Acts 14:19-28

All right, good morning, church.

All right, we are super excited to get to worship with you guys one more time before we head back to our country in Southeast Asia.

! The past couple months has been an extreme delight and joy for our family.

We've gotten to have meals with many of you guys to talk.

And sadly, there's been some that we haven't even had a chance.

And we're like, oh, we wish we could sit down and talk with them.

But in the Lord's due time, we would love to do that.

I'm excited to get to bring the word to you all today from Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

So if you have your copy of God's word, please open to Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

And we'll begin today in verses 19 through 28.

As you're turning there, I want you to know that my hope for today's sermon is that you will be reminded of the joyful privilege and blessing it is to have the local church.

And I want to remind you that I know you guys already know it.

But we, as Nathan has said over and over again, if you've spent any time around Providence Baptist Church, he will say,

we are people slow to remember and quick to forget.

And why does he say this a lot?

Well, because we are people slow to remember and quick to forget.

So we need a lot of reminders.

And so my prayer for today is that you will clearly see in the scripture that our God is building his church through his church for his glory.

I pray that you will not only see it, but you will be reminded of the joyful privilege and delight that it is that you have been given by God to be a part of a church.

That if you're a member here, that you get to call Providence Baptist Church.

And if you are not from here, I do hope that you have a church that you get to be a faithful member at and call your family.

To be a part of a local church who knows the gospel, loves the gospel, loves one another, and desires to see his glory known in all the earth.

So may we never forget the precious privilege that we have been given.

But before we begin looking at today's passage, I want to lay a little bit of a foundation, a little bit of a context,

since we're jumping into the middle of the book of Acts, into some events that have already been unfolding.

And I don't have enough time to do a lot of detail, so I'm giving you a very big overview of what goes on here.

Really, we're looking at Paul's first missionary journey, and this starts back in Acts 13.1,

where Paul and Barnabas were worshiping the Lord and fasting with the church at Antioch in Syria.

And the Holy Spirit said to the church,

Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

So here is the beginning of Paul's first missionary journey,

and they are set apart and sent out through the local church.

And from there, they set out on this U-shaped journey.

They then go to Cyprus, and then to places in Lycia and Galatia.

And what do they do each time they arrive to these new places?

Well, they preach the gospel and make disciples.

And why do they preach?

Well, because they preach because the power to raise dead hearts to life

is not in them, but is in the word, the gospel proclaimed.

It wasn't in just doing acts of mercy or of kindness, which we should do,

but it was through the preached word.

Acts of mercy might be a vehicle to help carry the gospel to some of these regions,

but without the gospel proclamation, there will be no life.

There will be no true power.

So what was Paul's missionary strategy that we see throughout Acts 13 and 14,

and honestly, the whole book of Acts?

Well, we see that he goes and he preaches the gospel.

And he goes to the next place and he preaches the gospel.

And I would like to say that this isn't just Paul's missionary strategy,

but this should be ours.

We know Mark chapter 16, verse 15 says,

Mark 16:15

to go out into all the world and preach the good news.

And what is the core of the gospel they were preaching?

And before we get into our text, I want to make this clear, church.

And I know you know this.

You've heard the gospel proclaimed over and over again.

But we are slow to remember and quick to forget.

So I do want to remind you that the gospel is that you have sinned against a holy God

and deserve to be cast into hell for all of eternity.

That there is no amount of good works that you could do to save yourself from the wrath of God.

However, God sent his perfect son, Jesus Christ,

who came and lived a perfect life and died as a substitute on your behalf,

taking your sin upon himself and giving you his righteousness.

And then on the third day, he rises from the dead.

And if you believe in him and repent of your sin, you can have eternal life.

That is the core of the gospel message that we believe.

And this is good news.

But I'm afraid as a church who's very comfortable with this,

that we can be in danger of adding to this gospel.

Instead of it just being Jesus and the gospel plus nothing else,

we're in danger of adding external actions to try and affirm our acceptance or our maturity in God.

