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Suffering for the Sake of the Body - Lesson 3

Global Suffering and Christian Suffering

In part, the meaning of global suffering is God's judgment on the world for its sinfulness and the portrayal in the physical world of the moral and spiritual horror of God-belittling sin. It is also God's message of warning and awakening that the world should take seriously their desperate moral condition. Satan is not obliterated but permitted to torment the world because it is God's purpose to glorify the power and beauty of sacrificial, sin-forgiving grace through defeating Satan progressively through the death of Christ and through its application by the Spirit in Christians' lives. Followers of Jesus will suffer because he did. Perseverance is essential.

John Piper
Suffering for the Sake of the Body
Lesson 3
Watching Now
Global Suffering and Christian Suffering

Global Suffering and Christian Suffering

3. What Is the Meaning of Global Suffering?

It is, in part, God’s judgment on the world for its sinfulness and the portrayal in the physical world of the moral and spiritual horror of God-belittling sin.

A Downward Spiral of Depravity

Romans 1:18, 24, 26, 28

For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness ... Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them ... For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural ... And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper...

Death

Romans 5:12, 15, 17-19

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned ... By the transgression of the one the many died ... By the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one ... Through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men ... For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Futility and Groaning

Romans 8:18-23

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

Yet Mingled with Many Mercies

Romans 2:4-5

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Matthew 5:44-45

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Acts 14:16-17

In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

Conclusion

A world of horrendous suffering should not cause us to think of God as a horrendous God, but of the magnitude and depth of the ugliness and heinousness of God-belittling pride and unbelief and indifference and scorn. This is what hell will mean for all eternity – a witness to the heinousness of God-demeaning pride (2 Thessalonians. 1:7-9; Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 14:11).

It is God’s message of warning and awakening that the world should take seriously their desperate moral condition and repent.

Revelation 9:20-21

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

Revelation 16:9

Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.

Revelation 16:11

And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

Conclusion

These texts show that the plagues and catastrophes, even when they are designed for judgment in general, also have in them a call for repentance so that anyone who will wake up to the ugliness of his sin and repent and turn to Christ, could be saved.

Satan is not obliterated but permitted to torment the world because it is God’s purpose to glorify the power and beauty of sacrificial, sin-forgiving grace through defeating Satan progressively through the death of Christ and through its application by the Spirit in Christians’ lives.

The “devil and his angels” are irredeemable. Jesus implies this when He says that “the eternal fire . . . has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). And Jude confirms it when he says that the fallen angels are being “kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (v. 6). Therefore, the reason Christ withholds His judgment from them now is not to give them a chance to repent and be saved.

The key is that Satan is defeated by the death of Jesus. Paul puts it this way, referring to the death of Christ: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [by the death of Christ], He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

The weapon of soul-destroying sin and guilt is taken out of Satan’s hand. He is disarmed of the single weapon that can condemn us – unforgiven sin. We see this in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now without sin and law to condemn and accuse and oppress us, Satan is a defeated foe. He is disarmed. Christ has triumphed over him, not by putting him out of existence, but by letting him live and watch, while millions of saints find forgiveness for their sins, and turn their back on Satan because of the greater glory of the grace of Christ.

It was a costly triumph. But God’s values are not so easily reckoned. If God had simply terminated Satan, then it would not have been so clear that God is both strong and infinitely more to be desired than Satan. God wills for His glory to shine forth not only through acts of physical power, but also through acts of moral and spiritual power that display the beauty of His grace with lavish colors. To take sinners out of Satan’s hands by virtue of Christ’s sin-bearing sacrifice, and by His law-fulfilling obedience to the Father, was a more glorious victory than mere annihilation of the enemy.

If Christ obliterated all devils and demons now (which he could do), His sheer power would be seen as glorious, but His superior beauty and worth would not shine so brightly as when humans renounce the promises of Satan and take pleasure in the greater glory of Christ.

4. The Necessity, Nature and Purposes of Christian Suffering

The Necessity of Christian Suffering: Must Christians Suffer?

Mark 8:34-35

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.”

Luke 14:26

If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:33

So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

John 12:25

He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

John 15:20

Remember the word that I said to you, “A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Matthew 10:25

It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

John 20:21

So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

1 Peter 2:20-21

For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps . . .

1 Peter 4:12-14

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Acts 14:21-22

After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

1 Thessalonians 3:2-3

We sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.

Romans 8:16-18

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

2 Timothy 3:12

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

 

 

The Nature of Christian Suffering: Is There a Difference Between Plague and Persecution? Cancer and Conflict?

In choosing to follow Christ in the way he directs, we choose all that this path includes under his sovereign providence. Thus all suffering that comes in the path of obedience is suffering with Christ and for Christ – whether it is cancer or conflict.

All experiences of suffering in the path of Christian obedience, whether from persecution or sickness or accident, have this in common: they all threaten our faith in the goodness of God and tempt us to leave the path of obedience. Therefore, every triumph of faith and all perseverance in obedience are testimonies to the goodness of God and the preciousness of Christ – whether the enemy is sickness, Satan, sin or sabotage.

Therefore, all suffering, of every kind, that we endure in the path of our Christian calling is a suffering “with Christ” and “for Christ.” With him in the sense that the suffering comes to us as we are walking with him by faith, and in the sense that it is endured in the strength that he supplies through his sympathizing high-priestly ministry (Hebrews 4:15). For him in the sense that the suffering tests and proves our allegiance to his goodness and power, and in the sense that it reveals his worth as an all-sufficient compensation and prize.

Not only that, the suffering of sickness and the suffering of persecution have this in common: they are both intended by Satan for the destruction of our faith (1 Thessalonians 3:4-5), and governed by God for the purifying of our faith (Hebrews 12:3-11; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Finally, suffering from persecution and sickness are often indistinguishable. Suppose that the apostle Paul got pneumonia from all this work and exposure. Would that pneumonia have been “persecution”? Paul did not make a distinction between being beaten by rods or having a boating accident or being cold while traveling between towns. For him any suffering that befell him while serving Christ was part of the “cost” of discipleship. When a missionary’s child gets diarrhea, we think of this as part of the price of faithfulness. But if any parent is walking in the path of obedience to God’s calling, it is the same price. What turns sufferings into sufferings “with” and “for” Christ is not how intentional our enemies are, but how faithful we are. If we are Christ’s, then what befalls us is for his glory and for our good whether it is caused by enzymes or by enemies.

Conclusion

When we speak of the purposes of suffering in the following section, we mean both persecution, and the accidents and sicknesses that befall us in any path of faith.

The Purposes of Christian Suffering: Why Does God Permit and Order the Sufferings of His People?

To Promote Deeper Faith and Hope and Holiness of Life

2 Corinthians 1:8-9

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 . . .

Hebrews 12:3-11

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives." it is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Romans 5:3-4

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope . . .

James 1:2-4

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1 Peter 1:6-8

In this [promised salvation] you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory . . .

To Increase the Joy of Our Experience of Our Reward in Heaven

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Romans 8:16-18

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Matthew 5:11-12

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

To Awaken Others out of Indifference and Make Them More Radical and Bold for Christ

Philippians 1:12-14

Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

To Present to Unbelievers Tangibly in Our Suffering the Kind of Compelling Sacrificial Love that Christ Extends to Them from the Cross

1 Thessalonians 1:5-6

Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:24

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.

