congregation the text words for this evening you may find in the red scripture acts 14 verse 22 confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith and that we must throw much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. What words are they? That we must, that we must, through tribulation, no, much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God and when we ponder about these words probably many questions arise that we, all of us, there is no other way must enter the kingdom of God and I suppose this is the longing of your heart to enter the kingdom of God but no, brethren and sisters the way, the only way to the kingdom of God is through much tribulation and for some of you these words seem to be gloomy words. And maybe it gives you even a sad feeling. This is not what you want to hear. You came to the house here of the Lord, this house of prayer and scripture, to be comforted, encouraged. And now you get saddened. what a gloomy words maybe for others amongst us these words have an alienating effect because we don't recognize much tribulations in our life After all, for many of us, it seems to be okay with these trials in our lives. Maybe, maybe, you are laughed at by the world, sometimes, for your beliefs. Maybe, maybe, at other times, because you are a Reformed Christian, you are considered to be a bit strange. But much tribulation and you don't recognize it in your own life. And of course it raises other questions. We must go, we must no other way. In other words, entering the kingdom of God is inextricably linked to much tribulations. And what if you don't experience trials and tribulations in your life? Are we on the wrong track? Is there no true faith in our life? Are we not born again? Are we not justified sinners? Indeed, these words are not easy. Again, let's ponder about them, that we must so much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. But before we continue our sermon, two remarks. One, these words are part of Holy Scripture. And what says God himself about Holy Scripture Second Timothy 3, verse 16. I think many of you know these words by heart. All scripture, even these words, is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. Also, these words are profitable for us. for doctrine, for repro, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. What for? Well, that the man of God may be perfect. Also these words, that we must enter the kingdom of God through much tribulations, are written down by God's Spirit. that we are made perfect in God's eyes. They are intended to build up. A second remark about these text words. These words are spoken by the Apostle Paul to young Christians. They just have been converted. They are Christian for just maybe days, weeks, months, but that's it. You certainly don't want to make young Christians gloomy or saddened or saddle up with many questions, right? Especially young Christians, you want to build up, you want to encourage, to come forward, to instruct. Also these words, they are comforting words. I hope and I pray you will recognize tonight that these words are really comforting words which instruct us on the way to the kingdom of God well the theme of the sermon tonight is remain in the faith remain in the faith three points of attention entering God's kingdom, two, through much tribulation, three, and therefore strengthened and admonished. Again, entering God's kingdom, through much tribulation, and therefore strengthened and admonished. the first point of attention, entering God's kingdom. And again this evening, we are taken back to the first missionary journey of the Apostle Paul and Barnabas. They are recorded for us in Acts chapter 13 and 14. And maybe we recall from this morning how the first missionary trip started in Antioch, in Syria, and how the Holy Spirit called the Apostle Paul and Barnabas and set them apart for God's service. And they embarked on a ship and set sail to Cyprus. They traversed Cyprus, again they embarked on another ship and they set sail to Asia Minor. They arrived at the harbor of Persia and from there they continued traveling through the Taurus Mountains, that high mountain range. And there they arrived at the heartland, the mainland of Asia Minor. And there they visited the following cities, Antioch. And this morning we listened to a sermon in the synagogue in Antioch. Then they continued traveling to Iconia, from there to Lystra, and the extreme point of the first missionary trip is Derbe. and after arriving in Derby they travelled back to Antioch and Syria the same route with one exception they didn't visit the island of Cyprus. This is the first missionary trip. We remember how it all began. We read this morning, Acts 13, verses 1 until 3, and we read in Acts 13, I read it again, verse 2, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. In other words, the Lord called Paul, Paul and Barnabas to do work for him. It is worthwhile to consider a bit more about the kind of work the Apostle Paul and Barnabas were called for. What kind of work is it? Maybe when I ask you this question, the first thing popping up is preaching the word of God, the gospel, laying the foundation, and then building this beautiful house of the gospel. And indeed, you are right. This is the work they are called for. But there is more to say. Why is God calling servants? And I can make the question wider. Why is God making so many servants? Because everyone who