I hope you have some idea how
very, very special you are to me. I enjoy traveling and preaching. I enjoy being with other folks,
preaching in other places. But honestly, I wouldn't ever
be away from here, preaching anywhere else, if I didn't just
feel it was needful and it was something to contribute. Shelby
and I thank God continually. for you, each of you. Your names
are mentioned frequently at our dinner table and your names are
fondly remembered before our Father's throne continually.
We thank God for bringing you into our lives. I can't express
it sufficiently. You're precious, family, in the
most real sense possible. This is our family. This is going
to go on forever. In the years we've known each
other, we've shared a lot of joys and a lot of sorrows. We've rejoiced together with
you and wept together. And I've said that to say this.
I have sought, and I believe God's given me, a very special
and meaningful message for you for this hour. I asked Larry
if he would read 2 Corinthians chapter 4 in preparation for
this message. Turn with me back to that chapter
if you will. Verse 17 begins with that little
word for. Don't forget what he's referring
to. Paul is referring to the hope laid up before us. He is
referring to the fact that we think not because we have every
confidence that our God who raised up Christ Jesus will raise us
up as well, that we shall ourselves be made partakers of heavenly
glory, and so we faint not. And then he uses these three
strange, strange words. Our light afflicts I'm sure you caught those words
as I read them. Our light affliction. How on
earth could this man, inspired of God, describe the afflictions
that break our hearts in this world? Those afflictions that
wring out our very souls. Those afflictions that cause
us, like David of old, to awake in the middle of the night and
cry out from our souls. We might not say it with our
lips, for we dare not be honest, it seems. But we cry out from
our souls, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art
thou so far from the words of my roaring? Hast thou forgotten
to be gracious? Is thy mercy clean? gone forever,
wilt thou cast off forever. You may have even been a little
hurt when you read those words, our light affliction. Is it a
light thing to suffer loneliness and pain? I remember going by
to visit with Brother Hubert Montgomery about six months after
Louise had died. This had been, what, 22 years
ago? 21 years ago, somewhere in there.
I just stopped by to visit with him a little bit. And we chatted
a little, and he sat there. I knew something was on his mind.
A tear run down his cheek. He said, Brother Fortman, this
is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I said, what's
that to you? But he said, living by myself.
Loneliness is not light. Pain is not light. Is it a light
thing to have children that just crush your heart? Is it a light
thing to endure bereavement? Is it a light thing to endure
bodily pain, sickness, financial hardship, domestic trouble, desolation
of soul, heaviness of heart? Certainly not. Or what on earth
does Paul mean? Surely he does not mean that
we should be stoics without feeling. We're men and women, we're not
stones. We have feelings. Sometimes we hurt, and sometimes
we hurt horribly. I know the joy of happiness and
the comfort of love, and I know the pain of sorrow. I know what
it is to be elated, and I know what it is to have such heaviness
of heart that you just think you can't possibly go on and
breathe another breath. And yet there is indeed a very
real sense in which all the things that cause us pain and sorrow
here in this world may be looked upon as our light affliction.
So let me talk to you tonight for just a little bit about these
three strange words, our light affliction. I don't want, I hope God will
give me grace not to speak in any way that would make it appear
that I don't feel the things that hurt you. More importantly,
to make it appear that our Savior doesn't feel what you feel. I
simply want to give you some things by which I hope God is
teaching me to look upon the things that most hurt in this
world as light. I want to share with you some
things from which I get some comfort, and I hope you will
as well. Here's the first thing. I know
what this book teaches me about my affliction. I know what this
book teaches us about the trials that break our hearts. I'm not
interested in what Ann Landers says. She's irrelevant. I'm not
interested in what your A family doctor or your therapist. I don't
think any of you do, but everybody these days talks about their
therapist. I'm not interested in what they say. Their opinion
is irrelevant. I'm not interested in what the
sociologists and educators say. Their opinion is irrelevant.
And I'm sure not interested in what self-serving preachers say.
Their opinion is most irrelevant. But I am interested, this is
the only thing that's relevant, in what God says about what breaks
my heart. I'm interested in what God my
Father says about those things that trouble us. This I know. So long as we live in this world,
so long as we live in this world, we will live in a world of sorrow.
There's no question about that. We must never expect to be free
from suffering, adversity, pain, and sorrow while we live here.
