Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Morning. 11:45.
[00:00:07] Good morning. 9:45. Who am I? My name is Pastor Dean Annan, and I want to just welcome you to the village.
[00:00:16] Sorry.
[00:00:18] My name is Michael Feueling, and I am the lead pastor here at the village church. If you have a Bible, would you open it to the Book of Second Corinthians? And we're going to be in chapter four this morning. All right, I want to start off, and I want to share with you a picture. It's one of my favorite pictures, and it shows a little girl. She is so innocent and delightfully receiving flowers from her dad.
[00:00:47] Her dad is also holding in his other hand a shield, while this little girl is just blissfully unaware of the battle and the attacks raging against her, living delightfully under the protection of her dad, who I am sure if we could extract him out of an image, would look at us and say, it is my honor and my privilege to protect my little girl.
[00:01:15] What this picture describes so wonderfully for me is really the nature of spiritual leadership. And the nature of leadership is absorption. So let me explain this. So as a mom and a dad, we are palpably aware of the onslaught directed not just at children in general, but that is directed at our children. For example, the spirit of the age. It is intent on sexualizing our children, dumbing down our children, politicizing our children, exposing our children to extreme gore and violence, tempting our children to dabble in spiritual darkness, subjecting our children to unhealthy things physical, physically and spiritually creating crippling anxiety and fear. And like each one of these, that's just like a snapshot. Each one of these are flaming arrows directed at the heart and the mind of our children. And each of these are flaming arrows, by the way, that as moms and dads, we absorb all in the spirit of the age, is intent on stealing our children's innocence and their childhood. And then on top of all of this, there are our own, like as moms and dads, our own personal challenges, marital challenges, work challenges, friend challenges. And our children are not designed to take these hits and to carry these adult anxieties and burdens on themselves.
[00:02:48] They're not strong enough.
[00:02:50] And. And I'm not saying that kids can't heal because every single one of us have had to bear things beyond our years when we were younger.
[00:03:00] I'm not also saying that there aren't appropriate ages to expose your kids to the realities of things that are going on, because we do actually have to prepare them at the right time, in the right place to live in this crazy world. But I am saying that there are just some things that are too big, they are too heavy for the soul of our children to carry. And so moms and dads, we aren't just guardians. We are. We're gates.
[00:03:23] So you can't get to them unless you go through us.
[00:03:28] So I think every parent in the room would agree sometimes parenting is hard.
[00:03:33] But you know what we would all do over and over again if given the option. We'd still be parents. Because it is our joy and our privilege, despite the challenges, to absorb all of these hits so that our children can live in innocence and freedom, so they are free to do the kinds of things that kids are able to do. The nature of leadership is absorption. But it's not just parents. To, like, a little bit lesser degree. If any of you have ever been a boss, a supervisor, you probably also understand that part of the nature of your leadership as a boss is absorbing things. So there are certain things that good bosses do, conversations they have so that the people who report to them are free to go do the kinds of things that they have to do. Most employees are blissfully unaware of the conversations supervisors are having with their bosses about performance, sometimes protecting you or your reputation or your job. And so this is kind of the nature of leadership, really good leadership. The nature of this, to a degree is absorption. Which brings us to the last section of Second Corinthians, chapter 4.
[00:04:45] The role of your pastors, of your elders, of your deacons, is to absorb arrows so that you are free to grow and serve and do the ministry that Jesus has given you to do. So there are going. You talk to any pastor throughout the last 2,000 years, any pastor anywhere, and here's what you're gonna find. There are attacks and problems and difficulties that the majority of the church will never hear about because it's unnecessary.
[00:05:23] But what I appreciate is that we get to 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, and there are some attacks. There are some arrows, though, that the apostle Paul looks at the Corinthian church and he's like, listen, there are things I deal with, and you're never gonna have to bear the weight of those that know about them. Me and the Lord will take care of them, the elders will take care of them, the apostles will take care of them, et cetera. But then the apostle Paul looks at the Corinthian church and says, but there are some arrows that I need you to know about.
