My wife and I moved to Arizona in 2013 and we came over in that February March time frame, which is a great time to be in Arizona, right? And so we moved here and then we experienced our first Arizona summer. And it was at that point I heard a phrase that I've now, I've never heard before that time, but now I've heard every summer since then is that when people talk about the heat in Arizona, we say it's a. It's a dry heat, right? I never understood that until I moved here and understand that really it's this idea that because there is less humidity, uh, that you can actually withstand uh the heat more than expected, because I, I used to respond, OK, it's a dry heat, but so is a pizza oven, right? It's hot, right? It can feel at times like you're playing Super Mario on that sun level where the sun is literally chasing you and trying to kill you for those that played that game growing up, OK? But, but we say it's a dry heat. Why? Because it, it really is manageable. Uh, we moved over here. I grew up, I'm a Midwestern boy, but I spent some time working at a church in Florida and so we came from Florida to Arizona. Now Florida is like 2,000% humidity, right? Like you walk out into just like a humid cloud and bugs. Like I love the greenery and the beaches, but like you just walk out and you just sweat. Like I started bringing multiple clothes to church just because from driving from my house to the church, I would just Sweat because of the humidity and then there was one summer our car broke down and we didn't have the money to fix it at the time. And so I spent a Florida summer with no AC and so uh driving in that humidity, I've really come to appreciate the dry heat. Amen. And so it makes a difference. Well, we say that because it makes it manageable. Now, the way my mind works is like, man, we've always been saying that. I, I wonder where that phrase came from. Did you ever wonder where that phrase came from? I did anyway, so, uh, two people, and I appreciate that. And so I, I looked it up and I'm, I'm not saying that this is the accurate origin story of the phrase, but from what I could tell, the first use uh explanation of a dry heat actually came from 1878. There was a book called Picturesque Arizona by author Enoch Conklin. And in the book, Conklin quotes Doctor AM Laurier with this quote, he said, the heat in Arizona, although high, is endurable in consequence of the dryness. So they just kind of shortened down, we say, oh, it's a dry heat. Why do I say all this? 1, because summer is coming and we're all, we're all gearing up, right? But 2, Some of you are going through scorching situations right now. And so what I wanna talk about today is how is it that we can walk through the challenges we face with a perspective that shapes our faith. So this morning's message is entitled A Faith that endures, a faith that endures. And if you're taking notes, you can write this down, that having an eternal perspective will strengthen your everyday perseverance. Having an eternal perspective will shape your everyday perseverance. What you see. And what you say actually shapes the season you're in. Many of us have seen two different people experience the same situation. But yet, end up with two very different results, right? Because what you see and what you say actually shapes the season that you're in. A couple of examples. Uh, when I was younger and I was running some sports camps, I, I remember there being in Cincinnati running a sports camp, and I had a, a little, little boy come up to me and Let's just say A little bit larger than the average child, right? And I'd love to say being a pastor, I never judge anyone, uh, it's not true, we all judge. Um, and he comes up to me and he asks the question, he says, coach Sean, how many minutes until lunch? I'm like, come on, man, like I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt and you ask that question. I, I know why you asked that question. You know why you asked that question. I'm like, buddy, buddy, we got 15 minutes. And he goes, great. That means I got 15 minutes to dominate. And I, I totally misjudged this kid. It's like, man, that's an awesome perspective, right? He's like, how much time left, coach? Like 15 minutes. And he really did this, like 15 minutes to dominate. I was like, oh, that's awesome. I love that. Uh, another story of I was on a mission trip and we had taught some students how to share their faith and we were going, um, is it in a remote area and they were launching a new church and so a lot of people had never even heard about Jesus and so we were trying to have gospel conversations with people. And one of my students ordered his food. It was lunchtime, and he asked the waiter, uh, how many minutes until the food comes? I was like, oh man, that's it's a little rude, buddy, like, you know, I see it was about 1520 minutes. And I was like, oh man, and he turns to his friend because I was at the table next to him, so he doesn't turn to me, he turns to friends, great, I can witness like 3 more people in that time. And I was like, oh, and he takes off and goes outside and the people waiting outside, he starts sharing his faith, knowing that he had 15 minutes to reach more people for Jesus. It's like, man, that's a different perspective, isn't it? You see, we live in a world where people are craving their 15 minutes of fame. Right. What I believe is not, it's not that we get 15 minutes of fame, it's that we get 15 minutes to make Jesus famous. And so whether you live 10 years or 100 years, everybody in the scheme of eternity gets 15 minutes. And the question is, what are you gonna do with those minutes? Are you gonna try to make yourself famous? Are you gonna try to make Jesus famous? Because