Easter Series | Intent On Suffering (March 29th, 2020) - Mike Armstrong

Well, good morning, and welcome to online church.

I gotta be honest with you, I'm kind of excited to see uh what's gonna happen here, how the Lord is going to use this very different time that we're all experiencing in this kind of new, hopefully very temporary uh version and experience of church, trusting that the Lord will pour out power and work and move through the preaching of his word.

Love to think that his word uh does not return void.

I love that uh promise.

And so knowing uh that uh I'm in my living room and you are most likely uh in yours, uh, that the Lord uh is going to glorify himself and his spirit can move uh in and through us no matter where we are watching this uh right now.

Love that.

Well hey if you would grab uh a copy of God's word and get it open uh to Matthew chapter uh 16.

And as you're getting getting turned there, uh I want to ask you a quick question here.

Uh have you ever uh been intent on doing something?

I think it's a pretty uh obvious answer.

The answer is, yeah, of course I have been intent on doing something.

We've likely all been extremely intent on uh a few things uh even lately.

How about uh how about hand sanitizer?

Uh just intent on making sure that we're stocked up in the home and and we're just like bathing in it, us uh and our kids.

Uh maybe you've even been intent on uh just uh checking in on friends and loved ones, just making sure that everybody is uh doing okay, everybody uh is healthy and has uh everything that they need while at the same time, you know, kind of observing these social distancing uh guidelines.

Maybe for you, while you're you know kind of stuck at home a little bit, you have uh been intent on being productive, right?

You don't just want to lay around all day.

And so for you, it's like, man, I'm gonna I'm gonna work out, I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do push-ups, I'm gonna get into a bit of a routine, uh, maybe go running or cycling or whatever it might be, just to kind of get fit and uh get moving.

Now, uh for you, maybe the productive nature in you has uh got you uh into the whole spring cleaning bug, and you're like down into the basement and you're you know cleaning that out for the first time in I don't know, uh maybe years.

Uh perhaps for you, you're taking this time, you got this kind of more free time at home to you know try and establish some stronger spiritual disciplines.

It's like, man, how can I, you know, get myself and my family into God's word and and praying together and really uh pressing into the Lord in this way, right?

We know what it means uh to be intent.

Being intent on something means that you've got an objective, right?

You have this goal or this plan in mind, you and you are you're committed to doing what it takes to reach that end or hit uh that target.

Okay, well, today uh is actually, believe it or not, the launch of our new Easter series.

Amazing that we're already in the Easter season, and I love kind of thinking about the timing of this given everything uh that we are experiencing right now.

Well, in uh Matthew chapter 16, verses 21 to 23, we see that Jesus was very much intent on doing something.

Matthew 16:21–23

Okay, and his his intention uh was actually to suffer, to suffer for you and I.

Now, uh those of us uh familiar with the Easter story uh know that it wasn't suffering for suffering's sake, right?

That wasn't it.

Okay, his his ultimate objective, his ultimate goal, okay, uh was to save us, save humanity uh from our sins.

That's what he was going for.

Okay, but in order to do that and to see that accomplished or or reach that end, it meant that Christ had to suffer by dying in our place.

Now, thankfully, for uh for my sake and for your sake as well, uh, he was very intent on seeing that through.

And again, we see that intention right here in these verses in Matthew 16.

So I'm just gonna read this now and you can follow along.

This is verses 21 down to 23.

He says, From from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you.

But he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan, you are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

Now, as you can likely tell from reading those verses there, and certainly from you know our own experience, uh, suffering is an uncomfortable subject for us.

It puts us on edge a little bit.

Every time we, you know, kind of read about and think about uh the suffering that our Savior endured.

I mean, Peter for sure hated the idea of that.

And I mean, we don't like to even think about our own suffering, much less actually uh experience any of it.

Okay, something that I believe uh Peter was also grappling with here.

Okay, but like it or not, uh suffering uh is really at the very heart of the Easter story.

And it's at the heart of the human experience as well.

And I think that's something that you know we're all feeling a heightened sense of awareness of these days with and everything that is going on uh with this coronavirus.

So I think it would be very appropriate if I just you know kind of pause to pray and you know ask the Lord to move and work and bless us and challenge us uh today, encourage us, strengthen us through his word.

