00:00: We're going to continue to jump into Acts 19 this morning.
00:00: I'd like you to turn there.
00:06: Passage that picks up the latter half of chapter 19 as we continue on.
00:14: Interesting enough, I get to talk about the riots, not the salvation of people.
00:18: So that's kind of, I guess, my fault.
00:18: I kind of selected this text over others based upon my schedule.
00:23: And so that's kind of where we're at this morning.
00:25: But I think God has a lot to say to us in this passage as well.
00:28: As we think about that, a number of years ago in a London newspaper, this was read, Men wanted for hazardous journey.
00:36: Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness.
00:40: Constant danger, safe return doubtful.
00:45: Sir Ernest Shackleton, Arctic explorer, placed this ad in thousands of people responded eager to sacrifice for a meaningful adventure.
00:54: I think of Frodo when Gandalf basically says, we have an adventure in mind.
01:00: Would you like to join us?
01:01: And after a long pause, Frodo finally decides, no, I'm willing to take an adventure.
01:07: And I wonder this morning if you're willing to take an adventure.
01:10: Chaplain Dylan reminded us that we are the salt and light to this world.
01:15: And so as we think about that, let's pray for God to minister through his word this morning that I might be used as that instrument.
01:23: Lord, we come to you as needy people.
01:25: We come to you, Lord, asking you to really move amongst us.
01:29: As we look at the word of God, I just pray that it would come alive for us this morning.
01:33: And just challenge us in our faith.
01:35: And Lord, if we don't, there's someone here today that does not know you personally, that they would make that commitment today.
01:41: Lord, use us all, we pray in Jesus' name.
01:46: Amen.
01:48: As we return to the book of Acts, we see Paul on that continued great adventure that God had called him to be a part of.
01:56: In chapter 18, Paul begins the third missionary journey, basically starting at Antioch of Syria and beginning to enter in and help to reestablish churches to encourage the believers.
02:09: But it's interesting because he's prevented at this point from going where he wants to go.
02:16: And so he goes back to the churches of Galatia.
02:20: And he begins to, again, reinforce what is the word of God for us.
02:24: They didn't have the word like we do.
02:27: But they had the gospel message and they had the life of Christ.
02:30: And he used that message to communicate truth based upon what God had already done in his life.
02:36: And so finally he gets the green light as we come to the latter half of chapter 18.
02:42: And he gets to move into Asia Minor, which are where he's wanting to go.
02:47: And he gets to Ephesus and he spends three years in Ephesus.
02:51: Not by choice, but because God says, no, you need to wait.
02:57: How many of you like the word wait?
02:59: Right?
03:00: You can venture to guess Paul hated that word too.
03:04: And so he struggled with that but knew he needed to heed the voice of God.
03:09: And so he waited there.
03:10: And as we get to the latter half of chapter 19, we find Paul describing probably one of the greatest things on his bucket list.
03:18: And that is to get to Rome.
03:20: Why in the world would Paul want to go to Rome?
03:23: It's like me driving to Milwaukee.
03:25: I avoid it with a passion.
03:28: But every so often we go there.
03:30: And so Paul wanted to get to Rome because there were believers in Rome already.
03:35: People had come at Pentecost.
03:37: They had come to Jerusalem, heard the gospel message, heard about the resurrected Christ, and had placed their faith in Jesus Christ and had returned to Rome to establish a core group of believers there.
03:51: And so he knew they needed encouragement because the times were tough.
03:56: Kind of like today.
03:58: We need that encouragement.
03:59: We need to stand side by side, arm by arm, as we fight the battles for this world and for the souls of people.
04:06: But Paul also knew that Rome was one of the most influential places on that known world.
04:14: All roads led to Rome and all roads led out of Rome.
04:18: There's also something in Paul's mind as he thinks about the opportunity that he would like an opportunity to share with the emperor the gospel message.
04:31: And you can imagine one of the greatest possibilities of sharing the gospel with Caesar and watching him bow his knee to Jesus.
04:40: And Paul yearns for that day.
04:42: Trust God with it.
04:43: And he will eventually get opportunity to do some of that to share the gospel.
