II Timothy 1:8-9
8 – So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
9 – Who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.
Philippians 1:29
29 – For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him.
If you were to walk the aisles of any pharmacy in America you’d find that one of their most popular products is pain killers. They have shelves that are literally packed with plastic jars of Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, Aspirin, Annacin, and Aleve. These pills of course come in tablets or caplets-which are easier — less painful — to swallow. You can purchase them in huge jars holding as many as 250 pills or handy pocket-sized containers of only 8. Some are even combined with decongestants so you can “kill two pains with one stone” so to speak. Other shelves contain tubes of “rub-on pain relief” like Ben Gay and Aspergel. Still other shelves provide space for the new herbal remedies that promise to end all manner of aches. In that same section of the store you’ll find various types of chemical ice packs and heating pads that promise to soothe our aching muscles. Stores stock all these products because pain relief is big business in America. We spend billions alleviating our hurts every year. This is because none of us want to hurt….everyone wants to live a pain-free life. Comfort is very important in our society.
Unfortunately this is often true when it comes to the Christian walk. Many people want to follow Christ but only as long as it is comfortable to do so. Theologian, J. J. PACKER writes, “The other day…as I sat in the hot tub savoring the warmth…adjusting to the feel of being bubbled over from all angles, …it struck me that the hot tub is the perfect symbol of the modern route to religion. The hot tub experience is sensuous, relaxing, floppy, laid-back: not in any way demanding…but very, very nice, even to the point of being great fun. Many today want Christianity to be like that and labor to make it so.”
Perhaps this particular philosophy of faith is why some of us have a hard time understanding Paul’s teaching in today’s text. Remember his words? In 2 Timothy, Paul encourages us not to embrace a life of ease and pain-free comfort but rather to “JOIN him in his sufferings.” And in Philippians he said in essence, “You win! You get to join Christ in His sufferings.” Why would Paul talk this way? Why would he act as if pain or suffering were a good thing? What good purposes could there possibly be for joining him in suffering for his faith? Well, I think we begin to find an answer to these questions in the realization that-suffering is not optional for the Christian who wants to truly follow Christ through life. Persecution is not something you would pass by on the “buffet table of discipleship” and opt not to put on the plate of your life.
No — if you are a Christian suffering is inevitable. Understand….this is not because Jesus wants us to suffer. He is not some cruel drill Sergeant who delights in making life tough for His recruits.
No, suffering is inevitable for Christians because we live in an imperfect world that is hostile to the One we follow. Joe Stowell, President of Moody Bible Institute writes, “Jesus’ rejection, alienation, and ultimately His crucifixion…were the direct result of the fact that Christ came to do His work in alien territory that was dead set against His success.” You see, every aspect of Christ-His character, His teaching, His attitudes and responses to life-all of this-is a threat to the reign and realm of the god of this age. And if we follow Jesus…if we pattern our lives after Him we will face suffering for the same reason. We ARE living in enemy territory. And Jesus warned us of this. In John 15, Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world…..if they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
History has shown just how true Jesus’ words are. Remember, all but one of the first 12 disciples suffered a martyr’s death and the other, JOHN, died of old age in exile on the Isle of Patmos because of his commitment to Jesus. During the years when Christianity was just getting started those who chose to follow Christ encountered unbelievable persecution for their faith. And that kind of persecution continues even in our day and age. In fact more followers of Jesus Christ are dying for their faith during this season of church history than in all the other seasons combined.
About 150,000 each year are being martyred. About two million are being actively persecuted. And millions more are living with their religious freedoms severely restricted. In Peru Romulo Suane, a well-known Quechua Indian church leader was gunned down by a left-wing rebel group called “Shining Path.” Suane was involved in preaching and translating the Bible into the Quechuan language and had often suffered threats and attacks. He told one of his relatives, “My family never talk in terms of ‘What if I’m killed’ but rather ‘When will I be killed.'” In many Islamic countries, heresy laws make conversion to Christianity a criminal act punishable by flogging, dismemberment, or death. In some of these countries, the government denies food to Christians living in famine areas. In Sudan, Christian men and women are forcibly separated. Their children are seized to be raised as Muslims or sold in slave markets for five to nine dollars a head and then shipped off to countries such as Libya to serve as slave labor. Tens of thousands of Christians are dumped into Sudan’s deserts and systematically denied food, water, and medicine.
There are repeated massacres and reports that Christians have literally been crucified. In the Quang Ngai Province of Vietnam, the church is undergoing severe oppression. Christians there who are part of the Hre tribe are denied education, food, medical aid, and even burial plots. Church members are warned that their land could be confiscated. In 1994 in the southern region of Ethiopia, officials raided the area’s largest evangelical church and arrested most of its members. It is reported that many members died in jail. They were not allowed to be buried; rather their bodies were left out to be scavenged by animals. The pastor was tortured and his eyes plucked out.
