1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,000 Not long ago, a short animated film was produced titled The 21, 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,920 and it recounted the story of 21 Egyptian Christians who were 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,840 martyred by ISIS on a beach in 2015. 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,640 The execution was filmed and broadcast for the world to see. 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:21,040 What is less known, however, is the fuller story of these 21 6 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:23,680 men. According to the producer of the 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,520 film, which was Co produced by Christianity Today, reports from 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,160 some former ISIS members involved in the event indicate 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,320 that the men were held for days and subjected to torture in an 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,400 attempt to force them to recant their faith in Christ. 11 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,400 None of them did. Among them was one man from 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:48,280 Ghana who was originally not scheduled to be executed and 13 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,360 when given the opportunity to save his life by renouncing 14 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:57,160 Christ, he instead declared this their God is my God, and he 15 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,080 chose to die alongside the other men. 16 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,200 Eventually, the men were marched out onto a beach in Libya to be 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,000 executed. As they were being led to their 18 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,200 deaths, eyewitnesses report that they testified to these strange 19 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:18,480 and supernatural figures walking among them, and the same reports 20 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,720 also describe flashes of colour in the sky and the ground 21 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,120 shaking as the men walked toward the shore. 22 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,520 The ISIS members then lined the men up and they executed them 23 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,840 one by one, slowly, in hopes that by the others witnessing 24 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,080 the deaths of their friends, the hopes would be that they would 25 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:41,440 cause them, at least one of them, to renounce their faith as 26 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,040 captured on film. None of them did. 27 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,760 One of the ISIS members involved was a reportedly so shaken by 28 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,240 what he witnessed that he later left ISIS, converted to 29 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:52,760 Christianity, and went to hiding. 30 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,160 Reports further suggest that the more the men were tortured, the 31 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:02,760 stronger their faith became. In the film, the the men can be 32 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:07,320 seen as quietly praying as they are marched to their deaths and 33 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,680 even asking God to forgive their executors. 34 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:20,960 What kind of faith is this? I mean, this is something 35 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,080 different when you hear stories like this. 36 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,520 This is this is the type of faith that can survive even 37 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,520 death itself and torture. This is kind of faith so many of 38 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,040 us, you know, we try to even wrap our heads around because 39 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,320 truthfully, none of us most likely in this country are going 40 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,400 to face this kind of opposition and this kind of persecution. 41 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,000 We're blessed to live in a country where we don't have to 42 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,360 be killed and executed for our faith. 43 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,040 Many of us won't endure this type of persecution. 44 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:56,920 And yet in in some ways, we do still face some level of 45 00:02:56,920 --> 00:02:59,640 resistance and persecution, just in a different way. 46 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,960 For us, it's typically less physical and and often times 47 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,920 it's more social or it's more mental or emotional. 48 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:12,120 We will not likely face beheading, but we will face 49 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,440 opposition. Maybe you won't get the job that 50 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,760 you initially hoped for because of your faith. 51 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,480 Maybe you feel the pressure from people who are are involved 52 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,160 heavily politically right. Maybe. 53 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,400 Maybe you're considered, if you're bold for your faith, as 54 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:31,080 as not being affirming enough enough from those on the left or 55 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,800 not being forceful enough on the right in the cultural wars. 56 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,560 Whatever it may be, you may get less opportunities at work. 57 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,120 People may call you discriminatory or bigoted. 58 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,680 Whatever it may be, our our persecution, our resistance is, 59 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,440 is much more social than it is physical. 60 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,000 And the question today that I'd like to address is how can we 61 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,560 live boldly and endure for our faith even in the midst of 62 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,840 opposition, even in the midst of persecution? 63 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,120 We're finishing out our Beatitudes series in Matthew 64 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:05,520 chapter 5. We're going to be in two 65 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:07,520 sections of Scripture today. If you want to turn there in 66 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,640 your Bibles. First is Matthew 5. 67 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,720 We're going to introduce Jesus's words here in the Beatitudes, 68 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,800 and we're also going to be in Second Timothy chapter 1. 69 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:23,560 These are Jesus's words on the Sermon on the Mount, and he is 70 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,800 speaking to the new realities of the Kingdom that he is ushering 71 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,000 in. And he does this with a series 72 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,160 of blessed statements, says blessed are those who pour in 73 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,040 spirit, those who mourn. And in verse 10, this is what he 74 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,560 says as he closes out the list of the Beatitudes. 75 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,160 Jesus says blessed are those who are persecuted because of 76 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,280 righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 77 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,480 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and 78 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,520 falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 79 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,840 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. 