Thank you, good to see you.
Welcome to all of our guests and all of our
Chapel family at all of our campuses.
If you want to grab a Bible, get to Acts chapter
8.
Acts chapter eight is where we'll be.
If you want to grab a tactile version like
me, sometimes you just need to hold a really
good book.
I understand that.
If you want to grab your digital device I
understand that.
Get to Acts chapter eight, we're going to
be there.
We're going to be wrapping up our series today
that began following the events of Easter,
that Resurrection day following the earth-shaking
event of the Resurrection where Jesus literally
shook the earth and got up from the dead.
The tremors of that earthquake, if you will,
are what the disciples did in the days and
weeks following that earth-shaking event.
And that's where we've been in this series
and that's where we'll land today.
But before we get to Acts chapter eight, maybe
when you were a kid like me, you had some
of those stories where you could choose kind
of your own ending to the story.
There were a few series of books that we had,
I remember the Choose Your Own Adventure series
that would often begin like this and you know,
it would address the reader kind of breaking
the fourth wall.
It would always refer to the reader as you.
And so we never got too many details in those
books about the main character because the
main character was you.
And so it would sound something like this
in this one that I remember.
It would be like, you are on a deep-sea expedition
to search for the lost city of Atlantis.
Or maybe another one was, you're born on board
a spaceship that's traveling between galaxies.
And what was really great about these books
is that we, you know, as kids we had our imaginations
running wild and we could kind of determine
the outcome.
And so you'd come to a few pages every now
and then and it would say if you follow them
to Atlantis, turn to page thirty-one, or if
you decide to join the space circus turn to
page fifty-two or something like that, right?
And it was great because we had the opportunity
in those stories as kids we could kind of
choose the ending.
We could immerse ourselves in the story.
We could be kind of flooded with what would
we do in those positions and those places?
And we could kind of determine the outcome.
That's kind of what I want to do today, even
though the outcome has already been written,
I want us to immerse ourselves in the story
of Acts eight, and it'll sound something like
this before we get to this passage: You are
Jewish by birth, but you have recently started
to embrace the teachings of a Rabbi from Nazareth
named Jesus.
You saw him die on a cross with your own eyes,
you saw it.
He was dead.
And then about three days later, he wasn't
dead and you saw that too.
But it wasn't until a spirit-filled Peter
got up at the festival of Pentecost about
fifty days after Passover.
And Peter gets up, a spirit-filled Peter,
and he starts to connect the person of Jesus
to the longings of your Jewish faith.
He is the long-awaited Messiah.
And so it was that day, that first day that
you accepted the message, you believed, you
were baptized and you were added to the number
of disciples.
And really things took off from there.
Thousands after thousands, multitude upon
multitude to the point that we just stopped
keeping track of how many disciples there
were in Jerusalem.
But commentary at that time as recorded in
Acts chapter 5:28 said that we had filled
Jerusalem with the teaching of Jesus, so however
many that was, that was a lot.
And so, you're there and you're in this movement,
and everything's going along fine, aside from
a few minor speed bumps, an imprisonment here
or there.
Everything's going along fine.
But one day, one of the young up and comers
named Stephen, he's killed for simply because
of his allegiance to Jesus, he's martyred
right there outside of Jerusalem, and you're
there.
It's into that context that I want to show
you Acts chapter eight, verses one through
three, look with me, it'll be on the screen
if you don't have a copy of the Scripture.
And Saul approved of their killing him (that
is Stephen).
On that day a great persecution broke out
against the church at Jerusalem and all except
the apostles were scattered throughout Judea
and Samaria.
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply
for him.
But Saul began to destroy the church or ravage
the church.
Going from house to house, he dragged off
both men and women and put them in prison.
Now stop there.
You're in this story, I'm in this story.
Immerse yourself there.
What do you do?
You're in Jerusalem, what's your response?
If you run and hide, turn to page twenty-eight.
If you deny that you know this Christ or that
you were ever really serious, turn to page
forty-one.
If you organize an army and become militant
and say we will fight fire with fire, turn
to page sixty-three.
What's your response in that story?
What's my response in that story?
What's the ordinary response in that story?
What do they decide?
What do they choose, will this movement fizzle
and fade just like so many other movements
had fizzled and faded of pseudo-messiahs.
Will this be like one of them?
Will this fall in line with the rest or is
there something different?
What is your response?
