Commit for the Long Haul

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast,

you can have an encounter with Jesus that will

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. reading today

so there's two passages that I'll be reading.

The first one is Acts chapter 28 from verse 11.

Acts 28 · chapter mention

It was three months after the shipwreck that

we set sail on another ship that had wintered

at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the twin

gods as its figurehead. Our first stop was Syracuse

where we stayed three days. From there we sailed

across the region. A day later a south wind began

blowing so the following day we sailed up the

coast to Putioli. There we found some believers

who invited us to spend a week with them and

so we came to Rome. The brothers and sisters

in Rome had heard we were coming and they came

to meet us at the forum on the Appian Way. Others

joined us at the three taverns. When Paul saw

them he was encouraged and thanked God. When

we arrived in Rome Paul was permitted to have

his own private lodging though he was guarded

by a soldier. Three days after Paul's arrival,

he called together the local Jewish leaders.

He said to them, Brothers, I was arrested in

Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government,

even though I had done nothing against our people

or the customs of our ancestors. The Romans tried

me and wanted to release me because they found

no cause for the death sentence. But when the

Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt

it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though

I had no desire to press charges against my own

people. I asked you to come here today so we

could get acquainted and so I could explain to

you that I am bound with this chain because I

believe that the hope of Israel, the Messiah,

has already come. They replied, we have had no

letters from Judea or reports against you from

anyone who has come here, but we want to hear

what you believe for the only thing we know about

this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.

So a time was set and on that day a large number

of people came to Paul's lodging He explained

and testified about the kingdom of God and tried

to persuade them about Jesus from the scriptures

Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets.

He spoke to them from morning until evening Some

were persuaded by the things he said but others

did not believe and after they had argued back

and forth among themselves They left with this

final word from Paul The Holy Spirit was right

when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah

the prophet, go and say to this people, when

you hear what I say, you will not understand.

When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.

For the hearts of these people are hardened and

their ears cannot hear and they have closed their

eyes so their eyes cannot see and their ears

cannot hear and their hearts cannot understand

and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.

So I want you to know that this salvation from

God has also been offered to the Gentiles and

they will accept it. For the next two years Paul

lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed

all who visited him. Boldly proclaiming the kingdom

of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ

and no one tried to stop him. And next reading

is 2 Timothy 4 verses 1 to 8. I solemnly urge

2 Timothy 4:1–8

you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus,

who will someday judge the living and the dead

when he comes to set up his kingdom, preach the

word of God, be prepared whether the time is

favourable or not, patiently correct, rebuke

and encourage your people with good teaching.

For a time is coming when people will no longer

listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They

will follow their own desires and will look for

teachers who will tell them whatever their itching

ears want to hear. They will reject the truth

and chase after myths. But you should keep a

clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid

of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others

the good news and fully carry out the ministry

God has given you. As for me, my life has already

been poured out as an offering to God. The time

of my death is near. I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the race and I have remained

faithful. And now the prize awaits me, the crown

of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous

judge, will give me on the day of his return.

And the prize is not just for me, but for all

who eagerly look forward to his appearing. This

is the word of the Lord. Hi everyone. Hi. I work

with kids, so I love a good introduction. Hi

everyone, my name is Emma. And I'm part of the

team here. I help coordinate the kids ministry,

but I dabble in other things. Before we get started,

I just wanted to bring to your attention that

our church really values prayer. And so if you

need prayer at any time during this service,

we have two designated people that are here to

pray for you. And we have Steph and Sam Upton.

They're going to give you a wave for any point

in any part of our... session today if you need

prayer they are here and available. Please don't

leave this place without prayer. Before we start

I'd just love to pray so if we could bow our

heads and close our eyes. Dear God, we thank

you for bringing us together this afternoon.

We come with different weeks behind us, some

full of joy, some full of weariness, but we all

need your presence. As we gather, please help

us to quiet our thoughts, open our hearts, and

help us to be attentive to your word. Remind

us that you are here, that you are faithful and

that you desire to meet with us. Let us trust

you deeper today and prepare us to receive whatever

you want to speak to us. In Jesus' name, amen.

