Hey, good morning everyone. I was just thinking back when I was preparing for this, the last time I preached was middle of May and I had the option then to choose what I was going to preach on. And for those of you that were here this morning, if you remember that morning, and if you don't, I chose to preach on a snapshot from the life of John the Baptist. And in that snapshot, it was taken from John chapter 3, and it's probably one of John the Baptist's, probably one of his most famous quotes and most used, heavily used quotes, where what's going on there is all of John's disciples, all the followers of John are leaving him for Jesus, like we talked about a couple months ago, if you remember that. So all of his followers, they're leaving John, and John's disciples come to John. They're kind of flustered, they're worried, they're wondering what's going on. John, all the followers are leaving you for Jesus. And John very resolutely responds to his disciples. He says, Jesus must increase, but I must decrease. Remember that? It's a very famous quote of John. So about a month ago, Dave and Matthew and I were going through the preaching schedule, and Matthew, knowing that he's going to be gone, we're looking through the gospel series of Luke that we're in. He looked at this Sunday, my Sunday, and here we are in Luke 7:18, and it just so happens to be the next section of John the Baptist. So I get John the Baptist two times providentially, right? That's how it is. So I thought that was pretty interesting.
So let's pray and then let's dig into— we're gonna go pick up where we left off in Luke 7:18. Let's pray. Let's ask, let's ask God to help us. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would come now. We ask that you would come and open up our eyes to the truth. Holy Spirit, God, we confess our weakness before you. God, we confess our distractions. God, we confess all the other things that we prone to think about, all the other places that our minds are prone to wander right now. God, we pray that your Holy Spirit would very clearly and resolutely bring us to the truth of who Jesus is this morning. Enlarge in our hearts, give us a greater revelation of his love for us. God, that you would be glorified and honored, in Jesus' name. Amen.
So let's read Luke 7:18 together. If you want to turn there, it should be— got it on the screen too. So Luke 7:18, it says this, it says, the disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord saying, are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? And when the men had come to him, when the men came to Jesus, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you saying, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? In that hour, he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind, he bestowed sight. And he answered them. He answers John's disciples. Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
So we want to look at the context of what's going on. If you've been here the last couple weeks, um, you'll You've kind of been following what's going on. But here we see Jesus in the context of what Luke is writing. We see Jesus, he's starting to gain notoriety. His ministry is starting to gain fame. His name is starting to be spread. His miracles are starting to be spread across the land. And we see this very clearly from the previous sections. We see Jesus, he's preaching to the multitudes on the Sermon on the Plain. And then we have in Luke 7, just previous to this, we have two pretty spectacular spectacular miracles. First we have the healing of the centurion's servant, and then we have the raising of the widow's son from the dead, right?
And we can see from just a few verses previous, if we go back to Luke 7:17, it says this report— this report about what? It's the report about Jesus raising a dead man back to life. This report about Jesus spread through the whole of Judea and the surrounding country.
So the author of this gospel, Luke, what he's doing here very intentionally is he's setting us up for a contrast. You know, he's not just riding along to Theophilus and thinking, hmm, let's write, you know, let's, let's say some things about Jesus and tell about his miracles and Let's switch to John the Baptist now. Let's kind of like insert a little scene about John the Baptist. That's not what he's doing here. We have Jesus on one hand. His kingdom is being proclaimed. His fame is spreading. And in very tangible ways, the people are seeing what the kingdom of God on earth looks like. And what does it look like? We can see through Jesus's ministry, the gospel is being preached. Demons are being cast out. Diseases are being cured, the dead are being raised. Everywhere Jesus goes, there's a story of redemption happening. There's a newness of life. And just like we read to our kids, it's from the Jesus Storybook Bible. I love how they— how, how she puts it in there when she's writing. She says wherever Jesus went, he was making all the bad things become undone. It was very apparent in what Jesus was doing. And then Luke, what he does is he flips the— he flips the scene here. He flips the switch. We get to verse 18. We see this momentum building with Jesus. And then we get to verse 18 and Luke very intentionally, he throws in this contrasting narrative about John the Baptist.