04:49: But not today.
04:50: You have to wait.
04:52: And waiting he did.
04:54: And yet during that plan, he spent three years in emphasis, not really his time frame.
05:01: But during that time, he preached for three months in the synagogue.
05:04: We looked at that last week.
05:06: He spent two years teaching at the school of Tyronus.
05:09: And he faithfully waited upon the Lord for that adventure and the unfulfilled dreams he had.
05:19: God's timing is everything, by the way.
05:21: Do I like it at times?
05:23: No, absolutely not.
05:25: Does he surprise me?
05:26: Yeah, almost every day.
05:28: And yet in this adventure, it's interesting to note that the time that Paul spent in Ephesus, he wrote 1 Corinthians.
05:39: They collected relief money for the struggling church in Jerusalem.
05:43: He was helped to form groups of churches there in Ephesus.
05:48: And they founded the first Bible school, the school of Tyronus, training up leaders to take that message to the world.
05:57: As I think about God's timing, I think about Nancy and our life.
06:02: We've watched his timing throughout our lives and taken us to some very strange places.
06:07: My first pastor was in North Dakota, of all things.
06:10: God has a great sense of humor.
06:13: But it was a tremendous experience.
06:15: And it was a great opportunity in a rural setting, in a small community, the oil capital of the world, Tioga, which is in the northwest corner of North Dakota.
06:24: Yes, it was cold up there.
06:28: But, you know, I don't mind the cold.
06:31: But as I think about my life here, we were in Wyoming 23 years.
06:34: God called us to Wyoming from western Wisconsin.
06:39: We took a church in a rural community there and pastored for 10 years.
06:43: And then God called me into chaplaincy.
06:47: I was able to start a program to encourage our veterans and provide support.
06:51: And basically, for some, keeping them alive in the midst of some of the traumas they'd experience.
06:57: In June of, or the fall of 2023, my wife started thinking about, she had the privilege of going back after the kids were grown and getting an education degree and taught for 17 years.
07:08: And so she started thinking about retirement.
07:11: She thought about it actually a lot earlier than that.
07:14: It was what we called COVID.
07:15: But she hung with it and actually had a couple of really good years after COVID as well and made a difference in a lot of kids' lives she still hears from.
07:24: But I started to think about retirement as well and, you know, what is this going to look like and making some of those plans when I got a call from Milwaukee.
07:34: Chaplain Robert Allen called and said, would you consider coming to Wisconsin to start an outpatient work at our VA in Green Bay?
07:42: Well, I hadn't thought about that before.
07:45: Thought about a lot of other things, but not Green Bay, Wisconsin.
07:47: We thought we were done with Wisconsin, quite honestly.
07:51: And so after much prayer and consideration, it became very apparent again that that door towards Green Bay was our next adventure.
07:58: And truly, it was an adventure.
08:00: And there were many times we questioned, God, is this really where we're supposed to be?
08:05: We struggled.
08:06: Delays in selling our house, moving company, being two weeks.
08:11: We got here and three weeks we waited for our stuff with the moving company.
08:14: In fact, there were times we weren't even sure we had possessions anymore because they did not answer their phone.
08:22: We slept on an airbed.
08:24: One of those that you pump up, by the way.
08:27: We ate on a car table.
08:30: And we ate off a grill that we purchased when we arrived and a skillet that we purchased when we arrived.
08:37: Other problems.
08:38: A lot of our stuff was broken when it finally did arrive.
08:43: Much was lost, including my wife's wedding dress.
08:46: And I know that much was stolen, including my craftsman's tool set.
08:52: So it was hardship.
08:53: And we questioned God aside, is this where we need to be?
08:57: Did we make a mistake here?
08:59: But I started on June 17, 2024, as the new outpatient chaplain at the VA.
09:06: And I tell you what, talk about an adventure.
09:09: There's never a boring day working at the VA.
09:13: And so I wonder, I wonder if you're here today ready for God's adventure for you.
09:19: Because as we look at the scriptures, as we come back to Acts 17, we already see God opening the door and changing lives by the power of Jesus Christ.