Maybe it's Jesus plus a quiet time every morning.

Jesus plus a healthy lifestyle.

Jesus plus dressing a certain way.

Or Jesus plus homeschooling.

Plus good parenting.

Jesus plus a stable job.

A big family.

Jesus plus fostering.

Jesus plus getting married.

Jesus plus being a part of a healthy church.

Jesus plus doing family worship.

Now listen to me carefully.

These are things that are good to do.

But if you think that your maturity or acceptance by God is merely based on doing these things,

then you are in danger of adding to the gospel.

Which adding anything to the gospel actually takes away from the gospel.

And then in your evangelism, as you're sharing with others,

you are in danger of unintentionally saying through your actions,

to be a Christian means believing in Jesus and homeschooling and eating this way and being reformed.

We must be careful that we are clear on what the gospel is and that we aren't adding to it.

So should you read your Bible every day?

I think this is a good practice and a really good habit.

But listen, if you walk through the rest of the entire day feeling guilty

or feeling that you're not pleasing to the Lord

because you didn't get up early and read your Bible

because maybe you had sick kids all last night.

And if you feel like you're not walking pleasing to the Lord because of that,

you might be trying to earn some kind of merit through your quiet times.

You're accepted by God in the gospel.

And should you do these things?

Yes, the gospel compels you to want to know the Lord more,

to want to delight and spend time with him.

But your righteousness, your merit before the Lord is not based on what you do.

It's based on what he has done.

And that is really good for us to keep reminding ourselves.

I love the lyrics of the song that say,

All sufficient merit, shining like the sun,

A fortune I inherit, by no work I have done.

My righteousness I forfeit at my Savior's cross,

Where all sufficient merit did what I could not.

And you know what?

God doesn't just save us and leave us alone.

But he cares for us so much that he places us in a family that we get to call the church.

And it is through that church that he goes and he gathers more people to praise him for his goodness and grace.

A family which will help us to remember the gospel.

For how do we grow in our discipleship?

Well, we preach the gospel to one another.

We preach the gospel to our own hearts.

We listen to good, faithful preaching while we gather with the church.

And this is why I get so concerned when I hear people say,

And I have heard this quite a few times.

I don't go to that church because of the preaching.

I go because of the community.

The programs.

And that leaves me going,

What?

Really?

That's like saying I go to a hospital because I like hanging out with the nurses and doctors.

They're very friendly.

Though they might have a terrible reputation of not helping sick patients get better,

They got really nice nurses.

Now don't get me wrong.

A good hospital will be hospitable.

But I want to be in a place where I am going to hear of the balm for my soul.

I want to be in the place where the word of God is going to be preached.

And where I can grow.

I want to be in a place where sick patients can get better.

So brothers and sisters, we need to be in a community where we will hear the gospel preached regularly and faithfully.

A place where we will find true help.

So I'm laying a little bit of foundation because you see that Paul is going to place and he's preaching the gospel,

Preaching the gospel.

And he goes to the next place and he preaches, makes disciples.

But I also want you to see that's not all he does on this journey.

And this is what we'll get into in Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

He also plants churches, appoints elders, strengthen and teaches the believers.

And this is what we will see throughout Acts 14, 19 through 28.

So if you have your copy of God's Word, let's read it.

Acts 14, starting in verse 19, says,

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium.

And having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city.

And on the next day, he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples,

they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith

and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting,

they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Italia.

And from there they sailed to Antioch,

where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

And when they arrived and gathered the church together,

they declared all that God had done with them

and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

And they remained no little time with the disciples.

I've divided our passage today into two parts to make it easier to follow along.

Part one is the suffering from verses 19 through 20.

And part two is the mission, verses 21 through 28.

And the main point of our text today will be that God is building his church through his church for his glory.

So part one, the suffering.

I'm going to reread verse 19, which says,

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium,

and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,

supposing that he was dead.

