WEBVTT 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:34.880 Good morning, Church at the Grove. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.560 It's great to see everybody this morning. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:41.600 It is awesome to see people coming back physically. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:47.520 I don't know if any of you were here last uh last week at the 11 o'clock service. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:54.880 It was it was uh as far as our space concerns with COVID and spacing and all that, we were just about full. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:58.479 And so we changed our seeing arrangements a little bit to accommodate that. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.679 We're still excited for those that are at home for whatever reason. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.640 I know some of you are um are dealing with COVID. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:07.680 Uh we're praying for you and your families as you walk through that. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:13.359 Some of you um have have conditions or underlying issues or health issues that you're not ready to come back yet. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:43.519 We're so excited that we've been blessed with the ability uh to broadcast our services and and and just excited um to be able to connect with some people uh that that maybe haven't um uh stepped inside a church building and and and somehow found uh maybe through asking questions in their own heart and minds and through a hunger or thirst or uh you know a desire to seek God and to have some questions answered, you have connected with us, and then we're excited about it. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:48.319 So um this is our last week in this series, Vision 2021. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:50.959 And the next week we begin a series called The Good Life. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:59.840 We're gonna we're gonna walk through, we're gonna begin this journey that's gonna take us a good bit through the year, through what we call the Sermon on the Mount, which is Matthew 5, 6, and 7. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.879 And so the first portion of that is called the Beatitudes. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:07.359 And so if you if you, I know we're we're we've been reading a bunch of scripture. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:16.000 If you've been doing the 21 days through the gospels, we're gonna uh but if you want to kind of read ahead, we're gonna be in Matthew 5, um, uh the first part of that. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:20.080 We're gonna be taking each beatitude one week at a time and dive in. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:22.960 And uh, but today we're gonna conclude this series. 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:24.639 And so we're gonna go through a chunk. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:39.680 We're gonna go, you know, a couple weeks ago we started in Acts 2, and then last week in Acts 2, we we looked at this how the church was birthed, and we had this idea of that God has called us as a church. 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:45.759 Um uh it's not about a place where, but it's a people who are. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:50.319 And so we looked at verses um Acts chapter 2 and the early church. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:56.159 Today we're gonna we're gonna go all the way from there through chapter 11 of Acts. 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.479 All right, so did anybody bring their lunch with them? 00:02:58.639 --> 00:02:59.439 No, I'm kidding. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:00.560 It's not gonna be that long. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.120 But but we're gonna we're gonna dive through a bunch. 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:05.919 And so we are we are creatures of habit. 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:13.680 I don't know about you, but you are you are a creature of habit, which means we tend to gravitate to what is comfortable to us. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:20.319 We just kind of naturally gravitate uh to what is comfortable, what is ordinary, what is the same. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:25.599 Um, you know, we we joke in church world about about back row Baptist. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:35.599 Um I can guarantee you um that when you're not here on a Sunday, if you've been coming for a while, I probably noticed that you're not here because I noticed where you normally sit. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:37.919 You always sit in the same places. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:45.439 Now, sometimes you throw me for a loop and you sit in different places, and and it makes it hard for me to notice when you're not here. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:53.360 But but we are by nature all kind of um people that are creatures of habit, habit. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:58.159 We're we're self, we kind of self-preserve, we're self-uh preservationist. 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:06.800 Um uh we we think about me making sure we're comfortable, that our needs are met, that we've got what we need. 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:08.800 Uh that's just kind of how we're wired. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:16.800 And I believe part of that is because of fallen humanity and the issue of sin has it just turns us toward ourselves. 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:18.160 We're broken. 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:26.959 And and it's just it's it's our it's how we it's how we're wired in that human state of rebellion against God. 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:29.040 So, so how here's a question. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:36.720 And I I know this is personal, but how many of you have received an additional stimulus, uh, deposit or check just recently? 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:37.680 Okay. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.319 All right, so so I I did too. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:52.000 So, so as soon as I got that, man, I my first thoughts were, oh, God, would you please make me aware of how I can expand your kingdom with this extra money? 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:56.160 How many of you think that's what I thought? 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:01.199 You would think the pastor would, that's exactly what the pastor should think, right? 