How to Endure Hardships with Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Pray for VBS—Vacation Bible School---
approximately....150 ish kids (how many?
approximately....________ helpers
would you stand if you plan on helping this week for VBS? We want to pray for you!
I want to give you some statements that I have formed and written from God’s Word. See if you agree:
#1 In terms of our salvation with God…we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal 2:16)
agree!
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
not by works—what forgives us of our sin before a holy God—is what Jesus has done—through His perfect life, death on the cross in our place, and resurrection. we trust it.
The Gospel is done—not do. Jesus did it all for us.
Though we do not work for our salvation, we show evidence of it by doing good works. (Eph. 2:10)
agree or disagree?
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
so we are not saved by good works—but for good works.
the book of James is all about this—though we are saved by faith alone, the faith that saves is never alone. it should lead to progressive transformation (not perfection).
Only those who are have persevered or endured with Christ to the end of their life are truly saved. (Hebrews 3:14, Matthew 10:22)
Look at how our passage in Acts puts it..
22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
we must endure
14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
Jesus said...
22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
The Christian life involves endurance...
and this my sound obvious…but endurance means what:
***endurance means difficulty…
we don’t have to endure eating a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. or oreos—especially the mega stuffed ones...
if you have to endure a date with a member of the opposite sex, it may be a sign that this relationship is not working out...
we endure difficult things—workouts—runners endure long distances, jobs involve endurance, finishing school, relationships.
sometimes you have to endure my sermons...
but we also have to endure in this life to stay true to Jesus Christ and not fall away from Him.
we have to endure hardship…b/c hardship either grows us with Christ or makes us go away from Him.
and there’s a lot at stake--what this means is that enduring with Christ is so important…so much so that if someone at one point is following Christ—maybe for years—but at the end of their life, they fall away from God (whether they lost it or never had it)…they will not be ________ saved. they will not have eternal life with God.
True Christians persevere to the end.
Come Thou Fount…the writer of the Hymn Come thou Fount (Robert Robinson—was a successful pastor in ministry in the 1700’s in England—he famously wrote this....
Prone to wander Lord I feel it… Prone to leave the God I love…Here’s my heart Lord Take and Seal it…seal it for thy courts above.
he wrote it in the mid 1700’s, and later in his life denied the divinity of Jesus—did not believe Jesus was God.
a man who wrote such beautiful lyrics had a successful ministry, struggled, fell away...
how do we endure? we want to finish well...
Let’s look at Acts 14 together.
and I am actually going to read the theme verse first.
Acts 14:21–22 (NIV)
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,
22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
now let’s back up to verse 1....please stand...
Acts 14:1–7 (NIV)
1 At Iconium (90 miles east, SE of previous destination) Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
btw—isn’t that interesting—people are against them—so what did they do— “Let’s spend considerable time here—speaking boldly and God enabled miracles to happen...
4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.
5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.
6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,
7 where they continued to preach the gospel.
endurance continues.
(look at this map—where Iconium is—and now they are in Lystra (18 miles away) and then Derbe (60 miles)…)
Acts 14:8–20 (NIV)
8 In Lystra (18 miles away) there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.
9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed
10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
Zeus = king of the Greek pantheon of gods (like Roman God Jupiter);
Hemes the messenger of the gods (like Romans Mercury)
Lystra had a temple to Zeus.
“According to a local legend, these same gods, Zeus and Hermes, once descended to this region disguised as humans seeking lodging. Though they asked at a thousand homes, none took them in. Finally, at a humble cottage of straw and reeds, an elderly couple, Philemon and Baucis, freely welcomed them with a banquet. In appreciation, the gods transformed the cottage into a temple and appointed Philemon and Baucis priest and priestess. They then sent a flood to destroy the homes of the inhospitable people who had turned them away (Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.626-724). Perhaps the people of Lystra are hoping to gain a similar advantage.”
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:
15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.
20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
they endure more—after being stoned to death—which would have been just horrible way to die. (travel almost 60 miles)
BTW—did you notice how Paul’s message here is different than in chapter 13.
in chapter 13—he is preaching in a Jewish synagogue—and quoted from the OT extensively—arguing that Jesus is the Christ promised from the OT.
and now in chapter 14—he is preaching to Gentiles—pagan who have no Biblical knowledge—and so he talks about turning from idols—knowing the true and living God who provides you with rain and crops and food and joy.
