WEBVTT 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:29.090 You're listening to GARDEN CHURCH Podcast. We're in a series called Church on Fire, a journey through the book of Acts. This is the story of ordinary people filled with the spirit carrying the presence of Jesus into every corner of the world. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and in us today. Join us as we step into the call to be people set on fire for his mission. 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:47.245 Thank you, bro. South Costa Mesa 9AM. Can you guys say hi to Huntington 9AM? Let me see the Bibles. Let's go. 00:00:47.805 --> 00:00:58.890 Alright. You're doing better. Well done. Will you go to Acts chapter 20? We we spent the last six weeks in Acts 19. 00:01:01.530 --> 00:01:19.725 And I don't have a great intro. So we're just going to jump in. But I'm going to tell you that I was preparing to teach through a larger section of scripture this week. But because of the text, I got overwhelmed. Oh, just... 00:01:19.725 --> 00:01:30.370 I love all the kids. Bless the babes. All the little babies. My wife and I are grieving not having the little ones anymore. We have a 12 year old, almost 13 year old here, my son Ezra. 00:01:30.370 --> 00:01:39.895 And then Amos took off in the kids. He's nine. He's he's holy ruckus is what he is. But we don't have the littles. I miss him. 00:01:41.415 --> 00:02:01.720 I was reading the text, and I got wrecked. So I had to I had to break up the teaching because I couldn't do all of it. Because I started reading it, and was like, oh my goodness. Once again, the text aligns with what's happening in the church today. And because of the teaching schedule, next week Bill's going to go to twenty one. 00:02:01.720 --> 00:02:12.895 And then I'm going to come back and do part two of this talk. Is that Okay? I'm not going to say is that Okay. That's what we're doing. Acts 20. 00:02:13.935 --> 00:02:46.965 Paul travels to encourage the church after his epic climax of ministry, which was Ephesus. Three years in one location, magic books are burned. Modern equivalent of $10,000,000 in a bonfire of idols burned up. The economy is impacted by the the by the local church, and the city riots because of the revival that takes place within a local church. And Paul is trying to get to Jerusalem in a hurry, so he's like, I can't go back to Ephesus. 00:02:47.445 --> 00:03:12.725 So So he stops at a town 30 miles away, and he has the Ephesian elders come visit him on the beach. The backdrop is the ship is waiting, and he has a farewell speech. And in context of what I'm going to teach today, what you have to understand is that every other sermon in the book of Acts is evangelistic. It's written to the outsider. This is a sermon written to the church. 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:37.685 And it's a farewell speech. And in Roman antiquity, a Roman person would establish their credentials in the opening. And I want you to contrast what Paul chooses to do for his farewell speech, how he establishes his credentials. The Romans would use gravitas, and composure, and self mastery. Paul's going to do something else. 00:03:38.085 --> 00:04:12.780 And that's what wrecked me today. That's what wrecked me at the time that I see in the American church, a trajectory, I suppose, of what success and ministry should look like by the standards of the American church. And then I look at what Paul does, and it just challenges everything. And so I want us to go to Acts chapter 20, verse 17. I want to just say, as Paul as I frame this talk, the next several talks I give, Paul doesn't hand you a strategy. 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:31.475 This is his last time he's going to see the Ephesian elders. He doesn't give them a strategy. He doesn't hand them a budget. He reminds them of how he lived. Who you become in Christ is the gift you get to give the world. 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:46.060 Who you become in Christ is the most important thing you can give your family. Your workplace. Your church community and the world. It's not your gifting. It's not your resume. 00:04:46.060 --> 00:05:07.390 The person you become is the greatest gift you can give the world. So let's read that with this let's have that framework as we read verse 17 of Acts, chapter 20. Huntington Beach is there. Costa Mesa, are you there? From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 00:05:08.430 --> 00:05:56.975 When they arrived, he said to them, you know how I lived the whole time I was with you. From the first day I came into the province of Asia, I served the Lord with great humility and with tears. And in the midst of severe testing and the plots of my Jewish opponents, you know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you, but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. 00:05:57.455 --> 00:06:36.570 Not knowing what will happen to me there, I only know that in every city, the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. Now you see why I got stuck. Lord, would you minister to us? 00:06:37.610 --> 00:06:59.740 Would you put your Bibles down, open your hands? Huntington, do the same. I'm trembling. Lord, I want you to do what only you can do in the power of your spirit, so would you come and be Lord of this gathering? We submit ourselves. 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:20.345 We surrender once again this morning under your Lordship as the risen Jesus Christ. You are the anointed one, the Messiah. You are the king. You sit on a throne, and you will come back, and you will restore all things to the way they were intended to be. And in the meantime, Lord, we wait in anticipation, crying out, come Lord Jesus. 