Fighting Discouragement | Behold Your God Podcast

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Welcome to the Behold Your God podcast. I'm John Snyder, and we are away from our normal place today, away from my home in Virginia, in Radford.

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And I'm with Anthony Methenya, pastor at Christ Church Radford. And we're here this weekend.

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I'm here because we had the HeartCry Missionary Society board meeting, so it was good.

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And now Anthony and I are doing a quick podcast to talk about some things that we think are of particular importance, especially as pastors, where we're at kind of right now.

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Yeah, it's good to have you here this weekend, John. And we've been talking this weekend, but we talk often.

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We've been friends for a long time. I used to be there at the church in New Albany. The church in New Albany is twice the age of the church here in Radford.

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We're pushing 10 years old. You guys are a little over 20 years old. And we're at the age now as a church that we have experienced some real difficulties, seen some tragedies happen, watched lives destroyed, and seeing some people cool off, we might say, and not press on with the same kind of tenacity that they have previously.

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So as a pastor of the church there for 20 years, what kind of things have you found that are helpful?

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Have you seen these kinds of examples? And how can we stay the course as individuals, as ministers, as husbands and fathers?

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What can we do to stay the course? Yeah, we've been talking a little bit about this.

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Every time I'm able to be with Anthony, we generally get some kind of alone time in between all the kids and visiting friends.

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And we talk a lot about pastoring. But I don't want to talk today only about pastoring, because I think that what we're going to look at is of real benefit to any individual believer who looks in the mirror after being a

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Christian, let's say, 10, 20, 30 years. And you're not where you think you would be. And at first,

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I find that to be a bit shocking, and it's kind of a good jolt. You think, wait, was this as far as I intended to go?

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Is this as far as Christ intends me to go? But I'm age 51 now. I've been a believer for 31 years.

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And I find that every time I'm shocked by that question, as I look in the spiritual mirror, the jolt is substantially less.

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And you can just become accustomed to slacking, to not running well until the end.

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We were talking in the car about the fact that how few men that we know, ministers or believers that are not in the ministry.

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But we could also think of parents who have faced hard, difficult times. I think of parents at Christ Church in New Albany who constantly face the temptation of, especially when children break their heart, older children, do

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I still wake up and risk the hope in the gospel? Or would it be just easier, less painful, just to kind of pull back and coast?

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But we were talking about how few men we know whose last years they are running as hard as they ever have, maybe harder than when they were younger

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Christians. So that's what we want to talk about. We could say it this way.

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How does a man or a woman hold the course throughout life?

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Not just that, though. How do we run well on that course? So we're not just talking about, well, that person didn't go into heresy, and that woman didn't leave her husband.

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No. So we're not just talking about maintaining an outward conformity to the doctrines you embraced when you first cried out to Christ or a certain moral lifestyle.

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But how do you run that course well? Or we might even say this. How do we go on from strength to strength so that our latter days eclipse our earliest years with Christ?

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Yeah, what are the tools that God has given us in order to do that? What do we do?

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When I look in the mirror and realize I'm not pressing on as a Christian man in the same way that I have previously, when

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I realize that I've slowed down, that despair has set in, what have you found that works?

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Well, we're very grateful that the Lord has given us everything we need. There is the Scripture, of course.

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And that's where really our belief in the infallibility of Scripture is not enough. What about the sufficiency of Scripture?

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Is there something in that book that God has provided for this stage of the journey?

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For a 10 -year -old church versus the church plant? For a 20 -year -old church? For a 50 -year -old

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Christian? I do find temptations now that I didn't find when I was in my 20s. So I have to go to the

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Scripture and say to the Lord, you know, the things that plagued me in my 20s, those are not the things that still plague me.

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But they are new lies. And I want to find what the Scripture has to say.

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One reason that I asked Anthony if we could talk about this is because I remembered that a year ago at our last board meeting,

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Anthony's got a pretty full house. And so I said, normally he lets me come to the church to study for a sermon.

