Tag: Gospel

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What Will You Do with Your Freedom? (Galatians 5:13)

[Listen to an audio version here]

Booker T. Washington in his book, Up from Slavery describes what it was like for black slaves at the end of the Civil War.

Finally the war closed, and the day of freedom came. It was a momentous and eventful day to all upon our plantation. We had been expecting it. Freedom was in the air, and had been for months. . . . As the great day drew nearer, there was more singing in the slave quarters than usual. It was bolder, had more ring, and lasted later into the night. . . .

The night before the eventful day, word was sent to the slave quarters to the effect that something unusual was going to take place at the “big house” the next morning. There was little, if any, sleep that night. All was excitement and expectancy. . . . The most distinct thing that I now recall in connection with the scene was that some man who seemed to be a stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation, I think. After the reading we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see.

What an amazing scene! The glory of freedom! There is an amazing joy in the releasing of the captives and the slaves to glorious freedom.

And it is just that sort of freedom that the good news about Jesus Christ proclaims to us. We are free. Paul says, “For freedom you have been set free!” “You are called to freedom!” The Apostle Paul says in Gal. 5:13. If you have put your trust in Christ as Savior, then you have been freed! You are free! You should rejoice like the slaves rejoiced to be set free after the Civil War!

The Meaning of Our Freedom
What does it mean that we have freedom? From what does Christ set us free? Consider these seven ways that Christ has freed us.

1. Christ has freed us from guilt. Our sin has incurred guilt before God and feelings of guilt within ourselves. We are rightfully under the curse of the law because of our sin. The glorious news is that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us . . .” (Gal. 3:13). We stand justified and accepted before God’s throne. We no longer need to feel the crushing weight of guilt because of our sin. We are free.

2. Christ has freed us from old habits. The old habits of sin no longer have dominion over us. We may experience the presence of sin, but we don’t have to live under its power. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24).

3. Christ has freed us from anxiety. We may feel anxiety, but we don’t need to let it dominate our lives. Why? Because Christ has given Himself for us, we do not need to be anxious about the future! We can trust that the Christ who gave Himself for us will subdue all things for our good.

4. Christ has freed us from bondage to old wounds. We all have those things that have hurt us, but we don’t have to live in bondage to them. Christ’s assurance of blessing tells us that these wounds do not describe our destiny. In addition, Christ’s power within us frees us to forgive and so release ourselves from the bondage of those who have hurt us.

5. Christ has freed us from the power of bad relationships. Why do we remain held in the bondage of bad relationships? Christ frees us to find what we need in Him. When we do that, we don’t have to bargain our well-being away in bad relationships while eating the scraps of acceptance that people are willing to throw to us. We are freed to love and serve those around us while also maintaining legitimate boundaries.

6. Christ has freed us from idols or wrong centers. When an idol takes over our life, we look for life from it. This causes us to sacrifice everything for the sake of it. For example, work becomes an idol for us, and we sacrifice our family, health, and children to it. Christ frees us from this because He delivers to us the status and security we were looking for in our work and that our work promised but could not deliver.

7. Christ has freed us from the fear of death. Death has lost its sting. It will not win in the end. We know that when we die we will be with Jesus. When He comes again, we will rise to new life. We know that He will take care of those we love. We do not need to cower before death the way our society does. Christ has freed us!

There is literally nothing more important that you can do this year than to take these facts in deeply and learn to rejoice in your freedom. A greater sight of these things will change everything for you.

As I enter into my 7th year here, there are really two things that I want you to see through my ministry here. The first is to have a greater vision to see how great Christ is and how utterly sufficient all that He has is for you. This is the first thing, not what we do but what Christ has done, is doing, and will do for us and in us.

Get that in view! Meditate daily on it. Listen for it in the sermon. Experience it in the sacraments. Pray that the Holy Spirit will enable you to see it. Remind each other of it. Pray for each other that we will be able to see like never before how totally sufficient Christ is for everything we need. Pray that we will see how secure we are, how accepted we are, how empowered we are, how valued we are, how free we are! I can’t say it enough or too often. We have everything we need secure for us in Christ. You are free! You are called to be free, to experience this freedom.

