Embracing Trials

If you received a letter from a man in prison that you had never met, and he wants to tell you how to run your life, would you believe him? Well, that's what we have here in Colossians. You may not have realized this, but Colossians is the one book written to people that Paul has never met. We, he knew the people of Corinth.

He knew that people Galician. He wrote Galatians. He knew the people in Ephesus. He wrote a vision. He wrote fess alone eons. But Colossians was founded by somebody else. Amanda, the name of Epaphras, who founded the church. Now Paul is in prison. And he feels led to use his Epistolic authority with the collages because they didn't have an apostle.

And so he wrote Colossians and Ephesians at about the same time, and there's some overlap between Colombians and Ephesians, but in this, there is no overlap. For some reason, he says something not said anywhere else. It's a most unusual verse. He said, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking.

In Christ's afflictions for the sake of the church. Well, now when Paul says, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, uh, it was a challenge that he himself had taken on board. Uh, he was given a word on the day of his conversion that he would suffer. How do you think you'd like it if the day you're saved, you're told, Oh, by the way, you're going to suffer.

Uh, but that's what Paul was told about analyze chapter nine, verse 16. And now he says, I rejoice in my sufferings. It was a challenge that he himself had taken on board for him and for them and gave them an opportunity to embrace a further stigma that they would welcome him, uh, somebody that they'd never met.

And then makes a strange comment. And, uh, I wondered as I've prepared this morning, cause I looked over my notes, is it possible that there's someone here you are right now in the middle of the greatest trial of your whole life? Somebody here, I think you're in it now. This is it. You've never had anything like it.

If so, this is for you, and if you're not in the greatest trial, you can eavesdrop because you may need it down the road. I want us to see several things. The first you might find strange, but it's this predestination and suffering. Would you believe that your suffering is predestined there? Don't be afraid of the word predestination.

Uh, you wouldn't be here if it weren't for that by the mercy of God. As a matter of fact, in Acts 13:48, Luke who wrote acts makes a theological comment about the Gentiles who were saved. And he says, as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. That's what he said. Now, he might have said as many as believed were ordained to eternal life.

Hetty said that that would have been true. That's not what he says. He's wanting to make a theological comment. I remember when I was at seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, a number of years ago, and I said to the Greek professor, I said, do you realize that Luke said as many as were ordained, that means predestined to eternal life believed.

He replied, well, I believe that as many as are that believe are predestined. I said, but that's not what he said. He said, I know that, but I disagree with Luke. Well, how are you like a professor like that? But you see, it's a reminder that you are indebted to God knowing you from the foundation of the world.

Don't try to figure it out, but then he says something else. He says, we are predestined to suffering. Read it. One testimonials, chapter three verse three he says, don't be shaken by these trials because you know you weren't destined for them. And then he says in Philippians chapter one verse 29 he said, it is given to us not only to believe on him, but to suffer for him.

Well, they might say, well, he didn't tell us that when we got saved or when he presented the gospel. He didn't say anything about separating. The reply could be, well, we can't think of everything. And then after you're a Christian, you find that you are in the middle of suffering. And you might think, why didn't they tell me?

But you're in it. And actually, do you realize the first one. Verse in the new Testament has to do with this. You may not realize it, but the first book written is James. Now, it's not first in the Canon. It starts out Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. But the first book written was in 48 a D. it was the first and the opening statement of James is counted all joy.

When you fall into divers trials, if you're in a trial right now, okay, James hasn't worked for you counted, and he uses the same Greek word that Paul uses enrollments four and three about justification that when we believe the moment we transfer, the trust that we had in our good works to what Jesus did for us on the cross in that moment.

Your faith counts, but righteousness. In other words, the righteousness of Jesus is put to your credit, right then as though you performed it. God counts you. He imputes to you. Righteousness. Well, James is using that word and it wants you to know and is, this is the opening comment in his epistle counted all joy.

The NIV says, counted. Pure joy counted. In other words, if you're in a trial right now, the last thing you feel like doing is imputing joy to it. The last thing on your mind, but James says, do it. You see what? I don't feel like it. Well, I believe you, but the reason you should do it. Is that it would be a matter of time, but you will see that trial you are in is God's way of tried to get your attention.

