[Music] Jesus we are called to be as one in your love one love Jesus only by your grace can we show your love one love and one God Only by all [Applause] show all right guys well we are here to get into the word of God so let's get our Bibles and turn them please to the Book of Acts if you need a Bible raise your hand and we will get one to you and I am going to do Acts chapter 15 starting in chapter 15 and I know uh Pastor Aaron spoke on that last
week so no I'm not uninformed but as I watched Pastor Aaron's message I was thoroughly blessed as you were but I also know that where I have been taking us and the things that I need to show you next week I really need to to direct us to another angle and also some other things to show Other insights so you guys are going to become Scholars on acts chap 15 cuz you're going to get it twice here I'm talking amen amen all right good stuff all right so we are in Acts chapter 15 and why
I felt that I wanted to start in the same place that Aaron did is this what I want to emphasize today is the church what I see in Acts chapter 15 is the evidence that things that we see today going on in the church we need to see and recognize so before I even go Into the text let me have your attention this way cuz uh let's talk right out right off the bat about the church you've tried to invite people to church you've share people that you're part of the body of Christ and we
know that church has a stigma that has been given to it so let's first of all notice one thing I myself preachers kid as most of you know born in the church my mom was in church on Sunday when when she went into labor I mean you can't get any more In church born in church than me and by being a preacher's kid I have seen the underside of the church church I have seen and recognized that we all come and when we come we bring our baggage and so what I recognized is this the
church is like Noah's Ark there's warmth and safety inside but also a lot of kaka can I get an amen you see the Bible says that wherever the pen is full it's messy if it's empty it's clean and so When a body like this gathers together of all of us in our process we come together we have a a leftover if I may say so in a more polite way and so this is the point you have to have one of two choices when you recognize what I've just said I've known so many preachers kids
so have you that we've seen them they're known as the wildest party or they're the craziest person because what they saw they got distracted on the people at the church rather than why the People came to church amen did you hear me on that you will be distracted by the people at the church or you'll recognize why you came to church and now is to worship a holy God and so you're going to realize one of two choices you're either going to jump ship and say ah I don't want to go to church cuz all
those people are phonies and they Hypocrites whatever and you jump ship which is your own eminent and eternal death because youve stepped out of God's word willing Way or you're going to recognize that we are all contributors and grab a shovel can I get an amen cuz we each bring our stuff and when someone does mention to you the hypocrite comment you know my response oh I don't want to go to church there so many Hypocrites will they not always respond well that's great but let me give you a suggestion if you ever find a
church without Hypocrites don't join it because you'll ruin it Exactly because there isn't a single one of us here who is not in some way not living up to what we know feel and believe amen we recognize this and so my response to that person is this after I say that I say then I want to share this with you so your choice is basically this you can either go to church with some of the Hypocrites or you can go to hell with the rest of them I'm just keeping it real folks you know how
many times people sit Back on a plane and go whoa did the pastor just tell me to go to hell no that's not what I said what I said is it's Heaven and Hell life or death and you see I've been telling you what the church isn't so let me tell you what the church is please jot this down the church is The Fellowship of the progressing not the perfect we are not The Fellowship of the perfect we are The Fellowship of the Progressing that's who we are all of us are in process starting with
the pastor and so we come and we begin to recognize that as Jesus himself said is the hospital is for the sick and so we recognize that we come here because we know that we're in process with Jesus Christ amen so it's so important that we understand that because this morning we're going to talk about an evident something that is found evidently in the in the church all the time and it's Disagreement we're going to see an issue in the Bible of the early church with disagreement now this is what's so crazy because so many
people have a glassy eyed idea of church that they're shocked when they first find that there's disagreement within the church their idea is you know back in the days where where some of my 70s Christians come on Raise Your Hands Where are you okay we are one in the spirit we are one In the Lord we are one remember that one oh yeah and together our Unity will come on they'll know we are Christians by our love by our love yes but guess what the person singing that song still has sin issues amen and so
we seem to think I hear people say oh you know what I just wish we could be back like the early church oh the first church that's how I want to be have you read your Bible Have you paid attention why Corinthians was written that's why Galatians was written what's going to go on here in the book of Acts you see conflict is a part of reality it's a part of people what should set us apart Believers is how we deal with it and that's what we're going to look at today so let's dive in
Acts 15:1 it says this and some of the men came down from Judea and began teaching the Brethren unless you are circumcised According to the custom of what Moses Moses you cannot be saved now the first thing I want you to not is underline their word that they came down from Judea why is that important because Luke is letting us know that these guys came from the home Church the mother Church the first church and so for that reason they were given a set of credentials because of what they were associated with they were given
