But in the first century, what we see biblically speaking, that's not how they would communicate with one another. They never classified themselves as being Christian. They just referred to themselves as being the church, the body of Christ. the witnesses, the disciples of Jesus. And as people looked in at them, they referred to them as being Christian. And when Peter refers to it, for an example, go to 1 Peter 4, I believe it is. 1 Peter 4. Here on TV sometimes, like on news reports, how the people in the Middle East hate Christians. You know, you don't ever hear the word disciples Right Well, they blanket or put everybody in that group that has any kind of connectivity or How do you want to say it any anything connected to Christ? As far as church wise they will label as Christian for sure and we get it we understand remember that's how People look, that word comes from that perspective, that they will call us Christian, but usually the church didn't call themselves Christian is the idea, from that perspective. Now it shifted, it changed, and that's been happening for a long time. that the church even itself refers to itself as being part or being Christian or Christianity. And that's been happening for a long time. When we come across these things in our reading, you hear me draw it out. And as we did this morning, just looking at the different ways how the Bible and Acts referred to the believers, and how the least amount of times in the scriptures that it's used is the word Christian. But it's obvious they refer to themselves in other ways, much more. And we're talking about Holy Spirit led, full of faith, men and women who were all in for Jesus, how they referred to one another. And that's just, we want to take note of that, is what I'm saying. But in 1 Peter 4, in verse number 12, let's see what he says there. He says, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. That suffering as the believer is not something strange. We don't have to be puzzled by the fact that people are not going to see what we do as something that they accept. They just don't accept righteousness as a whole. And they misunderstood it then, they're gonna misunderstand it now. Jesus said, if they didn't know me, they're not gonna know you. If they don't recognize me, they're not gonna recognize you. So Peter is just wanting to remind them that this is part of our life. So we don't have to consider it strange, but obviously they did, right? Even in that timeframe, they thought that they shouldn't be going through some of the things that they were going through. And that's why he's reminding them. This is not unusual. This is not an odd thing. This is part of the life of the believer. So don't look at it the wrong way. You look at it the wrong way. You have treated the wrong way. And if you treat it the wrong way, you'll become defensive. And if you're defensive, you're going to become abrasive. because a defensive person is a person that's hard to approach. And if you are threatened and defensive, you're not gonna reflect the life of the believer. You're gonna start blending in with the people around you because you're gonna start trying to protect yourself rather than open yourself up to be used by the Lord. So how we approach a thing is based on how we think about that very thing. And if we're thinking about it wrong, we're gonna approach it wrong. And when you approach it wrong, you're gonna reflect the truth that should be found in it. And that's why that's important. So he says, don't think it's strange. Verse number 13, just the opposite. But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's, what? Sufferings. that when His glory is revealed, that is when the world sees Him for who He is, you may also be glad with exceeding glory. That when His glory is manifested, that you're gonna celebrate that and not be ashamed of it because you didn't wanna suffer along with Him, but It's all part of the work. That's why he's saying rejoice. You gotta have the right way of thinking about this. Verse number 14. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you. Why? The spirit of glory and of God rest upon you. We know we talked about that hand of God, the grace of God being upon us. And we talked about this morning, we want that. We want God's glory. and the Spirit of God resting upon us. So we can rejoice in that. On their part, that is when they persecute you, he is blasphemed. But on your part, he is what? It's a night and day contrast how on one hand, they blaspheme His work in you. On the other hand, you glorify His work in you. All in the same instant when you're doing His will and you're being persecuted for it, He's receiving glory out of your life even though they blaspheme Him at the same time. Verse number 15, but let none of you suffer as a murderer. A thief, an evildoer, or a busybody in other people's matters. That is, don't suffer the way the world would suffer for the things the world does. Yet if anyone suffers as a, here it is, the third time it's used in the scripture. Yet if anyone suffers as a what? Being identified with Jesus. Let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter, for the time has come for judgment to begin in the house of God, and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Here's the thought. Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God, commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. That you're submitting to God as a faithful creator who is the God of all. And if he permits and allows you to suffer for him, you rejoice in him because he's glorifying himself through your life. His spirit is resting upon you. The spirit of glory is upon you. God has favored you. And you're not taking the credit for the suffering. You're not going to take credit for what you're going through, but you're going to rejoice. is the idea you rejoice because you're blessed you're blessed with his hand upon you and you don't have to You don't have to fight for your rights. You don't have to fight to defend yourself. You don't have to question why it's happening. You can celebrate and love the person who's persecuting you as Jesus loved those that persecuted him. You look more like Jesus in a situation like that, and that's how he's glorified. But how Peter uses it, the reason you are suffering is because they identify you as a Christian. That's why you're suffering. They attach you to Jesus. And when they attach you to Jesus, they'll persecute you. Because they persecuted him, they didn't understand him, they didn't know him. So that's how they're gonna treat you. But he's not saying we identify, we call ourselves Christian. He's saying that's how they see you as being attached to the anointed one. You see it's in connection with what? Suffering. And that's how it's used in the book of Acts. in the same way. It's used in the same context that there in Antioch the disciples who the hand of God was upon, the grace of God was being manifested, many souls were being added to the family of God, the people in Antioch called them Christian. We see it when Paul stood before Grippa and he says you almost persuaded me to become Christian in the same manner that's the only three times it's used in all the scripture and it's always in connection with an outside world viewing the disciples as they follow after Jesus that's why you see disciple used in the scriptures 269 times and 28 of those times I believe it is is in the book of Acts and then how many times witnesses are used how many times believers are used how many time the brethren are used, how many times the church is used, how many times saints is used. These numbers overwhelm our understanding of, okay, we see a uniqueness about the brethren, about the believer, about the witnesses, the disciples of the Lord, and we can see why our world around us didn't recognize them, we treat them that way and just attach them to Jesus. and then we talked about how when they used that term the way how Paul used it in chapter 9 the way was also a derogatory term that is used by him on several occasions in witnessing to these other people when he's testifying I persecuted the way I attacked the way that the Jews called a sect. Prairie term saying it was another way of living. It was contrary to Moses. Contrary to the law. Contrary to the system that had been established all those years. And it got attached with the way. Could it have been that Jesus said He's the way, the truth, and the life? Very well could have been. And that's why people said what we do as we follow Jesus, He's the way. And then the outside world started calling it the way. but they tried to stifle it, they tried to kill it. So both the way and Christianity, Christian was used as an attack on the disciples. So just understanding that helps us put that together that the word Christian is not the best term used to describe all of us. The best word used as the scripture uses it as a disciple who's a witness of Jesus who's a saint, made a saint by the fresh work of grace of God, who'd been set apart for his purpose, and they're believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They gladly welcome and receive his message and his word. They trust him with their life. And those are accurate terms to use to help describe the believer. And you go back and look, go look in Acts 9, I think it is. I've been looking at this and breaking down these words It's used in Acts 9, as well as in Acts 26, I believe it is, when Paul shares his testimony. And I think this actually when we really look at it from the scriptural standpoint and why Paul responded the way that Paul responded, you have to keep in mind, Paul continues to bear witness that he hated the church. He hated the people of God that trusted Jesus. He was threatened by them and he wanted to destroy them. He wreaked havoc upon them. And some tell us that Paul was under conviction. that when he was doing what he was doing, he was convicted, and they use this passage here in Acts 9, for an example, where he's on this road to Damascus, and we see in verse two where he was on his way to find anybody who was part of the way. That's how he described them. Christian wasn't even brought to light at that point yet. They never used that term. It didn't get used till they was an Antioch. So the way was that derogatory word used four times in the scripture. But verse three says, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you Lord? Then he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And this is the phrasing that I want to draw out on. It is hard for you to kick against what? The goat. The old King James used the word what? Pricks. It's hard to get kick against the pricks. How does the new American standard read that Miss Barbara? Verse five, nine five. And the rest of it? Okay, you see it's not in there, right? Okay, you see Ms. Barber's translation because some people tell us that that phrasing there is not in some translations, that it was added. And they say a scribe, when they transliterate it, added that phrasing, though it is used in Acts 26. Let me show you. Now, I believe it's there. I believe it's there as far as it was in the Texas Receptus in the original Greek, but some newer translations We'll tell you that it's not even mine has a footnote in there. Um, it has a footnote say it's not in all the texts, but look in 26 and I'll show you what I'm talking about. Yeah. 26, uh, acts 26 in verse 14, Paul's telling his testimony and he uses these same words. Verse 14, and when he had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the pricks or the goats. How does it read in the New American Standard, Ms. Barber? In 2614. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me, Okay. You see, it's there because it's there in the original language in their original text, in the Greek text for them, but the New American Standard Line or the newer text will say that in Acts 9, it wasn't there. But they take, they say, well, the scribe knows it's in Acts 26 when Paul gave his testimony. So logically that happened. So somebody must have added it in Acts 9 where the Texas Receptive says it's there in both of the original. Now, all that's out of our league. I'm just going to believe it's there. It was part of Paul's testimony. Whether it is not in chapter 9, we know it's in chapter 26 for sure because all the texts say it's in 26. So it's part of what took place that day. But when you break those words down, which I attempted to do in walking through this, the word it is, if you notice in your translations, is that italicized? Look at it again. It is. If you go back to, well, just stay there in 26, if you would, seeing that it's in Miss Barber's as well. Do you see the phrase it is? Is it italicized? We see they add those italics there to let you know in the original tongue that phrase is not there. They take that and add it to it so it would make more sense to us as we read it in English. But the word hard there means it is rough or it is offensive. It's offensive, basically saying, Paul, you're being offensive. You're offensive to me. You're persecuting me. You're being offensive to me. Let's take it a step further for you kick against the goats. Now in the Greek, the word prick or goad comes before the word kick. Often in translations, when you study in the scriptures, you will recognize that what they do in the English, when they transliterate, no matter what translation you use, they always are transliterated into the language as it flows to make most sense to us as we read it. Because in the Greek, it would read like this, offensive of you, the pricks to kick against. So when you try to put that together from a Greek standpoint, for us in English, how our English foes, they're trying to make it make sense to us. But in doing that, what it does, it puts an emphasis on the kicking more than the prick because word usage is important when people write words. They'll put words in front of other words for a reason. Where the word goad or the word prick is translated in every other case, the scripture as a sting like a snake's bite, a sting, or a scorpion sting. It means something that's sharp. That's what a prick is, a goad. If you was to go to an ox and you'd point it in to get him to move where you want him to go and that's how they want us to see it in the English as if Paul was being under conviction and every time he would persecute the church, it was like him kicking against this pointy goad that was trying to push him in another way, but he wouldn't respond to it and it was hurting him. But in the Greek, to me, when I study it and look at it, and I take the word hard and transliterate it over into what the word means in being offensive, offensive are you stinging with the heel. The word kick there is often used to kick at something, but you use the heel to kick at it. I mean, you kick it with the bottom of your foot and you put your heel on it. Well, I want you to take that thought and think about anywhere in the scripture where the Lord tells us that's gonna be an issue between him and somebody down the road. The book of Genesis chapter three, go to Genesis 3, 15, and I'll show you what I'm talking about. Genesis 3.15. 3.15. I think this is the, I think when Jesus spoke that word to Paul, his eyes, no doubt, he's hearing this. Everybody around him, nobody heard what God said to Paul. They heard, they thought it was thunderings. They couldn't discern what was being said. and only Paul was blinded by the light, they wasn't affected by the light. And they didn't hear what was said, but Paul heard it. And it affected him, it touched him, it moved him. And he spoke this word into him and Paul realized what he was doing. It was a convicting word, but I don't think he was convicted in killing and murdering and trying to destroy the church. It wasn't like he was under all this conviction, but he kept pushing it aside and kept going. No, Paul thought he was doing God a service. John 16, two, we'll read it in a minute. John 16, two, Jesus said, look, the people are gonna persecute you. And when they do, they're gonna think they're doing me service when they're doing it. They think they're doing God, my father's service when they're doing it. Paul thought he was blessing God in everything he was doing. He really thought he was being used by God to shut this down. But when Jesus spoke these words, these truths came alive to him and he realized what he was doing. Look in Genesis 3, in verse number 14. So the Lord said to who? The serpent. Now who's the serpent? What did Satan do? Who did he deceive? He deceived Eve, which led to Adam. And this was the curse. Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go and you shall eat the dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and what? Her seed. In my Bible that's translated with a capital S because we know it's talking about Jesus. you shall bruise, he shall bruise your what? And you shall bruise his. The Lord told Paul, you are an offense to me, you are stinging or pricking the heel. Every time Paul was doing what he was doing and persecuting Jesus, that's exactly what was happening. Paul was pricking like a sting of death. like a scorpion sting into the hill. Remember, the seed, Jesus, was gonna bruise the head of the serpent. And what Jesus was telling Paul is that you're being used by the devil. You're being used by the enemy when you persecute me. You are an offense to me, Paul. Saul, you are an offense to me because you are pricking the hill. You are stinging my hill. You are being used by the devil. in doing what you're doing and the scripture says Paul was broke down and really believed and he said well what do you want me to do Lord what do you want me to do he was convicted by the spirit of where he was at now Paul was the chosen vessel that God was going to do a work in but I really believe in my understanding of the truth that passage in both 9 and 26 ties back to Genesis 3 15 more than it does with the idea of Paul kicking against a goad in his stubbornness and pushing back at like a stubborn oxen or a bull would be I believe Jesus said you are an offense to me for you are pricking or stinging the heel and Paul who understood the Torah understood the word he knew this word though he didn't know it properly, and he didn't know the author of it, though he thought he did, he realized when that word came that you are stinging the heel of the seed of the promised Messiah. And he says from there, what do you want me to do? And the Lord began to speak to him and show him. And I think that's the revelation that God was speaking into Paul that day. And he realized he was a pawn in the serpent's hand, and he wasn't being used by the father to stifle these things. The devil was using him in his work, but God was using it to advance his work. But God had a purpose for Paul, and now he's gonna make it known to him. So I think that ties back to Genesis 3 15. You're pricking the heel and the heel was going to bruise the serpent. One day the scripture says in Romans that we're going to crush the serpent's head, right? That day is coming. But right now the serpent can bruise us. That is, he can still strike and he's still striking. And that's what Paul was doing. He was striking the heel of the church, of Jesus, the body. And he says, you're an offense to me. And that cut to his heart. Go to John 16 too, you'll see what I'm referring to. Now that's Nick Holden's interpretation of Acts 9. There's been a lot of people through the years, they hold to the fact, they believe that Paul was under conviction in doing what he was doing. I don't see it. I never saw it in the scriptures. I mean, he was adamant. He was breathing down their necks, they say. I mean, he was going to the priest himself and saying, please give me authority and letters that when I find them, I have your approval to bring them back here. And we murder them, destroy them, put them in jail. And he was taking men and women and treating them the same way. He was brutal. in what he was doing. Remember when they debated with Stephen in Acts 6, and they couldn't refute Stephen, and when they wind up killing him, Paul took their cloaks and held them while the men took off their cloaks to stone him, and he consented to it. And man, he felt like he had to stop it. And then Jesus encountered him and said, you are an offense to me. You are stinging the heel. And man, that broke him. He knew what that meant. And that got him, God was at work. But 16, John 16, verse number one. These things I've spoken to you that you should not be made to what? Struggle. That goes back to what Peter said. Remember, don't think it a strange thing. They will put you out of the synagogues. Now who was doing that? Paul was doing that. Pharisees did that. But that's what Paul was doing. Remember, he had authorization to go. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God what? There's no conviction in that. That is, they are doing God's service in what they're doing. They really believe that. That's why Paul said in 1 Timothy 1.13, that he was a blasphemer and a murderer but he did it ignorantly. He thought he was really doing God's service. Paul wasn't under conviction of doing what he was doing. God brought conviction upon him when he revealed to him that you are an offense and you are pricking the heel. You're stinging the heel of me and then he responds. So look, 16, two again, they will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that they offer God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known who? The father nor me. But the things I have told you that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning because I was with you. Now I'm telling you what's coming. And you don't have to think it's strange. Now, the church still went through some growing pains, didn't they? And Peter had to write to them and say, look, brethren, don't let your conveniences and comforts mess you up in your mind, thinking that you can get along with everybody. Matter of fact, you should be at peace with everyone, but they're not gonna be able to get along with you. And they're not gonna like you, and they're gonna persecute you. They're gonna harm you. Don't think it's strange. if they persecute you as Christians, because that's how they see you. But as a disciple, you follow after me and know that these things are coming. So when you go back and look at chapter nine, go to Acts nine again. Yeah, Acts nine again. Let's see how. Let's read that one more time, verse one. Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus. He's leaving Jerusalem. He's heard that they have spread out. So that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He knew this was a supernatural thing. It could only be God speaking to him. And he said, who are you, Lord? Then he said, I am Jesus, the one whom you are persecuting. It is offensive for you to prick the heel. So he trembling. And astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do? The Lord said to him, arise and go in the city, and you will be told what you must do. And the men who journeyed with me stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one, but they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. And he was there three days without sight, neither ate nor drank. So we can see what God was doing with him and even tells us, for an example, he tells Ananias to go speak to him. And verse 15 says, go for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. And I will show him how many things he must suffer for my namesake. So that's part of the kingdom's glory, amen, of suffering for Jesus' sake. You ain't going out looking for it, it's gonna find you as you follow Jesus. Your goal is what? Jesus. You're following him, doing his work. So that's how I would take those truths there, is that it's not a goad he was kicking against. He wasn't fighting against his convictions. No, he was convinced he was doing the right thing. He was convinced he was doing it the right way. And he was convinced he could shut it down along with others. But the Lord told him, Paul, you are a pawn in the serpent's hand, and you are striking the heel right now. And man, that got to him. He knew that word. And if you go to 1 Timothy, go over to 1 Timothy 1. I think it's 1 Timothy 1. Yeah, 1 Timothy 1, look in verse number 12. 1 Timothy 1, 12. Nowhere in the scriptures, in the testimony of the life of Paul, and he's written 13 New Testament letters, and there's much said about him. Nowhere in there will you ever read where he talks about him being under conviction for doing what he was doing. Nowhere. It's not there because he wasn't. Remember, he thought he was doing God service in what he was doing. He was convinced he was doing God's service. Verse 12 says, and I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly, what? A blasphemer. Now he sees himself correctly. He didn't see himself as a blasphemer, but I was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor and I was a what? Insolent man. What does that mean? Insolent. What's any other translation? Use another word. What's that? Violent man. That's saying he was a hard man. A violent, insolent, meaning he was hard with no mercy. and therefore he could be violent with people, both men and women. Injurious, that means he would cause what? pain. He would cause harm because he had a hardness about him. He was hard. He wouldn't show any mercy. Didn't matter. You couldn't plead with him. You couldn't talk to him about it. If it was a woman, he'd treat a woman like he would treat a man because he believed they deserved what? Death. He believed they deserved to die because they were the blasphemers. They were the ones who vilified the character of God, because that's what a blasphemer does, vilify the character of God. Paul wouldn't have saw himself as that. He saw them as that. But because now he's in the light, he realized, I've vilified God's character. I didn't act like God. I wasn't doing God's work. I thought I was, but I wasn't. And then he says this, He says, although I was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it, what? Ignorantly and he was rooted in unbelief. That is, I totally was unpersuaded that Jesus was the way, the truth and the life. And therefore I was convinced it needed to be killed. It needed to die. I had no persuasion. I wasn't convicted, I wasn't convinced, I was unpersuaded, in total unbelief, though I believed I was doing what I was doing for the name of God the Father in what I was doing. Verse 14, and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That is, God showed him grace and the faith to put his love and confidence in the Lord Jesus. When God what? And said, you are like the serpent striking my heel. And Paul knew that this Jesus is who he says he was. And man, he immediately went to preaching Jesus. And then even the believers said they didn't believe he was right with God and that he was just disguising himself because he had such a reputation. They didn't believe that he had come to help them, but they eventually come around to see that this guy has had a genuine conversion. He's been transformed by the