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"THE SIDE OF THE MINISTRY THAT YOU JUST DON'T SEE"

Acts 14:19-25

Sermon by

Rev. Robt. E. Houston, Sr.

Senior Pastor

Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church

Portland, Oregon

Preached At

Pastor's Anniversary & Fare-Thee-Well

Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church

Dr. T.L. Lewis, Pastor

Portland, Oregon

I AM SURE THAT IN THE BACK OF MANY MINDS IN THE CHURCH, PASTORAL ANNIVERSARIES APPEAR TO BE SUCH A LAVISH AND GRAND AFFAIR. IN MOST OF OUR CHURCHES, THE PASTOR'S ANNIVERSARY LENDS ITSELF AS BEING THE FULLEST EXPRESSION OF THAT PARTICULAR CHURCH CALENDAR. COMMITTEES ARE ORGANIZED, MACHINERY IS ACTIVATED, PLANS ARE SET FORTH TO HONOR THE MAN OF GOD. THEMES OF PROFOUND NATURE ARE SET IN PLACE, IN ORDER THAT THE CHURCH MAY RECOGNIZE THE MAN OF GOD. GREAT SPEECHES, TREMENDOUS SERMONS, WONDERFUL PRAISE IS HEAPED UPON THE MAN OF GOD DURING THIS WEEK. AND THERE ARE THOSE IN THE CHURCH WHO SMILE PUBLICLY AND WONDER PRIVATELY, WHAT A GREAT JOB HE MUST HAVE, WHAT A GREAT THING IT MUST BE TO HAVE ALL OF THAT MONEY. BUT I'VE COME HERE TODAY TO SUGGEST THAT THERE IS ANOTHER SIDE TO THIS PUBLIC MINISTRY THAT YOU SEE EVERY DAY - THERE IS A SIDE THAT YOU JUST DON'T SEE.

I'VE COME TONIGHT TO SAY TO ALL OF US, THAT PUBLIC DISPLAYS PALE IN COMPARISION TO PRIVATE PUNISHMENT. SHOUTING SERVICES DILUTE IN FAVOR OF SILENT SESSIONS WITH THE SAVIOUR. THE CALL OF THE MAN OF GOD TO THE PASTORAL MINISTRY IS NOT ONE OF GLORY GRABBING BUT IT IS A CALL TO COME AND DIE. THE THEOLOGIAN DIETRICH BARNHOFFER WRITES, THAT THE CALL OF THE CHRIST IS A CALL TO SUFFERING. AND SUFFERING, MY BROTHERS AND MY SISTERS, IS INSEPARABLE TO SERVICE.

SUFFERING IS DEFINED BY WEBSTER AS:

ANGUISH

DISTRESS

HEARTACHE

MISERY

TORMENT

TRAVAIL

AFFLICTION

AGONY

PAIN

BUT IN MY OWN LITTLE DEFINITION, ALLOW ME TO SAY THAT SUFFERING IS THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR DARING TO TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD. AND I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH MONEY YOU GIVE THE MAN OF GOD, YOUR MONEY CAN'T REPLACE:

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

BEING TALKED ABOUT

BEING LIED ON

BEING ACCUSED

BEING ABUSED

BEING STEPPED ON

BEING STEPPED OVER

BEING WHISPERED ABOUT

LOSING YOUR PRIVATE LIFE

AND LET ME SUGGEST, THAT MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS.

SO, WHILE WE ARE HERE TODAY TO HONOR THIS MAN OF GOD, LET ME SHARE SOME PRINCIPLES WITH YOU ABOUT THE SIDE OF THE MINISTRY THAT YOU JUST DON'T SEE. I HAVE CHOSEN TO GIVE THIS FEEBLE OUTLINE THREE POINTS:

1. SATANIC ASSAULTS

2. APPARENT RESULTS

3. SPIRITUAL RESULTS

OUR TEXT OPENS UP IN THIS BOOK OF THE ACTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WITH A TRAGIC ENCOUNTER BETWEEN PAUL AND HIS ENEMIES, THE JEWS OF ANTIOCH AND ICONIUM. PAUL WAS NO FAVORITE OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS WORLD, FOR HE WAS A STAUNCH SUPPORTER AND DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST. PAUL'S CONVERSATION ON THE DAMASCUS ROAD, PROVED IN HIS MIND AND HIS HEART, THAT THERE IS A REALITY IN SERVING JESUS CHRIST. PAUL'S EVANGELISTIC ZEAL WAS THE BIRTH-POINT OF THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

YET, PAUL WAS IN ICONIUM, AND IT WAS THERE THAT AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE WAS FORMED BETWEEN THE JEWS FROM ANTIOCH AND THE JEWS FROM ICONIUM. THE UNUSUAL PART OF THIS ALLIANCE WAS THAT MUCH PREPARATION HAD TO TAKE PLACE IN ORDER FOR THIS ALLIANCE TO TAKE PLACE. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN ICONIUM AND ANTIOCH WAS NOT THAT OF PORTLAND AND VANCOUVER, WHERE YOU JUST TAKE A BRIDGE AND COME OVER THE RIVER, BUT THE DISTANCE WAS SOME 75 MILES, AND BY FOOT, THAT MEANT A JOURNEY OF SOME 2 DAYS, AND BY HORSE MANY HOURS. AND THEY HAD GATHERED THEMSELVES TOGETHER TO HURT THE MAN OF GOD.

