No one could have anticipated how different life is today than just a few months ago. Whether it’s a global crisis or a personal one, adversity usually comes without warning and impacts us in ways we couldn’t have anticipated. This message from the classic Life Principles series helps us see “Adversity as a Burden Or Bridge.”
This sermon was recorded before COVID-19. For the protection of our staff members and the community, we are currently following safety guidelines by practicing social distancing. We appreciate your understanding.
[Music]
well they’re probably more people going
through adversity today than a long long
time a lot of that is because of
financial circumstances and situations
and they’re facing things had never
faced before they never even thought
about losing their home or not being
able to send their kids to college never
thought about the fact that they
wouldn’t have all that needs met the way
they men have made him never thought
about that
somebody would walk in and say we don’t
need you to ball this job adversity
comes in all forms and when I think
about it I think about how universal it
is this making us where you live where
you come from what color what culture
that’s making a difference adversity is
just adversity and often times it comes
for a sudden without any warning
whatsoever sometimes we think well god I
can’t handle it it’s more than I can
handle and we sort of want to back up
mascot where he is and feel very
vulnerable than what’s going to happen
next in our life and sometimes it just
sets us back until we said consider get
a glimpse of what’s happening a lot of
folks never get the right glimpse and so
they just they just crumble under that
kind of adversity we know it either
comes from either the devil or it comes
from circumstances in life we have no
control over other people or sometimes
we bring on ourselves or sometimes God
will allow adversity into our life or
leaders into situations that are very
difficult for us you say how can God be
loving and understand that well if you
listen carefully you’ll understand how
we can and ye can and then people
respond in different ways some people
seem to know how to walk through it but
most people don’t and so they get bitter
angry and resentful toward God hostile
toward him on a walk away or trying to
take some quick way out and you want to
get on an alcohol or drugs or whatever
it might be so they don’t think about it
that never cures anything you’d think
after a while that people would think
you know if alcohol drugs cured
something then you’d have a drink and
you’d be cured or you’d have two drinks
you’d be cured but you know 10,000
drinks later they still aren’t cured
you think they catch on after a while
that things really get worse and worse
and worse when you take any Avenue but
God’s Avenue when adversity comes what
really makes the difference is their
attitude makes all the difference in the
world and so when a person’s attitude is
that they want to blame somebody else
and put somebody else from the
responsibility road then things don’t
work out right it’s when my attitude is
right that matters and what I want you
to understand in this message I want you
to understand that adversity in our life
can either be this overwhelming sense of
burden this burden that is weighty
heavy that makes us weary tired Restless
and and just worn out or the same
adversity can be like a bridge like a
bridge that leads me to a deeper
relationship to God it’s all in my
attitude and all in my understanding of
what God is doing so in your own life
would you say that the adversity in your
life is like a burden it’s a heavy
weight in your life and you just keep
thinking God how much love I gonna have
to go or do you see it as an opportunity
as a bridge over which you can travel
above those circumstances and above all
the adversity that’s there because you
understand that it’s leading you into a
deeper relationship with Jesus Christ
well the Apostle Paul is the best
example in the scripture of a person who
not only went through all kinds of
adversity but who understood the most
basic principles and in this passage if
you will listen carefully and I want to
encourage you to write down these
statements it will help you enable you
to keep your attitude right the goal
right understand what God’s doing in
your life and you will have a totally
different attitude about whatever you’re
going through whatever that may be
so I want you to turn to second
Corinthians chapter 12 and you remember
in 2nd Corinthians Paul is writing about
many things dealing with the church but
one of those things that he’s dealing
with here in this eleventh and twelfth
chapters is his own adversity and the
things he had to go through so in the
eleventh chapter he lists many things
that he had had to suffer for example he
said he was stoned and left for dead and
Lystra and he was shipwrecked and left
out there to die and he was beaten
several times with rods he was jailed
over and over and over again they tried
to assassinate him several times and so
this is the kind of life he lived from
the time he was saved and went to Arabia
to understand better the Word of God
when he came back and began to preach it
was one adversity after the other and he
sort of ends up his list in the eleventh
chapter in he ends it up sort of in
verse 28 by saying apart from such
external things there is the daily
pressure on me of concern for all the
churches and so he said daily pressure