As I said, the ending to the story has already
been written, but I don't think any of us
would have chosen that, let alone predicted
that somebody would choose that.
Look what it says in verse four of our text:
Those who had been scattered preached the
word wherever they went.
That's not normal.
That's not ordinary.
The heat gets turned up in Jerusalem, you're
literally running for your lives.
The heat gets turned up because of those who
claim affiliation with Jesus, because it wasn't
just Stephen, but that blood thirsty crowd
pursued more and started to pursue believers
in Christ.
Saul's there, he's approving of it, he's trying
to destroy the church, he's dragging people
off to prison and what's your response?
Well, the early church, these disciples, they
decide we're going to preach, we're not going
to hide, we're not going to deny, we're not
going to become militant.
They're going to preach.
That's not ordinary.
But what if they had chosen a different response?
Have you ever thought about that?
What if they had chosen a different response?
What if these disciples had chosen something
different?
Would we even be here talking about this?
Would it have ever made it outside of Jerusalem
if they had chosen a different response?
What if they had chosen something different?
What's amazing to me though is that when I
look at these disciples who are scattered
preaching wherever they go, here's what strikes
me.
These are, if you'll forgive me, ordinary
people.
These are not the qualified preachers that
go about preaching wherever they go.
Why, how do I know that?
All except the apostles were scattered.
So we've got this enormous multitude of people
who claim to follow the teachings, the way
of Jesus.
This huge multitude that's filled Jerusalem,
who knows how many thousands.
And that group minus twelve is the group that
runs preaching.
They're ordinary, if you can forgive that
expression.
They're everyday disciples, they're not the
qualified preachers, but they never stop talking
about the good news of Jesus wherever they
go.
When they're scattered, they preach.
Now when I look at this text, when I look
at this story I'm left with a few questions.
One of those questions that I ask is: What
is it going to take to stop the spread of
the gospel?
What is it going to take to stop the spread
of the gospel?
In my world, which is you know, which is Pastor
World, which sounds like a really lame amusement
park actually now that I think about it.
We just eat saltines and drink water at Pastor
World, right?
No, in my world, you know we're talking as
pastors and as ministry leaders, we're saying,
how are we going to spread the gospel?
Hopefully as a church we're asking that question.
I think we are, that's our mission, to give
repeated opportunities, that's not a bad question.
But I also want to ask this, what's it going
to take to stop the spread of the gospel?
It almost seems like, it almost seems like
there is a divine inertia propelling the church
forward in her mission.
Isn't that remarkable?
It just seems to march forward.
Why is that?
Well, there may be an unfair advantage.
There may be an unfair advantage in this.
What's it going to take to stop the spread
and as I look at that from a human perspective,
I look at the first few centuries of the early
church and at a human level I ask, how did
they even make it past those years?
Now you might be a church historian or fancy
you know, yourself a little bit of a historian
and so you know, you might object and say
you know what Jonathan, you know, the church
has been in the seat of authority many years
and so that's... so to ask what is it going
to take to stop the spread, that's not really
a good question.
I'll give you that.
There was a few centuries where the lines
between church and empire were indiscernible,
they were a little blurry, I'll give you that,
but it wasn't always that way, it didn't start
that way.
We're talking about something that was on
the underside, the underbelly of the empire,
not in the seat of authority in the empire.
We're talking about a grass roots movement
of the oppressed, not a dictatorship of the
oppressor, we're talking about this movement
of believers who when they were on the bottom
side of things.
You see, in the first few centuries of the
early church, maybe you didn't know this,
persecution, that was the norm, not the exception.
Martyrdom, to die for your faith, that was
a near reality, not a distant news story.
And suffering in general, really that was
kind of like the calling card of the believer,
not a life of comfort and convenience.
That really wasn't it, but instead this was
commonplace.
So at a human level we might look at that
and say I don't know how they made it outside
of the first few centuries.
In fact, one of the early church fathers,
his name was Tertullian, he died in 240 AD.
Tertullian said this, he said the blood of
the martyrs is the seed of the gospel.
He picked up on this theme, he said the blood
of the martyrs is the seed of the gospel.
What's he saying there?
That not persecution, not even governmental
pressure, not even death can stop this movement.
In fact, just as the seed goes in the ground
and yields a harvest larger than itself - the
seed of the gospel is the blood of the martyrs.
That means that their gospel, the gospel of
Jesus goes forward further and faster even
when people are losing their lives for their
faith.
