AD Norris – The Apostles, Their Acts and Their Words – Class 4

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The 1981 Texas Chris
Philadelphian Bible School, our

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third period speaker, his
brother Alfred Norris, and this

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is his fourth class on the
subject, Apostles, Their Acts

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and their words.
Brother Dan just stopped short

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of emulating the example of
Wilbraham and Mid-Atlantic by

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saying our third class speaker
is Brother Norris.

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There they called me their
second class.

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Speaker but it’s I’m going down
now sometimes when we’re.

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Reading the scriptures or
anxious to have a ready

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reference to the scriptures,
it’s useful to have the kind of

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passage that gives us basic
facts or basic history.

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In summary, and there are some
such very useful chapters

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throughout the Bible.
I might name these and you might

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like to note them.
In case you need a crib at any

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time, there’s the 9th chapter of
Nehemiah, which reviews the

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history of Israel up to that
point very effectively.

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There’s the 9th chapter of
Daniel that does the same, as he

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leads up to the hope that God
will fulfil the prophecy of the

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70 years given by Jeremiah.
There’s Psalm 78 and Psalms 105

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and six, and in the New
Testament there’s one we’ve met

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already in Stephen’s speech in
Acts Chapter 7.

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There’s one we’re just going to
meet briefly in Paul’s speech at

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Antioch in Presidia in Acts
chapter 13.

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There’s a briefer one in First
Corinthians, chapter 10.

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Some of the passages might
qualify, but those I mentioned

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at this stage not particularly
because I’m anxious to make life

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easy, though it does help that
way as because they all have

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something in common.
They all describe the history of

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God’s people from some starting
point.

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It might be Abraham or Moses.
They all make reference to God’s

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constant presence with them, to
His mighty works, to His places

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of worship, to the blessings
which they received, to the

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deliverance from their enemies.
And they all finish up, or at

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some point introduce with the
note of Israel’s unfaithfulness.

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They all say, look how God good
has God has been.

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Look how good God has been to
you, and look how ungrateful you

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have been to him.
And they all at some point come

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with a call to repentance.
Oh, with a plea to God for mercy

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for the people who don’t deserve
the blessings He’s.

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Promised to them as Daniel, so
moving they did when he finishes

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his own parade of the
unworthiness of the people with

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that.
Veritable storming of heaven

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that contains the expression Oh
Lord, I beseech thee hear, oh

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Lord forgive, oh Lord have mercy
now is that outburst of

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passionate feeling for God’s
people is not found in the

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chapters before us.
Now the same feeling is there

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that Israel is being reminded of
its glorious history.

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It is being told how God has so
often in the past been good to

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it, and it is being exhorted
pleaded with.

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Not to let those mercies go to
waste.

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Not to repeat the followers of
their forefathers.

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Not to add one more chapter to
the history of rebellion, but to

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repent while there is time.
And with the implication there

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won’t be much more time if you
don’t.

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So when Paul addresses the
synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia,

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he gives a review of Israel
Irish history not dissimilar

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from that which Stephen had
given in Acts Chapter 7 and

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containing some elements that
Peter had given in the

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Pentecostal speech.
All designed to show God’s

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goodness, his power, his mercy,
there in gratitude, and now the

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possibility of further
ingratitude, sealing their faith

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in the sight of God for many
years to come if they reject the

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new outpouring of His mercy in
Jesus Christ.

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It’s to be noticed that Paul’s
pattern of preaching as he went

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on his missionary journeys was,
where it was possible, quite

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uniform.
He began in the synagogues.

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He preached first of all
directly to the Jews assembled

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in it, and also to those God
fearers or proselytes of the

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gate who were assembled around,
who were sympathetic to the

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Jewish.
Cause.

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He believed in the uniqueness of
the Jewish God, but had not yet

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committed themselves to the
Jewish faith.

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He did that for as long as it
was feasible for him to do so.

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When there wasn’t a synagogue,
As for example, that wasn’t in

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Philippi, then he and his
companions went to the Riverside

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and spoke to the Jewish women
who resorted there.

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But the intention was always the
same, to go first to the Jews,

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through them, to the Gentiles
sympathetic with the Jews.

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And onwards.
And after that the Gentiles at

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large a view has sometimes been
expressed.

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And at the end of Paul’s
experience with the Jews in

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their synagogue in Antioch in
Pisidia, he gave up that

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practice.
The way he said, seeing you

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judge yourselves unworthy of
eternal life, lo, we turn to the

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Gentiles, he was saying.
So now, now I shall leave the

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Jews out.
I should go direct to the

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Gentiles and leave you alone.
Well, it’s not true.

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Throughout his first and his
2nd, and where feasible, his

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third, missionary journalist,
Paul adopted the same practice

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always gave the Jews.
The first opportunity was with

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them for as long as they would
let him stay with them, and only

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when they took the initiative of
casting him out did he go and

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preach somewhere else.
The pattern for that was set in

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this chapter before us.
He went into the synagogue at

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Antioch in Presidia, and as you
leaf quickly through the pages

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of the verses of Acts chapter
13, you discover verse 17.

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God chose their fathers.
He exalted the people and showed

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them mercy in Egypt.
When they were in exile he led

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them out and this is a pattern
of things to come About the

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space of 40 years he suffered
their manners in the wilderness

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and the picture of a body of ill
mannered people.

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Going through the wilderness
with God, bearing with them, and

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enduring what they were like,
should have been a signal

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warning to anybody who’s
supposed to show bad manners at

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that time too, about the space
of 40 years.

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He suffered their manners in the
wilderness.

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He destroyed certain nations,
the land of Canaan, and he led

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them into the land of their
inheritance.

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And there could have been in the
background of that too, the

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unspoken words.
He would have destroyed them

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completely if the people have
been faithful, but they weren’t.

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And some survived to try them
and be thorns in their flesh,

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and tempt them as to whether
they would be faithful.

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Then they had judges for a
period exceeding 400 years,

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terminating in Samuel the
Prophet, and at that point they

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asked for a king.
And the very way of putting that

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which is quite true, that they
asked for a king, conveys with

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the thought.
It was their initiative.

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And the Samuel has had been told
by God They have not rejected

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thee.
They have rejected me that I

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should not be king over them,
that asking for a king was in

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itself.
An act of rebellion.

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Not that God didn’t want them to
have a it was evidently in the

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purpose of God that they should
be given a king.

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And since he chose David in the
next generation to fulfil the

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promise that the sceptre should
not depart from Judah until

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Shiloh come, it is obvious that
God himself had had David firmly

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in mind, and would have given
them a king in his own way.

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That their demand prematurely
that they should have a king,

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like all the nations at their
own request, was an act of

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rebellion and disobedience
against him.

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And they suffered.
For it for again, as the

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scriptures tell us, he gave them
a king in his anger, and took

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him away in his displeasure.
Such was Saul, Paul’s earlier

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namesake, as a king of the
combined United Kingdom of

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Israel.
So Saul lasted for 40 years.

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He tells us then when God had
removed him, which he did by the

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hand of Saul’s own hand on the
field of battle with the

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Philistines verse 22, he raised
up David, And again there’s the

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contrast They asked for a king.
God raised up David.

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They got what they asked for.
Later, God gave them what he

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wanted them to have.
And again there’s the contrast

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between what the people want and
what they ought to accept when

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God provides him.
I have found Jesse, David, the

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son of Jesse, And then after my
own heart.

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And he shall do my will, And
even those words He shall do my

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will.
You can trace the difference

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between a willful people wanting
their own way, and the Lord’s

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not my will but thine be done,
and indeed the words of the

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prayer he taught his disciples.
Our Father, which art in heaven,

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hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be

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done in earth as it is in
heaven.

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That word of prayer is not a
thing to be entered into

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lightly.
The Jews wanted God’s Kingdom.

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They wanted it earnestly and
urgently.

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They wanted to be rid of their
oppressors.

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They wanted the men of the House
of David to reign over them as

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their Messiah.
At least they wanted him to

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reign Father.
They wanted him to reign over

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the nations around that they
might be the head nation and not

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the tail.
They wanted the Kingdom of God

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to come so that they could get
what they wanted.

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Headship, prosperity, fame,
easy, effortless abundance.

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They would have found it easy to
pray thy Kingdom come.

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Doubtless they did prayer prayer
like that, but thy will be done.

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It’s not quite so easy, not
quite so easy for us either.

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And indeed, when one hears the
prayer, sometimes modified in

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the lips of brethren who say thy
Kingdom come, that thy will may

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be done in earth as it is in
heaven, Will almost gets the

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impression that what we are
seeking for is that God should

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rules other than the other
people should have to obey him,

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that we’re thinking about their
being subject to God.

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Rather than our own.
Well, of course it has to be

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both.
And when one prays that prayer

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and says, thy Kingdom come, thy
will be done in earth as it is

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in heaven, we are saying, Lord,
we want you to reign, we want

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you to reign over us.
We want your will to be done,

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and we want to do it.
We are also asking, let us start

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doing it now that when the time
comes, we will be the readier to

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do it for when the Kingdom of
God comes, whenever the Kingdom

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of God was.
The supreme glory of the

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Israelite, or the spiritual
Israelite who dwelt or will

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dwell in that Kingdom will not
be that he gets what he wants,

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but he gives what God wants from
an immortal frame where God’s

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glory covers the earth as the
waters cover the sea.

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So David started in a good way,
with all his faults.

