WHEN YOU'VE BEEN GOOD AND LIFE GOES BAD

WHEN YOU'VE BEEN GOOD AND LIFE GOES BAD Revelation 2:8-10 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Henry Cloud and John Townsend, How People Grow; Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder and Leap Over a Wall; Joseph Stowell, When You've Been Good and Life Goes Bad; Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb November 2, 2003 [Additional Notes] Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory One of the most treasured pieces in the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, is a rug bearing the Latin inscription Nec Aspera Terrent (Be Not Terrified by Adversity). It always has had special meaning for Baroness Maria von Trapp and her children-the famous Trapp Family Singers-because the rug, a gift from a friend, arrived on December 21, 1980, a day after a fire razed the famous lodge, killing a guest and injuring seven others. It took three years and $7 million to rebuild the lodge, but the Trapps never had any doubts about rebuilding. To battle adversity was nothing new to them. The family, who were immortalized in the musical The Sound of Music, fled Austria in 1938 rather than submit to orders directing Baron von Trapp, a former submarine captain, to return to the German Navy. On arrival in the United States, the family had only $3.50. When work on their first Vermont lodge was nearing completion, the structure was destroyed by a storm, so they started all over with a second lodge-the one that burned down in 1980. On December 18, 1983, the day the day the newly-built lodge opened, Johannes von Trapp recalled that, when the rug arrived right after the fire, he had decided it would be prominently placed in the lobby of the new hotel. Adversity is a fact of life. It can't be controlled. What we can control is how we react to it. Jack Welch, in His book, Jack: Straight from the Gut - Jack was always a devout Catholic, all his life, UNTIL thirty-five years ago, when his mother suddenly died. Jack Welch couldn't overcome the pain on his own and he chose not to depend on the Lord. "I felt cheated, angry and mad at God for taking my mother away." Suffering will drive you from God or to God. It's your choice. In ancient Rome one of the empire's favored cities was a city of 200,000 in Asia named Smyrna. It is reported to have been the birthplace of the great poet Homer. It boasted a great stadium, an impressive library and the largest theater in Asia. A prosperous city on a deep Mediterranean harbor, some Roman coins described the city as "First of Asia in beauty and size." The city was littered with Temples, large and small, dedicated to this god and that goddess, from Cybele to Zeus. It was the first city to build a temple in honor of Dea Roma (the god of Rome), and a temple to the emperor Tiberius. The whole metropolitan area had a strong allegiance to mother Rome. That, along with a large Jewish population (which was actively hostile toward the Christians), made it difficult for Christians to carry on with their lives. Anti-Christian prejudice made it hard for professing believers to get jobs, and by the end of the first century eruptions of hateful persecution were growing common. Polycarp, probably the most well known of the early Christian martyrs, refused to acknowledge Caesar as Lord and, when he was burned at the stake, he entered the history books as "the twelfth martyr in Smyrna". The Martyrdom of Polycarp documents the deep hostility toward the church. When at his public sentencing, Polycarp confessed his faith, the heathen and the Jews alike "cried out with uncontrollable wrath." Then they joined the mob in gathering wood for Polycarp's execution. Antagonistic toward the believers, the Jews would become informers for Roman authorities, and regularly incited the ruling governors to persecute Christians. The church faced struggle after struggle, employment difficulty, imprisonment on flimsy charges and even death. In the midst of that ongoing struggle, the Holy Spirit visited the aged apostle John exiled on the island of Patmos, and inspired him to write words of encouragement to these tormented saints. Revelation 2:8-11: "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death." 1. God knows our struggles. Verse 9 - "I know…I know" These were important words to the believers at Smyrna. They're important to us. Our trials come to us from three sources: First, because we live in a fallen world. One writer said if we know how desperately wrenching the fall of man was, we would be surprised anything good happens at all! Second, some of our trials are self-inflicted wounds. When we choose to sin, we reap the consequences of those choices. "The one who sows to please his sinful nature from that nature will reap destruction…" (Galatians 6:8) Third, many of our troubles come when you've been trying to be good and faithful, and life seems to go bad. You give your life to Christ and decide to devote yourself to being a good employee and you get fired. You commit your marriage to the Lord and start trying to live like a disciple of Jesus and your spouse reacts and things get worse instead of better. You dutifully share your witness with five of your friends and four of them bail on you, and the fifth one is looking shaky. When these things happen we become vulnerable, our faith gets shaken and we start asking questions like Jesus, what happened? I give my life to You and this is the thanks I get? Lord, do You see what's going on here, and do You care? This is when the Lord steps in with His own special brand of encouragement. He dictates a letter to the church at Smyrna and says, "I'm here, and I understand." We should always remember Jesus' own experience in this evil world. He said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first..If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:18-20) The issue is not whether or not as a follower of Christ I will experience trouble. The issue is how I will deal with it. Will it wear me down or build me up? And don't overlook verse 8 - it reminds us of Jesus' identity. He's the First and the Last; He's the One who died, but the One who came to life again. And He is the One who brings His strength to bear in your life when you face trouble. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He-Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us! Francois de Fenelon, a 17th century priest during the Huguenot conflicts, wrote the following words of encouragement to a struggling fellow-priest: I am sorry to hear of your troubles, but I am sure you realize that you must carry the cross with Christ in this life. Soon enough there will come a time when you will no longer suffer. You will reign with God and He will wipe away your tears with His own hand. In His presence, pain and sighing will forever flee away. So while you have the opportunity to experience difficult trials, do not lose the slightest opportunity to embrace the cross. Learn to suffer with simplicity and a heart full of love. If you do, you will not only be happy in spite of the cross, but because of it. Love is pleased to suffer for the Well-Beloved. The cross which conforms you into his image is a consoling bond of love between you and Him. 2. What we have is of immensely higher value than anything the world offers. "I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich!" These Christians who were the economically downtrodden of the culture were being reminded by the Lord of glory, Don't sweat the poorhouse! You have riches untold! Are you tempted to respond to that by saying, Yeah, but do we have to live like paupers? 'Happened to catch Oprah the other day. They had a lady on the program who had been living in poverty. She had lost her home and her car. Her daughter told her to stop buying lottery tickets, that she couldn't afford them. But she ignored her daughter and struck it rich on the lottery-won 91 million dollars. And I'm thinking, That would be nice! How about it, Lord? I'm a man of faith and I know you could deliver on twice that much without even blinking. And just think how I could help the world missions cause! But we will not serve Him in courage and faith if our confidence is in our material wealth! I have found in my limited experience that God knows me better than I know myself, and what I have is what I trust in, and when I have material wealth I am prone to forget Him. Do you know what real maturity is? It's the apostle Paul saying I've been poor and I've had money-and it makes little difference, because, "I have learned the secret of being content in…every situation…I can do all things through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13) Here are your riches, believer: by God's grace your name is in His Book of Life! You are a temple of God's Spirit living in you. You have the blessed hope and assurance of eternal life-you know where you are going to spend eternity. You may not know tomorrow's future, but you know about the ultimate future-the one that really counts. So when your faith keeps you from doing things that promise to bring you great wealth, and out of good Christian conscience you avoid dishonest gain, and it seems to cost you dearly, REJOICE! And when God seems to take from you something you treasure, THANK HIM. 3. Your power to endure will increase commensurate with the intensity of the trouble you face. "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer" I glean two enormous promises from verse 10. The first is the promise that things are going to get worse before they get better. In fact, He seems to promise them a couple of things concerning their immediate future: the devil is going to be allowed to come at them with intensity, imprisoning and persecuting them. That's nice (?!). Interesting, isn't it, that not all the promises in the Bible are comforting! So far we have the Lord telling us that He knows all about our struggles, and don't worry even though it feels like you are in poverty because you're really rich! And, by the way, your problems? They're going to get worse before they get better. Incidentally, that's the bad news and the good news-it's going to get worse, but it will eventually get much better. The second promise in verse 10 is this: no matter how tough it gets, God's power at work in you and through you is more than a match for what you face. "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4) John Maxwell passed along a provocative little fable. A little bird was flying south for the winter. It got so cold it froze up and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some manure on it. As it lay there in the pile of manure, it began to realize how warm it was. The manure was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the little bird singing, and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of manure, and promptly dug him out-and then ate him. The morals of the story are: 1. Not everyone who drops manure on you is your enemy. 2. Not everyone who digs you out of a pile of manure is your friend. 