1
00:00:14,139 --> 00:00:17,320
 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church Podcast.

2
00:00:18,260 --> 00:00:24,059
 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.

3
00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:26,600
 Thank you for joining us today.

4
00:00:36,939 --> 00:00:45,520
 So if you can open up your Bibles to Romans chapter 15, I guess you could have guessed that,

5
00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:53,119
 but as this letter winds down, as I was reading, we're only going through 11 verses

6
00:00:54,060 --> 00:01:01,439
 hopefully, but and as I was going through this, it seemed like it was, it's so practical

7
00:01:02,219 --> 00:01:08,799
 and it's not Paul instructing the church in Rome to do anything. He's just talking to them

8
00:01:09,420 --> 00:01:15,760
 and he's talking about his plans and he's talking about situations that are going on

9
00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:23,280
 and it's amazing because as you're reading this, you're learning so much in what Paul is saying

10
00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:29,340
 about himself and about his ministry and as I was reading this, I'm like, this is such,

11
00:01:29,540 --> 00:01:35,859
 these are gems of practical application to our own lives as I was reading them and I'm thinking,

12
00:01:35,859 --> 00:01:41,239
 yeah, but is there one point, you try to get one point and really it seems that there's four points

13
00:01:41,239 --> 00:01:47,840
 within this and Paul just sharing, you know, it's interesting because he's not telling them

14
00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:54,319
 anything except what his plans are and so that's where this making plans, taking steps

15
00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:59,879
 actually came from because this is what we're going to learn from Paul about what he had planned

16
00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:05,280
 and so let's pray and just thank the Lord for using his word to do a work in us.

17
00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:14,800
 So Father God, we ask you to use this letter from Paul 2000 years ago almost to a church in Rome

18
00:02:15,439 --> 00:02:20,860
 to still instruct us today because your word is eternal. So thank you Lord that we can

19
00:02:20,860 --> 00:02:28,599
 glean something from this for ourselves here today in Jesus name, amen. So we're going to

20
00:02:28,599 --> 00:02:35,879
 start in verse 22 and end at the end of the chapter 33 and so let's dive right in verse 22.

21
00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:42,860
 Paul continues where he left off and he said, for this reason I also have been much

22
00:02:42,860 --> 00:02:49,020
 hindered from coming to you. So of course, you know, we start off this morning saying for this

23
00:02:49,020 --> 00:02:54,580
 reason, well, for what reason? You know, we're continuing on from where we left off last

24
00:02:55,679 --> 00:03:01,180
 week and if you can recall Paul was talking to the Romans and how he said it was his aim and

25
00:03:01,180 --> 00:03:08,939
 let's pull that one verse up Romans 15 20 and so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel

26
00:03:08,939 --> 00:03:17,979
 to where Christ was not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation.

27
00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:25,719
 So it was Paul's aim. The Lord had designed him to bring the gospel to unreached people groups

28
00:03:25,719 --> 00:03:31,740
 and in a way that's what Andrew and that team is doing right is bringing the gospel to Cambodia

29
00:03:31,740 --> 00:03:38,020
 where Jesus Christ is probably not known in much of the country. So it's a new word to them,

30
00:03:38,020 --> 00:03:43,560
 you know, they're learning this for the first time and Paul was chosen from his mother's womb

31
00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:49,060
 to bring the gospel to unreached people groups and our church has been very involved by the way,

32
00:03:49,139 --> 00:03:56,539
 as you know, in unreached people groups and so this is what Paul was designed to do. So

33
00:03:56,539 --> 00:04:03,419
 he says for this reason I've been hindered because he was planting churches. He was preaching

34
00:04:03,419 --> 00:04:11,099
 the gospel to where Christ was never heard about before, but during this process he met some people

35
00:04:11,099 --> 00:04:17,740
 from Rome. Remember Aquila and Priscilla? They were exiled from Rome by the Emperor Claudius.

36
00:04:18,259 --> 00:04:24,220
 He sent them away along with other people and so he was meeting Romans and he knew that Romans,

37
00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:29,220
 do you know Romans were there at the day of Pentecost? It was Romans there, people, well

38
00:04:29,860 --> 00:04:36,139
 Jews that came from Rome who received the Holy Spirit right there at Pentecost, right? So he had

39
00:04:36,139 --> 00:04:45,480
 gotten to know them and the Lord had called him to this burden to Rome, but so but in the meantime

40
00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:51,279
 he's planting churches. He doesn't have time to go to Rome. His design was to plant

41
00:04:51,279 --> 00:05:00,779
 churches in new places. If you can recall, Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3-6-7.

42
00:05:01,540 --> 00:05:09,579
 He says, I planted but Apollo's water, but God gave the increase. So neither he who plants

43
00:05:09,579 --> 00:05:15,360
 is anything nor he who woulders, but God who gives the increase. So he was, as he was

44
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:22,000
 planting churches, people were coming along behind him who were perhaps more suited for

45
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:30,500
 administration, more suited even in shepherding and gifted orators like Apollo's. And so Paul

46
00:05:30,500 --> 00:05:36,560
 realized, you know what, I'm good here. I can move on. It's time to move on. My work here is

47
00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:41,759
 done, right? So Paul realized this as he's writing to the Romans that you know what,

48
00:05:42,319 --> 00:05:48,019
 I can really start to consider going to Rome. And so let's pick it up in verse 23,

49
00:05:49,079 --> 00:05:56,000
 but now no longer having a place in these parts and having a great desire of these many years

50
00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:01,319
 to come to you. Let's just stop there for a second. That's an interesting thing he says.

