Sunday Message Summary, 14 November 2021
Whatever things we go through, GOD knows every detail, and He is involved every step of the way in our lives, although it does not feel that way at times. GOD has a retrospective view of our lives, so though we may be going through stuff, He knows our end from the beginning and the struggle in between. GOD knows everything that we will pass through, and He knows that He has already finished for us and finished successfully. With that in mind, what we need to understand is that the ways of GOD are uncommon and unconventional. As children of GOD, we will go through pain sometimes. Pain is a part of it, but there is always an afterward. Jesus endured hostility from sinners, but He saw the afterward in advance and did not give up (Hebrews 12:2). We need to have a view of eternity when it comes to the things we go through, and our response is key. The secret is to learn that everything that happens to us has a purpose, even troubles.
i. Troubles come to purify and refine our faith (Job 23:10) – GOD dealt with His son and servant Job, but afterwards he came forth on the other side shining as gold. Whatever we go through as Christians, we know that the end will be glorious.
ii. Troubles are GOD’s way of training, correction, and discipline (Hebrews 12:2-7,11) – Whom the LORD loves, He chastens, corrects, and disciplines. GOD is not an irresponsible parent, so He must correct, discipline, and train us. However, there is no scourge that is without pain. In the process of training, discipline, and correction, we should not accuse GOD, but we should endure.
iii. Troubles come to build character in us (Hebrews 12:11 TPT) – Nobody is born with character. Character is something that we grow and develop. Even Jesus had to grow in the spirit, just as much as He had to grow in stature. When GOD disciplines us, it is not for Himself, but for our benefit. Discipline produces a transformation of character, only if we yield to it. As human beings, we are wayward and stubborn by nature, and GOD has to deal with this waywardness and stubbornness with discipline and correction. GOD knows the right kind of pressure that is needed to break the stubbornness in a person, because there are things GOD cannot achieve just by teaching us the Word, but there is pressure that we must experience in order to turn from our waywardness.
iv. Troubles teach us obedience (Hebrews 5:8 TPT) – Although Jesus is the Son of God, He learned obedience through suffering. There was a character trait of obedience that had to be built in Him. What GOD does with us is His business, not ours, but it is for our benefit.
v. Troubles come to humble us (2 Corinthians 12:7) – When we have a problem of pride and arrogance, GOD will deal with it. GOD cannot use a proud and arrogant vessel, and He resists the proud.
If you follow Jesus there will be training, discipline, correction, and a stripping off of self (Luke 9:23), and there will be pain and tears when self is stripped off. Pruning involves removing that which must be removed, and involves breaking. Even the birthing of new things involves pain. However, GOD has given us grace that is sufficient to pull through, and GOD will bring us out on the other side better than we were before (Psalm 66:10-12).
Whatever we go through as Christians, we know that the end will be glorious.
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