This message originally delivered on November 23, 1997 AM.
Listen carefully. Dr. Paul brand writes this Tanya was a four year old patient with dark flashing eyes, curly hair and an impish smile. I examined her at the National leprosy Hospital in Carville, Louisiana, where her mother had brought her for diagnosis. A cloud of tension hung in the air between the little girl and her mother, but I noticed that Tonya seemed eerily unafraid. She sat on the edge of the padded table and watched him passively as I began to move blood soil bandages from her feet. Testing her swollen left ankle I found that the foot rotated freely the sign of a fully dislocated ankle. I winced at the unnatural movement, but Tonya did not. I resumed and I resumed unwrapping the bandages. Are you sure you want these sores healed young lady, I said trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room. You might have to start wearing shoes again. Tonya laughed and I thought it odd that she did not flinch or whimper as I removed the dressings next to her skin. She looked around the room with an expression of faint boredom. When I unwrapped the last bandage, I found grossly infected ulcers on the sores of both feet. ever so gently I probed the wounds glancing at Tonya space for some reaction. She showed none. The probe push easily through soft necrotic tissue and I can see the white gleam of bare bone. Still no reaction from Tanya. As I puzzled over the girl's injuries, her mother told me Tonya story. She seemed fine as an infant, a little high spirited, maybe but perfectly normal. I'll never forget the first time I realized she had a serious problem. Tanya was 17 or 18 months old, and usually I kept her in the same room with me. But that day, I left her alone in the playpen while I went to answer the phone. She stayed quiet and so I decided to begin dinner for a change she was playing happily by herself. I could hear her laughing and cooling. I smiled to myself wondering what new mischief she had gotten into. A few minutes later, I went into Tanya's room and found her sitting on the floor of the playpen fingerpainting red swirls on the white plastic sheet. I didn't grasp the situation at first, but when I got closer, I screamed. It was horrible. The tip of Tanya's finger was mangled and bleeding, and it was her own blood she was using to make those designs on the sheets. I yield Tanya what happened? She grinned at me and that's when I saw the streaks of blood on her teeth. She had bitten off the tip of her finger and was playing in the blood. Over the next few months, Tanya's mother told me she and her husband tried in vain to convince their daughter that fingers must not be bitten. The toddler laughed at spankings and other physical threats, and indeed seemed immune to all punishments. To get her way she merely had to lift a finger to her mouth and pretend to bite and her parents capitulated at once. The parents horror turned to despair as wounds mysteriously appeared on one of Tanya's fingers after another. Tanya's mother recounted the story in a flat, unemotional tone, as if she had resigned herself to the perverse flight of rearing a child with no instincts of self preservation. To complicate matters, she was now a single mother. After a year of trying to cope with Tanya, her husband had deserted the family. If you insist on keeping Tanya at home, then I quit. He announced we'd forgotten the monster. Tanya certainly didn't look like a monster. Apart from the sores on her feet and her shortened fingers, she looked like a healthy four year old child. I asked about the foot injuries. Well, they began as soon as she learned to walk the mother reply, she'd step on a nail or thumbtack and not bother to pull it out. Now I checked her feet at the end of every day and when I discover a new wound or open sore, if she twists an ankle, she doesn't limp. And so she twists it again and again. An orthopedic specialist told me she's permanently damaged the joint. If we wrap her feet for protection, sometimes in the fit of anger, she'll tear off the bandages once she ripped open the plastic cast with her bare fingers. Tanya's mother had come to me on the orthopedics recommendation. I've heard your leprosy patients have foot problems like this. She said, Does my daughter have leprosy? Can you heal her? Alas, I could offer a little hope or comfort. I would do further tests, but it seemed apparent that Tonya suffered from a rare genetic defect known informally as congenital indifference to pain. She was healthy in every respect, but one she did not feel pain. Nerves in her hands and feet transmitted messages about changes in pressure and temperature. She felt like kind of tingling when she burned herself or bit of finger but these carried no hint of unpleasantness. Tonya lacked any mental constraint of pain. She rather enjoyed the tingling sensations, especially when they produce such dramatic reactions and others. We can get these wounds healed, I said, But Tanya has no built in a warning system to defend her from further injury. Nothing will improve Tanya until she understands the problem consciously begins to protect herself she'll she won't get better. Seven years later, I received a telephone call From Tanya's mother in St. Louis. Tanya Nell was 11 was living a pathetic existence in an institution. She had both legs amputated, she had to refuse to wear proper shoes. And that coupled with her failure to limp or to shift weight when standing because she felt no discomfort, had eventually put intolerable pressure on her joints. Tonya had also lost most of her fingers. Her elbows were cones constantly dislocated, she suffered the effects of chronic Cephus from ulcers on her hands and amputation stumps, her tongue was lacerated and badly scarred from her nervous habit of chewing, it's a monster. That's what her dad