Category: Saturday Study

Acts 15-19 (2.25.23)

Grab your Bible and let’s go deeper into Acts 19:23-41 as we look at identifying, exposing and destroying idols in our life.

1. How to Discern Idols

The first thing that is important for us to see is how Paul always took on the idols of the people’s hearts. 

One of the biggest tools in his bag as he preached the gospel and planted churches and spoke to the lost was his ability to discern idols. I believe it is essential that you and I have this ability too.

See, without discerning and exposing the idols of the heart in both you and I and in those we share Jesus with, Jesus can become something new to add on; to coexist alongside the other things one worships instead of becoming everything or the main thing that drastically changed the life we once knew.

Let’s dig into today’s passage.

To understand Acts 19 we need to go back to Acts 17.

Acts 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

1. Paul recognized the idols. How good are you at seeing the idols in today’s culture?

• He went to the Augora, the marketplace, to preach. It was the epicenter of the culture. But Paul’s reason for being there was more than that it was the place people gathered. Paul is there to point out the idols that cast the very shadows over the marketplace.  

Realize: Every setting that is not based on the glory and majesty of God is going to be based on something that has been put into God’s place. In this, every community, every family, group, gang, team, neighborhood, city, class, country is looking for something to save it, to rescue it; something to put its hope, its meaning in: a form of idolatry. Idolatry that must be replaced with the gospel of Jesus.

The Word of Truth Catechism says that idolatry is worshiping or finding hope, identity, significance, purpose, or security in anything other than in God, our Creator.

It is taking a good thing and making it an ultimate thing in your life.

So, whatever good thing that you have made an ultimate thing becomes the god you worship.

Beauty is a good thing, but when you raise it up as ultimate you worship: Aphrodite.   

Human reason is a good thing, but when science and thought becomes ultimate you worship: Athena.

Money is a helpful thing that allows us to eat and be comfortable, but when it becomes ultimate you worship: Artemis.

Enjoying the things of life is God’s intention for us, but when wine turns to drunkenness and satisfaction is sought out in the temporary tasty meal or sexual interaction you worship: Dionysus.

Now, none of you likely have a statue of Athena in your home that you bow down to. But we don’t need a physical idol to worship! The key is what it reveals as our soul idolatry!

Do you see the idols in your life? In your vocation? In your family or home? In your social groups? Only after you discern the idols of the heart can you begin to EXPOSE them for what they really are.

This brings us to point #2.

• How to Expose Idols

In Acts 19:26, Paul doesn’t just say there are many idols around but he says “among them there are no gods at all.”

It didn’t take much to stir the pot and expose the fact that the idols really do not hold any power to make life better. So if belief in the idol means you expect to be saved by it and it really doesn’t have the power to ultimately save you, exposing this lie is essential.

Take money for example: It is the main idol the passage is focused on. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and fertility. But over the years, she became the goddess of business. Because she was the goddess of fertility, that meant she was the one they looked to for their crops to grow in abundance which directly affected the main profit stream of the day for much of the culture.

Acts 19:35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?

A meteorite fell to the earth that many claimed looked like the statue of Artemis. So they passed the word and people traveled from all over to come see it. In that day it became a huge attraction. So they built the temple of Artemis. It was massive. So grand that it is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Everyone wanted to come see it. It became the Disneyland of the day. At Disneyland, there are 1,800 different trinkets you can buy with Mickey’s face on them. Merchants in Ephesus made a living selling trinkets of Artemis as well. That is what Demetrius did.

Acts 19:24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis …

The profits that people were making were good. And so people would sacrifice to Artemis to get profits. They believed that if she wasn’t pleased maybe business would go down. How horrible is that? But really it is not that different from our western culture too.

I grew up in a similar Ephesus called Orange County in the city of Irvine. It was and is still today a business hub in the world. Tons of wealth. One of the local high schools advertises in Asia to draw wealthy Asian families to Orange County so that we can help train their children to be successful western profiteers.

In the culture of affluence I grew up in, there was a ton of child sacrifice. It was designed to be that way. Many of my friends has mothers and fathers that would hand off their children from birth through the next 18 years—not because they had too, but because they wanted a bigger ring on their finger or fancier car to drive. Because the business demand in Orange County was fierce, and to keep up, you had to pay a high price.

We have to see our idols are killing us. They cannot give you salvation nor the joy you hope they will give. So, we have to expose them.

For me, personally, there is no one person I love more in this world than my wife, Jennifer. And for that reason, she is potentially the most likely to become the idol I put in the place of God. But it is not that I want to love her less, it is that I want to know the gospel as the good news that causes me to love Jesus MORE. So that He is my deepest love and has my deepest affection.

Now, if we are going to truly expose our idols, it is really important to understand the different layers of idols in our lives. A way to begin this road for yourself is to take some honest inventory of your life. You can do this yourself or invite a few people that you trust who know you well and can help you see what you maybe cannot see on your own. Here is a taste:

In Tim Keller’s book “Counterfeit Gods” he writes: “The idols of the Heart become spiritual addictions. We take more and greater risk to get an ever diminishing satisfaction from the thing we crave until breakdown occurs.” In recovery we think to ourselves, “What was I thinking? How could I ever be so blind?” We wake up like people with a hangover who can hardly remember the night before. But WHY? Why did we act so irrationally? Why did we completely lose sight of what was truly satisfying? John Calvin said it best when he said, “The human heart is an idol factory.”

As a pastor, I have had the privilege of being invited to help in these recovery moments. When the bottom falls out. When an idol doesn’t deliver. Every time the person says, “I didn’t see it. Why couldn’t I see it?”

See, we must EXPOSE our idols because if we don’t they will EXPOSE us. See, a created thing will never be able to deliver on an ultimate level. 

Finally, and this is vital to understand:

• How to Destroy Idols

First, we must remember that idols live in the affections and desires we have for the things we have inflated to function as God.