00:07:21.465 --> 00:07:57.460 And we see the disconnect between what scripture teaches in our own life. Between what scripture desires for us and how we build churches and discipleship programs and families, Lord. So we pray now that the power of the spirit would do what only the spirit can do in us. Make us more like you. We're willing to partner and do the work, but God, you have to give us the grace, the energy that we can't do on our own, to animate the spaces of our soul to become like you, Jesus. 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:07.895 I thank you for Paul's testimony, the Apostle Paul's testimony. And I pray that as we open the word today, you would open our hearts to live like him. In Jesus name. Amen. All right. 00:08:07.895 --> 00:08:15.540 I'm going to do my best. I don't know how long it's going to take. It's probably way longer than I want it to be, but I'm just going to dive in. Okay? So here's here's what we do. 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:30.635 This is three years of teaching summarized in a couple of verses. Paul could have given a lot of things. He could have said all sorts of things like, led the church. I planted the church. I healed all those people with extraordinary miracles. 00:08:30.795 --> 00:08:38.795 I cast out demons. Remember the seven sons of Sceva? They tried to copy me, but they didn't have the power. I was the one. That's not what he says. 00:08:38.795 --> 00:08:57.060 He's going to give you characteristics. He's going to give you his resume, only it's what Roman people would despise. He begins, and I want to break this down. And underneath all of it is what he views his life as, which we'll get to the end. But the first thing, I want to give you five ways to live like Paul. 00:08:58.315 --> 00:09:19.970 Is that Okay? You didn't know you wanted to be like Paul, but that's the point, is he's not some super apostle. He's a brother a couple of steps ahead. That's what I love about the saints in the church. The saints in the church, those who have been venerated are ordinary men and women that you can model and pattern your life after and become like them. 00:09:19.970 --> 00:09:35.695 They're not celebrities. Celebrities take like this magical moment of becoming popular and known. Saints were never known. They just lived normal lives empowered by the spirit. And they become models for us to live after, even in their death. 00:09:36.570 --> 00:09:46.490 We need to know I think we should know more about saints than celebrities today in the church. Yes? Now, here's what Paul says. Verse 19, I serve the Lord. Whoo. 00:09:46.490 --> 00:10:05.640 Let's just stop there. That word serve in the Greek is a verb for a slave. This is Paul's favorite way of describing himself. He doesn't say, I was volunteering in the church. Pastor pleaded every Sunday, can we get some more kids volunteers? 00:10:05.640 --> 00:10:13.560 Can we get some more hospitality volunteers? Let's start giving. No. He says, my life is not my own. I belong to a master. 00:10:13.640 --> 00:10:36.970 He says in Romans, Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus. In Galatians, if I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. In one Corinthians nine nineteen, he says, I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. There's one settled fact underneath everything Paul did. His life was not his own. 00:10:36.970 --> 00:10:55.215 Orange County, think about that for a moment. That is the opposite of what Orange County teaches. That's the opposite of what the American church is trying to sell you. Don't come to Jesus and have your life mapped out for you in blessing. You might come to Jesus and die on a cross. 00:10:59.615 --> 00:11:09.560 Orange County wants you to build your life. Wants you to build your dreams. Follow your career. Follow your heart. Build and create the perfect body. 00:11:09.800 --> 00:11:34.800 The whole economy runs off you owning your life. Paul's first word to the church of Orange County is if you want a life worth living, it's owned by someone else. And he is Lord, which means King. He is Lord of your life, and that's nice Christian language. He's Lord of your screen time. 00:11:35.680 --> 00:11:50.135 Is he? Like this is, if Paul was here, he would write to the church and go, what are you doing? Wasting away all of your time. He is Lord of your time, is he not? Is he Lord of your finances? 00:11:50.855 --> 00:12:00.140 I see it got... I said time, and you're like, I can go there. Talk about my money. No. Because it's too close to my heart. 00:12:00.140 --> 00:12:29.900 It provides too much comfort and security. And I might I might agree with you that I should tithe, but what I don't want to say is he's Lord of everything, and he decides what I receive. If you were to take an audit of how you live, is he Lord? Paul starts by saying, it's not my life. My time, my habits, my relationships, my my hope for a future, my desire for a future. 00:12:29.900 --> 00:12:48.355 He says, I'm compelled by the spirit. That's prison language. I'm bound by the spirit. Before I'm shackled by the Romans, I'm already shackled by the spirit's desires. But we want to make it as easy as possible for you to follow Jesus, and so we'll make you a volunteer leader. 00:12:48.355 --> 00:12:52.030 No. No. No. Slave of Jesus. Be offended by the word. 00:12:52.030 --> 00:13:13.505 That's what it is in Greek. So if you want to know what credentials Paul brings to the church as he gives his eloquent farewell speech, I was a slave to Jesus Christ. Serving is not something that you do. A servant is who you are in the Christian world. So, yeah. 00:13:13.505 --> 00:13:21.590 Sign up. You know, sign up for a hospitality team. That's cool. Thank you for all of those that are faithfully serving. I was on a boat last night. 