When All Things Work Together Against Us
This is last Sunday's message by Rev Joseph. Good one, and certainly very applicable. I managed to jot them down in pnts.Bad things happen in God's providence. He wills it, He controls it.
3 things to ask ourselves when bad things happen.
1) Am I out of God's will?
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
-James 1:13-15
Not all suffering leads to sin, but all sin leads to suffering. At the very least, it's the suffering of the spirit when it grieves. So the question we must ask ourselves when we are suffering - Are we living in sin? If we are, turn back to God. Though the outcome may not change, but we must still get back to God.
2) How do I conform to Christ in these situations?
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
- James 1:2-3
All things work together for good to them that love God - Romans 8:28
The "good" in the above verse may not, to us, be good. But God Himself knows exactly what good will come out of it. Rev Joseph refers to our sufferings as a piece a jugsaw puzzle. The complete picture, known or unknown to us, is one that conforms to the image of Christ. Meaning, at the end of the suffering, as James 1:2-3 said, will make us better Christians. For example, how to teach us humilty but to take away the very thing we take pride in? How to teach us patience but to plant irritating people around us?
When we are suffering, we may not know/see that, but the ultimate result is in the hands and eyes of God.
Therefore, endure for the sake of Christ.
3) How can I glorify God?
Everytime something happens, God's character is at stake. Would His believers denounce Him?
As in the example of Job, when everything is taken away from him, He did not curse God, like his wife told him to. Instead, he accepts it.
And (Job) said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
- Job 1:21-22
So, do we give allegience to God only when He keeps blessing us with benefits? When suffering comes, will we denounce Him?
And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. - John 9:1-3
The above example is one that shows that, sometimes, our suffering are meant to glorify God. That others, when seeing our suffering and sees our testimony, should glorify God as well.
Blessed [be] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. - 2 Cor 1:3-4
Also, we know that sufferings can also make us empathise with others. Therefore it is a God-glorifying thing as well.
I in my poor record of the message, lost many of the impact of the message. Sorry for the skimpy version of it.
May it be of encouragment, somehow...