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Okay. I’m going to invite you to Acts chapter 17, where we’re going to be together today. Acts chapter 17. And originally we were going to talk about this entire chapter, but this chapter is so unique and a couple of things that it features for us that I’ve I’ve divided it for us. And we’re just going to look at these first 15 verses today. And specifically, we’re going to look at the importance of your faith journey in the midst of adversity. There comes a there comes a time in our life where we, we can find ourselves in a position where we’ve got to choose between what pleases the Lord and what pleases people. And I hope, honestly, that you live your life not to please people, because it’s nice to be kind to people. The Bible tells us to seek good and peace with all people. And that’s certainly nice to be kind to people. But the aim of your life is not about pleasing people. The aim of your life should be about glorifying God. Now, it’s it’s nice when following a road of glorifying God aligns with this world. But it’s not always going to be that way. But sometimes this world is juxtaposed against the Lord. In fact, Romans chapter 12 encourages us don’t. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. It carries this idea that the world wants to press you into its mold. But Jesus wants to do something radically different in you and through you.
And that’s the idea of transformation from the inside out. Jesus turns your world upside down in him. And so, rather than the world try to force you into something, the Bible calls you to so much more in Christ. And it’s not until you understand who the Lord is as your life surrendered to him, that you discover who you are and the reason for which he’s created you. But when your life is given over to that, you have opportunity to live for his glory. So there’s a there’s a time in life where there’s the purposes that man might have for us, and there’s the purpose that God has for us. And when we come to that place, we realize that there might be a sacrifice or even a cost to following after the Lord. But that’s the reason for which God has created me. And so today we’re going to talk about a road few people travel and and the reason for that is there’s I think there is a gap in, in American theology and our understanding of God, and the Bible speaks to it very profoundly. And that gap is found in the idea of suffering. And the reason that we have this gap in, in our American theology and suffering is because we tend to follow a God of comfort and convenience. And while it’s wonderful that we we have a God that is certainly there to be our comforter, to encourage us, to enrich us and the joy of knowing him.
There’s also a cost to following after Jesus. And some people, when they look at that cost, they they will abandon the Lord in order to follow that that path of comfort and convenience. It reminds me of this passage in John chapter six where the apostle Peter has this one of this moment. You know, he has a couple times in life where he says things and he says them. Right. And he has a whole lot of times where he says things and probably wishes he didn’t say those things right. He’s the guy that always spoke first and then thought about what he said. But in John chapter six, Jesus has this large crowd following him and he gives this statement, whoever wants to follow after me must drink my flesh and or eat my flesh and drink my blood. And the crowd, hearing that, were perplexed by that statement. And it says they abandoned him. And then Jesus turns to his disciples and asks the question, are you going to leave me too? And Peter gives this rather profound thought. He says, Lord, where else shall we go? You have the words of life. And Peter is recognizing something significant about who we are as human beings, established in who God is, that there are circumstances in life may come and go, come and go. But but the truth of of who God is and who we are in light of that, that’s what ultimately matters.
That we don’t want the we don’t want the temporal of this world to dictate what things, what things we might follow after knowing that that our lives are built for more than just the temporal. That we’re made for the eternal. And so rather than react to circumstances of life which will come and go. To walk in the consistency of who the Lord is is ultimately what what matters, because that is what endures. And Peter is is teaching us about that. Now, in light of Peter, as we look at Acts chapter 17, if we remember for a moment where the Apostle Paul is in this journey, he’s on his on his second missionary journey, going throughout the Roman Empire to proclaim the gospel, the good news, the forgiveness that we can have in the Lord, and the freedom that we receive through him. I mean, we’re finding the purpose for our existence because of what God has done for us, and a God who has loved us incredibly by giving his life for us. You would think, man, if there was a God like that who has made himself known, who is going to such extent for you and for me? We should want to know that, right? But what? What Paul finds is continued opposition, in fact, as he begins his second missionary journey. You gotta look at this and think he’s in the middle of God’s will.