00:13:21.590 --> 00:13:32.070 I was on a boat watching the sunset in Long Beach. And I saw a friend of ours who lives on a boat. He helped start our church. His name's Kevin. Kevin serves in hospitality. 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:44.405 He's like, I'll see you tomorrow morning. He's talking to one of our friends who leads there. I'm like, Kevin, you've been serving for over eighteen years at GARDEN CHURCH. Before it was GARDEN, Kevin's been serving. I'm like, that is incredible. 00:13:44.405 --> 00:14:01.640 His life is not his own. But yeah, we need volunteers. Isn't it crazy that I have to ask for it? Like is this your are you a part of this church? Or are you just consuming goods? 00:14:02.585 --> 00:14:19.040 I get it. I get. So we know there's a lot of transfers, and I understand there's a lot of churches that you come from that you've been hurt by, and you're coming into a healthy place, and I want you to leave well. And we're not against that, but at some point you commit. Stop doing your spiritual buffet. 00:14:19.040 --> 00:14:29.855 What is that? That is an American Frankenstein in the church. You bury your life in the soil of a local church and watch what God does. Okay. I'm going keep going. 00:14:29.855 --> 00:14:50.310 This is point one. I've got five of these. Sir, I serve the Lord, he says. I serve the Lord. Could you imagine if the next time we have a guest speaker, it was like, Okay, I got Preston Morrison from Pillar Church. 00:14:50.310 --> 00:15:06.285 You know, he's a best selling author. He's got the biggest podcast. What if it was like, no, no, no, I've watched him be a slave to Jesus? Do you see how countercultural this is to us? And then he goes, I serve the Lord with great humility. 00:15:06.285 --> 00:15:24.975 Oh, no, don't say that. We miss it because we've made humility a virtue. It's not a virtue in Roman context. That's like saying, in our context, I was unpopular, unknown, and ugly. That's what he's saying in their con... 00:15:24.975 --> 00:15:34.895 Is you don't want to be... The virtue he's he's... We have in the church is not a virtue in Roman antiquity. This was about being lower class. This is about status in a status culture. 00:15:35.180 --> 00:15:53.715 He's saying, not only was I a slave, but I took the position that nobody else wanted. Humility. He says in Ephesians four, he writes, be completely humble and gentle. How are we doing with being church? I was thinking about this. 00:15:53.715 --> 00:16:07.080 I was talking to a pastor a while ago, he was talking about how he's abrasive at times like Paul. And I was like, I don't know if that's what Paul was. If you read the rest, yeah, there were moments. But look at his writings. He's, Wait till I get to the next section in a couple moments. 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:33.215 But when I look at it, he's completely humble and be gentle. In Ephesians three, he says, I am the least of all the Lord's people. First Corinthians 15, he says, I am the least of the apostles. That word humility is is is about being in a position that below the slaves, and it was never a mark for the Roman empire despised that concept. And he's saying, no, that's a mark of a Christian leader. 00:16:34.660 --> 00:16:50.025 Knowing who is above you and who is below you is what the operating system of Rome was. And Paul says, no, we don't play by the operating system. And where did he learn it? He learned it from Jesus. I love the story when Jesus is washing his disciples' feet. 00:16:50.025 --> 00:16:58.665 No, no, no. Before that, let's go back. He knew, it says in John, that all things were given to him. And that he came from the father, he's going from the father. So he has all power and authority. 00:16:59.385 --> 00:17:10.600 And the moment he has this, have you ever been sitting, you're like, oh my gosh, I have a math test tomorrow. Do you remember those days? And you wake up, you're like, oh my gosh, I got a math. I got to study. He realizes everything's been given to him. 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:20.555 And what he was about. In that moment of, I have all the power and authority, he goes, hold on. What do I... I've got to take it off. He takes off his outer garment. 00:17:21.595 --> 00:17:47.345 He grabs some water, and he starts washing his disciples' feet. So you will know what do you do next time you have the realization at the dinner table that you're in charge of the house. That you're... As you lead your business, when you realize you have all these resources and all these employees, what do you do when you have the realization that you have all the power and authority? Just in case you wanna know what it looks like. 00:17:47.345 --> 00:18:02.970 You take off the outer garments. You get to the lowest position. And in in Jewish context, the Greek slave did it, not the Jewish slave because it was below the Jewish slave. And he washes his feet, the feet of his disciples. Where did Paul learn it? 00:18:02.970 --> 00:18:21.065 From Jesus, who humbled himself and became nothing. Philippians chapter two. I can go off on this, but I just say if you want to have healthy community, humility is the key ingredient. I love what Tim Keller says. He says, humility is self forgetfulness. 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:35.240 Because let me just make this clear. And Pastor Bill has taught me this here at Vanguard and throughout my whole life. Humility is an accurate view of self. So if you're insecure, guess what? That's pride. 00:18:37.505 --> 00:19:00.910 If you're arrogant, that's pride because both are obsessed with self. And humility is the freedom of not needing to be the point. Imagine how useful you would be in the workplace if you didn't walk in going, where do I stand here? Walking into your dorm room, you just moved to Vanguard a couple months ago. Some of you are Vanguard students or in different schools. 