A Snapshot of Effective Ministry

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If you want your children to grow up in a preschool and children's ministry where they don't just do cutesy things and sing cutesy songs, but they sing songs that are full of theological content.

It's not over kids' heads.

Then this is a church for you.

If you're visiting today, your first experience with spiritual formation is when you hand your baby over that half door.

We don't take it lightly.

It's a very sober, sober thing.

It's in a fun environment, it's an age-appropriate environment.

But what you saw this morning is uh this we have midweek classes.

Our last one is this week, this Wednesday.

So let's run all the way to the finish line.

Uh but Clyde has been on Wednesday nights, been teaching the kids' choir.

Uh, and so what you got to see today was a fruit of that labor.

Uh, and if that doesn't wash the cynicism off of you, Jesus took somebody like that, put them on his lap, and said, Unless you become like this child, you're not gonna see my father's kingdom.

And so, just maybe today you could just ask the Lord, just kind of, hey, uh, wash some of the cynicism, this jadedness off of me, and open me up to the wonder and the wildness of what it means to be childlike in relation to you.

Let me pray and let's get into God's word.

Lord, thank you for that.

Whew! That's a yeah, that's a swift kick in the face right there, God.

That's a reminder that it's sobering to be a parent.

We don't want to, we want, we don't want to chase stimulation as a parent.

We want our kids to experience education.

They don't need just more fun, they need to be around consequential people who teach them consequential things.

Now, Holy Spirit, we need the same thing.

We've not outgrown needing that.

This is why we open your word every Sunday.

We gather and we say what your word says.

And so today, Holy Spirit, illuminate the scriptures.

Lord, get it, let us see a picture of what it really looks like to be effective, consequential men and women.

This is our prayer.

Make it our experience, we ask in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen, amen.

You could have a see if you got a Bible.

I invite you to take it, open up to Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, don't sweat it.

It'll come up on the screen.

Uh if you're our guest today, we're we're preaching through the book of Acts, okay?

Uh, it's called Expisory Preaching.

And we do that because we think that's the way you nourish the faith of a congregation over the long haul.

And so today we're in Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

I'll start reading verse 19.

Uh, I want to talk to you this morning about a snapshot of effective ministry.

A snapshot of effective ministry.

You say, well, wait a minute.

I'm not in ministry.

Yes, you are.

Uh uh, and so that Paul and Barnabas, these guys are on their first missionary journey.

They were part of a church, a church in Antioch, that was worshiping the Lord and fasting because you never outgrow the spiritual disciplines.

And and they heard the Holy Spirit say, Set apart from me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I've called them.

So they set them apart.

And and here's the thing: it it helps to know that what you're doing is what God's called you to do.

Because when it gets hard, you won't spit the bit.

You you won't get like, oh, I this they didn't tell us about this part.

No, they knew what that this is what God had called them to, and you'll see that in the text this morning.

You say, Well, that's great.

These people are in ministry.

That's for people like you and your green shirt, okay?

Y'all can go do all this stuff.

No, no, no.

Here's the deal: you're not getting up and going to work tomorrow, you're taking a mission trip.

Whether you realize it or not, you're taking a mission trip.

Whether it's on an oil rig out in the middle of the ocean somewhere, you are on a mission trip.

There are unreached people all around you who are dying without God and the gospel.

And it is your responsibility to bear and bring the good news to them.

So when I say a snapshot of effective ministry, don't think, oh, those guys over there, think you when you get up and shave in the morning.

All right, men, you are going on a mission trip.

Let's read God's word together.

Acts chapter 14, starting verse 19.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

But Jews came from Antioch in Aconium, 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 Derby, when they had preached the gospel of that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Aconium 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 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 Pamphlia.

And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Adaliah, 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, they gathered the church together and they declared all that God had done with them.

And now he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, and they remained no little time with the disciples.

There's about three or four things I want to point to in the text.

And the first one is glaringly obvious, but it's easy to miss.

And it's simply this it is human nature to make principle out of your own experience.

It is human nature to make principle out of your own experience.

You say, Where do you get that?

Verse 19.

It says, Jews came from Antioch and Aconium, having persuaded the crowds, and they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city.

Now, these two people came from these two towns, they come from Antioch and Alconium.

One of them was 20 miles away, the other one was 100 miles away.

They would go through great lengths to make sure to try to persuade people to feel about Paul the way they feel about Paul.

Now, these are the same people that earlier in chapter 14 were like, hey, you guys are gods.

We want to sacrifice to you.

Oh, you don't want to let us sacrifice to you?

Then we want to kill you, okay?

Now, when I say it's human nature to make principle out of your own experience, uh, there is a term for that.

