Sunday May 11th 9am Service (Mother's Day)
First B Jackson
2025-05-11

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Where's Pasco going? She's coming here. And nobody knows us. Like, it's a

it'll be well,

Linda doesn't know it. She's coming home.

Yeah. We'll see. I hope this is awful. Sometimes.

Hey, buddy. Good to see you, man. Yeah. How are you? How was the trip?

Let me see that shirt. Did you get it there?

Oh, very good. That's cool.

Yep. The other day, Tanya called and said, hey. There's some folks broken down in the TJ Maxx parking lot. You think you could help them out? I think it's just a tire.

Could you you got the tools. They don't seem to have the tools. So I went over there, and she was staying back, and she was gonna tell him that I'm not a scary big old white guy. You know? So when she said, hey.

I called my husband, but he's a big guy, I didn't want you to be intimidating. They're two little girls and and a little guy. You know? So I didn't want you to be intimidated, and Connor works at TJ Maxx. And he came running out the door to give me a hug like that and hugged me for about a minute.

And they looked at me and they said, yeah. He's he's really intimidating. Yeah. Pretty funny. He is intimidating.

Yeah. He used his sighs. Yeah. He knew it. Yeah.

As long as I keep my mouth shut, I'm alright. Happy Mother's Day. How are you? Good. I was here last night at 11:30 or so.

But I slept great though. Yeah. The fiesta was still going on. So I had forgotten that the Mexican Mother's Day tradition is Las Mananitas where they stay up until after midnight and then they ride around and sing to the various mothers. And so I think that they literally we said, what time do you want it?

You know, the from one to when? And Tanya goes, like, ten? And they and she wrote down ten on the thing. And he goes, when I got to see the lady yesterday, she goes, can we stay later than ten? I said, yeah.

I said, you know, music but according to the town, music has to turn down at ten. But they didn't even have music. Not like loud. It was really quiet. But there were probably 75 Really?

People there. Yeah. It was really quiet. It was really quiet. So between fifty and seventy five and they were here, kids running around, carrying on inside, but they they closed the door so they wouldn't come in here and Paul and Jean are here.

Oh my goodness. This is a Paul and Jean. You remember the

Good morning, everybody. So good to see you. Will you stand and join us in song? Mothers, happy Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, mothers.

And I'd love

to begin by singing the Lloyd's the Lord's prayer together. Father, let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as in heaven right here in our hearts. Let's make this our prayer and our song.

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements. Very few actually. One of them is VBS is coming up.

20 through the twenty sixth, nine to twelve in the morning. And the theme is road trip. I love a good road trip. I think you all know that about me. Road trip.

Last we were last year, we were at with Hometown Jesus, and then this year, we're on the road with Jesus. So on the go with God. That is a QR code to just get to the church website where all of the announcements that we usually make are there, all in one place. This one I've been asked to announce especially. My Sister's Closet.

Do you all know what it is? Most of the ladies are bobbing their head. Yes? Most of the guys don't care. There's also a church there's also a church workday on the same day, but May 31 is my sister's closet.

It's sort of a clothing exchange. Casey McCooey can tell you more about it, but that happens May 31. Probably in the fellowship hall, if it gets too big, it'll spread over into right here. So that's good. And I think, the mission's moment.

Norris and Laurie Williams are serving all over the globe. They actually are farming in Washington and serving from that command post all over the world. That's one of the missionaries that this church supports. It's kind of our full time folks that we do. So if you would be praying for global disciple hip making movements through these guys.

They're they are great. He's been here to speak several times actually. Spoke one Mother's Day, discovered when I looked up. What in the world am I gonna do for Mother's Day? Nora spoke one time.

Missed that opportunity. No. Anyway, they're great. Can I pray for them right now? And then, would you all join us back in song?

Lord God Almighty, I pray for Norris. I pray for Novo. I pray for the way that your good gospel is going forward in specifically in the Muslim world, Lord. I pray that you will empower your people. I I love that you are giving visions and dreams to people to seek out, but your plan a is through human agency, human agency, humble servants of yours who will pay attention to what you say, pay attention to what you direct, and lead others into faith, not in themselves or in their doctrine or in their theology, but in the one and only savior Jesus Christ.

In Jesus name, we pray for you to empower this ministry and this couple to do your kingdom work. Amen. Now, would you stand up and we're gonna sing How Great Thou Art.

