1 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:10,960 Hi and welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,000 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,240 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:20,280 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,080 We have started a series called The Kingdom Life based on the 6 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:27,920 life and teachings of Jesus from the Gospel according to Mark. 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,800 We look at how we must live our lives on this earth as followers 8 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,720 of Jesus in a way that is countercultural yet powerfully 9 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,160 impactful. As you listen in, our hope is 10 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:44,080 that you will be motivated to live, love, lead, and serve just 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:49,960 like Jesus. Morning, everyone, morning. 12 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:52,840 So we are continuing with our Kingdom series. 13 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,120 We are doing Kingdom principles from this week and the principle 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:01,040 we're looking at today is a little different. 1 So there 15 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,040 was, I think it, I'm not sure if this joke was said at our 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,000 engagement or someone else's, but the pastor was saying how 17 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,160 for the people getting married, there are three kinds of rings. 18 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,120 We have our engagement ring, our wedding ring, and then 19 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,560 suffering. And so today's Kingdom principle 20 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,560 is suffering well. And my prayer when I started 21 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,560 preparing last Sunday was Lord, please don't test me because 22 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,640 before a sermon is preached, He will give us 6 days of training. 23 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,360 So I said please don't test me for the next 6 days. 24 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:30,280 I want a bit of a break from all the training. 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,400 And it was amazing how God cumulatively gave me a word for 26 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,880 today from over 40 years of her life. 27 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,040 He said, I want you to teach from your life, 40 years. 28 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,840 You have walked through different seasons. 29 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,720 A lot of them were dark and I want you to teach from your 30 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,280 life. So whatever I share today is 31 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,040 stuff that I have tried my best to live out, my parents and my 32 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,560 husband, that evidence or some of it, and I hope I stay true to 33 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,240 what God has spoken to me. Saint Augustine said this. 34 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,360 God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without 35 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,240 suffering. God had one son on earth without 36 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,680 sin, but never one without suffering. 37 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,000 Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this. To endure the cross is not 38 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,200 tragedy. It is a suffering which is the 39 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:17,920 fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. 40 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,040 Right. And we have to come down to 41 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,880 brass tacks with this. Let us not kid ourselves that 42 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:29,160 God causes our suffering. This is the fact we live in a 43 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,320 broken world. The enemy has penetrated every 44 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,960 area of our lives. We live in a broken world. 45 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:37,880 All and any suffering is from the hand of the enemy. 46 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,240 God allows it, and out of that, because he's a Redeemer, 47 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,080 whatever is allowed into our life becomes something good. 48 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:48,000 But the cause of sin and suffering is not God. 49 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:51,360 I love what the psalmist says. God is good and he does good. 50 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:53,480 That is who he is. That is the bottom line. 51 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,640 We will learn from this position. 52 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,640 The enemy is the perpetrator of suffering, not God. 53 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,000 And God who is sovereign allows it. 54 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,280 And I think he allows it because he can see the end from the 55 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,360 beginning. He knows that even this terrible 56 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,840 thing that's going to happen at this point of life, I'll bring 57 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,080 in tremendous good out of it. And that's why he allows it. 58 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,720 And Jesus himself said this in the book of John. 59 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,760 John chapter 16 verse 33 says I have told you these things so 60 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,040 that in me you may have peace in this world. 61 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,360 You will have trouble, but take heart. 62 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,040 I have overcome the world. It's imperative. 63 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,600 It's an imperative tense. He's saying you will have there 64 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,200 is no negotiation. None of us are going to be 65 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,840 exempt. In another translation he 66 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,480 expands on that and amplified. He says you will have 67 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:47,080 tribulation, trials, distress, frustration, but be of good 68 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,520 cheer, meaning take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted. 69 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,200 I have deprived the world of power to harm you and have 70 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,160 conquered it for you. What an assurance. 71 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,200 So what is the the gist of it? You will have suffering, I will 72 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,200 have suffering. It is part of our lives. 73 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,160 But there are two precautions we must take when we talk about 74 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,680 suffering, especially when you walk in community. 75 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,200 There will be people who are going through hardship. 76 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,520 And there are two things I believe we should be very 77 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,279 careful of. The first thing is that we 78 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,200 mustn't minimize other sufferings and maximize our own. 79 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:23,760 You know, we have this problem of saying, oh, you've not walked 80 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,800 my shoes. You don't know my trauma, you 81 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,760 don't know my abuse. You don't haven't grieved like I 82 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,720 have grieved. But that's a huge mistake 83 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:34,400 because we cannot quantify suffering. 84 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,600 My suffering is not yours. Yours is not mine. 85 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,120 So let's not minimize someone else's suffering just to 86 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,000 maximize our own. To each his own, he says. 87 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,280 Each man is called to bear a burden, right? 88 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:49,760 So that's the first precaution we must take. 89 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:51,680 So each one of us are fighting a battle. 