March 21, 2024 • 27 mins
Discover the profound impact of stepping into empowered evangelism with Pastor Jason Hovde on our latest episode of Truth Trek. This journey isn't for the faint of heart, as we tackle the tough questions of faith, pessimism, and the incredible hope that Jesus Christ offers. Be prepared to be inspired by the Apostle Paul's unwavering courage in Corinth and learn how the promise of God's enduring presence can embolden you to speak the gospel with confidence, no matter the obstacles.
As we connect the dots between biblical history and the present-day challenges of missionary work, you'll see that the same divine encouragement that fortified Joshua, Jeremiah, and Paul is available to you right now. This episode is not just about recounting stories from the past—it's a rallying cry for modern-day believers to embrace their role in God's plan, to reach those destined to be part of His family. Pastor Hovde invites you to find courage in your struggles, speak boldly about your faith, and trust in the undeniable power of God to work through your life for His glory. Join us on this transformative trek, where each step is a move towards fulfilling His great commission.
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Episode Transcript
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Jason Hovde (00:00):
Are you ready to step up your evangelism?
Welcome to Truth Trek, where wedive deep into the Bible to
(00:25):
uncover the treasures there.
I am Pastor Jason Hovde and Iwill be your guide as we journey
together into.
In today's episode, our journeytogether is going to take a
(00:52):
look at empowered evangelism.
The promises of Jesus shouldencourage us today, and we're
going to look at three promisesstraight out of the Great
Commission that Christ Himselfgave us.
He's promised number one, tonever leave us.
Number two, to empower andembolden us.
And number three, to producethe fruit of our labors.
(01:15):
As Christians, we ought to livewith the most hope and joy of
anyone around.
Instead, we often live ourlives with a pessimistic
attitude that always assumes theworst things are going to
happen.
And when we live in thispessimistic way, we are not
honoring God.
The pessimist always assumessomething bad is going to happen
(01:39):
.
The pessimist is always waitingfor the other shoe to drop.
The pessimist says, during abeautiful season of weather,
we're going to pay for thislater.
You've heard of this type oftorture.
The victim is strapped to a cotor otherwise immobilized Water.
(02:00):
Over time they nearly go crazyjust waiting for the next drip.
Thomas Carlile was a Scottishhistorian, philosopher, teacher
and commentator.
Today, if you visit ThomasCarlile's famous home in London,
they will show you an almostsoundproof chamber that Carlile
(02:25):
had built so that the noise ofthe street could be shut out and
he could work in silence.
One of his neighbors, however,kept a rooster that several
times in the night and in theearly morning gave way to
vigorous self-expression.
When Carlile protested to theowner of the rooster, the man
pointed out to him that therooster crowed only three times
(02:47):
in the night.
But after all that could not besuch a terrible annoyance.
But Carlile said to him if youonly knew what I suffer waiting
for that rooster to crow.
Like Carlile, many of us sufferwaiting for that rooster to crow
.
We live as though something badmust be coming.
(03:08):
So we live with our necks andmuscles continually braced for
what is surely coming.
Yet, unlike water torture andunlike Carlile's rooster, our
dread is self-imposed.
And it is self-imposed becausewe have promises from our Lord
and we choose not to believethem.
Any time we do not believesomething that the Lord has said
(03:30):
to us, we are sinning.
When we live in pessimism, weare sinning.
Carlile expressed a sort ofpessimism about the rooster.
That because he knew it wascoming.
It was dreadful to lie awakewaiting for it, for the
Christian life ought to be theopposite.
Do we lie awake waiting for thetrouble, like Carlile, waiting
(03:57):
for the rooster to crow, or dowe obey Christ and, despite
knowing that we are promisedtrouble in this life, do we
choose not to worry?
That is the whole of what Jesuswas saying.
In this world, you will havetrouble, but take heart, jesus
said in John 16 33 I have saidthese things to you, that in me
(04:21):
you may have peace.
In the world.
You will have tribulation, buttake heart.
I have overcome the world.
And in John 14.1, jesus saidLet your hearts not be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also inme.
Carlisle was a man who lost hisfaith.
(04:42):
It is thought that hisphilosophy was a precursor to
fascism.
What will become of us?
Will we lie awake in torturousangst, waiting for the other
shoe to drop or for the roosterto crow, or do we obey Christ,
who said Let not your hearts betroubled?
(05:04):
Paul, as you may well know,continued to run into trouble
wherever he went, preaching thegospel, and you can see in his
letters that he was treatedbadly in many places.
He was treated badly in DerbyLystra.
He was put in prison inPhilippi, run out of town in
(05:25):
Thessalonica, chased down toBerea and even in Athens had
people mock him.
Now he's in Corinth as we'regoing to read and though he
believes in his mission, he musthave been wavering a little in
his faith because the Lord spoketo him in order to encourage
him.
I'll read the passage and thenwe're going to focus on what the
(05:49):
Lord said to Paul and areminder that what we're
discussing is the promises ofJesus that should encourage us
to obey, because he's promisedto never leave us, to empower
and embolden us and to producethe fruit of our labors.
