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To this end I also labor, striving 
according to His working, which works in me mightily. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
You for the Holy Scriptures. We thank You for Your Spirit. 
We pray even now, Lord God, that You would fill us with the Spirit. 
Guide us into understanding Your truth, and not just to know it, 
God, but to be doers of the Word. We don't want to be like that 
foolish man that James writes of, who looks in the mirror and 
walks away and forgets what he has seen. But God, help us to 
look into that perfect law of liberty. Help us to see, Lord 
God, where we fall short. cry out to You for forgiveness 
and to find grace and mercy to support, to sustain and to help 
us in our Christian lives. God, certainly as we look at 
such a man as Paul the Apostle, we are humbled when we consider 
ourselves. We just pray, Lord God, that 
this would nevertheless be an encouraging look to the Scriptures, 
that You would help us, Lord God, to leave here more conformed 
to the image of Jesus Christ. And do forgive us now for all 
of our sins and all of our transgressions, And we pray through Christ our 
Lord, Amen. from prayer, to theological instruction, 
to historical reminder, and now on to his ministry, his role 
in the plan of God in terms of preaching and teaching for the 
glory of God and the good of souls. All of this will serve 
as the foundation upon which he will combat the heresy plaguing 
the church in Colossians chapter 2. The reference to his becoming 
a minister of the gospel in verse 23 facilitated his instruction 
concerning his role now as a minister of the church. Notice, in verse 
23, he says, "...not moved away from the hope of the gospel which 
you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, 
of which I, Paul, became a minister." He is a minister, a servant, 
of the gospel, but he's also a minister, a servant of the 
church, which he highlights in verse 25 in our passage. Now, there are three things that 
we want to notice in this section in verses 24 to 29. The first is the suffering of 
the apostle. That's how he begins this presentation 
of his ministry. It is a ministry that is marked 
by, that is highlighted by suffering, by trial. And just as we were 
singing that last hymn, I thought about the health, wealth, and 
prosperity gospel. I suspect most of us in this 
room would oppose such a mindset or oppose such a teaching or 
a doctrine that teaches you must always be healthy and wealthy 
and prosperous if you are in fact a child of the king. We 
doctrinally oppose it, but I think practically we all imbibe it. I think practically we all believe 
we're titled or entitled to health, wealth, and prosperity. Especially 
in North America, in the affluent West, where we have precious 
little trial, precious little difficulty. When something does 
come along and give us just a little bit of discomfort, we can wind 
to high heaven. And I think we ought to learn 
something from the Apostle as we focus on the suffering of 
Paul in verse 24. He then highlights his role as 
a steward of the Gospel in verses 25 to 27. And then we'll notice 
something of the preaching of the Apostle in verses 28 and 
29. More than likely we'll look at 
that this evening. Paul as a preacher or the method 
engaged in proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ. But notice 
the suffering of the Apostle. He states it very clearly in 
verse 24, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you. So it's not 
only that he suffers, but he's also happy. He's also rejoicing. He's filled with joy. He actually 
does what James says. James says in James 1 that we 
are to count ourselves blessed when we fall into various trials. That is probably something that 
you and I struggle with. It is not something that Paul 
struggled with, for he relates it here very clearly. I now rejoice 
in my sufferings for you. This does not mean that Paul 
was a sadist. A masochist, rather. A masochist 
likes to be hurt. A masochist likes to have pain 
inflicted upon himself. That's not Paul. He's not rejoicing 
in the pain. Rather, he's rejoicing in the 
fruit that accrues because of that pain. In other words, his 
suffering means benefit for the church. His suffering means growth 
for the people of God. His imprisonment means that the 
people of God will be emboldened and will be released to do what 
they're supposed to do. That's how the brother can rejoice. Calvin said he can rejoice in 
his suffering because of the fruit which results from that 
suffering. I was thinking about this text 
and several years ago there was a sports star. I can't remember 
his last name, but his first name was Bo. He was good at just 
about everything. Bo knows football. Bo knows whatever. Bo knows this. I thought about 
that. Paul knows suffering. Paul knows 
suffering like you and I don't know. Paul knows suffering something 
like Habakkuk knew. Remember that prayer of Habakkuk 
in chapter 3 last Sunday night. Though everything around us fail, 
though Costco dry up, though Superstore be empty, Though Wal-Mart 
be no longer, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." 
