Ordinary People, Extraordinary Power: How God Transforms a City

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
We'll go ahead and get started.
[00:08:47] Good morning and welcome to worship here at First Baptist Church of Mooresville.
[00:08:51] We are so delighted that you have chosen to be with us here this morning.
[00:08:55] Whether you are here in person, whether you are worshiping with us via our overflow in the fellowship hall, or perhaps you are at home or away and joining us via our live streams, thank you so much for being here.
[00:09:08] We know that God has something exciting and very important that He wants to speak
[00:09:13] and to each and every one of our lives this morning perhaps you are here and you just simply have some questions about how you can get connected here at First Baptist Church or perhaps you even have some prayer concerns that you would like to share with us as a staff and as a ministry team in your pew you'll find a connect card we invite you to fill out that connect card you can place it in the offering plate as it is passed around and we will certainly reach out to you this week and pray with you or answer any questions that you may have
[00:09:43] If you are a first-time guest with us this morning, welcome and thank you especially for being here.
[00:09:49] We always invite our guests, our first-time guests, to join us at the Welcome Center at the conclusion of our service.
[00:09:56] We have a small gift that we would just like to give you and have the opportunity to shake your hand and just get to know you a little bit more.
[00:10:04] As we gather now, let's open our hearts and our minds to hear what it is that God wants to speak into our lives.
[00:10:11] Thank you so much for worshiping with us.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning, everybody.
[00:10:22] How are you?
[00:10:23] It's great to see you.
[00:10:24] Today is the day the Lord has made.
[00:10:34] Like I said, good morning.
[00:10:47] The good news is that Jesus Christ came, lived, died, and was resurrected for each and every one of us in this room.
[00:11:01] And our scripture this morning says, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:11:10] That is the good news, and that's what we're going to sing about this morning.
[00:11:12] So if you're able, I invite you to stand as we open in song with God So Loved.

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
and Son of the Word.

[00:15:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Amen.
[00:15:54] Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning with grateful hearts, knowing that you are here among us.
[00:16:00] Lord, we thank you that you don't leave us to wander alone through this life, but that you lead us step by step, day by day, and moment by moment.
[00:16:11] Lord, as the psalmist declared that you are our shepherd, we affirm today that you lead us through green pastures and still waters, but also through valleys, through the shadows, through the trials that test our faith.
[00:16:28] Your hand is always there guiding, directing, and sustaining.
[00:16:33] Father, we ask that you open our hearts this morning to hear your word.
[00:16:37] Make us sensitive to your spirit.
[00:16:39] Whether we've come here with joy or sorrow, with certainty or questions, with strength or weariness, we come knowing that your hand is still leading us.
[00:16:51] May every song we sing, every prayer we offer, and every word proclaimed point us to Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep,
[00:17:01] Help us to trust you completely, to follow where you lead, and to rest in the assurance that you will never let us go.
[00:17:10] We offer this time of worship to you in the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and all who agree say,

[00:17:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit,
[00:18:41] of Christ Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[00:19:36] and Reconciliation.
[00:20:00] Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy
[00:20:31] Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy,

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, good morning everyone.
[00:21:12] Thank you so much for being here.
[00:21:14] I know it's cold outside, but this is the day.
[00:21:18] Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[00:21:20] Hey, if you have a bulletin, I hope you do.
[00:21:22] If y'all open that up, I just want to share some announcements with you this morning.
[00:21:28] Now, I don't normally get to share announcements, so I've heard a lot of them today, and I'm going to try to do this as quick as possible.
[00:21:34] There's a couple of things I want you to know that's going on here in the church.
[00:21:38] First of all, let me just say a huge thank you to everyone
[00:21:42] Who has been so generous.
[00:21:44] The Lottie Moon offering that we took up in December, last week I reported to you that, listen, our goal was 15,000, and last week I reported to you that 30,000 was big.
[00:21:55] And honestly, today that's closer to 32,000.
[00:21:59] Thank you so much for your generosity.
[00:22:01] I so appreciate you guys.
[00:22:04] Well the Lord is most certainly stirring here at First Baptist and tonight the FBC youth group, this is all middle schoolers and high schoolers, they're going to be meeting at 5.30 in the fellowship hall for Bible study, bingo, and barbecue.
[00:22:20] Now, if that's not Baptist, I don't know what is, okay?
[00:22:24] Bible study, bingo, and barbecue.
[00:22:25] So make sure you come out.
[00:22:27] They're going to be finishing their study in Daniel, the book of Daniel.
[00:22:31] We're also going to have some worship tonight from our youth praise team.
[00:22:34] It's going to be fantastic.
[00:22:35] By the way, let me just speak to all the youth.
[00:22:37] Make sure you invite your friends out.
[00:22:39] You would just be so surprised how many people would say yes.
[00:22:43] To coming out to youth group.
[00:22:45] By the way, did you know this, adults?
[00:22:47] We are averaging over 50 plus kids on Sunday night coming out to youth group.
[00:22:56] I so appreciate Chuck and Lisa LaRusso, but not just them, all of our volunteers.
[00:23:02] We have a lot of unsung heroes in our youth group right now who are loving on these kiddos, supporting them.
[00:23:08] Listen, our youth group is booming so drastically that we kind of have a little bit of a problem.
[00:23:14] You heard Chuck a couple weeks ago ask you to pray about something.
[00:23:18] You see, every year we go to Caswell, which is a summer trip we take, but this year we have more youth than we have rooms.
[00:23:26] At Caswell.
[00:23:27] So I need you guys to do a couple things.
[00:23:29] Number one, you need to be praying that more rooms will open up, okay?
[00:23:34] We've been kind of maxed out at 50.
[00:23:35] We want to take 75 kids this year.
[00:23:38] So we need more rooms to open up.
[00:23:40] The second thing you can do is not just pray, but you can also be given.
[00:23:44] You'll notice in your bulletin that one of the ways you can help support this is well by buying a t-shirt.
[00:23:52] Mary Ann Greenhill, one of the volunteers in our youth group, she's actually put together some shirts for us.
[00:23:58] Those are in your bulletin, you can see them.
[00:24:00] And if you're in the overflow right now, there's actually a table set up back there where you can see some of them on display.
[00:24:06] So you can be ordering them, all proceeds go to helping the youth group as they get ready preparing for Caswell.
[00:24:14] This summer.
[00:24:15] So that's one thing we want to ask you to be doing.
[00:24:19] The second thing I want to tell you today is that we are preparing for a chilly cook-off at the end of this month.
[00:24:25] Now, typically here's what happens, okay?
[00:24:28] This week we would normally be starting Wednesday Not Live.
[00:24:32] What we've decided to do is to push that back two weeks.
[00:24:35] So we're on a little bit of a two-week delay.
[00:24:37] And the reason for that is because we really, really want to
[00:24:41] To kind of amp this up and for everyone to come out to this kickoff.
[00:24:46] So what we're going to do is we're going to have a chili cook-off that's going to be on the 28th.
[00:24:49] It's going to start at 6 p.m. We want everyone there.
[00:24:54] We want you to come.
[00:24:55] We want your families to come.