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But I didn't need to study for a sermon last time. I needed to have a day to myself.

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And I didn't really explain it to Anthony. I don't remember doing that. But just a day to fast and pray and to be alone with the

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Lord because I felt that spiritually I was at a crisis point. And here is a notebook that I've kept some journal entries in.

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And I noticed that about a year ago, so it was October 24th, 2019.

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And I don't want to read much of this entry. It's multiple pages and some of it's too private to read. But I will read the first page.

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This is what I wrote when I just got alone with the Lord and Anthony gave me his room, his study for the day.

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I wrote, Oh my God, my Redeemer, my life and hope, my

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King and Master, hear me now and quickly restore the joy and the song of your salvation.

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I have drifted, God. Unbelief has been allowed to take root as sorrows and disappointments in the ministry have come.

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And without going into detail, about every, I would say, I jokingly say that about every seven years, we have a pretty rough year at the church.

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When I say that to other pastors, they tend to look at me like, you get a break of six years, you know, like I get six months.

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But I don't know that that's very accurate, but it feels like that. We've had, I would say, about three in 20 years, about three really rough spells.

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And last year, it was right in the heart of a pretty rough spell. And so it kind of provoked these thoughts.

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I went on to write, Many of these disappointments are surely rooted in my own failure as a pastor, but others are not.

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There have been unanswered prayers. There have been people that appear unaffected by the word. And the liar has been there to accuse

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God to me. My proud response has been visible in becoming cold toward the ministry, drifting from the earnest use of the private means of grace and putting myself at the center of everything that I do.

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But you are real. And what I go on to do in the next few pages is just, you know, cry out to the

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Lord, thanking God that He hasn't left me alone, but then dealing with some of the very specific ways that that manifests itself.

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So that's the kind of thing that I want to talk about. How do we not secretly quit at heart running the race well, even though we maintain the outward appearance of running the race?

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You know, as you said, what does the Scripture give us? Now, so for that, we have all kinds of things.

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You know, so we have the commands of Scripture. That's pretty clear. We have promises that, in a sense, that's like the enticement that draws me from before.

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We have the warnings that come alongside me and kind of push me from behind. We have precepts and principles.

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But one of the most beneficial things we have is biblical example. And so, you know, take the life of a man like Paul.

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He takes away every excuse that I have. We may look at the disciples and say, well, if I walked with Christ and slept next to Christ and ate with Christ, I'd be a better Christian.

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What are you going to say when you look at Paul? Now, I know he had a different calling. He's an apostle. We're not apostles.

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But Paul followed Christ, not by sight, but by faith, opening up a book, crying out to God, being enabled by the

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Spirit to understand and being given everything he needed for Christlikeness. So we look at Paul and we follow

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Paul as he follows Christ, and he just ashames my complacency.

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What I want us to look at together is not a picture of Paul in the book of Acts.

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And that's, you know, generally where we would think, like, well, we'll go to one of those stunning pictures. Paul goes to a town, does this, wonderful things happen.

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And you can kind of get the picture that every time Paul walked into a place, everybody got converted. Quite the opposite, you know.

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But what I want us to do is look at the footprints of Paul in front of us for running the race all the way to the end.

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Not in the book of Acts, but in a strange place. In the salutation that we find at the beginning of two separate letters to Timothy.

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First Timothy 1, verse 1, and Second Timothy 1, verse 1.

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And see if that has anything really to say to us. Let me read First Timothy 1, 1.

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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our

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Savior and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope. So let's just kind of take that quickly.

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Three really simple elements. Paul's sense of identity. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I don't think that the biggest word there is apostle.

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I don't want us to focus on that so that all of us immediately say, well, this is an interesting passage, but it's not for me.

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We could, in a sense, put anything in there. You know, Anthony, a father, a husband, a pastor, a follower of Jesus Christ, who belongs to Christ Jesus.

