Okay, well we're looking at part two of the gospel polemic. When I first started this sermon and preparing to preach through it, I wasn't entirely sure whether it would be more than one message and I should learn by now that very few of the sermons are concise enough in my view and in the study work that I do that they can be preached in one service. Thank you, brother. I appreciate that. So I invite you to turn to the Bible as we're looking at this part two of the gospel polemic, a polemic you'll remember is, was based on the fact that everywhere Jesus went in the gospels, whenever He spoke, it was polarizing. It split people immediately in one of only two groups, either those that are drawn to Him or those who are repelled by Him. And then we see that showing up again here in the historical record of the founding of the church. And now in this first church missionary exercise of the apostle Paul with his companion Barnabas, we see the same thing. And we saw it also as well in chapters 2 through 5 with Peter as well. We saw the things that he said either repulsed people or they were deeply grateful and encouraged because it gave them hope. And this continues, and that's why I wanted to be sure that we understand that principle, that as we are called to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to those that are within the intersections of our relationships, that we are ready that it is going to be polarizing. His words are, if I'm getting it right to a group of people that don't know Him, or maybe I don't know them, get ready, it's going to be polarized. As a matter of fact, if it's not, what am I missing? What am I leaving outside of our Lord's powerful gospel? Because I'm not seeing the polarizing power that we see everywhere in Scripture. We see it not only in all four Gospels, what we're seeing in all 28 chapters of the historical record of the planting of the churches, these missionary journeys that Paul goes on over and over again. And it continues on into chapter 14. We were in chapter 13 last week. And I want to hit the salient points from the end of chapter 13 so you can see how Paul masterfully wrapped it up and what the response was there. And that's the segue in. Remember, we put the chapter breaks in. sometime around the middle ages we put the chapter breaks in and so this is a continued record. Luke as the human author is still writing. I'm going to look at his conclusion here that's so hopeful in chapter 13 verse 38 and 39. So here it is. This is our gospel. After everything that he has spoken before this in the chapter, let it be known to you, therefore, brothers, that through this man, Jesus, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. And by him, everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Skip down to verse 48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went on to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Chapter 14, and we will limit ourselves to verses one through seven. So continuing on, they arrive at Iconium. Now at Iconium, they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But, here we go again, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jew with their rulers to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lyconia, and to the surrounding country. And there they continued to preach the gospel. Let's pray. Father, we need your help, as always, to understand these words aright, properly, in accord with the original intent of not only the human author, but the divine one, particularly, especially. So help us. Help me, O Lord, as always, to preach with accuracy, boldness, and clarity. that would be clear to all of our hearts as members of this particular congregation what it is our great God is saying to all of us as these mandates continue because Christ continues His work on this earth through the hearts of His people. So help us now we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So they're continuing what is their first missionary journey. They set out, of course, from Antioch in Syria. They made their way to the coast, launching on the coast from Seleucia, and they went on to cross the Mediterranean over to the island of Cyprus, where Barnabas is from, and landing in Solomus. They're preaching the gospel there. They're preaching their way across the length of this pretty big island, actually, it's about 100 miles long, over to Paphos on the western side, and they're preaching there, and of course, there's a divided view there, as we saw with Elymas, the magician who was trying to soil and spoil the things that Paul was saying to the pro-council Sergius Paulus there, who's essentially the governor, who's actually intrigued and listening, wanting to hear more, he's spoiling it. Does that sound familiar? All of this is applicational. It's historical, and I'm sure we're all just fascinated by the historicity of these things that happened 2,000 years ago, but guess what? you're still here today, and you're here for him. So it's important to look at these records and say to yourself all along, what if this applies to me today? Because it does. He's still building his church, is he not? So he leaves Paphos, he and Barnabas, they sail across the Mediterranean to the north, they land at the port city there of Italia. And then they bypassed Perga, but they're going to hit it on the way back. They went up to Pisidian Antioch, which is some 100-mile trek over the Taurus Mountains, which I had mentioned to you before is very treacherous. And now they've been run out of the city, so to speak, and they've been moved on to the Iconium is where we landed, of course, and that's southeast of there. You can see it on the map, and that's why we have it there. It's about an 80-mile trek from Pisidian Antioch up there down to Iconium, and then from there, they'll go to Lystra Derby, and then they'll literally turn around and backtrack, checking on the disciples. If you had a rough time, and I mean rough, stoning's fairly serious reception for your gospel, would you say? And then you'd return? They return in every one of those cities, even including Perga on their way out, and then they go back to give a report at Antioch and Syria. They're sending church. Just an amazing, amazing trip. And so they're using the major highways that the Romans had set out, you know, God in the fullness of time sent forth his son, not only includes that there's a unified language now, the common Greek of the day, the Koine Greek that everybody pretty much understood around the Mediterranean, thanks to Alexander the Great, and they also had created something called