[00:24:56] We want you to bring neighbors.
[00:24:57] Honestly, bring people you don't even know.
[00:24:59] If you see someone walking on the street, just say, get in here.
[00:25:01] We're going to a chili cook-off, okay?
[00:25:03] Bring as many people as you can.
[00:25:05] and if you would like to participate by bringing a bowl of chili or a pot of chili then you need to sign up in the back so we know exactly who is cooking the chili we're going to have a little contest see who cooked the best chili and we're going to give a prize away listen don't tell anyone I'll let you in on what the prize is it's a golden ladle okay it's a little trophy you could take home by the way nothing ever bad happened in church when they started giving away golden things right so so we're going to do that
[00:25:33] You're going to have far more than a trophy.
[00:25:35] You're going to have bragging rights.
[00:25:37] But here's the real special thing that night.
[00:25:40] Maybe you don't come on Wednesday nights, right?
[00:25:42] Well, we want you to come.
[00:25:43] And here's what's going to happen.
[00:25:44] You're going to get to hear typically how a Wednesday night goes.
[00:25:48] You're going to hear from Rita Marie about...
[00:25:50] Music and Missions.
[00:25:52] You're going to hear from Pastor Allen about what happens with the music program from Chuck and Lisa about the youth.
[00:25:58] You're going to get to hear from some of our Bible study teachers about their Bible study.
[00:26:02] It's going to be fantastic.
[00:26:04] Speaking of Bible study, there are several Bible studies for you to sign up for that will start that next week.
[00:26:11] So this is really exciting.
[00:26:13] Make sure you sign up for these Bible studies.
[00:26:15] There's a lot of resources that come with them, and we just want to make sure we are well prepared having all the resources we need to give to the people who are going to be participating.
[00:26:24] Also, on that chili cook-off, something that's really neat is we're going to have a book swap that is going on.
[00:26:29] There's already a table that's set up in the overflow right now in the Fellowship Hall, so you can leave books there, or you can bring them to the Pathfinder Sunday School class that is Building C, Room 208.
[00:26:42] And this is just going to be a fantastic time.
[00:26:44] If you need more details about that, please talk to Kim Harriman or Donna Basinger.
[00:26:49] There's more information about that in the messenger, so make sure you're prepared for that.
[00:26:53] Alright, here's the third thing real quick that I need to tell you.
[00:26:57] Bad news, good news.
[00:26:58] Bad news is Panthers lost yesterday.
[00:27:00] They're not going to be in the Superbowl, okay?
[00:27:03] Good news is we can still do ministry even though the Superbowl is coming up.
[00:27:08] And the way you can do ministry is we are entering into our Superbowl and that is where we're taking up a can drive.
[00:27:15] That starts today.
[00:27:17] Okay, starting today, so you can bring that to the church at any point.
[00:27:21] There's information about that in the messenger.
[00:27:23] You can bring those next Sunday.
[00:27:26] There's going to be some drop-off boxes.
[00:27:28] This is going to go until February 15th.
[00:27:30] Guys, let me just tell you, the Lord is moving at First Baptist, and we want you to be a part of it.
[00:27:36] You see, God, everything we have has been given to us by God.
[00:27:39] And so now, let's go into a time of worship, not just where we're singing,
[00:27:43] Not just where we're standing or lifting our hands, but where we say, Lord, we're telling you that we believe you are our security, that we trust you with our whole lives, even our finances.
[00:27:54] Would you pray with me?
[00:27:55] Father, we thank you.
[00:27:56] Thank you for the way you're moving.
[00:27:58] We thank you for the way you're working.
[00:28:00] And we thank you for being our sustainer, our security, and our provider.
[00:28:04] Now Lord, we're not just giving you lip service, we're putting this into action by trusting you with the gifts you've given to us.
[00:28:12] So Lord, we pray that as we take up this offering, may you alone get all the glory.
[00:28:17] May your name be glorified.
[00:28:19] And Father, that you use every penny for the furtherment of your ministry.
[00:28:22] We pray this in your holy name.
[00:28:24] Amen.

[00:33:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well, at this time, we're dismissing our kids to Kids Church.
[00:33:09] They're located downstairs if you're new this morning.
[00:33:14] Fastest way to retrieve them after the service is that way, right up the ramp behind the piano.
[00:33:18] Turn right, down the steps, turn right again, and you'll find Rita Marie and her staff down there with Children's Church.
[00:33:28] I'd like to do a little spotlight on service this morning.
[00:33:34] In the music ministry program, there are a lot of moving pieces.
[00:33:39] And one of those moving pieces is paper.
[00:33:45] I think we have over 2,000 pieces of music in the music library for the sanctuary choir alone.
[00:33:52] and you have the Handbell Choir and other things.
[00:33:53] But the Sanctuary Choir, over 2,000 pieces of music that has to get put in folders, filed back in when it's out of the folders, hole-punched, numbered, a tremendous amount of work.
[00:34:08] And I'd like to just have the two people that are responsible for that stand up so that you'll know who it is that's doing this behind-the-scenes work.
[00:34:18] Carol Van Oy and Sandy
[00:34:22] I am so thankful for these two ladies.
[00:34:33] It is a massive amount of work.
[00:34:36] For the Christmas celebration alone, we had 17 titles that had to be put in folders just for that one event.
[00:34:46] Every week, new music comes in and goes out, and I am so grateful for them.
[00:34:51] As you came in this morning, you passed the back table there.
[00:34:55] We have a prayer sheet.
[00:34:56] We speak about this each and every week because it is important.
[00:34:59] It's one of the lifelines of our church.
[00:35:02] If you are in need or know of someone that's in need of prayer, please let us know.
[00:35:08] Please take one of these sheets and be in prayer for those that are listed.
[00:35:12] And at this time, let us go to the Lord in prayer.
[00:35:19] Gracious and Almighty God, we come before you today with humble hearts, mindful of your words to Paul in Corinth when you said, Do not be afraid.
[00:35:29] Keep on speaking.
[00:35:31] Do not be silent, for I am with you.
[00:35:34] Just as you used Paul to proclaim the gospel in difficult places, we ask that you would use us, ordinary people with willing hearts, to be your witness in this world.
[00:35:48] Lord, we confess that life is difficult.
[00:35:51] We face trials that weary us, burdens that seem too heavy to bear, and challenges that test our faith.
[00:36:00] In our weakness, we cry out for your patience with us.
[00:36:03] We stumble, Lord, we fall short, yet you remain faithful.
[00:36:08] Thank you for your endless patience, for not giving up on us even when we struggle to trust, even when our faith feels small.
[00:36:18] Lord, we ask for your tender care.
[00:36:21] You are the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost, binds up the wounded, and carries the weary.
[00:36:29] Care for us in our brokenness.
[00:36:32] Comfort those among us who are grieving.
[00:36:36] Strengthen those who are discouraged and heal those who are hurting.
[00:36:41] Lord, remind us that we are never alone, that you are with us in every valley.
[00:36:47] This morning we lift up some very specific prayer requests for Paulette Porter as she recovers from procedure and her cousin is continuing her cancer treatment.
