Where is God in The Suffering?

[00:00:00]The word of the Lord for us today is where is God in my suffering?

[00:00:11]When you hear that word suffering, what do you think of?

[00:00:16]The [clears throat] word that comes to my mind is hopelessness.

[00:00:22]It's pain without any reasonable thought of it changing, but more than likely it is getting worse.

[00:00:30]pain. That could be emotional, mental, spiritual, physical suffering.

[00:00:38]Ever since the Adam bomb [clears throat] in the Garden of Eden, we have had thorns and thistles, suffering, man.

[00:00:48]It is par for the course of being a human being. The hard part is when you suffer and you suffer in this deafening silence that it seems like God, you're not listening.

[00:00:59]If you're brand new in Jesus today, you do not have a clue what I'm talking about. I understand.

[00:01:06]But here's what I want to promise you.

[00:01:07]You will because it is part for the course.

[00:01:13]Revelation comes through suffering.

[00:01:17]Can you say that out loud? Revelation comes through suffering.

[00:01:23]Now, there are false doctrines. I emphasize the word false. There are false doctrines that will tell you you're a king's kid.

[00:01:30]Name it, claim it, gab it, grab it.

[00:01:35]That's some bad Kool-Aid.

[00:01:37]It's not biblical. What you're going to hear today is biblical and it's a hard pill to swallow. But if you're willing to, you're going to see Jesus.

[00:01:48]>> You're going to have a first love flame with him restored where you're supposed to live all the time, man.

[00:01:56]>> [clears throat] >> Where is God in my suffering?

[00:01:59][sighs and snorts] The Gospel of Matthew, it says, "From the sixth hour until the 9th hour, there was darkness over all the land. And about the 9th hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli Lama Sabatni," which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

[00:02:19]And some of those who stood there when they heard that said, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah."

[00:02:30]What would you have thought if you heard this rabbi, this man who claimed to be God, cuz he did, and he is, by the way, found him on a cross crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

[00:02:46]They thought that he was asking a question, looking for an answer such as, "God, where are you?" He wasn't. He was making a statement.

[00:02:56]He was stating a position that he was in.

[00:03:02]He was quoting the words of Psalms 22.

[00:03:06]Don't think for a moment that Jesus was doubting the Father.

[00:03:12]We take hard passages like this and we have a tendency to just write them off because we don't understand that. We go, I don't get it. Jesus was perfect. He never sinned. He's the Passover lamb.

[00:03:21]But doubt is sin. And to me, it looks like he's doubting.

[00:03:26]No, he's suffering [snorts] for you. By the way, he's suffering for you. In the midst of that suffering, he is bringing revelation for you.

[00:03:39]He is quoting the messianic psalm, Psalms 22 that speaks of the crucifixion before Rome ever existed, before the crucifixion ever existed. That quotes of Messiah would have holes in his hands and his feet.

[00:03:54]That dogs are Gentiles would be around him casting lots for his garment, prophesying what would happen. And he draws attention to that psalm by quoting the very first words to the Psalms 22.

[00:04:04]My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[00:04:08]Why are you so far from helping me? And from the words of my groaning, oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear. And in the night season, I am not silent. But you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted. Oh, I love this. And you delivered them.

[00:04:34]>> Hallelujah.

[00:04:37]Jesus in the midst of suffering is porting to the revealer, removing a veil. And remember, as he's dying, a veil is just about to get torn. So there's direct access to God.

[00:04:46]Hallelujah.

[00:04:48]Suffering revelation. And he's revealing here saying not a question to God. It's a statement that I've been abandoned by the father. Why was he abandoned?

[00:04:59]Child of God, not because of his sin.

[00:05:02]Because of your sin. Take it personal.

[00:05:05]Say, because of my sin.

[00:05:07]Yeah. Because of my sin. That's why darkness covered. That's why the father was turning his face away. In the midst of suffering, Jesus was revealing he was doing this for us. Listen, revelation always follows suffering for the person that puts their hope in God.

[00:05:27][snorts] All through the Bible, we see this principle. It's not just for Christ on the cross or for you as the intention getter to come to Jesus.

[00:05:36]There's much more to it. It's the way that God gets you out of the way so you can see him. And when I say gets you out of the way, meaning faith in you, trust in you. God brings us to the end of our self, end of hope in self and anybody else for that matter before we ever truly get to experience hope in him.

[00:05:57]He's not looking to partner. He doesn't want us to have part hope in him and part hope in our counselor, our pastor, our doctor, our spouse, our kids, the white house, the lie house, whatever.

[00:06:10]>> Right? All hope in him. But getting us there, it's a God thing to get us there.

[00:06:17]>> Only God can do it.

[00:06:21]See, in the midst of our suffering, it's important to remember that the Lord is watching. Now, see, that's hard to reconcile with that God is love. If you're watching my suffering, then how can you love me? If you see me in pain and you're not doing anything to stop the pain, if you love me, why did you let that happen to me?

[00:06:42]I'm trying to reconcile that you're good all the time.

[00:06:47]I'm trying to reconcile that you love me with this thing that's happening that according to my Bible, your word, Lord, this is the devil right now. And I'm praying. I'm fasting. I'm seeking. I'm crying out. You are not listening. My God. My God.

[00:07:06]God will do whatever he has to do to open the eyes of the blind.

[00:07:14]Whatever it takes.

[00:07:18]That's the way it was with a slave woman by the name of Hagar, a servant of Sarai, Abram's wife.

