Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP210904S
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00:11 And now it's time
00:13 for our morning call to worship, 00:14 and we're going to read it responsively. 00:18 We gather as two or three, 00:22 as 100 or 200. 00:25 We gather to forgive as God forgives. 00:29 To love as God loves. 00:32 We covenant together to be the church, 00:36 the body of Christ alive in the world. 00:40 We will live the truth of God's grace. 00:44 Let's pray together. 00:47 Father, we thank You because You are the leader 00:50 of the mission. 00:53 The mission is Yours 00:54 and You take complete responsibility 00:57 for the mission of saving people. 01:01 So to that end, thank You for drawing 01:02 close to every single one of us that are gathered, 01:05 those online, those in-person, our eyes are on you 01:09 as we worship today. 01:10 And we think in the name of Jesus. Amen. 01:45 I heard an old, old story 01:50 How a Savior came from glory 01:54 How He gave His life on Calvary 01:58 To save a wretch like me 02:02 I heard about His groaning 02:06 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:10 Then I repented of my sins 02:14 And won the victory 02:19 O victory in Jesus 02:23 My Savior forever 02:27 He sought me and bought me 02:31 With His redeeming blood 02:35 He loved me ere I knew Him 02:39 And all my love is due Him 02:44 He plunged me to victory 02:48 Beneath the cleansing flood 02:54 I heard about His healing 02:59 Of His cleansing pow'r revealing 03:03 How He made the lame to walk again 03:07 And caused the blind to see 03:11 And then I cried dear Jesus 03:16 Come and heal my broken spirit 03:20 And somehow Jesus came 03:23 And brought To me the victory 03:28 O victory in Jesus 03:33 My Savior forever 03:37 He sought me and bought me 03:41 With His redeeming blood 03:45 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:49 And all my love is due Him 03:53 He plunged me to victory 03:58 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:12 I heard about a mansion 04:16 He has built for me in glory 04:20 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:24 Beyond the crystal sea 04:29 About the angels singing 04:33 And the old redemption story 04:37 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:41 The song of victory 04:46 O victory in Jesus 04:50 My Savior forever 04:54 He sought me and bought me 04:58 With His redeeming blood 05:03 He loved me ere I knew Him 05:07 And all my love is due Him 05:11 He plunged me to victory 05:16 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:31 As I neared Damascus on my journey, 05:34 suddenly a light from heaven flashed around me. 05:38 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 05:40 "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" 05:45 "Who are You, Lord," I asked? 05:47 "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," 05:51 He replied to me. 05:52 "Now, get up and go into the city 05:55 and you will be told what you must do." 05:58 I got up from the ground. 06:00 When I opened my eyes, I could see nothing. 06:04 So they led me by the hand into Damascus. 06:24 Early this year, 06:27 a young millennial 06:30 social critic writer 06:34 and influencer herself wrote a piece, 06:38 an op-ed piece in the New York Times. 06:40 By the way, if the New York Times 06:42 ever asked you to write an op-ed piece. 06:44 Trust me, you're already an influencer. 06:49 Her name is Leigh Stein. 06:51 Have the piece right here, title of the piece, 06:53 The Empty Religions of Instagram. 06:55 Let me read a line or two to you. 06:58 On Instagram I follow 700 people, 07:00 mostly women, she writes, 07:02 100 of these women follow Glennon Doyle 07:05 whose memoir Untamed has been 07:08 on the New York Times `bestseller list. 07:10 I checked it this week, 77 weeks in a row. 07:13 Another influencer. 07:15 Fans of Ms. Doyle's gospel 07:17 and accessible combination of self-care activism, 07:21 and tongue in cheek Christianity. 07:23 Ms. Doyle says, Jesus loves me this I know, 07:25 for He gave me Lexapro, which is an antidepressant. 07:30 Fans of Ms. Doyle's gospel can worship at any time 07:33 of day or night at the electric church 07:35 of her Instagram feed by replacing the rigid dogma 07:39 of religion with the confessional lingua franca 07:42 or the language of social media. 07:44 Ms. Doyle has become a charismatic preacher 07:47 for women like me, who aren't even religious. 07:52 Now she's got my attention 07:54 and I want these words to get your attention. 07:56 So I'm going to put them on the screen now. 07:58 Many millennials have found a different kind of clergy, 08:02 personal growth influencers. 08:06 Women like Ms. Doyle who offer 'nones.' 08:09 Those are the people that take surveys 08:10 and they say none of the above, no religion. 08:13 Women like Ms. Doyle who offered 'nones' 08:15 like us permission, validation, and community. 08:18 These women are Instavangelists. 08:21 You've heard of televangelists, 08:23 well, she's coined a new word, Instavangelists. 08:26 These are personal influencers 08:28 behaving like clergy in the world of social media. 08:33 Then Leigh Stein begins to expose some of her soul. 08:38 Follow along here. 08:40 I have hardly prayed to God since I was a teenager, 08:44 but the pandemic has cracked open inside me 08:46 a profound yearning for reverence, 08:49 humility and awe." 08:51 I'd like to say, wait a minute. 08:53 Are we talking about a young godless woman 08:55 who says I have no religion at all, 08:57 but the pandemic has opened up 08:58 inside of me this yearning for reverence, 09:01 humility, and awe. 09:04 I don't know about you, but I find that astonishing. 09:07 Here is a non-religious young woman 09:11 who has a yearning for reverence. 