It's almost counter-intuitive to us.
And I think that's because we, where we live
today and the time in which we do, we're a
little too short-sighted with our suffering.
We don't look long enough down the road to
see that there's more going on than just our
pain and suffering.
We're far too short-sighted.
Let me show you what I mean.
In Acts eight where do we find these believers?
They're in Jerusalem.
You with me?
That was encouraging, alright.
Any other campuses with me?
Thank you, okay. Online, thanks.
Man, this is eleven.
You're supposed to have the caffeine already
kicking in guys.
What's going on?
Where are they in Acts chapter eight?
Jerusalem, thank you.
How do I know that, because Acts one through
seven they're in Jerusalem.
Brilliant logic, I know.
They're in Jerusalem.
That's where they are, but the events of Pentecost
that we talked about last Sunday, the events
of Pentecost announced what to the world?
That the gospel is not just for the Jewish
people, but it is for the world.
That's why they're hearing the gospel in their
native language.
It's for everyone, it's for everybody.
But how could the gospel be taken globally
if the believers are remaining locally in
Jerusalem?
And so at just the right time, at just the
right time persecution breaks out in Jerusalem.
Breaks out.
Horrible.
Painful.
And instead of accomplishing the purpose that
the enemies of the gospel had in mind, something
greater, higher, bigger happens.
You see, Saul who's there leading the charge
and the enemies of the gospel there, they
had an intent.
They had a purpose in mind with the persecution.
They're trying to stamp out the movement of
the gospel.
They're trying to stop the extension of the
gospel.
They're trying to stop it from spreading.
They're trying to eradicate the virus that
up until this point in time has been a contact
virus.
Life to life.
That was Saul's intent.
But God's intent is that through this persecution,
the virus becomes airborne and starts to spread.
It becomes viral, it's a contagion that is
not limited to a locality but is intended
for the world.
And so believers start to take that gospel
with them wherever they go.
It's just remarkable, and that's counter-intuitive
as I said, because Saul, he's ravaging the
church.
That's the only time that word appears in
the Scripture and every other time it's used
in literature, ravaging began to destroy the
church.
It's used of a wild beast tearing a vineyard
to shreds.
That's what Saul's trying to do to the church.
I mean it's heavy, it's not light.
It's heavy, but Saul's intent, the enemies
of the gospels intent could not override God's
intent.
Well, you might ask how could something so
wicked end up being something that is useful
for good things?
How could persecution lead to extension?
It's counter-intuitive to us, but think about
it.
This is the rhythm of redemption.
This is how things have been marching forward
ever since the cross, really.
Look at the cross.
They nailed Jesus to a cross to stop Him.
They cannot, and in fact the cross becomes
the symbol of his victory.
Look at the grave.
They seal it, they guard it, they put all
sorts of edicts around it trying to stop his
body from leaving.
How successful was that?
The empty tomb stands as the loudest declaration
that He's not dead.
So the very thing that was designed to stop
the movement actually served to advance the
movement.
And we see the church here.
They're persecuted, man you guys are just
going to give it up and go home.
No, instead they start preaching wherever
they go and they carry that gospel into new
territory.
Then there's Paul, Saul who's here ravaging
the church ends up becoming the loudest champion
for the local church.
He starts spreading the gospel everywhere.
But Paul even himself ends up in prison.
He's imprisoned in Rome and he's in prison
why, because he's spreading the gospel and
the enemies of the gospel are trying to put
a stop to this movement.
Look what Paul says in Philippians 1, I love
this: Now I want you to know, brothers and
sisters, that what has happened to me, being
put in prison, has actually served to advance
the gospel.
(That's not ordinary) As a result, it has
become clear throughout the whole palace guard
and to everyone else that I am in chains for
Christ.
It's become evident to everyone.
And because of my chains, most of the brothers
and sisters have become confident in the Lord
and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel
without fear.
Can you imagine this?
Paul says I'm in prison.
Instead of saying woe is me, I'm in prison
- and by the way this isn't like prison with
direct TV and three really nice meals and
a warm bed, right?
That's not it.
This is like a pit and he's chained to a different
guard every day.
I love this.
So Paul's view is, I want you to know it's
become clear to everyone here I'm in chains
for the gospel.
So every single day the guards are talking
like, eh, I've got Paul duty again?
The man does not stop, like can we trade?
I'll work your Saturday if you work my...
You know like it's all this thing and why?
