Can you have Shalom?

0:00 As has been my custom. I want to continue to remind you that there remain approximately or around a hundred hostages, um, whether still living or not, it's estimated that there's probably still about 40 who might still be alive. And in fact, there have been continuous calls for ceasefire over the last 11 months, none of which, apart from one, uh, when, when, when, about a hundred hostages were released in November. None of which, apart from the one Hamas has agreed to. In fact, this week, I don't know if you know this, it, it,

0:47 I, it took me a little bit of digging to find it, but this week actually, Israel proposed a ceasefire, brought it to the table, and Hamas immediately rejected the agreement, or the proposed agreement, I should say, they, Israel even conceded to let the head of Hamas, who they hold to be responsible for planning and, and, and, uh, executing the attack on October 7th, they even agreed to let him leave Gaza. And yet the ceasefire deals still continue to be rejected.

1:35 It shouldn't surprise anyone. But also this week, there have been several American politicians who've called, or excuse me, who have accused Israel of violating international law, uh, concerning, uh, war. Uh, the accusation came in reference, uh, maybe you heard, maybe you didn't hear, uh, in reference to pagers exploding all around Lebanon and Syria and everyone theorizing that this was an act of warfare from Israel. I do wanna point out two things.

2:20 First of all, all of the devices, uh, were on Hezbollah agents. If you can, if you can just think about it for a moment. For the most part, it was successful without causing injury beyond the person. But secondly, Israel has never even, uh, admitted that this was them. And so to call Israel a, uh, to accuse Israel violating international law when they haven't even admitted that they've done, this

3:07 is now an assumption on behalf of these American politicians. It refuses to acknowledge. And by refuses to acknowledge, I mean, this is going on for 11 months now, 11 plus months, there has been a refusal to acknowledge that Hezbollah is breaking international wartime law by firing rockets repeatedly every day since October 5th at the innocent cities of Northern Israel, to the point that they killed a dozen drew children, not Jewish children

3:54 drew children. I'm just Drews children from the, from one of the Drew's villages in Northern Israel. Never once has there been a, been a, uh, an outcry from American politicians saying, this is a violation of international law or international wartime law. They fire rockets indiscriminately, sometimes up to a hundred or more a day. I don't know if you can, it, it is really difficult for us to think about this in America because we don't have rockets being fired at us, because if we did have rockets being fired at us, the other nation would become obliterated rather quickly, to the point of we went to war for 20 years in a nation that's

4:40 around the co around the world from us, and we lost however many servicemen there were because there was a terrorist attack here on one day. And yet, what are, we're getting close to? We're somewhere around 330 plus days. Israel has been, the sovereignty of Israel has been violated repeatedly day by day, with rockets from the north, rockets from the south, rockets from the east, drones from the north, south, and east, all sorts of warfare against Israel. And there has been no condemnation.

5:26 Okay, well, that's enough. That's enough for me to remind you. Don't forget, we are going to continue in our, uh, acts series today. And in fact, we are finishing out this story of what many people call Paul's conversion. I know I've said this, I don't know how many weeks in a row now, but it's been numerous weeks. But let me just, let me just remind us in case there's someone new here. Saul does not equal bad,

6:12 and Paul does not equal good. Okay? There's simply different languages and different names that Paul has because of who he is. Paul's Hebrew name Saul or Shaul, is just that when he's midst in the midst of all of Israel, he's there as Shaul when he's with the Greeks or, or, or the nations. You'll notice his name is Paul, or it comes from Paulis. One is not good and one is not bad, one is not pre Yeshua, and one is not post Yeshua. They're both pre Yeshua and they're both post Yeshua.

6:57 Does that make sense? I I used this example last week. It's just like Rabbi Sean is not bad, and Rabbi Yohannan, which is Rabbi Sean's Hebrew name is not good, okay? It's just, it is just simply two different names. I say this because it's, it's a, an often taught thing that when, when Paul, or I'm sorry, when Saul interacted with Yeshua, that he had his name changed from Saul to Paul because he now converted away from Judaism to Christianity. But it is not true. In fact, at this point, there is no Christianity.

