God has Many People
Series: For all People
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 15th August 2021
Passage: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 Well, good morning again. St. Paul's, it's great to connect in with you. It was about 28 years
00:00:08 --> 00:00:14 ago or so. It was really not long after I became a Christian, I ran into a former work colleague
00:00:14 --> 00:00:20 in a supermarket. And he asked me straight away if it was true, the rumor that he'd heard
00:00:20 --> 00:00:28 that in his words, I had found religion and was now involved in working in a church.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:34 When I said to him that, yes, it was true that I'd become a Christian before I said anything
00:00:34 --> 00:00:43 else, he very sharply and very quickly replied. He said, mate, keep it to yourself. He says,
00:00:43 --> 00:00:52 if you ever speak to me about it, he said, we are finished. Just like that. So nearly 30 years later,
00:00:52 --> 00:00:58 and it feels like that sentiment that I experienced in the supermarket on that day
00:00:58 --> 00:01:07 is running right through our society. If you're a Christian, the pressure is to be quiet. It's a
00:01:07 --> 00:01:13 subtle pressure, but sometimes it's a little more than subtle. I've read of Christian teachers
00:01:13 --> 00:01:19 choosing not to wear crosses to work because they know that their credibility will be lost
00:01:19 --> 00:01:27 if they are known to be Christian. Only a couple of years ago, the graduate intake at a major bank
00:01:27 --> 00:01:34 in Sydney were told on their first day that this company does not do religion.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:42 Talk of faith was not welcome and in fact would be considered a breach of corporate policy.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:50 And so if you want to advance in this bank, you must be quiet.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:58 There are plenty of other examples. Many Christians today are afraid to speak about the good news of
00:01:58 --> 00:02:05 Jesus Christ in this city. Now it might come as a surprise to us as we open the book of Acts this
00:02:05 --> 00:02:15 morning that the devout, single-minded, bold Apostle Paul also battled fear in mission and speaking
00:02:15 --> 00:02:21 about Jesus. This is what Paul talks about. This is what he has written about. He's a rival to the city
00:02:21 --> 00:02:26 of Corinth, which was just read out to us by Noll in 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:38 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. So what has got Paul so fearful?
00:02:39 --> 00:02:47 And how was that fear overcome? That's our question today. Now we're in the second half of the New
00:02:47 --> 00:02:54 Testament book of Acts and so far we've seen a whole range of people in a whole heap of different places,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 range of different people, ethnic, economic, social backgrounds have come and put their faith in
00:02:59 --> 00:03:07 Jesus Christ. There is no Christian type. Jesus is for everyone and everyone needs Jesus. Now some of
00:03:07 --> 00:03:14 the places that the Apostle Paul has visited have been fairly small, insignificant kind of rural villages
00:03:14 --> 00:03:23 and towns, but that could not be said of the city of Corinth. And so open your Bibles, Acts 18 is where
00:03:23 --> 00:03:28 we're up to the St. Paul's app also has a bit of an outline if you want to follow me through for
00:03:28 --> 00:03:35 today. First of all, I want to introduce us to the city of Corinth, the cosmopolitan Corinth.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 The first thing that we need to know about this city is it's a city that was on the up and up
00:03:40 --> 00:03:49 where Athens was the intellectual center of the ancient world. Corinth was the commercial center.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:57 The population of Athens that Paul has just visited, you know, the chapter before was around about 10
00:03:57 --> 00:04:03 people at Paul's time. Corinth, on the other hand, was three quarters of a million people.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:13 Corinth was strategically placed at the crossroads of trade routes. Corinth was unusual in that where it
00:04:13 --> 00:04:21 geographically sat on the end of a peninsula meant that in fact it boasted two shipping ports.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:30 Trade would travel north and south from Corinth via land and east and west via the sea.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:37 Its markets were stocked with goods, the finest goods from all over the world. It's literally
00:04:37 --> 00:04:47 the world converged on Corinth. People from all over the Roman world had in fact moved into Corinth
00:04:47 --> 00:04:54 to take up the cosmopolitan lifestyle. And so the apostle Paul in coming to Corinth must have seen the
00:04:54 --> 00:05:02 strategic importance of Corinth. If trade could radiate from and to Corinth, so could the good news of
00:05:02 --> 00:05:12 Jesus Christ. The second thing we need to know about Corinth is that Corinth was world famous for its
00:05:12 --> 00:05:24 immorality. Behind the city of Corinth rose the mountain Acro-Corinth. On the flat summit stood the temple of
