So I just came from the road, and I'm over there.
I'm trying to get some stuff back there before I get home.
I'm here.
I'm doing it right here.
I'm going to turn around.
We've got a little course on that.
Yeah, yeah.
I don't think it's going to go too far.
But it's good.
Thank you very much.
All right.
And then the first thing is we're going to board.
Wow.
Yeah.
200.
Yeah.
200.
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
60 seconds.
We've got like 40 seconds.
Yeah.
Whatever.
I'll make a test.
Good evening, everyone.
Welcome to Faithful Word Baptist Church.
Great to see you all here for our third degree of service.
God, please have a seat.
Grab a envelope, and open up that envelope.
Song of 70.
We can begin the secret service.
We're singing a song of 70.
Jesus Christ is coming.
Jesus is coming.
Jesus Christ is coming.
Jesus is coming.
Jesus Christ is coming.
Well we just plan for four o'clock.
Four o'clock here.
Saturday.
It's a really well-done documentary.
It really exposes these people.
It's so great.
Because Pastor Shelly
has been going through this stuff for years now
and you know you kind of wonder sometimes
What can he do, you know?
and I hate... I don't want to ask him like
hey, what are you going to do about it?
Obviously, there's only so much he can do
anything he could do he's probably done
But I think this is a great approach to just document these people.
I mean, names are named, events are documented, and he's just putting it out there for the
whole world to see what these people are really like.
And I doubt there's anyone in this room that has a problem with it, but if you're
still feeling soft towards these freaks out there, this film will help you get over
that because it really shows you what they're like.
I mean, obviously nothing graphic or anything like that, but just what their agenda is,
the things that they do, you just got to come see it.
Even if you are already, even if you already hate them with perfect hatred, come see it
anyway because it's just a great film.
It's good new IFB entertainment.
On the back of the bulletin, we've got the St. Lucia missions trip to the Caribbean,
so that's a great opportunity to go to somewhere beautiful and win a lot of souls.
Very receptive there.
Continue to pray for the Verity Baptist Church members, Sha and Eva Rodari, excuse me, hopefully
I'm saying that, and their baby boy John.
Continue to pray for the expectant ladies in our church, and don't forget we're going
to have chips and salsa after the Sunday evening service.
That's probably just going to be a new thing that we just do, so plan on that happening.
Let's go ahead and count up the soul winning going back to Monday, if anybody has
any souls saved on Monday or Tuesday, is that Tuesday?
And then, anything from Wednesday or today, so you guys do those moves and I'm looking
and it's like, and it's like, is that a soul?
And it's like, no, just picking your nose, just kidding, just kidding.
What about today, anything from today?
No, you have got nothing to brush, what are you doing?
He's messing with me.
You should have picked your nose, that would have been more believable, trying to brush
that hair.
Anyway, okay, I better stop before I get in trouble, so we'll go ahead and sing one
more song before we get into the preaching tonight.
Now let's sing it again.
We walk far away, far away, far away, far away.
Far away, far away, far away, far away, far away.
Far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far
away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far
away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far
away, far away,
far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away.
far away, far away, far away,
far away, far away, far away, far away.
far away, far away, far away.
far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far
away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far away, far
away, far away.
Amen.
So we'll get right into it.
We got a long chapter tonight, but we'll get through it there.
In verse one, it says,
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets of the teachers as Barnabas and Simeon.
That was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, and Mahanaon, which had been brought up with Herod the
Tetrarch and Saul.
So it gives a list of these names here.
And these are some of the kind of I guess you call them like the movers and shakers at this church in Antioch.
OK.
And one of them that I want to just point out here in the beginning is this Menean, which has been
brought up with Herod the Tetrarch.
OK.
So Herod obviously is, it was a ruler, but we read how he was eaten of worms.
But, you know, and it says that he's a Tetrarch there because that's basically, I'm probably saying
I don't think it's Tetrarch, whatever.
But basically, you know, Tetra.
Think about that.
You know, what's this title even mean?
Tetra.
Think of Tetris.
Right.
Basically, that's just a title that's given to people who shared authority.
You know, and I know the Tetris analogy maybe is a little humorous, but, you know, you say why Tetris?
Well, every shape in Tetris has four blocks.
Right.
That's where the Tetra is coming.
Do you just think I just made that like just totally unassociated Tetris?
Just think of Tetris for absolutely no reason.
I was going somewhere with that.
OK.
So, you know, it's got four blocks.
Right.
So with Tetra, you know, the Tetrarch, you know, arc is kind of like indicative of somebody who's
leading, think of like an archbishop.
Right.
So he's a ruler that's like one of four.
He's like someone that is sharing a divided kingdom.
Right.
There's three other guys.
That's why he's called that there.
But it's a significant title.
And the point I'm trying to make here is that, you know, this guy, Manian, who's come up with him.
You know, he's somebody that's been raised alongside him.
This is obviously somebody who's got some clout in society.
This isn't just, you know, your average, you know, blacksmith or whatever.
Just your working class guy.
This is somebody who was, you know, affiliated with a very high ranking politician.
Right.
He's brought up with him.
OK.
And he's there in the church in Antioch with these other people.
And, you know, the Bible is pointing out these specific names and also pointing out that, you know, it's Barnabas.
You know, it shows us that Barnabas is somebody that has some significant influence in society.
That Barnabas wasn't, you know, just, you know, again, just an average person in the world as far as the world is concerned.
Right.
He's somebody that had some, you know, some kind of influence in the world.
OK.
And then these other men are being mentioned.
These other men are being mentioned.
Now, the lesson we can learn from this is that we don't want to just rule out certain people.
OK.
Because sometimes you'll come across this and get this attitude sometimes in churches with people.
Or if anybody's coming from any kind of a maybe a little bit more well-to-do background, maybe if they have a more, you know, affluent background.
Sometimes people, Christians, you know, inside churches can kind of look down on that person.
Or we can look at, you know, maybe the wealthy neighborhoods that we might go door knocking in and just instantly assume that no one here is going to get saved.
Why?
Because, oh, they're all in nice houses.
We all know anybody that has any affluence in life, has done well, is prosperous, is obviously just a wicked, evil person.
Right.
Now obviously the love of money is the root of all evil.
The rich are told to not trust in their uncertain riches but in the living God which giveth us all freely all things to enjoy.
Right.
That they are to be ready to communicate, to lay up in store for themselves a foundation against the time to come.
The rich are exhorted within scripture to, you know, live a certain way, not to trust in uncertain riches.
