Acts: Faithful Leadership (Part 2)

And man, I hope you have your Bible's turning with

me to act Chapter twenty. We'll start in verse seven,

and just a moment acts Chapter twenty, starting verse seven.

I loved that last song. Reminded me as he was

singing it. I was a child. I remember a church.

I grew up in Ebenezer Baptist Church and we had

a little children's choir, and that was the very first

song I can remember singing in that children's choir. I

love You Lord. Just sitting there as we were singing it,

thinking about who. That's been twenty years, thirty years probably,

and I'm still pursuing that God that I love. And

that's what That's what church is all about, right, coming

together and from our children to marijuana, to as we

continue to grow in different parts of the church and

continue to leave people to love the Lord. That's what

it's all about. You know. There's different times throughout was

lives where they may be looking for a church. And

I heard a story of a man who was looking

for a church and trying to find the right church,

and he was really pursuing the perfect church. So he

went to Spurgeon's Church and he came to Spurgeon, he

told him. He says, you know, I'm really looking for

the perfect church. And Spurgeon said to him, he says,

you know, there's many really godly people in our church,

he says, But I'm going to be honest with you,

he said. There's probably a few Judases in there too,

he said, because you know, Jesus had twelve disciples disciples,

but he had one traitor, he said, And there may

be some in our church that maybe not living for

the Lord like they should, walking disobedient to the Lord,

he says, because they were disobedient believers in the church

in Rome and carn and Galatia and Sartists. He says.

So I'm telling you, if you're coming and looking for

the perfect church, this is not it. He says. But

before you leave, he says, and go and look for

a perfect church someone at where else? He says. If

you do find it, he says, I ask you, don't

join it. Man, look at him, He says, what do

you mean? He says, because if you join it, you'll

ruin it yourself. You know. That's the truth is there's

no really perfect church in the world. And I hope

if you've been here at Bethesda, or you're coming to Bethesda,

You'll find that we are not a perfect church. I

am not a perfect pastor. Our staff are not perfect,

our order is not perfect, our deacons are not perfect.

There's nobody here that's perfect. But what I do hope

you'll find is that will be faithful, will be a

faithful church of what God has called us too. As

we come to this passage this morning, and we see

that Paul is a faithful leader, and we've been last

week we look at faithful leadership, and today I want

to continue in and as Luke comes to chapter twenty,

Luke is really just demonstrating how Paul throughout is going

through different regions he's in and throughout these different regions

he's strengthened in the church. He went through Macedonia. We

see that he went through different areas and all through

along the way, his his goal is to strengthen the church.

As we looked last week, he stops at the end

of after he goes through Macedonia, he stops and tro

Us and Trous was a little seaport town in the

in the coast of Asia. And Paul stops in this

little town for seven days and his purpose in stopping

and tro Us is to encourage church there. And so

there's he encourages the church. We see that he's he's

demonstrating faithful leadership. We saw as he's gone through all

these different areas, he's gathered leaders from different areas, from Macedonia,

different churches, and they're all with him intro Us and

he's there to strengthen the church. And as we come

to this morning's passage, I want you to see, as

last week we saw that Paul was faithful to he

demonstrated faithful leadership by encouraging this morning, I want to

look further into the different elements of Paul's leadership and

how he demonstrated faithfulness, how he demonstrated how to be

a faithful leader, and that today is we are. Whether

you're a leader in your home, or whether you're a

leader in workplace, your leader in your school, or whether

you're a leader here at church. God's one thing that

God has called us all too. We all are leaders,

whether we want to be or not, we're all leaders.

And when God's called us to be a leader, most importantly,

it's important for us to be faithful in that leading.

And so this morning, I'll just look at different areas

of how Paul led the churches and on as individuals.

