Transcript

Suffering Benefits

2 Corinthians 1:3-11
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Pastor Randy Smith

We often call ourselves "the Grace Tabernacle family." As any family we have experienced many joys. Together we have witnessed the birth of new children, the growing success of various ministries, numerous conversions to Christ and a multitude of good times together. But our family has also experienced many recent sorrows as well. Last Sunday we grieved with Christine Velardi as she laid to rest her grandmother. On Tuesday we patiently awaited the results of Dawson Renna's surgery. Wednesday we were made aware of Rick Stevenson's cancer. And now most recently, the departure of a family from our fellowship.

This has been a difficult week for our church family. In seeking to minister to you I have witnessed the full gamut of emotions all tied to that ugly word - suffering.

Personally - I could say this has been an excruciating week in my life. I have been hurt beyond your understanding. The pain at times is indescribable. Everything in my flesh says defend yourself or figure it out or run away, while the Spirit tells me to minister to the people, man the helm when the seas are rough and look away from self and turn to the sufficiency of Christ

Second to the Lord Jesus Christ, most of you know my hero in Scripture is the Apostle Paul. Many have asked if we will study 2 Corinthians when we finish 1 Corinthians. My answer is always "no." When I am asked why, I respond that I have yet to suffer enough in ministry to understand the letter.

We all know that Paul was a minister acquainted with suffering. He was physically beaten, misunderstood, falsely accused, abandoned and mocked.

Often Paul is mistaken for being callous and aloof, but such a conclusion is far from the truth. In his second letter to the Corinthians we see a shepherd of compassion. It's been said this letter provides us with the closet glimpse into the heart of the man - a heart that was called to be broken and spilled out, a heart that experienced immense and intense personal suffering beyond anything that we will ever encounter, and a heart that fully understood God's purpose in the suffering and acted accordingly.

He said, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:8-9).

While I planned to finish 1 Corinthians 7 this morning, I believe God called me yesterday to preach a different message, a message that will speak more directly to our current situation.

As humans we are instinctively taught to run from suffering. However, Paul welcomed suffering as a sovereign act of God. As a matter of fact, the false teachers who continually criticized his ministry pointed to his suffering as evidence that he was not a true Apostle. "Why," they asked, "Would God allow His servant to suffer so much?"

Furthermore, the church, which should have stood by his side, struggled with a leader who welcomed suffering. If we are to become what our leader is, the health and wealth gospel is much more appealing. I want to hear my pastor talk about blessings, rather than "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Ac. 14:22).

Paul's suffering made him suspect in the eyes of many. But remarkably when his Apostolic authority was being questioned, he pointed not to his divine calling or the churches he founded. He didn't even boast in his theological understanding. He pointed, without shame, to his sufferings!

"Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. …Are they servants of Christ?-I speak as if insane-I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure" (2 Cor. 11:16, 23-27)

Pretty intense stuff, but the most intense suffering is saved for the end. Paul says, "You think that is tough…"

"Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern" (2 Cor. 11:28-29)?

Daily anxiety for the churches. It weighed so heavily on the pastor's heart. With so much that could go wrong, he lived in constant concern. We see a glimmer of this passion in chapter two.

Recently in our study of 1 Corinthians we have uncovered many problems in the Corinthian church. Nevertheless, Paul loved these people dearly. So shortly after He wrote 1 Corinthians, he decided to sail from Ephesus to visit the church in Corinth. Expecting to receive a warm encounter, Paul was openly insulted and the others in the church failed to defend him (2 Cor. 2:5-8, 10; 7:12). It is always those we love the most that have the greatest potential to create the deepest wounds.

Anyway, Paul returned to Ephesus in tremendous pain. In 2:1 he told the church, "But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again."

Yet the church weighed heavily on his heart. So instead of visiting them again, we read in chapter 2 that he wrote them a letter. "This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you" (2 Cor. 2:3-4). This letter was sent to Corinth with Titus.

