Fellowship of His suffering.

Philippians 3:7-11 KJV

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Pray:

I want to focus this morning on the phrase. The fellowship of His sufferings.

The Lord laid this message on my mind Tuesday. When I started working on it. I had no idea what would be going on later on in the week. I finished working on this message sometime late Thursday. Then Friday happened. I would like to think that the Lord knew exactly what we would need to hear, even before we did. It sounds arrogant to suggest that God would give me something in advance. And I don’t want to come across like that at all. But remember God used a donkey. All we really have to do is listen to His voice. Here is what God put on my heart earlier this week.

Being a Christians doesn’t mean that we will not suffer. The truth is that Christians often suffer more than others. Listen to the word of God this morning: Acts 14:22

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

In fact, I believe that God is interested in how we react in the face of these suffering.

Do we get angry? Do we get disappointed? Do we get bitter? Do we think that God is punishing us? Do we respond with guilt?

As a young minister I once got involved with the charismatic movement. A friend of mine from bible college was in one of their denominations. Until the day I heard a preacher tell a young lady that her child being sick was her fault. That she lacked the faith to heal her child What a cold hearted and uncaring point of view that is. Listen to what Paul said in:

Romans 8:18-23

8 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

This is what Matthew Henry writes of this passage:

The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the children of God shall be manifested in the glory prepared for them. There is an impurity, deformity, and infirmity, which has come upon the creature by the fall of man. There is an enmity of one creature to another. And they are used, or abused rather, by men as instruments of sin. Yet this deplorable state of the creation is in hope. God will deliver it from thus being held in bondage to man’s depravity.

We must see our sufferings through the eyes of our fellowship with Christ. We tend to think that because we are joined with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords that we should not suffer at all. But this is contrary to the word of God. Listen again in Romans 8:17

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

And 2 Corinthians 1:5

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

Because we connected with Christ. We suffer the slings and arrows of this cruel world. Our spirit within us groans at the sight of this sinful old world. It is a difficult thing to be a Christian in the world. When we know that all would be so much better if the world could just see the hope that we have in Him.

Folks it is Paul’s desire to know suffering. He isn’t trying to get away from suffering. It is his goal. He says in our text. “I want to know the fellowship of his sufferings.”

I have actually known pastors who felt as though the work of God was an inconvenience to them. Complaining about having to do everything or honestly anything. This is not a Christ like attitude ladies and gentlemen.

“Conformity to the risen Christ is possible only when conformity to the crucified Christ is present”

There are several ways that our sufferings link us with Christ.

1. Our sufferings identify us as being in Christ. I have often heard people say that Jesus was a good guy. People tend to like His teachings. But when He came to earth in the flesh. He was tortured and beaten and killed. Don’t be fooled by people. They would do the same to Him today.

John 15: 18-20

18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

Romans 8:36

As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

There is no widespread hunger for the gospel. There is a widespread hatred for it. In a country where tolerance is preached non-stop for every sort. With one exception. And that is Christianity. We are mocked and cursed and made fun of constantly. Society has a venomous hatred for us. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:13

Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 6:26

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

As I said last week. Are we afraid to have Christian convictions and to stand for them? We should rejoice in the fellowship of his sufferings.

And again in Matthew 5: 11-13

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

John 15:19

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

I have often heard that Christians are the dumbest people on the planet. That we are caught up in a cult. That we simply aren’t intelligent enough to comprehend the complexities of modern science. I have heard people accuse us of being unstable, mentally ill and much worse. I cannot count the number of times that I have been insulted while being a witness. I recall when I was a very young minister. My grandfather would take me to nursing homes where I would preach. And this one guy in a wheelchair rolled up to me and said. JESUS!! HA. They killed that blankety blank a long time ago………….. Grandpa just smiled at me and put his arms around me. Without saying a word he taught me a lot. His smile told me that he had learned to not only endure persecution and suffering. But that like Paul, he found joy in it. And like Jesus he puts his arms around our shoulders and smiles on us while we fellowship in our suffering.