That was the prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, in the vernacular to 
be sure, for they didn't have Costco's and Wal-Mart's and Superstore. But turn to 2 Corinthians 11 
for just a moment so we can illustrate the fact that Paul knows suffering. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Paul is put in an awkward position 
with reference to the church in Corinth. So much of this second 
epistle is Paul's defense of himself. Paul's defense of his 
apostleship. Paul's defense of his ministry 
and the fact that he genuinely does love these Corinthians. Paul had spent 18 months in Corinth 
teaching the Word of the Lord to them. He then departed from 
there, he goes back to Antioch for a season, and then he ships 
out on the third missionary journey where he spends about three years 
in Ephesus. Well, when he had departed from 
Corinth, some people came in and basically said, you know, 
Paul really isn't about your spiritual well-being. Paul really 
doesn't care about your growth as Christians. These guys came 
in and they would have worn the suits and been very polished 
and they would have been very gifted orators and they would 
have said, you know, you really need to listen to us because 
we're really where it's at. And so Paul gets wind of this, 
and that's why he writes 2 Corinthians, and so much of it is a defense 
of his ministry. He's got to prove to them, or 
he's got to tell them, that yes, in fact, I love you. Yes, in 
fact, I care for you. Yes, in fact, I want the best 
for you. And these super apostles are 
boasting about what glorious things they have done. They're 
glorying in all of the things that the flesh glories in. And 
so that's the introduction to what he says here in 2 Corinthians 
11.22. This is why it sounds like a 
defense, because it is. Only he doesn't glory in what 
he has, he glories in what he suffers. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? 
So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? 
So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? 
I speak as a fool. I am more. In labor is more abundant, 
in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths 
often." Now, kids, I hope you all know what stripes means there. 
It doesn't mean Paul put highlights in his hair. It doesn't mean 
he went to see Carlos, the hairdresser, and left from there with a new 
look. Stripes meant the whip on his back that left gouges 
of flesh. That's what the stripes are. 
Stripes were bloody sores and wounds from having met a Jewish 
whip or a Roman rod. That's what he is boasting in. 
That's what he is declaring. He says, verse 24, from the Jews 
five times I received 40 stripes minus one. Why 40 minus 1? Because Deuteronomy says, in 
a flogging, or in Leviticus, when you flog someone, you are 
not to exceed 40 lashes. And so they would make sure that 
they were well guarded and wouldn't go near 40. They would do 40 
minus 1. Let's have a margin for error 
on this side of keeping the law. Well, praise God, they were so 
fastidious. Five times he received that. 
Three times he says in verse 25, I was beaten with rods. I 
actually don't think the Roman civil authority subscribed to 
the law of God. Whether this was within the context 
of 39 or not, no one knows how many times He actually received 
a beating with these Roman rods in these three sessions that 
he received. He says, once I was stoned. We 
saw that in our studies in the book of Acts, outside of Lystra 
in Acts 14. You know, the very interesting 
thing about that occasion is that he was stoned. The people 
suspected or supposed that he was dead. It's a legitimate expectation. If I was stoned by big rocks, 
I would probably die. Well, they thought that Paul 
was dead. They dragged him to the edge 
of the city. And the text is very conspicuous. He rose up. He went back to the 
city. And on the next morning, he set 
out for Derby. Now, Derby was about a 50 to 
60 mile walk. He didn't use his frequent flyer 
miles. He didn't get on the Amtrak. 
He didn't get on the Greyhound. He didn't get in his SUV with 
all of its accouterments and just soar into Derby. You know, when Paul is in prison 
and he writes to the Colossian Christians that out now I rejoice 
in my sufferings for you, it's very important for us to sort 
of capture just what it is he's talking about. He says, once 
I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day 
I have been in the deep, in journeys often, in perils of waters, in 
perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils 
of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, 
in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness 
and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings 
often, in cold and nakedness. Besides the other things, what 
comes upon me daily? My deep concern for all the churches." 
