Alright, um, let's pray real quick.
Lord, I just thank you for your, your
mercies, Lord, and your kindness, Lord, that you
show to us.
Lord, and I also thank you for the
difficult things that you provide for us, Lord.
To train us, Lord, to teach us obedience,
Father.
I just pray that you, you help me
to share the things that you put on
my heart, Father.
And Lord, that you just bless the saints
and help them to consider some of these
things as well.
And that your mercy would be honest to
all, Father.
We thank you.
And then, um, it was probably like Tuesday
or Wednesday, I was just having a, a
day I got back from work, and I,
I went out, uh, for a walk.
And just spent some time seeking the Lord,
just walking around.
It was a nice day outside.
A lot of pretty clouds and sun was
starting to set a little bit in the
sky.
And, uh, I walked across a big field
and sat down on the other side of
the field and, and just spent some time
in prayer there.
And I was just seeking the Lord for
a vision for my life.
A, a purpose for, for doing what I
was doing.
And, and the Lord brought to mind, uh,
a passage from, uh, 2 Corinthians.
I don't know if most people would consider
this as a normal vision for someone's life.
Um, in fact, uh, most people would probably
say that I'm quite crazy in some senses.
But I think you'll, you'll be able to
relate, at least in some part, to my
desire.
Um, this is 2 Corinthians, or 1 Corinthians,
yeah, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, uh, starting in
verse 7.
Before I, before I read it, uh, I
mean, I really had the desire to see
God work in my life powerfully.
I really have a desire to, uh, to
not live a, a mediocre life in Christ.
I really have a desire just to see
God really work in my life.
And I was, as I was walking and
I'd sat down in that spot beforehand, I
was sitting there meditating on, uh, some of
the babies that I've, I've spent time with
recently and watching them flail their arms in
their cradle, you know, moving them around and
not really doing anything productive.
And, uh, but nevertheless, they are moving, they
are alive, they, they are doing things.
Uh, and I was blessed by that, just
seeing their eyes wide open.
They are looking around and they are seeing
things in this world.
Uh, but that is about all they're doing.
Um, and I just had a desire in
my life not to be the baby sitting
in the cradle all my life.
Uh, I mean, yes, I certainly feel like
I have stepped into a toddler stage in
some locations in my life.
Uh, but, uh, in many ways I, I
do feel that I'm still a baby sitting
in a cradle flailing his arms and legs,
but alive and looking around.
Um, and I started to consider different things
pertaining to what brings people to maturity and,
and it kind of alludes to why I'm
reading this passage maybe a little bit.
But, uh, this is one of the verses
that popped into my mind first of all.
Um, 2 Corinthians 12, verse 7.
To keep me from becoming conceited because of
these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to
me, there was given to me a thorn
in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to
torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to
take it away from me.
But he said to me, my grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may
rest on me.
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight
in weakness, in insult, in hardship, in persecutions,
in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am
strong.
When I was meditating there on my hillside,
it was just, that verse hit me really
hard.
Paul was seeking something in his life.
He desired to see God glorified, to see
God made, to be made known, and to
see people walk in fullness in Christ.
He wanted to know God.
And as I was meditating on that last,
that last little thing, for when I am
weak, then I am strong.
And what does that really mean?
But was Paul strong in and of himself?
No.
It showed that he was weak, but his
life showed that God was strong.
It showed that, you know, through all these
difficult things, like, yes, Paul was a weak
man, but God was strong in him, because
God's power was made perfect in that weakness
that he had.
As I considered those things, it was just,
it just hit me more and more that,
I mean, at work and stuff like that,
every once in a while I get a
chance to share my testimony with people.
And I was considering at that point what
kind of testimony I had and what kind
of testimony I wanted to have.
And the Lord reassured me.
He gave me this vision for my life,
that I want to have a testimony that
I am weak and that God is very
strong through me.
That God is so very strong because I
am so weak.
And so, so stepping off into that, what
does that mean?