51
00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:08,620
 Now no longer having a place in these parts. So what is he talking about? Well,

52
00:06:08,620 --> 00:06:13,639
 imagine being, Paul, you're planting churches and then people come in behind you that are even

53
00:06:13,639 --> 00:06:19,600
 perhaps better speakers than you like Apollo's and others. And as he's passing the baton,

54
00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:26,180
 he's like, well, what am I going to do now? Like they got this handle, right? So it's really

55
00:06:26,180 --> 00:06:35,060
 time for me to move on. You know, that's the first point is knowing your place. Paul

56
00:06:35,060 --> 00:06:41,959
 realized his place was no longer in this region. If you could put up that little title, knowing your

57
00:06:41,959 --> 00:06:46,579
 place, you know, and that sounds a little harsh. Don't you know your place? Well, let me get to

58
00:06:46,579 --> 00:06:53,620
 it a minute. He realized that it was time for him to move on. Let's put that map up.

59
00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:01,319
 And is that pretty clear to you? And I have a little laser pointer here. I keep losing these

60
00:07:01,319 --> 00:07:08,420
 things. But anyway, so the first missionary journey, second was in green. And what's great

61
00:07:08,420 --> 00:07:13,319
 is down here, you could actually read when these things can be read about in the book of Acts,

62
00:07:13,759 --> 00:07:19,259
 right? And so he had made it all the way to Corinth. Now by the third missionary journey,

63
00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:24,560
 he had left, he had come through all those same areas and ended up in Corinth.

64
00:07:25,419 --> 00:07:34,920
 And now from Corinth, he is writing to Rome, okay, the church in Rome. And he was writing this letter

65
00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:41,360
 here. And he was going to give it to Phoebe, who was going to deliver it up here to Rome.

66
00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:48,420
 Okay. And so here he is in Corinth, realizing like this whole area has been really established

67
00:07:48,420 --> 00:07:55,319
 for the church of Christ. Now, so has Rome been, but I just desperately want to go see them.

68
00:07:55,660 --> 00:08:01,319
 You know, he just knew it was in his heart to visit Rome. And you know, this isn't

69
00:08:01,319 --> 00:08:08,600
 something that he just dreamed up. Okay. The Lord gave him this desire to go to Rome.

70
00:08:09,459 --> 00:08:13,180
 Now he thought Rome was going to be a stopping ground on his way to Spain.

71
00:08:13,819 --> 00:08:21,720
 Okay. But he didn't realize that he would be one day imprisoned in Rome, preaching to the household

72
00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:28,879
 of Caesar. Can you imagine that? Like he had God's plans so much of a lower level than they really

73
00:08:28,879 --> 00:08:33,759
 were. He thought Rome was just merely going to be somewhere I'll stop by, I'll say hello,

74
00:08:33,899 --> 00:08:37,559
 and we'll hang out a little bit. And then I'm going to where I really want to go.

75
00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:44,460
 But no, God had better plans, right? To send him there as a prisoner. Well, I don't want to be

76
00:08:44,460 --> 00:08:49,480
 sent as a prisoner. Well, we're going to see all the great things that happened as a result of

77
00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:55,659
 that, right? And so he had a burden. And in fact, we can actually see this in Acts 1921.

78
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:03,779
 When these, he was in Ephesus, great things were starting to break open in Ephesus.

79
00:09:04,500 --> 00:09:11,399
 When things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia

80
00:09:11,399 --> 00:09:20,100
 and Achaia to go to Jerusalem saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome. So this

81
00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:26,379
 was a plan from God to go to Rome. Now perhaps Spain was his own plan. We don't know if we ever

82
00:09:26,379 --> 00:09:31,759
 got to Spain. Maybe you read so many different things about it, but we don't read in scriptures

83
00:09:31,759 --> 00:09:37,919
 that God said, no, you will go to Spain. Okay, but we knew God said, no, you will go to Rome,

84
00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,399
 right? But he's probably thinking, wait a minute, there's already churches in Rome. Why do you need

85
00:09:41,399 --> 00:09:50,600
 me there? God had bigger plans. He had better plans, amen. And so he's going to go eventually and

86
00:09:50,600 --> 00:10:00,039
 to Rome. As I'm reading this, and well, let's move on from there. So he asked that we have

87
00:10:00,039 --> 00:10:05,600
 to know our place. You know, I'll just mention something like knowing your place, he's realizing

88
00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:13,559
 it's no longer in Greece. It's no longer in Asia Minor. I need to be used by God. He just realized

89
00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:19,799
 that, you know, and God was going to move him on. And I was thinking, well, that sounds kind of like,

90
00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:24,879
 don't you know your place? Doesn't that seem kind of harsh? Well, you know, our place does

91
00:10:24,879 --> 00:10:30,320
 change. I was thinking about Jill and I, you know, we're parents, okay? We had four phenomenal,

92
00:10:30,399 --> 00:10:35,600
 wonderful kids. I'm sure all of you feel the same way, I hope, about your own kids. They're amazing.

93
00:10:35,740 --> 00:10:40,820
 They're the best. Your kids are the best. My kids are the best. Guess what God says about us?

94
00:10:41,740 --> 00:10:47,779
 My kids are the best, right? And so, and that's, you know, that's what God wants us to have this

95
00:10:47,779 --> 00:10:54,940
 just love for our own children and praise that the Lord has made them who they are, right?