90 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,760 Let's be kind to each other. The second precaution is not to 91 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,200 draw conclusions between sin and suffering. 92 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:01,360 A lot of times you want a cause and effect or they're going 93 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:02,360 through this because they didn't. 94 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,640 They were not in the Lord or they didn't do this. 95 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:08,520 They didn't do that. Sin and suffering is not so 96 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:09,800 direct. It's not so linked. 97 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,440 We don't know the depths of it. There's a huge amount of mystery 98 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,600 to it, and I believe that we have to look at it very simply. 99 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,800 There's a pressing before the promise, and the pressing is 100 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,560 what we call suffering. There is a struggle before the 101 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,520 breakthrough. That struggle is the suffering. 102 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,520 Some of these things happen to refine as he allows the fiery 103 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,520 experiences of life so that the drawer smells of the impurities 104 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:38,320 are melted off and so that the pure version is brought forth 105 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:40,760 and so we cannot draw direct conclusions. 106 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,120 Don't go tell someone, oh, you've not had this happen for 107 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,760 you because of that is not in our hands to judge. 108 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,480 So these are two precautions. But now I'm coming to what James 109 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:53,760 said the brother of Jesus wrote this. 110 00:05:54,600 --> 00:06:00,200 He said consider it a sheer gift friends, when tests and 111 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,640 challenges come at you. I don't know whether James was 112 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,440 in a in a type of denial he says considered pure joy. 113 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:12,000 When you undergo trials and testings of all kinds and then 114 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,320 look at what he says I'm reading from message, he says. 115 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,920 You know that under pressure your faith life is forced into 116 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,080 the open and shows its true colours. 117 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,280 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. 118 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,560 Let it do. Let it do its work so you become 119 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:32,240 mature and well developed, not deficient in any way. 120 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,360 A lot of times when we're going through a hard season, our 121 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,360 tendency is to be like kids on a road trip. 122 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,720 Are we there yet? Have we reached God? 123 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,600 Are you done with me? Can I short circuit this 124 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:45,640 process? But he's saying don't try to get 125 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,880 out of it prematurely. Let it do its work in you. 126 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,520 When we were studying, we, I did a side paper, an ancillary paper 127 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,880 called in zoology. And the, the teacher, I still 128 00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,280 remember this like it was yesterday. 129 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,040 She taught us about metamorphosis and how the 130 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,120 butterfly has to go from Caterpillar to pupa and then to 131 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,120 butterfly, right? And what happens is when the 132 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,960 crystal is, or the pupa is just hanging on the underside of a 133 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,120 leaf. And we would actually observe it 134 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,480 in the lab when they're trying to come out of the pupil stage. 135 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,760 It's a very pivotal stage because the little butterfly is 136 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,320 emerging from a pupil condition, from a cocoon. 137 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,800 It's been cocooned safely for a few weeks and the minute it 138 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,600 starts emerging, we'll all go to the lab and it's almost an 139 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,000 entire day's process when the butterfly pushes through the 140 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,040 cocoon and comes out. But when it's pushing, some 141 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:38,720 researchers tried a different thing. 142 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,600 They cut the pupil layer to free it out. 143 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,880 But you know what happened? The butterfly limped and fell 144 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:50,880 out and died within a few hours. But when we allow nature to do 145 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,800 its thing, the butterfly kept pushing, pushing, pushing for 146 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,000 the next few hours. And what was actually happening 147 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,520 with the wings were getting stronger because it was pushing 148 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,160 through such a tough membrane. And within a few hours it was 149 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,680 ready. It emerged and it lived its 150 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,680 lifespan as planned by God. And the teacher told us that 151 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:15,840 that process of shoving and pushing through the pupil cocoon 152 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,280 was very important for the strength needed for the next 153 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,920 season as a butterfly, because it was a Caterpillar a few weeks 154 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,480 back, it needed to go through the birthing process, the 155 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,640 birthing pain to emerge into that beautiful creature. 156 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,760 Some of us are trying to short circuit the suffering. 157 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:34,280 Some of us are trying to cut it short. 158 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,280 No, I want out of this marriage. I can't do this. 159 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,000 I, I, I'll check out of parenting this kid. 160 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,039 It's too hard. But God is saying you can't 161 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:45,200 check out too soon because the breakthrough may be just around 162 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,160 the corner, but I want you to go through it. 163 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:53,280 And so it's so important to look at what James is saying. 164 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:57,520 That is why it's important to consider it all joy, because at 165 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,840 the end of the trial, something beautiful awaits. 166 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,080 But we must walk through the trials. 167 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:07,280 And so the common thread, if you look at all of humanity 168 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,160 struggles, you look at the Bible from beginning to end, there is 169 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,040 something about God growing us into maturity. 170 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,960 And growth happens with pain. There is suffering which comes 171 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,440 before we move into the next level of our life, the next 172 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:23,720 level of our faith, the next level of our blessing. 173 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:27,480 And so remember this, suffering is not punishment, it's process. 