 Well, good evening and welcome to Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. Wasn't that just an amazing time of worship tonight? And what a great place to be able to pit stop during the week to be refreshed spiritually and to be encouraged in the Lord And even through the time of worship, it's such a great opportunity to turn our attention off of our problems and on to the Lord who takes care of those problems and tonight we have a very special night of just having me here with you I'm just kidding. But we're gonna have another night where we're getting together to study God's Word and I know for those of you that know my brother Brennan, he is I would say the best bealer brother and you get second best tonight and I am playing the sympathy card so that you like what I have to say this evening so don't say oh too much but we are very very blessed to be able to be in a place where we can come and study God's Word right now with all the crazy that's happening in the world there is such a huge relief I think of that it's a relief to be able to open the Word of God and to know where you stand spiritually to know that God is still on the throne that God's ways though they can be very beyond our understanding at times that they always end up being the best and they always end up being the right thing to do and so when the world is flip-flopping on what is right and what is wrong we know exactly where we stand because we hold on to the Word of God and tonight one of the things that we're going to be looking at this evening and I think that this is something that the Lord's been doing in my life personally and so this message is very personal to me but it has to do with how the Lord uses difficulties and pain and suffering so that his righteous work may be accomplished in your life and so I'm just going to say right off the bat if any of you are having a difficult time if any of you are questioning God's love and faithfulness to you then you are at the right place at the right time tonight because the Lord has a very special I believe encouraging Word for you and so if you have your Bibles would you please open up to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 5 tonight and like I said this is a very very personal personal thing to me and I think that it is going to be used in a way hopefully as the Holy Spirit leads the teaching of his Word to minister to you in your time of need let's go ahead and pray and we'll ask the Lord to bless this evening Father in heaven we thank you so much for your faithfulness to us we thank you Lord for this place that we can call our church home we thank you for Pastor David and for Marie we thank you Lord for their faithfulness to you Lord I believe it was just 40 years now just not too long ago they celebrated 40 years of serving faithfully and Lord we thank you for them we pray that you bless this time of rest that they be refreshed and just Lord really just refresh them not only just in their spirit Lord but help their bodies their minds everything to just be ministered to by you to feel Lord completely refreshed in every area of their life bless them Lord and bring them back home safely Lord we ask that now for us here that you would add your blessing to the reading and to the study of your word and so Lord give us ears to hear what your spirit would say and we ask these things in Jesus name and all God's people say amen so 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 looking at verses 1 through 5 this evening beginning in verse 1 it says Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians and God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ now if you have gold in your life and they could look a million different ways but if you're a goal oriented person one thing that you'll notice is that you will find yourself bumping into people that share those common goals and you'll find yourself you know in the same lane of people that are going in the same direction that you're going in for these three men that we're reading of tonight they were actually really good friends men that were called to the same calling to teach the word of God to preach the gospel and to equip the saints and as a follower of Jesus we're all to be about the work of the ministry in some way shape or form but there are some that make it their life's work there are some that their occupation in life their soul calling is to be about the Father's business now this doesn't mean that one calling is better than the other or for each is given a measure of faith we all are doing hopefully what we're supposed to be doing but when it comes to the preaching of the word of God and the planting of churches and the teaching of the scriptures there is a very special bond that is forged you know yesterday I actually saw your pastor as well as many others that were at K Smith's memorial service and we were celebrating her life and really it seemed like it was the end of an era as it will be eight years ago in October that pastor Chuck passed away and then Kay you know just a few weeks back in August passed away and what a dynamic couple they were how the Lord used them to touch a generation and I remember you know being on staff at Calvary Costa Mesa when I was a young man I was 24 when I went on staff there and I was able to serve there for nearly 10 years but I remember one Sunday afternoon after Sunday services were over it was about 1.30 in the afternoon or so and pastor Chuck had this old blue Cadillac you ever visited Calvary or saw him maybe when he had come to visit and you saw his car this old school Cadillac and it was a great car but I remember we pulled out of the parking lot by the shell gas station there and it was on Fairview and Sunflower and at the time I had a Chevy Silverado truck and I pulled up next to them and Chuck and Kay were at the light and I kind of motioned I rolled my window down and I said hi and I motioned to them and Kay looked at me and I said in a very serious voice I said hey you want a race and she goes she says oh you