Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Jill Morikone, Pr. John Dinzey, Pr. Kenny Shelton, Pr. Ronny Shelton
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000026A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says, "To receive with meekness the implanted word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls 00:14 and to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is "The Gospel of Galatians". 00:32 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 We're really excited about the new series 00:39 that we're beginning in the Adult Bible Study Guide, 00:43 and this series is on the Gospel in Galatians. 00:47 It is all about righteousness by faith, 00:50 it's very Christcentric so we're very excited 00:53 and we're so glad that you're joining us. 00:55 Now, we want you to get your Bible, get a pen 00:59 but if you don't have the Adult Bible Study Guide, 01:03 you can get this online, 01:05 just go to ABSG.Adventist.org, 01:11 and you can download the Adult Bible Study guide. 01:15 Let me introduce our panel 01:18 who're always excited to get together as family 01:21 and study God's Word together. 01:24 Returning again we have John Dinzey. 01:27 John, so glad you're with us again. 01:29 Thank you. It's great to be here. 01:30 And Kenny Shelton. Good to be here. 01:33 And Jill Morikone. 01:34 It's a blessing to be here. Absolutely. 01:37 Now for the first time on our panel 01:39 we have another Shelton, 01:41 and this is Pastor Ronnie Shelton. 01:42 We're so glad, Ronnie, that you're joining us 01:45 and Ronnie is been kind of a minuteman. 01:48 We had to call him and to cover for somebody else 01:52 so we're so thankful. 01:54 Well, I'm glad you called, thank you. 01:55 Yes, we are glad that you've joined us. 01:57 So we're very excited about this lesson 02:00 but before we begin, 02:01 Johnny, would you like to have a prayer? 02:04 Sure. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 02:06 Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You so much, 02:09 Lord, that You have blessed us with the Holy Scriptures 02:12 that are able to make us wise unto salvation. 02:15 We pray, heavenly Father, 02:17 that You will bless us with the Holy Spirit... 02:18 Amen. 02:19 And we pray that every word 02:21 will come from Your throne of grace, Father. 02:22 I pray that You will bless those joining us, 02:24 wherever they may be in Jesus' name. 02:26 Amen. Amen. 02:27 Amen. And amen. 02:29 Well, let me get some background, 02:30 I get to do Sabbaths on Sundays 02:32 but I just wanna give a little background 02:35 on this study 02:36 because what was happening in the early church 02:38 there was this battle going on about the issue of salvation. 02:43 There was a group of Judaizers, it's what we call them, 02:47 who were Jewish Christians, 02:50 they had accepted Christ as their savior, 02:53 but they had a mixed up belief 02:55 that it had to be not just salvation 02:59 by faith in Jesus Christ, 03:01 but that you also 03:03 had to continue doing the works of the law. 03:05 So what happens, 03:06 Paul had founded a church in Galatia. 03:10 This was a gentile church, and once the word got out, 03:15 a group of Judaizers from Jerusalem 03:18 went down to straighten out his message 03:21 because Paul had brought these Galatians 03:24 into the church by faith in Jesus Christ alone. 03:29 So what happened is, 03:31 when Paul found out that these Judaizers were there, 03:37 he was irate and he wrote an impassioned response. 03:42 He writes to the Galatians to defend his gospel of grace. 03:49 Now many church scholars are Bible scholars 03:53 believe that Galatians was the earliest of Paul's books 03:58 and it was probably written some time around AD 49, 04:03 perhaps before the Jerusalem Council 04:05 that we'll be talking about. 04:07 But with the strongest of language Paul gets into this, 04:11 and the Book of Galatians is so intense 04:16 because he had such passion for it. 04:18 But it talks about 04:19 in kind of a succinct way things like freedom, 04:22 the role that the law plays in salvation, 04:25 our condition in Christ, 04:27 the nature of the spirit led life, 04:31 and how can sinful humans be justified before a holy God. 04:37 So this book is Paul's... 04:40 This letter was Paul's defense of the gospel of grace. 04:45 And it is the Book of Galatians 04:48 that actually respond the Reformation. 04:50 There was a Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther, 04:54 and 500 years ago this year 04:57 he was tormenting himself over salvation issues. 05:02 He was doing everything that he could to be saved, 05:06 and he began studying the Book of Galatians 05:09 and learned that salvation was by grace through faith. 05:14 And how beautiful it is 05:15 because this launched the Protestant Reformation 05:18 which affects you and I. 05:21 Now in Sabbath's lesson, 05:23 I want to give you a little background 05:24 before we get into because to me our memory verse is... 05:30 You don't have any idea unless you have the background. 05:33 Our memory verse comes from Acts 11. 05:37 And let's kind of look at what happened here. 05:42 The Jewish people 05:44 had really a high opinion of themselves. 05:49 I mean, they thought they were it, if you will. 05:54 They thought God's blessings were only for them. 05:58 And they were very kind to one another 06:01 but when it came to what was going on 06:04 as far as the other races, they were thought 06:10 they were too much better than the other races. 06:12 So what happens, as Paul goes before the Jerusalem Council, 06:16 or not the Jerusalem Council but in Jerusalem, 06:18 Paul comes and he tells them about this trip 06:21 that he just made to Cornelius house. 06:23 And he said, "Hey, I was in Joppa, 06:25 I had this vision, a sheet came down." 06:28 God said, "Rise and eat." 06:29 And finally he said, 06:31 I'm saying, "No, Lord, these are unclean..." 06:33 Peter. 06:34 Peter, excuse me, Peter. Thank you. 06:36 And he said, "No, Lord, this is unclean." 06:39 And he had never eaten anything unclean. 06:42 So finally, God lets him know 06:45 that He is telling him no man is unclean. 06:48 He goes to Cornelius's house, Peter does. 06:51 And he's telling these Jerusalem brothers. 06:55 He says, "Hey, God baptized them 06:58 with the same Holy Spirit that we got." 07:00 So now let's look at our memory verse 07:02 and say this together 07:03 because this is the response of those Jews. 07:07 "When they heard these things they became silent. 07:11 And they glorified God, saying, 07:13 'Then God has also granted 07:16 to the gentiles repentance to life.'" 07:19 Amen. 07:21 So here now is Peter 07:23 and these six uncircumcised Jews, 07:25 they were the first to realize 07:27 that God had brought down this dividing wall between the Jews. 07:31 And now here comes Paul, 07:34 the persecutor of the Christians. 07:37 In Sunday's lesson, 07:40 it's talking about Stephen who is a Greek speaking Jew. 07:44 He was one of the first seven original deacons, 07:47 and of the Christian church, 07:49 he's debating with foreign Jews. 07:52 And as he is debating, he is telling them... 07:56 This is the longest sermon in the Book of Acts. 08:00 And it's just packed with many quotes 08:05 directly from the Old Testament. 