I mean, Paul says that right after talking
about God's power being made perfect in weakness,
therefore I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may
rest on me.
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight,
I delight in weakness and insult and hardship
and persecutions and difficulties.
I delight in weakness and insult and hardship
and persecutions and difficulties.
I mean, we grow up in this American
society where difficulties, weaknesses, things like that, you
know, persecutions, hardships, these are things that we
try to avoid in our society.
We get all sorts of convenient devices, you
know, to help us avoid difficulties and problems
and things that make things hard.
And I am not saying that we should
go out and just get rid of all
the stuff that makes it easy, life easier
for us.
No, I am not saying that.
But we are taught to dislike weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and difficulties.
I mean, granted, I think that's part of
our just natural thing in us to dislike
those things.
But I think in the world we are
taught even more to dislike weaknesses, insults, hardships,
persecutions, and difficulties.
We have this mindset, well, it's going to
hurt us.
It's going to make things, you know, not
enjoyable.
It's going to make things hard.
I mean, hardships make things hard.
And we are always seeking to make things
easier for ourselves in some senses or another.
When we make our choices, what are we
going to do today?
Am I going to do something over here,
or am I going to do something over
here?
One of the first thoughts that probably pops
in our mind is, what's easier to do?
What would be the most convenient for me
to accomplish?
And it's not necessarily, oh, you know, this
might be a little bit more difficult, but
no, that might show me to be really
weak.
It would be a real great opportunity for
the Lord to be shown strong.
Does that something that pop into mind?
That was something that Paul thought about.
The next verse that really hit me, as
I was sitting on that hillside there, was
in Philippians in chapter 3.
I'm looking at chapter 3, verse 7.
But just before that, Paul starts talking about
things that people put confidence in the flesh
and how he could put more confidence than
all of them.
But the next statement, I think, can also
apply in similar ways, as you can see
what he gets into a little bit down
the road.
But whatever was to my prophet, I now
consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have
lost all things.
I consider them rubbish.
James says, dung, that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the
law, but which is through faith in Christ.
The righteousness that comes from God is by
faith.
I want to know Christ and the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing
in his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death, and so somehow to attain to the
resurrection from the dead.
Not that I've already attained all this or
have already been made perfect, but I press
on to take hold of that which Christ
Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to
have taken hold of it, but one thing
I do, forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward
the goal to win the prize to which
God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
As I was considering this verse and thinking
about it there, Paul said he wants to
know Christ and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.
Paul wasn't seeking a life of comfort as
he went around and ministered to all sorts
of people who converted and formed churches.
I was blessed this morning as I was
looking at Paul when he came back to
the Ephesians after he was just about to
head to Jerusalem.
He had told them, I know, and as
all I know is that in every city
I know that there's hardships, beatings, and persecutions
basically just awaiting me.
And that was his life, and he realized
that.
And he delighted in those things, it says.
He says, I delight in those weaknesses.
He didn't run away from them or avoid
them, even though he knew they'd be coming
if he walked that way.
And that was his desire, just to know
God, to know Christ and the power of
his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in
his sufferings, to become like in his death.
I don't think I fully understand that statement,
but it doesn't sound comforting.
And to somehow attain to the resurrection from
the dead.
And that was something Paul strived after.
It's something he pursued and desired to know.
I think if at any point he strayed
from that desire, when he got refocused, he
forgot what was behind and strained towards what's
ahead.
But it wasn't simply a desire to know
Christ in a fluffy way.
Ooh, it makes me feel so good to
know Christ, you know, kind of thing.
I mean, certainly it is a blessed thing
to know Christ, but Paul wasn't seeking for
it in just a fluffy way of knowing
Christ.
He was willing to fellowship in the sharing
of his sufferings.
Just really something that I saw.
And then, of course, an obvious verse is
in James chapter one, which just naturally kind
of follows from a strain of thought, I
think.
James chapter one, verse two.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you
may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
This was kind of where my thoughts started
to circle around a little bit, sitting on
the hillside, because I didn't want to be
that little baby sitting inside of a cradle,
kicking, yet looking around and alive.
