The Way | When You Can't See The Way — Forrest Coleman

Hey, I'm Pastor Forrest, and welcome to the Multiply Church Podcast.

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Now, let's dive into this week's sermon.

As we start a new series, the book of Acts, called The Way.

And we're gonna be in this series for quite a while.

For the next few weeks.

We had a great Sunday last week.

Wasn't a word from Jay-Z last Sunday if you're here.

Wasn't it amazing last Sunday?

Man, he brought the word.

It was so powerful.

And we're moving into this new series as we take a look at the book of Acts, something that God put on my heart back in January for us to walk through this book together, which we're gonna be doing over the next nine weeks.

And also at the beginning of this year, we were looking at each other and saying, How crazy would it be if God would allow us to do a worship night on K State's campus?

And then now here in just a few days' time, that's literally about to happen in two Wednesdays.

And so we're just walking in right now the fruit of what God has been planning and doing for some time.

And so as we jump into this series, The Way, we start with the message when you can't see the way.

The best birthday gift that I ever gave myself was a GPS for my wife Emily when we were back in college.

Now when I say that Emily can get nowhere without GPS, I mean absolutely nowhere.

She uses it constantly.

And this was back in the Stone Age when we had the first GPS when they didn't have everything on their phone.

So everybody with back pain in the room can remember a TomTom.

Now, TomTom is the device kids that didn't have the internet, just had all the maps loaded onto it, and you would put it onto your windshield and it would tell you where to go, but you had to be careful because it didn't have the internet, it wasn't updated, so it could put you in a lake.

That's an office reference.

Emily would randomly call me and ask me in the middle of the day when we were in college.

She was in Lexington, UK.

I was at Cumberland, and she would call me and say, Do you know where I am?

I'm an hour and a half away.

I'm like, Well, I knew Lexington a little bit.

Just tell me where, tell me where you are.

She would tell me, and I'd help try to get her that way.

So uh she still doesn't know how to get anywhere without a GPS.

She couldn't get home.

She doesn't know her way back from work.

And as we start this series today called The Way, we're looking at the book of Acts.

That's this book that records the origin story of the early church, right after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, and it picks up with the disciples trying to figure out what to do next.

And the title of this series comes from the book itself because Acts repeatedly identifies this movement of Jesus and Jesus' followers as the way.

Before Christians were called Christians in Acts chapter 11, it was simply known as the way.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

We see it in several different verses.

Acts 19, 23.

About that time there arose a great disturbance about the way.

In Acts 22, 4, the Apostle Paul, who once was Saul and was killing Christians, he said, I persecuted the followers of this way to their death, arresting both men and women and following and throwing them into prison.

And then he identifies himself as someone who now is a part of the way, following Jesus.

After he came to know Jesus on the road to Damascus, he admits that he is a worshiper of God in Acts 24, 14, when he says, However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as I follow the way, they call a sect, which they call a sect.

I believe everything in accordance with the law and what is written in the prophets.

So six different times across the book of Acts, we see the followers of Jesus and this new thing that has emerged as being called the way.

Saul is trying to arrest people who belong to the way in Acts 19 9, the opponents that are speaking out against this way as conflict erupts in Ephesus in Acts 19 concerning the way.

And then Paul, as he's recalling, persecuting the way, and then identifies himself as the way, even in front in court, in front of Felix, who's knows about the way.

There's all this controversy.

There's opposition and testimony and public conflict that's going on with this thing called the way.

And they don't know exactly why they called it the way, but some scholars think that it comes directly from the way that Jesus declares in John 14, 5 and 6, as Thomas said, Lord, we don't know where we're going, so how can we know the way?

And Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

And so these followers of the way, we enter into the story in the very beginning of Acts, where Jesus' followers are trying to figure out now what do they do next?

Jesus has died on the cross, he's walked out of the grave, he's ascended back to the Father, he's appeared to some 500 witnesses over a 40-day period, and then Jesus gives them this instruction for them to stay in Jerusalem and for them to begin to be his witnesses.

And so they're following Jesus' commands, not just stories about him or just memories.

They actively know that Jesus is alive and they're still following him.

And that's where we, as we break into the story of the beginnings of the early church, Acts is going to show us the way.

Now in 2026, this spirit-empowered people of God following this risen Jesus and carrying his witness to the world.

A few weeks ago, in our We Are Trailblazers message about our value, We Are Trailblazers, we went through the first few verses of Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

And we saw this command, as Jesus tells them to say in Jerusalem.

He tells them that they're going to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

And that's going to help organize the next few weeks that we're going to be in this series of their time in Jerusalem and then Judea and to Samaria and the ends of the earth.

