A Missional Church | Darren Rouanzoin

You're listening to GARDEN CHURCH Podcast. We're in a series called Church on Fire, a journey through the book of Acts. This is the story of ordinary people filled with the spirit, carrying the presence of Jesus into every corner of the world. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and in us today. Join us as we step into the call to be people set on fire for for his mission.

Grab your bibles. Let me go. Let me see them. 10AM. So glad you're here.

There's a lot of you. It's crowded. You can sit on the floor. There's overflow. There's also a 12:00 service, we're so glad you're here.

The 09:00 was, one out of 10, it was an eleven. I don't know what's gonna happen so whenever that happens, I'm like either the rest, sorry or the Lord's gonna move. I was weeping in worship. And I say that not because I wanna talk about like the emotionalism. We are singing Living Hope and it's the gospel that we sing and there's a part where we sang, death has lost its grip on me.

And, I just wept like ugly crying snot and tissues. I don't like tissues. I'm like, like I'll just use my sleeve and because I was reminded of being saved. And, I was a student at UCSB that was broken and and had suicidal ideation since I was 13. Depressed and dealt with all sorts of things and I can sing, death has lost its grip on me.

But, I was also weeping because there are so many in the room that cannot sing that. And Jesus is coming after you hard. Jesus is running after men and women, young and old who have yet to be freed. Not just death but shame and anxiety and depression and toxic past and trauma. God is making his move right now.

And he's wooing people and he's running after them and you know, I hear, you know, the spirit is a gentleman. I'm like, tell that to Paul. He got knocked off a horse. It's one of these horse moments coming. He's gonna speak through a donkey.

He's gonna do everything he can to reach this generation. All generations alive right now. We are living in such a time. So, I am I'm undone by just that. The gospel of Jesus is so beautiful.

Acts 13. We're in Acts 13 chapter one. This is a massive moment for the church. And, I just wanna say if you're new to our church, we're going verse by verse through Acts. And there's a lot of stories and I love stories.

But what I want you to understand about this is that these stories are designed to shape your life. This isn't just history, although it is history. It's theology. It's so you know why things happen the way they did, so that you can pattern your life in response. So we enter into the world of acts, asking the question in acts 13, not just what does a missional church look like, although we are.

We're gonna look at a missional church. Here are my three points. Number one, a missional church worships before it works. Number two, missional church gives itself away. And number three, a missional church confronts the counterfeit.

So, I'm gonna talk about that. But, the question isn't, how does the garden church look like Antioch? The question is, how does my life look like Antioch? This is the invitation for you as a disciple. If you've said yes to Jesus, you are called as a missionary, wherever you are.

Amen? Hallelujah. I'm gonna prove it to you through the text. So, Acts chapter 13, let's jump in. And somehow, I'm in second Timothy.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

And it's bible roulette time, so let's see what the word of the Lord is for you. Just kidding. I'm just I'm not gonna Although, that was a good one. You're fun, 10:00. I like you.

Don't tell your other brothers and sisters but you're my favorite. I say that to all of them. Amos, I'm like, he just turned nine. You're my favorite nine year old. And then Ezra, you're my favorite 12 year old.

I love you so much. Alright. Verse one. Now, in the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon called Nagir, Lucius of Cyrene, Manion, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul, the guy who persecuted the church. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

So, after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. So, I'm gonna dive in and break down this text. There's a couple more verses we'll get through, but the first point I already mentioned is number one, we're talking about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. What does it mean to be a missional church? First of all, you gotta see that the missional church, a missional church worships before it works.

This is so important. The church in Antioch, which by the way, the most diverse leadership team. The the five guys that are leading this. Barnabas is the oldest. He comes from Acts four.

He's the one that gives property to the apostles. He gets a nickname Barnabas. He's from Cyprus. Remember that? Because when I ask, I want you to answer it.

The other guys are from different places, North Africa. One's from another place that he fled persecution. Then, there's Saul who is persecuting the church. These people are most likely, scholars believe, not from Antioch, but they're leading this multicultural, multiethnic, diverse, new hub for Christian life. They're not gathering with a map behind them saying, where should we go next?

They're not planning a strategic vision of how to conquer the world for Jesus. They're worshiping the Lord. And, the word worshiping is actually in the Septuagint. It's found in the Old Testament. It's the very language in Hebrew that's used to describe priests doing liturgical services.

