Truth

Yours – Mine - Theirs?

"If it’s not about Jesus, it’s not about Anything."

Motto of the Fountain of Life

SPS:  To demonstrate truth from a Christ centered Trinitarian perspective.

Dr. Kyriacos J. Stavrinides was the professor of Biblical Scholarship in Ambassador University in Pasadena, California in the early1980s.  He also taught Logic.  One day he mixed the concept of philosophical truth into the Biblical Scholarship class.  The students came to study the truth; biblical truth.  But he asked which truth to study?  It was a trick question.  For whatever denominational truth a student would propose he would say, “That is true for you, but not for me.”  He did this to illustrate that the same biblical data is available to all Christian denominations, yet the data presents different truths to sincere, good and godly men and women.

A natural question follows:  If the same data produces different truth, then how do you know if a church has “correct truth” or “incorrect truth?”  In casual conversation we understand what correct truth or incorrect truth means.  Philosophically incorrect truth does not exist because is a rational impossibility just as false truth is by definition an irrationality.  Truth is all that remains.  The opposite of truth is untruth, or falsehood or lies.      

As indicated good and godly men reach different conclusions and we Christians are flooded with different truths from the same Bible and we are hopelessly divided.  We recognize that every doctrine cannot be true.  Some are incorrect.  But which ones?  An indelicate rephrasing of our question is:  How do we know if our church teaches truth or falsehood?  We have here two more questions.  They sound similar but they are very different.  The first question is; what is the truth?  The second is; what is truth?  Lacking knowledge of what it is, there is no possible way of identifying it when we find it.  Is there an identifying sign pointing to a repository of truth?  Is the sign baptism by immersion or sprinkling or pouring, pre tribulation or post tribulation, dispensational or replacement?  Is it Sabbath or Sunday worship?  Is it old earth or new earth, traditional music or contemporary?  Which belief or sign should guide us in seeking a church to attend?  Is the truth we find relative, is it absolute, is it deduced, is it private revelation or is it something else?   In discerning truth it is helpful to define what truth is.  

 WHAT IS TRUTH?

 Philosophical

TRUTH:  it is a relative descriptive frame of reference from the point of view of the rational observer.  When there are two rational observers there may be two similar or dissimilar truths ascribed to the same event.  Observers decide.  A relation with God is not necessary.

Secular dictionary

TRUTH:  it is a quality or state of being true… conformity with the facts or with reality either as an idealized abstraction or in actual application.  Observers decide.  A relation with God is not necessary.

           

Smith’s Bible Dictionary

TRUTH:  it is a conformity to fact or actuality; faithfulness to an original or to a standard.  In the Old and New Testaments, truth is a fundamental moral and personal quality of God.  In this level observers again decide.  But the Holy Scriptures introduced another level by connecting truth to morality and to the person of God whereby we can observe the truth of God in action.  And yet, when the New Testament is viewed solely through the lens of the Old Testament; that is through the lens of God as the Sovereign Creator, the offer of a personal relationship with God is not indicated, and consequently very often overlooked and not realized.      

Relational to Jesus

TRUTH: it is relational.  This is revealed when the entirety of Holy Scriptures are viewed from a Christocentric perspective; with Jesus and the focal point of revelation.  In this level we find a direct connection with God through Jesus.  The logic of grace reveals a new and higher concept of truth where it can not only be observed, but it can be experienced.  And this understanding, this logic of grace, originates with and from God to us through Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.  Truth is Jesus.  Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)  He later unknowingly answered that question when he announced to the crowd, “Ecce homo” - Here is the man.

Brethren, consider who Jesus is.

JOHN 17:17    Thy word is truth

JOHN 1:14      and the word was made Flesh. 

JOHN 14:6      I am the…truth.  

His word is truth.  Jesus is the Word.  Jesus is truth.  Truth is more than a canon of logic and it is deeper than a personal quality God.  Truth is a part of God’s being, essence and person.  Jesus does not point to the truth.  Jesus is much more than “the” truth.  Jesus is Truth. 

When viewing truth as discerning the accuracy of data, we can see it from a distance and utilize, reinterpret or ignore it.  As a personal quality of God, we can view truth from a distance and admire, utilize, or ignore it.  But, as a part of God’s being, we can share a personal relationship with truth*.   That sounds odd, however, when we enter a relationship with Jesus (become one - John 17:21), we have a relationship with truth itself, not just with an abstract concept or a character trait.

