WEBVTT 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:08.160 So this morning we're continuing in our series in the book of Acts, which we will finish this summer. 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:16.000 Last time I preached from Acts chapter 16, and we looked at this concept called the J curve. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:23.920 And it's a pattern that is reflected in Jesus' life, but also in the lives of his followers, particularly Paul. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:30.879 And it's this pattern that the Lord leads us intentionally, sovereignly, into a type of death. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:36.159 Jesus was a literal death, but then a resurrection of sorts. 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:38.399 And it can look lots of different ways. 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:46.079 And what we saw and what we said last time is that this pattern, this J curve, is part of the normal Christian life. 00:00:46.159 --> 00:01:01.039 And understanding, being able to see and learning about this pattern allows us to experience, enter into, and come out of suffering in very different and more redemptive ways. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:06.799 In our passage this morning, Paul is entering another J curve. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:20.239 And in fact, over a series of days and over a series of chapters, Acts 21 through 23, Paul will go through four different J curves, deaths and resurrections, over four days. 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:31.760 But as we follow his life, he's actually entering into a greater death, that is his great imprisonment, if you know the story and life of Saint Paul. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:40.079 He is, he doesn't know it yet, but and entering into Jerusalem, he is moving towards his imprisonment, which will last for four years. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:48.079 And so in that larger death, he experiences many deaths and many resurrections. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:02:02.879 And I want us to see this pattern this morning and then to reflect on the art of living this Christian life, knowing and learning the pattern of dying and rising with Jesus. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:12.879 I think, as we said before, this is something that we're really not very familiar with in modern American evangelical Christianity. 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:21.680 I was not, and I'm becoming more aware of it, and I think it's vital for all of us to begin to see, to learn, and to imitate this pattern. 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:28.159 So let's run through these four J-curves quickly, briefly, and then we'll make some observations. 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:29.759 J curve one. 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:35.919 In chapter 21, Paul is at the apex of his mission work. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:43.520 He has planted, with the help of others, hundreds of little churches throughout Asia and Greece. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:52.159 He has revisited a lot of those churches, he has strengthened those churches, and he has turned his face towards Jerusalem. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:03:03.759 And his followers, his disciples, are worried because they've gotten word actually through prophecy that if Paul goes to Jerusalem, he will be arrested and they fear for his life. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:06.879 And yet he continues to go there. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.840 He chooses to go there in spite of that information. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:14.560 And when he goes, he's welcomed by the church in Jerusalem. 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:15.759 They're excited to see him. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.960 He reports on his mission work and they celebrate. 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:29.439 But they know rumors have spread about him that he is preaching against Judaism, preaching against God's word and against Jewish customs like circumcision. 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:33.280 And we saw a little bit about that in the passage that we read. 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:35.840 And so the Jerusalem church comes up with a plan. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:37.120 It's a brilliant plan. 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:46.240 They say, Paul, we've got a few other men here in our congregation who are about to go through a Jewish rite of purification. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.240 They're going to take a Nazarite vow. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:49.520 And we don't need to get into that. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.960 But they said, Paul, it'd be a great idea if you did that. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:56.719 And not only if you did that, but if you paid for them to do that. 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:57.599 Well, great. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:01.120 They were excited to get their vows paid for by Paul. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:03.039 But Paul says, yes. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:25.360 He does it without hesitation because he wants the Jewish Christians and the non-Christian Jewish brothers to know that he loves God's word and that he has not rejected Judaism itself, but actually is preaching Judaism come to full flower. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:28.480 So he goes and begins the seven-day rite. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:33.360 Now, at the near the end of this time, he enters into the temple. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.040 People see him and they stir up the crowd. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:41.519 He's arrested, brought within an inch of his life, beaten. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:44.480 And then the Roman soldiers hear what's going on. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:55.199 This is during the season of Pentecost, the celebration of Pentecost, where Jews from around the world came to Jerusalem for the celebration, and tensions were always high. 00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:58.160 And so the Roman soldiers were on high alert. 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:05.360 And so that's why they're able to get there rescue Paul almost miraculously as this mob is beating him. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:20.399 But as the Roman soldiers are literally carrying Paul on their soul shoulders to protect him from the mob, he asks the head Roman soldier, may I address the crowd? 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:26.959 Which is really amazing, incredible, incredible courage, incredible love, right? 