09:29: Chaplain Dillon talked about this.
09:31: Paul preached in the synagogue for three months.
09:33: It's interesting.
09:35: Because there were some that accepted the word of God and were excited about being followers of Christ.
09:41: They called it the way back then.
09:43: Be careful today, because the way sometimes is not the way they talked about in scripture.
09:48: Okay?
09:49: I just want to make that clear.
09:51: These are followers of Christ.
09:52: They are following the principles of the gospel message, which we know as the word of God.
09:58: But there were some that were obstinate towards the word.
10:05: Jews in particular basically were a great, huge, hostile force against the gospel message.
10:12: And so Paul moved out of the synagogue, and he took his message to the lecture hall of Tyranus.
10:18: And there he taught disciples and scriptures.
10:21: For two years, he taught Jews and Gentiles that had come to faith.
10:25: And it says many miraculous miracles resulted.
10:29: People were healed.
10:30: It said evil spirits were cast out.
10:32: And even touching handkerchiefs that had touched Paul were used to bring healing to people.
10:38: That's the power of God, by the way.
10:39: That same power is available today.
10:42: Don't ever forget that.
10:44: Be cat.
10:44: Be cat because it's the same God that we serve.
10:47: And yet we don't always recognize and we don't take advantage of that power because we try to do this ourselves.
10:54: I should say I try to do this myself.
10:57: Okay?
10:58: But we see Satan then taking that power and trying to counterfeit it, which he does.
11:04: He had Svenzas.
11:06: Sounds like a Swedish name, doesn't it?
11:07: But the sons of him were attempting to cast out demons in the name of Jesus without knowing Jesus personally.
11:17: And the evil spirits attacked them.
11:19: Says, we know who Paul is.
11:21: We know who the gospel is.
11:22: But we don't know.
11:23: We don't recognize you.
11:24: You don't have that relationship with Jesus.
11:26: And they beat them.
11:28: And as a result, many in that community lived in fear of what was going to happen next.
11:33: But we also see many believers come to faith and lives changed.
11:39: And so the lesson we learn from that passage, one of them is that Jesus Christ is not a superpower that we can manipulate.
11:48: It's not a rabbit's foot.
11:50: It's not a magic wand.
11:52: It's learning to worship and serve the God of the universe and to trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
12:05: And so when we left Paul last week, a great revival had broken out in that community of Ephesus.
12:12: And as we look at verse 21, it says, After all this happened.
12:17: Now there's a lot there already.
12:19: Pastor Dylan unpacked some of it last week.
12:23: And we've looked at it and reviewed what that is about.
12:25: But it says, after all this happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia.
12:33: And he said, after I've been there, he said, I want to go to Rome.
12:36: And he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Rastus, to Macedonia.
12:41: Well, he stayed there in Ephesus a little longer.
12:45: A little longer, by the way, became nine months.
12:49: Okay?
12:50: And so as we look at that, we see that the work of God not only brings about the changed lives and belief in Jesus Christ, it also brings opposition.
12:59: Okay?
13:01: God's work provokes opposition.
13:03: And notice it says it.
13:05: Throughout the scriptures, as we look at Paul's work, it talks about in Lystra, people oppose the gospel because of ignorant paganism.
13:17: Just so you know, we live in an ignorant pagan world today.
13:21: America is not a godly nation.
13:23: We are godly people that are to be salt in life.
13:26: And just recognize that because a lot of times we expect this world to be differently when they don't know Jesus.
13:32: So that means we have a task to do and we're going to face opposition.
13:39: It said in Athens they oppose the gospel out of that philosophical skepticism.
13:45: Philosophy was never my favorite subject, by the way.
13:48: I have good friends that are philosophers through and through and they will talk circles over me, quite honestly.
13:54: But Paul worked with the philosophers because Paul was a philosopher.
14:00: And in Ephesus we see they reject the truth of the gospel out of fear of losing earthly possessions.
14:07: It's a money thing.
14:08: And so as he talks about his adventure, he wrote a letter to the church at Corinth and he talked about the work that was being done.
14:16: He says, I stayed here at Ephesus until Pentecost because a great door for effective work has opened up for me.