an authority and thus everyone started listening them Because of their associational author it I got to tell you this still happens every day and it bugs the heck out of me where I probably most got irritated with it was when I was in college and heard the power of professors and soon as a professor said something because he was a professor he was associated with the university which is supposedly associated with learning and knowledge and thus the authority of what this man was saying was given more credit than The word of God does anyone know
what I'm talking about hey I would have youth group kids who would go seventh grade get saved be with me I disciple them we do the incredible things missions trips serve in their Community love the Lord give sermons on youth Sunday all kinds of things send them off to college they would come back Christmas Christmas break I didn't even know they came back then I'd see them on the ocean surfing I like hey hey expecting them to be like Oh wax what's up and they'd be like you know like some of you when you don't
go to church and I see you in Safeway you mean to take a duck down the aisle oh I got to get some cereal you know they'd be like oh you know oh hey wax how's it going and I start talking to him and I'm like d and I'm like hey I'm going to see you Sunday and they're like um I'm like what what's up well you know dude I don't know if I believe anymore you don't know if you believe Anymore and why would that be well my professor said your professor said so because
this guy's got a doctorate you think the youth pastor who's been teaching you all along is clueless in what he's talking about so you put all these credentials in those titles of those three little letters yeah so guess what I did I went and got a doctorate so that then now I have stood In front of auditoriums at USC UCLA UCSB uh San Diego State and I have done my debates with all these high Mucky for some reason they all look like Colonel Sanders by the way they always do and I share with these guys
still having a doctorate that Jesus loves Jesus lives and Jesus saves every single time when I give my debate back and forth with this professor who's saying blah blah blah blah blah and I come up and I say here's The truth here's the facts here it is every single time you know what these professors did they said well I was young and idealistic once before too I always slammed him if it was back in the day when you could dve the mic I would [Music] have I always looked at the crowd and said notice he
picked up my age not my [Music] argument you got to remember my hair was Down to here y dude bro you need Jesus dude okay mean it's like and these guys are just schooled look what God did God gave me a bachelor's in psychology a master's in in Theology and then a doctorate in philosophy I never planned that but you know how fun that was cuz what is psychology what man thinks of man what is theology what God thinks of man what is philosophy the confusion of them both and so to learn a philosophical Worldview
run it through the filter of what God thinks to help Humanity understand themselves that's what God did that was his purposes but it's not about credentials the point is checking things out just turn turn to the next chapter look at acts chap 17 look at verse 11 one of my favorite verses I memorize that verse as a young man says these were more noble-minded than those in thessalonica are blessed are the bereans depending on your version for They studied the Scriptures Daily to see if what Paul said was true you don't take it because a
pastor says it you don't take it because someone has a doctrate or this or that we are to search the scriptures and find the truth ourselves that's why I hand you a Bible in this church cuz that I want you to take the word of waxer I want the word of God and that's why we need to recognize so these judaizers come down and supposedly have street cred and what Do they say unless you are circumcised you cannot be saved what are they're saying unless you're a Jew unless you look like a Jew act like
a Jew you can't really be saved now here's the irony we don't say that but we say that we constantly say you know you can't really be saved yet because you still go to those kinds of movies you can't really be saved yet because you still smoke or you still abuse alcohol or you still go to these things or you still dressed That way and you know you're not really but you're going to get it but you're not quite saved yet you see all of a sudden we start putting an idea of what a Christian
is and what a Christian looks like my favorite story is this when our church was being blessed at M after the first or second year God just really began to add to our increase and so we left the little Barn that we were in and we got this corner lock going up to koala Po and so all the Pastors who lived on Church who chur whose churches were on Church row had to come down and Drive by our church well it just so happened Monday morning I'm walking down and there's five of them standing right
in front of the grocery store which isn't hard because there's only two of them and uh and so they're all standing right there and I come up to them and I'm like hey what's up and it was you could just see their faces it was kind of like oh here comes Tipton You know comes gler and one of them very genuine brother he said hey man drove by your parking lot yesterday it was full how exciting I said isn't it great praise God yeah the Lord is just increasing the other Pastor without even missing a
beat goes yeah but I do need to let you know when I drove by I saw like three or four guys out there smoking cigarettes just got to let you know that's going on in your parking lot These guys are smoking in your parking lot my response looked them Square in the eye and say isn't that great isn't that awesome because last month it was bought to and now it's just a cigarette I can't wait for tomorrow wow crystal meth cigarettes what is he going to be like tomorrow see why do we seem to always
think how far someone needs to go rather than praising God for how far they've Come including yourself do not allow the enemy to just always show you where you're faing praise God for how far you've come by the way where are you this morning oh yeah that'd be Church on a beautiful Sunday I mean I don't know about you Surfers but I woke up and saw no wind I'm like really today no wind finally but see we need to recognize God's view God's point of view you see Why do we Define Christianity and what we
do and what we don't do well a Christian is like me because I don't do this and I don't do that I don't find that scriptural in fact this is what I want to say let's not just say what Jesus said but let's do what Jesus did let's not just say what Jesus said let's do what Jesus did well what do you mean by that Pastor well when Jesus saw Levi as a tax collector ripping off his own people did he come by and rebuke him no He said yo Levi let's go have lunch follow