So, while he's in the midst of the water, while he's being beaten, 
while he's in prison, while he's running for his life, he's worried 
about the Corinthian church. He's worried about what's going 
on in Ephesus. He's concerned for the saints 
in the region of Galatia because Judaizers want to come in and 
disrupt sound doctrine. You see, that's what Paul is 
all about. I don't think Paul would give 
a second to the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, whether 
doctrinally or practically. He would look at us in our aversion 
to suffering the most minute discomfort for the gospel or 
the church, and he would say, please, Please. We are so easily offended. We 
are so easily tried. We are so easily discomforted. And we think our entitlement 
is to health and wealth and prosperity. Paul is sitting in a Roman prison. 
And he's telling the Colossian Christians, now I rejoice in 
my sufferings. He says, for you. Paul developed 
a doctrine of joyful suffering out of the context of his own 
apostolic ministry. This wasn't theory to Paul. I 
can stand up here and preach to all of us. We ought to joyfully 
suffer for the cause of Christ. We ought to joyfully suffer if 
our brothers and sisters act like jerks toward us. We ought 
to joyfully suffer if the magistrate invades our space. But it's all 
theory for me. It wasn't theory for Paul. He developed this doctrine of 
joyful suffering out of the context of his own apostolic ministry. He invites his ministerial companions 
to participate in it with him. In 2 Timothy 1 at verse 8, he says to Timothy, 
Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, 
nor of me, his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings 
for the gospel according to the power of God. You see, Paul presupposes 
there will be suffering. He doesn't say, Timothy, I'm 
going to try and let you in on this nasty little secret of the 
Christian life. You know, sometimes if you don't 
play your cards right, you may be tried or you may suffer a 
little discomfort. Paul tells Timothy, don't be 
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Don't be ashamed of me, 
his prisoner. But I want you to share with 
me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power 
of God. He says in 2 Timothy 1 at verse 
12, For this reason I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I 
am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded 
that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until 
that day. In 2 Timothy 2 at verse 10, he 
says, Therefore, I endure all things for the sake of the elect, 
that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ 
Jesus with eternal glory. Isn't that awesome? He's writing 
to these Colossians and he's saying, I rejoice in suffering 
for you. He goes on to say, And I fill 
up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. It's a difficult phrase. caused 
no small amount of interpretative difficulty. Look at the text. 
Verse 24, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up 
in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. Now, I don't know that I know 
exactly what he means. I'll offer up a couple of thoughts 
here in just a moment. But I know for certain what he 
doesn't mean. Roman Catholic interpreters have 
taken this text and have essentially taught that Jesus' atonement 
lacked. In other words, there were some 
defects, it wasn't completed, and so the saints are called 
upon to suffer and contribute those sufferings in order to 
complete the package of salvation for the people of God. In other 
words, what Paul is saying here, as a saint, as a contributor, 
I'm doing my part to throw extra sufferings onto the heap of Christ's 
sufferings so that that will avail for the people of God in 
their redemption. That's not what the text says. 
That's not what the text means. Has Paul, in this letter at all, 
given any room whatsoever for us to suspect that Christ has 
not accomplished salvation? I mean, he has lifted up Christ 
in a way that few others ever have. He has told us that Jesus 
is the head of the body. That Jesus is the one whom the 
Father has bruised for the reconciliation of sinners. As he leaves this 
idea of Jesus' reconciliation of the entire cosmos, he comes 
to the Colossians. He says, you were alienated, 
but now you're reconciled. It's not because of Paul's sufferings. 
It's not because of your sufferings. It's because of Christ's sufferings. 
It's because of what Christ accomplished at Calvary. We are not contributors 
to the atonement. We are not helpers with Jesus 
in salvation. That is not what this text is 
teaching. The scriptures elsewhere are 
very clear. God made Him who knew no sin 
to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness 
of God in Him. We don't add to it. Paul doesn't 
say, I suffer instead of. As a substitute, he suffers in 
behalf of. So what does he mean? Well, he 
quite possibly means that Christ as the head so identifies with 
his body that when they suffer, he suffers. We have an illustration 
of this in the calling of the Apostle Paul. Remember in Acts 
9, Paul is on his way to Damascus. He's got orders in his hand. 
