["Pomp and Circumstance"]
To our first hymn of the evening, hymn number 100,
Day by Day, hymn number 100, 1-0-0, Day by Day.
["Day by Day"]
Hymn number 100 will sing there starting on the first.
Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here.
Rusting in my father's wisely stolen,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is tied beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what he needs best.
Loving me is part of pain and pleasure,
Being we toil with peace and rest.
Every day the Lord himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each child.
All my cares if we would bear and cheer me,
He whose pain is counselor and pal.
The protection of his child and treasure,
Is a charge that on himself he lay,
As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,
This the pledge to be made.
Help me then in every tribulation,
So to trust thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's weak consolation,
Offered me within thy holy word.
Happy, Lord, and toil and trouble-beating,
E'er to take us from the Father's hand,
One by one the days, the moment's fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.
Amen. We'll open with a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, we just thank you again for the same opportunity today
to continue to gather together, to sing praises, to hear preaching on your word.
I pray that you would just be with those that received everlasting salvation this afternoon,
that you would stir up their spirits to get into good church and to do works for you, Lord,
now that they've been given that free gift of eternal life.
We pray that you would just be with Brother Dylan for the service this evening,
that you'd fill in with your spirit and open our ears once again to the message this evening.
These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right, for our next hymn, turn, if you would, to hymn number 110.
1-1-0, hymn number 110, All the Way My Savior Leads Me.
Hymn 110.
On the first, let's sing.
All the way my Savior leads me
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy?
Who through life has been my guide?
Every peace divine is comfort
Here by faith in Him to dwell
For I know what every fall means
All things well
For I know what every fall means
Jesus who with all things well
All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread
Gives me praise for every trial
Beats me with a living bread
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul affairs may be
Cushing from the rock before me
Though a stream of joy I see
Cushing from the rock before me
Though a stream of joy I see
All the way my Savior leads me
Oh the fullest of His love
Perfect breath to be His promise
In my Father's house above
When my spirit, clothed and mortal
Brings its life to realms of day
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way
Amen
Alright welcome back to Step Fast Baptist Church this evening
If you need a bulletin raise your hand we'll come around and get that to you
We do have our verse for the week there on the front
2 Timothy chapter number 2 starting a brand new chapter
This week and so I encourage you to keep up the hard work in
Memorization as brother Cameron finishes passing those around
Also if you were able to quote the last chapter Exodus chapter number 20
If you wouldn't mind making your way back to the back table
There is the gift cards that I've left there and he can help you
Get those so if you were able to accomplish that and you have not gotten your prize
For Exodus chapter number 20 please find your way back there
And if I happen to run out just let me know and I can go grab some more as well
So we do have our service times there and our so many times listed on the inside
Along with our nursing home ministry schedule as well
Also if I could get a count of the salvation from this afternoon
Just one person from your team raise your hand so I can get a count there
Okay so we have a total of five to add for this afternoon
Thank you for that and we'll keep up the hard work in soul winning
Those numbers are a little bit out of date as well
We had several numbers to report from this past week
And I just got those updated today so we'll have that for you on Thursday
We want to continue to be in prayer for our expecting ladies
And also our next fifth Sunday fellowship March 10th
And we'll get a theme for that fellowship as the weeks approach
February 11th is today you made it
Brother Oz he's going to be preaching for us this evening again
Great to have him and his family here with us
And then February 24th is the ladies event
Which is going to be at the house of clay
You're going to be not making ceramic vessels
But rather painting them
That's totally a ladies event there
Glad you guys are able to have that time of fellowship
And that is nursing's only preferred
There is a sign up sheet on the back table
If you haven't done so already make sure you get signed up for that
March 18th will be a home school field trip
That we're going to do to the cowboy hall of fame
And you may check your calendar
I know we have some public school
We also have some home school children
That should be the week of spring break
So check with your calendar
And hopefully that lines up
That'll be on a Monday
And it'll be from 10 to 2pm
And it's kind of a special event that they're doing there at the cowboy hall of fame
So I encourage you to participate in that
March 30th will be our next soul winning marathon
In the Oklahoma city metro
Of course that's Easter weekend
And I'm going to get some Easter handouts ready for everyone
Probably ready to hand out the beginning of March
So we'll just spend the whole month of March
Handing those out promoting Easter Sunday
And we'll go soul winning that weekend
All day in the morning in the evening
And there will be a local one here in the metro
And then of course we have our giving statements
For the previous year available
If you need those just let me know
And I can get that to you if you haven't already gotten yours
And also if you did not get your picture taken
This morning please stick around
For after the service to get your picture taken
We still have everything set up
Brother Alex is doing that for us
And if any of the pictures don't necessarily come out right
Or depending on the format of the potential yearbook that we're going to do
We will have a secondary time to do those pictures
And we'll get that scheduled as well
About a month in advance just so that way everyone knows
So just be aware of that
That's all the announcements this evening
So we'll go right to our next song in your hymnal
Hymn number 120, Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Alright hymn number 120, Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Hymn 120, 120, Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Hymn 120, we'll sing there starting on the first
Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Over life's impetuous sea
Found no place before he roamed
Hiding rock and treacherous shoal
Chard and compass come from me
Jesus, Savior, pilot me
As a mother sittles her child
Thou canst watch the oceans wild
Hoistless waves obey thy will
When thou saith to them be still
Wondered sovereign of the sea
Jesus, Savior, pilot me
When at last I hear the shore
And the fearful breakers roar
Twist me and the peaceful breast
Then while leaning on thy breast
May I hear him say to me
Fear not, all I will pilot me