concrete. And they were also building things, the Romans. And so now they've made roads, not that they had, you know, I-40 going all the way to, and they clearly didn't over the Taurus Mountains, but they've made major roads that they could travel on and travel, for the most part, safely. So this is just a wonderful thing. And especially when you reflect on the fact that they're traveling They're traveling on foot. I don't see anything in here about a camel. But verse 3, you know, if you look at verse 2 and 3 first of all, let's just start there for a moment. It says in verse 2, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. What would you think the next verse would say? that, you know, it's time to go. It's too difficult now to share the gospel here. So, look at what it does say. So they remained for a long time. Now, are these guys just feisty? Or do they have a job to do with zero fear of man? Yeah. I mean, I'm sure we would all agree. But Paul is now working his way with Barnabas down through Galatia. These are some of the churches. Iconium is in the Lachaniah region that's part of the whole region of Galatia, that southern Galatian area. is a group of churches that was planted by Paul, and that's who he addresses the letter to the Galatian churches to. It's the only letter that he writes to a plurality of churches. That's the region. But he's headed toward another region that might look familiar. Cilicia. Why should that be familiar? Because that's where Paul is from, right? He's from Tarsus, you can see Tarsus up there. He spent a lot of time there. He's not only from there, but he returned there when he had the danger happen in Jerusalem, and they shipped him out of there before he got killed, if you recall that whole episode. So he spent about 10 years back in his homelands. So a lot of it is going to plant churches, and a lot of it is to check on disciples. You'll notice that he does a lot of that in his journeys. Peter did as well. Peter did some of that. going to check, that's what got him over toward the Mediterranean, if you recall, is he was checking on the disciples. You remember the disciple who, actually he's called an evangelist in the scriptures, who planted the gospel on the Mediterranean coast first, in the plain of Sharon and that whole section, Philip. Remember, he started down in Gaza with the Ethiopian eunuch, And then after he was baptized, the Lord just sort of spirits him away to Assidas, which was the ancient city of Ashdod, and then he gave the gospel going up the coastline there. The gospel is getting spread all around, and now he's going to be in Iconium and preaching in the synagogue there when he goes to Lystra. There is no synagogue, there's just going to be a story about a man that he heals, and we'll get to that in due time. But there's something I want to address first, and that is the end of Acts 13.52. Look at that carefully. This really is a wonderful summary of those who actually have been saved, those who actually have the resident Holy Spirit in them. And in my study, when I'm preparing and reviewing, it's hard for me to get past that, especially when you look at the word joy. How many of you would begin with that adjective describing your life as a Christian right now? Is that the most predominant issue in your life? Is that what you're exuding or expressing more than anything else? Probably not much in 2020, yeah? How about now? Oh, would He love to rob you of your joy, because there goes your witness. And we have every reason to be joyful and to rejoice, as we've already wonderfully done this morning. Every reason to. And it's the reason that we find embedded in the gospel and its powerful work to convert and transform our lives. So if you're not finding that, know then that there's something wrong there that you need to address. If you're not filled with joy, it doesn't mean you're silly and you're giddy and happy all the time. Life is serious, right? We weep with those that weep, we mourn with those that mourn, and so on. But it does mean there's a joy that abides in you so deeply it's untouched by surface issues. Because that's the residency of the Holy Spirit, of the living Christ. And that's what sticks out. We see that in a number of places in the founding of the churches. We see that they're filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. But I want to start this morning by clarifying some things for us from this Issue of being spirit filled or being filled with the spirit because if there's lack of that in our lives We're gonna have little power to our lives in terms of what God has us here for You might have a great business a great family a great things happening in your life That's not primarily why you're here. You're here for the gospel sake you you're owned by someone you you you have been a slave of sin and now you are the slave of home and Yeah, slavery is not over for us, folks. It's still there, but it's a willing slavery because I love my master. I love my beloved Adonai. He's my despotese, but in a good sense. He is my Lord and master. I willingly give him the ear so he can take his all to the doorpost and drive his all through it. I'm all his, right? Where is that in our lives? Let me just start with this. This is the statement for you then. In order to have joy without interference while we speak gospel truth in the face of opposition, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's just plain and simple true. We have to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but here's where the confusion starts. Well, do we have to get baptized in the Spirit? What about the place where we read about being sealed in the Spirit? What about the Spirit's indwelling? There's a lot of confusion here, and we need to clarify that as much as we can. The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. We won't know joy unless we are Spirit-filled. So is that something that happened at salvation? So I'm just automatically joyful all the time? Am I automatically filled with the Holy Spirit all the time? It's absolutely necessary, and when you look at the scriptures, and I have a few of them noted here, especially in Acts, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit when he preached to the Sanhedrin in chapter four and verse eight, remember? It says that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter and John, remember when they were incarcerated overnight, they were told not to preach in the name of Jesus, and what do they do? They go out, join the disciples, and they're praying to God right there in public in his name. And