[00:36:59] For Connie Parnell who continues in her cancer treatment.
[00:37:05] For Eddie Stubbins as he deals with an upcoming surgery.
[00:37:08] For Nancy Blake as she is at home recovering from surgery.
[00:37:13] For Gussie Payne.
[00:37:16] For Carissa Hughes' cousin Miranda who is going through loss.
[00:37:22] Lord, we desperately need your mercy.
[00:37:24] We have sinned and fallen short of your glory, but we cling to the glorious truth that Jesus saves.
[00:37:31] We thank you for sending your Son to die for our sins.
[00:37:35] To bear what we could not bear, to bridge the gap we could never cross.
[00:37:40] It is only through Christ that we have hope.
[00:37:45] Only through his sacrifice that we can stand forgiven before you.
[00:37:50] Now use us, Lord.
[00:37:52] Use our hands to serve, our voices to encourage, our lives to reflect your love.
[00:37:58] Like Paul, may we not be afraid or silent, but bold in sharing the hope we have found in Jesus.
[00:38:06] Work through us in our families, our workplaces, our neighborhoods and beyond.
[00:38:11] Let us be instruments of your grace and vessels of your peace.
[00:38:16] We pray all these things in the mighty and saving name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[00:38:22] Amen.

[00:39:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
If they will hear, some will believe and call upon His name and be saved.
[00:39:14] But they cannot call on Him in whom they have not believed, nor believe on Him of whom they have not even heard, nor hear without someone preaching.
[00:39:29] And how do you preach?
[00:39:32] And let's understand it.

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
So let's send them.
[00:39:40] So they can preach.
[00:39:43] So they can hear.
[00:39:47] So they can believe.
[00:39:50] Let's send those who give faith to the every and all.

[00:40:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
15th we are starting something we're calling here now and forever by the way those were all pictures from the Honduras mission trip this church is deeply involved in the Honduras mission and I think we're 15th you're going to hear more about how God is using first baptist but you really want to hear about what we believe how God wants to use first baptist
[00:40:51] You say, is here now forever?
[00:40:53] What is that, like a campaign?
[00:40:54] Is it a program?
[00:40:55] Well, listen, the best way I can explain it is this.
[00:40:58] We believe it's going to be a momentum shift.
[00:41:00] And what we're asking for, starting on that day, is for you to serve in ways that maybe you've never served before, for you to give in ways that maybe you've never given before, and for you to be connected in ways that maybe you've never been connected before.
[00:41:14] And so I'm just going to ask that you be praying for that as we share how we believe that God is going to radically transform Morrisville.
[00:41:22] Y'all, there's one thing I know.
[00:41:23] God has more riding on Morrisville than we do.
[00:41:26] And he has more at stake at Morrisville.
[00:41:28] And God is still in the business of changing communities.
[00:41:31] Amen?
[00:41:33] Speaking of changing communities, if you will, we can turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 18.
[00:41:38] Acts chapter 18, this is where we're going to start at.
[00:41:43] And believe it or not, Noah, I have lost connection again.
[00:41:47] Acts chapter 18.
[00:41:51] Listen, as we go in Acts 18, I think I got it back.
[00:41:56] As we go in Acts 18, we're in this series called Core.
[00:41:59] And we've just been tracking through the book of Acts.
[00:42:03] Last week, we talked about how God radically transformed a city.
[00:42:08] Ephesus was a real city.
[00:42:29] And it looked real good, but it had a lot of real problems.
[00:42:33] And here's what I mean by that.
[00:42:34] It looked good because Ephesus was the richest city in the richest region in the Roman Empire.
[00:42:42] It was a port city, and it was a cultural hub, and it was also a growing city.
[00:42:48] It was multi-ethnical, and so there was a ton of people who were moving there, but because it was growing so fast, it was also a city that was kind of economically stratified.
[00:42:59] In other words, you had a lot of rich people, but now they were living right beside a lot of poor people.
[00:43:06] Ephesus was a city known for its knowledge.
[00:43:09] The largest library in the ancient world was in Ephesus.
[00:43:14] It was also a city that was hyper-spiritual and was deeply involved in the occult.
[00:43:21] Now, unlike Athens, who was very spiritual and served all these different gods and goddesses, where they had thousands of them, you saw last week in Acts 17, they were so worried about leaving out a particular deity that they even had idols to the unknown god.
[00:43:36] Well, listen, Ephesus, in the same way as Athens, was very spiritual, but they didn't really worry themselves with worshipping a bunch of different gods or goddesses.
[00:43:46] They primarily just focused on one deity by the name of Artemis.
[00:43:51] The Greek goddess, the Roman, her Roman name was Diane, but the god Artemis, or goddess Artemis, was the god of Ephesus, the deity of Ephesus.
[00:44:03] They believed that Artemis was the protector of Ephesus.
[00:44:06] They had a temple for Artemis, and this temple that was in Ephesus was two times bigger than the Parthenon that was in Athens.
[00:44:17] So this was massive.
[00:44:18] And right in the middle of this huge temple stood the statue of Artemis.
[00:44:24] And that's a statue of her.
[00:44:26] It was actually carved out of a fallen meteorite.
[00:44:29] Now, Artemis was the goddess of both prosperity and fertility.
[00:44:35] So you can see why she's so popular.
[00:44:37] Listen, legend has it, or mythology has it, that she was so beautiful, she had to bathe in secret, because people would just want to watch her.
[00:44:46] So she started going to the woods to bathe, but hunters would come to just stare at her beauty, and so eventually she put a curse on them, that if anyone watched her bathing, they would turn into a young deer, and then her dogs would chase them down and eat them.
[00:45:00] That's why she's holding that little young deer right there in the statue.
[00:45:04] Well, the people in Ephesus adored her.
[00:45:08] I mean, the whole economy was based on the worship of Artemis.
[00:45:13] And it's in this city, this port city,
[00:45:18] That is practicing the occult that the gospel comes in and radically changes everything.
[00:45:25] And you say, okay, well, who did God send to Ephesus?
[00:45:28] I bet it was a superstar, right?
[00:45:29] Like the Apostle Paul, the Apostle John, maybe Peter, right?
[00:45:34] Who was it that God used?
[00:45:36] It was none of them.
[00:45:37] Here's the first lesson I want you to learn.
[00:45:38] That is that the gospel uses ordinary people.
[00:45:42] Y'all, no superstar comes to Ephesus.
[00:45:45] No one with a book deal, no one with a spotlight or a big stage.
[00:45:49] It was an ordinary people that God begins to use.
[00:45:52] If you will, go to Acts 18 and let's start in verse 24.
[00:45:55] Look at this.
[00:45:56] Now a Jew named Apollos, right there, there you go.
[00:46:00] That's the first guy who comes in Ephesus.
[00:46:03] He said, wait a second, isn't Apollos a pretty well-known guy?
[00:46:06] Isn't he a pretty famous preacher?
[00:46:08] Well, one day he will be.
[00:46:11] But not at this point.
[00:46:12] You see, at this point, Apollos is a young man, and this is kind of his start, if you will, in ministry.
[00:46:18] We really don't even know a whole lot about Apollos up to this point.