The apostle tells us in Acts 14.22, we must through much tribulation, enter
into the kingdom of God. There's no other way. We must,
through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. I am
redeemed. I'm justified, sanctified by
the blood of Christ. I've been called by the spirit
of God, saved by his grace, granted forgiveness. I'm accepted into
beloved. But as long as I live in this
world, I'm going to have to deal with pain. I'm going to have
to deal with pain that comes from within and
from without. Pain that comes from friends
and pain that comes from foes. Pain. As long as we live here,
we must recognize that these bodies are subject to sickness
and disease, decay and death, just like everyone else's. Faith
in Christ does not in any way eliminate sorrow. Faith in Christ
does not in any way eliminate bodily suffering. Faith in Christ
does not in any way eliminate sickness and disease. That teaching
is as foreign to this book as darkness is to sunshine. It just
does not teach that. God's children, in the process
of time, grow old, get sick, and die just like everybody else. And I know this too. And this
is the place where our comfort begins. It's no consolation at
all to know that what I'm suffering, other folks are suffering. That's
not any comfort at all. Folks say misery loves company.
I guess we do. That's just an indication of
our misery. But here's where the consolation begins. And faith
recognizes, faith recognizes whatever comes to pass. and my
life is God's will. Good to God that you get hold
of that. God write that with the finger of your grace on my
heart. In everything give thanks for this. This is the will of
God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Nothing in this universe
happens by luck or chance are blind faith. When something good
happens, don't knock on wood. When something bad happens, don't
chop the wood down. It doesn't happen that way. Everything
in the universe comes to pass by the decree of God Almighty,
who is our Heavenly Father. Everything. Everything. But Pastor,
how can you explain how this or that may do good? How can
you explain this circumstance of that. Like you, I have read
and heard many things about the September 11th thing in New York
and the attack on our nation. I've heard many comments. I've
seen books advertised. One came across my table today,
Where Was God on September the 11th? And I've tried to answer
some questions. But, Lindsay, I don't need to
know the answers. I don't need to know why God did what he did. I don't need to know why things
took place. I don't need to know that. I'm
a child, his child. All I need to know is that my
father, loving, gracious, and good, who is just and right and
always does right, did it. That's enough. This is the hand
of God. We will bow to it. And it's not
the hand of some God that is out yonder somewhere without
feeling, without any knowledge of us. This is the hand of God,
my father, who has made himself my father. In heaven's eternal
light, I'll see all things worked out for good. Here, it's enough
for me to know that God did it. And whatever my heavenly father
does, he does because of, please hear me, Whatever God does to
you or with you, whatever God allows anyone to do to you or
with you, whatever it is, he does only because of his infinite
mercy, love, and goodness towards you. Never because he's angry
with you. Never because he would punish
you. Oh, no, no, no. Don't ever look
back and say, well, our chickens have come home to roost. Our
chickens, Lindsay, roosted on God's dear son in that sense.
God Almighty punished his son to the full satisfaction of justice
for us. In chastisement, our God does
not show a frowning face, but a loving face. In chastisement,
God doesn't show his wrath against us, but his love for us. And
he uses the rod of chastisement to correct the child that he
loves, not to punish the rebel against whom he's angry. It's
enough for us to know that God has done what he has done for
us. Someone said, well, how can you
say that a good God How can you ascribe these things? Sickness
and bereavement and heartache and pain and war. How can you ascribe those things
to God? We know God is love. Now listen
for a moment. Listen for a moment. If that
which happens to me is evil and is not for my good and God has
the power to prevent it and doesn't, You tell me where is his love. If a father has the power to
prevent a child from hurting, from experiencing things that
are harmful to that child and hurtful to that child, and the
father has the power to prevent it but doesn't prevent it, the
father is a barbarian with the cruelty of an animal, not a loving
father. The love of our God is displayed
in the very things that bring us pain, for he has declared
he will do us good, and doing us good he is. I know this too. The grace of God is sufficient,
whatever my heartache, whatever my affliction. He declares my
grace is sufficient His strength is made perfect in my weakness. That passage, you're familiar
with it, 2 Corinthians 12, tells us how that Paul, that faithful
servant of God, three times begged God his father to take away that
tormenting thorn in the flesh. It was not just some casual thing.
It wasn't just something, I live with or live without it was a
torment to him. It was a constant pain to him. It was a gut-wrenching,
painful thing. And he said three times, I beg
God, take this from me. And the Lord God refused to take
it away. He said, it'd be better for you
to keep it. So he gave him the thorn in the
flesh and he made him keep it. but it gave him something far
better than taking it away. He gave him grace sufficient
to live with it contentedly. He gave him the experience of
his all-sufficient grace. And I know this, I know this.
Turn to 2 Timothy if you will, I want you to see something. No matter what my trial is, my
brother, my sister, Hear me now. No matter what your affliction
is, but pastor, you don't know. And as I prepared this message
for you, I can't tell you how often those words echoed in my heart. I don't know.
