May 6, 2024 • 43 mins
How should we deal with discouragement and depression as believers?
The Lord has encouraging words for those who are struggling. In this episode, Brody walks through discouragement in the life of Paul and 8 principles we can learn from it. The darkness of sin and this fallen world will sometimes wear us down.
When we’re in these seasons, we need to be looking to Christ and find strength in his Word. God is with you. Let’s fight for our joy and peace when we’re in the midst of hardships.
- Acts 17-18
- Lamentations 3:21-26
8 Principles from Paul in Acts 18
- God will often use our hardships, experiences and difficulties to encourage others or help them through hard times.
- Don’t sit around. Do something productive.
- The most faithful thing you and I can do is preach Jesus to others.
- Discouragement often comes on the heels of a great move of God.
- The darkness of sin and the world will sometimes wear you down, weary you and discourage you.
- The Lord is with you, will never leave you, and will give you strength and courage.
- I need fellowship.
- I need a word from the Lord.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today I want to talk about something that is not
lighthearted, it's kind of heavyand I think it's something that
every believer, every humandeals with, but definitely every
believer and that isdiscouragement.
I want to talk aboutdiscouragement and I want to try
to make some distinctionsnon-scientific, non-medical
(00:25):
distinctions betweendiscouragement and depression
and the reason I want to do that.
I think a lot of times peoplesay I'm struggling with
depression, or that person isdepressed and it, and it could
be that they are, but it couldalso be that they're just
dealing with some discouragement.
Discouragement is a reality foreverybody, especially for
everybody who's in Christ, andand I want to I've had my share
(00:49):
of it and I would even say thatI deal with it frequently, not
not just a season or two in mylife or a time here and a time
there.
It kind of comes and goesconsistently in my life.
And I think if you're movingforward in life and you're
engaging in relationships andyou're doing ministry, and
especially if you're in any kindof leadership, that means if
(01:11):
you're a mama to three toddlers,you're in leadership.
If you're a business owner,you're a pastor.
And especially a word forpastors today um, not especially
, but, but a word that I thinkpastors will connect with.
There's one portion of thistalk, um, or this episode rather
, that I think will connect withpastors in a very personal and
(01:34):
real way.
What I'm not saying at any pointin this episode is that people
don't struggle with genuinemental illness, that that there
aren't legitimate mental healthissues that people have to work
through and they might needanything from counseling to
medicine, medical treatment,psychiatric treatment.
(01:56):
I'm not saying that.
None of that is real.
What I'm saying is I thinksometimes we're too quick to not
identify that, as Christians,we're, we're we're facing a
season of discouragement.
It could be.
When I say a season, in thisepisode I could mean a day, an
hour, a week, a year, a stretchof time, but it's it's.
(02:19):
The idea is that everybody'sgoing to face discouragement at
times, and you could, I mean itdoesn't even matter for
semantics sake if you call itdepression, but what I'm not
talking about is clinicaldepression, and what I'm not
doing is implying that.
No, that that's not a realthing, because it is.
I just want us to be.
(02:39):
You know, the scripture says weshould be sober minded and
oftentimes I believe the enemy.
You know we wrestle not againstflesh and blood, and I think a
lot of times we're discouragedand run down and beat down and
we just need to lean into Christand claim victory that he's
made available to us, and that'swhat this episode is
practically what we're trying todrive at, so hope it is an
encouragement to you.
(02:59):
Have you ever been discouraged?
Are you discouraged?
And then, if the answer to bothof those is no, then just hang
on.
You're going to facediscouragement, and so I want to
learn some lessons from theApostle Paul.
That'll be very helpful andencouraging, I hope.
So.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Stick with me and I want to welcome you to no Sanity
Required from the Ministry ofSnowbird Wilderness Outfitters,
a podcast about the Bibleculture and stories from around
the globe.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I don't know if there's been a season in your
life where you faceddiscouragement or frustration,
maybe anxiety or depression.
Some some of our listeners nodoubt deal with legitimate
depression.
Uh, a well-known um Christianartist recently passed away and
there's been a lot of talkaround um this person struggling
with depression.
I have no idea what the causeof death was.
(03:58):
I haven't drilled into it, um,but I've I've heard talk of
depression and it's somethingthat comes up a lot.
We deal with students and anduh, student ministry.
You see it a lot Kids that arejust a lot of depression but
probably more anxiety.
And then you know, anxiety in amore clinical sense but then
(04:21):
also just anxiousnessanxiousness about life, and the
scripture addresses it a lot.
You'll see a lot of times inthe Bible where, um the Lord has
encouraging words for us.
Jesus will say things like cometo me all you that labor and
are heavy laden and I'll giveyou rest.
Rest for your weary souls iswhat he's talking about.
(04:43):
He's talking about you're underthe burden of life.
You're under the laborious taskof buying groceries, changing
diapers, getting kids to school.
You're under the task of payingbills and always feeling like
you're behind.
You're under the task ofdisciplining a wayward child or
(05:04):
an adult kid that's walked awayfrom the Lord, and you feel the
weight of that.
Sometimes, um, the stress oflife comes from other people's
struggles and sin or um, orsickness or sorrow.
But we all face it, we all, weall face it.
And if you have any leadershipresponsibility, uh, I don't know
(05:27):
how you would be able to saythat you go through any phase of
life I mean week by weekwithout facing discouragement,
um, discouragement fromcriticism, discouragement from
people that quit or move on orum, and sometimes it's good, you
know, it's good that someone'smoving on.
Maybe it's time for the Lord tomove them on, or or maybe
(05:50):
they've got a better opportunitysomewhere and you lose a person
that way.
Um, maybe discouragement ifyou're in, if your pastor has
left and your church is nowlooking for a new pastor, that
can be a tough season.
I don't, I don't know what youmight be facing this week, if
and if maybe you're in one ofthose seasons that where it's
(06:10):
just good, everything's good,you're flying high, life is good
, things are going your way,kind of just a good season.
But maybe not.
Maybe you're in a season whereyou're struggling because
there's there's something youknow.
I don't know I don't want totry to fill in the blanks what
(06:33):
it might be could be financial,could be fertility issues for a,
for a couple, could be um,you're facing potential illness,
you know.
Or or loss of a family member,I don't know.
I don't know where you're at, Idon't know what you're going
through.
But it's easy to get discouragedand depression is a real thing
and it overwhelms people.
But the longer I've lived lifeand then dealt with these things
(06:57):
in my own mind, my own heart,and then also the longer I've
done ministry and dealt with itin other people's lives, the
more I realize.
I think what we face more oftenthan depression is
discouragement.
But when we do face depression,the principles that are laid
(07:23):
out in the're even having tofigure out you know, medication
and things like that.
I would just encourage you thatthere's truth in what we're
going to talk about today forthat scenario.
But for most of us,discouragement is just real man,
like financial stuff, tax stuff.
You know you're behind on abill or you're, you're caught up
(07:45):
but you can't seem to get anytraction in terms of like
savings or, um, whatever andit's always working from behind,
could be again relationalstrain and nothing.
Nothing creates discouragementfor me more than relationship
struggles and strains.
And so I want to I want todrill into this and hopefully be
(08:08):
an encouragement to you, and Iwant to look at a season of what
I think was very difficultdiscouragement in the life of
the apostle Paul.
We're going to be in Acts 18,but we're going to actually back
up into Acts 17.
What happens in Acts 17,?
Let me just give you a summary.
Paul is working with a guynamed Silas and they're doing
(08:32):
ministry.
They go to a place calledThessalonica.
The Lord moves, but there's alot of conflict.
So they see, and this is whathappens a lot we get frustrated
or discouraged, or even faceanxiousness, depression,
whatever it is when God ismoving in clear ways.
(08:53):
But then there's conflict.
Paul and Silas are here.
I mean, they faced conflictbefore.
When they get to Thessalonica,they've just come out of prison.
I mean they just got released.
Um, like if you go to the endof act 16, paul and Silas get
locked up and roughed up andthen they get released.
(09:18):
And then, when they get released, they go right back to
encouraging other believers.
And then they, they go to thisplace called Thessalonica and
they, they hit several towns andthere's like three weeks where
Paul is preaching and he goesbecause he had this, uh, in in
in those days in the Jewishchurch you couldn't um a person
(09:42):
with Paul's credentials.
He was a Pharisee.
He could come to church and hewould immediately be given the
stage so he could go up and talk.
He had this authoritative voice.
Imagine if you would a Muslimimam who became a Christ
follower, but he was a prominentimam in the Muslim faith and he
(10:05):
shows up to a mosque andeveryone recognizes him and they
put him right up front and theywant to hear from him.
So this is what Paul was doing.
And then he'd get up there andhe would preach the gospel.
People start getting saved.
But then some people get so madand like multiple times there
would be riots.
(10:25):
So a lot of conflict, a lot ofpeople screaming, yelling, you
know, pushing back, just a lotof conflict.
That's what Paul faced.
And so he's in this situationwhere anything he does is
explosive.
Anything he does when hepreaches, it's explosive.
(10:48):
The dead are saved and broughtto spiritual life, but then the
conflict or the pushback fromthe enemy is massive.
And so it's like he's seeinggreat fruit and reward and great
persecution and difficulty.
And then he goes fromThessalonica to a place called
Berea and something uh similarhappens there, where there's a
(11:11):
lot of um, there's a lot offruit to ministry, but then
there's also a lot of conflict.
