Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 230 | Phil Mixes Up Pita & PETA, Jase's 'Crazy Verse' & Why 'Places of Worship' Is a Silly Phrase

Episode Date: February 22, 2021

Phil learns what pita chips are and that they have nothing to do with the ethical treatment of animals. Jase gets nothing but crickets when he tries to give a devotion to his daughter and her friends. During a severe winter storm, there's no going to the store, but in Phil’s neck of the woods, he IS the store. Al says the best word for parents to learn is "no." And the guys dig into Stephen’s story in Acts and his fight to get people to focus on the person, not the place. -- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? Yeah, my daughter, she was like, oh, you're, you're going to drive? I was like, yeah, she's like Chick-fil-A. I mean, I'm starving. I said, first of all, you're not starving. Second of all, we've been eating like kings and queens. So my question is, so you have four, we established this when we were at your house, four teenage girls that have been with you through this whole icebox.

What have you learned about the eating? habits of the teenage girl in our culture. I mean, I know you have a teenager, and she has Clef Pallet, so she has stuff anyway for all that, but I'm saying you had three others that don't have... I saw them and gave them a 10-minute charge, but the first thing that stood out about them, teenage girls, they were as skinny as this railing right here. There's a hype. You know what's funny?

Skinny, skinny, skinny. I said, you girls need to break down and, you know, stay. of these big they made biscuits you know miss k made them show them how to make biscuits you know she's a little teaching time i gave the spiritual side but i said y'all need to take you two or three of them biscuits will you and you'll eat them so i thought maybe guess what you know who ate them me they didn't eat i ate them for three days that's what and then missy made some more we tried to load them up and k come over and she said i'm teaching them how to make biscuits i said you need to have plenty of butter on them and get them some at jelly i said me go get them some of that jelly i said me go get them

some jelly. I said, she said, why? I said, they're too skinny. Bill, it gets worse than this. Missy made biscuits this morning. Again, she got up and, because I'm not, when you're just in the cabin all day during a snowstorm. Somebody told them too many carbs and I guess. Oh, I know. They're eating stuff that's like, I'm like, what, because they, they gave a list of what they wanted the grocery store before this happened. I spent hours in the grocery store. talking to personnel on what this was. I know it. There was some kind of chips.

I was like, I've eaten all chips. I've never heard of this chip. And that guy said, we're out of those. I know that. Pita chips, that's what it was.

Oh, yeah. Have you ever heard of that? Oh, yeah. They're like bread, but they're chips. I need to try it because that guy said, good luck finding that. And I said,

here in the store, and he said, within a hundred mile radius. He's like, We can't keep those things. I like it. So I got to try them. You know what's funny about that?

They're a hearty dipping chip. So, Jeff, volunteered to look after my house. Does that stand for the people? Treatment of animals? No, that's what is that? Now, that's PETA. There's no meat in there. Peter's going to sell us something that's really going to help you.

I think it's spelled different. It's spelled different. So you're talking about P-E-T-A, people for the ethical treatment of animals. I just heard people bring it up from time to that. But this PETA is P-I-T-A, PETA. I'm actually for the ethical treatment of animals. I just eat some of them. Well, see, that's where they would say you've gone off the rails of your ethics is when you eat them.

Genesis 9. We've gone through it. So, Jeff is looking after my house in Austin. I was like, go over there and, you know, turn my outside hydrants on and look in, I mean, I don't know what you're going to do about the refrigerator because I lost power over there. because he volunteered. He sent me a text. He's like, I'll go over there. So here's the funny part.

So he goes over there and I see him a text later. I said, how was it? And he said, can I have some of these zaps, chips? So he's rummaging around. That is so, Jeff. He's supposed to be checking all your stuff, but he's checking your pantry. That's what he was looking at there. Because Missy buys.

By the way, you gave him. them instructions, just remember that was critical instructions to leave that water dipping a little bit. That's right. Yeah. Especially in Texas for that blackout. You know why? Because we grew up out there with you.

I guarantee. We learned early on. You don't leave the water drip and you don't have any water. Hey, I spent two days gathering up stuff, coating water pipes, letting the water start to drip. I mean, I spent a couple of days just preparing for what was fixing to befall all of us. I said, I'm fixing to make sure these pipes don't break. One of them, I'm going to cut it off myself. You know, I said, that thing is leaking anyway.