As a church body, how are we leading and how

we leading well as Paul did. So let's stand un

Let's read God's word together. It's Acts chapter twenty, starting

a verse seven, and wory throughs verses twelve. He says

these words, this is the word of the Lord. On

the first day of the week, when we were gathered

together to breakth Paul talked with him and tended to

depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech

until midnight. Well you thought my sermons were long. And

there were many lamps in the upper room and where

we were gathered, and a young man, young Uticus, sitting

on the windows sink into a deep sleep. And as

Paul's talked, still longer, and being overcome by sleep, he

fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking

him in his arms, he said, don't be alarmed, for

his life is in him. And when Paul had gone up,

he'd broke in and had broken bread at eaton. He

conversed with him a long while until daybreak, so he departed,

and verse twelve says in day took the youth away

alive and were not a little tole comforted. Let's pray together, Father,

we come together, Lord, and I pray that we would

today as we look at Paul's life. We look at

Paul's leadership. As he led churches in Macedonia, Asia, Galatia.

Has he led this church in tro Us, Lord, he

was faithful. The leaders were with him were faithful. God,

I pray today that as we examine their faithful leadership,

may we examine our leadership Lord, as fathers, mothers, grandparents,

co workers. Lord, whatever leadership capacity you've given us, Lord,

I pray that we would be faithful that you've called

us too. So Lord, may you use the principles we

find in this Pastorg's day to speak to our hearts. God,

we thank you Lord for today. We thank you Lord

for your word. Lord. I pray today, Lord for a

movement of you, the movement of your spirit. Lord, something

that I cannot produce on paper or preparation. And Lord,

that is about your spirit would speak to the hearts

of people today. So, Father, God, may I decrease and

may you increase and Lord today, may the hearers hear

you Lord in your name, Amen, you may be seated.

See several different aspects of pulse leadership today and how

faithful leaders. So number one we see faithful leaders gather

for worship. Faithful leaders gather for worship. You come to

verse seven again, he's in tro as the scripture tells

us in verse six, they go and trow us there

this little seaport town. They spend seven days there, and

in verse seven it kind of gives us some more

details of what actually they did there. It's the last day.

It's on a Sunday, and verse seven says on the

first day of the week, which is Sunday, we were

gathered together to break bread. Now some a few important

details as you're digging into verse seven to understand that

may be just common for you as you read it,

you may not catch on. Number one, is it was Sunday.

You know, this is the first occurrence in Acts. This

is the first mentioned by Luke of the church meeting

on Sunday. We understand, now we regularly worship on Sunday,

but jew typical Jews worship in the synagod on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was a Saturday, and so we see through

Mark and Matthew, there's great significance for Jesus and for

Jesus' followers for Sunday because Jesus rose again on the

resurrection day, which is Sunday. So Luke is giving us

details that the yearly church gathered together regularly on Sunday

because it was resurrection day to worship the Lord. He

said number one. I think as you look at his

passage to understand, Luke is showing us the importance of

the church gathering on Sunday to worship. Another thing that's

very important that you see in this passage scripture of

verse seven, it says on the first day of the week,

when this is alway, he says we, when we were

gathered together to break bread. It's interesting that Luke gives

us a little detail there and he uses a personal

pronoun we to include that Luke was there most of

the time. As you read through the narrative, he doesn't

mention used the first personal pronouns. He uses pronouns that

describe them or they, But here he uses weed to

demonstrate that he was among them. Who is the we there?

It is him and all the other leaders from all

the other churches. If you go to verse four from

last week, he listed different leaders. As Paul went through

Macedonia and to talk to different churches throughout Macedonia, he

would gather leaders from all these different churches. And we

saw that last week we separateurb and verse four. Here

who was a briand he's from the Brion church, and

he gives us different leaders and they would he gathered

them together with him, and they travel with him. Paul's

headed to Jerusalem, and Luke is with them, Timothy's with them.

They're all gathered together. And when Paul says, hey, on

the first day of the week, on Sunday, we gathered together,

who's he talking about? He says, all the leaders that

Paul's gathered together, we went to church. And who's the

other part of that is the church members from cho Ess.

