The Peace of Prayer (March 28th 2021)

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Prayer In The Life Of The Church  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  45:44
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But welcome to Palm Sunday. I saw some of you using your palms during worship and you'll have an opportunity to use them again at the end of the sermon Palm Sunday is remember the the Sunday where we remember Jesus coming into Jerusalem and hailed as the Prince of Peace. This is also the final sermon in our prayer series, we're beginning our fourth and final week of 30 days of prayer and I invite you to prayer meeting on Wednesday. I'm invite you to be faithful and pray for our church every day this week. I also want to remind you that we're entering Holy Week and we will be having a good Friday service at 10 a.m. And it will be at you'll be allowed to come here up to our capacity. And if that's not appropriate or you kind of missed the mark there it will be streamed. We're also having to Easter services and I just wanted to explain why we're not going to two services but we are going to go to two services for two for Easter Sunday. We usually send the registration note out for a Sunday service on a Wednesday morning by Thursday. Supper time is generally full so that says to me there are people who would like to come that just can't and we are for the basement we offer you too, but on teaster we want to give everybody the opportunity if you would like to worship here in the building. So we're going to have to Services The Logical time to do that is 9 and 11. However, if we do 9. 11 that doesn't guarantee us the time to clean the auditorium between Services we've got fogging machines. We've got special chemicals will need a boat an hour. So we will be having to Easter services to increase the ability of you to to worship here in the building. All both of those services will be streamed and they will be at 9 and 11:30. Well last week we left Peter chain between two guards and sleeping can't believe it's sleeping. And we ask the question. How can I be like, how can you watch your friend James be killed by Herod Herod has promised to do the same to you the seven days of the other mother unleavened bread have passed and it's the 8th day and you're going to die and he's between two guards probably standing up and he is sleeping and that's because he had a sense of peace.

in imminent danger terrible physical circumstances. He had a sense of peace. And this week we're not looking at Peter. We're looking at Paul and he is in a shipwreck and the running out of food and the winds are against them. And by the way, he's on the ship not for a Leisure Cruise because he's a prisoner going to Rome. And he not only is not stressed out. He's encouraging others. Acts 27:25 to pay card man for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. And we see Peter last week and we see Paul this weekend. We just say How do I get that? How do I get into the place where the waves are turning in? The waters are coming in over the gunnels and everybody seasoned Sailors are freaking out. We're going to die and Paul says hey, don't worry. Be encouraged.

Take heartburn for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. How do we get that? How do we get to where Paul was?

Will you may find this surprising but the answer to ask 27 is not in Ox 27.

Is the question is how did Paul get to the place where he can be in a chaotic dangerous unfair unjust situation and have those bubbling over of Peace if the question is, how did he get there? The answer of Acts 27 is not in Acts 27. The answer is in Paul's whole life. Call Decades of being faithful to God and finding God Faithful. So when we come to ask 27, we're seeing one little episode was having in mind all the stuff that's happened before God and Paul has been faithful to the Lord for decades at this point and he has found the Lord Facebook for decades. So the Shipwreck is just one more thing. This is just like the slave girl. This is just like the guy who opposed me when I was sharing the gospel. So this morning I want to demonstrate how salvation for Paul was instantaneous. He was not saved. He was not saved. He was not save he was not save up. He saved salvation is instantaneous. But the intimacy that he felt with God at this point that is not instantaneous that comes after Decades of faithful life and finding God faithful. So this morning I just wanted to review with you the life of Paul. The sermon ends in Acts 27 and we'll spend like 2 minutes and ask 27th. But what happened before then? How does he get to the point where he is in this dangerous chaotic situation where everybody even seasoned Sailors think they're going to die and he's like chill. He's like no big deal I have faith is all going to work out.

Well Paul was born. It probably don't know exactly when but he was probably born somewhere between 5 and 10 ad.

