THE UPS AND DOWNS OF FOLLOWING JESUS

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF FOLLOWING JESUS

Acts 14:1-28

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

October 22, 2006

In our study of Acts, we’ve been following Paul on his first missionary journey – quite a journey! It appears that in each place he visited, there were positive responses given to the Gospel, with many people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. But there had also been much opposition. In fact, we’ve just read that Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra!

Thankfully, the missionary journey was ending on a high note in Derbe and Paul and Barnabas could go home. Paul’s hometown, Tarsus, was just to the East. Surely, one would think, they could go there, rest, renew and recuperate, then travel shortly by land and by sea, and end up in the “home base” of the church in Syrian Antioch. After all, they had been thru so much!

That’s probably the route most of us would’ve taken! But not Paul and Barnabas! These two missionaries believed in importance of follow-up. “Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”

[Please also note that this follow-up not only included spiritual formation, but organizational formation, as in good Presbyterian fashion elders were appointed and ordained in every church!]

In having spent time in establishing these churches, Paul and Barnabas went back on the same route, all the way back to Antioch of Syria and to the church that had first commissioned them as missionaries.

AS WE LOOK FOR THE LESSONS

GOD HAS FOR US IN THIS PASSAGE,

I WANT US TO FOCUS ON THE FOLLOW-UP.

What Paul told those young disciples was something most of us in fact do not want to hear. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” This message certainly isn’t all that inviting! We don’t normally hear this said along with the words, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”!

The fact remains, however, that it is true. We do a disservice to people considering faith in Christ or to new Christians when we speak or act as if the Christian walk is a “cake walk.”

The word translated “hardships” or “tribulations” comes from a verb meaning, “to press,” “squash” or “hem in.” These are the tribulations, the trials, the hardships and afflictions that press down hard upon us.

The nature of these hardships mentioned in this particular context is not what we have in common with everyone, such as earthquakes in HI, hurricanes in LA, poverty in Helene, Honduras, threats from North Korea, or sickness or death in Newport. As terrible as these are to the general lot of humanity, there are others more specific to Christians.

The hardships Christians face by which we enter into the kingdom have their sources in the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world refers to anti-God sentiment and behavior; the flesh refers to our inborn, sinful nature and our proclivity towards sinful behavior; the devil refers to that malevolent spirit and those with him who desire nothing more than our downfall and destruction.

John Calvin experienced much hardship in seeking to be faithful as a Reformer of the Church. But he also knew that such challenges were not to be his alone. Each and every Christian must face such trials.

If the flesh (sinful nature) should not molest us, if Satan should attempt nothing, if the wicked should not trouble us with some stumbling blocks, it were (then) no such troublesome thing to persevere; because that were a sweet walk through a soft and pleasant way; but because there arise on every side, and every minute of an hour, infinite assaults, which provoke us to fall away, there arises the difficulty, and therefore is it that the virtue of constancy is so rare. Therefore, to the end (that) we may persist even unto the end, we must be prepared for war. [i]

WE DO INDEED NEED TO BE

“PREPARED FOR WAR,”

TO BE ENCOURAGED AND STRENGTHENED

FOR THE TOUGH TIMES IN FAITHFULNESS TO CHRIST.

That’s why Paul and Barnabas were there in all those churches, literally “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.”

The Christian life is indeed the “abundant life” Christ has promised us. But it is also a life that brings with it its own unique challenges, like being labeled “the religious right” or “a fundamentalist” simply because you believe the Bible to be true; or wrestling with temptations you never thought twice about before; or sensing a spiritual enemy that had at one time only been seen as fantasy or mere myth.

So what do we do? We take all this seriously! We find the means whereby we can be strengthened in soul and be encouraged to remain persistently in the faith we so deeply cherish.