Because when they see Paul, they know they're
going to hear this gospel message, and you
know what?
It's almost like Paul sees them and it's like,
hey, new guy?
We're going to have this conversation.
You just tell me when you want to have that
conversation, because it's going to happen.
Not only that, not only is he seeing like
there's more going on here, but he says brothers
and sisters, the family of God, everyday disciples,
brothers and sisters, that they are becoming
bold with the gospel.
So they put one in prison and they lit a hundred
on fire.
They put one in prison to stop the movement
and hundreds or thousands became bold.
They couldn't stop this, see this is the rhythm
of redemption, it's counter-intuitive to us
because we think how could something evil
end up being useful for something so good,
the extension of the gospel.
We need to get a God's eye view of suffering
and stop being so short sighted with our suffering.
This is not just an ordinary response, because
when people are indwelled by the Spirit of
God when they are placed in Christ and empowered
by his Spirit they stop being ordinary.
There is only extraordinary now.
When people are indwelled by the Spirit of
God, it changes their perspective so that
they're no longer crippled by doubt when they
walk through suffering.
So that the Spirit empowered believers, the
empowered priesthood, everyday disciples,
they are not waffling in their faith when
they walk through difficulty.
They are not wracked with fear or worry.
They don't live life like it's a constant
soap opera - you know, woe is me.
No, instead they have a different perspective
on suffering.
They see that although there could very well
be one intention, one purpose in the suffering
- maybe the enemies of the gospel, maybe the
enemies of our souls - that there may be one
intent here but there may also be another
intent here - a greater intent, a bigger intent,
a higher intent.
And that's what leads to this settled confidence
that we as believers embrace.
It's not a blind eye, it's not being naïve,
it's not just sugar coating everything - life's
great.
You know, it's not that at all.
But it's instead seeing suffering from God's
view.
Seeing suffering with a long view towards
suffering, not a short sighted view.
So there's a settled confidence knowing that
you can trust the author, because when you
pick up that story that is your life and you're
in Christ, even if some of the chapters are
really ugly, even if some of the chapters
are really painful, even if there are some
chapters that you wish you could erase, you
can have a settled confidence in the author
because you've read his work before.
You know how he ends these stories.
You may not know exactly how that's going
to work out, but you can rest in his love
when you trust the author.
Patrick Johnstone, who's an author and missiologist
- he wrote this book Operation World.
Great book.
And he said this - it's a lengthy quote, but
I want you to see it.
It's on the screen.
He says this: All the earth-shaking awesome
forces unleashed on the world are released
by the Lord Jesus Christ.
He reigns today.
He is in the control room of the universe.
He is the only Ultimate Cause: all the sins
of man, all the machinations of Satan (the
schemes of Satan) ultimately have to enhance
the glory and kingdom of our Saviour.
This is true of our world today - in wars,
famines, earthquakes, or the evil that apparently
has the ascendancy.
All God's actions are just and loving.
Listen to this - We have become too enemy-conscious,
and can overdo the spiritual warfare aspect
of intercession.
We need to be more God-conscious, so that
we can laugh the laugh of faith knowing we
have power over all the power of the enemy.
He has already lost control because of Calvary,
where the Lamb was slain.
What confidence and rest of heart this gives
us as we face a world in turmoil and in such
spiritual need.
I love this.
Even if that turmoil is far or whether it
is near we have rest and we have confidence.
This is not ordinary.
But when we have this perspective, it changes
how we live.
We need to be more God-conscious not enemy
conscious.
What is Patrick Johnstone saying there?
He's not saying we need to deny the existence
of the enemy.
Not at all.
But we need to deny the acknowledgment as
if the enemy were really in control.
As if he really had any power in this world
beyond what the Lord allows him to have.
Let's remember who's on the throne.
This is not two equal forces warring - good
and evil wondering which one's going to win
in the end.
This is not like two sides of the force - good
and evil.
Which one are you going to use, which one
is going to win?
That's not it at all.
We have a settled confidence in the God who
sits in the control room ,and his name is
Jesus Christ.
I love this.
I love that.
And you see when we have this perspective,
when we gain this insight we recognize that
nothing can overrule God's purpose.
Even when there may be a purpose of the enemy,
nothing can overrule God's purpose.
Listen to what John Piper said in Desiring
God, one of my favorite books.
Christ sovereignly accomplishes His loving,
purifying purpose by overruling Satan's destructive
attempts.