Today I wanted to talk to you about the theme

for today is commit to the long haul. And I was

starting this series with something in mind that

I do. So to start with, have you ever started

something with more energy than sense? Convinced

that it would be a quick, easy or fun? For me

it was I'll just go for a quick run. and then

400 metres later I'm drafting my last will. Or,

this happens to me, maybe you've reorganised

your bedroom only to end up three hours later

surrounded by clothes and forgotten treasures,

sitting on your floor wondering if it's easy

just to burn everything or sit on the floor.

Now I've had my fair share of these moments and

it's funny to recognize for myself how often

I overestimate my energy and underestimate the

endurance required to get through a task. So

I'm just going to give you a little look into

a window that in my world of something that demands

all of my energy and patience and that is Highland

dancing. I'm a Scottish dancer. I have been amongst

the kilts, the bagpipes and swords since I was

a wee lass. four years old. From the outside

it looks light and elegant and effortless. So

the Highland Fling, for example, is just six

steps. It's a dance that's two minutes long and

it seems simple, right? Wrong! What looks easy

on stage hides hours of gruelling training. In

those two minutes a dancer will jump 192 times,

often on the same leg. The equivalent of running

a mile on one foot while on the tiptoes with

your arms raised up high wrapped in three to

four kilos of wool, all while smiling. Two minutes

seems like a sprint for the audience, but it

represents months or even years of disciplined,

painful and relentless training. Behind the performance

are plyometric drills that make your legs burn,

stamina routines that leave your lungs crying.

Stretchers that feel like medieval torture devices

and technique work that makes you question whether

your joints are made to even move that way. And

the cost. Physio and podiatry bills. I'm talking

enough to plant another church. I wish I were

joking, but I'm not. Amen. Come to me. That's

where all the money is. It's actually in the

podiatrist and the physio. I own shares now.

And here's the truth. Dancing is not always fun.

People imagine dance as joy and smiles, but the

truth is that two minutes on the stage is built

on hours of endurance and pain. The essence,

this is the essence of a long obedience, a long,

the patient, unglamorous work that makes the

visible victory possible. Just as a dancer must

push through hidden hours of training, the same

is true for our faith. We need to learn how to

persist when the initial excitement of spiritual

beginnings fades. Starting something with enthusiasm

is easy, but keeping at it when it's hard, that's

where endurance shows its worth. We are often

excited about new prayer plans or church projects.

Yoo -hoo, coffee van! Yet when the reality of

long -term commitment hits, When hardships, misunderstandings,

or the mundane routine appears, our energy falters.

But here's the good news. Step -by -step, God

shapes this type of obedience into something

eternal. Faith, like a Highland dancer or a quick

400 -metre sprint, is a long obedience in the

same direction. This phrase was made famous by

Eugene Peterson and it's a powerful summary of

discipleship. It's not about a single moment

of conversion or a flash of spiritual excitement,

but a life lived with constant, consistent forward

-moving faithfulness. It's the commitment to

endure through seasons of life without giving

up. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Always moving

in the same direction. It's hard. Highland dances

taught me on stage is really the fruit of months,

sometimes years of the hidden training. There

are no shortcuts, there's no quick fixes and

trust me, no patience and persistent food results

efficiently. We want shortcuts and fast solutions

and we apply the same logic to our spiritual

lives. Patience feels like failure and the idea

of a long sustained journey, it feels almost

foreign. But discipleship is not a sprint, it

is training for endurance. And just like in dance,

the visible two minutes on stage are built on

unseen hours of discipline. The spiritual life

is exactly the same. The beauty people notice,

the peace, the love, the joy, it all flows from

hidden rhythms of prayer, scripture reading,

Sabbath and fellowship. This cultural moment

right now is creating a powerful, personal tension

within all of us. And John Mark Omer captures

this perfectly. He says, both sin and busyness

have the exact same effect. They cut off your

connection to God, to other people, and to even

your own soul. Technology today trains us to

expect speed. consistent pings, endless scrolls,

the instant validation that comes from seeing

that little red heart at the bottom of your picture.