called her. Tanya was no monster. Just an example, an extreme example, a human metaphor of what life would be like without pain. If you ever stopped and thought about that, about the blessing of pain? Do you ever stop and think of where you would be? If it were not for pain? Let me broaden the subject a little bit, not just pain. But let's move it into the spiritual realm. Where would you be without sorrow? Where would you be without heartache? Where would you go without failure? Where would you be if, if there was nothing that told you that what you were doing was wrong. You had no conscience. You see, Christians aren't much different than people who don't follow the Bible, in the sense that we all just want to get away from pain. We want to get away from sorrow and trials and trouble. We don't want to talk about our failures. We want to be a people that that are happy and comfortable and have the easy life. We don't want to have trouble. I want to ask you this question. And when I show you this verse, could you do me a favor? Could you act like you've never read it before? All right. Now watch. Look what the Bible says. We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. The Bible teaches not just here, but clearly here, that for Christians, whose Creator God is also their Heavenly Father, that for Christians, there is nothing that can happen to you. That is outside the parameters of the sovereign Hand of God. In other words, when we come into problems of pain and suffering and sorrow and heartache and trials and difficulties, the question Christians need to ask is not how can I get away from this? But why did my loving Heavenly Father allow this? Is all things Is there anything? What if? What if 99.9% of everything in your life God sovereignly control but there was one air on every April 13? You know, he didn't control that day? Okay, what if there was one area of your life where he didn't control? Stop and think of how horrifying that can be, we can be settled. Jesus said, we don't have to be like the heathen who run after all kinds of food, you know, you have a heavenly father who knows your needs. Now, listen, a wrong response to trouble means a lack of trust in God's sovereignty over every area of life. When Christians respond to pain, suffering, sorrow, failure, trouble just the way anyone else does that, that doesn't have the privilege of thinking biblically, or looking at life biblically. Then Then we're really messing up. Because one of the great things we're called to do is look at life from the scriptural perspective. And something that is of importance is this. Everything works together for good. Now, friends, that leads us to a very important question. What is the good? Know what is the good? Now please listen carefully. Because the good is very important to define. We must know what that good is. Because a lot of people that they think the good means their personal happiness, for instance, goes like this. God wants me to be happy, more than anything else. He wants me to be happy. I mean, isn't God the Father who loves me? And doesn't a father want what's best for me? And so therefore, I know what's best, right? That's what makes me happy. So I'll do what makes me happy. Now stop and think with me a second. When you get into that kind of thinking, you really mess up. You know why? Because here's what happens. Rationalization is Satan's grandmother. And remember, what happens is this when you say, All right, I want to be happy, and I've certainly can't be happy married. To that bomb. Now, if God wants me to be happy, then he wants me to be away from that bum. Because I can't be happy and married. And so what you do is you punt on marriage. All right, instead of saying, Well, what does God's Word say I'm supposed to do in marriage. And so you plan on marriage, and you say, because God wants me to be happy. It happens. Every year in this church constantly, every year, month after month, that happens constantly. I'm talking to other pastors, it's always happening. People say that's just the illustration marriage, it doesn't have to just be marriage, it can be anything else, which means that I'll be happy. So I'll violate scripture in order to be happy. You see, there's nothing different than what happened in Genesis three, when Satan tempt Satan tempted Eve, He says, The day you eat of that tree, you'll be better off God does not want what's best for you. So therefore, we better stop and say is the good of Romans 828? Is that personal happiness? We'll stop and look your friends. I think if you notice closely, something may stand out in the next verse, Take a good look. Right? Next verses this for those God for knew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son. You don't want my friends. The point of the good is not your personal happiness, but conformity to Christ. In other words, all things work together for good in the life of God's children, so that they might become conformed and become, in other words, more like Jesus Christ. Isn't that the goal of disciples to be like their master? Isn't that the whole point of being a Christian, there's the word Christ right in there. And so the goal here is this, we're supposed to be more like Christ. So therefore, you can say with James, all things being considered, I can rejoice in my trials. Why? Because I have a father who's bringing difficulties into my life for a purpose. And my goal, then is to find out what would conform me to Christ, it wasn't a Jesus Christ, who said, I always do the will of Him who sent Me. And so obedience to the scriptures, is something that will conform us the image of Jesus Christ. But you know what? There are Christians who teach that God always wants you healthy and wealthy. And there are Christians that teach that God wants you happy, and you should be rich, you should be driving