it says in verse 31 of chapter 4, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness. You know, I've kind of lacked boldness in my walk. I'm wondering, this is for you. This is for you. You wanna know where boldness comes from? It comes from being kept filled with the Holy Spirit, right? Well, I have the Holy Spirit, I was saved. So I don't understand. Well, let's find out. So this is the question posed, it's in your notes for you. I want this to be a little pneumatology study guide for you. How is being filled with the Spirit different from being baptized in, sealed with, or indwelt by the Holy Spirit? Well, when I came across what happened with Paul's conversion, it helped me a little bit. In chapter 9, you remember when that happened? Remember, he met the Lord Jesus Christ. And who are you, Lord? And he clarified who he was, remember? And then he was blinded. He was led to Damascus. And then the Lord tagged a man named Ananias. Remember that? And he said, Ananias, I want you to go. And I want you to meet with a man named Saul. And you're going to help him regain his sight. And you're going to, what do you think? What do you think it says after that? help him regain his sight, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit." I paused at that point because I thought, wait a minute, he was saved, he's saved! You have an experience like that. Remember, salvation comes when you help somebody see Christ. They see it more than in your words. They see it in your life. They see it in your eyes. They see it in your countenance. They see it in your love for them. They see it in that witness of Christ that dwells in you. So he sees Christ, and he's saved. So what is this that Ananias is doing? The Holy Spirit is clearly already operational in Saul's life, Saul, now Paul. He already had been converted by Jesus himself, whose spirit had to regenerate his heart in order for him to be able to accept who Jesus was, because he sure wasn't before that. He'd have locked him up if he was still on earth as a man. He'd have helped raise the cross. So something changed with him. He's converted. His heart is regenerated and allowing him to be convinced of who he was. Well, maybe he's one of those that in chapter 8, you remember when Philip and the rest went up and were preaching in Samaria? And then The parent church, the big church, if you will, in Jerusalem said, we better send some bona fide apostles up there to make sure that their salvation experience is legit. So they sent Peter and John, remember that? So maybe that's what's going on here. Is that what's happening? You have to have, we know from scripture, we learned when we went through that, that there has to be a true apostle back then. We don't need that now. We don't need apostles now to verify that we're saved. What do we have? this, and the testimony of a changed life, and we'll talk about that as we go on. But wait a minute. Paul was an apostle. What are the qualifications for an apostle? You have to have seen, personally seen, the resurrected Christ, and you had to have been commissioned by Jesus himself. Done. That happened on the road to Damascus, friends. So it doesn't need to be verified. He doesn't need somebody to come and verify their salvation understanding by an apostle so that the Holy Spirit will come. They can lay hands on them and then they're filled with the Spirit. That's not what's going on here. He has the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12, 3 is clear when it says, no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. Unless somebody wants to lie, but who's going to do that if they're a heathen? They're not going to lie. In order for you and I to say that, there's no question that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. I can't come up with that apart from the Holy Spirit, unless I'm disingenuous or acting or faking or lying. No, it's real and I really believe it. That's the Holy Spirit. So that's what this verse means. No one can say that with true sincerity and belief except in the Holy Spirit. believing and confessing openly that Jesus is Lord is only made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit already indwells the Apostle Paul. The Holy Spirit needs to infuse truth into our hearts and regenerate them and make them alive so that the literal vision, the spiritual vision of the Christ rises up to us in our hearts and comes alive. That's a conversion. So what's going on with Paul? Why did Ananias have to do this? What is the difference between being filled, baptized, sealed, or indwelt by the Spirit? Well, here we go. I've put this together for us this morning so we can clarify what the differences are. First of all, a Christian is sealed by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. You don't have to go somewhere subsequent to making a profession of faith if it's sincere and you believe that Jesus is the Christ. Who do you say that I am continues to be the question for all people, and that's the question you ask your friends and your neighbors and your co-workers. Well, who do you say that Jesus is? And you start there. Because that's the question He asked. That's the question He asked. Ephesians 1, 13-14, now listen to this very carefully. In Him, Jesus, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, you were sealed. This is past tense in the Greek. You were sealed. Why? Because God does it. You don't do it by going to some services. If there was some service I had to go to to get, you know, sealed in the Holy Spirit, I would blow it. I would not make it in time. I'd get hit by a bus. Satan would send that bus to make sure I didn't get... I mean, it's ludicrous, folks, when you think about it. God did this, just like he made my heart alive. When he did that, he sealed it and he says, you are mine. I've got the signet ring of a king on that melted wax and no one will ever open it. Except the only one who can open all seals. And it's to him I belong. I am sealed. with the promised Holy Spirit he promised him Jesus preached that in John 14 to 16 before he was going to go there's another coming and he fulfilled that and he's continuing to do that So when you're hearing the Word of Truth, your salvation experience happens when you believe what you've heard, and at that point, you are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He goes on, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. I belong to Him, and my possession isn't incumbent upon my ability to hold on to Him. I belong to Him. so we beat ourselves up when we sin as though we can lose that I never got it in the