So why don't you join me uh as I pray?

Lord, we uh first of all thank you for this opportunity uh that we have uh to uh meet, so to speak, uh together as a church, uh to uh open up our computers or phones and uh watch this uh sermon now and really hear from your word, Lord.

We thank you that technology affords us uh the abil the ability uh to do that, God.

And as I you know think about uh the suffering that uh Jesus Christ uh went through, uh it gets us uh thinking about uh our own suffering and and some of the different ways that we might even be experiencing that just in the last uh couple of weeks or so.

And so, God, as we you know kind of discuss these things and think about all these things this morning, I pray that you would, you would encourage us, Lord.

I pray that you would do uh a mighty work by your spirit in the hearts of your people, Lord.

We are especially needy, God.

We we feel it, we sense it, we have anxiety about these things, we have we have fear, we have very uh real concerns that are affecting our well-being.

And so, Lord, as we suffer in you know multiple different ways, and some of us more than others, God, I pray that you would be merciful.

I pray that you would be gracious, I pray that you would uh build up your church in strength during this season that we were we are in, God, and I pray uh that you would do all of that to the glory of your Son Jesus Christ.

It is in his name that we pray these things.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, uh two things uh here for us this morning.

Here's the first one uh Christ was intent on suffering for me, though disaster was far from the end result.

And we see this uh beginning in verse 21.

So look again at this with me.

Notice what it says.

It says, From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem.

Now, now from from what time is this referring to?

Okay, well, understand that that this verse right here, verse 21, marks the beginning of phase two of Jesus' earthly ministry.

Okay, phase one was all about him ministering in Galilee.

Galilee was uh the region in northern Israel, okay?

And and you know his ministry.

He was, you know, traveling around and he was teaching people about the kingdom of God.

He was performing all kinds of miracles, he was walking on water and he was healing people.

We know that he was also getting into debates with people that opposed him, the the religious leaders.

And so verse 21 here really signals a shift, though, uh a change in direction and in purpose.

Okay, now he has his sight set on Jerusalem.

Jerusalem uh was to the south.

Okay, so look at the verse again.

Okay, it says, from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem.

All right, so there's that there's that intent that we have been uh talking about.

Okay, that word must there really captures it.

And and and we we know what that means.

It means that that him going to Jerusalem was was necessary, all right?

It was a necessity, it was it was inevitable.

Even this this sense of Jesus had this moral obligation and and drive, he was being compelled to go to Jerusalem.

Now you might be thinking, okay, to go and and do what exactly?

Well, it says there, keep reading, it says, to suffer, okay, to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes.

So who are these guys?

Well, these guys were the Jewish religious leaders that kind of made up this council together called uh the Sanhedrin.

Okay, so he would he would suffer uh many things at their hands, it says, and and be killed even.

Okay, so this is the the first of four occasions in Matthew's gospel where Jesus lights lets his disciples in on the divine agenda.

Notice how it says he began to show them, right?

So he's foreshadowing now the suffering that he is about to experience, okay, and and making it very clear that that it was his intent to see this through to the end, all right?

He was he was focused on this, nothing was gonna get in the way of it.

Now, as always, okay, it's it's just so important that you and I uh put ourselves in the shoes of the disciples, okay, because so many of us, you know, listening to this, watching this right now, you know, have experienced, you know, numerous Easter series over the years as we've attended church.

Right?

So we already actually know in great detail, even, you know, exactly what Jesus would uh suffer and endure.

Okay, so so when we reread a verse like we just read, some of us, maybe for the like the hundredth time, right, it it doesn't always, because we've read it so many times, it doesn't always strike us with with the same amount of force that it should.

Okay, because we've we've kind of got desensitized to it maybe, or we've just read it too many times.

Maybe we even seem a little bit bored with it.

Okay, but just just try and imagine here and try and picture exactly how this would have landed on the disciples as they're hearing it for the very first time, right?

And and this is where context is so helpful for us in understanding these things.

If you were to just kind of jump back with me now uh into the previous passage before the one that we're looking at, so so verses 13 to 20, you see that, even just at a quick glance, you see that it's that it's that section there where Jesus asks his disciples, uh, who do you say that I am?

