Prophets, Problems & Promises | Pastor Shane Idleman

Prophets, Problems, and Promises from Acts 15. Message 62 in the book of Acts. I'm going through the book of Acts verse by verse for the last probably year and a half. And so it's an interesting topic. And I want to unpack it, but then I want to encourage you. I know I keep saying this, but get next Sunday on your calendar too. Because I wanted to preach that this Sunday, but it didn't really fit. It's going to be about being led of the Spirit. How do you know if it's God's voice or the Holy Spirit leading? And next week, it talks about the Spirit led them. The Spirit forbade them. The Spirit closed the door. It's like how do you discern what's of God and what's not? So that's next Sunday. Okay? So get that on your calendar as well. And I'll be going into a little bit more on that. This one is focused on prophets, problems, and promises. I do want you to listen to last Wednesday's message I gave. How to wait on the Lord. And the feedback has been really encouraging.

How to wait on the Lord. It's going to go with Sunday's message on being led of the Spirit. And for some people, they've been asking me because they can't do a fast with us in October for Ren the Heavens, but you can start one now. And one great way to be led of the Spirit, to hear the voice of God, is to silence that strong voice of the flesh for a season. And consider fasting the month of July. What that looks like, that's between you and the Lord. I do know it's a spiritual discipline. The early church did it. Wednesdays and Fridays, the didache, the didacte, however you want to pronounce it, talks about it. Early church fathers, Justin Martyr, Pauly Carp, Irenaeus, Ignatius, and you read in the writings, Wesley and Whitefield, it's been something that we've lost. We've lost that. I think it's hard because there's fast food on every corner. And it's so available and we think it's legalistic. There's something powerful about telling, hey, be quiet today. Be quiet, king's stomach, I'm dethroning you. And so you can always jump into a fast. Because when you get in a routine of just constantly eating, constantly consuming,

it's good not only spiritually, but physically too, by the way. God designed us to refrain from food. You guys have been hearing that probably all the last couple of years on autophagy, right? Autophagy and self-consuming. The body cleans itself when you're not eating. So not only does it have spiritual benefits, it has physical benefits as well. So yes, for those interested, you can jump right in to that. But we are in Acts 15, verse 30. So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. So I'm sure many of you are wondering, what letter? What is this all about? Well, a couple weeks ago, I talked about there was a certain fraction in the church who said, okay, you believe in Jesus, but you also have to do this and this and this. Get circumcised. You have to follow the laws of Moses. I know you believe in Jesus, but you got to add something to that. And I really brought the point home that it's not Jesus plus anything. Aren't you glad? When he said it is finished,

actually the word tetelestai in Greek is it's complete, it's done, it's over. And they started to put all these rules on the early church. So the early church went and had a big meeting, and now they're coming back with the results, and the results are basically that you don't have to do that, but here's what we do advise. Against sexual immorality, of course, and they talked about food being strangled or eaten with the blood, and all that had to do with pagan worship practices, holding away from those pagan worship practices and avoid those things. And you don't want to eat meat that was sacrificed to an idol. Hey, we just gave this cow to Baal, and do you want to eat with us? Well, not really. They had to avoid that because the more they would intermingle, the more they would be influenced. In the Old Testament, we see that throughout the Old Testament. I'm sure they had the Old Testament in their mind. So many prophetic voices would say, you mingled with the Gentiles. You learned of their ways. You went back and practiced with them.

You were drawn away by them. Remember Balaam, the doctrine of Balaam, where he actually said, go send the Moabitess women into the camp. And they'll draw the children of Israel away on their own. And so that's constantly the devil's attack is to draw you away from God via influence. Because what begins to entertain you, who you begin to follow and like, you become like that. Many people aren't strong enough to pull that person up. They're being pulled down to them. So influence is very important, especially for younger adults and those maybe not strong in their faith. And so, obviously, the church rejoiced. We don't have to get circumcised. We don't have to do all these things. And I just want to point out to you, we are in desperate need of encouragement today as well. Liberty brings hope. Liberty brings hope. They were not bound under this law that you're going to have to follow Moses' laws and do all this. And one of the disciples rebuked them and said, we can't even follow it. Now we're going to have the Gentiles follow it. And I've noticed, guys, over the years,

I've seen so many people. I just ran into a guy at the mall a couple weeks ago. And they're just so legalistic, so rigid. So there's no liberty. That's why I call it modern day Pharisee. Right, you've got to do all these things. You've got to make sure you're doing this and doing this and doing this. And I know you're all wondering, you're probably on there too, but it's the King James only guy, right? It's like, whoa! Like, hey, man, unless you're in the King James, I'm leading you astray this morning by using the new King James. And they put all these rules on you. You've got to celebrate the festivals. And why are you meeting on Sunday? That's of the devil. That's a mark of the beast. And you've got to meet on Saturday only. And women, you can't wear pants. You've got to wear dress down to your big toe. Now, there's good ideas in there, isn't there? Dress modestly, please. Be appropriate, please. Celebrate the Jewish heritage. But when you start to put all these like a chain, it takes the joy away from Christianity. It absolutely does.

