Sunday Service - 2026-10-11

Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.

If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.

Thank you for joining us today.

If you get a turn to Acts chapter 14, no pain, no gain.

You probably heard it with all kinds of things, but primarily, I guess, working out.

Well, I found actually that's not true, okay?

Because when you push through pain, that shouldn't be.

More pain develops.

So, but anyway, in this case, it is true.

No pain, no gain.

And let's pray and ask the Lord.

I really believe there's something here today specifically for each one of us

because it's so practical, so relative in all aspects of our lives.

You know, we may not find ourselves being the Apostle Paul,

being harassed and stoned near death,

and many other things he went through.

But we go through some stuff, don't we, this side of heaven?

And in all cases, we can develop that success and endurance

and greater faith through pain and resistance and division.

And what's the word I'm looking for?

Opposition.

So let's pray.

Father God, we ask you to speak through your words specifically to each one of us

wherever we're at, Lord God.

Whatever things that are a challenge right now,

perhaps things that are going really well,

but Lord, we're still hung up on something from the past.

And Lord, perhaps there's things that we're afraid of going into

because of whatever reasons.

Lord, we just ask you to speak to our core, Lord God.

We ask you to impute your truth into us and transform our minds to yours.

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

You know, think of a time that you really pursued something in life.

We've all probably went after some things that we really wanted to be successful in

or at least accomplish and really pursued those things.

And we realize that at times we have to push through,

first of all, mistakes, right?

Has anyone ever made a mistake?

I just, I don't have enough limbs or digits or anything else to add to,

to count up on all my mistakes, but mistakes, failures,

times that we just, we just missed the mark completely.

But we knew there was something bigger,

a bigger purpose that we had to keep pushing towards.

Perhaps we experienced mocking and naysayers and negativity,

but we knew there was something that we were pursuing

that we had to push through that and go after it.

And we overcame.

Or perhaps there was times of not only failure and mistakes,

but just times that we really didn't have the courage and strength to pursue it,

whatever it was.

But one thing that we, the only way we could really accomplish it or succeed

is we had to push through that and say, no, I know I'm called to doing this

and I'm going to accomplish this.

Just like we were singing all about.

It's amazing how, you know, they developed these songs.

I don't think half the time they really know what the message is about

because we don't necessarily communicate before the service.

And yet so many times the worship music hits the mark on what the message is about.

And what we were talking about, you know, I see a victory.

You know, he worked all things for the good.

You know, he accomplishes the work that he has set out in our lives.

And so we realize that sometimes we have to go through pain

to have the gain of what we're meant to do.

There's a lot of young ladies in here that are about to give birth.

Some of you already have given birth.

And you understand more than anyone else what it is to endure sickness,

discomfort, a complete interruption in your life,

and eventually a lot of pain through childbirth to deliver that baby.

And yet, you know, the goal is so worth it.

It's so worth seeing that new baby boy or girl laying on you,

realizing it was all worth it.

All of that I just went through is all worth it.

Isn't that the picture of life in general?

We have to keep pushing through because we know if there's no pain,

there's no gain.

It's worth the sacrifice.

And it doesn't end there.

Having children, then, the real sacrifice begins, doesn't it?

Can I get an amen from any parent out there?

I mean, did we have any idea what we were getting into

when we said yes to having kids?

I'll never forget driving in the car,

and Zach and Jesse are bawling their eyes out,

and they're hitting each other,

and they're both in their car seats right next to each other.

I'm like, we need some more space back there, you know?

And I'm just remembering,

why do people choose to do this to themselves?

Really?

But, you know, deep down, it's wrong thinking,

and in the end, it's worth it.

And just sacrificing.

All of your decisions in life are also including,

is it good for my children?

Is this good?

Are these decisions we're about to make?

Is what I'm about to pursue, is it best for my children?

It's sacrificial, but it's worth it.

It's worth it because no pain, no gain.

You have to go through some pain to get there, right?

Relationships, you know, marriage,

or any relationship for that matter,

there's so many times that you really have to eat your pride

and realize, you know what?

I know I'm kind of right.

Like with me and Jill, usually that's the case, you know?

I'm kind of more right than she is.

No, I'm totally kidding.

But I'm in trouble later.

But, you know, even when you're kind of right,

you realize, you know what?

Winning a little battle of right and wrong isn't winning the war, you know?