So I read from Acts, chapter 18, to see what happened to Paul
(06:09):
in Corinth, starting at verse 1.
After this, paul left Athens andwent to Corinth and he found a
Jew named Achilla, a native ofPontus, recently come from Italy
, with his wife Brasila.
Because Claudius had commandedall the Jews to leave Rome and
he went to see them, and becausehe was of the same trade, he
(06:31):
stayed with them and worked, forthey were tentmakers by trade
and he reasoned in the synagogueevery Sabbath and tried to
persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy arrivedfrom Macedonia, paul was
occupied with the word,testifying to the Jews that the
Christ was Jesus.
And when they opposed andreviled him, he shook out his
(06:55):
garments and said to them yourblood be on your own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on I will go to theGentiles.
And he left there and went tothe house of a man named Titus
justice, a worshipper of God.
His house was next door to thesynagogue.
Christmas, the ruler of thesynagogue believed in the Lord,
(07:16):
together with his entirehousehold and many of the
Corinthians hearing Paulbelieved and were baptized.
And the Lord said to Paul onenight in a vision do not be
afraid, but go on speaking anddo not be silent, for I am with
you and no one will attack youto harm you, for I have many in
(07:36):
this city who are my people.
And he stayed a year and sixmonths teaching the word of God
among them.
But when Galio was procounselof Echea, the Jews made a united
.
This man is persuading peopleto worship God, contrary to the
(07:56):
law.
But when Paul was about to openhis mouth, galio said to the
Jews If it were a matter ofwrongdoing or vicious crime, o
Jews, I would have reason toaccept your complaint, but since
it is a matter of questionsabout words and names and your
own law, see to it yourselves.
I refuse to be a judge.
And they all seized Sassanese,the ruler of the synagogue, and
(08:24):
beat him in front of thetribunal.
But Galio paid no attention toany of this.
Alright, so let's take a look atthis passage and remember that
the promises of Jesus shouldencourage us to obey his
promises to never leave us, toempower us and to embolden us,
and his promise to produce thefruit of our labors.
(08:45):
There's a beautiful truth to befound in this passage,
particularly in verses 9 and 10.
This truth is that God alwaysprovides the encouragement
needed to those who desire toplease Him.
We can look back to times whereGod has encouraged those who
are obedient to Him.
To Joshua, charged with thetask of leading Israel after
(09:08):
Moses' time of leadership wascomplete.
The Lord said this in Joshua1.5-9, no man shall be able to
stand before you all the days ofyour life.
Just as I was with Moses, sowill I be with you.
I will not leave you or forsakeyou.
Be strong and courageous, foryou shall cause this people to
(09:29):
inherit the land that I swore totheir fathers to give them.
Only be strong and verycourageous, being careful to do
according to all the law thatMoses, my servant, commanded you
Do not turn from it to theright hand or to the left that
you may have good successwherever you go.
This book of the law shall notdepart from your mouth, but you
(09:52):
shall meditate on it day andnight, so that you may be
careful to do according to allthat is written in it, for then
you will make your wayprosperous and then you will
have good success.
Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous, donot be frightened and do not be
dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
(10:16):
When the prophet Jeremiah saidthis to the Lord in Jeremiah
1.6-8, it says this I said AllLord.
God behold, I do not know howto speak, for I am only a youth.
And in the next verse God giveshim an encouragement.
But the Lord said to me Do notsay I am only a youth, for to
(10:37):
all to whom I send you, youshall go, and whatever I command
you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them, for Iam with you to deliver, you,
declares the Lord.
And in the great commission.
Jesus gave each believerauthority, direction and
encouragement Matthew 28, 18-20,.
And Jesus came and said to themAll authority in heaven and on
(11:00):
earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching themto observe all that I have
commanded you, and behold, I amwith you always, to the end of
the age.
So we come back to Paul needingsome encouragement.
(11:21):
Jesus spoke to him do not beafraid.
The original wording of this toPaul was clearly the meaning of
do not keep worrying.
It wasn't a warning to avoidbeing afraid, but rather it was
a command to stop being afraid.
Certainly, paul may have becomea bit gun-shy as he encountered
(11:43):
enormous opposition to hismessage, and yet he was
continuing to preach.
Perhaps no one knew of his needfor encouragement more than the
Lord did, but the Lord indeedknew that Paul needed
encouragement.
Go on speaking, he said, for Iam with you".
Certainly, we can see areminder of the promise here.
(12:04):
Jesus had promised to be withhis followers, to never leave
them.
The psalmist recognized thateven in the valley of the shadow
of death he could be unafraidbecause the Lord was nearby.
Jesus reminded Paul, eventhough Paul was an obedient
servant, even though Paul hadendured many trials, even though
(12:25):
Paul was to become perhaps themost influential Christian in
history, jesus wanted Paul tosucceed in perseverance.
