The Purpose Behind Our Suffering

That's exactly right. My sister went on a cruise to Alaska. And she really enjoy that and I bet that would feel good sometime this week to us. What did we was up there? She sent, she did a FaceTime the other day and they had pulled into a port there in. Alaska. And she was showing me the cities that you can see across the water and the sun was coming up over this mountain and you could see the mountain was completely snow-capped. It would just absolutely beautiful. You know, and she said, where she was a temperature was going to be about 70 that day. So yeah, that was just, that was nice, for sure. Glad that you're here today. And What we want to do today, as we want to continue, I didn't mean to start a series on suffering. I was going to do one sermon on it and then it led to another and now it has led to another and I think probably what we'll do is we will finish this. I've got one more summer and I want to do them. Listen, I'll do it next week. On Father's Day will recognize the fathers of course and I'll, but I'm going to finish this series up next next Sunday but this today, Is an I think is an important message because if you remember what we studied so far, remember the first message we talked about how Satan will use suffering to deceive us and he'll get us to question the goodness of God, the presence of God and the wisdom of God, you know, why Lord, why is this at this out? Not be happening to me. Now, I don't know why this is happening. This is, this is not right. So he'll get us to doubt the love and the grace. And the mercy of God, then last week, we looked at Abraham. And we said now this is how you respond to suffering in a Biblical way because he understood the Fate that you had to have that biblical fate does not require you to deny reality. You don't deny that you're suffering, you know what you're going through. but biblical Fates does require you to know where your hope and life comes from and it's not anything in this world, it is Jesus. So what I want to do today is inevitably, we're suffering, leads us all And that is the question of why? What purpose is there to our suffering? Not somebody in here today. Maybe more than one you need to hear this. This is so important. What we going to talk about today, what we talked about, what I call the first 2 weeks on suffering, that was the miles apart. What we going to get in today, is the radical part.

And the title of this message is the purpose behind our suffering. No, biggie. I don't want you to put the statement up on the screen yet, I want to read it first but what I'm getting ready to do. Yes, I'm getting ready. To make a statement.

That you would not hear. I'm only saying 97% of the churches across America. But I'm going to make this statement and the reason I'm going to make it is because it's true. Matter fact, this statement I'm getting ready to make about suffering. Is my own statement, it's not a statement, it's not a scripture. But what I'm about to say, I think is as just as true. As John 3:16. Okay.

I'm going to make this statement and then we're going to put it up on the screen and I'm going to let you look at it and then we're going to make it again and then we're going to make it again and again throughout this message. So here's the state. Suffering you your suffering. Now is not an obstacle that interferes with God's plan for your life.

Suffering is God's plan for your life. How many pastures you things going to stand up today on Sunday and tell their congregation? I just want to tell you that suffering is God's plan for your life. I mean, how many pastors you think you going to hear say that this Sunday or, or any Sunday very few if ever but what I just said, Suffering. Your suffering is not an obstacle. It's not a detour, it's not a mistake, it's not some random act. In your life that interferes with God's plan for your life. Suffering is God's plan for your life. Let's put it on the screen.