[00:05:47] 2 Corinthians is unlike any other New Testament book in One way, it is so remarkably vulnerable. Like most of the books you get in the New Testament, you get a pastor who is training, challenging, calling out, et cetera. Second Corinthians has some of that, but like, there's something really different about 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians is like a pastor who completely trusts his church and he's just like, we need to talk. And you get an insight into the apostle's heart, his emotions, his struggles. It's the kinds of things that most people don't get to hear about from their elders. And the Apostle Paul kind of just opens up his heart and his experiences to his church. And so imagine like reading this kind of letter from your pastor. It's very raw, it's very sweet, it's very vulnerable.
[00:06:36] And I think if you could talk to the Apostle Paul and the vast majority of pastors, I know that, yeah, there are hits and arrows that you take so people don't have to. But like a parent, if we could do it all over again, we absolutely would because it is an honor and a joy, whether you're a parent or you're a boss or you're an elder or pastor, to take some of those arrows so that we can create an environment where people have the freedom to do the things God has called them to do. Now, with this in mind, 2 Corinthians, chapter four, we're gonna start in verse seven, he says, but we, we have this treasure in jars of clay. This is talking about his physical body here, like a jar of clay. If you squeeze it, what's it gonna do? It's gonna shatter, it's gonna break. So we have this treasure, the gospel, this ministry that God's given us, and we have these weak bodies. And the reason God made it like this is to show the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Now, we really dug deep into this over the last couple weeks. Here's like a five second summary. Gospel ministry is about weak, you, jar of clay, watching your strong God do great things through you. And so like, and then when we get to the end of it, if God moves, we're like, I'm a jar of clay. I break very easily. Whatever happened, that is all glory to God because only he could actually perform the kind of heart transformation that happens through the gospel.
[00:07:58] Now, there is a really subtle shift that I want you to notice in this text and it happens in chapter four. And I want you to notice the word we, because leading up to chapter four, the we was often this idea of you and me, the Corinthian Church, and the Apostle Paul, this collective we. But in chapter four, the we shifts. And now he's talking about the we are the apostles, the spiritual leaders of these churches. And he's gonna give them a little bit of an insight. So I need you to shift gears in your brain. When he says we, he's talking about the ministry of the apostles. And I want you to look at verse eight and nine.
[00:08:38] And Paul's gonna bring us into really the unique nature and challenges that he had to endure. And all the other apostles did. He says this verse eight, we, the apostles, we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.
[00:08:57] Perplexed, but not driven to despair. Persecuted but not forsaken.
[00:09:05] Struck down, but not destroyed.
[00:09:10] So if you are new to the Bible, maybe the Apostle Paul, maybe the church in Corinth. Apparently most Americans aren't like, I don't know, like, well studied in the nuances of the Corinthian Church. So let me give you, like, a little insight.
[00:09:22] Everywhere Paul went, he made enemies. And I'm not just talking about people who didn't like him. We're talking about a people who despised him so thoroughly, they wanted to kill him. And so you have to remember everywhere he goes, because what he's doing is he's calling out sin, right? And he's calling people to righteousness and teaching the truth about Jesus. And apparently for some people in this time, this was a really big problem. They wanted him dead. They conspired to kill him. And regularly, they were like, why can't we just kill this guy? They tried.
[00:09:59] And so Paul's attackers, he says they are afflicting him. And the word afflicted here literally means to squeeze with intense pressure.
[00:10:11] And I want to just kind of summarize Paul's rationale. It would probably go like this if you were to sit down with Paul and say, hey, buddy, why is it everywhere you go, people want to kill you? Are you the problem? And he would say, listen, anyone who boldly preaches the gospel and calls out sin will make enemies. Here's an idea. Why don't you go to Thanksgiving dinner this week and try it there?
[00:10:34] Oh, you get it now?
[00:10:36] Especially especially of religious people, attackers make themselves known by their tactics. That was last week's sermon. Cunning, deceptive, manipulating. While true spiritual leaders make themselves known by their faithfulness to Jesus, their faithfulness to the mission, and their Christlike response. And so you watch the Apostle Paul and this dude, you're like, if you're sitting in The Corinthian church. You're like, bro, how are you navigating what's being thrown at you? And he's gonna explain some of this. He describes the agenda. The desired outcome of his attackers is this. They're seeking to crush him.
