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"Lord, Did I Ask You to Build My Character?"
May 11, 2003 The Rev. Dr. John Ward
[first section missing from tape] . . . give you a little start as to how this developed. I remember last week as Will Eisenhower was preaching, he mentioned one of the passages that mean a lot to us, not when we've been told this passage to us, but when we've been able to claim it for ourselves, and that is Romans 8:28. Why don't you turn to that with me?
Let's look at Romans 8:28, and you'll find that in the New Testament section of the pew Bibles on page 158. We'll start there, then we'll see how fast your fingers are in trying to catch up with me as I send you through four passages. But we'll see how consistent God's Word is for us. You remember Will was talking about evil having an opportunity, really, as it digs a hole and falls in itself, that even in the midst of sufferings that we face from evil, we still become victorious over it as we trust in Christ. That's the theme for today as we think of particular times in which we're called to grow in Christ, when Christ is certainly more concerned about our character-building than our comfort. So here we have Romans 8:28, a very short verse. You've heard it before:
Now, I want you to jump back a little bit, because as I was thinking about that verse, I was reminded of the Romans 5 passage that talks about perseverance and the growth that comes from it. So why don't you turn to page 155 in your pew Bibles and let's look at what I'm talking about in Romans chapter 5, starting at verse 3. You'll find a consistency here. First Paul says that we can be victors, that God can turn all things around for us. Let's look here now at verse 3:
Once again, we're beginning to understand here a little bit about sufferingÑwhat can come from suffering as we endure it, what happens when we're a people who endure. Now, let's jump ahead a little bit. Let's go to James chapter 1, verse 10. Now, this passage here has been one that I think has spoken most clearly to me. Perhaps in reading these passages, some have come clearly to you as you are in the midst of your own trials. This was one of the ones that, when I was in the midst of my trials, it came to me. I can't tell you how many times I have read James in my life and how many times I've just read through that passage as part of my daily Bible study, but you know what it's like, friends, when something is going on in particular in your life and then God puts a passage in front of you and it's as if you've never read that passage before. Well, this was one of those times in my own life. Starting at verse 2. We're on page 228 in the pew Bibles there. James starts right off in his letter saying this:
And just so you know that this is consistent with regard to Scripture, right to the end, let's jump over to Revelation and read the last verse that I have. And that's Revelation chapter 3, verse 10, which you'll find on page 247 in your pew BibleÑpage 247. John is writing the revelation he was given. He's writing now the message to the seven churches. Christians are now being persecuted in a major way. And the whole point of Revelation, by the way, is to remindÑand it was at that time in its original writingÑit was a message that God gave through a vision to John to give to the churches of Asia Minor who were now facing persecution, to remind them to hang in there because in the end, God wins, and so do we who put our trust in Him. For all of what Revelation can be to confuse you, for all of what the book of Revelation can be for those who like to take advantage of it and make really exciting things happen from it, that's what it's all about: It's to comfort those who are being persecuted and it's to say, "Hang in there, because in the end God wins, and so will you." And that's what Revelation is about. How's that? There's the Readers Digest version for you, and you can claim that as you read Revelation. Just keep that in mind when you're studying it. Verse 10:
Well, normally we say "This is the Word of the Lord," and let me say it this way: "These are the words of the Lord" and you say "Thanks be to God." These are words from the Lord, and what I'm going to do is I'm going to stick with the James passages as a sort of reminder as to where we were. James is writing to, as he says, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. And he's talking about the believersÑand these are the early believers, most of whom are Jewish Christians now, who are now being persecuted for their faith. And he's telling them to consider it joy to be in the midst of this testing.
Now, when you and I come under trial, when we come under life-struggles, most of the time it's not because we're making faith-decisions that are costing us our jobs or are putting us in prison. And that is exactly what's going on to the Christians of the first century as they are believing in Christ. So I think it's important for us to understand this. We use these passages quite often to help ourselves (and God helps us as well through these) when we're facing sufferings. But our sufferingÑsometimes we think about where sufferings came from in Scripture, they seem at times to help us put our sufferings in perspective. We know life is hard for us. Life was hard for the first-century believers. Just to worshipÑjust the privilege of worshipÑcould cost them their livelihood, it could cost them imprisonment, it could cost them pain and suffering physically, and it could cost them death. And we know about that reading about those persecutions. And in the light of those persecutions for their faith, for making a stand to say that "Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior," for those words coming out of the lips of these people, that's why they were being persecuted. It wasn't because they were suffering in pain physically for any other reason but for the physical discomfort that came from proclaiming, "Jesus is Lord." It wasn't from natural illnesses. It wasn't from normal job loss. It was from everything that had to do with proclaiming the gospel and believing that and making a stand. I think it's important for us to understand the context into which these were written.
