Perfection Through Suffering

Will Butterfield

Hebrews: A Story Worth Sharing • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Hebrews 2:10

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Intro:

Good Morning!

Last week we saw Jesus as the hope that is needed when we are suffering.

We talked about our tendency to seek relief rather than a revelation when we are in the midst of a difficult time.

What we need is for Jesus to speak into our circumstances and give us his perspective on what is going on.

Today we are continuing in wrestling with the idea of suffering in our lives.

I’ll tell you from the outset that this is going to be a difficult one for us today.

It will be difficult because it is going to challenge our cultural idea of what the life of a Christian will look like.

But at the same time, I know that what we are going to learn today is going to resonate with many of you.

Today we are going to see that our experiences in difficulty are not abnormal, but in fact, they are used by God to make us more like Christ.

I know that statement right there may have shut you down.

I want to ask you to hang in there with me this morning and let’s look at the text together before you decide that I’m crazy.

We always start these talks by looking at our own experiences in order to acknowledge the commonality that our lives share with each other and with scripture.

I know that you probably want to skip that section in order to see what in the world I’m talking about, but we need to because we are going to see the truth of what scripture is saying through our own experiences.

I don’t know if this is something that you do often, but I have a tendency to look back at my life and try and figure out the bigger picture of what God was doing in my life.

I, like all of you, have had periods in my life where it seemed that God was not in control, or at the very least, didn’t care about me.

That’s how it felt in the moment anyway.

The first several churches I worked in were very difficult and most of the time I didn’t even want to be there, much less invite anyone else to join me.

In the secular world, I had a number of bosses that were domineering over their employees and it made the job miserable.

These kinds of experiences are not unique to me.

Every person has times in their lives where it just seems that no one is in control.

In fact, it is entirely possible that you have had incredibly similar experiences to mine.

I know people that went to college and for years, couldn’t find a job in their field of study. They prayed, looked, applied, etc, but the jobs never worked out. Instead, they were working terrible little side jobs trying to make ends meet.

Serious illness

Relationships

dealing with children

This list can go on and on.

God

As we dive into the word this morning, I want to make a clear distinction.

There are two kinds of suffering that people experience.

One is due to the broken nature of the world and God uses that to grow us.

The other is due to abuse or neglect.

I want to be very clear that as we discuss suffering today, I am talking about the suffering that is a normal part of life.

If you are a victim of abuse, please talk to someone about it. I and the elders are always available to help you find the resources you need and to supporting you in dealing with an abuser.

Hebrews 2:10 CSB

10 For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—for whom and through whom all things exist—should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Do you see what the author is saying?

It was fitting for the creator, in order to bring us back into glory, to be made perfect through suffering.

You might be asking yourself, why would Jesus, who is perfect, need to be made perfect?

That is THE question for today.

It is the question because once we can answer it, we can ask the subsequent question that is burning in our minds.

Why would God let his people suffer?

Before we can answer the question, we must acknowledge the stumbling block in the room.

When I made the statement that God uses our suffering to make us like himself, it tripped you up.

I know it did because it did for me too.

As much as we have talked about suffering, I am still surprised by it.

You and I are not alone in feeling that way and I would even say that this is one of the greatest stumbling blocks that American Christians face.

If you were to go to other countries, especially ones where believing in Christ is illegal, suffering is an expected and completely normal part of life.

Hebrews Hebrews 2:10

This theme of “the crucified Lord” scandalized the first-century world. Note how Paul spoke of the cross as “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called … the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23–24).

The idea of suffering was a stumbling block in the days of the early church just as it is today.

The Jewish people didn’t want a suffering servant, they wanted a triumphal king that would rescue them from generations of war and occupation.

That is why they refused to believe that Jesus was the promised messiah.

So why is it that the Jewish, Gentile, and ourselves can’t deal with the idea of suffering? Because our worldview puts us in the place of glory rather than God.

Let me show it to you this way. I heard a song that came out this week and when I saw it was a remix I had to go see the original.

I got God watchin' over me from courtside Ballin' like I'm Jordan cause I'm blessed up - Blessed Up, Meek Mill

I think Meek Mill has nailed it.