It's so common that we want, it's hard for us to let somebody else enjoy somebody we don't enjoy, or somebody to like somebody that we do not like.

Are you aware of that?

Say amen.

Some of you are like, I'm not very aware of that.

Sure, you are.

It's so common there's a name for it.

And here's the name for it.

It's called relational red rover.

Let's say you get together for lunch, ladies, and you're having lunch with somebody, and another lady's name comes up, and and and you do not like her, you harbor bitterness, you're like Herodias in Matthew 14, you've nursed a grudge against her, and you begin like.

And not only is it do you talk, do you slander this person that's not there, you try to invite the lady you're having lunch with to come over and feel the way you feel about this lady.

That's why it's called relational Red Rover.

Red Rover, Red Rover, let Susie come over and join me on my team and let's lock arms in our Discord for this person.

Some of y'all just close your Bible.

I'm done.

You're not talking to me like that.

I didn't shave my legs for this today.

Yes.

I just want you to see people in the Bible, if you're not careful, you think people in the Bible are perfect, have it all together.

No, they are small, catty, selfish, manipulative people, just like that exists today.

Yes, they traveled 20 miles.

I mean, uh, some of them, the other city was a hundred miles away, and they do this because hey, we we we can't have you guys enjoying this guy, Paul.

We want you to feel the way they persuaded the crowd.

Do you do you ever catch yourself trying to persuade somebody to feel about a third person that you feel?

And here's what motivates that.

By the way, that's not a statement about this third party over here that wounded you or failed you, or you just don't like.

That's a statement about you.

At its core, that is a statement about you.

Now you may be thinking, well, is it bad to make principle out of your own experience all the time?

It depends on how big your experience is.

And we'll we'll come back to that at the end.

I just want to get that language in the water right from the get-go so you could understand.

You say, Well, is it bad to make principle?

And Paul says, Hey, follow me as I follow Christ.

But he had a different experience.

When you play relational Red Rover, men, we do it too.

When you play relational Red Rover, what you're really saying is, I've got a really small experience, and I'm convicted by anybody's experience, it's bigger than mine.

So please come join me in my smallness.

That's really the invitation you're issuing to anybody that listens to you.

It is human nature to make principle out of your own experience.

Here's the second thing I want you to see in the text.

The goal of the gospel is making disciples.

The goal of the gospel is making disciples.

It says in verse 20, but when the disciples gathered about him, he rose and entered the city.

And the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derby.

By the way, that's 60 miles away.

And when the disciples got around him, they got around him.

Who is it that gets around you that all of a sudden everybody else thinks they've left you for dead, but these people breathe life into you, and you're like, okay, I'm good.

Rock and roll, and he makes a 60-mile journey.

And it says in verse 21, when they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, just stop right there.

And had made many disciples.

The goal of the gospel is making disciples, it is not getting decisions.

Nowhere in the Bible where you see someone where they refer to someone as having made a decision, but they become a disciple.

Now, when you understand this, then what you do for these people to equip them is totally different.

If your goal is to make disciples, then your church programs itself differently.

Let me just lay my cards on the table.

My concern is that in the American church, we've taken on the task of entertaining people who've made a decision so that they'll stick around.

And that's why you go to church and you're like, it's funny.

Hey, whoa, ah, whoa, awesome.

And you get to the car and you're like, okay, torchies?

Are we good?

Nothing consequential, nothing thought-provoking.

It's just like, ah! And you're just like, uh, uh, can we just set the circus down?

Because I'm a little overstimulated and I don't think I'm becoming more Christ-like, okay?

I don't think I'm becoming more aware of my depravity.

I had lunch with somebody this week.

It was telling me about I said, What are you doing this week at your church?

Well, we got a father, uh uh, we got a uh a making it right, a mother-son dance, and then we have a father-daughter jail gun obstacle course that's gonna be gone while the dance is going on.

And I'm I can't fake when people say stuff, I'm not the general manager of the universe, I don't have it all figured out.

But what's going through my head is is this really the business of the church?

Is this what Jesus died for for us to have a father-daughter dance?

You can you hear how harsh that sounds?

Now, there's a guy in my D group, his kid goes to a school here right here in town, sent me a picture of the day, it's like 11:45 at night.

Hey, hey, me and my daughter, we we just had the father-daughter dance, and now we're getting dessert like we always do.

That is awesome.

I love when Christian schools do that.

Great idea.

I don't think that's the business of the church.

Because when the church confuses decisions for disciples, people that make a decision, it's like hooking up a baby, a premature baby, to life support, and they never get off life support.

And so the church in America has gotten increasingly more creative and increasingly less consequential.