And so we see this imagery of Paul saying, I

mean Luke's saying, hey, we went to church. It was

on Sunday, Sunday Day, and it was the day that

we worshiped the Lord, and we came together. I think

if you think about this passages, I think it's so

important that you see the leadership of Paul. You see

the leadership of these leaders from all these different churches,

and you can imagine that they had been under Paul's leadership.

They've heard Paul preaching their church. They've heard Paul preach

at different places we know from the passages of Scripture.

Before they took five days to get the troy Us.

They get to this little town, they've been there seven days.

It's the last day of the week. And surely these

leaders says, you know what, I've heard this sermon before

I heard him. He did this sermon. It was a

good one. It's a really good one, but I heard

it before. You know what, it's been a long week.

We've been here seven days. There's long days of five

of five days of travel, and and tomorrow morning we're

getting up on the ship and we're going to travel

some more. And we got a long journey Jerusalem. You know,

it's Sunday. This is the only day I get to rest.

I just think I'll take us this Sunday to just

give me a little straight up and get a little

straight get a little extra rest before I go into

the next work week. No, they don't, they don't take off.

They don't say, you know what, I've heard that sermon before.

Maybe I'll catch it on the podcast, or I'll catch

it some other time. I just need a little extra rest. Know,

these leaders, this early church understood that it's important for

the church to gather, and leaders are committed to faithfully

gathering together. Can I tell you, church body, one of

the great aspects of your leadership as individual members, as

the importinance of you being faithful to lead, and importance

of gathering together for worship, We should not Scripture says,

by the way in Hebrews ten twenty five, don't neglect

the meeting together as the habit of some, but encourage

one another all the more as you see the day

drawing near the writer of Hebrews. Many believe that Paul says, hey,

we should not neglect the gathering of the church body,

as many have. Can I tell you it's you know,

it's throughout ministry I have. I was thinking the other day,

I've been a ministry twenty nine years. I've been pastoring

senior pastor for seventeen of those years, and I have

seen all kinds of different things throughout my ministry about

just church attendants, people coming and be faithful church. I've

heard all kinds of different excuses. I heard of a

church one day and they were read about this church.

It was a church in Seattle. You know, they were

struggling with people and being faithful to church attendants, and

so they sent out a mailer to their church members

and it was in the mailor it was a courageon

to come to this church service. And the name of

the church service was no excuse to stay home Sunday,

and according to the past during the letter the mailer

they send out that says, so we won't have any excuses,

he says, We've made arrangements for cots to be available

for those who say Sunday is their only day to sleep.

He says eye drops will be supplied for those who

had red eyes from watching TV to stay up too

late watching TV the night before. There'll be still helmets

for those who say the roof will cave in if

they attend church. There'll be blankets think for those who

think the church is too cold, fam for those who

say the church is too hot, score cards for those

who wish to list all the hypocrites in the church.

TV dinners who can't get who can't go to church

because they need to cook. And finally will have Christmas decorations,

point settas and Easter lilies for those who never see

church without them a church service where there is no excuse. Right,

you know, there is all kinds of different reasons why

we can make excuses why we shouldn't be here on Sunday.

But can I tell you church family, they gathered together

for worship regularly, whether they were lay, whether we're the

leader of the church or leader, lay leaders or lay

members in the church, worship was important. And you know

why I believe worship was important, It is because their

heart posture. You know, David says, I'd rather be a

doorkeeper in the house of the Lord right better as

one day in your courts than the thousands elsewhere. Can

I tell you, church family, we need to have hearts

that says there's no other place I'd rather be than

with my Lord in his place. Can I encourage you church,

May we be leaders who lead in the importance of

gathering together for worship. Can I encourage you husbands, you're

a spiritual leader your home support that you set the

example for being in worship. Can I tell you moms, wives,

it's important that you set example of the imports of

gathering for worship. Can I tell you leaders here, elders, deacons,

growth group leaders, whatever leadership capacity you may have. Here,

it's important that you set the example for leading and

gathering for worship. May we be leaders that demonstrate and

lead in the imports of gathering for worship. Secondly what

you see and only faithful leaders gather for worship. But secondly,

faithful leaders lead in worship. You know, we looked at

the reports in them gathering together, but in verse seven

it tells us kind of what they did when they gathered.

