1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:05,240 The return to Antioch in Syria. They preached the gospel in that 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,600 city and won a large number of disciples. 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:10,680 Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 4 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:14,160 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,640 to the faith. We must go through many 6 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:18,880 hardships to enter the Kingdom of God, they said. 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,480 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church 8 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,120 and with prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord and 9 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,280 whom they had put their trust. After going through Presidia, 10 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,160 they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word 11 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:35,840 in Parga, they went down to Italia. 12 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,880 From Italia they sailed back to Antioch where they had been 13 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,120 committed to the grace of God for the work they had now 14 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,040 completed. On arriving there, they gathered 15 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,880 the church together and reported all that God had done through 16 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,320 them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles 17 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,320 and they stayed there a long time with their disciples. 18 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,600 We started our time and Acts back in September. 19 00:00:58,600 --> 00:00:59,800 It's been quite a long time actually. 20 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:04,280 We're taking a break to do a short Easter series across 21 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,000 April. Then the plan is we're going to 22 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,920 be looking at the Old Testament Book of Proverbs in the summer 23 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,400 term. And before we go back to our 24 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,680 Summer Sam series, which is a standard Ave. we hope to return 25 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,400 to the Book of Acts sometime in the near future. 26 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,120 But it's helpful because we're taking a break from it just to 27 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:24,720 pause and reflect a bit on what we've learnt together from this 28 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,360 book of Acts over the last few months. 29 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,600 I guess we remind ourselves again and again of the big idea 30 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,440 behind the book of Acts, which we want to say is this actually 31 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:40,160 that we are witnesses for Jesus in this world, in the power of 32 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,120 the Holy Spirit. That is our core identity, says 33 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,760 Luke, the writer of Acts. Any follower of Jesus, they are 34 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,800 a witness to him in the world we live in. 35 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,360 If you're a Christian reading the book of Acts, Luke wants you 36 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,200 to see that Jesus is your Lord, Jesus is your rescuer, and 37 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,760 therefore you are one of his witnesses in this world wherever 38 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:07,160 he has placed you. And the second part in the power 39 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,039 of the Holy Spirit, Luke wants to see we can't live as 40 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,360 witnesses for Jesus on our own. Sometimes I think we can think 41 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,240 that we think, well, I just need to learn something about Jesus, 42 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,120 then I'll tell people about him. But actually look is really 43 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,760 clear. Jesus is really clear. 44 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:23,960 We cannot live as his witnesses on our own. 45 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,160 We need the Holy Spirit and God the Holy Spirit has come down to 46 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,400 us, sent by the Father and the Son, receive when we put our 47 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:35,320 faith in Jesus to live in each one of us, to change us and make 48 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,840 us more like Jesus, to empower us to live as his witnesses in 49 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:41,840 this world. That's why we need to pray 50 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,040 together for our witness individually and corporately. 51 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,040 That's why we proclaim the word of God regularly in our times 52 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,600 because it's through prayer on the word of God that the Holy 53 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,200 Spirit works in people's lives, convicting them of their sin and 54 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:59,040 opening their eyes to Jesus. So we are witnesses for Jesus in 55 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,320 this world in the power of the Holy Spirit. 56 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,760 And there's been a number of other themes we've seen 57 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,000 throughout this. If you've been with us over the 58 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,040 last few months, one thing I'm going to I'm going to flip 59 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,600 between power and power because that's what I do, the power of 60 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,640 the gospel. So to quote the Apostle Paul and 61 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:18,880 Act shows us that the gospel is the power of God to bring 62 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,000 salvation to everyone who believes, even the most unlikely 63 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,640 people. We've seen that in Acts, people 64 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:28,600 like Saul of Tarsus, who hates Christians, ends up becoming a 65 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,880 follower of Jesus because of the power of the gospel, the power 66 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,360 of prayer as well. Throughout the book of Acts, God 67 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,720 works through the prayers of his ordinary, weak, flawed people to 68 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,280 accomplish his purposes. The place of suffering in the 69 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,640 Christian life. That's a big theme, actually. 