PORTLAND WILL NEVER, EVER BE THE PLACE THAT GOD WOULD HAVE US BE, UNTIL WE'VE LEARNED THE LESSON, THAT SAYS, TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED AND DO MY PROPHETS NO HARM. AND WHAT TRANSPIRED IN ICONIUM WAS A PLANNED, PLOT TO KILL PAUL. LET ME SUGGEST THAT MANY OF THESE FOLK ARE NOT DEAD YET. COMMUNITIES ARE FULL OF PEOPLE THAT WANT TO HURT THE MAN OF GOD:

THEY WANT HIM TO PREACH PROSPERITY, BUT DRESS POVERTY

THEY WANT HIM TO SING SWEET, BUT SILENTLY SUFFER

THEY WANT HIM TO CRY ALOUD, AND CRY AT HOME

THEY WANT HIM TO BURY THE DEAD, AND DIE SLOWLY BUT SURELY

THEY WANT HIM TO MARRIAGE FOLK, AND CATCH HELL AT HOME

THEY WANT HIM TO STAND UP, BUT AFTER STANDING SIT DOWN

GOD NEVER HONORS THE FAITH OF THOSE WHO HURT THE MAN OF GOD. GOD DOES NOT HAND OUT AWARDS TO THE DEVIL OF THE MONTH. THERE IS NO AWARD GIVEN OUT TO THE ONE WHO HURTS THE MOST PREACHERS, BUT OUTSIDE INFLUENCES ARE AT WORK.

SADLY TO SAY, HE WHO DARES TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST IS AN AUTOMATIC TARGET FOR THE DEVIL. YOU RECALL, THERE HAVE BEEN MEN OF GOD THAT SATAN HAS ATTACKED IN VARIOUS WAYS. ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, SATAN HAS USED MANY THINGS TO BRING DOWN THE NAME OF THE LORD. HE'S USED:

STORMS

WINDS

FRUIT

RAGING RIVERS

CHARIOTS

WARRIORS

GIANTS

FALSE PROPHETS

DANCING GIRLS

HILLS

CROWDS

MOB CROWDS

EVIL SPIRITS

FALSE ACCUSATIONS

PERSECUTIONS

PRISONS

DESERTED ISLANDS

BUT IN ALL OF THESE ASSAULTS FROM SATAN, THE MAN OF GOD HAS TO REMEMBER, THAT GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL OF THIS MINISTRY. JOB SAYS THOUGH HE SLAY ME, YET WILL I TRUST IN HIM. DAVID SAID IF YOU JUST BE STILL, AND LET THE LORD FIGHT YOUR BATTLES, HE'S ABLE.

I NEED TO INTERJECT HERE THAT SATANIC ASSAULTS CAN RISE UP FROM ANYWHERE - HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES, AUTOMOBILES, AND SATANIC OPPOSITION CAN RISE UP FROM WITHIN THE SAME GROUP THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO MINISTER TO. IT SEEMS UNUSUAL TO ME, BUT I HAVE DISCOVERED SOME OF THE HARDEST PAIN AND AGONY IS PRESENTED UPON ME BY THOSE WHO I'VE TRIED TO MINISTER HEALING TO.

AND LOOK AT PAUL, TRYING TO MINISTER TO THESE TOWN FOLK, HE'S TRYING TO MINISTER, HE'S ATTEMPTING TO TELL THEM, THAT JESUS DIED FOR THEIR SINS, AND NOW, HE MEETS APPARENT RESULTS:

THE BOOK SAYS THAT THEY STONED PAUL. NOW THERE WAS MORE PREACHERS THERE THAN JUST PAUL, BUT PAUL WAS THE ONE WHO STOOD OUT THE MOST. PAUL WAS THE ONE WHO DID NOT MIND REACHING OUT TO SOULS. PAUL WAS THE ONE WHO DID NOT CARE ABOUT HIS PUBLIC PERCEPTION. PAUL WAS THE ONE WHO DID NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS TO SWAY HIS WORK FOR THE LORD. PAUL WAS STONED.