Because what we do is we do not equip the saints for the work of ministry.

We make decisions, we do not produce disciples, but don't get it twisted, sister.

Verse 21, when they preached the gospel to that city and it made many disciples.

The gospel is intended to make disciples of people, not just get you to make a decision.

Now, when I say the goal of the gospel is making disciples, what else involved in that process?

It's not just preaching the gospel, that's a part of it, but just preaching the gospel and people coming to faith, that that's it, then the real work begins.

The responsibility sets in.

So I want you to notice three things that the text says that they did is they ministered to the disciples.

Uh and don't miss this.

Let me just pick up the back half of verse 21.

When they had preached the gospel in that city, they made many disciples.

Then it says this they returned to Lystra.

Anybody?

What happened in Lystra?

It's where we started.

Okay.

Remember, they left, he got stoned.

That happened in Lystra.

And then they drug him out of the town and said, There you go, you upstart rebel.

And then the people, the disciples got around him, and he's like, shook it off.

Like, anybody got a red Gatorade and a couple of Advil?

Uh, and he goes hauling on to Derby 60 miles.

And they're in Derby, and this is where people come to faith, and they made many disciples, and then they said, We're going back to Lystra.

Translation, we're going back to the city.

Well, they almost they almost killed you.

Hello?

What anybody?

I'm if I'm like, hey, is there a detour?

Uh let's put this in Google Maps and just see what comes up.

No, no, it says this.

You can see here's the thing: when the mission is bigger than the messenger, that's all that matters.

Paul's like, I'm dispensable.

I they may they may succeed in killing me, okay?

I still got a headache.

But he says, hey, if they made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Alconium and to Antioch.

And what did they do?

Verse 22, list off three things strengthen 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.

Do you have anybody in your life that talks to you that way?

When you tell them about your hard day, they just smile and go, hey, it's through many tribulations we enter the kingdom of God.

No, it's like, oh, relational rhetoric, oh sister, that's terrible.

They shouldn't be that way.

Let me just take some time and just kind of immerse down in this.

He says, These three things that they did that just strengthen these people back in these towns where they tried to kill them.

Number one, they strengthen the souls of the disciples.

Here's a simple question: Who do you spend time with that strengthens your soul?

And second question, what actually strengthens your soul?

Who do you spend time with and what actually strengthens your soul?

I want to read from Psalm 19.

It's not in my notes, that's my fault.

I didn't send it in.

But Psalm 19, I want to answer the question what what is God's plan for strengthening your soul?

This is Psalm 19, verses 7 to 11.

Psalms 19:7–11

He says, The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

If your soul is a little peckish today, you're a little emaciated, a little thin, you know, oh man, my my my body and the physical part of my life and the emotional part of my life, I know my Enneagram's core.

I don't know my spiritual gift, but I know my Enneagram score.

I'm ready to rock.

How's your soul?

Uh, what do you mean?

So if your soul's a little undernourished, the Bible says this is God's remedy for your for your for your tired soul.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.

Strengthening the souls of the disciples.

Now, is it wrong to have a father-daughter dance?

Not at all.

If you're here and you come to church, we do that.

I just don't think that's the business of the church.

I think we're succeeding at things that are not our main priority, they're not the mission, and we're failing at the mission of making disciples because we don't strengthen people's souls.

Just lay my cards on the table.

Uh, you read the gospel, strengthening the souls of the disciples.

Secondly, it says, encouraging them to continue in the faith.

What's important for us to see here is that there was already a body of teaching, there was a collection of doctrines that were so established, so well known, that they could be referred to as the faith.

Uh, later on in the New Testament, in the book of Jude, uh, Jude 3 and 4, this is this is important because not only had they established the faith, because when I hear people talk about my faith, and well, my faith is a personal matter, well, my faith, I mean, I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious.

I just think you do not understand the faith.

You have consumed the faith upon your lust and whittled it down to something that's non-threatening, that's easy to do.

Just come on Christmas and Easter and you're all good.

And I would submit to you, you're not.

You're not.

I would even go as far as to say, I'm not so sure you're of the faith.

I think you're of the preference, but you're not of the faith.

You say, What do you mean?

This is Jude.

This is how dire it was in the Bible.

Not that it's gotten perverted since then.

Jude 3, beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation.

See, it's not unique.

Your story's not unique.

We are obsessed in America with our story.

And let me just give my story is not big enough to live in.

The only story big enough to live in is the gospel story.

We obsess with our story and community and community and community.

And we got people that made decisions that are consuming all the resources of the church upon their socialization needs.

And we sit around and act like we don't know what's going on.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation.

Ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ.

It's essential, beloved, that we encourage one another in the faith, that we're clear about what the faith is and what the faith isn't, and that you contend for the faith.

Because these same kind of people exist today.

And I would say in greater numbers than ever before.

This is why we have core classes offered during our midweeks.

Now, again, if you're visiting, say one of midweek classes, we don't have uh Wednesday night Bible studies year-round.

Now, it's always because we do them for 10 weeks in the fall, 10 weeks in the spring.

I think we did them nine weeks this spring because spring break is next week, and these people got to go get their party on.

Amen.

Yeah, you sinners.

Uh uh, and it happens every time somebody comes up and says, Hey, why don't we do this year round?

And I say the same thing because ministry is not a constant hot burn, and life is not a constant hot burn.

We don't want to wear our people out.

We want, we want to say, give us 10, give us 10 Wednesday nights with your kids.

We want to teach them to worship and sing songs that are worshipful, not just cute, okay?

We want to, we we we want to equip you for the work of ministry.

We want you to be sitting out in the on an oil platform in the middle of the water somewhere, and a guy comes up to you and say, Hey man, my my wife's threatening to leave.

And I know that you you go to church.

Would you pray for me?

And all of a sudden you open your mouth and the kingdom comes out.

And so we have core classes, we have great classes.

I walked down the hall this week.

One of our ladies was talking to Jenny Hardcastle, who's the wife of Blake Hardcastle, our spiritual formation pastor, who's over midweeks, and she said, just finished a class on parenting adults.

And she said, Man, this is great.

We need to have this on a consistent, ongoing basis.

And inside, I was just like, Yes, absolutely.

Great job, Blake.

Yes, we have classes like that.

We also have classes where you learn doctrine, the basics of the Christian faith.

Uh, Marcy, our women's ministry is finished, and what she finishes Wednesday night, just talking about, hey, this is the story.

This is the story of the of the Bible from Genesis all the way to the end.

And and and it, oh, is it a lot?

Yes.

But this is what people are gonna ask you about.

They're not gonna ask you, hey, hey, how was the father-daughter dance?

They're not gonna ask you, hey, hey, did your church take you to play paintball?

That's great for students.

We take our students to play paintball, but you're 46.

You should be over paintball by now.

You should leave the milk and get over here to the meat, okay?

Like my youngest is home for spring break and she's already put in her request.

And I and I just I said, Hey, uh, dad's got a gift card to Taser Texas.

I said, Yes.

Yes.

Thursday, boom, going, okay?

I'm fasting Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday just so I can pound the salad bar, okay?

Yeah, it's just like meat, and like, hey, it's a family reunion, we're there.

But here's the thing if all you do is take in milk and take in milk and take in milk, and you never grow in your awareness of and understanding of the faith.

Something's missing.

Something is missing.

You might make some decision, but you don't become a disciple without a working knowledge of the faith.

Here's a third thing they did.

Uh, they they they said that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Just think about the culture that we live in and just let that in on you again.

They said to these people, through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.

And again, you got anybody in your life that talks like that?

I mean, just just Paul, I mean, come on, bro.

I mean, he that they stone him and then they drag him out of the city and just drop him, and they're like, Well, we showed him, and the and the disciples get around, and we don't, the Bible doesn't tell us what they do.

They don't tell us because some people, I'll just tell you, this is theological minutiae.

Some people think Paul was dead, and when the when the disciples got around that they were praying and God raised him back to life.

I can't say that because where the text is silent, we have to be silent.

But I want people like that in my life.

So when I'm just dead, out of gas, just exhausted, they get around me, and just by me being around them, I'm like, whoo, rock and roll.

Let's go.

We're not done.

The mission continues.

Derby, 60 miles, check, got it.

Why?

Because the mission is more important than the messenger.

That's why Paul would say things like, It don't matter what you do to me.

I count my life as nothing compared to this.

I count my life as nothing.

Think about our TikTok game lock world.

I count my life as nothing compared to just finishing the course that God has set before me.

He says that, hey, we strengthen their souls, he encouraged them in the faith, and then saying through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.

Now, this isn't new.

Don't turn there, but just Acts chapter 9, verses 14.

Acts 9:14

Here's one thing about American Christians that never ceases to surprise me.

How surprised you are when you suffer.

You just go, oh, oh my God, what?

I don't have arms anymore.

It's just like, and I'm like, are we not telling you enough that, hey, through many tribulations, you must enter the kingdom of God.

Not as pavement, but as purification.

This is where you see who the disciples are and who just made a decision.

But way back in Acts chapter 9, when Paul was first converted, don't turn there.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

This is Acts 9:16.

