Last Words

We are beginning a new series here at Cross-Connection Church in the book of Second Timothy, which contains Paul's last words to Timothy and also his last words to the church. We are calling this series "Last Words." Jump in with us as we explore Second Timothy chapter 1.

Before we get into that, I wanted to talk about a few other things—some announcements—as we step into a new season of the year here at the church. Praise the Lord, school is back in session, and with it comes a routine that is absolutely wonderful. Hopefully, there is a possibility that the days will get cooler soon; that would be spectacular. Certainly, the days are going to get a little bit shorter.

We are moving into what is my favorite time of the year. If you can call it a season in San Diego, we have one season with a couple of dips here and there. From about Labor Day until New Year's Day is my favorite time of the year. As we enter this new time, there are going to be some things starting back up here at Cross-Connection that we had in recess over the summer.

As you know, if you've been a part of Cross-Connection Church for any length of time, it's on the front of our bulletin. We mention it every single time we have our announcements that our vision here at Cross-Connection is life in connection with God, one another, and the world. This vision is something we set out upon about five years ago and have been seeking to make our entire ministry fit that vision. We pass just about all the different things we plan to do as a church through that vision filter: Does it help us connect better with God, with one another, and with the world through Jesus Christ? That is our aim, our mission, and our goal as a church, and it has meant that we have adjusted a lot of the things we've done over the last several years to really accomplish this.

That more fully describes our role as a church and changes what we do on a regular basis. However, this has not altered what happens here on a Sunday morning. We are absolutely convinced that when we gather together as the church, corporately, this is our opportunity to experience connection with God. We connect with God through worship, through prayer, and through the study of the Scriptures. This is largely where He speaks to us; it is the primary way that He has chosen to reveal Himself, His nature, and His will to us. Therefore, we will always gather as the people of God in this way—to worship God through the Word, through song, and through service.

Many of you serve on a Sunday morning, and I am very grateful for the way that you serve. But how do we work out our lives in connection with God, one another, and the world throughout the rest of the week? This brings us to the discussion of what we call our connect groups here at church. I am firmly convinced that the world is as it is, and I think that you would agree, that it is not as good as it could be. It is broken. We live in a broken world, and we see the brokenness of this world constantly.

The world is as it is because of what is described in Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, chapter 3. In Genesis chapter 3, we have the description of the fall of humanity and sin entering into the world, along with the devastating realities of sin. Sin has broken the world that we live in. One of the chief things that it has broken is the connection that God created us to have. When we study Genesis chapters 1 and 2, it is very clear that God created us as distinctively human beings, uniquely designed to be in connection with Him. The earliest creation of God was in total connection with Him and in full relationship and community with one another.

However, that connection was broken because of the fall into sin. This separation has spread to all humanity. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak to this. Paul talks about it in Romans chapter 5, verse 12. He says, "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all humanity." Death is a form of separation. Ever since Genesis chapter 3, humanity has lived under that reality, born into brokenness, separated from God and from one another. But beginning at Genesis chapter 4, and actually about the middle of Genesis chapter 3, God...

God begins His redemptive plan in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, where it is first prophesied that He was going to work out this plan for what the Bible calls reconciliation. Until the very end of the Bible, we have the story of God seeking to reach into this world to fix the brokenness and to bring about reconciliation. One of my favorite passages that describes this work is found in Ephesians chapter 2. Some of you may know that passage because there are a few very famous verses.

Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 says, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." When you put your trust in God for salvation in Christ and His finished work on the cross, His grace comes and transforms us. He sets us on a new path to be able to walk out these good works in this world. Part of that good work is extending this good news about the redemptive, reconciling plan of God.

Moving on from Ephesians 2:8, 9, and 10, a few verses later, Paul says this in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 13: "But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ." For He, Jesus, Himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His body and His flesh on the cross the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.

He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. This is our vision, really described scripturally: that Jesus on the cross dealt with all of sin and all of the brokenness that is in the world so that He can take those who have been separated by sin and join them together as one in one body. Then they can be connected to God. We have life in connection with God and with one another because of what Jesus has accomplished upon the cross.

The Apostle Peter talks about it in one of his letters, and he says, "You who were..."

