Zach Peters' Podcast
A place for sermons, reflections, and general pondering on life and stuff.
Zach Peters' Podcast
Acts 21: A Mission in Madness
Paul follows the Holy Spirit's leading to Jerusalem despite warnings about the danger awaiting him, demonstrating how sometimes God's call leads us directly into difficult situations rather than away from them.
• Paul enters Jerusalem and reports to James and the elders about his mission work
• False rumors circulate that Paul teaches Jews to abandon Moses' law
• Church leaders devise a plan for Paul to participate in purification rituals
• Jews from Asia recognize Paul in the temple and incite a violent mob
• Roman soldiers rescue Paul, who remarkably asks to address the very crowd trying to kill him
• Paul's unique background creates unexpected connection points
• Maintaining gospel focus during our most difficult moments shows spiritual maturity
• Christians should seek peace where possible without passive acceptance of evil
• Our painful experiences and difficult relationships become our mission field
• Your unique qualities and even your struggles can be tools God uses
Don't forget that the most painful people in your life are not your enemies but your mission field. Keep your focus on sharing Christ's love even in your most challenging moments.
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We are back in the book of Acts today. It's making its return, at least for a couple of weeks. A word of warning, if you can't tell, this is just one section of what we're reading today. So if you don't like to hear me basically just talk probably going to have some moments in here where you're uh gonna be a little bored that's okay. If you like to hear me read, that's, that's wonderful. Maybe I'll do some audio books for you and and, uh, I'll just read some nursery rhymes for your kids and I'll record it and you can. You can pay me later. Anyways, acts, chapter 21. Uh, just because we, we've preached on this, we, I preached on this a couple of months ago. It's been quite a few months now that we were in Acts, chapter 21. I just want to remind you of some context.
Speaker 1:Paul, obviously Paul missionary, church planner, pastor, apostle, writer of one-third of the New Testament. He's been on a lot of missionary journeys and it's been a couple of years in a couple of spots here. He'll spend a couple of months here, a year there, but it's been a while since he's been back to Jerusalem, which is sort of the epicenter of where Christianity started, and he reaches a place in his ministry where he feels the Holy Spirit is calling him to go to Jerusalem. And he knows that because of just common sense and wisdom and practical reasons, that if he goes to Jerusalem it's probably going to be problematic because a lot of people don't like him, they don't like Christianity, they don't like what he's sort of doing with the Gentiles, they don't want Gentiles to be involved. He also knows, because, spiritually speaking, there have been some prophecies on his journey back to Jerusalem warning him that he's walking into trouble and people are begging him. Paul, don't go Like, if you know it's going to be a problem, why are you going? If you know it's going to be an issue? If you know it's going to be drama, if you know it's going to be conflict, why are you doing this? Paul has to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit and so he goes to Jerusalem. And that leads us to our verse for today. It's Acts, chapter 21. We'll start with verse 17. We'll stop along the way, we won't read it all in one chunk.
Speaker 1:When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. On the following day Paul went in with us to James and all the elders were present. After greeting them. He related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry, and when they heard it, they glorified God. And then they said to him you see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are zealous for the law and they have been told about you that you teach among the Jews of those who have believed. They are zealous for the law and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. What, then, is to be done? Fyi, this is a lie. It's not really what Paul's doing. They will certainly hear that you have come. Do, therefore, what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. Take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads. Thus, all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. Then Paul took them in and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them. Let's pause right here for a moment. Make sure we're on the same page.
Speaker 1:Paul enters Jerusalem and he's brought to James and the elders the original disciples. They have sort of left Jerusalem, some of their own will. Some of them have been forced out, but Peter and Matthew and the others they are out being missionaries as well, like Paul does. So they're not there anymore. They're not really the leader of this church in Jerusalem. James, the brother of Jesus, is the leader of the church in Jerusalem, and the elders who are present are probably some of the oldest Christians that exist. Some of these people were probably followers of Jesus, even though they weren't listed as disciples, and so they are meeting with Paul and they are excited about what Paul has to tell them. Paul is giving them this report. They probably have heard some stuff, but Paul is giving them a detailed report of all the good news that has happened, where Paul goes and has planted all of these churches. But there's a problem. They're excited, but there's a problem.