14:24: But there are many who oppose me.
14:29: Interesting, Paul was okay with opposition.
14:31: I'm not always okay with opposition.
14:33: I face it once in a while.
14:34: But as we look at this, we discover there is a contrast.
14:40: We have those that are sacrificing everything for their own personal gain.
14:44: And we have those that sacrifice everything for a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
14:51: And I wonder which sacrifice you're making today.
14:56: Because as we look further, it says, as a result of the revival, it says, verse 23, a great disturbance arose about the way.
15:05: Again, the way here is a reference to those that are followers of Christ, not a denomination that no longer believes in the power of Jesus Christ.
15:16: And so what caused the disturbance?
15:17: It says Demetrius wanted to stir up trouble for Paul, okay?
15:22: Verse 23 introduces us to this silversmith by the name of Demetrius, who made silver shrines for Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.
15:32: So he not only helped to bring money for himself, but he had others working under him, which also made him wealthy.
15:39: And so as a result, it says, you know, my friends, that we receive a good income from our business, this business.
15:46: And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and practically the whole province of Asia.
15:56: There's a danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited.
16:08: Demetrius' livelihood depends upon the worship of Artemis, the purchase of silver statues or small g gods.
16:16: Demetrius stirred up trouble because he was losing money.
16:22: Ever see someone stir up trouble because they're afraid of losing money?
16:27: Every day we see it.
16:29: The greed.
16:31: That's why tickets to the Brewers game for the World Series were up to $16,000.
16:37: That didn't fit into my budget.
16:39: Didn't fit into some of the rest either.
16:41: But it was very sad because that greed took over.
16:43: But J.
16:43: Vernon McGee reminds us, he says, you can't step on a man's pocketbook without hearing him say, ouch, right?
16:54: And we hear Demetrius say, ouch, something has to be done here.
16:58: And so he stirs up trouble for Paul and he provokes the tradesmen that worked under him to riot.
17:07: And so we see a riot breaks out.
17:09: It says, The crowds were furious and began shouting, great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
17:16: Soon the whole city was in an uproar.
17:18: The people seized Gaius and Astorchis, companions of Paul there from Macedonia.
17:26: And they took them, they drugged them.
17:28: It says they rushed them into the theater.
17:31: Let me give you a picture.
17:32: The theater is a huge public arena.
17:34: Massive structure that seats 25,000 people.
17:40: Okay?
17:41: A little bigger than this sanctuary, by the way.
17:45: 25,000 people.
17:46: And that was their venue for public gatherings, for festivals, and demonstrations.
17:52: So that's where they drug Paul's companions.
17:56: Where was Paul?
17:58: You would expect him to be there.
18:00: Well, God protected Paul.
18:02: And so Paul is somewhere, but they did not locate him.
18:08: Again, we see God's grace and mercy protecting Paul because he still has a plan for Paul.
18:14: And so God's timing is perfect because Paul is in the right place at the right time and was not found with his traveling companions.
18:24: And it's clear that many of the crowd did not even know what they're writing about.
18:28: It reminds me of my world today, doesn't it?
18:30: It says the assembly was in confusion, verse 32.
18:34: Some were shouting one thing, some another.
18:37: Most of the people did not even know what they were there for.
18:43: We call that herd mentality, by the way.
18:47: We see that with a lot of animals that we watch.
18:51: Probably the greatest example is the lemmings that jump over the edge of the cliff because someone else did.
18:56: And we live in the world where many people are jumping over the edge of the cliff because someone else is doing it.
19:04: And so they're driven to conform to the group.
19:08: And as we look at that, we look at Scripture.
19:11: Have we seen this peer pressure in the past?
19:14: By the way, it's not just kids that deal with peer pressure.
19:16: Every one of us as adults deal with it as well.
19:19: And I watch some of us make sacrifices based upon the peer pressure around us.
19:24: Old Testament, we see the Israelites created a golden calf.
19:29: They had just come out of Egypt.
19:32: Moses went up to Mount Sinai.
19:35: He was gone longer than they wanted him to be.
