Welcome to Madison Church Online. I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor, and want to begin today by stating something that I think all of us in the room knows is true. And that is for the most part, it's kind of easy to begin something. Like we don't always need to dive in and do a ton of research. A lot of us know how to start something new, or most of us know how to create kind of a moment. And some of us in the room, not everyone, some of us in the room, and I shouldn't say some of us, some of you in the room know how to generate momentum around something. And beginnings are really exciting. Like new beginnings are exciting. Think about the new baby. We post the picture on Facebook, and everyone's really excited. The new house, the new job. I got accepted into blank. Exciting, new, visible, full of energy. But sustaining something, I mean keeping it going, endurance, perseverance, those things are another matter altogether. It's the quiet work, the slow work, the hard work. For example, what I mean is if I can give an example for you, when I knew I wanted to ask Megan to marry me, I did not deep dive any research. I did not conduct market analysis. I did not interview anyone. I simply did two things. I went and I bought the most expensive ring I could afford. That's not advice for anybody thinking about getting married. That's just what I did. And I tried to come up with a speech that was persuasive enough so that when I got to the end of my proposal, there would be one clear and obvious and right answer. Yes. That was easy. What I didn't fully grasp 15 years ago was what it would take to get to the point I'm at now in my marriage, 15 years later. It's all that work that nobody sees. See, when I proposed to Megan and we posted the pictures, it was all of those likes, all of those comments, the congratulations, the going to the wedding ceremony and celebrating. And then for the last 15 years, all those people left us. It's like we had to figure out every day by ourselves. How could they do that to us? The amount of humility that her and I have had to learn over 15 years, nobody could have prepared us for. The amount of times we'd have to just choose forgiveness. I mean, just choose it. You just have to accept it. I'm gonna have to forgive you or something else. Those days when, and not just days, if I'm completely honest with you, sometimes months where you choose love when neither of you feel like loving each other, okay? Now it's not just a marriage thing, it's not just a business thing, family thing. This is also a faith thing. Because to say yes to Jesus happens in a moment and it's exciting and it's visible, right? We do baptism, visible, and we clap. And then as you begin to follow Jesus, you're like, well, this is a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. Because obedience to following Jesus, it costs us our comfort, it costs us our pride. We have to let go of control, and that takes time. Yes, we celebrate beginnings because they're visible, but perseverance that's what does the deeper work that forms us as human beings, and this is where we go today in Acts chapter 20. You'll recall in Acts chapter 2 the birth of the church, and it was big and exciting with fire and wind, and people were speaking in tongues, and 3,000 people joined. But in Acts 20, we see what keeps that movement going. There's no fire, there's no wind, there's no speaking in tongues, and we're not going to read about how thousands of people came and joined the church that day. So we're going to Acts chapter 20, and we're picking up. Paul just finished a kind of a missionary journey. He's about to go on his last missionary journey, and where we're at in the context of Luke, or I'm sorry, Acts 20, is that there's been a riot in Ephesus, and Luke is summarizing what happens after that riot. And the riot occurred because of Jesus and Jesus' followers, and it was impacting the economy there. And people were upset about it. So now we're reading in verse 1 of chapter 20, when the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. And he said goodbye and he left for Macedonia. And while there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. We're going to pause here briefly because we see Paul going into his last missionary journey. He's going back to Jerusalem. We're going to read why in a second. But as he's doing these things, as he gathers these people, presumably friends. I mean, people that he went to this town, he started the church there, he raised up a leader, and then he left. And what is he doing as he goes through? It's not more teaching, it's not strategy, it's encouragement. And it doesn't translate well in English what this word really means. I think when you and I think of encouragement, we think of a card that we send to someone on their birthday or they're going through a tough time and we and we send the text message. And sometimes that can be encouraging, but the Greek word here, which Luke uses over and over, is much deeper. It's tantamount, it's the same as to steady, to strengthen, and to comfort another person. It's an action that you or I take that actually strengthens another person. That's what we're talking about. So as Paul is going around town to town, he is strengthening the believers there. A good use of the word would be to comfort someone who is grieving after the loss of a loved one or sitting with someone in a hospital room, to strengthen someone who is wavering. It could be a positive and encouraging, a very thoughtful text message or conversation to somebody who is feeling quite devastated, to urge someone forward when they're tempted to give up. A friend who pushes you when it would be easier to just enable you and let you go and and make that horrible decision. I'm not going to get my hands dirty on that. I personally felt this kind of encouragement, and it is tangible. For a lot of you know, we were in my family and I were in a bad car crash last year. And