Philippians 2:29-30

Receive [Epaphroditus] then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Galatians 6:17

From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:10-12

[I am] always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.

2 Timothy 2:9-10

I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

To Reposition the Troops of Christian “Soldiers” into Places They Would Otherwise Not Have Gone

Acts 8:1

Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Acts 11:19-21

So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

To Magnify the Power of Christ in Our Weakness, and the Sufficiency and Surpassing Value of Christ over All Worldly Comforts and Pleasures

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 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.

Philippians 1:19-23

I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

5. How Shall We Joyfully Endure the Measure of Suffering Appointed for Us?

Hebrews 10:32-34

But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.

Hebrews 11:24-26

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 13:13-14

So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

6. Appendix: How to Minister in Response to the Littleton, Colorado Shooting

(I wrote this as a help to the elders of our church as they minister in this and other similar calamities.)

John Piper

April 22, 1999

At about 11:30 A.M. on Tuesday April 20, the anniversary of Adolph Hitler’s birth, two students of Columbine High School in Littleton, a suburb of Denver, entered the cafeteria and opened fire on students with guns and with homemade bombs. They moved through the school and into the library where, after killing at least 13 (the death toll may go higher because of the seriously injured), they killed themselves.

What shall we say about this in order to honor God and minister to people for their good?

That will depend on how they are affected and how close they are to the event. But I have felt constrained to put together some thoughts that may serve as a Biblical resource for you to draw from for the various situations you may face in circumstances like this. I pray that the Lord will strengthen your hands and heart in this crucial moment of need.

Pray. Ask God for his help for you and for those you want to minister to. Ask him for wisdom and compassion and strength and a word fitly chosen. Ask that those who are suffering would look to God as their help and hope and healing and strength. Ask that he would make your mouth a fountain of life.

Deuteronomy 32:2

May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distil as the dew, as the gentle rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.

Feel and express empathy with those most hurt by this great evil and loss; weep with those who weep.

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

Feel and express compassion because of the tragic circumstances of so many parents and brothers and sisters and other relatives and friends who have lost more than they could ever estimate.

Luke 7:11-17

Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep." And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and, "God has visited His people!" This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

Take time and touch, if you can, and give tender care to the wounded in body and soul.

Luke 10:30-37

Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.” Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands? And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

Hold out the promise that God will sustain and help those who cast themselves on him for mercy and trust in his grace. He will strengthen you for the impossible days ahead in spite of all darkness.

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9

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; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.

Affirm that Jesus Christ tasted hostility from men and knew what it was to be unjustly tortured and abandoned, and to endure overwhelming loss, and then be killed, so that he is now a sympathetic mediator for us with God.

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Isaiah 53:3-6

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Declare that this murder was a great evil, and that God’s wrath is greatly kindled by the wanton destruction of human life created in his image.

Exodus 20:13

Thou shalt not murder.

Genesis 9:5-6

Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.

Deuteronomy 29:24-25

All the nations will say, “Why has the LORD done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?” Then men will say, “Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Acknowledge that God has permitted a great outbreak of sin against his revealed will, and that we do not know all the reasons why he would permit such a thing now, when it was in his power to stop it.

Deuteronomy 29:29

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Express that these boys who wantonly killed others and themselves rebelled against the revealed will of God and did not love God or trust him or find in God their refuge and strength and treasure, but scorned his ways and his Person.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

Finally, brethren, pray for us . . . that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.

Galatians 5:6

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.

Romans 6:19-22

You presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in furtherlawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

Galatians 5:16

Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

James 4:1-4

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Since rebellion against God was at the root of this act of murder, let us all fear such rebellion in our own hearts and turn from it and embrace the grace of God in Christ and renounce the very impulses that caused this tragedy.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Psalm 9:10

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalm 56:3

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.

Point the living to the momentous issues of sin and repentance in our own hearts and the urgent need to get right with God through his merciful provision of forgiveness in Christ, so that a worse fate than death will not overtake us.

Luke 13:1-5

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Remember that even those who trust in Christ may be cut down like these kids were, but that does not mean they have been abandoned by God or not loved by God, even in that agonizing moment of suffering. God’s love more than conquers even through calamity.

Romans 8:35-39

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Mingle heart-wrenching weeping with unbreakable confidence in the goodness and sovereignty of God who rules over the sin and the bullets of rebellious people.

Job 1:20-21

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."

Lamentations 3:32-33

If He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness. For He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men.

Trust God for his ability to do the humanly impossible, and bring you through this nightmare and, in some inscrutable way, bring good out of it.

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Lamentations 3:21-24

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."

Count God your only lasting treasure, because he is the only sure and stable thing in the universe.

Psalm 73:25-26

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Used by Permission.

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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org


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  • Ten aspects of God's sovereignty over suffering, and Satan's role in it. 

  • Even though Satan has the power to inflict suffering in the world, God is sovereign.

  • In part, the meaning of global suffering is God's judgment on the world for its sinfulness and the portrayal in the physical world of the moral and spiritual horror of God-belittling sin. It is also God's message of warning and awakening that the world should take seriously their desperate moral condition. Satan is not obliterated but permitted to torment the world because it is God's purpose to glorify the power and beauty of sacrificial, sin-forgiving grace through defeating Satan progressively through the death of Christ and through its application by the Spirit in Christians' lives. Followers of Jesus will suffer because he did. Perseverance is essential. 

  • The suffering of sickness and persecution are intended by Satan for the destruction of our faith. and governed by God for the purifying of our faith. Suffering from sickness and persecution are often indistinguishable.

The great aim of Satan is to prevent and weaken and, if possible, destroy faith.Satan uses pleasure and pain to do it. Pleasure: to make us doubt God’s satisfying greatness. Pain: to make us doubt God’s sovereign goodness. To triumph over Satan (in pleasure and pain) we need to know the Word of Truth that teaches God’s sovereignty over Satan.

What follows are the texts that form the skeleton of discussion when I teach the seminar on suffering as part of The Bethlehem Institute at Bethlehem Baptist Church. This is not a book on suffering. It is a collection of Biblical passages with some occasional comments. I hope that these passages from God's Word will help you forge your own strong convictions concerning God's wise and gracious sovereignty in our suffering. I pray that God will make us all better ministers of mercy and truth in times of affliction.

We are thankful for John Piper's willingness to share these lectures with us. Copyright 2014 by Desiring God Ministries. Used with Permission. For more information, please visit www.DesiringGod.org.

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Suffering for the Sake of the Body

Dr. John Piper

ld220-03

Global Suffering and Christian Suffering

Lesson Transcript

 

The following message is by Pastor John Piper. More information from Desiring God is available at W WW dot desiring God dot org. You read some verses from Second Corinthians. Second Corinthians is a book just filled with suffering and Paul's suffering especially, and filled with comfort and. It's not a book for young people, probably. Young people think they're invulnerable, and many of them do. And they're there into strength and energy and they're out there in the parking lot ready to go work all day. Rake And that's wonderful. But soon they will be surprised that this text is true and we will need to have taught them well. This is chapter four, verse 16 of second Corinthians. So we do not lose heart. There's a great challenge for the Christian life. Are you losing heart? You still want to go on and you just rather curl up and die or disappear. Take a long, long, long vacation, maybe about 30 years or so. So we do not lose heart, though our outer nature is wasting away. Our inner nature is being renewed every day. And let's just pray. May it be so. May it be so in our church that no matter what kind of outer wasting away as we get older, may our inner nature be renewed Every day for this slight, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. Beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. What a rock, what a great solidity comes into your life if you if you live that way. And and whenever something happens to you that makes you feel wasted.