And sometimes you have to see the bigger picture and say,

you know, our relationship is far greater than being right about an issue

or a topic or something that just happened, right?

Because you see that it's a bigger purpose in having a good relationship.

It's so worth it.

You have to go through that pain, that suffering, you know?

A job, you know?

Sometimes you're just building a work history.

Do you always work the job that you wished you had?

You know?

I mean, sometimes you just have to endure, put up with a lot of things thinking,

I deserve better than this, whether you really do or not.

We think we do.

And, you know, and you just push through and say, you know what?

If I don't do this, there's no chance of me being promoted

or finding a better job and saying, this is what I did there.

I want something better this time, you know?

But you have to push through because no pain, no gain.

You have to push through those things because, you know,

success or accomplishment or achievement or rewards,

they all come with sacrifice, endurance, some, I can't think of that word,

opposition, resistance.

They all come with failure, all kinds of things.

And we just have to push through it to accomplish what we're meant to accomplish.

And in this chapter, as we read through, we're going to see so much obstacles,

so much resistance, so many things that could become failures,

that could have become the end of Paul and his apostles saying,

no, that trip was too hard.

We're never doing that again, okay?

So many things that they could have just given up,

and yet they pushed on because it was worth it.

It was worth pushing through.

And all of us have accomplished things in our lives knowing that,

even back in school when you studied hard or you studied

and got through a test or two, right?

You know?

Or just whatever it was, even building friendships with your buddies.

You know, you just had to, like, work through different things

of being insulted or being hurt, and you have to push through that.

But we've all experienced that.

But I believe there's even more things to come

that perhaps there's these obstacles that we perceive

when really it's just we're just a thin wall away from breakthrough

and realizing, well, I've finally overcome that segment of my life

and now God can take me even higher.

And so we're going to dive into Acts chapter 14.

And I just love the book of Acts, don't you?

It's so action-packed.

That's why it's called Acts, right?

But it's action-packed and there's so many things going on

and you think, well, that was back then.

No, that's now.

This is the life we live in now.

Because, you know, whether you're going to some new land

and sharing the gospel to some people who never knew God,

or you're just learning how to be a better husband

or wife or father or friend,

it's all God's work, isn't it?

Because we are in Christ.

So everything we do is God's work.

We are His workmanship, creating Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do,

that we would walk in them.

So no matter what it is, it's all a work of God

when you think about it.

You know, you don't have to go to, you know,

some African village and live on dirt floors to really,

now this is God's work.

You know, no, everything you do is the work of God

because it's Christ in you who accomplishes it, amen?

So before we dive in, just a real,

a little rehearsal here from what we talked about,

not rehearsal, revisit of what we talked about

a few weeks back.

If you could show that first slide up there of the map, okay?

And wow, this is a faint pointer.

But anyway, so if you can recall in Acts 13

that Jamie shared how they were in Antioch

and they commissioned Paul and Barnabas, right?

And also John Mark, and they traveled to Cyprus, okay?

And there they went through the island, that country,

and shared the gospel, and they got to here, okay?

And then they sailed to Perga.

And then John picked up from there,

and as they arrived to Perga, John Mark,

we don't know all the details,

but he basically went back home.

He realized this is a little too tough.

He wasn't ready for it, right?

And then from there, the apostle Paul and Barnabas

went to Antioch of Pisidia.

Notice there's two Antiochs, by the way.

It started in Antioch, okay?

Here, okay?

And they ended up in Asia, this Antioch.

And there they are.

This is where Christians were first called Christians.

This is where really the first Gentile church

began to be formed here, right?

And now we're going to pick it up here

as they travel to Iconium, Lystra, Derby,

and then they go back through

and eventually sail back home

and they talk about all the triumph

that God has done through them.

So we're going to read almost straight through this chapter

because it's a tremendous story

and then talk about it a bit.

So Acts 14, verse 1,

if you have your instrument or Bible in front of you,

and verse 1,

and now it happened in Iconium

that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews

and so spoke that a great multitude,

both Jews and of the Greeks believed,

but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles

and poisoned their minds against the brethren.

Therefore, they stayed there a long time.

Just read that sentence.

They poisoned their listeners against them,

so they stayed even longer, you know?

I mean, that's persistence, isn't it?