Acts 9:16

Paul was first converted.

God knocked him to the ground and struck him blind and said, Hey, don't jerk with me, dude.

Don't jerk with me.

I'm the Lord God Almighty.

I'm the God of all flesh.

Is anything too difficult for me?

And then God goes to another man and says, Hey, by the way, go and lay hands on Paul.

And he's like, Hey, dude, God thank you, but he's a bad man.

And God said, This go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel.

By the way, that's where we are in the Acts narrative.

Acts 14, the gospel's going to the Gentiles.

It's not just a Jewish God, okay?

It's going to the Gentiles.

It's not to these people over here that have it all together and live in a giddy community.

It's going to the people who live in a trailer park and are on food stamps.

And the Jews are like, these dirty, unclean people.

And Paul is the guy, because God said back in Acts chapter 9, when he first converted him, hey, he is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

And then he dropped this little knowledge on him, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.

Here's a question you should talk about at lunch.

If God could show you today how much you're going to suffer the rest of your life, would you still believe in him?

You've got to embrace that little part that says, for the sake of my name.

For the sake, I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.

Now look at me and listen to me.

Still listen and say amen.

Look, here's the context of suffering.

Suffering, when you and I suffer, you're not just being punished willy-nilly, uh arbitrarily, just oh, well, just karma.

No, no, no, no, no.

When a Christian suffers, what God is doing is God is establishing the supremacy of his name.

You're not suffering for your name.

You're not suffering because you go to church, you're not suffering because you have standards for your kids.

You are suffering to establish to everyone around you that's watching you, that that hangs out with you, that goes to Thirsty Thursdays at the wine bar with you, you are suffering so they can see the supremacy of King Jesus.

And they can just be like, I don't know what that is, but I I want some of that.

I'm thirsty for that now.

And if you that is the context for suffering.

And if you if you've got it in any other context, if it's in the context of your name, the first time it gets hard, you will quit.

You'll be the person on Facebook or whatever social media you're on, kind of going, this God and Jesus thing isn't working for me.

That's the person that made a decision.

That's not a disciple.

A disciple gets dragged out of town after being stoned to death and dropped on the road, and his friends get around, and all of a sudden he feels this pulsating life force.

He's like, Whoa! Let's talk about this later.

We got work to do.

Yeah.

Show him how much he must suffer.

Now, I witnessed this firsthand.

Most of you know this before I became the pastor, I used to travel and preach all over the country, predominantly with students, uh, which I still love, but but I scare.

Uh I walked in the warehouse last week.

Ian asked me to teach last Wednesday night.

I walked in, they're like, oh boy, the principal's here.

Who's in trouble?

Uh but I was at a youth camp, and a friend of mine was leading worship, and they had a youth ministers meet every night, like 5:30 or 6, whatever after supper, all the youth ministers get together, and they had this one girl, uh, and the girl was uh being persecuted in a public school.

Imagine this: public schools are not into God.

I'm not a newsflash for you.

Uh, but they had all the youth ministers, and something about this should be a little disconcerting, but they were like, oh, we're gonna get the Bible says in a multitude of council, there's wisdom.

We're gonna get wisdom for all these youth ministers.

There wasn't much wisdom in the room.

There was a lot of pity, not much wisdom.

Uh, and and and the guy leading worship was a guy named Billy Foote.

Kind of simple down there guy.

He's sitting over in a chair with his legs crossed, he's got a buck knife out, just trimming his cuticles.

And they're going around the room, 35 youth pastors, because the girl, here's the thing: she's been made fun of for being a Christian at school.

Her friends weren't being a friend anymore.

Oh, you're all religious indiges.

We don't hear about that.

Her parents were divorced, her dad lived in another town.

Her dad said, You can move with me and I'll put you in private school.

Nothing wrong with private school, nothing wrong with public school.

It's up to you.

Her mom said, Well, you can stay with me, but I can't put you in private school.

You got to still go to public school.

So everyone excuses me running around.

Oh, God doesn't want you to suffer.

What page is that on?

One of them said, Well, God wants you to be happy.

You should be fired.

Your church should fire you right now.

Well, they just went around the room.

There's just more of that, more of that, more of that.

And meanwhile, the old worship leaders over there, like he's in another world, not even paying attention.

And they go, Well, Billy, what do you think?

He gets up, clips his knife, shut up, puts it in his pocket, walks over to the center, because they got her on a chair in the middle of the room like she's the center of attention.

And he walks over and puts his hand on her and he says, Now, and they get this straight.

You're suffering because you're a Christian.

People are mocking you for your faith.

Yes.

And he goes, Welcome to the cross.