00:19:01.235 --> 00:19:15.715 And you walk in and you just want to know where you measure. Where are you in the standings? Where you go to school and you're, I want to be cool and known. I just want to know where I measure up today. Imagine of just not needing to know. 00:19:17.290 --> 00:19:48.600 How useful will you be? Because you could show up to Ephesus after Corinth and put on a work belt and humbly serve without needing a platform. You were just platformed in Corinth. For a year and a half, you saw amazing things. You platformed at the Areopagus in Athens, but you didn't show up to Corinth with bringing the leaders of the Areopagus with you. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:20:02.455 You know, bringing Joe Rogan and Mel Robbins from the podcast discussion. They're now in the crew. Know, I won them over and they left their industry and they're following me. Paul doesn't play that game. Do you? 00:20:05.895 --> 00:20:26.970 You see how frustrating it is to be a teacher? Because all week long, it's like everything that's set up in the American church is the opposite of what Paul's arguing. Just walking around convicted all day. Alex is like, why are you so down? I'm like, chapter 20 is why I'm down. 00:20:30.425 --> 00:20:41.545 My nervous system is fried. No. I'm carrying a word. I'm pregnant with this thing that is just crushing me. Because it's it's it says it's a double edged sword, and I've had it since Tuesday. 00:20:42.650 --> 00:20:57.450 And it is chopping me up. Get it out. Now you're messed up. It keeps going. This is where it got me. 00:20:57.450 --> 00:21:22.100 This is the one. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears. I did a deep dive in this one. How often does Paul talk about tears and crying? Oh, you guys, do you know that public tears in first century context, Roman context, was shameful? 00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:38.125 It's what women and slaves did. No dig on the women in the church. But that's... It was like for men, it was so inappropriate in his context. But he writes, and I don't have time to go over, he talks about it all the time. 00:21:38.660 --> 00:22:18.710 Philippians three eighteen, as I have often told you before and now tell you again, even with tears. In second Corinthians two four, out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, Paul will regularly write to the church that not only is he praying, he's he's got tears for his people. Paul served the church with tears. Can we just pause and like just pull back for a second? When we're doing job interviews for pastors at the church, I want to know, did they put tears on their resume for their previous job assignment? 00:22:21.445 --> 00:22:27.845 I'm I'm just... Wait for a moment. Can you just... Like, think about what you judge a church by. I'm not talking about performance tears. 00:22:27.925 --> 00:22:42.530 I'm talking about the the past... The shepherds of the church are not hirelings. They're people who carry wounds and tears for their flock. And Paul's saying, I stewarded what God did with you through my tears. I wept for you. 00:22:42.770 --> 00:23:04.215 For you. He'll talk about Colossians that he rejoices in suffering because he's making up in his body what lacks in Christ's afflictions. What? Talk about a mystery that Paul's own suffering is something that he rejoices in because it makes the church more whole. What? 00:23:05.230 --> 00:23:25.145 You see, we've been we've been so... Like, we've been sold something that's so not even biblical. The moment we reflect that the letter to the Christian church, we start reevaluating how we evaluate leadership. It shouldn't be booksells and size of church. It should be this capacity for authentically loving the community. 00:23:25.145 --> 00:23:46.570 So much so that in their prayer life, when no one's around, they wake up in the middle of the night, and they they they... The song comes on today. Dancers who dance upon injustice. I don't know about you, but there's people in my life that are experiencing injustice. And I'm not standing up in the middle of night dancing on it, prophetically saying, justice is coming, my friend. 00:23:51.195 --> 00:24:14.110 So the next part in a couple weeks, Paul will say, hey, when I leave, wolves are coming from among you. Not outside. As soon as I'm going, and the apostolic fathering oversight that I've had through my leadership is is... Has an absence, some of you are going to come in and be wolves. And how do we know what the wolves do? 00:24:14.270 --> 00:24:32.000 They lead people away from disciples of Jesus and they move them towards discipleship of themselves. Followers of themselves. Does that sound familiar? Wolves, he calls them. I was wrecked today, yesterday, because I was reading in Galatians yesterday. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:54.055 I'm reading all of Paul's letters as we're still studying Paul. And I got to Galatians chapter one. He says, if me or anyone else preaches the gospel other than one that we've been given to you, let them be eternally accursed. He says they should be cursed by God. Yet we love teaching that makes us feel better about ourselves even if it's false gospel. 00:24:55.015 --> 00:25:17.015 And we follow them and ingest it on TikTok and Instagram not knowing it's a false gospel being projected onto us. And he's saying those people should be cursed, and we don't know the difference between what's true and what's not true anymore. Because we're feeding the church, and we're feasting on them. Okay. I'm going to keep going. 00:25:17.015 --> 00:25:37.850 Is this all right? Paul weeps over the church he's leaving because tears are evidence of his proximity. It means he cares deeply. You weep over the people you let into your heart, don't you? This isn't a job or a career or a platform. 