first place it belongs to him I belong to him the Holy Spirit is now the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of my glory come on you're more astute than that to the praise of See, that's what's at stake here when we mess around with soteriology or our theological understanding of how it is and who it is that saves us. These are important to clarify. How about 2 Corinthians 1, 21-22? And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ. Sovereignty all the way through. Remember our verse in 1348, and those who were appointed eternal life are saved by God himself he appoints them he saves them as he does this and we are sealed in him it's God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us and who has also put his seal on us and given us his spirit in our hearts as a guarantee I'm thankful that I can't mess around with that, aren't you? I can't muck that up. No matter how dull-witted or dim-witted I am or whatever goofy things I do, I'm His. My soul belongs to Him. He's retrieved it. It belongs to Him, to His glory. We've got to stop robbing God of His glory. Oh, no, I played a big role in that. I remember the day when I... Come on. Come on. Come on, man. Oh, I know who's watching the news now. Okay. All right. You too, Charles. I heard you chuckle. Well, what about baptized in the Spirit? Aren't we supposed to go to some extra service to get baptized in the Spirit? We heard about that. We heard about it in our first church experience in Costa Mesa, which will remain unnamed again. You've got to get baptized in the Spirit, and then you'll start speaking in tongues, and that will validate the fact that you are actually saved. All about who? You! Me! terrible theology, a Christian is baptized in the Holy Spirit at the moment of their salvation. They're not only sealed at the moment of their salvation, they are baptized in the Spirit in the moment of salvation. 1 Corinthians 12, 13, for in one Spirit we, and whenever you see the word we're, you should park on that for a minute, because it's past tense. We were all baptized into one body, Jews and Greeks, slaves are free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. Thank you, Lord, yeah? Praise the Lord. Why would, if you're struck by the why question, I think I'm right on track with you then. Why would he do that? Why would he do all of this at the cost of his own son's life? You see, your worth because of him and him and you is immeasurable. Why would we muck around in the trash heap of psychology feeling like we gotta gin up our own self-esteem? Are you kidding me? That's a mess. Your worth is immeasurable. You are a child of God. You are sealed by the King's ring. You are the down, the Holy Spirit is the down payment. It's the engagement ring to his bride. How much more honorable can life get than that? It's amazing. What about indwelt? You know, the indwelling, do I need to get that going? Again, the first two are all of God and so is the third. A Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. Listen to what Romans 8 and verse 9, this was one of the first verses years ago that made it clear to me coming out of that previous church that it's actually, if I know Christ, I have his spirit. He indwells me. Romans 8, 9 says, anyone who does not, this is in the negative, and we'll flip it to the positive by implication, obviously, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. If you have Christ, you have what? Because it's the Spirit of the living Christ. So if you have Him clearly and purely and only by faith, you have the Spirit of Christ indwelling you. It's so simple. You wonder how we muck things up that are so clear in the Bible. You know, the perspicuity of Scripture, the utter understandability, the clarity of it. But if we can mess it up, we will, right? Sealed. Baptized, which simply means immersed. You can read the theology behind that in Romans 6. I have been baptized in Christ and risen in the newness of His life. So that I no longer, 2 Corinthians 5, 14 and following, so that I have the love of Christ in me, so I no longer live for myself, but for others. Because that's what He does. Again, the hardest thing to do to keep a living sacrifice on the altar is it keeps wanting to crawl off. We want to run. We want to have our lives our way. You start interfering with that with biblical principles, I'm gone. I'm gone. Well, there's fewer souls I have to be accountable for. My mom grieved that. This is serious business. This is his bride, the church. So what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? What does that mean? Well, we find it in Ephesians 5, verse 18. You're familiar with the verse. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. So I'll answer this question with three points for you just very briefly as we move along here. The first is you need to understand that this is a plural, present, passive imperative. It's plural, so it means all of us. And it's present, so that means that it exists even now, it's eternally present, so it applies to us, it applies to all of us, passive. So it's something being done to you. He's not going to trust me with this. So the power is going to come from Him, but what's the last word? It's a plural, present, passive, what? Imperative. Friends, context is everything. Grammar is everything. An imperative is a what? It's a command. Okay, so help me out then, because it's passive in its voice, and it's a command in its mood. So I'm commanded, but he doesn't. What's your understanding of your salvation experience? God's sovereignty and your responsibility, right? Something that can't be reconciled this side of glory. But they're both true. Same thing here. Now, in the past it's recipient, but I'm to engage in the means. Christians are commanded to remain filled with the Spirit. Also, this is very much like Galatians 5, verses 16 and 17, or 15 and 16 and 17. That whole section there has to do with walk by who? Walk by the Spirit, and there's a wonderful truth there, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Well, I've had seasons where I know I'm defaulting in the flesh. That's because it's incumbent upon you to obey the imperative of this epistle and both of these epistles and other places that you are being kept filled. This present passive recipient, this imperative, this command that we have, but God is fulfilling, but He won't if you just turn and become Kezek in your theology. Let go and let God, man, don't interfere with that. Be careful of that. That's not what passive means. 