70 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,680 We see throughout Acts the 12 apostles suffer as witnesses for 71 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,360 Jesus. Stephen suffers as a witness for 72 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:54,600 Jesus. Paul and Barnabas suffer as 73 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,320 witnesses for Jesus. And we also see the vital part 74 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,120 the local church plays on mission with Jesus in the 75 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,520 opening chapters of Acts. That's the church in Jerusalem. 76 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,920 Later on, we focus a bit more on the church in Antioch and where 77 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:10,960 we're headed today. Our our closing passage before 78 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,000 we take a break from Acts is going to focus on the last two 79 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,360 of those, the place of suffering in the Christian life and the 80 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,880 vital part the the local church plays on mission with Jesus. 81 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:25,240 But in all of this, Acts is here to show us who we are and why 82 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,480 we're here in this world. We are witnesses for Jesus in 83 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:33,720 the power of the Holy Spirit and adding to that message, that big 84 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,800 overarching message. What's this bit of Acts 14 about 85 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,480 that Clara just read to us? I think, again, maybe simply we 86 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,520 could just say this, that disciples of Jesus need healthy 87 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,880 local churches. If we're going to live out that 88 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:51,720 identity as witnesses for Jesus, we need healthy local churches 89 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,960 to live as Jesus witnesses. That's the mission strategy of 90 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,120 Paul and Barnabas here. I hope you saw that when you 91 00:04:58,120 --> 00:04:59,880 looked at what? What do we see them do in Acts? 92 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,840 We see them planting healthy local churches. 93 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,520 According to Paul and Barnabas, for followers of Jesus to live 94 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,440 as witnesses for Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, we 95 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:13,480 need healthy local churches to strengthen and encourage us in 96 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:17,760 the faith to walk together with us through hardship and to 97 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,960 partner together on mission with Jesus. 98 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:23,880 And that's important to get those things together, mission 99 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:25,880 and the church, because in my experience chatting to 100 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,200 Christians over the years, some of us love evangelism and 101 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,400 mission. We just want to get out there 102 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,480 and share Jesus with people. And we get impatient with other 103 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,680 believers who are more hesitant or nervous. 104 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,320 The church can feel like it's holding us back. 105 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:43,240 The local church can feel like it gets in the way of mission. 106 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:48,080 I wonder if you ever felt like that and you talk to other 107 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:50,080 Christians and they and they love the church. 108 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,120 We, we love the community of God's people. 109 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,880 We love sharing life together. We love praying for each other, 110 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:56,880 caring for each other, enjoying life together. 111 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,320 And, and if we're honest, we're, we're sort of happy with the 112 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,520 local church as it is. We sort of got enough people to 113 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,840 get to know. We don't have time to start 114 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,440 speaking to about Jesus to new people. 115 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,760 We actually, if we're honest, we don't really want the church to 116 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,440 grow that much because it might, it might feel different and 117 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,760 mission feels like it gets in the way of the local church. 118 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,680 All that stuff we've got to do. I wonder, have you ever felt 119 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,680 like that? You need to see in the message 120 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:28,080 of Acts and Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas love mission and they 121 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,120 love the church. They have learned from Jesus 122 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,040 that those two things go together. 123 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,440 Jesus loves mission. We are told He came to seek and 124 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,240 to save the lost. He's committed to making 125 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,240 disciples of all nations. He's committed to building his 126 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:44,080 church. And why? 127 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,480 Because Jesus loves the church. The church is his bride, His 128 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:49,440 body. The church is made-up of people 129 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,080 he delights to call brothers and sisters. 130 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,280 And and because of that, in order for us to make disciples 131 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:59,520 for Jesus in this world and to live as his witnesses in this 132 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,000 world, we need healthy local churches. 133 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:07,360 That is Paul and Barnabas's priority as they return home to 134 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,760 Antioch. So let's look at this bit of 135 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:15,520 Acts 14 together now. And by verse 21 of of Acts 14, 136 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,120 they're beginning to head home. Just kind of say, is this 137 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,360 projector just wonderful? I love it. 138 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,200 I love it. Mark Harrison, thank you very 139 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,160 much. I, I kept doing comments like, 140 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,000 oh, if you want to see the map, look back there. 