WEBVTT 00:00:00.450 --> 00:00:02.609 Well, good morning and it's good to be back. 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:03.689 Great to see you guys. 00:00:04.589 --> 00:00:12.000 We missed you while we were away and we had a great time, but it's always good to come home and it's always good to travel with luggage. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.589 We tried it the other way in April and that didn't work out so good, so it was better this time with luggage. 00:00:17.070 --> 00:00:19.949 Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of school? 00:00:20.609 --> 00:00:22.140 Summer is over. 00:00:22.649 --> 00:00:25.829 All the parents are smiling and the kids are frowning. 00:00:25.890 --> 00:00:29.460 That's how it looks every year, every year this time of year, It's hard to believe. 00:00:29.460 --> 00:00:31.230 I hope you're planning to join us this afternoon. 00:00:31.231 --> 00:00:34.979 We're going to have our back to school picnic at the Bolles School. 00:00:34.981 --> 00:00:38.130 It'll start at 5:00 and you can join us there. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:44.399 We'll have the church is providing the drinks and the fried chicken and you bring some sides to share and join us there. 00:00:44.401 --> 00:00:46.770 We will be having yard games together. 00:00:46.771 --> 00:00:48.390 We're going to have baptism service. 00:00:48.390 --> 00:00:49.380 We're going to share communion. 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:50.670 It'll be a great time. 00:00:50.820 --> 00:00:52.979 Many of you came last year and know it was a lot of fun. 00:00:53.159 --> 00:01:05.519 We're going to pray that the weather holds out for us long enough to get that in, but we'll be at the Bolles School and as you go to the security gate there, just tell them you're with Southside Baptist Church and we'd love to have you all come and be a part of that. 00:01:05.670 --> 00:01:11.700 This afternoon as we just celebrate the end of what's been a really good summer and look forward to an even better fall. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:21.569 Also, another tradition that we have at Southside is the Sunday before the first day of school, which is today, we go and prayer walk our two faith based partner schools. 00:01:21.570 --> 00:01:31.920 So Landon Middle School, which is just a block to the east, off Landen Avenue, right to our east and also Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, the high school for Performing Arts. 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:33.840 It's about a mile and a half from here. 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:35.310 So it's also nearby. 00:01:35.311 --> 00:01:51.659 And right after service today; it won't take you long, but if you'll go by those schools and at the front of Douglas Anderson and then also on Landon, at the new parking lot, which is on the opposite side between the football field and the school, there will be somebody there to have a prayer guide for you. 00:01:51.661 --> 00:01:56.310 Both schools have opened for us that we can come in and prayer walk on the inside. 00:01:56.311 --> 00:01:58.530 And so if you want to join us, we'd love to have. 00:01:58.531 --> 00:02:04.439 You don't have to sign up, you just show up and there'll be somebody there to give you a prayer guide and you can prayer walk the schools. 00:02:04.441 --> 00:02:07.409 We want to make sure that we're praying for the students, praying for the schools. 00:02:07.411 --> 00:02:09.509 It's a wonderful opportunity. 00:02:09.569 --> 00:02:13.289 And it's also incredible that they invite us in to do this every year. 00:02:13.770 --> 00:02:17.159 So we're, we want to take that responsibility and opportunity seriously and go in. 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:25.259 I know if you're a school teacher, you've already gone back to work, but one of the things we need to pray for all of our teachers is perseverance, right? 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:26.849 Can I get an amen from the teacher's? 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:27.479 Perseverance. 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:38.460 You know, when you get to the spring, you start counting down the school days, you know, there's 50 left, but when you're facing that first day and there's 185 days left, that can be a little overwhelming. 00:02:38.610 --> 00:02:41.159 And so we're going to pray for perseverance for them. 00:02:41.250 --> 00:02:43.229 Perseverance is, I love that word. 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:47.189 It's a word that inspires and challenges me. 00:02:47.191 --> 00:02:50.069 Stories of perseverance always inspire and challenge. 00:02:50.099 --> 00:02:57.719 One of the reasons we like the movies, we like to go to the movies and see stories about people who have persevered and overcome incredible odds. 00:02:57.830 --> 00:03:07.990 But if you were to do a simple google search, all the top google searches of stories about perseverance are stories about people who beat the odds. 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:11.830 They're almost all stories from rags to riches. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:13.270 And that's okay. 00:03:13.270 --> 00:03:21.159 That's good because perseverance does have a lot to do with being able to endure a difficult situation until something better comes along. 00:03:21.161 --> 00:03:25.240 So you've got the great stories of the athletes who work really, really hard. 00:03:25.241 --> 00:03:53.349 They persevere and endure a lot of training and a lot of struggling and then you know, it's this kid who goes from the inner city school and then they're on the NFL or the artist who worked really, really hard and waited tables and did all the things he or she could do until finally they got their big break and now you know they're performing, doing what they love or the business person who, you know, three or four businesses failed and nobody would buy their idea and then suddenly just the right opportunity came and they persevered and there was success. 00:03:53.350 --> 00:04:08.289 That is perseverance and, and we all need to recognize those stories and learn from those stories, but there's another kind of perseverance that we don't really like to talk about and that is perseverance in the face of obstacles that will never be overcome. 00:04:09.189 --> 00:04:14.259 Perseverance that is in the face of difficulties that you are not going to conquer. 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:25.720 So perseverance stories that have to do with parents who have a child born with special needs and that special need is never going to go away. 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:35.259 They live with the idea that they are going to persevere as they care for and love this child for as long as God gives them that child. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:50.259 Stories of people who have chronic illnesses and they're diagnosed with a chronic illness and apart from a divine intervention on God's part or some miraculous cure, there is never going to be an end to the suffering. 00:04:50.471 --> 00:04:57.910 There's going to be this chronic illness is going to be with them the rest of their life and they have to persevere through it and there is no hope of a rags to riches. 00:04:58.329 --> 00:05:00.319 You all know anybody know what I'm talking about. 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:03.550 There's just this idea, I'm going to persevere for what? 00:05:03.550 --> 00:05:09.459 I'm going to persevere until it's over, but then there may not be this great story at the end. 00:05:09.461 --> 00:05:10.569 Nobody's going to write a book. 