PROXIMITY | Purpose + Pain | Part 3

Hey, hey, hey.

Hallelujah.

>> I've noticed that becomes my opener for

every sermon that I preach. Hallelujah.

>> You guys feeling good today?

>> Man, it's My wife was thankful for the

snow. I'm not.

>> I think it's gross.

>> It was sunny and 60. I know.

>> I was on my motorcycle

>> and now I had to put it in four-wheel

drive to get out of my subdivision this

morning. Sheesh.

>> It's gross. Hey, uh sun's shining in

here.

>> Yeah. Preaching in my thick hoodie, my

thick uh flannel today.

>> Yeah. You guys ready for the word of

God?

>> If you're a first- time guest with us,

uh welcome to the family. My name is

Ben. I get to serve as lead pastor here.

And uh those two beautiful, amazing

women that were up here doing

announcements is my wife and daughter.

And uh I think they're pretty amazing.

>> Praise the Lord. Hey, we're in a series

called Proximity

and uh we're going to dive into the

word. Would you pray with me? Father, we

thank you, Lord, for revival, God, on

the inside of us, Lord. We're thankful

for a fresh stirring, Lord, not only in

worship, but God, also in word. And so,

Father, we thank you, Lord, for your

living word penetrating our hearts.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for the

sword of the spirit, God, doing what

only your living word can do today, God.

I pray that you touch us, that you

penetrate, God, that you consecrate our

heart. Cut off the fluff today, God.

Praise you, Jesus. And so, Father, Lord,

our hearts are sensitive to your spirit,

Lord. Praise you, Jesus. And so, Lord, I

thank you, God. Father, that we're in

position to hear you,

that we have ears to hear and eyes to

see. So, Father, you preach today. Get

me out of your way in Jesus name. Amen.

>> We're in a series called proximity. Uh

the last two weeks, we've been talking

about proximity to God.

Proximity to God. We're talking about

drawing near and and staying near. Man,

that's that's uh Christianity 101 stuff.

We're going to we're going to go a

little bit different today. Shifting

gears. Uh I have last week before I

preached staying near uh had a sermon

kind of all prepped. Thought it was for

last week. Man is working on it. We got

it got it pretty good laid out and uh

God shifted it last week into staying

near. And so then uh by default my brain

was going, "Oh, good. I've already got a

good jump on on this Sunday." So, I

started working on that and the Holy

Spirit uh fought me in such a good way

and he put a word on my heart that I

know is for you today. Amen.

>> So, Jenny, I apologize. My notes took a

little longer this week. I was wrestling

with God.

We're going to talk about two things.

Proximity to purpose and proximity to

pain.

Proximity to purpose.

proximity

to pain. First, I want to say this.

God created the purpose

before he created the people.

God created the purpose

before he created the people. If you

look in Genesis, uh man, there's so much

theology that comes out of just that

that that story with Adam and Eve and

creation and all the different things.

Uh but before there was Adam and Eve, uh

God created a lot of things. Amen. uh

the heavens and the earth. He spoke

light into existence. He separated the

waters and and formed the lands. He

created the the uh land animals,

birds of the sky, the plants, the trees.

One translation says all the creeping

things on the ground. I say, Lord, we

could have left those creeping things

out of here.

Yeah.

But God created the heavens and the

earth, all the things in it before he

created Adam and Eve. Why is that

important? Because God created the

assignment. God created the purpose

before he created the person. Now, he

created the earth in such a way as that

it requires somebody to tend to it.

There was a garden there. There was

animals and all these different things.

And think about how the the planet would

look in chaos without somebody

to tend to it.

He created the purpose

before he created

the person.

He set up the environment, established

the assignment. Then he makes man.

Genesis 1:26

Genesis 1:26

says this. Then God said, "Let us say

us."

>> Us.

>> Let us make human beings in our image to

be like us. Interesting thing when we're

reading about the the plants and the

trees and the animals, it says he

created each one after its kind. And

then it comes to man after the

assignment is there and the purpose is

there. And he gets to man and he says,

"Now let us make man after our kind in

our image." Amen. We're not animals.

I don't care what they taught you in

public high school.

There was no monkeys turning into men.

I used to love debate.

I talked to some of those evolutionists.

They say, "Uh, can't get on board with

that. Need evidence."

That wasn't in my notes. That was free

this morning. Hallelujah.

Don't get me fired up.