[00:07:27]She was suffering. She was hurting.

[00:07:31][sighs and snorts] She was persecuted. And she ran away from her masters because she couldn't take it anymore. And God brought her in a desert to the end of herself. Some of you know the story.

[00:07:44]I love this particular verse of Hagar's story in Genesis 16 where it says, "Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her." In other words, we're picking up. We'll get the context here in a minute, but we're we're taking we can conclude here that God has already spoken to her and said something that's really just given her hope, right? So she says the name of the Lord who spoke to her, this is what you are the God who sees. She said, "Have I also here?"

[00:08:16]Excuse me. Have I also here seen him who sees me? And therefore, this well is called Bear Loy, which means, I love this, the well of the living one who sees me. I want you to think about this woman who's right at the end of herself in a desert. She's going to die.

[00:08:34]Dehydration, starvation, and in the midst of emotional pain and hopelessness. And God let her get to that place. That suffering preceded seeing the angel of the Lord. And for you Bible students, you know who the angel of the Lord is?

[00:08:47]>> Jesus. This is a christophony. Remember when Jesus prayed in John 17, Lord restore me to the glory I had before the world began.

[00:08:56]>> This is the glory glorified body. The angel Lord is Jesus. Hagar, this pagan slave woman is having an encounter with Jesus Christ, the anointed one right there.

[00:09:11]And she says, "Wow, I get to see the one who's had his eyes on me.

[00:09:17]He's been watching me.

[00:09:20]Now, can you imagine if we just change the story up a little bit and go, "Well, Hagar never ran away and the Lord came and rebuked Sarah for being a jerk [laughter] and Sarah repented and Hagar was blessed." I don't care for that part, that kind of story too much. Do you?

[00:09:41]I go, "Wow, Lord." So suffering really does precede revelation, a removal of the veil to see Jesus.

[00:09:49]It's always been that way. This was really a a brain freeze for me this week when I thought about this whole concept that suffering precedes revelation. I thought that this is the way creation itself tells you this spiritual principle. When you were born, you suffered.

[00:10:08]I have watched four of my children born natural birth. I've done studies since then and learned things like a child's body goes through three times the pressure it's used to in the womb going through the birth canal. It's very common for collar bones to break, blood cells to break because the skull hasn't fused yet and the pressure going [clears throat] to the birth canal. The skull overlaps like this. That's why you see babies with cone heads.

[00:10:36]Seriously.

[00:10:39]Now, see, you're looking and seeing the baby's eye. Oh, by the way, the baby's blind before the suffering, too. It doesn't see anything, if you would. But in the midst of all this suffering and pressure, probably going, "Man, [clears throat] I I mean, being alone, feeling like you're drowning, can't see, pressure, your skull is caving in, and you're going, "Does anybody love me?"

[00:11:02][laughter] you know, just what we go through until that incredible moment where all of a sudden you get a spanking and your eyes open up and you see dad and mom.

[00:11:17]>> Wow.

[00:11:19]It's like even creation tells us this is the way it works. You see, it's amazing how God really sets our gaze, our focus on him. Suffering is the best attention getter.

[00:11:35]It really is. [clears throat] It's not that God enjoys us to suffer.

[00:11:40]He's just after our whole heart.

[00:11:43]Is it any different when you have a 5-year-old who's just breaking glasses on the floor or just not listening to you and you got to light their backside up?

[00:11:54]Are you going, "Oh, awesome. I get to spank them. [laughter] I get to cause pain and suffering in their life. I love being a parent.

[00:12:05][laughter] I mean, right? No one does that. And you're you're wicked compared to God. Really wicked, right? God, he doesn't take any It's kind of like, did God take joy in the crucifixion or was it the resurrection that was going to follow?

[00:12:21]>> Because he knows the resurrection's coming. And when God allows us to suffer, he knows there's a well, a spiritual well. Come on. He's about to dig.

[00:12:30]Now, if you're wondering, so what did he say to her that just grabbed her so much? Well, look at Genesis 16:11. It says, "The angel of the Lord, Jesus, said to her, "Behold, you are with a child. You're pregnant, Hagar, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael [clears throat] because the Lord has heard your affliction."

[00:12:52]Now, this is a fascinating passage, especially for our topic today. We're talking about revelation comes through suffering. So here this woman suffers.

[00:12:59]Revelation comes. She sees Jesus. God gives her incredible wealth. Blesses her. She's comforted. Tells her she's got life within her. And you're going to have a son and his name's Ishmael. H what's happened as a result of Ishmael.

[00:13:15]>> Well, when you read the seven churches, you know, that died out from persecution. They're descendants of Ishmael that did it. If you look at Sharia law and what's going on in the last days and you read Revelation 12 about a victorious bride that overcomes the antichrist that I believe personally is moving through Islam and go all that is a result of Ishmael.

[00:13:38]So is this a good thing or a bad thing?

[00:13:40][laughter] Lord I'm like you you're a father of many nations. Listen, God is the master chess player. Yes.

[00:13:48]>> When he does something, there's something big that it's like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, we see in part, we know a part, we prophesy in part, then we'll know fully. Right now, we just see little Swiss cheese moments. And God saying, "Can you trust me with the whole picture, though? You'll only see a part."

[00:14:07]>> Suffering tells you where your ability to have faith is like. God takes us through things, guys. And this whole situation with Hagar, what you see is really encapsulated at the cross where you go, there is a principle here that God is taking us through hard times so he might teach us his presence.

