Dec. 8, 2019 - Gospel Suffering

Gospel of John  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  45:51
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· If you were with us last week, you remember how we looked at the reality that –
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure
· And how we looked at that reality play itself out following the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
· If you remember, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead…
· Lazarus, Mary and Martha decided to have Jesus over for dinner…they wanted to – HONOR Him…
Because – they VALUED Him
Mary got out the VERY expensive ointment and used it on Jesus’ feet…
They VALUED Him, and so they HONORED Him…
· But – if you ALSO remember, there was someone else involved in this story…
· JUDAS – now Judas voiced a concern about the use of that ointment…
· He asked why the ointment wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor…
· Was Judas CONCERNED for the poor? Not at all…
What he REALLY wanted was to be able to gain access to the money that would have been received from selling the ointment…
· And it’s THIS heart attitude that’s gonna shine through our text today
Judas couldn’t care less about Jesus…
He didn’t want Jesus to be honored – Judas wanted to honor himself…
· Today we’re going to see how the evil of this world (UNBELIEF) responds to followers of Jesus Christ…
· Last week we saw how the world responds to Christ Himself…
· Today we’ll see how that translates to followers of Christ…
John 12:9–11 ESV
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
· When we look at this passage as a whole…we see that the THEME is actually about Lazarus and not Jesus.
· V10 here tells us that the chief priests made plans to NOT ONLY kill Jesus….but to also KILL LAZARUS…
WHY?
Because it says…
“on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus”
WOW
· And so HERE WE SEE the wicked heart of mankind doing WHAT IT CAN - to PERSEVERE…
· See – YES – Christians are called to persevere…
· But WICKEDNESS will try to persevere as well…
· The UNBELIEVING World looked at LAZARUS – following his being raised from the dead…
And it saw – EVIDENCE
LAZARUS HIMSELF was evidence that CONFIRMED what Jesus had been saying about Himself!
· And so what does EVIL do when trying to PERSEVERE in the midst of TRUTH…
· It will try to – DESTROY THE EVIDENCE
No – I’m not going to go all political right now…
· Could I? Sure…
· Have we seen this before – this idea of –
Someone getting caught with something and deciding – LET’S DESTROY the EVIDENCE
Of course - we’ve seen this very thing in the past 5 years
· And of course - we probably don’t even have to look anywhere else but at ourselves to know we’ve done this as well…
· Lazarus – BEING ALIVE – after having been DEAD – was now causing people to BELIEVE in Jesus!
· It CONFIRMED for many that Jesus was in fact – the Messiah…
· Lazarus was now going to have to deal with PERSECUTION for being EVIDENCE of the truth of Jesus Christ…
· And so let’s ask ourselves –
Does my life so point to Jesus, that I too face persecution on account of Christ?
We all SUFFER in this world…right?
The question is – Do I experience Gospel Suffering in my life?
Gospel Suffering is the kind of suffering that comes ON ACCOUNT of Jesus Christ…
· The same kind of suffering spoken of here…
Matthew 5:10–12 ESV
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
· Blessed are those who are persecuted for – RIGHTEOUSNESS sake…
· Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely – ON MY ACCOUNT
· There it is – this isn’t JUST ANY kind of SUFFERING…
It’s suffering that comes DUE to you LIVING for Jesus!
And is this IMPORTANT?
Does it REALLY MATTER?
Acts 14:21–22 ESV
21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Philippians 1:29 ESV
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
· The GIFT of suffering – from God…
· The Bible makes it clear that if we are EVIDENCE to the reality of Jesus Christ, then we WILL be persecuted…
· LAZARUS had people PLOTTING to kill him…
Because his life – PROVED Jesus Christ…
· The job description of Christianity includes:
SUFFERING
And so because that’s TRUE....it’s gonna help us to be STRENGTHENED today...
Christianity is about EMBRACING suffering…not running from it
And so - we need help with this...
And so to finish this out, I want us to look at HOW God uses GOSPEL SUFFERING for His purposes…
And to do THAT we’ll focus in on the apostle Paul – his life and his teaching
When we look at the life of the Apostle Paul, there’s no doubt that what we see is a life marked with suffering.
Imprisonments, countless beatings, often near death.
Forty lashes, less one…five times.
Three times beaten with rods. Stoned. Shipwrecked three times; a night and a day adrift at sea.
In danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
During his 3rd missionary journey, Paul was preaching the gospel in the temple, in Jerusalem, and was illegally arrested.
What followed was a 2 year prison stay.
He then had to deal with a plot to take his life, a shipwreck,
a snake bite, a 3 month stay on an island,
and Roman imprisonment.
All of this done; all of this suffering in the name of Christ.
Let’s look at Phil 1:12-18 to see how God uses our Gospel Suffering…
Philippians 1:12–18 ESV
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
· Paul here, in v12, starts out by telling us….what
Philippians 1:12 ESV
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
· Remember – Paul wrote these words from prison…
· And this phrase = WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME…contains a ton of information…
It contains that list that we just went thru:
Imprisonments, countless beatings, often near death.
Forty lashes, less one…five times.
Three times beaten with rods. Stoned. Shipwrecked three times; a night and a day adrift at sea.
In danger from EVERYWHERE...
sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
illegal arrest
a 2 year prison stay.
a shipwreck,
a snake bite, a 3 month stay on an island,
and Roman imprisonment
· So Paul says – ALL OF THIS HAS – “really served to advance the gospel”
We’re going to see that Gospel Suffering Advances the Gospel!
· THIS is how God uses our Gospel Suffering…..to ADVANCE the Gospel!
NO WONDER the Bible says - COUNT the COST!
And so let’s get specific:
SLIDE: Gospel Suffering: Increases Confidence in Christ