19:37: And so they convinced Aaron to build a golden calf.
19:40: And they bowed down to that golden calf.
19:43: Not the God that had delivered them even through the Red Sea.
19:49: Interesting.
19:50: We see the 12 spies.
19:54: Checking out the promised land.
19:56: And they come back.
19:57: And remember Joshua and Caleb said, We can do this.
20:00: God will give us victory.
20:01: And the other 10 said, Oh, whoa.
20:03: Those people are too big for us.
20:04: We can't manage this.
20:07: Big structures, big people, giants in the land.
20:11: Who did they believe?
20:13: It wasn't Joshua and Caleb.
20:15: And they spent 40 years wandering the wilderness.
20:18: Two people from that generation got to go in the promised land.
20:22: Joshua and Caleb.
20:24: We see it as we've been talking about in our Sunday school class leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
20:31: We talked about Palm Sunday.
20:33: People yelling and shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
20:37: Following the crowds.
20:40: Several days, about a week later, what are they crying?
20:44: Crucify him.
20:45: Crucify him.
20:47: Why?
20:49: The popular thing to do.
20:51: Others are doing it.
20:52: I may as well join in.
20:54: I want to be a part of the crowd.
20:55: Right?
20:57: And that's a danger for us because we too sometimes follow the crowd.
21:01: I mean, think about it.
21:02: Have you ever followed the crowd to avoid standing out?
21:05: I think about probably the greatest example is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
21:12: This huge structure, this idol made.
21:16: And they're called to bow down to worship that idol.
21:22: Hundreds and thousands of people bowed down.
21:25: And I'll tell you what, you stick, it's sort of like a sore thumb because there were three people out there that were not bowed down.
21:32: And they refused to bow knee to an idol.
21:36: And they ended up in the fiery furnace.
21:40: And Jesus was there that day with them as he's there for us, as we stand up for the truth of God's word.
21:46: Peter and his apostles talked about how do we encourage others and ourselves as we face these difficult situations.
21:56: Acts 5.29 says, We must obey God rather than mankind.
22:05: There are many principles of truth in God's word that we must stand up for.
22:10: And I appreciate the church here for doing just that in many situations.
22:15: Proverbs 13.20 says, Walk with the wise and become wise.
22:20: This is godly wisdom, by the way, not earthly wisdom.
22:23: It says, For a companion of fools suffers harm.
22:27: Here's the mob incited by economic grievances, greed, peer pressure, attacking Paul's companions, wanting to kill them, and seeing God intercede.
22:39: How does he intercede?
22:40: He uses several situations to try to quiet the crowds here at this point.
22:47: Alexander, a Jew, and the city clerk.
22:51: You know, the Jews are basically trying to say, These are not our people.
22:56: And so they push forward Alexander to try to say, Here, let him speak for us.
23:02: We want to distance ourselves from the Christians.
23:05: And in the midst of it, as he tries to do it, it says, The crowd pushed forth Alexander, and they shouted instructions to him.
23:12: And he motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.
23:18: And when they realized he was a Jew, they shouted in unison about two hours, great as Artemis of the Ephesians.
23:26: Imagine, two hours, they're screaming and yelling to a worthless God.
23:36: It reminds me of Elijah.
23:37: Elijah, all the people, false prophets, that set up their little altar and cried out to that altar to try to get fire to rain down from heaven all morning.
23:52: And Elijah just kind of mocks them and said, Well, maybe he's sleeping.
23:57: Maybe you need to talk louder.
23:58: And they're screaming.
23:59: They're slashing their wrists.
24:00: They're doing everything possible and no response.
24:03: And then Elijah rebuilds that altar, pours tons of water on it.
24:11: Have you ever tried to light a fire in the middle of rain, hunters?
24:14: Next to impossible.
24:17: But Elijah didn't care.
24:19: He stepped back, prayed to the Almighty God, and within moments, the fire came down to prove there's one true God.
24:28: That's the God we serve.
24:30: That's the message we have.
24:31: And even though they cried out in chants for two hours, it was very clear.
24:36: This clash between culture and Christianity, right and wrong, God and paganism, God was still going to shine forth as being truth.
