Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 21, Issue 21 November 20, 2011
I believe it is time that we the body of Christ learn to recognize the scriptural pattern God uses to produce His servants. And the hard truth is this: Pain, torment, sorrow and failure have produced the men and women of God who have stirred their generations.
If you really want to find out about the processes that produce Godliness, then study what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. Look at Jesus, the Son of God, because when all is said and done, He is our example.
It always encouraged me to know that there is no trial
facing us that Jesus did not face Himself.
He is touched by the feelings of our infirmities
and afflictions - every one of them.
facing us that Jesus did not face Himself.
He is touched by the feelings of our infirmities
and afflictions - every one of them.
There are three trials that every true man and woman of God will confront:
1. a cup of pain
2. a night of confusion
3. an hour of Isolation
1. A Cup of Pain
To be a man or woman of God, you must at some point be served a cup of pain. Listen to Jesus' words in the Garden: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Matthew 26:39
Jesus had spent His whole ministry fulfilling the will of the Father. For three years His life and mission had headed straight toward His cup of pain (the Cross of Calvary). Whatever pain was in that cup forced Jesus to sweat drops of blood and to cry out, “O God, if it's at all possible, deliver Me. I'd rather let this cup pass - it's too heavy a burden for Me!”
I don't know what your cup of pain may be. But many of God's precious children have prayed for years for their deliverance - and are still waiting for it.
I believe in healing and I believe we will have afflictions. But I also believe in healing afflictions. Look at what David said, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now have I kept Your word.”
Psalm 119:67
Don't think just because you have pain that the devil must be attacking you - that you are not living according to the Scriptures - that you have sin in your life and you're being judged by God. To say the devil was causing David's pain suggests that the devil was driving him to the Father.
- Do you want to be a man or woman of God?
- Do you want the hand of God on your life?
It's the pain that fills the hearts of husbands and wives when walls of silence are built up and first love disappears. The turmoil within, the difficulties at home, the restless, sleepless nights. You know that God is real, that you're walking in the Spirit and loving Jesus with all that's in you, and yet still you're being forced to drink a cup of pain.
The Bible says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” Psalm 34:19. And even though God promises to deliver us from them all, it still hurts when we go through them.
When Jesus was in His hour of pain, Peter approached Him with a sword in his hand. In essence, Peter told Jesus, “Master, You don't have to go through this! I'll head them off. You go ahead and run - get out while You can!”
A lot of well-meaning Christians are like Peter. They run around with swords, ready to cut off the ear of the devil. They say to those who are hurting, “Run while you can! You don't have to put up with this, God's a good God - you don't have to drink this cup at all!”
But my dear friends, don't try to run from the cup of pain He gives you.
Jesus said to Peter, “Put up your sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11
Jesus could drink it now because He saw who was serving the cup.
It was His Heavenly Father.
Knowing the difference: Matthew 27:34 “They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted it, He would not drink.” The word gall here means POISON. Gall is very bitter. Christ refused the gall, knowing the bitter taste meant it was a poison.
He did not want to die from poisoning, but by His shed blood so as to become the supreme sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
2. A Night of Confusion
To be a man or woman of God, you also must face a night of confusion. Jesus said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” Matthew 26:38
Can you imagine the Son of God saying this?
The hardest part of faith is the last half hour.
The night of confusion always comes just
before the victory, just before the light dawns.
It will seem that your sense of purpose has been lost. When David's night of confusion came, he said, “Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.”
Psalm 143:4
In Peter's dark night of confusion, he became afraid and denied even knowing his Master.
When Job faced his dark night, he said, “God goes by me and I see Him not: He passes on but I perceive him not.” Job 9:11
A move had taken place in heaven. A checker moved on the board of Job's life and he responded by saying, “Lord, I haven't trusted in my riches. I haven't hidden my sins. I've been honest; my integrity hasn't left me. Why must I suffer? Why do I have to face this confusion, something I don't even understand?”
Like Job, many Christians cannot understand why they must suffer. They wonder, “Lord, I've not cheated anybody. I'm not seeing another man's wife. I don't have any dishonesty in me. Why should I have to face a night of confusion? Why can't I get clear guidance?”
Like David, many Godly people today face a moral issue in their life - and in their night of confusion they say, “God, why me? My heart was searching after You, and suddenly sin overwhelmed me. It plagued my soul.”
Even the most humble servant of God doesn't hear clearly from the Father all the time.
Thank God, it is only a dark night, and it will
pass - joy will come in the morning!
3. An Hour of Isolation
Finally, as a man or woman of God you must face an hour of isolation. These words came from the lips of Jesus, God's own Son: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
The hour of isolation comes when it seems God has hidden His face, and none of your friends truly understand what you are going through.
But, you say God never leaves or forsakes us!
- Does God really hide His face from those He loves?
- Is it possible He lifts His hand for a short while, to teach us trust and dependence?
I believe.....
that when a man or woman of God is in the making,
enemy forces will come against him with great fury.
that when a man or woman of God is in the making,
enemy forces will come against him with great fury.
But he can stand up and say, “Though I am tried and tested, though all these forces are arrayed against me - I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
II Timothy 1:12
That's the time to take your stand! “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
II Timothy 1:7
Don't get excited, don't panic.
Ride out the storm.
Commit all things to God.
Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would remain - Luke 22:32. He knew that Peter's trial was God's way of strengthening his faith!
Are you going through a great testing in your life? If so, stay in the Word. Run to the Lord and spend time shut in with Him. Stop trying to think your way through it.
Those who get to the Cross
must go through Gethsemane.
must go through Gethsemane.
But after the sorrow, joy comes in the morning.
Oh, precious, troubled saint - God has not forgotten you. He has bottled every tear you've ever shed.
- You must make Him the joy and hope of your life.
- You must let His Spirit change you, so that circumstances can't hinder you anymore.
That way, whatever comes, you will learn to rest above it all - seated with Him in Heavenly places.
Remember…..you are the object of His incredible love!
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