the best cars, you should be, you know, living in two or three different houses, you should always be having everything you want. That's not what the Bible teaches. Or God wants us to our happiness, or like the idea, some people are Deist. They say, Well, God created the world. And then he's busy doing other things. And maybe he looks down at your life six or seven times, maybe when you get married, and maybe when you have your first kid and maybe when you have a significant day in your life, he's there. But otherwise, he's not really there are some teach that pain in trouble is just an illusion. The stoic philosophy is the fixed mechanical determinism that everything's going to happen the way it is it just there's just this mechanical force that just doing things. So just que sera, sera, whatever will be will be the future is not ours to see. que ser rasa Ra, you know, that comes out of the that kind of unbiblical view of life. Or the hedonist says, pleasure is the pseudonym bonum. Pain is is bad, so get away from pleasure or get away from pain and go find the best pleasure. We're all that way. Are we all we have to admit it pragmatically, nobody really wants pain and sorrow and suffering in their life. So when it comes to those kinds of things, we're often very much like the world that doesn't know the Scriptures. In fact, listen, Johnny Erickson Tada makes this statement. Listen. She talks about what happened. After she was a 17 year old. She was diving into a pond and broke her neck and she went from being one of the most popular girls and very athletic girl and a swimmer possibly going to make the Olympic team to being a quadriplegic. For the rest of her life, others had to dress her others had to feed her. Here she is in a wheelchair the rest of her life. You know what she says? Listen, this line of thinking. After my diving accident, in which I became paralyzed in 1967, lying on my back in a striker frame with my head immobilized in Steel Tongs, I could look only up a natural position for talking to God. I tried to imagine what he was thinking. If God were God, I was convinced he was all powerful and loving. He had to be anxious to relieve my pain as I was. A heavenly Father had to weep over me as my daddy often did, standing by my bedside white knuckling the guardrail. I was one of God's children. God would never do anything to harm one of his own. Didn't Jesus say that? So a god this good is worth pursuing. And so when I was released from the hospital, my friends drove me straight to Washington DC so I can be first in line at the door of this famous faith healer. Now I'm just reading you. I'm not trying to attack faith healing people. I just want you to listen. What what happened in her experience and listen. The faith healer raced onto the stage dressed in white. My heart raced. As I prayed, Lord, the Bible says you'll heal all our diseases. I'm ready for you to get me out of this wheelchair please, would you and God answered. I never walked away from my chair. The last time I wheeled away from one of those healing crusades, I was number 15. In a line of 30 wheelchair users waiting to exit at the stadium elevator. All of us tried to make a fast escape ahead of the people on crutches. I remember glancing around at all the disappointed and confused people and thinking something's wrong with this picture. Is this the only way to deal with suffering, trying desperately to remove it? When I looked in the mirror after I got home, I saw the someone expression staring back I was just as perplexed as the people near the elevator. Okay, let me get this straight. She's thinking. God is good. God is love. He is all powerful. Plus, when he walked on earth, he bent over backwards to relieve suffering of people, everyone from the hemorrhaging woman to the centurions servant. So why does my five year old niece Kelly have brain cancer? Why did my brother in law abandoned my sister and their family? Why does daddy's arthritis not respond to medication? Why am I gonna have to face life in a wheelchair? Well, friends, these are not questions that I even be presumed to say I've got all the final answers for but I do want you to see a something from the scriptures. In your Bibles in Psalm 119. Look at verse 67, would you? In verse 67, the Psalmist writes, Before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now I obey your word. Now go down to verse 71. And look, it was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees. Now, let me tell you something interesting. The word afflicted in verse 67. And also in verse 71, that you can look up here and see in the Hebrew is the word which means this now listen, it means to be severely humbled. It means it could, it could be various sorts of things. It could be anything from physical problem, to a social problem to a work problem to a health problem. I mean, it can be many different things. But the psalmist says this, before I was severely humbled, I went astray. But after I was severely humbled, I've learned to obey your word. In other words, this guy is talking on the other side, now he's gone through the affliction. And he's looking back, he said, You know what, it was good for me to be severely humbled. It was good, something good came of it. And then he goes on in verse 71, it was good for me to be severely humbled so that I might learn your decrease. There are things that you can learn when you go through suffering that no Seminary in the country, no Bible study in the country, no sermon in the country can teach you. There's tremendous good that can come through suffering. For instance, this yesterday we had the funeral of Renee Klein, and obviously she suffered she had lung cancer, for 49 years old. John was telling me she was down to 70 pounds when she died. Do you know what John said it's her husband at the funeral yesterday. So