They're offering spiritual sacrifices to the Lord. They are ministering to God. Church, hear me. We are here to worship Jesus. We are not here to have songs that make you cry, although I did cry, or make you feel good about yourself.

We come to host his presence. That's what God's doing. Can I just say, in the age of purpose purpose driven, we are going towards a presence driven church? Yes? And, I say that on purpose because just this last Wednesday, I I was invited to share at Saddleback staff retreat on the Holy Spirit, and about 250 staff at Saddleback, the one that wrote the book on Seeker Friendly, the one that wrote the book on Purpose Driven, they are going after the presence of God.

Can you believe it? So, we pray for revival to come at Rock Harbor and Saddleback and Mariners and Oceans and all the churches in Southern California, we are saying, yes, Lord, move there. How strategic would it be if the Holy Spirit moved in Saddleback? A church that's given itself away from for forty six years. This is exactly and now, they're seeking God's face.

Church, we worship before we're sent. We worship before we get to work. And, let me just say, practically, let's just do some quiet time. And, let's do some quiet time that doesn't have a performative nature associated to it. I love that you read the bible in the year, but sometimes that's gonna turn to performance.

As long as you check the box, you connected. No. No. No. No.

It's like me when I got married. Apparently, there are levels of cleanliness that you can have. I was clean, I thought. Like, I thought you vacuum, you know, but apparently there is like a strategic way to vacuum properly. I thought, you know, wash the sheets when they're visibly dirty.

Apparently, it's once a week. I didn't know. I didn't know. Toilet paper, there is a way to put toilet paper on the it's over the top. All the ladies.

All the ladies. Alright. The guys, we're just like, as fast as possible, it doesn't matter. It's just gonna come off. So practical.

What's up? Apparently, there's degrees. So, my request was, babe, just give me the list. I'll take care of it. I love lists.

I'm Martha. I wanna be a Mary, but I'm Martha. I I just give me the list. Give me the the bottom line, but the Lord showed me over many years. I just celebrated nineteen years on Tuesday.

Nineteen years. Whoo. Met here across the way in Edra Bartek's intro to theology class. I was a sophomore transfer. She was a freshman.

We met right over there. I was like, who is this woman that you gave me, Lord? She doesn't know she will be mine. My first girlfriend. She's my first girlfriend.

First date, first everything, amazing. Praise the Lord. Just romantic right now. I'm thinking about her. But, here's my point.

The Lord showed me years later that the lists were the basics. The work is basic. It's about his presence. I needed to learn to love my wife and listen, to pay attention to the details she wasn't saying, to pay attention to the things she would never put on the list. But I learned over time because I was just near and attentive that she would reveal her heart.

Imagine if you lived in a way where in quiet time, Jesus revealed his heart for the world to you. I'm not talking about living so that you can have your best life now. I'm talking that he shares his intimacies with you. That's what the missional church does first. It lives in a way that seeks first and pays attention.

You with me church? I struggle with this one the most obviously, But, the missional life is born out of worship, not with your assignment because the worship is not preparation for mission. It is the womb of mission. When God discloses his heart to you for the world, it causes you to move forward into the world. When you can, at 41 years old, weep because the gospel's being sung.

And, you're like, you saved me. You saved me. And you're you're wrecked by that transaction that took place years ago. Your heart's soft. It can't it compels you to move forward.

In that worship, it it births something new. A missional life begins at the altar, not at the airport. And, the people God will send are the one who learned to stay in his presence. Now, can I make an observation about calling for a moment and then we'll keep going to the other two texts? You okay with that?

I'm gonna do it either way. Acts two, or I'm sorry, acts 13, there's this verse two that confronts everything in our Christian culture about calling. Holy Spirit says this, he says, it says, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them. Now, catch the pre prepositions here. Set apart for me.

Not, set apart for the mission field. Set apart for the work. Set apart for their potential. Set apart for their best life. Set apart for their destiny.

Set apart for their dreams. Set apart for me. The work to which I have already past tense called them. The church service doesn't create the environment for the calling. The worship service did not create the calling.

The worship service revealed what has already taken place. This confronts so much about our Christian culture where our calling has become a life map of desire. I hear all the time this obsession with my assignment this season. You wanna know what your assignment this season is? To give glory to God and to serve.

Period. Die to yourself, love others, wash feet. It doesn't matter if you're a CEO, if you've studied at seminary, if you're new to faith, same calling. You're welcome. But in our self optimization world where we're obsessed with calling, It's all about our desires.