And it was this here that speaks about
maturity and its close connection to trials of
many kinds.
It wasn't something of, okay, we'll just have
a good time, you know, try and spend
enough time with the Lord.
You know, that'll bring us to maturity.
We spend a lot of time in prayer,
a lot of time reading the Bible.
I mean, granted, we'll get a lot of
knowledge about the Bible.
Granted, we'll spend at least a lot of
time talking to God.
I don't know if we'll hear from Him
or have a real deep connection with Him
if we don't face these difficult times, to
be perfectly honest.
I don't think David would have the walk
with God if he didn't face all the
sufferings that he did.
He wouldn't have the burden to cry out
to God if he wasn't constantly chased and
his life constantly in danger.
But it's a principle here that's found throughout
the Scriptures again, again, and again.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you
may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
I was blessed considering this.
Trials equals great relationship with God.
Trials equals powerful walk with Christ.
That's what I see right here.
I don't see something like, oh, you know,
if we just spend a ton of time
in reading your Bible or a lot of
times in prayer equals powerful walk with God.
No, it's trials, difficulties, sufferings equals powerful walk
with God.
And I think that's if we're crying out
to God.
I admit a lot of people live a
very difficult life and don't have a powerful
relationship with Christ.
But I think if we learn to fix
our eyes in Christ in these difficult times
and things of difficulties, we will greatly abound.
I was listening to Matthew this morning.
Just popped in the CD and just the
first one and hit the Sermon on the
Mount.
I was somewhat shocked to consider.
Well, yeah, that's right.
I forgot about that.
It's very true and made me think a
little bit more about this.
Matthew chapter five.
We'll just start right in verse one.
This is the Sermon on the Mount, of
course.
Now, when he saw the crowd, he went
up on a mountainside and sat down.
His disciples came to him and he began
to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will
be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit
the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be
shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute
you, and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your
reward in heaven.
For in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.
I think James makes a very good point.
He says, Consider it pure joy when you
face these trials, because you know you need
to have something in mind, I think, when
you're facing these difficult times.
He says, Rejoice and be glad, because great
is your reward in heaven.
I think if you face trials in difficult
times and you don't have your mind fixed
on Christ, if you don't have your mind
set on the blessed things that will result
after going through these difficult times, it'll be
very wearisome, and you won't be able to
consider them pure joy.
In Romans chapter 5, another classic verse.
Great, I
just start in verse 1 because I like
verse 1 so much.
Therefore, what's this?
Romans 5 verse 1.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access
by faith into this grace in which we
now stand, and we rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God.
That's a neat verse.
I mean, just that one spot there.
We hope, we rejoice in the hope.
I mean, Romans 8 tells us that we
don't hope for what we've already seen and
have, but we rejoice in the hope of
the glory of God, but then we keep
going on, and not only so, but we
also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know
that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character
hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because
God has poured out in his love into
our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he
has given us.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in
our sufferings, because we know, we know something,
that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and
character hope.
Let's turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 real
quickly.
This verse really struck me, I guess, when,
hit me really the most, I guess, when
I was on Calvin's campus, before it really
just sold out for the Lord.
This was one of the verses that really
ministered to my heart, maybe even the most.
I'm not sure.
I was reading some things that I'd written
a while ago back then, and I saw
this kind of, the essence of this verse
kind of plastered all over a lot of
it.
It's 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16.
Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly
we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are
being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving
for us an eternal glory that far outweighs
them all.
So what do we do?
So we fix our eyes not on what
is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what
is seen is eternal.
I think Joe made a good point.
If we sit there and we start thinking
about all these things, fix our eyes on
those things, it won't produce very good things.
But we need to fix our eyes on
what is unseen, that eternal thing.
But I guess as I was sitting there,
I was considering a little bit, I want
to have a powerful life in Christ.
I want to have a walk with God
that I am not still a kicking baby
inside of a cradle.
