No Testimony Without Pain

Before I get to the passage I have to tell you this is an extremely uncomfortable passage. It is uncomfortable because it deals with something that most of us spend our entire lives trying to avoid but it is essential to a healthy life.

In fact the more of this we avoid the less we tend to grow physically, emotionally, missionally and especially Spiritually. This passage deals with the importance of enduring or working through pain.

When I was younger I was much more willing to endure a certain amount of pain becuase I knew that certain types of pain was temporary and enduring this pain for the moment would lead me to a better life.

However, now even though I still know that a certain amount of pain is ok and helpful It seems like I spend most of my time trying to avoid any type of pain. The problem with this is the more I put off pain the worse the pain is when I finally decide to deal with it a move forward.

Examples of Physical, Emotional, Missional, Spiritual.....

The truth is that the greatest enemy to growth of any kind is the avoidance of pain at all cost. Avoidance of pain at all cost will cause us to unintentionally avoid a healthy life.

I am not suggesting that we live our entire lives in pain but I do believe that a life lived avoiding the painful and uncomfortable robs us of not only true happiness but our testimony.

There is no testimony without pain….

This is not only true for you and I it was also true for Jesus.

Mark 8:31–9:1 NLT

31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. 33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Talk about going from the Penthouse to the outhouse. Peter went from Jesus you are the Messiah and Jesus saying you are the rock that I will build my church on to Satan…

Jesus was rebuked by Peter for speaking honestly about pain

Peter had good arguments…He knew he and Jesus other followers would be in danger

Peter knew that the movement could suffer…how do you raise and army if your leader is going to be killed?

Yes Peter cared about Jesus…his friend, and Messiah...

Jesus forcefully reprimanded Peter for trying to ignore the reality of pain as part of the process. Get behind me satan…This is not what we think when we hear the word satan…he was not calling peter the devil…He was calling him an advisory, and enemy to the truth... You are not seeing the bigger picture....There is no Salvation without suffering…There is no Testimony with out Pain.

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Jesus not only says he is going to suffer but he tells everyone they must suffer as well.

If we try to avoid pain to hold on to what we have in the end we will find ourselves with nothing…but if we give up our comfort and wordly pursuits to bring glory to God we will save our life...

There is no promise of riches or power…but there is a promise of life and life abundantly. The real goal of living is to....well live, to experience, to live in a meaningful way.

All of us will have pain to endure

John 16:33

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

If Jesus could not escape pain or discomfort why do we believe we can? The Spirit cannot make us overcomers if we are not willing to endure pain.

We all want to protect our Children from pain…but if we do we handicap them in life....There is progress in the pain.

36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

If there is no pain becuase we avoided it there will be no testimony

1 Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”

Those that endure pain will see and understand when the kingdom is ushered in by the Trinity.

You may have heard about the Crucifixion in the Philippines

This is a devotional practice held every Good Friday, and is part of the local observance of Holy Week. Devotees or penitents are willingly crucified in imitation of Jesus Christ's suffering and death, they also carry a wooden cross, crawl on rough pavement, and self-flagellation.

These people choose this pain as an act of penance thinking that this extreme activity will draw them closer to God. On one hand it is easy to see them as true believers…These people endure the wrong pain for the wrong reasons.

This is not what Jesus is calling us to do. Jesus is not calling us to endure pain for pains sake. He is not calling us to be crucified for our own sins…Jesus has already paid that price.

Jesus is calling us to carry the cross of love in situations where it would be easier and even preferable to choose the road of comfort and ease. He calls us to this to save the world…to build His Kingdom on earth.

This does not sound too hard but the fact is this is possibly the most difficult and selfless thing we will ever do. Becuase it requires us to see as rubbish all the things this world would tell us is joy.

Philippines 3:7-8

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

Carrying our cross is about abandoning worldly wisdom of selfish get all you can to selfless give all the love you can even if it hurts, even if it is not returned even if it is not accepted.

Story of Saint Patrick,,, being kidnapped taken to Ireland as a slave, escaping, finding Jesus and being called to go back to win Ireland to Jesus.

There was no guarantee of success, only the opprotunity for pain, death and failure. The journey was not easy he faced many obstacles but in the end built the kingdom of God in Ireland.

What pain or discomfort are you choosing to avoid that if you endured would bing glory to God?

Communion is a reminder of the pain that Jesus endured so that we could have the opprotunity to imitated him as we wait for His coming again.

Communion