TODAYS MESSAGE TRUTH ABOUT HARDSHIP: TEXT: 2 Corinthians 4:8-11 (KJV) 8We are[ troubled on every side, yet not distressed; ] we are[ perplexed, but not in despair;] 9[Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;] 10[Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.] 11[For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.] Good, good morning. 83rd day of the wonderful fast. We ate left with 17 days. Just thank God for the continuous grace and Strength. Today is about hardship and how we face it as a believer in the word of God. The way we respond to the trials of life reveals a great deal about the strength of our Christian faith. If we deny our troubles, or if we give in to anger or bitterness, or if we blame others for our problems, we miss what God intends to teach us through what happens to us. It is a great advance spiritually to be able to say, “I believe God has allowed this difficulty for my good and his glory.” We are all born dying daily but we must get to know some hard truth about our lives. In verses 8-9 of 2 Corinthians 4, Paul makes four statements that describe how Christians respond to the trials of life. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. These four statements describe the true condition of believers in the world. They are always true, even though our experience of them varies. We are not always pressured, but we often are. We’re not always perplexed, but it happens more than we think. We do not always face opposition, but sometimes we do. And not every day are we struck down by the circumstances of life, but it does happen to all of us eventually. No one is exempt from these things. 1. Pressure will not defeat us. Amen ! “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed” (v. 8a). The word “pressed” was sometimes used for walking through a crowd where people surround you and literally press against you. The pressures of life may squeeze us but we are not utterly crushed. Here are some ways this phrase has been translated or paraphrased: We are not always pressured, but often we are. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed” “We catch it from every direction but we don’t let them squeeze the life out of us” “Hard-pressed on every side, we are never hemmed in” 2. Confusion will not discourage us.Amen! We are “perplexed, but not in despair” (v. 8b). Sometimes we just don’t know which way to go. Life has a way of throwing us a curve ball now and then. Sometimes we face circumstances that are so confusing that we honestly don’t know what we need or what we want or what would be best. There have been times when I have said, “Lord Jesus, if you were here, standing in front of me, and you said, ‘Ade, what do you want me to do for you?’ I wouldn’t know what to say.” Paul himself said in Romans 8:26 that sometimes we don’t know how to pray. There are moments when the pressure is so great and we are so tired and worn out and life has become so confusing that we honestly don’t know what to say to the Lord. Fatigue wears us all down eventually. I have found in those moments that if all I can do is cry out, “O God, O Jesus. Have mercy, Lord, have mercy,” then that is enough. The Lord who knows all things can fill in the details. People sometimes ask for more information so they can “pray more intelligently.” I’m all for that, but it’s not like the Lord needs more information from us or that better information will somehow make our prayers “better” with the Lord. When we are confused, Jesus is not confused. When we are confused, Jesus is not confused. Sometimes we are puzzled and perplexed by life. Sometimes we are bewildered and unsure. That’s okay. We are not driven to despair because life doesn’t depend on our knowledge of the big picture. When we are at our wit’s end, God is just getting started. Often he does his best work when we have given up completely. 3. Opposition will not deter us. Thank you Jesus! We are “persecuted, but not abandoned” (v. 9a). The Greek word translated “persecuted” means “to pursue,” as a hunter pursues his game. The word conjures up movie scenes where the hero knows he’s being followed wherever he goes, but he can’t quite see his enemies. They’re out there, he knows they’re after him. When will they strike next? Paul knew about this from personal experience. Everywhere he went his Jewish opponents followed him. They stayed on his trail, attacking his character, maligning his preaching, mocking his message, and stirring up opposition inside and outside the church. They never gave him a moment’s rest. That’s why “We are hunted down.” That’s how he felt, like an animal fleeing through the underbrush with the hounds hot on his trail. NOTE We are not abandoned by God. We are not deserted and left to stand alone. We are never abandoned to our fate. 4. Hard hits will not destroy us. THANK YOU FATHER. We are “struck down, but not destroyed” (v. 9b). “We may be knocked down, but we are never knocked out!” If you live long enough, you’ll be hit with a “sucker punch” sooner or later. The term “struck down” refers to the sudden emergency, the unforeseen incident, the late-night phone call, the crisis that seems to come out of nowhere, the catastrophe that overwhelms us, the earthquake of trouble that rocks our world. That’s life, that’s reality, that’s the truth for every follower of Jesus. If you thought anything different, you better go back to the recruiting office and have a chat with whoever signed you up because being a Christian doesn’t mean getting a free pass through life. Far from it. MAY THE LORD SEE YOU THROUGH. AMEN.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 00:05:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015