But in the middle of God’s will, he continues to encounter adversity. Remember early in his missionary journey. Acts chapter 16, he’s going from town to town, but he’s he’s not finding the that the Lord desires to work in those particular towns when he’s there. And so he ends up going over into Europe, into Philippi. And when he gets to Philippi, here he is in the center of God’s will. God gave him a vision by the Macedonian vision to go here. He preaches the word in Philippi, and he finds himself beaten within an inch of his life and thrown in prison. And then after he’s thrown in prison, we’re going to look at in Acts chapter 17 today he goes to Thessalonica, encounters a similar adversity on to Berea. Similar adversity. I mean, any one of us facing that kind of opposition, we might begin to question ourselves. Am I really following the Lord here? I mean, is this really what God wants? Anytime we face that kind of adversity, we we sort of stop for a moment and kind of pose that question. And we might even ask the deeper question, why? Right. Why, God, would you let such difficult things happen to me? Don’t you care? Don’t you love me? And we’ll talk about an answer to why in a minute. And so we’re obviously we’re looking at this, this themed idea of suffering today. Right. And I know, like, maybe you come into church and you’re like, I need I need a little bit of joy.
I did not anticipate, you know, today would be such a heavy topic, but let me know. I want you to know this. This is really to help Seahawk fans today and what you’re about to endure. So yeah, you do know your pastor’s a Patriot fan, right? You just. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we’re not we’re not all perfect, right? I just, I just Anyway, it’s all that aside. Now that I’ve lost half of you in this important message. Understanding a theology of suffering is critical for the life of the believer. And get this, it’s not. It’s not opposed to joy. In fact, we’re going to look at it. We’re going to look at this verse in a moment at the very end. I think it might blow your mind a little bit, But when it comes to the the idea of joy as a believer, it’s important to remember that for Christian, joy is much deeper than than the circumstances of life, right? Like when we go through certain seasons of life, we might have some happiness. And I hope your life is full of wonderful happiness, but I also hope it’s full of something much deeper than just happiness. Because happiness is temporal and happiness can come and come and go. But the joy of of a believer endures in all things. Because what what we have in Christ, we know that we have forever.
And the hope that he delivers to us, it gives us a future beyond the circumstances that life might deliver. And so we have a God who has come near, a God who has given himself a God who has promised. Not only does he walk with us in our circumstance, not only does he forgive us of our past, but he gives us a future in him. And with that, as believers, regardless of the temporal circumstances of life, we have a joy that endures. And it’s critical for us to discover. But when we think in terms of of what Paul is going through in this passage, we get to we get to look at this road that not many people desire to travel, especially when when when someone says to you, well, in your Christian journey there might be a cost and are you willing to pay that cost? What does it look like for us as believers to be solidified in that? Now, in mentioning all that in Acts chapter 17, one of the things that makes it unique, and one of the reasons I refer to this as a road that not not many travel, is because Paul is actually on a road. Many people do travel. He’s as he starts this missionary journey, he’s what’s he’s traveling on what’s called the Ignatian way, which is one of the most popular roads in the Roman Empire. And Paul is on this journey.
You can even go find sections of this road still existing today. There’s a picture on your screen of one of those sections, and it says to you in Acts chapter 17, verse one. Now when they had passed through Amphilius and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. So Paul is doing what Paul typically does when he goes from town to town. He stops off in the synagogue first. And one of the reasons he does that is because he knows there’s a biblical foundation in the synagogue for them to be able to understand who the Messiah truly is, and it’s from the synagogue, then, that the church is birthed and they begin to proclaim the gospel throughout the city. So here Paul goes on this Ignatian way. He’s traveling from these cities, and even though he’s walking a popular road, he’s he’s traveling metaphorically on a road that not many people will take. And he’s teaching them about the significance of who Christ is so that we begin to discover a depth to our faith so that we are faithful in Jesus, in all things. So when we talk about a road less traveled, let’s let’s look at these passages together. I’ll give you verse number one. Is this what is a road less traveled? Number one. The way of a suffering Messiah. It begins with the way of a suffering Messiah. Now, this is very critical to understand, because an understanding of the suffering Messiah helps us in the struggles of our own life.
Right? So he’s not indifferent to what you go through because he has walked that road with us. In fact, he’s going to a greater extent than any of us will in recognizing how how the father turned his back on Christ, that Jesus bore our curse, in fact. And when you look at verse two, this is how Paul says it. He went in, as was his custom, in the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead. And saying, this Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, and as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. So here Paul comes into the city and he’s he’s proclaiming, he says this interesting phrase. It was necessary for the Christ to suffer. Now there’s a philosophical idea here that’s that’s important for us to understand. And then there’s a theological teaching here in Scripture that’s important for us to understand. Now, if I think in terms of the the philosophical idea of Christ’s suffering when it says it was necessary for him to suffer, we could maybe pose this question who actually killed Jesus? Was it the Roman Empire? Was it the Jews that came against him? Or was it the father who took him to the cross? Was it God or was it man? Which was it? The answer is yes.