08:07 But Stephen is summing up the scriptures of a serving 08:12 from the Old Testament about the history of Israel. 08:15 And he is focusing on God's divine judgment, 08:19 what is coming on the people. 08:21 He reminds them of Isaiah's words saying, 08:23 "Hey, God doesn't need a house built by man, 08:27 by human hands in which to dwell." 08:30 And Stephen is downplaying the Mosaic Law, 08:33 he's downplaying the temple, 08:36 and the temple had become 08:37 the focus of the Jewish religion. 08:40 But what Stephen is saying is, 08:43 "No, Jesus Christ is the center of the Jewish religion." 08:47 So as he is proclaiming Christ these Jews 08:52 that the foreign Jews that he was arguing with, 08:55 they'd had enough. 08:56 And let's look at Acts 7:54. 09:02 Acts 7:54, as they're hearing his sermon they said, 09:06 "When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, 09:09 and they gnashed their teeth at him". 09:12 Any time you see gnashing teeth in the Bible, 09:17 this was an idiom for anger 09:20 when somebody was gnashing their teeth and hissing at him. 09:23 But he being full of the Holy Spirit, 09:25 Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God 09:28 and Jesus standing at the right hand of God 09:31 and said, "Look, I see the heavens opened 09:35 and the Son of Man at the right hand of God." 09:39 So now his vision is supporting Jesus' claim 09:43 that He was the Messiah 09:45 and He is at the right hand of God, 09:47 and this angers the Jewish leaders even more 09:50 because they had just condemned Jesus 09:51 and put Him to death. 09:53 And verse 57, 09:54 "Then they cried out with a loud voice, 09:56 and they stopped their ears, 09:58 and they ran at him with one accord, 10:00 and they cast him out of the city, 10:02 and they stoned him. 10:03 And the witnesses who are approving of this, 10:09 they laid down the clothes of the young man Stephen 10:13 at the foot of another young man 10:15 named Saul." 10:17 Saul was a Jew of Jew, 10:20 the Pharisee of the Pharisees 10:23 trained at the feet of Gamaliel, 10:26 he believed in the Mosaic Law, 10:28 he believed in the sanctuary system. 10:32 And Saul was very sincere about his religion 10:38 but he was sincerely wrong. 10:41 "So they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God, 10:44 he said, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 10:48 Then he knelt down and cried out, 10:49 with a loud voice, 10:51 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' 10:57 And when he said this, he fell asleep." 11:00 Now, you know, something interesting, 11:03 this has great prophetic significance 11:06 because this is the end of the 70-week prophecy 11:09 of Daniel 9:24-27. 11:12 Yes 11:14 In Daniel 9:24 it said, 11:15 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people 11:17 and your holy city, 11:19 to finish your transgression, to make an end to sins, 11:23 to make reconciliation for iniquity, 11:25 to bring in everlasting righteousness, 11:28 to seal up the vision and the prophecy, 11:31 and to anoint the most holy." 11:33 So then in 9:27 of Daniel it says, 11:36 "That He, the Messiah will confirm a covenant 11:41 with many for one week, 11:43 but in the middle of the week 11:44 He will be cut off 11:47 and bring an end to offering and sacrifice." 11:51 So the final week began 11:52 when Jesus was baptized in AD 27, 11:57 then He ministered for three and a half years, 12:01 and He was crucified in AD 31. 12:05 When you look at prophecy a year, a day equals a year. 12:11 So there was seven years period that was His final week, 12:15 Jesus ministers three and a half, 12:17 He is crucified, sacrifice came to an end. 12:21 And then the Bible tells us that in the Hebrews 2 12:26 and I think it's verse 3, where it says, 12:29 "That the Apostles then continued 12:31 to confirm the covenant 12:33 for another three and a half years." 12:35 So at that point that was the end 12:39 for the Jews as the nation of God 12:42 and that's when the gospel began to go to the gentiles. 12:45 So this is just our beginning here 12:49 as we see Saul 12:51 the first introduction in the Bible, 12:55 in the New Testament of Saul 12:57 as he is a persecutor of Christians. 13:01 Brother Johnny. 13:03 You know, this is a marvelous, marvelous study 13:07 and I praise the Lord that we have begun this study 13:11 in the Book of Galatians. 13:13 You know, when you look at the Book of Acts, 13:15 you begin to see 13:18 the Christian Church growing, growing quickly. 13:22 Do you think of the day of Pentecost, 13:23 how many people were baptized on that day? 13:25 Yeah, 3,000. 13:26 Three thousand people and you think about the scribes 13:29 and the Pharisees, 13:30 "Wait a minute something is going on here." 13:32 And, you know, when you get to chapter 3, 13:39 I'm sorry chapter 4. 13:41 You see then that Peter and John are brought 13:44 before the Jewish leaders 13:46 and so they're beginning to take action 13:47 against the Christians. 13:49 And then you get to chapter 5, 13:53 you realize that the apostles were taken to prison... 13:56 Yes. They were taken to prison. 13:58 They're in prison. 13:59 But what happens during while they're in prison? 14:03 An angel comes and says, "Go and preach again." 14:06 So now they're up there 14:08 and the scribes and the Pharisees, 14:09 and the high priest say, "Bring the apostles over here." 14:13 They're not there, where are they? 14:15 Well, they're out there preaching again. 14:17 So finally, they're before them and they began to question them 14:21 and they said, "Didn't we command you 14:24 to stop preaching in the name of this Jesus?" 14:27 And what did the disciples answer? 14:28 What do they say? 14:30 "We ought to obey God rather than man." 14:33 That's right. 14:34 And so something is developing 14:35 and it's out of their control basically. 14:39 But then a man rises up, 14:40 as you see at the end of chapter 5, 14:43 a man says, "And now I say unto you..." 14:47 I'm reading from Acts 5:38 and onward. 14:51 "And now I say unto you refrain from these men 14:54 and let them alone. 14:55 For if this counsel or this work be of men, 14:59 it will come to nought. 15:01 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, 15:04 lest happily ye be found even to fight against God. 15:09 And to him they agreed, 15:11 and when they had called the apostles and beaten them, 15:14 they commanded them that they should not speak 15:16 in the name of Jesus, and let them go." 15:19 And so the disciples were free to preach the gospel again 15:23 but they kept growing. 15:26 And the Bible says that they were in favor with God 15:29 and men at the end of chapter 2, 15:31 so then the stoning of Stephen, 15:34 not only they went beyond the beatings 15:37 now to killing the Christians. 15:40 And so interestingly enough this brings us to Saul 15:45 at the end of Acts 7 as Shelley already mentioned, 15:50 and there in Acts 7:59, "And they stoned Stephen, 15:55 calling upon God and saying, 15:56 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'" 15:59 I should go back to verse 58, 16:01 it says, "And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. 