me in fact invite all your friends and we're going to hang out together we're going to go to the house and he begins to share with him and Levi's name is changed into Matthew and he becomes one of the following disciples and writes that First Gospel in your new testament and when Jesus saw Mary Magdalene he didn't see a hooker he didn't see a the Pharisees saw a prostitute because they looked at her Jesus looked in her and saw a woman desperately hurting and needing acceptance love and forgiveness for herself first and he said come
and follow me and because the Pharisees saw what she was they could not Minister but Jesus saw who she was and he pulled her out to be one of the founding matriarchs of the body of Christ when Jesus saw zakus in a tree he said Zach good to see you you're rich you buy dinner And he and zakus had dinner and zakus you know the story he paid back anyone he'd ever robbed five or ten fold he just lay up the payb when he saw Moses he didn't see some guy in the in hiding in
the wilderness he didn't see a runaway he saw the man who would be the leader of the nation at one time and when Jesus saw Judas he did not see a betrayer he saw a man worthy out of all the people people to be called in Judea At that time to be a disciple he chose him to be one of those 12 Jesus saw the calling on every one of those person's lives and yet we seem to look back rather than letting God call us and walk according to his word will and way but I
got to tell you something else here church that is that when I say that Jesus sees who we are we need to also recognize this same Jesus says this and I quote if you love me you will keep my what my Commandments he says in chapter 14 further he says this he who does not love me does not keep my words and The Words which you hear is not mine but whose father's it's my father's and so church let me just get real with you for a second I really really really don't know how some
of you come every single week can raise your hand sing carry a Bible and continue to go home and living together continue being sexually active Continue walking in things that are practicing lawlessness continuing in other words when God says you love me you want to keep my Commandments and so it's saying one way we don't look at but at the same time we're going to see in this message that God knows the heart God knows our heart and so the question is is if you love him are you law motivated or love motivated these men
are coming with the law and so you must act like this we're going to learn Today that it's not even what you act like it's who you are acting like and is Christ in you the hope of all glory so he says Hey do you follow according to my word will and way notice verse two and when Paul and Barnabas had came down these legalizers came and said you're not saved unless you are made to be like a Jew when Paul and Barnabas came they had what what does it say there had no small dissension
no small dissension my Bible says great Dissension then the next word says they had that and a debate a disagreement in the church and with them the Brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders concerning this issue church I already told you that as Christians we are still going to have conflict just like there's conflict outside there's conflict inside disagreements inside disagreements Outside what sets us apart please hear me is how we deal with disagreement amen what sets us apart what's the
first thing they said look at this look at your text it says this it says they recognized there was this great disagreement and so they said hey not here not now we have a proper Channel a proper place and a proper time let's take this to Jerusalem let's take this to the council let's take this to these individuals in other words let's not Fight in front of the kids let's make sure we can get our act together before we start imposing things on the followers the children of Christ very big picture there and so they
recognize there's a proper course so then how do you and I distinguish ourselves as different when we deal with disagreement I'd like to share with you five things real quickly this is group counseling 101 with Pastor waxer so you're all going to get your notes out And take notes on this right okay number one how do we as Christians deal with conflict differently number one we prepare a setting we prepare a setting meaning we are not reactionary we don't just boom I'm upset so then I blow up uh-uh we make sure there's a proper place
and a proper time to have the discussion now look at me for a second please and especially all of you that are married but those of you that are not yet Married it's going to be a day so learn from me now like listen to me now and believe me later okay now listen here it is I don't care who you are every couple I've been doing this for 38 years every couple one of you is the communicator and the other one is the processor doesn't matter it flips genders back and forth the communicator sees
that something is wrong and says what's wrong the processor says nothing Nothing the communicator says no there's something wrong I can see the something's wrong no no no no no no no I'm I'm fine no you I know there's something wrong you better talk to me because if you don't talk to me then it's going to get some it's going to get inside the Bible says don't let the sun go down in his anger so we need to discuss this right now because if he gets submerged we need to deal with this right now meanwhile
the processor what They were thinking is well yeah I am upset about something but I don't know whether it's me or whether it's you do I even have the right to feel this way am I making too much out of this or is just me or did they really do something wrong but while the communicator said we must talk we must talk we must talk finally the processor goes leave me alone what needs to happen processors listen you say yes I am upset about Something but let me take it before the Lord as I work
on my thoughts and in 30 minutes in the living room we'll have a chat one hour in the living room we have a chat processor gets to process Communicator gets to take a walk and say okay God whatever it is you me to do so that I can handle them the right way then you come together in the mind of Christ and discuss the disagreement amen I've had people tell me dude if I knew that I'd be still Married to my first wife because you need to recognize we approach it differently we need to set
