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Howdy Mars Hill Church
and our extended family

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of Mars Hill Global;
I'm Pastor Sutton Turner,

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your executive pastor
here in Ethiopia.

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Some might ask,
"What is our extended family

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of Mars Hill Global?"

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Well, that's 250,000 people
that join us by podcast

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each and every week!

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I want to first encourage you
to be a part of a local church,

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wherever you are in the world,
be a part of a local church

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and give your tithe
to the local church.

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Secondly, I want
to encourage you to give,

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give over and beyond your tithe
to Mars Hill Global.

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We're planting churches
in Ethiopia, India,

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and the United States

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because we want to see
more people be saved by Jesus.

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We want to see
more people grow with Jesus

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and we want to see
more people on Jesus' mission.

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I pray that you
would consider being a part

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of the extended family
of Mars Hill Global.

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Go to marshillchurch.com/global
and sign up today.

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Jesus is doing
some incredible things

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and we would like you to be a part
of what Jesus is already doing.

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Howdy, Pastor Sutton Turner here
with Mars Hill Church.

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On behalf of Pastor Mark Driscoll
I want to say welcome.

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Thank you for joining us today.

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Jesus is using Mars Hill Church
to make disciples

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and plant churches
all over the world,

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and it wouldn't happen
without your help.

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You're a part
of the Mars Hill global family,

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our brothers and sisters
around the world

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who love Jesus
and watch and listen

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to Mars Hill church sermons.

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Today, as you watch, I have
a special request for you.

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If you value
this sermon content,

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please consider
making a small gift

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to help support its streaming.

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Our fiscal year
ends midnight, June 30th

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and it's important
that we end the year strong

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so that we can continue to do
ministry in July and beyond.

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Your gift directly supports

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the streaming of the sermon
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for you and
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You'll keep content like this
available for free

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to anyone in the world,
send out more pastors,

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and plant more churches.

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Thank you for your
gifts and prayers.

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Right now let's join
my favorite Bible teacher,

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Pastor Mark Driscoll,
for today's sermon.

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You will receive power!

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You will receive power!

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You will receive power!

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All right,
here's how it works:

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God's going to ask you at some
point in your life--you've been

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there, or you are there,
or you will be there,

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or you will be there again.

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God asks you to do something,
tells you to do something,

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and you're fearful to do
it because of the potential

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results, implications,
complications.

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It could be something that
is difficult all the way,

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to something that is
perhaps even dangerous.

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Have you been there?

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How many of you, then
you live up in your head,

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or is this just me?

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All right, do you live up in
your head, and all of a sudden,

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you start thinking of all
the things that could go wrong,

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all the things
that could go bad,

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all the ways you
could get harmed?

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Next thing you know, you're
pretty much freaking out.

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Just me?

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OK, well thank you for
being here to support me.

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I appreciate that.

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But this is what happens is
we anticipate the future.

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Sometimes we grow fearful
because we don't see a lot of

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hope, and sometimes that fear
causes us to be false prophets.

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I know the future
and it's going to be bad.

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And then we live in anxiety
for something that may

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or may not happen.

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This is such
a common issue for us.

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It's a common issue for me,

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and I'm in one of
the most difficult seasons

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of my whole career
as a pastor.

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I'm trying to figure
out, "OK Lord,

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what do you want me to do?"

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Because sometimes the voice of
Jesus gets drowned out by

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the voice of fear, and sometimes
it's hard to hear what Jesus

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is saying because fear is
trying to drive a decision.

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This is such a common issue
for God's people that the Bible

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gives one command more
than any other command.

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About 150 times, the Bible
says, in various ways,

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God says, "Fear not."

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You know why?

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Because people
are always afraid.

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God's people from
beginning to end,

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even those who love the Lord,
even those who serve the Lord,

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even those who are walking
with the Lord, they're fearful,

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they're anxious, they're
worried, they're concerned,

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they're uncertain.

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And so today, what we're going
to see is a case study

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for one of God's people,
a man named Ananias,

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not the same guy
mentioned in Acts 5.

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In Acts 5, a guy named Ananias
stole from God and died,

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so different guy, all right?

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But this guy named Ananias,
he does love the Lord,

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and God asks him to do something
that is very difficult,

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perhaps even dangerous, and
his first response, it's fear,

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it's anxiety, it's uncertainty,
it's a degree of unwillingness.

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And it becomes
a case study for us.

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And so if you would turn
with me to Acts 9:10,

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we start with the vision,
and Ananias literally gets

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a vision from God, and here is
what the Scriptures say:

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"Now there was a disciple
at Damascus named Ananias.

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The Lord said to
him in a vision,"

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so we'll have to explain
and explore what a vision is,

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"'Ananias.'

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And he said,
'Here I am, Lord.'"

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All right, so
he loves the Lord.

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He's responsive.

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"And the Lord said to him, 'Rise
up and go to the street

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called Straight.'"

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This is like an ancient
shopping district.

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It was a well-known street.

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The archeologists have found it.

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It still exists because what
the Bible says is true

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and eventually they dig
it up and confirm it.

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"And at the house of
Judas"--not that Judas.

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That guy already betrayed
Jesus and hung himself.

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This is another Judas who's
really bummed that he's named

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Judas, all right?

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At the time it was probably
a really popular name.

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One year, it was like,
"Ooh, popular girl names.

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Popular boy names, Judas."

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The next year, you're
like, "Not popular anymore.

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Something happened."

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"Look for a man of
Tarsus named Saul,"

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so we're looking
at Saul of Tarsus

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and how he became
Paul the Apostle.

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"For behold, he is praying,
and he has seen in a vision

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"a man named Ananias come in

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"and lay his hands
on him so that he

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might regain his sight."

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So what's happening here
is God gives two visions,

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one to Ananias and one to Saul.

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And the vision to Ananias is,
"Do you see this guy named Saul?

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"He's over on Straight Street.

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"He's praying, he's blinded,
he's waiting for you to come,

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"and to lay hands on him,
and pray over him that

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he might be healed."

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And then God similarly
gives a vision to Saul

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as he's praying, "A guy named
Ananias is coming."

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Pretty specific.

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"You're actually going
to know his name.

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"And he's going to pray
over you

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and you're going to receive
your sight."

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So, God gives a vision
to both.

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Now, in this, I want you to see
that our God is a miraculous God

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and he's a supernatural God, and
there's two errors we can make.

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God can't do stuff like this

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or God always does stuff
like this.

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Not everybody gets
a vision, right?

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Like if you're at
the grocery store, you're like,

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"I don't know,
Lucky Charms or Cocoa Puffs.

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"I don't know.
I don't know, Lord.

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Give me a vision."

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You know, not all the time
are you going to get a vision.

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These are rare.
These are unusual.

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These are occasions where
God needs to give revelation.

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And what it is, it's
the application of Scripture

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and the implication
of Scripture.

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But it's wrong to say, "And God
does this all the time and we

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should just be running
around looking for visions."

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But it's similarly wrong to
say, "God can't do this."

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As a newer Christian, I actually
had somebody say that to me.

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I was studying the Bible and
I asked an older Christian.

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I was like, "What about this?"

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And they said,
"Well, God can't do that."

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I was like, "I thought part of
the perks of God

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was you could kinda do
what you want."

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And that just seems like--right?

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I mean, the Bible says
God sits in heaven

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and does whatever pleases him.

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God gets to do whatever
God wants to do,

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but God doesn't
have to do anything.

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In between these
kind of extremes,

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and there are theological
teams for both,

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I think is biblical
Christianity.

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God can do anything and some
supernatural things he does,

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but not all the time, and we
can't make him do those things.

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He's free to do as he wants,
when he wants, how he wants,

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where he wants.

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He's God.
That's his jurisdiction.

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And what they both
receive is a vision.

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What they both
receive is a vision.

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So, I want to
unpack that for you.

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What's a vision?

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I want to distinguish
it from a dream.

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A dream is when you're
asleep and you see something.

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Now, you need to know this, not
every dream is a revelation

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from God, all right?

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Amen?

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You ever had a dream
where you were like,

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"I don't think
that was the Lord."

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No, it wasn't, OK?

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It wasn't, right?

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OK, not every--so some of
you, you're hypersensitive.

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You'll be like,
"Ooh, it was a dream.

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Must be the Lord.
How do I interpret it?"

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Not necessarily.

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OK, I didn't intend this.

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I verbal process a lot.

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I'll tell you the weirdest
example because we're all here.

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I had a gal years ago come up.

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In a sermon, I told
a story about one of my kids,

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something about a panda.

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I don't even
remember what it was.

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And this woman had a dream about
a panda that represented China,

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so she told me that she was
quitting her job and moving to

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China because one of
my kids got a panda.

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And she said, "I saw
a panda in my dream,

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"and so I interpreted that as
the panda represents China,

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"and it was confirmed by
your son getting a panda,

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so I quit my job
and I'm moving to China."

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And I would say, "That may be
a bit much that you had a dream

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about a panda
and move to China," OK?

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What that is is
that's taking a dream,

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that's trying to infer
and interpret into it

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all kinds of meaning

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that maybe, perhaps,
probably, I'm pretty sure,

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let's just say certainly,
the Lord didn't intend, OK?

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So, not every dream is
God revealing himself.

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Sometimes you're
like, "It was amazing.

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I made my own salsa,
and then I had a dream."

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Nope, that wasn't
the Lord, OK?

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Not every dream is from
the Lord, and similarly,

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a vision is like a dream.

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The difference being you're
not asleep, you're awake.

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And these are
the days before screens,

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and it's kind of like--a vision
is kind of like seeing something

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on television or on a screen.

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You're seeing something
happen, unfold before you.

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God is revealing
things to you visually.

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And you're not
asleep like a dream,

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you're awake and you're
seeing something.

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00:12:45,792 --> 00:12:49,208
Now, what I want to say with
this is that God still does this

244
00:12:49,292 --> 00:12:50,625
on occasion.

245
00:12:50,667 --> 00:12:53,083
I've had some dreams from
the Lord, prophetic dreams.

246
00:12:53,167 --> 00:12:55,833
He wakes me up, speaks to me,
gives me Scripture,

247
00:12:55,875 --> 00:12:58,000
and then things happen
just like God has revealed,

248
00:12:58,083 --> 00:13:01,083
and he was telling me in advance
what was going to happen

249
00:13:01,167 --> 00:13:02,500
on a few occasions.

250
00:13:02,542 --> 00:13:05,792
I've not had a lot of
visions, but I have had a few.

251
00:13:05,833 --> 00:13:08,583
And you can't predict them,
you can't make them happen,

252
00:13:08,667 --> 00:13:11,750
it's just God decided
to show you something.

253
00:13:11,833 --> 00:13:14,458
How do we know whether it's
a vision from the Lord

254
00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:16,167
or not from the Lord?

255
00:13:16,208 --> 00:13:19,708
Because the Bible says
that Satan masquerades

256
00:13:19,792 --> 00:13:21,708
as an angel of light,

257
00:13:21,792 --> 00:13:23,958
that we don't believe in
just being spiritual because

258
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,958
we believe in addition to
angels there are demons.

259
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,500
We believe just because you see
something or hear something,

260
00:13:30,583 --> 00:13:34,333
we don't assume it has
to be the Lord, amen?

261
00:13:34,417 --> 00:13:37,542
In 1 John 4:1,
he says, "Beloved,

262
00:13:37,625 --> 00:13:39,208
"don't believe every spirit,

263
00:13:39,292 --> 00:13:41,542
"but test the spirits
to see whether or not

264
00:13:41,625 --> 00:13:43,167
they are from God."

265
00:13:43,208 --> 00:13:44,833
Well, how do you
test the spirits?

266
00:13:44,917 --> 00:13:46,250
Two very simple ways.

267
00:13:46,333 --> 00:13:48,750
Check it by the word
of God, and secondly,

268
00:13:48,833 --> 00:13:51,000
check it by the people of God.

269
00:13:51,042 --> 00:13:53,000
The Holy Spirit inspired
the writing of Scripture,

270
00:13:53,042 --> 00:13:54,833
and the Holy Spirit indwells
God's people,

271
00:13:54,917 --> 00:13:57,833
and so if you want to know
whether or not it was

272
00:13:57,917 --> 00:13:59,250
the Holy Spirit,

273
00:13:59,333 --> 00:14:01,333
check with God's word,
check with God's people.

274
00:14:01,375 --> 00:14:03,500
And since the Holy Spirit
inspired the writing of

275
00:14:03,583 --> 00:14:06,958
Scripture, if what you're
hearing or seeing contradicts

276
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,500
what God is saying, then
you know it's not true.

277
00:14:10,583 --> 00:14:13,500
I had this--not long ago,
I had a young woman come.

278
00:14:13,583 --> 00:14:16,000
She said, "I'm a Christian,
I'm dating a guy who's

279
00:14:16,083 --> 00:14:19,333
a non-Christian, and I feel like
God has told me to marry him."

280
00:14:19,375 --> 00:14:21,250
Answer?

281
00:14:21,333 --> 00:14:23,250
Wrong number.