09:16 I'm thinking about 09:18 some of the practitioners in the church 09:19 who believes that the more we can imitate the culture 09:22 and the music of this very world 09:24 that Leigh Stein finds so empty, 09:26 the more we will attract the Leigh Steins 09:28 of this culture turns out it's the exact opposite. 09:31 They don't want what they already have. 09:34 She's looking for reverence, humility, and awe. 09:39 You know what? 09:40 Maybe we ought to quit apologizing for Pioneer 09:43 being a place of worship with reverence, humility, 09:46 and awe, come on. 09:52 Leigh Stein exposes more of her thirsty soul. 09:55 Here we go. 09:56 The influencers we've chosen as our moral leaders 10:00 aren't challenging us to ask the fundamental questions 10:02 that leaders of faith have been wrestling 10:04 with for thousands of years. 10:06 Yo, Leigh, what are those questions? 10:07 Well, let's find out. 10:09 Why are we here? 10:10 Why do we suffer? 10:11 What should we believe in beyond the limits 10:13 of our puny selfhood? 10:16 And then she writes this line. 10:18 The whole economy of Instagram is based on our thinking 10:21 about our selves, posting about our selves, 10:25 working on our selves. 10:29 Instead of answering the big questions of life, 10:34 these influencers, 10:36 all they can talk about is me, me, me. 10:39 She says, forget it. 10:43 And then now she moves to where you 10:46 and I need to be listening very carefully. 10:52 I told my mother, that I find myself 10:56 craving role models my age. 10:58 And I'll start it right there. 11:00 I want role models my age. 11:02 I don't need somebody not my age. 11:03 I need somebody my age. Yeah. 11:06 But what do you want the role model to do? 11:07 Well, let's find out. 11:08 I want, if I find myself craving role models my age 11:12 who are not only righteous. 11:15 I'm saying, wait a minute, time. 11:17 You can't be telling me that this godless millennial 11:20 and she described herself, no religion at all. 11:22 You can't be telling me that she wants 11:23 role models her age, who are not only righteous, 11:28 not only righteous crusaders, but keep reading, 11:31 but also humble and merciful. 11:35 And I told mom that I'm not finding them 11:37 where I live and those that, that's her word online. 11:40 They're just not there. 11:43 And I'm thinking to myself, what she just said, 11:45 she is longing for at her age level a role model, 11:50 turns out to be a beautiful description 11:53 of who you are at Andrews University, 11:57 her age, righteous, crusading for good, 12:02 humble and merciful. 12:05 You are the role model she's looking for. 12:08 You are the influencer she needs. 12:14 She's looking for you, but here's the question. 12:18 Are you looking for her? 12:25 We didn't know this. 12:28 We didn't know that there's a yearning thirst 12:30 embedded in the heart of this generation. 12:34 Sick and tired 12:38 of what it's been living with. 12:41 And you're the role model her age 12:44 she's looking for. 12:46 My, oh my. One last line. 12:53 There is a chasm between the vast scope of our needs 12:58 and what influencers can provide. 13:01 We're looking for guidance in the wrong places, 13:04 people listen up. 13:06 Maybe we actually need to go to something like church? 13:10 You think? 13:13 Amazing. 13:16 A New York Times chosen influencer, 13:20 who says I'm tired 13:22 of the life that I've had. 13:26 If I just had somebody my age that I can model 13:31 my life after. 13:33 And I'm thinking that has to be you, 13:39 reverence, humility, 13:42 awe flowing through a righteous, 13:44 humble and merciful influencer. 13:50 How to become an influencer? 13:55 Now we've got to go back. 13:56 We've got to turn to another story today. 13:59 Once upon a time, there were two young men. 14:04 They were both about the same age. 14:07 They were both extremely well-educated. 14:10 You can call them young Turks if you wish. 14:14 But what is more than clear 14:16 is that both of them were influencers, 14:18 huge influencers and the people around them, 14:24 and then came that fateful public debate. 14:29 The room was packed. 14:31 The spectators eventually forgot to breathe. 14:34 So transfixed are they all by the wit, 14:37 matching wit, the eloquence matching eloquence 14:39 of these two young leaders who debate each other. 14:42 By the end of the debate however, 14:46 it is clear to everybody in the room 14:51 one of them just got whooped. 14:55 It's a story most people skip over, 14:58 but you need to find it right now. 15:00 Open your Bible to Acts Chapter 6, 15:02 the book of beginnings 15:04 for the infant Christian Church. 15:06 Acts Chapter 6, drop down to verse 8. 15:11 You haven't read this in a long, long time. 15:13 Acts Chapter 6, please drop down to verse 8. 15:18 I'll be in the New International Version. 15:21 Acts Chapter Eight, Chapter Six, rather verse 8, 15:26 "Now Stephen, influencer number one. 15:30 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power. 15:34 Performed great wonders and signs among the people." 15:37 Whatever's going on here, this young man 15:43 through these acts of supernatural signs, 15:47 supernatural wonder 15:50 is simply confirming the veracity, 15:54 people are concluding of his message. 15:56 And that is, you know, this Jesus of Nazareth 15:58 that they crucified at Golgotha. 16:00 Let me tell you something. 16:02 He rose three days later, He was here for a while. 16:06 He ascended and He's now 16:08 sitting on the throne of the Almighty. 16:11 He's the Messiah 16:16 and people are starting to believe. 16:17 I mean, how could you do what you just did 16:20 if you weren't telling the truth. 