[*For further reading how a personal relationship with truth or joy or love is formed see the article “Joy – Real or Pretend” and review the four sections on the “Logic of Grace” found on this web page in the July drop down tab.]

The results of a relationship with Jesus:

John 8:31-32:  “Then said Jesus to those who believed on Him, if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.  And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”  “To continue in His word is not the basis of true faith, but the result of it.”  (King James Commentary).   True faith happens when we enter a relationship with Jesus.  Jesus sets us free from the penalty of death.  Nothing else can. 

CONCLUSION

WHAT TRUTH?

Can we recognize if all doctrines are correct or not?  The honest answer is, NO!  Not all of them.  It is not given us to understand some things this side of the Resurrection.  But this does not mean that God left us without help in making the identification.  We asked above, is there a sign pointing to a Church, which teaches truth?  The Good News is, yes there is!  There are essential truths, nonessential truths and nonessential speculation about truth.  To friends who ask you which Church has the truth, offer the guidance of St. Paul and St. John as the first step.  Do they first and foremost preach the essential truth of Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23), do they first and foremost confess the essential truth that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:2)?  If yes, then that is the truth and that is the Church.  From that point we may begin to grow in grace and in truth.**    If they place any other doctrine as their focal point or primary teaching and place Jesus as an important but secondary or supporting teaching, then beware of that organization.

[**For further discussion on essential orthodox truth please read the series on the “Apostles’ Creed” on this web page in the February 2013 drop down tab.  For a discussion on topical speculative issues which are peripheral to God’s revealed truth, yet nevertheless tend to divide churches, please see the article on this web page “Genesis – What do you think?” in the April 2013 drop down tab.]

Beloved in Christ, may the Holy Spirit cloth you with wisdom and aid your understanding of His truth.

Dear Readers, let us trust where God plants us and continue to grow there.  In the final analysis God is LOVE and that’s the truth.

Rev. George Relic, Assistant Pastor                                                                          

Fountain of Life Church

2021 Old National Pike

Washington, PA 15301

A congregation of Grace Communion International                                                             

The Four Horses

"And behold, I saw  a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given to him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer" Revelation:6:2

The Apostle John , while under house arrest on the Island of Patmos  for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ
, is given   one of the most  well known visions of  the Book of Revelation; the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Even non Christians have heard of or mis-heard of them.

There have been debates,conjuncture and speculation  through out the centuries as to what these four riders and their respective horses represent. It seems clear from the tone of John's writing that the four represent a genuine and real world problem(s) and conditions for humanity, problem(s) which humanity are  unable to adequately  cope with on their own.

Jesus Opens 

John, in vision has been given a glimpse of the very throne of the great God, the Apostle  sees in the hand of God a scroll or a book which is sealed up with seven seals that none can yet look into it and read. John is grieved that there seems to be none worthy to open the seals of the book that it might be read and understood but he is comforted by an angel , with the assurance that Jesus is the One Who is worthy and able to break the seals.

   "I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." 

    "And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb"Revelation:5:1-8a

Come

In each case, these horses are introduced with the word "come"  , it is implying that their presence and coming forth to ride through human history is and are being divinely allowed for God's purpose which is being worked out in human history.
The first to ride is the White Horse, then Red, Black and a Pale sickly green.

The order that they emerge is very important and teach us much about what each is and why they are.It is generally understood that the interpretation for the four horse is found within Jesus' Olivet Prophecy or Olivet Discourse in the Gospel accounts .

 Olivet Prophecy

In Matthew:24, Mark:13  and Luke :21. In this prophecy Jesus gave His disciples the  over arching conditions found in human civilization   from that time and  untill "end of the world",  these conditions would intensify and worsen until "the end"  when conditions will be to the extent that it is needful for God Himself to intervene in human history and save humanity from himself by sending Jesus Christ to extend the Kingdom of God over all things.
 Many scholars, but not all , lean to the understanding the horses of Revelation as the White representing False Messiahs, the Red War, the Black Famine, Peal Sickness. This  thought is derive, Jesus' words of the Olivet discourse which outlines the problems which humanity has, and will face from 33 AD until the time of Jesus coming in the years ahead of us.

In the Roman world in which the Apostle John wrote, he would have seen this white horse as representing the person of the Roman Emperor and his personalty cult and worship of the Empire in the person of the Emperor. 

The order of their appearance is significant: False  Messiahs , which can be anything, politicians, philosophies, ideologies will inventively lead to War. Wars' always cause famine and economically hardship, and which lead to epidemics  , sickness and mass death.