As the offering plates are being passed around
Turn if you would to Psalm 119
It will be the teth portion
So verse 65 of Psalm 119
Good evening
Psalm chapter 119 starting in verse 65
It's going to be teth in your Bible if it's divided that way
The Bible reads
Thou hast dwelt well with thy servant O Lord
According unto thy word
Teach me good judgment and knowledge
For I have believed thy commandments
Before I was afflicted I went astray
But now I have kept thy word
Thou art good and thus good
Teach me thy statutes
The proud have forged a lie against me
But I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart
Their heart is as fat as grease
But I delight in thy law
It is good for me that I have been afflicted
That I might learn thy statutes
The law of thy mouth
Is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver
Heavenly Father Lord we just thank you so much for this day
Lord at this time we just ask you to be with brother Oz
Brother Oz and just fill him with your spirit and give him the words to speak
Just help this congregation to focus on what you'd have for us
In Jesus' precious time we pray
Amen
Alright good evening everyone
We are in Psalm 119
And we spared you this time from reading the whole thing
One of these days would be cool though
It would take like 15 minutes for a really fast reader
So we'll see if that ever happens someday
But we're here in Psalm 119
And I want to read verse number 71
The Bible says
It is good for me that I have been afflicted
That I might learn thy statutes
So notice here the psalmist's attitude towards affliction
It's kind of a paradox from our human understanding
Where he's being afflicted but the psalmist actually says
It's good for me that I'm being afflicted
Now this is in complete contrast to our American way of thinking
Where the average American they want to spend their life seeking
To be as comfortable as possible
The American way of thinking is I want the easiest job I can get
That pays me the most amount of money
I want to live in the nicest house I could possibly live in
Drive the nicest car I could possibly afford
Get the best healthcare
Like Americans we're all about comfort right
We don't like affliction
We don't want to feel afflicted
But the Bible says here that it is good for us to have been afflicted
And the title of my sermon this evening is affliction is good
Affliction is good
Even think about this physically speaking
Our bodies were meant to move
Our bodies are meant to work and to experience exertion
And to push ourselves and to fight and to work
It wouldn't be healthy for us just to sit down in a pod
And never move and never use our bodies
We would start feeling a lot of pain
And what's funny is like I used to work a very very physical job
And I noticed that once I move towards more of an office job
My hips hurt more
My back hurts more
And I have to like put in more of an effort to get exercise outside of work
And hit the gym and stuff like that
Because if you just sit down
Your body is not meant for that right
We're made for affliction
We need to have affliction in our life
Even physically
But the same thing is true spiritually
Affliction is good for us spiritually
Now this evening I want to give you four reasons
Why affliction is good
And we'll make some application at the end of this sermon
So number one
Affliction is good because it helps you learn the Bible
Look at Psalm 119 again
Look at verse 71
It says
It is good for me
That I have been afflicted
Why?
That I might learn
Thy statutes
Notice pain teaches
Affliction teaches
It's good that I've been afflicted
Why?
That I might learn
Specifically learn what?
Thy statutes
And so when we go through affliction
It causes us to learn the Bible
Now this is true physically as well
Think about you know when we're kids
And we touch a hot stove
Hey pain teaches right
That pain teaches us
Hey I don't want to touch that hot stove again
Or have you ever messed with electrical equipment
And got hurt from it and stuff like that
That physical pain teaches you great valuable lessons in life
It keeps you alive
Okay
Well when we go through affliction
That pain teaches us the Bible spiritually
And you know I'm going to tell you
Several life experiences that I've had
That have been affliction
That have taught me the Bible
You know what I know every single person in here
Has gone through affliction of some portion
And I'm sure you've learned things from the Bible too
But you know there's some things that I've been through
That have taught me the scriptures
One of them is a pretty serious injury I had
When I was 16
I grew up and my whole life
This isn't a good thing
I'm just telling you the truth about my life
My whole life was centered around playing baseball
From a young child
I played baseball in the spring
In the summer
In the fall
And during the winter we would do winter workouts
Like that was my life as a child
Growing up is just playing baseball
That's what I put my focus and energy into
That's what my parents put their money into
And everything like that
But when I was 16
I got a really bad injury
I tore my rotator cuff
My labrum
And my bicep
On my left shoulder
And had a serious surgery
That just destroyed my baseball career
I did end up playing baseball again
But I was never the same
And I knew that I wouldn't be able to progress
Any further in my baseball endeavor
And that was afflicting to me at the time
And I thought it was negative at the time
But looking back
I know that that was a positive thing
That actually happened in my life
And you know what
It taught me that the spiritual is what's important in life
I would not have gotten that lesson
If I would have just played baseball my whole life
I would not have gotten that
Because all I cared about was baseball
That's what I wanted to do with my life
And I wouldn't have tried to have served Christ
Because I was too busy playing baseball
So I think that God gave me that affliction
To teach me a lesson
And I'm thankful for it
But go to Colossians chapter 3 if you would
Colossians chapter 3
Look at verse number 1 it says
If ye then be risen with Christ
Seek those things which are above
Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God
Set your affection on things above
Not on things of the earth
Remember that verse in Psalm 119
Hey it's good for us to be afflicted
Why? That we might learn the Bible
That we might learn by precept
And this is something that I learned
Hey God actually doesn't want me to put my affection on things below
God doesn't want me to spend my whole life
Playing a sport and caring only about baseball
Rather he wants me to put my affection on things above
And so by me getting that injury
It caused me to be able to shift my focus from the carnal to the spiritual
That's something that I learned through affliction
Look at verse 3 it says
For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God
When Christ
I love this phrase
Who is our life shall appear
Then shall ye also appear with him in glory
And you know I mentioned this this morning
But outside of serving God and outside of church
Nothing else matters in life
There's nothing in life that really means anything
Or that is really going to have any type of eternal value
Except what we do for Christ
And so if you have that knowledge
What should it cause you to do?
It should cause you to seek those things which are above
Not the things on the earth
To put our affection on things above
What does that look like?