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:13.060 Nobody's going to make a movie about this. 00:05:13.269 --> 00:05:17.889 We're just going to endure this hardship until a time when the hardship is over and then it's over. 00:05:18.189 --> 00:05:18.939 That's it. 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:23.170 And these are real life situations that many people face. 00:05:23.649 --> 00:05:33.639 Many people who go through circumstances and situations and battle struggles with perseverance, with no hope of any change ever in this life. 00:05:34.209 --> 00:05:36.970 There are people that I know and maybe you've read their stories. 00:05:37.269 --> 00:05:49.660 You've read stories of great missionaries who give their life on the international mission field and parts of the world where most people would never go and they give their entire life there and they die never seeing the fruit of their labor. 00:05:49.661 --> 00:05:55.750 But today we look back and realize that now there are more Christians in China than there are in the United States. 00:05:55.750 --> 00:06:03.910 But there were missionaries who gave their life to persevere for that purpose, knowing that they would never see that day. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:28.279 Adoniram Judson who went into Burma and gave his life in that part of the world, had no idea that hundreds of years later there would be Christians from that part of the world who would come to the United States and we would have part of our own church family; the Karen congregation; direct descendants of the sacrifice that Adaniram Judson made 200 years ago. 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:33.800 But he never saw that, he just had to face with perseverance the obstacles that were in front of him. 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:45.110 This past week, there were 10 of us from Southside who went on a trip overseas and we worked with folks who are doing just that. 00:06:45.149 --> 00:06:55.759 They're giving their lives in a part of the world where it doesn't look like by our human understanding that they'll ever see the kind of movement that they're longing to see. 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:58.160 And yet they persevere. 00:06:58.161 --> 00:06:59.389 They face the obstacles. 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:10.100 I had an opportunity to meet with one man who can't even go into the country, where, that is the home of the people group that he's ministering to. 00:07:10.310 --> 00:07:16.250 So he is strategically located outside of the country to a vacation destination where many people from that country come. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:26.029 For 20 years, for 20 years, he and his family have met with people coming out of this closed country to share the gospel with them. 00:07:26.329 --> 00:07:30.769 And he said,"I've never had more hope than I have right now for what God's going to do in that place." 00:07:31.379 --> 00:07:32.019 And you think what? 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:33.980 What kind of perseverance is that? 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:36.110 What kind of dedication is that? 00:07:36.490 --> 00:07:38.930 And it's not just about international missions. 00:07:38.930 --> 00:07:48.980 It's about so many areas of our life where we need to have some deeper level of perseverance that goes beyond what can be explained by the hope of a rags to riches story. 00:07:49.850 --> 00:08:07.220 Because wouldn't that be great if we knew that every time we face an obstacle, if we knew that every time we faced a challenge, a setback, that somewhere within our grasp there was going to be this great victorious moment that would be like the end of a Hollywood movie, but most of the time it is not that way. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:16.610 And here's what I've come to understand, just going through life and walking with other people who face situations and circumstances like this. 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:27.019 Here's what I've come to understand, that if we aren't looking for a heavenly prize, then we will be distracted and ultimately disappointed by every shiny thing we see in life. 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:46.009 If our eyes aren't set high enough on a prize that is passed what we might see an experience in this life, then we will constantly be distracted by other things that will pull us off course and ultimately leave us dissatisfied and frustrated in life. 00:08:46.970 --> 00:08:51.559 See, I don't think it's that we don't have hope for something better. 00:08:51.561 --> 00:08:57.029 I think it's that we often hope for something better in the wrong frame of time. 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:01.110 We hope for something better, some reward here, some reward now. 00:09:01.110 --> 00:09:03.750 Some reward that we can grasp and hold onto in this life. 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:17.100 When I think what the Bible calls us to when it talks about perseverance is a faith that perseveres past this life, past this short life into something that is far better and far more eternal, far more long lasting. 00:09:18.149 --> 00:09:22.500 We've been looking at the last for the last several weeks at the life of the Apostle Paul. 00:09:23.041 --> 00:09:31.950 Paul has that kind of perseverance and faith, a determination to accomplish what God's called them to do, regardless of the outcome that he might see in this life. 00:09:31.951 --> 00:09:39.690 We saw in chapter 14, Paul was beaten and left for dead in Lystra, but he got back up and went right back into the city knowing what he was facing. 00:09:39.691 --> 00:09:45.240 In chapter 16, he's arrested in the city of Philippi and ultimately he's released. 00:09:45.389 --> 00:10:00.929 And in acts 17, he's put on trial and the city of Athens and he ends up having to leave Athens and he goes into the city of Ephesus where there's a riot and people are basically trying to lynch mob Paul and his friends and he has to flee out of Ephesus. 00:10:00.931 --> 00:10:03.000 Time and again, Paul faces controversy. 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:03.960 He faces trials. 00:10:03.961 --> 00:10:07.019 He faces difficulties and yet he never gives up. 00:10:07.020 --> 00:10:08.250 He's like the energizer bunny. 00:10:08.461 --> 00:10:11.460 He just gets up and he keeps on going. 00:10:11.461 --> 00:10:16.230 He keeps trying and it's not like things are looking better for Paul. 00:10:16.230 --> 00:10:21.960 In fact, you could make the case in the argument that if you've been following along, things are getting worse and worse and worse. 00:10:21.961 --> 00:10:23.730 It's not like there's any hope. 00:10:23.730 --> 00:10:25.440 Paul doesn't have our perspective. 00:10:25.441 --> 00:10:27.389 He doesn't look at things the way we're looking at things. 00:10:27.390 --> 00:10:29.220 He doesn't have the advantage of time. 00:10:29.221 --> 00:10:34.860 In 2000 years of history, Paul is living in each of these moments and yet he gets up and he keeps going. 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:36.149 What kind of determination? 00:10:36.150 --> 00:10:37.500 What kind of perseverance? 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:38.940 Where does that come from? 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:47.129 So Paul leaves the city of Ephesus at the end of chapter 19 and he is on his way to return to the city of Jerusalem. 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:54.120 He's going back to Jerusalem and on his way to Jerusalem, he stops by the house of a man named Steven. 00:10:54.270 --> 00:10:58.980 Now, if you've been with us this year as we've been going through the book of Acts you remember the stories of Steven. 