naughty boy like that in her real sweet granny voice and then as soon as that light turned green Chuck floored it off the line I mean in the Cadillac like the big V8 engine is it just went right off the line and I'll never forget that and there's countless stories you know that people can share about just really who they were as people and then the kinds of people that they attracted and that wanted to be around them and those that even including pastor David Rosales who's on the Calvary Chapel Association's Board of Directors and just this group of men that were called to lead a movement. There's a very special bond that takes place with these guys especially in the ones that we're looking at tonight where their lives were on the line for the sake of the gospel. You know there's really nothing like the foxholes of life to bring people closer together and for a minister though a pastor a leader for someone to fall into sin as we see and hear time and time again that it just breaks your heart when these things happen but for a minister to error or to fall into sin is to forfeit everything and the longer you're in ministry the greater the collateral damage can become and just like a family the more kids that you have and the more things you acquire the greater the losses when sin gets involved and the lasting consequences of sin are really not to be underestimated for they fulfill the promises of the scriptures where it says in Galatians 6-8 he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption but he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life. Now maybe there are some of you here this evening that have gone through some pretty serious things so you're currently going through some pretty serious situations and as you go through these serious times of life and your family or your friends or there are those that may come alongside you or that might try to help you through those things and it brings if you have not yet noticed already going through those difficult times not only brings a lot of strain upon you but it can also bring a great amount of strain upon your relationships your marriage, your children but after going through those things the things that were the hardest things of your life over and over and over you walk through them you push through them you find that those that were closest to you that stuck with you through all of that are the ones that you have the strongest relationships with often even in our marriages I think as a side note we fail to realize that the adversity that we face as married couples is the very crucible for a lasting marriage but in the context of our teaching tonight there's nothing like risking your life for the most important cause which is to see people come to know Jesus that will bring you together that which costs the most and requires the most is really what I've found the very knife if you will to cut away the things that are not important and that will slow you down what we do for the Lord how we live our life because we've all come to a point and maybe some of you actually are not there yet but I think for those of us as we get older you come to a point in your life where you realize you have this major epiphany that life is just really short it's real short and maybe I feel it a little bit more so today because of the memorial that I went to yesterday but I think we come to a point in our maturity where we realize man life is really short I don't have a lot of time and you'll find that as you realize that life is so short that you start to value things that maybe you didn't value previously things that you took for granted and if you're a follower of Jesus you start to place more of an emphasis on the things that you do for the Lord that last and so Paul and Silas as he's also known as in Timothy were men that put their lives on the line for the sake of others both that were outside of the church and those that were inside of it as well these men were very remarkable men and they understood each other they understood the kinds of spiritual warfare that would take place they understood each other in the situations of life and ministry you know it's sort of like you know if you're a bearded man and you see another bearded guy you just automatically get each other like I see this guy right here I'm like hey what's up brother how you doing you got a beard and you give each other the knot yeah I understand I see you you know for those of you that have kids you know do you remember what it was like before you had children and how you had something called a social life and then you did things with other people and then you had children and then you started to see that you know your social life was kind of non-existent but then you started to have interactions again with your friends but your friends didn't have children yet but you did do you remember what it was like and how stressful it was when you had to preface everything that your children did to your friends that didn't have children and how you oh that's just what kids do you know kids will scream and kids throw stuff on the floor and they make a big mess and yep you know I got to change diapers you know this is what happens in real life and your friends are almost like I don't think I can ever have kids and then they have children you know and then all of a sudden you start hanging out with your friends that have children you make new friends because your old friends ditched you and then you have oh I've made friends with people that have a lot of children and then you go to share with them like hey I'm really sorry my kids jump off the wall sometimes they're like hey I have four kids I get it I understand what children do I understand that kids can behave like that see in the ministry it's the same way you don't have to preface anything because you just understand it you're dealing with as a pastor the same things that pastors are dealing with across the country you know I'm involved with a once a month meeting with these pastors that are in our Calvary Chapel