Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 <inaudible>.
Speaker 1 00:05 We'll start today with a little thought experiment and there'll be a test afterwards. You got to listen. Imagine this next Saturday night that some guy drives over to west port and finds a rowdy bar place where the people are into the kind of things at St Paul's writing about, and today's epistle works, the flesh, drunkenness, immodesty, fornication, partying, and so forth. So anyway, this guy's had a rowdy bar in west port and he waits and he climbs right up on top of the bar in order to make sure everybody hears him clearly, he pulls out a boulevard and says, all right, I'll he party animals. Listen, anyone here is thinking about getting drunk, being immodest, fornicating, or anything of that store. I'd like to draw y'alls attention to the fact that anybody who does those kinds of things is going to end up in hell if he doesn't knock it off and repent.
Speaker 1 01:01 So that's the thought experiment. Here's the test. What's most likely going to happen? There's, there's two choices. Hey, they'll turn off the music, toss out there drugs and contraceptives and pour out their drinks and say, oh my gosh, you're right. What was I thinking? How could I have been so stupid? Thank you so much. You've saved my life, and they hurry home and repent and change your ways. Or B, they don't put out their drinks. They don't throw out their drugs, they don't throw out their contraceptives and they start mocking him. Maybe even yelling at him and throwing things at him. Or maybe you can just pull off the bar and whip him for good measure, which is going to be a, they repent, change your ways and do pendants or B, throw fit and maybe clobbered. Everybody knows it's a d, it's a no brainer, but that reality, the reality that people that are into the works that the flesh don't like being told to knock it off at all. Just spend five minutes, 20 minutes, half hour outside an abortion mill. Now even not like being told to knock it off. They'll tell you to do a lot of different things. The reality that the people are into the works of flesh. Don't like being asked to repent isn't a reminder. It should be a reminder to us of how really amazing genes that our ancestors converted from paganism.
Speaker 1 02:22 We shouldn't take that for granted. It's really worth a lot of thought. It's really worth pottering what exactly converted our ancestors, what convinced them to set aside the works of the flesh. You take up our religion, which there's nothing convenient about our religion except that it's true, but it makes heroic demands on every one of us. You and I, anybody that's serious about it, it makes serious, serious demands. Why did our ancestors give up paganism
Speaker 0 02:57 <inaudible>
Speaker 1 02:59 well, we'll get some hint of an idea by considering the story of a saint that's mentioned in the Roland martyrology on the 13th day of January, the Roman martyrology is of surgical book that those of us at state office read during crime every day. It's kind of like a calendar with the martyrs and saints for each day of the year. Quote in Sardinia, Saint Potato, smarter who suffered much under the emperor Antoninus and the governor <inaudible> martyred. And by the sort of close quote that doesn't tell us much, but there's an amazing series of events associated with his martyrdom to learn about those we have to rely on on the acts of his moderate gun. Today we'll look at a translation of Zach's, but what are the acts in the martyrdom? Well, sometimes they are the official records of the trial and execution of a martyr and sometimes they're an account of his life from death, which was written by an eye witness or contemporary.
Speaker 1 03:52 Now some acts that the authenticity is doubtful. And of course in our day and age it's very fashionable to nine miraculous works. But in the case of Saint Katas, his acts had been reviewed by a group called the ball and which were scholars working for the past several hundreds of years that specify, that specialize in verifying authenticity of ancient church documents and stories of the saints. This source will use us and contains a or a letter of approval from blessing pies tonight. So let's turn to this story. And I need, sps was the Roman emperor for 23 years. He ruled in the years between Hadrian and Marcus or alias from the year one 38 to one 61 80 his only daughter, a young girl named Agnes, had a problem. She had a serious problem. None of imperial physicians could help with little Agnes, the emperor, the emperor offered sacrifice after sacrifice to his false gods and none of that helped Agnes either.
Speaker 1 04:57 She had a serious problem, she'd be perfectly calm and all of a sudden she threw a fit, a terrible fit. Her screams and house would fill the whole imperial palace at one time when she's eating, all of a sudden she floated up into the air and then she drops a suddenly slammed on the floor so hard. It seemed like all our bones would be broken. She had a terrible problem. Agnes was possessed and sometimes the devil that possessed her would take over her voice and laugh and mock and you know, at the emperor and so forth. But one day by the grace of God, the devil told the emperor through Agnes that the only way he would leave is a young man made proteus. He's the only one, but he, this was the only one that had the power to make him leave and the devil even told the hamper where potatoes can be found.