96
00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,639
 But, you know, back in the day, you know, we used to say, stop picking on your brother,

97
00:11:00,259 --> 00:11:06,019
 stop, you know, yelling at each other, clean up your room. Well, our place in their lives

98
00:11:06,019 --> 00:11:12,840
 has changed, okay? Because now they're all married, okay? And now we're grandparents.

99
00:11:13,419 --> 00:11:20,340
 So our place in their lives has shifted, right? It's not the same place. Imagine if I went over

100
00:11:20,340 --> 00:11:23,679
 Jesse's house and started knocking on the door and said, yeah, I'm coming in to see if you

101
00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:30,419
 cleaned your room. Like Marie would be kind of like, what? This is weird. This is creepy, okay?

102
00:11:30,700 --> 00:11:38,179
 Because that's no longer our place to intrude on their family life, right? And that's the

103
00:11:38,179 --> 00:11:44,379
 idea. Like we all have a place to play and God sometimes shifts our place onward just like he

104
00:11:44,379 --> 00:11:49,960
 did for Paul. I no longer have a place here. Well, he has a place somewhere else, right? He has a

105
00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:59,000
 better place, right? So let's read on. Verse 24, whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to

106
00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:09,179
 you for I hope to see you on my journey and to be helped on my way there by you if first I may

107
00:12:09,179 --> 00:12:13,820
 enjoy your company for a while. Isn't it so funny? Like he's thinking, yeah, I'm just going to be

108
00:12:13,820 --> 00:12:18,059
 swinging by and we'll hang out a little bit, we'll have some coffee and then I'll be on my way

109
00:12:18,059 --> 00:12:24,299
 to Spain, right? Don't we make plans sometimes? Some of them are a vision from God,

110
00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,100
 but then we start embellishing and start embellishing and then I'm going to do this

111
00:12:28,100 --> 00:12:34,980
 and I'm going to do that. And sometimes that's not necessarily God's full plan, right? He may have,

112
00:12:35,059 --> 00:12:43,600
 like I said, even better plans, even better plans. I love this. As we could see, let me,

113
00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:51,059
 let's show that map up there again. And we could see, right? He had plans,

114
00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,639
 okay, as he was writing this, he's going to go to Rome, but really the prize where I

115
00:12:55,639 --> 00:13:01,419
 really want to go is beyond. And if you have that next map, this is a picture of

116
00:13:01,419 --> 00:13:13,899
 the Roman Empire by 117 AD by early second century of AD. And so he's writing from here

117
00:13:14,879 --> 00:13:18,120
 and he's like, like, I'm sorry, he's writing from here. And he's like,

118
00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,679
 yeah, yeah, so I'm writing to you from here, but I'm going to go to Rome,

119
00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:28,759
 but really I want to get to Spain, right? This is where I really want to get to. And we could see,

120
00:13:28,919 --> 00:13:33,779
 you know, that he's probably thinking, because the gospel hasn't been preached there, I want to get

121
00:13:33,779 --> 00:13:41,960
 there. Okay. And yet again, the Lord has even better plans for Paul. I love the verses that

122
00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:51,659
 talk about, you know, we make a plan, but God, what? Directs are steps, right? In Proverbs 16,

123
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:58,840
 9, a man's heart plants his way, but the Lord directs his steps. A person's steps are directed by

124
00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:05,820
 the Lord, Proverbs 20, 24, Psalm 85, 13, righteousness will go before him and shall

125
00:14:05,820 --> 00:14:13,100
 make his footsteps our pathway. Don't you want to be walking with Christ? You know,

126
00:14:13,259 --> 00:14:17,340
 don't you want him to be carrying? You ever see that beach? You know, everyone has it up on their

127
00:14:17,340 --> 00:14:22,740
 wall, you know, the footsteps on the beach, right? And you've seen it. And it's only like one set

128
00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:26,679
 of footsteps. And the guy says, I thought you're going to care. I thought, you know,

129
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:32,399
 you're going to walk with me through life. He says, Oh, I was with you. I was carrying you.

130
00:14:32,399 --> 00:14:40,440
 Those footsteps are my footsteps, you know, we want to be on Christ's step plan, don't we?

131
00:14:40,980 --> 00:14:46,360
 You know, we can make a lot of plans, but we want to be stepping with Christ. We want him to be

132
00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:51,919
 guiding our steps. And Paul is going to learn that eventually, right? That he's going to go to

133
00:14:51,919 --> 00:14:57,100
 Rome, but he's going to go as a prisoner and accomplish even so much more in chains

134
00:14:57,659 --> 00:15:02,120
 than he ever could as a free man. Isn't that amazing? You know, that's what the Lord does.

135
00:15:02,639 --> 00:15:12,480
 And so let's read on from there. Verse 25, But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the

136
00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:20,720
 saints for it please those from Macedonia and Akhaya to make a certain contribution for the

137
00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:28,720
 poor among the saints who were in Jerusalem. It please them indeed. And they are their debtors.

138
00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:35,460
 Now watch this for if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things,

139
00:15:36,179 --> 00:15:43,779
 their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Now we're going to touch on a touchy

140
00:15:43,779 --> 00:15:50,960
 subject and that's tithing. You know, Calvary chapels, we don't ask for money. In fact,

141
00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:54,960
 that's one of our distinctives. If you ever read a Calvary Chapel distinctives book,

142
00:15:55,399 --> 00:16:01,059
 they say we don't ask for money because the Lord provides. We don't have to beg for money.

