A copy of God's Word. Acts 15. The end of the chapter. Acts 15, 36-41. Love for the church triumphs over division. Love for the church triumphs over division. We'll let you know that the middle of this sermon, or at least point number two, is a sad note, and it's heartbreaking, and it's hard for me to preach it. It's very real to me. But we will not stay there, and we will not end there, much like the song that Jeff picked this morning. It's a great song. We will end with hope and a reason to press on. So I pray that we not get too bogged down in the heartbreak. But the heartbreak is real. Alright, let's read the text, and then we'll look at this sermon this morning. Acts 15 verse 36. And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are. Now, Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away. He sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. I pray that the value of the church would be increased in your eyes today. I do understand at least a bit about human life and church life, and I'm sure people could quibble, but I'm not sure that there can be a deeper or greater pain than that can be caused within church life. I understand that people get hurt in the world, I understand that even back in the day at the Honky Tonk Woman, people would get mad at each other and not be friends anymore. But there seems to be a different level of hurt when it happens between brothers and sisters in Christ. I do know pain is caused in families. I do know pain is caused in churches. It's caused among friends. It's caused among co-workers. Also know that it's even caused among those who work side by side together in ministry. Paul, the Apostle Paul, was no stranger to hurts and pains of relationships. There are times we may defer to his physical pains, his shipwrecks, his beatings, his snakebites, and on the list may go. But those pale in comparison to the breaking of a man's heart. And Paul understood that very well. I refer to a short passage, just an introduction. Just hear the words, and I'll repeat the main parts in just a moment. But hear these words. These are basically the last words that are penned by the Apostle Paul. So at the end of his ministry, a faithful and good ministry, a God-honoring ministry, this is what he has to say. It's still relational. He says this, Do your best to come to me. It's relational. Do your best to come to me, because Demas, in love with the present world, has deserted me. He's gone to Thessalonica. Crescens, he's gone to Galatia. Titus has gone to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark. Bring him with you, for he is very useful to me in ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas. Also the books and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. It's sad. It's not the saddest verse in the Bible, in my opinion, but it's right up there. At my first defense, this is the Apostle Paul, at my first defense, no one came to stand by me. Nobody stood with me, but all deserted me. may it not be charged against them." The key words, deserted me, gone, gone, gone, did me great harm, no one to stand by me, all deserted me. These are the final words, almost the final words of the Apostle Paul. I don't know how you've been hurt in the church. I don't know how you will be hurt in the church in the years to come. But pain and church go together and relationships cost. We have to pay some kind of price. And so when pains come, people do things. Here's the most common. You hurt me and I'm not coming back. You hurt me, and I'm leaving this place, either A, to go to another church, or B, just to scratch the whole thing off the list, because all churches are corrupt. And so I'm done. I'll just hang out at my house and wait for Jesus to come. And so people respond in these types of ways. I can say personal stories, but I'm using the Apostle Paul, because that's my text. All's I can tell you is Apostle Paul would not take that position. Nobody's been hurt more severely than he's been hurt, but yet you'll find that the value of the Lord's church compelled him to stay with the task at hand in order that his life in some way could strengthen the church. I'm glad he didn't quit. I'm glad he didn't give up after missionary journey one. I'm thankful for missionary journey two, missionary journey three. They're very important and we'll get to them, but we only get to them because the pain didn't cause him to quit the Lord's church. The central idea of my text this morning, the value of the church. You have not arrived. I don't care if you've been here as long as I've been here, you still don't understand the value of the church. You don't. Because if you did, there would be things that would be vastly different in your personal lives. I'm telling you, you have not valued the Lord's Bride to the degree that she ought to be valued. Look, I'm not stupid, I know. Don't you talk about the Lord's Bride that way. It's still His Bride. And she's valuable because of Him. and He chose her, called her, bled for her, died for her, and if He loves her, how can I not see her as valuable? The value of the church. My proposition