movement and you know it's remarkable whether they're in the Midwest or over in the UK or wherever they may be that when they share their stories of the things that they're dealing with they're just the same straight across the board but you deal with that too no way I thought I was the only one but see as a follower of Jesus you have that same connection too with your brothers and sisters in Christ there's a strong connection there because some Christians are afraid to admit that they're having a hard time that they struggle here and there or sometimes that they actually struggle a lot in 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 12 Peter writes and says beloved do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you and in verses 8 and 9 of 1 Peter 5 he says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour listen to this resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world so you're not the anomaly you're not the random weird one that's having those kind of difficulties the Bible actually says that the things that you experience as a Christian man or a woman here is being experienced by other Christian men and women around the world because we have the same adversary the devil who is roaring he's that lion looking for whom he may devour and as we get into this letter to the Thessalonians I think we'll see this unpacked in a way that is very personal and very practical to all of us today Paul writes grace to you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ grace to you peace to you have you noticed how much the world is looking for grace and peace today something to fill that void we're all looking for that we're all looking for it you know there's an old school band by the name of Eurythmics that wrote that song they traveled the world in the seven seas and everybody's looking for something but the interesting thing is is that for the Christian we have what everyone's looking for we have it the deception comes to the church when the devil can get us to believe that there's something else out there besides what Christ has given us that will fill that void that we think we may have we have peace through Christ grace and peace Paul writes are from God you will find that grace does not come from good deeds from kindness or from love you will not find peace from money or possessions or relationships listen to what Jesus said in John 14 27 he said peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid there are so many things in our country right now that we can be afraid of in our state in our county in our cities in our neighborhoods the fear of the unknown now listen there can be temporal peace that you can find in a relationship that's going well there can be temporal financial peace from a bank account that actually has money in it but it's not that peace that comes from God your relationships that are healthy that's not the peace that comes from the Lord though you might say Lord thank you for blessing my relationships having money in the bank is not the peace that comes from the Lord though you might thank God that he's provided for you financially see the peace that Jesus gives kicks in when there is zero in the bank account that is the peace that comes from the Lord it's a supernatural peace this grace that Paul writes about that we've heard a million times in Calvary chapels really God has given us joy and pleasure and delight sweetness charm loveliness goodwill favor and loving kindness he has shown all of those things all which we do not deserve that's grace the peace that we have we are exempt from the havoc of spiritual war I'm not against God I'm not an enemy of the Lord I have been forgiven of my sins I have security I have safety I have tranquility through salvation that comes from Christ alone and so I fear nothing from God nor do I fear anything in this world and so here's where we get to the nitty gritty of this passage it's in verse 3 Paul writes and he says to the church in Thessalonica he says we are bound to thank God always for you brethren as it is fitting because your faith grows exceedingly and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other Paul's bound to be thankful this is actually a very strong verse though we might lose the strength of it in the English language this is a very strong statement Paul is making here in verse 3 because he leads off with this word bound, bound which means to be bound by debt or if we put a modern day spin on it to owe someone big time owe someone a terrible debt see what an answer to prayer this was this answer to Paul's prayer is the same prayer that is prayed for you guys here at Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley that your faith would grow exceedingly and that your love towards each other would abound so Paul says Lord I owe you so much for the work that you have done this tremendous work that you have accomplished in the Thessalonians life Lord thank you so very much you know when you see someone thriving and growing spiritually it is such a special thing that you can't help but give thanks to the Lord and realize what a blessing that is for those of us that have children to see them walking with the Lord we thank God for them especially in the world today maybe you have kids that are not walking with the Lord and it's grieving to your heart and when you see somebody change or you see someone where the spiritual light turns on and they take ownership of their relationship with the Lord you can't help but thank God you can't help but thank the Lord you know years ago and kind of where I cut my teeth after growing up as a kid at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa where my mom was pregnant with me when she started going to church there and so I was in utero singing the Lord bless thee and then to grow up in the church and I would actually go on staff there as a pastor for maybe eight or nine years or so I can't remember now but I had the privilege of teaching the Monday night Bible study and every Monday night I would get up and say