WEBVTT 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:04.080 Welcome to the Awakening Church Podcast. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:08.960 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:10.720 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:21.839 Well, they they don't always tell you this growing up in the church or in youth group if you grew up in the church. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:32.479 And if you're new to church, maybe you have not heard this, but one day you will find yourself tired of being a Christian. 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:34.719 You'll find yourself weary. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:40.320 You'll find yourself exhausted from the faith thing. 00:00:40.560 --> 00:01:02.479 And while you may not doubt God or doubt God's existence, although you might in that state of weariness, you may find yourself one day making yourself breakfast or pulling into the driveway at church or picking your child up from school or walking your dog and suddenly thinking, I don't know if I have what it takes to go on. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:04.719 I'm tired, I'm weary. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:12.640 One thing we don't tell a lot of Christians is that weariness is a common feature of the Christian life. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:18.319 But weariness is a common feature of human life. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.280 You get tired of everything you've ever done. 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:27.359 It's not, shouldn't be shocking, that Christian faith is something that also includes weariness. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:30.959 You get tired of your phone, of your car, of your own children. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.000 At some level, we get tired of everything. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:42.560 But we don't often think about weariness as attached to faith because we think something's wrong with us if we're just tired. 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:48.000 And if we're just slow to be joyful about this faith that we have. 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:59.840 If we show up to worship and we don't have the energy that we once used to have, if we don't have that experience that we used to have when we were younger or when we first became a Christian, but weariness is a common feature of the Christian faith. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:02.879 And 2020 has given you plenty of reasons to be weary. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:15.280 2020, early 2021, this pandemic changed our Sunday experience that probably led many of you to just grow tired, uh, to not gather together, to not have live worship and live teaching and stuff. 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:17.039 That was a different experience, right? 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:29.039 Not to mention the various racial injustices that we were awakened to once again, and even our country and the church's role in that, that kind of complicated things for so many people. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:40.400 An election that divided people, and often the divisions were held with really harsh uh religious undertones to it, that probably caused a lot of people to just be like, man, it's hard being a Christian. 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:41.919 Take on top of that, right? 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:52.639 With the pandemic, we were all stuck on our phones at home, experiencing the world through various screens, having this constant flow of information with like a tinge of cynicism on top of it, right? 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:59.120 All the information we get just has a little bit of cynicism to make us want to uh, you know, read more of it. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:03.439 Um, it's been a hard time to be a Christian, a hard year to be a Christian. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.759 How can we develop an ability to keep going when we're weary? 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:11.919 How can we develop the ability to persevere? 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:16.560 You know, what is our response to weariness? 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:23.759 The past three weeks, uh, we've been looking at this series, The Strange Gifts of God, the final eight chapters of the book of Acts. 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.639 And I've been telling you that the book ends strangely. 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:33.199 It does not end like the gospel narratives with a triumphant resurrected uh, you know, power and the ascension of Jesus. 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:37.680 It ends with various struggles and trials of this one apostle. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:04:02.080 The rest of the apostles fade into the background, the spotlight is on Paul, and he goes through trial after trial after trial, misstep after misstep, literal trials and justices he's brought before various courts and mistreated by those courts, and he's trying to appeal to clear his name because he's trying to, he's very convinced he didn't do anything wrong, and he's on his way to Rome to the highest appealed authority he can get to Caesar. 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:05.919 And on his way there, he just keeps hitting these roadblocks left and right. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:08.400 I actually want to summarize it for you, just to remind you. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.080 Uh, there's a gonna be something on the screen. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:12.400 Look at all that Paul went through and his weariness. 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:14.719 He was beaten by a crowd in Acts 21. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:20.399 He was arrested in Acts 22, various religious groups tried to kill him and plotted to kill him in Acts 23. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.079 He faced six different mistrials in various courts. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:30.560 All of them at best threw him out, but at worst treated him awfully, beaten, abused, held against his will. 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:36.000 All of this while he's a legal Roman citizen, by the way, and was mistreated by these various Roman courts. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:41.600 And then finally, last week, yes, he gets on a ship to finally go to Rome and he almost dies in a shipwreck. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:46.000 Do you think Paul is tired of being a Christian? 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.680 You know, it might set your weariness in context too. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.199 The Bible's good at that, you know. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:56.560 Um, but yeah, he is coming to Acts 28, weary. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:58.639 Finally, in this chapter, he gets to Rome. 