having an eternal perspective will actually strengthen your everyday perseverance. See what is perseverance? Perseverance is this idea of hanging on, holding on. It's what you hold on to, and sometimes it's what holds on to you, right? It's kind of like a postage stamp. Right? If you think about a postage stamp, it's something on adhesive that's prepaid, that sticks to one thing to make sure that it gets to where it's supposed to go. Right Again, that's how my mind works. I was curious, when was the first postage stamp? Well, glad you asked the question. Uh, it came in 1840 in May in England. They were already moving stuff and people were paying for postage, but it was getting complicated. And so they came up with this brand new system where if certain things under a certain weight, if you prepaid. For postage, and they would put the seal of the queen on on the parcel and so in this case, the very first stamp was called penny black and so it cost a penny and the stamp was black and on the image uh of the stamp had the image of the queen showing that it was within England and so somebody paid in advance, stuck to an item to ensure that it gets to where it needs to go, right. In a similar way, our perseverance of our faith is that our faith was purchased, but it wasn't purchased for a penny. It was purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. It's, you know, we talked about those forever stamps, but years ago they're like, oh, stamps are going up. Who knew like with inflation, everything was going up. But you could buy stamps and that price would cover it forever more. We have an eternal stamp placed onto our soul. In fact, it says in Ephesians 1:313 15 or 13 to 14, it won't be on the screen, but it says that those who received the word, who believe the word of truth, believed in the name of Jesus, were sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing us our inheritance into the return of Jesus Christ. So it is, it is a promise, it is a confirmation receipt of an order that was placed. Right? Nowadays, uh, we don't operate as much with stamps and things anymore, but when you order something online, what do you want to get? You want to get the tracking number, right? You want to get the tracking number. The Holy Spirit seals our heart, giving us the heart and attitude and mindset of perseverance that gives us the tracking number, not knowing that, OK, are we in the warehouse? Are we out for delivery? We don't know where we, we're going, but we know that at some point we're gonna end up in eternity with the arms of the God who loves us, who made us, who saves us, and who sustains our very existence. So that's why it's important for us to understand. That having an eternal perspective really really will strengthen your everyday perseverance. Paul, at the end of his life, we've been studying the life of Paul here. At the end of his life, he writes to his godson, Timothy, his mentee, if you will, who's leading the church of Ephesus. He writes this in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verses 8 to 12. He says, Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. So he was in prison at this time, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until the day what has been entrusted to me, and I love that word there, guard, why? Because he's in prison. He's in prison writing a letter and he can look at those soldiers like, you think you're guarding me? You're not guarding me. God's guarding me. And who knew That it was in the presence of those guards that he would write these letters that would make up over half of the New Testament as we know it. And then you can't stop the gospel. I'm not chained to you. You're chained to me. You can't go anywhere, let me tell you about Jesus. Right? And such powerful words at the end of his life. But we don't just have Paul's words to Timothy. We understand that we have Jesus' words to his disciples. He says this in Matthew 10:16 to 20, says behold, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, and bear witness before them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you over, not if, but when they deliver you over, do not be anxious about how you are to speak or for what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak but the spirit of your father speaking through you. I mean, think about the imagery for a second. He says, you gotta be smart. You gotta be innocent in character. You gotta be wise in speech. You gotta be ready because you're gonna get beaten, you're gonna be attacked, you're gonna be mocked. You're gonna be set before different people, and he literally lays out what's gonna happen to the early apostles, and that actually happens to Paul that we're gonna talk about today. But what's fascinating here is that in Matthew chapter 10, he says, be ready, the attacks are coming. And it won't be on your screen, but do you know what he says right after that in Matthew 11? It's in Matthew 11:29 to 30, he says, therefore, take my yoke upon you. A yoke is one of those things that would you put over oxen or horses right to to pull the plow. Just take my yoke upon you, for I'm gentle and lowly, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now I love that verse. But it comes right after the passage says you, you're gonna lose your life. Doesn't it seem like those are in contradiction to each other? It does until you understand the difference between yoke and life. He says, your life will be hard, but my yoke will be easy. Somewhere along the lines in American culture today, we flipped those two things. We'd say the yoke is hard, meaning you have to earn your salvation. You better follow all the rules. You better sitting up, tucking your shirt, take off your hat, say