When the Going Gets Tough

Justin Turney

Thy Kingdom Come • Sermon • Submitted 7 months ago • Presented 7 months ago

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We all face hardships and opposition, especially as we live in faithful obedience to Jesus. As we face difficulties we are challenged to persevere but in a way that keeps God's glory and grace in our hearts and minds.

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Transcript

INTRODUCTION

Facing the Giants Video Clip - “The Death Crawl”

We all face hardships and difficulties. This is especially true as we walk in faithful obedience to Jesus.

In these hard times we are to persevere, but not just for perseverance sake. There is a particular way we are encouraged and empowered by the Holy Spirit to persevere. That way revolves around keeping the glory of God in our hearts and minds.

Acts 14:1–7 ESV

1 Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.

When the Going Gets Tough...

1) …Persevere in Courage! (v.1-7)

From the Text...

Same initial push for the Gospel as before in Antioch Pisidia: Find the synagogue, share that Jesus is the fulfillment to God’s Promises, encourage all people (regardless of Jew or Gentile) to place their faith, lives, and hope in Jesus.

Same results, some believed and some rejected. Those who rejected stirred up trouble.

In this case, Jews stirred up Gentiles and “poisoned their minds against the brothers.”

At the sign of ideological conflict, Paul and Barnabas remained for a long time putting Jesus and His power on display.

When ideological conflict turned to physical danger, Paul and Barnabas removed themselves and moved on to Lystra and Derbe, where they continued in their purpose and calling.

…to Our Context

We are all too afraid to have serious and eternally important conversations with people!

Our fear of offending someone with the truth of the Gospel is greater than our desire to see people rescued from Hell.

Our fear of being rejected by people is greater than our desire to see people take hold of God’s grace.

We all too often fear man more than helping them come to faith in God.

When we keep our faith to ourselves because of the fear that we may find ourselves in trouble for telling people about Jesus, we don’t persevere in courage…we allow ourselves to be handicapped by fear.

Don’t be afraid of hard times for the Gospel sake.

What is more important: That we make it comfortably into eternity by ourselves or that we spiritually battle our way through trial and tribulations and have many more of our friends and family in eternity with us?

Don’t think you can’t…you have the Spirit of God inside you and...

Romans 8:11 ESV

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

2)…Persevere in the Gospel! (v.8-18)

From the Text...

As Paul and Barnabas were empowered by the Holy Spirit to display the power of God for a people who had very little understanding of Jewish beliefs and background, these people misunderstood what was happening and began worshipping them.

In this context, Paul doesn’t appeal to the promises of Abraham and the fulfillment of God’s covenants in Jesus, he seeks to explain the Gospel to them through what they are able to observe in nature.

Paul’s challenge for the people was to turn away from their vain and foolish beliefs and turn to the true reality of God and to the hope he has brought to them through Jesus.

…to Our Context

When we get over our fears and we walk in faith, the enemy will try to distract us by appealing to our own pride and need for validation.

Many people will be distracted by the Gospel and will turn to making our faith about us, when in reality it is not about us.

Unfortunately, most will just see the Gospel as nothing more than nice people trying to do nice things for a good cause.

When our attempts of sharing the Gospel and putting the power of Jesus on display through our service to others gets focused more on us or the service, we must be quick to try and put the focus back on the Gospel!

Moreover, when people are critical of us as we share the Good News of Jesus, we need to make sure we keep the focus on the Gospel and not on ourselves!

It’s great to show how Jesus changes the direction of our lives and the blessings we experience, but we need to be sure and share that our lives our changed because we no longer walk in darkness, but rather we live in the light and call others to turn to the light of Jesus!

The Gospel is not about making our lives better, its about making our lives different by walking away from the world and turning to Jesus! The blessings and the betterment is just a by product of doing life God’s way!

3)…Persevere in Grace! (v.19-28)

From the Text...

As people reject the message, they attack the messenger.

Paul experiences one of his most difficult times in Lystra.

While many were believing, many others were violently denying and some of the others who had denied Jesus previously followed Paul and Barnabas to Lystra.

In their hatred of truth and love for darkness, they captured Paul and stoned him. Thinking he was dead, they dragged, what they thought was his lifeless carcass outside of the city.

Paul, through the power of the Holy Spirit, survived and was enabled to walk back into the city and went on to Derbe.

In Derbe, he shared the Gospel and made many disciples.

Then after staying in Derbe and making disciples, he returned to Lystra, then to Iconium, then to Antioch, then to Pamphylia, Perga, Attalia and back to Antioch in Syria.

As they went back through the areas, they returned to where they were rejected, chased out, and even attempted to be killed.

There they encouraged and strengthened disciples, appointed spiritual leaders tasked with the well being of the Christians (elders), and helped them to see the reality that living for Jesus brings trials and tribulations, but it’s worth it.

Hebrews 12:1–4 ESV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

…to Our Context

When the going gets tough, do not harden your heart and abandon grace.

Continue to care for and encourage people.

Continue to seek the heart of Jesus and no matter how bad others mistreat you, seek to see them the way Jesus does.

REFLECTION AND RESPONSE

DOES LIVING IN FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE TO JESUS SCARE YOU? WHAT CAN YOU DO TO GROW IN YOUR COURAGE TO LIVE AND SPEAK BOLDLY FOR HIM?

AS YOU LIVE IN OBEDIENCE AND SERVE OTHERS IN JESUS’ NAME, DO YOU FIND YOURSELF GETTING DISTRACTED BY OTHER’S APPROVAL? IN WHAT WAYS CAN YOU BUILD IN DISCIPLINES TO HELP KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS?

DO YOU HARBOR BITTERNESS FROM PAST HURTS THAT CAME WHILE SERVING AND BEING OBEDIENT TO GOD? WHAT CAN YOU DO TO TURN TO GOD’S GRACE AND LET GOD SOFTEN YOUR HEART?