Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Acts chapter 14, verse 21.

When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples,

they were returned to Listera and to Iconium and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls of the disciples,

encouraging them to continue in the faith,

and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

These verses are talking about the initial churches that were being planted on Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey.

And so they'd preach the gospel in each of these cities, and then they returned to them,

and they strengthened those disciples and they were helping gather them together in churches.

But what's interesting, at the end of verse 22, it says they encouraged them to continue in the faith,

and they told them that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

I think it's really interesting that in the very initial discipleship process for these new believers,

that Paul and Barnabas are emphasizing that they're going to go through many tribulations in order

to enter the kingdom of God.

This is a part of initial discipleship.

They were training them in a sense to suffer well.

They knew that these new believers would face all kinds of challenges in their lives for following Christ,

particularly as they proclaim Christ,

as they worked to spread the gospel, that they would encounter much persecution and trial and tribulation,

and so they're encouraging them from the very beginning, suffer well, walk through tribulations

with trust in Christ. And this really needs to be

...