7:47 And in fact, at this point, there's really no followers of Yeshua that aren't Jewish. They're all Jewish, okay? So let's, in instead of me reminding you what has already happened in Acts chapter nine, we're just gonna read this whole section so that you can kind of hear it one final time, uh, as we close out this, uh, section in, in Acts chapter nine on Paul. Now Paul, uh, oh, now Saul, excuse me. Now, Saul still breathing out. Threats is in, in Acts nine verse one. Still breathing out, threats and murder against the Lord's disciples went to the Kohen Goole.

8:32 He requested letters of introduction from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the way, the way is, is how you would re uh, refer to those who followed Yeshua. He might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem as he was traveling a approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven, heaven flashed around him and falling to the ground. He heard a voice saying to him, Saul or Shaul, Shaul, why are you persecuting me? Who are you? Lord? Saul said, I am Yeshua whom you are persecuting, but get up, go into the city and you'll be told what you must do. The men traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one

9:20 Shaul got up from the ground, but opening his eyes, he could see nothing. They led him by hand and brought him into Damascus for three days. He could not see and did not eat or drink. Now, there was a disciple named Ananias in Damascus, and the Lord said to him, Ananias, and he said, here I am Lord. The Lord said to him, get up and go to the street named straight and ask in the house of Judah for someone from Tarsus named Shaul, for look, he is praying. And in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, maybe I should perhaps say, argued with the Lord. Ananias answered and said, Lord, I've heard much

10:06 from many I I've heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your holy ones, your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the ruling kohanim to tie up all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go, for He is a choice instrument to carry my name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. So Ananias left and entered into the house laying hands on Shaul. He said, brother, Shaul the Lord, Yeshua, the one who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, had sent me so that you might regain your sight

10:52 and be filled with the kodesh. Immediately, something like scales fell from Paul's eyes, from Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was immersed, and when he had taken food, he was strengthened. Now, for several days, he was with the disciples in Damascus. Immediately, he began proclaiming Yeshua in the synagogue saying He has been Elohim or the son of God. All those hearing him were amazed. They were saying, isn't this the one who made havoc in Jerusalem for all those who call in this name? And hasn't he come here to bring them as prisoners before the ruling kohanim? But Saul kept growing stronger, and he was confounding the Jewish people living in Damascus by proving that Yeshua is the Messiah.

11:38 When many days had passed, these Jewish people plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Shaul. They were watching the gates day and night to kill him. But the disciples took Saul by night and led him down and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket. And here we come to this week's section. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he made attempts to join up with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him not believing that he was the disciple. But Barnabas took him in and brought him to the emissaries. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, and the Lord had spoken to him, and how he had spoken boldly in the name of Yeshua. So Saul was go, was with them going in

12:25 and out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He was speaking and arguing with the Hellen us, but they were trying to kill him. When the brothers found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So Messiah's community throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had shalom or peace, and was built up walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the ruakaka Kadesh, it kept multiplying. We're finishing up this section on Paul here today, and we're starting here in verse 26, when Paul arrived in Jerusalem, by the way, I,

13:12 I use Paul just because everyone knows the name. Paul. If I said Saul, most of you would think of King Saul. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he made attempts to join up with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him not believing that he was a disciple. Here we are, as we talked about last week, he, Paul was let down, uh, from a window through the wall, uh, uh, that went down on the outside of the wall in Damascus, let down to the ground. And he has now come from Damascus to Jerusalem. He arrives in Jerusalem, and he comes to try to attempt to join with the disciples. Why did he go to Jerusalem? Perhaps Paul was returning back home.

