Pastor Brad DeLong - Lessons From The Journey

so thankful this wonderful god we serve that we know his name jesus as our pastor bishop preached on sunday and thankful to be in the house of the lord again on this wednesday night especially as we inch closer to christmas as we celebrate the birth of jesus christ and i say that inch closer but it seems like we're in a full-on sprint closer to christmas we're trying to get everything done i want to take a moment and thank you all for your continued worship your faithfulness to the house of the lord your faithfulness to giving as well and what better time of the year to do all three of those than during this christmas season this is always such a special time of the year and it's a great opportunity to be reminded of one of the key reasons we get to celebrate this season in the first place and that of course is the truth that jesus christ made himself of no reputation took on the form of a servant was born in bethlehem walked served and ministered among men and women like you and i and gave himself on the cross for each of us what a reason to celebrate and remember his coming remember this christmas story all over again with that in mind i want to focus in on that christmas story tonight and specifically i want to focus in on several of the characters of that original christmas in the gospels in fact last night my family and i drove around looking at christmas lights in the south county area and i got to witness these three characters several times placed in nativity sets in front of yards and on front porches and for the most part they're always included in those scenes on christmas cards and christmas songs and in the christmas story itself and they can be treated as a bit of an afterthought from time to time but even still these are characters including one of the most important stories that's ever been told tonight i want to give them the limelight for the next few minutes i want to focus in on these characters the identities of which i am guessing you have already deduced and they are of course the wise men of matthew chapter 2. we're going to learn a little bit more about their lives their identities their great journey to worship jesus the messiah we're going to talk about them for the next few minutes and i'm going to i'm hoping that we will learn a few lessons from their journey which also happens to be the title for this lesson tonight lessons from the journey the fact is these wise men are critical to the whole of the christmas story they're part of this scene and this account they're fixtures in the narrative of jesus birth they're an important part of the story so much so there seems to be a lot of information circulating about them and even some misinformation circulating about these magi and these wise men we see and read the clear account of scripture which we'll read in a moment we often hear conflicting reports about these guys or maybe just misleading tales that have been built on to their story and of course with this story being as popular as it is it's no wonder that the tale of these wise men has grown into something beyond what scripture tells us but in order to get the true picture of the story and the lessons behind it i want to help us clear the air a little bit about their lives their identities in their journey but before i do that i want to demonstrate the misinformation that i'm talking about with one of my favorite presentations of the christmas story that i have ever seen in just a moment i'm going to show you a video that demonstrates exactly the kind of misinformation i'm talking about some of you probably seen it before you've probably enjoyed it before but this is more than just a showing of a funny christmas video it is that it is funny i will forewarn you but i want you to help me point out some of the inconsistencies in the tall tales if you will that surface throughout this video and really that surface in the christmas story on a regular basis this is a video done by southland christian church and you'll see it's obviously satirical it's made for comedy but you also see some of the extra information that's made its way into this christmas story so but eric tantrup is going to help me out hopefully it works if it doesn't i will just tell you about it won't be near as funny brother eric are we good what was that it's it's oh here we go

angel came to see mary she was doing laundry and then the angel just appeared and she was really scared so gabriel was like mary you're gonna have what you're going to have a baby and you will call them jesus and then they're like i'm not going to have a baby yet i'm only a teenager i'm not married then the angel gabriel told joseph that mary is not lying she you are having a new baby and so they met up they went to bethlehem ham which was joseph's old town they ride a donkey a camel oh yeah a camel she said this monkey's fast they tried to go to a hotel and they asked the keeper um for a place to stay the keeper said we have no rooms literally no room so mary and joseph walked away sadly but then he said the only place in here in bethlehem that that you can stay stay is a staple and then he just pointed the way they followed when the shepherds were taking care of the sheep then they saw angels the angel said a new baby is getting wet who is king of the jews the angel were saints and then the shepherd said i think we should go there meet at the second i think said yeah i agree with you and the other said yeah me too they had to walk through a bunch of grass and bushes maybe have to camp out tonight and then the wife and heard about it and then a star appeared we should probably follow that star explaining down to the board so maybe we should follow it maybe so the wise men went to jesus they gave them gifts a stuffed animal like a helper one they have at home some diapers and some wipes there's some milk some shoes some jordans gold frank and vladimir and i don't know how i would survive in that barn too stinky too crowded and i think he probably because the room was very smelly thank you for coming he's adorable he's gonna be our best friend i love you and you're the best baby i've ever seen there i said it the new baby is going to change the world

