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August 5, 2022 12:00 am
The intact podcast child family. I guess that today we explore how suffering provides the training ground for powerful faith.
Let's begin with verse nine member.
He's been talking about the victory through oversight but he says in verse nine resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world that verse 10 is our verse for this text. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
To him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. That's interesting that that term, the God of all grace is not used anywhere else in the Bible, but you and I know him as the God of all grace he says after you've suffered below. While the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory will himself and then he uses full words to describe how God will prosper us in our suffering. Look at these four words.
Notice he says after you have suffered for season the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself, did you get that the God of all grace, has his own. You he knows exactly what you're going through and how you are hurting and why you got there and how long you going to be there, God has his time. Please he knows exactly what second it's all over and it's done with, haven't you been through periods of suffering you about you and said I didn't think is going to make it that you know the God was never worried about it. He knew your he knew you were going to make it. You know why because the God of all grace, had his loving arms wrapped around you the whole time you were crying you thought you all by yourself that your eyes and you trust in Jesus as you said you cried your last year by cell.
You got Accra the rest them on his show. You might not feel like it, but is always there, loving arms wrapped around you, loving you walking with you hurting with you through your suffering and Hardy so he says is the way we prosper look at this. First of all, he says full words. He himself, he himself perfect says I usually take that word to mean that he's maturing since sometime that is the way it usually means here's this that God's making an adjustment all I don't like that God prospers us the rest suffering by allowing the suffering to make adjustments now. What he saying here is this in one of the purposes for which God allows the suffering is to make adjustments in the light, and that word means and is used of the physician who resets the bone. He puts it in its proper position. God has to do some adjusting in our life. All lifelong. He saw just us that our relationship with other people about here just out of focus about things versus spiritual thing versus the spirit. God is always the process of making adjustments and is the wonderful thing about him.
God doesn't have to wonder what kind of adjustments on the and secondly he knows how long they just will take place and he knows what I need to be adjusted about another problem is we don't like anybody else telling us where we need to be adjusted to we want God to tell is very secretly and very privately where we need to be adjusted. But sometimes God uses somebody else.
All we don't like that it's humiliating for someone to say you're impatient, are you are insensitive at say you're right is exactly right when he says that he himself perfect says that is he is in the process of making adjustments now. God isn't interested in my ease, comfort and pleasure he's interested all that which in that which cannot be seen interested in shaping us into his likeness and so he says they're to perfect as that's the same word that is used in Mark chapter 11.
The disciples are mending their nets. You know what God doesn't suffering.
He mentions me. He middens us, he puts it back together.
He makes adjustments in our life. So let me ask you this, you are able to be the person God wants you to Veolia's.
Are you willing for God to make whatever adjustments in your life unnecessary to conform you to his likeness. You said, within reason, whose reason, yours or God's well.
Amen. You know, surely God not can agree on this thing, not necessarily.
I don't think God not have ever evergreen on how much suffering on the know whatever adjustments need to be made. First of all, he says adjusted 2nd look at that word he says. Christ himself will do what will confirm as you know what that means to make it as solid as granite, not some plaster of Paris, but solid as a rock like granite. You see, God is not the flabby. We Christians.
He says that he himself will make us solid like granite that is that is something on the inside God's interest in that which is on the scene. Not that which is seen menu food. A lot of folks on the outside came Fugard on the inside. He says he himself will perfect us and he himself will confirm is now when you talk about confirming that doesn't mean that we are hard but rather like steel and velvet solid immovable not blown, but the winds but on the other hand, there is a softness about compassionate, loving sensitivity. What is it that makes the eyes saw, but suffering what Bill sensitivity and compassion, love but suffering and we have to ask is God do I really want to prosper in my suffering of others. I've got to be able and ready to understand that he's doing something is what he said.
He says that in the spirit of suffering.
He's up to something. What is he up to.
He is up to perfecting our adjusting and confirming making us solid. That is willful, real only inside and then noticed that next word he says, to strengthen us. That is, we were able to stand against all the winds let them blow indirection. They blow but with strong we are strong in our faith able to accept all types of adversity. You see, he himself is doing and he says after you suffered a while, he says perfect you confirm you strengthen you now he's in the process of making adjustments is the process of making is like granite. He's in the process of strengthening and we are strong we don't bend without a wind that comes along when not when not blown, the false winds of doctrine and when adversity comes our way. We don't follow bread to start crying. Having a big pity party want to go home. Wonder where God is because my friend what suffering does it toughens you its strength and it makes you strong. What we want is to be strong without the suffering and the truth is you will never be strong about suffering. It is in the breaking shattering it is in the hurt and the pain that we become strong and what does God do he builds up resistance against self-pity. He builds up resistance against self-centeredness and selfishness and you see after you get at a certain way for so long. After a while you don't feel it like use the field and when you meet a Christian, somebody says something wrong about them and they just want to tune up and cry. Do you know what he said about me, my friend, if you strong in the Lord and is making a difference what they say let him say it solicits solid like granite, having been adjusted strong in the Lord and strength.