1 Timothy 4, 7 says that we exercise ourselves to the purpose of Godliness. The word is gymnazo. We get our word gymnasium and gymnastics from it. It takes a lot of effort. Why? Because we're falling. And it's easier for us in this world to fall down than up. It takes work. Sanctification is a process of walking up what? There you go. You remember. It's walking up a down escalator. Does that sound easy? Well, maybe if you're our children's age, Not at my age, I can tell you. It takes an effort. What should the effort be born out of? Some legalistic merit-gaining motive. What? Love. Love. Love for whom? Christ. My desire has changed. He's changed it. I used to be totally egocentric, and I loved myself. Everybody does to begin with. And then he changed the affections of my heart. and I love him, and so the motivation to do the things that exercise being filled with the Spirit. Let me just get to the second point. I don't wanna go off too deeply on any one of these. The Christian life is to live continually under the influence of the Holy Spirit. That's what that verse in Ephesians 18 means. By allowing the word of God to rule your life. You remember Colossians 3, verse 15 through 17, which is very important. Verse 15 says, let the peace of Christ rule in my heart. And that word rule has the idea of an umpire in a baseball game. calling balls and strikes. So me, the peace that I have when I'm walking in the Spirit, when I'm seeking to live a Christ-like life, when I'm following Him, I have the peace of contentment. Even in the storms of our culture right now, I'm at peace, and that peace allows me to It rules my life if that is resonant in my heart. And then verse 16 of Colossians 3 says, let the word of Christ what? Dwell in you richly. So there's only one way for the Holy Spirit to be the major influence of my life. And that's if I'm availing myself of the words of Christ daily, consistently. That's what he's saying. getting inebriated or having any kind of mood-modifying experience, any kind of synthetic drug, whatever, it's influencing you to the point where the influence of the Holy Spirit is no longer operative. You're under the influence of something else. So the Word of Christ continues to be devoured. As we hunger the Word, we literally consume the Word like Jeremiah did. Your words were found and I did eat them. I should have, as a Christian, I should have a hunger for the Word of God like a child hungers after its milk. That's what Peter says, 1 Peter, remember? So I've got a problem there if I don't really hunger for the Word of God that's got me looking forward to be in His Word every day, so that that peace can come, that contentment that He brings, because I'm His obedient son. I'm following Him in the life that He's called me to. And I live by the Word of God insofar as His grace and ability call me to, and the word of God dwells in my heart richly." So that verse 17, you're letting everything that you do, whether in word or deed, be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, being thankful to the Father. That's the principle. The reason that's important to pause at this juncture is so that you understand having looked at Peter's experience, and all the rest, Philip, Stephen, all the rest, and Paul's going forward is, there was one common denominator. They were spirit-filled. That is something we're incumbent to make sure we are. He doesn't just make you this super spiritual person. So if your witness lacks power, that's what to look at. You don't need to look to getting sealed in the Spirit. You don't need to look to getting baptized in the Spirit. You don't need to look to have the indwelling of the Spirit. You have it if you have Christ. But you do need to avail yourself of the means that God so graciously gives us to stay Spirit-filled, or your flesh will guide your course. You'll do the things that you prefer. It doesn't matter if it comports with Scripture or not. And that rankles most 2021 American Christians. We want to do things our way. I want to define things my way, so I'm going to take parts and pieces. That's not Spirit-filled. So number three, that means we are to die to ourselves that we may live for Christ alone. Galatians 2.20. I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live. It is Christ who lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by what? Faith. In the one who loved me and gave himself up for me. A whole new life. We come up in newness of life. That's what our baptism, immersion, and coming up is supposed to signify. Christians who consistently pursue a spirit-filled life will be used in powerful ways for the cause of Christ. If you're not being used in a powerful way for the cause of Christ, whatever your situation is demographically, work, family, neighborhood, that's why. That's why. These were Spirit-filled people. It's not, well, they were apostles and so on. It's that they were Spirit-filled. This is God at work. Paul, apart from being filled with the Spirit, is nothing. He's an offense to God, just like the rest of us. So now Barnabas and Paul are headed to Iconium, they've arrived there, verse one. Now at Iconium, they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Gentiles believe, there's your power. It's not that there was something super special and super spiritual about them, it's that they remain kept filled with the Spirit, they're sealed, they're baptized, they're indwelt by the Spirit, but they're living a life that Scripture calls for, that Jesus calls for, so that He can do things and so that you can read in the account in Antioch, Syria, the church they left, it was the Holy Spirit that sent them. Would I like to know it's the Holy Spirit sending us over thousands of miles to countries in Europe to teach over there? I'd like to know that. I'd love to know that. Should I expect that if I'm not giving business to pay attention to what His Word is speaking in real time into my life or unwilling in any part or parcel, I'm unwilling to abide by it? Based upon what, Mark? Based upon who? He makes it clear in His Word. You could be spirit-filled. Because remember, when you pursue the means, when you're following Him, when you're living your life biblically, you're passive. That's the verb, remember? It's a passive imperative. It's going to happen to you. People are going to notice you're different from everybody else, and they're going to want to ask you a reason for the hope that lies within you, and you will give them a defense for your gospel, an explanation for it with gentleness and with respect. By the way, notice that 1 Timothy 3.15 that I just cited. Listen carefully. It says, when they ask. You're not called to