16:04 And the witnesses laid down their clothes 16:06 at a young man's feet whose name was Saul." 16:10 This young man was coming up in the ranks, 16:12 he was hero of the Hebrews, trained by Gamaliel, 16:18 he was a prominent rising, 16:20 they thought he was going up in the ranks. 16:22 And so Acts 8:1, 16:27 "And Saul was consenting unto his death." 16:30 That is the death of Stephen. 16:32 "And at the same time there was a great persecution 16:35 against the church which was at Jerusalem, 16:36 and they were all scattered 16:38 throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, 16:40 except the apostles." 16:41 And so we bring this to you to see that 16:44 there was a determined effort 16:47 to stop the Christians from growing. 16:50 Now remember, God sent them a message, 16:52 "If this be of men, it will come to nothing. 16:55 But if it be of God, you cannot stop it." 16:58 Yes. So what do we see today? 17:00 Can't be stopped. Wasn't it of men or of God? 17:03 The Christian Church is the number one, 17:07 if you want to say, 17:08 one of the most prominent religions in the world. 17:11 It is of God. 17:13 And Saul, he thought it was his mission, 17:17 he thought he was doing the work of God 17:20 to stamp out the Christians, persecuting them. 17:23 And when you get to Acts 9:1, it says, 17:27 "And Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter 17:30 against the disciples of the Lord, 17:32 went on to the high priest, verse 2, 17:34 and desired him letters to Damascus, 17:36 to the synagogues that if he found any of this way, 17:40 whether they were men or women, 17:42 he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem." 17:44 So Saul was a hero among the Hebrews 17:50 because they saw he was very effective 17:52 in the work he was doing. 17:55 When he is before King Agrippa, and when he is before them, 17:59 he is telling his story of conversion. 18:03 Because he thought 18:04 he was doing the service of the Lord. 18:06 And as Shelley said, "He was sincerely wrong." 18:11 And so we see that God has to do something 18:13 because the Christians are afraid of him. 18:15 They see Saul coming, what do they gonna to do? 18:18 They're gonna run. Yeah. 18:19 They didn't think, Saul, 18:21 would you like a Bible study on what's going on? 18:22 And why there is this change now? 18:25 Saul wasn't about to hear anybody talk. 18:27 I mean, he heard Stephen, I mean Stephen 18:29 under the full inspiration of the Holy Spirit spoke 18:33 such a sermon, 18:35 but instead of melting their hearts... 18:38 They gnashed their teeth. 18:39 They gnashed their teeth 18:41 and they wanted to destroy Stephen. 18:44 Saul was sincere 18:48 and God could work with sincere people. 18:50 That's right. Yeah. 18:51 So the Holy Spirit kept working in his heart, 18:53 working in his heart. 18:55 And I'm sure that as certain people were dying 18:58 he saw them express their faith in God 19:01 and it touched his heart. 19:02 But yet he thought he was correct 19:05 and he reasoned these things out. 19:10 And interestingly enough as you read the Book of Acts, 19:13 Acts of the Apostles written by Ellen G. 19:15 White, she says something interesting 19:17 and that is that, Saul struggled with this. 19:21 So when you're struggling with something 19:22 you go and you try to get help from people 19:24 that you have confidence in. 19:26 He goes to those that were above him and he say, 19:28 "You know, I have some doubts about what I'm doing." 19:30 Perhaps he expressed himself this way. 19:32 And they convinced him, 19:33 "No, no, you have to do this work, 19:35 you have to get those..." 19:36 They're destroying the way that was delivered unto us 19:39 by Moses and by the Lord, "You have to continue." 19:42 And Saul was convinced kept this work up. 19:46 And so, "It is when we get to Jesus talking to Saul 19:51 that He says to him, 'Saul, Saul.'" 19:55 What does he say to him? "It is hard for you," to what? 19:58 Kick against the pricks. Kick against the pricks. 20:01 And He says in, in one version it says, against the goads, 20:08 which is an expression 20:13 of Paul's struggle 20:16 with the Holy Spirit. 20:18 And Paul saw at that moment says something marvelous. 20:22 He says "Who are you, Lord?" 20:25 And that's an opening, "Who are you, Lord?" 20:28 And what does Jesus say? 20:31 "I am Jesus, whom you persecute." 20:34 And that is an interesting expression by Jesus 20:36 because when someone does something 20:39 against the servants of the Lord, 20:41 it is as if they are doing it to Jesus. 20:44 So Saul began to understand, "I'm doing what?" 20:50 He understood that he was persecuting Jesus, 20:54 the Lord that he was talking to at that moment. 20:56 And this is when his conversion begins 21:00 and it is a marvelous thing that takes place. 21:04 In Acts 9:7, it says that, 21:09 "And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, 21:12 hearing a voice but seeing no man. 21:14 And Saul arose from the earth, 21:16 and when his eyes were opened he saw no man, 21:18 but they led him by the hand 21:20 and brought him on to Damascus." 21:22 And so he went through a spiritual experience, 21:25 he did not eat, nor drink, 21:27 and finally the Lord blessed him 21:30 and sent Ananias to him. 21:32 And what does he say to Ananias? 21:34 What does Ananias say to the Lord? 21:36 Lord... I'm not Lord. 21:38 Just like he doesn't think, isn't this the guy 21:41 that was persecuting the Christians? 21:43 He's like, are you sure? 21:45 And He says, "No, this is like a brand plucked in the fire, 21:49 you need to go and talk to him." 21:51 And it is then that Saul's blindness 21:55 because he was blind. 21:57 He's delivered from blindness and he realizes 21:59 that he has been going down the wrong course. 22:01 Yeah. 22:03 And Saul... 22:04 And he was blinded by the light of Jesus Christ. 22:05 He was blinded by the light of Jesus Christ, 22:07 and we have to understand that Saul had a choice 22:12 whether to say, "Yes, Lord I will follow you" 22:14 or say, "No, no, no, I'm gonna continue doing what I'm doing, 22:17 I'm happy with what I'm doing." 22:18 He repented and followed the Lord 22:22 and what we have as a result is that 22:25 God was able to use Saul, his name became Paul, 22:29 and became one of the greatest Christian leaders in history. 22:32 Amen. 22:33 And we have many books written by him 22:36 and we see that the Holy Spirit was upon him 22:38 and God used him in a mighty way. 22:40 Amen. 22:41 And I praise the Lord for the work 22:43 that God done through Saul. 22:44 Paul. Amen. 22:45 Pastor Kenny, you've got Tuesday's. 22:47 Tuesday. 22:48 Yeah, to me as I read over the last night, 22:50 I thought how exciting it is to be able to see 22:53 a Saul turning into a Paul and the conversion experience. 22:59 And so as we go through this lesson 23:00 there will be things that will be repeated 23:02 and I think it's always good, there has to be 23:05 because there are certain points 23:06 that need to be made and I thought how interesting 23:08 when you look at this, 23:09 right here you have, you have different people 23:11 that are involved in Tuesday's lesson 23:14 you have, God said, "Just go to house, 23:17 Judas is gonna be there 23:18 and then you're gonna go to Ananias." 