As the Acts of the Apostles draws to a close we can be left asking what happens next. Our studies in early church history begin with two disciples of the Apostle John. From the Revelation we know that John was imprisoned on the island of Patmos. But the ministry of the gospel continues in Antioch and Smyrna with Ignatius and Polycarp, two church leaders who had been discipled by John.
Ignatius came from Ephesus and became the bishop of Antioch. He led the church to take its stand against those who questioned the deity of Christ. There were those who were teaching that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were figurative than actual. This questioned the gospel message. Ignatius took his stand and defended the truth of the gospel, a truth we stand on today.
Polycarp lived in Smyrna and led the church there into his 80s. Polycarp stands out in church history as the first Christmas to have their persecution documented. He showed grace to the end and would not recant his faith. He was burned at the stake, but his strong defence of the gospel has comforted and strengthen Christmas martyrs throughout the generations.
The Life of the Church - Learning our Church History is a teaching series from Annalong Presbyterian Church. For videos and handouts visit www.annalongpc.org/midweek.
The podcast was recorded using Ecamm Live. Start your free trial at https://www.ecamm.com/mac/ecammlive/?fp_ref=david97.
Now, we're beginning a new series, um, I think I've told
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:you before, I love the Old Testament
and that's why perhaps the Tabernacle
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:was a study that I particularly enjoyed
because it got into a little bit of that.
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:Um, coming a second closer,
I do love church history.
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:Um, and one of the reasons for that
is you're going to discover a quote.
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:Um, on your, uh, on your
handout in just a moment.
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:Uh, in our house we enjoy
one or two, uh, programs.
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:Uh, Silent Witness, if
you're familiar with it.
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:Um, I can't even remember
the rest of them.
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:There was one on Forgotten.
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:Uh, there was a Canadian one as
well, I can't remember what it
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:was called, the Coroner I think.
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:And it's that idea of what the past
can teach us today in discovering how
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:murders were committed but also who
done them and it's, it's murder mystery
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:but it's from a different perspective.
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:And it's one of those shows that you're,
you're trying to follow that trail
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:because the trail does lead to today.
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:And we do that with our, our family.
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:history as well.
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:We do it whenever we think
about where we've come from.
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:And I suppose that's what always
fascinates me whenever I'm putting
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:together a tribute for someone whose
funeral service I will conduct.
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:You learn of people who perhaps started
life on the shore road and They were
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:maybe the last in the children, so
the fishing industry wasn't for them.
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:There wasn't enough room, and so they
ended up moving up country, perhaps to a
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:maternal farm, and ended up being farmers.
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:And so, all of a sudden, from becoming
a fishing family, they became a
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:farming family, and for generations.
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:That's all that particular family
have known, and in this age in
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:which we're living, and I've had
a few of these experiences myself,
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:where families have moved away from
Manilong to find work whenever.
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:Uh, we had our first storm in Parliament
and the civil service was, was growing,
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:or there was work up in Belfast.
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:And so families moved and
they became city families.
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:But yet they always retained a connection.
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:But as soon as they came home,
you knew they weren't from here.
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:You knew they were those city people.
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:Even though they grew
up here, they changed.
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:And they became defined, even
defining themselves as city people.
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:Because if they were truly honest,
they enjoyed coming to Annalong.
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:for the holidays, but perhaps not to
live, because we were just that little
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:bit further out from the bus route.
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:Nowadays, you're further out,
uh, from the internet service,
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:I think is the major complaint.
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:So we like to know who we are
and where we've come from.
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:And that's the significance
of church history.
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:And whether you wanted to call it
church history, maybe that's too
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:academic for you, maybe you just
want to call it the story of the
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:church, whatever you want to call it.
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:The 2, 000 years that we will cover
in the next decade of Midweek Series,
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:perhaps, define who we are today.
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:Not just in our theology that we
might look back to only 500 years
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:ago, or more recently what has shaped
and defined church today and what
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:previous generations have done.