Satan is always aiming to destroy our faith,
but Christ magnifies His own power in our
weakness.
He sovereignly accomplishes this.
He overrules.
Satan cannot overrule.
He does.
So it is like a war, except in this war every
move of the enemy is telegraphed by the victor.
He sees it all.
In fact, not just that but every move of the
enemy actually frustrates the enemy because
he can't even accomplish his purpose but the
moves of the enemy end up accomplishing the
sovereign Lord's purpose.
Think about that!
I mean that's why Scripture says things like
this: No purpose of yours, O Lord, can be
thwarted.
No purpose of yours.
But instead it says of God that he thwarts
the plans of the crafty so their hands achieve
no success.
And that the Lord foils the plans of the nations.
He thwarts the purpose of the people.
Why?
He sovereignly rules and reigns.
And even when there is a purpose of the evil
one to steal, to kill, and to destroy - even
when there's persecution, even when there's
suffering in our lives - nothing can overrule
the sovereign purpose of our Lord.
Do we believe that?
That's most of us.
He will build his Church.
He said I will build my church.
In fact, that's exactly what's taking place
in this story.
You realize that in Acts 8:1 that that's the
beginning of the fulfillment of Jesus' words
in Acts 1:8?
That 8:1 fulfills 1:8?
Look at what it says in Acts 1:8.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem (they did that).
Then you will be my witnesses in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Where did the persecution send the believers
after they left Jerusalem?
Judea and Samaria.
8:1 is a fulfillment of 1:8.
Even though the enemy was trying to persecute
the gospel, stop if from extending into new
territories, it could not.
Why?
Because the sovereign purpose of God overruled
that.
And then in Acts 13, the Holy Spirit tells
the church in Antioch set aside for me Saul
and Barnabas.
And so Saul/Paul and Barnabas, they leave
Antioch.
And what do they start to do?
They take the gospel to the ends of the earth
just as Jesus said.
Acts 1:8 is actually the table of contents
verse for the book of Acts in the early church.
Started in Jerusalem, spread to Judea and
Samaria and to the outermost parts of the
earth.
Jesus made good on his promise, my friends.
And he always does.
In fact, if you look at the places where the
faithful apostles - where they were martyred
for their faith?
If you started to chart those on a Google
map - as one of my pastor friends pointed
out to me this week - if you were to look
at all those places, it would look like the
ends of the earth meaning that they were crazy
enough to think that Jesus - he knew what
he was talking about.
That he could be trusted, that he knew what
was going to build his Church, and nothing
could stand against it.
So as I asked earlier - what will stop the
gospel from spreading?
Apparently not persecution.
Apparently not martyrdom.
Apparently not governmental pressure.
Apparently not a loss of religious liberty.
Apparently not death.
Apparently not hell.
That's why Jesus says, I will build my Church
and the gates of hell will not prevail against
it - will not overtake it.
It cannot.
He will build his Church.
And when you believe that, when I believe
that, we have a perspective on suffering that
is different - that when we walk through suffering,
it won't devastate us, but it will mature
us.
That's what Paul was getting at in Romans
chapter five verses three through five.
Look what he says.
Not only so, but we also glory (boast) in
our sufferings.
Can you believe that statement?
We glory in our sufferings because we know
that suffering produces perseverance; that
perseverance produces character, that character
produces hope.
And hope does not put us to shame, because
God's love has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit, who has been given
to us.
We don't glory in suffering because of suffering's
sake.
But we know what suffering is accomplishing
in our lives and in the lives of those around
us for those of us who are in Christ, for
those who have been given the Spirit as he
says.
That we don't look forward to it, but the
truth is we don't have to look very far for
it, because it's not far from any of us.
But instead, when we are walking through suffering
we glory.
Why?
Because we know that God is in control and
our maturing in that process gives Him more
glory, not less.
So he connects that to the indwelling Spirit.
Peter does something similar in 1 Peter chapter
four.
Look what he says.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery
ordeal that has come on you to test you, as
though something strange were happening to
you.
But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in
the sufferings of Christ, so that you may
be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
If you are insulted because of the name of
Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of
glory and of God rests on you.
If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer
or thief or any other kind of criminal, or
even as a meddler.
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do
not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear
that name.
And then nineteen says, So then, those who
suffer according to God's will should commit
themselves to their faithful Creator (entrust
themselves to their faithful Creator) and
continue to do good.