So, how do we destroy them? We don’t!

Thomas Chalmers said it so well, “There is not one personal transformation in which the heart is left without an object of ultimate beauty and joy. The heart’s desire for one particular object can be conquered, but its desire to have some object is unconquerable. The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one.”

The vital thing you must see when it comes to trying to defeat your idolatry is that you cannot destroy your idols.

The world’s remedy for addictive behavior, bad habits, hurtful loves, lust filled affections, etc. is to work hard to eliminate them.

You might be able to temporarily remove one idol, but your heart still must cast its affections on something. So, you will simply pick up another to fills its place.

Chalmers is saying here that you cannot defeat or remove your idols. You can only REPLACE THEM. Idols of the heart cannot be removed, they can only be replaced.

So, the question then is replaced with what? The only thing that ultimately can satisfy and bring joy and life and identity and security and purpose is JESUS. This is why in our ministry we must become far less concerned with telling people what to do or not to do. That just equals religion’s failed road to salvation which is, “Suck it up and try harder to do the right thing.”

Temporary fixes and/or helpful habits do not cure the deepest disease and self-inflicted pain we struggle with in life: our idolatry. Only the expulsive power of a bigger and better target for our affections can eliminate the failed idols the heart has tried to cling to.

Soldiers, we have to focus on stirring our affections toward the gospel—THE GOOD NEWS—to understand the fullness of the beauty and wonder of Christ. To fall deeply in love with Him. The key to being rid of the idols we worship is not really to love them less but to love Christ more. And in doing so, if the heart truly is that taken by Jesus, our clinch to over elevate God’s created things is rightfully placed on God.

If my children are my idol, He is not calling me to love them less. He is calling me to love them rightly. The only way I can do that is to be satisfied in the one thing that can truly satisfy; is to be saved by the one and only thing that can save me; is to be secured by the one and only person who can keep me secure; is to be purposed by the only one who can give me eternal purpose …Jesus!

Jeremiah 2:11-13 “Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Please hear this: We have to never forget that the temporary victories of this life are not our ultimate victory. How easily we can get caught up in trying to use God as a mere idol to get to what we think our hearts really want (the created temporary wells of water that leak and never satisfy). Or we can grow our affection and enjoyment for the fountain of Living Water, which is God himself. We have to forsake the wells and dig God.

When we get this, when we begin to really understand the gospel and Christ’s power in and through us, it changes everything.  Like Paul in our passage today, we are emboldened to risk our lives to share the gospel and see the society truly changed as a result of the gospel.

Acts 19:30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.

When the idols are identified and exposed, it is dangerous. Because on one hand idols are powerless as they are created things lifted up to an ultimate place. But on the other hand idols wield unbelievable power of influence to swing us here and there.

Notice how Paul here is willing to risk his life to defeat the false worship of idols and replace it with the life-giving gospel. WHY? Because he understood the gospel–the power of Christ at work. Jesus did the same thing. He put His life in the hands of an angry crowd who was resolved to have Him killed yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” And they did. And in doing so …

Colossians 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

When the power and principalities unleashed all their fury and darkness upon Jesus on the cross, when He was wearing the weight of all of the world’s sin, He bowed his head into it and died. And in doing so, consumed it and by the power and supremacy of God, conquered it. He defeated the idols and the wickedness that fuels their worship. Only Jesus can do this in you.

In this, Christ offers you and I deliverance from our condemned idolatry and victory in Him alone. Jesus is the expulsive Power that crushes the failed affections of your idolatry.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Saturday Study

Acts 10-14 (2.18.23)

Grab your Bible, and let’s go deeper into Acts 13 and 14.

There is a lot to learn from this testimony of the early church that we can apply to our work in the mission field God has called us to.

There are two key things I want us to see and learn from the early church in Acts in these chapters.

1. They were God-centered.

Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Right out the door, what we find time and time again in the ebb and flow of the early church is that they were serving on mission out in the community, but they would never forsake the central need to be at the throne of God together as a body.

Constantly, we hear of them praising God with song, fasting, and spending time in prayer.

Make it personal:

How often do you make big decisions to go “here” or do “that” without first going to God in prayer?

How truly committed are you to your local church family or to worship, financial giving, discipleship, and service?

How are you gathering with other believers to pray and to go out into the mission field God has put you in?

Another way the early church members were God-centered in their missional lifestyle was they SAW GOD IN ALL THINGS!   One of the vital foundations we need to keep us pressing on in our service of others outside our comfort zone is to see God in all things. Paul demonstrates this to us as he responds to the rulers of the synagogue’s request to give a word of encouragement to the people.

Acts 13:15-25 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’”

Now think about all this for a moment. Don’t take this kind of narration of history for granted. Let it strike you as strange as it really is.

Is this the way you talk about life to others? When you tell somebody about the past, do you say, “God did this, and God did that, and God did that, etc.”? Paul consciously chose to narrate history this way. In this, he is making a statement—one that we need to listen to again and again today.

He was saying, “There is a great and glorious God. Know Him. Reckon with Him. Think about Him.” He was saying that God is really working in everything. It’s reality. If you want to be a Christian, it means believing that God is the main character in world events—that He is the most important factor in all matters.

Paul is talking to unbelievers here; he is evangelizing. And part of what he was trying to do was show them a way of looking at the world that sets the stage for the gospel—namely, that it is God’s world. He made it; He owns it and everyone in it. He works in it. He is guiding it to His appointed goals. Everything, without exception, everything has to do with God and gets its main meaning from God.

Do you, like Paul, see God at work in all things in your life? Do you see how He is at work in your car not working or in your job changes, in your health, in your relationships, in your coffee brew flavor? When we are out there loving others, we must remember it is never God then us; it is always God before us, in and through us, ahead of us. It is vital that we see God in all things!