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:01.120 And you think you're gonna have this moment, right? 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:11.519 This moment of the accusers coming, and you kind of have this to kill a mocking bird mixed with a few good men, final court scene where the verdict is finally out, and we end the book. 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:13.839 Paul's cleared on his name, and the mission of God goes on. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:16.639 That is not, spoiler alert, what happens. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:18.560 That is not at all what happens. 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:20.800 He finally shows up to Rome. 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:31.199 In Roman court, you had to have your accusers show up in order to have a trial, or a letter sent, uh, official letter sent in order to uh accuse various uh you know people of crimes. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:34.399 No letter is sent, no accusers ever show up. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:48.160 The audience for his defense, which he ends up giving his defense anyways, are mainly Jewish leaders and not Roman leaders, so he's not really able to clear his name as a Roman citizen, but maybe to clear his name as a Jewish Christian convert. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:55.600 And then the ministry, the work of his ministry becomes radically simplified as he shows up to Rome and he's still under house arrest. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:06:01.279 Meaning he has to stay at home with a Roman soldier outside his house and he has to pay for that rental. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:04.240 Uh, he's not just sitting in a jail cell quite yet. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:06.399 And that is how the book ends. 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.199 Look at the very, very final line of the book of Acts. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.759 If you're in 28, go to the very end of the book, chapter 28, verse 30 and 31. 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:28.240 He, Paul, lived there two whole years at his own expense, and he welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.279 And with that, the book ends. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.160 There's no massive revival. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.360 There's no big courtroom scene with a verdict, like I said. 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:38.800 There's no answers. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.920 Is Paul innocent or guilty by Roman law? 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:46.160 We don't actually know for sure what happened to Paul after this. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:47.439 We know some things. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:54.079 We know he ended up in an actual Roman prison and as much as we can tell, died in that Roman prison. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:58.000 But we don't know much else. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.560 So, what is this story about? 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:09.680 If it ends this way, with no real answers about the life of Paul and no real answers about the future of the church, what is this book about, right? 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:11.759 Is is this a book about the apostles? 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:13.839 It's called Acts of the Apostles. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:26.160 But, you know, as as you conclude the book of Acts, a lot of the apostles either die, like Stephen and James, or they fade into the background like Peter and Philip. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:27.040 You know? 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:30.639 So this book doesn't really, isn't really about all of the apostles. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:35.680 Well, maybe it's about Paul, because Paul, he's like introduced a little early, then he's really focused on here at the end. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:40.160 But again, you and you you if this was a biography of Paul, something else should have happened. 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:42.399 There should have been a little bit more completeness to this. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:44.560 Okay, let's get a little bit more esoteric then. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:45.279 What is this book about? 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:46.720 Is it about community? 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:55.759 Well, sure, yes, it's about community at certain times, but there's also so much division in this book, and the community is so early in being formed, it can't just be about that. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:56.959 Okay, is this about love? 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:03.600 Is the book of Acts all about the love of the community, uh, of the church within its local community? 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:04.800 Well, probably not. 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:06.079 You you may not know this. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:10.560 The word love doesn't show up in the book of Acts one time. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:18.639 And that's because the scholar Richard Hayes, he says that's because the book of Acts is not so much about love, it's about power. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:21.920 It's about the power of the kingdom of God. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:25.120 Yeah, we're we're scratching at something very close. 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:28.079 Look at what Willie James Jennings says. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:32.559 He says Luke's narrative was not about Paul. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:38.720 We make a terrible mistake if we think this singular, if this is singularly Paul's story. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:45.279 Even at its close, with Paul at the center stage, this is not first his story, but the story of another. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:50.639 It is the story of an urgently longing God who has bound the divine life to the frailty of flesh. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:54.000 God came to Rome, Paul came to Rome. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:09:00.480 These are two completely different sentences joined together simply by the Holy Spirit. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:06.559 Acts, the book of Acts, is about God's power accomplishing God's plan. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:19.600 And here at the end, when we don't get a lot of answers about what is happening, we do get an answer for this: a key, a strange gift from God being given to us at the end of this book, which is this. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:28.639 By knowing that this book is about God's power, accomplishing God's plan, we will grow in this ability to persevere. 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:32.399 Because Paul is in a state that you're in right now. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.879 The book ends in a state that you and I are in right now. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:36.320 That's why I love this book. 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:40.240 This book does not end like a novel, it ends like real life. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:46.320 A lot of loose ends, a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of bizarre unknowns. 00:09:46.480 --> 00:10:04.879 And yet, here we are invited to understand that this is not a story about an apostle, this is not a story about an esoteric theme, this is the story about God and God's plan and God's power enacting what he would will to do through the means in which he desires to accomplish his ends perfectly. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:06.639 That's what this book is about. 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:16.960 And it's about us learning to trust God's power and trust God's plans so we might grow in the ability to persevere when things go wrong, when we are weary. 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.320 Let me give you perseverance defined in a couple of sentences. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:22.720 Okay, you can pick one, you could take all three. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:27.840 Perseverance is to me, it's just about putting one foot in front of the other in Jesus Christ. 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:31.120 It's like following Jesus, one foot in front of the other. 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:32.240 Keep going. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:38.559 I think it's also defined as doing that which you said you would do consistently over a long period of time. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:46.240 To persevere in something is to consistently do that which you originally said you would do over a long period of time. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:49.519 Another way to put it would be this: I heard this definition once. 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:56.639 Continuing in a commitment to something long after the mood in which the commitment was made has passed, right? 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.320 You had a mood on your wedding day. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:03.759 What does it mean to persevere in your marriage? 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.480 It means to commit to that person long after the wedding day mood has passed. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:11.360 And to continue to commit to those things. 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:13.600 Perseverance, these definitions. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:14.720 How do we develop this? 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:22.240 How do we not just reject weariness, but walk in weariness in perseverance? 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:23.360 We can still be tired. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.960 We can still say we're tired, we can still say we're wearied, but how do we keep going? 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:29.679 God's power and God's plan. 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:31.360 God's power and God's plan. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:36.559 When you know God's plan and his power, you will grow in your perseverance. 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:38.240 Let's look at the story. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:47.519 The first thing we're gonna look at in this story as the close of Acts is that value to value God's global and eternal plan over the world's trends. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:56.639 When I talk about God's plan and that that being a key to you persevering, I'm talking about the ability to see his global and eternal plan. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:11:59.840 Acts 28, verse 14. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:01.440 This shows Paul first showing up. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:02.879 I summarize the story, it's for you. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:04.240 Let's get into the weeds. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:08.639 There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:09.679 This is Luke talking. 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:12.559 Luke, the narrator, is in the company with Paul. 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.080 And so we came to Rome. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:20.480 And the brothers there, when they heard about us, they came as far as the Forum of Appius and three taverns to meet us. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:21.440 You guys know where that is. 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:25.279 On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:27.919 The Forum was 40 miles away. 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:31.039 The three taverns was 52 miles away. 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:34.000 People came from all over to greet Paul. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:40.240 Paul, three years earlier, had sent a little letter called Romans, which happened to be a theological masterpiece, to this church. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:47.039 He had definitely grown in leadership and fame, and people came from 40, 50 miles away, which by the way, no cars back then, remember? 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:50.559 Okay, so long journeys to meet Paul, and look at what it says. 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:53.840 It says, Paul thanked God and he took courage. 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:56.080 This is a common thing that would happen to Paul. 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:59.759 He would show up in a city and gather the faithful brothers around him. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:06.480 Step one, step zero, even in understanding perseverance is understanding who is my church. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:17.679 And I put the word global in there because it has often encouraged me to know that we, like Paul in the city of Rome, have a global church in the Silicon Valley, do we not? 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:28.159 And we are often encouraged by the people who move from crazy places like myself, Portland, Oregon, to crazier places like India and Africa and China. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.639 All over the globe, people come to the Silicon Valley. 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:40.240 And the question you have to ask as you are thinking about God's plan for your life and persevering in faith is looking at his global project. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:44.879 God is doing something with people that are very different from you. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:47.919 And he's up to other things that you can't see. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:53.279 And it's only in the church where we gather together and you start to see, oh, God's working in your life too. 