Paul and Barnabas had just come from preaching in Antioch and Iconium,

and after many had heard the gospel and believed,

much conflict began to stir.

Well, actually, the conflict wasn't even just stirring.

It was actually boiling over at this point.

Antioch and Iconium were about 100 miles away from Lystra,

where Paul and Barnabas were.

However, this kind of journey could take a group of people,

anywhere from like two to five full days of traveling,

to get there.

So in relative comparison,

it would be like they jumped in a bus in Atlanta,

and drove all the way to California to put an end to Paul, the preacher.

I hope you see that they were pretty mad.

There was a lot of conflict stirring there.

So when they get there,

they persuade the crowds to stone Paul and drag him out of the city.

And mob stoning like this was brutal.

Getting pounded by large, heavy stones,

bones breaking, blood dripping, skull cracking.

And after they are sure he is dead,

they drag his limp body out of the city.

And this was a deep pain and suffering,

and I'm sure Paul looked as dead as dead could be.

But what happens next?

Verse 20 says,

But when the disciples gathered about him,

he rose up and into the city,

and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

The disciples had actually probably come to bury him,

but in a miraculous way,

Paul gets up and the next day heads on to Derbe.

Paul's condition was probably worse than somebody,

if somebody had driven their car off the side of a mountain and lived.

His condition was probably worse,

but in some miraculous way he gets up

and he walks the distance of potentially 50 miles

to go to the next city.

And what does he do?

Well, he continues to preach.

God gives him the strength to go on,

but his scars still remain.

And what was Paul's perspective over Christian suffering?

There actually are many places we could turn to,

but I want to mention just one that is relevant for our passage for today.

Listen as I read Colossians chapter 1,

Colossians 1:24–26

verses 24 through 26.

It says,

Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake,

and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction

for the sake of his body that is the church,

of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God

that was given to me for you

to make the word of God fully known,

the mystery hidden for ages and generations,

but now revealed to his saints.

So Paul sees his sufferings as filling up

what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

And if you read that,

I bet a lot of you guys are saying,

what does Paul mean here?

How can there be anything lacking in Christ's afflictions?

Maybe you will think of Hebrews 10, 14,

which says,

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time

those who are being sanctified.

Christ's atonement was perfectly sufficient.

So what is lacking?

Well, nothing is lacking in merit,

but it is lacking in extension.

And I love how John Piper explains it.

He says,

Christ's suffering must be carried to the world.

And God has ordained that this happens

through the suffering of his servants.

He also says,

The sufferings of Christ are completed in redemption,

but they are still being completed in mission.

As his ambassadors go out and preach the good news,

there will be suffering.

And in that suffering and sacrifice,

there will be a physical display of Christ's suffering

that proclaims to a dying world,

that proclaims to a church

that is suffering,

that the sufferings of this present time

are not worth comparing to the glory

that is to be revealed to us.

And look at what Paul says in Acts chapter 14,

Acts 14:22

verses 22 in our text today.

It says,

so we're going to skip down just a little bit,

but it says,

that he was strengthening the souls of the disciples,

encouraging them to continue in the faith,

and saying that through many tribulations,

we must enter the kingdom of God.

And remember,

Paul is saying this to a church

right after he was stoned.

His body,

broken and beaten,

was physically displaying the suffering of Christ,

strengthening the church,

building up the church,

filling up what was lacking in the affliction of Christ

for the sake of the church.

And now some of you may say,

but Caleb,

am I really suffering?

My life is so easy

compared to what we read in the Bible,

what we read about what's happening overseas

in different areas.

And this may be true.

However,

I have to ask you,

are you being faithful

in these so-called smaller sacrifices

and trials for your king?

For if you are not faithful

in these smaller trials and difficulties

that you face in a time of relative ease,

how will you expect to be faithful

in the time of great trial?

And I can't flesh this out for all of you

in your specific context,

but maybe it is

refusing a high-paying job

or promotion

because it would require you to work

when the people of God are gathering.

