Acts 15:35 - 16:10 "God's Infallible Word to Fallible People"

Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful

that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either

by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray

for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself?

The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really,

I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible,

they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will

do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a

non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't

hesitate to send us questions. It helps me, actually, to know, as I'm preaching, how to

deal with the types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless.

Let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, we give you thanks and praise that your infallible

word not only reveals the truth about you and the truth about salvation, but also reveals to us who

we really are, who we really are at the depths of our soul and in our day-to-day lives. We ask,

Father, that your Holy Spirit would gently work in us so that your word would form us. And we ask this

in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. Sort of interesting to do a sermon with

the sounds of happy children in the background. That's a nice thing to have happen. One of the

things that causes people trouble is dealing with people who think they're always right.

I think every single one of us would know at least one person who thinks that they're always right.

It would also probably horrify us if we were to discover that some people hearing this are

thinking about us because we don't think we're always right. But it is in fact a human problem

that there are some people at all the time who think that they're always right. And there are

most people who think that is true of themselves, at least sometimes. Some of us have suffered under

people who think that they're always right. And so it's actually made us quite insecure and sort of beat up.

And the other thing is, especially nowadays, a lot of people like to attach themselves to individuals

or movements or political ideologies or spiritualities that claim to be always right on everything.

And we attach ourselves to these types of groups and it just causes lots of trouble in our society,

in our day-to-day life. I mean, one of the things which we all know of, it's very hard to have

just a charitable, good faith, political discussion with people nowadays. If they find out a certain

thing about you, you're not just wrong, you're like the devil incarnate. It's increasingly hard in our

culture to have just a good faith conversation with people because there's this belief of infallibility.

So the Bible has some profound wisdom and help into this human problem of people thinking that

they're infallible or movements thinking that they're infallible. The Bible has, believe it or not,

some very profound and wise help and it has it in a very surprising way. So we're going to look at the

Bible. It's Acts chapter 15. We haven't announced this for a couple of weeks, but one of the things that

Acts 15 · chapter mention

we're doing, we're preaching through the book of Acts. That's why I'm preaching on this topic today.

We're going to be looking at Acts chapter 15, 35 to following. We've bought these very nice ESV

Acts 15 · chapter mention

journal Bibles, nice paper, just the text on one side, blank on the other, for people to take notes

and ask questions. They're available for you for free up at the front if you want to grab one.

You can even do it now if you want, or you can get it after the service as a gift. And I'm going to be

reading from that on page 92. And here's the text. But just before I read the text, it's a really odd

text. Not just what Chris read, but a little bit after. It's sort of like, it's as if there's these

big sections in the book of Acts and there's a few little detaily types of things between these

big sections. And that's what we're going to be looking at. One of those little detaily type things.

Because the book of Acts begins with Jesus appearing alive to his disciples and ascending

into heaven. And then it moves to this thing called the day of Pentecost. And then we see the early

life of Christians and the gospel being accepted by many Jewish people in Jerusalem. And the gospel

means trusting Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Then we see the start of persecution against Christians.

And then we see the gospel making this leap across an ancient divide to Samaritans. And then a little

bit after that, we see the gospel making an even bigger leap across an even bigger divide with pagans

starting to become Christians. And then we see the gospel really starting to go the very first missionary

journey as the gospel goes farther and farther into pagan lands and more Jewish people and Christians

farther away become Christians. And that causes a problem which is what just happens just before this.

And a decision is made about what it means for a pagan to become a Christian. And what we're looking at

right now is just between that decision that comes at the end of the first missionary journey

and the launching of the rest of the book which is going to be two more missionary journeys and Paul's

imprisonment and death. And this is how Luke has decided to structure his eyewitness-based account

of the first 30 or so years of the Jesus movement. And he wrote it while eyewitnesses are still alive.

So that's sort of where we are with a jumble of things. And here's what's... Actually, before I read it,

here's the big idea of these three different... Four different stories that we're going to look at. Four short

little stories. If you could put it up, that would be great, Claire. And this is the big idea.

There is a holy mystery in how the infallible, authoritative, life-giving word of the Lord

comes to fallible, self-centered, death-doomed human beings, me included. I read it again.

There is a holy mystery in how the infallible, authoritative, life-giving word of the Lord

comes to fallible, self-centered, death-doomed human beings, me included. Now, some of you might say,

George, whoa, George, one moment. You said the Bible's going to have some helpful wisdom and advice

about dealing with people who think they're infallible. Did you hear what you just said?