He wanted his mission to becompleted and so, most likely in
the very time of need, he spoketo Paul to offer him this
assurance.
But what really has excited meabout the Lord's encouragement
(12:48):
to Paul is that here, in thelast part of what he said, he
said no one will attack you toharm you.
He assures Paul that, at leastfor this occasion, he will not
allow Paul to be shut down inhis ministry.
In Corinth we find the mostunlikely places that a church
should thrive.
(13:08):
This was a capital of vice.
If you were to take the worstdepravity of San Francisco, las
Vegas and New York City and putthem all together and on display
for all to see, you would beapproaching the level of
depravity in Corinth.
In fact, for more than 500years, the phrase to
(13:28):
carinthinize meant to bedepraved in nature.
If you think the phrase NewYork values was enough to offend
someone in these days.
In those days, a great insultto someone would be to compare
them to Corinth.
In Corinth, sexual depravitywas a game, an industry and a
(13:50):
religion unto itself.
Prostitution and child abusewere common and Roman citizens
were free to indulge in the veryworst kind of immorality.
But it was there to show theworld the real nature of God's
grace that he chose to plant achurch that would serve as an
(14:12):
example to the world, in somecases an example of grace, in
others an example oflicentiousness.
But what did the Lord mean whenhe told Paul I have many in
this city who are my people.
I used to think this meant Godhad people in place to protect
(14:33):
Paul, to keep him safe.
But this is not what is meanthere.
Remember what the greatcommandment and the great
commission are Love the Lord,your God, with all your heart,
soul and mind, and love theneighbor as yourself and the
great commission.
Go and make disciples.
Paul wasn't being encouraged bythe Lord to continue speaking
(14:56):
without fear for only Paul's ownsake.
His mission was to save manypeople.
The Lord had many people in thecity, people who had not yet
turned to him, had not yet heardthe gospel, but were
predestined to be part of thefamily of God.
Paul was to keep speaking andnot be afraid, because there
(15:19):
were people who God wanted toreach in that city.
Just as we are to proclaim ourfaith here, god has many people
in our city as well.
Wherever you are, god haspeople in your city, people who
have not yet heard the gospel orhave not yet been persuaded to
follow Jesus.
You see, someone needs to tellthem.
(15:41):
Paul needed to speak boldly, notjust for his own sake, but for
those who needed to hear thegospel.
Paul developed a betterunderstanding of this over time
and when he wrote to the churchin Rome, he told them this in
Romans 8, 29 to 30.
For those whom he foreknew, healso predestined to be conformed
(16:03):
to the image of his son, inorder that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers.
And those whom he predestined,he also called.
And those whom he called, healso justified.
And those whom he justified, healso glorified.
He predestined and called andjustified and glorified, and
(16:26):
this is done through the tellingof the gospel or the
proclamation of the Word of God.
This is why we are unashamed.
It is the power of God to allwho believe, and while only God
knows who they are, who willrespond to our telling of the
gospel.
We are commanded to tell it,not putting the onus on
(16:47):
ourselves to make results happen, but trusting in God that, as
we live in obedience to him,sharing the gospel with those we
encounter, that he indeed doeshave people in this city, people
who are destined to become partof the family of God.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians,chapter 2, starting in verse 1,
(17:09):
and I, when I came to you,brothers, did not come
proclaiming to you the testimonyof God with lofty speech or
wisdom, for I decided to knownothing among you except Jesus
Christ and him crucified.
And I was with you in weaknessand in fear and much trembling,
and my speech and my messagewere not in plausible words of
(17:31):
wisdom but in demonstration ofthe Spirit and of power, so that
your faith might not rest inthe wisdom of men but in the
power of God.
Yet among the mature, we doimpart wisdom, although it is
not a wisdom of this age or ofthe rulers of this age, who are
doomed to pass away.
But we impart a secret andhidden wisdom of God, which God
(17:55):
decreed before the ages for ourglory.
None of the rulers of this ageunderstood this, for if they had
, they would not have crucifiedthe Lord of glory, but as it is
written, what no eye has seen,nor ear heard, nor the heart of
man imagined.
What God has prepared for thosewho love him.
These things God has revealedto us through the Spirit.
(18:18):
For the Spirit searcheseverything, even the depths of
God, for who knows a person'sthoughts except the Spirit of
that person which is in him?
So also, no one comprehends thethoughts of God except the
Spirit of God.
Now we have received not theSpirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that wemight understand the things
(18:41):
freely given us by God.
And we impart this in words nottaught by human wisdom, but
taught by the Spirit,interpreting spiritual truths to
those who are spiritual.
The natural person does notaccept the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are folly tohim and he is not able to
understand them because they arespiritually discerned.
(19:03):
The spiritual person judges allthings, but is himself to be
judged by no one.
For who has understood the mindof the Lord as to instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ,him crucified.
Paul makes clear that when hecame to Corinth, he did not rely
(19:25):
on his own wit or eloquence buton the Spirit of God.