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:12.240 No, I started thinking about big screen TVs and things that I needed in the house or that I needed in my life. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:14.879 I I started listing things. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.120 Oh, and then I thought, oh, I'm married. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:19.040 I need to think of my wife too. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:22.000 Here's the honest part. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:32.879 So so when when I came back to reality, most of that money went to Lee University because I have two kids that are at Lee University. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:39.120 But I did, I I took, well, I mean, so after I went through that selfishness, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit. 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:46.720 And and immediately I I just I did a I went on my phone and I used our our Church at the Grove app and I and I and I gave. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:48.800 I gave I gave back to the Lord. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.120 I and I want to support what God's doing. 00:05:51.279 --> 00:06:04.560 But but I had to I had to go through all those steps where I I I begin to think about me first and and and what what I wanted, what I felt like I needed, and and that's just kind of how we're wired. 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:16.639 And so we have this dilemma, this, this, this dilemma that affects us, and it affects us in how we carry out the responsibility of what Jesus gave us and what we call the Great Commission. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:32.720 Because we we we looked at in the first week, we said Jesus, when Jesus was done with his ministry, he he came, he lived, he taught, he he modeled what it was, what it was like to live the Jesus life and the way of God and following the heart of the Heavenly Father. 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:46.399 He was arrested, he was cruelly beaten, he was crucified, and in that crucifixion, he took upon humanity, he took upon himself all the punishment that is due humanity because of their rebellion and sin. 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:52.000 And what he did is he provided a way for us to be reconciled with our Heavenly Father, that we could come. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.120 And it's a free gift. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:54.720 All you got to do is receive it. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.759 And that's what faith is, is when you say, I believe. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.279 You can't do anything to earn it. 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:03.120 You can't live good enough, you can't correct your life enough. 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:06.800 You just simply say, Yes, yes, yes to God. 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:17.199 And then when you have that gift of salvation and the gift of faith, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of you, and he begins to change you. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:21.680 And so and so Jesus, Jesus uh rose again. 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:25.439 And so that empty tomb points to the fact that Jesus has given us a victory. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:26.800 We sang the song. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:28.720 We want to see a victory. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:30.720 Jesus gave us victory. 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:37.360 The empty tomb is a precursor to this hope that we have, that there is an everlasting existence. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:40.639 And we're all we we all have access to it. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:49.439 And so when somebody passes away, when somebody, when somebody in your family is gone that has put their faith in Jesus Christ, there is hope. 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:52.560 Because we they live somewhere forever. 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:54.399 Everybody lives somewhere forever. 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:58.000 And so Jesus, so Jesus comes to the end of his life. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:10.319 He's resurrected, he spent 40 days preaching the kingdom of God to his followers, and then he's about to leave and ascend and go sit at the right hand of his father where he is today, praying for you, interceding for you. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:11.759 And he gives us the great commission. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:14.560 The great commission, Matthew 28, 18, 19 to 20. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:20.000 He says, Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:31.519 Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you, and I will be with you until the end of the age. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.279 And then he ascended to the Father. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:42.000 And he had told them, prior to that, you know, he said, he said, You go to, you go to um, go back to Jerusalem, you're gonna go to the upper room. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:46.720 Um, we see in Acts where it says about 120 of them gathered in the upper room, and they prayed. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:48.320 The Holy Spirit comes. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:55.519 There's a there's an earthquake, there's a shaking, there's a this mighty rushing wind, and the Holy Spirit comes upon them. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:57.440 I I wish I could have been there. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:58.559 I wish I could see that. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:00.960 I imagine it, but what a what a strange event. 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:07.440 It says they had tongues of fire that landed on their on their heads, they went out into the streets and they spoke in tongues. 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:22.159 And of course, this was during the Passover, so people from all nations from other that spoke other languages come in to the city, and everyone heard the message that was being preached in their own language. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:29.840 And so Peter preaches this great gospel message, and 3,000 people are saved. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.200 On that very first day, the church is born. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.279 And so we we said in the first week, what did they do then? 