that is this wasn’t something that
happened once in a while
daily he felt the burden he felt the
pressure daily of all the churches that
he started what’s happening to them is
that false doctrine entering these
churches in other words he had a
tremendous responsibility an opportunity
but-but-but adversity it was a big part
of it all so what did he learn how did
he go through this what was his attitude
and I want us to come to this passage in
a few moments just to look at all the
things that he learned that you now can
learn they will help us face whatever we
have to face in life and sometimes
people who love God as much as anybody
does they have a very very difficult
time facing some things now let’s
distinguish between a burden and the
whole idea of a bridge a burden is that
heaviness and weight that you feel when
things happen to you and there is that
sense of weariness and being worn out
and tired discouraged and all the rest
and many people live under that they
have no joy whatsoever on the other hand
if I can see this adversity as a bridge
that God has built for me to rise up
over all that and in the same time in
the most important thing lead me into a
deeper personal relationship with him
whereas my understanding of him and my
intimacy with him is much greater then
I’ll have a different attitude and that
doesn’t mean for example that you can
eliminate all the adversity in your life
but what you eliminate you eliminate an
attitude for example and a response that
is not helpful at all but as there is a
response that can be now Paul in this
12th chapter mentions something that he
had to deal with but that’s just one
thing he had to deal with mirrors if
you’ll notice he says in this 7th verse
and he doesn’t mention here in the 7th
verse all the things he’s just mentioned
in the eleventh chapter about the
specific things that he go through
here’s what he says he mentions one here
and I want you to see how packed this
passage is he says because of the
surpassing greatness of the revelations
for this reason there was given to me a
thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan
to torment me to keep me from exalting
myself concerning this I implored the
Lord three times that he might leave me
and he said to me my grace is sufficient
for you but power is perfected in
weakness most clearly therefore I will
rather boast about my weaknesses so that
the power of Christ may dwell in me
therefore I am well content with
weaknesses with insults with distresses
with persecutions with difficulties for
Christ’s sake but when I’m weak then I
am strong so when you look at what what
Paul has said in that passage and I
think about he says I’m content with all
these things I don’t think I would be
very happy to say I’m content with all
of that unless I learned something about
what God is up to and allow me allowing
these things in our life
when you think about a bridge for a
moment a bridge has to be well
constructed it will take much weight
there are two scriptures that build this
construction of this bridge that make it
possible for us to ride over to over
come all the adversities in our life one
of those verses is Psalm 103 verse 19
and that is he has established his
throne in the heavens and his
sovereignty rules over all he’s in
control that’s part of that bridge the
second part of that bridge is this
Romans 8:28 my god is causing all things
to work together for good to those who
love him to those who call the co and
his purpose so with those two listen
eternal truths when they interpret it
correctly and we depend upon him God
builds an awesome bridge so what I’d
like for us to do how about like for us
to simply look at what the Apostle Paul
learned here’s what he said he said in
Philippians chapter 3 and if you if you
read this in the Living Bible
translation it is so it’s so
overwhelmingly beautiful and challenging
he said in this third chapter if you’ll
think about it for a moment and the in
this eighth verse of Philippians he said
more than that he said I count all
things to be loss in view of the
surpassing value listen this the
surpassing value of what knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord for whom I’ve suffered the
loss of all things count them all as
rubbish that I may gain him he said look
all these things that I’ve been through
I count that as nothing compared to what
I have learned the insights that I have
into Jesus and who he is and how he
operates then he says later in the tenth
verse that I may know him and the power
of his resurrection and the Fellowship
of his sufferings being conformed to his
death now if if there was a possibility
somewhere along the way you may have
some adversity that’d be one thing but
what I want us to look to see here is
this you’re going to you’re going to
face adversity
the question is how you’re gonna face it
how you gonna respond you can respond in
a way that you come out winning no
matter what are you gonna face in such a
way that you’re gonna try to deny that’s
not gonna work you got alcohol and sex
and drugs they’re not gonna work always
some kind of pleasure none of that’s
gonna worry it’s how you’re gonna face
it you’re gonna crumble beneath it
you’re gonna psyche and handle it some
way are you gonna deal with it in
reality what I want you to see and the
rest of this message is this there’s
some very specific truths the Apostle
Paul learned that he’s sharing in this
passage that will help you through any