And I used to force stuff on me. Fasting can become a form of a bondage if you're not careful. I mean, there's a lot of things that we have to be careful of. But principles do bring joy. So following God's principles do bring joy. God's principles are guardrails. So I'm not saying just do whatever you want. There's tons of hope. You have liberty. No, liberty, Christian liberty is always restrained by God's principles. Great example, take that little mountain, well, I'll call it a hill. People call it, I can't drive that big mountain. That's not a big mountain. Drive to Yosemite and you'll see some big mountains. Okay, as we drive over that little hill, you have the liberty to go wherever you want. But the guardrails are the principles. Same with God's Word. We have liberty, but we want to stay within the guardrails to protect ourselves. It's such an important aspect of obedience. I love this part, they deliver the letter. So this is really where we start to see the Bible unfolding. How they would have church is they would read letters from the Apostle Paul, letters from James.

And unless I took an hour and a half side rabbit trail, I'm not going to, and I probably will in the future. But you can look into this. You're gonna hear this a lot, maybe as you get older and if you're young or other people that challenge you. The Bible was written by a bunch of political men, 300 AD at some council trying to control people and you can't be trusted and they just put all this together. Actually, that's not true at all. The early church began to read just the letters of those who knew Jesus, the apostles. That's it. The letters were passed all around for hundreds of years. Only these letters. And then a council met in around 335 or so AD. All they did was say, hey, yeah, these are the letters. This is the canon of scripture. We have the Old Testament, we have the New Testament letters, this is the Bible. That's how they came up with it. It wasn't manipulating and trying to draw, it was recognizing what the early church had been doing for 300 years. And so we do have the authority of God's word. God has given us his word, thank God. Can you imagine if we didn't have anything? Who's right, you or me? How should we conduct church? What do you think?

How should we treat others? We act what the gifts of the Spirit and allowing what and not well, how do we function without the Word of God? Now what in the New Testament? It was challenging because they were experiencing a powerful move of the Spirit and then Paul would write letters First Corinthians, I'm like, hey, here's how the Corinthian church was a mess. I don't know if you guys ever ever Wow these guys Drunkenness and debauchery and speaking in tongues out of order and and all these things going on it and they're actually going to the Lord's Supper and communion Taking all this food. They're not letting poor people eat. It's like the church is a mess and I love what D. Martin Lloyd-Jones said very powerful preacher back 60s 70s 80s He said living children need rules Dead children don't He was actually commenting on the dead condition of the Reformed Church of his day because they were against the moving of the Holy Spirit The gifts of the Spirit and he reminded them that living children need rules I would much rather lead a living church than a dead your pastor that lady was speaking at tongues at the okay Let me talk to that. I Praise God for more of that. I'd rather have that than the dead cemetery Legalistic arrogant Pharisee who has nothing but critical things to say Give me a living vibrant church and we can put the restraints of God's guidelines on that because those people are teachable and they're humble We need we need the living not the dead and he did he caught a lot of flack That's why first Corinthians was written second Corinthians was written church. Here's how you conduct yourself And we need regulate. I do you do some of us are more conservative So we need to kind of open up a little Others are you're You're too emotional. You need you need the guidelines of God's Word You need to read where Paul said all things will be must be done decently and in order You have self-control as a fruit of the Spirit. You know, I don't know what to do The Spirit's leading, you know you self-control Now there are times when God's power hits a place

But it's weirdness doesn't happen brokenness happens You hear the weeping you hear the the altars full and you hear people crying out confessing that's a genuine powerful move of the Spirit and so that's really where we got the the letters from the Bible from and This is so important because many today I got into this when I first started the church I would meet with pastors They got exhausting and they I don't even know if it's around. It was called the emergent church movement. You know, it's like just We don't need pulpits anymore. We need a couch. We don't need to preach. We I need to have a conversation It was just it was weak and it was woke. It was woke back then. They didn't have a name for it What that is now it was back then and they said we can't speak with the authority of God's Word We need to have a flexible approach to all beliefs But truth is not flexible when it comes to absolutes it's solid it's unyielding. It's an anchor for the soul It's the foundation for our life And you have to be reminded of that Guys this would fix so many problems and I don't mean to go off on different religions on purpose. I don't plan it It's not my notes, but things come to me For example with Roman Catholicism one thing when I came out of that was with papal authority Then it's all it's over scripture. You guys know that Papacy authority is over scripture. They get to determine and add things Determine and add things co-redeemer Mary perpetual virginity Immaculate conception praying to the Saints all over scripture not healthy Very rarely with a book when Mormons pull out the Bible first What will they give you first No, that's Jehovah Witnesses Book of Mormons But Jehovah Witness do that too. Well, here's what the Watchtower says Here's what well, here's what the Bible said see they can't that you get off when you don't have that you get off course Some guy the other day was online. He said she's got to read this article. I don't need to read the Bible My goodness, how many problems would that fix if we said this is our authority for all life and godliness? Because God said it not me God said it

Here's what else you'll notice and you get into debates with these groups I drove to Valencia had to sit down with the priest for hours This lady set it up and other people at my house. It's like well, let's let's bring out The Bible. Hmmmm. No, let's use this to interpret. Can we just read Scripture? Can we just let it speak for itself? For example, purgatory came up. And I said, well, show me in Scripture. Well, the counsel. I'm like, I don't care. Where does it say in the Bible that you've got to now go pay for your penalty of your sin after Jesus died and you believe? I'll never forget, he looked at me and said, how do you deal with all your guilt and shame? Whoa, whoa, whoa. What? Oh yeah, thank you, God. I'm like, what happened? But I realized I don't think a lot of these people are saved. I'm like, how do I deal with that? 26 years ago, I repented and believed. It's gone, brother. I don't need to go spend time in purgatory to be purged. You guys get my point? You get away from the Bible. And I love Mormons.

