[0:00] Please turn with me to Acts 20, 17 to 38. Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.
[0:28] And when they came to him, he said to them, You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.
[0:47] How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to greets of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1:01] And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
[1:15] But I do not account my life of any value, nor is precious to myself, if only I may finish my course in the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
[1:31] And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
[1:50] Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
[2:01] I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.
[2:14] Therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
[2:32] I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands minister to my necessities and to those who are with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way, we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
[2:55] And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all. They embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful, most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again.
[3:11] And they accompanied him to the ship. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Today we enter into one of the New Testament's most significant and directive farewell speeches.
[3:29] This is the Apostle Paul giving a farewell speech to the Ephesian elders. And next to it is a list of other farewell speeches that all serve to prepare God's people and a group of people for the upcoming future.
[3:45] That's the purpose of farewell speeches. Next to it you have Jacob's farewell speech to his people, Moses to his people, even Joshua to his people, Samuel.
[3:57] Jesus Christ himself had the farewell discourse from John 12 to chapter 17. And even Peter in his second letter had a farewell speech. I want us to look at how this farewell speech develops.
[4:12] Look at the beginning and the ends for us today. We see in verse 17 now from Miletus. He sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.
[4:24] And when they had came together, he said to them. And then the farewell speech. But then look at the response here in verse 36. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
[4:39] And there was much weeping on the part of all. They embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken that they would not see his face again.
[4:53] And they accompanied him to his ship. Clearly no one likes farewells. Some of the hardest things we do as a church is saying farewell to former church members as they go on the next journey.
[5:14] We ultimately don't like saying farewell at all. We like consistency. We like things to say the same, right? And based upon the structure, we should see that their relationship to Paul, that people connection, that communal-like nature between Paul and these people was absolutely profound.
[5:35] It was nothing at all like superficial, like it stands in our day today. Look at that. He says farewell and there was weeping like a death.
[5:52] There's a grieving process in these farewells. And I don't believe that many of us today by the end of the passage and the end of his farewell speech will be weeping.
[6:04] You might, but I don't think that that's going to be the end for us today as we get to the end in Paul's departure. We're not going to miss Paul. We'll see Paul in the next chapter, right?
[6:15] And so we have to kind of wonder, how might this text, how might his speech affect us in our lives today?
[6:25] If we're not weeping over his departure because we're going to continue with Paul and his journey, how will we respond to his speech, which is served to prepare God's people for the future?
[6:39] Is not every person in this room part of a prepared future within God's plans? For that, we look at Paul's speech and we can reflect upon our lives.
[6:55] Maybe, maybe I'm not the only one who reflects and is my life glorifying God. You know. Will my time in the final destination of life into eternity, will I hear the words from Jesus Christ?
[7:13] Well done, my good and faithful servant. You preached the word. You heralded the word. Well, or. Will we hear.
[7:26] You done messed up. Hopefully, that's not the words. But don't you ever ponder that in your life?
[7:39] It's my life glorifying God. Well, fortunately to us, however this text hits you today, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God's mercies are new every day.
[7:53] His mercies are new every day and his new, his mercies are new for you today. So with that, what we will see developing from his speech is the simple fact that God's grace among his people unmasks us to live transparent and accountable lives.
[8:17] And it's going to ask each and every one of us a question. Has he unmasked us? It's pretty deep. But let's look at the content of his message and what I'm going to identify as three pillars of the Christian life.
[8:33] And we're going to label this sermon as running the race well. And we are a Baptist church, obviously. And with a Baptist church, you get three-point sermons.
[8:49] Fortunately, we have three pillars. So guess what that means? Three points. And so I invite you to journey with me through Paul's speech and allow it to cause a response in our lives.
[9:03] Let's pray. Amen. Father, we give you this time. This is no light task. It's no light duty. We think of the words that we will receive from your lips in eternity.
[9:19] Well done. Or we messed up. Father, we know that we continually mess up. But I pray that as your word confronts us today, that we see your mercy anew and afresh in our lives today.
[9:32] As your grace stands ready to be applied continuously into the Christian's life. We praise in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
[9:44] The first pillar of three pillars is don't shrink back from God's word or God's people. Or people. Don't shrink back from God's word or people.
[9:58] We're going to see this developing. In verse 18, Paul often places himself on the chopping block. Paul's saying, if you don't believe me, look at my life.