[00:11:18] Crushed in the Greek kind of has two different meanings, depending on the context. The first one is to be confined into a tight space, but the second one is definitely what he's implying here. It can be used to mean shattered. So what happens when you squeeze or afflict or put intense pressure on a fragile jar of clay? It shatters into pieces. And so these people, his enemies, are putting the pressure on. They're squeezing him, and their goal is to make him break into pieces and to shatter. And then every time they try it, he's like, I'm back. Ha, ha. You couldn't do it. Nice try. Like, why won't he die? And he says, by the power and preservation of the Holy Spirit, we are afflicted in every way. And it's not just one or two ways. It's coming at the Apostle Paul from, like, every angle. And he says, but not crushed.
[00:12:10] He describes the overall experience of being intentionally afflicted in every way as the word perplexing.
[00:12:20] And thankfully, this means exactly what you think it means to be at a loss, to be confused. And the godly people in Corinth and the apostles, they're like, why can't you just leave us alone? That's what they're thinking. But he also knows the answer. Why are they so intent on murdering the Apostle Paul?
[00:12:39] Because he's a threat. You gotta remember something about the apostle Paul. He once was one of them. He knows their secrets. He knows their tactics, and he knows that they know that if he outs them, it's gonna be big trouble. And so what did Jesus do? Jesus outed them all. And they tried to kill him. And then they did. And they're like, he's following Jesus. He's gonna do the same thing. We need to take him out. We see this in politics all the time. Who are the most targeted for distraction? Those who know the most and are the most dangerous.
[00:13:13] So Paul uses a word to describe what happens to a person who is suffering and they don't know why it's happening. They're perplexed. Right? And he uses the word that most people experience when you're suffering over and over and over again. It's this word despair. Total hopelessness, completely giving up. If you are suffering over and over and over again and you have no idea why. The human inclination is to give up. And yet Paul's like, I have the Holy Spirit, guys, and we are indeed perplexed. But good luck, all your evil isn't driving us to despair.
[00:13:52] Next, he uses a word, and I think this word is way overused in America. I think it's way overused amongst Christians. It's a word that is reserved for special, destructive, intentional harm done to another person.
[00:14:04] It's the word persecuted. And actually, these words in the original language have such kind of color to them. It means to be pursued, chased, or harassed. My goodness, if this was not Paul's experience, I don't know what is. Everywhere they went, the Jews were sending people out to harass him. And the churches where he was pastoring, city to city, everywhere the guy went, because he was a danger to them. And they thought to themselves, again, why can't the dude just die?
[00:14:41] What they didn't understand is you can do whatever you want to him, but he is under Jesus protection. And until Jesus says, it's time for you to die, he's not gonna die. And you better believe it. When Jesus does allow him to die, which he will in a few years, it will be to amplify the gospel and to bring more people to faith in Jesus Christ, thereby, like, making all the things they're trying to do even worse.
[00:15:04] So in the first century, especially with the Jewish people, they had a phrase that would happen to somebody who was afflicted, seemingly by God, over and over again, and they couldn't make sense of it. And so they would say something. They must be forsaken by God. And so forsaken means to be abandoned. And what's striking is that Paul could be tempted to think this. Everywhere I go, every city, they are literally trying to kill me, end my life once and for all, forever. Like God, are you with me? Have you forsaken me? And he wants everyone to be super crystal clear, oh, no, no, no, no, no. This actually is not a sign of being forsaken by God. Because one of the things that Paul did, and we know he did, is he studied the life, the ministry, and the words of Jesus very closely. In fact, Jesus has given us a bit of instruction on this. And I guarantee you there were a few passages the Apostle Paul knew better than the Sermon on the Mount. Specifically, Matthew, chapter 5, verse 9. Let me read this section for you. This is God's desire for everybody. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Now, is everybody in this world a peacemaker? Nope. So that's not realistic. So given the threat of the pure Gospel to the religious Jews, Jesus says, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I just imagine the Apostle Paul reading this and internalizing these words. Verse 11. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad. Is that not a counterintuitive response? Well, Paul has studied the life of Jesus, and he understands that when these things happen, rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
[00:16:56] This is Paul's life. We are persecuted, but we are not forsaken any more than Jesus himself was forsaken by God the Father.
