God's Heart For The Lost | Acts 13 :13 - 25 (Apr 3) Mike Armstrong

Hello and welcome to the Redemption Church Podcast.

We're a church in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada that exists to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the spirit of the Great Commandment.

Thanks for joining us today.

Well, good morning, Redemption.

It is uh it's great to see you out here and great to hear uh your worship and uh to see the Lord honored in that way.

It's a great start to our morning and looking forward to uh more glorifying uh Jesus Christ uh together.

And before we do that, I'm the announcement guy today, so I got a few things uh to share with you before we jump into the scriptures.

And the first thing, of course, is uh is our offering.

Uh we like to make mention that we do take an offering uh up here uh every single weekend.

And there's a few different ways that you can do that.

You can go online to our website and you can kind of find all the instructions there, the different ways that we do that.

But we you can give online if you like.

Uh we do e-transfers, we do different things like that, and so you can follow the instructions and do all of that.

We also have a box uh right at the back here, just as you walk out, it's on your right.

And if you'd like to put a physical offering in, uh we uh we welcome you uh doing that as well.

So again, no pressure to do that if you're a guest with us here today.

Uh we're not uh we're not trying to squeeze you for any of that.

This is just a way that we encourage our uh our faithful attenders and members to uh to worship and serve the Lord uh in that way.

Okay, uh we've been doing something just starting last week, actually.

We've reinstituted pre-service prayer.

And so we we you know we're a church that prays fervently.

We're excited about that.

We want to continue to build that into who we are and what we do.

And so at 8.15 till 8.45, so for half an hour there uh before the service, uh we have sorry, 9.15 to 9.45.

I'm like, I got a lot of looks like this.

9.15 to 9.45.

Uh, we've got a time of prayer.

If you're really truly hardcore, you'll come at 8.15.

Okay, but we have uh we're meeting uh right back here in the room.

We're trying to find the ideal place, so work with us on that.

But it was really cool to see a crew in there laughing, praying, uh, joyful time, lifting up this service.

That's really what we're about.

Every service, we're gonna pour prayer into that and ask that the Lord would do what uh mere men, right, and women uh can't do.

And so uh excited to be able to have that going on at 9:15 a.m.

uh every single uh Sunday.

On the topic of prayer, we've got a prayer night happening uh right here in this room on uh on Tuesday night, this coming Tuesday, 7 till 8, okay, so one hour.

Uh we're inviting everybody to come, right?

Everybody to come.

We'd love to fill this room just like it is uh right now.

And we're gonna lift up uh our needs before the Lord, pray uh specifically for our church and the needs of our church, the future of our church, and so we would really value you coming.

Kind of interesting how uh over the last number of sermons it's been really a prayer emphasis and a prayer focus, and how when we pray fervently, the Lord does powerful things, right?

And so we want to lean into that and come and uh and be a part of that.

And I got their time right, okay, 7 p.m.

uh till 8 p.m.

this Tuesday night.

And we also want to give you the heads up that Good Friday and Easter Sunday are fast approaching, and so we've got a Good Friday service happening uh right here in this room at 10 a.m.

Okay, so that's Good Friday, and then we're doing two Easter Sunday services, uh, 9 and 11.

Okay, a couple of important things uh to note about that.

Uh uh Redemption Kids is going to be offered uh only at the 9 a.m.

service uh on Easter Sunday.

So for Good Friday and the Easter Sunday service at 11, we're not gonna have uh kids ministry going, so kids will be in the room and we uh welcome all of that.

Okay, uh two more quick things.

Radiant Conference is coming up in uh end of May, May 27th and 28th.

This is our ladies' conference that we uh do at um at Hope Oakville, okay?

And so this is something that's been going on for a number of years now.

Jen Wilken, if that name rings a bell, she's the main guest speaker this year.

Really encouraged and excited about all of that.

Got a number of session speakers, but you can go, you can just kind of Google it.

Radiant Conference happening in in Oakville, and you'll find all the details.

You can register through that, okay?

So you can register right through Oakville.

And ladies, uh, this is a great opportunity uh for you uh to come together with more ladies from our church, get to know each other, of course, and uh and then be blessed uh by a time uh in God's word and fellowship down there.

Looking forward to that.

The Lord always does amazing things.

All right, well, I want to pray about all of this, and uh, we'll get into the scriptures here in just one second.

So join me uh as I pray.

Lord, we come before you as a church uh eager to continue doing what we've been uh already meeting and doing this morning, which is to worship the name of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we want to exalt you, we want your name uh to be known.

Uh so Lord, we praise you and thank you for your kindness and your goodness to us, Lord, in sending us your Son.

Father, we thank you for that.

We we look as we look at uh the scriptures today in Acts uh chapter 13, Lord, I pray that you would uh stir up our joy.

I pray that you would stir up our passion for you, that uh the the power of the gospel, the truth of the gospel uh would motivate us uh through life, through the challenges, through all of that, Lord, that we would uh take seriously.

We would be a church committed to the Great Commission and making disciples.

And so, God, uh help us with these things as we uh are weak and we have uh our own failings and all of that that continually come to bear with what you have called us to, Lord.

But we thank you for your grace in that.

We thank you for power that comes from your spirit, and Lord, we ask for uh all of these things and more, and we ask them to the glory of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, Acts 13 uh is where we are picking it up today as we work through uh our Acts series.

Uh, started Acts 13 uh last week.

Uh but as you're flipping to that, uh I want you to think back to a time in your life where you recognized that, you know, man, the Lord, the Lord was just so good to us in those days.