Speaker 1:There is apparently a powerful sect of Jews who believed quotation marks in Jesus, but they were still sort of held sway by extreme legalism of Judaism. There's some evidence here that the Jews really only believed, again, quotation marks in Jesus because they wanted to stay relevant as the church exploded and grew in popularity and in influence. I can't judge their hearts right. I can't really tell you if these Jews that are having this issue with Paul and believing this lie about Paul are really Christian or not. I'm not there. Even if I was there I wouldn't be able to tell you. I can tell you that their actions are sort of disconnected from an authentic expression of Christianity. So I say quotation marks because it doesn't actually look like they really believe in Jesus. It sort of looks like they've just attached Jesus to Judaism as a way to stay relevant.
Speaker 1:And the issue that Paul is facing and that James and the elders are concerned about is this lie that has been crafted around Paul that as he ministers to the Gentile people, that he's also telling the Jewish people who might be around in these various cities that Paul is going to. He's telling them to throw off the law of Moses, to throw off the cultural norms of the Jewish people, which, whether that's right or wrong, doesn't really matter. It didn't happen. Paul wasn't doing that. Matter of fact. Paul tells us in scripture that he's more than willing and more than happy to submit himself to the law in order that he might preach the gospel to Jewish people. So Paul has no real issue with the law. To a certain extent, he's willing to follow the law. So that's not the issue. It's literally just a lie that's been created in order to create problems and in order to placate this group and to avoid trouble and chaos. Paul submits himself to the plan of the church in Jerusalem and of James and of the elders to hopefully smooth over relations with this group.
Speaker 1:And again, we preached on this several months ago and this was an act of humility, this was an act of service on Paul's part. But we also know that it didn't work out. It didn't work out, and that sort of leads us to our first focus point today Avoid trouble in your life, live peacefully, act with humility, act with service, act with love, act with grace, but sometimes, when you heed the call of God in your life. It will lead you right into the hornet's nest. You can't avoid it. You can't avoid it. You can't avoid it. Paul's doing all the right things and you can't avoid it.
Speaker 1:I often see a lot actually critiques and attacks against Christians, sometimes from people who aren't Christians, but a lot of times other Christians attacking other Christians, and they basically say that we shouldn't be so negative about life. We shouldn't be so divisive about the things that we see, the things that are harmful, the things that are sinful that we see out in the world, that we shouldn't ruin our witness because of those things. We shouldn't act so angry and high and mighty. If it's not harming you, why do you care? Maybe you've heard that before. You're just messing up your witness, you're making yourself look foolish, you're a bigot, you're old-fashioned. All of this stuff, you've heard it, I've heard it. I see it all the time on social media. I've even had conversations with people where they simply didn't grasp the fact why in the world do I care about this or that?
Speaker 1:One of the most recent examples of this that I can think of off the top of my head is the Olympics that we just recently had, where they had this stupid and vile depiction of the Last Supper. You know, raise your hand. You remember that, remember all that uproar? Okay, so that happened and I was pretty upset about it. My wife was pretty upset about it, most people that I know who are Christians. They were pretty upset about it.
Speaker 1:But you go on social media and you'll see that some Christians were, for whatever reason, mad, that we were mad and of course, other people who aren't Christians were also like why does it matter to you? But I don't judge them the same way I judge people who call themselves Christians. Right. It's a little different. But you have other Christians basically looking at people like me and like you and saying you're wasting your time. This is useless, this is stupid, this is silly. It doesn't even really really matter all that much. Everybody and their mom on social media who was upset, sort of got a tat because we were wasting our time being upset. It wasn't accomplishing anything. Blah, blah, blah. You've heard it before. That's just one example. You probably had other things in your mind right now where you can think of that.
Speaker 1:This happens Romans 12, verse 18. If possible that word if is really important to this scripture so far as it depends on you live peaceably with all. Great, great great scripture for us Don't be drama, don't be drama. I say this all the time If, everywhere you go, there's drama, chances are you might be the source of that drama. Don't be that. That being said, two really key points here in this little scripture. We just read that if, at the beginning, the beginning, that if, and then that phrase so far as it depends on you.