I want you to get this in your heart and head this morning. This right here is as true as John 3:16. When you read scripture suffering is not an obstacle that interferes with God's plan for my life suffering is God's plan for my life. Why would I say that? Because suffering is the universal Human Experience. We all suffer everyone suffered? No, I'm not a masochist, I'm not saying your whole life is just going to be one big suffering event. I don't mean that what I mean, there's going to be times in your life when things don't go as you planned, and you're going to suffer sometimes tremendously and sometimes for longer than a day and a week and a month and a year. But what I want you to understand this when you suffer, this is not a detour that Satan puts in your way. This is not a roadblock. This is not something that God didn't happen planned and didn't know about this, not an obstacle to God. Suffering is God. God's plan. That's his plan for every single one of us. You said what's the purpose behind my suffering? The purpose behind your suffering. Is your Redemption. He's redeeming you. God is redeeming you when you go through suffering, it is an expression of the will of God for your life. That's what suffering is. It's an expression of the will of God. Now, we can't deny, we cannot deny the reality that between the already. What I mean by is our conversion, we're saved between the already of our conversion and the not yet of our glorification and Resurrection, God has left us in this terrible devastatingly, corrupt and broken world that we live in our world is drastically broken and it does not function as God originally intended. That's the world that he has placed Us in. We lived between the already. Yes, I'm saved. And the not yet. Well, I'm not fully redeemed yet. I don't have my glorified body. Haven't had the second Resurrection. That's where we live in that world that we live in is terribly broken. And a suffering suffering will somehow and someway enter into your life because it's the universal experience of people. This is the God's wise plan, you so quick. It doesn't seem too wise to me. It is his wise plan and it is redemption of in nature. So let's look at Romans chapter 8 today, Now I remember everything we said that this is his plan, it is Redemptive in nature. So let's look at Romans chapter 8 and we're going to look at verses 18 to 27. And this is what the Bible says. For I consider that the sufferings of, this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory, which shall be revealed in a sitting at a wonderful verse. Just think of all the suffering that you had in your life, may be what you're going through right now. The Bible says that this suffering Cancer. Leukemia broken relationships that this suffering is not even worthy to be compared with the glory. This going to come, it's not, you can't even compare it. But don't it seem like when we're suffering that is just like the end of the world that we just can't hardly bear it. Any longer. He says, you can't even compare with the glory that's going to be revealed in it for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, that word, futility means, frustration the creation, what's the creation? This world, the trees, the trees, the mountains, that heals the dirt, the ground, the grass, everything that God created this creation. It says here for the creation was subjected to frustration futility, not willingly but because of him speaking of God who subjected it in Hope because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption this creation. Ever since Adam, and Eve sinned has been under a curse. Inside the creation. Not only are we under a curse but the entire creation. Look at verse 22. for we know that the whole creation groans and Labor's with birth pains together until now, You say what, how does the creation grown? What? What is it? Groaning about?