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And compressing the time between
David and the day in which Paul

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was speaking, Paul goes straight
to Jesus and said of this man’s

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seed.
The man who was raised up to do

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God’s will of this man’s seed
hath God according to his

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promise, raised to Israel as
Saviour.

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Jesus and the very word Saviour
conjures up their need.

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David had saved them from their
enemies.

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It was David, and God chose and
not fallen.

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They chose who delivered them
from the Philistines.

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And caused the borders of Israel
to extend, broadly speaking, to

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the ancient promises.
He was the man chosen by God to

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be their deliverer.
God’s done it again.

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Of this man seed God hath raised
up Jesus to be your Saviour.

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The words to Joseph come back
into our memory.

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Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people

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from their sins.
And there is a wide difference

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of thinking between save his
people from their enemies, they

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can do that too and save his
people from their sins, which

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starts inside, creates A
purified and perjured person and

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makes that person.
Fit to inherit the Kingdom of

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his glory.
So God raised up for Israel a

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Saviour, Jesus Christ, and
that’s why Paul says.

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Jesus was introduced to the
people and consistently remain

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true to the introduction by the
words that they should be

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baptized with the baptism of
repentance for the remission of

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sins such as John had preached.
In verse 24, the message to

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Israel was not rejoice.
The Kingdom of God is at hand,

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though it could be for the right
kind of Israelite, it was

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repent, for the Kingdom of God
is at hand.

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And that’s even though
repentance doesn’t mean

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primarily being sorry for
specific wrongdoings.

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00:12:59,200 –> 00:13:01,880
But does mean turning one’s
whole way of life and going in a

219
00:13:01,880 –> 00:13:04,400
quite different direction, a
change of mind.

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00:13:04,640 –> 00:13:07,320
Yet that was just what they had
needed throughout their

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00:13:07,320 –> 00:13:10,480
histories.
Repent, for the Kingdom of God

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00:13:10,480 –> 00:13:12,120
is at hand.
You’ll never get it as you are,

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00:13:13,240 –> 00:13:15,480
as you are.
You’re self seeking, proud, self

224
00:13:15,480 –> 00:13:17,520
indulgent, arrogant and
rebellious.

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00:13:17,640 –> 00:13:21,960
You have to change all that.
Repent, for the Kingdom of God

226
00:13:21,960 –> 00:13:25,360
is at hand.
But however little they in the

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00:13:25,360 –> 00:13:28,760
earliest stages saw their
baptism with John’s baptism as

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00:13:28,760 –> 00:13:32,000
being a burial of an old man, of
the rising from that waters, of

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00:13:32,000 –> 00:13:36,280
a new man who should live in
newness of life, and however

230
00:13:36,280 –> 00:13:39,000
late it was before, that, was
expressed in its full form in

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00:13:39,000 –> 00:13:40,520
the 6th.
Chapter of Romans.

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00:13:40,800 –> 00:13:43,640
Yet the idea was there that
baptism was.

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00:13:44,160 –> 00:13:47,160
Passing through water from an
old state to a new state, as

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00:13:47,160 –> 00:13:50,200
surely as Noah’s family had
passed from the Ark into the new

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00:13:50,200 –> 00:13:53,320
world, as surely as Israel had
passed over the Red Sea into

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00:13:53,320 –> 00:13:56,640
their place of covenant making
with God as surely as they

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00:13:56,640 –> 00:13:58,760
passed over the Jordan.
Into the promised land.

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00:13:58,760 –> 00:14:05,200
So was baptism, the like figure,
saving us, going down, arising

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00:14:05,200 –> 00:14:09,120
again, renewed, Reformed,
reborn.

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00:14:10,440 –> 00:14:12,280
So John introduced.
Jesus to the people.

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00:14:12,280 –> 00:14:15,720
Not at first.
As one who would bring glory and

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00:14:15,720 –> 00:14:18,840
power, but one who was only able
to deal with those who would

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00:14:18,880 –> 00:14:22,120
show repentance.
Of course the Lord himself

244
00:14:22,120 –> 00:14:25,800
carried it on to when John was
cast into prison, Jesus began to

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00:14:25,800 –> 00:14:29,560
preach, saying repent, for the
Kingdom of God is at hand, just

246
00:14:29,560 –> 00:14:33,240
as John had done, and when the
apostles were sent about their

247
00:14:33,240 –> 00:14:35,040
work.
Whereas they were told in the

248
00:14:35,040 –> 00:14:38,200
marked record to preach the
Gospel and in Matthew to teach

249
00:14:38,200 –> 00:14:41,280
all nations, in Luke they were
told that repentance and

250
00:14:41,280 –> 00:14:44,400
remission of sins should be
preached in his nation among all

251
00:14:44,400 –> 00:14:50,120
nations beginning at Jerusalem.
So when Paul speaks to the Jews

252
00:14:50,120 –> 00:14:53,600
of Pisidian Antioch and
introduces the work of Jesus

253
00:14:53,600 –> 00:14:57,880
with the prelude of John saying
repent and be baptized.

254
00:14:58,520 –> 00:15:01,640
He is preparing the way for the
change of mind which these Jews

255
00:15:01,640 –> 00:15:04,840
too are going to need, if they
will take advantage of the work

256
00:15:04,840 –> 00:15:10,080
the Lord has done for them.
And so the appeal comes in verse

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00:15:10,080 –> 00:15:16,040
26, Men and brethren, children
of the stock of Abraham.

258
00:15:17,280 –> 00:15:20,160
And whosoever among you feareth,
God to you is the word of this

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00:15:20,160 –> 00:15:24,520
salvation sent.
And I do not know whether the

260
00:15:24,520 –> 00:15:27,400
Jews of Antioch in Pisido were
sufficiently well acquainted

261
00:15:27,600 –> 00:15:30,200
with the detail of John’s
preaching to remember that John

262
00:15:30,200 –> 00:15:33,760
had said something bearing upon
that, very importantly during

263
00:15:33,760 –> 00:15:36,240
his preaching.
But he had, and they might have

264
00:15:36,240 –> 00:15:37,880
known.
For he had said.

265
00:15:38,280 –> 00:15:41,240
Think not to say within
yourselves, we have Abraham to

266
00:15:41,240 –> 00:15:44,920
our father.
For God is able of these stones

267
00:15:44,920 –> 00:15:47,840
to raise up children unto
Abraham, men and brethren,

268
00:15:47,840 –> 00:15:49,160
children of the stock of
Abraham.

269
00:15:49,160 –> 00:15:52,360
Be true to your calling.
Don’t brag about it, don’t boast

270
00:15:52,360 –> 00:15:55,880
or rejoice in it, but make it
real in your repentant,

271
00:15:56,200 –> 00:16:01,880
faithful, trusting lives.
Because he says, if you do,

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00:16:01,880 –> 00:16:05,080
you’ll be behaving differently
and better from the way in which

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00:16:05,080 –> 00:16:08,360
the Jews of Jerusalem behaved
when they got the same message.

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00:16:09,040 –> 00:16:11,720
Do you know what they did?
Verse 27.

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00:16:12,680 –> 00:16:16,800
They that dwell in Jerusalem,
and their rulers, because they

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00:16:16,800 –> 00:16:19,840
knew him not, nor yet the voices
of the prophets, which are read

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00:16:19,840 –> 00:16:23,680
every Sabbath day, they have
fulfilled them in condemning

278
00:16:23,680 –> 00:16:26,400
him.
And though they found no cause

279
00:16:26,400 –> 00:16:29,520
of death in him, yet desired,
they pilot that he should be

280
00:16:29,520 –> 00:16:31,960
slain.
And when they had fulfilled all

281
00:16:31,960 –> 00:16:34,960
that was written of him, they
took him down from the tree, and

282
00:16:34,960 –> 00:16:38,440
laid him in a sepulchre.
But God raised him from the

283
00:16:38,440 –> 00:16:42,400
dead.
It’s very like what Peter said

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00:16:42,400 –> 00:16:44,400
to the Jews of Jerusalem
themselves.

285
00:16:45,320 –> 00:16:47,960
But there they were, the guilty
parties, and there they could be

286
00:16:47,960 –> 00:16:51,000
directly accused.
God hath raised up Jesus, whom

287
00:16:51,000 –> 00:16:54,000
ye have crucified, and made him
both Lord and Christ.

288
00:16:54,240 –> 00:16:56,880
They could be pricked in their
hearts because they were at

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00:16:56,880 –> 00:17:01,440
first hand guilty parties.
But the Jews of Antioch, the

290
00:17:01,440 –> 00:17:04,240
Jews of everywhere else, had to
make up their minds whether they

291
00:17:04,240 –> 00:17:07,160
would confirm the guilt and
become accessories after the

292
00:17:07,160 –> 00:17:09,839
fact.
Or whether they would repudiate

293
00:17:09,839 –> 00:17:12,920
the guilt and undergo their own
part in a repentance of heart,

294
00:17:13,680 –> 00:17:16,400
and reject what the Jews of
Jerusalem had done.