00:05:24 --> 00:05:33 Aphrodite, the goddess of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. And serving Aphrodite at the temple was 1 female
00:05:33 --> 00:05:45 slaves who roamed the streets as prostitutes for Aphrodite, the streets of Corinth. And Corinth was famous for its
00:05:45 --> 00:05:53 immorality. In fact, so much so, particularly their sexual promiscuity, that a name was given for
00:05:53 --> 00:06:03 sexual promiscuity in the ancient world and it was called to Corinthianize. Corinth was a large,
00:06:04 --> 00:06:16 upwardly mobile, progressive, confident, proud, inclusive, pleasure-seeking, wealthy, immoral city.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:24 And so will the good news of Jesus Christ that is at impact in villages and towns and different people,
00:06:25 --> 00:06:29 will it have impact in a city like Corinth?
00:06:33 --> 00:06:41 And so we now come to Paul's mission in Corinth and along comes Paul. Why did the courageous,
00:06:41 --> 00:06:48 bold, poor, come to Corinth in his own words, weakness, fear and trembling?
00:06:50 --> 00:06:57 Now partly, he must have felt at least a little dejected as he walked the 80 kilometers from Athens to Corinth.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:04 You know, since he has arrived in Europe, he has suffered a terrible beating in Philippi, civil rejection in
00:07:04 --> 00:07:12 Thessalonica and Berea and indifference and apathy in Athens. And the next thing he has is Corinth.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:22 The size, the pride, the immorality of this city must have been intimidating to the tired, bruised Paul.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:30 He knew his message would come into direct conflict with the whole culture of this city.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:37 And he tells us, as we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 2,
00:07:38 --> 00:07:44 I resolved to know nothing while the world was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:52 That's his message. And he knew that message was going to come in total conflict with the city of Corinth.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:58 Now for Christians tuning into us right now,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:09 that message there, Christ and him crucified, means that Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:18 died on a cross as a once for all substitute in our place so that we would not have to suffer eternal death,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:23 but would enjoy the abundant and eternal life that Jesus purchased for us.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:31 That is, Jesus swapped his life for our death so that we might have his life.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:41 Now the problem with that view of the cross is that it leaves out one huge fact.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:46 I mean, it's all good, it's just that it leaves out one huge fact.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:51 One aspect that is so crucial.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 And Jesus stated it in Luke chapter 9 verse 23.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:05 If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:09 You see, when Christ died on the cross for sinners,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:15 he not only stood in my place doing what I could never do,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 and that is forgive my own sin against God,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:23 but he also showed me what I must do in order to save my life.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:29 I take up my cross and I join him on the Calvary road of death to self.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:37 Christ died to save us from God's judgment forever,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:41 but not to save us from the cross.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 He died so that we could be glorified,
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 not to keep us from being crucified.
00:09:50 --> 00:10:03 For the Christian, the cross of Christ is not merely a past place of substitution for our sin
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 and the justice of God being satisfied.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 It is certainly that.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:11 But it is also the present place of daily execution.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:20 In other words, never let the cross of Christ lose its crucifying power in your life.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:31 Never let the cross slip into the past as though Jesus died for sinners so that we could live for pleasure.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 Oh, make no mistake, friends.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 The pleasures are coming.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 Jesus has promised them.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:43 And some, if you're a Christian, some are already here and you know they're already here.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:47 Things like forgiveness and acceptance and a measure of holiness and healing.