Only the Spirit knows a man'sthoughts and the preacher does
not know any man's thoughts.
So the preacher must preach andthe Christian must make
disciples.
We never know who will respond,but trust in him who promises
(19:46):
that his word will never returnvoid.
In other words, the telling ofthe gospel is never wasted.
It always has an effect.
And when we begin to realizeour great privilege in being
part of the plan that Godpredestines many to receive his
grace, we can go forth, likePaul, with the confidence in a
(20:08):
Lord who is always with us, theempowerment of the Spirit of God
to tell the great news we areblessed with.
It's a privilege and a soberingthought that our telling someone
about Jesus may have been partof God's eternal plan for that
individual to be saved.
Oh, what a glorious thing it isto think that the Lord may use
(20:32):
us in the everlasting salvationfor a soul.
We impart a secret and hiddenwisdom of God, which God decreed
before the ages for our glory.
It is beyond our ability toimagine what God has prepared
for us.
I remember when we convinced mydad once to see one of the Star
(20:52):
Wars movies in the theater.
He had never seen anything likeit before he kept leaning over
to me and saying, wow, that guysure has an imagination.
Some amazing imaginativestories have been written and
some amazing special effectshave made them realistic and
wondrous.
Yet all the talent of all theartists on earth would not be
(21:17):
able to put together anythingclose to what God has in store
for us.
So we ought to want others toshare in it.
If you see a movie thatabsolutely blows you away, you
tell people about it.
If you see a game that is soexciting, you want to talk about
it.
If you catch a huge fish, youwant to lie about it.
Hunters tell their stories overand over to any new audience
(21:41):
who will listen.
And yet with this news, we tendto keep it to ourselves.
Why is this so?
Why are we so timid to live outour faith boldly and share
confidently the good news of ourSavior?
Jesus told us there are morepeople of His for us to go and
find.
Jesus said in John 10, 16, Ihave other sheep that are not of
(22:07):
this fold.
I must bring them also and theywill listen to my voice.
So there will be one flock, oneshepherd.
He desperately wants us to goand help him to get those sheep
into the fold.
Yes, he could do that withoutour assistance, but why would we
want that?
Why not be part of somethingreally, really big?
(22:29):
Some of you have given money topolitical candidates, for
whatever reason.
You get excited and want to bepart of something historic,
something big.
Why not be part of the plan ofGod to bring salvation to our
communities?
Don't be afraid of thetestimony.
Don't hesitate to share thegood news.
(22:49):
God may have predestinedsomeone in your life to become
one of the sheep of His fold, sowhy not be part of the good
shepherd's work?
In 2 Timothy 1, starting atverse 8, paul wrote to young
Timothy therefore, do not beashamed of the testimony about
our Lord, nor of me, hisprisoner, but share in the
(23:11):
suffering for the gospel by thepower of God, who saved us and
called us to a holy calling, notbecause of our works, but
because of our own purpose andgrace, which he gave us in
Christ Jesus before the agesbegan and which now has been
manifested through the appearingof our Savior, christ Jesus,
(23:32):
who abolished death and broughtlife and immortality to light
through the gospel, for which Iwas appointed a preacher and
apostle and teacher, which iswhy I suffer as I do, but I am
not ashamed, for I know whom Ihave believed and I am convinced
that he is able to guard untilthat day what has been entrusted
to me.
Follow the pattern of the soundwords that you have heard from
(23:56):
me in the faith and love thatare in Christ Jesus, by the Holy
Spirit who dwells within us,guard the good deposit entrusted
to you.
And so what do we do with that?
What if it brings suffering toyou?
What if you share the gospeland it hurts?
What if you lose friends oralienate family, or you are
(24:18):
mocked or ridiculed?
Do not stop speaking, butrejoice in your sufferings.
Colossians 1,.
Starting at verse 24, paulwrote Now I rejoice in my
sufferings for your sake, and inmy flesh I am filling up what
is lacking in Christ'safflictions, for the sake of his
body.
That is the church of which Ibecame a minister, according to
(24:42):
the stewardship from God thatwas given to me for you to make
the Word of God fully known, themystery hidden for ages and
generations but now revealed tohis saints.
To them God chose to make knownhow great among the Gentiles
are the riches of the glory ofthis mystery which in Christ, in
(25:03):
you, the hope of glory, him weproclaim, warning everyone and
teaching everyone with allwisdom that we may present
everyone mature in Christ.
For this I toil, strugglingwith all his energy, that he
powerfully works within me.
Make it known the riches of theglory of this mystery which is
(25:26):
Christ, in you, the hope ofglory.
Proclaim him, toil in this work, for he powerfully works within
you.
Remember, then, that thepromises of Jesus should
encourage us to obey, and hispromises are that he would never
leave us, that he would empowerus and embolden us, and that he
(25:48):
would produce the fruit of ourlabors.
Thank you for joining me on thisTruth Trek.
I want to close once more tosay that God encourages you to
go on speaking and not be silentabout your faith.