And so everywhere he's going,he's facing terrible conflict.
I mean, imagine if everywhereyou go you're it's it's
borderline inciting a riot.
You know, think about you.
You look at people that arereal polarizing figures, like um
(11:33):
on certain college campuses.
You hear when someone likeJordan Peterson or Doug Wilson
goes to speak on a collegecampus, there's riots.
Imagine if, everywhere you go,you face riots but you also face
like endearing fans.
So everywhere Paul would go, hewould face hardship and
difficulty, but he would also.
He would also see great fruit.
And most of us can identify withto some degree in our lives.
(11:56):
There are things we can beexcited about and thankful for,
even if we don't feel itemotionally, we can point to it
and go.
God's given me a loving spouse.
God's given me a church family.
God's given me, you know, foodand clothing, and all my needs
are met, whatever it might be.
But then you go.
But, man, I'm discouraged andhere's why I'm frustrated, or
maybe you don't even know why.
(12:17):
It's just a spirit ofdepression or discouragement.
So Paul is kind of in and out ofall this craziness.
Then he goes to a place calledAthens and when he gets to
Athens a crazy thing happens andhe ends up debating as the
representative of the Christianfaith.
And the reason Athens issignificant is in Athens.
(12:38):
Paul ends up on a very publicstage.
It would be like debating onthe biggest stage on TV.
You know, think of, think ofthe halftime of the Superbowl,
and, and they pan over andyou're debating someone on a
very hot topic like abortion orthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict
(13:01):
, something like that, issues oftransgenderism, and right on
the halftime show of the SuperBowl, you're the one person by
yourself standing there anddebating a panel or a team of
people.
They've got the backing of themedia or whatever.
So Paul's in that situation.
(13:22):
So he leaves Athens and and ohand.
When he's there it's the firsttime you see this there's not a
lot of fruit, very little.
There's very little, uh, in theway of conversions.
And so he leaves.
He goes to a place calledCorinth, and when he gets there,
I'm just going to pick upreading here Then Paul left
Athens and went to Corinth.
(13:43):
There he became acquainted witha Jew named Aquila, born in
Pontus, who had recently arrivedfrom Italy with his wife
Priscilla.
They had left Italy whenClaudius Caesar deported all
Jews from Rome.
Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tent makers,
just as he was.
Okay, I want to give you eightlessons, eight principles, and
(14:05):
here comes the first one inthese three verses.
So Paul leaves all the conflictof Athens and he's discouraged
Literally, he's just frustrated.
He's discouraged Like listen tothe last few verses of Acts 17.
When they heard Paul speak aboutthe resurrection of the dead,
some laughed in contempt, butothers said we want to hear more
about this later.
That ended Paul's discussionwith him, but some joined him
and became believers.
(14:25):
Among them were Dionysius, amember of the council, a woman
named Demarius, and others withthem.
So you've got some people thatare laughing and ridiculing him.
And then there's a fewconversions it's fewer than what
you've seen anywhere else withPaul.
And then when he leaves Athenshe goes to the city of Corinth.
Then when he gets there,there's this couple named Aquila
(14:46):
and Priscilla, and they haveleft, they've just left Rome
under racial persecution, likean ethnic cleansing.
So it says that this emperor inRome named Claudius Caesar, he
kicked all the Jews out of Rome.
So if you were Jewish and youwere in Rome, you got persecuted
, you got displaced, you weresent into further exile.
(15:10):
And so this couple, they end upgoing to Corinth and they were
tent makers, which was a bluecollar trade, I think, but like
a high level, like it was a bigindustry, and so they had, they
had this skill where they wereable to make a living.
So they moved to Corinth.
So Paul comes to their home.
They're beat up and run down.
He's beat up and run down.
So here's lesson number one Godwill often use our hardships,
(15:35):
our experiences and ourdifficulties to encourage others
or help.
Read that again.
I'm going to include theseeight observations in the show
notes.
God will often use ourhardships, experiences and
difficulties to encourage othersor help them through hard times
.
So God uses the persecutionthat Aquila and Priscilla have
(15:58):
faced to encourage Paul when hecomes in under.
You know he's been under acycle, cycles of repeated
persecution.
It's a really wonderfulprinciple.
God may take something you'vebeen through that's very
difficult in your life aterrible divorce or breakup, a
miscarriage, the death of achild, past addiction, whatever
it is and then God uses that andsome of you might've seen this
(16:18):
God uses that to help encourageother people and I'm so grateful
that God takes our brokennessand our difficulties and he uses
them to grow us and then toimpact other people.
Here's the second lesson.
The second lesson is don't sitaround.
Do something productive, itsays in verse three.
Paul lived and worked with him,for they were tent makers.
A lot of times, I think, peoplethat are dealing with a season
(16:41):
of discouragement end up, youknow, um, end up wasting time
and and maybe, maybe you, youbegin to practice horrible
dietary habits, maybe you beginto, um, you escape to your phone
and you just sit and you andyou and you spend hours playing
(17:02):
video games or messing around onsocial media and scrolling
through social media.
Whatever it is.
You know, I don't know what itmight be for you, but that
happens a lot and uh, and, and.
So one of the things that Ihave found to be so productive
and so helpful when I'm dealingwith a season of discouragement
is to get productive.
(17:23):
Don't sit around, don't getlethargic and sit still.
It says that Paul startsworking with him.
So Paul, who is who spent thebulk of his adult life as a, as
a, an orator of, a religiousprofessor, an attorney, you know
, like this high-levelwhite-collar world he's lived in
, he goes back to just gettinghis hands dirty and doing
(17:47):
productive work, and I foundthis can be true.
This might be, you know, maybeit's you're dealing with
discouragement.
Go work out, go for a run, gosplit some wood or run the weed
eater.
Just do some things each daythat are physically productive
and a lot of times that givesyou mental space, I guarantee
you.
While Paul was working to makethese tents, two things were
(18:12):
happening.
One, there was organicconversation happening between
him and them that may have hadnothing to do with ministry.
They start talking about, youknow, their favorite sports
figures, or telling stories fromtheir childhood, or talking you
know, just that kind ofconversation that you have with
coworkers.
The other thing is he probablyhad a lot of time by himself.
(18:33):
I love to be on the mower orthe chainsaw or the weed eater,
because you can't hear anything.
I always wear earmuffs becauseI've damaged my hearing from not
wearing them for so many yearsand I love to just be in my
thoughts.
But I'm not sitting staring atthe paint on the wall.
In my thoughts, I'm beingproductive and letting my
(18:54):
thoughts kind of go where theygo.
Be productive.
That's the second lesson.
Let's keep going.
Each Sabbath, paul would be atthe synagogue trying to convince
the Jews and Greeks alike.
So lesson number three is themost faithful thing you can do
when you're struggling with orfaced with discouragement is to
preach Jesus to others.
When you're facingdiscouragement, proclaim Jesus
(19:18):
and his victory to others.
It says that Paul, in thisdifficult season, would go to
the church on Sundays and hestill had that potential or that
authority and opportunity topreach the word of God, so he
would go.
Preach Jesus to others.
When you're struggling withdiscouragement, talk about Jesus
, tell folks about Jesus.
(19:38):
I'd say if you're strugglingwith discouragement, talk about
Jesus, tell folks about Jesus.
I'd say, if you're strugglingwith discouragement or
depression, go out, soul winning, go witnessing and sharing your
faith with others.
Okay, let's move to the nextlesson.
So, lesson number one God, usehardships to encourage others.
Lesson number two a reminderdon't sit around.
Do something productive.
Number three proclaim Jesus inthese hard times.
(19:59):
And let's get to number four.
We're going to continue reading.
After Silas and Timothy camedown from Macedonia, paul spent
all of his time preaching theword.
He testified to the Jews thatJesus was the Messiah.
That actually goes with thatlast one.
We did number three just topreach the gospel, preach Jesus.
But they opposed and insultedhim.
(20:19):
And when they did, paul shookthe dust from his clothes and
said your blood is on your ownheads.
I'm innocent.
From now on, I will go preachto the Gentiles.
Then he left and went to thehome of Titus Justice, a Gentile
who worshiped God and livednext door to the synagogue.
Crispus, the leader of thesynagogue, and everyone in his
household believed in the Lord.
Many others in Corinth alsoheard Paul, became believers and
were baptized.
(20:40):
One night the Lord spoke toPaul in a vision and told him
don't be afraid, speak out,don't be silent, for I am with
you.
No one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city
belong to me Okay, huh, this is.
(21:02):
These next three are are, Ithink, so important?
Lesson number fourdiscouragement often comes on
the heels of a great move of God.
So Paul is seeing God move andpeople are coming to faith and
then all of a sudden, he facesdiscouragement.
How do we know that he facesdiscouragement, by the way?
Because one night the Lordspoke to Paul and said don't be
(21:22):
afraid, and there's anexclamation point Speak out, I'm
with you, no one's going toharm you.
You've got the word of the Lordcoming to him to encourage him.
And this is immediatelyfollowing, like a bunch of
baptisms, it says.
Many in Corinth heard Paul,became believers and were
baptized.
God saw Paul move andimmediately following that there
(21:45):
was there was like difficultydiscouragement.
So discouragement often comeson the heels of a great move of
God.
Lesson number five the darknessof sin and the world will
sometimes just wear you down.
It'll just wear you anddiscourage you.