00:10:47 --> 00:10:54 And oh my goodness, right now, hope, hope for life forever is just so, so pleasurable.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 The Christian has life and hope.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:03 But just like Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:07 so it is with us in this age according to the book of Hebrews.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:17 Most of the joy that we long for as Christians is just over the horizon and Jesus' guarantee that it will come.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:23 And so, as Hebrews says to us in chapter 13, verses 13 and 14,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:52 The great tragedy of much of contemporary Christian thought is that the cross of Christ is safely relegated to a distant past.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:58 Practically what that means, for it's way too many, particularly in the Western world,
00:11:58 --> 00:12:04 is that Jesus was soaked in blood so that I can soak in a jacuzzi.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 That is not the Christian faith.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:20 Jesus Christ was restrained on a cross so that we might be truly free, liberated from sin, set free from slavery to self.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:28 The message of Christ and him crucified means that if you would save your life, you must lose it.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:33 And if you would follow Jesus, you must take up your cross daily.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 And that is Paul's message to Corinth.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 In the same way, it's our message to Sydney.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:46 It was Corinth, like Sydney, a self-confident, proud city.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 It was full of self-made people.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:56 And the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified undermines all human pride.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:03 Corinth was a city of self-indulgence, a pleasure-seeking city.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:12 And the message of Christ crucified would warn them that the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:18 The good news calls them to repent and to live a life of holiness.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 It calls them to die to self.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:32 In other words, the good news that Paul preached at Corinth called for both self-humbling and self-denial.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:42 And so Paul must have wondered, of all the places in the ancient world, would Corinth receive it?
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 And the early signs is yes.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 Yes, they did.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, became a Christian.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 That's what we know first of up.
00:13:55 --> 00:13:59 But the apostle Paul fell prey to fear and discouragement.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:06 And I think verse 6 is the trigger point where this discouragement really sets in for Paul.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:11 He tells the Jews in verse 6 that the blood is on their own heads for rejecting Jesus.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:20 And then he takes the newly converted synagogue leader next door to start a church amongst the Gentiles.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 He must have known this is the moment of trouble.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 This is the moment where it's about to go bad.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 He's rejected the temple.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 He's moving the synagogue leader next door to a church.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:41 He's now reaching this immoral, proud, pagan, Gentile city.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 This is when it's going to go bad.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:51 His previous experience tells him this is the moment that the riots start.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 This is when the crowds form.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 This is when he gets flogged.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 This is when he gets imprisoned.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 This is when he gets thrown out of town.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 This is the moment.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:09 And so what Paul does in my mind here in this moment is he borrows worries.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 He's worrying about troubles that he's yet to face.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:19 Can you experience?
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 Can you experience?
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 You know that?
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 What that feels like?
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 You do that in day by day life?
00:15:24 --> 00:15:29 We often worry about a thousand tribulations that we never go through.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:40 Maybe Paul thinks that whatever happens next, it will be bad news for him.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 And so God ministers to him in this moment.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:48 It's a vision bearing words of just refreshment for this apostle.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 God loves and cares for his children.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:53 So have a look at verse 9.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 Do not be afraid.
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 Keep on speaking.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 Do not be silent.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:08 For I am with you and no one is going to attack and harm you because I have many people in this city.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:19 1 John 4 verse 18 teaches us there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:28 And the simple words, not to be afraid, must have just filled Paul's heart here with God's love.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:33 God's word tells us again and again and again, do not be afraid.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 Do not fear.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 To stop worrying about tomorrow.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 To stop borrowing trouble.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 In Jesus, all fear has been cast out.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 In Jesus, we are God's much-loved children.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 And he has tomorrow in his hands.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 And Paul is told to speak.