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:38.560 Because we know he longs to proclaim the gospel of Jesus the Messiah to his brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the Jewish people. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.959 And so the Roman tribune, the leader, lets him do that. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:45.680 And so there's this incredible scene, if you can picture it. 00:05:45.759 --> 00:06:00.879 They're in this huge courtyard going up steps, and Paul is surrounded and protected by these Roman soldiers, and he addresses this crowd of probably thousands of Jews, and he's able to get their attention and to preach the gospel to them. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:09.040 Now, of course, they uh at one point in his sermon they reject it and they're stirred up again, and the soldiers have to lead him. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:30.000 But but it's this incredible J curve, this incredible death and resurrection for Paul, where he is uh seeking to love his brothers and sisters, Jewish brothers and sisters, and yet they turn on him, they beat him, they try to kill him, and yet he is able, by God's mercy, to proclaim the gospel, to do what he came to Jerusalem to do. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:31.680 First J curve. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:48.879 Second J curve, he's taken by the Roman soldiers into the barracks, and uh they're we're told in that chapter in Acts that they ordered Paul to be examined by flogging, which is an amazing phrase. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:56.720 Uh, apparently, the Romans didn't trust you unless you had been tortured, and so you know, they were like, well, flog him and then we'll ask him some questions. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:16.399 Well, uh, Paul pulls resurrection out of his pocket right at that moment and lets these soldiers know that he's in fact a Roman citizen, uh, and not just one who has purchased a Roman citizenship, which you could do for a lot of money, but he was a born Roman citizen, and so he had kind of the highest of citizen rights. 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:29.360 And so um not only is he not beaten, but the Roman soldiers are now afraid that they've broken the law and they apologize to him, and um so he escapes this second potential beating. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:34.319 The next day uh Paul is brought in front of the Jewish Sanhedrin. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:48.319 This is kind of the ruling body of the Jewish people, um, kind of the the court of the elders, and uh he's brought in front of the high priest, who's kind of like the head of the club, he's the the head hancho. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:57.759 And in the course of uh being interviewed, the head the high priest orders that Paul would be struck in the face for blaspheming. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:10.240 Uming that he uh is not gonna get a fair trial, that he's in a bad spot, that if he if he gives himself over to the Jewish leadership, he probably will again face death. 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:17.360 He makes this brilliant move and he realizes that uh the Jewish leadership is divided politically. 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:25.279 There's the conservative Pharisees and the secular Sadducees, and they they disagree strongly over the issue of resurrection. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:27.759 Uh, we don't need to get into all that cultural stuff. 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:29.040 It is fascinating. 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:38.159 Uh so at one point Paul just cries out to the crowd, he says, I'm on trial for the resurrection, um, which is you know partially true. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:47.679 And uh this this huge group of um you know politicians, they just start arguing with each other and they totally forget about Paul. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.600 And so he he escapes again. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.720 So third death and resurrection. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:09:00.240 Finally, in chapter 23 of Acts, um, a plot, you know, they keep trying to get at Paul and he keeps escaping. 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:04.399 And so a small group of Jewish men form a plot to just murder him. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:07.759 It's like, let's just rub this guy out, you know, let's just take care of it. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:15.200 Well, it just so happens that Paul's nephew is like sitting at the next table as these guys are coming up with their murder plot. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:28.399 And so he goes, tells Paul, they tell the Roman centurions, and uh the Roman leader sends Paul out of Jerusalem in the middle of the night, escorted by 270 Roman soldiers. 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:36.720 And so Paul, four times in four days, escapes incredible suffering and potential death. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:55.840 Now, that's a lot, but I want us to see those patterns, that pattern of entering into death and God bringing resurrection to make some observations for ourselves, because I believe this is what Luke intentionally wants us to see as he writes this. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:58.080 So, what can we what can we observe? 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:01.120 We're gonna touch on three points this morning. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:06.879 First is to let go of the narrative, to let go of control. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:12.720 In all of these situations, Paul has lost the narrative, literally the narrative. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:25.840 He is uh slandered, people make up lies about him, he's falsely accused, and uh if you notice as you read the stories, Paul really never enters into that argument. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:32.000 He doesn't seek to prove them wrong because the mob has sort of sort of already taken over. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:39.120 And it would do him no good to enter into that conversation, that argument. 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.120 He's lost the narrative. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:45.519 And through that slander, through those lies, he's opened up to suffering, right? 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:51.440 To to literal beatings, to floggings from the Romans, and ultimately to death. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:55.039 And when we enter the J curve, this is true for us. 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:58.399 Just as Jesus, in effect, lost the narrative, right? 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:05.679 When he was brought in front of the high priest, in front of the Sanhedrin, and charges were brought against him, he didn't open his mouth. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:12.960 They knew what they wanted to do with him, and there was nothing Jesus could say that was going to change their minds. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:22.559 And so, like Jesus and like Paul, when when the Lord leads us into types of death, we lose control. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:25.600 We lose the narrative. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:28.320 Our story is taken out of our own hands. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:30.799 And this is extremely disconcerting, right? 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:34.320 It's uh fear-inducing, anxiety-producing. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:36.879 And we've all experienced it, right? 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:46.639 Whenever we lose control in our lives, and I know when I feel out of control in my life, fear is my immediate response. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:51.919 Now, my second response is to try to regain control, right? 00:11:52.080 --> 00:12:03.759 To do whatever I can to have that sense of peace, that I am controlling my future, and uh that I can bring my own bring my own safety to bear. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.159 This is an experience common to all of us. 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:13.360 And yet, what we see in the J curve is that those who are following Jesus do that less and less. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:16.720 That they no longer seek to control their own lives. 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:38.320 Now, as I've gotten to know this congregation and reflected on my own life, I've talked to teenagers, I've talked to young adults, I've talked to parents, I've talked to married and single people, I've talked to a bunch of retired people who have all told me in various ways that they feel like they have lost the narrative in their own lives. 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:42.960 There's something going on in your life where you feel like you are out of control. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:54.399 Your life, or maybe the life of your children, has not turned out the way that you had hoped, that you had expected, that you had prayed for, that you had planned for, that you had worked for. 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:59.120 And it's extremely anxiety-producing. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:19.120 But knowing this pattern of the J curve, that it's normal, it's the normal part of the Christian life, to enter into enter into seasons of suffering, which is really a fellowship in Jesus' sufferings and death, it's a normal part of the Christian life. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.799 And it allows us not to fight the wrong fights. 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:40.000 I mean, as a parent, I can tell you, when I feel like I have lost control, lost the narrative of my children's lives, and I have sought to double down to say the right thing, to do the right thing, to parent in just the right way, I tend to screw things up even worse than they were before. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:41.759 Any amens out there? 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.279 Um sorry, parents, didn't mean to ow you. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:50.159 Um, that doesn't mean that we do nothing, right? 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:52.480 What's the alternative to trying to seek control? 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:53.519 Is it giving up? 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.240 Well, of course the answer is no. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:58.320 So what is it? 00:13:58.480 --> 00:13:59.600 It is trusting. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:19.279 It is praying, it is waiting, it is actively bringing our fears and anxieties to the Lord, the Lord who loves us, the Lord who died for us, the Lord who went first into death and emerged first in resurrection. 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:25.600 We go to him actively seeking, asking, and waiting. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.519 You see, our loss of control itself is a form of suffering. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:34.159 But but we can actually suffer during these times in our lives. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:40.720 We can suffer slander ourselves, loss of relationships, loss of jobs, losses of marriages. 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:46.639 It's not just the feeling of loss of control, it can be the actual experience of suffering. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:53.919 But it's in those times that the spirit leads us to the scriptures that remind us of these truths. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.039 That the spirit comes alive in our weakness. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:02.399 That is the place where Jesus' power emerges. 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:13.759 As we descend into Jesus' death, recognizing this pattern of the J curve reminds us that even as we enter death, that resurrection is coming. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:31.759 And that even as we lose control, and that that's part of the story, we can entrust ourselves to the one who judges justly, the one who has proven his love for us, and the one who says he will bring resurrection. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:41.679 Like Jesus, who entrusted himself to the Father and was resurrected, we wait for resurrection ourselves. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.320 But that brings us to our second point. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:52.399 Not only do we wait and enter and let go of control when we enter into suffering, but second we look for many resurrections. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:56.080 And I'm saying many like small, not many, like M-A-N-Y. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:59.279 Um, I'm not sure I can say those words clearly. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:05.519 That's why I wanted us to see this pattern, these four different J curves in Paul's life. 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:07.919 Because he's in this big J-curve, right? 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:15.600 He's descending into the death of unjust imprisonment, um, in which he will continue to go. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:21.919 But on the way, he experiences these mini deaths and resurrections. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:36.000 Um and this is exactly uh this is uh huge for us to see, because even as he's entering into this big death, God is showing him again and again that he is with him. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:47.200 Even as we enter into uh big experiences of death, the spirit is at work to show us that he is with us. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:49.679 Um this is so helpful. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:54.159 Listen to this uh quote from Paul Miller, the guy who wrote this book, The J Curve. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:17:02.080 He said, These many resurrections help us to see the present work of the Spirit even though we are still in a bigger death. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:08.160 Seeing the small J curve helps us rest as we wait for bigger ones. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:15.039 It's easy to lose perspective and focus on the big death, thinking God isn't for me. 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:20.640 I mean, I speak, I can speak this in my own experience. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:25.359 Just a few minutes ago, we were singing songs like Great Is Thy Faithfulness. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:30.160 These are beautiful historic hymns that are full of beauty and truth. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:37.440 And yet I remember days not too long ago that those words got stuck in my throat. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:40.160 Great is God's faithfulness? 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:43.200 I'm not sure God is faithful. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:45.440 I'm still waiting to see. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:53.039 What's happening in my life makes me question whether God is faithful or not. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:55.839 Um I've spoken about this a number of times. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:57.519 I will probably do so again. 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:09.200 Uh, but when I stepped down from uh pastoring the church I planted a little over a year ago, I wrestled deeply with these questions of wondering if God was for me. 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:15.599 Why hadn't He rescued me and my family from uh the suffering we were experiencing, right? 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:21.279 We were waiting for resurrection in our current circumstances, and it didn't come. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:34.559 And so it took me to a deeper depth of questioning, a deeper depth of suffering and wondering than I had ever been to before in my life. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.839 I wondered, will I stay in ministry? 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:39.519 Will I stay in the pastorate? 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:53.039 Um after some time of prayer and seeking and determining yes, I was going to, I was still called into that, at the encouragement of my dad and some others, I immediately started networking. 00:18:53.200 --> 00:19:00.640 I started meeting with other pastors and other people, old friends and strangers, just trying to see what opportunities were out there. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.519 And I dreaded this whole process. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:10.480 Because I knew every time I met with someone new, they were gonna ask me, Why did you step down from your other church? 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:12.319 Why are you looking for something new? 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:16.400 I didn't want to tell the story again and again. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.880 And yet the strangest thing happened. 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:36.880 As I shared with them what had happened to me, almost to a person, over six months, every person had a story of suffering in their own life, related to their vocation, related to their family, that they they felt the freedom to share with me. 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:40.480 Some of them said they'd never told anyone those things. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:45.680 And I was so strangely administered to as I networked. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:47.920 And almost every time I was surprised. 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:54.880 And these networking meetings, which at first I dreaded, became little resurrections in my own life. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:20:00.000 Every time I would leave one, I would say, maybe God will be faithful to me. 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:01.920 Like he was faithful to them. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:06.720 And here I am, some months later. 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:21.039 And as I've asked deeper questions, and as I've suffered more and lost more than I ever thought that I would, I can confess more surely, honestly, and fully that God is faithful. 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:31.920 That God loves me, and that God walks us through these seasons of suffering to do redemptive good, and that He does bring resurrection. 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:37.200 So where's the Lord bringing many resurrections into your own life right now? 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:41.599 And I ask that especially to those who are wondering if the Lord is still for them. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:57.920 I encourage you to look, to actively keep your eyes open, not to dismiss the blessings in light of the bigger suffering, but to see those as God's presence with you in the midst of all else. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:03.599 Alright, finally, our third point is to see the pattern. 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:09.920 I want to, as we close, I want to just step back and I want to look at this pattern from a little bit of a different angle. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:26.880 Scholars have noticed something amazing in these last chapters of the book of Acts, and that that is that Luke himself, the author of Acts, saw a great parallel between this last chapter of Paul's life and the last chapter of Jesus' own life. 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:29.759 I'm not going to read them all, but look at this list. 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:36.880 These are twelve parallels between the last days of Jesus and this last season of Paul's life. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:41.359 Seven times Luke mentions that Paul and Jesus are going to Jerusalem. 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.839 Both trips are made under divine necessity. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:47.759 Neither Paul nor Jesus' disciples understand why they have to go. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.359 Both Paul and Jesus are welcomed by the people in the church when they arrive. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:55.759 Both visit the temple, both are opposed by the Sadducees, but acknowledged by the scribe. 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:58.960 Both are seized by a crowd, slapped by the high priests. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:02.079 I mean, and I won't I won't keep reading. 