Like, can you think back to a time, like it was, it was this, it was a specific situation maybe, or or or a season of life, a predicament, whatever it was, where where you, it just became clear that I need the Savior, right?

I need the Lord now more than ever.

Right?

We go through that sometimes.

Or it was a season where he taught you that you needed him more than ever.

Okay, but it was also a time where he came through.

Where he came through in the clutch for you with the wisdom that you needed, with the with the grace and the strength that you needed.

Whatever it was, exactly what you required at exactly the right moment.

Can you kind of picture a time like that?

Maybe you're in one right right now, but but one of the really cool things for us as believers that we that we can pick up and glean from when we're when we're listening to mature, seasoned believers talk is that theme of God's goodness that just weaves throughout their life story.

Have you ever done that?

You ever talk with somebody who's a little further ahead in experience than you?

And and they've just kind of got that calm joy, that trust in the Lord, because they've they've gone through the wars, right?

They've seen what God has done through times that it was, you know, scary or sketchy in their life, and they're looking back on that as they're talking, and they're they're reflecting, and they've just got that gratitude to Him.

They're filled with that joy, the various ways that He's guided their lives and provided at every turn.

Now, this passage today that we're gonna be looking at really speaks to these things in the ultimate way.

Okay, where we see how God was so good to promise, okay, and then provide, provide us with a savior.

He promised a savior, he delivered.

Okay, and Paul takes his listeners here, the listeners in the story, and then and then us by extension, uh, through this mini history of sorts of God's goodness to humanity through Israel.

Okay, which as we we read and as we we we kind of dive into it, I think it really what it does is it re-anchors our hope again.

Okay, our our hope into the greatest thing or the greatest person ever, who of course is Jesus.

And on top of that, it also inspires us, I believe, as ambassadors of Christ, you know, working through those various challenges that we all face when it comes to taking his name and taking that same hope out into the world.

Alright, so we've got two things for you this morning.

Here's the first one as we jump in, and I'll be on the screen for you, but it's this God was so good to promise us a savior.

Okay, and all the ups and downs of proclaiming him are worth it.

It's worth it.

Now, follow along with me here as we start in verse 13 and uh and read it.

Look what it says.

It says, Now, Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, okay, which is where we left off last week, if you remember.

Paphos was on the island of Cyprus.

Okay, so they set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia.

Okay, so this, you know, where was this?

Well, this was the coast of Asia Minor.

And if Asia Minor, you know, doesn't situate you.

This is this is modern day uh Turkey.

Okay?

So it says, if you continue, it says, and and John, okay, or or John Mark, as we were introduced uh to him more recently, John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

Okay, now we're gonna come back to that in a second, uh, but let's keep going for now.

Verse 14 continues, and it says that they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia.

Okay, now maybe what you're thinking when you read that is like, wait a second, didn't they just come from Antioch?

Like, what's the story with that?

Isn't that where this church was planted and launched Paul and Barnabas off?

What's the story here?

What's the deal?

Well, you just need to know that there were actually multiple cities and towns called Antioch.

Okay, it's kind of like how if you were a politician back in this day, your name was automatically Herod, right?

That's what it seems like.

A lot of Herods, a lot of Antiochs.

That's why it's called Antioch in uh Pisidia, okay?

Whereas the church that they had been planted out from, you could have called that Antioch in Syria.

Okay?

So their journey from Sipus, Paphos uh specifically, uh, to where they were now is about 160 kilometers.

Okay, just to give our uh some bearings here.

Some of us are big map people, okay?

Now keep going though.

It says, on the and on the Sabbath day, they, that's Paul and Barnabas, they went into the synagogues and sat down.

Okay, so if you remember, I mentioned last week that this was this was Paul's model of ministry, right?

This is the pattern.

He would enter into a new city and he would go straight to the synagogue, and that's where he would sort of set up shop and begin his ministry within that city and go out from there.

Okay, now, verse 15.

It says, After the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, Paul and Barnabas, saying, Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.

Okay, pretty cool uh opportunity.

He's in he's invited to speak.

That's what we see there.

Now, in his sermon or in his message that we're gonna start into here in a minute, and then finish up next week.

Okay, so we've got like a part one thing going on today, part two uh next week.

But as as we're gonna see it in a second, uh you uh we you might be reminded of another speech that we saw earlier in the book of Acts.

In chapter seven, we saw Stephen's sermon, his message.

Okay, and there's some some commonalities to this.

Both of them are quite lengthy.

Okay, that they're they're they're pretty long and and both give this historical overview of God's work in Israel, like a like a historical survey, if you will, of his involvement from the beginning of Israel uh right up to the present.

Okay, but maybe the biggest difference uh between these two messages, Stephen's and Paul's, is the purpose of it and also the tone.

Okay, so so Stephen's message, again, we looked at Acts 7 like a long time ago, but Stephen's message, if you might remember, it was a it was a stern warning.

Okay, it was it was a it was a pretty heavy rebuke.

You might remember how he said, Oh, I'll just kind of read some of this to us, but this is what he said.

He goes through the whole history, and this is what he says to the Jews.

This is Stephen in chapter 7, 51 to 53.

He said, he calls them, you stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.

Okay, this is just coming like bringing fire here.

Okay, he says, As your fathers did, so do you.

Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.

Okay, so that's that's some spitting fire right there.

And and whereas there's no mistaking, you know, the reprimanding tone and intention of Stephen's speech, uh, Paul's is different.

Okay, Stephen, like the next scene after sharing this, he gets killed.

Right?

They stone him.

But Paul's is much different.

He's asked to bring, notice what we see there in verse 15, a word of encouragement.

