Sunday Worship - July 11
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Sing a little louder in the presence of my enemies. Sing a little louder, louder than the unbelief. Sing a little louder, my weapon is amazing. Sing a little louder, heaven comes to fight for me. Sing a little louder, in the presence of my enemies. Sing a little louder, louder than the unbelief. Sing a little louder, my weapon is a melody. Sing a little louder, heaven comes to fight for me. Sing a little louder, my weapon is a melody. Sing a little louder, heaven comes to fight for me. Sing a little louder. I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm. Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar. Up from the ashes, hope will arise. Death is defeated, the King is alive. I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm. In the middle of the storm. Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar. Up from the ashes, hope will arise. Death is defeated, the King is alive.
Jesus said, "Who has held the oceans in His hands? Who has numbered every grain of sand?" Kings and nations tremble at His voice. All creation rises to rejoice. Behold our God, seated on His throne. Come, let us adore Him. Behold our King, nothing can compare. Come, let us adore Him.
Who has given counsel to the Lord? Who can question any of His words? Who can teach the One who owns all things? Who can fathom all His wondrous deeds? Behold our God, seated on His throne. Come, let us adore Him. Behold our King, nothing can compare. Come, let us adore Him. God has felt the nails upon His hands, Bearing all the guilt of sinful men. God eternal, humble to the grave. Jesus, Savior, isn't now to reign. Behold our God, seated on His throne. Come, let us adore Him. Behold our King, nothing can compare. Come, let us adore Him. You will reign forever. You will reign forever. You will reign forever. You will reign forever. You will reign forever. Behold our God, seated on His throne. Come, let us adore Him. Behold our King. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come, let us adore Him.
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame. But wholly trust in Jesus' name. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame. But wholly trust in Jesus' name. Christ alone, cornerstone, weak made strong, is Savior's love through the storm. He is Lord, Lord of all. Lord of all. When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds thee. My anchor holds within them. My anchor holds within them. Christ alone, call us Lord. We pray strong in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He shall come. He is Lord. Lord our Lord. Christ alone, call us Lord. We may strong in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He is Lord. Lord our Lord. He is Lord. Lord our Lord. Christ alone, call us Lord. We may strong in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He is Lord.
Lord our Lord. We shall come with trumpet sound. O may I then, in Him be found. Dressed in His righteousness alone. Hold this down, Lord. Stand before the throne. Christ alone. Call us Lord. Weak and strong. In the Savior's love. Rule the stone. He is Lord. Lord our Lord. Christ alone. Call us Lord. Weak and strong. In the Savior's love. Rule the stone. He is Lord. Lord our Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Let's pray. Good morning, everybody. We're going to get started today in our time of worship, and we're going to be continuing on with Paul's conversion and the persecution of the church and the persecution of Paul, which is pretty interesting that the persecutor becomes the persecuted when he decides to follow Christ. One of the people I think of when it comes to those who are persecuted for the church or for following the truth is a guy by the name of Diedrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran, I believe, preacher during the time of Nazi Germany, and he was very opposed to the Nazis and pretty outspoken about it. And by the end of his life, he was in a concentration camp, and he was actually hung for conspiring to kill Hitler, him and a few other people. And he wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship, and I just wanted to share a quote from that book. And it says,
"To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it, is indeed a narrow way. To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time, to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way. To believe the promise of Jesus that his followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time, to face our enemies unarmed and defenseless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselves, is indeed a narrow way. To see the weakness and wrong in others, and at the same time refrain from judging them, to deliver the gospel message without casting pearls before swine, is indeed a narrow way. The way is unutterably hard, and at every moment we are in danger of straying from it. If we regard
this way as one we follow in obedience to an external command, if we are afraid of ourselves all the time, it is indeed an impossible way. But if we behold Jesus Christ going on before, step by step, we shall not go astray. And it's just a, I thought that was just a really good reminder that we can't love our enemies by ourselves on our own. We can't love those that don't like us. We can't want, we don't want to share the gospel with those that are opposed to what we believe in. But through Jesus, we can do all of these impossible things like love our enemies, share the gospel, not judge people because we're no different than them as far as sin. And it's just a really good reminder of without Jesus, we're nothing. And so as we think about these things with persecution and things like that, I was brought to
2 Timothy, and I just wanted us to read these verses together today. So if we want to go ahead and stand, these were words actually written by Saul who became Paul, by Paul, a while after his conversion. And he's just describing if you want to be a Christian, it's not going to be easy, basically. And a lot of times the easy way out is the easiest thing to do. But that's why following Christ is called the narrow way, because it's so hard to do, but it's so easy with Christ. It's very hard to describe. Very hard, but very easy. But with Christ, nothing is impossible, and we were able to get through persecutions, not just from people, but also spiritual persecutions that, you know, the devil doesn't want anybody to follow Christ. And so thank God for Jesus and for the ability and the hope
that we have in Him to do that. And so we're going to read together out of 2 Timothy. We're going to be reading verses 12 through 17 together. And it starts, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned, and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. "All Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together.