Not a people are now the people of God. You who had not obtained mercy have now obtained mercy. All this comes about by God's mercy and His grace, which brings this reconciliation. We, who were at odds with one another and separated from one another, can be brought back together in Christ Jesus. It is our desire as a church to extend that to the world. That's the life in connection with the world component of our vision here at the church.

As I said, we connect with God when we gather together as the people of God to worship Him in song, to worship Him in service, and to worship Him in the Word, studying through the Scriptures. Throughout the week, from Monday through Saturday, when we're not gathered together here, we are seeking to live out life in connection with one another.

The amazing thing is that we live in the most hyper-connected time in all of human history. We have the ability, through mobile technology, to be just about anywhere in the world and to connect with people instantly, even seeing them right on our smartphones through FaceTime. It's incredible that we can do that. However, I'm not entirely sure we fully realize the impact that this is having on our culture and on us psychologically. It is having a very huge impact.

The strange thing about this is that, despite being so well connected, we still feel disconnected. Many studies have shown that people feel lonely. It is phenomenal that you can be in a crowded room or connect with people around the world instantly and still feel lonely. This is a reality; a lot of people are feeling the effects of the fall still. Part of the Gospel is God wanting to restore that and make us all one in Christ.

Looking at the culture we live in here in the United States of America in the 21st century, particularly in 2018, I think everyone would agree we live in a pretty divided time. This division is not new; it has happened quite a bit throughout history, with higher seasons of it over time. We see the divisions in a significant way, and there are many people in our culture who are almost fanning the flames of that division. However, we want to be those in Christ who are seeking to bring people back into connection with one another.

God, in connection with one another, and I am absolutely convinced you cannot experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give. It is described in John chapter 10, verse 10: "The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly."

Now, how many of you think that abundant life sounds pretty good? Be honest. Yeah, okay, good. So, Jesus says, "I've come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly," and you cannot have that abundant life apart from Jesus Christ. It's not possible. You will not enjoy that abundant life independently of one another because, in Christ, He wants to join us together as one. We experience that abundant life as we are connected to God and as we are connected to one another within the body.

The way that we play that out as a church is through our connect group ministry. So, what is a connect group? Well, it's really simple, and I think the genius is in the simplicity. A connect group is simply gathering together as the people of God throughout the week in homes to fellowship, to have relationships, and to build community with people who are a part of the body of Christ, the church.

Unfortunately, we don't see that so much in our culture anymore. It has become somewhat abnormal for people to open their homes and invite others in. It's a weird thing, but that's what has happened in our culture. There has been a whole bunch of sociological research done on this. One of the paramount books on this is called "Bowling Alone," which discusses this reality from a secular perspective. It has nothing to do with the church, but it highlights the fact that we have lives that are now compartmentalized.

Every single day, you get in your car, your garage opens, and you drive to whatever office or construction site you are going to. You sit in front of your work and do your thing, then you drive back home, and your garage swallows you. No one sees you at all, and it's not good. It's not good for our psyche, and it's not good for society. We see the reality of this.

Connect groups are simple. A couple of times a month, they gather together throughout the county here in North County. We come together for a meal with one another. Most of the time, people bring something to share at those meals. We have one at our house, my wife and I, and we've attended one at my parents' house. There are a whole bunch of them going on—about eleven of them. About half of our church, before our summer recess, are involved in these groups.

In a connect group, we would like to see that number increase because we believe that the abundant life happens more so in community with one another. If you're not a part of a connect group, I want to encourage you to plug into one now.

To give you an idea of what it looks like, we have a quick video promo to show you. It's really simple: if you go online to our website, lifeinconnection.com/connect, you will find the connect groups that are happening and starting back up. They are being restarted after our summer recess, and you can get connected with some of the hosts of those connect groups.

If you'd like more information or have questions about them, you can either come out and talk with us at the connection point after the service, give us a call here during the week, or send an email to the church. We would love to help you get plugged in if you're not already involved in a connect group.

On top of that, we have one other request. If you are a person who has the gift of hospitality, you may wonder how to know if you have this gift. If you enjoy opening up your home and inviting people into your space, you very likely have the gift of hospitality.

