Acts 28:1-16 - Snakebites Etc.

[SPEAKER_00]: you are so thankful for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're so thankful for your word, we're so thankful for all that this season means to us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Particularly us as believers in your Son Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: As we consider the most immense miracle that is beyond our ability to fully comprehend Lord that you, God,

[SPEAKER_00]: The second member of the Trinity took on flesh to come and be with, to save us from our sins, and lured to promise us a future.

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, I joy which we could never deserve in a life which we could never earn, given holy by your grace.

[SPEAKER_00]: May we study your word, to know more about that life, and more about your plan, so that we might be more positively involved in what you're doing in Jesus' name and pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: we are nearing the end of a very long study in the book of Acts.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully for you it's been the same fantastic adventure that it's been for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's even every time I go through the book of Acts, I'm always surprised at how much of what we do and what we're about as the church really found many of its kind of seminal points in the early church.

[SPEAKER_00]: ought to think for certain, but things that were done 2,000 years ago are still plaguing or affecting us today, both for the positive and for the negative.

[SPEAKER_00]: And what we've seen is that many of the things that the early church dealt with, in struggled with, we're still dealing with to this moment, just showing that the enemy of the church is not changed his tactics so dramatically

[SPEAKER_00]: If it works, you keep doing it, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: In any given game or competition or war, as long as something is working, you wouldn't change the formula.

[SPEAKER_00]: And yet, by God's grace and revelation, we see, we are not unaware of his schemes.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, again, as Don so well pointed out, we do want to keep in context.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the last big trip.

[SPEAKER_00]: of the Book of Acts.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've seen Paul's missionary journeys throughout the ancient world, and this is our last big journey recorded in Scripture.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is Paul's journey into Rome.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll remember it started in Jerusalem where this Roman commander arrested Paul to save him from a Jewish mob.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when the commander learns that the death threat against Paul,

[SPEAKER_00]: And so there he's up at Cessaria and he's tried before Felix, the governor of Judea, and Felix leaves Paul in prison for two years.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he's tried again before Festus, who's appointed governor after Felix.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then the century in charge of him, it's siden, Paul lets him visit with his friends there.

[SPEAKER_00]: So in between here, sorry, in between points two and three, we have Paul's realizing he's not going to get a fair trial and appealing to Caesar, which is his right as a Roman citizen.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so Felix says to Caesar, you show go and off, or Festa, sorry, says to Felix, Caesar, you show go and off he goes.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he goes down to the side and we see the first sign of dysensurion, Julius's warm regard for Paul because, although he doesn't have to, he allows Paul to visit with the church's friends inside him and moves on through Lycia.

[SPEAKER_00]: and around decreed in myro, or Paul recommends that the ship stay safe harbor, but the centurion orders the ship to sail on, of course we remember that from last time, and Paul got his big moment of the I told you so, which had to be satisfying even though everything else was uncomfortable.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as they sailed along in last week's study, we saw there were caught in a terrible storm, a terrible two week long storm that tried everything about their physical limitations and their supplies and their equipment and finally ended in a terrible shipwreck.

[SPEAKER_00]: on the island of Malta.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's where our study is going to be chiefly surrounding today, and it's going to take us up through Syracuse, Regium, and, yep, Puteiling, it's a fun, you know, how do you like to live in Puteiling?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if I would, but go on through there.

[SPEAKER_00]: And go up through the three taverns, which is great because every, every, every, one of the older, older commentaries says, I know it's called the three taverns, but it's not a tavern like you're thinking.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Paul would never darken the door of that kind of place.

[SPEAKER_00]: fantastic.

[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, the three ends as we have in the new King James are the three taverns being a place that he stays and he's met with Christians there which will get to study and then finally ending in our study today in Rome.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this this study finally gets him to the end of this very long, arduous and again very detailed journey and I'd want to bring to your mind again.

[SPEAKER_00]: Note as you read through the last chapter in this we find out that this is this is the section where Luke is a part of things Luke's a part of the journey and so the details get really specific and the action gets really colorful Because Paul isn't just writing and there was a shipwreck, but I don't know much about it He remembers what it's like to think of day 12 and day 13 where all hope was lost and the water was crashing over and over the edge of the ship

[SPEAKER_00]: And they were throwing everything overboard, just praying for a chance to survive.