He can arrest Christians and he meets the resurrected Lord 
on the way. Paul says, who are you, Lord? And he says, I am 
Jesus whom you are persecuting. Jesus identifies Himself with 
His people. So much so that when they suffer, 
it is, in a sense, as if He's suffering. Or, He could be speaking 
with Rabbinic Judaism in His mind. A Rabbinic Old Testament 
interpretation. Which taught that prior to Messiah's 
coming, there would be a period of woe. There would be birth 
pangs. There would be trials. There 
would be difficulties. We don't live in a Pollyanna 
world. We don't live in a world where everybody is happy, peppy, 
and always up. We live in a world marked with 
brutality. We live in a world punctuated 
by sin. We live in a world that is affected 
by the curse of sin. And in this thought, Jesus has 
initiated for His church suffering. We might find that to be a difficult 
concept, but the Bible tells us. Paul, after being stoned, 
which we mentioned in Acts 14, when he went on to Derbe, do 
you know what his text was? Do you know what he preached 
in Acts 14, that verse 22? He said we must, through many 
tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. I doubt they said, well, 
what about health, wealth and prosperity? We must, through many tribulations, 
enter the kingdom of God. Or consider Paul's statement 
in Philippians 1 at verse 29. Paul said, on behalf of Christ 
it has been graciously given to you, not only to believe in 
His name, lest you ever think faith was conjured up in your 
own rebel heart, think again. Philippians 1.29 says it was 
graciously given to you to believe on Him. But that's not the point 
of the text in Philippians 1.29. That's a bit of incidental information. Not only has it been graciously 
granted to you to believe the Gospel, but also to suffer. To suffer for Jesus. F.F. Bruce summarizes it this 
way, Jesus had suffered on the cross. Now His people, the members 
of His body, had their quota of affliction to bear. And Paul 
was eager to absorb as much as possible of it in his own flesh. The suffering of affliction now 
was, for the followers of Christ, the prelude to glory at his advent. And such was the incomparable 
and eternal weight of glory to which they could look forward 
that the hardships of this present life are described in relation 
to it as this momentary light affliction." Don't you love that? 
We get the trials, we get the sufferings, we get the problems 
and we just follow them. Paul says, they're momentary 
light afflictions when looked upon next to the exceeding weight 
of glory. You may have 80 miserable years 
in this world. You just might. You might not always have carpet 
in your playroom. You might not always have a functioning 
SUV. You might not always have a Costco 
membership. As hard as that may be to grasp, 
you may not have access to $20 pork loins the size of your leg. You may be in another country 
where you know imprisonment, where you know hardship, where 
you know toil, where you see olive trees that don't bear fruit. 
where you see blight, where you see famine, where you see all 
of that. And yet, according to this brother 
who suffered so much, he says, this is a momentary light aflitcha 
when viewed in respect to the eternal weight of glory. That's the kind of mindset my 
prayer is that will develop. I don't think we've got it, man. I look around at 21st century 
North American Christianity, and while I may hear us say, 
oh, I'm ready to go die for Jesus, are we living for Him? You're going to tell me you're 
going to go preach the gospel in China. You're going to call 
a brother that wasn't at church and say, you know, I missed you 
and I love you. We'll all do the great. Yet we've forgotten that fundamental 
principle of the Master who said He was faithful in little is 
faithful in much. If you're not faithful in little, 
you're not going to be faithful in much. If suffering for you 
is not having a leg-shaped pork loin for 20 bucks from Costco, 
I'm afraid you don't understand Pauline Christianity. Now brethren, 
I'm optimistic. Some of you might even think 
too much. I believe that what Habakkuk said in Habakkuk 2.14 
is a reality. That the knowledge of the Lord 
will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. But I also know 
that between now and then there will be suffering. There will 
be tyranny. There will be trial. There will 
be Jehoiachins. There will be Nebuchadnezzars. Now, I'm an American, and I have 
followed what has happened in America from a distance, and 
it's an amazing thing to see all of the hoopla involved and 
about this man being put into the presidency. And I'm not here 
to advocate, I'm not here to say anything other than this. 