many good things have come from this. And that's saying something. Yesterday, I went back with one of the elders of our church to specifically pray for that funeral service. And why that I was talking with him about the funeral service and about today's sermon. And one elder said this, Kim, without trials, our marriage would never be what it is today. I can tell you that it's because of the trials and his family has been through some severe things. Because of the trials, our marriage is better. He went on to say, the same elder my dad would never have become a Christian if it had not been for his cancer. That's from the human perspective. Let's see the Scripture See, there's good that comes from being afflicted from being humbled. There's good from it. This has been the testimony of the godly through the ages. Martin Luther said there are three things that make a man of God supplication, meditation, and tribulation. Jeremiah Burroughs said this listen carefully, you will not find one godly man who came out of an affliction worse than when he went into it. Though for a little while he was shaken unit last he was better for an affliction. But a great many godly men you find had been worse for their prosperity. Wow. A national survey revealed listen to this, that no fewer than seven out of 10 Christians are prone to hedonistic attitudes about life. A similar proportion of born again, people that deny the possibility that pain or suffering could be a means of becoming better, more mature individual, three out of 10 Christians agree that nothing in life is more important than having fun and being happy. Seven out of 10 Christians today, people that call themselves Christian seven out of 10 say there can be nothing good coming out of pain or suffering. We have the same attitude. We're hedonist. That's what we are where he is. Let's just get away from pain, suffering. I just want a life of ease. I want to be comfortable. Okay. I'll never forget the encouragement I got when I was going through a trial. I was very discouraged. And a friend of mine called me up and told me he was at an ordination service where Joe Stoll, the president of moody, was was one of the speakers. And as he gave the challenge to the pastor about to become a reverend, he said this and listen to this quote, strolls still said this. Over the years, God has regularly allowed critical people to meet me in my ministry path, and bring a lot of pain and hurt and trouble into my life. Looking back on this, I can honestly say that I am thankful for God allowing this for again and again, time after time, it drove me humbly to the throne of grace. These hurtful troubles caused me to see my great inadequacy and made me insecure in myself, but realizing I needed the Lord's help. As a result, I have progressed much farther in my walk with God than I would have. Wow. Listen, Charles Spurgeon. Trials make room for consolation. There is nothing that makes a man have a big heart like a great trial. I have found that those people who have no sympathy for their fellows who never weep for the sorrows of others, very seldom heaven in any walls of their own, great hearts can be made only by great troubles. One more time on submerge. Listen This, I believe that the hardest, that the hard hardest, most crossgrain and most unloving Christians and all the world all those who have never had much trouble in their life. And those who are the most sympathizing, loving and Christ like are generally those that have the most affliction. The worst thing that can happen to any of us is to have a path made to smooth and one of the greatest blessings the Lord ever gave us was a cross. Shakespeare says this, he just had scars who never felt a wound. It is so true that we can that troubles and problems and broken hearts and strained relationships and sorrow and and physical problems and failures in your Christian walk. And all the all the hurt in the garbage. I guarantee you in this room there's been you can feel bottles with the tears just shed from the people in this room in the last couple of weeks. But listen, you've heard this before. But listen, he asked for strength. God gave him difficulties to make him strong. He asked for wisdom God gave him problems to learn to solve. He asked for prosperity. God gave him a brain into brawn to work. He asked for courage. God gave him dangers to overcome. He asked for love God gave him troubled people to help. He asked for favors. God gave them opportunities. Now listen, listen carefully. He received nothing he wanted. He received everything he needed. His prayer was answered. The guy that wrote Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me also wrote this, somebody I challenge people with first service do the same. Somebody put this to music would you listen, I asked the Lord that I might grow in faith and love and every grace more of his salvation know and seek more earnestly his face. Twice he who taught me thus to pray, and he I trust has answered prayer. But it has been in such a way as almost drove me to despair. I hope that in some favorite hour at once he to answer my request, and by his loves constrained power, subdue my sins and give me rest. Instead of this, he made me feel the hidden evils of my heart. and let the angry powers of hell assault my soul in every part a more with his own hand he seemed intent to aggravate my Whoa, crossed all the fear designs I schemed blasted my gourds and laid me low. Lord, why is this i trembling cried without pursue this warmth to death. This is the way the Lord replied, I answered prayer for grace and faith. These inward trials I now employ from self and pride to set the free and break the sky schemes of earthly joy that thou may seek nine all in me. You know, and I think, I believe it is got it right Listen, even sinful failures. Even when you have