[00:46:21] We know that he's come from Alexandria, that he's heard the Word of God, and apparently he's leveraged his life now to go to Ephesus and to preach the truth.
[00:46:31] Look at what the Bible says.
[00:46:32] He was eloquent.
[00:46:33] And he's confident in the scriptures.
[00:46:36] In other words, he's a gifted preacher.
[00:46:38] He's a good preacher.
[00:46:39] Verse 25, he had been instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in spirit.
[00:46:46] I love that.
[00:46:46] You know what that means?
[00:46:47] That means that this young guy who comes into this occult city
[00:46:51] The Greek word for fervent is a culinary term and it means to be bowling over.
[00:47:01] Later on, the Apostle Paul will take criticism that he cannot hold people's attention like the preacher Apollos.
[00:47:12] He spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though
[00:47:18] He only knew the baptism of John.
[00:47:20] Did you check that?
[00:47:21] Listen, a great God, lots of talent, but he only knows the baptism of John.
[00:47:26] What does that mean?
[00:47:28] Well, it means this.
[00:47:29] As gifted, as fiery, as passionate as this young preacher is, there's still some things he needs to learn.
[00:47:37] I think maybe I can put it to you, explain it to you like this.
[00:47:40] Imagine today someone came to our church, an atheist who's never heard about God, and they give their hearts to Christ.
[00:47:46] And next Sunday we let them preach, which we wouldn't, but let's just for the sake of argument say we do.
[00:47:52] And this young guy gets up here, a very recent convert, and he says this.
[00:47:56] He says,
[00:47:57] Jesus died for our sins, to which you would say, Amen.
[00:48:01] And then he says, and the only way to salvation is through Jesus, and you would say, Amen.
[00:48:07] And he says, one day, Jesus is coming back.
[00:48:11] And when he comes back, he's coming back in a sleigh and eight-tenth-tiny reindeer, to which you would say, oh no.
[00:48:19] Okay, there's a lot of stuff you're right about.
[00:48:22] But there's a couple things you've got a little bit confused.
[00:48:26] And that's what's happening with Apollos.
[00:48:29] Apollos is gifted and he's talented, but he's just not quite complete.
[00:48:33] Well, look at this.
[00:48:34] Verse 26 says,
[00:48:38] But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, this is a married couple, a husband and wife team, they took him aside and they explained to him the way of God more accurately.
[00:48:53] See, as this young guy is preaching, God sends an older couple, Priscilla and Aquila.
[00:48:59] They don't stand up, they don't make a scene, but they take him off to the side and they begin to take this young fire creature under their wings and they begin to disciple him and teach him and be his tutor.
[00:49:13] Listen, Priscilla and Aquila are an amazing couple.
[00:49:16] They are eventually going to be the couple that opens up a church in their house in Rome.
[00:49:22] Paul's going to write a letter to them that we call the Book of Romans.
[00:49:27] They actually had met Paul before this in Corinth.
[00:49:30] The reason they're actually in Ephesus is because they were living in Corinth, but the emperor, Claudius, had begun persecuting some of the Christians, and now this older couple has had to run for their lives as refugees, and that's what's taken them into Ephesus.
[00:49:45] And when they get Ephesus, that's when they meet Apollos and they take Apollos under their wing and they begin to teach him.
[00:49:52] By the way, if you'll just give me two seconds of personal privilege, let me tell you why I love this story.
[00:49:59] Y'all, I became a pastor when I was 19 years old.
[00:50:02] And I don't know who in the world calls a 19-year-old to be their pastor, but that happened to me in my first church, I began to pastor when I was 19, which is just absolutely mind-boggling to me.
[00:50:15] Y'all, I don't want to offend any 19-year-olds in here, but my prefrontal cortex was not even completely developed, and they let me stand behind their pulpit and preach every Sunday.
[00:50:27] I will never forget that moment when they called me as their pastor.
[00:50:29] I was standing right beside him, he put his arm around me, he said, Church, I want you to know, we're calling this young brother today to be our pastor.
[00:50:45] This is his first church he's ever pastored.
[00:50:48] He said, one of two things are going to happen.
[00:50:51] We're either going to make him, or we're going to break him.
[00:50:57] And then he leaned into the mic and he said,
[00:50:59] Let's make them.
[00:51:02] Let's make them.
[00:51:04] I don't know if anybody even watches from Tuttle's Chapel, but man, I am grateful for that church.
[00:51:10] Listen, let me just confess to you right now, I got a long way to grow as a preacher.
[00:51:15] I know that, okay?
[00:51:17] I know the sermons could be better.
[00:51:18] I'm praying every day, God, help me construct a better
[00:51:21] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:51:36] Amen.
[00:51:45] who took a fiery young passionate preacher and sitting in the pews was a bunch of Aquilas and Priscilla's who said we're going to take this guy under our wing and we're going to polish him a little bit and we're just going to love on him.
[00:52:00] Listen, you don't need me to tell you that ministry is tough.
[00:52:03] Did you know, by the way, that statistically speaking, 45% of the young guys who graduate seminary within the first five years after taking the church quits.
[00:52:15] And I don't mean they quit church, I mean they quit the ministry.
[00:52:18] Did you know that between 15 and 20 years of pastoral ministry, that's when most pastors drop out?
[00:52:24] Over 75% actually.
[00:52:26] You ever hear a real damaging statistic?
[00:52:29] Over half of those that drop out between the 15th and the 20th year, they drop out because their marriage falls apart and they get divorced.
[00:52:36] Y'all know how tough ministry is, and I am grateful.
[00:52:39] I am grateful for the Priscilla's and Aquila's who are willing to take young people under their arms.
[00:52:46] By the way, can I just speak to half the congregation for a second?
[00:52:49] Let me talk to everyone here who's 65 and above.
[00:52:51] Actually, I don't know why I picked 65.
[00:52:53] Maybe I'm just thinking Social Security.
[00:52:54] Let me talk to every mature believer in here for a second, okay?
[00:52:58] Listen, for all you mature believers who's been walking with the Lord, you need to recognize something this morning.
[00:53:04] Right now in this sanctuary,
[00:53:06] There are some apolicists sitting in the pew right beside you.
[00:53:12] And maybe you know them, and maybe you don't know them.
[00:53:15] Right now, in the overflow, there is apolicists sitting at those tables.
[00:53:20] Right now, there's Apollos' in our nursery and in Children's Church.
[00:53:25] First Baptist, this is why we make such a big stinkin' deal about our kids and our youth.
[00:53:31] Tonight, there's gonna be over 50-plus Apollos' young men and women who are gonna come out for barbecue, bingo, and Bible study here at this church.
[00:53:42] Young men and women that God has put talents in and abilities in for the sole purpose of glorifying the name of Jesus Christ.
[00:53:51] On Wednesday nights, there's going to be Apollos' playing kickball and the court guards of this church.
[00:53:56] There is Apollos' young men and women who just graduated college, moved to Mooresville.
[00:54:02] They're just now starting their careers.
[00:54:04] They're just now starting their families.
[00:54:06] And you know what these Apollos' need more than anything else?