Word of encouragement to the people.

Now, again, like I said, we're gonna get into what he says in the second thing.

But first of all, like I mentioned before, I want to get back into verse 13 here and how it says there that John, or again, remember, John Mark, he left Paul and Barnabas and returned to Jerusalem.

You see that there, right?

And while in this text, we're given no reason for the departure.

It doesn't unpack that for us, it doesn't give us any kind of insight whatsoever.

But later in Acts, in chapter 15, actually, we see that Paul did not appreciate John Mark's defection.

Right?

He didn't like it at all, he didn't agree with it.

Okay, to the point where it actually caused a sharp disagreement, it says, Okay, sharp disagreement, or some translations, violent outburst between Paul and Barnabas.

Okay, so John Mark's leaving creates this riff now between Paul and Barnabas, leading them to actually go their separate ways at the very beginning of Paul's second missionary journey.

Right now he's on his first missionary journey.

So Paul, you might realize this, he goes off with Silas.

Remember the whole Paul and Silas thing?

Right?

That's when that happens.

Paul goes off with Silas, and and Barnabas uh goes off with with uh with John Mark.

Okay, so the two of them go off.

And we learn in chapter 15 that Barnabas, clearly, he wanted to give John Mark a second chance.

He wants to give him another opportunity to redeem himself.

We actually know that they were both cousins as well, okay?

But but at the bottom line, he he wanted to he wanted to see John Mark redeemed and given an opportunity to serve and be faithful.

Whereas Paul, at this point, he didn't think that was acceptable.

He didn't like it.

He felt, I guess, sold out.

I mean, I don't want to read too much into it here, but um, but that's I think what we kind of pick up on, right?

Now, I actually really, really appreciate that all of this is in the text.

I think this is so good, right?

That Luke would give us this information, this insight as he writes the book of Acts for us.

Because what he's showing you and I, okay, all these years later, is that there will be difficulties.

Okay, there will be ups and downs in ministry.

Right?

That that's just a fact that is a reality.

Okay, relationships with other believers sometimes go sour.

Right?

If you've been in the church long enough, you're like, uh-huh, right?

Seen it, felt it, experienced it, delivered it, right?

If we're honest, we see that that that happens.

And and the text is giving us this insight, right?

Paul and Barnabas, right, they were two of the godliest men and best leaders the church had.

Sometimes when things go sour between people, we're like, well, it's just because they're immature.

Right?

And they're just they're awful people, and we held them on these pedestals, and and and now they're proving who they really are.

Okay, yeah, sometimes.

Okay, but but sometimes it's just the reality that ministry is intense.

Okay, it is, and and sometimes even godly people go toe-to-toe sometimes.

And this is what's happening with with these two guys.

And it doesn't mean we we like to see it, we want, it doesn't mean we want to see it.

We don't want to experience it, but uh hey, it happens.

It really does.

And the scriptures are showing us here through this that we are to have a category in our minds for this type of thing happening.

Because I think sometimes we can be naive as Christians.

And sometimes you know, we we we jump from church to church, maybe even, or go from relationship to relationship, thinking this time it'll be great.

You know, this time no one's gonna let me down.

It's it's it's that person that's the problem, and if I just move on from that person, I will find the bliss that I want.

Right?

And I think we see here that that's not reality always, is it?

We have to have this understanding, this category that that challenges happen.

Now, to encourage us here, uh, as we consider uh something as unpleasant as all of that, okay, not super fun to think about and talk about, okay, the the the the Paul, John, Mark, Barnabas disputes, if you want to call it that, it actually turns out extremely well.

Okay, and there's actually re uh reconciliation uh later on.

In in the book of Colossians, okay, Paul speaks actually of his love and respect for John Mark, which is really cool.

Okay, and then in 2 Timothy, he actually mentions John Mark's usefulness to him in ministry.

Okay, so at this point, we're seeing that that Paul doesn't really have the time for him, he's not happy about the defection, but later on he comes to appreciate him.

He he respects him, and the two of them uh work together, right?

John Mark served Paul while Paul was in one of his darkest moments, uh rotting in a prison cell.

And then the book of Galatians actually reveals to us that even Paul and Barnabas worked it out.

Okay, the two of them served again together, showing ultimately there's no, there was no bitterness that remained uh between the two of them.

Which is awesome.

Okay, so so what I think our three verses here in Acts uh kind of illustrate for us is that there are often challenges and seasons of difficulty, right?

There's those there's ups and downs in Christian relationships and in our in our ministry together.

Okay, here you have these guys, they're just straight up going their separate ways, and it's it's contentious, right?

Violent outburst.

I don't know where your mind goes when I hear that phrase, okay, but it was heavy, obviously.

Okay, and and and and that's just going to happen.

It was definitely one of those down moments if he thinks of ups and downs.

Okay, but but right after John Mark leaves, and again, I'm sure the tension was there already between Paul and Barnabas.

Um it doesn't all just fall apart.

No, they get an opportunity now to bring a word of encouragement uh to these people in Antioch and Pisidia.

Okay, and of course, later the Lord the Lord the Lord helps them to resolve their issues.

Okay, and they all continue to proclaim the gospel and bear much, much fruit.

I mean, these were the ups of the ups and downs of ministry that they got to experience.

Okay, so then what was it really that kind of kept them going through these difficulties?

Okay, was it their maturity?

Was it you know some of some of that for sure?

Okay, but ultimately it came down to God's goodness to promise that a Savior was coming.

Okay, and did come, right, to forgive the sins of the world.