I don't know much about what most people experience in pain.
I don't know much about the adversity that many of my friends endure.
I have some friends out in California, son was shot to death in the
midst of a burglary. I have friends who lost husbands
and wives, lost children. I don't know. I don't know what
most people go through. I acknowledge that. But God does. He's the one who did it. And
no matter what the affliction is, our Savior has promised he
will be with you. He said, I will never leave thee,
nor forsake thee. Paul, in this passage here in
2 Timothy 4, was in prison. In prison for preaching the gospel.
Falsely accused, slandered by multitudes, and at last, even
his had abandoned him, even his friends. Must be something to
it. God wouldn't have put him there.
God wouldn't have made him go through that. Wasn't something,
something, there's something back out of somewhere. There's,
where there's smoke, there's fire. We know something's wrong
with that man, Paul. Much like Job's friends. And
Paul knows he's about to be executed. And look what he says to Timothy
in his last letter. Do thy diligence to come quickly
to me. For Demas, Demas who had traveled
all over the country, one city to another, one state to another,
Demas who had gone with him everywhere preaching the gospel, Demas who
had been his companion for a long time, Demas hath forsaken me,
having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica,
Cretans to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark. Take Mark, that one
over whom he and Barnabas had a falling out. Paul said, I was
wrong. I need him. Take Mark and bring
him with thee, for he's profitable to me for the ministry. Antiqueus
have I sent to Ephesus. The cloak, the coat that I left
with you at Troas, I left with Etroas with purpose, when you
come, bring with you, and the books, the books, but especially
the scriptures. That's what the word parchment
refers to, especially the scriptures. Alexander the copper smith did
me much evil. The Lord reward him according
to his works, of whom be thou aware also, for he hath greatly
withstood thy words. Verse 16. At my first answer,
no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I prayed God that it be not laid
to their charge. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me. No matter
what the trial is, no matter what the adversity is, no matter
what the pain No matter what the affliction is, Larry, Chris,
he's with you. When you see him and when you
don't, when you sense his presence and you sense that he's abandoned
you totally, he's with you. He's with you. The Lord's at
hand. I'll tell you something else. This will make it, this will
make it a little easier. that these afflictions won't
last long. Paul says our light affliction
which is but for a moment. By comparison with eternity,
they're just a very short little speck in time, just for a moment. The hymn writer put it this way,
swift to its close, ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys
grow dim, its glories slip away. Change and decay in all around
me I see. O thou who changest not, abide
with me." All right, here's the second thing. Our afflictions
are light. As a matter of fact, the word
could be translated accurately, featherweight. As light as a
feather. our featherweight afflictions
when compared with what we deserve. Larry read this back in the office
a minute ago, Larry Chris. He has not dealt with us after
our sins. He has not rewarded us according
to our iniquities. God Almighty could have left
us alone. He could have sent us to hell
a long time ago. If we had what we deserve, that's where we'd
be. That's enough. Isn't it? He's not dealt with
us according to our sins. He's not rewarded us according
to our iniquities. Third, our afflictions are light
when compared to what others have suffered before us. You may not know where it came
from. You've all heard a section of one of Milton's works. A rather
lengthy work that he wrote, John Milton, on the massacre, I think
he called it the recent massacre in the Valley of the Piedmont.
He said, I once complained that I had no shoes till I met a man
who had no feet. And he was referring to the massacre
of the Waldensians. those faithful men and women
who suffered great banishment, persecution, imprisonment, and
death, and torture, simply because they refused to deny the faith
of the gospel. And living in the mountains,
this man was seen, whose feet had to be cut off because they'd
frozen. And to save his life, his feet
were amputated. And that's where Milton saw that.
That's what he's referring to. Many women all over the world
suffer the same things we do. All over the world. Did you notice
Paul said our light affliction? Singular. Not our light afflictions,
plural. How come? Because it's all the
same. It's all the same. Many women
everywhere have gone through what you go through and what
you will go through tomorrow. What I go through, what I have
gone through, and what I will go through tomorrow. Why should
I be any different? Most people in this world suffer
enormously more than I can ever imagine suffering. Why should
I complain? I think I've told you, I'm sure
I've told you. I had very few professors when I was in school
for whom I had any respect with regard to spiritual things. There
was one fellow who believed the gospel of God's grace, they let
him teach classes that didn't mean anything. And he was a young
man, strappy, strong fella. His name was Robert Cox. I think
he was 26, maybe 29 years old. He was stricken with crippling
arthritis. When I met him, he wasn't that tall. Every bone in his body was twisted.