I said, but I don't trust that thing. Yeah, I did the same thing. We just kept it and wrapped it, kept it and wrapped it. Well, the difference of me and you dad to show you that how now I'm in Yuppieville is I did the same thing except I texted my guy. See, I have a guy that does that. So I text them and say, hey, you may make sure and come by and get all these things. He said, I'll be right on it. Jimmy Ray, we used to say,

at the local Redneck, that I baptize him and training him. He's been under training for about the last 30 years. So he said, I'm out of gas, and I don't even know whether I'd make it to town or not. I said, well,

the power's out. I said, we've got to go down there one of those small generators. I said, there's a small generator down there. We need to drag it out. unplug the fuel tank motor that pumps your gas, unplug that fire the generation, plug it into that, and at least the gas pump of work.

You see what I'm saying, red, or you get no gas? Well, they tore the snow up going up through there because he said, man, I get the gas for my generator, for my whatever he's going to do. They had a... Because you have a gas fuel tank. Yeah, any adableness. about two or three, five-gallon cans with him.

And Tony showed up and says, you know, my generator ran out last night after 12. I said, get with him. So we went down there. So the local rednecks were getting all your gas. We had to get power to the fuel tank or we can't pump the fuel tank. You can't get it or we'll try to siphon it or something. And if you're new to the show, Phil lives where there's very little civilization. So you don't go to the store.

No. So the bottom line was. You are the store, Phil. Yeah, you're the store. Pretty well, yeah. Yeah. I'll tap them later on in the summer when I find a job. I said, remember all that gas you rowing with off?

I said, I figured that was about $40, $50 there. You're ahead of me, Red. So here's what I did. You did the little 10-minute speech to the girls. And so I was going to build on that because I thought, here I am. We're stuck with teenagers. We're all, let's be happy. So they're screaming and hollering and laughing the whole time, you know, that we're there.

when I came down, I said, let's do a little Devo tonight. You know, it'll be fun. It went from screaming, holler, laughing, just a dead, stone, cold faces. It was like I was fixing to torture them. And so I went through about a 20-minute divo, focused on Jesus. And they all got up and went two minutes later. I could hear them laughing. And so I was like, I looked at me.

I said, where did I go wrong in that? Where did all their joy go? It was so joyful to you, brother. Teenage girls, and let's talk Bible. And they're like, I said, that seemed painful. I said, look, let's do it again. Let's, let's me and you come up with something. So we gave them a couple nights.

We tried, which was so last night, I said, it's time. Devo time. Devo. Look, faces fell. What is the problem? problem here. What are we doing? And so I just said, maybe we'll get them to talk. Because Missy said, just go with the Holy Spirit. I don't know. But your mother, your mother is, she's practical. She said, now listen, she's whispering to me.

She said, when they get through eating their biscuits, she said, I want you to give them a lesson. She said, but remember, it can't go over 10 minutes. She was letting me know, don't get on one of those. Just keep it confined within 10 minutes and then turn them loose. She knows you've been prone to tangents in the past. Well, yeah. She figured, you know, boy, I mean, he's fixing just let her rip. But I said, less than 10 minutes. I said, well, I'll make it short.

Well, this is. I gave them 1st Corinthians 13. Well, one of them said he read a beautiful poem. And I said, really? I was thinking, Phil reading poetry? That seems weird. That was Apostle Paul in First Corinthians. Well, I said what was the poem?

It sounded like a poem, love is patient, love is kind, it keeps no record of wrong. A beautiful poem. Yeah, she said that. So I said, so the second night I changed tactics. I was like, so what's this about? You know, I picked up my Bible. Crickets. I said, no, go ahead.

I want to know what y'all think. What is this about? I got nothing. So then I said, are you scared to answer because I'm putting you on the spot? And then I said, do you? Usually somebody in that case will at least mumble Jesus because that's usually a right answer to any question in Bible. You know, I just got nothing. So I said, how often do you read this?

And one other girl said, oh, I've read it. And I said, well, what's it about? It's it about? And nothing. So I think it was more they just didn't want to answer. And Missy was like, there's no wrong answers. Like if you see a movie, you watch the movie and somebody says, what did you think about that movie? We're just asking that about the book.

We were just trying to get into the conversation. Just a little dialogue. Never worked. It ended up me giving a 10-minute charge that Jesus is what this is all about. And there's, there's, so this explains a lot. So last night, you had a big brisket at your house that I saw and I was like, man, we're cooking up everything in the neighborhood. Let me take this brisket up there. We'll get Stone to cook it.

And he did. I got those two brisket in a bit of a trade for doing the ducking. Yeah. Yeah. So I took the brisket up to Stone. Yeah. It's about a 24 hour process for this big huge brisket. So last night at supper time, so we invite Jason, Missy.

and the four girls up. And we're all my family's there. There's a big bunch of us. We got all the size of mac and cheese. And I mean, we got a big spread. So I look up and I see Missis. Oh, here's the crew. And I open the door.