Okay, so it was the it was the good news of the gospel that ultimately inspired Paul and Barnabas and John Mark to proclaim Christ no matter the ups and downs.

Right?

The Lord used them.

Okay, to them, the upside of the message of salvation was well worth any and all difficulties or or downsides that they encountered as they ministered.

Okay, for them it was worth it, even though it was hard.

Okay, so I want to encourage you to really think about your own ministries.

Okay, think about it.

We're all in ministry, whether you're getting paid for it or you're or you're not.

Okay, so think about your own ministry.

However, it is that you serve Christ and use your spiritual gifts to serve others.

Okay, and the ups and downs that you have faced inevitably along the way, would you say that it's worth it?

Okay, be honest about that.

You're not looking for just some pad answer of yes, Pastor, it is worth it.

Like be honest.

Like, what does your heart say about that?

Because honestly, many, many people would say no.

It's not worth it.

I've been hurt, I've been disappointed and therefore undone.

Right?

It's not worth the hassle, it's not worth the heartbreak, it's not worth the disappointment.

Okay, if that's the case for you, you know, I I'd really ask you, or get or get you to kind of think, what what are the what are the motivations behind the, you know, or what's driving your service in ministry?

You ever you ever taught taken the time to assess that?

Why why am I doing this?

What is the motivation uh driving me?

In other words, why do you Serve?

Why do you serve the Lord?

Why do you serve people?

Do you tend to do it if you're again if you're being honest, do you tend to do it for the praise of man?

You know how intoxicating that can be, right?

And so many of us will jump in and we will serve somewhere because we tend to get praise heaped upon us, and that feels good.

And I like that people are pumping my tires about this, and I appreciate the adulation that comes.

Is that you?

Because of course, over time you know that the adulation of man isn't enough.

Okay, you know that you won't always be praised by people.

You'll be criticized too.

Okay, so is the praise of man driving you?

Maybe it's the thrill of success.

Right?

You get serving in a ministry and you realize you've got these gifts and and the Lord is using you, and you realize like people are getting saved and people are discipled, and people seem to really appreciate your involvement in that.

And again, it kind of goes hand in hand with the praise of man, maybe a little bit.

But it's the thrill of success, and that is intoxicating, and that's what I want, and it's like a drug.

Hook it to my veins.

That's what I that's why I'm serving week in and week out.

But of course, if that is our motivation, that doesn't last.

Right?

Because we're not always, at least in our own eyes, from what we can see, we're not always successful, are we?

Sometimes we serve and it's like it seems to go the opposite direction.

It seems to be a failure.

Or it's just hard and there's like no fruit that we can see, and so again, thrill of success.

That that's that's a motivator uh motivation for sure, but it it doesn't last.

And if that's what we're really anchored to, we're gonna decide ultimately that's just not worth it.

For some of us, maybe we serve because of guilt.

Right?

Pastor Mike's up here, like cracking the whip super hard last week about serving or else.

I don't think that was my heart at all.

Um, but some of us do we think that, right?

We're like, it's guilty.

Like, you know, Mike's trying not to be like that, but that's how I feel.

And so it's guilt that gets me serving.

And I better do this because it appears like no one else is, you know, or I'm available, or people keep asking me, and I can't seem to say no, and so I will do it.

Right?

Guilt is a lousy long-term motivator, and ultimately we can get to the point where it's like it's not worth it.

Legalism, it's another motivator for people.

That's the reason I'm doing well.

I I need to do this, or else I just have this strong sense that God is not happy with me.

Right?

And so I need to do this in order to be right with him.

I need to do this in order to get him off my back.

Right?

We think that sometimes.

And so it's this legalism that drives us again.

We just wilt under this long term.

And this creeping thought comes into our mind, this is not worth it.

Are those our motivations?

There's others.

Or, or, listen, is it the gospel motivating us?

Is it the gospel inspiring you?

That promise of a savior delivered to us for the purpose of reconciling lost people to a living God.

Because I'm telling you, when when those other motivations and those desires are driving the bus, and those are the things that have captured your heart and your mind, listen, that's when we're extra susceptible to discouragement.

We're extra susceptible to bitterness or throwing in the towel whenever we come up uh against the many ups and downs, especially the downs.

But when the desire to make disciples is done out of a love for Christ, right?

And a gratitude to him for sending the Savior, listen, then we can persevere.

Then we can work through the many challenges and truly say that it's worth it.

God has called me to this, he is doing it.

The results that's in his hands, I'm gonna trust him for that.

I'm not gonna trust what I see with my eyes or I feel in my emotions every time.

It's worth it.

Let's keep going here.

Let's get into the second thing.

God was so good to promise us a savior, and he is entirely superior to all that we could ever hope for.

That's what our savior is like, okay, so here we go, finally, into Paul's actual message, his word of encouragement that he was asked to come and share.

Verse 16, take a look.

It says, So Paul stood up, okay, and and motioning with his hand, okay, he said, Men of Israel, and you who fear God, who are those guys?

Okay, well, well, the synagogue wasn't just filled with with Jews, but actually uh proselytes, okay, or or Gentiles who had converted to Judaism.

Okay, so it was a general fear of God that they had, but they hadn't yet trusted in the gospel.

Okay, so he's saying, Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.

Okay, and then verse 17, he gets into it, and he covers a lot of ground quickly here, so buckle up.

Let's let's go.

Okay, it says, The God of this people, Israel, chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt.

Okay, so you think Moses, right, in the slavery to Egypt.

Okay, and with uplifted arm he led them out again through Moses.

Okay, verse 18.

And for about 40 years he put up with them, he put up with them in the wilderness.

