 If I asked you and it wouldn't be hard to think about what are some of the spiritual gifts that people desire matter of fact if I asked you What would be if it's a particular spiritual gift that you don't think that you have been gifted with What sort of thing or Gifting of the spirit would you like to have would you like to receive? What would be something that you think that you might be lacking now? It may be something that is one of the so-called abused gifts Or maybe something different so We can always easily go to the things that we think that we lack or that we want that's the desire But I want to talk about the gift of the spirit the numitikon that We don't like that. We don't want we don't ask for it is the least desired Gifting of the spirit now and when I say this you might even think to yourself. That's not a spiritual gift, but I beg to differ. I'm gonna show you that it is a spiritual gift I'm gonna show you that it is from God and that he graciously gives this to us How many of you if I asked you? Notice how many people how many great people that were used of God Suffered in the Bible you ever noticed that you ever noticed that the great people people that God used They suffered Now if you also notice that you'll also probably notice that sometimes the suffering Had nothing to do with Something good from them. Sometimes the suffering was because of sin They did something wrong. And so they're about Suffering came and then God used that suffering to either mold them to grow them or to take them where they wanted to go For example Jonah Jonah disobeyed God I'm pretty sure that was uncomfortable as a matter of fact when you listen to him praying in inside the bill of the fish suffering But even more so how about David David sin brought about a long list of Sufferings and God still used or how about Paul? Paul persecuting the church Jesus says that you will suffer many things on my account and then there are those that suffer because Just because God is trying to grow them not because of sin But everybody who is in Christ is going to suffer What we don't think of though is that this suffering happens to be an actual gift Let's go to the scriptures and I want to show this to you guys In Philippians Let's start in verse 27. Let's start in verse 27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ So that whether I come and see you or am absent I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side-by-side For the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents This is a clear sign of them that their destruction of their destruction but of your salvation and that from and that from God and look what he says in verse 29 And we have to break this down a little bit. I want you to see something that that's that's not as clear in the English But he says for it has been granted to you That for the sake of Christ that you should not only believe in him But also suffer for his sake Engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now here that I still live but he says that It has been granted for you that for the sake of Christ that you not only believe But also that you suffer and you're gonna hear people preach sermons and talk about how our faith in Christ is a gift and that's true But you don't hear meantime people talking about the suffering that we've gotten That we go through is also a gift. We put it back on the screen. So I want to point something out to you Says you should not only It has been granted to you for the sake of Christ You should not only believe but it's also been granted to you that you should suffer for his sake now It's not speaking of what type of suffering or how the suffering was initiated But I want you to notice this word right here this word for granted The word granted might be a little bit deceptive to you. It might it might cover the full meaning So let's pull it out. Let's see if we can flesh this out the word Granted is the from the Greek word acharistae now this word acharistae is Derived of it's a cognitive verb of the word charis, which is grace What this word means is? Gracefully given Granted is fine, but the full meaning of this word is we have been Gracefully given what's been gracefully given he says two things have been gracefully given to us. Let's look it again Gracefully given for the sake of Christ that we should believe. Well, we're thankful for that We are thankful that this ability the gift of believing The spirit in us we are thankful that God has graciously given that to us But we don't like the cousin that comes with it Nobody wants that that no one has ever prayed. Well, I wouldn't say no one but Rarely has a person prayed Lord. I want to suffer For you matter of fact Lord, I want to suffer greatly. I want to I want to be a great sufferer I want to I want to suffer more than we don't think we don't ask that. Do we we don't ask God give it to me matter of fact Lord, keep it coming of all of all the suffering I've been through keep it coming I Have covered some of the things that I've suffered through some my fault some not my fault But it's just a byproduct of life would even more than that It's when I've come to see this it is a byproduct of Christ for the sake of Christ even but think about this guys Even before I was a action actual believer before I was an actual believer God knew me and He says it has been graciously given to me To suffer for his sake that is an awfully goofy