For those of you sitting there right now thinking that sounds dreadful and that you could never do that, you probably do not have the gift of hospitality, and we don’t want you to help us. We will pray for you that God will break the crust that surrounds your heart and give you the gift.

I realized that may not be you, and that's perfectly fine. God has gifted you in other ways, and praise the Lord for that. However, there are a number of you who say, "Hey, I would love to do that." If you love to open up your home, we would love for you to be a Connect Group host. A host is simply a person who has a heart for people and is willing to open up their space—whether it's their home, condo, boat, or RV. Open your space and serve your guests.

If you can talk about Jesus, if you have a heart for people, and if you're willing to open your space, you can serve your guests and be a Connect Group host. We would love to plug you into our Connect Group ministry to extend this throughout our county. One of the cool parts about this is that it’s a great way for you to get to know your neighbors as well. A lot of our Connect Group hosts have people in their neighborhoods who see all these cars coming in and ask what's going on. They might say, "Hey, you should come over. There's a group of people from my church that meet at my house."

There are people who have come to the church because they attended a Connect Group and got to know others who are part of the church. This is a wonderful thing, so this is something you should be a part of and plug into. It’s one of the most important things that we as a church do, and really, the ministry of the church takes place through this. This is where people are prayed for, and in Connect Groups, we find out the needs that people have. The Connect Groups often take care of those needs. People are plugged into areas of service within the Connect Groups, and relationships are made there. This is a great place for ministry at the church, and you should plug in.

Okay, that's my pitch. Would you take out your Bibles and stand with me? As I said, we’re starting a new series in the book of Second Timothy this morning. Second Timothy is right near the end of your Bible, right after First Timothy, coincidentally. So, open to the very last book of the Bible and turn to the left, and you'll find First and Second Timothy and Titus.

Let’s look at Second Timothy, chapter 1, beginning at verse 1. There we read: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, a beloved son: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my fathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers."

Night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy. When I called to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, I am persuaded it is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Father, as we open a new book of Scripture today, I pray, God, that you would speak to us and that you would continue to use your inspired Word to transform us. It is in this exact book that we're going to be studying later on in chapter 3 that this is inspired by you and is useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, so that we would know how we should live.

So, God, I pray that you would use your living and powerful Word to continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds. Not just our minds, but transform our hearts, and from that, transform our lives, that we would be different because of the time that we have spent with you in prayer, in worship, in community, and in the Word. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who agree said, "Amen." You can be seated.

As I said, we're starting this new series in 2nd Timothy. I see this coming into 2nd Timothy as a little bit of an accomplishment. I say that because for the last 10 years here at Cross-Connection Church, we've been on a journey through the New Testament. This journey began in the book of Acts in November of 2008, and we continued going through the book of Acts for many years.

It's taken us a really long time to make our way through Acts. We are done with Acts, but it took us a long time because every time we got to a chapter in the book of Acts where one of the New Testament letters was written, we paused. Most of the New Testament is comprised of letters written by apostles. We call these letters epistles. Epistles were written by apostles and were sent to churches or individuals.

So, most of the New Testament is comprised of letters written by Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John. Acts is the history book of the New Testament, and during that timeline of history, these letters were written. Most of the letters of the New Testament were written by the apostles.

Apostle Paul wrote thirteen letters, and Second Timothy is Paul's last letter. That's why I'm calling this series "Last Words." These are Paul's last words—hopefully not my last words. I think you would agree that there seems to be, in our minds, a belief that last words carry more weight. As we go through these chapters of Second Timothy, we will see that Paul speaks some really important and weighty things to his dear friend Timothy.

Timothy has been with Paul through most of Paul's ministry and journey. Paul met Timothy when he was probably a late teenager, around 16 or 17 years old. Timothy was living in a Greek city called Lystra. When Paul met him, he saw that there was a call of God upon Timothy's life. He said, "You're going to come with me, and we're going to do the work of the ministry together."

Timothy accompanied Paul during what is called Paul's second missionary journey, which is described in Acts chapter 16. He was also with Paul during his third missionary journey and accompanied him to Jerusalem. Timothy has traveled all over the world with the Apostle Paul. As time went by, their paths began to split, which we will discuss as we look at a bit of historical context.

