Please take your Bibles and turn with me this morning to the book of Acts chapter 18. Last week, we looked at the earlier part of this chapter, which dealt with Paul's ministry at Corinth in the city of Corinth. And today's text begins in verse number 18 and goes through the end of the chapter, verse 28. And this particular text serves a variety of purposes for us as readers in the book of Acts, and we would trust that Luke had in mind as he wrote this book. One, it simply describes Paul's initial contact in the city of Ephesus, and it's a ministry that will resume in chapter 19, Lord willing, as we begin that chapter next week. The second thing that it does is it reports to us the end of Paul's second missionary journey, as well as the beginning of what we call his third missionary journey. And the third thing that it does for us, it introduces a man named Apollos, who's a Jewish convert, a man that we have some familiarity with from reading Paul's first letter that we have to the church at Corinth. So those are basically three things that are accomplished here. Paul's initial contact in Ephesus, the reporting, Paul's ending his second missionary journey, beginning the third missionary journey, and then introducing Apollos to us so we might know something about this man. So we have, in fact, here in these 11 verses, much covered in a short portion of Scripture. But in this portion of the Scripture, it provides to us some insight into the early church, a little bit of information about the people of the church, information about the primary focus of the church, and some of the interaction that the churches had one with another, and different believers had one with another. Begin reading with me here in Acts chapter 18, verse 18, through the end of the chapter. Paul, having remained many days longer, here speaking of his ministry there in Corinth, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Sycria he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. They came to Ephesus, and he left them there." Here's speaking of, again, Aquila and Priscilla, at least. He left them there. Now, he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews, and that being the time and period that he was there in Ephesus. When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, but taking leave of them and saying, I will return to you again if God wills. he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and went down to Antioch. And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, and he was mighty in the scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. And when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." One of our modern day wonders is certainly some of the architecture that we can see in buildings, in contemporary buildings and structures And most of these have two functions. One is just functionality, that it can be used for what it's intended to do. And the other is beauty itself. I was reminded just of the Beijing Olympics that occurred just a few years back, and some of the sports arenas that were built for the Olympic competitions. And one of them was called the Bird's Nest. It was kind of the main thing. you look at some of these structures and how odd these things look. And it's like every time someone builds something, it's got to be a little bit more fanciful, a bit more distinct than what's been built before it. And so you see some amazing, and there's a real beauty to some of these structures. And I don't think all of them are so beautiful in my opinion, but there are some just amazing buildings. If you go into some of our larger cities where you see these tall buildings and you look at these buildings and you think, now what a marvel these buildings are. But we would certainly go amiss if we were to stop and considering only the structure. That to have a good appreciation, a right appreciation for these compels us to consider the designer and the builder and to give them their due credit. Sometimes I will see these buildings and I can think, I can understand how someone could draw this on paper. How do you get this from paper to reality? That's what you've been dealing with here, Walt, just getting from paper to cardboard into reality here, right? And so we are compelled to think about the designer and the builder and to give them their due credit. This morning, I want us to think about the church as a testimony to God's design and God's work. And of course, when we speak of the church, we're not speaking of buildings. We're not speaking of facilities. We are speaking about the people of God. the church that God designs, the church that God builds as a testimony of His work and that we rightly give Him His due praise in considering the church in the way He designs it and the way that it all in fact works. and keeping that in mind, knowing that it's God that builds the church, that ours is to praise Him. Ours is to marvel at His work that He does through His people. And what we see in our text here today is something of the marvel of the church. the church as the institution of the people of God. And so I want us to think about three things that we see from our text here that would cause us to marvel at God's design and at God's continued working in the church and how we still see the elements of that today. Well, first of all, we see here that the church is a place of diversity. The church is a place of diversity. Now, last year, I actually preached a series on church unity. And one of the things we talked about in the giving of gifts within the context of the church was the diversity of gifts. And we're reminded of that truth here again today as we see this text, that there is great diversity within the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the church that God builds. There's a diversity here in our own text today of people. There's a diversity of the gifts, diversity of the callings within the church so that we come to understand that the church is not a cookie cutter organism. That our goal as the church grows