Acts 14:21–28 (NIV)
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, (It’s amazing they go back to these cities they were persecuted in!)
22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,
25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
1st missionary journey complete...
Paul and Barnabas endured a lot...
before I talk about how to endure…it’s worth reflecting…on the question—what is our temptation when we go through hardships?
what would we have done if we were Paul and Barnabas in these situations. would we have endured...
One writer says—when we go through suffering, Satan tempts us in several ways:
Satan’s temptation:
Isolation - “the #1 scheme of Satan at times of suffering is to make us think that we need to cocoon rather than to lean into the care of Christian brothers and sisters.” we can think... “Nobody really understands…I am the only one going through this.”
or “I don’t want to bother anyone...” or “real Christians don’t suffer.”
those are all lies from Satan.
Not true—real Christians do suffer; do go through hard times. we don’t have to have it altogether to reach out to a brother or sister or even come to a church gathering or group. don’t believe Satan’s lie to isolate…that may be the worst thing you can do for yourself and your own spiritual and emotional health—you need others.
do we have a culture that encourages vulnerability—or do you have to have it altogether at our church?
Turning completely inward - while it’s not wrong to hurt, feel pain, lament and grieve—if we only turn inward, and not upward towards God or outwards towards others—we are tricked into thinking that our suffering is unique. that suffering ultimately defines us. that suffering has the last word…that suffering is my identity. that I am drowning in my suffering and wallowing in it. we can lack perspective.
Losing sight of Jesus - we lose sight of his power, His care, His purpose. how He also suffered…he knows what it’s like. and he died for us. and we forget some of the wonderful promises of Scripture…of how God even uses suffering. for instance—we know Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
and the next verse says:
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
God’s plan is for us to be conformed more and more to the image of Christ—when we suffer—we forget that God can use it to make us more like Him.
so if those are 3 of the primary temptations when suffering—they make us stop enduring suffering…for Jesus’s sake.
How do we endure…some of these are opposite of those:
now I know that P and B’s suffering was persecution for following and preaching Christ.
we may not always face that...
but I think this application applies to whether you are facing persecution or facing any type of suffering—a cancer diagnosis, a financial problem, a loss of job, a relationship conflict...
Lean on other believers (fights isolation)
It’s no accident that the church in Antioch sent - Paul and Barnabas TOGETHER on this mission. they could encourage each other TOGETHER…to keep going.
It’s no accident that Paul’s main missionary strategy was not just to preach the Gospel and see individuals converted from sin to Jesus—but to start new communities of churches. churches are groups of people who have covenanted to do life together under the lordship of Jesus Christ.... Acts 14:23
23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
These are communities of Christians—churches—doing life together, one-anothering under Jesus sake with elders, elders would have been local spiritual leaders in each church. men who would have provided spiritual leadership, Biblical teaching and leadership to the churches.
they could remind each other of what vs 22 says: we must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.
One of the practical things you can do on this journey of leaning on other believers:
embrace some authenticity and vulnerability—be the first to share a struggle that is really going on with a brother or sister in Christ. often when you open up that encourages others to open up.
keep showing up—to your SS class, your group, to the balcony, to church.
text someone—if you can’t talk—text…say “I am really struggling.”
live out those one-another passages.
Redefine success in the Christian life...
we have a very American view of success...
there must be clear and efficient victories.
success trends upward—all the time—like this...
we take no prisoners..
in some ways Paul embodied that spirit—keep going no matter what...
yet the results of their ministry was by American accounts—mixed—maybe even a failure at times.
4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.
18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,
27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
I think they were very successful by God’s standards…why?
because they were faith to their call to go...
they were faithful to the Gospel message—the Gospel message is inherently divisive—it is bad news—we are sinners—we deserve God’s wrath and it is Good news-there is way to be restored to a holy and loving God through Jesus Christ.
when we are going through suffering—we need to redefine what success is Biblically—perhaps we are feeling so bad not just b/c of suffering but b/c of what our expectation of the Christian life should be like or feel like.
success is not always going up --- it is twists and turns, ups and downs, roller coaster at times—leaning on Jesus faithfully.