But Paul could hardly contain himself. He set out to meet Titus. Despite their disobedience, his love for the church made him eager to hear their response. The man was worried. The text says he came to Troas for the gospel, a door was opened for ministry, but he "had no rest for his spirit" when Titus was nowhere to be found. So he continued up to Macedonia in the hopes of rendezvousing with his friend.

It was a time of painful anticipation. How would the church respond? Would they reject him once again or repent and welcome him back?

The next verse: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place" (2 Cor. 2:14).

Most interpret this verse to say that Paul received triumph in meeting Titus. The church read his letter. He was excited they repented. Praise God for victory in Jesus.

But a closer look actually reveals that the verse teaches nearly the opposite. The verb refers to a Roman triumphal procession. It is the same procession we learned about in 1 Corinthians 4 a few weeks ago when Paul said, "For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men" (1 Cor. 4:9). We learned how the victorious Roman army would parade back to town displaying their booty, followed by Caesar dressed as a god riding his chariot. At the very end were the most valiant enemies. Often these men were marched into the coliseum and slaughtered as a public offering for the gods.

This is how Paul described his ministry. It was not being led to worldly triumph; it was being led to death. Death to what? Death to self. "I die daily," said Paul in 1 Cor 15:31. Paul thanked God because he knew that his most intense suffering, specifically the pastor's heart in concern for the church, brings death to self.

Our time of visible triumph with Christ will come, but during our earthly existence, we are called to a life of suffering. And in these verses we see Paul not angry with God, but praising God in the midst of his pain. This teaching, though difficult, is not isolated to this account. We see it running throughout the pages of Scripture. But we naturally ask, why is it this way and how does my suffering glorify God? Allow me to give you three reasons this morning.

First, through suffering, Paul showed that the needs of the others are considered more important than his own life. When every fleshly instinct says run from the pain or reject those causing the pain, perseverance through suffering reveals we value those we minister to more important than we value ourselves. Departing is a worldly response, but persevering through the pain reveals the heart of our Savior.

It was Jesus Himself who said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." It was Jesus who saw our needs more important than His own and endured the suffering of the cross for the sake of the church. Though He was innocent and wrongly accused, He demonstrated the needs of others greater than His own.

Serving others is easy when everything is to our own tastes, but serving others in the midst of suffering glorifies the Lord. It shows that we are in ministry for the glory of God and not an ego boost. It is unchristian to believe we are here in the church to have our needs met. We are here to give up our needs and meet the needs of others; best demonstrated when we are willing to suffer on their account. That's what Jesus did and we are to follow in His footsteps.

Just as Paul, when questioned about his apostleship, pointed to his suffering. We too, when questioned about the integrity of our Christian calling, should be able to validate its reality by pointing to our willingness to selflessly suffer for the sake of others.

Second, suffering also provides the best demonstration of the Gospel. In Colossians 1:24 Paul said, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (cf. 2 Cor. 1:5-8; 4:8-12).

Obviously Paul could not add anything to the sufficient death of Christ. So what was he talking about concerning something lacking in Christ's afflictions? Did he do chalk sketches of the crucifixion? Was it a skit he performed daily? No, his suffering modeled the reality of the Gospel and his commitment to the Gospel. For this reason said Paul, "I rejoice in my sufferings."

You see, when a preacher leads people to believe satisfaction is found in family or toys or power or esteem or pleasure, what will the people do when all these items are stripped away? Simple - They will become embittered and angry. And the greatness of God, which should be the source of their satisfaction, will vanish in the cloud of murmuring, complaining, and cursing.

But as John Piper said, "When a preacher preaches with joy (in the midst of his own) suffering, the people will see Christ for the infinite value that He is, and, seeing, will cherish Him above all things and thus be changed from one degree of glory to the next. The glory of God will be magnified in the church and in the world, and the great aim of preaching will be achieved"

Piper goes on to say, "God has ordained that our preaching become deeper and more winsome as we are broken, humbled, and made low and desperately dependent on grace by the trials of our lives" (Feed My Sheep, ed. Don Kistler, Soli Deo Gloria Ministries, 2002, p. 257, 259).