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:47.360 It says they begin, they begin to gather in their homes and in the temple, Acts 2, uh 2, uh um, and they begin to listen to the apostles' teaching. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:55.679 They begin to um they begin to break bread together, they shared meals together, they did the Lord's Supper together, um, they prayed together. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.559 And the result of that was they were in awe. 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:00.480 It was it was a response of worship. 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:04.399 God, you are awesome, you are worthy of our worship. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:08.879 And it says they that they all uh saw signs and wonders. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:12.399 They they there were miracles that were performed, just like Jesus performed. 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:23.840 People were healed, demons were cast out, people um, people were made right with God, and and the gospel began to go forth in the city of Jerusalem. 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:25.279 The church began to grow. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:31.679 It says the numbers were added to their to the church daily in the city of Jerusalem. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:34.879 But did God tell them to stay in Jerusalem? 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.279 Was the Great Commission just for Jerusalem? 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:44.480 No. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.720 But if you'll notice, that's where they stayed. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:51.279 They stayed in Jerusalem. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:11:01.360 They stayed primarily sharing the gospel, this good news of Jesus with their fellow Jewish people. 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:10.159 And so, in essence, they were self-preservationists. 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:11.440 They were creatures of comfort. 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:17.600 They're gonna, hey, let's let's tell everybody that's just like us about this good news. 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:20.960 And so they say they stayed in Jerusalem. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:28.799 This guy named Bill Isam, who, who, who, who's a, uh, who's who's written the books that I've read and um is a great theologian. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:30.159 He he he says this. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.639 He says, but think about it a moment. 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:40.720 If it had been left to that Jerusalem church, would any of us be Christians today? 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:43.919 And he says, I doubt it. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:48.480 So what does God do? 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:51.919 I mean, the gospel's for everybody. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:54.159 How many Jewish people in here? 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:56.080 Anybody in here Jewish? 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:59.759 Like, like ethnically Jewish? 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:09.840 So, so so if if they had never left Jerusalem, I'm telling you, you are a Gentile and you would have never heard the good news. 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:12.639 And you would never have the hope. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:23.519 You would never have the eternal life that Jesus provided in his life and his death and his resurrection that was meant for everybody. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:26.720 They settled for a cozy existence. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:28.720 And they lost sight. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:31.200 We lose sight. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:35.919 We get our stimulus check or we get any kind of blessing. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.200 We just, we're we're creatures of comfort. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:43.120 It reminds me that we we have to depend on God. 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:50.000 We, even if we're reborn, we're we're we're new, we had this new birth and this new hope in Jesus Christ. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:13:02.320 You put your hope in Jesus Christ, you strip, you still struggle daily with this overwhelming pull towards self-preservation, towards sin, towards selfishness. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:04.320 And so here's the reality. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:09.759 Here's what, here's kind of what I want to focus on today is we exist for those that are not yet here. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:19.679 This is the way of Jesus, that the church exists for the ones who aren't yet here, the people who don't know about the hope. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:37.120 Whether they live across the street in Walnut Grove or they live across the world in a place called Romania or Africa or a Middle Eastern country, we are called to plant new works and to cultivate a culture of multiplication. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:38.240 You know what that means? 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:55.440 That means if you're in a small group or a community group, your small group or community group is supposed to have a culture of multiplication, which at some point you you at least a couple of you go out and make room for more people to come in and connect. 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:57.039 It's like Legos. 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:07.200 You've got to create more pieces for more people to have the opportunity to connect to what we have hope in. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:12.320 Jesus had a way of loving those that weren't like him and they like him. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:20.240 He had this winsome way in making sure that people were connected, and we're to adopt the same thing. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:31.600 So in Acts 1, the disciples are told to depart from Jerusalem, and I'm sorry, in Acts chapter 1, the disciples are told not to depart from Jerusalem. 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:33.919 Wait on the Holy Spirit, which is great. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:34.799 That's great. 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:45.840 Verse 8 says, the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will be my witnesses to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:47.600 And so 120 are there. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:48.879 The Holy Spirit comes. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:51.679 Peter preaches, 3,000 are saved. 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.240 Miracles take place. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:57.919 God begins to work. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:14:59.440 Acts 4, 13. 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:06.320 Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, I love that. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:12.639 Because it says they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.919 And so the church does grow in Jerusalem. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:23.360 It grows all the way to the point in Acts chapter 6, they have to put in place some organization. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:26.159 They've got to raise up some leaders. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:32.159 The growth is to the point that it necessitates them to organize some. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:38.159 And so they lay hands on seven men that are chosen, and they're called deacons. 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:51.519 That word deacon in the Greek, it literally means a servant, somebody that waits tables and just helps people and serves them, not somebody that sits on a board of leadership and makes decisions. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:16:02.240 And so these deacons are there primarily to serve the widows and the orphans and meet the needs of people that have practical needs. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:09.679 And then so the apostles can continue the ministry of the word and preaching and prayer. 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:25.759 And even then there was division because it says, if you read it, if you read it, it says there's division because some of the Hellenists, that means Greek, that means non-Jew, some of those that had turned to Christ weren't having their needs met. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.480 And so there's the roots of division. 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:32.159 And so the word of God continues to grow. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.200 And then what does God do? 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:47.759 When he realizes that, hey, they they are at a point where they're going to continue to seek comfort and self-preservation overtaking the gospel to all the nations. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:49.039 So what does God do? 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:51.120 God brings persecution. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:54.799 God brings, God allows it. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:17:05.119 And that sounds, that sounds mean and harsh, but God is committed to his will, he's committed to his glory. 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:14.480 He's committed to the people that need to hear about Jesus more than he is to our comfort and self-preservation. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:21.920 And so Stephen is seized in Acts chapter 6. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:29.519 Stephen gives a message, and he faces death in Acts chapter 7, and he becomes the first martyr of the church. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.400 He's stoned to death because he preaches the gospel. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.920 And at that moment, the church began to scatter. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:40.079 Acts chapter 8, verse 1. 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:42.240 And Saul approved of his execution. 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:46.319 Saul, who became Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:50.079 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:51.200 And look at what it says. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:58.000 And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:09.599 And so because the church is so turned inward and seeking its own comfort, God brings persecution to force people outside of Jerusalem. 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:14.400 And what you see is you see followers of Jesus like Philip. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:18.400 Philip goes to Samaria and preaches Christ to them. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:22.960 And Acts chapter 9, supernaturally, God brings Paul. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:26.240 Saul is his name before Paul. 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:35.200 Saul has a great conversion experience where Christ comes and he puts his faith in Jesus and he eventually becomes the apostle Paul. 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:38.880 And then specifically, here's what I want you to see in Acts chapter 10. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.920 Peter, before Peter has this vision. 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:52.160 Cornelius is a non-Jewish Roman leader. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:19:00.079 And he has a vision and a dream to send for the apostle Peter to bring to his household. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:05.920 And the scripture says specifically, he is a man that is turned toward the heart of God. 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:13.200 And he even he gives he gives, he's very, very uh he's very generous and he gives gives to the needs of people around him. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:15.519 He's seeking after the Lord. 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:17.839 And at the same time, he has this vision. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:35.039 God gives Peter a vision about the fact that the food that had been deemed unclean by the Jewish religion and leadership, he says, at this point now, you can consider all things clean and acceptable. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:38.960 Don't make unclean what God says is clean. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:42.720 And he gets this vision to go visit the house of Cornelius. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:48.559 And Cornelius gathers his unsaved friends and family in his house. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:51.359 And none of them are Jewish. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:20:02.240 And Peter comes in and he shares the gospel and says the Holy Spirit comes and just changes and works in all the hearts of the people in the household. 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:04.000 He preaches the gospel. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:14.720 This is one of the first experiences outside of Jerusalem where the gospel is preached to a group of Gentiles, non-Jewish people, and the Holy Spirit falls. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:17.359 Which leads us to Acts chapter 11. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:26.799 Here, I'm going to read through this rather quickly, and we're going to look at what I believe God is saying to us through this passage. 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:28.559 Acts chapter 11, verse 1. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:30.240 Here, let's read through it. 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:39.039 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:42.720 So they all they hear the Gentiles have received the word of God. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:48.799 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party all shouted for joy. 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:50.559 That what it says? 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:57.519 No, they criticized him, saying, You went to the uncircumcised, which is non-Jew men, and you ate with them. 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:00.319 But Peter began and explained to them in order. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:10.480 I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:16.079 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:19.759 And I heard a voice saying to me, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:24.559 But I said, By no means, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:30.880 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, What God has made clean, do not call common. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:33.200 This happened three times. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.079 And all was you know why it happened three times? 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:42.559 Because he needed to be hit over the head three times to get over this old mindset. 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:51.680 I mean, you know, you ever notice that sometimes we've got to just be be beat upside the head and knocked over. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:58.400 Circumstances in our life that turn us upside down, that uproot us, that make us uncomfortable. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:09.599 And behold, at that very moment, three men arrived at the house in which we in which we were sent sent to me from Caesarea, and the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:14.000 These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:21.599 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, Send to Joffa and bring Simon, who is called Peter. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:25.839 He will declare to you a message by which you will be saved. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:26.640 The gospel. 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:33.839 You and all your household, and I began to speak in the Holy Spirit, fellow men, just as on us at the beginning. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:39.920 And I remembered the word of the Lord and how he said, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:49.519 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way? 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:51.119 Yes. 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:55.519 When they heard these things, they felt silent. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:00.480 Sometimes we were corrected. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:11.519 Usually the Holy Spirit sounds very similar to my wife's voice. 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:36.240 Everywhere. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:38.000 All evidence. 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:39.599 All races. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:41.200 All nationalities. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.160 God is for everyone. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:47.279 We are not to make any decisions. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:58.640 And those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:01.599 There's that there's that mindset. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:15.279 But there were some of them men of Cyprus and Cyrene who can't who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, which is Greeks and non-Jews, also preaching the Lord Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:20.559 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:30.799 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:33.599 And a great many of people were added to the Lord. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.359 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:41.200 And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch for a whole for a whole year. 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:43.759 They met with the church and taught a great many people. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:49.119 And in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians or little Christ. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:58.640 And I want you to get hung up on that word Christian because it doesn't necessarily mean Christian in the same sense that we talk about Christian today. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:02.319 See, if you live in the South, you might be a Christian. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:08.160 If your daddy was a deacon, people think they're Christian. 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:10.880 Well, my granddaddy was a preacher. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:12.000 So I'm a Christian. 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:17.759 I mean, people think because of where they grew up, are family connections, they're Christians. 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:25.039 No, here they are genuinely identifying for the first time that these are followers of Jesus. 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:34.000 So what is God saying in this whole, as we conclude this series, Vision 2021, what's God saying to us? 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:39.200 God is saying, listen, you've got to be aware of distractions that will come. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:43.839 You've got to be aware of missional distractions. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:47.839 Distractions to the mission, and we all have them. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.960 One is the mission of legalism. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:54.480 Instead of the mission of the gospel, it's the mission of legalism. 00:25:54.960 --> 00:26:02.160 See, in verse 2, Peter's criticized because he's preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised. 