And a few weeks ago, we looked at these first few verses and said, as the disciples, they were asking Jesus, they wanted the timeline, but Jesus gave them the mission.

And a few weeks ago we heard about Jesus giving them this mission of what they should do to be his witnesses and following him and being witnesses in the world.

And now they're in Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

Jesus is now ascended.

Now they're trying to figure out, okay, what do we do next?

Because Jesus has given them this instruction, but they're not seeing him in front of their face anymore.

You know, following Jesus sounds really simple and easy in church.

The way we say it.

Just follow Jesus.

But what do you do when you pray and you don't feel anything?

Or when you open your Bible and you're struggling to understand what it means and what it means for your life.

Or when something happens to you and you can't reconcile what has just happened with what you believe about God.

How do we keep following Jesus when we can't feel his presence?

We feel like he's distant and can't figure out what to do next.

And we're going to see these followers of the way that when you can't see the way, that you follow the way of Jesus.

And I want this message today to help us grow deeper in our faith.

I want today for this message to help us grow stronger and grow our roots deeper down into our faith in Jesus because I don't want us just pretending that we don't have struggles and things don't happen and things that we can't understand or things that throw us off, but I want us to be able to be honest about the struggles in our life without thinking that Jesus has abandoned us.

Because what the enemy wants to do to us is make us think, well, okay, if I can't feel God, then he must not be there.

Or God didn't do what I expected him to do, so he must not care about me.

Or maybe somebody who represented Jesus hurts you.

And now you're just wondering, is this even real?

What can happen is we don't know what's next.

We don't know the way.

What can start happening is you can start withdrawing from the God and his people who actually can help you.

And stop listening to the scripture and start thinking that you just know exactly what you should do.

And eventually you may even begin to look for a different way altogether.

So it begs this question for us today as I want us to grow deeper in our faith.

When following Jesus is difficult, what will keep you from choosing another way?

That's where we're going today.

As we look at the beginning of Acts.

But instead, to help you that when these things happen, that you go to the presence of God instead of letting the hard thing and the difficult thing be the reason that you leave him.

So, like I said, a few weeks ago in our Trailblazers sermon, Trailblaze, we talked about Acts 1, 1 through 12.

Jesus gives this instruction to them for them to stay in Jerusalem, that they're going to receive the Holy Spirit.

So they're waiting for the Holy Spirit to come and to fall on them and to fill them up.

And now they're just together, waiting, trying to figure out what's next.

And so I just want us to slow down and enter into the room.

And I want us to go through the rest of Acts chapter 1 that honestly doesn't get preached very much.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

But I want for us to dig into it and for it to show us what to do where they're in this situation where now they're waiting, they don't know what's next, and it's going to show us some principles and some things for our lives of what we should do when we feel the same way.

Y'all ready for this?

Let's go through Acts, start in verse 12.

If you have your phone on your uh your Bible on your phone, please pull it up.

You want to see these passages that nobody ever preaches?

If you have your Bible, turn there.

Acts chapter 1, start in verse 12.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

Here we go.

When the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill they called Mount of Olives, a Sabbath-day walk from the city.

Then when they arrived, they went upstairs to the room they were staying.

Those presents were Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James.

They were joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Okay, let's stop.

Slow down here.

I want us to zoom into this room.

Who's actually in this room?

You have the eleven apostles.

Don't be confused.

There's another Judas.

This is Judas the son of James.

There's this is not Judas Iscariot.

We're going to get to him.

There's the women who've been following Jesus.

There's Mary, the mother of Jesus.

There's Jesus' brothers who are in the room.

And a few verses later in verse 15, Luke's going to widen out this scene.

You're going to see that there's about 120 people who, right now, before Pentecost, are following Jesus.

There's this community of people who are still following him, not just this handful of leaders, but there are people who have seen the risen Christ, who are following the risen Christ, and they've seen now Jesus ascend back to the Father, and He's promised this empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Spirit, and they've not encountered yet this power of the Holy Spirit yet.

And they're wondering, what do we do next?

And they're going to come face to face with the fact that not being able to see Jesus doesn't mean that there's no way for you to keep following him.

So they've obeyed Jesus' instructions to return Jerusalem to stay there.

Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts, tells them, tells us that they were gathered together and they were devoted to prayer with one another.

They were constantly praying for one another.

They were encouraging one another.

They were trying to figure out what was next, and they were praying for one another.

They were in constant prayer.

And for them, they're praying together, they're staying together, not just socially, but they're praying together, they're encouraging one another.

