Benefits of a HARD life

September 17th 2023

Series: Courageous Faith

Sermon Title: Benefits of a HARD life

Topic: Journey through the book of Acts.

Key Passages: Acts 24, Acts 9:1-19

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message we will see how the hardships of Paul’s life had led him to fulfill the promise God made to him at the start of his ministry. That will lead us to consider how God might be doing the same in our lives.

Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, or a picture that goes on the screens.

Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Sermon:

Hello Family Church!

Family Moment –

Dan / Steve we like to try and start our messages with something personal from our family life recently to help people get to know us.

PAUSE

Those of you who are new, or newer, to Family Church we are SUPER happy you are with us today!

We have been walking through the book of Acts as a church for the better part of the last two years….

Walking through it line by line and verse by verse….

And we LOVE the book of Acts here at Family Church because it is all about how the first churches operated in their communities to reach people for Jesus.

And here at Family Church we LOVE to study the Bible and ask how can we apply what we learn to our lives today.

And that is simply what we will do today!

PAUSE

So, let’s jump into the Bible today…

Grab your Bibles….

I hope you all brought your Bible to church!

Either paper version or electronic!

Open it up to

Acts 24

PAUSE

As you are getting there let me catch up with anyone who is new today….

Because we are in the long story through the journey toward the end of Paul’s life.

We have been walking through the end of the book of Acts and now it is all about this early church leader named Paul who was traveling around and spending time with other people he had led to Jesus in a variety of places.

He was told in SEVERAL of those places to NOT go to Jerusalem because something bad would happen to Paul.

Paul…..was determined though….

And Paul went to Jerusalem…

And it started out fine for Paul….

But ended quite badly….

At the end of chapter 21 we saw people get EXTREMELY angry at Paul and literally beat him almost to the point of death…

The police were called.

They came and pulled Paul away…

The police were almost overwhelmed by the crowds…

The police carried Paul to their military barracks….

And Paul asks them to STOP before they take him inside so he can speak to the crowd….

And then Paul goes on to share his story of how he came to faith in Jesus….

Because before Paul came to faith in Jesus he HATED Jesus….

That ended with the Roman guards taking Paul to the stand trail before all the Jewish leaders….

That did NOT go well….

They plotted to kill Paul….

So, the Roman guards sent Paul off to King Herod’s Palace to be safe and have him decide what to do.

And so we left off last week with this letter from the Roman’s telling the Governor Felix that they thought all the Jewish leaders were just making stuff up about Paul….

And that they were sending Paul and his accusers to the governor to decide what to do….

PAUSE

So with that background let’s pickup….

Verse 1 of chapter 24…..starts with five days later…

This means 5 days after all the stuff we talked about last weekend..

Today we will read this chapter and then I will circle back and unpack it for us……

Acts 24: 1-27 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus , and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.

2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.

3 Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. 4 But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

5 “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect 6 and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. [7]

Now pause here for a second…

Some of you might wonder why is verse 7 in brackets with no words.

Well, it is because as we have discovered old manuscripts of the Bible some of them did NOT have verse 7 in there.

So, that could mean it was added by a scribe at some point.

So, or the scribe that copied it on the old Bible discovered missed a line..

And so forth..

But the translators of the NIV have determined it was more likely added later in time so they have removed it and foot-noted it.

Just a little side note to help you all.

8 By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.” 9 The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.

11 You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

12 My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.

13 And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.

14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,

15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. 17 “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.

18 I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.

19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.

20 Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin—

21 unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.”

23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.

25 As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

PAUSE

Two more years….

Paul is in a form of jail arrest for two more years.

As we have seen with Paul….

He has been in and out of jail consistently since he gave his life to Jesus.

Paul has been slandered by people consistently since he gave his life to Jesus.

Paul was consistently beaten physically by people who did not agree with him….

PAUSE

Church I know there are a LOT of people who teach what is known as the prosperity gospel but understand this….

Jesus, God, the early church leaders NEVER said, “Hey!!! Just give your life to Jesus and you will have a EASY life!”

They never said, “Give your life to Jesus and you will be LOVED by all people!”

They never said, “Give your life to Jesus and you will be RICH!”

Jesus said the exact opposite of what the prosperity gospel teaches.

The early church leaders lives demonstrated the opposite of what the prosperity gospel teaches.

Church…..

We are going to go through hard times.

We are going to have people say bad things about us.

Some of us might get physically hurt by other people.

Some of us might end up losing our job for living for Jesus.

Some of us might end up in jail for telling others about Jesus….I mean that happened to pastors during Covid in America and Canada!

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The Bible does NOT promise us an easy life for following God.

What the Bible DOES promise us is that when we follow God that God will ALWAYS be with us!

What the Bible DOES promise us is that anything God promises us will come true….

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And let me show you that while this is HARD times for Paul….

That it is actually part of God’s promise for Paul…

That is this is all necessary to help Paul accomplish his goal in life!

Here is the point I want to help you all see…

Write this down.

Sometimes the hardships of life are leading us to the promise of God.

Repeat

Let me show you how what you just wrote down is coming TRUE in Paul’s life through all of this….