Don't you think if people think that the Bible is infallible, that you're just weaponizing

people's sense of infallibility? Like, you've just weaponized the problem. You haven't solved it.

The Bible is weaponizing the problem. And frankly, the whole idea is ridiculous, George,

that there could be an infallible word of God. And George, you know, not only is it ridiculous,

it's dangerous, it's anything other than, it's just not wise to say something like that.

Well, why am I saying it? Well, let's look at the text. Acts chapter 15, beginning at verse 35.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

And after, but Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, that's a city in Syria,

teaching and preaching, note this, the word of the Lord with many others also.

And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers and sisters

in every city where we proclaimed, note this, the word of the Lord and see how they are.

So you'll notice here, twice, once each, in each verse, very close together, we have this phrase,

the word of the Lord. And the word of the Lord is, if you go back and do a word search, it appears

not only like that verbatim many times in the book of Acts, but different synonyms of the same thing

appear many, many times in the book of Acts. And in the original language, the word of the Lord has a

double meaning. And what it means, it comes from the Old Testament, what our Jewish friends call

the Tanakh, and it has this double meaning. It could be translated as saying the word from the Lord,

and it could also be translated as saying the word about the Lord. It has a double meaning.

It's saying two things, complementary things at the same time, and the original readers and the

original hearers would have understood this. And so taking the Old Testament meaning, it is saying

literally this, this is a word from God. These are words from the lips, so to speak, I know the

triune God doesn't have lips, of the triune God. That's just the book of Acts. This is the whole Bible.

That's what I'm holding in my hands, the actual words of the triune God to human beings. That's what

the text is claiming. And it's not just a word from the Lord, it's a word about the Lord. In other words,

it's God's words about himself and our relationship to him in light of the fact that he is God. It's saying

this double thing at the same time. That's why I said there is a holy mystery of how the infallible

authoritative, life-giving word of the Lord comes to fallible, self-centered, death-doomed human beings,

me included. That if in fact it is the very words of the Lord, they are infallible. They are

authoritative. And it could be that they're death-dealing, but we're going to see in a moment

that they're in fact not death-dealing, that they are in fact life-giving if we receive them in the right

type of way. Now, I'm not going to give you any arguments today as to why it's a completely

reasonable thing to believe this. I'll just say one thing about it. What I'm going to talk about

instead really is why we don't want this to be true. Why hearing that the word of the Lord is

infallible and authoritative is something that troubles many, many people. We worry that,

well, we worry that it's going to weaponize human tendencies to think, human beings' tendency to

think that they're infallible. We worry that it will take away our freedom because it's so

authoritative and infallible, that it will overpower us, that it'll take away our freedom, that it will

make us do weird things. That's what we worry about. And I'm going to deal with our worries about it.

I'm not going to give you an argument for why it's a reasonable thing. I just want to say this one thing.

Words are really important, aren't they?

You know, I mean, just, I mean, it's just, on the other hand, it just sounds like the most commonplace

thing in the world, but words are how we commit to each other. You know, words like to my wife that I said,

well, many, many decades ago, will you marry me? You know, those are life-changing words. Words can

wound us. We can, I know people, and probably some of you can think of words that wounded us

decades ago, and they still wound us. And words can bless, and words can heal, and words are very,

very powerful. So just one little thing to people who are wondering about their place in Christianity

or outside of the Christian faith, why is it that most of your understandings, if you're going to have

a God at all, is a God that can't speak?

Like, given how important words are,

why on earth would you pick a God that can't speak? Like, that God is everywhere,

or that God is everything, or that God is some power, some force?

How could that be God?

And if a God,

if the God that you think might exist,

that spiritual power and presence,

if it can't speak, how can it hear you?

How can it understand?

Like, don't you want there to be the case? Doesn't it make sense if there is a God that's worthy of

being God, that he must be a God who speaks?

And how could he be God and speak and be fallible?

That means he's under some other type of standard.

Well, how does that solve or help anything?

Just a question.

But this claim is being made,

and it's the ancient, historic claim,

it's the biblical claim,

that there is an infallible,

that the word of the Lord is infallible and authoritative

and life-giving.

So,

okay, George, you're not going to argue for it,

but it still bothers me.

I still think it's a dangerous thing.

Well, let's look.