143
00:16:01,139 --> 00:16:05,059
 I remember one time I was listening to this radio program and he was okay. He was a preacher

144
00:16:05,059 --> 00:16:11,000
 and he was having a whole program begging. If you don't give, this program might not

145
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:16,039
 still be on the air. I'm thinking, well then maybe it shouldn't be. I mean, if that's what

146
00:16:16,039 --> 00:16:21,440
 it takes you begging and grobbling, you know, the Lord, he provides. He brings the increase and he

147
00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:27,399
 provides. He provides where he guides, right? And so, you know, we don't ask for money, right?

148
00:16:27,779 --> 00:16:33,519
 But when we read about it, we are reminded, you know, we have to be a giving church, right?

149
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,860
 And Paul was saying, I'm traveling through if we could just show that,

150
00:16:37,580 --> 00:16:40,940
 sorry, one more time. You're gonna get sick of this map, but it's such a great map.

151
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,399
 And he was going through and he was saying, all right, I'm collecting. I'm collecting from you

152
00:16:45,399 --> 00:16:51,600
 guys to bring it back to the poor Christians in Jerusalem who are being really persecuted.

153
00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,980
 And as he's going through, he's writing ahead, I'll be coming to you. When I get there,

154
00:16:56,399 --> 00:17:00,500
 I'm collecting. And so, he actually would say, when I get there and you're at your

155
00:17:00,500 --> 00:17:06,759
 normal meetings giving, make sure you set some aside for the poor people in Jerusalem.

156
00:17:07,279 --> 00:17:12,579
 But I'm just reminded, you know, we're all to be givers. And I believe first and foremost to our

157
00:17:12,579 --> 00:17:19,000
 church family. You know, sometimes we give to our pet projects, our pet preferences, but really,

158
00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:24,539
 to our church family, I mean, I've always given first to the church family I'm part of.

159
00:17:24,980 --> 00:17:29,440
 It just is the way it should be, right? Because I'm part of that network. It's my body, you

160
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:34,880
 know, it's I'm a member of the body. But then you give beyond that and you give elsewhere just

161
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:41,140
 like they were given to the church in Jerusalem because it's above and beyond, right? And we could

162
00:17:41,140 --> 00:17:47,079
 see tithing was established early in scripture. We don't live according to the law. We're not a

163
00:17:47,079 --> 00:17:53,059
 10%, you know, you must give, but why not give 30%. Why not give 50%. All right, where's

164
00:17:53,059 --> 00:17:57,440
 you going with this? But we could see in scriptures, remember, Malchizedek? That's

165
00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:04,799
 the first picture of tithing. Abraham rescues Lot. And as he's on his way to bring the stuff back to

166
00:18:04,799 --> 00:18:10,680
 Sodom and Gomorrah, he meets with Malchizedek and Malchizedek blesses him and he gives him a 10th

167
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:17,279
 of everything. We see Jacob when he was fleeing from Esau on his way to Heron, right? As he was

168
00:18:17,279 --> 00:18:22,900
 leaving, he went to Bethel. He later named it. And he put that stone up and he Christened

169
00:18:22,900 --> 00:18:27,279
 that because of this ladder that came down from heaven and the angels were rising and

170
00:18:29,099 --> 00:18:35,279
 rising and falling on the ladder. And he's like, wow, this is the house of God. And he gave God a

171
00:18:35,279 --> 00:18:42,559
 10th. Again, it's a picture of a 10th of everything I get. If I come back, I will give you a 10th of

172
00:18:42,559 --> 00:18:47,680
 everything I have. It's just a picture. The Lord in the law said, the Levites, you are to

173
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:56,099
 give the Levites a 10% offering. And guess what? The Levites give a 10% of the 10%. Everybody's giving

174
00:18:56,099 --> 00:19:02,420
 10%. And we can see that Old Testament, that's Old Law, when we're under grace, where we are,

175
00:19:02,539 --> 00:19:08,079
 let's give more. Because everything, just like Abraham, none of that stuff belonged to him.

176
00:19:08,660 --> 00:19:12,619
 It was all Sodom and Gomorrah's stuff, right? You know, when we're living here,

177
00:19:12,619 --> 00:19:19,519
 none of this stuff inevitably is ours. It all belongs to God, right? And in fact, Jesus even

178
00:19:19,519 --> 00:19:25,279
 spoke about this. Remember, he told the parable of the steward? And he says, you know, sometimes

179
00:19:25,279 --> 00:19:30,980
 Christians have to realize, be savvy, be shrewd. This stuff you have is only temporary.

180
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:38,779
 It's temporal wealth. And he told the story about the shrewd steward who rumors had it that

181
00:19:38,779 --> 00:19:45,720
 he was embezzling. He was misusing his master's stuff. And so the master came to him and he said,

182
00:19:46,079 --> 00:19:51,380
 you know, what is this I hear about you? That's it. Close up these books. You're fire. And the

183
00:19:51,380 --> 00:19:57,539
 steward said, man, I have to like build myself a career outside here. I can't beg. I can't dig

184
00:19:57,539 --> 00:20:02,940
 ditches. I'm not in good shape. I better make deals here. So he sat down with all of the

185
00:20:02,940 --> 00:20:10,920
 people and he said, what do you owe? Oh, I owe 100 pounds here. I cross that. You only owe me 50 pay up

186
00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:17,220
 right now. And the next person, how much do you owe 100? Give me 80. And he was making deals for

187
00:20:17,220 --> 00:20:23,279
 the master because so many accounts receivable were out in the, in the town that they all owed

188
00:20:23,279 --> 00:20:28,519
 his master and he was just lazy. So finally he realized, no, I got to make, because I have to

189
00:20:28,519 --> 00:20:34,880
 make sure that when I get out of this job, I have somewhere else to go. You know, he can go over and see

190
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:40,779
 Ken and say, hey, Ken, remember I hooked you up there? 150. Can you hook me up with a job? Right.