Says, "Let us make human beings in our

image." Catch this. To be like us. They

will reign over the fish of the sea, the

birds in the sky, the livestock, all the

wild animals on the earth, and the

smallest animals that scurry along the

ground, even the creeping things.

Verse 27. So God created human beings in

his own image. In the image of God he

created them, male and female he created

them. Then God blessed them and said,

"Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the

earth and govern it." We're seeing the

assignment. We're seeing the purpose.

Reign over the fish of the sea, the

birds of the sky, and all the animals

that scurry along the ground.

God created purpose

before the purpose.

Why does that matter? Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

2 and verse 10. The Bible says that we

are his workmanship. Catch this. created

in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand, that we

should walk in them.

Do you know that God has a plan and a

purpose for you,

specifically for you? He created

beforehand that we should walk in them.

I asked the question and I ask others

the question, what did God create you to

do? What did God create you for?

And I'll say this. Before you were even

you,

what did God prepare?

Works prepared in advance. A path for

you prepared in advance. Purpose

prepared in advance. I I want you to

catch this. The story of Adam and Eve

and the purpose before the person. This

is before sin entered. This was before

the failure, before the fall. Uh, and I

say that to say that work is not a

consequence of sin.

Feels like that sometimes though,

doesn't it?

Work is not a consequence of sin.

When we're in alignment with God and

we're really fulfilling that purpose

that God has for us and we're walking in

that that path, that plan, that purpose

that he laid out for us before the

foundations of the earth, it's a

blessing. It's a joy. It's a strength to

serve.

Assignment is not consequence.

You can write this down. God made man on

purpose with purpose.

God made man on purpose

with purpose.

And none of it's an accident. God didn't

make you and then scramble and say, "All

right, let me find something for this

guy to do.

Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah 1:4

verse 4, Jeremiah says, "Now the word of

the Lord came to me, saying,

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew

you,

and before you were born, I consecrated

you, I appointed you a prophet to the

nations."

That's strange. He hadn't even been born

yet. Before Jeremiah was born, God had

consecrated him and appointed him with a

specific purpose for his life to fulfill

the building of the kingdom of God.

Before you were you, he had a purpose

for you.

Verse six, then I said, this is

Jeremiah's response to God.

Ah, Lord God, behold,

I don't know how to speak. I'm only a

youth.

Why is that

everyone's response to God when he calls

them? God says, "Hey, I got a purpose

for you, man. I got this amazing thing

that I that I'm calling you to do. I've

consecrated and appointed you." And he

says, "God, you got the wrong guy. I'm

just a I'm just a kid. I can't even I

don't even know how to speak.

I I did that when I was called. And I'm

pretty sure you got the wrong guy.

I'm the least likely to be a preacher.

Verse

seven. But the Lord said to him, "Do not

say,

I am only a youth." Look at your

neighbor and say, "Do not say.

Do not say." You see, when we're serving

God, there's a type of faith. The Bible

says it's impossible to please God

without faith. And so God will call you

to do something that's beyond you. It's

bigger than you. And when God speaks,

our first human fleshly response is,

"I'm not capable of doing that because

because left to your own devices, that's

true.

But when God has appointed you, he will

also anoint you."

He says, "Don't don't say that I'm only

a you." Listen. Uh don't say, "I'm only

a high school kid."

Uh, don't say I, oh well, I'm just a

housewife.

Don't say, "I'm just a construction

worker." I've had these conversations

with men

say, "Well, I can't do what you do,

pastor. I don't know how to memorize. I

don't know how to talk." Right?

Don't say,

"I'm only fill in the blank." Because

God has a plan and a purpose for your

life. And it's bigger than you think.

>> Amen.

>> It's bigger than you think. And every

single one of us work together in unison

under that appointment, under that

anointing for the building of the

kingdom of God. The body of Christ has

fingers and toes and arms and legs and

mouths and eyes that we're the body of

Christ.

And not all members are the same.

Thankfully, the body of Christ would

look really strange with 312 mouths.

It would be creepy.

14 thumbs and three elbows and nothing

else.

The body of Christ requires every part

fulfilling its purpose in unison one

with the other.

As Christ is the head,

Don't say I'm only a youth.

He says, "For to all to whom I send you,

you shall go, and whatever I command

you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord." Can I just say this?

If you could do it on your own strength,

you wouldn't need God.

Verse N. Then the Lord put out his hand

and touched my mouth.