13:58 Perhaps Paul wanted to repent to those who he had re who had, who he had persecuted earlier in life. Perhaps he's going there to meet the emissaries. Who are the leaders of the community, of the Yeshua follow the people who were following Yeshua. Well, this part we at least know to be true from the text because it says he made attempts to join up with the disciples, but it says that they actually didn't receive him. Why? Because they were afraid, and they didn't believe that he was a disciple. They're afraid of Paul. I I just, you gotta think about this for a minute. Paul left. He presided over the

14:44 murder of, of Steven. He then obtains directives from the high priest to, to imprison all those who follow Yeshua and to bring them back for trial in Jerusalem. And that's what, how Paul left. And when he comes back, he now wants to come and meet with the disciples. You can understand why they, they might hesitate for a moment. They're all afraid of Paul. They, they didn't believe that he was a disciple. So what we at least know is that Paul has communicated, I, I follow Yeshua, the Messiah, but they didn't believe him. Now, I want to point out something.

15:31 Paul has a plethora of examples that prove he is a persecutor of those who follow Yeshua. He at least has the, he presided over the murder of Stephen, and then he went to Damascus with the intent to imprison all of those who followed Yeshua. So we have at least two that are here in the text, and I can only imagine that there's a numerous amount of others that are not being mentioned. Paul has said and proved his position that he was a persecutor of the followers of Yeshua. But, and, and, and maybe we don't do this all the time, but when someone says that they are a particular way,

16:17 and then they follow it up proving that they are a particular way, we should believe them. Unfortunately, it's actually not always true. I mean, it's not always true that we believe them. In fact, I contested generally, we would probably lean to not believing that person, especially if they're talking about doing horrible, horrible things. If they say, I'm gonna, I'm gonna murder all the Jewish people in the world, and then they start, well, they're really just freedom fighters. They're really just being persecuted, and they're fighting for their own people's freedom.

17:04 By the way, I I don't just pull that example out of midair, out of outta thin air. It's in the founding charter of Hamas that their goal, it calls for the destruction of the state of Israel and the elimination of all of the Jewish people in the world. And here we are. They don't really mean what they say. Even post-OC October 7th, when they put it into action more than they ever have before, you know, because we really didn't believe them when they were firing hundreds of rockets a day, or thousands of rockets a day, and innocent people.

17:50 And now we really don't believe them now that they've proved they're willing to murder, rape, and pillage, 1200 innocent Jewish lives and terrorize countless overs the others through, uh, the taking of hi, uh, of hostages and the psychological warfare that has been going on for now 11 months. We don't really believe them. How can I say? We don't really believe them, because if we really believe them, we would do something about it. I challenge in America, we've grown soft

18:36 and we don't really believe that evil is evil even when evil proclaims, it is evil. Why is that? I don't know. I, I have plenty of theories. Now, let's switch to the o the opposite side. I have plenty of theories. Maybe it's because we're promised numerous things by politicians, and then when they get into office, they don't do any of it. And I'm gonna sound like a cynic here, but all they do is line their pockets and their friends' pockets with money. Maybe there's some that are good. I don't know who they are.

19:22 I'm sorry if you're a politician in here. Maybe there's some, I don't know, maybe we don't believe others, because others, when they say and do and promise things, don't follow up and actually do them. You see, there's something different between saying something and doing something. In fact, we have this problem in the metroplex right now. And I don't mean to point fingers because I don't know you guys ever grow up. You know, when you point a finger, there's,

20:08 there's still three pointing back at you. I don't mean to point fingers, maybe we don't believe people because we have pastors who are telling us things and then are being removed from office for shameful deeds. Maybe we don't believe because we continue to be put into a cycle of someone saying something and not doing it, whether it's good or bad. Maybe this is why we don't believe, I don't know. It's, it's a possibility.

20:59 Paul has a history of actions against the community of Yeshua followers. It included the oversight of the murder of Stephen. It included him being proactive in his stance against those who were followers of Yeshua for the purpose of imprisoning them and bringing them to trial. You can see why the emissaries wouldn't accept that he had come to faith in Yeshua because they haven't seen what he's done about it. He's already proved his action, his beliefs with action. Now he has to prove this belief with action as well.