Speaking boldly in the Lord,

who was bearing witness to the Lord,

the word of His grace,

granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

Verse 4, but the multitude of the city was divided,

part sided with the Jews,

and part with the apostles.

And when a violent attempt was made

by both the Gentiles and Jews

with their rulers to abuse and stone them,

they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derby.

Cities in Lycania...

Wait a minute.

Lycanonia.

You know, I knew how to say that this morning.

Lyaconia, there you go.

And to the surrounding region,

and they were preaching the gospel there.

And verse 8,

And in Lystra, a certain man without strength

in his feet was sitting,

a cripple from his mother's womb,

who had never walked.

And this man heard Paul speaking,

Paul observing him intently

and seeing that he had the faith to be healed,

said with a loud voice,

Stand up straight on your feet.

And he leaped and walked.

Now, when the people saw what Paul had done,

they raised their voices saying in Lycania language,

The Gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.

And Barnabas they called Zeus and Paul Hermes,

because he was the chief speaker.

And then the priest of Zeus,

whose temple was in the front of their city,

brought oxen and garlands to the gates,

intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.

Verse 14,

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this,

they tore their clothes

and ran in among the multitude,

crying out and saying,

Men, why are you doing these things?

We also are men with the same nature as you,

and preach to you that you should turn

from these useless things to the living God,

who made the heaven, the earth, the sea,

and all the things that are in them,

who in bygone generations allowed all nations

to walk in their own ways.

Nevertheless, he did not leave himself without witness

in that he did good,

gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons.

Filling our hearts with food and gladness.

And with these sayings,

they could scarcely restrain the multitudes

from sacrificing to them.

Verse 19,

Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there,

and having persuaded the multitudes,

they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,

supposing him to be dead.

However, when the disciples gathered around him,

he rose up and went into the city,

back into the same city where he was just stoned.

And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derby.

Verse 21,

And when they had preached the gospel to the city

and made many disciples,

they returned to Lystra back to the same city,

Iconium and Antioch,

strengthening the souls of the disciples,

exhorting them to continue in the faith,

and saying,

We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.

So when they had appointed elders in every church

and prayed with fasting,

they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

And after they had passed through Pisidia,

they came to Pamphylia.

And now when they had preached the word to Perga,

they went down to Atalia,

and from there they sailed to Antioch,

where they had been commended to the grace of God

for the work they had completed.

Verse 27,

Now when they had come and gathered the church together,

they reported all that God had done with them

and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles,

and so they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

So there we go.

So what an amazing story about all this.

And the story says it all.

I mean, you don't have to dissect all that.

It's very clear to understand.

But what can we learn from it?

You know, they call it,

how can we be,

what illustration can we draw from this,

and what application to our own lives

can we pull from what we just read?

And I think the first thing,

a pattern you see throughout the book of Acts

and throughout the entire early church

is that there's always resistance.

Did you notice that?

Something good happens.

There's resistance.

There's miracles.

There's people coming in saying,

oh, that's not really a miracle,

or you're doing it by the power of the devil.

There's always resistance, even from,

remember Pentecost.

They're praying at times.

Look, they're drunk.

I mean, there's just always been mockers,

always been resistance.

Because why?

There is an antiChrist, right?

There is an enemy who's always sowing

discord, confusion, and doubt

into all believers and unbelievers.

So we can expect this.

So let's put up that next slide.

Expect resistance.

You know, God's work will often attract resistance.

I think it always does, right?

Because we have an enemy, right?

And he's always against truth being pontificated

or professed.

He's always bringing sowing lies into it.

I like this saying resistance is not always evidence

that you're outside God's will.

Sometimes it's resistance.

Sometimes resistance is evidence

that you're right in the middle of it.

Have you ever experienced that?

I remember one time when we led the youth

over at our old church

and the junior high youth group

we brought down to what was called flood filly.

And we would block off little ducks in the inner city

and we would have kind of like a VBS, you know,

puppets, you know, and give them the gospel and everything

and kids would come in.

It was just awesome.

In fact, Sarah, I don't know if Sarah's in the building.

She and Deanne were huge parts of that.

They're probably with the children now

and nursery and children's.

But it was just such a great program

of leading little children of the inner city to Christ.

Well, one time we went over and they would tell us,

it was so like, it was so raw and organic

that they would get approvals to go certain streets

the day before and they would say,

all right, tomorrow you're going here.