But the fact that the Bible is even addressing rich people should tell us that they can be saved.
Right.
I know Jesus said it's easier for, you know, a camel to go through the eye of a needle but with God all things are possible.
Okay.
And you have here some very influential and I believe affluent men being mentioned in chapter one.
Men with political power, people who could have done a lot of other things in life and probably had done a lot of other things in life.
But here are getting saved, are being pillars in this church at Antioch and are helping to send the word of God out into the world.
You know, again it goes back to 1 Timothy 6.
Wealthy people, people who are well to do should use their wealth.
They should be ready to communicate, willing to communicate, ready to distribute.
They should use that wealth to lay up a store for themselves, you know, a good foundation against the time to come.
You know, they should send that treasure ahead.
They should use that to do great works for God.
Like these men were.
Now obviously I'm not holding my breath.
You know, a lot of people today, that's, you know, a lot of people that have wealth, God is the farthest thing from their mind.
Okay.
But, you know, that hasn't always been the case and we shouldn't just write people off.
We shouldn't just, you know, just rule out anybody who's a ruler, rule out anybody who's rich, rule out anybody that has some kind of a reputation in this world.
And just think, oh, you know, they're too well off to be used of God.
That's not what the Bible teaches.
In fact, go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 1, 1 Corinthians chapter number 1.
We want to have a balanced view of this.
Okay, because this is an attitude that sometimes people can adopt.
And think that if anybody is, you know, unless they're just some lowly bricklayer or something, that God can't use them.
Right.
If they're, if they have any kind of, if they're from maybe, you know, an upper middle class, you know, or high class society, that they're just instantly barred from serving God or something.
Okay.
Now, obviously, people that get it, that have more wealth, that are more well-to-do in this world, you know, they're probably going to be more tempted and more, you know, filled with pride.
Okay.
They have that, that's probably something they're probably going to be a little bit more prone to.
Right.
They that will be rich, you know, pierce themselves through with many sorrows, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
You know, being wealthy in this world can have its own inherent dangers.
Okay.
But that doesn't mean we don't want to go, that they can't be used at all.
We don't want to run to the other extreme and just say, well, that's it for them.
Okay.
Because again, we're reading in verse one, very powerful, very fluent men that are doing a great work for God.
Look at First Corinthians chapter one, verse twenty six, for you see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.
Right.
Now, did he say that no wise men after the flesh?
Did he say that no mighty men?
Did he say that no noble men are called?
You know, it's just it's not many.
Meaning there are some, you know, it's not going to be the majority.
You know, we don't have any big movers and shakers in our church, but that's not to say we never will.
Okay.
You know, if they want to come in here and serve God and submit themselves to the word of God and use the power and influence that they have to help this church do a great work for God, they can do that.
They're not barred from doing that.
It's just they're not going to be many of these people.
You know, the many wise men after the flesh talking about people who have, you know, the more intellectual types of this world, those who have, you know, the more educated people of this world, those people who are more involved in, you know, thought work and things like that, that are part of that culture, whatever.
Okay.
The academia of this world.
Okay.
The corporate aspect of this world.
You know, those people, we're not going to see a lot of them, but it doesn't mean we can't.
Right?
Look there at verse 27.
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
And God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
So obviously God uses the weaker things.
He uses the things, the people that maybe aren't wise men after the flesh, that aren't mighty.
He uses those things, but not because there's just some kind of inherent goodness, like God just prefers the weak things of this world over the mighty things.
There's a purpose behind why God uses what the people that the world would look at and say they're not that mighty, they're not that wise, they're not that noble.
There's a reason why God uses those people.
You know, they're poor in this world, but rich in faith.
Okay.
Obviously when you get into the lower incomes, those demographics, those people typically can be a more humble and receptive people.
Okay.
You go out to some of these Indian reservations and elsewhere, you know, where it's a little more poverty stricken.
People tend to be a little bit more open to the gospel.
But you know what?
I've also been in some pretty poor places where they're just as prideful, they're just as, you know, stuck in their old ways and unwilling to get saved as the most affluent neighborhood there is.
You know, you never can tell.
Okay.
The reason why God uses, as it says in verse 28, the base things and the things which are despised, the reason why God has chosen those things, the things which are not, is to bring to not those things that are.
To confound those things which are mighty.
Right.
That's why He uses them.
Okay.
You know, people want to squash, you know, little Baptist churches, they want to silence little Baptist churches, they do everything they can.
Great big, you know, media conglomerates get together and say let's shadow ban them on these different social media platforms.
Let's outright just ban them.
And yet our message still goes forth.
And yet people still are getting saved.
Yet these churches are still growing.
You know, it might confound them.
The atheists that take our clips and blow, you know, put them out there, the media coverage that comes along saying, oh, we're going to expose them.
You know, we're going to show the world that these people are really like and actually it helps us grow.
It's like the Egyptians, you know, when they persecuted the Israelites, they grew more.
They multiplied the more they persecuted them.
And, you know, that confounds the things that are mighty.
It shows them that God is the one that's really behind it.
God will use the noble.
God will use the weak.
God will use the mighty.
God will use the base.
He'll use all of it, verse 29, because no flesh should glory in His presence.
It's not about your social standing.
It's not about what rank you've achieved in this world, but also it's not about, you know, how lowly and humble you are either.
You don't want to wear that like a badge.
All things are of God.
Anything that we accomplish for the Lord is through His Spirit and through His Word.
Who are any of us?
What does it matter what we've achieved or haven't achieved in this world?
So there's this list of people there that are men of affluence, I believe, that have some political clout even.
And God is showing us that these men are in this early church and they're being used mightily.
If you would, we'll go back there, I'll move along from this point, but consider the fact that Paul was a man of reputation.
You know, the apostle Paul wasn't just, you know, God didn't call him from, you know, mucking out some barn somewhere.
He wasn't just somebody, some illiterate guy who, you know, was just going to be laboring for the rest of his life.
And look, there's nothing wrong with that, obviously.
But, you know, God used a man who was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, as he said, a Hebrew of the Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin.
You know, people knew who Paul was.
Don't forget, we saw in the book of Acts that when they martyred Stephen, whose feet did they lay their clothes at?
Those that stoned him at the apostle Paul.
So he wasn't the apostle at that point, obviously, he was Saul.
Right? And even in the next verse or in the next chapter, it says that Saul was, you know, consenting unto his death.
That's significant.
You know, Saul was somebody that other people knew.
He was a man of influence.
Okay?
I won't take the time to turn this over to Acts chapter 22.
Paul says that he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel.
