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Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all find our seats as you find your seats. Go ahead and pick up a song book. Turn to song number 422. Song number 422 as our first song, Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne. Let's all stand together for this first song, if you are able. Song number 422 as you find your seats, Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne. Song number 422. All together nice and strong on that first verse. Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown, when thou camest to earth for me. But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room for thy holy nativity. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming thy royal decree. But of lowly birth, it's thou come to earth, and in great humility. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. The foxes found rest, and the birds there rest, in the shade of the forest tree. But thy couch was the sun, O thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word that should set thy people free. But with mocking scorn and with crown a thorn, they bore thee to Calvary. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. When the heavens shall ring and the angels sing, and thy coming to victory, let thy voice call me home, saying, Yet there is room, there is room at my side for thee. My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when thou comest and callest for me. Amen. Wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us this day, Lord, and this evening that we can come to your house and hear the preaching of your word. And we thank you, dear Lord, that you came down from your throne on high to be born here on earth, that we may be saved, Lord, that through your life we may receive salvation. And I ask that you please just bless this service, Lord. I ask that you please bless the singing, Lord, that it would be pleasing unto your ears. And I ask that you please also feel past me here with your spirit as he preaches unto us, and give us also your spirit in the congregation, that we may take the things that he teaches us and apply them to our lives. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Please turn your songbooks to song number 425. Song number 425 is our second song, No Room in the Inn. Song number 425, all together nice and strong on that first verse. No beautiful chamber, no soft cradle bed, no place but a manger, nowhere for his head, no praises of gladness, no thought of their sin, no glory but sadness, no room in the inn, no room, no room for Jesus, oh, give him welcome free, lest you should hear at heaven's gate, there is no room for thee, no sweet consecration, no seeking his part, no humiliation, no place in the heart, no thought of the Savior, no sorrow for sin, no prayer for his favor, no room in the inn, no room, no room for Jesus, oh, give him welcome free, lest you should hear at heaven's gate, there is no room for thee, no one to receive him, no welcome while here, no balm to relieve him, no staff but a spear, no seeking his treasure, no weeping for sin, no doing his pleasure, no room in the inn, no room, no room for Jesus, oh, give him welcome free, lest you should hear at heaven's gate, there is no room for thee. All right, great singing. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song, which will be song number 426. I heard the bells on Christmas day, if you want to get that ready in your song books, 426. Our Sunday morning service is at 1030 Sunday evening at 5 p.m., and then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. You see the so many times and teams and the list of expecting mothers, important reminders there at the bottom. We have Christmas caroling this Saturday, December 10th. We'll be meeting here at the building at 6 p.m., and so we'll have some refreshments, which is basically champurrado and bolillos. So make sure you don't miss out on that, and then we'll head out to go sing some Christmas songs in the nearby neighborhood, and so we're looking forward to it. First Works Christmas program is on Saturday, December 17th, and then on the 25th, of course, it's Christmas, and we're going to be having services back to back. We'll have this regular service at 1030, and then we'll have a lunch break, and then we'll have our Sunday night service a little earlier than usual. And then our New Year's Day service is on Sunday, January 1st. You see the regular reminders there at the bottom. Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. Let's go ahead and take some so many numbers from this past week. Any salvations from Monday to Thursday? Salvations from Monday to Thursday. You have a salvation, son, is that right? Yeah? Yeah. All right. Yes. One. Okay. How about Friday and Saturday? Yes. Two. One. Okay. Two. Right over here. You're keeping track, Brother Glenn? Oh, you're not. Okay. I thought that's why you walked in. All right. We'll wait for you, Brother Glenn. How you guys doing? All right. So let's do that again from Monday to Thursday. Salvations from Monday to Thursday. One right over here. Friday and Saturday. Two. Two. One. And then how about for this afternoon? Salvations for this afternoon? One for Brother Morrie's team. Anybody else? Going once, twice. Okay. Two on Thursday for Brother Eli. You can add that right there. Anybody else? Five. All right. For Brother Glenn's team. Is that it for this afternoon? Once, twice, thrice? Okay. Keep up the great work on soloing. Let's go ahead and sing our next song. 426, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Song number 426. Song number 426, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. All together nice and strong on that first verse. I heard the bells on Christmas Day. Their old familiar carols play. And wild and sweet the words we mean. Of peace on earth, goodwill to men. I thought how as the day had come, the bell freeze of all Christendom. Had rolled along the unbroken song of peace on earth, goodwill to men. And in despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said, for hate is strong. And mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead, nor does he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail. With peace on earth, goodwill to men. Till ringing, singing on its way. The world revolved from night to day. A voice, a chime, a chant, sublime. Of peace on earth, goodwill to men. Amen. Wonderful singing. At this time the artists will come forth to collect the offering. Thank you. Good evening. Tonight we're in Acts chapter 15. Acts chapter 15 and the Bible reads, And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem upon the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenice and Samaria, declaring the conversation of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And they were to come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us that the Gentiles by mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God which knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us. And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they. Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name, and to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, sayeth the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world, wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God, but that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preached him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren. And they wrote letters by them after this manner. The apostles and elders and brethren, send greetings unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Sicily. Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, We must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we have no such commandment. It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazored their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to me, to the Holy Ghost, and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things, that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, from which, if ye keep yourselves, ye shall fare you well. So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle, which, when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still, Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and were not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other, and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed into Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God, and he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for the church you've given us, Lord, and thank you for the King James Bible as well, Lord, that you've given us, Lord, and we thank you for passing, we pray that you bless him right now, and fill him with the Spirit, that he preaches your word unto us, and that we're edified by the preaching, and we come away learning more than when we came in, Lord. And so bless this time, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're continuing this evening with the exploits of the Apostle Paul Part 2, and we're essentially going through Paul's missionary journeys, and some of the things that took place prior, and even a little bit after that, just to talk about his works, and of course we know that the Apostle Paul was probably one of the most influential apostles and Christians in the book of Acts, in the New Testament. He did a lot of great works, and in fact, you know, from a geographical perspective, you know, he actually went further than a lot of the disciples did. He went further than even Jesus Christ. Of