We have vision boards and five year plans, and we're taught to manifest our future and design the life that we love. And, there's an entire industry that exists to help you author your life. And, if you author your life, then God is the assistant who makes your dreams come true. He exists to fund your dreams and bless your plans. To stay out of the map, just be the cherry on top to make it happen.

Acts 13 destroys that concept altogether. The spirit does not say, Barnabas and Saul, what do you feel passionate about? What have you spent your life doing to prepare you for your dream calling? He says, set them apart for me. The calling of God is not a baptism of ambitions.

It is the interruption of the very thing. Barnabas did not dream of having to leave this incredible church in revival. Antioch is the center of Christianity. Five leaders, prophets, teachers. It's going off.

It's already been marked by a radical generosity. Agabus came in, said a famine is coming in Judea, and Antioch takes an offering. They pass the bucket again, and they send that money to Judea. We see that God is moving. Why would the church Check this out.

In a worship service, what happens is this. In a worship service where there there's fasting and prayer, by the way, fasting is not about your diet. Fasting is not about you getting into shape, conveniently skipping meals. It's about a dedication unto the Lord. We should be excited about the type of intensity that's drawn to seek his presence in prayer and fasting.

It interrupts your eating habits and your schedule to seek God. We don't do anything like that. Everything about our spiritual life today is comfortable and convenient. You're like, I'm gonna read a couple of verses a day. For the one who died on the cross for you, that's all?

Like, in a world where you spend eight hours on TikTok, you're gonna counter the tiktok formation with five verses a day? How? I'm not even on point three.

So,

they fast and they pray. Saul, his life map would have been Pharisee of Pharisees. And God's like, cool. I'm gonna fold up that life map. There you go.

I'm gonna give you a whole new map because it's his purpose. So, God's calling is for his purpose, not yours. And, let me just say this, he is the author. Now, hear me on this because it's for anyone that needs to hear this. This isn't bad news.

The self help gospel makes you the author. And, it's exactly why you're exhausted. If you write your story, you carry the story. Every setback is your failure. Every detour is your fault.

But, if he writes the story, then the weight of the outcome sits on his shoulders. That's when you live in the easy yoke. Alright. Let's keep going. There's too much to preach on.

Acts, Acts 13 verse four. The two of them sent on their way by who? Was it by the church? Was it by their dream? Was it by their destiny?

By their passionate desires? The Lord speaks and they obey. How does my life look like the church in Antioch? Well, I gather with the saints to worship him. When he speaks, I obey.

Yes? The Holy Spirit sets them apart, sends them. They went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. Where's Barnabas from? When they arrived to Salamis, yes, that's how you pronounce it.

They proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues and John was with them as their helper. So, the second thing I need you to see is that a missional church gives its best away. A disciple of Jesus gives their best away. God so loved the world world that he gave his one and only son. I think we live in a context where we give our spares.

We give what we can afford. We give what we can manage. And, the church in acts is so very different. It's so crazy because what happens is the Holy Spirit speaks and it would be like Costa Mesa. It would be like this.

Let's say there isn't a Huntington Beach campus. This is our church. I'm the senior pastor. I'm the Barnabas in this story. The oldest guy, the guy who's framed like from from the beginning, walking with the apostles.

I would be like Barnabas, pastor Slav is like Saul. It's like giving away the current teaching lead pastor and the next generation leader who's gonna take it. It's giving your present leadership and your future leadership away and not trying to debate what does that mean for us, but going, we're gonna do it because he said it. And then, we're gonna fund it and it has nothing to do with our budget here, but the economy of the gospel that's not been preached to the unknown world yet. What church thinks like that?

Hold on. Let's stop talking. What disciple thinks like

that? Most

of the people I know don't even tithe. I I love this. We sing songs like, I surrender all. No, you don't. You surrender some.

You surrender a portion. You surrender a percentage. You can't sing that. That's mockery. You don't surrender all.

You don't go, today, Lord, this month, I have this much. It's all yours. What do you want me to keep? No one's discipled you into Antioch. I want you to give your very best, the new car, the new house, the new article of clothing.

Everything's on the table. The new thing that is your chair. He's asking that for his purpose. Set it apart. You don't know who needs it.

You don't know why. We don't live like that. This is why acts is so dangerous to the church today. Cause if you preach it in context, you'll be disrupted everywhere you look. No, let's keep it about the missional church, Darren.

Exactly, I am. Church, we're all missionaries. There is the church doesn't have missionaries, it is missionary. Is this okay? I'm not even gonna ask it.