174 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,320 You're human, you're going through a process, suffering is 175 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:33,600 part of it. I was talking to Pastor Vasu 176 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,720 this at Goa this week. I had a bit of free time with 177 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,360 him. So we both just were talking and 178 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:41,520 we were talking about spiritual warfare and he said you know 179 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,080 what, I believe in spiritual warfare. 180 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,600 But the problem with it is we sometimes when we put it on 181 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,160 spiritual warfare, we blame the devil for anything and don't 182 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:50,480 take responsibility for anything. 183 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,480 He said when you're walking through suffering, be very aware 184 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,080 of God and not the enemy. The enemy is working 100%, but 185 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:00,600 he said keep your eyes on Jesus during suffering. 186 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,600 Don't take your eyes off him. Don't give the enemy the benefit 187 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:07,640 of putting all the focus on him, right? 188 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,200 So when we look at today how we are going to suffer, well, the 189 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,800 Kingdom principle is suffering. Well, the fact is all of us are 190 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:16,680 going to suffer. But how do I suffer? 191 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:19,680 Well, that's what we're going to be looking at today. 192 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,680 And here's the deal. Suffering or struggling is a 193 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:24,120 process. It's painful. 194 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,360 It could be long winded, it could be unexpected. 195 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,600 It comes out of left field. But suffering well means you 196 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,440 don't waste the suffering. You don't waste the suffering. 197 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,920 You don't languish, you don't go into hiding, you don't disappear 198 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,720 off the face of the planet, but you embrace it and you make it 199 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,400 work for you. That is what it looks like to 200 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,120 suffer well. And I just have three things I 201 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,080 want to leave with you. The first thing is if you want 202 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,000 to learn how to suffer, well, the first thing is it's OK to 203 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,920 groan, but you must grow. First thing, it's OK to groan, 204 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,800 feel your pain, feel it, feel every inch of it. 205 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,760 Groan out to God, scream and say Lord, this is so unfair right 206 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:08,920 now, but don't forget to grow. What does that look like? 207 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:14,240 Romans 8 VS 18 to 23. If you can turn to that, Romans 208 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:19,760 818 to 23, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth 209 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,480 comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 210 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,160 For the creation waits and eager expectation for the children of 211 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,120 God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected 212 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,000 to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the 213 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,360 one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be 214 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:40,600 liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the 215 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:42,600 freedom and glory of the children of God. 216 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,360 We know that the whole creation has been groaning, as in the 217 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,800 pains of childbirth right after the present time. 218 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,600 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the 219 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:57,680 spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to 220 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:00,480 sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 221 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,120 How many of you have actually seen growth pains in children, 222 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,760 little babies, as they grow month on month, they stretch, 223 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,480 and you can feel, you can see the pain on their faces as 224 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:11,920 they're stretching their little bodies. 225 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:14,560 Growth pains happens in all our life. 226 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,360 As we get older, as we enter new seasons, there are growth pains. 227 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:20,960 He stretches our business, he stretches our marriages, he 228 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,000 stretches our children, he stretches everything. 229 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,960 And it's important to remember in seasons of suffering, not to 230 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,240 stop growing. It is so important that we are 231 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,600 moving from point A to at least point A to if not B. 232 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,240 And I'm not saying that you only make it about growth. 233 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,040 Feel what you're feeling, but don't get stuck in that place. 234 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:44,200 It is so important that if you're in a hospital bed, you're 235 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,800 lying there, but your mind is actively engaged with God and 236 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:49,360 you're saying, God, what can I do right now? 237 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:51,200 You're making me rest. What next? 238 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,800 Maybe you're in a season of separation and you're so alone. 239 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:57,200 You're so lonely, you don't know what to do. 240 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,360 But keep talking to God, read his word, be soaked in the 241 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,760 spirit. Growth is important in the midst 242 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,280 of suffering. And you know, sometimes feels 243 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,280 like the the struggle is too much. 244 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,280 You know, sometimes when the suffering will be so great that 245 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,240 it'll feel like whiplash, constant whiplash from your body 246 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,360 just being yanked around. It'll feel like you're, you've 247 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,600 just been bruised and battered emotionally, physically and 248 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:22,440 mentally. You're like, God, when will this 249 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,720 battering stop? But in the midst of it, growth 250 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,840 happens when you change the question from when and why? 251 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:31,120 What are you bringing out of this card? 252 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:33,960 How can I use this to bring you glory? 253 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,560 That's when growth starts. Romans chapter 5, verses three 254 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:44,200 to five says not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings 255 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,640 because we know that suffering produces perseverance, 256 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,840 perseverance, character, and character hope. 257 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:54,520 And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has 258 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,840 been poured out into our hearts to the Holy Spirit who has been 259 00:13:57,840 --> 00:13:58,960 giving us. You see this, there's an 260 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,800 incremental change. You're changing, moving from 261 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,480 suffering to perseverance, perseverance, character, 262 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,600 character, hope. There is change, something is 263 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,000 changing. I remember 2 weeks, I don't know 264 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,760 where I shared this, but we had gone through a particular 265 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,480 difficult moment with someone and I was just so down in the 266 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:19,880 spirit, but I knew that God was allowing it for a reason. 