And that is somebody that also is well known.
Right? He's just like this, Menean was brought up with Herod.
Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, who was a teacher.
Right? A very well known doctor of the law, as it said in Acts chapter 5.
Had in reputation among all the people.
Okay?
So men like Herod, or excuse me, like Menean and like Paul were men of reputation.
And yet God used them mightily.
Okay?
So don't ever have this attitude that if somebody's well off or well to do or maybe a little more intellectual
or is achieved more in this world, they're wise in this world, so to speak, that they're more mighty in this world.
Don't write people like that off.
Don't ever let that attitude creep in.
It's not right.
Consider the fact that a man like Paul was used so mightily like God.
He wasn't just a nobody in the world.
Okay?
He was known.
Okay?
The Bible says in James 6, I'll just read for you.
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted.
You know, those of us that the world would look at and say we're nobody.
You know what?
In God's kingdom, when we serve the Lord, we are exalted.
You know, we might not ever go out there and earn some giant income and get all the accolades of this world and have its wealth
and have all the world's praise and have people look to us as, you know, some big important person.
You know, we might be a brother of low degree, but when we serve God, you know, we are exalted.
You know, we might not do everything that they do, but, you know, if I'm out there winning souls and, you know, preaching the word of God
and making an impact for the kingdom of Christ, you know, that makes me a very important person, doesn't it?
Anybody that does that, you know, is exalted.
The world might never recognize it, but the Bible tells us that the brother of low degree should rejoice in that he's exalted.
You know, that's something to rejoice about.
Not go moping through this life, dragging your feet and saying, oh, you know, I'm just a nobody.
You know, I didn't really achieve anything in life.
I'm just a brother of low degree.
Well, rejoice that you're exalted in the house of God.
Rejoice that, you know, your names are written in heaven.
Rejoice that you can do a great work for God.
You know, that some people won't even need these great big movers and shakers or whatever, won't even give the time of day to the work of God.
And yet you can do great works for God.
Works that are going to last forever.
I mean, think about some of the people that are lifted up and exalted in this world.
Think about all the actors and musicians, you know, they're all down there in Hellywood,
putting their hands in the concrete, right, on the, what is it, the walk of shame?
Walk of fame, right, with that satanic pentagram that they put their star in.
The Hollywood Boulevard, Hellywood Boulevard.
You know, think about, you know, how they're putting in their hands and they're like, oh, I'm going to be memorialized forever, right?
Yeah, except when God in the millennium just like cascades, you know, hailstones down upon it and burns that place up and it's all destroyed.
In a hundred years, no one's going to know who those people are.
I mean, I know some of you probably can, okay?
But I guarantee the vast majority of people in here probably can't name the most famous actors from the 1940s, 50s, 60s, right?
You're like, who? Who?
Don't pipe up if you know, you're going to ruin my illustration, alright?
You know, but even like the 70s, 80s.
But we know who those people are today, even if you don't watch that stuff, you probably, because it's just everywhere.
You know, you can't help but seeing an ad, you can't help but seeing some YouTube ad or whatever.
Things just pop up all the time, people talk about that stuff.
We could probably go around and name some people.
But you know what, 50 years from now, no one's, you know, the next generation, they're not going to know who those people are.
They're nobody.
Look, even the presidents that are put up on Mount Rushmore.
Oh man, these great men, you know, these great men, these are forefathers, right?
You know, that stone is going to erode and wither and in time it will be completely gone and no one will even remember their names in eternity.
We'll never even think about those people.
But you know who will be exalted?
The brother of low degree, who served God.
Maybe he never got his face carved in some mountain somewhere, or stuck his hands in some wet cement in some, you know, God forsaken, you know, city of devils.
You know, he might have never done those things, but you know, he's exalted in heaven.
He's got a crown, he's got glory, he's ruling, he's reigning for all eternity.
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted.
That's something to get excited about, folks.
It goes on and says, but the rich in that he is made low.
And he, but he says that, and this is James chapter 6, I'm just reading to you.
James chapter 6 of verse 10, he says, but, you know, let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low.
It's the same thing, the rich should rejoice, just like the brother of low degree.
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is made low.
Likewise, let the brother, or the rich in that he is made low. I got that backwards.
The brother of low degree in that he is exalted, the rich say he is low. Both should rejoice for those reasons.
The rich should rejoice that they have the humility that so many others don't have.
Because obviously, you know, Jesus did say it's hard for a rich man to enter into heaven.
Obviously there is a grain of truth, it's difficult for them because of the pride that comes with wealth.
So if a rich man gets saved, has that humility, he should rejoice that he is brought low.
He should rejoice that he has that humility. He should rejoice that he is somebody who has gotten salvation just as much as the rich man.
That he has seen the truth, right? That as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
That his riches are going to rust and corrupt and be taken away.
That they're not going to last. That he's just like everybody else. Naked he came, naked he shall go.
Verse 1. Let's go back to Acts. We've got 51 more verses to get through tonight.
We're staying until it's done. No one's leaving until we get through this chapter.
Verse 2. Put some coffee on.
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost, I mean that's what these guys are doing.
That's what these rich, powerful, affluent men are doing. Ministering to the Lord. Fasting.
The Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work where I have called them.
And when they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them away.
So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia and from thence sailed to Cyprus.
Now, I've already kind of preached about this. I covered this passage in a sermon recently, I think in the last month or so, called Laying On of Hands.
And, you know, there's some people who, just very quickly, because some people will turn to this passage, people who will self-ordain.
People who say, you know, we don't need a church to ordain us. The Holy Ghost separated us.
You know, it's kind of ironic because this passage kind of shows you that the Holy Ghost and men of God work in tandem to ordain people.
God doesn't just call people and say, hey you, I've separated you under the work where I've called you, so let's get going.
No, he sent it to a whole group of men. Barnabas and Saul were just, what, two of five, I think it was?
There was five people listening there. There's three other men that this was said to.
Three other guys had to hear that same thing. They were, five people said, were spoken to by the Holy Ghost and said, separate these two unto me.
Right? And then they prayed some more and fasted and then, you know, the other three men laid their hands on them and sent them forth.
The Holy Spirit works in tandem, when he calls people into the ministry, he works in tandem with other men.
You can't just say, well, the Holy Spirit called me. You know, I'm just Holy Spirit called.
That's, you know, and just ordain yourself. I dub myself pastor, I dub myself evangelist, because the Holy Spirit spoke to me.
People have literally said this, folks. The Holy Spirit told me to start this church.
Oh, really? What church were you part of? None. I wasn't part of a church.