2. They were focused on disciple duplication.

There is an important trend that we see Jesus begin when He trains the disciples to go two by two. Not only are you vulnerable alone, but who are you duplicating yourself into?

There is a clear and undeniable design of God in the New Testament church: We are not meant to do life outside of gospel community. Most of the New Testament is written to the church, because the most basic understanding is that Christians do not do life alone. This principle is essential in the ministry of the early church and is critical that we do not miss it today.

Acts 14:21-23 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Notice the church missionaries did not just go into an area and preach salvation and then move onto a new area. 

They understood that God’s most central design of the body of Christ was to duplicate themselves into new disciples.

This is the way God designed the gospel to thrive in a new area. The investment in discipleship gave opportunity for growth; a new church was planted as elders were prepared and raised up to lead and as brothers and sisters continued to invest themselves into each other in discipleship community.

Make it personal: Who are you purposefully discipling in this season? Maybe you don’t feel ready to disciple others. If so, then who have you invited to disciple you? We either need to be receiving disciple training or taking others through it. This is the only way we, the church, will fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord for us, the church.

Mathew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1. All Authority

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Do you trust in Jesus’ authority?

Notice the connection between Matthew 28:18 and 19. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. THEREFORE go and make disciples of all nations.”

In other words, the fact that Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth—the fact that He is the ruler of the kings on earth—means that He can take their citizens to be citizens of His kingdom.

This means that Christian missionaries are rightful emissaries and ambassadors of the King who is over all other kings, and no one has a right to keep them from calling all people everywhere to submit to the King, Christ Jesus.

Think about that. We must realize that our success as the body of Christ is not based on who we are or what we can do. It is not about how smart we are, how creative we are, how talented we are, how rich we are. It is not about what we can offer. Our success is based on who Jesus is and what He is capable of doing in our lives. That is what our success is based on: His authority, not our own.

Everything must be staked on His word—trusting that He alone has all the authority.

2. Go Therefore

Matthew 28:18-19 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore …”

This is not speaking of going to a specific location but of an investment outside of yourself—an investment into others. It means you cannot stay. You cannot keep to yourself. My authority is for a purpose that I am going to put to work in and through you. It’s not to terminate on you. It is something that involves you investing outside of yourself.

Do you invest into others outside of yourself?

“Go therefore” means get up. It means go out. One of the very real realities of our sin is that we only live our lives for ourselves.  When you are struggling with your sin you want to be SELFISH. You don’t want to GO. You want to stay—stay where you are comfortable. Stay at home on the couch and just consume and be entertained, or work longer hours so you can consume more stuff.

The “therefore” ties the going—the investing—to what was just said.  

Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go therefore!

When we get who Christ is and who we are in Christ and what He is doing in the here and now in the world, we will not STAY.

We will not keep to ourselves and make our paycheck and buy our groceries and do what we want to do! Instead we will go invest into others. We will live with a life-changing confidence in the authority of the One who sent us. We will invest and make the most of our days that He gives us to go in His authority.

3. Make Disciples

Matthew 28:18-19 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples …”

If we are going to make disciples, we need to know what a disciple is.

The standard definition of “disciple” (noun) is someone who adheres to the teachings of another.

It is a follower or a learner.

A “disciple” is someone who adheres to the teachings of another.

Applied to Jesus, a disciple is someone who is trained to adhere to be like Christ.

Are you becoming a disciple who is being trained to makes disciples?

Making disciples involves training in God’s word and calling people to become those who learn from Christ; teaching people what Christ has commanded; teaching people to obey all that Christ has commanded; teaching them to obey in the context of church life; and summoning the church to command all nations to follow Jesus and become little Christs and, as a result, glorify God and fulfill Jesus’ commission.

If we are going to “make disciples,” we must first be discipled.

Jesus didn’t show up on the scene and say to a bunch of fishermen, “Go make disciples.”

They didn’t know Christ yet, so how could they teach others to be like Him?

They hadn’t yet been trained by Christ and His word, so how could they teach others His word?

What Jesus did say to them is, “Follow me.”

Matthew 4:19b “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Colossians 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Notice Jesus says, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20).

Disciples are made through the ministry of the word entrusted to the church, which includes preaching, teaching, evangelism, and counseling.

The word teaches, reproves, corrects, and trains in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

The word makes disciples, and Christ makes disciples through the word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Is that not a picture of discipleship?

So discipleship will include instruction, study, and digging into God’s word and truths. It is the process of conforming our minds to God’s will and way. This is how we are shaped.

Let me remind you that the goal is to make disciples of Christ. NOT disciples of you! In 1 Corinthians 11:1-3, Paul says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” You can say with Paul, “Watch me as I follow Christ. Christ is the One we want to be like.” Christ is still the One we are learning to be like. He is the One we ultimately follow and belong to!

4. Of All Nations

Matthew 28:18-19 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …”

Do you see your testimony and ministry work as unto the nations?

The goal in our discipleship is to be able to send readied disciple makers to go to the ends of the earth.

May we truly learn from the example of the early church and their passion for God and commitment to disciple making and do the same in this season by which we have been handed the responsibility to these things. May it be so!

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Acts 5-9 (2.11.23)

Grab your Bible, and let’s go deeper into Acts 7.

Before I jump into Acts 7, let me set the table regarding death and the Christian. The Bible says a few important things about death in relationship to Christians.

1. Death Is Our Enemy

It is not romantic or glamorous. “[Christ] must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). Death is a curse and an enemy that came into the world through sin (Romans 5:12).

2. Spiritual Death Is a Conquered Enemy

For the redeemed, death is defeated in Christ! “… ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54–57).

3. Death Is Made to Serve the Christian

We are more than conquerors over death through Christ. God gives us the victory over death, but He gives more than victory. Death is defeated by Jesus. Death is bound in the chains of resurrection power so that he cannot destroy us. But more than that, death is handed over, bound and defeated, as a servant to the Church. We are more than conquerors because death is not just defeated and kept from destroying us; it is enslaved and made the servant of God’s people.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life … will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35–39).