And the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have

put my words in your mouth."

Verse 10, "See, I have set you this

day." Say, "This day."

>> I have set you this day over nations and

over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break

down, to destroy and to overthrow, to

build and to plant.

Just a backwards kid. didn't even think

he could talk. Look what God called him

to. Read the rest of the story of

Jeremiah and how God used him.

I want to talk to some people

that are saved today, but maybe not 100%

sure what your purpose is.

And I'll say it again. It's bigger than

you think.

Someone said this. The two greatest days

in a man's life is the day he was born

and the day he found his purpose.

What's your purpose?

Sometimes we can be in love with God,

still feel lost

because we don't know our purpose.

God has works prepared in advance for

you. Say, proximity to purpose.

I'll say this. You're not an accident.

You're not an afterthought. You're not a

background background character or a

fillin.

You are a pivotal role in the building

of the kingdom of God.

I heard 15 minds not believe me when I

told you that

you are a pivotal role in the building

of the kingdom of God.

You are his workmanship.

Here's where proximity comes in. Just

because God prepared the purpose for you

doesn't mean you're walking in it.

Purpose is not automatic.

It's relational.

Purpose is not automatic.

It's relational.

That means I'm in relationship with him

and I fulfill the purpose.

The closer I get to him, the clearer my

purpose becomes.

It's proximity.

And here's the tension that we often

live in.

The same God that gives me the purpose

often times will use pain

to put me in his purpose.

I'm just going to preach very raw and

very real to you today.

God will often times use pain to put me

in proximity to purpose.

Now, let me give you a caveat or a

disclaimer

so I don't have a few of you run up to

me after service

or text me this week.

What I'm not saying is that all pain

comes from God.

That's not what I'm saying. Because

there is some pain that comes from our

own sinfulness. There is some pain that

comes from other people's sinfulness.

There is some pain that happens simply

because we live in a broken world.

There's a lot of pain.

Maybe you've felt it before.

God is not the author of all of your

pain. But God is so good that he refuses

to let your pain go to waste.

Okay.

Now, I'm going to preach

today. I want to give you three Ps of

pain that bring you into purpose.

Your purpose.

I'm going to give you three Ps of pain

that bring you into purpose. Number one

is pain is a preacher.

Pain tells a story. Pain talks to us.

The problem is is too often we're not

willing to sit down and listen to what

the pain is saying.

Usually, if you're anything like me, I

like to run from it or numb it,

act like it's not there. I file it away.

Sometimes we get callous to the pain

because

we've been through so much of it.

I've been through a lot of pain in my

life.

A lot of pain. I've been through a lot

of pain in ministry.

A lot of pain.

Sometimes the pain gets so normalized

that we quit listening to it.

Tolerance gets too high.

What happens when we let pain preach?

You know, I think about David, King

David, a man after God's own heart. He

sins with Bath Sheeba. What a punk, you

know, has it all. Has everything. That's

not enough for him. So, he sees this

poor woman bathing on the roof. I don't

know what she's out there doing naked on

a roof. She needs to knock that business

off.

Calls for his sins. Commits adultery.

Commits murder.

After that, Psalm 32

in verse three,

he says, "Concerning that sin, for when

I kept silent,

my bones wasted away through my groaning

all day long." Sounds painful, doesn't

it?

For day and night, your hand was heavy

upon me. My strength was dried up as by

the heat of summer.

That's pain preaching.

That's pain saying, "Hey buddy,

something's wrong here."

That's pain saying, "You can't keep this

sin hidden forever."

That's pain saying, "Hey, uh, you better

confess that. You better get that

right."

The guilt, the shame, the restlessness.

It's not just random. It's not just

stress.

It's pain preaching a message.

A lot of times, it's saying, "Hey,

you're out of bounds.

You're far away from God.

you're carrying what you should be

confessing.

So pain is a preacher. The question I

like to ask myself is, what is my pain

preaching to me?

What's it saying?

I think about the sons of Kora uh three

different psalms, they use a phrasing

like this,

why are you downcast, oh my soul?

Isn't that an interesting scripture?

Not talking to God, not talking to the

devil,

not talking to anyone on earth, but

actually having a conversation with my

soul. Good question to ask. Why? Why are

you feeling this way? You ever been in

life like that, man? There's no sin that

you know of. Nothing back on. I mean,

you're blessed. You're highly favored of

the Lord. Things are going, everything's

going right. And I felt these seasons of

just heavy. And I don't know why. And I

say, "Why are you downcast, oh my soul?