Really? You weren't even in a church. But now you're going to lead a church.
It doesn't make any sense, okay? And this is a really dumb passage to turn to, to try to prove your point.
You know, the Holy Ghost is not going to call unapproved men.
Okay? That's why we have entire chapters where qualifications are given for the bishop and for the deacon.
So that the church can turn to it and go, hmm, and make sure we line up.
And say he in fact is being called by the Holy Ghost because he meets the qualifications, right?
Barnabas and Saul, obviously, were meeting qualifications. God's not going to call unapproved men.
But, again, I've already preached about that. Let's get on, let's move on to the story. Let's just jump into verse 5.
He says, so they're sent, and when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.
And they had also John to their minister, so John, for a time, went with them.
And when they had gone through the isles unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus,
which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God.
And this just ties in with the theme that I started in verse 1.
Here you have a deputy, a man of power, a man of authority, right, wanting to hear the word of God.
Again, don't write people off. You know, when he's a deputy, right, he's somebody who has authority, he'd be kind of like, you know, a sheriff or something, right?
He's had some kind of executive authority, right, to punish people.
You know, and this is another attitude that I, quite frankly, don't like, is when people just want to have bad attitudes towards all cops.
Because cops are people, folks.
And look, I understand there are bad cops. There are.
There's also cops that are not bad.
You know, and there's good, godly men that have gone into law enforcement, you know, and you can have a discussion about whether or not that's, you know, what a Christian should do.
You know, the lifestyle that a Christian should choose, that's a separate subject.
What I'm getting at is let's not develop this attitude of, you know, all cops are just wicked, evil people that just deserve to be publicly shamed every chance we get and just given an attitude every chance we get.
You know, that's another attitude that creeps in with some people. It's not right, okay?
You know, it's the deputy of the country who wants to hear the word of God and Saul and Barnabas were like, I'm not going to talk to no cop.
Well, he thinks just because he's got a badge, he can just call me and like I'm just a little servant boy, he's a little errand boy and just show up and preach because he said, you know, they wouldn't preach to him.
They delivered him from this sorcerer, this, you know, wicked false prophet.
You know, God is not willing that any should perish. God, you know, wants us to pray and to give thanks for all men, all men, for kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life and all godliness and honesty.
That's what the Bible says. The Bible straight up commands that to pray for all men, for all that are in authority.
You know, we can have a debate about what type of prayers we should pray for certain people in authority, but not every single prayer for somebody in authority is supposed to be some imprecatory prayer.
You know, just you have a list of like badge numbers that you pray for to go straight to hell or something, right? That's not, that's the wrong attitude, okay?
God will have all men to save. Let's move on to the story though. I just wanted to point that because it kind of ties in with the theme, doesn't it?
You have this deputy, a man of influence, who wants to hear the word of God. You have men of God in the early church who are men of influence sending out other men who are men of influence.
You know, who are, who are, you know, what the world would consider wise. People who would have gone on to great accolades in a secular, you know, occupation, okay?
Verse 8, but Elamis, the sorcerer, for so is his name by interpretation, withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
You know, this is that annoying relative that shows up when you're halfway through the gospel. You know, you've got somebody who's listening at the door and then, you know, the wife barges in and says, he's not interested.
You know, I can't stand that. It's so embarrassing for the guy too. You know, I haven't worked up the boldness of some who have just, you know, in that instance would say, is this your mother?
You know, right? I'm not saying you should do that. I'm not saying you shouldn't either, right? If you came back and told me you did that, I mean, you'd probably put a smile on my face, right?
But that's, you know, that's, you know, that's the relative that does that. You know, you're called, you're there preaching the gospel, the person wants to hear, they're the deputy, to preach me the word.
And then, you know, these, you know, Elamis has come along and they try to just botch the whole thing, right? They withstand them, try to turn them away from the faith.
Then Saul, now notice verse nine, because this is when Saul's name changes, okay? And I think there's some significance here.
Then Saul, who also was called Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, will thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord.
Maybe that's how we should be handling these interrupting relatives, right? You know, thou child of the devil, right? Get all dramatic. Thou enemy of all righteousness.
Try it out. Let me know how it goes. And now the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.
You know, there probably is a punishment for people who would interrupt the gospel. I'm not saying we're the ones, like Paul here, who's the one who's going to dole it out.
But there could be, you know, people who get in the way of preaching, I mean, we just preached about it Sunday night, you know, Herod was eating the worms after he persecuted the church, right?
You know, you start messing with people who are trying to preach God's word, God wants all men to be saved, you know, I'm not saying they're going to be struck blind, but there could be something.
Not seeing the sun for a season, maybe to kind of humble them, get them to think about the truth, right?
And immediately there fell in a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
It's such a great story, you know, you got to use your imagination when you read the Bible, folks.
You know, this is why I encourage people to read books, even if it's like non-fiction, as long as it's decent, you know?
Stuff that would challenge you to use your imagination. I read a lot of non-fiction where you had to like, or excuse me, a lot of fiction is what I meant,
or reading a lot of fiction where, you know, you had to use your imagination. Now when I read the Bible, it's like, while I'm reading this, I'm envisioning this guy just like,
groping around, like trying to lead me, what happened, you know? Trying to find something, and it helps with Bible reading, you know?
It helps you put yourself there. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
So, again, if you notice here, in verse 9, Saul becomes Paul, okay? And Paul becomes a very prominent leader.
I think there's significance here in this chapter with this change of names because of the fact that Paul, from here on forward, becomes a very prominent leader.
Again, the brother of low degree has been exalted, right? The guy who was just, because if you notice, from here on forward,
it's been Saul, or Barnabas and Saul, Barnabas and Saul, Barnabas and Saul. Saul becomes Paul, and now it's Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas, going forward.
It seems like in this chapter, something happens in Paul's life where now people recognize him as a more prominent leader than he was.
Before, he's kind of being led and following Barnabas, it appears, because it's Barnabas and Saul, Barnabas and Saul.
His name changes, and now, going forward, it's Paul and Barnabas, okay? And again, it's a great example of the fact that the brother of low degree is exalted.
Saul, who just humbly served, was willing to just follow Barnabas and just kind of go along with the program and just serve however he could.
Obviously, he was still a prominent person, still a leader, but it seems like he was kind of under Barnabas for a season.
Has now, I don't want to say usurped, but has, you know, been exalted to a more prominent place of leadership, and now he's known as Paul.
That's what I think is going on here. Look at verse 13, Paul and his company lose from Paphos. Now it becomes Paul's company, okay?