He was his dad was a Roman citizen. But his family wasn't really Roman. They were Jewish. They were one of these families that had resisted the temptation to be assimilated into Roman culture and they were big-time Jews. Paul was born in Tarsus. But he was raised in Jerusalem. And he was raised in Jerusalem so that he could study study under this really feigned skilled teacher of the Jewish Way of Life come out with y'all. And he was a good student. He learned his lessons wealth which is why and asked 22-3. He describes himself this way. I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. Keen Bern Judaism inside out which explains a lot about his initial reaction to the church. When the church starts exploding and he has been trained in Judaism. He does not see the church as a new revelation from God. He does not see Christ as a path of Salvation. He sees everything as a threat to his way of life and everything. He's learned. He would learn from his teacher that Deuteronomy 21 says that if a man Condemned criminal dies on a tree he is a curse and the church says no he isn't. He's the Messiah. Paul reacts very strongly to this. In reflecting on his earlier life after he saved he says in Galatians 113 for you have heard of my former life in Judaism how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it. He probably studied. from about 15 to 20 ad but then everything starts to change in a round 34 ad. We touched on this to Sherman's ago when we were in act 8 just before you get to axata courses at 7 and not 7 is where Steven is being stoned and Paul is watching the stoning watching his unjust murder and he doesn't say stop. This is unrighteous. He says boys because this is the this is an attempt to remove the threat from the way of life. I know and love is not hard to understand why he is Approving of stealing Steven Stone in here, but then everything starts to change right after the stoning in that same year. 3488 Paul is confronted by Christ.

And he has been training for decades in Judaism, but in an instant the center of his life has changed. The center of his life ceases to be Jewish law and it starts to be the Risen Christ. The new saw is renamed Paul and has a new life and it's so ironic. He goes to Jerusalem to persecute the church and he leaves Jerusalem to become a member of the church. Something that the Bible doesn't give a lot of details on we don't know what happened. We just know that it happened is after his Damascus conversion experience. Paul did not immediately start the pre she went to Arabia kids. That's what you're looking for Arabia for about 3 years. We don't know a lot about what happened there, but it seems that the Lord was giving him the details poodle it tutoring him preparing him for a life of ministry. He had three years in Arabia being caught personally by the Lord and preparing for Ministry and when he came back he starts to preach in Damascus. Tolkien go well Because his former Brothers in Judaism now see him as the threat. He's the new enemy. So there's all kinds of trouble. He looks like he's going to die is the only reason he escapes is because his friends put him in a basket if item in a basket Tire cord to it and lower them down the wall. Let me just pause here. This is a note that's going to be hit over and over and over again as we hear the life of Paul Paul is faithful. He was preaching the gospel gets in all kinds of trouble and you know what he finds. He finds God is faithful. God gave him friends. God gave him a basket that gave him a little guy gave him a rope and he escapes to serve another day. Pause a Believer. He spent three years in Arabia being taught by the Lord, but he hasn't met the bigwigs in the church. So he goes to This isn't about 37 by the way, cuz he spent three years in Arabia. He goes to Jerusalem. This is only about 2 weeks long. This is a short trip and he's just introducing himself to the disciples and telling what he's been taught by the Lord. I'm not on track here or am I know that's exactly what we've learned from the Lord by the way, it's only 2 weeks because as soon as he gets there more opposition more melee more people trying to get them. So for his own safety the disciples put them on a boat. And send him to Tarsus. He's here for a while. He's here from about 37 to 45 and he begins his ministry here. He's evangelizing very few details of this whole ministry. Right here. But this is probably where Paul receives his Thorn In the Flesh. We don't know what that was. But this is probably the phase of his life where he received The Thorn In the Flesh. Just think about this. He's miraculously saved trained by the Lord meets his disciples and use them nothing but troubles and then the Lord rewards his faithfulness with a thorn in the flesh. What is the right? He learned later that God was gracious to give him. Thorne. Grass. God being unsafe or that's God being very faithful and the young pole is learning. I'm faithful to God. And I find him faithful to me. Barnabas who is Northern tar says he's in Antioch. He comes over to Antioch to Tarsus and says, hey, I'm building a church here in Antioch. You want to come and help me. This is about 46 ad. So they start evangelizing and a healthy vigorous church starts to growth here. He stays here about a year. And then they go to Jerusalem. I just need to pause here. There's a dynamic going on in the church right now that you need to know about to help understand the life story of Paul. The first converts were Jews after Jesus resurrection, but largely the Jews rejected Christ. And so Gentile started coming to the Lord. There was a real tension between Jewish Believers and Gentile Believers sorting out what part of the Jewish law. Do you have to keep? Can you really be a Christian without becoming a Jew first? There's tension. There's Jewish Christians and then there's Gentile Christians and we just kind of stayed ourselves if you know what I mean. What poem Barnabas are trying to build Unity at this time? There's a famine in Jerusalem. The Christians are really literally starving. So Paul and Barnabas not only go to Jerusalem, but they come with money they come with Aid to build unity in the body of Christ. There's all sorts of interesting things here that happened one time Paul and Barnabas were in front of a government leader sharing the gospel. Well, there was a false prophet named Ella Moss who kept getting in the way who kept opposing Paul and so forth, which is a bad move because Paul. Is preaching to the government official La mass is getting in the way God through Paul strikes and blind.

the government official sees this and becomes a believer.

