Suffering....

We’re told in the book of Acts that the disciples prayed earnestly for Peter while he was in prison—-and then God released Peter by a miracle—an angel. The disciples, although praying for him, were dumbfounded and couldn’t believe it. They were praying intensely, but God intervened in a way they never expected—-bigger and grander than they had hoped for.  That’s often how God does things when His people fast and pray.

They prayed for Peter because he was suffering in prison; h was probably a little nervous about how Herod would probably kill him the next day like he just killed James, the brother of John, a day earlier.  So they fasted and prayed.  The suffering of others often brings out godly traits that can only be kindled when we see those we love suffer.  Suffering has a purposeful place in our lives.

Just two nights ago I woke up because of a dream I had of a pet—and in this dream it was a baby “dragon-like” pet—-it that had a fish hook and line hooked to his tongue. I don’t know why, but I could not stand it and began to yell for for set of wire cutters so that I could cut that hook in half and remove the entanglement. And I did, and I felt so good about removing the suffering for that little creature—-even it was a baby dragon!

We SHOULD want to end suffering, if possible, and if we have the means!  No one should get all excited about the suffering of others——or the limitations of others.  During WWII the Nazis passed laws that called for the euthanasia of deformed children, senile older adults, those of low IQ, or those born debilitating disorders.  Their goal was to be build a super race and super society of only the very healthy— and those of pure “Aryan” race.

But it’s the suffering—the disabled—-the weak—that can bring out the best in society.  My sons, for all their quirks and issues, have brought out good things within me that would not be present if my sons were perfect—-and the challenges of raising three young men have exposed things in my life that are wrong, but would never have been addressed—-but carefully concealed—-were it not for their ability to push every button of my emotions!

But our passage to look at today comes later in the book of Acts: “In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:11-16, NIV)

Ok, so you’ve heard the story. Paul has a miraculous encounter with Jesus and is blinded.

Some points to make: First, Paul, or Saul as he was then known, was not looking for Jesus or praying for salvation. He was totally lost in his zealous desire to actually destroy God’s work and had no interest in Jesus whatsoever. But Jesus found him. 

Second, God’s hand was “upon him”—-He struck him blind and got his attention real fast. With some of us, that’s what it takes.  We are not seeking, looking and knocking on the door for Jesus—-so He comes and finds us—-and oftentimes His Hand is heavy upon us to remind us that Him finding and calling us is not a mistake—-it’s the “plan”.

Have you found Him yet—or in your zeal are you doing things your way?   Is He going to have to shake things up a bit in your life?

Paul suffered for the sake of Jesus—that’s the call of Jesus upon all of us.   Why would a pastor or evangelist of Jesus Christ expect preach different. Paul suffered all these things because he was a follower of Jesus-- he preached Christ, and Him crucified, as the only way to heaven, as the only salvation for sinful mankind. Paul did not suffer for his sins, salvation or forgiveness-Jesus suffered that.

Christianity is the most exclusive religion of all religions.  Other religions make options for folks to get to paradise, or “heaven” , provided you meet  some basic standards of “good enough”.  But the Christian faith is clear: Jesus is the only way to get to the Father.  And anyone that’s studied  the Bible knows that no one is good enough to receive eternal life—it must be accepted by faith and confession, and received as a free gift from God. There are no provisions in Scripture for the salvation of that do not accept Jesus as their Savior.  And that makes some folks quite dismissive of Christians and Jesus.   And so we’ve been persecuted since Jesus called the first disciples—-it’s never stopped.  To follow Jesus with a clear conscience and devout heart will lead to suffering and attack.

Again, Annanias was told that Paul was going to suffer greatly even before Paul knew about it!  And perhaps we should warn every new Christian similarly.  Following Jesus does not mean a future life of no pain, or of always being loved and popular—-sometimes its the opposite.

Many years ago blacksmith who became Christian and his life basically fell apart and he lost both his wife and his daughter to illness. Of course the blacksmith's friends noticed that after becoming Christian his life became more difficult instead of less difficult and asked him about it one day while visiting his shop.