16:21 Look at verse 9, opposition arose, 16:24 well, you didn't think he'd get by for long. 16:26 "Opposition arose, 16:29 however, from members of the Synagogue 16:31 of the Freedman." 16:32 Now we're called Pioneer Church. 16:34 So this is a synagogue called the Synagogue of the Freedman. 16:37 It's just a name. 16:40 As it was called. Who's in that synagogue? 16:42 Well, you've got Jews of Cyrene, 16:44 that would be North Africa. 16:45 You have Jews from Alexandria, that would be Egypt, 16:48 of course, as well as the provinces 16:50 of Asia Minor, including Cilicia. 16:53 Hey, wait a minute, time out, Cilicia. 16:56 Is it Cilicia the one that has this major 17:00 metropolitan center in it called Tarsus. 17:07 Wait a minute. I know somebody who's from Tarsus. 17:10 Dr. Luke has intentionally embedded in this description 17:14 the hint of influencer number two, 17:18 Saul of Tarsus. 17:22 F. F Bruce and others have suggested it's rather likely 17:26 that this was the synagogue in which Saul worshiped. 17:30 Opposition, are you kidding? 17:32 They began to argue with Stephen right off the bat. 17:36 How did it go? 17:38 But they could not stand up against the wisdom 17:42 the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 17:45 If you ever get called on by Almighty God 17:48 Himself to stand up in front of a classroom of kids, 17:53 your peers. 17:55 You ever get called on by Almighty God 17:57 to step in front of a neighbor because something's on your 18:00 heart that you want to share. 18:04 Anytime you're put on the line, 18:06 I hope you'll remember that the same Holy Spirit 18:09 who came in to this young Turk influencer, 18:13 who came into him at a critical moment 18:15 is the same spirit 18:16 who come into you at that vital moment. 18:20 It doesn't have to be your last day on earth 18:22 as it is for Stephen. 18:24 He doesn't know it's his last day, 18:27 but I suppose he's already beginning to read 18:29 the handwriting on the wall. 18:32 Wow. 18:35 There he is, influencer number one. 18:40 There he is, influencer number two. 18:42 And by the way, the debate was gentlemanly, 18:44 come on, they're not throwing stuff, 18:46 but it was fierce because you have 18:48 two young influencers, 18:49 Stephen and Saul both fluent in Aramaic, 18:51 the language of Jerusalem, both fluent in Greek, 18:54 the language of the synagogue for Hellenist Jews 18:56 devoted both of them, educated believers to the max, 19:01 knowing the Holy Scriptures would be the Old Testament 19:03 backwards and forwards. 19:04 They're quoting back and forth, back and forth. 19:05 But yes, but yes, but yes, but yes. 19:11 What a debate that must have been. 19:14 Stephen crying out, he is the Messiah. 19:17 Paul shouting back, he is an imposter, this 19:20 Jesus of Nazareth. 19:25 But the young Saul of Tarsus, as we just read 19:27 and his cohorts could not outlogic. 19:30 They could not outsmart, 19:32 outquote or outgun young Stephen, 19:34 the champion of Jesus the Messiah. 19:39 Everybody knows 19:40 who had the most convincing case. 19:43 Well, young Saul knows influencer number two. 19:47 You may lose a battle now and then, 19:49 but you still win the war. 19:52 And so Saul says, this is war. 19:55 And then he arranges for a few false witnesses 19:58 who step forward, just like they did to our Lord. 20:00 The witnesses make their case. 20:01 Immediately that day, the Sanhedrin, 20:03 the Supreme Court of Jerusalem and Judaism is convened. 20:08 The chambers are packed. 20:12 The young influencer Stephen will be on trial, 20:16 as he now surmises for his life. 20:19 The last verse of Acts Chapter 6, 20:22 "All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin, 20:24 looked intently at Stephen, 20:26 and they saw that his face was like 20:29 the face of an angel. 20:33 Stephen's face must've looked like Moses 20:35 coming down from Mount Sinai. 20:36 Moses comes down from that mountain, 20:38 having been in the presence of God himself 20:40 and his face is a glow. 20:41 And the people look at him and they shield their eyes, 20:44 put something over your face, 20:45 we can't stand to see the light. 20:51 A little classic on the life of Paul. 20:53 If you could ever get it, add it to your library. 20:56 Sketches on the life of Paul often forgotten. 21:01 One line from that classic. 21:02 Many who beheld the lighted countenance of Stephen trembled 21:06 and veiled their faces. 21:10 Now this little factoid 21:11 tucked away at the beginning of this trial. 21:13 Obviously some eyewitness observed his face 21:17 looking like an angel. 21:19 And I'm wondering who that eye witness might have been, 21:24 who would later report to Dr. Luke. 21:28 Here's what I saw. 21:37 Keep going. 21:39 We're going to skip the entire defense. 21:40 And by the way, this afternoon, 21:42 a wonderful Sabbath afternoon activity. 21:43 You read Stephen's defense. 21:45 It is brilliant. 21:47 This is what outwitted Saul of Tarsus, this defense. 21:52 And he brings it before he dies. 21:55 Yeah. Read Chapter 7. 21:56 We'll pick it up at the end of his defense though. 21:57 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard 22:00 Stephen's defense, they were furious 22:02 and gnashed their teeth at him. 22:04 But Stephen full of the Holy Spirit," 22:06 look at that. 22:07 No wonder his face is glowing. 22:08 "He looked up to heaven and he saw the glory of God 22:11 and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 22:13 Look, he said, 'I see heaven open, 22:17 and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'" 22:24 The only human being in the New Testament 22:28 who uses the name Son of Man is Jesus Himself. 22:34 This is the last use of that phrase in the Bible. 22:39 And it's on the lips of a protomartyr, 22:43 the first martyr. 