WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Do any of you find submarines to be fascinating? 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:10.699 Think about it. These machines that like a hundred 00:00:10.699 --> 00:00:14.039 years ago, maybe even longer, were inconceivable, 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.960 that can go down into the greatest depths of 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:20.980 the ocean. I personally can't understand how 00:00:20.980 --> 00:00:23.120 they do it, but they go down and they go deeper 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:26.480 and deeper under this serious pressure. And the 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:28.800 reason they're so fascinating is because they 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.640 can go down and withstand all of this pressure 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:36.409 and not break. They don't implode. You can drop 00:00:36.409 --> 00:00:39.270 a submarine into the deepest ocean and push it 00:00:39.270 --> 00:00:42.570 down deeper and deeper, and every square inch 00:00:42.570 --> 00:00:45.789 is just gaining more and more force on it, force 00:00:45.789 --> 00:00:48.450 that would crush anything else that was not built 00:00:48.450 --> 00:00:51.390 to handle this. It would make our bodies crumble 00:00:51.390 --> 00:00:55.490 up like a Coke can, yet this submarine can go 00:00:55.490 --> 00:01:02.670 down and withstand all of that pressure. So when 00:01:02.670 --> 00:01:06.510 a submarine is built well, it can go down and 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:10.370 survive. Now I want you to contrast that with 00:01:10.370 --> 00:01:14.150 three years ago, this past week actually, a submersible 00:01:14.150 --> 00:01:17.189 called the Titan was journeying down to go down 00:01:17.189 --> 00:01:21.790 and explore and see the shipwreck of the Titanic. 00:01:22.569 --> 00:01:27.430 And in this submersible, five people died because 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:31.400 it imploded. Investigators spent the last few 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:33.879 years trying to figure out exactly what went 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:37.459 wrong with the Titan, why it was able to go down, 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.040 because it had gone down before. It had gone 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:42.480 on these journeys before, but this time it goes 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:45.500 down and it implodes. And if you've ever heard 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:48.900 the audio or you've seen some of the visuals 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:51.900 that people have made of it, it's crazy how quickly 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:54.599 it happened. And it really is kind of like a 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:58.180 Coke can. It just kind of crushes. And these 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:04.959 people in an instant lost their lives. The conclusion 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:07.379 that investigators came to was that the hull 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:10.080 of the ship was never what it was supposed to 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:14.030 be. It wasn't as... strong as it was supposed 00:02:14.030 --> 00:02:16.210 to be. It looked like it was supposed to look. 00:02:16.289 --> 00:02:18.750 It looked like a good submarine. It looked nice. 00:02:18.770 --> 00:02:20.870 It looked strong. And it had made some trips 00:02:20.870 --> 00:02:23.669 before, and so they felt good about it. But what 00:02:23.669 --> 00:02:26.009 they didn't know, or what maybe they just didn't 00:02:26.009 --> 00:02:29.389 care to know, was that the true strength of this 00:02:29.389 --> 00:02:33.229 submersible was never properly tested. And so 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:35.909 dive after dive, the damage was building up until 00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:40.449 one day the pressure was so strong that the weakness 00:02:40.449 --> 00:02:45.740 of the Titan And that's the first point I want 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:47.860 us to know this morning that we have to identify 00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:51.699 is that pressure does not create weakness. When 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:54.400 bad times happen, when bad things happen, when 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.080 life gets rough, that's not what creates the 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:00.599 weakness in our lives. Pressure simply reveals 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:03.960 the weakness. It shows you where you're weakest. 00:03:04.969 --> 00:03:08.590 It's the hard times that happen and you find 00:03:08.590 --> 00:03:11.469 yourself caving in to peer pressure or you find 00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:14.370 yourself caving in to the stress and you realize, 00:03:14.710 --> 00:03:16.909 maybe not in the moment, but after a while you 00:03:16.909 --> 00:03:18.990 realize that that weakness had been there all 00:03:18.990 --> 00:03:22.409 along. You were predisposed to it. It just showed 00:03:22.409 --> 00:03:25.650 up in a crazy way when the bad stuff happened, 00:03:25.669 --> 00:03:29.509 when the pressure came. It's kind of like during 00:03:29.509 --> 00:03:33.740 COVID. When you saw people... lose their lives 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:37.340 or at least be seriously afflicted by this virus 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:42.300 because they had these predisposed conditions. 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:46.650 These things that were already there. that maybe 00:03:46.650 --> 00:03:48.610 they didn't realize were there, but they were 00:03:48.610 --> 00:03:51.169 there, that they struggled with. It's why we 00:03:51.169 --> 00:03:53.650 wanted to be extra cautious for our friends that 00:03:53.650 --> 00:03:56.349 had diabetes, or we wanted to be extra cautious 00:03:56.349 --> 00:03:57.930 for our friends that maybe were struggling with 00:03:57.930 --> 00:04:00.210 cancer, or we wanted to be extra cautious for 00:04:00.210 --> 00:04:02.050 the person with the autoimmune disorder. So we 00:04:02.050 --> 00:04:04.590 had to be very careful, but because we knew there 00:04:04.590 --> 00:04:08.370 was a weakness there that under that type of 00:04:08.370 --> 00:04:13.539 pressure would not withstand. And I want you 00:04:13.539 --> 00:04:15.560 to hold on to that because this morning in Acts 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:18.860 chapter 12, we'll see the pressure mount on the 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:21.139 early church that we find in the book of Acts. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.519 We'll see it mount on the man trying to crush 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.800 the church. And as we do, I want you to hold 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:30.779 on to the question, when pressure comes, how 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:34.079 do we respond? Because in many people's lives, 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:38.379 when pressure comes, they start drinking. In 00:04:38.379 --> 00:04:40.740 many people's lives, when pressure comes, they 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:43.100 turn to drugs. In many people's lives, when the 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:45.519 pressure comes, they start running away or they 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:48.779 hide and they find the darkest place that nobody 00:04:48.779 --> 00:04:50.819 will find them and they go there. I think of 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:54.500 Harry Potter in the first movie where you see 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:57.040 the family that Harry's living with and the letters 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:58.970 keep coming in. And they're like, all right, 00:04:58.970 --> 00:05:00.430 that's it. We got to go somewhere where they 00:05:00.430 --> 00:05:03.110 can't find us. And so they go away and they go 00:05:03.110 --> 00:05:06.490 to like this remote island out in the ocean where 00:05:06.490 --> 00:05:09.610 nobody can find them until someone finally does. 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:11.949 Because no matter what you do, no matter where 00:05:11.949 --> 00:05:14.810 you go, the pressure will find you. And so when 00:05:14.810 --> 00:05:19.850 it does, what will you do? And communally, for 00:05:19.850 --> 00:05:22.610 us as a church, what does a faithful church do 00:05:22.610 --> 00:05:25.769 when it's at the mercy of this pressure, this 00:05:25.769 --> 00:05:29.629 seemingly crushing and destructive force? So 00:05:29.629 --> 00:05:31.329 hold on to this question, and if you've got it, 00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:34.389 I need you to say, I've got it. Okay, let's try 00:05:34.389 --> 00:05:36.170 that again. If you've got it, I need you to say, 00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:39.420 I've got it. You got it. What do we do when the 00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:41.959 pressure comes? Okay, now let's get into Acts 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:44.199 chapter 12, starting in verses one through four. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:45.680 If it's underlined, I'd love for you to read 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.139 it along with me so I know that you're awake 00:05:47.139 --> 00:05:48.699 because I think a lot of you had already fallen 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:52.079 asleep. Are we ready? All right. About that time, 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:55.160 Herod the king laid violent hands on some who 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:57.579 belonged to the church. He killed James, the 00:05:57.579 --> 00:05:59.899 brother of John, with the sword. And when he 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:02.459 saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to 00:06:02.459 --> 00:06:05.720 arrest Peter also. This was during the days of 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.220 unleavened bread. And when he had seized him, 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.079 he put him in prison, delivering him over to 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:14.160 four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:16.420 after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:19.360 Several weeks ago, our brother Truman preached 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:21.839 to us about the murder, the martyrdom of Stephen, 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:25.889 this first Christian killed for his faith. And 00:06:25.889 --> 00:06:27.910 from that moment on, the church had to be very 00:06:27.910 --> 00:06:30.170 mindful. They had to be very careful about how 00:06:30.170 --> 00:06:32.569 they proceeded in society. Now, they were bold. 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:35.670 They didn't pretend that they didn't know this 00:06:35.670 --> 00:06:37.750 Jesus. They didn't pretend that they weren't 00:06:37.750 --> 00:06:39.870 Christians. They didn't hide it. They were just 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:42.410 cautious because they had to be. They wanted 00:06:42.410 --> 00:06:44.930 to obey the call of Christ to go in all the world, 00:06:44.970 --> 00:06:47.430 proclaim the gospel, and live in radical community. 00:06:47.670 --> 00:06:49.670 But they also didn't want to die because nobody 00:06:49.670 --> 00:06:52.670 wants to die, right? And so they had to be mindful 00:06:52.670 --> 00:06:57.860 of how they operated. Now, here in Acts 12, we 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:00.560 see that this persecution is starting to kind 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.540 of build up. It's becoming a more serious issue. 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:06.199 As we said with our submarine, the pressure is 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:09.699 starting to mount. Herod begins by attacking 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:12.560 the church. The way he does this, he starts off 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.959 with killing. John's brother, James, making him 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:19.579 the first of Jesus's 12 apostles to be killed 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:22.079 for his faith. And then he sees that this makes 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.819 the Jews happy. So like this is a political stunt 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:28.139 where he's like, okay, killing this man makes 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:30.639 these people happy. And if I can make these people 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:33.660 happy, they'll like me and they'll approve of 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:36.939 what I do. So let me keep on killing the Christians. 