and seeing the gospel advance in the hearts of men and women is not so that everyone looks and acts and does the same. That within the context of the church, there is great diversity. First of all, let's consider the Apostle Paul. Beginning here in verse 18, where our text begins, and there it begins, Paul. What do we know about Paul? Of course, we know that he is a man of extraordinary gifts. a man with a very unique calling. We also know much of his personal story from what's recorded for us in the Scriptures. We know that, first of all, that he was of Jewish descent, a Hebrew mother and a father. We know that he was tutored in the strict religious sect of the Pharisees, himself acknowledging that he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was a man of great zeal for Israel and for Judaism, and because of that, We also know that he was a persecutor of the church. And then we have the accounts of his conversion recorded for us in Acts chapter nine. Not only his conversion, but also his calling or commissioning to service for the gospel of Christ. And so we find that, in fact, He becomes, Paul and the ministry of Paul becomes a focal point of the Gospel advance to the Gentiles through the book of Acts from chapter 13 onward. So there's much that we know about the Apostle Paul. But considering just our text here today, we see something about this man. We see, first of all, him departing Corinth, in verse 18, leaving Corinth, heading toward Syria. He arrives at Ephesus, and there, while he's there for some short period of time, he goes to the synagogue, and there are reasons within the synagogue, according to verse 19. He then continues on his journey, landing at Caesarea, verse 22. Then it says in verse 22, it says, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. Now, most commentators regard that the language here that it says that he went up that he is going actually here to the church of Jerusalem, the mother church. Going up to the church of Jerusalem. Jerusalem being guarded up not only geographically, but also as the spiritual center of Israel. So as he went up to the church, verse 22, greeted the church of Jerusalem, then went down to the Antioch. And of course, Antioch was the point of origin for his first two missionary journeys. After being there for a season, he initiates his third missionary journey, there revisiting the churches, and according to verse 23, strengthening the disciples. So what you have here in these few verses, I think one commentator estimated that he travels in these few verses, in summary from Luke, about 1,500 miles. A man who is certainly uniquely gifted and called to this ministry. I would look at this and I think about all that's required, all that he does, all the place that he goes from place to place, from place to place to place. And I think I could never do this. Well, the fact of the matter is. Most believers of his own day did not do this either. This was Paul's unique calling. This was an expression of his calling and his gifts in the ministry. Then we have Apollos. Apollos is introduced in verse 24. A Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, he came to Ephesus and was mighty in the Scriptures. Apollos, in our eyes here, comes from nowhere. We don't really know anything about his conversion. We know he was a Jewish believer from Alexandria, which is in Egypt. He was a man who was very eloquent in his speech. In fact, he was so eloquent in his speech, it was that gift that he demonstrated as he ministered later in the city of Corinth. It was that gift that attracted some of the Corinthian believers especially to him. And so when Paul writes the letter of 1 Corinthians, one of the things that he has to address is the division that has been raised among the church believers there in Corinth. Some say, well, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas or Peter, and I am of Christ. And so it is a division that is denounced by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 10 and following, chapter 3, verses 3 and following. And I think it would be safe to say it was a division that likely would be denounced by Apollos as well. He wasn't going to Corinth trying to develop his own little circle of followers. Rather, he was going there to minister. But it was his ability to speak well. that he was an eloquent man. People just simply enjoyed listening to him speak. That drew some of the Corinthians to him in a special way. And according to our text here, that Apollos is a man who knows the Scripture and a man who is able to rightly expound the Scriptures and described in verse 27 as a help. to the saints. He helped those who had believed. Well, we can think about someone like Apollos saying, well, I don't have such oratorical skills. I'll be the first to say that I don't. Having never heard the man, I can assure you most people don't just come to hear me speak. I wouldn't. But we need to understand as well that most believers of his day did not. I mean, how do you recognize a man of great oratorical skill? He stands out. His abilities are far above and beyond the norms. Most of the believers of his day weren't known for the oratory, their ability to be eloquent in their speech. But it was the gift that Apollos had and he demonstrated and that he used well. And then we have the pair of Aquila and Priscilla. We see them in verses 18 and 19. First of all, we see that, remember back earlier in chapter 18, that they were in Corinth and Paul lives with them for a while. In fact, while he's there in Corinth for about a year and a half, they are tent makers and or leather workers. But what we would term as simple lay people. lay people within the church among the believers. And they served as a host to Paul for a year and a half. They accompany Paul to Ephesus. They remain in Ephesus as Paul continues on the journey that we've read just a few moments ago. They hear Apollos. Apollos comes to Ephesus. And there, when Apollos comes, they offer tactful but further instruction regarding the