That will make you closer to him than you've ever been in your whole life. And so this is the thing you need to know. Now. You know the story of job. And God one day said to Satan, have you considered my servant job? I'm going to say something to you that may surprise you, but if there's anybody here in a trial right now, you need to know God started it.

A lot of people said, no, the devil started it. No, you see, the first thing God did was to say to Satan. Have you considered my servant job? Joe was perfect in every way. And uh, so it was God who actually said to Satan, have you considered job? And Satan said, well, look, the reason job serves you and is such a good man is he's got it all.

He's got everything. But if he lost it, he would curse you. That's the question. If you're in a trial right now, tried to consider that God started it. You see, well, that doesn't make me feel better. Only it should because God's at the bottom of it all and he's got a purpose in it, and the purpose in it is so great.

That's why James could say kind of pure joy. You are special. The reason he allowed the trial in your case is because you're up to it. You say, Oh, not me, Archie high can't take this anymore, but God says you are. God says you are, or he would not let it happen and God knows how much you can bear. Now I want to.

Talk to you for a moment about the purpose of suffering. And this is one of the strangest comments of it Paul ever made. And, uh, what he's doing is showing these Colombians, they are called to an inheritance. Now a subject that I don't think that I've preached much on over the times I've been here is because I need more time and I don't want to open up a subject that I can't deal with.

But let me say it this way. Every Christian is called to come into his or her inheritance. Some do, some don't. Those that don't, don't lose their salvation. As a matter of fact, there's not one verse in the new Testament that says you can lose your salvation. Not one, but there are several that says you can be disinherited.

For example, I will always be my grandmother's grandson. Uh, she bought a new car for me when I first became a pastor, a church, and then I came into a different theology and she took the car away. And then when she died, she changed her will. A person who told me personally that he witnessed her will. And he said, Archie, you are gonna receive everything from your grandmother.

It was, she was going to leave it all to you. I witnessed her will, but she changed it and I didn't get anything when she died. As a matter of fact, my own father, Oh, when he died, I got zero, but I was still his son. And you see, the thing is, inheritance is something that can be determined. By the person, whether they believe you're worthy of it.

And so Paul said, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of the things done in the body, whether they be good or bad. Uh, do you realize that America's second great awakening. Which took place at 1801 in cane Ridge, Kentucky. Uh, a Methodist preacher stood on the fall on a fallen tree and one July morning.

15,000. Some say 30,000 but conservative with 15,000 people that come in. They're covered wagons from five States, uh, from Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee. Uh, and it was the beginning of the cap meeting phenomenon. You've heard of cap meetings. This was the first and a Methodist preacher took his text.

We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of the things done in the body. The fear of God came on the people so powerfully that they began to fall and nobody prayed for them. Nobody pushed them. They just fell. And um, for four days before days, there were never fewer than 500 on the ground flat out under the power of the Holy spirit.

And the fear of God was on the people. The thought that we're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You know, I've had people say to me, you know, RT, I don't care whether I get a reward at the judgment seat of Christ. I just want to make it to heaven. I said, you won't feel that way. Then you're going to stand before him, and those that come into their inheritance will receive a reward.

Those that don't will be . Save by fire, but they will lose their reward. And the purpose of suffering is that God wants you to have the reward at the judgment seat of Christ. And so we're all in this together, and Paul makes one of the strangest comments ever made. And he says, we are suffering. For the body of Christ.

We're all in this together. We're doing this for each other. We're not alone. Paul said in a rather, John said, book of revelation chapter one verse nine I am your brother in tribulation, and then Paul says, we are filling up what is lacking. Now, the only person I've ever known to preach on this verse. Is a man by the name of Joseph sewn, spelled T, O.

N, but in Romanian it's song. You might like to know. When I came here 15 years ago and I preached on total forgiveness, I would have told you that Joseph zone is the one who said, Archie, you must totally forgive them for until you totally forgive them, you will be in changed st Joseph's zone. I hadn't preached for me at Westminster chapel.