80 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,920 For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were 81 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,040 before you. So with these series of 82 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,120 statements, we've said in the past that these are not 83 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:14,000 statements of of things we must do in order to gain entry into 84 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,120 the Kingdom. These are not how we're saved, 85 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:19,880 nor are they necessarily virtues that were called to aspire 86 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:21,680 towards. In other words, Jesus isn't 87 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,640 looking at his followers and saying, hey, you go out and 88 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:29,600 actively be persecuted or find someone to go and persecute you, 89 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:31,960 but rather he's talking about these groups of people who will 90 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:36,160 find themselves at home in the Kingdom should they choose to 91 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,760 enter it. And among those groups, those 92 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,800 who will find that the Kingdom is theirs are those who are 93 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:46,720 persecuted for righteousness and who are insulted for Jesus, 94 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:52,120 theirs is the Kingdom. Now we have to understand where 95 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,320 this persecution was likely coming from for early 96 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:55,920 Christians. There's a couple different 97 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,560 spots, you know, for for us as believers, we may feel 98 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,440 persecution from those on the political extremes, or maybe we 99 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,080 feel persecution from those who are non religious. 100 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,640 Maybe it's the, you know, the angry atheist or whatever it may 101 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:10,880 be. But in their day, it was 102 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,080 actually not the atheists who are persecuting them per SE. 103 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,800 It was the religious leaders who were after the early Christians. 104 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,320 It's interesting. It was the Pharisees and the 105 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,680 teachers of law of the law who were coming against them. 106 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:24,200 In other words, the religious leaders. 107 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,440 As a matter of fact, in Matthew 23, Jesus calls the religious 108 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,920 leaders the descendants of those who killed the prophets. 109 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,200 That is not pretty language. Jesus is directly going after 110 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:39,840 them because of their persecution. 111 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:42,720 And it wasn't just from that angle. 112 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:44,360 It was like a double persecution. 113 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,560 On the one hand, they're getting persecuted from the religious 114 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:48,520 leaders. On the other hand, though, they 115 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,800 were getting being persecuted by the cruel Roman Empire at the 116 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,600 time. There's stories about Christians 117 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,040 who are being fed to the lions in the Colosseum. 118 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,200 Stories of Christians being ignited on fire in order to 119 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,080 illuminate gardens of Nero. This is historical information 120 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,200 that we receive, right? Awful, awful things we can't 121 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:11,200 even hardly imagine. Like, I can't even endure when I 122 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,080 don't get the parking spot I want, You know what I mean? 123 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,680 Like, we don't have context for this type of thing. 124 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,400 So it was a double persecution. Why? 125 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:23,120 Because Christians were easy targets. 126 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,200 All throughout history we see political powers targeting 127 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,520 various groups that are not powerful either They choose not 128 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:34,200 to fight back, can't fight back in order to offer them up as 129 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,640 scapegoats or whatever it whatever it may be. 130 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,720 And Nero did the same thing. Christians were used as as 131 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:41,440 scapegoats because they were easy targets. 132 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:46,040 They refused to worship the empire, they rejected multiple 133 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,200 gods, and they actively chose to not fight back. 134 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:56,040 So they were targeted. So the question is, how can we 135 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,720 endure in our faith and be bold in living for Jesus? 136 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:02,960 Well, I think we have a lot to learn from this man called the 137 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,800 Apostle Paul. So we're going to look at his 138 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,480 words today. The Apostle Paul was in a unique 139 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,760 position because he lived on both ends of the persecution. 140 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,320 Not only was he the religious leader who was going after the 141 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,840 Christians, but he then was imprisoned by Rome. 142 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,480 He endured the persecution from a different angle. 143 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,600 So he has a unique perspective on persecution. 144 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,760 And then we're going to look at Second Timothy in the context 145 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,640 here is that the apostle Paul has been imprisoned for his 146 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,960 faith, and he's writing some of his final words to his young 147 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,520 protege named Timothy. Timothy was likely a pastor in 148 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:39,919 Ephesus. So these are his final words. 149 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:44,280 He's likely writing from a cold, dark prison cell waiting to be 150 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,360 killed for his faith. Just listen to what Paul has to 151 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,880 say. First Timothy verse or chapter 152 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,920 one verse eight or second Timothy Paul writes. 