Lord, as we sing that song, I I can't help but just think of of waking up this morning and and hearing the birds outside the window or the the marvelous landscape that surrounds us. And, Lord, these are all things that that they point to you, that you are our creator, our sustainer. And God, we wanna recognize you for who you are and simply thank you and sing to you and pour out our praise to you. You are so good. And then this last line that we sing, when I think that God is son not sparing God, that you would give your one and only son for us, Lord, so that we might have life.

You've given us so many things to enjoy, and we want to express our gratitude. Amen, Connor.

I got them on my knees again. God, I'm begging fleas Oh, I don't want to abuse your grace. God, I need it every day. It's the only thing that ever really makes me wanna change. Oh, I don't

Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the the worship through giving part of the service, and I'll invite our ushers to come forward. We'll introduce a new song. But before we do, Ray, may I ask you to pray?

Sure. God, thank you for thank you for this beautiful morning. Thank you for all that is surrounding us, this beauty all over this place. I'm thankful that we can be together, Lord. But as I stand here, I recognize also so many who have lost so much.

And so, Lord, for this happy Mother's Day, there's a tinge of grief and sadness and difficulty. And I pray that you'd fill those spaces with good and gracious loving memories, Lord. I also pray that you'd use everything that you've taught us whether it's through our mothers or through our kids, that you'd use everything that you have taught us through them, Lord, to go forward with the gospel, the hope of the gospel, instruction that comes with it. In Jesus name, Lord, I pray that you'd bless each one that's here as they go forward. Equip them, to do your will and your way.

Equip us to do your will and your way. And Lord, would you use these offerings to do just that in whatever context, whatever direction you want those to flow, Lord. Would you direct us as a church? In Jesus name, amen.

We worship the God who won. We worship the God who wins. We We shout at your praise. We sing to the God who hears.

And it's time for children's church downstairs. There they go. And that should free up a little bit of space if y'all wanna come forward. There's some of you standing in the back. If you wanna come forward, the front row is almost always open.

It's just the way it is. I've had a few takers this morning, but

Back row Baptist.

Back row Baptist. Yep. So happy Mother's Day. I tried and tried and tried to shoehorn Mother's Day into Acts 15. I couldn't find it.

If I find it during, you will hear it come out. Okay? But happy Mother's Day. I really do examine things. When I approach a holiday, think, what did I say the last time this rolled around?

So I made a list and it struck me as funny. I'm gonna share it with you. 2013, my first Mother's Day here. I blew it. I didn't mention it at all.

2014, I sang a Lynyrd Skynyrd song to close the book of James. 2015, I went to Guatemala on a mission trip. 2016, missionary spoke. 2017 was a debacle. All of the records have been destroyed.

Actually, it goes on like that for a while. The one that I was gonna describe my mother was in where? 2021. And I gave a fairly detailed description of my mother and how there how she met my dad and all the different stuff, know, body cast and Vietnam and all kinds of stuff. I can I can share it with you if you want to hear?

But the text was revelation, and I said, Mother's Day. And now turning to the seven bowls of the wrath of God. It's comical. 2024 was on repentance, and that fits. Right?

A lot of us have really good advice that our mothers have given us all of our lives, and we walk against it and against it and against it. And we love her, but at the same time, we just kind of go against it. And that was like, wow, that was that actually is fitting. Well, that's what the text said. So here we go.

We're going to turn to the text. If you see Mother's Day in there, tell me afterwards. But here we are at Acts fifth Oh, this is this is to remember. These are the bands that I've quoted from this stage. And there are various group and I was going to do one this morning and thankfully, left the left it on the printer and you don't have to go for that.

It was Doug Stone who grew up fairly near me. Doug Stone is famous for, I'd be better off in a pine box on a slow train back to Georgia. But his lesser hit was Don't Tell Mama. And I think we all kind of have that when we're walking against what our mama has shown us, We have a bit of that. I know not every mama is great and gives good advice.

I know that. But don't tell mama I was drinking. I couldn't leave this world knowing mama I met Jesus with whiskey on my breath. Now, the theology of it actually is pretty good. It ain't the drinking that keeps you out.

Right? And mama was directing and he was like he was ashamed and embarrassed, but at the same time, he knew where he was headed. Right? Anyway, I yeah. Spared you that one.