and that is exactly what he did he did change the world that part of the video is absolutely true this story has obviously reached and impacted generation after generation i thought as i was watching that how awesome it is to see children tell that story you know that it's reached it's impacted their lives whether they know it or not even if they did add a couple extra details they only added a few but they talked about things like the hippo that the wise men gave to jesus in the frankenstein as well i think they were so close they mentioned that they were at a hotel which is not entirely accurate they said that the wise men were actually there the night that jesus was born which is not reflected in the biblical narrative and the truth of the matter is that they're not the only ones who have added some of those details instead this story specifically the story of the magi has morphed over the years so much so that we may need just a quick review as we dive deeper into their story as always the best place to review these details is in the word of god

matthew chapter 2 you can read along with me if you have your bibles you can read on the screen we're going to read verses 1 through 12. actually i think i'm yeah verse 1 okay it says now after jesus was born in bethlehem of judea in the days of herod the king behold wise men from the east came to jerusalem saying where is he who's been born king of the jews for we've seen his star in the east we've come to worship him when herod the king heard this he was troubled all of jerusalem was troubled with him and when he had gathered all the chief priests the scribes the people together he inquired of them where the christ was to be born so they said to him in bethlehem of judea for thus is written by the prophet but you bethlehem in the land of judah are not the least among the rulers of judah for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people israel verse 7 and herod when he had secretly called the wise men determined from them what time the star appeared and he sent them to bethlehem he said go search carefully for the young child and when you found him bring back word to me that i may come and worship him also when they heard the king they departed behold the star which they had seen in the east went before them came and stood over where the young child was and when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy and when they had come into the house they saw the young child with mary his mother they fell down they worshiped him when they had opened their treasures they presented gifts to him gold frankincense and myrrh then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to herod they departed for their own country another way

tonight as i said we're going to focus on these wise men particularly talk about the implications of their quest their journey to find the messiah to find jesus but before we talk about that journey in particular i think it's helpful to review a couple quick details about these wise men to give us more of a backdrop of their story

we start with the fact that in most retellings of this story in most nativity scenes there are usually only three wise men three magi that are depicted some suggest that we landed at those three because there were three gifts that were presented but many historian scholars see this very differently you see since traveling was something of an obstacle at that time rhodes uh traveling rose is very treacherous there were a lot of thieves or a lot of uh unsavory activity going on for these three men alone to travel would probably be very uncommon especially considering their status their stature and probably not just uncommon but even a foolish thing to do for them to travel alone so many scholars and historians believe there could have been a whole lot more maybe even upwards of 30 men in their party that were traveling with them this would actually help explain why there was such a commotion in jerusalem the most prominent city in that entire region it says that entire city was troubled including king herod also may under or explain how they could get an audience with the king in the first place most likely they had some kind of entourage these were important men from what it looks like they were kind of a big deal even in a city like jerusalem not only that but here's what else we know just from the historical account and the original meaning of the word magi itself which is kind of a loaded term these men were most likely not jewish most likely they were wealthy high class society people they were more than likely educated in different areas magi in that day would have been versed in philosophy things like medicine the arts astrology astronomy etc they were generous in their giving they gave wealthy gifts these are the the guys that you just hope to get for your secret santa you're like bob gives the best gifts i'm hoping he got and then you find out it's not bob it's who i'm trying to think of make sure that i don't catch anyone sarah there's no sarah's in the room it's sarah oh no sarah there's sarah sorry sarah gets great gifts brian offers his name we don't want brian we want bob or sarah i'm sorry we'll talk later yeah i'll apologize they gave great gifts they were generous from this short account we can see they were men of integrity they obeyed the voice the command of the lord so so they seem to be honest men that were seeking jesus to worship and they were obviously spiritually minded seeking jesus for so long with only the promise of of a star they were dedicated determined they were passionate in their pursuit and they didn't just come from far away just to worship jesus with their lips but they also brought him gifts as well it should be noticed these three gifts were common trio of gifts that you would give to a king you didn't just give these gifts to anyone these were not on the same level as the knitted sweater that your aunt gets you each year or a pair of socks that you might get although some of us like to get socks for christmas they're very expensive treasured gifts