And we would go with the whole crew.

So one time we had the projects

that we were going to be doing a little VBS,

what did they call them?

CEF, but it was like a kids camp.

Anyway, so we went to the project

and we're setting all up.

All the kids are coming in.

They're seeing the puppets being set up

and the different games we had and all this.

And all of a sudden,

somebody comes out of the office of the projects

and says, yeah, you can't do that here.

And we're like, no, yeah, we can't.

We were told we can't.

No one told me and I'm the manager.

And we're like, so we're calling Linda at the time.

They're telling us we have to put everything away and leave.

All these kids are like, wow, there's something happening.

They're all excited.

These little kids and they're all there

and they're telling us, you have to go.

You have to go.

You can't do this here.

And Linda said, I have an approval.

So we had to sit there and watch these poor kids

just waiting around and fight and fight through that

until finally we had the supervisor of the supervisor

that said, yeah, I did say they could do that.

And so the show went on.

But sometimes the enemy is sowing

and you can just tell the mannerism of this girl,

this woman, how she like repulsed

that we were going to be talking about Jesus to these kids.

You can just tell the spirit of the antiChrist

coming against us because it's so,

the enemy always is trying to stop what God is doing.

I love what James says.

My brethren, count it all joy

when you fall into various trials.

When you're serving God, you will endure trouble.

Jesus said, in this world you will endure tribulation,

but take heart for I have overcome the world.

We can expect, we can expect

that there will always be resistance coming against us.

I'm sure you've experienced it many times.

And it doesn't even need to be

that you're sharing the gospel.

The enemy is trying to sow discord into your marriage.

He's trying to sow discord into your friendships,

into your family.

I mean, this is what he does.

His tactics don't change.

He's the same.

He's the same yesterday, today and always,

but so is Jesus Christ.

He might change form,

but he's always has the same game plan

to destroy your life, steal, kill and destroy.

That's what he's into.

So we know that we can expect this,

that it shouldn't seem abnormal or unusual

when it does happen.

How about we were singing a song that had to do,

I'm going to see a victory.

And it refers kind of to David.

Remember he's at the battlefield and he's saying,

wow, like look at this guy.

How come no one's taking care of this big guy Goliath?

And what his own brothers are mocking him

and angry and envious of him saying,

we know why you're here.

You're just prideful.

Like he's about to slay Goliath.

And yet they're being negative towards him

and mocking him and degrading him.

Because the enemy uses even sometimes

our closest family and friends.

And they don't know they're being used by him,

but they're being used by him to prevent us

from overcoming and accomplishing

what God has called us to accomplish.

How about another thing?

What can we not only expecting resistance,

endure the pain.

If you could put that next slide up,

enduring pain.

I came up with these slides and endure the pain.

Don't let resistance or pain stop what God has started.

There's always things trying to hold us back,

hold us down.

But I love what the author says in Hebrews,

looking unto Jesus,

the author and finisher of our faith,

who for the joy that was set before him,

endured the cross,

despising the shame and has sat down

at the right hand of the throne of God.

Like we look at him and he knew what he was heading into.

And yet he still just pushed forward.

He didn't even succumb to all the phrasing and accolades

he was getting on the triumphal entry

because he knew there was something even greater than that.

He had to save mankind, right?

So he pushed through.

All of us have to realize that we have to endure pain sometimes

and go through it and not turn back and hesitate.

Raising kids certainly has a lot of sacrifice

and enduring pain, doesn't it?

Enduring the things that they put us through.

No, I didn't mean to say that.

The blessing they are.

Jill's correcting me up here.

So I have auto correct up here.

And Zach, he just turned 36.

He's always been an amazing son.

I really mean that.

But when he was a little kid,

he's always been pretty popular.

So he always had friends and so forth.

But at this time, he was in second grade

and he was popular with the ladies.

The girls, okay.

Dana's not in here so she can't get jelly.

But it was second grade, Jill keeps them.

But I had to ask her, when was it?

But it was so funny.

So anyway, the girls liked them and they were trying to kiss him.

Okay.

So he was running around in the playground

and he was running up the sliding board

and they were coming up the steps.

And this is a crazy true story.

So as he was climbing up, he jumped off the sliding board

and broke his arm.

Two places.

I mean, it was snapped, right?