Or maybe your job requires you

to buffer some numbers,

to be dishonest,

but you remain true.

Maybe it's the daily sacrifice

of waking up

every single Sunday,

getting your kids ready,

and going to church,

training your kids,

when you know,

honestly,

you're probably only going to hear

a few words from the sermon,

but you do it anyways

every single week

because you know

it's good for your soul,

it's good for your kids,

it's good for the church.

Maybe it's opening your mouth

at work

to share the gospel

with a co-worker

or in your neighborhood

with a neighbor

or some friends

who you know

as soon as you open your mouth

to tell them the gospel,

oh,

they're going to label you

as a religious bigot.

But you want them,

you want them to believe,

so you do it anyways.

Maybe it's saying no

to wasting your time

on social media

or watching TV

so that you can be

a more faithful friend,

mom,

dad,

brother,

sister,

neighbor,

church member,

and disciple

to those

who are around you.

I don't know

what your current situation

is like

and what that sacrifice

might be,

but may we all

on these

quote-unquote

smaller trials

be faithful

to our king.

These trials

of various kind

and may they produce

in us

a steadfastness

and may they build up

the church

for his glory.

And after being built up,

we may stand firm

in the days

of great trial.

Praise God

that the suffering

of this present time

are truly not worth

comparing to the glory

that will be revealed to us.

That is part one

of our sermon today.

Part two

is the mission.

And this will be

verses 21 through 28

and I'm going to break

this up into four

brief sub-points

or aims

in order to show

what was

the apostles'

mission

and what was

their strategy

to spread the gospel

to all nations.

And by implication,

what should our strategy

be?

The four aims

of the mission

are reaching

the lost,

teaching the disciples,

planting local churches,

and then we see

Paul returning

to encourage.

And in all of these,

and if you didn't

quite write those down

quite yet,

I will repeat them

as I get there.

But in all of these,

there is an underlying

assumption of preaching

and proclaiming

the word of God.

For how do we reach

the lost?

Well, it's by preaching

the gospel.

How do we teach

the disciples?

Well, it's through

preaching the word,

encouraging each other

in the word.

We plant churches

that stand upon

the word of God

and we return

and encourage others

by telling all

that the gospel

has done.

So the foundation

of those is a

preaching and proclaiming

of the word.

So aim number one,

reaching the lost.

Let's read the first

part of verse 21,

which says,

when they had preached

the gospel to that city

and had made

many disciples.

So what did they do?

They first reached

the lost in that city

through preaching

the gospel

and then making

many disciples,

thus taking part,

the first part

of the Great Commission,

which says,

go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations.

So what was Paul's aim?

To go and preach

and make disciples.

So what should our aim be?

To go and preach

and make disciples.

But Paul doesn't

just end there.

Paul's ambition

was to preach Christ,

not where he had been named,

as he says in Romans 15, 20.

So Paul wanted to go

to the unreached

to preach the gospel there.

But he just,

he doesn't just leave

these disciples alone.

He doesn't just reach them,

but he goes back

and teaches them

as they gather together

as the local church.

And on this U-shaped journey,

Paul was headed back

to the church

that had sent him out.

And if you know a U,

the quickest way back

to the other point of view

is straight across.

And Paul could have

very easily done that.

But instead of doing that,

what he does is

he goes back the long way

and goes back

through the regions

that he had already been.

And why does he do that?

To go back to the regions

where people had just traveled

to stone him.

Why does he do that?

What was for the sake

of the churches there?

For the sake of encouraging

and strengthening the disciples

who had believed.

So aim number two,

teaching the disciples.

Let's read the last part

of verse 21

and then verse 22.

It says,

Then they returned

to Lystra

and to Iconium

and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls

of the disciples,

encouraging them

to continue in the faith,

saying that through

many tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God.

So after reaching them,

Paul then goes back

and teaches them.

He strengthens their souls

and encourages them

to continue in the faith,

telling them that

through many tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God.