We see in verse seven sins on the first day

of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread.

Paul talk with them and intended to depart the next day.

In the prolonged his speech until midnight. We see as

they gathered together, the Bible tells us that how to

they broke the bread together or keen the bread that's

used throughout scripture. We'll look at another place in just

a minute. The idea was the early church would have

a fellowship meal together, so we would have time for

preaching but have a time to eat. I definitely think

they were some of the Baptists. I imagine they probably

had fried chicken, so they gathered together to eat. And

then part of that meal would include the taking of

the Lord Supper. That was a regular part of worship

in the early Church. And so what Paul was describing

here is the elements of worship. And one of the

elements regular for the church worship was taking the Lord's Supper.

We see another element for worship in their early church

here and this church and trow Us, and there's the

regular element was the preaching of the Word. And that's

what I'm doing now, is the teaching of the Word

of God. And we see that. You know, it's interesting

on you to turn with me, go back with me

to chapter two and Acts. In Chapter two and Acts,

we see a summary that Luke gives us. The summary

and Acts chapter two is the very first church. What

was the very first church? It was a church in

Jerusalem that was right after Pentecost. There's thousands of people

came and got saved. In chapter two, the end of

chapter two, we see that church body together in Jerusalem

gathering for worship, and Luke kind of gives us a

summary of that gathering. The summary of what they would

do regularly as a New Testament first church. We see

in Acts chapter two it says, verse forty two, you

go there with me, and you will read just one verse.

It's actually forty two through forty seven, but for this morning,

we'll read just one verse. And it says, and they

devoted themselves. This is the early church. They there is

the early Church, devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching, to

the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread, and the prayers.

So you see, listen, there is the different elements. What

were the elements of the very very first church ever well, preaching,

teaching the word of God. The other elements this fellowship

gathering together as a body of believers. Just as just

spoke of, they understood the port its of Listen, it's

not just I just I don't just come just to hear,

but I come to fellowship and gather together with brothers

and sisters of Christ. So I don't need to neglect

the body because I need the word of God, but

I also need the fellowship of other brothers assists in Christ.

You see the other element, the breaking of the bread.

That's is the meal and the Lord's Supper. And then

you see the last element here, and that is prayers.

So these different elements of the very first Church, if

you fast forward all the way to Acts chapter twenty,

you have to understand in Paul's missionary journey, we see

now two missionary journeys. He started churches and in Asia,

he started churches in Glacia, he started churches in Syria,

he started churches in Macedonia. He's got churches all over,

probably tens of probably twenty to thirty churches or more.

Maybe I don't know the different numbers of how many

churches he started. But in all these churches, listen to

the same elements are there here in Troas. Just as

the early church was leading in teaching God's word, Paul

is still doing the same elements. He's leading them in

the teaching of God's Word. He's leading them in the

Lord's Supper. Can I tell you listen, it's not all

important that we gather together for worship, but we as leaders,

whether we're leading in our homes or whether we leading

in the church, it's important that we lead others in

following the different aspects of worship. He said, what do

you mean by that? Pastor you know it's important that

and you know on Sundays we have different things that

we lead you through, like leading you to how to

pray like the Acts and teaching you how to pray adoration,

confession and thanksgiving and supplication. Well, why do we do

that because we want to lead you in growing individually

in prayer. Listen to me. Hear me. Now, just as

important as your pastor I am to lead you in

taking the Lord's supper, leads you in times of prayer

as we've already done, leads you in times of singing,

leads you in the preaching of God's word. Listen, it's

just as important that you, as individual members, lead others

in those same elements. You what I mean by that, Preacher,

It's not only important for me to pray here corporately,

but it's also important that you're also praying. You hear me,

and you're leading others in prayer. It's not important that

I administer the Lord's supper, but it's also important that

you also take the Lord's supper serious, and you lead

others to take the Lord's supper serious. It's not important

that I teach the word of God, but listen, it's

also important that you hear the word of God. You

learn the word of God as individual members, and you

lead others in understanding and learning the word of God.