I got family members there. I hope they're not watching on Facebook. I think it's one, no. But if, and I say, just go look, it does believe Joseph Smith. They taught, you can read it. It says that God was once like you and you will become like God. The Bible says that's blasphemy. You will not be married to a celestial wife and have spirit children. That's what it teaches. So I'm a coward if I say nothing. I want to step on toes. I want to step on toes so much that people research it. And they look, my goodness, we have drifted away from the Word of God. You absolutely have drifted away from the Word of God. That's the standard. None of that's in my notes. So that's, and trust me, I don't like making enemies. But I don't want to be an enemy of God because I was silent and passive. Because everything I just said is it not the truth. And many of those people are on the highway to hell. And we don't want to help them because we don't want to offend them. The goal is to offend them in love and have them get so upset, grab their purse, get out, and then go research it.

Every time I get Catholics mad at me, I say go research what the papacy taught. Go research the councils of 1200, 1300 and calling Mary, Corrie, it's all there. But they don't want to. Now can there be Christian, Jehovah Witness, Christian, Mormon, if they're right with the Lord, but I don't know how they would stay in a system that's like that. And people, well, Shane, how do you know you're right? That's pretty arrogant. I'm not right. This is not my opinion. This is the Word of God. That's all we have. We just have the Word of God. It wasn't Shane decided to make some religion and form a church. It's the Word of God from 2000 years ago, the early church. Paul's writings. God confirmed it. And then now we're gonna get a little interesting. Well, it's gonna get interesting. Are you ready? So now Judas, I just had to talk on this topic too recently. Couple of talks. Now Judas and Silas themselves being prophets also. Oh my goodness. Prophets. We got prophets today?

Yeah, they like to have YouTube channels and name themselves prophets, such and such. Got prophets everywhere and apostles everywhere. So, God help me. Let me put. Now Judas and Silas. So apparently they themselves were prophets and they strengthened the brethren with many words. So two things. Do not be afraid of biblical terms. Just because somebody's weird on YouTube and does weird things in the name of a prophet or apostle or charismatic, it doesn't mean you throw the baby out with the bathwater. These are biblical terms. A prophecy, prophet, is a biblical term. An apostle is a biblical term. Pastor, teacher, evangelist, biblical term. Baptized in the spirit is a biblical term. Charismatic is a biblical term. It comes from the word charisma in 1 Corinthians, bestowing spiritual gifts. Anointed, a biblical term. As long as they're used by the right people, correct? That's where we get into trouble. The people lead people astray. They do, what happens is they do all kinds of weird things. And they say the anointing and this and that and then it's like, well, that's weird and confusing. And then many false prophets.

Rise up and it's interesting. I haven't I'm still processing all this because it says they will do works in his name False prophets will do works in Jesus name. He'll say depart from me. I don't know you on the day of judgment So the only thing I can gather is sometimes sincere people Go and they listen to a false prophet and they believe in their heart they're believing God and God Meets them there and because of their belief kills them or sets them free, but it doesn't mean the Prophet is right Because that's where it gets tricky. There's people in LA right now, you know, right Apostle such-and-such prophets after such Big names. I'm like Lord. Give me grace because I don't want to I don't want to I don't want to speak ill But I also we have to be very careful in this area But let me clarify this for some of you young adults share this with your friends remember this message When it with the word prophet actually in the Old Testament, they were first called seers and it basically meant foretelling so a prophetic a prophet the I Isaiah Jeremiah, Elisha What they would do is they would speak things that were into the future This is what God's gonna do. He's gonna judge or he's gonna rebuild Jerusalem. He's gonna gather his people That's what they they would God would show them and they would prophesy They would they would foretell the future But then there's another gifting of that which the New Testament talks about also it's called the forth telling It's forth telling speaking forth a message based on God's Word So really the I guess if we could get technical the word means giving a message from another That's what a prophetic voice is it's giving a it's not my message It's a message that God puts on a heart based on time and his word and prayer and it comes out as prophetic Right. It's speaking the heart of God and that's why we have to be careful. We don't trust men We trust God you line everything up through Scripture. What does the Scripture say about certain things? That's the key and there's also two things that are important. I believe And I think the elders are probably on board and you know, the office of prophet was for the the Bible God called them to be prophets. They wrote the Bible So, I don't believe there are modern-day prophets equal with the prophets of that day writing Scripture Today the office that God called However, the gift of prophecy is obviously still available because Paul talks about it We see it operating and it's beautiful when it's done correctly and