is born again is a servant. And what is the main job of all of God's servants? Well, it's a continuation of the work Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God, performed on earth. He started doing a work here, the work of his father, and after he ascended to heaven, he calls servants for a continuation of his work. So the second question is, In which work is Jesus Christ involved? What exactly is the nature of his work? There is only one answer to this question. The work from his father. And it's also the work of a Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is involved in the work of a triune God. So what is the work of a triune God? Building an everlasting kingdom of peace and glory. That's God's business. And in that kingdom of peace and everlasting glory, God will receive all honor and glory. You know, the most beautiful thing we can do with our life is glorify a Triune God. Let us bear the cross, but just glorify God. Just in all circumstances of our life, even if we are totally broken down, if there are many questions, maybe we are sick, uncertain about our future, let's just do this one thing glorify God because this is the business of God himself glorify his most holy name and we are called to glorify his most holy name so actually the Apostles Paul and Barnabas are called as servants of God on earth to build the kingdom of God and to call humankind to glorify God's holy name. And indeed, none of us will glorify God unless the Holy Spirit will indwell us through the preaching of the Word of God. None of us will glorify God without seeing and believing Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What a beautiful business for Paul and Barnabas to build the kingdom of God, preach the gospel to a fallen mankind. so that you and I may glorify our Creator, this most holy God. You know, this was how it was intended to be in creation. God, triune, is the source of all goodness. God the Father is like a well of goodness. aware of strength and power and wisdom. And he can't hold all that goodness and power and wisdom for himself. And all this goodness and power and glory and wisdom flowing out of the source of God the Father is bursting out into that beautiful fountain, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Once we see Jesus Christ in his beauty hanging on the cross, we recognize God the Father and his everlasting glory and goodness. And the Holy Spirit is like the water coming down from the fountain and making our soil that there is fruit. It will bring life in our life. our lives you know this is the work of God a source, a fountain of all goodness and so God in his goodness created the earth and mankind his kingdom so he would glorify his name and we would glorify his name I don't have to tell you what happened in paradise, how Adam and Eve, no, no, how I and you and you and we all wanted to be God. All this terrible rebellion, this sin, and it brought a total alienation from God the source of all good it brought death destruction and we are no longer living in the kingdom of God we are expelled and angels are set before the way to the kingdom of God There is no way back for us to the kingdom of God. There is no way back of glorifying God's name. You know, we are only fooled, you recognize it, with glorifying our own name. Oh, terrible sin. This is what happened in paradise. This is what's happening in all of our lives. You know, when God looks down from heaven, you know what he sees? And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the sorts of his heart was only evil continually. We ourselves, we decided to step out of the kingdom of God. We ourselves decided, and we confirm it with every sin and every rebellious deed, not to glorify God. The whole Old Testament is full of this truth, that no one of us wants to stay in God's kingdom, unless, unless. And at the other hand, whole Old Testament is full of this truth. God will not let go his people. God will not let go his creation. Again he will rebuild his kingdom on earth. He will again by his spirit and dwell humankind and human people. He will undwell man so they glorify his name. The whole testament is full of this reality and the promises that God will rebuild his kingdom, restore his kingdom on earth. The whole testament points to God's son who will come down from heaven God himself in his son will come down from heaven and again connect earth with heaven. The whole testament says God himself by his son will overcome that. He will bring back the full glory of God's eternal kingdom. He will show his full glory He will deliver from sin. He will bring the Messiah. The whole Old Testament is full of these promises. Listen to the prophet Isaiah 11 verse 1. And there shall come forth a rot out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. God promised. Thousands years ago, my son will come, the Messiah. He will restore God's kingdom. He will show you the way to the kingdom, that you may enter the kingdom. You will never go come by yourselves, no. But he will come and bring you there. Listen to the words of the glory of that kingdom of God. Isaiah 11, verse 9 and 10. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. As the waters cover the sea, in that day there shall be a root of Yeshi, which shall stand For an anson of the people to which shall the Gentiles seek and his rest shall be glorious. Oh, that glorious kingdom. You know, we lost that much in paradise. We live in such a broken world. But that glorious kingdom of God, do you long for it? Once it will fulfill again this earth, through the work of God's Son, the Messiah, there are no tears, no tears anymore, no brokenness, no illness, no sickness, no handicaps, nothing. There is only glory and peace. and God you can be certain of that will and is building his kingdom definitely and that's why he did send out his son that's why he's sending out his servants to build the kingdom of God well the Old Testament is full of the promises of the Messiah the king of that kingdom And then the New Testament, it's about the fulfillment of these promises. He came down from heaven. He suffered. He died at the cross. He was buried. But at the third day, he was raised by his father and ascended to heaven. He brought down God's kingdom on earth. What a wonderful thing. You know what a business was of God's son on earth? Listen, look for it. Jesus says what his business is. I must preach the kingdom of God. And not only on the place there, but he says to other cities also. I must preach the kingdom of God, and this work finds a continuation in the work of God's servants. And the kingdom of God is preached in the Netherlands, in a small village, Syriansland. But it's preached also here in the United States, in this widespread out city, Grand Rapids. I must preach the kingdom of God. All glory is God. He is bringing back his kingdom. We said to him, farewell, I want my own kingdom. And it brought death and destruction. And he says, despite your sin, despite your waywardness, despite your rebellion, I will bring my kingdom. and I will bring them from the east and the west and the north and the south, from the Netherlands and from Grand Rapids, and I will bring them in my house and make them my servants so they will glorify my most holy name. Jesus himself said, there is one thing you need to do in life, but seek ye the kingdom of God. We are so occupied with building the kingdoms of the earth and building our own kingdom. We are sometimes so worried about the day of tomorrow, but the Lord says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and I will give you whatever you need. Whatever you need in life, I will give you, but first glorify my name. The Lord also told us clearly who will enter the kingdom of God. Who will enter the kingdom of God? The strong man? The wise man? No, reads Matthew 5. The poor in spirit. They that mourn. The meek. the hungry and the thirsty for righteousness. May I ask you, are you hungry for righteousness? May I ask you, are you meek? Are you poor? Then I may declare you that God's kingdom is open for you. It's for the poor, for the humble who confess their sins. and confess, I even don't want the kingdom of God. For such a people is the kingdom of God. Jesus told his disciples and he told us to pray earnestly day and night for the coming of that kingdom, thy kingdom gone, not my kingdom. not the kingdoms of the world, thy kingdom come. Thomas, he asked him, Lord, we don't know where you go. And how do we know the way to God's kingdom? How can we enter God's kingdom? Boys, girls, Do you know the answer how you can enter God's kingdom? Jesus says, I am the king of that kingdom. I am the way, the life, and the truth. Follow me, believe in me, and you will for sure enter the kingdom of God, an everlasting kingdom of peace and righteousness. Jesus himself is the king of the kingdom and the Lord of the kingdom. He is the way to God's kingdom. And now we understand why it's so important that this word is proclaimed to all humankind. Everybody must hear this message about the kingdom of God and the way to that kingdom. Jesus Christ. Everybody. And this work will continue until he will come again, the Messiah, the Lamb of God. He will return and fulfill this earth with the kingdom of God and no more brokenness will be on this earth. God himself will not let go a wealth alienated from him. He will bring it back. He will restore it. and you know Paul and Barnabas involved in this work of God rebuilding the kingdom of God restoring earth you know what we read at the end of the first missionary journey Acts 14 verse 26 listen And they sailed to Antioch for where they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God has done with them and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. God has done great things. We have a wonderful God. God is looking out for lost people. And God brings his own word. And his own word is powerful. You know how powerful God's word is? In creation he said, there is. And it was immediately. And so the word of the preaching, he says, there is. And it happens. This is the word of God, so powerful. God has done great things the end of the first missionary journey. What a lessons from this first point of attention. God opens the blind eyes. God is the one who gives face and works faith. God is the one who gives his spirits and enlightens us heart. What a lessons. Are you glorifying God? Once we know God and we know where we came from, you know what we sing? Romans 8. Whom he did foreknew, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, Them he also called. Whom he called, them he also justified. Whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things if God be for us? Who can be against us? That's God. What a wonderful God. God's work will continue till the end of days. He will build his kingdom and he will add