Peter says, don't be surprised if the heat
gets turned up on you because of your allegiance
to me.
Don't be surprised if you walk through suffering
just because of the brokenness of this world.
Don't be surprised at that, but instead rejoice.
There it is again.
We glory in our sufferings, Paul says.
We rejoice in our sufferings, Peter says.
This is not an ordinary response.
But when the Spirit of God indwells, nothing's
allowed to be ordinary anymore.
This changes everything.
He says, don't be surprised when this happens
but instead entrust yourselves, commit yourselves
to your faithful Creator and continue to do
good.
That means don't give up.
Don't think that this is something to throw
you off the path.
This is the path that God wants to lead you
on as a disciple.
And then Paul says something astounding in
Colossians chapter one, verse twenty-four,
look at this.
Now I rejoice (there's that word again) in
what I am suffering for you, and I fill up
in my flesh what is still lacking in regard
to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his
body, which is the church.
Now, as you see that, what is lacking in regard
to Christ's afflictions.
You might be thinking is that heresy?
Is that allowed to be said?
What's lacking about Christ's afflictions?
Well certainly it's not that it was a deficient
sacrifice.
We know that.
That's not the case.
It's not that we have to work for our salvation.
We know that's not the case.
It wasn't that he couldn't save us.
We know that's not the case.
So what is lacking?
What needs to be filled up in Christ's afflictions?
Well, as one author put it, here's what's
lacking: the infinite value of Christ's suffering
is not known and trusted in the world.
Think about that.
The infinite value of Christ's suffering is
not known and trusted in the world.
Meaning it's foolishness.
The cross is foolishness to people who do
not have the Spirit of God.
It doesn't make any sense.
Why would he have to suffer?
That's the only thing that's lacking.
That's what Paul's saying here.
The only thing that's lacking is that it's
not known by more people.
That it's not trusted in by more people.
That when they see the cross, they think foolishness
not my salvation.
Apart from the intervention of the Holy Spirit,
that's where people see this.
And so Paul says, look, when I suffer?
When I suffer, all I'm doing is I'm pointing
people to his suffering.
Because I don't want them to see me and woe
is me.
I want them to see him.
That he is Lord of all.
That he died in their place just as he died
in my place.
That he took their sin just as he took my
sin.
That he took my judgment just as he took their
judgment.
So when I suffer, I want to point to the sufferings
of Christ, that they would see that through
my life, that I wouldn't be an obstacle to
them seeing that, but that I would amplify
them seeing that.
That's what Paul's saying in Colossians one,
twenty-four - as we fill up what is lacking.
And this is not theory, by the way.
This is not just theory or first century musings.
This is real.
People really do this.
One pastor, a Romanian pastor names Josef
Tson.
Josef Tson - he was tortured in Romania.
He's a pastor.
I mean like within the last century.
This really happened.
And this is just one of many examples.
But Josef Tson - he's the kind of person who
says things like this to his interrogator
(it's not on the screen but he says things
like this): Sir, your primary weapon is killing.
My primary weapon is my dying, and if you
kill me, my preaching will be ten times louder.
Nobody says things like this.
That's not ordinary.
But in addition to that, in commenting on
Colossians one, listen to what Josef Tson
said.
"I am an extension of Jesus Christ.
When I was beaten in Romania, He suffered
in my body.
It is not my suffering.
Talk about taking yourself out of the equation
- look at that statement.
It is not my suffering.
I only had the honor to share His sufferings."
And then later on he said this: "Christ's
suffering is for propitiation; our suffering
is for propagation."
Christ's suffering is for propitiation - that
means Jesus paid the penalty for sin.
He appeased God's justice and wrath.
Our suffering is for propagation, meaning
that we have an opportunity to extend the
gospel into new territories when we view our
suffering through this lens.
It is not just woe is me that I'm just down
here, man.
This is painful.
This is rotten.
This is not good.
And it is all of those things.
We're not taking any of that away.
But instead, I choose to trust that there
is a higher, better, bigger purpose in mind
- a sovereign purpose that overrules the purpose
of the enemy or of the brokenness of this
world.
It overrules that.
Nobody talks like this because this isn't
ordinary.
We have to train our self to think like this
because we need to understand what it looks
like to view our suffering - not shortsightedly
but with a long view.
A God's eye view.
In fact all of this - all that I've shared
with you is building up to this one statement.
If you don't hear anything else, hear this.