it's Dangerous when it's not done correctly and it is hard. Let me tell you Because you don't You don't know if the person is really hearing from God or if they're just trying to be helpful Right you want to be considerate and that's why you test the spirits It's like okay well Lord, I mean You show me I'll wait on you People have good intentions. So you have to sort through it I encourage people if you think you have that gift sit on it for a while Make sure you filter it through God's Word Because you can hurt people Especially if they're immature in the faith Others of you you've been Christians for a long time if you get somebody says something and you know, it's off you I mean, you're not hurt by it. It's not gonna change your Directory should true directory to God. I don't know if I said that right sounded funny But it's it's a gift. That's wonderful. And I'm not gonna give up. You've heard me over the years give many examples that I've seen Where it's just like wow God really used that He's used things in my life where people there's just no way there's just 2003 Mario Murillo, right? I've explained this. I'm digging ditches I'm in construction and this and he just called me out and Said so many things that me and Morgan just talked about that week because God was putting a spirit of boldness on me I'm like, this is so bold Morgan people gonna think I'm arrogant Like this can't Wow Because I don't preach like all pastors. You guys know that by now, right? Little different and I'm like I and so he said he said he said it's not bold. It's not arrogance It's boldness and God is so how's he gonna come up with that the week? I'm talking about that the week where I have to make an important decision about the ministry. I Mean that that's what it's for. It's a gift to help but you can't live off those and what happens is people who have gifted the genuine gift of prophecy can get a little haughty

and think that every little voice they hear thank you holy spirit oh yeah you need it thank you holy spirit you need be careful it's got to be done with so much humility and meekness and we have we have to be so careful i've been praying i don't even know if i should share this i'm trying to but just how much a month and a half ago maybe two months ago this lady said she heard from the lord my cancer is caused because i have father wounds and i need to take it to the lord am i okay i mean i have been for two i it doesn't register with me i don't i don't i don't i'm trying help lord i'm my dad what do you want me to do it like but see if you're not careful that can really jack you up completely jack you up because okay well how do i fix that or could it be god just saying hey son i'm waking you up i'm reigniting a passion again if that's the case and that's nothing so was that person i'm still praying i'm that's what i'm telling you i'm not i'm not ruling things out i'm still praying but i'm trying to tell you how important this gift is and you better be dead on you better be right don't go saying things to people that you don't know for certain we've had people leave here because people say oh god show me you're gonna have a baby it's been years they're still not pregnant i'm tired of that stuff you hurt people and we will call it out i called it out and that's why they're no longer here because we're not putting up with that kind of stuff unless you repent and say i missed it and so that's why it's such an important gift but we have to steward it correctly and it's it's it's dangerous is it not because she said the lord told her and then they bring in the big hammer and said i talked to somebody else and they told me the same thing like whoa lord i'm open what i mean and and my point is that gift is just so

beautiful but it's also it's a double-edged sword because i don't think she was correct i i know what's going on but i don't think they're open for feedback right unteachable watch out for that one watch out for that one i've i've confronted people and they said oh pastor i didn't really mean it like that just own it and god can continue to work through you but if you're not teachable including myself we'll have to be teachable and own it that's why i don't think i've ever went to somebody said the lord told me to tell you it's like hey i feel strongly about this it's it's on my heart i need to share this with you and let them deal with god so that's what the gift of prophecy is and can some can god still have people foretell the future prop of course but it's it's not equal to scripture we don't use that we use the scripture i like what chip ingram said about the motivational gift of prophecy here's what he said it's the divine enabling to proclaim god's truth with power and clarity in a timely and cultural sensitive fashion it's for correction repentance and edification it's the ability to reveal god's word accurately people with this gift often ask what went wrong what caused this it's someone who has a sense of the culture and the needs of the church and god gives them clarity and when they speak they speak to where the real issues are they're persuasive opinionated and prefer large groups to small ones pride dependence on speaking ability and insensitivity are the pitfalls and as i said before from first corinthian the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets it means that those who prophesy have self-control over their spiritual gifts and they exercise them responsibly

and as a church we are we are we believe in the supernatural spiritual gifts of the holy spirit simply because the bible teaches it not because some teacher teaches it or it's it's simply paul says here's how to orchestrate the gifts here's how to steward them correctly here's how to identify what's true what's not here's how to conduct it in the church and for us and for us to say well no but now that doesn't happen anymore because now we have the bible it doesn't the bible doesn't say that the only verse that many people use is the verse When that which is perfect comes that which is in part will be done away with in other words Paul's saying right now We see dimly through a glass. We don't see that great It's kind of shaded, but when that which is perfect comes we won't need tongues. We won't need prophecy We'll still have love but when that which is perfect comes All these things will be done away with so some churches teach John MacArthur for example great Bible teacher One big area that just I just don't go there. I can't see that They teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased the supernatural gifts the Holy Spirit have ceased because now we have the Bible that which is perfect has come and If you look up even John Calvin in his commentary said that which is perfect is Christ coming When he because I still look through a glass dimly Well, we don't see better than Paul now. We still need those gifts However, some churches can get weird and overly Prophetic and what are the prophets saying every week and but then other churches are are are too conservative You know and they're not like they're not as open and what does it mean that all things should be done decently in an order? I mean, what does that mean? I? Mean somebody stands up and gives and start speaking in tongues. I might shut him down said What is that there's nobody with the nobody interpretation nobody told me about who are you you just disrupted the whole service and

