WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.720 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.480 Helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:19.679 Amen. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:20.559 Amen. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:21.760 Let's pray together. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:23.120 Lord Jesus, we believe. 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:24.719 Help our unbelief today. 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.199 Lord, we believe you're coming back for a spotless bride. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:28.719 That means your people, your church. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:34.479 And so uh wash off of us all of the unnecessary that spots and stains our lives today. 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.200 We believe that you're coming back for that spotless bride. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:47.840 We believe that the Spirit of God is still here on the earth, that the Holy Spirit lives in the Christian, and you left your spirit here on earth to continue the ministry of Jesus and the establishment of your kingdom. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:54.159 In the beginning, the Bible says that the earth was void and formless, but the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:58.159 And so all of us have areas in our life today that are void and formless. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:00:59.759 We don't know, we don't understand. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:00.960 Am I going to college? 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:02.640 Am I going to be able to afford college? 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:04.000 Should I take that promotion? 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:05.359 What if I have to move? 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:06.480 All this kind of stuff. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:12.239 And we just declare over everything unknown and unformed in our life that the Spirit of God is hovering over that. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:13.920 You already have a plan for it. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.000 And so we just say, Lord, we believe you. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:19.439 We don't know what's coming next week, but we believe you. 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:22.239 And when that gets here, we're going to keep on believing you. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:24.400 Lord, there's a lot in the passage this morning. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:27.200 Holy Spirit, be in me like Antifreeze. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.799 Don't let me overheat and boil dry as I'm trying to talk about this today. 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:36.799 Uh, because Lord, we believe that you want us to connect to some realities that connect people to God. 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:44.319 And so, Holy Spirit, illuminate the scripture today, cause it to get find a resting place in us and then express itself through us. 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:44.879 We pray. 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:46.560 We pray all this in Jesus' name. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:48.560 And everyone said, Amen. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:49.599 You can have a seat. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.879 If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open up to Acts chapter 17. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:54.000 Acts chapter 17. 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:55.359 If you don't have a Bible, don't sweat it. 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:56.879 It'll come up on the screen behind me. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:01:59.680 If you're a guest today, we're preaching through the book of Acts. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:03.120 It's called the Book of Acts because it was basically the Acts of the Apostles. 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:10.400 It's a it's the earliest first followers of Jesus Christ, uh, what they did, how they lived, and how Christianity kind of got started. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:12.159 And today I'm in Acts chapter 17. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.840 I'm gonna read verses one to nine on talk to you about the power of connection. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:22.159 The power of connection, because you we've all had conversations with people that don't start off as spiritual conversations. 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:34.960 You're just kind of talking, and then all of a sudden your friend or coworker, total stranger, says something and something pings in you, and you're like, ooh, I should probably like interject some spiritual thought right here, but I'm not sure what to say or how to say it. 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:38.479 And you just walk away and like, hey, I'll pray for you, Bill. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:39.919 And Bill's like, hey, hey, thanks. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:40.319 All right. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:42.560 If I that's meaningful to you, great. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:53.120 And as you're walking away, you're just kicking yourself the whole time, kind of going, ah, and about 10 seconds after the conversation ends, you think of 20 things that you could have, would have, and should have said. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:58.560 You see, I just want to suggest to you that in that moment, the task is not thinking of what to say. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:02.879 In that moment, the task is really thinking of what I should have connected that person to. 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:07.520 Because what you're gonna see in this text this morning is that the apostle Paul is just a dude, man. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:11.840 He's just a guy that it radically comes to faith. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:13.759 Um, and and that's what he does. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.759 He works hard to connect people. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.919 Uh, he connects with people, first of all, and then he wants to connect people to three realities. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:20.319 All right. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:22.879 I want you to get your ears ready to hear these in the text. 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:25.280 Acts chapter 17, starting in verse 1. 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:32.240 He says, now when they had passed through Amphipolis and uh Apollonium, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:46.560 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:53.280 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:04:00.639 But the Jews who were jealous and and and uh and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:04.080 They attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:13.919 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, These men have turned who have turned the world upside down, have come here also. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.160 And Jason has received them. 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:20.720 And they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying, There's another king, Jesus. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:29.199 And the people in the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things, and when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:30.160 They let them go. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:31.360 The power of connection. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:33.040 What do I mean by the power of connection? 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:34.959 There's four things in the text I want you to see. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:37.680 Number one, is you have to connect with people. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:38.879 You have to connect with people. 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:49.519 In verse one, it says this it says they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews, and Paul went in, and then this little phrase, as was his custom, that is the Bible word for habit. 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:51.680 Now, here's just a question I want to start with. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:56.240 Why would you go to the one place you know you're gonna encounter the most resistance? 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:58.399 I mean, why go to the one place? 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:03.439 I mean, you make a special trip, you go there, and it says, for three Sabbath days. 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:08.480 That does not mean three days in a row, that means the day of the week of Sabbath for Jews back then, it was Saturday. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:09.519 And so he would go. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:19.360 So when three Sabbath days, basically he's saying for three weeks, he went to the Jewish synagogue where he knew the people that do not think like him or believe like him, but he goes there. 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:20.399 And why does he do this? 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:21.199 Here's why. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.160 Because he knows that there'd be people there who were very religious, but they did not have a relationship with God. 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:31.120 Do you understand today that you can be super religious and not have a relationship with God? 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:33.040 If you understand that, say amen. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:37.759 Now, Paul would go to the synagogue of the Jews, and that that was, he'd make a beeline for that. 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:40.000 He'd visit two places every city he got to. 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:45.199 He would first go check out the jail, and then he would go to the synagogue where he's going to teach and preach about Christianity. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:46.399 Why go to the jail? 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:48.959 Because after he preached, that's where he was going to go. 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:54.959 Because people disagreed with him and hate him that much, and yet he came, as was his custom. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:58.959 We talked last week about how these people didn't seek experiences. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:02.319 They had habits that caused him to have these gospel experiences. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:07.839 Now, the reason he was drawn to these places and these people, listen to me, is because he used to be one. 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:12.560 You shouldn't escape, you shouldn't want to get away from everybody you used to raise hell with. 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.759 Because those are the people that need to hear about the reality of heaven. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:21.839 Now, I'm not saying sin with them and do things you used to do, but the reason he was drawn to these people is he used to be one. 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:26.319 He was religious, he prided himself on being right and winning religious discussions. 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:28.560 But here was the problem Paul experienced. 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:34.000 He had no love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.040 Matter of fact, in the book of Romans, chapter seven, he says this. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:38.079 How about self-control? 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:42.079 He says, Hey, the good that I want to do, I can't seem to do it, okay? 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.600 And the bad stuff that I don't want to do, that's what I do. 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:46.800 Then he makes a statement. 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:49.759 He says, Oh, wretched man that I am. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:51.839 Now, this is the way he felt. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:57.120 He was religious, he was conflicted, he was tormented emotionally until he became a Christian. 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:02.240 He began to understand who Jesus Christ was and how God works in our lives once we come to faith. 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:03.199 Let me demonstrate. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:05.680 Now, what do we call that list of things I just rattled off? 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:07.279 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:08.079 What do we call that? 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:09.279 Say it out loud. 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:10.639 The fruit of the spirit. 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:12.959 Now, if you're sitting here today and you're like, well, I didn't know that. 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:14.800 I got that one wrong on the pop quiz. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:17.120 Uh no, no, that's not a big deal. 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:18.079 What would he mean? 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:25.519 We talk about, matter of fact, if you don't know what that is, you're probably ahead of all the people, the Sunday school superstars who just chirped out. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:26.560 Fruit of the Spirit. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:28.560 Because here's what the church in America has done. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:34.560 We see the list, we go, oh, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:35.680 And then look at me. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:40.319 The church takes upon itself the responsibility of teaching you how to be all these things. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:41.839 That is terrible. 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:43.680 That's just behavior modification. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:44.240 Thank you, B. 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:44.480 F. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:45.120 Skinner. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:45.920 No, thank you. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:57.040 It's called the fruit of the spirit because when you become a Christian, God comes to live inside of you by his spirit, and the spirit of God inside of you produces these realities on the outside of you. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:14.639 Matter of fact, because the church has taken on the responsibility of teaching people how to be more loving and more gentle and more faithful and more patient and more peaceful and have more joy, because you've taught people how to do this in their own flesh, you can't really tell who knows Jesus and who's just religious anymore. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:21.040 The church has created its own personal problem with an unbiblical approach to teaching people. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:24.000 Now, when I say uh what what what do you mean? 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:25.360 What are you saying right now? 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.480 I'm not saying don't be loving, don't be joyful, don't move peaceful. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:34.000 I'm saying this the Holy Spirit inside of you produces these realities on the outside of you. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:37.360 Christianity is not a to-do list for really disciplined people. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:40.720 Oh, I'm gonna be loving and joyful, peaceful if it kills me. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:41.440 It will. 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:42.080 It will. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:48.720 Have you ever met somebody that goes to church all the time and has gone to church for 40 years and they're just not enjoyable to be around? 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:50.480 It's because they learned the list. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:57.919 They went to study school, they know all the answers, and on the inside, they are just ah, please don't sat next to me at a wedding. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:01.360 This is my own personal thought. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.360 Because when I do a wedding, everybody says, Oh, my uncle, he's a Methodist minister. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:07.200 Oh, please, dear God, no. 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:13.519 Yeah, you see, here's the thing Christianity is not a to-do list for really disciplined people. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:14.399 Well, then what is it? 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:20.639 It's a relationship with a loving God who forgives you, fills you, and then he works inside of you for the rest of your life. 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:26.799 Matter of fact, he so worked in this guy, Paul, that at one point he said to God, and he meant this, he said, I wish that I could be accursed. 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:33.519 So that my kinsmen, these Jews, these religious people who go to the synagogue every Saturday and argue, have religious discussions. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:35.039 I wish I could be accursed. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.279 Translation, I wish God I could go to hell so these cats could go to heaven. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:39.679 Okay? 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:43.600 Now, now what when I say connect with people, what you're like, man, you're amped up about this. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:44.480 What's the big deal? 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:53.120 The big deal is that I want us to, if you don't connect with people, how can you connect people to these other three realities that the Bible's going to demonstrate? 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:54.720 You got to connect with people. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.600 You can't just connect with the people that sit around you right here. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.679 You shouldn't be uh always with Christians, you should be around unbelievers. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:08.559 Now, see, here's the problem in America, the longer you're a Christian, the harder you have to work to be around people who aren't like you. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:11.200 You just become siloed in your Christian community. 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:13.840 And it's like, oh man, I never get around lost people. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:15.600 That's not something you should but brag about. 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:17.120 You should confess that is sin. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:22.399 Because the Bible says we're the fragrant aroma of Christ to those who are perishing. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:24.240 You should pee around people who are perishing. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:30.399 This is why Paul went to the synagogue of the Jews every time he had the opportunity because he wanted to connect with people. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:36.960 We do not have year-round programming because we want you to follow the example of Paul and connect with people, okay? 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.960 When you connect with people, you bring the capacity of the gospel with you. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:45.360 Last week, one of you sent me an email and said, Hey man, you were a little excited today. 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:46.559 You kind of got after us. 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:51.039 No, I just want you to understand the capacity that you have as a believer, okay? 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:58.399 And so I brought you a little equation today: gospel capacity plus gospel responsibility equals gospel experiences. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:00.320 You're like, great, what does that mean? 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:01.200 Let me say it again. 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:02.480 Gospel capacity. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:07.759 Again, when I became a Christian, the Spirit of God came, God came to live inside of me by his spirit. 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:09.440 The Bible calls it the Holy Spirit. 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:12.080 I have a capacity that I by nature don't have. 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:16.240 I can be patient, I can be long-suffering, I can be a lot of things, okay? 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:18.320 That I by nature am not, okay? 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.000 That's gospel capacity plus gospel responsibility. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:22.799 What do you mean? 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:26.080 The gospel makes me responsible to live a certain way. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:30.480 It's not just forgiveness for all the things I want to do, it's a responsibility. 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:32.879 Now that is what equals gospel experiences. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:37.039 You should ask yourself, have this conversation over lunch today if you want to really get it going. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.440 Ask each other when's the last time you had what you would consider a gospel experience? 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.440 Where something happened that it can't be explained because the gospel is real and relevant. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:59.519 Because here's my concern: we have gospel capacity and we don't embrace our gospel, the responsibility the gospel puts on us, and therefore we don't have hardly any gospel experiences. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:01.440 Now, you say, what do you mean connect with people? 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:11.120 I mean at the neighborhood, at the baseball field, at the volleyball court, at swim uh practice, at dance class, at work, your neighborhood pool, your backyard pool. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:18.960 For Paul, it was the synagogue of the Jews because this was a to quote that great theologian Maverick, this was a target-rich environment. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:22.080 You have to put yourself in target-rich environments. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:25.919 Because if you do not connect with people, okay, there is no power of connection. 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:33.519 And you're just getting more religious information, but it's not getting out of you, and you're not connecting people to things they were created for. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:37.200 There's three things that they were created for in the text, which brings us to the second thing. 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.159 Number one, here's the power of connection: connect with people. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:42.799 Secondly, connect people to the story of God. 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:44.559 Connect people to the story of God. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:45.840 It's verses two and three. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:59.360 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:05.840 And for some of them, they were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:08.559 Again, leading people and devout people. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:12.080 They didn't just kind of go say, hey, we'll we'll take this the cast offs. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:13.279 We're looking for the low-hanging fruit. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:14.960 They're like, hey, where's the mayor? 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:16.159 Where's the governor? 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:17.919 Can I see the president? 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:20.480 Because that's the native environment for the gospel. 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:24.080 So when I say connect people to the story of God, this is what I'm saying. 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.519 In order for this to happen, you and I have to know the story of God. 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:33.279 God has been telling one story for a long time, and that's the story He's going to tell over and over and over. 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:34.960 You heard Derek talk about it up here. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:36.159 We're going to be storing. 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:43.440 Uh, this is this is where you you you take not just now, now when I say connect people to the story of God, you can't just know some stories from the Bible. 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:48.159 So it would help us today to ask ourselves, hey, do I do I know the story of God? 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:49.679 The whole big picture story. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:51.759 It's why one of our core classes here. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:55.279 We have uh midweek classes that they start at the end of August. 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:57.759 We do it for 10 weeks in the fall, 10 weeks in the spring. 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:01.279 And inevitably, somebody says, why don't we have year-round Wednesday night classes? 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:03.519 Because we want you out there connecting with people. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.960 We don't want you down here at the religion factory every night of the week, okay? 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.759 We want you, but when you would come together, we mean business. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:14.480 We have classes, we have some classes called core classes, which means these are a second-level thing. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:17.440 We want all of our people to rotate through all of these classes. 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:27.440 One of those classes is called the Christian story because we want you to understand the story that God is telling, all the way from creation to the consummation, to when Jesus comes back again. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:35.440 That way, if you're at the baseball field sitting in a lawn chair next to somebody, and they make a statement and you're like, ding, okay, here we go. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:38.240 And it's kind of like spinning something on a lazy Susan. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:42.000 You're like, okay, how do I contextualize the gospel for what this person just said? 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:44.960 Instead of, well, my church is really growing. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:46.559 We have nine and 10:30 services. 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:48.320 Would you like to come sometime, Harry? 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:52.080 No, Harry doesn't want to come because you're not connecting to him, okay? 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:57.039 And you're not connecting him to the story of God, this story that God has been telling. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:04.080 Now, let me let me apply our inability to tell the story of God to modern day reality in America. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:10.000 In order for you to tell the story of God, for me to tell the story of God, I can't just know some stories from the Bible. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:12.720 I have to know the big picture story that God is telling. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:15.120 Because, see, here's the thing about Christianity. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:22.960 When you become a Christian, you step out of the smallness of your story and you step into the bigness of the story that God is telling. 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:24.240 Let me say that again. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:28.799 When I became a Christian, I stepped out of the smallness of my story. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:30.879 Your story is not big enough to live in. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:32.480 I'm not saying it's not important. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:37.360 I'm saying of me and everybody else, your story is not big enough to live in. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.799 The only story that's big enough to live in is the story of God. 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:47.039 Matter of fact, one of the reasons we have such a mental health crisis in America, it's not COVID. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:56.399 It's not the government, it's not China, it's not whoever you're blaming, blaming these days, it's not the presidential election coming up in five months. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:01.600 It's because you're bumping up against the edges, the margins, the limits of your little story. 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:08.799 And you were created to live in a story that's so big you could spend your rest of your life and you'd never exhaust the limits of it. 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:11.519 You say, I I don't know what you mean. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:15.440 A guy named Andrew Del Bonco, he is a professor at Columbia University. 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:20.639 Uh, and he's just a he's a thinker and writer, and he's he wrote a book about uh the story of hope. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:22.159 It's called The Real American Dream. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:27.679 The Real American Dream, and in the book he talks about, he just says, hey, in the 18th century, our hope was in God as a nation. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:30.559 I mean, as a country, people in America, our hope was in God. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:33.200 19th century, our hope was in the nation. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:35.120 We're gonna fight wars all over the world. 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:36.639 We're America, we're a superpower. 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:38.879 20th century, we got the internet. 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:41.279 Now our hope is in self. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:42.960 Now look at me. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.120 This is why there's a mental health crisis. 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:53.039 You've been educated in the public education system, you've been educated in some Christian schools, Christian schools to put your hope in self. 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:56.159 And you wake up one day and you got anxiety and you're depressed. 00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:00.799 Yeah, because you are trying to make yourself at home in a phone booth. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:02.399 Remember phone booths? 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:05.839 Okay, I said phone booth, and some of you kids are like, what's that? 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:15.119 Yeah, you're you're trying to, it's like, hey, hey, you got a wife and three kids, and you're all trying to live in a phone booth, and you wonder why your kids are a little bit irritable. 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:23.119 Because they're telling you, hey, we were created for something bigger than just softball and tap and jazz and ballet and swim and dee dee dee dee. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:25.119 Great experiences, have all that. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:29.119 But your kids were created for more, and mom and dad, you were created for more. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:33.519 This is what we I mean when I say you got to connect people to the story of God. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:38.240 You can't just know some one-off random stories in the Bible, you have to know the story. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.599 Some verbs that Paul used to tell the story are listed in verses two and three. 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:43.119 I just want to point to them briefly. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:47.039 He says, reasoning, explaining, and proving. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:49.359 You should underline those in your Bible. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:59.279 He says, as was his custom, Paul went in, as was his custom, verse two, on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, not his intellect, from the scriptures. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:01.599 Can you reason from the Bible? 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:10.559 Okay, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for Christ to suffer to die and rise from the dead. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:11.920 We'll get to that in just a minute. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:16.079 But when you connect people to the story of God, make sure you're using the right verbs. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:18.720 To reason means to mingle thought with thought. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:20.960 They have a thought, you have a thought. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:25.440 And you're not trying to win an argument, you're just trying to represent and demonstrate a bigger reality. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:28.319 Explaining means to cause one to open their mind. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:32.319 Later on, in a couple of weeks, we'll get further into chapter 17. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:43.599 And these people that Paul, I mean, like the Uber, like the Harvard, the Columbia, the Yale, whatever you think is prestigious, these smart people, he's talking to them, and he just smokes these fools like a Marlboro red, okay? 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:48.000 And they said to him, Hey, you're bringing some strange ideas to our ears. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:48.960 Hear this. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.200 We want to hear you again. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:57.839 When's the last time you brought some strange ideas to someone's ears and they said, Hey man, I gotta go back to work, but can we do lunch again? 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:01.839 Because I think I something, something tells me I'm gonna be thinking about this for a while. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:07.599 This is what it means to explain, because you call somebody to open their mind and then finally proving. 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.559 I mean it that means simply to place evidence before. 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:16.000 Again, I'm not trying to win an argument, I'm just trying to place something before people and just go, hello. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:17.200 Have you thought about that? 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:18.720 Have you considered that? 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:23.039 Uh this is what it means to connect people to the story of God. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:28.079 Notice that there's no yelling, the verbs are reasoning, explaining, and proving. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:33.759 There's not the verbs are not yelling, cussing, hating, or canceling. 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:34.880 Uh-huh. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:35.359 No. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:37.039 See, here's the third thing you have to do. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:37.680 You have to connect. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:42.000 The power of connection is connecting people to the intellectual integrity of the faith. 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:46.000 Connection, connecting people to the intellectual integrity of the faith. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:49.359 Now, you may have just rolled your eyes and reached for your coffee and said, honey, take notes. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:50.480 I'm going to set this one out. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:51.440 No, no, no. 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:53.839 It's not like, and this is now for smart people. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:54.640 No, not at all. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:20:00.400 When I say connecting people to the intellectual integrity of the faith, uh, I want you, it's verse three and four. 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:10.319 Just notice that the rest of the passage, the Jews, uh, they're responding to the insufficiency of their arguments because they cannot, they cannot reason and prove and explain. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:18.559 And Paul is there for three weeks, and he is putting a beat down on these people, and they just get angrier and angrier, so much so that they go to this Jason guy. 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:19.759 Why this Jason guy? 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.559 Because Jason, these guys were crashing in his house, okay? 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:31.200 And they were like, they went looking for him, they're like, ah, these people have turned the city upside down, and they say there's another king, not Caesar, that the king is really named Jesus. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:32.400 You know why they say that? 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:33.839 Because that's true. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:39.359 And they're just like, ah, because they cannot engage in the dialogue. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:40.240 And so what do they do? 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:43.359 They can't reason their way out of this, so they resort to violence. 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:45.359 Let me say two things about this, okay? 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:49.440 Any religion that depends on violence does not believe itself. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:55.200 Any religion that depends on violence does not believe itself. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:56.319 Now you say, What do you mean? 00:20:56.400 --> 00:21:01.440 I'm going all the way back when I was like 15 years old and I was smoking weed and just I was just an angry kid. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:08.640 And every once in a while, good church kids in my town would come to me because I was like the big sinner, and they were like, Neil, you go to hell if you don't come to Jesus. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:12.559 And I was like, Well, people like you and in heaven, I might think I might enjoy going to hell. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:14.400 Because, dude, you are miserable. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:15.839 I want to be around you. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:22.720 Uh, and and so they would have a little conversation, and when I didn't fall to my knees and say, I believe, they would end the discussion with violence. 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.279 They go, Well, I hope you enjoy hell. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:26.559 Okay. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:33.359 And so later when I became a Christian, I was like, I would read something like this, and I go, there's no reasoning, explaining, and proving here. 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:38.079 Again, a religion that depends on violence does not believe itself. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:42.480 By the same token, a religion that depends on emotion doesn't know itself. 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:46.400 A religion that depends on emotion does not know itself. 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.640 And see, this is kind of where where uh Christians in America have gotten. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:54.000 You should stop making appeals based on assumed emotions in people. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:55.119 Are you tired? 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:56.160 Are you sad? 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:57.279 Are you lonely? 00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:58.720 Do you have anxiety? 00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.519 Are you depressed? 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:00.960 Are you afraid? 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:05.440 Hey, by the way, folks, a Christianity void of reason is not a biblical faith. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.440 A Christianity void of reason is not a biblical faith. 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:13.119 Therefore, Christians should learn how to reason and explain and prove. 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:13.519 Okay? 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:14.720 You shouldn't come to Jesus. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:16.319 Let me say this very clearly. 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:21.119 You should not come to Jesus because he's better and cheaper than a therapist. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:25.680 You should not come to Jesus because he's a better way of live. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:27.279 Sorry, Andy Stanley. 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:29.039 Get some theology. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:35.599 That's a preacher in the land who stands up and tells his people you should you should come to Jesus because it's just a better way to live. 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:39.680 No, you should consider the claims of Christianity because it's the truth. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:44.720 And you cannot make sense of life in this world nor in the next, apart from that. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.519 That's what I believe, that's what I understand the Bible to teach. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:51.119 Now, you need to understand what he's trying to prove to these people. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:57.039 Because it says right there, that as was his custom, on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:58.720 What is he trying to prove? 00:22:58.960 --> 00:22:59.680 What's he trying? 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:01.279 What are they disagreeing about? 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:02.079 This is beautiful. 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:02.799 Don't miss this. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:07.119 This is what I mean by you got to connect people to the intellectual integrity of Christianity. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:10.400 A lot of people are like, oh, Christianity is just for people that couldn't hack it. 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:13.359 You I have a brother that's like, hey, dude, you couldn't hack it. 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:16.960 And so you pulled the ripcord and got all Jesus again. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:21.039 I'm like, well, no, I I think it's the truth. 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:24.319 I think it's the only thing that makes sense of this life. 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:25.519 You say, what do you mean? 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.440 What was Paul trying to prove to these people? 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:27.920 Two things. 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:30.160 First of all, that Christ had to suffer. 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:31.839 That Christ had to suffer. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:34.160 Now you may now here's the reality. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:38.240 Has anybody ever come up to you and said, hey, can you explain to me why Christ had to suffer? 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:41.680 Because I don't believe in Jesus, because he had to suffer. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.640 Now there's a good chance that probably hadn't happened to you. 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:47.440 But back in the New Testament days, that was a big deal. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:48.000 Why? 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.519 Because here's what they believed. 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:53.039 If you're really God, why would you suffer? 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:55.279 Think about it. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:00.319 If you were really God, would you suffer? 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:05.200 Or if you were really God, really in charge of everything, wouldn't you just make everybody else suffer? 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:06.960 Like I have a confession. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:09.119