When Christ's people have an extraordinary
- an extra ordinary - response to suffering,
God uses it to accomplish extraordinary purposes
for the gospel.
That's what I believe about Acts chapter eight.
That's what I believe about the early Church.
That's what I believe about today.
That's what I believe about you and me.
When Christ's people - that's us - when we
have an extraordinary response to suffering
- not the ordinary one, but an extraordinary
one - and that doesn't originate in ourselves,
it originates from the Spirit of God who dwells
in us - when Christ's people have an extraordinary
response to suffering God uses it to accomplish
extraordinary purposes for the gospel.
So they persecuted the Church, it extended
the gospel.
You see, suffering is ordinary.
It's ordinary.
Everybody suffers.
Everybody.
It's not far from any of us.
Suffering is ordinary but your response, Christ
follower, should not be.
Your response shouldn't be, what will distinguish
my suffering?
What will distinguish your suffering from
your neighbor's?
What will distinguish that?
What will distinguish your suffering from
the person who works in the office next to
you?
What will make your suffering worth it?
What will make your suffering fill up Christ's
afflictions so that the gospel may be made
known through your life and propagates the
gospel?
What sets your suffering apart?
Your response to it.
What you believe about it.
What you believe about God in it.
That's what distinguishes.
So your passed over again at work for a promotion.
I said this is real.
It's real.
So you're passed over again for a promotion
at work.
And while nobody would fault you for complaining
about the boss never looks my way.
No one would fault you for taking your foot
off the gas since they're not going to acknowledge
my efforts anyway.
What is different about that response from
every other person in your office?
What's different about that?
Nothing.
That's ordinary.
That's the expected response.
But what if you chose a different response?
Or so, maybe you have more month than money
again.
And while no one would fault you perhaps for
complaining about economic injustice, a lack
of opportunity.
Those things exist.
Nobody would fault you for identifying those
things.
But what distinguishes your suffering if that
is what you hold forward at the center piece
of your life?
Not that I want to learn this lesson in front
of other people.
That I will not worry about what I'm going
to eat or what I will wear because my heavenly
Father, who love me, know that I need these
things and he will provide them.
What if I learn that lesson of seeking His
kingdom first?
And then everything else will be added?
What if I learn that lesson in front of other
people?
What is distinguishing about my response to
that suffering?
As little as it might be.
We have little sufferings and we have big
sufferings.
We have detonation suffering and we have mosquito
bite suffering.
We've got it all.
We suffer for Christ when we suffer because
of the name.
But we also suffer with Christ because we
are walking behind him as we walk through
difficulty in this life.
So whether we suffer for him or whether we
suffer with him, what will our response be?
Maybe it's more significant than those first
things I mentioned.
Your divorce.
Your chronic pain.
Your family drama.
Your unemployment.
Your organ failure.
What is going to distinguish your response,
Christ follower?
What opportunity might you have to see God
do something amazing for the gospel through
you?
And then it won't be wasted.
It won't be nothing.
It won't just be a random occurrence pre-determined
by a series of biochemical events millions
of years ago.
This is not random.
It's that God's sovereign purpose overrules
the purposes of the enemy.
Or maybe it's, like so many under the sound
of my voice - in a church of our size, three
campuses, many thousands - maybe it's cancer.
Seems to not be far from any of us.
But what if you viewed your cancer not as
a death sentence?
I know it's not easy to do that.
But what if you viewed your cancer not as
a death sentence but as an open door?
What if you said, you know I'm going to be
around doctors and medical professionals that
I would never have met otherwise and these
people watch other people die every day.
I want to show them what it looks like to
die in Christ and not be afraid that cancer's
going to have the last word in my story.
It won't!
What if you viewed it that way?
Yeah!
What if you saw yourself as an ambassador
that God had already provided - he's already
determined - this is amazing - what if you
saw yourself as an ambassador that God had
already set up a series of appointments for
you every time you walked into a waiting room
or an examine room - that those people in
those other chairs that are walking through
cancer or whatever, and you look at that as
a divine appointment as an ambassador.
And that as you're poked and prodded and blood
drawn and scanned and re-scanned and as you
wait, and as you wait, and as you wait, and
as you go back and forth and back and forth,
you see this as an opportunity for the propagation
of the gospel through these divine appointments.
What if you saw it that way?
Think that would have an impact in this region?
Do you think it would look different?
Do you think there would be something that
would distinguish our suffering from every
other suffering?