267 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,280 And so we were just kind of, you know, we were kind of surfing 268 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:24,200 through it, like emotionally I was coasting through it. 269 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:25,920 And then we met one of our friends. 270 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,000 He came home and we were just talking and we shared with him 271 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,280 the season we are in and he said this very interesting thing. 272 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:36,080 He said, Ananaka, it's so weird. You have the joy of the Lord on 273 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:37,520 your faces. I would have never guessed 274 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:39,360 you're going through this. That's growth. 275 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,200 He said, because he saw us three years back when we had been 276 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,840 battered similarly, but we were just couldn't lift us up. 277 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:49,800 But he's saying in three years I've seen a difference. 278 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,080 You are so joyful in the midst of this. 279 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,800 Amazing. And that's when I was like, oh 280 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:59,600 wow, thank you, God, for you have brought good out of the 281 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,960 trials. You have taught us to grow in 282 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,480 the midst of suffering. It's so important because the 283 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,120 word perseverance, there is fortitude, endurance. 284 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:13,200 Some of us are so caught up in our physical health, in the 285 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:17,200 pursuit of excellent health by eating right, by doing the right 286 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,240 things for our body. But have you been doing that for 287 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,720 your spirit? Because suffering has a way of 288 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,160 pulling your spirit down and there's no lifting that up 289 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,160 easily. But it's important that you 290 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,120 build your spirit, which means you are so soaked in the Word. 291 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:31,120 I will. Even if I'm really sick, I will 292 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,800 still get into the Word today. Because God, you will have a 293 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:37,080 word for me today. I will not give up till I hear 294 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:38,840 from you, Lord. I'll keep reading the scripture 295 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,360 till you speak to me. Fortitude is built in the midst 296 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:46,920 of suffering character. He will show you areas in which 297 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:48,760 you are lacking. Before He shows you anything 298 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,120 about anyone else, He'll first show you and you realize that in 299 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:53,920 the midst of this. God, if you're humbling me, I'm 300 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,440 good with it. If you're taking away the pride 301 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,520 that has been so fitted in with my life, it's OK, you can remove 302 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,320 it. It's beautiful what suffering 303 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:05,640 does to us. The problem is that when we are 304 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,680 suffering, many of us have a problem of stagnation. 305 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,040 I meet people who week in week out, same complaint. 306 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,960 When are you going to move from stagnation to growth? 307 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,200 When are people around you going to say this is not holding them 308 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,000 down, they are moving. I love hearing stories of people 309 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,600 saying Akka. Last week I was like this. 310 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:26,680 This week God came through in a very subtle way. 311 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:28,960 It won't be a huge thing, but they saw it. 312 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,560 They saw God move and so they moved. 313 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:37,080 God is calling us into growth. I want to ask you to reflect on 314 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:38,800 this. What has your suffering taught 315 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,600 you? Did it bring you closer to God? 316 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,240 Did you start to know more about God's heart and mind for 317 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:51,640 humanity for you? Have you developed deeper 318 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,200 relationships? Did you bring people into it so 319 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:55,400 that you could journey with them? 320 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,640 Have you developed a stoic resilience in the face of 321 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,520 storms? Have you grown in your 322 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,359 integrity? Has your faith gotten more 323 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,280 grounded in Jesus? These are the questions we need 324 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:11,920 to ask. The answers to that will show 325 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,000 whether you've grown or you've stagnated. 326 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,440 And it's never too late. It's never too late to say, 327 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,359 Lord, I'm ready to grow. This problem has been there for 328 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,880 a while, but I'm ready to grow the second thing. 329 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,640 First thing was you can groan, but remember to remember to 330 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,840 second thing. Feel the pain, but declare God's 331 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:38,440 promises. You can be in the midst of the 332 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,040 most physically depleting season of your life, but your mouth 333 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:46,560 still works, right? Instead of using your mouth to 334 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:51,320 complain, to grumble, start declaring the promises of God. 335 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:56,120 There were seasons when I didn't have the strength to declare, so 336 00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:57,880 I would write it and stick it on the wall. 337 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,000 But what I found was that that faded with age. 338 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,320 And many times when we painted the house, everything was 339 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,120 removed and then it just left my mind. 340 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,480 So God taught me that you need to put the promises in your 341 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,360 heart more than on a wall. It can be on your wall, but if 342 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:14,000 it's not in your heart, there's no point. 343 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,840 What are you declaring? Simple things. 344 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:19,560 A lot of times we talk to ourselves. 345 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:21,080 How many of you talk to yourself? 346 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:23,800 Yes. The rest of you are lying. 347 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,600 Good. All of us talk to myself at some 348 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,600 point. What we speak to ourself 349 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:30,520 matters. Oh, I'm so tired. 