Christian message to him according to verse 26. What do we see here of Priscilla and Aquila? We see the gifts of hospitality. We see a discernment of truth. We see graciousness and counsel. And incidentally, by virtue of the fact that in most of the accounts here, except in the first, Priscilla's name appears before her husband's, Aquila. seems to indicate that she took the lead role in their ministry of service and of helping. Not to undermine his position, but she seems to have been the stronger or the more capable of the two in regard to many of these matters. And so we find her name mentioned first in the naming of the pair, Aquila and Priscilla. But what do we think, what do we see here? that there are no two of these callings or these forms of ministry that are the same. And these are just the ones that are mentioned. You know, how many more could Luke has had he so chosen to draw out about individuals within the context of believers, within the context of the church and the demonstrations of their contributions and their gifts. And what women look at and say, I don't really see them doing much of anything in one sense of the word. But what we see here is such a diversity within the context of the church. The church is in fact a place of diversity. Now, why is that important for us? Well, first of all, we need to recognize that Christ's church is a place of diversity in callings and gifts and make sure that we don't fall into the trap of believing everyone needs to fit into a particular mold, either the mold of our thinking or that we think that we need to fit the mold of someone else's ministry and someone else's calling. that we are not called to model our lives or our works after another. Rather, we are to discern to know how to fulfill God's calling upon our lives as unique individuals, different gifts, different callings, different abilities within the context of the church. It's a place where diversity should abound. And there should be a great delight in seeing how God makes us different and uses us in different ways within the context of the church. To value and to appreciate. those whom God calls to what we might recognize as a more visible ministry within the context of the church. But on the other hand, not to underestimate, not to undervalue another's gift or calling or my own, because it's not so visible. It's not how we measure the value and the importance of someone in the context of the church community. The question is, am I fulfilling God's calling? Am I exercising God's gifts within the context of God's church? Recognizing that it is God who puts us together. It is the Holy Spirit who adds to the church, who brings us to labor together. So the church is a place of diversity and we want to and we need to be willing to recognize that. That we're not going to all be the same in our gifts, in our callings. The second thing we see here though is the church is a place of unity. Though there are diversity of gifts, diversity in things that we do and ability to do things, there are also some key areas of unity within the church. And we see here in our text for today that in the midst of all the diversity that's indicated here, that there are also areas of unity or continuity, areas in which there are similarities in what they focus upon. Two things stand out. pretty clearly. First of all, there is the unity of a scriptural commitment. The unity of a scriptural commitment. We see it, first of all, in the Apostle Paul, verse 19, when he and Aquila and Priscilla come to Ephesus. They come to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now, he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. Now, we have already considered and talked about for the last two Lord's days, or three, the nature of this reasoning with them. We see it back in Acts chapter 17, verses 2 and 3. And according to Paul's custom, which we can assume he followed at Ephesus, according to Paul's custom, he went to them and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them. Same thing he was doing in Ephesus. Just more details are given to us here. Reasoned with them from the Scriptures. He's not there just coming and talking to them. He is sitting down with them, opening the Scriptures with them, considering what do the Scriptures teach. So he reasons with them from the Scriptures. And in verse 3 of chapter 17, exactly what that reasoning consists of two things, basically explaining and giving evidence that number one, Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead. And number two, this Jesus who I'm proclaiming to you is the Christ. So we understand, we recognize that Paul is committed to the scriptures. to reasoning with the Jews from the Scriptures, to declare, to defend his case based upon the truth of what the Scriptures teach. Then note in Apollos, Apollos in verse 24, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, and note what it says here, he was mighty in the Scriptures. He was mighty in the Scriptures. Simply put, He understood and He was able to expound upon the message that are contained within the Scriptures. And we see particularly in verse 28, the message He proclaimed. He powerfully refuted the Jews in public, verse 28, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. And so Apollos likewise demonstrates the scriptural commitment, teaching the scriptures, expounding the scriptures, preaching the message of Jesus as the Christ as is found in the scriptures. And then we also see in Aquila and Priscilla. Verse 26, as Apollos began to speak out boldly in the synagogue, when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. So what do we see here? Well, he's described, if we look back in the earlier verses here, in verse 25, it says that he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus from the Old Testament Scriptures. And then it says, Priscilla and Aquila heard him. They took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. In other words, they understood he had limited knowledge. And it says that he knew nothing