[00:14:26]How do we reconcile I'm in pain, I'm hurting with that you're love me and that you're with me? That's even harder, right? Like, okay, I'm going to reconcile that you're allowing this to happen, but you're actually with me when this terrible thing is happening.

[00:14:43]That's a harder pill to swallow.

[00:14:47]The psalmist, yeah, though I walk through the valley of shadow death, I will fear no evil. Why? [clears throat] >> You're with me, right? Well, I love this in the Septuagent. That's where they took 70 guys. Septuagent means 70. And they translated from Hebrew to Greek.

[00:15:01]And this is the direct translation of that verse in the Septuagent. I dig it.

[00:15:04]This is good.

[00:15:07]Yay. Even though I walk in the midst, right smack in the middle, in the midst of the valley of death, I will not be afraid of evils plural, for thou art with me.

[00:15:22]Man, King David, the same guy who wrote Psalms 22, boy, king, musician, prophet, man, what a powerful man of God, right?

[00:15:32]And he was a total mess. That should be an encouragement to you, right? Look, look what God could do. But you go, David's writing this like God takes me through a valley and I'm not on the side where I can kind of step in where it's out of. I'm right smack in the middle, man. And there's death all around me.

[00:15:49]But I'm not going to be afraid to get a spirit of fear on me because I know God, you're with me. Not cuz I feel it, right? But because I believe it because you said it.

[00:16:02]We don't have our our sense that God is with us and that he's faithful is not because we have emotions behind it or we took our happy pill. You know, we got the sermon that we wanted to hear.

[00:16:13]Today's probably not that sermon, right?

[00:16:15]Or we got the we got we got like the worship song that we love and so man this is great. That's not the way faith grows. Faith grows. If you were here Wednesday night, man, we dug deep with a Canaanite woman, right? We that was a powerful time in the word. were going, "Wow, Jesus, you left Israel to tire and sight. You went to the capital of idol worship, went into a gentile house, had a woman come in with a stigma." Stigma is plural. One, she's a woman. She's a gentile. Oh, she's got a daughter who's demonpossessed, probably not invited to a lot of dinner parties, right? And she comes in and she's crying out to Jesus and Jesus seemingly ignores her.

[00:16:52]She has been suffering, man. And the disciples are being self-righteous jerks.

[00:16:58]they are. And you know what? And you go, I've really struggled with that story over the years to be honest with you.

[00:17:04]Like, Lord, I get it. I mean, and your answer was, I'm not going to give the dogs what belong to the children. I'm sorry.

[00:17:12]Like, Lord, first you're indifferent and silent, and then you say something that [clears throat] seems like you're just really insensitive and lacking compassion.

[00:17:22]But Jesus says, "Hey, listen. Even the the dogs get the teeny little moral souls. If you'll give me just the smallest little morsel from you, that's a feast.

[00:17:33]That I'm great with that. And he turns to her says, "Oh woman, great is your faith.

[00:17:39]>> Great is your faith.

[00:17:42]It will be to you as you desired." And her daughter was healed. Like that >> Now, what if the story would have been, "Hey, Jesus just walked up to her and says, "Hey, you got a daughter who's demonpossessed. I want you to know she's healed. Who are you? [clears throat] Right? You see how God allows suffering before the revelation? You see how God allows it to appear like he doesn't care? Totally does.

[00:18:08]He's he's exposing and drawing out of you faith in self and other people and bring you to a complete deficit and hope in anything but him [clears throat] because he wants to take your portion measure of faith and turn it into great faith. and he's willing to do whatever it takes to bring you there. So my question with this now that you've got this real biblical picture that suffering really does proceed and produce revelation for the believer.

[00:18:36]Okay. My question to you is what suffering is God taking you through right now because he wants to reveal himself to you.

[00:18:49]You might not be in a desert.

[00:18:51]And that's why it's easy with suffering that we have in our society in our culture is to self-medicate and enesticize oursel to the pain that's meant to drive us to desperation and complete dependency upon him.

[00:19:03][clears throat] He'll let us do that for a while. By the way, he'll let you turn stones into bread.

[00:19:14]He'll let you count on a counselor more than him, a medication more than his healing hand, a drink to calm you down and give you some pseudo fake peace at night cuz you're stressed. He'll allow you to do all kinds of stuff instead of really choosing him. But at a certain point, he's going to close every door but him.

[00:19:35]You see, I want you to consider that the Apostle Paul went through such a trial.

[00:19:46]2 Corinthians chapter 12, the scripture says concerning this thing. The thing we don't know what the thing is, the infirmity he speaks of in this passage, was it eye problems? Was it malaria? Was the thing a person? Maybe the thing the thorn was Alexander the metal worker who did him a great deal of harm and stumbled him and hurt him and who know we don't know what the thing is and I'm glad we don't know what the thing is because we can go I got a thing I got I got a thing whether it's a thing or a person I got a thing that I'm really wanting God to get rid of.

[00:20:22][clears throat] Right. I pleaded with the Lord three times. Why three times?

[00:20:29]He's referencing back to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed three times. In other words, there is a parallel between the suffering that Jesus was going through and what he is going through right now.

[00:20:43]I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might be taken away from me. And he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness.

[00:20:59]That's this this is a great altar call sermon. [clears throat] Want to come to Jesus? Got some suffering for you.