Well, creation groans when we have a tornado. And it wipes out a whole city and kills people. When a hurricane comes and you aren't New Orleans and just that devastates that City that's the creation, groaning why is it grown? Cuz that's not the way God intended it it shouldn't happen that way. Mudslides, Avalanches, all of that is creation groaning when you go out tonight we have a severe thunderstorm you go out on your porch and the trees are going back and forth. Like this in lightning is striking that's creation Groening. Because it out not to be like this. See it's under a a curse. So we know the whole creation groans and laborers verse 23. Not only that, but we also who had the first fruits of the spirit. Even we ourselves, grown, within ourselves eagerly waiting for the adoption the Redemption, there's that word the Redemption. Why do we grow? Why do we, why, why do we suffer the way we do? Because we the longing for the Redemption of our bodies, not our soul with your savior Soul has been redeemed, but our body, if I don't have to tell you were getting older, we're getting gray hair. Every time I stand up my knees and ankles pop used to never do that. We getting older, we get in great, we getting more feeble. Our bodies are decaying this creation is Decay. And you look at people talk about while we got global warming and all like that, well, may be true, I don't know. But if it is true, the reason is because the creation of his groaning and it is, decane it all to happen this way. This is what the Bible is saying here. It says Creation in there, says, not only creation but we ourselves grown that look at verses 26 and 27. Likewise the spirit also helps in our weaknesses for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself makes intercession for us with their it is groanings, which cannot be uttered. So when we are suffering so bad that we can't even pray. You ever been to the point in your life where you couldn't even utter the words that you wanted to say because you didn't know what to say and when will The Suffering like that? The spirit who lives on inside of us, others, be grounds for the spirit, takes her groans and puts it before. The Throne of God because we can't, we're groaning, we're suffering. The spirit. Is groaning that brings me to the first point. Suffering is God's plan. For our Redemption. And look at these verses hear a creation groans. Creation is grown is under a curse. We have we have droughts. We have where crops can't grow. Sometimes they grow but then we have a flood and it wipes the crops out, nothing is right? It doesn't seem like anything happens that predictable. It's all unpredictable because creation groans number to 423 said we ourselves grown. Look what it says in verse 23, but we also who had the first fruits of the spirit. We have the Holy Spirit, even we ourselves, grown, within ourselves eagerly waiting for the adoption, which means we are eagerly are waiting to be fully adopted into God's family, where we were with him cuz we will be when we get to heaven, the Redemption of our bodies, our bodies are Decay. And then, of course, in verse 26 and 27, creation, groans Christian, grow, the comforter grounds, the comforter is the holy spirit, he groans for us, and he sends our prayers. Up to heaven. To God. And what this plan is meant, what suffering is God's plan for our Redemption? What this plan is meant to produce in US is the deepest and fullest amount of Hope. Look what it says. In verse 24 and 25. For we were saved the watch in this. Hope we all just groan all the time. Well, the hope is that one day. We're not going to grown one day. Jesus is coming back for, we were saved in this hope but hope that is seen is not hope for why does one still hope for what he sees. In other words, we can't see the Redemption. What we see is pain and Agony and suffering, we can't see it but he said it wouldn't be hope if you could see it. He said so you have to have something that you hurt verse 25. But if we hope for what we do, not see. We eagerly wait for it. With what perseverance? We're patient. We wait, we long for it but we wait now. Now this is what I want to say. Now, this this is where the problem comes in. This is counterintuitive to our thinking. Suffering is not something that we should embrace because it's part of redemption suffering. Is not something you Embrace something suffering, is something you avoid. I mean, if you try to avoid suffering, if you can every single nobody sits around all day long, that got I want you to redeem me in such a way. I want you to make me suffer every night. We don't do that. We don't, we avoid suffering. If you get in a job that you don't like, what's the first thing you do? Look to get out. You start networking with other people. I don't like this. I don't like these people. I work with, let me get out. I want to get out of if you get sick. What are you doing? You go to the doctor. Why? Cuz you want to feel better. We don't want to suffer pain. We go to the doctor, we avoid suffering, if we can And the reason that we question, God's goodness when suffering comes in our life, the reason we questioned whether he's even with us or not. And the reason we questioned whether this is a wise plan or not is because we don't want a redeem life, we want a comfortable, Easy Life. Did you know that? Every single one of us, we want a comfortable easy. Why? We don't want to be redeemed especially if it involves suffering? But when he brings suffering in our life and we can do it and get through it, it brings us closer to God, we trust him more, we believe him more, it makes us more of a mature Christian you say, God has taken something, so ugly and dark like seeing, and he has turned it into something good that through suffering. We are being redeemed, what a wise plan, this is but we don't want to be redeemed. I thought to myself the other night. I don't want to be redeemed. I just want a predictable week. I mean, computers like that. You go to work and something happens, and it's never predictable. It's always unpredictable, you know, I don't want to be redeemed. I just want a predictable week. That's comfortable, that's easy. And everything goes the way that it should. I just want to be around people who like me. Why do you put me with people who don't like me? I've worked my whole life and different jobs, different companies. And I've always work with people for some reason that just work hard to get along with. And God puts us with these people and we say, God just defending me. People, that are nice to be around, just give me a spouse that never criticizes me, just give me some. I just want to marry someone who never criticizes meet. Well, good luck with that. Good luck with that. Cuz we all criticized. I just want to be the dad of children who obey me, perfectly always how many view your children, a beige. You perfectly always know nobody, but that's what we want. We don't want to have to deal with the stress.