I know it's okay. Wait till I get to point three. Let me keep going. We're building it up. Stick to the notes, d.

The verb for sent them doesn't mean appointed, it means release them. So, I just need you to understand this is so beautiful. Antioch did not make Paul an apostle. Christ did that on the road to Damascus. Antioch simply agreed with what was already there.

And so, the way they move forward is by listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and obeying. And, I wanted I just want you to see the strategy of the first apostolic movement. Apostolic is the Greek word for sent ones. Missional is the Latin word for sent ones, missio. So, it's the the missional apostolic church, the the sending of the apostles, Paul and Barnabas, on this mission to evangelize the world and the strategy for Barnabas is just to go home.

Do you think that's fascinating? I think it's fascinating With our obsession with the new, Barnabas goes, I'm just gonna go to the relational network I already have. I'm gonna go to the coffee shops I've already been to. I'm gonna go to my cubicle where I have relationships. You see, this is so important for a generation that obsessed with the sexy passport moment.

You don't need a passport to be sent. You're standing on being sent. He's already given you a neighborhood. He's already given you a community. He's already given you a group text.

He's already given you relationships. He's already given you a vocation. He's already be sent to that vocation from here on out. So, you're a dentist in the name of Jesus. Go as a dentist unto the Lord.

You're a graphic designer. Go now. Sent by the spirit of God to be a graphic designer in that space that you graphic design. You're a stay at home mom who raises up a next generation of little ones. Go in the name of Jesus, raising up a new generation of Jesus followers, and every play date, every park visit, you come in the name of Jesus bearing witness to the resurrection.

Do you see the power of a missional movement that's in this room? We're not waiting for the moment. It's already happened. You need to be commissioned. Great.

In Jesus' name, go. Welcome. The same spirit who put Barnabas on a boat to his home has already placed you in the cubicle classroom carpool in the group text. The missional life is not going somewhere new. Although, brothers and sisters, we will send missionaries called by God vocationally to unreached people groups.

Let me just say, I was talking to Andy Byrd this week. I was like, give me the stats. He gave me all of his stats on giving. He runs the send and and fire and fragrance, and he One person Less, about 1% of the trillions of dollars that Christians make up in The US or in the world go to unreached people groups. That's why our priority as a local church is funding missionaries to the ten forty window, the the unreached people groups.

We have missionaries all over the world in that region to reach people who have never heard Jesus' name in their language or never heard the gospel preached. We will continue to do that, and you will live wherever you are, by Jesus as a missionary to him. Yes? A missional life is not about going somewhere new, it's about finally seeing where you already are. You're not waiting on a calling, you're standing on a calling.

One little thing I want to just highlight is it it throws this line that John was with them helper, as their assistant, as the intern. John is John Mark. He wrote the Gospel of Mark. So, this young assistant who's most likely the cousin of the Apostle Peter is traveling with Paul and Barnabas and I just wanna say this, every missional church, every move of God leans towards the next generation. We lean towards raising up the next generation now.

We are here, GARDEN CHURCH, because Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa had a campaign called, give ourselves away and they they've funded five full time pastors to be on staff for two years to be sent out. I was the first pastor hired in that vision. I was invited to go on a trip. I was 22 years old. I was the youngest pastor on staff.

Went to London, got filled with the spirit. Went to India, met pastors from around the world, Ukraine, Russia, all over Asia, all over Latin America, South America, The US, as well as Europe. Like, dozens and dozens of pastors all came together in India at one of our mission partners called Harvest India, and they were talking about how do we give the church to the next generation. I was the only next generation in the room. So, after three days of discussion and seeing their ministry, they all laid hands on me and prayed for me.

And, we are here because of the generosity and vision of Rock Harbor to give themselves away. And, I honor that legacy. May we carry that now. In this moment where we're looking at budgets that are astronomical. When we started, we needed $60,000 a year.

That was more than my salary. We're looking at 6,000,000 for next year. And, we have faith for so much more. We have eighteen years of history of bringing in more money than we spend. We have savings.

We have this incredible moment and I think the future banks on your generosity. Not just with your money, but with your time. Amen. With your stuff. With your friendships.

With everything that God's given you, knowledge. Let's give ourselves away. Yes? Alright. Third point.

Verse six. Oh, I love this one. Buckle up. They traveled through the whole island until they they came to Paphos which was the capital. There, they met a Jewish sorcerer and a false a false prophet named, Son of Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, the governor, Sergius Paulus.