[SPEAKER_00]: He remembers with a vivid reality of someone who lived through it.

[SPEAKER_00]: This, and that leaves us, we'll leave us in Rome.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're Paul will be for the duration, or the ending of Acts.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll write Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, or Philemon and Philippians.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, that takes us, brings us up to speed.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we'll read one through six here because we didn't read that in our reading.

[SPEAKER_00]: So now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta and the natives showed us an unusual kindness for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.

[SPEAKER_00]: But when Paul was gathered, a bundle had gathered, a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat.

[SPEAKER_00]: and fastened on his hand.

[SPEAKER_00]: So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, no doubt this man is a murderer, who, through whom, he is escape, whom, though he is escape to see yet justice does not allow to live.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

[SPEAKER_00]: However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead.

[SPEAKER_00]: But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their

[SPEAKER_00]: So as it turns out, some people just can't catch a break and Paul seems to be one of those.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's start with, they've just come off this terrible, terrible shipwreck, and by God's grace, these natives, and we have natives, you might have the islanders, but the actual Greek word would train the literary to Barbarian or Barbarus.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, I wanted to take a brief moment to talk about this because Barbarians in our mind has a picture of Conan and some largely muscled heavily armed person who doesn't cook meat before they eat it.

[SPEAKER_00]: But in the in the in the culture of this time the barbarians were anyone who were not Greek speaking possibly You could say Greek or Latin speaking, but at the same time the idea was that they didn't speak Greek and therefore all of their languages sounded like bar bar bar bar bar

[SPEAKER_00]: So there were the barbar people or the barbarians.

[SPEAKER_00]: It didn't mean quite what we thought, although there was a sense like you're not Greek, you must not be civilized, you must not be educated, but nevertheless it didn't necessarily mean that they were barbaric in terms of their manners or their behaviors.

[SPEAKER_00]: per se, and that's why most of the time your translations will not translate this as barbarian But as native because it kind of takes away takes the edge off of that connotation What I love about it is that you can think of any given language group or any given language and you can think of the kind of syllables that

[SPEAKER_00]: differ from the syllables that we use most frequently in English, and you know it's often often the source of a lot of playground play, you know, and it happens when we taught English and creates the same thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Many of the students would say like, oh English just sounds like shhshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshsh

[SPEAKER_00]: That was the way of defining all of the non-creak speakers as to call them barbarians.

[SPEAKER_00]: So these natives here show this unusual kindness and I love this, this group of people basically washes ashore after a huge storm and a terrible experience and there's these natives here helping them and kindling fire and trying to make them all welcome.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they can survive in these first days because of the cold.

[SPEAKER_00]: The next thing we see is that Paul is working.

[SPEAKER_00]: It might seem like a small observation, but it is worth noting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul was gathering sticks with everybody else.

[SPEAKER_00]: Remember what this experience had been like.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul was the one who told them, hey guys, let's not do this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's wait it out.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Paul was the one who stood up and said, hey, even though you didn't listen to me, God is going to spare your life, take courage, take food,

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul was the one who essentially called it and guided him, and we could say substantially saved their lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: If not only because it may have been for his sake alone, that that ship reached port, because God had a plan for Paul that wouldn't allow him to be drowned.

[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't say anything for anyone else, so then they were the right guy at the right time.

[SPEAKER_00]: At any given point, he could have sat down at this and said, hey, look, you can all thank me by doing all the work, but he doesn't do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even though he was likely the reason why those lies were saved by God in this case, he sits down, or he works with them, he continues to work, he continues to gather wood.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is where Paul can't catch a break because what does he do?

[SPEAKER_00]: He picks up the wood and this snake goes from his kind of

[SPEAKER_00]: pseudo-hybronistic sleeping state or resting state because of the cold and wakes up because the heat comes out and bites Paul on the hand and this diaper strike everyone knew would kill.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty interesting because the island of Malta today that they were calling Malita doesn't have any snakes on it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so sometimes there's very frequently

[SPEAKER_00]: This will be used as sort of attack against the Bible.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, he was bitten, said he was bitten by a poisonous snake, but there are no poisonous snakes on Malta now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Therefore the scripture must be mistaken.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the reality is, is that just because there aren't now, it doesn't mean that there never were.