We are wired for the quick sprint, for the quick

burst of energy. We feel the pressure to always

be on and productive, and our spiritual lives

can be just another item on the to -do list.

Rush through a 10 -minute devotional or a speedy

quick prayer. But true spiritual growth doesn't

happen on this type of timetable. God's kingdom

operates on a different type of clock. The kingdom

of God works more like a highland dance training

session. Slow, repetitive and often unseen. Growth

takes time and strength builds gradually. Intimacy

with God deepens through consistency, not convenience.

And this is the tension of our current cultural

moment, is to resist the pressure of urgency,

hurry, and the quick fixes in our lives. It is

a call to a long obedience in the same direction,

a life that prioritizes presence over performance

and rhythm over rush. It's about choosing to

sit in the stillness when your phone is buzzing,

to read a chapter of the Bible slowly when your

mind is racing, and to trust that God is working

in the quiet moments of your life even when you

can't see the immediate fruit. Paul's journey

in Acts 28 shows us that God's work is not limited

by our pace or comfort. Chained and roamed and

slowed by legal trials, Paul's life has seemed

stalled. but the gospel moved forward unhindered.

His mission didn't pause, it deepened. What appeared

as a restriction became a season of patient teaching,

formation, and faithful witness. Paul modeled

a life on God's timing, showing that the kingdom

advances not through human speed, but through

steady enduring faithfulness. Our own commitment

to a long obedience of faith lived patiently.

day by day speaks powerfully to the world desperate

for slowing down. It points to a different way

of living, a life that finds peace not in instant

gratification but in the slow steady and often

unglamorous work of trusting a faithful God.

If Paul could live faithfully in the midst of

chains and delays then the real question for

us is how do we train for a marathon of faith

in a world obsessed with a quick sprint? In the

teaching text today, we arrive at a powerful

moment in the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul's

arrival in Rome. Through every shipwreck and

every snake bite, every trial that was recorded,

not for drama, but it's to show us there's a

bigger story at work, a story that cannot be

stopped. To understand the weight of this moment,

we first need to grasp the context. Paul arrives

in Rome not as a celibate, braided missionary

or a spiritual celebrity but as a prisoner awaiting

trial before Caesar. He is under a form of house

arrest and chained to a Roman guard at all times.

Acts 28 then of limitation and of uncertainty.

28 verses 30 to 31 he says, for two whole years

Paul stayed there in his own rented house and

welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed

the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord

Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

And we notice the details here. Paul lived there

at his own expense. He could have seen Rome as

the end of the line, a place of forced idleness,

but instead he invests. His endurance is not

passive, it's active, it's intentional and it's

costly. Then Luke says Paul welcomed all. Hospitality

becomes his front line strategy. The chains don't

close the door to opportunities, they create

a doorway for which the gospel can go out of.

Every conversation, every visitor is an opportunity

that Paul takes to advance God's kingdom. And

finally, Luke anchors Paul's ministry in two

verbs, proclaims and teaches. One is a bold declaration,

urgent and fearless, and the other is patient

instruction, unhurried formation. Together they

give us the rhythm of a long obedience. Speaking

the truth, of Jesus boldly and then shaping lives

in the slow work of teaching. Now think about

this for a moment. Paul is hindered by chains,

by trials, by confinement, but the gospel? The

gospel is unhindered. This is the core message

of the text. God's mission is not reliant on

our speed, our comfort, or our freedom. Paul's

forced rest became a time for him to welcome

people, one by one, to teach them deeply and

to write letters to churches. His two -year -long,

unhurried ministry in Rome was a testament to

God's patient work, proving that God's power

is made perfect in our weakness. Paul's chains

may have limited his movement and pace, but they

amplified the reach of the gospel. Paul's chains

became his platform. Now we reach the end of

the entire Book of Acts, which ends on one carefully

chosen word. Luke closes the story with the Greek

term, I'm gonna really butcher this, acolstos.