What's going on with you?

You'll never get the answer to the

question that you don't ask,

why are you downcast, oh my soul?"

So David, he says, "I sinned. I'm in

pain." Verse four, he says, "For day and

night your hand was heavy upon me. My

strength was dried up as by the heat of

summer."

So that's pain preaching to him. Now I

want you to hear the alter call. Verse

five he continues. He says, "I

acknowledge my sin to you. I did not

cover my iniquity. I said I will confess

my transgressions to the Lord and you

forgave the iniquity of my sin."

You see how pain preached him to a place

of decision.

He was so uncomfortable, so uh

tormented. There was something going on.

There's this pain on the inside of him

that he began to listen to the message

that the pain was preaching and it

invoked him to get with God, confess his

sin, and make it right.

What's your pain preaching?

Are you listening?

He forgave the iniquity of my sin. Verse

six,

therefore, let everyone who is godly

offer a prayer to you at a time when you

may be found.

There's his purpose.

His proximity to pain

took him to the altar

and ultimately put him in his purpose.

Says, "Man, I'm on the other side of

this thing now. I want everyone I want

everyone to get with God while he's

still available. I want everyone to be

able to experience this freedom because

I was in such bondage before and now I'm

so free that that I got to go tell

somebody." Did anyone get saved,

radically saved? You just had to go tell

everyone you you met Jesus. I was that

guy, man. I got delivered out of crazy

addiction stuff and I just had to go

tell everyone. Man, I experienced

freedom. I was in I was in such torment,

such pain and depression and suicidal

thoughts and all the stuff that came

with that heavy sin life. And man, God

touched my life and I got delivered and

I got healed and I got set free and I

had to go tell somebody about this

Jesus. I didn't believe in him last

week, but this week, this week, I got

freed by him. And so I've got to tell

somebody,

I found my purpose.

God will often use your pain

to put you in proximity

to your purpose.

One of the stories in scripture I

identify with a lot, the story of the

prodical son,

Luke 15. What a story, huh?

Paraphrase a little bit. This kid grows

up in a really good household,

has a loving father.

Sounds like they're fairly well off for

the culture. Kid has a brother. I don't

think the brothers get along. But do

they ever?

Yeah. He's got food on the table, roof

over his head. He has love.

But that's not enough for him.

That's not enough.

decides

I don't want to be here anymore.

So instead of just leaving, he

approaches his father and he says, "Hey,

give me my full inheritance so I can

leave." Now the father has two sons.

That's half of all that the father owns.

That's half of the father's wealth. He

says, "Hey, give me my money, pops. I'm

out."

Most dads would be like, "You punk. You

want to leave? You go. you ain't taking

none of my money with you. Matter of

fact, you stay gone too long, I'm taking

you out of the will.

This father doesn't say that. He

collects

half of his wealth, gives it to this

kid, and allows the kid to go on his

way.

That's crazy.

In that culture,

that's basically telling the dad,

"You're dead to me. I wish you were

dead.

I want your stuff, but I don't want

you."

Father doesn't fight him, gives him his

inheritance, lets him go. So, this punk

kid

takes the money, goes to this distant

country, and man, it's it's everything

he'd hope for. It's a new city. It's the

new vibes. It's the new friends. Oh,

man. A new party. I have no boundaries.

My dad isn't here to tell me no. He's

He's this guy. He's the life of the

party. He He's the guy buying rounds at

the bar. He gets a little wild and

crazy. Starts doing karaoke. I mean,

he's he's he's

the prodical man

out there living it up. Eventually, he

spends all of his money, all his dad's

money.

Then the economy shifts and famine hits

the land. I wonder if God had something

to do with that.

I don't know. Bible doesn't say.

How many know that blessing without

proximity is temporary.

It will run out on you.

So here he is. He finds himself. Money's

gone. Friends are gone because he's out

of money. Anyone been there before?

party dries up. He's broke. He's hungry.

He's alone. He takes this job, the only

job that he could find,

feeding pigs.

Now, you need to understand that he's

Jewish and that Jewish people don't eat

pigs because they're unclean.