and every adversity in life so once you
listen carefully for your own sake
because it’s gonna happen you’re gonna
need it and the question is how you’re
gonna respond so I won’t put these in
any order necessarily of importance from
somebody’s viewpoint I just want to
start with this very first thing and
that is he learned this that he and all
of these on the max trains and I want
you to encourage you to write them down
he learned that he could experience
contentment in the midst of his
adversity which is what most people
never learned that he could be content
in the midst of his adversity now in in
chapter 4 of Philippians for example
that eleventh verse he says this very
thing when he’s writing about what’s
happening to him he says in verse 10 but
I’ll rejoiced in the Lord greatly that
now at last you have revived your
concern for me indeed you were concerned
before but you have left opportunity
than supporting him then they couldn’t
be he says not that I speak from want
for I have learned to be content in
whatever circumstance I’m in so now back
to this twelfth chapter where we’ve
spent most of our time beginning in this
particular passage and I want you notice
what he says in verse 10 he says
therefore
therefore I am well content with what
weaknesses insults de-stresses
persecutions difficulties that send most
people to bed
he says I’m content with these things
now why could he say that because he
knew how to respond here’s what he’d
learned he’d learned that he was
learning something about his
relationship to Jesus and he was
learning that these things were not
tearing him down but that somehow he
could have contentment and remember he’s
writing he’s writing Philippians and
Ephesians and Colossians he’s writing
these epistles from a prison cell
because he’s gone one Jail to the other
and now he’s talking about the fact that
one thing he learned was that he could
have contentment in the midst of all
that there’s only one way to be content
in the midst of adversity and when we go
through these I think as they we add one
upon the other you understand that the
second thing that I want you to notice
here is this he could experience God’s
supernatural strength in his weakness
because that’s what that’s what
adversity does adversity adversity makes
us weak emotionally or physically
whatever it might be
it makes us weary and tired worn out and
here’s what he says he said he learned
that he could experience God’s
supernatural strength listen to what he
says in this passage in in in 2nd
Corinthians in verse 10
therefore I’m well content with
weaknesses with insults with distresses
with persecutions with difficulties but
Christ say he says for when I am weak
then I am strong here’s what he learned
he said since what I’ve learned I’ve
learned that when I am at my weakest
moments in my life well I think I just
can’t keep going remember he said the
daily pressure of the churches upon him
the fact that they try to assess that
him stone him equipping their words he
says what I’ve learned is this when I am
they’re very weakest I get my greatest
urghhh of the presence of the
supernatural energy and power in my life
I can keep going it’s when I think I
can’t that I begin to realize who is my
Lord who is my strength what is this
life with admit is the life of Jesus and
he says when I come to those points that
I think I can’t handle it
that’s when I get this new fresh
awareness and energizing of Christ
within me
energizing me and enabling me and so
that being true whatever he was facing
like a bridge these truths that would
help him to drive right over it and then
he said he had learned the subtlest and
he said he had learned the source for
all of his needs notice what he says in
this passage he says beginning in verse
9 and he said to me my grace is
sufficient for you for power is
perfected in weakness most readily he
says therefore I will rather boast about
my weaknesses so that the power of
Christ may dwell in me
he says I’ve learned that my sufficiency
is in Christ he says I’ve learned that
when I’m going through these
difficulties when there’s no one there
to help me and oftentimes he was
abandoned even by his friends he says
I’ve learned that whatever my need is
Christ is my sufficiency knowing him
loving him being loved by him being
cared for by him this relationship this
intimate relationship that he has with
Christ he says what I’ve learned is that
even in my worst adversity that
relationship gives me a sense of
sufficiency because I know that he’s
made promises he’s made promises he’s
going to guide me and keep me and supply
my need whatever that might be and of
course you and I all know the verse in
Philippians my God shall supply all your
needs according as riches in glory in
Christ Jesus that comes from a person
who spent a lot of time in jail
persecuted stone shipwreck you name it
what’s he saying he’s talking about
being content he’s talking about the
supernatural energy of Almighty God
coursing through his life
equipping him and and making him
sufficient to deal with any and every
circumstance of life you see he was
looking in the right direction when the
adversity came not looking within
himself but looking to the Lord Jesus
and knowing and having learned and
learning at the same time there was
something about that relationship that
made it possible for him to rise above
that and this is why for example also in
Philippians he says the whole Praetorian