blown it, even when you've been like a brute beast. Even when you've done something, you can say there must never be forgiveness for me. I'm going to tell you, I even believe God will use the failures in your life, the simple failures in your life, to show you His great mercy. And to develop you into Christ's likeness, you certainly won't waste them. If you remember the book of Judges we studied is even when your own sin is the cause of your problem. God still delights in saving his people. Remember. And so when we, when we stop and and think about what the Scriptures say, in order to cause our hearts to swell in faith and to be encouraged, because the Scriptures say so much. In fact, I want to tell you let me go through this rather quickly with you. But look at these. I want to show you 10 biblical reasons why God allows problems and pain and suffering and heartache to come into your life. Now listen carefully. Sometimes I'm sorry, I'm a little trouble working this thing. Sometimes the believer will be afflicted with problems as a means of loving chastisement. Now what In other words, watch this. He cares more about your holiness than your happiness. We're going to study this passage tonight, Hebrews 12, you have a heavenly Father, do something. When you enter a covenant relationship with God, you become the child of God, he becomes the father. He's committed to being a good Heavenly Father. And He will see to it that you'll bring chastisement into your life. I don't chastise the neighbor's kids. I don't discipline the neighbor's kids, but I do my own. And the Heavenly Father disciplines his own. Now watch this. Other times, God will bring trouble and suffering as preventative medicine to keep believers from falling into temptation. And you can say it this way. He cares more about you being humbled and proud. in second Corinthians chapter 12. When Paul talks about the thorn in his flesh, He says, to keep me from becoming conceited. Because of the abundance of revelations there was giving me this thorn in the flesh. God knew that Paul, if you if you wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament, you might have a tendency to get the big head, okay? And you think you're something and God sent troubles into his life to to humble him. Now watch this. On some occasions, the purpose of problems is to demonstrate to Satan that there are those who serve God because they love him not because it pays to do so. In other words, he will allow you to be tested to see where your allegiance really is. Isn't this what happens when the book of Job? God says, Have you considered my servant Job? And Satan says, There's no way the job is serving you just because he loves you. He's only serving you because you bless him. You take away those blessings, he'll curse you. God says alright, let's see. So there, there's a whole other realm that you may never have thought of that could be happening. How about this? Suffering is often like a shot of adrenaline promoting sanctification, spiritual growth, stop and talk to people. Well, how does how was it that you became a Christian? Well, usually it's a trauma or some kind of trouble came into your life, or what was it that really got you turned around and your walk with the Lord, usually God brought something into your life to look, trials will educate you in regard to Christian virtues such as endurance and perseverance. The Christian life is a marathon not a sprint, and God wants you running strong in the end. Suffering is the door of opportunity, which enables you to really get to know God in an intimate way. Jobe says, I had heard of you but now I know you after he goes through all of that. Suffering gives you an opportunity to imitate Christ and please remember it's only unjust suffering that allows you to imitate Christ. When you're in a situation you go, but that's not fair. But I didn't get the raise I should have I didn't get the promotion that stuff or something happened your spouse is unfaithful or or your there's some some bad happens your neighborhood or whatever, and you didn't just stop Just remember, only unjust suffering is Christ like suffering. Remember that 99% of what I've suffered, it's my own sin. I deserve it. Okay? Look here. Suffering prepares you for future ministry to others who are in trouble, compassion and mercy will swell up in your heart towards others, you'll be the very opposite of a judgmental attitude. In other words, you can be suffering now, because God's gonna prepare you for future, something in the future. In other words, it's gonna be ministries, and we're gonna come back to that in just a second. But watch this huge pressures will come. So that you will learn not to trust in yourself, but in God. Now, look at this. A lot of Christians made me not like this, but I want you to get this I believe with all my heart, could God bring trouble into your life for the express purpose of keeping you insecure, and therefore trusting God? We'll wait and see, we'll come back in just a minute. Take a look at that. 10 Can I add an 11th and a secretary between services you get to see all 11 They didn't have only a tenant first service, he changed it, but troubled test to see if your faith is genuine. We're gonna talk more about that in the future. But watch this, you will suffer when it is the cause of the kingdom of God can go forward. Those are different reasons. Now, what I want to do particularly is talk about just two of these for just a moment. Look here SFX prepares you for future ministry to others who are in trouble. Now, look at Second Corinthians Chapter One briefly with me, would you turn over to second Corinthians chapter one? Look with me to verses three and four, watch what it says. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. Now there's the purpose clause, a purpose clause says this, this happened. So that here's the reason why this happened. And the scripture says here to look at this, God gives you comfort in your troubles, so that you can be a comfort to other people when they're in trouble. In other words, suffering produces mercy and compassion for other people. It is God's school preparing you for future ministry to others. In other words, when you say I don't know, why is this happening to me? You can stop ask, well, there's maybe 11 Different reasons, maybe more, I'm sure there's more. But here's the least one reason is this. Because one day in the future, God's gonna use you and stop and think about this. I know there are people in this room right now that are saying, you know, I really do want to be used by God. If I stop and think of the greatest thing in my life is I love to be used with God, I love to be a blessing to people. I wish that God would use me, Listen, everybody wants to be counselors, hang on to your seat if you want to be a counselor, because look what it says you're gonna have to suffer. Because it is those that have suffered those. And I will tell you, those even that have failed, those that have really screwed up royally. Those people that have have gone through tremendous physical problems, or, or some kind of tremendous marital problems, or tremendous even financial problems, or whatever it is, when God brings comfort to you, and you have learned from it, it is a result of that, that you then become a better person. And as a result, you'll be able to help others. There'll be a day in the future when others will be in some sorrow and trouble and you will know just what to do. And you know just how to handle yourself and you will feel fully equipped for the hour. And the reason is is because God is prepared you know seminary can teach you this What's suffering can suffering as a way of burning out shallowness suffering has a way of getting you down to what really what's the real answers? What are we really trying to do? And suffering burns in death in depth, it matures. You Wow, you talk to a man or a woman who feel that they have their lives together, that they're very successful, and you're in some kind of trauma, believe me, you're not gonna get any help. But you talk to somebody else who knows what it is to fail. Who feels themselves to be a failure? Who knows the heartache of meeting the mercy of God again and again and again. There's a person that's the learn you see Christian character does not get strong by a life of success. G Campbell Morgan, famous dispositor was one time at a some kind of social gathering. This lady went on and on about her new pastor was a very young man. Oh, he's this he's that he's this he's that bow. And Morgan says he'll be much better when he suffers. And she said all but you don't understand. He goes woman he needs to suffer. Chuck's wind all I told the story before I love this story. He went to the seminary, Dallas Seminary when he was pastor of big church in California. He's on national radio broadcast. He does the cruise ships and you know, every big conference in the world wants Chuck Swindoll. And, and so he comes to the seminary and was sort of like when I was in school when those guys would come I'd sort of stare at him and sort of watch him and watch the way they eat, watch everything they do, you know, I wanted to be like him. And this one man said one night in front of about 50 seminarians that Oh, Mr. Swindell, to be like you, everywhere you go, you're a blessing. All your books, strengthened people. Every time you preach, people get converted, and other people come in are strengthened in the faith. Oh, if I could just as when all goes young man stop. Since, sir, if you only knew what God had to take me through, to get me to the place where he could use me to be a blessing to other people. I doubt if you'd be willing to pay the price. You see, it is suffering that prepares you for future ministry. If you really in your heart want to be prepared, you got to remember this. I read this quote last week but it is so good listen, JC Metcalf made the statement. Listen carefully. It is more than comforting to realize that it is those who have plumbed the depths of failure, to whom invariably, God gives the call to shepherd others. This is not a call given to the gifted the highly trained or the polished as such without a bitter experience of their own inadequacy and poverty. They are quite unfitted to bear the burden of spiritual ministry. It takes a man who has discovered something of the measures of his own weakness, to be patient with the sins of others. Such a man also has a first hand knowledge of the loving care of the chief shepherd and his ability to heal one who has come humbly to trust him. Stop and think about that. When you're going through, say, I don't understand all of it. I don't really like it. But nevertheless, one day I'm going to be great be able to use this experience to help other people. Spurgeon said, I want to do a minister Listen, I want to do a minister who had never suffered pain or illness in his life. I was unwell in his house, and he most kindly tried to sympathize with me. He did almost as wonderfully as an elephant picks up a PIN none of us can come to the highest maturity without enduring the summer heat of trials. As the sycamore fig never ripens, if it does not bruise, as the corn does not leave the husk without threshing. And as the wheat makes no fine flour tilled the ground, so are we have little use till we are afflicted. Then this changed his perspective. Instead of going, Man, I gotta get out of this, you changes, we started asking this entity, what can I do? How can I learn? There's something here instead of just a thought, in fact, I think is this not just prepare you for future ministry. But while you're suffering, don't just sit around have a pity