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:10.649 So Paul is stopping at Stephen's house and I want you to look with me in Acts chapter 21 at what Paul is told as he is getting ready to go back in to Jerusalem. 00:11:10.650 --> 00:11:21.269 Because it's important for us to understand that Paul did not go into these trials and these struggles unaware of what he was about to face. 00:11:21.270 --> 00:11:25.049 That Paul knew full well the difficulties he was going to face. 00:11:25.051 --> 00:11:32.879 And yet he persisted in moving in the direction that God was calling him with faith and determination and perseverance. 00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:35.549 So look with me at Acts chapter 21, verse 10. 00:11:36.149 --> 00:11:37.470 Paul is in the house of Steven. 00:11:37.830 --> 00:11:45.840 They know about his plans to go back to the city of Jerusalem"While we were staying there", this is Luke writing, Luke is traveling with the apostle Paul. 00:11:45.841 --> 00:11:59.980 "While we were staying there for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down to Judea." Now, if the name Agabus sounds familiar, it is because Agabus was the same man who, at the Church of Antioch, basically said,"Hey, I've seen a vision. 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:05.620 God is calling you to set Paul and Barnabas aside to go on this great missionary journey." Same guy, Agabus. 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:08.350 He's one of those minor characters in the Bible. 00:12:08.350 --> 00:12:09.850 You should name your kid, Agabus. 00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:13.450 If you're about to have a boy, just consider that name. 00:12:13.451 --> 00:12:14.080 It's a great character. 00:12:14.081 --> 00:12:21.220 Don't worry about how they're going to be mocked and ridiculed through life, he needs to build up faith and determination and perseverance. 00:12:21.221 --> 00:12:22.120 That'll do it. 00:12:24.769 --> 00:12:34.009 So Agabus came down from Judea and"coming to us he took Paul's belt and bound his feet and his hands and said,"Thus says the Lord," So now imagine this. 00:12:34.010 --> 00:12:44.179 This guy takes Paul's belt off of him and wraps his hands and feet, and he's giving you a living visual illustration, and he says,"Thus says the Holy Spirit. 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:51.710 This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles." Now, that's just weird. 00:12:51.711 --> 00:13:03.779 I mean if you were at a dinner party and some friends came over and somebody took your belt and did that, you'd be like,"thanks?" I mean, you'd be like,"thanks for that information." But that wasn't Paul's response. 00:13:03.780 --> 00:13:04.649 Listen to what happened. 00:13:04.650 --> 00:13:05.340 "Then Paul answered," Sorry. 00:13:05.580 --> 00:13:23.190 Luke says,"When we heard this, we and the people, there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem." Now the reason that they believed Agabus and just didn't think he was crazy is because they've had experiences with Agabus before were what Agabus has said has absolutely come to pass. 00:13:23.191 --> 00:13:24.720 So they trust Agabus. 00:13:24.721 --> 00:13:30.389 And so all these people in Steven's house are saying,"wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. 00:13:30.390 --> 00:13:33.899 Paul, you should really think your plans to go to Jerusalem because this guy is always right. 00:13:33.929 --> 00:13:43.259 And if this is what awaits you, Paul, please, please, please don't go to Jerusalem." Then Paul answered,"What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?" Here it comes. 00:13:43.260 --> 00:13:51.600 "For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 00:13:52.470 --> 00:13:53.250 Did you catch that? 00:13:57.429 --> 00:14:00.820 I understand what Agabus is saying. 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:04.210 It's not that I don't believe Agabus and it's not that I didn't hear Agabus. 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:14.710 I know full well that what Agabus is saying is true, but what you don't understand is that I am determined to do this even if it means I will be in prison, even if it means I will have to give my life. 00:14:14.711 --> 00:14:21.639 And since he would not be persuaded, we seeded and said, let the will of the Lord be done. 00:14:23.529 --> 00:14:24.450 So what does that mean? 00:14:24.570 --> 00:14:35.039 That means all of Paul's friends, good people, love the Lord, follow Jesus knew that they were trying to talk Paul out of doing God's will in order for Paul to stay safe. 00:14:36.270 --> 00:14:49.419 Now listen, I think one of the biggest problems in the church in America and specifically at Southside Baptist Church is that we will sacrifice the will of God for safety nine out of 10 times. 00:14:49.421 --> 00:14:55.730 We will sacrifice and do what is safe rather than be obedient to what God has called us to do. 00:14:55.730 --> 00:15:04.039 We have to take and understand that God's will is not always the safe choice and you have a decision to make. 00:15:04.041 --> 00:15:06.500 Nine out of 10 times in your life you have a choice to make. 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:10.240 Will I be safe or will I be obedient? 00:15:10.250 --> 00:15:16.309 And God is calling you to be obedient and to trust Him with your security. 00:15:16.311 --> 00:15:18.519 Do you have that kind of faith? 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:20.509 And, listen, if you don't, it's okay. 00:15:20.510 --> 00:15:22.460 You're in good company. 00:15:22.461 --> 00:15:40.309 Philip was in the room, I mean, there were people in the room who, great men and women of faith, who were trying to talk Paul out of going to Jerusalem, but it said this,"let the will of the Lord be done." They understood and knew that it was God's will, and yet they still tried to talk Paul out of doing what they understood was God's will. 00:15:40.309 --> 00:15:41.179 Listen to verse 15. 00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:48.860 "After these days, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem." That's a powerful sentence because of all that it includes. 00:15:48.860 --> 00:15:54.049 That Paul set aside safety to do what he knew God was calling them to do. 00:15:54.051 --> 00:15:57.860 So he gets to Jerusalem and he visits with James, who's the head of the church in Jerusalem. 00:15:57.860 --> 00:15:59.570 James is the brother of Jesus. 00:15:59.571 --> 00:16:09.769 Didn't believe his brother was the Messiah until after he met the resurrected Jesus, because that's the only way you'd believe your sibling was a messiah to his if he died and rose again. 00:16:09.770 --> 00:16:12.470 So James didn't believe until after the resurrection. 00:16:12.471 --> 00:16:14.299 Now he's the head of the church in Jerusalem. 00:16:14.301 --> 00:16:17.149 Paul goes there for a specific reason. 00:16:17.150 --> 00:16:27.919 He's been collecting help from all the Gentile churches because there's a great famine in the city of Jerusalem and Paul has been collecting resources to take back to Jerusalem to help them with this famine. 00:16:28.429 --> 00:16:29.179 So he goes there. 00:16:29.181 --> 00:16:29.809 He does that. 00:16:29.811 --> 00:16:42.769 While he's there, James says to Paul,"Now, listen, Paul, let me just give you a little a little PR advice here, because your reputation among the Jewish believers is hurting a little bit. 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:46.009 They think that you're trying to destroy all the law. 00:16:46.010 --> 00:16:49.789 They think that you're trying to destroy Judaism and the temple and all that. 00:16:49.791 --> 00:16:51.769 So here's what we think you ought to do. 00:16:52.250 --> 00:16:54.200 Just for the sake of the PR. 00:16:54.470 --> 00:16:58.340 You ought to sponsor these four guys that are going to make a vow and the temple. 