[00:21:06][laughter] You know, it's because the thing is we're it's not normal for us to showcase weakness. I mean, can you imagine going on Facebook and Instagram, hey, let me show you my thorn.

[00:21:18]Let me boast in my weakness. Hey, I got this big zit. Time for a selfie. You know, it's like that's just not the way we are. We we hide weakness. We're ashamed of weakness because our identity so often is what we do. Come on. Instead of what he did >> when your identity is in what he did, not what you do, you can boast in your weakness. Because he says, the midst of that humility, I'm going to show up with this thing called Oh, here we go. Grace.

[00:21:48]>> Come on, grace. Who wants some more grace? Give me some of that introvenous IV grace. You know, it's like now if you were here last week, we dove deep on this topic of grace that it but it's not. Okay, let's start there. It's not a get out of eternal jail free card.

[00:22:05]Grace is not meaning all your sins are forgiven. Okay, if you're justified by the blood of Christ through faith alone, yes, all your sins are forgiven. But grace was given well way before you were born again. Do you know that God's unmmerited favor? That's what the word means. Caris. It's where we get the word charismatic. In other words, if you like grace, you're a charismatic.

[00:22:32]The Baptist reject that in Jesus name.

[00:22:36]Charismatic doesn't mean you pray in tongues or prophesy. It just means you're a grace junkie.

[00:22:43]you just can't do without his unmmerited favor, man. Give me more, Lord. And being an ex addict, I like it.

[00:22:50]>> I like it. Give me more, more, more, more, more. I I just I want to be completely dependent upon you like a newborn baby from my very breath.

[00:22:58]Everything. I need your unmmerited favor. In other words, everything he does has nothing to do with what I do are deserving. The only thing I would say my actions connect are really lack thereof, which is dying to trying.

[00:23:13]surrender, right? That's what it's all about. God says, "I got grace for you, Paul, that is sufficient for your weakness." You know, here's the deal.

[00:23:23][clears throat] He says that God's answer is, "I'm not going to take the thorn away." I mean, my idea is prayer is I [clears throat] speak it and you do it, Lord.

[00:23:36]>> Right? Ask anything in my name.

[00:23:40]It's not what it means. Ask anything in my character. The the best way to say what the character of prayer is not my will but your will be done.

[00:23:48]>> Amen.

[00:23:49]>> And so when he's praying like take this away, the Lord says my grace, my favor is sufficient for you. In other words, the joy of my favor that I have is sufficient for you to be content while I'm working in you through this thing, this thorn in your flesh.

[00:24:12]Grace is something that we learned more and more to be depended upon. The Apostle Paul when he talked about grace, just in short, grace is the power to walk like Jesus walked. You can't do it.

[00:24:24]It's not that you get saved by God's unmmerited favor and then you're on your own. [clears throat] Just the opposite.

[00:24:31]You get saved by God's favor and you learn you really can't do anything without him. [clears throat] The Apostle Paul with his apostilhip, I love Romans 1:5. He says, "Through him, Jesus, we have received grace, care is unmmerited favor, and apostilhip for what? Obedience to the faith." In other words, I can't even be obedient.

[00:24:52]you. The Holy Spirit is like this this incredible Holy Ghost adrenaline rush, you know? It's [clears throat] just when when you tap in and connect with his heart, his power, I it's a game changer for real.

[00:25:11]How's that going for you?

[00:25:15]You can really gauge it by, are you intimate with Jesus? Are you quick to forgive? Are you quick to humble yourself? Do you care more about more about other people than yourself? Are you a giver? Are you a server? Are because all these things was Jesus on steroids, right? So, if we're walking like Jesus walked and meaning he's walking through us, then these things should be on autopilot like a Holy Ghost reflex. You know, when you're trying to be a Christian, it's just like and bear fruit. It's like, okay, fruit.

[00:25:50]I call it the spiritual constipated Christian. You know, it's like you're trying TO PRODUCE SOMETHING AND NOTHING'S happened because you're trying to do it. It's like it should be a holy reflex that is is a result of I got nothing. I can't.

[00:26:08]You can. Say that out loud. I can't. You can. [clears throat] And it's just so easy to become like th this mindset that we want to like partner with God.

[00:26:19]Like it's it's it's it's your strength, but how about this? Lord, you're my co-pilot.

[00:26:26]I despise that sticker. I despise it.

[00:26:31]It It promotes works and delusions of godhood, I might add.

[00:26:36]It's like the more you walk with Jesus, you just go, "It's all him." The Apostle Paul, this guy who was like law, big- time law. It's all about me. I'm a Pharisee of Pharisees, intern for the Sanhedrin. Um, I mean, persecuting that that cult, the church, those Christians.

[00:26:53]And this guy is like a freak for the grace of God.

[00:26:57]>> And he's being attacked not by just Pharisees, but Christians who are under the law. Boy, we got a lot of those today. You're in the room today. I'm glad you're here [laughter] cuz you need to hear this.

[00:27:12][snorts] It's not about what you do.

[00:27:13]It's about what he did.

[00:27:16]>> The Apostle Paul was a man who had a love affair with his Messiah.

[00:27:21]I love his heart that just bleeds here in Philippians. And it's noteworthy. The dude writes this in jail.

[00:27:27]Got any ex jailbirds in the room?

[00:27:30]Listen to this. I want to know. and and and no doesn't mean I want to understand the word in the Greek and the Hebrew and mean I want to experience him.

[00:27:42]>> I want to have connection face to face with him. I want to know him right intimately. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raises from the dead. Who wants that?