282
00:14:23,333 --> 00:14:26,167
That wasn't the Lord who called,
because what the Lord doesn't

283
00:14:26,208 --> 00:14:28,750
say is, "I'm commanding
you to do something that

284
00:14:28,833 --> 00:14:31,625
I've commanded you not to do."

285
00:14:31,667 --> 00:14:33,542
See, God's not crazy.

286
00:14:33,625 --> 00:14:35,500
God doesn't change his mind.

287
00:14:35,583 --> 00:14:37,833
God doesn't contradict himself.

288
00:14:37,875 --> 00:14:41,542
No, the Bible says a believer
should marry a believer.

289
00:14:41,625 --> 00:14:43,792
A believer should not
marry an unbeliever.

290
00:14:43,833 --> 00:14:46,542
And if what you heard was,
"Marry an unbeliever,"

291
00:14:46,625 --> 00:14:48,500
that wasn't the Holy Spirit.

292
00:14:48,542 --> 00:14:51,458
That wasn't God because that
contradicts the Scriptures.

293
00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:54,750
Check with the word of God and
check with the people of God.

294
00:14:54,833 --> 00:14:56,375
Say, "You know what?

295
00:14:56,458 --> 00:14:59,792
"I think I heard, I think I
saw, I think God is leading me,

296
00:14:59,833 --> 00:15:01,333
"I think God is telling me,

297
00:15:01,417 --> 00:15:03,125
but let me check
with God's people."

298
00:15:03,167 --> 00:15:05,625
People who love the Lord,
people who know the Bible,

299
00:15:05,667 --> 00:15:08,125
people who know you, people
who don't just say yes,

300
00:15:08,167 --> 00:15:10,125
and agree with you,
and take your side,

301
00:15:10,167 --> 00:15:12,750
but people who love you enough
to take the Lord's side,

302
00:15:12,833 --> 00:15:14,750
people that are filled with
the Holy Spirit

303
00:15:14,833 --> 00:15:16,500
and have godliness
and character.

304
00:15:16,583 --> 00:15:17,917
And say, "You know what?

305
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:19,667
"I want to run this by you.

306
00:15:19,708 --> 00:15:21,167
What do you think about this?"

307
00:15:21,208 --> 00:15:23,167
Well, both of these
men get a vision,

308
00:15:23,208 --> 00:15:25,333
and they check it
by the word of God,

309
00:15:25,417 --> 00:15:27,500
and they check it by
the people of God,

310
00:15:27,583 --> 00:15:30,000
and they're going to talk
about it to the Lord.

311
00:15:30,083 --> 00:15:33,000
And the vision of Ananias is,
"You need to go to Saul

312
00:15:33,083 --> 00:15:34,417
and talk to him."

313
00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:37,167
And the vision to Saul is,
"Ananias is coming to talk

314
00:15:37,208 --> 00:15:39,667
to you, so prepare your
heart to hear from him."

315
00:15:39,708 --> 00:15:41,833
"And Ananias, you're going to
lay hands on him

316
00:15:41,917 --> 00:15:43,250
"and pray for him.

317
00:15:43,333 --> 00:15:46,000
"And Saul, that is going to be
the means by which

318
00:15:46,042 --> 00:15:48,458
I choose to heal you."

319
00:15:48,500 --> 00:15:50,458
How would you respond?

320
00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:51,958
God told you to do this.

321
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,458
Now, do you remember
who Saul of Tarsus is?

322
00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:55,833
Good guy or bad guy?

323
00:15:55,917 --> 00:15:57,250
Bad guy.

324
00:15:57,333 --> 00:15:58,667
What's he do?

325
00:15:58,708 --> 00:16:00,125
Murders Christians.

326
00:16:00,167 --> 00:16:01,500
What's Ananias?

327
00:16:01,583 --> 00:16:02,917
A Christian.

328
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,042
And God's saying, "Hey, go
meet with Saul one on one.

329
00:16:06,125 --> 00:16:10,958
Close your eyes and pray."

330
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,042
Ananias--we then
see the venture.

331
00:16:15,125 --> 00:16:17,042
"But Ananias answered,
'Lord.'"

332
00:16:17,125 --> 00:16:19,250
He's going to start
off real respectful.

333
00:16:19,333 --> 00:16:21,917
"Lord, I have heard from
many about this man."

334
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,333
"I don't know if you
get the news up there,

335
00:16:24,417 --> 00:16:30,250
"but the reports down here
are he's a really bad guy.

336
00:16:30,333 --> 00:16:31,750
"He murdered Stephen the deacon.

337
00:16:31,833 --> 00:16:33,250
"He arrests Christians.

338
00:16:33,333 --> 00:16:37,500
"He's now got legal jurisdiction
to travel upwards of 150 miles

339
00:16:37,583 --> 00:16:40,917
"to arrest us, and drag us
back, and beat us, and harm us,

340
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,375
"and maybe kill us.

341
00:16:42,458 --> 00:16:46,667
I'm just letting you
know, this is the news."

342
00:16:46,750 --> 00:16:49,667
"How much evil he
has done to your"--

343
00:16:49,750 --> 00:16:51,083
what are the Christians?

344
00:16:51,167 --> 00:16:52,500
"Saints."

345
00:16:52,542 --> 00:16:54,250
OK, keep
a mental note of that.

346
00:16:54,333 --> 00:16:57,250
We're going to come back to
that word in a little bit.

347
00:16:57,333 --> 00:16:58,667
"At Jerusalem.

348
00:16:58,708 --> 00:17:01,708
"And here he has authority from
the chief priests to bind all

349
00:17:01,792 --> 00:17:03,708
those who call on"--
he can arrest us!

350
00:17:03,792 --> 00:17:05,917
This is like a bounty hunter
with a warrant.

351
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,208
"But the Lord said to him,
'Go.'"

352
00:17:10,292 --> 00:17:12,958
Probably not as much
conversation as Ananias

353
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,250
was hoping for, right?

354
00:17:15,333 --> 00:17:16,750
"I need you to do this."

355
00:17:16,833 --> 00:17:18,250
"I don't know.
I've got fears.

356
00:17:18,333 --> 00:17:20,000
"I'm worried.
I'm sort of freaked out.

357
00:17:20,083 --> 00:17:22,000
"He could arrest us.
He could kill us.

358
00:17:22,083 --> 00:17:24,208
"It could go really bad.
What about my family?

359
00:17:24,292 --> 00:17:25,625
What about my--"

360
00:17:25,667 --> 00:17:27,000
"Go."

361
00:17:27,083 --> 00:17:29,333
Go.

362
00:17:29,417 --> 00:17:32,500
"For he is a chosen instrument
of mine to carry my name before

363
00:17:32,583 --> 00:17:34,667
"the Gentiles and kings
and the children of Israel.

364
00:17:34,708 --> 00:17:37,167
"For I will show him how
much he must suffer

365
00:17:37,208 --> 00:17:40,750
for the sake of my name."

366
00:17:40,833 --> 00:17:47,667
How often is it that God is
calling you to do something

367
00:17:47,750 --> 00:17:51,542
and to endure something
and your first response is,

368
00:17:51,625 --> 00:17:55,000
"I would rather not"?

369
00:17:55,042 --> 00:18:01,042
"If we're voting,
I vote no.

370
00:18:01,125 --> 00:18:04,333
"If you want to talk about this,
I'll give you all the reasons

371
00:18:04,375 --> 00:18:11,333
why I think you've
got a bad plan, Lord."

372
00:18:11,375 --> 00:18:12,958
Right?

373
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,333
Ananias is fearful.

374
00:18:16,375 --> 00:18:19,958
Are his fears
grounded in reality?

375
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,458
Yeah.

376
00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:23,667
There are times that
your fears and my fears,

377
00:18:23,708 --> 00:18:25,042
they're not grounded in reality.

378
00:18:25,125 --> 00:18:26,833
We kind of get
ourselves worked up.

379
00:18:26,875 --> 00:18:28,250
We sort of overthink it.

380
00:18:28,333 --> 00:18:29,750
We live in our head.

381
00:18:29,833 --> 00:18:31,250
We get emotional.

382
00:18:31,333 --> 00:18:32,833
We get cataclysmic, right?

383
00:18:32,917 --> 00:18:35,042
It's an avalanche of bad
circumstances and this is

384
00:18:35,125 --> 00:18:37,000
where we could end up.

385
00:18:37,083 --> 00:18:40,000
Sometimes our fears
are founded in reality.

386
00:18:40,083 --> 00:18:41,417
His are founded in reality.

387
00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:43,625
Right now, if the Lord
whispered in your ear,

388
00:18:43,667 --> 00:18:46,750
"Hey, there's a terrorist
that I want to save.

389
00:18:46,833 --> 00:18:49,667
Go to their house
and talk to them,"

390
00:18:49,708 --> 00:18:55,167
you'd be like, "I don't think
that's a good idea."

391
00:18:55,208 --> 00:18:58,833
We would never give this
as general counsel, right?

392
00:18:58,875 --> 00:19:00,375
If somebody came in
and said,

393
00:19:00,458 --> 00:19:02,083
"Pastor Mark, somebody wants
to kill me.

394
00:19:02,167 --> 00:19:03,500
What should I do?"

395
00:19:03,542 --> 00:19:04,875
"Interesting you would ask.

396
00:19:04,958 --> 00:19:07,625
"I was reading in Acts 9,
I think you should go

397
00:19:07,667 --> 00:19:09,125
"meet with them one on one,

398
00:19:09,167 --> 00:19:10,833
with your eyes closed,
at their house."

399
00:19:10,875 --> 00:19:14,000
We wouldn't give that counsel.

400
00:19:14,042 --> 00:19:17,583
There are texts of the Bible
that are prescriptive.

401
00:19:17,667 --> 00:19:19,500
They command
everyone everywhere.

402
00:19:19,583 --> 00:19:21,500
There are other texts
that are descriptive.

403
00:19:21,583 --> 00:19:26,208
They explain something specific
for one person in that instance.

404
00:19:26,292 --> 00:19:31,667
It's describing a specific call
to Ananias,

405
00:19:31,750 --> 00:19:35,875
and he's afraid.

406
00:19:35,958 --> 00:19:37,917
And here's what I
love about the Bible,

407
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,500
the most honest book
that's ever been written:

408
00:19:41,542 --> 00:19:46,042
It oftentimes shows that when
God asks his people to do

409
00:19:46,125 --> 00:19:49,667
something, their first answer
is often not,

410
00:19:49,708 --> 00:19:52,250
"Yes Lord, right away.

411
00:19:52,333 --> 00:19:54,958
Yes Lord, right away!"

412
00:19:55,000 --> 00:20:01,667
Oftentimes, the first answer
is, "No, find someone else.

413
00:20:01,708 --> 00:20:03,917
"Let's talk about it.

414
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:05,958
"Could we edit the terms?

415
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:10,542
Can I climb in a fish
and go somewhere else?"

416
00:20:10,625 --> 00:20:13,625
Right?

417
00:20:13,667 --> 00:20:19,542
I mean, but this is wonderful
because it gives us insight.

418
00:20:19,625 --> 00:20:22,833
Some of you wrongly think
that if God says, "Go,"

419
00:20:22,875 --> 00:20:27,333
and your first action is
a question instead of a step

420
00:20:27,417 --> 00:20:30,208
that you are in defiance,
and the truth is

421
00:20:30,292 --> 00:20:33,333
you may just be in process.

422
00:20:33,417 --> 00:20:36,333
Ananias is like...

423
00:20:36,417 --> 00:20:38,542
God says, "Go," and if
you look at Ananias,

424
00:20:38,625 --> 00:20:40,458
has he gone anywhere?

425
00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:43,792
No.

426
00:20:43,833 --> 00:20:47,875
God's going to be patient
and gracious to get Ananias

427
00:20:47,958 --> 00:20:50,750
into a place of obedience.

428
00:20:50,833 --> 00:20:55,167
This is where God is a Father,
and he's patient, and loving,

429
00:20:55,250 --> 00:20:58,667
and gracious, and kind to get
his kids into the place

430
00:20:58,708 --> 00:21:01,458
that he needs us to be.

431
00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:04,750
He's going to allow Ananias
to articulate his concerns

432
00:21:04,833 --> 00:21:06,667
and to work this through.

433
00:21:06,708 --> 00:21:09,042
You need to know that
God is like that,

434
00:21:09,125 --> 00:21:11,125
that God loves you with
a fatherly affection.

435
00:21:11,167 --> 00:21:15,167
And it doesn't mean that
defiance or rebellion is good,

436
00:21:15,208 --> 00:21:18,833
but it means if you
don't at first agree,

437
00:21:18,917 --> 00:21:21,833
that God the Father wants to
work it out with you

438
00:21:21,875 --> 00:21:23,917
and get you into the place
of obedience.

439
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:25,500
But here's what you don't see.

440
00:21:25,583 --> 00:21:29,500
You don't see God giving
Ananias a lot of promises,

441
00:21:29,583 --> 00:21:32,167
"It's going to go great.
He's going to be saved.