During this period, Timothy lived in a region known as Galatia, which is now modern-day Western Turkey. Paul's first letter was written to the churches of Galatia. Timothy was with Paul as he wrote letters to the Thessalonians, both First and Second Thessalonians. He was with Paul when he wrote to the Corinthians, both First and Second Corinthians, and when he wrote to the Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Timothy has been with Paul through most of this ministry; they are very close. Paul looked at him as a son in the faith and writes to him in that manner.

We can even see the emotion in the language of what we just read. Paul acknowledges Timothy's tears, saying, "I know you've been weeping for me." Timothy is weeping for Paul because of Paul's present circumstances, which we will explore as we go through this letter. It is really important, as we step into this book, to understand the link between Paul and Timothy, as well as the time, place, and all the things that were going on.

Paul recognizes and knows, as he's writing this letter—probably through dictation, speaking to some sort of secretary who's writing these things down—because his eyes, we believe at this point, had become what he calls dim. Can anyone relate to that? I just realized that this happens. I've been having to wear glasses more; it's not enjoyable. So, anyways, I'm almost 40.

A little context of what's going on here: Second Timothy was written by Paul around the year 66 AD, and at this point, Paul was in the city of Rome. Now, why was he in the city of Rome? You have to rewind a little bit and come to the end of the book of Acts. We finished the book of Acts in about 2014, so we haven't been there for a while. At the end of the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul was in the city of Jerusalem. He had gone there to take a financial gift to the Christians of Jerusalem because they were going through a difficult financial time. They had experienced a financial market downturn, if you will, and so he was bringing a gift from the churches of Greece, Macedonia, and Asia to the Christians in Jerusalem.

While he was there, there was a bit of a dust-up, as was pretty much the case everywhere the Apostle Paul went. It has been said that whenever Paul would go to a new place, there would either be a riot or a revival, and odds are there would be both. When he went back to Jerusalem for that final time, there was indeed a bit of a riot. A group of Jewish individuals called the assassins, the Sicarii, or dagger men, had made a vow that they would not eat until he was dead. They wanted to have him killed.

Through a process of events, he ended up being taken under arrest by the Romans in Jerusalem. Ultimately, they became his protection, as the Jews were gathering together to try the Apostle Paul and wanted to put him to death. The Romans realized he was not going to get a fair trial in Jerusalem, so they moved him down to a coastal port city called Caesarea. He spent the next two years there, incarcerated by the Romans as he stood trial. In many ways, his incarceration was for his protection because there were so many people trying to kill him.

As this trial went on, at the end of the book of Acts, Paul realized this wasn't working out so well, so he appealed to the highest court of the Empire, which meant he was appealing...

To Caesar, he was a Roman citizen; he had, if you will, a Roman passport. He could say, "I appeal to Caesar," and now it was the charge of the armies of Rome to get him to the city of Rome to stand trial. That's how the Book of Acts ends. He goes on this journey from Caesarea, located on the coastal part of Israel in the Mediterranean, on his way to Rome. Ultimately, he gets there, and a lot of crazy things happen—storms, shipwrecks, and all kinds of nuttiness. But ultimately, Acts ends with Paul under house arrest, waiting to stand trial in Jerusalem. It's about the year 64 AD.

Well, the justice system apparently was kind of moving slowly, and so they released him somewhere around 64 or 65 AD from his house arrest. However, they said, "You have to come back because you're still going to stand trial; you're not done yet." So, they released him for now. After the Book of Acts, Paul goes and visits some of the cities where he had established churches. He went to the city of Philippi, the cities of Thessalonica, and probably Corinth. He also went to Ephesus.

While he's on this journey, he has some of his associates with him. He has guys like Timothy and Titus with him; we don't know who else, but very likely those two are with him. Along that journey, in one of the cities, Ephesus, he leaves Timothy behind. He then writes First Timothy, which we studied through last year. In that letter, he says, "Hey Timothy, I left you in Ephesus to set in order the things that were lacking, and you know to appoint elders and all that."

As he continues on his journey, he sends Titus to the island of Crete and writes him a letter. Last year, in 2017, we went through First Timothy and Titus, those two letters. After he was done with that, Paul goes back to Rome to stand trial, and that brings us to AD 66. That's where he is when he is writing this letter.