course, Jesus Christ's ministry was primarily in Israel, but he went further than the apostles. He went further than a lot of the apostles, disciples, and even Jesus Christ, and it was due to the fact that he actually obeyed the commission that was given to him by Jesus Christ, which is to preach the gospel unto all the world. And he wasn't just interested in reaching Jews. You know, we obviously understand that he says throughout his epistles that the gospel was supposed to come unto the Jews first, but then also to the Greeks. He understood the importance of preaching the gospel to Gentiles and people who were not Jews, and he realized soon enough that many of them were very receptive to the gospel. And so he did a lot of great works. I'm going to do a little bit of review from the first week, but look down at your Bibles, Acts 15, verse 35. It says, Paul, also in Barnabas, continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. And some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do. So let's do a little bit of review from his first missionary journey. Now, I drew this and I'm hoping be merciful because it's not to scale. OK, obviously, like Cyprus is way too big. OK, it's like super close to Crete and all that. And yes, I know this is an ocean. It should be blue. I get it. But I wasn't going to spend all that time. But, you know, I got a little bit of ocean up here. You know, you see a little waves there. But this will kind of help you. I know it helps me to really visualize, you know, where the apostle Paul went and obviously this is without airplanes, you know what I mean? And could most have been done on foot? Yes, but, you know, he could have caught a camel or something. I don't know. And and traveled these areas. But when we look at the apostle Paul's from his conversion at Damascus, of course, he had that conversion. And then after he gets saved, he leaves Damascus and he goes into Arabia for three years. And last week, we talked about the fact that when he went to Arabia for three years, potentially he's being taught of Jesus Christ, right? He's going in there for three years. He's being shown the truth and revelation by Jesus Christ. He returns back to Damascus and then him and Barnabas go to Jerusalem. Now, he doesn't have a good reputation in Jerusalem because he's just known for persecuting Christians. So he really needed Barnabas to kind of, you know, bring him in and convince the disciples and the apostles that, you know, he is saved and he's he's preaching God's word because he's doing a great work in Damascus. So they finally accept that. But then he starts preaching in Jerusalem and causing just all types of havoc for good. Obviously, you know, he's preaching God's word. He's getting people saved. But obviously he's preaching a little bit of replacement theology as well. OK. The reason we know that is because the main adversary of the apostle Paul was the Jews in Jerusalem, which I mentioned last week. I think it's kind of interesting that all the persecution came upon the apostle Paul, but it didn't come on any other apostle who was there during that time. Just keep in mind there's a church there in Jerusalem. Right. You have James, who's the brother of the Lord. OK, the Lord's brother, James. You have Peter is there. All the apostles are there because prior to this, before the apostle Paul was saved, he was persecuted in the church and he's essentially he's holding the coats of them who are Stone and Stephen, who was one of the first deacons of the church at Jerusalem. And there's this huge persecution that's taking place there. And then next chapter nine, the disciples disperse the persecution so hot in Jerusalem that basically they with one accord basically said everyone needs to get out of here. But the apostles stayed here. And so you have disciples literally dispersing all around the known world. Even up until Crete, they went to Cyprus, different areas in Asia. And even some in Macedonia and Greece. So you have that taken place. There's a disbursement so they know of him. But then he gets saved. He's preaching there. All this persecution comes upon them. So they have this bright idea. Well, let's just send them back home. So what they do is they send the apostle Paul. This is where he's from, Tarsus in Cilicia. They send him back home. And then the Bible says that the churches had peace. They had rest, you know, from round about. And, you know, obviously it's a good thing when a church has rest because you're able to kind of regroup and regather, restrategize. But you kind of wonder, is it because the other apostles are not preaching hard sermons? Are they not, you know, preaching God's word because all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution? You know, all the Jews were pretty cool with the other apostles. They just didn't like the apostle Paul. So they sent him home. They sent him to Tarsus. The churches have rest. The church at Jerusalem sends Barnabas, who's the son of consolation, the man who's essentially responsible for kind of discipling the apostle Paul. They send him to Antioch. And apparently there's a great work being done in Antioch. A lot of people are getting saved there. This is in Syria. And what you have is a lot of believers there and then a church getting started there. So then Barnabas is like, there's so much work to be done. Let me go get Paul, so known as Saul. So he goes over to Tarsus. He picks him up and they stay here. And they basically pre-serve for like a year. The apostle Paul's preaching. He's teaching. He's discipling. He's getting a lot of work done. And this ends up being like a really big church. And the reason we know that is because it has the capability of sending people out as missionaries. It has the capability of starting churches. So it was a pretty established church. Maybe not as big as Jerusalem, but it's pretty established. So he's there. And then what you have is Paul and Barnabas being sent down to Judea to send relief unto the brethren. So he's kind of just running errands. He's being a blessing. He's just doing the work of the Lord. He comes down here, sends relief, comes back up to Antioch. The disciples, the apostles, they're fasting and praying. And then the Holy Ghost essentially asks to separate Paul and Barnabas for work that he has for them. And this is where the missionary journey begins. So let's do a little bit of review here. So you start off in Antioch. He goes to Seleucia. And then he goes to Cyprus. He's not swimming. He's on a boat. You guys obviously understand that. They get a couple people saved there. There's a synagogue. Then he goes to Paphos. And it's at Paphos that you have the pretty cool story of Olympus the sorcerer being struck blind. He's a false prophet. He's a Jew. And he's trying to hinder Sergus Paulus from getting saved. Sergus Paulus is essentially a magistrate there. And the Apostle Paul is trying to give him the gospel. He's preaching the gospel to him. And the Olympus the sorcerer is trying to stop him from doing so. So then the Apostle Paul flexes on him and essentially makes him go blind. Which Sergus Paulus sees this and then he's astonished at the doctrine. He's astonished at his teaching. He ends up getting saved. A great miracle is accomplished there. And by the way, the reason they go to Cyprus potentially is because of the fact that Barnabas is from Cyprus. So the way they choose where to go is just like well where are we familiar with? Barnabas is obviously familiar with Cyprus. So then they go from Paphos and they sail to Perga which is in Pamphylia. And from there they go to Antioch right here. This Antioch is different obviously than this one. This is in Pisidia, the region of Galatia. They go to a synagogue. A lot of believers there because you've got to understand is that even though these are synagogues, they're not necessarily establishments that were instituted by God. These are areas where the law of Moses is being read. So people who love the word of God, they're hearing God's word. And yes, even people who are saved are kind of congregating in this synagogue to hear the word of God. And so they see Paul and Barnabas is like, hey brother, you guys got anything to say? Paul gets up and he starts ripping on the Jews again and he gives this history, this synopsis of the history of Israel. And they're like, come back next week and we want to hear more about it. So he comes back the following week and the entire city is there. So it's not just the synagogue. They basically invited everyone in town to come and listen to him, at which point then the Jews had a problem with that. There's one thing if you're not influencing anybody, but once the subscribers start going up, once you start hitting over 100,000, once the videos start going viral, then the ADL gets involved. You understand? Because they've existed since then. So the ADL hears about the Apostle Paul and Barnabas because they're waxing, they're preaching God's word and people are getting saved, they're being persuaded to Christianity. And they essentially are envying that. They don't like the fact that they're getting these crowds. And so they begin to persecute them and so they flee to Iconium. So go right over here to Iconium. Start preaching God's word there. People are getting saved because the word of God has power. It's very influential. And it's at Iconium that Paul the Apostle gets stoned because the ADL, we just call them the ADL. How about that? The ADL from Antioch follows the Apostle Paul and Barnabas, they hear about the