And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

It says, all this took about 450 years.

Okay, so a rough breakdown of that number 450.

You got you got 400 years in Egypt, right, where their nation grew after after Joseph landed in Egypt, right?

Started his family.

The nation of Israel grew from there for about 400 years to the point where they were then enslaved.

Remember, it said the new Pharaoh came in, forgot about Joseph.

Right, and so this whole nation was enslaved to Egypt, grew mighty in number.

They grew powerful in number.

Again, 400 years of that.

And then you got 40 years in the wilderness, where they wandered around under Moses' leadership before then the 10 years that it took to fully occupy the promised land under Joshua.

So you add all those numbers together, you get 450, okay?

Now keep going, we're still in verse 20.

It says, and after that, he gave them judges.

Okay, you remember the book of Judges talks about a lot of the different leaders, the judges that God used to kind of direct and drive and lead this nation.

He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

Okay, then they asked for a king.

Okay, Israel asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, okay, for 40 years.

Verse 22.

And when he had removed him, that's Saul, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.

Of this man's offspring, okay, God has brought to Israel, here it is, a savior, Jesus, as he promised.

Okay, so there's really that that's the big idea there.

That's the that's the thesis on which this whole passage hinges.

Okay, so through David, God gives, God brings to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.

Now, verse 24, before his coming, so before Jesus, John, okay, now we're talking about John the Baptist, okay, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

Okay, and as John was finishing his course, he said to the people, What do you suppose that I am?

I am not he, meaning the Messiah.

No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.

Now, okay, listen here.

The thread that is sewn right into and all through the fabric of Paul's message of encouragement here is the sheer goodness of God in promising a savior.

Right?

That's what we see, and we see it all through their history.

A people who flat out they did not deserve it.

They did nothing in terms of their morality to earn this blessing of a savior.

Okay, not at all.

Remember, it says there, that verse says 40 years he put up with them in the wilderness.

That's what it says in verse 18.

And so if you remember back into your Old Testament history, they were wandering around in you know, in the wilderness under Moses, and they complained.

Right?

And you remember they God provided for them manna, he provided for them food, and they got sick and tired of it.

And they're like, do we have to do this?

They grumbled against the Lord.

They grumbled against uh Moses as well.

Of course, at Sinai, when Moses was going up and getting the Ten Commandments, um, what did they do?

They're like, well, he must be gone and dead, so let's erect a golden calf.

That sounds smart, right?

And let's let's worship that.

And they even roped in Moses' brother Aaron to lead that entire charge.

So again, these are the things that God had to put up with, it tells us here in verse 18.

Okay, then it says in verse 21 that after this, you know, and and and after that the judges and and after Samuel, they actually asked for a king.

Okay, you might think at first glance that that's that's reasonable, but really what they were saying is having God lead us, God as our king.

We want what all the other nations get to have.

We want a human king.

Right?

And there were warnings in that.

This isn't gonna go real great.

It's really not.

But but God says, okay, you're you're asking for that, I'm gonna give you that.

Okay, and so he gives them uh Saul.

And if you're familiar with Saul, you know how that turned out uh not well.

Okay, throwing spears at David and being an emotional basket case and all about his pride and all about his, you know, it's just all about him.

Okay, and so they gave that, he gave them Saul.

And yet through the the line of Saul's successor, who was David, God graciously promises and sends Savior Jesus to them.

You think about the unfathomable goodness of God in all of that.

Right?

At every turn it seemed, Israel was like, God, not good enough.

You're not you're not good enough, you're not, you're not giving us good things.

We're we're we're tired of you.

We want to push you aside and and go after others and other things, worship other people, all of that.

And yet you see here that God is gracious in all of it.

He's good.

Right?

And of course, through this, through the line of David and Christ coming, we now today get to enjoy these benefits.

We benefit from having a savior ourselves who was sent for us in our sin.

Okay, but not only was God so good to promise and then give us a savior, this savior, Jesus, is entirely superior to anything that you and I could ever hope for or hope in.

Again, Israel wasn't content with God leading them.

They chose to believe that he wasn't enough.

And they they hope for more.

They hope for something else, something different, something better, they thought.

They wanted, again, the human king, and Saul was a train wreck, and and even David, okay, who the verse tells us here is a man after my heart who will do my will.

Okay, that's an amazing compliment.

Okay, a stunning compliment.

But even he was amassed, right?

He was he was he was broken.

He had a roaming heart, and and he strayed from the Lord at times.

You think of the whole Bathsheba thing and the adultery committed there, and then the attempt to cover it up, and he he ropes in Uriah, her husband, pulls him back from war and and tries to make it look like Uriah got her pregnant, and then, oh, well that doesn't work, so I'm gonna send the guy to the front lines and have him killed.

I mean, this is the guy who's after, you know, a man after God's heart.

Right?

So even David, who's the legend, right?

Even he fell apart.

He wasn't perfect.

But again, the point isn't to just rip on Israel and the various people that they they put their hope in, their ultimate hope in.

The point is to remember, to realize and know that we are just like Israel.

We do the same exact things.

We too place our hope in people and things, stuff, instead of Christ, who's again entirely superior to anything, to anyone.

I mean, how many of us have have hearts that that want or or place our deepest hope in things like money and stuff?

Right?

How many of us are driven by that?

That speaks to what our hope is in.

Right?

Or sexual gratification, that's a massive thing in our world today.

We put our hope in that satisfying us, in scratching that itch, in filling that hole.

We put our deepest hope in relationships that we want so badly to fulfill.

Right?

If only I was dating somebody, if only I was married, if only my spouse was decent, if only I was married to somebody else.

