Sunday, March 11, 2012
BLESSED TO SUFFER
What does a little child pray for? Please allow me to tell you about the prayer of one particular four-year-old boy. I can’t remember all the details, but his dad was showing him a book about the people of Colombia. Turns out that it wasn’t very age-appropriate for a four-year-old. Even the little boy could tell that these people in the pictures were not living a wholesome life. Before his dad could close the book, his little boy asked him, “Dad, why do those people live like that?” “Well, I guess it’s because they don’t know any better.” “But why doesn’t someone go tell them about Jesus?” “Well, I guess it’s because no one cares enough to go and tell them.” “Dad, you care, don’t you?” “Yes, son, I care.” “Then why don’t we go tell them about Jesus?” At that point, his dad did a lot of hmming and hawing. He said something to the effect that they couldn’t do that; that would be missionary work. And God has to call a person to be a missionary. Finally, he told his little boy, “Why don’t you pray that God will call you to be a missionary when you grow up; then you can go tell them.” That little boy knelt down and prayed something like this: “O God, please call my Dad and Mom to be missionaries, so that I won’t have to wait until I grow up.” Within a few years, that family was in Colombia.
Now let me ask you a question. Would God bless a boy like that for being so eager to do His will? Surely God would do that? But how would God bless that boy? As a young man, he found himself tied to a tree in the middle of a guerilla camp in Colombia. These rebel forces had kidnapped him and were deciding what they were going to do with him. One option that was not unusual for them was execution.
Jesus said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12 NKJV). Is that the kind of blessing you are looking for? Russell Stendahl counted it a blessing. Yes, that is the Russell Stendahl who dropped the parachutes we made. He uses those parachutes to drop Bibles, literature, and radios to the very guerillas who once threatened his life and held him captive for five and a half months.
Another boy grew up in Pakistan. He had Christian parents. They were not “Christian” in name only, but they were true servants of the Lord. They taught their son the scriptures and lived them out before him. That boy Daniel learned the scriptures and hid the Word of God in his heart. Would God want to bless a boy like that and bless his parents for raising him that way? Yes. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12 NKJV).
After holding a highly-respected position as a professor of higher mathematics at a top university in Pakistan, Daniel was being hunted by thousands of Pakistani students, who had no greater desire than to kill him. But why? Because he would not convert to Islam, and he would not quit exposing the falseness of Islam and sharing the good news of Jesus.
Another boy grew up in Israel. His dad was a pastor in Bethlehem. But his upbringing was not like that of most preacher’s kids. many of the people around them did not like the fact that his dad preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. They especially objected to the fact that his father wanted to spread the news of Jesus far and wide.
As a boy, little Steven learned to love Jesus. He would go to the services and listen to his dad preach, but their services were a bit different from ours. The time came, when Steven was nine, that the opposition grew very strong from the Jewish people around them. They began to open the doors during the service and throw Molitof cocktails into the building. Sometimes they would come in and beat Steven’s father with sticks and chains. So what would the church people do? They would continue to praise the Lord together and come again the next Sunday to do the same. It became a routine to have buckets of water on hand to put out the fires that were started.
If Steven’s dad was discouraged, he surely didn’t show it. It wasn’t enough for him to preach to the congregation in the building. He wired powerful speakers to the steeple. without telling anyone on the inside what he was doing, one morning after he had finished the project, he pushed a button and now his message was being heard by thousands in the surrounding neighborhood.
Would God choose to bless young Steven, and his father for setting such an example for him? Yes. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12 NKJV).
When Steven was 19, a Jewish young man became interested in the gospel. After had had come to services for a while, Steven’s dad asked him to begin discipling this young man. He did so for two weeks, but then this young man just disappeared without a word. Later Steven would learn that his mother had discovered his Bible under his bed, along with some of his notes which stated that he believed in Jesus, who was the Son of God. She revealed these facts to two of his uncles. As a result, one day when Steven was walking to the church building, seven men jumped him, beating him with chains, stomping on him, etc. Steven was blessed that day.