And we don't actually

get a lot of detail

of exactly what Paul said here,

but I can imagine

that it sounded

just like what he told Timothy

in 2 Timothy 3, 10 through 17.

And you will see actually

a lot of overlap

in this passage.

So just listen as I read

2 Timothy 3, 10 through 17.

It says,

You, however,

have followed my teaching,

my conduct,

my aim in life,

my faith,

my patience,

my love,

my steadfastness,

my persecutions

and sufferings

that happened to me

at Antioch,

at Iconium,

and at Lystra,

which persecutions

I endured.

Yet from them all

the Lord rescued me.

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 have 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,

for training in righteousness

that the man of God

may be complete,

equipped for every

good work.

So how does Paul

encourage Timothy

in this passage?

He teaches him

and reminds him

of the truth

and encourages him

to continue

in what he has learned

and believed.

He also reminds him

that all scripture

is inspired by God

and useful

for building up

the church,

for equipping

the saints.

Paul in Acts 14

encourages the churches

in a very similar way.

He encourages them

in the truth,

by the truth.

He preaches

and teaches them

so that they may

grow in the Lord.

So how are we saved?

Well, it's through

hearing and believing

the preached word of God.

How do we grow?

Well, we grow

by hearing

and believing

the word of God.

And this is the part

of the Great Commission

that says,

teaching them to obey

all that I have commanded you.

It's not just

go and make disciples,

but it's also

to teach them

all that he has commanded.

And this is not just

the job

of pastors,

of missionaries,

of evangelists.

This is the part,

this is also

your job

as a member

of the body of Christ.

To preach,

to reach the lost

around you,

proclaim the gospel

to them

and teach them

what the Lord

has said.

So may we all

be faithful

to open our mouths

to reach the lost

and teach

the disciples.

Aim number three

is planting

churches.

Verse 23 says,

and when they had

appointed elders

for them in every church

with prayer and fasting,

they committed them

to the Lord

in whom they had

believed.

So along with

going back

to teach

the many disciples,

Paul and Barnabas

returned to help

appoint elders

in every church.

Now it doesn't tell us

when these churches

were formed,

but somewhere

from reaching them

to teaching them,

local communities

of believers

were gathering

together regularly

and they are

referred to

as churches

here in our text.

Honestly,

I wouldn't be

surprised if these

disciples naturally

started gathering

together because

they knew that

they needed

one another.

They had been

called from the

community of darkness

into the community

of light,

so why would you

not gather

with the people

of God

to be encouraged

on your heavenly

journey?

It would seem

foolish not to,

but it's a point

that I have to

emphasize

because sadly,

even today,

one of the most

popular missions

methodologies out

there says

that the church

is a hindrance

to the Great

Commission.

That if we would

just skip over

planting churches,

we would be able

to reach the nations

with the gospels

like we would have

done it already.

Churches are messy.

Why would you

slow down

and plant a church

when you can just

focus on making

disciples?

I hope that you

see the folly

in this.

This is not how

the apostles

understood the

Great Commission.

This is not how

we should understand

the Great Commission.

I mean,

imagine if your

building contractor

for your home

had this methodology.

After spending

about $500,000

and giving the

contractor

the house plans,

you get a call

back after three

weeks and he

says,

we're done.

You go,

you're super

excited,

you can't wait to

see your new

home,

and then when you

get there,

you're just shocked.

Not because of how

good it is,

but because of how

bad it is.

You walk in,

the foundation is

poor,

uneven,

the walls are

caving in,

the roof is

incomplete,

the electricity

wasn't stalled

right,

and the plumbing

is a disaster.

You would be

disgusted.

And if we are not

careful,

we can do the same

thing with our

approach to missions.

God has given us

the plan,

and in the plan

we see that he

builds his church

through his church.

And if we skip

over that,

we will be

accountable to the

owner of the

building,

the owner of the

church who has

given us his

building plans in

his word.