citizens to his kingdom. Well, let's go to the second thought. How do we enter this kingdom? Of course, through faith in his son. That's clear. But there is much more to say. The second thought is named through much tribulation. Entering the kingdom of God is linked to much tribulation. The life of a Christian And I don't think I tell you anything new. It's most often not an easy life. Often it is a life with many difficulties, worries, tribulations. Just watch the life of the Apostle Paul. Just read by example. Acts 14 verse 19, just a small story which happened during the first missionary journey. Acts 14 verse 90. And there came certain Jews from Antioch in Iconium who persuaded the people and having stoned Paul, they stoned the apostle. He is bringing this wonderful message of the kingdom of God and the way to the kingdom of God's faith in Jesus Christ. And they stoned him. You see how hard we are. This is humankind. They stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. You know what happened in Paul's life? Let me read you from the 2nd Corinthians chapter 11. And there we find a long list of troubles and tribulations in the life of the Apostle Paul. Listen, he received five times the forty lashes less one. He was beaten with rods three times. He was once stoned three times. He was shipwrecked. And the list of sufferings goes on and on. We must enter the kingdom of God with much tribulations. And it's not only the Apostle Paul. Listen to what we read in Hebrews. Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, the amour offer of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sung, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. Again and again, we see in the word of God, in the life of the apostles, in the life of the disciples in the life of the people in the young congregations we must enter the kingdom of God in much tribulations there is no other way just as a child is born in almost unbearable birth pains So the kingdom of God is inseparable, bound up with pain and tribulations. This is why in the life of a Christian, certainly there is tribulation. Just read, by example, the book of Revelations. It's a wonderful book to read. but it's also terrible everything what is happening in the end times and we are living in the end times because the end times started when Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and the end times will be over when Jesus Christ will come back for his second coming but in the meantime in these end times you know what's going on? we read in the book of revelations about the seven seals How God's plan building the kingdom of God is fulfilled. And what do we read about the seven seals? Much tribulations. A little bit further in the book of revelations we read about the seven trumpets. All kind of disasters, warnings to the world around us. And a bit further we read about the seven seals. In the end times, and we live in the end times, God is pouring out his wrath on the earth. These are the end times. We must enter the kingdom of God in much tribulations. You can find it all over in scripture, almost on every page. And you know, when the church is in her right place, in the front line of the kingdom of God, you will indeed be in tribulations, in a fight. Because Satan will not give up his citizens that easy. Dark is not expelled that easy in our lives. And that's why there is a fight going on in the life of the church and the church members, the people of faith. Satan wants just one thing, and that is keep you in darkness. He just want one thing. He wants your death and your destruction. Satan is doing everything to resist the Word of God Satan is doing everything to throw out the Word of God in your life Satan is doing everything to to if it would be possible To tear down the kingdom of God he will not succeed but he will try This is why every child of God will know about the tribulation for sure but you know there are many forms of this tribulations the first form of this tribulation is what we read about in the life of the Apostle Paul in the book of Revelation it is outward persecution and oppression And you can find it all over in the world. Look to countries like North Korea, Iraq, Iran, and many other countries. Fierce tribulation. Satan is a roaring lion. But there is also another form of tribulation because this openly and outward oppression we don't find in the United States or the Netherlands but there is another tribulation going on in our lives and I hope you will recognize it Because without this tribulation, you will not enter the kingdom of God. I have to be honest with you. This is the word of God. What is this kind of tribulation? It is a spiritual struggle. And the spiritual struggle, and I really pray you will recognize it in your life, is a fierce struggle. I want to be honest with you. If there is no struggle going on with sin and you don't recognize the spiritual fight, you are on the wrong track, definitely. You have to go back and you have to confess your sins and to beg God to humble you and to make you honest and ask for the Holy Spirit to indwell you, that your eyes may be opened Without this spiritual struggle, you will not enter the kingdom of God. Listen to what Apostle Paul says in Romans 7. I am carnal. Oh, wretched man. The Apostle Paul, I am sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that I do. What I hate, do you recognize it? That's what I do. And what I want