And just walked off.

They almost sucked the paint off the wall.

They inhaled so hard.

And I just thought, what does that guy know that y'all don't know?

Now, I'm not saying being, is that hard?

Yeah, I want to come alongside that girl and encourage her.

But part of the encouragement is hey, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Or as the worship guy said, Welcome to the cross.

This is where it gets real.

This is where you see who made a decision and who's a disciple.

Yeah.

By the way, this is how they ministered to people in the New Testament.

They said nutty things like this.

They strengthened their souls.

They encouraged them to continue in the faith.

Not your faith, but the faith.

And then they said, hey, through many tribulations, you got to enter the kingdom.

Here's the third thing you see in the text.

Leadership of the church is plural.

Leadership in the church is plural.

Verse 23.

He says, This.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, by the way, underline that in your mind.

When they appointed elders for them in every church, there's no church in the New Testament that's led by one pastor.

I am the lead pastor here at Grand Parkway, but I am not in charge.

For me to have the sole authority to make decisions unchecked is not biblical.

It's not.

It never has been, it never will be.

Now you're like, some of you are thinking the churches you came from and blah, blah, blah.

I'm not disparaging any of those.

I'm just saying what the Bible says.

You will never see a church in the New Testament that had one pastor that was in charge of everything.

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.

Now you say, What's that?

What's the big deal?

I just want to reiterate uh that Paul did three things in every church he established, okay?

Uh, and and and there you see them right in here.

Number one, he gave doctrinal instruction, the faith.

Here's what the faith is.

Secondly, he established spiritual authority, that's elders.

We have seven elders uh right now.

We've got five men in the pipeline to be elders, to become elders.

And and why do we do that?

Because preachers come and go, but the local leaders stay, okay?

Now, somebody said to me, I was having this conversation this week, and I said, preachers come and go.

And the guy goes, Are you going anywhere?

No, no, you're stuck with me, okay?

I'm just saying it doesn't depend on the personality of a preacher, it's local leadership.

Now, these are people, think about this in the New Testament.

Paul would go into these cities like Derby, where he just preached the gospel, and many became disciples, and it's from those people.

They taught them the faith, and then they said, You know what, this person, this man, this man, this man, this man, they have some aptitude and ability.

They can lead you after we're gone.

So he did three things.

He gave doctrinal instruction, he established spiritual authority, elders, and then put a star by this one.

He pointed them to the faithfulness of God.

It's that last part of verse 23.

With prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

They didn't believe in the preacher.

Aren't you glad?

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

Basically, they said to them, now let me I want you to get the picture.

It says they committed them to the Lord.

Uh, that word committed, it means to place beside or near.

Okay?

Now just hold that in your mind for a second.

To place beside or near.

I want you to think about whether your mom's still alive or not.

I want you to think about the favorite thing your mom ever made for you.

This was my all-time favorite.

When my mom cooked this, I would lose my mind.

Okay?

You got it in your mind?

Now, what the Bible says is that Paul, when he committed them to the Lord, it'd be like your mom coming in and you're all sitting at the table, and she sets it down beside you.

And she said, Now we're gonna we're gonna say grace and then we're gonna eat.

And while everyone else is praying, you're just kind of partaking of that while they're just why?

Because you can't help yourself.

When he says he committed them to the Lord, basically what he said was, Paul just said, I'm gonna set this faithful God down here beside you, and you partake of as much of this as you think you can handle, because this is so stinking good.

Or as the psalmist said it, taste and see that the Lord is good.

This is why he could start churches and leave because they were in good hands.

They had good doctrine to teach, they had good leadership in place, and more than anything, they had a faithful God.

Here's the last thing we see in the text: a balance of hardship and fellowship, a balance of hardship and fellowship.

Look at me.

If it's always hard, and it's not always hard, but if it's always hard, you become almost caustic.

You almost become too much.

Okay?

But if it's always easy, if it's always fellowship, you become kind of sloppy.

Look at verse 27.

It says, and when they arrived, they gathered the church together and they declared all that God had done with them.

Circle that word with.

They declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, and they remained no little time with the disciples.

Verse 26, and it says, and from there they sailed to Antioch, and from there they commended, uh they basically they they reverse-engineered their trip, okay?

They spoke in the word in Perga, they went down to Adelaide, and from there they sailed to Antioch, or they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had fulfilled.

And verse 27, when they arrived, they gathered the church together and declared all that God had done with them.

Verse 26, it says, when they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had fulfilled.

Translation, church, this is what you gave us to go to God to go and do.

And now we want to tell you what God did with us, because ministry is not God doing for us, it is God doing something with us because we place ourselves at God's disposal and say, Here am I, send me.