I think there's times whereyou're going, man, I'm just
struggling right now.
(22:06):
I'm in a funk, I'm in a fog ofdepression, I'm in a fog of
anxiousness, or I just feelunhappy.
Sometimes it's like we don'teven know how to put words to it
.
I'm just discouraged, we don'tknow how to say that.
Or maybe I have depression, wedon't know how to say that.
But you recognize there's a fogof of um, like unhappiness,
(22:29):
like there's a loss of joy.
Where's my joy?
I don't feel joyful, I don'tfeel satisfied, just wrestling.
And and that's this fifth umlesson from acts 18 is that
sometimes it's just the worldwearing you down.
I mean, you're living in aworld if you're a mama and
you're getting kids off toschool or you're homeschooling
(22:50):
and and you know, maybe you'vegot one in diapers still, and
then one that's, you know, alittle older and rambunctious,
and then maybe one that's likethe perfect kid.
You know you're kind of allover the map with maturity and
and then also personalities, andthere's times where raising
those kids, or maybe your mom ofone child, but just raising a
(23:10):
child in the darkness andbrokenness of this world in this
day and age, is just.
Sometimes it just discouragesand overwhelms you.
In this day and age is just.
Sometimes it just discouragesand overwhelms you.
Maybe you're someone who wantsto be a mom and you can't like
for whatever reason, the Lordhas not yet opened your womb,
and so you feel alone anddiscouraged, living in a fallen
(23:31):
world heightens discouragement,especially in the mind of a
believer.
So sometimes the observation isI can't put my finger on it, I
don't know why I'm struggling,it's just uh it.
The world is dark.
You know the world is brokenand it brings discouragement.
But I love lesson number six.
There's only eight of these.
I love lesson number six.
(23:51):
The Lord is with you.
He will not leave you, he willgive you strength and he will
give you courage.
It's a reminder.
God comes to.
I love it.
God comes to Paul in a visionone night and he hears from the
Lord and the Lord says hey, I'mwith you, man, I'm with you and
nothing's going to happen to you.
That I don't allow.
(24:12):
It's very encouraging for Paul.
The Lord is with him, he's notgoing to leave him and he's
going to give him the strengththat he needs.
Listen, dear brother or sisterwhatever strength you need today
for your journey, that strengthis found in the Lord.
It's found in the Lord.
Whatever struggle you have,give it to the Lord.
(24:35):
Whatever fear you face, lay itat the feet of Jesus.
That's how this works and it'ssuch an important thing.
It's such an important thing toremember and be reminded of
that, that there's peace withJesus.
You know, okay, let's continue.
Um, um, let me keep going.
(25:00):
So Paul stayed there for a yearand a half teaching the word of
God, wow.
So he continued to preach andproclaim the gospel for 18
months.
So God gave him what he neededto do the task at hand.
Sometimes the task at handseems overwhelming.
Imagine if, on the front end ofthis, god said all right,
you're not going to just be herefor a few weeks, you're staying
(25:20):
here for a year and a half inthis persecution and you're in
this dark place.
And Corinth was a horrible city.
Oh, my goodness.
The, the sexual perversion anddeviance.
The, the pagan demonic worship.
Like when people are worshipingpagan deities, it just brings
demonic influence into acommunity.
(25:41):
It's, it's, it can beoverwhelming.
And so the.
The seventh lesson that Paulshows us is that we need
fellowship.
You need the body of Christ.
I need the body of Christ.
We need the local church.
I need my church.
I need old friends and newfriends and a common mission.
I need people who can identifywith me in my struggle and a
(26:03):
common mission.
I need people who can identifywith me in my struggle, who can
identify with me and where I'vebeen, what I might be going
through, people that just careabout me.
You need to be surrounded bypeople that love you and care
about you, and if you're likeman, I don't know I'm going to,
I'm going to strange, we justmoved, I'm in a new place, or I
just I just came to a newcollege and you know, I'm by
myself here and I can't figureout.
Where am I going to go tochurch?
(26:23):
What college ministry am Igoing to be a part of?
Maybe something like that.
Maybe it's your work just movedyou.
You know your work just movedyou, and so you had to uproot
and leave a church family thatyou loved.
I had this conversation, I wasspeaking this past weekend and I
was, I was, uh, I preached at achurch on Sunday morning and I
(26:46):
got done and there was a lot ofvisitors.
I think it's a church that'sdoing really well, growing and
kind of moving in the rightdirection and not kind of
they're moving in the rightdirection and and so I I got up
and I and I said, hey, I'm notthe pastor here, but this is an
awesome church If you're lookingfor a home church, it's a
(27:07):
wonderful community of faith andall the people there are just
wonderful.
I've preached there a coupletimes now and I love that church
and there were people I met forthe first time and there were
people that I'd met before thatI reconnected with, and several
couples husband and wife couples.
It was just a joy to meet, Um,and it's just a.
It was a warm church.
(27:27):
It was a warm church family,and so this lady comes up to me
after the service and she'sshe's crying, and I'd actually
preached from this same passagethat I'm walking through with
y'all right now.
It wasn't this message, itwasn't this, this talk, this.
You know what I'm doing herewith y'all right now.
It wasn't this message, itwasn't this talk.
What I'm doing here isdifferent.
(27:48):
What I talked there about washow Aquila and Priscilla used
their home as a base ofoperations for ministry, and so
the thrust of the message wasusing your family, your home, as
a base of operations to reachyour community and your world.
That was the message.
And, um, we looked at howAquila and Priscilla were always
on mission, everywhere you seethem.
In scripture, all seven timesare mentioned.
(28:10):
Man, they're getting it done.
This is just a uh, a bluecollar couple that, very wise,
they had, you know, they theytaught Apollo's doctrine when he
was preaching and he was notdoctrinally sound.
They brought him into theirhome and showed him, you know.
So that that was the, that wasthe thrust of the message, but I
talked about as a church beinga church full of people that are
(28:32):
on mission.
Well, this lady comes upafterwards and she starts to
share her story, and her storywas heartbreaking, I mean, it
broke my heart.
She was, um, she's got threeadult children who have all
turned away from the Lord.
She was a pastor's wife for along time and her husband and
her divorced just a few yearsago because he committed
(28:55):
adultery and had another woman.
And so now she goes from beinga pastor's wife, raising kids in
a church and all the activityassociated with that, to she's
literally by herself.
She's living in the Greensboro,winston-salem area, completely
alone.
And she said, you know, I visita few churches and they're so
(29:16):
big and I just felt lost andshe'd come to this church.
And she said, I don't know, Ifeel a warmth here and the
message really encouraged methat.
So she, she was able to meetwith the pastor and his wife at
this church and I'm praying forher.
Her name's Jenny.
I'm praying that Jenny will J EN N I E.
She said it's I E.
(29:36):
I love that Um, and and so she.
She was just through tearssharing her pain, and a lot of
it was.
She's just in a season ofdiscouragement.
But I said, I told her, I saidI want to encourage you to just
jump in with both feet in thischurch and let this church love
on you and you love on othersand you become a part of this
(29:58):
church community.
We need fellowship when we'redealing with discouragement.
We need fellowship.
We need the body of Christ.
We need the church.
We need old friends and newfriends.
We need a common mission,people that are on mission with
us.
That's important.
So press into the body ofChrist when you're dealing with
discouragement, because what youtend to do is you tend to want
(30:18):
to withdraw to yourself.
And the last one, and I justwant to share some personal
struggles.
I've been going through Just alittle bit of transparency not
total transparency, because alot of confidential stuff that
I'm carrying right now and it'snot confidential on my part part
(30:43):
it's.
It's confidential on the partof those I'm praying for and and
sort of trying to walk throughthings with just in the, in the
role or the, the flow ofministry that God's put me in.
But here, here's the eighthlesson.
I need a word from the Lord, Ineed a word from God there in
verses nine and 10.
Again, god came and spoke toPaul, paul's in this difficult
season he's.
You know, it's just the grindof ministry and life, and every
(31:04):
time God moves, the enemy movesand he faces persecution.
It's the most.
This one is the most importantthing for me day to day, because
the Lord's given me his wordand and and the word of God will
sustain me.
But I've got to press into itand I've got to press into it.
Recognizing the word of God issufficient me, but I've got to
press into it and I've got topress into it.
Recognizing the word of God issufficient, it has authority for
(31:24):
my life.
You know the scripture says ofitself, I think Hebrews four
that the word of God is livingand active.
It's a two edged sword.
The Holy spirit will use thatin my life to drive out sin and
temptation, to conquer enemyterritory.
Other place, in another place,the word of God is called bread
from heaven.
It's meat for the muscle of myspiritual life.
(31:47):
It puts meat on my bonesspiritually and builds muscle.
It's the cool breeze to afevered spirit and like cool
water to a parched soul.
The word of God is a powerfulweapon in the war on sin.
Satan runs from the word of God.
I am emboldened by the word ofGod.
(32:08):
The warring angels of God'sthrone never let God's word
leave their lips.
The grass withers, the flowerfades, but the word of our Lord
stands forever.
The word of the Lord is a lampunto my feet and a light unto my
path.
The word of the Lord hidden inmy heart will keep me from sin.
God's word is profitable.
It's useful in my life forreproof, for rebuke, for
(32:28):
correction, for instruction andrighteousness.
It is by the word of the Lordthat the oceans were laid out
and the mountains were stood up.