295
00:17:18,800 –> 00:17:21,560
Though it’s an interesting
problem presented by those

296
00:17:21,560 –> 00:17:24,040
words.
They that dwell at Jerusalem

297
00:17:24,960 –> 00:17:28,800
because they knew him not, nor
yet the voices of the prophets

298
00:17:28,800 –> 00:17:32,000
which are read every Sabbath
day, they have fulfilled them in

299
00:17:32,000 –> 00:17:34,680
condemning him, and when they
had fulfilled all things that

300
00:17:34,680 –> 00:17:38,320
were written of him.
So two things conspired

301
00:17:38,320 –> 00:17:41,120
together.
One was the fact that the people

302
00:17:41,120 –> 00:17:44,880
did not understand or would not
receive what was true about the

303
00:17:44,880 –> 00:17:49,120
work of Jesus for him, and
therefore killed him because

304
00:17:49,120 –> 00:17:52,440
they hated him.
The other is that God had always

305
00:17:52,440 –> 00:17:55,680
intended that the Lord Jesus
Christ should die for our sins,

306
00:17:55,920 –> 00:17:59,080
and that they therefore
fulfilled the purpose of God in

307
00:17:59,080 –> 00:18:02,800
their act of hatred.
There were at once rebels and

308
00:18:02,800 –> 00:18:06,520
collaborators they rejected, but
they brought about.

309
00:18:07,560 –> 00:18:10,240
They were simple in what they
did, But had they not done it,

310
00:18:10,240 –> 00:18:13,200
then the purpose of God could
not in that way have been

311
00:18:13,200 –> 00:18:16,520
achieved.
It was the same in Peter’s

312
00:18:16,520 –> 00:18:18,880
speech.
I want that in ignorance he did

313
00:18:18,880 –> 00:18:24,920
it, as did also your rulers.
When they killed the Prince of

314
00:18:24,920 –> 00:18:28,120
life and desired A murderer to
be granted to them, they were

315
00:18:28,120 –> 00:18:31,160
unwittingly bringing about the
fulfilment of God’s purpose.

316
00:18:31,280 –> 00:18:32,840
But they were not the better men
for it.

317
00:18:33,280 –> 00:18:36,440
What they did was guilty.
It ought not to have been done

318
00:18:36,440 –> 00:18:40,080
in that way.
And we get later in Paul’s first

319
00:18:40,080 –> 00:18:43,600
letter to the Corinthians that
we speak the hidden wisdom of

320
00:18:43,600 –> 00:18:46,120
God in a mystery which none of
the Princess of this world knew.

321
00:18:46,960 –> 00:18:49,480
For had they known it, they
would not have crucified the

322
00:18:49,480 –> 00:18:52,680
Lord of glory.
So again, in their ignorance

323
00:18:52,680 –> 00:18:55,760
they brought God’s purpose about
in what they did.

324
00:18:55,760 –> 00:18:59,920
Sinfully they achieved that
which had to be done, for the

325
00:18:59,920 –> 00:19:04,160
Lord Jesus Christ must, while
dying willingly, have someone to

326
00:19:04,160 –> 00:19:07,480
put him to death.
And they were the guilty Jews

327
00:19:08,800 –> 00:19:10,240
anyway.
Paul himself was a little like

328
00:19:10,240 –> 00:19:13,280
that in the days of his
unbelief.

329
00:19:13,280 –> 00:19:17,160
He had caused Stephen to be
murdered and caused the flock to

330
00:19:17,160 –> 00:19:19,680
be scattered.
And because he knew him not and

331
00:19:19,680 –> 00:19:22,240
didn’t realize what he was
achieving, the multi Jews went

332
00:19:22,240 –> 00:19:24,720
abroad and preached the gospel
in Samaria and then in Antioch

333
00:19:24,720 –> 00:19:27,280
and in Cyprus.
He too, because he knew him not,

334
00:19:27,600 –> 00:19:30,600
nor yet the voices of the
prophets had played his part in

335
00:19:30,600 –> 00:19:34,800
achieving God’s purpose in spite
of himself, though those days

336
00:19:34,800 –> 00:19:38,160
were long past.
And now he obeyed willingly,

337
00:19:38,920 –> 00:19:43,120
readily.
There’s a word of deep reproach

338
00:19:43,120 –> 00:19:46,920
in his words, and though they
found no cause of death in him.

339
00:19:47,680 –> 00:19:50,640
Yet desired they pilot that he
should be slain.

340
00:19:52,440 –> 00:19:55,880
They could think of no adequate
reason why he should be slain.

341
00:19:57,280 –> 00:20:01,440
Their effort to trump up false
witnesses to give what seemed to

342
00:20:01,440 –> 00:20:05,640
be adequate reasons have failed.
They’re saddling him with the

343
00:20:05,640 –> 00:20:07,880
charge of saying that he was
Christ, the son of the living.

344
00:20:07,880 –> 00:20:10,640
God had brought the desired
result, but it was true and not

345
00:20:10,640 –> 00:20:11,840
false.
That was no crime.

346
00:20:11,960 –> 00:20:14,560
They were the deeper in their
guilt for killing him for that

347
00:20:14,560 –> 00:20:17,320
cause than they would have been
for any other.

348
00:20:18,520 –> 00:20:21,240
And then when they had found a
reason for killing him, or at

349
00:20:21,240 –> 00:20:27,760
least an excuse, they had to go
to the Romans, the hated Romans,

350
00:20:28,840 –> 00:20:32,240
the oppressors, the people whom
they would gladly have been rid

351
00:20:32,240 –> 00:20:36,120
of without a word of regret,
deed, conquerors of their

352
00:20:36,120 –> 00:20:39,000
people.
But they went to Pilot, and they

353
00:20:39,000 –> 00:20:41,680
said, Will you please arrange to
have this Jew of ours killed?

354
00:20:41,800 –> 00:20:46,160
He claims to be our king, And
anything more incongruous than

355
00:20:46,160 –> 00:20:49,840
that you can’t imagine.
And Pilot very rightly asked,

356
00:20:49,960 –> 00:20:53,600
shall I crucify your king,
perhaps in his own humiliation,

357
00:20:53,600 –> 00:20:56,560
seeking to wring from them the
confession they gave him,

358
00:20:56,560 –> 00:20:58,840
however reluctantly?
We have no king.

359
00:21:00,440 –> 00:21:04,160
But Caesar, they said.
And so in denying their

360
00:21:04,160 –> 00:21:06,480
deliverer, they confirmed
themselves in bondage.

361
00:21:07,080 –> 00:21:09,760
We won’t have him.
We’d rather have Rome.

362
00:21:11,080 –> 00:21:15,600
So deep was their guilt, though
they found no cause of death in

363
00:21:15,600 –> 00:21:20,600
him, yet desired that pilot of
all people that he should be

364
00:21:20,600 –> 00:21:24,240
slain.
And when pilot didn’t want to do

365
00:21:24,240 –> 00:21:27,320
it, they pressed their own
iniquity further and deepened

366
00:21:27,320 –> 00:21:29,720
their degradation when they said
pilot.

367
00:21:30,960 –> 00:21:34,560
If thou let this man go, thou
art not Caesar’s friend.

368
00:21:35,920 –> 00:21:38,240
If you don’t get him crucified,
we’ll tell Caesar about you,

369
00:21:39,920 –> 00:21:44,480
thereby blackmailing the Roman
ruler into doing the evil deed

370
00:21:44,480 –> 00:21:48,080
they did.
When sometimes, and it happened

371
00:21:48,080 –> 00:21:52,680
in my experience quite recently,
Jews of today say that it was

372
00:21:52,680 –> 00:21:55,320
not the Jews who crucified
Jesus, it was the Romans.

373
00:21:56,720 –> 00:21:59,080
The answer is, of course it was
the Romans as far as the actual

374
00:21:59,080 –> 00:22:01,400
deed was concerned.
But the Romans would never have

375
00:22:01,400 –> 00:22:03,560
done such a thing, would never
have thought of doing such a

376
00:22:03,560 –> 00:22:07,320
thing, resisting to the idea of
doing such a thing, until they

377
00:22:07,320 –> 00:22:10,200
were compelled into it by the
rebellion of the chosen People.

378
00:22:12,600 –> 00:22:16,520
And so Paul brings home to Jews
living in the dispersion in a

379
00:22:16,520 –> 00:22:19,760
foreign country what their
fellow Jews living in their

380
00:22:19,760 –> 00:22:22,800
native land had done, and
invites a decision about it.

381
00:22:24,040 –> 00:22:26,360
The decision supported by the
fact that God raised Jesus from

382
00:22:26,360 –> 00:22:29,840
the dead, that he was seen for
many days, and those who went

383
00:22:29,840 –> 00:22:33,440
with him from Galilee to
Jerusalem, That he was in fact

384
00:22:33,440 –> 00:22:35,440
the fulfillment of the promises
made to the Father.

385
00:22:35,680 –> 00:22:38,840
That there could be no
realization of the promises made

386
00:22:38,840 –> 00:22:42,880
to faithful Abraham, unless this
the seed per excellence had been

387
00:22:42,880 –> 00:22:46,920
raised and raised up, and now is
in a position to bring about the

388
00:22:46,920 –> 00:22:50,120
blessing which had been promised
to Abraham and his seed, and

389
00:22:50,120 –> 00:22:54,720
through Abraham and his seed.
So there we have the sure

390
00:22:54,720 –> 00:22:57,800
mercies of David.
There we have the promise of the

391
00:22:57,800 –> 00:23:00,400
king, who will reign upon the
throne of David, as the Angel

392
00:23:00,400 –> 00:23:02,640
had said to Mary.
For the Lord was conceived.

393
00:23:02,640 –> 00:23:07,800
And now we have the same words
used by Peter on the Pentecost

394
00:23:07,800 –> 00:23:12,600
speech, to the same effect that
David had prophesied that God

395
00:23:12,640 –> 00:23:14,520
would not leave somebody’s soul
in hell.