We know from what we will see as we go through Second Timothy that he has already had one trial, probably in a lower court in Rome. He hasn't appeared before Caesar at this point; he has had one trial there in Rome, and it apparently didn't go very well because he is no longer under house arrest. He is in real prison in Rome. Part of the reason for this is that just a couple of years before this, the Roman Caesar Nero wanted to remodel, if you will, Rome in the image that he wanted it to be. He didn't like that there were some parts of Rome that were kind of broken down; he thought it needed to look better with his name all over it.

There was this great fire in Rome in 64 AD, which you can study about in your history book. Many historians and people at the time believed that Nero was behind these fires. This situation did not bode well for an emperor; normally, if things didn't go well for an emperor, he would be assassinated. If you read Roman history, you will see that when they got tired of someone, they would take him outside the city and say, "Here, drink this hemlock," and just like that, he would be dead. It was kind of like suicide, but not really.

Nero had to turn public opinion in his favor, so he found a scapegoat. He chose a sect of people in Rome called Christians because they were somewhat outside the normal life of the city. They weren't involved in the games, the debauchery, or the temples of Rome. They were an easy minority to scapegoat. Public opinion turned quickly against Christians, and Paul happened to be a leader of this sect. When he went to stand trial, it is highly likely that they said, "Oh, you're one of them," and put him in prison.

It is believed that prior to this year, 66 AD, the Apostle Peter was also in Rome and had likely already been put to death. News had spread that they were looking for the leaders. Church tradition says that Peter was crucified outside the city of Rome. He reportedly did not feel worthy to die as Jesus had died, so he requested to be crucified upside down, head down. We do not know if that is true, but it is part of Church tradition.

So, it is likely that Peter was dead, and Paul was in a horrible prison in the city of Rome, awaiting a final trial. It is during this time that he writes a letter to Timothy. What is striking is that Paul understands that time is short. He even writes about it in 2 Timothy 4. If you turn a couple of pages to the right, you will see 2 Timothy 4. Look at verse 6: "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand." He knows very well that time is short.

Peter has been put to death. He understands that there are Christians throughout the city of Rome who are being taken, beaten, tortured, and thrown to wild beasts to be killed. They are being burned and beaten to death. He realizes time is short. In this situation, one might wonder what his outlook is. He says, "The time of my departure is at hand." This is not a departure to Spain; it is a departure from life. He realizes that his end is coming.

How does this affect him? You would assume that a person in such a situation, even if facing death by natural causes, would be anxious and fearful. However, someone under extreme circumstances like this, facing death by martyrdom, would likely be expected to be very anxious and fearful. We know from history that ultimately, Paul would be beheaded at the decree of Nero. Yet, he writes in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

How can someone have such an outlook when facing such dire circumstances? God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Timothy, I know about your tears; I know you've been crying for me. He acknowledges this in the opening words we just read a few minutes ago, being mindful of your tears that he might be filled with joy.

Wait, how can you be filled with joy and not have a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind when facing these difficult circumstances? In the opening verse of 2 Timothy, there are a few quick things that I think we should consider to help us answer that question.

In 2 Timothy 1:1, he writes, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus." Paul had spent the better part of the last 30 years on mission for Jesus as an apostle. An apostle is one who is sent with a message.

For the last 30 years, he has been on a mission with a message as an apostle of Jesus Christ. He met Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, who had already been crucified and had ascended to heaven. Before he meets Jesus, he was a persecutor of Christians. His name then was Saul of Tarsus, and he made it his goal to destroy the Christian Church.

The story is told to us in Acts chapter 9. Saul was on his way to Damascus, Syria, to find Christians and bring them back, arrested in chains, to Jerusalem to be tried and probably killed. He had already overseen at least one execution of a Christian in Acts chapter 7, so this man was not on a good path, shall we say.

As he traveled on the road to Damascus, he had an encounter with the risen Jesus, and his life was radically transformed in that instant. Jesus revealed Himself to Saul of Tarsus, saying, "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Saul responded, "Who are you, Lord?" Jesus replied, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." If his bowels were not loosed in that moment, he must have had a stronger constitution than most of us, because he was confronted by a great light from heaven and a booming voice asking why he was persecuting Him.