It's important that we lead you in these worships, but

it's important that you as members take upon those elements

of worship and apply those to your own aspects of leadership.

Do you understand me? I'll never get And I know

I've told you this story before. Many years ago, I

was in seminary. I was finishing my last year. We

had moved to South Carolina, so I was traveling back

and forth to here to to to finish my last

semester of class. And Dennis and Angie Loong were good

friends of ours. Y'all know Dennis. Many of y'all know

Dennis and Angielong. And they had their their their son

at the time was Nick. He was a middle school

student here at b c A. And and I would

come and stay with him and have a little extra room,

and I would stay with them and go to class

for like one day a week. And and I'll never

get We would come and I was I was young,

and we would come up and stay up, me and

Nick and and and Dennis would stay up watching TV

and doing different things, and and I kind of come

later on the evening and I could say, Dennis would say,

all right, Nick, it's time for you to go to bed,

and he said, you get ready, and I'll be in

there in just a minute. And I'll never forget. I

have my little room that I would say, in that

little game room, and I would hang out in there,

and I'll never forget as long as I live, Dennis

going in the room with his son and hearing him

pray of his son every night, just begging God to

do a mighty work in his son's life. And I

never forgot that as long as I live. And how

important it was when my little girls were little that

I took that same example. I saw a faithful father

leading his son in prayer. How important it was that

I just didn't pray here on Sunday morning, but I'd

also leave my children in prayer at home. And can

I tell you fathers, mothers, Sunday school teachers, whatever you

may you may be, whatever leadership example you may have

in your life, it's important listen that you lead in

worship and you lead others in importance of worshiping in

their life all right, never get Doctor Lawless at Southeastern

Seminaries in a class a few years ago, and he

was talking about the students that he have seen throughout

teaching of the seminary students are going in the ministry,

and he said, the most passionate determine children that I

have seen who have a holy hunger for God are

the ones who can recall seeing their mom and dads

pray everything. Can I ask you mom's, dads, grandparents, when's

the last time your grandchildren, your children have seen you pray? Ever,

when's the last time they've seen you at home there

by the table reading your bible. Listen, we must lead

in worship. You know, I have one thing I just

admire about my father in law is he leads in worship.

You know when peeceas in the house, don't you but

listen because it comes from the heart, and listen. If

we want to be a place that says we want

to whether it's praising the Lord with our hands or

whatever it may be, may we lead others in that

Amen so important if we're going to be a faithful

church that God calls us to be, that we're faithful

to worship, gather together worship, but we're faithful to lead

others in worship. Amen, want you see third here this morning,

Faithful leadership gathers for worship. Faithful leaders lead and worship.

Faithful leaders listen, lead and teaching. As you see this

passage scripture, I really believe Paul is only in this

little town trough Us for seven days. He's spent three

years at Ephesus. He spends most of the time in place,

as many months as he's established in a church. He

only has seven days in tro Us, and so he

goes on a Sunday morning. He preaches, and the Bible says,

he preaches all the way through midnight. Like I said,

you thought it was bad when I go over twelve o'clock.