Missy walks in. I'm like, where's everybody else? Oh, nobody else came. They don't eat breast. They don't eat. Yeah, she's like. But now I'm thinking they were afraid I was going to preach to them because every time y'all got with them, it was another divo.

So they never came. Jace was playing cards. So you never got to experience. Did you ever eat? Well, we had a neighborhood card game and we played. But so I get home and the brisket is there and I'm like, shocking. I mean, usually if you have a brisket laid out there for over about five minutes, that's gone. They wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole.

They're eating things that I don't know, PETA, whatever. And it was the greatest biscuit I've ever eaten. And it was disturbing. I mean, you realize there is a gap between, because I told a minute you, I was like, I think we're just getting old. I said, we've lost our ability to relate to young people. Because they've, it seemed like a torturous devotional time. Well, I hope it finally comes together, but I was fortunate four sons, y'all are two of them. The other two, Willie and Jeff.

The Almighty said, I think I'll go with the boys on him. Yeah. Because he ain't very good with these girls. So they're harder. At least for 44 years. I think women are harder to raise teenage girls. That's what I think. Well, because you're a male.

I'm not being unkind to females. I'm just saying. Well, because you're a male. I struggle more relating to my daughter than I did my sons because I'm like, I can't say, hey, let's go play some football. Or let's, you know, let's go shoot a duck. She's like, oh, there's bugs. That's what I'm saying.

I finally developed a little term whether it's right or not. I don't know. But women, when God made them, they're strange creatures. To you. Strange creatures to me. So I'm like, I don't know what to say for it. Well, I hate to tell you this. My wife thinks you're really weird.

Does he? Yes. Yeah. She's like, that man. Shocker. Weird. I don't know how you came out of that. That's what she tells me all the time.

Shocker. I'd say that that street's going both ways. But see, that's all I knew because I had two dollars. I did notice that weird people tend to congregate down there on the river. Now, that is true. You're a conglomeration of people. I don't know where this is because I'm weird or our witness is in. Werdness is in.

I got to remember, the image you're portraying down there in Jesus is very weird. Right. It's a weird world out there, boys. You're weird. I'm weird. I'm just trying to help. Get on this book of acts. Let's go.

We heard enough stories. Well, hang on. Let's take a break. I got one last thing. I got one last thing before we leave the ice up. So the week for me, why everybody else, like everybody else has been crazy, is it reminded me so much of that era from 40 years ago because Grandin Paul lived next door. We would cook at their house because they had the gas stove. We would come up there and sit around the fireplace.

We played dominoes. So that's exactly what it was like because I have a compound situation. I got my place. I got one daughter family over here, one daughter family right next door over here. And we just rotated around each other's houses, eating mostly because like you said, Jay's what else you're going to do? And we had a great time. We played dominoes. We played cards.

My grandkids were there. You know, got a little cabin fever, but you could move to another location to sort of, you know, avoid it. So in my case, it was a real positive. All I was saying is I think you don't realize how much the social media world has affected teenagers and how hard they are to reach until you're cooped up with them for five or six days. Because I still have my rule. I'm like, you know, at 11 o'clock, they have turned the phone. Devices off. You can be on it.

I just, we're going to do that in public. There's no secrets here. But I do think... First time we went up there and Missy said the doors locked, she's like, we don't lock doors in this house. And if you lock it again, we'll take that door off and put it in the yard. They're looking like, what in the world have we got into? But I'm like, no, we're not going to bring you over here,

give you your own personal, quiet place with your phone and see you in six days. And let me know how that turns out. Now, that may seem harsh. But... You know, Jess, that's probably how they may be... be used to living. And that's kind of the thing we're talking about. It's a disconnected culture.

Supposedly, the internet connects everybody in social media, but really it disconnects from just having a conversation where you don't even know what to say. You are correct. I think it's... Well, that was what I was going to do before I got to rambling on. My point was that social media world has made it really difficult to have a conversation with your teenagers. I mean, I know there's a lot of people listening.

It's like, I don't know what to do. Look, I don't either. I did the best I could because you know what? We're going through Acts and I thought, Peter, when you get all down to what happened, the birthplace of the church and people finding relationships in God and experiencing this joy and purpose in life, it all started with just a speech. He got up and said, here's Jesus. He introduced Jesus not in a long, I mean, the whole sermon,

how long would it take you to read from 14 to 38 in Acts 2? Not long. Three minutes. It was a three minute presentation of Jesus and three thousand were cut to the heart and responded and their lives were forever changed. Yeah, wokenness has come up on you guys and just remember, wokeness is a joke without hope. That's what it is.