350 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,400 Oh, I can't do this. But what if I changed it to God? 351 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,200 I know I, I'm, I'm tired. I'm physically exhausted. 352 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,680 But I know I'll get through this because you are with me. 353 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:41,360 Spirit of God, this is your temple. 354 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,960 I know you will heal it. I thank you that I'm healed and 355 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,160 whole. It is what I speak to myself 356 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,440 which changes the game. The game changer is the 357 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,400 declarations. Your feelings are real, but 358 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,320 they're only indicators. They're not the compass. 359 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,200 What you declare with your mouth matters. 360 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,960 I love Psalm 119. I was reading the IT this whole 361 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,040 week, was just meditating on Psalm 119. 362 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,840 And it blew my mind because I always thought this was a Psalm 363 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,040 where the psalmist talked about the statutes and the, you know, 364 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:12,440 commandments. But it's actually a little 365 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:14,200 deeper than that. So I want to read a couple of 366 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:19,640 verses for you. Psalm 119 versus 147 to 148. 367 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,600 I rise before dawn and cry for help. 368 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,840 I have put my hope, Indiana, your word, my eyes stay open 369 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,880 through the watches of the night that I may meditate on your 370 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:31,640 promises. When we are especially 371 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:35,080 struggling in certain areas, some of us lose sleep, am I 372 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,120 right? There's some ailments which will 373 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:41,440 keep you up at night, pain, chronic pain, skin ailments, 374 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:45,680 headaches, insomnia. I think the psalmist had a 375 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,720 problem and he says I woke up in the watches of the night. 376 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,960 I put my hope, Indiana, your word, my eyes stayed open that I 377 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,880 might meditate on your promises. He goes on in verses 153 to 154. 378 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,640 Look on my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten 379 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:04,640 your law. Defend my cause and redeem me. 380 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,880 Preserve my life according to your promise, not according to 381 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,000 my desire according to your promise. 382 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,720 He says in verse 162 I rejoice in your promise like one who 383 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:20,160 finds great spoil. Verse 170 may my supplication 384 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:24,240 come before you deliver me according to your promise. 385 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,640 And verse 172 may my tongue sing of your word, for all your 386 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:34,080 commands are righteous. This is a man who is suffering 387 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,840 but is rooted in God's word. Because the minute I start 388 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,840 speaking my desires out, it may not be in alignment for that 389 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,040 season. I might say, I know I'm healed, 390 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:44,600 but if God is saying, sweetheart, you need to go 391 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:46,760 through this a little longer, I'll say, Lord, I know you're 392 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,080 building character in me. I know you're building strength 393 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:50,760 in me. I can do all things through 394 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,240 Christ who strengthens me. I know you have plans not to end 395 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,800 my life, but to prosper it and bring hope and future. 396 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,320 This is how you bring the promises of God into your inner 397 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,000 dialect. You have to change the script of 398 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,520 your life with the declarations from your mouth. 399 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:12,160 Your pain, which is physically emotional, mental, everything is 400 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,280 legit. Nobody's denouncing that. 401 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:19,760 But you have to come to a place where you press pause on that 402 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,960 and say now I'm going to declare the word of God. 403 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,080 Now I'm going to step it up and say the word of God is going to 404 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,840 save my life. I'm going to hold on to it like 405 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:33,760 an anchor. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 13 says it is written. 406 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,320 I believed, therefore I have spoken. 407 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:41,160 Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe, and 408 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:42,360 therefore. Speak. 409 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,400 It is not enough to believe it. We have to speak it out. 410 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:48,840 Our children need to hear us speak the word of God. 411 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,440 Lisa Bivier always writes this. She says if you look at the fool 412 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:54,880 and the child, the fool will stand up. 413 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,360 But if you call out the the king and the child, the king will 414 00:21:57,360 --> 00:21:59,640 stand up. What I speak over my husband, 415 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:01,640 what I speak over my children is all important. 416 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,600 What I speak over myself is very important. 417 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,600 Maybe yourself worth has been suffering because you've been 418 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,200 talking to yourself at this level. 419 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:13,760 When God says I have called you, you're a you're a Princess, you 420 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,520 are my daughter, you are my son. You're an heir apparent. 421 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,560 You have everything at your disposal, but you're living like 422 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,800 a pauper because of the way you speak to yourself, because of 423 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,520 the way you speak to your children, the way you speak to 424 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:30,200 those who help you, bosses. How do you treat the ones who 425 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,600 work with you? We look at them like this and we 426 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:34,960 treat them like they're inferior. 427 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,880 What if I started treating them because they're image, image 428 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,000 bearers? How I treat them matters. 429 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,880 What I speak over them matters. Romans 10/17 says faith comes by 430 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:47,800 hearing and hearing the word of God. 431 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,280 The word of God has to be spoken, period. 432 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,680 Teach your children psalms. Teach them to speak it out in 433 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,160 the night seasons when they're sick. 434 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,000 Teach them. Call on Jesus, He's with you. 435 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,400 Ask them to claim the blood of Jesus for in it, if there's 436 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,840 power, every other religion teaches their children. 