191
00:20:40,859 --> 00:20:47,880
 So he had to make plans. You think, well, what is Jesus? Is he, is he, is he suggesting that we

192
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:52,900
 embezzle from our employers? No, he's trying to say none of it's yours. And he says this,

193
00:20:52,900 --> 00:21:02,259
 I love this in Luke 16 9. He says, and I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous

194
00:21:02,259 --> 00:21:09,920
 wealth so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwelling. He's saying, look,

195
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:15,980
 make friends for the kingdom of God with this temporary wealth you have, you know, invest.

196
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:21,099
 Just like Paul was saying, you know, you should invest what's material because of all the spiritual

197
00:21:21,099 --> 00:21:25,420
 gain you're getting, right? And isn't it true? I mean, that's what happens, you know,

198
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:31,059
 as we gain, the Lord blesses us. You ever notice the disciples caught more fish every time they

199
00:21:31,059 --> 00:21:37,240
 were with Jesus? Okay, they didn't catch a thing all night. They catch a plethora of fish, right?

200
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:42,960
 We are more blessed when we are walking with Christ. And you know what he does? He gives you

201
00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:49,000
 more and more. I'm sorry, I'm not a prosperity preacher, but he does prosper you, doesn't he?

202
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:54,500
 Because you know what happens when you're not walking with God, you're wasting your money on

203
00:21:54,500 --> 00:22:01,119
 foolish things. On idols, like we were talking about earlier, idols that have nothing to offer you,

204
00:22:01,660 --> 00:22:07,039
 right? Like cars, Ferraris and all that stuff, whatever. I saw all your Ferraris pulling here

205
00:22:07,039 --> 00:22:14,759
 to them. I don't even, well, I do know one person that has a nice car. But like it's a waste,

206
00:22:14,759 --> 00:22:19,680
 right? It's just idols, right? And he's saying, just don't get hung up on idols,

207
00:22:19,940 --> 00:22:24,579
 invest it for spiritual things. Don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

208
00:22:24,799 --> 00:22:31,299
 where moth eats it, rusts it away and devours it, right? And thieves break in and steal,

209
00:22:31,819 --> 00:22:36,220
 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where none of that happens, right?

210
00:22:36,740 --> 00:22:42,859
 And so really, it's just that it's really an exhortation to give, give abundantly,

211
00:22:42,859 --> 00:22:49,880
 you know? And just, it's like the Lord has never, you know, was unfaithful to our family

212
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:55,759
 by giving. And we see this picture of Paul going around and collecting for the saints,

213
00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:03,039
 because they benefited in spiritual things, invest the material things. I'll tell you,

214
00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:08,859
 you know what the Lord does? He re-structures your whole budget. He really does. When you

215
00:23:08,859 --> 00:23:13,799
 put him first, everything else falls in line. So do you have more than you ever had before?

216
00:23:14,380 --> 00:23:19,500
 All right? So that was the one message on tithing for the next couple of years. So did you enjoy it?

217
00:23:20,059 --> 00:23:28,140
 All right, so let's read all. So final point. Therefore, when I have performed this and have

218
00:23:28,140 --> 00:23:36,420
 sealed it to them, this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. But I know that when I come

219
00:23:36,420 --> 00:23:42,740
 to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Verse 30,

220
00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:49,619
 Now I beg you brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit,

221
00:23:49,940 --> 00:23:57,299
 that you strive together with me in prayers to God. Now watch this, that I may be delivered

222
00:23:57,299 --> 00:24:04,440
 from those in Judea who do not believe, okay? That would be the Jews who are still living

223
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:12,119
 according to the law. And that my service for Jerusalem may be accepted to the saints,

224
00:24:13,039 --> 00:24:20,380
 that I may come to you with joy by the will of God and may be refreshed together with you.

225
00:24:21,079 --> 00:24:28,200
 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. So what is he saying? This next theme is called

226
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:35,720
 bidding in. What is he trying to say? Pray for me that I fit in. Now some of you are saying,

227
00:24:35,779 --> 00:24:42,559
 I'm not going to be a, I'm not going to be a chameleon. I'm not going to be a chameleon in the

228
00:24:42,559 --> 00:24:47,740
 world and adapt to their ways. That's not what we're talking about. He's saying pray for me

229
00:24:47,740 --> 00:24:52,579
 that when I go to Jerusalem, first of all, the Jews don't kill me before I can even open

230
00:24:52,579 --> 00:24:59,220
 my mouth and deliver this gift, right? Because the Jews hated Paul. He was there, you know,

231
00:24:59,299 --> 00:25:05,680
 Paul was the man. He was actually persecuting the church. He was there holding coats while Stephen

232
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:12,920
 was stoned to death. He's our guide, right? Now the city, he turned his coat. You know, he

233
00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:20,440
 switched sides and now he's with the way, the church, I mean the Christians, right? So

234
00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:30,140
 he is loathed, loathed by the Jews in Jerusalem. But not only that, but when he comes into town

235
00:25:30,140 --> 00:25:38,740
 and the Christians who have, who have been converted, most of them Jews see him. They're

236
00:25:38,740 --> 00:25:45,460
 like, yeah, he's kind of like too controversial. I don't even want to be associated with him.

237
00:25:45,980 --> 00:25:53,579
 I don't want to be anywhere near Paul because Paul has all this stigma attached to him.