22:46 I see him, He, Jesus of Nazareth 22:50 standing, standing. 22:55 Standing? 22:56 Well, you didn't think Jesus would sit through 22:58 what is about to transpire. 22:59 Did you? 23:01 Of course, He's not sitting. 23:02 He's standing for two reasons. 23:05 He's standing number one, because this man 23:08 who will become the first human being, 23:10 who believes in Jesus of Nazareth 23:12 to be executed for that belief 23:15 is about to perish. 23:17 And Jesus stands, not sitting through this, 23:21 but He stands for a second reason, 23:23 because it's clear that nobody else 23:27 is standing for Stephen, but Jesus is standing 23:32 and He's saying, Hey, boy, 23:35 I am standing for you right now. 23:39 And by the way, when you come to your moment 23:42 and it'll feel like nobody in the classroom, 23:45 nobody's agreeing, nobody in the dormitory, 23:48 nobody in your circle of friends, 23:50 nobody with your associates that you work with, 23:53 nobody understands why you believe 23:55 what you believe. 23:56 When it feels like you are standing alone, 23:58 good news, there'll be somebody who stands up in heaven. 24:02 He says, "Girl, I'm standing with you right now. 24:05 I'm standing with you." 24:09 I see the Son of Man and He's standing. 24:16 The record goes on. 24:18 "At this, they covered their ears 24:21 and yelling at the top of their voices, 24:23 they all rushed at Stephen. 24:24 They dragged him out of the city 24:26 and they began to stone him. 24:27 Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats 24:29 at the feet of a young man named Saul." 24:32 Influencer number two, 24:35 who's pulled off this execution behind the scenes, 24:44 who will never for the rest of his life 24:48 be able to face the memory 24:51 of this tragic hour 24:52 in which he was so heinously the instigator. 24:56 He will never forget till he dies. 25:01 That Stephen died at his feet, 25:09 watched it all 25:12 and then relayed the eyewitness account. 25:15 What's the account? 25:16 "While they were stoning him," and Saul is watching. 25:20 "Stephen prayed the prayer of Jesus on the cross, 25:23 'Lord Jesus receive my spirit.' 25:28 And then he fell on his knees and he cried out, 25:33 'Lord do not hold this sin against them.' 25:37 And when he had said this, he fell asleep, 25:41 he died. 25:45 And Saul approved of their killing him. 25:47 And on that day, a great persecution broke out 25:49 against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles 25:53 were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 25:55 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 25:59 But Saul began to destroy the church. 26:01 Going from house to house, 26:02 he dragged off both men and women 26:04 and put them in prison." 26:09 What can you do to steal a guilty conscience? 26:14 Some people today self-medicate, 26:17 they take more and more of that substance to mask 26:20 the guilt that is killing them. 26:24 And so self-medication numbs them for a while. 26:28 The only self-medication 26:31 young Saul has is to kill him. 26:35 Just keep killing him until nobody 26:39 of the sect is left alive. 26:48 Years later, Paul, 26:51 the young Saul is on trial for his own life. 26:55 He standing before 26:56 the great king Agrippa of Judea. 27:00 The king and his wife Berenice have come to hear this prisoner 27:04 tell the story. 27:06 And so Paul tells the story, 27:08 and we'll go over to Acts 26 to pick it up 27:10 right in the middle of his testimony to the king. 27:13 "I too was convinced by the way that I ought to do all that was 27:17 possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 27:19 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. 27:21 On the authority of the chief priests, 27:23 I put many of the Lord's people in prison, 27:26 and when they were put to death, 27:27 I cast my vote against them, kill him, kill her. 27:32 Many a time I went from 27:33 one synagogue to another to have them punished, 27:36 and I tried to force them to blaspheme. 27:39 I was so obsessed with persecuting them that 27:41 I even hunted them down in foreign cities." 27:45 Oh, I wish I had a YouTube now. 27:47 I wish I had that YouTube screen in front of me 27:50 now that captures the moment 27:52 when Paul and his band of enforcers after days 27:56 and nights of traversing the barren wilderness 27:58 north of Jerusalem. 28:00 Finally that last sandy bluff 28:02 and looking across 28:05 the valley is the skyline 28:10 of the ancient city of Damascus. 28:14 Palm trees waving in the breeze, 28:18 gardens and orchard, 28:20 streams and beauty. 28:25 And if the YouTube camera would zoom in just 28:28 a little closer to the countenance 28:29 of influencer number two. 28:32 I have a feeling there was a smug look 28:34 of satisfaction on his grinning face, 28:37 because in his hip pocket 28:39 he has a handwritten authority of the high priest of Jerusalem 28:45 to go house to house if necessary, 28:47 synagogue to synagogue and destroy any disciples 28:52 of this dead Jesus of Nazareth. 28:56 It can't get any better than this if you're influencer, 29:00 he tells himself. 29:05 When suddenly, because I'm still watching 29:08 the YouTube screen, 29:10 suddenly that road that dips down 29:12 into the oldest 29:13 contagiously inhabited city on earth, 29:15 it's still inhabited by the way. 29:17 It's the oldest city on earth 29:20 with people in it since the beginning. 29:22 As the road drops down to the gates of Damascus, 29:26 suddenly, amazingly, strangely there's, 29:29 there is this white like why did you flash the white? 29:34 Is there something wrong with the iris of the camera? 29:36 Why is this thing turned white? 29:37 It looks like white is just spilling. 