It's a man-made construct that is a bunch of bull. You'll keep coming up with this, and I still don't understand what that is, but we'll save that for later. It's what you're battling well with them teenage girls. You're battling in wokeness. Who invented that word? That's all I'm trying to figure out. It's not but about 10 years old or less. Well, they claim that way. It's just something, somebody's truth comes up, and y'all, this is my truth. Well, I'm woke. Guess what? This morning I woke and I looked around. That's as far as I got down that. Well, well, that's the problem. That's exactly right. Well, look, just to wrap that up, there's a word that I'm, learned and Jason, you help me learn it.

For kids and grandkids and devices, the word is no. Yep. You know, so my grandson comes in and says, Pat, can I get on the iPad? No. We're fixing to go play outside. We're fixing to go do this. We're just going to do that. So I think that's good advice for folks.

So we're in Acts chapter six is where we left off. Zach and Jason and I got into the first part of this when we were talking about the issues they were having with the early church and they appointed these seven guys basically to take care of these widows that they were having some issues because they were growing and when the church grows and becomes bigger challenges come from that that's why what i've seen in the local churches most churches they will grow up at one time in their history that's right and then it just goes right back down and it goes back up and it goes right back down because every time there's more people yeah there's more problems that's right so that's why in this quest to win the world for jesus which

we know literally everyone's not coming to Jesus. But at least, because they did it in their lifetime, we know from Colossians 1, which is a very interesting, obscure passages, passage that says they had shared Jesus with the entire world. Another one that many people in the world.

I'll find that. Lots of one about 18 or 19 is where it is. Close enough. In this text, Dad, we talked about last time you weren't there, that you're seeing for the first time a need to sort of organize how they're going to go forward because this thing's getting big. And the bigger it gets, and like Jay says,

people are messy. I mean, like people got problems. So when you're got more and more people coming in, and all of a sudden we got this little division between the people with Grecian background versus Hebrew background. So you got all these little things that are rising. So out of the seven guys that were appointed,

one of them who Luke says, he gives a little caption for him. He says, Stephen in verse five, that he is a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. So he kind of stood apart a little bit, I think, from the seven. So now what Luke's going to do is we get down to verse eight is he going to go right into the story of Stephen. And I don't know how much time went by here, but the story of Stephen from when we first find out about him to the end of his story in the Bible is going to be about a chapter and a half. I mean, it went down fast. Plus, if you see the goal, which is sometimes lacking to Jason's point when more and more people,

which is the goal, it presents problems because right after Stephen is mentioned, man full of faith, Holy Spirit, and then the rest of them, they prayed for them, laid their hands on them. The word of God spread, which is the point. Yep. And the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly. which is the point. Yep.

And a large number of priests even became obedient to the faith. So he's telling you what their job was. They basically were like now, 2,000 years later, I mean, nothing has changed too much. Here's Stephen that he was seized. He was persecuted. But you all remember just what happened to me five, six years ago. You know, somebody said it is, you know, it's homosexual behavior of sin. Well, I just quoted the verse where the Apostle Paul.

And all heck broke legs. Yeah. blame me for just answering the question and stuff. But they were really blaming God, but they created friction, and they say, well, we're not going to do that way. We don't like him anymore. But in this case, what's interesting to me, if you just look at this whole section and try to sum it up, the church is growing.

Yep. They're trying to take care of the problems from within with who's going to take care of who and what responsibilities you have. Then other religious people, and I mean that religious, loosely, they don't like what's going on. They look at this group and say, they don't even, they're not worshiping the same place. And this whole banter and friction comes over about this place. And the reason I know that is because in verse of chapter six, in verse, where is it, 14?

13, 14. 13 and 14. It says, they produce false witnesses who testified. this fellow never stopped speaking against this holy place and against the law. So they just made this up. And it comes from this idea. You remember in John where Jesus said, I'll destroy this temple and raise it up in three days.

And everybody looked around because they were talking about the temple of Jerusalem. I've been to Israel. I've seen where the wall used to be, how people respond and react to it. Look, it is still, if you want to get your your butt beat, do something in that area. They will send on you from both sides. That is considered holy ground.

On two different religion. That's right, from both sides. And so this whole debate and this whole argument, now granted, this other side, they're lying, producing false witnesses, which is exactly what happened in your case. All of a sudden, people are saying you were prejudiced. They were trying to whip up. the crowd, you know. Homopho, racist.