You know, that's a really great lesson for us. The brother of low degree is exalted, right? What did Jesus say?
He that shall be greatest among you, let him be your servant. You know, the way up is down. It's backwards, right?
It's ironic to think, you know, if you want to be exalted in ministry, you actually have to be somebody who's humble and serve.
And make sure you're not doing it just so you can be exalted.
You know, if your motive is just to be lifted up, to be praised, to be known, to be recognized, you got the wrong motive.
And it's not going to work out. You know, God's not going to bless that. God is not going to exalt that.
What you need is to serve for the right reasons. To be a humble person who just wants to serve God. That's what Saul did, I believe.
Because if you notice, think about Saul thus far. Think about the story of Saul. Like, how did Saul come to be with Barnabas, right?
When Barnabas was sent to Antioch, right, the first time, and he went there and preached, and then it says, and then he sought Saul and Tarsus.
He had to go find him. Saul got saved, went and saw, you know, Peter briefly, and then goes to Tarsus back to his home city.
He just, you know, he preaches to the Jews, and then he just goes home.
Just, you know, I guess I'll just go home and serve at home, and just, wasn't like, well, after all, I was, you know, I came up with the feet of Gamaliel.
Don't you think I should be, you know, somebody? Who else has seen the Lord in the way?
I mean, my salvation was very profound. Obviously, God has called me to be this great prophet, you know.
I'm a chosen vessel. You heard what the Lord said.
You know, he started out very humble, and was a humble man his entire life. I believe that.
I don't think he started out humble before he got saved. I think he had to get severely humbled.
But once he got there, he stayed there.
I mean, he said, you know, he is the cheapest of all sinners. That was what Paul called himself.
The last of all the apostles, the least of all the apostles, the cheapest of all sinners.
That's what Paul thought of himself, and yet he's the most powerful Christian we know who has used to pen the vast majority of the New Testament.
I mean, I would argue if somebody said that he wasn't the greatest Christian that's ever lived.
So, well, Jesus was. Well, I mean, I don't think that's really a fair comparison.
Obviously, Jesus, right? But when we really say Jesus was a Christian, to be Christian is to be like Christ.
If you're Christ, you're not like Christ. You are Christ, okay?
It's kind of a dumb argument, you know?
The greatest Christian to ever live was Paul.
But yet, you know, he started out just going back to Tarsus.
Barnabas sought him out and said, hey, come with me.
I know I can use you. I know what your abilities are. I know that we can do great things together.
And Saul went along with it.
He was sought out by Barnabas, and he was sent by the Holy Ghost.
He didn't put his own foot forward. He didn't say, hey, you know, it's my time to shine now.
You know, he was called by other people into the ministry.
And as a result, here we are in Acts chapter 13, after all this time, he's being exalted.
Why? Because he had humility.
Because he understood something.
The ministry isn't about you. It's not about you.
It's about God. It's about serving God. It's about exalting the Lord.
It's not about exalting self.
That's what Saul understood.
And why do you know it? He is exalted.
He's made to be a leader.
Because leadership demands humility.
You must be a humble person if you're going to be a leader.
Because, I mean, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We all know the saying.
It's true.
If bad people get in positions of power, they wreak havoc.
They can get filled with ego and pride and just, they're in it for themselves.
But if we have a spirit of humility, if we're meek, like Saul,
and then we get into leadership, then we're put into that position,
then we're put into that position, we're going to use that for good.
To benefit others. To do what Jesus said to be exalted.
To be servant.
If we're going to be the greatest, we're going to be the servant.
So humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up.
And that's not a maybe.
We humble ourselves, like Saul, we will become Paul, we will become more prominent,
we will be lifted up to a place of leadership.
Maybe not a pastor, maybe not some great position, but we will be used more of God than we were before.
Through humility.
Verse 13, Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia,
and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
But when they departed from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia,
and went into the synagogue on the seventh day and sat down,
and after a reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them.
So it's not like they just kicked in the door of the synagogue and said,
Hey, we're here to preach Christ, listen up.
They went in on the Sabbath day and sat down and listened to the reading of the law.
And then they said unto them, Men of brethren, if you have any word, then they preach.
Now this is a good lesson for some new IFBers that are out there.
You hear from these people that are just like, you know, I went to this church,
and they had the Star of David, they had the Israeli flag in one corner,
the American flag in the other, and I know and I've heard the preaching,
and I know the new IFB position on flags in church, and I went right up to that pastor who I've never met before.
And again, I heard him preaching about the preacher rapture, and I straightened him out,
and you know what, they ran me right out of church.
Yeah, what did you think was going to happen, dummy?
Going to church and being some belligerent jerk, yeah, you're probably going to get run out of church.
Because, you know, it's not about doctrine at that point,
it's about whether or not you're a belligerent jerk or not.
You can be right and be a jerk.
You can be both.
You can be wrong and be a real nice, sincere person.
You can be wrong about some things and probably still know a lot that a lot of other people don't know
and would benefit from hearing from you.
You know, there's probably a lot of old IFB pastors out there that are wrong in all kinds of end times prophecy,
and maybe got their politics a little skewed or whatever,
the things that we would vehemently disagree with, but you know what,
they probably know a lot of other things about the Christian life and the Bible,
that a lot of other, you know, just really zealous people for the new IFB
can just sit down and listen, shut up, and actually learn something.
Did any of that make sense? That felt just like a whole mouthful of words that just came out.
Was that even a coherent sentence?
Can someone play that back to me? What did I just say?
You get what I'm saying though, like people have this attitude sometimes.
They listen to all the preaching online, they listen to all the,
and look, I'm glad for all the, now everyone's going to say,
oh, the deacons against the new IFB.
No, I didn't say that. I love it.
I was listening to the Red Hot Preaching Conference on the drive over here.
Were you? No, I'm just kidding.
I'm so new to IFB, like, I've got a earpiece in right now, I'm listening to it right now.
No, I'm just kidding. And preaching at the same time.
Of course not, but you know, the point I'm making is, you know,
some people, they listen to all the preaching, they take it all in,
they have a lot of knowledge, no humility.
Then they walk into some church and say, well, here's how,
I'm going to straighten everybody out.
I know you've been a pastor for 40 plus years, but I'm going to tell you how it is.
You know, the Bible says to entreat them as a father.
Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father.
Is that how you talk to your dad?
I hope not.
I mean, I know if my kids talked to me, the way some of these people,
and my kids never would, by the way,
that's why I'm willing to say this from the pulpit,
if my kids ever talked to me the way I heard some of these people talk to these pastors,
they wouldn't be sitting down for a week.