Where the word of God is spoken as a sword which proceeds forth from the mouth of our Lord, "Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations." Revelation:19:15 . This White horse however  has his own quiver of grandiose promises that cater to the flesh, that is our human carnally and a message that which speaks of them into the human heart which at first glance looks good but in the end runs them through who ever embraces them.

 Throughout History

This pattern is repeated through out human history. When or where ever a False Messiah rides forth into history promising to bring what only Jesus can bring , they will lead their followers to War with others who do not share their devotion to their Messiah,  that will bring the famine and economic stress then sickness and death. This has repeated over and over in humanities history. False  Messiahs have come in the form or philosophies, political dogmas, personalities, religion each time they strive for control over the human heart and soul make grand promises of glory but bringing in the end suffering and death.

Horses  in Our Lives

But I would like to ask your indulgence, for a moment, to ask that we look not outward at the stage of human events but into our own lives. Do these horses ride across the land scape of our lives?  Many interpret the White Horse  as a great false Messiah or false prophet that emerges on the world stage  in the years to come,  but what about us,  is there "something" in each of our lives that promises to deliver and  bring what only Jesus can bring,  promising peace,  fulfillment life of meaning? Is there a White Horse that rides in our lives ?

This "something", can be just about anything, a person,  gold or silver, position, fame, lands and titles,  bricks and mortar, accomplishments , something to stimulate us,  an experiences or even  a relationship.
 If there is "something" that beckons to us offers to give what only Jesus can, if this White Horse is riding in our lives then it will dictate how we live and spend our personal resources.

If  the White Horse of a false  messiah has ridden forth in our lives, it will lead to unleashing the Red Horse of conflict, war,  with others,  as others do not embrace or share our devotion to our "messiah",  that is  what we believe is giving us what only Jesus truly can.

Red Horse of War

As the Red Horse of war rides forth in conflict with those around us, and it is when we pursue the White Horse that the Red Horse  rides among our lives as well igniting conflict and strife with others, just as with nations.

 "From where come wars and conflicts among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" James:4:1

 Black Horse of Famine

 Just as rationing and famine accompany wars , we will find that our lives will became rationed, that is whatever we look to other than Jesus, that something else will dictated how we spend our lives our personal resources of time and money. Our personal resources will  go more and more toward devotion to and of the White Horse, that is , whatever we look to other than Jesus will determine how we uses the economies of our lives.

Pale Horse of Sickness

If we follow a White Horse(s), which brings conflicts within and without, in our lives we will find relationship become "sickly" , they will lose their once healthy luster and take on a sickish cast that ends in a dead relationship. All lost due to the following at the very onset the White Horse of a false Christ, which could not make good on all its the glittering promises.

Only Jesus

Only Our Lord Jesus can and will fulfill everything that we could ever hope for.He is that One that all humanity truly needs, He is One Who rides the White Horse of Victory, Righteousness and Purity, He and He alone offers us all ,what all the others can never bring. He brings us peace, eternal abundance and life unending in the Kingdom over which He rules...We ask Ride forth Lord Jesus, Ride forth into all our lives.... Amen


 Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion 

 2101 Old National Pike

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

Assembling Together

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the habit of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching." Hebrews:10:24-25


In the first century Church Christians gathers as often as they were able.It was then an important part of their lives, they understood, as maybe no other Christians , the importance of the communion that we share with each other all though our Lord Jesus Christ. They  knew that when they gathered that something important was transpiring in their midst, that they gathered not just with a group of persons but with the living Lord and savior Jesus.

Some Forsaking

 However from the words of the write of the epistle to the Hebrews,   some were choosing to be elsewhere when the Church gathered. 

"And let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the habit of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching."  Heb:10:24-25

These words show that missing the church gathering had become a habit,    "the habit of some is" . It was now a routine for them not to be there. The Holy Spirit inspires theses words to encourage these "some"  to guide them back into the local assembly where there is that unique bounding that takes place among Christians.

A Lone Fig

An example of our need to join in a community of worship is found in what may at first appears to be an unrelated event in the life of Jesus. As Jesus is on his way back into Jerusalem after His entrance on Palm Sunday, Jesus sees a lone fig tree and being hungry He approaches it and inspects it for fruit and finds only leaves.

"Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungry.And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. " Matt:21:18-19

How does this event relate to the gathering of Christians in a local assembly. It is important to understand  that fig trees can not bare fruit by themselves, they need to be part of a stand of other fig trees. Alone they produce only leaves , the tree may grow and be sustained but never really produce.There will be no fruit.

As the fig tree needs others so we need each others. We will be like that fig tree, when Jesus is hungry, that is He desires to see fruit in our lives,  He will find only leaves, there is some growth but it seems that it is only to sustain the self. There is nether fruit produced nor does it help others bear fruit.

Assembling Gives Perspective

The Psalmist Asasph , looked out on an unfair world where goodness in repaid with suffering and evil is rewarded as virtuous. Asasph saw how those who ignore the God of Israel seemed to pass through life without the cares and concerns that thoes who worship the Great God encounter in life.They act as if God is unaware of their actions and thoughts , this issue was hard for Asasph as it might be for Christians today, those who, at first glance  seemed to  pass through this life with no regard for Jesus Christ often, do not encounters the sufferings and challenges that Christians have.

"But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold.

For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.

They are free from common human burdens;

they are not plagued by human ills." Ps:73:2-5

All of this was perplexing to him until   Asasph entered the Sanctuary of God and heard the word of God read and expounded on,  and he worshiped God that he gained understanding. 

"All day long I have been afflicted,

and every morning brings new punishments.

If I had spoken out like that,

I would have betrayed your children.

When I tried to understand all this,

it troubled me deeply

till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny." Psalm:73:16-17

When He entered worship understanding came, this true for us as well gathering with fellow believers and hearing  the Scriptures read and prayer given and worship,  then we see things with spiritual eyes through who Jesus is and a heavenly views is seen.

Living Stones

Peter calls Christians "Living Stones", a reference to the Temple of God which was assembled out of many stones to construct a whole.

"You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 1Peter:2:5

The stone used to build the Temple in those days were taken from quarries cut into the general shape that was needed, but the process of fitting them into place took place at the construction site as it was "fitted" into its particular place.

This "fitting" process was done by placing the stone into it's place and was smoothed out by grinding it  together with the others until it fit. Each stone needed the others to be fitted properly.

As those stones then needed the others to smooth them out, so each of us needs one another to remove the rough edges. This can not be done on our own, we need to be brought together at the construction site of the church in fellowship and worship. The lone Christians will be like that stone which will not be made to fit as well as it was intended. It is in the building of relationships with in the church that this smoothing away the rough edges is accomplished.

This process of fellowship within the community of the church fellowship for the purpose of building each other up in Christ and to assist in the process of maturity, with out this contact it is difficult to grow into this maturity.
Here in the church we should be having our minds focused upon the person of the Son of God so that we are not tantalized by things which attracted our attention yet yield no spiritual fruit, the foundational issue is Who Jesus is, not everything thing else.Others things may incite our curiosity but leave us empty and stunted in the end.

 "That we from now on be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love." Ephesians:14-16

Uses of Gifts

Without a local assembly to function within ,any gifts talents abilities with have no forum to in to be expressed they go unused and may never reaching full capacity. God gave these gift to be used to contribute to others spiritual growth, when Christians do not attend a local church again, these gifts given by God through the Holy Spirit are unused as God intended. They are for the good of the Church, not our own benefit.

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,and to still another the interpretation of tongues.All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines" .1Corth:12:4-11

We can read the entirety of the 12 Chapter of 1 Corinthians , and see that there are no unimportant gifts all are given by the Holy Spirit for the common good of the church.

Without being a part of a local church the gifts will never be what they are given to be. The gifts require contact with other Christians or they have little to no uses.

Worship

When Christians gather we need to be focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ, it is easy ,apart from gathering with others believers , to let our minds to wonder and be come preoccupied with "worldly" things and our own interest. we can be like those the Prophet Isaiah describes.

 "Why the Lord said, For as much as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:" Isaiah:29:13

I realize that this is a rather broad application of this verses, yet it make the point some label themselves a Christian yet are they there when the Church assembles? It when the church assembles that Jesus manifest Himself among us in a unique way. It is when the disciples where gathered that Jesus come and presents Himself as alive. This is why the Gospel accounts tell us about Jesus' post resurrection appearances, the Holy Spirit is saying that when the Church gathers Jesus is there among us showing us, even today, that He is risen and with us therefore we can be at peace.

 "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John:20:19-23

Paul tells us that we should worship "lifting us holy hands"  1Tim:2:8. When we lift our hands we lift our hearts as well.