they gave them gold this was obviously a very precious and valuable gift even more incredible is the fact that they gave it to a newborn and to his family it's just show their devotion how highly they esteemed jesus what's even more remarkable is that some historians say that mary and joseph may have used that gold in their travels when they had to flee egypt and they had to come back into israel that that gold could have funded their trip these gifts were important they were expensive frankincense this was not frankenstein frankincense this is given as a perfume or incense it had a pleasant aroma it was commonly burned in the homes of the wealthy in the elite it's kind of like essential oils just better you know even better than those how is that even possible this was not your average bottle of sin or cologne either i was thinking about this this week when i was about 10 years old i went to the dollar store and i bought a bottle of cologne from the dollar store i can still remember that horrendous smell the old factory remembers that this was not dollar store cologne couldn't purchase this just anywhere in fact there's this team international scientist that did some studies on frankincense it's resin from a particular plant they said that it activates poorly understood channels in the brain and actually alleviates anxiety or depression these were no ordinary gifts that these men okay very rare very volume and lastly they gave him myrrh this was a sap that was collected and dried often paired with olive oil to create a salve for small scrapes in abrasions it's very bitter to the taste was often used in embalming people after they died very valuable gift they brought him these precious gifts among other things i mentioned these are just some of the facts that we know

but even with all the information that we do know there's still a lot of speculation about these guys some think that they use astrology to find jesus but given that the god in the old testament he told moses to execute fortune tellers people of this ilk this may not have been the case and when you consider that these men had such a profound respect for old testament prophecies to the point that they would stop their lives in order to pursue those prophecies it's tough to reconcile that with them using some kind of divination to find jesus in fact some scholars believe that they were probably familiar with the old pro or testament prophecies of of daniel who was a famous wise men of swords before this day and time they must have had some knowledge of these prophecies because they stopped at nothing to find jesus once that star appeared there's a couple roman historians i won't pronounce their names for you because i probably can't but this is what they said about these magi they said everywhere throughout the east men were looking for the advent of a great king who was to rise from among the jews it had fermented in the minds of men heathen as well as jews that and it would have led them to welcome jesus as the christ had he come in accordance with their expectations this expectation they said arose largely from the dispersion of the jews among all nations carrying with them the hope and the promise of a divine redeemer you don't have to be a historian to recognize how cool this is how incredible this is the israelites are sent into exile it's a horrible situation a horrible happening but it was obviously not in vain they carried with him the hope and the promise prophesied by daniel and david and isaiah among others and they told their neighbors in babylon about it they told those in syria about the promise of jesus the christ it more than likely became part of literature spread throughout the middle east as all these wise men kings and people search for hope in something so it's no wonder that these guys dropped everything when the star appeared they had likely heard about this for generations or at least for several years and of course this was not a natural phenomenon or a natural occurrence this was a supernatural event they knew when they saw the star that it was the appearance of something beyond the norm and the natural and and seeing that star they dropped everything to find it and to find the one to whom that star pointed and in doing so their stories are etched in history and really they continue to speak to us they inspire us today they teach us several lessons from this journey