the stage for it oh by the way that whole thing about the Sun going down in his anger please do not understand that is literal at 11:30 night it's the worst time in the world to get in a fight with your spouse you're both tired [Music] idiots you both be processors I'm going To process by going to sleep and at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning in the living room we'll talk and you go to bed and you're both back to back nine times out of 10 you wake up I'm sorry I was just being dumb at
least that how it is at the tipon house and Cindy realizes she was wrong all right no we moving [Applause] on going to pay for that one okay now secondly then what do we do once we Get together we attack the problem not each other we attack the problem not like you know you do this and you do that that's not how we deal with this folks first of all the word is that so if Kamari and I had a disagreement about something and she would say that the sky is red I would instead of
saying uh-uh I disagree as soon as I say uhuh or I disagree or what are you thinking I now Made it Kamar versus waxer and so now she's going to have to defend her honor because I've challenged her honor because she personified the argument and I personified mine am I making sense amen so all I say is well I'm not sure I agree with that because that's go outside and look up and what color would you call that is that red to you because is that not this an occultist says oh Jesus isn't God you
know what I don't agree with that because let's talk about That because with that that they're more likely to concede to something that is separated from their own dignity attack the problem not each other amen very very simple that's what we're going to see they're doing here in the early church they're going to talk about this legalism not attack the guys who brought the legalism issue in okay next always back up your accusations with facts for some reason whenever I hear the couples argue they always use Absolutes I just gave you one always always but
when I listen to can I just be frank you all well he never never well not never well then why' you say never well I don't know because she always always no not always you see the enemy takes these little things and makes these mountains out of them so that we see them as just these issues because Satan just loves to poke and prod on us no you want to say hey you know the last three times when we said We were going to leave at a certain time and so forth and we weren't able
to leave and so forth what can I do to help because each three time you recognize we were late when we got there and I just feel like that's kind of embarrassing and how do we become a team how do we make us a win for each other number three don't throw your feelings around like stones well I feel this well you make me feel that and the world has told us that our feelings matter most can I Tell you right now that our feelings matter but they don't matter most I want you to be
able to share with your spouse that hurt me and if they're worth the darn they will respond to that and that alone but just because you feel a certain way doesn't mean the entire world has to respond and change to it that's where Satan is tormenting America people couples marriages churches because we're throwing our feelings around like stones And so we can't stay on subject let me share with you what I mean believe it or not I get once in a while someone come up to me and say they were offended by something I said
in the [Laughter] message I'm a sinner I can say things out of context I can say things that we but I'll tell you what when someone comes up to me and says Pastor I was offended by what you said today you know my first response Isn't by what what I said what what what what trying to defend my honor well what was it that I did wrong no no no if you're worth a darn at all as a Believer as a Christian someone says Hey I was offended I was hurt first words out of our
mouth is I so sorry I am so sorry I hurt you today that was the last thing I know you came into God's house cuz you wanted to learn and glean and be blessed and I failed You in some way and I apologize would you forgive me doesn't matter what I did whether I intended to do it or not that person is wounded and if I'm Christ centered I care for the wound I'm sorry husband I'm sorry wife that that hurt you that offend you with what I said then I say in what way how
did I offend you today well when you said such and such nine times out of 10 what they're saying is not what I heard myself say but it doesn't matter it's What they heard and so I say oh man I totally failed in trying to communicate that point to you what I was trying to say was this but obviously I failed and that did not come across that way to you please forgive me boom we move forward don't throw your feelings around like stones but allow your feelings to be addressed amen number four offer Solutions
with your Criticisms anyone that says this sucks well that's great you have an opinion but if you say hey have you guys thought about this have you thought about that that's a person who's a team player that's a person that wants to see a group win and so they say hey I was I've noticed this happens here would you be about this and so with one another offer solutions that tells me you've thought about it and you've prayed about it lastly number four be humble you Could be wrong or number five or whatever on my
at six be humble you could be wrong I could have you entertain for hours on stories of waxer and CD when we knew we were right I mean veins in our neck like I know I'm right and we were wrong so how does it end it ends with simply like this well that's not how I remember it but let's agree to disagree see if a person filled with the body of Christ does not need to make the other Person wrong in order for them to feel comfortable about them being right I don't need to conquer
can I just tell you the biggest problem the great majority of you in this room have learned to fight to win and so now with your family members you fight to win and so if you fight to win if you win what did they do they lost and all of a sudden you come to me and say my husband's a loser well guess who made him a Loser because you fight to win then you win and so your spouse is the loser and so every time you recognize that you win they lose and now you