And so what's amazing is in Stephen's sermon, which was, this was more of a seven to ten minute lashing of you putting your religious beliefs tied to a place. And he goes back and tells a story about Moses where when he took off his sandals, he said this place is holy ground. Well, it led to one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. which is in chapter 7 and verse 48 he says however the most high does not live in houses made by men there's a bumper sticker so the whole point of this is he was sharing jesus the person and they were attacking him because he was desecrating the place which you remember when jesus

told the woman at the whale in John 4, they'll come at time where people, because she said, what place are we going to worship? He said, they're coming time where we're not going to worship in places. You won't say, well, we worship here or there, because we worship in spirit and in truth, Jesus being the truth, an actual person.

So I was just setting, that's basically what happens and what made them so mad. Which is human nature. The point is, even today, they think most people, and they're Christian people. Most religious people. I'll agree with it.

I have to drive up or it used to be there right up on a horse. Now they're put or walk. Or walk. But now they get in the vehicles and they pull up to what they call this is a place of worship. And they'll call the inside of it the sanctuary. That's the most holy place. Most holy place. They're still talking.

about the place instead of realizing on Monday after they drove to the place to worship. Monday, where you work is where you worship and where you shop is where you worship. And when you're home with your children, it's where you worship. It's a lifestyle of worship where two or three together together, Jesus said, I'll be there. So we got it down again to the place. That's why we call it going to church. Exactly. But you said, well, how come that phrase is not in the Bible?

Going to church. What do you mean? You are the church. So look what we've done to that out, how hard it is to get past just that. And it started right here in Acts chapter 2. If you preach this sermon in Acts 7, you'll get the same response. When I was in Israel and our- Hang on just, let's take a break.

When our guide who was a lovable guy, I love this guy, befriending. But he didn't believe that Jesus is the son of God. And so I made it my mission to share Jesus the entire trip for 13 days to this guy. He was funny, he had a great sense of humor. And he was very bold about his beliefs. And so I thought, how am I going to reach this guy? So I went with Acts 7.

I went with Stephen's speech. you know what response I got the exact same la la la la la la hands over the air I didn't want to hear that and so I mean I'm laughing about it wasn't funny but

I just it was I was amazed that I'm like read Act 7 but he stops reading from Matthew on you know he Malachi that's it we're stopping end of the line

and look he's got a right to believe what he wants I love the man, and I, you know, I shared Jesus. But it was amazing when I went into this place versus person, how I drew the same hour as we do, even in our daily activity and conversations, there's a lot of people that they'll get all bent out of shape on what happens at the place on a particular Sunday morning. This brings it up to a pretty good point. the place of worship is here right now. You say, what are y'all doing? We are telling people about Jesus and what happened 2,000 years ago,

members of the kingdom of God, men and women, and the friction that developed with numbers. We're trying to show them what worshiping God is about. We're all worshiping God as you listen on your black box. You're listening. You're hearing scriptures come out. You say, what are you doing? You're aware of God and you're bearing your knee to him.

You are speaking good things about Jesus, the son of God. Every morning, Phil, when I wake up, now I'm telling you this within context of I have four teenagers that have been in my house for days. I listen to contemporary worship songs to start my morning. And guess what? I can't help but sing. I can't worship quietly. And so on about day three, the girls asked, Missy

what what this strange awful ritual this noise this cry for help this screeching noise what is this that happens every morning

a boy crying out in the wilderness it was waking them up and so she told me she's like he's just crazy you know he sings he can't happen and I'm like

so let me get this right you're a godly man but you're crazy with your woman's always using that Well, then I'm weird and you're nuts. Jason, we're not getting, we're not making much headway, son. Yeah, I know.

Well, it's like I told Missy a long time ago. I quoted that First Corinthians, where is it when Paul said, if I'm out of my mind, it's for the will of Christ. Yeah. I mean, he basically said, I'm crazy, but I'm doing it for Jesus. So I really like that verse. I've been called worse. Well, let me back up. So, so.

But Al, I was just to make that. point, I told those girls, I was like, look, you don't worship once a week. That is a losing recipe for living a godly life. That is correct. So I can't help it. I will try to go outside, because I can't sing very well, but I'm really going through the day here. I mean, I can't turn on, you know, graves into gardens and go, you know, graves into gardens. No, I got to belt it. I think your truck may be your sanctuary, Jay. I think that may be your spot to be the least offensive to those around you. Are you going to read as a verse?

I was looking up that verse where he said if I'm out of my mind because people have sent me emails. You mentioned that verse. I don't think that's on there. All right. When you find it, let us know. So I want to go back to Act 6 before the text you just read. And I want to read something because I think this shows you sort of, I think this is a bigger picture way that the evil one operates, because I want to see if you recognize how this goes on even today.