This encounter presented a significant problem for Saul, and his life was radically transformed. After Saul asked what he should do, Jesus instructed him to go into the city, promising that He would let him know what to do next. This was the divine equivalent of telling a child to go to their room while the parent thinks things over.

Saul went into the city, blinded by this experience. He waited for three days, and then God spoke to a Christian man in the city of Damascus named Ananias. God instructed Ananias to go and pray for Saul. Ananias hesitated, saying he had heard of this man and knew he was bad news. God reassured Ananias, saying, "He is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel."

This is an awesome moment, as Paul is now about to stand before Emperor Nero, fulfilling God's Word.

Paul was a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before kings, Gentiles, and the children of Israel. He was commissioned to this mission as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The awesome thing about it is that not only does Jesus tell him that he is going to bear His name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, but He also reveals to him, as stated in Acts chapter 9, the many things that Paul is going to suffer for His name's sake.

It’s almost as if Jesus says to him, "Listen, you've been doing some things and not too happy about persecuting me and my people. So, we have an option here: you can come serve me, but you're going to suffer, or we can deal with this another way." Maybe He didn't say it exactly like that, but that's kind of the way I think of it. Paul knows that he is going to suffer, and what does he do? Acts 9:20 says that immediately he preached that Christ is the Son of God. He immediately begins to preach Christ, and he does that for the next 30 years, radically transformed.

How is that the case? Well, point number one: once you meet Jesus, your life will never be the same. Many of you know this to be true. I was having a conversation with a gentleman in the church this last week, and he was sharing with me a bit of his testimony. He said, "Listen, you know, before I was a Christian—before Christ, if you will—I was a total narcissist." He mentioned that he actually took a narcissism test that had a scale of 0 to 40. He didn't even know there was such a thing.

He said that celebrities and politicians, who we generally think are kind of narcissistic, score about a 20. He scored a 34. After becoming a Christian and experiencing God's work in his life, he took the same test again and scored a 6. How does that happen? Because once you meet Jesus, your life will never be the same. Many of you have that as your testimony; you could say, "That's exactly who I am." Paul certainly had that testimony. He was an apostle of Jesus, and he says this was by the will of God. Second Timothy 1:1 states that it is by the will of God.

He knew from day one when Jesus called him to serve that he would suffer many things for the name of Christ. Yet, he still set out to do that work. What's amazing about it is that he was doing the will of God, and yet Jesus said, "I'm going to show you the many things you will suffer." This brings up an important point for us: following Jesus does not mean that you'll never suffer.

In fact, point number two is that sometimes we suffer while doing the will of God. That was certainly Paul's experience. For some reason, we seem to think that if we are doing the will of God, everything would be smooth sailing and nothing bad would happen. We believe there would be no suffering, but that's not at all what we see illustrated scripturally.

Is there anybody who would say that Jesus didn't do the will of God the Father? No, He did the will of God the Father. Did He suffer? Yes. Peter suffered, Paul suffered, and if you look throughout Christian history, you will see many people committed to doing the will of God who also suffered. Sometimes we suffer in the midst of the will of God.

Now, we don't like suffering. I've never met a person who loves it. However, the wonderful thing about suffering while being in the middle of God's will is that you can know it is not for naught; it is not for nothing. God is able, by His power and under His sovereignty, to work in and through that suffering for His glory.

The amazing thing is that everybody suffers, whether you're a Christian or not. However, only the Christian can suffer for the glory of God, which is phenomenal. God is able to turn it for His glory. So, if you're seeking to walk in God's will and you are suffering, then you can know that, one, your suffering can be used for God's glory, and, two, your suffering is for your continued growth and transformation.

This is a hard lesson to learn, but it is an important lesson. Paul learned this in Second Corinthians, I believe it's about chapter 12. He talks about the suffering he experienced in the form of a physical illness or infirmity, or some sort of physical problem. We don't know exactly what it was; there is all kinds of speculation. But he talks about this suffering and says, "Three times I cried out to God that He would take it from me."

Done that kind of thing, and it didn't go away. Then God spoke to him and said, "Paul, my grace is sufficient for you, and my power is made perfect in your weakness." There is something about that suffering. God says, "I'm going to sustain you through it for my glory, but I'm also going to use it for your growth, for your transformation. My strength is made perfect in your weakness."