And this speaks to the uniqueness of who God is. And this becomes important for all of us to understand that, that there is a broken world that that you live in, and people are responsible for the decisions that they make. And at the same time, your God is so sovereignly in control that he orchestrates all things according to his will for your good and to his glory. How those two fit exactly. Let me just tell you this I am not sovereign God, and I don’t know. My finite mind could ever fully comprehend how the divine hand of God works in such incredible ways. But what it does say to us as human beings is that God brings meaning and purpose from our struggle, that he’s not indifferent to it, to the point that he’s willing to subjugate himself to to the flesh and take the curse and consequence of sin upon himself. So philosophically, this is important for our mind to understand that this is not out of the control of God. Now, we may not always understand why the particularities of struggles happen in life, but what we’re seeing is a divine hand of a good God who will orchestrate it for his purposes and to your benefit. Romans eight tells you that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Now, I’ll add on to that in a little bit as we get to the end, but I think philosophically it’s beginning. It’s good to at least start to shape that in our mind. And then theologically, I want us to just consider this phrase. It was necessary for the Christ to suffer. Now, could you imagine for a moment that you would be in a room where you might be the only one that follows the Lord? And now you’re going to explain to people the importance of following the Lord? Perhaps, maybe in this room it might be made up of an eclectic group of people who follow all sorts of different gods. And now you’re about to explain who you think is the one true God. And your lead is this My God died. I don’t know about you, but when you’re looking for. For hope that accentuates beyond the temporal. Starting with my God died. This doesn’t just does not bode well, right? Like, if you’re going to put your hope in something, you got to you got to want to put your hope in something that isn’t beat up by life, right? Isn’t it’s not meant to their demise by the hands of other people. You would think that your God would be strong enough to be like, hey, I’m God, you’re not going to do that to me. But the fact that that that did happen to your God would raise some level of concern.
And not only not only in hearing that, that you would embrace a God that way, but to even think, how could I put myself my hope in something that that died, right? That just doesn’t make any sense now. It exacerbates itself when you when you recognize that Paul is not only saying this to people, but he’s saying this to Jewish people because in Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse 23, it says, cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree. And in the Jewish mind, not only are they hearing about a God who died, but they would think to themselves, how could I ever follow someone that’s been cursed? I mean, God obviously told us this in the Old Testament for a reason, and I think it was a warning so I wouldn’t follow something like this. Cursed is he who hangs on a tree. How could God be in something like that? And in that moment, Paul would explain, this is exactly who the Messiah was. The Messiah was cursed because he took on the curse so that you could be forgiven and set free. Now, it doesn’t tell us in this passage how how Paul would have gone through this and explained it entirely. But can I just tell you, when you when you look at the Bible, it is incredible the amount of prophetic understanding Scripture gave us to then recognize that this is exactly what the Messiah came to do.
If you just think in terms of the idea of worship, the whole system of worship that the Jewish people had was ultimately a picture of everything Jesus would accomplish for us. In fact, I don’t think I put this in your notes, but in Hebrews chapter ten, verse one, if you were to look at really the whole chapter of Hebrews, but starting in chapter ten, verse one, it tells you that the law was a shadow of everything Jesus would fulfill. What it’s recognizing is God created an entire system of worship in the practice they would carry out, which was ultimately a picture of everything Jesus would be for us. If I just maybe gave you a few illustrations, if you were to go to the temple to worship in the Old Testament, that was a place God dwelled. But before you could get to the temple, the object that stood between you and the presence of the Lord was the altar. And the altar was the place in which an animal was sacrificed as a representation of the one who would ultimately come as a sacrifice for us. And so here you see this, this idea of God desiring to be near, but God demanding justice on behalf of of sin that was brought as an affront before him. And so sacrifice was made known in order to to know the Lord. And and in fact, when John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the world, John chapter one, verse 29, behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
He’s acknowledging the actual individual who would become the ultimate sacrifice for us, that those animals were a foreshadowing of everything Jesus would fulfill. And then if you were to go into the temple, one of the things that you would see in the temple, there are lots of different instruments. If you’re doing our Old Testament reading as we read through the Bible in the year, you read about all the different instruments in the temple, but but the most significant one was one referred to as the Ark of the covenant. And for the priests that were able to go into the temple, inside of the temple there was two rooms, and the second room was referred to as the Holy of Holies, and only the high priest could go into that room. And there was a veil that separated the people, the priests, from the Holy of Holies in that in that Holy of Holies room, there was the Ark of the covenant. And so there was this reminder as they drew near to God, that there was still a distance. And in that ark inside of the ark there was the law. And on the ark that the priest would go in once a year, and he would sprinkle the blood on top of the ark. And it was to recognize the need for a sacrifice. And upon that ark was referred to as the mercy seat.