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:But right at the very beginning, 2,
000 years ago, after we leave the
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:Acts of the Apostles, we jump to Um,
what we understand and learn today.
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:And so as we begin this evening,
we're calling this Direct Beginnings.
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:Because there is a direct connection.
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:We, we simply don't drop off
Acts 28 and wonder what happened.
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:There are people who were known in the
biblical text who continue, uh, through
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:writings that are extra biblical and
tell us what life was like for them.
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:And we'll look at two
of those this evening.
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:But the first of all is, why
learn our church history?
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:Well, church history is beneficial to us.
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:As I've said, church history
tells us who we are today.
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:Not just about what we
believe, but also our practice.
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:Why do we, particularly here in Annalong,
use shortbread and not pan bread?
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:That's our church history.
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:Why is there a T junction
Church in County R Ma?
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:When I say T Junction, it's in the
form of a T equal lengths in every
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:wave coming from the pulpit, and they
put tables down the aisle and they
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:sit at table for the Lord's Supper.
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:That's their church
history, but it's not ours.
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:But the commonality is we sing
from a blue hymn book, the revised
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:hymn book, or perhaps our practices
in how we lift the collection.
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:That's our practice, which goes hand
in hand with also what we believe.
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:And so as we look over certain figures
and certain events, it'll define why
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:we do what we do, but it'll define
why we believe what we believe.
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:And one current, uh, professor,
he's actually president of the
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:Reformation Bible College in
Sanford, Florida, uh, Stephen J.
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:Nichols said this, and this is the first
quote there in italics, uh, about a
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:quarter of the way down your handout.
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:The past enriches our
lives in surprising ways.
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:In our past, our family history, we
see examples of faithful disciples.
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:We can be encouraged and even inspire,
inspired by their faithfulness.
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:But far more, we see examples of
God's faithfulness to his people.
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:And I read that a while ago and I
thought, that's, that's pretty good.
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:If you want a reason of why we do it,
that's it there, because actually we
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:call it church history, but it's the
story of God at work in human history and
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:we must remember that it is his story.
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:It's not ours, and I think it's key
of what's, how we understand this
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:moving forward, that church history,
the story of the church only works.
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:when we understand it
through the Holy Spirit.
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:Presbyterians are given a short
straw, I believe, in how we look
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:and perceive the Holy Spirit.
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:Just because we don't do it like others
doesn't mean we don't have a firm belief
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:in the working of the Holy Spirit.
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:And this is where it begins.
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:It begins in the salvation
of generations before us.
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:It works in the revivals and in the
movements, missionary movements of
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:the church that not only spread from
Jerusalem into all the world, but spread
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:across Africa, Asia, South America.
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:Even America itself at a
time had to be evangelized.
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:And so the Holy Spirit was at work and has
been at work and will continue to be at
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:work and that's what we're going to see.
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:That actually, church history is
the history of the Holy Spirit at
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:work in all places and in all times.
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:And that's what Paul tells us in 2
Corinthians chapter 10 and verse,
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:uh, sorry, chapter 1 and verse 10.
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:That it was he who delivered us from such
a deadly peril and he will deliver us.
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:On Him, we have set our hope
that He will deliver us again.
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:See, when we learn the movement of
God through His Spirit, when we see
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:Him at work, as we will particularly
see it in these two first characters
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:this evening, well then we see how
God will deliver us in the future.
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:As we've known God in the past,
so we will know Him for today, and
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:we will know Him for the future.
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:Supported by Scripture, of how we
see God work in the Biblical text.
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:As well as the testimonies that we
will now hear over these next number
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:of weeks of people from our past Who
will tell us how faithful God has been.
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:So where to begin?
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:Whenever you're thinking of church
history, it's a good question.
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:Where could you begin?
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:You could start in the
garden if you wanted to.
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:You could start, uh, whenever we picked up
that series that we did, um, last year or
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:the blank page in your Bible a couple of
years ago, we could have picked up there
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:as we enter into the formation of the
church with the coming of Jesus Christ.
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:Well, we're actually going
to begin with what's key.