And so, this is the worst of the worst

job for him. It's a it's a symbol of

shame that I'm working with these

unclean animals in this unclean place in

this foreign land that have have a

different god than me. And he's and he's

in this place. And it says

verse 16, Luke 15:16, "And he was

Luke 15:16

longing

to be fed with the pods that the pigs

ate,

and no one gave him anything."

Look at your neighbor and say, "That's a

rough day.

That's a rough day.

That's what sin does. It takes you so

far that you start craving the things

that used to disgust you.

Now, I want you to catch this because I

like to look at more than one scripture

at a time and and I try to wrap my mind

around this initially, but but the Bible

talks about uh Jesus talks about that if

the sheep leaves the sheepfold, the

shepherd will leave the 99 to go find

the one.

Now, this prodal son leaves

and God and his father send no one.

God didn't send anyone. Let me say this.

He didn't send a person. God sent pain.

Because pain is a preacher.

Amen.

>> The greatest curse I've ever experienced

in my life is the inability to feel pain

when I sin.

It's the inability to feel the pain of

being separated from his presence.

It's the worst. You can go and sin. You

can do whatever you feel like doing

whenever you feel like doing it. No

boundaries. You can do all of that and

you don't feel grieved. You don't feel

sorrow. You don't feel the distance. It

is a curse.

The greatest place I have been is much

like the prodal is when I come to the

end of myself and I can feel the pain of

the consequence of my decisions. And and

in that pain, I'm listening to what it's

preaching and it invokes me to make a

choice.

Pain's like a crowbar. It'll get you up

and out of that mess that you're in.

Verse 17.

But when he came to himself, he said,

"How many of my father's hired servants

have more than enough bread?

Would I perish here with hunger?"

Here's the response to the pain that was

preached in his heart. Verse 18, he

says, "I will arise and go to my father.

I will say to him, father, I have sinned

against heaven and before you, I am no

longer worthy to be called your son.

Treat me as one of your hired servants."

So this pain preaches him into action.

Number one, it's to go back to the

father. Number two, it's humility.

He doesn't come back and say, "Okay, now

I'm ready for my rightful place as son."

He says, "Man, I just if I if you would

just hire me as a servant. I I just want

to be back here."

Pain

preaches

verse 20. And he arose and came to his

father. But while he was still a long

way off, his father saw him and felt

compassion and ran and embraced him and

kissed him. And the son said to him,

"Father, I've sinned against heaven and

before you, I'm no longer worthy to be

called your son." I I picture the son uh

on the way back with this shame and this

guilt. And now he's got I picture him

rehearsing this with the nerves when he

sees his dad how he's going to I just

picture this scared

shame guilt

no longer worthy to be called your son.

Verse 22,

one of the best scriptures in the entire

Bible. But the father said to his

servants, "Bring quickly the best robe

and put it on him. Put a ring on his

hand and shoes on his feet and bring the

fattened calf and kill it. And let us

eat and celebrate for the son. For this

my son was dead and is alive again. He

was lost and is found. And they began to

celebrate.

Pain is a preacher and if we're willing

to listen, it'll put you back in

proximity to the father.

Man, I'm preaching better than you're

amening today.

And pain is a preacher.

It's not just speaking to you, but it's

also working in you.

Number two in your notes is pain is a

producer.

Pain is a producer.

It produces things. We're seeing it both

in David and the Chronicle. 2

Corinthians 7

9

Paul says to the church in Corinth he

says yet now I am happy not because you

were made sorry but because your sorrow

led you to repentance

your sorrow led you to repentance

for you became sorrowful

as God intended. Isn't that an

interesting scripture? You became

sorrowful as God intended. And so we're

not harmed in any way by us. Listen to

verse 10. It says, "Godly sorrow brings

repentance."

Godly sorrow brings repentance. Godly

sorrow brings repentance that leads to

salvation and leaves no regret. But

worldly sorrow brings death.

Verse 11, see what this godly sorrow has

produced in you. What earnestness, what

eagerness to clear yourelves, what

indignation, what alarm, what longing,

what concern, what readiness to see

justice done.

At every point you have proved yourself

to be innocent in this matter.

We see Paul speak of two kinds of pain,

two kinds of sorrow. Can I say this?

Both preach

both preach to you. Worldly sorrow.

It's I'm sorry I got caught,

but when I get a chance, I'll get do it

again and see if I can get away with it.

Worldly sorrow is the type of pain that

turns into hardness of heart,

bitterness,

cold.

Bible says worldly sorrow brings death.