The Bible here,

here's what's so interesting about the Bible

and how wise and helpful the Bible is,

that in the same place

where it makes clear by saying it twice,

close to each other,

it then gives a series of stories

that help to nuance

and reveal ourselves to ourselves.

Let's look.

You'll see how wise it is.

We'll read verse 36 again.

And after some days,

Paul said to Barnabas,

let us return and visit the brothers and sisters

in every city

where we proclaim the word of the Lord

and see how they are.

That's the missionary journey

that they just got on together,

Paul and Barnabas.

Verse 37.

Now, Barnabas wanted to take with them

John,

who's also called Mark.

But Paul thought best

not to take with them

one who had withdrawn from them

in Pamphylia

and had not gone with them to the work.

Basically,

if you go back to the earlier story,

John Mark abandons them

when the going got tough.

He abandons them.

Verse 39.

And there arose a sharp disagreement

between Paul and Barnabas

so that they separated from each other.

Barnabas took Mark with him

and sailed away to Cyprus.

But Paul chose Silas and departed,

having been commended by the brothers

to the grace of the Lord.

And he went through Syria,

Cilicia,

strengthening the churches.

Now, just pause here for a second.

This disagreement between Paul and Barnabas

is wrong.

And it's heartbreaking.

And it's shocking.

Some of you who know the Bible a little bit

will know that Paul was, in fact,

one of the early persecutors of Christians.

He consented and aided

in the death and murder of early Christians

and imprisoned them and beat them.

And then he has an encounter

with the risen Jesus

that completely transforms him.

And he ends up being called by Jesus.

He sees Jesus alive.

Jesus says,

you're going to be my apostle

and you're going to do all these things.

And Paul becomes a Christian.

Christian and the disciples,

the early apostles,

are afraid of Paul.

They don't believe

that he's become a Christian.

Who is it,

who is it

that has listened to Paul

and believes him

and introduces him

to the other apostles

and the early Christians?

Who uses,

who puts their authority

and their reputation on the line?

It's Barnabas.

And when Paul goes off to,

he has to flee

because people are after him

because he's preaching the gospel.

And he spends,

you know,

quite a few years

in a certain region

of what we now call Syria,

ministering.

And who is it

who goes and brings him

out of the wilderness

and brings him back

to this very important church

in Antioch

to be a teacher?

It's Barnabas.

Who works side by side

with Paul

for several years

in this important church

in Antioch?

It's Barnabas.

Who is it

who goes on a missionary journey

with Paul,

who suffers together

and is there

when Paul is stoned

and people think

they've stoned him to death

and maybe they have

the text is unclear

whether Paul is brought back to life

or just healed dramatically?

It's Barnabas.

And now they have

a disagreement over people

so strong

that they can't work together.

This is heartbreaking.

And some of you might say,

George,

you've just proved my point.

Thinking there's an infallible Bible

is just going to make it worse.

People are going to think

they're never wrong.

George,

you've just proved my point

about how dangerous it is.

Well,

it's a little bit more subtle than that.

We're going to come back to it.

But we need to see the next bit

before we come back

and talk about

what's really going,

what's going on here.

But it's just very,

very sad.

Well,

what happens next

before we come back

and look at this a bit more?

Look at what happens next.

Sort of the opposite thing,

but it's also distressing

and it touches on

many of our deepest fears

about dealing

with an infallible Bible.

Look at what it says.

Chapter 16,

verse 1.

Paul,

so they've gone

on their missionary journey

and sort of,

if you're sort of looking at it

from this point of view,

the original missionary journey,

they went from here,

down to here,

up to here,

across from here.

And what Paul

and his doing

with his new group,

he's going to go this way,

sort of in reverse order.

And so they come,

chapter 16,

verse 1.

Paul came also

to Derbe and to Lystra.

It was in Lystra

that he got stoned

by the crowd

until he died.

A disciple was there

named Timothy.

A disciple is another way

of describing a Christian.

A better way

to understand

what a Christian is

is that a Christian

is a disciple of Jesus.

It's one of the things

I sometimes talk about

with people

who are outside

the Christian faith

when they ask me

who I am.

I say I'm a disciple of Jesus.

He's my Lord and Master

and my Savior

and I'm his disciple.

Anyway,

a disciple was there

named Timothy,

the son of a Jewish woman

who was a believer

who'd become a Christian,

but his father

was a Greek,

a pagan.