the right things, do the right things, and if you do that just enough, maybe, maybe God will love you. And we've turned a relationship with God into a religion. That we can't measure up to. But then in reverse, if we do all those things, then we think our life is gonna be easy. We think, oh if I follow all the rules, I get to sit on a fluffy cloud with rainbows and strumming a harp and everything, I'm gonna be hashtag blessed, right? But he doesn't, he says, no, life will be hard, but my yoke is easy, easy, meaning. That salvation is something not to be achieved, but to be received. And the reason you need rest for your souls is because life on its own will leave you feeling restless. You don't have to carry the weight because I am carrying it for you. I took on death itself. So that I'm carrying the weight. I remember moving furniture in from uh one of my wife's. Offer up a Facebook marketplace purchases. And my daughter Chloe, who was a toddler at the time. Came in, I was like, Daddy, I wanna help. And like, you know, when little kids try to help it they you just also don't want them to get crushed by the thing they're helping you lift, right? You know what I'm talking about, or you're just kind of stumbling, you're kind of like, here, but I remember we kind of worked through and we're kind of like working through the room and we set it down and she goes, we did it. Right. That's so much of life and ministry, isn't it? That we think we're partnering with God, which we are. But he is doing the heavy lifting, the carrying. Why? So that we can find rest for our souls. So his yoke is easy, but don't miss this. Our life is hard. He is the founder, the author, the perfecter of our faith, and he died a gruesome death. And he told his early followers that this world doesn't get it and they're gonna attack you too. So we don't just have Paul's words to Timothy. We don't just have Jesus' words to his disciples. Paul actually lived this out. We don't have time to go through all of these chapters because we're wrapping up here as we're getting up towards Easter. So I encourage you to read Acts 21 to 23. But let me just offer a quick summary. Again, I encourage you to read this throughout the week, but a quick summary, and then we're gonna highlight three passages from this. But in short, Paul was starting all these churches. There's some riots going on, things happening. He just prayed over the Ephesian elders at Millius, and he's going to Jerusalem because he's a Jew, there's a council there, there's festivals there. Uh, you know, you, you have Passover, you have Pentecost, all these things that make you kind of Jewish here, he wants to go and experience that, right? That's his heritage. But everyone along the way is saying, Paul, don't go. Don't go, it's not gonna go well. He said, yeah, but he's called me there, so I gotta go. And so he sees the difficult calling. He understands that his life is not a life of comfort, but of sacrifice. It's it's a life of suffering, but it's a life of significance. He sees that he knows it. I know it's gonna be hard, but I'm going. Because he told me to. So he goes, he meets up with James, the half brother of Jesus, the leader of the early church there, and they're meeting and someone comes and, hey, you're about to be, you're gonna be attacked. Don't, don't, don't go further. He's like, nope, I'm here. So he gets arrested, he actually gets falsely accused. They confuse him for some Egyptian. Revolutionary says, oh, you want revolution? I got a revolution, but I'm not that guy. And so he goes, he's like, no you can't hold me. I'm not just a Jewish leader. I'm also a Roman citizen. And so like, whoa, whoa, whoa, the Roman people like, I don't, I don't wanna handle and they're about to attack him and so they're gonna move him and as they're getting ready to move him from the mob, he goes, hold on a second, can I say something? Yeah, and he goes and he preaches. To everybody in the mob, and then he gets arrested and placed before the local government, the Sanhedrin, there which is made up of Pharisees, the religious leaders, and then the Sadducees, the political leaders who don't believe in the power of the resurrection. He says, hey, why are you on trial? He says, oh, not only am I gonna share my faith with the mob, I'm gonna share it with every single leader in this town. And so he goes, he shares his faith and being a Pharisee, he knows that Pharisees believe in the resurrection. Sadducees do not, and he says, why are you guys arresting me? I'm just preaching the hope of the resurrection. And the pharaoh's like, oh, OK, that makes sense. And they're like, wait, there is no resurrection. And then they start fighting each other, and Paul goes, All right, see you. And he like steps back. And so he's there, he's in prison. He's like, All right, God, you're gonna do it, have your will. Uh, you might not know this, but Paul's got a sister, and we know that because then the sister has a son, so it's Paul's nephew, gets word that this mob's gonna kill Paul. And so he he's gonna kill Paul. He gets word of that. It goes back to the guards. The guard's like, wait a second, I don't want. A mob and a killing of a Jewish leader on my hands. We saw what happened 20 years ago. Jesus. OK. I don't want that. So we actually orders 470 soldiers to escort this one guy out of the town. Not because they believe him, but because they don't want the riot on his hands. And so they move him. And then he's gonna go to a guy named Felix, and he's a guy named Festus and ultimately he's gonna end up in Rome. And all the way, he's sharing his faith, sharing his story. Saying that I used to persecute Christians. I was there in Acts 6 when, when people stone