That looks like going to church three times a week
That looks like reading the Bible every day
That looks like praying to the Lord
That looks like spending your time instead of practicing for a sport
Out preaching the gospel getting people saved
That's what God wants us to do with our time
And you know if you are just putting something above God
Like I was baseball
You know that God's probably going to come after that in your life
And so you need to be careful about what you decide to place above the Lord
Because that could be a target of the Lord's wrath
And for me thank God it was only something silly like baseball
But you know I would hate it if people put their children above the Lord
Put their spouse above their Lord
You know that kind of stuff
Just don't put anything above the Lord
Rather hey just seek the Lord
And seek those things which are above
First Corinthians chapter number three
Go to first Corinthians chapter three
First Corinthians chapter number three
It's talking about the judgment seat of Christ
Notice what it says in first Corinthians three thirteen
It says every man's work shall be made manifest
For the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire
And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon
He shall receive a reward
If any man's work shall be burned
He shall suffer loss
But he himself shall be saved
Yet so as by fire
You know it's good every once in a while to remind yourself
That there is a very real day coming in your life
Where you will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ
And your life will be judged according to your work
And there's nothing else you can do
You can't go back in time and change how you lived your life
You can't go put in more hours soul winning
You can't go read your Bible more at that time
Your work is done
Your life is over
And guess what we don't know when our life is going to be over physically either
I mean we could die tonight as someone that could die on the road tomorrow
You never know
So every single day you need to be seeking those things that are above
Why? Because hey there's coming a day where you can't work anymore
And you're going to be judged according to your work
Hey all of the wood and the hay and the stubble
All of the baseball
You know today is the Super Bowl
And I bet you a lot of Christians decided to skip out on going to church
For the wood, hay, and stubble of watching the Super Bowl
But honestly wood, hay, and stubble is just kind of meaningless
But that's probably worse because you're probably just staring at
The great whore of Babylon Taylor Swift the whole time anyways
Probably just even worse than just wood, hay, and stubble
You know what?
God doesn't want you to waste your life on wood, hay, and stubble
He wants that gold, that silver, that precious stone
What is that?
That's things that have eternal value
Let me tell you this
We read Deuteronomy chapter 32 this morning
And one of the verses in that book talks about how
We should memorize scripture and live according to the word of God
And it says
It's not a vain thing for you
For it is your life
Going to church is never vain
Preaching the gospel is never in vain
Reading your Bible is never vain
Memorizing scripture is never vain
Anything that you do that's spiritual
Hey, it's going to last forever
It's going to build rewards in heaven
It's going to touch people's lives
It's going to affect people's eternities
And so every time you're going to church
That's the right decision
It's always the right decision to go to church
Always the right decision to preach the gospel
You know what?
Don't spend your life on the carnal
Go to 2nd Corinthians chapter number 4
2nd Corinthians chapter number 4
And you know, I don't think
I doubt that I was good enough
To have played professional baseball
Statistically speaking
There's probably a very, very slim chance
That that would have ever happened
But let's just say theoretically
I was somehow able to play
Pro baseball like my childhood dream
What would that have mattered?
Zero
Nothing
But you know what?
You know what?
The person that gets just one person saved in their life
Has done more than the best baseball player that's ever lived
The person with the most home runs
Barry Bonds
Most home runs ever in baseball
You get one person saved
You've accomplished way more than he has
You get one person saved
You've done more than Tom Brady has done
And so the world wants you to look up
To these sport athletes
And every young man
It's put in their heart
That that's what they should do
To become a professional athlete
You know what?
It's vain
It's worthless
And I thank God that I went through that affliction
Through the physical pain
Of having my shoulder jacked up
I feel that every day of my life
My shoulder hurts all the time
And I thank God that it hurts all the time
Because who knows?
I could have been chasing baseball still to this day
And I'm thankful that I'm here instead
Here's another affliction that taught me the word of God
Losing an unsaved loved one
Man, who's gone through that before?
Man, that's one of the most painful things ever, right?
When you know that this person you loved and cared for
Died and went to hell
But you know what?
You can look at that affliction as an opportunity
To learn the Bible
You know what it taught me?
Look at 2 Corinthians 4 verse 3
It says, but if our gospel be hid
It is hid to them that are lost
In whom the God of this world
Has blinded the minds of them which believe not
Bless the light of the glorious gospel of Christ
Who is the image of God
Should shine unto them
Hey, you've gone through the affliction
Of losing a loved one
And someone you care about is in hell?
Well, instead of just getting mad at God
Or quitting on serving God
Why don't you let that pain teach you
To love souls more in the future?
Why don't you let that teach you to say
Hey, I've got some loved ones that are alive right now
That are still here
That can still get saved
Maybe I should realize that if my gospel is hid
It's hid to those people
And realize, hey I need to take preaching the gospel seriously
And not drop that opportunity
To let more of my loved ones get saved
What a shame that would be
Go to 2 Corinthians 6
Flip the page there
2 Corinthians 6 verse 2
It says, For he saith, I have heard thee
In a time accepted
And in the day of salvation
Have I suckered thee
Behold, now is the accepted time
Behold, now is the day of salvation
Man, losing an unsaved loved one
Put some urgency into my soul
And realizing that when I'm talking to someone at the door
This could be their last chance
You know, we don't get to see what happens
To the people that we preach to
We knock on their door, we present to them the gospel
And we may never see them again
But I wonder, I wonder
You know, of all the soul winners in the new IFB
I wonder if one of our soul winners
Ever just knocked on someone's door, gotten them saved
And that person died that night
I bet you it's happened
I bet you it's happened where someone's gotten someone saved
And they died the next week
Or they died the next month
But hey, us as soul winners realize
That now is the day of salvation
Don't wait to preach your loved ones the gospel
You know that you have someone in your family that's unsaved
Get that fixed now
Get that fixed today
Preach them the gospel
Don't wait on that
So you don't have to experience the pain
And the affliction of losing a loved one like that
Because there is no remedy
How do you comfort someone whose loved one goes to hell?