Speaker 1:Whenever we are presented with evil, whenever we are presented with damaging attitudes and actions of other people, it would be foolish to wilt away and to melt away rather than stand up to it. Okay, that's not what this scripture means. We can control ourselves. We have a monocle of control over our environment so far as we are concerned. But sometimes we're going to deal with other people and other situations and other actions and other attitudes where we cannot live In peace. We are going to have conflict, and it's not because we want it, it's because we are called of god to live a certain way, and we are called of God to care about people who are living the wrong way. And if someone is drowning, even if they want to drown, I have an obligation to try to save them. Okay, living in peace doesn't mean we get rolled over. That's why Paul in Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the whole armor of God, the whole armor of God, so that we can stand fast against the attacks of the enemy.
Speaker 1:Living a peaceful life is not a life of retreat and wilting and melting. That's not what a life of peace is. That's a life of defeat, that's a life of imprisonment. That's not what a life of peace is. A life of peace is a rock standing in the ocean in a life of imprisonment. That's not what a life of peace is. A life of peace is a rock standing in the ocean in the midst of a storm. We are peaceful because we are secure. We are peaceful because we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves. We are peaceful because we can build spiritual walls around us that protects us. We are not peaceful because we bow and we bend to the pressure and the attacks and the evil of the world. Amen. A life of peace is not you wilting away. A life of peace is not meekness. A life of peace is you not standing up for yourself and you not standing up for the quality of life you want to have in Christ in your life. Okay, that's not what a life of peace is. Paul, in humility, is seeking peace as far as he can. He is bending over backwards to walk into this situation in order to be peaceful and not create an uproar. But it didn't matter, doesn't matter. God might be calling you to step in in your life to some not very peaceful situations. As a peaceful person, it just might happen that way. Let's keep reading.
Speaker 1:When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia this is, from Turkey, where Paul mainly preached and taught for quite a while seeing him in the temple, they stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out men of Israel, help. This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law in this place. Again, this is the lie that's been propagated and, by the way, he didn't bring them in the temple. Again, just a lie. Then all the city was stirred up and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple and at once the gates were shut and they were seeking to kill him. As they were seeking to kill him, the word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. The tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another, and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, for the mob of the people had followed crying out Away with him.
Speaker 1:Let's pause again. Obviously, the plan of the elders and of James. It doesn't work. Paul does all the right things, but the people are intent on causing trouble and problems. They purposely lied, they purposely manipulated the situation, they stirred up the emotions of the city in order to create a response that they wanted. And, by the way, these people, who were from Asia, asia Minor, technically right. They recognized Paul because Paul had caused trouble for them in their Jewish synagogues. And so now they recognize Paul, this troublemaker for Jewish people, and they stir it all up in anger.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 15, verse 18. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. They were people waiting for a reason to explode. They were people who thrived on this chaos. It's how they controlled their environment. They used this righteous anger to control the people and the situation around them. This is a little side note. I'm not going to stay here very long. But there are people whose temper and their anger and how they react to life is nothing more than a way to manipulate the situation to get what they want. Their anger is nothing more than a baby crying because you don't want to give them another cookie. Shame on those people. Control yourselves. Control yourselves. Don't use your anger as manipulation. Let's move on this once again.
Speaker 1:As we see in the New Testament several places, including in Acts, multiple times, this is another example of what I call mob mentality Mob mentality. A mob mentality poisons a society. It poisons communities. The whole city is stirred up. It's wild, they're going crazy. The authorities show up and they're trying to figure out what's going on and they can't get a straight answer. It says that some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some were shouting another. No one really knows why they were angry. No one really knows why they were shouting. No one really knows who this Paul was. They just know that people were shouting. And now this is my chance to shout as well they're the mob. They didn't know why they were there. They couldn't articulate a reason why they were upset. They're just there for fun. They're just there because it was a moment to blow off some steam.
Speaker 1:As we go through life as Christians, let's fight the urge to fall into the crowd without all the info. Let's avoid being swept up in the madness without cause, because we do that. It's easy to do that. Be steady, be stable, be secure. Be mindful of why you are responding a certain way to a situation. You're not just some mindless mob member. You're a Christian. Don't jump in. Don't be ready just to jump in with the crowd at all times, especially whenever they can't even articulate why they're upset and why they're mad. Don't be the mob. Don't be the mob Not to get political and this shouldn't be political but because this guy gets mentioned all the time.