And so that worked out.

The nurse called Jill and said,

an incident happened here.

She didn't tell her over the phone.

But anyway, so he was always popular, right?

So at one point, he was invited to a party.

All the people were there.

And we dropped them off and it was a pool party.

And as we dropped them off, you know,

and he was about 11, right?

And so we were dropping them off.

And, you know, you just get this vibe.

You know, just something ain't quite right.

You know, I don't explain.

Like there's a lot of variety of demographics there

in terms of age.

Okay.

So there's the parents, but then they're their friends too.

And it looked like there was some drinking,

a lot of drinking going on.

And I'm like, I'm not judging people,

but you can just tell kind of the atmosphere, you know?

And then there was older kids there too,

hanging in their little crew, you know?

And then there was Zach and his friends, you know, around 11.

And Jill's like, I don't like this.

You know, this doesn't look right.

And I'm like, what?

I mean, you know, and me being a dumb dad,

it's like, yeah, but he's popular.

He's got to be where the action is, you know?

This is fun.

And I'm sure none of you as parents would think this way.

So you can rebuke me later.

But thank God for Jill, because I'd probably say,

yeah, you could try that.

You could do that, you know?

Because I just was, you know, I don't know,

an adventurer when I was a kid

and not realizing all the dangers.

So anyway, so I'm like, no, he's going to be fun, you know?

So we drive away and leave him there.

And she's like, no, this isn't,

I'm going back to get him.

Just drop me off and I'll go back and get him.

And he was there like 15 minutes, okay?

I'm like, no, I'm not going to make you go back by yourself

and, you know?

And so we drove back and pulled up

and we call him out of the pool.

Oh, we forgot, you know, I don't know what we said.

It was a little lie.

White lie, I don't know.

Why we had to come and get him, you know,

not like you people all look sketch to me.

We didn't say that, okay?

But we said something, and Zach's like, you know,

cannonball in the pool.

What, what, what, what?

We have to go.

What?

Like, what?

You know, I mean, he was a basket.

He was so angry, okay?

He was just seething and he gets in the car,

like, what are you doing?

I mean, this was a happening party.

And we're like, you'll understand it someday, you know?

And we just explained it.

And the Lord turned it around, really.

He really did, you know, as we talked to him,

like, you just have to trust us during these years, you know?

Like, we know better than you do,

and you have to trust us.

Like, that whole inner turmoil of like, you know,

yielding to peer pressure as parents, let alone children,

we always have to overcome.

We have to endure that thing that's holding us back.

See, no, just let it go.

Just, you're okay, you know?

But pushing through and not submitting like that,

it's difficult, isn't it?

But God's work is for us to raise Zach to follow Jesus.

Praise the Lord.

They all are.

You know, they're all serving the Lord, you know?

And that's, you know, I sometimes question

how much Jill and I had to deal with it

because the Lord overrode many things

that could have gone wrong, but he's sovereign.

And the next thing I think we can learn,

not only to expect resistance, endure the pain,

but really get back up.

I mean, he's stoned, left for dead, okay?

They dragged him.

Like, you know, I didn't know if you had to check the pulse back then,

but they were sure he was dead.

They left him there, and all his friends surrounded him.

You know, it reminds me of how Jesus said,

you know, when two or three are gathered there,

I am in their midst, you know?

He's here right now, especially,

in a special way in our midst, you know?

Right now.

Anyway, when there's...

And I believe that he may have even been brought back to life

right then and there.

In fact, you know, this, him being stoned

and left to die wasn't going to stop him.

It was actually going to be part of his resume.

It was going to be part of his resume.

This is what I went through for Jesus with,

in a sense, pride, not in himself,

but in what Christ did in him.

He could say, look what I overcame.

Look at this.

I belong to him through and through.

I think it was Peter that said, you know,

unless you have endured persecution,

persecution cleanses you from sin, you know?

The more you are persecuted for your faith,

in a sense, sin looks more and more repulsive to you.

You know that?

So he stood back up,

but this was actually part of his resume.

I love what he writes to in 2 Corinthians,

chapter 11, verses 23 to 25.

If you could put that slide up.

He said that, you know, I work harder than all of them.

He says, are they ministers of Christ?

I speak as a fool,

knowing that he's about to drift into some bragging,

in a sense, but really just bragging about Jesus in him.