What We Should Do with Our Freedom
The second thing is that when you are filled with joy because by faith you see the wonders of what Christ has for you, use that glorious freedom to work as hard as you can to serve others, do good, and glorify God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of a human being?” It answers, “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Those are the two key things I want to teach. I want you to find your joy and fulfillment in God. Being filled, I want you then to do all that you can to glorify God to the highest degree you possibly can.

Enjoying God and glorifying God are interrelated. Sometimes we need to press forward when we do not feel like it. However, many times what we need to do when we don’t feel like serving is to go back to the root of faith. Ask yourself: Am I experiencing the freedom that I have in Christ through faith? Am I, through fellowship with Him, being empowered to live a new life and enlightened to see the greatness of His power and love for me? It is faith working through love. In order to work through love we need to grow in our faith. When we grow in our faith, we can and will work through love.

If you feel like you have nothing left to give right now, then give attention to yourself. Get the help you need. Tend to your wounds. Get healthy. Get your spirit right. Take a rest. Take a break. Let your heart heal. God does not need our service or His own gifts (which is really what we are giving back to Him). The kingdom will make it on OK without you, and you will come back much better equipped to serve. Make no resolution to do anything except take in God’s goodness until you feel empowered to move forward.

If you feel like you have nothing left to give, then give attention to what you are doing. Do you really need to do all the things that you are doing? Are there things that you are holding onto that you don’t need to? Are there areas you are spending money where you could stop? Are there relationships that have moved on, but you keep holding on to them? And do you need to think so much about all the things that society tells you that you need to think about? I mean, whether you love him or hate him, does Donald Trump really deserve as much of our emotions and head space as we have given him (and no, he’s not going away)? You need to spend lavishly, but you need to spend lavishly on those things most worthy of expenditure!

If you feel like you have nothing to give, work on increasing your faith, but also work on increasing your love: “through love serve one another.” Yes, you can do this. Learn to see the world and people as God sees them. When it comes to believers, we have all trust in Christ and resolved to live for Him. What an amazing thing we have in common! But what about outside the church? The Apostle Paul says, do good until all, especially those of the household of faith. Every person you meet is a human created in the image of God and made for society! The world is full of friends, in spite of its sinfulness. We are made for community! But what if they do us wrong? Then, they harm themselves. If someone is unjust, they are acting contrary to their nature. It’s as if they were breaking their own bones. This deserves our pity as much as our condemnation! We can learn to love because God will teach us how to love, even our enemies, even in our darkest days.

So, you may not feel that you have much to give. Then, give attention to what is going on in your heart and life. Find ways to reconnect with the freedom in the Gospel. However, if you feel the freedom and joy that God gives through the Gospel, then push forward to serve others. Push forward, and push forward hard. Give it all you’ve got. Do all that you can. What should you do with your freedom? “Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

At Thanksgiving, we learned that we should see the blessings that God has given us innumerable ways without ignoring the bad. At Christmas, we learned that there is a joy that transcends all our circumstances. At New Year’s, we hear the good news of a fresh start. A whole year is before us! What are you going to do with it? How are you going to serve this year? Make your resolutions as big as you can and as attainable as you can. Resolve to do something that will equip you to serve better. Resolve to do something that will bless those around you. Resolve that in some significant way or many, you will serve others in love.

When you do, expect opposition. Expect resistance. Benjamin Franklin said: “Mankind are very superficial and dastardly: they begin upon a thing, but, meeting with a difficulty, they fly from it discouraged: but they have capacities, if they would employ them” (cited in Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life, 1081). The Apostle said concerning the Christian life, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9). What is true of the good of the Christian life is true of all good things in this life. There will be opposition to doing them, inside us and outside us. We have to accept that in order to accomplish anything good. Your family or church or class will not applaud your efforts to change things. Practicing an instrument or reading a difficult book will always be hard. Engaging in society involves the clash of political opposition. We’ve got to accept this reality and still move forward. Through love, serve one another, and don’t give up!