24:49: You see, it doesn't matter how many are screaming or who's screaming the loudest or the longest, God's word will remain truth.
24:58: It is not majority rules.
25:01: It's that God's word is truth, and don't ever forget that.
25:06: That's the world we live in today because our society is trying to tell us if we get enough people to say what we're saying, it's going to be okay.
25:15: And it is not okay.
25:17: Killing of innocent lives is not okay, no matter how many people say, I have a choice to make.
25:22: And we stand against that fallacy as we look at it, not only with the innocent unborn, but the innocent that are homeless, the innocent that are struggling to make ends meet, and it is our job as a church to meet their needs, not the welfare system.
25:44: And that's where we have dropped the ball.
25:46: The minute we depended on government to do our job, we have sacrificed.
25:53: Again, I'm appreciative.
25:55: I see a lot of programs going on to help families and to encourage.
26:00: That's what we're called to do.
26:01: And so we move away from Alexander to the city clerk who intervenes here at this point.
26:06: His concern is, if we don't settle this right down, the Romans are going to come and take over, and it's not going to be a pretty picture, okay?
26:15: We don't like the Romans here.
26:17: When they have the hands off, we do pretty well, but if they get involved, it's going to be devastating for us.
26:24: And it's going to be devastating for me because I'm the city clerk and I'm supposed to keep peace here.
26:29: And so he gets up and he says, he quiets the crowd and says, fellow Ephesians, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image which fell from heaven?
26:41: One, speculations is that there was a meteor that came out of the sky that fell and they built that statue with that meteor.
26:53: I've never seen a meteor that can change lives, by the way.
26:57: And so that's the background, but he goes on and says, therefore since these facts are undeniable, you have to calm down.
27:06: Ever dealt with people that are worked up and notice that when you use the word calm down, what happens?
27:15: The opposite normally, right?
27:17: Don't try it with your partner.
27:20: Doesn't work.
27:22: And so as he says, calm down.
27:24: He says, don't do anything rash here.
27:27: You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed the temple or blasphemed their goddess.
27:31: If then Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have grievances against anyone, the courts open.
27:38: Let them use the system we have in place.
27:40: In other words, they can press charges.
27:43: If there's anything further you want to bring up, it can be settled in the legal assembly.
27:49: As it is, we are in danger to be charged with rioting because of what's happened today.
27:53: In that case, we would not be able to account for this commotion since there's really no reason for it.
27:58: Interesting, the city clerk reminded people that law is in place for that reason to take care of situations like this.
28:07: This is not how we do this.
28:10: But I see God's hand working here to save the life of Paul's companions and protect Paul in the midst of this.
28:20: It's that after he said that, he dismissed the assembly.
28:24: Again, we're reminded that God is in control.
28:29: Do you believe that?
28:32: Was God in control at our elections this week?
28:35: Absolutely.
28:36: Did I like it?
28:37: Not necessarily.
28:39: I usually don't like elections to begin with.
28:41: I do vote.
28:43: I don't always feel like my vote does much.
28:46: When we lived in Wyoming, it was very obvious my vote didn't do much because many times the elections were called before I even went to the polls.
28:52: But we still do it because that's our obligation as believers to stand up for truth and to vote for those candidates we think will fulfill the law of God the most appropriately.
29:05: And sometimes it's a difficult thing voting for anyone, quite honestly.
29:11: And yet we trust God because he says he places these people in this position of authority and he's going to use them in some way and our job is to pray for them.
29:22: I don't care who's in office, your job is to pray for them.
29:27: And so we see that God uses human authorities and circumstances to accomplish his purpose.
29:35: Protecting believers like Paul and his companions, ensuring that God's work is not thwarted by opposition.
29:40: And so as we come to the end of this chapter, I wonder what lessons Luke is trying to communicate to us this morning.
29:51: What is he trying to say to us here?
29:53: I think first of all, and you'll like this one, expect opposition.
30:00: Isn't that great to hear?
30:01: Jesus said it well in John chapter 16.
30:05: He says, I have told you these things so that you, so that in me you may have peace.