Right?

You remember he asks them that?

And you remember Peter's confession?

Peter Peter says in verse 16, take a look.

He says that Jesus is the Christ, right?

Jesus is the Messiah.

He says, the Son of the Living God.

Okay, so so so boom, right?

That's a big moment.

It's this it's this kind of light bulb moment for uh for for Peter and the disciples by association, where where it just it all of a sudden clicks, right?

That that that that that Jesus is the one, right?

Jesus is the one that the the old testament prophesied would come and save his people.

Okay, so so Peter, think about it, in all his time spending uh you know being with Jesus throughout his ministry and you know living life with him, he's been slowly kind of you know putting it together, you know, who who Jesus is, and now he has this moment, and all of a sudden he's actually said it out loud, right?

He he he stated it.

You are you are the Christ, right?

You are the Messiah, you are the one that the scriptures have said is coming.

Okay, now how does Jesus respond to that?

Well, Jesus says, verse 17, take a look, he says, he says, Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah.

That's that's Peter.

So he's like, ding, ding, ding, correct.

You are absolutely right about that.

He says, For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven.

And he says, I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, so remember there that Peter means rock, on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Okay, so so Jesus affirms Peter's confession as true.

And he hints that Peter is gonna have some kind of leadership role in seeing the church get off the ground, get kind of get up and running.

And then, of course, there's that epic line in there that you know we looked at just a few weeks ago where Jesus is like, man, I'm gonna build my church, right?

Like this is happening.

Nothing, nothing will stop it.

And he says, the gates of hell itself will not be able to defend, the gates of hell will not be able to stand upright and defend the explosion of gospel ministry through the expansion of local churches all across the globe.

The amazing.

Now, if you put all of you know these things together, I think it's safe to say that that these verses that we're just reading here, it was like this watershed moment, right?

For Peter and the disciples, it would have been just like major excitement, it would have been, it would have been joy, it, you know, it was it was this anticipation about, you know, all of that would have been at an all-time high.

I mean, this was this was an incredible thing.

They're realizing for the first time who Jesus is and what he's gonna do and what they get to be a part of.

And then we have verse 21, right?

And just try and think about it now, how that would have hit them.

It would have, it would have hit them like a two by four across the side of the head, right?

Just imagine how how jarring it would have been, okay, to to now hear that Jesus say that he must go to Jerusalem and and and suffer and actually be killed by the very people that he came to save.

I mean, this announcement now in verse 21 would have absolutely landed on them like uh like a lead balloon.

Okay, and and and Peter's response to this, as as we will see here in a few moments, suggests that that's exactly how he took it.

Okay?

He's like, one second, we you know, we finally see who Jesus is and and and what he's gonna do, and we we realize that we're gonna be a part of this, you know, kind of church planting mission and all of that, and and all of a sudden now, you know, just a f you know, a couple of moments later, we're hearing that that that it's suffering and and and and and it's death that's ahead.

He's like, this is this is a disaster.

I mean, that's that's how it would have struck them here as as Jesus said it.

But of course, again, you and I, you know, we know that disaster would not at all be the end result.

Like far, far from it.

Okay, and the interesting thing here is that Jesus actually points that out at the end of this verse in verse 21 when he states that on the third day he will be, what does it say?

He will be raised.

Okay, don't miss that part, church.

Okay, we can't afford to miss it.

Now, I mean, Peter and and the disciples, it it seems like they missed it, as we're gonna see their response in a moment.

And it's I mean, probably because you know that they're they were so shaken by the news of his suffering and death.

That's like all they can hear.

The rest of it, it just goes over their heads or in one ear and uh and out the other.

Okay?

But notice again how in the very same breath that Jesus reveals that suffering, and he reveals that death, and that it all awaits him in Jerusalem, he immediately, okay, immediately provides this assurance, right?

This this comfort and this and this hope that his suffering and and his death would not be how this whole thing ends.

Right?

It's a strong hint here, or or better yet, it's it's really a statement that that victory would be achieved.

Right?

It would.