In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul tells us that he was stretched out 5 times and received 39 stripes. He was stoned. And beaten with rods. He understood what it meant to suffer for Christ. And he wore his suffering with honor.

Do you recall when Paul stood up to the Judaizers who were insisting on circumcision? The Judaizers insisted that Christians bare the mark of the flesh. And Paul said if you want to see a mark? Look at my back. He said in

Galatians 6:17

From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

I am reminded of that old gospel hymn:

1

Hast thou no scar? No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand? I hear thee sung throughout the land, I hear them hail thy shining star, Hast thou no scar? no scar?

2

Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent, Leaned Me against a tree; and rent By ravening beasts ’round Me, I swooned: Hast thou no wound? no wound?

No wound? no scar? Yet, as the Master shall the servant be, And pierced the feet that follow Me; But whole? can he have followed far Who has no wound nor scar?

Many of us have heard the numerous war stories from our veterans. How in Vietnam prisoners of war were beaten and battered and demoralized brutally by the enemy. Those soldiers who day after day experienced tremendous persecution and sufferings together became close. You can say that they shared in the fellowship of suffering. And for years after coming home these soldiers remain friends. Writing letters to each other, calling one another, bearing one another burdens. And when the day came that one of the men passed the others were all gathered at their funerals mourning their loss. God knows more about us than we do. Suffering brings us together. It bonds us to Jesus Christ.

Years ago, I received a phone call from sister Sally. I think it was about 4 years ago. And I came to Westside with brother Ken. Sally’s eyes were full of tears, as she shared with us her story of infighting within the church. And in tears we all prayed together for God to do a work here at Westside. And over the years I have stayed in contact with Westside. And I have seen with my own eyes the suffering that the people of Westside have endured. And let me say. What a privilege it is to be called to suffer alongside such good people. They have formed a bond that only suffering can provide.

And let me say this. As pastor I firmly believe that those who have suffered the most make the best servants. We have heard people say things like what would Jesus do. And I want to be like Jesus Christ. Are you sure? Are you willing to suffer? You say I want to have the patience of Christ or the patience of Job. Well, tribulation teaches patience. You say you want to love people the way that Christ loved people. Folks Christ was rejected and hated. Often the most loving people are the loneliest ones. You see God takes our sufferings and chips away at self and ego to make a masterpiece. You say well I believe that God has called me to be a Pastor. Well praise God for that. But be very sure. Being a pastor means being a servant. A pastor is NEVER supposed to be put up on a pedestal. Christ is the head of the church and only He should be lifted up. A pastor is a servant. And to be effective he must know the sufferings of Christ.

There are tons of pastors out there who have rarely if ever suffered. Sure, they have read the bible. And maybe they went to bible college. Maybe they even know the Hebrew and the Greek. No doubt they have read the bible from cover to cover at least once. But have they lived it? Have they suffered? Let me give you an example. If I went and bought a manual on how to fly a plane and read it from cover to cover. Studied it for years. Do you think I could just show up at the airport one day and say give me a job. I’ve studied the manual. Of course not. Have you ever actually flown a plane? Do you know how to handle turbulence? Have you ever taken off? Do you know how to stay on course? Do you even know how to land a plane? No doubt I could refer to the manual. And I could probably teach that manual. But until I have experienced the book, I will never be a pilot. Until we have experienced suffering. We will never be an effective Christian.

When I think of those who would make the most effective Christians, I think of those who have suffered the most. Few if any have suffered more than the homeless. And I get it. Many of the homeless in our country want to be homeless. Some, not all, want to spend whatever money they get on drugs or alcohol. Anything they can get their hands on to sooth the pain they are dealing with. And they will fool you. You might be able to only help one out of every ten bc honestly some of them aren’t ready. Like everyone else some people suffer for no reason at all. And when they die, they spend eternity in hell suffering even more. But the one in ten who turns to Jesus Christ and turns his or her life around. That one could be the next DL Moody or the next Billy Sunday. Why? Because they understand suffering, they understand pain. Once they learn to suffer for Christ instead of self, watch out.