being acquainted only with the baptism of John. He wasn't acquainted with the baptism of the Spirit that Jesus taught. And so Priscilla and Aquila, they tactfully pull him aside. Why? Because they're committed to not only a right understanding of the Scriptures, but also the full teaching of the Scriptures. Apollos, your message is good and what you say is true, but there's more. There's more to be understood. There's more to be expounded. And so they likewise demonstrate their scriptural commitment not to leave Apollos where he is in his limited understanding, limited knowledge, but to communicate with him the further truth regarding the gospel of Jesus. So we have, first of all, the area of unity. There is a scriptural commitment. All of these are committed to the scriptures, to knowing the scriptures, to teaching the scriptures, expounding the scriptures correctly and fully. But the second area of unity is this, is one of spiritual care. unity in spiritual care. Paul is described in verse 23, having spent some time there, he left and passed successfully through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Strengthening all the disciples. Aquila and Priscilla. What do we see of them? We see them assisting in teaching Apollos, taking upon themselves to care for him in this ministry and encouraging him with the saints of Ephesus when he expresses an interest and a desire to go to Achaia in verse 27. When Apollos wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him. And we can assume that Priscilla and Aquila likewise part of that encouragement to him there in Ephesus. It's interesting here that with Aquila and Priscilla that you have Apollos come evidently a well-educated man, educated and trained in oratory and speech, eloquent man. He knows the Scriptures, mighty in the Scriptures, but you find here that there's no sense of inferiority, is there? You know, who are we that we should go speak to this guy? Yeah, it's not complete, but he's doing a good job, and he sure says it better than we could ever say it. but there's no sense of inferiority. Rather, what we find here, that there is a sense of partnership. That we're in this together. That we're involved in the same gospel, advancing the same gospel message. And so they come to Him, and there's a spirit and a sense of partnership when they come in a gracious manner to be of assistance to Him. But on the other side of the coin, Here's a man who's trained and schooled and eloquent and quite able and capable to speak and expound the Scriptures being approached by tent makers. And so Apollos demonstrates humility. Understanding that within the community of the church that there is a caring one for another. There are ways that we minister one to another that it's never one sided. I would certainly contest about that as well as anyone in the context of this church that I trust that I'm able to minister to you as a pastor and a preacher of the word. But let me assure you, you minister to me greatly in many ways. One of which is that you're back here every Sunday. You know, it's a you're a great encouragement to me. And so ministry within the context of the church, but not only that way, but there's a great ministry of teaching. I learn things. I enjoy the occasions that I have to sit in the Sunday school. And Steve was teaching over the last several months during the Sunday school and the times that Neil has taught and preached and opportunity. I am greatly ministered to, greatly encouraged. And you see, that's the way the body functions, that there's not a sense of superiority that I've got all. I know I don't have it all. and to see within the context the beauty of ministering one to another. What Paul expresses in his letter to the church in Rome, his desire to go to visit the saints there in Rome. And what he says is that we might mutually benefit from my visit, that they might benefit from him. But likewise, he would benefit from them. That's the church. in a spiritual care one for another. There are ways that all of us can care for each one of us. So we need not think that, well, I have really no significant contribution to the work here, to the body here. Yes, you do. I've read you the fact that you're placed here by the Spirit of God in this local congregation. He has put you here according to his design. You have a place and you have even a responsibility, a spiritual care for the saints. And we can exercise that in ways many times that we scarcely imagine. So we see much in the way here among the saints in the early church of continuity and unity. They recognize the importance of Scripture. They recognize the importance of sound doctrine and also their duty to exercise spiritual care one for another. Folks, it's not an option. It's our duty to care one for another spiritually. And so likewise, we join with the church, the early church, and we affirm with the saints that are mentioned here. We affirm these essential areas of unity. It's not all. But there are these essential areas of unity. Number one is that scripture alone is God's word. Therefore, it is our sole authority and must be taught accurately and is to be taught in its fullness. We want to make sure we understand the scriptures. That's the reason I labor and work and prepare for messages week by week to make sure I understand these scriptures. But I also recognize the fact that I'm not infallible. So welcome on any occasion that you have a concern that maybe I have misspoken. I also recognize that many times I'm speaking extemporaneously, for example, in Sunday school or even in the pulpit. that I may misspeak. It's not that I have said something that is wrong and I believe it, but sometimes I've misspoke and I've just said it in a poor way, and so it's communicated in a poor way. Ask my wife about that. She knows I do that. It's the time that she kind of rolls her eyes. What has he said this time? And sometimes it just needs to be better said. And so feel free, in the case that there are concerns, what are you saying here, or what