442
00:21:32,208 --> 00:21:33,542
"He's going to be healed.

443
00:21:33,625 --> 00:21:35,750
"He's going to write
books of the Bible.

444
00:21:35,833 --> 00:21:38,750
"He's going to be the Apostle to
the Gentiles and you're going

445
00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:40,750
"to have a story
to tell your grandkids.

446
00:21:40,833 --> 00:21:43,958
"And oh, by the way, you're
going to make it in the Bible

447
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:45,667
"too as the guy
who helped Saul.

448
00:21:45,750 --> 00:21:47,083
Now go."

449
00:21:47,167 --> 00:21:49,792
He doesn't get any of that
because we live by faith,

450
00:21:49,833 --> 00:21:51,167
not by sight.

451
00:21:51,250 --> 00:21:54,375
And so God isn't going
to give him facts,

452
00:21:54,458 --> 00:21:59,375
God is going to
give him himself.

453
00:21:59,458 --> 00:22:02,250
God doesn't always tell
us what's going to come,

454
00:22:02,333 --> 00:22:05,542
but he tells us that we can
trust him and that he knows

455
00:22:05,625 --> 00:22:07,250
what's going to come.

456
00:22:07,333 --> 00:22:10,458
And so in this, as Ananias and
God are sort of working this

457
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:14,500
out, he's going to obey, but
he's still not going to have

458
00:22:14,583 --> 00:22:19,208
all his questions answered
or his fears alleviated.

459
00:22:19,292 --> 00:22:21,250
His fears are still
going to be there.

460
00:22:21,333 --> 00:22:24,667
Do you think as he walks up to
Saul's house he's still got that

461
00:22:24,708 --> 00:22:27,167
feeling in his stomach like,
"I hope this goes well.

462
00:22:27,208 --> 00:22:32,125
I hope I'm not the second
murder victim of this guy."

463
00:22:34,208 --> 00:22:39,250
And God commands both
Ananias and Saul,

464
00:22:39,333 --> 00:22:42,667
and he is going to send them
both--because to be a believer

465
00:22:42,750 --> 00:22:45,167
is to also be a missionary.

466
00:22:45,250 --> 00:22:48,083
And so he tells Ananias,
"I'm sending you to Saul,"

467
00:22:48,167 --> 00:22:50,750
and then he says, "And I'm
going to send Saul

468
00:22:50,833 --> 00:22:53,875
to the Gentiles,"
the non-Jewish folks like us,

469
00:22:53,958 --> 00:22:55,833
"to the kings
and those in authority,

470
00:22:55,917 --> 00:22:57,875
"as well as
to the Jewish people.

471
00:22:57,958 --> 00:23:00,833
"So, Ananias, you're sent
to one guy and that guy's

472
00:23:00,917 --> 00:23:03,500
going to be sent
to many people."

473
00:23:03,583 --> 00:23:06,333
And I want you to see this.

474
00:23:06,375 --> 00:23:12,000
Some of you, God's going to call
you to go invest in one person.

475
00:23:12,083 --> 00:23:14,750
Others of you, God's going
to send to go invest

476
00:23:14,833 --> 00:23:16,958
in many people.

477
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,167
And it's about being faithful
to what God has called you to.

478
00:23:21,208 --> 00:23:26,042
And Ananias is lifted up
as a godly man who obeyed.

479
00:23:26,125 --> 00:23:27,958
We'll see that in a moment.

480
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,542
And he invests in Saul who
becomes a godly man by the grace

481
00:23:31,625 --> 00:23:34,167
of God and is one of
the most important people

482
00:23:34,208 --> 00:23:36,708
in the history of the world.

483
00:23:36,792 --> 00:23:38,958
But to be a Christian
is to be sent,

484
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,958
and what causes us not to go is
that we're fearful of what could

485
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,167
happen to us negatively
as a result of proceeding forth

486
00:23:48,250 --> 00:23:51,875
to talk about Jesus,
and so they both need

487
00:23:51,958 --> 00:23:57,292
to overcome their fears.

488
00:23:57,333 --> 00:24:02,542
Well, what we see is--
the case is that he says this.

489
00:24:02,625 --> 00:24:06,750
God says in verse 16, "I'll show
him how much he must suffer

490
00:24:06,833 --> 00:24:08,542
for the sake of my name."

491
00:24:08,625 --> 00:24:11,542
Up until this point,
Saul had not suffered;

492
00:24:11,625 --> 00:24:13,542
he'd caused others to suffer.

493
00:24:13,625 --> 00:24:17,042
He had not been persecuted; he
had been persecuting others.

494
00:24:17,125 --> 00:24:20,208
And part of the call on his
life is a call to suffer,

495
00:24:20,292 --> 00:24:25,042
and I need you to know that this
is the tough part of the call on

496
00:24:25,125 --> 00:24:27,667
the life of every Christian.

497
00:24:27,708 --> 00:24:30,167
We oftentimes don't
tell you this.

498
00:24:30,208 --> 00:24:33,458
Oftentimes, a pastor or
preacher will get up and say,

499
00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:34,833
"You're a sinner.

500
00:24:34,917 --> 00:24:36,250
"You're headed to hell.

501
00:24:36,333 --> 00:24:39,250
"But Jesus lived a perfect life,
and he died in your place,

502
00:24:39,333 --> 00:24:41,458
"and he rose, and he's
alive and well today,

503
00:24:41,500 --> 00:24:44,500
"and he wants to forgive you,
and love you, and save you,

504
00:24:44,542 --> 00:24:46,000
and take you to heaven forever."

505
00:24:46,042 --> 00:24:48,167
And you say, "Yay!"

506
00:24:48,208 --> 00:24:50,875
And then we forget to tell
you, "Oh, and before that,

507
00:24:50,958 --> 00:24:52,667
you're going to suffer."

508
00:24:52,708 --> 00:24:57,500
Oh.

509
00:24:57,542 --> 00:24:59,167
Heaven, yay!

510
00:24:59,250 --> 00:25:04,042
Suffer, no.

511
00:25:04,125 --> 00:25:09,667
OK, and so it is very clearly
stated that part of his calling

512
00:25:09,708 --> 00:25:13,542
was to speak about Jesus, and
as a result, suffer like Jesus.

513
00:25:13,625 --> 00:25:16,417
And I need you to know this
about Christian suffering.

514
00:25:16,500 --> 00:25:19,917
It's part of just
Christian living.

515
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,333
Paul articulates this a little
bit later, Philippians 1:29.

516
00:25:24,417 --> 00:25:26,833
He says, "For it has
been granted to you

517
00:25:26,917 --> 00:25:28,333
"that for the sake of Christ

518
00:25:28,417 --> 00:25:30,833
"you should not only
believe in him but also suffer

519
00:25:30,917 --> 00:25:32,625
for his sake."

520
00:25:32,667 --> 00:25:34,833
It says if you're going
to believe in Jesus,

521
00:25:34,875 --> 00:25:37,333
you're also going to suffer
for your believing in Jesus.

522
00:25:37,417 --> 00:25:40,167
There are times that we
suffer because we said,

523
00:25:40,208 --> 00:25:42,958
did something sinful
or foolish.

524
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,375
There are times that we will
suffer and it's demonic,

525
00:25:45,458 --> 00:25:47,542
or somebody attacked us,
or something bad happened

526
00:25:47,625 --> 00:25:50,375
and we're victims.

527
00:25:50,458 --> 00:25:53,000
There are other times
that it's self-inflicted.

528
00:25:53,042 --> 00:25:56,042
There are lots of kinds
of suffering in the Bible.

529
00:25:56,125 --> 00:25:58,792
What he's talking about here is
a particular kind of suffering

530
00:25:58,833 --> 00:26:02,833
that comes because you love
Jesus, because you serve Jesus,

531
00:26:02,917 --> 00:26:04,333
because you speak of Jesus,

532
00:26:04,417 --> 00:26:09,000
you're going to suffering
like Jesus.

533
00:26:09,083 --> 00:26:11,250
And I need you
to know this, Christian.

534
00:26:11,333 --> 00:26:14,625
When you're suffering,
God is not punishing you.

535
00:26:14,667 --> 00:26:18,208
Jesus was already punished on
the cross in your place

536
00:26:18,292 --> 00:26:21,167
for your sins,

537
00:26:21,208 --> 00:26:26,000
so when you're suffering
don't assume wrongly

538
00:26:26,083 --> 00:26:27,625
it's like karma.

539
00:26:27,667 --> 00:26:29,750
We believe in grace,
not karma.

540
00:26:29,833 --> 00:26:31,250
Don't think,
"I did something wrong.

541
00:26:31,333 --> 00:26:34,333
"I now need to suffer to pay God
back for what I've done

542
00:26:34,417 --> 00:26:38,458
and God is punishing me for what
I've done to pay him back."

543
00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:40,833
That's not true.

544
00:26:40,917 --> 00:26:46,458
Jesus already suffered in your
place, and it would be unjust

545
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:50,375
for you and Jesus
to both suffer.

546
00:26:50,458 --> 00:26:52,667
Jesus already suffered.

547
00:26:52,708 --> 00:26:55,000
That penalty and price was paid

548
00:26:55,042 --> 00:26:58,792
and you don't need to suffer
as well.

549
00:26:58,833 --> 00:27:03,417
But it does mean that though
Jesus has suffered for you,

550
00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:06,458
if you love him, and serve
him, and speak about him,

551
00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:12,208
some people will hate you

552
00:27:12,292 --> 00:27:19,292
because you belong to him
and they ultimately hate him.

553
00:27:20,833 --> 00:27:22,833
And you're going to suffer.

554
00:27:22,875 --> 00:27:24,458
You may lose a relationship.

555
00:27:24,500 --> 00:27:27,542
You may take some hits
to your reputation.

556
00:27:27,625 --> 00:27:33,000
You may be one who
is affected at work.

557
00:27:33,083 --> 00:27:34,625
You may even lose your job.

558
00:27:34,667 --> 00:27:39,042
I don't know what it is,
but you're going to suffer.

559
00:27:39,125 --> 00:27:41,917
And if you've been a Christian
for a while, in some ways,

560
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,500
you've already suffered.

561
00:27:44,542 --> 00:27:49,458
This is nothing that we seek,
but it's something that we

562
00:27:49,500 --> 00:27:53,875
accept, and that God will use
even suffering to make us more

563
00:27:53,958 --> 00:27:56,667
like Jesus and to give us
a greater love and affection

564
00:27:56,750 --> 00:28:01,708
for Jesus because we have
caused him to suffer for us.

565
00:28:01,792 --> 00:28:05,333
So, this is Ananias
and God working it all out.

566
00:28:05,417 --> 00:28:07,667
"I'm going to send you to Saul.

567
00:28:07,708 --> 00:28:10,333
"I'm going to send Saul out
to speak and to suffer.

568
00:28:10,417 --> 00:28:12,125
"I'm not going to
tell you anymore.

569
00:28:12,167 --> 00:28:14,042
Now go."

570
00:28:14,125 --> 00:28:19,542
Well, we then see the visit,
and we read this.

571
00:28:19,625 --> 00:28:21,833
"So Ananias departed
and entered the house."

572
00:28:21,875 --> 00:28:25,750
He just--he had to be
a little anxious, right?

573
00:28:25,833 --> 00:28:28,333
A little anxious.

574
00:28:28,375 --> 00:28:30,042
I would be.

575
00:28:30,125 --> 00:28:32,333
"And laying his hands on him."

576
00:28:32,417 --> 00:28:35,917
Walks in and lays hands on
a guy who murders, persecutes,

577
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,333
arrests, and harms Christians.

578
00:28:38,417 --> 00:28:41,750
"And said"--what's
the first word?

579
00:28:41,833 --> 00:28:44,333
"Brother."

580
00:28:44,417 --> 00:28:47,042
Brother.

581
00:28:47,125 --> 00:28:48,625
"Brother Saul,
the Lord Jesus

582
00:28:48,667 --> 00:28:50,333
who appeared to you
on the road"--

583
00:28:50,417 --> 00:28:52,333
he's going to talk to him
about Jesus--

584
00:28:52,417 --> 00:28:54,333
"by which you came
has sent me."

585
00:28:54,417 --> 00:28:55,750
I'm a missionary.

586
00:28:55,833 --> 00:28:58,250
"'Sent me here so that you may
regain your sight

587
00:28:58,333 --> 00:28:59,958
"'and be filled with
the Holy Spirit.'

588
00:29:00,083 --> 00:29:02,208
And immediately
something like scales"--

589
00:29:02,292 --> 00:29:04,167
Luke, who's writing
this, is a medical doctor.

590
00:29:04,250 --> 00:29:06,625
This may have been
like scar tissue.

591
00:29:06,667 --> 00:29:08,917
"Fell from his eyes,
and he regained his sight.

592
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,333
"Then he rose, was
baptized; and taking food,

593
00:29:11,375 --> 00:29:14,000
he was strengthened."

594
00:29:14,042 --> 00:29:19,333
So, Ananias overcomes his
Fears, and he obeys his God.