Gospel Suffering

[read v12 again]
Philippians 1:13–14 ESV
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
· Why were Paul’s fellow Christians becoming MORE confident in the Lord?
It says – BY PAUL’s IMPRISONMENT…they became more confident!
· NOW – this INCREASING CONFIDENCE in Christ DUE to suffering - is twofold…
· The Sufferer’s confidence will INCREASE…
· AND – those looking on from the outside – THEIR confidence in Christ will ALSO grow!!
Let’s look at the SUFFERER…
Who’s writing these words?
· Paul is = which means – His CONFIDENCE in Christ – EVEN while in prison…
· Is INCREASING!!
· The MORE suffering that comes (Gospel suffering – that Paul embraces), the more confidence IN CHRIST he gains
LISTEN - If anyone had CONFIDENCE in himself without Jesus – it was Paul
Where the apostle Paul once had tremendous confidence in himself, he now had unshakable confidence in the Lord.
Philippians 3:3–4 ESV
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
· Paul’s confidence in himself, once steady and strong, now placed in another (Jesus Christ)
· And no doubt, that as Paul walked through the sufferings that came upon him, his confidence in the Lord grew.
2 Corinthians 1:8–10 ESV
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
Do you HEAR Paul’s CONFIDENCE in God?
And do you see WHY His confidence GREW?
v9 told us - “We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”
The SUFFERING - and God’s SUSTAINING power THRU IT....increased Paul’s CONFIDENCE!!
Gospel Suffering INCREASES our Confidence in Christ!
- And when our CONFIDENCE in Jesus Christ INCREASES....our view of man will change!
SLIDE: Gospel Suffering: Decreases Fear of Man