Timothy was well spoken of

by the brothers and sisters

at Lystra and Iconium.

Paul wanted Timothy

to accompany him.

Now notice this.

Don't skip over it.

Men,

let the full weight

of these next few words

hit you.

Timothy's at least

18,

19,

and 20

and there are no

anesthetics

back then.

Paul wanted Timothy

to accompany him

and he took him

and circumcised him.

He circumcised him

because of the Jewish people

who were in those places

for they all knew

that his father

was a Greek,

a pagan.

And as they went

on their way,

they,

through the cities,

they,

that's Paul

and Timothy

and Silas

and maybe some others,

delivered to people

they heard

for observance

the decisions

that had been reached

by the apostles

and elders

who were in Jerusalem.

So the churches

were strengthened

in the faith

and increased

in numbers daily.

So here's what's

really weird about this.

Remember,

one of our fears

is an infallible Bible

will cause us

to do weird things

and hurtful things.

And this,

once again,

people say,

George,

you're proving my point

why we don't want

to have an infallible Bible.

Like,

it's making Timothy

do weird

and hurtful things.

I don't want to get

anywhere near

an infallible Bible

and have to do

these weird things.

And it's even weirder

because,

at first glance,

because the decision

that they're telling

everybody about

is that

if you become a,

if you're a pagan

who becomes a Christian,

you don't have to be circumcised.

That's actually the decision.

Go back and read it

in Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

So people are going like,

George,

this is just crazy talk.

Like,

here Paul goes and says,

you don't have to be circumcised

and Timothy gets circumcised.

What on earth is going on?

Well,

let's,

now we need to go back

and sort of tease out

what's going on.

Remember I said

that there is a holy mystery

in how the infallible,

authoritative,

life-giving word of the Lord

comes to fallible,

self-centered,

death-doomed human beings,

me included.

A holy mystery.

So here's the first thing.

If you could put up A,

that would be great.

It's part of the deep structure

of the Bible.

It's such a,

part of the deep structure

of the Bible

so that you might not

even notice it,

but it forms you

at an unconscious level

while you read it.

Only Jesus is sinless,

therefore,

only he can save.

Only Jesus is sinless,

therefore,

only he can save.

Paul and Barnabas

are revealed

as sinning.

It's going to be

my way or the highway.

My way or the highway.

Okay?

We want highway

because you're not going

my way.

Peter is revealed

in other places

in the Bible

as a sinner.

Mary,

the mother of Jesus,

I apologize to my

Roman Catholic friends,

this is maybe

a bit of a shock,

but Mary is revealed

as one who sins.

That's what the Bible says.

Old Testament,

all the way through,

James,

one of the half-brother

of Jesus,

revealed as one

who sins.

All,

and here we see this.

You go all the way

through the Bible,

you read from Genesis

Genesis 1:1

chapter 1,

verse 1,

all the way to the end

of the book of Revelation,

there's only one person

who never sins,

and that's Jesus.

Only one

who never sins.

It's Jesus.

It's part of the deep

structure of the Bible.

And, you know,

part of,

when I just said to you,

part of the mystery

about this,

why is Timothy,

we're going to get to that

in a moment,

why is Timothy

being circumcised

when the elders

and the apostles

in Jerusalem

make a formal decree

that pagan men

who become Christians

don't have to get circumcised

and they don't have to follow

what our Jewish friends

call the tenacity,

back in what we call

the Old Testament.

Why did they say that?

It's because they understood

what Jesus said

time and time

and time and time

again of this.

In fact,

they probably even go back,

if you go back

and you read the Gospel of John,

a historical account of Jesus,

you'll see the very,

very, very first time

any of the apostles

or disciples meet Jesus

is when John the Baptist

points at this guy walking

and, you know,

you just think about this,

make it realistic.

They see Jesus,

his hair would not look

like a Hollywood person.

Maybe it looked like

a Hollywood person

trying to represent,

I don't know,

like after the zombie apocalypse.

You know,

I mean,

his hair would have been

a bit untidy

and he maybe had

a little bit of pita bread

in his beard,

you know,

some parsley in his beard

and John the Baptist says,

behold the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

And what they know

that they've come to understand

is that

you go back

and you read the Tanakh

and you understand

that Jesus says

that every single sacrifice

that is required

in the Old Testament

is fulfilled in me.

All of the moral laws

that nobody was able

to keep,

I fulfilled them all.