Guard they know I’m here in jail and as
he was as he was chained to these
soldiers and sharing his faith with them
God was working mighty miracles through
his life because you see he didn’t give
up and quit and he didn’t say well God
where are you he was learning something
and he’s learning something that he’s
placed in this passage he learned that
God was the source of all of his needs
and he also listened came to realize
that he could trust in the faithfulness
of God he could trust in the
faithfulness of God that is that God was
going to be true to his promises and
when I think about that promise I think
about what he says in verse 10 he says
therefore I’m well content with
weaknesses with insults with distresses
with persecutions with difficulties for
Christ’s sake for when I’m weak then I’m
strong he said I know that my God is
going to be faithful to keep his word
that he’s going to supply my needs that
I’m gonna be sufficient in him to face
any and every situation circumstance of
life and you see when the person begins
to question the faithfulness of God
because of adversity God wants us at
that point to turn to him and ask the
question were you faithful back yonder
were you faithful to keep your word
did you do what you promised there when
I prayed that what happened that is the
truth is if you’ll think about it God
can’t do anything but be faithful that’s
who he is that’s his nature and because
his nature is to be faithful to us we
can trust him that in whatever
circumstance we’re going through
whatever the situation may be that we
can count on
him to be who he says he is count on him
to do what he says he’ll do and sails
through it no matter what but if I don’t
believe he’s faithful if I don’t
understand that faithfulness means he’s
trustworthy that at no time listen at no
time will he ever let us down in
frustrations for example in the tenth
chapter 13 verse he says temptation
trials are common to everyone he says
but God is faithful who will not allow
you to be tempted and tried and face
adversity listen not an adversity that
you can’t handle with him but he says
listen he puts a limitation on it so
that whatever adversity you and I suffer
in life there is a divine limitation he
will not let it go beyond what he knows
that any one of us who is his children
can face it that is by trusting him and
relying upon him so he says you know
this whole idea that God is faithful
then another issue that he learned here
and that I think is so very very
valuable he says for example he learned
that God valued his service more than
his desires now listen to what he says
in this twelfth chapter verse seven he
says for example because of the
surpassing greatness of the revelations
for this reason they keep me from
exalting myself
that was given me a thorn in the flesh a
messenger of Satan to torment me to keep
me from exalting myself here’s what he
say it’s an awesome valuable lesson he
says I’ve learned that from God’s
perspective he knows exactly what it
takes to bring me into an intimate
relationship with him and listen watch
this
God is so desirous to bring us into that
Living eternal listen satisfying
enjoyable indescribable intimacy with
him then look he will overlook my
desires in order to do what he will
overlook my desires in order to equip me
to serve him here’s what he said he said
all these revelations that God is giving
them all this insight this discernment
this understanding of who Jesus is
because you feel think about it
you and I would know very little
scripture about how to live a Christian
life just reading the Gospels it was the
Apostle Paul who interpreted the life of
Christ and who demonstrated and who
lived out the principles that Jesus
taught he says just what I learned that
God is more interested in equipping me
for service and preparing me to serve
him than he is for the desires of my
heart you know we love to quote delights
of self in the Lord he’ll give you the
desires of your heart he will but now
think about this he says he saw in me
Paul says he saw in me the potential he
saw in me what he was able to do he saw
in me that I wanted to serve him in so
what did God do instead of giving him
natural desires what would he like
let’s eliminate jail time let’s
eliminate getting beaten
let’s eliminate being shipwrecked let’s
eliminate being stoned on and on and on
this eliminate all that pressure he
lived with and won’t just give me the
desires of my heart here’s what God said
you’re more valuable to me than that
you’re so valuable to me that I know
what it takes to equip you to become the
man that I want you to be the servant of
God that I desire for you to be and so
what I’ve just what I’m going to do I’m
going to allow you to be shipwrecked I’m
gonna allow you to be beaten I’m gonna
allow you to be stoned I’m gonna allow
you to be a temp to have these attempted
assassinations because of what I know
all of this is going to contribute to
your understanding of our relationship
that you see adversity sometimes is a
gift
adversity sometimes is a blessing
from Almighty God to equip us to do what
God call us to do for example somebody
walks up you’re never a happily married
you just got a divorce or you’re part of
your marriage partly just walked out on
you and you begin to tell them how
you’re hurting today so I do understand
they don’t understand anything of a sort
be careful when you tell somebody you
understand who do you want to talk to
you gonna talk to somebody