You know, it's so easy at times when we feel like, man, God, I didn't expect this to happen.

I don't know what to do next.

For us just to pull back and pull away and to go into isolation.

But what we see right here, so simply, that they did was they stayed together.

And we, when we got challenges, the difficult thing happens, how are we gonna remain faithful?

You've got to stay with the people of the way.

Here's why this is important because the enemy's gonna tell you, well, you just need to figure this out on your own.

I just need to figure this out on my own.

There's stuff going on, going through something difficult, something's let me down.

What you need to know is that you can bring, somebody needs to hear this.

God is big enough for your questions and your doubts.

We've been beat into a religious culture that says that you can never question anything.

Can I tell you that God's shoulders are broad enough for your questions?

He's big enough for the questions that you have, he's big enough for your doubts.

He's big enough for the things that you say.

I don't really know.

You can go to the scripture, you can learn from the scripture.

Now we don't want to stay in a mindset of being double-minded and down in our whole life and miss out on the blessings.

But what is what we're not gonna do is just say, well, you know, I just gotta figure this out on my own.

You can bring your questions to believers in Jesus so they can encourage you, pray for you, walk with you, and resolve it together.

When following Jesus gets difficult, don't assume that the next step is following him alone.

And what did they do?

When following Jesus, it was got difficult, they just did the last thing Jesus told them to do.

Some of you just need to do the last thing that Jesus told you to do.

Some of you want Jesus to do a new thing, but you haven't done the thing you already know that you're supposed to be supposed to do.

You want something new, and God's like, you already know.

There's something you you already knew you were supposed to do this.

What you can do, you choose a trustworthy person who you can be honest with and ask somebody to pray for you, pray with you, even at times when you don't know what to say and you don't have the words for it.

For some of you, that means you need to get into a small group.

You need to get around some people who will actually pray for you, who actually know what's going on in your life.

For some others, that means that may just be a first safe conversation that you need to have with somebody that you trust of what's going on.

I was I was encouraging a young man in this this last week as we were having this very discussion of something that he's going through and something that's tripped him up.

And I said this to him, I said, what animal in the pack does a lion normally catch and eat in the nature show?

It's the one that's away from the pack.

It's the one that's broken off and is vulnerable.

And the scripture tells us that Satan is like a prowing lion looking for someone to devour.

Do not let the devil isolate you and pick you off.

Who knows what following Jesus is actually like for you right now?

Who's that person?

You have one person in your life, two people in your life?

Stay with the people of the way who will pray for you, encourage you, walk with you.

Don't let the devil peel you off and tear you off so that he can devour you.

Stay with those who know the way of Jesus.

And then the apostles turn to the scripture.

Look at verse 15.

In those days, Peter stood up among the believers, a group numbering about 120, and he said, Brothers and sisters, the scripture has been fulfilled, in which the Holy Spirit spoke along through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.

He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.

But the payment he received for his wickedness, Jesus, uh Judas bought a field, and there he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all of his intestines spilled out.

Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called the field in their language Akimdema, that is field of blood.

For, said Peter, it is written in the book of Psalms, may his place be deserted, that there be no one to dwell in it, and may another take his place of leadership.

So Peter steps up, and he addresses this situation with Judas and his betrayal, and he addresses it through the scripture.

He connects this situation that they've just experienced in the betrayal of Judas, and he connects it to Psalm 69, 25 with the with the desolation that has been left behind because of this betrayal.

And then Psalm 109.8, with another taking this vacant office now that they have.

And he he finds footing in understanding this failure that's just happened and then what they should do next.

And he says, it is written, and he knows the word.

He's connected the word to what he's going through.

And for us, we've got to do the same.

Now, what I'm not saying is that you don't need to just open up your Bible randomly to a random scripture and say, oh, well, so-and-so killed so-and-so.

All right, perfect.

That's my word for today.

No, we need to know the word.

That's why we're going through the book of Acts right now.

For you to know the scripture and actually know what Jesus said and what he taught so you can apply the scripture to your situation and know actually what's going on.

And this is exactly what Peter does.

Peter knows the Old Testament, he studied the Old Testament, he's hidden in his heart.

And this is why it's important because when when something has hurt you, you can begin to read everything in your life through that hurt.

An unanswered question becomes a rejection, a disappointment becomes proof that God doesn't care, a bad experience that you have.

Now is the lens that you are looking through to interpret everything in your life.

Instead, what we should do is we should know what Jesus has to say about his way of walking out this life and even in the disappointments and the hardships.

And very simply, what Peter did, we should also do of say what is written.