PAUSE

Rewind with me to Acts chapter 9 for a minute.

I want us to go back to right after Paul had an encounter with Jesus.

I want us to go back to when Paul was still known as Saul.

Back to when Saul HATED Jesus!

Back to when Saul was trying to destroy EVERYTHING Jesus had built….

I want us to read something that God said here in chapter 9….

Something that back when we read it in chapter 9 I would bet none of us gave it a second thought….

But something that now here 10 chapters later….

And YEARS later in the life of Paul that is coming true!

Acts 9: 1-19 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.

Remember….

Paul….was Saul….same person…

And if you are here today and you doubt Jesus, you have something in common with Paul…so did he!

He doubted everything Jesus said and did and Paul lived during the time of Jesus!

So, if you doubt Jesus lean in….

He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.

14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

Pause for a second here….

Ananias was like God….

Ummm….

Do Saul is a BAD dude…..

Are you sure???

And I want you to NOTE God’s response….

Because God’s response is what we are seeing play out in the life of Paul now!!!!

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Pause here….

God said Saul will become God’s chosen instrument to proclaim God’s name to Gentiles….

In Acts chapter 18 verse 6….that came true!

Paul said there from now on he would go preach to the Gentiles!

What God said came true!

God also said he would proclaim the their kings…their rulers…

That is what is happening in Acts 24!

Paul is now, because of the hardships in his life, able to talk with not one but soon two governors or rulers in Rome!

Last chapter he was staying at King Herod’s Palace.

Next chapter he will be with King Agrippa!

Because of Paul’s hardships in life, he gets to talk with these rulers and kings!

And Paul does, what we should ALL do….

He takes the cards that life deals with him and uses them as an opportunity to lead people toward Jesus!

PAUSE

And let me finish this part of Acts 9 and then we will go back to Acts 19….

And I want us to read this because it ties to what was in the sermon last week!

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Last weekend we talked about how everything depends on how we SEE the situations in life!

Paul got new sight when he came to faith in Jesus!

And I am praying for all of you who are listening to this message that you will give your life to Jesus so that you can see life through God’s lens and not yours!

PAUSE

See Paul could have gotten bitter at the cards life delt him.

Paul could have gotten mad at God for all the suffering he went through.

Paul could have walked away from the faith because life didn’t go like he wanted it to.

But Paul CHOOSE to see life through God’s lens and not his.

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I know some of you are going through some REALLY HARD things.

Your marriage is falling apart.

Your kids are wandering and you don’t know what to do.

Your career is at a dead end.

Your company is going in the wrong direction.

You cannot get your grades up.

Your friends don’t seem to be friends anymore.

Your health is in decline…

Here is the question we all need to ask when life is hard.

Will we CHOOSE to see this through our eyes or God’s eyes?

Repeat

You get to choose.

You can view it from a worldly perspective.

You can view it from your wisdom.

You can view it from the view of those around you.

You can view it from the perspective of your therapist or counselor.

OR

OR

You can stop….

You can pray…

You can ask God to help you see it from His lens…

What is happening here is hard for Paul…

But from God’s perspective, it is EXACTLY what God created Paul to do!

Paul was EXACTLY where God needed him!

Paul was doing something that God promised him he would do back on the day Paul came to faith in Jesus!

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It is all about perspective!

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I hope for all of you listening to this message will truly give your life to Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to give you God’s vision for your life.

This week and last week..

We saw the POWER of seeing things through God’s lens and not ours!

Family Church….

I pray this happens for all of you….

Like it did for Elisha’s servant last week.

Like it did for Saul this week.

God has plans for all of you.

Great plans!

Plans that you cannot imagine!

And yes….

At times it might be hard.

At times it might seem like you’re failing.

At times it might seem like you’re going the wrong direction to others!

But if you are following God…..

You will be blown away what God does through you.

Use me as an example… (ADD your own examples here)

I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere Michigan.

I went to a no-name college.

I am no one special….

I have been fired before….

I have been called really bad things by people before.

I have had friends hurt me badly…

I have had a child get diagnosed with cancer…

I have been through some really hard things…

I was like Saul and did NOT want to follow God’s call on my life.

I NEVER wanted to work in a church….

I NEVER wanted to be a Pastor…

But one day I submitted to God…

At just shy of 30 years old….

I submitted to God’s call on my life….

And it has NOT be easy street since!

When we went into ministry we were so poor we had no choice but to be on food stamps, government medical, and so forth.

We have had people in ministry turn on us and hurt us deeply.

Ministry has NOT been easy….

BUT

BUT

I can tell you this…

I would never go back and change a thing!

I would never trade-in what we have today for what we use to have!

God is sooooo good!!!!

Because if I look at what God is doing today through Family Church!

I would NEVER had imagined this…..

God is so good!!!!

And I hope you all can get to that place where you can see the goodness of God through the hardships of life as well….

So here is what I want you all to spend some time processing and talking with someone about.

Life Application: This week think about how the hardships of life have made you who you are today, and how you could use the hardships in your life to connect with people and then lead them toward Jesus. As a result of today’s message, I will ______________________________.

Let’s Pray…..