21:45 And so here we come, here enters into the text, a wonderful man named Barnabas. Let's see, where were we? Verse 27. But Barnabas took him in and brought him to the emissaries. Okay, let's, let's pause here for just a second. I just wanna remind us, this is now the second time that Luke brings Barnabas into the narrative in, in the book of Acts. The first time is in Acts 4 36, where he's utilized is a prime example of how the community functioned. Barnabas, let me just remind us. He sold a field, which means he was wealthy enough to own a field, probably not just one.

22:31 He sold a field, brought the proceeds to the emissaries in Jerusalem as a way by which he could support and care for everyone. In the context of this, uh, of, of the surrounding verses, it was meant as an encouragement to the people, to all of the community. This man sold a field. It would be like one of us, if I could put it this way. One of us maybe has multiple houses. It would be if that person sold a house and brought the proceeds to em and said, bless all of the community. Let's, let's, let's, uh, let's eat brisket for the next week. That's right. Amen. I like that one. How can we help one another?

23:17 Let's, let's, let's help one another. This is the, the man that Barnabas is now here again, Barnabas takes action that will build and encourage the community in the long run. You see Barnabas, he has to stake his own reputation on Paul so that when, when he brings Paul in, if Paul changes course, it's not Paul's reputation that's hurt, it's barnabas's. It's his stake in the community that suffers as a result of Paul not doing what Paul says he will do.

24:04 But Barnabas steps out in faith. He, he, um, he befriends. Paul helps him into the community. In the process, he learns Paul's story becomes an advocate for him in the community. In fact, to the point that when, I don't know if you've noticed it when we read it a minute ago, but I'll read it again here in verse 27. But Barnabas took him in and brought him to the emissaries. And he described to them how Paul, wait, what is that? Barnabas described to them how Paul had seen the Lord on the road, and the Lord had spoken to him, and how he had spoken boldly in the name of Yeshua. It's not Paul who shares his own story in the community with, uh, with the, with the emissaries. It's Barnabas. Barnabas says,

24:52 let me tell you what happened with this man. This man was a great persecutor of us. He was on the road to Damascus for further persecution, and then there was this blinding light. He knows Paul's story better than Paul knows it. He has this interaction with the emissaries and says, this is who Paul is. And because of Barnabas's reputation, they bring Paul in. According to Luke, Paul describes all of the, I mean, not Paul Barnabas describes all of the details of what we often call Paul's conversion story that happened earlier in this chapter.

25:38 And then he, he didn't stop with, by the way, he didn't stop with, there was a blinding light, and Paul was blinded. Then he went to Damascus, and Paul received a sight. That's not where he stopped. Notice he stopped with, and Paul went out and spoke boldly concerning Yeshua, the Messiah. I know those are a little bit my, my, my, um, my own verbiage, but here it says in, in verse 28. So Paul, uh, no, I'm sorry, verse 27, and how he had spoken boldly in the name of Yeshua. This is what Barnabas is doing. He is helping be the proof text for the wor, uh,

26:24 excuse the proof actions for the words that Paul has said. So we move to this next section. So Paul was with them going in and out in Jerusalem. So I now, based upon Barnaby's reputation and, and, um, advocacy, Paul is in with the disciples. What we find out later, if you cross reference, I think it's in Galatians, one is actually he's really only with Peter and James, uh, the brother of Yeshua, because he says, I only met with Peter and James when I went out to Jerusalem. It's fascinating. They bought it a little bit, but not enough to where all of them came together. You see, there's a testing process where when you've proven yourself a different way,