Conclusion
So, what are you going to do with a year? Maybe you need to take the whole year off from serving and just get mentally and physically healthy. That’s fine. Your standing with God is not based on how much you serve this year. You are justified in Christ, on the basis of His perfect service, not yours.

But if you’re in good shape or even decent shape, if you feel that you can serve, then whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Use the joy of the freedom of your spirit to serve one another in love! Push forward. Push hard. Don’t take the path of least resistance. Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord. Keep breathing in deep the freedom you have in Christ, and aim for something greater this year out of a great sense of love for Christ and the power of Christ.

Whatever this year brings, let’s aim at something. Let’s try to do something significant. Let’s have no wasted years. Let’s do things that will bring us satisfaction. Let’s do things that will glorify our God and Savior. Let’s do things that will impact our communities. Let’s do things that will bless our church and the broader church. Let’s do it for the love of others and the love of our great Savior who loved us and gave himself for us that He might free us to be a people for Himself, zealous for good works. Amen.

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Lydia (Acts 16:6–15)

[Listen to an audio version here]

What do the world of business and the kingdom of God have to do with one another? Is business a totally secular realm, different from the kingdom of God? If I go into business, how can I see God in the midst of doing the difficult and challenging work of competing in the market?

Business is simply helping people make use of creation. Peter Drucker (surprised to quote him two weeks in a row!) says that business is not about profit. “If we want to know what a business is, we have to start with its purpose. And the purpose must lie outside the business itself.” He goes on to say that there is only one valid purpose of a business: “to create a customer.” In other words, the purpose of business is to get things of value to people who do or would want them.

When God created human beings, he did not want them to sit passively and watch the fruit grow on the trees. He said, “Fill the earth and subdue it!” As humans increased, some method of exchange would have been necessary. Thus, business as described here would have been a necessary part of the creation order. It is not evil, even though people can misuse it just as they do other good things such as eating, religion, sex, and relationships. Obtaining resources and pooling them together is in itself a good thing.

This is how the Apostle Paul wanted people to think of their work and their businesses. He said, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23–24). This means that all honest labor is in itself good. It is work for the Lord. If you are running a chair lift in Gatlinburg, repairing a go cart in Pigeon Forge, or monitoring a water slide in Sevierville, you are doing God’s work. All honest labor is in itself valuable to God. He loves things that bless others and make the world productive for human enjoyment and service.

All that said, there is another reason why business is important. We learn about this from a woman named Lydia. Consider in this text Paul’s mission, Lydia’s conversion, and Lydia’s support.

Paul’s Mission
The Apostle Paul traveled throughout the Mediterranean world to share the good news that Jesus was raised from the dead and exalted to bring forgiveness and new life to the world. He established communities or churches that were committed to seeking the God of Israel through Jesus Christ.

He made several journeys. We read about the first one in Acts 13–14. Luke recounts the second of these journeys beginning with this chapter. Up until this chapter, Paul had traveled through the continent of Asia (not to be confused with the Roman province of Asia). Luke writes:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas (Acts 16:6–8).

As you read in the text, God was moving Paul toward Troas. The map below shows how this move toward Troas moved Paul closer to Europe.

While at Troas, Paul had a vision. “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us'” (Acts 16:9). Immediately after that, Paul crossed the Aegean Sea and wanted over to Macedonia in Europe, concluding that God had called them to preach the gospel there.

Once he set foot on European soil, he made his way along the Roman road to a town called Philippi. Philippi was the central town in the region. It was a Roman colony. This means that it was a town that followed a pattern that was used throughout the Mediterranean world and designed by the Romans. It was populated with former Roman soldiers and consisted of Roman citizens. Like most Roman colonies, it was intensely patriotic toward Rome.

