Sermons
A Fellowship Of Sufferings
Series: The Way Of The CrossA FELLOWSHIP OF SUFFERINGS
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / October 28, 2018
When James & John approached Jesus to ask if He would grant them chief seats in His kingdom - -
one on Your right, and one on Your left (Mk.10:37) - - Jesus, in turn, asked them a question: Are you able
to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized (Mk.10::38)?
Both images used by Jesus - - the cup and the baptism - - are references to SUFFERING.
Next Sunday we'll conclude our series on The Way Of The Cross with a message on JOY and SATISFACTION.
A deep-down, abiding JOY needs to permeate all that we are and all that we do as followers of Jesus.
This final lesson will provide an important “wrapping” to all that we have discussed in this series.
For this morning, I want us to consider what it means to SUFFER FOR CHRIST'S SAKE.
Open your Bibles to Isaiah 53:2-7.
In this ancient text, inscribed 500 years before the incarnation of Jesus, Isaiah the prophet foretells the life of Christ.
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately
form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men, A MAN OF SORROWS, and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely, our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way,
But the Lord has cause the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and
He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
The Roman Empire excelled at building roads – they had a corps of engineers that were way ahead of its time.
Via Dolorosa has come to describe the route that Jesus traveled from Pilate's judgment hall to Golgotha.
It was indeed a SAD road to travel, filled with sorrow and suffering.
The via Dolorosa aptly describes not just that final leg that led Jesus to the cross, but ALL of His life.
When we talk about traveling the way of the cross, we must not overlook this way of suffering.
Sometimes we modern-day Christians appear to be flummoxed by suffering. i.e., “confused”.
Not a few have falsely assumed that their profession of faith in Christ serves as a shield against sufferings.
As the body of Christ we desperately need to re-think our view of suffering.
John Piper notes, Suffering is actually the heart of the Christian story.
Bonhoeffer has penned these words which we all need us to ponder carefully - -
A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of Christ in the world.
It is good that our study of the Scriptures is grounded in history.
Many read passages out of their context and twist or wrest them terribly.
There was indeed something very unique about that first century. More than once, the writers of the
New Testament underscore this uniqueness by referring to first-century saints as FIRSTFRUITS.
In two instances this word, firstfruits, simply refers to “the first converts”, as in Rom.16:5 & 1Cor.16:15.
But in other citations this term goes much deeper. cf. Rom.8:23 & 11:16; 1Cor.15:20 & 23; Js.1:18 and Rev.14:4.
The ministry and death of Christ gave rise to the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit's primary task was to bring the newly-born Body of Christ to its fullness (Eph.4:15-16).
This, I think, is the logical and biblical explanation of Paul's challenging and quite perplexing words in Col.1:24 - -
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of
His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
What in the world is the meaning of this this phrase, filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions?
It is essential that we keep this text in the world in which it was written.
Jesus came to inaugurate a new and living way (Heb.10:20).
His ministry entailed the establishment of the church, purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
But before Christ's church could be completely established the old way had to be put to death.
Heb.9:8 is an “interpretive polestar” that is often overlooked. It reads: The Holy Spirit is testifying
that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing.
Essentially, this meant that the Church of the New Testament could not stand until the Jerusalem of Old fell.
That's why the fall of Jerusalem in AD70 and those forty years leading up to it was vital to God's scheme of redemption.
In a nutshell that is what the apostolic ministries of Paul & Peter and James & John were all about.
Throughout those forty years from AD 30-70 the saints engaged in a very costly venture - - a war of sorts - -
the powers of an deeply-rooted old age had locked horns with the newly unveiled kingdom of Christ/heaven.
Acts 20:23 records Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders. Paul notes:
the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
Paul, in turn, exhorted others (2Tim.2:3) - - suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
Elsewhere in the New Testament we read passages like the following.
Rom.5:3 / we exult in our tribulations … Js.1:2 / Consider it all joy...when you encounter various trials...
And 1Pet.4:12-13a / 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...
These early years were critical to the establishment of the Lord's church.