[00:27:53]>> How about the next part? And I want to suffer with him [clears throat] instead of Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're laughing like like who wants that suffer? I shouldn't have to suffer. He suffered for me so I wouldn't have to suffer. [clears throat] No, he was condemned so you wouldn't be condemned.

[00:28:14]But through suffering, he was perfected.

[00:28:20]You go, "Well, that doesn't make any sense." We'll get there.

[00:28:24]Paul says, "I want to share in suffering with them, sharing in his death." So the suffering is a dying to self.

[00:28:34]So that one way or another I will experience a resurrection from the dead.

[00:28:37]I don't mean to say that I've already achieved these things or that I already reached perfection, but I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Hallelujah.

[00:28:49]That's so good. That's so genuine, so authentic, so passionate, so pure. Like Lord, I understand that to share in your power, I have to share in your death.

[00:29:02]That's why Paul said, "I die, come on, >> daily."

[00:29:07]That whole not my will but your will be done. It's a daily thing. And the more that you suffer by dying to self, the more you see Jesus moving in your life, you see resurrection power. I mean, there is no resurrection without a crucifixion, right? It's the same in our lives. There is no revelation without preceding death and a suffering. The kernel of wheat that goes to the ground.

[00:29:31]It's a principle, man. That's not just there of the foundation of your born again experience, but your whole life walking with Jesus.

[00:29:38]Many people in churches across this world understand this. The church in America is messed up.

[00:29:46]>> It just is. Christians in America, it is a small remnant that believe what we just read.

[00:29:54]It's more man. I want to come give me my little mini sermon. I hope pastor is not longer than 35 minutes because I'm hungry.

[00:30:04]There's a soccer. Does he know about the soccer game today? He's just be lucky that I came.

[00:30:10]I got an agenda, right?

[00:30:13]It's like where's the devotion?

[00:30:22][laughter] preach it.

[00:30:25]>> Oh my hear my arguments. I'm not trying I'm not trying to condemn people. I'm just trying to have a reality check that there is a a celebration of mediocrity called Christianity that's inside the United States of America. It just is.

[00:30:39]And I don't want us to be part of that.

[00:30:41]And I don't mean that in a condescending way. It's just more there's a disease.

[00:30:47]Uh it's called the lukewarm Christian disease. What an oxymoron. Lukeworm Christian. [clears throat] It's just not supposed to be that way. And it's become such a norm that that people go, "Yeah, I mean, compared to Charlie Manson, I'm I'm a really good Christian, right?"

[00:31:07]You know, and we line ourselves up with people that we think we're better than go, it's not about that. It's about the life of Christ, about you dying so Jesus lives through you. And and then the deal is this, the suffering is meant to it's kind like removing um the fat, removing the chaff from the wheat. He already sees you as perfect, but there's a sinful nature thing that needs to be crucified and removed. So you get to open your eyes and see dad that's been with you all along.

[00:31:38]>> You see, there's a pressure in the birth of every revelation that we go through.

[00:31:44]It's painful.

[00:31:49]Hebrews 2 says we see Jesus who was made lower than the angels for the suffering of the death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom all things and by whom all things, and bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.

[00:32:17]We just read that it was the plan of God to make Messiah perfect through suffering. Now, once again, you can go, I'm confused. It wasn't he already perfect without sin. The word perfect heliosis, it means to make the goal. In other words, suffering is what brings us to that place of completion in what God is doing.

[00:32:41]Now, when Jesus perfect, no doubt, no sin, no need for trimming the fat. You and I, we need a spiritual diet, right?

[00:32:50]I mean, there's lots of stuff to trim.

[00:32:53]What happens is it's usually faith in self. We love pats on the back. We talked about the disease of needing to deserve what we receive from God last week. If you missed that sermon, please go back and listen and just soak that in. The disease of needing to deserve what we receive from God. Being under law. It's like that's what God is trying to alleviate from. And suffering does that. Faith in self, faith in people.

[00:33:19]Apostle Paul understood this. This man went through so much suffering.

[00:33:26]Paul, all for the glory of God.

[00:33:30]He was writing to this church in Corinth because there was a bunch of false apostles that were trying to steal the hearts of the flock there. And he writes to them and he chooses suffering to be a topic. And the reason why he he had a choice either he could go I could tell them about all the miracles that God has done through me to establish my apostilhip over these false prophets but instead I'm going to boast in something else in my weakness in my suffering.

[00:33:59]Imagine that on a job interview. Well, tell me about yourself. Well, I like to start with my weaknesses. [laughter] And you know, it's like that's kind of what the dude's doing there is he's talking about his apostilhip for this church and and he's comparing himself to these other so-called fake apostles. And the topic of suffering is right there in in the center. Listen, he says in 2 Corinthians chap 11, "In [snorts] stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, and deaths often." We'll come to that. That's an interesting point. From the Jews five times I've received 40 stripes minus one. In other words, he was flogged five times.

[00:34:38]Think about that. That's where the Romans get that cat of nine tales with leather with glass and metal inside of it. And and and they wrap around someone's body and strip the flesh right off of them.

[00:34:52]40 minus one is just shy of a death sentence is the symbolism of that which Jesus was flogged how many times?

[00:35:00]>> Three. Not 30. Yeah. So, three times Paul says, "I was flogged five times."

[00:35:08]40 lashes. Five times minus one each time. Can you imagine what this dude's body looked like?

[00:35:14]I mean, he had to be a gruesome thing to look at.