find yourself married to a loser and it's like whoa whoa whoa well think about it it's because we've taken this secularism and we've added all this to conflict where God says no no no conflict can be used to be great things disagreement can be used for great things and we're going to see it today in the church amen so now Verse three it says this therefore being sent on their way by the church they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and were bringing what they were bringing
what great joy to all the Brethren now notice verse one the legal the legalizers come to town and they bring a heaviness Paul and Barnabas come to town and they bring what great joy I just want to say that to say this some People bring joy wherever they go some people bring joy whenever they go so my question is which one are you and how do you know you may think you're the the Delight of the family and as soon as you leave they close the door and say thank God that Pharisee is finally gone
that one that's coming here and telling us that we're not doing things right this matter we're not going to church and the Bible says this and all the different Kind of stuff and it's like oh and are people people delighted when you leave or they delighted when you come and how do you know I think it's a fair question but the last thing that I want you to see in verse three is it says on their way you see on their way Paul and Barnabas are on their way to Jerusalem to deal with this conflict
and to have a council meeting but what did they do they ministered along the way I want you to write this down Ministry is Not a destination it's the journey Ministry is not a destination it's the journey some of you said hey I'm going to be working today as a levite hey I'm going to be working in Sunday school and been working and so your mindset was that you need to go and get ready to serve God can I just challenge you today that Ministry is along the way when I was in seminary they gave
us a very powerful lesson they had four Seminary students with an assignment That said we need you to get this handed us a note it needs to get over here to the dean's office out of these four students what they were set up and they didn't know that is in the way there was an actor who was placed in a situation in a walkway that they had to walk by on a sidewalk where they were sitting there on the grass in a very needy position very kind of like in this kind of a situation kind
of looking homeless kind of looking ragged kind of looking Hurting and so all four of these seminarians were said we need you to go this direction directly in their path three of the four walked right by the guy to get right CU hey this is my assignment I need to be able to follow my assignment and I need to go and take care of this and walked right past the person who was in need these are guys that are the Shepherds of the churches of America today only one of them stopped and said hey man
are you Okay but it doesn't end just there I was told of an incredible story at Harvard Medical School where the final exam of the highest class in order to become a nurse and be licensed in a nurse with their program the final exam is only 15 questions that means every question has an incredible potent to it and question number eight was and I quote what is the name of the housekeeper in the hall that you've seen every day this semester students went nuts are you Kidding me does this really count is this really in
our exam you know that this could affect my GPA and it affects whether I can get into this University and whether I can get all this does are you serious about this and the professor looked him Square in the says guys if you miss the power of verse 8 you miss the whole purpose of this class you're going to treat a disease or are you going to treat people folks how would you have Done would you have known the name of the janitor where you work where you go to school how about the person who
checked you out at the counter yesterday do you notice they have a name tag for a reason and that's not just for you to complain so you can look at and go Clifford hey how are you doing and you know what I love about that 90% of the time they forget they have a name badge on and they're like huh you're how's your mom Clifford I'm just kidding you Know they're just like wait you does he know me how does he know me no but you just hey Clifford you having a good day yeah I
am right on you call someone by their name you gifted them of acknowledging their presence and their person personhood this is what I see from Paul and Barnabas on their way they are ministering verse four and when they arrived at Jerusalem they were received by by the church and the apostles and The elders and you know what they do they reported all the things that God had been doing with them notice the first things out of their mouth was not complaining about these judaizers the first thing that they were speaking about was the great things
that God is doing let me ask you a question what comes mostly out of your mouth blastings or blessings Praises or prickley when you speak are you speaking About what's wrong or are you praising about what God is already doing right I mentioned to you several weeks ago that some people do not even realize how ugly they are some people do not realize why they're still single you know they're they're externally beautiful but everything that comes out of your mouth sounds like Eeyore hey let's go to the movies no it's going to be crowded at
this time of day want to go eat here no I ate there Once and I had a little crumb on my Fork they don't do dishes there you know just [Music] everything that you say is critical oh that person oh you know that person the way they do that soth and so everything is a downer everything is a this and you see I see Paul they could have very easily come and said I can't believe these judaizers look what they did we set all these folks free with the gospel look what they no no no
no they come in And say can I just tell you what God is doing right now when I ask somebody how's it's going I love to hear can I just tell you what God's doing right now can we please be the same people who see how far God has taken us not to see where we need to go amen amen so they bring this great joy and presence into the room now verse 5 says this but certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees had believed stood up saying again it is necessary there's the word
To circumcise them and to direct them to observe what does it say the law of Moses notice that didn't say the word of God it was important that they follow the law of Moses mes why would they be saying that who is saying this it says right there the Pharisees now let me have your eyes this way for a second question for you who gave Jesus the most hassle during his ministry on Earth Pharisees who are the people who hassled the early church First and foremost all the way through with Paul as being one of
