Growing Through the Pain (13 of 13)
Volume 1: Great God, Messy Church
Bob Ingle
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
There is a promise in the Bible none of you like, but it's my job to remind you of it until you fire me or retire me. Aren't I lucky? Ha! Here it is: Pain and suffering will ALWAYS be a part of your life. I told you you didn't like it. That is not one of those promises you stick on the fridge, or embroider on a pillow, or repeat to yourself every night before you go to sleep. But it's still true. As long as you're breathing in this body and living on this earth you will to some degree be experiencing pain, problems, difficulties, afflictions, strife, and troubles.
Of course, Jesus, who knows you more than anyone and who loves you more than anything, reinforced this promise in John 16:33 when He said, ''In the world you will have tribulation...''. That's not just for 1st century disciples, but for 21st century disciples as well. You WILL HAVE tribulation. Not might have or could have, but will have tribulation. Tribulation is just various forms of pain and suffering. And Jesus guarantees it. Why would He say this? So we'd not be surprised. So that we'd expect it, understand it, deal with it, and grow from it.
In Scripture, 3 Types of Suffering are outlined. Easy to remember because Each start with the letter 'C'.
COMMON Suffering.
There are certain kinds and certain amounts of pain and suffering everyone encounters and endures. You don't suffer because you're special. It's common. It's normal. It's the result of being a person participating in a fallen, broken world. When Adam and Eve sinned, they introduced the sin virus into the world and it threw everything out of sync. And because the world is out of sync the people within it suffer. The promise of God is that one day He's going to hit the reset button, and put it all back in sync. But until then there will be plenty common suffering for everyone. But there is also...
CONSEQUENTIAL Suff ...
Volume 1: Great God, Messy Church
Bob Ingle
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
There is a promise in the Bible none of you like, but it's my job to remind you of it until you fire me or retire me. Aren't I lucky? Ha! Here it is: Pain and suffering will ALWAYS be a part of your life. I told you you didn't like it. That is not one of those promises you stick on the fridge, or embroider on a pillow, or repeat to yourself every night before you go to sleep. But it's still true. As long as you're breathing in this body and living on this earth you will to some degree be experiencing pain, problems, difficulties, afflictions, strife, and troubles.
Of course, Jesus, who knows you more than anyone and who loves you more than anything, reinforced this promise in John 16:33 when He said, ''In the world you will have tribulation...''. That's not just for 1st century disciples, but for 21st century disciples as well. You WILL HAVE tribulation. Not might have or could have, but will have tribulation. Tribulation is just various forms of pain and suffering. And Jesus guarantees it. Why would He say this? So we'd not be surprised. So that we'd expect it, understand it, deal with it, and grow from it.
In Scripture, 3 Types of Suffering are outlined. Easy to remember because Each start with the letter 'C'.
COMMON Suffering.
There are certain kinds and certain amounts of pain and suffering everyone encounters and endures. You don't suffer because you're special. It's common. It's normal. It's the result of being a person participating in a fallen, broken world. When Adam and Eve sinned, they introduced the sin virus into the world and it threw everything out of sync. And because the world is out of sync the people within it suffer. The promise of God is that one day He's going to hit the reset button, and put it all back in sync. But until then there will be plenty common suffering for everyone. But there is also...
CONSEQUENTIAL Suff ...
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