Speak it out.

Well, of course, you know, I know the Bible says this, but but you don't know my situation, you don't know what has happened.

We're not denying that something terrible has happened, but you have to refuse to let your immediate interpretation of what's happened be the only voice that can explain it.

You have to let God's word inform you about your life, inform you so that you can know what Jesus want me to do in this situation.

And actually bring your questions to the scripture.

What does this passage teach me about Jesus?

What does it ask of me and what I should do in this situation?

And what am I assuming that's in the scripture that it doesn't actually say?

But the scripture must be allowed to read us to expose wrongdoing so that then we can continue to walk in the way of Jesus.

And this burdens me so much because I think about all that is shared, and I think about all the social media and all that's out there for us to go and say, well, this way or that way about life.

And think about all the TikToks that have been shared and all the Instagrams that have been shared, and think of that versus the scripture that's been shared about somebody's situation, about what you're going through.

And we have to let the light of God's word be our guide, be our path, direct us in our response of what's going on.

And that's what the disciples do.

Peter says, okay, the scripture is informing of what we need to do.

There's a gap that needs to be filled.

Now watch what they do is they fill this gap and who they replace.

Verse 21.

Therefore, it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us.

Beginning from John's baptism at the time when Jesus was taken up from us.

For one of these must become a witness for us in his resurrection.

So they named, they nominated two men Joseph Calbersabbath, who's also known as Justice, and Matthias.

Then they prayed.

Lord, you know everyone's heart.

Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.

Then they cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias.

So he was added to the eleven apostles.

Peter calls for qualified men to join the apostles as witnesses of Jesus' resurrection.

And he brings forward these two candidates with the requirement that they have been there the entire time.

That they were a witness of Jesus from the beginning of his ministry all the way through his resurrection and the ascension.

And then they cast lots, which is the last time that that system is used, the system of casting lots.

It was in the Old Testament.

It was a system that they used of God's providence and sovereignty.

And this is the last time they use this system because in the very next chapter, they're going to receive the Holy Spirit that's going to begin to lead them and guide them.

In the same way that the Spirit leads us today.

See, they're in need of another witness.

And they're trying to restore this wrongdoing that's happened and this betrayal from Judas.

And all of us, we've all been betrayed, we've all been wronged at some point in our life.

But what we need to do is not let the enemy make you replace the wrong thing.

When we get to that point and where they were, you've got to replace Judas, not Jesus.

Look at what they did.

They weren't looking for another savior.

They replaced the thing that had betrayed them.

They replaced the wrongdoing.

They sought restoration, not a new savior.

We all go through things, and maybe for you, you had somebody who claims to represent Jesus, betray your trust.

Or someone did something that they never should have done.

Let me tell you, their failure is not proof that Jesus is false.

Replace the Judas in your life, not moving on to something else, other than Jesus.

Because here's the thing everything is going to eventually fail us other than Jesus.

Life's gonna stab us in the back.

You think that money's gonna solve every single one of your problems until money fails to solve a problem that it can't fix?

Or you have a friend that fails you, or your spouse, who is as perfect as they think they are, will fail you.

Or your body, your health.

Eventually it's going to fail you.

Eventually, it's going to betray you because we live in a fallen world.

But we're not going to replace that betrayal with something else.

We're going to go to Jesus.

It's burdened me so it burdens me so much because I see people who get into a difficult situation.

They say, well, you know what?

I guess just God doesn't love me anymore.

And so listen.

Your job, the promotion, your bank account, it's going to fail you.

Jesus is not going to fail you.

Your kids' little league career, it's going to fail you.

Jesus is not going to fail you.

What's happening now in this world and witchcraft and people going after witchcraft.

They see on TikTok and see it.

There's power there.

It's demonic power.

It's going to fail you.

Go to Jesus.

Are you hearing me?

Because eventually, everything that's temporary on this earth, it's going to fail us.

Our body's going to fail us.

My body failed me last weekend or two weekends ago when it was uh Labor Day weekend.

I guess that was last weekend.

But that Labor Day, I was out with a family.

We're at the family farm kickout, and all the kids wanted to go down to the creek, which sounded really easy.

And so I followed, it was like all these 12, 13 to 8-year-old girls, all 80 pounds, wanted to go down this ridge to the creek bed, and I went down there too.

And guys, I don't know if you remember, but uh this last weekend was like 100 degrees.

And when I got down there to the creek bed, it was like 120 down there, and uh it was like an oven.

And they said there was an easy way up.

That was a lie.

Because now we're trying to go back up the ridge, and all these little girls are going easy.

