Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the Chroma Church Podcast.
[00:00:06] Hello you lovely people.
[00:00:10] We are in Acts chapter 20 today, so if you've got your Bibles. Acts chapter 20, verse 17 that was an awesome time, wasn't it? I love when the Holy Spirit does His stuff. And that was a beautiful new song as well. About the blood. I'm assuming it's new. It's either new or I've been backsliding. Both are possible, but just an awesome song about Jesus blood. I think this is the first time I preach with this new screen at the back as well, so that's kind of special. It has a passing resemblance to my tie dye T shirt from the 1970s, which went along with my flared purple jeans with pink pockets. I did look a sight, but hey, I've got better. I got married acts 2017 let's stand together now. From Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them, you yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with trials that happened to me through the plot of the Jews. How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, I'm going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now behold, I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day I'm innocent of the blood of you all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to the flock which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church, which he obtained by his blood. I know that after my departure wolves will come among you, not sparing the flock, and from among you your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease, night or day, to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which he's able to build you up in and give you the inheritance of all those who are sanctified. Do be seated.
[00:03:18] I want to take you back to the 1870s in Chicago in America.
[00:03:28] And there we find a lovely couple, Horatio and Anna Spafford.
[00:03:36] They are beautiful Christians, really love the Lord, serving the church, leading the church. And they're also very successful businessmen, business people. God has blessed Horatio and Anna with a number of successful businesses. They also have invested in a lot of property right through Chicago. And he's blessed them with a family, too. They have four daughters and a young baby boy. They eventually got the boy they were hoping for, and God blessed that couple until it seemed he didn't because their baby boy died of scarlet fever. And soon after that, there was the great fire in Chicago, which wiped out pretty much all of Horatio and Anna's businesses and a lot of the property that they'd invested in.
[00:04:39] While they were recovering from this double loss, their doctor suggested to them that they should take some time out, go on holiday, take a break to recover from the trauma. And while the doctor was saying these things, a letter arrived. The letter was from DL Moody, a crazy American evangelist at that time, working in the uk, seeing thousands come to God. He was a good friend of Horatio and Anna Spafford, and he said to them, I could do with your help, would you come over? And so they tied the two together. They decided to go on holiday in Europe and then go and help DL Moody with the amazing revivals that were going on in England at that time. Horatio Spafford had a few things to tie up in terms of his business. So he sent Anna and their four daughters ahead of him on a ship and his intention was to follow in a week or so's time once he sorted out his business deals.
[00:05:34] Seven days into the journey on the boat, it was hit by another vessel and sank.
[00:05:45] Anna and her maid were saved.
[00:05:48] All four girls drowned.
[00:05:52] All four girls drowned. Horatio got the message a couple of days later, immediately found himself a ship to get over to England where Anna was.
[00:06:04] As his ship was going past the area where the ship had gone down, the captain called him up to the bridge and pointed it out with tears in his eyes. He thanked the captain for showing him, went back down to his cabin, shut the door, went over to his desk, sat down and picked up a pen and began to write these.
[00:06:30] When peace like a river attendeth my way when sorrows like sea Billows roll. Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.
[00:06:46] I don't know if I would have done as well as Horatio Spafford did at that moment in time. I'm not really sure.
[00:06:56] But what an awesome response. What an awesome response to Trials.
[00:07:02] That became a very famous hymn. Of course it is well with my soul. We still sing it today in a more modern version. So why tell that story? Why start with that story? Because this is where Paul is right now. He is on his way to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey. And he knows what is awaiting him. He doesn't know the detail, but he knows where he's going. Likely imprisonment, maybe the end of his life. We've been studying Acts now for quite a while. So if you're new today, as you can see we've got all the way up to chapter 20.
[00:07:39] Acts itself is written by Luke, Dr. Luke. So it's amazing that we can read it, really, if he's a doctor.
[00:07:49] You're a bit slow with the jokes. Even forced laughter is welcome, you know. So apologies to any doctors in the house, but it's kind of your fault.
[00:08:01] You're the ones that write like that, right? Anyway, Acts is written by Luke and it's a sequel. It's a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. So in the Gospel of Luke, Luke is telling of all that Jesus did in Acts of the Apostles, Luke is telling of all that Jesus did through the church. And that's why it's called Acts of the Apostles, Acts of the Church. It perhaps should be called Acts of the Holy Spirit, because really that's what we're experiencing with reading through this. And very appropriate that we're studying Acts as we go into whole month of enjoying the Holy Spirit's presence with some special meetings. So Paul was at an it is well with my soul moment as he is meeting some friends.