[10:10] He uses himself as his own sermon illustration. As I sometimes often do to my own demise at times. And here, Paul describes the observable nature of transparency.
[10:22] Not only for leaders of the church. But I would argue for every single Christian within this room and through all time. You see, in Paul's three years in Ephesus.
[10:35] The Ephesians, he says in verse 18, knew how Paul lived. Verse 19, how did he live? Well, it looked like humility, tears, trials.
[10:47] In verse 19. In verse 20 and all the way down to 28, 27. He didn't shrink from declaring to you God's word.
[11:00] In verse 21, he testified to all. His message that he testified in the declaration was repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.
[11:10] In other words, for this leader, there were no secrets for him. There were no hidden agendas.
[11:22] There were no ulterior motives. It was plain Jane ministry. For what? For God's glory.
[11:33] That encompasses his ministry. Now, I look at Paul. Look at Paul's emphasis in this passage.
[11:44] And I look at like a post-COVID world. And I'm telling you what. Isolation has become evangelicalism's best friend.
[11:57] The church has really become comfortable in isolation. Sheltering in place. You know, the governor said we don't have to do that anymore.
[12:11] So come out of hiding, church. Right? Isolation is evangelicalism's best friend. Not only do pastors isolate themselves from their flock that they've been entrusted to care for.
[12:27] They live in their tower like the hunchback in Notre Dame and ring the bell. And they come down, enter the box of wood, say a couple words, and then return to their shelter.
[12:38] But it's not only for them. Christians isolate from one another. No wonder Christians find more value in the world they've been saved from.
[12:51] But not the world that they've been saved to. The community that they've been saved from. Community of darkness. And they refrain from being involved in the community that they've been saved to.
[13:03] The community of light. It reminds me of the jingle from the old TV show named Cheers. And you know the jingle. I'm going to get it stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
[13:13] You're welcome in advance. We want to go to the place where everyone knows your name. They're always glad you came. You want to be where you can see our troubles are all the same.
[13:29] You want to be where everybody knows your name. Paul probably would have said amen to that song. They're talking about the church.
[13:42] No. That song is talking about the local bar. Where people go to escape the problems in life. And self-medicate their problems in life.
[13:53] What have we done to the gospel? That a song like that does not apply to the church. When that applies to the past world.
[14:09] And not the world that we are grafted into and united in. If it was imperative for this transparency to exist within Paul's own life.
[14:19] How can it even be possible to be an isolated pastor. And also an isolated Christian. Is it possible?
[14:32] And I would argue no. You see the Christian life is to be lived out in glass walls. Being known by people. We'll say the bathroom is the only drywalled room in the Christian life.
[14:48] For the sake of all. Maybe double walls for that matter. But. Central to the Christian life is not only knowing others.
[14:59] Knowing people's name. Being glad that they came. Not only knowing others. But being known. By others. Allowing people to see and to truly deeply know you.
[15:13] How does this look? Well humbly. Loving them. Empathizing with them in tears. Others. Suffering with them.
[15:24] Teaching and admonishing them. Pastoring them. Additionally. If Paul declaring God's word was central to his mission.
[15:35] Then we should see something about this gathering. As we look. And we see. That there are not too many empty seats. And to God's glory for that matter. Because.
[15:46] We have to. Habitually. Find ourselves. Sitting underneath. God's word. Together. Receiving the gospel. As verse 21 says.
[15:57] Of what? Repentance. And faith. Towards God. And guess what? That's half of it. Towards his people as well. Repentance and faith.
[16:09] Where we turn towards God and his people. In other words. Being a Christian. Is being in community. This is the introvert's nightmare. This is the extrovert's dream.
[16:23] People. Carmen runs towards them. Let's all hug. Where Brent's like. Right? Die to your flesh.
[16:34] I don't care what your Myers-Briggs says. The gospel says to die to your flesh. Not to be comfortable in it. And the gospel calls the introvert to be in God's people.
[16:45] It calls the extrovert to not freak God's people out. Right? There are many folks in our day.
[16:56] Who seem to find it easier to turn towards God. But find reluctance to turn towards his people. Isn't that strange?
[17:11] That there are even folks that who will sit under God's word. But away from God's people. And this is the hard reality.
[17:24] Of that. Because has the gospel. Even changed you. Then. The gospel changed Paul. He says in verse 24.
[17:35] I do not count my life. Of any value. Nor precious to myself. If only I may finish my course. In the ministry that I received.