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:08.880 And so they thought if you're going to please God, you've got to follow all the Jewish rules and the Jewish laws. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:15.920 And so legalism infects churches in America in different ways. 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:25.440 See, that's legalism. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:31.119 Hey, if you don't, if you don't wear the right kind of clothes, you can't please God. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:36.400 If you you preach here, you don't wear a suit and tie, then we don't have as much of that kind of legalism. 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:37.759 But it's still there. 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:47.680 If you don't dress the right way, if you don't live the right way, if you don't behave the right way, and here's what we do. 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:51.119 Churches have have soapbox issues. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.200 Four or five things that they'll harp on all the time. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:58.640 And it's behavior modification. 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:00.720 And it's legalism. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:03.519 And it's a missional distraction. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:26.079 My heart hurts for people that have gone through maybe, maybe divorced, or maybe they've gone through some type of addiction, or they've gone through something unpleasant in their life, and they're they're labeled. 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:30.960 Some kind of stigma is placed upon them. 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:36.000 And that stigma is a form of legalism. 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:45.839 And you're not welcome here if you don't live a perfect little neat and tidy life. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:56.640 We often ask people to adjust their lives to a standard before they even meet Jesus. 00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:01.759 The second distraction is the mission of self-preservation. 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:16.880 In verse 22, they sent Barnabas to check on what was happening at Antioch, and it's not it's not in a positive, it's a bit, it's a bit condescending, and there were accusations that were made. 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:20.799 And it's all about self-preservation. 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:27.440 In verse 22, the report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:33.359 And it wasn't to celebrate, it was to, hey, let go go find out what's going on in that church. 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:39.599 Another distraction is the mission of exclusive exclusivity. 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:40.960 Exclusive. 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:43.279 You say it. 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:45.039 Exclusivity. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:45.839 There you go. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:46.799 Thank you. 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:49.440 Exclusive. 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:51.680 I can't say it. 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:52.880 Exclusivity. 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:54.160 Somebody online. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:56.640 Exclusivity. 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:57.680 Thank you. 00:28:58.160 --> 00:28:59.039 You know what? 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:05.119 The idea was that they were trying to keep Christianity into the Jewish culture. 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:09.359 And we don't want non-Jewish people. 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:13.359 We don't want Gentiles to follow Jesus. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:16.079 And we do the same thing. 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:20.880 Christianity is for a certain type of person. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.279 Jesus came for everybody. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:32.240 I've got a pastor friend that pastored a church in DeCab County. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:36.640 His name is Tyrone. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:45.119 He sat across from me at a cracker barrel back in March. 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:50.720 He said, Russ, I grew up in a little small town in North Carolina. 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:58.559 He said, My mother sent me to the to the to the center of town to this day camp, and it was like a VBS. 00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:03.200 And he said, he said, for the first time I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:07.200 And he said, a man took, he said, I responded. 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:08.240 He said, I went forward. 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:16.799 You know, this is the old, the old gospel, come forward, you know, if you if you want to receive Jesus, I mean, walk, walk the trail, walk the aisle kind of thing. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:18.720 And he said, I want, I went up. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:23.200 And he said, This man took me to and pulled me to this to the side. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:25.759 And listen, I don't know, I don't know this man. 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:27.680 Maybe he had been taught wrongly. 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:36.400 And he told me, he said, son, you're welcome to come back to day camp, but because of the color of your skin, you'll never be able to be a Christian. 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:45.519 And I sat in that cracker barrel and Tyrone and I both, tears streaming down our face. 00:30:50.880 --> 00:31:05.039 Talking about how the church needs to come together, white and black, other ethnicities, and we need to unify around Jesus. 00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:18.079 Listen, single moms matter to Jesus. 00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:28.480 Young girls who who fall into a relationship and are pregnant out of wedlock, Jesus cares about them. 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:36.720 Young men who have gotten in themselves in trouble and have a criminal record, Jesus died for them. 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:40.960 And so we've got to refocus the mission. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:44.640 So that's those are the mission distractions. 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:51.519 Legalism, self-preservation, exclusivity, exclusive, exclusivity. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:56.400 We're gonna have to record the second service instead. 00:31:56.559 --> 00:31:57.440 I'm kidding. 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:01.759 Here's what we do to refocus. 00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:05.920 The mission of the Antioch, the church. 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:13.759 The mission of the Antioch Church was that all people would be welcome to come to Jesus. 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:15.119 This is this is a place. 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:30.319 And so pluralism was was predominant. 00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:46.799 And so the refocusing of the mission is this the mission of identity. 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:53.200 We are first and foremost known by how we follow the way of Jesus. 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:56.000 We're not known for a worship style. 00:32:56.240 --> 00:33:01.599 We're not known for a charismatic preacher. 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:06.960 We're not known for a cool kind of vibe at a church. 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:09.759 We're not known for serving coffee and snacks. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:12.400 We're known for following Jesus. 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:18.720 And so the mission of identity and then the mission of sending. 00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:21.839 Listen, we want to send you out. 00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:24.079 Yes, collectively as a church. 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:28.079 We've been taking biscuits and snacks to all the schools. 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:36.400 By the end of this next week, we're going to hit all these hospitals and doctors' offices and urgent cares and schools. 00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:42.000 But one of the things I want you I want to do is I want to give you permission to live since. 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:43.839 You don't have to wait on us. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:45.759 You don't have to wait on the church. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:49.119 You can do something for your neighbor. 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:51.359 You can take a biscuit to your neighbor. 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:56.240 You can take a gift basket to your neighbor or somebody you work with. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:58.000 We're all in this together. 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:04.880 You are to live your life as if you were sent by Jesus. 00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:08.320 And so the mission of sending, how do we refocus the mission? 00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:13.199 The mission of identity, the mission of sending, then the mission of multiplication. 00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:16.000 And so we're always trying to multiply. 00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:22.079 So if you've got a community group, at some point, although it feels comfortable, you know what? 00:34:22.239 --> 00:34:26.639 If we want to continue to reach people, we've got to create space for them. 00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:31.599 Now y'all know we've we've been through that as a church. 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:34.480 And so we we started at youth middle school. 00:34:34.559 --> 00:34:36.800 We moved down to Walnut Grove High School. 00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:38.639 We grew as a church. 00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:41.840 And so we said, hey, we we want to be ascending church. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.159 So we planted a campus in social circle. 00:34:44.639 --> 00:34:49.760 So right now in social circle, we've got people that are part of our church worshiping just like us. 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:53.119 Nathan is preaching the same message. 00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:59.679 And then we got to a point where one of our young guys, Austin Prince, felt led to go plant a church. 00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:04.000 And he so he was sent, we sent him to Decatur with a group of families. 00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:05.119 That's a tough place. 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:06.559 Decatur is a tough place. 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:09.440 It's an Antioch type of town. 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:11.039 And so we sent them out. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:12.079 We still give them. 00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:19.599 I got a letter just a couple of weeks ago thanking them for what we gave to them this past year financially to support them. 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:24.079 We come alongside and coach and encourage them. 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:28.880 We are ascending church, but we've got to learn how to do it inside the church. 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:31.280 We've got to learn how to multiply groups. 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:34.000 We've got to learn how to be a multiplying church. 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:36.000 We want to plant another campus. 00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:37.840 We want to plant more churches. 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:45.039 And so the church at Antioch was the first church that sent out missionaries. 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:47.599 Look at Acts 13, verses 1 through 3. 00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:51.599 It says, now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers. 00:35:51.840 --> 00:36:00.400 Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Man, a lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:03.440 You notice that some of these names are non-Jewish names. 00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:10.639 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul. 00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:13.360 For the work to which I have called them. 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:17.599 Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and they sent them off. 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:25.199