sounding thing It is so fun. Think about it Because it's the one thing that we have in common with the world It's the one thing that we haven't now their suffering is not for his sake But ours is and we're gonna look at some of the reasons why because I want us to see really what the point of suffering is I want us to see how suffering excuse me. I want to see how suffering strengthens us This suffering is gonna build us up into something how it also reveals us have you ever noticed that when a person suffers they go to the thing that they depend on if they count on they trust in and Sometimes we find out that in our suffering that maybe it's not God that we depend on that we look to Maybe it's us. We figure out means and ways to alleviate our suffering Maybe through alcohol or through other drugs or through any other thing Right there's different ways that different things we turn to and if it's not God it reveals to us that who we're not serving Also, what suffering does is it breaks us ask David ask Job He says the sacrifice and offers you that desire But a broken and contrite heart a Broken why because again when you're broken Which is another way of saying you're suffering then what do you do if you're his you're looking at him You're looking for him. You're looking to him Lord. However you deliver me deliver me Think about that for a second When you are going through something if you're being broke if you're suffering You are going to look to the one who you think is your source Not just a resource, but your source by the way, have any of you ever suffered with somebody else? You was going through something and and there was someone else also who was going through it with you Might have been a spouse might have been a child might have been a sibling a parent a friend When you go through it with somebody don't don't you kind of aren't you kind of bound a little bit closer a little bit tighter with that person? You hear these stories about people who were in wars together And they were in the foxholes together and they come back in their buddies. You can't tear them apart Because they were suffering yet. They were at the worst moments in their life. They were there together I got some prison buddies who you could you couldn't get me to turn on them. I got some I got some I got a couple buddies from prison who I Am closer to them than I am a lot of my family members even closer than my own siblings Because we've been through something we know what it's like the ups and the downs the struggles at the worst part And guess what when you're struggling we when you're suffering, you know, it's hard to do when you're suffering It's hard to be fake when you're suffering Matter of fact the more fake you are when you're suffering The more that fakeness is kind of washed away folks to see it, right? The more you suffer the more folksy when you suffer Let's say if you start off as a pretentious kind of person and you like putting on makeup and covering things up What have you the more you suffer the less you even feel like doing that You might walk out the house you those of you who have hair. You don't even take care of you here You don't even feel like Your clothes don't look the same you don't look the same you don't feel the same Suffering presses you down and causes you to focus on him Because how beautiful how wonderful how awesome is the salvation that you get as a result of that You don't you don't rejoice in salvation unless you realize what you're saved from and that's what suffering does When you think about God's goodness Every time you think about God's goodness if you said and just Contemplate it just relax and just think about how good God is What when you think about God's goodness? Do you think about what he's brought you through? Me personally I think about what he's brought me through and then I smile I rejoice I think about Where I used to be where I could have been I think about When someone came to kill us I Think about that time I Think about when I was homeless. Oh, how hard that was for me. I Think about obviously going to jail. I think about I think about what my family had to endure Even while I was gone though the pain the struggling that they went through because of me And then losing family members while I was in prison and then now to be on this side I rejoice matter of fact when you when you when you struggle and when you suffer You know what it's hard to do for a person who's come through the struggle It's hard to stop them from rejoicing. It's hard to stop them from praising God It's hard to stop them from worshiping him. That's a get out of their way Some people get bothered when people Kind of outwardly praise and worship God. I don't I don't Because there are some people who they'll say you can't make me doubt him I know too much about him and I know what he's done for me And so if you don't praise him, I'm appraising and you don't have to necessarily praise in the same way But when you've gone through something It crying is it's second nature Shout in the second nature I know I know some of us have been taught and been led to believe that people that show emotion in Church or in in groups. It's a bad. No, it's not No, it's not if there's anybody on the planet that should show some sort of emotion It should be us If you are emotionless if you are just kind of stone cold when it comes to the move of God I've got I'm not doubting your