Speaker 1:It is now political. But I saw this video where someone yells out and calls Elon Musk a fascist okay, and then whether that's true or not, I don't know, I don't care. I don't care about that. But then someone asked the person who yelled that out okay, why? Why Tell me why you think he's a fascist? And that person couldn't do it. The person just got angry and started yelling and screaming. Right. And again, I'm not saying Elon's a good guy or a bad guy. That's not what this is. What I am saying is that the person who called him a name, who put a title on him and couldn't offer evidence to back it up, is just an angry mob member, just a mob member, that's all. That person was Useless. It's useless. It's a waste of time. And don't think for a second this is just a liberal issue or a Democrat issue. Conservatives do this, republicans do this. It happens in church. It happens out of church.
Speaker 1:This is a trap that we all can fall into if we are not careful. Beware of the mob. Beware of how easy it is to get angry about something without fully understanding the situation. Take a few big deep breaths, relax, calm down, gather info, have wisdom, have understanding, pray, talk to people you trust about it, but don't just jump into a mob. I'm not saying the mob's always wrong, but you ought to be careful. As Christians, we're going to have plenty of moments to be angry. We're going to have plenty of moments whenever we're going to have some righteous ignatiation at stuff that's going on around us. We don't need any help being manipulated. We don't need any help being pushed this way or that way, manipulated by media, to sort of get our vote or get our voice or get our sway. We have our own voice, we have our own authority, we have our own wisdom, we have our own understanding.
Speaker 1:Let's read one more little section here. As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, may I say something to you? And he said do you know Greek? Are you not the Egyptian then who recently stirred up a revolt and led the 4,000 men of the assassins out into the wilderness? Paul replied I am a Jew from Tarsus in Sicilia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people and we'll stop our reading of Acts, chapter 21, there for this week.
Speaker 1:Paul, he's literally being carried by soldiers through this violent crowd. He's almost reached safety and the soldiers don't know what's going on. Paul's probably slightly confused. He's just sort of along for the ride at this point and the soldier sort of just assumes that Paul is this Egyptian troublemaker who was there before, and then Paul speaks Greek, asks a question in Greek, and then the soldier realizes something different is going on here. Let me just tell you something, explain something to you, and this is encouraging to me. There are people out you something, explain something to you and this is encouraging to me.
Speaker 1:There are people out there in positions of power, influence and authority, and maybe they are not Christian, but they certainly care about trying to do the right thing. Not everybody who is not Christian is out there trying to do evil. They're living in sin, but maybe they're trying to just do their job the right way, the best way they can. If we remain calm, if we remain steadfast, if we live above reproach, as scripture tells us to do, we might have opportunities as we have connections with these people in our life to lead that person to God, but only if we get it together and we calm down and we're steadfast, because these people are sometimes used to dealing with madness, they're used to dealing with stupidity, they're used to dealing with anger. They're used to dealing with people without self-control, who are selfish and who aren't peaceful. But as they come into contact with the church and with people like us. I pray that they would experience the gospel in a unique way that might make them aware of a different way of doing things, because you have influence, whether you realize it or not.
Speaker 1:We also see that God uses the very normal distinctness of Paul to make a connection and provide opportunity. Paul points out some pretty normal details about his life he speaks Greek, he's from this city, from this town right, he's not this Egyptian guy, and those mundane and unique things about his life offers a connection point to this person. That changes the situation a little bit. You are unique. You are unique, right as you are. You don't got to be spectacular, but you're unique and as mundane as some of you think that you are, and you might be so far away from being special or whatever, you are unique and that uniqueness, as small as it might be, can be used for the kingdom of God. The sports team you like can be used for the kingdom of God. The hobbies you are involved in might be a connection point that God can use. A book that you like or a book that you're reading might be a thread to a person that God can use. A restaurant that you like can be used by God.
Speaker 1:We are unique when you're from your language. Everything that is unique about you is a thread that might connect you to somebody else, whether you realize it or not, and we are in the business of people, Right, and so who you are is unique, but also connects to other people. It's a beautiful thing. You don't got to be Billy Graham, you don't have to be Jensen Franklin, you don't got to be Stephen Furtick or any other famous preacher to have an influence and an impact. Your uniqueness, as mundane as you might think it is, is an opportunity for God to do something through you, almost finished In the midst of the madness, and it is madness.