[17:46] From the Lord Jesus. To testify to the gospel. Of the grace of God. Yeah. That's. His. Testimony. That's his. Calling.
[17:58] And ministry. It has everything. To do. With. The word. Raising up the word. Heralding the word. Right? But he says. I do not count my life.
[18:09] Of. Any value. Nor precious to myself. Right? You don't say that. And live in isolation.
[18:19] You see. In verse. 17 to 27. We get a snapshot. Of what this new life looks like. Within the people of God. What made the difference?
[18:31] Well. Paul's word made the difference. But also. Paul's deed. Made the difference. No one likes a hypocritical pastor. Right? Telling. Telling all a bunch of people.
[18:42] Yelling. And shouting. And pointing. Telling them to do things. That he's unwilling to do. Himself. Right? Nobody likes that. It discredits that. And Paul's saying. I am on full display.
[18:53] My life is laid out before you. Paul's words indeed made the difference. His words did not shrink back. Nor did his deeds shrink back. You see church.
[19:04] Is the pillar of your Christian life. Joyfully receiving the gospel. In repentance. And faith. Well if so.
[19:17] The fruit of that. Externalizes. In consistency. In word. And deed. Has a profound effect.
[19:28] Profound. Observable. Fruit. In your life. And we can't forget. That Paul is speaking. To the elders. In Ephesus. Maybe you're sitting there like. Well he's talking to the elders.
[19:39] Elders are supposed to do all that stuff. They're under the. The. Strict measuring stick. Right? However. Pastoral ministry is imitative.
[19:51] How many Paul. How many. How many Paul. How many times has Paul. Told. The church. The people he was. Encouraging. Exhorting. To imitate me.
[20:02] As I imitate Christ. Pastoral ministry is imitative. And so we cannot differentiate. Pastoral imperatives. From Christian.
[20:14] Imperatives. Amen. It's tough. You see church. The gospel breeds transparency. There's no other way around it. So I encourage you to give yourself to one another.
[20:25] Open up. To one another. Struggle. With one another. Suffer for one another. Carry each other. Carry each other's burdens. Love. One. Another. A wise man once told.
[20:37] His disciples. AA can't be the only place. That this is done right. Celebrate recovery. Can't be the only place.
[20:48] That this is done right. Or a room full of addicts. Who are confessing. And doing it. Well. Can't be the only place. To do it right. This was a design. For the church.
[21:02] This is not merely a suggestion. It is a command. Of God's people. Don't shrink back. From God's word. Or God's people. That's the first pillar.
[21:12] The second pillar. In his speech. Is pay careful attention. To yourselves. And to others. And we naturally see.
[21:22] The progression. Of Paul's farewell speech. Going from living transparently. Look at how I live my life. I'm an open book. You should be an open book too. Going transparency.
[21:33] And now. Transparency leads to what? Accountability. No wonder people. Like to isolate. You ain't gonna tell me.
[21:44] What to do. How to live my life. Verse 28. I think is the single. Most important. Verse. In pastoral ministry.
[21:54] Because it both. Encompasses. The nature of pastoral oversight. And also the importance. Of the church. The reason for me. As a pastor. What makes every labor.
[22:06] Every tear. Every. Even bloodshed. Honestly. This place has caused some blood. And some blisters. But everything. Has been a joy. Of me pouring out myself.
[22:18] To this church body. It's a joy. Why? Because you. Are precious in God's sight. This verse. Encompasses. The nature of pastoral ministry.
[22:29] And pastoral oversight. And the importance of the church. He says. Pay careful attention. To yourselves. And to the. To all the flock. That's you around. Looking around.
[22:41] In which the Holy Spirit. Has made you overseers. To care for the church of God. Which he obtained. With his own blood. Again. Is this message.
[22:52] Just to pastors. Elder. Overseer. Those words. Those titles. Are the same office. In the New Testament. Pastor. Elder. Overseer. I'm Pastor Brent. I'm Elder Brent.
[23:02] I'm. Overseer. Bishop Brent. Bishop hasn't taken in this church. I. I would have wanted you to try that. For a couple weeks. And see. See my face. Bishop. All the same office.
[23:15] Same responsibility. Same task. Is this message. Just for them though. No. Because the imitative nature. Of pastoral ministry. Makes this command.
[23:26] Beneficial for all God's people. Not a suggestion. But a command. And so. Just as we don't. It doesn't matter. How well a pastor speaks. Or how smart they are.