Remember that Jesus said I will build my church. Would you do that? Remember that Jesus said I will build my church. So in the process of Acts 15 today, which is the Jerusalem Council, remember that Jesus said, I'm working on this. Actually, you know, the church is the bride of Christ.

If you think about it that way, it's a little weird if you're a guy. It's a little weird. Yeah. But no one can have God for his father who has not. The church capital c for his mother.

Right? So that's an angle and since Pentecost was the birth of the church. Right? Pentecost is the birth of the church and then we're growing up. The church is growing up and we've seen the first missionary journey.

That's where we left off last week. We left off in Antioch. They had made the loop. What I said was so cute. I mouthed it like seven seven times and then I changed over into Spanish and I was like, this isn't making any sense.

So cute. So Antioch is where we are. And some men came down from Judea. Now if you look at a map and you see Antioch and Jerusalem, which is the center of Judea, you might look at that and go, that's up. Well, that's the way we think.

Our maps tend to be north up. There's tend to be east west oriented anyway, but they go more by elevation in the scriptures. And so Jerusalem is like the top of the pass, the comparison. And then Jericho is 3,500 feet below that, and Antioch is even below that. Antioch is only 220 feet above sea level.

So that's about 300 miles. Some men came down from Judea and they began teaching the brothers in Antioch, unless you're circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Now what have we been seeing in Antioch? We have been seeing the growth of the church, the body of Christ is growing, and people are accepting it. And on Paphos, we see Sergius Paulus, a Gentile believe.

And then up in Pisidian Antioch, it says that some Jews believed and some Gentiles believed. And then down in Lystra, Jews and Gentiles, Jews and Gentiles, Jews and Gentiles, it's a mixed bag. Unless you're circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. That's the message. And after, Paul and Barnabas had a heated argument, no little argument literally from the Greek.

No little argument. It was not a small argument. And a debate with them where they were both kind of throwing scriptures at each other. After that, the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem. Again, there's that.

So it's 300 miles for the guys to get there to start spouting heresy. Then it was 300 miles for Paul and Barnabas to go back to Jerusalem to the apostles and to the elders concerning that issue. Listen, what is it that we believe? What is it that we preach? Are we preaching a gospel of grace or are we preaching the same old covenant works that we've been preaching?

Looking forward to a new covenant that will come, but we don't understand that so we're just gonna do, you know, the old thing about, well, you just tell me what to do. You give me a list and I can do it. You tell me and you tell me what to do and I can hit that. Anything that I can aim at, I can eventually hit, but that's just not the case. If you have broken the law in one bit, you've broken the whole law.

And so by the time you figure out what it is you're aiming to hit, you've already broken it. So Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were gonna go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and now it was therefore, after being sent on their way by the church, they're passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria. And Phoenicia is just North of Galilee, and then Samaria is just South of Galilee. It's on the way during that 300 miles. It's the latter portion of the trip.

But what it says that they were doing through Phoenicia and Samaria was describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles. Now Phoenicia would have been a mostly Gentile area. Even Galilee is Galilee of the Gentiles. And so when they're coming back through, these folks would have been familiar with the message of Jesus. They would been familiar with the fame of Jesus.

But for Paul and Barnabas coming down from Antioch and passing through and describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, they were bringing, it says, great joy. There's joy in the house of the Lord. Right? They're bringing great joy to all of the brothers and sisters. And it says all of the brothers and sisters in sort of an emphatic way, and it's not making a distinction between Jewish or Gentile believers.

They're bringing joy to everyone who knows Jesus. So when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, by the apostles, and by the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. And I imagine they were very very excited. It's sort of a first missionary journey. The next thing we hear about is these folks spouting heresy and then they're gonna go down to Jerusalem to get this cleared up.

If you're in the men's study down the hall, we covered Galatians two this week. I I believe that Galatians two is about this very meeting. The Jerusalem Council is what it's come to be known as. And so you can read a separate version in Galatians. I'm not gonna go into that one today, but it would probably come up from time to time.

So they reported, received by the church apostles and the elders and they reported all that got it done with them, but some and it's not all. Okay? Don't paint it with a broad brush that it says some of the sect of the pharisees who had believed. So these are believers. They're people who have trusted in Jesus, but the way that they have lived their life for their whole life is in a pharisaic tradition.

And we hear that and we go, oh, that's bad. Well, it was the holiest people that they had going. It was the people who really cared. These were the church folk. Okay?