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:in Acts chapter 1 verses 6 to
11 and the ascension of Jesus.
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:So we're going to read that.
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:If you do have your
Bibles, turn to it there.
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:Acts chapter 1 and verses 6 to 11.
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:The text says, So when they had
come together, they asked him,
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:Lord, will you at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?
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:He said to them, It is not for you
to know times or seasons that the
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:Father has fixed by his own authority.
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:But you'll receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you.
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:And you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and
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:Samaria and to the end of the earth.
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:And when he had said these things, as
they were looking on, he was lifted up,
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:and a cloud took him out of their sight.
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:And while they were gazing into heaven,
As he went, behold, two men stood by them
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:in white robes and said, Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking into heaven?
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:This Jesus, who was taken up from you
into heaven, will come in the same way
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:as he saw, as you saw him go into heaven.
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:Amen.
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:This is the Word of God.
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:So this is where we begin.
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:The ascension of Jesus Christ because
it's in this moment that the disciples
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:are told what to do They're told to go
out and we know the Great Commission We
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:have it in Matthew 28 go into all the
world, but but here we have what they're
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:to do Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria Some
people have looked at that as a, a circle.
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:Jerusalem is the inner circle, where they
were, going out to Samaria, the countries
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:around them, or, or sorry, Judea, the
countryside around them, and then out
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:to Samaria, to the world around them.
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:That's nearly too limiting,
because it's geographical.
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:If we think of it in these terms,
Jerusalem was where they knew, the
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:people they knew, begin there, then
go to the countryside you knew.
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:the people that you know, the culture
that's familiar within Judea, and then
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:go to Samaria, the beginning of the
Gentile world, and there, mixed with
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:a culture you don't know, and spread
out through to the ends of the earth.
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:That's perhaps a better way to
view that than, than simply,
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:uh, that's just three circles.
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:But what's happening in each,
to the area and people you know.
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:Then to the countryside, that's familiar,
but it's a culture that is known.
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:Then going beyond that and even more into
the pagan culture and into all the world.
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:But notice what Jesus says.
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:He says this will happen
when you will receive power.
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:from the Holy Spirit that's
going to come upon you, and
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:then you will be my witnesses.
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:That's why we see this as a movement
and as a work of the Holy Spirit.
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:The church can only move
as the Spirit leads.
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:The church is obedient to the Spirit.
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:The great missionary movements of the past
have been faithful in where they have gone
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:and in the message they have proclaimed.
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:And as we go in step with the
Spirit, then we know that God
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:will bless his work in his way.
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:And so the life and witness of the Church
throughout all of time has been led by
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:the Spirit and must be led by the Spirit.
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:Spirit led and Spirit filled, and
that's why we recognize the Holy
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:Spirit at work in our Church history.
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:But we're not going to go through Acts.
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:We're already, or we've already done that
and are at a certain point along the way.
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:We're going to jump to the end of Acts
because that's where we really begin.
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:That's why this is
entitled Direct Beginnings.
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:Because we're going to really
pick up where Acts leaves off.
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:And so as the canon of Scripture
closes, We have Revelation, and Acts
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:of the Apostles, and Revelation,
certainly the first couple of chapters,
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:that is, the letters to the seven
churches, are inextricably linked.
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:You can't read the seven letters
to the seven churches unless you
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:understand the Acts of the Apostles.
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:Because it is to those very
churches that Jesus is speaking.
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:And so as we finish the Acts
of the Apostles, we know
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:Paul is on his way to Rome.
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:He's there because
that's what he wanted to.
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:He wanted to go because
of appealing to Caesar.
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:And we have that there
in Acts 25 and verse 11.
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:And Acts closes in A.
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:D.
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:63.
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:And this is what we learn
at the close of that.
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:Speaking of Paul, he lived there
two whole years at his own expense
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:and welcomed all who came to him,
proclaiming the kingdom of God and
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:teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ
with all boldness and without hindrance.
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:And there you have Paul, even though
he's waiting to be tried by Caesar.