141 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:27,880 But no, look, it's lovely and shiny. 142 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,560 So, so here's that. And this is often called Paul's 143 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,680 first missionary journey there. There are two others recorded in 144 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,680 the book of Acts, and the dates for that is round about AD 46 to 145 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,640 47. So actually in the last three 146 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,520 weeks here, we've been covering a period of time that's roughly 147 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,480 about two years in the lives of Paul and Barnabas. 148 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,600 I think it's always worth remembering that we were saying 149 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:49,720 that in our Home group the other week. 150 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,200 The kind of it feels like all this happens just in a long 151 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,800 weekend, all this amazing stuff. Actually, it's two years. 152 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,480 Paul and Barnabas know that mission takes time and requires 153 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,960 patience and perseverance, even when you're travelling as a 154 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,000 missionary. So where have they travelled to? 155 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,560 Well, Luke's told us it's on the map there. 156 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,440 They started off in Cyprus, which was Barnabas homeland, 157 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,160 moved to Antioch in Basidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derby. 158 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,400 And they've seen people hungry for the gospel and they've seen 159 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,320 people opposed to the gospel, both Jewish people and Gentile 160 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,440 people. They have seen fruit people 161 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,840 trusting in Jesus and they've seen opposition from both Jewish 162 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,480 people and Gentile people. And now finally, they're 163 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,480 preparing to travel home to Antioch. 164 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,559 And what do we see Paul and Barnabas doing on their journey 165 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:41,360 home when we see them making disciples for Jesus and 166 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:43,919 establishing healthy local churches? 167 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:46,280 First of all, they make disciples for Jesus. 168 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,080 Here's how Luke describes it in verse 21. 169 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,000 This is referring to their time in Derby. 170 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:53,680 He said they preached the gospel in that city and won a large 171 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:55,960 number of disciples. Literally look rights. 172 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,920 They discipled many people. Other translations. 173 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,400 They made many disciples. Why does Luke describe it that 174 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,200 way? Well, because he's picking up 175 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:09,160 the language of the risen Jesus to his disciples just after 176 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:11,760 resurrection, the words of the Great Commission. 177 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,560 This is part of our verse for the term, this past term. 178 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:19,360 Jesus says go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them 179 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:21,600 in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. 180 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,400 Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I 181 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,720 am with you always to the very end of the age. 182 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,040 What does it mean when Jesus says make disciples of all 183 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,960 nations? I think he's saying it's more 184 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,520 than just sharing the gospel with people. 185 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,040 It's more than just looking for converts. 186 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:41,760 I think people have met somebody go. 187 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,320 Oh, yeah, we saw 15 conversions on the streets the other week. 188 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,640 You know, that's great. But but what happened next? 189 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:49,640 What did you just or we never see them again. 190 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:52,920 Actually, for Paul and Barnabas, it's really important that 191 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,440 discipleship is the language of being a follower, A learner, a 192 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,720 student, or an apprentice of Jesus. 193 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,720 To be discipled by Jesus means to take time with him, to follow 194 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,520 him and learn from him and listen to him over and above all 195 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,720 the other voices in our world. See, Jesus isn't just looking 196 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,240 for converts, he's looking for disciples. 197 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:21,240 And Paul and Barnabas get that. So they don't just share the 198 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,560 gospel people and leave them on their own. 199 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:27,520 No, they they establish healthy local churches. 200 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:32,880 They want these new disciples to to belong to gospel communities 201 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,080 of other disciples who will love them and encourage them and 202 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,680 speak the truth in love to them, who will share a life together. 