These are the ones who considered a personal practice, if not relationship, a personal practice of Christianity was something that the Pharisees really really believed in. And so some of that sect of the Pharisees who were believers in Jesus, now they're Christians and they're saved by the blood of the lamb. So don't don't get it mixed up. It'll be clear. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up and said, but yeah, it is necessary.

It's absolutely necessary when God came and he gave the law to Moses. It was that and young, we got to do that. We've been doing this our whole lives. How is it that that doesn't matter at all? And so, they were arguing the point.

The same point that the guys came up and started spouting in Antioch. And so now, they're believers. Don't just throw them to the wolves. Okay? Don't think that these are all wretched horrible.

These are well meaning people who have a holy life that they practice, I would say intently and with good with good intentions, let's say. And they say it's it's necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to keep the law of Moses. After they believe, bring them in. Bring them in and show them. Bring them in and teach them how to act.

Right? It's for me a parallel here. If you grew up in church, if you grew up in a staunch church, let's say, you might have a history of this, where you know the way to act in church. You know the way to act because you've been taught how to act. But when you believe, it becomes a a different thing.

It's because it's not based on works that were saved. Right? But some of us hang on to these things and insist on these things. I seersucker on Mother's Day. Lennon after Easter.

This is just sort of a thing, know. The traditions, I mean, it's necessary to circumcise them. It's necessary to direct them to keep of law of Moses And the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. Wherever two or three gathered in my name, they are mine in the midst. The apostles and elders said, we do need to consider this.

Now, I'm standing over here because the legalistic bitch. For years and years, I've been saying, you've got a legalism that is not the gospel, and you've got licentiousness over here that's not the gospel, and you've got the gospel. And it's the answer for both, but it's not in between the two. Okay? It's the answer for both of them.

The apostles and elders came together to look into this matter, and there had been much debate. Have you all ever been to a business meeting? Or an elders meeting? Or a board of trustees meeting? We're supposed to debate.

We're supposed to. We are fallible human beings who gather in the name of God and pray to be led humbly by the spirit of God. We need to debate this stuff. We need to. So after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and he said to him, brothers, you all know that in the early days, God made a choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

They already knew Peter's story from Acts 10, his meeting with Cornelius. They knew it because when he came back to Jerusalem, he had to defend himself. They knew Peter's story from when Peter and John went to Samaria, and they went to Samaria because the Samaritans had believed. And when the apostles got there, God had delayed and gave them the Holy Spirit. Peter says, just as he had given us the spirit.

Exactly the same way. And so, brothers you know, early on, God made a choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and they believe. And by the way, Gentiles with the capital g here, Gentiles is everybody else. It means the nations. It's anybody that is not of Jewish descent and belief.

And God, who knows the heart, Peter goes on, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit just as also he did to us in the same manner that he did to us. And so Peter and John saw it, and then Barnabas and Paul, we've been following now and we're seeing the same thing happen with them. If you go to Galatians two, you'll see that the apostles in Jerusalem doing this and Paul doing this outside like in Antioch and Cyprus and up in Cilicia and all over. That Those were separate events, but they're both led by the same Lord. And in Galatians two, Paul's reason for going down from Antioch to Jerusalem, he says, I wanna make sure I'm preaching the right thing.

I got it directly from Jesus, but I also wanna be on the same page. Unity in the body of Christ is incredibly important. It is what Jesus prayed for in the garden on the night he was betrayed, when he was arrested. He was praying that we would be unified. And so our unity is important enough to have the debate, to pray humbly together, to get together and come to an agreement to what is acceptable behavior.

God, who knows the heart testify to them given the Holy Spirit just as he also did to us. That was an act earlier. I didn't put that in apparently. But I've already told you about it. Cornelius's house and in Samaria.

And he made no distinction between them and us. Actually, when the sheet was lowered from heaven in Acts 10 and it was filled with all types of animals, take Peter, kill and eat. That whole thing at Cornelius, before Cornelius's house, he says, make no distinction. What I've called clean, you don't call unclean. And so Peter got that and he resisted it three times.

And then he got the message. And as soon as he kinda got the message, knock knock on the door, there are these folks from Cornelius' house. He goes back and then he finds himself, good Jewish boy, walking into the home of a Gentile. Oh my goodness. Like, God made no distinction between us and them.