[00:08:46] So it's a kind of watershed moment in Acts. We've had watershed moments before. We've had Acts 2 where the Holy Spirit falls. We've had Acts 10 where the Gentiles come into the church. That's why we're here today. We had Acts 13 where Paul went on his first missionary journey, rescued by Barnabas. And now at the end of his missionary journeys with Timothy and Luke and a few others, he knows where he's going. Likely imprisonment, likely the end of his life. It's a watershed moment as his missionary journeys come to an end. He's aware of the trials to Come. God's been warning him about this, but he doesn't know the detail. We do. Of course, we do know the detail, because we can read on. We know that he will be taken to Rome. We know that he will be imprisoned.
[00:09:30] We know that ultimately he will pay with his life. It's not in Acts, it's after Luke has finished writing, but somewhere around AD 65, 70, the executioner catches up with Paul and he is more than likely, as a Roman citizen, beheaded.
[00:09:47] We're in about AD 56 at the moment. So that's about 10 years on, only 10 years now to the end of Paul's life.
[00:09:57] So he's not aware of the detail, but it is very much, and it is well with my soul moment to keep persevering and keep pushing on. He's had trials, he's had troubles. The Jews are not stepping back from persecuting the Christian church, and the Emperor Nero has just got to the throne. If you know anything of Nero, he was the worst of the emperors. His shadow is beginning to creep across Christendom now as he begins to start persecuting the Christians, burning them at the stake, throwing them to the lions, throwing them to the wild dogs, and pouring tar over them and lighting them as human torches for his garden parties.
[00:10:36] Such was the Emperor Nero. Paul is aware of all of these pressures as he comes to meet his friends. He's come to meet his friends from Ephesus. He's called them to him where he is at the port as he goes back to Jerusalem. And he says this to them. It's a declarative statement. It's verse 24. I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry I receive from the Lord. That's the esv. The new King James says this. None of these things will move me. I like that. None of these things will move me.
[00:11:17] I may be going to be arrested. It will not move me. I may be imprisoned. It will not move me. I may die.
[00:11:27] It will not move me.
[00:11:31] It will not move me. He's writing at about this time, he's writing his first letter to the church in corinth. And in 1 Corinthians, he says these words, death, where is your sting? Death, where is your sting? The context for that statement is where he is right now, knowing he's going back to Jerusalem, knowing he's likely to be arrested, knowing he's likely to die for his faith.
[00:11:55] I love church history and some of the greatest statements in church history come from those early days. There's one in particular from the widow Felicitas. We're probably another hundred years on from Paul here. And she is about to die for her faith in Rome. And this is what she says to her Roman captors.
[00:12:14] While I live, I shall defeat you.
[00:12:18] And if you kill me in my death, I shall defeat you all the more awesome words. And that is Paul's cry of this moment. It is well with my soul, you cannot defeat me. And he's calling his friends together. He's gathering his friends at Ephesus. These are guys he's worked with. He's been in Ephesus for three years. He was there just a few months before. So he's just going back on his way to Jerusalem, calling them to himself kind of for some final instructions. But these are his friends. These are people he has a father's heart for. These are guys he put into ministry in the first place. And he's saying three things. Be alert to the tears and the trials. Be alert to potential discord, and be alert to dealings of daily life.
[00:13:02] He says it in verse 20, Acts 20:31. Be alert. Remembering that for three years I did not cease day and night to admonish every one of you. Be alert. Alert. He's telling them to be ready for all that may come their way.
[00:13:21] Two weeks ago, I turned 70 years old.
[00:13:30] You're shocked, right?
[00:13:33] How do you think I feel?
[00:13:35] But I know I don't look that old.
[00:13:40] You were slow.
[00:13:42] You were slow. I don't look that old. But for my 70th, we had a bit of a party, gathered some friends and family together, and my sister colluded with my oldest daughter. My sister Helen got together with my oldest daughter, Elspeth, and they put together 70 photos for each year of my life. Many of them I had not seen before.
[00:14:04] There I am.
[00:14:07] Don't I look cute?
[00:14:09] I'm probably about 11 at the time, I suppose. 11, 12. Just going up to Scouts. I love Scouts. I was a Cub Scout. I was a Boy Scout. I was a Venture Scout.