[00:54:09] They need some Priscilla's and Aquila's in their life who are willing to take them under their wing, love on them, and minister to them.
[00:54:19] Listen, the gospel uses ordinary people, no one with a stage, no one with a spotlight, just people who love the Lord.
[00:54:27] So you write this down, you've got Apollos who's gifted,
[00:54:30] Apollos is incomplete.
[00:54:33] So what does God do?
[00:54:34] God uses an ordinary couple and he sends this couple that way.
[00:54:39] Number two, Aquila and Priscilla disciple with humility and truth.
[00:54:46] Why did this work?
[00:54:47] Listen, write this down.
[00:54:49] Because the mission of God advances through ordinary believers who faithfully disciple others.
[00:54:57] How did God change the city of Ephesus?
[00:55:01] It didn't start by bringing a superstar to town.
[00:55:04] It didn't start by bringing someone who had a book deal and putting them on tour.
[00:55:09] God uses ordinary people although what happens as Apollos begins to grow so does that church
[00:55:29] Eventually, the Apostle Paul comes to Ephesus.
[00:55:32] If you will, why don't you jump to chapter 19, verse 2.
[00:55:35] Look at this.
[00:55:36] When Paul gets there, he says, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
[00:55:42] And they said, No.
[00:55:45] We've not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.
[00:55:48] Now again, Paul is a pastor.
[00:55:50] He's a little bit incomplete, so we didn't know that.
[00:55:52] So look what Paul tells them.
[00:55:53] He says, And to what were you baptized?
[00:55:55] And they said, Into John's baptism.
[00:55:57] And Paul said, Well, John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him.
[00:56:07] That is Jesus.
[00:56:09] You see, listen, when you got saved, here's the point, when you got saved,
[00:56:12] Listen, it wasn't just about you saying, Lord, I'm sorry and I'm going to try to do better.
[00:56:16] No.
[00:56:17] It was about you dying to your sins so you could be raised back to life and through and forth, Jesus and Jesus alone.
[00:56:23] See, our hope and our security isn't something that's in the future.
[00:56:27] It's something that's here right now and it's not something and someone in His name is Jesus.
[00:56:33] Look at this, verse 5, on hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:56:39] And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit, just make note of this, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
[00:56:51] Verse 7, there were about 12 men in all.
[00:56:54] Did you notice that?
[00:56:55] The church is growing, but it was really just about 12 of them.
[00:56:58] Maybe it was like a deacon or something who actually got filled with the Holy Spirit.
[00:57:04] And now, now, now because they're being empowered by the Holy Spirit, you know what they do?
[00:57:08] They go out and they begin to teach.
[00:57:10] Jump down to verse 8.
[00:57:11] And he gathered in the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
[00:57:20] Verse 10.
[00:57:21] This continued for two years.
[00:57:24] Just make note, this wasn't something that was instant, but this was something that they continuously did for two years so that all the residents of Asia heard them.
[00:57:35] Both Jews and Greeks, which meant they left the synagogues and now, just like we saw in Athens, they're in the marketplaces sharing the word of God with everyone.
[00:57:46] Let me tell you this.
[00:57:47] How does God change a city?
[00:57:48] God uses ordinary people.
[00:57:51] But number two, gospel advancement is through spirit and truth.
[00:57:57] That's what you need to take away from the first 10 verses in Acts 19.
[00:58:01] It's ordinary people that God uses, but it's through spirit and truth.
[00:58:07] Write this, the gospel advances through, letter A, the spirit of God, and letter B,
[00:58:14] The Word of God.
[00:58:16] You see, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered, but listen, they were also teaching.
[00:58:21] For two years and three months, they were in the Word of God.
[00:58:27] But listen, Jesus says in John 4 that real worshipers that worship me in spirit and in truth.
[00:58:35] Listen, there are some Christians out there who lean one way or the other.
[00:58:39] Some Christians out there who are so hyper-focused on the Spirit and they just want to feel good.
[00:58:44] A lot of charismatic groups do this.
[00:58:47] We call that emotionalism.
[00:58:49] And then there's other groups out there.
[00:58:51] I have something in my throat.
[00:58:55] There's other groups out there, sometimes you Baptists, who say, you know what, we just want to study, but we don't really need to think so much about the Holy Spirit.
[00:59:04] Listen, listen to me.
[00:59:05] Listen, God advances the gospel when the Word of God is our foundation and when we are being led by the Spirit of God.
[00:59:16] Amen?
[00:59:17] Here's how this works, okay?
[00:59:19] Listen, the Word of God reveals God to us.
[00:59:23] Now you may know that there is a God just by looking at creation or that moral compass that's within you.
[00:59:28] But the only way you can know who that God is, the real God, is through His Word.
[00:59:33] This Word tells us who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and how we can be saved.
[00:59:38] So the Word reveals God.
[00:59:40] So the more you read His Word, the more you know about Him.
[00:59:44] And the more you know Him, the more you trust Him.
[00:59:47] That just makes sense, right?
[00:59:48] You cannot trust someone that you don't know.
[00:59:51] And the more you trust God, the more you become dependent on God.
[00:59:57] The more you say, alright Holy Spirit, you take control, you lead me, you guide me, you, you, Holy Spirit, you're my helper.
[01:00:05] I'm not relying on myself anymore, now I'm relying on the Spirit of God because you're desperate for Him.
[01:00:13] Y'all, listen.
[01:00:15] My goal for the people at First Baptist is not to have a bunch of people who are really disappointed.
[01:00:21] We're not the army, and we're not a sports team, so I could care less how disciplined you are.
[01:00:26] You know what my goal is?
[01:00:28] I want a bunch of people who are desperate.
[01:00:31] I want a bunch of people who are desperate.
[01:00:33] Desperation is better than discipline.
[01:00:36] I've been sharing this story with you before, but listen, every time I eat, or every time before I eat, I pray.
[01:00:43] From the moment I got saved, I just fell into that habit of thanking God before I eat.
[01:00:48] Well, in 2015, my wife and I, we were in a remote village outside of Aliki, Uganda.
[01:00:56] This remote village, when we moved in there, we were the first people they had ever seen with Caucasian skin.
[01:01:03] and this village was filled with witch doctors, it was filled with extreme poverty but there was some Christians who were there and a few pastors and they were so excited that we had come to do a training that they prepared a meal for us.
[01:01:18] I'll never forget sitting around the table this huge banquet they had prepared for us and they asked me if I'd pray so I stood up and I began to pray like I always do before I eat and in the middle of that prayer I heard a commotion and I realized
[01:01:31] Those pastors were no longer sitting at that table.
[01:01:35] These pastors in their suits had fallen down to the ground with their hands up in the air thanking God for this meal.
[01:01:46] You know why?
[01:01:47] Because they knew that food wasn't coming their way unless God gave it to them.
[01:01:52] You know, I've confessed to sin.
[01:01:53] I pray and I thank God before I eat, but honestly, I just do that out of habit.
[01:01:58] I'm like type A enough.
[01:02:00] I'm disciplined enough that I can pray before I eat, but I don't want to just do that out of habit.