We are to carry the message to them. That's it. And he says specifically, Peter says, by my mouth. He made no distinction between them enough. That's Acts 10.

Cleansing their hearts by faith. Now, Paul hadn't written Ephesians at this point, but we know that we are saved by grace through faith. It'll go on to tell us that here. He made no distinction between them and us, Peter says, and he cleansed their hearts by faith. Since this is the case, they had no works.

They were not circumcised on the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin, all that stuff. They weren't. They didn't have the works. So since this is the case, that he saves by faith, that he makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile. Since this is the case, why is it that y'all are putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of these new learners, disciple means learner.

These new learners, why are you putting a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? Have you all read the old testament? Oh my goodness. So we're in Kings, second Kings right now in the first being the Bible, and it's amazing to watch and just hear, so and so was made king when he was this many years old and he served for three months and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. So and so was king for this long and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

He did not do anything to stem the tide of idolatry. They failed over and over and over. The truth is all of us fail. All of us have failed. Why is it that you're putting to the test, putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke, which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear.

Peter says this, but we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? It is by his grace. It is unmerited favor. That's how we're saved.

The unmerited favor of God. Amen. Thank you. I thought you were gonna add something about Mother's Day. Many of our mothers are very gracious.

No. Sorry. We believe that we're saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus faith Lord Jesus and it's by faith that says above that, in the same way as they also are. He says, it's got to be by grace through faith. It has to be.

That's the only way that it happens. And so, since he's making no distinction, how are we saved? In the same way, both of us, whether you're Jewish or you're Gentile. And all the people kept silent. Just linger in that for a moment.

All of the heated argument and debate and Peter kinda silenced the room. The Holy Spirit silenced the room. They kept silent and they were listening. They were listening now to Paul and to Barnabas as they were relating all of the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles. We talked about those over the past couple of weeks.

At Lystra, the healing of the lame man that caused such a stir that the priest of Zeus came in and I'm sure they were telling them all the details about what God was doing through them among the nations. And after they stopped speaking, James James James the brother of Jesus, After they stopped speaking, James responded saying, brothers, listen to me. Simeon. This is interesting. When you see Simeon right here, there are a couple of different Simeon's in scripture, and you think, oh, was that the same Simeon that said he could die in peace now that he had seen Jesus?

No. That was a long long time ago. I think he died in peace. Was it Simeon like Simeon, the the one who is called black from our earlier study up there in Cyprus? No.

This is Simon Peter, but it's the most Hebrew way you can say it. And they're in Jerusalem, and that's who he's talking to. James has a very Hebraic character about him. If you read his book, can see that. But Simeon, Simon, Peter has described how God first sorry.

God first concerned himself about taking a people for his name from among the Gentiles. And he says, James knows his Old Testament and he is gonna do sort of a salad of Old Testament prophets here. And this is not the way that I would do it, I'm gonna say, but I am not writing a holy writ. You know, I'm not led by the Holy Spirit in the same way that he was to have revelation for all of us forever, but he says the the words of the prophets agree with this. Just what Peter was saying goes along with this.

After these things, I will return and I will rebuild the fallen Tabernacle of David. I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it. He's building up David's throne basically. So that the rest of mankind may seek after the Lord. I am making way for the Gentiles to know.

And so that all the Gentiles will who will be called by my name, says the Lord who makes these things known from long ago. Now, again, I wouldn't do it the same way James did it, but I'm not James. He takes from Amos nine right here. I will raise up the fallen shelter of David. I'll rebuild it as in the days of old.

Jeremiah 12. And I will bring them back. I will restore. And Amos nine twelve, and then all the nations who are called by my name. He's reaching out.

He could have gone to a lot of other places that say, you are supposed to be a light to the Gentiles. It's as plain as day that that's what they were supposed to be, but Jesus ends up fulfilling that where they had in various degrees of success, but still failed. Isaiah 45, who has long since declared it, is it not I the Lord? So all of those things mixed together give us what James says right there in sixteen, seventeen, and 18. He's saying, not only is this our experience in the right now and in the early time in Samaria and in Cornelius' house and all this like Peter is saying, it's not just that.

God already told us that this is what's gonna happen. He could have used Joel, which Peter used on the day of Pentecost. He could have used other places from Jeremiah about the new covenant. He didn't have to, but getting through there, he says, therefore, because of that, it's my judgment. James was the one that was sort of in charge.