Speaker 1:I just, I don't know. I'm a visual person, so when I'm reading something, I am visualizing it like it's a movie, and I'm visualizing that you've got thousands of people packed in these tight, ancient streets of Jerusalem and they are flipping their lid and they're yelling and they're screaming and they're trying to grab Paul, they're trying to push Paul, they're trying to grab him, and you've got the Roman soldiers coming in and it's a crazy situation. It's like, I don't know, we had a 2020 riots that we had in the United States, just imagine. Imagine that and that's what's going on. And Paul's being drug along here and he's in the throes of violence. He's in the throes of threat and pain. And what's Paul thinking? What's he doing? Where's his mindset in this? And he says this I beg you, I beg you, permit me to speak to the people. Let me talk to the people. I know all this stuff is going on, but wait right here and let me talk to the people.
Speaker 1:I so desire for my life to have that kind of spiritual focus, that kind of focus. This is like hitting a three-pointer being double-teamed. This is hitting a walk-off home run. That's that kind of focus, spiritually. That's what's happening here. His eyes are locked on the target. He doesn't forget why he's there. He doesn't forget his mission. All the obstacles in front of him melt away and we see a riot, we see madness, we see upheaval and violence and this craziness. Paul sees a crowd that needs to hear the testimony of Jesus in his life. I pray that we never are put in a position as severe and dramatic, as dangerous as Paul is in right now. But I pray that we develop his kind of focus. Got to have his focus Whenever we're living through bad news, when we're having a bad day, bad week, bad year. I hope our focus allows us to find somebody in those moments and tell the testimony of Jesus in our life, despite the problems we are facing. It's truly astounding to me that Paul is in this position, as dramatic and as dangerous as it is, and yet he is still focused on that.
Speaker 1:He could have encouraged the authorities to go ahead and drag him into the barracks. Get me in there immediately. I know you're probably going to beat me up a little bit in there, but I'd rather be beat up by you than this crazy crowd who wants to kill me. He could have ducked into the barracks immediately. He didn't have to pause at the top of the steps and talk to the leader of the authority in charge and maybe we'll get to this next week or the week after. He could have immediately, right then and there, brought up the fact that he was a Roman citizen and thus had some certain rights and obligations from those Roman soldiers. That would have brought him into safety. He doesn't do that. He stops and he begs to speak to the crowd. He begs to speak to the very people who want him dead.
Speaker 1:I can't help reflect on my life. I can't help think about all the stressful moments and hurtful moments that I've been through in my life and I can't help but feel challenged to look at those moments not with a lens of pain, not with a lens of dread, not with a lens of negativity, but with a lens of opportunity that God can do something with that. I can't help but think about that. I can't help but think about the people. I can't help but think about the people that I've had contact with in my life who were maybe causing problems and trouble for me. And it was a challenge not to view them as an enemy but to view them as my mission field. The most painful people that you deal with. They're not your enemy. They're not your enemy, they're your mission field. I'm not saying that you've got to bend over backwards and put yourself in a bad situation, but they are your mission field. At the very least, you've got to pray for them daily. You with me this morning, you with me.
Speaker 1:Do you understand the challenge? Do you understand that we have to develop this attitude that Paul has so that in the most mundane and boring moments and in the most stressful moments of our life, our eyes are on the target? Paul's dragged through this madness, dragged through this pain. First and foremost, he had the confidence to obey and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit that brought him to this place. He had the humility and the maturity and the wisdom to try his best to avoid the problem. But then, when the problem arrived, he didn't fold. He didn't ask God why are you doing this to me? He didn't start questioning whether God existed or whether God loved him. No, he was so connected to the mission. It superseded these problems and these questions that we often have.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand, but I'm sure all of us in here, at some moment in our life, have walked into a painful moment, and that painful moment has produced doubts about whether God cared for us or whether God even existed in the first place. Right, it's unavoidable, we're human. We're human about whether God cared for us or whether God even existed in the first place. Right, it's unavoidable, we're human. We're human and we go through stuff and it's confusing. But whenever you are connected to a mission, like Paul is connected to a mission the problem of does God actually love me? Why are bad things happening to me? They still matter, but they matter less, because we know that I'm here for a reason. I'm here for a purpose. God didn't create the problem. God didn't make my brother die. It happened, but there was purpose in that moment. God didn't make me insecure and introverted Right well, maybe he did a little bit, but he's not responsible for all those uncomfortable moments I walk through.