00:07:37.019 --> 00:07:41.449 And so he arrests Peter. And he throws him in 00:07:41.449 --> 00:07:44.189 prison on a Jewish holiday. And it seems that 00:07:44.189 --> 00:07:48.790 the plan was for him to bring Peter out after 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:51.670 the days of unleavened bread. And so what he's 00:07:51.670 --> 00:07:53.430 going to do is he's going to bring Peter out 00:07:53.430 --> 00:07:56.430 before this great crowd of people, just like 00:07:56.430 --> 00:07:58.910 he did when he had Jesus on trial. He's going 00:07:58.910 --> 00:08:01.430 to bring him out and he's going to show him. 00:08:01.870 --> 00:08:03.230 And he's going to say, what do y 'all want me 00:08:03.230 --> 00:08:04.589 to do with this man? And you know what they're 00:08:04.589 --> 00:08:08.019 going to say, right? Kill him. They may want 00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:09.839 to crucify him like they did Jesus. They may 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:11.639 want to hang him in the streets. I don't know 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:16.060 how, but their plan is to exterminate the Christians, 00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:20.100 the church. And so when Herod does this, he makes 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:23.740 sure to have a large number of guards, 16 guards 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:26.920 to watch Peter. And I don't imagine Peter was 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:29.740 a big, very capable fighter. I don't imagine 00:08:29.740 --> 00:08:32.399 he was like a Houdini type guy that could escape 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:37.240 any situation. I think... Herod just knew that 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:39.980 there was something about Peter where he finds 00:08:39.980 --> 00:08:43.759 a way to escape these situations. And if you 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.779 remember Peter's rabbi, Jesus would do that too. 00:08:46.940 --> 00:08:49.500 People would come up in crowds to stone him and 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:53.779 he would just mysteriously get away. Well, Peter 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:56.600 has done this a time or two. And so Herod wants 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:59.000 to be sure that this prisoner that he has will 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:02.419 not get away. And so he knows that if he can 00:09:02.419 --> 00:09:05.360 kill an apostle of Jesus, one of the guys that 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:08.100 was of the 12 that walked and lived with Jesus, 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:11.419 well, he can make a pretty bold statement. And 00:09:11.419 --> 00:09:16.179 so he's putting pressure on the disciples to 00:09:16.179 --> 00:09:19.639 give it up, to quit with this Jesus business. 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.059 And that's serious pressure, pressure that honestly 00:09:23.059 --> 00:09:26.299 we can hardly imagine. We can't really understand 00:09:26.299 --> 00:09:28.179 that type of pressure because we don't live in 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:30.720 a society where the literal government is threatening 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.460 to take our lives away for following Jesus. We 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:35.860 don't have to face that fear. We have never in 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:38.139 the history of America had to face that fear. 00:09:38.259 --> 00:09:40.840 And I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful for 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:42.899 the people that make that a possibility. But 00:09:42.899 --> 00:09:46.769 we do still face pressure, do we not? I would 00:09:46.769 --> 00:09:49.809 be a fool to stand up here and act like we don't 00:09:49.809 --> 00:09:53.149 face pressure because we do live in a society 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:57.389 where holding on to what Jesus taught can cost 00:09:57.389 --> 00:09:59.169 you a friendship. It can cost you relationships. 00:09:59.549 --> 00:10:02.750 It can cost you a reputation. We live in a society 00:10:02.750 --> 00:10:06.309 where following Jesus can cost us. We're doing 00:10:06.309 --> 00:10:09.389 the right thing when nobody else will can leave 00:10:09.389 --> 00:10:12.710 you standing alone. Our pressure exists. It's 00:10:12.710 --> 00:10:16.580 just different. Our lack of physical death -type 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:18.559 persecution doesn't mean we don't have pressure. 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:22.080 It's still there. And so we revisit our question 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:24.919 earlier of when pressure comes, how does the 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:30.240 church respond? Because it's going to come. And 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.799 it may not be a persecution -type pressure. It 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:37.299 may be an internal pressure that we deal with 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:40.759 in our family or that we deal with in our personal 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:43.509 life. Maybe it's a sickness. That you just feel 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:44.990 like you've prayed and you've prayed and you've 00:10:44.990 --> 00:10:47.509 prayed, but you can't shake. And it doesn't make 00:10:47.509 --> 00:10:50.009 sense to you why you're still having to deal 00:10:50.009 --> 00:10:53.230 with the weight of this. Or maybe it's like the 00:10:53.230 --> 00:10:55.730 loss of a loved one just hits after hit after 00:10:55.730 --> 00:10:58.190 hit. And you just feel like everybody's falling 00:10:58.190 --> 00:11:00.889 around me. And I keep praying that God would 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:03.029 help my family, but it doesn't seem to be working. 00:11:03.350 --> 00:11:06.309 Or maybe it's a financial pressure that you've 00:11:06.309 --> 00:11:08.250 been dealing with. And you just, you feel like 00:11:08.250 --> 00:11:11.210 you haven't been able to escape it. Pressure. 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:15.080 is going to come for every one of us if it's 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.879 not already there. And we have to ask the question 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:22.320 of how do we respond? How does the church respond? 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.220 And I want you to see how the church responds 00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:30.500 in Acts 12, verse 5. So Peter was kept in prison, 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:34.080 but earnest prayer for him was made to God by 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:39.429 the church. You notice they didn't panic. It 00:11:39.429 --> 00:11:41.250 doesn't say the church freaked out and they ran 00:11:41.250 --> 00:11:42.750 away and they hid in their holes. It doesn't 00:11:42.750 --> 00:11:45.690 say the church got scared and so they went and 00:11:45.690 --> 00:11:47.809 they got pitchforks and swords and they just 00:11:47.809 --> 00:11:49.669 decided if we don't fight, then we're going to 00:11:49.669 --> 00:11:51.409 be killed. So we've got to fight first. That's 00:11:51.409 --> 00:11:56.210 not what happens. The church goes and they pray. 00:11:57.669 --> 00:12:01.110 Despite the anxiety and the fear I imagine they 00:12:01.110 --> 00:12:04.230 were feeling, their response is a response of 00:12:04.230 --> 00:12:09.289 faith. It's earnestly praying. While Herod had 00:12:09.289 --> 00:12:11.470 the weight of the government, while Herod had 00:12:11.470 --> 00:12:14.610 the soldiers and the chains and the prisons and 00:12:14.610 --> 00:12:18.690 the entire kingdom at his disposal, the church 00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:23.409 prayed earnestly. And what that means is they 00:12:23.409 --> 00:12:26.950 prayed with a serious intent. That they prayed 00:12:26.950 --> 00:12:31.940 the serious, dedicated, zealous prayer. Other 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:34.279 translations say they prayed without ceasing, 00:12:34.340 --> 00:12:37.220 that they would pray in a way that held some 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:40.000 weight, that they would pray constantly, unrelenting, 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:42.679 that they did not give up praying, that they 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:45.899 did not stop praying, that that was their defense 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:49.820 against the darkness, was to pray, to plead with 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:52.539 the God of heaven and earth, the king of the 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:55.960 universe, and ask him to come down, show his 00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:59.120 power, show his presence, and free them from 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:06.639 this pressure. They prayed earnestly. This wasn't 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:09.120 a, Lord, would you please be with Peter? He's 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:12.980 hurting right now, and he's scared. It wasn't 00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:16.360 a sweet little mention of Peter in their bedtime 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:19.039 prayers. It wasn't just a casual, hey, y 'all 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:23.340 be praying for Peter. This was war, that they 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:26.320 were fighting with words, that they were fighting 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:29.759 with their feelings. You think about Jesus in 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:31.720 the garden when he's praying and he's praying 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:35.500 with sweat drops like blood. I think that's what 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:40.940 this prayer was. It was shouts of proclaiming 00:13:40.940 --> 00:13:43.720 God's goodness and saying, God, we know you can 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:47.919 do it. We just ask that you will. I imagine it 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.860 being this constant vocal and vibrant prayer 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:54.019 session of the church. whether they were together 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:56.779 in a gathering place or in their homes, in their 00:13:56.779 --> 00:13:59.759 prayer rooms. I imagine this was white knuckles 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:03.960 on your knees, hands outstretched, pleading with 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:08.399 God. Because a church that's going to withstand 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:12.059 the pressures that come, the pressures that surround 00:14:12.059 --> 00:14:15.139 us, a church that is going to withstand the pressures 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:18.419 that sometimes find themselves in the church, 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:21.220 a church that's going to withstand The darkness 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:24.980 is a church that is going to pray earnestly. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:27.759 It's a family that's going to put their faith 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.519 in God. And they're going to show that faith 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:32.299 in the way they communicate with God. They're 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:34.320 going to show that faith in the way they plead 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:36.960 with God to come down and show His power, to 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.740 show His might, to show His love, His compassion. 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:43.159 A church that is going to withstand is going 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:46.220 to be a church that puts prayer as their first 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:53.299 line of defense and offense. Because if God is 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:55.840 the one empowering and enabling this mission, 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:59.799 then he has to be the one we go to first when 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:05.320 things get tough. God has to be the one. Not 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.980 the preacher, not the elders, not the person 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:12.799 that you think is wisest. God has to be the one. 00:15:13.590 --> 00:15:15.929 God has to be the one that we pray to and say, 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:17.789 God, would you give us direction? God, would 00:15:17.789 --> 00:15:19.710 you give us strength? God, would you give us 00:15:19.710 --> 00:15:22.870 power? God, would you help us handle these hard 00:15:22.870 --> 00:15:26.450 times? If it's going to be God's mission, it 00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:29.289 is going to be God's provision, and we need to 00:15:29.289 --> 00:15:33.629 make sure we always remember that. And now I 00:15:33.629 --> 00:15:35.970 want you to see how God chooses to show up after 00:15:35.970 --> 00:15:37.929 the prayers of his church. Because if you remember 00:15:37.929 --> 00:15:41.730 earlier, I said in the welcome that God loves 00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:45.149 to show up where his people are hungry for him. 00:15:45.529 --> 00:15:48.990 And in this moment, God shows up where his people 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:51.710 are hungry for him. Peter's there in a prison. 00:15:52.129 --> 00:15:54.649 And after all this time of waiting, he's sleeping. 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:58.000 And now this is the day that Peter is set to 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.639 stand trial where his life is probably going 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.279 to be taken. And as he's sleeping between two 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:05.399 soldiers that are there guarding him, where he's 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:07.700 chained up, I want you to see how God shows up. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:10.899 Look with me at verses seven through 10. An angel 00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:13.580 of the Lord stood next to him and a light shone 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:16.200 in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:19.139 woke him saying, get up quickly. And the chains 00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:21.840 fell off his hands and he went out and followed 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.000 him. When they had passed the first and the second 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:27.820 guard, they came to the iron gate leading into 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:30.639 the city. It opened for them of its own accord. 