Second Corinthians 513 was the crazy verse. That's Jason's verse. So in six, in verse eight, we talk about Stephen, and he has these great things that are happening, and he's helping people. He's got miraculous signs and things are happening. But verse 9 says, opposition arose. So here we go. Good things are happening, but there's a certain group of Jews, and they were called the synagogue of the

freedmen, which is interesting now. Look, how, here's a group named the synagogue of the freedman, and they're in prison, their prison is the synagogue. That's exactly right. And the law. Ironic. Ironic. So here, but here's the verse I want to zero and a verse 10 says, but they could, they're arguing with him, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the spirit by whom he spoke. So here's what you see. So you got truth and it's just, it's out there and they can't deal with it, right? That's right.

So what do you do? You go around and you build a false narrative. And you persecute. And you persecute. It always leads to violence. Always. So when you think about this, this is what I wrote down. When you can't win an argument with truth, you must create a narrative, then you attack.

And when the attack doesn't work, then you deceive. Then you try to cancel the truth teller. Yep, right? And they form a little group. Then they seek, verse 11, they secretly Al persuaded some men to say, we've heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and God. So you've got to get your little troop together because numbers tend to be. And call yourself.

Well, it's 2,000 years since this went down. I see no difference between what's going on now. In the political world, you really see it. Sure you do. In the church world, it becomes politics. It does. These guys are saying, we're the free people. Right.

No, you're not. And they're lying. They're being deceitful. And they've attacked all of their faith to a place. It doesn't matter how you live, obviously, because integrity doesn't mean anything, because you're lying and making up accusations. It's not even true. Exactly.

To me, it's just so ironic. I mean, we call this the suitcase sermon, but it's actually a coffin sermon. I mean, they killed him for attacking that. They killed him. But if you, if you come in Sunday morning, you preachers out there, and you, you, title your sermon, the freed men locked up in the synagogue. That's your sermon title.

Guess what? Pack your, have your bags. If your points are what happens in here, it is what it's all about. Guess what? They will fire you. So let's take another break. That's why I never take any money when I'm preaching the gospel on Sunday.

Me either. But when Jason. Because you say, so why? Because they can't fire you if they don't hire you. right because your suitcase is already packed so jason and i when we're in preaching school the reason i call this and we were jason i called the suitcase sermon is because we were trained we were taught now there's going to be a sermon you're going to be working for the church you're doing your best you're preaching and then you're going to get all fired up in the spirit and you're going

to see something that's sort of new and different you're going to get in there and you're going to preach that thing and you're going to be passionate about it and that's what we call the suitcase sermon because they call you in the back after you mean they had a name for I'll give you the title. Prisoners in the church. That's right. They're going to fire you when you preach that. When you're tying it to the place, which is what this was all about.

I mean, when you read Stephen's whole account, he was trying to get them to focus on the person of Jesus and get off the place and the old ways of the Jewish law. The point to our instructors and our mentors was not, don't preach that sermon. Their thing was, oh, boy, is this going to happen? And that's what you'll get run off from this place or that place or this place because it goes again. So it takes it back to these people. But, Jay, you mentioned the holy place in the temple, which you're exactly right. And he addresses that. But there was two parts to that.

Look back at verse 13. Not only was it the place, but also against the law. He says in verse 14, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, the temple. The place. And there was some truth in that in the sense that it was going to happen in 80, 70, but that's what they do. They take it a little truth and twist it and change the customs Moses handed down to us. Oh, habits are hard to break. By the way, going back to chapter 5 when they first started in on the apostles before you get to Stephen, Peter and the other apostles replied when they're under persecution now, and Stephen's the same way, we must obey God rather than

men. Yeah. Then he preaches the gospel. The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. And he exalts him to his right out. The whole gospel in the mediating work of Jesus has brought out. The apostles were just going back to that every time.

They'd go back to that. They'd go back to that. Every time one of these things happened, they went back to the gospel. They went back to the gospel. That's right. Every time. Throughout the book of Acts. And so does Stephen.

That's our, by the way, that's our escape patch. Just go back to the gospel. like jace is talking about so it's calm down it doesn't make a difference where you're meeting just you worship god in spirit and in truth there's not a place you go but that's a hard sell even today right but look i think what he was trying to do because if you just he preached the old testament and pointed them to jesus from the old testament which when you got to remember if some of you newer listeners we're looking at the bible from genesis amalica jesus is coming right god in human for him. Matthew through Johnny's here,

Acts of Revelation, he's coming back. So Jesus has left, and he's taking the Old Testament, which is what we do, and you say, well, what were his main points? He was saying, look, God wanted God, the creator of the universe, who we just read does not live in houses

or buildings. He's not there. So if you put him there, wrong. Brick and mortar destined to fail your big wind, blow down. He built a garden. Why? Because he wanted to live with people. All right. Well, that went awry.