These are the days when he still lived in Romania, but he came to London and I had asked you to preach for me, uh, while I was on vacation and everybody was talking about that sermon. And so I listened to it myself. I would say the greatest sermon I've ever heard in my life. Was on this burse and he told how the night before he got a phone call from errata in Romania.

Those are the days when it was behind the iron curtain and the communist authorities have come in and, and, and interrupted the church and the people of Romania were suffering his, his own people and move the people no end. And he preached that morning. On mysterious reasons for suffering. And it gave two reasons.

The first is that God wanted to show the devil what would happen to a man if he lost everything and then suffered. And Satan said, the reason job is serving you. He's got it all. Why wouldn't they love you? Take what he's got and he will curse you. And God says, okay, we'll find out. And the reason Joe went through the suffering is that the angels wanted to see, and the devil is there such a thing as a person who had everything and lost it.

Would still praise God. And Jobe came through and we're told that he sinned, not nor charged God foolishly, his wife, his wife, said, curse God and die because the suffering that job goes through is horrible. But he says, you talk like a foolish woman, and the reason somebody here is going through suffering.

You are on display. The angels want to see what you will be like. If God takes something from you that's been precious or causes you to suffer in some way, and this is one of the reasons you suffer. I don't think many people even thought of that. But that was why job suffered. It was on display before the angels.

But then there's a second reason, and this is what is in this particular verse, nowhere else in the new Testament, he says, filling up what is lacking now, not only the angels watching to see whether we cave in or dignify hard trials, but Paul makes an astonishing point. Get this. So much suffering has been allocated to the body of Christ.

That's what Paul says, and God is looking for people who will suffer and not complain. I can announce there is space available because most people complain. The Paul is not complaining, and he actually can say, I rejoice. Not many can say that, and I don't mean to be unfair, but if you are in a trial, can you count it?

Pure joy. And can you say, I rejoice, I rejoice. Why it's only a matter of time. You will thank God for that trial. Listen, the greatest trial I've ever had in my life, I could tell you, you can put me under a lie detector. Best thing that ever happened to me at the time, it was horrible. But now I look back and I was like, I'm so glad for it.

And the encouragement is. Believe trace the rainbow through the rain, that there is a reason for, it's not for nothing. It's not an accident. Well, Paul could claim this is precisely the explanation for his suffering, but now I want to ask a question. Why be a Christian

supposedly passed out sheets of paper. Everybody got a sheet of paper once you to write down in your mind why everybody should be a Christian if you think they should. Do you believe that? Do you blame your neighbor? Should be Christian? Do you believe your loved ones? Why do you believe of the people you work with it?

Whoever you're your boss, people with you, should they be saved. Yeah. Well, why? What is your reason? What would you write down? Uh, would you say? Well, it will solve their marriage. Really? Statistics show, whether in Britain or America, 50% of people married in a church, 50% married in a justice of the peace ended up in divorce.

So you can't say Christianity is going to solve it. Or you say, well, it will make them happy. Really, the first person that was converted under my ministry at Westminster chapel that I know about, uh, was a man by the name of Jay Michaels. Jay Michaels was the Los Angeles businessman. He was a Jew, and he was on his way from Los Angeles to Moscow.

He had an office in London and his secretary went to Westminster chapel and she invited Jay Michaels to come and hear me. I didn't know about it for months, but Jay Michaels heard me preach and was converted that night. Well found out about much later, and Jay Michaels and I became friends, uh, took him bone fishing in the Florida keys.

I took me out fishing, we had holidays together, and one day sitting in a key Largo restaurant, Jay Michaels looked at me and said, quote, before I became a Christian, I was a happy man. Hmm. How about that Jay Michael's given his testimony just before the preacher stands up to preach the gospel. Uh, before, I appreciate Marco's comment, give your testimony just before I pray.