to you this morning is that those who love the church will find ways to strengthen her. I ask, even in the beginning of the sermon, exactly, sir, ma'am, what are you doing actively on a regular basis in, by the word, Baptist Church to strengthen her? You want me to make it more crass? Would the church suffer if you didn't come back? What are you offering? What are you bringing to the table? What are you presenting to make the church stronger, healthier? in my purpose in preaching this morning is to exhort you to be all in for the church. You say, look, Pastor, I think you're messed up. I think that you're elevating the church above Christ. It's because you don't understand good theology. You love the church, you love Christ. You serve the church, you serve Christ. You can't separate them. And so my edification and value of the church is based upon my understanding of Christ, who is the head of the body, which is His church. Alright, number one, determination for the church. Verse 36, After some days Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. Paul has a benevolent desire. They've been in Antioch, they come back to the home church after the first missionary journey, preaching the gospel, teaching in the church of Antioch. You remember, don't erase that out of your mind, they've just walked 600 miles. If they rode a donkey, so be it, they rode a donkey, but it wasn't a leather seated heated car. It was a rough travel. 300 miles to Jerusalem, 300 miles back, and they've decided these things. Salvation is by grace. And now they're preaching, equipping, and building up the home church, which is Antioch. Eventually, Antioch is going to take the primary position, and Jerusalem is going to fade in the background a bit, and Antioch is going to become the hub of all church life. And there they are teaching and preaching. Paul, I think, very much wanted the church of Antioch to be healthy, to be strong, and so he's sowing into this home church that had sent him out on his first missionary journey. But Paul's a little different in one sense, that we're all called to certain things, and Paul is called to something more than just to stay in this one church his whole life. Paul's called to go out, to plant churches, evangelize, mission work, exalt Christ, gather believers, appoint elders, and build churches around the globe. And so he loves his home church, he serves his home church, but something inside has got to go, got to go. There's a desire out here. And I just got back from Antioch, Pisidian, and Iconium, and Lystra, and Derby. And I know that they beat me in the head with stones, and I know they drug me out and left me for dead, but there in that place, there was some believers. And we did put an elder there, and if it's that violent, I'm afraid that somebody might deceive him. We need to go back. We've got to go back unless somebody leads them astray. And we've got to come alongside them and strengthen them and say, stand the course. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't apostatize. Even if they beat you to head with rocks, you stay faithful to Jesus. Barnabas, we need to go back to make sure the churches are strong, because the church is the light of Christ in the world, and we don't want the light to go out. To be beneficial fellowship, we'd like to go back and we would like to visit them. This Greek word for visit, I just mention it because it's a new word for me, but to go see a person with helpful intent. I just want to come spend time with you that I can help you. In our context, I want to go to Juan Carlos at Peniel Baptist Church just because I want to help them. I love these people. That's the heart here of the Apostle Paul. This is the visit. if you need it from an Old Testament context. You remember Moses? Moses is going out in the land of Midian there, and you got these people fighting and stuff, and the nation's still there, and he's distanced from them for all these years. And then in Acts 7, 23, when Stephen preaches about this, this is what he says, just a real short verse. When Moses was 40 years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers. I want to go back to my nation and do something to help them. You know, the children of Israel, that's the word. Paul has this word, I just want to be a help to the church. So that's what he tells Barnabas. Which churches? You know, Barnabas, the ones we boldly preached in. Those places where we preached. Just let it sink in together. Barnabas, we got on a boat together. We went to Cyprus together. Went from the East Coast to the West Coast. We sailed up to Perga. We went to Antioch and Pisidian. We went to Iconium. We went to Lystra. We went to Derby. And in every place, this is what we did. We preached the Gospel boldly. And people believed and were born again. Those are the ones. I just want to go back and make sure they're strong. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure those believers make it to the end or until Jesus comes. This is Paul. Application. It is ministry in churches that ought to bind our hearts together. In a sense, that all of By the Word Baptist Church would be united in the mission of the church, that you would desire all the churches in Mexico and Honduras and El Salvador and Canada to be helped if we can help. We just want them to be strong. You. Look, I know my heart, but you would want them to be strong. You would want them to endure. You would say, what can I do? How can I pray? How can I give? Can I go? Pastor, do you need anything in order to make the mission successful? If I can do it, I'll do it. Because I want the churches to be strong. And we all be in together. It is love for local churches that ought to cause us to sacrifice, to sin, and to go on missions. If you love the church, you will find a way to bless. You will. You'll find a way. Don't kid me. You love yourself, so you win the prize puzzle and will of fortune. You'll get a passport. Right? Oh, you want a trip to Cancun? I don't have a passport. I'll get a passport. Look, we can go down and see Rodolfo and Gustavo in Quintana Roo, which is right by Cancun. I don't have a passport. If you love the church... It is a relationship built on the gospel that should soften our hearts. Paul's heart is softened for the church. He's very concerned, and he wants to go to the last line of that verse. I just want to see how they are. I just want to see how they are. I just want to sit down and have a meal. I just want a fellowship. I just want to know how they're doing. I just want to see them face to face. You understand the simplicity of this. Think about it in your own personal family. If you actually have family members you like and you haven't seen them in a long time, okay, I can do it. I got a kid up there in Illinois. I'd just like to see them. We got a new grandbaby up there. I got to see her a little bit. I'd like to see her again someday. We just like to be in their presence. They can send me a picture on the phone. If I can figure out how to open it up, I'll look at it, but it's not the same. This is Paul's heart. I just want to see them. Point number two. Verses 37 through 40. This is the sad part. I can't make it anything other than what it is. Verses 37 through 40. Now Barnabas wanted Okay, contrast that with verse 38, Paul thought it best. Barnabas wants something, Paul thinks something is best. Continual activity in the past. I'm only pointing this out because this is what happens. Barnabas continually has a desire. It doesn't change. You look back in history, for however long this time was, Barnabas has the position that he wants his cousin to go with them. And he's not changing for anybody. On the other hand, Paul has this position. No. No, we're not taking him. No. I want him to go. I don't want him to go. I want him to go. I don't want him to go. I want him to go. I don't want him to go. I want him to go. And so, because of a family member, a relationship, family-wise, because of that, the bond of brotherly love and communion between two brothers in Christ is severed. I love my cousin more than theology. I love my cousin more than church planting. I love my family relation more than whatever your Bible says. You know, it's like, in the church, it's like, yeah, discipline, discipline, discipline. Yeah, remove them, remove them, remove them. What do you mean you're exercising discipline on my daughter? Now it's changed, because my daughter is more important than your theology. What do you mean you're going to send a letter to my husband or my wife? What are you talking about? Asking them this or that? You were fine with the other one. But now that it's family... Be very careful. But neither one of these guys are going to alter their positions. It does not state a reason why Barnabas wanted to take John Mark. It doesn't say in the text. There's a lot of things missing here that I would like to know. But anyways, there's not a reasoning there. The only thing I have is that John Mark is Barnabas's cousin, and so they're related. So maybe it's that. That's a possibility. And it can also be just because of Barnabas's character. He is a son of encouragement. He's probably Like, you know, women that sit on the front row. I'm not naming names, but they're more optimistic than the people behind the pulpit. And so maybe they see, you know, a rainbow in every situation. Maybe they see some hope in every situation. And so surely John Mark will do good this time. No, he won't. That's that's the battle. But maybe it's just because Barnabas is optimistic. But I do know at least that Paul has a reason because it's in the text. And here's the reason. We went on a missionary journey and he departed. He withdrew. He fell away. Look, ministry is important. Think about Paul's ministry. I may be in a situation where they're hitting me in the head with rocks. I need to know you're there. That way you can at least drag my body off where the vultures don't eat it. I'm not taking some guy that when I get beat in the head with rocks, he took off running because he's scared and I'm left by myself. I'm not taking him. By the way, the word for depart here is also the word used for divorce, to withdraw, to depart, to leave, to cut off the relationship. Let me give you a couple of verses just to bring out the word depart because this is the reasoning why Paul won't take John Mark. Luke 8, 13, I just want to show you the word fall away. This is the parable of the sower and the seeds. The ones on the rock are those who, when they heard the word, receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a while. Then if there's any testing, if things get any kind of difficult, they fall away. That's what John Mark had done. Things got weird and he fell away. Or Hebrews 3, 12. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Falling away is dangerous. First Timothy 4.1, the Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith. That word is used in that type of context. I don't know what all happened with John, Mark and Paul. I just know that he withdrew in a time when he should have stood. Anybody listening? It happens in church life all the time. Things get a little weird in church and people get a little upset and tensions start running and all of a sudden you look for somebody and they're gone. I ain't doing that. I didn't come to church to fight. I didn't come to church to fight either, but that's just the way it is sometimes. We have to endure through it. But some people just pull out and fall away. That's what John Mark had done. He fell away from the mission and he wouldn't go with them. And it stuck in Paul's mind, stuck in his heart. And John Mark has not gained his trust back. Verse 39, their courses are divided. Look at verse 39 again. This sharp disagreement comes. This comes to a head, if you will. So now we're at that final decision-making process, and there's some anger flying in the room. And the result of this anger is separation from each other. This word is a little more violent. ESV says sharp disagreement. Let me give it to you a couple of different ways. In the Old Testament and then one verse from the New Testament. I just want you to see how heated it can become between two believers. I believe Barnabas is a believer. I believe Paul is a believer. I believe they both love the Lord. But this anger here has got to a very extreme level. In Deuteronomy 29, 27, This word is used this way. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, bringing upon it all the curses that were written in the book. That's pretty angry. That's the word. Also in Jeremiah 32-37, And it says, Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger, in my wrath, in my great indignation. This is this word. They're furious with one another. And if you're in Acts 15, I think maybe just turn one page to Acts 17 and you look at verse 16 and you'll find this word as a verb. In our passage, it's a noun. Here's the verb. While Paul was awaiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked. angered, filled with wrath, stirred up. He's got a sharp disagreement with the religious people of Athens. Why? Because the whole city is full of idolatry and Paul cannot stand idols being elevated and God being brought down and pushed to the side. And it infuriates him. He's like, I'm going to preach. to the unknown God to make sure you know who He is. That's the Word. Two brothers vehemently opposed to one another, and the conclusion is, you go your way, I'll go mine. They separate. They part ways. Barnabas and John Mark sail to Cyprus. They go west. Paul and Silas, a little bit east, but they go north, up through the mountains and through this dangerous valley, cutting through the terrain there. They'll eventually come out in a place very familiar to Paul. It's the place he was born, Tarsus. And then after Tarsus, they will make their way into the city they last left, which is Derbe. So there they go. They're parting ways. Now, you may not see this, but I do want you to see it because I want you to understand how important it is. There's a lot of argument about who's right. Is Barnabas right or is Paul right? I'm not going to quibble about that all day. Here's my position. Paul's an apostle. Paul's been faithful. Paul's in authority. Barnabas should have deferred to his authority and said, you're an apostle and I'll submit to your leadership. And if this is your decision, I'll go with it. That's my position. Now, my other position is grammatical or biblical, if you will. If you look in your copy of the text, you will see in verse 33, After they spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers." Sent off in peace to those who had sent them. Commended, if you will, would be a better word. Commended by the brothers. Here's the word that I'm thinking. Paul and Silas commended. entrusted to care for or something. So the church takes Paul and Silas, puts them in the hands of God, if you will, and says, go forth on your second missionary journey. You say, what's the big issue? The big issue is this. There's no reference that the church commended Barnabas and John Mark. They sailed away on their own. They sailed away under their own decision. Here they go to Cyprus. Paul and Silas, commended by the brothers, to the grace of the Lord, we're with you. And you'll see a full, I don't know a