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:He, he's still proclaiming the truth.
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:He's an older man now, it's likely
the year after Paul is martyred.
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:We don't have records of that, but
it's most likely Paul dies in A.
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:D.
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:64.
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:And so we, we leave Paul doing
what he's been doing since his
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:conversion, proclaiming the good news.
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:So what happens after this?
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:What happens to the church after A.
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:D.
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:64?
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:Well, you know I like to
give you as much as I can.
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:We're not going to look
at this in any detail.
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:So, top of page 2 there, there's a grid,
um, and it's on the screen as well,
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:and this grid is a, a bit of an idea
of how the Acts of the Apostles work.
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:And so you see here, anywhere between A.
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:D.
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:64 and 67, Paul and Peter are martyred.
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:And it's during the time of
Nero, but of course it's also
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:the time of the Great Fire.
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:And so most of the persecution
came because of the Great
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:Fire, which was started by Nero
but blamed on the Christians.
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:And so we don't know exactly when,
but somewhere between those years
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:at the bottom of that grid, 64 to
67, Peter and Paul are martyred.
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:And it's only verbal tradition.
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:that teaches us that.
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:And that's important for us to understand
as we go into this evening because
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:we're going to look at two people and
their names are Ignatius and Polycarp.
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:Now I grew up with a lot of people around
me called Ignatius I didn't grow up
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:with anyone around me called Polycarp.
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:I don't know anybody called
Polycarp, but in Cady there were
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:a few Ignatiuses along the way.
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:I don't know if you've any in Annalong,
but I grew up with being a familiar name.
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:Um, I could never understand what
a nickname for Ignatius would be,
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:or a shortened version, so we're
not going to try that this evening.
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:Anybody know or heard of Ignatius,
as in this Ignatius we're
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:talking about, and Polycarp?
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:Good.
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:I see heads nodding, and I see you
going, Nope, don't have a clue.
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:Well, in the days of Polaroid cameras,
I'm delighted to be able to show
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:you pictures of them, or at least
etchings of what they look like.
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:You have them there.
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:Ignatius.
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:Ignatius means to ignite.
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:Ignatius.
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:And polycarp means many fish.
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:And there's no better name for
these two fathers of the church.
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:As we'll discover,
Ignatius really did ignite.
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:Something he ignited truth in the
church, Polycarp, uh, the, what we
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:would call the first to be persecuted
because we have a written detail
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:of his persecution, his martyrdom.
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:Uh, he really was, uh, someone who
gathered many fish because in his
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:ministry where he was 86, he was allowed
to continue ministering until he was 86.
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:He, he truly was the one who, who
discipled many of the church fathers for
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:the generations that would follow him.
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:And so that, these are the two we're
going to look at, but the reason why
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:we're going to start is because they
have direct connections to Scripture.
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:Because both of these men were
disciples of John the Apostle.
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:Have you ever wondered what
happened to the disciples?
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:Because they, they were in what
we call the rabbinic tradition.
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:Jesus was their rabbi.
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:Jesus was their teacher.
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:That meant that a rabbi gathered
people around him who he would invest
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:in, who he would train and instruct.
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:And what that was supposed to do was for
them to become rabbis in due course, so
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:that they would gather people around them.
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:Now we don't have the rabbinic system
now, but we have something similar.
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:We call it discipling.
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:. So John Disciple as a disciple, he
discipled Ignatius and Polycarp.
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:Now, we don't know this, uh, through
the biblical text, but in what is
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:called the martyrdom of Polycarp,
the record of, of what happened to
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:his life, we're told that both these
two men, um, were disciples of John.
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:In fact, Polycarp went on to,
or he discipled Erren, or who
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:is the next church father?
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:that will come in a timeline for us.
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:And so it was one disciple
discipling another, discipling
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:another, and so we have this line
of succession of discipleship that
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:brings us to who we are today.
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:So the Apostle John, who by this
stage is on Patmos, um, receiving the
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:revelation, um, Polycarp and Ignatius
are in faith, have been discipled, and
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:are now in their places of Antioch.