"Why do you continue to serve God when He let all those horrible things happen to you?" the friend asked.

The blacksmith asked his friend if he had ever observed how he treated the metal when he was making horseshoes and other items, and of course the friend had paid little attention.

"I take a piece of metal, heat it up until it is glowing red and pound on it with my hammer, plunge it into water, than heat it up again and pound on it some more, over and over until it is the shape I need it to be," the blacksmith said, than put his hand on the friends shoulder and with the other hand pointed to a pile of scrap metal in the corner. "Do you see that pile of scrap?"

“Well, sometimes I get a piece of metal that can't handle that sort of treatment and I can't use it for anything. I throw those pieces into that pile. I just hope that I can handle what God puts me through so I can fulfill the purpose He has in mind for me and not wind up getting thrown into the scrap  heap."

So when God called Paul from being the church's persecutor to be a gospel preacher, the Lord showed him how much he would suffer for the sake of his name .  Prior to our salvation, each of us were, according to scripture, “at war”, or an enemy of God.   Now that we are at peace with God, we are His instruments—-and we all we suffer at times for His sake.  Think about it: As valuable a tool Paul was in evangelism—-the greatest in the history of the church!—-God set aside times for Paul to be alone, abandoned, imprisoned, and immense suffering during a storm and shipwreck on the Mediterranean Sea.

Salvation does provide some sort of bullet-proof protection the Christian that protects us from suffering and pain.  That’s coming—-it’s called “heaven”.  Jesus made it clear that the greatest evangelist of all time would suffer in ways he never imagined—-not because he was being punished—-but because he was being purified.    Through his suffering, Paul was participating in the Passion of Christ, Himself.  Jesus suffered for all mankind. A man or woman called into Christian service will suffer for those they love.

Later, we’re told that Paul suffered  to  keep him from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of God’s gifts to him.   “A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.”

Again, the suffering was not required for  his salvation——but for being made fit—-pure and holy—for what Jesus was requesting Paul to do. I would argue that you can get saved and avoid suffering, and many folks spend their entire Christian lives attempting this!  What set Paul, the disciples, the first deacons and the first century church different is that they embraced and celebrated the humiliation and suffering for the cause of Jesus Christ.

When  Peter and John were told to STOP talking about Jesus’ resurrection, the High Priest drive the point home by punishing them rather severely.  ”They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”  The Roman Empire  was brutal and had no scrupples about the suffering they brought upon their citizens.  When they punished—-you suffered. The whole idea was to discourage others from following your example, when you were convicted of a crime and punished  So when they permitted the rulers in Jerusalem to  flog you, it was administered with a whip made of calfskin on the bare upper body of the offender – one third of the lashes being given on the breast and the other two thirds on the back,  often until bones were laid bare.  Being flogged was bad….scratches, marks, bruises and blistering on your back/body, would cause pain and damage.

And Peter and John rejoiced?  I have a hard time imagining the local priest or pastor getting happy about such a humiliating beating.  But disciples saw how Jesus suffered for them… and were prepared to suffer for Him.  Do you have a vision in your mind of how He suffered for you?  It will change you…..

This little fellowship, that we began just three weeks ago, is not about being comfortable or convenienced.  It’s about daring people to be uncomfortable and inconvenienced for the cause of Christ.  Paul was called to take upon himself the mindset to never gave up when things got difficult—-Jesus has called me to nothing less? What about you?

“One way God gets our attention through pain is that we become humbled and less self-sufficient. No longer is everything going right because of our own efforts, which leads us to a place where we can find our contentment in God.  No words can express how much the world owes to sorrow. Most of the Psalms were born in the wilderness. Most of the Epistles were written in a prison. The greatest thoughts of the greatest thinkers have all passed through fire. The greatest poets have "learned in suffering what they taught in song."  Take comfort, afflicted Christian! When God is about to make pre-eminent use of a person, He put them in the fire.

A man's real belief is that which he lives by. What a man believes is the thing he does, not the thing he thinks.   I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing in all thinking." (George MacDonald)

Amen.