Now, with that understood, let’s look again at Acts 7 and the death of Stephen.

Stephen had just preached an awesome message to the Jewish leaders, and his main point was that the essence of their religion was self-worship, not God-worship. They rejoiced in the work of their own hands–not in God (Acts 7:41, 48). When Stephen came to the end of his message, the council was enraged and ground their teeth at him (Acts 7:54). God’s response to Stephen at this moment was exactly the opposite: He filled Stephen with His Holy Spirit (v. 55).

The first point I want to make is that you, too, can expect God to do this for you when you walk in Christ. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me …” (Psalm 23:4). The fact is that God draws near to the dying saint.

1 Peter 4:13-14 says that when you suffer with Christ “the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” There is a special grace given to dying Christians. You might have asked yourself before, “Could I endure suffering for Christ in the hour of persecution—or even in the hour of ‘ordinary’ death?” The answer is no; you will not endure–not alone. But we will not be alone. There will be extraordinary grace for the extraordinary trial of death. The Spirit of glory and of God will rest upon us. And when God comes in the hour of our death, He makes the enemy, death, into the servant of His saints.

Notice what Stephen does next! 

Read Acts 7:55-57:   

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.” 

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

In human eyes, it might look like Stephen is the victim and not the conqueror in this, but did you hear his words? Stephen is standing in the face of pending death, but instead of worry or fear or brokenness, he seems to be standing above it all in wisdom and might and requests of the Lord that He not hold this sin against his executioners.

This is what it looks like to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

As the enemy, death draws near and opens its jaws to consume Stephen, the Holy Spirit in Stephen turns the jaws of death into a window of heaven. And instead of seeing the stomach of hell and the face of Satan, Stephen sees the glory of God. Verse 55: “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

Do you see how death is stripped of its power here and made the servant of God’s servant? When death raises its ugly head and begins to take away from us all the pleasures of this earth and our family and our joys in this life, it opens the window of heaven and reveals the glory of God. When the non-Christian looks into the face of death, there is only loss. But when the Christian looks into the face of death, what he sees is something far greater than anything he once knew in the temporary: Jesus standing to receive us. This is how the Christian proclaims in jubilation, “To die is gain.”

This is what we who are still living must know. We must know what we will know when we look through the window and see the righteous judge before us so that we live this life in the confidence Stephen models for us in his death.

Do you see it? At the very moment of his death, the earthly court was condemning him, but the heavenly court was commending and receiving him. 

What we see in Stephen is the essential practice of yielding. He didn’t fight against death because of his clinging to the temporary. He embraced death because of his yielding to God’s sovereign will and timing to enter him into eternity.

Notice another thing that Stephen’s yielding did: It put the gospel testimony on bright display. In his yielding to God by the power of the Holy Spirit… 

-He had courage.

-He forgave his oppressors.

-He faced his accusers, not just with boldness, but with calmness and joy! 

-He was living spiritual renewal. 

In this, we see that the Christian life is not simply an emotional experience. The work of the Holy Spirit creates in us a spiritual and physical life-changing experience as well.

Let me ask you this today: Is your life about you … about the temporary? Or is it about Jesus and the eternal? When it is about Him, we will pray YIELDING PRAYERS!

Are your prayers only about protection? “Protect my family,” “protect us as we ride.” Or are they prayers whereby you are yielding to God’s perfect will and asking Him to “use you” for His perfect plans and purposes? For His glory!

Now, the Bible says we should still bring our requests to God. I still pray, “Lord, protect my family!” I would be a terrible husband and dad if I didn’t. But my prayer can’t center on them; it must center on God! So, my request must always turn to yielding! Yielding prayers look like this: “God, use our lives for your glory!!!!” NO MATTER WHAT. 

DO YOU REALIZE THAT GOD MAY NOT ANSWER YOUR PRAYER FOR PROTECTION? 

BUT, “USE MY FAMILY FOR YOUR GLORY!” is a prayer God will answer every time!!!!!

My prayer for us today is that you know a God who loves you! May you know a God who showed you that love through the costly death of His Son! He is a God who upholds your pardon from eternal death by the power of His grace! And, when your heart is captured in Christ, He gives victorious power over death.

And when our minds are clear that death is under our feet like a footstool, and when our hearts’ affections are ultimately satisfied in God and not God’s creation, we will pray yielding prayers. We will stand in pending death and exalt the One who conquered it and reigns forever. We will follow Stephen’s example of joyful submission and yielding to God’s will, even unto death. 

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

John 21-Acts 4 (2.4.23)

Grab your Bibles, and let’s dig into the first part of John 21.

John 21:1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.

“After this” is in reference to the weeklong Feast of the Unleavened Bread. It had concluded, and the disciples left Jerusalem to return to Galilee. The Sea of Tiberius is another name for the Sea of Galilee. John also tells us here that Jesus would reveal His resurrected self again to the disciples here. We need be oh-so mindful to never miss the wonder and power of the resurrected Messiah because “… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Jonathan Edwards speaks of the importance of the resurrected Christ this way:

For if Christ were not risen, it would be evidence that God was not yet satisfied for [our] sins. Now the resurrection is God declaring his satisfaction; he thereby declared that it was enough; Christ was thereby released from his work; Christ, as he was Mediator, is thereby justified.

If Christ is NOT resurrected, our faith in God’s saving grace is futile, for He didn’t even raise the Son He sent to accomplish victory over death.

Without resurrection of our hearts by His sovereign regeneration, we are dead forever. 

Without Jesus’ resurrection, His atoning work for our sin on our behalf is not satisfied, and we are still in our sin and have no hope for eternal life. The news that Jesus is GOD, the great I Am, and that He is the resurrection is the only way there is eternal life for any of us.