You can't
It's eternal
There's no fixing it ever
They're lost for eternity
That's sad, but that's reality
And so, if you go through that affliction
And hey, I'm sorry I've been there
But let that teach you
Not make that mistake again
And let that teach you to care about souls more
In the future
Go to 2 Samuel chapter number 12
2 Samuel chapter number 12
So that taught me
Another affliction that I've been through
And many people have been through this affliction
Is miscarriage
Losing a child
That's an affliction, that hurts, that's painful
And I don't want anyone to have to go through that
It's not fun
But you know what?
That affliction taught me the Bible as well
Go to 2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 19
Notice it says
We have a situation here where David's son is very sick
And on the brink of death
In verse 19 it says
But when David saw that his servants whispered
David perceived that the child was dead
So David's child died
Therefore David said unto his servants
Is the child dead?
Then they said he is dead
Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself
And changed his apparel
And came into the house of the Lord and worshipped
Then he came to his own house
And when he required they set bread before him
And he did eat
Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done?
Thou didst fast and weep for the child
While it was yet, while it was alive
But when the child was dead
Thou didst rise and eat bread
And said, While the child was yet alive
I fasted and wept
For I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me
That my child may live?
Now he is dead, wherefore should I fast?
Can I bring him back again?
Notice that it says, I shall go to him
But he shall not return to me
Hey you know the affliction
Of losing a child taught me to love
The promise of heaven even more
And hey I'm looking forward
To being able to meet my child someday in heaven
And lots of people have gone through
This before
And that should draw you to the scriptures
And say, Hey David lost one
David lost his son
And he said, I shall go to him
Praise the Lord for that
Praise the Lord that when you lose a child
Hey that child is innocent
That child is not going to go to hell
That child is completely safe and secure in the Lord
And that when you die someday
Your child is going to be waiting for you in heaven
Praise God for that
Thank God for that
It could at least teach me
To love God's word even more
Go to Ecclesiastes chapter 6
Ecclesiastes chapter number 6
You know here's another affliction
I've been through that's taught me the Bible
That's being stabbed in the back
By my friends
You know the new IFB has had splits
Over the years
And usually it was involving people
I didn't really know that well
But you know a few years back
There was a split at the church I was going to
And someone that I thought
Was a great friend of mine
Just completely turned on the church
Now thinks that
Pastor Aaron Thompson is a spiritual abuser
And Shure Foundation Baptist Church
Is a cult
And just completely changed
I mean it would be like someone in here
Who you love and know is your friend
That you think is your fellow laborer
And just boom you're part of a cult
You're a terrible person you're spiritual abusers
I mean that's crazy
And it doesn't really surprise you anymore after that
But the first time man it hurts
But you know what that affliction teaches you
The Bible
What did it teach me Ecclesiastes 6 16
It says a faithful friend
Is the medicine of life
And they that fear the Lord
Shall find him
You know what getting backstabbed
Has taught me before
It teaches me to appreciate my real friends
It teaches me to love and appreciate the people in my life
That are really faithful friends
Because a faithful friend is the medicine of life
Man isn't it just refreshing
To have a real true friend
Not just someone that
Is with you when the times are good
But when the times are bad too
Not just someone who likes you when you're at your best
But who likes you even when you make mistakes
Even when you do something foolish
Or say something foolish
That type of friend really can encourage you in life
And if you find a friend like that
Man that is a blessing
And they that fear the Lord shall find him
Fear the Lord and you'll find a friend like that
Put God first and he'll give you
Some great friends like that
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter number 12
2 Corinthians chapter number 12
What about some other afflictions
How about just the afflictions that our church
Has gone through
I mean steadfast Baptist church has been through a lot of afflictions
Protests
Lawsuits
Threats
Stalking
Steadfast has been through a lot
But you know
One of the things that all of our afflictions has taught me
Is that
The sodomites and the reprobates
Are truly exactly what the Bible describes in life
I don't have to just read the Bible
And be like well you know I've never really experienced them
But I'm just going to trust what the Bible says
No no no
Everything that the Bible says about sodomites I know for a fact is true
Because I've literally lived it
I've literally seen it with my own eyes
I don't even have to take it by faith anymore
And so yeah that's affliction at the time
Dealing with all these freaks
But hey the benefit is that I got to learn God's law
The benefit is that the kids growing up in our church
They got to see oh
What mom and dad say about them is exactly true
Look at the nasty things they're saying about the Lord
Look at the disgusting comments they're saying about mom
Look at you know what I mean
The kids see that stuff and they learn the Bible too
Through affliction
Hey it is good for me that I have been afflicted
That I might learn by statutes
Here's another reason why affliction is good
Is that affliction keeps you humble
2 Corinthians 12 verse 7 says
And lest I should be exalted above measure
Through the abundance of the revelations
There was given to me a thorn in the flesh
The messenger of Satan to buffet me
Lest I should be exalted above measure
So notice the Apostle Paul
Man he was a really special person
He was given a lot of scripture
He wrote a huge portion of the New Testament
And it would have been really easy for him in the flesh
To have been exalted
Like oh I'm the Apostle Paul
I'm writing a bunch of the New Testament
I'm such a great guy
And you would say well what's wrong with that necessarily
Well pride goeth before destruction
That's the problem with it
Is that if Paul would have been puffed up
He would have been destroyed
And so God in his love
In his care for the Apostle Paul
Gave him a thorn in the flesh
You say well that doesn't sound loving
That doesn't sound nice
No actually affliction was good for Paul
Because it kept him humble
Because if Paul wasn't humble
His life would have been destroyed
That's the truth
And you know a lot of people like to
Question about what is Paul's thorn in the flesh
I mean I'm open to hearing different theories about it
I think it's probably a problem with his eyes
Because I think it's the book of Galatians
Which is a pretty short epistle
Paul says you see how large a letter
I've written unto you with my own hand
I think because he had problems seeing
He wrote really large letters
Because it wasn't really that long of an epistle
And also I think in the book of 2 Corinthians
He talks about how they loved Paul so much
That they were willing to impart their own eyes unto him
And you think about a guy that's been beaten with rods
And stoned and almost killed
Like very possible that he had messed up eyes
Right from his trauma to the brain
Or even direct trauma to the eyes
And that's what I think his thorn in the flesh was
But notice in verse number 8 it says
For this thing I besought the Lord Christ
That it might depart from me
You know Paul at the time
Even though affliction is good
Even though it's good for us to be afflicted
He's not necessarily understanding that at the time
Right
And we've all been there
We've all had issues in our life
Where we're praying
Lord please take this away from me
Please help me with this issue
And then looking back at our lives
We say oh actually it was good that the Lord didn't answer that prayer
Oh I actually see how that trial
That affliction made me better
And that God was actually helping me
By not answering that prayer
That's where Paul was at
You know and he was
He was beseeching the Lord three times
That's probably not just three quick prayers before bed
That's probably three really long intense seasons of prayer
Where Paul is saying like
Hey this is at the top of my prayer list God
I'm gonna continually come to you with this issue
Every single day
I'm gonna beseech you to take this thorn in the flesh
Away from you
From me
But God didn't see fit to do so
Why?