6 · Vivid analogy comparing Luke's narrative technique to a driver accelerating and then abruptly shifting focus, making the literary structure emotionally and imaginatively accessible to the listener
So we can really kind of see and feel what Luke is doing here. It's like— it's almost like Luke, he's stepping on the gas and he's building momentum about the testimony and the growing ministry of Jesus, and things are building and building and building. He's telling about all these great things that Jesus is doing, and then boom, we get to Luke 7:18, where we are today, and our attention is focused on John the Baptist.
7 · Explains the historical and political background of John's imprisonment: his prophetic confrontation of Herod's adultery with Herodias, and the political retaliation that followed
And what's going on with John the Baptist is things are a lot different for him than Jesus. What he's experiencing from a human perspective, John's experience isn't as compelling or as joyful or as encouraging for John the Baptist? Since John had baptized Jesus, John's preaching had landed him in prison. It's far from what Jesus is doing, right? And the reason John landed in prison, we'll see later on, and we see from the other Gospels, is the Roman tetrarch, the Roman governor at the time, Herod, He had a brother named Philip, and Herod takes his brother's wife. Her name's Herodias, which I think is kind of funny. It's like Herod and Herodias. I don't know if he liked her for her name, but I don't know, it's Herod and Herodias. So John, he's preaching, he's teaching the people, and he calls him out. He calls the couple out for adultery. He says, what is happening here is wrong. And he also calls them out on a number of other injustices. Herod and Herodias, being the good dictators that they are— there's no freedom of speech, nothing like that back in this day— they take John, and what do they do? They don't want their names being slandered. They don't want their names being looked down upon in the region. So they take John and they throw him in prison. He's under Roman guard. John doesn't necessarily know his fate yet, but that's where he's sitting at this moment. In prison under Roman guard.
8 · Bridges from historical exposition to contemporary application by naming the sermon's controlling question: how do we respond to Christ when circumstances don't match expectations? This is the hinge statement introducing the sermon's applicatory thrust
So we see the gospel is powerfully advancing and the kingdom of God is tangibly being made known and manifested through Jesus' ministry. And what's John doing when this news reaches him? He's sitting in prison. So what I really want to focus on this morning, the main overarching theme I'd like to look at this morning, is our response to Christ when things don't go according to our expectations. When we're praying for something, when we're looking to the promises of God for something, and they don't pan out how we think they should.
9 · Unpacks John's shocking response of doubt despite his prior witness, highlighting the jarring contrast between his previous declarations (Lamb of God, Son of God) and his current question from prison
I'd like for us to look at John's response, and in looking at John's response, what I really hope and pray, what I've been praying, is that it exposes our hearts to what we're prone to when life is difficult, when we're walking through trials, when we're trying to follow Christ and everything around us seems to be caving in, when we've been praying and praying and praying for a certain situation. And you know what? It doesn't turn out how we think it should. We've been praying for someone. We've been praying for, for a coworker. We've been praying for one of our kids, and we just see them running from God, like, God, what is going on? It's in those moments where our hearts are exposed. What do we see in those trials? What type of response comes out of our hearts in the midst of those sufferings, in the midst of those questions? I want to look at John because I think in looking at John, it's helpful to see We're a lot like him. We're a lot like the way he responds. So let's look at John's response. Verse 18, it tells us this. Going back, it says the disciples of John reported all these things to him. So we know from Matthew's Gospel that John is in prison when his disciples come to him and tell us what John is doing, right? So we just established that. So John's disciples come to, come to John. He's in He's in prison under Roman guard and they come to him. They say, hey, you know what? Jesus, his name started to be spread. He's casting out demons. He's healing people. He's raising people from the dead, preaching and teaching. It's astounding. The people, people are amazed. Great things are happening. This Jesus that you've been telling us about, this Jesus that you've been teaching us about, he's being made known. And what's John's response to his disciples? Is he excited? Is he encouraged? Is there a sense of peace and joy? Are spirits lifted as he's sitting there in that prison? Does he say, man, this is great? Yes, the power of God is advancing powerfully. And Jesus? Yes. Remember Jesus, that guy I baptized? Remember Jesus, the one who I said he must increase, but I must decrease? His name's being made great. Praise God, the fulfillment, the Messiah, he's come. That's not his response, is it? It's really just the opposite of what we'd expect. Verse 19 reveals to us John's response, and more importantly, it really responds. It really reveals to us where, where John's heart is at. Verse 18 says this, and John, calling two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord saying, now here's how he responds to his disciples. He says, go to Jesus and ask him, are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? Here you're reading this and you're like, what? What's going on? John's response is really kind of shocking, isn't it? It's not what you'd expect from a guy with a history that he had with Jesus, or a guy who has a resume like he did, who bore witness about Jesus. And now remember, and I want to go back here, I want us to go back and remember what John has already witnessed and proclaimed about Jesus in just the last couple of years. John 1:29 says this. John says this about Jesus. John says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. That's what John said about Jesus. John 1:34, John goes on to proclaim about Jesus, I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God.