All of the promises

in the Old Testament

that have been made by God,

I fulfilled them all.

All of the types

and images

in the Old Testament,

I fulfilled them all.

All of the rituals,

I fulfilled them all.

All of the religious obligations,

all of the affection

that is required,

all of these things,

I fulfill them all.

And if you go back

and you read the book

of Leviticus

and this helps us

to understand

a very deep truth

that we understand,

we understand the need

for sacrifice

and you go back

and you read the book

of Leviticus,

you'll see that

the way Leviticus begins

is a way to give you

one of the two keys

to everything going on

in what we call

the Old Testament

but it's also what goes on

in all religions,

which all religions

and spiritualities

understand some type

of a need for sacrifice.

I just watched

that summer block

buster Twisters

and it requires

a sacrifice.

It's seen as

a high virtue

and it begins

with,

you say that

you bring the animal,

an innocent animal

that's done nothing wrong

and the person

who's offering

the sacrifice

puts their hands

on the head

of the animal

and the image there

is that that animal

is going to stand

for the human being

and that in a sense

all of my wrongdoing,

all of things

that make me

out of whack

with God,

all of my shame,

all of those things,

all of that,

that's laid on the hand

of the innocent animal

and that it takes my place

and the innocence,

in a sense,

in a sense comes to me

and that's why you see

it's part of the deep structure.

That's why I say

the infallible word,

the word of the Lord

is not just a word

from God,

it's also a word

about God

and what God has done

about our relationship

with him

and it reveals

that Jesus

is the sinless man

and he fulfills

all of these things

that the entire

Old Testament

is required of

and he dies

in my place.

When I put my faith

and trust in Jesus,

when you put your faith

and trust in Jesus,

that is the same thing

as putting,

it's like you put

your hand in him,

you give yourself

to him

and all of the wrongdoing,

all of the times

I should have done

what was right

and I didn't do it,

all of my times

when I arrogantly thought

that I was infallible

and never wrong,

all of the hurt

that I've done,

all of the shame

that I feel,

all of the uncleanness

that I feel,

all of the things

that I've done

to wound others

and how I've wounded myself,

all of those things

are laid on him

and he takes my place

and deals with

all of the consequences

that are required

and all that's required

to put that right,

that is all laid on him

and he gives me

the standing of being sinless.

That is why only a sinless man

can be the savior,

a sinless person,

in this case a man,

the second Adam.

Only Jesus is sinless,

therefore only he

can save you.

That is so life-giving.

It's not just life-giving

in terms of eternal life,

it's life-giving

in terms of our daily life.

It is a burden

that crushes you

to think you're infallible.

It is a burden

that crushes you

to think that you don't do wrong.

It is what drives us to lie.

It's what drives us

to alcohol and drugs.

It's what drives us

to pornography.

It's what drives us

to arrogance and bullying,

the inability to acknowledge

that we are not right,

that we have done wrong,

that we're not infallible.

It drives us to that

and to come to one

who saves us,

to come to know

that there is something infallible,

that it's not us,

and to know it

in the context of one

who loves you so much

that he dies for you,

it begins to say,

okay,

I was wrong about that.

Okay, yes,

that was my,

I am ashamed of that.

I can acknowledge I'm wrong.

I can acknowledge

I've done things that are wrong.

It provides that context

for us to be free.

It's why it's life-giving.

Now,

what about that weird story,

though,

about the fight, George,

and the circumcision?

Like,

those are still weird.

Like,

that's very interesting to hear

that it's part of the deep structure

of the Bible,

and it's helping us

to understand something important

about Jesus

and something very important

about us.

Well,

remember I said

the overarching story

is that there is a holy mystery

in how the infallible,

authoritative,

life-giving word of the Lord

comes to fallible,

self-centered,

death-doomed human beings,

me included.

And what we can see

by looking at this argument

between them

and the circumcision

is this.

If you could put up B,

that would be helpful, Claire.

The word of the Lord

comes into you

for your good

and his glory

without turning you

into his puppet.

You still sin,

yet sacrificial love

blooms in you as well.

That's partly

what's the mystery

about human beings

and how we change

in Christ.

Right?

He doesn't turn us

into his puppet.

Grace comes in

to perfect our freedom,

not to remove our freedom.

It is for freedom

that Christ died for us.

And so,

it's part of this mystery.