30:13: In this world you will have trouble, but take heart.
30:18: I have overcome the world.
30:22: We make a difference in the moment that we have today, but we look forward and hope that Christ is coming back.
30:32: And we know in some realities, God is using those ponds on this board of life to bring us closer and closer to his return, where we will ultimately be with the Lord Jesus in heaven for all eternity.
30:49: Revelation says it well when the prayer becomes, come quickly, Lord Jesus, right?
30:54: I know some of you young people say, I'd like to have this or this or this before it happens.
31:00: And I understand that.
31:01: I've been there, I've done that.
31:03: I'm at an age where it says, any time is soon enough for me, quite honestly.
31:09: But that's the lesson.
31:11: There's those who accept the gospel with joy and those that oppose the gospel with hostility, and we deal with both.
31:18: Paul emphasized this truth that there's going to be resistance.
31:22: He was cast into prison.
31:24: He was beaten many times.
31:26: His life was threatened.
31:29: Yet we saw he experienced the peace of God in his life over and over again.
31:34: In fact, in Philippians, he reminds us of how our life needs to become.
31:38: He says, I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
31:42: That's a difficult lesson to follow, isn't it?
31:50: But he goes on and says, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
31:54: You see, that's where our peace comes from.
31:56: God gives me the strength at that time to be peaceful and content.
32:04: Our task as believers is to challenge society and expose the lies of our culture.
32:08: We heard that already this morning.
32:10: Salt and light, we call it.
32:13: Pastor Kent Simmons talked about radical Christianity this way.
32:17: He says, The world will tolerate a church that conducts its meetings and has its programs.
32:22: This is not just a social gathering, by the way.
32:28: It says, A church that vibrantly loves Jesus, teaches God's word, loves others, and addresses sin and rebellion will not be a popular church, but it will make a difference in our lives and in the communities we live in.
32:47: That's what God calls us to do.
32:49: Is it easy?
32:50: Absolutely not.
32:52: We need that motivation.
32:56: We need the strength of God to work in and through us.
32:59: And we need total surrender.
33:06: Are you willing to stand up for the gospel?
33:10: Are you satisfied with just blending into the crowds today?
33:15: Paul wrote in Romans 12 a good life lesson as well.
33:19: He says, I urge you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.
33:30: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
33:37: This is how we renew our minds, by the way.
33:44: Not listening to media.
33:46: Okay?
33:47: Testing to discern what is the will of God, the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.
33:53: That's the challenge.
33:54: So expect opposition.
33:56: But also remember, secondly, that God's timing is perfect.
34:00: We see it directing Paul at just the right time, at just the right place, even protecting and keeping him safe from harm.
34:07: Paul lived the whys of life.
34:12: Why am I here?
34:13: What is my purpose?
34:16: And we have to discover, why am I here?
34:19: What is my purpose?
34:20: And Paul's purpose was to preach the gospel to every person he came in contact with.
34:25: And it changed their world.
34:29: Paul was willing to remain faithful to God and God's adventure for him.
34:33: Waiting for doors to unlock so he could fulfill his dreams.
34:38: Collecting money for struggling churches.
34:41: Watching people come to faith in Jesus.
34:43: And teaching and training up leaders in the first Bible school.
34:49: I wonder if you're following the Holy Spirit's direction in your life.
34:52: It can be scary at times.
34:53: We talked about fear in Sunday school this morning.
34:55: It can be extremely scary.
35:01: Where do you see God having control of your life?
35:04: Think about that.
35:08: We come back to the question that Nancy and I have struggled with.
35:11: Did God really have a hand in us coming to Green Bay?
35:15: Or was it just some foolish notion that we came up with?
35:21: Paul Harvest used it this way.
35:22: He says, let me give you the rest of the story.
35:25: Okay?
35:26: Since coming to Wisconsin, I had the privilege of starting three grief groups, four moral injury groups that deal with heart wounds.
35:35: Supporting hundreds of veterans.
35:40: And watching how God in his grace and mercy helps to work through the traumas of their life.
35:48: And to build faith.