[23:36] They might know. Every Greek word. In the language. They might know. Every Hebrew. But if their character. Doesn't match their teaching. They are what? Frauds. Frauds.
[23:49] And how can the same. Not apply to Christians. Need to wake up today. Don't be a fraud. And play games.
[23:59] With God's grace. Don't be a fraud. And play games. With God's grace. The grace of God. Was far from cheap.
[24:11] As Jesus blood. Was poured out. Upon the cross. His flesh was ripped. For you. Our baptism. Is a testimony. Of our faith in him. And it's far from cheap.
[24:23] He purchased you. Transactionally. If you are in Christ today. A fraudulent. Christian. Literally spits. In the face of the suffering.
[24:34] Christ on the cross. And kicks the dirt. Upon him. So your charge. Is to open your life. To God. But also his people.
[24:47] And receive his grace. For you. And maybe some of us. Need to repent. Since today. Verse 29. Reinforces. That God's plan. For the world. Is no game. You want to treat.
[24:58] God's grace. Like a game. Well here's. Here's the reality. Verse 29. I know that. After my departure. Fierce. Wolves. Will come in.
[25:08] Among you. Not sparing the flock. And from among. Your own selves. Will arise men. Speaking twisted. Things. To draw away. The disciples. After them.
[25:19] Therefore. Verse 31. Be alert. Remembering. That for three years. I did not cease. Night or day. To admonish. Everyone.
[25:29] With. Tears. So not only. Did God. Call you. Out of. Isolation. Of. Sheltering. In place.
[25:41] Into the family. Of God. But here. We see. That the reason. And the whole. Conviction. Of living. Out. Transparency. And accountability.
[25:53] Is because. It's God's. Defensive means. Of standing. Against. Wolves. From the outside. And false teaching. From the inside. This is God's.
[26:04] Defensive means. Of living. Transparency. Transparently. And accountably. To one another. I mean. If godly pastors.
[26:14] Must operate. In plurality. Like steel valley church. Pastors. My pastor. Is pastor. Less. Pastor. Rick. We are a plurality. Right.
[26:26] That's God's design. There's no. Instituting. A pastor. A CEO. Some. Cool guy. With. Cool. Shoes. Whatever that. Thing is today.
[26:37] That. Makes you a cool. Pastor. Right. It's not just one guy. It's a plurality. It's a board. Of guys. Who are spiritually. Mature. Who are spiritually.
[26:47] And doctrinally. Watching over. The lives. Of people. If godly. Powers.
[26:58] Pastors. Must live. In a plurality. How can we ever. Think. That the church. Was never intended. To live. In a plurality. As well. Together. And this is tough.
[27:10] Because some. Of us. Today. Wouldn't even know. If there's a wolf. That has entered. Into the sheepfold. Today. Why?
[27:23] Because the gathering. Of God's people. Has become optional. Kind of been. That thing. Well you're tired. Stayed up late. On Saturday night.
[27:34] Well. I guess I'll miss church. Is that really what. The gathering. Of God's people. Has become. An option. Additionally.
[27:46] How can pastors. Care. As God requires. For them to care. To people. Who habitually. Withdraw. And disappear. He says.
[27:57] I know. That after my departure. Fierce wolves. Will come in. Among you. Not sparing the flock. This is no game. Church. This is no option. This is why church membership.
[28:08] Is a fundamental construct. Of how to organize. A transparent. And accountable. Life. God's way. Not your way. God's way.
[28:19] Of how truly. To be known. What it means. To be truly known. By others. And make yourself known. To all. Regardless of.
[28:30] If a person. Is in the pulpit. Or the pew. The grace of God. Of the gospel. Desecrates. Christian masks. And we see each other. As the sinners. That we are.
[28:42] As we collectively. Grow. And become sanctified. Together. As a living organism. Of God's workmanship. Of God's craftsmanship. As he's molding. And sanctifying. His people. And so.
[28:53] It's simply. To say. If you don't show. You don't grow. There is no growth. It doesn't matter. How many podcasts. You listen to. It doesn't matter. Who your.
[29:05] Weapon is. It could be. Vaudi. It could be. Piper. It could be. I don't know. What else is out there. That might be on the other side. Of the spectrum. But. It doesn't matter. How much you listen to.
[29:16] How much you tune in. Sanctification. In God's church. Is done in community. It's done in community. Not in isolation. And the gospel. Is also.
