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The Amish Voice 5
denying self
taking up the cross—dying to one’s own will and way every
day
giving everything that one has to Christ and His cause
(money, time, energy, effort)
The list could go on and on, but the point is clearly seen. If Christ
is worth suffering for, why then forsake Him and turn to some
false teaching?
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
my sake” (Mt.5:11).
ILLUSTRATION:
Where is it written in the Bible that a Christian believer is exempt
from suffering? Unfortunately, many have bought into a false doc-
trine that says “bad things don’t happen to good people.” We need to
rest in God’s ability to provide everything that we need in order to
become more like Jesus.
A man found a cocoon of the emperor moth and took it home to
watch it emerge. One day a small opening appeared, and for sev-
eral hours the moth struggled but couldn’t seem to force its body
past a certain point.
Deciding something was wrong, the man took scissors and
snipped the remaining bit of cocoon. The moth emerged easily, its
body large and swollen, the wings small and shriveled.
He expected that in a few hours the wings would spread out in
their natural beauty, but they did not. Instead of developing into a
creature free to fly, the moth spent its life dragging around a
swollen body and shriveled wings.
The constricting cocoon and the struggle necessary to pass
through the tiny opening are God’s way of forcing fluid from the
body into the wings. The ‘merciful’ snip was, in reality, cruel.
Sometimes the struggle is exactly what we need. (
Craig B. Larson,
Editor.
Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching
, p.266.)
QUESTIONS
:
1. Can you recall an experience when you had to suffer because
of your faith? What lessons did you learn from this experi-
ence?
2. How can God help you grow through suffering?
3. On a scale of 1 (any time) to 5 (never in my wildest dreams),
rate yourself on the following statements. Call this your
“suffering index.” Would you...
_____ Risk embarrassment by sharing Christ?
_____ Take a short-term mission trip to a third-world country?
_____ Skip a meal once a week and use those funds to feed the
hungry of the world?
_____ Get up thirty minutes earlier each day in order to have a
quiet-time with God?
_____ Stand up for the rights of the abused and oppressed?
4. Have you become satisfied with your faith, doing only what
is easy and comfortable?
5. Does God expect you to suffer sometimes? Why?
5. A BELIEVER EXPERIENCES GOD’S MIRACULOUS
WORK BY FAITH, NOT BY OBSERVING THE LAW (v.5).
What were the miracles experienced by the Galatians? They were
miraculous works of healing (see Ac.14:8-15). But note: the miracles
were not due to the Galatians; they were due to God. The Galatians
did not earn, win, or merit the miracles. They simply
heard about
the
power of faith, and they believed God, that God would meet their
needs. And God did—God worked miracles among them because of
the “hearing of faith.” They heard the glorious message of faith in
Christ, and they believed in the power of faith in Christ; therefore,
God honored their faith and met their needs.
APPLICATION:
What a lesson for us! To believe “the hearing of faith”—the glori-
ous message of
faith in Christ and its power—and then to experi-
ence that power
!
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believ-
ing, ye shall receive” (Mt.21:22). “And I say unto you, Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened unto you” (Lu.11:9).
ILLUSTRATION:
In the U.S. Navy, the Seabees have a saying: “The difficult, we do
immediately. The impossible takes a little time.”
Author Jamie Buckingham shares this story from the missionary
adventures of JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Radio Service—the
flying arm for Wycliffe Bible Translators). We pick up his story
about a pilot who was fighting to keep his plane from a fatal
crash:
Never for an instant did Ralph believe they could live through
the pending crash...He could feel his wife’s warm hand on the
back of his clammy knuckles where he gripped the stick. “We
do our best, God does the rest.” It was the motto of JAARS.
During all the time of the emergency, he had not called upon
God. Why had he waited? Why had he not cried out at ten
thousand feet? Now, with death only seconds away, he gulped
the words.
“Father, if You still have work for me and for my passengers,
please bring on the engine...”
It was a sensible prayer. He could have prayed for a giant
hand to rise up out of the jungle and cushion his fall. He could