Then Paul also says somebody who's uninformed Unbeliever is gonna come in. They're gonna think you're out of your mind So they create an environment in which I need to lovingly rebuke them because it's out of order. I I Didn't create that environment But then see people say Shane you're stifling the Holy Spirit and quenching the Holy Spirit by doing that I actually have a greater responsibility to steward and lead the church that God has given us and that that sometimes Happens Because I even think it was small churches back then right 12 people 15 20 They all knew each other and you could operate more effectively, but if we've got Unbelievers, we've got uninformed people. That's why Paul said they're gonna think you're out of your mind I'd rather speak five words in a known language than thousands of words and tongues Because it's not productive Paul said he spoke in tongues more than more than everybody and whether it's a private language and known language People get mixed up in the nuances Paul said it's very edifying He's worshiping and praying to God I mean, I don't know why more people don't pray to be used of God to There's nothing to be scared of with the gifts because it's the gift giver and you say Lord whatever gifts you want to give me I'm open It's a good thing. It's actually it's wrong to close off and To be judgmental and critical because the gifts are what from the helper What's the helper doing? He's helping me. I Need a little help Thank God for some prophetic words or words of wisdom that have happened How many of you thank God for some of the dreams in the last days when they were going crazy? I'm sorry in the early church They're speaking tongues and they're like, oh my these people are drunk Peter said no This is that which the Prophet Joel spoke of that in the last days

Your sons and daughters will prophesy your young men will dream dreams Your old men will have visions and and and on my men servants and on my maid servants I will pour out my spirit in those days. So we are still walking in those days You have to be careful. You have to be cautious But you have to be open to what God wants to do. You're not open to weirdness You're not open to like hey, if it's odd, it's God. Let's go for it You're open like well, what do you want to do? Because when you see God powerfully move in a church It's it's it's not just cemetery church It's it's powerful because the Holy Spirit and that's why you see sometimes we are emotional people and when the Holy Spirit hits an unbeliever or a Christians and and you're getting ripped of all that that baggage and you're being they might they might cry out loud They might they might get so excited and enjoy this depression of 20 years has been lifted Oh God Oh God, and you might hear those things. That's healthy church. That's healthy It's not healthy to come in and act like statues and be in a cemetery and leave here and after an hour and get to get A go feed King stomach and nothing happens. The Spirit of God never hits. That's not healthy That's not a that's not an early early Testament New Testament in the church. It's just not. I can imagine the apostles coming in to some churches like, who got healed? Who got set free? Did you pray over it? What is this? Two songs, an announcement, 25-minute message, one song and we're out of here. Listen, I'm not mocking those things.

But guys, really? Those with this gift of prophecy are in control of their own spirits when exercising prophecy rather than being overtaken or possessed by the Holy Spirit in a way that removes self-discipline. Paul wrote to correct this misunderstanding in the Corinthian church where some may have thought that spiritual gifts like prophecy or speaking in tongues involved losing personal control similar to ecstatic or frenzied practices common in Greek religions. That's what the whole point was. 1 John says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Test the spirits. Many people are getting caught up and watching on YouTube and different things these false prophets and these false apostles that do weird, bizarre things. Because we're so hungry sometimes spiritually that we'll consume anything.

And this is coming from a guy who's fairly conservative, guys. I'm fairly conservative. Yet the Bible is clear. The Bible is clear. And if you've ever been in services or events where the Spirit of God is so powerful and profound, it's a beautiful thing. And you desire that. That's why they would desire revival when they would read about the old revivals and what God used to do. Does that mean He can do it again today? Does that mean He can break? I'm still reading another book, and it's like they would have a church service at 10, and they would find themselves worshiping until 4, 5, 6 in the afternoon. Because the presence of God is so tangible. People were just crying out over their sins. And marriages were restored. And it was just such a beautiful thing to experience. And Acts continues, and after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. Here's another word. Apostles. Again, the office of apostle, I believe,

is no longer here. The gifting, some call prophets. When you hear fiefold ministry, that's also a biblical term. People have made it weird. But there's five things that Jesus gives to the church. Apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist. And a healthy church needs all those. Apostolic is the church planter. Right? The vision caster. The guy that's out there. The prophetic voice is what I just read. And the pastor teacher is the counselor and the shepherd. Then you have the evangelist. They're focused on getting that. Like Ray Comfort. Remember when he spoke? That's an evangelist. My goodness. I can't keep up. And so you have these different giftings in a very healthy church. And I just put up there, just in case you're wondering, if you need a title, I question your character and I question your gifting. I really do. And this gets people upset sometimes,

but I don't care. If they need it, like, call me Apostle such and such. Call me Papa Prophet. Why do you need that? Why do you need that title? And it flows right into our beliefs that I've taught before on even women pastoring men. Why not just call it a leader? And avoid all this controversy. Do you need that title? Really, it's a heart check. However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. Paul and Barnabas also remain in Antioch teaching and preaching the Word of the Lord with many others also. So again, I'm going to get into it next Sunday about being led of the Spirit. But it seemed good to Silas to remain there. What does that mean? Okay, it seems... How does he determine whether to stay or whether to go? How does he determine what God's will is? Well, in making their decisions, we'll look into this more again later, but there was peace.