You see, strength, inhale means that I am living daily wrestling and rejoicing in Christ who is my life living in Hillman, Christ living in me been rereading Hudson Taylor spiritual secret.
I can hardly read a chapter that that getting on my knees and just weeping before God when I see how God uses this man insignificant as far as the world was concerned that time, but here's a man who learned to live in the most abject kind of poverty in China with more heart aches, burdens, and periods of suffering, both physical and persecution, all the rest, but their description of him this quiet man not bent and beaten strong firm solid like granite. Why in all of this testimony all through that book is he learn to rest in the strength of Almighty God and I read about the journeys he took. I think it would've exhausted a man we see the differences that he learn to live in the inner strength that is to depend upon, to rely upon to trust in that inner strength within him, which was none other than the person of Jesus Christ. Do you think the resurrected Christ ever gets tired that his physical body when his walk on earth he would become weary in the resurrected Christ can never be time because the resurrected Christ is not limited by physical body like you and I have so it's interesting he said I'm going away, but if I go well come back to the power the Holy Spirit and so you and I are in drill of our personal Lord Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. He says we are to live out of that internal inexhaustible resource who is Christ, he is our strength, not us. He is our strength in the sum this last word he says. And then to establish you is what he means he means after you get down through all of the fluff and all of the simple normal things that most Christians know you get down there on the solid rock foundation you go all the way to bedrock you not building on a little shifting sand foundation but your spiritual life is built on the bed rock of the word of God. You know the truth him movable in your faith. Solid firm will adjusted strong in the Lord, but you standing on the solid rock who is Christ. He says this is the way we profit when God sends us through suffering. What is he do he says his reason for sending us through it is that he wants to make adjustments in our character. He wants it to make us solid like rock on the inside he wants. He wants Christ to become our spring and then he wants us rooted and grounded him movable in that person of Jesus Christ down to bedrock. We got to wonder about what's going on.
We know in whom we stand, and upon whom we stand and we are firmly rooted and grounded in Christ. That's why we need people who are going through suffering all kinds of difficulty hardship in trial and tribulation and persecution unmoved. Why because they are no longer flitting around up here on just read your Bible and pray little bit go to church and this at the other. But they've learned to fully trust in the rock of ages and you and I saying the song about Christ being our rock.
He is my rock, he's my delivery on Christ the solid rock I stand all of the ground is sinking sand. I wonder if you resisting suffering because you just don't like it when you join the crowd below him asking this question.
Do you want God to make whatever adjustments are necessary in your character. It will be painful sometimes you want God to make you on the inside like granite unmoved by all the persecution all the words that people say all the things it can your rhinoceros hide. It just sorta hits involves all doesn't mean your course heart screwed cruel, difficult, insensitive, but it means that God has so worked in your life that you've learned that in him. Those things no matter the want God to strengthen you, so that every day of your life you living out of the resource of his eternal strength released and liberated in your life and my friend you want to get down there own bed rock you want to get down there where nothing can shake you. That's where you find out what is on Shay couple is that what you want your life with. You can have it if you will, in the sub but if you're not you want to manipulate yourself a well-rounded and resist God and don't humble yourself before suffering that you will suffer and you'll cry and you will hurt and you will waste your sorrows adjusted solid strong on the firm in movable foundation which is Christ. You see, that's God's goal for us that no matter what. When that adversity blows we never change fearless bowl confident resting in him a confident one in Christ. So the next time God sends something your way that you don't like you.
Just remember God suggesting me, making me solid like and strengthening me he's get me down to bedrock well. Find out what it's all about you know what he means by that we get on the bedrock we begin to understand who God really is, what is like and how he operates know most folks want to flit around up here, but if you want to be what God wants you to be. He's got to let you suffer enough to get Doug and found out what can't be shaken.
What can't be moved because you say the only way you'll ever find out how strong you are, is to get tested how firm you are is to get tested and how solid you are is to have the adversities of life beat against the foundation of your faith and if you can just remember God's growing you deeper and richer all the time and one of his methods he himself will adjust you make you solid strength that you and get you on bedrock. I prefer that somebody here this evening who's going through difficulty hardship who has never trusted Jesus as their Savior doesn't understand what in the world have doesn't have any hope in looking down a dark tunnel is no light at the other end pray that you will speak to that person and give them enough understanding these moments to realize that you take away the tunnel not only just lightened it up, you take it away. You give them a whole different perspective on life. You become their friend to walk with them every step of the way I pray that that somebody tonight will be saved begin a whole new life in Christ and father for those who seated here who have rebelled against their hurts who tried to manipulate themselves around the suffering, who maybe even have grown little bitter and resentful to you for allowing it. There might be confession, repentance tonight and a willingness to surrender to what you have to offer in order that they may fully become everything you plan them to be in Lord we like to explain all kinds of things they intend in our Lord. If you done this way. That way the other. We try to explain all this to you not interested in that. The truth is we know. I pray for somebody here this evening who really does need help, not to be too proud to ask for.
Speak to the heart is my prayer in Jesus name, amen. Thank you for listening to how we profit from suffering.
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