[01:02:05] I want to do it out of desperation, believing that the only reason I have anything
[01:02:10] It's because of God and God alone.
[01:02:13] Listen, you can only get to a place like that when you know God, you begin to trust God, and when you trust Him, you are reliant on the Spirit of God.
[01:02:23] So here's my question for you.
[01:02:25] Here's my question.
[01:02:26] Is the Word your foundation?
[01:02:28] And are you relying on the Spirit of God?
[01:02:30] Are you letting the Holy Spirit lead you?
[01:02:32] Well, that's about to begin to happen in this church.
[01:02:35] So much so that things began to change.
[01:02:38] Jump down to verse 11.
[01:02:39] Look at this.
[01:02:39] And God was doing, oh, I love this, extraordinary miracles.
[01:02:43] When the Word was their foundation and when they were relying on the Holy Spirit, God begins to show off.
[01:02:49] Look at this, verse 12.
[01:02:51] So that even the handkerchiefs, or the aprons that was on Paul that had touched his skin, were carried away to the sick, their diseases left, them and evil spirits came out of them.
[01:03:02] Isn't that crazy?
[01:03:03] Y'all, the sick are being healed and demons are running for their lives when the people of God are focused on the work of God and trusting in the Spirit of God.
[01:03:14] Amen?
[01:03:15] And Ephesus is being changed.
[01:03:17] Now there's kind of this little story here, but it's an important little story.
[01:03:21] Because the sick is being killed and demons are now running for their lives, there are some critics there in Ephesus.
[01:03:29] There are some guys, I want to be clear about this, they are not Christian, they are not believers, but they look at this and they say, well maybe this is kind of a gimmick, maybe we can do this.
[01:03:38] They call themselves the Seven Sons of Sceva.
[01:03:42] They're kind of like this little paranormal club.
[01:03:44] Think of like the ancient world Ghostbusters.
[01:03:48] By the way, it's pretty dorky to be a part of a paranormal club.
[01:03:52] Who knows even more dorky than that having the name Seven Sons of Sceva?
[01:03:57] Sceba's Hebrew means left-handed so literally their little group was called left-handed boys so these little kind of paranormal dorks they say okay well this is just a gimmick i believe we can do this we can make demons leave so they go into a house that's just filled with demons and they try to cast out demons like paul did a really interesting story when they do that the demons start speaking back to them jump down to verse 15 but the evil spirit answered them i love this
[01:04:26] Jesus I know, Paul I recognize, but who are you?
[01:04:35] Seven sons of Sceva, what a dorky name, I've never heard of that.
[01:04:39] Who are you?
[01:04:40] By the way, quick question, do you think hell knows the name?
[01:04:45] Do you think hell knows the name of the First Baptist Church?
[01:04:49] You think there's been alerts sent out in the pits of damnation for the spirits that's in Morrisville be on guard because something is stirring at First Baptist?
[01:05:03] Who are you?
[01:05:05] Here's the lesson.
[01:05:06] These guys were trying to replicate, but y'all, demons don't flee because you replicate.
[01:05:13] Demons flee because you're in a relationship and surrendered to Jesus and Jesus alone.
[01:05:20] Amen?
[01:05:21] Look at this, verse 16.
[01:05:23] And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped.
[01:05:27] And that's exactly what it sounds like.
[01:05:29] He leaps on them and he mastered all of them.
[01:05:33] By the way, the word mastered, you know what that means in Greek?
[01:05:36] That means open up a can of whoop-butt.
[01:05:39] He mastered them and he overpowered them so that they fled out of the house, look at this, naked and wounded.
[01:05:47] They got beat up so bad that the clothes were beat off of them.
[01:05:52] Y'all listen, when you get the pants literally beat off of you, that's not just a physical wound, that's a psychological wound, that's an emotional wound, that's a soul wound right there.
[01:06:04] And so they're running, well, and kind of a strange turn of events because of what happened to these fake, these little fakers who were trying to, you know, imitate Paul.
[01:06:12] Eventually word gets out in Ephesus and they're like, oh my goodness,
[01:06:16] This is real.
[01:06:18] There really is demons out there.
[01:06:19] There really is spirits out there.
[01:06:21] And the only protection we can possibly have is through Jesus.
[01:06:25] Verse 17.
[01:06:26] And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks.
[01:06:33] Look at this.
[01:06:33] And fear fell upon them all.
[01:06:36] And the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
[01:06:40] Revival breaks out.
[01:06:42] When they see this, look at this, verse 18.
[01:06:45] So many of those who were now believers, did you notice this?
[01:06:49] This wasn't people who were far from God, but people who claimed to be believers came confessing, divulging their practices.
[01:06:56] Verse 19.
[01:06:57] And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books, maybe from that library that was in Ephesus,
[01:07:03] They brought their books together and they burned them in the sight of all.
[01:07:07] And they counted the value of them and found that it came to 50,000 pieces of silver.
[01:07:12] By the way, the silver wasn't just the books here.
[01:07:15] Maybe two things why this is important.
[01:07:16] You know what the silver was?
[01:07:18] It was idols.
[01:07:19] It was little statues of their goddess Artemis.
[01:07:24] And so what people are doing is they're bringing their little statues of Artemis and their books and they're throwing them into the fire.
[01:07:30] Notice it was 50,000 pieces of silver.
[01:07:33] Do you know what that would be in our currency today?
[01:07:36] Over $8 million.
[01:07:38] I'm telling you, a lot of people repented.
[01:07:41] A lot of people came.
[01:07:42] This wasn't something that was private.
[01:07:44] This wasn't something they were silent about.
[01:07:47] They publicly come, they surrender, they confess, and revival begins to break out because there was a church of ordinary people who were in the Word of God being led by the Spirit of God.
[01:08:00] Amen?
[01:08:00] Listen, eventually, there's a riot that breaks out because some of these silversmiths get really upset.
[01:08:07] Well, this is affecting our economy.
[01:08:08] There's one guy in particular who gets very mad.
[01:08:11] He tries to start a riot.
[01:08:12] Some people join in.
[01:08:14] Eventually, a massive crowd enters the theater in Ephesus, which was huge.
[01:08:18] It was like the Dean Dome here.
[01:08:20] And when they get there, look at this, jump down to verse 28.
[01:08:23] When they heard this, they were all enraged and they were crying out, Great is Artemis!
[01:08:27] Imagine the ding-dong, you've got this huge crowd.
[01:08:30] Artemis!
[01:08:31] Artemis!
[01:08:32] They're all shouting out.
[01:08:33] The thing is, they don't know why they're shouting.
[01:08:35] This mob mentality grew, but they don't really know why.
[01:08:38] It's kind of like the Gilmore Girls.
[01:08:40] Everybody stood in line for no apparent reason.
[01:08:42] Look at this, verse 32.
[01:08:43] Then some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion.
[01:08:50] Right?
[01:08:50] Trying to start a riot, but it doesn't work.
[01:08:52] and most of them did not even know why they had come together until eventually one of the town magistrates gets up verse 38 and he says this therefore if Demetrius and the craftsmen with them have a complaint against anyone the courts are open and there are pro-councils let them
[01:09:09] Bring charges against one another and instantly this crowd just goes away.