[SPEAKER_00]: Especially on an island, that size, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I had to be easy to eliminate dangerous populations over the course of time.

[SPEAKER_00]: And not to mention things travel, and especially with people traveling the seas as much someone could have brought a or small dangerous snake, like a Viper from Egypt or from wherever and moved it over there, and it could have lived there as in not its native population for some time or a whole group of them for that matter that was later eradicated.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I wanted to bring this out because this is the type of attacks we usually see on Scripture.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're non-sensical, once you really consider them, but again, if your dedication is that you don't want to believe in the Word of God, then any stick is good enough to beat the Bible with.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or to try to disagree with the Bible rather than actually considering those such objections.

[SPEAKER_00]: Nonetheless,

[SPEAKER_00]: We see the, uh, we get a really beautiful window into the pegan mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the mind that is controlled or judges truth by experience, pardon me.

[SPEAKER_00]: We get a picture into this mind that just is truth by experience.

[SPEAKER_00]: We get a picture into the pagan mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now I want you to consider this very carefully because there's a good chance that we in our culture have been infected with this same idea.

[SPEAKER_00]: How do you know something's true?

[SPEAKER_00]: We very frequently might be tempted to use and in fact even popular cultural say, it just felt true.

[SPEAKER_00]: using our feelings to ascertain states of affairs as they actually are as a very difficult thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: And not too long ago, we looked at the faith-fact feeling train that when we look at a biblical view of how we're supposed to interpret the world around us, it's supposed to be our faith running on the facts of God's Word.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we let that interpret and understand the experiences that go on around us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because if we start going the other way, then all of a sudden as Paul said in Ephesians chapter 3, we're like that ship that is constantly being blown everywhere by our limited perception of any given experience.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: And so we're going to see something like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: The natives first see that Paul has been bitten, and there assumption is that justice, who is likely they were referring to most likely they were referring to the female goddess, who is in charge of justice in the Greek Pantheon, and he said, oh, justice finally caught up to him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even though he got up and got off that, got through that horrible storm, still she will not allow him to live, she caught up to him, and she kills him with this snake bite.

[SPEAKER_00]: So the first thought is that something bad happened to him therefore he must have deserved it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever had that thought when you see something bad happened or something bad happens to you?

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not always in fact I'd say in many cases that's not how God operates.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we cannot judge our situations, our lives, our trials and tribulations by what am I doing wrong?

[SPEAKER_00]: What did I do to deserve this?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because we're promised that in this life we will face tribulations and even more so as the temptation will be as we see the struggles and trials and others will go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's because he's a bad person.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's because he did this.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's because she did that not your business.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not your business.

[SPEAKER_00]: Gotta give these guys a pass, though, because they're peggins.

[SPEAKER_00]: they've got nothing else to work with or operate with.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they do exactly what they think is right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh shoot.

[SPEAKER_00]: To escape a ship wreck like that, to escape a ship's situation like that, and then be bitten by a snake.

[SPEAKER_00]: Surely he is guilty or cursed of the gods.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul, however, shakes the viper off into the fire, which could be, I mean, a naturalist or explanation, that snake for whatever reason was maybe had already discharged to the bulk of his venom.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it was a miracle.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not expressly told that God made Paul invulnerable or removed the venom from his body, dealt with it, healed him.

[SPEAKER_00]: However, you want to look at that?

[SPEAKER_00]: But regardless of whether or not it was miraculous per se, it causes the natives to go to the complete other side.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I mean, now before he was guilty and surely deserved to die and justice was after him.

[SPEAKER_00]: But now he must be a guide.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you see that how judging truths by our experiences is such a limited and terrible way to try to ascertain truths to try to live our lives going through and varying and encountering various circumstances and trying to navigate that apart from objective truths leads us in a place of confusion because here they came to two conclusions.

[SPEAKER_00]: One is guilty, he deserves to die to, he must be a God, both of them were wrong.

[SPEAKER_00]: Both of their conclusions were 100% out of line.