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:33.220 And they went out and went along one street, 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:37.259 and immediately the angel left him. You see, 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:41.259 deliverance comes for Peter, but not before a 00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:43.919 long period of waiting, or maybe we'll call it 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.200 a little period of waiting, but deliverance comes 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:49.799 after Peter has to wait a little while, after 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:53.080 Peter has to sweat. After Peter has to stress 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.200 a little bit, deliverance does come, but not 00:16:56.200 --> 00:17:00.899 after a little suffering. See, God works. He 00:17:00.899 --> 00:17:03.259 always works. He may work on his own timing, 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:05.920 and it may not always look how we want it to 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:11.140 look, but God always works. I was thinking last 00:17:11.140 --> 00:17:14.779 night about a series of lessons I want to write 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:16.859 or maybe a blog or something. I don't know, but 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:19.140 I'm driving and I'm thinking, and the thought 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:24.150 came to my head. It will all be okay. And then 00:17:24.150 --> 00:17:28.069 I thought about it. Okay is kind of a bleh word. 00:17:28.210 --> 00:17:30.890 Like it's not, you know, like if somebody asks 00:17:30.890 --> 00:17:33.349 you, hey, how was that meal I cooked for you? 00:17:33.390 --> 00:17:35.589 And you're like, oh, it was okay. You'd be insulted. 00:17:36.690 --> 00:17:38.710 If somebody asks you, hey, how does my hair look? 00:17:39.069 --> 00:17:42.410 It's okay. And so then I thought maybe the title 00:17:42.410 --> 00:17:44.490 for this or the working title will be, it will 00:17:44.490 --> 00:17:46.569 be, and then in parentheses and small letters, 00:17:46.650 --> 00:17:51.519 better than okay. And I was like, I feel like 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:53.559 you maybe got to put a qualifier, maybe a subtitle 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:57.799 for this. It'll be good. And not good in the 00:17:57.799 --> 00:17:59.839 sense that we use good, but good in the sense 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:02.740 like when God looks at his creation after the 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:05.980 seven days of work, God looks at it and he says, 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:09.079 it is very good. And the word there for good 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:13.539 actually translates to lovely. It's delightful. 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:17.940 In fact, Eden translates to delight. And so God 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:21.059 looks at all of this and he says, it's lovely. 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:24.980 And I think about my suffering. And I think about 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:28.299 the hard times that I've had in my life. I think 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:30.900 about all the days when I was a kid where I just 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:33.500 prayed and prayed and prayed that God would place 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:35.779 me, like just magically place me in another family, 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:38.440 one that had a dad so I could have somebody there 00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:41.240 to raise me, somebody there to help me grow as 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:43.420 a man. And I think about all of those moments 00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:45.519 where I was just praying to be anywhere but where 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:49.640 I was. But after a little bit of suffering, instead 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:52.079 of giving me exactly what I prayed for, God gave 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:54.480 me what I needed, and it was better than what 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:57.720 I would have asked for. It was lovely. It was 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:01.740 delightful. See, God always works. And when he 00:19:01.740 --> 00:19:06.660 works, it's not okay. It's not just all right. 00:19:07.539 --> 00:19:11.700 It's good. It's lovely. And what happens here 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:15.500 with Peter is awesome. Like God could have easily 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:19.099 just said. hey, Herod, release my guy or I'm 00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:21.920 going to strike you down. But instead, God sends 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:24.720 an angel to walk with Peter, free him from his 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:27.859 chains, out of the gate. And it's this cool story 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:31.799 and it shows deliverance that only God could 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:36.619 provide. And so I don't want you to look at this 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:43.779 and say, well, God hasn't delivered me. I don't 00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:45.660 want you to look at this and say, well, God hasn't 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.680 delivered my loved one that's hurting. God hasn't 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:50.180 delivered my friend that's been suffering. God 00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:52.579 hasn't delivered these people that are in chains 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:54.759 still. I don't want you to look at this and say, 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:58.660 well, what about them? Because the truth is that 00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:01.920 it doesn't always work the same. It doesn't always 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:06.660 look the same, but God does always work. And 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:08.140 we could look at this and we could say, well, 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:10.539 how come James had to die, but Peter gets freed 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:13.440 from prison? And we could look at this, and if 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:15.559 you're not sure you even believe all this yet, 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:17.559 you may sit there and you might be asking the 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:20.279 question of, well, why would a good God rescue 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:23.160 one and not the other? So before we go any further, 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:25.039 I just want to be clear for a second in what 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.980 I'm not saying. I'm not saying God killed James, 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:32.420 nor am I saying that if you just pray hard enough, 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:35.079 God will free you from physical pain and persecution. 