396
00:23:14,520 –> 00:23:16,760
Neither would he let that
somebody see corruption.

397
00:23:17,280 –> 00:23:21,520
And Paul bringing the point home
with no actual tomb to point to,

398
00:23:21,760 –> 00:23:24,560
gives the same message.
David, after he had served his

399
00:23:24,560 –> 00:23:27,480
generation, fell on sleep and
was laid in the grave and saw

400
00:23:27,480 –> 00:23:30,760
corruption.
But he whom God raised from the

401
00:23:30,760 –> 00:23:34,800
dead saw no corruption.
So there you have Jesus.

402
00:23:36,240 –> 00:23:39,520
He is the one who will do the
saving he was promised to do.

403
00:23:39,800 –> 00:23:42,120
He will provide you with
blessings which your own law

404
00:23:42,120 –> 00:23:46,680
could never have provided.
He will justify you through all

405
00:23:46,680 –> 00:23:49,160
those things from which you
could not be justified by the

406
00:23:49,160 –> 00:23:53,440
law of Moses.
And that letters be elaborated

407
00:23:53,440 –> 00:23:56,240
in the letters of the Galatians.
And that to the Romans, and

408
00:23:56,240 –> 00:23:58,720
brought out in its fullness in
the letter to the Hebrews,

409
00:23:58,920 –> 00:24:02,480
brings out the contrast between
the law in which they trusted,

410
00:24:02,480 –> 00:24:07,520
and the Lord, who now had come.
All before him was Shadow.

411
00:24:08,720 –> 00:24:13,920
Sacrifice Priesthood, Tabernacle
Temple.

412
00:24:14,800 –> 00:24:18,080
Circumcision, ritual law,
cleanness, and uncleanness,

413
00:24:19,080 –> 00:24:21,800
although they had some merit in
living their ordinary daily

414
00:24:21,800 –> 00:24:24,360
lives and made them perhaps a
healthy nation, were all

415
00:24:24,360 –> 00:24:29,080
primarily intended to point to a
real deliverance, A genuine

416
00:24:29,080 –> 00:24:35,480
righteousness, a sanctification
before God, a cleansing, a

417
00:24:35,480 –> 00:24:39,000
perfecting.
And the Lord Moses says Paul

418
00:24:39,000 –> 00:24:41,640
here as emphatically as the
letter to the Hebrews will say

419
00:24:41,640 –> 00:24:43,800
it later, could not do that
thing.

420
00:24:43,800 –> 00:24:47,280
Can’t do it now.
So please, Jews of Antioch, wake

421
00:24:47,280 –> 00:24:50,760
up to your opportunities while
honouring the memory of him who

422
00:24:50,760 –> 00:24:55,440
has given you so much to this
character completion, and walk

423
00:24:55,440 –> 00:24:58,880
out of the pattern of Abraham.
Follow the way of faith and

424
00:24:58,880 –> 00:25:04,720
become baptized into the Lord
Jesus if we had.

425
00:25:05,520 –> 00:25:08,960
Modern facilities available to
us from those days.

426
00:25:09,960 –> 00:25:15,680
We could have videotapes of Paul
in the synagogue Antioch and the

427
00:25:15,680 –> 00:25:19,360
camera could flash from Paul in
his Zealand in his appeal to the

428
00:25:19,640 –> 00:25:23,200
assemble company and see the
expressions on their faces.

429
00:25:23,840 –> 00:25:27,800
We see it done, haven’t we?
On less important occasions like

430
00:25:27,800 –> 00:25:31,040
this, like somebody crying
because her husband is being

431
00:25:31,040 –> 00:25:33,920
beaten in a tennis match, but
not that.

432
00:25:34,760 –> 00:25:39,440
This is quite different.
If Paul had turned away from if

433
00:25:39,440 –> 00:25:42,600
the camera had turned away from
that face of Paul and looked at

434
00:25:42,600 –> 00:25:48,200
the audience, I wonder what he
would have seen, what it’s like

435
00:25:48,200 –> 00:25:53,240
wondering what Stephen saw when
reciting that beautiful to this

436
00:25:53,240 –> 00:25:55,480
moment Will I look?
Decided not to recite it.

437
00:25:55,840 –> 00:25:57,800
And looking at that, people said
he’s stiff, necked and

438
00:25:57,800 –> 00:26:01,960
uncircumcised and told them that
he knew what they were like.

439
00:26:03,040 –> 00:26:06,320
Paul does it.
Here you can be justified, he

440
00:26:06,320 –> 00:26:09,520
says in verse 39, from all
things from which you could not

441
00:26:09,520 –> 00:26:11,360
be justified by the law of
Moses.

442
00:26:11,640 –> 00:26:16,040
Beware, therefore, lest that
come upon you, which is spoken

443
00:26:16,040 –> 00:26:20,160
in the prophets.
Behold, ye despise us, and

444
00:26:20,160 –> 00:26:24,800
wonder and perish.
For I work a work in your days,

445
00:26:24,800 –> 00:26:27,840
a work which you shall in no
wise believe, though a man

446
00:26:27,840 –> 00:26:32,800
declare it unto you.
And what was the outcome?

447
00:26:34,920 –> 00:26:37,400
It would seem that while not
gnashing upon him with their

448
00:26:37,400 –> 00:26:42,160
teeth and leading him out to his
stone, not yet the Jews as a

449
00:26:42,160 –> 00:26:43,880
whole were unmoved by his
appeal.

450
00:26:45,680 –> 00:26:49,680
It was somebody else who turned,
and when the Jews were gone out

451
00:26:49,680 –> 00:26:52,640
of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words might

452
00:26:52,640 –> 00:26:56,320
be preached to them.
The next Sabbath the Jews went

453
00:26:56,320 –> 00:26:59,000
away, perhaps saying, We will
hear the again of this matter at

454
00:26:59,000 –> 00:27:02,320
the best.
But Gentiles who had received

455
00:27:02,520 –> 00:27:05,280
not the Law of Moses as their
guide in life, with its

456
00:27:05,280 –> 00:27:07,960
circumcision and all but a
respect for the God who was

457
00:27:07,960 –> 00:27:11,240
there honoured, could see more
clearly with their unfettered

458
00:27:11,240 –> 00:27:14,920
gaze what Paul was preaching
when he put before them Jesus.

459
00:27:15,120 –> 00:27:17,240
And they said, we want to hear
more of this.

460
00:27:19,080 –> 00:27:22,760
And they were allowed to.
The synagogue was still open,

461
00:27:22,760 –> 00:27:25,880
but only just to further
preaching by Paul.

462
00:27:27,120 –> 00:27:30,680
Now when the congregation was
broken up, many of the Jews now,

463
00:27:31,240 –> 00:27:33,960
and the religious proselytes
too, followed Paul and Barnabas,

464
00:27:34,160 –> 00:27:36,960
who, speaking to them, urged
them to continue in the grace of

465
00:27:36,960 –> 00:27:38,840
God.
Jews had divided themselves.

466
00:27:38,840 –> 00:27:41,200
Some were against, some were
thinking it over, some were

467
00:27:41,200 –> 00:27:43,480
following to learn more,
together with Gentiles and

468
00:27:43,480 –> 00:27:47,400
proselytes.
And the next Sabbath day came

469
00:27:47,400 –> 00:27:50,320
almost the whole city together
to hear the word of God.

470
00:27:50,520 –> 00:27:53,200
But when the Jews saw the
multitude, they were filled with

471
00:27:53,200 –> 00:27:57,440
envy and speak against those
things which were spoken by

472
00:27:57,440 –> 00:28:00,840
Paul.
When they saw the multitude,

473
00:28:02,040 –> 00:28:04,160
they were filled with envy and
spoke against.

474
00:28:06,120 –> 00:28:10,920
If only they had all had the
spirit of Barnabas, who came and

475
00:28:10,920 –> 00:28:14,880
saw the multitude following the
way, and was glad because it was

476
00:28:14,920 –> 00:28:19,560
a good man, If only they had
been able to remove the pride of

477
00:28:19,560 –> 00:28:22,680
nation from their hearts, and
rejoice that others were coming

478
00:28:22,680 –> 00:28:25,640
to God.
If only they had been able to

479
00:28:25,640 –> 00:28:28,200
hear the words of the Lord,
other sheep I have, which are

480
00:28:28,200 –> 00:28:31,000
not of this flock, this flock,
they must come together and be

481
00:28:31,000 –> 00:28:33,720
one full one shepherd, and
receive it with pleasure,

482
00:28:33,720 –> 00:28:36,680
because blessing of all nations
are beginning how much better

483
00:28:36,680 –> 00:28:41,520
things would have been for them.
But they saw a big multitude,

484
00:28:41,520 –> 00:28:43,960
bigger than they had ever
assembled in their synagogues or

485
00:28:43,960 –> 00:28:45,480
around them, coming to hear
Paul.

486
00:28:47,200 –> 00:28:50,400
They saw the word of God, based
indeed upon their scriptures

487
00:28:50,560 –> 00:28:53,000
being preached to a multitude
who wasn’t listening to them,

488
00:28:53,120 –> 00:28:55,000
and they saw it being done
without their help.

489
00:28:55,760 –> 00:28:59,000
They saw the intermediary act of
the Jews being abolished by

490
00:28:59,000 –> 00:29:02,560
direct preaching to Gentiles who
come with boldness before the

491
00:29:02,560 –> 00:29:05,160
throne of grace, as well as any
believing Jew could do.