238
00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:57,579
 I don't want to go near him. So Paul realized when he gets to Jerusalem, he's going to be

239
00:25:57,579 --> 00:26:03,859
 ostracized by just about everybody and he's bringing a gift for them, right? And so he's

240
00:26:03,859 --> 00:26:10,900
 praying for me that I fit in. You know, as he was heading to Jerusalem, he knew it wasn't going to

241
00:26:10,900 --> 00:26:16,440
 be a pretty thing. He knew that there would be a whole lot of mess going on. But he was hoping he

242
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:21,099
 get through the mess and get to Rome someday, right? That's what his plans were, that's what

243
00:26:21,099 --> 00:26:30,299
 he was hoping for. And we can see this in a couple of scriptures. As Paul was going through

244
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:37,579
 Malita, which is right near Ephesus, he sent away for the elders of Ephesus because if he

245
00:26:37,579 --> 00:26:42,299
 went into Ephesus, he'd never be able to leave in time. He wanted to get to Jerusalem by the Passover

246
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,759
 to deliver it. So he said, you know what? I don't have time to meet with everybody. They're all

247
00:26:46,759 --> 00:26:49,599
 going to love me and I mean, that's great, but I'll never get out of there, right?

248
00:26:50,019 --> 00:26:54,319
 So he says, let me just come and meet with the elders. And when he was, when you get a

249
00:26:54,319 --> 00:27:00,779
 chance, read Acts 20, it's the most passionate. Just you're reading this. You're like, man,

250
00:27:00,859 --> 00:27:07,160
 this guy knows. He's heading into it just like Jesus did. Everyone kept saying, why are you

251
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:12,640
 going to Jerusalem? You know, to raise Lazarus, you know, and Bethesda, that's right near

252
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:18,200
 Jerusalem. Are you crazy? They're wanting to kill you there. I have to go through Jerusalem

253
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:23,640
 to get to eternity. That's just the way it's going to go. Sometimes you have to go through,

254
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:28,319
 you know, Winston Churchill once said, if you're going through, how keep going?

255
00:27:29,619 --> 00:27:33,400
 Because heaven is on the other hand, you know, there's something better beyond that.

256
00:27:33,519 --> 00:27:35,839
 There's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's not another train.

257
00:27:36,439 --> 00:27:41,960
 Okay. So anyway, Winston Churchill didn't say that, but anyway, so, but he said, you know,

258
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,240
 be prepared, you know, so Paul is going through Ephesus and he met with them. He says, look,

259
00:27:46,659 --> 00:27:53,000
 you know, I know, I know some tough times I'm going to be heading into. Okay. And he

260
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:59,059
 warned them and warned them. And then he said this, look at those verses in X 20 verse 22 to 23.

261
00:27:59,519 --> 00:28:06,319
 And he says, and see, now I go bound in this spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things

262
00:28:06,319 --> 00:28:13,160
 that will happen to me, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that

263
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:21,059
 chains and tribulations await me, but none of these things shall move me. I'm going to keep

264
00:28:21,059 --> 00:28:25,500
 on going. And you know what? He had such confidence. He was writing to Rome saying, I'll see you

265
00:28:25,500 --> 00:28:30,960
 after I get through Jerusalem. Right. Okay. Now he'd see them again in a different context as a

266
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:39,019
 prisoner, but still then when he was moving further, we can read about in Acts chapter 21,

267
00:28:39,799 --> 00:28:44,640
 when he was getting very close to Jerusalem and he went into a house by the name of

268
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:51,140
 Philip the Evangelist. And remember he had four prophetic, prophetic daughters and they were prophesying.

269
00:28:51,500 --> 00:28:57,039
 Suddenly Agabus comes up. You remember this story and he comes walking up and he ties a belt around

270
00:28:57,039 --> 00:29:02,759
 his own. He pulls Paul's belt off ties it around his hand. Very dramatic. And he ties around his

271
00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:07,859
 hand. He goes, this is what's going to happen to the person whose belt this belongs to.

272
00:29:08,420 --> 00:29:15,299
 And they said to him, you see brother now many myriads of Jews. I'm sorry. That's something else.

273
00:29:15,460 --> 00:29:21,859
 So anyway, so he's getting prepared. Right. And so he ends up in Jerusalem. I'm telling you,

274
00:29:21,859 --> 00:29:28,299
 they didn't even hear quite yet that he was in town. But when he meets with the saints and,

275
00:29:28,339 --> 00:29:34,140
 you know, James, you know, who was then the leader, the half brother of Jesus was the

276
00:29:34,140 --> 00:29:40,220
 leader of the church and he met with him and probably Peter was there and others and he gives

277
00:29:40,220 --> 00:29:44,240
 them the gift and they're like super glad to see him. And then they're like, all right. Now,

278
00:29:44,259 --> 00:29:50,839
 listen, we just need you to dial things down a little bit. All right. Because Paul had one

279
00:29:50,839 --> 00:29:56,839
 switch and that was on. That was go. Okay. You know, for him to dial things down and

280
00:29:56,839 --> 00:30:01,200
 it's like, and that's, this is what they said. And they said to him, you see brother,

281
00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:08,319
 how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed and they are all zealous for the law.