[29:27] Defended in community. Not by you. With your headphones. And your podcast. At home. Paul says. Pay careful. Attention.
[29:37] To yourselves. And others. Come out of hiding. The second pillar. Now the third pillar. Is work hard.
[29:48] Towards generosity. And we see that from verse 32. To 38. And so the call. So from the call of transparency. To accountability.
[29:58] Paul. Now reinforces the call. To generosity. In verse 32. He says. Now. I commend you to God. And to the word of his grace. Which is able to build you up.
[30:11] And to give you the inheritance. Among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver. Or gold. Or apparel. I believe some of us.
[30:23] May have adopted the. Secular worldview. Believing that the incentive. For our hard work. Is ours to hold on to. And not God's to give.
[30:35] But if we peer into a more. Biblical. Worldview. We will discover. And be confronted. That the incentive. For our hard work.
[30:46] Is to help others. That is a biblical. Worldview. He says. In verse 34. For you yourselves know. That these hands. Ministered. To my.
[30:58] Necessities. And to those who were with me. Verse 35. In all things. I have shown you. That by working hard. In this way. We must. Help.
[31:09] The weak. And remember. The words. Of the Lord. Jesus. How he himself said. It is more blessed. Blessed. To give. Than to receive.
[31:21] And there is a period. After that. End of speech. For Paul. Not only were the people.
[31:31] Of God. Foundational. In his ministry. But it was also. The people around. Who were. Equally vital. Valuable.
[31:42] And central. The needs. Around. Ones. Not only within. But also around. Were vital. It was part of the mission. I love how Tim Keller. Regardless of your opinion.
[31:52] Of Tim. I really. Enjoy. What he wrote. In generous. Gospel. He says. The. Apostle Paul.
[32:03] Viewed ministry. To the poor. As so important. That it was. One of the last. Things. He admonished. The Ephesian church. To do. Before he left. Them. For the last time.
[32:15] Paul was able. To ground. This duty. In the teaching. Of Jesus Christ. He says. We must. Help the poor. He says. Remembering. The words. Of the Lord. Jesus.
[32:25] Himself. Said. It is more. Blessed. To give. Than to receive. You don't. Use your last. Words. Tim Keller. Says. Without saying.
[32:36] Something. That is all. Important. To you. For Paul. It was. Don't. Only. Preach. Don't.
[32:47] Only. Preach. But. Help. The poor. In other words. We're not. Supposed. To just.
[32:57] Have. Busy. Heads. Supposed. To have. Busy. Hands. You see. The third. Pillar. Of. Sanctification. Is. Countercultural.
[33:08] Counterculturally. Being. Givers. Not. Takers. Givers. Not. Hoarders. Why? Because. No amount. Of. We have.
[33:20] Been. Earned. No amount. Of. We have. Has. Been. Earned. But. Gifted. By God. Through. Our. Hard work. And.
[33:31] This isn't. Saying. That. Wealth. Is. Bad. I am. You probably. Know. Me. Long. Enough. Now. What is it? Six years. Here. In this pulpit. You know. Me. I'm. Far. From. A communist. Right. Amen. To that. But.
[33:42] You know. I'm not saying. Having wealth. Is. Bad. Right. But. I am. Biblical. I am.
[33:53] Biblical. And. I'm not. Immature. Enough. To allow. Bad. Expressions. Of. Biblical. Virtues. Being applied. In. Communism. Right. Speaking.
[34:05] To elders. We realize. That church. Leaders. Should. Excel. At. This. Point. Not. Living. Lavishly. Thousand dollar. Shoes. Things. Of. That. Nature.
[34:15] That. Would. Discredit. Any word. That. Comes. Out. Of. Their. Mouth. We should. Realize. That church. Leaders. Should. Excel. At. This. But. Following. Jesus. Christ. Model. This. Should. Also.
[34:26] Be applied. To church. Members. As. Well. Jesus. Christ. Gave. Himself. Up. Entirely. Through. His. Model. Jesus. Christ. Paid. The. Highest.
[34:36] Price. The. Highest. Possible. Price. For. The. People. Of. God. Jesus. Did. It. How. Valuable. The. People. Of. God. They.
[34:47] Were. Purchased. By. His. Own. Blood. You. He. Knows. You. By. Name. Right. And.
[34:59] For. That. We. Should. Be. Far. Less. Concerned. How. Much. We. Make. More. Concerned. Of. How. Much. We. Give. As. An. Expression. Of. Gospel. Don't.