The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But, Alanis, the sorcerer, also known as Bar Jesus, for that was his name, that's what his name means, opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then, Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elamis and said, you are a child of the devil. Alright. Let me pause right there.

They're traveling through Cyprus, they get to the hometown. We know historically, archaeologists have discovered what would be a governor's palace, and most archaeologists and historians believe it's this guy's house. So historically, we know that this event happened. You can go travel and see the artifacts of this place. So, this is where Barnabas and Saul were and so, I love this.

The first thing that happens when the gospel goes into a new territory is it's confronted itself by a counterfeit. So, one The number three is a missional church confronts the counterfeits. Disciples of Jesus confront the counterfeits that are in our life. So, they reach Paphos and the governor wants to hear the word, but they stand next to a spiritual consultant, a magician named Son of Jesus. And, I Anytime you read geography, you remember geography is theology.

Anytime you read a name, remember, the name that's listed is a theology. It's telling you a message. Do you remember the story of Jesus being confronted by Pilate when the crowd is like, who do you want to release? Barabbas or Jesus? You remember that?

The names are so important. Barabbas means son of Abba. Who do you want to be released? The son of Abba or the son of God? And so that every son of Abba gets off the hook, the son of God takes this the place of the son of the of God.

The son of God takes the place of all the children of God. That's in That's the gospel in the names. Right here, we have the son of day Son of Jesus. Now, the son of Jesus is in Hebrew, when you say son of, it means where you draw your life from. So, you have this spiritual consultant who is opposing the gospel of Jesus coming in.

And, Paul doesn't mix words. And, I want to just say this because I I think we live in a time where the the counterfeit is a lot closer to the church than the church wants to admit. The enemy doesn't fight us with something that looks evil, he fights us with something that sounds familiar. It's that talking head on TikTok, that consultant, that person who has figured out this life that you want, that they're going to, you know, do a webinar that you just pay a couple of bucks, but it's it's enough truth, but it's it's off just enough to throw you towards this self optimization lifestyle. He fights us with something that sounds familiar, and this is a magician, and this was context.

Leaders would have sorcerers, and astrologers, and magicians at their disposal. So, this man, Bar Jesus, is making money off the powerful. And I love what he says. He says, Saul, filled with the spirit, looks at Elamis, and he says, okay, now contextually, I see that you're off a little bit. I don't want I don't want you to feel judged by what I'm about to say.

I know that you live in this context that might feel a certain way and then what I'm about to say might not be the truth you're used to because I know you have your truth. Think about our context, and I'm I'm guilty of this because for years, I was told to build bridges towards communities that have been isolated from the church. Only they built militant communities now that have indoctrinated an entire generation and we live in a moment that's post truth. People do not know what they believe. They think they construct identities.

We receive identity. They think they can move ancient boundary lines that God has created in created order in Genesis one and two. We'll just move it to make it work for whatever we have, and now we have technology and a state to legislate our desires, and we've been trying to navigate the the waters that are confused and trying to help people, meanwhile, a generation is lost. So they turn to crystals, they turn to tarot cards, they turn to their TikTok influencers, they turn to mediums for the grief, and they're lost and broken, and what what Paul gives the church is we confront the lies. We live no lies anymore.

He says, you are a son of the devil. You're not a son of Jesus, you're the son of a devil. Isn't that so fun? Seeker friendly churches would be outraged by the kind of truth, by the kind of clarity Paul's bringing, a context that doesn't know who the real Jesus is. But, Paul knows this is counterfeit, and so he confront are you guys okay?

So, he confronts the counterfeit and he says, you're a child of the devil, and you're an enemy of everything that is right or righteous. You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now, the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the lights of the sun.

Immediately, mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about seeking someone to lead him by his hand. How's that, church? Let me just say, scholars would say, when Paul confronts this counterfeit, He he brings what looks like judgment on this man of blindness. But, every scholar says that this actually is an act of mercy for this man is blind and can't see. Just like what Paul was as a Pharisee, he was blinded and he walked around trying to being led by someone by his hand until Jesus revealed who the true light is and then he could see this is an act of mercy on the counterfeit.

But, it comes with an opposition, a spoken truth that this is not real, you're false. He names what his lies are. Brothers and sisters, I just wanna say in this, the gospel always confronts counterfeits and I love the courage of Paul in the contrast that shapes our life today. We hear this story and we carry offense. We're concerned about feeling like we're judging people, And Christianity, what it reveals, if you let it, what this reveals about Christianity is Jesus is not an addition to your life.