282
00:30:09,579 --> 00:30:14,559
 You know, there's still compromise. There's still, you know, when you come out of religion,

283
00:30:14,779 --> 00:30:20,980
 it's tough to just escape and realize it's all about grace. You know, I got through religion,

284
00:30:21,220 --> 00:30:26,720
 you know, and it took a while to detox, right, from religion. I was even a very religious guy,

285
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:33,640
 but still the rituals, all the things, the traditions, all these that distract

286
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:40,740
 from the only important thing, Jesus Christ, faith in Jesus Christ. He's the only one who

287
00:30:40,740 --> 00:30:46,359
 saves, right? He's the only one who matters. You know, you have to go through him to get to

288
00:30:46,359 --> 00:30:51,960
 the father. And so they're still living according to the law. Paul's probably saying like, what?

289
00:30:52,519 --> 00:30:57,680
 You're like, how could you let this happen? But like, they're in Jerusalem, right? They're

290
00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:04,220
 surrounded. So they have to be careful. And so, and they are all zealous for the law,

291
00:31:04,259 --> 00:31:09,859
 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the laws who are among the Gentiles,

292
00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:15,980
 all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to

293
00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:21,380
 circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. Well, some of that's true,

294
00:31:21,559 --> 00:31:27,720
 right? They didn't have to. If you want to, okay, right? But not, you know, not to circumcise your

295
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:34,380
 children. I mean, that was not a thing, right? But to Gentiles, you don't need to. But still,

296
00:31:34,579 --> 00:31:41,160
 it was this powder keg of conspiracy surrounding Paul. So now Paul's writing to the Romans,

297
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:46,680
 say, you got to pray for me, man, because when I get there, I know all hell is going to break loose

298
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:52,440
 in Jerusalem when I get there. And it did. And it did. He got there. Listen, this is what you

299
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:58,640
 should do, Paul. You should pretend. It's a weird passage is pretend you're living according to

300
00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:05,279
 the law. Shave your head, put this on, go into the temple, like you're at the verge of an

301
00:32:05,279 --> 00:32:09,440
 ending of these vows that you took and all this. He's like, okay, okay, if you tell me,

302
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:15,960
 I want to get along here. Okay, I don't want to cause any trouble. He was maturing his faith by

303
00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:23,299
 then and realized, I have to adjust to the circumstances. I have to adjust. I have to fit

304
00:32:23,299 --> 00:32:29,440
 in in order to accomplish what God wants to accomplish through me. I don't want to be offensive

305
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:34,440
 where I'm not supposed to be offensive. Do you know what I mean? And so he let Jesus be the

306
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:41,960
 offender, right? Not me, right? In my presentation of him. So, you know, they said, listen, do all

307
00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:46,319
 these things. Do you know he didn't even make it to the last day of his quote unquote vow,

308
00:32:46,579 --> 00:32:50,299
 and they burst into the temple and they grabbed him and ripped them right out.

309
00:32:50,660 --> 00:32:56,799
 And that's what started the whole rest and eventual trip to Rome on a ship.

310
00:32:57,519 --> 00:33:05,160
 And so this last point of fitting in, you know, it's important because Paul realized that he needed

311
00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:12,480
 to fit in in a certain way. It didn't work, even in his attempt to try to put on a pretense of

312
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:19,059
 religion. It still didn't work, right? But he didn't want a purpose to be offensive. And,

313
00:33:19,079 --> 00:33:23,240
 you know, as I was contemplating this and really thinking about, you know, every environment

314
00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:29,779
 we go into, you know, it's okay to be a listener first, right? And to listen to where all the

315
00:33:29,779 --> 00:33:36,819
 dynamics are and just pray, Lord, I want to adjust to these situations because in the end,

316
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:42,019
 the most important thing is that you are represented here. So I don't want to be offensive.

317
00:33:42,180 --> 00:33:46,559
 That's why actually a lot of missionaries go to foreign lands and they wear clothes

318
00:33:46,559 --> 00:33:51,400
 like the people of the mission field. Well, why? You're not under any kind of law. You don't

319
00:33:51,579 --> 00:33:57,880
 want to adjust to fit in. I don't want to be offensive where it's not offensive. I once,

320
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:04,119
 well that's a long story, but, you know, we don't want to be offensive where we're not meant to be,

321
00:34:04,339 --> 00:34:12,039
 right? So we want to fit in in a way that the gospel is heard in a way that they can be. You

322
00:34:12,039 --> 00:34:17,460
 know, even Jesus did this, right? You know, he knew if he came into the world and looked

323
00:34:17,460 --> 00:34:23,960
 like God, nobody would accept him. So he had to come in and fit in like one of us, right? He had to

324
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:29,880
 fit in. He had to empty himself in a sense of the glory and come down like a normal human being

325
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:37,219
 to be anointed by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the things that we now are meant to accomplish

326
00:34:37,219 --> 00:34:43,739
 in the same power of Jesus Christ. You know, he had to fit in in a way that we could grasp

327
00:34:43,739 --> 00:34:48,519
 him, not to the point of not going to the cross and resurrecting and going to heaven,

328
00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:54,199
 not according to that, but in according to realizing that, you know, I don't want a

329
00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:59,940
 purpose to blow their minds, you know? And neither do we. And as I was thinking about this fitting

330
00:34:59,940 --> 00:35:06,380
 in, God gave me this picture and I used it before for something, but it was such a cool picture.

331
00:35:06,519 --> 00:35:12,900
 We have a brief video. Now, what is most important? You don't have to play it yet.