God, we thank you for the opportunity to gather today. We thank you for those watching online, and we ask that you allow us to be an encouragement to them as they are to us, and an encouragement to each other here as we gather together. We thank you so much, God, for the gospel. We thank you for Jesus. We thank you that through you nothing is impossible. We thank you that despite persecutions and evil surrounding us, things that seem to go from bad to worse, we can still move through those things through your power, even though it isn't easy, even though many times it's difficult, and we feel so weighed down by the burdens of this world. You're there to help us to get us through those. And we thank you for the hope that we
have in you, our hope in our salvation, that one day there won't be any evil and there won't be any bad to worse. It'll just keep getting better and better. And we thank you so much for that. Be with our service today. Allow it to glorify you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Our first Song we're going to be doing today is "Indescribable."
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring Every creature unique in the song that it sings All exclaiming, indescribable, uncontainable You place the stars in the sky and you know them by name. You are amazing God. All-powerful, untamable All-startly fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim You are amazing God.
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go? Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow? Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light? Yet conceals it to bring us the coldness of the night? None can fathom. Indescribable, uncontainable, you placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name. You are amazing God. All-powerful, untamable, wall-struck, we fall to our knees as we longly proclaim, "You are amazing God." Indescribable, uncontainable, you placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name. You are amazing God. Incomparable, unchangeable, you see the depths of my heart. You love me the same. You are amazing God. You are amazing God.
All right. Next, we're going to be moving into our prayer and share time. If you're watching online, there will be a slide up on the screen with a phone number for you to text. If you would like to send your request to that, please do that, and we would love to be praying together with you. We will be muted here during that time, and so just give us a few minutes as we have that time together here, and then we'll be back after that shortly. So, our next song we're moving into is "In Christ Alone." In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my, my strength, my song. This cornerstone. This solid ground, burned through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights above, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease. My comforter, my whole and all, here in the love of Christ.
I stand. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless faith. This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones he came to save. Till on that cross, I stand. As Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground his body lay. Light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day. Upon the grave he rose again. And as he stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me. For I am his, and he is mine. Brought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commends my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from his man. Till he returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand. You may be seated. You may be seated. Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray.
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Jesus said, "The mercy is over all that he has made. All your work shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand. You satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him. He also hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love him. So it's just a psalm of just praising the Lord and describing how great he is. And as we move into our time of communion, we're going to be singing together "Shout to the Lord," which is just another way of describing how great the Lord is and all he does for us.
My Jesus, my Savior, Lord, there is none like you. All of my days, I want to praise the wonders of your mighty love. My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength. Let every breath, all that I am, never cease to worship you. Shall to the Lord all the earth let us sing? Power and majesty, praise to the King. Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name. I sing for joy at the work of your hands. Forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand. Nothing compares to the promise I have in you.
My Jesus, my Savior, Lord, there is none like you. All of my days, I want to praise the wonders of your mighty love. My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength. Let every breath, all that I am, never cease to worship you. Shout to the Lord on the earth, let us sing. Power and majesty, praise to the King. Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name. I sing for joy at the work of your hands. Forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand. Nothing compares to the promise I have. Nothing compares to the promise I have. Nothing compares to the promise I have given you.
In Ephesians, the second chapter, the apostle Paul gives us a glorious and wonderful and joy-inspiring and hope-producing contrast. And he begins Ephesians chapter 2 by saying, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, and the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." And then Paul will say this, "But God, being rich in mercy and because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, and by grace you have been saved."