[SPEAKER_00]: That is the vulnerability, the pagan mind, that is the vulnerability of the mind that is not governed by the Word of God, but governed by experience is whatever happens to pass through your transom or your set of experiences at any given moment.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's why it's so important that you read and pick up this book and study it and study it to discover the mind of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's why we don't say things like I had this sort of religious experience and that led me to this.

[SPEAKER_00]: God told me X, Y, and Z.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, God told us this.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is what we build our faith on, not the sensory experiences that we might have and not the sensory experience that others claim to have.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the opportunity to not be that ship set loose at sea, spinning around aimlessly in without direction.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's why we open this book, sometimes for as much as an hour on Sunday mornings, and for those who come to Sunday school two hours.

[SPEAKER_00]: because in it is the mind of God, because in it is that stabilizing force.

[SPEAKER_00]: That doesn't make us have to run and bounce back and forth between, oh, that person must be a God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, wait, no, they're cursed of the gods.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have to bounce back and forth like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: If we're leaning, we're relying, we're learning from the word of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: The other side note or indirect application I like to bring out here

[SPEAKER_00]: was divinely appointed to be out of venom at that moment, or whether that Paul was given some sort of specific miraculous immunity to that snake bite as immaterial, because the servant of God is invincible until the God who it commands him is finished with that task, or the task for which he would serve.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're here, it's because God has a purpose for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: When you're done with that purpose, he has a better place for you to be.

[SPEAKER_00]: And truly, we long to be there.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is better by far to be face-to-face with Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: For sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we're here with a very important mission, and we can say just as much with Paul, it is needful to us, to the body of Christ and to God's mission that you remain here until he calls you to that next place.

[SPEAKER_00]: That gives us a purpose, and a joy, and a confidence.

[SPEAKER_00]: This Paul could shake off that snake bite and go, I know I'm not dying, I'm getting to Rome.

[SPEAKER_00]: God said it, and you can live your life with the same confidence,

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, verses 7 through 10, pick up our container account, says in that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island whose name was Publius and received us and entertained us courtesy for three days, and it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and disinterrey.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul went into him and prayed and he laid his hands on him and healed him.

[SPEAKER_00]: So when this was done the rest of those on the island who had diseases

[SPEAKER_00]: also came and were healed.

[SPEAKER_00]: They also honored us in many ways.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when we departed, they provided such things as we're necessary.

[SPEAKER_00]: So here they get to spend three days with the governor.

[SPEAKER_00]: the leading man of that island.

[SPEAKER_00]: Essentially this time was unique and would have felt undoubtedly to Paul like a desire to just get on with it and move on and yet God had a specific purpose even then.

[SPEAKER_00]: You think about the series of events that went on and how chaotic and how unplanned it all looked from the human perspective but from God's perspective there was a

[SPEAKER_00]: God said, yeah, I'm bringing you Rome and yes, I'm letting the Romans insure you and plan your course, but I'm taking you where you need to go.

[SPEAKER_00]: It won't be where you thought you were going.

[SPEAKER_00]: It won't be a place that you would ever go apart from this.

[SPEAKER_00]: It wouldn't have been on any of Paul's previous, certainly wasn't any of Paul's previous journeys, and wouldn't likely have been on this following journeys, but God wasn't going to allow Paul's plans to stand in the way of his ultimate designs.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, God redirected him to spend three days with the leading city or the governor of this island.

[SPEAKER_00]: And interestingly, in this time, God allows for or designs for healing miracles to take place.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this healing miracle, again, shows the purpose and meaning of all miracles.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not just a, hey, just want you to feel a little

[SPEAKER_00]: It's to show an account for the message of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, here Paul is given a divine platform on which to speak.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it would certainly be listened to because many, not just of the governor's household, but many of the island would be coming to receive healing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I don't know about you.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if I'm about to die, or someone I love is about to die, and someone is able to heal them, I am interested in what else they have to say on life.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is exactly what God used this miracle for.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we're seeing that here in this case Paul goes into the father-in-law and he prayed, he laid hands on him, and he healed him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Simple process.

[SPEAKER_00]: but puts all the glory back to the Lord by requesting this healing of God and God grants it for his ultimate glory.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they receive a kind farewell, providing even those things which you're necessary, allowing Paul to move on in his journey.

