Embracing Suffering: The Path to True Ministry
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The purpose of God in creating the universe is to display the greatness of the glory of His grace supremely in the suffering of his son. That's yesterday today the summons will you join the son in displaying the supreme satisfaction of the glory of grace in joining him on the calvary road of suffering because there's no other way the world is going to see the supreme glory of Christ today except that we break free from the Disneyland of America and begin to live lifestyles of missionary sacrifice that looks to the world like our treasure is in heaven and not on the earth. [00:35:16]
Paul said if there's no resurrection we are of all men most to be pitied listen to hi puts the point on his own experience he said if the dead are not raised why am I in peril every hour I protest brothers by my exultation in which I have it which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord I die every day so he says two things I'm in peril every hour and I die every day I choose I make so many choices to magnify Jesus in hard places it hurts me every day I would not choose this if it weren't true if I couldn't expect the resurrection from the dead where everything would be paid back to me a thousandfold that I have laid down in the service of Jesus. [02:13:07]
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake talking to the church and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body that is the church. That's almost heresy almost to say in my body my fallen sinful body I am completing or filling up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. That's almost heresy it would be heresy if he meant the sufferings of Christ lacks something in their atoning work in the death that he paid for sin there's not enough there I'm gonna add the rest so that the world can have an atonement that is sufficient for their sins that's heresy and that's not what he meant. [04:37:04]
What did he mean what did he mean when he said in my body what would you mean if you walked out of here tomorrow and said alright I am God helping me going to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on my campus or among the unreached peoples of the world what would you mean you really should be able to say that I hope you will I think what you should mean is not that you add to the atoning merit or value or worth of the death of Christ but that you add the extension of that suffering to those for whom he died in your own body and suffering. [05:43:37]
The situation is that the Philippian church loves Paul Paul is in prison in Rome hundreds of miles away beep afroditi says I am willing to take the offering and the blessing that we as a church want to show the love that we have for Paul we want to show so it Pafford Isis takes whatever it was we're not told to be money could be books to be food whatever clothing and he takes it to Rome and he almost dies he suffers in doing this he suffers in extending the love of the Philippians to Paul and then you have this sentence where Paul encourages people to praise such a one as a pet for Titus because he came close to death for the work of Christ risking his life to fill up what is lacking in your service to me he said that to the Philippians. [06:38:49]
The gift to Paul was a gift of the church as a body it was a sacrificial offering of love what was lacking was the church's presentation of this offering in person this was impossible and Paul represents a paradise as supplying this lack by his affectionate and zealous ministry I think that's exactly what Colossians 1 24 means when Paul says I rejoice in my sufferings for you and I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ the afflictions of Christ in my body in my flesh he means Christ died for millions of people all over the world people on your campus people in the unreached peoples of the world there debt has been paid and they don't know it can't taste it they can't feel it. [08:04:35]
There's something missing in this suffering it's not showing up it's not connecting there's something lacking in the sufferings namely the presentation the presentation of the sufferings the here's the here's the amazing things you might say well obviously the gospel has to be spread it's not it's not obvious what he's saying here he's not saying simply the gospel has to be spread he is saying it is through my body and my sufferings that the sufferings of Christ arrive in the unreached peoples of the world on your campus how do the sufferings of Jesus arrive on your campus they arrive through your sufferings that's the meaning of Colossians 1:20 for I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my own flesh. [09:03:52]
If you have any inkling of how we got to where we are today with one point three or four billion people professing faith in Jesus Christ when started from 12 how did we get there you know the answer is suffering there never has been a breakthrough into an unreached place or people without suffering if you're gonna be a missionary mark it down pain loss of a child malaria marital strife tensions on the team demonic opposition martyrdom it's going to come don't think it's strange when it comes it's the price he paid his life for our salvation we join him in that suffering to display the nature of it. [10:18:30]