good evening and welcome to Monday Nights Live in the Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa and it was on K wave and I remember there's one particular couple came up to me after service and every Monday night we'd give this particular couple came forward and gave their life to the Lord and I met them after service and they said no we've been living together as boyfriend and girlfriend and we know that God has called us to not do that and we're going to get married we know that the Lord wants us we're on the same page I'm just like blown away I'm thinking about this now and I remember exactly where we were in the sanctuary there and so they did what was right they didn't live together they got married and fast forward seven or eight years they started attending our church and they had a family they had a beautiful little baby boy so anyway we go out to lunch and this was last year or so and he's sitting at the table across from me and he starts telling me all of the things that God has spoken to him and what the Bible says about this that and the other thing and my mouth had just hit the floor and I couldn't help but thank God in my heart I thought Lord thank you so much thank you Lord so much for what you've done in this person's life how he's sitting there now telling me what the Bible says and I was like who is this guy this is amazing and you can't help but thank the Lord you see those that are closest to you maybe friends that you grew up with or family members that were like man they're so far gone there's no way and the Lord reaches them you can't help but just step back in amazement and think Lord only you can change somebody's life like that and so when Paul was writing to the church in Thessalonica what happened and you can read about this in the book of Acts but he planted this church really quickly and because of persecution he had to leave a baby church there and the church endured terrible tribulations terrible difficulties if you look at the two main answers to prayer that were manifested in that church's life that Paul thanked for it was their faith grew exceedingly and their love towards each other abounded both of those things your faith growing and your love for those next to you abounding can only be brought about by the Lord I can't do that by myself I cannot personally cause my faith to grow or my love for you to grow I mean seriously are you kidding me right now if you were to think that your love is going to abound more and more towards people if it's left up to you is hilarious absolutely not I feel like the only thing that would have bound for me anyway with people around me is annoyance man these people bug me rub me the wrong way in my flesh I'm like who are these people I'm not going to abound in supernatural love for those people that are around me this is an actual work of the Lord where I love people I'm not just talking about your cool and you kind of are nice to everyone I'm talking about you have a supernatural love for other people even for people that mistreat you or that are not nice or that might even rub you the wrong way do you think you can cause your faith to grow exceedingly I would say again absolutely not and the reason for that and this is the area that really hit close to home for me we are very nature as human beings our physical nature we take the path of least resistance always what's the easiest way out nature does it nature will take the path of least resistance I'll go from high pressure to low pressure or whatever it might be I will move in a way that is the easiest and so when Paul says that this church's faith was strengthened he understood what brought that about see faith which maybe all of us tonight would love to say I'm a man or a woman of faith I have faith it is only strengthened through hardships and trials and testings and breakings but thanks be to God who alone is all wise who knows the limits of our faith and does not allow us to be tested beyond that which we're able to bear see this church the Thessalonian church was planted by Paul on his second missionary journey as I mentioned earlier you can read about it and you actually can find it in Acts chapter 17 verses 1 through 9 but Paul was not there long he was forced to leave town a baby church with baby Christians and it would seem from what we understand of this church that they experienced many tribulations which actually caused vigorous spiritual growth you know I've yet to see anyone grow spiritually without resistance I have never seen anyone grow spiritually without facing some sort of resistance you know for those of you that might like exercising maybe at the beginning of the year you started your New Year's Resolution you were going to lift some weights or whatever it might be you can exercise so you start off with your two pounders and you're doing curls it's really hard painful process but then you move to the fives and then to the tens and then you skip the 25s and go straight to the 30s and you're like who is this person she's an animal what is the number on the weight indicate the amount of resistance the greater the resistance the greater the gains you don't grow without resistance you don't grow without adversity you don't grow spiritually in your faith or even as the Thessalonian church described as their faith grew exceedingly you don't grow without something coming against you and some of you tonight may be experiencing great hardship or great resistance you might even feel that the weight that you are bearing is more than you can handle I don't know how much longer I can do this might I just encourage you tonight that the Lord is on the throne and that he is with you he will never leave you nor forsake you and you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength and furthermore let us not grow weary in doing good for induced season you shall reap if you do not lose heart do not lose heart when everything in the world is telling you you need to shut down remember Deuteronomy 24 for the Lord your God is he who goes with