God's word was given toprophets, to save nations,
rebuke Kings, bring hope andcomfort to the poor, the
destitute, the widow and theorphan.
By his words, jesus cast outdemons, rebuked hypocrites,
healed lepers, forgave sin andbrought hope to the sick and
(32:52):
dying.
God's word is completelysufficient, fully authoritative.
It is to be wrestled with, butnever negotiated with or
compromised.
God's word has been given to mefor life and godliness, for
healing and comfort, and toinvigorate and strengthen me in
the day of trouble.
God's word may be the stillsmall voice after the storm, and
(33:13):
it's sometimes the boomingthunder from heaven, but to be
sure, it is the word of God thatwill sustain me, insulate me
from the cold and darkness ofthis world, bring oxygen to my
spiritual lungs and freedom tomy enslaved thoughts.
The word of the Lord is for nowand it is for forever, and it
is critical that in it I findnew mercies every day, strength
(33:36):
to stand, wisdom for life andthe sustaining power that God
has promised me.
The word of God, in a word,brings hope.
I find it to be true that whenI'm losing the battle with my
flesh, having a negativeattitude, not loving my spouse,
my children, not serving otherswith Christ-like love the way he
would have me to serve them,when I realize that those things
(33:58):
are happening in my life, andwhen I realize that I might be
facing discouragement more oftenthan not, I can draw a direct
line to the fact that I'veneglected the word of God in my
life.
Maybe I've read it as anexercise, but I've likely not
meditated on it and surrenderedto it and worshiped God for it.
(34:19):
Listen to this beautiful wordfrom Lamentations.
This is one of my most favoritepassages of scripture.
But this I call to mind andtherefore I have hope.
The steadfast love of the Lordnever ceases.
His mercies never come to anend.
They are new every morning.
Great is your faithfulness.
(34:40):
The Lord is my portion, says mysoul.
Therefore, I will hope in him.
The Lord is good to those whowait for him, the soul who seeks
for him.
It is good that one should waitquietly for the salvation of
the Lord.
And so that eighth one, thateighth lesson, is that I need a
word from the Lord, I need tohear from God.
(35:00):
So I don't know where you arethis week If you're facing
discouragement or depression.
If you're not, you will at somepoint.
You're going to face it.
We all do.
These eight lessons taken fromPaul in the book of Acts are
very helpful.
And and you can go on and readthere's not an end to the story
here, cause Paul moves fromthere to Ephesus and then starts
(35:22):
a third missionary journeyafter he establishes a church in
Ephesus.
I mean, he gets to Ephesus andthere's a riot.
It's not like it ends here forPaul, but it's just kind of like
a point in the story where wesee him wrestle through and
navigate through discouragementand fear and frustration.
So again, lesson number one Godwill use our hardships,
(35:47):
experiences and difficulties toencourage others to offer help
through hard times.
That's what Aquila andPriscilla taught us.
They, they, they showed us whatthat looked like.
Number two don't sit around.
Do something productive.
Paul got busy.
He didn't sit around and feelsorry for himself.
Lesson number three the mostfaithful thing you and I can do
is preach Jesus to others.
Lesson number fourdiscouragement often comes on
(36:09):
the heels of a great move of God.
I've seen that.
Let me pause there on numberfour.
I've seen this happen where,when I see God move, we have an
incredible outpour to the Lordin ministry or in my own life
personally, and then, bam man,it's like you get blindsided.
Next thing you know you'rediscouraged.
Why am I discouraged right now?
Lesson number three the darknessof sin in the world will
sometimes wear you down.
(36:29):
We're you discourage you.
The Lord is with you.
He will never leave you.
We'll give you strength andcourage.
That's number six.
Lesson number seven I needfellowship.
I need the body of Christ, thechurch.
I need my church.
I need old friends, new friends.
I need a common mission, so Ineed fellowship.
Lesson number seven.
Lesson number eight I need aword from the Lord, most
(36:50):
important thing for me day today, that the Lord has given me
and that he'll sustain me by it.
The word of the Lord is livingand active and I need it in my
life.
I need it in my life.
I need a word from the Lord.
God so gently and firmly cameto Paul in his difficulty and
spoke a word of encouragement.
I love that.
I will close with the lastportion, just last little bit of
(37:12):
this part of the story wherePaul, it says when Galileo
became governor of Achaia,achaia, achaia, achaia I don't
know how you say this word SomeJews rose up together against
Paul and brought him before thegovernor for judgment.
So right after the Lordpromised him that he wouldn't
leave him and that he'd be withhim, paul gets brought in front
(37:33):
of another official.
You know, it's just like neverending.
They accused Paul of persuadingpeople to worship God in ways
that are contrary to our law.
But just as Paul started tomake his defense, galileo turned
to Paul's accusers and saidlisten, you Jews, if this were a
case involving some wrongdoingor a serious crime, I would have
a reason to accept your case.
(37:53):
But since it's merely aquestion of words and names and
your Jewish law, take care of ityourselves.
I refuse to judge such matters.
And he threw them all out ofthe courtroom.
Then Take care of it yourselves.
I refuse to judge such matters.
And he threw them all out ofthe courtroom.
Then the crowd grabbedSosthenes, the leader of the
synagogue, and beat him rightthere in the courtroom, but
Galileo paid no attention.
There's this, the way this, thereason I wanted to end, that is,
(38:14):
the way this portion of Paul'sstory ends is just crazy.
It's like God says hey, I'mgoing to be with you, don't
worry, it's going to be tough,but don't fear, I'm going to be
with you.
And then, right, you know,right after that, they dragged
Paul in front of the governorand he's like I'm a Jew, I'm a
Roman official, you are Jews, Idon't really know how your law
(38:34):
works.
Just, man, get out of here.
I ain't got time to fool withy'all's mess.
And so then they just turn andbeat up the synagogue leader,
and that's the end of the story.
And then this guy says this guy, gallio, he didn't care, he's
like, whatever, that's the worldPaul was living in.
Whatever you're struggling withthis week, I guarantee you it's
not as difficult as Paul wasdealing with.
(38:55):
You know, and, man, I get Ifeel so sad for so many
Christians who I mean I canthink of people right now that
have served alongside of us hereat SWO and been faithful man,
lead small groups and just thejoy and love of Christ evident
in their lives, and then they'rejust unhappy, they lose their
joy and they can't figure outwhat's causing it, so they'll
(39:18):
just kind of reduce it to well,I must be depressed.
No, it's fight for your joy,man.
Here's.
Here's eight things you can doto fight for your joy, to fight
for your happiness and yourpeace, and I hope you'll do it.
I hope that you really willtake it serious and that you'll
fight for it.
So, um, hang in there.
(39:38):
The battle is the Lord's, thebattle belongs.
That's a song that we sing hereat camp.
It's a favorite of people.
Um, in this generation, thebattle belongs, it's God's
battle and he will give you whatyou need to be sustained and to
be strong in the face ofconflict.
So hang in there.
I do want to just say I said Iwas going to get transparent and
(40:00):
I don't even remember if Iended up getting transparent
with you, I think.
But I think I was going to gettransparent and I don't even
remember if I ended up gettingtransparent with you, I think.
But I think I want to close bydoing that I'm in a season where
, right now, I'm carryingseveral burdens that are just
very heavy, very heavy forsnowbird wilderness outfitters,
very heavy for my family, heavyfor my church and a couple of
(40:22):
these burdens.
They can't be shared.
Someone has come to me inconfidence and they're wrestling
through something in their ownfamily, their own situation, and
it is tough, man, it was.
It was just evident thismorning when I woke up, planning
I've planned on on do it.
It's funny, I've planned ondoing this um episode for uh, uh
(40:45):
, quite a few days now, becauseI just felt like you know what,
if I struggle like this and Iknow a lot of listeners,
everybody's got their strugglesand we just need to be reminded
of, of how we stay in the fight.
And and sure enough, as soon asI decided that I'm going to
cover this and talk about it, italmost felt like everything
ratcheted up, you know, and itgot more difficult and it's just
(41:07):
it's.
It's the world we live in, y'all, we live in a fallen world and
one day we're going to be withthe Lord and Jesus is going to
wipe, you know.
God is going to wipe every tearfrom our eyes and we will weep
no more.
We will fear no more.
We will be depressed ordiscouraged or anxious no more
if we're in Christ.
(41:28):
And so rely on that and leaninto that and trust in that and
rest in that and know that theLord is sovereign and he has a
plan for your life and my lifeand you can trust him and he's
good.
His mercies are new everymorning and he won't leave you.
And he has a plan for your lifeand my life and you can trust
him and he's good.
His mercies are new everymorning and he won't leave you
and he won't forsake you.
So be encouraged with thattruth.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I hope that this week is a good week for you and that
God uses this, this episodethat we've done today.
My prayer is that it would besomething God would use in your
life and just encourage you thisweek.
Thank you all for tuning in.
It means a lot.
It's not lost on me that youtake the better part of an hour
(42:10):
out of your week and listen tono Sanity and I'm really
grateful Please pray, as we areone week out now from our SWO24
staff arriving and man, we got alot in store.
I mean, we got a busy, busysummer and it's exciting.
I do want to give you someupdates on some stuff happening
at SWO in the coming weeks, butwe're not quite ready to give
(42:30):
updates.
Um, but some, some stuff isstirring.
God's doing some stuff here.