It's my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God. Peter just said, if you put that yoke of the law on them, it's it's that's too heavy to carry. There's too much. You they just met Jesus and now you're gonna give them all of the law and sit that on top of them. The whole book of Galatians is basically, listen, you believe by faith, why are you walking away from faith and going back to a life of law that you cannot hit?

Faith is on Jesus, law is on you. Therefore, it's my judgment that we don't cause trouble for those from the nations who are turning to God, but that we write to them, that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, because that's absolutely absolutely too difficult for a Jewish person to get over. Idolatry is I mean, the first commandment. Right? No other gods before me.

And so if we're gonna survive Jewish and Gentile and we're part of one church, there are some things that just make a a Jewish believer wanna gag and that's one of them. Don't eat meat offered to idols. To abstain from acts of sexual immorality. Paul calls it He says, all all sin is bad. He said, but there's a certain kind where you're sinning against your own body and sexual immorality is that type.

It's just not good for you. You have liberty in Christ. You have freedom in Christ. This is not good for you. And from what has been strangled, that's a part of the It is a part of the old law, but again, it's one of those things that would just cause someone to wretch.

And if we're gonna be together, you don't wanna be serving stuff that's gonna make your guest wretch, ideally. I've got lots of missionary stories about that. And both ways actually. We had friends one time who were eating something and they found it to be so detestable and they're you're supposed to eat whatever's put before you. And so they're eating it and they're just kind of knocking it back.

Honestly, it was blood. That was part of it at least. And so as they're eating it, they're like And so they had it. As anybody turns around, they kind of put it in a little container and took it with them. They invited the same folks over to their house.

They had ham sandwiches, mayonnaise, mustard, ham sandwiches. And that's what you you know, it's a casual Sunday afternoon. On Monday, they lifted up a couch cushion and found half of a ham sandwich. It's the grossest thing those people had ever eaten. Anyway, I'll get back to this because it's gonna come back up on us.

So from for from ancient generations, this is this is James's reason for saying, these four things are in their own special category. It's really so that we can get along. Right? When Paul says later on, Paul will say, you know, think of others ahead of yourself. Jesus has said, think of others ahead of yourself.

Don't put a stumbling block in their way. That's a part of this. For from ancient generations, Moses who has those who preach him in every city, No matter where we go, we've already have this group of people that we should start with them because they ought to know and recognize. And we don't want to have a practice that would just gross them out. And we don't want to have a practice that's going to cause us struggles.

The sexual immorality was rife in the Gentile population all around. Different sexual morays for different cultures, but sexual immorality is something that people recognized even if they didn't practice it. So ancient times, Moses had been preached every city. He's in the synagogues every Sabbath, and this is a good starting place for us to go. There's a lot on this slide right here, so words are small smaller than I usually do.

Then it seemed good to the apostles and to the elders. It seemed good. Does that sound spirit led? Yes. They're gathered in his name.

We're gathered in his name. We as a church and as a group of elders and as a body, we have to decide who's gonna paint the fence. We have to decide the mundane stuff of life. Know, what are we gonna what are we gonna do? Lord, show us how you would have us spend the money.

Right? Show us how you would have us spend our time. Show us how you would align and ordain our services. It seemed good to the apostles and elders with the whole church to choose men from among them to send to Antioch. So now they're in Jerusalem, they're gonna send people 300 miles again back up to Antioch.

And these were the ones. With Paul and Barnabas, they sent Judas who was also called Barsabbas. How would you like to have the name Judas in this time? Pretty tough. Judas.

Oh, yeah. We call him Barsabbas and Silas. Silas and they were lead, and this is the Silas that Paul is gonna be with in the second missionary journey. Spoiler alert. The leading men among the brothers, and they sent this letter to them.

So James said, I think we ought to write a letter, and so this is the letter. The apostles and the brothers who are elders to the brothers and the sisters in Antioch and in Syria and in Cilicia up here, Antioch. It's Turkey nowadays on Taqiya, Turkey. Cilicia and Syria is north of Antioch. Who are from the Gentiles?

Y'all who are from this place, who are from the nations, greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number, folks from here, the epicenter where this thing got started. Since we have heard that some from our number to whom we gave no instruction have confused you by their teaching and they have upset your souls. It seemed good to us having become of one mind. We got together until we decided on it.