the people who visited us in the hospital in the in the hours after that crash, the people who who brought over meals and sent text messages and jumped in and helped. It was odd, but it was like, oh my gosh, I feel better. I have broken ribs, but I feel better because of this community that's rallying around me. It made a tangible difference in my emotional, spiritual, and physical state. That is what Paul is doing. That is the work he is doing. Not advice shouted from a distance or in passing, but his actual physical presence, his proximity, giving up his time to sit there and to be with them. And after doing this work, Paul moves on and he's preaching to a Christian gathering. And this is the first time in scripture we see that the Christians are gathering on Sunday. It's the first day of the week, and the Christians have started to gather that day. And he was going to leave town, so he kept talking and talking and talking. And Luke records that they're they're going until midnight, and they got the oil lamps going, and it's hot. And some of you struggle to stay awake for an hour here. And I only talk for 25 minutes usually. If I'm really excited, maybe 30. But this is a climate-controlled room. So we can imagine and sympathize with a young man who, as Paul is speaking, goes on and on, sitting on the windowsill, becomes drowsy, and finally he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. Now, this absolutely is shocking because just like how all of you came in today expecting to leave today alive, that is what everyone 2,000 years ago attending this gathering also would have expected. We are all going to walk away. But that's not what happened. And this is kind of a new, young, first generation, fragile church, and it has the I mean possibility of undoing everything. You believe in God and you're here worshiping, and somebody dies while they're worshiping. Like that seems to be an interruption. But Luke continues. He says, Paul went down, so we go down the three floors. He takes them into his arms. He says, Don't worry, he's alive. This is important because if you're skeptical or cynical, right? And and to a degree, I'd encourage that. But you're thinking he fell out of a third story window, and he says he dies. And what we're going to read next is that he comes back to life. And you might think, well, he didn't die, he just knocked himself out. But remember, Luke is a physician in the first century. And Luke is the one writing this. Luke is actually using we language. So Luke is actually here when this is happening. He's not interviewing other people, he's recording what he himself witnessed. And so he goes down there. Luke is probably qualified enough to diagnose when somebody's dead, you know, call it. And but that's what happens. The man is taken home alive and well, and everyone is greatly relieved. And I want to point out that the first person that ever dies of boredom is also the last person raised from the dead in Scripture. We will not read about this miracle again. This is the last person in Scripture who is raised from the dead. And everyone is greatly relieved. And not because Paul is staying, but because evidently the Spirit of God is powerful, with or without Paul being there. That when Paul leaves, that this spirit will still be within the spirit that can raise people from the dead. Yes, the apostle Paul is departing, and with him came an air of steadiness and confidence. I mean the people would look to him not just for leadership but for comfort. And while he's leaving, God's presence remains, just as the pressure does. But when the pressure comes, Christ strengthens his church, not just through the Holy Spirit, but through the embodied faithfulness of his people. Yes, the pressure will always be there. And Paul will not be, but God's spirit is consistent, and that powerful spirit is working through all of us, not just in this room, but all over the world for the last 2,000 years. From there, Paul calls for the elders of the he moves on and he goes to a new place and he calls for the elders of the church. And he begins again, not with instruction, not with a lesson, but with exposure. And this is kind of an interesting change, shift in gears here. He says, You know from you know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now, I have done the Lord's work humbly and with many tears. Paul's kind of a big deal at this point in his life. He easily could have said, I am the Apostle Paul, I've started all of these churches. Like I'm kind of a big deal. But rather than say that, he says, I just want you to remember who I am. We've spent years together. And what makes this so remarkable is because what would have been common was that a good teacher just would have appealed to their resume. This is what I taught. This was the fruit of what I taught. And they would have guarded their reputation. I am Paul, and look at all my amazing things. But instead, Paul does something different, and I would argue that Paul does something risky even for our society today. And he says, look at my life. I'm not going to offer you an argument. We spent three years together. Think about all the meals that we shared together. Who am I? Who was I when we were eating together? Think of all the conflict that we had to work through. Who was I when that was happening? Think about all of the, he says, the tears. And I read that and I'm like, Paul, you didn't get the memo. Like when guys are crying together, we don't go around writing that in scripture so that everyone else can talk about it years later. It's like it didn't happen, right? No, but that's what Paul did. He says, remember me, broken down, heartbroken, frustrated to the point the tears are coming out of my face, they're coming out of your face, and we have this moment. That is who I am. And how did I do that? He just says, humbly. I was humble when I did that. And they could have disagreed with him and said, No, for three years we ate with