[00:17:07] The next word he uses, it's a word to literally describe what they're doing to him physically. It's the word struck down. It means to knock down. And it's usually used in the context of throwing somebody to the ground. So Paul might show up and somebody might say, well, how are we going to know it's the Apostle Paul?
[00:17:26] Here's how you're going to know it's the Apostle Paul.
[00:17:28] Everything from his forehead to the tips of his fingers were one big marred scar.
[00:17:35] There was no part of his body that was not disfigured from being tortured, whipped, and beaten.
[00:17:42] To show you this, look at 2 Corinthians 11. I'll put it on the screen for you. But he says, Five times I received at the hands of the Jews, 40 lashes. Less one. Okay, 39 lashes. They didn't give the 40th lash because they believed the 40 flash was so devastating it would kill you. They would get a whip with a whole bunch of glass and shards on it, and then they would whip you, wrap around your entire body. Then they would yank it off and it would dig out your skin all the way to the point of the muscle. 39 times. Let's do some quick math. I didn't do this before. Failed in first service. We'll see if we get it here. What is 39 times 5? I actually don't know the answer. Anybody?
[00:18:15] It's a lot.
[00:18:18] So 40 times five is 200. So we're going to say 195. There we go. 195. Did I get it, Guys? Look at that. I can do math on the. You could applaud for that. No, I'm kidding. Don't do that.
[00:18:28] That's a lot of lashes. Okay. And then he's like, three times I was beaten with rods. These aren't meant to kill you. These are meant to make you endure excruciating pain. That happened three separate times. Once he says, oh, by the way, I was stoned. Nature is. Stoning is. Yes. They throw stones at you. They put you at the bottom of, like, some sort of ravine. And then the accuser has to drop a really, really big stone on you to crush you to death. And he went through that. And they're like, die. And he's like, you can't get me. Jesus isn't done with me yet. Like, the dude's an inspiration. And then for funsies, he's like, three times I was shipwrecked at night, in the day, and I was adrift at sea, all for the sake of Jesus.
[00:19:07] Like, the demonic realm and the people in control of them, like, they'll stop at nothing. And again, his body, he bears on his body the marks of Jesus.
[00:19:16] But you can't kill the guy until Jesus says so.
[00:19:22] So there's a phrase that I've heard often other pastors will tell you. We all hear different kind of versions of this phrase, and I want to share it with you. The phrase goes something like this.
[00:19:34] You must be. So you fill in the blank. Overwhelmed, exhausted. Something hard.
[00:19:40] Because if I were you, I would be.
[00:19:45] And I look at, for example, the Apostle Paul, and I want to say to him, you must be so overwhelmed, close to despair, want to die.
[00:19:57] Because if I were you, I would be.
[00:20:01] We miss something. And this is something really special that I've known. I've been able to see firsthand with spiritual leaders, whether it's a parent or whether it's a pastor, an elder, whatever.
[00:20:11] That sometimes we fail to understand at those moments is that when God gives somebody with spiritual responsibility really, really difficult things to go through, he gives them the accompanying grace of the Holy Spirit to endure and deal with that.
[00:20:27] I cannot imagine having to endure what the Apostle Paul endured. And I think most of us will look at this and say, I don't ever want that to happen to me or my kids.
[00:20:37] But if Jesus looked at you and said, I need you. This is what I'm calling you to do. He would give us the grace in the moment to do it.
[00:20:47] So there's not gonna be a moment where he asks you to do something where he does not give you the supernatural power to do that. Now, here's the deal. Does it mean your emotions are gonna like it? No. Does it mean it won't hurt? No. Does it mean you won't be sad or depressed? No. But does it mean that you'll have everything you need to endure it and be faithful to Jesus? Well, definitely.
[00:21:08] And so here's. Whenever I see somebody that I love going through something difficult, I just know that if they love the Lord, he is going to give them the supernatural grace to endure it. And so he says, yes, we are struck down, literally. They've beat us to a pulp. We've been on the ground bleeding out, but can't destroy us, can't kill me yet.