who’s been there somebody who’s walked
through and somebody who survived it and
somebody who still has a sense of
contentment and joy and God’s working in
their heart because you want to know how
they did it yes what Paul saying he’s
saying God still loved me
he’s so desired to use me he so desert
God God could see ahead what was going
to happen if I surrender to him and
surrender yielded myself to him he just
let me and allowed me to go through all
of this to equip me to be this awesome
servant of God now I ask you a question
would you be willing to suffer in order
to serve him effectively and powerfully
would you would you not you see we found
that who we really are we face the facts
adversity hardship pain trials suffering
loss there was all of these things are
part of what people have to face in life
and the issue is this if I take the
bridge route I’m gonna come out better
in every single way but if I choose to
just sew and have self pity and all the
rest I’m gonna lose the most wonderful
opportunity and the most wonderful
opportunity watch this it is not just
being a servant of God but this
wonderful intimate relationship that
develops in that kind of adversity that
comes no other way then I think about
when he says he he learned that even in
his adversity that God was strengthening
his message to his followers and that’s
interesting because in Philippians here
he is in jail and here’s what’s
happening as some of his followers were
out there and they’re not they’re not
being very understanding of the Apostle
in fact they’re criticizing him here’s
what he says in verse 13 so that my
imprisonment in the cause of Christ has
become well-known throughout the whole
Praetorian Guard and they were the ones
who defended the emperor and to everyone
else and that most of the Brethren
trusting in the Lord because of my
imprisonment have far more courage to
speak the Word of God without fear
now he says some to be sure are
preaching Christ even from envy and
strife but some are for goodwill that is
his what he’s saying he says that even
in our adversity God is doing something
in her life what is he doing he’s
strengthening our message because you
see when you go through difficult and
hardship and pain in your life and you
begin to understand how God is working
in your life your faith your faith for
example become stronger and you begin to
understand things you hadn’t understood
before what’s happening what’s happening
is that God if he’s really he’s
deepening your message when you were
first saved
you’d understand very much and the
longer you’ve lived and the deeper your
faith has become and the more you’ve
learned and the more adversity you face
the more God has blessed you now what
happens you’re more effective in what
you have to say and your message
listen become stronger and other
people’s message become stronger and
when they watch how God has worked in
your life so at every turn in every way
he’s taking adversity and using it for
some area in your life that is good and
some area that he wants to change and he
wants to strengthen and so when you look
at the Apostle Paul and and when he
talks about his message his message was
penetrating the Roman guard in Rome
penetrating those out there with whom he
had preached and you see the more he
went through the more effective he
became because they watched how he
responded and this is why every single
believer going through difficult and
hardship has this awesome opportunity of
helplessly having our greatest impact on
the people we know and our friends and
people we don’t know who watch what you
go through and wonder how you do it and
wonder how you could survive it when
they think I don’t think I could handle
that God it depends upon your attitude
and what your goal is and what God is
doing in your life and for example he
also learned to see everything is coming
from God which is one of the basic
principles to prevent a person from be
bitter resentful hostile listen to what
he says in this passage he says for
example in verse 7 because of the
surpassing greatness of the revelations
for this reason they keep me from
exalting myself that was given to me a
thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan
to torment me to keep me from exalting
myself now where did that come from
ultimately it had to be God that his God
could have stopped it he could have he
could have stopped all of that but he
allowed it what was he doing he was
allowing these things in his life and
Paul said one of the greatest things he
learned was to be able to see everything
is coming from God because just what was
happening when these things were taking
place in his life he was getting
insights into who Jesus was that he had
not had before he was learning things
about how the Lord works there was
something was happening inside of him
and so he could say here’s what’s going
on somehow I feel content in the midst
of all this somehow I feel that my
Heavenly Father’s gonna be sufficient
for every single aspect of my life
he learned to see everything is coming
from God and I’ve said several times
it’s from the greatest lessons I’ve ever
learned I learned in on my knees in the
prayer room in the midst of great
difficulty and great turmoil and great
adversity in my life and I can never
forget that moment when he says this is
the way you’ll win this battle you will
see everything is coming from me and all
of a sudden my to change attitude toward
people change attitudes from my