10 · Provides detailed exegesis of Matthew 3:13-17 (John's baptism of Jesus), emphasizing the extraordinary nature of John's experience: the opened heavens, the audible voice of God, the visible descent of the Spirit
And then all four of the Gospels give us testimony to John himself baptizing Jesus. And I want to look at that a little more clearly too, because this would be a very compelling account. This would be a very compelling witness for John, that he was the one who baptized Jesus. So let's take a closer look at that account when John baptized Jesus and listen closely to this and remember that this is the same John the Baptist who's questioning now who Jesus is. Matthew 3:13 says this: Then John came from Galilee or I'm sorry, then Jesus. John is there. It says, then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he, then John, consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he, Jesus, went up out of the water. And behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased.
11 · Emphasizes the singularity and weight of John's Trinitarian experience through pastoral wonder and rhetorical questioning, heightening the congregation's sense of how extraordinary John's witness was and how shocking his doubt therefore appears
I really want us to stop and think about the reality of this. All right. What John had witnessed here, because here's John the Baptist. He's one of the few humans in recorded history who was able to physically experience three parts of the Trinity. Right. And really all in one encounter. It's not like, you know, he heard the voice of God and saw Jesus and the Holy Spirit at these different times. He physically experienced the Trinity in one encounter. You know, he had Jesus there in front of him. He baptized him. He hears the voice of God. And what the Gospel of Mark It describes a situation where it says the heavens were torn open and the voice of God audibly, the people hear it saying, this is my beloved Son whom I've well pleased. And then the Holy Spirit descends like a dove. I'm not sure about you, but you know, sometimes I think, you know, we kind of talk about it and kids will ask a lot of times, we'll kind of say like, man, what would it be like to hear the visible— or I'm sorry, hear the visible, see visibly God. But what would it be like to audibly hear God? Or what would it have been like to actually walk with Jesus? But man, to have both of those things happen at the same time and then throw in the Holy Spirit, right? That's pretty compelling. It's almost beyond comprehension, right? But that's exactly what John the Baptist was able to experience. That's exactly the testimony he gave.
12 · Applies John's doubting response directly to the congregation, naming specific contemporary scenarios (unanswered prayer, wayward children, obedience without blessing) and surfacing the questions believers actually ask when trials come
And now in prison, what does John do? He sends his disciples to go to Jesus and ask, are you really the one we've been waiting for, or should we be expecting someone else? You know, I'm reading this and studying it. I'm almost just like, man, John the Baptist, is this like a different guy in prison? Like, he just got done saying all these things. He heard all these things. He witnessed all these things. He testified these things. He proclaimed all these things. And now he's sending his disciples to say, are you really the one, Jesus? It's like, come on, who is this guy? What's going on with him? But really, when we stop and look at this, it sounds a lot like us, doesn't it? Like John, when circumstances don't go according to our expectations, what are our hearts prone to? Where do our hearts drift? Because, you know, we can look at John and we can make an example out of him, and, you know, I can hold up evidence to seemingly foolish questions, but we're often prone to the same doubts, and we often respond in in the same ways that John does. It's almost like we start this little questioning against God. We start this little offense in our heart against God. We start questioning Jesus and what he's about. We say, Jesus, are you really good? Jesus, what's really going on here? Jesus, I've been doing everything you've called me to do. You know, I'm not in this overt sin. You know, I've been doing— I've tried to be obedient. And now things aren't looking good. I've prayed and prayed and prayed. I've been doing what you've called me to do and now this happens? I've been praying for this person and now they're just running from you? Jesus, what is going on? Are you really good? Are you really gracious? Are you really sovereign? Like John, we can have these great experiences and revelations of who Jesus is, But when the storm hits, our hearts are prone to wavering. And friends, if it happened to John the Baptist, I can tell you it's going to happen to us. Our hearts are prone to the same responses.