[00:14:18] You can take it down now, please.
[00:14:23] So that was a surprise to me. I don't think I'd ever seen that photo before.
[00:14:29] The reason for showing it you is that the whole premise of Scouts is to be alert, to be prepared. That's their motto. Be prepared. And I was what was called a sixer in the Scouts and the Cubs, and I had my six. And so when Skipper came over to inspect my patrol, we would call the Cobra Patrol. We'd be standing like this. And then Skipper would come over and I'd say, cobra patrol alert. And we'd stand like that, and I'd do my scout salutes and all the rest of it. Paul is saying, ephesus church alert. Ephesus church alert. Cromer church alert.
[00:15:08] There will be trials, There will be temptations. Be prepared, be prepared. And that's what he's saying to his friends in Ephesus. He's aware of some of the outside pressures in Ephesus. They've not gone away. Remember when Paul was there last time? There was a riot, and the riot was caused by the silversmiths, the guys who were making the. The artifacts for the goddess Artemis. They do not like Christians. That was still going on. So he's saying, be alert. Be aware of that. There will be trials, there will be tears. But he's commending them to God's purposes and saying, God is greater. Paul is aware of the end of the story, verse 32. He says that we will be given an inheritance. He's looking beyond today. He's looking into eternity. We have an eternity with him. And today is just like a small moment in time compared to all that God has for us. God is preparing his church. As a bride, we will be a bride For a bridegroom, that day will come. Paul is looking to that. So he's saying to his friends, be aware of trials, be aware of temptations, be aware of troubles. But there's something much more.
[00:16:16] And that more is when we meet Jesus, when, as the bride of Christ, we meet him. We had a wedding here yesterday.
[00:16:23] MJ and Jo's got married. It's a beautiful. There you go. Hey, MJ and Joe's. Wherever you are today, you got a whoop.
[00:16:32] It's a beautiful picture of the bride and Christ.
[00:16:38] There will be a day. There will be an eternal day. And that makes all the hardship, all of the trials, all of the tears worthwhile. And that is what Paul is saying. He's aware that beyond Ephesus, there's gonna be a whole changed nation. And nations because of Jesus Christ. Of course, that's the story of the early church. Within 200 years, Christianity is everywhere. I saw a remarkable lecture recently on tv. It was Sir Gareth Southgate, former England manager. And he was speaking at what's called the Richard Dimbleby Lecture. This is a rather prestigious thing, and it's almost a surprise that he was there. Cause normally it's lords and ladies and politicians and scientists that speak at this event, but he'd been invited.
[00:17:25] And he said as he got up, his first comment was that it was a bold selection to choose him to speak, but he was incredibly erudite. He was very clear in what he was saying. And it broke my heart because what he was talking about was helping boys and young men. That's what he's done as an England manager, as a football manager. He's brought through boys and young men and helped them on their journey. But his chilling statement was this. He said, the fact is there are more young men with smartphones than there are with fathers.
[00:18:04] There are more young men with smartphones than there are with fathers.
[00:18:08] He went on to say, we're in danger of creating a generation of lost boys caught in a downward cycle of targeted social media, aspiring to have perfect bodies and the perfect life, but ending up taking their own lives. Suicide is the highest cause of death amongst the 18 to 24 year old boys and men in this nation.
[00:18:32] They've stopped playing football, they've stopped going to youth clubs, they've stopped cycling, they've stopped running. Instead, they're doing this.
[00:18:41] Instead, they're doing this.
[00:18:43] They're looking at their smartphones caught in a cycle of gaming, gambling and pornography, and it's destroying a generation. Southgate's conclusion was that they needed identity, connection and culture. And I agree with that. They do identity, connection and culture. But I would add one more.
[00:19:06] They need Jesus.
[00:19:08] They need Jesus. And that's why two weeks later, I got so excited when another report came into the press. It was a report by the Bible Society. Some of you heard about this. It's called the Quiet revival.
[00:19:21] They commissioned YouGov, a secular polling organization. This is a bit geeky, but it's important. The Bible Society asked YouGov to do this. They are a secular organization. They're the same people that do all the kind of polling at election day and that sort of thing. And they were actually renewing a poll that they'd done six years earlier in 2018.
[00:19:44] So this is YouGov going out to over 10,000 people. It's a big survey. So, you know, it's a bona fide survey by a proper company. And this is what they found. These are the reports that came back. Large numbers of young adults, male and female, have started going to church.