you, we had conflict with you, we did all of this with you, and you definitely were not humble. But he knew that he was publicly in temples, on the streets, or house to house. Paul called people to repentance toward God and faith in Jesus, and then the tone tightens. And here's where we begin to see Paul realizes what's going on, where he's going. He says, I'm bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I'm bound. I have to do this. I don't know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me, in city after city, that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by assigned to me by the Lord Jesus, the work of telling others the good news about the wonderful grace of God. He says, I know that the Holy Spirit wants me to go to Jerusalem. And I don't quite have all of the details as to why. But the Holy Spirit did give me these details. I'm going to be in a lot of pain and suffering. It's coming. Now, I think for most of us in the room, if we felt the Holy Spirit was telling us something, and then like the details we got were like pain and suffering is inevitable, we might not consider that an invitation to go there, but a warning to stay away. Paul might not be going to Jerusalem, but rather the opposite direction. And yet we read here, it is the Holy Spirit leading Paul to a situation and to circumstances in which he will experience pain and suffering. He's not doing anything wrong. Actually, he's being obedient. And what follows? He says, imprisonment and afflictions. Now, he says, My life is meaningless, kind of. How did he word that? He says, My life doesn't have that much going, worth nothing to me. It's worth nothing to me, but doesn't mean his life is worthless. He's just saying, my life, this life here on earth, my physical life, my legacy, that is not the ultimate thing. That is not the ultimate thing. Finishing the assignment God has given me is my life is nothing if I don't finish this. I have to finish this. And that's what gives my life meaning. And this is an example of biblical integrity. Paul is not perfect. Paul is not a perfect human being. He's just one who has integrity. He lived a life where his belief and behavior were moving in the same direction. That's what integrity is, even to us today, where our beliefs and our behaviors are heading in the same direction. Not always, though, at the same pace. Kind of talked about that a little bit last week. Sometimes our mind changes quicker than our behaviors change. But integrity is about heading in the same direction. It's a life aligned around the received calling for the Christian, for the believer, around a received calling, not organized around my self-preservation. And then he gives somewhat of a final message in verse 28. He says, Guard yourselves and God's people, feed and shepherd God's flock, his church, purchased with his own blood, over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. I know the false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. The order is important, as we've come to Luke intentional, right? So he says, Before guarding the church, guard your own hearts. You can't help them if you can't help yourself first. He's saying, take responsibility for your discipleship before looking around and trying to help others. Once that is secure, then do this. He wants you to do both. Don't mistake me. He's not saying like just hole up somewhere and just self-help yourself till the day that Jesus comes back. But he is saying you have to help them. But in order to do that, you have to help yourself first here. So we start here. Guard your heart, guard your doctrine, guard your motives. The greatest threats to your faith are not going to be loud. They'll begin when pride is tolerated, when the truth gets bent, when our extra-biblical or outside God's will ambitions get justified. And then there's this sentence that should stop every leader, especially if you're a Christian leader serving in a church. He says that you're called by the Holy Spirit. So if you thought you were a Christian leader because you filled out the application, Paul's kind of saying, Well, there's something going on here. The Holy Spirit has called you into this position to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. The church is not an organization to manage, it's not a brand to protect. It is a redeemed people purchased at an immeasurable cost. It's not sentimental language. Jesus didn't mean to just inspire the church into existence. He defeated the powers that held us captive. He broke the grip of sin and death, and he claimed a people for himself that the church exists because Christ fought for her and won. And when something has been won at a cost, you do not treat it casually. Distortion is not harmless, it is a slow return to old masters. So vigilance, in a biblical sense, is not about fear or being afraid. It is about protecting a liberated people from drifting back into captivity. There is freedom in Christ. This is how Paul ends in verse 32. And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. The people here, I entrust you. I hand you over to God by the word of his grace. The grace that builds what earthly leaders cannot build, the grace that secures an inheritance that opposition cannot take away from you, the grace that sustains a sanctified people long after the voice is gone. And again, for these first hears, these words by Paul mattered deeply. He brought with him an apostolic leadership that was reassuring. They knew they were on the right pace. If you had a question, you could just ask Paul. And all of those things are going away now. They did not have the completed New Testament as you and I have it today. There was no institutional stability. There wasn't this massive Christian organized religion church that you could go to with your questions. And so when Paul leaves, something, rather, someone visibly strong left. And yet he insists on the way out. And it was about God's grace. That