[SPEAKER_00]: So now they're headed on again towards Rome,

[SPEAKER_00]: I wonder if there wasn't some reservation, like the last time I was on one of these things went poorly.

[SPEAKER_00]: But nevertheless, they got on another Alexander and ship, green ship probably much like the last.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as they go along, actually let's just read 11 to 16, so we can keep ourselves in context.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is after three months, we sailed in an out-zandering ship whose figurehead was the twin brothers, which had wintured at the island, and landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days.

[SPEAKER_00]: From there we circled around in reach Regium, and after that one day the south wind blew,

[SPEAKER_00]: Our found brethren and we were invited to stay with them seven days, so we went to that toward Rome And from there when the brethren heard about us they came and met us as far as the apia forum and for three ends When Paul saw them he thanked God and took courage

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, when we came to Rome, the Centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, and Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier, who guarded him.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, they're heading on towards Rome under the twin brothers, where the twin sons of Zeus, but they were expressly a very appropriate thing to put on as the master, the figurehead of your boat, because

[SPEAKER_00]: They were kind of the patron gods of lost sailors or shipwrecks sailors.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, a very appropriate thing to have on the front of the boat, we know that sea fairing has always carried with it a certain amount of super-spit station, just like farming.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's always a sense of

[SPEAKER_00]: things that are out of your control and so you look for those spiritual forces and superstitions that might influence or might help you and at least anticipate what's going to happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you've ever watched or read Moby Dick, the Jonas story or actually any sailing, we'll usually feature the prevalence of the Jonas story and the tears of having a Jonah on board.

[SPEAKER_00]: And in other words, thinking that we encounter this storm because of this or that person in their guilt is very common.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this superstition was these twin brothers of Zeus, who stood for the lucky charm that maybe this ship wouldn't be shipwrecked at any time.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it had wintered at this island and then they moved on to Syracuse and we see here we get a lot of time with the brethren That is with the church as Paul goes past and even at the next stop

[SPEAKER_00]: We see the body itself, putting the other contingent to come and visit Paul.

[SPEAKER_00]: These likely would have received copies of his letter earlier a letter to the Romans, or perhaps been impacted by indirectly, by his mission and his ministry, and they heard that Paul was near and they wanted to go visit him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I want you to note the sweetness of the fellowship of the body of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the body of Christ acting as it's meant to act, reaching out to Paul in this time of trouble, longing to see him, maybe even not knowing him but longing to see him and welcome him and reach out to see if there's anything they can do to help him.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's what the body of Christ is meant to be doing, in order to take a brief doctrinal break and aside, and look at how the body of Christ is meant to be operated, what's meant to happen if you like.

[SPEAKER_00]: So here's Romans 1210, this is bekindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love and honor giving preference to one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: This idea of a love that puts the needs of others before our own is to characterize the life of Christ in the individual believer in the body of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: First, that salonians, three, twelve says, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, that the body is meant to be building and growing constantly and love.

[SPEAKER_00]: We meet these people in life who are and see them exemplified on television, who are never satisfied.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's never enough, whether it's money or things or whatever it power, there's just never enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: Love is the thing that we are to say it's never enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: The body, no local church will ever be loving enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: We'll never be able to check off that box.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can always grow and love towards one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's always a valuable thing and I would ask you very sincerely to be praying that this body would be growing.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that love, but is characterized by the love of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: First Peter 410, greet one another with a kiss of love, peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus, amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you want to start kissing, that's just fine.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's wait till the end of cold season, though.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a, this would be, it might be a bit uncomfortable for us or at least not something that we're culturally used to, but essentially this is a close familial greeting.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we could probably say that's closer than closer to us than we might think.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've got family members who exchange cheat kisses as part of greetings just because you're so happy to see but that's essentially what Paul is saying.

[SPEAKER_00]: and stoic handshake of a stranger, you just matter, someone you're about to about to make a business deal with.

[SPEAKER_00]: But whatever your culture is, whatever the warm greeting that you extend a family, regard one another in that way, and treat one another in that way.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's hard.