[00:35:18]We've probably never thought of it like that, right? I mean, how many times would you have to get flogged for you to go, "This whole apostilhip thing, I'm done.

[00:35:28]I'm looking for a career change quick.

[00:35:31]This is not working out. I went from riding on my high horse with orders and chummy with the high priest in Jerusalem and I go from this to this five times.

[00:35:43]Three times. It doesn't end there, by the way. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. And night and day I have been in the deep. and journeys often. Perils of water, perils of robbers, perils of my own countrymen, perils of Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brethren, and weariness and toil and sleeplessness often and hunger and thirst and fastings often and cold nakedness. And besides these other things, what comes upon me daily? My deep concern for all the churches who is weak and I am not in weak. Who is made to stumble and I do not burn with indignation. I must boast. I will boast in the things that concern my infirmity.

[00:36:37]Wow. [clears throat] Who wants that life?

[00:36:44]Now, what if I said to you, if would you take this life, but then also take some trips to heaven and come back to earth?

[00:36:56]>> Would that be worth it?

[00:37:01]>> Because that's what happened to Paul.

[00:37:05]So, he's he's talking to these people about his life, he says, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

[00:37:11]He's now through this suffering and being dependent upon God and boasting in my weakness as he is strength. It actually it's like a domino effect with revelation and visions from God. And he goes to talk about what he had. He's speaking of himself in the third person.

[00:37:24]Fascinating. He says, "I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know or whether out of the body I not know, God knows. Such as one was caught up to the third heaven." And just so you know, the third heaven, you got the first heaven, which is the atmosphere. You got the second heaven, which is heavenly places. Ephesians 6.

[00:37:43]Like for example, there is a second heaven in this room. There's angels in this room.

[00:37:48]>> Yeah, >> some of you bought a few demons.

[00:37:51]You just don't see those angels cuz they're in the second heaven.

[00:37:56]But the third heaven is the kingdom of God.

[00:37:59]>> Okay. Paul is saying, "I took a trip >> to the third heaven." He goes, "I don't know if it was this outer body experience like John in Revelation 1 on the Lord's day I was in the spirit which tells us it was not that his body went up." Paul's saying, "I'm not quite sure whether it was a spiritual transformation um um or actually my body went. I'm not clear." He says, "God knows, but he says how he was caught up in this paradise. How I was caught up. I heard inexpressable words which is not lawful for man to utter. In other words, he says, when I got up to heaven, he goes, there are things that God showed me that [laughter] words [clears throat] can't describe.

[00:38:46]Like for example, if you just saw a sunrise for the first time, how would you describe it? Beautiful, nice.

[00:38:55]>> I mean, what word would really describe that?

[00:38:59]There isn't describe if if you're have a good marriage and you want to describe how you love your wife. I love my wife.

[00:39:05]I love my husband. Does that even come close? Okay. There are things that Paul is processing that God showed him in the spirit that words just don't cut. It's kind of like he talks about in 1 Corinthians 14 where he says he prays in the spirit. His mind's unfruitful. It's way beyond that. It's kind of like having a peace like the Bible says that surpasses understanding. Paul is saying, "There's stuff going on here that's blowing my mind." The question is, "How did he get there? How did he have this experience?" You'll notice there in that one verse up top there in verse 23, he said, "In deaths often, what do you mean you died, Paul?"

[00:39:46]Consider roughly 14 years ago from the time he wrote this letter when he was in Lististra. Acts 14 it says then the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there and having persuaded the multitudes they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him he he rose up and went back into the city. I love it. Oh, this is so good.

[00:40:12]The dude gets stoned to death. Disciples because Jesus says we have power to lay hands on the dead and raise the dead.

[00:40:18]They pray on the guy gets right back up and starts sharing this faith.

[00:40:23]>> Would you say suffering precedes revelation?

[00:40:27]>> Yeah.

[00:40:28]>> I mean, the story would not been as cool, right? If if Paul just went in a listra Yeah. Some people came to Jesus.

[00:40:38]Look how God sets things up.

[00:40:43]There's a life of suffering that makes us fertile ground to process his presence and revelation with humility.

[00:40:52]But even then, it's easy to become prideful. I mean, think about this. If Lucifer in heaven, who was without sin at one point, right? In heaven, there was no sin and then at one point there was pride welled up in Lucifer because he was like the ultimate worship leader.

[00:41:10]So the Lord's like, I'm going to protect you, Paul, from pride welling up in you.

[00:41:21]Verse seven, lest there should be I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. concerning this thing. I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. Wow.

[00:41:43]So God was giving him the thorn not because he was in sin. A lot of times when we're suffering, we're going, "Wow, I got mental illness. It must be a generational curse, which is not biblical, by the way, just so you know.

[00:41:56]Someone tells you it is. They're lying to you. It's not.

[00:42:01]The curse is broken." Hallelujah.

[00:42:04]>> Hallelujah. It's broken. Satan has no rights in your life. Okay. C. Now, can you give him rights? Sure. Absolutely.

[00:42:14]That's why Paul said in Ephesians 4, don't give the devil a foothold topography in your life. Absolutely.

[00:42:20]Okay. But it ain't going to be be because grandma played with a Ouija board.

[00:42:25]Not biblical. You say, "Prove it." Thank you. God will read Ezekiel chapter 18 and then you can reconcile your out of context interpretation in Exodus 34. Okay, now [clears throat] that was a rabbit trail won't cost you anything. Was free.