Lydia’s Conversion
There were Jews in this city but not many. Paul’s practice in each city he visited was to go to the synagogue on the Sabbaths and there, as a celebrated Rabbi and teacher. It would be sort of like Tim Keller or John Piper dropping in. If they were willing to speak, we would invite them to preach. Once there, he would proclaim the good news of God’s grace, love, and renewal through Jesus Christ.

However, in Philippi, there must not have been a synagogue. Instead, some Jewish women gathered by a river for prayer. Paul met with them and shared with them the good news about Jesus.

Among these people was a woman who had come to Philippi from Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer “in purple.” It is not surprising that Lydia was from Thyatira. Thyatira was a place in Asia Minor where people had learned the art of dying, that is, coloring cloth, as we learn form Homer and inscriptions from the town.

Purple dye was very expensive and usually found only on the robes of rulers or the rich. Purple dye was generally derived from shellfish. So, it appears that Lydia was a well-to-do business woman.

When Lydia heard the message, she responded to it. We should note how the text explains this,”The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message” (Acts 16:14). Why do people respond to the message of Christ? It is because the Lord opens their hearts. It is a work of divine grace. It is a gift. So, when we go out and tell people about Jesus, we should not think it is all up to us. It is God’s work to open the hearts of people. We give the message; God opens the heart. And so, Lydia became one of the first, if not the first convert to Christianity in Europe.

Note that Lydia believed, and the members of her household were baptized. Baptism is an outward sign of our commitment to Jesus. It is also God’s assurance that He forgives us and accepts us as His sons and daughters. Here is an instance where the household was baptized. You will find this sort of “household” language in the book of Acts. I believe that it points back to the Old Testament pattern of whole houses being devoted to the Lord. It is one reason why we practice the baptism of infants of young children. Just as in the Old Testament, whole households, including infants, received circumcision, which Paul calls the seal of the righteousness of faith, so God wants baptism, which is the new seal of the righteousness of faith, to be given to the children of believers.

Lydia’s Support
At any rate, Lydia responded immediately with a desire to bless others in the same way that she had been blessed by turning to Christ. She said to Paul, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord . . . come and stay at my house” (Acts 16:15). In that way, she gave support to the Apostle Paul and to the work of the Gospel.

There is an interesting follow up to this point in the book of Philippians. Philippians is a letter that Paul wrote to this very group some time later. He wrote a letter to the church in Philippi that included Lydia and the Philippian jailer.

In that letter, Paul says that they had sent him a gift to support him. “I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it” (Phil. 4:10). This church had already been a constant source of support to Paul:

Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need (Phil. 4:15–16).

It’s not hard to believe that Lydia’s generous spirit and resources were behind the generosity of this church.

There is an important qualification that Paul makes in that passage that I think is important for us. He was not concerned so much about the money, which he knew God could supply. What He was interested in was them getting involved in God’s kingdom. “Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account . . . They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Phil. 4:17b–18a). He wanted them to use their resources to partner with God in the work of restoring the world to wholeness.

And that’s what you can do, too. You may not feel that you can speak or refute people who oppose Christ. You may not be able to Pastor, and not everyone is called to that. But you can give. You can partner with God by giving your resources to support the work of the church in the world.

I believe God will supply the needs of Evergreen Church and our new building, but I don’t want you to miss the opportunity to be involved in what God is doing. So, I urge you to give. Many of you do, and I thank you for that. It is a great blessing to see how many “giving units” we have and the generosity of their gifts. Let me encourage you to do so more and more. Let me encourage you who are not giving to partner with God by starting to give.

Let me give you some wisdom in how to do it. One principle of money (as it is of time): you either tell money where to go, or it will tell you where to go. You have to be deliberate. One principle I’ve heard commonly is: “Pay yourself first.” This means, save for the long-term first. Put it away where you can’t get it. I add to this: “Pay God first.” Give to Him a portion of what He’s given you. If you don’t have actual cash, you can give online by going to the main page of this web site.