Habakkuk lived in a day when Jehoiakim was king of Judah, 
and Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. I don't think, brethren, 
for a moment we can entertain what that kind of a lifestyle 
was. Jehoiakim was anti-God to the core. Nebuchadnezzar was 
the leader of a bitter and a hasty nation that went around and gobbled 
up territory. We need to keep an eye on the 
fact that Jesus is still on His throne. And we need to realize 
that if we are called to suffer, we are to imbibe the apostolic 
ethic of Acts 5.31. They rejoiced that they were 
counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. They walked out 
of a Roman prison, their backs still bloody, and they're laughing, 
they're praising, and they're joyous. Why? Because we got beaten 
for Jesus. God, that we'd have something 
of that in our day. And we can learn it from this 
brother. These sufferings, Douglas Moose said, have no redemptive 
benefit for the church. We don't add to the finished 
work of our beloved Savior. But they are the inevitable accompaniment 
of Paul's commission to proclaim the end-time revelation of God's 
mystery. It is in this way that Paul's 
sufferings are on behalf of the church, including the Colossian 
Christians. And don't miss his statement 
there in verse 24. I now rejoice in my sufferings 
for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions 
of Christ for the sake of His body, which is the church. See, 
Paul would gladly suffer for Jesus. Paul would gladly take 
a rod, a whip, a beating, a stoning, an imprisonment, a trial, perils 
for the Lord Christ. But he's also explaining to us 
here that he'll do it for the church. He'll do it for you and 
me. If His imprisonment, if His bloody 
back, if His stoned head means that you're going to glow as 
a result, Paul will gladly suffer. He will gladly fill up as much 
as he can possibly gobble up for the people of God. That's Christianity, man. That's what it's all about. Again, 
we're all willing to go serve on the other side of the world. 
What's serving right here? How about that? How about calling 
somebody or talking to somebody you don't normally talk to? I'll suffer for God. I'll suffer 
for the church. You know, really? I mean, I've gone through... 
I look at this and I just can't stand me. I don't think I know 
what it is to be a minister of the gospel when I look at Paul. It's like, you're going to beat 
my back for Jesus? Man, I'm going to struggle with 
that. But let alone for them. That's what he says. He's not sitting there like, 
you dirty, rotten scoundrels, do you know what I'm going through 
on your behalf? No, I now rejoice in my sufferings. Remember, he's sitting in a Roman 
prison at this time. Prison then isn't like prison 
now. They don't have TVs. They didn't 
get paid. They didn't get three squares. They ate if a friend brought 
them something. That's why in these letters you 
see Paul saying, thank you for sending Epaphroditus in the Philippian 
letter. Why? Because I would have died 
if he didn't bring me food. That's why at the end of 2 Timothy 
chapter 4, which the book of Acts stops at 28, the last couple 
years of Paul's ministry are not recorded in the book of Acts. 
There was a first Roman imprisonment. That's where Acts 28 ends. That's 
where these epistles were written. Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians, 
and Philemon. The prison epistles. Paul was 
released after two years. We don't know. I mean, we can 
sketch from the rest of his epistles kind of his movements and those 
sorts of things. But from 2 Timothy, we know there 
was a second Roman imprisonment. That's why he says to Timothy 
in chapter 4, when you come, bring the books. Especially the 
parchments. Because I want to read. I'm in 
prison. I'm not going to go online and become a lawyer. I want to 
read theology. I'm not going to make shivs and 
go cut up my fellow inmates. I'm going to read and write and 
move troops to expand the kingdom of Jesus. And then he says, and 
when you come, not only bring the books, but bring the cloak. 
Why, Paul? Because I'm cold. They don't 
give us wool blankets in the prisons today. They don't have 
heated cells. I can't just complain that they 
come fix my window and they do that. They throw me in a rock 
room with no windows, no nothing, probably dank, probably very 
wet, probably smelly and mildewy. I want my cloak. And yet this 
brother is writing saying, I now rejoice in my sufferings for 
you. I rejoice in my sufferings for 
the church. I so love the church that my 
talk isn't cheap. I've got back, you know, scars. You may have had a limp by now. 