 

You don't look at the things that are seen. You look at the things that are unseen. You rest in the fact that if you were to die this afternoon or experience a long, drawn out, slow misery in life every day, God would do something on your inner man and make you sit for an eternal weight of glory. In fact, every day of suffering here, I'll argue later, will increase your weight of glory as you're endure it faithfully. I really do hope that you will feel that this material is relevant for you and your situation, no matter how well things are going for you, because it is relevant. Recently I've dealt with a couple of marriages that are just tottering on the brink of collapse because of one or the other or both partners just can't stand it anymore. Not physical abuse, but just sin and frustration and disappointment and no compliance, no coming the way, just staying in sin and not changing. And one of my approaches to working on that is two of my approaches. I do try real hard to get to the party that seems to be unwilling to budge, and by grace and prayer and accountability and truth, get them to budge. And then from the party that feels like he or she is suffering the most, I ask. Why do you make a happy marriage, the condition of your staying here? Why should you presume that you're appointed to be happy in this relationship? Did you not mean your vows when you said, for better or for worse, 20, 30, 40 years of worse? Do you mean that? How most have resolved in recent weeks to to say to couples, if I. I don't do much premarital counseling anymore, I'm not on that cutting edge like I used to be as much.

 

But I feel like forcing couples to sign off on certain scenarios of misery. Suppose he does begin to drink. Doesn't beat you up, just gets moody, uses bad language. Suppose he does abuse the finances. Suppose he does keep all kinds of crazy hours and doesn't tell you where he is. Suppose he does lock himself in a room and just look at the computer all night instead of sitting with you. Are you going to leave him? And make them sign off on that at the beginning. And all course, all young couples say, oh, he won't do that. He won't do that, or she won't do that. Well, don't count on it. Marriage. Marriage, as God sees it, is not a relationship that is contingent upon your happiness. Most people treat it like that today, but it isn't. You stay. You stay. In the slow fires of Missouri, as Abraham Lincoln was described, it was a miserable marriage. Mary Todd And Abraham Lincoln was a miserable, horrible marriage. And the slow fires of misery refined him and fit him for the fires of the Civil War. So I only mentioned marriage not to discourage any of you young single folks, but primarily to show you that the breadth of suffering is is very wide. It applies everywhere, not just for Sudan or Littleton, Colorado, or whatever. I brought along the Christianity Today this morning, just to just to give you a flavor of of what you what you see. I mean, just flip through this. So you get a magazine like this, you could take any magazine really took Time magazine, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, any magazine, open it up and just start flipping through hate crime. The pistol whipping death of the gay man in Wyoming.

 

Article about that, the closing down to the last leprosy crime in America. Only 150 new cases of leprosy in America, but 4 million cases of leprosy. This is the feeling goes. And so you burn your hand and and you can't tell when your fingers are gone. A doing church amid bombs and bullets. Evangelicals in Serbia and the misery they're going through right now. An article about sickle cell anemia and new research is being done to try to help those who are characteristically afflicted with that global death rates may skyrocket. Talking here about sub-Sahara Africa and the reversal of the Malthusian trends that everybody thought would happen and the dropping in Namibia and Zambia and Swaziland of the expected length of life from 62 to 44, from 1990 until now, 62 to 44, mainly due to AIDS. Article from Wendy Murray Zuber on the exit strategy of a missionary from Honduras and how he drove his car when he got a mayday signal out to one of his churches and then he couldn't get back because the during Hurricane Mitch, the river had risen and he was there terrorized with that little group of people trying to find high ground as they saw their homes being swept away. An article here by James Van Tolan, a young pastor in his thirties of cancer, to read you the last paragraph, I am dying. This is the story he preached after being out with chemotherapy for seven months and he comes back to his congregation with maybe a few months left. He said, I am dying. Maybe it will take longer instead of shorter. Maybe I'll preach for several months and maybe for a bit more. But I am dying, I know it and I hate it and I'm still frightened by it.

 

But there is hope, unwavering hope. I have hope not in something I've done, not in some purity that I have maintained, some sermon I've written. I hope in God the God who reaches out for an enemy and saves sinners and dies for the week, and then an article on abortion that it's not a necessary evil and the pain that really does get experienced by babies, especially in the partial birth abortion event. So you don't have to you don't have to do much watch the TV news or read any magazine you want and you know that the world is filled with suffering. Well, last night the point was plain. I hope that the Bible presents God and Jesus as sovereign over suffering and over Satan's hand in it, which raises many questions for us. And we'll try to take up some of those now this morning. So so my first question after last night is what's the meaning of suffering in general in the world? Not just why do Christians suffer and what might God be doing through us and for us, which we'll talk about later, but why so much suffering in the whole world? And I have three, three steps to present. Number one, it is in part God's judgment on the world for its sinfulness and the portrayal in the physical world where you could say the mental world as well of the moral and spiritual horror of God belittling sin. Let me give you three illustrations of of judgment. These come out of the preaching in Romans that I've done in recent months. First, there's God's judgment in the downward spiral of depravity. Romans 118 Following the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all on godliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

 

So even now, before the final judgment, the wrath of God is being poured out on the godliness and unrighteousness of men in measure not fully in this world. And then verse 24 and 26 and 28 highlight one particular kind of wrath. Therefore God gave them over in the loss of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. Or verse 26, for this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions for the women, exchange the natural function for that which was unnatural. Or verse 28. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper. So one form of judgment or wrath is that God abandons people to their own depraved thoughts and lusts and desires so that it spirals downward and downward and downward. So sometimes we hear people say when they look at the state of American culture, we are ripe for judgment or judgment is coming. Well, that's probably true, but it's it misses the point that this is judgment. And much of what we're seeing is judgment. What about death? Why so much death? Romans 512 following. Therefore, justice through one man. Sin entered the world and death through sin. So death as humans experience, it is consequence of sin entering the world. And so death spread to all men because all sinned by the transgression of the now dropped verse 15, by the transgression of the one that's Adam, the man many died, or 17 by the transgression of the one. Death reigned through the one verse 18 through one transgression. There resulted condemnation to all men. Verse 19 four, as through the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners.

 

Even so, through the obedience of the one Jesus, the many will be made righteous. So the point there, this is classic text on the doctrine of original sin is that as sin entered the world, so death entered the world, and as sin spread to all men, so death spread to all men. So one of the meanings of death, which is, I suppose, the last enemy, as the Bible calls it, and the great fear of the human race, though we deny it in many ways, is that it is a testimony to the horrific reality of sin. So one of the ways to interpret the miseries of dying is to translate it not into God's being a mean God, but sin being a terrible reality. That's the jump we ought to make where we see death. We ought to think sin, futility and groaning. Romans 818. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. That's the way Paul coped with his miseries in life. He just kept comparing them to glory, comparing them to glory, comparing them to glory. And as he did it, he was renewed in his inner man and he reminded himself, This is going to be short compared to eternity. May feel long now, but is short in compared to eternity. And it's small in comparison to the weight of glory that is coming not worthy to be compared to the glory that is revealed to us. For the anxious longing of creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. So the whole creation is is, as it were, on tiptoes, yearning and longing for deliverance. For the creation was subjected to futility.