00:25:37.930 --> 00:26:02.170 He's clearly not a hired hand. He's a shepherd who weeps, just like Jesus. I want to say that you should know the difference between real tears that come from love and those who mimic them for performance. I don't know how to say this part, but I want to say it. I feel like authenticity is the currency of online media today. 00:26:02.970 --> 00:26:19.335 You know, everyone's like, can I just be real with you? And they're crying with a ring light. You know it's true. Right? You're fed authenticity that's been practiced and rehearsed with great lighting. 00:26:27.520 --> 00:26:47.655 Same is true from the pulpit. And we don't know the difference anymore. I just wonder what would happen if we actually woke up to the things of scripture. I mean, those three are enough to just say, alright, let's come forward and pray. Yep. 00:26:47.655 --> 00:27:04.860 Anyone need work on being a slave? Great. Let's have you come forward. I usually don't want to be in that position of humility, especially if it means me taking the lower position. I like being affirmed, you know, having the benefits of being known by you all. 00:27:04.860 --> 00:27:28.180 You know, I get free coffee every now and then. Yeah, got free loafers. How silly is that? Humility, slave, tears. I'm going keep going because I've to get through this. 00:27:32.340 --> 00:27:59.600 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. One thing I see over and over again in the leadership of Paul is he allows the hardships he faces to form him. His credentials are suffering. He talks about being compelled by the spirit to experience prison and hardships. Now, think about that for a moment. 00:27:59.840 --> 00:28:24.050 These are not the things that you schedule in your ministry plans. Like you're doing your life map, you know, every January. You're like, launch your new values, and you got your goals. Paul's like, every time I go to pray to the Lord, and I try to map out my life, he's like, prison and hardship, that's all you got. I mean, how's that working out? 00:28:25.490 --> 00:28:28.130 No, get it. I get it. Get it. Here's thing. Here's the thing. 00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:48.595 Like, you have these goals in your life. Like, you want to follow your career path. Want to follow Paul's Paul's saying to the church, like, if you follow Jesus, hardships and suffering and trials are the things that make you become more like him. So those are the things that you put out going. You want to see what my credentials are? 00:28:49.240 --> 00:29:02.520 Go to second Corinthians. Let's just let's just read his credentials real quick. Because he'll do this in Corinth. Corinth's like, oh, we're all about the super apostles. We're all about the the leaders that have massive followings on Instagram and TikTok that have led the conferences and got the New York Times best sellers. 00:29:02.765 --> 00:29:08.845 Those are our people who say, oh, cool. That's great. Let me tell you what I got. Verse 24. Sorry. 00:29:08.845 --> 00:29:14.285 Verse 23. I've worked hard... Much harder. I've been imprisoned more frequently. I've been flogged more severely. 00:29:14.285 --> 00:29:26.430 I've been exposed to death again and again. Five times, I received the Jews, the 40 lashes minus one. Three times, I was beaten with rods. Once, was pelted with stones. Three times, I was shipwrecked. 00:29:26.430 --> 00:29:47.850 I spent the night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, and danger from bandits, and danger from my fellow Jews, and in danger from Gentiles, in in in the danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, in danger at false believers. I've been labored and toiled. I have been gone without sleep. 00:29:47.850 --> 00:30:06.875 I have known hunger and thirst. I have gone without food. I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face the daily pressure of my concern for all the churches who is weak and I do not feel weak, who is led into sin and I do not inwardly burn. If I must boast, I must boast of the things that show my weaknesses. 00:30:11.210 --> 00:30:41.390 How's that for a resume? What's going on here? Well, just think when I look at what Paul's saying, he's saying the way he serves the church is he's carrying this gear like a soldier serves in the army. He's saying, no, suffering is the gear for Christ likeness. Hardships is this word that's translated tribulation. 00:30:41.390 --> 00:30:52.335 You ever heard that word before? It's the same word for tribulation. It means pressure. It means... It's the the image is what happens to grapes when they're put into a press. 00:30:53.055 --> 00:31:12.090 That's hardships. Paul isn't saying ministry will be inconvenient. He's saying the spirit told him ministry is suffering. And he says, I'm bound by the spirit. I'm I'm literally imprisoned to the spirit. 00:31:12.490 --> 00:31:44.270 And he's going to he's going to follow Jesus through open doors by the power of the spirit, assuming opposition and crisis. God has a course for your life, and part of that course will require your crushing. How many of you have suffered? Paul's saying life's going to be hard with Jesus. You will experience the hardest kind of suffering, but that's where the oil comes out. 00:31:44.910 --> 00:32:04.635 All these people are talking about anointing right now. Oh, the anointing. Carry the oil. I think if you want the oil, you've got to learn to suffer well. Because if you if you look at Jesus, if he's the ultimate model, then it's his worst suffering that produces salvation. 