* Why Christians can even rejoice in the
midst of trials!
The first reason
suggested by this Christian was...]
I. SUFFERING KEEPS
THIS WORLD FROM BECOMING TOO ATTRACTIVE
A. THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT WE ARE
"PILGRIMS" AND "SOJOURNERS"...
1. This world is not truly our home
2. God has prepared something better for
us
3. Consider the following passages: 1Pe
2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as
strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; He 13:14 Let us go forth therefore unto him without
the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no
continuing city, but we seek one to come.; 2 Co 5:1,5 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being
clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in
this tabernacle
do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon,
that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now he that hath wrought
us for the selfsame thing is God,
who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
B. IF THERE WAS NO SUFFERING...
1. No one would want to leave this
temporary world
2. No one would desire the
"eternal" home, and therefore prepare
themselves for it
C. BUT THE AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE ARE SO
ORDERED...
1. That the world soon loses its
attraction
2. Most young people may want to live
forever...
a. But by the time a man reaches his
"three score and ten"
b. He begins to desire something
better
II. SUFFERING CAN
BRING OUT OUR BEST
A.
THE MAN WHOSE WIFE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED SAW THIS...
1. In the constant support by friends
2. In the preparation of food
3. In the financial support
B. WE SEE THIS OCCURING QUITE
FREQUENTLY...
1. In times of natural disaster
2. When someone loses a house to fire,
tornado, etc.
3. In times of terminal illness
C. THIS MAY BE ONE REASON WHY EARLY
CHRISTIANS REJOICED IN THEIR
TRIALS...
1. They understood that tribulations
could develop character
2. As Paul wrote in Ro 5:3-4
And patience, experience; and experience,
hope: 5 And hope maketh not
ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.
III. SUFFERING GIVES
AN OCCASION TO SILENCE THE ENEMIES OF GOD
A. REMEMBER THE STORY OF JOB?
1. Satan wanted to prove God wrong about
Job, that he served God
only because God had blessed him
2. But Job's patience under suffering
silenced Satan!
B. LIKEWISE, GOD DESIRES THAT WE SILENCE
"FOOLISH MEN" - 1Pe
2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put
to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
1. Who ridicule the teachings of Christ
as foolishness
2. Who say we are Christians only for
what good we can get out of
it
C. BY PATIENTLY ENDURING, OR DOING GOOD
IN TIMES OF SUFFERING...
1. The value of being Christians really
shines through
2. In the faith we have that sustains us
in suffering, and in the
love we show towards those who suffer
IV. SUFFERING MAKES
US APPRECIATIVE
A. WE ALL RECEIVE SO MANY GOOD THINGS IN
THIS LIFE...
1. It is easy for us to become prone to
take them for granted
2. Instead of receiving them with
gratitude toward God
B. SUFFERING CAN HELP US APPRECIATE MORE
FULLY...
1. Good health
2. Good friends, and a loving family
3. A good example of how suffering can
make one appreciative is the
apostle Paul when he was in prison -
cf.
V. SUFFERING MAKES US
MORE DEPENDENT UPON GOD
A. TOO OFTEN, WE THINK OURSELVES
SELF-SUFFICIENT...
1. "But when a dozen of the most
skilled men in their profession
tell you they have done all they can
and it is completely out
of their hands..."
2. "...you suddenly realize how much
you depend on God."
B. AT NO OTHER TIME...
1. Is one more likely to realize that we
depend upon God for our
very breath!
2. As Paul proclaimed: "in Him we live and move and have our
being" - Ac 17:28
For in him we live, and move, and have our
being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his
offspring.
VI. SUFFERING HELPS
PURIFY US
A. CONSIDER THE IMPORT OF TWO PASSAGES...
1. 1Pe 1:6-7
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a
season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7That the trial of your faith, being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be
found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: - Suffering can be like fire purifying gold
2. Jm 1:2-5 2
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations; 3
Knowing this,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let
patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect
and entire, wanting nothing.5 If any
of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given him.
- Maturity can be
developed through trials
B. TO ILLUSTRATE HOW, CONSIDER THE MAN
WHOSE WIFE WAS INJURED...
1. "Many times I searched my own
life during these past six weeks
in order to confess my every failure
and shortcoming to God..."
2. "I surely did not want my own
sins to stand in the way of God
hearing my prayers for Jane..."
3. "It was absolutely necessary to
be truthful with God and myself,
and I am a better man today than
before."
VII. SUFFERING MAKES
US SYMPATHETIC
A. PAUL WROTE OF THIS VALUE OF
AFFLICTION...
1. To the church at Corinth, in his
second epistle - 2Co 1:3-4 Blessed be God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of
all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all
our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2. It helps us to be better able to
comfort others in their
affliction
B. WE MAY THINK WE CAN SYMPATHIZE WITH
SOMEONE...
1. But until we have been there
personally, there is no true
understanding of their hurt
2. Experiencing suffering...
a. Makes us more likely to "weep
with those who weep" - Ro
12:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts,
their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts
the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
b. Better enables us to serve others
VIII. SUFFERING
TEACHES US HOW TO PRAY
A. WE ALL MAY BE A PRAYING PEOPLE...
1. We pray at the right times
2. We pray for the right things
B. BUT IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING WE LEARN
HOW TO PRAY...
1. "Earnestly"
2. "Perseveringly"
3. "With groanings which cannot be
uttered" (Ro 8:26) 26 Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.
Pastor Rolando Ramos
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