Like you see how that how that progression can just change and grow?

It's these unfulfilled hopes because we put our ultimate hopes in these things.

Some of us are control freaks.

I want control, I desire to make my life go how I want it to go.

And because of that, and because things don't go our way all the time, we can be anxious and stressed out all the time, or angry and miserable.

Because how many of us have hearts that that are like this, that want these things, place our deepest hopes in them?

You want to know the answer?

It's all of us.

Right?

All of us do these kinds of things.

Yet yet Christ vastly surpasses all of these lesser hopes.

He's the only one worthy and able to bear the weight of our highest hopes.

All those other things, all those people, the desires that we have, they might be good.

Right?

Really, they they might be, but they can't hold that weight.

They can't deliver on those expectations.

Like these things inevitably, on some level, disappoint us or let us down or even hurt us in some way.

But listen, Christ will not.

He cannot.

He's perfect.

Even John the Baptist that it talks about in verse 25, right?

Who is considered by by Jesus Himself to be the greatest man born of woman.

This is like the ultimate, the ultimate dude, right?

It says there in the verse that Christ is so far superior to him, right?

That John is admitting this.

To the point where he's like, I'm not even worthy to untie the guy's sandals.

That's that's how low I am compared to how awesome Jesus is.

In other words, John's telling us, don't put your hope in me.

I'm nothing.

Put your hope in God's good gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lived righteously and died sacrificially in your place.

That's what he's done.

He forgives your sins.

He heals our hearts, right?

He gives us purpose, he can give us joy, peace, satisfaction deep down, like nothing else can or ever will.

Take the encouragement that Paul's words were here to these eager hearts in Acts 13 and really try to apply them to your own.

Okay, if you're not a Christ follower and you're here or you're watching today online, realize and understand that Jesus loves you.

Okay, and he will satisfy you in ways that nothing else ever will, not even close.

He is entirely superior to what your heart longs for.

Your hope is not, never will be, misplaced when you hope in him and what he's done for you.

Do you understand that?

Do you understand that he's gone to the cross to bear the brunt, the entirety of God's wrath that was meant for you because of your sin.

Your sin is against your maker.

So is mine too, by the way.

Right?

But yeah, yeah, God sent his son Jesus to live the perfect life you and I fail at all the time, every single day.

Jesus didn't.

He sent Jesus to fulfill the law perfectly where you and I couldn't.

We transgress it all the time.

Right?

And then and then at the same time die the death that we deserved.

It's sacrificial, it's it's awesome.

Would you trust in him today?

Would you believe that he has done this for you?

Would you admit that, yeah, you know what, I do have sin in my life?

Would you understand that that is against God ultimately, and you deserve punishment?

So did I.

And yet, yet today you can understand and realize what Jesus has done and accept him, trust him as your savior.

It's as simple as praying a simple prayer of Lord, forgive me, be my savior.

You do that, you can be saved, and you can you can be on this journey now of learning to put your hopes most deeply in your savior.

And he will give you his spirit, your holy spirit, the moment you get saved to help you in that.

You're not on your own.

That's awesome.

Now, if you are a follower of Christ, and I know we've got many here, it's really the same thing.

Okay, remember who your Savior is.

And again, that word of you is re-anchor your hope to him.

Remember, I shouldn't be chasing after all these other things.

Lord, would would you be my ultimate hope?

Okay, all those other misplaced hopes that we all have, just confess them.

Just admit them to the Lord.

Admit them to somebody who can help you kind of work these things through.

And then ask him, ask God for the grace to be able to truly abandon them.

That he would release the chains of those hopes that tie us down.

Okay, embrace your good God who gave you a perfect Savior.

So I want us to do that right now.

I'm gonna pray and ask the Lord to help us in these things.

I just want to keep you uh behind for a couple of minutes to uh to have a family chat with you as well.

So let's pray.

Lord, we we thank you for the fact that you are good.

Lord, you are good.

And I know that there is somebody here today, maybe many of us here today, that are have really questioned that.

Are you good?

Are you kind?

Do you really want what's best?

Lord, I pray that we would grow to trust you.

Lord, that we would see a passage like this and realize, oh yeah, yeah, He is the best.

He is what I need most.

Lord, would you help our hearts and our minds to shift where they need to shift?

Lord, all those lesser hopes that are so strong and can dominate us and drive the direction of our emotions and our actions and the way we live, Lord, would you begin to just chip away at those things?

Would you begin to show us, if you haven't already, would you show us that these things are not worth putting our hope in?

God, we we need you.

We need your mercy in this, but Lord, we recognize your kindness in this as well.

Lord, open our eyes, help us to see your goodness, who you are.

And Lord, I pray that we would see that giving our hope, our deepest hope over to you and following you, serving you.

Oh, it's worth it.

No matter the challenges.

So, God, encourage your church today through these things and bring glory to Jesus Christ, I pray, as we think about these things.

And we pray it all in his name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, like I said, um, we have uh family chat that we want to uh have with you here this morning, and uh I'm just gonna jump right into it, and there's no real easy way to say this, uh, but I need to let you know that I'm gonna be stepping down as lead pastor of our church.

Okay, and I I know that that lands on people heavily, and it's a shock uh when these things uh happen.

Um, but I want to explain a little bit of this as well so that there's clarity and so that you understand.

And I don't know if anyone's even gonna hear this right now, because I know how these things often go, but I want to try and do my best here.

I mean, as you can imagine, uh this decision has been excruciating for Ange and myself.

Uh it's been, frankly, at times miserable uh trying to process it and just trying to assess like what is the Lord saying here and what is what is he doing?