29:39 Light is spilling and suddenly 29:41 all the participants in the story are gone, 29:43 they just disappeared. 29:45 And we instigately begin to squint 29:46 because it hurts our eyes. 29:48 It spills off of the YouTube screen 29:50 and we close our senses to this. 29:58 To a man Saul and his companioneth, boom. 30:02 They hit the ground, 30:04 incoming fire, 30:10 thunder, darkness, 30:14 and then Saul hears, 30:17 Saul, Saul. 30:27 Before the king Saul continues his story. 30:30 "About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, 30:35 I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, 30:39 blazing around me and my companions. 30:42 We all fell to the ground 30:44 and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 30:48 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 30:53 It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 30:57 That's a stick with a metal sharp point to it 31:00 that you use on an ox. 31:01 Come on, come on, come on, you're kicking, why? 31:14 To his dying day, 31:15 Saul of Tarsus will testify that Jesus of Nazareth, 31:20 the hated imposter that he has fanatically 31:23 sought to expunge from human consciousness, 31:26 Jesus of Nazareth, the glorified Christ, 31:29 the one who was crucified, buried, rose again 31:33 and ascended to the throne of eternity. 31:36 That same Jesus appeared to him, personally. 31:40 He saw Jesus of Nazareth 31:45 and he heard the voice of the crucified one, 31:49 Saul, Saul. 31:55 N. T. Wright in his marvelous book, 31:58 Paul: A Biography describes the moment this way. 32:01 "Everything was now focused on the figure from 32:04 whom they streamed a blinding light, 32:07 the figure who now addressed Saul as a master addresses 32:11 a slave, the figure he recognized 32:13 as the crucified Jesus of Nazareth. 32:16 Heaven and earth came together in this figure, 32:19 and He was commanding Saul to acknowledge this fact 32:23 and reorient his entire life accordingly." 32:30 Saul knows who this is. 32:38 As only the eternal can do, in one second 32:42 a lifetime can go by, 32:44 and in that lifetime of the one second, 32:47 Saul reviews all the evidence of the Old Testament 32:51 and evidence he had memorized, but connecting the dots 32:56 he had never done, 33:00 and he realizes. 33:03 Ellen White like N. T. Wright 33:07 believes the same reality. 33:10 Sketches From the Life of Paul. 33:11 "Saul lying prostrate upon the ground, 33:15 understood the words that were spoken, 33:17 and saw clearly before him the Son of God. 33:20 One look upon that glorious Being, 33:23 imprinted His image forever upon the soul 33:26 of the stricken Jew." 33:28 Keep reading. 33:29 "No doubt entered the mind of Saul 33:31 that this was Jesus of Nazareth who spoke to him, 33:35 and that he was indeed the long looked for Messiah, 33:39 the Consolation and Redeemer of Israel." 33:50 And so Saul tells Agrippa the king. 33:54 "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' 33:58 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' 34:03 the Lord replied.'" 34:07 What follows now are three days 34:09 and three nights of no light, 34:14 no food, no water, 34:18 nobody but Saul alone 34:23 with his guilty conscience and a hidden divine 34:28 presence in the darkness. 34:32 Hey, come on, think about it for a moment. 34:34 You think about it. 34:35 If you knew that you sent an innocent man 34:38 to his violent death in the stoning of Stephen, 34:40 knowing now that Stephen was telling the gospel 34:44 truth about this, Jesus, you have just met. 34:46 How could you possibly sleep? 34:51 If you knew that you drag men and women 34:55 and children to their deaths for their faith, 34:57 in this same Jesus that you have just met, 35:00 how could you possibly eat or drink? 35:03 You cannot do 35:04 anything, nothing 35:09 but pray. 35:12 Three days and three nights, 35:18 such is the nature of a guilty conscience. 35:22 And there's only one cure for a guilty conscience. 35:25 And we all know the cure. 35:29 You have to be forgiven. 35:32 And until you are, you are tormented to death, 35:41 but Jesus is not going to come to Saul, Nope. 35:44 I already came. 35:47 Jesus will send the church instead. 35:51 The church can handle this, they're My body. 35:54 The head doesn't have to be there. 35:56 So He turns to the church in Damascus 35:59 and He picks a church member. 36:03 He says, "You're going to be my man." 36:06 Watch this. 36:08 This is in the actual historical account 36:09 now that Luke gives in Acts Chapter 9. 36:11 "In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. 36:15 And the Lord called to him in a vision, 'Ananias!' 36:18 'Yes, Lord,' he recognizes the voice of his master. 36:22 'Yes, Lord,' he answered. 36:24 The Lord told him, 'Now, look, 36:25 I need you to go to the house of Judas on Straight Street," 36:28 which by the way still exists today 36:30 in Damascus, right? 36:33 I need you to go to the house of a man named Judas. 36:35 He lives on Straight Street. 36:36 "And I want you to ask for a man from Tarsus who, 36:39 whose name is Saul, for he is praying. 36:42 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come 36:46 and place his hands on him to restore his sight." 36:50 Talking about an oblique invitation. 36:54 He won't come out and say, you do it. 36:56 No, he just says, this guy has had a vision 37:00 of you coming and putting your hands on him. 37:04 Excuse me. Time out, Lord. 37:08 You talking about Ananias me, 37:09 or how about the Ananias down the street? 37:11 Which Ananias are you really talking about? 37:12 Me? Okay. 37:14 But look at Saul, they're all kinds of Sauls. 37:17 You're not talking about the Saul of Tarsus 37:19 who is dying to put his hands on me. 37:21 Are you? I am, go. 37:27 Jesus doesn't show up again to Saul. 37:29 Doesn't have to, He's got the church. 