[00:42:46]But it's important to know that when we suffer, it's not because of some sin that was done by our family. Can we suffer because of our own sin?

[00:42:55]Absolutely.

[00:42:57]It's not necessarily always that God's trying to give us the ability to be humble because of the revelation and just conditioning our heart posture.

[00:43:04]Sometimes go, it really is an attention getter. I think of the church of Thyotyra that Jesus wrote to in Revelation 2, I think two or three, I think it's two. And and you've got these people inside the church, they're living sexually immoral [clears throat] and they're unrepentant. And God said, "I'm going to throw them on a sick bed."

[00:43:25]And if they don't repent, I'm going to kill this woman Jezebel and her followers. He's talking to the church.

[00:43:33]That's intense. Talk about the lamb and the lion.

[00:43:37]Our God is compassion. He's obviously holy and just. And judgment begins with the house of God. We would be wise to believe the Bible, right? So sometimes when we're going through something, how do we deal with it? Paul pleaded three times. He prayed. It made me think of James chapter 5. If anyone is suffering, [clears throat] let him pray, man. Right? God's not annoyed. He's not annoyed by you talking to him. Talk to him. He's waiting on you to do so. If anyone is cheerful, let him sing psalms. If any one of you is sick, let him call for the elders of the church and let him pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of the faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. Here we go. And if he has committed sin, you will be forgiven.

[00:44:25]Now, that doesn't mean if you get a sniffle that there's sin in your life, right? We're fallen creatures. These bodies are dying, right? You're born dying. It's going to go right back to the dust and you're born again spirits in eternity with a glorified body. So, there is this thing of sickness just common we go through. Matter of fact, sickness is actually is used to build up your immune system, right? Sounds like suffering produces something good sometimes.

[00:44:52]So, you're going, "Well, Dave, now I'm completely confused. If I got if I'm sick and it's an infirmity, so which is it? Is it just something that God wants to heal? Is it a ramification of sin? Is it just common because of the fallen nature of our bodies? I don't know.

[00:45:07][clears throat] I'm not God. Do you have a God? I hope.

[00:45:12]I hope you have a relationship with him and you're like seeking his face that Paul is pleading with him like I want to understand what's going on because the same dude who is laying hands on people to be healed could not pray to see himself healed.

[00:45:26]That's humbling. Imagine Paul coming over to the church of Corinth where he's got all these apostles talking bad like, "Hey, yeah, uh Paul, aren't you uh don't you have malaria or eye problem or something? What's going on with you, buddy?

[00:45:40]Clearly something's up. You got some hidden sin.

[00:45:46]You don't think that didn't happen? I would bet money. I'd bet my guitars on that one.

[00:45:52]That's saying something.

[00:45:54]But that had be very humbling for Paul to go through that. In other words, the suffering that we go through reveals to us how much our identity and security is what people think of us versus what God thinks of us.

[00:46:11]That's a painful surgical process we go through. Paul no doubt was going through this. God wants us to go through something where we go, Lord, no matter what you do or don't do, your favor that I could never earn is enough for me to say blessed be your name. In short, that's what that means to say his grace is sufficient with my thorn. If it's something or someone, either way, God, just knowing that you love me in spite of me, I'm good.

[00:46:44]And if you heal me now, cool. If you don't, just as cool. Because that means if you don't now, you're producing something that's eternal and it's wonderful. And I trust you. Now, there are people that say, "No, you're in sin.

[00:47:00]You're in sin. That's a problem.

[00:47:04]That's what happened with the blind dude in John nine. You know the story. Jesus passed by. He saw a man was blind from birth and his disciples asked him saying, "Rabbi, teacher, who sinned?

[00:47:16]This man or his parents?" In other words, is this a generational curse?

[00:47:19]Jesus, is it the sin of dad and mom that caused this in his life?

[00:47:28]Incredible. 2,000 years we're still believing this. Anyway, Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sin, but that the work of God should be revealed."

[00:47:42]>> WOW. NOW YOU KNOW THE STORY. Jesus gives sight to the blind. But before that, he was blind.

[00:47:53]It sounds like suffering precedes Revelation. What say you?

[00:47:58]You think from Genesis to Revelation is pretty solid that that's the way that God works in our life. But he's looking to produce in us a heart like Paul that says, "I've learned to boast in my infirmities, my weaknesses, and recognize that just your favor. Just that you died for me and you know me and you love me is enough. If you never did anything else for me in this life, I'm good." Right?

[00:48:22]I was reading online this conversation about suffering and I found this quote from a lady named Carol Martin. I don't know who she is. I friend requested two Carol Martins on Facebook. I think one of them is her. We'll see.

[00:48:37]But this is a quote I got for her online. I love this. She says, "I am a two-time cancer survivor. I never blamed God for my illness. And I was willing to accept God's will without bitterness. If it was my time to go, I was ready. But God had other plans. I've been cancer-free for 17 years. I got to see my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren, which I consider to be the best part of my life. What a cool story. But I love the the grace like, hey, I'm not bitter towards God. If if he's got to take me out one way or the other, if it's a car accident, if it's cancer, if it's a nuclear bomb that hits Babylon, I mean, America, [laughter] okay? Whatever God does, he does it.

[00:49:23]Blessed be his name. Long as I got his grace, oh, [laughter] that's sufficient. That's all that I need. Hallelujah. Right.

[00:49:33][laughter] I love it.