You may have had permanent defects from these beatings. A body can 
only take so much. I mean, can you imagine that? 
Five times I was beaten by the Jews with 40 minus 1? I'm guessing, brethren, that 
leaves a permanent mark. Three times I was beaten with 
Roman rods? This isn't some papal celebration 
of suffering. This is simply illustrating what 
it is to be a Christian who genuinely values Jesus and who genuinely 
values the church. They don't just say it. They 
don't just talk about it. They don't just read books concerning 
the subject. They live it. They move, they 
live, they have their being in terms of their commitment to 
Christ and their commitment to His church. It's been said, generally 
speaking, in an organization, 80% or 20% do about 100% of the 
work. People have tried to take business 
models and apply them to the church. I still operate with 
this zany notion that Christians are just going to do what they're 
supposed to do. You're not going to beg them to serve. You're 
not going to have to beg them to show up. You're not going 
to have to beg them to participate. It's got this idea that when 
the Spirit of God is in you and you've got a Bible in front of 
you, you may need some help. You may need some encouragement. 
You may need a little guidance. But you don't need top-down imposition. 
It's not the federal government, man. We don't have to start a 
bureaucracy for everything in the church. We shouldn't have 
to. should be a voluntary, happy 
association for the glory of God and for the good of my brothers 
and sisters. It's no wonder this guy, this 
man, this beloved apostle, don't mean to call him guy in some 
wicked sort of way, but this beloved apostle could write, 
esteem others as better than yourselves. Well, what do you 
mean by that, Paul? You wouldn't have asked him. You wouldn't have needed exegesis. 
You wouldn't have needed a definition. You wouldn't need a biblical 
theology of putting others first. You just know that that's what 
this guy always does. Look out for the needs of others, 
he says to the Philippian Christians. Do you ever come to church looking 
out for the needs of someone else? Ask yourself that question 
right now. Internalize it. Do I ever come 
into this place looking out for the needs of others. Am I one 
of those people that could stand before someone bleeding out of 
their eyes and me say, well, you know what happened to me 
and what this and that and me, me, me, me, me, me, me? That's 
not this kind of Christianity. I'm sorry if this is hurtful. 
I'm sorry if there's pain. Sometimes we need to be plowed 
up. We need to look into the mirror 
right here and say, do I ever rejoice in my sufferings for 
Christ and His church? Well, no, because I don't really 
suffer for Christ and His church. Then we ask the question, why 
not? I'm not saying you run out and you spit in people's face 
and, I want to suffer for Jesus. That's not what I'm saying. There 
is a principle according to Paul in 2 Timothy 3 that all who desire 
to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Now 
I realize that in the Orissa state that may mean your house 
is burned, you're thrown in prison, and you're shot in the head. 
And it's going to look a little bit differently in the lower 
mainland. But there will be persecution if you try to live like Jesus. 
That's the principle. Maybe the gossip down the street 
won't come over all the time, filling your ears with the neighborhood 
rhetoric. Maybe the guys at work will make 
jokes about you because you're so eww when it comes to their 
dirty jokes. You know, it may have a different 
expression than a bullet in the head, but if you actually live 
like Jesus, there will be persecution. Jesus said, don't marvel if the 
world hates you. Now, we can take that to the 
other extreme. You know, I've met people who 
say, well, beware if anybody likes you. What? You've got 20 
people in your church. You must not be preaching the 
truth. Well, beware if all men never speak evil about you. Hopefully 
your brothers will love you. You're not that obnoxious. You're 
not that disgusting and repulsive to all civil interaction. There is a principle, though. 
When we live like Jesus Christ, the world's not going to say, 
hey, great, we love you, man. We mentioned a couple of weeks 
ago, as long as the church is not making any waves and she's 
sitting quietly in her little ghetto, the world doesn't mind. 