27:12 you've proven yourself to be of one way, and now you're claiming something different. It takes time. So at this point, it's only Peter and James who will, who will meet with Paul. But here we are, uh, Paul. So Paul was with them going in and out of Jerusalem, uh, going in and out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He was speaking and arguing with the hellness, but they were trying to kill him. When the brothers found out, uh, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So now Paul has said, I'm a follower of Yeshua. And now he follows it up by speaking boldly in the name of Yeshua, while he's with Barnabas

27:59 and some of the emissaries going in and out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. Paul engaged the hellenism in conversation about Yeshua. You may be like, oh, okay, whatever. I don't know how many of you, no, I'm not gonna ask the question. Some of us, when we read the text and we don't recognize a word, or we don't necessarily exactly understand what it means, and we read it and we're like, okay, whatever, and we move on to the next word or the next phrase or the next verse, and we just bypass it all together. But I want you to recall who was previously listed as a hellenism. There was a problem in the growing community of the followers of Yeshua, and,

28:46 and there was some grumbling going on in the, in the community, and it says, uh, it says that there were, there was some grumbling that the, the widows, uh, the Greek widows or or those from the, from the diaspora weren't being cared for. Well, if they're in Jerusalem, but they're the widows of from the diaspora, but they're in Jerusalem, it actually makes them Hellen us who have come back to Jerusalem, uh, as a, as a commitment to the Lord. And then it says, uh, the disciples say, well choose from among yourselves a few people who are Hellen us that can represent your, your side of the disagreement.

29:32 The last person we remember, well, the the most prominent, really not the last, the most prominent is Steven. Steven is there advocating, and we know what's what happens with Steven. We, we have a whole chapter dedicated to his advocacy, uh, considering, uh, concerning Yeshua, the Messiah. Steven was a Hellen us. It was one of the reasons why he was chosen to serve the Greek widows. Stephen engaged this group of Hellenism, the ones outside of the community of followers of Yeshua, and what happened to Steven was murdered by Paul, or at least Paul oversaw it.

30:18 When Steven engaged this group, he was murdered the group. It seems to be that they're highly influential in this time period. They're probably more zealous for the traditions than the those who were born and raised in Jerusalem. Why? Because they left their homeland to move to Jerusalem to be zealous for the Lord. Paul is very familiar with this group and what their response will be. Why? Because he oversaw Steven's execution. Paul likely was their former ally, and also likely was a member of the synagogue, the Hellen,

31:05 his synagogue in, in Jerusalem. Paul has now embarrassed his former colleagues because he switched sides and is now coming at them with proof texts that they can't answer. So what happens, Paul goes from overseeing the murder of Stephen to being his replacement in the community as an advocate of Yeshua and the object of their derision, and ultimately the object of a plot to kill him, much like what they did with Steven. Now here, the text Luke, Luke says, when the brothers in the faith discovered the plot

31:52 to kill Paul, I want you to point, I wanna point out, other than Ananias and Damascus, this is the first time when it's in a, in a corporate setting, that Paul and the followers of Yeshua are called brothers, which means, now Paul is an accepted member, which the community, it, it's, I I can't remember what there's a, well, it, it's common. There were certain religious sex where it would be common, where you would call one another brother. So and so, it is still common today. Uh, I, there's, I know there's a church. I can't remember what it is when you say brother so and so, and Sister Soandso, everybody's brother and sister. Sure. I mean, spiritually,

32:37 if it's the other way, I'm not sure about that one. But, um, anyways, here, the brothers in the faith discover this plot to kill Paul. And so they just like what happens in Damascus? In Damascus, what do they do? They let him down from a window, and here the brothers in the faith take him down from Jerusalem to Caesarea, to flee to Tarsus, and they send him off to Tarsus. Now, I just wanna point out a couple things. It's fascinating to me that there's no mention in this text of Paul reaching out to his family in Jerusalem. You should be going, wait, he has family in Jerusalem?