fact that they went to Iconium. They're like, oh no, we got to go over there and stop them. Because they are the ones who want to be the most influential people in the land, but it's too late. They had their chance and yes, the oracles of God were committed unto them, but they're obviously false prophets and they rejected Jesus Christ. So then they stoned the Apostle Paul and they thought that he was dead. He's outside, he's stoned, they thought he's dead. He gets up and he goes back and he preaches God's word once again in Iconium. He goes to Lystrom and then he goes to Derby. Now this is where a lot of the work is being accomplished. A lot of people are getting saved. A lot of churches are being started. Now look, what region is Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derby in? It's in Galatia. Where do the churches that are started there? We have a book in our Bible called the Book of Galatians. And it's a letter written to the churches of Galatia. So obviously the work that he put in, getting stoned, getting persecuted, all that, it was hard, but you know what? It produced believers, it produced churches. A great work was accomplished there. Oh by the way, I forgot to mention, when they went to Perga, this is where John Mark got homesick and then he goes home. And so he couldn't take the heat so he goes back home there. So they go without him. So this is his first missionary journey. So then he retraces his steps, goes back to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, goes to Italia and then he goes back to Antioch. So this entire trip, which is Paul's first missionary journey, in my opinion, took about 14 years. And the reason I believe that is because of the fact that Galatians 1 and Galatians 2 is essentially highlighting the events that we see here in the Book of Acts, primarily from Acts chapter 15 and before, a couple of chapters before. And we see in Galatians chapter 2 that he says above 14 years, when he comes back to Antioch, this is where he has that discourse with the Apostle Peter and he rebukes him to the face, which would make sense. Because if you have no airplanes and churches are being started, people are being discipled, it would take about 14 years to start all those churches. It's not something that just happens overnight. So a lot of work is done, a lot of souls are saved, and a great work is accomplished. That's his first missionary journey. So now we're in Acts chapter 15. Now what's taking place in Acts chapter 15? Well, in Acts chapter 15, what you have is false brethren creeping in unawares, telling the believers that unless they are circumcised according to the law of Moses, they cannot be saved. So these Pharisees, these Jews according to the flesh, they're preaching that, oh man, did you guys see that? Hopefully it stays up. Where's Eric? You know, unless they get circumcised, they can't be saved. Which is obviously a stupid thing to say. Because then it's like, well then how can the women be saved then? Right? I mean, that's kind of stupid. You know, but that's how false doctrine is, folks. Just not very intelligent, okay? Doesn't make any sense. But they're preaching that, look down at your Bibles, it says in verse number 1 of Acts 15, And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. Now notice that it says, came down from Judea. But they're referring to Antioch. But Judea's down here, so how can you come down if you're going north? Right? Well this isn't referring to north, south, east, west. It's referring to sea level. Because actually Jerusalem is at a higher sea level than Antioch was. So essentially they're coming down as if they're coming down from a mount. You understand? That's why it says they're coming down. So you have these people coming down, and they're saying they have to do works in order to be saved. Verse 2 says, When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. Now here's the thing is that later on you'll see that there's this kind of going back and forth whether converts should be circumcised. And you kind of wonder why are they arguing this if they know that salvation is not of works. Okay? Look down at your Bibles at verse number 5 it says, But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees, listen to this, which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. So obviously the apostle Paul and Barnabas and the apostles, they don't believe you have to be circumcised to be saved, but now the question arises, but should they get circumcised anyways? Not for salvation, but because Moses commanded it. Should we have them obey the laws of Moses because it's just God's word? And one thing you have to understand is that even though we understand replacement theology, we understand what the new covenant is, this is still kind of fresh to them. Okay? And in fact, even though this would be considered the new covenant in the New Testament as we're reading it, there's a lot of people during this time who are saved who don't even know the name of Jesus. Okay? But they're saved because they believed on the Lord under the old covenant. And these are the people that the apostle Paul has been sent to also reach to tell them about the name of Jesus and to confirm the Christ you believe in, it's actually Jesus, he's the one who suffered all these things, and therefore they would believe it. Now, if there is an individual who said, no, I think it's going to be another Christ, then that person is not saved. You understand? So apart from winning Gentiles to Christ who've never heard the name of Christ, they don't know about the way of salvation, they're also showing the way of the Lord more perfectly to those who are already saved, they just don't know the name of Christ yet, the name of Jesus. Okay? You know, for example, we're going to see later on, He's preaching the word of God, and all he knew was the baptism of John. The baptism of John is referring to they would believe on Jesus Christ. So he's saved, but Aquila and Priscilla basically come and they show them the way of the Lord more perfectly, and then he goes back to Ephesus in Corinth, and he begins to preach that that Christ is Jesus. You understand? So when he says they show them the way of the Lord more perfectly, he's essentially showing them who that name is, that there is no other name given among, under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Okay? So that's what's taking place there. But now they're just kind of wondering, well, should we have them keep the law of Moses? You know, should we have them get circumcised? Not for salvation, but just because it's God's word. So they're kind of disputing about this, and they're asking the apostles, like, what should we do? Now, during this time, the man who's like in charge at the church of Jerusalem is actually James, the Lord's brother. Okay? And when you read the book of Acts, you start seeing that James, the Lord's brother, has a lot of clout. But this guy is like, you know, he's kind of like the stuff. Okay? And, you know, he makes a lot of bad calls. We're going to see him make a bad call right here. And you kind of wonder, like, why is that? Because James didn't get saved until later. If you remember the Gospels, you know, Peter obviously was saved longer than James, but James basically grew up with Jesus. So you kind of wonder, you know, because they came from the same mom, you know, like, did James kind of, did he kind of resemble his brother a little bit? And maybe he kind of, people were kind of being a respecter of people because he came, he was actually the Lord's brother. You know, is this why he had so much influence at the church of Jerusalem? Why people would go to him and all these things? We don't know. But we do know this is that he wasn't saved as long as Peter. Because if you remember the Gospels, his brethren didn't even believe in him. It wasn't until later that they got saved and they believed that their brother Jesus was actually the very Messiah, the very Christ. So then you have this whole thing taking place and Peter gets up and he says, hey, I had this vision. God wants us to reach the Gentiles and, you know, this is what his will is. And so James comes up with this bright idea and says, okay, this is what we're going to do. I'm going to make a decree that's going to go into all the churches and the believers and the decree is essentially this, that the Gentiles, verse 20, that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood, okay? Now there's two interpretations of what this specifically means, okay? One interpretation is that God gave no such commandment, okay? Because we don't really see anywhere in the Old Testament or in the Bible where God says, don't eat things that are strangled, okay? But there's another interpretation that states, well, what that simply means is that you shouldn't eat anything that has retained the blood because in other countries, when you slaughter an animal, you typically slit the throat and let it bleed out. Whereas sometimes people just snap the neck or, you know, choke it or whatever, but then it retains that blood and it's just basically saying, just don't eat something with the blood. Now, either way, James is still wrong and let me explain to you why. Because the Gentiles should obey the same word of God that the Jews are obeying. But what is he doing by this decree? He's basically saying there's still a difference between us. You guys, we have, you know, we got to obey the law of Moses, but you guys can just obey these couple of commands here, being Gentiles. And, you