PREPARING FOR SUFFERING

I believe John Piper to be a prophetic voice in our time. Here is what he wrote recently about suffering:

September 23, 2008  |  By: John Piper
Recently I wrote that we seldom know the micro reasons for our sufferings, but the Bible does give us faith-sustaining macro reasons. It is good to have a way to remember some of these so that when we are suddenly afflicted, or have a chance to help others in their affliction, we can recall some of the truths God has given us to help us not lose hope.

Here is one way to remember.  Five R’s (or if it helps, just pick three and try to remember them). The macro purposes of God in our sufferings include:

Repentance

Suffering is a call for us and others to turn from treasuring anything on earth above God.

Luke 13:4-5 – Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Reliance

Suffering is a call to trust God not the life-sustaining props of the world.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 – For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Righteousness

Suffering is the discipline of our loving heavenly Father so that we come to share his holiness.

Hebrews 12:6, 10-11 – The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives…. He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Reward

Suffering is working for us a great reward in heaven that will make up for every loss here a thousand-fold.

2 Corinthians 4:17 – This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Matthew 5:11-12 – Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

Reminder

Suffering reminds us that God sent his Son into the world to suffer so that our suffering would not be God’s condemnation but his purification.

Philippians 3:10 – …that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings.

Mark 10:45 – The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Constantly Nourished by the Word of God – Paul Washer

Two Certainties

There are two certainties which seem particularly noteworthy in these troubled times: God is “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1Timothy 6:15-16) As the Psalmist wrote, “For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:28)

Being absolutely sovereign, it is he who allowed the outcome of our presidential election – but beyond that he will execute his purposes for America and for the universe in spite of the machinations of his creatures. As Job wrote, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2) The wisest man who ever lived wrote, “The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble” and “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 16:4; 19:21) On a more individual note, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me [and you]; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.” (Psalm 138:8)

Standing on these truths about our unchangeable God, we can rest secure no matter what the days ahead bring. SJBrungard

God Is Not A Vending Machine

The way you pray for guidance forces you to decide if God is just a vending machine to give you what you want within your time frame, or whether you are God’s servant, seeking to do his will within his timeframe.

-James Petty, Step By Step p. 216

HT: Buzzard Blog

Some Interesting Numbers

from Are We There Yet?

I’m preparing some notes for a class on Matthew and its emphasis on the Kingdom of God.

Here are some interesting numbers on particular words (not just in Matt., but all of Scripture). The results are from Biblegateway.com, using their keyword search of the ESV.

For the first part I looked up words specifically linked with the ideas of kingdom and authority. 

1. Kingdom- 353
2. King- 2,525
3. Prince- 195
4. Reign- 269
5. Ruler- 115
6. Lord- 6,709
7. Authority- 97
8. Master- 171
9. Rule-  115

Total- 10,630

The second part, I just looked up words connected with what I might expect to be important subjects based on what I hear in sermons, popular explanations of the Gospel, etc….

1. God- 4,156
2. Jesus- 1,058
3. Messiah- 2
4. Savior- 42
5. Saved- 108
6. Salvation- 175
7. Spirit- 588
8. Money- 129
9. Tithe- 35
10. Father- 1,621
11. Heaven- 692
12. Hell- 17
13. Praise- 238
14. Pray- 316
15. Prayer- 154
16. Sin- 1,199

Total- 10,530

I know it’s not exactly scientific, but does it point out a deficiency in our teaching?

Putting Sin to Death

Paul’s exposition [Colossians] provides us with practical guidance for mortifying sin… .

1. Learn to admit sin for what it really is. Call a spade a spade-call it “fornication” (v.5), not “I’m being tempted a little”; call it “uncleanness” (v. 5), not “I’m struggling with my thought life”; call it “covetousness, which is idolatry” (v. 5), not “I think I need to order my priorities a bit better.” …

2. See sin for what it really is in God’s presence. “Because of these the wrath of God is coming” (3:6)… See the true nature of sin in light of its punishment… Take a heaven’s-eye view of sin and feel the shame of that in which you once walked (3:7; cf. 6:21).

3. Recognize the inconsistency of your sin. You have put off the “old man,” and have put on the “new man” (3:9-10)… New people live new lives. Anything less is a contradiction of who we are “in Christ.”

4. Put sin to death (v. 5). It is as “simple” as that. You cannot “mortify” sin without the pain of the kill. There is no other way!

But notice that Paul sets this in a very important broader context. The negative task of putting sin to death will not be accomplished in isolation from the positive call of the gospel to “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14).

Paul spells this out in Colossians 3:12-17. Sweeping the house clean simply leaves us open to further invasion of sin. But when we understand the “glorious exchange” principle of the gospel of grace, then we begin to make some real advances in holiness. Sinful desires and habits not only must be rejected but exchanged for Christ-like graces (3:12) and actions (3:13). As we are clothed in Christ’s character and His graces are held together by love (v. 14), not only in our private lives but also in the church fellowship (vv. 12-16), Christ’s name and glory will be manifested and exalted among us (3:17).
– Sinclair Ferguson, In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life

Twenty Things the Psalmist Did With God’s Word (Psalm 119)

from Cross-eyed

By pastor justin

1. He walked in it (v. 1, 3). 2. He kept it (v. 2, 4, 5, 8, 17, 22, 33, 34, 44, 55, 56, 57, 60, 67, 69, 88, 100, 101, 106, 115, 129, 134, 145, 158, 167, 168). 3. He fixed his eyes on it (v. 6, 15). 4. He learned it (v. 7, 71, 73). 5. He stored it in his heart (v. 11). 6. He declared it/spoke of it (v. 13, 46). 7. He meditated on it (v. 15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148). 8. He set it before him (v. 30). 9. He clang to it (v. 31). 10. He ran in it (v. 32). 11. He observed it (v. 34, 146). 12. He trusted in it (v. 42, 66). 13. He hoped in it (v. 43, 49, 74, 81, 114, 147). 14. He sought it (v. 45, 94). 15. He lifted his hands toward it (v. 48). 16. He sang it (v. 54, 172). 17. He turned his feet to it (v. 59). 18. He considered it (v. 95). 19. He did it (v. 166). 20. He chose it (v. 173).

Do You Cultivate Your Soul?

A Farmer plows his field, sows the seed, and fertilizes and cultivates—all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God.

Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he can- not expect a harvest at the end of the season. In a sense he is in a partnership with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities. Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what the farmer should do.

We can say just as accurately that the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us.

– The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges

HT: Marked By Faith

God’s Fatherly Pity

“Though he knows your trials will work for your good, yet he pities you. Though he knows that there is sin in you, which, perhaps, may require this rough discipline ere you be sanctified, yet he pities you. Though he can hear the music of heaven, the songs of glee that will ultimately come of your present sighs and griefs, yet still he pities those groans and wails of yours; for ‘He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.’ In all our distresses and present griefs he takes his share; he pities us as a father pities his children.”

– Charles Spurgeon, “God’s Fatherly Pity”

The Glorification of the Grace and Power of His Son

“The deepest need that you and I have in weakness and adversity is not quick relief, but the well-grounded confidence that what is happening to us is part of the greatest purpose in the universe – the glorification of the grace and power of his Son – the grace and power that bore him to the cross and kept him there until the work of love was done. That’s what God is building into our lives. That is the meaning of weakness, insults, hardships, persecution, [and] calamity.”
– John Piper

HT: Symphony of Scripture