self-pity began to to just disintegrate
in front of me and I thought well God if
you’re behind at all and you love me
unconditionally we’re gonna walk right
through this when you understand that
your God listen is with you in it no
matter what and you begin to understand
that because remember what we said in
the beginning there are two big rails in
this bridge one of them is that he’s in
control of everything and the other rail
is that what he’s gonna turn everything
for your good if you can ride on those
two
Kruse you can overcome any adversity no
matter what it is without being bitter
hostile angry and blaming somebody else
for they may be to blame but you’re
blaming them it’s not going to do any
good and what Paul has learned here’s
this he’s learned a valuable lesson then
when he sees that everything is coming
from him and he views it as that and he
says here’s what I see God has so loved
me
and he wants to use me he says in order
to keep me from being prideful and
arrogant God has allowed this in my life
that kept him humble kept him dependent
and kept him useful in the kingdom of
God there are many people whom God
blesses and what happens they get
blessed and they get blessed and they
get blessed and they become more
self-sufficient more self adequate and
next thing you know they’re prideful and
arrogant God just sets him on the shelf
God does not use prideful people because
prideful people are saying I don’t need
him in some areas of my life and Paul
learned that all these things that were
happening to him we’re doing what
building this awesome sense of an
intimate relationship with God because
he was beginning to understand God in
ways he had not before not only that but
in this passage it’s very evident that
he was learning the ways of God and this
12th chapter again the tenth verse he
said therefore I’m welcome I’m well
content with weaknesses with insults
with de-stresses and persecutions
difficulties for Christ’s sake
but when I’m weak then I’m strong he
said I’m learning something about God
that when I’m the weakest and think I
can’t that’s when God shows up with the
most awesome sense listen of authority
for he’s called me to do with the energy
to do it
he says I’m learning the ways of God
until you learn the ways of God what
you’ll do do you find yourself reading
with him over things and find yourself a
little confused sometimes and find
yourself a little bit in conflict with
God it’s not that you don’t love him you
don’t care it’s just very difficult
sometimes when you face things if you
don’t understand his one
one of his ways is that he uses
suffering adversity difficulty hardship
pain to grow us up to equip us he uses
these things to drive us unto himself he
makes his greatest servants out of pain
and suffering and hardship what we want
to do is we want to live a life of ease
comfort and pleasure and just talk about
how sweet Jesus is and how wonderful he
is and how he blesses me and everything
I have on wouldn’t they give him credit
for all the joy of my life and all the
health and all the things what about the
adversity how many of us have learned
anything out of pleasure and sweetness
and joy wonderful wealth and having all
your possessions what have you learned
not one thing so I’ve learned how good
god is have you really you learn how
good god is listen when the bottom drops
out and there’s no place to turn and he
shows up that’s when you learn how good
god is so he says he’s learned he’s
learning the ways of God he said what
I’ve learned is this when I’m the
weakest I’m the strongest what I’m
learning is that things that I don’t
want my life he’s just making it for my
good he’s learning the ways of God he’s
learning that when other people reject
him listen when other people reject him
what he’s learning is that’s when his
intimacy with Jesus Christ becomes the
most precious when you rejected by your
friends or by your husband your wife
your children your parents when you’re
rejected then you get the sweetest
glimpse listen you get the biggest dose
the greatest refreshing drink of
intimacy in your life when everybody
else has said you know what forget it
and Jesus is still there and Paul is
learning that and it’s a difficult
lesson but he’s learned that then of
course he learned something else and
that is he says we become far more
capable of being comforted
to other people when we have been
through adversity and have been
comforted ourselves now he says that in
different ways in this particular
passage but I want us to go back to what
he said in the first chapter of this
book this is a twelfth chapter we’ve
been talking about but back in the first
chapter he starts off his this letter to
the Corinthians yes what he says he says
blessed be the God and father of our
Lord Jesus Christ the father of mercies
and God of all comfort who comforts us
watch this who comforts us in all our
afflictions adversities so that we will
be able to comfort those who are in any
affliction with the comfort with which
we ourselves are comforted by God then
he says Zone later in that bar in the
same chapter but we do not want you to
be unaware brethren of our affliction
which came to us in Asia but we were
burdened excessively beyond our strength
so that we despaired even of life that’s
what he was going through and what is he
talking about he’s talking about that
God in those situations by comforting
him has equipped him to be a comfort in
other people and as we said before