153 00:08:54,920 --> 00:09:00,360 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of 154 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,640 me his prisoner. Rather join with me in suffering 155 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:09,320 for the gospel. By the power of God, he has 156 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:13,320 saved us and called us to live a holy life. 157 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,960 So Paul is saying do not be ashamed about the testimony 158 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:24,280 about our Lord or of the gospel. Paul saying there is good news 159 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:28,120 that needs to be shared. You and I need to remember this, 160 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,800 that we need to remember that we can endure first and foremost by 161 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,520 remembering that the news of Jesus Christ is still really 162 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,840 good news. The testimony about Jesus is the 163 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:40,600 best news and we've somehow forgotten that I think, right? 164 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,600 Like our good news is this, that that the Kingdom of heaven has 165 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,680 come here on earth, that Jesus ushered in a new way of living, 166 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:52,120 a new way of commanding or a new way of life, a new culture. 167 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,800 And we can enter into that and receive its blessings. 168 00:09:55,240 --> 00:10:00,320 We can now join into the Kingdom with Jesus participants and Co 169 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,520 rulers in all the work that God is doing here on earth. 170 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,720 So the good news pretty simply is, is what Paul said that he 171 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:10,840 has saved us and he has called us to a holy life. 172 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:15,800 This is the best news. Not only does does God rescue us 173 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,720 from our sin and from defeat, but he also calls us into 174 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,160 sanctification, which is just a word we use to say more and more 175 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:28,320 becoming like Jesus. And here's the thing, good 176 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,000 things are always worth sharing, are they not? 177 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,640 Good things are always worth sharing with others. 178 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,560 If you see something, you're scrolling on social media, 179 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:40,360 you're scrolling through reels or something and you see 180 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,240 something that like absolutely makes you laugh or you think 181 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,600 it's hilarious or, or you're just dying laughing. 182 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,400 What's the first thing you do? You, you tell someone about it, 183 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:50,800 right? You, you hit the share button 184 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:52,320 and you send it to to someone else. 185 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,400 That's how things go viral. They spread like wildfire 186 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:57,040 because people keep sharing them. 187 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:01,120 We love sharing good things, whether it's like planking or 188 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,040 like the ChatGPT caricatures that are going around these 189 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:06,040 days, right? Like things catch on when 190 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:07,200 they're fun and they're interesting. 191 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,960 Human beings instinctively share what's good and what's beautiful 192 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,880 and what's true. We need to remember that the 193 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:20,280 gospel is still good news today. It is good and second Timothy 1 194 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,400 again, Paul says do not be ashamed of that testimony about 195 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:28,280 our Lord and or me as prisoner. And he says this rather join 196 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,800 with me in suffering for the gospel. 197 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,600 He's he's he's inviting this young protege Timothy. 198 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:36,840 He's saying, I know you're enduring. 199 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,880 I know you're going through it right now, Timothy, Join with 200 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,800 me. You see, good things aren't just 201 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,120 worth sharing. Good things are also worth 202 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:50,560 suffering for. Whether it's something as silly 203 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:53,960 as like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, remember that people 204 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:56,840 willing to dump ice on their heads all for a good 'cause, 205 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,560 right? We're willing to suffer a little 206 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:02,400 bit for things that matter. Or something as serious as a 207 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:06,600 single mom working multiple jobs to support her kids and be there 208 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,040 for them, right? We are willing to endure 209 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,840 hardship for things that matter in this life. 210 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:16,840 And Paul writes. So do not be ashamed. 211 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:21,560 All of us face the very real challenge of shame when we're 212 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:23,080 met with resistance for our faith. 213 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,320 We need to be ready for that. Think about the the disciple 214 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,000 Peter. Peter was someone who had an 215 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:35,040 understanding of who Jesus was. When Jesus asked him, who do you 216 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,040 say that I am, Peter gave the correct theological answer. 217 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:39,760 You are the Messiah, you are the Christ. 218 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:41,720 And Jesus said blessed are you Peter. 219 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:45,600 But when it counted most, when the when the pressure was on, 220 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:52,440 when the fire came to him, Peter denied Jesus multiple times. 221 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,200 See, just like it, just like we're, we're called to share 222 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,760 good things that we love, We also need to take into account 223 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,440 and remember like it is easy to become ashamed of Jesus when it 224 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,280 gets hard to live for Jesus. Would you agree? 225 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,840 When it gets difficult, when the going gets toughed, our, our 226 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,760 temptation to be ashamed of what we believe increases. 227 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,600 I shared this story with our our launch team before we actually 228 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,200 started the church. But we took Sundays and we 229 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,240 didn't always meet for services. We'd go out and do service 230 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,440 projects. And one of those Sundays we 231 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,440 decided we were going to go out into the city of Ankeny and we 232 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,920 were going to knock on doors and just bless people by asking them 233 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:35,120 how we could pray for them and just be in there. 