He couldn't breathe without pain. He walks. You see him step up
on those steps. It takes him, you'd look at him
and think it's taking him forever to step down, much less step
up. Step off the curb and see him wince in pain. You know,
I never heard that man. Not one time in all the years
I knew him, I never one time heard him offer a complaint about
anything. Did you? Not one time. Never saw him, he didn't greet
me with a smile. Smiled just like Bobby Estes does, who doesn't
have those pains. Most people suffer so much more
than we do. Why should we complain? We complain
about nothing. Let me take that away from you.
I do complain about nothing. And God's people in this world
have always been a suffering people. John Bunyan spent 12 years in
Bedford prison. 12 years. Do you know what he had to do
to get out of prison? Have any idea what he had to
do to get out of prison? And I'm not talking about one of
these palaces they call prison now. I've been to where he spent
those 12 years. He spent 12 years in a damp,
musty, wooden, about about eight by eight wooden roof. Now, wouldn't that be just, it
was underneath the bridge. He spent 12 years there, 12 years. And all they had to do to get
out of prison was agree not to preach the gospel in Bedford. That's all they had to do. Go
somewhere else, just not there. He spent 12 years there. And
there he wrote that great work, Pilgrim's Promise. Not because
God was angry with him, because God was determined to use him,
because God was gracious to him. Must I be carried to the skies
on flowery beds of eaves while others fought to win the prize
and sailed through bloody seas? I'd be ashamed if I were. I'd be ashamed if I were. I'm
as honest as I can be. I would hate to be a soldier
in battle, and I was the only one who didn't get any kind of
hardship. I'd hate to be a soldier on a
battlefield and come home, I'd be the only one who never saw
an enemy, who never knew any kind of difficulty. I would be
ashamed to come home. Fourthly, our afflictions are
light. Oh, how light. when compared
with what Christ, our Lord, suffered for us. Turn to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. I'll be getting to
this text, Lord willing, in a few weeks. The apostle is urging us to run
with patience. The race is sitting before us.
And this is how he does it. Look at verse 3. For consider
him. All children of God consider
him. always and all things consider him. Consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself. Lest ye be wearied
and faint in your minds, you have not yet resisted unto blood,
striving against sin. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, came into this world on purpose
to suffer all the horrid wrath of God as our substitute. In his body, in his soul, in
his heart, and in his mind, he was made to be sin for us. You hear those words so often.
I say them so often. They need to be said and they
need to be heard constantly. Oh, I pray God don't ever let
those words come across these lips without some sense of what
they mean. And let them never come into
your ears without some sense in your heart of what they mean. The Holy Lamb of God was made
to be said. And when he was made to be sin
for us, he was made the object of his father's holy wrath. God poured out on him all the
terror of his inflexible justice, in his inflexible wrath, in his
unmitigated anger and forsook him. We often feel forsaken of God. Bob Pruitt, Jesus Christ really
was forsaken of God. There was not one speck of help
or comfort or peace or mitigating, mitigating hope in him when he
was made to be sinned. he was left to suffer the wrath
of God for us. How come? Because he loved us. I ought to be able, I don't claim
to be, but I ought to be. I ought to be able, by the grace
of God, to endure my light affliction with patience, not allowing any
adversity to interfere in the least with my worship of my Redeemer
for his honor and glory. I didn't say I could, I said
I ought to be able to. Oh, God, give us grace to do
so. Fifth, our afflictions are light. Oh, how light when compared
with the blessings of God bestowed upon us. And now are we the sons of God. He chose us. He's called us out
of darkness into his marvelous light. He's delivered us from
bondage to liberty, from death to life. He's made us to be the
recipients of his grace. Given us faith in his darling
son. Forgiven us of all our sins and
promised never to impute sin against us. The Lord God Almighty
has not only graciously given us all these things, but listen
to this, you can find it in Philippians 129, unto you it is given on
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer
for his sake. Oh my soul, what a privilege to be counted
of God, worthy because of His grace to suffer for His sake. Anything, anything, anything. Now let me show you one last
thing. Our afflictions are like when compared with the glory
that shall be revealed in us. Come back to our text in 2 Corinthians
4. This is exactly what Paul had
in mind when he called our afflictions in this world, our light affliction.