00:16:58.669 --> 00:17:08.240 Go with them, pay their way, go make a show of it in the temple and that way everybody, all the Jews will say, see, Paul's not trying to throw the law out. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.049 He's not trying to undo the law of Moses and destroy the temple like you think. 00:17:12.260 --> 00:17:13.549 There's nothing to be afraid of here. 00:17:13.550 --> 00:17:14.809 Nothing to see here. 00:17:14.810 --> 00:17:17.869 This is, this is Paul." And so Paul actually agrees. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:25.640 He says,"okay, I'll do that." So he goes to do this, and in Acts chapter 21, beginning in verse 27, this is what we read happens. 00:17:25.641 --> 00:17:30.769 "When the seven days were almost completed..." That's the time of the sacrifice that they were making. 00:17:30.770 --> 00:17:36.740 "The Jews from Asia..." These are the people who had been with Paul as he was in other parts of the world. 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:42.319 They were Jewish believers in other parts of the world who had seen what Paul was doing and weren't happy about it. 00:17:42.320 --> 00:17:50.430 "Seeing him in the temple stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him." That doesn't mean like they laid hands on him like you know, bless you, my brother. 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.079 That means laid hands on him. 00:17:53.490 --> 00:18:02.039 "They laid hands on him, crying out'Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. 00:18:02.040 --> 00:18:14.549 Moreover, he is brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place." Now, these men from Asia had seen that Paul had with him, a couple gentiles who were traveling with him from the city of Ephesus. 00:18:14.550 --> 00:18:21.569 They had assumed that Paul had taken those Gentiles into the temple, which would've been a violation of the Jewish law. 00:18:21.570 --> 00:18:22.980 So they start spreading this rumor. 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:26.130 "Hey, he is causing trouble right here. 00:18:26.131 --> 00:18:28.740 He's bringing these gentiles into the temple. 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:34.019 We need to do something about this." So Paul is arrested by the religious leaders. 00:18:34.020 --> 00:18:38.039 He's beaten and he's brought into trial before the high priest. 00:18:38.040 --> 00:18:39.809 Now here's the question. 00:18:39.810 --> 00:18:43.799 Remember, Paul did not go into this situation unknowingly. 00:18:43.800 --> 00:18:48.119 He knew full well what he was getting into. 00:18:48.121 --> 00:18:53.160 Not just because Agabus had told him, but because God had told him many times. 00:18:53.161 --> 00:18:55.410 The Holy Spirit had revealed it to him many times. 00:18:55.411 --> 00:19:00.960 So how did Paul go into such a situation, facing such overwhelming circumstances? 00:19:00.961 --> 00:19:09.450 Why would Paul not only endure but knowingly enter in to such unimaginable suffering? 00:19:12.190 --> 00:19:13.440 Well, here's my theory on it. 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:33.329 My theory is this, that Paul could not be taken captive by the Jewish religious leaders and Paul could ultimately not be taken captive by the Roman officials because Paul had already been taken captive by a higher power. 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:42.990 There was no way that Paul was going to become a prisoner to anybody because Paul had already surrendered his life and was a prisoner for the sake of Jesus. 00:19:42.990 --> 00:19:55.829 Listen to what he said in Ephesians 3:1,"for this cause, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles." You catch that? 00:19:55.830 --> 00:20:00.569 Paul perceived himself already as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 00:20:00.570 --> 00:20:03.119 I am a prisoner of Jesus already. 00:20:03.121 --> 00:20:10.740 I have no choice but to do what he's told me to do because I am imprisoned to Jesus, and why am I imprisoned to Jesus? 00:20:11.069 --> 00:20:12.990 Why am I a prisoner of Jesus? 00:20:12.990 --> 00:20:15.000 For you Gentiles. 00:20:15.089 --> 00:20:17.579 There's a purpose behind this. 00:20:17.970 --> 00:20:19.890 There's a higher calling, a higher power. 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:33.779 Listen to what he said in Philemon 1:1,"Paul," he introduces himself,"Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus..." Paul wasn't worried about being taken captive by anybody else because he was already a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:51.910 Now this caused me to think about a word that we sometimes avoid talking about because it's got a lot of negative connotations, but the word,"arrested." Now I thought about asking how many of you have ever been arrested, but I realized that could be a little uncomfortable for some. 00:20:51.911 --> 00:20:53.650 Some of you, I know the story. 00:20:53.651 --> 00:20:57.130 Others I could have found out this morning maybe. 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:01.299 But think about this. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:12.190 We talk about the word arrested and the first thing that comes to our mind is being bound in handcuffs and taken down to the courthouse or the jail and that's being arrested, being booked on charges. 00:21:12.191 --> 00:21:13.660 That is being arrested. 00:21:13.661 --> 00:21:17.690 But you know, the word arrested actually has a different meaning to. 00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:21.369 It's to have one's attention suddenly captivated by something or someone. 00:21:22.509 --> 00:21:26.410 To be arrested by the beauty of something that you see. 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:31.029 You go somewhere and you see something so beautiful that it takes your breath away. 00:21:31.390 --> 00:21:34.420 Now, let me ask, how many of you have ever been arrested, right? 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:35.019 Yeah. 00:21:35.349 --> 00:21:35.769 Yeah. 00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:39.730 So you can be arrested, you can be captivated by an idea. 00:21:40.089 --> 00:21:44.500 Some of you back when you were dating, you were arrested by her beauty. 00:21:44.650 --> 00:21:46.900 You were arrested by his charm. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:57.299 You see, Paul had been arrested. 00:21:58.140 --> 00:22:06.930 He had been arrested by the beauty, the majesty, the glory of the resurrected Jesus Christ and the mission that he had called Paul to follow. 00:22:08.009 --> 00:22:09.690 He had been captivated by it. 00:22:10.289 --> 00:22:12.869 And here's what I think is critical for you to know. 00:22:12.871 --> 00:22:19.799 If you're going to face the challenges, not that may come, but that will inevitably come that may not have a silver lining at the end of them. 00:22:20.730 --> 00:22:25.890 We are either captivated by the call of Christ or by every trial and temptation of life. 00:22:28.549 --> 00:22:39.200 You will either be arrested by the beauty and the majesty of God, or you will be arrested by every circumstance that comes into your into your life. 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:58.809 You will either be a prisoner for the sake of Jesus Christ in His higher purpose, for your life or you will be a prisoner to every whim of every circumstance and every opportunity and every short lived venture that comes along in your life. 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:00.279 One or the other. 00:23:01.509 --> 00:23:02.980 And Paul had already decided. 