He preaches all the way to midnight. And the heart

behind that, for Paul, it is the heart that I

told you last week. He understands how important it is

that people hear the word of God. He understands how

important it is that they receive faithful teaching. And so

you know Romans, by the way, Romans ten says ten

to seventeen. So faith comes from hearing and hearing the

word of Christ. He tells Timothy right, and we saw

last week in second Timothy four one through two. I

charge you, in the presence of God of Christ, Jesus,

who judge the living and the dead by his peering

his kingdom, preach the word, be ready in season and

analyses and reproved, extort with complete patience in teaching. He

tells you on Timothy, he said, Timothy, what this church

needs is faithful teaching, faithful preaching. And can I encourage

you today, leaders, because you're all leaders, Whether you're, like

I said, leading in your home, leading in your workplace,

leading in your neighborhood, whatever it may be, leading your classroom,

you're all faithful leaders. May you be a faithful leader

who demonstrates the faithfulness to worship, demonstrates the faithful leading

others in worship. But listen, it's important that you are

faithful in teaching. Can I tell you I've been a

pastor for many, many years and mentioned that earlier, and

I have I have talked to a well meaning many

church members who said, you know, preacher, I really think

you should think about preaching on this, or you should

think about preaching on that. And that's just a passive

aggressive way to say I really think you need to

not preach what you're preaching and preach what I think

you should be preaching. And you say that doesn't happen. Listen,

trust me, it does happen. And I've had people say,

you know, you know, your preaching is really really you know,

it's good in all preacher, and that's a passive aggressive

race that I really don't like preaching. I really want

you're preaching to be like this. But I've heard them say,

you know what, you know, you preach a lot on

what the Bible says, but I think we need to

hear more about more about the current events of our world.

And listen, listen to me, with all graces, I can

say right now to you what church, what we need

as a church is not to be an extension of

the news media you hear me, or we don't need

to be extension of the social issues or what's popular

on trending on social media. What the church needs from

now and forever more is the Word of God. It

doesn't need my opinions. It doesn't need to chase the

cultural trends of the world or chase the popularity of

this world. What the church needs listen to me is

the Word of God. And today we live in a climate.

And I'm gonna be honest with you. Maybe get them

my little soap box. I don't do that much. We

live in a climate today. What people have fine. Just

as Timothy Paul would say to Timothy, people define teachers

who satisfy the ears of individuals. Listen, I don't need

to satisfy your ears. I need to satisfy the Word

of God and give you what you need. And that

is the Word of God and nothing else, nothing else

besides the Word of God is what change your heart

and what will change my heart. And so listen today,

I want you to hear that from me, because I

promise you there's pressure in me from church members through

the past to try to get me to adapt the

message of the Word of God to be more cultural

acceptive to what the world says. And if that's the

pressure that I feel, So do you feel it in

your homes? So do you feel it in the workplace?

So do you feel it in the classroom or the

schools where you can't really say that, you can't really

say what the Word of God says because you might

offend someone or you might offend your family member, or

you might offend this person or that person. Listen, what

your family man need, what your classmates need, what your

co worker needs. They need to hear the word of God.

And you need to teach the word of God. And

you say, well, pastor, I'm not a preacher. You're asking

me to teach? Well, can I tell you? The Bible

wants you to teach. You know, there's a Bible, there's

a passage, and I'm running out of time, and I'm

getting excited too, say, y'all are in trouble. I won't

keep you the midnight though, I promise, because y'all didn't

bring food and we didn't have a fellowship a meal plan.

But listen as I want you to hear today in

First Corinthians, listen to this. Husbands, the Bible says if

your wife has any questions about the Bible, she should

go to you. So what does that mean? Husband's your

teacher and God's commanded you as spiritual lead your home

to teach your wife and to teach your children. So,

whether you want it or not, whether you signed up

for it or not, you did sign up for it

when you married that beautiful young lady that God gave you,

and God's commanded you to teach her. But listen, that's

not only for the husbands. That's for you wives, as

you mothers, as you lead your families, you are to

teach the word of God. What your wives need, husbands,

is for you to be faithful to the word of God,

to know the Word of God that you might teach it.

And you, ladies, as you lead your families, they need

to hear the word of God from you. There's a

lot of things this world may offer them. There's nothing

that's greater that you can offer them than the Word

of God. So it means you need to study, you

need to grow and it. You need to learn it

that you might teach it faithfully. Okay, let's move on,

so you won't be here to midnight. All right. The

last thing, don't you see, Faithful leaders gather for worship.