I want to go back for one moretime to Acts 18, 9, and 10 and
(26:13):
see what God did for Paul toencourage him when he was
feeling down and discouraged.
The Lord said to Paul one nightin a vision do not be afraid,
but go on speaking and do not besilent, for I am with you and
no one will attack you to harmyou, for I have many in this
(26:35):
city who are my people.
I pray that this message hasencouraged you to be more bold
in your faith and to hear fromthe words of Scripture that,
even though it can be difficult,that God has given us all that
we need for our encouragementand strength.
Have a blessed day.
Are you ready to step up your evangelism?
Welcome to Truth Trek, where wedive deep into the Bible to
(00:25):
uncover the treasures there.
I am Pastor Jason Hovde and Iwill be your guide as we journey
together into.
In today's episode, our journeytogether is going to take a
(00:52):
look at empowered evangelism.
The promises of Jesus shouldencourage us today, and we're
going to look at three promisesstraight out of the Great
Commission that Christ Himselfgave us.
He's promised number one, tonever leave us.
Number two, to empower andembolden us.
And number three, to producethe fruit of our labors.
(01:15):
As Christians, we ought to livewith the most hope and joy of
anyone around.
Instead, we often live ourlives with a pessimistic
attitude that always assumes theworst things are going to
happen.
And when we live in thispessimistic way, we are not
honoring God.
The pessimist always assumessomething bad is going to happen
(01:39):
.
The pessimist is always waitingfor the other shoe to drop.
The pessimist says, during abeautiful season of weather,
we're going to pay for thislater.
You've heard of this type oftorture.
The victim is strapped to a cotor otherwise immobilized Water.
(02:00):
Over time they nearly go crazyjust waiting for the next drip.
Thomas Carlile was a Scottishhistorian, philosopher, teacher
and commentator.
Today, if you visit ThomasCarlile's famous home in London,
they will show you an almostsoundproof chamber that Carlile
(02:25):
had built so that the noise ofthe street could be shut out and
he could work in silence.
One of his neighbors, however,kept a rooster that several
times in the night and in theearly morning gave way to
vigorous self-expression.
When Carlile protested to theowner of the rooster, the man
pointed out to him that therooster crowed only three times
(02:47):
in the night.
But after all that could not besuch a terrible annoyance.
But Carlile said to him if youonly knew what I suffer waiting
for that rooster to crow.
Like Carlile, many of us sufferwaiting for that rooster to crow
.
We live as though something badmust be coming.
(03:08):
So we live with our necks andmuscles continually braced for
what is surely coming.
Yet, unlike water torture andunlike Carlile's rooster, our
dread is self-imposed.
And it is self-imposed becausewe have promises from our Lord
and we choose not to believethem.
Any time we do not believesomething that the Lord has said
(03:30):
to us, we are sinning.
When we live in pessimism, weare sinning.
Carlile expressed a sort ofpessimism about the rooster.
That because he knew it wascoming.
It was dreadful to lie awakewaiting for it, for the
Christian life ought to be theopposite.
Do we lie awake waiting for thetrouble, like Carlile, waiting
(03:57):
for the rooster to crow, or dowe obey Christ and, despite
knowing that we are promisedtrouble in this life, do we
choose not to worry?
That is the whole of what Jesuswas saying.
In this world, you will havetrouble, but take heart, jesus
said in John 16 33 I have saidthese things to you, that in me
(04:21):
you may have peace.
In the world.
You will have tribulation, buttake heart.
I have overcome the world.
And in John 14.1, jesus saidLet your hearts not be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also inme.
Carlisle was a man who lost hisfaith.
(04:42):
It is thought that hisphilosophy was a precursor to
fascism.
What will become of us?
Will we lie awake in torturousangst, waiting for the other
shoe to drop or for the roosterto crow, or do we obey Christ,
who said Let not your hearts betroubled?
(05:04):
Paul, as you may well know,continued to run into trouble
wherever he went, preaching thegospel, and you can see in his
letters that he was treatedbadly in many places.
He was treated badly in DerbyLystra.
He was put in prison inPhilippi, run out of town in
(05:25):
Thessalonica, chased down toBerea and even in Athens had
people mock him.
Now he's in Corinth as we'regoing to read and though he
believes in his mission, he musthave been wavering a little in
his faith because the Lord spoketo him in order to encourage
him.
I'll read the passage and thenwe're going to focus on what the
(05:49):
Lord said to Paul and areminder that what we're
discussing is the promises ofJesus that should encourage us
to obey, because he's promisedto never leave us, to empower
and embolden us and to producethe fruit of our labors.
So I read from Acts, chapter 18, to see what happened to Paul
(06:09):
in Corinth, starting at verse 1.
After this, paul left Athens andwent to Corinth and he found a
Jew named Achilla, a native ofPontus, recently come from Italy
, with his wife Brasila.