Sin would be defeated, death would be overcome, so that so that through his suffering, through his sacrifice, and then of course his resurrection on Easter Sunday, you and I could find forgiveness when we repent and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ by faith.

Now, I don't know about you, but that part doesn't sound like disaster to me at all, right?

It really doesn't.

And of course, we know that Jesus knew exactly how this was all gonna go.

Jesus is God, right?

He knew uh exactly what he was going to suffer and what all of that would accomplish.

He had the true result, right?

The true end result in view, which is why he was so intent, okay, on seeing this through to the end.

Right?

And that's why Hebrews 12, verse 2 says, and I love this, it says, Jesus, for the joy that was set before him, okay, knowing how how great the end result would be, you know, Jesus, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.

Hebrews 12:2

Okay, he endured it.

He he willingly went through that suffering for you and I.

Now, church, do you realize just how powerful or or or the powerful effect, okay, that all of this can and and should have on us as we live life and as you know we encounter uh suffering of our own.

Okay, just think about this in in in in light of everything that we've uh just said this morning, okay?

Our salvation, catch this, our salvation ensures, okay, it ensures that disaster will never be the end result.

Why?

Well, because heaven is our final destination.

Amen?

Right?

No matter what suffering you and I face between now and the moment that we draw our final breath, none of it, not an ounce of it, will will have a a fatal or or disastrous effect on our eternity.

Because Jesus Christ secured it, right?

And he secured it through his his suffering.

All of that meaning that victory awaits us.

Okay, it is it is guaranteed, it is going to happen.

Now, all of that being said, and it's glorious, right?

All of that being said, I am in no way right now, you know, trying to, you know, kind of.

Minimize the suffering that you and I can experience in this life.

What I'm really trying to do here, and what the scriptures constantly do, is really put our suffering into perspective.

Right?

This is what we we need to get to.

And 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16 to 18 expresses this, describes this in a better way than I ever could.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18

Here's what it says: it says, so we do not lose heart.

It's talking about suffering and persecution is the context of this specifically, but it says, so we do not lose heart.

Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Okay, this is referring to how God uses suffering that we go through to produce spiritually spiritual maturity within us.

Okay, and then listen to this perspective.

This is huge.

Okay, it says, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, meaning our our suffering, but to the things that are unseen.

In other words, looking to the end result, right?

Looking, you know, to the victory.

He's like, get your eyes on those promises.

Okay, so he says, for the things that are seen are transient.

Now, transient just means that our suffering is temporary.

Okay?

He says, but the things that are unseen are eternity, uh eternal.

Okay, the victory Christ secured for us through his suffering is what you and I will get to enjoy forever.

What an amazing couple of verses that is.

So, hey, listen, as you suffer, okay, do you remind yourself of truth like this?

Do you remind yourself and and get yourself to have that proper eternal perspective?

Okay, where you're like, man, you know, at the end of the day, you know, compared to how amazing glory is gonna be, an eternal weight of glory, compared to that, my suffering, no matter what it is, is actually described in the scriptures as this light, momentary affliction.

It's like when you compare it, it just absolutely shrinks the reality of our suffering compared to how awesome our eternity is gonna be.

Do you do that?

Do you remind yourself of that to help you through whatever you might be going through?

Or do you tend to view your suffering no matter what it is?

It can be small, it can be quite major.

Do you do you view those things as disastrous?

Right?

Do you view those things as fatal?

Man, I'm never gonna get past this.

My my life is never gonna get uh never gonna improve.

I'm never gonna see anything good come from this.

Or do you do you do you get that way?

Do you allow it to take the wind out of your sails?

Do you allow it to stunt your growth in Christ?

Do you allow it to hinder how God wants to work in you and work through you to be a blessing to others?

Okay, I think that's a lot of like what Peter's doing here.

He he just doesn't get it.

Right?

He sees all of this as disastrous, what Jesus is telling him.

He doesn't get that it's actually to bring about something, something amazing.

Or or do you have your eyes on the true and result as Christ obviously did?

Right?

Listen, cling to these things, church.

Cling to them.

Right?

We we need this perspective, we we need this truth, we need this encouragement now, maybe more than ever.

Right?

Again, we're living in in wild times.