We're we're poised for anotherphase and round of growth and
expansion and, uh, couldn't bemore excited.
It's a very exciting time to bepart of this ministry, so stay
tuned and we'll keep you postedon all that.
Love you guys Praying for youthis week and just hope the Lord
(42:53):
blesses you richly today andevery day this week.
See you next week.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Thanks for listening to.
No Sanity Required.
Please take a moment tosubscribe and leave a rating.
It really helps.
Visit us at sw outfitterscom tosee all of our programming and
resources and we'll see you nextweek on no sanity required.
Today I want to talk about something that is not
lighthearted, it's kind of heavyand I think it's something that
every believer, every humandeals with, but definitely every
believer and that isdiscouragement.
I want to talk aboutdiscouragement and I want to try
to make some distinctionsnon-scientific, non-medical
(00:25):
distinctions betweendiscouragement and depression
and the reason I want to do that.
I think a lot of times peoplesay I'm struggling with
depression, or that person isdepressed and it, and it could
be that they are, but it couldalso be that they're just
dealing with some discouragement.
Discouragement is a reality foreverybody, especially for
everybody who's in Christ, andand I want to I've had my share
(00:49):
of it and I would even say thatI deal with it frequently, not
not just a season or two in mylife or a time here and a time
there.
It kind of comes and goesconsistently in my life.
And I think if you're movingforward in life and you're
engaging in relationships andyou're doing ministry, and
especially if you're in any kindof leadership, that means if
(01:11):
you're a mama to three toddlers,you're in leadership.
If you're a business owner,you're a pastor.
And especially a word forpastors today um, not especially
, but, but a word that I thinkpastors will connect with.
There's one portion of thistalk, um, or this episode rather
, that I think will connect withpastors in a very personal and
(01:34):
real way.
What I'm not saying at any pointin this episode is that people
don't struggle with genuinemental illness, that that there
aren't legitimate mental healthissues that people have to work
through and they might needanything from counseling to
medicine, medical treatment,psychiatric treatment.
(01:56):
I'm not saying that.
None of that is real.
What I'm saying is I thinksometimes we're too quick to not
identify that, as Christians,we're, we're we're facing a
season of discouragement.
It could be.
When I say a season, in thisepisode I could mean a day, an
hour, a week, a year, a stretchof time, but it's it's.
(02:19):
The idea is that everybody'sgoing to face discouragement at
times, and you could, I mean itdoesn't even matter for
semantics sake if you call itdepression, but what I'm not
talking about is clinicaldepression, and what I'm not
doing is implying that.
No, that that's not a realthing, because it is.
I just want us to be.
(02:39):
You know, the scripture says weshould be sober minded and
oftentimes I believe the enemy.
You know we wrestle not againstflesh and blood, and I think a
lot of times we're discouragedand run down and beat down and
we just need to lean into Christand claim victory that he's
made available to us, and that'swhat this episode is
practically what we're trying todrive at, so hope it is an
encouragement to you.
(02:59):
Have you ever been discouraged?
Are you discouraged?
And then, if the answer to bothof those is no, then just hang
on.
You're going to facediscouragement, and so I want to
learn some lessons from theApostle Paul.
That'll be very helpful andencouraging, I hope.
So.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Stick with me and I want to welcome you to no Sanity
Required from the Ministry ofSnowbird Wilderness Outfitters,
a podcast about the Bibleculture and stories from around
the globe.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I don't know if there's been a season in your
life where you faceddiscouragement or frustration,
maybe anxiety or depression.
Some some of our listeners nodoubt deal with legitimate
depression.
Uh, a well-known um Christianartist recently passed away and
there's been a lot of talkaround um this person struggling
with depression.
I have no idea what the causeof death was.
(03:58):
I haven't drilled into it, um,but I've I've heard talk of
depression and it's somethingthat comes up a lot.
We deal with students and anduh, student ministry.
You see it a lot Kids that arejust a lot of depression but
probably more anxiety.
And then you know, anxiety in amore clinical sense but then
(04:21):
also just anxiousnessanxiousness about life, and the
scripture addresses it a lot.
You'll see a lot of times inthe Bible where, um the Lord has
encouraging words for us.
Jesus will say things like cometo me all you that labor and
are heavy laden and I'll giveyou rest.
Rest for your weary souls iswhat he's talking about.
(04:43):
He's talking about you're underthe burden of life.
You're under the laborious taskof buying groceries, changing
diapers, getting kids to school.
You're under the task of payingbills and always feeling like
you're behind.
You're under the task ofdisciplining a wayward child or
(05:04):
an adult kid that's walked awayfrom the Lord, and you feel the
weight of that.
Sometimes, um, the stress oflife comes from other people's
struggles and sin or um, orsickness or sorrow.
But we all face it, we all, weall face it.
And if you have any leadershipresponsibility, uh, I don't know
(05:27):
how you would be able to saythat you go through any phase of
life I mean week by weekwithout facing discouragement,
um, discouragement fromcriticism, discouragement from
people that quit or move on orum, and sometimes it's good, you
know, it's good that someone'smoving on.
Maybe it's time for the Lord tomove them on, or or maybe
(05:50):
they've got a better opportunitysomewhere and you lose a person
that way.
Um, maybe discouragement ifyou're in, if your pastor has
left and your church is nowlooking for a new pastor, that
can be a tough season.
I don't, I don't know what youmight be facing this week, if
and if maybe you're in one ofthose seasons that where it's
(06:10):
just good, everything's good,you're flying high, life is good
, things are going your way,kind of just a good season.
But maybe not.
Maybe you're in a season whereyou're struggling because
there's there's something youknow.
I don't know I don't want totry to fill in the blanks what
(06:33):
it might be could be financial,could be fertility issues for a,
for a couple, could be um,you're facing potential illness,
you know.
Or or loss of a family member,I don't know.
I don't know where you're at, Idon't know what you're going
through.
But it's easy to get discouragedand depression is a real thing
and it overwhelms people.
But the longer I've lived lifeand then dealt with these things
(06:57):
in my own mind, my own heart,and then also the longer I've
done ministry and dealt with itin other people's lives, the
more I realize.
I think what we face more oftenthan depression is
discouragement.
But when we do face depression,the principles that are laid
(07:23):
out in the're even having tofigure out you know, medication
and things like that.
I would just encourage you thatthere's truth in what we're
going to talk about today forthat scenario.
But for most of us,discouragement is just real man,
like financial stuff, tax stuff.
You know you're behind on abill or you're, you're caught up
(07:45):
but you can't seem to get anytraction in terms of like
savings or, um, whatever andit's always working from behind,
could be again relationalstrain and nothing.
Nothing creates discouragementfor me more than relationship
struggles and strains.
And so I want to I want todrill into this and hopefully be
(08:08):
an encouragement to you, and Iwant to look at a season of what
I think was very difficultdiscouragement in the life of
the apostle Paul.
We're going to be in Acts 18,but we're going to actually back
up into Acts 17.
What happens in Acts 17,?
Let me just give you a summary.
Paul is working with a guynamed Silas and they're doing
(08:32):
ministry.
They go to a place calledThessalonica.
The Lord moves, but there's alot of conflict.
So they see, and this is whathappens a lot we get frustrated
or discouraged, or even faceanxiousness, depression,
whatever it is when God ismoving in clear ways.
(08:53):
But then there's conflict.
Paul and Silas are here.
I mean, they faced conflictbefore.
When they get to Thessalonica,they've just come out of prison.
I mean they just got released.
Um, like if you go to the endof act 16, paul and Silas get
locked up and roughed up andthen they get released.
(09:18):
And then, when they get released, they go right back to
encouraging other believers.
And then they, they go to thisplace called Thessalonica and
they, they hit several towns andthere's like three weeks where
Paul is preaching and he goesbecause he had this, uh, in in
in those days in the Jewishchurch you couldn't um a person
(09:42):
with Paul's credentials.
He was a Pharisee.
He could come to church and hewould immediately be given the
stage so he could go up and talk.
He had this authoritative voice.
Imagine if you would a Muslimimam who became a Christ
follower, but he was a prominentimam in the Muslim faith and he
(10:05):
shows up to a mosque andeveryone recognizes him and they
put him right up front and theywant to hear from him.
So this is what Paul was doing.
And then he'd get up there andhe would preach the gospel.
People start getting saved.
But then some people get so madand like multiple times there
would be riots.
(10:25):
So a lot of conflict, a lot ofpeople screaming, yelling, you
know, pushing back, just a lotof conflict.
That's what Paul faced.
And so he's in this situationwhere anything he does is
explosive.
Anything he does when hepreaches, it's explosive.
(10:48):
The dead are saved and broughtto spiritual life, but then the
conflict or the pushback fromthe enemy is massive.
And so it's like he's seeinggreat fruit and reward and great
persecution and difficulty.
And then he goes fromThessalonica to a place called
Berea and something uh similarhappens there, where there's a
(11:11):
lot of um, there's a lot offruit to ministry, but then
there's also a lot of conflict.
And so everywhere he's going,he's facing terrible conflict.
I mean, imagine if everywhereyou go you're it's it's
borderline inciting a riot.
You know, think about you.
You look at people that arereal polarizing figures, like um
(11:33):
on certain college campuses.
You hear when someone likeJordan Peterson or Doug Wilson
goes to speak on a collegecampus, there's riots.