37:33 That's why we come to church because Jesus 37:36 doesn't show up like the Damascus road, 37:41 but we keep hearing about Jesus 37:43 and He keeps showing up in our minds and in our hearts. 37:47 That's why we just keep coming week after week after week. 37:50 I'm sending the church, you go. 37:53 Ananias says, listen, rather, the Lord says to Ananias now, 37:58 come on, come on, go. 37:59 "This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim 38:02 my name to the Gentiles and their kings 38:05 and to the people of Israel. 38:06 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." 38:10 You go and guess what? Ananias goes. 38:14 His heart is up here. He finds the address. 38:18 He opens the door. 38:19 There is a blind man 38:21 sitting on some stool 38:26 and he walks in with the most beautiful word 38:29 that Saul could ever have heard. 38:32 He walks in. 38:34 He places his hands on Saul. 38:36 And he says, 38:39 Brother Saul, isn't that beautiful? 38:43 Brother Saul, I know who you are, 38:48 but you're my brother. 38:51 Brother Saul, it's okay. 38:55 You're with friends now. 38:58 Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus 39:01 who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, 39:03 He has set me confront, confirmation whom you saw 39:09 is who spoke to me? 39:13 It wasn't a dream. 39:15 The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road 39:18 as you were coming here has sent me, 39:19 so that you may see again 39:21 and be filled with a Holy Spirit. 39:23 And immediately something like scales... 39:25 The new American Standard Bibles 39:27 2020 edition that just came out this spring, 39:29 adds a word, something like fish scales. 39:32 I've always wondered, what are these scales? 39:34 When you put fish in front of it, I understand now. 39:36 Everybody has seen a fish that gets skin. 39:38 It's just this crusty stuff. 39:39 Something like fish scales 39:42 trickle down from Saul's eyes across his cheeks. 39:46 And guess what? He could see again. 39:48 He got up and he was baptized. 39:50 And after taking some food, he regained his strength. 39:56 Wow. Forgiven. 39:59 And by the way, with a rap sheet, 40:00 I don't know how long that rap sheet on Saul was. 40:03 It was a long one, 40:05 charged, charged, charged, charged, 40:09 forgiven of all those bloody sins. 40:13 Forgiven. Do you understand? 40:16 Gone. 40:18 Years later, Saul turned Paul 40:21 would write a line that I hope 40:22 I will never forget as long as I live. 40:25 Now, I'm going to share it with you right now. 40:28 It's a beautiful line. 40:29 Don't you ever forget it either please? 40:32 1 Timothy 1:15, 40:38 "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance." 40:43 Here comes a sentence. 40:44 "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 40:48 of whom I am the worst." 40:51 I want you to repeat it out loud with me. 40:53 Come on. You're old enough. 40:55 You can do this out loud. 40:58 Let's read it together. 40:59 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 41:04 of whom I am the worst. 41:08 This isn't play acting. 41:10 This is not putting on some kind of mellow drama, 41:13 so that God is convinced, 41:14 I'm, I really am a bad guy, God. 41:16 No, no, no, because in the secret 41:18 of your conscience, you know, you are about the worst dude 41:22 who has ever sinned, you know that, 41:26 and your conscience reminds you of it. 41:29 Paul isn't just playing around. 41:33 He never forgot the face 41:36 of Stephen that he ordered executed. 41:41 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 41:44 of whom I am the worst 41:47 and so are you. 41:51 That's the gospel. 41:53 Saul will spend the rest of his teaching this sentence 41:59 wherever he goes. 42:01 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 42:04 of whom I am the worst. 42:09 Eternal good news. 42:12 So what's all this have to do with Leigh Stein, 42:16 and Instavangelists and influencers 42:18 and Saul and you and me, what's it have to do? 42:21 It's the second secret to how to become an influencer. 42:24 And here comes secret number two, 42:26 don't ever forget the truth, to become an influencer 42:30 you must follow the capital I Influencer. 42:35 That's the only way you will make 42:36 a lasting impact on human society. 42:40 You can make an impact. 42:42 We see people in the news every night that have made 42:44 huge impacts and we're sick and tired of seeing them. 42:49 You can make an eternal impact. 42:52 You want to be that kind of an influencer. 42:53 Sure, you do, me too. 42:56 The only way to become an influencer, 42:58 you must follow the capital I, Influencer. 43:03 Three days and three nights of soul searching. 43:05 That's a lot of time. 43:06 Sometimes that's how long it takes however. 43:09 When I was a kid here at Andrews University 43:11 and a student on this campus, 43:12 I was wrestling with guilt so bad. 43:14 I thought I was going to lose my mind. 43:16 It took several months for me. 43:19 I don't know how long it will take for you. 43:20 We all have guilt that has to be absolved and forgiven. 43:29 But if you're serious and you submit yourself to the capital, 43:33 I Influencer, Jesus Christ, 43:37 who came into the world to save sinner 43:39 of whom I am the worst. 43:40 That Jesus, He will take care 43:43 of that guilt just like that. 43:48 Try it. 43:50 I want you to find this Jesus. 43:53 I want you to hook your destiny to the capital I 43:59 Influencer star 44:02 and stay with Him until you die. 44:10 There's no other way. 44:12 It was Jesus who saved Saul. 44:13 Let's not get confused here. The church saves Saul. 44:16 No, He just used the church. 