203 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:42,200 They place disciples in local churches because to be a 204 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,200 disciple of Jesus, it's not something you do on your own as 205 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:49,880 a lone wolf. You need other disciples around 206 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:51,760 you. And Paul and Barnabas go to 207 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,240 great lengths to establish healthy local churches here. 208 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,280 Again, back to the map. Not just because it's so 209 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:04,160 beautiful on that screen, but if you look at verses 21 and 23 and 210 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,120 you look at the map. So Derby is up here and 211 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:08,800 Antioch's there. And actually when you look at 212 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:14,200 the map, it's quite a short walk over land to get back to Antioch 213 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:15,880 from Derby. They they could have got home a 214 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,120 lot quicker than they did in the end. 215 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,440 But Paul and Barnabas take the long way home. 216 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,480 Why? Well, verse 22, they wanted to 217 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,320 strengthen the disciples and the places they already visited. 218 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,400 So Lyster, Iconium, Pisidian, Antioch, and encourage them to 219 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:37,320 remain true to the faith. So they travel back to all the 220 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:38,880 places they visited the first time. 221 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,520 And and if that doesn't feel strange, remember they 222 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,320 experienced huge amounts of opposition and rejection in 223 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,560 those places. Paul, if you remember in Lyster, 224 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,600 was stoned and left for dead outside the city. 225 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,440 They could be forgiven for never wanting to go to those places 226 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,040 ever again. And yet Paul and Barnabas chose 227 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,680 to take the long way home so they could strengthen and 228 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:03,880 encourage the disciples in those places. 229 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:09,640 See, Paul and Barnabas know that these disciples needed churches 230 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,440 to nurture them and to partner with them on mission. 231 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,160 Look at verse 23 in the passage. Paul and Barnabas appointed 232 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,800 elders for them in each church and with prayer and fasting 233 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,000 committed them to the Lord in whom they had put their trust. 234 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,320 Here we see that's a real priority for Paul and Barnabas, 235 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,440 that these new believers, they need a local church around them. 236 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,560 They go to great lengths to ensure that that these believers 237 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:40,040 belong to a local church. They actually don't set up one 238 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:43,880 big mega church for Asia Minor. No, they established local 239 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,880 churches in each of the places they visited, Derby, Lystra, 240 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,560 Iconium, Pisidium, Antioch. And they ensure that each of 241 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,560 these churches have a group of godly elders to oversee them. 242 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,400 Look at how they appoint them. They appoint them prayerfully, 243 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:58,720 we're told, with prayer and fasting. 244 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,160 They commit them to the Lord. They appoint them in out of out 245 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,560 of those churches themselves. It says in each church they 246 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,480 appointed leaders. It was leaders from those places 247 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,840 who were appointed as elders, and we make sure there's more 248 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,400 than one elder in place. In the New Testament church, 249 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,000 leadership is always plural leadership. 250 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,520 It's never just a one man show or one leader dominating 251 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,000 everyone else. So Luke's showing us that a 252 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,520 healthy local church is a prayerful church with godly men 253 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,320 appointed as leaders and committed to strengthening and 254 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:32,800 encouraging the believers in the faith. 255 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:34,720 And why is that so vital in mission? 256 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,320 Well, because if we want people to see the power of the gospel 257 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,560 at work in people's lives, the church is the place we see it. 258 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,040 The church should be the place we see lives transformed by 259 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,320 Jesus. If we want people to say well 260 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:49,400 this gospel is actually true, we want to show people the 261 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:55,440 community, the relationships in the local church and I guess a 262 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:57,880 brief application for us. We've been saying this a lot in 263 00:13:57,880 --> 00:13:59,600 family meetings. Please keep praying for the 264 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:04,320 elders Ave. and please pray for new elders to be appointed, 265 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,560 recognised and appointed from within our church. 266 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,840 We've got 3 elders currently, Joel, Chris, and myself. 267 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,040 But are there other men in our church who are teaching God's 268 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:17,200 Word, loving God's people, leading people in the direction 269 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,960 the Lord wants us to go? Please do pray for that. 270 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,800 So disciples of Jesus need healthy local churches. 271 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,520 And Luke goes on to tell us why we need that, to strengthen and 272 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,280 encourage us in the faith. That's what Paul and Barnabas 273 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,640 do, verse 21 to 22, their return to these places, strengthening 274 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,480 the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the 275 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:40,280 faith. Why? 276 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,800 Because it can be hard living for Jesus as a witness to Jesus 277 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,840 in this world. We live in a world that does not 278 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:52,120 worship Jesus as Lord. As Matt McDermott pointed out 279 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:55,600 last week, we are out of step with the world around us. 280 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:58,240 We are weird. I love that. 281 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:03,840 We are weird, and we're weird because we belong to Jesus and 282 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,200 because we've been sent by Jesus as his witnesses. 