You see suffering as ordinary but our response
should not be when Christ's people - that's
you and me - when we have an extraordinary
response to suffering God uses it.
It's not wasted.
God uses it to accomplish extraordinary things
for the gospel.
So church - an that's me - we need not be
short-sighted when it comes to our suffering.
Don't be short-sighted with your suffering.
Have a long view.
Get at it from God's vantage point.
Pick your head up and recognize that the good
Shepherd knows where he is taking his flock.
And even when the terrain gets rocky and even
when we're not sure footed, that's the best
place to be because he knows this terrain.
He's walked it himself and he did it perfectly.
And we don't need to allow suffering to shake
our world when we walk next to the earth shaker,
friends.
Do we believe that?
Anybody believe that?
Now listen, Isaiah forty-three - it's not
on the screen but it says this: Do not fear.
Do not fear.
When you pass through the waters I will be
with you.
When you pass through the rivers they will
not sweep you away.
When you walk through the fire, and you will,
it's going to be hot.
But it will not burn you.
It will not set you ablaze.
We don't need to be shaken by suffering when
we walk with the earth shaker.
And when Christ's people - when Christ's people
- have an extraordinary response to suffering,
God uses it to accomplish extraordinary purposes
for the gospel.
Let's bow together in prayer.
If you're here today, I would encourage you
with these words that I heard when I was in
college.
It always stuck with me, kind of summarizing
what we've said today.
We need to stop telling God how big that mountain
is in our lives and start telling that mountain
how big God is.
We don't need to be shaken, friends.
But I'm confident, in a church of our size,
that there are people under the sound of my
voice right now in the middle of suffering.
I know that.
You're next to some of them.
Or maybe you just walked out of suffering
and you don't know how you made it.
Or you're about to walk into suffering and
you just don't know yet.
Have this issue settled in your heart today.
God sovereignly accomplishes his loving purpose
in your life.
He is good.
He can be trusted.
But in the quietness of this moment, right
where you are, in your heart of hearts - you
don't need to speak out loud but ask God - God,
give me your perspective on my suffering.
Ask him.
God give me that perspective.
And then ask him for the names of people that
you can intentionally be praying for who do
not yet know Jesus, who might be watching
you in your suffering.
Ask God for those names and ask him to soften
their hearts right now.
And lastly, if you're here today and you're
not a disciple of Jesus, you wouldn't say,
you know what, Jonathan, I'm a Christian.
I don't know God personally through Jesus
Christ.
Can I just tell you it's no accident you are
here today?
God wanted you to hear this message - not
because of the mouth piece but because of
his word.
He wanted you to hear this.
It's no accident.
When are you going to stop believing in coincidences
and start recognizing that God's trying to
get your attention?
You see if you want to know what it means
to have a trust and a deep confidence in God
- that you can walk through anything not because
of your strength but because of his - if you
want to have that settled confidence, if you
want to know what it means to have eternal
life now, abundant life now, life as it was
meant to be lived now and into eternity - if
you want to know what that means, then here's
my invitation to you and here's my challenge
to you - that when we dismiss in just a moment
- I'm going to pray and then I'll dismiss
us.
And when I do that I want you, if that's you,
to come by the Fireside Room.
Whether your in the Worship Center or East
Worship Center, come into the Atrium.
There's a room off to the side.
It's labeled - it says Fireside Room.
Just walk in there and this is all you have
to say: I need Jesus.
That's it.
I need Jesus.
We want to give you something you can take
home, to look that over.
We want to help you.
We want to pray with you.
We're here for you on this journey.
If that's you, come to the Fireside Room and
tell somebody in there I need Jesus.
So Father, I ask that you would write the
things on our hearts that you want us to remember.
That you would reinforce, that you would make
our hearts sturdy in our confidence in you.
That whatever comes our way, whether that's
persecution, whether that's disease, whatever
that looks like, that we would have a deep
trust in you.
And that we would have a deep trust that you
want to do something bigger and greater and
that we could be a part of that.
So, God, invite us.
Call us.
Purify us.
Fill us so that we can steward our lives and
the suffering that may go with that for the
advancement, the extension of the gospel so
that people who are far from you may come
to know you even if that means through our
suffering, God, we would say that was worth
it.
We want to do these things for your glory
and the good of people and we ask this in
Christ's name.
Amen.
Thanks everyone.
We love you.
You're dismissed.