33:25 Yes, he does, because in Acts 23, his sister's son comes to advocate for him and let him know of another plot to kill him. But there's no mention of the family here. I wonder if there's a rift in the family as well, if it's not just a rift between Paul and the Hellen. But now it's a rift between Paul and his own family. And now here we have his new family, his brothers in the Messiah, sneaking him out of town and down to Caesarea. It doesn't mention why he's sent to, to Tarsus, but it, it, I think it's relatively fair to conclude that

34:10 that's where his family is from, because that's what we know about Paul, whether or not he goes to his family in Tarsus. That's another, um, another discussion. Tarsus, it's actually a major intellectual center during this time period. It was located on the main East and west trade route that connected the world. I find it fascinating. I, I grew up, um, reading Greek, Greek mythology. I I love Greek mythology. It's fascinating to me. But Tarsus, I, I'm not mentioning that because I like other gods. Just, I, I just, it's fascinating the way Greek mythology is written, but I'm saying that

34:56 because Tarsus is the center of the worship of Hercules. You know, like there's Disney movies about Hercules, but Hercules like this is, this is the major center of worship for Hercules. It's a, it's a very populous place, uh, that has massive influence. In fact, it would explain why Paul has a Greek name, because his family is perhaps influential in both the, the Jewish world and in the Greek world and interacting in the in business. And when you interact, interact in business, you gotta have a name that somebody will call you or, or, or understand and, and be able to speak to you.

35:45 So here we come to verse 31, the end of this, uh, paree about Paul. So Messiah's community throughout Judea, all Judea and the Galilee and Samaria had shalom or peace, and was built up walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the kodesh, it kept multiplying. I just, I find it fascinating. I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but my dad pointed out to me, Paul is a major advocate for Yeshua. Paul speaks boldly, EE even the text says the ACH is there filling him for the purpose of speaking boldly.

36:31 This is exactly what is talked about in Acts one, eight, when it says, the Ach, the spirit of the Lord will, will, will come down and will enable you for the mission that I have for you to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Paul is being activated and is speaking boldly through the Ruak hakodesh. But there's something about Paul that while Paul is there, whether he is a persecutor or a follower of Yeshua, the community is in turmoil and is not until Paul is sent away that finally the community calms down and has peace or rest. It, it's a fa it's a fascinating thing to think about.

37:17 And, and I, I don't know how else to tell you. Sometimes zealousness, the spreading of fire, spreads fire, and sometimes you just need to have a moment without fire, and then it'll be peaceful for a moment. But here we have the Messiah's community throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it's now, there's shalom and the community is being built up. Now, this reminds us that at the beginning of Acts chapter eight, there was a season of persecution. What that started with Paul in Acts chapter, excuse me, in Acts, Hmm, sorry, you didn't know it was my bar mitzvah, did you? Anyways, there was a season

38:05 of persecution that started with Paul as the primary persecutor in eight chapter eight verse one. It scattered all of the followers of Yeshua throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. You remember, this is why Philip goes down to Samaria and, and, and this is all happening. The persecution didn't end when, when Paul became a follower of Yeshua, but it did end when Paul left and went to Tarsus. All of that to say, seasons of suffering and persecution are not forever. They have a limited time and therefore a particular purpose. Often The persecution here that we see in eight and 9, 7, 8 and nine, really, the persecution here forced the followers

38:51 of Yeshua outward from Jerusalem. And now that they've been forced outward, now there's a time when the Messiah's community experiences peace and it will be built up. So you see there's a scattering that happens. And then with the scattering, now the community is built up, and what you have is not the addition of communities, but the multiplication of communities. This is what suffering and persecution does. It sends everyone out in multiple ways, and one community could have planted another community in the non persecution time. However, in this way, not only is one community planted, but it seems like there's countless numbers,

39:40 numerous other communities through all of the numerous people who are, who are scattered during this time period. So first we have a scattering, and then we have a building up, and the community kept multiplying, and it says this, this is the way it ends. The community kept multiplying because it was walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the ruach. So what does this mean for you and me today? First of all, just like Paul had a communal advocate in Barnabas, Paul needed someone who heard his, who could hear his story and explained to everyone why he is different

40:25 now than he was before. This is often true with us. In fact, it's true. It's a hundred percent true with parents and children. You know, some days I'll come home and I won't name names, but Brittany will say, your son, you need to be And all of a sudden I become his communal advocate because she's had enough time with him. All of us are granted with different levels of patience toward different people. I don't know if you ever really thought about that.