So we have seen

that Paul himself

is sent out from

the church at

Antioch,

and then he

returns back to

report to the

church at

Antioch.

And honestly,

guys,

if anybody could

have sent

themselves without

being sent out

from a church,

it could have

been Paul.

But that's not

how God designed

it.

He designed

that he would

be sent out

through a

church.

And he

comes back

and he

reports to

that church.

So Paul also

returns and he

strengthens the

disciples in all

those churches

throughout the

regions where

they had preached

and made many

disciples.

But why does

he do this?

because Paul

knew that the

local church

is the

vehicle which

the gospel

would not

only reach

the nations,

but also

keep the

nations.

And what is

one of God's

appointed means

for growing and

keeping the

church?

You know

what it is?

It's elders.

pastors.

That is

pastors or

shepherds.

Look at verse

23 again.

It says,

And when they

had appointed

elders for

them in every

church with

prayer and

fasting, they

committed them

to the Lord

in whom they

had believed.

This verse

tells us that

they appointed

elders, but

why elders?

Listen as I

read Ephesians

Ephesians 4:11–12

4 verses

11 through

12.

It says,

And he gave

the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds,

and teachers to

equip the

saints for

the work of

ministry, for

building up

the body of

Christ.

So why did

he give

elders?

Well, he

gave them to

make the

church strong,

to equip the

saints.

And notice

that it uses

the word he

gave.

Brothers, if

you are a

part of a

healthy church,

the Lord has

given you a

gift.

It says he

gave.

Elders are a

gift to the

church.

They are there

to help little

seeds, little

saplings grow

into oaks.

And how do

they do this?

We don't have

time to go to

all the places,

but God's word

tells us that

elders equip,

they shepherd,

they care,

they keep

watch, they

teach sound

doctrine, they

rebuke false

doctrine, they

pray for the

church, set an

example for

the church, and

more.

This is why

Paul tells

Titus in

Titus chapter

Titus 1:5

1 verse 5

that he left

them there in

Crete to put

what remained in

order and what

was not in

order.

What was lacking

in the planning of

those churches?

Well, they

didn't have

elders.

So he leaves

them there to

help appoint

elders.

Church, I hope

you realize the

blessing it is to

have elders who

stand upon the

word of God.

Elders who

love God's

word, preach

God's word,

shepherd with

God's word, and

elders who love

and care for

you.

You may not

agree with all

of their

decisions.

You may not

vibe with their

personality.

You may not

even get along

very well with

them.

However, God

gave them.

They are a

gift.

So may we

praise and

thank God for

the good

gifts that he

has given and

realize that

shepherds are

also sheep.

They also need

you members to

strengthen and

encourage them on

their journey to

the heavenly

kingdom.

May we reflect on

Hebrews 13,

Hebrews 13:17

verse 17,

which says,

Obey your

leaders and

submit to them,

for they are

keeping watch

over your

souls as

those who

will have to

give an

account.

Let them do

this with joy

and not with

groaning, for

that would be

of no advantage

to you.

God for that.

Please don't

talk and act

in such a way

that causes

them to groan.

Be a sheep

that is a joy

to shepherd.

And finally,

aim number

four, we

see they're

returning to

encourage.

And I'm

very briefly

going over this

section.

But verse 24

begins,

Then they

passed through

Pisidia and

came to

Pamphylia.

And when they

had spoken the

word in

Perga, they

went down to

Italia.

And from

there they

sailed to

Antioch, where

they had been

commended to

the grace of

God for the

work that they

had fulfilled.

And when they

arrived and

gathered the

church together,

they declared

all that God

had done with

them, and how

he had opened

a door of

faith to the

Gentiles.

And they

remained no

little time with

the disciples.

I think the

best way I can

summarize these

verses is to

say that Paul

and Barnabas

went back

through all the

places they

had been and

came to the

church in

Antioch to

report to that

church who

had sent

them out.

And why do

they report to

this church?