Because Claudius had commandedall the Jews to leave Rome and
he went to see them, and becausehe was of the same trade, he
(06:31):
stayed with them and worked, forthey were tentmakers by trade
and he reasoned in the synagogueevery Sabbath and tried to
persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy arrivedfrom Macedonia, paul was
occupied with the word,testifying to the Jews that the
Christ was Jesus.
And when they opposed andreviled him, he shook out his
(06:55):
garments and said to them yourblood be on your own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on I will go to theGentiles.
And he left there and went tothe house of a man named Titus
justice, a worshipper of God.
His house was next door to thesynagogue.
Christmas, the ruler of thesynagogue believed in the Lord,
(07:16):
together with his entirehousehold and many of the
Corinthians hearing Paulbelieved and were baptized.
And the Lord said to Paul onenight in a vision do not be
afraid, but go on speaking anddo not be silent, for I am with
you and no one will attack youto harm you, for I have many in
(07:36):
this city who are my people.
And he stayed a year and sixmonths teaching the word of God
among them.
But when Galio was procounselof Echea, the Jews made a united
.
This man is persuading peopleto worship God, contrary to the
(07:56):
law.
But when Paul was about to openhis mouth, galio said to the
Jews If it were a matter ofwrongdoing or vicious crime, o
Jews, I would have reason toaccept your complaint, but since
it is a matter of questionsabout words and names and your
own law, see to it yourselves.
I refuse to be a judge.
And they all seized Sassanese,the ruler of the synagogue, and
(08:24):
beat him in front of thetribunal.
But Galio paid no attention toany of this.
Alright, so let's take a look atthis passage and remember that
the promises of Jesus shouldencourage us to obey his
promises to never leave us, toempower us and to embolden us,
and his promise to produce thefruit of our labors.
(08:45):
There's a beautiful truth to befound in this passage,
particularly in verses 9 and 10.
This truth is that God alwaysprovides the encouragement
needed to those who desire toplease Him.
We can look back to times whereGod has encouraged those who
are obedient to Him.
To Joshua, charged with thetask of leading Israel after
(09:08):
Moses' time of leadership wascomplete.
The Lord said this in Joshua1.5-9, no man shall be able to
stand before you all the days ofyour life.
Just as I was with Moses, sowill I be with you.
I will not leave you or forsakeyou.
Be strong and courageous, foryou shall cause this people to
(09:29):
inherit the land that I swore totheir fathers to give them.
Only be strong and verycourageous, being careful to do
according to all the law thatMoses, my servant, commanded you
Do not turn from it to theright hand or to the left that
you may have good successwherever you go.
This book of the law shall notdepart from your mouth, but you
(09:52):
shall meditate on it day andnight, so that you may be
careful to do according to allthat is written in it, for then
you will make your wayprosperous and then you will
have good success.
Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous, donot be frightened and do not be
dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
(10:16):
When the prophet Jeremiah saidthis to the Lord in Jeremiah
1.6-8, it says this I said AllLord.
God behold, I do not know howto speak, for I am only a youth.
And in the next verse God giveshim an encouragement.
But the Lord said to me Do notsay I am only a youth, for to
(10:37):
all to whom I send you, youshall go, and whatever I command
you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them, for Iam with you to deliver, you,
declares the Lord.
And in the great commission.
Jesus gave each believerauthority, direction and
encouragement Matthew 28, 18-20,.
And Jesus came and said to themAll authority in heaven and on
(11:00):
earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching themto observe all that I have
commanded you, and behold, I amwith you always, to the end of
the age.
So we come back to Paul needingsome encouragement.
(11:21):
Jesus spoke to him do not beafraid.
The original wording of this toPaul was clearly the meaning of
do not keep worrying.
It wasn't a warning to avoidbeing afraid, but rather it was
a command to stop being afraid.
Certainly, paul may have becomea bit gun-shy as he encountered
(11:43):
enormous opposition to hismessage, and yet he was
continuing to preach.
Perhaps no one knew of his needfor encouragement more than the
Lord did, but the Lord indeedknew that Paul needed
encouragement.
Go on speaking, he said, for Iam with you".
Certainly, we can see areminder of the promise here.
(12:04):
Jesus had promised to be withhis followers, to never leave
them.
The psalmist recognized thateven in the valley of the shadow
of death he could be unafraidbecause the Lord was nearby.
Jesus reminded Paul, eventhough Paul was an obedient
servant, even though Paul hadendured many trials, even though
(12:25):
Paul was to become perhaps themost influential Christian in
history, jesus wanted Paul tosucceed in perseverance.
He wanted his mission to becompleted and so, most likely in
the very time of need, he spoketo Paul to offer him this
assurance.
But what really has excited meabout the Lord's encouragement
(12:48):
to Paul is that here, in thelast part of what he said, he
said no one will attack you toharm you.
He assures Paul that, at leastfor this occasion, he will not
allow Paul to be shut down inhis ministry.
In Corinth we find the mostunlikely places that a church
should thrive.
(13:08):
This was a capital of vice.