grace of God. And here goes one of the greatest adversaries of the kingdom of God to one of the greatest advocates that the church has ever known. Just like that, amen. But the Lord spoke light into him and said, you are an offense to me. You are being used by the devil to sting the heel of my body. And Paul, between him and God. Then he says, Lord, on that message, Paul is repenting. What do you want me to do? And then he rejected his former life, rejected that message, and then began to ask God to what? Repurpose his life. Refocus me in everything I do. Refresh me with your ways. And he began to follow the Lord as a disciple. As we talked about that idea with repentance this morning, repentance, remember, is a rethinking, a rejecting and then a refocusing on what God wants us to do. The rejection is you stand against your former way, as he's doing here. He says, my former way was blaspheme. My former way was a persecutor. My former way was being violent and hard and injurious to people. I reject that way. I reject it. but he keeps refreshing me and repurposing and refocusing me to follow after him. It's just a beautiful picture. I got a word from the Lord behind that word. I trusted it. I rejected what I thought was to be true and then he refreshed me and renews me and refocuses me again and again. That's the life of the disciple, amen. And there's times in our own life where we think a thing and God brings a word to it. We rethink it, reconsider it in light of that word. reject the lie, and then refresh by him to follow his teaching. That's the life of the believer. That's the salvaging work of the Lord. He salvages that which was ruined. Paul, in essence, was a ruined vessel. but because God made him a chosen vessel, now he's salvaged, recycled, reusing, and making him a vessel that is usable now into his service, just like he's done with us, amen? So it's just a great picture of these beautiful things in the Lord. Anybody wanna add to it? Anybody got the time? Six o'clock. Six o'clock. Oh, we still got a good hour left, amen. Oh, I'm messing with you. I'm messing with you. I do wanna, let me just show you this so you can tie it together of how this works with, you remember when Peter engaged that sorcerer, Simon, and he said you were full of poisonous bitterness and you were bound with wickedness or iniquity? that takes us back, that idea, that root of bitterness, that gall that's within, you know, our bodies make up that bile. And bile does what? It's a natural product to do what? To eat away, it's an acid to eat away at the fats in your body. Well, bitterness has a root. It's a poisonous fruit, is the idea. And what bile does is help digest food. Well, you see, when you've got a bad root that's gonna produce a bad fruit, it helps the world digest wickedness in a bad way. And it goes back to Deuteronomy 29. Let me just turn there real quick. Let's look at it. You know, in Hebrews, it says that, not letting a root of bitterness take root and defile many. This is where this is based on, Deuteronomy 29. He also used the phrase in there about being the bond of wickedness. The word bond or band is the same word that we use in the scriptures for ligaments. What's the difference between a tendon and a ligament? What does a tendon do in our body? It does. Tendons connect muscle to bone. Therefore, it's for movement. What does a ligament do? Ligaments connect bone to bone and it provides stability. So when a ligament's torn, you've lost stability in that joint. Where when you pull a tendon, a tendon allows that muscle to connect to the bone so that you can move. But if you lose stability in the tendon, the scriptures refer to it like a band. They are tightly knit fibers that bond together. Well, he used that about Simon, that your ligaments, you are connected intimately to wickedness. It's what's given you your stability, your wickedness, your wicked ways. See, that's gotta be severed. That's gotta be cut. That's gotta be changed. And then that root of bitterness that comes out. But in Deuteronomy 29, Look in verse number, give you a little nugget. We've talked about it before. Look in verse number three. Notice this. The great trials which your eyes have what? The signs and those great wonders. Yet the Lord has not given you a A heart to perceive it rightly, and eyes to see it rightly, and ears to hear it rightly to this day. Who's gonna give those things? That's important. You could see it, hear it, but not see it and hear it the right way. That's what faith, see faith sees, agrees and acts on what God reveals. You see it rightly, you agree with it rightly, you act on it rightly because God has spoken light. He's spoken life into you. So God's got to grant this. But look over in verse number 14. Yeah, 14, I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today. That's saying this is gonna apply to everybody that's gonna be connected with you down the road as well. For you know that you dwelt in the land of Egypt, and that we came through the nations which you passed by. And you saw their abominations and their idols, which were among them wood, stone, and silver, and gold." That is what they worshiped. What was their priority? Verse 18. so that there may not be among you a man or woman or family or tribe whose hearts turn away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations and that there may not be among you a root bearing what? Bitterness or wormwood, that would