283 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,840 And so if we just are living on our own, it's we're just going 284 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,440 to get discouraged and weary. We're going to start trusting in 285 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,640 other gospels, other things, other people who might save and 286 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,920 satisfy us. And Paul and Barnes know the 287 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,080 believers in these places. They are young Christians. 288 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:28,120 They need a community around them who will strengthen and 289 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,840 encourage them in the faith. What does the faith mean? 290 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,920 It means the gospel message of Jesus Christ. 291 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:35,880 That's why we meet together like this. 292 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:37,920 We need to hear the Word of God together. 293 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,240 We need to pray to God together. We need to sing God's praise. 294 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,120 I love the way the New Testament says singing is so important in 295 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,880 having the Word of Christ dwell among us richly. 296 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,040 We need to speak the truth in love to one another, to share a 297 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,240 life together as a whole. Church community on a Sunday, in 298 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:54,640 smaller groups throughout the week. 299 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,120 Home groups, Tuesday morning Bible study source. 300 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:02,040 Disciples of Jesus need to belong to a local healthy church 301 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,680 to be strengthened and encouraged in the faith. 302 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:08,800 And if we really need to be convinced of that, we need to 303 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,360 see the heart of Paul and Barnabas message in verse 22. 304 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,200 And Paul and Barnard are taking the long way home there visiting 305 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:17,560 these churches. They've got a message to 306 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,880 strengthen and encourage them. And I wonder if you wanted to 307 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,600 strengthen and encourage a group of young believers, what message 308 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,680 would you share? I think I would probably say 309 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:32,760 something like Jesus loves you. That's pretty encouraging or, or 310 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:34,680 you're not alone. There are other Christians 311 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,240 around the world or we're praying for you. 312 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,840 Those feel like encouraging truths. 313 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:43,880 But Paul and Barnard's message is quite different. 314 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,880 Verse 22. We must go through many 315 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,880 hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. 316 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:57,120 That does not sound encouraging. That does not sound like what 317 00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:58,360 you need. If you're feeling a bit 318 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:02,680 beleaguered, actually, it's going to be hard, says Paul. 319 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:07,640 Again, that's maybe not the message you or I would choose, 320 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,640 but as ever, the living God loves us more than we can 321 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,880 imagine and says things to us we need to hear even when we think 322 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,240 we don't. We must go through many 323 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:21,839 hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. 324 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:25,680 That word hardships that somebody translated as 325 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:29,080 tribulations or afflictions, more simply troubles. 326 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:32,320 And that's been a big theme actually throughout Paul's first 327 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:36,000 missionary journey, particularly Acts 14 themes of persecution 328 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,080 and suffering are front and centre. 329 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:40,480 See Paul and Barnabas experiences in Iconium and 330 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:41,680 Lystra. See the opposition they 331 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,360 experience everywhere they go. And again, Paul and Barnabas 332 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,000 experience is mainly persecution. 333 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,440 But it's interesting, Paul doesn't use the word for 334 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,600 persecution here. He broadens it to hardships. 335 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,240 So that includes when when people persecute us for a living 336 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,560 as witnesses for Jesus. But it's a broader category of 337 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:04,160 suffering. It's other types of struggle and 338 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:11,440 pain in a fallen world. As we follow Jesus and look at 339 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,880 Paul's word must he's not saying some of you will go through 340 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:19,320 hardships. Christians, it's not optional. 341 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:20,640 It doesn't just apply to some Christians. 342 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,840 We all will experience hardships for following Jesus. 