you for you against your enemies and to save you and so their faith and their love grew and even overflowed and that was an answer to Paul's prayer for the church and that answer that answer to Paul's prayer his prayer found in 1 Thessalonians 1 2 3 which he says we give thanks to God always for you all making mention of you of you in our prayers remembering without ceasing your work of faith your love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father the church they worked out their faith they loved when it was laborious and they waited patiently as they hoped in the Lord and so for us tonight those three things still apply to us working laboring and waiting are the key components in the process of transformation that takes place in our life as faith, love and hope are refined in Romans chapter 5 verses 3-5 it says and not only that but we also glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and to us when I read of this church in Thessalonica I thought to myself, wow what a great church they experience all kinds of problems and difficulties and attacks against them but what were the byproducts their faith grew exceedingly and their love for each other abounded but before we go wishing that we're like them with growing faith and overflowing love look at what verse 4 says which describes the methods through which their faith and love were drawn out Paul writes so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure this was the church that faced many persecutions and many tribulations since the beginning of the church until the day Jesus comes to take his church home there will never be a church that has faced persecutions or tribulations that will not come through purified and powered for righteous living there is not one of you who endures tribulations or persecutions that will not come out refined that will not come out more like Jesus and less like you and the whole key to this which I think is perfectly summarized in verse 5 where he says this is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer now I don't know if you've read these verses recently or if you studied this passage and you are very familiar with this or this is the first time you've heard it but if you read these verses together it is mind boggling even as a pastor I was like wait a second you mean to tell me that the difficulties the resistance the persecutions the tribulations were actually the righteous hand of God in making that church strong how does that work itself out for me I must confess that when I'm suffering the last thing that I want to do is be patient and the last thing that I want to think is that this is God's righteous handiwork in my life it just doesn't make sense because it's when I'm suffering isn't it true if you're suffering isn't it the time where God feels so far away and that he's even turned his ear to your prayers just be honest if you're having a hard time and you're crying out to God and you're not seeing anything change and you're having to endure this day in and day out it doesn't feel like God is with you honestly the devil's right there in your ear no doubt saying yeah God doesn't care about you if he did why would he allow you to suffer why would you be experiencing these difficulties why is he not answering your prayers and then we begin to question God's love and his righteousness and the reason why we do that is that is exactly the reason we question God's love and righteousness is because that is exactly what our sinful nature thinks my sinful nature does not like difficulty my sinful nature does not like being patient during trials and yet it would seem that God's righteous judgment begins in his own house as he purifies and sanctifies those that are called by his name and you know it wasn't too long ago and this is why I said this was personal to me that I was really struggling I was having a hard time with these situations that I was faced with I just felt like it was too much for me to bear I know that might be a little surreal having a pastor say such a thing but I'm telling you just the pressures that I was feeling it just seemed like it was too much and I was hurting I was struggling I really felt that it was too much for me to bear the stuff that was happening with church things that were coming against my family and all this kind of thing that I was working through and trying to process in light of the truth of God's word but then this real time experience that I was having I'll never forget it I was standing in my living room facing the couch my wife Ruth was just on the other side and I was just venting saying I don't know how we can do this this is just I don't get this why does this keep happening is God hearing our prayer and I'm having these conversations and immediately the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart I don't know why it was timed in the way that it was timed like that but as I was listing off all of these things that were like challenge after challenge after problem after difficulty after resistance after you know persecution after all these things that I just like I can't even I don't even know how to handle this the Holy Spirit in a still small voice told me all of these things every one of those things that you've just listed off I am using in your life so that my perfect work would be accomplished I mean I still get goosebumps on it all my arms because of this and I'm thinking about this because it's so poignant still so vivid still and I was reminded do you remember when Saul before his name was changed to Paul how he was on the road to Damascus persecuting Christians do you remember that and then Jesus met him in that bright shining light and knocked him off his horse he couldn't see anything but he could hear and he said Saul why are you persecuting me he said who are you Lord he said I am Jesus whom you persecute and then he says it's hard for you to kick against the goats now when I was a kid I heard I don't know why like what is a goat and how do you kick against it that's a weird thing to say