And by the way that is what Westside is all about. We want people who are willing to suffer for Christ. We want the people who are tired of facing this old world alone. We want the ones who nobody else wants. Why? Because Jesus loves everyone. And few can help others like those who have suffered.

Conformity to the crucified Christ. It is worked out in our souls and in our bodies. Remember how the people made fun of Paul’s appearance. He was short and bald. And the appearance of his body was weak? We read in 2 Corinthians 10:10

For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

Some were put off by Paul’s physical appearance. But in 2 Corinthians 13:4 Paul explains:

For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

We are week in Christ. But we shall live with him in power.

We must suffer in order for God to use us.

In Genesis 3:15 the earliest prophecy of the bible and the least understood in my opinion. The bible tells us.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

From this we know that the seed of the serpent was going to cause suffering for Christ. And that Christ would deliver a blow to the head of the serpent’s seed. You see even as far back as Genesis Christ was to be the suffering savior. Folks understanding this verse is the key to understanding everything about not only the bible but the world in which we now live. But that study is for another time.

Through suffering Christ won a victory for us all. And as the body of Christ it is only natural for us to suffer as well.

Romans 16:20

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

There it is. We have the victory over Satan and His seed as well. But our path to victory is the same as Christs. Through suffering. That is Genesis 3:15 repeated for us. Time for us to trample some serpents. That is what it means to serve God.

The church today turns a blind eye to the serpents that surround us. When a church begins to grow you can bet there is going to be some resistance from the serpents. And we will suffer for helping others. We will suffer as we grow the slings and arrows of those who hate us. But this is Gods way. Listen to Colossions 1:24

“Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:”

So, you want to be a pastor?

Being a pastor is stomach ulcers and acid indigestion and depression and a breaking heart and shot nerves and sleeplessness. And exhaustion and sleep deprivation and being misunderstood. In other words. Filling up the afflictions of Christ for the sake of the church. That is the work of a pastor.

As Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:10

Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Christianity is the Marine Corps of religions. It is not for the soft. Admittedly we don’t have the best pitch. Buddhism can say come cross your legs and meditate and become one with the world. The Muslims can sell you on the idea of 70 virgins. But God tells us the truth. If you want to serve you are going to have to suffer. This is how we advance the Kingdom of God.

So suffering is evidence of our identity in Christ. It is how we conform to Christ and last of all suffering is how we have communion with Christ.

We should delight in our sufferings.

John 15:10 says

if you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

This is why it is so important to keep Gods commandments. Not for salvation but for communion with Christ.

We sing. Just a closer walk with thee. Grant it Jesus is my plea.

Do we understand what we are asking Christ for? We are asking to suffer.

In our sufferings Christ comes closer to us and we come closer to Him.

Isaiah 63:9 says:

In all their affliction He was [a]afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old.

Paul knew that the church was the body of Christ because when Jesus came to Him. He asked. Why persecutest thou me?

This morning I want you all to know that Christ loves us all. His heart goes out to all of us in the hour of our suffering. And that Christ suffered in every single way that we do. God understands our suffering better than anyone.

Some of you listening to this message on Facebook and here today might be saying Why in the world would I want to become a Christian? You aren’t painting a very good picture for us pastor. To you I say because of the fellowship of His suffering is bittersweet. Oh, the rewards of living for Christ are out of this world. And the joys of knowing him and the fellowship of his suffering outweighs EVERYTHING.

I want to close this morning with Luke 6:22 22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

You know I had no idea what was coming when God put this message on my heart. But now I understand. When things like this happen, people always ask. Why does God allow people to suffer? And part of that answer is so that we can get a glimpse of the suffering our savior endured for us. It is what we do with that suffering that sets us apart from the world. A Christian uses his suffering to comfort those going through the same kind of problems. We know that experience not only helps us to help others. But can lead people to Christ.

One great example of that is when Stephan was being stoned. The bible tells us that Paul was under conviction after watching Stephan die. God uses the sufferings of his saints. What will you do with the suffering that God has blessed you with this morning? Will you rejoice in it? Will you share it? Will you grow closer to Christ in it?