[00:21:33] Verse 10, Paul tells us, like, why he does this, why he keeps going.
[00:21:41] And it's just a little bit of an insight into the ministry of the apostles.
[00:21:44] He says, we, the apostles, we are carrying in the body, their physical bodies, the death of Jesus. Scars, black eyes.
[00:21:56] So that the life of Jesus may be manifested or people may be able to see it in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death. By the way, this is the apostles, the ones who are still alive, like, we're given over to death. This is the job description, okay.
[00:22:14] For Jesus sake. So that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So the apostolic logic of persecution, it just is very interesting. So every act of persecution against the apostles, they saw it as a living illustration of what Jesus went through. And they would say something like this, oh, look at what I'm going through. Jesus went through worse. I'm just a living illustration. And Jesus did this because he loves you. So they even just saw, like, their own personal suffering as an opportunity to show other people. This is a glimpse into the life that Jesus had to endure before his crucifixion and resurrection.
[00:22:58] And the attacks on these apostles, they were nonstop. I mean, okay, could you just imagine a job description? And this is the job description for all the apostles, okay? Goes something like this. Number one, you're gonna be an apostle. Oh, sweet power, authority. Ha ha. You're gonna be hunted down, okay? To the day you're dead. Number two, you're gonna die. Probably a very terrible, excruciating death for the name of Jesus. But don't worry, you're not gonna die. Although you might suffer and think today's the day, but you're not gonna die until Jesus says, your death is gonna amplify the gospel and have the most amount of impact for the kingdom of God. You in?
[00:23:33] Yeah. Yeah. I get to be a spiritual leader.
[00:23:38] So Jesus told a man named Ananias, he's a disciple in a city of Damascus. And Jesus tells Ananias about Paul, his calling and life purpose. And so Acts 9, 15, striking. Jesus says to Ananias about Paul, he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Welcome to the job description struck down but not destroyed.
[00:24:15] Verse 12. I want to bring this all together. Verse 12 is the clincher.
[00:24:20] Why did the apostles absorb persecution?
[00:24:27] Verse 12. He says, so death is at work in us. That's the apostles. That's their job description, their life sentence. So death is at work in us, but life in you, the church.
[00:24:42] Here's what he says in verse 15 for it all, the hardship, the striking down, the beatings, the persecution, the lies, the slander, every bit of it, it's all for your sake.
[00:24:57] So that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. So a mom and a dad, they absorb all the arrows and the hits and the pain so that their children can be who God has made them to be at that life stage.
[00:25:16] And the apostles and your pastors and your elders and your deacons and the spiritual leaders in your life, they absorb the hits so that you can do what Jesus has called you to do, so that look at the phrase, more and more people could come to know Jesus personally.
[00:25:38] The question I think should be asked.
[00:25:41] So since the spiritual leaders are statistically stronger spiritually, you know what I mean by that? Like, there's high qualifications for you to be a pastor and an elder. And if, like, they're probably stronger, probably able to endure a spiritual attack, probably pretty spiritually durable.
[00:25:59] If you're the evil one, if you're the demonic realm, then why don't you skip them and go to the most vulnerable, young baby, immature Christians, Why don't you just take them out en masse? Because the dark realm is evil and cunning and very smart and scheming, and they win a lot of the battle. I mean, why wouldn't you just go cut as many people out as you could? I'm gonna give you maybe a surprising answer.
[00:26:23] Because they aren't allowed to.
[00:26:28] Don't get me wrong, all Christians, you, me, everyone, we are all under spiritual attack.
[00:26:34] But there are some attacks that Jesus does not allow on the sheep, but only the shepherd.
[00:26:43] Just like there are some attacks that the only way they're gonna get to your children is to go through mom and D and mom and dad. When we leave a gate open, we give an opportunity for attack.