So today….even today….people around the world suffer for following Christ. And the main reason this day of prayer is set aside is so that we will be aware of this fact….that millions of Christians on this planet today know first hand what it means to literally take up their crosses and follow Jesus.
Now, here in the U.S. our “crosses” may seem to be of the balsa wood variety…thanks to our freedom of religion we can usually worship without fear of physical harm. But even we will suffer for our faith. II Timothy 3:12 says, “…EVERYONE who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…”
A reporter once asked Roger Staubach, former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, about football injuries. He asked, “How do you keep on keeping on if your playing professional football?” Roger replied, “If you’re not playing hurt, you’re not playing football.” And….if you are not suffering or hurting in some way for your Christian faith then you must not be posing much of a threat to Satan and his purposes.
Okay, back to my original question….why would Paul act as if this inevitable suffering was a good thing? Why does He encourage us to aspire to suffer for Christ? Well….perhaps Paul was one of the first to realize that “God never wastes our sorrows.” He saw that when we are pursuing God’s purposes. He always works all things for our good-even suffering and pain. Its not that Paul was some sort of masochistic person who liked to be hurt. He wasn’t saying we should want only to suffer in life….its just that he had discovered that pleasures are not the only source of blessing in this world. Even persecution and suffering can benefit those who use their lives to further the Kingdom of God.
So Paul urges us to join him in suffering for Christ because he knows first hand that there are advantages to suffering for your faith. And this morning I want to point out four of these benefits….And the first is this….
1. …Suffering has the effect of pushing us closer to Christ.
When painful trials come our way often we respond by studying the Word of God more regularly…we talk to God more….we run to Him for strength and comfort. Who was it that said, “How many times I was driven to my knees because I had no where else to go?” So suffering has a way of driving us much closer to God than we would be otherwise. And this is especially true when we are suffering because of our faith-for then we really are suffering WITH Christ.
You see, when you suffer with or along side someone you grow incredibly close to that person. I remember going to a WORLD CHANGERS in Bishopville, S. C. with our youth a number of years ago. When we arrived we were divided into teams of 10-15 people and each team….or crew….would be given a house to build or repair. My crew that year was called “THE KNOTHEADS” and we were given a house to repair that really should have been torn down…
The work was grueling…we tore out the old ceiling and put in a new one…we tore out the old bathroom and put in a new one…we tore off the old roof and put on a new one. We tore out old wiring and put in new wiring. We would come home every night exhausted — covered with filth but you know in that week I got very close to those people. We developed deep friendships simply because we shared suffering. In Philippians 3:10 Paul wrote, “I want to KNOW Christ and the power of His resurrection and the FELLOWSHIP of sharing in His sufferings….”
Paul learned that when you are persecuted in Jesus’ name you literally suffer along side of Him and when this happens you grow closer to Him — much closer than when times are comfortable and pain-free. And then….another benefit of suffering or persecution is that…
2. it gives us a chance to show others how much we value our relationship with Christ.
When cling to our faith in Him in spite of persecution we give irrefutable proof that we believe knowing Christ is WORTH our suffering. We show the world that we are honored to follow Him-no matter what the cost. I Peter 4:16 says, “If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear HIS NAME.” Our willingness to suffer for our faith indicates to a watching world that we are proud to be called CHRISTIAN….or “little Christ.”
You know anything worth something costs something and the more it is worth…the more it costs…. and the fact that we are willing to suffer for our faith shows the world around us that we value our relationship with Christ that highly.
The story is told of a Roman General in the 2nd century who discovered there were Christians in his army-40 of them. He had them arrested and ordered them to recant their faith or die. They refused. It was the dead of winter so the general had them strip off all their clothes and left them standing on the ice in the middle of a frozen lake. On shore was a heated bath house. He told them that at any time they could reject Jesus and find shelter in the bath house, or they could die on the frozen lake.
Well as these soldiers stood together in the bitter cold, they sang, “Forty brave soldiers for Jesus, Forty brave soldiers for Christ. We’ll be true to our God and stare death in the face though we perish on this lake of ice. We’re forty brave soldiers for Christ.”
The bath house attendant sat in the warmth of the bath house and listened to the soldiers. After many hours one of the forty finally broke down and abandoned the pack. He ran to the bath house. The soldiers were quiet for a while, then one began to sing, “Thirty nine soldiers for Jesus…thirty-nine soldiers for Christ….” Well….the attendant at the bath house was so moved by the determination and commitment of the 39 that he ran out onto the lake, stripping off his clothes, singing at the top of his lungs, “Forty brave soldiers for Jesus, Forty brave soldiers for Christ. We’ll be true to our God and stare death in the face though we perish on this lake of ice. We’re forty brave soldiers for Christ.”” You see when we cling to our faith in Christ no matter how difficult life is….the world notices. When we face illness and heartbreak and even death with a firm faith in God, people realize that our faith is real…that it is worth something….and often they will run to join us in it. They decide that if Jesus is worth dying for….He must be worth LIVING for. And then….another benefit of suffering is that….