[SPEAKER_00]: America's weird.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've got a lot of culture.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've got a lot of things flying around, so some people are huggers and some people.

[SPEAKER_00]: Their handshake is the hug to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, be respectful.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you meet another cheat kisser, go ahead and cheat kiss each other, making sure it's totally appropriate.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever the case, I think what's most important about this is, don't be scared to be warmly affectionate within the body of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: This can be hard because many of us have been hurt in the past.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hurt, even in the context of the church, and I think what Paul's saying here is even if you've been hurt.

[SPEAKER_00]: let the love and grace of Christ heal you so that you can be once again affectionate as a spirit of Christ would lead us.

[SPEAKER_00]: First Peter, for eight, above all things, I have fervent love for one another, for love covers a multitude of, go love will cover a multitude of sins.

[SPEAKER_00]: Love this, have a fervent love, have a burning love, have an active and persistent love.

[SPEAKER_00]: for one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because that will cover a multitude of sins.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we know this to be true even in our in our regular day-to-day experience.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do we not?

[SPEAKER_00]: We see someone who does something, maybe it's a minor infraction.

[SPEAKER_00]: We go, oh that's awful.

[SPEAKER_00]: That person should be punished.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then maybe it turns around and you find it someone you know and you like, you go, oh my no big deal.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Love covers over a multitude of sins.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've been cut off in traffic and then you look and it's someone you know and you go immediately from being totally incensed and violated the, I want to let you in anyway, it's all good.

[SPEAKER_00]: been there, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: That's meant to be the attitude of the body of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: And yet many Christians much of the time walk around with such a high sensitivity and such a lack of love that anything is going to offend us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Anything is going to have set us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Anything is going to set us up because we're so sensitive.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're like that wounded finger when you got a splinter and anything comes near it and it hurts already.

[SPEAKER_00]: The problem is not in the other things touching.

[SPEAKER_00]: The problem is in the infected flesh and we need to learn to love with that fervency and that forgiveness that is no longer so sensitive but letting ourselves be healed by the forgiving work of Christ so that we can love fervently so that when someone steps on our toes or says something foolish that maybe wasn't intended to harm us but maybe wasn't

[SPEAKER_00]: We allow our love for them to cover over that multitude of sins and transgressions against us, things that bothers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Ephesians 432, and be kind to one another, tender hearted, the other side, forgiving one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why?

[SPEAKER_00]: Even as in God, even as God in Christ, forgave you, forgiving one another in the same way that Christ has, for God has forgiven you in Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: He said, if a penalty is already paid, it's already been made right, you're already forgiven.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's going to make it real in that experience.

[SPEAKER_00]: First, John 47, beloved, let us love one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: For love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Loving the body, loving one another is the top experience of maturity and Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: And, well, we'll get to the application, final application just a minute.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not just is there love within the body, growing forth from this we might say.

[SPEAKER_00]: The body is also characterized by unices, be of the same mind toward one another, do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble, do not be wise in your own opinion.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a hard thing, especially in our movement, where we've come to glorify disagreeing with others.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've come to glorify, I don't agree with what he said about that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't agree with, I've got a better, I'm more Bible smart than that person.

[SPEAKER_00]: And by all means, we should be seeking to, like Barrians, hearing the word receiving the word with readiness and comparing it and searching the scripture daily to find out whether these things were so, but the attitude shouldn't be.

[SPEAKER_00]: this negative nitpicky I want to be right while everyone else is wrong.

[SPEAKER_00]: Our desire should be towards unity around the Word of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the desire for unity that should drive our study for scripture, not the desire for division.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sadly, we are probably more generally grouped with this bigger group of Christianity called Protestantism.

[SPEAKER_00]: Protest, winers,

[SPEAKER_00]: That's a bummer.

[SPEAKER_00]: I hate that distinction.

[SPEAKER_00]: I hate being called the whiners because all that does is makes more whiners as one Catholic theologian put it It is in the nature of Protestantism to split Because we always find something else to whine about and split about another doctrine of the distinction to whine about and split about another distinction of practice to whine about and split

[SPEAKER_00]: And most of us in this room will have experienced the tragedy of a church split at one time or another.