Shitty. He said, well, I just want everybody to know before I became a Christian, I was a happy man. Well, they'll all say, Oh, good. I want to be a Christian now this really excites me. Now, Jay Michaels was not complaining. He was stating a fact his wife wouldn't convert his son. You might like to know. His son is Al Michaels, the sportscaster.

You hear him on TV all the time as Al Michael. That's Jason. He wouldn't convert. And so Jai Michael said before I became a Christian, I was a happy man. He's not complaining. But he found out that not all will be saved just because he was, uh, how would you like to hear the, the testimony of the apostle Paul?

The subject is what Christianity has done for me. You want to hear it? Here's the deal. Here's Paul's testimony. You ready? It's his, his, his own words. Um. Two Corinthians 11. He says, countless beatings. Oh, really? Paul? Well, I want to be a Christian now. This sounds wonderful. Uh, he says often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews, the 40 lashes less one.

Oh. Oh, really? Paul? Where do I sign up? I can't wait three times. I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned three times, I was shipwrecked a night and a day I was a drifted. See, frequent journeys in danger from rivers and dangers from robbers. Danger from my own people. Danger from Gentiles, danger from the city.

Danger from false brothers. He said, hungry and thirsty. Many a sleepless night. You have trouble sleeping. Pollster that that's me. He says, without food, hungry and thirsty.

this is Paul. You said, well, they didn't tell me this when I became a Christian, but Paul has taken this suffering with both hands, and so he wants to talk about the privilege of suffering. Why is it a privilege? Well, as we saw so much suffering has been allocated to the body of Christ, uh, suppose you were told by your bank that if you will go to the bank Monday morning, a certain amount of money has been allocated to you.

You think you'd go claim it. Okay. I think you would. Now we're told so much suffering has been allocated to the body of Christ and some people will claim it. Would you? What if so much suffering has been allocated to you? Would you welcome it? Well, all should it be given to someone else? If you don't complain it well.

Paul has determined, or God has, that so much suffering is allocated to the body of Christ and those who reject it lose an opportunity. You see, some people get more suffering than others. Uh. And if you get more according to Paul, you should rejoice because to whom much is given shall much be required.

The greater the suffering, the greater the annointing, the greater the anointing, the greater the suffering. And this is what Paul is saying. Well, there's a verse that whenever I read it, I could hardly keep from coming to tears. It's acts chapter five verse 41 it refers to Peter and John. They were brought before the Sanhedrin.

The satin Haven is made up of Sadducees and the theorists seas, and they told Peter and John, stop teaching in the name of Jesus, and they were beaten. They were flogged and then they departed from the council. I can imagine that inside the Sadducees and the Pharisees were saying, well, we won't have to worry about them anymore.

We taught them Alyson, what they couldn't have known. It says acts five 41 that as they departed from the council, Peter and John rejoiced. That they were counted worthy to suffer the shame of his name. Now most people are know that's the last thing they want is to lose their reputation or to suffer the shame of Jesus' name.

And, but Peter and John, they couldn't believe their luck. They had to pitch themselves that they were chosen to suffer the shame of his name. You see, what happened was that a few weeks before Peter denied even knowing Jesus and all the disciples for Suki men fled Matthew 26 and 56 they all forsook him and they felt so ashamed and Peter felt horrible.

And he said to himself, if God will give me one more chance, I want to show that I won't be ashamed. And I'm asking a question, is there somebody here? Is there you don't need to volunteer or raise your hand. I'm not doing that, but is there someone here you let God down at some point. You let him down and then you come to yourself and you wake up and you're think, I can't believe I let the Lord down like that.

And you begin to say, Lord, give me another chance. Let me show you that I won't let you down this time. I have no doubt. That's what Peter went through after denying Jesus, he felt horrible. He got a second chance. He's before the Sanhedrin. They tell him no more preaching this name, and when they departed from the council, you can read it.

41 they couldn't believe their luck that they're actually getting to suffer again. This time they're not going to let the Lord down this time. They were rejoicing that they were counted worthy. To suffer the shame of his name. And if there's someone here today, you're going through a trial. Now God's given you another chance to show this time.