No, so close. Yeah, so close. No one knows. Don't

go look it up. Just believe me and keep it in

your mind. Which we know translates, because

it's at the end of the reading, to without hindrance.

or unbound. Now this is no accident. Paul may

be in chains but the gospel is free. The mission

does not depend on perfect circumstances or human

speed or convenience. It moves forward by the

unstoppable power of God. Then comes something

really strange for people that like nice neat

endings. You don't get one today. Luke leaves

the story unfinished. There's no neat ending

tied up with a bow. We don't read the outcome

of Paul's trial and we don't read about his death.

Instead, Luke wants us to see what truly matters,

that even in the midst of Paul's long and difficult

journey, the gospel keeps moving forward. His

story is left unresolved, almost suspended in

time. So our attention is not how his life ended,

but on how the message continued. God's mission

advances through patient endurance, steadfast

faithfulness and bold action even when our lives

feel slow, messy or pause. Luke holds Paul's

struggle with an endurance intention with the

larger reality. The success of God's mission

doesn't depend on Paul's freedom or speed but

God's sovereignty. The gospel moves unhindered

because it's God's work not ours, not Paul's.

This is what a long obedience in the same direction

looks like even in the face of immense challenge.

It's not about being a spiritual superstar or

about being faithful right where you are. Sorry,

it is about being faithful right where you are.

Trying to trick you there. Keep keeping you on

the edge of your seats. Faithfulness isn't measured

by visible results or by the absence of hardship.

It's measured by whether we keep reclaiming the

kingdom of God and teaching about Jesus Christ

with boldness, without hindrance, whatever our

circumstances. Even when we feel stuck, constrained

or powerless, Acts reminds us of this truth that

God is still at work. The gospel is never bound.

And the same is true for our lives today. Even

when we don't see immediate results, when we

feel like nothing's changing or facing struggles

that seem to slow us down, God is still at work

in and through us. When we feel like we aren't

seeing growth in ourselves, when our prayers

feel dry, our patience feels thin, or the habits

we're trying to build seem to go nowhere. When

we serve faithfully but no one seems to notice

or we face setbacks, rejection or disappointment,

it's easy to feel stuck. It can feel like all

of our effort is wasted, like nothing is changing.

But faithfulness isn't measured by what we can

see. It's measured by whether we keep taking

the next step, whether we keep obeying, we keep

loving, we keep learning and keep trusting God

day by day. And this is what it means to commit

to the long haul, showing up, step by step, even

when the results aren't visible, and trusting

God to do the work that we cannot see. Now, I

want to introduce you to a very famous Scottish

song, because we're on the Scottish theme today.

It is a song called Lach Loman. And on the surface

it sounds like a beautiful haunting folk tune

but underneath the lyrics tell a deeper story

about two very different roads home. It talks

about a soldier who has unfortunately died in

the war and his low road. He talks about the

low road that he takes in death to meet his loved

one back in Scotland who has taken the high road.

So... The low road is the path of ultimate cost.

It's of suffering, sacrifice, and even death.

It's the road of surrender like the captured

soldier in this song, which always looks like

loss, but it actually leads to the deepest kind

of freedom. The high road is the path of sustained

endurance, like the soldier's lover walking steadily

towards home. This imagery points to a profound

truth. Surrender often proceeds and empowers

endurance. And this is the road that Jesus walked,

the ultimate low road of the cross. Jesus' low

road was staggering in its intensity, but it

was never a shortcut. It was the culmination

of a life of long obedience in the same direction.

His ministry wasn't a sprint, but it was rather

a marathon. Thirty years of quiet faithfulness

in Nazareth, followed by three years of patient,

unhurried discipleship. He didn't just perform

miracles, he walked dusty roads with his disciples,

he shared meals and patiently explained the mysteries

of the kingdom. He invested in life -on -life

transformation. His teaching, often through parables,

invited reflection and resisted the pull of instant

results and instant answers. It was a slow, intentional

life -on -life form of discipleship, a deep investment

in forming hearts and shaping character over

time. He lived a rhythm of prayer and dependence

on the Father, modeling the long, patient, unhurried

life of the Kingdom. And that's what made his

ultimate sacrifice on the Cross so powerful.