word, make up a word. You'll see the full something, fill in the blank. Circle, there you go, circle. And make the full circle and they will come back, Paul will come back to Antioch after the second missionary journey and have fellowship with the church that commended him and sent him out. That's the way it works. You will never find Barnabas. He never comes back. And you don't know what he did in Cyprus. Commentators say, oh, the church split and now we've got two churches. You don't know that. There is no record anywhere that Barnabas did anything in Cyprus. He is never mentioned again in the whole book. Never. yeah running through my mind or what the people who come through here that knew how to do church better than me and I'm wonder worthy now where did you go we didn't send you you just up and left one day cuz you got mad about something in the church and here's run off to do this and run off to do that and Now, where are they? Look, there's something very important about church unity and the value of the church saying, we commend you, we support you, we're with you, our hearts, our minds of one purpose, we're sending you out and we can't wait for you to return because we are doing ministry together. This is true for Paul and Silas, but I don't think so for Barnabas and John Mark. Church history says Barnabas died on the Isle of Cyprus. That's where he was from, and that is where he most likely died, but we don't know factually. There's nothing else ever recorded of him. There is a reference in 1 Corinthians 9.6, but I don't have time to deal with that this morning, so I'm skipping that. But there is a reference in 1 Corinthians 9.6 of Barnabas, just to let you know. Now, I know most people focus on John Mark, and I know why, and I get it. And I'm thankful that they do. And they do so because there does seem to be reconciliation. So here's where hope begins to come in just a little bit. I know that the second missionary journey was around 49 to 52 A.D., so that's my dating. I know Colossians is written around 60 A.D., so eight years, six years. I also know that 2 Timothy is written around 64, maybe 67, somewhere in there. Dates, you can't be too absolute upon them. But with those given dates around that era, we could say Paul and John Mark reconciled around 10 or 12 years later. That's your hope. that a relationship could be severed, and you could separate, but have it restored ten years later, a decade later, that you could have sweet fellowship again, and that you would say, like Paul says of John Mark, after ten or twelve years, he says, he's very useful to me in ministry. We went from, I'm not taking him, he withdrew, to 10 or 12 years later saying, he is useful. It's all for that is a word of hope that there can be reconciliation. There can be hope in these relationships. And I would beg of you, I don't know what each of you may have faced in this church, other churches, but there is the distinct possibility that whoever you're at odds with, and whoever has hurt your heart, whoever has rubbed you the wrong way, whoever's gossiped or slandered about you, and you got mad because of some stupid Facebook junk, and you got all bent out of shape, there is hope in the gospel that there could be forgiveness. There could be reconciliation. There could be love once again. There could be communion. There could be these things. Don't give up on the person who crushed your heart. That's what I'm trying to say to you. Look, I'm not isolated. I know what heart pain feels like. And I know how deep it hurts, but it doesn't give me the right to be bitter and to not have hope that we can reconcile. I assure you, there are people in my life this given day I would love to reconcile with. I can't make it happen, but I wish, pray, and hope by the grace of God that it would happen. I pray you could do the same. We're so American and selfish, we write people off and we say, I don't even care if they go to hell. They hurt me and I'm never talking to them again. Family members, church members, co-workers, to hell with them. They hurt me and I'll never get over it. That is not a biblical position. That church did me wrong. Can you imagine? Christ? Can you imagine Christ on Calvary? They did me wrong? Kill them all! It's not Christ's position. Forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Grace. Mercy. Kindness. Patience. People are created in the image of God. Pastor, you don't know what they did. I don't need to know what they did. I'm just telling you that there's a possibility of restoration. Let's move it even closer to home. Don't divorce your spouse. Don't do it. You don't know what my spouse does. You don't know what my spouse don't do. I just know what the Bible says, sir. Love your wife as Christ loved the church. I'm not happy. God wants me to be happy. You don't have a verse. God wants you to be biblical and die to self. And serve your spouse. Observations. About this division. Two brothers divide over their views about another brother. Three Christians, Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark. They don't divide over theology or