there’s some situations and
circumstances that people go through and
they come to you and want to share and
you say oh I understand I’m gonna pray
for your brother just trust the Lord a
lot of that is just stuff that’s what
that is stuck
you can only comfort people genuinely
when you’ve been hurt when you felt pain
when you felt rejection when you have
felt in need when you have felt yourself
heading in the wrong direction when you
felt yourself losing it losing it losing
it in life and somehow God begins to
work in your life his awesome comfort
and he says what he’s learned is this we
become the most effective when we’ve
heard the most when we have to be
comforted then we understand what it
means to comfort someone else so when he
talks about all the things that he’s
learned and how to deal with adversity
wait listen here’s what he’s saying when
I’m dealing with adversity I understand
that God is equipping me
in the very process equipping me to be a
comforter to someone else so we don’t we
don’t like adversity but what we have to
ask is this when am I the most effective
when I have hurt like they’ve hurt when
I felt what they felt so am I willing to
feel what they feel and hurt like they
hurt and have pain like they’ve heard am
I willing to suffer loss if that will
equip me to be the kind of comforter
that some people need palsy yes yes
indeed I will and what I’ve learned in
my needs and in my hurts that I’m the
strongest and the most effective in my
comforting then of course he mentioned
something else he says he learned that
God had a specific purpose for the
adversity now that’s what he starts off
saying in his 12th chapter this is what
he says because of the surpassing
greatness of the revelations now what is
he talking about now the book of
Revelation is is singular revelation
because it was one prophetic revelation
when he talks about these surpassing
revelations that he has admits those
times those situations and circumstances
in which God revealed him to him this
truth and that truth and this truth and
that truth
he says God had given him such awesome
surpassing revelations that in order to
keep him from becoming prideful and
arrogant he says there was given me a
thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan
to torment me they keep me from exempt
from exalting myself now you might think
about this when you’re going through
something and it’s very difficult you
might ask yourself the question God
what’s your purpose for this in fact you
have a right that’s asking you in fact
you should ask it what’s your purpose
and post it I know what the purpose is
he said God’s been so awesome to me so
good to me
so revealing to me that in order to
watch this in order to protect the
minister to which he’s called me in
order to protect the truth is given
me in order to protect me from becoming
useless he allowed this thorn in my side
which nobody understands what that is
nobody’s there all the theologians in
the world never figure out what that is
because God didn’t want us to know and
I’ll tell you why the reason he didn’t
want us to know is because let’s say it
was a terrible as me had all his life
couldn’t see you at all the things that
people think about if you and I had the
same thing the Apostle Paul had we’d say
well you know I’m like the Apostle Paul
I have one of those we’d be just as
arrogant in some ways we can be well you
know they’re possible I have something
in common you sure do sin difficult Jim
pain suffering yes but nothing to brag
about
he says watch this if God has watched
this carefully if God has a purpose for
everything he allows in our life would
you say is that a good purpose or bad
purpose I didn’t get much answer on that
I do understand that listen what kind of
God is he he is a good god he’s a
perfectly God he’s an unconditional
loving God so that whatever he allows in
a life there is a specific purpose he
has in mine and that purpose listen is
not only good for him but it’s good for
us what did he say he said my God causes
all things now what we do we take out
all things and we interpret it to be
sweet loving wealthy all these wonderful
things famous all this he causes all
things just pain suffering hardship we
sort of misinterpret that word what we
put in there what we want to happen my
God causes all things all includes all
to work for gilda together for my good
because He loves us and so when you
think about that if you really and truly
believe that listen this is painful I
don’t like it
but somehow according to what I read in
the scripture God’s working this thing
out for my good think about this is God
a God of action without purpose listen
God has never done anything without
purpose
there’s no such thing as happenstance
with God numbers things don’t just
happen with God that’s not even in his
vocabulary things don’t that just
happened with him he purposely directs
and allows things you saw why in the
world would he do that the Apostle Paul
as a father man as he was we just got
there telling you how many reasons there
were all of which is to do what it’s to
open this man up give him understanding
and listening to draw him in to what
Paul said he voted more than anything
else is an intimate personal
relationship with Jesus and until you
experience that the Christian life is
always gonna be pretty light I mean
answered prayer and all that’s being
used of God so one thing that’s not what
he’s up to he’s up to drawing you into