595
00:29:19,375 --> 00:29:22,292
And I want you to be encouraged
that he didn't start,

596
00:29:22,333 --> 00:29:25,125
"Yes Lord,
I'll go right now,"

597
00:29:25,167 --> 00:29:28,292
but "Hey Lord, let's
talk this through."

598
00:29:28,333 --> 00:29:31,417
But he got to the place where
he was obedient and he did

599
00:29:31,500 --> 00:29:32,917
what God asked him to do.

600
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,417
And I want you to know
that God loves you,

601
00:29:35,500 --> 00:29:38,000
and God's patient with you,
and God's gracious with you.

602
00:29:38,042 --> 00:29:41,000
And God wants you to obey him if
there's something clearly stated

603
00:29:41,042 --> 00:29:42,708
in Scripture that
he's called you to,

604
00:29:42,792 --> 00:29:45,333
or you've investigated and you
believe that he has called you

605
00:29:45,417 --> 00:29:47,125
to through his word
and his people,

606
00:29:47,167 --> 00:29:49,625
and it seems to be confirmed
by the Holy Spirit.

607
00:29:49,667 --> 00:29:51,833
If you're not in
the place of obedience yet,

608
00:29:51,875 --> 00:29:54,833
I want you to see that your
story can be like Ananias,

609
00:29:54,875 --> 00:29:57,542
that God can get you there,
and you can obey him,

610
00:29:57,625 --> 00:30:00,625
and you can overcome your fears,
and you can walk in faith.

611
00:30:00,667 --> 00:30:07,625
Now, God is faithful, and he
protects Ananias and he saves

612
00:30:07,667 --> 00:30:09,250
and heals Saul.

613
00:30:09,333 --> 00:30:11,250
And here's what I
don't want to do.

614
00:30:11,333 --> 00:30:14,250
I don't want to say, "And
that's how it works every time.

615
00:30:14,333 --> 00:30:16,250
"If you obey God,
it'll be amazing.

616
00:30:16,333 --> 00:30:17,708
"It'll all work out.

617
00:30:17,792 --> 00:30:19,750
I'll be great," because
sometimes it doesn't.

618
00:30:19,833 --> 00:30:24,333
If you keep reading,
by the end they murder Saul.

619
00:30:24,417 --> 00:30:28,542
For Stephen whom Saul
has already murdered,

620
00:30:28,625 --> 00:30:31,667
he was obedient
and got murdered.

621
00:30:31,708 --> 00:30:36,167
I don't want to--I don't want to
give you a promise that

622
00:30:36,208 --> 00:30:40,667
may not be true, and I don't
want to say, "Obey God.

623
00:30:40,708 --> 00:30:42,042
"It all works out.

624
00:30:42,125 --> 00:30:44,375
"It's amazing, better than
you could have hoped for,

625
00:30:44,458 --> 00:30:46,750
I promise."

626
00:30:46,833 --> 00:30:53,083
It may be, "Obey God and you
get crucified like Jesus," OK?

627
00:30:53,167 --> 00:30:56,875
But in this instance--OK,
I've already discouraged you.

628
00:30:56,958 --> 00:30:58,542
Here's a little hope:

629
00:30:58,625 --> 00:31:00,333
it went pretty good, amen?

630
00:31:00,417 --> 00:31:02,000
You're like,
"Oh, that was good.

631
00:31:02,083 --> 00:31:04,000
Tell me it could
happen like that."

632
00:31:04,083 --> 00:31:06,042
It could happen like that.

633
00:31:06,125 --> 00:31:08,833
Saul gets healed, filled
with the Holy Spirit,

634
00:31:08,917 --> 00:31:12,625
becomes a great pastor,
writes books of the Bible,

635
00:31:12,667 --> 00:31:15,333
does massive evangelism
and church planting,

636
00:31:15,375 --> 00:31:16,833
lots of people get saved.

637
00:31:16,875 --> 00:31:19,708
It works out great and Ananias
has a great story

638
00:31:19,792 --> 00:31:21,333
to tell his grandkids.

639
00:31:21,417 --> 00:31:22,833
And Saul receives three things.

640
00:31:22,917 --> 00:31:25,333
He receives the Holy Spirit,
he receives healing,

641
00:31:25,417 --> 00:31:27,625
he receives help.

642
00:31:27,667 --> 00:31:29,458
In receiving the Holy Spirit,

643
00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:31,750
it comes through the laying
on of hands.

644
00:31:31,833 --> 00:31:34,167
So the Holy Spirit,
he is God.

645
00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:36,167
He lives in God's people.

646
00:31:36,208 --> 00:31:38,250
He empowers us for
life and ministry.

647
00:31:38,333 --> 00:31:40,958
That's exactly what
the Holy Spirit did in

648
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,583
the earthly life
and ministry of Jesus.

649
00:31:43,667 --> 00:31:46,458
Jesus' life, all the miracles,
the casting out of demons,

650
00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:48,167
the teaching of Scripture,

651
00:31:48,208 --> 00:31:51,500
the living in holiness
was all by the person,

652
00:31:51,542 --> 00:31:54,667
the presence, the power
of God the Holy Sprit.

653
00:31:54,750 --> 00:31:57,167
And the Holy Spirit lives
in the children of God,

654
00:31:57,250 --> 00:32:00,125
and he makes us more like Jesus,

655
00:32:00,167 --> 00:32:03,667
and he teaches us
more about Jesus.

656
00:32:03,708 --> 00:32:06,542
And as we lay hands
and pray over people,

657
00:32:06,625 --> 00:32:10,833
God the Holy Spirit
loves to save people,

658
00:32:10,875 --> 00:32:13,958
he loves to answer prayers,
he loves to heal people,

659
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,625
he loves to transform people.

660
00:32:16,667 --> 00:32:19,833
And so here, Ananias is
filled with the Spirit,

661
00:32:19,875 --> 00:32:22,333
and he is laying hands
and praying over Saul,

662
00:32:22,417 --> 00:32:24,333
and Saul receives
the Holy Spirit,

663
00:32:24,417 --> 00:32:28,333
and one of the things that
happens to him is he's healed.

664
00:32:28,375 --> 00:32:31,750
Now, what I want you to see is
this theme and thread throughout

665
00:32:31,833 --> 00:32:33,333
the book of Acts.

666
00:32:33,417 --> 00:32:36,458
And it'll say on various
occasions in various ways

667
00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:41,250
the Holy Spirit came upon
a person or a group of people.

668
00:32:41,333 --> 00:32:44,000
And it'll say things like, "They
received the Holy Spirit

669
00:32:44,042 --> 00:32:45,792
and spoke in other tongues,"

670
00:32:45,833 --> 00:32:47,375
which can be
foreign languages

671
00:32:47,458 --> 00:32:49,333
and/or a prayer language.

672
00:32:49,417 --> 00:32:51,375
Sometimes it'll say, "They
received the Holy Spirit

673
00:32:51,458 --> 00:32:53,750
and spoke the word of God
with great boldness."

674
00:32:53,833 --> 00:32:56,500
So, all of a sudden, people
who are a little timid,

675
00:32:56,542 --> 00:32:59,167
and a little shy, and all
of a sudden they're like,

676
00:32:59,250 --> 00:33:01,250
"You know, I'm going to talk
about Jesus

677
00:33:01,333 --> 00:33:03,000
because I want people
to meet him,"

678
00:33:03,083 --> 00:33:04,542
and they get bold, OK?

679
00:33:04,625 --> 00:33:07,958
Sometimes it says they received
the Holy Spirit and they got

680
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,625
a vision or a dream.

681
00:33:09,667 --> 00:33:11,167
They got a revelation from God.

682
00:33:11,208 --> 00:33:13,167
Sometimes it says they received
the Holy Spirit

683
00:33:13,208 --> 00:33:15,333
and they were healed.

684
00:33:15,417 --> 00:33:21,250
What I would submit to you is
that these are evidences

685
00:33:21,333 --> 00:33:25,333
of the Holy Spirit being at
work in someone's life.

686
00:33:25,375 --> 00:33:29,000
We make a great mistake when we
take one of the many evidences

687
00:33:29,083 --> 00:33:31,458
and we make it the only evidence
that someone has

688
00:33:31,500 --> 00:33:33,167
the Holy Spirit.

689
00:33:33,208 --> 00:33:36,333
I had a woman come up to me
at a conference years ago.

690
00:33:36,417 --> 00:33:39,000
You know, we planted the church,
and I'm teaching the Bible,

691
00:33:39,083 --> 00:33:41,208
and you know,
she came up and she said,

692
00:33:41,292 --> 00:33:43,875
"It's amazing how much you get
done without the Holy Spirit."

693
00:33:43,958 --> 00:33:48,250
I was like, "Wow, really?
Thank you.

694
00:33:48,333 --> 00:33:51,583
Apparently he didn't gift
you with encouragement."

695
00:33:51,667 --> 00:33:53,292
I was like, "What do you mean?"

696
00:33:53,333 --> 00:33:55,292
She said, "Well, you
don't speak in tongues."

697
00:33:55,333 --> 00:33:56,750
I said, "I never have."

698
00:33:56,833 --> 00:33:59,250
She said, "Well, then you
don't have the Holy Spirit."

699
00:33:59,333 --> 00:34:02,042
I said, "How did I get saved
without the Holy Spirit?

700
00:34:02,125 --> 00:34:04,208
How do I do anything
without the Holy Spirit?"

701
00:34:04,292 --> 00:34:06,833
It's not like God's there going,
"Pretty good all by himself."

702
00:34:06,917 --> 00:34:09,542
You know, like, I can't do
anything without the power,

703
00:34:09,625 --> 00:34:13,833
and the grace,
and the love of God.

704
00:34:13,875 --> 00:34:17,042
But for her, and she was
a product of her teaching,

705
00:34:17,125 --> 00:34:19,167
it was, there's
only one way to know

706
00:34:19,208 --> 00:34:21,833
if you have the Holy Spirit
and that's speak in tongues.

707
00:34:21,875 --> 00:34:24,417
And I would say that's
one of the ways.

708
00:34:24,500 --> 00:34:30,667
Speaking the word of God
with boldness, being saved,

709
00:34:30,708 --> 00:34:32,625
loving God's people.

710
00:34:32,667 --> 00:34:36,333
There are lots of evidences that
you have the Holy Spirit, OK?

711
00:34:36,417 --> 00:34:38,625
Some of you are going
to speak in tongues,

712
00:34:38,667 --> 00:34:40,625
some of you are
going to get visions,

713
00:34:40,667 --> 00:34:42,583
some of you are
going to get dreams,

714
00:34:42,667 --> 00:34:45,583
some of you are going to
speak the word of God boldly,

715
00:34:45,667 --> 00:34:48,083
some of you are going to deeply
love God's people

716
00:34:48,167 --> 00:34:49,500
with God's love.

717
00:34:49,542 --> 00:34:51,250
All right, there are
lots of evidences.

718
00:34:51,333 --> 00:34:52,667
I'll give you an analogy.

719
00:34:52,708 --> 00:34:54,833
It'd be like saying,
"I love my wife Grace,

720
00:34:54,917 --> 00:34:57,875
and so here's what I
do to show her my love,"

721
00:34:57,958 --> 00:35:01,333
and I gave you one thing I
said or did that showed my love.

722
00:35:01,417 --> 00:35:04,625
And then I determined, "And
any husband who doesn't do that

723
00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:07,042
doesn't love his wife."

724
00:35:07,125 --> 00:35:10,042
You'd say, "No, no, there are
lots of ways for a man

725
00:35:10,125 --> 00:35:11,458
"to love his wife.

726
00:35:11,500 --> 00:35:14,333
There are lots of evidences
that a man loves his wife."

727
00:35:14,417 --> 00:35:17,542
And we need to look for evidence
that a man loves his wife,

728
00:35:17,625 --> 00:35:19,208
not just one evidence.

729
00:35:19,292 --> 00:35:20,625
Do you get that?

730
00:35:20,667 --> 00:35:23,042
There are evidences that
someone has the Holy Spirit,

731
00:35:23,125 --> 00:35:26,917
not just an evidence, and if you
don't have that evidence then

732
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,917
you don't have the Holy Spirit.

733
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,167
It doesn't say that they
spoke in tongues here,

734
00:35:31,208 --> 00:35:33,125
but it does say he was healed.

735
00:35:33,167 --> 00:35:37,458
He received the Holy Spirit,
he was saved, he was healed.

736
00:35:37,500 --> 00:35:40,542
He was healed.

737
00:35:40,625 --> 00:35:44,875
God still heals, OK?

738
00:35:44,958 --> 00:35:46,333
He does.

739
00:35:46,417 --> 00:35:50,250
We've seen it in the history
of our ministry at Mars Hill,

740
00:35:50,333 --> 00:35:54,500
that sometimes by laying
hands and praying, God heals.

741
00:35:54,542 --> 00:35:57,833
Does God have to
have Ananias pray?