now that we know a little bit more about these men we can learn from their story a couple truths and a couple applications among those applications is first of all the fact that their journey reminds us that pursuing jesus is always just that it is a journey it's a process one that often requires more faith more perseverance and even more time than we may initially realize

to illustrate this i remember as a kid and even as a teenager every christmas we would go to my grandma's house it was about a two-hour drive to get there but it always felt like an eternity when we were driving there for christmas i knew my cousins were there i knew there'd be presents there and most importantly i knew there was going to be food there so i was anticipating that arrival there was always food at grandma's house all that anticipation typically caused that two-hour trip to feel like a five-hour trip or six-hour trip especially this is before we had tablets and and uh cell phones with games on we had no kia with a little snake game but you know we didn't have any of those cell phones and that we had like one of those portable dvd players that always scratched the disc that's that's what we had okay and i'm not one of those people that can just fall asleep in the car or anywhere so my siblings would all be knocked out and i would just stare out the window at trees you know in mailboxes as they went by or i tried to read and i get carsick and experience the joy of car seats and with that in mind i thought about this can you imagine traveling for weeks months maybe even a year you're anticipating we're going to see the king of the jews we're going to see this one whom all these prophecies pointed you're traveling for weeks months maybe a year for something you're not even sure you're ever going to find in the first place not to mention you're riding on a camel or a donkey across rocky terrain and wilderness you can't fall asleep on a camel you fall and break your neck this was the ultimate journey for these guys in fact even in in the sainthood tradition which we obviously don't adhere to it's remarkable that these guys are literally recognized as the patron saints of travelers and i would say so because there there are some who actually estimate that this journey took them more than just months i've heard it said that it could have taken them over a year to find jesus we really don't know the exact span but we do know that it was at least longer than 40 days which would ironically eliminate them from all of our nativity scenes and christmas cards if we follow it closely and accurately of course i don't mean to ruin your christmas or your decorations something you're going to go home and take them out of the nativity scene not accurate but it does give some perspective on the hardship they may have faced in their journey to see and find jesus and they did it all out of a desire to see the king with no guarantee they would find who they were looking for it's this kind of determination and faith that reminds us of hebrews 11 1 it says now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen also points to the fact that following jesus like i mentioned is always a journey and to be successful in a journey like this it absolutely requires faith in persistence these guys had to persistently search for and follow that star and we have no idea how long it took them to actually find jesus they had a long journey with no guarantee of a conclusion or an answer and that journey i believe just speaks loudly to us tonight because if you're going to go looking for jesus if you're going to follow after him and his direction it's going to require some faith some trust and some persistent effort these guys had to get up every day and travel or at least most days when the weather was rough when their legs were sore from camel riding when they got car sickness or camel sickness or whatever they call that motion sickness there it is even when the star may have been covered by clouds or faint in the sky they continued to travel and likewise this journey that you and i are on requires us to get up every day trust god and keep falling even when the direction's unclear we we continue to follow him even when things are a little bit cloudy even when the road's uncertain and the terrain is rough we have to continue to follow him our bishop always says even when we can't track god we continue to trust him we continue to follow him and faith is precisely what allows us to do that it's also what jesus asked of all of his followers it takes faith and a trust in god you notice with each of the 12 disciples as well as the magi when the opportunity came whether it was a star or jesus himself they didn't drag their feet when faced with the task of following they simply moved and obeyed in faith they simply trusted him when he called them to follow him just as those wise men trusted the appearance of a star in an accompanying prophecy along with it they had faith in the word and in the god they were pursuing i just as i was uh preparing earlier this week i as i came across this point i thought you know there's someone here tonight who has a word and maybe it may be it might be a word from 10 years ago or a word from 15 years ago it was a promise it was something that god gave you and you're wondering man i wish i had a fresh word i wish i had something new i wish god would speak something i need more direction more clarity but i can tell you i know that god won't leave your direction a chance but you can still rely on that old word that you got 10 15 20 years that word is still good and that promise is still good these guys had a star to follow that's all they had maybe all you got is one word literally one word from god and that's your direction that's enough for you because god stays true to his word they had faith and that faith included action their commitment included action those wise men committed to following that star and they saw it through with their actions what's even more compelling to me is they did all of this with far less to go on than we do today yet they stay committed far longer than many would do today all they had to go on was an ancient prophecy and a star which i just said is enough but that faith kept him for months maybe even a year on the back of a stinky camel pursuing a promise they had no guarantee of seeing tonight you and i have the word of god we've got the command of god we've got the presence of god we have the spirit of god we have everything we need to stay committed we've got everything we need to stay on our journey headed to jesus and the example of these wise men compels us all the more if these guys stayed with it until the end following what could have arguably been an obsolete promise you and i can make it with everything we've been blessed to have