I want to go on to maturity.
I want to have an intimate talk with
my Savior.
I was telling Tom the other night as
we're sitting there, sharing as we often do
later in the evening, that I see the
children and I see this natural progression that
happens as they get older.
First you see a baby, fresh baby, just
kicks, looks around and cries, goes to the
bathroom, eats.
I mean, they're alive.
Then after a little while, they start understanding
some of the things their parents are saying.
They understand the facial expressions of their parents,
if they're upset or if they're happy.
A lot of that stuff is pretty soon
as well.
But after a while, they start actually able
to grab a hold of things, even though
they don't necessarily realize that they've just grabbed
a hold of something or not.
Eventually, they realize that, yes, you have hands
and legs and I can walk around and
crawl first, I suppose, usually comes first, but
not for everybody.
And eventually, at some point, they're starting to
be able to communicate a little bit.
They can say a word here, a word
there, and they can understand, and this usually
happens, they can understand a few things that
their parents are saying pretty well.
Maybe not very complicated things or anything like
that at first, but as it goes on,
they get better and better and they're able
to actually put together a sentence.
Wow, they can say a sentence now.
I can actually communicate with this child and
get a response back that I can understand.
I remember one time when I walked upstairs
and Caleb said something to me and I
was like, wow, I could understand what he
said.
I know I can understand it very well,
but that's a progression that happens.
And as people get older and older, you
can have a very deep conversation with someone.
You can hear them very good.
That's just a natural thing, just a natural
thing that older, mature people can have intimate
relationships and communication that's wonderful, discuss deep things
and understand what each other are talking about
just by merely walking up and looking at
them and saying a few things.
And that's a natural thing that happens, just
natural as of growing up, of getting older
and more mature.
I mean, granted, if you took a little
kicking baby, put him in a cradle and
never let him see anything, just fed him
an IV, the baby might live for a
long time.
I don't know.
I don't know if they just die because
of lack of stimulation of sorts, but let's
say the baby just keeps on living.
But are they going to ever realize that,
oh, people eventually get up and start walking
around when they get older?
Oh, you know, there is this thing that's
on my mouth.
You know, they never see a person.
Maybe they never know that they have arms
and legs or that they're actually attached to
them or that they actually have a face
and they can say things.
They probably wouldn't.
But instead, I mean, the children see they're
around all these different things.
They realize, oh, people can actually stand up
on these things and move around.
And so what do they do?
They attempt to try it and they fall
down, they fall down, they fall down, they
fall down, they fall down.
But they're up every time.
You know, they keep getting back up and
eventually they're going.
I guess my point is that there's difficulties
in learning.
There's trials that children face.
I hear stories about using the potty.
Oh, there's something that's in the potty now.
They start crying.
I mean, all these different things.
It's difficult to learn.
It's difficult to come to maturity.
It's not an easy thing always to have
a ton of responsibilities, you know, that you
get when you get older.
Not.
But what does it do?
It forces you to become more mature.
That's the way it works.
I mean, but they're difficult.
They're hardships.
They are a trial.
They don't feel pleasant.
They don't.
Hebrew says that.
Discipline doesn't feel pleasant at the time.
But in the end, it does raise a
harvest of righteousness for those who are trained
by it.
So after I walked away seeing all these
things, just sitting on this hillside, I desired
to face difficulties, trials, persecutions, because I see
what they produce.
Trials equals powerful walk with Christ.
And with that in mind, with seeing that,
having that the picture in my mind, when
I think about trials and difficulties, they sound
pretty good to me.
I don't know about you guys, but I
think that's what they're starting to talk.
I think I'm just now starting to glimpse
a little bit what he's talking about in
James.
Consider them pure joy.
I delight in the weaknesses and insults and
persecutions, difficulties.
I mean, he delighted in those things.
I think because he had this mind in
him.
He had this thought about him.
I mean, if I face these difficulties, it's
going to produce a powerful walk with Christ.