His journey to the Cross was the very essence

of his existence, a low road of self -emptying

and surrender. What looked like a final crushing

defeat became the very tool of our salvation.

Paul's journey mirrors this pattern on a different

scale. The chains that held him in Rome weren't

just physical, they were a participation in Christ's

suffering. As he writes in Philippians 1 verse

Philippians 1:13

13, he was literally in chains for Christ. Yet

in that house Paul welcomed every visitor, taught

day after day and allowed the gospel to take

root unhindered by his limitations. The two years

he spent in Rome chained and limited weren't

wasted. His high road of patient, active faithfulness

was empowered by Christ's ultimate low road.

Paul's obedience wasn't dependent on comfort

or freedom. It was sustained by his commitment

to participate in God's mission. For us this

shows that walking the long haul, committing

to the long haul requires a blend of both the

high and the low road. The low road comes in

the daily unseen acts of surrender, forgiving

someone who has wronged us again, resisting the

urge to take a shortcut and patiently trusting

God when we can't see the way forward. The high

road is the faithful endurance, the sustained

active faith that follows, showing up for your

weekly slot in the prayer room, joining up for

wear week and committing to the whole week, serving

faithfully on your ministry team, that's speaking

to me too guys, and simply daily obedience to

God. We don't endure alone. We endure in Christ

and we also endure with Christ. When we walk

these roads we walk with Christ by our side with

his ultimate low road empowering our high road

of faithfulness. Our long obedience is made possible

by his ultimate sacrifice. We are not called

to endure alone but to walk in the footsteps

of the one who has already finished the race

for us. This is what Paul models for us as his

journey comes to an end. We're going to fast

forward now from Paul's two years in Rome to

his very last words to his protege Timothy. He

reflects on his life not in the terms of grand

moments but in the quiet cumulative power of

a life lived for Christ. It's here at the end

of the journey that he gives us the ultimate

picture of what obedience looks like. It says

here in verse 6, Paul's reflection reminds us

that time doesn't diminish our efforts but actually

magnifies them. One single act of kindness is

good, but a lifetime of kindness is profound.

A single moment of prayer is powerful, but a

lifetime of prayer changes the world. A two -minute

Highland Fling is beautiful for a performance,

but a lifetime of disciple training is the character

-forming work that makes it possible. And they're

really nice carbs. Paul breaks down what a long

faithful life looks like in three essential components.

The first is I have fought the good fight. Here

he speaks to the daily struggle against temptation

and spiritual laziness, dare I say. I have finished

the race is all about endurance, about not giving

up when the journey gets tough. And I have kept

the faith is about staying true to the gospel,

remaining loyal to the message that Paul was

called to share. Paul shows us that it's the

slow, patient process that leads to the ultimate

crown. It's the endurance that magnifies the

start of the journey. Now my invitation to you

is clear. Commit to the long call, walk the high

road faithfully, endure the low road patiently

and trust that every step matters in God's unstoppable

plan. Now we have walked through the world of

Highland dancing. You've all had a mini tutorial

on what it is. We have felt the discipline it

demands and we have traced Paul's journey that

was not a sprint, but a marathon of shipwrecks,

persecution and steadfast faith. And above it

all, we've seen the ultimate long obedience was

modeled by Jesus himself. So how do we actually

do this? What does it look like for us to stop

sprinting and start living a long obedience in

the same direction? How do we commit to the long

haul of life with Jesus? As Eugene Peterson puts

it, there is a great market for religious experience

in our world. There is little enthusiasm for

the patient acquisition of virtue. Just think

about that for a moment. Our culture is drawn

to excitement, to the immediate thrill, to visible

results. We want spiritual experiences that feel

impressive or fast, but we often shy away from

the slow, steady, disciplined work that actually

shapes character. Peterson is reminding us that

the life of God, the life that God calls us to

isn't measured by dramatic successes or the absence

of hardship. It's measured by whether we consistently

choose faithfulness in the small ordinary moments.