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:38.670 That's not what I'm saying. Some of you have 00:20:38.670 --> 00:20:41.289 prayed hard, yet the chains feel like they are 00:20:41.289 --> 00:20:44.430 tighter now than they ever have been. And I won't 00:20:44.430 --> 00:20:47.230 sit up here and pretend like that's not a reality 00:20:47.230 --> 00:20:51.130 for many of you. We've all seen people who have 00:20:51.130 --> 00:20:53.769 begged God. We are in this room praying for people 00:20:53.769 --> 00:20:56.190 who are begging God for a different outcome. 00:20:56.970 --> 00:20:59.910 And it may not come. And it may not have come. 00:21:00.619 --> 00:21:02.880 And so I wouldn't dare try to dress it up and 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:04.900 say something, make it something prettier than 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:07.019 it is because the truth, the honest truth is 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:11.319 I don't fully know why James died, yet Peter 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.579 walked free. And neither did the people in the 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:19.339 early church. But here's what I am saying. I 00:21:19.339 --> 00:21:24.700 am saying that God sustains his people. God carries 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:28.039 his people through hardships when they depend 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:32.869 on him to persevere. Like I said, God loves to 00:21:32.869 --> 00:21:35.849 show up where He's wanted. And in your darkest 00:21:35.849 --> 00:21:38.190 moments, in your hardest times, if you will let 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:45.890 God in, He'll work. God is near to the brokenhearted. 00:21:47.490 --> 00:21:51.910 Blessed are the poor in spirit. All throughout 00:21:51.910 --> 00:21:55.400 Scripture we see... that God wants to comfort 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:57.740 those who need comfort. God wants to give peace 00:21:57.740 --> 00:22:00.259 to those who need it. God wants to heal those 00:22:00.259 --> 00:22:02.579 who are hurting. We see that through scripture. 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:06.079 But do you know what the constant is? He has 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:10.440 to be invited in. Now, sometimes God just shows 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:12.519 up and does his own thing, and that's awesome. 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:15.160 I love the sovereignty of God. But sometimes, 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:17.900 most of the time, we need to say, God, would 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:20.670 you come and work in this situation? God, would 00:22:20.670 --> 00:22:22.750 you come and bring healing? God, would you come 00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:25.509 and bring comfort? Or in Peter's situation, God, 00:22:25.670 --> 00:22:31.789 would you come and break those chains? Because 00:22:31.789 --> 00:22:35.210 here's what we do know. Both James and Peter 00:22:35.210 --> 00:22:39.490 were delivered. It didn't look the same. But 00:22:39.490 --> 00:22:41.950 James was delivered. He was delivered from this 00:22:41.950 --> 00:22:44.390 evil world, this broken world, into the very 00:22:44.390 --> 00:22:46.730 presence of the God that he died for. And if 00:22:46.730 --> 00:22:49.970 you ask me, that is a good deliverance. Because 00:22:49.970 --> 00:22:52.549 this world, let's be honest, sometimes it stinks. 00:22:52.609 --> 00:22:56.160 Can I get an amen? But God's world, the place 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:58.579 that God is bringing us, the place that God desires 00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:01.380 for us to live for all of eternity, that place, 00:23:01.460 --> 00:23:04.279 that place is good. It's not just okay. It is 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:06.819 lovely. It is delightful. It is the presence 00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:09.539 of the king of the universe. And if you ask me, 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:11.940 I will take that over this every day of the week. 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:15.279 I love my place here. I love my family, and I 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:19.539 love all of you. But being in the presence of 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:25.819 God, now that's deliverance. So James was delivered. 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:29.960 It just didn't look the same. And it was a little 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:34.420 bit quicker than Peter's. And Peter was delivered 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:39.119 from the chains Herod had him in. Why it looked 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:42.440 different, we don't know. But what we do know 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:46.400 is both men were delivered because both men belonged 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:51.680 to a faithful God. When we trust in God, even 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:53.779 when things seem dark, even when things seem 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:59.779 heavy, God will sustain us. He will work. As 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:02.500 Paul says, God works all things together for 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:06.019 good. As Joseph said, when he's in Egypt and 00:24:06.019 --> 00:24:08.660 his brothers are like, could you forgive us? 00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:10.680 Are you going to hurt us? What's this relationship 00:24:10.680 --> 00:24:13.640 going to be like? And Joseph says, what you meant 00:24:13.640 --> 00:24:19.849 for evil, my God meant for good. God. works all 00:24:19.849 --> 00:24:25.210 things. And he always works. And now as the story 00:24:25.210 --> 00:24:27.369 goes on, we see that when Peter returns to his 00:24:27.369 --> 00:24:29.970 church family, he finds them in the home of John 00:24:29.970 --> 00:24:32.309 Mark's mother, Mary. And you know what he finds 00:24:32.309 --> 00:24:36.390 them doing, right? They're praying. They're praying. 