 

Who did that? This whole world, with all of its miseries, originated, I think, here in this subjection to futility. Things don't work. They break down. There's this law by which things go wrong and they decay and they rot. And the accidents happen and terrible things come about that frustrate the designs of animals and men. How did that come about? It was subjected to futility. Not willingly. Wasn't Creation's own choice to be subjected, but because of him. Who is this even capital letter? Who the NAACP thinks it is, who subjected it? Here's the reason. I think they're right in hope. Satan didn't bring about the fall in hope. God, in response to the fall, subjected just creation to futility, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. So this glory here that Paul is so eager for in verse 18 is the glory of the children of God. And the creation is going to be set free when we are set free. The creation is is standing on its tiptoes, waiting for the day when there will be the reclamation of the children of God, and they are changed in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. When this perishable shall put on imperishable and this mortal shall put on immortality and death's triumph and victory will be totally wiped away and the kingdom will be established. Then the lion will lie down with the lamb and trees will bear leaves that month in and month out, bring healing to the nations and it will be a new world order that we live in. For we know that the whole creation groans. The whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth.

 

There's a good analogy for the meaning, the meaning of a volcano or an earthquake, say the earthquake in Oakland that flattened the freeway. The meaning of that upheaval was labor pains. The labor pains of the world. Until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves. So don't don't think that you, as a Christian, escape the groaning. We ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit. Yes, you have the Holy Spirit. God has poured his spirit out into your life. You have that guarantee in that down payment and those first fruits. Even we he wants to stress it less, they say, with their mouths hanging open. Wait a minute. I thought Jesus died for us and took our place and bore our condemnation. How come we are included in the death and the futility, which is the judgment upon the world? Didn't he bear our judgment? Didn't he bear our condemnation? And he says we even we ourselves, ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly. It's not now we have to wait for it for our adoption, the sons, namely the redemption of our body. This is a hugely important text for understanding the meaning of sickness in the world and the meaning of groaning in the world, in the meaning of so much agony that's in the world that Christians, too, will experience. Our bodies are wasting away as we groan and wait for the redemption of our bodies. So yes, I believe in answered prayer. I believe we should pray for our bodies to experience measures of advance payment on this inheritance. That's the way I think when I pray that Lord Jesus has broken into this age. Yes, it's a fallen, it's a feudal, it's a corrupt. It's a frustrating age filled with sickness, filled with death, filled with pain, filled with frustration.

 

But all Christ, you have broken in in your son. And you mean for us to have four tastes of glory? The Holy Spirit has been given to us? What measures of foretaste might we have physically? And then it's in God's hands. What measures of down payment physically we get now? And we've seen some wonderful down payments. I got a phone mail yesterday that Michael Boy Am is 100% leukemia free. We've walked with we've walked with him. His brother's blood was 80%. Right. That gave him a 5050 chance to get through this thing at day. I think he's passed the day 100. I'm not sure. But there are no more no more leukemic cells. He has no more of his own blood cells. It's all his brother's cells. His blood marrow is producing 30% and the family is rejoicing. What would that he would do This from Elise's kidneys that have released his kidneys, Lord, instead of the lupus, just taking her further and further down. What about? Well, see, Fill in the blank. Some die and some live. And the way to understand that is in a sovereign God saying, I love my children. It's a fallen world. Every misery they walk through is a testimony. To the ugliness of the fall, the ugliness of seen in the world. I'm not judging them. I'm transforming the deaths, the misery, and even their struggles with sin into sanctifying impulses that deepen their faith. And I glorify myself through their steadfastness, through cancer. And I am going by glorify myself through the deliverance of another from cancer. And we have to just say, may the Lord do what seems good to him. But we sure pray because we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

 

So those are three instances of the meaning of suffering in the world. There's the judgment in the degeneration of sin. There's judgment in death spreading to all men. And there's judgment in the groaning, in the futility of the creation, in all manner of miseries that's owing to sin. God brings it. But don't forget this. Before we get to the conclusion down here, this judgment is remarkably mingled with many mercies and not just on Christians. Romans two four do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance, but because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself, the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. So there is patience. His kindness is being shown now. His tolerance is being shown now. His patience is being shown now. All how much worse it could be. And it's meant to lead us to repentance. Or. Matthew 544 I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven, for he causes his son to rise on the evil in the good and sins, reign on the righteous in the unrighteous evil. Had the sun go up on them. In Minnesota this morning, those who just dishonored God all night last night did horrible things sexually and physically and mentally and spiritually. All night last night they did horrible things defaming the name of God and the sun came up on them this morning. Breezes blew over them this morning. Their heart was beating this morning. They had no horrific disease this morning. And they're given another day's reprieve this morning.

 

He sent rain? Yes, we might think we've had enough, but. It's making everything green, and when it stops, the crops will grow. X 1416 In the generations gone by, he permitted all the nations to go their own ways. And yet, in other words, he he passed over most nations as he worked with Israel uniquely. But he did not leave himself without a witness in that. He did good, did good for them, gave them reigns from heaven, fruitful seasons, satisfying their hearts with food and gladness. But here's my conclusion A world of horrendous suffering should not cause us to think of God as a horrendous God, but of the magnitude and depth of the ugliness and heinousness of God, belittling, pride and unbelief and indifference and scorn. This is what hell will mean for all eternity. A witness to the heinousness of God. Demeaning pride. So let me pause here and see if you want to raise questions or make comments about this unit of the meaning of global suffering. So far. Question, Linda, you may talk this later, but I have a difficulty knowing how to relate to an unbelievable is going through. Yeah. And how to what to say to them. Okay, let me know. Let's just take that for a moment here. The question is we have difficulty in knowing how to relate to an unbeliever who's experiencing intense suffering. Take an example. I remember we got a phone call a few years ago from the burn unit down here in County. That's a unit you just don't want to go to very often. But you need to go to some. And there was a woman there who had been burned. She fell asleep. Cigaret cut her mattress on fire and she was burned over 90% of her body and.

 

And. And they had to wrap totally. No hair. Everything was wrapped. Her eyes were just showing. And they didn't know if she'd live. I mean, these are. This is pain. This is pain. And one of our young women visited her on and off for, I think, almost a year and. When we get to the unit at the end on how to respond in Littleton, I'll have more specifics. But I think what you do there is you you embody the love of Christ. You become the love of Christ doing everything you can physically, everything you can mentally to bless them and minimize their pain. You want to minimize their pain and help them. You want to show them that their ugliness and the horror of what they're experiencing doesn't drive you away and your presence becomes the presence of Christ to them. And then you you talk to them about the love of Christ for sinners. You don't even deal head up with the issue of suffering right away. You just deal with the issue of personhood and the love of Christ willing to forgive, sin and and accept us into his favor and give us eternal glory. And then if they bring up the issue of why did this happen to me and how can he be a loving God, then you can talk in terms of, well, I'm not sure all the details of God's purpose for this in your life, but surely we could say that part of it is he wants very much your attention. He wants you to know him. He wants you to love him. He wants you to experience his forgiveness. And if you took this to get your attention in all eternity, I think someday you would be thankful for it.