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 His fear made him afraid to speak.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 Silence for the apostle.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:05 Paul in this moment would have imprisoned his fear.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 But boldness for the gospel would cause him to overcome it.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:14 And he's also promised here in this moment divine presence and protection.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 God tells him, I am with you.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 And no one is going to attack and harm you.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:29 It's the promise of the resurrected, death-defeating, sin-destroying, all-conquering Lord Jesus Christ.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:39 As he sends his disciples into the world on the mission that we are still partaking in 2 years later, he said to us, I am with you.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 I am with you.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 I am with you.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 No harm would come to Paul in Corinth.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 That wasn't true for Paul in the previous months.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 And it won't be true for him in the future.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 But it was true right there in that moment.
00:17:55 --> 00:18:05 But those words also meant for the apostle Paul that nothing would ultimately and totally harm Paul and bring him down.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 And that, my friends, is the promise for every Christian.
00:18:10 --> 00:18:14 God's protection for us does not mean that in some way we'll be free from difficulties.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:20 But God will never allow us to face more than what we can bear.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:30 Nothing can harm the freedom, the eternal life, the hope, and the joy we have in Jesus.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 Not even a city-wide lockdown.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:43 Nothing will hinder the advance of God's work in this world.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 Even a city-wide lockdown.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:50 Jesus keeps his promise to protect Paul in Corinth.
00:18:51 --> 00:19:04 And the amazing irony in this moment is that the chief means of that protection is, in fact, Roman law and Galileo.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:11 Unexpectedly, the ruling authorities were on Paul's side.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:15 And his right to speak about Jesus.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:20 The opposition, this time, backfired.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:26 And the crowd miraculously turns on the synagogue leader.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:37 And commentators are of the view that the crowd here that turned on the synagogue leader were not the Jews who were against Paul,
00:19:37 --> 00:19:42 but the Gentiles of the city turned on the synagogue leader for trying to stir up trouble.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:47 It was a miraculous turnaround.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:53 The apostle Paul was worrying about things that he didn't need to worry about.
00:19:54 --> 00:20:04 And the surprising events here means that Paul was free to bring the word of God in Corinth for the next 18 months.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:07 And he did.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:12 There were many who belonged to Jesus in Corinth was God's promise to Paul.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 As intimidating as this city was,
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 compared to almighty God and his purposes,
00:20:20 --> 00:20:24 it was no more than a little Lego town.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:32 So what does this mean for us and our mission to Chatswood and beyond?
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 There are many who belong to Jesus in this city too.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:48 We know God's mission is for all people from every tribe, language, nation, and culture to find life in Jesus Christ,
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 to find hope in Jesus Christ.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 That's what God has been doing for 2 years.
00:20:52 --> 00:21:01 Despite persecutions, hardships, political oppression, lockdowns, God is still at work.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:07 And even though the city and the society that we find ourselves here in Sydney is intimidating to the Christian,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:11 there are still many who belong to Jesus in this place.