3. …It shows us what is truly important in life.
Suffering has a way of separating the temporary worthless things in life from those things that have eternal value. CCM artist, Scott Wesley Brown tells of the time years ago that he was doing concerts in churches behind the iron curtain. One night he sang in a small church full of impoverished believers, who were obviously suffering for their faith. In the Soviet Union of those days Christians were denied jobs. They lived on incomes below the poverty level…paying a high price in suffering for their faith. Brown reports that even the concrete floor of the poor little church was worn out. After he sang a little woman came up to him and thanked him for his sharing and then after finding out he was from the United States, she said, “It must be hard to be a Christian there.” Then she walked away.
Well Brown didn’t understand what she had meant.
How could this woman living in an atheistic nation who suffered every day for her faith comment that it would be hard to be a believer in the U.S…..the land of religious freedom-where things were so easy for Christians? On the way home from the concert he told his interpreter what had happened and asked what the woman had meant. The interpreter said, “She knows that in the United States you are blessed with wealth. You have fast food restaurants, stylish clothing, luxurious cars and homes…so many things. But here all these people have is their faith in Jesus. She knows that it is harder for people who have it easy to put their faith in God. They put their faith instead in things. This is why she felt it must be hard to be a Christian in the U.S.” The hardship this woman and her fellow believers endured had helped them to develop a deep personal faith in Jesus. Their trials had taught them to rely on Him for everything….they had learned that material blessings can actually get in the way when it comes to developing a close relationship with God. One persecuted Christian in Vietnam writes, “We don’t struggle with materialism because there are not materials for us to struggle with. We are poor and face many difficulties, but God is blessing the church and causing it to grow.” Suffering has a way of showing us that Jesus is really all we need in life. In fact, painful experiences can remind us that God never intended that this present world would be all we have. He has planned a far better place where there is no suffering, sorrow, or pain. And at the border there is a sign that says, “Check your crosses here. Unnecessary for the future.” In Romans 8:18 Paul says “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed.”
In Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus promised, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
One year after her husband, JIM ELLIOT, was killed by the Auca Indians of Ecuador, ELIZABETH ELLOT wrote the following: We have proved beyond any doubt that Jesus means what He says-His grace is sufficient…..We pray that if any, anywhere, are fearing that the cost of discipleship is too great, that they may be given to glimpse that treasure in heaven promised to all who forsake. Suffering has a way of giving us a glimpse of eternity and when we get that glimpse we see what is really important in this short life here. And that is a wonderful advantage in this life……and then, one other benefit of suffering is that….
4. God often uses it to spread the Gospel.
History shows that the times that the church grew the fastest were also times when Christians were most persecuted. In spite of years of persecution the church in China is huge and still growing. The church in Sudan is the fastest growing in any Muslim country. The blood of Martyrs often IS the seed of the church. Joe Stowell tells the story or Ivan Minailo, a pastor in the former Soviet Union. During the Stalin era, Ivan was approached by the KGB and asked to become an informer. At the time Ivan was shepherding five rural churches. The government promised him a life of prosperity and ease and a bright future if he would only report to them every week about what was happening in his churches and what the people were doing. It would be a great deal for Ivan; he could continue to pastor and secure the future of his family, and now one would know.
Well Ivan refused and as a result was sent to prison in Siberia with 1500 other political and religious prisoners. When he arrived he and other groups of prisoners were formed into work details to help build the towns of Stalin’s regime. Ivan was a carpenter by trade….a very skilled craftsman. And everywhere he went he and his fellow believers shared their faith and established cell groups of believers in all those remote villages. Because of this, today there are many, many churches all over Siberia that proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ — a direct result of those prisoner groups that helped build those towns throughout Siberia.
So suffering for your faith really does have it’s benefits. It pushes us closer to Christ…it deepens our friendship with Him. The way we respond suffering can show people how much we value our relationship with Christ. Suffering has a way of opening our eyes so we see what is truly important in life. God can even use our persecution to spread the Gospel. These are some of the reasons Paul would encourage us to join Him in suffering for the faith. This is why James would write, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds….” One reason we come to this communion table each month is to remind us how much Christ suffered for us. This morning as we partake let us also pledge to be willing to suffer for our faith in Him.
Let’s commit ourselves to work for God’s purposes-no matter what comes our way. And let us also remember the words of I Corinthians 12, “When one part of the body suffers all parts suffer and commit to pray for all those believers around the world who suffer for their faith. May God use their trials to further His kingdom…