How Well Are You Handling The Suffering?

The message was brought by Preacher Bob

Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 13. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him (Saul/Paul) how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Are we ready to suffer for the cause of Christ? We say yes, but are we? Sometimes we act as if we have a degree in suffering, but we’re only in kindergarten. The time may come, and sooner than we think, that we may be called to suffer.  In verse 16 Jesus said “I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Do you think God may have been paying Saul back for the persecutions he had done to the Christians? No. It was a simple statement.  When one becomes a Christian there will be things to suffer than would not be so otherwise. How great things are we willing to suffer?

Saul had “the pedal to the metal” bound for Damascus to persecute more Christians. He had chosen this task for himself early in the beginnings of the church. He was a good Pharisee and Jew. He was well thought of. He opposed Christianity and had the authority and motivation to wipe the believers off the face of the earth. He thought he was right in doing so. He didn’t shed a tear as Stephen was stoned. He held Stephan’s coat but did not let the conviction get through to him. He had what it took to stop Christianity before it barely got started. He had more talent than the disciples. They were no match for him.

Things changed on the road that day. Nothing was going to stop Saul but the Lord. The Lord blinded him, and in a manner of speaking Jesus said to him “see there, Saul, it is hard to kick against the pricks.” Saul was running against God and got pricked.

Sometimes we are like Saul. We think we know things and are more capable than the Lord when in fact we’re in his way. He might stop us in our tracks and blind us and say “you’re going to change.” We’ll be tested. We’ll have to suffer. Saul was a chosen vessel for the Lord. Jesus said “I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”   Some of the greatest blessings we’ll ever know will come from the Lord. Some of the greatest victories will come through the Lord. Some of our greatest moments will be with the Lord.  Some of our greatest feelings will be for the Lord. Some of our greatest sufferings will be for the Lord.

How much have we suffered?  How well have we done it? Paul had many obstacles. What he had tried to destroy he now tried to save. He turned his back on religion. He laid aside the robes of the die-hard Pharisees and suffered the consequences for it. The friends he had now hated him.

Are we handling our sufferings? How much are we suffering?  The church is experiencing suffering more than ever. The true church is under personal attack as easy religions in their counterfeit Christianity try to take over. A discouraged Christian can easily fall into the trap. However we must stick with God and face the challenges. We’re not suffering physical abuse or fear of arrest like others do. It’s coming. Now we have to face our day-to-day challenges. Let’s not kid ourselves. Look at how well we handle things now. Could we handle what can come?

A saved person is to be different. There is to be a change in character. How’s the temper? The Holy Spirit says to be loving, meek and gentle. Yet we turn around and get mad. Instead of praying we hold grudges. Do we go along with the gossiper even though we should not participate? Do we turn away from the bad joke or the dirty talk? Do we stand against such things as abortion?  It’s hard to be the odd ball. What about the temptation just to blend, go along with, and not oppose anything? Why don’t we do it? It’s because we don’t want to suffer. We think we’re ready to suffer big things when we can’t handle these things now. We are to let our light shine. For it to shine there must be a fire. We have to burn our pride, our tendency to get mad, and get control our tongue. That’s being the light.

Saul had the backing of the entire Sanhedrin and the nation of Israel as well as the Greeks and Romans. He turned his back on it all. He went right back to the synagogues and temples he left behind to preach unashamed the gospel of Christ. Paul knew how to suffer. He did suffer. Yet he counted it as loss to win Jesus.

What are we confronted with everyday that should cause us hardship? Paul knew Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Though his sufferings were great he held himself to being the chosen vessel. He was saved from what he was, and he didn’t flirt with it. Are we ready and willing to suffer the consequences? Are we willing to belong to Jesus and not the crowd? Are we willing to suffer for the Lord?  He was willing to suffer for us. Can we not stick up for him now?

Luke said that Jesus was known by the wounds in his hands and feet. Are we willing to be known by our wounds of suffering? God help us all to be the vessel we should be and handle and endure whatever sufferings come our way.