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Paul is an apostle, but he's Christ's apostle. So whatever you put in that blank that's legitimate.

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John Snyder, a dad of Christ Jesus, belongs to Christ Jesus.

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So there's Paul's sense of identity. In the year 60 AD, he writes this, just having gotten out of prison, we believe.

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And he writes to Timothy and he says, look, this is who I am, Timothy. Who Christ is, that changes my entire identity.

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Then he says, what is how he's become that, according to the commandment of God our Savior. It's not something that Paul dreamed up.

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It's God's will behind this whole thing. And then third, he talks about this is through or of Christ, who is our hope.

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And so there's this guiding force, this hope. Now, before we read 2

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Timothy 1 .1 and compare the two introductions, let's talk about what happened between them. About seven years pass.

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Paul's out of prison. That's the prison that we read about at the end of Acts. But when you get to 2

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Timothy and read what he says about prison life there, it just doesn't fit Acts. So most scholars, and I would agree with them, would say that what we're finding is this is a second

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Roman imprisonment. And this is the one that Paul will be martyred during. Nero has now become the emperor.

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Paul has gone. He's labored for a few years. According to 2 Timothy 1, the last time

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Paul saw Timothy, the picture is there that he leaves Timothy seeing Timothy in tears.

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So whether that's just a goodbye, Timothy, or whether Paul, as some think, was captured by the

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Romans around Ephesus, where Timothy is a pastor, and he's actually dragged from Timothy, we don't know.

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But Paul, we know this, that in this seven -year period, it's not just the normal ups and downs of Paul's Christian life and the normal ups and downs of church life that we see already.

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There is the beginning of a systemic, empire -wide crackdown on the

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Christian church. Up to this point, it's been Jews that have attacked Christians. Now the empire as a whole is putting believers to death.

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So I have to ask myself, how many names can Paul think of in prison that were people that embraced the gospel when he brought the gospel to their village, and now they're no longer with them?

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You know, they're dead. So there's this...you can imagine the great weight on Paul's heart. God has, for some reason, allowed the church to proclaim the gospel with its blood, and those that love him are being put to death.

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Second, during this time, Paul mentions in 2 Timothy, I think, a more heartbreaking reality, and that is that many

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Christians are apostatizing. Many Christians are pulling back from Christ because it's becoming so dangerous.

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And particularly, he mentions some preachers that he used to work with, and now they won't admit that they even know

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Paul, or maybe they don't even know Christ, because of the fear of Rome. And so Paul ends his life biblically...I

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mean, you know, the last thing we hear about Paul is this. He's in prison, winter is coming, and he's cold, and he asks

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Timothy, if you can make it to me, come to me, bring my coat, bring my books, my parchments or scrolls back then, and he says, everyone has deserted me except one.

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So that's the picture, certainly not what we would think of with the life of Paul. So with that in mind,

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I want us to compare 1 Timothy 1 -1 to 2 Timothy 1 -1.

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And I think that what we find is really helpful. 2 Timothy 1 -1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus.

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Now in case you don't have a great memory and you think, well, how did they go? Basically, that's the exact same statement, just a few different phrases.

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So same statement, his identity, I'm an apostle of Christ Jesus, right? So I belong to him.

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I am still Christ's man at the end of this life, having been deserted by other preachers and Christians, and watching

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God allow his church to suffer terribly for the gospel. And I am still glorying in Christ.

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Second, I am still, and I still belong to Christ by the will of God. It is the

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Father's will that I am this. And third, it's according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus.

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This is a fuller statement than what 1 Timothy said. So instead of just saying, because of the hope in Christ, here he says it this way.

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There is the promise of life in Christ. So the gospel has brought us a promise of a limitless life in Christ.

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But he uses a wonderful Greek word there, according to, and kata, K -A -T -A, we would say in English.

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And that's a word that means, this is a thing, this is like the guiding principle. This is the, these are the fence rows on my path.