There was peace. It was also biblical. And no doubt, they sought godly counsel. That's how you make decisions. in the will of God? Is there peace? Is it biblical to stay there? Yes, okay, we're going to stay here. We're going to minister to others. I have peace about that. What do you guys think? And that's a great way to make decisions in the will of God. But always remember this, faith doesn't always step out. Sometimes it stays put. Because many people think faith involves stepping out and going places and doing things and whatever it is. Sometimes it means staying put. Lord, I'm just going to stay put. I have faith to stay put. And when you don't know what to do, consider staying put. I'll never forget, I just came back to the Lord and reading Charles Stanley's book On Knowing God's Will. I'll never forget, he said, when you don't know what to do, don't do anything.

And boy, that has saved me a lot over the years. Like, hmm, that's a good point. Because we get in trouble, don't we, when we rush ahead? When you don't know what to do, consider staying put. What you do when you don't know what to do is really the key. What you do when you don't know what to do is going to determine a lot of things. So be very careful in that area. Faith pleases God, even when we don't see clearly. Even when you're not sure exactly what to do, as long as it's a right decision, and you're not sinning, when you step out and trust God, He can direct you. Faith pleases God. The Bible says without faith, it's impossible to please God. And here's some encouragement. Even if you miss it, God can fix it. I tell people that sometimes. Hey, even if you miss it, God can fix it. Now, this is not permission to go and sin. But somebody says, I don't know if I should take this job or this job. I don't know what to do.

I'm losing sleep. Choose. God can fix it. You're not going to stay there 45 years if God has other plans. I don't know if I should, I don't know if I should, you know, like Chris is praying, I don't know if I should move or if I should stay. We pray for that actually. Well, if you feel in the open doors, move. God can fix it. If He wants you back, you know, it's like He'll fix things. He'll redirect you in certain areas. Again, as long as it's not, don't go leave your spouse. It's like Shane said, he'll fix it. That way you'll get in trouble. Don't blatantly sin. But when it's choices, you know, because when we started the church, I was like, I don't, I'm about 80% sure, I guess. I don't know, let's step out in faith. And then God will direct. He directs. It was never even on the radar. Guys, can I tell you a secret?

Leona Valley was never on the radar. Lancaster. We're putting a building in Lancaster. We're planning a church in Lancaster. I'm going to find a building in Lancaster for years. And then God said, you're close. You got to drive over this big mountain. That's really far away. I just laugh because every week I run to people. Oh, if you weren't so far out there, I would be there. No, you just don't want to go to church and that's your excuse. Come on. But I can't do that. Oh, I know. We're not in Santa Clarita though. We're just like right over this little, it's actually what zip code is Palmdale. Or my favorite one, I can't drive that big hill. Let me tell you a scary one. What's it called, Tioga Pass? When your brakes are going out in your van? Yeah, that's, hmm. We're going down Tioga Pass from Yosemite and the brakes are heating up and it's not, I'm like, I'm putting this car into first gear and just go slow and all these people are honking at me. So I got to get home. Now that's a mountain, that's a hill. I still don't like that one.

You look down like that's about, hmm, that's about 3000 foot drop. Anyway, I get on that little rant. This is funny. Because now we drive it like NASCAR, right? Or Willow Springs, you get used to, you know it so well. It's like, where was I? You guys throw me off track here. Oh, okay, here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Division in the church. Division in the church. Yep. Some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let's go! We're out of here. Let's go visit the brethren. Great idea. Let's go. But then Barnabas said, we're going to take John who's called Mark. And Paul said, ain't no way. In Antioch, I am taken. You caught that one? We're not taking John Mark. Nope. He insisted that they should not take them because he had departed from them in Pamphylia, and he had not gone with them to the work.

But the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. I'm kind of glad this is in here because they had to deal with this stuff. And actually, I think the references will get... They actually mended their relationship. Paul actually mended that relationship. And so, I could have done a whole sermon on this because it's important. But God will use even division. If both people are truly seeking the Lord, sometimes that's how He breaks off a ministry. I know it's sad we shouldn't have to do it that way, but sometimes He'll use things. Hey, I don't agree with this. I don't agree. And you work it out, you try to, but sometimes that division... Maybe it's not God's will to be divided. Maybe they should have done that. I don't know. I'm only speaking into what the text says. But God used it. They repaired the relationship later. But the contention was so sharp that they actually left. And Barnabas did take Mark. And they went to Cyprus, a way different direction. Paul chose Silas and they departed. And they went their different directions. And what did they do though?