 

If you would draw near to God and let Him have your soul and yield to his wooing in your life. And then you have to. Well, are they going to be embittered at that comment or are they going to listen in? And if they're embittered, you patient, you listen. You said, I know this must be incredibly difficult for you to understand. And I just want to say to you right now, God's word to you is come, come to me, all of you who are burned and heavy laden and weary and hopeless, and I'll give you rest. I'll take my yoke upon you and learn from me and you'll find peace for your soul. I'm meek and lowly I'll draw near to you I'll save you You just you lavish them with the with the gentle invitations of the gospel. Because as long as a person lives, that's the warrant of the gospel. When a person dies in unbelief, there's no more hope. But as long as they live in unbelief, you hold out to them the hope that they can come. And if they come, God will forgive all their sins. He'll take them into his family. You'll begin to work through them with this mighty power, turning all their miseries for their good and bring them into everlasting glory and give them a brand new body. I think I probably talk about this outer natures wasting away in the hope of getting a new body. I'm just thinking out loud here, you could do the same thing. So maybe, Linda, the reason we we tend to feel stuck at first is because we we begin to think in terms of the philosophical theological problems first. And probably we should put that a little bit farther back in the discussion.

 

Let them raise that we don't come with a solution to the problem of evil as we walk into the hospital. That's not the way to do pastoral care. With pastoral care, you care first get your arms around people first. That's the first thing I say in regard to Littleton. You get your arms around people you love, people you embody the tenderness of Christ as you walk through the world meeting suffering people. Christ didn't first bring a solution to the problem of evil when the problem was raised. Who said that this man was born blind? He had an answer ready, but he didn't start with that. He started with touching and loving and offering and giving himself and and that's where we should start, too, I think. Another comment or question before we take point number two under this heading. Okay. Let's let's do point to. It is not only judgment and a symbol. Suffering is not only a symbol of the horrific nature of sin and a judgment on it. It is God's message of warning and awakening that the world should take seriously their desperate moral condition and repent. Revelation 920. We have all these texts in Revelation only mention these three because I think they are like a paradigm of the way we should respond to plagues. The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent as if why they should have repented of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and silver and of brass and stone wood, which can neither see or hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor their sorceress, nor their immorality, nor their theft. So these plagues here were evidently both judgment and instruments to wake people, to repent.

 

And the same thing is said in Revelation 69, the same thing in 1611. And let me just mention here one of the texts that I have in that paper on Littleton here. You have to be sensitive and careful at what time you do this. But when Jesus was approached. With this question. What about the people on whom the Tower of Siloam fell and 18 of them were crushed and they weren't doing anything. They were just walking by and the tower fell upon them. They were crushed. And then they raised another problem. Another was they're raising the problem of seemingly meaningless evil in the world suffering. They said, What about those who were sacrificing their offerings in the temple? And Pilot came with some of his band and he slew them and mingled their blood with the blood of their sacrifices and put it on the altar. What about that, Jesus? Interpret that to us. And you remember what he said. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. That's all he said. Which means that one of the meanings of suffering in the world is to awaken people to the fact that that sort of thing can happen and may happen to you before you get home. And are you ready? That's the big issue in life. The big issue in life is not solving the problem of why the tower fell or why pilot mingled their blood with their sacrifices. The big issue is now what happens to them when they die because that's eternity. This is just a little tiny space of time in which we suffer, and that's eternity. That's the big question. And so Jesus deals with the big question first. Are you ready? You will all likewise perish. Meaning I think you will all meet with some kind of unexpected demise.

 

And are you ready to deal with it? My conclusion on the second point is texts like these show that the plagues and catastrophes, even when they are designed for judgment in general, also have in them a call for repentance so that anyone who will wake up to the ugliness of his sin. And repent and turn to Christ could be saved. He's number three. Now, this is the one I said last night that we would get to right off the bat this morning. So it was almost off the bat. Why is Satan left? Satan is not obliterated but permitted to torment the world because it is God's purpose to glorify the power and beauty of sacrificial sin, forgiving grace through defeating Satan progressively through the death of Christ, and through that death's application by the Spirit in Christian's lives. Long statement. Let me try to unpack it. The devil and his angels are irredeemable. There's no hope for them. Jesus implies this when he says that the Eternal Fire has been prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 2541 So it's already prepared. He's not waiting to see if he needs to prepare it because they persevere in unbelief. But it is prepared because he knows they're not going to repent. The devil is irredeemable. He is fixed in his evil and he will never change. And all those with him. Jude confirms this truth when he says that the fallen angels are being, quote, kept in eternal bonds under the darkness for the judgment of the great day. Kept in eternal bondage for six of Jude. Therefore, the reason Christ withholds his judgment from them now is not to give them a chance to repent and be saved. That is one of the reasons why he withhold judgment from us now.

 

Not willing that any should perish. Second, Peter. Three nine gives time. So why then, if it's not to give them time to repent, why does he give them time to do so much more misery in the world? The key, I think, is this is my sense from the New Testament. The key is that Satan is defeated in the New Testament by the death of Jesus. Paul puts it this way, referring to the death of Christ. When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities by the death of Christ, he made a public display of them having triumphed over them through him, through Christ or through it crossed. It could be translated. So if you ask, well, is he going to defeat this enemy? Is he going to nullify his effects? Is he going to put him out of existence? The first answer we get is not only is he sovereign over him, but by dying for sinners. He disarms the rulers and authorities and makes a public display of them triumphing over them through him. So evidently, in God's inscrutable wisdom, it is better to get victory over Satan through the death of Jesus than through one strong, authoritative, powerful word. Let them cease to exist and they would cease to exist. So something about God's wisdom inclines him to defeat the devil in stages and defeat the devil through the death of his son. Of all ways to conceive of defeating his arch enemy. He Satan. Lucifer rebels in eternity. Somewhere God cast him in his angels out and God designs a long warfare and a staged battle plan by which the devil is defeated in stages and the decisive stage being through the death of the Son of God. Something really profound here about why God would choose to do it that way, when He has every right and every authority to simply say to Satan, Go to hell and leave this world alone from this day forward.

 

And he doesn't do it. Rather, he puts his son to death as the means by which the triumph will come over Satan. Let's think further about this. The weapon of soul destroying sin and guilt is thus taken out of Satan's hand. That's what happened at the cross. The weapon of soul destroying sin and guilt is taken out of Satan's hand. He disarmed. He is disarmed of the single weapon that can condemn us. Unforgiven sin. We see this in first Corinthians 1555. Oh, death. Where is thy victory? Oh, death. Where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So what God has done is remove and disarm Satan of the one thing by which He can condemn us. Unforgiven sin. Oh, this is important to get a handle on because, you know, Satan is not out of action right now. He's tormenting, he's causing sickness, he's killing, he's tempting. He's doing many things. And you might say, well, he doesn't look like a disarmed enemy. But he has been disarmed because the sting of death has been removed. And the sting of death is sin. You see, there is one way and only one that Satan can damn you. And that is see to it that your sins are not forgiven. That's only because there's only one thing that will condemn you and send you to hell, and that is unforgiven sin. This produces real gutsy people in the face of Satan. You talk and one of you were talking with me last night about this, if you know that because of Christ shed blood and your simple, childlike resting in that in spite of all your imperfections and all your ongoing remaining corruption, you are resting and trusting in that if you know that you are reckoned righteous and all your sins are covered by an infinitely valuable blood of Christ.