Because this

mission wasn't

just Paul's

mission.

This wasn't

his own

personal mission,

but this was

God's mission

through the

church.

The church

sent them out

to go and

preach the

good news to

these regions,

and they

come back and

report all that

the Lord had

done.

And in that,

the church

would be greatly

encouraged.

And then he

spends no

little time

with the

disciples.

disciples.

So we

have seen

in today's

text that

God will

build his

church through

his church for

his glory.

And now I

want to end

by answering

the question,

so what?

What does

this truth

mean for my

life?

Well, for

all believers,

it means what

Hebrews 10

Hebrews 10:24–25

verses 24

through 25

says.

It says,

and let us

consider how

to stir up

one another

to love

and good

works,

not neglecting

to meet

together as

is the habit

of some,

but encouraging

one another

and all the

more as you

see the day

drawing near.

Christians,

do you want

to live not

a perfect

life,

but a faithful

one unto

the Lord?

Don't neglect

to gather

with the saints.

Be a member

of a local

gospel preaching

church and

commit yourself

to that church

through thick

and thin.

And I've

seen the trend

too often.

People stop

spending time

in the word

of God.

Then they stop

spending time

with the people

of God.

And they stop

believing that

there is a God.

Don't

neglect

the word

of God

and to gather

with the

church.

For the

church is

God's

instrument

to make

his name

known

in all

the earth.

And if

you're a

teen,

a young

adult,

or a

kid here,

many of

you go to

church right

now because

your mommy

and daddy

make you.

And guess

what?

That's a good

thing.

However,

there will

come a day

where the

choice will

be yours.

And on

that day,

what will

you choose?

My prayer

is that you

will choose

to go to

a good,

healthy church

whenever you

can.

Yes,

this means

that as you

get older

and you're

in college,

maybe you

will miss

out on a

lot of

events or

games or

you'll have

less time

for your

exams,

you'll be

more tired.

But I

promise you

it is

worth it.

Becoming a

member of a

local church

was the

best thing

I ever

did in

college.

If I

could go

back,

I would

do it

again.

I would

just probably

care a

little less

about my

grades so

I could

have more

time with

the church.

Let being

a member

of a gospel

preaching

church drive

the future

decisions that

you make.

If you get

accepted to

an excellent

university,

but there are

no gospel

centered local

churches there,

I beg you

don't go.

Go to the

lesser known

university where

you know there

is a great

gospel preaching

church that

will care for

your soul.

Remember the

words of Mark

Mark 8:36

chapter 8

verses 36

which says,

for what does

it profit a

man to gain

the whole world

and forfeit

his soul?

And everyone,

I want you to

remember that

when a wolf

attacks a

sheep,

what does it

try to do?

Well, it

tries to

isolate the

sheep.

It tries to

get them

away from

the flock

for when the

sheep are

together by

the shepherd,

there is

much safety.

There's a

level of

protection in

their togetherness.

If you try

to walk

through life

without being

connected to

a local

church,

I want you

to know that

the wolves

are waiting.

They would

love nothing

more than to

see you

separated from

the flock.

And a

warning,

if you are

already a

part of

a local

church

or

considering

joining,

you know

what?

The wolves

would be

fine if

you join,

but never

truly open

yourself up

to that

church.

Never

truly let

anyone else

know your

sin, your

weaknesses,

your failings,

even your

strengths.

Then be

fine, just

don't open

up.

It's a

different form

of isolation.

If you do

that, you

are still in

danger.

Get to

know others

and be

known.

No one's

perfect, so

stop pretending.

So in

summary, as

we've seen

through the

text today,

God is

building his

church through

his church for

his glory.

And may we

all be used

by our

great God

to spread

his glory,

not only here

in this city,

not only in

our state,

not only in

this country,

but to the

ends of the

earth for

the sake of

his glory as

he redeems

and cherishes

his bride.

And may we

never forget

the privilege

and blessing

it is to

be a part

of his

church.

Let's pray.