In both cases, they strengthened the church. They strengthened the church. I like what John Piper said, through Barnabas' continued mentorship and John Mark's demonstrated growth, the two successfully repaired their partnership. Because obviously, John Mark grew and changed because Paul began to welcome him back. So there was growth. So this is a good reminder for all of us. Speaking the truth and learning from it is how we grow and mature. Guys, wow. If I could just have a minute of your time. We don't even know. How many people have come through the doors in 16 years, right? Thousands of people. Talking to thousands, right? Church hopping, people get offended. Those who grow and mature are strong believers are those who work through the differences. I'll still run into people who are mad at me from 16 years ago. Or I run into people who are still mad because we came up here and we didn't keep a Saturday night service. We're still holding it in. There must be something nefarious going on. No, I just don't want to preach on Saturdays and Sundays.

When I have kids. And so there's so much, and I can hold it in too. I'm not pointing fingers, all of us get hurt. You know, you're going into Trader Joe's, you see, oh no, no, time to go do that one later. I'll go do that, I'll go do that one later. Because I don't want to deal with it. Come on, let's be real. Or you say, all right, Lord. And you fix it. It's good to see you. But the only way to really grow spiritually is to work through it. Because here's what happened, you offended me. The church offended me, I'm not coming back. Well, you're going to stay stuck and stupid for 10 years. Sorry if that was offensive, let me say. Let's go back, rewind 10 seconds. You're going to, well, maybe it need to be said. But you're going to stay stuck in neutral. There we go. Well, remember, let's see. Insensitivity is a pitfall. For those with a prophetic preaching. So he's right, absolutely. Because you're just, you're black and white. There's no gray area, you're just. But on this point, this is how you grow.

You work it out. And I'm not going to go down the list of things, but there's relationships here that are much stronger. We have much stronger relationships with some people here because we work through it. You talk. Man, you offended me. I didn't mean to do that. Here's what I meant. Oh, you meant that because the enemy goes in and plants the seeds. Doesn't he? Once you talk to me like, oh, you didn't mean it that way, or oh, yeah, I'm sorry, I did. The enemy's planting all kinds of seeds. They don't like you. They don't want to use you. They're holding you back. They're out to get you. They're gossiping. And none of that happens. So if you're offended, go to the person. Grow from it. And actually, what's nice is the relationship actually becomes stronger because you trust them. You've worked through it. And it's stronger. It's a wonderful thing. And you grow. That's how you grow spiritually. The most solid believers you'll ever meet have been hurt a lot. Trust me. They've been hurt a lot. And they grow from it. You don't want to hold that in, though. You don't want to hold in the offense. That book Bait of Satan became popular because of that. Holding that in because it hurts you. They're moving on. But you're living in that offense and upset. And it's just that bitterness. It's a root of bitterness that grows. But the other thing is, allow people to speak the truth to you. Don't always be defensive. Be teachable. Humble. Learn from it. Lord, is there anything I can learn from this? Isn't that incredible how we grow if we're not so defensive? 1 Corinthians 11.19 actually shows the NLT. Do you guys know the difference? NLT is a New Living Translation. What they call it is a dynamic equivalence. It means it's a thought for thought. It's like a commentary. So I don't use dynamic equivalence, commentary, Bibles. I use usually what they call formal equivalence, where they'll translate the word for word for word for word. King James, New King James, American Standard. A lot of those are formal equivalence translations. This is like a commentary, but they can be really good. But of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God's approval will be recognized. We think that a perfect church has no division. Not necessarily, because we might need to go like, hey, we need to talk. You're telling people this. You're a gossip. You're a slander. You're

drawing people away. And we have to confront. A healthy church has division. But what do you do with the division? How do you handle it? Because in a living church that's moving powerfully with God's Spirit, guess who else is moving? The little demons. The demonic realm. There's people who come in. I won't even get into details in case they're watching later. But man, they're hell-bent on causing conflict in the church. They're not here to be united. They're here to pick apart and to be critical. And we have to call that out from time to time. There must be that. There must be that so those with the heart of God can call out those who don't have the heart of God. So let me close with that point that I really love this. He strengthened the churches. He strengthened the churches. And I want to talk about this because we, and I thought it only meant encouragement. But the word actually means, and you can pronounce it, I'm not going to try. It means to establish, reinforce, and confirm the church in their faith and our doctrinal soundness. But it implies not just encouraging but also buttressing. We haven't heard that word in a while. It means basically to fortify the church against challenges, political drifts, or opposition. So not only are you encouraging, by strengthening a church you're not only encouraging, you're also convicting. Because how do you strengthen if you're also not convicting? Because that's how we get stronger sometimes, is to get convicted. And so they would go and they would strengthen the church and that would just be an encouragement but also be a conviction. Look at some of Paul's letters. Have you read some of Paul's letters to the churches? Man, I wish you, I hurt your feelings. I hope it did hurt your feelings so you'll repent. You guys get mad at me, you should get mad at Paul. I'm kidding, this is a great church. But we all have issues to work on. And strengthening the church does involve conviction. And here's where it gets challenging. Every pastor, every lead pastor is different. They're uniquely different. How God designed them, how their words,