know, he's wrong about that, okay? Because Jesus Christ has already broken down the middle of wall partition between us. He's nailed all the ordinances to the cross and we're to obey God's word just as the Jews are supposed to obey. What we're not supposed to obey anymore are those things which are a shadow of things to come. You know, the sacrifices and circumcision, meads, drinks, divers, washings, carnal ordinances. These are things that are imposed upon the nation of Israel until Christ came and was crucified on the cross, okay? But they make this decree and then they basically give it to Paul and Barnabas to take to all the churches to read in the churches so that they understand, hey, Gentiles, just make sure you're, at least you're fulfilling these, you know, qualifications or whatever, which is wrong, okay? Now, I do want to mention this real quick because I thought this was interesting because this decree goes out into basically all the world where there's believers but more specifically where there's churches, okay? And the reason that's important is because we are an independent fundamental Baptist church and part of being independent is the fact that we believe in local visible New Testament churches, right? Like this is a local visible New Testament church that has an ordained pastor that was sent out of another church and this is the pattern that we see in the book of Acts and here's proof that there are visible local New Testament churches in the Bible. Aside from the fact that throughout the New Testament actual churches are being addressed, we have this example of a decree going out that's supposed to be read in churches. This is not just for individual believers. He didn't make a copy. It's just like wherever you find like a Christian, just like give them this. No, because the most practical thing to do would be to send it to an assembly of believers where it's supposed to be read before the congregation. You understand? So it's not like go find rogue Christians everywhere and go read this to them. What you do is you find congregations and the pastor reads those decrees to the congregation, the assembly, and that way everyone gets it, okay? And so I just want to mention that just to kind of reinforce the fact that the Bible does teach local visible New Testament churches, okay? And the Bible doesn't teach like this universal church either. When people talk about the church, they get that from the Catholics, okay? We don't believe in the church. This is a church, okay? And people want to say, well, the churches in the book of Revelation, those are different church ages, but you got a problem with that because you have a church in Revelation chapter 3 called the church at Laodicea. And in Colossians chapter 4, the apostle Paul tells the church at Colossae, hey, I wrote a letter to them. Make sure you guys read it in your church and the letter that you guys are reading, make sure that's read at the Laodicean church as well. So if those messages are specifically for those churches, well, we got a problem because they're swapping messages. You know why? Because the messages are for all believers in all churches, okay? It's like this, you know, I preach this sermon here and it's specifically for our church here, but there's people online listening that can apply to their personal lives as well. It's applicable to all Christians. Obviously, I'm making it directly applicable to our church, but because it's God's word, it's applicable for everyone, okay? And so we have that there and he begins to take it, take the decree into different areas. Now, before he goes, actually look at verse number 36. And some days after Paul said into Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do. So the Apostle Paul has this burden and he wants to go check on the churches. He said, let's go see how the brethren do. Let's go confirm them. Let's go disciple them. And you know, he's all for it. Verse 37, Barnabas is determined to take with him John, whose surname is Mark. He said, all right, let me just go get John real quick. Well, Paul's not having it, okay? He says in verse 38, but Paul thought it not good to take with him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed on to Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. So what do we see here? They're like, hey, let's go check on these churches. I'm going to go get Mark. And Paul's like, I don't want you to bring Mark because Mark left us. He forsook us when we were in Pamphylia and Perga there. We had just came back from Cyprus and he just bailed on us. So the Bible says that the contention, what is contention? The strife between them was so sharp, which we don't have details, but when contention is sharp, it's just like you are angry with this person. This person is angry with you and they're probably like in each other's face. And what was the solution? They're just like, well, you know, we're just going to part ways. And you know what? This is there for a reason, my friends, because sometimes men of God disagree. Amen. They disagree. And, you know, we're not talking about false prophets. We're talking about men of God who have disagreements about things. Sometimes the contingent can be so sharp that you just part ways and kind of do your own thing and serve the Lord at your capacity. And that happens sometimes. Now, I don't have any personal friends or pastors who have had issues like that with. Luckily, everyone who I've separated from is pretty much a false prophet. Other than one particular one who I don't believe to be a false prophet, but the guy is such an idiot. He kind of, you know, does really stupid things and has said a lot of dumb things and is constantly attacking our movement. And so, yeah, I have parted from him. So I stand corrected. OK, I'm talking about McMurtry. In case you didn't know. OK, you guys want me to write it on the board or something? He couldn't take the heat in Pamphylia, so he went back. No, I'm just kidding. Now Andrew Lowes is going to make like another video. A little weenie. So then what is Paul the Apostle do? Well, now he starts off in Antioch and he's with Silas and he goes through Cilicia, through Tarsus, and he goes through Derby. Actually, let me use a different marker here so we're not confusing the believers here at the church at First Works. OK, so we have here, he goes through Tarsus, goes through Derby, lies in Charconium, Antioch. And what does it mean when he says confirming the churches? What does that mean? Confirming the churches basically means that he, you know, confirm he's making them firm. OK, what do we do when we preach to you? We are trying to establish you in the faith, right? We're trying to make you firm in the Lord and the power of his might. And so these are obviously new believers, new churches. So the Apostle Paul wants to make sure that they're not carried about with every wind of doctrine. And he's confirming them. He's preaching the Word of God unto them. He's teaching them. And here's the thing is that these churches do have elders. Because prior to leaving, he ordained elders in those cities. Elders meaning what? Pastors. So there's pastors there and he's kind of the guest preacher coming in, confirming them. It's like when I have guest preachers come here. Or when I'm a guest preacher somewhere else, it's not necessarily that those churches are deficient of God's Word, but we're there to confirm the churches. We're there to reinforce things that they already believe. You understand? Because I can say something from behind the pulpit here and you'll listen, but then when someone else comes and says it, says the same exact thing that I said, you're like, oh yeah, you know, I agree with that, you know? Because sometimes you just need a different voice every once in a while, you understand? And vice versa. And so he's confirming the churches. He's going through Syria, Cilicia, and goes to Derbe and Lystra. Well, in Derbe and Lystra is where he picks up Timothy, 1 and 2 Timothy. He's the son in the faith. And Timothy has a, if you look at chapter 16, it says, Then came he to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess and believed, but his father was a Greek. And it says in verse 2 that it was well reported of the brethren that were Lystra and Iconium. So he actually has a really good reputation in this area. So he's a young man who's serving in these churches. We don't know exactly what he's doing, but he's obviously shown himself faithful to the point where the Apostle Paul has recognized him and decides to take him with him on his missionary journey. Now the thing is that Timothy, he has Timothy circumcised, though. It's kind of weird, you know, because he knows that after the whole disputing with Peter, he has him circumcised, and potentially the reason he had him circumcised is so that he can be all things to all men. Because if he's going to reach the Jews there, he's kind of like a half-breed type of a thing where he's like half-Jew and half-Greek. Well, you know, in order to reach those Jews, he kind of got circumcised to kind of put his foot in the door. I don't know if you should ever go that far, you know what I mean? I wouldn't, okay? I'm not for that, but apparently they thought it fit, and so that's what he did to them, okay? And then, of course, he's delivering those decrees. He's confirming the churches there, and then the churches begin to increase. They begin to get established, and they begin to increase in numbers, okay? In other words, a lot of people are being saved, a lot