salvation. I'm just questioning I'm just because If if if your son is out there playing a little league game or playing football or basketball or your daughter's doing something Don't you cheer for them? And so we have the ability to show emotion and so coming through suffering Ask David Ask ask ask Jonah ask no ask the people in the Bible who suffered and Then watch him or just go out on the street and ask and look at folks who've actually suffered and who are now living for the Lord. I See I know some people who love the Lord. They might be a little bit quirky, but they love the Lord with all of their quirks Suffering suffering binds you to him now. I Want to I want to pull up some passages. I want to look at something I want to I want to I want to look at what Paul says. It's kind of an odd passage But let's look at what he said he says in Romans chapter 8 Let's start in verse 16 the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God And he says and if children then heirs well That part we like being children and being heirs with God The next part we don't like because if we're also heirs he says heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ But we says provided or if we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him Okay, Paul. Can you do me a favor Paul? Can you go back to that passage? Can you just erase that whole part if we suffer? But we're told we're gonna suffer we are going he says if we look what it says if we or provide it We suffer with him now the word issues here is this Greek word, which is a pair which means that We definitely will suffer since we will it is indeed a fact that we will suffer Paul is trying to get us to get it in our minds get our understanding that we are going to suffer We're going to suffer I don't know why it just popped in my head. Yeah, some of y'all remember the movie Taken And can you imagine the father's on the phone with his daughter and she's under the bed and she says she tells I have a girl's little girl's name says listen, you're going to be taken. Let me just get you ready. You're going to be taken God is wanting you to know you are going to suffer. You are going to suffer Those of us who want to live God that we shall suffer persecution, but even more than that We'll just suffer just period just period just cuz why he suffered and we can relate to him When you're flowering your back, what do you do? What can you do? Nothing but look up and and look to him So he says if we suffer, but his point is no we indeed will suffer the point of it is we will suffer now Why does he want us to suffer? What couple reasons? one reason is remember I said this guys every Every every I make it in three syllables every every spiritual thing is For the benefit of others Now once you think about this for a second every gifting that we have and this suffering We just read is a gifting from God like every other gift But it's not the gift that we talk about it ain't the gift when we I think I got the gift of prophecy I got the gift of tongues. I got the gift of this gift of that ain't nobody out there a preaching But I got the gift of suffering No Matter of fact matter of fact if a person is suffering too much we think something's wrong with them If a person is going through too much we think he mustn't like Job's friend You must have did something you must be in sin. You've done something wrong And then what we do We think that guy is got a black cloud over him or he's he's slept right He's got something bad going on with him And it couldn't be instead of thinking it may be God is actually blessing this person Through his suffering, but again one of the points one of the purposes of suffering One is for us But it's also for others look this passage first Peter chapter 4 verse 10 He says as each has received a gift Use it to serve one another as good stewards. So whoever might right now my little my Hey, honey, bring bring bring three in here, please bring three in here. My grandson right now is suffering He is so I'm putting back on the screen So he says as each one has received a gift use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace so think about this our Suffering is for the benefit of other one. I won't leave it up there. This is for the use of others So let's put it on the screen now Bring bring your nephew to me So whatever you've got and if it's this gift We'll ask yourself this question Because it's kind of weird if this is to benefit others. How can my suffering benefit you? How can my suffering Help out the next person Well, it gives us something or somebody that we can identify with Okay He's suffering because he's having a potty He's suffering because he's having a he's having a potty my grandson Cries at anything if he can't watch Coco Melon He's gonna cry if he can't watch Sesame Street and know we haven't counseled Sesame Street if he can't watch Sesame Street He's gonna he's crying over that if he can't eat this if he can't eat that Do you know what a lot of kids have not learned to do? They have not learned to suffer. They have not learned to be uncomfortable And so because there's not they're not uncomfortable Then they don't know how to how to live in us and you can bring to me Yeah, I'm gonna bring cuz I he's right there at the door crying so I freeze my go going come in He can he can come up with me. He can come up with me So It was funny is when I when I come on He's got this this spiritual