One way we do this is by the use of Christian disciplines, such as prayer and the Word. Growth in God’s grace and in Christian maturity do not come to us automatically! As Richard Foster writes:

God has ordained the Disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where He can bless us … If we ever expect to grow in grace, we must pay the price of a consciously chosen course of action which involves both individual and group life.[ii]

Many of us these days are paying more careful attention to the food we are eating – such as the content of sodium, fat or cholesterol … and we most certainly should! But are we just as attentive and careful about our spiritual nourishment? In this regard, and in reference to the Bible, British preacher John Blanchard has this to say:

Surely we only have to be realistic and honest with ourselves to know how regularly we need to turn to the Bible. How often do we face problems, temptation and pressure? Every day! Then how often do we need instruction, guidance and greater encouragement? Every day! To catch all these felt needs up into an even greater issue, how often do we need to see God’s face, hear His voice, feel His touch, know His power? The answer to all these questions is the same: Every day!

As the American evangelist D.L. Moody put it, ‘A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough for the next six months, or take sufficient air into his lungs at one time to sustain life for a week. We must draw upon God’s boundless store of grace from day to day as we need it.’ [iii]

Yet another way we are strengthened in soul and encouraged is by wearing the armor of God described for us in Ephesians 6:10-20. Here we are reminded that Christians are engaged in a spiritual conflict involving “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

In this passage, Paul relates the equipment of a Roman soldier to that of the Christian, in that we are called to wear the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, our feet fitted with the Gospel, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Paul Thigpen describes for us how such armor was used by a Christian dad who suddenly became unemployed.[iv] He had a large family and after several months his savings ran out. As we might imagine, discouragement settled in and one Sunday morning just before church, the Enemy arrived with his “counsel” and “advice.” “Why did God let this happen to you? He could change the situation if He wanted to, but He hasn’t. If He really loved you, you wouldn’t be in this predicament. Why serve a God who doesn’t care? Forget church – just stay home and watch some TV.”

At this point, the man had a decision to make: believe the Enemy’s lies and follow a path of doubt leading to despair, or raise the shield of faith, trust in the God of his salvation, and use the sword of the Spirit.

He took a deep breath, looked in the mirror, and then said with firmness of voice: “My Father loves me. He knows what He’s doing. I trust Him. Devil, get behind me!” As Thigpen describes what then happened, “The flaming arrow had struck a solid shield of faith and fizzled. As it turned out, just a week later a new job – better than the last – came along.” Oh yes, daily, we must put on “the armor of God”!

Let me mention yet one more way in which we may be strengthened in soul and encouraged – by keeping in fellowship with other Christians.

The Bible makes it clear that in not meeting with other Christians, we are actually being disobedient to the Lord’s command. But as in every case where the Lord commands us to do something, it comes from a motive of love and in a desire for our well-being. So, the Scripture says: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” [v]

In my last church in Ohio, I had the privilege of knowing many retired pastors and missionaries. There was a Presbyterian Retirement Village in our community and many residents of the village came to our church.

One couple I came to know was Kenneth and Virginia Parker, who served for many years as missionaries in India. They served faithfully in difficult circumstances and had come to deeply appreciate the support and encouragement of the Church: in terms of brothers and sisters with whom they fellowshipped in India, or the prayers, gifts and financial support of those back here in the States, or in their retirement, with those of the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church.[vi] Kenneth and Virginia never missed a Sunday, so long as their health enabled them.

It quickly appeared to me that such appreciation for the Body of Christ was shared by their family, including their niece, Jane Parker Huber, whom I had the privilege of meeting. Jane wrote the texts to several new hymns, including the words of our closing hymn, words that speak of the value found in our being together:

Called as partners in Christ’s service,

Called to ministries of grace,

We respond with deep commitment

fresh new lines of faith to trace.

May we learn the art of sharing,

Side by side and friend with friend,

Equal partners in our caring

To fulfill God’s chosen end.[vii]

Who can improve on such words as these! God calls us to find our strength and encouragement in being together, side by side, as together we “fulfill God’s chosen end”!

It is most certainly true: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” But we need never be discouraged or fall into despair. For it is just as true that in all these things, we can be more than Conquerors through Him who loved us, and who loves us still![viii] Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!