[01:09:14] Well see it was the Lord that was not just bringing revival.
[01:09:17] Listen to this.
[01:09:18] The Lord also protected that church.
[01:09:21] No one was killed.
[01:09:23] No one was murdered.
[01:09:24] No one was even beaten because God's protection was over these ordinary people.
[01:09:31] Founded in the Word and led by the Spirit of God.
[01:09:36] Listen, the Gospel will transform.
[01:09:38] I want to hurry real quick.
[01:09:39] The Gospel will transform.
[01:09:41] Go back to verse 11.
[01:09:43] God was doing, not Paul, not Paulus, not Priscilla, not Aquila, God was doing extraordinary miracles there.
[01:09:51] What was God doing?
[01:09:52] Well, write this down.
[01:09:53] God's power is on display really in three ways in this story.
[01:09:57] Number one, over sickness.
[01:09:58] The sick were being healed.
[01:10:01] Letter B, over demons.
[01:10:02] Demonic forces were being cast out.
[01:10:05] But listen, it wasn't just over sickness or over demons.
[01:10:09] It was over the city itself.
[01:10:12] The city itself was being transformed.
[01:10:16] Would you write this down?
[01:10:17] Repentance leads to obedience and surrender.
[01:10:22] What does that mean to really be faithful?
[01:10:24] Does it just mean that you become more disciplined?
[01:10:26] No.
[01:10:27] It means that you have a deeper sense of surrender.
[01:10:29] Would you go back to verse 19 as Phil begins to wrap this up?
[01:10:33] Also, many of those who were now believers
[01:10:38] See, these were people who had already heard the name of Jesus.
[01:10:41] But now, but now, they're coming.
[01:10:43] They're coming.
[01:10:44] And they're saying, you know what, Lord, we haven't really surrendered everything to you.
[01:10:48] And so they come and they cast their little idols into this fire.
[01:10:52] And so there's a lot of people here today who claim to be believers.
[01:10:55] We call this polysecretism, right?
[01:10:58] It's where you may give God worship, but you're also worshiping other false idols.
[01:11:02] In Morrisville, there's no temple to Artemis.
[01:11:05] There's no little statues of Artemis.
[01:11:07] But in Morrisville, there's plenty of people who claim to worship Jesus while they're worshiping idols.
[01:11:13] Here, that's idols of sex and idols of pleasure, idols of comfort, idols of success.
[01:11:19] Listen, the gospel moves when Christians repent, surrender, and say, God, you and you alone have my life.
[01:11:29] Listen, write this down.
[01:11:30] Not only does repentance lead to obedience and surrender, but when the gospel takes root, it actually disrupts systems.
[01:11:37] Y'all, the economy in Ephesus began to change.
[01:11:40] Because of the church that was there.
[01:11:42] Let me in two minutes give you some takeaways of this story.
[01:11:46] Okay, just real quick.
[01:11:47] Here's some key takeaways you need to know.
[01:11:49] Number one, write this down.
[01:11:50] Doctrine matters.
[01:11:53] Doctrine actually matters.
[01:11:54] Y'all, what we teach matters.
[01:11:57] Here's what I'm persuaded on.
[01:11:59] You cannot live the right way if you don't believe the right way.
[01:12:04] You just cannot live the right way if you don't believe the right way, which is why we have to be in the Word of God.
[01:12:11] You know, eventually, a couple years from now, Paul is going to write a letter to this church.
[01:12:17] The letter that he writes to this church is what we call the book of Ephesians in the Bible.
[01:12:23] Ephesians has six chapters in it, and it's really about two things, okay?
[01:12:28] The first three chapters in Ephesians
[01:12:30] is about doctrine, how to believe the right thing.
[01:12:33] You know what the last three chapters are about?
[01:12:35] How to live that out.
[01:12:38] Paul doesn't start with practice, he starts with doctrine.
[01:12:42] You gotta know, you gotta know who God is and what God says.
[01:12:46] Let me ask you, do you do that?
[01:12:48] Some of you in here, some of you in here, you spend more time listening to the news, you spend more time scrolling through Facebook or Instagram than you do in the Word of God.
[01:13:00] Here's the second thing.
[01:13:02] The gospel exposes false gods.
[01:13:04] It exposes false gods.
[01:13:08] Listen, there's a lot of false gods in your family, there's false gods in your neighborhood, and there's false gods in Lawrenceville.
[01:13:16] There's false gods in your life.
[01:13:19] Again, I know you're not worshiping an idol made of silver, but for some of you, some of you, you claim to be worshiping Jesus, but you're actually worshiping your job.
[01:13:29] You're worshiping your own aspirations.
[01:13:31] I've told you this before.
[01:13:32] Listen, if you say, okay, you know, Lord, you're 99% in charge of my life.
[01:13:39] You know what that means?
[01:13:40] You are still 100% in charge because you're picking where the 1% is.
[01:13:46] Some of you still don't tithe.
[01:13:49] You still don't trust God with your money.
[01:13:52] So some of you don't serve because you don't trust God with your tithe.
[01:13:57] So some of you have never trusted God enough to actually be bold about a gospel conversation with a loved one.
[01:14:05] Listen, how do you know you're in the Word?
[01:14:07] How do you know you're being led by the Spirit when false gods are being exposed?
[01:14:12] Which leads me to number three, and that is that God works through extraordinary obedience.
[01:14:19] God works not through extraordinary talent.
[01:14:22] You don't need to be praying, God, give me more knowledge.
[01:14:25] God, give me more gifts.
[01:14:27] God, give me more talent.
[01:14:28] No, no, no, no.
[01:14:30] God, give me more surrender.
[01:14:34] More surrender.
[01:14:36] Where I'm willing to cast out any idols that I have and trust you and you alone.
[01:14:41] Listen, when I was growing up, we used to sing a song called, I've Decided to Follow Jesus.
[01:14:45] You know that song?
[01:14:47] One of the verses goes like this, The world behind me, the cross before me.
[01:14:53] The world behind me, the cross before me.
[01:14:56] I have decided to follow Jesus.
[01:14:59] There's a lot of people who come to church and they'll leave here on Sunday mornings and they'll sing that song, but you know what they're not singing?
[01:15:07] But the world isn't too far behind me.
[01:15:10] And whenever things get tough, whenever things get a little bit self-sacrificial, I step right back.
[01:15:15] Right back into those old patterns.
[01:15:17] Right back into that old familiarity.
[01:15:20] God says, no, no more.
[01:15:22] No, come and burn those idols.
[01:15:24] Give up those idols and surrender to me and to me alone.
[01:15:29] So only the cross be before you.
[01:15:31] This leads me to number four.
[01:15:32] When that happens, wherever God's people go, the city is changed.
[01:15:37] Can I ask you this question?
[01:15:39] Is Mooresville different because First Baptist is here?
[01:15:44] Why don't you think about that for a second?
[01:15:47] Let me ask you this.
[01:15:49] Is Mooresville different because you're here?
[01:15:52] Not because you have any talent or gifts.
[01:15:55] It's because you are a follower of Jesus.