[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe like Paul and Barnettus, that was the Lord's way of moving someone to the next place or place where they are, but here's the point, the mature Christian, never sacrificing the truth, seeks unity, not division.

[SPEAKER_00]: seeks to have the same mind, the mind of Christ that is dictated by the Word of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that is how we'll have growing unity in the church if we all agree.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want to believe with this says, over and above what I want to believe or what I would choose to believe, I want to be submissive to the Word of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: When we get there, we're going to be able to have and grow and continue to exemplify having the same mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that unity will flow forth from that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Finally, you all first Peter 3-8, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Finally, you all be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tender-hearted, be courteous again, one mind, be thinking together.

[SPEAKER_00]: Where's that one mind?

[SPEAKER_00]: What's that one mind?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the word of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: First Corinthians 1225, that there should be no schism, no split in the body, that the members should have their same care, have the same care for one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: There should be no

[SPEAKER_00]: no rifting, no factionalism within the body, our goal is meant to be unity, and that unity will be found around the word of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why do we teach the Bible?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because it's the only place that true unity can be found.

[SPEAKER_00]: We will never find unity just by deciding that we're all going to close our eyes, to all of our differences in thought and our misunderstanding and hold our

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not going to do it because that will not be a true or a real unity, a unity that just ignores the truth is not a unity at all.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a hollow vacant superficial type of unity that shatters at the slightest moment.

[SPEAKER_00]: But as we grow in the true unity around the Word of God, through the Spirit of God and the life of Christ within us, we'll see a solid and complete unity coming forth.

[SPEAKER_00]: the kind of unity that Paul saw displayed here.

[SPEAKER_00]: Continuing on this James 516, confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul specifically talking about, or James is specifically talking about, divide discipline here at some level, but it is important.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says confess your trespasses to one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think we could narrow that down a little bit and say, if you goof up, hurt someone's feelings, sin against someone else, confess it.

[SPEAKER_00]: admit you did something wrong.

[SPEAKER_00]: You said something wrong.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then pray for one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have that relationship restored.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be so arrogant that we're not willing to be honest about the limitations of what is going on in our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: Feezen's 432.

[SPEAKER_00]: be kind to one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: Tenderhearted for giving one another, even as God, Christ forgive you, deja vu, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Verse Peter 48, in above and above all things have fervent love for one another for a love will cover a multitude of sins.

[SPEAKER_00]: If we don't, it's before.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, good.

[SPEAKER_00]: Minister.

[SPEAKER_00]: Finally, the body of Christ is meant to minister to one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: Galatians 513, for you, brethren have been called to liberty.

[SPEAKER_00]: Only do not use that liberty as an

[SPEAKER_00]: Spirit of Christ within us will bring us to a place where we long, selflessly, to serve one another, to help meet one another's meet needs.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I myself, Romans 5, 15, 14, now I myself incompetent concerning you.

[SPEAKER_00]: My brethren, that you also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: So serving one another, admonishing one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: That means encouraging one another to see when we're out of line and encouraging one another to walk with the Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever met with somebody with that express purpose?

[SPEAKER_00]: Matt was somebody from the Bay of Christ saying, my one goal here is to encourage them to walk with the Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let Colossians 3-16 let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly and always done teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual song sing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now we're all cowards today in America because of all the body of music, but if you take in the opportunity to sing to someone, you have to wait for that special circumstance where you're visiting them and they're sick and that feels like it's okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it's writing up poetry, just sharing the words of a hymn or a song or a spiritual song or a verse of

[SPEAKER_00]: with the word of God or other spiritual, positive texts as a part of our function.

[SPEAKER_00]: First, that's lines 5-11.

[SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: Build one another up if you like.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just as you're also doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Our job is to comfort and edify.

[SPEAKER_00]: To comfort and build one another up.

[SPEAKER_00]: 1st Peter 410, as each one is received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards in the manifold grace of God, it's a place to use your spiritual gift and also be the recipient of others used or applied spiritual gifts.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hebrews 3, 13, but eggs but exhort one another daily while it is called today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thus, then he will be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

[SPEAKER_00]: The body of Christ is meant to be a place where and you find out where in the Holy spirits, convicting ministry is confirmed and someone else helps and others help us see or walking out of line.