to do, honor God and glorify his name, I don't. Oh, terrible man. The Apostle Paul says, a wedged man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of his dead? This is the spiritual fight going on in our life. And you'll find it again all over in the Bible. This morning we spoke about King David. Do you recognize in his life this fierce spiritual struggle? Again and again, he fell in terrible sins. The man after God's heart, God kept loving him. That's God. God's goodness is forever, and it will never stop. And he kept David, even in the midst of this fierce struggle, where he almost fell in debt and almost was destructed, but God kept him. by his mighty hand and again and again this is the struggle in the life of a Christian satan is a roaring lion that satan and you know there is even another way of oppression you know what his way of oppression is? It comes in the form of major difficulties and sorrows in the life of Christians. Sickness comes, depression comes, the loss of loved ones, loss of job, financial income, security, tensions in marriages, children who go their own way. How many are the afflictions of God's people? And in the midst of these troubles, you wonder, where is my God? Where is my God? And Satan is going on as a roaring lion to keep you in his hands and to withhold you from fleeing to Christ. And sometimes even the oppression comes from quarrels and tension in the church. And I hope this will not be the case here in Providence Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. You know, these are four forms of tribulation. And maybe, and I hope you will recognize this tribulation in your life. Satan tries to silence the church and the believer. He tries to make sure that Christ is no longer the shining center of your life and the shining center of the church. He tries to stop the progress of God's kingdom. And he tries to prevent God's kingdom from breaking through, but he will not overcome. No, he will not overcome. You know what you need? The armor, a spiritual armor. That's what we need. Just read at home Ephesians 6 verses 10 until 17 about the spiritual armor. You know what this armor is? It's the armor of Jesus Christ. And he says, I will give you my armor. I have done all the fight for you and I have overcome and I will give you my armor and I will give you my spirit and it will give you strength how do we overcome this spiritual fight? by spiritual armor not in our own force and strength and what is the spiritual armor? the main thing is the word of God The faith in Jesus Christ, how he overcame the fight and he won forever and ever. And you know why this fight, this spiritual fight is so fierce? Because there are multiple enemies. There is not only Satan, there is also the world. And the world is so attractive. And there is also my own corrupt heart. There is a threefold enemy. And how to fight against this threefold enemy? Not in our own strengths, no. But God gives his armor. And Jesus Christ has won the fight at Golgotha, at Calvary. Forever and ever. But when you are a young Christian and now we are back to the first missionary trip and you see what is going on in the life of your pastor and the life of other congregations and disciples maybe you become confused because you came to faith and you know of the forgiveness of sins and you know of the kingdom of God and you know about his kingdom of peace and what you see in your life and see in the life of your pastor and the congregation is tribulation. And this is exactly why Paul and Barnabas are going back to all these congregations which they established with help of the Holy Spirit and are going to encourage them and to strengthen them. We read in Acts 14 Verse 22, what they are doing, they are confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith. It was so necessary for these young Christians. They were confused. And Paul and Barnabas know about it because they know about the spiritual fight. They know about the tribulations and are going back and they are going to strengthen them and to comfort them. And before we are going to the first point of attention, we will sing. And we will sing from Psalter 345, 345, 345, verses one and two. Is that correct? No. Psalter 29. I'm not correct. Psalm 29, verse one, two, and three. Psalter 29. To thee, O Lord, I fly, and on thy hill depend. Thou are my Lord and King Most High. And what follows? Psalter 29, one, two, and three. ♪ What praise to earth and heaven ♪ ♪ Is now so high to cry ♪ ♪ Thy praise, O Israel, we sing of thee ♪ ♪ And wonder when we have parted ♪ ♪ Where now shall I be moved to ♪ ♪ What kind is that impassioned soul ♪ ♪ That stole this fortune from me ♪ Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Once a week I try to take some time to evangelize in a big city, Antwerp. And often I'm meeting there people who don't know about a Bible, totally unknown with the Bible and God. And when I tell them about God and His Word and His beauty and His goodness, often I hear this question, if God exists, why is so much going on in my life? Why so much going on on this earth? Why all these tribulations and oppressions? Where is God in the midst of all this trouble? You know what I always answer then? God came down in my trouble. God came down in my sorrow. He came down to die innocent for my sin and rebellion. You are asking where God is amidst of all oppressions and tribulations and trouble? He is next to you. He