And it helped us recognize as God’s people that while there was a law, and while we may broke the break the law, that there was forgiveness, and God ruled on his throne. For for mercy, for you and for me. So here we see an image of everything Jesus would accomplish for us, but not just the foreshadowing of all that Christ would be. There’s also prophetic statement throughout Scripture of what Jesus would do for us, so that we wouldn’t mistake the curse that he bore for for all of us and our sins. In Genesis chapter three, the very first book of the Bible. God the father is speaking to the serpent after the fall of Adam and Eve when they partook of the fruit. And the Lord says this I will put enmity between you and the woman. And so it’s acknowledging, look, there is a kingdom that’s opposed to what God desires to do, that the Messiah will be born of a woman, a virgin birth. And he says, between your offspring and her offspring, he shall bruise your head. So he’s talking about crushing the authority and the rulership of the serpent. But then it says, and you shall bruise his heel. Now, I don’t know if you know this, but anytime you get bit by a poisonous snake, the end is inevitable. That’s what he’s saying. That Jesus is also going to die. So it’s this messianic understanding of what the Messiah would do and crushing the serpent.
But at the same time, he bore our wounds. And Isaiah 53, this is the suffering servant section of Scripture. One of the most detailed passages of the Bible, and what Jesus would do for us on the cross. It says he was despised and rejected by men, but he was pierced for our transgressions. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And look at this. By his wounds we are healed. Psalm 22 and they have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones and my clothing. They cast lots for my clothing. They cast lots. Zechariah 12 and I will pour out a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on me, on whom they have pierced, and I don’t know all the things that the Apostle Paul would be sharing with people. But certainly some of these passages were likely included. Certainly the system of worship. Paul would have said, don’t you see God’s hand all over this? God shared this long ago so that when the Messiah would come, you wouldn’t mistake him, because our tendency as human beings would be to look at what he went through and think that God had forsaken him. But but the truth be told, he willingly went to the cross and he was forsaken. But it was all a part of the divine plan of God for you and for me.
For Paul, as he’s going through his own adversity, this gives him a place of comfort to see that even even despite the struggles he might experience in this world, it’s never apart from the Lord. And the way he knows this is to see his own God who endured things for him, and now he has the opportunity to honor his God by walking a similar road so that others may find freedom in Christ as well. The way of a Suffering Messiah Paul summarizes it like this. In Galatians chapter three verse 13, he says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. So that verse 14, In Christ, in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised spirit through through faith. Where one person might look at it and think, God can’t be in it. Paul wants us to understand God’s hand was all over it. So there’s the there’s the way of a suffering Messiah. Number two is this truth over idols? Truth over idols. As you look at this passage, or as we look at this passage, I want us to Paul. Paul’s arguing divine necessity and what Jesus is going through. Not not a tragic misfortune. And the cross was not Rome’s idea, but rather, ultimately, it was God’s plan to save sinners from the beginning.
And so understanding the significance of that truth becomes critical for us, especially in terms of anything else that we might gravitate into in this world to find identity or purpose. It’s the truth of God that brings us freedom. And and Paul highlights the the struggle that we all have with this. It says in verse five, but the Jews were jealous and taking some wicked men of the rabble. I love those little rabble rousers. Right? They formed a mob, and they set the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another King, Jesus, and the people in the city. Authorities were disturbed when they heard these things, and when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. It’s interesting to me. I want to talk about verse nine for just a minute. I’ll bounce back up to verse five. But as as they’re looking for Paul in this passage, they’re angry with what Paul is doing. They’re trying to find the apostle Paul and and punish him. They end up grabbing this guy named Jason. They throw him in jail and Jason has to pay his bail to be released.