23:21 And also something happens to Paul, he becomes blind, 23:24 and, you know, a miracle needs to be performed 23:27 and the miracle is gonna be performed by someone 23:29 he was persecuting. 23:31 So what a kind of a mixed up story you look at here, 23:35 but how exciting, God had all under control, 23:38 there's no doubt about it. 23:39 But it was still to me I look at it as obedience. 23:43 Still, yeah, I want you to go, 23:45 I want you to do, 23:47 and as they did these things miracles took place, 23:51 you're talking about miracles Saul's being one 23:53 but big miracles took place. 23:55 It's been brought out here as I look this lesson. 23:58 No one probably, no one probably thought 24:02 he was more right than Saul, Paul. 24:04 That's right. 24:05 No one thought he was more right. 24:07 And I think I've been that way a few times. 24:09 I think I'm right kind of hard to deal with. 24:13 And again not just because you think it 24:16 because you read scripture, 24:17 it backs what you say and so you take a position 24:20 and some people think it's very, very difficult here. 24:23 But, you know, Saul coming into town, 24:26 he's thinking people's gonna love him, 24:29 they're gonna cheer him along... 24:31 He's picturing crowds of people, 24:33 you know, they're lining the streets, 24:35 they're coming in or probably shouting his name, 24:37 "Look at this guy, look at him," 24:39 you know, and when he comes in a whole different change 24:42 instead of feasting, and drinking, 24:44 and having a wonderful time, and getting all these honors. 24:48 You know, here's a man that's been blinded, 24:51 he spends time rather than do that, no food. 24:54 He's been humbled. 24:56 He was humble. Yes. 24:57 Yeah, he was different, you know, 24:59 again he was God was giving 25:00 such an illustration was you thought, 25:03 you were seeing, you thought you had sight. 25:05 And now the physical sight is taken 25:09 and it gives him time to contemplate, 25:11 it gives him time to search, 25:13 it gives him time to think about all the opportunities 25:16 that he really had. 25:18 I think you each one touched on. 25:20 He had opportunity after opportunity 25:22 to do the right thing. 25:23 But he chose and now through blindness... 25:28 And it happens sometime through sickness, 25:30 sometime through whatever it might be, 25:31 you've got time to sit down and think about some things. 25:35 And you'll say, "Wait, mercy, 25:36 surely I didn't think along those lines." 25:38 And so he had time to think about, 25:41 "Oh, I had opportunity after opportunity 25:44 to do the right thing and I didn't do it. 25:47 And so I was prejudiced 25:48 and it changed my whole line of thinking." 25:50 Makes me think, Brother, about the strong personalities, 25:53 people with the strongest personality 25:56 takes the biggest lump 25:58 if you will to get them to change their mind 26:00 to see something different. 26:02 And, of course, Saul certainly was that choleric personality, 26:06 he was the leader, he was one that, 26:08 you know, didn't say, 26:09 "You go do this or that," you know, 26:11 he was there on the frontline himself. 26:12 Yes. 26:13 And even though he was heading in the wrong direction, 26:15 it took something big from God to turn him around 26:19 because of his personality. 26:20 And, you know, those with personalities like 26:22 that make the greatest leaders by the way. 26:24 Once God's focused on the right path, 26:27 they make the greatest. 26:28 Yeah. They make the greatest leaders. 26:29 Yeah. Good point. 26:31 And actually as we look at it, 26:33 I think you mentioned here somebody mentioned 26:35 that Ananias was so confused. 26:38 I would have been so confused... 26:40 And scared. 26:41 Man coming in here and say, "No, I know what he's up to." 26:43 You know, he's gonna try to get me, 26:44 he's gonna try to get you 26:46 and the people had to deal with what took place 26:49 in a matter of days some of them. 26:52 And what was the church in Jerusalem, 26:55 it took them three years to accept Paul, 26:59 that's a long time. 27:00 That's a long time. 27:01 But then many accepted what was going on 27:03 and the change and conversion 27:05 and it was due to the power of the Holy Spirit 27:08 and the change it took place in this man. 27:10 Amen. 27:11 When he spoke, he spoke with authority. 27:14 When he spoke, he spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit 27:17 that convicted that your heart 27:19 or my heart if we'd have been there 27:21 and said, "This can't be the same man. 27:23 I know what he did before." 27:24 But, man, I'm telling you, Holy Spirit said, 27:26 "No, this is different now." 27:28 So we have the vision, 27:30 we have the enemy as it were of the church. 27:34 Now all the sudden things have changed, 27:36 he's been converted, and people are saying, 27:38 "Boy, oh boy, oh boy, what are we gonna do now? 27:40 Who we're gonna follow now? What's gonna take place?" 27:43 So I thought it was interesting, 27:45 I've note down in my notes, 27:46 physical blindness and then spiritual blindness. 27:49 So you have the physical blindness, 27:52 now you have the spiritual blindness. 27:54 He had spiritual blind, 27:55 he became physically blind in order to see... 27:59 What is it that old song, 28:01 "He washed my eyes with tears that I might see." 28:05 Amen. 28:07 You see, sometime we have to wash our eye 28:10 by the grace of God that we might see clearly 28:13 rather than some people say, 28:16 "Well, you are what you are because you were born that way. 28:18 You were that way 28:19 because that's the way you were led in different." 28:21 We had to be what we are because we read scripture 28:23 because we've been convinced by the Holy Spirit. 28:26 This is the way, walk ye in it. Amen. 28:28 And then Brother Ronnie mentioned there, 28:30 we have to have the boldness by the grace of God to say, 28:34 "I'm willing to stand up for this, 28:36 even though the majority may forsake me, 28:38 they may not be with me." 28:39 So, you know, here was Paul again thinking about 28:43 being honored by the high priest even, 28:45 once he came into town. 28:46 Well, that certainly didn't happen at all. 28:49 Exactly the opposite of what he was thinking about. 28:54 Time for reflection, there was time for repentance, 28:57 there was time to rethink the issues 29:00 and so you see a great, great conversion story 29:03 that takes place and I would dare to think 29:06 maybe say that I... 29:08 Every person I believe has a conversion experience. 29:10 Amen. 29:12 When you're born again, when you accept Christ. 29:13 But everybody is different 29:15 if I talk to everybody here and you tell me, 29:17 your's views would be different than mine 29:18 and mine different than you. 29:20 And sometime it takes a whole lot more like Ananias, 29:24 had a vision and one that was real plain, 29:27 I think he'd have said, 29:28 "No, no, no, this guy here is out, he's too far out. 29:31 I'm not digging him, I'm not going that way." 29:33 But God knew how to work with Ananias, didn't he? 29:36 He knew how to go to the house of Jews, 29:37 He knew how to work with Saul, He knew how to work with Paul. 29:41 And so, you know, to me Paul was... 29:44 Again our lesson brings this out. 29:46 Paul was chosen of God. 29:49 He didn't choose to as it were to do the work, 29:52 you know, he had to make the choice. 