How are they going to see how satisfying he is in us if we look like it's the computer toy that is really satisfied the computer toy that's amazing that was from a sermon preached at a college student conference in 2006 18 months before the iPhone was announced so if I can take the liberty to restate that last line I put it like this today how are others going to see how satisfying God is in us if we look like the smartphone is where we're getting satisfied that's powerful. [11:13:26]
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Paul said if there's no resurrection we are of all men most to be pitied listen to hi puts the point on his own experience he said if the dead are not raised why am I in peril every hour I protest brothers by my exultation in which I have it which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord I die every day so he says two things I'm in peril every hour and I die every day I choose I make so many choices to magnify Jesus in hard places it hurts me every day I would not choose this if it weren't true if I couldn't expect the resurrection from the dead where everything would be paid back to me a thousandfold that I have laid down in the service of Jesus. [02:13:07]
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake talking to the church and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body that is the church. That's almost heresy almost to say in my body my fallen sinful body I am completing or filling up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. That's almost heresy it would be heresy if he meant the sufferings of Christ lacks something in their atoning work in the death that he paid for sin there's not enough there I'm gonna add the rest so that the world can have an atonement that is sufficient for their sins that's heresy and that's not what he meant. [04:37:04]
What did he mean what did he mean when he said in my body what would you mean if you walked out of here tomorrow and said alright I am God helping me going to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on my campus or among the unreached peoples of the world what would you mean you really should be able to say that I hope you will I think what you should mean is not that you add to the atoning merit or value or worth of the death of Christ but that you add the extension of that suffering to those for whom he died in your own body and suffering. [05:43:37]
The situation is that the Philippian church loves Paul Paul is in prison in Rome hundreds of miles away beep afroditi says I am willing to take the offering and the blessing that we as a church want to show the love that we have for Paul we want to show so it Pafford Isis takes whatever it was we're not told to be money could be books to be food whatever clothing and he takes it to Rome and he almost dies he suffers in doing this he suffers in extending the love of the Philippians to Paul and then you have this sentence where Paul encourages people to praise such a one as a pet for Titus because he came close to death for the work of Christ risking his life to fill up what is lacking in your service to me he said that to the Philippians. [06:38:49]
The gift to Paul was a gift of the church as a body it was a sacrificial offering of love what was lacking was the church's presentation of this offering in person this was impossible and Paul represents a paradise as supplying this lack by his affectionate and zealous ministry I think that's exactly what Colossians 1 24 means when Paul says I rejoice in my sufferings for you and I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ the afflictions of Christ in my body in my flesh he means Christ died for millions of people all over the world people on your campus people in the unreached peoples of the world there debt has been paid and they don't know it can't taste it they can't feel it. [08:04:35]
There's something missing in this suffering it's not showing up it's not connecting there's something lacking in the sufferings namely the presentation the presentation of the sufferings the here's the here's the amazing things you might say well obviously the gospel has to be spread it's not it's not obvious what he's saying here he's not saying simply the gospel has to be spread he is saying it is through my body and my sufferings that the sufferings of Christ arrive in the unreached peoples of the world on your campus how do the sufferings of Jesus arrive on your campus they arrive through your sufferings that's the meaning of Colossians 1:20 for I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my own flesh. [09:03:52]
If you have any inkling of how we got to where we are today with one point three or four billion people professing faith in Jesus Christ when started from 12 how did we get there you know the answer is suffering there never has been a breakthrough into an unreached place or people without suffering if you're gonna be a missionary mark it down pain loss of a child malaria marital strife tensions on the team demonic opposition martyrdom it's going to come don't think it's strange when it comes it's the price he paid his life for our salvation we join him in that suffering to display the nature of it. [10:18:30]
How are they going to see how satisfying he is in us if we look like it's the computer toy that is really satisfied the computer toy that's amazing that was from a sermon preached at a college student conference in 2006 18 months before the iPhone was announced so if I can take the liberty to restate that last line I put it like this today how are others going to see how satisfying God is in us if we look like the smartphone is where we're getting satisfied that's powerful. [11:13:26]
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