Fellowship

As the Spirit led body filled with the Holy Spirit the church fellowship not just with each other,  but with our Lord Himself. The message of the Gospel is in the end an invitation to eternal fellowship with the Great God.This is why the Apostles traveled telling others about Jesus Christ, the God Himself has visited us in the humanity of His Holy Son Jesus, that we might know Him and spend eternity with Him in fellowship.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete." 1John:1:1-4

Do Not Forsake  Assembling

As the days grow darker the church will need one another more than ever before. If you are not already apart of a local church, we encourage you to find a church to be a part of, one that focuses your hearts and minds upon Jesus. We here at the Fountain of life Church of Washington Pennsylvania invite you to worship with us we are here every Sunday at 10:30 AM,see our web site for services time and other information www.gcfountainoflife.org and if not with us, there are many fine church that would receive you warmly and included you in the love and fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the habit of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching." Hebrews:10:24-25......Amen

 
 Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion http://www.youtube.com/user/IfItIsNotAboutJesus

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

Why Do We Suffer?

"If it’s not about Jesus, it’s not about Anything"

Motto of the Fountain of Life

SPS (Sermon Purpose Statement):  To demonstrate the underlying thread of glory which inhabits suffering. 

  

INTRODUCTION

Dear Reader.  This sermon is to reflect upon the reasons behind suffering.  A sermon to offer comfort during suffering is a different topic for a different season.  It is well to remember that while suffering through pain or grief we need human compassion and comfort.  For every time there is a purpose under heaven.  There is a time to grieve and a time to heal and a time to reflect.  The genesis for this article was the death of my mother.  The grief experienced was surprisingly intense; to the point of tears.  I have not attempted to reproduce that feeling in this paper, and therefore it may appear cold or detached or academic.  Please be assured that intense grief was considered in this presentation and that the reflection upon suffering is not disconnected from human feeling.  And now is the season of reflection.  Now is the season to release our hold upon honest and justifiable grief and to seek the spiritual purpose behind trials and our purpose in them.  In finding that purpose, we find glory.  In finding that glory, we find Jesus.          

Key Verse

Rom. 8:17… And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.          

Physical pain.  Emotional Pain.  Which is worse?  But being human beings we ask a more profound question.  Why do we suffer at all?  If the Apostle Paul were here with me and I asked him that question, would he answer, “George, does not the potter have authority over the clay? Who are you O man, to question the Creator?”  Is Paul’s answer cynically evading our question?  Not at all!  Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, and imprisoned.  Paul evaded nothing.  An unspoken issue in Paul’s answer is this:  What is the state of our heart in directing any question toward God?  Read Romans 9 where the question Paul addresses is presented with a Pharaoh like attitude.  Am I Pharaoh-like demanding answers from God, challenging God for an answer, or am I childlike asking dad for help to understand?  If childlike this is an honest question and proper to ask.  And the scriptures are lively oracles, which provide answers. 

A motif of suffering is woven throughout the bible.  In Genesis God said to the serpent.  You will bruise His heel.  God said to the woman, I will greatly increase your pains.  He said to the man, cursed be the ground.  1 Peter 2:21 states that “to this end you were called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps.  Hebrews 12:6 advises that, “Whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and he scourges every son he receives.”    Rev. Todd Crouch took the congregation and the radio audience through a year-long study of Revelation.  It was impossible to miss the suffering that occurs.      

 6 Points

How do physical and emotional pain connect to spirituality, which glorifies God?  There is a linkage of reasons in Romans 5:1-3.  It starts with faith.

1.  Suffering brings glory to Jesus:

a) We have been justified through faith. Through faith…

b) We have access to grace.  Through grace…

c) We rejoice in our sufferings.  Through suffering under grace…

e) We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God 

Suffering and faith and glory dwell together:  1 Peter 1:7…"That the trial of your faith, being more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found to praise, honor and glory at the appearing of Christ." 

Rom. 8:17… And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.  

Paul and Silas are my heroes.  In Acts 16 they offered the most amazing example while they suffered extreme persecution in the Philippian jail.  They sang psalms and gave witness of Christ.  Through their suffering glory was given to Jesus. 