gift to come to the door And just make every noise either to cry or he's got three things he's gonna do he's gonna laugh cry and jump and in that order and so Kids today don't understand suffering Kids today don't they they're used to being comfortable How come Christians are the same way? Christians are comfortable Christians don't like to be uncomfortable the moment. There's any sort of discomfort with Christians in the body Something's wrong There's no building. I heard it put it this way about the children of Israel when they were in the in the in the in Egypt and They had all their straw taken away, which made it harder for them to stomp out the bricks and so forth It made it harder for them. So they had to stomp even more work even more work even more work even more Well Because of that maybe someone and I heard it this way and maybe it's true Maybe it's because God saw had knew that they were going through a wilderness crossing and I've got a strength in your leg muscles It is amazing how the things that we've gone through are the things that we use as we get older as we see certain things Those of us that maybe you've been hurt by somebody in the past when you get older Those things that hurt us the person hurt us the very same trick that the enemy used then or that came against us It doesn't work anymore. Why because I've built up a tolerance I've built up ability to fight that off and so because I have been trained or the suffering it's developed me remember I said this when something happens to me doesn't bother me as much Now, I know I haven't gone through All what there is to go through. I know I've been through enough and so it's been enough to where when something happens to me Okay It is what it is so to speak Some people have called me To nonchalant on some things things that hey, why aren't you panicking? Why aren't you upset? Why aren't you bothered? Well? I've been there before I've seen it and in the grand scheme of things What I've suffered and what this is then compare and So because of that God is going to see but also this if I suffer and I cry out to God and God likes to hear from me But when it's good and plenty and I've got all that I need all that I want it's the it's I just got paid It's the first of the month of the 15th, and I've got at least two weeks or months in my next paycheck The when I get the paycheck everything's good Everything's what everything is glorious Oh about a week or so a few days before the the next paycheck kind of struggling, right? I'm not I'm not shouting as much because things aren't as aren't as great But when I don't have things going my way I call out to God when things are going my way God who I don't speak to him. He didn't hear from me I might I might I might watch a YouTube channel. I might I might I might do something like that I might listen to my favorite gospel song my favorite Christian song. I might do that Because things are going good for me just to make just just to keep up the appearances that I am a believer But when I'm down and out oh Lord Yeah, when I'm when I'm down and out when I'm suffering I can pray for an hour. I can when I'm suffering I Feel like fasting But when I've got money in the bank when things are going well Well fast another time. I'm good It isn't how we do and so because of that God is gonna use this suffering to one bring us him But also to bring us for others and he makes this point. He says it's for righteousness sake Let me pull this up as well. He says In first Peter put on the screen first Peter 3 13 now Who is it? Who is there to harm you if you ourselves for what it's good? Now overall, there's no one that's gonna be able to harm us But look what he says But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed Have no fear of them nor be troubled But in your hearts honor the honor Christ the Lord as holy always being prepared to make a defense to anyone Who asks you for a reason for the hope that it's in you yet do it with generous respect now He says that he says that it's kind of interesting. We quote that passage But he's talking about that passage in light of suffering Isn't that in that kind of odd? Let's keep reading For it is better to suffer for doing good verse 17 If that should be God's will then for doing evil now He didn't say that you won't suffer for doing evil You will suffer for doing evil, but obviously it's better to suffer for doing good Now obviously in the midst of that what should you be able to do give a defense give an answer for the hopeless in you You know what that means guys that means that even when you're going through you're still supposed to be at your post Even when you're good as a matter of fact the going through should cause you to be at the ready because I've been there How many of you all have suffered? That's what I would like to know how many of you have actually suffered But then how many of you how many of us when we do suffer act like it's our very first time suffering We do that often You can come We act like it's our very first time suffering you want to come on TV on the camera with me All right, y'all. Here's my grandson. Let him watch. Who is that? That's you how many how many of us suffer and Act like we've never seen before we act like we've never had any occasion to suffer in the past before Why is that? Well, it might be that we're just not ready yet for what God is gonna take us to because we want God to