Well,

in heaven,

we'll understand

why it was for our good,

that there are still

parts of me,

and I've been a Christian

since I was 16 years old,

and you can tell by my hair

that was more than

just a few years ago

that I was 16.

And there's parts of me

that the sin

is just really hard

to deal with,

yet at the other time,

that's not the only thing

about me.

There is also things

about me

and things about you

where sacrificial love

blooms.

See,

we see it

in the double story.

Paul needs Jesus

as his savior.

Paul needs Jesus

as his savior.

And at the same time,

why is Timothy,

why is Timothy

doing this?

Why is Timothy,

an 18, 19,

20-year-old man

with no anesthetic,

willing to get circumcised?

Because he loves

Jewish people.

He loves Jewish people.

And he wants to remove

any barrier

that would stop them

from having him

spend time with him

and tell him about Jesus.

And if that means

he has to be circumcised,

he'll get circumcised

as a sacrifice of love

because he wants

Jewish people

to know Jesus

as their savior and Lord.

That's why he does it.

He knows he doesn't have to,

but he wants to

because he loves

Jewish people.

You see,

there's this mystery

about God's work

in our lives

as the infallible word

and as Jesus

becomes more real

to us as our savior

that there are some things,

friends,

brothers and sisters,

if Jesus doesn't tarry,

there's some sin

in your life

that you're going

to have to struggle with

for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years,

always struggling with it.

There'll be some great victories

you have over it.

You'll blow some people away

with how you've changed

and there's this act

of sacrificial love

that characterizes you

in some areas

of your life.

And it's a mystery

about how God works in us,

but God's at work in you

if you've given your life

to Christ.

That's the great,

profound promise.

And there's one other thing

about these two stories

and then we'll just close

very briefly

with this next little story

that comes after that,

which you could put up

this, Claire.

It's God's infallible word

does not make you infallible.

Okay?

God's infallible word

does not make you infallible.

It just stands to reason.

You can't have

two infallible sources.

It would be like having

two irresistible forces.

You can't have two irresistible

forces in the universe.

You can only have

one infallible source.

You can't have a second one.

God's infallible word

does not make you infallible.

It humbles you to accept

that you are fallible.

Now, it's not seen

directly in this text,

but it's seen indirectly

in this text.

If you...

It's not on the screen

because I forgot to send it

to Claire.

But most people agree

that the last part

of what we now call

the Bible

was a letter that Paul wrote

to Timothy

and he wrote it to Timothy

just shortly before he dies.

He knows that this time

there's not going to be

any miraculous escape

from his life here.

I can't find it

when I'm looking for it

in a rush.

He knows that there's not

going to be any miraculous

escape this time

and he knows

he's doing hard time

in a dungeon

and he knows

he's going to die

a martyr's death.

And by the way,

one of the things

he's going to die for,

he dies for a fact.

He could have saved

his life if he just said,

okay, I was kidding,

Jesus didn't rise

from the dead.

Ha ha, joke's on you.

I didn't really mean it.

Didn't rise.

If he had said that,

he would have got out

of jail.

But he's not going

to deny a fact

that he saw Jesus risen.

But look what he says

right towards the end

of his life.

2 Timothy 4 verse,

I think it's verse 11.

Luke alone is with me.

Get Mark

and bring him with you

for he is very useful

to me for ministry.

And it's not just

at the end of his life,

but if you go back

and go searching,

you'll see that somewhere

after this,

Paul realizes

that he was wrong.

He's not infallible.

And Paul and Mark reconcile.

You see, friends,

God's infallible word

does not make you infallible,

but it humbles you

to accept that you are fallible.

And it humbles you

in another way.

We'll look at that

very briefly

in the final story

in these final minutes

of the sermon.

Look with me

in verse 6.

Because you see,

the fact of the matter is

that some people

take this text

to mean

this idea

of the infallible Bible

means all I need

is the Bible and me.

It's all I need.

I don't need you.

I don't need to hear

what people wrote

about 100 years ago

or 500 years ago

or 1,000 years ago.

All I need is this and me.

I've met lots of people

like that.

I've suffered

under some people

like that.

But that's not

what the Bible teaches.

Look at the next story.

Verse 6 of chapter 16.

And they went through

the region of Phrygia.

So verse 5 says,

so the churches

were strengthened

in the faith

and increased

in numbers daily.

That's what we should

be praying for our church

so we grow in numbers,

that each person

grows in their faith

and that the church

grows in numbers.