Imagine if, everywhere you go,you face riots but you also face
like endearing fans.
So everywhere Paul would go, hewould face hardship and
difficulty, but he would also.
He would also see great fruit.
And most of us can identify withto some degree in our lives.
(11:56):
There are things we can beexcited about and thankful for,
even if we don't feel itemotionally, we can point to it
and go.
God's given me a loving spouse.
God's given me a church family.
God's given me, you know, foodand clothing, and all my needs
are met, whatever it might be.
But then you go.
But, man, I'm discouraged andhere's why I'm frustrated, or
maybe you don't even know why.
(12:17):
It's just a spirit ofdepression or discouragement.
So Paul is kind of in and out ofall this craziness.
Then he goes to a place calledAthens and when he gets to
Athens a crazy thing happens andhe ends up debating as the
representative of the Christianfaith.
And the reason Athens issignificant is in Athens.
(12:38):
Paul ends up on a very publicstage.
It would be like debating onthe biggest stage on TV.
You know, think of, think ofthe halftime of the Superbowl,
and, and they pan over andyou're debating someone on a
very hot topic like abortion orthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict
(13:01):
, something like that, issues oftransgenderism, and right on
the halftime show of the SuperBowl, you're the one person by
yourself standing there anddebating a panel or a team of
people.
They've got the backing of themedia or whatever.
So Paul's in that situation.
(13:22):
So he leaves Athens and and ohand.
When he's there it's the firsttime you see this there's not a
lot of fruit, very little.
There's very little, uh, in theway of conversions.
And so he leaves.
He goes to a place calledCorinth, and when he gets there,
I'm just going to pick upreading here Then Paul left
Athens and went to Corinth.
(13:43):
There he became acquainted witha Jew named Aquila, born in
Pontus, who had recently arrivedfrom Italy with his wife
Priscilla.
They had left Italy whenClaudius Caesar deported all
Jews from Rome.
Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tent makers,
just as he was.
Okay, I want to give you eightlessons, eight principles, and
(14:05):
here comes the first one inthese three verses.
So Paul leaves all the conflictof Athens and he's discouraged
Literally, he's just frustrated.
He's discouraged Like listen tothe last few verses of Acts 17.
When they heard Paul speak aboutthe resurrection of the dead,
some laughed in contempt, butothers said we want to hear more
about this later.
That ended Paul's discussionwith him, but some joined him
and became believers.
(14:25):
Among them were Dionysius, amember of the council, a woman
named Demarius, and others withthem.
So you've got some people thatare laughing and ridiculing him.
And then there's a fewconversions it's fewer than what
you've seen anywhere else withPaul.
And then when he leaves Athenshe goes to the city of Corinth.
Then when he gets there,there's this couple named Aquila
(14:46):
and Priscilla, and they haveleft, they've just left Rome
under racial persecution, likean ethnic cleansing.
So it says that this emperor inRome named Claudius Caesar, he
kicked all the Jews out of Rome.
So if you were Jewish and youwere in Rome, you got persecuted
, you got displaced, you weresent into further exile.
(15:10):
And so this couple, they end upgoing to Corinth and they were
tent makers, which was a bluecollar trade, I think, but like
a high level, like it was a bigindustry, and so they had, they
had this skill where they wereable to make a living.
So they moved to Corinth.
So Paul comes to their home.
They're beat up and run down.
He's beat up and run down.
So here's lesson number one Godwill often use our hardships,
(15:35):
our experiences and ourdifficulties to encourage others
or help.
Read that again.
I'm going to include theseeight observations in the show
notes.
God will often use ourhardships, experiences and
difficulties to encourage othersor help them through hard times
.
So God uses the persecutionthat Aquila and Priscilla have
(15:58):
faced to encourage Paul when hecomes in under.
You know he's been under acycle, cycles of repeated
persecution.
It's a really wonderfulprinciple.
God may take something you'vebeen through that's very
difficult in your life aterrible divorce or breakup, a
miscarriage, the death of achild, past addiction, whatever
it is and then God uses that andsome of you might've seen this
(16:18):
God uses that to help encourageother people and I'm so grateful
that God takes our brokennessand our difficulties and he uses
them to grow us and then toimpact other people.
Here's the second lesson.
The second lesson is don't sitaround.
Do something productive, itsays in verse three.
Paul lived and worked with him,for they were tent makers.
A lot of times, I think, peoplethat are dealing with a season
(16:41):
of discouragement end up, youknow, um, end up wasting time
and and maybe, maybe you, youbegin to practice horrible
dietary habits, maybe you beginto, um, you escape to your phone
and you just sit and you andyou and you spend hours playing
(17:02):
video games or messing around onsocial media and scrolling
through social media.
Whatever it is.
You know, I don't know what itmight be for you, but that
happens a lot and uh, and, and.
So one of the things that Ihave found to be so productive
and so helpful when I'm dealingwith a season of discouragement
is to get productive.
(17:23):
Don't sit around, don't getlethargic and sit still.
It says that Paul startsworking with him.
So Paul, who is who spent thebulk of his adult life as a, as
a, an orator of, a religiousprofessor, an attorney, you know
, like this high-levelwhite-collar world he's lived in
, he goes back to just gettinghis hands dirty and doing
(17:47):
productive work, and I foundthis can be true.
This might be, you know, maybeit's you're dealing with
discouragement.
Go work out, go for a run, gosplit some wood or run the weed
eater.
Just do some things each daythat are physically productive
and a lot of times that givesyou mental space, I guarantee
you.
While Paul was working to makethese tents, two things were
(18:12):
happening.
One, there was organicconversation happening between
him and them that may have hadnothing to do with ministry.
They start talking about, youknow, their favorite sports
figures, or telling stories fromtheir childhood, or talking you
know, just that kind ofconversation that you have with
coworkers.
The other thing is he probablyhad a lot of time by himself.
(18:33):
I love to be on the mower orthe chainsaw or the weed eater,
because you can't hear anything.
I always wear earmuffs becauseI've damaged my hearing from not
wearing them for so many yearsand I love to just be in my
thoughts.
But I'm not sitting staring atthe paint on the wall.
In my thoughts, I'm beingproductive and letting my
(18:54):
thoughts kind of go where theygo.
Be productive.
That's the second lesson.
Let's keep going.
Each Sabbath, paul would be atthe synagogue trying to convince
the Jews and Greeks alike.
So lesson number three is themost faithful thing you can do
when you're struggling with orfaced with discouragement is to
preach Jesus to others.
When you're facingdiscouragement, proclaim Jesus
(19:18):
and his victory to others.
It says that Paul, in thisdifficult season, would go to
the church on Sundays and hestill had that potential or that
authority and opportunity topreach the word of God, so he
would go.
Preach Jesus to others.
When you're struggling withdiscouragement, talk about Jesus
, tell folks about Jesus.
(19:38):
I'd say if you're strugglingwith discouragement, talk about
Jesus, tell folks about Jesus.
I'd say, if you're strugglingwith discouragement or
depression, go out, soul winning, go witnessing and sharing your
faith with others.
Okay, let's move to the nextlesson.
So, lesson number one God, usehardships to encourage others.
Lesson number two a reminderdon't sit around.
Do something productive.
Number three proclaim Jesus inthese hard times.
(19:59):
And let's get to number four.
We're going to continue reading.
After Silas and Timothy camedown from Macedonia, paul spent
all of his time preaching theword.
He testified to the Jews thatJesus was the Messiah.
That actually goes with thatlast one.
We did number three just topreach the gospel, preach Jesus.
But they opposed and insultedhim.
(20:19):
And when they did, paul shookthe dust from his clothes and
said your blood is on your ownheads.
I'm innocent.
From now on, I will go preachto the Gentiles.
Then he left and went to thehome of Titus Justice, a Gentile
who worshiped God and livednext door to the synagogue.
Crispus, the leader of thesynagogue, and everyone in his
household believed in the Lord.
Many others in Corinth alsoheard Paul, became believers and
were baptized.
(20:40):
One night the Lord spoke toPaul in a vision and told him
don't be afraid, speak out,don't be silent, for I am with
you.
No one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city
belong to me Okay, huh, this is.
(21:02):
These next three are are, Ithink, so important?
Lesson number fourdiscouragement often comes on
the heels of a great move of God.
So Paul is seeing God move andpeople are coming to faith and
then all of a sudden, he facesdiscouragement.
How do we know that he facesdiscouragement, by the way?
Because one night the Lordspoke to Paul and said don't be
(21:22):
afraid, and there's anexclamation point Speak out, I'm
with you, no one's going toharm you.
You've got the word of the Lordcoming to him to encourage him.
And this is immediatelyfollowing, like a bunch of
baptisms, it says.
Many in Corinth heard Paul,became believers and were
baptized.
God saw Paul move andimmediately following that there
(21:45):
was there was like difficultydiscouragement.
So discouragement often comeson the heels of a great move of
God.
Lesson number five the darknessof sin and the world will
sometimes just wear you down.
It'll just wear you anddiscourage you.
I think there's times whereyou're going, man, I'm just
struggling right now.
(22:06):
I'm in a funk, I'm in a fog ofdepression, I'm in a fog of
anxiousness, or I just feelunhappy.
Sometimes it's like we don'teven know how to put words to it
.
I'm just discouraged, we don'tknow how to say that.
Or maybe I have depression, wedon't know how to say that.