This is how most of America sees their relationship with God.

We are on the court, getting the glory, and we have God on the sidelines.

Deep down we believe that if we acknowledge God, but keep him on the sidelines, he is going to “bless” our lives.

You may be thinking that the coach on the sidelines is the one calling the shots, but that is exactly where the analogy falls apart.

God isn’t a coach that is yelling from the sidelines, with veins popping out of his neck, trying to get us to pay attention to the play he is calling.

The Holy Spirit lives inside of us and he is making the plays and we are along for the ride.

Most of America has the wrong idea about who God is and how he works in our lives.

This brings us back to our original question, why did Jesus need to be made perfect?

A plan is not perfect until it is brought to completion.

Hebrews Hebrews 2:10

Perfection in Hebrews has to do with fully completing a course, making it to the end of God’s plan. That Jesus was made “perfect through suffering,” therefore, connotes his full obedience to his mission of death on the cross and, perhaps, the adequacy of that act for bringing the children of God to glory.

Jesus was being made perfect by walking in obedience to what God told him to do.

It wasn’t easy for him to do.

Luke 22:39–42 CSB

39 He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 When he reached the place, he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.” 41 Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Jesus struggled with his call to the cross.

He even asked for God to take that requirement away if possible, but he also told God that he would do as he was told.

This is the place we find ourselves when we face a struggle.

We are looking for relief, just like Jesus, but we can’t stop there, we must also seek the revelation.

Jesus suffered so that we could know the love of the father.

This brings us to our second question, why would a loving God ask his followers to suffer?

He asks it of us for the same reason that he asked it of Jesus.

We go through hard things so that others may know the love of God.

It is through that process that we come to know the father in a way that we never could without the suffering.

Because we know the father on a deeper level, we are able to share that depth with others that need it.

The remix of Blessed up (Remix) brings this point home.

I've been blessed up I've been broke down

You see, what you've gone through has made you And it's actually the reason why you blessed So go on and turn up the music And don't stress, 'cause the season you're in right now, just give it a lil' time And it'll prove you blessed. - Blessed Up (Remix) by Wande, Lecrae, and Mike Todd

It isn’t easy for us to think of life in these terms.

It isn’t easy because we weren’t created to endure such things, but sin entered the world, we are born in it, and it must be removed from us.

Malachi 2:17–3:4 CSB

17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied him?” When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and he is delighted with them, or else where is the God of justice?” 1 “See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. 3 He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. 4 And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by.

This warning delivered by Malachi was directed toward the priest. Those that thought of themselves as the most righteous, God said they need to be refined.

When metal is melted, the first thing you see is the impurities and they must be removed.

The metal is not consumed by the fire, it is made purer by it.

When we go through difficulties, God is using them to refine us.

We are brought to perfection through suffering.

You

When you identify that life is moving toward difficulties, remember that God is going to use that to make you more like himself.

The first thing that you and I need to do is examine our lives and see if we have God on the sidelines.

And secondly, ask God what his purpose is in your current circumstances.

In doing so, you get to know what is going on now, instead of looking back after it is over to find out.

We are all going to deal with difficulty and suffering in our lives and how we choose to deal with it is going to be the difference between growth and bitterness.

When we take the time to look back, it’s often easy to see what God was doing.

However, when we are in the middle of it, it’s not so easy to recognize God’s activity.

Sometimes because we aren’t looking and sometimes because we don’t want to believe God would allow it.

But looking back now, I can see how God used those difficult times in my life to grow me and prepare me for the future.

Those difficult churches gave me a desire to do church in a different way.

Through working under terrible bosses, God developed me into a leader that has compassion for those that I’m working with.

CG - It showed her how much God loved her because of all the ways he took care of her needs.

Our lives are so much bigger than just the difficult periods.

God’s intent is for each of our lives to impact the world.

That happens only when we allow God to refine us, walk in obedience to him, and share what we are learning with others.

Think about the significant impact we can have on the lives of others when we can help them understand the love that God is showing us by refining us.

God is bringing us to perfection through suffering so that the world may know Him.

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