be bad fruit, poisonous, fruit wormwood and bitterness hemlock was a poison not only would it had a toxin in it but the hemlock or wormwood not only was it poisonous but it also was offensive it had a bad odor to it as well some things for like carbon monoxide is it a toxin it'll kill you right but you can't smell it can't taste it you don't even know it's killing you when it's killing you but there are toxins that are noxious, that is, they'll kill you, but they also are abrasive, they pungent, they taste terrible and they smell terrible. And he's saying that this kind of bitterness that can well up in somebody, this bad root, is not only poison to the family, but it's also an offense to the family. And God was giving them this message so that that wouldn't happen, that they would be able to, this truth would prevent that poisonous person like Simon, who had that bitterness in him, that bile in him, and that wickedness in him. But notice this word, 19. And so it might not happen when he, that is this brutal bitterness, this hemlock, hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart saying, I shall have peace even though I follow the dictates of my own heart. Now see, that's where the problem lies. That's where Simon was at. That is, He had His way and He was going to stick to His way and He was going to bless Himself. Even though He knew what the Word said, He still would tap Himself on the shoulder and say, I'm going to do it my way and I'm going to have peace in doing it my way. That sounds like our society today, doesn't it? Think about it. Notice that. Let's read that one more time. Verse 19, God says, I give you this message. so that it might not happen that when the person hears the words of this curse, the problems of what will come, that he doesn't bless himself in his heart saying, I will have peace even though I follow the dictates of my own heart. You know how many people say they got their own way with Jesus, or they don't need to gather with the family of God, or they don't need the word of God, but they just bless themselves in their heart and that people affirm them. and bless them when they do well for themselves and they bless themselves, but they have no connection to the Lord. God says, I've given my word to my people so that won't happen to my people. That the people of God won't bless themselves. Within themselves, their blessings will flow from me. And that they will recognize when I bring light, they will rethink it. They will reject the darkness and then be refreshed and renewed and following after me and won't say, well, I know God said this, but I'm still going to do it my way. And I'm going to bless myself and have peace and doing it my way. See, God's given us his word so that we won't do that. Amen. And that we help one another in not doing that, that we help each other say, look, man, God's given us something precious and there's a cause. following him as a disciple and that we're not always going to get it right but he never gets it wrong and we keep coming to him and asking him for help. So those are important words for us often missed and not even brought to light on the fact that we see that happen a lot today. There's people all over the country all over people that are connected with us that bless themselves even though they walk according to the dictates of their own heart. I mean, that's a dangerous thing, isn't it? And God said, that's why I reaffirmed this to you again. That's what Moses was doing. That's all he was doing. He was reaffirming the truth to them again before they went into the promised land. He wasn't going with them, but he wanted them to know how important these things are because if you're not careful, and if a church is not careful, they will just let people do their own thing and not warn them of the consequences of that. And then people start blessing themselves within themselves, even though they walk according to the dictates of their own heart and neglect the things of God. And we want people to see that, hey, the blessings of the Lord come from the hand of the Lord. And you want his hand on you, amen. And to have his hand on you, you got to do it his way. And you want to walk with him. That's important for us, important. So, yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. I know in my reading this week that it said that Salk had offered to buy, he was asking to buy where he could lay hands on somebody. Yes, Simon, Simon. Yeah, that's what we're talking about. Yes, ma'am. Yes, Simon, what, There's a whole thing. We talked about it Wednesday night in our Wednesday night service out of chapter eight there in Acts is where that's at. And how we believe there in Samaria, the people had been duped by Simon number one, because they said that he was the great power of God. So when Philip preached to them, they took Philip's message, but they didn't reject Simon's message. You have two messages there of a King, Jesus, and then the great power of God, Simon, and they believe in both of them. So they believe Philip, but they believe Philip like they believe Simon. So when they all got baptized, including Simon, and the Bible says Simon believed as well, but he still believed what he previously believed. He just added that into his repertoire. It goes along with the parable of the soil. that you got the soils, how some of the seed goes by the wayside, some falls among thorny ground, some on shallow ground, and