So then what did he do? Well, he chose a nation. Why? Because he wanted to live with people. Well, that went awry. Well, then they built a temple to worship God, right? Well, that went awry. So Jesus comes.

Why? So ultimately, since God wants to live with people, he could actually live in people, which is the ultimate way to exist in a relationship. Which is why Paul would call us the temple of the Holy Spirit. And that's what they were having trouble grasping. They're like, well, wait a minute now. We're going to go worship at a place to something a million miles away. And he's like, no.

And that's why in John, where it says Jesus predicted, he said, by this, he meant the spirit who would later be in you. That's right. And all the verses that say that, you know, Christ in you is the mystery of God in this. You know, Colossians 1 says that. Galatians 2 says, I've been crucified with Christ. Christ lives in me. That Ephesians 3 says, Christ is in your inner being. Well, that's the problem that they couldn't figure out.

The Jews never understood that just because there was a tabernacle, just because there was a temple, God never said he lived there. In fact, he only came to visit once a year, you know, for this atoma sin. But he was setting the foundation. My point is he wants to be with people. is the overall factor to all this is God, out of his love and purpose, wants to live with people. Now, you just said it. So here's John the Apostle, who was on the scene watching all this in the book of Acts.

Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only son and to the world that we might live through him. This is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us, going back to your conversation a while ago, and he sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has ever seen God. but if we love each other, and here was your point, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. Oh, I like that, Franks. It's the same argument that Stephen's trying to make, and we're getting to book of Acts. John the Apostle was there out. He was watching the whole thing unfold right before him.

And you got to remember, Phil. Seeing the friction, but not understanding what he just said in 1 John. That's 1st John 4, by the way. Look, all these references. One last word. all these references were reading you know these letters to the corinthians well that was a place in corinth that they get to later in acts you know galatia but it's still a struggle to understand that it's not about this place and it's not about rule keeping it's about having this jesus

as the center part of your life and then that being the motivation for right and wrong and as an example i want to read this in galatians i mentioned that galatians 220, but chapter 4 and Galatians was about, they were like, okay, we'll have Jesus and parts of the law before Jesus, you know, circumcision. We'll make that a requirement.

And so he gets to Galatians 4 and verse 15. He's like, what has happened to all your joy? And my point about reading this is that that's why a lot of church buildings, they don't seem like happy places. There's people it seems depressed and you walk in, you're like,

what, I thought you people were going to heaven. Because that's the end result of basing your salvation on your root-keeping skills and about how many times you meet at a place and what's going on there, like the day-to-day operations. That doesn't bring joy. So he later on says, my dear children, this is in verse 19, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ, is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you.

And so the point of reading that is his whole goal was for them to get that same idea that Stephen was trying to get across that Jesus Christ, the son of God, the image of the invisible God could actually be formed in you. We're talking about going to a place and following a ritualistic rule from the old law. He's like, I'm talking about Jesus being formed in your body. They're like, what? John, at the end of that 14, we know that we live in him and he and us because he's given us of his spirit where the book of act started, the power of the spirit coming upon him. We've seen and testify that the father has sent his son to be the savior of the world.

If anyone, as you go forth, if anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son. of God. God lives in him and he and God. So we know and rely on the love God has for us. That's pretty well the whole story wrapped up. So you can't do that one day a week inside a structure for a couple of hours. Nobody's going to see how you're, they're not going to be able to see God. You're there in rows and you don't know who's behind you because you're breaking neck, looking around who it is. You see a few, the back of the heads of the ones in front of you. You're in a pew. You're locked in there, saying nobody's seeing God with you in that. Right.

They have to see how you operate when you're out there in the world. Yeah, every time Phil reads something, I feel like, oh, I have to read this verse. I'm just giving it firepower, Jay. I know. Because look, you remember when Jesus and John 14, this was the question in 22 at Judas, not Judas is scared, said, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world because he was trying to figure out big picture what's going on it what's your big great plan and his response was if anyone loves me he'll obey my teaching you don't you don't obey

god based on a rule system you know under the nation of israel thousands of years ago he's like if you love me oh you'll you'll get it right then he says this my father will love him this is the guy loving jesus my father will love him and And we will come to him and make our home with him. That's it. That is the complete opposite of what's going on in the religious world. In Stevens Day, which led to his death, and in our religious world. They're not talking about them coming to make their home with you.