an intimate relationship with him of
understanding who he is and all the
things that become a part of an intimate
relationship let’s say for example your
husband or wife you’re married well what
kind of relationship do you have if it
is not an intimacy that goes beyond the
flesh and six then you don’t have much
of a marriage intimacy means I’m able to
get on the inside of you and pull out
who you are and how you feel and what
hurts you and what can’t do how can I
love you in other words intimacy gets on
the inside of the other person and the
truth is all of us want somebody to know
us amen
in other words whoever you’re married to
whoever your friends are you want
somebody not to know you for what you do
but to know you as a person on the
inside and you see when two people love
each other they can’t get enough of an
inside of that other person that’s what
intimacy is all about so who is this God
he’s this awesome infinite indescribable
awesome god of love listen if you and I
only could understand one attribute of
God let’s say it’s love you and I could
dig for eternity we’ll never be able to
exhaust the full understanding of how
much he loves us listen he wants us to
know him now
just receive from him just serve him he
wants us to know him him him him he
wants us to know who he is and Paul is
understanding that he understands this
purpose he says God knows that I’m
remembered this he was a set he was a he
was a Pharisee he was a big deal in his
day and time when he was among the
Pharisees he was the biggest persecutor
of the church they thought he was it and
God had to crush the hit until he could
get him totally dependent upon himself
and in love listen not with the Mosaic
law as interpreted by Pharisees but with
his carpenter who came from nowhere
changed his life will not think about
that Chea reticle II changed his life
that’s why he wasn’t complaining about
the thorn that’s what he would like to
done it some other way but he says for
what I’ve learned bring it on and then
of course he learned that he could
rejoice in the midst of his adversity
and I love Philippians because there’s
some wonderful verses here but look if
you will in this 4th chapter of
Philippians here’s what he says he says
rejoice in the Lord always again I will
say rejoice he wrote in jail in a Roman
prison and he’s talking about rejoicing
why because here’s what he learned all
these things that had happened to him
instead of having a pity party and
wanting to break out of jail and get
some other rescuing and spending his
days and nights of crying God please
please rescue me please get me out of
this place what was he doing he was just
taking all those experiences and running
him over in his mind in his heart and
gleaning and learning and reaping the
most riches of rewards of who this God
is that he served
so whatever adversity you’re facing
most the time you can’t control it so
you have to decide how you gonna think
about it are you gonna think about it as
a bridge that God is building for you
listen to bring you into an intimate
relationship with him for which no man
on earth can create for you
a relationship to him that you will
never be able to fully fathom all the
days of your life a relationship with
him for which he died to make possible a
relationship with him that absolutely
revolutionize your life equip you to be
a strong servant of God audiometers have
pity parties drink chorale sex anything
get your mind off of it and simply your
mind never gets off of it so that’s the
devil’s approach or you can take Paul’s
approach this is a bridge and I’m gonna
travel above all this because I know
what’s on the other side there’s
indescribable sweet precious eternal
relationship with Jesus Christ that’s
what it’s all about
so look at your adversity or whatever it
may be and ask yourself the question God
have I been acting
have I been responding and let me just
say this you may not be a Christian you
think what in the world is all of this
about here’s what it’s about it’s about
God getting your attention sending you
enough heartache and pain and suffering
that finally it’ll drive you to himself
you can resist it you can rebel against
it but only to your own hurt and pain
what he wants to see for you to
recognize he created you for himself not
for yourself he wants you to confess
your sinfulness your inadequacy and rely
upon him to forgive you of your sins
through His Son Jesus who died at the
cross and paid your sin debt in full
surrender your life to Him and watch him
you say well let’s take away all my
adversity
not necessarily
because you see look he knows how much
of that you need to make you the person
he wants you to be but you do have two
choices you can rebel or you can
surrender and that’s the best way and
that’s my prayer for you Father how
grateful you are thank you for not
giving us all the peace and joy and
happiness we want when that’s not what
you want for us thank you for loving us
enough to control us and at the same
time giving giving us a partially free
will I pray for every person who hears
this old God
there will be adversity you already know
what’s ahead for every single one of us
I pray that they’ll be wise enough
father they get this in their heart not
just on their paper and began not only
to live it out but to share with people
all around them who full of adversity
will thank you for and believe you
thought in Jesus name Amen if you’ve
been blessed by today’s program please
visit us at intouch.org e