be here on this planet to be a right fighter, an arguer, a marcher. We're going to tear this place down. Well, if you do, brother, don't use his name. You want to be that kind of citizen, that's up to you, but do not use his name. When they ask, What would compel them to ask? When you're seeking a spirit-filled life and they see you're different, you become a right fighter, you look like the rest of them. That's your business, but you don't have a powerful life. He's not working in you, because that's not what you're called to. With gentleness and with respect, when they ask, be ready. Be ready. It says here there's something a little bit different. We saw in Pisidian Antioch that it was mainly the proselytes, the Hellenist Jews, and the proselytes, those who were converted. Here it says in our verse, verse one, it's Jews and Greeks that believe. We just wanna pay attention to the fact that these are straight up heathen Gentiles. These aren't proselytes. But they believed. This is mainly, I would suspect, that's what we're going to be witnessing among. Some of them will be God-fearing. Some of them may not be, but they'll still get saved. Are we to look just for certain kinds of people? I'm glad you're shaking your head, brother, because no. We don't know who belongs to the Lord. We witness to everybody and pray, God, they're part of this family that we will enjoy in glory together for eternity. But it's those who are appointed by the Father. Verse 48 of 13, remember? So we witness to everybody with excitement, with joy, joy in our heart. They should see that joy again. They should hear our rejoicing. Why are you so happy? Why are you so filled? How can you be so like, I don't know, you look at ease, you seem peaceful, and the world is burning down around us. This is the time, folks. This is the time to have your gospel ready. And I don't mean some prepackaged, prepared, line before spiritual laws necessarily any of those things I mean your life have your life ready when I was in New York City and bringing my life to an end I didn't want to hear some dissertation some some it wouldn't made sense to me I wanted to see somebody who looked like Jesus. They have to see Jesus. They have to hear him. They have to see the concern that you have, the compassion, the selflessness, the service that you so indefatigably bring to the church. The support of the church, all of these things, they see all of that, and then they say, together with the Sanhedrin, with Peter and John standing before them, these two guys have been with Jesus. That's your witness. That's what we're gearing up for now. You've tinkered with the footmen in this war. Now the horsemen are coming. And what will you do when they come? Well, I'll get to that. I'll get to this. Who do you think is singing you to sleep? Jesus? Uh-uh. The ruler of this world, as he's called. Settle down. Take it slow. It says that Paul preached in such a way that a great number believed. This is bold, unequivocal confidence. He is without wavering, completely confident, not only in the substance, the content of what he has to bring to them, but in the one who's bringing it. He is spirit-filled. He is Spirit-filled. Anybody called to preaching must be Spirit-filled. Must be. It's a great responsibility because the preacher is called to live a life that comports with Christ's Word, that he lives a pure life, that he preaches the word with accuracy, boldness, and clarity. He's not into winning friends and influencing people. He's not interested in building bigger bonds. He doesn't care if people think he's popular or trendy or hip. It does not matter. There isn't time. There's not time. That's where we get lulled to sleep. Now is the time to seek being filled with the Spirit that you can boldly step out before those who will be opposed. If I'm preaching it right, if I'm giving the whole counsel of God, the whole complete gospel, which includes the bad news of their condition, it's gonna go, pew, split. If it's not doing that, I'm asking myself what I'm missing. Lord, I feel ashamed right now. All my family members still love having me. We were just together all at Christmastime and everybody, they're fine. What am I doing wrong? What did I miss? Because it won't be long before I'll stand before the one I have to give an account to. Lesson friends, time is going by quickly. We pray, come Lord, in 20, 30 years. We want him now. We want him now. Have we done the business of making our heart right? Making our lives right? Have we pressed the gospel into every relationship? Do they know who I look like? Do they look at me and say, you're not the, you're not the, I'm going to give you some adjectives that would have described me before Christ, but I think I'll skip that. I want them to see Jesus. I love hearing you're different. Why? Pray for that. It's a simple prayer. Why are you different? And do not buy into the lie of the enemy that you have more time. Your time has been given to you. It's a gift. He created time and placed you in it. And it's a stewardship, every bit is a stewardship of my finances, the stewardship of my body that belongs to Him. I have no right to abuse it. We have to wake up. As Ephesians 5 says, wake up, O sleeper, wake up. The time is short. And when was that written, by the way? According to our timeline. Yesterday? Yeah, like a long time ago, like two millennia, right? Oh, but we play, we fiddle while Rome burns. We rearrange the deck chairs and the side of the ship says Titanic. We're polishing the brass and listening to the band as it plays on. Isn't that lovely? I love that song. Screaming, drowning, searing oil pouring over the people, sucked under water. How should we think that it's going to be any different when he comes? He's not coming like he came the first time, not by any measure, not at all. Being compelled to proclaim the gospel to people who may oppose you does have a clarifying effect on your mind, but bring it on. This is not our life. This is not our home. You are meant to be a voice piece. You're a herald of a message. That's all you're here for. And look at what we make priorities out of. Compartmentalize our Christianity, our church life. No wonder Christians don't have any power. He won't abide by that. We're not fooling Him. Be not deceived. God's not mocked. What you sow, what? Yeah. And if we're ashamed of His name here before men, He will be shamed of us when we show up before the Father. These things should get our attention, shouldn't they? Those who are called by the Holy Spirit to preach will preach boldly with power and great effect. Those who