Faithful leaders worship, lead and worship. Faithful leaders teach. Lastly,

faithful leaders comfort with compassion. The Bible says it was

late as we read the passage. Let's just read it again.

In verse eight, it says, and there were many lamps

in the upper room, and they were gathered and young

man and Uticus, sitting at the windows, sink into a

deep sleep. And as Paul talked still longer, and being

overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story

and was taking up dead. But Paul went down and

bent over him, taking with him in his arms, and said,

do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.

And when Paul had gone up, he broken bread and

eating and conversed with them a long while until daybreak.

So he departed and they took the youth away alive.

And we're not a little comforted. We understand they're in

this room. It's t pt packed tight. Now this is

a very large room. There's three stories high. Young boy there.

It's probably from anywhere from I think the studies tell

us or scholars will tell us he's probably from anywhere

from eight to fourteen. He's in the church. He's kind

of maybe probably a little stuff in there. He's got

some lamps and so it's all kinds of kind of dark.

He's scripture uses the word servant to describe him in

the in the Greek, so we know that he's someone

who's probably done a lot of work that day, serving

in different capacities. It's a long sermon. I'll tell you

I've preached the many sermon, and I've put a lot

of children and and and people asleep. But and so

this brings me a lot of comfort that I'm not

the only one. Even Paul put people to sleep. Paul's preaching,

and he fell asleep. Scripture says, in a deep fleet,

fells out of the window, falls two stories, three stories down.

Scripture said, he's dead. By the way Luke's writing this,

Luke's a physician, So Luke knew what terms the right

to describe whether he was really live or who was dead.

Luke said he was dead. Listen what happens. Paul stops

mid sermon, or probably not mid sermon. Script she said

he had more to say later on. So who knows

where he was. He stops his sermon, He goes down

right to where he was, He prays over him, cares

for him. We know that he raises him from the dead,

as we see in this passage, because scripture says Luke

says he's dead. In verse twelve, it says they took

the boy the youth away alive. So he raises him

from the dead. And then what does Paul do? He

goes back to preaching in the Lord's Supper. But I

don't you understand something as important as the message was

in that moment, there was someone who's hurting, and Paul

stopped right where he was to care for those who

were hurting around him. Can I tell you listen to me,

church family, as leaders, we need to be leaders that

are committed to gathering. We need to be leaders who

are committed to leading others in worship. We need to

be committed to leaders or committed to the teaching the

Word of God and a personal lives. As a church

as a whole, we need to be faithful to the teaching.

But listen, it's so so vital we as a church

are also our leaders who comfort with compassion, who recognize

the herding that are in our mits and run to

the hurting, not away from it. Heard of a professor

at Southeastern I was talking to just six months ago

or more, and he told me a story of a

pastor who had a church member in his church who

battle mental health. He was the individual was difficult, He

did some things that were strange to church members. He

was struggling. I don't remember the diagnosis exactly, but he

was struggling, the young man was or the individual, and

the pastor told the professor at Southeastern, I just told

our deacons just to to give him some distance and

just leave him alone, kind of ignore him, because I

think that's just kind of the best thing for us

to do. Do you think I did the right thing?

Can I tell you the answer is no, he did

not do the right thing. We need, we need to

be church leaders. Listen that when we when we encounter

difficult things that we don't run from, that we run

to and those are hurting in our midst, whether it's

an emotional mental health struggle or a crisis of laws

or death, we don't run through because well, I will

appreciate it. I don't know what to say. I don't

have the words to say. I don't know how they feel. Listen,

they don't need your answers. They just need you to

come alongside them and show them listen, very simply that

you care. They don't. They don't want you to fix

all their issues. They want you to be a person

who shows very simply that you care. You know the

powerful part of this story. When Paul goes to him,

Scripture tells, let's look at the passage and verse verse ten.