437 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,600 I'm sure that some of you will attest to this. 438 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,600 They teach the Vedas from their infancy. 439 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,240 We are the ones who missed out. But it's not too late. 440 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,440 Let's put the word of God in our families. 441 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:21,760 Let's start declaring it because it's interesting. 442 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,440 When we start declaring it with your mouth, something changes. 443 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,680 Biologically, our mind starts to believe what we're speaking 444 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,360 because the minute you say you're inferior, you're useless. 445 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,520 Your mind believes it, right? Why not? 446 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,880 I say I'm a masterpiece created in advance to do good works. 447 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,320 When I start saying that, my mind starts to believe it. 448 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,360 My heart follows. I start to believe it and live 449 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:46,560 like it. Careful what you declare in the 450 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,480 heart seasons. Every word that you speak is 451 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,600 accounted for. I tell this, both of us say this 452 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,000 a lot to couples who come to us for marriage counselling. 453 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,080 Don't use the word divorce even as a joke. 454 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,440 What you speak matters. Don't call your children names 455 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,800 without thinking it true because that's not how God looks at 456 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:11,680 them. We have this joke in our family. 457 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,880 I was telling Anita about it, How we don't say you are, you're 458 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,280 foolish. We say you're acting foolish and 459 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:19,480 then they'll say, but you said we're not. 460 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:21,400 You're acting like one, you're not one. 461 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,720 But then I'm realizing every single word matters because 462 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,760 these things get embedded into our spirits. 463 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,840 Every single thing. And God is saying, will you 464 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:33,760 start speaking scripture over yourself? 465 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,640 If you're in a very dark season, play music, sing with it. 466 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,720 I love certain songs from our childhood which has scripture 467 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:43,680 embedded in it. Start singing it over yourself. 468 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:48,080 Start speaking it over yourself. Worship and the Word of God have 469 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,560 to be staples in our lives. I was reading that day. 470 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,280 There's some research which has come out which says that 471 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,240 Christians tend to live longer and better when they sing 472 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,280 because apparently only our belief system has this thing of 473 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,560 corporate singing out loud like this, and it's supposed to be 474 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:06,160 really good for the spirit and soul. 475 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,240 So what is stopping us? You don't want to read the Word 476 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:11,440 of God. Start singing it. 477 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,040 There's so many hymns, there's so many choruses which have the 478 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,960 Word of God. Begin to speak the Word of God 479 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:23,280 over yourself. What you speak matters as you 480 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:24,840 start to make these declarations. 481 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:26,000 This is what I've seen in my life. 482 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:31,040 When I started to make these declarations out loud, I started 483 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:35,560 building hope internally. Something in me would change. 484 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,000 There would be a subtle shift because I started believing that 485 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,720 hope never disappoints because the one who I'm hoping in 486 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:46,200 doesn't disappoint. You see, declaring the 487 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,840 scriptures. We're not saying speak positive 488 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,080 affirmations over yourself. That's not what I'm saying. 489 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:54,040 Speak the scripture so that you start building hope. 490 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:58,080 That's the second thing. Feel the pain, but declare God's 491 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:01,000 promises. The third thing, the 3rd and 492 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,800 final thing, you will suffer alone but must bring 493 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,920 encouragement to others. Our suffering is never for 494 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:13,360 ourselves. To make suffering work, it has 495 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,000 to be used to bless someone else. 496 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:17,640 Have you been going through a season of infertility? 497 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,040 Encourage someone else in the same season. 498 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,520 Have you been going through grief over the loss of a loved 499 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:24,120 one? You're the best one who can 500 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,120 encourage someone else who's going through that. 501 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:32,560 Each of us have got pain and anguish that is tailor made to 502 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:37,120 help someone else in the room. You are not meant to suffer 503 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:40,400 alone and end it alone. You are meant to take that and 504 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:44,240 encourage someone else. 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 505 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,280 three to seven says this. Praise be to the God and Father 506 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:51,000 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God 507 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,800 of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we 508 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,880 can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves 509 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,120 receive from God. For just as we share abundantly 510 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:06,160 in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through 511 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,520 Christ. If we are distressed, it is for 512 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:11,480 your comfort and salvation if we are comforted. 513 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,800 For it is for your comfort which produces a new patient endurance 514 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,120 of the same sufferings we suffer. 515 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,640 And our hope for you is firm because we know that just as you 516 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,920 share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 517 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,000 Our suffering is never for ourselves. 518 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,280 The beautiful thing is once we come into the family of God, we 519 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:34,960 start to hear other people's stories. 520 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,280 And there'll be moments when you can totally relate with someone 521 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,040 else because you've been there, you've walked there. 522 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,120 And your job is to then say, hey, I can journey with you 523 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:47,240 through this. I've been there. 