It's that wallowing in self-pity.

Can I tell you our world is stricken

with worldly sorrow,

walk around and sometimes I look at

people I go, my goodness, they just need

hope.

They need some joy in their life.

Everything functions from this place of

heaviness and depression or anxiety or

fear. Everything is functioning from

that worldly sorrow and it brings death.

Death simply means separation.

Separation from God.

Worldly sorrow when it preaches it

doesn't invoke

change. It doesn't invoke you coming any

closer to God.

It's preaching the I stay the same

gospel.

Well, if I just try harder next time,

maybe I can.

We've tried that before. And then we

start living in this definition of

insanity, doing the same thing over and

over and expecting a different result,

but we're functioning from the same

place.

Worldly sorrow brings death. Godly

sorrow is the opposite. It produces good

things in us. And God gave me a very

simple understanding of godly sorrow.

You have godly sorrow. It's simply

sorrow with God in it.

Godly sorrow.

And Paul defines what godly sorrow is.

It's experiencing sorrow as God intended

it.

As God intended it.

And one of the things we understand from

scripture and from experience is that we

are the temple of the Holy Spirit. In

other words, the Holy Spirit lives on

the inside of us. Do you know that two

things can be on the inside of you at

the same time?

That's for men. Women, I think there's

like 400 things going on in the inside

of you at one time.

I'm just trying to keep up. I live with

four women, man. I don't know what's

going on most of the time.

Love y'all. We just don't know what's

happening.

We're very simpleminded. Two things

going on inside of me is more than

enough.

Matter of fact, sometimes that slows me

down. I got to stop and really focus on

one of them,

>> right?

>> Then I come back to the other one.

Do you know that the Holy Spirit can be

on the inside of you producing fruit,

that love, that joy, that patience, that

peace, that gentleness, that goodness,

that kindness, that self-control, all

these different things? The Holy Spirit

can be on the inside of you, comforting

you, counseling you, and encouraging you

at the same time. You can have pain that

becomes a type of torment. Have you been

there?

Do you know that Holy Spirit

plus sorrow is godly sorrow? The problem

is is we'll experience anything that's

in that realm of pain or sorrow or hurt

and we will cast it out like it's the

devil.

I'm not supposed to feel this. I'm

blessed and highly favored. I'm I'm

looking for the joy of the Lord. You can

have joy and pain at the same time.

>> You can have peace in the midst of

chaos.

>> That's what the fruit of the spirit is.

Godly sorrow produces.

Godly sorrow brings about repentance.

Godly sorrow puts you in tune with

spiritual ears to hear what your pain is

saying

because it's sharing a message with you.

When you mix pain and holy spirit, you

find purpose.

Why are you downcast, oh my soul? Let's

sit down and have a talk about this.

Godly sorrow produces, Paul says, it

produces eagerness, earnestness, zeal,

desire to confess, a res desire to

return to purpose,

its movement towards God. We're familiar

with James 1, the testing of your faith.

produces

perseverance.

Let perseverance finish its work so you

can be m mature and complete, not

lacking anything.

I don't know about you guys, but I don't

like pain. I just don't like Does anyone

in here like really? Because if you

raise your hand, you're weird.

I don't like pain physically. Don't like

pain spiritually, emotionally, mentally.

I don't like pain. I don't like

discomfort. My natural go-to is to numb

it, to run from it, to avoid it.

Testing of your faith

produces perseverance and let

perseverance finish its work.

Romans 5 says, "Suffering

produces

perseverance,

and let perseverance finish its work."

Suffering produces perseverance. He says

perseverance produces character and

character produces hope. Some of us have

no hope because we run from the

suffering.

We don't allow suffering to produce

anything in us because we're not

experiencing the suffering as God

intended.

You know, we live in a powderpuff

culture here in America.

too comfortable,

too catered to.

Now I'm falling into this whole AI trap

thing.

Bad enough to Google stuff. Now I got AI

figuring out things for me. It's really

handy when you need help with the device

though. this is what's h you know and

and I get so comfortable

so catered to

what we complain about in America is

absolutely ridiculous.

I had to wait 10 minutes before my

server even came to the table. Well,

they're waiting years in different

countries to get food like that.

spoil,

selfish. Too often it goes into our

spiritual life.

We feel any discomfort. We feel the

suffering, feel the pain, we have to

figure out how to get rid of it.

What if

we were supposed to listen to it?