Reading a verse when you'd rather scroll, praying

when your mind is distracted, forgiving someone

who doesn't deserve it yet again. That's a long

obedience. That's the road Paul walked and the

rhythm that Jesus modeled. So here is my challenge

for you today. It's simple and yet it actually

might feel hard. I'm not asking for a life -altering

commitment. I'm asking you to embrace one single

unhurried spiritual rhythm for the week. This

might look like one hour in the prayer room every

day this week. Or I might be joining a Bible

plan on the YouVersion app for a week. to ensure

that you're in the word every day. Or maybe it's

just simply putting aside an hour a day to Sabbath.

The key isn't the size or the flashiness of the

act. It's a commitment to show up consistently,

one step at a time in the same direction as Jesus.

This single rhythm repeated day after day trains

your spiritual muscles for endurance, helping

you to participate in the same long obedience

that shaped Paul and was perfected in Jesus.

For each of us this looks like a commitment to

a discipleship of personal endurance. It's the

decision to show up for your own spiritual journey

even when the motivation is low and the road

feels long. It means leaning into a slow, unhurried

God in the midst of a fast paced world. This

is the kind of faithfulness that doesn't produce

quick results, but it builds a deep foundation

of spiritual resilience. It develops your muscle

memory for your soul, training you to keep moving

forward through life's inevitable marathons.

True transformation isn't a lightning strike,

it's the quiet steady work of a heart choosing

to trust and obey day after day. So ask yourself

this, what is one step that you can take this

week? What simple, unhurried rhythm will you

commit to as a small act of resistance against

the culture of the sprint? A way to keep moving

steadily in the direction of Jesus. Now, we're

just gonna step back and imagine what could be.

What if we, as a church community, really took

this challenge seriously? What if each one of

us committed to one single unhurried act of obedience

this week? What if for a whole month we chose

patience and presence over busyness and distraction?

Imagine the ripple effect that this could have.

Imagine a church where our spiritual lives aren't

a series of frantic sprints but a steady faithful

march. This church would become a living witness

to the world. We live in a society obsessed with

instant results and self -sufficiency but what

if we live differently? What if we showed that

faith is not a solo journey but a shared path?

Our collective endurance demonstrates to a watching

world that our faith is not just a belief system

but a living connected body. As Eugene Peterson

reminds, a scripture knows nothing of a solitary

Christian. People of faith are always members

of a community. So why do we, the church, need

to commit to this long haul? First, this is because

this is how God forms character. Quick bursts

of faith might feel good in the moment, but only

long obedience produces lasting virtue. Second,

because our patient, persistent faith is a witness

to a world obsessed with speed. This is a powerful

demonstration of commitment to the long haul.

It is a defined act in a culture that craves

the instant, and it shows the world that there

is something more valuable than convenience.

It proves that character is forged in the fire

of time, not in the quick fix. When a marriage

endures decades of hardship, when a parent patiently

serves their child day after day, we know the

struggle. When a believer quietly and consistently

gives of their time and resources without the

fanfare, this is the beautiful unglamorous work

of God's kingdom. A church that embodies this

long obedience is like a team of highland dancers,

each one putting in the disciplined work so that

together our collective performance is beautiful,

powerful witness to the world. Let us not get

sidetracked by the siren song of the sprint.

Let's commit to the marathon together. Step by

step, day by day, let's fight the good fight.

finish the race and keep the faith. Because in

the end it's not about how we started, but how

we finish. And our finish is always a testament

to the one who's already finished the race for

us. Thanks so much for tuning into this week's

message. If you felt challenged or need prayer,

we'd love to hear from you on Instagram at encounterhemley.

Or if you're interested in how you can support

this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide

.com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless

you.