them and stoning of Steven and arresting Peter and and and John who was this group okay who does it say that this group of Believers is Pharisees Pharisees Church stick with me even though they're still being a pain right now they're Believers they're one of us have we forgotten that Paul was once Saul and Saul was an Isis terrorist Commander he was on his way to persecute and put to death Christians and God called him God did not see what he was doing God saw who he would be and the calling that had upon his
life and he reached out and called him these Pharisees themselves responded to the gospel oh yes they're coming in with their 30 40 years of training their garbage their baggage their Doctrine they're bringing in with and God is Going to slowly begin to wash and cleanse and purify them it wasn't a time to attack it was a time to be heard and let's be able to discuss God's word God's will and his way am I making any sense here absolutely no one is beyond the grace of God don't quit praying for for that spouse who
mocks you or mocks your faith don't quit praying for that boss or whoever it is no one is beyond the grace of God and I just get blessed by that when I see this now verse 6 it Says this and the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter they both have brought it together now what I want you to see in verse 6 put this in your notes is this sometimes we got to deal with stuff the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter sometimes church we got
to deal with stuff look overhead hiding brings no healing maybe write that down on your Bible or on your notes some of you need To be challenged by that today you have not brought up things because a fear of being dominated a fear of being made a loser a fear of being mocked whatever it is listen hiding brings no healing if you do not feel that you can address this on your own then find a brother or sister who you can first talk about and let them go with you so that the two of you
can begin to bring healing you see the Bible says here they brought this issue to Light and in the proper time and the proper way they dealt with it verse 7 and after there had been much what disc okay discussion my version actually says even debate okay after there was even much debate Peter stood up and said to the Brethren so their point of view is spoken their point of view is spoken now Peter stands up and says hey you guys remember in the early days that God made a choice among you that by my
mouth the G Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe don't you remember that I was at this guy cornelius's house and they were all Gentiles and I shared the gospel and boom not only did they get saved but the Holy Spirit fell upon them do you guys remember that and then he says verse eight and God who knows the heart bore witness to them giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us he starts off by saying God knows the heart 1 Samuel says this for man looks At the outward
appearance but the Lord looks where at the heart now let me have your attention this is so important I need to make sure you all hear this that that goes both ways God knows your heart so if today you find yourself struggling stumbling falling you've been wanting to live according to Christ and yet you've gone back to that addiction a couple times you found yourself slandering and talking bad about people whatever it is The lustful thoughts are still creaming in upon you can I let you know right now that God knows your heart did not
Paul himself say in Romans 7 the very things I want to do I don't do and the Very things I don't want to do I do so he's saying God Knows Your Heart Take conviction remove condemnation convictions of God condemnations of Satan and so respond to that conviction God knows your heart beloved at the same Way when I say God knows your heart he also knows that if you're faking it if you're playing church here today and you're one of those that comes and can raise your hand and sing Hallelujah and carry your Bible and
so on so forth and yet you've just categorized God and this I like this I like but I'm going to keep my own ways and my own understanding here God also knows your heart and be warned because that same loving God is The righteous God and he says this in Hebrews 4 for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of Soul and Spirit of both joints and Marrow and able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart meaning he even
knows that if what we did today we did it out of a disgruntled heart though it looked good I served my Sunday school class I came as a levite hey I was on the prayer team But you know what I've just been kind of like uh the Lord says that's the same as the way the wheat would stumble hay it's that which can it's burned up because the god of the universe knows our heart I love knowing that I love that I love knowing that God knows my heart so he will refine and continue to
Pure why I do what I do and at the same time he will give me the graciousness that in my own life when I Stumble and Fall because I did have an ugly heart at that moment then God knows that that's not what I want out of me and so when I ask for forgiveness he says you got it son Let's grow and let's get better not bitter amen that's what he's doing now we need you need to know that God is saying something very very powerful so now verse 9 he says this and he
made no distinction between us and Them cleansing their hearts by What Faith by Faith Family notice that Circle that Underline that they were purified Sanctified because of what their faith their belief in God who is telling this Peter what is Peter what was his occupation fisherman what did God call him to be afterwards a fisher of men now stick with me on this here's a fisherman who knows a basic principle you don't clean your fish before you catch [Laughter] them amen and yet why do we have that Backwards we're trying to get people all fixed
up and then get them saved or some of you are listening to that same lie well you know what I know I got some things in my heart right now that aren't right I'm I'm doing these things and so forth and so when I get my act together then I'll be ready to come get my life oh beloved if you could have done it you would have done it that's right you would have done it let me just be real with You the point is is Jesus God yes does he love you yes let God