[00:26:56] And there are some things in this world where if the devil's gonna get to the church, they gotta go through the, if they're gonna get to the sheep, they have to go through the shepherd. And so our job as shepherds is to close the gate. And so if there's false doctrine, we address it. If there's sin, we address it. If there's darkness, we address it. If there's weird things going on, we close these gates. Because when a church, when the elders don't do their job, for example, if there's an anti gospel doctrine that gets out right and the elders don't close the gate, then the entire church is now subject to this anti gospel doctrine. And if the elders just sit back and they know this doctrine is flowing through the church and they don't do anything about it and they don't shut the gate as it expands, then you better believe that the kingdom of darkness is going to take that open gate and extort the entire church. And so the elders serve as a gate. And when we see stuff, we close that gate. And there are some things that can't get to a local body in the spiritual realm when the elders are doing their job. And this is why the elders have to be watchful and discerning because there is a spiritual responsibility they have to close to close the gate. I wanna show you a few examples of just how this actually looks. The book of 1 Timothy, chapter three has qualifications for elders. And I want to draw your attention to the last two. First Timothy, chapter three, verse six says this.
[00:28:14] He any elder must not be a recent convert. Why?
[00:28:21] Or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. What is the devil waiting for the elders to leave a gate open. And let me just say it very bluntly. Brand new Christians and baby Christians make for terrible elders. And they should never be elders. It's why you need to be a believer for a long time until you are made an elder of a church. Because the younger you are, the more easily duped, trapped and schemed you are. And so what you want to make sure is that the men who are going to serve as elders are qualified elders who are wise and discerning so that they have the not just wisdom to see the open gates, but the strength to go face the people in things and doctrines that are seeking to unlatch them and then to close them.
[00:29:06] But that's not it, he says in verse seven. Here's another qualification. Moreover, he, any elder must Be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
[00:29:23] Why is the devil laying a snare for elders?
[00:29:26] So that he can get through the gates and he can access and devour the sheep.
[00:29:32] I have talked to many pastors who are older, retired in my life, and every pastor that I have asked this question to has basically given me the same answer. Hey, I'm a young guy, I'm a young pastor. What advice would you give me in ministry in general? Like, as a pastor?
[00:29:51] Almost every single person has said this to me.
[00:29:56] Guard your elder board.
[00:30:00] Do not let one unqualified elder into that seat.
[00:30:06] Because it takes one unqualified elder to open the gate and to destroy and devour an entire church.
[00:30:15] The stories that I have been told by men who have been there, done that, and they'd all look at me and say, my biggest regret, my biggest regret, my biggest regret. It takes one unqualified man in the position of elder to open the gate, to watch a church divide.
[00:30:33] So why does the demonic realm go after elders first? Yes, there is a strategy, but there is also a hierarchy. In the same way, you have to go through a mom and dad to get to the kids, you have to go through an elder in some attacks to actually get to the church. I wanna show you this again. Hebrews 13, 17, 18. Now, as we read this, I wanna just acknowledge, I fully understand that there are some very rare, but there are some cases where an elder or pastor is gonna use this as like a manipulation, control, abuse text. That's obviously not the goal, but it's biblical, so we wanna say it.
[00:31:06] Paul makes the same point. But the author of Hebrews says, obey your leaders and submit to them. Why?
[00:31:15] For they are keeping watch over your souls.
[00:31:22] There is a weight of shepherding that is awesome, like a parent, and there is a responsibility.
[00:31:30] And so he's like, listen, as those who have to give an account, like they're gonna be accountable for this. There's weight and responsibility. And if we don't do our job, the implications can be devastating for a local church.
[00:31:42] Now, I need you to understand this, the nature of spiritual attack. It's organizational. It has to work through organizational structures. Because if you ever want to go deeper on this, we have a whole set of series of sermons on the spiritual realm. But the spiritual realm works under the rule of authority. You actually have to follow the rules in the spiritual realm. And so here's what you find, is that to get to the sheep, there are some things they can't do unless they go through the shepherds.
[00:32:11] And so verse 17, I mean, Paul and the author of Hebrews, they know the rules and the conventions of this warfare. He goes on, he says, let them. Let your elders do this. Keep watch over your souls and not with groaning, for that would be no advantage to you. So why do you not want to just make their lives terrible so that they're not distracted from the constant onslaught of trying to devour the church? And so, like, the goal is to have, like, collaboration and peace. But it's like, we have our job, and one of the things that we want to do is we're happy to take the hits so that you can do your thing. So let's work together and let's talk through this. Now, verse 18. I love this, and I think this just brings the whole thing full circle.