I mean, I don't know about you, I've I've never experienced uh anything like this, and and I find myself so encouraged, very practically so by these verses, uh, to remember that that what we're going through here is is nothing compared to how awesome eternity is going to be.

This is far short of disastrous, it really is, which really drives us here uh to this last thing.

Okay, Christ was intent on suffering for me, which begs the question Am I willing to suffer for him?

Okay, now I mentioned, of course, that we would get to Peter's uh response to Jesus' uh announcement here that he was about to suffer and die.

Well, here it is, verse 22.

It says, and Peter uh took him aside and began uh to rebuke him.

And we know what a rebuke is, right?

Rebuke uh really means to denounce, okay, to to express this strong disapproval or even you know, kind of give a stern talking to.

Okay?

Now, now understand that that Peter doing this was what was kind of unheard of back in this day, right?

You know, disciples of of rabbis, they they they would never be so bold to do this.

They wouldn't just get in their teacher's grill like this and be like, no, right, I'm disagreeing with what you're saying.

Now, I mean, we know a little bit about Peter and we know that he was kind of wired that way.

And and of course, you know, we're very you know familiar with with people you know getting you know flying in the face of authority these days, but but back in this culture, in the rabbi-disciple relationship, this this kind of thing was uh extremely uh extremely rare.

Okay, but he continues on here, verse 22, still saying, far be it from you, Lord, right?

This shall never happen to you.

Okay, so I think pretty clear Peter was you know pretty against uh this idea of you know Jesus suffering and dying, okay, which was a position that Peter would actually continue to hold in right through to the moment where we you remember he cut off uh the servant Malchus' ear when they were uh arresting uh Jesus in John chapter 18.

John 18 · chapter mention

Okay, Peter's uh nothing if not consistent uh in his brashness.

All right, now notice here how Peter uh Jesus responds to Peter's refusal uh to accept that uh that suffering was uh all part of God's plan, verse 23.

Okay, but he turned, this is Jesus, and said to Peter, okay, now Mark's gospel, pause there for a second, Mark's gospel actually tells us that he's addressing the rest of the disciples uh as well.

And so he's turning to Peter, but he's talking to all of them, and he says, Get behind me, Satan.

Okay, you are a hindrance, that word for hindrance there can also mean stumbling block, right?

You are a hindrance to me, okay?

For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

You know, quite the opposite exchange, all right, between Jesus and Peter compared to the one that we looked at a moment ago in verses 13 to 20, when Jesus is like, Blessed are you, you know, Simon Bar Jonah, right?

That's a little bit different than saying, uh, get behind me, Satan, right?

Kind of at the opposite end of the spectrum there, okay?

Now, when Jesus, you know, addresses Satan here, okay, what is that all about?

Well, it's to say that Peter is being influenced by Satan.

Okay, whereas in verse 17, Peter's confession had been inspired by the Father.

Remember when Jesus said, My Father has revealed this to you.

Okay?

Now, R.

T.

France makes an interesting note.

He's a theologian.

He said that that Peter goes from being declared a rock to build on to being a rock to stumble over.

Okay, Peter, through the influence of Christ's enemy, Satan, uh, tries to be this hindrance to Jesus' intention to go and suffer and die and rise again, which of course was God's epic plan to save all of mankind.

Okay, so what Peter is expressing here, okay, no suffering, no, no death, is just in it's in direct opposition to everything that God is is is about.

It's against his will.

Okay, Peter's whole whole mindset, his you know, his desire, his his whole value system is set on the things of man, not on the things of God, Jesus says.

Okay, and and and in this we again see that that Jesus is resolute, right?

He just will not let anything get in the way of his intention to suffer, die, and rise.

Okay, now while we can, I think, you know, definitely empathize with the fact that, you know, Peter and the disciples, they were, you know, still very much trying to kind of figure all of this out, right?

And they didn't have the benefit of knowing the whole story like like we do, right?

And so we shouldn't be too hard on them.

And I think on a on a just a human level, I think we can you know kind of understand the desire that Peter has to not see his friend and rabbi and and and mentor, leader, you know, suffer and die.

I think we can kind of get that.

But I believe that there's actually even more going on under the surface here in Peter's heart as he rebukes the Lord.