00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:28.585 So suffering is the back door to glory. Can I just pause on this one for a moment? Because I think what could be helpful in a community like ours with the veneer of everything looking good and beautiful is that within the church, there's a lot of pain. Within this gathering at nine a. M, at the nine a. 00:32:28.585 --> 00:32:46.280 M. In Huntington Beach, as we gather the people of God, there's so much pain. And oftentimes, we're taught in the Christian world that if you suffer, then something's off. Like the enemy's trying to get you. You haven't obeyed the invitation of Jesus. 00:32:46.280 --> 00:33:22.315 And I would like to suggest that perhaps you're right where you need to be. But perhaps the suffering needs to be redirected as worship to the Lord. Bill has taught me that you will all suffer, but it doesn't mean you suffer well. And if you now can reframe what you're walking through as a gift. I know it hurts. 00:33:22.315 --> 00:33:49.965 I know it's unjust. I know it's not working the way you want it to be. But if you could perhaps receive it from the Lord as a gift for who you are becoming And persevere with him in it, then you'll see the other side as glorious. Could I give you some tools for that for those of you that are there? Number one, stop praying away the problem. 00:33:53.645 --> 00:34:05.510 Pray the problem. So what does that mean? You want the solution to the crisis. Why not just be honest with God in the crisis? This really sucks. 00:34:07.030 --> 00:34:25.525 I'm hurt. I can't believe the betrayal. These people were supposed to be representing God, but what they did is the opposite. And it hurts. And rather than moving on to try to find the polished thing at the end of the road, sit in it with Jesus because that's where he's waiting. 00:34:25.525 --> 00:34:51.965 When I was texting the team today about what I feel God wants to do, he wants to do inner healing for some folks. Where he's sitting at the table of your suffering saying, let me put the glass out so it will overflow. Only you don't want to sit at the table of your enemies. That's a whole journey. But what Paul reveals and what Christ reveals over and over again is we have to have good language for suffering. 00:34:52.525 --> 00:35:11.230 And what we should do, people will say, don't follow a leader that doesn't have a limp. Have you ever heard that phrase? I say, don't follow a leader that doesn't have a limp, but knows why he's limping. Problem is we have leaders who limp and they bleed all over us. Because they don't know why they're limping. 00:35:11.790 --> 00:35:30.800 So they reinjure everyone. Like, I could see he's suffering. I can see he's gone through it, but they haven't processed it and integrated it with Jesus. And they create more damage along the way. We need to do better at healing ourselves or be in the process of healing with others so that our wounds become access points of healing for others. 00:35:31.600 --> 00:35:41.440 I love what Jesus does with, Thomas. He's like, here they are. Check them out. Put your fingers in my wounds. And you know what Jesus will do once he heals you of the suffering? 00:35:41.705 --> 00:36:01.130 Once you integrate the suffering, because you might not fully ever recover from it. And you'll be different as a result of it. You know what he does? Is he uses them as windows of grace for others to be healed. Yeah, that's a heavy one. 00:36:01.370 --> 00:36:15.025 That's why it was heavy last night, guys. I'm finally feeling that peace from the Lord. Bill always says... Always ask Pastor Bill before he preaches, How are doing? He goes, I'll be better in a couple hours. 00:36:19.825 --> 00:36:35.550 I feel like a toddler in my emotions sometimes. I just don't know. But I'm feeling the peace of the Lord now as I finally speak out what was carried in my heart. I want the Lord to touch you today. So before I go to 0.5 at Huntington and Costa Mesa, can we just do this? 00:36:35.790 --> 00:36:47.925 If you're in it, would you just raise your hand? The stuff I'm talking about is just resonating. Would you just raise your hand up high? And I'm gonna have you guys close your close your eyes for a moment and open your hands. I saw all your hands. 00:36:47.925 --> 00:37:02.440 There's a lot of you here. I wanna just lead you into a moment real quick with the Lord. If you saw that hand go up or you see someone with their hands out like this, would you put a hand next to them? If you can sit where you are, go ahead and lean on somebody. Let's get a community of faith here. 00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:19.055 So Huntington do the same. We're just laying hands for a moment. We interrupt this sermon to do the ministry of Jesus. And you guys begin to pray out your best prayers. They just said that they've been in it. 00:37:19.055 --> 00:37:42.435 You don't know the details. Begin to pray however you feel led for your brother or sister that's here carrying the burden of whatever it is they're carrying. And then I'll add my prayers to your prayers. Lord, we pray you release the grief in the room. The burden that's being carried. 00:37:42.835 --> 00:37:56.100 Way Holy Spirit... You say, Jesus, that the Holy Spirit is a counselor. Comforter. We pray now that the power of God would comfort and counsel the inner wounds. I hear I hear the tears. 00:37:56.100 --> 00:38:10.625 Would you just release the tears, Lord? Just keep praying. Lord, we just release your ministry. You know what they need. Would you begin to heal the loneliness? 00:38:10.625 --> 00:38:30.740 Would you comfort the loneliness? Would you comfort the dark nights with your presence right now? I pray that you show in their mind a movie of sorts. A trailer of all the ways you've been interacting with them without them knowing. Just keep praying. 