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:59.840 In my own community group, people of various walks of life from various countries, cultural backgrounds come together. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:01.200 We talk about Jesus. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:07.679 My faith is encouraged, not because of anything I've done, but because the work God is doing in someone else's life. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:15.279 And Paul, when he gathered these people together, you could see he thanked God and he took courage immediately upon gathering those people. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:16.399 Paul was weary. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:20.159 The brothers and sisters came to show faith. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:26.159 Do what it takes to find the brothers and sisters of the faith. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:31.840 You need a church in your life to persevere. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:42.879 Simply put, without the global family of God, knowing that he's working throughout the entire planet and right here, that will help you persevere. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:45.039 But you also need an eternal perspective. 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:52.960 Not only that God's working in other spaces than you, but God's working outside of even your little lifespan, which is so encouraging. 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:56.639 To know that God doesn't exist just for the years you exist. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:01.840 But God has existed, is existing, will exist for all eternity. 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:06.559 Paul had this because once he gathered the people, he starts to open the scriptures with them. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:13.440 And he opens Isaiah 6 with this group as he's kind of defending himself and explaining the faith. 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:15.360 And he has this interesting line. 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.159 Look at Acts 28, a little bit further in verse 25. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:26.639 It says the Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers, he's talking to Jewish people, he's quoting Isaiah 6, this prophecy. 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:34.320 You will see but never perceive, for this people's heart has grown dull. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:40.559 Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, they will listen. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:47.840 Paul is unpacking a plan we have talked about through the book of Acts, which is this this is not just a Jewish movement. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:52.720 This is a global, eternal movement of God's involvement in humanity. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:57.279 And there will be people who do not respond to the gospel immediately. 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:00.639 He says, There's gonna be people whose hearts are dull. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:11.919 But he points the Jewish people to the Gentiles, the quote-unquote outsiders, to say, hey, God's also working in them through his own time and in his own way. 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:13.360 He has an eternal plan. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:23.200 He pulls back to the Old Testament to pull them to the current moment, to say this: the eternal plan of God is not contingent upon cultural trends. 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:28.240 The eternal plan of God is not contingent upon cultural trends. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.639 In the book of Acts, the trends are constantly changing. 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:34.639 In fact, look at the trends in Acts 28, verse 23. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:39.519 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:41.279 A huge crowd comes to Paul. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.840 From morning till evening, he expounded to them. 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:54.320 In other words, taught from the scriptures, testifying to the kingdom of God, and look at this, trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, a catch-all way of saying the Old Testament. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:55.440 And look at this. 00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:59.519 Some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.720 If you've been reading the book of Acts, this is quite common. 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:09.440 The response, the responses to the gospel vary from riot to revival to indifference. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:22.799 All across the board, people are presented with the gospel message, and there's rioting, there's revivals, massive amounts of people coming to Jesus, and there's people who shrug their shoulders and go, I don't really know. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.599 I can kind of take it or leave it. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:34.480 We as Christians have to understand that according to someone somewhere, the church is always in crisis. 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:39.039 But according to Jesus, the church is where it needs to be. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:58.000 But you can read God's word to see Jesus saying, the church, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, Matthew 16, 18. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:04.000 The gates of hell, meaning for all eternity, there will be nothing that can stop the movement of the kingdom of God. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:04.720 Nothing. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:06.640 No cultural trend. 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:15.279 Pay little attention to the trends and the people that try to get you to think that the trends are the demise of the church. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:16.720 You know what trends are, right? 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:21.039 Statistics, data, and various cultural obsessions. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:32.480 The New Testament repeatedly warns against being, quote, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, Ephesians 4.14, or, quote, led away by diverse and strange teachings, Hebrews 13. 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:43.680 You will, lo and behold, through your Christian life, as you're growing weary, be scrolling on your phone and see a statistic that says blank percentage of Christians voted for blank. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.519 And you will start to think that the world is going to end. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.920 You're like, Christians voted for that person? 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:51.599 Christians voted for that issue? 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:56.480 Christians voted for I would never vote that way, so how can this be how can this work? 