13.680 So not only is this a rich guy, a God fearer, but he he was holding in his hand the scroll of Isaiah, a copy of the book of Isaiah, which was just astronomically valuable. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:37.200 And as Philip comes up to the uh comes up to the chariot, he's reading from Isaiah chapter 53, which is one of the most provocative uh passages in the Old Testament related to the Messiah, um, where we're told that he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.559 And with his by his wounds we are healed. 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:43.920 My wife and I were on staff with Campus Crusade for a few years. 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:47.039 This is what we would call an evangelistic softball. 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:47.519 Right? 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:52.559 This guy's reading Isaiah 53, and the Holy Spirit's like, go talk to that guy. 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:54.000 He's like, no problem. 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:26.400 And after reading this passage, Philip goes on to explain the good news to him that this man, Jesus of Nazareth, was also the Son of God, who miraculously lived a life free of sin, and yet willingly gave his life as the perfect sacrifice, so that anyone, Jew or Gentile, who put their faith in him would be forgiven their sins, invited in to God's family, adopted as a son or a daughter, given a seat at the table. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:34.160 This is incredible news for anyone, but imagine being this Ethiopian, one who was always on the outside. 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:40.880 He immediately received the good news, and he himself was baptized. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:47.039 But this is the flow of the gospel, brothers and sisters. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:21:02.480 That the gospel not only is for the Jews, the sons and daughters of Abraham and Sarah, not only for the Samaritans, these half-breeds and uh kind of enemies of the Jews, but to the ends of the earth. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:12.000 And here we see the gospel being directed specifically by the Holy Spirit to a powerful and influential member of a whole other nation. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:16.640 Ethiopia was considered in this day the ends of the earth. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:23.680 At the end of this story, we're told that uh Philip is so somehow miraculously like taken away by the Holy Spirit. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:29.279 It's just sort of left vague that way, and he he continued uh on his journey preaching the gospel. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:36.720 But the message here is clear the Holy Spirit wants the gospel to go out. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:40.720 He doesn't need the apostles, he doesn't need Philip. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:47.279 He will take this Ethiopian eunuch and bring his gospel to a whole other nation. 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:49.680 Beloved, this is the heart of God. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:54.960 At the beginning of the chapter, we see the great persecution break out in Jerusalem. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:57.839 The people of God are terrified and confused. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:07.359 They flee for their lives, but in that fleeing, the gift and the message of life spreads to the whole world. 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:19.759 And just like in Samaria, out of that pain in Jerusalem came joy in Samaria, joy in Ethiopia, and eventually joy in Marietta. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:23.119 This is the way of God. 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:24.960 This is the heart of God. 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:29.920 This is the pattern of God in your life, in mine. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:43.119 And this is the work that the Holy Spirit continues to do that through the pain and suffering in your own life, He can bring joy and blessing to those around you. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:44.559 Amen. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:45.839 Let's pray. 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.599 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:52.000 Lord, we see this pattern. 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:53.680 We see it in others. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:58.160 We have experienced it and tasted and seen that it is good. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:07.039 And yet, Lord, we confess that it is hard on a day-to-day basis to remember and to hold on to faith when things are hard. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:18.960 And so, Holy Spirit, we ask that you would work this down deep into our souls, that we would always be looking for resurrection in time of death, because that is the God that you are. 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:20.319 And we love you for it. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:20.880 Amen.