some on good ground. Well, that seed fell on that thorny ground that had other things involved. It just gets added to. So the apostles hear about it, go up there in the scripture in verse 25, that the apostles testified and preached the word and then went back to Jerusalem. So they carried further on into it, laid hands on the people that believed and the Spirit fell upon them. Because we looked at several other passages that said when a man believes and obeys God, God gives him the Spirit. So they didn't have the Spirit given to them until the apostles came, clarified the truth. They rejected Simon's belief and put all their confidence in Jesus, the Spirit fell on them. But Simon's still holding to his life. So he says, man, I want that power. Can I buy it? And that's where you get in that bitterness. And Peter said that you need to pray that God would, you would repent of that way of thinking and that wickedness and God will change your heart. And that's where we took off and went and looked at Deuteronomy 29 based on that word to him there. But yeah, that was Simon. He was a sorcerer who had duped the people, including himself, and he thought he can have what Philip preached and his message, and he just added it to his way of thinking. And over time, it would manifest. He's gonna always revert back to his own thinking, and he's gonna set aside what Philip taught. just like the people in Samaria would. But the apostles came up, testified to Jesus, preached the word to him, laid hands on him, and the Spirit fell. And they also, we believe, that they most likely spoke in known languages because it says, the power of the Spirit, that's when he said, can I buy it? Can I have that to buy? But it was just a manifestation that his heart was still crooked and that he saw things the wrong way, his thinking. And that's why Peter says, repent. Rethink how you looking at this. But he didn't. How do we know that? He was more concerned about the consequences than the fact that he had sinned against God. He said, pray these things don't happen to me. Not that, Lord, my heart is broken, and I've sinned, and I missed this, and I misrepresented you, and I want you to get me right with you. He says, can you pray for me that these things you've spoken won't happen to me? You see, that tells me he's more worried about what will happen to him than his heart being right, because his heart's not right. He's like. Esau. Esau knew that the birthright in his mind belonged to him because he was the firstborn. So the scripture says in Hebrews, he sought the birthright with tears, but he never found room for repentance. Why? Because he didn't care to be right with God. He only wanted what he thought was his rights. And Simon's the same way. I want my rights as a human not to go through this curse. but I don't wanna be right with God. And that just shows the heart of the person. So does that help some? Yeah, I think that's the situation we see there. Yes, ma'am. I do the same thing sometimes, and that's why I try to stick with my same one, because I'll read it out of another one, and then get in here and try to find it or teach on it, and then it's like I lost it. I know it said something like that, but I can't find it, so I do that same thing. That's why for years, and why I still look, I carry this one with me, my old Bible. Even though it's identical to my new one, the pages are the same. I got a lot of notes in this one that sometimes I may need to refer to. So I'll bring it with me just in case, because I know I wrote something down somewhere by it. But I'm trying to do the same thing with the new one as well. Amen. Love y'all. Let's pray. Father, we bless you. We thank you. We thank you for our time tonight. We pray for Miss Pat right now. that as they work on her and take care of her, that it won't be near, near as serious or as bad as it could have been. And that Lord, you would work it out and that she would have a sweet night of rest. I'd imagine that's gonna be an issue for several days to a week on end, but we know you could heal her up. And that's what we ask for, as well as the others we've been praying for on our list. We pray for Brother Shannon, that Lord he would undergird her, surround her, that he would show her compassion and help her, and that you would give him the strength to see after his bride. And we're gonna thank you for your grace, your mercy. We pray for Carolyn tonight. We ask your hand to be upon her. We pray for our family. We pray for our church family. We just look to you. We thank you for your goodness to us, your grace. Thank you for leading us. Thank you for God's shepherd in our life and always taking care of the little things and the things that are out of our control. I think about the folks with this fire and all the elements involved with it, that there's just things that man can't stop. And Lord, we see that with weather, whether it be an ice storm, a snow storm, a tornado, a hurricane, or wildfires, or whatever it may be, tragedy. but we know ultimately you are able to part seas and rivers and that you're able to save and change the leper spots and thankful that we can be used by your rest in you and not think it's strange when we suffer for you. So we're going to look to you tonight. We're going to depend on you and we're going to trust you and ask you to just walk us through what you're bringing us in and bringing us to in Jesus name. Amen. Love y'all.