This is how God wants you to get involved. Choose an amount or a percentage to given, even if it’s $20 or 1%, and start giving. Get involved with what God is doing like Lydia did. That’s how you can serve the Lord. We need people who will work, make money, and give to the Lord’s service. This is one major way that God provides for the work of His kingdom, and He wants to enlist you as part of that.

God is doing a work to bring restoration and redemption to the world, and he’s partnering with people like Lydia to bring that about. That’s what he did with Lydia, and that’s what He will do with you.

If you haven’t given before, it may seem scary. You may not think you can do it. I have found over and over again that you can’t out-give God. He always pays it back. And never forget that it is ultimately God who provides for you. Remember these beautiful statements from the Scriptures: “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:10–11). “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever” (Phil. 4:19–20). Amen.

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Photo by Sean Pollock on Unsplash

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Sermons

How We Grow (1 Thessalonians 2:1-13)

[Listen to an audio version here]

If you are going to be successful at anything, you need two things. You need the right messages, and you need the right messengers. You need principles, and you need people. You also need practice, but I want to focus on the first two based on our text.

Now, these are not categories that are specific to our salvation. This is true in a variety of areas of life. Think of learning to play football. You need the right messages that tell you the rules, the plays, and the skills. However, you need the right messenger. You need a coach to teach you and remind you of the messages. If you are to improve in any area, you need clear messages and good messengers.

When God recreates us into His image, the way He grows us is no different. He uses messages to change us, and He uses messengers to communicate those messages. The point here is rather simple. If we want to grow, even in the midst of our suffering, we need the right messages and the right messengers. Those are the two points of this sermon.

The Right Message
The words we hear, and the messages we receive shape our hearts and lives. The stories we tell ourselves are the foundation of our character. Messages like “the future is bleak,” “you will never amount to anything,” “no one will like you,” “you are strange,” or “you shouldn’t have to suffer,” shape our character and our mindset.

If we want to change our character, then we will need different messages. Every attempt to grow a human being from the beginning of the world to today is fundamentally about new messages.

The Thessalonian Christians had received a new message, the good news about Jesus Christ and the restoration of human beings in Him. This was the Gospel.

In our passage it is called the Word of God. The reason it is called the Word of God is because it is exactly what God wants to communicate to us. Some people wonder how the Word of God can be written by humans. Here is the answer: “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21).

So, the message was not a message from any mere human. It was a message from God Himself. “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13). They accepted an entirely different message from God about their lives.

Now notice something here. He thanks God that they received this word. Why? Because it is the Holy Spirit who works faith in our hearts. No one will believe except by the power of the Holy Spirit. The joy with which we receive the message is a gift of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we confessed together in the The Heidelberg Catechism:

Q. It is through faith alone that we share in Christ and all his benefits: where then does that faith come from? A. The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it by the use of the holy sacraments.

It’s important to see, though, that in the first movement of faith, we are wholly passive; in the continuing work of faith, we are active. We must exercise faith. When we exercise faith in the Word, then the Word is at work. The message from God works into our lives as we exercise faith in it. It is “indeed at work in you who believe,” as Paul says.

How does this happen? Well, first we need to know the message. However, it’s not enough to have heard it once and let it pass through our ears. We need to meditate on it in our hearts. What does that look like?

Consider: what if our parents don’t seem to approve of us? What if they abandoned us at an early age? What if our spouse is displeased with us? What if our children don’t like us? It can make us think that we are worthless. The message of God’s Word says something different, you are accepted, valued, and loved by God.

To make this message, the message of the love of God, the dominant factor that shapes our lives, we have to listen to it constantly and accept it into our hearts. We have to apply it to our lives and our thoughts. This is what it means for the word to be at work in us.

Let me add one more thing here. You need to have some time set aside to do this. If you want to hear from God, you have to make time for Him. This requires a habit and a regular time. It will not happen by accident. I encourage you to set aside a specific time each day in which you can hear the Lord: at morning, at lunch, at a break, or before you go to bed. Anything that is really good in this life comes through consistent work. A transformative relationship with the Lord is no different.