00:24:36.809 --> 00:24:39.450 They're still pleading with God. Now, Peter's 00:24:39.450 --> 00:24:41.349 been in prison for a little bit. He's been in 00:24:41.349 --> 00:24:43.109 there for a couple of days, yet they are still 00:24:43.109 --> 00:24:45.690 together praying. They're pleading with God. 00:24:45.769 --> 00:24:49.329 He finds the church together, remaining. The 00:24:49.329 --> 00:24:51.509 church was doing exactly what the church is supposed 00:24:51.509 --> 00:24:53.910 to do when times get tough, what we're supposed 00:24:53.910 --> 00:24:56.130 to do when times look like they may be getting 00:24:56.130 --> 00:24:58.450 tough, what the church is supposed to do in all 00:24:58.450 --> 00:25:01.730 times. They are remaining faithful despite their 00:25:01.730 --> 00:25:04.769 worry, despite their fear, despite the pressure, 00:25:04.910 --> 00:25:07.390 despite the uncertainty. The church is remaining 00:25:07.390 --> 00:25:11.150 faithful in their commitment to talking and pleading 00:25:11.150 --> 00:25:15.789 and praying with God when one member is struggling. 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:18.680 When one of us is in bondage, when one of us 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:21.079 is carrying a weight that is far too heavy for 00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:25.299 us to hold on our own, we remain faithful in 00:25:25.299 --> 00:25:29.059 our prayer for one another. Because a faithful 00:25:29.059 --> 00:25:33.619 church is a community that shows up. It's a community 00:25:33.619 --> 00:25:36.480 that prays together, a community that bears the 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:41.059 weight of one another's burdens together. And 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:44.960 that's what Peter finds when he shows up. He 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:48.180 comes. Home. He's freed. It's first day out, 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:50.299 and he comes out, and he sees that they are just 00:25:50.299 --> 00:25:52.339 praying for him, that they are praying for his 00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:54.380 deliverance, that they are praying for this persecution 00:25:54.380 --> 00:25:56.140 that they are under, that they are praying that 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:59.079 the word of God will spread, that they are praying 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:03.160 that they are remaining faithful. And here's 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:04.920 something that I love. Peter shows up at the 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:07.680 door, and this servant girl named Rhoda, she's 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:09.559 so overjoyed, and she runs to tell everybody, 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:11.720 and every, well, first of all, she forgets to 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:14.349 let him in. So I can just imagine the scene, 00:26:14.410 --> 00:26:16.289 like maybe in a TV show, like Peter knocks on 00:26:16.289 --> 00:26:20.589 the door. She opens it. She goes. She slams the 00:26:20.589 --> 00:26:22.130 door shut. She runs back. She's like, Peter's 00:26:22.130 --> 00:26:26.250 back. And the church, the ones who had been praying 00:26:26.250 --> 00:26:28.849 without ceasing this entire time, they had been 00:26:28.849 --> 00:26:31.069 praying for this exact thing. They tell her, 00:26:31.130 --> 00:26:34.970 you're out of your mind, kid. Are you crazy? 00:26:35.529 --> 00:26:38.710 Peter's in prison. He's going to die. They were 00:26:38.710 --> 00:26:41.579 praying for Peter's release. Yet they didn't 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:46.019 believe it when it happened. And I find that 00:26:46.019 --> 00:26:48.700 strangely comforting. And this is why, because 00:26:48.700 --> 00:26:51.140 it tells me that a faithful church isn't a church 00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:53.680 that has it all figured out. It's not a church 00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:55.940 that has a perfect faith. It is a church that 00:26:55.940 --> 00:26:59.180 still lacks to see what God sees. It's a church 00:26:59.180 --> 00:27:02.819 that still sometimes can't quite comprehend the 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:06.319 ways that God works. But it is a church that 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:10.180 keeps showing up to pray, even. when they don't 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:13.500 understand how it'll all work. It's a church 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:17.859 that prays with wonder, that prays with awe. 00:27:19.529 --> 00:27:21.950 And maybe, I hope you've felt that before. You 00:27:21.950 --> 00:27:24.710 felt the prayers of people. You felt the prayers 00:27:24.710 --> 00:27:27.890 of people finally in you. You show up and you 00:27:27.890 --> 00:27:29.529 know that you've been prayed for. Maybe you've 00:27:29.529 --> 00:27:31.970 had moments that were darker and heavier than 00:27:31.970 --> 00:27:33.970 you ever imagined that you've had to endure, 00:27:34.150 --> 00:27:35.809 but you didn't have to endure it alone because 00:27:35.809 --> 00:27:38.369 you had a faithful church that was going to pray 00:27:38.369 --> 00:27:40.789 with you and pray for you through it. Or maybe 00:27:40.789 --> 00:27:42.869 you finally gave your life to the Lord and you 00:27:42.869 --> 00:27:45.390 found out after the fact that an entire church 00:27:45.390 --> 00:27:47.750 or an entire small group had been faithfully 00:27:47.750 --> 00:27:51.670 praying for you. make that decision. In our small 00:27:51.670 --> 00:27:54.809 group years ago when we were members of the Landmark 00:27:54.809 --> 00:27:56.990 Church in Montgomery, we used to pray for the 00:27:56.990 --> 00:27:59.849 empty chair. We would always, we would have one 00:27:59.849 --> 00:28:02.170 chair that would be empty, sometimes intentional, 00:28:02.329 --> 00:28:05.170 and we would pray for that chair. That that chair 00:28:05.170 --> 00:28:07.769 would be filled. That somebody out there that 00:28:07.769 --> 00:28:10.750 needed to be a part of a faith -based, a Christ 00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:12.609 -based community, that somebody out there would 00:28:12.609 --> 00:28:15.390 fill that chair. And we would pray for that. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:18.119 And we would all have our person in mind that 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:20.079 we were thinking they could fill that chair. 00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:22.799 They could be that person that if they would 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:24.759 sit in that chair, maybe their life would be 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:27.099 changed, transformed by God. That if they would 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:29.539 sit in that chair, that they would feel the goodness 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:31.960 of a faithful community. And we would pray for 00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:35.160 them. And it would be the coolest, most awesome 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:37.980 thing when someone would show up and fill that 00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:41.240 chair. When someone would be delivered from the 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:44.039 darkness by God because they were now a part 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:50.549 of the faith. Even more amazing to see that happen. 