until I remember Pastor Chuck explaining that that you know if you were a farmer and you were plowing your field you would hook your oxen up to your yoke and in the front of your yoke which would be the back of the oxen with these long spiky little sticks and that if the oxen is stubborn ox and not do what the farmer was directing him to do and the ox decided that he was going to buck the system if you will that he would get a little pointed reminder of hey don't do that don't do that that's not right and I felt in my heart the things that I had listed off that were my problems and my woe is me moments I was rejecting those things God's righteous handiwork in my life no I reject that no I'm not having that no I'm not enduring that no I'm not going to handle that no I'm not going through that and in essence what I was doing was kicking against the goats I was rebelling against the very thing that the Lord was using to have his perfect work accomplished in me and so guess what it may not be the same for you but my situations have not changed but I'll tell you who's changed me often will pray Lord change the situation of the person often it's the case that the Lord just changes the person in the situation and I immediately found peace there I felt that the peace that I had not had that joy of the Lord that I felt had been a fleeting memory returned to me instantly when I was reminded by the Lord through this passage that the tribulations the difficulties the things that you don't like the things that you wish you could change the things that you don't want to have to handle that you don't want to have to deal with or endure are actually the righteous hand of God at work in your life and so this work of sanctification this painful process of patiently enduring and the refining of one's faith is all a work of a righteous God but honestly if we're to be honest with ourselves even as I am being honest with you tonight there is there in your heart that question but why Lord why am I having to do this why am I having to wrestle with this why am I struggling why am I broken why am I having such a very hard time why are you truly a child of God then you'll understand that if you desire to live a godly life you will face persecution and that persecution will be used by a righteous loving God to make you greater and stronger than you could have ever imagined being and as you wait on the Lord patiently he renews your strength as you keep the faith during persecutions and tribulations you receive strength that just doesn't run out but endures endures Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit and even having his own experiences to draw upon took the exact opposite stance to how we feel when we're suffering I honestly I was going how can somebody write these things because typically and don't get me wrong I'm not questioning God's word but I'm just thinking how can somebody have this perspective that I feel like I'm lacking typically we feel that God has abandoned us when we're hurting but Paul states that our suffering is evidence of the righteous work of God making us more like his son Jesus my flesh doesn't like that my mind doesn't like to think along those lines my friend David Guzik said this and I quote where suffering is coupled with righteous endurance God's work is done end of quote so we find ourselves counted worthy of Jesus when we endure suffering and when we push through trials in the early days of the church the disciples were being persecuted and they were treated terribly and after they were released they said in Acts 541 that they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name I wish with all of my heart that my faith would be able to increase and that I would be more like Jesus without experiencing suffering I wish that could be the case but what I've seen is that suffering is the very instrument of God's grace at work in our lives suffering actually whether you realize this or not helps us overcome sin suffering actually helps us to be less like our sinful nature and more like the Lord and it's during the times of crushings and perplexities and exhaustion that we find are also the times of the greatest spiritual growth because growth is a byproduct of resistance now in conclusion I'm going to share with you from 1 Peter 4 verse 1 that says therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh arm yourselves also with the same mind for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin now how many of you here tonight have ever suffered in some way, shape or form yeah all of us I'm sure that there's probably giving the size of this audience tonight that there are some of you that have gone through things that you thought was going to be the end of you that you didn't think you were going to make it out that this would be the very thing that destroyed you when we read of Peter writing that he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin and is like Christ that is something that we need to take ownership of in our own lives because here's the reality even for Christians in the church today we do not like to suffer we do not want our flesh to suffer it's not like hey can I get signups for your flesh to suffer none of us are going to be like yeah sign me up for that so the reality is is straight across the board we don't want to suffer and that's me as a Christian also what you will find is that even as Christians we will find that there are times or areas of our life where we do not want to deny the lust of our flesh I don't want to deny the lust of my flesh we don't like suffering I mean some of you may be suffering sitting through this bible study tonight I don't know and it's hard for you to know and you're pushing through good job I mean some of you you know on a different note maybe you've tried to cut out sugar from your diet I mean if you ever try to do that I mean if you ever want to find out why somebody is in a bad mood just about cutting out sugar huh stop drinking sodas huh because you just become like this raving maniac you