came down from heaven to rescue you, to rescue you. You know, this is God. We must enter the kingdom of God through much tribulation. But God's Son came in our life and he won the fight. He overcame everything. Just one thing is important, that we belt on this rock of ages, Jesus Christ. That in all our sorrows, in all our troubles, in the midst, in all of our tribulations, we just go to Jesus Christ and I can assure you, you will find rest. In every situation in your life. Always. No, no, no. He will not make easy our life. No, no. But He will be there in the midst of all trouble. In the midst of the tribulation, God gave His only begotten Son and He loved unto that lost people. And so we come to the third point of attention that what we need amidst this tribulation and struggle and oppression and what's going on, this spiritual fight, to be strengthened and to be admonished, to be strengthened and admonished. And you find these two words in the text, confirming the souls, strengthen them and exhorting them, admonish them. First of all, when you are under the sermon, under the preaching of the word of God, you are strengthened. How? How? In the midst of tribulation and oppression, you are strengthened by the Word of God. How? Well, let's start with a picture. In the Netherlands, we have many very old churches, from the Middle Ages or even older. Your old previous pastor, Vandenberg, he's serving in such a beautiful church building in Sint Antoniepolder. Difficult to pronounce for you, but that's a real old church in Gothic style. Well, and I want to tell you something about these old churches in Gothic style. These churches are usually very high. So the walls are high. But the walls are not that thick. They are quite thin. So you can imagine when forces are exerted on these walls, they are not strong enough. And maybe they will collapse. So in these old Gothic churches, you find buttresses amongst the walls. And these buttresses, they are very important. Because there is an outward pressure on the walls, by example, by the wind. When the wind blows strong and fierce, And the walls are in danger of collapsing because they are high and thin. There are these massive buttresses and they are supporting the walls. So they will stand and keep standing. There is another force exerted on the walls. And that force is coming from above by the arches in the vaults. So there is a double pressure on the high and thin walls from outside and from above. And these buttresses, they are needed, they are so necessary. Why? Well, they absorb these double forces. and they transport them to the foundation. And the foundation of the church is stable and solid. That's why these matrices are so important. They will absorb and transport the forces from outside and above and transport them to the solid foundation. Well, this is exactly what we need in our life. A fierce pressure is exerted in our lives by this threefold enemy. Satan, wealth, our own corrupt heart. And what we need is these buttresses. And what are these buttresses? The promises of God. God's word. These are the buttresses. You know what's happening in the sermon? You get to know God's Word and His promises. You are getting a better picture of God's strength and His wisdom and His goodness and His everlasting love and His long-suffering and His patience and through these words all these forces are transported to our foundation. And who is our foundation? Jesus Christ. That's why the sermons are so important. And that's what is happening. On this way, you are strengthened in the sermons. First of all, it's so necessary for us to open scripture and to gain more knowledge of God's word. So that we will not be surprised by the attacks of this threefold enemy. That we will not be surprised by the tribulation and the oppression and the spiritual fight. But we know this is the way. There is no other way to the kingdom of God. But that we know that Jesus Christ came down from heaven. and that He overcame. He won the fight for us. The only thing we have to do is to lay our hands on God's promises, to know them and to trust them, and to trust on the complete work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That's how we are standing in the tribulations. So the word of God is preached. Congregation of Grand Rapids, don't be careless about the Sunday services. Don't be careless about meetings during the week. Please, they are important because in these meetings, you are strengthened in the word of God because entering God's kingdom is inextricably linked to much tribulation. So you need to stand firm on Jesus Christ and his work. Jesus himself says in John 15, stay in me. And how do you stay in him? He says, stay in my word. Inextricably linked. Staying in Jesus Christ means staying in his word. The disciples are not only strengthened, but they are also admonished. And the word used here in Greek is a very broad word. It means encouraging, evoking, admonition, comforting, encouraging. It's all in these Greek words used here. But how are we admonished then? encouraged. Well, I'd like to take you again to the Netherlands. As you know, I live in a very small village called Sur Jons Land. Sur Jons Land. That's how I will translate it. Sur Jons Land. It's in the middle of nowhere, actually. Just a few houses And when I look out in my study room, I just see nature. That's it. I don't see any house. When I step out of my house, I'm in the