[00:32:54] He looks at these people, he says, pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience.
[00:33:02] Desiring to act honorably in all things.
[00:33:07] This is our desire. I just love these words. He gives vocabulary to, I think, the heartbeat of the vast majority of pastors and elders I've ever met in my entire life. Our desire is to love you and to shepherd you and to act honorably in all things.
[00:33:22] All right, three. So what's number one?
[00:33:25] If persecution ever does come to you, don't lose heart again. This is a subject that I'll kind of just drop, kind of like the theological bomb. And if you want to go deeper, we can refer you to some sermons where we preached on this explicitly. But the Scriptures teach that there are demons over regions and countries. And if you go into, like, an extremist Muslim country, it appears that there are structures in place where between the demonic influence over these extremist Islamic countries, Jesus has given them permission to kill a lot of Christians. And it appears that whatever's happening in the west, and particularly in America, that it's not dark enough yet that Jesus is given permission for the demonic realm to do that. Don't get me wrong, there's persecution. There are bad things that happen. But there seems to be massive limits comparatively to what happens in other parts of the world that could shift. I have no idea. I am not a prophet. But verse 14, Paul, implying his inevitable martyrdom, living in a place and time where the conventions of spiritual warfare require the demonic realm to go through the apostles before they can go full on to the church, says this knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and bring you. Bring. Bring us with you into his presence. And so I love Paul's attitude. He's like, yeah, one day is impossible. I'm gonna die and I'm not gonna lose heart because I know what's coming. Jesus, God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead, he will also raise you from the dead.
[00:34:54] This is all temporary. He says in verse 16, so we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away. And yes, this does apply to the body and sin, et cetera, but it seems like he's actually talking here about the physical body of the apostles is being so repeatedly bruised and beaten. He's like, you can see our physical bodies are drained and we're struggling, but our inner person is being renewed day by day.
[00:35:23] And then in verse 17, he says one of the most ridiculous things I think he says in all of his letters.
[00:35:32] He says, for this light, momentary affliction, speaking of his sufferings. Okay, listen, if I get 39 lashes, okay, with a cat of nine tails, I am not going to call that a light, momentary suffering.
[00:35:51] Look, bro, this light momentaries offering is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. So Paul is an edge.
[00:36:02] Paul had a vision into what heaven is going to look like.
[00:36:06] And he says, no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But if you could, you would look at the weight and the glory of what is to come. And if you knew that was waiting for you, this would seem like nothing.
[00:36:23] Verse 18, he says we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.
[00:36:31] For the things that are seen, all of this, the suffering of the world, all the everything, it's transient, it's going away. But the things that are unseen, they're eternal.
[00:36:41] So we don't lose heart. And I hope that we all live to an old age and die without ever seeing persecution.
[00:36:49] But there are millions of Christians all over the world who didn't have that privilege. And if we ever find ourselves there, we will be given the grace by the Holy Spirit to endure whatever unbelievable difficulty may come before us. So at number two, always seek to be under spiritual authority.
[00:37:11] There is measurable and real protection for the people of God when they are under spiritual authority.
[00:37:19] This is one of the reasons, by the way, why we so value membership.
[00:37:25] Membership is not just about voting and different things. Membership is an agreement about authority.
[00:37:31] It's an agreement where we can say, okay, we are a church. And don't get me wrong, there is covering and protection for non members. What I'm Saying, though, is that there is something really special about this whole thing where we say this is about a larger spiritual principle of responsibility and shelter and protection.
[00:37:50] Conversely, there are few things more dangerous for the soul of a believer than to be removed from spiritual authority.
[00:38:00] So let's just take all the confusion and I want to just show you this. This is authority structures in the spiritual realm. Again, every one of these deserves its own message. But I want you to see the authority structures that God has put into place for every one of our protection. Number one, children are under the protection of parents.
[00:38:20] Wives are under the protection of husbands.
[00:38:24] Families are under under the protection of elders.
[00:38:28] Local church members are under the protection of elders. Elders are under the protection of elders. Guess what? I have elders too. And it's. I'm not my own elder, okay? And all the elders were also sheep as well. So we need protection and we need care and we need to be overseen as well.