332
00:35:12,900 --> 00:35:17,659
 Do you have it though? Cool. So you could hold it for a second. But, you know, what's more important

333
00:35:17,659 --> 00:35:24,239
 than a key fitting, right? Have you ever had the wrong key? I'm sure you have, right? You know,

334
00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:29,739
 and the key just doesn't feel, I have some rings that I didn't label them. I have to go through

335
00:35:29,739 --> 00:35:36,559
 like 10 keys to get to the right one, right? It's like, no, it doesn't turn, okay? Because

336
00:35:36,559 --> 00:35:43,239
 it doesn't fit right. And I believe we have to pray, Lord, I want to fit right. Do you know

337
00:35:43,239 --> 00:35:48,579
 how a key works? Have you ever like looked inside of a tumbler? Well, let's look at this

338
00:35:48,579 --> 00:35:56,539
 brief video, very brief, like five seconds, but it shows the movement of a key, okay?

339
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:02,820
 Some of you are saying, I know all this, but watch how the lines line up.

340
00:36:06,559 --> 00:36:15,780
 And then it's able to turn, right? Do you remember when Jesus said, after He said,

341
00:36:15,900 --> 00:36:20,099
 who do you say that I'm? Behold, I give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

342
00:36:20,780 --> 00:36:26,480
 Whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. Whatever you loosen or unlock will

343
00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:33,980
 be loosed in heaven, right? We have keys. We are the key, right? And when we go into

344
00:36:33,980 --> 00:36:39,760
 environment, we need to fit in such a way to fit the tumblers that are in the environment.

345
00:36:40,119 --> 00:36:45,940
 For Paul, when he went into Jerusalem, it was going to be the religious Jews, the Jewish

346
00:36:45,940 --> 00:36:52,599
 Christians who were confounded by what his message even was. It was the zealots who were waiting for

347
00:36:52,599 --> 00:36:59,000
 the Jews to take over the Roman Empire in that land. It was all kinds of tumblers,

348
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:04,920
 everywhere tumblers, right? And it would be coming down upon him, and Paul was praying, look,

349
00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:14,639
 help me fit in to open the door that's meant to be opened. You ever get a key cut in a hardware

350
00:37:14,639 --> 00:37:19,599
 store? And when they cut it, like, all right, make sure you bring it back with the receipt.

351
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:25,559
 I'm like, that's not confidence there. In other words, because so often they don't cut the

352
00:37:25,559 --> 00:37:31,960
 key quite right, there's some edges, there's some whatever, and it might not open the tumblers,

353
00:37:32,239 --> 00:37:38,460
 right? And I'm just thinking, spiritually speaking, we got to pray, Lord, I want to be cut perfectly

354
00:37:38,460 --> 00:37:45,380
 to fit the tumblers that are in there. I need to turn the ceiling, I need to turn, open the door

355
00:37:45,380 --> 00:37:51,360
 for your gospel to be known. I don't want to be an obstruction. I don't want, you're going to

356
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:58,300
 have it my way or no way. No, Lord, I want it your way. Help me, Lord, not be offensive where I'm not

357
00:37:58,300 --> 00:38:05,139
 meant to offensive. Cut me in the right way that the tumblers that are in that environment move,

358
00:38:05,759 --> 00:38:10,780
 and the door is open for the gospel, and perhaps the demonic and everything else

359
00:38:10,780 --> 00:38:17,900
 is locked away, right? As a worship team comes up, you know, I hope the Lord spoke to you

360
00:38:17,900 --> 00:38:22,239
 through these things, because these are things that we just observed Paul talking about,

361
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:29,159
 regarding his own walk, his own ministry. But don't you want to open doors for the Lord?

362
00:38:30,980 --> 00:38:38,460
 You know, every environment we go into, I remember Mount Vernon, you remember any of you guys way

363
00:38:38,460 --> 00:38:43,739
 back at the Korean church in Mount Vernon that we were rented there, it was a great time,

364
00:38:44,219 --> 00:38:51,260
 but there was a keyhole that people would say, this key doesn't work. Well, yeah, it does. You just

365
00:38:51,260 --> 00:38:58,119
 kind of have to move it up to the right a little bit and jiggle it. Does anybody remember? And it

366
00:38:58,119 --> 00:39:03,840
 was like so, how did they live with this for 30 years? You know, everybody has to know the twist

367
00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:07,019
 and the jiggle. If you don't know the twist and the jiggle, you're never going to get in,

368
00:39:07,019 --> 00:39:14,519
 right? Well, you know, we don't want that, Lord, we want to slide in and we want to just open the

369
00:39:14,519 --> 00:39:22,159
 doors that are meant to be open and shut those who are meant to be shut. Amen. Let's all stand up.

370
00:39:22,699 --> 00:39:28,820
 Father God, we thank you, Lord, that you have truly given us keys, Lord God, and where we go,

371
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:33,599
 we want it to be your plans and your steps that get us there. So, Lord God,

372
00:39:33,599 --> 00:39:39,260
 anoint us for great things. We thank you in Jesus' name. Remember at the end of this service,

373
00:39:39,420 --> 00:39:46,179
 if you want some prayer, and I know you do, come on up. We have some phenomenal prayer team up here

374
00:39:46,179 --> 00:39:53,320
 that really want to just believe that the Lord is going to deliver you, inspire you,

375
00:39:53,460 --> 00:39:58,460
 or fill you with what you're meant to have today, especially holy healing in Jesus' name.

376
00:39:58,460 --> 00:40:05,079
 Lord, thank you for this great body of Christ, Lord, and we want to serve you with diligence in

377
00:40:05,079 --> 00:40:08,519
 Jesus' name. Amen. Let's give the Lord a round of applause.

378
00:40:15,619 --> 00:40:20,940
 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His Word.

379
00:40:21,619 --> 00:40:27,079
 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.

380
00:40:27,079 --> 00:40:30,239
 Be blessed and have a great day.