Regardless of your calling, our suffering shows the world that Christ is sufficient. It shows the world that He is all we need. Even if all is stripped away - your job, your ministry, your health, your money -all those things we often cherish, we can still rejoice in God. When others see that God is all you need, you adorn the Gospel mightily and make it very attractive to the unbeliever. Anybody can smile during health and wealth, but it takes a supernatural power to shine when suffering. Suffering displays the sufficiency of God to a despairing world.

Michael Beates said in Tabletalk, "The light of Christ in His children is made more manifest to the world through the dark colors of suffering, borne through patience endurance" (p. 55, vol. 28, no. 9, Ligonier Ministries).

A third reason God ordains suffering and Paul finds it an occasion for joy, is that suffering helps us focus on Christ.

We have a tendency as humans to take our eyes off Jesus when things are going well. Few attribute a vacation to a time of intense spiritual growth. But I believe we would all agree that our greatest spiritual moments came in the fires of affliction. They have an amazing way to burn off the dross of pride and self-confidence. They give us nowhere else to turn, but to God. It was C. S. Lewis who once said, "God whispers to us in our well-being; He shouts to us in our suffering."

Paul spoke of his affliction in 2 Corinthians 12. He called it his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor. 12:7). And he pleaded, as you know, with God three times for its removal. The Lord heard his prayer but answered in a way contrary to his expectations. "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). In other words, says God, the thorn is not going anywhere. The trial will remain, but My grace will be sufficient to sustain and strengthen your faith in the midst of the trial.

Paul was a mighty theologian, preacher and pastor. He was an extremely gifted man and an inspired author of Scripture. He had a remarkable potential for pride. So rather than seeing Paul trust in his own strength, God afflicted him. He made him weak. He kept him humble so he would look outside of himself to God for strength. And that's a good place to be looking! And my friends, He treats us no different.

Once Paul understood this concept he said, "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me" (2 Cor. 12:9). He concludes, "Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).

Weaknesses keep us dependent on resurrection power because our eyes are off our own inadequacies and glued on the total adequacy of Christ. Therefore when we are weak, it is not necessarily a bad place to be because it turns us to God for strength.

Charles Spurgeon once said,

In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on God alone. When no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God-and God alone!

When a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn-he flies into his Father's arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then, than at any other time.

Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives you to your Father!

Listen to Paul model this attitude for his flock: "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope" (2 Cor. 1:8-10).

It is expected for individuals to go through trials. The same could be said for churches. God gives all His true churches a steady dose of trials to keep them humble and to be sure they are forever looking to Him as their reason for existence, source of strength and object of praise.

It is very easy and subtle to unwittingly trust in a church's history or doctrinal statement or ministry strength or membership size or financial offerings. But more often than not we have a tendency to become too dependent on people. If we belong to God, He will bring trials to keep our eyes on Him. We must look to God and God alone as our hope and rock and source of strength. "Apart from Me," said Christ, "You can do nothing" (Jn. 15:5).

Allow me to be very clear, nobody looks for suffering. Nobody chooses to suffer (that's masochism), but to choose God's will even if it means suffering is a different story. God can be trusted to dispense just the right amount of suffering in our lives to achieve His intended purpose for our good. One author said, "When God puts us in the furnace, His hand is in the thermostat and His eye is on the clock." We can trust Him in the midst of our suffering, and through our suffering, we learn to trust Him more.

Until I learned to trust,

I did not learn to pray,

And I did not learn to fully trust

Till sorrows came my way.

Until I felt my weakness,

His strength I never knew,

Nor dreamed till I was stricken

That He would see me through.

Who deepest drinks of sorrow

Drinks deepest too of grace,

He sends the storm so He Himself,

Can be our hiding place.

His heart that seeks our highest good

Knows well when things annoy,

We would not long for heaven

If earth held only joy.

Author unknown

As individuals and as a church, we will experience suffering until that day the Lord removes us from this alien soil and transports us to His heavenly home. There will come a time "when every tear is wiped from our eyes," but for now we embrace the suffering from the hand a sovereign and loving God and respond to it in a way that brings Him glory.