Why am I telling you these stories? Because they are true? Yes, they are true, but there is more to it than that. I am telling you these stories because this is reality. This is the fulfillment of God’s Word. Paul wrote: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (II Tim. 3:12 NKJV). Our Lord Himself suffered persecution, and He made it clear that those who follow Him can expect the same. “If the world hates Me, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they would keep yours also” (John 15:18-20 NKJV).
One more story. Darcie tells of her life when she was a young woman. She described herself as being rude and crude. She dressed immodestly and her language was the same. Though she had a little girl, she said that she was not the kind of person you would want your kids to be around. She didn’t explain how she met the “Welcome Lady” from the church, but that lady befriended her. She introduced her to other ladies from the church. Different ones would invite Darcie and her little girl to go with them to the park and other things, including a bible study. But then her husband found out what was going on and told Darcie he didn’t want her seeing the church ladies any more. He didn’t want anything to do with church or God. But then the men of that same church started praying for him. They knew he loved barbeque, so they invited Darcie, her husband, and little girl to a barbeque. To make a long story short, God used the people in that church to draw them to Himself. They were converted and God began to transform their lives.
Would God choose to bless this woman? “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12 NKJV). That is the passage she read for us at the conference yesterday. Now she devotes her life, along with her husband, to going to various parts of the world, meeting with Christians who are being severely persecuted, and then coming back here and telling their stories. she is a voice for the martyrs. Why would she spend her life doing this? she loves it. The same God who worked in Russell, Daniel, and Steven works in her. Because she is identified with Jesus, she finds her joy in identifying with His church.
But why does God choose to do things this way? Isn’t He a God who has all power? That means He could spare His children from suffering. Isn’t He a God of love? How could a Father let His children endure such suffering? It is precisely because He loves His children and has the power to make them like Jesus.
I certainly don’t have a handle on the mind of God. His ways are beyond me. But even a child can understand something of why He allows those He loves to suffer. Let me give you three simple reasons why God has ordained suffering for His people.
1. God has chosen to use the suffering of His saints to bring sinners to Himself
Paul and Stephen -- Stephen suffered greatly, even dying because of his stand for Jesus. Paul [Saul] watched him die. It wasn’t long after that before God got hold of Saul’s life and he became the greatest Christian missionary the world has ever known.
Jesus Himself is the example. It was His death and resurrection that made the way for us to be saved, to be forgiven of our sins…
I remind you that one of the themes of Voice of the Martyrs is: “Pray for the persecutors.”
2. Suffering is good for the saints!
But there is another purpose for suffering. It is not only meant for the good of lost sinners, that they might be drawn to Christ, but it is also good for the saints! That’s right. God uses suffering in the lives of His children who suffer. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
How can God make His children like Jesus? That is a tall order, isn’t it? Suffering plays a huge role, especially persecution, which is suffering on account of being identified with Jesus. Let me go back to Russell Stendahl. When he was still a very young man, he was praying for the advance of the gospel in Colombia. It just seemed like the strategies they were using were having no effect. He saw the need for a fresh approach, but he didn’t have a clue what approach to take. Then one day the guerilla forces kidnapped him. He found himself tied to a tree in the jungle, right in the middle of one of the guerilla camps. He had time to think and pray, as the leaders decided what to do with him. One option was death. Russell shared that during that time, when there were no distractions, the Lord opened his eyes. He had been praying for wisdom as to how they could take the gospel to these guerilla forces, and now here he was right in the middle of one of their camps. This was the answer to his prayer. He also found that whereas before that experience, he was gripped with fear every time he stood before a group to speak, that fear never plagued him again after that.
And what about that beating Steven Khoury received at the hands of those seven men? He shared with us that even though he could not explain it, after the beating he had a far greater love for Jesus than ever before. In addition, his thinking was turned upside down. He realized that God was in control and was ready to use every circumstance in life to make him like Christ. Instead of fearing trials, he began to take the rather extreme stance: “Bring ‘em on, for this is the way God is going to grow me to be like Jesus.”