Okay, but this really all ties back ultimately into uh all of the burnout stuff that I went through last year.

You know, and that burnout that led to me taking three months off in the fall and into uh January.

Um, and while all of that was certainly helpful.

You know, to take that time off and restorative in some very, very important ways.

The fact is, I'm still not really operating at a level that I believe this role requires.

Okay?

I'm still dealing with sleep issues.

All those things that had me fried last year, I would say that they're mildly improved, uh, but still not real great.

Okay, so that's a big part of it.

And uh it's I've kind of been thinking about this, I've shared this with a few people, but uh I was talking with a friend of mine, another pastor, and he kind of he kind of gave me the illustration.

It's sort of like uh you were a car that ran out of gas, okay, and that was that was me last year, and running on fumes, and a car is utterly useless uh to do what it's designed to do uh when it doesn't have gas.

And then through the sabbatical and and and even beyond, it's like the Lord kind of gave me a quarter tank again, right?

And you're excited, I can do things again, I can go, I can drive the car, I can operate.

Uh, but you realize that quarter tank uh goes uh quite quickly.

Okay, and so as I've realized this, uh you know, I've kind of seen this movie, I've seen what burnout does, and I've seen what sleeplessness does, and I don't really desire to get there again.

Burnout, I would never wish it upon uh any enemy whatsoever.

It's not good for me, it's not good for my family, and uh it's definitely not good for the church either.

Okay, but it's kind of to the point where uh it's really hard to describe.

I've really tried to wrestle with this myself a little bit and figure out the wording, but I just feel off.

I just feel like something is not quite right.

I don't feel myself.

And I find that very difficult uh to serve in this role well when that's the case.

And so through just a ton of prayer, as you can imagine, wrestling with this, uh, no knee-jerk reactions, but through a ton of prayer and getting counsel, uh, we sense the Lord leading us in a different direction here into a new season and an opportunity to do something uh different as a family.

And ultimately our prayer is that we would find kind of deeper restoration for my soul.

I've been thinking through and reading uh Psalm 23 a lot, right?

He restores my soul.

And that's what I long for, that's what I want so badly uh for myself and for our family as well.

And so uh we sense that the Lord leading us into that and and sense that we will you know we will get that while at the same time uh being out from underneath just kind of the unique demands and pressures of of this role and vocational ministry uh in general.

Okay, so we sense a break out of ministry, and so uh just in terms of our family's future here a little bit and some of the details of that, I'm actually uh in the process of getting my real estate license, and uh we are going to be moving this summer.

We're gonna be moving to Prince Edward County.

Uh, if you're familiar with that, it's kind of south, that south area of um Belleville.

Okay, and we're gonna be joining some longtime friends of ours uh in their uh real estate uh business that they started up there down there a couple of years ago.

Okay, so you need to understand there has been and is still a great deal of sadness in this for us.

Right?

It's been brutal.

I'm not, I've said this before, I'm not much of a crier, um, but I don't even know if I can say that anymore.

Right?

Just the way that some of this has gone, it's been very, very painful, very different kind of career decision than I've ever had to make before, very you unique.

You know, it's hard for our family to think about moving on.

You know, Ang has a great job here at ANOVA, you know, the school that meets her, the Christian school, and loves it, and our kids are very involved.

And you know, this is the longest location we've ever lived, seven years here in the New Market area.

And so these things we know we're leaving a lot of good things.

We love our church, we love you, we love our elders, we love staff.

We're you know, it's been very difficult, as again you can probably imagine.

Yet at the same time, you know, we sense the Lord's blessing on this.

You know, as we've thought through this, we want to follow his leading.

We've tried to do that and wanted to do that uh ever since we've known each other, Ange and I.

You know, that's a little bit about the Armstrong's future, and you can feel free to come ask me about any of that at any point.

Uh, but I know many of you are thinking, uh-oh, what about the church?

Right, like what's happening here?

What's the future hold here?

Well, uh the Lord has been nothing short of incredible to our to our elders uh throughout this entire process.

And while nothing is set in stone yet, um it really does appear that we are extremely close to uh hiring my replacement uh here.

And uh it's uh it's a guy that I'm incredibly excited about.

It's a guy that is passionate about all the same things that we are passionate about.

And I'm not trying to get too far ahead of ourselves here because it's not, again, it's not a done deal.

Uh but if it all goes the way that everyone kind of senses it's going, who's involved in this process, we should be able to tell you more uh in the coming days, uh in the near future.

Okay, so you can rest assured, and I want you to know this.

Uh, the Lord has got this.

Okay, this is the Lord's church.

This is not mine.

I've I've never I've always fought against that that idea and that desire.

This is Mike's church.

It's not.

It's not.

We tried to be very open-handed about this, it's his.

Okay, and so we're looking to him uh with anticipation and trust in his provision in the days ahead.

Okay, and when I say we, I mean Angini, our family, I mean the elders, but I'm also assuming and hoping and praying that's you as well.

We're gonna trust him, we're gonna look to him.

Okay, so just a couple final details here before I wrap it up.

Um my final day, my final Sunday is gonna be May uh 29th.

Okay, May 29th.

And uh, if you're doing the math and you're kind of thinking about it, you're like, wow, that's still eight weeks away, right?

And it is, and it's it's admittedly a little unusual that there would be that that long of a runway there.

It's unique.

Um typically what happens is after an announcement like this, it's like two weeks gone, right?

But that that's that's not what we're doing here, and we're in agreement and we're on the same page.

Uh, my heart has really been to really help in the transition with all of this.