What if we were supposed to suffer the

right way as God intended?

Pain is a producer. 2 Corinthians 4:17

2 Corinthians 4:17

says, "For our light and momentary

troubles are achieving." Say,

"Achieving."

Momentary troubles are achieving for us

an eternal glory that far outweighs them

all.

It's working for you.

The question isn't just do you have

sorrow. The question is, do you have

sorrow as God intended? And let me say

this with God. Learn to stay in the pain

until you find the purpose.

Stay in the pain.

Stay in the pain until you find the

purpose.

People run from pain. Let me put it this

way. People run from marriage to

marriage to marriage not because they're

running from the marriage or the person,

but because they're running from pain.

People run from job to job to job. Well,

I just don't like the way they treated

me back there.

I deserve better. What if there was a

purpose for you to be in that place?

What if there was a long-suffering fruit

of the spirit, longsuffering that could

take place that would testify to the

gospel of God's grace?

What if beyond our own feelings and our

own comfort and our own thoughts, there

was a greater purpose that God has you

and we decide to grow where we're

planted.

People run from church to church to

church to church to church, not because

they're running from church, but because

they're running from some type of pain.

Lord Jesus, it's quiet in the house of

God.

>> What if pain has a purpose? What if pain

is part of the process?

What if you're supposed to grow where

God planted you? You know, that's where

God prunes you. Ouch.

That's where God trims you back. That's

where God caters to your needs with the

sunshine and the water and all the

elements.

The grass is not greener on the other

side. The grass is greener where you

water it.

Paul the apostle had this thorn in his

flesh. Bible calls it a messenger of

Satan sent to torment him.

And Paul in three different occasions

gets with God and say, "Hey, this is

this is painful. This hurts. Please take

this from me." And God says, "No."

And so then he goes back, "God, God,

please I I please take this. It's like a

messenger of Satan. It's tormenting me.

It's painful. It hurts. Please take it

away. God says, "No."

A third time he goes back, "God, enough

is enough. I'm waving my white flag.

I've had it. I can't take it anymore.

Please, now is the time. Take this thing

from me. I don't want it anymore." And

God says, "No." He says, "Paul, I

finally have you in the place to receive

my grace.

I finally have you in position to lean

not on your own understanding.

I finally have you in position to walk

by faith.

It's impossible to please God without

faith.

Allowing yourself to feel the pain

allows you to rely on God.

Man, pain preaches loud. It wakes us up.

Think about David. It calls you out.

Pain will call you out.

Pain will put you back to God. You can

write this down. Comfort is the enemy of

progress.

Comfort is the enemy

of progress.

Preaching heavy to you today, man. Last

week was so nice. We talked about the

love of God.

Much God loves you.

Here's the reality, though. You don't

have to be saved real long and realize,

man, I feel some feelings. I feel some

emotions. I don't know if I know what to

do with that.

pain will pull you back to God.

Psalm 119 verse 71, the Psalmist said

Psalms 119:71

this, "My suffering

was good for me,

for it taught me to pay attention to

your decrees."

My suffering was good for me.

Good for me.

Number three, and I'll close with this.

Pain is a platform.

So pain is a preacher. Pain is a

producer and pain is also a platform.

God doesn't heal you, heal the pain and

hide it.

He heals you to use it for his glory.

at Romans chapter 8 and verse 28.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

And we know that for those who love God,

do you love God?

>> Oh man, you're in the right place. Do

you love God?

>> Man, I love him and I know that he loves

me.

For those of us that know,

for those of us who love God, catch

this, all things, say, all things.

>> All things

>> work together for good.

All things

work together

>> for good

>> not just the victories,

not just the celebrations, not just the

comforts of life. Oh, I got a raise at

work. God blessed me. God blessed me.

It's working together. No. All things.

That's your failures.

That's your sorrows. That's your pain.

That's your shame. That's your guilt.

That's your absolute stupidity in those

stupid moments. You ever been there?

I just absolutely look at it and I go,

"That was the stupidest thing." I had

one this week. I won't even tell you

about it.

It was ignorant, ridiculous.

God will use that

all for his glory.

Don't know how sometimes,

but serve him long enough, you'll find

out.

Those who love God, all things work

together for good. For those who are

called according to his, there's that

word again, purpose.

Purpose.

Your greatest pain can become his

greatest message.