343 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,200 Now we need to be clear, that's not an entry requirement that 344 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,800 gets you into the Kingdom of God, but it's a vital part of 345 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,680 following Jesus in a world that doesn't. 346 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,480 We experience hardships because we live in a fallen world and we 347 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:44,680 follow a suffering Savior. And Jesus was really open about 348 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:46,360 this, just as Paul and Barnabas are. 349 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,880 They don't hide this. Jesus never hides this. 350 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,800 The night before he goes to the cross, he says to disciples in 351 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:57,480 this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have 352 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:01,600 overcome the world. Or another part in Luke 9, he 353 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:04,640 says whoever wants to be my disciples must deny themselves 354 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,600 and take up their cross daily and follow me. 355 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:11,440 For everyone's to save their life, we'll lose it, but whoever 356 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:16,760 loses their life for me, we'll save it again. 357 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,600 It's appropriate we're looking at this passage just a week 358 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,840 before Easter when we remember that the King, the Lord we 359 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:28,640 worship, went through many hardships to rescue us. 360 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,640 Paul wants us to know here that when we live as Jesus witnesses 361 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,800 in this world, hardships will come. 362 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:40,480 They'll come because it's a fallen world. 363 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,200 Even more than that, they'll come before we follow a 364 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,400 suffering Savior. If the world rejected him, it 365 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,720 will reject us also. And Paul and Barnabas want to 366 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,800 tell this really openly to these young Christians because he says 367 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,600 when hardships come, he doesn't want to think, well, this means 368 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:02,560 God has abandoned us. This means God doesn't love us. 369 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:05,600 That's often how we feel when we go through hardships. 370 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,240 Paul says, no, There I see a sign that you're following 371 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,160 Jesus. They're a sign that you're 372 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:15,800 following a crucified Savior who is familiar with suffering, and 373 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,400 you're not home yet. It's interesting that Paul and 374 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,120 Barnabas are on their way home. Literally at this point, but 375 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:26,400 every Christian is on their way home to the new creation, but 376 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:28,920 we're not there yet. And Paul says before we get 377 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,600 there, we will experience hardships. 378 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:37,320 And again, I this is a truth I don't need to prove. 379 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:42,080 We're not a very big church, but we have plenty of people who are 380 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:43,680 experiencing hardships at the moment. 381 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,040 We're praying for Lisa in hospital at the minute. 382 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,320 We're praying for the Finney family, we're praying for Joe 383 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,440 and Hannah Lockhead. We're praying for the Dolan 384 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,040 family corporately. And if you belong to your Home 385 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,000 group here, you will know there is plenty of hardship that 386 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,720 people in our groups are experiencing. 387 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,160 Sort of struggles in our families or in our marriages, 388 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,280 struggles in our workplaces, struggles with our physical 389 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,600 health or mental health, struggles with uncertainty. 390 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,520 We live in a fallen world and we will go through hardships. 391 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,320 Paul and Barnabas want these young Christians to know that. 392 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,240 Luke wants Christians of every generation to know that. 393 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,600 That's why he records this message. 394 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:27,400 But Paul's also clear that the hardships are never pointless 395 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,520 for the follower of Jesus, and that can be hard to believe 396 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:35,200 sometimes. But notice again how Paul and 397 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:40,520 Barnabas see hardships as part of God working out his purposes 398 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,600 in the world to make us more like Jesus, to bring us into the 399 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,040 Kingdom of God. I mean, look at Paul and Barnas 400 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:48,520 themselves. They experienced huge amounts of 401 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:50,800 hardship in the places they visited. 402 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:52,760 Again, Paul was was stoned and left for dead. 403 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:54,960 They were rejected, they were insulted. 404 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,600 But standing in front of them as they give this message is the 405 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,920 fruit of their hardship. There are Christians in these 406 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,600 places that would not have been there if Paul and Barnabas 407 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:10,240 hadn't been willing to suffer. And one of the hardest things 408 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,000 about suffering and one of the hardest things of hardship is it 409 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,280 feels like a waste. But Paula Bars want these people 410 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,080 to know, no, there is a reason behind it. 411 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,760 We will not always understand it at the time, but hardship and 412 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,640 suffering are not the sign the Lord has left you. 413 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:29,680 They're actually an invitation to us to draw near to him. 414 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,560 They're an invitation to us to admit we're not in control, to 415 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:38,320 come to Him, to collapse on Him, and then to seek to love one 416 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,680 another as we all experience hardships. 