doctrine. Genuine ministry has very deep roots. And when this results in division, it hurts. So just work with me just a second here. Paul and Barnabas go on their first missionary journey. They travel over 600 miles by ship and by land. They have one mind. I'm making stuff up, so you don't have to... I mean, I'm not being absolute. I'm just theorizing. You get on a boat, there's no TV. They don't have a catered meal like the cruises do today. It's a rough ship. I'm just presuming that this is pretty rough travel by sea. A lot of people died at sea. I'm just thinking somehow, in a boat, going across the sea, that they're probably at some point on their knees praying together, pleading with God to be merciful and strengthen them, give them boldness. And they land in Cyprus, and they walk out on a new land, and they're going into these places, and they're preaching the gospel together. And Barnabas is encouraging Paul, and Paul is encouraging Barnabas. He's giving their lives for the gospel. And then up in Perga and Antioch, and then over in Iconium, and they're beating him in the head with rocks, and they're dragging him outside of Lister, and they're leaving him for dead. And there's Barber's looking at his dead body, and his dead body starts to move, and he's like, oh my goodness, he's not dead. He sees the apostle get up. bloody, beaten, bruises. Some of you been hit in the head before, you got a knot on your head, his whole head's covered in knots from rocks, and Barnabas sees all of this, and Paul lifts his head up, he says, look, we could just go back into town, right? And we can finish up in Lister where they just beat me to death. We'll just travel down to Derby because they don't have the gospel, and we go down there and preach the gospel. Barnabas saw this with his very own eyes. How can you see a man give his life for the gospel and not be affected in a genuine tie that you're unwilling to separate? Why can't Barnabas do something like this? John Mark, you need to stay at home. But I know that Paul is serious about the church and I'm going with him. You said, what do you mean by saying all that? What I mean is that whatever level of relationship you have with whomever. The silliest of goofy things can bring it to an end. But it doesn't hurt any less. I've lost friends over the gospel. I won't name any of these. I've lost dear friends over the gospel. I've lost friends lately over open air preaching. I've lost church members over theology and doctrine. I lost a lot of people about Freemasonry. I've lost people concerning ecclesiology. I've lost people because of church discipline. And I lost several people because of positions regarding the Southern Baptist Convention. And on and on without any detail, I'm just simply saying to you that when you have a break in relationships over things, it hurts. It's all I'm saying. I'm not denying the pain. I'm not covering it up. I'm not overlooking it. I'm telling you that church is messy. And that if you're involved and you love people, what they do or don't do affects your heart. You say, I don't even know what you're talking about. Then you're not fully in. Because when you're in a love relationship with people and things go weird, it hurts. But we'll not leave you there. We have verse 41 left. And he went through, so after they'd been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord, verse 41, he, that's Paul, went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. to cause people to become stronger, more firm. In our literature, it's connected with commitment and resolve, remaining true, especially in the face of troubles. So, here's the connection you need to make. All of this genuine hurt over this separation did not cause Paul to quit. He didn't write it off. He didn't say, I'm done, I did a missionary journey, I had a church, but if it's like this, I quit. He didn't do that. He went on. Broken relationships did not stop him from strengthening churches. Deep hurts and pains did not stop him from gospel work. Emotions did not trump biblical precepts. This makes me feel bad, but the Bible says. I don't feel warm and fuzzy and I got no goosebumps, but the Bible says. He didn't allow his emotions to trump the biblical precepts. Paul's response to the end of a friendship Well, I'll just go on another missionary journey for the glory of God, for the beauty of the church, that they may be strengthened. But just because this guy did this is not going to quench my heart for the edification and exhaustion of Christ. Paul's personal feelings were buried. I just want you to know Paul had feelings. It hurts. He buried them. He buried them where? In the primacy of the church. And it was raised to the glory of God. Because of the great work of our Savior Jesus Christ. My application is fairly short. What hinders you? What hinders you? You. From strengthening the church. What hinders you from doing more? Doing something? What hinders you from making this church healthier? What hinders you from writing a goal down and seeking to meet it? What is it? Is it past pains? This happened? Did that happen? Is it broken