Stephen. I said, here, let me hold your jacket so you can throw better. And then I was on my way to lock up some Christians, cause some havoc and riots of my own to the believers in Damascus when God meets me on the road, causes me to go blind, says, why are you persecuting me? I have this inner encounter with the resurrected Jesus. Then I go and he opens my eyes. He opens my eyes to my heart first, and while I'm still physically blind, I'm spiritually. Set free. I go to Damascus. I meet this believer named Ananias, shows me the scriptures, the meaning of who Jesus is. So now God then physically opens my eyes, and now I'm not just persecuting Christians, I'm actually preaching and and making Christians and multiplying disciples of the way. And so now he's starting churches, developing leaders, and like this whole story is crazy. And the leaders like, no, no, no, I don't, I don't want to deal with this. You, you, you're a Roman citizen. I don't want his death on my hands, you go over here. And in all these things. was to fulfill the purpose and calling of God. So if anybody shouldn't have been a Christian, it shouldn't have been Paul. If anybody shouldn't have become a preacher, it shouldn't have been Paul. If anybody should have survived, Paul shouldn't have survived. It seemed like every single chapter in Acts, he's getting stoned and attacked. And yet It's a dry stone. You got thrown in prison. It's a dry prison. You're facing the heat. It's a dry heat. Why? Because an eternal perspective will strengthen your everyday perseverance. Let me show you his path to perseverance that we see modeled out by his life in these three chapters. Let me just quote a couple passages to you. First, we see in here that Paul learned to suffer well. Paul learned to suffer well. We read here in Acts 21 starting in verse 10. It says while they were staying for many days, a prophet named Abagus came down to Judea. And when coming to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit. This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when they heard this, we, I why we say we, kind of a cool, because Luke, the guy who wrote the book. Midway through Acts joins him on his journey. So now instead of referring to him as they, he says we. So Luke, the author is right there in the room. So we and the people urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Can you imagine like the person who owns this belt is gonna get beaten up. And everyone goes, not my belt. Right? But then Paul answers says, what are you doing? Say weeping and breaking my heart, for I'm ready not only to be in prison, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, let the will of the Lord be done. He understood That for his role in significance, it would require suffering. The yoke of Christ. It's easy. But following Christ is hard. And we have example after example after example. But their perspective shapes their perseverance. What they see and what they say shapes the season that they're in. Paul's like, I got 15 minutes left to dominate. You think I'm chained to you. You're chained to me. Right? You think you can throw stones? I believe in the cornerstone. You think you can kill me? I serve a God who defeated death. You understand the darker the night gets, the brighter my light shines, right? See, he learns to suffer well because he understood that it wasn't about having 15 minutes of fame. It's about using your 15 minutes to make Jesus famous. I love watching sports. I love making fun of the teams I hate. So if I picked on you, I'm sorry. Also not sorry. Um, so what I'll do though, because I nerd out a little bit on this, is like if there's a game I miss, I'll go back and I'll watch the 4th quarter. I'll go back and watch some of the highlights, knowing full well how it ends, but I want to see how it plays out. But you know what I don't do? It's like if I know my team wins, and they're down 10 in the 4th, I'm like, oh no, what's gonna happen? Knowing the ending shapes the present, doesn't it? And if you're not a sports person, that's OK. Have you ever rewatched a movie? You watch it different the second time, don't you? So the comedian Nate Bargazzi says, I'm not a student of history, and I know that because I watch historical movies on the edge of my seat. It's like, yeah, I watched Pearl Harbor, had no idea that was coming. Right Church We've read the end We know who wins. It should change how we see our present season. God did not call us to comfort. But called us. To courage So you, you might view a situation. It's suffering But God views it as significance. And it's not that the pain isn't real. I'm pretty sure the rocks hurt. I'm pretty sure The weeping, the cold prison cell was difficult. But rather than looking at his problem, looking at his pain, he looked up at the person of God, and at the purpose of God, and understood that God, if this is what's needed, I'm in. And let's be real. Who's gonna have the stronger testimony? The person that's on the mountaintop that seemingly has everything, like, well, of course you think you're blessed. Or the person In the trench of the darkest valley, who has the strength to fight on and you can look at those challenges. This is difficult, and Christ is all I have, but Christ is all I need. You will never experience God in a more real way. Than in the toughest times in your life. And I never pray for somebody to walk through a difficult time. I would never choose that for anyone. But I want you to know that it's in those most challenging times, with the right perspective, God can use that to not only shape you, but strengthen the souls of the people around you and further his gospel. It's bigger than you. The first step on the path of perseverance