[00:20:02] Large numbers of young adults are reading the Bible regularly.
[00:20:06] Large numbers of young adults are practicing prayer and worshiping Jesus Christ as God.
[00:20:13] A new generation is finding a hope in the Christian message and a home in the established church.
[00:20:20] This one's exciting. Over 2 million more people are attending church than last measured six years ago. That is an increase of 56% in six years. Wow. Isn't that awesome? That is amazing.
[00:20:36] I really get excited by that. But I have to say it's not revival because we're coming from a very low base. So 56% on a low base. We've got a long way to go, guys, but what a start. And then this is the key statistic for me. This I just find amazing. In 2018, just 4% of boys and men between 18 and 24 years old said they attended church regularly.
[00:21:02] Today it has increased from 4% to 21%. 21%.
[00:21:11] Now I would like to gently suggest that that is revival.
[00:21:17] God is on the move. They are abandoning their smartphones and finding Jesus Christ. This is an awesome day to be alive in the United Kingdom and you can say hallelujah to that.
[00:21:31] One of my in laws is Rob. He's my son in law, married to Elspeth, he runs an office. He's got a lot of people working for him and he's very careful not to overstress his faith. But he does speak clearly about his Christian faith. One Monday morning, a young man came bounding in, 21 year old, bit of a crazy guy. Robert tried to share with him and he wasn't interested. And he's suddenly bounding up and saying, I love Jesus, I love Jesus. I found Jesus. He's the real superhero.
[00:21:59] And that's what's happening in that generation. They've had pretend superheroes, they've had the Avengers, but now Jesus Christ is the real superhero. I love some of this stuff that's happening. Just to say if you want to get a link to the Gareth Southgate talk or the Quiet Revival Report or a little bit of a study on Horatio and Anna Spafford, they're on my website. So if you go to ralfturnerwriter.com you will find them there. End of plug.
[00:22:34] It tells the stories and this is Paul's story we're talking about today. And Paul's story is all about declaring, it is well with my soul, it is well with my soul. In times of tears and trials, it is well with my soul. In terms of discord in the church as well. Verse 29 is pretty strong.
[00:22:55] I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you. Wow, that's a real strong declaration. And actually we do know what he's talking about there. He's talking about what was called the circumcision party. That was Jews who'd become Christians. But they were then teaching that you had to follow all the Jewish customs as well, hence the circumcision bit. But thankfully, Peter and the apostles in Jerusalem said, no, you don't have to do that. So, guys, you can uncross your legs. We're okay.
[00:23:22] But what was happening was that was getting into the church at Ephesus. So that's why Paul was saying it so strongly. But the answer to the declaration fierce wolves were coming in in terms of teaching is in the verse before. So verse 29 talks about the discord. Verse 28 says, Care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. We sang about it today, we worshiped about it today. It's the blood of Christ that will enable us to go through any discord that we come across. Now, by God's grace, we're not going to have any fierce wolves, but we will fall out. Have you noticed that?
[00:24:03] We will make mistakes.
[00:24:07] This is a true story. There was a theology professor in America at one of the Christian universities, and he always used to joke in his theology class that he was 100% error free. So when he retired, the students got him a computer disk. And on the computer disk was written the words 100% error free. So he put it in his computer. It was completely blank.
[00:24:29] And of course, that's the story for us. None of us are perfect. None of us are error free. We may even fall out with one another.
[00:24:39] That's okay. We may get upset with each other. That's okay. We may even have political differences. That's okay. Because we've all been purchased by who. And when we disagree, we choose to move on together anyway because the purpose is greater than the discord. That's important, guys. That's important in a church this size. You know, we will get offended if we feel somebody's overlooked us, or we will get offended if we feel some other leader has been overlooked, or we will get offended with something somebody says that's taken out of context, that is going to happen.
[00:25:13] But there's something greater.
[00:25:15] There's something greater.
[00:25:20] We are purchased by his blood. Paul actually writes to the Ephesians five or six years later. The letter to the Ephesians talks about it being a spiritual battle that we stand against the schemes of the devil. It's never our friends.