417 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,440 God works through hardships in ways we see and ways we don't 418 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:48,880 see. But Paul and Barnabas are 419 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:53,360 confident that does not stop us entering the Kingdom of God. 420 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,960 And they're equally confident that hardships will not have the 421 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,640 final word. The destination is the Kingdom 422 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,200 of God. When you put your trust in 423 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,880 Jesus, if you're a Christian, you're today your home became at 424 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:09,600 that moment the Kingdom of God, the restoration of all things. 425 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,880 When Jesus returns, the new creation where sin and death 426 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,400 will be no more and where God will welcome us and wipe every 427 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,640 tear from our eyes. Paul and Barn is saying there is 428 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,840 going to be hardships, Christians, there are going to 429 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,680 be hard times that will expose our need for God, will expose 430 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,920 the limits of what we can do. But actually, we are on our way 431 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,600 to a place where there will be no more hardships, where Jesus 432 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,720 has won that new creation for us high through suffering in our 433 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,760 place, so that when we suffer, He is with us. 434 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,920 He is compassionate, He knows what it's like, and He is 435 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,400 accomplishing His purposes in US and through us. 436 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,440 Again, at first glance, it's a hard message. 437 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:59,600 But remember, This is why we need healthy local churches to 438 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:05,760 walk through hardship together, to live as witnesses for Jesus 439 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:07,720 in this world. We will need one another. 440 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:11,320 And I'm a writer. I really enjoy put it like this. 441 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:15,760 Basically, in the church, we are all needy and we're all needed. 442 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,560 We are all needy people. We are weak, we go through 443 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,000 hardships. We need God's grace, we need the 444 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,400 help of God's people, but we're also needed because we have a 445 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:27,960 part to play in helping and loving and encouraging the 446 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:31,200 suffering believers around us. And remember, this is not just 447 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:32,880 to individual, this is to churches. 448 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:38,960 We must go through hardships. Chatting to someone recently, we 449 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,920 both were sort of saying if we didn't belong to a local church, 450 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,440 it feels like we might be spared quite a lot of hardships because 451 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,000 we we share it together. One part of the body of Christ 452 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:55,640 suffers. We all suffer and it's hard, but 453 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:59,720 actually to walk together through hardship is to learn 454 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,000 more of Jesus walking ahead of us into suffering on his way to 455 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:08,120 glory. And we also suffer on our way to 456 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,880 glory, but we do not walk alone. The Lord walks with us, and 457 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,960 amazingly and beautifully, He invites each one of us to walk 458 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:22,920 together on those roads. We need healthy local churches 459 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,280 to strengthen and encourage us to walk together. 3 hardships. 460 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:30,000 And finally, and briefly, we need local churches to partner 461 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:36,680 together on mission with Jesus. In the end of Acts 14, it's just 462 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,400 a wonderful little moment. Eventually they've taken the 463 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,880 long way home, but Paul and Barnabas arrived back to their 464 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,200 sending church in the city of Antioch. 465 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,960 Let me pick up from verse 26. From Italia they sailed back to 466 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,320 Antioch where they had been committed to the grace of God 467 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,120 for the work they had now completed. 468 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,400 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported 469 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,720 all that God had done through them and how He had opened a 470 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,320 door of faith to the Gentiles. And Paul and Barnabas stayed 471 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,200 there a long time with the disciples. 472 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,560 Remember again, Paul and Barnabas been away for best part 473 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,960 of two years. This is a joyful homecoming. 474 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,680 You read these verses, you imagine the hugs and the 475 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,280 laughter and the excitement and the questions. 476 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:19,240 Because you see, the whole church at Antioch had played 477 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,240 their part. Admittedly, only Paul and 478 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,280 Barnabas had gone into Asia Minor, but the whole church had 479 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,080 committed them to the grace of God. 480 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,240 The whole church had prayed for them on their journey, and now 481 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,200 the whole church had them home again and they could all hear 482 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,600 together what God had done through Paul and Barnabas. 483 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,680 This is a privilege of being in a church where we get to partner 484 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,920 together with others on the mission field. 