29:53 God shows him specifically because the man that he was, 29:59 he just need to be turned around. 30:00 Yeah. 30:02 And I feel like in my own life 30:03 sometimes we need to be turned around. 30:04 Absolutely. 30:06 And sometime we need to stop 30:07 and sometime we need to rethink some of the issues. 30:09 This event now the blindness of Paul... 30:12 Saul, Paul it changed his whole thinking process. 30:16 Amen. 30:18 And that's what happens with conversion. 30:19 Yes. It supposed to change you. 30:21 I mean, how often do we say we hear all the time, 30:23 "Oh, we're born again, we go down the watery grave, 30:26 we come up old things are passed away, 30:28 behold all things become new. 30:29 That's true. That's true. 30:32 And sometime we forget that, 30:34 those things are gone and things are new now. 30:36 Absolutely. 30:37 And this was so new 30:39 and so what did Paul reflect on? 30:42 This is what I kind of gathered out of the lesson 30:44 and you can help me with it. 30:46 He begin to say, "Oh, I'm a sinner 30:50 and I've done everything wrong, 30:51 I thought I was doing the right thing, 30:53 I've done everything wrong. 30:54 And, Lord, this work is just too big for me." 30:56 Amen. 30:58 He came to realize, 30:59 he was too big for his britches to begin with. 31:02 He could handle any situation, 31:04 he knew how to talk somebody down, 31:06 he knew how to really get their goad. 31:09 You know, he really knew how to deal we think. 31:11 So again thinking he was doing right 31:13 but now he sees himself as a sinner. 31:15 Now he sees himself as an individual 31:18 who's gonna need some help. 31:19 And now he's crying out to God 31:21 and God saying, "Look what am I gonna do, 31:23 I'm gonna send you back to the same people 31:25 that you were persecuting so they can teach you 31:26 what you need to be doing." 31:28 That's pretty heavy duty. You talk about eating crow. 31:32 You talk about having right, you're going back and to say, 31:35 "No, I just persecuted these..." 31:37 But he reflected, he thought on it, and he said, 31:40 "Oh, God, this is too bigger work." 31:42 And God certainly impressed him that it's not about, 31:45 and I think we all need to wake up, at least I do. 31:47 Me too. It's not about me. 31:50 Amen. It's not about you. 31:52 It's not about those who are watching other day 31:54 like the world is gonna end 31:55 because you're not in and you're not involved, 31:57 it's not till the Lord says. 31:59 That's right. 32:00 You know, everybody's important, 32:02 everybody has a job to do, 32:04 but God can use whom He wants to, 32:06 anybody He wants to use, He can do it. 32:08 And He will do it in such a way as in my own life 32:12 that it got my attention. 32:14 There's very little, maybe could get my attention. 32:17 But He did it in such a way it got my attention, 32:21 and I could and I do say, it changed my whole life, 32:24 it changed my whole thinking 32:26 as real conversion came not just going to the steps 32:29 and the motion... 32:30 Absolutely. 32:32 And I often say, "When conversion came 32:33 maybe like it was Saul and Paul is, 32:37 I mean, how many times, one of our favorite song is, 32:40 "What a friend we have in Jesus". 32:42 Amen. 32:43 You know, it's an oldie 32:44 but goodie as far as I never get tired of singing that. 32:46 I can remember, 32:47 since I was just small singing that song. 32:49 But I remember after conversion 32:51 and maybe Saul might did the same thing, 32:53 maybe you did same thing. 32:54 I cried after I sing that song. 32:58 I sang it many times before hundreds 33:00 or maybe not even thousands. 33:02 But after conversion the heart is changed 33:05 and the heart was different and the prejudice has to go, 33:08 the unbelief has to go, 33:10 and certainly just trusting in the Lord. 33:12 And that's you go, to me that's one of the, 33:14 some of the greatest story in the Bible, you know, 33:17 to help me, to encourage me, 33:18 and I pray this is encouraging and helping you to say, 33:21 "Hey, God wants to use you." 33:22 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. 33:24 That's beautiful, Pastor Kenny. What an incredible man of God? 33:28 Oh, wow. Yes. 33:29 As you look at the life of Paul 33:31 and as you think about his childhood 33:33 and I know each one has mentioned this growing up 33:35 being a Roman citizen, and as being a Pharisee, 33:40 a Pharisee of the Pharisees, 33:41 studying under I wanna say Gamaliel. 33:44 Gamaliel, how do you pronounce? Gamaliel. 33:47 Close. Good. 33:48 So you think he had the Roman background 33:51 and he also had the background as a Pharisee. 33:55 And I think in a special way even though for all those years 33:59 he fought against the Lord Jesus Christ. 34:01 And he did what he thought was right in his mind 34:04 and in his heart, he was highly educated. 34:06 And when he was converted, when he found and discovered 34:10 and saw the Lord Jesus Christ on that road to Damascus. 34:14 Spent those three years in Arabia studying, 34:17 learning, relearning, unlearning the things 34:20 that he had learned before, and then relearning again. 34:23 I think in a special way it equipped him 34:26 to take the gospel to the gentiles. 34:28 Amen. 34:29 The other apostles, you look at them Peter, 34:32 and John, and James, and Andrew, 34:35 they were mostly unlearned fishermen 34:39 who had sat at the feet of Jesus, 34:40 the Holy Spirit had been poured upon them 34:42 and they were dynamite in the early Christian church. 34:46 But in a special way I think God raised up Paul 34:50 because he was highly skilled, 34:52 scholarly educated to take the gospel to the gentiles. 34:57 And it's just... 34:58 You think down the stream of time, 35:00 God looking at him and saying, 35:03 "I know you from your mother's womb. 35:06 And I'm gonna have a purpose and a plan for your life 35:09 and even though you're going to turn away from me 35:13 and walk in a different direction 35:15 and even persecute my people, you're gonna be converted. 35:19 You're going to repent, and turn around, 35:21 and come back to me, and then be a powerhouse." 35:24 He was, really you could say the leader of the gentile, 35:27 the Christian Gentile church. 35:29 Maybe Peter took the Jewish arm of the church 35:32 and Paul took the gentile arm of the church you could say, 35:34 but they were leaders together there. 35:36 So Wednesday, 35:37 we look at the gospel going to the gentiles, 35:40 we're still in the Book of Acts. 35:41 Now just a brief chronology of Paul's life. 35:44 Saul was born we don't know 35:46 exactly whether it's AD 5, 6, 7, early. 35:49 So at the stoning of Stephen took place AD 34, 35:54 he would have been late 20s. 35:56 The Bible says he was a young man. 35:57 Yes. 35:58 Then, he went to Damascus maybe a year or two later, 36:02 we don't know exactly. 36:03 He spent those three years in Arabia, 36:05 came back to Jerusalem, met with Peter, 36:09 and the apostles spend a couple of weeks there. 36:11 And then after that 36:13 he started going out and preaching and teaching. 