John 11:25a Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Praise God for His good gift of grace–the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. AMEN.

John 21:2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.

Let’s take a moment and review who each of these guys are, since John takes the time to list them by name. As I review each of them, I want to remind you what history tells us about their death.

1. Name: SIMON PETER (son of John)

When the soldiers came to lead Peter to death, he said, “I want to be crucified head downward. I am not worthy to die in the same way as my Lord.” That wish was granted.

2. Name: THOMAS (the twin)

Called Didymus, he preached the gospel in Parthia and India. It was there that the rage of the pagan priests came against him. He was martyred by being thrust through with a spear.

3. Name: BARTHOLOMEW (Nathanael), from Cana (not mentioned in John by name since chapter 1:45-51)

          He preached in several countries and translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India. He was cruelly beaten and then crucified by idolaters there.

4. Name: JAMES (son of Zebedee), he and his brother John were called the “Sons of Thunder”

The Scriptures inform us that James was the first of the disciples to die a martyr’s death, and indeed the only one whose manner of death is exactly known. Acts 12:2 informs us that James was martyred for the faith by way of a sword.

5. Name: JOHN (son of Zebedee), James’s brother and “the disciple whom Jesus loved”

The only disciple that did not die a martyr’s death.

6-7. And two others:

Those not mentioned that could have been the other two disciples are:

-SIMON THE ZEALOT

-THADDAEUS (a.k.a. Judas, the son of James)

-JAMES (son of Alphaeus)

-MATTHEW (a.k.a. Levi)

-ANDREW (Peter’s brother)

-PHILIP

(*Matthias has not yet been chosen to replace Judas Iscariot)

So, the disciples are in a unique time, in that Jesus has died and risen again but has not yet commissioned them, ascended, or sent the Holy Spirit to begin His special work in and through them to start the church. What is coming for them is amazing: the work they will do, the people who will be saved, all the way to their faith in Jesus leading to death for all but John.

So, what do a bunch of fishermen do with a little down time? They go fishing.

John 21:3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Verse two tells us that a smaller group of the disciples “were together.” 

Not all of the disciples but some of the 11 got together to spend time together in this in-between time.

Do we have to always all do everything together? No. This is an important clarity in the life of the body of Christ. It is simply impractical to do everything all together. It is also hard to really know each other and really do life together in big groups.

That means there will be natural gatherings of smaller groups in different ways. 

1. Realize it is just practical that there will be varying degrees of “life together,” and that’s ok.

2. Don’t wait, initiate. I have heard many people say over the years, “I, too, would like to be invited to gatherings.” To this, I say, “Don’t wait, initiate. Invite them to coffee or a dinner get together.”

3. Instead of making it about you and what you are not getting, rejoice in others getting together.

Our time together and unity as the body of Christ are some of the major witnesses we have for the watching world. People long for authentic community, and because the world is so selfish and will use people and then toss them aside when they are done with them, the body of Christ stands out as unique; in that we love each other, not based on our performance, but on Christ’s performance. 

Remember Jesus’ words:

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And also His prayer for us to the Father:

John 17:20-23 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Let us see here in our text the seven brothers in Christ coming together to spend time together as a wonderful thing.

Look with me at what happens next. It says in verse three they didn’t catch anything all night.

While I am sure they are baffled and bummed, the truth i, a bad night of fishing is not bad if you are with great friends in the Lord!

John 21:4-6 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.

They couldn’t tell it was Jesus from afar. Jesus calls out to them and calls them children. This is not a swipe at them but more of an affectionate slang. like the English terms “sirs” or “lads,” or the Irish term “boys,” or the American term “guys.”

The fact that Jesus asks them what they caught is not to embarrass them but to make central their insufficiency alone. So in making them answer that they didn’t catch any fish, they testify that they have nothing to show of their own efforts for their night of labor. This is a great reminder that the efforts of our flesh are always lacking, and even when they do produce, it is a temporary provision that is still utterly lacking. 

We need to see how tempting it is to get caught up doing life by our power and provision. We need to see how quickly we can set aside our spiritual highs and then just get back to living life. But God is omnipresent and at work in every detail, far beyond our ability to even comprehend, so why would we do anything without Him?

After Jesus gives them simple instructions as to where to throw their nets, they go from catching nothing to catching so much they can’t pull the net onto the boat, because it is so full of fish.

WOW! What an amazing testimony of the power of God to not only create the fish in the sea and all the creation we know but to sustain and control it, too.

This is Jesus’ way of showing the disciples that success in their coming ministry is going to be due not to their eloquence, their power of persuasion, or their anything, but due alone to His sovereign, drawing power. Do we know this, too? It is a truth we must never lose sight of.

The fact that Jesus is the One who by His power provides all that we have and do is a reality that we must see far more centrally than we do. 

One of the interesting points of the Gospel narratives is that these professional fishermen never catch a single fish in any of the Gospel accounts without Jesus’ help.

What do you do without Jesus’ help? Here is the thing: We don’t exist without the Lord. He is sustaining us and working in all things. Despite His hatred for sin and His love for God-honoring righteousness, He is at work in all things.

Do you see the hand of the Lord in all things? Do you see Him using hurts and struggles for refining and gospel testimony? Do you see Him bringing conviction for sin and reason for praise in His provisions?

Now, let’s observe the power of God in this great provision of His. Think about the power of God on display for the disciples again as their net all the sudden is so full they can’t lift it into the boat. Jesus has performed many miracles and signs before them throughout John’s narrative:

1. Changing water into wine at Cana in John 2:1-11. 
2. Healing the royal official’s son in Capernaum in John 4:46-54.
3. Healing the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1-15.
4. Feeding the 5000 in John 6:5-14.
5. Jesus walking on water in John 6:16-24.
6. Healing the man blind from birth in John 9:1-7.
7. The raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45.