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:So let's begin by looking at
Ignatius the Bishop of Antioch.
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:He was born roughly around 35
AD and he was born in Ephesus.
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:And we're going to hear a lot of these
place names because they're places that
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:have been on Paul's missionary journey.
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:So he was born in Ephesus.
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:We know that Timothy was in Ephesus,
and so it's most likely that he
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:benefited from that instruction.
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:And as I've said, he was a
disciple of John the Apostle.
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:But he, he did go on, uh, rather
quickly, uh, to the church in
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:Ephesus and minister there.
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:Or sorry, the church in Antioch.
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:Um, he's from Ephesus, a great city,
a great place of learning, and a great
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:heritage for him, and we understand
that he was martyred in AD 110.
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:So he lived a good age too, but not
much is known about what he did in his
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:teaching and in his ministry, um, because
it wasn't necessarily written down.
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:We know some of his epistles, his
letters, and that's what we're going
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:to look at briefly this evening.
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:And what, uh, Ignatius is known for and
why is he, why he is important for us is
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:that he stood firm against false teachers.
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:Uh, this is something
that plagued the church.
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:We know it because, uh,
John dealt with it himself.
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:He was telling the people to stand
firm, and there was a belief in
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:the days of Ignatius that Jesus
didn't really come in human form.
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:It was more than a story.
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:In that there was a real person, but
it was implied rather than a reality.
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:And this troubled Ignatius, as you can
understand, but you have to understand
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:the culture of the time as well.
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:This is all new.
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:Nothing's written down.
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:There's no scripture to
go to and contend with.
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:Rather, it's what the Apostles have
taught, because isn't that what
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:the early church did in Acts 4?
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:They listened to the Apostles teaching,
and that's how the church was formed
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:in its understanding of salvation.
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:of Christology, and who Christ was,
and what atonement was, and redemption.
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:And so now this second generation
are taking that, and they're the
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:ones who, along with the Apostles,
are starting to write down.
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:And so in the epistles of Ignatius, he
is writing to the church to warn them.
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:And in fact, it's there, he quotes
in the middle of the text there,
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:um, I think it's over on page three.
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:He's writing and he tells the church to
say, look, when you hear false teaching
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:about this, when you hear that there's
issues with Jesus, close your ears.
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:Don't listen to them.
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:And you can understand why.
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:And really, this nails for us
our understanding of salvation.
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:Because from this moment of
Ignatius, we continue to believe the
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:truth of salvation in the church.
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:That Christ indeed did come,
the deity, the God man.
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:He did indeed die a
death he did not deserve.
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:He did indeed rise from the dead.
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:And if you don't believe that,
then you have no salvation.
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:And so Ignatius was writing to the
church to say, don't listen to this
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:falsehood, don't listen to these people.
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:This is, this is long before we get to the
Gnostics, who have some secret knowledge.
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:This is right in the very opening years
of the church, where they're, they're
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:starting to challenge what salvation is.
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:That actually salvation is works and
just pleasing God, going back to a Jewish
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:way, rather than the way of Christ,
understanding that he is the Son of God.
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:And so what Ignatius fought in his
epistles and ultimately what brought him
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:to his martyrdom, we still stand on today.
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:Salvation alone, by faith
alone, in Christ alone.
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:Now those terms were not adopted
for a couple of hundred centuries
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:or a couple of centuries later,
but this is where it begins.
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:And this is the battle that was
fought in the church, in Antioch,
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:and in the surrounding areas.
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:So that the church would be strong
in what it believed about salvation.
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:And that's the heritage
that we stand in today.
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:The testimony of Ignatius makes
us gospel centered people today.
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:So whenever you go back and think
of his name Ignatius, Ignite,
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:he truly did ignite something.
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:He ignited the truth about
salvation and the gospel.
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:that we benefit and rejoice in today.
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:Well, let's move on to our second
person who's called Polycarp.
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:And Polycarp was born in A.
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:D.
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:70.