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I am Christ's man and I am doing what I am doing by the will of God. And even though I have lost everything for Christ and I'm facing death, all of this has been guided by, my labor is guided by this glorious promise of life that is at the heart of the gospel of Christ.

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So what we find is that Paul hasn't altered in the least. There are other evidences in 2

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Timothy. There are things like he says, every time I remember you, Timothy, I pray and I'm filled with joy.

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Now, if a man has secretly on the inside, because of despair, quit running the race, he's just kind of going through the motions, just jogging to the end.

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He doesn't rejoice in the memories of what God has done. You know, those have been clouded by the enemy now, and he just finds no happiness in it.

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Paul also talks about prayer. I find that a man doesn't really long to be at the mercy seat if he's given up hope.

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So what I didn't mention in my journal was I did see very clear evidence that while I was still going through the motions of prayer and reading my

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Bible, really the yearning that's there, the stretching, you know, that was gone.

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And I was just, I was slow to come to the quiet time and quick to leave it.

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And you know, so those are plaguing problems that creep in when despair creeps in.

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So when the despair comes, and it will because of the sinful nature of humanity, and we live in a fallen world, how do we keep those things from affecting us personally and despairing in such a great way?

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Because it is heart -wrenching when souls are being damaged, and people's lives are on the line, and poor choices are being made.

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But how do we keep from taking it personally to where we're then prone to give up hope ourselves?

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Yeah. So let's talk about the personal aspect of that, and then talk about two basic, two kind of basic principles.

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The personal aspect, I find that really difficult. I think that's the most difficult. When a person, especially like as a parent, and your older child basically looks at you, or the enemy says, well, if you'd have been a better parent, obviously your child would love the

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Lord, which is a lie, but it's a pretty convincing lie. If you'd have been a better pastor, these people would still be at the church, and they'd be wonderfully benefited, but instead you failed.

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So I think that whether they've actually leveled accusations against you, or you are leveling accusations against you, there are a couple of temptations.

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One temptation is to swing to one edge where you just say, it's never my fault. I'm not the one, and I think that's a dangerous place to be.

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I really am most scared of that. I don't want to grow old and become the guy that always my default reaction is, it's everybody else's fault.

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But then the other equally dangerous thing is to say, yeah, it's all my fault, and you just become paralyzed to where you just want to throw your hands up.

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As a parent, it's easy to see your errors. You love your child, and so when you see them going down a wrong path, if you think it's all your fault, it's so easy to be paralyzed by guilt that you are no longer able to do what

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God has put you there to do. So as a pastor, same thing. So here's where I find the difficult balance, to go to the

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Lord with those accusations and say to him, I am listening as honestly as I can.

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I need help with this. Which parts of this, which part is my fault?

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What's true about the accusation, and what part isn't? Having settled that, you've got to hold the line because it is not humble to open your ear to a liar, the enemy, who will constantly say things to you that will incapacitate you.

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So that sounds really humble, you know, oh, it's all me, you just melt into a puddle.

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But then you look around and you realize there's a great deal not being done right because I'm in the corner with self -pity.

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Two general principles, and we see this in Paul. One is, we need a biblical expectation of the

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Christian life, whether we're talking about sanctification, or whether we're talking about raising kids, or whether we're talking about pastoring.

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What does the Scripture say? And that's oftentimes very different than like our favorite biographies.

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You know, you read McShane's biography, and his best friend wrote it, and you think that if I love the

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Lord like McShane loved the Lord, or even close to it, it's just going to be one wonderful display of God's glory.

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And you and I were talking about autobiographies are very different. Autobiographies, the guy is just, you know, he's wrestling with himself, you know,

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I'm not even a Christian, you know, and they're much more honest in some ways. So a biblical expectation.

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You remember what Paul says. He says some pretty amazing things about the Christian. I mean, really, some of the most unbelievably good things that are said about Anthony Methenia in Christ are said by Paul.