Hey, I was faithful to the Lord. And he was faithful to me. I did what I could do. I preach the gospel when there was something that I couldn't do remove the obstacle. God was faithful to

this is what Paul does learning year after year after year.

This begins his first missionary journey. He goes all over the place will come back to this little bit later. But the first missionary journey one time. He's in Antioch and he's preaching at the synagogue which is his way. He just shows up in the city. He just finds a synagogue. How can I speak and he preaches and the people hear his message and they say this is amazing very much like your thinking right now. Oh, wait a minute, maybe not but they say he finished is a sermon and they say this can't be the end. You've got to come back. You come back next Sabbath. We want to hear more. We want to hear more. We want to hear more whether that service comes and the place is packed to the rafters. Which gets the attention of the Jews who were opposing him? Which means another Hasty retreat? There's quite a scene. There's some Violence by the way, he goes to lystra. When I get to lystra. Something interesting happens. There's a lame man God through Paul and Barnabas heal the lame man the people see this healing and they say the gods have come down from heaven to live with us. And they're trying to figure out who these Gods might be. Barnabas seems to be the leader will call him Zeus. And Paul does most of the speaking and in Greek the panoply of Greek. God Hermes does most of the speaking. So this must be Zeus. This must be Hermes. The gods are coming.

We're flawed like you. But we bring you good news, and now you can see the gospel is really catching on because they seen this miraculous Miracle people are calling them gods. They just need to be educated little bit. This is the beginning of something good not so much. The fickle crowds are turned by the Jewish leaders and the Very people that said wow, this is amazing. You are Gods I think your resume. So I think you were like in one week. They're trying to kill him. Is Roderick they think they have they drag them outside the city Stoneham and they leave them because they think their dad. But they're not dead. There's more time for work. Support Barnabas go to Antioch and then they go back to Jerusalem member. I was telling you about this divided. There's this Jewish Gentile divided while here is really come to a head. The flashpoint is circumcision the Jewish Believers think that to become a believer in Christ. You must be circumcised. That's the sign of the Covenant. This is a new covenant. You need to be circumcised the Gentile Believers. That's not their understanding at all. So they all go to Jerusalem to discuss circumcision if you're interested in the details.

Read acts 15 but the basic the bottom line is you don't have to be circumcised to be a believer. But just while this tension exists a gentile Christians try to show some love be deferential be respectful of the Jewish customs. And then it's back to Antioch his kind of his home-based and he's just been in Jerusalem hearing about all the sensitivity between Jewish Christians. The Jedi are Christians, and we got to be really careful because back to Antioch where Peter is ministering ESV Peter. And he sees Peter being a hypocrite. When the Jews are not in Antioch Peter mixes with all the Gentiles as soon as the Jews arrived, he won't say hi to the Gentiles anymore. He is only with the juice. Call Cesar Sanchez. This is exactly the kind of hypocrisy that is going to inflame these divisions not healing and he rebuked Peter to his face.

He's writing violations at this time, which is why you don't read about Paul confronting Peter in at you read about it in Galatians.

What Paul is planning his second missionary journey and he's got all the maps out. He knows exactly where he's going to go until he gets a vision from the Lord the Lord gives him a vision of a man in Macedonia and the man is saying come here. So the plan changes and he Launches on his second missionary journey by the way the second missionary journey is much bigger than the first let me just show you this keep your eyes here this is the island of Cyprus see that Here's the first missionary journey. That's the same island. You can see keep your eyes there. You can see this is much further afield. This is much more in-depth a longer harder trip, but all to save to share the gospel.

So what are the things that one of the trips one of the stops in the second missionary journey is Philip. I in Phillipi something interesting happens. There's this slave girl that keeps fault that is inhabited by an evil spirit. She has an evil spirit inside her and the slave girl keeps following Paul and everytime Paul tries to talk. She says these are the Servants of the most high. God was kind of sounds good but it interrupts everything in a maybe was set in a mocking way and she says it over and over and over and over again not for hours, but four days Paul just can't minister. So Paul and irritation. The Bible says he was irritated. cast the evil spirit out of the slave girl hooray a human soul delivered. No not her a you see the evil spirit gave the girl the gift of divination. She could predict the future her owners made a lot of money out of that gift. No, evil spirit, no bankroll. I got a problem with what you just did. you know what is reward for freeing this girl is

dragged off to jail stop the gospel there while the whole thing backfires. That's the story of the Philippian Jailer.