742
00:35:57,917 --> 00:36:01,250
Is God in heaven going,
"I really wanted to heal Saul,

743
00:36:01,333 --> 00:36:04,417
"but until Ananias gets
there and gets not one,

744
00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:07,417
"but two hands on Saul,
I can't heal him.

745
00:36:07,500 --> 00:36:09,417
"I'm just really
in this conundrum.

746
00:36:09,500 --> 00:36:11,917
"I find myself in this
impossible situation

747
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,167
"where my healing hands
are tied

748
00:36:14,208 --> 00:36:16,417
until Ananias'
hands are on Saul"?

749
00:36:16,500 --> 00:36:18,167
Is that the case?

750
00:36:18,208 --> 00:36:19,833
No.

751
00:36:19,917 --> 00:36:22,958
No, you know, I'm wondering at
some point if Ananias was like,

752
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,167
"So, OK, let me
get this straight.

753
00:36:25,208 --> 00:36:28,750
"You want to heal Saul.
OK, feel free.

754
00:36:28,833 --> 00:36:32,667
"Feel free, and I'll
sit here on the couch,

755
00:36:32,708 --> 00:36:35,333
"because if you want to
heal him, you can heal him.

756
00:36:35,375 --> 00:36:36,708
"You can go to him.

757
00:36:36,792 --> 00:36:38,458
I don't need to go to him."

758
00:36:38,500 --> 00:36:41,667
Why does God call Ananias to go
lay hands and pray over Saul?

759
00:36:41,708 --> 00:36:44,167
Is it because God needs Ananias
to go lay hands

760
00:36:44,208 --> 00:36:45,542
and pray over Saul?

761
00:36:45,625 --> 00:36:49,583
No, it's because God wants to
use this opportunity to teach

762
00:36:49,667 --> 00:36:52,958
Ananias something about himself,
and he wants him to be there

763
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,583
to love and encourage Saul,

764
00:36:54,667 --> 00:36:56,667
and he wanted Saul
to hear this word

765
00:36:56,708 --> 00:37:00,042
from a fellow Christian,
"Brother."

766
00:37:00,125 --> 00:37:01,958
I told you this story before.

767
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,750
When I was a little boy, my dad
was a construction worker,

768
00:37:05,833 --> 00:37:08,417
and he always wore jeans,
and my grandpa wore overalls,

769
00:37:08,500 --> 00:37:11,042
and they both wore steel-toed
work boots and t-shirts.

770
00:37:11,125 --> 00:37:14,125
My dad dressed like Fonzie and
slicked his hair back and stuff.

771
00:37:14,167 --> 00:37:18,750
And they were both
hard-working guys.

772
00:37:18,833 --> 00:37:20,542
My grandpa was
a diesel mechanic.

773
00:37:20,625 --> 00:37:22,042
My dad was
a construction worker.

774
00:37:22,125 --> 00:37:25,250
And so I'd dress up like them
when I was a little boy--

775
00:37:25,333 --> 00:37:26,833
3, 4 years of age.

776
00:37:26,917 --> 00:37:29,542
And sometimes, they both would
take me to work with them.

777
00:37:29,625 --> 00:37:32,042
I got to go to work
sometimes with my grandpa,

778
00:37:32,125 --> 00:37:34,750
and sometimes I got to
go to work with my dad.

779
00:37:34,833 --> 00:37:37,500
And I had a little
hard hat for the job site.

780
00:37:37,583 --> 00:37:39,708
I had a little lunchbox
and a little Thermos.

781
00:37:39,792 --> 00:37:41,125
I did, little guy.

782
00:37:41,167 --> 00:37:43,083
They'd bring--sometimes I'd
ride in my grandpa's truck.

783
00:37:43,167 --> 00:37:45,583
He had a big truck.
Sometimes he'd drive a truck.

784
00:37:45,667 --> 00:37:48,583
Sometimes I'd go to the job
site with my dad and work

785
00:37:48,667 --> 00:37:50,083
on the construction project,
OK?

786
00:37:50,167 --> 00:37:52,000
Was I needed?

787
00:37:52,042 --> 00:37:55,167
Was the delivery of the good in
the semi or the construction

788
00:37:55,208 --> 00:37:58,167
of the apartment building rising
or falling with my contribution,

789
00:37:58,208 --> 00:37:59,750
yes or no?

790
00:37:59,833 --> 00:38:01,542
No.

791
00:38:01,625 --> 00:38:03,958
So, why did they
bring me along?

792
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:07,042
Because they loved me, because
they wanted to get time with me,

793
00:38:07,125 --> 00:38:09,625
because they wanted me
to see what they were doing.

794
00:38:09,667 --> 00:38:12,417
Ministry's like that.

795
00:38:12,500 --> 00:38:16,500
God doesn't need to send Ananias
and he doesn't need to send

796
00:38:16,583 --> 00:38:20,667
Saul, but he sends them both
because he wants them

797
00:38:20,708 --> 00:38:23,458
to join him in his work.

798
00:38:23,500 --> 00:38:25,333
That's ministry.

799
00:38:25,417 --> 00:38:28,250
It's your dad saying, "Come on.
See what I'm like.

800
00:38:28,333 --> 00:38:31,667
"See what I do.
See what I'm about.

801
00:38:31,708 --> 00:38:33,042
"Spend some time with me.

802
00:38:33,125 --> 00:38:35,250
"I want you to get
to know me better.

803
00:38:35,333 --> 00:38:38,250
"One of the best ways you're
going to get to know me

804
00:38:38,333 --> 00:38:39,667
is seeing what I do."

805
00:38:39,708 --> 00:38:43,250
Ananias goes and prays, and so
we still pray for people through

806
00:38:43,333 --> 00:38:45,000
the laying on of hands.

807
00:38:45,083 --> 00:38:48,042
And there's nothing
magical about it.

808
00:38:48,125 --> 00:38:52,542
This is saying, "The God
who loves me loves you.

809
00:38:52,625 --> 00:38:57,417
"The God who ultimately
will heal his people

810
00:38:57,500 --> 00:38:59,000
"at the resurrection
of the dead

811
00:38:59,083 --> 00:39:02,708
"has the power to
heal right now.

812
00:39:02,792 --> 00:39:05,208
"That you're not alone,
that as God is with me,

813
00:39:05,292 --> 00:39:08,167
God and I are here with you."

814
00:39:08,250 --> 00:39:11,375
This is why the Bible says,
"If any of you is sick,

815
00:39:11,458 --> 00:39:15,000
come forward and the elders of
the church will pray for you."

816
00:39:15,083 --> 00:39:16,417
We do that after service.

817
00:39:16,500 --> 00:39:19,167
We welcome you to come forward
so we could lay hands

818
00:39:19,250 --> 00:39:20,583
and pray on you.

819
00:39:20,667 --> 00:39:23,583
And we do that because we see
that God loves to hear

820
00:39:23,667 --> 00:39:25,000
and answer prayer.

821
00:39:25,042 --> 00:39:27,167
And it was a blessing
for Ananias to pray,

822
00:39:27,250 --> 00:39:29,917
and it was a blessing for
Saul to be prayed for,

823
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,125
and so when we pray for
people, everyone's blessed.

824
00:39:32,167 --> 00:39:33,833
And sometimes God
says yes and heals,

825
00:39:33,875 --> 00:39:35,208
and that was the occasion.

826
00:39:35,292 --> 00:39:36,708
So he received the Holy Spirit,

827
00:39:36,792 --> 00:39:38,500
he received healing,

828
00:39:38,583 --> 00:39:40,208
and he received help.

829
00:39:40,292 --> 00:39:43,042
And now he's got Ananias
there, "Brother," talk to him,

830
00:39:43,125 --> 00:39:46,167
pray for him, fed him, bring him
back to health, encourage him,

831
00:39:46,208 --> 00:39:48,167
walk with him, right?

832
00:39:48,208 --> 00:39:50,167
What every new Christian
needs is a Christian

833
00:39:50,208 --> 00:39:51,542
filled with the Holy Spirit

834
00:39:51,625 --> 00:39:54,250
to come alongside,
and to be a friend, and to walk,

835
00:39:54,333 --> 00:39:56,750
and to pray, and to encourage,
and to give answers,

836
00:39:56,833 --> 00:39:58,833
and to come alongside.

837
00:39:58,875 --> 00:40:00,958
If you know somebody
who's a new Christian,

838
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:04,500
God's given you an opportunity
to be in the position of Ananias

839
00:40:04,583 --> 00:40:06,250
and to come alongside.

840
00:40:06,333 --> 00:40:08,750
And when we have baptisms,
I would just encourage you,

841
00:40:08,833 --> 00:40:11,750
be praying for that person to
be surrounded with God's people

842
00:40:11,833 --> 00:40:13,958
filled with the Spirit
to love, and to support,

843
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,458
and to serve them.

844
00:40:15,500 --> 00:40:18,167
Sometimes God's just going to
burden your heart to be that

845
00:40:18,208 --> 00:40:20,833
person for someone, and like
Ananias, who didn't even know

846
00:40:20,917 --> 00:40:22,750
Saul, he pursued him.

847
00:40:22,833 --> 00:40:25,750
Sometimes God is going to
burden you to pursue somebody,

848
00:40:25,833 --> 00:40:28,208
to pray for them, to
encourage them, to feed them,

849
00:40:28,292 --> 00:40:32,333
to help them, to be there for
them, and that's what it is.

850
00:40:32,417 --> 00:40:37,167
And I want you to see that
Saul has this massive ministry

851
00:40:37,208 --> 00:40:42,458
because Ananias had
this simple ministry

852
00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:45,167
of ministering to Saul,

853
00:40:45,208 --> 00:40:50,167
ministering to Saul, not when
he was Paul the great Apostle,

854
00:40:50,208 --> 00:40:54,500
but he was a dangerous,
violent, new convert.

855
00:40:54,542 --> 00:40:57,500
Ananias was there.

856
00:40:57,542 --> 00:41:00,500
Now, he was also baptized,
identifying himself with

857
00:41:00,583 --> 00:41:02,833
the death, burial,
resurrection of Jesus,

858
00:41:02,917 --> 00:41:05,125
and it shows that when
you become a Christian,

859
00:41:05,167 --> 00:41:08,042
you're reconciled to
God and to his people,

860
00:41:08,125 --> 00:41:11,708
that you are part
of God's family.

861
00:41:11,792 --> 00:41:13,458
That's why he calls
him a brother.

862
00:41:13,500 --> 00:41:15,625
And I love the fact
that Ananias didn't say,

863
00:41:15,667 --> 00:41:17,458
"You've lived
a very bad life.

864
00:41:17,500 --> 00:41:19,042
"You've done some
very bad things

865
00:41:19,125 --> 00:41:20,750
"and we are unwilling
to accept you.

866
00:41:20,833 --> 00:41:23,458
"And we're going to need to
see some years of change

867
00:41:23,500 --> 00:41:24,833
"and repentance.

868
00:41:24,917 --> 00:41:27,333
"And we're going to need
all those objectives to be

869
00:41:27,417 --> 00:41:28,833
accomplished and then
we'll accept you."

870
00:41:28,917 --> 00:41:30,250
He says, "You know what?

871
00:41:30,333 --> 00:41:32,917
Here's where we'll
start: Brother."

872
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,708
Brother.

873
00:41:35,792 --> 00:41:37,542
"You're part of the family.

874
00:41:37,625 --> 00:41:42,750
If the Father has adopted
you, you're brother."

875
00:41:42,833 --> 00:41:46,083
So much love, and grace,
and mercy, and compassion,

876
00:41:46,167 --> 00:41:49,083
and forgiveness here.

877
00:41:49,167 --> 00:41:52,750
What I want to do now is I
want to pick up a theme that

878
00:41:52,833 --> 00:41:57,000
I highlighted earlier, but
we could easily overlook.

879
00:41:57,042 --> 00:42:00,417
It's going to become
a massive theme

880
00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:03,958
in the entire ministry of Saul.

881
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:08,167
It's a perspective that Ananias
rightly has and articulates

882
00:42:08,208 --> 00:42:12,167
in chapter 9, verse 13,
and then it is something

883
00:42:12,208 --> 00:42:15,333
that really lives deep
in the heart of Saul,

884
00:42:15,375 --> 00:42:18,958
and it penetrates and
permeates all of his teaching,

885
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,042
all of his ministry,
all of his writing

886
00:42:21,125 --> 00:42:24,833
for the next 10 years
until he's put to death.

887
00:42:24,917 --> 00:42:29,167
And that is that
the Holy Spirit

888
00:42:29,208 --> 00:42:33,208
transforms sinners
into sent saints.

889
00:42:33,292 --> 00:42:35,542
And when we're
talking about "saint,"

890
00:42:35,625 --> 00:42:37,042
we're talking
about your identity.

891
00:42:37,125 --> 00:42:39,042
When we're talking about
"sent," we're talking about

892
00:42:39,125 --> 00:42:41,833
your activity or your ministry.

893
00:42:41,875 --> 00:42:45,375
Here's what Ananias
said in chapter 9, verse 13,

894
00:42:45,458 --> 00:42:48,667
before he went to
meet with Saul.