But you recognize there's a fogof of um, like unhappiness,
(22:29):
like there's a loss of joy.
Where's my joy?
I don't feel joyful, I don'tfeel satisfied, just wrestling.
And and that's this fifth umlesson from acts 18 is that
sometimes it's just the worldwearing you down.
I mean, you're living in aworld if you're a mama and
you're getting kids off toschool or you're homeschooling
(22:50):
and and you know, maybe you'vegot one in diapers still, and
then one that's, you know, alittle older and rambunctious,
and then maybe one that's likethe perfect kid.
You know you're kind of allover the map with maturity and
and then also personalities, andthere's times where raising
those kids, or maybe your mom ofone child, but just raising a
(23:10):
child in the darkness andbrokenness of this world in this
day and age, is just.
Sometimes it just discouragesand overwhelms you.
In this day and age is just.
Sometimes it just discouragesand overwhelms you.
Maybe you're someone who wantsto be a mom and you can't like
for whatever reason, the Lordhas not yet opened your womb,
and so you feel alone anddiscouraged, living in a fallen
(23:31):
world heightens discouragement,especially in the mind of a
believer.
So sometimes the observation isI can't put my finger on it, I
don't know why I'm struggling,it's just uh it.
The world is dark.
You know the world is brokenand it brings discouragement.
But I love lesson number six.
There's only eight of these.
I love lesson number six.
(23:51):
The Lord is with you.
He will not leave you, he willgive you strength and he will
give you courage.
It's a reminder.
God comes to.
I love it.
God comes to Paul in a visionone night and he hears from the
Lord and the Lord says hey, I'mwith you, man, I'm with you and
nothing's going to happen to you.
That I don't allow.
(24:12):
It's very encouraging for Paul.
The Lord is with him, he's notgoing to leave him and he's
going to give him the strengththat he needs.
Listen, dear brother or sisterwhatever strength you need today
for your journey, that strengthis found in the Lord.
It's found in the Lord.
Whatever struggle you have,give it to the Lord.
(24:35):
Whatever fear you face, lay itat the feet of Jesus.
That's how this works and it'ssuch an important thing.
It's such an important thing toremember and be reminded of
that, that there's peace withJesus.
You know, okay, let's continue.
Um, um, let me keep going.
(25:00):
So Paul stayed there for a yearand a half teaching the word of
God, wow.
So he continued to preach andproclaim the gospel for 18
months.
So God gave him what he neededto do the task at hand.
Sometimes the task at handseems overwhelming.
Imagine if, on the front end ofthis, god said all right,
you're not going to just be herefor a few weeks, you're staying
(25:20):
here for a year and a half inthis persecution and you're in
this dark place.
And Corinth was a horrible city.
Oh, my goodness.
The, the sexual perversion anddeviance.
The, the pagan demonic worship.
Like when people are worshipingpagan deities, it just brings
demonic influence into acommunity.
(25:41):
It's, it's, it can beoverwhelming.
And so the.
The seventh lesson that Paulshows us is that we need
fellowship.
You need the body of Christ.
I need the body of Christ.
We need the local church.
I need my church.
I need old friends and newfriends and a common mission.
I need people who can identifywith me in my struggle and a
(26:03):
common mission.
I need people who can identifywith me in my struggle, who can
identify with me and where I'vebeen, what I might be going
through, people that just careabout me.
You need to be surrounded bypeople that love you and care
about you, and if you're likeman, I don't know I'm going to,
I'm going to strange, we justmoved, I'm in a new place, or I
just I just came to a newcollege and you know, I'm by
myself here and I can't figureout.
Where am I going to go tochurch?
(26:23):
What college ministry am Igoing to be a part of?
Maybe something like that.
Maybe it's your work just movedyou.
You know your work just movedyou, and so you had to uproot
and leave a church family thatyou loved.
I had this conversation, I wasspeaking this past weekend and I
was, I was, uh, I preached at achurch on Sunday morning and I
(26:46):
got done and there was a lot ofvisitors.
I think it's a church that'sdoing really well, growing and
kind of moving in the rightdirection and not kind of
they're moving in the rightdirection and and so I I got up
and I and I said, hey, I'm notthe pastor here, but this is an
awesome church If you're lookingfor a home church, it's a
(27:07):
wonderful community of faith andall the people there are just
wonderful.
I've preached there a coupletimes now and I love that church
and there were people I met forthe first time and there were
people that I'd met before thatI reconnected with, and several
couples husband and wife couples.
It was just a joy to meet, Um,and it's just a.
It was a warm church.
(27:27):
It was a warm church family,and so this lady comes up to me
after the service and she'sshe's crying, and I'd actually
preached from this same passagethat I'm walking through with
y'all right now.
It wasn't this message, itwasn't this, this talk, this.
You know what I'm doing herewith y'all right now.
It wasn't this message, itwasn't this talk.
What I'm doing here isdifferent.
(27:48):
What I talked there about washow Aquila and Priscilla used
their home as a base ofoperations for ministry, and so
the thrust of the message wasusing your family, your home, as
a base of operations to reachyour community and your world.
That was the message.
And, um, we looked at howAquila and Priscilla were always
on mission, everywhere you seethem.
In scripture, all seven timesare mentioned.
(28:10):
Man, they're getting it done.
This is just a uh, a bluecollar couple that, very wise,
they had, you know, they theytaught Apollo's doctrine when he
was preaching and he was notdoctrinally sound.
They brought him into theirhome and showed him, you know.
So that that was the, that wasthe thrust of the message, but I
talked about as a church beinga church full of people that are
(28:32):
on mission.
Well, this lady comes upafterwards and she starts to
share her story, and her storywas heartbreaking, I mean, it
broke my heart.
She was, um, she's got threeadult children who have all
turned away from the Lord.
She was a pastor's wife for along time and her husband and
her divorced just a few yearsago because he committed
(28:55):
adultery and had another woman.
And so now she goes from beinga pastor's wife, raising kids in
a church and all the activityassociated with that, to she's
literally by herself.
She's living in the Greensboro,winston-salem area, completely
alone.
And she said, you know, I visita few churches and they're so
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big and I just felt lost andshe'd come to this church.
And she said, I don't know, Ifeel a warmth here and the
message really encouraged methat.
So she, she was able to meetwith the pastor and his wife at
this church and I'm praying forher.
Her name's Jenny.
I'm praying that Jenny will J EN N I E.
She said it's I E.
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I love that Um, and and so she.
She was just through tearssharing her pain, and a lot of
it was.
She's just in a season ofdiscouragement.
But I said, I told her, I saidI want to encourage you to just
jump in with both feet in thischurch and let this church love
on you and you love on othersand you become a part of this
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church community.
We need fellowship when we'redealing with discouragement.
We need fellowship.
We need the body of Christ.
We need the church.
We need old friends and newfriends.
We need a common mission,people that are on mission with
us.
That's important.
So press into the body ofChrist when you're dealing with
discouragement, because what youtend to do is you tend to want
(30:18):
to withdraw to yourself.
And the last one, and I justwant to share some personal
struggles.
I've been going through Just alittle bit of transparency not
total transparency, because alot of confidential stuff that
I'm carrying right now and it'snot confidential on my part part
(30:43):
it's.
It's confidential on the partof those I'm praying for and and
sort of trying to walk throughthings with just in the, in the
role or the, the flow ofministry that God's put me in.
But here, here's the eighthlesson.
I need a word from the Lord, Ineed a word from God there in
verses nine and 10.
Again, god came and spoke toPaul, paul's in this difficult
season he's.
You know, it's just the grindof ministry and life, and every
(31:04):
time God moves, the enemy movesand he faces persecution.
It's the most.
This one is the most importantthing for me day to day, because
the Lord's given me his wordand and and the word of God will
sustain me.
But I've got to press into itand I've got to press into it.
Recognizing the word of God issufficient me, but I've got to
press into it and I've got topress into it.
Recognizing the word of God issufficient, it has authority for
(31:24):
my life.
You know the scripture says ofitself, I think Hebrews four
that the word of God is livingand active.
It's a two edged sword.
The Holy spirit will use thatin my life to drive out sin and
temptation, to conquer enemyterritory.
Other place, in another place,the word of God is called bread
from heaven.
It's meat for the muscle of myspiritual life.
(31:47):
It puts meat on my bonesspiritually and builds muscle.
It's the cool breeze to afevered spirit and like cool
water to a parched soul.
The word of God is a powerfulweapon in the war on sin.
Satan runs from the word of God.
I am emboldened by the word ofGod.
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The warring angels of God'sthrone never let God's word
leave their lips.
The grass withers, the flowerfades, but the word of our Lord
stands forever.
The word of the Lord is a lampunto my feet and a light unto my
path.
The word of the Lord hidden inmy heart will keep me from sin.
God's word is profitable.
It's useful in my life forreproof, for rebuke, for
(32:28):
correction, for instruction andrighteousness.
It is by the word of the Lordthat the oceans were laid out
and the mountains were stood up.
God's word was given toprophets, to save nations,
rebuke Kings, bring hope andcomfort to the poor, the
destitute, the widow and theorphan.
By his words, jesus cast outdemons, rebuked hypocrites,
healed lepers, forgave sin andbrought hope to the sick and
(32:52):
dying.
God's word is completelysufficient, fully authoritative.
It is to be wrestled with, butnever negotiated with or
compromised.