when I used to go to work and I worked at Research Triangle, I used to think to myself I wish I could drive on these roads by myself. I didn't want anyone else on those roads. I want to drive on roads. The other people pay for their taxes, but who decided that they're not going to drive them. I just want to be the only one. I want to change lanes. I want to get over here and change like that way. You're just free to change lanes. You can go what you want to go and you can get there on time. Yeah, that's exactly right. They see. That's, that's what I want. I don't want a million dollars, I just want enough to pay my bills. And go on a trip, once in awhile and buy a few things. I don't have to be rich. I just want to be comfortable. And an easy life. That's all I want. Is that too much to ask for? Yes. Yes, it is. You see, I just don't want to ever get sick. I don't want to be worried. I don't want to stress. I just want to be comfortable, please. Lord, don't redeem me. Just make me comfortable. That's our cry. If you want to see this in scripture, we won't turn to it. But Psalm 73. There's assignments. His name is ASAP. and he asked, God, he said, God, I want to ask you something, he says, Why do all the good people out here suffer and all the bad people seem to prosper. You ever thought you ever thought about that yourself? Why I do the right thing, or try to do the right thing? Why do I suffer? And I look over here and these people over here to the more care about you need anything, they don't go to church and they got all the money. They want the big house. A nice car. Wow. Why do good people suffer in the bad people? It seems they prosper. And this is what he said. He said, Shirley for no reason. I have kept myself pure Your Ribbon there. If you ever said Lord, I go to church. I tithe, I sing in the choir. I serve you and you give me this in my life. I remember when I had to have heart surgery and I was thinking I sold my house, I moved my family, I have given up everything and I come over here to go to school and I'm the oldest person in class. I'm here, 40 years old, this twenty-year-old sitting in here and I'm the oldest person, I'm out of place, I'm trying to learn. I'm trying to do this. And here I am going to have heart surgery before I even finish school. This is what I get for serving you this suffering. You see, we all say that? Why do we do it?

Because we esteemed a comfortable easy life more than we esteem Redemption. That's the sin that sin. All of us, we are staying the comfortable life more than we do the redeemed life. And why we do that is because of the sin that is within us now. What I want to say here.

Is this?