are called to proclaim will proclaim the word of God with great power and effect if they're spirit-filled. It's all about being spirit-filled. And then trust that God is directing you where you need to go. He did with Paul. Paul wanted to go to Asia. He said, no, you're not. He said, oh, OK. He does that. Meanwhile, we look at our life, we look at our heart, we are constantly in the scriptures, searching, and praying, and praying, and praying, and communing with the Lord. Show me, Lord, what my life should look like. Set my priorities for me, like I talked about in the email that I surely hope you read. So important. Well, I know you did, Lady Jane. Verse two, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, poisoned their minds against the brothers. Unbelieving Jews. This has a double meaning. This literally means Jews that were disobedient. Jews that were disobedient because unbelief comes from disobedience, doesn't it? If you're called to obey the gospel, the imperatives of the gospel, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand, You have to be disobedient at that point to reject it, don't you? Yeah. So this is an issue of disobedience. Kistemacher said faith demands obedience, doesn't it? That's what James said. James 2 verse 17, right? It demands obedience. It's not how we're saved, but it's its byproduct. It's necessary byproduct. Faith demands obedience, he says, otherwise it lacks the characteristics of trust, confidence, and dependence. If I have faith, I will obey. Plain and simple. If not, I'm deeply convicted and I'm going before the Lord and I'm repenting, which means to turn and then follow Him again, right? Faith, he says, without obedience according to James, while the essence of unbelief is disobedience." That's who they were. They were rejecting Him. Who do you say I am? He said to the Pharisees, remember, if you don't believe me, believe the works. Believe something. Peter got it right in Matthew 16, didn't he? Who do you say that I am? You're the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is Messiah. You've answered correctly. John 8, 31, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. So staying in His Word and living in a way in accordance with the Word is a clear demonstration that the Holy Spirit is resident in me. He saved me, He sealed me, He baptized me, He indwells me, and it's up to me to believe that and obey. You see? There's nothing legalistic about that. It's everything to do with love. I love Him. I want Him to tell me how to live my life. How'd you do living your life your way? Yeah, me too. Not real good. Not real good. We can't have parts of him. That's our arrogance. We want to say, well, I'll do these things and I'll show up here, but not there. I'll do that, but not do... And what he must think. You can also look at 1 Corinthians 15, one to two, Paul questions, I gave you the gospel, unless your belief was in vain. So they believe, just like the Jews in John 8. But their belief is vain. Yeah, I know He's the Messiah. So see, that's where the disobedience comes in. You see it? Yeah, I believe He's the Messiah. That didn't save them. It's a belief borne out or demonstrated in your obedience. If someone isn't obedient, they have no right to claim that they're a true Christian just by saying they are because they believe that Jesus was the Messiah. You were created in Him. You're His workmanship for the purpose of good works. Ephesians 2.10, right? This gets messed up a lot too, doesn't it? They were poisoning the minds against the brothers. It's a new strategy for them to turn to heathen Gentiles and turn them against the newly converted Gentiles. Wow. So much for the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I'm going to instead go to my enemy, the Gentiles, and help me with a greater enemy, the apostles and the converted Gentiles. I'll muster them up. That's how wicked that is. That's how wicked they are. Poisoning their minds. So the Jews were willing to set aside their hatred of the Gentiles in order to serve their purposes to attack the gospel and the newly converted people. It's amazing. How did the apostles respond? Verse 3. That's it, we're out of here, right? Where's that verse about shaking the dust off of our sandals? I'm ready to go. They've got the Gentiles and the Jews all turned against them. Against the ones that have been saved, that's why it says brothers, these are the new converts, and all of those. And what do they do? Verse 3, so they remain for a long time. Oh, to be so bold, so confident, so utterly dependent on the Lord's call and His being there with you. Remember when He sent the disciples out, Matthew 10? Don't go with prepared statements. Oh, I don't know. I've got to take a class on evangelization. No, you don't. You have your Bible and your witness. What does He mean to you? Just tell them. He said, don't prepare a statement. It will be given to you in that hour what to say. Again, it's all God. It's His power. But we have to show up. So they remain for a long time speaking boldly. What does that? Being filled with the Spirit. That's why I started with that. You see this all the way through and it carries on because of the present tense of the verbs. To us, that's our take home. This applies to you and I right now, right here, today, and when you leave this place. If it were just Paul and Barnabas that were being opposed, they might have fled, right? But they got new coverts here that are being battered and abused and beaten up by Jews and heathen Gentiles. So they're going to stay with no fear. They're fearless. Otherwise, they might have fled. They weren't going to abandon those who believed, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of His grace. Acts 13, 46, you remember Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly saying it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first since you thrusted aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. Behold, we're turning to the Gentiles. They're bold everywhere they go. So was Jesus. But Jesus is Jesus. Okay, well then let's look at the apostles. Those are just men. What makes them so bold? They're spirit-filled. They're spirit-fed because they know the Word of God. If we're weak, we are not spirit-fed because we only know parts and pieces of His Word. You give Him nothing to work with. That's the feel for the fire. That's the weapons in your quiver. The word of His grace. 1 Thessalonians 2, 2. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. How about that? You can look at what they went through in Philippi. You can see the conflict they had there. You can see them getting thrown, he and Silas in that case, into the deepest part of the jail, the prison. And what are they doing while they're hanging on the wall in shackles? Singing. They're singing. There it is. There's that common denominator that I want at all times, the joy and the rejoicing that I can just burst out in song at any time because He's come. He's taken residence in me. I'm working to stay Spirit-filled according to His grace and His power, and that brings joy to me, and I rejoice. That's who we're supposed to be. The word of His grace, our evangel in concise form, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. McLaren said, courageous speech for Christ is ever attended by tokens of His power, and the accompanying tokens of His power make the speech more courageous, end quote. You gotta be filled. You gotta be Spirit-filled. You already have them? You gotta see to it that you're filled with Him daily. Feed the Word, stoke those fires. Find the instruction, the guidance, the direction. Find those reprovals and turn your corner and repent and follow Him again. Receive the comforts, receive the decision-making that has so often perhaps beleaguered you and been difficult for you. It's not real difficult if I remain in His Word. Help people all the time in counseling with that. Christians, I just need to know what I should do. That's a whole other subject for another time. What are, it says signs and wonders. Granting signs and wonders to be done. Well, we were not raising, anybody raise the dead lately? Heal anybody? No, you're still trying to get along with your wife. Need that power. No, we're not doing that. This isn't the dispensation for that. This isn't the time because we're looking at the historical record where the veracity of the gospel and the messengers of the gospel are being verified. So what's ours? I got three for you. Our changed lives. What I've been talking about all morning. Your testimony is your witness. If you look like everybody else, there's a lot of well-meaning, generous, calm heathens, especially in America, because we're so prosperous. They look just like you. They have the same job that you have, and maybe the same car and house. How are you any different? How has Christ made a difference in my life? Two, our answered prayers. That's something that is a sign and a wonder, is it not? We pray and things happen. Boy, this year we've probably prayed more than we've ever prayed. And this coming year, we'll probably be needing to just stay on our knees. Just walk around with knee pads on and talking to the Lord or talking to ourself. I mean, who knows what's coming. Third, and this is so important, our responses to trials. Deprivation, the things that have been taken from us. A loss. How do you respond to that? Suffering, death, affliction, persecution. It is how you respond to that, but you won't know how unless you have this word. And if you have this word and seek to be spirit-filled, they will notice a difference, I promise you. Verse four, we gotta wrap up here. But the people of the city were divided. There it is. Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. So we're going to have to pick up here next time. I want to finish with something, and you'll have to skip to the end, Barbara. I want to read something by John Piper. There is a mindset in the prosperous West We deserve pain-free, trouble-free existence. When life deals us the opposite, we have a right not only to blame somebody or some system, and to feel sorry for ourselves, but also to devote most of our times to coping. So that we have no time or energy left over for serving others. I have found myself in conversation with Christians for whom it is simply a given that you do not put yourself or your family at risk. Uh-uh. I didn't sign on for that. Do you hear that? The horsemen are coming. We may not have this wonderful meeting here in this place before long. You know that, right? Discern the times, that's what Jesus told the Pharisees. You know how to discern the weather when it comes to your fishing prosperity, but you don't know that your Messiah has come. We may not know that he's coming back. The commitment, Piper goes on, to safety and comfort is an unquestioned absolute. we will not freely take our cross and follow Jesus on the Calvary Road it may be thrust on us that's a terrifying thought unprepared Christians getting some cross thrust on them providentially something torn apart some terrible laws pass that just completely devastates your life, maybe ruin your job, maybe worse. It would be better to hear the warnings now and wake up to biblical reality. Frustration is normal. Disappointment is normal. Sickness is normal. Conflict, persecution, danger, stress, they are all normal. The mindset that moves away from these will move away from reality and away from Christ. Golgotha was not a suburb of Jerusalem, end quote. Are you ready to bear his cross? This is the lab for that. This is me as pastor, teacher, in my call to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to prepare all of us for that day that's coming. Hebrews 10, 36, and I close with this. This is a voice calling and speaking presciently into our own day right now from the letter of Hebrews You have need of endurance. Be being kept filled with the Spirit, or you will be surprised, or you will lack power. and we don't want that to happen. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for your cautions and warning. You admonish us with self-poignancy, and yet such grace and love permeates these... these reprovals that we need, these calls that we need. You're calling out to us, O Lord, to be ready, to be prepared, to be filled with the Spirit. We can do many things that make us weak spiritually, that make us impotent for the gospel's sake, for your kingdom's sake, because we're too busy building our own ramshackle kingdom here that will burn. O God, help us, have mercy on us, and may this be a place where we come in to have our swords sharpened in our communion life together. In the community life, O Lord, sharpen Our swords, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and may the shield of faith always be at our ready in front to take those flaming arrows of the enemy and always having our helmet of salvation upon our heads, oh Lord. Our feet shod with the gospel of peace, standing firm in these things. The belt of truth wrapped around us, gird about, all dressed and ready because the horsemen come. We want to bring you honor. Help us to do that now, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.