13 · Pivots from problem diagnosis to solution by posing the pastoral question ('Where do we go?') and directing attention back to the text for answers
So what do we do? What do we do when we look around and things aren't looking good from a human perspective, when God doesn't appear to be acting moving according to our timing or our expectations, when those moments of life hit and we just sit back and we wonder, we talk with a friend and we're just like, I just don't know what God's doing. Like, this is just discouraging. What's going on? Where do we go? Where do we run to? Thank God we have his word. Let's look at the text for help. Let's look at John the Baptist specifically and let's see, let's see where to go.
14 · Establishes the first major theological claim derived from the text: fellowship is a divine gift for sustaining faith through trials
So first, the very first thing is when we look at this text, we see that we have been given the gift of fellowship. John had friends that were willing to walk with him in the trials. John had friends that were willing to walk with him in the valleys. You know, it's really interesting to note when I'm reading through and studying this that John's disciples they don't go back to him. They don't get angry with him. They don't take off. You know, when John is saying, hey, will you go to Jesus, this guy that I've been teaching you about, this guy I've been pointing to you the whole time? John's disciples don't go back. And they could have very easily thought, you know what, John, we spent all this time with you. You're the worst leader ever. Like, seriously, you're a joke. Like, I don't even want to be around you. You hurt me. Like, I gave up a lot for you. What's going on? Now you're wanting us to go to this guy that we've left, left things for, we counted the cost for, and now you're telling, telling us to go to him and ask, is he really the one? Like, come on, what a horrible leader you are. I'm out of here. I'm gone. Thank God that's not how they respond, right? That's not where they go. Where do John's disciples go? They walk with John even when he's flaking out in the midst of his doubts and trials. Where do they go? John's disciples go to Christ on Jesus's behalf. Isn't that good news? They go to Christ on his behalf. Man, that's what I want for me. That's what I want for our church, that we would be people who go to Christ on one another's behalf. And that's exactly why the author of Hebrews, Hebrews 3, he says he commands us to gather together regularly. He says get together regularly. Why? Because our hearts are prone to deception. Our hearts are prone to wandering. Our hearts are prone to doubts and questions. But the good news is God gave us the church. God gave us one another as a means of his love and his care. God gave us one another to point each other to him, to remind us of his love and goodness, goodness towards us. God gave us one another to walk alongside. So in the times of rejoicing, we rejoice with one another. In the times of suffering, we cry with one another. We go to Christ on each other's behalf, just in the boring and mundane of life. We walk together, we do life with one another, we come alongside each other, we put our arms around one another, and we pray for one another.
15 · Applies the fellowship principle concretely to the church's structures (care groups, prayer gatherings) and daily practices (hospitality, meals, playdates)
Friends, are you intentionally putting yourself in the context of these types of relationships? You know, this is why we gather for care groups. This isn't a commercial for care groups. I'm really excited to start up again here in a couple weeks. I've missed our time in the summer. This is why we gather. This is one of the reasons we pray, gather to pray for one another. This is why we invite each other into our homes, into our lives, whatever that looks like. I personally like to gather around food, but you can do it how you want. If it's playdates or coffee or whatever. Coffee is good too. But that's why we gather together to point each other to Christ, to know how I can be praying for my brothers and sisters so I can know how to be praying for you, so that when you're wrestling, when I'm wrestling, we can go to Christ on one another's behalf. We can point each other to Christ.