 

You can look right into the face of the devil, no matter what he's doing to you and say, You may torment me. You may keep me awake. You may give me nightmares. You may cause green apparitions to run across my ceiling. You may cause cats to crawl across my bed. You may cause people to hate me. You may bring against me all manner of persecution. But you can not dare me. I am safe in God forever. I think there are many saints who don't lay hold on their inheritance here and think that even though they have to do unbelievable battle with Satan, they are somehow vulnerable to destruction from Satan. Whether or not. We are not promised that Satan will not harass us. We are promised triumph over the one thing by which she can condemn us. He cannot have us. No without sin in the law to condemn and accuse an oppressor. Satan is a defeated foe. He is disarmed. Christ has triumphed over him. Not by putting him out of existence, but by letting him live. And watch while millions of saints find forgiveness for their sins and turn their back on Satan because of the greater glory of the grace of Christ. Something about that is more attractive to God than obliterating Satan in spite of all the misery causes. Something about that is more attractive to God. It was a costly triumph. God values. God's values are not so easily reckoned. If God had simply terminated Satan, then it would not have been so clear that God is both strong and thus able to terminate Satan and infinitely more to be desired than Satan. That would not have been so clear. God wills for his glory, to shine forth not only through acts of raw physical power by which he could dispense Satan out of the universe, but also he wills for His glory to shine through acts of moral and spiritual power that display the beauty of his grace with lavish colors, like in the death of his son, to take sinners out of Satan's hands by virtue of Christ sin bearing sacrifice, and by his law, fulfilling obedience to the Father was a more glorious victory than mere annihilation of the enemy.

 

If Christ obliterated all devils and demons now, which he could do, his sheer power would be seen as glorious. Yes, but his superior beauty and worth would not shine so brightly as when humans renounce the promises of Satan and take the pleasure. Take pleasure in the greater glory of Christ. That's the best I can do. Question or comment or another idea. John. Because of their blindness. God to this world blinds the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing. And then here's the exact wording of sacred things for for to keep them from seeing the light of the knowledge, the light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. In other words, they just don't recognize it for all that it is. They don't turn because they don't see it. But verse six says, He, who said, Let light shine out of darkness has shown into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. And so we see it and seeing it, we freely embrace it and respond. And when we do that, willingly taking all manner of suffering upon us in the process, we show how valuable and precious the glory of grace and the glory of Christ, the glory of the Gospel is. In related to this last point that you covered, is it? Somewhat in a related way that angels can see the grace of God because they don't experience it personally. That it happens in this and this is tied in the fact that God is the good or it is the enemy. Then that decision making, because he chose us not as robust, but to choose him and to choose him out of pure heart.

 

That that wouldn't happen mattered to the enemy. We that's part of it. I think that God wills that the drama of redemption, including the real hedonistic choices of his people, to recognize beauty and be drawn to it irresistibly and embrace Christ. That's part of the drama that he wants to use to lavishly demonstrate the superior worth of his own glory in the world. Other comments or questions. I was just wondering when we're. How much do? The good question. When we're going through turmoils, when we're going through trials, when Satan is harassing us, how much do we put up with and when do we stand against him? I would say you stand against him immediately. Anything. You deserve to be evil. You resist. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Resist him and he will flee from you. But in that warfare and that give and take, there are battles from day to day in which there is you gain some ground and then you gain some ground. He gained some ground. You gain some ground. And I think for some and I don't have an explanation, I didn't have an explanation for last night in this last conversation that I had here about why some sites have to go through longer and more difficult battles and more setbacks, it seems, than other sites. And frankly, I don't think it's merely in terms of you don't have the right kind of faith or you don't have the right kind of belief or whatever, because I think God is sovereign in that for some people who have very inadequate mustard seed like faith, they say one word of depart for me and leave me. And the temptation to look at the video is gone. And for another, he says, Leave me.

 

Get out of my head, you demonic thought. And it's just this it's back again and again and again. I've witnessed in my own life remarkable progress in this matter over time. There were seasons of my life as a younger man where I would do battle and the battle would be much longer, much harder than it is today in many regards. Now, I don't know what to do except to say that over time, as you grow in grace and you sink your roots down and you learn certain strategies of setting your mind on things that are above and not on things that are on the earth, certain certain things that Satan has, then you begin to to weaken and they he loses some of his abilities. Many of us have given place to the devil in ways that we shouldn't have. I watch young people today making choices and just tremble at the way they're giving place to the devil. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Don't give place to the devil. How many of us let the sun go down on wrath against parents and kids? How many teenagers go to bed night after night angry at somebody? And that's just opening the door to the devil, according to Ephesians four. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Don't give place to the devil. And every night the devil gets another foothold. And another foothold and another foothold. And then when the poor kid wakes up at age 23 or 24 and he's done that for five, six, seven years, how does he get liberated? Does it just happen like that? Just one Satan, go away? Well, probably not. At least experience would say not. Jesus can do that. Get out of here.

 

But what had happened when the disciples tried to do it and they couldn't get this demon out of there and Jesus came down his close hair out. Oh, how long will I be with you? You, we unbelieving generation. And then he one word and the devil's gone. And they say, Why couldn't we cast it out? And he says this utterly perplexing word, this kind, this kind, as though there were harder ones than other kinds comes out only by prayer. And surely they would have thought we prayed and they did. I'm sure they did. What he meant was there is probably a length of praying, an earnestness of praying, a maturity of praying that you don't have yet and you need. So wherever you are in the warfare. Don't give up because time with God and long seasons of learning, strategies of war and not giving up and keeping fighting against lust or against fear or against anxiety or against greed or against apparitions or against headaches or against cancer or whatever. If you don't give up, there will come more and more and more maturity and depth and and liberty. And God may be pleased in due season to give you the total freedom you want from the devil's more aggressive attacks. I just think people that create the impressions of an either or approach to the spiritual life don't reckon with the complexities of human nature, the measures of varied maturity, the measures of imperfect sanctification and the complexities of scripture. And so I just think we're all over the map on this, and we need to help each other. The body of Christ is so important here. Don't fight your battles alone. Get in small groups people are gifted with. John and I were talking about this last night.

 

Some people are gifted with gifts of discernment and gifts of deliverance that others don't have. Get somebody to pray for you. If you're. If you're stuck in something and all your prayers seem to hit the ceiling. Find somebody whose prayers don't seem to be characteristically stuck. That is the point of the body. Is that not the point of the body? What's the point of the body if that's not the point of the body? Go ahead. God, who is the creator of all things, kept a secret, just as it is for the present time. Church intellectualism always. That's right. Values important. He's always used his own word. Suffering at this point, he said. So I think this drama idea, I mean, it's a mystery to me what that means and hope for good demons as well as the angels. This is the drama that you can learn. That's right. Yeah. Even even heaven. And that's what he was saying before he left. The text Jim referred to as a features 310 that that that that, that the principalities and powers might see the wisdom of God in the church. And surely by in the church he means the blood bought body of Jesus availing themselves of the spiritual resources purchased for them on the cross fighting the spiritual warfare with all the armor of the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness, and the feet of the shod with the gospel and the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and the sword of the spirit. That whole thing that's going on here is part of the wisdom of God as to how He defeats the devil and how he brings redemption fully to the world through the agency of his people who have been ravaged by his glory in the Gospel and now at great cost to themselves, are spreading it out to others.