Oh, how light they are when compared to that which I shall enjoy when
my God calls me home. In fact, the Holy Spirit tells
us here that our afflictions are themselves instruments by
which our great God is working for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. Look at it. 2 Corinthians 4,
17. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh, presently worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Have any idea what
that means? Heaven's glory, Bob Ponce, will
be weightier, more glorious, more splendid, more wonderful
because of our afflictions than it could ever otherwise have
been. Look at it. Read on verse 18. While we look
not at the things which are saying, not at the afflictions, But in
things which are not seen, for the things which are seen, they're
just temporary. But all the things that are not
seen, they're eternal. Turn over to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter
1. Peter's telling us the same thing
Paul does. He's talking about our inheritance, that salvation
which we greatly rejoice in. He says in verse 6, wherein you
greatly rejoice, though now for a season. And mark this, if need
be, if need be, if need be. You are in heaviness through
manifold temptation. This is what it's telling us.
You will never have any heaviness if there's not a need be for
it. Look at verse seven, that the
trial of your faith, not your faith, that's not what he's talking
about here, he's talking about the trial of it. The trial of
your faith, being much more precious than a gold that perishes, though
it be tried with fire, look at this, might be found unto praise
and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. You'll look
back when he comes. at the trial of your faith and
you will see greater glory in him because he has brought you through
the trial than ever you could see in him otherwise. John Newton put it this way,
through many dangerous toils and snares I have already come. His grace hath brought me safe
thus far, and grace will lead me home. The Lord has promised
good to me. His word my hope secures. He will my strength and portion
be as long as life endures. And when this heart and flesh
shall fail and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within
the veil a life of joy and peace. And I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time, whatever they are, are not worthy to even
be put into balances and compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. I'm looking for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And when I
enter into that city, bright and fair, I will enter into and
possess all the bliss of heaven's eternal glory. And I shall then
have a new body and a new life. Oh, blessed hopes. Oh, blessed
day. All pain, all affliction then
shall be banished forever. And it is written three times
in the scriptures, and God himself shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes. And let me give you two texts,
just two verses. And I'll send you home and pray
God will give you grace to eat In the light of these things,
let us, therefore, come boldly. Bring your heart's heavy, heavy
trouble freely to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And turn over
to 1 Peter chapter 5. Read this one with me. How do we handle these things? When trouble comes, generally
the way we handle them is we fight and kick and cuss. That's generally the way we handle
them. Maybe not with our lips. That's what's going on in here.
Generally, when trouble comes, the way we handle them is we
throw a huge pity party for ourselves. And we complain a lot. God forgive me. That's just fact.
That's just fact. How should we handle our afflictions?
Our light afflictions? Humble yourselves. You see it?
1 Peter 5, 6. Humble yourselves. Let me give
you a Faulkner interpretation of that. Faulkner paraphrase. slip under the yoke. Take my
yoke upon you, our master said, and you shall find rest unto
your souls. Lord, you've done it. This is
your will. I don't understand it, but you've
done it. I know it's good. Good for me, good for your people,
good for your glory, good for your gospel. I bow to you. Soon as you bow, you get some
peace. just as soon as you're back.
Read on. Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God. What a great word. Under the
hand of God's omnipotence, that he may exalt you. That doesn't
mean, though certainly it's told at the end of time, he will exalt
us before a wandering world, but that's not told In this time
of trouble now, you bow down, humble yourself, and God's gonna
cause everybody to see what a fine fellow you are. No, no, that
he may lift you up. The way up is down. That's the
only way. Bow down, and he'll lift you
up in due time. Well, what's that talking about?
Casting all your care on him, for he careth Cast all your care upon Him who
rules the world for you. Cast all your care upon Him who
died in your stead. Cast all your care upon Him who
intercedes for you at the throne of God. Cast all your care on
Him who careth for you. Cast all your care on Him who
can bear it. Tell your story. Our little grandson,
Will. As you have observed, our grandbabies
are real fond of their Nana. But the other night we were over
there, a couple of weeks ago, maybe a month, I don't remember.
We were over there and I was sitting in the chair, and Will
doesn't like to be rocked to sleep. That boy likes to be put
in his bed. He doesn't want you to fool with
him. Put him in the bed and let him go to sleep. Except for one
feather. Just one feather. I was sitting
over there in the easy chair, and he got a little restless
and snuggled down, like an animal buried in a nest, just snuggled
down on my chest. Doug said, look at that. I said,
he won't let anybody do that. And they chatted back and forth
a little bit, and I'm sitting over there just beaming from ear to ear,
you know. And Faith said something else. Well, Doug said, well,
look what he's laying on. He's got nothing else that needs
to lay on. I didn't say it, but I was saying
to myself, well, eat your heart out, but he's just laying there
just as calm and peaceful. Oh, God, help us. Take all your
soul's trouble, all your care, all your affliction, all your
heartache and snuggle down in the broad, omnipotent chest of
God, your great Savior, who cares for you. And you'll be able to say while
tears burn your cheek and while your heart aches, our light of
affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Amen.