16 · Personal testimony about recent congregational gatherings (Pat and Lisa's email, Ferris's Middle East ministry, Gillies' home, prayer with Paul and Vera) demonstrating concretely how fellowship functions as gift
You know, just a couple of weeks ago, we received as a church an email from Pat and Lisa, and the subject line of the email was The Gift of Fellowship. The Gift of Fellowship. And I read that and I was a little struck by it. And then I opened up the email and I was like, oh, it's all the gatherings with Ferris and what he's doing in the Middle East. And I thought about that more, the subject line, The Gift of Fellowship. And I was like, you know what? That's true. As if they would say something that's lying. But it really, it struck me. I was like, that's true. We have been given, when we gather together, it's a gift to be able to gather. Even like Dave was mentioning this morning, when we got to gather these last couple of weeks, I had the privilege of going last Wednesday of gathering in the Gillies' home and hearing these testimonies of what God's doing. In Pakistan and the trials and how God's encouraging them. You know what? That was a gift to be able to gather. That stirred me up. That encouraged me. That pointed me to Christ. I know others were stirred there that morning. That caused me to have conversation with my wife about, man, what are we doing? It challenged me. It provoked me. I had the opportunity to gather with Paul and Vera to pray. We have our corporate prayer gatherings, and I was encouraged when I left that meeting. Paul and Vered, they spurred me on. There was nothing great or spectacular that was said. It was just gospel truths. It was a gift. It was a gift to be able to gather. We've been given the gift of fellowship.
17 · Establishes the second major theological claim: believers are called to proclaim the gospel to one another
Second, we're called to be proclaimers of the gospel. So check out the interaction between Jesus and John's disciples. So John's disciples, they get to Jesus, right? John sends the disciples with the questions. John's disciples get to Jesus with the questions, and immediately what happens? It says John's disciples get to where Jesus is, and in that hour Jesus healed many people of diseases. This is in verse 21. It says, in that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And then Jesus turns to this, to the disciples, and his very next words that come out of his mouth— he turns to John's disciples and he says this, he says, go and tell, go and tell. He says, go and tell John what you have just seen and heard. Go and tell John what you've just experienced. Encourage him, point him to the truth. Tell John what I'm doing. Go to John and tell him, yes, the gospel is being proclaimed and I am the one you are expecting. Go and tell John what you've just seen and heard. John— Jesus calls John's disciples to proclaim, to tell John to turn his attention, to turn his gaze to the truth of who Jesus is. And friends, we're called to do the same with one another. The most loving and caring thing we can do for each other, the most loving and caring thing we can do for one another, is to proclaim the gospel to one another. Is to point each other to Christ, is to help each other take the gaze of our hearts off of the things that consume us and our fears and our doubts and wear us down and to refix our eyes on Christ. That's the greatest, most loving thing that you can do for me, and that's the most grating and loving thing that I can do for you and we can do for one another. It's to refocus our eyes eyes on Christ, to fix our eyes on Christ. And you know what? This doesn't need to be complex. It doesn't need to be eloquent when we have these interactions with one another, when someone's wrestling with something. It doesn't need to be all put together in this nice package. We don't have to have a psychology degree or an MDiv or a doctorate in theology. You know, I've been meditating on 1 Corinthians I'm one. And Paul, he's talking to the church in Corinth and he says, you know what, I came to you guys not with eloquent words of wisdom, lest the cross be stripped of its power. It's like, I just came to you guys in fear and trembling. I wanted the gospel to be made known. Friends, we don't— that's all we do when we come together. It doesn't have to be this complex, man, what should I say? What should I do? We just preach Christ to one another. We point each other to Christ.