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 There are those who love this city,
00:21:16 --> 00:21:20 and there are those who are just tired of the culture of it.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 They're feeling enslaved by it too.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:31 There are plenty in this city filled with guilt and shame from the pleasure-seeking life,
00:21:31 --> 00:21:34 realizing that it has come up empty.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37 It is ultimately not satisfying.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:41 It's an addiction, and all addictions enslave you.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 They rule you.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 You don't rule them.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 And maybe that's you right now listening to this.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:53 You've somehow turned into this,
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 and you're hearing this.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 And my word to you is come to Jesus.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:04 Come to Jesus now and find freedom from slavery to sin.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:11 Jesus was constrained to a cross so that you might be set free.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 His offer to you is freedom.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 And his offer is free.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:23 The message of Jesus Christ crucified means that you are more sinful,
00:22:24 --> 00:22:27 and you are more wicked and proud than you ever imagined,
00:22:28 --> 00:22:36 and yet you are more loved and forgiven and affirmed and free than you could ever imagine possible.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:41 For those who are Christian, however, listening to this,
00:22:42 --> 00:22:47 it is so important that you not be intimidated by the city and its culture.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 God is bigger and more powerful.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 Those who are his in this city are his.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55 The apostle Peter was told,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 earlier in the book of Acts,
00:22:56 --> 00:23:03 was told not to speak about Jesus by the religious authorities of his day in Acts chapter 4.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 And his reply was this,
00:23:05 --> 00:23:09 salvation is found in no one else,
00:23:09 --> 00:23:15 for there is no other name under heaven given to humanity by which they must be saved.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:20 And as Ash has reminded us earlier in this service,
00:23:20 --> 00:23:24 the same Peter tells us in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15,
00:23:24 --> 00:23:32 always be prepared to give an answer to anyone and everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 And so if you're a Christian listening to this,
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 and if you're one of those people who's gone quiet about Jesus,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:51 I wonder if the reason you aren't freer and more natural in testifying to the reality of the hope that you have in Jesus,
00:23:51 --> 00:23:56 is mostly because you don't feel hopeful.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 I wonder if that's it.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:09 I think we don't talk about Jesus when our hearts are not full of hope in the promises of Christ.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:13 If Jesus is our treasure and our hearts devotion,
00:24:13 --> 00:24:17 then I think there's a delight to tell someone why we are so hopeful.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 And particularly in days of difficulty,
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 why we still are so full of hope.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:29 I fear that too many church people cannot make a case for the hope that's within them
00:24:29 --> 00:24:34 because they don't actually feel any hope brimming up within their hearts.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:43 And so the way you get ready to make a case for the hope that is in you
00:24:43 --> 00:24:46 is to get hopeful.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:52 Apply yourself to settling the questions of your own heart.
00:24:52 --> 00:25:01 We must find for ourselves reason enough to get over the fear of people and to live a lively hope.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:07 Search out the promises of Christ and meditate on his character
00:25:07 --> 00:25:15 and his work for the sake of your salvation and for the banishment of your fear
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 and for the kindling of your hope.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:22 The same loving, caring ministry that God offered the apostle Paul,
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 he offers directly to you as well.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:32 The same ministry that came to Paul is exactly the same ministry that can come to you.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:39 He spoke to Paul, ministered to Paul,
00:25:39 --> 00:25:43 and he speaks to you and wants to minister to you.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:48 In these troubled times, God wants to give you hope.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:55 He wants his promises to be real to you as well and clear to you as it was for Paul.
00:25:55 --> 00:26:00 Day after day, therefore, we must be in the Bible.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:08 Not to anxiously amass arguments for every possible rebuttal someone might have in our secular age,
00:26:08 --> 00:26:13 but because you and I are so desperately needy,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 desperately needy,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:22 our own hope waxes and wanes day in and day out.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:27 We have fears that need to be overcome by the promises of God.
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 We have doubts that need to be answered.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:34 The fight of faith is waged in the word of God and prayer.
00:26:34 --> 00:26:38 And so let me add to Nick's challenge.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 Pick it up.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 Do it.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:45 Four or more a week.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:49 And when we emerge from that encounter with God,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:53 with a renewed and lively hope in his promises,
00:26:54 --> 00:26:58 we will be ready to make a case for our hope.
00:26:58 --> 00:27:04 The Bible reveals God's intimate knowledge of his people,
00:27:05 --> 00:27:10 even to the point where he knows the number of hairs on each head,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:14 which in my case, the figure changes rapidly.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:20 Fear is incompatible with faith.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:25 Fear simply means that we must grow our confidence in God.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:28 Fear assumes God is distant,
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 unacquainted with the trials of his people.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 And that is not the God of the Bible.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:42 He knows everything we face today and tomorrow and next year.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 But he promises us,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 never will I leave you,
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 never will I forsake you.
00:27:48 --> 00:28:01 Turkey is
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 word Eastern.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:09 Turkey is