36:16 And so this is several years 36:17 after we get to the Acts 11 and Acts 10, 36:22 it was already mentioned about Peter 36:24 and taking the gospel to Cornelius. 36:26 So the gospel has already gone to the first gentile 36:29 but in Acts 11, we see the first Christian Church 36:33 were they're first called Christians, 36:34 we're in Acts 11:19. 36:39 Pastor Ronnie, you wanna read that, 36:40 you got there first? 36:41 Okay. Acts 11:19. 36:43 Nineteen says, "Now those who were scattered 36:45 after the persecution that arose over Stephen 36:49 traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, 36:52 preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 36:57 So initially the gospel... 36:59 Because they were scattered the persecution, 37:02 they left Jerusalem, and they started traveling. 37:05 Now we're going up to Antioch pretty soon, 37:08 verse 20. 37:09 Antioch was 300 miles north of Jerusalem, 37:13 so this is quite a bit of scattering. 37:16 In those days, it would have been more difficult to travel. 37:19 Oh, yes. Great. 37:20 I think about several of us have been to Israel. 37:22 When you go to Israel 37:23 and you just think the magnitude, 37:25 I know Israel is a little country. 37:28 But if I didn't have a bus... We travel by bus. 37:31 If I didn't have a bus to get around, 37:33 it would have been difficult, 37:35 walking from Galilee down to Jerusalem, 37:39 the rocks and the... 37:41 It was kind of, you know, 37:42 a little difficult walking to Jericho, 37:44 so here maybe they went by ship 37:46 but being scattered 300 hundred miles 37:49 north to Antioch that's quite a ways north. 37:51 Now the word in here in verse 19, it says, 37:54 "They were scattered after the persecution." 37:56 Now I like looking at the Greek, 37:58 the Greek for persecution is flipsis. 38:01 It means, used of a narrow place 38:05 that hems someone in, 38:07 especially internal pressure 38:11 that causes someone to feel confined or restricted, 38:14 like you're hemmed in without any options. 38:16 Now there's another word for persecution 38:18 that's translated in the Bible as well, 38:20 that word I can't pronounce 38:21 but it means external circumstances. 38:25 Now it's interesting that Luke wrote Acts, 38:28 he chose to use the word flipsis, 38:31 the internal persecution when he wrote this verse here. 38:36 Because I would think, 38:37 Pastor Kenny, it would be external. 38:38 You'd think, "I'm in Jerusalem, I'm being persecuted, 38:42 and they're coming against me externally, 38:44 they want to kill me, so I'm going to flee." 38:47 But he used the word internal persecution. 38:50 That's interesting. 38:51 Now it's fascinating to me 38:53 because I think at the end time we know that 38:57 there's gonna be persecution taking place for God's people, 39:00 and I think the greatest battle is gonna be internal, 39:04 it's not external, 39:05 it's not what people could do to our bodies, 39:08 it's from the heart. 39:10 What are they going to do to us inside? 39:12 So because of this internal persecution, 39:15 they had to make a choice inside, 39:16 am I gonna follow Jesus? 39:18 Yeah. 39:19 Or am I going to cave into the pressure 39:21 and follow what the Jewish people say I need to do? 39:25 So they had spread the gospel, 39:27 at present it's still going to the Jewish people, 39:29 then verse 20, 39:31 "Some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, 39:33 that's a North African port, 39:35 who when they had come to Antioch spoke 39:37 to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus." 39:41 Hellenist would be Greek speaking. 39:43 In Acts 6 it referred to the Jewish people 39:45 but here in Act 11 39:47 obviously it's referring to the gentiles 39:50 and preaching to them, sharing to them. 39:54 Verse 21, "And the hand of the Lord is with them 39:58 and a great number believed and turned to the Lord." 40:03 In the Greek for great it means many, 40:05 high in number, numerous. 40:07 So many people were converted, 40:09 many people learned about Jesus. 40:12 Then news of these things 40:13 came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem. 40:15 Now today we would have found out that the same day, 40:18 get yourself cell phone out 40:20 and someone would post on Facebook, 40:21 someone would do a little Snapchat, boom. 40:23 Okay, it's in Jerusalem. 40:25 I have a feeling it took a little bit of time 40:27 for the news 40:29 to reach from Antioch 300 miles south to Jerusalem, 40:33 there's a church. 40:34 There's a whole group of people finding now 40:37 and discovering Jesus, 40:39 and so the church decided 40:40 to send out Barnabas to go to Antioch 40:42 and check it out and see what's going on. 40:44 "And when he came and had seen the grace of God, 40:46 he was glad, and encouraged them 40:49 all with purpose of heart 40:50 that they should continue with the Lord." 40:52 Now it's interesting you see 40:53 in the missionary travels of Paul, 40:55 Saul turned Paul, Barnabas they traveled 40:58 and they ministered together a lot. 41:00 In fact, Barnabas was one of the ones 41:02 who brought Saul to Peter at the very beginning and said, 41:06 "Really he's a good man and he's converted 41:09 and you want to meet with him." 41:11 Paul... Barnabus, I'm sorry. 41:12 Verse 24, "He was a good man, 41:14 full of the Holy Spirit and of faith 41:16 and a great many people were added to the Lord." 41:19 Then Barnabas decided to go get Saul. 41:22 He went to Tarsus, Saul was in Tarsus, 41:24 and that's a 100 miles farther north of Antioch 41:27 so now he's out 400 miles from Jerusalem. 41:30 "Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 41:33 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. 41:36 So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church 41:40 and taught a great many people. 41:43 And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." 41:48 Christians means a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, 41:53 taken from Christos which is a Greek word 41:55 which translates the Hebrew word Messiah 41:57 and it ends Christians the ending would be Latin. 42:00 So it shows that the gospel 42:03 as you could say cross-cultural, 42:05 it goes to everyone. 42:07 Those who believe that Christ was king in those days 42:10 could be accused of treason. 42:12 So Christians could also be looked at as a legal charge 42:16 but I like to think that they were proudly. 42:17 Amen. 42:19 I am a follower of Jesus Christ. 42:21 I am a follower of the way. 42:24 So this is the first instance you could say 42:27 we have of the gospel going not only to the gentiles 42:30 because that happened with Cornelius 42:32 but an actual church being established, 42:35 and Saul turned Paul being pivotal 42:38 in the establishment. 42:40 Amen. Amen. Amen. For sure. 42:41 Thank you Jill. Bother Ronnie. 42:45 When we look at Thursday's part conflict within the church 42:50 reminds me of several of yins were our pastors, 42:54 and you've been associated with the church. 42:56 You know, conflict within the church is not a new thing. 42:59 And it didn't just happen 2,000 years ago. 43:03 I pastored a number of church, you know what, 43:05 there was conflict in every one of them, 43:07 every one of them. 43:08 And you think why, this is God's church, 43:10 why would there be so much conflict? 