[00:38:43] And all are under the protection of Jesus and angels. And I love this. Jesus is even under the protection of God the Father. And to get to one, you gotta go through the authority structure, which is why there is an onslaught on every single one of these authority structures in our cultural moment. Your children through the open gate of technology. Moms and dads, close the gate, there's an onslaught in your marriage, the family structure, local churches, elders in churches, the gospel sound doctrine, Christianity in general. Because the spirit of the age is seeking to dismantle authority structures so that it has open gates to do whatever it wants, wherever it wants, to whomever it wants. Why are unchecked digital media and phones so dangerous? Moms and dads? Because they are an open gate where they are given permission to bypass your authority. Why is hyperfeminism so evil? Because it hates men, kills children, and subverts ordained authority structures.
[00:39:42] Why are the number of people and even organizations explicitly, publicly committed to the dismantling of the nuclear family? Why are the number of those organizations growing? Because the nuclear family is a threat. If you dismantle that now, you have another gate opened, another access point. Why is there such a strong cultural push against local churches? Take away the IRS tithing benefits. Make sure nobody trusts your spiritual leaders ever divide the churches, because if you can get the churches taken down, it's another authority point where they can now it's an open gate. They can get in if you start just kind of watching. Authority structures at every part of our culture are being attacked because they are open gates when they're dismantled. And as you open your eyes to this you start to see there's actually a larger, more scheming, strategic game at play.
[00:40:33] Listen, Satan will pervert any doctrine, exploit any fleshly impulse, or exasperate any past wound to chip away at a person's spiritual protection.
[00:40:47] So at number three, if you are not a believer, come to Jesus to be under his spiritual protection. I want to read a verse that we read last week. I think it is as beautiful as it is petrifying, depending on who you are.
[00:41:04] Colossians 1:13. Paul says he jesus has delivered us, or God the Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness and then transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.
[00:41:18] What's amazing is that if you've trusted in Christ, there has been a transfer of ownership of your soul from one domain to another.
[00:41:27] And one of the realities of the spiritual realm is that there is one domain of darkness that hates you and wants to destroy you, who seeks to murder, steal, kill, destroy.
[00:41:36] And there's the domain of Jesus, the kingdom of light and love that seeks your life and your life abundant.
[00:41:43] And I think when you frame it accurately like that, like give me the kingdom of darkness that wants to use and exploit me for its own nefarious purposes, leaving my dead corpse and soul in hell forever. Or give me the kingdom of Jesus who loves me and died for me and wants me to have abundant life and joy and purpose. It's a no brainer when you frame it for what it really is.
[00:42:05] And so I have great news. Like most people, they think, oh, how do I get transferred from one kingdom to another? It's not by good works. You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps and cross the chasm. It's never gonna work. Only God can transfer you. And the rule of the universe is this. The people who get transferred, anybody can be tell God you are sorry for your sin and what you have done, and believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and his promises that anybody who does that will be automatically transferred from one domain to another once and for all and forever. And he'll never throw you back if bad enough, praise God. And so if you have, you're here and you've just never trusted in Christ.
[00:42:42] You have to know this, you're in a domain. But the good news is that Jesus is offering you for free. Well, very costly to him, but for free for you to be transferred. If that's a decision you were ready to make, you can tell him anytime. I'm sorry. And I believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And if that is a decision that you make, please tell someone. You're gonna need prayed for, you're gonna need help. You're gonna need to know what the next steps are to follow Jesus. And we would love, love the privilege to come alongside of you. Let's pray together.
[00:43:11] Father, thank you for this book, thank you for this letter, thank you for this chapter, thank you for the insights that you just give us through your word. Things that we could never know otherwise. We would have no category how the spiritual realm works. We'd have no category of all the ways that you protect us from dark demonic influence, all the ways you protect us, even honestly from ourselves. So thank you for that. We love you. Lord, would you give each one of us encouragement to maybe take a next step that you want for us? Would you give us the clarity to what that is and even the courage to do that? And Lord, most of all, would you fill us with such gratitude of what you have given us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? We love you and it's our joy to celebrate that communion now. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.