Okay, and again, it's context that helps us see that.

Because if you actually jump ahead now to the next passage, after the main one that we're looking at here today, what does Jesus say?

How does he follow all of this up?

Okay, well, notice uh verse 24.

It says, then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him, notice, deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

Now, why would Jesus say this at that moment?

Well, if you read our verses, verses 16 or verses 21 to 23, in light of both the passage before it, 13 to 20, like we looked at, and the passage after it, specifically verse 24 here, it gives us a better overall kind of glimpse into or sense uh of just what's going on beneath the surface here.

You see, Peter and and the disciples just had this, again, incredible moment where they realize who Jesus is, right?

This is it's amazing, right?

For the very first time, they they see it.

Imagine being there and just realizing, wait a second, this man that we've been spending this time with is is God, right?

This is this is incredible.

They're realizing it, that they've been told that they've been recruited to this mission to see churches started all over the place.

I mean, it was just it was joy, right?

It was it was elation.

Then the next you get this this like wicked curveball that Jesus throws at them that that suffering and death await him.

And but then Jesus tells them that that being a disciple means that they'll suffer too.

Now think about this here.

Okay?

When Peter vehemently opposes Jesus' intent to suffer, Jesus' response to him in verse 24 suggests that that he knew that somewhere inside Peter's heart and and in Peter's mind, he was concerned about himself and his own personal safety and comfort and glory.

Right?

Jesus, what he's doing here is he's he's unearthing in Peter and the disciples, you know, the the selfish desires that they had.

Peter, remember, his mind was set on the things of man.

He wasn't thinking about having to suffer for Jesus' sake.

He wasn't thinking about that at all.

He was still under this assumption, remember, that the Messiah was coming to establish Israel's military and national dominance over all the other nations.

And so Peter, remember the disciples, the brothers argued about who, you know, who is gonna have the better place in the end?

Peter's just hoping really to get a piece of that glory by way of his position within Jesus' inner circle.

Okay, so verse 24, if you think about it like this, it's really another curveball that Jesus is throwing.

He's not just saying he's about to suffer, he's now saying, my followers will also suffer.

Which really begs the question, are we willing to do that?

Or are you willing to suffer for Jesus' sake?

Are we willing to, as verse 24 says, are we willing to deny ourselves?

Or are we willing to take up our cross?

Right?

They knew that that meant death, right?

Are we are we willing to follow him truly wherever he leads into suffering, into death, however that might look.

That's a pretty heavy and and strong challenge, isn't it?

But listen, I I find all of this so interesting and and fascinating.

You know, that we're talking about this passage today, right?

I I didn't just come up with this passage earlier this week and think, hey, this would be good and timely.

This was planned months and and months ago.

Right?

I find it so interesting how the Lord draw this uh uh draws this up and how we're talking about this today while while each of us in our own different ways we're just we're just reeling from and adjusting to the impact that that COVID-19 is having on our world.

But but again, think about it.

It's not a stretch at all, I don't think, to suggest that that Jesus might be using this virus to wake up a very groggy church.

Right?

I I think that's true.

Like, and that's what suffering does, right?

It accomplishes that very thing.

It it awakes us up, it gives us uh an awakened sense as to what is most important.

It it gives us crystal clear focus and all those other priorities and all those other desires that we want.

They start to pass to the side as we suffer because we focus on Jesus Christ and we we're drawn to him, which makes us love him more and makes us want to follow him no matter where he leads.

And some of you are already kind of beginning to or are currently thinking through that very thing, and you're you're wrestling through this topic and this idea of suffering in some very kind of scary and serious ways.

I mean, we're only a few weeks into this virus here, but but perhaps uh you're one of the many that are already out of work.

You know, you've been let go, and maybe that's a permanent thing, or or maybe it's temporary and you're not too sure.

And so now you've got this pressure of like bills piling up, and you know, how am I gonna provide and how am I gonna find another job?

And you know, all of that, like that's there's suffering in that as we as we work through our stress and we we work to give these things over to the Lord.

Okay, maybe for you it's it's it's fear regarding someone that you know that actually has contracted the virus, right?

I've been starting to hear uh from people that I know who who know others, who have family members who've actually uh who actually have it, and they're working through that.