of converts, fruit that remains. Great work is being accomplished there in Derby and Leistra. Now, here's where it gets interesting, okay? And you're going to have to pay attention. This is geography class here, okay? So they're at Antioch, and I hope you recognize some of these from your Bible reading, okay? You have Asia, and then you have Bithynia, Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, okay? And this side is Greece. So the Apostle Paul's goal was to essentially come here and then go over here. That's what he purposed to do. He wanted to go to Asia, and then he wanted to go to Bithynia and Pontius, okay? Now, why? Why did he want to do that? Well, you know, he possibly heard that there was believers there, people were receptive there, so he wanted to see what was going on in those areas, okay? But the Bible said that he was actually forbidden by the Holy Ghost to go into those regions. And I'm going to explain to you why I think is the case, okay? It could be twofold. First and foremost, let me mention first that the church at Ephesus, we don't know exactly if it existed, but there were believers for sure at Ephesus during this time. So whether he wanted to visit Ephesus or just reach people who are receptive in that area, both of them, you know, it could be the case, we don't know. But the Ephesians were there, there's believers there. Instead, the Holy Ghost basically moves him to go to Mysia, Troas, and then he goes to Macedonia, Philippi, Neopolis, and all that area right there. Now, why is that? Well, he gets a vision, also known as what? The Macedonian call. This guy, you know, the Apostle Paul, he has this dream of a Macedonian saying, come over and help us. Now, here's the thing is that he never runs into that guy. It's just a vision that he has. However, because of that dream, Luke apparently joins the Apostle Paul because now the person writing the book of Acts, who is Luke, says, we endeavor to go. So now he's placing himself in with the Apostle Paul on this journey. And here's the reason why. It could be that the doors were just open in Greece. In other words, you know, God wants us to go where the fish are biting. You understand? We obviously have to reach people all over. We have to reach our immediate area and preach the gospel where we're at. But we always want to look for an open door. We always want to look for an area, a city, a country where the fish are biting, my friends. And yes, I know that the fish don't necessarily bite a whole lot here, okay? I'm well aware of that. But, you know, this is our responsibility. So this is what we have to do. But you know what? Barstow, the fish are biting. There's a lot of people in Barstow who are actually really receptive to the gospel, which is why we've been going there. And we took a break. We're taking a break in December, but then we're starting it up again in January where we go there, and man, people are just really receptive to the gospel there. A couple soul owners go out there. Brother Ulysses and I would go. And we take a trip. We go soul owning for a couple hours. And, you know, we get a bite to eat. We laugh. We have fun. And we win a bunch of souls to Christ, okay? It's where Brother Marcos is from, you know? This is basically the pattern that we see in the Bible is that Barnabas is like, well, let's go to Cyprus. I'm from Cyprus. We can go there and get a bar. You know, we go to Barstow because that's where Marcos is from. And it turns out that people are really receptive there in Barstow. And it's a very small city. I mean, really small. Like, I was just like, Marcos, why would you live here, you know? It's like nothing here, you know? It's, you know, it's desert. But, you know, there's a lot of people who moved from Los Angeles to Barstow. And so people are getting saved there. And I think we'll probably finish Barstow this coming year, okay? Because there's not a whole lot of people there. But, you know, the people are really receptive. But, you know, we want to go further than that, which is why we're going to Belize. I mean, this last trip to Belize was amazing. Almost 400 people saved in a matter of five to six days. And we're going to go back in March, okay? We, meaning Ulysses, and some of you, okay? You know, and the goal is when we go in March, we're going to bring materials from our church and try to get, you know, the word spread about our church there. So that when we go back in November, we're going to have a church service there. And if no one shows up, then we're like, forget you guys then, you know? And we just keep sowing there. Or, maybe it just packs out and we're like, okay, we have to start a church here. We just never know. Now, you know, I'm just kind of envisioning things that could, what could potentially happen. I'm a dreamer, okay? You know, I like to dream about these things. But you just never know. Maybe it might be an area, it might be like an iconium, a lycra, or hopefully not an iconium, because then, you know, bad stuff happened in an iconium. Maybe it could be like a lycra in a derby, right? So we want to get people saved there, but we also want to encourage people, we want to confirm the brethren. And I guarantee you, when we go back in March, there's going to be people there that we want to Christ this last time, they're going to remember us. And that's what we want. We want to be familiar faces and sign Ignacio beliefs. We want to be like, we know them, they're the Baptists, they're the ones who got us saved. And we go there, we confirm the churches, we're going to collect information, we're going to collect names, we're going to make friends, we're going to collect social media outlets, and just try to disciple these people as best as we possibly can. Because Belize doesn't have a new IFB influence. It's not like they listen to Pastor Anderson or anybody else, they don't know of anything. They don't even have a McDonald's over there, they don't got nothing over there. Yeah. Yeah. No McGriddles or nothing. I don't even have fast food. It's just like, but it's like a treasure. It's like a little treasure area there. So we have to kind of start from the ground up and just kind of work the field, get familiar with the people, win people to Christ. And now we kind of got the strategy down packed. Like now we know, go to the schools. Go to the schools, win souls to Christ here, they get off at 3, they get off at 1.30 over here. Like we already kind of know the schedule of what goes on over there. And so we want to win them to Christ and do great things. And who knows, we might be forbidden to go there the next time. Because maybe something else is open. God never closes a door without opening a window. Believe it or not, that's actually a true saint. And so he's forbidden to go there, but let me mention a couple other things about that. What do we know about Asia? Asia Minor. What do we know about Asia? Asia Minor. What do we know about, what's the first thing that comes up in our minds when we think about Asia Minor? Revelation. The seven churches which are in Asia. Because you have the church at Ephesus, you have the church at Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, I think I got them all. You have all those seven churches and it's like a cluster of churches that are found right here. And one of them that's not mentioned in the letters to the seven churches is Colossi. So Colossi is there too. It's kind of interesting, where do those churches come from? Who planted those churches? Who's the one that's planted it? Well here is my speculation. Because when you study the church at Ephesus, primarily in the book of Acts, you hear about elders, plural. What is an elder? It's a pastor, right? So apparently, and people you can look this up, I mean historically, which we don't necessarily place our faith in historical accounts, but it kind of matches up with what the Bible says is that the church at Ephesus is pretty big. It's a very big church. A lot of people were there. And they had a lot of elders because in Acts chapter 20, when the Apostle Paul is heading home and he's saying goodbye to the Ephesians, he gathers all the elders to meet with him first. And he talks about, hey, people are going to creep in. Wolves shall creep in. They're not going to spare the flock. And so make sure you watch over the flock. And he's kind of warning them. He's admonishing them. But he's not speaking to the church though. He's speaking to the elders. So potentially, Ephesus might have been a church planting church. It might be that the seven churches which are in Asia, the six of them were started by Ephesus, which would explain why they had so many elders at that church. Speculation, but I think it holds water. Not only that, but you have Bithynia and Pontius. Now I hope that rings a bell. I know this is all extremely interesting to everyone. I know this is life-changing for you. And this is going to fix your marriage and your child rearing and make you a better employee. But I hope that rings a bell because of the fact that the Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter, he addresses Bithynia, the strangers that are scattered abroad. And what's a stranger? It's not referring to Jews, it's referring to Gentiles. Strangers that are scattered abroad in Bithynia, Pontius, Galatia, even Cappadocia, and Asia. So he's addressing those churches, but it's like, wait a minute, hold on a second. We've never even heard of a church in Pontius or Bithynia. Now we know there's churches in Galatia, there's no churches in Asia as