It's what we should be

praying for every ministry

in the church.

That people involved

in the ministry,

you know,

the men's group

or the women's group,

that they grow

and they strengthen

their faith

and that the ministries grow.

We should be praying

for our missionaries

that they grow

in the faith

and that we have

more missionaries.

That's a Christian way

to pray.

To not pray for growth

is to miss how to pray.

But verse 6,

and they went through

the regions of Phrygia

and Galatia

having, note this,

been forbidden

by the Holy Spirit

to speak the word,

short for the word

of the Lord,

in Asia.

And when they had

come up to Mysia,

they attempted

to go into Bithynia,

but the Spirit of Jesus

did not allow them.

Two times in a row

the Spirit says no.

So passing by Mysia,

they went down to Troas.

Now just pause here.

The Bible doesn't make clear

how it is

that the Holy Spirit

says no.

But this isn't just

a simple no once.

They walked 400 miles,

640 kilometers of walking

with a regular no

of the Holy Spirit.

640 kilometer walk.

Pushing them in one direction.

They can't go this way,

they can't go this way,

they can't go this way,

they're going to go this way.

We want to go up there,

no.

Want to go down there,

no.

Want to go up there,

no.

Want to go down there,

no.

No, no, no, no, no.

Then verse 9.

And a vision appeared

to Paul in the night.

A man of Macedonia

was standing there

urging him and saying,

come over to Macedonia

and help us.

Paul knows that

the help they need

is they need to hear

the word of the Lord.

The best help

we can give

to any human being

is to tell them

about Jesus.

And when Paul

had seen the vision,

immediately

we sought to go

into Macedonia,

concluding

that God

had called us

to preach

the gospel to them.

And you'll notice there

that the word

we shows up,

that Luke,

the writer of this,

is now actually

part of the story.

But here's the thing,

in the original language,

concluding that God

had called us

to preach the gospel

to them,

it doesn't mean

that Paul just said,

whoa,

I have this vision,

you guys all

have to come along.

Concluding implies

there was sustained

conversation

amongst the brothers

to discern

what God

had called

them to do.

It wasn't just,

I got my Bible

and I got God

and I just do

whatever I

bloody well want

because I think

I'm infallible.

No,

here's,

can you put up

the point?

Since you are

not infallible,

you need to learn

his infallible word

with the help

of the Holy Spirit

and other Christ followers.

So I'm,

you know,

I'm broadening out

the general point

of the text,

which is just this,

that they needed

the Holy Spirit.

They needed God's

help and direction.

But they also needed

conversation

with their brothers.

And you could add

to make it more extensive,

brothers and sisters.

And you could add

for us as a general thing

as I need help

when I read the Bible

from people who lived

a hundred years ago.

I want to tell you

right now,

if you want to get,

if you just want to buy

some commentaries

on the Gospels,

you cannot beat

getting J.C. Ryle's

commentaries on the Gospels.

And he wrote them

in the 18th hundreds.

And they're absolute dynamite.

We need help

from earlier generations

of Christians.

It's a good thing

if you discover

what Augustine

or Chrysostom said.

It's a good thing

if you discover

what Ambrose

or Basil the Great

or Calvin or Luther said.

It's a good thing

to learn from brothers

and sisters from the past.

And it's a good thing

to consult with other

brothers and sisters today,

to be part of a local church,

to be part of a men's ministry

or a women's ministry

or a youth group

or a small group,

to come to church,

to together hear

the word of the Lord

and discuss what it means

trusting in the help

of the Holy Spirit.

That's,

there is a holy mystery

in how the infallible,

authoritative,

life-giving word

of the Lord

comes to fallible,

self-centered,

death-doomed human beings,

me included.

And we not only need

the word of the Lord,

we need the Holy Spirit.

We need conversation

amongst us.

Brothers and sisters,

that's what we need.

Please stand.

I invite you to stand.

Just as you're standing,

if there's any here

or any who are watching,

live or down the stream,

is the word of the Lord

is for you.

I've just tried to tell you

what the Bible teaches,

not on my own authority,

but I have consulted

with other brothers,

in this case,

you know,

mainly brothers.

Throughout my life,

I've learned from brothers

and sisters,

and I've studied,

and I try to open

the word for you,

and this is a word

of the Lord for you,

that Jesus died for you.

He wants to be your Savior

and your Lord.