So that he wouldn't be exalted above measure
Why?
Because that would have actually destroyed him
Not
The thorn in the flesh wasn't destroying you Paul
It was if you would have gotten rid of that thorn in the flesh
That actually is what would have destroyed you
And sometimes that's hard for us to take
We're like no we want our afflictions to go away
No we want the comfort right
But man that's not always what's best for us
And think about the things that people desire in life
People desire a lot of money
But you know what?
Maybe God doesn't want you to have a lot of money
Maybe you will struggle with money until the day that you die
And maybe that's God actually being merciful to you
Because maybe if God just gave you all the money
Maybe you would get prideful and lifted up and stop serving God
And you'd show up at the judgment seat of Christ
Poor
You know that wouldn't be good
You know people want
Like we talked about sports accolades
You know
Oh Lord just please help me get into the major league baseball
Help me to get into the NFL right
People pray for these type of things
But God doesn't necessarily want to give you that
Because it wouldn't even be good for you
Or you know
Every lady wants to look like a supermodel
But what if being a
Looking like a supermodel made you a crappy person
Because let me tell you something
A lot of these women
That are just extremely attractive
Are just terrible people
You know
I wouldn't know
But I would imagine
All these people and only fans
Probably aren't ugly
That's how they're making money
But guess what
By you being attractive
You're literally selling your soul
Being a whore
You're devaluing yourself
You're being wicked
In the sight of God
And it's like
Oh great
You're pretty
Yeah but that's vain
That's pointless
That's meaningless
Maybe it's good
That us men aren't all
235 pounds
6 foot 5
Strapping
Square drawed
Guys
Okay
Because maybe
That wouldn't be good for us
Maybe we'd get prideful
You know
Hey
It's good that we got issues
Right
Maybe it's good for me
That if I spend five minutes in the sun
I burn like a crisp
Maybe God just wants to keep me humble
Right
Don't forget to put on your sunscreen
Dylan
Right
Put on your big hat
That's an affliction for me
Trust me
It's an affliction
But maybe it's good for me
And so
Whatever your afflictions are
Just embrace them
Hey
There's nothing wrong with praying to the Lord
At times he does take away our afflictions
But there's gonna be some things in your life that he never takes away
Are you gonna be okay with that?
Verse 9
He said unto me
My grace is sufficient for thee
For my strength is made perfect in weakness
Most gladly therefore
Will I rather glory in mine infirmities
That the power of Christ
May rest upon me
Damn
What are you willing to take in your life
That the power of Christ
May rest upon you?
If you can get to that place with your attitude
You're going places as a Christian
If you can say
Hey Lord
You know
I'll be poor
If I have to be poor
If the power of Christ will rest upon me
Hey Lord
I'll have health problems
If you need me to have health problems
If the power of Christ will rest upon me
Hey Lord
I'll have marriage problems
If you want me to have marriage problems
At the power of Christ
And they rest upon me
Whatever the issue
Whatever the affliction
God is number one
And if you have that attitude
You'll go places in Christianity
Look at verse 10
Therefore
I take pleasure
In infirmities
What?
I mean that's super counterintuitive
To the way we think
Paul is saying
I literally take pleasure
In infirmities
In reproaches
In necessities
In persecutions
In distresses
For Christ's sake
For when I am weak
Then am I strong
And this is what separates
Elite Christians
From everyone else
Paul is a
Absolutely
Elite level Christian
Right here
Why?