524 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:49,880 I know the mistakes I've made. I'll help you not make the same 525 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:53,920 mistakes. A person who has walked through 526 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,520 cancer is the best person who can help someone else currently 527 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:01,960 walking through cancer. A person who has lost a business 528 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:04,400 will be able to help someone else going through a financial 529 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,000 loss. I remember we had lost a sum of 530 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,000 money in in looking for a place for church and only a few people 531 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:12,480 had been journeying with us on that. 532 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,560 They've been playing with us. Fast forward two years down the 533 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:19,520 line, one of our guys from church called us up and he and 534 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,840 his wife sat on this call with us and shared their from our old 535 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:24,320 church and they were just talking to us. 536 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,960 And they said we we just wanted, we didn't know who to tell us. 537 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:29,120 We thought we'd call you both up. 538 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:32,280 We know you won't judge us, but we've lost a huge sum of money 539 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,640 and we feel like idiots. We got conned and both of us 540 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:37,680 didn't know whether to laugh or cry because we were listening to 541 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,160 them and saying we feel you, we feel you, we know what you're 542 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,640 going through. And they were shocked because 543 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,560 they didn't know. And so it was such a beautiful 544 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:50,400 moment of connecting over suffering, but also walking them 545 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,680 towards healing and telling them, forgive yourselves, God 546 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:55,920 will come through for you. And the beautiful thing was he 547 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,760 was talking to us recently and said how God has not let them go 548 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:00,400 even a minute. They've not got back the money, 549 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,080 but God has not let his hand off them. 550 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,600 They've not lacked. They've been doing so well. 551 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,640 God has just been enlarging their territory. 552 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:12,480 And so this is what happens when we journey with someone else in 553 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:14,560 a space where we understand what they're walking through. 554 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,600 Someone once said I'll never trust someone without a limp. 555 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,640 Meaning Jacob got touched by the hand of God, right? 556 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,760 It marked him. Suffering will mark us in the 557 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:29,880 best way possible. My closest friends have all 558 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,720 suffered a lot. They've lost marriages, they've 559 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,120 lost children. These are the ones I trust with 560 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,720 my life because they have seen the darkest bits of hell and 561 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,320 they've come out and they've not come out bitter. 562 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,120 That's the joke. They've not come out angry. 563 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:46,200 They've come out better than before. 564 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,840 They've come out like gold. They can look back and find joy 565 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:54,280 and even that and those are the people you should walk with, 566 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:59,080 identify with someone's suffering not to, you know, have 567 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,040 a pity party for yourself. No, it moves you to this place 568 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,320 of hey, I grew through it. I want you to grow as well. 569 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:06,920 You walk through depression. I walked through it. 570 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,400 I'll hold your hand through it. Suffering is not wasted when we 571 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,600 use it to bless someone else. The comfort I have received from 572 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,960 God I will bring to you and that's the calling on each of 573 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:19,800 us. When when Tabita asked us to put 574 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,640 our hands Isaiah 61 to set the captives free, we were captives 575 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,960 who are now set free. We have the keys of the Kingdom 576 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,760 in our hands. We have to be setting others 577 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:31,760 free. If you received your healing, 578 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,720 don't leave it be there. Take it to someone else. 579 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:38,840 If you're still in the throes of the wait, wait alongside others. 580 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,120 The waiting room with believers is the best place because all of 581 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,440 us have hope. Hey, I'm waiting for you. 582 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:46,920 I'm praying for you. I know at the right time God 583 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,640 will come through. Suffering cannot be wasted when 584 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,720 it's used for others. You must have heard about 585 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,520 survivors from the world from World War 2, Viktor Frankel and 586 00:30:57,520 --> 00:30:59,800 Corrie Tenbum. These were people who were 587 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,440 suffering in the concentration camps themselves. 588 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,440 And yet in the midst of the darkest time of history, they 589 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:10,120 were found helping someone else. Viktor Frankel turned out to be 590 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:14,240 one of the greatest psychiatrist of our time because he studied 591 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,440 humanity, suffering, and then brought hope to people after the 592 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,400 Holocaust. It didn't end with him. 593 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,680 His suffering didn't just become a personal wallowing of, you 594 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,360 know, self pity, but he took it to help others. 595 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:28,200 You should read some of his books. 596 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,360 It will change your life. CS Lewis. 597 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:36,480 He wanted to understand pain. God took his wife away and he 598 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:40,960 wrote the book The Problem of Pain, and through that he has 599 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,160 helped countless understand why God allows suffering. 600 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:45,760 How does a good God allow suffering? 601 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:48,240 Well, the good God didn't 'cause it, but he will carry you 602 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:49,440 through it. He will redeem it. 603 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,840 We have to understand that suffering is not punishment, 604 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,600 it's process and it's required. So don't run from it. 605 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:03,760 Consider it pure joy, friends, He says consider it pure joy. 606 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:09,920 So even as I close, I want to look at 2 Corinthians chapter 4 607 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:12,800 verse 7 to 9. If any of you have been 608 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:16,000 thinking, why this suffering? Why do I have to go through this 609 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,120 God? I want us to bring ourselves 610 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:21,160 back to a very humbling knowledge of our lives. 