00:38:30.740 --> 00:38:50.640 I think I have a word for somebody, and it's going to be so cheesy, but I have to do it. So if you're getting prayer and this is for you, would you just wave your hand so I can look less like a fool in a moment? But one of you, there's the... I don't even remember what it's, it's the footprints in the sand. Someone needed to be reminded of the footprints in the sand. 00:38:50.640 --> 00:38:58.400 Like it's where you saw two sets of footprints and then there was only one and you turn to God. What happened there? He's like, that's when I was carrying you. Who was that for? Okay. 00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:04.855 I bless you. Lord, I just blessed my brother. Yeah. He sees you. He loves you. 00:39:04.855 --> 00:39:15.255 You haven't been alone. And maybe that word that he carries you in the hardest season is for you. He's always been with you. He's so proud of you and pleased with you. We love you, Jesus. 00:39:15.255 --> 00:39:29.310 Bless our brother as he's being ministered to. If that's in Huntington, I can't see you, but God bless you. Okay. In Jesus' name, Amen? We are talking as a team. 00:39:29.310 --> 00:39:40.125 This is so great because you can feel it. I want to tell you what happened. Pre service, Ramin texted me, what are you feeling? I sent this long text to him and John. I said, I think the tenderness of Jesus is going to be in our church today. 00:39:40.445 --> 00:39:49.460 Do you feel that? Isn't that cool? Okay. We can we can go back to preaching now. Is that okay? 00:39:49.460 --> 00:40:05.945 There's some cash up here. Somebody... In our church, sometimes people just throw cash at me. This is an offering to the Lord. And we give it to those in need. 00:40:05.945 --> 00:40:12.585 So, you know, we have Hannah here. Hannah's a missionary from... In Israel right now. Talk about a place that God really loves. Yes? 00:40:13.730 --> 00:40:31.295 And her and her husband and four children living in the top 10 most expensive places on the planet have financial needs. And she's here and you guys have more than enough. So you should make sure that those needs are met today at the 9AM Costa Mesa. Yep. And there's cash up here and and it's... 00:40:31.295 --> 00:40:37.535 Yeah. Now there's gonna be more cash. So this is gonna happen. And our team, our elders will will discern where it's gonna go. We'll we'll let you know. 00:40:37.535 --> 00:41:02.545 But this is... If you haven't seen, this is what what God keeps doing from a year ago. We had a moment where somebody interrupted the service and that went to our good friend and, a testimony of Jesus was put on display of his generosity to care for a father who lost his wife and a family. And that that father was back from South Africa, and he's sitting in the church right now. And that was the first time I saw him back in our church. 00:41:02.545 --> 00:41:23.425 And it was a remarkable moment of God because that couple in particular helped start our church. And if Amy Colgan was here, which she's... I know she's in heaven with Jesus. A lot of the things we're witnessing today were things she was pioneering when there were 12 of us. Dancing on the side with flags over here. 00:41:23.425 --> 00:41:33.185 She was the first dancer in the church. She'd be dancing on injustice. She'd try to get as close to the stage as possible. I love that about her. And and some of our team didn't know her, and they'd be like, try to stop her. 00:41:33.185 --> 00:41:46.130 I'm like, if you knew what I knew about her suffering, you'd let her dance. That's why I love seeing the men dance up here. I know some of their testimonies. Like, what's up with the young men dancing? I'm like, you wanna go to church where young men don't dance? 00:41:53.345 --> 00:42:11.240 Huntington's like, what's up? I don't know what's going on. There's there's some young men that dance Huntington Beach, and they have a testimony. I know I'm supposed to preach, but I just love this moment because it's human. Right? 00:42:11.240 --> 00:42:38.360 It's real. It's like it's the dirt under your fingernail kind of stuff of community that apostles need to have. Shepherds need to have. As pastor John learned from pastor Bill, shepherds smell like their sheep. And perhaps this is what Paul is just demonstrating as he serves with great humility and tears, as the church watched how he lived, it was his life that became the gift he gave away. 00:42:38.360 --> 00:43:10.210 He'll write later in Corinthians, he'll say, I long to be with you but I can't, so I'm sending I'm sending Timothy. And he says, who will remind you of how I lived amongst you, and he will remind you of my message. So he sent disciples who showed the church how Paul lived. Because there's no disconnect between the life of the leader and preacher and the message they carried. That we have to live the Jesus way if we proclaim the Jesus truth, to paraphrase Eugene Peterson. 00:43:11.015 --> 00:43:31.920 And perhaps, the... Our church, could we just say, we should expect our leaders to at least live as best as they can the way of Jesus? Like, I actually look at the qualifications, and I remind our elders all the time in first, Timothy chapter three of the qualifications of elders. It talks about being godly. That is an expectation of leadership. 00:43:32.080 --> 00:43:57.860 We want our leaders to be godly, yes, and above reproach, and manage our household, and know how to manage money, and not be taken away by alcoholism, or any of those things live in moderation. There's a whole list, and I feel like we've just dumbed it down and go, no one can live that way. Actually, that's what Paul expected. And now I say that, and I know attacks are going to come against our elders, but we're we're here for it. We're gearing up because we want to see a move of God. 00:44:00.180 --> 00:44:25.180 So the gift you get to give the world is who you are becoming in Christ. So he's given us four characteristics. Now, we have the last bit and I'll just I'll close it up because we gotta we gotta do ministry, more ministry. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you, but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I've declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance, and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:44:25.180 --> 00:44:46.470 Can I just say something? That Paul's life also had content. Like, it wasn't like I'm just showing up to Ephesus to preach the gospel and sometimes use words. He declared to the Jews and the Greeks, repent and turn to the Lord Jesus. Have faith. 00:44:46.550 --> 00:45:05.325 Repent. We've already talked about this last week. He's telling people, stop following those false idols, and have faith and trust and belief and put your well-being under the Lord Jesus Christ. That word to declare means to take the stand. His life was a message to the world. 00:45:05.325 --> 00:45:30.535 He took a stand publicly, house to house, living rooms, dinner tables, and in public. He called Artemis worshipers to repent, and they burned magic books. The silversmiths lost money, and he said he didn't hold back. What we do is we compromise the gospel to make you feel better. And as soon as you say, oh, pastor's yelling at me again, you get offended by the truth of the gospel. 00:45:30.615 --> 00:45:55.750 It will always confront the lies you believe. It will always confront the counterfeit gospel you've inquired to, and the false idols. And Paul says, kindness is proclaiming the truth of Jesus. And today, we worship kindness, which is really cowardice giving into the idols of the age. And we try to be relevant. 00:45:57.905 --> 00:46:19.780 We try to not offend people. The gospel is offensive. And the gospel lived out is a life that will offend people. Otherwise, you're on the wrong team. So if you don't experience hardships, if you're not walking in humility as a servant to the Lord, if you don't feel deep enough for the people that you love in your community, may I suggest you're on the wrong team? 00:46:22.825 --> 00:46:59.775 It's not going to go very well on Instagram. Or no, actually it will, because we just love the virality of rage. But in your own life, just want to perhaps say, are you living away in such a way that requires an explanation for the kind of transformative life that you permeate in the workplace or at school? Paul has a message, and his message is Jesus. And he he teaches repentance, and repentance without faith is religion. 00:47:01.800 --> 00:47:32.390 Turning from your sin with nowhere to go is a religion, but faith without repentance is just sentiment. Trusting Jesus while keeping your idols on the shelf, that's the way of the American church. And somehow we've made following Jesus a private experience. But there's no such thing as a silent Christian or a private Christian in scripture. If you want to live like Paul, it always goes public. 00:47:34.230 --> 00:48:07.060 And it gets down to the motive in verse 24. He says, however, being led by the Holy Spirit to these places to experience hardships in prison, he says, I consider my life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race and to complete the task of the Lord Jesus has given me. The task, the assignment of testifying to the good news of God's grace. When he says, I consider my life worth nothing, he's saying, there's no argument here to my life. 00:48:07.060 --> 00:48:19.985 It's all his. Because he's not holding on to anything, he just wants to finish the task received. Can I just say that? He received his ministry from Jesus. It's Jesus' ministry. 00:48:19.985 --> 00:48:26.625 This is not his. Jesus gave it to him. He didn't build it. He doesn't need to protect it. He just wants to finish it. 00:48:27.800 --> 00:48:59.450 A man building his own ministry has to guard it with his life because it lives and dies on him. But if a man is receiving it from Jesus, he can walk into the wine press of every city and know that it's him that has to produce it. Jesus that has to produce it. Because the one that produces that ministry walked out of a tomb when he was pressed. I think in our American context, we've separated these things, especially in Orange County. 00:49:00.330 --> 00:49:21.715 Can I just say that if you want the spirit, it's going to come with tribulation? The spirit's going to come with suffering. If you want the anointing, it's going to come with chains. Your life will not be your own. You'll be bound to the spirit first, and then suffering will probably be produced because of the work you're doing with Jesus. 00:49:22.435 --> 00:49:47.065 If you want to finish the race, the race will have you run straight through the sufferings, just like Jesus. So the last thing I want to say, and I didn't get to preach everything because I got a part two. But I just want to say, by way of Paul, don't waste your life. Don't waste your life trying to build wealth to retire. Don't waste your life waiting for the next big thing to happen to you. 00:49:47.065 --> 00:50:01.980 Don't waste your life trying to be famous. You're known by Jesus. Don't waste your life living for the approval of man. Don't waste your life trying to keep your faith private so that you can be cool and have a reputation. Lose your reputation for the love of Jesus. 00:50:01.980 --> 00:50:24.455 Don't waste your life consuming sermons. Carry a sermon instead. And don't waste your life by not allowing the trials and your hardships to produce Christ like character. Steward your suffering for the sake of Jesus, because who you become in Christ is the gift you give the world. So the question I have is who are you who are you becoming today? 00:50:24.615 --> 00:50:25.335 Let's all stand. 00:50:29.450 --> 00:50:32.410 For more information, visit us at garden.church.