When a hammer hits a thumb, or a finger presses on a burning stove and we say, “I love you Jesus” instead of cursing Him; this is the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5); this is glory to Jesus.  When your back is killing you and your spouse says, “You forgot clean the toilet.  And you say “Sorry Dear” rather than shouting back, “You didn’t put gas in the car”; this is glory to Jesus.  Are Christians in their suffering capable of bringing glory to Jesus?  There is a logic of grace that says:  Yes!    

2.  Suffering allows us to recognize our need for Christ: 

We as human beings are filled with pride to levels so deep that we can’t recognize it in ourselves.  When things go well, I relax; pride sneaks in and soon I forget Jesus.  Mind you, I don’t deny Jesus, I just forget Him.  Then when Jesus is far from my thoughts I unthinkingly strike out on my own.  I will trust my own judgments.  I will stick my hand in the fire without a second thought.  Then as my own ability runs its course, I worry, fret, feel anxious, feel alone feel empty.  Then I remember and return to seek Jesus.  Am I that different from any of you?  Perhaps not.

Leprosy, (Hanson’s disease) destroys the nerve endings.  Lepers feel no pain.  They will reach into a fire to pick up a fallen potato.  They cannot react to pain, to pressure, to correction.  Spiritually healthy people feel pain.  Pain focuses disciples back upon God.   

3.  Suffering allows us to know our real selves:

Does God visit us with trials to see how we respond or to learn what we can do or what we can take?  Are trials sent for Him to learn our character?  When we look at Job we see a very different reason.  Job 42:5-6, “Now I see thee, wherefore I abhor myself and repent.”  Job sees God.  And in seeing the greatness of God he honestly sees himself.  God sends trials for us to learn our character; for us to learn what we will do; for us to know our real selves. 

NOTE:  GOD DOES NOT EXPECT US TO ENJOY SUFFERING.  We rejoice in our sufferings we do not enjoy them.  Only days after telling the disciples to pray that they might escape persecution, Jesus himself asked God to spare him the agonies of the cross, if that was God’s will (Luke 22:41-42). It is abnormal to crave suffering.

4.  Suffering yields empathy:

Paul points out this reason in 2 Corinthians 1:4.  “Who comfortheth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble.”  How can we understand those who mourn, unless we ourselves have suffered?  How can we comfort those who mourn, unless we have been comforted? 

How do we offer comfort?  Loneliness is a terrible thing.  Therefore, it helps greatly to know that we are not alone.  Just holding a hand and saying nothing; just being there; just letting someone know that they are not alone often is the stuff of great comfort.

How do we answer grief?  A mother whose baby just died went to a pastor.  Numb with grief she came to him and said that Ephesians 5:20 says to give thanks for all things.  Then she asked, “How can I thank God for the death of my baby?”

I wondered why she quoted Ephesians 5:20.  Did she earlier seek comfort from an immature super Christian?  Did he callously tell her not to fret over her baby?  Because after all, the Bible says be thankful in all things.  I hope she did not receive this type of comfort.  A proper answer to grief is compassion and just being there with them.  At times no words are needed.  At times a human touch is all the comfort a grieving person is able to process. 

It is almost axiomatic that people see what we do rather than hear what we preach.  When our lives reflect our Christianity then our lights shine and our lives reflect Jesus to the world and this a powerful witness.  When people sense Christ in us they intuitively understand that our concern is real.  When concern is perceived as genuine it offers powerful comfort to others.

 Beloved in Christ, please exercise wisdom when offering comfort.  If words or reasons are offered it is important to remember that coldly, dogmatically and clinically asserting the truth that a loved one is now with Jesus, may not comfort.  Using the time to comfort as a time to drive home a doctrinal point is not compassionate.  But gently and warmly offering that same truth as a reminder that the loved one is now with Jesus does offer much comfort.  How the truth is presented makes a difference. 

An appropriate response to the grieving mother’s question mentioned above is to gently affirm that God does not expect thanks for death because death is our final enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26).  And at times, humbly admitting that we don’t understand why God ordains things (Deuteronomy 29:29) is an honest and appropriate response.  A gentle and quiet reply makes a difference. 

 5.  Suffering helps us to share Jesus’ glory:

We also have the glorious result that we will be glorified together with Jesus.

Rom. 8:17… And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together with Him.  Can you believe this scripture?  We will share His glory.  This is so amazing.  Are there suitable words to describe it?       

 

6.  Suffering may bring others to God: 

The man born blind from birth (John 9:1) had the courage to bare witness to the entire Sanhedrin.  With that degree of courage we may well speculate how many friends and acquaintances his suffering through blindness lead to Christ.  Mark reports an incredibly powerful scene.  Mark 5:19.  A man of the Gerasenes was possessed by at least 2000 demons.  Jesus casts them all out.  That man recognizes what has happened and who Jesus is.  He makes a commitment to follow Jesus, not figuratively but literally to accompany Jesus and the 12 in their traveling ministry.  He makes a commitment to devote his life to being with Jesus.  What is Jesus response?  Does Jesus praise his faith and say come follow me?  NO!  Jesus tells him to “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you.”  How many of the Gerasenes did his suffering through possession lead to Jesus?  What witness would either of them had, had they not suffered?

             

The example of Paul and Silas in that Philippian jail is perhaps even more powerful.  They were not healed of blindness.  Demons were not driven from them.  They were not delivered from a false arrest, a severe beating, an illegal imprisonment and confinement in stocks.  Through all that suffering they sang psalms and praised God before all the prisoners.  Their witness occurred without a great display of God’s power and it preceded the earthquake.  At the start of that day, who knew, who understood that the unregenerate jailer, his family and how many prisoners would be led to Christ through their suffering persecution?  At the start of the next day, who knew, who understood, how many unregenerate souls the prisoners and the jailer and his family would lead to Christ because of the persecution suffered by Paul and Silas? 

      

PAIN & JOY

Humanly speaking we can see no relation between suffering and joy.  The child of God, however, knows that Jesus spoke of joy and suffering.  Look at a Crucifix and see Jesus’ broken body.  Now consider this.  He fully knew what would happen to Him.  On the night before He suffered the cross, Jesus said something that my human mind cannot comprehend.  He said, “My joy I give you.”  James, the servant and brother of Jesus, advised us, “…count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”  (James 1:2).  Divers temptations certainly include suffering and pain.

The child of God has the knowledge that during our suffering Jesus is with us and we are with Christ.  We are not alone.  The life with Christ has tremendous blessings.  The unregenerate are totally unaware of and unable to experience them.  The life without Christ is always searching and never finding, never satisfied, never full, never comforted.

G. K. Chesterton spoke of joy and suffering.  He indicated that for a life with Christ suffering and sorrow are peripheral, but joy is primary.  For a life without Christ suffering and sorrow are primary, and joy is peripheral.

My mom’s daily devotional examined a life with and without Christ.  The blessings realized are a cause of great comfort and joy.  It is doubly significant for me that this was the last entry she ever read from it.

With Christ                                                                            

1.  You are loved by God                                                      

2.  Your sins are removed                                                      

3.  Your future home is secure in Heaven                              

4.  Your tears will be wiped away                                         

5.  You are never alone                                                          

6.  You are the King’s child.                                                  

7.  You have peace                                                                 

            Without Christ

1.  You don’t know His love

2.  You feel guilt

3.  You don’t see a future

4.  Your tears remain

5.  You feel alone

6.  You are what you are

7.  You have anger and denial

Here are some thoughts from mom’s daily devotional that glorify Jesus:

-To face a titanic hour with cool calm is grace.

-To speak words of wisdom when the boat is sinking is grace.

-To swim in deep waters of adversity rather than drown in despair is grace.

CONCLUSION

We want to serve and glorify God.  Suffering enables us do that.  We can also glorify Jesus without suffering.  That is good news.  How?  John 15:8, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.”   What is bearing fruit?  Is it altruism in building super hospitals and feeding the hungry?  Is it self-sacrifice in giving our bodies to be burned?  Paul says in I Corinthians 13, “No.”  We learn that without grace there is no godly love and without love there is no spiritual fruit.  We learn that with grace there is love and where there is love fruit abounds. 

The logic of grace leads to an amazing conclusion.  Bearing fruit is as simple as accepting and living a life guided by grace.  When filled with grace the Holy Spirit is in every action.  That means that building the hospital with grace and changing a diaper with grace, suffering illness and losing a job with grace, or perfect health and getting a job promotion with grace all bring glory to Jesus because there is the love of Christ and a divine purpose in all the acts in which He is present. Glorifying Jesus is done in as many millions of ways as there are disciples who are bearing fruit.    

Brethren, go and bear fruit for the glory of Jesus.

Beloved in Christ:  The Grace and Joy of Jesus be with you through all your times and purposes.  Amen.

Rev. George Relic, Assistant Pastor

The Fountain of Life

2021 Old National Pike

Washington, PA 15301

A congregation of Grace Communion International