God's word has been given to mefor life and godliness, for
healing and comfort, and toinvigorate and strengthen me in
the day of trouble.
God's word may be the stillsmall voice after the storm, and
(33:13):
it's sometimes the boomingthunder from heaven, but to be
sure, it is the word of God thatwill sustain me, insulate me
from the cold and darkness ofthis world, bring oxygen to my
spiritual lungs and freedom tomy enslaved thoughts.
The word of the Lord is for nowand it is for forever, and it
is critical that in it I findnew mercies every day, strength
(33:36):
to stand, wisdom for life andthe sustaining power that God
has promised me.
The word of God, in a word,brings hope.
I find it to be true that whenI'm losing the battle with my
flesh, having a negativeattitude, not loving my spouse,
my children, not serving otherswith Christ-like love the way he
would have me to serve them,when I realize that those things
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are happening in my life, andwhen I realize that I might be
facing discouragement more oftenthan not, I can draw a direct
line to the fact that I'veneglected the word of God in my
life.
Maybe I've read it as anexercise, but I've likely not
meditated on it and surrenderedto it and worshiped God for it.
(34:19):
Listen to this beautiful wordfrom Lamentations.
This is one of my most favoritepassages of scripture.
But this I call to mind andtherefore I have hope.
The steadfast love of the Lordnever ceases.
His mercies never come to anend.
They are new every morning.
Great is your faithfulness.
(34:40):
The Lord is my portion, says mysoul.
Therefore, I will hope in him.
The Lord is good to those whowait for him, the soul who seeks
for him.
It is good that one should waitquietly for the salvation of
the Lord.
And so that eighth one, thateighth lesson, is that I need a
word from the Lord, I need tohear from God.
(35:00):
So I don't know where you arethis week If you're facing
discouragement or depression.
If you're not, you will at somepoint.
You're going to face it.
We all do.
These eight lessons taken fromPaul in the book of Acts are
very helpful.
And and you can go on and readthere's not an end to the story
here, cause Paul moves fromthere to Ephesus and then starts
(35:22):
a third missionary journeyafter he establishes a church in
Ephesus.
I mean, he gets to Ephesus andthere's a riot.
It's not like it ends here forPaul, but it's just kind of like
a point in the story where wesee him wrestle through and
navigate through discouragementand fear and frustration.
So again, lesson number one Godwill use our hardships,
(35:47):
experiences and difficulties toencourage others to offer help
through hard times.
That's what Aquila andPriscilla taught us.
They, they, they showed us whatthat looked like.
Number two don't sit around.
Do something productive.
Paul got busy.
He didn't sit around and feelsorry for himself.
Lesson number three the mostfaithful thing you and I can do
is preach Jesus to others.
Lesson number fourdiscouragement often comes on
(36:09):
the heels of a great move of God.
I've seen that.
Let me pause there on numberfour.
I've seen this happen where,when I see God move, we have an
incredible outpour to the Lordin ministry or in my own life
personally, and then, bam man,it's like you get blindsided.
Next thing you know you'rediscouraged.
Why am I discouraged right now?
Lesson number three the darknessof sin in the world will
sometimes wear you down.
(36:29):
We're you discourage you.
The Lord is with you.
He will never leave you.
We'll give you strength andcourage.
That's number six.
Lesson number seven I needfellowship.
I need the body of Christ, thechurch.
I need my church.
I need old friends, new friends.
I need a common mission, so Ineed fellowship.
Lesson number seven.
Lesson number eight I need aword from the Lord, most
(36:50):
important thing for me day today, that the Lord has given me
and that he'll sustain me by it.
The word of the Lord is livingand active and I need it in my
life.
I need it in my life.
I need a word from the Lord.
God so gently and firmly cameto Paul in his difficulty and
spoke a word of encouragement.
I love that.
I will close with the lastportion, just last little bit of
(37:12):
this part of the story wherePaul, it says when Galileo
became governor of Achaia,achaia, achaia, achaia I don't
know how you say this word SomeJews rose up together against
Paul and brought him before thegovernor for judgment.
So right after the Lordpromised him that he wouldn't
leave him and that he'd be withhim, paul gets brought in front
(37:33):
of another official.
You know, it's just like neverending.
They accused Paul of persuadingpeople to worship God in ways
that are contrary to our law.
But just as Paul started tomake his defense, galileo turned
to Paul's accusers and saidlisten, you Jews, if this were a
case involving some wrongdoingor a serious crime, I would have
a reason to accept your case.
(37:53):
But since it's merely aquestion of words and names and
your Jewish law, take care of ityourselves.
I refuse to judge such matters.
And he threw them all out ofthe courtroom.
Then Take care of it yourselves.
I refuse to judge such matters.
And he threw them all out ofthe courtroom.
Then the crowd grabbedSosthenes, the leader of the
synagogue, and beat him rightthere in the courtroom, but
Galileo paid no attention.
There's this, the way this, thereason I wanted to end, that is,
(38:14):
the way this portion of Paul'sstory ends is just crazy.
It's like God says hey, I'mgoing to be with you, don't
worry, it's going to be tough,but don't fear, I'm going to be
with you.
And then, right, you know,right after that, they dragged
Paul in front of the governorand he's like I'm a Jew, I'm a
Roman official, you are Jews, Idon't really know how your law
(38:34):
works.
Just, man, get out of here.
I ain't got time to fool withy'all's mess.
And so then they just turn andbeat up the synagogue leader,
and that's the end of the story.
And then this guy says this guy, gallio, he didn't care, he's
like, whatever, that's the worldPaul was living in.
Whatever you're struggling withthis week, I guarantee you it's
not as difficult as Paul wasdealing with.
(38:55):
You know, and, man, I get Ifeel so sad for so many
Christians who I mean I canthink of people right now that
have served alongside of us hereat SWO and been faithful man,
lead small groups and just thejoy and love of Christ evident
in their lives, and then they'rejust unhappy, they lose their
joy and they can't figure outwhat's causing it, so they'll
(39:18):
just kind of reduce it to well,I must be depressed.
No, it's fight for your joy,man.
Here's.
Here's eight things you can doto fight for your joy, to fight
for your happiness and yourpeace, and I hope you'll do it.
I hope that you really willtake it serious and that you'll
fight for it.
So, um, hang in there.
(39:38):
The battle is the Lord's, thebattle belongs.
That's a song that we sing hereat camp.
It's a favorite of people.
Um, in this generation, thebattle belongs, it's God's
battle and he will give you whatyou need to be sustained and to
be strong in the face ofconflict.
So hang in there.
I do want to just say I said Iwas going to get transparent and
(40:00):
I don't even remember if Iended up getting transparent
with you, I think.
But I think I was going to gettransparent and I don't even
remember if I ended up gettingtransparent with you, I think.
But I think I want to close bydoing that I'm in a season where
, right now, I'm carryingseveral burdens that are just
very heavy, very heavy forsnowbird wilderness outfitters,
very heavy for my family, heavyfor my church and a couple of
(40:22):
these burdens.
They can't be shared.
Someone has come to me inconfidence and they're wrestling
through something in their ownfamily, their own situation, and
it is tough, man, it was.
It was just evident thismorning when I woke up, planning
I've planned on on do it.
It's funny, I've planned ondoing this um episode for uh, uh
(40:45):
, quite a few days now, becauseI just felt like you know what,
if I struggle like this and Iknow a lot of listeners,
everybody's got their strugglesand we just need to be reminded
of, of how we stay in the fight.
And and sure enough, as soon asI decided that I'm going to
cover this and talk about it, italmost felt like everything
ratcheted up, you know, and itgot more difficult and it's just
(41:07):
it's.
It's the world we live in, y'all, we live in a fallen world and
one day we're going to be withthe Lord and Jesus is going to
wipe, you know.
God is going to wipe every tearfrom our eyes and we will weep
no more.
We will fear no more.
We will be depressed ordiscouraged or anxious no more
if we're in Christ.
(41:28):
And so rely on that and leaninto that and trust in that and
rest in that and know that theLord is sovereign and he has a
plan for your life and my lifeand you can trust him and he's
good.
His mercies are new everymorning and he won't leave you.
And he has a plan for your lifeand my life and you can trust
him and he's good.
His mercies are new everymorning and he won't leave you
and he won't forsake you.
So be encouraged with thattruth.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I hope that this week is a good week for you and that
God uses this, this episodethat we've done today.
My prayer is that it would besomething God would use in your
life and just encourage you thisweek.
Thank you all for tuning in.
It means a lot.
It's not lost on me that youtake the better part of an hour
(42:10):
out of your week and listen tono Sanity and I'm really
grateful Please pray, as we areone week out now from our SWO24
staff arriving and man, we got alot in store.
I mean, we got a busy, busysummer and it's exciting.
I do want to give you someupdates on some stuff happening
at SWO in the coming weeks, butwe're not quite ready to give
(42:30):
updates.
Um, but some, some stuff isstirring.
God's doing some stuff here.
We're we're poised for anotherphase and round of growth and
expansion and, uh, couldn't bemore excited.
It's a very exciting time to bepart of this ministry, so stay
tuned and we'll keep you postedon all that.
Love you guys Praying for youthis week and just hope the Lord
(42:53):
blesses you richly today andevery day this week.
See you next week.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Thanks for listening to.
No Sanity Required.
Please take a moment tosubscribe and leave a rating.
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Visit us at sw outfitterscom tosee all of our programming and
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