You know, yes, this is the Lord's church, and we've obviously our families that have a huge hand in the launching and uh of this church, and so we want to see it handed off really well.

I'm I'm I'm excited about that.

I'm I'm I'm passionate about that.

And uh and the elders have wanted my help in this, which is amazing.

And I trust that that shows you that our my relationships with Dave and Dave are in a good place, right?

It's it's not been what we just read in you know Paul and Barnabas and John Mark.

There's been no violence between us or anything like that.

Actually, a lot of laughter and and joy in praying and anticipating uh what the Lord is going to do here at uh at redemption.

And and I know they feel the uh the same way uh as well.

So I just I'm gonna actually invite Dave Locke, the chairman of our elders, up uh to pray here in just a moment.

And as he does, I I just want to say how thankful I am uh to these two men.

Hey, Dave Grant, Dave Locke.

These guys have been um nothing short of awesome.

You know, you start to talk through, hey, I sense the Lord maybe thinking about moving us on.

These guys have just handled this with an immense amount of poise and uh and maturity and godliness and love to our family.

And I love these men, and I love you, I love this church.

And so, Dave, uh you can come up, he's gonna say a couple of words, I know, but uh he's going to uh to pray and uh close down our service.

I just wanted to take a very short time to update the church a little on the process, but I'm thankful for Mike for covering most of that, so I don't have to say much.

So before I get into that, I want to acknowledge our pastor Mike through this and how faithful he has been.

Uh Dave and I have had about a month.

You guys just heard the news.

We've had about a month now to process this.

So Mike says we handled it.

Well, that's after we got off the floor and got back on our chairs and started looking away from man and looking at God.

And Dave reminded me really quickly that if we have a big God, we need a we need big issues to deal with, so God will handle it.

And since that day, uh it's been great.

So uh God's been very faithful, but so has our pastor, because this is unusual.

Usually uh pastors leave because of quarrels, because they don't get along with the elders.

We have none of that.

We've got unity, we've got love, we we work together, and and in this process, as Mike said, the pastor gives two weeks' notice and he's gone.

We were given three weeks' notice, which is amazing.

And in this process, again, which is very unusual, Mike's been working alongside of us.

Uh, probably within a week, um, Dave and I had five five names already on a list, on a wish list of men to replace Mike.

Uh, none of these men were looking for a job, or none of them knew it.

Uh, and the list spread from here to Winnipeg.

But we had a number one name on our list, and that's the one that we're actually nailing it down with, our number one guy, which is absolutely amazing.

Um, there's some churches that are a year and a half now into the process with nobody on their list and they're seeking.

So God has been very, very faithful through this.

Mike has helped us in the in the interviews uh with with these guys.

He's he stepped in when it's time to step in, and he stepped back when he knows it's time to step back and let the current elders take care of it so it's been amazing, and he will continue to do that with a heart to finish very strong and glorify God.

And God willing, we'll have a seamless uh transition and a celebration for Mike and Ange and the new pastor.

So we are very far down the road, we're not at the end of the road, but the major stuff is past us.

So um we're very pleased for that.

So I thank you, Mike.

Love you, love you, Ange, and the kids and your time with us.

I don't want to get emotional now.

Anyway, but so let's just get out of talking and get into prayer.

I'll read a verse and then we'll pray.

Uh but before I pray, just some reminder, as Mike said, this Tuesday night, 7 o'clock, right in this room, there's a night of worship and prayer.

So come and join us as we hold high the name of Jesus and reach out to pray.

So Mark 12, uh verses 10 and 11.

Have you not read this scripture?

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

That's that cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

This is his church.

He planted it, he will build it, and we all believe Mike also joins with us that very exciting days are ahead for this church.

So please join me as we pray.

Father God, you are the King of kings, and we thank you for Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the cornerstone, and upon him you have built your church, and the gates of hell will not prevail.

We thank you, Lord, that you are in our midst.

We thank you, Lord, that this is your church.

It doesn't belong to anyone but anyone but you.

So when when Mike made this decision, you already knew.

You've said, I've got this, I've got this, people.

Don't worry.

You have that man of your choosing, Lord, to come in and lead us forward for the days ahead.

So we praise you for that.

And we pray you continue to give us wisdom, guidance, direction, discernment, everything we need, Lord, to complete that process in a way that would move this church forward and glorify you.

Give wisdom to us all, Lord.

The elders, the leaders, our people.

Lord, and then please comfort our people.

I've had a month for this to set in, and and now I'm excited for our future, and I will miss Pastor Mike and Ange and family greatly, but I'm so excited for the future.

So be with our people, Lord.

May you come your Jesus Christ, your Holy Spirit, comfort each one of us through this process.

And be with Mike and Ange.

Thank you for their faithfulness to you and the church through this, Lord.

But we also pray for Mike, Lord, for his health.

Before he's sabbatical, he was not sleeping well.

He was on a quarter tank then and he is now.

So Lord, we pray that the great physician would touch him and heal him and anoint him and use him.

Guide him and Ange through this whole process.

There's a lot to do to make these changes with their homes and purchasing a home.

Would you guide them, Lord, in all they do?

And Lord, build a hedge of protection around them through this time.

This would be the time the enemy wants to really attack them.

Would you protect them?

Would you protect our church and our people, Lord?

Lord, we just lay all these needs at your cross and ask for your mercies and miracles.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen, church.

So there'll be leaders at the front to pray.

If anyone would like to come and pray, we've reinstated that again.

And remember the prayer meeting Tuesday night at seven here, and go knowing you're loved.

Have a blessed day.