 

God evidently seems to think that that is better than obliterating the devil. And we might say, Well, I wouldn't run it like that. It's it's just too costly. It's too costly, there's too much pain in the world. You could you got rid of the devil in all angels. There wouldn't be so much pain and horror in the world. And God says, I know there wouldn't. But also my glory, my grace would not shine as brightly in the ways that it needs to shine. If I did it that way was, Who's ahead here? You. I think in June. I think in part about that there are those that have been destined for destruction and that they're pushing for you. So it seems that another purpose of that rule in some ways is. US. Did not use his death to bring himself to a dinner that's in separate condition. But the observation is that the the unoriginal or the reprobate, as well as suffering, are there for us and some something for us, and not just us for them, but them for us. And you're getting ahead of me there. And we will tackle that when we get to this. The nature and purposes of of Christian suffering. There was a hand back there. Go ahead. Just a reminder, I think that. And I just see so often that. There is a lack of understanding. Big enough to qualify. Will America really? Yeah. Excellent exhortation. See it for the tape here that since God is big enough to be glorified in and through the pain, sufferings and struggles of His people, let us drop our masks as though our struggles, both with CNN, with suffering and with pain, have to be put up lest somebody will interpret our pain or our struggle as something that God can be honored through and but that the body of Christ in its mission and in its inner workings can't glorify God through.

 

Amen to that. Okay. Let's turn now to this next unit, which is another big one. So the end of that unit was why global suffering, why why the devil goes on existing, why death, why futility? And we've seen several possible answers. And please, please don't think that in my mind I'm presuming to give the last word or or a definitive answer to questions that have boggled the minds of the greatest theologians and philosophers. I'm trying to point you to biblical trajectories along which you can think more deeply and and get in there and wrestle with me over the years. And I know good and well, I'm so aware of this. Here we are talking on a Saturday morning, and most people in this room right now are feeling pretty good, though some of you may be wrestling with some horrific things in your life or feeling some pain in your body. Yeah, I'm aware that to talk about pain now, to talk about its purposes now is so different when actually you're standing there in the moment of something absolutely terrible that a car wreck or somebody is caught in a room that's burning and they can't get out and you can hear their screams or some little baby is falling down headfirst into a narrow well and you're their parent and you can hear their cries and you're just screaming, Oh, God, oh, God. You remember that one down in Texas a few years ago? I know at those moments is so different than it is now. C.S. Lewis has a way of saying things, and he wrote a book on the problem of pain, you know, And he said right at the beginning, there's a difference between talking about the problem of pain and having a toothache.

 

And the toothache is much more serious than the theoretical problem of pain. And that's the way it is. So I'm not naive about that, that that we're talking into relative ease right now. But oh, how I believe and I think my little teeny experience with suffering and pain in my life has borne it out that if you can sink some roots down into these kinds of truths, you will not be blown over. You will be strong. Oh, I get so encouraged. I was so encouraged when that couple came up to me last Sunday. Who has this little baby who's fell sick and they were not angry at God. They wanted prayer, they wanted help. They wanted to ask me some hard questions, but their roots were so deep and I felt so encouraged, and they mightily encouraged my faith as they dealt with that hard thing in their life. But we're all over the place on that, and we need to be patient with each other and help each other grow deep in these things. The necessity, nature and purposes of Christian suffering. So let's briefly talk about the necessity of it here, the necessity of Christian suffering must Christians suffer? Mark 834 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me for whoever wishes to save his life, lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake in the Gospels will save it. It is standard, ordinary discipleship to bear. Cross in a cross is an instrument of death. I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. That's Paul's way of saying Take up your cross. It involves self-denial, not ultimate self-denial, because heaven is held out to you and glorious rewards are held out to you to sustain you if you'll do this.

 

But in this life, normal Christianity is loss. I have lost all things and I have counted them as rough. Refuse for the surpassing value of knowing Christ. Jesus, my Lord. Luke 1426 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, brothers, children, sisters, yes, even his own life. He can't be my disciple. The kind of relationship there has to be such that if you lose them, it would be like losing those you hate instead of losing those you love. Luke 1433 Then none of you can be my disciple who does not give up or renounce all his possessions. Give up might be an overstatement there in the sense of actual loss, but renounce in the sense of they're not yours anymore. And if they disappear and go, that's not the loss of your life or your joy. See that later. Two from Hebrews More Texts on Necessity. John 1225 He who loves his life, loses it. He hates his life in this world. See, the qualification there will keep it for eternal life. It's okay to want eternal life. It's okay to want eternal reward. It's okay to want to be given joy with God forever and ever. And thus to make that the ground of your willingness to lose here. John 1520 Jesus says a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they kept my word, they'll keep your word. Matthew 1025 It is enough for the disciple that he becomes like his teacher and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebub, they call me the devil. How much more will they malign the members of his own household? He's trying to get us clear.

 

Some people have the notion that if Jesus died for us or took our place, then he bore the maligning and he was persecuted. So we don't have to bear the maligning and we don't have to be persecuted in exactly the opposite as stated in those two texts. So he says, John 2021, Peace be with you as the father has sent me. As he sent me, I send you now. How did he send Jesus? He sent him. He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant being found in human likeness, humbled himself and became a servant and obedient unto death, even death on the cross. And he says, I send you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. First Peter 220 and 21 shows us both Jesus as substitute and model. Not either or, but both end. For what credit is there is when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience. But if when you do what is right and suffer for it. Now, this is relevant to marriage because so many marriage partners, they have a right to be treated better. Yes, you do. That's true. You do. But when you do right and suffer for it patience, you patiently endure it. This finds favor with God, for you have been called for this. You've been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example. Now notice this. He suffered for you. And you should suffer as he did. So his substitution for you does not mean he took it all. So you don't have to take any. He took it all in that he redeems you from sin. Your suffering is not expired. Tory or Propecia tory or substitution aerie. It is simply following Christ and will ask why in a minute.

 

I'm just saying it's normal. He left you an example for you to follow in his steps. So when you get to persecution, Chapter four a first Peter verses 12 to 14. Beloved, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised. That's one of the reasons I'm teaching this seminar. At least there'll be 100 people or so who will be less surprised now when it comes. Don't be surprised at the fiery ordeal that comes upon you or that's among you which comes upon you for your testing as though something strange were happening to you. It's not a surprise. It shouldn't be. And it's not strange because Jesus came into the world embracing suffering. It was his plan to endure suffering, he says, as the father sent me. So send you. So it's not strange when wolves devour sheep. It's strange when they don't. America is strange. The American church is strange. The Sudanese church is not strange. But keep but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing while to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ. Keep on rejoicing so that this is a means to the end of something. So that also at the revelation of his glory, this is the second coming. You may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ. You are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. And let me say something encouraging to you there in regard to those of you who fear that when the trial comes this fiery ordeal, you just won't have the wherewithal to cope, whether it's torture or some terrible relational animosity or long suffering. Don't you see in this verse here, if you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because at those critical moments when you're about to cave, the spirit of glory and the spirit of God rest on you.