Let her step out of that ghetto, and let her press the crown rights 
of Jesus Christ, and then she's militant. She's racist. She's 
filled with hate. Jesus said, if the world hates 
you, know this. They hated me first. Well, I don't want to keep going 
at this point. I don't want to move into the stewardship right 
now. I want to stop here. I think there's enough for us 
to think about and meditate on. I think there's enough for us to 
fill our minds and our hearts with. And I'm not here to bruise 
you and break you and hurt you and make you feel bad. I don't even think we've begun 
to touch the surface on what it means to suffer for the cause 
of Christ and the cause of His church. Study the book of Acts. You may 
not be able to get here on a Wednesday night, but please read it on 
your own. It's been very fruitful. It's been very encouraging. It's 
been very much a blessing. Pick up a decent commentary, 
read, just see what the church went through in the first century 
in a very hostile environment. They had not one but two arch 
enemies in the church in the first century. You're going to think the first 
was the Roman Empire. They were actually the second. 
The unbelieving Jews were the first. Later on, the Roman Empire certainly 
took more of an active, aggressive stance against the church. But 
initially, the church of Jesus Christ was looked at as a subset 
of Judaism. Judaism, while not a legal religion 
in the empire, was nevertheless a tolerated religion in the empire. But they despised the church. 
They despised when Paul and Barnabas would stand in their synagogues 
and be at Ezekiel before their eyes and say, since you judge 
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we will turn to the Gentiles. The unbelieving Jews put a lot 
of miles on their shoes if they had them, chasing down Paul from 
city to city to city. The first missionary journey, 
the second missionary journey. Paul would go to a city, he would 
preach Jesus as the Christ. Some would believe, thankfully, 
others would be opposed. Those opposers would gather up 
in groups among themselves. One instance, we haven't even 
got to yet in our Wednesday night study, a group of men take a 
vow that they will neither eat nor drink until Paul is dead. I've often read that, and I thought 
to myself, are Christians that zealous to promote the cause 
as anti-Christians are to destroy the cause? Have you ever taken 
a vow not to eat or drink until, you know, someone was saved? 
They did, with reference to Paul dying. See, the early church 
didn't just sit happily in their little Christian ghetto singing 
kumbaya, exchanging group hugs and not affecting their environment 
for Christ. And when they went outside and 
they affected that environment for Christ, they felt the heat. They were persecuted, they were 
shunned, they were hurt. You read the letters to the churches 
of Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3. If you read carefully, you'll 
see that they suffered things like economic oppression. These Jews that got converted 
to Christ suffered ostracizing from their community. It affected 
them in their business dealings. It affected them at the market. 
It affected them in their world. Why? Because they were faithful 
to Christ. Faithful to His church. Faithful 
to doing what they said they would do when they signed on 
the dotted line. Christ was so good to us in Luke. He said, count the cost. There 
might be someone in here right now that's not a Christian. And 
you're hearing this saying, man, that doesn't sound like a lot 
of fun. Why would I want to join something where all I do is suffer? 
Well, remember that suffering is a momentary light affliction 
in comparison to an exceeding weight of glory. But Christ is 
candid. Christ tells you to count the 
cost. Christ says, don't be like a 
man, a general, a commander of an army that wants to go out 
to battle without first surveying the opposing army. You may have 
10,000 troops and they're crack shots and they're great soldiers. 
But if your enemy's got 20, you're going to lose. You need to count 
the cost. You need to make sure that when 
you go to build, you have all the money necessary for the materials. 
See, it was like then, the way it is now. I don't think any 
of you brothers or myself go to Rona or go to Pioneer and 
they say, oh, it's you. Here's wood. Go build. No, it 
costs money. So Jesus says, you don't start 
to build unless you count the cost. You don't go buy half the materials, 
build half a structure to have everybody you know laugh at you. 
You just don't do that. Christians, non-Christians. Well, first of all, Christians, 
have you forgotten these vows? Have you forgotten what it is 
to be a Christian? It's not just long-term fire 
insurance, okay? It's not just, I get to be in 
heaven. There is something of what Paul 
speaks of in verse 23. If indeed you continue in the 
faith. Continuing in the faith at times 
is hard. Continuing in the faith at times 
is difficult. Being grounded, being steadfast. Not being moved away from the 
gospel. It takes a tenacity. It takes 
a grabbing hold and not letting go. It takes commitment. It takes 
lifelong commitment. We live in a non-committal age. 