895
00:42:48,750 --> 00:42:51,375
"Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have
heard from many about this man,

896
00:42:51,458 --> 00:42:56,792
how much evil he has done
to your'"--what's the word?

897
00:42:56,833 --> 00:42:58,375
"Saints."

898
00:42:58,458 --> 00:42:59,792
OK.

899
00:42:59,833 --> 00:43:03,833
"Your saints."

900
00:43:03,917 --> 00:43:07,250
What does that mean?

901
00:43:07,333 --> 00:43:11,042
How many of you, like me,
you were raised Catholic?

902
00:43:11,125 --> 00:43:12,750
Some Catholics are
Christian, they love Jesus.

903
00:43:12,833 --> 00:43:14,542
We agree with them
on the Trinity,

904
00:43:14,625 --> 00:43:18,042
the death, burial, resurrection
of Jesus, right?

905
00:43:18,125 --> 00:43:19,625
I was raised Catholic.

906
00:43:19,667 --> 00:43:21,625
I went to mass
as a little boy.

907
00:43:21,667 --> 00:43:23,542
I was an altar boy
for some years.

908
00:43:23,625 --> 00:43:25,750
In my teen years,
I stopped going to church.

909
00:43:25,833 --> 00:43:27,167
I wasn't a Christian.

910
00:43:27,208 --> 00:43:28,833
Some Catholics are
Christian, I wasn't.

911
00:43:28,917 --> 00:43:30,833
It wasn't the church's
fault, it was mine.

912
00:43:30,917 --> 00:43:33,958
Nothing bad happened to me,
I just got bored and left.

913
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:37,250
And when I was growing
up as a Catholic boy,

914
00:43:37,333 --> 00:43:39,250
we heard a lot
about the saints.

915
00:43:39,333 --> 00:43:41,250
I went to Catholic school
3 years.

916
00:43:41,333 --> 00:43:43,000
I learned about
Saint Francis of Assisi,

917
00:43:43,042 --> 00:43:45,667
and Bernard of Clairvaux,
and Teresa of Ávila,

918
00:43:45,750 --> 00:43:48,458
and Saint John of the Cross,
and all these, you know,

919
00:43:48,500 --> 00:43:52,375
great Christian leaders
and also the saints.

920
00:43:52,458 --> 00:43:56,750
And I thought the saints were
like superheroes, you know?

921
00:43:56,833 --> 00:43:58,250
Like, wow.

922
00:43:58,333 --> 00:44:00,958
You know, Superman,
he could fly.

923
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:02,417
That's amazing, you know?

924
00:44:02,500 --> 00:44:05,333
And Spiderman, web,
that's amazing.

925
00:44:05,417 --> 00:44:11,125
And this guy can practice
chastity, that's amazing.

926
00:44:11,167 --> 00:44:14,833
You know, like, look at these
superheroes,

927
00:44:14,917 --> 00:44:17,542
that's amazing, you know?

928
00:44:17,625 --> 00:44:23,000
And I thought, "Well, these are
like superhuman superheroes,"

929
00:44:25,125 --> 00:44:28,333
and it was because in
the Catholic tradition "Saint"

930
00:44:28,417 --> 00:44:30,750
was really loaded as a term.

931
00:44:30,833 --> 00:44:32,833
So, the first saints
were Christian martyrs,

932
00:44:32,875 --> 00:44:34,708
people who died because
they loved Jesus.

933
00:44:34,792 --> 00:44:36,917
Actually, the first Christian
martyr in the New Testament

934
00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:38,333
is Stephen.

935
00:44:38,375 --> 00:44:41,333
We met him a few chapters prior,
and this guy Saul oversaw

936
00:44:41,375 --> 00:44:42,667
his execution and murder.

937
00:44:42,750 --> 00:44:45,292
And the saints originally
were people who loved Jesus,

938
00:44:45,333 --> 00:44:47,500
and they died because
of their love for Jesus,

939
00:44:47,542 --> 00:44:49,000
and God's people
would honor them,

940
00:44:49,042 --> 00:44:50,958
which is a good thing to do.

941
00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:54,000
But then after a while, it
came to memorializing

942
00:44:54,042 --> 00:44:56,000
or even venerating them.

943
00:44:56,042 --> 00:44:59,167
And then all of a sudden,
a process was put in place,

944
00:44:59,208 --> 00:45:01,458
and then you could have
schools named after you,

945
00:45:01,500 --> 00:45:04,167
and a holiday named after you,
and it blossomed into something

946
00:45:04,208 --> 00:45:08,167
to where only a select few
ever achieved sainthood.

947
00:45:08,208 --> 00:45:11,333
And I was certain there's no way
I'm a--I would never be like,

948
00:45:11,417 --> 00:45:14,458
"Hi, I'm Saint Mark," because
you'd all laugh like you did,

949
00:45:14,500 --> 00:45:16,250
thank you.

950
00:45:16,333 --> 00:45:20,250
Right?

951
00:45:20,333 --> 00:45:21,750
But in the Bible,

952
00:45:21,833 --> 00:45:25,000
every Christian is a saint.

953
00:45:28,417 --> 00:45:30,042
And if you ask
the average Christian,

954
00:45:30,125 --> 00:45:34,417
"Tell me about yourself," they
will say, "I am a sinner."

955
00:45:34,500 --> 00:45:36,667
OK, are you a sinner?

956
00:45:36,708 --> 00:45:38,458
OK, let me just
say this clearly,

957
00:45:38,500 --> 00:45:42,167
we're all sinners by
nature and choice.

958
00:45:42,250 --> 00:45:47,875
The Bible says, "All have fallen
short of the glory of God.

959
00:45:47,958 --> 00:45:51,667
All have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God."

960
00:45:51,708 --> 00:45:56,042
First John, it says, "If we
say we don't have sin,

961
00:45:56,125 --> 00:46:00,958
we're deceived and liars."

962
00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:02,833
That's a big claim.

963
00:46:02,917 --> 00:46:05,333
That we're all sinners.

964
00:46:05,375 --> 00:46:08,833
We sin in our thoughts,
we sin with our words,

965
00:46:08,875 --> 00:46:12,333
we sin with our deeds,
we sin with our feelings,

966
00:46:12,417 --> 00:46:14,833
we sin with our motives.

967
00:46:14,875 --> 00:46:18,625
Theologians will talk about
this as total depravity,

968
00:46:18,667 --> 00:46:21,625
that sin has infected
and affected the totality

969
00:46:21,667 --> 00:46:23,000
of who we are.

970
00:46:23,083 --> 00:46:25,208
So you can't say, "Well,
my thoughts are pure."

971
00:46:25,292 --> 00:46:26,625
No.

972
00:46:26,667 --> 00:46:28,000
"Well, my feelings are pure."

973
00:46:28,083 --> 00:46:29,417
No.

974
00:46:29,500 --> 00:46:30,833
"Well, my motives are pure."

975
00:46:30,875 --> 00:46:32,208
No.

976
00:46:32,292 --> 00:46:33,625
"Well, my mouth is pure."

977
00:46:33,667 --> 00:46:35,000
No.

978
00:46:35,083 --> 00:46:36,417
"My hands are pure."

979
00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:37,833
No.

980
00:46:37,875 --> 00:46:39,667
There's nothing pure, amen?

981
00:46:39,708 --> 00:46:41,708
And even non-Christians
get this when they say,

982
00:46:41,792 --> 00:46:45,583
"Nobody's perfect."

983
00:46:45,667 --> 00:46:49,292
So, we're all sinners
by nature and choice,

984
00:46:49,333 --> 00:46:54,958
but is our primary identity
as a Christian sinner?

985
00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:57,583
I would submit to you, primary
identity of a non-Christian

986
00:46:57,667 --> 00:46:59,000
is sinner.

987
00:46:59,042 --> 00:47:01,833
If you're here, I love you,
we're glad to have you.

988
00:47:01,875 --> 00:47:03,458
This is where I offend you.

989
00:47:03,500 --> 00:47:07,333
If I haven't already,
let me do so now, OK?

990
00:47:07,417 --> 00:47:09,458
You are a sinner.

991
00:47:09,500 --> 00:47:12,208
God is holy, you are unholy.

992
00:47:12,292 --> 00:47:16,333
God wrote a book, you've broken
a lot of his rules, the laws.

993
00:47:16,417 --> 00:47:18,833
You are guilty,
you are a sinner.

994
00:47:18,917 --> 00:47:20,333
The wage for sin is death.

995
00:47:20,417 --> 00:47:26,542
You're going to die
and you're going to hell,

996
00:47:26,625 --> 00:47:29,667
unless you become a Christian.

997
00:47:29,708 --> 00:47:33,250
And that is that Jesus is God
become a man

998
00:47:33,333 --> 00:47:35,833
to reconcile God and man,

999
00:47:35,917 --> 00:47:38,250
that Jesus lived
a life we've not lived.

1000
00:47:38,333 --> 00:47:40,708
He lived a life without
any sin--pure, holy.

1001
00:47:40,792 --> 00:47:43,750
In fact, Jesus on one occasion
stands up publicly and says,

1002
00:47:43,833 --> 00:47:48,000
"Who can prove me guilty
of ever sinning?"

1003
00:47:48,042 --> 00:47:51,500
That's an unparalleled claim.

1004
00:47:51,542 --> 00:47:54,458
In fact, we think that the
holiest people are the most

1005
00:47:54,500 --> 00:47:58,667
contrite people who acknowledge
how unholy they are.

1006
00:47:58,708 --> 00:48:02,667
Jesus says that he's
perfect and never sinned.

1007
00:48:02,708 --> 00:48:05,417
He goes to the cross
and he dies.

1008
00:48:05,500 --> 00:48:06,833
Why does he die?

1009
00:48:06,917 --> 00:48:08,667
Not for his sin,
he had none.

1010
00:48:08,708 --> 00:48:11,500
He dies for our sin
as a substitute.

1011
00:48:11,583 --> 00:48:13,042
He trades places with us.

1012
00:48:13,125 --> 00:48:15,125
He takes our place.

1013
00:48:15,167 --> 00:48:18,500
This is where it all comes down
to Jesus and it all comes down

1014
00:48:18,583 --> 00:48:20,667
to the cross of Jesus.

1015
00:48:20,708 --> 00:48:23,958
And what happens on the cross
is something that

1016
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:26,708
the great Protestant reformer
Martin Luther calls,

1017
00:48:26,792 --> 00:48:29,167
"The Great Exchange."

1018
00:48:29,208 --> 00:48:34,500
Paul later is going to write
of this

1019
00:48:34,583 --> 00:48:37,833
in 2 Corinthians 5:21.

1020
00:48:37,917 --> 00:48:41,458
He's experiencing it
here as a new believer,

1021
00:48:41,500 --> 00:48:43,750
and then he's going to
articulate it

1022
00:48:43,833 --> 00:48:45,250
for the rest of his life.

1023
00:48:45,333 --> 00:48:47,125
He says this in
2 Corinthians 5:21,

1024
00:48:47,167 --> 00:48:48,542
one of my favorite verses.

1025
00:48:48,625 --> 00:48:50,333
"God made him," he's
talking about Jesus,

1026
00:48:50,417 --> 00:48:55,750
"who knew no sin to become
sin," that would be our sin,

1027
00:48:55,833 --> 00:49:01,583
"so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God."

1028
00:49:03,250 --> 00:49:06,000
So, here's what
happens on the cross:

1029
00:49:06,083 --> 00:49:09,417
Jesus took your place,

1030
00:49:09,500 --> 00:49:13,375
and he put you
in his place.

1031
00:49:13,458 --> 00:49:18,083
Many Christians are more
familiar with the fact that

1032
00:49:18,167 --> 00:49:21,125
Jesus took their place than
the fact that Jesus

1033
00:49:21,167 --> 00:49:24,708
also put them in his place.

1034
00:49:24,792 --> 00:49:31,708
The result is that Jesus was
condemned and died to pay

1035
00:49:31,792 --> 00:49:35,875
the penalty for your sin, and
in putting you in his place,

1036
00:49:35,958 --> 00:49:42,167
you are seen as holy, righteous,
blameless, pure, faultless,

1037
00:49:42,250 --> 00:49:45,333
accepted in the sight of God.

1038
00:49:45,417 --> 00:49:48,208
Did you know that?

1039
00:49:50,083 --> 00:49:52,417
Did you know that?

1040
00:49:52,500 --> 00:49:54,625
And this is so
different than religion.

1041
00:49:54,667 --> 00:49:56,333
I need you to know this.

1042
00:49:56,417 --> 00:49:59,125
Religion says, "You're bad.

1043
00:49:59,167 --> 00:50:03,333
Do good.
Pay God back."

1044
00:50:03,417 --> 00:50:06,333
Jesus says, "It is finished."

1045
00:50:06,375 --> 00:50:07,958
He did everything.

1046
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,958
You don't need to pay
God back.

1047
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:13,458
You can stop
beating yourself up,

1048
00:50:13,500 --> 00:50:17,167
Jesus already took the beating.