of yet, so who is he talking about? Well, there's a reason why he's addressing them because he's an elder and then he's also addressing elders. So what possibly could be taking place is this. He's starting, the Apostle Peter's starting churches in areas where the Apostle Paul already has converts. You say, ah, that's a stretch. This is how this church was started. I mean, think about Pastor Aaron Thompson. He's starting all these churches by people who were won by Pastor Anderson. So this is a pattern that we see, right? Someone goes and wins a bunch of people to Christ, creates all these converts, and then what happens is another pastor comes and says, let me help you out. Let's start a church here and give these people a congregation, a church, and then you have a church started. Now, that would make 100% sense because of the fact that at the end of 2 Peter, he talks about the Apostle Paul and how his epistles are being twisted, they're being rested, they're being taken out of context, which means that the people in Bithynian Pontius know who the Apostle Paul is. Well, how do they know who he is? Well, it's probably because he won them to the Lord. That's why. So this is something that's very common in the Book of Acts and even common today where someone else plows, they work that field, they win those people to Christ, but that one man can't do the entire work, so he depends on other pastors to kind of step in and start churches, okay? And that's how a lot of these churches are started. That's how our church was started. That's how, you know, steadfast was started. That's how Sure Foundations was started. A lot of these were started by men who essentially assisted the pastor who won those converts to the Lord. You understand? And so that's what could possibly be taking place there, that Peter and the Apostle Paul are essentially joining efforts in starting these churches and, you know, basically starting them and helping them keep going, okay? And he also, you know, in 1 Peter and 1 and 2 Peter, he's addressing the church at Galatia, and the Apostle Paul is also writing a letter to the church at Galatia, and he talks about Peter. Well, if this region knew nothing about Peter, then that epistle wouldn't have made sense to them. They're like, who's Peter? But obviously they know who he is because he's involved in the work there, you understand? So it's pretty interesting. And it could be that the Apostle Paul wanted to go to Asia Minor because he wanted to meet the church at Ephesus to kind of get that work going to start more churches in Asia. But he was forbidden of the Holy Ghost, and instead he goes to Missia, he goes to Neopolis and Philippi, okay? So let's move on here, okay? This is life-changing information. Look at verse 16 of chapter 16. Before we read that, he gets there to Macedonia and he meets a woman named Lydia, okay? Lydia, who's a seller of purple, and she's a convert, but I want you to read with me verse 14. It says, and a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, listen to this, of the city of what? Thyatira. Isn't that interesting? You say, what's Thyatira? Thyatira is one of the seven churches which are in Asia. And one thing you'll notice is the Book of Acts will often talk about certain converts that are from a specific region where eventually a church got started there. Like for example, Aquila and Priscilla, Aquila is actually from Pontius, okay? So Aquila and Priscilla were husbands and wife and they were living in Rome, but then Rome kicked them out for being Jews and then they ended up at Corinth, and then from Corinth, that's why we're here, that he's from Pontius. And so I'm just saying that a lot of these converts are from regions where churches were eventually started, and you can see why that would be the case, okay? Look at verse 16, it says, So you think to yourself, man, she's possessed, but you know, at least she's saying the right things, you know? But look what verse 18 says, And this she did many days. Now, it's just like when someone comes up and is just like, these men are the servants of the Most High God, which show us the way of salvation, it's like, all right, thanks, you know, appreciate it. But then every day, she's just like, these men are the servants of the Most High God, it's just like, shut up. You're making us look bad. Get your Pentecostal crap out of here. You're making us Christians look bad because we're trying to win these people to Christ, and they think that we are like you, right? But obviously, because she's possessed with the devil, the devil's doing this to kind of disrupt what they got going. It's like Kanye West. Kanye West is possessed with the devil. He's a reprobate. He goes on Alex Jones' show and just makes Christians look like complete, like idiots. Talk about he loves Nazis, and he loves Hitler, and just sounds like a complete fool. Now, the interview was hilarious. It's super funny. It's very entertaining to watch because when Alex Jones looks uncomfortable, because he looked very uncomfortable in that interview, and Alex Jones, he's crazy too, but he actually looks uncomfortable in the interview. This is how you know that Kanye West is just like super wicked, okay? But he's like Jesus is King. He's making us Christians look bad. He's like this woman possessed, and it's funny because throughout the interview, he's just like Jesus is King. Jesus is King. Jesus is King. This woman right here is like these are the servants of the Most High God which shows the way of salvation. It's vain repetition. And this turns people off to Christianity, my friends. Those idiots on blowhorns that are on the corners preaching and repenting their sins' gospels, these so-called street preachers, they make Christians look bad. These jack-in-the-box drive-throughs on the corner just yelling at people as they go by. They have a huge sign that says turn or burn and all these things. They make Christians look bad because that's not how we're supposed to operate. You're like, well, you're yelling right now. Yeah, but I'm in my church though. This is where we're supposed to yell and scream and foam out the mouth and preach God's Word in such a way. This is where we're supposed to cry out loud and spare not and show God's people their transgression. Not on the street corner. That makes Christians look bad. That looks like demonic possession. And you think the English ones are bad. The Spanish ones are worse. It's just like... You think you're listening to a Spanish auction or something. And you think anybody who's driving by actually is paying attention? You think anybody's being changed by that? They're just like, Christians are idiots. They're probably like, this is so dumb. This is why I don't go to church. You know people are saying that. There's no one stopping like, what must I do to be saved? And if they do, they're going to give them a false gospel. They're going to say repent of your sins and be baptized, change your life, quit fornication. They're going to give them some heretical, damnable heresy that's going to damn them to hell. But thankfully, I guarantee you, no one stops their car to go talk to them. Because they don't want to be embarrassed. It's like an embarrassing encounter there. So this woman's doing this. And this she did many days, verse 18. But Paul being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. So he basically cast out this devil. But this woman brought the people of Ephesus, excuse me, the people of Philippi, a lot of money by her soothsaying, because she's like a fortune teller or whatever. And apparently they make a lot of money. Even through COVID, you see a lot of these palm readers stayed open. And you can see why, because people want to believe in this rubbish. And so they get in trouble, and then they're arrested, and they're in prison. And you think to yourself, the Apostle Paul and Silas could have been like, why is this happening to us? All we're trying to do is start churches, reach people, and now we're in prison. But folks, all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And we know the purpose of this is to reach who? The Philippian jailer. And thank God for Acts chapter 16, amen. Because we use it all the time, It's one of the greatest, most epic lines in the Bible. What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. I mean, we repeat that line thousands of times throughout the year, because it's the most clearest line where an unsafe person just asks plainly, what must I do to be saved? And he got the most plain answer. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. And it doesn't say it works. It doesn't say get baptized. It doesn't say you have to do X, Y, and Z. It just says believe on Jesus Christ, and that's it. That's where we get the story from. Because what happens is they're singing in the jail, and God brings an earthquake that opens all the prison doors. And so the Philippian jailer, he's thinking I'm dead because everyone's going to escape, and therefore they're going to kill me, you know, for not being a good guard or whatever. And before he kills himself, Paul's like, hey, do yourself no harm. We're still here. And then he comes in, and he's like, what must I do to be saved? And then he gets him saved. He gets his household saved. A great work is accomplished there because of that story. It's a beautiful story. And so, and by the way, we're at Philippi. Where are we at? Philippi, and then we see a church started there, the church at Philippi, Book of Philippians, we have that there, okay? So then, you know, they find out, the city finds out that they're Romans. This is very illegal to do because what they did is they not only arrested them, they beat them. They flogged them, they beat them, which is illegal, okay, for them to do because they're Romans. They deserve like a just trial. So when they find out that they're Romans, they're like, oh no, well tell them to just leave. Tell them to get out of the jail and just leave. And then the Apostle Paul's like, nah, have them come and drag us out. You know, he says in verse number 38 of chapter 16, and the surgeons told these words into the magistrates, and they feared when they heard that they were Romans, and they came and besought them and brought them out and desired them to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia, and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed. So this shows you that even though the Apostle Paul was kind of like trolling him a little bit, he's not gonna invest all his time in fighting this legal battle of, hey, you know, I'm a Roman, you know, you shouldn't have done this. He just kind of let it go and moved on with his ministry. Best way to invest in your ministry, just move on and keep fighting for another day. So then he departs, he goes to Lydia's house, and then from there, he takes off chapter 17, where he goes to Amphipolis and Apollonia, which is right above Thessalonica, okay? And in Thessalonica, he goes to a synagogue. When he goes to the synagogue, you have the Jews there again, giving them trouble. Verse number 1 of chapter 17 says, Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews? And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them in three Sabbaths, to reason with them out of the Scriptures. Listen to this, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. You see how that message is worded? He's like, hey, Christ is supposed to suffer, and the one I'm preaching to you matches up with the prophecy, okay? Verse 4, And some of them believed in consortable Paul and Silas, and the devout Greeks of great multitude, and of the chief women, not a few. So not a whole lot of Jews believed, but a lot of the Greeks believed, okay? But the Jews, verse 5, which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, this is the first, this is the ancestors of George Soros, okay? Yeah, ancient Antifa, exactly. They get certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, set all the city in an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people, and when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, these that have turned the world upside down are come hither also. So their reputation followed them all the way from over here. Like these people have been turning the world upside down, so they received this persecution, and then in verse 9 it says, and when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go. Now what does it mean they took security of Jason? It doesn't mean like they put him in stocks, or they arrested him. Security, you know, you ever heard of a security deposit? They're just like, all right, you know, pay me a little bit, or someone pay me and we can let this guy go. So what are these Jews mostly interested in? Money. He said, no, they're interested in converts. Yeah, because converts, according to them, brings money. More money into their treasury where they can steal and they'll do all that stuff, okay. Verse 10, and the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. So then you have them going from Thessalonica, and they go down to Berea. Now Berea, even though there wasn't a church started in Berea because there was a church started in Thessalonica, those in Berea, the Jews in Berea, were actually very receptive, okay. And it actually says in verse 11, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, and that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. So these guys were just like, when Paul preached with them, they were ready to receive it. What does it mean to be ready to receive the word of God? They're just like, they're not just halfway interested in the gospel, they want to know what they're saying. And then they went back and said, well, let's see if what they're saying is true. Oh, it is true. And then they get saved. And it even says in verse number 12, therefore, many of them believed also of honorable women, which were Greeks, and of men, listen to this, not a few. What does not a few mean? It means a lot of them got saved. Now, if I were to compare this to anybody in modern day, it would be Belize. These are people, although they didn't search the scriptures daily, they had the scriptures already memorized. And these people received the word of God with all readiness of mind. Like as soon as you talk to them, they're just open, they give you all their attention, they repeat everything that you told them. I mean, they're just open to the gospel. So I'm sure Berea was a very fun place to go sowing in. They're very receptive. All right, so now we're in Berea. And then persecution arises again. Verse 13, but when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was priest of Paul at Berea, they came to their also and stirred up the people. So now they're trying to stop them there. So then they send them all the way down to Athens. So he comes to Athens. Now here's a funny story in Athens. Because this is where we find a story of Mars Hill. You guys know what I'm talking about? Okay. Chapter 17, verse 22. Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said, ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious, or I pass by and beheld your devotion. I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you, God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Now, this is why I think this story is so funny, okay? Anytime you meet a creation science Christian and you try to tell them like, hey, you know, that's not like the best route to take to like reach people. They always go to Acts 17. Like Mars Hill. The apostle Paul did it. Mars Hill to the unknown God. And, you know, he created all things that are in heaven and earth, all things therein, you know, a little bit of creation there, creation science there, you know? And they'll try to bring that up. They'll say, you know, this is why we do creation science debates. This is how we're going to reach people. You know, the Ken Hovans and the Ken Hams and the what have yous. This is what they love using as an example of why we should have creation debates and creation material to reach people. And let me say this. Obviously I'm a creationist, but I don't have to say I'm a creationist. I'm just saying I'm a Christian. And it should be obvious that we're creationists because we believe the Bible, right? Let me say this. I don't believe you need to use creation to try to prove to someone that God exists. I don't believe that for a second. Why? Because creation has already taught them that. No, I ran into an atheist that said they don't believe that. It's called lying. People lied to you. Because everyone, the Bible tells us in Romans chapter one that it's one of the testimonies that God gives to confirm that he's real. Okay? You know, a human being, whether they've read the Bible or not, they look at creation and automatically God has embedded within them enough knowledge to understand there is a creator who made all this. We don't need creation science to win people over to Christ. You say, what do we need? It's called the gospel! Well, creation science, you know, kind of helps them to get to the gospel. By the way, most of these people who are creation science don't even have a good gospel. And they try to sound all eloquent. It's like, dude, preach Christ and him crucified. You don't have to go through all these, you know, the Ark and where's the Ark of the Covenant and where's Noah's Ark? And, you know, all these things. You know, obviously, that stuff is interesting, but it should never replace the gospel, which is exactly what people do. And they think, you know, the reason they claim to do it is because they think it's very fruitful, it's profitable, but it's not. It's profitable to get you a bunch of views. It's profitable so that people can think like you're smart and you know what you're talking about, but it's not profitable to get you but it's not necessarily the most profitable ministry to get people saved. And I just find it ironic that they use Acts 17 for this because look at Acts 17 in verse number 31. He says, Because he had the point of the day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them, howbeit certain men clave unto him and believed, among the which was Dionysius the Aeropagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. So what do we see? It wasn't as fruitful as Berea. So when they try to use Acts 17 as their proof text, it's just like you should use Berea as an example. You should use Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe as an example because they actually just preached the gospel there. Whereas, you know, he's using creation science here and I don't even think he's like using it here like the way they would use it today. And he doesn't see a whole lot of fruit there. Okay? And so, you know, I don't think Christians should be, you know, debating people and trying to, you know, get on a stool with someone else and with the red button in the middle and with the referee or whatever and try to prove this fag atheist that God exists. The fag atheist already knows that God exists. He's an atheist reprobate because he rejected the knowledge of