When Paul went down, he bent over, taking him in

his arms, and he says, don't be alarmed, for his

life is in him. We understand Paul went to him

and he prayed over him. You know, there's a story

in the Old Testament of Elijah. He encounters a woman

by a widow and her son dies. Elijah takes the

boy boy up into the room and he prays over

him and he raises him back to life. It's also

very similar to a very same story of a Jesus

who a man who came to Jesus who had a

daughter named who was dead. His name was Jirius. He

goes to Gyrus's house, the daughter is dead. Jesus sends

everybody out of the room, he prays over her, and

he raises her from the dead. Listen to me, you

know what Luke is wanting you and I to see

that Paul all looked a lot like Jesus when Paul

went running to the hurting. When Paul demonstrated the mercy

of God and cared for the hurting in his mits,

he sure looked like Jesus. Can I tell you leaders

today when we run to the herting, and we care

for those who are hurt around us. We look a

lot like Jesus. I don't know about you, but I

want to be a leader that not only knows the

importance of gathering for worship, to be a church that

le leads others in worship. I want to be a

leader that teaches the word of God, but I want

to be a leader that looks like Jesus. How about you?

Will you be an individual that says, God help me?

Who do you know in your community? Who do you

know in your workplace? Who do you know in this

church body? Who do you know in your family? Who

friends of yours that you know are hurting right now?

And what do you do to run to and not

run from? How may you by going to where they

are finger them, you might demonstrate the mercy of Jesus

and look like Jesus. Today on the last tanner in

the band to come forward and lead us through a

song invitation, Listen, we need We're not a perfect church,

but we need faithful leaders, and we need faithful leaders

that will gather. We need faithful leaders who will lead

others in worship. We need faithful leaders who will teach

God's word and we need faithful leaders to show compassion.

You know I heard that story. I'll share with you

in just a minute. You know, this is Memorial Day,

and the Memorial Day we remember all those who've gone

before us, who, like Billy Graham described, who died, sacrifice

their comfort, sacrifice their time, sacrifice their plans. The most important,

they sacrifice their lives that you might be free to

live in a free country. Worship the Lord freely. I

wonder today as we think about where we are today

as a church, but asda is where it is today

because of the Lord. He is the head of this

church and forevermore he will be. But I'm thankful that

he had faithful leaders long before me, who were faithful,

who faithful to gather, They were faithful to lead and worship,

They were faithful to teach the Word of God, and

they were faithful to comfort with compassion. We need more

leaders in the future who will say, I want to

be the next leader that leads Bethesda, who will lead

others to follow after me. Will you be that leader?

Will you be that leader in your home? Will you

commit to be that leader in your workplace? Will you

commit to be that leader in your community, in your neighborhoods.

We need faithful leaders who will pave the way for

those who will come after them. Will you be that leader?

Let's pray the Lord. We love you God. I thank

you Lord for today. God. I thank you Lord for

just the other day that we stood on this stage

and we saw faithful leadership demonstrated that many many years

ago John Butler would come here as pastor and God today,

this church is where it is today because of pastors

like John Earl Eccles, so many deacons, Lord, Bruce Lyttle

one that comes to my mind instantly, and others Vernon Parnell,

faithful men, faithful leaders, faithful Sunday school teachers like Elois Lily. Lord,

we thank you Lord for their faithfulness before us that

set the example for how we should worship, how we

should gather, how we should teach, and how should we

should care. God. May you raise up today in our

minst leaders who say God, I want to be faithful

Lord because someone led me before, and I want to

lead others ahead of the day's to come. Or we

love you God. I thank you Lord for your word. God.

I thank you Lord for your calling upon us Lord,

May we not cower, or may we not back down.

May we not try to cast off this to someone

else but God. May we rise up, Lord and be

who you caused to be. Lord, we love you, or

we pray that right now, in this time and this invitation,

that God, we would respond to your word as you

lead us. In your name, we pray and all to

Him