18 · Articulates the specific gospel content believers are to proclaim to one another: Christ's rescue of rebels, payment for sin, granting of sight/hearing/life
So over and over again, as we walk together through the seasons of life, the suffering, the rejoicing, we're called to proclaim to each other and remind one another that Christ is the one who's rescued us. In Christ we have hope that our greatest need, our sin, it's been paid for. Our greatest need has been met, that Christ has pursued us, that we who were rebels, that we who willingly and intentionally ran from Christ, that we who reveled in our sin, that he took that sin upon himself by the shedding of his blood for us on the cross, that he met our greatest need, that we who were blind, we've received sight, that we who were deaf to the gospel, our ears have been made open, that we who were dead We've been given eternal life through Christ. And you guys, this is good news. That's the good news. It's not something that can ever be taken away from us, no matter what the circumstance. This is the only real hope that we can point one another to. And that's why we're called to gather and proclaim and remind each other of that Christ is our only hope. In Him we find joy and satisfaction.
19 · Introduces the third and final major claim of the sermon, pivoting from human responsibility (fellowship, proclamation) to divine sovereignty
And third, and the last point I want to draw from this narrative this morning, is that we see God sovereignly holding us in our salvation. God is sovereignly holding us in our salvation.
20 · Expounds Luke 7:28 (looking ahead to next week's text) to demonstrate Jesus's surprising affirmation of John immediately after his doubting question
I think it's important to note too, this gets a little passed this section of the text today, but it's important to note that after Jesus's encounter with John's disciples are over, so when the disciples leave, and I want to make note of this, I'm gonna try not to get into Dave's preaching next week. This is the section he has, but, but in reference to our text today, after John's disciples leave, Jesus, he turns to the crowd and he makes reference to to John the Baptist. But how does Jesus refer to John the Baptist? Does he say, does he turn to the crowds, you know, after John's disciples leave and he just said, you know, I'm sorry, you guys, I know you guys have heard about John the Baptist and all the great things he did. Man, I don't know what's going on with him. He's just kind of flaking out. He's full of fear and doubt. You know, just, I don't know, just don't pay attention to him right now. You know, he's a poor example. Or, you know what, John, He's just acting kind of foolishly right now. Look at the centurion as a measure of faith. John, he's down here. The centurion, he was full of faith. John, he's completely lacking in faith. That's not how Jesus responds, right? Jesus says to the crowds in verse 28, and listen closely, here's what Jesus says about John. I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Jesus says about John, he turns to the crowd after this, after this interaction with his disciples, he turns to the crowd and he says, I tell you the truth, among those born of women, none is greater than John. And I read that and I'm like, what? Jesus, like, did you just hear what his disciples came asking him? Do you hear what's going on in John's heart? And now you go back and say he's greater than any, greater than any among born of women. That's an amazing statement, isn't it? Jesus isn't shaken. By John's doubt. Jesus doesn't question John's salvation or standing because of John's fear and doubts.
21 · Articulates the third major theological claim: God's sovereign preservation of believers
And what this shows us this morning, what this magnifies, is God's great mercy and grace. That God is sovereignly drawing us to himself, that God is sovereignly holding us, and God is securing us till the end. And that's good news for us, isn't it? When we look at these truths, I hope and I pray, as I was going through this, I was just praying for myself and for us together, that the Holy Spirit in us, that it stirs a deeper sense of gratitude and affection for what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross. Just like the songs we sang this morning, that it is finished. What else do we need? Our justification and standing before Christ, before God, it doesn't ride on our circumstances or emotions or how we're feeling at a given moment. Rather, Christ is interceding for us. We are sovereignly kept safe because of what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross, because of His great mercy. And His grace that He pours out to us.
22 · Grounds the doctrine of perseverance in Romans 8:33-39, reading Paul's catalog of potential separations and explicitly applying it to John the Baptist and the congregation
The Apostle Paul, he echoes and he very clearly points us to these truths, to Jesus' response to John in Romans. Romans 8:33 says this, Romans 8:33, Paul echoes these same truths. He says, who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, and more than that, who was raised. Who is at the right hand of God? Who indeed is interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? John the Baptist? Who's going to separate him from the love of Christ? Believers at Providence? Who's going to separate you from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or stress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, or we could add in ourselves, the way we feel. As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I'm sure that neither life neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And that's good news, isn't it? That's very good news.