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:06.609 "I'm going to be a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.430 I am going to be arrested by his purpose for my life. 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:12.069 I am going to be captivated by His beauty. 00:23:12.190 --> 00:23:13.089 So it doesn't matter. 00:23:14.390 --> 00:23:15.740 I can face the Romans. 00:23:15.950 --> 00:23:16.819 I can face. 00:23:16.910 --> 00:23:24.109 I can face what the high priest will say about me and do to me because I am already a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:29.539 They can't take my life from me because I've already been crucified with Christ. 00:23:29.540 --> 00:23:30.829 Therefore, I no longer live. 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:36.500 The life I live in this body I now live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave His life for me. 00:23:36.950 --> 00:23:37.910 Do your best. 00:23:38.509 --> 00:23:42.109 Bring your best because my life is not my own. 00:23:42.980 --> 00:24:07.279 I have been captured, captivated, arrested, imprisoned by Jesus Christ." So I'm want to look at what Paul said to the Ephesians before he left Ephesus, before he went to Jerusalem, because I think it's going to give us a few ideas about how we can prepare our hearts and souls to have the kind of persevering spirit that Paul demonstrated. 00:24:07.609 --> 00:24:16.759 There are three things I think that captivated Paul that will help us not only to endure but to embrace the hardships and the struggles of life. 00:24:17.150 --> 00:24:32.210 So turn back one chapter with me to Acts chapter 20, beginning in verse 18, and as Paul was getting ready to leave the city of Ephesus, he met with the leaders outside of town and he had a conversation with them. 00:24:32.329 --> 00:24:37.160 And this, I think, gives us at least three things that captivated Paul. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:40.309 And this is what our invitation is to be captivated by these things. 00:24:40.310 --> 00:24:44.119 First of all, to be captivated by his divine perspective. 00:24:44.750 --> 00:24:46.910 Be captivated by God's divine perspective. 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:50.240 Look what he says, beginning down in Acts 20, beginning in verse 18. 00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:54.170 "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:25:05.480 From the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews. 00:25:05.869 --> 00:25:23.960 How did I not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house testifying both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and now behold I am going to Jerusalem." Read this with me. 00:25:23.961 --> 00:25:25.130 "He's going to Jerusalem." What? 00:25:25.130 --> 00:25:27.619 "Constrained by the spirit." Say it again. 00:25:27.621 --> 00:25:30.559 "Constrained by the spirit." In other words, he had no choice. 00:25:30.560 --> 00:25:32.779 He was constrained by the spirit. 00:25:32.780 --> 00:25:37.190 This is what he had to do, constrained by the spirit,"not knowing what will happen to me". 00:25:37.191 --> 00:25:38.359 He didn't have the plan. 00:25:38.361 --> 00:25:52.250 He didn't know all the answers in advance"except that the holy spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and affliction await me." The Holy Spirit did not tell Paul, this will be your best life now. 00:25:52.250 --> 00:26:00.390 That is not the message that the Holy Spirit told Paul and I'm telling you, that is not the message that Jesus has for his church today either. 00:26:00.391 --> 00:26:06.599 If you think that by following Jesus, everything is going to be dandelions and rainbows and lollipops and unicorns. 00:26:06.601 --> 00:26:08.970 You are not following Jesus. 00:26:12.730 --> 00:26:14.170 This is the message you had for him. 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:18.640 Prepare yourself because everywhere you go there's going to be hardship. 00:26:19.289 --> 00:26:21.460 And Paul had this divine perspective. 00:26:21.549 --> 00:26:24.369 He understood things from God's perspective, not his own. 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:28.210 He went into this fully aware and knowing what he was doing. 00:26:28.211 --> 00:26:36.009 At the same time, Paul wrote a letter to a church that he had worked with in the city of Corinth, and this is what he said in 2 Corinthians 4:8. 00:26:36.190 --> 00:26:37.210 We'll put it up on the screen for you. 00:26:37.211 --> 00:26:43.119 Second Corinthians 4:8-11,"we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. 00:26:43.300 --> 00:26:50.559 Perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. 00:26:50.560 --> 00:26:58.329 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 00:26:58.330 --> 00:27:09.640 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake so that his life may be revealed in our mortal bodies." See, this is a divine perspective. 00:27:09.641 --> 00:27:12.130 This is the perspective that says, you know what? 00:27:12.131 --> 00:27:14.529 I'm going to suffer, but that's ultimately for God's glory. 00:27:14.530 --> 00:27:17.980 That God's glory will be revealed in my suffering. 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:23.549 God's glory will be revealed in this terrible situation, in my imprisonment, in the abuse and the persecution. 00:27:23.550 --> 00:27:26.349 God's glory will be revealed. 00:27:26.351 --> 00:27:27.519 There is a higher perspective. 00:27:27.520 --> 00:27:29.410 There's something else going on. 00:27:29.411 --> 00:27:37.660 He goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 4:17,"for this light and momentary affliction." Wait, Paul, light and momentary affliction? 00:27:37.900 --> 00:27:45.579 You've been doing this for a decade now and they keep beating you and they keep throwing you out of town and they keep throwing you into prison. 00:27:45.911 --> 00:28:10.680 I don't know about you, but I don't call anything that happens to me for six months, light and momentary, let alone something that goes on for 10 years,"for this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not only to the things that are seen," listen to this now,"we don't only look at the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen." Catch this. 00:28:10.681 --> 00:28:23.880 "For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." Now, just think with me philosophically here for a minute. 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:25.170 What is Paul saying? 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:29.059 Paul is flipping the script entirely on reality. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.779 He's saying everything that you see with your eyes, that's just temporary. 00:28:34.650 --> 00:28:35.970 That's not what's real. 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:40.140 That's not what's permanent. 00:28:40.141 --> 00:28:51.660 What is permanent is what is eternal and see when you have a divine perspective that allows you to know that everything in this life is temporary, then suddenly you can put your hope somewhere else. 00:28:51.661 --> 00:28:57.619 Your hope isn't in just the rags to riches story or to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 00:28:57.660 --> 00:28:58.980 No, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:04.289 Your hope is in something beyond this place because everything that you see here is just temporary. 00:29:04.290 --> 00:29:11.670 You do know that the job that you have, the career that you work so hard for, the education that you gain, you work so hard to build your way up in this company. 00:29:11.671 --> 00:29:17.420 You do know that one day somebody else is going to have your job and they're going to forget about you. 00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:19.650 I mean, they're going to give you a party. 00:29:19.651 --> 00:29:22.259 Maybe they'll give you a watch. 00:29:22.260 --> 00:29:35.259 You know everybody will sign a card, see you later, and then the next day somebody else can be sitting in your office and you think, no, no, no, no, no, no, because I'm going to work so hard that they're going to name the building after me. 00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:35.609 Yup. 00:29:35.611 --> 00:29:38.130 And then one day they're going to tear the building down. 00:29:38.130 --> 00:29:38.130 Right? 00:29:40.589 --> 00:29:41.289 And here's the thing. 00:29:41.589 --> 00:29:44.470 Our problem isn't that we don't plan into the future. 00:29:44.471 --> 00:29:48.309 Our problem is that we don't plan far enough into the future. 00:29:48.310 --> 00:29:54.099 And what Paul is saying is these light and momentary afflictions don't compare with the weight of glory. 00:29:54.101 --> 00:30:03.430 So while you're spending all your time worrying about the suffering that's attached to the things in this life that you're not going to keep anyway. 00:30:03.431 --> 00:30:07.900 Some of you will never be more healthy than you are right now. 00:30:08.020 --> 00:30:10.500 This is it. 00:30:10.809 --> 00:30:14.190 Like it's all downhill, right? 00:30:14.191 --> 00:30:16.829 I mean, come on, can I get a witness? 00:30:16.830 --> 00:30:20.519 Some of you know. 00:30:20.520 --> 00:30:21.329 And so what? 00:30:21.330 --> 00:30:21.630 So what? 00:30:21.631 --> 00:30:28.230 So you think so you go through a struggle, you go through a physical, a trial you, you beat cancer. 00:30:28.230 --> 00:30:28.619 That's great. 00:30:28.621 --> 00:30:31.410 Praise the Lord. 00:30:31.621 --> 00:30:34.769 Unless Jesus comes back, you're still gonna die. 00:30:34.770 --> 00:30:37.859 I mean, listen, I'm not trying to depress you. 00:30:37.861 --> 00:30:45.660 I'm trying to give you a hope that goes beyond this life that lets you be resilient for the suffering that will inevitably come to you. 00:30:45.661 --> 00:30:55.019 If you are married right now, there is the high probability that one day one of you will be a widow or widower, one of you will be alone. 00:30:55.020 --> 00:30:57.500 It's going to happen. 00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:10.549 These are the light and momentary afflictions and we live our whole life somehow thinking that we're going to be the exception, that we're going to be different than everybody else, only everybody through all eternity. 00:31:10.550 --> 00:31:12.079 This is the path that you have struggled. 00:31:12.080 --> 00:31:14.029 This is the path they have walked. 00:31:14.030 --> 00:31:16.460 Lazarus was raised from the dead, but he died later. 00:31:16.461 --> 00:31:24.559 There is only one person who's overcome that and that's Jesus Christ, and if you are crucified with Him, you will rise again to live with Him. 00:31:24.560 --> 00:31:25.039 That's the hope. 00:31:25.040 --> 00:31:26.180 That's the weight of glory. 00:31:26.181 --> 00:31:28.309 That's where we place our hope. 00:31:28.310 --> 00:31:29.539 Our hope is not in a job. 00:31:29.540 --> 00:31:31.759 Our hope is not in finding the right spouse. 00:31:31.760 --> 00:31:37.309 Our hope is not in beating cancer as much as I want all those good things to happen for you. 00:31:37.310 --> 00:31:41.769 That planning is not planning far enough into the future. 00:31:41.770 --> 00:31:55.930 And if you want to overcome, if you want to be a person who perseveres overcomes, you have to have a persevering faith that understands there is a divine perspective that goes beyond these momentary and light afflictions. 00:31:55.931 --> 00:32:08.680 Listen to me, if you live 80 years and in the course of 80 years of life, you struggle with whatever ailment, whatever situation it is that you struggle, do you realize that that 80 years is nothing compared to eternity? 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:10.539 It's nothing. 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:19.069 I mean, when we've been there 10,000 years bright, shining as the sun, we have no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. 00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:20.690 You've been singing that your whole life. 00:32:20.691 --> 00:32:22.279 The problem is you don't believe it. 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:29.930 That this life is so temporary and that divine perspective will help prepare you for what is to come. 00:32:30.171 --> 00:32:32.150 The second thing that I think Paul has his. 00:32:32.151 --> 00:32:35.869 He understands he's captivated by God's divine purpose. 00:32:36.019 --> 00:32:42.950 Listen to what he says in verse 24,"but I do not account life of any value or precious to myself. 00:32:42.951 --> 00:32:56.329 If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." You know I've always, in seminary and church, I always admired those people who had a life verse. 00:32:56.330 --> 00:33:00.349 Man, I wish I had a life verse and I'd pick a verse. 00:33:00.351 --> 00:33:01.609 I'm like, that's gonna be my life verse. 00:33:01.611 --> 00:33:05.539 Only it really wasn't my life first because I just wanted to have a life verse that sounded cool. 00:33:05.540 --> 00:33:09.740 And then God added this verse to my Bible one day. 00:33:09.740 --> 00:33:11.269 Acts 20:24. 00:33:11.270 --> 00:33:13.460 And I knew. 00:33:13.461 --> 00:33:15.799 There's a brick out here. 00:33:15.800 --> 00:33:17.569 Back when we did bricks. 00:33:17.570 --> 00:33:22.549 My family, we all bought a brick and my brick has my name, and it's got Acts 20:24 on it. 00:33:22.550 --> 00:33:26.450 "But I do not account my life of any value or as precious to myself. 00:33:26.810 --> 00:33:40.549 If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I've received to share the gospel of the grace of God." Listen, that's, that's a cause worth dying for right there. 00:33:41.970 --> 00:33:46.859 See what Paul understood was he was captivated by a divine purpose for his life. 00:33:46.861 --> 00:33:51.720 Listen to what he said in Philippians chapter one, how this works its way out. 00:33:51.721 --> 00:33:53.009 He's writing to the Philippians. 00:33:53.010 --> 00:33:54.690 He's in prison, and listen to what he says. 00:33:54.691 --> 00:34:04.259 "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." It looks bad, but you're just looking at it from an earthly perspective. 00:34:04.500 --> 00:34:07.079 You're looking at it from the temporary perspective. 00:34:07.080 --> 00:34:26.250 It's really served to advance the gospel"so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest of my imprisonment, that my imprisonment is for Christ and most of the brothers having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more bold to speak the word without fear" You know what Paul looked at, he said, you know what? 00:34:26.371 --> 00:34:31.530 I'm in prison, but it's part of the purpose because the gospel is spreading. 00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:33.710 All my disciples understand, Hey, they've got to. 00:34:33.730 --> 00:34:34.769 They've got to step it up. 00:34:34.771 --> 00:34:37.349 I'm not there to do it, so they're out sharing the gospel. 00:34:37.351 --> 00:34:38.260 This is God's plan. 00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:41.699 This is God's purpose because I know what I'm called to do. 00:34:41.701 --> 00:34:44.309 Do you understand God's purpose for your life? 00:34:44.311 --> 00:34:52.019 Do you understand that everything that you think is a problem or an obstacle could very well be part of God's purpose for you? 00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:53.429 Paul had a thorn in his flesh. 00:34:53.431 --> 00:34:55.019 He didn't know what it was for. 00:34:55.021 --> 00:34:57.840 Ultimately, he understood that it was to keep them from becoming conceited. 