Right? I'm not a political guy. I really really appreciate people who can get together and decide on stuff that matters, especially when it's favorable for everybody. It seemed good to us having become of one mind. Men who to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul that you all sent us.

These are men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. They can be trusted. Therefore, we've sent with them Judas called Barsabbas and Silas who themselves will also report the same things by word-of-mouth. I don't want you to be confused about this stuff. I want for you to know.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to lay and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials. We're gonna we're gonna ask you to follow this stuff. I think it's for practical reasons again I say. We decided on a time when we would meet. Right?

There's a time here at 09:00 in the morning or somewhere there about where we get together and at eleven. So it's we decide on stuff That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, that you abstain from blood. That's used in a lot of Gentile cooking, not at all in Jewish cooking or in Muslim cooking by the way. From things that were strangled or from acts of sexual immorality. Those are the essentials.

Those are just these four things and they don't just stop there and say, it's a matter of salvation. You have to do this this way. God can't save you if you no. There's none of that. It says after that, if you keep yourselves free from such things, you'll do well.

It's about the advance of the gospel. It's about getting along and getting together. One of the things that I like the most about the seminary I attended is they set out at the beginning that you kind of signed off, you weren't gonna quibble over the minors. You're gonna major on the majors and you you're gonna allow for people matters of conscience and you're gonna allow for different denominational slants and you're not gonna argue over these things. They call it evangelical unity list because of its encouragement.

Now we might look at it and go, there were four things that they left. Those things are those are things in the law. Can you believe that? No. They had 613 really difficult things.

Wool and cotton together. I mean, the different 613 laws, but they just had these four that are probably it's going to go well for you if you go there. When they'd read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement and Judas and Silas also being prophets themselves, they encouraged and they strengthened the brothers. This is somebody coming from one place to another place. Oh, good news from a far country.

We love it to get together in Kenya or Uganda or South Africa recently, and just be of the same family. I have more in common with with those folks joining together with them on a Sunday morning. It's immediate. It's just like that. Then I do with lots of folks that live within a mile of me.

This is fun for a preacher too. Judas and Salas also being prophets, encouraged and strengthened them with a lengthy message. After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and the sisters in peace. There wasn't an aggravation. There wasn't a okay.

Is it gonna be Antioch or is it gonna be Jerusalem? Tune in next week. No. It's none of that. They're in peace.

They have settled the question and it really is about grace. And anytime we get together and we try to make it about anything else, we're backing up from the Jerusalem Council. And I don't care what your denominational affiliation is or what your particularities are that you feel like it's gotta be the way that's gotta be. No, it doesn't. They left in peace and they left to those who had sent them out.

So again, there's a time where a missionary goes out to do a mission and then they come back home and that's kinda cool. Back to Jerusalem, go Judas and Silas and maybe a few others. But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch. They were teaching and they were preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. And that's it.

That's the that's the message. With his spirit is how many holy spirits are there? There's one. There's one spirit. If you are in disagreement, if you're in a disagreement with a brother or sister in Christ, at least one of you is not listening to the Holy Spirit.

It might be both of you. Okay? Unity in Christ is possible. It's only possible by his spirit. And that's what we saw happen in there today.

And I know that there's been news this week. There's an American Pope and there's all stuff and they said, what does that have to do with me? I'm Baptist. Well, the unity of the body of Christ is incredibly important and we are incredibly divided. And so I say, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, would you allow us to hear the still small voice that guided these guys, that can guide us now if we will humble ourselves.

Lord God Almighty, would you do? What only you can do? In Jesus name, amen. Would you stand with me? And we're gonna sing.

You've already won. That is the cool thing because Jesus is building his church. He know, we know he's gonna win. We know that the church triumphant. That is all believers of all times will will go forward.

So, in Christ In Jesus name, we pray. Lord spirit, would you fill us with exactly what we need to go forward today. In Jesus name, amen.

We know how the story ends. We will

Amen. Amen. It's about Jesus. For in him, all of the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him, Christ, to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven and he was making peace by the blood of his cross. It really is about faith and it's faith in Christ.

That makes all the difference. If we get our heads around that, it will free us up to do his will. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. So comforting here.

Yeah. It will go well with you. Yeah. That's good. Oh, that's really good.

My mother is she doesn't see much. It's like this long that she's so

powerful for weeks. It's bringing in the bill. Sailor. So yeah. When I