If you were to take the worstdepravity of San Francisco, las
Vegas and New York City and putthem all together and on display
for all to see, you would beapproaching the level of
depravity in Corinth.
In fact, for more than 500years, the phrase to
(13:28):
carinthinize meant to bedepraved in nature.
If you think the phrase NewYork values was enough to offend
someone in these days.
In those days, a great insultto someone would be to compare
them to Corinth.
In Corinth, sexual depravitywas a game, an industry and a
(13:50):
religion unto itself.
Prostitution and child abusewere common and Roman citizens
were free to indulge in the veryworst kind of immorality.
But it was there to show theworld the real nature of God's
grace that he chose to plant achurch that would serve as an
(14:12):
example to the world, in somecases an example of grace, in
others an example oflicentiousness.
But what did the Lord mean whenhe told Paul I have many in
this city who are my people.
I used to think this meant Godhad people in place to protect
(14:33):
Paul, to keep him safe.
But this is not what is meanthere.
Remember what the greatcommandment and the great
commission are Love the Lord,your God, with all your heart,
soul and mind, and love theneighbor as yourself and the
great commission.
Go and make disciples.
Paul wasn't being encouraged bythe Lord to continue speaking
(14:56):
without fear for only Paul's ownsake.
His mission was to save manypeople.
The Lord had many people in thecity, people who had not yet
turned to him, had not yet heardthe gospel, but were
predestined to be part of thefamily of God.
Paul was to keep speaking andnot be afraid, because there
(15:19):
were people who God wanted toreach in that city.
Just as we are to proclaim ourfaith here, god has many people
in our city as well.
Wherever you are, god haspeople in your city, people who
have not yet heard the gospel orhave not yet been persuaded to
follow Jesus.
You see, someone needs to tellthem.
(15:41):
Paul needed to speak boldly, notjust for his own sake, but for
those who needed to hear thegospel.
Paul developed a betterunderstanding of this over time
and when he wrote to the churchin Rome, he told them this in
Romans 8, 29 to 30.
For those whom he foreknew, healso predestined to be conformed
(16:03):
to the image of his son, inorder that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers.
And those whom he predestined,he also called.
And those whom he called, healso justified.
And those whom he justified, healso glorified.
He predestined and called andjustified and glorified, and
(16:26):
this is done through the tellingof the gospel or the
proclamation of the Word of God.
This is why we are unashamed.
It is the power of God to allwho believe, and while only God
knows who they are, who willrespond to our telling of the
gospel.
We are commanded to tell it,not putting the onus on
(16:47):
ourselves to make results happen, but trusting in God that, as
we live in obedience to him,sharing the gospel with those we
encounter, that he indeed doeshave people in this city, people
who are destined to become partof the family of God.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians,chapter 2, starting in verse 1,
(17:09):
and I, when I came to you,brothers, did not come
proclaiming to you the testimonyof God with lofty speech or
wisdom, for I decided to knownothing among you except Jesus
Christ and him crucified.
And I was with you in weaknessand in fear and much trembling,
and my speech and my messagewere not in plausible words of
(17:31):
wisdom but in demonstration ofthe Spirit and of power, so that
your faith might not rest inthe wisdom of men but in the
power of God.
Yet among the mature, we doimpart wisdom, although it is
not a wisdom of this age or ofthe rulers of this age, who are
doomed to pass away.
But we impart a secret andhidden wisdom of God, which God
(17:55):
decreed before the ages for ourglory.
None of the rulers of this ageunderstood this, for if they had
, they would not have crucifiedthe Lord of glory, but as it is
written, what no eye has seen,nor ear heard, nor the heart of
man imagined.
What God has prepared for thosewho love him.
These things God has revealedto us through the Spirit.
(18:18):
For the Spirit searcheseverything, even the depths of
God, for who knows a person'sthoughts except the Spirit of
that person which is in him?
So also, no one comprehends thethoughts of God except the
Spirit of God.
Now we have received not theSpirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that wemight understand the things
(18:41):
freely given us by God.
And we impart this in words nottaught by human wisdom, but
taught by the Spirit,interpreting spiritual truths to
those who are spiritual.
The natural person does notaccept the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are folly tohim and he is not able to
understand them because they arespiritually discerned.
(19:03):
The spiritual person judges allthings, but is himself to be
judged by no one.
For who has understood the mindof the Lord as to instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ,him crucified.
Paul makes clear that when hecame to Corinth, he did not rely
(19:25):
on his own wit or eloquence buton the Spirit of God.
Only the Spirit knows a man'sthoughts and the preacher does
not know any man's thoughts.
So the preacher must preach andthe Christian must make
disciples.
We never know who will respond,but trust in him who promises
(19:46):
that his word will never returnvoid.
In other words, the telling ofthe gospel is never wasted.
It always has an effect.
And when we begin to realizeour great privilege in being
part of the plan that Godpredestines many to receive his
grace, we can go forth, likePaul, with the confidence in a
(20:08):
Lord who is always with us, theempowerment of the Spirit of God
to tell the great news we areblessed with.