relationships? Is it just the fact of laziness? Is it just indifference? You're like, look, dude, I've been in this church as long as you have, and everything just goes the same way all the way. We just do the same things every week, and it don't matter. You can do this, you can do that. It's all gonna stay the same. It wouldn't matter if the devil was the preacher. The same people would come, the same people would go. It don't matter. Is it indifference? Is it worldliness? You just like go through the church where you can get back to what you really love in the world? What hinders you from being all in for the value of the church to strengthen her? When's the last time you came to buy the Word by the church and said, how can I make her strong in the Lord? How can I serve this church for the glory of God? What can I sacrifice? What can I give? When's the last time you came here with an attitude of I want to be a blessing to my people? I want to love my brothers. I want to love my sisters. I want to build them up in the Lord. Or is it that you only come out of habit and ritual or what somebody can do for you? You need an example? This is what Paul did. He walked or rode a stinking mule for 2,700 to 3,000 miles. That's the literal truth. You do the math from Antioch in the full circle, a little bit by water, if you will, but almost 3000 miles. For one purpose. To strengthen the churches. So I'm asking you to get in your leather seated, heated and cooled seat car with your radio that has XM Sirius radio and be willing to drive four miles, 10 miles, 30 miles, 40 miles. Make that great sacrifice of sitting in that padded chair with your cruise control on and your meters that keep you in between the lines and you don't have to hold the wheel and come and pour yourself into your church. Come to prayer meeting at eight o'clock. Beseech the God of heaven. Pray for God to move and buy the Word Baptist Church. Show up. Serve. Give. Sacrifice. Elevate. Courage. Hug. Spend some time. Invest your life in somebody and make the church strong. No one ever loved the church more than Christ. The verse stands out very clearly. He purchased her with His own blood. Now I got two minutes on the clock and I'm going to take two or three more. The Lord Jesus understood the pain of relationships in the book of Psalms. This is what David prophesies. For it's not an enemy that taunts me. Then I could bear it. It's not an adversary who deals insolently with me. Then I can hide from him. But it's you, a man my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together. Within God's house, we walked with a throng. We were like this. At the end of his life, at the end of Jesus's life, this is what is said after being in close communion with Jesus for three years. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad. They promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. Pause. That's hurtful. I invested three years in your life. I sent you out. We ate together, we fellowshiped together. Christ and Judas together in communion. And now you're gonna sell me for 30 pieces of silver where you can pad your pocket because it's not working out the way you like it? What if Jesus said, if people are like that, I quit? No cross, no tomb, no resurrection. Somebody hurt me. Judas is his name. And if people are like that, I quit and I'm going home. I am very, very thankful this morning that Christ is not like me. I think about quitting all the time. I think we have problems. You do. And so when there's difficulties, I'm done. I have those thoughts run through my head. I'm done with this or with that. That's just human life. I'm thankful that Christ is not like me. He didn't quit. He pressed on all the way to the cross. This is what he said. At the end, this is what he said. Behold, the hour is coming. Indeed, it has come when I'll build a big church and everybody will come and everybody will love me. That's not what happened. It's come this day, Jesus says, all of you are scattered. Everybody's going to go to his own home, and every one of you are going to leave Me. Let it ring in your ears. Alone. Alone. Alone. The whole world abandons Christ. And He says, yet, I shall go forward. That's where Paul learned it from. And that's where we ought to learn it from. His brother Jeff comes Lord help us. We're sinful people. We're fleshly and carnal in so many ways. Any and everyone in this room that would be honest today. Knows they don't value the church highly enough. Lord, help us to grow. Help us to distance ourselves from worldly things. Help us to see what is important and God for whomever it may be in this room this morning who's been hurt. The hurt's real. The situation really happened. Help them, O Lord, to forgive. Help them to be open to reconciliation. and help them to set their course forward and to continue to serve your church for your glory and for the church's good. Help us, Lord, not to get hung up on self-pity. Help us not to get captured in bitterness, but help us to press forward in the joy that you provide. And we pray these things by your spirit, in Christ's name, amen.