They'd be getting it. It's a bad attitude.
So they come in, that wasn't even my notes, that was just,
that was just came out, you know.
I mean, look at there.
They go in there,
and where were we at?
Fifteen.
And after the reading of the law of the prophets, the rulers of the synagogues sent unto them saying,
ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
Then Paul stood up, right?
And again, who's standing up? It's Paul.
From here on out, it seems like Paul,
whatever happened there with Elemis and the deputy,
it seemed like it was like a transitionary period
where Paul just kind of takes the reins.
He just steps up to the plate and deals with the situation,
and he becomes a leader at that point.
He stood up, and beckoning with his hand,
said, men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Now, I'm not going to rehearse the entire sermon that he preaches, okay?
We just heard it.
We'll point out verse 38, because this is just a great verse, 38 and 39.
Be it known, therefore, unto you, excuse me, be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man, of course, Jesus,
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin.
So he's going there preaching Christ.
I love verse 39. It's such a great verse.
And by him are all that believe are justified from all things
from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses.
I don't know, but you've got to do works.
You know, if you don't have any, you know,
faith without works is dead. Believing is not enough.
Well, Paul said that if you believe you're justified from all things,
from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
The law of Moses can't justify.
No one is going to be justified by the works of the law.
None. It won't save you.
But if you believe you'll be justified from all things.
It's a great verse.
Then he goes on to verse 40.
Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets.
So he's preaching, you know, a gospel message,
but then he starts to move into this like very stern warning to the Jews
because, you know, he's already kind of seen the way the Jews are at this point.
They're not exactly the friends of the New Testament church.
We've seen that.
So now he's warning them, right?
That's a very loving thing to do, to warn people.
Say, hey, your religion is wrong. Beware.
You keep trusting in Moses, you're not going to be justified from a thing
and you're going to go straight to hell.
And he's saying, look, I'm here preaching you the gospel.
You're going to get a clear representation.
I mean, he's breaking it down. Go read the chapter again.
I mean, he's citing verses. He's telling the story.
I mean, he's telling them what happened.
And then he says, beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets.
Behold, ye despisers and wonder and perish.
You know, you despise, he's saying, you know, you despisers, wonder and perish.
Behold, ye despisers, behold, wonder and perish.
You know, see what's going on and then wonder at it.
Not like, oh, that's wonderful, like wonder, like be amazed, be awestruck,
be dumbfounded, right, wonder at it, scratch your head, not understand, be confounded and then perish.
And he's warning them, saying, this is what comes upon some people.
Lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets.
Wonder and perish, right?
Despise, behold, despise, wonder and perish.
Don't let that happen to you guys. Don't let this happen to you.
He's warning them.
For I work and work in your days, which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
And of course, he's quoting Habakkuk here.
Habakkuk 1, behold ye among the heathen and regard and wonder marvelously,
for I will work and work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told unto you.
So it says in Habakkuk, and he's talking about the Chaldeans coming and destroying kings and nations.
But Paul's taking it and he's citing it to them because obviously these are Jews, they're in the synagogue.
They know what he's citing and he's saying he's applying the scripture to them.
Back there in Habakkuk it's saying heathen and he's saying, now let me apply it to you, ye heathen.
If you don't have the Lord, that's what you are.
If you're not God's people, you're heathen.
And what's he warning them of?
Becoming a reprobate. That's what he's warning them of.
Go to John chapter 12.
Paul's saying, look, don't let this come upon you that ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
Don't let this happen. That is what happens to a reprobate.
This is why reprobates cannot, they cannot believe. That's what the Bible says.
Though a man declare it unto them, they can't believe.
Oh, you're saying if a fag believed on Jesus he wouldn't go to heaven?
If a fag believed on Jesus he would go to heaven, but here's the thing, they can't believe.
They won't believe.
It doesn't happen. It's hypothetical.
But, you know, if you want to start talking hypotheticals, you know, we could get real silly, couldn't we?
You know, I'm not even going to try and go down that road.
Because we're running out of time.
What if? The what if game.
Well, what if?
Well, that's all it's ever going to be is what if.
What if? Because it's never going to happen because they can't believe.
Though a man declare it unto you, you shall in no wise believe.
You will not believe, though it be told to you. That's what it was said in back.
And this is what Paul is preaching to the Jews.
John chapter 12 verse 37.
But though he had done so many miracles before them, Jesus, before who?
Before the Jews, before the Pharisees.
Show us a miracle that we might believe.
He's already done a bunch. He's done so many.
Yet they believed not on him.
They didn't believe. They hardened their hearts, right?
That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake,
Lord, who hath believed will report, and to whom hath the Lord been revealed?
Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah saith again, said again,
He hath blinded their eyes.
So, notice the progression here.
The miracles were done. A man told it unto them.
It was declared unto them.
The miracles were done in abundance before these people.
Many miracles were done.
Yet they believed them not.
They denied him.
And this is what Paul's warning. He's saying,
I just preached the gospel. I'm telling you, it's Jesus.
You believe in him, you're justified from all things.
From which you cannot be justified by the law of Moses.
You have to believe on Christ. Now beware.
Because if you reject him, if you choose not to believe,
you won't be able to believe.
You will become a reprobate.
This is how people become reprobate.
They hear the gospel, they hear the gospel,
and you say, how many times?
You know, it's different for different people.
Obviously, in Paul's day, when you're the Jews,
when you have the law,
when you have been the people that are literally looking for the Messiah,
for the Christ, and then he shows up and does miracles before you,
it's probably not going to take much for the Lord to say,
you're done.
You know, and that's another thing that people run to an extreme with.
You know, I preached the gospel to my parents once or twice,
and they rejected it. I'm pretty sure they're reprobate.
I preached the gospel to my spouse last year,
and they still haven't believed it.
I'm pretty sure they're reprobate.
You know, let's not jump to conclusions.
I mean, think about how many times you had to hear the gospel.
I mean, maybe you got saved the first time,
but you know, there's plenty of other people out there
that had to be preached to and had to explain to them.
And it's not like because they were just hardening their heart,
just like, no, I refuse to believe this.
And God had to work, and He had to work on their heart,
and soften their heart, and deal with them.
People are different.
But obviously, the doctrine of becoming reprobate is very biblical.
They believed to not.
Therefore, verse 39, they could not believe.
See the progression there?
Choose not to believe, harden your heart
in the face of such a great testimony of the literal Christ
doing miracles before your very eyes,
and you choose to reject Him.