[35:10] Allow. Yourselves. To. Grow. Cold. To. The. Of. The. Fiery. Love. Of. Jesus. Christ. That. He. Has. For. You. And. How. That. Will. Naturally. Reorient. How. Much.
[35:20] We. Value. Our. Treasures. And. Possessions. In. This. Life. We. Store. Treasures. In. Heaven. He. Knows. You. Deeply. And. The. Deeper. We. Know. Christ. The.
[35:30] Deeper. We. Will. Delight. In. Knowing. One. Another. And. The. More. We. Delight. In. One. Another. The. Harder. We. Will. Work. On. Behalf. Of. Each. Other.
[35:42] To. Help. Each. Other. And. To. Reach. The. Lost. And. The. Poor. And. So. I. Ask. You. To. Surrender. Your. Lives. And. All. Within. Your. Lives. For. The. Glory. Of. God.
[35:52] And. The. Welfare. Of. Your. Brothers. And. Sisters. And. Trust. God's. Provisional. Hands. To. Always. Care. For. Your. Necessities. As. It. Were. For. Paul. The. Third. Pillar.
[36:03] Is. To. Work. Hard. Toward. Generosity. And. So. As. We. Stand. Back. In. This. Passage. As. It's. Unfold. Folded.
[36:13] For. Us. Today. That's. What. Are. We. Withholding. From. The. Lord. We. Might. Be. Withholding. Ourselves. We. Might. Be. Withholding. Accountability. It. Might. Be. Finances. Or. Possessions.
[36:25] What. Might. God. Be. Confronting.. To. Surrender. To. Him. To. Run. The. Race. Well. Well.
[36:35] I'm. I'm. Pretty. Much. Certain. That. The. Holy. Spirit. Is. Already. Impressing. That. Upon. You. Today. Of. What. That. Looks. Like. And. I. Ask. You. Simply. To. Not.
[36:46] Ignore. The. Signal. Do. Not. Ignore. Signal. It's. Time. To. Get. Our. Lives. And. Our. Priorities. In. Order. It.
[36:56] Is. Time. Paul. Was. On. Full. Display. Paul. Wanted. The. Elders. To. Be. On. Full. Display. And.
[37:06] In. The. In. Imitative. Nature. Of. Pastoral. Ministry. The. Church. Should. Follow. Suit. Full. Display. No. Shame. Only.
[37:17] Surrender. Full. Display. While. Hypocrisy. Among. God's. People. Is. A. Long. Standing. Tradition. Goes. All. The. Way. Back. To. Genesis.
[37:28] It. Takes. God's. Word. To. Confront. Us. And. To. End. That. Cycle. That's. How. It was. For. Samuel.
[37:38] In. The. Days. Of. Samuel. It. Was. How. It. Was. In. The. Days. Of. Ezra. At. The. Recovery. Of. God's. Word. To. His. People. We. Repent. And. Turn. To. Him.
[37:50] It. Is. Easy. To. Become. Comfortable. In. Sin. And. Less. Comfortable. With. Exposing. It. So. We. Simply. Know. It's. No. Wonder. Why. Nobody. Likes. To.
[38:01] Be. Around. Other. Christians. You. Can't. Hide. Things. As. Well. But. Maybe. The. Greatest. Revival. In. The. Church. Begins. With. When. We. Are. Less.
[38:11] Comfortable. In. Sin. And. More. Comfortable. In. Exposing. It. Maybe. That. Might. Be. The. Key. Of. Great. Revival.
[38:21] Beginning. With. Repentance. So. I. Ask. You. To. Come. Clean. Today. Come. To. God's. Grace. Today. Come. Here. And. Understand. The. Voice. Of. Your. Shepherd.
[38:32] King. Jesus. Where. He. Says. Love. The. Lord. Your. God. With. All. Of. Your. Heart. With. All. Of. Your. Mind. With. All.
[38:43] Your. Soul. And. Love. Your. Neighbor. As. Your. Self. The. Two. Greatest. Commands. Encompassing. The. Spirit. Of. The.
[38:53] Law. For. You. Hear. His. Words. Don't. Only. Hear. But. Understand. Them. As. These. Three. Pillars. Unfold. In. Your. Life. God's. Grace. Among. God's. People.
[39:04] Unmasks. Us. To. Live. Transparent. And. Accountable. Lives. Has. God. Unmasked. You. Today. Let's. Pray.