234 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,440 And so we were going around and we were knocking on doors, a few 235 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,160 of us. And we were surprised by how 236 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,320 many people didn't need prayer because life was going so good. 237 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:48,480 OK, I'm going to preach a sermon on that someday, but that's not 238 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,560 for today. But we came across that we rang 239 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:54,800 this one doorbell, the smart doorbell, and it took a while 240 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,120 for someone to answer. But when they finally answered 241 00:13:58,120 --> 00:13:59,880 the door, it was this this young lady. 242 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,320 And you could tell she was not happy that we were there. 243 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:08,360 We said, hey, we're with Presence Church and we're just 244 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,240 going around hearing the needs of the community and we're just 245 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:13,760 offering to to pray with people. Is there anything at all that 246 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:15,440 that you would like prayer for today? 247 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:17,560 I'm with Susan. I'm with Jane. 248 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:21,480 And we're pushing around David. And she says, yeah, you can pray 249 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,160 that my baby, that you just woke up falls back asleep. 250 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:28,120 Ouch. Right. 251 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,400 Like, oof. Right. 252 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:32,840 And I got to tell you, in that moment, like, I imagine the 253 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:34,560 blood just, like, drained from my face. 254 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:38,240 I felt so bad, right? I was so, so embarrassed. 255 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:40,440 And so we apologize. We're like, so sorry. 256 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,880 We're just trying to pray and meet people and like, have a 257 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,200 good day. And we, you know, went on our 258 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:46,960 way to the next one. But I got to tell you, between 259 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,240 the people who didn't need prayer because life was so good 260 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:53,000 and that Lady that we had just ticked off, like I was feeling 261 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,520 so defeated. Like Susan and I both like, we 262 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:58,920 just have the sense of like, are we doing more harm than good out 263 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,600 here? You know what I'm talking about. 264 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,000 It was like, man, what are what are we doing? 265 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,920 And I got to be honest, like I wanted to give up in that 266 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,120 moment. I didn't want to knock on any 267 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:13,480 more doors. I felt ashamed because I was met 268 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,360 with some resistance. And she didn't stop there, 269 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,240 right? She she took the QR code we 270 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,120 handed her and she submitted a prayer request that basically 271 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,960 talked about how rude it was to come on door, you know, knock on 272 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,360 people's doors on Sunday morning and this, that and the other. 273 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:29,120 And so, you know, I emailed her back and said, well, why don't 274 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:31,320 you turn your doorbell off? I'm joking. 275 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:33,000 I'm joking. I didn't actually do that. 276 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,600 I didn't do that. That's a joke. 277 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:41,720 I wanted to do that, but I but I felt terrible. 278 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:43,240 And we were both so, so defeated. 279 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:44,760 And we're like, what are we doing out here? 280 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,000 Here's the point. Like when we're met with 281 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,560 resistance, it's so easy to feel shame. 282 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:54,080 It's so easy to be embarrassed. It's so easy to want to give up. 283 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:59,680 And yet Paul to the Romans in in chapter 116, Paul writes for I 284 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:03,680 am not ashamed of the gospel. Why? 285 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,560 He writes because it is the power of God that brings 286 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,160 salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and 287 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:16,200 then to the Gentile. Paul wasn't ashamed of the 288 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:20,640 gospel because he'd experienced the power of the gospel first 289 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,800 hand. You and I today do not need to 290 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,960 be ashamed of what we believe. Be ashamed of our faith #1 291 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,760 because we believe Christianity is actually true. 292 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,480 OK? We believe that that Christ 293 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,160 actually raised from the dead. So we don't believe Christianity 294 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,960 is true just because some some book told us, although that book 295 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:43,160 is reliable and trustworthy. But we believe in the actual 296 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,560 historic resurrection of Jesus Christ. 297 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,560 We believe that His resurrection was foretold hundreds of years 298 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,840 by the prophets. We believe that Jesus did 299 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,360 miracles while he was on this earth, and then he predicted 300 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,440 that he would die and be raised back to dead. 301 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,280 We believe that he actually was crucified under Pontius Pilate 302 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:05,040 around 30 AD and on the third day, through the power of God, a 303 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:06,839 miracle, we admit it's a miracle. 304 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,839 He was raised back to life, actually living and appearing to 305 00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:13,920 people who then documented everything that happened. 306 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,680 And we believe that the eyewitnesses who saw Jesus were 307 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:22,040 willing to go to their death, refusing to recant, refusing to 308 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,760 renounce their faith in Jesus, just like those Coptic men, 309 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:31,200 those Christians on the beach. We believe that Christianity is 310 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,120 true. We do not believe that 311 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:37,080 something, all of this can come from nothing. 