I speak as a fool.

I am more, in labors more abundant,

in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently,

in deaths often.

You know, that may mean he died in Lystra.

It may mean he was laying there dead

and they gathered around him in the power of God

in the midst of the disciples.

He rose him back up.

No, no, I'm not done with him yet.

No, there's a long way to go, okay?

He has a lot more suffering to endure.

You know, that was his resume, you know?

But through persecution, so much power came.

And then he says, from the Jews, five times,

I received 40 stripes, minus one.

Three stripes, I was beaten with rods.

Once, I was stoned.

Three times, I was shipwrecked, actually four,

because when he was shipwrecked in Malta,

that was a fourth time.

A night and a day, I have been in the deep of the sea.

Imagine floating around for a day and a half, you know?

So he had a resume of suffering.

Was this first stoning going to stop him?

No, it was the beginning.

It was only the beginning.

He's going to have a whole lot more to share.

And so we have to get back up, don't we?

We can't let things bury us.

There was once this farmer,

and an old farmer, and he had an old donkey,

and somehow this thing could barely even see, right?

And so it was just meandering around the farm,

and it fell into this old abandoned well, okay?

A dried up well.

And it was a narrow well, so the donkey barely fit in there.

And the old farmer comes out of here,

and he hears him hee-hawing, and he goes over,

and he sees him down in the way down in the dried out well.

And he said, ah, what am I going to do?

I don't know how to get this.

I mean, he barely fits in there.

How am I going to get him out, right?

And then he's thinking, he's like, well, that old donkey,

you know, he kind of served his purpose.

He's not worth much at this point.

I know you animal lovers are getting out there, you know.

And he says, I don't know.

And yet the wells dried out anyway.

Maybe I'll just bury him.

And so he gets his neighbors.

They all come over with shovels,

and they start throwing the dirt into the old dried out well.

Well, when the dirt first hit that donkey's back,

he's just like, whoa.

Like, what is that?

Like, he was like, you know, perplexed,

and he was alarmed.

Like, what just landed on me, right?

Remember, he's half blind, too.

And then the next shovel fell on his back.

Whoa, yeah, right?

And he just shook.

You know, he just shook the dirt off, right?

And then another shovel full of dirt landed on him.

Same thing.

He shakes again, right?

And then all of a sudden, he steps up on the dirt

that just fell off his back.

And another one, shake, step, shovel, shake, step,

shovel, shake, step, shovel, shake, step.

And all of a sudden, before he knows it, he's like rising.

He's like, I'm like actually climbing right now.

And another shovel full shakes, steps up, and steps up.

By the end of it, he stepped out of that well,

and it was filled up.

With dirt.

And that old donkey lived another 10 or more years, right?

What's the moral of that story?

I don't know if that's a real story.

It probably isn't.

Maybe it is, but I've heard it somewhere.

I didn't make it up.

It's a great one, isn't it?

But what is it?

It's really a picture of, you may, someone might think

they're burying you with the dirt, with the insults,

with the judgment, with the critical eye, the critical,

you know, thinking low of you, and they're just,

they're throwing their dirt down at you.

But you know, God is building something in that,

just like he did through Paul.

And we're told, just shake it off, right?

And step up.

He's actually building a ramp for you to climb

out of your ditch.

Isn't that awesome?

Because that's what the Lord does.

That's what he was doing for Paul.

He wasn't going to stop with one stoning.

No, I got, I got some more things I got to go through.

You know, no one can stop you from God's calling

in your life unless you let them.

It's, we have to overcome realizing that, you know what,

this hurts so bad.

You ever just been really hurt by someone says,

someone, something someone says to you or insult you

or whatever, and you're just so like stunned with like,

wow, that was just so like harsh and mean.

Like, you know, and it takes the wind out of you almost.

You're thinking like, well, there has to be something good

that's going to come out of this.

Because there always is.

We can learn from every pain and suffering moment.

Can't we?

Just like that old donkey just climbing out of the ditch.

Eventually, we're building something on these mistakes.

We don't want to make a life of them, right?

But we want to climb out of the ditch eventually through them.

What's another thing?

Get back up.

Go back through.

If you have that next slide.

He didn't just leave Lystra.

He gets up.

Let's go back.

Like, that is crazy, isn't it?

Like, imagine he goes back.