Speaker 1:But there are potential in those moments and for your own lives. You've got your own stories, your own problems, your own failures, your own defeats that you are personally responsible for. No one else caused your problem or your mess. You did. But there's still a purpose and there's still redemption in your failure. For God to do something spectacular. Keep your focus on the mission, no matter the circumstances that you're going through, and watch what God will do. He will resurrect things that you thought were dead. He will bring back. He will restore relationships, hurtful and painful relationships. He will restore them. He will take your most worst failures and your struggles and your defeats and the things that you're so ashamed of. He will take those things and he will not just bury them. He will get rid of them and use them to create wisdom and opportunity and connection points to other people that you didn't experience and wouldn't have otherwise.
Speaker 1:Your brokenness can be a tool. You just got to keep your eyes open for the moment. You got to stop at the top of the steps and say give me a second, I've got to tell somebody about Jesus right now. Paul does. There's power in who Jesus is. Get beyond the oh woe is me. Attitude. Get beyond the doubt and the fear. I'm not saying those things don't matter. I'm not saying there aren't even good, logical answers for some of those doubts and questions you might have. But I promise you your life will be better and more fulfilled if, instead of focusing on those, you hold on to the mission, like Paul held on to the mission and you obeyed God regardless of the danger, and you stood up on top of the steps in the worst moment of your life and you declared I've got to say something to these people about Jesus Christ, who changed my life and saved me.
Speaker 1:I'm challenged this morning. I'm challenged. I'm challenged because so often I don't have this attitude, so often I've missed this, so often I do the wrong thing, I don't listen to the Holy Spirit. I know I've got to walk this way, but I'm not going to walk this way. I know I should stop and say something to this person, but I don't.
Speaker 1:God can do this for you. He can do this for you. He wants this attitude for your life. The only question is do you want it? Do you want it? This is not a question of salvation. This is a question of helping other people get to salvation. God wants to use you. He wants to use you. I'm not calling you to be a preacher. I'm not calling you to be a worship leader, a Sunday school teacher. I'm not calling you to do anything except for maybe stand up there and greet people as they walk in, or bring donuts, or just serve or tear down things. That can be your ministry in church. But some way, somehow, you are called, in your worst moments and in the most boring moments, to stay focused on the mission. Let's pray, heavenly Father, we love you, we love you Desperately. We love you and God.
Speaker 1:In this room, I know there are faithful people. There are people who love you so much. There are people who care for you so much. There are people who want to do the right thing. There are people who just desperately want to be used by you. Lord, help them, encourage them, strengthen them, anoint them with the power and the might of the Holy Spirit in fresh and brand new ways. Every morning, god, in their private time, in their devotion, in their private prayers, I pray that you would minister to them and equip them to be great parents, anointed parents, to be anointed friends, to be anointed workers, lord, to make a difference. Wherever they walk, wherever they go, wherever they exist, they are doing things for your glory and for your honor. Their focus is on you.
Speaker 1:And then maybe there are other people in this room who are maybe not quite to that point. They love you, lord, but they're still trying to find their way. They're still trying to figure it out, and I pray right now that you would, through your Holy Spirit, open up their heart and their mind to a fresh calling and a fresh passion of you, lord. Let them not grow wary of well-doing, lord. Let them not just be settled for just a ticket to heaven, lord, but let them understand and know that in their uniqueness, they are called to make connections with people that I can never make a connection with.
Speaker 1:Help us all, Lord, to keep focused. Help us all, lord, to heed your instruction. Help us all, lord, to keep focused. Help us all, lord, to heed your instruction. Help us all, lord, to have self-control, to not walk in anger, to not be a mob, lord, but to be thoughtful and to be peaceful where at all possible, god. But let us be equipped with the whole armor of God so that we can face the attacks of the enemy and not just survive, but overcome and bring victory to places that need victory.
Speaker 1:Lord, help us, god. Help us, lord. God. I pray that you would submit this work in our hearts and in our minds, as only you can. Let this not just be another Sunday, as we so often make these Sundays and these other moments that we have with you. It's just another day, just another day. We have so many Sundays in our lifetime. But it's more than just a Sunday, it's more than just a random moment, lord. It is your word expressed and it's your word laid out before us. It is your Holy Spirit that takes that word and activates it in our life to do something spectacular, and I pray that that would happen as we walk out of these doors, lord, In Jesus' name, we pray and we all say Amen.