do you mean here, that we can at least put it in context, or even if necessary, to correct it. but also, not only do we affirm the authority of Scripture, but we also, as members of the body of Christ, as well as members one of another, that we are committed to the spiritual growth and maturity of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Are you committed to that? Are you committed to the growth and maturity of those who are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and in particular, not limited to, but in particular, those in this local body? To do what we can to teach to encourage, to come alongside. And it's going to have to take place more than we're able to accomplish here within these walls on Sunday morning or on Wednesday evenings. The times that we're caring for one another in other settings, in our homes, and are doing things together out in other places, The great danger, I think, in our day is that the great danger is that we simply assume our brother or our sister is doing okay and we never bother to ask. It's easy to assume that, isn't it? Nothing obvious. They must be doing okay. Perhaps there are occasions that we need to consider ways of being more closely accountable one to another. And rather than assuming that all is well, I'm going to take it upon myself, how are things with your soul? How are you spiritually? I need to do more of that. But it's not just me. It's ways that we can minister and care one for another. And it may be that we find there's a brother or sister that's struggling. Then we know the ways that we can pray and know that we can physically come alongside them and help them and minister to them. A place of unity and scriptural commitment and spiritual care one for another. And finally we see here The church is a place of community. Once a month we read the Apostles' Creed. And part of that creed states that we believe in the Holy Catholic Church. Now, we've clarified in our statements, the copies of it in the back of your hymnal, that we are not here making an affirmation of Romanism or Roman Catholicism. In fact, we would be far removed from any such notion. Rather, what we are affirming, we take the word Catholic in its generic sense as meaning universal. And we're saying that we simply believe in the universal nature of the church. And in that, we're saying that all who are in the body of Christ are in some sense connected. that the body of Christ, for example, in Bristol is certainly not limited to this local expression. Then we recognize that there are brothers and sisters in Christ throughout Bristol, throughout the Tri-Cities, in our country, and even around the world. Now, that's what we confess once a month, that we believe in the Holy Catholic Church. that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a universal church. It's everywhere. But it's a reality that I think we miss. It's an understanding of the church that is increasingly diminished in our day. I think there's a couple of reasons for that. One is what I term is widespread denominational division. In that we're all too ready to take up my theological position and go start another church. Go start over somewhere else. Another reason I think that we increasingly are diminishing this aspect of the church is what I would call an imbalanced understanding of church autonomy. Now, Baptists are very good on local autonomy of the church. It's one of the linchpins of Baptist theology and doctrine. The local autonomy of every Baptist church that does not answer to a denomination In reality, if you want to get technical, there's no such thing as a Baptist denomination. There's no such thing. Because we are not together under one umbrella with any type of a hierarchy. Rather, what you have is, in its truest sense, every Baptist church is an independent church. And we stress the autonomy of the local church and as a Baptist church that we do not answer to any other authority outside the church. There's not a hierarchy that we answer to. Which I think is a good thing. I think it has served well. Historically it has preserved many Baptist churches. because they are not linked denominationally from some of the denominational heresies and downfalls that our church history has witnessed. But it also can lead to a dangerously independent spirit. And so although we would confess that we believe in a holy Catholic church, the universal nature of the church, Because of this readiness to expand into another church or another denomination or another group, there's division. And also because of this imbalanced sense, understanding of church autonomy. That these things work against what we confess. Paul's ministry, as we consider Paul's ministry here, we recognize that it was unique. He was unique. His gifts and callings were unique. He was an apostle. But Paul went from church to church in various cities, and Paul was much at home in any of these. He leaves a church that is started in Corinth, He plants the seed for a church in Ephesus. He likely visits the church of Jerusalem, verse 22, goes up to the church and then down from there, returns to Antioch, which is the beginning point of his earlier two missionary journeys, and he sets out to revisit the churches in Galatia and Phrygia, verse 23. Now, we could argue that, well, Paul had ties to each of these churches. So you would expect him to be quite at home in any of these. But I think the reality is that Paul considered himself as having ties to any group of believers. Especially if you read, for example, his letter to the church in Rome. That was not a church that he started. And he anticipated going there to worship and to be with them. Very much at home as a part of the universal Church. Apollos, he had a sense of freedom and obligation to come to Ephesus. We don't know why he came there. He shows up in Ephesus. but also to leave Ephesus to go to Achaia where there were some already believers there. Verse 27, he goes there and he begins to refute the Jews in public, demonstrated by the Scripture of