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:We don't exactly know where he was born,
but we believe it to be Turkey or Asia
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:Minor, as it was known in biblical times.
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:And he, again, was a
disciple of John the Apostle.
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:But the difference with him, as I've
said, is he went on to disciple others.
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:He was born in Turkey and he ministered
in Turkey because he went to Smyrna
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:to that place that we read off in
Revelation the letter to the church
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:in Smyrna that we'll come to look at
in a moment and he was martyred in A.
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:D.
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:155 so here was a man who lived long and
had a strong ministry and it's actually
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:more the end of his life that we look at
Antioch was a city much like, um, sorry,
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:Smyrna was a city much like Antioch
that was at the hub of Roman life.
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:There were Roman rule
but also Roman culture.
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:and Roman God, gods and in the midst
of all of this he managed to disciple,
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:he managed to see conversion and
as I said earlier he was a faithful
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:teacher of Arrhenius, who was the
next church father to come after them.
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:So both of these two men are building on
what has been, what already has been done.
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:They're ministering to the second
generation of believers following in
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:the footsteps of Paul and of John.
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:We want to look at, uh,
Polycarp at the end of his life.
381
:Because Polycarp for us
is about persecution.
382
:We know that others were persecuted.
383
:But we have no written literature
that tells us in detail the level
384
:that we have about Polycarp.
385
:And so he really, it's not that he
sets the example, but he gives us the
386
:truth of Of what the church was facing.
387
:And in Antioch there was, er,
in Smyrna there was strife as
388
:much as there was in Antioch.
389
:But he kept going, but he
became noticed as well.
390
:It was a port city.
391
:And so trade was coming in and out.
392
:And the problem in Smyrna, as
well as the whole Christian world,
393
:is they were called atheists.
394
:Now that's ironic, isn't it?
395
:The Christians were
actually called atheists.
396
:And the reason why they were
called atheists was because they
397
:didn't believe in the pantheon
of gods of the Roman culture.
398
:They only believed in one true God.
399
:And really, what was the clincher?
400
:Why they were really called
atheists was because they didn't
401
:worship the Emperor as God.
402
:They didn't worship Caesar as God.
403
:And in Smyrna, it was
Polycarp who took his stand.
404
:And in taking that stand,
he led many to Christ.
405
:He wasn't afraid to stand up to the
culture of his day and of his time.
406
:And he spoke for what was
right and what was true.
407
:And you know, this attracted attention.
408
:The whole way in Rome with the
Caesar of the time Trajan who
409
:orders directly from his palace the
arrest and execution of Polycarp.
410
:Well Polycarp and Smyrna gets wind
of this and so he runs and he hides.
411
:86 years of age he goes and he hides
and he hides out in an estate, in a
412
:barn, in an outhouse amidst the bales of
hay, and eventually the Roman soldiers
413
:who have been tasked to find him with
the arrest warrant track him down.
414
:They, uh, find him hiding
in behind the bales.
415
:They see him, but more importantly,
Polycarp sees them because he's, quite
416
:literally, the 86 year old man has run
them ragged, and he sees that they're
417
:tired, and he sees that they're hungry.
418
:And he tells the master of the estate
to prepare food for the Roman soldiers.
419
:And he willingly goes after they
have rested, and after they've
420
:been fed, to face execution.
421
:Well, as Polycarp is brought, he's
taken into what is a familiar scene.
422
:He's taken into an amphitheatre.
423
:And in this, this is an amphitheatre,
maybe I shouldn't confess, this is
424
:an amphitheatre from our holidays.
425
:So you have one of our holiday pics
on the back of your sheet there.
426
:That's simply to say, here's what
it looks like, in case you've
427
:never really seen one before.
428
:We're not talking about the Colosseum.
429
:We're talking about local,
provincial amphitheatres throughout
430
:the whole of the Roman Empire.
431
:This is one simply from a little
place just above Florence in Italy.
432
:And here Polycarp was brought
out on the center stage.
433
:And behind him in chains and
shackles were other Christians
434
:who would be executed likewise.