1049
00:50:17,208 --> 00:50:20,333
You don't need to primarily see
yourself as a Christian

1050
00:50:20,417 --> 00:50:24,750
as a sinner,
as a guilty, wicked, vile,

1051
00:50:24,833 --> 00:50:27,917
corrupted, broken sinner.

1052
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:29,625
Are you a sinner?

1053
00:50:29,667 --> 00:50:34,167
Yes, but you're
a saint who sins.

1054
00:50:34,208 --> 00:50:39,958
Your identity is saint even if
some of your activity is sin.

1055
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:44,458
And see, what sometimes
happens is religion corrupts.

1056
00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:49,333
And religion exists in
various religions, but it is,

1057
00:50:49,417 --> 00:50:53,667
"I need to see how evil I am,
how vile I am, how bad I am,

1058
00:50:53,708 --> 00:50:57,500
"how dark I am, how guilty
I am, how unworthy I am,

1059
00:50:57,542 --> 00:50:59,333
how filthy I am,"

1060
00:50:59,417 --> 00:51:06,042
and it's like, "Oh, I forgot to
stop being obsessed with myself

1061
00:51:06,125 --> 00:51:09,750
"and to start looking to Jesus.

1062
00:51:09,833 --> 00:51:16,208
"I became so obsessed
with my uncleanness that

1063
00:51:16,292 --> 00:51:20,417
"I forgot his cleanness.

1064
00:51:20,500 --> 00:51:23,208
"I have been so obsessed
with me that I forgot

1065
00:51:23,292 --> 00:51:25,250
to look up to him."

1066
00:51:25,333 --> 00:51:30,667
That's why the Bible in Hebrews
says, "Fix your eyes on Jesus."

1067
00:51:30,708 --> 00:51:34,333
I'm not saying that we
don't acknowledge our sin.

1068
00:51:34,417 --> 00:51:37,542
I'm not saying we don't
deal with our sin.

1069
00:51:37,625 --> 00:51:40,542
I'm saying the way that we deal
with our sin is acknowledging

1070
00:51:40,625 --> 00:51:46,000
that Jesus has made
us into saints.

1071
00:51:46,042 --> 00:51:49,375
I would never look at one of my
kids and say, "You are horrible.

1072
00:51:49,458 --> 00:51:51,167
"You are evil.
You are vile.

1073
00:51:51,208 --> 00:51:53,250
It is hopeless.
Change!"

1074
00:51:53,333 --> 00:51:59,000
Because I have just declared
that an impossibility.

1075
00:51:59,042 --> 00:52:02,042
I would look at them and say,
"In Christ you are clean,

1076
00:52:02,125 --> 00:52:03,542
"so live clean.

1077
00:52:03,625 --> 00:52:05,667
"In Christ you are
holy, so live holy.

1078
00:52:05,708 --> 00:52:09,250
"In Christ you are forgiven,
so go and sin no more.

1079
00:52:09,333 --> 00:52:12,500
"In Christ you have new desires,
so nurture those desires

1080
00:52:12,583 --> 00:52:14,167
"and not the old ones.

1081
00:52:14,208 --> 00:52:16,917
"In Christ you have a new
mind, you can start thinking

1082
00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:18,667
"differently about this.

1083
00:52:18,708 --> 00:52:21,958
"In Christ you have a new power,
you can start living differently

1084
00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:24,208
as a result of this."

1085
00:52:24,292 --> 00:52:26,417
And my hope
would not be in the child,

1086
00:52:26,500 --> 00:52:29,125
but for the child in Christ.

1087
00:52:29,167 --> 00:52:32,333
And God's a Father, and he wants
all of his kids to know

1088
00:52:32,375 --> 00:52:36,167
who they are, and who they
are in his sight because of

1089
00:52:36,208 --> 00:52:40,250
his Son is saint.

1090
00:52:40,333 --> 00:52:43,250
I'll explain this
to you biblically.

1091
00:52:43,333 --> 00:52:44,750
I've done the research on this.

1092
00:52:44,833 --> 00:52:46,750
We hit it a little
bit in Ephesians.

1093
00:52:46,833 --> 00:52:48,167
I want to revisit it.

1094
00:52:48,208 --> 00:52:52,458
About 300 times, the Bible
refers to people as sinners.

1095
00:52:52,500 --> 00:52:57,792
How many times does the Bible
refer to Christians as sinners?

1096
00:52:57,833 --> 00:53:02,167
OK, maybe three times.

1097
00:53:02,208 --> 00:53:05,333
And those three are debated,
it may be referring to

1098
00:53:05,417 --> 00:53:07,333
non-Christians.

1099
00:53:07,417 --> 00:53:08,833
Here's the big idea:

1100
00:53:08,917 --> 00:53:10,958
The difference in identity
between a non-Christian

1101
00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:13,833
and a Christian is
the difference between identity

1102
00:53:13,917 --> 00:53:18,667
as sinner and identity as
forgiven sinner made saint.

1103
00:53:18,708 --> 00:53:21,917
And the people who say, "I was
a sinner, and I'm a sinner,

1104
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:26,458
and I met Jesus," what you're
saying is, "and he did nothing."

1105
00:53:26,500 --> 00:53:32,125
And that's not helpful to
his glory or your good.

1106
00:53:32,167 --> 00:53:35,833
"I was a sinner, I met
Jesus, he made me a saint,

1107
00:53:35,875 --> 00:53:40,250
"and because of that
I'm overcoming my sin.

1108
00:53:40,333 --> 00:53:46,667
I'm living up to the identity
that he has established for me."

1109
00:53:46,750 --> 00:53:49,042
How many times, then,
does the Bible refer to

1110
00:53:49,125 --> 00:53:52,292
the believer as a saint?

1111
00:53:52,333 --> 00:53:56,167
About 200 times.

1112
00:53:56,250 --> 00:54:00,417
I want you to see
yourself as God sees you.

1113
00:54:00,500 --> 00:54:02,917
OK, to be sure, some of you
don't think about

1114
00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:04,333
your sin enough.

1115
00:54:04,375 --> 00:54:05,833
You're like,
"I'm a good person."

1116
00:54:05,875 --> 00:54:07,250
Oh, no you're not.

1117
00:54:07,333 --> 00:54:09,250
You know, just ask your mom.

1118
00:54:09,333 --> 00:54:12,333
Right, like, you're not.

1119
00:54:12,417 --> 00:54:15,458
But some of you, your
conscience is so tender,

1120
00:54:15,500 --> 00:54:22,458
and maybe even your intentions
are good, but your focus is off.

1121
00:54:22,500 --> 00:54:24,250
And between--you read
the Scriptures, you're like,

1122
00:54:24,333 --> 00:54:29,833
"Oh, I am so sinful."

1123
00:54:29,917 --> 00:54:33,542
And then your conscience,
"Oh, I'm so sinful."

1124
00:54:33,625 --> 00:54:36,458
Holy Spirit convicts
you, "I'm so sinful."

1125
00:54:36,500 --> 00:54:40,208
Then Satan accuses
you, "I'm so sinful."

1126
00:54:40,292 --> 00:54:43,375
Then you listen to me yell at
you for an hour every week.

1127
00:54:43,458 --> 00:54:46,542
You're like, "I'm so sinful!

1128
00:54:46,625 --> 00:54:48,042
Ahhh!"

1129
00:54:48,125 --> 00:54:51,250
And then you could think, "You
know what will make me holy?

1130
00:54:51,333 --> 00:54:56,250
Realizing and obsessing
how sinful I am."

1131
00:54:56,333 --> 00:55:02,333
No, realizing and obsessing
how wonderful Jesus is,

1132
00:55:02,375 --> 00:55:06,333
that he would forgive,
that he would make clean,

1133
00:55:06,417 --> 00:55:09,833
that he would accept,
that he would adopt,

1134
00:55:09,917 --> 00:55:13,917
that he would adore,
that he would dwell with,

1135
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:19,333
that he would give
an inheritance to you and me

1136
00:55:19,375 --> 00:55:22,750
in love and in grace.

1137
00:55:22,833 --> 00:55:26,125
You realize, "I'm a saint.

1138
00:55:26,167 --> 00:55:27,833
"I don't have to do this
anymore.

1139
00:55:27,875 --> 00:55:29,542
"Saints don't have to do this.

1140
00:55:29,625 --> 00:55:31,167
"I can stop.

1141
00:55:31,208 --> 00:55:33,167
"I don't have to think
like this anymore.

1142
00:55:33,208 --> 00:55:34,833
"Saints don't need
to think like this.

1143
00:55:34,917 --> 00:55:36,250
"I can think differently.

1144
00:55:36,333 --> 00:55:38,167
"I don't want to do that
anymore.

1145
00:55:38,208 --> 00:55:40,167
"That's not what
saints want to do.

1146
00:55:40,208 --> 00:55:41,542
"I have new desires.

1147
00:55:41,625 --> 00:55:44,500
I want to do what
the Lord wants me to do."

1148
00:55:44,542 --> 00:55:49,167
You are a saint.

1149
00:55:49,250 --> 00:55:51,167
I wrote it down.

1150
00:55:51,250 --> 00:55:53,083
Sin may explain some
of your activity,

1151
00:55:53,167 --> 00:55:56,875
but does not define your
entire identity in Christ.

1152
00:55:56,958 --> 00:56:00,042
You may sin some of the time,
but you are a saint

1153
00:56:00,125 --> 00:56:02,708
all of the time in Christ.

1154
00:56:02,792 --> 00:56:05,542
Sin is some of what you
do, but not the totality

1155
00:56:05,625 --> 00:56:08,250
of who you are in Christ.

1156
00:56:08,333 --> 00:56:11,750
There is a difference between
having sin and being sin

1157
00:56:11,833 --> 00:56:13,958
in Christ.

1158
00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:16,250
Because you have
a new identity as saint,

1159
00:56:16,333 --> 00:56:19,958
you can have a new victory
over sin in Christ.

1160
00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:23,167
As a sinner, God saw you as
you were, but as a saint,

1161
00:56:23,208 --> 00:56:26,417
God sees you as
you are in Christ.

1162
00:56:26,500 --> 00:56:30,042
I'm not talking about
making less of your sin,

1163
00:56:30,125 --> 00:56:33,417
but making more
of your Savior.

1164
00:56:33,500 --> 00:56:36,042
You're a saint.

1165
00:56:36,125 --> 00:56:40,542
I want you to embrace this truth
and I want you to carry it

1166
00:56:40,625 --> 00:56:43,167
with you, if you're a Christian
or become a Christian today,

1167
00:56:43,250 --> 00:56:46,292
for the rest of your life.

1168
00:56:46,333 --> 00:56:50,292
That something changed
when I met Jesus,

1169
00:56:50,333 --> 00:56:53,583
and I'm not who I will be upon
the resurrection of the dead,

1170
00:56:53,667 --> 00:56:57,583
but I'm not who I
was before I met him.

1171
00:56:57,667 --> 00:57:01,167
That I am living up by
the power of the Holy Spirit

1172
00:57:01,208 --> 00:57:04,417
to the identity to which
Christ has called me,

1173
00:57:04,500 --> 00:57:09,667
by his grace for his glory.

1174
00:57:09,708 --> 00:57:14,333
And part of that is not only
being a saint but being sent.

1175
00:57:14,417 --> 00:57:16,958
This is not just
good news for us to enjoy,

1176
00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:20,333
it's also good news
for us to share.

1177
00:57:20,375 --> 00:57:24,042
And so he sends Ananias to Saul,
and he's going to send Saul

1178
00:57:24,125 --> 00:57:27,333
to various groups of people,
and he's going to send you.

1179
00:57:27,417 --> 00:57:29,333
And God's going to
burden some of you,

1180
00:57:29,375 --> 00:57:30,833
"I need to talk
to so-and-so.

1181
00:57:30,875 --> 00:57:32,333
"I need to pray
for so-and-so.

1182
00:57:32,375 --> 00:57:34,333
"I need to buy
a Bible for so-and-so.

1183
00:57:34,375 --> 00:57:36,042
"I need to follow
up with so-and-so.

1184
00:57:36,125 --> 00:57:37,458
I need to serve so-and-so."

1185
00:57:37,500 --> 00:57:39,250
This may be family,
friend, neighbor, coworker.

1186
00:57:39,333 --> 00:57:42,500
It may be someone that God has
already placed in front of you.

1187
00:57:42,542 --> 00:57:44,542
Your mission field
might be where you work.

1188
00:57:44,625 --> 00:57:45,958
"Who should I talk to?"

1189
00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:48,375
Your mission field may be
where you go to school.

1190
00:57:48,458 --> 00:57:49,792
"Who should I talk to?"

1191
00:57:49,833 --> 00:57:51,292
It may be where you live.

1192
00:57:51,333 --> 00:57:52,667
"Who should I talk to?"

1193
00:57:52,750 --> 00:57:54,875
It was crazy this morning
as I was praying

1194
00:57:54,958 --> 00:57:56,375
for you and me and us.