But even so, today as we face the sufferings that we have, as we face illness, as we face the loss of loved ones, as we face uncertain economic times including losing work (many here in this congregation have), these words have become important words for us, haven't they? We've learned that God does indeed produce endurance through these tough times. Whoever has told us that life involves searching for the wrinkle-free life is a liar! There's no such thing. We do suffer loss. We suffer in a broken world. But the promise is for us: That we can not only survive, we can endure and our character may be complete. Let me remind you what it says in James chapter 1, verses 2 through 4:
Now does that mean we're supposed to be very thankful for the stuff that happens in our lives? Not really. Life happens. We don't like it. We don't have to say, "Oh, I do love it." Our very nature says, "There's something wrong going on here." What does the joy come from? Where do we receive joy in our trials? Here's what happens: When we face these tests (and they test our faith, don't they?) when we persevere in faith, we are people then through whom God has produced endurance and this "endurance is to have its full effect," as James writes, "so that you may be mature in your faith." Not having less of a wrinkle-free lifeÑfor you will continue to face trials in a broken worldÑbut that you may have maturity in your faith, that you may be complete as a child of God, lacking nothing. Because if you have faith, and faith that can stand still amidst the trials of life, then you have exactly what you need for life. You see, it's not always success, because success comes and goes. It's not always the perfect family life, because that you can't control yourself, can you? It's not always a job opportunity, because that comes and goes. And it's not always perfect health because that comes and goes as well.
So what is life about? Life is about being a child of God. Life is about being mature and complete to the Lord, and we do that as we remain faithful throughout all of life's trials. I like the way one pastor said it: "God is far more concerned with our character than He is with our comfort." Let me repeat that. It's such a truth that we receive from James, and from Romans, and from Revelation. "God is concerned with our character far more than He is with our comfort. His plan is to perfect us, not to pamper us."
Now, once again, I gave you wonderful verses that can make sense to you if God is speaking to you in the midst of your trial. Now I caution any of us who wish to give pastoral care to a person who is suffering and just throw these verses at them, OK? "You're suffering, I know you've lost your job, your family is in turmoil [let's see, what else can I throw in here?] your car broke down, your mortgage is due and you don't have enough money. . . " Think of your favorite Country Western song where everything in life goes wrong, OK? And then I can come up and say, "Well, we know that God will make everything work OK for those who believe in Him." Well, I'll tell you what: That's how you fail Pastoral Care 101.
What we cannot do is give easy platitudes to people who are suffering. What we must promise to do is to suffer along with them, to listen more than speak, but to help these people come to the point where when they come to these passages, they know that God is speaking to them. For all of these passages have been important in my life, but they were most important when I heard them from the Lord, not from somebody who couldn't handle my sufferings! Have you ever had that happen to you? Someone who really cares for you has a wonderful word of God for you, but they've given it to you in an untimely way because they're really suffering about your suffering. They can't handle your hurting, and they'd rather everything went well, and they give you a platitude and try to walk away as fast as they can. It doesn't work, does it?
God calls us to suffer together. As it says in 1 Corinthians, as Paul writes, when one person suffers, we all suffer together. When one person rejoices, we all rejoice together. It's part of being the body of Christ.
These passages are important for us. They are indeed character-building. I want to read you something from Condoleezza Rice. She is, of course, as we know, the National Security Advisor for our country. Now, we just had the National Day of Prayer, but I want to remind you about the National Prayer Breakfast, and this occurred back in February. In particular, this was the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. To the Romans 5 passage about perseverance, and endurance, and about proven character, and hope, this is the reference the Condoleezza Rice made when she spoke at the Prayer Breakfast. She said:
I believe the same message is found in the Bible in Romans chapter 5, where we are told to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character produces hope. Friends, all of this that happens to us. As we see it as faithful people, we can see it as something for our completion. The outcome of the trials we face with regard to our faith in the midst of trials strengthens our faith, makes us mature. It makes us mature believers so we can rejoice in our sufferings because it grows us up. We don't have to say, "I'm thankful for this."
I was reminded of that when I heard Gary LeTourneau preach from the James passage some years ago. As many of you know, our former Senior Pastor lost a child. I believe his name was Nathan. He lived only a few days outside the womb. He had one of those heart ailments that was discovered early, and they knew. Imagine knowing that you would only have a few days at best to live with your child, and that happened to Gary LeTourneau and Joan and the family. Well, Gary preached on this passage and he said, "I couldn't be thankful for that. It would be wrong to be thankful for the death of my son." And that makes sense, doesn't it? We're not called to be thankful for the trials that happen to us, but as Gary said, we can be thankful in it.