So many evidences of the power of God are shown by Jesus in the presence of the disciples. The provision of this massive haul of fish is yet another reminder to these guys of who Jesus is and why they will follow Him faithfully. It is His power and provision that draws the attention of John. For until this moment, they could not see or recognize Him. Look what happens next:

John 21:7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.

John shows spiritual discernment to recognize it is not just a discerning fisherman or a passerby, but it is the Lord, and so he quickly points Jesus out to Peter. Peter is a man of action, so he jumps into the water after throwing on his outer garment. I love how quick Peter is to long to be near or with his Master.  

Does your faith in Jesus cause you to long for Him this same way? While He is not physically present in your day to run to Him and talk and walk with, is it your joy to run to Him in prayer when you see Him at work in the little things of your day?

The same faith and joy to be near Him can be a true reality for any of us as we navigate our days. I often catch myself being so busy with my stuff that I miss the beautiful opportunity to really walk with Him. It is like, “Oh, Lord. I am so sorry; you are here with me and I have been ignoring you,” or “I have not been enjoying your holy presence and want to talk with you and worship you and testify of you in these coming moments and parts of my day.” 

As much as it is a joy to be together, it is also a joy to jump out of the boat and be with our Master. Consider how goofy Peter looks here–fully clothed, wading to the shore. Think of how goofy we must look to a watching world to see us so excited to be with our Lord–to pray and to read His word, to just be with Him as we drive, eat, watch football or anything else.

Now, let’s look at the last part of today’s passage. It is a special part of John’s narrative in my opinion:

John 21:8-14 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

I absolutely love the insight this scene gives us first into our Lord and second into what life with Christ while still on earth can be like. First, notice how this scene tells us of the Lord’s care for His servants and the concrete pledge that He will supply all their needs.

They come in from a long night of fishing, by which they have no fresh catch to speak of or to eat themselves. But the Lord provides. I mean how amazing must it have been to see their Master tending to the hot coals and the smell of fresh fish on the fire for them to enjoy. This is the good Shepherd. This is our God who provides for our every need. This is a God who loves His sheep. I can’t help but think of Psalm 23: 

Psalm 23:1-3 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

Sure, some BBQ fresh fish is so good, but see the rest and satisfaction in Jesus is the true prize to be had here. While good BBQ is so good, we need to be sure not to miss the GREATER provision here. We only truly have rest and satisfaction in this life when it is Jesus who is nourishing and restoring us!

Notice that the rest David speaks of under the care of his Shepherd comes as he lays on “green pastures”! In Psalm 23, the picture is that after the noon-time grazing. The Shepherd leads His flock to another grassy oasis with a spring of fresh, clean water amidst a dry and thirsty land. Here the sheep lie down in restful security. It is restful because they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from: They are laying on it!  

Now, consider the fact that next week we will hear Jesus commission His disciples to feed His sheep, but first He reminds them who is the One who feeds them.

Church. the nourishment and feeding that Jesus gives is always more than food. While Jesus blesses us with the food and care we need to live the days He has determined for us, He provides so much more. For example, He provides His living word:

Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NIV).

We should never forget that while food helps nourish us for physical life, the word of God gives spiritual nourishment and life that never ends. This is what David sees when he says, “He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:3a).

Just a few chapters back to Psalm 19:7-10 David says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”

So, first may we see that the good Shepherd is always with us and will give us all we need on our earthly pilgrimage. 

Matthew 6:26 “ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

The second thing we see here is the Lord is modeling once again for the disciples why “life together” is so important. Think about it: Jesus is just resurrected and is only still on earth a short time before His ascension, but in His sovereign wisdom, He slows down to model for the disciples the value of life together over a simple BBQ.

Life together is both corporate worship and different forms of Christian fellowship, discipleship, and service. These are the beautiful pictures we see in the early church that is an essential part of the DNA of the body of Christ. Listen and really consider what we see in Acts as this reality unfolds in our brothers and sisters in Christ:

Acts 2:42-44 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

This is a picture of the corporate worship and regular gathering of the saints. They are devoted to their pastor’s teachings. They are good and devoted students. Not right in their own eyes but trusting the ones who are qualified by God to teach His word to His sheep and help them grow. They regularly practice the Lord’s Supper and pray.

It says, “… awe came upon every soul.” That’s worship for God. It is the awe of the work of God in their lives–the testimony of lives that are maturing and being sanctified and changing in ways they never had before.

“And all who believed were together and had all things in common.” The believers were together–spending time together and valuing unity and togetherness. Even though the body was very diverse as it is today, they had an amazing common unity in Christ among them that transcended their differences. Do you see it?

Acts 2:45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

They served others. They gave their lives away of the sake of the gospel. They learned to live on less so they could give away more and make their number one goal the mission of God and the witness of the gospel as they served those in need.

Jesus is providing for the disciples in our passage today as He is getting them ready to go and do likewise–to serve others and tend to their needs. How are you serving others? How are you opening up your life to serve others? Do you count it a burden to give up your time to serve? Or is it a joy to give up your evening or your weekend or your home to serve others?

And finally, we see the simple daily time the body shares and grows and edifies each other in everyday ways:

Acts 2:46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts

It is so simple: They met at church, in their homes, and along the way. This is the BBQ moment–the breaking bread together. The coffee shop visit. The weekend excursion. It is families getting together. It is one-on-one time. It is knowing and walking with our God-given family.

Listen again to John’s testimony of this holy BBQ:

John 21:9-10 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

John 21:12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” …

John 21:13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.

Oh, how sweet it is to be the Lord’s and to be with the Lord and with each other who are in the Lord.

Amen.

I pray you see this as no different today. When we gather–one on one, in small-group settings, for group activities, or for family excursions–it is a sweet aroma of the fellowship of the body of Christ. We are a redeemed people of different make ups, backgrounds, ages, looks, intelligence, skills, and interests. But we love each other in Christ, and we love being together. We are to worship God, to study His word, to encourage and admonish each other, to be discipled, and to tell the watching world, “Look at Jesus. See what He has done and is doing.”  