I'm sure he looked like a mess.

I just would imagine, right?

He goes back in, just torn up.

I believe he may have even lost his eyesight during the stoning

when they threw his ocular artery or ocular nerve or something.

Because eventually, he was dim in sight over the years.

But, you know, he went back through the same town

that just stoned him thinking that he was dead.

And we see this throughout Scripture.

When God meets someone and they just went through a real tough time.

And he says, you know what I want you to do?

I want you to go back.

There's more to do.

Sometimes we just want to run, right?

But he said, no, go back into it.

That's where all the fruit is going to be born in the midst of it.

He said that to Hagar, right?

Like, you know, she has a child for Abraham.

She didn't even want to.

You know, I mean, it wasn't her idea.

And now the very woman that made her do it is treating her poorly.

Probably out of a lot of chemistry going on there and dynamics, you know,

like you're carrying a baby with my husband.

You know, this isn't, you know, and yet God says, no, I want you to go back.

How about Jacob?

You know, finally, he's free from Esau.

And he's like, and you have to go back, go back.

But I'm going to meet Esau again.

Go back.

You got to go back in.

You know, a lot of times the Lord wants to send you right back to the thing

that the worst place you would think there is to be is in that place.

And he's saying, no, I want you to go back into that.

Moses, go back to Egypt.

Rescue my people.

Set my people free.

They want to kill me there.

And nobody likes me there.

My own people don't.

And the Egyptians hate me.

Yet, go back.

Elijah.

You know, he's in the cave.

He's out of the cave.

The Lord says, go back, go back.

I need you to train up Elijah.

I need you to pronounce more miracles and prophecies in my name.

You got to go back.

But they want to kill me there.

You know, few of us have situations that we might be killed if we go back.

But embarrassment, ridicule, judgment.

A lot of us have been there.

I have.

I've seen so many times good friends of mine.

And I share one time a good friend of mine.

He was a pastor and just things went really bad.

And it wasn't really his fault.

He didn't do anything sinful.

It just didn't work out for him, you know.

And there was people that thought he should be doing more than he was doing and so forth.

And that whole ministry eventually just dissipated and broke down and so forth.

But it brought me so much joy to go to this homecoming,

homegoing memorial service for someone we all knew.

And there were all four of those pastors.

Together, friends again.

You know, in spite of that, because sometimes you just have to say, you know what?

We've all changed.

You ever think about this?

Like all of us should be always changing.

So if suddenly I have something with Des.

And thanks, Des.

You don't mind being a prop to you for a minute.

And you know, we have, you know, and he's offended by me or I'm offended by him.

And there's this like friction and so forth.

And well, guess what?

We're all going to be different this time next year.

Hopefully more like Christ.

And then we all come back and say, remember when, man, that was foolish.

That was just silly.

I was like, what was that?

It was the enemy trying to sow division.

But you don't have to stay there.

You can really go back and say, you know, I apologize.

We know, friends of ours, that they used to be pastors too.

And these people just sowed so much division and really even made accusations,

not that were huge, but just accusations about their character and all this.

And they're like, what did we ever do to these people?

And like 20 plus years, they reach back out to the pastor and say, you know,

I just want to ask for your forgiveness.

I was going through some stuff back then and I just was resenting God,

resenting things in my life.

And you were the punching bag in that.

You know, you were the brunt of my disappointment,

my own dilemma that I was in.

You know, that happens a lot, right?

You know, we can lash out at each other and really they're not even the problem.

I'm the problem or I have problems with something else.

But there's no one else to take it out on.

And you kind of remind me of my dilemma, you know?

And so, so often we can fall into that.

But we have to go back into it and just say, let's try to bring peace.

Some things you can't.

Some, some relationships of the past, some things that were done, you know,

we need to move on.

So I'm not saying go back and try to fix everything.

We're new creations, walking in the newness of life.

There's some things you can't reconcile this side of heaven,

but you can continue on knowing that you are forgiven.

But if there's a reason God is sending you back in, say,

all right, Lord, what kind of mending are you going to do in the midst of this?

And that's why we see Paul going through all of the areas saying,

I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

I'm not ashamed.

And I'm willing to wear the stripes and the scars of Christ.

How about one more?

As the worship team comes up, you good for one more?

God can use your pain to strengthen other people.