43:12 What do you think, Johnny? 43:15 Well, I think it goes back to the wheat and the tares. 43:18 Okay. The wheat and the tares. 43:19 You mean everyone in the church isn't saved? 43:23 Unfortunately, that's not the case 43:25 and I think you also have that 43:29 some have not completely submitted to the Lord. 43:32 They may not be a tare 43:33 and it's not really up to us to say, 43:35 "That brother so and so, he must be a tare." 43:37 No, we can't do that but I believe it has to do it 43:40 and Satan of course, 43:42 he's always trying to bring in some trouble. 43:43 Yes, he does. 43:45 And, of course, nothing human is perfect. 43:49 And so the great Apostle Paul now, 43:52 you'd think that... 43:53 I wonder what he thought, Brother Kenny, 43:55 in the beginning when he thought, you know, 43:56 the Lord has put me in this place 43:59 and I'm really gonna to straighten these people out, 44:01 you know, because God is leading me 44:05 and this will go just sail easily. 44:08 But he found out there was opposition. 44:10 Yes. 44:11 And you think why would there be so much opposition? 44:14 For starters not everyone was pleased 44:16 with the entry of the gentiles. 44:18 You know, because God had raised up the Jewish people 44:21 what, just to be a closed group. 44:23 Not at all. Yeah. 44:25 He brought them together to be the light unto the world, 44:28 but they didn't seem to get this. 44:30 They didn't seem to understand it. 44:32 They thought we are Jews, we are the only ones saved, 44:35 we don't want you in our club, you know. 44:38 And so there were many then of the Jewish persuasion 44:42 that said, "We don't want the gentiles in here." 44:45 And they did all that they could do 44:47 to block what Paul was trying to do. 44:50 For instance, one of the great things, 44:52 you know, it was about the circumcision 44:54 and the keeping of the Mosaic Law. 44:57 And going back, the separation was so great 45:02 between the gentiles and the Jews 45:06 that God had to give Peter a special vision. 45:09 Yeah. 45:11 And we've talked about that a little bit about 45:12 when Peter was waiting... 45:15 He was at a certain house and he was taken into vision 45:20 and he saw these three sheets, 45:22 three times he saw a sheet been let down 45:24 with all different manner of animals inside. 45:28 And, of course, Peter said... 45:30 The voice said to Peter, "Peter rise, kill, and eat." 45:33 And he said, "Oh, not so, Lord, 45:34 I have never eaten anything common or unclean." 45:38 And this was done three times. 45:40 And so after the third time Peter said, 45:42 and he was thinking about this, what could this possibly mean? 45:45 "Has the Lord now has He cleaned up the diet? 45:48 Can I eat anything?" 45:49 You know, he said, 45:50 "I've never eaten anything like that." 45:52 And, of course, we find that many churches say 45:54 "Yes, now God cleansed all of the food 45:56 and you can eat anything you want to." 45:58 But if you go on down to I think about 46:00 verse 28 finally, 46:02 it dawned on him the Lord spoke to Peter and He said, 46:05 "Call not what I have cleansed common or unclean." 46:10 And so by that time there's a knock at the door 46:11 and we know the story. 46:13 That Cornelius now the Holy Spirit was dealing 46:15 with Cornelius and he said, 46:17 "Send some people over to get Peter, 46:18 bring him here to preach the gospel to us." 46:22 And, of course, this was a gentile household. 46:27 So that was the great division 46:29 so great between the gentiles and the Jews 46:31 that God had to give a special visitation, 46:34 a special vision to Peter to begin to open the door 46:37 to bringing the gospel to the gentiles. 46:40 So I'm looking at, that was in Acts 10, 46:44 and if we could go down to Acts, 46:47 we find in Acts 11:22, 46:51 Acts 8:14 that there are people being sent 46:54 all over the place, 46:56 we were talking about the work beginning in Antioch 46:58 and there... 46:59 If somebody would read that for me Acts 8:14 47:02 and then Acts 11:22. 47:06 Acts 8:14? Acts 8:14, first. 47:09 "Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem 47:11 heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, 47:14 they sent Peter and John to them." 47:16 Wow, Samaria even. 47:20 Samaria was considered what in those days? 47:23 Oh, I mean, they were considered way 47:26 the lowest of the low. 47:28 You remember when Jesus stopped in Samaria, He said, 47:30 I must go there 47:32 in that beginning of the gospel going there 47:34 when He met the lady at the well. 47:36 But they were considered so low, 47:38 they didn't even speak to them. 47:40 And Jesus asked for a drink of water at that time 47:43 and she said, "What you've been a Jew, 47:44 ask drink of water from me, a Samaritan woman?" 47:47 Because, you know, they were so down looked upon, 47:50 you know, that it was amazing. 47:53 He was beginning to break the ice there. 47:55 He knew that the gospel was going to Samaria as well. 47:58 So we find that people from Jerusalem went down to say, 48:00 "What is this work that Philip is doing with the Samaritans?" 48:04 And now we also find the gentiles 48:06 in Antioch were receiving a message. 48:07 Acts 11:22. 48:11 It says, "Then tidings of these things 48:14 came into the ears of the church 48:16 which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas 48:20 that he should go as far as Antioch." 48:22 I thought that is interesting, Brother Ronnie, 48:24 when he said it went to the ears of the church. 48:27 Yeah. The church has ears. 48:29 Yeah. Not just an ear, it has ears. 48:30 It has ears. Church hears everything. 48:32 Yeah, yeah. 48:34 And things that's not being said 48:36 sometimes they hear things that wasn't said. 48:41 Another point I think it's very interesting 48:43 he is making over there is Paul was called to the gentiles 48:48 and he did it in such a way that was so different 48:51 than sometime we handle it. 48:54 I'll give you an example, as years ago, 48:57 there's a pastor that came in and his words were, 49:02 "I've come to straighten everybody out." 49:05 Well, all of sudden my ears closed. 49:10 There's a way in which to handle it 49:12 and God was equipping these individuals 49:15 to handle it the right way not to shut the ears off 49:18 but to open the ears. 49:20 Amen. Yes, yes. 49:22 And as you said there is certainly 49:24 a way to do those things 49:26 and you know the gifts that were given to the church, 49:29 everybody wasn't given the same gift? 49:31 That's right. 49:32 And we find that in the church a lot of times 49:34 there are people who says, "I have the gift of this." 49:37 You know, and if you know them well, 49:38 you may say that's the last gift 49:40 they have, you know, not the first. 49:43 For instance, you know, somebody may say, 49:44 "Well, I think that I should be in charge of the music 49:47 in the church." 49:48 And, you know, for a fact they can't carry a tune. 49:50 You know, you think, well, that's the last person 49:52 that would be in charge of that, 49:54 yet they feel like this is my calling, 49:56 you know, but you... 49:57 You find that a lot. Yes. 49:59 So anyway Paul was finding so many things to crop up, 50:03 to try and spoil his ministry. 