Jesus didn’t have a big lesson to teach them here, but the lesson was the BBQ. It was the life together. It was the sweet rejoicing in who they were in Christ. 

Church, God has redeemed us out of our individualism and our retreat from each other to do life together. May we grow in our simple exchanges and see Christ in the daily ebb and flow of life and BBQ’s. AMEN.

The next verse in the Acts 2 passage concludes with this:

Acts 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

May it be so as we steward all these things well unto the Lord unto the glory of God through lives that are being transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

John 16-20 (1.28.23)

Grab your Bibles and turn with me to the Gospel of John chapter 16.

Looking at John 16:16-19, Jesus says once again to the disciples that He is leaving, and they will not see Him but that He will come back. This continues to be a struggle for the disciples to digest.

Do you remember raising toddlers in the phase where if they heard Mom and Dad say, “We’re leaving. We are going bye bye,” and the young child would just lose their mind if they were not going along also? “What do you mean you are leaving?” It’s not that the disciples were young but more that their lives were so centered around shadowing and serving Christ that they couldn’t imagine what it would be like or how they would function without Him.

So, Jesus has been emboldening them with clarity that He is going to prepare a place for them, and the Holy Spirit will do a mighty and new work in them; although they will be hated, He has put His love on them, and they will be His forever. 

Quickly, do we feel this kind of dependence for Jesus? Our dying to self to live to Christ means we are all the more dependent on Him every day. Our very identity, like the disciples who walked with Christ in person, is to walk with Him in the power of the Spirit, as we live for and serve Him all of our days.

Second, see the disciples struggling with the timing of what was happening and the not knowing how it was going to go down.  See their flesh want to know more and understand more–to be more in control. I think we relate to this, but we must see that this is counter to our depending on and trusting Jesus–trusting that He knows what is best and when it is best to happen.

How are you doing lately at trusting in God’s plan and timing as things unfold, even when they make no sense or work against our plans?

We must never forget God’s timing is always better. His ways are always better.

Endless are the examples in Scripture of the sin of man who did the opposite of what God told them to do. We must be faithful, trust Him, wait on Him, and embrace His discipline and shaping of us.

These are the emphasis points of Proverbs 3:1-12. Take a moment to read it. Consider how we struggle with these things!

The disciples are struggling with the idea of Jesus leaving and worrying about His return. I get it; our flesh doesn’t like waiting or not knowing. But we need to trust in Him and wait on Him.

Jesus said in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”

This is one of the most central ways in which we acknowledge Him as God and that we are not God. He is the One in charge of all things–not you and me. He is the One working “all things together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

It’s not up to you and me. It’s not ours to know how and when. We must simply trust that He will! He will see it through. His promises are rock solid. His ways are higher than our ways.

Now, let’s look at Jesus’ reply to them in verse 20:

John 16:20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful”

First, see Jesus doesn’t coddle them but prepares them for what is coming. He is not going to lie and say, “Everything will be ok.” No, it’s going to get really bad. Before it gets better, it will get worse.

Now, this is first and foremost speaking of the disciples’ grief they will surely experience to watch their master be tortured and killed. They will watch the secular world celebrate Christ’s death, which will make their sorrow all the more. 

“The world will persecute you and hate you and even attempt to kill you.” These are the words Jesus has just finished saying to them. Now He says, “You will weep and lament.” See the opposition of the world for our Savior and His people.

We, too, will suffer like our Savior did. And when we do, the world will look to be winning. They will look to be celebrating. They will look to be, at times, even the more desirable way. Our flesh will desire to just join them instead of continuing to be persecuted. Our flesh loves the path of least resistance.

So, Jesus is undergirding them with truth, and He is telling them, “Following me will mean sorrow and suffering.”

Don’t be unaware. Don’t be naive or guilty of ignoring the reality of the Christian life in this world. The world will not work right for us. Oh, how we want it to. We want our kids to be safe, and we want a fair chance to succeed. But our kids are not safe. We will not be given a fair chance.

The authorities of that day are going to get away with lying about Jesus. They are going to successfully have the most innocent person to ever live be condemned to death.

Tell me how that is a sign of the world working for us or with us.

No, instead we see that God rules over all of it, even the injustice of Jesus’ death for the sake of justice for His elect–for those He would graciously redeem. WOW.

See the disciples early on lose their lives, take regular beatings, and be falsely imprisoned for standing for and preaching the name of Jesus. We will suffer and experience sorrow. 

STOP IT. Stop it right now if you think your Christianity and your church attendance mean you will have a better life, an easier life. It will not. But we don’t do it for that. We do it for God’s name–for His glory–and we do it for the joy that is before us.

This is what Jesus did:

Hebrews 12:1b-2 let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

He knew joy was coming–endless, unrelenting joy! We need to know that our sorrow will turn into joy as well. Look at the rest of verse 20:

John 16:20b “but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

Jesus is saying, “You must remain steadfast and walk in the living hope you have in me because your sorrow will turn into joy.”

This is the promise of God for us. This is what we must hang our hat on, church. This is the truth that picks us up when we are in the pit of despair and our life is crumbling, when our health is failing, when our loved ones are abandoning, when our boss is firing, when our kids are running.

Later, Peter will say it so well in 1 Peter 1:6:“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”

In this you rejoice. Who is the “you”? We are! The church is! The elect exiles. IN THIS, WE REJOICE!

Peter is saying, “God’s elect exiles are to have joy!” We are to rejoice upon the great truths He just got done proclaiming, which are:

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3b-5).

It is important that our joy is based on these great truths and not on our circumstances! Because the “rejoicing” Peter is telling us to have is in the middle of various trials and suffering.

1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

So, what does this tell us today. How does this help us today?