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.000 How can this reconcile? 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:08.640 There will be statistics about people who self-profess as Christians and they're not self-professing anymore, and the mainline churches are growing and the evangelical churches are shrinking or the Catholics are shrinking or whatever. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:16.480 You'll read all the statistics, but you should be suspicious of trends and confident in the eternal plan of God. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.640 What does God's word say next to your phone? 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.359 Suspicious of trends, why? 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:30.480 First, because sociological data and cultural observations, they fail to capture theological power. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:37.039 Like, statistics are never, or very rarely, the ones that we receive in the Western world. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.400 They're never set inside the context of the global Christian movement. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:49.279 So you'll hear things about American Christians and Western Christians and European Christians, but you'll rarely hear about African Christians and Chinese Christians and South American Christians. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:57.359 And because those statistics fail to capture the global work of God, it's actually really not an accurate representation of what God is doing in this world. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:00.000 It's just cause to give us to freak out. 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:05.359 Secondly, in statistics, the poor are almost always left out. 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:09.680 I worked in the Tenderloin for two years here in San Francisco. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:20.559 We were constantly involved with the lives of poor people, and the church that I served at was filled with homeless people and those in deep poverty. 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.160 No one asked those people what they thought about anything. 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:30.480 The poor are left out of statistics and cultural observations. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:34.480 And that is also precisely where the kingdom of God is usually growing. 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:36.960 Jesus said, Blessed are the poor. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:40.319 That's where it is. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.480 It's among the poor in spirit. 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:51.599 You know, and a trend by its very nature, it doesn't capture theological power because, like, the moving of the Holy Spirit can change a trend like that. 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:55.440 And the very nature of the word trend is something that comes and goes. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:01.680 The other reason to be suspicious of trends is that the gospel has offended every culture it has ever gone into. 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:17.440 So when we see certain trends or cultural observations happening or think pieces about Christianity and we freak out, like we forget that the gospel, by its very nature, is being rejected and accepted at all times. 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:22.400 In the West, here, the main reason people reject Christianity is mostly because of its sexual ethic. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:24.319 That's a really big deal in this country. 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:34.160 The teaching, the historic teaching of the faith around sexuality is not accepted in the West, but it's very accepted in other parts of the world. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:39.119 Counterintuitive to that, in the West, it's super easy for us to accept grace and forgiveness. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:40.880 Because we think we're the best. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:43.519 We think we should always be forgiven and always receive grace. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:47.839 But you take that message to other parts of the world, and that is not acceptable. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:52.799 Because grace and forgiveness does not equate with their understanding of justice. 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:59.759 And so you see, the gospel, the reason we have to be careful about following trends is that anywhere the gospel goes eventually will affect. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.079 And some part of the culture somewhere in whatever culture it goes into. 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:07.039 And the Book of Acts teaches that over and over again. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:08.880 And here at the end it teaches that as well. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.880 And finally, when the trends change, in the end, our mission doesn't change. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:15.920 So why be obsessed with trends if our mission doesn't change? 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:17.039 Look at the life of Paul. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:22.400 Paul met all those responses: riots, revivals, indifference. 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:26.640 And his message in the final chapter is the same message he's been teaching. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:32.720 He's opening Isaiah, some Old Testament passages, and he's teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ and the resurrection. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:35.599 He's teaching about the coming of the kingdom of God. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:42.640 Even though the trends changed, how he did it may have changed, but not that he did it. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:48.880 He continued to open the scriptures, to trust the plan of God, knowing there is an eternal plan of God going on. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:23:03.039 And in his weariest moments, he was able to disassociate himself from the trends and make himself familiar with the impassioned plan of God, the eternal and global plan that he was just a small part of. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:04.640 He was just a small part of. 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:06.079 Remember the plan of God. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:07.680 I love what John Piper says. 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:13.920 He says, God is doing 10,000 things at least in your life right now. 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:16.480 You might be aware of three of them. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:27.759 To have faith, to persevere, to trust Jesus Christ is to trust Jesus Christ with the remaining 9,997 things he might be doing. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:36.319 Your finite understanding of God's infinite plan should be introduced into your perseverance. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:39.359 It should be a part of your rationale. 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:47.039 To trust God's plan is so much bigger, so much wider than trends that you might be observing from your phone. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.440 Secondly, though, we have to trust God's incredible power. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:53.759 We have to know God is up to 10,000 things. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:55.440 We might be aware of three of them. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:00.319 We also have to, in order to persevere, trust that God's power will accomplish God's plan. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.039 God's power is going to be what accomplishes God's plan. 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:06.559 It's not on us. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:09.440 And we grow weary because we think it's on us. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:13.519 We think it's out of our own power, but we've got to trust God's power. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:15.359 Look at again what Paul says. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.960 Here's the very end of the book once more, Acts 28, 30. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:28.480 He lived there, Paul, for two whole years at his own expense, and he welcomed all the people that came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:29.440 Look at this. 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:32.880 With all boldness and without hindrance. 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:37.359 With all boldness and without hindrance are the final words of this book. 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:52.079 All boldness, no hindrance, I trust God's power, the power in him to accomplish what it is, even if I'm in prison or if I'm in a palace. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:58.319 I will trust that God is powerful enough to work through me in house arrest or if I'm free to go. 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:02.000 That was Paul's mentality without boldness, with all hindrance. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:04.640 How and why can we trust the power of God? 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:09.839 We can trust the power of God because God's power works in all circumstances. 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:14.880 Again, Paul was preaching the kingdom, testifying about the Lord Jesus. 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:17.119 You can pick any chapter in the book of Acts. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:20.079 He's doing the same thing in a different circumstance. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:22.720 When he has no chains, when he has chains. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:25.680 When he's shipwrecked, when he's not shipwrecked. 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:27.279 When he's tired, when he's energized. 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:30.480 When he's in a community that he's comfortable with and a community that hates him. 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:35.440 He's doing the same thing because he knows God is so powerful, he can work in all circumstances. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.640 He did these things and preached and testified in this way. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:46.319 Even if he couldn't work at the top of his abilities, he knew God would work anywhere at any time. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:51.519 There is nowhere, listen to me, there is nowhere you cannot obey God. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:54.559 You can obey God anywhere. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:55.119 Right? 00:25:55.599 --> 00:26:06.559 We have to get into these times in our life where it's like, once I get married, or once I have a family, or once I get this job, or once I have this income, then God will use me. 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:08.720 But God is using you. 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:14.960 Do you not think that God is powerful enough to use you where you are if he was using Paul where he was? 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:21.119 A lot of us see the end of the book of Acts and we see maybe where where is God? 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:22.880 Where is what is he up to? 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:28.799 But it's never really promised that our circumstances will be ideal. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:32.799 I love actually Eugene Peterson, he said this about being a pastor. 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:39.359 He said, There are no ideal conditions in which to work out this vocation as a pastor. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:41.440 There are no ideal conditions. 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:44.160 I think that kind of goes to the Christian life. 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:53.039 So far as we are on this earth, fractured, broken, weary, tired, the conditions will never be ideal. 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:57.039 So what's stopping you from trusting God's beautiful power? 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:00.960 We trust it because it works in all circumstances, it also works in all seasons. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:10.000 You notice, if you were reading carefully, how long did Luke at least know that Paul was in house arrest? 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:11.359 Look at verse 30. 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:14.160 Two whole years. 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:16.720 I like that it put hole in there. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:21.759 It wasn't 20 months, it was like 24 months for sure. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:23.599 He could have been there longer. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.759 For two whole years. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:27.519 And then what? 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:29.759 After this, what happened? 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:33.200 Again, for Luke, this is not the primary concern. 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:36.559 Because this is not a story about the plan and power of Paul. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:39.119 It's a story about the plan and power of God. 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:45.279 Knowing we've read 28 chapters of God powerfully working over the decades as the church began. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:47.440 Why would God stop now? 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:51.759 God will keep going and will enact his future plan. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:57.519 And that's why there's no bow at the end of this story, no happily ever after, there's no closure. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:00.799 There's no closing off on this chapter. 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:03.359 I hear this a lot from my generation. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:05.279 I just need closure. 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:11.759 I need closure in this relationship, or I need closure in this job, or I need I need the chapter to kind of end. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:13.680 I need some conversation. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.960 But friends, closure is never promised. 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:20.079 Closure is never promised. 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:23.200 Perseverance is always available to you. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:34.799 You may not be able to wrap everything up from your childhood or know everything exactly what went wrong from that relationship, or even know why that season happened. 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:40.960 But perseverance says God is so powerful that he will work in the next season. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:45.680 And he has worked in the past season, I just may not understand it right now. 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:49.440 But God's power is enough for all circumstances. 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:53.039 I once was given this metaphor, I did not make this up, but it's kind of good. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:58.079 It's like our life or our cars are designed well. 00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:01.839 The rear view mirror is small, the dashboard is huge. 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:06.400 If the rear view mirror was so large, you would crash instantly, right? 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:08.319 If you were looking behind so often. 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:10.720 Well, such as the walk with Jesus. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:23.279 That to just keep a proper perspective on the past, a limited perspective on the past, is very appropriate to see what's behind there, what went wrong, but don't count on it to take you where it needs, you need to go. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:26.960 To be constantly looking back is to never see what is forward. 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:35.119 And to know what God is going to do next in your life, you have to have the balance of a larger dashboard and a smaller rearview mirror. 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:43.759 You know, before I came to Awakening about three and a half years ago, I really had thought I had found a dream job. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:51.759 I thought I was in an ideal circumstance, I thought I was in an ideal season, and then the circumstances and the season changed. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:58.000 I was working in the, I mentioned the tenderloin, I was in the inner city of San Francisco, diverse church. 00:29:58.160 --> 00:30:08.559 I was able to teach to a lot of young people that came in for this internship, and we'd release them to work with the poor, pastoring this little church with a great team. 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:10.400 It was really, really ideal. 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:19.119 But like 18 months in, um the leadership changed and things changed at that church and that organization. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:24.400 And changed in such a way that I couldn't really with integrity like stick around. 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:36.720 And I was, you know, talking with them and being very open, and you know, eventually I kind of came to this point that like the direction that things are going and the way things are operating here, I don't think I can stay. 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:46.240 And I had all the right conversations, but still when I resigned and left, I I didn't have a job, I didn't know what was ahead for me or what was next. 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:50.880 I knew it was the right thing to do, but it lacked a lot of closure. 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:54.720 It lacked a lot of closure, particularly with just a few people there. 00:30:54.960 --> 00:31:00.880 A lot of people I'm still friends with to this day, but I left and it was a really hard way to leave. 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:05.599 Um for the next like four months, you know, Ali and I didn't really have a church. 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:07.279 I didn't have a job. 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:11.119 Um, I didn't have prospects right away or whatever. 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:13.119 There was also kind of larger stuff going on. 00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:15.519 This was like 2017, 2018. 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:20.559 There's just stuff going on culturally that made it kind of discouraging to be a pastor during that time. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:28.160 And I had a lot of thoughts for those four months while I was unemployed, which is like, you know, what am I gonna do? 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:34.880 Do I wanna still be in ministry after that tough season where I kind of thought I had the ideal circumstance and season? 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:37.440 Like, do I still want to do what I was doing? 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:38.720 Do I still want to be a pastor? 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:40.000 Do I still want to teach? 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:50.079 And um I remember being in this, this is funny, I remember like getting off a plane and being in an Uber and the guy being like, So what do you do for a living? 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:52.559 And I was like, I don't know. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:58.400 You know, I was like, I was just, I, and you know, maybe you're like this. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:02.480 I I had tied a lot of my identity to being a pastor. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:08.240 I had attended to my pastoral work as like who I was. 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:10.880 And we often do that in our culture, right? 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:12.559 Like who what we do is who we are. 00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:19.119 And when he asked that, it was just like kind of this window into like, wow, I'm I'm I don't know, and I don't know what I'm gonna do. 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.160 But you know, one foot in front of the other in Jesus. 00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:23.920 God has a plan. 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:26.000 God is powerful. 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:29.440 Maybe I'll be a pastor, maybe I won't. 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:31.680 But God has something He's doing. 