1195
00:57:56,458 --> 00:57:59,583
I got a text from a guy who's
a non-Christian that I know

1196
00:57:59,667 --> 00:58:02,167
I'm supposed to talk to,
and we've been getting close,

1197
00:58:02,208 --> 00:58:03,542
and it's apparently time.

1198
00:58:03,625 --> 00:58:06,250
I'm like, "Lord, please help
the people of Mars Hill talk

1199
00:58:06,333 --> 00:58:08,250
to the people they're
supposed to talk to."

1200
00:58:08,333 --> 00:58:10,458
This guy's like,
"I want to talk to you."

1201
00:58:10,500 --> 00:58:13,208
I was like, "Oh, I forgot
to pray for me too.

1202
00:58:13,292 --> 00:58:14,708
Looks like I got
an appointment."

1203
00:58:14,792 --> 00:58:17,458
There are people out there that
God is preparing their hearts

1204
00:58:17,500 --> 00:58:19,667
just as he was preparing
the heart of Saul,

1205
00:58:19,708 --> 00:58:22,833
and he's preparing you to go
pray for them, and talk to them,

1206
00:58:22,917 --> 00:58:24,333
and love them, and serve them.

1207
00:58:24,417 --> 00:58:26,542
And if we overcome our
fears--"What might they say?

1208
00:58:26,625 --> 00:58:27,958
"What might they do?

1209
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:29,333
How might they respond?"

1210
00:58:29,417 --> 00:58:32,333
We then can be faithful and
walk by faith, not by sight,

1211
00:58:32,417 --> 00:58:36,458
to go talk to them about Jesus
and just see what happens.

1212
00:58:36,500 --> 00:58:39,833
And this is wonderful because
the only thing better than

1213
00:58:39,875 --> 00:58:43,125
getting good news like, "You
can be forgiven and a saint,"

1214
00:58:43,167 --> 00:58:46,208
is to then share that
good news and see someone else

1215
00:58:46,292 --> 00:58:48,833
come to meet Jesus, amen?

1216
00:58:48,875 --> 00:58:51,833
What we're going to do now,
we're going to respond,

1217
00:58:51,875 --> 00:58:54,250
because that's what saints do.

1218
00:58:54,333 --> 00:58:56,542
And we're going to respond
in tithes and offerings.

1219
00:58:56,625 --> 00:58:58,833
For those of you that
have given, thank you.

1220
00:58:58,875 --> 00:59:01,792
We finish our
fiscal year this month.

1221
00:59:01,833 --> 00:59:05,667
It's been honestly the most
difficult season I've ever had,

1222
00:59:05,750 --> 00:59:07,292
we've ever had.

1223
00:59:07,333 --> 00:59:09,917
But for those of you that have
been generous and prayerful,

1224
00:59:10,000 --> 00:59:12,625
we love you, we appreciate
you, we praise God for you.

1225
00:59:12,667 --> 00:59:15,125
And just pray that we'd
finish our fiscal year strong,

1226
00:59:15,167 --> 00:59:17,833
and for those of you that
have been generous, thank you.

1227
00:59:17,875 --> 00:59:20,000
We'll also respond by singing
and celebrating

1228
00:59:20,042 --> 00:59:21,583
the goodness of Jesus.

1229
00:59:21,667 --> 00:59:24,583
If all we were here
to talk about is you and me,

1230
00:59:24,667 --> 00:59:27,083
it'd be like, we'd just sing
songs about our sin

1231
00:59:27,167 --> 00:59:28,833
and that would be
like a funeral.

1232
00:59:28,875 --> 00:59:30,625
But we sing songs
about our Savior,

1233
00:59:30,667 --> 00:59:32,625
so it's more like a wedding.

1234
00:59:32,667 --> 00:59:34,208
We're going to
partake of Communion,

1235
00:59:34,292 --> 00:59:37,000
remembering Jesus' broken body
and shed blood in our place

1236
00:59:37,042 --> 00:59:38,500
for our sins.

1237
00:59:38,583 --> 00:59:41,792
We become saints through Jesus.

1238
00:59:41,833 --> 00:59:44,917
And as we prepare our hearts,
I want to let you know about

1239
00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:46,500
Community Groups.

1240
00:59:46,583 --> 00:59:48,458
These are groups that
meet throughout the week.

1241
00:59:48,500 --> 00:59:50,167
We'd love to connect you to one.

1242
00:59:50,208 --> 00:59:51,542
There's probably one near you.

1243
00:59:51,625 --> 00:59:54,667
Just like Ananias came
alongside of Saul,

1244
00:59:54,708 --> 00:59:57,625
people want to come
alongside of one another.

1245
00:59:57,667 --> 01:00:00,750
And as you're preparing for
group this week or preparing

1246
01:00:00,833 --> 01:00:02,958
for your own devotionals,
just a couple things

1247
01:00:03,000 --> 01:00:04,458
I wanted you to consider.

1248
01:00:04,500 --> 01:00:06,958
Number one, is there anything
fearful God is asking you

1249
01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:08,333
to face right now?

1250
01:00:08,417 --> 01:00:11,167
You say, "Boy, I'm really scared
about this but I believe

1251
01:00:11,208 --> 01:00:14,167
"it's the right thing to do,
and I want to check that

1252
01:00:14,208 --> 01:00:15,542
and proceed by faith."

1253
01:00:15,625 --> 01:00:18,333
Number two, do you see yourself
and others more as sinner

1254
01:00:18,375 --> 01:00:21,750
or saint if they're a Christian?

1255
01:00:21,833 --> 01:00:27,542
Some of you love to see yourself
as sinner and other as saint.

1256
01:00:27,625 --> 01:00:30,333
Do you see yourself and others
who are Christian primarily

1257
01:00:30,417 --> 01:00:31,750
as sinner or saint?

1258
01:00:31,833 --> 01:00:33,958
Number three, in what ways
have you suffered for

1259
01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:35,708
being a Christian?

1260
01:00:35,792 --> 01:00:38,708
Number four, is there anyone God
is asking you to talk with

1261
01:00:38,792 --> 01:00:40,125
about Jesus?

1262
01:00:40,167 --> 01:00:42,167
Like God told Ananias,
"Go talk to Saul,"

1263
01:00:42,250 --> 01:00:44,875
is there somebody like that
that God has appointed for you?

1264
01:00:44,958 --> 01:00:47,875
And lastly, is there anyone
who is sick that you need to

1265
01:00:47,958 --> 01:00:50,292
lay hands on and pray for?

1266
01:00:50,333 --> 01:00:53,500
Ananias went, and he laid hands
on Saul, and he prayed over him.

1267
01:00:53,542 --> 01:00:55,500
Is there anybody you
need to pray for?

1268
01:00:55,542 --> 01:00:58,000
And if you can get near
them, pray for them,

1269
01:00:58,042 --> 01:00:59,667
maybe even right
here in the service.

1270
01:00:59,750 --> 01:01:01,917
Maybe it's this week, maybe
it's in Community Group.

1271
01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:04,417
If you're far away
and you can't get to them,

1272
01:01:04,500 --> 01:01:07,042
you could still call them
and you could pray for them.

1273
01:01:07,125 --> 01:01:09,250
And I'm going to pray
for you right now.

1274
01:01:09,333 --> 01:01:11,458
Father God, I thank you for
the wonderful opportunity

1275
01:01:11,500 --> 01:01:13,958
I have to teach the Bible
at Mars Hill Church.

1276
01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:17,458
I love studying the Bible,
and I love teaching the Bible,

1277
01:01:17,500 --> 01:01:21,208
and I love that I have people
who want to learn the Bible.

1278
01:01:21,292 --> 01:01:24,167
And Lord Jesus, we thank you
so much that the Bible is

1279
01:01:24,208 --> 01:01:27,167
the most honest book
that's ever written.

1280
01:01:27,208 --> 01:01:31,458
It doesn't just say, "Ananias
obeyed, and Saul was healed,

1281
01:01:31,500 --> 01:01:33,125
"and filled with
the Holy Spirit,

1282
01:01:33,167 --> 01:01:34,500
and changed the world."

1283
01:01:34,583 --> 01:01:38,417
It says, "And Ananias struggled
and wrestled to get to the place

1284
01:01:38,500 --> 01:01:41,250
of obedience in
overcoming his fear."

1285
01:01:41,333 --> 01:01:43,167
Lord Jesus, that's
really helpful for me.

1286
01:01:43,250 --> 01:01:45,167
It's really helpful for us.

1287
01:01:45,250 --> 01:01:48,083
It says that you are gracious
and patient to get us

1288
01:01:48,167 --> 01:01:50,000
into the right place.

1289
01:01:50,042 --> 01:01:53,042
And even if we're not there,
you're getting us there and we

1290
01:01:53,125 --> 01:01:57,167
want to get there to that place
of surrendered obedience to

1291
01:01:57,250 --> 01:02:00,500
where we do what is right
regardless of whether or not it,

1292
01:02:00,583 --> 01:02:03,333
quote unquote, "works."

1293
01:02:03,375 --> 01:02:06,000
And Lord Jesus, I pray for
those who are not Christians,

1294
01:02:06,083 --> 01:02:08,750
that they would see themselves
as sinner and that they would

1295
01:02:08,833 --> 01:02:12,417
turn to the Lord Jesus to be
forgiven and declared saint.

1296
01:02:12,500 --> 01:02:15,333
And I pray for those
who are saint, Lord God.

1297
01:02:15,417 --> 01:02:18,125
They may feel horrible,
guilty, convicted,

1298
01:02:18,167 --> 01:02:21,208
even condemned or ashamed of
things they have done

1299
01:02:21,292 --> 01:02:23,167
or failed to do.

1300
01:02:23,208 --> 01:02:26,333
I pray that they would know
that the way out of their guilt,

1301
01:02:26,375 --> 01:02:30,417
and their misery,
and their shame is Jesus,

1302
01:02:30,500 --> 01:02:35,750
and his perfection changing
them, his love grasping them,

1303
01:02:35,833 --> 01:02:41,458
his forgiveness cleansing them,
and his life traded for their

1304
01:02:41,500 --> 01:02:47,083
life so that we might walk in
our new identity as your holy,

1305
01:02:47,167 --> 01:02:52,583
righteous, redeemed, adopted,
loved, forgiven, adored,

1306
01:02:52,667 --> 01:02:55,167
and never to be
abandoned saints.

1307
01:02:55,250 --> 01:02:57,292
In Jesus' good name, amen.

1308
01:02:59,000 --> 01:03:02,250
Pastor Sutton Turner here
with Mars Hill Church.

1309
01:03:02,333 --> 01:03:04,500
I want to thank you
for joining us today.

1310
01:03:04,542 --> 01:03:06,000
The service is over,

1311
01:03:06,083 --> 01:03:09,375
but you can still play
an important role at Mars Hill.

1312
01:03:09,458 --> 01:03:14,167
If you value this content,
please consider giving a gift

1313
01:03:14,208 --> 01:03:20,042
by midnight on June 30th
at marshill.com/give.

1314
01:03:20,125 --> 01:03:24,500
I say June 30th because
it's when our fiscal year ends

1315
01:03:24,542 --> 01:03:27,708
and it's important for us
to end the year strong

1316
01:03:27,792 --> 01:03:31,500
so that we can see
more people saved by Jesus.

1317
01:03:31,583 --> 01:03:34,667
You'll help ensure
Pastor Mark's sermons

1318
01:03:34,708 --> 01:03:37,417
are recorded
and streamed for free

1319
01:03:37,500 --> 01:03:41,333
to anyone interested
in learning more about Jesus

1320
01:03:41,375 --> 01:03:43,000
and living their faith.

1321
01:03:43,042 --> 01:03:48,333
Your gift also helps plant churches,
equip church planters,

1322
01:03:48,375 --> 01:03:52,250
and translate 
study materials.

1323
01:03:52,333 --> 01:03:56,250
Let's see more materials translated,
more pastors sent out,

1324
01:03:56,333 --> 01:03:58,667
more churches planted,

1325
01:03:58,708 --> 01:04:02,208
and more people saved
by Jesus Christ.

1326
01:04:02,292 --> 01:04:07,458
But we need to hear from you
by midnight, June 30th.

1327
01:04:07,500 --> 01:04:10,958
So please go to
marshill.com/give.

1328
01:04:11,000 --> 01:04:13,208
Thank you
and God bless you.

1329
01:04:15,500 --> 01:04:18,458
Each year, over 10 million
Mars Hill church sermons

1330
01:04:18,500 --> 01:04:21,542
are downloaded
worldwide for free.

1331
01:04:21,625 --> 01:04:24,167
This ministry is generously supported

1332
01:04:24,208 --> 01:04:26,792
by Mars Hill church members
and listeners like you.

1333
01:04:26,833 --> 01:04:30,333
If you'd like to support our efforts
to preach Jesus to the world,

1334
01:04:30,417 --> 01:04:33,333
Please consider making
a tax-deductible donation

1335
01:04:33,417 --> 01:04:36,250
by visiting marshill.com/give.