Cling to Scripture
if you turn to 2 Timothy—2 Timothy chapter 3. the Apostle Paul while in prison wrote a letter to young Timothy a pastor at a church. and said this:
2 Timothy 3:10–17 (NIV)
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (that may be the most convicting verse in Scripture—go back to it—if we are not being persecuted perhaps our godliness is not showing enough)
13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
those last 2 verses are often quoted about the doctrine of Scripture…but they are in the context of suffering.
the thing that enabled him to keep going was he was saturated in Scripture. Scripture wasn’t just Instagram Scripture—a verse or inspirational thought a day—it was his very lifeblood.
As you think about this past week, were you in the Word of God. I think you need God’s Word daily.
4. Trust the power of the Gospel (vs. 7, 15, 21, 26)
Acts 14:7 (NIV)
7 where they continued to preach the gospel.
Acts 14:15 (NIV)
15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
Acts 14:21 (NIV)
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,
Acts 14:26 (NIV)
26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
The Gospel is the good news of what God has done to save us from sin to new life with Jesus Christ for eternity..
through Jesus’ perfect life...
through Jesus’ substitutionary death...
and through Jesus’ victorious resurrection
all in anticipation of when Jesus will judge all things and restore all things under His Lordship in the new heaven and new earth.
their response to being persecuted…they could have responded several ways. They could have laid low (sometimes it is wise to do this)
they could have changed their methods (sometimes it is wise to do this)
but they did not change the message they had from God. God really has come down to them in human form—it’s not Zeus or Hermes—It’s Jesus Christ.
and we rejected Him—but that was all part of God’s plan to save a people for Himself through Jesus’ work on the cross.
this good news if we let it not only saves us when we believe...
but it changes us daily...
I am a dear child of God, dearly loved…I am not defined by my success or lack thereof. Jesus defines me.
One of the resources I have mentioned is this Gospel Primer… (in book Nook—solid meat) but just reading and clinging to Scripture and seeing how all of it, even the weird parts point to Jesus Christ.
realizing that this good news is just not info I learn that tips me into the kingdom of God—but it is my bread and butter every day.
It is what I must think about—not simplistically but wholistically—as every part of Scripture is a unified story that leads to Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
the Gospel becomes my very identity—it is fresh salve for my weary soul—that I am defined by what Jesus did—not what I do. It brings rest. it motivates me. it steadies the ballast of my soul in the storms of life.
b/c Jesus endured the cross for me...
invite Mike up...
I mentioned the writer of Come Thou Fount earlier...
how far he wandered from the is a little debated...
one writer says--We should also remember with some sympathy that Robinson was, late in life, a broken man. By 1790, the year he died, he was physically and mentally ill. His sermons became incomprehensible, and some described him as insane. He never recovered from the death of his 17-year-old daughter Julie in 1787. He faced a financial crisis that could have sent him to debtors’ prison. And many of his friends had turned against him.
legend has it—we are not sure if this is true or not:
One day when he was much older, he was riding in a stagecoach, traveling through the English countryside. A lady (stranger to him) sitting near him in the coach was obviously enjoying a hymn she was reading; she was humming the tune, and singing the words aloud. She turned to the stranger beside her, held the open hymnbook out to him, and asked him if he had ever heard that hymn. The stranger was silent for a long moment, and then he burst into tears. He said to her, “Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who composed that hymn many years ago. I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings that I had then.” Some 30 years later, the very words he had penned had been returned to him, by the grace and providence of God, to break his heart.
I don’t know how Robert Robinson responded—but the good news is that God is not done pursuing you. If you have wandered—good news—we are glad you are here. It is not too late to turn from worthless things, idols, money, sin—and pursue Jesus. He is so beautiful and worth it to follow.
You get Jesus and He gets you.
close...
announcement—we will need help tearing down after 2nd service—meet in sanctuary up front by the platform...
the good news about endurance is it is not all on us—it’s on God, too.
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.