You won't complain, murmur, but instead you will count it joy and say, Lord, this time I'm not going to let you down. I have a theory. It goes something like this. The higher the profile here below the less in heaven, or to put it another way, the lower the profile here below, the greater in heaven. Let's picture this.

We're standing now countless millions. Is it the judgment seat of Christ? And we're told that you're going to wait until your name is called and we think who's going to be named first? Will it be Moses? Will it be Abraham a little bit? Paul, will it be Billy Graham?

The name goes out, Yvette cutter, that cutter. Anybody know by that? That covered, but here, but the name, well, this, the lady says, that's my name. They said, well, he's calling you, go, go. And so she goes, he stands before Jesus and he looks at her and said, Yvette. We saw you in Gordon hospital in London. We know about the way your husband treated you.

We know about your poverty. We know about your bipolar disease. We saw you suffering, but we saw that you praise the Lord it at all. You see, I tell this because our Virginia Westminster chapel, I read into one afternoon, he said, I just came back from Gordon hospital to see Yvette and I went in. I said, how are you doing, Yvette?

And she was crying, but she said, I've been just sitting here praising the Lord. Because dr Kendall said that when we suffer, we should just praise the Lord, and I've just been sitting here praising the Lord and so she would live known that once you stand before Jesus, he says, you didn't realize we were all watching you.

Ribet you dignify the trial well done. Well done. And the day will come. You will be so thankful because the trial is passing. It may seem like it's lasting forever, but we're going to stand before him. At that moment. It will mean everything. My own mother, when she was a teenager. Sat at the feet of a 90 year old lady who would gather the teenagers around her, and they remember the stories that the 90 year old would tell.

And one day this 90 year old lady said to the teenagers, said, boys and girls, I've been a Christian so long now that I can hardly tell the difference between a blessing. At a trial

one day. You will say there's purpose in it. All the angels are watching to see whether you'll complain or you count it. Joy. I know it's not easy, but honor him. If you are one of those, you let God down. You say no more this time. I want to dignify this trial, and yet you see, we don't always get recognition.

I don't suppose anybody here will have heard of Henry Morrison. Henry Morrison, he was a missionary to Africa a hundred years ago. At the time, Theodore Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt was president. Henry Morrison was a missionary in Africa and he served the Lord. He's a Baptist missionary, serve the Lord for 40 years.

One day he wrote a couple of his friends and said, we're coming home and we're going to be sailing into in New York Harbor on a certain date. Well. The time came as the ship is coming into the Harbor, lo and behold, a band is playing and he said to his wife, they shouldn't have done this. Oh, they've gone out there making a fuss over us.

They shouldn't have done this, and they got their bags ready. They were going to be first in the queue, and when the ship stopped. As he started to go down the gangplank, a policeman said, stop here, sir. Oh, he put his bags down. It turns out that president theater Roosevelt was on the same ship. He had been game hunting in Africa for three weeks.

The bad was for him and Morrison. His wife, as it turned out, were left off the ship. And as he got down and the gang pike, and they put their bags down, they looked

nobody to mate. They make their way to a hotel three blocks away. Third rate hotel. Henry Morrison falls across the bed and says, God. I serve you for 40 years in Africa and I come home and there's nobody here. President Roosevelt game hunts for three weeks. He comes home and a band plays for him. Then he heard the Holy spirit say, but you're not home yet.

Paul said, I reckon that the sufferings of this present world do not compare with the joy that will follow. And so the most natural thing in the world is to complain when the going is rough. You think how long, how long, how long, but the voice comes back not long. God is never too late. He's never too early.

He was always just on time. And so Joe passed, okay. And God was pleased. And so if you're in a trial today, the angels are watching, God is watching. It's given to us not just to believe on it, but to suffer for his sake. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him? So are you suffering today? Take it with both hands.

It won't be long. Shall we pray? Thank you, heavenly father, that you're not finished with us yet.

we accept the greater the suffering, the greater the responsibility to whom much is given Shawmut's be required. Grant us in this moment to accept that you know what you're up to on the day will come. We will thank you. Apply this word by your Holy spirit. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.