THE MULTITUDES STONED HIM. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY PICKED UP ROCKS, AND BEGAN TO THROW THEM AT THE APOSTLE PAUL. WHAT A TERRIBLE WAY TO DIE - AT THE HANDS OF A MOB CROWD THAT THROWS ROCKS. BUT LET ME SUGGEST IN MY READING OF THIS NARRATIVE, THAT ROCKS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN RESULTS OF THE HANDIWORK OF GOD. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS NO ROCK FACTORY. THERE IS NO ROCK ASSEMBLY LINE. THERE IS NO ROCK PRODUCT CONTROL. BUT ROCKS WERE MADE BY GOD. AND BECAUSE THEY'RE MADE BY GOD, IT STANDS TO REASON, THAT SOMETIMES MOB CROWDS WILL USE THAT WHICH GOD MADE AGAINST THE MAN OF GOD.

THEY'LL USE THE BIBLE TO TRY TO HURT THE MAN OF GOD. THEY'LL USE THE CHURCH TO TRY TO HURT THE MAN OF GOD. THEY'LL USE ALL MANNER OF THINGS - TRYING TO HURT THE MAN OF GOD. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THEY STONED PAUL, AND THEN THEY DRAGGED HIM OUT OF THE CITY. THEY DID NOT WANT A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE EVIL THAT THEY HAD DONE. THEY WANTED TO THROW A ROCK, BUT YET, HIDE THEIR HANDS. THEY WANTED TO KILL PAUL - BUT THEN BE ABLE TO SAY, SOMEONE ELSE DID IT.

THEY PERCEIVED THE MAN OF GOD AS BEING DEAD, NEVER TO RISE NO MORE. THERE IS ALWAYS A PROBLEM WITH THINKING THAT THE MAN OF GOD IS DEAD. I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THOSE WHO FEEL THAT THE MAN OF GOD IS DEAD.

NUMBER ONE, HE'S GOD'S SERVANT.

NUMBER TWO, THIS IS MY FATHER'S WORLD.

NUMBER THREE, HE'S SOVEREIGN - HE DOES WHAT HE WANTS TO.

NUMBER FOUR, THOSE WHOM GOD LIFTS UP, NO ONE CAN BRING DOWN.

THEY DRAGGED THE BODY OF PAUL, OUT OF THE CITY, THINKING THAT HE WAS DEAD.

BUT GOD ALWAYS CAN TURN THE BAD INTO THE GOOD. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THE DISCIPLES, THOSE WHO REALLY LOVE THE LORD, THOSE WHO KNOW THAT JESUS IS:

BREAD WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY

WATER WHEN YOU'RE THIRSTY

A WHEEL TURNING

FIRE BURNING

THEY FOUND THE MAN OF GOD, APPARENTLY, THEY MET THE NEEDS OF THE MAN OF GOD. THEY TOOK CARE OF THE MAN OF GOD. THEY PUT BANDAGES ON THE MAN OF GOD. THEY MINISTERED TO THE MAN OF GOD. AND THAT'S A BIBLE PRINCIPLE - THERE IS A BLESSING IN BEING A MINISTER TO HIM WHO IS A MINISTER. WHOEVER GIVES A GLASS OF COLD WATER TO A PROPHET, RECEIVES A PROPHET'S REWARD. THEY TOOK PAUL AND HELPED HIM IN HIS HOUR OF NEED.

BUT THE DIVINE RESULTS OF THIS STORY WAS - THAT AFTER THEY HELPED THE MAN OF GOD, THEY, MEANING THE DISCIPLES AND PAUL, THEY MINISTERED TO THE SAME FOLK THAT TRIED TO KILL HIM. AND THAT'S THE SIDE OF THE MINSITRY THAT YOU DON'T SEE - EVEN THOUGH THEY REJECT THE MAN OF GOD, GOD NEVER REJECTS THE SPREADING OF THE WORD.

YOU REMEMBER WHEN JESUS WENT TO CAPERNAUM THE SECOND TIME, THE FIRST TIME THEY TRIED TO KILL HIM, AND THE SECOND TIME, HE DEMONSTRATED THAT GOD IS THE GOD OF A SECOND CHANCE. LOOK AT THE RESULTS THAT ONLY GOD CAN GIVE:

SOULS CAME TO JESUS

THE SOULS OF THE DISCIPLES WERE STRENGTHENED

THEY APPOINTED ELDERS IN EVERY CHURCH

THEY PRAYED WITH FASTING

THEY PUT THE CHURCH IN THE HANDS OF THE LORD

AND ON THIS OCCASSION, I NEED TO SAY, THAT YEA, WE ALL MUST GO THROUGH TRIBULATIONS TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD. BUT OUR TROUBLE, OUR TRIBULATIONS, DON'T MATCH UP TO JESUS.

HE DIED AT CALVARY

BUT EARLY ON SUNDAY MORNING - HE GOT UP.

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