i was thinking about it this morning they didn't even know his name they didn't know his name they came asking he said we're looking for the king of the jews they didn't know the name of jesus like you and i do bishop mentioned sunday how blessed we are just to know the name of jesus these guys didn't have that luxury but they continued on looking for the christ whose name was not yet known and they just wanted to get to jesus a name they didn't know represented salvation for the world and their example begs the question for you and i tonight if they would go that far on an old prophecy and a star what length would you and i go in order to get to jesus in order to experience his glory in our lives how long would i be willing to travel a difficult road or a journey like those wise men just to get a glimpse of them they didn't even get to stay that long i don't know the exact amount of time they got to stay but i can imagine mary like okay yeah thanks for coming he we got to feed him we got to change him he's got to go down for a nap we need you to get out you know i've been there experienced that okay it's a newborn or it's a it's a toddler we need you to go they had just moments with jesus and they traveled the journey how far would i be willing to go to get to worship him for a moment like these men got to worship him what commitment would i be willing to make to see jesus in my life for the lives of those around me what kind of journey would i be willing to take to get to see jesus the truth is talk is often cheaper than action we know that action is the true indication and declaration of our priorities what's important to us these men put action behind their faith and reveal their true motives as they set out to find the messiah and the proof is right here in matthew chapter 2 because roughly 2 000 years after these men found jesus we're still talking about them because they didn't just hear the prophecy and commit with their mouths to follow it they backed that up with action and not only cost them their time and their comfort but it also costs them valuable gifts as well

which is another lesson for us to glean these gifts were reserved for kings they were some of the best gifts you could find these were some of the best offerings you could buy so they brought jesus their best gifts they were not afterthoughts these weren't something you pick up in the checkout aisle at walmart because you forgot you have a secret santa brian he's a good gift giver they had thought these through they took the time to select them carry them over the desert surrender them and present them in the presence of the messiah this journey cost them something but they gave themselves in their best gift willing the same way paul compels us present your bodies present yourself a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto god which is your reasonable service i know around christmas time we often talk about giving god our best gift especially when it comes to christmas for christ and other offerings i believe these men reinforced that premise they gave their best gifts that that they could bring and find but in doing so they also gave up months and maybe even a year of their life they gave their time they gave their devotion their faith and eventually they gave their worship they gave their best to jesus which is reflected in their gifts in the journey in and of itself and you add to that point they were even willing to lay their own lives on the line for the sake of seeing jesus and encountering the messiah