God. He doesn't want to retain God in his knowledge. That's what the Bible teaches, my friend. So it's a fool's errand to try to debate with an atheist because all he's going to do is lie to you. Better to just tell him what the Bible says and rip his face off so that others can see the power of God. Better to just make a limus go blind so that Sergius Paulus can get saved. You know, Paul wasn't going on a limus saying, I know we have our differences. But, you know, and he starts telling him about creation science. He's just like, go blind. And the limus is just like trying to like find the door or whatever. And then Sergius Paulus is like, I want to get saved. You know? And look, Paul waxed eloquent in Acts chapter 17 on Mars Hill. But they didn't care. Because God didn't ordain you to be a preacher of creation science. I know it's really interesting stuff, OK? But and, you know, I'm not against preaching about creation, the creation and all that. I think it's biblical and I think we need to do that. But to use it in place of the gospel, I don't believe that's what God wants us to do. It's hard to burst your bubble. So what do we have now? So now he's in Athens and then he goes to Corinth. So he went all the way through Greece here. I'm not going to stand in the chair there, but he comes down here and he goes to Corinth. Now, Corinth is a pretty fruitful area. It's where we get first and second Corinthians. This is where he finds Aquiline Priscilla. And it's so fruitful there that he ends up staying there for a year and six months. He stays there for a year and six months, and obviously he's preaching God's word there. Look at Acts chapter 18. And verse number one, it says, after these things, Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontius, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome and came into them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them in rot, for by their occupation there were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were coming from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spear and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves in blaspheme, he shook his raiment and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. From henceforth I will go into the Gentiles. And he departed thence and entered into a certain man's house named Justice, one that worshiped God, I like this, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. So, you know, he's got this convert here named Justice. He's not going to the best church. He's going to a synagogue. But you know what? That's what they had. And what did he do? He joined hard to the synagogue. You know what we need today? We need Christians who join hard to church. Like, you go to church? No, I go to church hard. I go there hard. Like, oh, take it easy. No, hard. Where there's sunny morning, sunny night, Thursday evening, we go and preach the gospel. That's what we're doing. This is Justice. God is a faithful, consistent church member, amen? Even to a synagogue. Which is crazy, right? So if Justice can go faithfully to a synagogue, my friend, you can be faithful and go hard to church. But I thought that was, I like that. He says, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. It just basically means he was faithful. So you have Justice there. By the way, his name is actually Jesus. But he refers to himself as Justice because obviously, you know, to call himself Jesus would be sacrilegious. That's for all those Mexicans out there. Can't seem to understand that. So now we're about to finish up. So then, verse eight says, In Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision. Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months teaching the word of God among them. So, you know, the word of God is so powerful that it was able to reach Crispus, who is someone who had a position in the synagogue. And later on, we see that Crispus, you know, was actually baptized by the apostle Paul because in 1 Corinthians, when he's talking about the gospel, he says, I thank God I baptized none of you save Crispus and Gaius. So he's obviously one who got baptized and so great work is being accomplished there. And then the Jews, of course, they're persecuting them. Look down to verse 17. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Galio cared none for none of those things. And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren and sell thence into Syria with him, Priscilla and Aquila having shorn his head and chantria, for he had a vow. So we see that after after Crispus is beaten, he's obviously demoted, but he's essentially promoted because he's no longer a part of the synagogue there. Someone else is promoted who's Sosthenes because he then becomes the chief ruler of that synagogue, but then he gets won over by Paul and then he's also taken and he's beaten and he's persecuted as well. And Sosthenes is also in 1 Corinthians 1 when the apostle Paul is writing to the 1 Corinthians church, he addresses Sosthenes, his brother. So these are people who were a part of the synagogue, but then they heard God's word, they get saved and a great work is accomplished there. So awesome work. And of course, we see later on that Apollos is reached. He's reached by Aquila and Priscilla. And here's the interesting thing about Apollos. Apollos was already preaching. He's already preaching God's word. He was very eloquent. He's preaching. Aquila and Priscilla basically come and they show him the way of the Lord more perfectly and then he goes hard. Then he starts preaching Jesus Christ and he's doing a great work. And in fact, he becomes so influential. He becomes such a powerful preacher. He becomes such a great asset to the ministry that he's essentially, people were like in 1 Corinthians, if you've read 1 Corinthians, people are saying, I am of Apollos and I am of Paul. So he obviously had some influence. He did some great works. But the point that I'm trying to make here is that the apostle Paul is reaching all types of people. People who were positioned in synagogues, people who were already preaching, people who were just not saved at all. And he just makes these great men out of these disciples and these new people, these new converts. So then after, you know, after Corinth, he goes to Gentrya and then he goes to Ephesus. He abides there just a little while. He obviously wanted to go there initially, but he wasn't able to. And he leaves fairly quickly from Ephesus and he comes all the way back down to Jerusalem, actually. Okay. And the reason he does that is because he wants to be there for Pentecost. Now, I don't think he wants to be there for Pentecost because he's trying to, you know, adhere to Old Testament laws. I think he wants to be there because a lot of people are going to be there during Pentecost. And so it's an opportunity for him to preach the gospel. Pretty interesting stuff. Okay. What we see here in his second missionary journey, he obviously went a lot farther than his first missionary journey, went to Cilicia, through the regions of Galatia, purposed to go to Asia and Pontius, Bithynia. God forbade him. He went to Mysia, Troas, Philippi, down to Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, back to Ephesus, and then he goes back home again. And a lot was done during that time. And so next week, we're going to conclude with this third missionary journey, which eventually leads him to going to Rome, and he basically finishes his ministry there. All right. That's pretty much it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the Apostle Paul and all the work that he did and what an inspiration he is to many churches and believers. I pray, God, that you would help us, Lord, to have a burden for missions, that we would not take these things lightly, Lord, and that we would see the potential in every area that we go to. We just never know who we might reach. We might reach an Apollos. We might reach a Crispus. We might reach a Sosthenes. And I pray that you'd help us to do so. Who knows? Maybe someone that we reached and believes, who we wouldn't esteem as being someone of great importance, necessarily, or someone who has a high-ranking position in their community, that person might end up being the most influential person there, even above our church here in the States. And so I pray that you would lead us and help us to win as many people to Christ, open doors for us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. For our last song, we'll be singing infant holy, infant lowly. You should have it as a sheet. If you don't have a sheet, please raise your hand. One of the ushers will come by and bring you one. Keep your hand raised if you need one. Infant holy, infant lowly. It may be a new song for some of you, but if you do know it, please sing it out nice and strong. Infant holy, infant lowly. All together, nice and strong all together on that first verse. Infant holy, infant lowly, for his bed, a cattle stall, oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the child is Lord of all. Swiftly ringing, angels singing, bells are ringing, tidings ringing, Christ the child is Lord of all. Christ the child is Lord of all. Plocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping, vigil till the morning noon. Saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a gospel true. Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praise his voice, sing, grieve the morrow. Christ the child was born for you. Christ the child was born for you. Amen. Wonderful singing. You are dismissed. Thank you.