Title: Suffering Can Be Profitable / Psalm 119
Contents
[sermon]
The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard is a little bit of Descartes' saying, "I think, therefore I exist."
In a paraphrase, he said, "I suffer. Therefore I am." In the Bible book of Job, “Life is hard
It is like a spark that flies upward” (Job 5:7). When a fire burns, the spark always rises upward.
It tells us that life's hardships are unavoidable. Any human being, while living in this world,
You are bound to experience a lot of suffering. Therefore, the Bible deals with the problem of suffering broadly and deeply.
Today, by examining the types and meanings of suffering revealed in the Bible, we will examine the correct faith in various sufferings.
Let's learn posture.
First, there is suffering that comes as a test.
The temptation here is not the devil's temptation with evil intentions, but God's temptation for approval.
say test. The greatest event in Abraham's life that expressed his faith in God is in Genesis 22.
It is recorded. God told Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a burnt offering to test him.
is. Isaac was the son of Abraham when he was a hundred years old, and the command was given to offer it as a burnt offering to God.
It was the blue sky. But Abraham obeyed God's word. to the place God has directed
He built an altar, spread the wood, and bound Isaac his son, put him on the altar, and tried to seize the son.
At this time, God stopped him and ordered him to offer a burnt offering with the ram he had prepared. and Abraham
He acknowledged that he was right and gave him great blessings.
If you are faced with hardships that come as a result of God's test, you will pass through thorough faith and obedience,
We hope that you will be recognized and rewarded.
Second, there is suffering that comes as punishment.
There is the suffering of chastisement resulting from the act of disbelief in God. The people of Israel who came out of Egypt
Every time he faced difficulties due to distrust, he complained of resentment. Because of this, the people of Israel went into madness for forty years.
They became wanderers in Jah, and among those who came out of Egypt, those over twenty years of age, Joshua and Caleb
They all died in the wilderness.
There is also the suffering of chastisement resulting from the act of disobeying God's will. God blessed the prophet Jonah
He told them to go to the city of Nineveh and declare that God's judgment was imminent because of their iniquity. yes
I, Jonah, disobeyed and got on a boat going to Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Width when reaching the middle of the sea
The wind put the ship on the brink of shipwreck. The man who was the cause of the disaster was cast by lot, and Jonah was chosen.
is. Eventually Jonah was thrown into the sea. At this time, a large fish prepared by God swallowed Jonah. water
After three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed for repentance. Then God made the fish
He caused Jonah to vomit on dry land.
If you suffer because of God's discipline, you must repent quickly. Discipline is the whip of love.
Third, there is suffering for the refinement of the soul.
Just as we train our bodies to be able to handle difficult and difficult tasks and special tasks, so we
so is the spirit of God allows us to use suffering as a process and opportunity for such training.
I give you
All. “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our tribulation in Asia.
We suffered so much that even our hope of living was cut off, and we thought in our hearts that we were condemned to death, because we
do not put your trust in him, but in God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8,9).
I received a thorn in my flesh, that is, Satan's messenger, so that I will not be overly self-reliant, because what I have received is exceedingly great.
lest he slept too much against me. This is what I pleaded with the Lord three times to turn away from me.
Then he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
Therefore, with great rejoicing, I will boast about my weaknesses, for by the power of Christ I
Therefore, for the sake of Christ, I have brought about weakness, reproach, want, persecution, and hardship.
I rejoice, for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
Through tribulation, Paul learned to trust God completely. also humility through the thorns in the flesh
learned Humility is a vessel filled with God's grace and power. Weaknesses, reproach, want, and persecution
to sustain the ability to change. Suffering is not a burning fire, but useful and
It is the fire of the pulpit that makes it pure.
Fourth, there are sufferings to keep our faith in God and to spread the gospel.
Faith to believe and serve God revealed in the Bible is more precious than anything else to the saints. therefore
Many people suffered hardships to keep this belief. He was even martyred.
These sufferings will be worthy of the saints. It is written in the Bible, "For Christ's sake I
It was given grace not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29), “… woo
We must also suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him.
is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to them” (Romans 8:17, 18).
Fifth, there is suffering for which the cause is unknown.
It is similar to the suffering Job suffered in the book of Job in the Bible. Job's friends came to see Job suffering
By interpreting and giving advice on Job's suffering from a schematic and principled level, it only added to the pain in Job's heart.
All. Suffering is sometimes the result of sin. It may be the result of someone else's crime, not your own. yes
I have hardships that have nothing to do with crime or ungodliness.
Job struggled through hardships that he could not comprehend, and he learned unconditional trust in God.
The spirit was opened. So he said, “Who is it that conceals reason with ignorant words that I cannot understand on my own?
I have spoken of things that I do not know, and things that are difficult to comprehend, I have heard of you by ear.
I used to do it all the time, but now I see you with my eyes” (Job 42:3,5).
Even in the face of incomprehensible afflictions, when we firmly believe in God's power, wisdom, and goodness, we
It will move forward to the seat of deeper transportation. Any suffering will ultimately benefit these saints.
It's possible.
If we look for the cause of suffering on a principled level, it comes from the sin of Adam, the ancestor of mankind (Genesis 3:16-19).
Because of Adam's transgression, he was cursed with God's punishment, he shed blood and sweat, and suffered, toil, struggle and death
have been subjected to God, who is good, tells people that through suffering, sinners can repent and the Lord Jesus
Brings you to Christ. And for the saints, through suffering, many things come to our souls.
It gives you benefits.
Alfred Welles was the greatest naturalist scholar of the 20th century in England. One day, this person is a wild silkworm butterfly
I found the young of a type of sleeper moth struggling to break through the cocoon. little sleep
It is so pathetic that the room struggles with all its might to break through the cocoon that surrounds it.
I showed it and ripped the cocoon well so that the moths came out easily. But I keep watching the sleepy moth
As it turned out, the wings did not come out properly, and the beautiful colors and patterns did not appear, and it died shortly thereafter.
Even the great naturalist was the reason the baby moth struggled to break through the cocoon.
It is a natural process that makes skin grow strong, strengthens the body, and produces beautiful colors.
that's what it was The young moths are exempted from their pathetic struggles, but they do not make them any bigger and
that was going to die. Let God see the truth through nature that makes suffering for good
give it
The psalmist confessed. “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
I am.". We too, together with the psalmist, are saints who give thanks to God who makes suffering useful.
I hope it will be.