middle of nature. Beautiful spot. But often when I watch and I look out for my study, I see these birds flying. These geese, I don't know if you have them here, probably you have them, geese. And you know what's so beautiful? They always fly in a V formation. Did you ever watch it? In a V formation. And do you know why they fly in a V formation? That's quite simple. The goose, the individual goose, when he flies in a V formation, he uses 30% less energy and he can fly up to 70% further. In other words, the individual goose needs to fly in that formation. They need each other. It's so necessary for them, that's why they fly in this V formation. They are using their energy on a good way. Well, the second thing, what is always drawing my attention when I see these geese flying in V formation, that you hear this sound. You hear them actually coming. Sometimes I don't see them, but I hear them. How do we call it? It's a kind of chatter, huge chatter. You know why they are chattering? To encourage the individual goose flying at the front of the V formation. That's why they are chattering, to encourage each other. And especially the individual ghosts flying at the front of the V formation. Wow, what a beautiful lesson, isn't it? We can adopt it here in our life, in the congregation. How are you admonished? You need their congregation, each other. You can't without each other. Please, do you know your neighbor? Do you know what is going on in the life of your neighbor? The men or the women behind you and in front of you? Do you know their sorrows? Do you know what is going on spiritually in their lives? Do you ask for it? Do you ask when you are entering this building in the morning, how are you doing? What is going on spiritually? Can I do anything for you? Is there a fight going on in your life? Is there any sorrow? Can I pray for you? And when you know about each other's sorrows and tribulations and what's going on, you know, the second thing you can do is you can open God's word. You say, well, I would like to encourage you. Listen to me. And you read a psalm of some other verse from the Bible and you pray together. We can learn such rich lessons from these geese, how they fly in a V formation, congregation of hand rabbits, fly in this V formation, please. And chatter a lot. And with chattering, I mean, speak to each other. Ask, open your life, pray for each other. stand next to each other, encourage each other, admonish each other. You know, this is the business of the Apostle Paul and Barnabas. That's why they are revisiting the congregations they established. They are strengthening them, pointing to Jesus Christ, how he overcame the fight. He won. Everything you need you can find in him. You don't need anything more just Jesus Christ. That's whom you need nothing more in life and secondly They are encouraging the current congregation To stand around each other to encourage and admonish each other so important in the life of the congregation Congregation, I'm going to end this sermon. Congregation, it's so important that you rest completely on Christ's work, on Christ's accomplished work. This is the most important thing in our lives. It's so important that you always look up and watch God's mighty hand, his strength and his wisdom. That you always look up and come with empty hands to Jesus Christ and to know about the total forgiveness of all your sins. It's so important to be fulfilled with the Holy Spirit. It's so important to always listen to God's word, to be strengthened, and to encourage each other. Congregation, salvation is secured. Really, it is secured in the work of a triune God. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word, this wonderful gift, how you revealed yourself in your word. Thank you for this Lord's day. We ask your blessing for the days to come. Whatever we do, we need your blessing at home, at school, at work, in-house, out-house. in times when we are awake or when we are asleep. Lord, bless the work of our hands. Lord, fulfill us with thy spirit. Lead us so our way is after Jesus. Make us willing and glad to take up and to bear our cross and to follow your son. Lord, We pray for each other. We pray for the lonely people, the elderly people, the sick people, and we ask if you want to comfort them. In dark days, please, will you be the light of their life. We ask you to stay with this congregation and to continue to bless them and to nourish them in your word. We ask for your blessing on this congregation. Lord, we also pray for the world around us, the world in which we live. Open their eyes and their ears through thy word. that many souls will be saved for eternity. And that's why we beg you, send service, that it will go out in your service because the fields are wide to harvest. Lord, we have many things to ask you and many sins to confess, but this is the most important thing. Give us your Holy Spirit. that he will continually open our eyes for the beauty of your son and the riches of your goodness, all for flowing riches. Lord, we pray for each other. Stay with the congregations in the Netherlands. Stay with the congregations in the States. This is your world and your church. Dear Lord, We rest, only rest, on the work of your Son. We only rest in your grace. We are longing to see your glory breaking through in this world. We are longing for your kingdom. Lord, hear our voice and our supplication when we glorify thy holy name. Amen.