492
00:29:05,160 –> 00:29:08,560
And they didn’t like it.
Their privilege was being eroded

493
00:29:09,880 –> 00:29:12,560
and so they spoke against the
things which were spoken by

494
00:29:12,560 –> 00:29:14,720
Paul.
And it was at that point that

495
00:29:14,720 –> 00:29:17,640
Paul said it was necessary that
the word of God should first be

496
00:29:17,640 –> 00:29:22,040
preached unto you, But seeing
you put it from you, and judge

497
00:29:22,040 –> 00:29:25,000
yourselves unworthy of eternal
life, lo, we turn to the

498
00:29:25,000 –> 00:29:29,960
Gentiles, For so hath the Lord
commanded us, saying, I have set

499
00:29:29,960 –> 00:29:32,720
thee for a light of the
Gentiles, that thou shouldst be

500
00:29:32,720 –> 00:29:34,680
for salvation unto the ends of
the earth.

501
00:29:35,480 –> 00:29:38,960
And naturally enough, when the
Gentiles heard this, they were

502
00:29:38,960 –> 00:29:41,760
glad and glorified the word of
the Lord.

503
00:29:42,440 –> 00:29:45,600
And as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed, and the

504
00:29:45,600 –> 00:29:47,840
word of God was published
throughout all the region.

505
00:29:48,400 –> 00:29:53,600
But the Jews sought to do to
Paul what they had done to

506
00:29:53,600 –> 00:29:57,040
Stephen, what they had done to
Jesus, and choosing the means at

507
00:29:57,040 –> 00:29:59,960
hand, sought to rid them of
their lives.

508
00:30:00,760 –> 00:30:04,000
But the Jews stirred up the
devout and honourable women and

509
00:30:04,000 –> 00:30:07,280
the chief men of the city and
raised a persecution against

510
00:30:07,280 –> 00:30:10,640
Paul and Barnabas and expelled
them out of their coasts.

511
00:30:12,160 –> 00:30:15,840
But they shook off the dust of
their feet against them and came

512
00:30:15,840 –> 00:30:19,800
to econium, and the disciples
were filled with joy and with

513
00:30:19,800 –> 00:30:24,880
the Holy Spirit.
We can take that preaching in

514
00:30:24,880 –> 00:30:28,400
the synagogue at Antioch as
being a pattern of the kind of

515
00:30:28,400 –> 00:30:32,320
way that Paul approached the
Jews, the kind of way in which

516
00:30:32,320 –> 00:30:35,080
they then became divided into
some, doubtless few, who would

517
00:30:35,080 –> 00:30:37,960
follow him, and many more who
would turn aside.

518
00:30:39,200 –> 00:30:41,360
How the attitudes polarized
under the influence of the

519
00:30:41,360 –> 00:30:47,680
unbelieving Jews and Paul was
then expelled or cast out or

520
00:30:47,680 –> 00:30:53,040
stoned and left for dead.
As we read through the Acts of

521
00:30:53,040 –> 00:30:57,240
the Apostles, we discover what
seems at first sight to be quite

522
00:30:57,240 –> 00:31:02,200
numerous examples of Paul’s
sufferings in persecution at the

523
00:31:02,200 –> 00:31:04,600
hands, almost always at the
hands, or because of the

524
00:31:04,600 –> 00:31:07,520
activities of the Jews to whom
he preached.

525
00:31:08,920 –> 00:31:12,520
There was this being cast out.
There was a stoning of

526
00:31:12,520 –> 00:31:15,560
Zeaconium.
There were lines in weight

527
00:31:15,560 –> 00:31:17,920
against him as his missionary
journeys took their course.

528
00:31:18,920 –> 00:31:21,120
There was the enlisting of Roman
rulers against him.

529
00:31:23,040 –> 00:31:26,760
But when we look at that
considerable list of sufferings

530
00:31:26,760 –> 00:31:31,040
in the Acts of the Apostles,
it’s timely to remember that is

531
00:31:31,040 –> 00:31:33,640
not written to be a catalogue of
false afflictions.

532
00:31:35,160 –> 00:31:37,840
And that if the hall had been
told, we would have known a lot

533
00:31:37,840 –> 00:31:39,840
more about Paul’s afflictions
than we do.

534
00:31:41,280 –> 00:31:43,240
And we do know a lot more than
Acts would tell us.

535
00:31:43,240 –> 00:31:45,640
Because under a certain
provocation, Paul himself has

536
00:31:45,640 –> 00:31:49,640
told us it was during his third
missionary journey, when there

537
00:31:49,640 –> 00:31:52,120
was still suffering to come,
that he gave us the most

538
00:31:52,120 –> 00:31:54,560
comprehensive list we have.
And you might get a look at it

539
00:31:55,160 –> 00:31:57,320
in the second letter to the
Corinthians,

540
00:32:09,360 –> 00:32:16,440
Paul’s Second Letter to the
Corinthians, Chapter 11, verse

541
00:32:16,440 –> 00:32:21,720
21.
I speak as concerning reproach,

542
00:32:21,720 –> 00:32:25,080
as though we had been weak.
Howbeit wherein soever any is

543
00:32:25,080 –> 00:32:26,760
bold I speak foolishly, I am
bold.

544
00:32:26,760 –> 00:32:29,320
Also are the Hebrews.
So am I.

545
00:32:29,560 –> 00:32:31,080
Are there Israelites?
So am I.

546
00:32:31,280 –> 00:32:33,720
Are there the seed of Abraham?
These are false ministers of the

547
00:32:33,720 –> 00:32:34,800
gospel.
So am I.

548
00:32:35,880 –> 00:32:37,720
Are they ministers of Christ?
I speak as a fool.

549
00:32:37,720 –> 00:32:41,240
I am more now.
See the list in Labour’s more

550
00:32:41,240 –> 00:32:46,320
abundant in stripes above
Measure in prisons, more

551
00:32:46,320 –> 00:32:52,080
frequent in deaths.
OFT of the use five times

552
00:32:52,080 –> 00:32:54,080
received our forces stripes,
save one.

553
00:32:54,440 –> 00:32:56,640
We don’t have a categorical
description of any one.

554
00:32:56,640 –> 00:33:00,600
Of those five times thrice Was I
beaten with rods.

555
00:33:00,640 –> 00:33:03,680
I only know of one once.
Was I stoned?

556
00:33:03,680 –> 00:33:06,640
That one is recorded.
Twice I suffered shipwreck.

557
00:33:06,640 –> 00:33:09,360
There isn’t a word about those.
For the real shipwreck to come

558
00:33:09,360 –> 00:33:12,200
isn’t yet happened, and nice.
And today have I been in the

559
00:33:12,200 –> 00:33:13,800
deep.
That too is new to us.

560
00:33:14,680 –> 00:33:18,080
In journeyings, often in perils
of waters.

561
00:33:18,320 –> 00:33:20,560
I don’t know those either.
In perils of robbers?

562
00:33:20,560 –> 00:33:23,560
No, I get that in perils by my
own countrymen.

563
00:33:23,560 –> 00:33:26,000
Plenty of those.
But there are doubtless more in

564
00:33:26,000 –> 00:33:29,280
perils by the heathens, Some of
those in perils in the city,

565
00:33:29,280 –> 00:33:31,400
Yes, in perils in the
wilderness.

566
00:33:31,400 –> 00:33:33,640
I can’t recall the description
of them in the Acts.

567
00:33:34,160 –> 00:33:36,320
In perils in the sea?
No, not yet.

568
00:33:36,760 –> 00:33:39,240
In perils amongst false
brethren, Yes to some of that.

569
00:33:39,760 –> 00:33:43,120
In weariness and painfulness, in
watchings often in hunger and

570
00:33:43,120 –> 00:33:46,120
thirst, in fastings often in
cold and nakedness.

571
00:33:46,720 –> 00:33:48,960
Beside those things that are
without, there is that which

572
00:33:48,960 –> 00:33:51,920
cometh upon me daily, the care
of all the churches.

573
00:33:52,760 –> 00:33:54,800
Well, that’s a very
comprehensive list.

574
00:33:54,800 –> 00:33:57,800
Perhaps it isn’t comprehensive.
It’s a very detailed list

575
00:33:57,800 –> 00:33:59,160
compared with this we have in
the ACT.

576
00:33:59,400 –> 00:34:03,000
It details many, many more
sufferings that Paul endured in

577
00:34:03,000 –> 00:34:05,960
the service of his master, and
we are left to marvel that he

578
00:34:05,960 –> 00:34:09,159
could have survived those and
still been available to write

579
00:34:09,159 –> 00:34:13,080
this letter Act is not there to
tell us about Paul’s

580
00:34:13,080 –> 00:34:15,440
afflictions.
It does so, incidentally, as

581
00:34:15,440 –> 00:34:17,280
they arise in the course of his
ministry.

582
00:34:17,840 –> 00:34:21,239
But for Paul’s own afflictions
in the service of his Lord, we

583
00:34:21,239 –> 00:34:23,760
need that which was dragged out
of him in his writings.

584
00:34:24,120 –> 00:34:26,960
By the foolish boastings of
those who denied to him the

585
00:34:26,960 –> 00:34:32,400
claim to be an apostle of the
Lord, we move away.