312 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:41,520 We don't believe that life can come from non life, that order 313 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,480 can come from chaos, or that the immaterial consciousness can 314 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,280 come strictly from physical matter. 315 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,320 In other words, we believe there's a creator God we believe 316 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,400 is sent us on Jesus so that we can know him and we can enter 317 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:01,000 into relationship with him. Scripture says that God is love 318 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,800 and God is invisible, but so is love. 319 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,560 Yet none of us would deny the power of love. 320 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,200 So first reason we don't need to be ashamed of the gospel is 321 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:14,960 because we believe Christianity is true. 322 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,280 The second reason we don't need to be ashamed of the gospel 323 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:19,480 because Christianity is beautiful. 324 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:28,240 We believe that each of us in our sin and our mistakes, we 325 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,920 deserve punishment, we deserve wrath and we deserve death. 326 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,400 But but God had a rescue plan in mind. 327 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,760 He was willing to send his only Son to come and live a perfect 328 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,040 life and die on a cross for you and for me. 329 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,080 We believe Christianity is beautiful because God loved us 330 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,280 so much that He was willing to take the punishment and the 331 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:51,200 curse of death upon himself. And the story of Scripture, all 332 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,160 of Scripture, points to this reality. 333 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:57,600 If you put your trust in what Jesus did on the cross, if you 334 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:02,680 put your faith in Him, and you step into his forgiveness, you 335 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,240 can leave eternally with him. You can be reconnected back to 336 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,960 your Creator, not just here on earth, but for eternity. 337 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,440 That's good news. We don't need to be ashamed of 338 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,240 that because Christianity is beautiful. 339 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,040 God loved us so much that he came for us, his children. 340 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:28,320 Second Timothy 1 Paul writes that is why I'm suffering as I 341 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:30,880 am. Yet this is no cause for shame 342 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:38,360 because I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that 343 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:42,320 he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 344 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,680 Paul is not ashamed because he knows Jesus. 345 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:54,720 He had relationship with him. He had seen him, he had spoken 346 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:56,720 with him. Christ had given him his 347 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,880 Commission and his calling and his second chance at life. 348 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:01,680 So Paul is like, how can I be ashamed of the one that I 349 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:03,840 actually know and the one that I actually love? 350 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:06,800 We can't be ashamed of those we truly love, right? 351 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,960 There was, there was this man I was, I was preparing my sermon. 352 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,200 This weekend he was in the library and it was very quiet in 353 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:16,520 the Kirkendale library. And all of a sudden his phone 354 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,960 goes off like full ring. You know, it happens. 355 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,840 We kind of looked around and and then he decided that he was 356 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,720 going to answer the phone call in the quiet library, Okay. 357 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,480 And not just answer it, but he put it on speakerphone. 358 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,680 Okay, Yeah. And so, you know, there's like, 359 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,000 six of us, you know, near him. And we're kind of like looking 360 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,240 at each other, kind of smiling, and he's off in his own world. 361 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,320 And we hear the entire conversation, right? 362 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,240 We hear about what he's going to eat for dinner tonight and 363 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,840 tomorrow. We hear about the brakes that 364 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,000 need fixed on the cars. Then he starts talking about the 365 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,920 prescription medication that he needs to get picked up, right? 366 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:52,040 Like all of it. All right. 367 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,040 And we're just kind of all like, what is going on here? 368 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:58,080 This is the library, OK. And at first, I'm sort of like, 369 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,200 man, what? Like, isn't he embarrassed? 370 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,560 Like, isn't he kind of, like, ashamed to be like, interrupting 371 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:05,760 everyone and talking? And I'm like, what? 372 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,200 What is compelling him to to have this conversation? 373 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,160 And then I realized what the reason was at the very end of 374 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:17,120 the the phone call, the person he was talking with said, all 375 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:19,600 right, Dad, I love you. I'll talk to you soon. 376 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,800 And in that moment, I got it right. 377 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,600 Like this man isn't ashamed because he's speaking to his 378 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:28,760 daughter that he loves. He's not going to miss a single 379 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,160 opportunity. He's going to hear every word on 380 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,560 speakerphone, even if it upsets the people around him, because 381 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,280 he's talking with someone that he loves. 382 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:39,880 He's not ashamed of her. He's not going to be ashamed of 383 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,040 that moment. He only cares about the one he 384 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:48,680 loves. You see, if we truly love Jesus, 385 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,720 we're not going to be ashamed of him, not going to be ashamed to 386 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:54,440 talk about him in front of others. 387 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,840 We're not going to be ashamed to proclaim him to the world. 