3. Suffering in the lives of His saints brings glory to God!
But there is an even greater reason that God has chosen the way of suffering for His children. It is an opportunity for God to be glorified. Steven, the brother from Israel, took us to Daniel 3 and reminded us of the experience of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You will remember that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made a huge image (90 feet tall) and demanded that everyone in his kingdom bow down to it. When these three Hebrew children refused to do so, King Nebuchadnezzar sought to make an example out of them. He was going to show one and all what he did to people who defied his command.
While Nebuchadnezzar was carrying out his plans, the Lord was carrying out his. He would indeed make an example out of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but it would not be for the purposes of the king. He would glorify Himself through their lives. Before he cast them into the fiery furnace, he gave them another chance. You get the idea that he was hoping they would bow down. He kind of liked them. It was as a favor to Daniel that he had put them in high positions. He told them that if they refused, he would throw them into the furnace, asking them, “What God will deliver you out of my furnace?” You remember their response: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’” God was not only glorified in their answer, but He was then glorified in the results. King Nebuchadnezzar heated the furnace seven times hotter than normal, so much so that some of the ones who threw them in were killed by the flames. But the fire had no power to touch God’s three servants. Not a hair of their head was singed. There was not even smell of smoke on them.
How was God glorified in that? Through that trial came great opportunity for the Lord to be glorified. Had these three Hebrew young men not been severely tested, there would have been no fourth man in the fire. There would have been no miraculous deliverance. The greater the trial, the greater the opportunity. This is why our tendency to desire our own comfort robs God of glory. If the Lord had allowed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to live comfortable lives, He wouldn’t have let them go through that severe trial. And if that trial had not come upon them, the Lord would have been robbed of glory in the eyes of Nebechadnezzar and the people of Babylon.
We read in Ps. 96:8, “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.” It was certainly appropriate for His people to bring an offering and come into His courts. That brought glory to the Lord. But we who are on this side of the cross and have the living Christ within us have an even greater call. We give the Lord the glory due His name by going to Him outside the camp. Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders of His day and they took Him out to a hill outside the holy city to crucify Him. We give Him glory when we go to Him outside the safely of man’s religion, bearing His cross and following Him wherever He leads.
Conclusion
Why take time to talk about suffering and the persecuted church this morning? I certainly hadn’t planned to do so, but in my thinking it is a must. We must not divorce ourselves from our brothers and sisters around the world and what God can teach us through them. We are privileged to have contact with the persecuted church. Not many have the opportunity or avail themselves of the opportunity. Few from this area there were very few at this weekend’s conference in Albuquerque. I’m not putting down other churches for not being there, but I am simply saying that God has given us this privilege.
When Oded and Bimini Cohen come to present “Christ in the Passover” on the 20th, realize that they too suffer persecution as a part of their ministry in Israel. Before moving to Israel a few years ago, they lived in the Boston area. One might think they moved their so that Oded could celebrate his Jewishness. No, that is not the reason. They moved there so they could take the gospel of Jesus to the Jewish people who need Him so desperately. They have found that it isn’t easy. They face great opposition. As they come, let’s learn from them, but let’s also pray for them.
What is the greatest threat to us today? Many would say that Iran is the greatest threat to us, especially with the prospect that they could develop a nuclear bomb. But let me ask you another question: “Where is the greatest move of the gospel among Muslims today? VOM tells us that it is in Iran. I am not excusing the Iranian leaders, but I am saying that we can’t take our cues from the media. We belong to Almighty God, who is not threatened by the weapons of man. We are engaged in a war that is far greater than any war between nations, “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Our destiny is not determined by what earthly kingdom comes out on top, for God has chosen us who His to be a chosen generation, a kingdom of priest, a holy nation, a people for His own possession. Why? So that we can proclaim the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (I Pet. 2:9). The only one who truly threatens us is Satan, the god of this world, who walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But praise God that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (I John 4:4).
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