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:13.200 But it's this is dumbfounding if you actually look at these parallels that for most of us we would miss because we're not gonna analyze the scriptures in that way. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:15.920 Why does Luke do this? 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.960 This is absolutely authorial intention. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:28.799 And the reason is that he is seeking to communicate with us that our lives are designed to reflect Jesus' own life. 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:32.559 Jesus' own life of death and resurrection. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:36.799 All Christ followers have a passion story to inhabit. 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:48.799 If you've put your faith in Christ, if you were following Christ, even if you had no idea and nobody told you this at the beginning, you are following in Jesus' passion narrative. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:54.000 Now, of course, this doesn't mean that we're all going to go to Jerusalem one day and get slapped by the high priest. 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:55.759 No, it's not that specific. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:02.240 But what it does mean is that our lives will echo the life of Jesus. 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:04.480 This is exactly what Paul says, right? 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:07.920 He says, Imitate me as I imitate Christ. 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:24.079 Have this mind among you, the mind of Christ Jesus, who did not hold on to his honor and glory, but became a servant, being willing to enter into suffering and allowing the Father to resurrect him on the other side. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:32.880 And the more we're able to grow in seeing this pattern in our own lives, the more we will be able to see what God is doing, to see his redemptive work. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:40.400 And rather than seeing the suffering that we enter into is God's abandonment, and wonder, Lord, I've done so much for you. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:42.640 Why are you allowing this to happen in my life? 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:56.000 When he leads us into that suffering, we say, yes, this is the pattern of all God's people, through which he will reveal his glory to the world, and he will bring redemptive life through redemptive suffering. 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.599 And then our mission becomes clear. 00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:02.799 Our place in the world becomes beautiful. 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:14.240 Not to overtake it as a conquering army, but winning it over through sacrificial death, faith and trusting the Father. 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:20.079 And not doing it ourselves, but trusting in the power of the Spirit and the kingdom. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:24.000 Now, this doesn't mean that our suffering is now easy, right? 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:25.759 Suffering remains suffering. 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:27.759 We don't change the name. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.160 But our suffering like Christ is now laced with joy. 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:37.359 For the joy set before him, Christ endured the cross. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:40.400 Hebrews 12, too. 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:46.880 Now, whenever I hear this verse, I think of one of my favorite movies, the Pixar movie Inside Out. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:48.720 Have you guys ever seen this movie? 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:52.880 If you have not seen this movie, this is your homework. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:57.519 If you haven't seen this movie recently, it's your homework. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:24:59.599 This movie is brilliant. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:13.759 This movie shows how all of us, in our own way, we fight to push away sadness, to avoid suffering, because we think that is the road to fulfillment and happiness and true joy. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:21.119 But because of sin, because of the fallenness of the world, and because of the gospel, that's impossible and it's not true. 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:25.920 Truth is that all true joy is intermingled with sadness. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:30.319 All true triumph is mingled with weakness. 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:32.480 Because that's the way of the cross. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:36.559 That's the way of our king, that's the way of our kingdom. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:52.400 Brothers and sisters, how beautiful would the church be if we entered into that suffering knowingly, even joyfully, faithfully, and trusting in the Father who leads us there and the Lord who loves us. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:26:00.799 Beloved, seeing these little victories and many resurrections in our lives encourages us when the big things continue to hang over us. 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:02.400 The Lord is with you. 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:07.680 Overlapping J curves fill our lives. 00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:10.160 They can be daily, weekly, monthly. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:12.319 So study your life thoughtfully. 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:13.839 Have your eyes open. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:16.640 Watch for the dying and the rising. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:21.920 If you're experiencing suffering right now, look for resurrection because it's coming. 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:27.440 And so as we suffer, we suffer as those who have hope. 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:33.599 Your life makes sense, beloved, seeing it through the lens of Jesus' narrative. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:34.880 Let's pray. 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:40.319 Our Father and our God, Lord, this is such good news. 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:47.359 Lord, we we wonder often in our suffering whether you are with us. 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:53.759 And yet the story of Jesus and the story of Paul tells us that it's in our suffering that you are absolutely with us. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:56.079 Lord, help us to see the pattern. 00:26:56.319 --> 00:27:01.680 Help us to experience the joy of your resurrection and your power and our weakness. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:03.519 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:04.240 Amen.