So for you, if that's if that's you, you're you're you're fearful for them and you want so badly to reach out and to care for them and to comfort them, but but but you have to quarantine yourself and you have to let them quarantine themselves and and and keep this distance, and so there's limitations on what you can do, and and there's again this this angst in you because you want to help, and there's suffering in you because you're you care for the other person uh who is suffering.

Or maybe for you it's related to all of that, but your fear is around like well, what if I get it?

Right?

Or or what if my spouse or or or even my my kids get it?

Like, what's that gonna look like?

And and and how far is that gonna go?

Okay, or maybe it's just in a general way.

I think all of us are in this boat, you know, where we're just kind of wondering, like, man, how long is this gonna go on for?

Is this gonna go on for a couple of weeks, months, longer?

What's gonna be the toll that this takes on us?

And of course, we we just don't know.

But again, the same question applies.

Are we willing to suffer for the sake of Christ if that's what he's calling us to?

Right?

If if that is what he has in store for us, and use it is what he has in store for us.

He promises that, and we're actually experiencing it in all kinds of ways right now.

So, hey, are are we are we gonna allow the Lord to use our sufferings to accomplish his will in and through us during this time of crisis?

Okay, or are you just gonna, are you gonna kind of buck against that?

Are are are you are you gonna fight the Lord on that?

Are you gonna chafe against him and and just continue to set your heart or or or your mind on the things of man?

Are you are you still gonna insist on no, like I I want my own way, I want my comforts.

I at the end of the day, I want what I want.

I want what?

I want my own glory.

Listen, church, it is time to hold fast to him in faith, like probably never before, right?

And just remind ourselves and remind each other.

Like, how badly do we need the church right now?

Right?

It's so encouraging to hear you all reach out to each other and and and connect with us.

And I just I love hearing all of that because we need it.

We need it in new and unique ways, right?

We're we're so filled with our sense of need for these relationships, right?

Are we gonna remind ourselves?

Are we gonna remind each other and encourage each other uh again and again, if that's what it takes, that no matter what happens, regardless of how severe the suffering gets, are we gonna are are we gonna lock into the fact, or are we gonna hold on to the fact that God is in control?

Are we going to?

Are we gonna believe that that God is going to use this to forge Christ's character in you?

Do you believe that?

Are we gonna hold on to like you do not forget this part, right?

This is what we've been talking about through most of the first part of this here.

That disaster is quite simply not the end result for us, right?

It really isn't.

That is not our final destination.

Victory is, right?

Christ's suffering made it so.

Listen, church, are you encouraged by this?

I I hope that you are.

I know that that I am, and I want to challenge you and encourage you again to just reach out to us if uh you need help this week, if you need uh groceries or you need uh you know something uh practical.

We'll try and you know figure all this out and rally together.

I love uh this opportunity for the fact that the church gets to be the church, right?

We get to uh showcase God's glory uh in us and uh through us to an unbelieving world.

What an opportunity uh that we have as we suffer.

Let's uh not waste this opportunity, let's use it for his glory, okay?

Let me pray.

Join me as we pray, Lord.

We thank you uh for this time that we've had and such a great uh couple of verses in your word, Lord.

And it's just so rich and just reminds us of some very uh heavy realities, Lord.

We don't take these things lightly.

The fact that uh you suffered and died, Lord, we need to meditate on that and remind ourselves of that because it reminds us of how much you love us, God.

It it humbles us as we realize what exactly you suffered and endured uh for us.

Lord, it creates thanksgiving and gives us a greater power.

Passion for you, Father.

And so, God, continue to use the gospel here this week to do those things, Lord.

And as we consider also the fact that you said that we will suffer.

If we are a follower of you, it will happen.

You're going to call us into that because you have a plan and you want to use us, Lord.

Would you give us great faith for this?

Would you so work in the ways that we are resisting you and we are pushing back against you, Lord?

And help us to just embrace it and know that you are God above, you are on your throne.

This does not remove you from that, Lord.

And no matter how much we suffer, you will reign.

And so, God, as we think about these things, embolden us.

Lord, show us your goodness, show us your love, draw our love for you out in deeper ways.

We pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.