Well, we get married. If we don't like it, we get divorced. 
We buy a house. If we don't like it, we don't 
make the payments. I get a burger. I don't like it. I'll go get 
a different burger. We live in a non-committal age. That ethic 
of Psalm 15 and men swearing to their own hurt just doesn't 
really affect us today, unfortunately. So I call each Christian here 
to remember the vow. Remember the conversion. Remember 
when you said yes to the Lord Jesus Christ, when by God's grace 
He showed you your sin and its ugliness, and He showed you the 
remedy. And He showed you the one in 
whom alone there is forgiveness, the remission of sin. Think back 
to that day when you believed that Gospel. And you said, Christ 
is mine and I am His. And ask yourself the question, 
am I being faithful to that vow? You see, Christ is always faithful. 
Christ never leaves us. He never forsakes us. And I'm 
not saying your faithfulness and your vow keeping somehow 
keeps you in. I'm appealing to your ethic of 
Christianity. Living the way you're supposed 
to. You're being faithful. You're willing to suffer shame 
for the cause of Christ and for His church. I love the language Paul uses. 
He's a servant. Diakonos. He's not the Lord's 
tyrant. He's not the right Reverend Paul. 
He's not Dr. Accomplished Theologian. He's 
a servant. Unfortunately, the word deacon 
has taken on some sort of an ecclesiastical error. But that's 
not the word. The Word is consistent with what 
Jesus taught about servant leadership. Look at the Gentiles. You see 
how they do it? Don't be like them. They lord 
it over people. They oppress. No. You want to be great in the kingdom? 
You be the least. You want to be the first? You 
be the last. I guarantee you, the day that 
we see a church that is punctuated by people who want to be the 
last and the least, We can truly say heaven has come down and 
glory has filled our souls. That's where the proof is. And if you're not a Christian, 
it's better to suffer for Christ, to suffer for His church, than 
enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. This is what it says of 
Moses in Hebrews 11. He would rather suffer reproach 
with the people of Christ than to enjoy the passing pleasures 
of sin. Why? Because he just liked to suffer? Because he was just one of those 
kinds of guys? He was a bit of a forerunner 
of the ascetic movement? A bit of a monk? A bit of a guy 
that would come later on in the history of the church and sit 
on a pole and weather the elements? No. No. Because he said, you know, to 
suffer for the cause of Christ right now is so much better than 
to have the passing pleasures of sin. By faith, Moses, when he became 
of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to 
enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Why? Esteeming the reproach 
of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he 
looked to the reward. He's still a simple man. He wasn't 
an ascetic. He was an accountant. Okay, right 
now I get passing pleasures of sin and eternal shame. I get the reproach of Christ 
and the reward. That's a no-brainer, man. What 
do you mean? There's a choice here? Of course I want Christ. So if you're sitting here and 
you hear this suffering, does that mean you're going to walk 
out of this room and you're going to get hit by lightning and everybody's 
going to hate you? You're going to end up in prison today? It 
could mean that. You've got to be ready for it. 
But it means you're going to be Christ's and He's going to 
be yours. Paul's going to later define 
the mystery that he's speaking of as Christ in you, the hope 
of glory. I don't even know how to exegete 
Christ in you. I kind of think I know what it 
means. It sounds wonderful and fantastic. That's what you get 
in signing on the dotted line. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the Holy Scriptures and we thank you for this example 
of Paul the Apostle. We know that his ministry was 
unique in the life of the church. Nevertheless, it does serve as 
a great example of what it is to be a Christian man, to be 
a Christian minister and a missionary. And I pray, God in heaven, that 
we would take from this study a resolve, a desire, a commitment 
to serve you, to love you, to fear you and honor you. I pray 
that you would go with each one of us now, help us to get in 
secret today, to examine our hearts, to test ourselves, to 
see whether we're in the faith, to ask hard questions and not 
to be satisfied until we can answer that Christ is ours, that 
Christ is in us, the hope of glory. I just pray now that you 
would go with each of my brothers and sisters and that the balm 
of Gilead would be our portion. And we pray through Jesus the 
Lord. Amen.