Gospel Suffering

Philippians 1:14 ESV
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
As we walk through life, our decisions, our actions will reveal who we are. Our decisions and our actions will either speak to the world that we aim to please man, or we aim to please God. The brothers in this story could have easily looked at Paul’s imprisonment, decided that proclaiming Christ wasn’t really worth it, and shut their mouths. If they had gone that route, they would have revealed to the world that their aim was to please man. But what happened? The opposite happened. Not only did they decide to keep proclaiming Christ, but their confidence in Christ grew. And as their confidence in Christ grew, their fear of man decreased. We are not called to please man, instead we’re called to please God.
Colossians 1:10 ESV
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Paul’s brothers were God pleasers. They chose the better way. They saw God’s sustaining power in Paul’s life and they became fearless…
*You’re on a sports team… What happens to your anxiety about playing a REALLY good team…WHEN…your confidence grows in your teammates?
When we embrace suffering for the gospel, we can be fully confident that Jesus Christ will catch our fall. He will not leave us to crash and burn. And time and time again, as we trust Christ to sustain us through our suffering, looking to Him and not our circumstances, our confidence in Him will grow and our fear of man will subside. We’ll stand before the world, proclaiming Christ, knowing that they’re going to push us back…push us off the edge, and yet we’ll stand there, fearless…knowing that Christ will catch us. When you are 100% confident that Christ will catch your fall, your decisions and your actions in life will reveal that you aim to please God, as you stand fearlessly for Him. And why wouldn’t we stand fearlessly for Him? Why would we choose to fear man, instead of fearing God?
God is totally sovereign. Man is totally dependent. God is love. Man is wicked. God is all-knowing. Man is not. God is all-powerful. Man is not. God is God. Man is not. It seems like a no-brainer, and yet, we so often struggle to avoid fearing man.
What else? How else does God use our Gospel Suffering?
SLIDE: Gospel Suffering: Validates the Gospel

Gospel Suffering

Philippians 1:15–16 ESV
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
The gospel on display proves the gospel. The gospel of Christ is the good news of Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. That He paid the price for our sins, suffered in our place, that we might live. When we suffer for the gospel, we display Christ to the world, and we validate the message of the gospel. We so often want to avoid suffering of any kind, yet the Scripture is clear on this…
2 Timothy 1:8 ESV
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
Notice what it says at the end of verse 16…that Paul was PUT in prison to defend the gospel. Who put Paul in prison? Did man put Paul in - Yes. Did God put Paul in prison…Yes! Man put Paul in prison to punish him. God put Paul in prison to validate the gospel. The suffering that we walk through…the trials that come our way…if done in the name of Christ, will validate the gospel message AND the world will see Christ on display.
Last point…
How else does God use our Gospel Suffering?
SLIDE: Gospel Suffering: Sustains Our Joy in God

Gospel Suffering

Philippians 1:17–18 ESV
17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
Paul had been thrown into prison because of his pursuit of Christ. Because he was going hard after Christ, he ends up in prison. Some of the brothers begin preaching Christ out of rivalry, thinking they could now one up Paul. He’s in prison, his character is being trampled on by some…but what’s his response? Does he sulk? Does he complain? Does he write a petition to get the brothers who were preaching with false motives thrown out of the ministry? Does he try and escape? No…he says this, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” Paul’s life mission was the proclamation of Jesus Christ. His joy and satisfaction did not terminate on his circumstances. The best of times couldn’t steal his satisfaction rooted in the proclamation of Christ, and the worst of times couldn’t suffocate his satisfaction rooted in the proclamation of Christ. His life was about advancing the gospel, and he knew that his suffering, for the sake of Christ, would advance the gospel.
SUMMARY: Gospel Suffering
Increases Our Confidence in Christ
Decreases Our Fear of Man
Validates the Gospel
Sustains Our Joy in God
Increases Our Confidence in Christ
Decreases Our Fear of Man
· Ask yourself – Am I a man pleaser or a God pleaser?
· Do I find myself CAVING in to – FEAR, when it comes to speaking Christ to my circle…
· IF SO – I would contend that maybe you’re spending too much time living your life RESTING in your talents, as opposed to your calling…
· MEANING – Doing things that will CAUSE us to rely on God – will increase our confidence in HIM and decrease our FEAR of man…
Validates the Gospel
· Do you have gospel wounds?
· Have you suffered for the gospel?
· Have you looked the world in the eyes, fearlessly, and proclaimed Jesus Christ?
· If not, know that you can!
· Know that as you embrace suffering for His sake, your confidence will increase, your fear of man will decrease, and your suffering will validate the message of Christ.
Sustains Our Joy in God
And so how do we proceed from here?
Christian – do you want to have joy? Embrace Gospel Suffering!
(1) Pursue joy in God, because when we do that, we will joyfully embrace gospel suffering, knowing that through it, the gospel is advanced.
(2) Examine your motives to see what fuels your sacrifice. Do you relish the praise of man? Do you relish the thought that everyone will think well of you, and like you? Know who you are before God. Seek the paths of righteousness, yet seek them through joy in God.
Let’s Pray
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