There is a song that I have heard the saints sing that says, “Every promise in the Book is mine! Every chapter, every verse, every line. I am standing on His Word divine, Every promise in the Book is mine!” And with that song we make it personal that the promises of the blessings of God are for us, as the people of God. We covet or take ownership of the Word of God to our lives when it says, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). We are reassured because the Word of God says, "The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways" (Deuteronomy 28:7). or "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19). With great enthusiasm we shout upon the roof tops, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13). We’ll shout and dance and tingle with excitement and anticipation when the prophet comes to tell us that God is going to send us that new husband or wife or a new job and more money or that new five bedroom house that we know we can’t afford. It’s also exciting to know that God has given us the victory over sin & the devil and we can be assured of the salvation we have obtained by the washing of the blood of Jesus Christ! Are you glad to know that your sins are blotted out by the blood of the lamb? Are you happy that you are no longer at enmity with God but now you carry the name “Friend of God?” But let me shift direction a little. I want to know, where is the joy, when the promise in the "Book," is the promise of suffering for Christ sake, and is realized in our lives? Where is the joy in knowing Him in the fellowship of His suffering? Have you ever gone through trouble because of your friendship with someone that other people didn’t like? Have you ever been maligned by others because you stood by your friend who was being ostracized? As Peter wrote to the strangers scattered throughout the Roman provinces of Asia Minor, “If ye are reproached for the name of Jesus Christ, happy are ye!" Peter reaffirms the promise of our suffering when he says, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.” If I could say it using a modern cliché, I could probably say to someone who is suffering for righteousness sake, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Sometimes when you do good and are striving to live right before God and man, instead of roses you’ll only get thorns! Instead of a pat on the back, you may get kicked in the teeth! But the promise of the bible is that you will suffer for righteousness sake. I know your suffering has brought you unimaginable pain. I know your suffering has caused you to be ostracized, criticized and misunderstood. Your trials have caused you to go through being repressed, depressed, suppressed & oppressed! Your tribulation has caused your world to fall apart but the reality is that your suffering is inevitable. It is inevitable because you’ve been loyal to Jesus the Christ in an ungodly world that has rejected Him and is opposed to His Gospel. But happy are ye! WHY? Because there is a purpose to your suffering (Read Romans 8:28). Wait a minute, Pastor! All I’m getting is disappointment and rejection, heartache and pain, no sunshine and all rain and you say that it’s working for my good? Yes, it’s working for your good! The heartache & pain means that you’re still alive to glorify God and your suffering has not killed you. Sometimes too much sunshine, as with a plant, will cause you to wither and die; so rain comes to provide relief, replenishment and nourishment. How else are you going to grow without sunshine and rain? If you are willing to suffer for Christ, you’ll find it easier to resist sin and obey the will of God. Because the pull of sin becomes less significant and the will of God becomes principal in your life. Think about yourself during your daily workout in the gym, laying on a weight bench and performing a number of repetitive sets of bench presses and lets apply this action spiritually. The pull of gravity of the weights your are lifting can be equated to the temptations of the world or sin in your life. The barbell/weight is the suffering, the tribulation and trials that you are going through. The more you resist and the longer you push against the pull of gravity and the barbell, the stronger you become physically. Hence, the more you resist and the longer you push against the pull of the world's temptation and fight through your struggles, the stronger your become spiritually and the more you rely on God. All of our suffering that we experience is God’s opportunity to manifest trust and obedience to Him who has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy! Your “manifested trust and obedience (MTO)” is your being tried by fire and coming out like pure gold. Your MTO will:
As you walk in trust and obedience to God you will learn to overcome the hate that is in your heart to those who have hurt you. You will walk in the Word of God and love your enemies and pray for those who despitefully use you. Out of pain and hurt will be born forgiveness and you will look to your Father in heaven and say, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Finally as you trust and obey God even through your struggles, what will be produced in you is a sincere praise. Job spoke truth when he said that, "Man is born of a woman is but a few days and full of trouble." But despite him reeling in his tribulation, he still went on to sincerely praise God in his time of distress, "The Lord giveth…the lord taketh away…blessed be the name of the Lord." Be blessed! |
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CategoriesChristmasThanksgiving
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