These years also provide the historical context for two other high-profile texts frequently cited regarding suffering.
1Pet.4:16 / If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God.
2Tim.3:12 / And indeed, all who live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
But we, as 21st century saints, are not the church of the first-born ones (Heb.12:25).
We are their spiritual descendants, but we are not participating in the hinge-pin of history as they were.
How, then do we remain a fellowship of His sufferings?
Many serious and devoted Christians read 2Tim.3:12 and come away feeling a keen sense of guilt.
If we are not being persecuted are we then not living godly?
I have been preaching the gospel for 40 years and I can honestly say I have never once been persecuted.
Misquoted, misunderstood and misinterpreted … sometimes held at arms length … occasionally stabbed in the back …
Frustrated … Discouraged … Taunted … Ridiculed … etc., but never once really PERSECUTED.
Who among us could even come to close to writing a testimony approximating Paul's found in 2Cor.11:23ff?
Our world, humanity as a whole, is filled with sadness, sorrow and suffering.
Seldom does a day pass that someone in our local church family does not taste some measure of the above.
The death of a loved one (grandparent, parent, child, sibling, friend, fellow Christian, etc) …
Betrayal … Divorce … Disease and Sickness … Unemployment … and on and on would could go.
The presence of sadness, sorrow and suffering does not by itself necessarily authenticate our faith.
All humanity experiences such, but not all are disciples of Jesus.
First, it is important to note that a significant percentage of our present-day sufferings are self-inflicted.
Much of our sadness & sorrows and heartaches & headaches are brought on by our own foolishness and sinfulness.
Some sufferings do flow from God (regardless of the age in which we live) in the form of Divine chastening.
In Heb.12:7 Paul reminds us that our Heavenly Father deals with us in ways very similar to that
of a caring and loving earthly father - - What son is there whom His father does not discipline?
Trials and sufferings are vital to the production of a strong character yielding perseverance, endurance and stamina.
(cf. Rom.5:3; Js.1:2 and 1Pet.4:12f). Such are necessary to our spiritual maturation. As they say, “No pain, no gain.”
Let's close with two more brief but key passages. First,from Philp.3:10 (NIV) - -
I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.
In any and every age THE PATH OF OBEDIENCE IS OFTEN MARKED BY TIMES OF SUFFERING AND LOSS.
Our sufferings (however they manifest themselves) are a fellowship of His sufferings when we persist in living an intentional death to self. When we take up our cross daily and follow our Lord Jesus we become like Him in His death.
To deny self and take up our cross is to repeatedly say no to the ways of the world and yes to the ways of God.
If we tried to describe the life of Jesus in one short sentence it would surely include His steadfast deter-
mination to remain focused on doing the will of God in spite of the pressures all around Him to do otherwise.
A second key passage is 1Pet.2:21f, where Peter notes,
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.
FOLLOW HIM WE MUST - - even when and especially when the path of obedience proves to be hard and difficult.
One final postscript.
For quite some time now one could safely assert that life in America is unlike life in many parts of our world.
As citizens of the U.S.A. have freedoms that protect us from outright persecution,
whereas, in many other countries followers of Jesus are not granted such safeguards.
I do not want to be a doomsayer, but it appears that our nation is becoming more and more secularized and ungodly and there may well come a time in the not-to-distant future where we may have to make very difficult decisions
that might come with negative social repercussions if we choose to keep standing up for the things of Christ.
In the 1500's the stalwart reformer Martin Luther posed a penetrating statement in the form of a question.
They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?
Dear Heavenly Father,
While our sufferings may pale in comparison to those of Paul and Peter and James and John,
we nevertheless find ourselves weighed down at times with sadness, sorrows and sufferings.
Remind us daily dear Lord that we serve Jesus, who was Himself a man of sorrows.
Help us to keep our eyes focused on HIM, and to commit ourselves to travel whatever path that is laid out before us
with steadfast obedience - - especially when that pathway seems to be marked by times of suffering and loss.
Grant us a strong determination to follow in the steps of Jesus by continually looking to you in faith for strength.
Through Christ, who suffered so very well, we pray. Amen.