Speaker 1 05:51 At that particular moment, Santa Nina's immediately sent 50 soldiers out to find potatoes and bring him back. Rome he wasn't sure to expect so far. No one had had any success in relating his daughter. A few weeks later, the troops brought, but he didn't stand before the emperor and he just hadn't been sure what to expect, but he sure hadn't expected this bright faced 13 or 14 year old boy that was standing in front of him. Astonish. The emperor asked who and what are you? But he just answered, I'm a Christian. The answer caught damper off guard. What a Christian can you cure my child if he can, I'll make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. Why don't your God's cure ask what he does? How dare you speak so sarcastically to me. The emperor responded to emperor. If I Q your daughter, will you believe in the God that I believe in?
Speaker 1 06:57 After hesitating for a few moments now per replied, I will, but at that moment, God gave St Petite us the grace to read the emperor's heart and he started out. This was lying. So in the presence of all those soldiers as 13 or 14 year old boy, he rebuked the most powerful man in the world right there in imperial court, surrounded by soldiers, right to the hampers face. You fall, semper. You've been weighed in the balance and found wanting your heart is hardened and unconverted, but in order that all these who are standing around my belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, I will for your daughter, from the spirit that torments or so agonist has brought in her eyes. They're all wild and bloodshed. She's wasted way to the very bones, to the point where she needed to help to walk, but now she was struggling so violently that the tenants could seriously drag or screaming into the presence that put heaters, but he just commanded the evil spirit to be silent.
Speaker 1 08:01 Then he prayed soundly for a moment and said out loud, unclean spirit in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to leave this creature of God. The demon answered, if you drive me out, uh, persecute you to death. So patina stepped forward and blew on the girl. Now why would he blow on Agnes? Well, if you paid attention, the beginning of the baptism ceremony, there's the exorcisms. That's when the priest is wearing a purple stall. He's doing exercises in turn, move the child from the power of state. And then when he turns over the stove to white, that's when the grace is going to come in. Cause then he's gonna be baptized and annoyed and whatnot. But during the exorcisms, there's a point where the piece blows three times in a child's face. It says it's in Latin because we don't have an ecumenical dialogue with the devil depart from an evil.
Speaker 1 08:55 Okay, there's a little bit more to it that's you're doing. Why the blowing in the face because the breath of a saint or even a priest torments and burns certain kinds of demons. Tutelian who wrote in the late one hundreds and early 200 says, if this practice of blowing to drive out demons or to torment them comes from the very earliest days and he's writing in very early days. How they gave it a lot more is the most experienced excersice in the world. He's the chief extra sits in Rome, says that extra cysts still use this technique to torment devils. So anyway, well he just steps forward and pull on agates and immediately she's thrown onto the floor. The whole palace shakes. The room fills with this horrible stank of brimstone and everybody sees a horrendous dragon like creature fly out the window. Agnon laid there on the floor like she was dead to petite us, reaches down.
Speaker 1 09:51 I grabbed her hand and pulls her to her feet. As he does that, it's obvious she's completely cured. The color comes back to her face and skin up. It comes back to her eyes and her voice returned to normal. The emperor's over choice and after hugging his daughter, making sure she's really recovered at an easy shouted. This boy is a great magician. I thank the gods for having cured my daughter. This ticks petite and off a little bit and he rebuked stamper. Do you you foolish prints. You've seen the wonders of God, yet you will not believe it. It was not your gods that killed your daughter, but my Lord Jesus Christ, the emperor stung by the rebuke cancers. Don't you realize who I am? I'm the emperor. I can force you to sacrifice or have you tortured or throw you to the wild beasts. I don't fear you are your threats and emptiness.
Speaker 1 10:52 You're preparing for yourself a terrible hell or you burn with your father. The devil was hardened your heart at this, the emperor that this young man who had just curious daughter be viciously flawed after a while he stopped the beanie and asked the fetus to sacrifice to the gods. So potatoes answers. Well, let's see what kind of gods they are that we may sacrifice to them. So this answer fills the emperor with glee and I lead putting us to the temple of Apollo when they arrive at the temple. But he just walks right up to the foot of the statue. And kneels down, starts praying salad with moments. This huge statutes starts Toplin falls over when it hits the floor just shatters and polarizes into almost dust like size particles and I need a shouts and anger. You've deceived me, boy, by your magic, you've overthrown the god Patina SAS quietly.
Speaker 1 11:50 If it was a god, why couldn't he defend himself? And he just had potatoes, clapped in a prison and sent criers throughout the city to announce that on the next day he'd be exposed to the wild animals in the coliseum. That night, Agnes was severely abused when she asked her father if she could worship the god of the Christians who would say drew from the Daemon and crumbled the statute Apollo back state that the next day to cause steam was filled with people. Ancient writers tell us the costume had a capacity of somewhere in the range of 50 to 70,000 people. So there's a lot of people present that after his daughter Agnes and the tenants sat imperial box, but he just was led into the arena and brought before the emperor ordered him to be torture. So he stretched out on the rack and while he's stretched out, they take burning torches and they start applying and to his sides.