That’s essentially what he’s doing in verse nine. He’s paying a bail, and it’s believed that the bail is based on a promise. And that promise is they’ll get rid of Paul, like, we’ll let you live, Jason, but only if you get rid of Paul. And you’ll see in verse ten, Paul and Silas are sent away from the city. And and it’s believed that in this verse that that part of the promise of not persecuting the church or killing people that belong to Jesus, and this is based on Jason saying, on behalf of the church, we’ll get rid of Paul. Just let us go. Please don’t hurt us. Right. And then when you go back and you study the Apostle Paul’s life, you discover Paul never went to Thessalonica again. In fact, it’s during this time period, as Paul has, he leaves the city. He ends up in Corinth that he writes first and second Thessalonians. So if you’ve followed along through the book of Acts, as we study this together, there’s there’s up to this point now been four books of the New Testament written. The first we looked at was the book of James that was written around Acts chapter 12. The second was the book of Galatians that was written during Acts chapter 15. And now the third and fourth are the book of first and second Corinthians and, excuse me, first and second Thessalonians.
And this was written around the area of Corinth. And so Paul’s written three of these letters. James, the Lord’s half brother, is written one of these letters. So if anyone likes to you want to read the Bible in a chronological sense, that’s where this would come from. But one of the things that Paul says in his letter is a letter is rather interesting. He says in first Thessalonians chapter two that he desired to go back and visit the Christians in Thessalonica, but he was unable to do so. And the reason he said he was unable to do so is because Satan prevented him. Now, one of the things that that I have found rather interesting with the Apostle Paul is he says this a couple of times. He says this first Thessalonians two verse 18. He says it again in second Corinthians chapter 12, where he talks about serving the Lord. But this thorn, this messenger of Satan, was given to him, and he asked the Lord to take it away. And God said to him, his grace is sufficient for him, that his strength, God’s strength is made known in Paul’s weakness. What I what I find interesting about both of those places where Paul is referring to Satan in that instance, as I think in both of those instances, the way he’s acknowledging Satan is working is through people. And sometimes we like to think, if Satan’s working, that the way that Paul would obviously know this is Satan appears with pitchfork and red horns, right? But that’s not what Paul is saying is.
He’s saying that when when we interact as people, there is a it’s an incredible moment because in our interaction there’s always there’s also something divine taking place there because we’re spiritual beings. And what we’re given over to determines what we’re serving. And Paul is simply acknowledging that the reason he finds himself prevented is because a spirit of Satan is working in the hearts of people to thwart him that has prevented him from being able to visit the church in Thessalonica. Now, now, knowing that, let me just tell you one thing not to do. Don’t go around and tell people they’re the devil. Okay? That’s not a nice thing. That’s not what I’m insinuating. But what I am recognizing is that there’s always a spiritual battle taking place. And what you do in that moment matters whether someone is for you or against you. In fact, one of the things that should encourage you in is to just remember, if someone is opposed to you, that it’s important that you learn as a believer not to take that personally, but to recognize there’s something deeper happening in that situation. And rather than let their actions towards you force you or cause you to react in a way that’s not honoring to the Lord, you recognize who you are in Christ and how critical it is for the opportunity God’s giving you.
This is why Paul says in Ephesians six we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. Meaning people aren’t the enemy, that there’s always something deeper taking place. And it’s our opportunity in this world to represent the Lord and his glory in the way that we do that. Now, having said all that and looking at how the Jewish people respond here, it tells you in verse five that they’re jealous, right? And because of that, they give this this stirring that takes place and it comes against the Christians. And it raises this, this ruckus and some those rebel rousers, right? Some terrible things starting to unfold, and it could have ended very poorly, and we could have ended in the loss of life that’s already happened for the early church. And we could look at these people and just think how terrible, you know, Jewish people jealous. And we could throw stones. But one of the things I want us to all to recognize is that we all have the tendency to love our idols more than we love the Lord. And it uses this word jealousy to help us recognize that meaning. We sometimes use jealousy in a very broad way. But the way that jealousy is used here, very specific, is important. Meaning there’s a difference between the word envy and jealousy. Envy is this idea of I want what you have. We sometimes use the word jealous to mean that, but envy is actually what you got.