388 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:02,360 And Paul, we find the reason that the reason he has no shame 389 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:06,920 is because it says quote, I know whom I have believed. 390 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,320 He knows Jesus and he was convinced. 391 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,880 So the reminder for all of us guys is that you and I also, we 392 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,640 need to have a actual growing relationship with Jesus Christ. 393 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,720 That means we need to take time to abide with him, to escape 394 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,560 with him in the secret place in prayer. 395 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,520 We need to actually know Him. Here's the point. 396 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:37,360 If God is just theoretical for you, if God is just head 397 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:40,200 knowledge alone for you, you're always going to be living an 398 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,280 insecurity about Him. You're always going to be having 399 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,800 doubts, feeling hypocritical when trying to live for Him 400 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,200 because it's not relational for you. 401 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,160 It's just like a head exercise. Does that make sense? 402 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:56,440 And so the invitation here is for us to truly know Jesus, like 403 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:04,000 Paul, some application for us when it comes to living and 404 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,440 enduring for our faith, even in the midst of resistance and 405 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:11,280 persecution #1 as a church, you and I have to do everything we 406 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,840 can to reject any spirit of timidity. 407 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:21,240 Second Timothy 1 again, Paul writes for the Spirit God gave 408 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:27,360 us does not make us timid. So I think every one of us needs 409 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:29,440 to be honest with ourselves. Where? 410 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,640 What are the areas of our faith that we're tempted to be 411 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,840 embarrassed by, that we're tempted to be ashamed of? 412 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:37,800 We need to be honestly examine those things. 413 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:43,080 Are we tempted to be embarrassed by some of the exclusive claims 414 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:48,040 of Christianity that Jesus is the one and only Lord, the only 415 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:49,240 one and only way to get to heaven? 416 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:53,440 Are you embarrassed by that? Is it your doubts that you're 417 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,720 embarrassed by? Is it the fact that you know, 418 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,600 science claims rationality and and logic for all things, but 419 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:03,800 but our faith involves some miraculous things like a 420 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,280 resurrection and we're not exactly sure how to reconcile 421 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,400 those things. So is that a cause for shame and 422 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:12,080 embarrassment for you? Maybe it's the Bible itself and 423 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:14,560 some of the really difficult passages, especially in the Old 424 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,200 Testament, right? Or maybe it's our our stance on 425 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,920 sexual politics and gender or whatever it may be. 426 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:21,920 The point is, be honest about it. 427 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:26,200 Where are you tempted to be embarrassed or be ashamed of 428 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:33,840 your faith or Jesus? Galatians one, Paul says. 429 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,760 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of 430 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,400 God? Or am I trying to please people? 431 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,360 I think every one of us needs to grapple with that question in 432 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:47,520 our lives. Like who are we really trying to 433 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,240 impress? Who are we really trying to win 434 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,440 the approval of? Is it Is it the person in HR? 435 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,360 Is it our friend group? Is it social media? 436 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,720 Who is it? Are we trying to win the 437 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:07,840 approval of man or of God? My wife Susan tells a story when 438 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:12,080 she used to used to work in HR about how there was this Muslim 439 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,840 man who who came to her and came to the staff and asked if he 440 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,520 could stop work for a moment during the day in order for him 441 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,680 to pray, which is typical practice for Muslims. 442 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:26,320 And what he was asking was he was asking to come off of the 443 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,080 factory line in order to pray to his, his God. 444 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:34,120 And I just got to say, like, I, I, I don't believe that, you 445 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:36,600 know, the God of Muhammad is the father of Jesus. 446 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,360 I don't believe we're worshipping the same God. 447 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,960 And yet I got to say, like, I almost want to commend him for 448 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,200 his willingness to step out and faith in that way. 449 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,960 You know what I mean? Like that's a bold step to say, 450 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,600 Hey, can I, can I leave all of my Co workers while they're 451 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,280 working so I can go and pray during my shift? 452 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,160 And here's the radical part. They actually tried to 453 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,480 accommodate them. They weren't able to, of course, 454 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,840 but that's kind of interesting, right? 455 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,640 And I just, I bring that up to say, like, in what ways are you 456 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:06,680 willing to step out and risk for your faith? 457 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,480 In what ways are you maybe called to step out and and take 458 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:16,320 chances for God? So many of us are worried about 459 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,640 offending people and we have doubts lingering in our minds 460 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:21,160 and we worry about looking stupid. 461 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,400 And so we just kind of adopt this like you do you posture, 462 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,200 I'll do me over here. I'll have my private faith and 463 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:28,920 and you do you whatever you believe. 