you see not only did they take that potentially treacherous journey together but they also in many ways slided and disparaged the king of that entire region in order to do all of this okay when you consider that the king that they met with was none other than herod the great a man so twisted he'd be willing to slaughter hundreds and maybe even thousands of baby boys when looking for jesus you realize even more the extent of their journey their sacrifice and their devotion i had never considered this before but this king specifically told him go and find them and come back to me and you just turn your back on a king much less a king like herod the great a man who's said to have had a very dark and cruel streak in his life and especially in his later years this is the guy they misled by going home a different way and i know that they are probably powerful in and of themselves they they were obviously men of men of money they had they had resources but their lives were invested in this these guys were travelers in a strange land no matter how rich you were the king of that land would probably have still been more powerful and you recognized this they were still unwavering even in the midst of the chaos of their journey because they recognize that the destination jesus was worth that journey and even the potential sacrifice he had to to them been worth the danger the struggle the uncertainty in the journey he was worth those gifts every sacrifice every day of travel seeing him had to have been worth it on being with jesus was worth their journey he was worth the uncertainty of the unknown he was worth the cost of the gifts and the costs of their commitments he was worth the knights in the wilderness sleeping next to camels and even worth the threat of king herod the great he was worth it to these wise men still today we know he continues to be worth the journey he's worth the commitment he's worth the action that should follow that commitment he's worth even the chaos of the journey itself jesus christ is simply worth the journey he's worth it the truth about the light of story i thought of recently to further illustrate this point

some of you guys will recognize this is a couple summers ago we went on a men's camping trip we went on a pretty chaotic journey ourselves at that camping trip we decided to go on a float trip and about 20 seconds into that float trip i ran into jared and aaron who had flipped their canoe about 10 seconds into the float trip turned my kayak over into the freezing it was summer but the water hadn't warmed yet it was freezing cold but andrew west's phone was in the mix there somewhere he thought i was secure jared he remembers this yeah i flipped my kayak again later i almost hit my head on a log i lost my hat and about midway through a couple of the guy's canoe flipped again for about the 30th time it got stuck on a rock for about 20 minutes and we were trying to get it out of the rapids of the river took all 10 or 12 of us and about 30 minutes after that it started the lightning and started to rain so we huddled under this canoe to try to get out of the rain shortly after that my dad developed an allergy attack with no epinephrine pin felt like his throat was closing thankfully somehow we found a group that had been a drill and of course it was the drowsy kind by the end of the float dad was just leaning back in this canoe trying just letting the river take him you know we made the supposed four-hour canoe trip in about seven hours i got sick from being in the rain the cold water and but i can tell you today that it was worth every bit of that just for the sake of the story i get to tell you tonight and the experience you go through something like that with some people your brother's for life you know we survive the point is despite all that chaos i enjoyed the journey and i certainly enjoyed the finish line

the story of the word of god tells us in matthew 2 11 when the wise men found that the star rested over the place where jesus resided they rejoiced with exceeding over-the-top joy their long hard journey was now suddenly worth it they had just they had just turned their back on a king but they recognized the value of this moment they entered the house they worshipped jesus they presented their gifts before deceiving herod and leaving a separate way some say they they probably found jesus when he was maybe around one years old at the time they they saw jesus even in this humble setting and it brought them a tremendous feeling and sense of exceedingly great joy when they found him these men have probably been in some tremendous circles these men have probably seen a a lot of great things in their life but nothing compared to that day when they saw jesus and the bible doesn't specify this but judging from their overwhelm response i think it's safe to say their journey was absolutely worth it to them it was chaotic it was illogical it was long it was arduous but in the end it was worth it they had found their king and i reiterated as we look at the lesson from the story that our journey is worth it tonight it's a song that says you all know it it's going to be worth it all it's going to be worth it all it's going to be worth every long mile every heartache every trial it's going to be worth it all some beautiful happy day and the reality is even before that day comes it's still worth it today because unlike the wise men we get to feel and see and experience jesus through our faith in these services on a regular and daily basis they didn't have the advantage that you and i have today where jesus is walking with us in our journey they had a star and they had a promise but it was enough to get them to jesus