They're all in jail waiting for the sentence and an earthquake comes and the doors rattle open. The Jailer comes in and sees that all the cell doors are open assumed everybody has left and it's about to commit suicide he is ready to do a right there because we've learned and act 2012. Yes, when the people were guarding Peter and Peter was left out. They were killed in Roman times. If you let a prisoner go you sacrifice your life for that so he knows what's coming for him. He sees the doors open. He assumes the prisoners are gone. He's ready to commit suicide. Paul says kids. Are you listening? This is in your notes. Paul says do not harm yourselves. We are all here.

In the Philippian Jailer says I was close to thank goodness. It's not what he says it all.

What must I do to be saved? Do you see what Paul is observing in life? That when you were faithful to God you find him faithful and even the bad stuff works out good. Even the inconvenience even the pain is redeemed and used for his glory and your good policy him over and over and over again. God is in control and God is faithful. He's learning this the growing Paul salvation was in an instant. He was not saved and a microsecond later he was saved but his intimacy with the Lord was not intimate not instant it grew over Decades of faithful service of being faithful to the Lord in finding him Facebook.

Well, there you go, sir thessalonica, and they have a parade for them know they don't there's another he's forced to leave the blessed life of a missionary. Is it supposed to be life of the missionary? It's just not blessing in the currency that we normally operate in.

Paula's address is the Athenians he's going into town. What am I going to say to these people? He sees the statue and the statue was labeled to the unknown God. They have lots of statues to God and all kinds of God, but someone says they what if I forgot one, so they make a statue. So they will this is to the unknown God if we've forgotten you little god. Well, here's your statue Paul walks by the statue and he says that's the introduction of my sermon. I'm going to say. Hey, I noticed you have a statue to the unknown God. Let me tell you a little bit about him. And let me tell you so much that he can stop being the unknown God and start being the known God.

Call Wright's first and second Thessalonians in this journey in his second Journey. He finds himself in Corinth. In Corinth, the Jews are just beside himself cuz they're doing everything they can do to shut this guy out. Nothing's working. So the Bible says they made quote a United attack. We're going to get you in all sorts of trouble with the government officials. You think your life was tough? That's a picnic compared to what we have set up for you. So they have all kinds of complaints and legal proceedings. They go to the proconsul and the whole thing Fizzles. Everyone's assembled in front of the proconsul and so he comes in he says, okay, what seems to be the problem here? And the Jews saved this guy here. He's breaking Jewish laws and Jewish customs and let me show you from the Bible where it said when he did was you know, what the proconsul says. Jewish laws are not my problem. Jewish laws are your problem next?

Go back to Antioch we go and we set off on the third missionary journey. Another third missionary journey is about the same land masses II keep your eye on Cypress. There's the third missionary journey.

And here's the second it's about the same landmass, but notice the number of stops here on the second. Versus the third this is the missionary Journeys and on missionary Journeys. He stopped and everywhere and he is seeing everybody.

Motorized 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. He's on his third missionary journey. He gets to Ephesus and he meets some Believers there and he happens to a skate. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became a Believer and they said the holy what what I don't I don't even know what you're talking about. So Paul gives him in some instructions and then he baptized in the Holy Spirit kids listen, but the Holy Spirit fell on them when they were baptized. God is it Paul is faithful to do what he can do. He can teach she can baptized. He can't promise the Holy Spirit to do anyting. Garters if Paul does what he can do and Paul God does what Paul can't do? Paul is faithful to God and he's increasingly finding God is who he says he is the faithful God by the way, we're having a baptismal Service April 25th at the Lord is moving on you in this important and necessary and non-optional step of obedience. I love you to just contact me with love to include you in our baptismal classes would start two weeks before that. I can't remember what the date is 11th. I think it's April 11th Star first baptismal class. Anyways, he stays here for about 3 months. But what a 3 months there is just this outpouring of Miracles as matter fact when he's in Ephesus the holy spirit. Is he working so powerfully through Paul people find that sick. People are healed even if they touch Paul's handkerchief. This is power.