464 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,960 And what Paul is doing here is he's writing to us through 465 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:37,320 history and he's saying join with me and suffering for the 466 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,600 gospel. He's saying, come on in, the 467 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:45,400 water's fine. Jesus is encouraging his 468 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,760 disciples and encourages us through history in Matthew 5. 469 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,080 Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven. 470 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,800 For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were 471 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,960 before you, Jesus is saying there, there will be great 472 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,680 reward when you step out in faith and you meet resistance 473 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:06,040 because you're doing it for me. I can't even imagine the reward 474 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:07,880 that those 21 men have in heaven. 475 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:13,520 Can you imagine the applause that they received in heaven 476 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:17,200 from the angels the moment they left earth and into eternity? 477 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,920 There is reward waiting for each of us who step out boldly for 478 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:25,720 our faith. So we need to reject any spirit 479 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,360 of timidity or fear. That's not it's not who God's 480 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:32,440 made us to be. And #2 we need to truly know and 481 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:37,000 love Jesus. There's a deep human impulse to 482 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,480 share things that are good and beautiful and true. 483 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,400 Paul had tasted experience and he knew Jesus in the good news 484 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,520 about him, so he was willing to go and endure suffering for him. 485 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,960 Each of us share what we love, whether it's technology for me 486 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,880 or a a deep spiritual insight that I learned or whatever it is 487 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,120 for you. We are meant to talk about God 488 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:01,600 and share him with others. Frank Laubach puts it this way. 489 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:06,520 I must talk about God or I cannot keep him in my mind. 490 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:11,240 I must give him away in order to have him. 491 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,880 So if we really want to know God, we really want him to dwell 492 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,520 within us and know him, we have to give him away freely. 493 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:23,600 Paul puts it this way. For Christ's love compels us. 494 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,880 Christ's love, if we truly know that love, it drives us outward 495 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,560 into a Dark World to be the light, to be salt, and to show 496 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,320 who He really is to the world around us. 497 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,880 We need to discover His goodness and His love more and more 498 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,440 because we cannot be ashamed of those that we truly love. 499 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:44,120 Look, my kids make some mistakes. 500 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:46,840 They make kid size mistakes right now. 501 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:48,200 But one day they'll be teenagers. 502 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,240 And when they're teenagers, they'll likely make teenage size 503 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,760 mistakes and eventually they'll become adults. 504 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,480 And it's very, very likely that they will make adult sized 505 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,960 mistakes as well. But even when they make 506 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:07,520 mistakes, I can never be ashamed of them because I love them. 507 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,560 Even when they mess up or they do something embarrassing, as a 508 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,720 parent, I'm never going to have shame about them. 509 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:20,480 I'm never going to reject them or refuse to claim them. 510 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:21,720 Why? Because I love them. 511 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:27,840 Because they're mine. We, in the same way, need to get 512 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,160 to know Jesus if we truly don't want to be ashamed of him. 513 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,040 Spending daily time with him, Going on walks with him in 514 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,320 prayer. Reading just one chapter a day 515 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,280 in the Gospels, Getting to know his word. 516 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:45,440 Joining a discipleship band with two or three others in order to 517 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:48,480 hold each other accountable, to learn how to actually obey and 518 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:52,480 follow Jesus's teachings. Maybe it's setting alarm, an 519 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:56,000 alarm early to pray with him in the morning or setting alarm at 520 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,920 noon to remind yourself to pray. Whatever it is, don't be ashamed 521 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,680 of him. Live for him. 522 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:09,440 Truly learn to love him. I'm going to invite Josiah to, 523 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:15,560 to come back up and play underneath us when it came to 524 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,720 that prayer walk. And it came to that Lady who was 525 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:20,680 very upset with us. God, God bless her. 526 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:25,000 I, I still pray for her, by the way, that poor mom, we've been 527 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,480 there. But when I think about that Lady 528 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:32,920 and I think about that perceived persecution that I felt, I was 529 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,360 so tempted to give up and I was so disheartened. 530 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,360 And in that moment, I almost called the whole thing off and 531 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:41,360 texted people and been like, this is a terrible idea, right? 532 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,640 But instead we pressed on. And I remember we knocked on a 533 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,240 few more doors. And I remember we encountered 534 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,480 this one lady who we knocked on the door. 535 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,160 She came out and we said, Hey, we're with presence church. 536 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,760 We're just trying to pray for the needs of the community. 537 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,760 Is there anything that we can pray for you about? 