By the way, I just, you know what?

Going back to that other one just for a second.

One of the greatest testimonies I've ever heard, you know,

and some of you are going to say, oh, no, not her.

Regardless of what you think about her whole ministry,

and I don't know much about it anymore these days,

but I've listened to her plenty of times.

So if you think she's a this or a that, but Joyce Myers, okay,

has an amazing testimony.

Now, again, you might think little of her or much of her.

I don't know a ton about her, but I've listened to her many times.

She is a testimony that she led her father,

who sexually abused her over 250 times.

He led her.

She led him to the Lord.

I mean, that's amazing.

Like, how do you even do that?

How do you even go back through that and say, you know,

I forgive you.

You did it because it was done to you.

And yet, you know what?

I forgive you.

And he got saved through his daughter,

who he put through all those horrible childhood issues,

you know, and that's what, you know,

and we all can use that for testimony

and what Jesus Christ has done through us to someone else.

Like we read you.

God can use your pain to strengthen other people.

He really can.

When you say, look, I went through all this,

and now I know why.

Can I share with you what I went through?

That's a testimony.

You know that?

That's a testimony.

Testimonies come from a test and a lot of moaning.

A lot of moaning.

You're going to moan a lot.

I don't want a testimony.

Sometimes God gives it to you,

but you could push through it, and it's a test.

And you could say, yeah, I did a lot of moaning,

but here I am on the other side of it, amen?

You know, we can be that for each other.

How about when Jesus says to Peter,

Simon, Simon, indeed, he mentions the word indeed.

In other words, listen up, okay?

Satan has asked for you.

I never want Satan to be asking about me, okay?

I don't think he does, and I don't want him to.

Satan has been asking for you, that he might sift you like wheat,

right?

And Jesus said, but you know what?

I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail.

Now, did it fail?

For a little bit.

I don't know him.

I don't know him.

I don't know him, right?

But when you have returned to me,

strengthen your brethren, even your failures,

even your sins, when you come back through the other side of it,

it's your testimony.

We all have a testimony.

We have a testimony of failures.

We have testimony of victories.

We have a testimony of apathy.

We have a testimony of unforgiveness.

We have a testimony of everything from time to time.

But all of it, when we reconcile it to Christ,

we can strengthen others by it.

Sometimes the greatest strengthening is

when we hear someone that we thought like,

well, I thought they walked on water.

No, no, let me tell you the real story behind me.

This is what I came from.

This is what I went through, and you're like, wow.

Then it's possible for me, too.

We can instill hope into each other by saying,

if he did it for me, he can do it for you.

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

You know what that means?

If I could have gone through that, so can you.

I'm not anything special.

I'm special to God, but I'm no better than anybody else.

But he did it for me, and he can do it for you.

That's Paul's story, amen, amen.

So let's pray.

We're going to close with some worship.

And when we're done here, you better not leave, okay?

You better go out the doors and turn left.

In fact, who's out there?

Leo and someone else's.

Yeah, Jake, they're going to stop you if you try to leave, okay?

I'm just telling you.

They're going to lock them.

What's that?

At least come in and eat, Jill says.

But you got to hang out because, you know,

there's been so much effort, preparation, prayers,

and love that has gone into providing this time together.

Don't miss out.

Don't miss out.

Come on, enjoy it with us, and have a great time, amen.

Why don't we all stand up?

Father God, we wish, you know,

sometimes that we can go through life without any trials,

but you promise that isn't going to happen.

And it's through the trials that real triumph happens, Lord God.

Thank you for it, Lord.

We ask you, in Jesus' name, to empower us

through all of the dry wells, Lord God,

through all of the times that like the dirt just falls on us, Lord God.

We pray that you would empower us to shake it off

and step up and step out, Lord God,

because, Lord, time is of the essence, Lord.

And everything that happens to us has a purpose for your glory.

And so, Lord God, we realize we're going to go through some pain,

but there's also going to be so much gain through it.

So, Lord, anoint us, sweet Lord.

We just want to lift up our hands and receive an anointing,

a fresh anointing from you.

Lord God, empower us.

Download your dunamis power upon us

and all of your gifts so that we can live and walk like you.

We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.

Let's give the Lord a round of applause.

Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church

as we praise God and discuss His Word.

Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings

at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.

Be blessed and have a great day.

God bless.