Somewhere in the heart of every person. Is that fault. Did you know that? If I ask you this this morning, what do you want in life? You would say, I just want everything to go. Well, I want everybody to like me, I want a comfortable life. That's what you would say. Right now, if you could put the words in the people's mouth tomorrow at work and you would have them to say what you want them to say in to agree with you, you would do it right now. Why? Because we want a comfortable life 2nd Corinthians 5 says that for those who are saying he says for those who we should live no longer for ourselves but live for him who died and Rose for me. You see, let me tell you something up about this. Send puts me in the center of my life sin is about my wants my desires in my needs. That's why I get mad everytime I get behind people in traffic. And I can't get to where I want to go the other day, I was in the grocery store and yes, I go band. Most people, my age go in older. I go to the grocery store and it was a little old lady in front of me. She bought two items, the $4.93. And I was thinking to myself, give this cashier, a $5 bill. Do you have to do and give to you and she fumbled and pulled out one, two, three, four, and then counted out $0.93. How long do you think it took longer for him to give her $0.07 or for her to give him $0.93 and I just sat there thinking, what would just give him a 5. Just the, that's not suffering. That's just little things that annoy you and we look at it like it's suffering. It just annoyed. Cc'ing puts me in the center of my life. My won't, my needs, my desires, seeing is fundamentally me istic. It's all about me. It's about my comfort. My he's my pleasure and my plan, and Paul is saying that we live in a horribly, broken world and God has chosen to leave us in this world and he has chosen for us to suffer in this world because it is his Plan of Redemption for us. That's why reason we suffer the purpose behind. It is our Redemption. That's what it is. Look at verse 20 and 22. For the creation, was subjected to fertility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in Hope, cause of creation itself, will be delivered from this bondage of Decay or corruption into the Glorious Liberty of the children of what we know that the whole creation groans and laborers with birth pains until now this world is frustrated. And if the creation is frustrated, how much more would the people who live in the creation? Be frustrated, we're frustrated as well, we drove for Orange, Grove, tornadoes hurricanes, floods, mudslides, Avalanche, in all we do is we cry. When we look and say God, why does it have to be this way? Why can't things just work? Never said that. Why can't my relationship just work? Why can't my job? I can't everybody get along. Why can't everything just work? Why can't my marriage work? Why can't my parenting work? Why will my finances? Work. Why does my car break down at the most inopportune time on my way to work? Well, if it broke down on Saturday, you know what we'd say, why does he have to break down on my only day off? I just got to work and fix the car on my only day off or why does I'm finally got my head above water financially and I'm finally kind of settled and comfortable. Why does the biggest bill of the year? Have to come in all of a sudden when I'm kind of set financially? Why does the air condition always give out in the middle of summer? The hottest day, that's not just what, that's what it duck. Life is so frustrating, everything in life from creation to you, to me to everything. Is sign. It is crying and it is dying. If all in Decay things just die. We go to funerals because people died, people get divorced because relationships die, hopes die dreams, die. Everything is decaying, everything is corrupted. That's what the Bible says here. But he says we have this hope that we anticipate. We eagerly await the Redemption of our bodies as Christians. We know that one day, everything is going to be made, right? And we're longing for that day, we're waiting for that day. So in times of suffering, we have this hope. It's what we have but everything is so frustrating, everything is died. and then verse 22 says, The creation groans and Labor's with birth pains. You ladies that have had children, you have birth pains. Didn't it hurt? Wouldn't it severe? I mean, I don't know cuz I never had a child. I've never birthed a child, I failed the physical on that car. But I understand what the Bible is saying here, sometimes suffering is so painful that you feel like you cannot bear it. That's how I feel. Well suffering is God's plan for our Redemption. Number two, what should I add attitude? Be toward it. Then now that we know the reason we suffer is because God is redeeming us. What should I add a to-do be toward this suffering and I'm going to go through these quickly. Number one. We need to accept it. We need to accept our surfing, why? Because it is a universal Human Experience. Everyone suffers save unsaved. It doesn't matter when we suffer, Satan is just ready to take that suffering to get you to question God's goodness. And if you don't understand what God is, doing through suffering, will start questioning God, God, you're not good God, you're not press. You always said I'll never leave you nor forsake you while here. I am by myself and no one's helping me. You're not helping me. No one else. Everyone has forsaken me. Where are you? God. God, is this a wise plan. Very wise to me, I wouldn't put myself through this cancer. I wouldn't put myself through all these treatments that I have to fix this financial disability. This relationship husband wife, walking out, Children rebellious. I don't want to go through that. Where are you? So see Satan. He will get us to start questioning up. We need to accept suffering for what it is. The universal Human Experience B. We need to understand it. Understand this suffering that we live in a horribly broken world and there's going to be tremendous suffering in this world. So when we see the next school, shooting, when we see the next family killed in a car accident by drunk driver, We're not going to say hello or what in the world, why? Because we live in a broken world. That's why and it's not going to get better until our hope arrives. And that's Jesus Christ. So we live in a boat, we need to understand suffering, we need to accept it. See. We need to endure it in your suffering. Now, look how he says this in verse 19. For the earnest expectation of the creation. I watch eagerly waits for the revealing of the song. Eagerly waits for Christ. Eagerly waits for its Redemption. Eagerly waits like look at verse 23. Not only that, but we also who had the first fruit that's talked about Christians, even we ourselves. Growing within ourselves. Was it, say eagerly waiting for the adoption that we eagerly? Wait, we have to endure it. And it looked at verse 25, but we hope for what we do. Not see. We W eagerly wait for it, with perseverance. We have to be patient. We have to endure it. Why? Because we've accepted it. Why? We accepted it, because we understand it. And now that we understand what this suffering means, we can endure it eagerly waiting for the day when it's going to be different is what he saying. In Hindi.

And when I say this, don't throw something at me.

We need to hate it.