Will there be pain and sorrow and hardship that affects us? YES! So, do not be surprised at the fiery trial as though something strange were happening to you.

But it also tells us that as we experience these things, it is always on the FOUNDATION of joy in Christ. It is on the foundation of thanksgiving and praise! This is how Paul is able to say that he is “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” in 2 Corinthians 6:10.

I plead with you do NOT dismiss this truth today. Some of you are missing who Christ is through and through. You claim Christianity. You claim Jesus, but you live your lives like you truly do not know the fullness of who He is to you.

I know many of you are in the middle of hard things, painful stuff. This life in the here and now is really hard.  

-Death of loved ones    

-Financial stress      

-Wrestling with addictive habits

-Flesh-driven motivations of a loved one is ripping your marriage or family apart 

-Broken relationships, whereby the other party is content to do nothing to reconcile 

-Your health is really failing you

The fact remains you will suffer and struggle and experience various trials!  

Notice Peter says, “though now for a little while.” In other words, it’s temporary. 

Believers can rejoice in suffering in their exile, because they have a living hope that it will not last forever. Now, this doesn’t mean the suffering will be brief; it will be brief in comparison to eternity.

Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Also, 1 Peter 1:6 says, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”

The “if necessary” here means “if God decides it is necessary.” Peter later makes this clear in 1 Peter 4:19 (NIV): “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”

This is also good news because our suffering or various trials are not outside of God’s sovereign hand. This is good news for our hearts, because it means we are not forgotten to our struggles and exile.

It means what we face is only what God deems is necessary. And since we are His, and He is God, and He has us eternally in His victorious grip in Christ, we can be assured that what He deems necessary is necessary.  

Now, Jesus says, “… you will weep and lament … You will be sorrowful …” (John 16:20).

So the trials the disciples and the church would face will grieve us.  

Do you ever feel like being a Christian means you can’t say “ouch”? Like you have to be strong all time and show no wear and tear? This is just not the case! Christians hurt; they say “ouch.” Exiles mourn and slow down. Jesus Himself said, “It will affect you.”  

But the difference between Christian exiles and the world’s citizens is we have joy in Christ despite our trials and sorrow. Our struggle is not our end. It doesn’t undo us. There is a hope, a living hope. There is a joy in the midst of the trials that is based on that living hope. That rises to the top. That carries us through our tears.   

Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

Hear this today: Neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament promises that believers will escape affliction in this life, for God in His sovereignty uses suffering to do eternal things in the lives of His people, and He ultimately carries out His purposes for His glory! This is good news!

Now, look at the example Jesus gives for how our sorrow turns to joy.

John 16:20b -22a “but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice”

What was the very first element of a woman’s suffering because of sin that God said you would have to endure? The pains of childbirth. You who know this pain are not slow to remind us who don’t know just how painful it is. And trust me, I believe it. So, Jesus is saying, “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”

What an amazing truth Jesus gives here. It is so true. I have been there. I know. To watch my wife rightly screaming in pain as she pushes a little person out of her body. Screaming, tears, sweating, blood, pain … and then all of the sudden, there is the most amazing turn of events.

Despite that the pain is still there, the body is still bleeding, and the sweat is still running down the face, the room is transformed to joy! A new life has emerged. The work of God is on display in one of the most amazing ways. Right?

But consider how much greater it was for the disciples who saw their Savior–their Master–torn apart, brutally tortured and mocked, and people celebrating in His death, once they saw Him alive and well. Can you imagine the turn in their mourning and sorrow to utter JOY? He is God. He is victorious. He is bigger than death, and so are we who are in Him! UTTER JOY!

So, when Jesus says, “but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,” this is what He is pointing to.

But this is not just for them; it is for us, too. This is the joy we cling to in our suffering: the victory and power and promise of our Savior and bloodied Champion.

Hear Jesus get very personal here with the disciples: “I will see YOU again … YOUR hearts will rejoice.”

We get to look forward with great anticipation and joy to His second coming.

But it gets better. Look at the second part of verse 22:

John 16:22b “and no one will take your joy from you.”

Not only will our sorrow turn into joy, but no one will be able to take it from us, because it is true joy established and held by God. It is not happiness that is fleeting and momentary and dependent on our current circumstances. It is joy–joy in God! It is held by His power.

Let me ask you this: Who is going to break you out of God’s grip? Who is going to steal what He has secured? No one. Not even Satan. The highest power is God! And He is the one who secures our eternity!  He is able, because He is God!

Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV) Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Matthew 19:26 … Jesus looked at them and said. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

We need to NOT see our security for eternity as divine walls of protection that surround the heavenly city. It is so much bigger than that. It is the active, always-present power of God by whom no one and nothing can break in. Remember Jesus said this in chapter 10?

John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Finally, look at what Jesus says in verses 23 and 24:

John 16:23-24 “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Don’t forget who you are and who you live for. Remember, to ask for something in Jesus’ name is to say, “I want to do your work and fulfill your will.” It is to align ourselves with God and His perfect plan to accomplish His perfect will. We get to do this. We get to participate in the work of His name for His glory and for our JOY!

I send all my emails and letters with, “For His glory, others’ good, and our joy.”

We do what we do no matter what it is FOR His glory, others’ good, and our joy–our joy in God. Jesus says, “that your joy may be full.”

Oh, that your joy be full and overflowing in Christ–not joy built on fleeting circumstances, but in God who is eternal and perfect and satisfying. That as the Psalmist says, you would “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4), and “… in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Do we get this? Do you truly have your joy not in the things of this world but in Jesus?

Like what David said in the famous Psalm 23:

Psalm 23:5-6 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

Jesus says, “that your joy may be full!” If it is full, it is flowing over. It is brimmed out. This is the joy we have only in Christ. This joy endures and carries us through the valley of the shadow of death. This is the joy that we will have forevermore in God, in His kingdom.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church