485 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:46,280 We all have different mission fields, different callings, but 486 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:50,320 we get to travel together. I was reading these verses this 487 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,240 week and I just confess, when I saw Matt and Lisa in the 488 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,000 hospital a few weeks ago back from Nigeria, just to give Matt 489 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,120 a hug was just amazing. And you're a lovely hugger. 490 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,680 I couldn't give Lisa a hug because she just had open heart 491 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,640 surgery, but sort of waved. And then just to ask questions 492 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,520 and just say, tell me what's going on, What are you doing? 493 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:13,240 You're here. Tell me more. 494 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,040 And that is the joy of partnering. 495 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:18,400 Said a minute ago something wouldn't it be easier and 496 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,120 simpler if we weren't part of a local church? 497 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,640 We'd be spared some some hard stuff. 498 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,800 You'd also miss out on the joy of partnering together with 499 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:33,280 brothers and sisters in Christ. I love the way Luke puts it, 500 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,680 verse 27, Paul and Barnes reported all that God had done 501 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,520 through them, and I'd open the door of faith to the Gentiles. 502 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,440 They're not saying look what we did, saying what God did through 503 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,080 them. God is the one who saves. 504 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:50,840 God is the one who leads us on mission. 505 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,080 I hope we've seen that again and again in Acts. 506 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:54,680 That's why as a church, we need to be prayerful. 507 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:56,920 We need to go, Lord, what would you have us do? 508 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:01,640 Where would you have us go? But amazingly, God chose to work 509 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:03,600 through Paul and Barnabas to accomplish that. 510 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,640 And amazingly, God chooses to work through people like us to 511 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:12,240 accomplish his purposes. The end of Acts 14 is this great 512 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:16,560 picture of the joy that comes through partnering together on 513 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,880 mission with Jesus in this world. 514 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:24,680 So we're taking a break from the book of Acts. 515 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:30,240 But Acts 14 reminds us of some really vital truths that we need 516 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:35,000 healthy local churches to strengthen and encourage us to 517 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,600 remind us that God is God and Christ is risen and Christ is 518 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:42,160 coming back. We need local churches to walk 519 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,160 together through hardship. They that will come hardship, 520 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:49,640 but it is never pointless and God can use us to comfort one 521 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,600 another in those times and we are We need local churches to 522 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:56,760 partner together to each play our part in what God wants to do 523 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,600 through us. Even today we have an egg trail. 524 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,000 We have a holiday club this week. 525 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:04,320 We could be praying each one of us, whether or not we're here in 526 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:08,800 person that the Lord would work through us to accomplish his 527 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:12,800 purposes. The message of Acts 1 to 14. 528 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:18,440 We are witnesses for Jesus in this real world, in the power of 529 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:22,680 the Holy Spirit that seek to live out that identity together. 530 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:24,960 Let me pray for us. Let's pray. 531 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:33,080 Father God, thank you so much that you love us more than we 532 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:37,200 can imagine. And Lord, you speak to us. 533 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,480 Truths we need to hear, not always truths we might choose to 534 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,640 hear. And this promise that we must go 535 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,920 through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God, many of us 536 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,320 would choose for that not to be here in your word. 537 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,920 But thank you that You love us enough to be honest with us. 538 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,080 And thank you that you promised us that that hardship will not 539 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,360 be pointless and it will not have the final word in our 540 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,320 lives. Keep us trusting in You that You 541 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,560 are working out your purposes. And thank You, Father, that at 542 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:14,560 this time of year particularly, we remember the King who 543 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:19,320 experienced many hardships to win the Kingdom of God for us. 544 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:24,880 We remember Jesus who lived and who suffered and was rejected 545 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:30,840 and beaten and condemned to death and died and rose again to 546 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:32,680 bring us into the Kingdom of God. 547 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,560 Thank you Father, you're a God familiar with suffering and 548 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:40,720 hardship, therefore you're able to help us when we are 549 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:42,960 experiencing suffering and hardship. 550 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,800 Would we know your help and would you lead us in how we can 551 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,800 help one another in the days ahead? 552 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,240 And we ask it in Jesus name, and for his glory. 553 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:54,760 Amen.