50:06 And as we look at the circumcision 50:08 was a big huge thing 50:10 and it seemed like in Galatians, 50:12 it went on and on and on about circumcision. 50:16 And what really was 50:17 the whole purpose of the circumcision? 50:19 What was that all about? Why did God require His people? 50:24 What was the sign of circumcision? 50:26 Shelley, give me your information on that? 50:27 Give me your thoughts? 50:29 Well, it's a sign of the old covenant 50:30 and it was supposed, 50:32 I think of it is when Abraham made the mistake 50:36 of trying to help God... 50:38 Okay. Yes. 50:41 Producing an heir. 50:42 He was wanting an heir, 50:43 and it was supposed be a promised child 50:45 but Abraham decided to take his wife's advice 50:49 and he slept with his concubine and had a child. 50:55 I think it's circumcision we're just showing you 50:58 there is no such thing 51:00 as working out your own salvation. 51:02 Yes. 51:03 So circumcision was to be to us like 51:06 what nowadays baptism is to us, it was a sign of a covenant, 51:11 it was the seal of the covenant. 51:13 Okay. 51:14 And it was intended to be a circumcised heart 51:18 because even the women were considered, 51:21 they weren't circumcised physically 51:22 but they were part of the covenant. 51:24 Yes. Okay. 51:25 Let's look at then the question is asked here, 51:27 how did certain believers from Judea 51:30 try to counteract Paul's work 51:31 with the gentile Christians in Antioch? 51:33 Acts 15:1-5. 51:40 Johnny, you got that one? 51:42 I... 51:43 Acts 15:1-5. 51:45 Almost have it. Okay. 51:48 Let's see what God 51:50 what is saying now about circumcision? 51:53 "And certain men which came down from Judea 51:56 taught the brethren and said, 51:57 'Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, 52:01 ye cannot be saved. 52:03 When therefore, Paul and Barnabas 52:05 had no small dissension and disputation with them, 52:09 they determined that Paul and Barnabas, 52:11 and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem, 52:15 unto the apostles and elders, about this question. 52:18 And being brought on their way by the church, 52:20 they passed through Phoenicia or Phenice and Samaria, 52:24 declaring the conversion of the gentiles, 52:26 and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. 52:30 And when they were come to Jerusalem, 52:31 they were received of the church, 52:33 and of the apostles and elders, 52:35 and they declared all the things 52:37 that God had done with them. 52:38 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees 52:42 which believed, saying, 52:43 that it was needful to circumcise them, 52:46 and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 52:51 Okay. 52:52 Did you notice they actually said 52:54 you had to be circumcised or you could not be saved? 52:56 Yeah. Yeah. 52:57 So what were they doing here? 52:59 Paul was bringing in the salvation by grace 53:03 and what was they trying to do? 53:04 By works. 53:06 Try to make it salvation by grace plus works. 53:08 Plus works. Yes, yes. So false gospel. 53:11 We probably all thought, you know, 53:13 God's part is righteousness but my part is, you know... 53:19 It's like it takes two parts to get us saved, 53:21 what do you think about that? 53:22 Oh, absolutely. 53:24 I think in today in the church the same thing happens, 53:27 I can think back in my own experience thinking 53:29 I know I'm saved by grace, 53:31 but somehow I have to do stuff myself 53:35 not realizing it's surrender, 53:36 it's allowing the Holy Spirit to come in and... 53:40 God is the one who works in me 53:42 both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 53:45 You know, as we look at this letter 53:46 as I'm closing up my part, 53:48 we find that Paul then talks about in depth 53:51 that circumcision counts for nothing 53:53 when it comes to salvation. 53:55 You know, it was the works 53:57 that they were trying to put on the gentiles. 53:59 Yes. 54:00 And Paul said, you know, if you're gonna act like a Jew, 54:03 you know, act like a Jew, 54:06 but we are not imposing these Jewish things on the gentiles. 54:10 Amen. Amen. 54:12 Well, this is a great beginning, 54:14 I just think about here you've got this young man, 54:18 very intelligent, very well educated, 54:21 a young man who has undaunting courage and he... 54:26 The reason Paul couldn't accept Christians is 54:29 because the idea that the Messiah 54:31 would be crucified was such... 54:34 I mean, that totally, 54:36 they didn't expect the Messiah to come at that way, 54:39 they expected Him to set up a little, 54:42 established God's Kingdom as a political power. 54:45 And the idea that he would be crucified 54:47 like a common criminal was too much. 54:50 So he's out in his mind putting to death the people 54:55 who are blasphemers, they're apostates, you know, 55:00 because most of them were all Jew, 55:01 I mean, he was Jews he was persecuting 55:04 because that's all who had heard the message. 55:06 But to think that on that road to Damascus here 55:10 he is on his high horse 55:14 and God knocks him off his high horse... 55:15 Yes. 55:17 But Jesus, God had a plan for Paul, 55:20 Saul he would become not only would he be joined to those 55:25 he was persecuting, 55:27 not only would he began to preach 55:29 and defend Jesus Christ. 55:31 But God, Jesus tells him, 55:34 "I'm sending you to the gentiles." 55:36 And he says in Acts 26:18 quoting 55:40 what Christ said to him, 55:42 "I'm sending you to open their eyes 55:44 to turn them from darkness to light, 55:48 from the power of Satan to the power of God 55:51 that they may receive an inheritance among those 55:57 who are sanctified by faith in me." 56:01 So right away Jesus gave him that gospel by grace alone, 56:08 by faith alone message. 56:10 Now the interesting thing that you said Jill, 56:12 he goes and he's off for three years studying. 56:16 What was he studying? 56:17 The very same scriptures that he was using 56:20 to defend his error 56:22 because you mentioned that as well, Kenny. 56:24 Sometimes we got an opinion and it's based on scripture 56:28 but his opinion was erroneous. 56:31 So now that was the only Bible, the only scriptures they had. 56:34 He is studying through the same scriptures 56:37 and suddenly with a different light, 56:41 he is seeing that all of the Old Testament 56:44 was pointing to Jesus Christ. 56:45 Amen. 56:47 So it is such an exciting study. 56:49 I hope that you will be able to join us 56:52 week by week as we look 56:54 at Paul's defense of his gospel of salvation by grace, 56:59 righteousness by faith. 57:01 And I hope... 57:02 I know that we're growing as we study, 57:06 and our hope is that 57:07 you will be growing as you study. 57:09 But more than anything on behalf of our panel 57:13 and I'll start down here with Pastor Ronnie Shelton, 57:16 Jill Morikone, Pastor Kenny Shelton, 57:18 Pastor John Dinzey, and myself Shelley Quinn. 57:23 Our prayer for you is that the grace of our Lord 57:26 and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of the Father 57:29 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:30 will be with you always. 57:32 Bye-bye. |
Revised 2024-06-10