586
00:34:32,400 –> 00:34:35,840
Then from the second, the first
missionary journey to its close,

587
00:34:37,560 –> 00:34:40,679
we find Paul and Barnabas going
back to their centre of

588
00:34:40,679 –> 00:34:45,239
operations at Antioch in Syria,
and there they report to the

589
00:34:45,239 –> 00:34:50,560
community verse 26.
And thence they sailed to

590
00:34:50,560 –> 00:34:53,040
Antioch, from whence they had
been recommended to the grace of

591
00:34:53,040 –> 00:34:54,960
God.
That you remember is when they

592
00:34:54,960 –> 00:34:56,840
laid their hands upon them and
sent them away.

593
00:34:57,160 –> 00:34:59,960
When the first missionary
journey started, they went back

594
00:34:59,960 –> 00:35:02,160
to those who had brought
blessing upon them, and reported

595
00:35:02,160 –> 00:35:04,840
to them, from whence they had
been commended, to the grace of

596
00:35:04,840 –> 00:35:06,880
God for the work that they had
fulfilled.

597
00:35:07,440 –> 00:35:09,680
And when they were coming to
gathered the church together,

598
00:35:09,840 –> 00:35:13,000
they rehearsed all that God had
done with them, and how he had

599
00:35:13,000 –> 00:35:15,280
opened the door of faith unto
the Gentiles.

600
00:35:15,920 –> 00:35:18,360
And they abode long time with
the disciples.

601
00:35:21,760 –> 00:35:25,000
But now one of the earliest
serious problems which was to

602
00:35:25,000 –> 00:35:28,040
impede the work of Paul, came
right to the surface.

603
00:35:29,560 –> 00:35:32,320
We read the 1st 6 verses to
introduce this section of the

604
00:35:32,320 –> 00:35:35,800
talk.
There were those who came from

605
00:35:35,800 –> 00:35:39,920
Jerusalem to Antioch and said
there Gentiles aren’t believers

606
00:35:39,920 –> 00:35:42,040
unless their men focus
circumcised.

607
00:35:43,760 –> 00:35:47,040
So Antioch troubled by this or
seeking for the definition.

608
00:35:47,960 –> 00:35:51,080
Sent Paul and Barnabas to
Jerusalem to inquiry into the

609
00:35:51,080 –> 00:35:54,840
matter, and when they got there
a council was assembled and

610
00:35:54,840 –> 00:35:57,840
there were certainly some Jews
of Paris, except where the true

611
00:35:57,840 –> 00:36:01,000
believers badly informed, or
some of these grievous wolves in

612
00:36:01,000 –> 00:36:02,760
sheep clothing that entered into
the pool.

613
00:36:02,760 –> 00:36:04,680
It’s hard to say.
There were plenty of those

614
00:36:04,680 –> 00:36:08,760
around as Paul’s work went on,
and they said it was necessary

615
00:36:08,760 –> 00:36:11,880
to circumcise the Gentiles and
command them to keep the Law of

616
00:36:11,880 –> 00:36:15,440
Moses.
So now it came up for

617
00:36:15,440 –> 00:36:18,720
authoritative definition.
Was it necessary or wasn’t it?

618
00:36:20,200 –> 00:36:22,400
It had apparently not been
necessary in Antioch.

619
00:36:22,400 –> 00:36:25,400
When those who went from
Jerusalem preached the Gospel,

620
00:36:25,400 –> 00:36:28,040
nothing is said of it.
But now the Judaizers are at

621
00:36:28,040 –> 00:36:29,400
work.
The matter is coming to a

622
00:36:29,400 –> 00:36:32,520
crisis.
Do Gentiles have to become Jews

623
00:36:32,520 –> 00:36:33,880
before they can become
Christians?

624
00:36:33,880 –> 00:36:38,760
That was the question much
reasoning to and fro was

625
00:36:38,760 –> 00:36:42,040
offered.
The crisis point was reached

626
00:36:42,040 –> 00:36:46,000
when that ever generous hearted
Simon Peter stood up and said,

627
00:36:46,880 –> 00:36:51,000
you know, that it pleased God
that by my mouth the Gentiles

628
00:36:51,000 –> 00:36:56,520
should hear the word of God.
That’s another good man, a man

629
00:36:56,520 –> 00:36:58,920
who must have found it much more
difficult to retreat into the

630
00:36:58,920 –> 00:37:04,560
background than one of us would,
but who did it gladly, who saw

631
00:37:04,600 –> 00:37:06,840
that court assembled and still
haven’t testified.

632
00:37:07,480 –> 00:37:10,440
I was given the key to open the
door to the Gentiles.

633
00:37:11,760 –> 00:37:14,720
Paul has now told you that the
door of faith has been opened to

634
00:37:14,720 –> 00:37:18,880
Gentiles at large.
It was my task, under God’s hand

635
00:37:18,880 –> 00:37:23,000
to start the work.
I’m very glad to see it going

636
00:37:23,000 –> 00:37:25,880
on.
No move with envy.

637
00:37:26,480 –> 00:37:28,920
No.
Paul is a usurper, taking my job

638
00:37:28,920 –> 00:37:31,840
off me, stealing the limelight
where it should have been left

639
00:37:31,840 –> 00:37:33,440
to me.
None of that.

640
00:37:34,000 –> 00:37:37,200
It pleased God to do this.
I’m glad to have done it.

641
00:37:37,200 –> 00:37:39,880
The door is now wide open
through the work of this man who

642
00:37:39,880 –> 00:37:44,320
is with you now.
Don’t hinder his work.

643
00:37:45,520 –> 00:37:49,040
Don’t spoil it by laying a yoke
upon the Gentiles which neither

644
00:37:49,040 –> 00:37:51,160
we nor our fathers were able to
bear.

645
00:37:53,680 –> 00:37:57,200
And the man who was called the
first of the apostles, the man

646
00:37:57,200 –> 00:37:59,960
who was given the keys of the
Kingdom of heaven, stood up as a

647
00:37:59,960 –> 00:38:02,560
witness in that court under
James’s presidency.

648
00:38:04,000 –> 00:38:07,480
And James used his witness to
bring the court to a doubtless

649
00:38:07,480 –> 00:38:12,560
divinely guided decision, when
he said Simeon hath declared and

650
00:38:12,560 –> 00:38:14,320
to disagree the words of the
province.

651
00:38:14,880 –> 00:38:19,640
And this is my judgement.
So the judgement which James

652
00:38:19,640 –> 00:38:21,920
gave, and which was submitted
for the endorsement of the

653
00:38:21,920 –> 00:38:25,320
assembled company Apostles and
Elders of the Light, was that we

654
00:38:25,320 –> 00:38:28,680
trouble, not the Gentiles.
That we don’t attempt to do the

655
00:38:28,680 –> 00:38:31,600
work of Moses for him, the old
work, the misunderstood work of

656
00:38:31,600 –> 00:38:33,800
Moses for him.
For in every city there are Jews

657
00:38:33,800 –> 00:38:38,680
still doing that, that we preach
the true gospel to them, and lay

658
00:38:38,680 –> 00:38:41,840
no further burden upon them than
these necessary things.

659
00:38:43,560 –> 00:38:46,440
And as is repeated at least
twice in this chapter, the

660
00:38:46,440 –> 00:38:49,840
necessary things which the
Council at Jerusalem decided

661
00:38:49,840 –> 00:38:52,760
under God’s hand should be after
the Gentiles were that they

662
00:38:52,760 –> 00:38:55,680
should abstain from meat
suffered unto idols.

663
00:38:57,120 –> 00:39:02,840
And from things strangled, and
from blood and from fornication,

664
00:39:04,560 –> 00:39:08,320
apart from that they were free,
Those things they must be

665
00:39:08,320 –> 00:39:13,840
cancelled not to engage in.
Now there arises the interesting

666
00:39:13,840 –> 00:39:18,920
point.
Were those four minor public

667
00:39:19,880 –> 00:39:24,120
pill sugaring concessions to
make the Jews a little happier

668
00:39:24,120 –> 00:39:25,960
when Gentiles were admitted into
the faith?

669
00:39:27,440 –> 00:39:29,880
Well, they asked to take a
number of cosmetic measures.

670
00:39:30,640 –> 00:39:33,880
It would make it easier for Jews
to receive gentiles because they

671
00:39:34,160 –> 00:39:40,520
didn’t eat blood, or they didn’t
eat meat supper unto idols, or

672
00:39:40,520 –> 00:39:43,720
they didn’t eat birds that being
strangled and not have their

673
00:39:43,720 –> 00:39:47,760
blood poured out, or they didn’t
engage in fornication.

674
00:39:49,960 –> 00:39:51,600
I don’t think that was the
reason.

675
00:39:53,840 –> 00:39:57,200
And one good ground for being
fairly sure that it was not the

676
00:39:57,200 –> 00:39:59,680
reason, is that fornication is
included in the list.

677
00:40:01,600 –> 00:40:05,720
Because if anything is utterly
self-evident, it is that the

678
00:40:05,720 –> 00:40:08,200
whole teaching of God demands
that those who are true to him

679
00:40:08,200 –> 00:40:11,800
to remain chaste and pure and
only and faithful in their

680
00:40:12,080 –> 00:40:17,320
unmarried and married lives, to
keep clear of fornication, is so

681
00:40:17,320 –> 00:40:21,000
obvious, however difficult it
might be, the love would hardly

682
00:40:21,000 –> 00:40:23,640
have been laid.
There’s a cosmetic condition

683
00:40:23,640 –> 00:40:29,640
upon Gentiles to make them more
reconcilable to Jews, and

684
00:40:29,640 –> 00:40:32,680
because of that, one has to
think of another reason why

685
00:40:32,680 –> 00:40:35,640
these obligations were laid upon
the Gentiles.