44:18 He just used Ananias. 44:20 It's Jesus who saves Saul 44:22 and it's Jesus who will save you. 44:25 It's Jesus, the divine Influencer. 44:28 That is the answer to the deepest longing 44:30 you have in your heart and soul right now, Jesus. 44:35 And because He saves Saul, you think about this now. 44:38 Look at all the other people who got saved. 44:42 You remember Augustine, some are now calling him 44:44 Augustine, Augustine, the church father. 44:47 He's a young man. 44:48 He is overwhelmed with personal guilt. 44:51 One day he's in his back garden. 44:54 He's weeping before God, take this guilt away. 44:58 And he hears a child's voice. 45:00 He doesn't know if it's a boy or a girl, 45:02 but I'll put his words on here from his great confession. 45:05 "I interpreted that voice solely as a divine command." 45:09 Do you know what the voice was saying in Latin? 45:13 Tolle lege, tolle lege, tolle lege. 45:16 It's like, is this a kid's game? 45:18 No, I determined, 45:20 "It is a divine command that came to me to open 45:22 the book that was near him 45:24 and read the first chapter I find." 45:25 He opens that book that is near him. 45:27 And the first chapter is Romans 13. 45:29 And in Romans 13, he gets saved. 45:32 An unlikely place by the way to find salvation. 45:35 But it worked for Augustine, 45:38 all because of the Damascus road and a man 45:41 who met Jesus of Nazareth there. 45:43 Augustine met the same Jesus. 45:46 Oh, I think of the, come on, everybody loves Martin Luther. 45:50 Hundreds of years later 45:52 affected by Augustine but Luther, a monk, 45:55 his tonsure is shaven. 45:58 He's in a monastery library chained to the wall is a Bible. 46:01 And he opens that Bible and he discovers the Book of Romans. 46:05 Martin Luther who would later write, 46:07 "Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn 46:10 and to have gone through open doors into paradise. 46:13 The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning for me," 46:16 because of a man on the Damascus road 46:18 who met Jesus of Nazareth, Martin Luther met Him too. 46:23 Every influencer keeps influencing 46:25 and influencing and influencing. 46:27 How about John Wesley, the young man? 46:29 John Wesley tortured with guilt. 46:31 Why is it that guilt is what most effectively 46:33 takes us to the Savior? 46:35 Because it creates some, it creates an experience 46:38 we cannot absolve ourselves. 46:39 You cannot rid yourself of guilt. 46:42 You can, as we said, medicate yourself, 46:44 but that lasts a few hours 46:46 and then it's back to the same guilt. 46:47 You have to find someone who can wash you clean 46:52 and sets you free of that guilt. 46:55 John Wesley stumbles into a little 46:57 prayer group in an upper room in the city of London. 47:01 And as it turns out, they are reading together 47:03 Luther's preface to the Book of Romans. 47:06 And as they read the preface, 47:09 John Wesley would later testify. 47:11 "I felt my heart was strangely warmed, 47:15 I felt I did trust in Christ, 47:18 Christ alone for salvation." 47:21 Because of the man, the man on the Damascus road 47:25 who met Jesus of Nazareth, 47:26 personally, Wesley himself met Jesus personally 47:31 and thousands have been influenced by that man as well. 47:36 It just keeps going, which is why God needs 47:38 you to be an influencer for Him. 47:40 I'm telling you the gospel truth here in closing. 47:42 He needs you to be an influencer. 47:44 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 47:46 of whom I'm the worst. 47:48 So you got a little something you got to deal with Jesus. 47:51 That's no problem. That's what we do. 47:54 You just take this verse to Him. 47:56 You take this verse to Him and you remind Him, 47:58 You came into the world to save sinners, 48:00 and I'm the worst. 48:01 I need You to forgive me. 48:03 I don't have to feel forgiven. 48:04 I need to know I'm forgiven. 48:07 If we confess our sins, He is faithful 48:08 and just to forgive us of our sins 48:09 and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 48:11 I need to know that that's true. 48:13 It's true. 48:14 It is true, boy, girl, listen to me. 48:16 It's true. 48:17 Are you asking to be forgiven? 48:20 I just gave you forgiveness. 48:24 You don't feel it, you believe it. 48:28 Augustine, Luther, Wesley and you. 48:33 So I can't think 48:35 of a better way to begin this New Year 48:38 at Andrews University than to invite 48:40 you to give your heart. 48:42 If you've never given your heart to Jesus, 48:45 you've never thrown open the door of your life, 48:47 your mind, you've never thrown 48:49 it open, say, Jesus, I need You to come here. 48:51 Just I'm a mess, but I'm the worst. 48:53 And You came, You said You came for the worst. 48:56 Well, you found me. 48:58 I'm inviting You in, wash me, cleanse me. 49:04 He will. 49:06 You have to ask Him. 49:08 What Paul did, you do. 49:10 Soon as you get that, you get baptized. 49:12 Come on, don't push your foot around now. 49:14 You don't wait, you get baptized. 49:16 You accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, 49:18 then you go under the water and burry that past. 49:21 When Paul came up, the memory was still there, 49:24 but the tortured guilt was forever gone. 49:26 And he became the great champion 49:28 of the gospel that Jesus Christ 49:30 came into the world to save sinners 49:31 of whom I am the worst of the worst. 49:36 That's the gospel. 49:37 And by the way, the blinded Saul, 49:39 I just reminded this before I sit down. 49:41 He cries out on the Damascus road. 49:43 He can't see a blooming thing. 49:45 Its darkness, but he cries out, "Lord, 49:49 what would You have me to do?" 49:52 And instantly comes back the answer from the Lord Jesus. 