party, continue to minister while you're suffering? Well, just one more, I want you to see just one more we're gonna come back and cover some more of these tonight. But I just want you to see one other one. Look here. We'll close on this just look at this. Huge pressures come into your life. So that you will learn not to trust yourself go down to verses eight nine of the same chapter. Look what it says down in verses eight nine. We do not want you to be uninformed brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia, we were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. But this happened, that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. Notice there's the heater clause again. There's the purpose cause the reason we were pressed to be on measure, we were we had despaired even of life, we were pressed beyond all we can even begin to handle all of this happened. There's a purpose behind it. What's the purpose, the sovereign God has a purpose and that is to get you not to trust in yourself. But in him. Remember the Joseph Joe stole story? Why did he allow in Joe's life critical people to come and make him make him get upset and hurt him and troublesome to drive them into the arms of God? Why is it that George Whitfield says come to me He'll bless and trial I need you for you always draw me into the arms of my savior. Why is that? Because trials are good. That's why God allows problems. It's not that we're going to be shallow, never developing Christians, if every time we have a failure or trial in our life, we run from it. We've got to go back again and again. And stop and think of the Almighty God purposely humbling you so that you would be insecure in yourself and as a result of being insecure in yourself, you would turn to trust him. That's what it says in verse nine. That's what happened to Paul. So suffering shatters fleshly self reliance, like a selfless little brat with a little bread. I'm doing my thing. And the parent says Johnny, come on, Johnny. Johnny says no. And he throws a dirt codon. just keeps doing whatever he wants, right? God says, I'm not going to have kids like that. And so God will bring trouble into your life to do to cause you to be humbled and bring you down. Why not? Because he's some mean God because he's a father that wants what's best for you. You see, we've got to understand it. Wow, that is important. John Piper makes this comment. This is God's universal purpose for all Christians suffering, more contentment, and God less satisfaction itself. Listen to this. I have never heard anyone say, the really deep lessons of life have come through times of ease and comfort. But I have heard strong Saint say, every significant advance I have ever made in the grasping in the depths of God's love and going deep with him have come through suffering. Samuel Johnson, she's been Samuel Rutherford said that when he was cast into the cellars of affliction, he remembered that the great king always kept his wine there. And Charles Spurgeon said that those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls. Luther said, the greatest book in my library is the book of affliction. On a goes isn't the testimony of people throughout the ages. It's good for us to be afflicted, it's good for us to have troubles. Those that that's not bad, it's good. We got to remember that. Now listen, you sit back. And I went a little long, that last service and this service, I'm going a little bit long, but just listen to me. Second, sit back and let me close. Don't worry about trying to catch me in the where I'm at in the Scripture. Just sit back and listen, because I want to tell you something. Let's look from the perspective of the Monday morning quarterback. Let's look at it this from the perspective of somebody that's been through some real difficulties. There was a man named Joseph. He was the 11th of 12 boys in his family. He grew up in a dysfunctional home. His there were two mothers in the home. And they both were fighting all the time, and who got to sleep with dad, Josias brothers hated him because his dad favored them. And as a result, one day, they sold him to some slaves, who took them to Egypt. And then they went and told them that he had been killed by a lion. Joseph is down, then in prison. And while he's there, oh, excuse me, first, he becomes a slave owner, and he's in this part of his house and part of his wife tries to seduce them. And Joseph says no. And so she cries, rape, and he goes back into prison now, and now he's in prison in Egypt. While he's in prison, Egypt, he meets a butcher, a baker, and the candlestick maker, this is my version of the story. And they all they all fail, and they forget his dreams. All right. And while we're there, they forget what he says. Now guess what? Then years in Egypt, now years in prison, then his dad dies, and his brothers make up the story because they're afraid now Joseph is gonna get us. But listen to what Joseph says. Don't be afraid. He's the Vice President of Egypt. Now he could do whatever he wanted with his brothers that ruined his life and stole his childhood know that listen, he says, Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended for good to accomplish what is now being done the saving of many lives. You understand that? We can let's look at it from Joseph perspective. Joseph says Now I'm old. And I can see I hated being sold. It was such a. I didn't get to grow up in my own family. My dad thought I was dead for years. I missed out on all of that. And then he says, in many cases in prison, he spends years in prison. He went through all that. He says, Don't you worry, I see the hand of God. It was all part of his plan. The friends listen, there's a song that says when you can't see his hand, trust his heart. Listen, friends. faith pleases God. If you're in the middle of a trial, you say