686
00:40:35,640 –> 00:40:38,200
Remember them again.
Don’t eat meat offered unto

687
00:40:38,200 –> 00:40:42,080
idols, don’t eat things
strangled, don’t eat blood, and

688
00:40:42,080 –> 00:40:47,080
don’t be guilty of fornication.
I think we can solve the

689
00:40:47,080 –> 00:40:49,200
question, or at least bring it
nearer to solution, by

690
00:40:49,200 –> 00:40:52,480
concentrating upon the not
eating meat offered unto idols.

691
00:40:54,280 –> 00:40:56,520
Why shouldn’t they least offered
unto idols?

692
00:40:56,680 –> 00:40:59,480
There is not, as far as I know,
a specific commandment in the

693
00:40:59,480 –> 00:41:02,960
law that they shouldn’t.
Then why shouldn’t they?

694
00:41:04,640 –> 00:41:06,680
For the same reason.
I would imagine, as Daniel

695
00:41:06,680 –> 00:41:09,240
purpose in his heart, that he
would not be defiled by King

696
00:41:09,240 –> 00:41:12,160
Nebuchadnezzar’s meat when that
was appointed to him and his

697
00:41:12,160 –> 00:41:17,840
three friends in the court of
Babylon, where Daniel, Hananiah,

698
00:41:17,840 –> 00:41:20,920
Mishael, and Azaraya, with good
Jewish names were invited to

699
00:41:20,920 –> 00:41:24,840
become good Chaldeans,
Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Mesh,

700
00:41:24,840 –> 00:41:29,200
and Nevanigo, by eating the food
which Nebuchadnezzar put before

701
00:41:29,200 –> 00:41:33,000
them, the King’s meat, the
King’s dedicated meat, the meat

702
00:41:33,000 –> 00:41:35,440
the Chaldeans ET meet often unto
idols.

703
00:41:35,440 –> 00:41:39,160
I should think so, and I would
think Daniel refused because he

704
00:41:39,160 –> 00:41:41,280
was not going to be compromised
with things, Chaldea.

705
00:41:42,240 –> 00:41:44,360
He was going to make it plain to
all concerned that he was a

706
00:41:44,360 –> 00:41:46,120
seven of the one true God and no
other.

707
00:41:46,840 –> 00:41:49,120
That was why he wouldn’t eat the
King’s meat, I believe.

708
00:41:51,000 –> 00:41:52,760
Now take the case of the
Gentiles.

709
00:41:53,920 –> 00:41:57,520
Meat, often unto idols, was just
meat, possibly better meat than

710
00:41:57,520 –> 00:42:01,160
you’d buy if it hadn’t been
maybe a very good food.

711
00:42:02,640 –> 00:42:05,560
Was it totally irreconciled with
the fate hammers to touch it

712
00:42:05,560 –> 00:42:06,960
with their lips?
No, it wasn’t that.

713
00:42:08,320 –> 00:42:10,480
Because when Paul wrote his
first letter to the Corinthians,

714
00:42:10,480 –> 00:42:12,880
he said whatsoever is sold in
the butcher’s shops.

715
00:42:12,880 –> 00:42:14,760
Eat asking no question for
conscience sake.

716
00:42:15,880 –> 00:42:17,880
If it happens to have been often
unto idols, you don’t know.

717
00:42:17,880 –> 00:42:19,600
It makes a difference.
All you bought is meat.

718
00:42:20,240 –> 00:42:22,240
It’s quite all right to eat it,
don’t ask.

719
00:42:24,120 –> 00:42:28,400
On the other hand, if you go to
a feast which has been laid on

720
00:42:28,400 –> 00:42:30,880
by somebody who is not of the
faith, and you’re disposed to

721
00:42:30,880 –> 00:42:34,040
accept his invitation, eat
whatever is put in front of you.

722
00:42:34,040 –> 00:42:35,480
Don’t ask questions.
It’s all right.

723
00:42:35,480 –> 00:42:37,640
It won’t do you any harm.
Don’t worry about where it’s

724
00:42:37,640 –> 00:42:42,280
been.
But if somebody says to you this

725
00:42:42,280 –> 00:42:46,040
hath been open unto idols, then
don’t touch it, for conscience

726
00:42:46,040 –> 00:42:49,640
sake, Not only your own, but the
conscience of the one who told

727
00:42:49,640 –> 00:42:51,640
you.
Now that, I think, sets the seal

728
00:42:51,640 –> 00:42:55,840
for the reasoning.
And the reasoning is when you

729
00:42:55,920 –> 00:42:59,080
accept the faith in the
environment of gentile paganism,

730
00:42:59,200 –> 00:43:01,720
it must be plain to all that
you’ve given up your paganism.

731
00:43:02,720 –> 00:43:04,000
You have nothing more to do with
it.

732
00:43:04,720 –> 00:43:07,360
You don’t take pleasure in
eating dedicated foods.

733
00:43:07,880 –> 00:43:09,960
If anybody tells you it’s been
dedicated, you say, I don’t

734
00:43:09,960 –> 00:43:11,680
believe in that God anymore.
I won’t touch it.

735
00:43:12,880 –> 00:43:15,040
Food is just.
Food to you till somebody tells

736
00:43:15,040 –> 00:43:18,600
you it’s been dedicated.
Then it’s forbidden food because

737
00:43:18,600 –> 00:43:21,680
you mustn’t seem to compromise
with the worship of the idol.

738
00:43:23,400 –> 00:43:26,440
So there is Paul interpreting
one of these four instructions.

739
00:43:26,960 –> 00:43:28,640
Don’t eat, meet other than two
idols.

740
00:43:28,640 –> 00:43:32,160
If somebody tells you it is,
don’t bother to inquire if you

741
00:43:32,160 –> 00:43:36,680
don’t know, because if you do,
that man will say you can be a

742
00:43:36,680 –> 00:43:39,520
Christian and an idol worshiper
at the same time, and you must

743
00:43:39,520 –> 00:43:44,320
make it plain that you can’t.
Now I think that fornication in

744
00:43:44,320 –> 00:43:48,960
this context comes into the same
category that the evil deeds

745
00:43:48,960 –> 00:43:51,680
done in heathen temples with
temple prostitutes, male and

746
00:43:51,680 –> 00:43:53,400
female.
Well, the things that they were

747
00:43:53,400 –> 00:43:56,040
told to keep quite clear of them
must be none of this for you.

748
00:43:57,280 –> 00:44:01,320
So steer clear of sanctified
ritual fornication seems to me

749
00:44:01,320 –> 00:44:03,960
to be the basic thing laid upon
them as a duty here.

750
00:44:04,160 –> 00:44:06,320
All other kinds as well, of
course they must keep clear of,

751
00:44:06,320 –> 00:44:08,120
but that as I say, we’re
self-evident.

752
00:44:08,440 –> 00:44:10,480
This was the one they needed to
be told about.

753
00:44:12,400 –> 00:44:14,920
And from that I have to
interpolate slightly and suggest

754
00:44:14,920 –> 00:44:18,080
that there were ritual libations
of blood and ritual

755
00:44:18,080 –> 00:44:21,720
strangulations of birds, that
all four of them are

756
00:44:22,240 –> 00:44:25,880
instructions to abstain from any
possible supposed contamination

757
00:44:25,880 –> 00:44:27,800
with the idolatry they have left
behind.

758
00:44:29,480 –> 00:44:31,920
Or, in a nutshell, I read
James’s and the church’s

759
00:44:31,920 –> 00:44:35,640
pronouncement to mean gentiles
do not need to be Jews the most,

760
00:44:35,640 –> 00:44:39,320
but they will stop being pagans.
So they don’t need to keep the

761
00:44:39,320 –> 00:44:43,240
law, but they do need to keep
away from the evil customs that

762
00:44:43,240 –> 00:44:44,720
would defile and compromise
them.

763
00:44:48,800 –> 00:44:52,720
We finish the experience of the
first missionary journey and the

764
00:44:52,720 –> 00:44:56,800
preparation for the next, by
considering what happened when

765
00:44:56,800 –> 00:45:00,720
they went back to Antioch, Paul,
and Barnabas after their

766
00:45:00,720 –> 00:45:03,120
discussion with the Church
there, and the very satisfactory

767
00:45:03,120 –> 00:45:08,280
conclusion to which it LED Acts
chapter 15, verse 30.

768
00:45:10,040 –> 00:45:12,320
So when they were dismissed,
they came to Antioch, and when

769
00:45:12,320 –> 00:45:14,760
they had gathered the multitude
together they delivered the

770
00:45:14,760 –> 00:45:17,560
epistle which, when they had
read it, they rejoiced for the

771
00:45:17,560 –> 00:45:22,080
consolation, and Judas and Silas
being prophets also themselves.

772
00:45:22,280 –> 00:45:25,600
Two who had gone with Paul and
Barnabas back to Antioch from

773
00:45:25,600 –> 00:45:28,720
Jerusalem, Judas and Silas,
being themselves prophets,

774
00:45:29,080 –> 00:45:31,840
exhorted the brethren with many
words, and confirmed them.

775
00:45:32,360 –> 00:45:35,080
And after they had tallied their
space, they were let go in peace

776
00:45:35,080 –> 00:45:38,760
from the brethren unto the
Apostles, notwithstanding it

777
00:45:38,760 –> 00:45:40,680
pleased Silas to abide there
still.