Do with me what you will.

As long as your name and your fame expand all over the world, that is fine with me.

And they gather the church together.

And this is why Paul and Barnabas were able to commit these people to the Lord.

It's easy to miss, so let me point it out to you.

They were able to commit these people to the Lord.

Why?

Because they too had made principle out of their own experience.

It's just that their experience was bigger than the crowd.

Now, don't miss it up there in verse 26 or verse 25.

And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Adaliah, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

Commended and committed.

Remember, I they Paul said, I said, Paul says, Hey, I'm committing these people to the Lord who's faithful, sitting, sit, it means to sit beside.

That's exactly what the church had done with them.

They commended them to the grace of God.

They said, Hey, you guys, we're gonna lay your hands on you and we're gonna send you out.

Why?

We're commending you to the grace of God.

And so Paul and Barnabas, they made principal own experience because this is what they would do.

They would go, hey, we don't like what it's like for someone to give you to a faithful God.

So we're gonna turn around and we're gonna give you to a faithful God.

Now, this is Paul who used to stone Christians, and all of a sudden he's the one getting stoned.

What happened?

Look at me.

Here's what happened: his experience changed.

In Acts chapter 9, he's just walking down the road and he has an experience where God reveals himself to him and it transformed his life.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

Let me ask you a very simple question.

We'll be done this morning.

Has that ever happened for you?

Have you ever had an experience that you look back on and say, you know what?

That was my moment.

I didn't make a decision.

I became a disciple.

I became a Christ follower.

This is when God and the things of God became really important to me.

I didn't want them to.

I couldn't help but have them be that way in my life.

This is what you see.

This is the life and ministry of Paul.

They were committed to the grace of God and they said, you know what?

God, we want to tell you what God's done with us.

I think the church should do better.

All churches should do better when their missionaries come back.

They're just gathering around and just say, Hey, just tell us what God's done with you.

We want to hear what God has done with you.

How are they able to do that?

Because they have a balance of hardship and fellowship.

It's not hard all the time.

They get together, the whole church turns out and they say, Man, tell us what God did with you.

And basically what they tell them is, hey, what y'all did to us, you commended us to the grace of God.

We committed people to the same graceful, faithful God.

Here's the last question I got for you today.

If God said to you, I want you to make principle out of your experience, would that be a good or bad thing?

Translation, I want people to think about me the way you think about me.

I want people to relate to me the way you relate to me.

This is why Paul was able to say, Follow me as I follow Christ.

Could you say that today?

Let's pray together.

If you're our guest, just relax.

We like to teach the Bible, and then uh we spend some time just doing what we call reflective thinking.

It give you some soul space to just kind of slow down and ask, what stood out to me today?

What is the Holy Spirit saying to me?

What do I do with this?

So I'll voice a prayer.

Some questions come up on the screen.

We process these in our community groups that meet all over our city a couple times a month.

But right now, let me just voice a prayer.

Lord, thank you for your word.

Thank you that we don't get to pick and choose what we preach, what we apply.

That's the Holy Spirit's job.

And now, Holy Spirit, just brood over your people.

Cause us to think about our soul.

Cause us to think about continuing for the faith.

Cause us to think about making a decision or becoming a disciple.

Just brood over us, Holy Spirit, now as we wait and think.

Father, thank you that your word is thought-provoking.

It points out and points us to things that are worthy of our consideration.

People have made a decision are always relating to God on the basis of what you got to do for them.

Disciples are just standing before you saying, Do with me whatever you want.

My life is not my own.

I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live.

Christ lives in me in the life I live in the flesh.

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

My faith is not in my bank account, it's not in my reputation, it's in nothing else.

It's not my faith is not in the acceptance of people.

Oh Lord, cause us to ponder today what your word is said.

This is our prayer.

We pray in Christ's name, and everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

If you're our guest today, know this, you're always welcome.

You're always welcome.

If you have any questions about anything you saw or heard this morning, some of our pastors will be available down front.

We would love to answer those.

Pray with you if you're going through anything, help you process and look at me.

We just want to help you take your next step in your spiritual journey, whatever that next step is, okay?

We're not here to tell you what it is.

We're here to help you walk alongside you, help you discover uh through the aid of the Holy Spirit what exactly that is, okay?

We got a lot of things going on in the life of our church, and we make you aware of those every week by our weekly video announcements.

I have a little bonus feature for you this week.

Uh we talk about missionaries coming back.

We just sent a group of men to Costa Rica uh to build a church on the reservation.

We've been investing uh for gosh, 15 years now.