is what sustained you. The church does not endure because a leader stays, it endures because grace is there. Paul releases them, they release Paul, but grace remains with both. And from the beginning of time, God has sustained us, his people, through his presence from the wilderness to the temple, to Emmanuel. God with us. So when I say that the church is sustained by Christ's presence, shaped by integrity, protected through vigilance, and secured by grace, I'm not trying to summarize Acts 20 to you or offer a leadership model from Paul. I'm tracing the storyline of the scripture that sits around you, that's on your phone from Genesis to Revelation, the pattern embodied in one leader, on a Shoreline in Acts 20, entrusting a fragile young church to a faithful God. And that is why we 2,000 years later can still be confident in that God. The church does not go on because strong apostolic leaders are present. It lives because Christ is present and people endure because of the grace supplied. What does this look like for us? So what? We read all of this. I think it means a few things. The first is to encourage you to stay. In church life, staying is countercultural because we live in a mobile world in which people relocate, in which preferences shift and seasons change. Staying means committing to something, a community, long enough to be formed, not just inspired. Beginnings are exciting, inspiring, endurance, formation. That takes time. It means possibly staying when a message on Sunday confronts you, or staying when a ruptured relationship requires repair as they do. Staying when the church world is ordinary and not exciting. And more often than not, it's just ordinary. Belonging is not built by sampling communities, it's built by a covenantal presence to one another. The church grows deep when its people resist the instinct to drift. The second thing is to live transparently. Being part of a church community can tempt us to perform. And I know some of you have grown up in and around the church, and it was almost an expectation that you would look a certain way, sound a certain way, do certain things that you didn't do the rest of the week, but for this hour and a half on Sunday, we were going to do it. And even at a church like Madison Church, I think you can feel that pressure. I think you can attend, you can serve, you can even lead here and still be unknown. But I want to challenge that. Integrity as a Christian means allowing your life to be visible. Paul said, you know how I lived. I'm not going to offer you an argument. Just look at my life. Can we say that in our lives? It means confessing sin instead of trying to curate an image that looks good. It means inviting correction instead of deflecting it. The only way we get to be like that is when faith is shared with one another, not staged. Third, I think we need to guard carefully. Guarding means caring about what shape the community's culture takes. Do you care? Means refusing the gossip, not playing into division, refusing to platform personalities over Christ. It also means guarding your own heart against cynicism, entitlement, and comparison. The church is not a consumer space. Remember again what Paul says: it is a blood-bought community. A blood-bought community. When distortion creeps in, faithful members don't spectate, they protect. And finally, after saying all three of those things, we got to end on to release trustingly, because you're not meant to always stay in the same place forever. Permanence is not the goal. Faithfulness is. Church life includes change. Leaders transition from rules. Friends, move on. Seasons come and seasons go. Surrender in the community means blessing what God is doing, even if it costs you. It means not building your faith around one person. Not clinging to one season, not confusing familiarity with faithfulness. Grace keeps the church. Grace. Not proximity, not preference, and certainly not control. And so when people move on, we entrust them to God. And if we're called to move on, we entrust the church to God. The goal is not to secure permanence. The goal is to remain faithful wherever God plants you. At the beginning, I said that starting something often requires vision and courage and energy, but that perseverance and endurance requires something quieter. And this year will mark the 12th year of Madison Church. Starting this community required a whole lot of prayer, a whole lot of risk, a whole lot of vision, and a small group of people willing to take a step. It was exciting, it was new. But getting here 12 years later, that has required something else. Repentance when we were wrong. As leaders, as people. Hard conversations when it would have been easier just to avoid them. Showing up when it felt pretty ordinary. Staying when it would have been easier to drift. And that is not unique to our church. It's not unique to our church. It's how faith works. Acts 20 shows us how the church has endured for 2,000 years. Not because of adrenaline and not because of personalities. The church is sustained by Christ's presence, shaped by integrity, protected through vigilance, and secured by grace. And so for you, if this season feels heavy, if transition has left you tired, if you are hopeful, hopeful, but aware there's a cost, you are not failing. You are in the space where endurance is formed. And I'm glad that I get to be here with you through it. The goal is to not be impressive, it's to remain faithful. And you don't remain faithful by trying harder. You remain faithful because Jesus and his grace keeps you, which is why we come to the table. The church is not powered by momentum, we are purchased, bought by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And so if you're weary today, come. And if you are hopeful but unsure, come. And if you need strength to stay, come. And trust yourself again to the grace that builds, that guards, and sustains. Receive the body and blood that has secured you. Grace remains.