49:56 "I want you to become an influencer for Me, 50:01 just like Stephen." 50:04 And Saul took the place of Stephen in the galaxy 50:10 of the early church. 50:13 God needs you to take somebody else's place. 50:17 God needs you to be the influencer. 50:19 I want to give you a chance to say, yep, 50:21 I want to be that influencer. 50:24 Put this on the screen for you. Text the word Paul1. 50:26 So you got no space between it, 50:28 just Paul1 to 269-281-2345. 50:32 You do that right now. 50:34 Don't look at me. Look at your smart device. 50:37 Text, text to 281-2345, 50:43 the word Paul1 is Chapter 1 in the series 50:48 and you hit send. 50:51 It'll reply to you. You watch. 50:53 Kind of fun to do, but you do it 50:56 because it's going to take you to the connect card. 50:57 Now you're going to get to a connect card. 50:59 It's a little bit tricky, 51:01 but when it says drop down menu for my next steps, 51:04 you touch that. 51:05 Bingo. They'll be there. 51:07 Here they are. Step number one. 51:09 Like Saul, I want to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 51:12 Listen, if you have never accepted Jesus 51:14 as your Lord and Savior, just put a check, put a... 51:18 You click onto it. It's electronically. 51:19 And it'll just suddenly identify 51:21 that as your choice. 51:22 You can do all four if you want it. 51:25 Electronically, we'll be back in touch with you 51:27 and give you material to begin a life 51:30 where Jesus is your Lord and Savior. 51:31 It's not as complicated as people 51:33 have tried to tell you, don't believe them. 51:35 Do not believe them. Box number two. 51:38 Like Saul, I want to be baptized into Christ my Savior. 51:41 You haven't been baptized yet. 51:42 You accepted Jesus. 51:44 Sure, but you just haven't been baptized. 51:45 Come on. What are you waiting for? 51:46 Don't put it off. What a way to begin a new year. 51:49 Go under the water. 51:51 Go under the water with Jesus. 51:53 Next box. 51:54 Like Saul, I want to learn 51:55 how to be an influencer for Jesus. 51:57 Yeah, me too. 51:58 Just hang in there with this series. 52:01 By the time we're through God willing. 52:05 And finally I look forward to learning from Paul's mental 52:07 health meltdown next week. 52:10 There aren't a lot of scholars that have seen this, 52:12 N.T. Wright has. 52:13 And I'm going to go out on a limb 52:15 and tell you that Paul went through 52:17 a nervous breakdown, 52:19 and we're going to look at the evidence next week. 52:21 This is a generation that's big on mental health 52:23 and rightfully so. 52:24 It's a mess with this pandemic. 52:26 Some of you are struggling with depression right now. 52:28 You don't know how to deal, cope with your life. 52:31 Come next week. We'll talk about that. 52:33 There will be a solution. 52:36 And then you go down to the bottom 52:37 and send it and it'll go. 52:42 I wanna pray with you. 52:43 And then we're going to stand together 52:44 as we do on the first Sabbath of every school year. 52:47 And this is technically 52:48 the first Sabbath that we began last week. 52:51 We're going to stand together and sing the Lord's Prayer. 52:53 There's no experience like it, 52:56 but I want to pray with you first. 52:58 Dear God, Jesus of Nazareth, 53:01 Holy Spirit, 53:04 all three of You were at work in the story that unfolded 53:07 before our eyes. 53:09 All three of You are at work in the story 53:11 of our lives right now. 53:12 Dear God, do whatever it takes. 53:14 You see that check mark. 53:15 You see that selection of the next step, honor that. 53:19 It's just an electronic signal, but honor the decision 53:24 and leave us never the same again. 53:26 There are some young men and women 53:28 here who are eager to begin a new chapter in their life. 53:33 Let this be the day. 53:35 Let the Jesus of Nazareth of the Damascus road 53:38 come to them quietly through His Spirit. 53:42 And may we never be the same again. 53:43 Make us all influencers for You, 53:47 for Your glory. 53:48 We love You, Father. 53:50 We love You back 53:52 with all our hearts, in Jesus' name. 53:55 Amen. 53:57 Please stand now as we sing the beautiful, 54:00 beautiful Lord's Prayer. 54:12 Our Father 54:21 Which art in heaven 54:31 Hallowed be 54:33 Thy name 54:47 Thy kingdom come 54:54 Thy will be done 54:59 On earth 55:04 As it is in heaven 55:30 Give us this day 55:35 Our daily bread 55:40 And forgive us our debts 55:45 As we forgive our debtors 55:58 And lead us not 56:01 Into temptation 56:05 But deliver us 56:08 From evil 56:12 For thine is the kingdom 56:18 And the power 56:21 And the glory, 56:26 For ever 56:37 Amen 57:06 Thank you for taking the time to join us in worship today. 57:08 I'd like to spend another moment 57:10 with you here at the end of our program 57:11 to share a word of hope. 57:12 In fact, that's what this little book 57:14 is all about in these uncertain times. 57:15 And let's face it, 57:17 they're uncertain all over this planet. 57:18 This book entitled, 57:20 The Great Hope will help you understand 57:22 not just what God has planned for your future, 57:24 but for the future of the entire human race. 57:26 Why keep shining on this dark old world 57:28 and new truths long forgotten are being 57:31 constantly rediscovered. 57:32 If you need a fresh dose of hope for your life this day, 57:35 or you know somebody else 57:36 who could sure use that gift of hope. 57:38 Then I'd like to invite you to grab your phone, 57:40 dial our toll free number 877, 57:42 the two words HIS-WILL. 57:44 811-HIS WILL, and at no charge to you, 57:48 we'll get a copy in the mail to you right away. 57:50 Till the next time we meet, 57:52 may the peace and hope of the Lord Jesus 57:55 be with you 24/7. |
Revised 2021-11-16