I will have a powerful testimony that I
can testify about what God does for those
who are weak.
And it won't be something where people just
look at and say, oh, he's a super
guy.
They go, man, he's weak.
But look at God.
Look at God at work in him.
And that was the testimony that I desired.
It was just, yes, that people would see
me as nothing, as nothing.
But they'd see the power of Christ living
just in me.
And so what I proceeded to do is
ask the Lord for difficulties.
And I could pray that in faith, knowing
that God would grant me the desire of
my heart.
And he did.
And the next morning I woke up.
I went for a walk.
I got lost.
I don't know how many times I've walked
around the Jeffries neighborhood, but I managed to
get lost and turn around for about five,
ten minutes or so, somewhere in there.
And then all of a sudden I realized
I was actually heading the wrong direction.
If I had continued walking that way any
longer, I would have been late for work.
Great.
So, but thankfully the Lord showed me that
there's the street that I recognized and I
was able to get back.
So I got back and I had a
good time in prayer that morning and proceeded
to get ready in the morning and went
over and hopped in my car, drove to
work, took about ten steps, five steps, I
don't know, out of my car and looked
down and, oh, I'm wearing my tennis shoes.
And if I walk on a work site
with tennis shoes on, they will kick me
off that work site in about two seconds.
So, oh, well, praise the Lord.
He's answering my prayers.
Turn around, get back in my car, drive
back home, get my work boots, come back
to work.
I was about half an hour late or
so.
No big deal.
Nobody got upset at me or anything.
But it was just a thankful moment to
praise the Lord.
And then when I get to work and
I'm working for a while and I reach
into an outlet at a certain point and,
oh, I got shocked for the first time
at work on that day.
So, I mean, all this time I'm just,
I'm thankful.
I mean, it was just a blessing.
I didn't, I thought it was funny that
I got shocked.
I mean, the circuit was labeled wrong on
the blueprint and so it wasn't really my
fault.
I didn't mess up really.
It was just somebody else forgot to change
the name of the print.
And it didn't hurt me at all.
It just felt the kind of feeling, you
know.
And, I mean, the next day I did
get shocked again up on a ladder.
I didn't fall off, thankfully.
It didn't shock me that bad.
I just had some difficulties with a co
-worker who just seemed somewhat annoyed being around
me.
I was sharing with Tom a little bit
of stuff that happened even yesterday when I
went into work for a little bit.
But at that point, the next day, I
started to feel a little bit of a
sore throat coming on.
And I ended up working about 10 hours
that day and stuff like that.
Or maybe that was the next day.
I can't remember.
They all blend together.
But nevertheless, my point is that, I mean,
I've been sick.
I've been getting shocked.
I've had a lot more difficulties with co
-workers than I've had the entire time I've
been working.
But I praise the Lord.
He's answering my prayers.
And it's just, I just want to challenge
everybody here today just to really examine yourself
and to consider whether or not you consider
it pure joy when you face trials many
times.
If you delight in weakness, in insults, in
persecutions, in difficulties.
If you have that view of trials that,
oh, or do they just discourage you?
I just encourage you to consider that and
examine yourself and to get refocused on Christ,
that unseen, what we can't see right now.
And just remember that these trials and difficulties
are bringing us to a powerful walk with
Christ if we fix our eyes on Him
and set our hopes on Him and not
lose heart and just continue to trust the
Lord, that the Lord knows what's going on.
The Lord is not going to give us
more than we can handle.
But granted, it's in Christ that we can
handle it.
I can do all things through Christ who
gives me strength.
And we can't do all things through Peter
or Chris, you know, who gives it through
our own strength or something like that.
But the Lord does give us everything, everything
we need.
So like I said, I just want to
challenge you guys to consider and to look
at your life and see, am I delighting
in my difficulties?
Do I have such a mindset and view
of my trials and problems that they are
achieving for me in eternal glory that far
outweighs them all?
And just to have our eyes fixed on
Christ through all these different things, that was
what was on my heart.