 

I think that's a promise of something unusual, not the ordinary presence of the Holy Spirit, but an extraordinary presence of the Holy Spirit. Frankly, when I read the stories of the suffering church today, or when I read the history of the suffering of the church, or when I think about martyrdom, when I think about the kinds of things that could come, the kind of tortures that are done to people, I say, Lord, I don't know. I just don't know. How? I don't know. I want to die. Well, I really want to finish. Well, I want to be firm to the end. You read about. Notice this note to me about John Huss in your note Sunday. You said that when he was burned at the stake, he sang until his head caught on fire. You ever got near a bonfire with your hand? All I can say is that is an instance of this. This is not. This is not Jan Huss. Yun Huss. It's not Yan Huss. This is the spirit of glory and of God resting on those who in obedience have held true to the end. So take heart. When the time comes. Got to give it to her. Give you what you need. Today, you may not feel like you're adequate for it, but just keep walking with him. Keep availing yourself with as much of his spirit and as much of his power as you can get now. And when the time comes, you will have what you need. That's my hope. X 1421. Paul Planting churches. What does he say to all the churches? What would you say if you had ten churches to play in the next couple of years? What would you teach them and leave them with after they preach the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra his full few months later Visiting the churches and accountability are strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.

 

Yes, yes. That's what we do. Saying. This is how we encourage them. Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom. That's what you got to say. You must teach young believers. Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom. More tribulations than you have gone through heretofore in your life. You must now walk through on your way to heaven. That's what we teach young believers. Otherwise we do them a great disservice. Encourage them, encourage them, give them courage. Exhort them, help them by being realistic with them. Many tribulations are coming your way. Relationally and physically and spiritually. Christian life is war. So Paul comes to the end of his life, and the last thing we read in the last letter he wrote was, I have kept the faith. I have finished my course, my long marathon. I have fought the what? The good fight, right to the end. I've done it. I've fought to the end. Read Second Corinthians. He comes there to throw as you get real. Sometimes we think Paul was a super saint, which of course he was, but not in the way many people think. When he got to throw, as you remember, on his way, and he'd sent Titus out to find out how it was going in Corinth and industrial Nika. And he said fears with the end and fighting's without. There's a line to a hymn about that Fears within fighting's without. A door was open to me and I couldn't stay. He was so distraught he couldn't even do evangelism in droves and had to find out how it was going with the saints that he had ministered to. And if Paul had fears within and sightings without count on them. And this one we've looked at already.

 

Well, part of it still on the necessity of suffering. The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God and these children, heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. And this should be your stay and your strength, your rock. If indeed, we suffer with him, if we suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed. So this if here says we're children of God. We're heirs of God. We're fellow heirs with Christ. If when sufferings come, we don't bail out. But we embraced in the way Christ embraced them and said for the surpassing worth of the glory of my inheritance as a child of God. I will take anything rather than a pastor sizing and giving up on my Christ. Second Timothy 312. Indeed, all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. I think maybe one of the reasons that doesn't come true as regularly as it does for some is that we've probably never domesticated this word godly. What does godly mean? That's such a high artistic sounding word that it sounds like me and God in our warm, cozy bedroom with our Bibles in our lap and feeling good and little worship music on in the background and the blanket around us and heaters on and the coffee's brewing godliness. Hmm. Well, that's okay. I do that on my day off. My day off last Thursday. I only took half a day off because I had to get ready for this. But I did take the morning off and. And my wife comes over to teach the homeschool unit here, and she brings Tabatha.

 

So there's nobody at home for about 3 hours. And I get up and I eat a bowl of cereal and now it's about eight. And I went to the living room and I sat in Noel's chair. She always gets the big comfortable chair, I said, And Noel's chair. I put her Afghan over my legs. I flipped on the little light there because it was a rainy and dark, and so the window wasn't bright enough. And I put my Bible in my lap and I just read for Samuel for two and a half hours, although I slept probably half of it, because that's what a day off means to me. When you get sleepy, you sleep. I sort of vacation is and that's what a day off is. So I start reading two chapters in a book like this. I say, Fine, Lord, you can handle that. I'll lay my head down. And the doorbell rang and it's American Express or something. And I woke me up and I'm back and I didn't fall asleep again. And I read ten chapters. And first Samuel just soak and just enjoying it. I didn't feel any pain at all. That's good. That's good. You need to do that. I don't think that's what he means here. People that do that get persecuted. Not necessarily. Godliness is probably something really radical is probably just being so God word that everywhere you go, God is on the agenda. Every conversation you're in, God is on the agenda. Let me give you an instance of probably where I failed in this and where had I not failed, it might have resulted in some persecution. I went to Subway on Thursday, same Thursday. Noel and I go out to lunch on our day off.

 

This time we went to Subway over in Dinkytown. Now Dinkytown is a place with a lot of students and some students are strange people and tell about looking at it sometime and sometimes not. But in front of us was a girl with a backpack. You know, they wear backpack over one shoulder and all over the backpack were buttons. Like the bumper sticker I pass over here. Pagan and proud of it. And I'm pro-choice and I vote. And she had a button about abortion and a button I'd never seen before. The button said, How dare you assume that I'm a Christian? And she's standing right there in front of me. It's about three people. Before we get to the to the line. I probably should have said, Boy, you don't like Christians, do you? The button here says, How dare you assume and just said something and risked an in-your-face confrontation in Subway? I probably should have done that. Pray for me. Pray for me. I didn't do it. I had. Tell us that there are Noelle there. And I thought that that there are all kinds of rationalizations and I didn't do it. That's I think that's godliness, God weirdness. Get God into some way. If you get God at work and God in the neighborhood and God over the backyard fence and God in your in your dorm room and God everywhere, probably this will come true more consistently, I guess. Probably would Godliness is. Okay, here's where we're going to take a break because we're going to go to point two. But before we do questions, yeah, I don't want to minimize our suffering, but it seems to me. Why don't we suffer more for our faith here in America? Well, it seems to me that the other countries get a more glorious suffering.

 

And the question is, why don't we suffer more for our faith here in America? And I don't know the final answer to that, but I just gave you one answer. We're chicken hearted and therefore we don't bring our faith up enough in enough controversial settings. I don't think we should try to suffer. I don't think you should try to make people mad at you. You don't have to do that if you if you're just forthcoming with the gospel enough and regularly, it'll happen. That's one reason. Another reason probably is that from season to season, America is a very baby country. I mean, just think how young our country has given the history of the world. And one of the reasons perhaps the Lord has granted us a 200 year season of prosperity is for the sake of spreading the gospel. America should be using its funds not to build second and third houses on second and third. Cars get second and third computers and become more and more rich and fat and comfortable. But we should be streamlining for the gospel. That's the reason we're prosperous. We have been blessed that we might be a blessing for the nations, and we more and more get acculturated into a culture of wealth and ease and prosperity, and we assume more and more to be needs and natural, when in fact we ought to be living more on the cutting edge and multiplying our resources resources for those countries so that the heavenly powers would watch the Church in God's wisdom, denying itself and loving the lost and the hungry and the AIDS orphans and just doing far more. We ought to be dreaming more dreams of how to how to maximize our usefulness in the world with all this comfort and ease that we have.

 

And if we don't, it won't last very long. 200 years is not a long time for a nation. Some nations lasted a thousand years. I don't think America is going to last a thousand years. Thank you for listening to this message. By John Piper, Pastor for preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Feel free to make copies of this message to give to others, but please do not charge for those copies or alter the content in any way without permission. We invite you to visit desiring God online at w WW dot desiring God dot org. There you'll find hundreds of sermons, articles, radio broadcasts and much more all available to you at no charge. Our online store carries all of Pastor John's books, audio and video resources. You can also stay up to date on what's new at Desiring God. Again, our website is w WW dot desiring God dot org. Or call us toll free at 1888346 4700. Our mailing address is desiring God. 2601 East Franklin Avenue. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 55406. Desiring God exists to help you make God your treasure because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.