You know what Paul's answer to that was? He said, "I'd rather suffer and have His strength than be whole and not." Your suffering can be used for the glory of God; it certainly is for your continued growth and transformation.

Here’s another valuable lesson that Paul learned and talked about in that same book, Second Corinthians: your suffering is temporary. Not only is your suffering temporary, but it will ultimately result in eternal blessing. He says it like this in Second Corinthians 4:17: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Another translation says, "For our present troubles are small."

Now, just before he said that, he listed a whole bunch of his present troubles, and they were not small. You see, this is the same guy who says, "Five times I received forty lashes minus one." That means in his thirty years of walking with Jesus as a witness for Jesus, he was whipped one hundred ninety-five times. He says, "Five times I was beaten with whips, forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. One time I was stoned—not 1960s era stoned, but stoned with rocks to the point of death. I was shipwrecked; I spent a night and a day in the deep."

He lists all of these things, and then he says, "Our momentary light affliction is working for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory." Think of it like this: some of you may have an investment account, and you are putting into this investment account in the hopes that it's going to grow with interest and dividends, and that in the future, you're going to be able to take from it some sort of reward.

So think of it like this: the suffering that you experience in Christ is being invested into God's kingdom, and it's going to...

Produce eternal dividends of reward. Paul could say our present troubles are small in light of eternity, and they won't last very long. Yet, they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.

So, how do we maintain this mindset in the face of trial, tribulation, and trouble? Again, Paul says, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God," and then he adds the last words of verse 1: "according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus."

Point number three, we finish with this: we can face any trouble if we have the promise of life in Jesus. Paul had the promise of life in Christ Jesus. He knows that the time of his departure is at hand, and we can face any trouble if we have the promise of life in Christ Jesus.

This begs the question: how do we get the promise of life in Christ Jesus? The answer is really simple; it's in the most translated verse of the Bible: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

I was listening to an atheist, as I often do, Sam Harris, recently. He made the comment that it is the most pitiful thing to live your life in hopes of another life. He said to live this life. I thought to myself, well, you don't know the power of living with the hope of eternal life. There are a lot of people in the world, Sam Harris, who don't have it as good as you, and they'll never have it as good as you. All they have is suffering, and you only see it through pictures on a screen.

It's easy for you to say, "Live this life; this life is great." Yes, your life is great, but there are plenty of people for whom life is not great. In fact, the vast majority of all people throughout human history have experienced the fallen world in a terrible way. How obnoxious it is to say that it's pitiful to live your life in hope of another life. Really? Let's drop you in the middle of Sub-Saharan Africa for a lifetime and see how that goes.

Just makes me angry. I was yelling at the podcast in my car. They don't have a call-in show, and that frustrates the heck out of me. Sorry, we can face any trouble if we have the promise of life in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Jesus, I pray that everyone standing in this room this morning has met You and that they've experienced Your power to transform. Like Saul of Tarsus, once someone meets You, their life is never the same.

Lord, I know that there are people also standing here right now who are going through a time of suffering. They've been experiencing suffering for a long time, and they've questioned and wondered, "Maybe I'm just not doing what God wants me to do." Lord, would You remind them that sometimes we suffer even while doing Your will?

As Lord, I thank You for the hope that we can have because of the promise of eternal life. Because You died for us, we don't have to experience eternal death. God, thank You for that.

Lord, I pray for those who might be here right now who are in that place where they don't know that promise of life. I pray that You draw them to Yourself so that they would know it and experience the joy of that hope. If that's you this morning and you don't know the promise of life in Jesus Christ, I want to give you a chance to receive that life.

John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, trusts in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life." If you'd like to receive that life, it's a free gift of grace as you put your trust in Jesus. If you want to do that today, would you just lift up your hand as we're in an attitude of prayer?

Is anyone here this morning? Lift your hand up high so I can see it. God bless you. I see you there on the corner and there in the back. A couple of you. Praise the Lord. Anyone else? Lift it up high. I'm going to lead you in a very simple prayer of trust and confession. If that's you, just where you're at, would you pray with me? Dear...

Jesus, I know that I need You. Would You come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith?