When we suffer a trial, we are apt to ask, "Why is this happening to me?" And we tend to forget that the world in which we live is not exactly the same as the world that God created -- a world that He pronounced "very good." Rather, we live on a fallen planet, and everything in our world has been radically impacted by human sin.
Because of original sin, suffering is a natural and normal experience until the Lord Jesus returns, even for the Christian -- especially for the Christian in the form of persecution. Redemption has been accomplished, but it has not yet been fully applied. That is why we do not yet see all things under Jesus' feet (Hebrews 2:8; Romans 8:18-25).
But God works even in trials for our good and his glory. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our suffering, God refines our faith and deepens our experience with Christ. That is why we can experience great joy even while undergoing a great trial.
Furthermore, intense times of suffering for the sake of the Lord Jesus have often been the harbinger of some great move of God. This has been true throughout history, and it will be intensely so just prior to the returen of Christ. When such times of testing come, judgment begins first with God's people and their leaders in particular.
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
#8 - Top Played Sermon (48-Hours) on 3/3/2009
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