[00:25:34] It's never about a fellow believer. It's always about the enemy. So don't give yourself the luxury of being offended by your church leaders. Don't give yourself that luxury. I may disagree with my Church friends. But I'm choosing not to be offended. And I'm going on in the purpose of God. Cause there's a greater call. There is a greater call. It is well with my soul. How about you? It is well with our souls. We have been enjoying revival here for about three years now. We're beginning to see it happen now, right through England, right through the United Kingdom. It is well with our soul. Let us not fall out. Let us because of discord. And finally, Paul talks about trials and tears. He talks about discord. And thirdly, he talks about our daily lives. He wants us to remember the poor. He says that in verse 35. That's important in a day when our governments are actually pulling back from worldwide aid. It's so sad, tragic that they're doing that. But actually, historically it was the church that gave more aid around the world than a secular government. And there's a reason why the secular government took over from the church. The flame went out.
[00:26:40] The flame went out. But I gotta tell you guys, the flame is alive again. The flame is burning again. So as a church, we can move into these areas and make a difference in the world around us. If you've never talked to Maddy about what we do with the poor, if you've never talked to Maddie about what we do in Myanmar, go chat to her. Go and commit to help and to serve and to help the poor. Paul talks about that and he talks about us too. Overcoming our own problems, our own day to day issues. It's important that when we move in the purposes of God, when God the Holy Spirit is with us as he so clearly is, as we so clearly saw this morning, that we take that into the streets, that we take that into our workplace, that we take that into our homes, to our neighbors, that we're bold in what we say. It is well with my soul. How about you, friend? How about you, neighbour? It is well with my soul. It's important that we don't allow our own issues to cloud the fact that God the Holy Spirit wants to move in us. There's a guy called John Maxwell, he's a business leader and this is what he says.
[00:27:48] Most days in our lives come and go and they are much like all the others and don't stand out.
[00:27:55] But there are a few days that are unlike all the others. They do stand out because they give us an opportunity to stand up, to be set apart from the rest of the crowd and seize that moment or to remain sitting with the rest of the crowd and let it pass. These Moments, for better or worse, define as they show what we are made of. What are we made of? Church. What are we made of? Are we ready to seize those moments? The thing is, they never come with anticipation that they're coming. They come as a surprise. They're there in a moment and what do we do? How do we deal with it? One of the most dramatic for me was a few years years ago in New York where a girl fainted onto the tracks of the subway as a train was coming along. There was a guy standing next to her, he didn't know, he'd never seen her before. He leapt onto the tracks as the train was coming, rolled the two of them into the middle of the track so that the train went over the top of them and saved her life.
[00:28:54] There are a few days that are unlike all the others. They do stand out because they give us an opportunity to stand up, to be set apart from the rest of the crowd and seize the moment. Come on, guys. What about your friends? What about your workmates? What about those people that we've not had the courage yet to talk to? We are living in days when God, the Holy Spirit is on the move. 21% of 18 to 24 year old men are going to church. Wow. We are living in revival days. Let's be bold, let's declare it is well with me, no matter what it is I'm facing. There will be things we are facing. Of course there will. But let's listen to the whispers of the Spirit and let's step out when those moments come and be able to declare who Jesus is.
[00:29:46] You know, there's a big difference between Paul and me this morning. Unlike Paul, these are not my final words and I will never see you again. I hope I have reached my three score years and 10. But I do intend to keep walking for a lot longer yet.
[00:30:05] My Old Testament hero, some of you will know, is Caleb. Caleb was still taking Mountains at 85 years old. So I'm still marching, I'm still walking, I'm still going on the purposes of God. I'm not giving up. How about you? How about you? Shall we walk together?
[00:30:23] Shall we determine together not to be defeated by tears and trials, not to be defeated by discord, determine together to throw off pressures from daily living.
[00:30:38] There's a quote from Donald Miller that I think is one of my favorites ever. So let me finish with this.
[00:30:45] Donald Miller says this. I am early in my story, but I believe I will stretch out into eternity and in heaven I will reflect upon these early days, these days when it seemed God was down a dirt road walking towards me. Years ago, he was a swinging speck in the distance.
[00:31:07] Now he's close enough that I can hear him singing.
[00:31:11] Soon I will see the lines on his face.
[00:31:16] Sure enough, soon I will see the lines on his face. But right now I hear him singing.
[00:31:26] Right now I hear God singing.
[00:31:29] And he's calling us as a people into his purposes to say it is well with my soul.
[00:31:39] Amen.
[00:31:42] Thanks for listening to the Chroma Charge podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also join us in person or online every Sunday at Cromer Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship, and how to donate, visit our website at Cromer Church.