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:35.599 9,997 other things that are going on in this world. 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:38.079 I might be aware of a few of them. 00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:50.960 And um, it was actually around that time that through Westgate and talking with them, I got introduced to Ryan, and Ryan and I got talking, and our hearts were so similar, and the needs at awakening were perfect, and here I am. 00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:53.119 And that season changed and things happened. 00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:56.799 But here's the reality: listen, that that's a nice ending to that story. 00:32:57.200 --> 00:33:00.559 But here we are, after 2020, looking ahead. 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:02.000 What is certain? 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:04.079 What do we know about what's ahead? 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:07.519 We are in Acts 28, 30, and 31. 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:13.759 We are gathering people, teaching them about Jesus, but we don't know what's ahead. 00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:16.240 We don't have a bow wrapped on anything. 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:23.599 At the end of the day, we are here as the community of Jesus, trusting the power of God to enact his work. 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:34.480 And I think for how hard 2020 was, I think 2017 helped me persevere through 2020, the time before. 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:36.000 And that's how perseverance works. 00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:46.319 You'll learn to trust God's power and his plan more and more over time as you're aware of the many things he is doing that you are just not aware of at this time. 00:33:46.720 --> 00:33:51.279 And God's powerful presence will carry you through, and that's the final thing. 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:53.039 You've got to trust God's power. 00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:53.440 Why? 00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:56.640 Because it's gonna be God's power that enables you to persevere. 00:33:56.799 --> 00:34:05.200 I love this book from the or this verse from the little book of Jude in your New Testament, saying that God is him who is able to keep you from stumbling. 00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:12.639 God's power is actually the thing that helps you persevere, and we know this because of what Paul was doing. 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:17.039 Here are just some of the verbs from the final chapter of the book of Acts. 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:18.639 Paul expounded to them. 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:25.039 He was testifying, trying to convince, proclaiming, teaching, and then with all boldness and without hindrance, the end. 00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:31.119 Paul was so sure of the power and plan of God that he proclaimed it. 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:34.960 He testified to it even when he was weary, even when he was unsure. 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:40.880 Do you know what you do when you worship, when you come to church, when you sing, when you take communion, what do you do? 00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:45.599 You are trusting in the power of God to enable you to persevere. 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:51.920 You don't come here to get a pep talk and become excited about Jesus for a couple days. 00:34:52.079 --> 00:35:03.199 You come here to be desperate before him and rely on his power, to eat of his body and drink of his blood that was shed for you, so that you know this incredible fact about perseverance. 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:07.440 You are being carried along by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:12.400 The same God, enacting those 10,000 things, is attuned to your very life. 00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:17.039 And we know this because of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus here at communion. 00:35:18.239 --> 00:35:22.559 And here we are reckoned with is this what we are sure of? 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:24.960 And this is what I want you to take away from this. 00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:34.719 In our age today, it's fashionable to be ever evolving, to change your mind about things, to interpret and reinterpret everything about everything. 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:40.239 Might I suggest that that is not a good ingredient to perseverance? 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:47.599 You can reinterpret and interpret a lot of things, but for perseverance, I want to ask you this question as we come to the table. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:49.599 What are you sure of? 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:53.119 What are you sure of this morning? 00:35:53.519 --> 00:36:00.000 Because this broken body and shed blood invites us to be sure of this fact. 00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:08.079 For all the reasons we can mistrust God and grow weary, we can eliminate the one reason that we're suspicious that he might not love us or care for us. 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:18.159 Here at the table is God's profound announcement that he will not leave us, he will not forsake us, and his power will take even death on and bring it back to life. 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:22.159 And because of that, you can be unsure of literally everything in your life. 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:33.519 But come to church, come to the table and remind yourself, I am sure of God's power in my life, enacting his plan in my life, and I can put one foot in front of the other for Jesus. 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:35.119 Let me pray. 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:50.800 Heavenly Father, we come to the table, and maybe some of us are weary today, and I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would encourage them by the power of you, Jesus. 00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:57.840 And the power of the resurrection, which was at work in the raising up of your son, and is at work in our very lives. 00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:05.679 God, I pray for us as a church that we would be a church that perseveres, that puts one foot in front of the other in you, Jesus Christ. 00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:15.679 And I pray that ultimately during worship and during communion, as we come forward, that God, we would receive the power to walk in you confidently. 00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:18.079 We pray this in Christ's name. 00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:18.880 Amen. 00:37:19.519 --> 00:37:21.840 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:27.039 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:29.519 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:37:29.760 --> 00:37:35.679 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.