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But also, he gives us very clear expectations of what loving

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Jesus Christ in this world will look like and what pastoring will look like. And he tells us, I mean, Paul said,

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I was told, Paul was told that I've been chosen to suffer for the gospel. In 2

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Timothy 1, Paul says to Timothy, you know, don't be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, even though all these hard things are happening, and be ready to enter into the suffering of the ministry with me.

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So Paul is still willing to suffer, but he knows that suffering will be part. So a good, healthy, biblical expectation so that you're not open to the lie that God tricked you.

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Same thing with pastoring, you know, that you love the Lord and you love your kids, and that is not a guarantee that every child that grows up in the church or in a godly home will love the

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Lord Jesus. We have so much to hope in and so much ground to plead with the

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Lord upon, but we cannot come to Him and say, I loved you, and look how you dealt with me.

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The second major principle, other than a healthy, biblical expectation, is

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Paul does say in 2 Timothy, I know the one whom I believed in and I've entrusted myself to.

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So I think we could say it this way. If we're going to continue to run the race, we're going to continue to see some pretty heartbreaking things all around us in our homes, in ourself, and in the churches where we labor.

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And the only way for that not to paralyze me is that I must have an ever -increasing, ever -continuing, intimate acquaintance with my

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King so that these continuing sorrows do not, you know, in a sense, accumulate to the point that I just have lost sight of Christ.

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And you know you have if you're going through the motions and doing the right things without heart.

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So, Paul, great picture, a man who suffered terribly in the church, outside the church, and yet at the end of his life,

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I cannot find him backing off at all. There are many ideas about God in our culture today.

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Many are not grounded in Scripture, and some are actually the opposite of what Scripture teaches. The best way to identify these ideas is to go back to the

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Bible and allow God to speak for Himself. Learn how God describes His character, His work in salvation,

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His definition of repentance, and much more through the 12 -week multimedia Bible study, Behold Your God, Rethinking God Biblically.

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The heart of this study is its daily devotional workbook participants study at home in preparation for the small group session.

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Each session is led by a video containing three segments. First, a biographical sketch of an individual from Christian history who was gripped by the reality of God you were studying that week.

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Second is a sermon from Dr. John Snyder, pastor of Christ Church, New Albany. Lastly, are interviews from contemporary

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Christian pastors and authors who help apply the lessons from the week. To learn more or to see what others are saying about Behold Your God, Rethinking God Biblically, visit

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Mediagracie .org or click the link in the description of this episode. So there are a number of practical things that can help us that you've mentioned in conversation with biographies and such, but at the end of the day, it's the scriptures and what

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God has provided for us in His Word and the necessity for us to be intimately acquainted with Christ in His Word and to walk with Him in order to have that balance of not giving up in despair and not a pie in the sky, over -realization of everything and escaping all blame.

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We have to walk close with Christ and God has provided His Word and it's completely sufficient for that.

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You know, one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament for a person who carries the burden of caring for other people, so this could be a parent, it could be a believer whose heart is weighed down as they're trying to come alongside a younger believer that's struggling or a pastor or whatever, is in Isaiah 40 when we find the description of the coming of the

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Messiah, you know, get on the mountaintop, say, behold your God, He is coming, so it's really just an announcement of Christ and Christ is described as a warrior who's also a shepherd.

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One of the things it says about Him is that He will carry those who are with young. In other words, if you feel like, man, but this kind of a thing is, you know, my heart is so broken and so heavy,

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I find it hard to sleep through the night and when I pray the enemy is there mocking my hope, you can go to Christ and say, you told me in Isaiah 40 that you would carry those who are with young, those who are caring for other people, you would carry them.

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So you've given me a heart that can be broken over this kind of situation, so you must heal it and you must teach me how to walk through the midst of it.

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Well, thanks for joining us, Anthony. Thanks for sitting and going through this with me.

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We hope that it'll help you, if not right now, then in the coming days as a believer when things can oftentimes be clouded by genuine sorrow and disappointments, you know, how do we honor the