And if you just say,

Jesus,

I want you to be

my Savior and Lord,

he's alive.

He will hear it.

He will answer it.

He will come into your life.

You come into his life

and what he's done.

There is no shame,

so shameful,

that he will not embrace you.

There is no sin,

so highness,

that he has not paid for it.

There is no woundedness

or brokenness

that is so bad

and so longstanding

that he cannot overcome it.

He sees you as you are,

and he loves you.

He died for you.

He'd like to be your Savior

and your Lord.

He will welcome you.

Let's pray.

Father, you know

how we believe

we're infallible.

And you know,

Father,

how each one of us

can be blind to that.

And you know,

Father,

how we're a lot better

at seeing

in other people

than we are

at seeing in ourselves.

And Father,

we ask that

your work of grace

in our lives

would continue

so that we would have

the freedom

to lift this

huge crushing burden

of infallibility

from us,

to know and trust

that only your word

is infallible

because it comes from you

who are infallible

and authoritative.

So we ask,

Father,

that you help us

to read,

mark, learn,

and inwardly digest

your word.

We ask that you

help us to engage

in humble,

good faith conversations

with other Christians

that we might grow

and learn

and be ministered to

and ministered to others.

That you would grow us

as a church

and in all of our ministries,

Father,

where we're strengthened

in the faith

and we grow in numbers,

Father,

all for our good

and your glory.

And we ask all these things

in the name of Jesus,

your Son

and our Savior,

and all God's people said,

Amen.

Let's just be seated.

The service has been shortened.

We're going to go into,

but just before we do announcements,

I'd like to say

a couple of prayers.

I know people have to go

to the bathroom

and all that's good,

but we need to say

a couple of prayers

before we go into,

I'll do the announcements

and then we'll set the table

for the Lord's Supper.

Some of you might know

there's a very momentous day

happening in a couple of days

in the United States of America.

It would be wrong

if we didn't pray

for our friends

south of the border.

So let's just pray for that

and a couple of other things as well.

Let's just bow our heads

in prayer

and yeah,

let's just pray.

Father,

we thank you.

We thank you

that we get to live

beside the United States of America

and there are many things

about that country

that are great

and of course,

many things about it,

that country

that they need to repent of

and that are worrisome.

We ask,

Father,

that you would have mercy

on our friends

to the south,

that in your mercy

you would grant them

a government

better than they deserve,

that you would raise up

men and women

despite whatever rhetoric

they might say now,

that you would move their hearts

and move their wills,

that they would seek

the true good

of that whole nation,

the true prosperity

of all the people

in that nation

and that they would be

a force of good

in the world.

Father,

we ask that you would,

that regardless of who wins

and who loses,

that you would work

in the hearts of the winners,

that that would be the result.

And Father,

we ask for ourselves

who will be having an election

before we know it as well,

that you will have mercy on us,

that you give us leaders

better than we deserve.

Father,

we also pray

for the other gospel-hearted,

gospel-centered churches

in this city.

We ask that you grow

the bonds of affection

between our churches,

that you would help us all

to thrive

in proclaiming Jesus.

We thank you

for the missionaries

that we support

and missionaries

who are part of our congregation.

We think of those involved

in outreach

to international students

at Ottawa U,

and we think of our brother here

preparing to go to Asia

to work once again

as a missionary,

and the other missionaries

that we support

around the world

in North Africa

and in South America

and in the rest of Africa.

The missionaries

that we're about to support

as well,

ministering to Afghanistan

and in Kuwait.

Father,

we ask your blessing

upon these missionaries,

and we ask that you

increase our generosity

towards these really important works.

And Father,

we ask that you bless

those who still work

in the public square,

whether it's in the civil service

or whether it's in private industry

or in the arts

or education.

We ask, Father,

that you help them

to work well

for your glory,

grant them wisdom

and discernment,

how they can speak

into their places of work

and their places of influence

in a way

that's good

and true

and just

and merciful

and wise

so that our city

and our nation

will thrive.

And for all of us,

Father,

we ask that you help us

to have a winsome,

humble courage,

to share the gospel.

Help us to recognize opportunities

to share the gospel.

And Father,

we all have loved ones

that we are praying

will come to a saving faith

in Jesus.

And we ask, Father,

that you would bring

our loved ones

to a saving faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we ask these things

in the name of Jesus,

your Son and our Savior.

Amen.