00:28:50.609 --> 00:28:52.769 It's always amazing to see someone delivered, 00:28:52.950 --> 00:28:55.509 but it's even more amazing to know that earnest 00:28:55.509 --> 00:29:00.829 prayers were part of that story. And so this 00:29:00.829 --> 00:29:03.329 morning, can I encourage you? I just want to 00:29:03.329 --> 00:29:05.349 give you some encouragement. I've been challenging 00:29:05.349 --> 00:29:08.029 us a lot the last, well, really the last year, 00:29:08.150 --> 00:29:09.809 and now I want to give you a little encouragement. 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:14.619 to stay steadfast, to keep the faith. When it's 00:29:14.619 --> 00:29:18.200 hard, when it's heavy, when life doesn't make 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:20.640 sense, when things just don't add up, when it 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:25.019 is very, very hard to keep moving forward or 00:29:25.019 --> 00:29:28.779 to keep going deeper, when the pressure is mounting, 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:34.369 earnestly pray without ceasing. Stay connected 00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:37.490 and be faithful to the church, even when we don't 00:29:37.490 --> 00:29:40.069 immediately see the outcomes that we want, even 00:29:40.069 --> 00:29:43.170 if we never see the outcomes that we want, understanding 00:29:43.170 --> 00:29:47.190 that God's way is far greater than our way. Gather 00:29:47.190 --> 00:29:50.450 with one another, carry one another, and refuse 00:29:50.450 --> 00:29:55.069 to let a brother or sister walk alone through 00:29:55.069 --> 00:29:56.869 the hard times, through the heavy times, that 00:29:56.869 --> 00:29:59.569 this life, that this world, that the enemy throws 00:29:59.569 --> 00:30:03.880 at us. And so now as we close, I want to go back 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:06.240 to Herod. Because I told you we were going to 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:09.059 see how the church would respond to the pressure. 00:30:09.099 --> 00:30:11.599 And I also told you that the guy trying to crush 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:13.480 the church would face some pressure of his own. 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:17.099 Herod, he had every advantage over the church. 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:20.119 He had the government, the strong army. He had 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:22.000 the soldiers, the crowd's applause. He looked 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:24.900 strong. Yet in verse 23, what we see is Herod 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:29.519 is struck down for not giving glory to God. Herod, 00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:32.900 in all of his earthly glory, Herod is struck 00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:35.779 down. The same pressure that revealed the church 00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:39.619 to be sound revealed Herod to be hollow. Herod 00:30:39.619 --> 00:30:42.359 looked like he was supposed to look. He looked 00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:44.119 like he had everything going for him, but he 00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:48.200 had nothing underneath of substance. He had no 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:51.279 faith. He had no trust in God, no glory given 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:53.559 where it was due. And so when the moment came, 00:30:53.799 --> 00:30:58.440 there was nothing to sustain him. But in verse 00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:02.109 24, I want you to see what happens. Awesome. 00:31:03.210 --> 00:31:06.630 Could you read this with me? The Word of God 00:31:06.630 --> 00:31:11.569 increased and multiplied in the midst of persecution. 00:31:12.390 --> 00:31:15.549 In the midst of danger, in the midst of pressure 00:31:15.549 --> 00:31:19.529 like nobody could imagine, the Word of God spread. 00:31:20.230 --> 00:31:24.009 The Word of God went how it was supposed to go. 00:31:24.170 --> 00:31:27.369 The Word of God touched people's lives in this 00:31:27.369 --> 00:31:31.190 world of danger. See, when a well -made submarine 00:31:31.190 --> 00:31:34.369 endures pressure, it's able to accomplish its 00:31:34.369 --> 00:31:38.089 mission, come what may. Likewise, the faithful 00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:41.569 church holds up under pressure, not because the 00:31:41.569 --> 00:31:43.690 pressure lets up, not because it gets easier, 00:31:43.849 --> 00:31:48.089 but because of what the church is made of. And 00:31:48.089 --> 00:31:52.210 I believe a faithful church is made up of prayer 00:31:52.210 --> 00:31:57.349 and a dependence on God and one another. A faithful 00:31:57.349 --> 00:32:01.549 church is made up of... Faith. It's made up of 00:32:01.549 --> 00:32:04.569 a people that desire the presence of God and 00:32:04.569 --> 00:32:09.329 believe that He will come down and work among 00:32:09.329 --> 00:32:13.750 us. Y 'all, we can't escape the pressure. We 00:32:13.750 --> 00:32:15.890 can't escape the bad things that happen in life. 00:32:15.970 --> 00:32:18.609 And even when one issue goes away, another will 00:32:18.609 --> 00:32:20.930 come. Herod was struck down, but the rest of 00:32:20.930 --> 00:32:23.250 the New Testament and church history proves that 00:32:23.250 --> 00:32:25.369 pressure would continue to come and pressure 00:32:25.369 --> 00:32:28.069 is still coming for the church. But if we will 00:32:28.069 --> 00:32:32.809 remain, If we will keep our eyes on the mission, 00:32:32.910 --> 00:32:36.029 the mission to spread the word of God and multiply 00:32:36.029 --> 00:32:39.430 his kingdom, that mission will continue on because 00:32:39.430 --> 00:32:42.250 this thing will be made up of the right stuff. 00:32:43.349 --> 00:32:46.170 And so this morning, if you're enduring pressure, 00:32:46.490 --> 00:32:49.329 if all of this seems too heavy to bear on your 00:32:49.329 --> 00:32:51.109 own, whatever it is that you're struggling with, 00:32:51.170 --> 00:32:53.029 if you're ready to find the deliverance that 00:32:53.029 --> 00:32:56.650 can only come from God's power, I ask you to 00:32:56.650 --> 00:32:58.859 come down to the front row here. to come down 00:32:58.859 --> 00:33:01.559 here and allow us to earnestly pray with you, 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:03.900 to earnestly pray for you, to gather together 00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:07.599 around you. Whatever it is that you need, if 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:09.539 you need to respond to the call of Jesus, to 00:33:09.539 --> 00:33:13.839 come home, to lay your burdens down, we are inviting 00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:16.400 you to respond so that we can be the faithful 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:21.400 church that prays earnestly for you. If you need 00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:23.559 that, come now as we stand and as we sing.