is to suffer well. Now it's coming. Second step is to share boldly. To share boldly. Because Paul's testimony was not based on the comfort of his circumstances, but on his calling. He had a personal relationship with God that he couldn't help but share. You have a mob that's trying to kill you. He says, hold on, can I say something? And he shares with them. He gets the political power that can put him to death. They put Jesus to death just two decades prior, and yet, hey, let me tell you about my faith. So everywhere he goes, he shares with boldness. Here's an example here. We pick up our story in verse 39. He says in here right before he's pulled away from the mob, he says, I am a Jew from Tarsus and Sya. He's confirmed, he's like, I'm not the Egyptian revolution guy you think that I am. So he clarifies who he is a citizen of no obscure city, I beg you, permit me to speak to the people. And we had given him permission. Paul standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people, and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language. And he goes on to share that story. And he goes on to share it, speaking in their language. I love that. I love that we have a God that speaks the language of our heart. That he came down to earth. Lived in a way that was tangible. That showed us what true love and sacrifice and service looks like. That he spoke our language. Right? Some of us in here are a little too Christian, you know what I'm saying? Like we get out and and we're in our community and we're like quoting the King James and like we're expecting like the world to understand the hoos and the das and like we like, I'm gonna pray a prayer of a hedge of protection around you. Like, wait, what? Are you gardening? What, what we're about to go to a business meeting, like what, right? All those things are great. All those things are true, but understand. That God spoke a language that we could understood. It says, John 11, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the Word was God. And he came down. The word became flesh there in 1 John 14:114, full of grace and truth. First we see Paul on his path of perseverance. He understands to suffer well. Second, we see that he understands to share boldly. And the third step in the path to perseverance is simply to stay the course. Stay the course, don't give up. You might have heard the phrase when the. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, right? I'm gonna put a little twist on this. When the going gets tough, the tough get trusting. It's not simply about trying, it's about trusting. Cause it's God's plans more than our plans. Everything's happening. The whole world is spinning out of chaos. And what would be very easy and understandable. For Paul to be worried. Instead of being focused on the worry, he focuses on this word from God. We have this here in Acts 23:11. The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, take courage. As you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem. You must testify also in Rome. And that one word from God was enough for him to stand on. For the rest of the trials he faced there in Acts. What if, instead of focusing on the problem, you focused on the person? What if instead of focusing on the worry, you focused on the word? What if understanding That God never said life will be easy and the yoke will be hard, but rather, he said, no, my yoke is easy. I'm gentle, I'm lowly, you will find rest for your souls, and in that I will give you the strength. To stand. I will give you the strength to stay. I will give you the strength to walk. I will give you the strength to share, because God is with you. God is for you. And we know this because having an eternal perspective will strengthen your everyday perseverance. What you see and what you say shapes the season you're in. What are you gonna do with the 15 minutes God has given you? Are you gonna focus on trying to get your own 15 minutes of fame? Are you gonna spend your 15 minutes trying to make him famous, Understanding that with God, you got 15 minutes to dominate. Look, the challenges you face are very real. The stakes are very high. But understand whatever you're facing right now. Right? It's a dry cancer. It's a dry bankruptcy. It's a dry betrayal. It is very real, but it is temporary compared to ever increasing glory of God that one day there will be no more tears, no more mourning, no more sickness, no more betrayal. So whatever this world throws at you, we are not fighting flesh and blood, we are fighting against the evil one, so that God has given us his strength, his spirit to stand. It's a dry struggle. You're not gonna shape me. You're not chained to me. I'm not chained to you. You're chained to me. Because when you have that perspective of eternity. It'll give you the perseverance for today. So whatever you're walking through, understand that God is for you. God is with you, God is in you. God loves beyond you. And they take the strength to fight. Don't give up. Suffer well, share boldly, stay the course. Stay the course. God will give you the strength to fight this week. Will you pray with me, dear Heavenly Father. Whatever people are walking through, God, I pray that you would give us the strength that we need. God, as Paul understood. That you gave him a greater purpose. That he learned to suffer well, to share boldly. Got to stay the course when we take his example. Keep our heavenly perspective, our eternal perspective, that give us everyday perseverance. To stand, to walk, to share, to fight, to serve, to love. With a sense of urgency and a sense of power that only can come from you, Jesus. We love you. We lift up this church body to you and your sons and we pray. Amen.