The other see this this is miraculous that this guy puts on quite a show. I'd like to do the same. So people see his routine all we cast out demons. They try to cast out demons impulse. This is like act 8 with Simon where he says, hey how much money can I pay you so that I can push the Holy Spirit around these guys want to put on the same truck. So they try to harness the same spiritual power. They don't come to Christ. They don't repent. They're just going to do the rigmarole. And so they come up to someone who is genuinely infested with an evil spirit and they say in the Name of Christ in the name of Paul. I command you to get out. You know what the evil spirits say, we don't Jesus. We don't Paul. Who are you again? And they malam. Does not turn out good. Oh, yeah, as all this is going on slave girls and exorcisms and planting churches and teaching and baptizing Paul's writing like a third of the New Testament. This is an unbelievably profitable life for the people of God. Most of it comes through suffering. But what Paul is seeing is this partnership I do what I can do in being faithful to God and he does all the stuff that I can't do.

Oh the story continues. He's 3 years in Ephesus. This is probably about 50 to 2:55 ad and I just want to point out.

10 years before this point in the story. There are no churches. No church. Is there some Believers in Jerusalem now after 10 years of a faithful intimate partnership with God? There are there tons of churches healthy thriving evangelizing growing churches dominant churches. Paul returns to Jerusalem for Pentecost. I don't want to talk too much about this, but it's about the journey. There's some interesting things here.

All through pawslife the heat gets hotter and hotter and hotter, you know the whole Basket episode that started it. That's Child's Play. The Jews are really after him now.

So he knows that when he goes back to Jerusalem, which is the center of Jewish power. This is not going to Be easy. As a matter of fact on his way to Jerusalem God reveal to several believers who have the gift of Prophecy that when you get to Jerusalem, it's going to be tough going to be really tough. At one point, he's with a group of Believers before it gets to Jerusalem. And one of the disciples one of the Believers takes Paul's belt kid. That's what you're looking for belt takes Paul's belt Barnes his own feet like a profit Bynes his own feet. And he says this looking at his feet. This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt. Can you imagine the pregnant pause in the room? Well the whole place don't go don't go begging you. Please do something. Very moving.

He says what are you doing weeping and Breaking My Heart Like This for I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. This is a man who's been living for the Lord for a long time and his discovered. The secret that life is a intimate partnership with God and you be faithful to him and you will find him faithful to you. He has learned this.

Well, the Believers around him see that they he cannot be swayed and he's they just say let the Lord that the will of the Lord be done. Red Run This Time Paul is preaching. Oh, what a sermon. Goes on for like half an hour. No, no. No, it's going for half an hour his went on for an hour then two and then three. It's midnight. And Paul is still preaching. Well, there's this guy named eutychus. He's at the meeting. He does what none of you would ever think to do is fall asleep during the sermon. One small problem. He's sitting on a window sill. During the sermon he falls asleep and he falls out. the run the third story Oh my goodness. What happened? Everybody runs out. That's a very effective way to end your sermon just plan a death. Except the gods RuPaul raises him up. And then you know what he does. Keep stalking. They talked all through the night the sun was coming up.

well He finally is arrested in Jerusalem. Interesting story here, but how that came to be you just you just can't win for losing like it's your faithful to the Lord and you think she's everything is going to work out perfectly. You're wrong things don't work out perfectly things worked out Faithfully.

Like poles are good guy. He's trying to help. Let me tell you what happened. And what led to his arrest he comes to Jerusalem and the whole Jewish Gentile thing is still really raw really rare. So we get to Jerusalem all the leaders say great to see you. We've heard wonderful things about your work in the gospel by the hold you is Gentile thing still pretty touchy. We have a great idea. We have four people here for young men. They're going to take a Jewish bout at the temple. We think you should go with them and take them out to oh and by the way, pay their way.

Shmoney So bless the church, I'm all in all does that file head of traveling mate name trophimus problem. This was a gentile.

They go to the temple only the five go into the temple just before Jews and Paul that are going to take the valve go in but Rossum is goes up to the temple people see this they see trough as they assume that he has gone into the temple perhaps to take the bow, who knows what this crazy bulk. I so did you start a riot? Paul is inviting Gentiles in the whole thing gets totally out of hand and leads to his arrest there's a crazy scene going on here has the crowd if you want to see what he says.

read acts 21 and 22

This sets a whole legal proceeding he claims to be a Roman citizen, which he is. His dad was a Roman he then he gets taken before the Sanhedrin people are saying this time. We got them. There's a bunch of Jews that take a note. We will not eat or drink again until that man is dead. And then this whole legal thing starts, he's he appeals to be brought before Caesar. He has to go through Felix and King Agrippa and then he set sail for Rome and you know what, this is.

the end of our story that's the journey that's being described in Acts 27. the whole point of the sermon is this when you just read acts 27

on its own and chaos and storms and we're going to die in the boat sinking and we're out of food. And what are we going to do? And Paul says to take heart for I have faith in you. It just seems so like weird. I wouldn't react that way. Would you react that way if I just got peace like that's yet. You have to see the thirty years before that. This is the man who has become intimate with the Lord.