Now He's like, okay, now you can't believe.
Now even if you wanted to, it's not possible,
because you're a reprobate now.
This is a biblical doctrine
that people must wrap their heads around.
And explain so much.
And we take a lot of flack for preaching this,
but there's some people who get hung up,
who won't get saved,
because they can't stand the idea
that God lets anybody into heaven.
There's been people that have gotten saved
after the reprobate doctrine was explained to them,
because they understood what God has written to them.
That's what they really like.
People will say, I'm not going to believe in that.
You're telling me some pedophile child molester,
some faggot can just get into heaven
just at the last minute believe?
Actually, no, the reason they're that way
is because God has given them up to a reprobate mind.
Oh, that makes sense. Yeah, I'll believe.
And they get saved.
This doctrine saves people.
Oh, you're just preaching people can't get saved.
Yeah, because it's biblical,
but irony of irony is when you preach it,
people get saved.
There's a lot of fights, obviously,
but people who don't want to have,
you know, want to share heaven,
was these freaks.
Well, good news is they're not going to be there.
I heard a clip of Pastor Anderson
singing his favorite song.
No fags in heaven.
Who else saw that?
Did anybody see that?
Classic.
There's no homos in heaven.
Praise God.
You know, but honestly, we joke about it,
but that's enough for some people.
Okay, yeah, I'll believe now.
Are you telling me there's no homos in heaven?
All right, I'll go. I'll believe.
I'm dead serious.
There's people out there that are like that.
There's testimonies of people
who've had horrific things done to them
by these freaks that got bittered about it
and they couldn't stand the thought
that that person would be there
and then the reprobate doctrine
is taught clearly and explained to them
and they get saved.
Their foolish heart was darkened
and so God gave them over to reprobate mine.
Why?
Because when they knew God,
they glorified Him not as God.
They knew the truth.
They heard the truth
and they glorified not God as God.
Therefore, God darkened their understanding
and therefore, God gave them over to reprobate mine.
Another great passage on this would be John 8.
Go there, John 8.
Verse 42.
Jesus said to them,
If God were your Father,
neither came I from God,
neither came I of myself,
but He sent me.
Why do you not understand my speech?
He asked this question.
Why don't you understand what I'm saying?
And then he goes on and answers his own question.
I love when he does that.
Even because he cannot hear my word.
You know why you don't understand what I'm saying right now?
Because you can't hear.
The reason why you can't understand my speech
is because you cannot hear my word.
It's impossible for you to believe.
It's impossible for you to understand.
You guys shouldn't preach that doctrine.
Jesus taught the reprobate doctrine.
Hello?
He's the one that said they could not believe.
He's the one that said ye cannot hear my word.
That's why you don't understand.
Ye are of your father the devil
and the lust of your father ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning
and abode not in the truth
because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh of a lie,
he speaketh of his own
for he is a liar and the father of it.
Calling them devils.
He speaks of Satan.
Let's wrap up here tonight.
Acts chapter number 13.
Go back to verse 42.
The reprobate doctrine is throughout scripture.
It's very clear.
Paul's literally preaching it to them
in the synagogue.
Beware lest that come upon you
which is spoken by the prophets.
He's warning them
that ye shall in no wise believe
though a man declare it unto you.
And you know what?
That's exactly what these guys do.
And when the Jews were gone
out of the synagogue the Gentiles
besought that these words
might be preached unto them the next Sabbath.
Some people are like,
oh, that's the reprobate doctrine?
Oh, yeah, we'd like to hear more about that.
Some people like to hear about,
you know, just biblical doctrine.
The good, the bad, the ugly,
the nitty-gritty, and everything else in between.
They want to hear it all.
Now when the congregation was broken up
many of the Jews
and the religious proselytes,
who speaking to them persuaded them
to continue in the grace of God.
So they're saying, hey, you guys
need to just keep continuing God's grace,
keep serving God, keep loving the Lord.
And the next Sabbath day
came almost the whole city altogether.
You know what? Let me point that out.
Paul, one minute, is preaching
to the Jews in the synagogue.
Beware lest that come upon you
that you will not be able to believe
though a man declare it unto you.
Don't become a reprobate.
Hard preaching. That's a hard lesson.
You're just telling that.
Oh yeah, I do it all the time.
You know, getting up and just preaching
something that people don't want to hear.
Right? Oh, you're so mean.
Or is he just preaching the Bible?
Because, you know, yeah, that's one part
of being a preacher,
of being a leader.
You have to be bold, right?
You have to be like Paul.
Paul became a great leader
when he rebuked sin.
And Elenas, you know, called him a devil,
went in there and warned the Jews,
hard preaching.
Leadership requires boldness.
You know, and humility is tied in there
because a humble person would, you know,
put themselves aside and be willing
to hurt people's feelings
in order to get them right with God.
Instead of just trying to be Mr. Popular.
That's pride.
Let me just tell you what you want to hear,
not what you need to hear.
That's pride.
So he preaches all the hard stuff,
but notice also he's speaking them,
and in verse 43,
it's a gentler, softer message, isn't it?
The people that actually want to hear it,
he's like, hey, you know what,
just continue the grace of God.
Well, you better want to hear it
or you're going to become a rep, you know.
It's like, no.
He's like, hey, continue the grace of God
is probably a gentler, softer message.
You know, and it's the difference
between talking to a man of God
in the pulpit and outside of the pulpit.
You know, there's a time and place
to get up and say beware.
And there's a time and place
for people in preaching,
and that's when the hard preaching comes down.
You know, people that know me
know that I'm not always
ranting and raving,
and I'm not always up here foaming
at the mouth and kicking the pulpit.
You know, maybe three times a week
that happens.
Maybe several times in one sermon
that'll happen, I don't know.
You know, it depends on what's going on.
But it's not like that at home.
Quiet, honey, I'm just kidding.
He's like, yes, it is.
He throws things.
No, I'm just kidding.
Like, that's how I ask my wife for things.
You know, I preach at her like that.
You know, I wake her up in the morning.
You better get up,
and you better make my breakfast,
and there better be clean clothes,
and if you're not, you're not right.
It's just preaching all the time.
You know, I'm just taking all these passages
about being good and obedient wife,
and just reminding her to be submissive
and obedient and just, you know,
it's constantly.
So obviously that's how I live my whole life.
However I am behind this pulpit,
that's how I am 24-7.
Nope.
Sometimes it's just encouraging words.
Hey, continue in the grace of God.