778
00:45:41,320 –> 00:45:44,880
Paul also and Barnabas continued
in Antioch, teaching and

779
00:45:44,880 –> 00:45:47,440
preaching the word of the Lord,
with many others also.

780
00:45:49,240 –> 00:45:52,280
And some days after Paul said
unto Barnabas, let us go again

781
00:45:52,280 –> 00:45:55,160
and visit our brethren in every
city where we preach the word of

782
00:45:55,160 –> 00:45:59,520
the Lord, and see how they do.
And Barnabas was determined to

783
00:45:59,520 –> 00:46:02,960
take with the mark John, whose
surname was Mark.

784
00:46:03,520 –> 00:46:06,560
But Paul thought it not good to
take him with them, who

785
00:46:06,560 –> 00:46:10,040
departed, who withdrew from the
work in Pamphaglia, and went not

786
00:46:10,040 –> 00:46:12,800
with them to the work.
And the contention was so sharp

787
00:46:12,800 –> 00:46:16,040
between them that they parted
asunder one from the other.

788
00:46:16,720 –> 00:46:19,440
And so Barnabas took Mark and
sailed unto Cyprus.

789
00:46:20,160 –> 00:46:23,840
And Paul chose Silas and
departed, being recommended by

790
00:46:23,840 –> 00:46:25,400
the brethren to the grace of
God.

791
00:46:26,040 –> 00:46:29,080
And he went through Celia and
Cilicia, confirming the

792
00:46:29,080 –> 00:46:33,840
churches.
What a sad thing that was,

793
00:46:33,840 –> 00:46:38,040
wasn’t it?
What an unseemly quarrel between

794
00:46:38,040 –> 00:46:43,040
2 long standing friends over the
person of John Mark.

795
00:46:44,080 –> 00:46:47,440
Paul said.
We’re not having him, Bolivar

796
00:46:47,440 –> 00:46:48,640
said.
And I’m not leaving him.

797
00:46:48,640 –> 00:46:52,440
And they quarrelled so sharply
that they went in opposite

798
00:46:52,440 –> 00:46:54,280
directions, or at least in
different directions.

799
00:46:56,080 –> 00:46:59,760
Is that how you read it?
I do hope not.

800
00:47:01,680 –> 00:47:07,640
I don’t think it was like that.
There are situations which arise

801
00:47:07,640 –> 00:47:11,520
in life when it’s right for me
to do this, and it’s right for

802
00:47:11,520 –> 00:47:13,400
you to do that.
But we can’t do it together,

803
00:47:15,000 –> 00:47:18,720
because if we did it together,
my doing this would be spoiled

804
00:47:18,720 –> 00:47:23,680
and so would you are doing that.
It was like that with Paul and

805
00:47:23,680 –> 00:47:27,880
Barnabas and John Mark.
Paul was quite right.

806
00:47:27,880 –> 00:47:31,200
He couldn’t have been wrong in
making the decision that Mark

807
00:47:31,200 –> 00:47:34,080
was not suitable at this time to
go with them to the work.

808
00:47:34,240 –> 00:47:36,400
He wouldn’t have been able to
bear his weight.

809
00:47:36,560 –> 00:47:42,240
Mark had a temperament that
needed steel in it, but Barnabas

810
00:47:42,240 –> 00:47:45,520
said I’m his uncle if that’s the
relationship.

811
00:47:46,280 –> 00:47:50,880
The English version says
Sister’s son Mark to Barnabas in

812
00:47:50,880 –> 00:47:53,600
the letter to the Colossians.
I can’t leave him in the lurch.

813
00:47:53,600 –> 00:47:56,400
He needs me.
Something has got to be done to

814
00:47:56,400 –> 00:47:58,360
help this man.
And they were both right.

815
00:47:59,840 –> 00:48:03,480
Paul couldn’t take Mark Barnabas
being the Barnabas.

816
00:48:03,480 –> 00:48:06,480
He was the son of consolation,
always helping the lame dog.

817
00:48:06,680 –> 00:48:11,720
Barnabas couldn’t leave him and
the contention was so sharp.

818
00:48:11,720 –> 00:48:13,640
Means, I think, no more than
that.

819
00:48:13,960 –> 00:48:16,320
The difference of outlook was so
acute that they couldn’t do it

820
00:48:16,320 –> 00:48:23,520
together and they parted.
I am persuaded with that good

821
00:48:23,520 –> 00:48:26,440
Christian humour and mutual
forbearance which became two

822
00:48:26,440 –> 00:48:29,720
such men.
And Barnabas said with the

823
00:48:29,720 –> 00:48:33,200
reluctance, Well, goodbye Paul.
I have to go with Mark.

824
00:48:33,960 –> 00:48:35,720
May it go well with you on your
journey.

825
00:48:37,080 –> 00:48:39,920
And Paul said to Barnabas, I’m
sorry to lose you Barnabas.

826
00:48:39,920 –> 00:48:42,720
We’ve worked well together, but
I see Mark’s need go and give

827
00:48:42,720 –> 00:48:45,360
him all the help you can.
I think they said things like

828
00:48:45,360 –> 00:48:50,360
that to each other.
And Barnabas did the sensible

829
00:48:50,360 –> 00:48:51,600
thing.
He was a man of Cyprus.

830
00:48:51,600 –> 00:48:55,640
You’d noticed that, hadn’t you?
He was taking him home to his

831
00:48:55,640 –> 00:48:57,800
own home country.
But Mark was going to go amongst

832
00:48:57,800 –> 00:48:59,720
friends they had believing
friends too.

833
00:48:59,720 –> 00:49:02,200
In Cyprus by now they’ve had a
successful journey there.

834
00:49:03,240 –> 00:49:07,840
Mark could be sequestered and
kept in good company, free from

835
00:49:07,840 –> 00:49:10,480
the ragings of the world around,
until it was a different than

836
00:49:10,480 –> 00:49:12,400
the better than the more
reliable Mark.

837
00:49:12,600 –> 00:49:16,840
And it worked.
Barnabas, the backroom boy, did

838
00:49:16,840 –> 00:49:20,920
the same good job again, as he’d
always done before, with the

839
00:49:20,920 –> 00:49:24,000
money for the widows, with the
sponsoring of Saul, with the

840
00:49:24,000 –> 00:49:27,080
calling of salt and testers,
with taking the second place in

841
00:49:27,080 –> 00:49:29,680
the first missionary journey.
He did it again, withdrew from

842
00:49:29,680 –> 00:49:32,440
the public eye and took Mark
back with him to Cyprus.

843
00:49:34,760 –> 00:49:36,200
And it’s time to be able to
report that.

844
00:49:36,200 –> 00:49:38,640
That same Letters of the
Colossians which tells us that

845
00:49:38,640 –> 00:49:42,200
Mark is sister son to Barnabas,
implies a compliment to Barnabas

846
00:49:42,200 –> 00:49:46,400
in saying if Mark come to you,
receive him, and perhaps the

847
00:49:46,400 –> 00:49:49,760
words touching whom you receive
commandments might mean and I’ve

848
00:49:49,760 –> 00:49:52,560
told you the needs he has and
you’ll know how to treat him.

849
00:49:54,520 –> 00:49:57,800
And it’s a mark of the success
of Barnabas work too, that later

850
00:49:57,800 –> 00:50:00,760
we have Peter calling Mark my
son, regarding him as a

851
00:50:00,760 –> 00:50:03,920
profitable worker together with
him when Paul perhaps is no

852
00:50:03,920 –> 00:50:07,520
longer at large.
One of us did the last good job

853
00:50:07,520 –> 00:50:12,600
we know about in taking Mark to
Cyprus and bringing him up to be

854
00:50:12,600 –> 00:50:15,600
a strong man in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord.

855
00:50:16,400 –> 00:50:21,880
We’ve almost lost one of us now,
save once, and not only briefly.

856
00:50:21,880 –> 00:50:26,200
We don’t hear from more about
him again, and when we do it

857
00:50:26,200 –> 00:50:29,120
still some years later, Paul is
still active and obviously so is

858
00:50:29,120 –> 00:50:31,360
Barnabas.
It’s during the third missionary

859
00:50:31,360 –> 00:50:33,680
journey, and it’s in the first
letter to the Corinthians where

860
00:50:33,680 –> 00:50:36,920
Paul is talking about the
contrast between himself and,

861
00:50:36,920 –> 00:50:39,680
say, Peter and James and John
with their wives.

862
00:50:39,800 –> 00:50:44,360
He Paul living a bachelor life
or an effective bachelor life as

863
00:50:44,360 –> 00:50:48,200
he preached his gospel.
He says, I only and Barnabas

864
00:50:49,680 –> 00:50:54,440
have we not part of a bare
working, so contact wasn’t lost.

865
00:50:55,560 –> 00:50:58,600
But one of us went on with it is
to us unseen.

866
00:50:58,600 –> 00:51:03,960
Work went on successfully
serving the Lord, and whatever

867
00:51:03,960 –> 00:51:09,120
we have lost to sight, we can
have no doubt no failure of

868
00:51:09,120 –> 00:51:12,240
confidence that somewhere
written large and underscored in

869
00:51:12,240 –> 00:51:16,920
the book of life is the name of
Joseph, surnamed by the

870
00:51:16,920 –> 00:51:18,920
apostles, the Son of
consolation.