3. When you're in the manure, keep your mouth shut! 4. Our struggles are tests of faith and help us to grow in maturity. Student in Ornithology Class. Instead of a multiple choice questions. Pictures of 25 birds-only their legs and feet, and the test consists in identifying the birds by looking only at their legs. Student says, "This is crazy - no one can pass this test! I'm not going to take it!" "You'll take it or you'll fail!" "I don't care - I'm not taking such a stupid test!" "Alright, young man, you have failed! What's your name?" The young man bends over, rolls his pants up to his knees, and says, "You tell me!" During the nineteenth century attempts to ship fresh North Atlantic cod from Boston to San Francisco were failing At that time the only way to ship the fish to the West Coast was to sail around the South American continent--a trip that took months. As you can imagine, the first attempts to dress the cod in Boston and pack them in ice failed miserably. By the time they reached California, the fish weren't exactly fit for consumption. Next, the cod were placed in holding tanks full of water, shipped to California alive, and dressed there. The results were less than satisfactory. The fish didn't get much exercise during the trip, and as a result they were pasty and relatively tasteless. Finally, someone hit upon an interesting idea. "Why don't we put some catfish in with the cod?" Why? Because catfish are cods' natural enemy. Sure enough, when a few catfish were placed in those tanks with them, the cod were always alert and swimming around. This time, when the fish reached San Francisco, they were in perfect shape. F. B. Meyer explained it this way: "A bar of iron worth $2.50, when wrought into horseshoes is worth $5. If made into needles it is worth $175. If into penknife blades it is worth $1,625. If made into springs for watches it is worth $125,000. What a 'trial by fire' that bar must undergo to be worth this! But the more it is manipulated, and the more it is hammered and passed through the heat, beaten, pounded, and polished, the greater its value." Are you struggling with struggles? Remember, the heat of the flame and the blows of the hammer are necessary if you are to be more than an unpolished, rough bar of iron. God's all-wise plan, though it calls for the fire, produces the valuable watch spring of maturity. His very best for your life comes through His perfect timing and His perfect plan. C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, The Problem of Pain, "I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contented condition, when suddenly a stab of pain threatens serious disease, or a newspaper headline threatens us all with destruction. "At first I am overwhelmed, and all my little happiness look like broken toys. And perhaps, by God's grace, I succeed, and for a day or two become a creature consciously dependent on God and drawing its strength from the right sources. But the moment the threat is withdrawn, my whole nature leaps back to the toys. "Thus the terrible necessity of tribulation is only too clear. God has had me for but 48 hours and then only by dint of taking everything else away from me. Let Him but sheathe the sword for a minute, and I behave like a puppy when the hated bath is over-I shake myself as dry as I can and race off to reacquire my comfortable dirtiness in the nearest flower bed. "And that is why tribulation cannot cease until God sees us remade." Samuel Rutherford once wrote, "If God had told me some time ago that he was about to make me as happy as I could be in this world, and then had told me that he should begin by crippling me in arm or limb, and removing me from all my usual sources of enjoyment, I should have thought it a very strange mode of accomplishing his purpose. And yet, how is his wisdom manifest even in this! For if you should see a man shut up in a closed room, idolizing a set of lamps and rejoicing in their light, and you wished to make him truly happy, you would begin by blowing out all his lamps, and then throwing open the shutter to let in the light of heaven." 5. The Reward is worth the Struggle - "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (verse 10b) Jesus sends a final encouraging word to the believers in Smyrna and O'Fallon: stay faithful to me through all that you face and I will give you the crown of life. Later in this awesome book, the Lord promises: The day is coming when I will wipe away every tear and there will be no more sorrow, neither dying. I will dwell with you, and I will be your God and you will be my people, exempt from the troubles and trials of this adventure in this planet. If we allow ourselves to forget that heaven is coming to the church and for the church, and that we are children of the ultimate kingdom, we will crash and burn in this world's battles. But His promises are true-the second death can't hurt you, and I have a crown of life ready and waiting for you. In all that you have to endure before you get here, I promise you this-it will be worth it all. Paul said in Romans 8, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) Having lost in a fire virtually everything they owned, the Spafford family made new plans, including a move from Chicago to France. Horatio Spafford planned the trip for his wife and four daughters to be as trouble-free as possible. To transport them from America to France, he booked passage on a huge ship, and made sure they had Christians with whom to fellowship in route. He planned to join them a few weeks later. In spite of much careful preparation, Mr. Spafford's plans suddenly dissolved when the ship carrying his loved ones was rammed by another vessel and sank, carrying his four beloved daughters to the bottom. Anyone who has ever had their plans disrupted by the hand of God can understand Spafford's plight. Let's sing the words of His great hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul"-words he penned as his ship passed over the watery grave of his four daughters! When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll-- Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul! My sin--O the bliss of this glorious thought-- My sin, not in part, but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, And I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul! And, Lord, haste the day When my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll: The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, "Even so" -- it is well with my soul! It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul)! It is well, it is well With my soul!   [Back to Top]