[SPEAKER_00]: and rather than running away, we can run towards the Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hebrews 24 and 25, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not forsaking me assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much more of the day is more as you see the day approaching.

[SPEAKER_00]: This getting giving up the assembling together for certain has to do with our Sunday morning gathering or other midweek gatherings, but it also applies to the times when you might get together for coffee, or go over to someone's house for a meal, or just go over to play a game, or watch television or watch a movie together, so don't give up on meeting together.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when you do meet together, exhort one another, stir one of their up towards love and good works.

[SPEAKER_00]: The body of Christ also should be is meant to be characterized by a lack of bad talk.

[SPEAKER_00]: James 411, do not speak evil of one another, brethren.

[SPEAKER_00]: He speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's briefly.

[SPEAKER_00]: Churches are kind of hotbeds for gossip, bad back-talk, and it's just the reality.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because it's a bunch of people with sin natures getting together, but don't let it be you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whoop!

[SPEAKER_00]: Do not grumble against one another, brethren, less you be condemned, behold the judge's standing up the door.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you might say in all these things, this isn't happening.

[SPEAKER_00]: I only see these to a limited degree in the body.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's true.

[SPEAKER_00]: and you're the answer.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well Christ is the answer.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if you see that short coming, that's the spirit of God calling you to be a part of this body in a productive way.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you feel that this body or anybody that you're a part of is lacking in love or warmth, then it is your part.

[SPEAKER_00]: to supply as you rest in Christ that warmth.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you feel that a body is lacking in the fervor, it may be the spirit of God calling you to provide that fervor.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sadly, most people look at churches like they look at any sort of consumer affair.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not quite happy with this one.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll go find one that meets my desires, my needs, my preconceived ideas.

[SPEAKER_00]: Someone churches.

[SPEAKER_00]: A church is a family.

[SPEAKER_00]: And just like only the most cowardly dog would run away from his family because it's not what he likes to see or not what he wants to see.

[SPEAKER_00]: will cause you not to flee from a family or church family that is not meeting your standard, but to love it enough to help it grow, to see it grow in Christ like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that dissatisfaction is the most wonderful thing that God can provide.

[SPEAKER_00]: If it's met with the courageous love of Christ

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to do something loving for others in the body.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like there's a lack of intimacy in the body.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to invite someone over for dinner every week.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like there's a lack of biblical teaching in this body.

[SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, I'm going to teach the Word of God as best I can at whatever venue is open, available.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully, whatever church body we're in, we love it enough to see it grow, because Christ certainly does, rather than running from it, to try to find what's most comfortable for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: So then they finally arrive in Rome, Paul's long, arduous journey comes to an end.

[SPEAKER_00]: And not surprisingly, he winds up exactly where God told him he was going to go.

[SPEAKER_00]: When God spoke, he could speak as if it was already accomplished, because it was that certain Paul would arrive in Rome, regardless of how difficult it was, or how surprising the method

[SPEAKER_00]: May the Word of God build your world view.

[SPEAKER_00]: May you be going not just to read the Word of God to check off a box, but may we go each day to the Word of God and say, Lord, teach me to see this world.

[SPEAKER_00]: As you see it, teach me to see my sin as you see it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Teach me to see your son as he is.

[SPEAKER_00]: May we trust in God's plan for our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to be some dark moments that's not a possibility it's a guarantee.

[SPEAKER_00]: You will face loss, you will face death, you will face sickness, you will face trials, and you must, we all must learn to trust.

[SPEAKER_00]: in God's greater plan for those things, and through those times, putting your faith in Christ was not to get out of jail free card on suffering, far, far, far, far to the contrary.

[SPEAKER_00]: But Christ's provision and plan and sovereignty is in no way in question, regardless of what goes on in our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: May we learn in the good times to trust in God's plan so that when the difficult times come, we're able to trust, yet more so in all that He's doing through us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Finally, may we lean on and be productive in the fellowship of the church, all by the power of His grace, we close with me in order for Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for this time.

[SPEAKER_00]: We praise You, We worship You in a Doreal.

[SPEAKER_00]: We thank You for Your Word, We thank You for Your Spirit, and all that You give me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Increasingly, we pray, amen.