435
:And the Roman official says to Polycarp,
I want you to turn round and say to
436
:these Christians, Away with you atheists.
437
:And the whole reason for doing that
was so that in doing it, Polycarp
438
:would actually recant his faith.
439
:Because if these were being tried for
being Christians, and if they had a
440
:profession of faith in Christ, Polycarp
was basically saying, You're atheists.
441
:He would have got himself off the
hook, retired, and been fine to
442
:live out the rest of his days.
443
:But Polycarp, the man of many fish, took
a stand that was bold and that was brave.
444
:In his 86 year old voice, he stood
in front of that amphitheater.
445
:He didn't look at the Christians behind
him, but he looked at every face before
446
:him on every tear, and he put out his
hand and he said, Away with you, atheists.
447
:The best of the Roman world, including
the Roman officials in front of him.
448
:He not only disobeys their order,
but he condemns them for their
449
:lack of faith in Jesus Christ.
450
:They're the atheists, not him.
451
:He was given the opportunity to
recant, and this is what he said.
452
:In a bold statement, he
said, Eighty six years I have
453
:blaspheme my king who saved me?
454
:Polycarp right to the very end.
455
:proclaimed his lord and his master.
456
:He did not recant.
457
:He did not forgo his faith.
458
:And so he has set the standard of what is
martyrdom, of what we know as martyrdom
459
:because it is written for us in detail.
460
:And he was quite quickly
taken, tied to a stake, burnt.
461
:But it shouldn't come
as any surprise to us.
462
:of why Polycarp was the way that he was.
463
:We may not know the man, but just in
these two incidences, the, the action
464
:of waving the hand in front of the, the
whole of the Roman citizenship, to saying
465
:that he, after 86 years, he would not
recant or blaspheme against his Lord.
466
:Let's remember what Jesus said
to that very church in Smyrna.
467
:Because in Revelation, Chapter
2, in verses 8 to 11, that
468
:bottom, that red writing there
at the bottom and over the page.
469
:And to the angel of the church of
Smyrna write, the words of the first
470
:and the last, who died and came to life.
471
:I know your tribulation and
your poverty, but you are rich.
472
:And the slander of those who say
that they are Jews and are not,
473
:but are a synagogue of Satan.
474
:Do not fear what you are about to suffer.
475
:Behold, the devil is about to
throw some of you into prison.
476
:that you may be tested, and for
ten days you will have tribulation.
477
:Be faithful unto death, and I
will give you the crown of life.
478
:He who has an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit says to the churches.
479
:The one who conquers will not be hurt.
480
:By the second death
481
:the bishop of Smyrna whether he received
this from John or not But when you compare
482
:his life to what was given to the church,
he lived this message He had already
483
:gone through the first death the first
death to his own self Where he forgone
484
:his own way of living and was went to
Christ as the sovereign and knew him as
485
:the sovereign Lord For him, the second
death had been burned to the stake was
486
:nothing, because he'd already been tested.
487
:He had stood firm, and he was
welcomed into the heavenly realms.
488
:For the early church, as they would face
persecution, as Polycarp recognized, but
489
:also, uh, as Ignatius recognized, in terms
of false teaching, the promise is given
490
:to them that Christ will be with them.
491
:That they can trust in Jesus.
492
:They can trust in him as Savior, and
in doing so, he will see them through.
493
:And you know, we don't know
what lies ahead of us today.
494
:We don't, none of us can.
495
:We can't look into a crystal ball.
496
:None of us has any of that at our
fingertips, nor would we want it.
497
:Rather, we wait on the Lord, and as His
Spirit has led His church and His people.
498
:As it has been spirit led and
spirit filled so we too will be
499
:spirit filled and spirit led.
500
:We too will face false teaching
that we must stand against.
501
:We too will face persecution in some shape
or form and in many ways in this current
502
:age the two are becoming closer together.
503
:Where the persecution is
following false doctrine.
504
:Because the false doctrine is coming
from the world that tells us we're wrong.