I’m coveting. I want that jealousy is actually what I have. I want to hold on to. It’s mine. It’s kind of like. Think of Smeagol in the Lord of the rings. Okay. My precious. The problem with that is that we’ll give ourselves to those things so much that we’ll abandon the thing for which we were created for in Christ. And rather than give ourselves to him, we’ll think that the idol that we’re clinging to gives us more purpose and value than the Lord does who made us for his purpose. And so we battle with that. And in fact, that’s that was the battle of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis, and that’s been the battle of humanity from the beginning. Do you really trust who Christ is and what he’s done for you? Do you think he can he can satisfy your soul. Do you think he’s enough? Because the struggle for all of us, if we’re being honest, is we always we fall into the temptation of believing. Well, most of the time. But sometimes I might know better. And maybe we could even ask ourselves in this morning. This morning in this room is like. Are you putting something before Jesus? Is there something that, you know the Lord wants you to let go of and just trust him, but you’re failing to believe that Jesus is enough? Can I just tell you, I believe the most unhappy person on the planet Is a Christian who tries to keep one foot in the world and one foot in their faith.
Because you weren’t made for that. The joy of the Lord is discovered when our lives receive Him in His fullness and surrendering ourselves, humbling ourselves and saying, Jesus, I believe you’re enough. There’s this tendency in our lives to maybe even in adversity to just begin to doubt God. Are you there? God, do you care? The Apostle Paul helps us work through that, that that idea. But you see the the response of the Jews in this moment. They don’t like what Paul’s saying is because, well, Paul’s going to make things different for them. They like their position, they like their power. They like what they’ve received. But to follow this Jesus, they’re going to have to lay it all down and find their lives rediscovered in him. And they would rather hold on to to the uncertainty of temporal things in this world than to let their heart grab the fullness of of who Christ is. And in so doing, you see in this moment they they create a mob, which we call today cancel culture. And they they misrepresent the message of the apostle Paul. And, and they attack the person. And instead of the position that that he shares, even though they can’t refute his argument, they just attempt to to silence the man and war with him. And so it’s important for us to think about in our own lives.
What what am I giving over to are their idols that I hold on to? Because this journey with with the Lord God calls me to lay it all down for the goodness of who he is to get us to. Point number three is this A faith that costs the road that we is less traveled. Is is a faith that that costs us. And here you see in in verse 11 or verse ten. Excuse me, it goes on and says, the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now, these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed with not not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the Word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there to agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. I mean, could you imagine being Paul here? Say, God, I set off on this journey. I thought it was in the middle of your will, but I haven’t been to a spot where I haven’t been persecuted yet. Maybe Paul doesn’t wrestle with this, but perhaps we would.
God, are you really in this? God, how do I know? God, do you really care about me? Lord? Why? I mean, you know, the the struggles that all of us would, would come up with in a situation like this. Because our tendency is to pursue a God of convenience and comfort. And now all of a sudden, when we don’t have it, we wonder, God, are you even real? God, do you even care? But, you know, it’s interesting. One of the things that Scripture is very clear to us on over and over again is the idea that if you follow Jesus, there is a cost. It’s amazing. Like if you’re doing a reading through the New Testament, if you’re just keeping your mind, how much does the Bible actually talk about paying a cost or suffering as a believer? And it’s throughout Scripture. Now, in telling you this, I want you to know the assignment when you leave today is to not is not go out and and intentionally suffer, right? I don’t I don’t want that for you. Right. But but can I just tell you, if you look back over your faith and you can’t find a place where your faith costs you. How do you even know it’s genuine? How do you know? It’s just not words that you share. How do you know there’s real substance to what you believe? It doesn’t make like. It doesn’t mean for us that, like, the hard things are opposed to God, or it doesn’t mean the other extreme that we need to seek hard things, but we can walk in a world that’s broken, and God can be completely true and still for you and orchestrate things for our well-being.
In fact, in the book of John, look at this. It talks in the idea of persecution. They persecuted me. They will persecute you. Acts 14. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom all who desire. In second Timothy three to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. First Peter four. Do not be surprised at the fiery trial. What Peter is saying don’t let this catch you off guard. Right? Predetermine in your life what you’re going to be about. That way, regardless of what circumstances arise, it’s not going to dictate who you are because you’re already confident in who you are, because you know who you are in light of who he is. So Peter’s saying, don’t let this shock you. This is how the world responds to God because they live for a kingdom contrary to his. But this does not dictate who you are because you know who Christ is, and you see how his sovereign hand has worked these things out. And so Peter’s encouraging us in the midst of tribulation, not to not to just move away from suffering, be like I will deal with that later. But to recognize in the life of the believer this is a part of our faith journey.