love you let God love you just as you are Come Just As You Are it's not a fix you up your life and then come to Jesus no it's come to Jesus and watch how he fixes up our life we don't clean the fish before they're caught surrender today to the Lord verse 10 he says now therefore if this is what I saw and he says then God guys why do you put God to the test by placing upon The neck of his disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to
bear I love how Pete says why are we testing God here he's saying why are we saying that What God Says isn't enough and so we need to put expectations upon ourselves upon our kids and our wives and our husbands and our pastors and our new Believers when we try to add to the message by saying well if you really want to walk according to God then you won't do this And you won't do this and you won't do that and you'll be like this and you'll read your Bible this many times and we put
all of this stuff around it just like the original legalizers came down to the church hear my heart church so often we do these things out of the best intentions hey you're a new believer and so don't no don't don't do this don't do this don't do this and this is going to help your walk I grew Up in that church I was taught an upside down triangle don't do this don't do this don't do this and definitely don't do this and that will get you closer to God no no no learn who God is
and how much he loves you just cuz and the less you'll want to do these things one is law driven the other is love driven which one are you today and I'll tell you the answer if you're tired you're law driven if you're feeling the love you're L Driven you're thanking God for what he's doing and giving you Grace for yesterday and Grace for today and Grace for your neighbor because God has been feeding you Grace and you've been eating it I've been saying for years we are not saved by good works but okay do
you believe that we are not saved by good works but we are saved for good works the other way I've been saying it lately is this a job is what you're paid for and a calling Is okay now do we believe this church see we have to understand is we have the legalism that sets us in bondage but Christ sets us free and free indeed that we might live our calling but do we understand that take a look at this question what are you called to do I ask that question because we won't be judged
according to what we did in life but rather what we were called to Do in life imagine with me standing Before the Throne of of God and a scenario like this occurred evangelist Anderson come forth and give an account of your stewardship on Earth evangelist Anderson I I'm not an evangelist I'm an accountant I I I I I had an accounting front I had evangelist Anderson Where are the 347,000 566 Souls I called you to impact in Asia Son where are they I'm I'm an accountant I I had an accounting firm I I I helped
churches I help Ministries with their their finances son where are the 347,000 [Music] sought me had you sought my face I would have revealed this to you and everything in regards to that man's calling was burned up before the Judgment seat of [Music] Christ accountant Jones step forth and give an account of your stewardship accountant Jones passor for 35 years I had a membership of 750 people accountant Jones I called you to the marketplace had you done this you would have significantly impacted two people you and those two men would have helped churches with their
finances and those churches would have impacted 751 321 Souls if you would have sought me I I would have revealed this to you and again in regards to this man's calling everything he's done in life would be burnt up before the Judgment scene of Christ sister Smith come forth to give an account of your stewardship I all I did was I only raised three children I I never preached To to Nations I I never even been on a missionary trip but I only tried my hardest to raise my children in your [Music] way sister Smith
I never called you to preach to Nations I never called you to go to other countries on missionary trips I called you to raise three children and let me show you the 1 Million5 [Music] 79,513 children impacted you insult me and you heard my voice you were obedient to my call well done my good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your lord so remember in regards to the calling that's on your life you won't be judged according to what you did you will be judged according to what you were called to [Music] do
according to the word of God as Christians we are no longer to be judged for our sin because Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid the price for our sin the message that we learn today in this chapter is is that we have legalism and legalizers that come in we strug with that but then the other extreme we run to is to liberalism is that Christ Set Me Free for myself rather than recognizing that there is a gifting and A calling and a purpose in every single one of our Lives when the sun sets
you free you're free how free indeed free to know who you are and to know why you are here and to walk into the Fulfillment and the greatest joy ever of doing so and Paul later says each man's work will become evident for the day itself will show it because it's to be revealed with fire and the fire itself will test the quality of each one's work and if anyone's work which has been built upon It remains They will receive a reward and anyone's work is burned up they will suffer loss but they themselves will
be saved as though Through Fire see he's challenging us and letting us know have we run from legalism but embraced liberalism have we accepted the good thing or have we asked for a God thing like that Minister perhaps have we maybe hid out inside the church because it's safer to talk about Jesus here but God has called you to the Marketplace I am passionate about this video because I strongly believe that my mom is Sister Smith because my dad as a pastor was called and was doing missions trips all over the world and I know
my mom would have loved to go but she didn't go she stayed home to raise my brother and I and to pour into us and to teach us God's word will and way so she didn't get to go to Japan when my dad would go but gosh how many times have I gone to Japan how many times have I been able to go into vanatu and all over parts of the world in Israel as a mom who poured into me because she was set free to live out her calling God did not see Levi he