But God does not leave us merely with His message. He also brings messengers into our lives. He brings us into a community of friends.

The Right Messengers
A few years ago, on one particular month, I was preaching on relationships in the life of Jesus. One of my sermons was, “Relationships Are Hard,” based on some of Jesus’ difficult experiences with relationships.

One Sunday after that sermon, I was struggling with a relationship myself. I came into the River Plantation Conference Center where we meet, and one person there could tell that things weren’t right. He asked me how I was doing, I told him, “I had some negative interactions with some people, and I’m struggling with that, to be honest.”

He looked at me and said with compassion, “Relationships are hard.” Hearing the words that I had preached from someone else enabled me to hear them in a way that I would not have been able to otherwise. This messenger brought a message that put things back into perspective, and the light began to dawn for me.

We often underestimate the importance of the messengers. But if you think about it, what is it that people struggle with more than anything? It’s not just bad messages. The bad messages get their force from the messengers. Maybe it was a friend who turned on you. Maybe it was a parent who was always critical. Maybe it was a child who wants nothing to do with you. These messengers have a powerful force in our lives.

If your life has been dominated by the wrong messages from a messenger like this, then you will need new messengers who will deliver a more helpful message. You will also need to gain awareness of the messages you learned and re-think the truth of those messages for yourself. You will need new messages.

For the Thessalonians, that community began with the messengers who brought the message from God, Paul and Silas. Paul also wrote this letter. He was the messenger of God’s message to the Thessalonian believers.

Paul sums up what his relationship with them was like in this letter. He told the Thessalonians that he was, “encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:12).

The design of the church is to be a messenger communicating the Word of God in practical ways to people. When people are down, they encourage them. When they are struggling, they comfort them. When they forget the promises of God, they remind them. When they become sluggish, they urge them forward. This is the work of the church.

It is interesting to note that the Apostle Paul describes himself as acting like the entire family. He was like a child in his transparency. He was like a mother who nurtured them. He was like a father who encouraged and challenged them. All these metaphors give us fruit for meditation. We can take different roles in our relationships at different times, according to the need.

The heart of it is this. You need people who comfort you, but you also need people who challenge you. If you go to people who simply affirm you, then they are not the messengers you need. You need people who will challenge you. If you go to people who simply point out what you are doing wrong or could do better, then you will you will get wrongly discouraged. You need encouragement and comfort as well as the challenge to live lives worthy of the kingdom of God.

The importance of messengers applies to us in two different directions. The first is that we need good messengers in our lives. We need people who will care for us, encourage us, and challenge us.

To get people into our live like this, we often need to take the initiative, especially in our modern world. To get people in our lives like this also takes time. Just like meditating on the message, it takes an investment. Relationships are not built overnight.

The second direction we need to take the importance of messengers is based on what the Apostle Paul says throughout this letter. The Apostle Paul had to leave this congregation. This did not mean that they were without the resources of good messengers. They would have to be this for each other. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thess. 5:11).

We need to be encouraged, but we need to move out in encouragement toward others. Now as I look at our church, I can say, just as the Apostle Paul said, you are in fact doing this. You are speaking into people’s lives. You are messengers. You just need to be more aware and do so more and more.

Conclusion
So, my friends, there is growth in suffering, big and small suffering. The Word of God, the message of God, supplies a foundation for joy that transcends our suffering. It is a foundation on which we can build our lives. The Holy Spirit produces joy through His Word that enables us to continue moving forward. It can give us a faith that makes us able to stand in trials and not be unsettled by them.

And so we will grow. We will move forward, but we will do it not alone but together. God uses a group of friends to enable us to grow. It is God’s messengers delivering His wonderful messages that enables us to grow and remain ever green in the changing seasons of life.

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Photo by Kev Costello on Unsplash