It's a privilege and a soberingthought that our telling someone
about Jesus may have been partof God's eternal plan for that
individual to be saved.
Oh, what a glorious thing it isto think that the Lord may use
(20:32):
us in the everlasting salvationfor a soul.
We impart a secret and hiddenwisdom of God, which God decreed
before the ages for our glory.
It is beyond our ability toimagine what God has prepared
for us.
I remember when we convinced mydad once to see one of the Star
(20:52):
Wars movies in the theater.
He had never seen anything likeit before he kept leaning over
to me and saying, wow, that guysure has an imagination.
Some amazing imaginativestories have been written and
some amazing special effectshave made them realistic and
wondrous.
Yet all the talent of all theartists on earth would not be
(21:17):
able to put together anythingclose to what God has in store
for us.
So we ought to want others toshare in it.
If you see a movie thatabsolutely blows you away, you
tell people about it.
If you see a game that is soexciting, you want to talk about
it.
If you catch a huge fish, youwant to lie about it.
Hunters tell their stories overand over to any new audience
(21:41):
who will listen.
And yet with this news, we tendto keep it to ourselves.
Why is this so?
Why are we so timid to live outour faith boldly and share
confidently the good news of ourSavior?
Jesus told us there are morepeople of His for us to go and
find.
Jesus said in John 10, 16, Ihave other sheep that are not of
(22:07):
this fold.
I must bring them also and theywill listen to my voice.
So there will be one flock, oneshepherd.
He desperately wants us to goand help him to get those sheep
into the fold.
Yes, he could do that withoutour assistance, but why would we
want that?
Why not be part of somethingreally, really big?
(22:29):
Some of you have given money topolitical candidates, for
whatever reason.
You get excited and want to bepart of something historic,
something big.
Why not be part of the plan ofGod to bring salvation to our
communities?
Don't be afraid of thetestimony.
Don't hesitate to share thegood news.
(22:49):
God may have predestinedsomeone in your life to become
one of the sheep of His fold, sowhy not be part of the good
shepherd's work?
In 2 Timothy 1, starting atverse 8, paul wrote to young
Timothy therefore, do not beashamed of the testimony about
our Lord, nor of me, hisprisoner, but share in the
(23:11):
suffering for the gospel by thepower of God, who saved us and
called us to a holy calling, notbecause of our works, but
because of our own purpose andgrace, which he gave us in
Christ Jesus before the agesbegan and which now has been
manifested through the appearingof our Savior, christ Jesus,
(23:32):
who abolished death and broughtlife and immortality to light
through the gospel, for which Iwas appointed a preacher and
apostle and teacher, which iswhy I suffer as I do, but I am
not ashamed, for I know whom Ihave believed and I am convinced
that he is able to guard untilthat day what has been entrusted
to me.
Follow the pattern of the soundwords that you have heard from
(23:56):
me in the faith and love thatare in Christ Jesus, by the Holy
Spirit who dwells within us,guard the good deposit entrusted
to you.
And so what do we do with that?
What if it brings suffering toyou?
What if you share the gospeland it hurts?
What if you lose friends oralienate family, or you are
(24:18):
mocked or ridiculed?
Do not stop speaking, butrejoice in your sufferings.
Colossians 1,.
Starting at verse 24, paulwrote Now I rejoice in my
sufferings for your sake, and inmy flesh I am filling up what
is lacking in Christ'safflictions, for the sake of his
body.
That is the church of which Ibecame a minister, according to
(24:42):
the stewardship from God thatwas given to me for you to make
the Word of God fully known, themystery hidden for ages and
generations but now revealed tohis saints.
To them God chose to make knownhow great among the Gentiles
are the riches of the glory ofthis mystery which in Christ, in
(25:03):
you, the hope of glory, him weproclaim, warning everyone and
teaching everyone with allwisdom that we may present
everyone mature in Christ.
For this I toil, strugglingwith all his energy, that he
powerfully works within me.
Make it known the riches of theglory of this mystery which is
(25:26):
Christ, in you, the hope ofglory.
Proclaim him, toil in this work, for he powerfully works within
you.
Remember, then, that thepromises of Jesus should
encourage us to obey, and hispromises are that he would never
leave us, that he would empowerus and embolden us, and that he
(25:48):
would produce the fruit of ourlabors.
Thank you for joining me on thisTruth Trek.
I want to close once more tosay that God encourages you to
go on speaking and not be silentabout your faith.
I want to go back for one moretime to Acts 18, 9, and 10 and
(26:13):
see what God did for Paul toencourage him when he was
feeling down and discouraged.
The Lord said to Paul one nightin a vision do not be afraid,
but go on speaking and do not besilent, for I am with you and
no one will attack you to harmyou, for I have many in this
(26:35):
city who are my people.
I pray that this message hasencouraged you to be more bold
in your faith and to hear fromthe words of Scripture that,
even though it can be difficult,that God has given us all that
we need for our encouragementand strength.
Have a blessed day.
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