saw Matthew God did not see Mary Magdalena he saw the woman who would be one of the first to see his resurrection and to Proclaim and be the Evangelist That Jesus Lives you see we need to understand the good versus the God and The call that he has for every one of us us that is why in verse 11 he says but we believe that we are saved how through the grace through the grace through the grace it's not about what we do but when we have been set free it's what we can do and
it's what God wants to release and every one of us to say I am saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way as we I love that he says that he goes we're saved like them not them like Us we tried the hard way it didn't work we needed salvation it takes Grace and that is why we close with verse 12 and it says this after this dialogue has gone on notice it says this and all the multitudes kept what what's it say didn't we just hear a moment ago that
there was a great debate and all the multitudes kept silent as they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through Them among the Gentiles Church hear me now notice how the argument fell by the wayside when the conversation went from the argument to the great things that God was doing wow can we make one love not a clever name but actually how we're described because we don't want to talk about we don't want to focus about we don't want to raise up listen we have conflict just
deal with it in the right Place in the right time but let the predominance of our conversation when I say how's it going can let me tell you how's it going let me tell you what God has been doing in my life this week and this is amazing and that is amazing and I I wish I had the time to give you testimony after testimony the things I hear from your lives of what God is doing but folks the key for you and I to be set free today is to come to Jesus just as
we are to let God love you will You let Jesus love you will you let him love you just the way you are some of you saying gosh that videos rocked me I don't know my calling notice what he said over and over if you had sought me I would have revealed to you I can tell you exactly where I was when God said to me you son are going to preach and there is not a single person I know out there who did not want to hear that more than me because I was a
Preacher's Son and I knew that was going to affect my surfing oh I'm serious but there's not a wave that I've missed that's more important than seeing your souls grow in Grace Come Just As You Are Crystal Lewis put it this way come as you are here I'm talking to you hear the spirit call Come Just As You Are come and see come receive come and live forever life Everlasting strength for Today taste the living water and never thirst Again Come Just As You Are don't you hear the spirit call Come Just As You Are
come and see Christ my king come and live forever more forever more Church in Galatians 5 he says it was for Freedom that Christ set us free therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject once again to the Yoke of slavery amen amen so Church we've heard our call today but brother are you here Sister are you here and God has been speaking to your heart and what's been holding you back is our failure number one I apologize for we the Church of body of Christ we will make mistakes people fail you churches will
fail you but Jesus will never fail you and what we're asking you right now is is Jesus Christ your lord and savior do you know that he lives and dwells within your heart and that he is at work in you and he's Drawing you to Perfection to the day he calls you home and when that trumpet sounds you know your name is on the list if that is not you and your heart wants that today it's a prayer away it's a prayer Way by simply saying Jesus I believe too that you are the Son of
God and that you died on a cross for my sin and I want to ask you to forgive me and be my savior if you need to pray that prayer to Jesus Christ would you raise your hand hold it up right here Now and I'm just going to lead you in prayer so you can invite Jesus to be your lord and savior the church doesn't do it it's a relationship between you and God we do it here with every head up and every eye open because when you know you want God you know that you
want God because you know God wants you so if there's anyone here today that wants to make that decision now hold it up nice and high and when we pray I'm going to lead you also in a prayer to invite Jesus as your savior anyone need to do that in this service today okay Church live your calling let's save Souls let's keep the main thing the main thing amen hey thank you for spending your time with us today at one love Ministries and being a part of our program but this invitation that you heard today
through the word of God is directly to you I want want you to know if you have not yet made a profession of Faith meaning ask Jesus Christ to be your lord and savior that invitation is available to you right now change transformation all the Glorious things that God wants to do are available to you but you got to ask you must personally invite Jesus Christ to be your lord and savior so if God has been speaking to you during this message your heart's been beaten your hands been kind of sweaty you've been wrestling with
things guess what that's the Lord Knocking on your heart and I want to lead you right now in a prayer that could allow you to invite Jesus Christ to become your lord and savior and open the door for eternity for you and him to be together I want you to pray with me right now it's not a magic prayer but an honest heart that will invite the Lord into your life join me right now dear Jesus thank you for dying on the cross for my sin I ask you to forgive me and to become my
Lord and Savior today Jesus I believe that you are God and that you saved me and my faith will be put in you please give me your holy spirit that come in and upon me that I might learn how to live as a child of God thank you Jesus for your love and today I come home in your name I pray amen if you prayed that prayer with us we are excited the Bible says the angels in heaven are rejoicing and we want to join them too so would you call this number right here on
the bottom of the screen And let us know we want to help you find a church that's in your area get plugged in get Fellowship get disciple as the Bible says because we want to grow in God's grace together God bless you he loves you we're excited if you would like to receive a copy of today's message please write down the sermon number on your screen and give us a call at 955 9335 for service times and locations check us out on the web at onelove.org Mahalo for watching