It becomes a platform from which you can

share the goodness of God. Not only is

pain preaching to you, but it's pulling

you to the altar of decision to invoke

you out of that place.

It's producing something on the inside

of you.

And now it's preparing you to preach the

message that now I'm more than an

overcomer.

I made it through.

pain becomes your pulpit.

I I can't help and I'll ask the worship

team to join me. I can't help but look

at Jesus. You know, we're called to be

like Christ. The tall order.

The entire platform

for salvation is that he suffered

and died on a cross.

That's the good news,

the beginning of it.

He's our example.

We're called to be like him.

Don't see the struggle or the sorrow you

experience as a curse, but see it as an

opportunity.

Isaiah 53 and:e3

speaking of Jesus says that he was

despised

and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows

and acquainted with grief.

I I have to imagine that garden of

Gethsemane

that going to the cross it had to have

been the place of deepest pain. And and

Jesus is there in the garden even being

fully God yet fully man. He's in the

garden and he's praying and and he's

reaches out to the father and he says,

"Lord, if there's any way for this to

pass for me, let let's not let's not go

through this."

But he says at the end of the day, God,

your will be done. If you want me to

stay right here and suffer, Lord, if you

want me to sit here and sweat great

drops of blood, Father, if you want all

the sins of all MANKIND THAT HAVE EVER

BEEN ON THE PLANET EARTH to fall on me,

I'll carry that weight. Lord, I'm

willing to suffer that somebody else

might be blessed.

>> It's okay to be in that place and say,

"Lord, I'd rather not.

I'd rather not have this thorn in my

flesh. I'd rather not carry this type of

weight and this type of sorrow and this

type of pain. But Father, if you want me

to, I pray that I experience this sorrow

as you intended.

>> Lord, I'll lay before you and just cry

if that's what I'm called to. And I've

done it.

I've done it. I've laid out in prayer

and just wept.

That's all I could do in that moment.

Let's stand to our feet all over this

house.

I think what I want you to receive or

hear this morning is that

pain and sorrow is valuable.

It's valuable.

It means something. It's working for

you. It's producing

Here's

the questions I want you to answer this

week. Just you and God.

The pain's a preacher. What's yours

saying to you?

What's it preaching to you?

You can ask this. What is my pain

producing?

What is my pain producing? And I'll say

this. If you walked in here and you

identify with this and you go, "Man, I I

I'm carrying it and I don't even know

how to carry it as God intended, just a

moment, we're going to worship and these

altars are going to open and there's

going to be prayer partners up here to

pray with you and say, "God, help me to

see what I don't see. Help me to

experience this pain as you intended cuz

I'm done running from it. And and I

don't know what my pain is saying, but

but but pray for me that I could hear

what the message is so I could respond

in a right way.

this time.

First Peter chapter 5 and verse 10.

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

Such an encouraging scripture. It says,

"And after

you have suffered a little while,"

I like the little while in that

scripture. It means that our sorrow, our

pain is just for a season. This too

shall pass.

After you suffered a little while, the

God of all grace

who has called you to his eternal glory

in Christ will himself, not send

somebody else, not delegate, will

himself restore, confirm, strengthen,

and establish you.

Father, we thank you, Lord, that you are

the God of love and grace and mercy.

Father, we're thankful also that you're

the God

of sorrow.

Father, we're thankful that you sent

Jesus,

that he was tempted in all ways such as

we.

Father, that he too was a man of sorrows

and grief.

Lord, we know that you get it.

Father, sometimes we don't.

So, Lord, help us,

Father, with the spirit of God living on

the inside of us to be able to process

these thoughts and these emotions, these

pains and these sorrows and these hurts

and and all of this stuff. Father, help

us to process it as you've intended.

And so Lord, we we lay ourselves before

you. We lay ourselves pretty bare before

you and say, "God, here's our heart.

Here's our shame. Here's our guilt.

Here's our pain. Here's our hurts.

Father, help us to process."

Lord, we pray that we would stay in the

sorrow. Stay in the pain as long as

you've intended. That it would produce

for the building of your kingdom. That

it would become a platform, God, for us

to share the goodness of God.

So Lord, I pray a blessing over every

soul in this room.

I pray that your holy spirit continues

the work that you work in the hearts

right now in Jesus name and that nobody

would leave this house without doing

business with heaven.

Lord we thank you for it now in Jesus

name.

And God's people said amen. We're going

to open the altars and worship. Won't

you come?