611 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,320 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this 612 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,520 all surpassing power is from God and not from us. 613 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,120 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. 614 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,600 Persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. 615 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:40,760 It says perplexed, but not in despair. 616 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:47,400 We are just jars of clay, holes and all, and there is going to 617 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,440 be the process of the crushing of the persecution, of being 618 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:56,960 struck down. But the beautiful thing is, when 619 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,240 you were hard pressed, did you notice that new wine was being 620 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,400 brought out of you? Did you notice that when you 621 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,840 were perplexed, the mind of Christ started developing, 622 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:10,840 started thinking like God? Did you notice that when you 623 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,760 were persecuted and slandered, the Spirit of God was with you 624 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,200 and in you? He heard everything, You were 625 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:21,440 never alone. Did you realize that when you 626 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,840 were struck down that the resurrection power of God raised 627 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:26,480 you back? Every time people wondered how 628 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:29,880 did they come back from that? It was the power of God in you. 629 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:37,600 2 Corinthians 4 verses 17 to 18 says for our light and momentary 630 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,120 troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory. 631 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:46,080 Nothing that you are suffering through or going through is 632 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:49,240 wasted. It is getting for you glory. 633 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:55,520 We so we fix our eyes on not what is seen, but what is on 634 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:58,920 what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is 635 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:02,760 unseen is eternal. I was teaching them in youth 636 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:06,000 this Today what we behold is what we become. 637 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:10,800 If I keep beholding the suffering, I could easily become 638 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,840 a martyr, but when I start beholding the Saviour, I 639 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:16,800 experience salvation on another level. 640 00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:20,000 I may not get the answer to the prayer immediately, but I 641 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,560 receive His power in so many other ways. 642 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:27,480 What are you beholding today? Is only your suffering in front 643 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:30,400 of you? Is only your hardship in front 644 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:33,320 of your eyes? Is only the setbacks All you 645 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:36,440 focus on God is calling you to greater vision. 646 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,600 Don't look at what you can see. Look at what you cannot see. 647 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,000 Look at what I'm doing in you. Look at what I'm doing around 648 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:44,880 you. Open your eyes. 649 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,040 What you behold is what you become. 650 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,199 Become. You behold your problems. 651 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,800 You're the picture of misery. People can see it on your face. 652 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,680 You behold your magnificent God and his promises. 653 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,400 Something changes, people are attracted to you. 654 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:04,400 You're like a magnet. So this is my suggestion to all 655 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,520 of us to keep your chin up and push through the pain. 656 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:09,920 Don't let that stagnate you. Don't hold yourself back. 657 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,400 Don't avoid community. Keep choosing it. 658 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:17,280 Keep coming back to God. Grow through through what you go 659 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,240 through. Growth is everything. 660 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:22,400 Growth is symbol, symbolic of life. 661 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:24,080 If you're alive, you should be growing. 662 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,600 Don't give in to the urge to give up, to stagnate. 663 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:34,160 Instead, meditate on God's Word and start declaring it out loud. 664 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:37,960 I can do all things. I am more than a conqueror. 665 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,360 Begin to help others with the comfort you have received. 666 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:46,720 Begin to comfort others. That is Our Calling. 667 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:49,120 That is the anointing. So even as the worship team 668 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:51,480 comes up, we're going to sing the song Sovereign because this 669 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:54,480 is a song that has carried Geshram and me through many 670 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:57,000 seasons. When there was number words to 671 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:58,760 it, you couldn't articulate the pain. 672 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,400 You cannot. You can't tell anyone you 673 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:04,440 personally struggle. The only consolation and those 674 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:06,240 moments has been God. You're sovereign. 675 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:08,640 You know what you're doing. I don't know what you're doing, 676 00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:12,760 but you are enough. You are good and you do good. 677 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,880 So as we worship with this song, can we just believe that Lord, 678 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:20,480 you have not forgotten us? Can we just close our eyes? 679 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:23,640 Maybe you feel forgotten. Maybe you're like God, how long? 680 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:26,960 How long these closed doors, how long this physical ailment, 681 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,920 Lord, how long that financial crisis, how long that relational 682 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:32,960 emptiness? But he's saying, will you hold 683 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:34,280 on? Don't cut it short. 684 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:40,120 Don't short circuit my process. You are not forgotten. 685 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,760 What the enemy planned for evil, He will turn it to good, for He 686 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,520 is our Redeemer. He redeems everything. 687 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:51,680 Nothing is wasted. Let's just worship God together. 688 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:54,720 Thanks. For listening to this message, 689 00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,960 we hope you were blessed. To hear more messages. 690 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,960 Like this? Make sure to subscribe and check 691 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,600 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 692 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,360 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 693 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:10,520 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 694 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:15,240 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 695 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,760 and to connect with us, go to viazion.in. 696 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,880 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.