Afflictions are our servants
I. Reasons for the afflictions
Whatever is the reason that you suffer affliction, you need to know that is never bad for you, if God’s allowed it in your life. God never judge you, just to judge. He doesn’t have this kind of attitude like „You did something bad, so you deserve this punishment „ when He judges us. No! If this would be the case, He would never died for us. He doesn’t punish us just because we deserved it, but He punishes us with that purpose that it’ll eventually make us better.
He sees that there are impurities that keep us away from His precious face, so He uses punishment to deliver us, from those things that stand between us and His manifested presence.
He uses afflictions to make us better. There is a purpose in His judgement and also in His dealings with us.
„Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Eccl. 7:3) Affliction is our servant to make us better, make us more like Jesus. Also even Jesus “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;” (Hebr. 5:8), but never forget “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” (Eccl. 7:8)
Suffering worketh for your good. „And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
A. God will cause us to prosper even when we are in afflictions.
1. Gen. 41:52 - „And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
B. God hears our cry in our afflictions, and He will deliver us
1. Ex. 3:7 - “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;”
2. Ex. 3:17 - “And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”
C. We need to eat the bread of affliction, to remind us to where we coming from, and to keep us humble
1. Deut. 16:3 - “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.”
D. It makes your heart better
1. Eccl. 7:3 - “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”
E. It makes you worthy for the call
1. Matt. 5:4 - “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
Comforted means: to call near, invite, invoke
F. You’ll have great reward in heaven
1. Matt. 5:10-12 - “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
G. 1. Our bonds that bind us will be burned in our afflictions
a. Dan. 3:20-27
“And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”
2. Also other people will glorify Jesus, because they’ll see Jesus deliverance in our affliction
a. Dan. 3:24-30
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.”
H. We learn obedience through sufferings
1. Hebr. 5:8 - “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”
I. He chooses us in afflictions
1. Is. 48:10 - “…I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”
J. Our sufferings are for others
1. Col. 1:24 - “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:”
II. Suffering is good
God uses wrath to remove wickedness so that righteousness can shine. God does not desire to punish people for sin. He allows the natural consequences to disobedience to occur so that they will repent and be redeemed from the penalty of sin. Chastening caused Israel to cry out (Book of Judges), and He sent a deliverer. In this way, wrath is a form of pressure designed to direct our path toward God.
A. Hebr. 2:10 says, “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings.”
B. Hebr. 12:4-13
“Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”
Suffering causes us to let go of our carnality and thereby make more room for the presence of God. Rom. 8:18 – “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Everything that is not of Him will be subject to wrath of God.
I. Reasons for the afflictions
Whatever is the reason that you suffer affliction, you need to know that is never bad for you, if God’s allowed it in your life. God never judge you, just to judge. He doesn’t have this kind of attitude like „You did something bad, so you deserve this punishment „ when He judges us. No! If this would be the case, He would never died for us. He doesn’t punish us just because we deserved it, but He punishes us with that purpose that it’ll eventually make us better.
He sees that there are impurities that keep us away from His precious face, so He uses punishment to deliver us, from those things that stand between us and His manifested presence.
He uses afflictions to make us better. There is a purpose in His judgement and also in His dealings with us.
„Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Eccl. 7:3) Affliction is our servant to make us better, make us more like Jesus. Also even Jesus “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;” (Hebr. 5:8), but never forget “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” (Eccl. 7:8)
Suffering worketh for your good. „And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
A. God will cause us to prosper even when we are in afflictions.
1. Gen. 41:52 - „And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
B. God hears our cry in our afflictions, and He will deliver us
1. Ex. 3:7 - “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;”
2. Ex. 3:17 - “And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”
C. We need to eat the bread of affliction, to remind us to where we coming from, and to keep us humble
1. Deut. 16:3 - “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.”
D. It makes your heart better
1. Eccl. 7:3 - “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”
E. It makes you worthy for the call
1. Matt. 5:4 - “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
Comforted means: to call near, invite, invoke
F. You’ll have great reward in heaven
1. Matt. 5:10-12 - “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
G. 1. Our bonds that bind us will be burned in our afflictions
a. Dan. 3:20-27
“And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”
2. Also other people will glorify Jesus, because they’ll see Jesus deliverance in our affliction
a. Dan. 3:24-30
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.”
H. We learn obedience through sufferings
1. Hebr. 5:8 - “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”
I. He chooses us in afflictions
1. Is. 48:10 - “…I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”
J. Our sufferings are for others
1. Col. 1:24 - “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:”
II. Suffering is good
God uses wrath to remove wickedness so that righteousness can shine. God does not desire to punish people for sin. He allows the natural consequences to disobedience to occur so that they will repent and be redeemed from the penalty of sin. Chastening caused Israel to cry out (Book of Judges), and He sent a deliverer. In this way, wrath is a form of pressure designed to direct our path toward God.
A. Hebr. 2:10 says, “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings.”
B. Hebr. 12:4-13
“Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”
Suffering causes us to let go of our carnality and thereby make more room for the presence of God. Rom. 8:18 – “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Everything that is not of Him will be subject to wrath of God.
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