And then later on in the chapter he will say, "Remember at that time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." And a little later he will say, "And he came and preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. Through him we have both access and one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers or aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." And Paul unpacks the glory of the gospel, and then he unpacks the privilege of his ability given by God to preach the gospel. And then at the end of chapter 3, he will say this, "For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father."
And when Paul writes that, we think of somebody who bows sort of formally and maybe a little stiffly because it's not something we're familiar with. When Paul says, "I bow my knees before the Father," the picture there is not somebody maybe getting down on one knee in a very dignified way. It's Paul overcome by the glory and the wonder and the love of God, and he falls on his face before God, not in fear, but in worship. And here's why. He'll say, "From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." And this morning, as we gather around this table, as we eat this little bit of bread and we drink this little bit of juice, I want to remind you of what Paul reminded the Ephesian church, and by extension reminds us, that God brings outsiders and he makes them insiders, that those who are separated and sinful and broken are healed and accepted and welcomed by the blood of Christ, that we're made into one family, that we have hope, that our sins are forgiven, and that we see the love of Christ. And Paul explains this. He's like, "I want you to know how wide it is, and how high it is, and how long it is."
Because the love of Christ is so big and so great that it surpasses all understanding, and the only way that you can even get a glimpse of the fraction of God's love for you is through his power. And so it's my prayer that as we break this bread and drink this cup, as we remember the sacrifice of Jesus, who died for our sins, who rose again for our victory, that God in his Spirit would impart to us how wide and how deep and how great his love is for us. And we would be reminded that we are made new, that we are accepted, that we are brought into a family, that we are heirs with all of those who are Christians. So I'm going to pray and then we'll read from 1 Corinthians as we partake together.
We can't help but be moved to worship as we see the goodness that you have given to us. That you have taken people who are dead in their sins and that you have made them alive. That you have forgiven our sins and you have done so through the sacrifice of your Son who gave his life in our place. That you have brought us together. That you have made outsiders family. That you have loved us so deeply that we struggle to understand the greatness of that love. And so this morning as we break this bread and as we drink this cup, may you instill that love into our hearts and that we may see it and be moved to worship. That we would leave aside the sin that so easily entangles us and through your strength run with endurance the race that is set before us.
And may you use this moment to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. I ask that you bless this bread and you bless this cup. May we proclaim your son until he comes again. It is in his name we pray. Amen. When Jesus, on the night of Passover with his disciples, and they come toward the end of the meal, he will take bread and this is what Paul will say. When he had given thanks, he broke it and he said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Let's remember the sacrifice of Jesus together. And then after supper, during Passover, you drink four times from four cups to remember the four promises of God. And the cup after supper was known as the cup of redemption, that God would redeem his people.
He would bring them out of slavery. And the disciples didn't realize that Jesus was about to redeem his people, not through a parted sea, but through the cross. And so for them, it's a promise, and for us, it's a reality. Paul records this in the same way he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." Father, I thank you for grace. I thank you for the gospel. I thank you for this small moment of bread and juice that reminds us of things that are so big and so wonderful that we struggle to grasp the immensity of what we have just done. So remind us of Jesus. Remind us of your love. Remind us of your grace. Remind us that you strengthen us and help us. Remind us that you have redeemed us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
This morning's Scripture reading is from Acts. For some days he, Paul, was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue, saying, "He is the Son of God." And all who heard him were amazed and said, "Is this not the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon his name? And has he not come here for the purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?" But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Dismascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill Saul, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. But his disciples took Saul by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was the disciples. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
This is the word of the Lord. Praise be to God. Let's pray. Father in heaven, I thank you for your word, and I thank you for the testimony of Scripture that teaches us and encourages us and corrects us when necessary. Thank you that you do not leave us alone, but that you have equipped us for the work that you have set before us. And so this morning I ask that you, as we look at the life of Saul, that you would, first of all, encourage us, especially in those times of waiting and in those times of trial, and that you would challenge us, challenge us to be like Barnabas, the encourager, the helper. Thank you for your good word. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So when I was in college, one of my good friends bought a motorcycle, and I was excited about it because, you know, in those situations, what's theirs is yours.
And so I won't tell you what happened the first time I borrowed his motorcycle, although it was not as impressive as I had hoped, but that's a story for another day. And so on this particular day, I had to run some errands, and I said, "Hey, can I borrow the bike?" He said, "Yeah, no problem. Gives me the keys." And so I, you know, head out the parking lot and head down the street, and there's a little hill going up to a stop sign, and I'm sitting there, you know, the cars are stopping, and then they're going, and it's my turn, just about my turn to go, and the motorcycle just stalls. And it didn't stall because of something that I was doing. It just shut off. And so, you know, I check everything, I try to start it, and nothing happens, and nothing happens.
And so, really, the only recourse for me was to sort of move off to the side of the road and then onto the sidewalk, and so there I am, who originally started thinking he was really cool because he was on a motorcycle, was now pushing his motorcycle down the sidewalk. And about then, a couple of friends from college drove by, and they saw me pushing the motorcycle down the sidewalk, and they turned around, not to help, but really just to enjoy my suffering. And so they are kind of driving along the side going, "You know, there is nothing sadder than seeing a man in a helmet pushing his motorcycle down the sidewalk." And there are times in life where it feels like that, right? It feels like the thing that we thought were going so well, it just sort of falls apart, and we find ourselves sort of seemingly pushing a motorcycle down the sidewalk.
And when we think of the Apostle Paul, we might be tempted to think of all of the wonderful things that we see in his life, right? He writes all of these books of the Bible. We think of all the churches he planted. We think of the amazing testimony that we looked at last week of how God saved the enemy of Christianity. We might think about how he testifies so boldly before Jewish officials and Roman officials, eventually going all the way to Caesar. And we think of all of these wonderful, wonderful things. But Paul's ministry doesn't begin like that. It begins in many ways by sort of pushing the motorcycle down the sidewalk. So I want to take a look at the beginning of the ministry of Saul this morning, or Paul, and we're going to see that it begins with waiting.
It begins with suffering, and thankfully it begins with the encouragement of Barnabas. Now, I don't know about you, but I like looking at pictures, especially pictures that sort of remind us of things. And so one of the things I love about my parents' house is they have like a whole couple rows on a bookshelf filled with photo albums. And it's great because you can go through and flip, and it brings back all of these memories. And we tend to do the same thing, right? Especially if you have a phone full of pictures. And I do this especially when somebody says, "Oh, I have a dog." And I say, "Oh, I have a dog, too." And then you get out your phones, and you start comparing pictures of your dogs and showing pictures of your dogs.
And so pictures help us understand things we might not normally understand. They help remind us of something. They oftentimes bring us joy or encouragement or fill us with emotion. And so in our text this morning, what we're going to see sort of is three pictures. Paul will preach. That's Acts 9:19-22. Paul is then going to escape after preaching, right, which is not the thing that any preacher wants to do, where you have to run for your life because the preaching doesn't go very well. And then we'll see Paul in Jerusalem. We'll pick that up in verse 26. And so as we look at these pictures, I want to draw three lessons from these pictures. And the first picture is this, is that God is at work in those moments where it seems like we're just waiting.
And I don't know about you, but waiting for me can be frustrating, right? We want to be moving. We want to be fast. We want to get about it. But Paul's ministry in many ways begins with waiting. From our perspective, it seems like his ministry moves very quickly, right? You've got preaching. You've got conversion. You've got preaching. You've got this escape. You've got Jerusalem. You've got missionary journeys, church planning, conflict, letters to church. It seems like Paul's ministry, from our perspective, it sort of goes really, really fast. You know, sort of zero to sixty very quickly. One of the things that I think is helpful to remember is that the book of Acts covers a period of about thirty years. And these events that we read in chapter nine, they're not happening all at once.
The events in the life of Paul are not happening all at once. So when Luke writes Acts to help us to see what Jesus is doing in and through the church, because he covers a portion, a long portion of time, these events sort of get pressed together, and we forget that there's big spaces of time in between all of them. So we see these three pictures of Paul in these three snapshots, but I want to show you what happens in between all of them. And we pick up in Galatians chapter one in verse fifteen. Paul speaking about Jesus will say, "When he had set me apart before I was born, and he who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach among the Gentiles,
I did not immediately consult with anyone. Nor did I go to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remain with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. Then I went into the regions of Syria and Sicilia, and I was still unknown to the persons of the churches of Judea that are in Christ. And then down in chapter 2 of Galatians, after fourteen years I went again up to Jerusalem with Barnabas taking Titus with me. So there is a period at the beginning of Paul's ministry, and we see it in our text this morning. Fourteen years. Now that doesn't mean that Paul wasn't doing anything.
We know he ministers in Damascus and in the regions of Syria and Sicilia, but what it means is the things that we know Paul for, those things that we say, the big things about Paul, the writing of Scripture, the church planning, all of those things. They don't happen all at once. He spends three years in Arabia, eleven years in relative quiet, fourteen years. You may say, "Why does it matter how long it takes, Paul?" We struggle to be patient, right? We struggle to wait for God. And there's a tendency to want to be fast and to want everything fast. And I know what I want to do, and I want to do it right now. And that's often not the case when it comes to the work of God in our life. If you want some other pictures from Scripture, consider Joseph, who spends thirteen years as a servant in Potiphar's house and in jail,
before ultimately ascending to his job with Pharaoh. Or Moses, who spends forty years in Pharaoh's house. And then he spends forty years in the wilderness of Midian. And by the time God calls him with the burning bush, you know how old Moses was? Eighty years old. When God finally calls him to the mission, Moses is not a young man. He is eighty years old. And God has spent eighty years of his life preparing him for what comes next. Paul has fourteen years of preparation. And what I would remind you of and encourage you with this morning is that God is at work during those periods where it just seems like we're waiting. Right? God is teaching us in those moments. God is preparing us. That's what he's doing with Paul. He's getting him ready. He's teaching him. He's preparing him.
He's getting him ready for the mission. And so I would say this to you this morning: Don't waste your waiting. Right? So many times we get frustrated that things aren't happening fast enough or quick enough or big enough for us. Like my kids, when we're in the car going anywhere. Right? How long till we're there? How long have we been in the car? How much more time do we have? How many more miles do we have? Right? Many of us are exactly like that, especially when we're waiting for God. Right? How long is it going to be? When is it going to happen? And rather than grumbling, complaining, becoming discouraged, ask yourself, "How is God using this waiting to prepare me for what comes next?" He does it in the life of Joseph. He does it in the life of Moses.
He does it in the life of the Apostle Paul. Do not waste the waiting that God has given you. Secondly, we see that God works in our suffering. If you remember last week when Ananias gets ready to go to Saul and tell him about the Gospel. As God is sending Ananias to him, God will say this to Ananias, "But the Lord has said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel.'" We say, "Well, that sounds pretty good. Paul's going to do some important things." And then we get verse 16, "For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." We saw it in our text this morning. When many days had passed, the Jews had plotted to kill him,
but their plot became known to Saul, and they were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. But his disciples took him by night, let him down through the opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket." And I've always wanted to know just a little bit more about this. Like, what kind of basket did they use? Like, I doubt they had people baskets, right? So this is probably something you would use to carry grain or fruit. Probably not been load tested for an apostle, right? And they're letting you down over the wall, right? That has to be a little bit nerve-wracking, but also with the fact there's people looking for you to kill you, and so you've got to do it quietly and quickly without attracting attention, right? Paul already begins to suffer. In 2 Corinthians, he lists a big list of his sufferings. He will say this:
"Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes, less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and day and a drift in the sea on frequent journeys in danger in rivers, robbers, my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers in toil and hardship through many sleepless nights in hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and exposure." Now, we don't know when all of these things happen. We know where some of them happen, especially like the shipwrecks. We see them later on in the book of Acts. But specific things, for example, those three times I received from the Jews forty lashes, or five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes minus one.
There's no real record in Acts when that happens, and it's likely, and most commentators think, it happens during this period in Paul's life. And those forty lashes minus one, what would happen is under the Levitical law you could only give forty lashes. When you beat somebody, you could only hit them forty times. And so the Jews, because they didn't want to go forty-one, they would only do thirty-nine, so they wouldn't break God's law when they were roughing somebody up. And so what they do is take Paul, who's preaching Christ, and they say, "You've got to stop it." And he says, "I'm not." And so they beat him. Incredibly hard. And Paul suffers. And you may look at that and say, "Why does Paul suffer?" In one sense, the suffering of Paul confirms his message, right?
It's really easy to commit to something when it's easy. We see this every time that a sports team is going to a championship, whether it's a Super Bowl or a World Series or a World Cup, all of these things. All of a sudden, there's a whole bunch of new fans, right? Because it's easy to root for something when they're winning, right? And then all the other fans sit back, and they grumble, and they go, "Well, I was a fan back before, during the bad years and the dark years. I'm a true fan, and they're a fair-weather fan." How easy would it be to say that of Paul if he didn't suffer? Is he really loving the gospel, or is he just doing it because he gets to do all these great things? But through his suffering, what we see is that Paul really means it.
He's not just there for the good things, but when he is beaten, when he is shipwrecked, when he's attacked, when they throw stones at him until they think he is dead, when he is cold, when he is tired, when he is in danger, when he is discouraged, when he is without food. We see that Paul really means it when he becomes a Christian. It's not just a fad that he's going through. It's not just when things are easy. And so one of the things that God does in Paul's life through his suffering is, first of all, he confirms that Paul is serious about the gospel, and the second thing that I think he does in Paul's life is he strengthens his dependence on God throughout the suffering. Paul has a lot of successes, right? Churches, books of the Bible, this great influence, these people that he disciples like Timothy and Titus.
And we've all seen it happen, how dangerous success can be. That success oftentimes can lead us to pride and self-reliance. And Paul struggles in a lot of the ways. In 1 Corinthians, he talks about how God has given him this thorn in the flesh. And he says, "God, please take away this struggle from me." And here's what God says to him in the midst of the struggle, "My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness." And Paul says, "Therefore, I'm going to be more glad about my weaknesses, so that Christ and his power may rest upon me." And one of the things that God does in Paul's life in the struggle, and in our life in those struggles, is remind us that God is the one who is working, and that when we are weak, he is strong. And one of the things he does in Paul's life as he struggles,
he increases Paul's dependence on God. And sometimes when we struggle, what God is doing is saying to us, stop trusting yourself and trust me more deeply. And so just as God teaches and prepares Paul, he does so for us in the midst of our suffering. He teaches, he prepares us, and what he does is he attaches us firmly to the right foundation. And I want you to see this morning, in times of waiting, God is at work. In times of struggle and hurt, God is at work. And then we come to this place where God encourages Paul, and he does throw in a remarkable way. When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, and they were afraid of him, for they did not believe he was a disciple. And so this is understandable.
Paul, who has been persecuting the church, eventually comes to Jerusalem. Likely this is the second time that he comes to Jerusalem, not the first time where he sort of quietly meets with Peter and the Lord's brother, and then sort of heads out of town. Likely, this is the second time, and he comes publicly, and he shows up in the back of church, and people look at him and go, "Isn't that the guy who a bunch of years ago killed Stephen?" And it's always awkward, right, to go to a new church, right, because they do things differently. They sing different songs, you know, there's different people, there's different traditions, and so it feels weird for us. We're already uncomfortable when we go to a new place or to a new church. Now imagine you walk in as Paul, and you're excited because you've been serving the Lord,
you've been preaching in these remote places, and you come to the place where it all begins, and there's these brothers and sisters in Christ, and you walk in, and everybody starts whispering and muttering, and the preacher gets up and goes, "Church is canceled." And then they all sneak off to Steve's house and have church without you, right? That's what's happening to Paul. Nobody wants to be around him. He walks in, and they walk out. They ignore him. They don't want any part of it. Can you imagine how discouraging that would be to walk into church and everybody just looks at you and walks out and goes somewhere else? Look at what God does through Barnabas. But Barnabas, remember his name means son of encouragement, took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord and spoke to him,
and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly by the name of the Lord, and he spoke and disputed with the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So Barnabas goes, grabs Paul, takes him to the apostles. Now this is dangerous for Barnabas, right? If Paul really is an imposter, and he's really still seeking to attack the church, Barnabas is putting his life in danger by bringing Paul to church. But he does it because he loves God's people, and he wants to encourage them, and he encourages Saul. And what does Saul do? As the church accepts him, Saul begins to preach even more.