I'm huffing and puffing.

I got like halfway up.

I was like, Y'all, y'all go on, y'all go on without me.

I'm good.

So to rest for a second.

And then I got up to about 80% up the ridge, and I could literally see the top.

I could see the the break in the trees and where the campers were, and I just had to sit down and up and just lay down on this tree.

And everything was like going black and white.

I know what it is when I'm about to pass out.

These girls are long gone.

I'm like, okay, I can make it.

I can make it.

So I go up, I go up another 10%, 90%, and I just lay on a log.

I'm just lay down on a log.

At this point, it's like 15, 20, 30 minutes have gone by.

Emily's like, where is Forrest?

She's coming down to the woods.

Forrest, search and rescue.

I'm like, I'm here.

I'm here.

She came down.

I was like, I need water.

Every time I stood up, it's like everything I was about to pass out and sat back down.

And I'm like, Emily, we can never stay down here another 30 minutes, or you can call your cousin Caleb to come get me on the four-wheeler.

She called her cousin Caleb.

Forrest is stuck in the woods.

He's like, You're not being serious, right?

We're being serious.

So he brought the four-wheeler down, put me on the back.

Literally, y'all, it was like 30 yards on the four-wheeler out into the clearing.

And all half of Emily's family was standing there waiting on me, thinking I need to be life flooded.

I'm like waving at everybody, give them a thumbs up.

I'm alive.

I thought I was good.

I thought I could make it the whole way.

I just have to a little bit further to go.

And I couldn't make it on my own.

We cannot make it on our own in this life.

You've got to stay in the way of Jesus with the people of the way.

Because as much as you think you can do it all yourself and you can do it alone, you cannot do it alone.

It reminds me of the quote if you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together.

They're praying for each other.

They're walking with one another.

You can't make it on your own.

I just imagine, just imagine with me that we'd be a church that when people come in and they're struggling, they're not met with judgment, but they're met with prayer and love.

And those that are willing to walk with them.

And that we can let the scripture challenge us and guide our lives.

And when people have been betrayed, that they can receive compassion here and love.

And not just to act like nothing's happened in our life, but I want us to be mature.

I want us to be mature in our faith.

I want us to have roots in Christ.

I want for us that when things happen to us and we don't know what to do next, that our do our roots are deep down into Jesus.

And that doesn't mean you have to solve every single question and problem that you have today.

And there's probably some of you that you've already withdrawn, you already said, you know what, I'm just gonna go this thing alone.

Can I tell you that God wants you to have companionship and walking with Jesus in his way?

And so would you just step into that conversation with a believer who can encourage you?

Or maybe you've drawn the conclusion that God doesn't care about you and your situation and that what you've been through, that Jesus can't be trusted.

Can you not let that situation define Jesus as a failure to you, but instead to propel you towards him in the faith of the fact that Jesus told us he's never gonna leave us, he's never gonna abandon us.

And that he's gonna show us the way.

And maybe you're in the room today and you don't know the way because you haven't yet given your life to Jesus for you to accept him as your Savior, for you to be forgiven and set free.

Jesus is the one who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is your only option in coming to faith, and coming to Christ, and coming to God for your salvation.

I didn't say that.

That's not my quote, that's Jesus who said that.

He's the way, he's the truth, he's the life.

Give your life to him.

Receive what he did for you on the cross.

Be forgiven.

Would you stand to your feet now as I pray?

Father, right now I pray for everybody in this room, God, who claims to be a follower of you, who is a part of the way that Lord, today you would help them, God, to have roots down deep in you, Jesus.

To not confuse you with the betrayer.

But instead, Jesus, for you to show them today your goodness and your love and your compassion and your care for them.

And Father, I pray for right now, anybody who's in isolation, Father, that you would bring them, God, into a trustworthy relationship, friendship with believers, with people around them who can encourage them and walk with them and pray for them.

And Father, right now, I pray for anybody in this room who's not received you as their savior that today would be the day of their salvation.

Today would be the day that they give their life to you.

And if that's you, I ask you now to pray to Jesus in your heart and mind, pray, Jesus, save me.

I believe that you died on the cross for my sin, that you walked out of the grave, and that you're alive.

Forgive me, cleanse me so I can be in heaven with you one day.

I repent and turn my life to you.

From this day forward, thank you for saving me.

We're so grateful you joined us for this week's message.

At Multiply, we believe life was never meant to be lived alone.

If today you made the decision to follow Jesus, we'd be honored to walk with you on this journey.

Visit multiplyky.com to let us know.

We love you and we'll see you again soon.