They've had tons of admin adventures together a lot of close scrapes, but Paul has found that he could be faithful to the Lord and that the Lord will be who he said he was faithful in loving.

So everyone else around it looks at Paul and says, how could you do that and pulses what else do what I do. Why aren't you worried about what?

Did you not hear about the basket? the slave girl the Philippian Jailer eutychus this ringing a bell with anybody. It takes a lot more of a shipwreck than a shipwreck to shake me. Call Salvation was in an instant, but his intimacy with the Lord grew over faithful decades.

What is the point? the point is I invite us all into a journey of intimacy with the Lord.

Where we live faithful lives to him and find him to be the God who he said he is.

Palm Sunday, and we're celebrating the Prince of Peace that peace is not found in solvation our judicial pieces and found in Salvation. We're at war with God. We're saved Wars over but our experiential peace comes with experience the experience of living a faithful life. I wonder whether we could just celebrate with these poems. Would you stand with me and hold your palms the stand-up hold your palms and I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I am going to give the 3-minute version of the sermon and go through Paul's life again and Italy each a little episode. I'm going to say what did we learn and we're going to say God is faithful. We're just going to wave our branch and you say God is faithful now we're recording this and I would love for the people to be able to hear you. So don't say non is faithful. Say God is faithful friends on the Damascus Road. What did we learn God is faithful in Arabia learning from the Lord himself. What did we learn? God is faithful. You got it all wrong. The Jews are plotting against us. They're going to kill us but we're saved in a basket. What did we learn God is faithful lmaos is opposing the gospel in front of the this government official but the Lord through Paul strikes and blind. What do we learn? What is faithful the Jews Revolt in Antioch? Remember sermon one, you got to come back for Sabbath number to South number to the place is packed. We can't let this guy at this kind of air time. We're going to oppose him. They Revolt in Antioch. What the word goes out? What did we learn? God is faithful. We see a Layman and listeria lystra and they say you must be a God we say we're not Gods but we have good news for you. When we preach the gospel. What do we learn? God is faithful. We're stoned and Left 4 Dead the very people that called us God in a week turn against us and try to kill us and think they have killed was that the only reason I leave but we're not dead or not dead. There's still time to preach the gospel. What do we learn? God is faithful we come across the slave girl. Who has an evil spirit in her and 3. The Divination? We think we're doing a good thing by releasing her from the evil spirit, but turns out we're not doing a good thing. But when we go to jail God let this out of jail and the Philippian Jailer accepts the Lord. What do we learn? God is faithful we go to the Athenians. What are we going to say to these people? They have no Jewish background. They don't know their Bibles from an Agatha Christie novel. But I'm guessing going in I see the statue to the end. That's my introduction. I know exactly what I'm going to say. What are we supposed to learn God is faithful we go to the Ephesians hit did the whole Easter fall on you the holy what what I don't even know what you're talking about. Let me instruct you. Let me baptize you the in Grace. His grace has choices to fall on the Ephesians. What do we learn? God is faithful. Friends, you may be seated. I'm just trying to say this. God is dependable.

He is exactly who he says he is.

And there's more when we are exactly who he says we are. But this can only be discovered through intimacy. And prayer is the portal to intimacy. I call you to prayer. I call you to quality time with the Lord. I call you to continue your journey of faithfulness so that we get to the point of Acts 27:25 calm down guys. I have faith that everything is going to turn out the way. God said it would.

As we enter our final week of prayer. Let's begin our lifelong journey to the piece of resting. and who God is

Just before we have Ruth. Arlenco Giver test when I want to show you a short video. I was looking for some way to illustrate this because some people are not sure that they can trust God like I'm a little hesitant to put all my eggs in that basket. God is completely faithful but that can only be enjoyed until we realize that but doesn't become any more faithful as we trust him. We just see to a greater degree how faithful he is. And so the illustration I found is I don't know if you heard of these things their glass bridges in China and you walk across this huge board, but instead of a floor you've got glassed the glass is so strong. You can drive cars across it to my regular see cars driving across it but it's a little spooky kind of totally freaked out. Because they think they're in danger. They don't know that the bridge is reliable, but people that have walked across the bridge all the time. Freaked out at all. They just walked the bridge hasn't changed their knowledge of the bridge has changed.

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