10/31/2021
The apostle Paul is a reminder to us that Christians suffer in this world, that bad things can happen to good people, and that there are those who will hate us because of our faith, just as Jesus said they would. But, he also demonstrates for us how to endure these hardships, and to use them to advance the gospel of Jesus, and the Word of God.
“And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Philippians 1:14 ESV
Paul was imprisoned, and in his day there were no country club prisons for those of notoriety, or wealth, they were the same accommodations regardless of who you were, and they were brutal, Spartan, filled with murderers, and other horrible people… the dregs of society. Yet in the midst of all this, Paul was still preaching the gospel, praying, and praising God. His concern remained for the advancement of the kingdom of God as he brought his prison guards to Christ, and served as an encouragement to his brothers in Christ.
“for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Philippians 1:19-20 ESV
Several years ago I listened to my pastor tell a story from the pulpit about a saintly woman in his congregation. She had been diagnosed with an illness that was terminal, and given a short time to live. Getting news such as this might rattle the faith of some as they begin to behave like a popular song that talks of living out one’s final days by going sky diving, Mountain climbing, bull riding, and doing other such dangerous things as they “like you were dying”.
However, this was not the case for this Saint, she sat down with him and said that she had done her best to live a Christian life, and asked him if he would walk these final days with her. She said that she had lived like a Christian, and now she wanted to show him, and the other saints, what it meant to die like one. He walked with her to her final breath, and said that her faith, prayers, lack of fear, and witness to others, had strengthened his own faith beyond description. She died a death that he could imagined of Jesus, and which mirrored what Paul wrote when he said…
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:6-8 ESV
I have thought of this sermon many times since hearing it, and i think of Paul each time. I not only contemplate this woman’s death, but the life she must have lived that prepared her for the experience, and led up to it. It challenges me to praise God in the storms of my life, to use every hard time to demonstrate my faith, and to reach out to the wavering, and the lost as I go through them. Jesus is our ultimate example of how we should live through suffering, and even die. We watch as He saves the thief, forgives us, and dies by loudly committing his Spirit into God’s hands… all from the cross on Calvary.
“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.”
Luke 23:46 ESV
So today many of us are suffering through terrible events in our lives, and some unto imminent death, but as we do so how are we walking this way of tribulation? Have we prepared our faith so that it won’t be shaken in times such as these? Are we continuing to hold firm to the hands of God, and Jesus, as we trust in them, and gain strength from them? Are we calling out to others we pass along the way by shouting “God is Great!” As we tell them of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ? Are we truly living every day, regardless of our circumstances, like we are dying? Are we suffering victorious in our faith?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for all the hardships in our lives that strengthen us in our faith, embolden us as we deliver the good news of Jesus Christ, and that allow us platforms from which we can teach from your Word. Help us to face difficulties, and even death, with courage, strength, and a solid determination to take the gospel of Jesus to the very gates of death. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who we trust into, and beyond, our last breath. Praised be your name for all your provision, and the good times in our lives, but thank you most for the trials and tribulations embedded in every storm that we face in this life, because from each one our faith finds its increase, we gain in spiritual courage, and our love for you grows. Jesus, show us the wounds you endured, and Holy Spirit, bring to our remembrance the calm and trusting manner in which Jesus saved the sinner, forgave us our sin, and maintained His faith to His final breath. Abba, Father, wash us clean in the blood of Jesus, and see in us that same strength of faith that you found so worthy in Him. Pronounce your pleasure in us Lord, and take us gently into your arms from that place of our passing from this earthly life into eternity with you. Let others see our trust and faith in that moment, and call out for Jesus to come into their lives. Praised be your name Holy Father, now, and forevermore.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”
Psalm 34:1-5 ESV
Rich Forbes