We can be thankful in it because faith produces the perfect character, the proven character, the hope that does not disappoint, that grows us up, that matures us. And that's what makes us complete. That kind of completeness is what God is after in this life.
It is not always easy to hear these particular passages given to us. They're not always easy to hear. Let me give you another example. This is from Philip Yancey, who wrote about a friend of his whose daughter was terminally ill. This little daughter was named Peggy. Her mother wrote this: "This weekend before Peggy went into the hospital for the very last time before she passed away, Peggy came home very excited about a quotation from William Barclay that her particular minister had used that morning. She was so taken with it that she had copied it down on a three by five card and gave it to the mom. And this is what it says: "Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory." That's what the minister said and this young Peggy wrote it down on a three by five card on her last day in church before she suffered and died ultimately. Let me repeat: "Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory." Then she said this to her mom. She said her minister must have had a hard week because after he read it, he banged the pulpit and then he turned his back to the congregation and he began to weep.
When we have ourselves gone through our own suffering and these words become important to us, then we can begin to share them with others. They become more than platitudes not only when we give them to people, but when the people we give them to know that we're encouraging them because we, too, have suffered ourselves. Suffering together is part of the hope we have in God. Not that we look forward to suffering whatsoever. That is not our lot. But when the suffering comes, we suffer as the body of Christ. Those words became important to that little Peggy not because they came as a platitude from the pulpit, but because she saw that the pastor himself needed those words for his own life.
Let me give you a little insight before I move on. This message was authentic because the pastor had been there, too. Pastors don't like to share their sufferings, by the way. I want to tell you three reasons why, OK? This is a little bit of a stray, but it's a sanctified stray because I don't know any other time I could tell you this. Pastors don't like to share their sufferings. Three reasons why: First off, it's hard for the congregation to hear it. I'm not sure it's fair, but that's kind of true to pastoral ministry. You hope that we have good lives so that we can be there for you when you're struggling, so it's hard for you when we're struggling. And that's just something I've seen in all of my churches. I remember once in a church three churches removed from here (so you'd never know who I'm talking about or what's going on. It's just a simple thing, anyway.) I remember being a little upset about a situation. There was some program that was supposed to have been done this way and it wasn't, and so I talked to the people who were in charge and I said, "Gosh, I'm a little upset because this didn't happen." That's all I said. I didn't yell, I didn't get angry or anything else. But because I used the word "upset," one of the people started crying. I thought, "My gosh, what did I do?" So I talked to her afterwards. What I realized was it was very hard for her to hear that she upset me. And so she began to cry. So I learned (and several other examples) it's easier if the pastor's OK so that the congregation doesn't have to be. Now, that's not always right, but it's one reason pastors don't like to share their sufferings.
The second is this: It's hard to take for the faithful, but for the unfaithful, they love it too much! For those who would like to stay away from God, they love it when pastors suffer because then it makes them feel better on their own. And normally those sufferings are the self-induced ones, OK? I was on the racquetball court recently with a person who I had just recently met who prided himself in telling me that he was a very good friend to another pastor in another town. He said, "Yeah, I'm the one who gets to take him out, and I take him out for a beer and he tells all about his problems to me." I said, "Oh, do you worship there?" And he goes, "Oh, no." And I said, "Oh, so you're the tempter." And he goes, "Gosh, I hope I'm not." But I've seen that type before. They love it when pastors are down and dirty. The problem is, it doesn't give them comfort, it gives them an excuse to continue themselves to wallow in the mud, so that's not good.
And the third is this, and this is a personal thing with regard to pastors. We feel we've failed if we're not doing everything well, or everything is successful. So we won't want to tell you that because we're working for you and we're afraid. I saw that in our West Coast Pastors Conference. If you didn't know, I was gone last week and I was gone at my annual conference that I go to. It was really kind of fun to watch our pastors when it's time for us to share what's going on in our lives because the first five minutes we're all talking about all the great things that are happening, and then finally someone gets brave enough to say, "You know what? I'm kind of suffering here . . ." and this kind of calls us all to accountability and all of a sudden we all want to share again, "By the way, this is going on in my life . . . and this is going on in my life . . ." So we're all afraid of failure. Those are the reasons why it's hard for us to share.
But, friends, the healthiest of us share honestly with each other and we do not do so alone. The sufferings that pastors can share can turn the life around of children who are even heading for death themselves and give them the endurance they need to be able to pass on, even as Peggy did to her mother, with that wonderful passage.