Jesus Christ, greatly helping those who believe. Verse 27. Now note this, and I have to give to you an honest confession this morning. that I'm still processing some of these truths and implications. I'm not sure of all the answers and things that we should be working toward in light of this. I'm processing. I'm thinking. This has got me to thinking. And I hope that it will you, and maybe it would be a topic of some conversation for us as a church in the future. But I will give you this. I think it does lead us that we must consider our place as only a part of Christ's church and God's kingdom. I think that's a given. That we're only a part of it. We're not all of it. Now, that's just the beginning point. That's the obvious thing I want to state. To consider our place as only a part. But as a part, what is our responsibility to the church at large? To the church universal? I think it compels us to consider the need for cooperation with other churches. Now, we do that in some sense by association with ARBCA, and I think that's a good thing because we are in association and cooperation with churches that we understand are of like mind with us doctrinally. Those are important. Is there not also the need for us to consider levels of cooperation with churches locally? I'm asking questions. I don't have all the answers here. To recognize that we're not going to be on the same page on everything. But wherein we feel that the gospel of Christ is not compromised. And that by our cooperation and or association with churches of other theological positions. What's our need here? What's our duty here? What should we be doing? The times that we should, on a larger level with ARBCA or locally, we have the opportunity here to seek input, to welcome counsel, which we do that incidentally through ARBCA. That's one of the greater benefits that I experienced as a pastor than you do as lay people, but I experienced the the wisdom of a multitude of pastors that when there are issues that come up and I feel like this is something I need some assistance and some outside thinking, outside the box, but also outside the context of this local congregation. Give me some objectivity. I'll call pastors, in general, the ARPCA pastors. I'll say, what's your take on this? Or have you had anything like this? What are your thoughts here? I have some issues even now I'm thinking through personally. And I'm probably going to call some pastors and say, what's your take here on some things? But what is our responsibility to other congregations? You know, we Reformed people, and may I especially say we Reformed Baptist people, we tend to be isolationists. There's just nobody like us. First of all, there aren't any Reformed Baptist churches in Bristol that haven't noticed. There is a Reformed Baptist church that we know of in Johnson City, but they have some theological differences with us, if you didn't know that. You know, I've always kind of refrained and pulled away from the notion of being a participant in the ministerial associations, for example, that are in most communities. There's one here in Bristol. It's an association of pastors. And I think probably the breadth and the scope of where these men are theologically, I just kind of keep my distance. And I thought, maybe that's not the best thing to do. I've known some Arbuckle pastors who have taken the mantle and the scope of being involved in such associations as pastors. There's a level of encouragement in communicating from pastor to pastor. But also, I think, in light of the universal nature of the church, it should at least say this, that a parting of ways should be very slow, with much prayer, with much study of the Scriptures, and in humility. You know, if there's just positions that we just can't work with. That to come to a point where we choose to part ways, be very slow in that. The church today, or the people today, are just too ready to solve my problem, I'll leave and start another church. Rather than examining the true issues, are these really issues of substance or are there more and more issues of the heart? That things like pride and arrogance need to be dealt with. So the parting of ways should be very slow. only after much prayer, study in the Scriptures, and end in humility." Again, I'm still processing the implications of this universal nature of the church. But it does mean that we look outside these walls and understand that we are part of something much larger than this. the church invisible, all who are in the body of Christ, all that are in Christ's church, and what is our obligation and our duty toward them? So certainly the church is a testimony of God's design and God's work. Only God would put something together like this. Because only God could. For there's such diversity. But at the same time, there's unity. And that there's a universal nature. That there is the joy, there is the marvel that we can go, and we've had this experience many times, that you can go to a city and visit a church that you've never been in before and experience wonderful fellowship, can't you? the universal nature of the church. That we can go around the world. Go to the other side of the world. And sit down with a group of believers that we may not be able to speak their language. But know that there is a unity. There is a oneness that we have with them. Only God could do such a thing. And He does. It's a place of community. There's one body. One church. And God give us grace to understand that and to live in light of that. How God would have us to live individually but also corporately and as a church and this as one small part of the body of Christ and our responsibility and obligations to those who are part to the body of Christ in other places. I don't think, I don't think our calling to our brothers and sisters is to ignore them. I don't think that's our calling. And that's pretty much what we tend to do. Almost pretend as if they don't exist. God help us. God give us wisdom in living within the community of the church. Let's pray.