35:49: I've watched over a dozen veterans come to faith in Jesus Christ in these past two and a half years.
35:54: That's incredible.
35:55: I've never seen a harvest so great as I have since coming here.
36:02: I have the privilege to help disciple some of them, watch them grow, watch some plug into church.
36:09: Oh, and by the way, my wife and I got to go, she got to go to the first Green Bay Packer game in 2025.
36:14: One of her dreams on her bucket list.
36:17: And we watched Packers beat the Lions 27-13.
36:20: Our trip this year wasn't quite as great, by the way.
36:27: I don't think the Packers showed up.
36:28: But I wonder, are you ready?
36:30: Are you ready for God's adventure for you today?
36:34: Because finally it says to step into that adventure with Jesus.
36:38: I don't care what age you are, God still has an adventure for you.
36:43: Paul preached this message.
36:45: In Matthew 8 he says, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
36:53: Whoever wants to save his life will lose it.
36:56: And whoever loses his life for me in the gospel will save it.
37:00: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul?
37:06: This passage is a powerful reminder.
37:08: Stepping out by faith for God's adventure brings blessing and conflict.
37:13: Okay?
37:14: We as Christians are challenged to embrace both the joy of spiritual growth and the reality of opposition.
37:21: Trusting that our God is ultimately in control and asking, is he in control of my life?
37:31: I wonder what choice you have made as you've heard the gospel message.
37:35: Have you chosen to accept the message or oppose it?
37:39: You see, doing nothing is the same as opposing the message, by the way.
37:43: If you've never accepted Christ as Savior, I encourage you, I will stick around after the service.
37:50: I'd be happy to share with you what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
37:54: It's one of the greatest and most scary adventures on the face of this earth.
37:59: But it's very worthwhile.
38:02: 1 John chapter 4 says, this is how God showed his love among us.
38:05: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him.
38:09: This is love.
38:10: Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
38:19: Realizing I'm a sinner, believing that Jesus Christ as God died on the cross for my sins, was buried and rose again, and then confessing with my mouth, Jesus is Lord, turning my life and control over to him.
38:34: John 1.12 says, but to all who receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right.
38:39: He gave the privilege to become children of God.
38:43: Won't you say yes to that adventure today?
38:47: And some of you have already said yes to that adventure, and I encourage you.
38:51: Ask God to help you remain faithful, even in the midst of opposition.
38:57: Thank him.
38:59: We're in the Thanksgiving month, by the way.
39:02: Thank him for his faithfulness.
39:04: We see it time and time again.
39:07: Lamentations remind us he is ever faithful.
39:09: Thank God that he's in control, even when we look at a world that seems out of control, and his timing is perfect.
39:21: And then, ask God to help you step out in faith for his adventure for you.
39:30: Ask him to make you willing to live by faith and trust him on this next adventure of your life.
39:37: that's where God calls us.
39:40: Say, look at Joshua's life.
39:41: He was in store for one of the greatest adventures, and that was to enter into the promised land.
39:47: We're almost there, by the way.
39:48: The promised land is just on the horizon.
39:52: I'm not going to tell you the dates, because I don't know them, but it's there.
39:56: But notice what encouragement was given to Joshua when the word spoken here in 1.9 says, Have I not commanded you?
40:03: Be strong and courageous.
40:05: Do not be frightened.
40:07: Do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
40:13: Gandalf asked Frodo, Are you ready for an adventure?
40:18: Frodo paused, and then he said, Yes, I am.
40:24: Are you ready for God's greatest adventure in your life?
40:28: I ask you that this morning.
40:31: Pray about that.
40:32: Let's pray together.
40:33: Lord, you have called us to be a part of your adventure for each one of us, both as a church and as individuals.
40:40: Lord, that adventure looks scary at times.
40:43: Sometimes it's easy to blend into the culture around us, and Lord, you've called us to be different, to be salt and light.
40:49: You've called us to take this truth to the world around us.
40:53: Lord, give us the courage.
40:56: Remind us that you are always with us to walk with us.
41:00: And just help us to be an encouragement to one another in this adventure you have for us.
41:07: In Jesus' name, Amen.