right now I don't understand it. But I believe God's going to do something good. He's going to conform to the image of Christ. He's going to call make this be a blessing. You remember we've talked about? Is it called tapestries. What are those things? tapestries. You know, you're the story of a tapestry. The tapestry looks beautiful. But if you get behind it, it looks all messy. Remember that? Listen, someone wrote about that. In other words, we're on the board on the backside of the tapestry. God's plan is everything's gonna work out beautiful on the other side, because you got to remember, there's a heaven there's a life after this one. And you can't understand all the sufferings in this life as long as you're only looking at it from this side of the grave. No, one more thing, listen to this. This tapestry, someone wrote this, my life is but a weaving between the Lord and me. I may not choose the colors he knows what they should be. For, he can view the pattern upon the upper side, while I can see it only on this the underside. Sometimes he would sorrow which seems strange to me, but I will trust his judgment and work on faithfully says he who fills the shuttle and he who knows what is best, so I shall leave in earnest leaving to him the rest nor till the Loomis silent and the shuttle ceases to fly. shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason Why the dark threads are as needed in the weavers skillful hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern he has planned. Now stop and think one, just just think this wouldn't be second. Listen carefully. A 17 year old girl who's beautiful and healthy and popular, and possibly going to make the Olympic team. She dives into a pond while she's with a bunch of her friends. And she breaks her neck 17 years old. And we say that's a tragedy. You say? There's, there's no way that you can tell me that God is good. How in the world can loving God allow a 17 year old girl to break your neck? In fact, I will tell you friends, people that don't believe the Bible curse God because they say if God is loving, why is there suffering in the world because the only the isas grasp that the purpose of God that God might be smarter than we are. That maybe he knows more than we do. That maybe his ways are right and our ways are not right. You see. Now let's just stop and ask ourselves this. What is the good all things work together for good? What is the good conformity to Christ? Now let's just plug this in a second. Look. Johnny Erickson taught a 17 year old girl now she's 47. Okay, 30 years later. Now watch. Has she become more holy than she's been happy? She's known for her holiness. Has she been proud? Or is she more humble? She has been humbled. How about this tissue proven to God, or she has proven to Satan that she loves God, even though God doesn't give her what she wants? Has she grown spiritually think of her books and the influence that she's had? Hey, do you think she knows anything about perseverance and endurance? Everybody that reads those books comes away saying I want to persevere and stop and look, does God know what he's doing? Suffering is the door of opportunity, which enables you to really get to know God. Do you think she knows she knows God? Well, you read her literature and you read her books. And you see what she's done. Has she imitated Christ? Has she had a future ministry? Well, here with my friends right here in the wheelchair from New Hope I used to go there and teach. And I just one time was I was teaching. My friends here. I mentioned John Erickson taught and they all scream and yell. And the reason is, is two or three years before she had come by to visit them. And it was the greatest day in their life. And they were talking about how great it was. See she's had a ministry to others to encourage them. The courage all of us look here, these pressures come into our life. Why? So that we won't trust in ourselves that she learned that? Has you seen that her faith is genuine? Has the cause gone forward? Wow, you see, we got to stop and tell us tell each other friends. There's a purpose. There's a purpose. There is a sovereign God. He knows what he's doing. He's got a plan. He's working it out on our lives. And you know what we need to do a College Park, we need to be like the geese. And whenever you see the geese flying, don't forget, we talked about this a lot. But the geese when they're going on, you know what they're saying, fly on. Keep going. Don't give up. Don't talk on the faith. It'll be worth it. Keep going. And one of the reasons for Christian Fellowship, as John mentioned earlier, is that we would be saying to each other when we're suffering when we're in trouble, and when we're in sorrow, and when we're in heartache. We say well, we don't understand everything. But we know this, God will never waste to sorrow. God's not going to waste a trial does not God's not done. He's not out of the picture just because it doesn't feel right. We have a sovereign God that we must bow before and serve. And so let's keep honking at each other. Let's keep encouraging each other to go on even when we're in trouble. Our father would you strengthen our lives in the inner man giving us faith? Faith that perseveres faith that endures faith that pleases you. Without faith, it's impossible to please you but faith, especially in the midst of trials, that does please you could you specially help people here today that are in sorrow? They're in married marital problems, they're in financial problems, they're in health problems. Whatever. Thank you, Father, that we don't have a Bible that says que sera sera whatever will be will be but we have a Bible to tell allows us to trust you even in the darkest of times please don't let Satan rule over our hearts to get us to curse you and we pray these things in Jesus name amen