[01:15:59] Is your neighborhood different because the Christ follower moved in?
[01:16:05] You're family different because you are so focused on the Word and rely on the Spirit of God.
[01:16:12] Listen, when the church becomes like that, I'm telling you, God begins to change cultures and He begins to change cities, which leads me to the last one, and that is that mission is personal.
[01:16:23] But you've got to believe it.
[01:16:25] You've got to believe it.
[01:16:26] Now listen, after this revival and this riot, eventually Paul is going to leave.
[01:16:34] And Paul really hates to leave.
[01:16:35] He spent two years and three months in Ephesus with Apollos, with Priscilla, Quilla, with those 12 men who received the Holy Spirit, with all of those brothers and sisters who came to burn their little idols.
[01:16:49] Paul loves these people.
[01:16:51] Paul will never go back to Ephesus again.
[01:16:54] He knows that.
[01:16:54] Now eventually he'll write a letter, but he won't be there in person.
[01:16:58] and so what Paul does in chapter 20 is he gives his farewell speech and don't trip out I'm not going to read it to you okay Lord willing by God's grace next Sunday I'll share with you Paul's farewell speech but I do want to give you a sneak peek at this okay as he's given this last sermon listen to what Paul says chapter 20 verse 35 therefore I testify to you this day that I'm innocent of the blood of all
[01:17:28] For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
[01:17:36] Paul says, I want to leave Ephesus, and this breaks my heart, but I want to leave here with a clear conscience.
[01:17:41] You know why I want to leave with a clear conscience?
[01:17:43] Because I shared the Word of God with every person I came in contact with.
[01:17:51] You see, for Paul, the mission was so personal that he believed if you didn't share the gospel, that that's actually blood on your hands.
[01:18:04] Paul says, there's no blood on my hands.
[01:18:06] I shared the gospel even when there was a riot, even when people were making fun of me, even when that little dorky paranormal club thought this was fake.
[01:18:14] I didn't back down.
[01:18:16] I shared the gospel.
[01:18:17] Whatever it cost me, it didn't matter.
[01:18:19] I shared the gospel.
[01:18:20] Can I ask you a question?
[01:18:23] Is there blood on your hands this morning?
[01:18:26] Do you share the gospel with the people you work with?
[01:18:30] Do you share the gospel with your neighbors?
[01:18:33] Do you share the gospel with your family?
[01:18:36] Listen, there's no one in your life that's in your life right now that's there by accident.
[01:18:41] I can't do that.
[01:18:45] I just get so nervous.
[01:18:46] There's no way, no way I could have an intentional God conversation.
[01:18:51] Yes, you can.
[01:18:51] You know how?
[01:18:52] Not because you're talented.
[01:18:56] Not because you've got it all together.
[01:18:59] Because you serve a God, listen to me, who uses ordinary people, and the people He uses, this is their foundation.
[01:19:11] And they're being empowered, guided, led by the Holy Spirit.
[01:19:17] When that happens, God's power is on display.
[01:19:21] I've preached way long enough.
[01:19:23] Why don't you stand right where you're at.
[01:19:24] Listen, if you're here this morning, you've got idols that you've never really burned.
[01:19:32] You've got idols that you've never given up.
[01:19:36] I want to ask you to come this morning.
[01:19:38] Come this morning and say, Lord, You and You alone have full control of my heart.
[01:19:47] Ephesus didn't change.
[01:19:49] The revival didn't start because lost people first started giving their hearts to Christ.
[01:19:54] Now you know what happened in Ephesus?
[01:19:56] Those who believed came and surrendered.
[01:19:59] They started confessing their sin.
[01:20:01] They repented.
[01:20:02] They renewed their relationship with Jesus and they said, Jesus, you and you alone have control of my heart.
[01:20:09] You know, that's how God reaches Morrisville.
[01:20:12] It's by the people in here first before we head out there, falling on our knees in here.
[01:20:19] Maybe you're here today and you've never trusted the Lord.
[01:20:22] You've never really confessed to him as Savior.
[01:20:24] Listen, you show up on Sunday and it looks good, like it looks good on paper.
[01:20:28] Everyone thinks that you've got it all together.
[01:20:31] You've got your wife fooled, you've got your husband fooled, you've got your kids fooled, you've got your Sunday school teacher fooled.
[01:20:38] Can I tell you something?
[01:20:40] You don't have Jesus school.
[01:20:42] He knows exactly where you're at.
[01:20:43] And today, today you're not here by accident.
[01:20:46] You're here by the grace of God because today is the day of salvation.
[01:20:50] Here's the good news.
[01:20:51] God is just and faithful to forgive us of our sins.
[01:20:54] So I want to invite you today to come and start a relationship with Jesus.
[01:20:59] To say, Lord, you have all of my heart.
[01:21:02] And for those of you who have trust, maybe today you come and you renew that relationship and say, God, I trust you fully and completely.
[01:21:10] Lord, we thank you for your mercy and for your grace.
[01:21:13] And we just ask, Lord, we just ask that in this moment,
[01:21:17] In this moment that you would take charge, Father, that your Holy Spirit would be able to speak in our hearts right now a whole lot better than a young preacher did.
[01:21:28] That you would speak clearly, Lord, that you would convict us of our sin, convict us of our idols, and remind us that you're still a God who changes cities.
[01:21:38] You're still a God who changes families.
[01:21:41] You're still a God who changes wayward sons and daughters.
[01:21:45] You are still working.
[01:21:47] You're still moving.
[01:21:48] You're still a God who changes marriages.
[01:21:51] You're a God who is competent, in charge, is sitting on the throne.
[01:21:55] And you don't use superstars.
[01:21:57] You use ordinary people who's grounded in your word and filled with the Spirit.
[01:22:03] Not people who are disciplined.
[01:22:05] People who are desperate.
[01:22:08] Who pant after you like a deer panting for the water.
[01:22:11] Oh, Lord, let us be that people.
[01:22:14] Lord, use us.
[01:22:16] Speak to us.
[01:22:18] We know that if Mooresville, if families, if marriages, if children are going to be changed, it doesn't start out there.
[01:22:25] It starts by the people of God falling on their knees in here for total surrender.
[01:22:29] So, Lord, would you let us surrender now in this moment.
[01:22:33] We pray this in your holy and most exalted name.

[01:23:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Ransomed
[01:23:54] The world believes I'll go Be true

[01:24:16] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and of the Holy Spirit.
[01:24:42] Amen.

[01:25:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Jesus, let us not just say that.
[01:25:18] Let us live that.
[01:25:23] So as we leave now, we want to be grounded in your word.
[01:25:28] We want to be led by your spirit.
[01:25:31] And wherever you lead, we will go.
[01:25:35] This life does not belong to us anymore.
[01:25:38] We have died to our sins.
[01:25:41] We are yours.
[01:25:43] Wherever you lead, we'll go.
[01:25:46] So Father, as we go, bless us, keep us, make your face shine upon us, and give us travel of mercies until we meet again.
[01:25:52] We pray this in your holy and most exalted name.
[01:25:56] And all those who agree said, Amen.
[01:25:59] You are dismissed.