The Fivefold Purpose of Our Suffering
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A Sermon by Dr. Bob Griffin, Teaching Elder at Sovereign Grace Church
Service for March 29th, 2020
Hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King”
Welcome/Prayer
Hymn “His Mercy Is More”
Special Music “Slow Down” sung by Sissel Kyrkjebø (lyrics below)
Sermon Outline
I. PURPOSE: WE MUST REPENT
A. SUFFERING CALLS US TO TURN TO GOD
1. STOP TREASURING THE THINGS OF EARTH
2. PUT NOTHING ABOVE GOD
B. SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT
1. Lk 13:4-5 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
2. Mt 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
3. Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn
II. PURPOSE: WE MUST RELY
A. SUFFERING CALLS US TO TRUST GOD ALONE
1. NOT THE LIFE-SUSTAINING PROPS OF THE WORLD
2. NOT THE WORKS OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
B. SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT
1. II Cor 1:8-9 For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God Who raises the dead.
2. Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
3. Isaiah 66:13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.
III. PURPOSE: WE MUST REFLECT
A. SUFFERING CALLS US TO BECOME HOLY
1. WE SUFFER TO BE LIKE CHRIST IN CHARACTER
2. WE SHARE HIS HOLINESS WITH ALL AROUND US
B. SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT
1. Heb 12:6, 10-11 The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives…. He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
2. Rom 8:37-38 In all things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Jn 16:20,33 You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
IV. PURPOSE: WE MUST RESPOND
A. SUFFERING CALLS US TO STORE ETERNAL TREASURE
1. BENEFITS FOR ETERNITY
2. BENEFITS TO OTHERS NOW
B. SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT
1. II Cor 4:17 This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
2. Mt 5:11-12 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
3. II Cor 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
V. PURPOSE: WE MUST REST
A. SUFFERING CALLS US TO A GOD WHO CONTROLS ALL
1. OUR SUFFERING IS NOT GOD’S CONDEMNATION
2. RATHER, IT IS HIS PLAN FOR PURIFICATION
B. SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT
1. Phil 3:10 That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings.
2. Mk 10:45 The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
3. Ps 27:13-14; 119:76 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Lord may Your unfailing love be my comfort, according to Your promise.
Suffering is Painful
Suffering is Perplexing
Suffering is a Process
Suffering is Purifying
and
Suffering is Purposeful
Closing Hymn “Rock of Ages”
Prayer
[You may not know the modern song “Slow Down”, so words included.
It seems exactly what God is doing in our world right now.]
In the midst of my confusion
In the time of desperate need
When I am thinking not too clearly
A gentle voice does intercede
(Chorus)
Slow down, slow down, be still
Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord
Slow down and hear His voice
And know that He is God
In the time of tribulation
When I’m feeling so unsure
When things are pressing in about me
Comes a gentle voice so still, so pure
(Chorus)
[Also may need the words to a more modern worship hymn “His Mercy Is More”]
What love could remember no wrongs we have done
Omniscient, all knowing, He counts not their sum
Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
(Chorus)
Praise the Lord, His mercy is more
Stronger than darkness, new every morn
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
(Verse 2)
What patience would wait as we constantly roam
What Father, so tender, is calling us home
He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
(Verse 3)
What riches of kindness he lavished on us
His blood was the payment, His life was the cost
We stood ‘neath a debt we could never afford
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more