Sometimes there's times where
the whole conversation I had to have
that aren't even spiritual at all in nature.
I know all of you know that
because we sit around
and talk about food constantly.
And it's not just this church.
It's like any church you go to.
Baptists, it's just a matter of time.
I don't know if it's just a Baptist thing.
You know, I mean it's just a person thing.
I'm sure people do that too.
You know, saved and unsaved alike.
God has given us all things to enjoy, right?
He's given us fruitful seasons
and rains from heaven
to fill our hearts with gladness, right?
It's a Bible verse.
We'll get to it.
But anyway, what were we even preaching about tonight?
So he goes in there in the synagogue.
He rips face. He warns them.
He encourages the Gentiles to continue the grace of God.
They come back the next Sabbath day, verse 44.
The whole city together to hear the word of God.
So when he goes in the first Sabbath day,
you know, it's probably just the regulars, right?
It's just your regular crowd.
It's the Sunday morning only crowd, right?
It's your typical average service.
Next week, after Paul's gotten done preaching,
you know, when the guest preacher shows up,
man, he's got a lot of work to do.
He's got a lot of work to do.
When the guest preacher shows up,
man, that sounds so familiar to me.
When the guest preacher shows up,
then it's like all the people that live in the area
happen to show up, you know?
All the people that only show up on Sunday night,
all of a sudden they're there for Sunday night
because the guest preacher is there.
But you know, I'm not bitter about it.
I'm not envious about it.
I'm really not, but it's kind of funny, right?
It's kind of what's going on in the story.
I mean, that's a good lesson for preachers.
Don't be like these Jews that get filled with envy
and multitudes.
Oh, yeah, you show up when Pastor Anderson
comes into town.
And I get it. I understand the frustration.
It's like, you know the church is here
all the time, right?
But you know, that's not the fault of the preacher.
That's the fault of some people's lack of spirituality.
So he comes together the next Sabbath day
and the whole city together to hear the word of God.
The whole city turns out.
Just like, man, burn.
And then the Jews saw the multitudes, verse 45,
and they were like, oh, this is great.
These people hear the word of God.
Wonderful.
I'm so glad everyone came out.
Isn't it funny?
Because they would have loved it if it was them.
If they'd showed up, they'd be like,
oh, look, everyone's here to hear the preaching
of the word of God.
But no, because they're showing up
and they're filled with envy.
Oh, you're just here to hear Paul.
You know what? They weren't in it
for the right reasons, were they?
It was all about them.
There's no humility. It's all pride.
That's why leadership has to stay humble.
That's why leadership,
people who are going to preach
and teach the word of God,
they have to be in it for the right reasons.
Otherwise you're just going to be filled with envy.
When the Jews saw the multitudes,
they were filled with envy
and spake against those things
which were spoken by Paul.
Paul wasted his breath last Sabbath.
Beware lest that come upon you.
Now here they are a week later
speaking against him and blaspheming
and contradicting.
It's like, well, congratulations.
You just became a reprobate.
You just went from hearing
a clear presentation of the gospel
and now you're going to withstand the gospel
and now you're going to withstand the gospel.
It's easy to see how this particular
group of people at this time
so quickly became reprobate
and just filled with envy,
just filled with anger
and persecuted Paul from city to city.
Let's wrap it up. Verse 46.
But then, here it is.
Paul and Barnabas waxed bold
and said it was necessary
that the word of God should have
first been spoken to you
but seeing he put it from you
before you went to life.
Lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
What's he saying? You had your chance.
Now we're going to go to the Gentiles.
For so God hath commanded us saying
I have set thee to be a light
to the Gentiles
that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth.
Man, what a great calling.
What a great calling.
I have set thee to be a light
to the Gentiles
that salvation should be unto
the ends of the earth.
You know, that was just two men, right,
that he's referring to.
He's saying, hey, we've been sent
as a light unto the Gentiles.
We're leaving you guys.
We're going to go and lighten the Gentiles
that salvation may be
to the ends of the earth.
Man, that's the kind of vision
we've got to have
as God's people.
We've got to never lose that.
Never think, well, you know,
we're just down here in a little old Tucson
and what we're doing doesn't matter
and we just want you to be a light.
If you have the gospel,
you have the Holy Spirit,
you are a light unto this city.
You know, we obviously,
we might not reach the whole earth,
but you know what?
If enough Christians had this attitude
that they could see themselves
for what they really were,
it would change this world
for the glory of God.
And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad
and glorified the word of the Lord.
There's people out there that want to hear it.
And as many as were ordained unto eternal life believed.
Now that can kind of trip people up.
They'll say, oh, they were preordained.
It just means that
it's just kind of the wording is backward
a little bit there.
It's just the way the Bible reads.
Don't let that trip you up.
If you're going to believe,
you're going to be ordained to eternal life.
I don't really have the time
to really extrapolate that.
Verse 50, the Jews stirred up
the devout and honorable women
and the chief men of the city
and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas.
It's just like, it's the same old play.
Nothing's changed.
Just stir up other people
to do your dirty work.
But, it says, they shook out
the dust of their feet against them
and came unto Iconium.
And the disciples were filled with joy
and with the Holy Ghost.
So, great passage, great chapter,
where we see Paul have this great
transition in his life, his ministry,
and these other men that,
and what's the characteristic
that he shares with these other men
that are mentioned?
Humility.
What was lacking when the Jews?
Why did they turn out the way they did?
A lack of humility.
Humility is such an important thing.
That's kind of like the theme here.
Paul becomes this great leader
because he's a humble man.
He was sought out, he was brought
into the ministry by other people.
Yes, he had great ability,
yes, he had great skill,
but he did not think more highly
of himself than he ought to.
In fact, you read his epistles,
it seems like he had maybe
a lower opinion of himself
than maybe he should have,
but it's just this humility coming through.
Never forget that.
Never forget humility
and if we want to be exalted, serve.
By God, what's that place
that God is going to exalt you to?
What's he going to lift you up to be?
A light to the Gentiles,
a light to the world.
That is a great service.
That is the brother of low degree
being exalted to do a work
that only God's people can do.
Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, again, thank you
for this great passage.
Thank you for such a great book,
just so filled with so many,
so many acts, Lord,
as the title tells us,
like it's just a book of action.
Lord, help us to be a people of action.
Help us to be a people of humility.
Help us to be a people of service.
We ask in Christ's name, Amen.
All right, let's sing one more song before you go.
Amen.
Go to our hymnals,
the center of the fourth and eighth.
The song of the fourth and eighth,
marching to the side.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?