We're trying to figure out what place we're going to go a couple of hours a week and how everything's run here. And if we agree with it, we may drop a little money in the collection plate. and we may come back. You get out of line, though. We're out of here. So one more point from the sermon, and then I want to show how he closes the sermon because he chooses quite the ending. So he dealt with the temple in the passage you pointed out, Jay's.

And in 35 through 43, he deals with the law side of it because he says in verse 37, this is the Moses who told the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me. from your own people. And that's a quote from Duteronomy 1815. So what he's saying is you rejected Moses when he first kind of lead you out of Israel. You said, who made you ruler? Then you rejected Moses on the mountain. You said, we don't know who this guy is. Give us a

golden calf. We don't know what happened to him. We don't know what happened to him. And now you've rejected Jesus as well, who is the prophet like Moses who's bringing in the other country. So that was the convicting point. You know a preacher does a good job? That was when they said, we're going to kill this guy. That's right. I think Al where

He said that. Then he said, you stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears. That's where he got to in verse 15. I think that's when the coffin started being formed in the background. It reminds me of that maybe old brother were out there when they cut bringing in the cross, you know? They're like, hey, buddy. This time is up. You want to threaten us?

Well, you know, it reminded me, Jay's. There were two things I remembered from preaching school. Carl Alison used to tell us, boys, if he hadn't struck all in 20 minutes, quit boring. That was one thing that I remember. And the second one was that Smith told us, he said, when you preach a sermon, you want to make a mad, glad, or sad. You want to have a reaction. So what he said.

Carl also said, if you preach a sermon over 25 minutes, you need to stop doing that, go home, and write a book. That's right. So they were trying to tell us, be brief, you know. So when he closes with, you stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears, you are just like your fathers. you always resist the Holy Spirit. He goes all the way back and said all this time.

So he just drills them. So their answer to this in verse 54, what's their response? Because I want to get a response out of them. When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their tears, gnashing teeth. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand. Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And then... They covered their ears on that one.

Then they started to get. I have a couple points to say on that. Number one, if you read from Hebrews 1, it says Jesus, after he provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right end of God. So I've always, when I saw that... Yeah, he's still standing here. Well, he stood up. Yeah.

And I thought, you know, what this did was, because I used to always say that Jesus represents us in heaven and we represent him on earth, which I agree. But I also am aware from this happening that Jesus, is fully aware of what's happening here. Sure. And we're suffering in his name. It gets his attention. I mean, there's no doubt in my mind that they use the word standing there instead of, like in Hebrews, where he said he sat down on the right hand of God, which you said, what does that mean?

It represents God's power. That's why when he said, all in authority on heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore go make disciples of all nations. But there's also a Mark's version in chapter 16 when he said, go preach. the good news in all the world, whoever believes in his baptized, and then he went through the signs that would accompany him. Then it says in like 19, then he left. In March version, he leaves right then to the right hand of God. But in verse 20 of Mark 16 is one of the most motivating verses to me in the entire Bible. Because it says, then the disciples went out, and there's a little phrase. It says, and the Lord worked with them. And you're like, well, wait a minute, I thought he just

went to the right hand of God. And that's what we do through faith in our day-to-day lives. You realize that Jesus is as real now as he was then. And every once in a while, I'm sure in some countries, when you are persecuted to the point of this, he stands up and takes notice. But I believe God works in setting up situations. You can call it supernatural.

I don't even care if you call it miraculous. You know, we know he worked with giving them the gifts. But to say that God quit working today through us and the Declaration of Jesus, I think is crazy. It works every day that you mention his name. Well, let me read his last words because we're almost out of time. While they were stoning him, because that was their response. More violence. We've been talking about the violence.

They said, we're going to kill him for what he just preached. Truth. Stephen prayed first, Lord Jesus received my spirit, which, by the way, is exactly what. what Jesus said whenever to God when he died. Then he fell on his knees and he cried out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Which again is just what Jesus said. So always bring this up when we talk about baptism. Love always forgives.

Always forgets. Always bring this up when we talk about baptism because you get to reenact Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, and water. You read Roman 6. You see that. I mean, what a privilege God gives us that. But in this case, Stephen literally. reenacted Jesus's death.

He's out there trying to make the world a better place, trying to do what the creator of the universe wants you to do. He's been done wrong. He's killed. And you will notice that, I mean, Jesus could have stopped it. Yeah, he could have just. And you said, well, why didn't he do it? Other people rise up and keep declaring Jesus.

And that's how the world, up until this very point, goes on. That was God's plan. It went worldwide. We went worldwide and we hope that it goes worldwide again. Stephen himself had miraculous power, but he didn't stop it either because he knew it was time to go. All right, we'll pick it up next time. Good stuff.

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