00:34:57.840 --> 00:35:08.130 He prayed to God for three times to have it removed and God finally said, my grace is sufficient for you that my power will be revealed in your weakness. 00:35:08.130 --> 00:35:11.849 God had a purpose and God has a purpose for your suffering. 00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:14.039 Here's the question. 00:35:14.460 --> 00:35:16.079 Are you gonna waste the hurt? 00:35:18.420 --> 00:35:19.500 Are you going to waste the hurt? 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:27.650 So you lose a spouse and you go through a horrific battle that ends not how you wanted to to end? 00:35:27.739 --> 00:35:32.599 Are you going to waste the hurt of that or are you going to see that God had a higher purpose? 00:35:32.690 --> 00:35:34.550 Even in your suffering? 00:35:34.670 --> 00:35:38.519 Are you going to view the struggle you're having with your children? 00:35:39.329 --> 00:35:40.920 That God has a higher purpose? 00:35:41.670 --> 00:35:47.670 Because if you think that if you believe, if you're captivated by God's higher purpose, you can endure the struggles that come your way. 00:35:47.670 --> 00:35:50.909 And finally, Paul was captivated by his divine plan. 00:35:51.570 --> 00:35:56.789 Now, which in turn with me to Acts 23, we're going to look at the end of this little episode in Jerusalem. 00:35:57.000 --> 00:36:06.690 The crowds became basically became so violent that they were about to kill Paul, and so the Romans who were overseeing that area inserted themselves into the situation. 00:36:06.690 --> 00:36:24.030 Acts Chapter 23, verse 10,"and when the dissension became violent, the tribune afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks." Now remember, it looks like utter pandemonium right now. 00:36:24.030 --> 00:36:26.579 I mean the city is coming apart at the edges. 00:36:26.581 --> 00:36:36.690 It looks like the wheels are falling off the bus to everybody except to Paul, because Paul knows, Paul had enough experiences to know. 00:36:36.690 --> 00:36:37.159 You know what? 00:36:37.170 --> 00:36:38.280 God's got a plan. 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:40.409 God's got a plan. 00:36:40.411 --> 00:36:42.539 I don't know what it is, but God's got a plan. 00:36:42.541 --> 00:36:58.889 Look, look what happens in verse 11,"the following night, the Lord stood by him and said," Now if you have a Bible with red letters, these letters are probably in red, which means that Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, reappeared to Paul and said this, how encouraging would that be? 00:37:00.110 --> 00:37:00.840 Listen to what he said. 00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:10.860 "Take courage for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you will testify about me also in Rome. 00:37:11.789 --> 00:37:15.929 Now, if you've been following us, you know Paul has been trying to get to Rome all along. 00:37:16.349 --> 00:37:17.280 Do you know what just happened? 00:37:18.119 --> 00:37:26.730 Through this pandemonium in Jerusalem, through the arrest, the trial, the beating Paul just got an all expense paid trip to Rome. 00:37:28.469 --> 00:37:29.639 And guess who's gonna pay for it? 00:37:30.389 --> 00:37:30.960 Caesar. 00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:41.969 And so ultimately Paul would be transported by the Romans, back to Rome, where we know the gospel would take root and spread to the ends of the earth. 00:37:43.019 --> 00:37:45.269 And Paul was undeterred. 00:37:45.809 --> 00:37:46.980 He was determined. 00:37:47.099 --> 00:37:53.130 He was persevering in the face of the struggles because he was captivated by God's plan. 00:37:53.849 --> 00:37:56.489 He trusted that God had a higher purpose. 00:37:57.150 --> 00:37:59.550 And here's what you need to know about the struggle you're facing right now. 00:37:59.641 --> 00:38:00.659 I don't know what it is. 00:38:00.840 --> 00:38:02.429 Maybe it's a job situation. 00:38:02.431 --> 00:38:03.630 Maybe it's a family situation. 00:38:03.630 --> 00:38:05.400 Maybe it's a health crisis. 00:38:05.400 --> 00:38:20.639 But you will seldom, if ever, know God's plan in advance or even in the midst of the suffering because ultimately what God is trying to forge in you, his faith, and if you knew it wouldn't require faith on your part. 00:38:20.641 --> 00:38:23.099 And so what that tells me is that just says, you know what? 00:38:23.101 --> 00:38:26.039 Hold on. 00:38:26.070 --> 00:38:29.219 Seek, be captivated by his divine perspective. 00:38:29.221 --> 00:38:31.949 Be captivated by his divine purpose for your life. 00:38:31.951 --> 00:38:40.269 Be captivated by his divine plan and trust and know that this light and momentary affliction is working a greater good in my life. 00:38:40.300 --> 00:38:42.429 Now, let me just share a few questions for reflection with you. 00:38:42.789 --> 00:38:54.159 We put these on the back of your bulletin and maybe this week as you read, if you're following along in the reading plan, maybe these questions will be something that you'll use every day, to just kind of help you as you process this. 00:38:54.909 --> 00:38:57.579 What is the divine perspective of my current situation? 00:38:59.260 --> 00:39:03.880 Just lift yourself out of your situation for a minute and ask yourself what's the divine perspective? 00:39:05.320 --> 00:39:11.019 What does the situation look like in 20 years, in 40 years, in 50 years, in 100 years? 00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:14.880 Because here's what I've learned. 00:39:15.650 --> 00:39:20.309 I go back in my life and I asked myself what was I most worried about 10 years ago? 00:39:22.501 --> 00:39:26.760 What were you most worried about 10 years, what were you most anxious about 10 years ago? 00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:32.130 My guess is for most of you, some of you this is not true, but for most of you, you're not worried about that anymore. 00:39:32.130 --> 00:39:34.469 It's totally different now than it was then. 00:39:34.530 --> 00:39:40.110 So why would you not think that 10 years from today the situation's gonna be different than too. 00:39:40.110 --> 00:39:42.329 What is your divine perspective on the situation? 00:39:42.331 --> 00:39:49.110 I love what Chuck Swindoll says,"life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond." That's true. 00:39:50.039 --> 00:39:52.530 I mean, you don't have to believe in Jesus for that to be true. 00:39:53.429 --> 00:39:54.239 That is just true. 00:39:54.240 --> 00:39:57.989 Students, as you get ready, go back to school, college students, as you get ready to go off to campus? 00:39:57.990 --> 00:39:58.829 Listen to me now. 00:40:00.150 --> 00:40:01.679 That is true. 00:40:01.949 --> 00:40:08.400 Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you choose to respond, so do the next right thing. 00:40:08.731 --> 00:40:11.340 Whatever happens, keep doing the next right thing. 00:40:11.340 --> 00:40:13.860 Second question, what is God's purpose for my life? 00:40:13.889 --> 00:40:16.409 Now this one's going to take you a little longer than a week to answer. 00:40:16.650 --> 00:40:21.659 Some of you've been trying for 40 or 50 years to answer this question like, God, what is your purpose for me? 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:27.300 But I think it's really important that we come to grips with what is God's purpose for my life? 00:40:27.780 --> 00:40:32.880 Because that knowledge will give you the stamina to endure the hardships that will inevitably come. 00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:38.940 Third question, do I trust God's plan or am I trying to force my own? 00:40:40.440 --> 00:40:44.610 Do I trust God's plan or am I trying to force my own plan? 00:40:45.449 --> 00:40:53.579 Because if you're like me, I spend about 90 percent of my time trying to force my own plan to happen though I finally relent and say, okay, it's your will, God. 00:40:53.610 --> 00:40:57.059 Just like those people back at Phillip's house. 