Jesus is the revision of your life. He's the reconstruction of your life. He's the restoration of your life, and his way becomes our way. What that means is not some silly statement we put like the way, the truth, and life. What that means is that your habits, your thoughts, your actions, your belief systems, your behaviors, your ideas, the way you think the world works, your philosophy is reconstructed around the confession that he's raised from the dead.

So, what he says moves us in obedience. So, what you do with your body, what you do with your sexuality, what you do with your identity, what you do in your relationships, how you organize the way you spend your time and your energy, must be reconstructed around Jesus and his teachings. And, anything else is a counterfeit. So, I know you want nuance. You want it to be gray.

You want it to make sense. You'll believe this section of scripture and omit this section of scripture. We do it all the time. I go after the LGBTQ. You're like, yeah, let's go after it.

What about greed? What about gluttony? What about the pride that you think you're gonna be saved by your works? What? That's a false gospel too.

So, as we live and reorganize ourselves around the way of Jesus, we don't get judgmental. We get filled with compassion and we weep. We weep for the lies that are standing next to the leaders who are longing for truth but being distorted by darkness. You see, bar Jesus is not some ancient story. He lives in your home.

He lives in your phone. He lives in your shopping cart. He lives in your watch list. He lives in your screen time. He lives in what you do do with your finances and how you spend your time.

These are powers from the world at work and they're not neutral. They're bending you, morphing you, deforming you into its image and we have to stop with all the false belief systems and the counterfeits and confront them. This isn't like a a a, you know, hey, I want you to come forward and repent. I need you to repent and give up these artifacts. You're going to AI as a spiritual consultant.

Are you kidding me? It's a great tool. Don't let it become your shepherd. That's a false God, and and we know the tech companies know they're trying to play God. Read all the literature coming out.

We know what's happening. This the the Gen Z, it's like the percentage of Gen Z that use AI as a as a counselor, as a therapist, a counselor. I use that word on purpose. A counselor. The Holy Spirit is our counselor.

We did a series on Revelation, but man, that sounds very anti Christ to me. Anyways, that's a whole other story. And you're like, what? Tell me more. Go back and listen to it.

There are the anti Christs are all over the place according to John. They are anti anointing. They are challenging the anointed one. They are the counterfeits that we see. That you can go to them, you can go to these consultants and they promise life.

They don't demand to be made Lord but they will hold you at ransom. And here's why I have compassion on this because bar Jesus in our day is, you know, all over the place. But, most people who are reaching for these things, they're not rebellious. They're tired. They're anxious.

They're grieving. They're lost and they're looking for relief and these things promise relief without repentance. Healing without holiness. Power without the person of Jesus who can tell them what to do with this power. See, that's the appeal of every counterfeit.

It offers a way to manage the chaos of your life. But, Christ offers himself. And, the spirit of God cannot coexist with consultants. He simply will expose them, not to shame you, but to offer you freedom. And, that's exactly what's going on in this text.

Paul goes in to preach the gospel. It's good news but it's good news when you realize you're in bondage. You need a savior. You're lost. You need someone to find you.

That's Jesus Christ. The story of this text ends when the proconsul saw what had happened. He saw the sign. He believed. For he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

He's not just amazed by the miracle, he wasn't amazed by the miracle it says, he was amazed by the teaching. Signs can clear a path but the word converts the heart And, every convert becomes a doorway into a new region. So, every person that gives their life to Jesus builds a doorway into God's next movement. And, right now, we're living in a time where God is on the move. We talked about this last week, brothers and sisters, the amount of bull's eye prayers that were answered in this week are ridiculous.

I have a testimony from Saturday, Friday night of a man whose wife was here and he went in for an esophagus scope, something's wrong with his throat, and they found a two centimeter mass on his stomach and a relative of his died of of stomach cancer or something in his stomach, an ant. And, he kind of made peace with it. He thought, maybe this will bring my family together. His wife heard the sermon last week. She prayed that it would go away.

He got scoped on June 10. He sent me pictures, one with the mass, one without the mass. He said, add this add this to your excel spreadsheet of testimonies. Listen to this. There's gonna be so many signs in the church in this time.

Radical conversions, healing. God's gonna move miraculously through your giving. But our hearts need to be converted to Jesus. And brothers and sisters, right now, I know there's so many counterfeits in the room you carried in. So can we all stand?

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