Now, I want to leave us with one more illustration of what I'd like for us to be able to walk away with this morning. I want you to know, again, do not search for the wrinkle-free life. It will never happen in your life. Something will happen to remind you of that. In fact, I pray that if you think that's what life is about, that God will do something to you if that's what you need. I hope not, but if that's what you need, I hope that God will put something in your way to grow you up. It's about faith-growing. It's about character. That's what it's about. How do we face this? I don't want us to be afraid of life now that we know indeed that sufferings do happen. I want us to walk into it with a certain confidence that God is with us and for us no matter what, because we never know exactly what's going on in our lives. We may be the ones who come in confident in our faith, no matter what the trials are, and be victorious. Let me give you an example.
I want us to face all of lifeÑeven its strugglesÑwith a sense of naive confidence, OK? Walk into life knowing because you have faced trials before, because it's grown you up, now I want you to face it with a confidence of having a mature and complete faith. Then I think life becomes that much more enjoyable and you can walk into situations not even knowing the troubles and perhaps even solve some issues.
George Danzig is the name of a retired Mathematics professor from Stanford University. But before he was a professor, he was a student at Stanford, right in the midst of the Great Depression. He was a senior during the Depression, and all of the seniors knew they'd be joining the unemployment lines when they graduated from Stanford. There was a slim chance that the top person in the class might get a teaching job. George was not at the head of his class, but he hoped that if he were able to achieve a perfect score on the final exam coming up, that he might be given a job. So he studied hard for the examÑso hard, in fact, that he arrived late to class. When he got to class, the others were already hard at work. He was embarrassed and just picked up his paper and slunk in his desk. He sat down and he worked at the eight problems on the test paper. Then he started on the two that were written on the blackboard. He had eight problems in front of him on his desk, and then two on the blackboard. Try as he might, he couldn't solve either of the ones on the blackboard, and he was devastated by that because out of 10 problems total, he already knew that he had missed two for sure.
But just as he was about to hand in his paper, he took a great chance and asked the professor if he could have a couple of days to work on the two he had missed. He was surprised when his professor agreed. George rushed home and plunged into those equations with a vengeance. He spent hours and hours, but he could find the solution only for one of the equations. He never could solve the other one. It was impossible. When he turned in the test, he knew that he had lost all chance of a job, and that was the darkest moment of his life.
The next morning on his dorm door, there was a pounding. And it awakened George. It was his Mathematics professor, very excited. "George! George!" he kept on shouting, "You've made Mathematics history!" George didn't know what the professor was talking about. The professor explained. You see, before the exam he had encouraged the class to keep trying in spite of setback and failure. "Don't be discouraged," the professor had counseled, "remember there are classic problems that no one can solve. Even Einstein was unable to unlock their secrets." And then he wrote two of those unsolved secrets from Einstein on the blackboard. George had come to class late, and he missed those opening remarks. He didn't know the problems on the board were impossible to solve. He thought they were part of his exam and was determined that he could work themÑand he solved one of them. With a naive sense of confidence, he did the impossible, friends. And that very morning, in the midst of the Depression, the professor made George Danzig his assistant, and as I said, he taught at Stanford University until his retirement.
Let us face life. Let us, in our own lives, having suffered and grown, minister to other people. Let us not throw the Word of God as a platitude to anyone. Let us give the Word as we have lived it and learn from it ourselves. Let us grow up in the faith. And let us face then, as mature Christians, not with success in life, but success in faith, in proven character, in a hope which does not disappoint, let us face the life God has given to us with naive confidence.
Let us pray together. Heavenly Lord, we thank you for the consistency of Scripture. I wanted to pull out one verse and focus on it, but I kept finding these others, and there are even more than that. These four help remind us of the consistency of your Word. For we may be on the rat race of success, or the rat race of trying to have a wrinkle-free life, or a perfect family, or the opportunity to be the best of who we are at some game or some aspect of life. Lord, if that is what life is about, you remind us that we're in trouble. Lord, instead remind us that what it's about is being people of proven character and faith. Let us indeed not rejoice for the sufferings that happenÑbecause this is indeed a broken world and we look forward to your return, and you promise that in Scripture. For the faithful who persevere, Lord, you promise us the fact that we will be lifted up with you forever. So let us not rejoice over it. But in the midst of it, Lord, we can rejoice and be strong, and in doing so we can bless others. Strengthen us, Lord God, for this very day. In Christ's name we pray. And all God's people said, "Amen."
The Rev. Dr. John Ward Associate Pastor for Discipleship Faith Presbyterian Church Minnetonka, Minnesota
[Transcribed from an audiotape of the 9:00 a.m. worship service on May 11, 2003.] |
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