[00:49:35]He says in verse 10, "Therefore, I take pleasure in my infirmities and reproaches and needs and persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake." And that's a good clarification for Christ's sake. Okay? It's we're not some type of, you know, sicko that's just going, "Wow, I I love to suffer.

[00:50:01]I'm I'm a massochist for Jesus. I love death and suffering. And there's been freaky cults over the years, okay? Back in the middle, medieval ages, there was this group called the Epicurans. And they believe, they have this philosophy that yes, suffering brings revelation.

[00:50:18]So, let's inflict suffering. So, we get revelation. And they would beat themselves with themselves. Some people would go out into swamps and get bitten by mosquitoes, get half alive, and suffer so they might get close to God.

[00:50:31]That's just sick. and someone needs medication or deliverance, right? That it says suffering for Christ's sake, right? [clears throat] We take joy in that because that we trust if the Lord's allowing a thorn and take note that thorn comes via Satan.

[00:50:51]How were the Thessalonians thorn in the sick bed? Well, it was from God. Hey, you Satan.

[00:50:57]Paul's thorn. Satan. Sickness is from the enemy. It's because result of sin.

[00:51:03]But God uses everything to perfect us.

[00:51:07][snorts] Hallelujah.

[00:51:09]And if you start to believe this, if you can take this in, when you go, where is God in my suffering? You can go, he's perfecting his power through my weakness.

[00:51:19]Oh, come on. Where is God in my suffering? Oh, I know he's I don't see him with my eyes. First Peter 1. But I'm [clears throat] filled with this inexpressable joy that I know he's here in the midst of my suffering showing, perfecting, completing his strength and grace through me.

[00:51:39]>> And when [clears throat] you start to declare that, you understand the heart of James in chapter 4 where it says he gives more grace. That's that first.

[00:51:48]That's that John chapter 1, grace upon grace. Perpetual, baby. Come on. Just overflow to overflow. He gives more grace. Therefore, he says, "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble."

[00:52:03]How can I get deeper revelation of that his favor that I could never earn and I don't deserve, the only thing I deserve, you can say this boldly, is hell. I deserve hell.

[00:52:18]I'm no better than anybody else in the history of mankind.

[00:52:25]Either you're a saint or an ain't. Okay?

[00:52:28]You're covered by the blood or you're on your way to hell. That's it. You humble yourself and you say, "I got nothing, God, except my trust in you."

[00:52:39]And you humble yourself like that and you get drawn to intimacy with the Lord.

[00:52:44]Let me tell you, man, God wants us to go from glory to glory. Some of you here, take this lovingly. You're lukewarm.

[00:52:53]You're born again, but you're lukewarm.

[00:52:57]I'm inviting you to a love affair with Jesus.

[00:53:01]>> I'm inviting you to an overflow of affection and devotion with him that is perpetual. And it does not stop. No matter who betrays you, who stabs you in the back, what memory of the wretchedness of your past that Satan brings up, that is a thorn that God is meant to say, but my grace is sufficient.

[00:53:23]If you're willing to receive that, you can go from being lukewarm to on fire for Jesus. You go, I was on fire when I was middleaged, but I'm old now.

[00:53:34][clears throat] That's a lame excuse. We need more old people on fire for Jesus. I want to see people walking with canes, laying hands on the sick.

[00:53:47]>> I want to see people pulling out their dentures and go, I'm going to speak in tongues. I want to be people like, you know what I'm saying? I want people so we can see some of the young people go, that's my future, you know, instead of and so going, the future of the church is, wow, you're on fire when you're young, but you're old.

[00:54:03]Yeah, that's when you sell your house, man. and you move to Georgia and North Carolina and you sit there at a vineyard and listen to bad music [laughter] and that's what a lot OF PEOPLE ARE DOING. IT'S LIKE WHERE'S the fire? Jesus is coming back, man.

[00:54:17]>> Right. And we're supposed to like move.

[00:54:19]If you're filled with grace, then you're like Paul to the very end in a jail cell going, I'm being poured out like a drink offering. Oh God, do whatever you want to do through my life. Right? And when you start to believe that, you become this grace junkie.

[00:54:36]where you're just like, "Lord, I just want to sit at your feet and be still and wait on you." And you read a passage like this and man, it fires you up.

[00:54:44]Anybody don't get fired up?

[00:54:45]>> Here we go. Hebrews 4, our closing passage. I promise.

[00:54:50]Seeing that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold our confession. Listen, listen, listen. The confession is that we're saved by grace through faith alone. That Jesus is the only way to the father. There is no other way. The truth of it is I got nothing. It's not by power and might but by his spirit says the lord. I'm holding on to this confession. I'm not going to like hold it with one hand but both hands with a death grip. Okay. I'm going to hold on to that confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness.

[00:55:32]Wow. But was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. All shout this out loud with me, church. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Amen. Amen.

[00:55:53]Let's all stand. Stand to your feet.

[00:55:57]Oh man, to think the Lord says, "I know you got a thing. I know you got a thorn.

[00:56:03]It's a thing or it's a someone. I know you got it." But it's meant to drive you to your knees to learn that my favor is sufficient. So you could go through this life and say, "No matter what your suffering is, you can go like Paul, I consider the present sufferings are not worth compared with the glory that shall [clears throat] be revealed." Come on.

[00:56:23]It's like when you know that you're a flame for God. And this is the will for you in Christ Jesus. Somebody say, "Amen."

[00:56:30]>> Amen.