bless us But it could be that we're just not ready It how many of you all watch sports? I love sports love sports, but I can promise you this There's never been one team that won anything without struggling through all the practicing All the lifting weights all the conditioning if you work out hard you feel like you're suffering all of that Why there is a goal there is a prize at the end But before you get there what's there first the suffering Paul tells us that this suffering is a graciously given gift And so look what he says in first that's the only ends three four Let's start in verse one therefore when we could bear it no longer We were willing to be left behind at Athens alone Now look what he says notice. He says when we could bear it no longer We were willing to be left behind they're going Paul is going through something and we sent Timothy our brother and God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ to establish and exhort you in your faith And so even still even still they're focused on the body I don't know if you notice that it's only says in verse three that no one Be moved by these afflictions I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm we sent our brother Timothy And God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ to establish and to exhort you in your faith that no one be moved by these Afflictions by which afflictions the ones that we're going through because I want you this here it is guys I want you to be able to see what I go through as A means to give you confidence that you can go through So I want you think about this whenever you're suffering and you are you aren't listening that new slash if you didn't know this You are going to continue to suffer You might be suffering now You might have just come out of some great suffering But you are going to suffer you're gonna suffer all the more. Let's keep reading He says for when you were for when we were with you We kept telling you beforehand that we were we were to suffer affliction that just as it has come to pass and Just as you know for this reason when I could bear it no longer I sent to learn about your faith for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and Our labor would be in vain Paul wants to know wants to make sure that even though I'm suffering I want to know that make sure that our suffering and our laboring with you and for you has not been in vain and In do I want you all to look at me not me, but Paul look at me as an example Get your if you can look at me and do what I do because I'm there's nothing special about me and By the way Paul suffered matter of fact Paul suffered so much that he cried out to Jesus took the Lord three times What the Lord say? My grace is sufficient My grace is so he's looking at his face on the cap on the screen, but my grace is sufficient You mean tell me Lord. I'm out here doing all this work for you I'm sharing the gospel out and been shipwrecked Been in the in the deep in the waters I've been bitten. I've had the The lashes 39 minus one and you can't remove this during the flesh whatever this is you can't remove that What gives God what does he say my grace is sufficient and so to suffer for God if I want to suffer God I'm gonna suffer and it's gonna be for great gate Regardless of how the suffering was brought about if the suffering was brought about by sin Or if it was brought about because God is just just cuz the suffering is brought about just cuz it's Tuesday Just cuz it's Saturday just cuz it's one day of the week However, the suffering that's better than the suffer because of righteousness, but it doesn't matter if the suffering is for God Did a man and so I want to pull up this passage Cuz cuz Paul says something that's bothersome Paul seems to make light of our suffering that knee he says that our suffering You know the passage he says verse seven of chapter four and second second He says but we have in this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not us We are looking says afflicted. We suffer in every way But not crushed Perplexed but not driven to despair Persecuted but not forsaken struck down but not destroy always carrying in the body the depth of Jesus So that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies Did you already say it? The life so that the life of Jesus would be manifested in us in our bodies Jesus knew why he came and did not shrink back and For the joy of the cross he endured it for us And so we do the exact same for him, but also for others. Let's keep reading. He says For we who live are always been being given over been giving given over to death for Jesus's sake So that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal bodies so that death is at work in us But life in you now. I want to drop down because he says something that we don't like he says so we do not lose heart and Here it is as we get ready close. We do not lose heart All that we go through We know if there's a there's a guy that's working in us and look what he says He says so we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day When I was going through let me tell you guys when the breakthrough happened for me Let me tell you when it just clicked and I don't know how would how it how it does with you or when it will do For you, but let me tell you when it clicked for me. I am literally in my jail cell I'm literally in my chain literally in my chains Thinking you know what