Because of his attitude
That he literally is willing
To take pleasure
In infirmities
He says
Oh
In reproaches
I take pleasure
In that
Oh in necessities
I've got a bill
That I don't know
How I'm gonna pay
I take pleasure
In that
Because I know that the Lord
Is gonna be
Glorified
Through him providing
For me
Somehow
But you know
The person that's super rich
They don't feel that way
They don't need
The Lord
In their own eyes
They think
I've got everything
All figured out
I'm Superman
I've built all this well
Look at how cool
My house is
Look at how cool
My car is
I've done this all myself
And you know what
Those people don't have
The power of Christ
Resting upon them
They're relying on
Their own strength
And you know what
The arm of flesh
Will fail you
You may think
You're strong today
But eventually
Your flesh will fail you
Relying on yourself
Will fail you
But you know what
Just being
That will actually
Keep you humble
That will actually
Be a blessing
For your life
Go to Exodus
Chapter number one
Exodus chapter number one
Here's another benefit
Of affliction
Affliction causes growth
Exodus chapter one
Verse seven
And the children of Israel
Were fruitful
And increased abundantly
And multiplied
And waxed
Exceeding mighty
And the land
Was filled with them
Now there arose up
A new king over Egypt
Which knew not Joseph
And he said unto his people
Behold the people
Of the children of Israel
Are more
And mightier than we
Come on
Let us deal wisely
With them
Lest they multiply
And it come to pass
That when there fall
Without any war
They join also
Unto our enemies
And fight against us
And so get them up
Out of the land
Therefore, they did set
Over them
Taskmasters
Notice
To afflict them
With their burdens
And they built
They built Pharaoh,
Treasure cities,
Python,
And
Ramses
So notice what the king
Of Egypt's mindset is
He says
I see
That these people are strong
That they're mighty
That they're plenteous
And I'm worried
That they're going to be
So strong that
If there was a war
They would team up
With our enemies
And overthrow us
So he goes
So I have an idea
Let's afflict them
This is a really bad move
If you want to weaken
Someone
Because affliction
Brings growth
Affliction
Doesn't weaken you
It actually
Makes you stronger
Look at verse number 12
But the more they
Afflicted them
The more they multiplied
And grew
And they were grieved
Because of the children
Of Israel
You see affliction
Causes growth
Bad move by Pharaoh
Again, think about this physically
If you were to have a personal trainer
Take you into the gym
He's going to afflict you
He's going to cause you
Pain and suffering
And he's going to make you
Hate your life
You know what's going to happen?
Growth
You're going to become stronger
And just like that's true
Physically
That is true
Spiritually as well
Go to 2 Timothy chapter 3
I'm sorry
Go to Romans 5
I'll just read for you
Think about this
How are some ways
That we can be
Afflicted
Spiritually
Well the main way
The number one thing
I think of
Is persecution
That's a way
We can be afflicted
Spiritually
While you're turning
To Romans 5
I'll read for you
2 Timothy 3 10
Now has fully known my doctrine
Manner of life
Purpose
Faith
Long suffering
Charity
Patience
Persecutions
Affliction
Which came unto me at Antioch
At Iconium
At Lystra
What manner of persecutions
I endured
But out of them all
The Lord delivered me
Yea and all
That will live godly
In Christ Jesus
Shall
Suffer
Persecution
So notice
Paul
Was a person who was
Greatly afflicted
In life
Not only did he have
He was just
Greatly afflicted
From every area of life
He was talking about
How he was
Having afflictions
Of brethren
False brethren
And he's constantly
Being shipwrecked
And attacked
And physically eaten
And being stoned
I mean this guy
Was constantly being
Persecuted
And afflicted
But notice what he says
He says
But out of them all
The Lord delivered me
And all of that affliction
That he endured
All that pain
What did it do?
It turned Paul into
One of the strongest
Christians that ever lived
And what was he?
He was someone
That went through
A ton of affliction
And think about
The great men of
The Bible
That we all
Look up to
As great heroes
Of the faith
They're all people
That went through affliction
Read Hebrews chapter 11
These people
Didn't have
Easy lives
The reason why
They're in the
Hall of faith
Is because all of their
Lives were
Extremely difficult
And extremely full
Of persecution
And affliction
That's what made
Them strong
That's what gave
Them strength
To become
The greatest
In the Christian
Life
And think about
All the great
Christians that
You know personally
I think about
Some of the pastors
That I know
That I look up to
As great men
Of God
They're people
That have been
Persecuted
Pastor Stephen Anderson
Banned from
Like half
Of the globe
Right
Pastor Shelley
Probably has
More protests
On his
Church services
Than any other
protesters are as many protests but he had more protests I mean he had thousands of
protests outside of his literally thousands in the accumulation of just a couple of months
where we had protesters that lasted for years and years but it was a handful sometimes
we have big protests but Pastor Jimenez had huge crowds of protests right going worldwide
viral all the men that I look up to a pastor Aaron Thompson has had protesters
Pastor Joe Jones has had protesters with rifles outside of his church right just a bunch of
weirdos all of these guys that I know that I look up to as as heroes of the faith the spiritual
giants that I know are men that have been afflicted heavily and so it's not a coincidence
affliction brings growth look at Romans chapter 5 Romans chapter 5 look at verse 3 again this is
Paul he said not only so but we glory in tribulation knowing that tribulation worketh patience he's
saying hey we're gonna we're gonna glory we're gonna be excited about the fact that we're
having tribulation troubles affliction why because it's gonna work patient what's he
saying we're gonna grow as people we're gonna grow as Christians by going through persecutions
it's gonna cause us to grow in our patience what is patience patience is the bearing of
provocation annoyance misfortune or pain without complaints loss of temper irritation or the
light I mean that is what is that that's maturity that's really what that is patience
is a mature person person that's able to go through persecutions and temptations and
annoyances without complaining about it with or even being like the Apostle Paul not only
are you not complaining about it he's saying I glory in tribulation I get excited when this
stuff happens why because he's gonna grow from it he knows he's gonna grow from it look at verse
4 and patience experience and experience hope and think about it patience and experience are both
markers of a mature Christian like when you think about a mature Christian it's someone that's
very patient in the faith and it's someone with a lot of experience but how do you get
there as a Christian tribulation how do you get there affliction you cannot be a spiritual
person a mature spiritual Christian without having gone through hardship in your life
it's not gonna happen so when it happens feel like hey this is awesome this is an
opportunity to grow hey cool this is an opportunity for me to learn the Word of God
more hey cool this is an opportunity for God to keep me humble hey cool this is an
opportunity for me to grow spiritually that's how you should look at and not just see
every little temptation in your life as the end of the world no sure pray to the Lord pour
out your complaint unto the Lord but at the same time trust him and expect to see growth
go to 2nd Corinthians chapter number 4 2nd Corinthians chapter number 4
2nd Corinthians chapter number 4 I'm going to read for you again I love this verse
Proverbs 3 5 says trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine
own understanding I just love that verse because it just applies in so many different
areas of life right if you're trusting in the Lord and you're not leaning on your own
understanding you know you could read something in the Bible and it may not make sense to you
but you could trust the Lord that it's true and you could do it anyway or when
we're talking about affliction you could be going through something in life that you're
like I don't see how this is making me better I don't see how this is teaching me
anything I don't see how this is causing me to grow but I know that's the truth so I'm
going to trust the Lord anyway make this one of your life verses Proverbs 3 5 2nd
Corinthians 4 17 says for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory think about this in the context of how affliction
makes you grow affliction also makes your spiritual bank account grow he's saying look
when we go through these afflictions it works for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory that's some other growth you're going to get spiritually by
going through affliction is hey your rewards in heaven are growing that's another way you
could just keep things in the right perspective when you're going through hardship okay go to
2nd Corinthians chapter number one 2nd Corinthians chapter number one and another great benefit
of affliction is that affliction enables you to help other people and man this is one of
the most important things because what really makes someone a disciple of Christ what makes
you a good Christian is not just that you are doing all the right things but it's that
you're actually helping other people and that's real Christianity right there is that
we're helping our brothers and sisters in Christ we're helping other people to grow
right well look at 2nd Corinthians 1 3 it says blessed be God even the father of our
Lord Jesus Christ the father of mercies and the God of all comfort notice who comforted us in
all our tribulation Paul saying hey God has comforted me why that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God
notice how Paul went through all those persecutions all those troubles and he's saying
like yeah I glory in those things yeah I've gotten patience and hope and experience by all
those things and God has comforted me in those why so that I could comfort other people when
they're going through that by the same comfort that I received from God and so that's another
thing you should keep in mind when you're going through something hard maybe you're
going through a medical problem but you know what while that sucks while that you're going
through that you continuing to be steadfast and you continuing to serve the Lord you're
setting the example for the next guy that has that same problem or the next girl that
has that same problem and you could want to just quit and just wallow in self-pity what
was me that I'm going through this you know what you could look at it as an opportunity
to minister to the next person that goes through that you lost a child you had a
miscarriage and that sucks I know I've been there hard but you know what maybe God is
allowing you to go through that so you can comfort the next person that goes through that
as well because while we would like to think that everyone is just so spiritual that
when they're going through hardships they're just going to lead to the Bible and lead
to their knees and prayer to God that's not the reality sometimes people just need their
brothers and sisters in Christ to help and so you need to be that person for other people
when you go through afflictions you know maybe you're going through financial issues
maybe you've been there your whole life and you always will be but hey come for people
that are going through the same thing right hey man I'm in the same boat too yeah Biden
screwed both of us isn't it awesome haha inflation you know laugh it off you want
to go to Costco and get a dollar fifty hot dog for dinner does that mean we're
inflation that way right hey console your brethren when you're going through hardships
go to or in the same chapter this for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our
consolation also abounded by Christ notice the more we suffer the more God gets to comfort us
the more God gets to console us and the more our brothers and sisters suffer the more
opportunities there are for us to minister to those people as well verse six and whether
we be afflicted it is for your consolation and salvation those Paul saying when I look at
my own problems when I look at my own affliction you know what I'm thinking about
in my own problems other people that's why I say Paul is an elite Christian because he
even looks at his own problems as an opportunity to serve other people is that how you and I
are and we need to be like that we want to strive to be like that that's amazing
that he's like that whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and salvation which
is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer or whether
we be comforted it is for your consolation and salvation and our hope of you is steadfast
knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings so shall you be also of the
consolation notice Paul is looking forward to the fact he's saying yeah I know that you guys are
going through suffering but I'm looking forward to the fact that just like I got to be a partaker
of God's comfort of God's consolation that you guys are going to be as well and how does
he do that obviously he does that by preaching them the Word of God by teaching them the Bible
and of course I'm sure he was a friend of these people too all when he's listing names
in various places in the New Testament he talks about his fellow helper his fellow
laborer his fellow soldier he calls out people by name that helped him personally
you know I'm sure Paul was a close friend of people and that he was a good comforter
and consoler of people go to Hebrews chapter number four Hebrews chapter number four
Hebrews 4 verse 14 says seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into
the heavens Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our profession for we have not in high priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities but was in all points
tempted like as we are yet without sin notice Jesus Christ humbled himself so much that he
went from his eternal state in heaven to become a little baby in a manger and why did he do all
that why did he go through the whole experiences of being man which is full of sorrows and
temptation and hardships Jesus Christ was called man of sorrow I mean he did not have
an easy life you remember he was tortured and killed at the end of it why did he do all
that well look at verse number 16 says let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace
why that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time notice what affliction did for
the Lord himself it enabled him to help us because he was afflicted like we are afflicted
he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin we don't have an high priest
which can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities meaning Jesus Christ knows what
it's like when you're sad Jesus Christ knows what it's like when you're hungry Jesus
Christ knows what it's like when you're betrayed by your friends Jesus Christ knows what it's
like when you're mocked he was mocked he was spit on he was forsaken he was hated of the
world he knows what all these things are like why so that he can help us to be a great
suckerer to us to be a great consoler to us and so when you go through your trials when
I go through my trials let us look at it as an opportunity to say hey I can help
console someone in the future I can help my brothers and sisters in Christ if they
ever go through what I've gone through I can help them as well that's the attitude
that God wants us to have hate afflictions good affliction it's good for me that I have
been afflicted the Bible says hey when I'm afflicted I love turning to the Bible and
seeing great stories of men of God in the Bible that were afflicted and seeing God
deliver them out of it I love the story of Daniel being thrown in the lion's den and
him living through that and surviving and not being touched by those lions right because
it's like what are our trials in comparison of that when when was I ever thrown in a
lion's den right I mean that's crazy or you know Shadrach Meshach and Abednego
you know standing up to King Nebuchadnezzar refusing to bow the knee saying even if
you throw us in the fiery furnace we're still not going to bow the knee to you
isn't it comforting to see their faith and see how God delivered them out of it
hey isn't it comforting to see the Apostle Paul and Peter and the Apostles say hey
we ought to obey God rather than men and refuse to stop preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ get thrown into prison and God delivers them out of it you know Paul saying that hey I
don't know what's going to happen to me when I leave Ephesus but here's one thing I know
that sufferings abide me and every city that I go to but yet the Lord still delivered him
out of every temptation and that just fires me up that just realizes hey whatever temptation
whatever affliction I'm going through I know God can deliver me out of it and that brings
me comfort that brings me growth in my life now how do we apply these truths for a life
we learn tonight what do we learn hey afflictions good for us affliction is good for us why it
teaches us the Bible it keeps us humble it causes us to grow spiritually it causes us
to be able to help our brother and sister in Christ so what should we do about that okay
let me show you what we should do about that this right here can everyone read that
it says embrace the suck okay this is a pass that I keep on my backpack and you know what
this means this means be steadfast that's what this means what this means is when things are
hard when they're when things suck in your life when you have affliction when something bad
is happening on just embrace it say bring it on affliction yeah let's do it let's grow
spiritually let's get better let's serve our brothers and sisters in Christ let's learn the
Bible more embrace the suck when it comes in your life just embrace it embrace the problems
be steadfast go to James chapter number four first Corinthians 15 55 therefore my beloved
brethren be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord it's not in vain any work that you do any
affliction you suffer for Christ the problems in your life and when you look at things through
a spiritual lens you realize affliction is good so what should we do as a result of that
be steadfast that that doesn't mean serving God when it's easy I mean what if you just
said like man I had the easiest week of my life this week but I'm just trying to be
steadfast it's like I just man this everything is going great for me my health is great I'm
making so much money my marriage is awesome everything in my life is so easy but I'm just
trying to stay steadfast it doesn't make sense right no being steadfast means things are hard
there's challenges there's things trying to stop me there's things trying to move me from my
course and you know what I'm gonna do I'm gonna be steadfast anyway I'm just gonna embrace the
suck and just overcome it anyway through God's power through God's grace James chapter 4
verse 8 says draw nigh to God and you will draw an eye to you cleanse your hands he
sinners and purify your hearts he double-minded notice this command in the Bible be afflicted
hey just embrace it and mourn and weep let your laughter be turned to mourning and your
joy to heaviness humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord he shall lift you up and
some of the best things you could ever do in your life is just to humble yourself before
God so he doesn't have to and just say like Lord I accept these afflictions help me
to get through it by your power help me to get through it by your grace help me to
learn your word help me to grow spiritually help me to become patient help me to be humble
help me to help my brothers and sisters in Christ I'm just gonna be afflicted Lord tell
me to be afflicted okay that's what Jesus Christ did that's what our Savior did I'm just
gonna be afflicted too I'm just gonna accept it I'm just gonna embrace the suck go to
2nd Timothy chapter 1 this would be the last verse 2nd Timothy chapter 1
2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse 8 it says be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our
Lord nor of me his prisoner notice this but be thou partaker of the affliction of the
gospel according to the power of God hey let's not run away from affliction in our life let's
not just take this modern American view where we just want to make our lives as easy as
possible and avoid pain and avoid affliction you know what let's just embrace the affliction let
us be partakers of the afflictions of Christ say hey our Savior was afflicted if that's good
enough for him it's good enough for us to let's just embrace it let's not run away from it
let's say hey you know what affliction is good let's have that attitude affliction is good
why it'll help you learn the Bible more why it'll make you humble why it'll cause you
to grow why it'll allow you to help your brothers and sisters in Christ more sounds
to me like affliction is good so what should we do hey Lord thank you so much for this day thank
you for the Word of God and thank you Lord for the afflictions that we go through sure
you're not thanked enough for our afflictions Lord we're always trying to get rid of our
afflictions but thank you for our afflictions Lord and I just pray that you would help us to
humble ourselves and to rely on you to get through them and that you would help us to learn
the lessons that you have us to learn from our afflictions thank you for this church
pray that you bless everyone here you seem to cry for you. Amen.
All right for our last hymn this evening if you would grab your hymnals turn to hymn
number 130 yesterday today forever hymn number 13130 yesterday today forever
130 starting there on the first
Oh how sweet the glorious message simple faith may claim yesterday today forever
Jesus is the same. Still he loves to save the sinful, heal the sick and lame.
Cheer the mourners till the tempest glory to his name. Yesterday today forever Jesus is the
same. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. Glory to his
name. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to his name. He who pardoned Eric Peter never
means thou fear. He that came to faithless comets all my doubt will clear. He who left the love
disciple yesterday today forever Jesus is the same. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to
his name. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to his
name. He who bid the raging billows walked upon the sea. Still can hush our wildest tempest
paths on Galilee. He who left and prayed in anguish in Gethsemane. Drinks with us each cup of trembling in our
enemy. Yesterday today forever Jesus is the same. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to his name.
Glory to his name. Glory to his name. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to his name.
As of old we walk to Emmaus with him to abide. So through all life's way he walked if ever near our side. Soon again shall we behold him base and lord the day.
God will still be the same Jesus as he went away. Yesterday today forever Jesus is the same. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to his name.
Glory to his name. Glory to his name. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to his name.