538 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:58,360 And she said, actually, yes, there is. 539 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:03,920 She said, my, my stepson, whom I love was, was just deployed to 540 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:09,040 the Middle East. And we're we're very scared and 541 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:11,760 we said, Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for being 542 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,840 willing to share. You know, we have a prayer team. 543 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:19,680 And if, if you'd like, like, we can have our team pray for that. 544 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:21,840 We will pray for that. But if you'd like, we could, we 545 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:23,640 could also pray for you right now. 546 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:29,160 Either way is fine. And she said, yeah, I think I'd 547 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:33,880 like for you to pray right now. And so Susan and I and the kids 548 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,520 on a stranger's doorstep, we we prayed for this lady who was 549 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:39,920 going through a really hard time. 550 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,120 And we were able to just share Jesus with her in that moment. 551 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,360 And it wasn't just that Lady. But then I started getting text 552 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,880 messages from all the other people who were out and about in 553 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:53,760 the community on the prayer walk. 554 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,200 And I got to hear some of the testimonies that were coming 555 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,200 out, testimonies about how people were praying over those 556 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,880 who just found out they had cancer, those whose loved ones 557 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:07,440 were hurting, those who were down and out and didn't know how 558 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,600 they were going to make it to the next day or the next meal. 559 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:13,480 And, and more and more and more these text messages begin to 560 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,000 flood in. And my soul was so encouraged. 561 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:23,240 And I thought to myself, why was I ever ashamed to be out here 562 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:31,400 for Jesus? You see, if we're truly living 563 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:35,880 for Christ and we're truly trying to live for Him in 564 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:40,640 boldness and in truth, the reality is we might make some 565 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,360 mistakes. There might be some babies that 566 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:48,200 get woken up. There might even be some 567 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,760 resistance and there will be persecution. 568 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:55,280 If we're truly living for Him, we need to remember that 569 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:59,080 obedience won't always feel successful, and we may not 570 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,480 always see the fruit. But we need to remember Jesus's 571 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,680 words when he says blessed are those who are persecuted because 572 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,320 of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 573 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,880 We need to remember that it's never a bad idea to be bold for 574 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:21,800 Jesus, that our reward is the Kingdom, and that Jesus is 575 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:24,320 always worth sharing, always worth sharing. 576 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:29,240 Church. The Kingdom advances on earth 577 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:33,520 not by forcing what we believe unto others, but rather sharing 578 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:37,360 what we love even when we face resistance. 579 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,480 So the question for each of us is, what are you afraid of? 580 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:49,360 What are you really afraid of? As a younger man, when it came 581 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:53,040 to living for my faith, I was afraid of missing out on fun. 582 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:58,480 As a younger man, I was afraid of people not liking me, I was 583 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,720 afraid of life being too hard when living for Jesus, and I was 584 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:03,560 afraid of danger and persecution. 585 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:09,840 But as I get older, as I get older, my fears shift and I find 586 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:15,600 myself now being more concerned of not making a difference in 587 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:20,080 this life. I'm more concerned now of what 588 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,480 legacy that I'm leaving for my kids. 589 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:23,639 Up to know. Jesus. 590 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,199 As an adult as. I get older, I'm more concerned 591 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:34,760 about compromising for my faith. And my fears. 592 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:39,600 Have shifted my fear now. Is that I wouldn't live. 593 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,800 Fully into all that God has for me and the calling He's placed 594 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:47,679 on my life. So my encouragement to you. 595 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:50,320 Is this? If you're going to be afraid, if 596 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:53,000 you're going to be concerned, start being concerned about the 597 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,719 right things and not the silly things. 598 00:34:57,200 --> 00:34:58,720 Leave it. All on the field for. 599 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:01,480 Jesus, just like those 21 men did. 600 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,680 It should have been 20, but there was 21 because there's 601 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,720 that man from Ghana said there. God is my God. 602 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:12,560 Remember that monuments were built in. 603 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,640 Their honor? They were declared as martyrs, 604 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:18,920 and their stories continue to inspire millions of people 605 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,840 across the globe. Leave it all in the field for 606 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:28,280 Jesus, because even in the face. Of persecutions and setbacks and 607 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:34,840 resistance, even when we are getting called names. 608 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:37,640 When we're. Being insulted. 609 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,720 When opportunities are being taken away from us, Jesus calls 610 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:45,960 us happy. He calls us blessed and even if. 611 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:49,160 People, take your life. On this earth, even if your life 612 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,720 on earth comes to an end, Jesus says congratulations because 613 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:58,800 yours is the Kingdom and his Kingdom will never end So as a. 614 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,280 Church, may we just. Step out in boldness for Him, 615 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,680 even in the face of persecution. May we fall in love with Jesus 616 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:08,680 and then share what He love, what we love, but may we do. 617 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,160 It with the power. Of the Spirit which does not 618 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:12,520 make us timid or fearful.