505
:And because we don't believe what
the world wants us to believe, then
506
:we are facing persecution for it.
507
:But Jesus has promised
to be with us to the end.
508
:He has promised to see us through,
that indeed, as the letter was
509
:written to the church in Smyrna, so
we have gone through the first death.
510
:And whatever the second death, however
it comes through, ill health or sickness
511
:or through persecution, We can stand
firm because we will be seen safely home.
512
:And that's what Peter tells us in 1 Peter.
513
:Some of the, a passage that I love in
chapter 5 verses 6 to 11 where he says,
514
:Humble yourselves therefore under the
mighty hand of God so that at the proper
515
:time He may exalt you, casting all your
anxieties on Him because He cares for you.
516
:Be sober minded.
517
:Be watchful.
518
:Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring
519
:lion, seeking someone to devour.
520
:Resist him, firm in your faith,
knowing that the same kinds of
521
:suffering are being experienced by
your brotherhood throughout the world.
522
:And after you have suffered a little
while, the God of all grace, who has
523
:called you to his eternal glory in
Christ will himself restore, confirm,
524
:strengthen, and establish you.
525
:To him be the dominion forever and ever.
526
:Amen.
527
:We started with a set of
three Jerusalem, Judea, and
528
:Samaria, and all the world four.
529
:And so we finish with a set of four,
that Christ himself will restore
530
:Confirm, strengthen, and establish.
531
:What do we learn from church history?
532
:What do we learn from the
testimonies of Ignatius and Polycarp?
533
:That God is good, and God is faithful.
534
:To us as individuals, as families, to a
particular congregation here, but to the
535
:church worldwide, He remains faithful.
536
:And I do say, if you do have the
opportunity to go to this event
537
:on Friday week, make every effort
to go, because that's how we learn
538
:of what God is doing in the world.
539
:Beyond these shores, as much as we're
hearing about church closure on one
540
:hand, and church planting on the other.
541
:So we need to see beyond our shores,
and we need to go to countries
542
:where, where it's so different,
but yet know the testimony that
543
:even in the most challenging of
circumstances, God is at work.
544
:Cast all your cares on Him.
545
:Trust Him, because He cares for you.
546
:That's what we learn.
547
:That's why it's important to hear
these stories and these testimonies.
548
:So that we can stand on the heritage
of faith, not on that alone, but on
549
:the Christ, who has seen each and
every one of his children through
550
:each generation and each circumstance.
551
:We are gonna take about 10 minutes to
discuss some things about tonight, because
552
:we need to, to see how it works out.
553
:And there you have three questions
to think about round your tables.
554
:Is there any concern for false teaching in
the church, both local and global today?
555
:How can we respond to any form of teaching
that goes against the word of God?
556
:And we are familiar with persecution in
churches around the world, but how do we
557
:see persecution in the church in the UK
and Ireland, and how can we respond to it?
558
:So I'm going to pray, uh, then
we'll go to those questions.
559
:Um, we'll take a, a pause
around nine or just after it.
560
:We'll sing another song and then we'll
take a bit of time to pray this evening.
561
:So let me pray for us as we finish
off certainly this part this evening.
562
:Our Father God, we thank you that as we
look at church history, it's not academic.
563
:It's not there for books and for
people who are particularly interested.
564
:It's a lesson for us.
565
:And so may we grow in it.
566
:May we grow through it.
567
:And may we see your spirit
at work now as then.
568
:So that we will stand strong for
we are the sea of the same faith.
569
:It's this heritage of salvation
that Ignatius, uh, fought for us.
570
:It's understanding that the world will
always be against us as Polycarp stood
571
:for what was right and true in his day.
572
:So may we be faithful and do likewise.
573
:May these passages of scripture
that we've looked at this evening
574
:encourage us along the way, and may we
grow more in the likeness of Christ.
575
:And so as we discuss these things and
think them through now, help us to learn
576
:and to grow, so that we may know you more.
577
:And we ask this in Jesus name.
578
:Amen.