Sermons
The Fellowship Of His Sufferings
Series: Endurance In Days Of Extremity - The Journey And Journal Of JobTHE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / April 09, 2017
The blessing of the fleet - - our 2017 L2L entourage.
As I mentioned last Sunday, Jeannie & I will be spending time with family in Yuma, Arizona for next two Sundays
Vic Rossi will preaching on Easter Sunday … and Rob Espinosa will preach on April 23rd.
This morning I want to conclude our series on Job with a P.S.S. - - a postscript of a postscript.
Several hundred years before Jesus came to earth, Isaiah prophesied of Him saying (Isa.53:3) - -
He was despised and forsaken of men, a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with much grief…
I closed last Sunday’s sermon by citing three Scriptures and asking a very important question.
Heb.2:10 / For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things,
in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.
Heb.5:8 / Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
1Pet.2:21 / For you have been called for this purpose,
since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.
If the way of suffering was the path God charted for Jesus to travel in learning
obedience, why would we venture to think that our lives should be any different?
This morning I want to begin our study by reminding us of the words of the apostle Paul.
Philp.3:4b-8 / If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:
circumcised on the eight day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews;
as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is found in the Law,
found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,
For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ…
In Philp.3:10 Paul speaks of the fellowship of His sufferings.
There is a tremendous mystery (mysterium tremendum) that surrounds & overshadows the birth, life and death of Jesus.
Jesus was God’s ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, yet He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with much grief.
This truth is both extremely weighty and particularly instructive.
In answer to the question, “HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS?”, we need look no further than Paul.
Read from 2Cor.11:23-28
Read also from 1Cor.4:9-13.
In the world of academia they speak of something called a fellowship grant.
It usually refers to a monetary stipend that is designed to facilitate one’s schooling.
As Christians, we are invited to the take part in the school of Jesus - - the college of Christ.
Although there is no monetary reward, it is an honor of the highest kind to take part in the fellowship of His sufferings.
This fellowship grant is a serious undertaking and is not for the faint-hearted.
It is also extended without partiality: it is for all of us Christians, not just for a limited few.
Peter writes (1Pet.4:12-13): Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you,
which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
but to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing…
I want to conclude our study of the book of Job with a few re-cap observations.
Sometimes we miss the forest because of the trees. These are what we might call big-picture observations - -
insights which ought to be obvious, but insights that we might be inclined to overlook.
One writer (Chuck Swindoll / Job: A Man Of Heroic Endurance, pg.324ff) has enumerated seven general lessons from Job. He includes seven admonitions including: A vertical perspective will keep us from horizontal panic.
Discernment is needed to detect wrong advice from well-meaning people.
When things turn from bad to worse, sound theology helps us remain strong and stable.
Caring and sensitive friends know when to come, how to respond and what to say.
It’s easy to be Monday-morning quarterbacks when we encounter another’s outburst.
I want to focus on his 1st and 7th point.
(1) WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.
We might make the best of plans, but “interruptions” often appear quite unexpectedly.
When Jeannie and I traveled to Texas in early March, as you can imagine, I had everything mapped out.
However … we woke up to a snowstorm that made for a long and treacherous journey to the Cleveland airport.
We almost missed our flight. I got disoriented in the blizzard and missed the turn off to go Park-N-Fly.
We made it on time, but our flight on Allegiant was delayed because of a faulty fuel filter. When we finally headed out the
runway two hours later, the GPS on the plane malfunctioned. We sat on the tarmac for an hour before returning to the airport.
The plan was to get to Austin at noon on Friday in order to enjoy seven hours of sunlight for sightseeing in the Hill country.
(The forecast was calling for rain on Saturday and Sunday). When we checked in to get our rental vehicle, it was already rented out.
They gave us an upgrade (a honking big Ford Expedition) and when I turned on the ignition key,
bells starting dinging and the dashboard read , “check tire inflation” and I said, “No way, Hosea!”. When we left the auto
rental garage it was dark (so much for sunshine sightseeing). I could tell you more about the trip, but you get the picture.
Life seldom goes just as we expect it. Instead, we are often confronted with all manner of “interruptions”:
Meteorological disturbances …dangers … disorientation … distresses … delays … deflations & dinging bells …
detours … darkness … dangerous curves … downpours … dead-ends … and a host of disappointments.
I am very thankful that our trip didn’t include divorce … disaster … and death.
Actually, I can honestly say, all these things nothwithstanding, we had a delightful time.
Well, okay, maybe it wasn’t thoroughly delicious, but it was descent!
My enumeration of these “Terry Trials” is really quite petty - - but on a much more serious note, the book of Job starts out so well. Job 1:1f - - There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless,
upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His pos-
sessions included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 female donkeys (not counting his wife/Job 2:9),
and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Job’s life was suddenly turned upside down with one calamity after another. Job was smacked with serious
sufferings and deep sorrows that he never saw coming (re-read the balance of chapter one and chapter two).
Job’s journal is a reminder of that big-picture truth - - we walk by faith, not by sight / 2Cor.5:7).
Prov.3:5 / Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Prov.16:9 / The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
Isa.55:8-9 / ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher that you ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’
Js.1:2-3 / Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
1Pet.5:6-7 / Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt
you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
The stronger in faith we become the more we realize two truths: There is a God … and I’m not HIM.
(2) THE CULTIVATION OF OBEDIENT ENDURANCE IS THE CROWNING MARK OF MATURITY.
Js.5:10-11 reads as follows - -
As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and
have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
One of our chief goals is life ought to be to keep on growing and maturing in our faith.
This would make a wonderful gravestone etching: here lies a man who kept growing as he kept aging.
Spiritual maturation is often a slow and arduous process.
When trouble comes our way (however big or small), we have two options.
We can view it as an intrusion, and even an outrage …
or we can see it as an occasion to respond in steadfast obedience to God’s will.
This is that rugged virtue that was possessed by Job - - which James called, ENDURANCE.
Endurance is not a jaw-clenched resignation, nor is it a passive acquiescence.
It is what Eugene Peterson calls “a long obedience in the same direction” (Discipleship In A Instant Society).
It is a dogged determination to trust God always - - and especially when the conditions are not favorable.
We do not go about proactively seeking suffering.
We’re not in the business of fabricating painful experiences of sorrow and suffering so as to add stars to our crown.
Oswald Chambers has summed our challenge very well:
To choose suffering makes no sense at all;
To choose God’s will in the midst of our suffering makes all the sense in the world.