But this does not dictate the way I react, because I know who I am in light of who Christ is. And therefore I’ll continue on knowing that the things of this world are temporal. But what I have in Jesus endures forever. In fact, if I just give you another passage in Romans chapter five, Paul says it in an incredible way. He says, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, you can have peace with people. You can have peace with the Lord. Sometimes they work together, but not always. At the end of the day, you should pursue peace with God. Verse two. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into his grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And look at this. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings. He’s nuts. Who does that? Right. Like if I just asked you this morning, tell me your favorite Bible verse. I can tell you I’ve never met a person on the planet. Like Romans five, verse three. Give me that one. Rejoice in my sufferings. Like that’s not something we’re like. You know what I need to. I need to explore this and develop strength in this. This is not a this is not the most popular Bible verse. But then but then he goes on to explain, like, what’s the importance of this? He says, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
I gotta do this fast, but let me just say this. Here’s what he’s saying. When you go through adversity has this way of refining you. And when we go through hardship, sometimes we retract to basically the fundamentals of what is most important. What is it I hold to what matters to me? It’s in those struggles that we really discover that. And this is what Paul is saying. Is it Jesus? Adversity has this place of helping you see what matters more to you? Do you cling to your faith? It’s this place of strengthening you, of seeing that as you walk with the Lord in it that he is, he’s sufficient. He’s more than enough. He meets you in that struggle. He sustains you through it. And so the challenges of this life has has this incredible way of of refining us in, in the Lord. And and ultimately it becomes this place of inspiring others to see a God who sustains us and the things that we, we endure and go through. And so we might say to ourselves, okay, well, if I want to get to that place of, of trusting in the Lord in that way, like, how do I do that? And can I tell you one of the things that you’ve already learned is one of the one of the.
Whoa. Will you go back to wherever I was? It was seven. Chapter 17, verse 11 has the picture of the stone on there. Brendan, when when we think about Acts 17:11, let me quote it for you. It says, and the Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica, because they received the word with readiness of mind. And they searched the scriptures daily to determine whether or not it was true. And here’s what they’re saying. What the church did is they didn’t just take someone’s word for it. They went back and looked at the foundation of the Bible and they found something at the bedrock of who they were as people in a truth that God gave them, that endured in all circumstances. And it was that truth they used to determine who they were. That then led them in this path of life, hardships going to come. And the question for us should be, can I sustain in that? How do I sustain in that? And the answer for the church in Thessalonica was that they found their lives sustained in the truth of who God was, because it revealed the greatness of Christ. Can you bring up the picture? Oh, it’s not on the screen. Will you bring up the picture of Helen Roseveare for just a moment? I need to close with this.
Helen Roseveare was a lady. That was she was a missionary in the Congo. She was actually a medical doctor. Was a missionary in the Congo. And she was captured in the 1960s. She died in actually 2016. She looks like everybody’s grandmother there. Everybody’s grandmother. Granny K, making me some sweet cookies right there. But she was actually captured in the Congo. And for several months, she faced some of the most horrific torture that I don’t even want to describe. She was eventually rescued, and she went back to continue to serve the Lord. And she spoke to people as to how she was able to do that. She wrote books on this, but one of the things she said was this God did not explain my suffering. He offered me himself. Suffering is not an interruption of God’s plan. It is often the means by which he accomplishes it. When we go through hard things and I got 40s to close with this thought, we go through hard things. One of the questions we always ask is why? Like, as if we want God to give us a specific reason. And you know, you may sometimes you might get a reason explained to you, but not always. And can I tell you even. Even if someone explains that to you. Why, if you get that kind of understanding, can I just say that is not the most comforting thing, because it still doesn’t determine that you have the sovereignty to do anything about it.
And so one of the most important things God does for us is rather than give us an answer, he gives us the answer, and the answer is himself. That in Christianity, we have the opportunity to see a God who loved us so deeply that he endured the worst, that we could have freedom in him, and not just freedom, ultimate hope through what he’s accomplished for us. That more than just an answer to suffering. I get a God who loves me, who cares about me. Now, for me, it becomes important that I be able to trust that God. God, who are you? God? Do you care about me? And as you discover the depth of who God is. You realize the grace and gentleness of Jesus in your life is far more important than just simply an explanation to to a circumstance in life, but rather understanding in this God. He is the answer to all things, which is why in Scripture it says in Romans chapter eight, all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. The answer to suffering is Jesus, and the gift God has given us is is himself. It is a road. Not many people want to travel. Not many people, as we talked about with Peter in John chapter six, are willing to travel. But because of who Jesus is, we’re able to travel. A God who meets us where we are, a God who gives us a hope beyond this world.