And here's a remarkable thing about how God turns things upside down. Remember what Stephen was doing before he was killed? He was preaching in the synagogues of the Hellenists, and eventually they get so angry, they kill him. And remember who helps in that? Saul, sitting there giving approval to the whole thing. Now what is Saul doing? Preaching in those very same synagogues. Isn't that remarkable? He spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, right? The guy that he killed, Stephen, he's now following in his footsteps, preaching in the same places to the same people. And it's interesting, he gets the same response. They seek to kill him. But through Barnabas and through the apostles, they get Paul out of town, encouraged. So one of the amazing things I think that we see about the beginnings of Paul's Christian life is that God is at work.
He's at work in his conversion, and he's in work at what comes after. You see, God doesn't just bring you in and then leave you. God doesn't say, "All right, they're in. Now you're on your own." But God brings you in, and he continues to work. And he does so in the life of the apostle Paul. He doesn't just save him, but he continues to be at work in the midst of his waiting and his suffering. And he does so in part through the encouragement of the church. And I would add to you those motorcycle moments, right, where everything falls apart and we're pushing our motorcycle down the sidewalk. Maybe not literally, but in the feeling of how life is going. It doesn't just happen in Paul's ministry at the beginning as he waits, as he suffers,
as Barnabas has to sort of drag him into church and vouch for him. You find these moments throughout the entire ministry of Paul. But in all of these things, God is faithful. God is working. And in your waiting, and in your struggles, and in your suffering, God is working. Even when it seems like, spiritually, you're struggling to push that motorcycle down the sidewalk. And so Acts chapter 9 is encouraging as we see that God is not just at work in our conversion, but he's in work at what comes after, even those dark and difficult moments. And so it's encouraging, but it's also challenging to us. What are you going to do with what God has done in your life? Are you going to waste your waiting? Are you going to waste your struggles? Are you going to waste the opportunity that God has given you to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ who, like Saul, may feel like an outsider?
They may be struggling. And God has given all of us the opportunity that he has given Barnabas to bring others in and to encourage them and to show the love of Christ. And so we're encouraged by this text because God is at work, but we're also challenged and reminded that in those moments, he's at work. So what will you do in those moments of waiting, in those moments of suffering? Will you complain? Will you give up? Or will you humble yourself to the work of God as he works in those difficult moments for your good? Are you encouraging your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you encouraging those who are outsiders, who may be long like Saul to be brought in? What are you doing with those gifts that God has given you? This text both encourages us and it challenges us with how we live. Let's pray.
Father, thank you so much for the good news of the gospel. Thank you that you don't just save us, but that you equip us and you strengthen us for work in your church and in your kingdom. So may we not, this morning, be discouraged in moments of waiting and suffering, but rather we would see that you are at work preparing and teaching us for what comes next. And would you help us, like Barnabas, to be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to love them, to accept them, to welcome them, to help them, to strengthen them by your grace. Help us this morning, as we look at our lives, that we would not waste those seasons of waiting, that we would not waste those seasons of suffering, but that you would humble us and help us to depend deeply upon you.
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. At the heart of Acts chapter 9 is the fact that God is faithful. He is faithful in calling us to the gospel, and he is faithful in equipping us in the gospel. So what we're going to do now is we're going to stand and sing about the faithfulness of God.
There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness. Great is Thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hands have provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. Amen. Pardon for sin and the peace that endureth. Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Bless is all mine with ten thousand beside. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hands hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. I want to thank you for joining us this morning, whether you are here in person or online. We are glad that you are here with us.
Just a reminder, there is no Wednesday evening Bible study this week. We are out of town Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday camping, so pray for us. That is probably specifically for Rachel. Yes. So no ladies' class this week either. That will resume first Thursday in August. And we'll remind you of that as that gets closer. So no Wednesday evening Bible study this week, and no ladies' class this week. We'll pick those up in the weeks to come. We're going to go ahead and pray, and then I want to read a Scripture, and then we'll sing the doxology. Father in heaven, thank you for your church and your people and for your word that encourages us and challenges us in our lives. Help us as we see how you work in our lives to be thankful and grateful for how you have prepared us and taught us.
Be with us as we leave this morning, that we would use the opportunities you have given us to boldly proclaim the gospel. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As we gathered for communion, we read a little bit from Ephesians 2 and 3. I want to read to you the last verses of Ephesians chapter 3. Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church, and I think a good prayer for us as well. "Now to him who is able to do abundantly, far more abundantly than we ask or think, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Let's sing the doxology.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures here below. Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.