41:11 Some of us have zero patience for some while others of us have tons of patience for that same person. This is where we rely upon one another as a community because we can become communal advocates for some on someone else's behalf, That we can bring them into the community, that we can help them become accepted within the community and then become a, uh, an active participating, contributing member of the community. It just takes someone to become an advocate. Secondly, don't be afraid to speak

42:00 in the name of Yeshua boldly. This is what this whole text is about, by the way, is Paul speaking boldly. When the Holy Spirit fills us, he enables us, or he strengthens us in our calling to follow the Lord and to speak boldly proclaiming the name of Yeshua wherever we are. But it's not just a speaking boldly. There's an action that follows with it as well. If the action doesn't follow, then how can anyone ever know that you've had a change in your life?

42:47 You see, I, I know we talk about belief and we're, we're all gung ho, at least in the Western world, uh, in the Western Church on belief, but belief without actions. Paul says, I'll show you my, my faith through my actions as a challenge, because faith without actions isn't worth anything. It's the actions that prove the faith that exists within. And you can't judge someone based upon what they say they believe. I don't know what you believe. You can tell me what you believe, but unless I see with your hands and your feet what you're doing, I don't know. So the actions, it's not that you get your faith

43:33 by doing good things, it's that your faith changes you from the inside out. And the Holy Spirit enables you, not just enables, but strengthens you to fulfill the calling that the Lord has on your life, which is speaking boldly and doing his will. Now, I I feel very confident in saying that if you are follow of Yeshua, he has that calling on your life. Now, if you have a more specific calling that's between you and the Lord and whoever you wanna share it with, um, but I am very confident in saying that the Lord has called all of us to speak boldly and to do his will. The doing is the way we check with each other

44:19 and see if there's fruit. You see, the, the fruit of the spirit is how you measure if the spirit is truly in the other person, if someone's kind or you can go or patient. Now listen, some of us like we're developing patients and that's why we have children, is to help us develop more patients. But this is how you measure. This is how you measure the spirit of the Lord in your life is the fruit that you can see. Finally, my final question is how can you have Shalom,

45:08 you can walk in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the ruach, and you'll have shalom in your life despite all circumstances. You know, this is funny because Paul, this verse is so misquoted. Paul says, I can do all things and, and we in the West were like, I can do all things. I can beat LeBron James in a basketball game, one-on-one because I believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. By the way, that is absolutely not what the text is talking about. Paul says, I follow the Lord in times of good or wealth or in times of bad or poverty. I follow the Lord in times of blessing. I follow the Lord in times of suffering,

45:55 but in all things, wait, what's the word? Uh, uh, but I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Why? For the purpose of walking and and following the Lord in both because we're not called to only follow the Lord in blessing. We're not also called to only follow the Lord in suffering either. There are seasons of both, and we have to be able to walk in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the ruakaka kodesh. And that is how we can have shalom or peace or wholeness in our lives. Ave Sha may our Father in heaven.

46:41 Lord, I thank you for this Shabbat. I thank you for this story that we have here in Acts concerning Paul and his following issue. Lord, I pray that you would continue to strengthen us, to embolden us as we follow Yeshua in our own lives, uh, through times of blessing and through times of poverty or or difficulty. Lord, I pray that you would continue to strengthen us, continue to be near to us, Lord, we bless you and we praise you and Shu His name. Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you

47:28 and be gracious, gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace

48:16 in the name of our Messiah, Yeshua.