You say, what are you talking about? You just said that we suffer and God is using that suffering. To Redeemer, he has taken something horrible and made something good out of it. And now you're saying that we should hate it. We should hate it. And the reason is because this world and ourselves. We need to be redeemed. This world is not okay. With the way that it is, it's okay to hate what you see going on in this world. It's okay to hate school. Shootings tornadoes divorce. You ought to hate abortion. All of this that goes on, we are to hate. We don't hate the process of suffering because we know we're being redeemed. We hate the. Why behind the process? Why are we suffered? Because of sin That's what we hate. We should hate that. This is what sin has done to us creation. Is groaning all the natural Calamity? We ourselves, are groaning everything from abortion to murder to corruption in politics. The people counting out $0.93 of change. We all we are all groaning, all of that. We are to hate the sin in this world. And we hate, we are to hate the send us in our lives. We are to hate the presence of sin in our life, and we are to hate the power of sin in our life. And because of that, God's plan is suffering. That's how he redeemed us. We don't hate his plan, the process. We hate the wire behind the process because one day is not going to be like that. He never intended us to die. I never intended us to have broken relationships, financial problems, abuse and things of that nature. Never intended that for us. It's because of seeing you see suffering and Redemption. Are the two sides of one coin. Let me ask you something. Who redeemed, you?

Specifically, who Jesus? How did he redeemed me? What did he have to do? Die? Where on the cross? Did he suffer? We're going to suffer. You see how suffering and Redemption comes together? God son had to suffer so that I would be redeemed. And now, was I live in this broken world, I must suffer because God's in the process of redeeming, me, it's the same coin. Two sides of the same coin. God suffering is God's plan for our Redemption. That's why Romans 8:28 says for we know That all things, good things, bad things, suffering all, things work together for what, for good. Works together for good. God has taken a dark terrible thing and made it a beautiful wonderful thing because I Redemption comes from our suffering. That's what he has done. And the reason he allow suffering is because of sin, and that's why we should hate it and that's why we should long for something better. You say, here's what God wants to do in your heart and will close. God wants you to hunger for the one thing that we cannot to hunger for. And that is our Redemption. We don't hunger for Redemption, we hunger for a comfortable easy life, that's what we hunger for. But what a wise plan that God has put in, God is willing to rock your world, put you in the suffering. The claim your heart. He is willing to break your bones, to capture your heart. And you know what that is? That's not hatefulness, that's not vindictive, that is nothing, but God's grace. That's what suffering is God's grace because it leads to our Redemption, two principles and suffering will close. Suffering teaches us. The priority of hope we suffer, and we know that it should not be like this, and we know one day, if not going to be like this. And that's the day when Jesus comes back. And we say, even so come Lord, Jesus in the midst of our suffering, we don't curse God. We don't blame God, we don't lose confidence in God, we say even, so Lord come because we know when he comes, everything will be put back, right? The way it was intended to be in the number to suffering. Touch teaches us. The perspective. of Eternity and look at it again in verse 18, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time, All of it. All the sufferings in this world to hold the corruption sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory, which shall be revealed in US. Read that are hope right there. Our hope is on Jesus and our hope is on eternity and not the things in this world. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, and praise. You. Love you today, Lord for your very precious word. Lord, thank you for this very important lesson that we need to understand the purpose of our suffering. Lord help us to be people who don't complain.

Not critical. Help us. Not to question your goodness. When you bring suffering in our lives. We know that sometimes we suffer not because that you bring it, but simply because of decisions that we make we bring suffering sometimes on ourselves. Sometimes we may get in the covid, pandemic may cause it we've done nothing wrong. We suffer because the creation is groaning. Velour, we know whatever the cause of the suffering, we know what you're doing in it that you're drawing us closer to yourself and our Redemption depends upon how we respond to our suffering. Lord, I pray for that one that's going through a trial. Tribulacion trouble right now in their life. I pray that you would put this message and sink it deep into their hearts So that they will accept it, that they will understand what you're doing in times of suffering. But Lord, most of all that they would hate it. They would hate. The wire behind the process of suffering that they would hate the sin. In this world, hate the sin in their own life and that we would long. And look for the day, when you going to make things better and they'll be no more sickness, no, more pain, no more sin, no, more lies. We will all live with you in heaven, totally in a perfect State. Lord, we look for that, we long for that and we say we love you this morning in Christ's name. I pray. Amen.