know it's like what's wrong with you man no sugar your body craves it see the reality is if we deny our flesh our flesh will be very angry that we're not feeding it I don't want my flesh to suffer I don't want to feel uncomfortable I don't want to have difficulty I don't want to have trials I don't want to have these persecutions I'm like I've shared with you I have truly come to this place personally where I've recognized that there are so many layers of our sinful life that we're not even aware that they're until suffering takes place I didn't know that was in me I didn't know that I struggled like that and then once the Holy Spirit puts his finger upon an area of our life that needs to change it becomes very uncomfortable oh it's kind of getting hot in here you know I don't like this and the Holy Spirit is convicting you this is wrong this needs to change this has to go I don't like it Lord I just want it to stop when we suffer listen to me please carefully because this is so crucial to what we're studying tonight when we suffer we have to understand that it is our sinful nature that is suffering when you go through trials and testings and tribulations and persecutions it will not be that your spiritual man will suffer but it will always be that our flesh suffers I don't like this I don't want this because if you actually take a step back and you think about this according to what we know of God's Word and even your own personal experiences that your spiritual man has nowhere to go but to increase in strength and power as your flesh does not like it as you feel like you're getting beaten down the spiritual man is getting strengthened how do you think Paul can write in 2nd Corinthians 12 10 and say therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in needs in persecutions in distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak then I am strong in physical nature your sinful nature to become weak but Paul recognized that every one of those challenges that he faced every one of those problems that he endured every one of those things that made him feel uncomfortable that were not pleasurable that he did not like and that were hurtful he found were the very things the catalyst if you will for spiritual growth was there in the Lord and it's in the weakness of our flesh that we find that were spiritually strong in the spirit I would even say this on a personal note that in the weakness of Garrett I find that I'm spiritually strong in Jesus and the suffering in my flesh leads us to cease from sin and you might think well how does that work exactly well listen when you're denying the lust of the flesh it's painful I really want to do that when you're going through a trial it's painful guess what do you realize that when you're resisting the lust of the flesh that you're not getting into sin so that's an area of your life that you are not sinning in that temptations that's there and the way that you want to act in the flesh and give in to the lust or act in a way that's not pleasing to the Lord and you say no I'm not doing that no I'm not going there you're not ceasing from sin in that area you're not giving into it yes it's a real pain no you don't like it but listen if you're suffering in your flesh you're ceasing from disobedience to the Lord you're walking righteously as your flesh is hurting and that's how Paul wrote in Galatians 5 24 that those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires being crucified does not feel good and as your flesh is suffering your spiritual man can be thriving and that's a work of the Holy Spirit in your life and my final thoughts on this is that we rely so much upon our physical senses to discern spiritual things but they are incapable of discerning such things how do I feel what do I see what do I hear and we think that those senses are able to discern spiritual things Paul says the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness to him nor can he know them because they're spiritually discerned and so tonight as a follower of Jesus take heart that God is working a mighty work in your life through the things that you don't like the most and it has nothing to do with how you feel about it the Lord's there and as you walk through those fiery trials Jesus is with you he'll lead you through the refiner's fire to the other end and you'll come out worthy of the name you bear Jesus and so hold on to that God's not done he hasn't abandoned you he has heard your prayers and he's doing a great and righteous work through those things that you don't like and so instead of kicking against the goat and say no I reject it, no not having it say Lord if this is how you choose to work in my life so that your perfect work may be accomplished in it then I submit to that and you'll find the joy comes back you'll find supernatural peace will be there in grace and you'll be thanking God Father we thank you for your word we thank you Father for giving us such a fine example of a church that endured great tribulations and persecutions and those were the very things that caused their faith to grow exceedingly and for their love towards each other to abound Lord I pray that you would give us a greater love for those around us and maybe even as we walk through our own trials Lord we would be more empathetic towards others that may be going through difficult times as well Lord it's really true that even throughout history we've seen that some of the greatest bonds are forged through great difficulty where we walk through our trials together as we encourage one another to fight the good fight and to run our race and to finish the course and so Lord I pray specifically for this church Calvary Chapel Valley and for every person that might be wrestling with something tonight I pray Lord that you would encourage them Lord that these things would be used so that your perfect work may be accomplished in their life and so fill them afresh with your Holy Spirit may their faith grow exceedingly, may their love abound and I ask these things in Jesus name Amen