23 · Personal testimony about prayer with Paul and Vera leads into historical narrative of John's beheading
You know, just again, last Wednesday when I had the privilege of praying with Paul and Vera, we're just talking about how We're praying, we're just talking about how fragile we are, how fragile our faith is, how prone we are, how we can't do anything by ourselves. And here we have Christ interceding for us. And that's good news. It's good news when we look at the end of the story for John the Baptist, isn't it? Because again, according to human perspective, We might say that things didn't end so well for John. He ends up getting his head chopped off at the whim of, or I should say, the request of Herodias and her daughter. You know, that's probably not what John was praying for. That's probably not how he expected his life and his ministry to end. You know, he probably thought, you know, Jesus the Messiah, he's going to come, he's going to redeem Israel. He probably had a little different picture of how things were gonna end.
24 · Applies the theme of suffering to the contemporary church, moving from Ferris's extreme situation (bomb threat) to the more subtle but real cultural tensions facing Western believers
For us, things are gonna be very similar. Like John, as we proclaim the gospel and live according to the standards of God's kingdom rather than the standards of the kingdom of this earth, just like Dave was saying before in our communion message, you know, how might things look for us? From a human perspective. Jesus didn't sugarcoat things. Jesus told us the truth. Things are going to be difficult. There will be trials. You know, we think and we can see these really magnified in Ferris's life. You know what we're talking about, where he can just go to work and any day get blown up by a bomb. I mean, that's reality for him. Like, that's kind of what he's expecting, that that could happen. Reality at any time. And, you know, obviously I'm not trying to dramatize this, and I'm far from an alarmist, but, you know, even the last couple of years we've started to feel that a little more. We start to feel the tension. It's getting a little more real and tangible for us who want to live to honor Christ. And I'm not sure that things are going to get any more comfortable or convenient in the way we proclaim proclaim the gospel with our lives. In fact, I think things are going to be— there's going to be a lot more situations, more and more situations where proclaiming the gospel is going to come at a greater and greater cost. Things will be more uncomfortable. Things are going to turn out probably further than what we expected.
25 · Broadens the application from external persecution to ordinary trials (rebellious children, unanswered prayer), maintaining the rhetorical pattern of exposure questions ('Where are we going to turn? Where do we go?') to set up the answer
But the beauty of that in those situations, like John the Baptist, those situations, they're going to expose our hearts. They're going to expose our fears. They're going to expose our doubts. They're going to expose our unbelief. And where are we going to turn during those times? How are we going to encourage one another in those fiery trials? Where are we going to run? What are we going to cling to? And it doesn't even need to be external persecution. Again, it could just be something where, you know what, I'm praying for my teenager, I'm praying for my child, man, they're rebelling, this is hard, I don't understand, I don't understand why I pray for this and I don't see the fruit of it, what's going on? Where do we go for hope and encouragement? Where do we go when discouragement is exposed in our hearts?
26 · Closes by answering the exposure questions with the gospel itself, quoting Jesus's own answer to John from Luke 7:22 and applying those messianic signs to believers' spiritual condition
The truth. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the good news preached to them. That's the gospel. We turn to and we point each other to Christ, the one who opened up our ears. We turn to and we point each other to the one who gave us The one who gave us sight to see, the one who raised us up and made us alive with Him because He is our only hope. He's interceding for us at the right hand of God. That's our hope. That's where we go.
27 · Closing prayer confessing human weakness and fragility, then moving to thanksgiving for the cross, Christ's holding of believers, and God's sovereignty
Let's pray. Oh Lord God, God, again this morning we confess our weakness before you. God, we confess before you just how fragile our faith is. God, we confess how easily we're shaken. God, how easily the fear and the doubt are exposed in our hearts. God, often there are things that we look at our own lives and we're ashamed of. Of that. God, we thank you for the cross. God, we thank you for giving us your Son Jesus. We thank you, we thank you for holding us. We thank you for your sovereignty. God, we thank you that you know us. We thank you that you know the beginning from the end. God, I pray that you would help us to be a church, that you would help us to be a people that sees you clearly. God, that preaches the gospel to one another, that runs to you, that looks to you as our only hope. So God, remind us, help us. In Jesus' name, amen.