00:40:57.061 --> 00:40:57.719 Right? 00:40:57.900 --> 00:40:58.230 Okay. 00:40:58.231 --> 00:41:00.000 We'll just do what God wants us to do finally. 00:41:00.420 --> 00:41:01.980 We tried to fight it and now we can't give in. 00:41:02.099 --> 00:41:03.900 Why not just start life out that way? 00:41:04.170 --> 00:41:05.699 Whatever your plan is, God, here I am. 00:41:05.940 --> 00:41:06.389 I'm ready. 00:41:06.391 --> 00:41:07.960 What is God's plan? 00:41:07.960 --> 00:41:08.880 Or are you trying to force your own? 00:41:09.150 --> 00:41:11.519 Paul said this in Colossians 4:18. 00:41:11.521 --> 00:41:18.630 He said,"I Paul, write this greeting to you", he's writing to the Church of Colossae,"Write this greeting to you with my own hand, and he says this. 00:41:18.630 --> 00:41:20.309 He says, remember my chains. 00:41:20.311 --> 00:41:25.500 Grace be with you." Now I ask myself this question. 00:41:25.501 --> 00:41:27.929 Why would Paul say that? 00:41:27.931 --> 00:41:32.909 Was Paul trying to evoke sympathy from the church at Colossae? 00:41:32.911 --> 00:41:35.050 Did he want them to feel sorry for him? 00:41:35.050 --> 00:41:35.469 I don't think so. 00:41:35.471 --> 00:41:37.329 That's not consistent with anything else Paul ever wrote. 00:41:37.331 --> 00:41:40.030 Why would Paul say, remember my chains? 00:41:40.030 --> 00:41:46.840 Because I think Paul wanted those early Christians to understand there are going to be chains in your life. 00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:49.300 The question is what will the chains be? 00:41:49.329 --> 00:41:54.579 And so my question for you today is to what or to whom are you chained? 00:41:54.581 --> 00:41:58.150 To what or to whom are you chained? 00:42:01.210 --> 00:42:02.949 Are you chained to an addiction? 00:42:04.300 --> 00:42:07.059 Are you chained to the pursuit of a career? 00:42:07.150 --> 00:42:07.960 To wealth? 00:42:08.650 --> 00:42:12.070 Are you chained to your reputation and what people think about you? 00:42:12.639 --> 00:42:14.380 Are you chained to your body image? 00:42:14.380 --> 00:42:16.630 Are you chained to food? 00:42:16.630 --> 00:42:18.159 Are you chained to shopping? 00:42:18.161 --> 00:42:20.289 Are you chained to your spouse? 00:42:20.409 --> 00:42:21.820 Are you chained to your children? 00:42:21.820 --> 00:42:23.380 Are you chained to your house? 00:42:23.409 --> 00:42:24.250 What are you chained to? 00:42:25.510 --> 00:42:27.610 Because all of us are chained to something. 00:42:28.239 --> 00:42:31.030 The question is, what are you going to be chained too? 00:42:32.199 --> 00:42:44.199 Because there is, there is a way that we can be chained to something that gives us freedom, and that is when we choose to be captivated, arrested by the purpose that God has for our life. 00:42:45.969 --> 00:42:51.650 Are you looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow now? 00:42:51.650 --> 00:43:02.539 Are you looking for the riches in the rags to riches story or are you seeking a prize that goes beyond what is temporary into what is eternal? 00:43:02.541 --> 00:43:11.000 Paul said to the Philippians in chapter three,"I press on to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." He said, I'll just keep pressing on. 00:43:11.840 --> 00:43:13.070 I know I'm going to get thrown in prison. 00:43:13.079 --> 00:43:13.940 I'm going to press on. 00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:15.469 I know they're going to beat me. 00:43:15.471 --> 00:43:19.309 I'm going to press on, and when Paul died, listen, listen. 00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:24.559 When Paul died, Paul did not think that this would be the case today. 00:43:25.519 --> 00:43:32.050 Paul did not think that all across the globe and hundreds of languages, people would be reading what he was writing back to these churches. 00:43:32.059 --> 00:43:33.769 That's not how Paul lived his life. 00:43:34.849 --> 00:43:38.750 He lived his life captivated by the purpose of Jesus Christ. 00:43:40.311 --> 00:43:47.420 Trusting that the prize that awaited him was beyond this life, the hope of glory, the hope of eternity with Jesus. 00:43:47.420 --> 00:43:48.289 What's captivating you? 00:43:49.690 --> 00:43:51.619 I'm going to get you to bow your heads and pray with me. 00:43:51.621 --> 00:43:57.469 Our musicians are going to come back and we're going to sing a song that just talks about God's greatness. 00:43:58.760 --> 00:44:12.440 And maybe for some of you in this time of reflection, it's just important for you to just be captivated by how great He is, by His perspective, by His purpose for your life, by the plans He has for you. 00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:33.420 Maybe you just need to be reminded, He is bigger than whatever obstacle you're facing, but for others of you, maybe today, you would realize that you're tired of being changed to what's temporary and you want to be captivated by the beauty of a Savior who gave Himself for you that you might be free. 00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:37.860 And if that's your story today, maybe you would just come down here, pray with me, pray with others. 00:44:38.340 --> 00:44:39.869 Maybe you just need to pray at these steps. 00:44:39.871 --> 00:44:50.969 Maybe there's something, a situation right now, and you just need that divine perspective because you've been caught up in a temporary, short sighted perspective and you want that eternal perspective. 00:44:50.971 --> 00:44:56.969 Whatever it is God's doing with you in this time, I invite you to use this song of reflection to respond to the Holy Spirit. 00:44:56.971 --> 00:44:58.260 Will you stand as we sing? 00:44:58.260 --> 00:44:59.880 Father, we thank you. 00:45:00.690 --> 00:45:06.360 We thank you for the example of the Apostle Paul, but more than just his example. 00:45:06.360 --> 00:45:22.829 Lord, we thank you for the truth of the message of the Gospel, that when we die with Christ, we will be raised to life with Him, not just someday in the future, but even now in this life that we can face trials and struggles and difficulties. 00:45:23.070 --> 00:45:39.420 We can face and overcome all the obstacles not out of our own strength because we're good enough or worthy enough, but because we have been captured by You and that You are leading us on triumphantly towards that prize, that ultimate destination. 00:45:40.590 --> 00:45:43.380 That's nothing transient or temporary, but it's eternal. 00:45:43.951 --> 00:45:45.900 Lord, give us your perspective. 00:45:45.900 --> 00:45:47.969 Lord, help us to understand our purpose. 00:45:47.971 --> 00:45:54.750 Lord, this is a room full of people where I think probably most of the people in this room do not understand. 00:45:54.751 --> 00:45:58.829 Have not taken the time to seek to know what is Your purpose for their life. 00:45:58.831 --> 00:46:03.780 Lord, I pray that today if nothing else, they would begin to pursue. 00:46:03.869 --> 00:46:08.369 What is God's purpose for my life. 00:46:08.371 --> 00:46:11.429 Lord, for others were facing circumstances. 00:46:11.431 --> 00:46:18.539 People are facing struggles and they do not understand or know or believe right now that you have a bigger plan. 00:46:18.541 --> 00:46:29.010 Would you just affirm to them that You who gave Your life for them would not spare any other good gift and that you have a purpose and a plan in the middle of the trial that they're facing? 00:46:29.010 --> 00:46:40.650 Father, I just pray that your Holy Spirit would do a mighty work in the hearts and lives of Your people today, that we might be captivated, arrested by Jesus. 00:46:40.650 --> 00:46:42.869 And it's in His name we pray. 00:46:42.869 --> 00:46:42.869 Amen.