how they speak. I mean, you heard Sean speak, right? A little bit different than me. We joke a lot. He's a soft John the Beloved, I'm John the Baptist. But that's different. That's how God said, I'm going to need a Shane for this. I'm going to need Sean or Chris Johnson or Paul out at chapel at Lancaster Baptist or Dave Prather when he did Central. I know all these guys, I've been trying my luck. They're different. Instead of judging people, we should say, how did God design them that way to reach certain people? They're reaching people I'm not going to reach. This loud-mouthed, bald guy is going to reach certain people? Heck no, they tune me out. But when they can get the loving, quiet, monotone... Oh, man. But then sometimes, some of you need the hammer. Right? And so God uses different instruments in the body. I don't know why I said that, but it was a good point. Oh, because it's not just about encouragement, it's about conviction. So the mark of many ministries

will be encouragement. But then others are called by God to convict. And then we wrongly judge. They're too encouraging. They're never convicting. That's how God designed them. Let them answer to God. Their life is about conviction. God called me back to Him. I love our nation. I love revival. I love preaching our repentance. I love calling the church home. My job is to convict until He calls me home. I have no problem with that. But I also know that conviction also encourages. Because the most frequent email we get or in the prayer room, I've been so encouraged. What? How have you been encouraged? Because they got their heart right with the Lord. That's what conviction does. So you see how that works. Now those who are convicted and go home frumpy, yeah, they stay upset. They'll stay upset for a long time. I don't like what that guy had to say. He convicted me. I don't know who he thinks he is.

He doesn't have to live my life. He doesn't know who I'm married to. I need that 12-pack to relax. Who does he think he is? Right? They're convicted. But if they repent, then they start, I've been so encouraged. Encouragement comes after conviction often. Repentance. It's a beautiful... Actually, if you look, I just looked last night for some reason. It's fitting. The first word, really the first message of the Gospel is repent. John the Baptist came preaching repentance. Jesus said, go preach repentance. Peter's first sermon was on repentance. Paul goes out and preaches repentance. He himself repented. You look at the Apostolic Church, repentance. It's the first word of the Gospel. Jesus said, go and preach repentance. Peter, very first sermon ever recorded.

Ever recorded. He said, you stiff-necked people. Say, O Christ, repent. Repent. Get convicted, so then you can be encouraged. And here's the encouraging thing. Many promises in the Bible. Many promises in the Bible. We have promises in the Bible that God will fulfill, but it's often conviction that leads to their fulfillment. Correct? If you seek Me, I'm convicted. I'm not seeking Him. So I repent, and then I find Him. If you return to Me, wait a minute, I'm convicted. I drifted from God. So if I respond and return to Him, He will lead me back to those still waters. Or an unbeliever, they're convicted at the Gospel that Jesus is the only way, the only life.

Nobody comes to the Father except through Him. There is no other way at all through Him. They leave convicted and upset, but eventually they fall at the feet of the cross, and then they are encouraged. I'm going to end with a story. I think you have it. It was passed out in 1734. on this note of conviction and saying hard things. In 1734 in Massachusetts village of Northampton, a black-gowned pastor knelt in prayer. He was burdened for the 1,100 souls of his little town, who he was convinced were afflicted with the deadly spiritual disease of the day. In just a very few minutes, he would be walking up to the pulpit. Should he speak the soft, cushioning assurances that they all wanted to hear that God selected them for salvation, and it is all well with their soul? Or should he tell them what he really believed? That unless they experienced a new birth and faith in Christ, they were headed straight to hell. The decision was made. The tall, thin-faced man arose,

adjusted his periwig, the wear you saw before, and he entered this little meeting house. That day in 1734 marked the birth of what many have called the most notable revival in all of American history. The conditions that pressed Jonathan Edwards to his knees that Sunday seemed dark indeed. Gone was the God-fearing generation that had settled the land of America. The new generation had forgotten God. So Edwards said, he said, the flames of wrath are restrained only by God's will. And the human strength provide no protection. His words, if God should only withdraw His hand from the floodgate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of fierceness and the wrath of God would rush forth with inconceivable fury. And he said, the God that holds you over the pit of hell much as one holds a spider is dreadfully provoked. That's not very encouraging. But boy, was it powerful. That spark is what set the flame for America's first great awakening.

His sermon title was Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. So there are times, people, to speak the truth in love and to be bold and be forthright. Because what he said is absolutely true. You are lost without Christ and you will be destined to hell. That's the truth. But we don't want to say it because it hurts people. But sometimes you've got to hurt before you help. You've got to convict. George Whitefield actually said, the Christian world is in a deep sleep. Nothing but a loud voice can awaken them out of it. And of course, with people like him and Edwards and Wesley and other bold people, a nation was awakened. First great awakening. Second great awakening. That's our only hope is for us to get back into that position of petitioning God for another move of His Spirit. So if there's anybody here this morning, listen to that conviction. Listen to the conviction.

Don't ignore it. It's a wonderful gift from God. Whether you're a believer and you're convicted about certain things, or an unbeliever convicted about your lack of knowledge of God and not knowing Him, listen to it. That's a gift from God. It's the red card in the World Cup. Hello! Kick! Kick! The referee's whistle. The conviction. The conviction. The conviction. That means something's wrong and I need to make it right. Listen to it. Turn and be saved this morning if that is some of you. Turn and be saved. Look to Christ and Him alone. Or for a believer, turn and be renewed. Be renewed in your faith. That's all it takes. How many people come to church week in and week out and they're never renewed? Because they ignore the conviction.

Embrace it today.