Lord? I'll never forget this They they grabbed me and put me in what we call the shoot the whole solitary confinement Had no idea no reason why they did so. I don't know. I Don't know why they did that still to this. They don't know I didn't do anything I was I was faithful with the body in prison If anyone needed something I felt like I was Johnny on the spot teaching praying all these different things And they come and grab me and take me and put me in the shoe. Don't know why And I'm thinking Lord, what's going on? I know Lord. I've been faithful. What's what's what's the deal? Well, a couple a couple of things happen while I was in the shoe a couple things happen One I Can't now you can't talk to your family while you're in the shoe you get one letter. I mean one phone call per month Now I was back there for for for quite a few months But something else happened while I was in the shoe The courts the US court of appeals Sent me a letter and told me that my appeal that I thought I had very good shot of winning and having the case over overturned My appeal came back and was declined My ability to even appeal the appeal was declined At my worst in the shoe I get the worst bit of news That I could probably get a side of my children dying or something like that. I'm having my kids That'd be the worst thing but aside from that the thing that I was looking forward to I had some hope in being free It's taken away at the worst moment in a prison's horrible at the worst moment then they tell me you ain't getting out So in my chains in this solitary confinement, I get this letter. You know what I said Okay, Lord Okay, Lord It doesn't matter Because I'm good No matter no matter what you take me through. I'm good. You don't want you not you're not open this door for me right now Hey, man because right now it's just it's just me and you and So this suffering doesn't even matter. Let me just put up on the screen what he says He says to me and I'm reading this and while I'm in while I'm in the shoe He says for this light momentary affliction is Preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison How do you call this light Lord? How do you call this momentary? By the way, it was just a month or two prior to meet to them put me into the shoe that my mother passed away My mother passed away I'm in the shoe. I lose my case and it clicked y'all excuse me. This is one and it clicked. I Don't need anything anyway. All I as long as I've got Jesus. I'm good and I noticed what his suffering was doing for me. I Notice what his suffering was doing for me and how close it brought me and It was as though I Was at a hot one of the highest points I could ever imagine I don't recall being this high In the Lord at that moment that at then at that moment All of this suffers like everything everything everything all on top of me And I just had this all I could do a smile because he Who delivered me in the first place said that this is a light and mom this it ain't light It ain't quick and easy But he said, oh, yeah, it is it's quick It's momentary and it's like you can handle it because I'm handling it and This is where I thought of I was reminded of a sermon. I Was reminded of me telling the guys just before they put me in the shoe. I told them guys as long as Jesus is in the boat Then what I have to worry about The wind and the waves are not connected boat. I can see it But as long as Jesus in the boat Then what do I have to despair of? Absolutely nothing and I thought about the gift that he's given me the gift that privileged the honor to suffer and While suffering to serve him and so I want you all to know if you don't get anything else Make sure that folks see that you are the kind of person that can suffer for Christ That you don't have to you don't have to have all the good things happening in your life You don't have to be blessed in order to tell somebody about Jesus Matter of fact when you are down and look like it's down. You're down after everybody else To them though or to you and to heaven, you know that you're up Paul says that I've been up and I've been down I've had I've had a lot and I've had very little But in that I've learned to be content and so that's what we have to do Learn to be content in our suffering because there is a greater reward coming for us And the reward how many of you all? How many of you all have thought about our senior favorite sports team? And you think about the greatest victory that they've ever had Maybe it was it. I'm pretty sure it was something where they had the ability to lose. They were suffering Maybe they came from behind That's that's the story of the belief though we were Seemingly doomed and destined To to hail and to a fate worse than death Here comes God and Through the suffering we learn to appreciate all that he's done for us So guys, I want you all again going back to the the main passage I want to pull up again just so in case someone didn't see this I want someone to notice this this gift that Paul talks about He says that again it has been this word Accuracy it has been graciously given to us This gift of suffering has been graciously given to us Not only that we should only believe in him. That's obviously a great gift But right beside that gift is the gift of suffering And so if we're going to rejoice in the gift of life that he's given to us Then we also need to rejoice in the suffering that he's given to us as well. Amen