and the bible tells us that once they found him they went home a different way i know it means that in a literal sense this is a word play that speaks to a greater truth after they met jesus they went home differently in fact the word way there does mean a direction but it also can refer to a new course of conduct or a new manner in other words they went home differently than they were when they came the truth is when you find jesus you don't leave the same way you came when you come into contact with jesus you just leave differently this is the first time the thousandth time the hundred thousandth time some of you who have walked with jesus for decades you know you can encounter jesus on a sunday morning and walk out of those doors differently after encountering him in similar ways all of your life just something about coming to contact with jesus you leave different like i said i know matthew 2 and 12 paints that in a literal sense but i have to believe that god knew what he was doing with the word way there he just cannot leave or walk the same way after encounter with the messiah jesus christ and i believe every life here is evidence to that fact we all found jesus and we didn't leave the same we encountered jesus in the house like those wise men did and we left that place changed and different on our journey to find jesus for the first time tonight i thank god you and i found him and we were never the same after meeting we left him a different way that journey was worth it the struggle we endured and the struggle we continued to endure was not in vain the pain was not unproductive the pursuit was not without its reward but we found the king and he changed our lives we found jesus and we left a different way we found the messiah and we were never the same again something happens when you find jesus and these men are evidence to it

lessons from their journey i wonder if you're thankful for what god has done in your life for the encounter maybe maybe think of at least one maybe it's the first one or maybe it's one that's happened recently you encounter the presence and the glory of god and it changed you i wonder if you're just standing right now and you thank the lord for maybe just that one encounter amongst all the encounters can we take a moment and thank him thank you jesus for this journey thank you jesus for the opportunity we have to come into contact with you to encounter you to encounter your glory to encounter your power so thankful in high that i had a moment when i walked into the presence of god and the glory of god and my life was changed whether in a baptismal tank or with my hands lifted or repented of my sins or maybe even last week when your glory moved on our lives we thank you for those encounters and i thank you for the journey that's changed our lives we thank you jesus thank you for the change thank you lord

truth is we're all on a journey tonight my goal wasn't to shatter your view of christmas your nativity scenes or your perception of these three wise men or 30 depending on who you ask instead through these lessons in this story i just wanted to reinforce your faith as we've explored the fact that these men were real people who followed through on a commitment and even endured the chaos of their journey in order to honor and worship the king of kings and the lord of lords it's remarkable that still approximately 2 000 years later their lives and examples speak to us about the call of god and the journey that's associated with it in summary of all we learn tonight we recognize lessons from the journey and if i could just roll it all together and leave you with one simply put the journey is worth it he's worth it he is worth the journey

i know we've taken a moment to thank him but before we close i had the sense this week that someone would need to hear those words i just said in particular truth of the matter is even the strongest among us the most committed among us need a reminder that jesus is worth all the struggle we face and the heartache that we will ever endure tonight with that in mind i want us to pray before we close because more than likely in this room and representing our church family as a whole is someone who's walking the journey and they're struggling they're having to get up every day and they're trying to remember why they're doing it in the first place we all struggle we've all been there i like us to pray and if you just be so bold and honest tonight to say you know what i could use some strength in the journey and you just raise your hand and ask for someone nearby you in this church body to pray for you we've got several who need that stream will you lift your voice with me maybe you know of someone who needs prayer maybe you know of a family that needs it let's pray together lord we need your help we need your stream we thank you again for this journey it's changed our lives and tonight we've needed the reminder that this journey is worth it it's going to be worth it all but it's worth it even today i pray for the strength of these brothers and sisters who need a reminder tonight who need the strength of god who need the help and the peace of god remind them why they're on the journey in the first place and every day they get up to walk with you i pray for a fresh infusion of strength that your strength would be made perfect in their weakness for him that you would remind them every day and all over again through your presence and your goodness your love your mercy why they're doing what they're doing i pray a covering over them and our church family as a whole as we walk this journey together knowing that we're not alone but you're with us and brothers and sisters are alongside us we thank you lord for your help in jesus name in jesus name i hear somebody doing it would you thank him again for his word would you thank him for his help we thank you jesus for your strength lord we love you we honor you jesus thank you lord amen