Speaker 1 12:45 But the hole, while the almighty God protected Adidas from feeling any pain, in fact, he seen positively joyful. So after a while the emperor ordered that the torch would be stopped then ask poor leaders to make a choice. Would he choose to sacrifice to the gods? Would he choose to be killed? But he just refused to sacrifice the gods. And now down Santa's need is ordered. The wild piece to be released. Starving lions can proxy out into the arena it come crowning right up to potatoes and stop like his feet and then lay down in a circle around him.
Speaker 1 13:27 The whole crowd got very quiet. He's people were even more astonished than it had been by his children. The torture for a matter of minutes, they were in stunned silence to finally broke out and applause. Now this is 50 to 70,000 pagans applauding a Christian not being eaten by a lion when the crowds cried it down. But he has got up to walk towards the emperor. And all these lines start padding along behind him. He starts petty one on the head and he turns to the emperor with a smile and says, now, where are your threats? Don't you see that there's a god who can deliver me from your hands that God is Jesus whom I serve and I need us to spurious and commanded the gladiators come out and slay this insolent youth. After the wild animals were moved from the arena, four gladiators came out and strong potatoes who stood there calmly with a peaceful smile as they tried to strike him with their swords and matter how they tried all their blows landed in thin air.
Speaker 1 14:27 He didn't move. They just couldn't hit him. God had sent an angel town to deflect the blows. They actually kept stinging and swinging and stabbing and trying to strike him until they got so tired. They couldn't swing their swords anymore and that whole time they never landed a single blow. They wound up leaving the arena to the hoots and yells and the people naturally in person matter than ever and he commanded a new instrument of torture be brought out. It's a pinch with great big spikes meant to kill somebody by clicking on the head and slowly tighten until the spikes meet in the middle. Partitas didn't resist at all. This is great. Hush fell over the crowd and as soon as it was on his head, they heard him pray out loud that the almighty God would remove these pinchers from it and place them on head or the ampere.
Speaker 1 15:18 Very instantly he finished his prayer. Invisible hand took the pinchers off the head of st potatoes and they flew through mid air and landed on the head of the hamper. It fills a coliseum with laughter and astonished cries. When the people quieted down again, they could hear the bones to the ampere and Anita says, arriving and moaning and agony, but try. See my senators and his attendance couldn't move. The pinchers, his agony cried out, saved me. Young man saved me, but he just asked, why didn't your God's free you is my Lord Jesus Christ freed me. Have mercy on me, young man. I'm dying. The Sanders at tenants and even little Agnes and big potato step, mercy and ampere, but he just answered. I will if he will, but Agnes, to become a Christian and damper aggrieved, Agnes came rushing down and out before potatoes. Evidently sometime this whole process, Agnes must've been racks and received infused knowledge and the true faith because potatoes only had to talk to her for a very brief time, four years, convinced of a knowledge of our faith. He called for water and then before this giant crowd of pagans, he baptized here the very moment that the water ran over her forehead. The pitchers came off hand and even his head were violently thrown into the arena, stained with his blood. The Polo turn towards the dazed and confused. <inaudible> Anna, Nina's emperor, the Great Roman people. Listen to me, a servant of Jesus Christ, I have conquered you.
Speaker 1 17:04 I will not lose my crown. That crown can only come to me by the sword and in a place I should point out the mercy of God is today called this child to the knowledge in light of the true faith. What are you, if you interfere with her in any way, she was taken from you at that moment called the guards. I long to be United to my Lord. She's as Christ stamper or the sentence be carried out. His put, he just wished as the guards came pulled, he just turned to ag and said goodbye. Be Faithful to the grace as you have received today. And he was let out of the call coliseum him. And as
Speaker 1 17:50 the martyrology tells us, he obtained moderate and by the sword and Sardinia, which is where in the 11th century his relics were discovered and buried along with them where the pinchers what happened at Agnes, we're told that the emperor was afraid and interfere with her. He treated her with <inaudible> veneration and although she didn't win the martyrs crawling herself in spite of the fact that she's surrounded by the moral filth and degradation of Interior Roman Pagan Court, she passed her few remaining years and unstained holiness and access. So tell us that about 2000 people were converted that day. And keep in mind there for a common man. That's a capital offense. Yeah. 2000 converted. So what exactly convinced our pig and ancestors from nations like the Romans to drop the works of the flesh and convert to a religion as demanding as the true faith, the miracles and faithful witnesses of the saints and martyrs. Martyrs like sane co-teachers <inaudible>.