Uh and so you got some announcements, and then you got a whole church gathered.

Let's celebrate and let's hear what God did with these men.

Here's a look at what's happening at Grand Parkway Baptist Church.

Hi, my name is Wheeler Bee Mint.

I've been at Grand Park Way for about 23 years.

I thought my name was Wheeler Beamant, but I go by Owen.

But I've been coming to Grand Park Way for 23 years too.

The most meaningful thing to me about the last Costa Rica Men's mission trip was the ability to take nothing and turn it into something that the Guymy people will be able to use for years to come, as well as meet a lot of different men that I've seen around but have never actually had a chance to talk to.

So that was a treat.

Over the last several years, uh I'm seeing God work in Costa Rica just with what Bart had started down there, with God helping him, and then how it's kind of just continued to grow.

When Bart was down there, he was the man on site to coordinate the acquisition of all the materials and getting them delivered to the job site.

But with Bart back in the States, God provided a man in San Vito that could fill that role for us because if we got to the job site and all the stuff wasn't there, we were hosed.

And we got hot showers and warm bed every day.

That was the best deal.

The other thing God did was move the job site closer to the edge of the reservation so we could get those hot showers every night and a hot meal eating at the table with chairs.

Right.

But my spiritual gift in Costa Rica was serving.

It was just four days of hard, sweaty hot work.

I would say my spiritual gift is more in line with the planning, the building, and the execution of the project itself.

So I do for my career now, and I've really enjoyed getting to work with Bart to do the design and just try to coordinate everything that needs to get done so that the building can get done by a group of men who are not professional builders, but still done in a pretty short amount of time.

And every project we've done, we've left completed.

And the best part about working with you is it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Yeah.

It's been fun to get to work with my dad down there and uh just see him keep going at his age.

This last trip we had.

Um, I think a third of the guys were well beyond retirement age, and we still just got it done.

So I'm beyond retirement age.

Right, right.

I would say if you've if you've been thinking about coming on these men's trips before to Costa Rica, but you haven't, I would encourage you to talk to one of us that has and just just make it happen.

It is hard work, but it is enjoyable and and very fruitful at the end of the day, and uh definitely worth your time.

How many trips have we taken all together?

Seven.

Seven.

And only 18 stitches, so it's a safe trip.

If you're interested in going on our next Costa Rica trip, visit our missions page on Gramparkway.org for more information or to sign up.

On March 20th, 27th, and April 3rd, there will be a new believers class in the Kids Building.

This class is for kids in kindergarten through third grade that have already made the decision to follow Christ or who are very curious.

They will learn things like what it means to be a Christian, how to pray, how to read the Bible, and more.

For all adults, 60 and over, join us for lunch and to connect on March 7th.

At Grand Parkway, we believe you are the most experienced people and that you are still in the game.

Come and invite friends.

Finally, all young adults are invited to enjoy a meal and community in the Fellowship Hall after Second Service Today.

For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at grandparkway.org.

If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the foot of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

My favorite part was uh seven trips, 18 stitches.

And the next thing was if you're interested in going to Costa Rica, uh, because I know he's in here, usually he's in here.

Owen, but Mint, how old are you?

75.

Let me just say this.

I want to say two things.

Some of you parents are trying to accomplish in America in your kids what can only be accomplished if you take them to another country.

It's just perspective.

It's just uh, oh, my bedroom's not so small after all.

When you walk in the jungle and there's a family of five living under a blue tart.

No shame.

It's just like, there you go, kids.

Now, do we need Hulu and Netflix?

It's just perspective.

That's all.

You you can't get it here, okay?

Uh, the other thing I want to say is the varsity is our ministry of people age 60 and over.

Our next lunch is Thursday, this coming Thursday.

We need you to register today.

The deadline is tomorrow.

We've got to turn our order in.

You can go online under the events, uh, the events link and click on that and go down and see the varsity.

Uh, we're gonna be talking about physical fitness after 60.

We'll have a little bit of fun.

We have an informative fun.

We have a uh he's a fitness instructor, a life coach is gonna be sharing with us.

Uh, and so I'd love for you to come join us.

You say, Well, I don't care about physical fitness, just come hang out with your friends, okay?

You'll be you might be surprised what you walk away with.

All right.

We'd like to conclude our service with a spoken blessing.

So if you would stand to your feet, hold your hands down.

Your suffering has a purpose.

It's never in vain.

Get it out of the context of your name because it will always feel in vain when it's there.

You get it in the context of Jesus' name.

And you understand that sometimes you've got to suffer for the sake of his name.

You're gonna survive.

And you're gonna be better for it.

Depart now.

Live like you believe these things in the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you.