The Suffering Saint - 1 Cheshvan 5786

Here and Now:

I have been feeling stressed, sad, broken, defiled, taken for granted, violated, and all the negative things that a person feels because of the evil in this world. I felt anxious, scared, insecure and unloved by the environment that was supposed to be a safe space for me. Since last night I have been crying out to GOD to help me, help me to survive and overcome this evil world. But then GOD's word comforts me today that is why I write what I have been receiving from GOD.

SOAP

Scriptures

Amos 6
English Standard Version
Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
1 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!

2 Timothy 2
English Standard Version
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,[a] who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.

Observation

The WORD in Amos 6 speaks to me in which it says: “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria.... I believe it applies to all who are living at ease in this world because they are depending their security on mountains of the world, the mountain of wealth, the mountain of power, the mountain of money. Even though I live in a mountain that ought to make me feel secure and at ease but I am very insecure in it because the mountain I live troubles my soul. And so this word is parallel to the WORD in 2 Timothy 2:3 To share in the suffering of CHRIST because as long as we are in this world, the Saints of GOD suffer all kinds of tribulation and affliction in their souls because this world defies GOD and we who are one in GOD feel troubled in this world who defies the GOD we love. 

Application

It is okay to be troubled, it is okay to not feel comfortable, to feel afflicted and to feel uneasy because as a child of GOD we should be carrying the heart of GOD, and not feel comfortable in a place that defies GOD. This WORD encourages me, because it explains all that I am feeling. It explains all the pain, and affliction and suffering of my heart. Just as the soul of Lot (nephew of Abraham) was troubled everyday by what he was experiencing in Sodom and Gomorrah, emphasized in 2 Peter 2:8 (KJV), "For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." As a child and follower of GOD, I ought to share the same suffering, and therefore I should rejoice even though I am troubled and vexed in this world, just as the WORD commands us in James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If you are an obedient child of GOD then you are a Saint, and Saints always suffer persecution because the darkness in this world, hates the light in you. 

Prayers

Dear FATHER, 

Make me strong, steadfast and immovable in this evil world. Help me to accept that suffering is normal for true followers of JESUS and enable me to overcome the tribulations of this world by YOUR grace and HOLY SPIRIT within me that empowers me and makes me who YOU have called me to be - a winner, an overcomer, victorious warrior more than a conqueror! 

In the Name of YESHUA, JESUS the KING, AMEN!

All Work Out - April 22, 2014

Scripture: Romans 7-8

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. - Romans 8

Message:

Our sufferings now can only remind us of our Hope for a glorious Future.

Observation/Promise:

We may have sufferings and troubles on earth, but they are only to mold us into better persons, shaping us to be a people of great character, one that GOD is working to be worthy of the paradise He has prepared for us. Yes we are all saved from our sins and condemnation when we accept the Lord Yeshua as our GOD but acceptance is not the end but only the start of our transformation. We can not stop pursuing GOD just because we are already sure of our salvation. The Word says we need to work out our salvation. When GOD saves us, He starts molding us into people with golden characters. And the process of molding and transformation may not be a pleasant experience because it is usually painful most of the time. 

Application/Command:

We need to only trust GOD in our troubles and suffering. When we trust GOD, we are letting go of our human ways of getting things done, we simply trust that the hardship and difficult circumstance is only making us hope more on the glorious future He has in store for us and that what we are going through now will bear into such a fruit that will make good use in the tasks and roles we will be responsible for in the future. And even in our failures, we can be confident that GOD will use our mistakes for His glory and our greater good. With GOD, no experience could ever be a waste, when we follow GOD, everything will all work out in the end and only GOD knows how. 

Unfailing One - April 12, 2014

Scripture: Job 3-4
11 “Why wasn’t I born dead?
Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?
12 Why was I laid on my mother’s lap?
Why did she nurse me at her breasts?
13 Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace.
I would be asleep and at rest.
14 I would rest with the world’s kings and prime ministers,
whose great buildings now lie in ruins.
15 I would rest with princes, rich in gold,
whose palaces were filled with silver.
16 Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child,
like a baby who never lives to see the light?
17 For in death the wicked cause no trouble,
and the weary are at rest.

Message:

The agony of suffering to the point of regret.

Observation/Promise:
We all suffer from hardship and troubles in life. Pain and troubles are part of being in this world, it is part of life. And we can regret the day we were born for when we taste the suffering and troubles in life, we will begin to think that death is sweeter than life. But everything that GOD allows to happen on earth has a significant purpose and most especially the day of our birth because HE has a purpose for our being.

Application/Command:

We may regret the day of our birth and wish for death because of our sufferings and troubles on earth but GOD who brought you life truly has a purpose for you. Even Job who had everything then and lost everything in a single day was blessed even more in the end that he was blessed in the beginning. GOD's purpose for Job's life is to be a model for all those that love GOD, an example for all that want to be faithful to GOD, that even when we go through trials, GOD will carry us through all of them just as He carried Job. That our end is better than our beginning. Let us trust GOD even in the sorrows, hardship, persecution and sufferings. Hold on to the Almighty and Trust the unfailing one.

Faithful GOD - April 3, 2014

Scripture: Job 1-2
6 Adonai said to the Adversary, “Here! He is in your hands, except that you are to spare his life.”
7 Then the Adversary went out from the presence of Adonai and struck Iyov down with horrible infected sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 He took a piece of a broken pot to scratch himself and sat down in the pile of ashes. 9 His wife asked him, “Why do you still hold on to your integrity? Curse God, and die!” 10 But he answered her, “You’re talking like a low-class woman! Are we to receive the good at God’s hands but reject the bad?” In all this Iyov did not say one sinful word.
13 Then they sat down with him on the ground. For seven days and seven nights, no one spoke a word to him; because they saw how much he was suffering.
Message:
HE is GOD and He is a faithful GOD through the good and the bad times.

Obeservation/Promise:
All of GOD's children are in GOD's hands, He protects us from harm and everything that is not good for us. The only time GOD gives us up from His hands is when He is going to test us and so we go through trials, and great sufferings, but this is all with GOD's consent. But the great about Iyov or Job was that he knew GOD and was faithful to him in both the good times and the bad times. The devil thought that he was just like any other man on earth, that will curse GOD when horrible things happen to him, but he was none like the others and GOD was proud of him the Lord even boasted about his servant to the devil and He was right about Job.

Application/Command:
Be faithful to GOD in the good times where we are not troubled by trials and everything to GOD but most especially in the bad times when we are suffering and going through such misery. GOD is always in Control, even when we see that everything is out of control. GOD has a purpose and plan for everything, therefore trust HIM and stay faithful to Him. No matter how hard difficult life is, all the more cling and hold on to GOD. In the end, GOD will prove Himself faithful and true to us and we His servants will end in praise and rejoicing because He is good!!! 

GOD is faithful, so should we - March 4, 2014

Scripture: Nehemiah 5-9

7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. 8 When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.

32 “And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors—all of your people—from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now.
36 “So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land.37 The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery.”

Message:

GOD always fulfills His promise, but He will always judge us when we don't obey His instructions to us. 

Observation/Promise:

We have to prove ourselves faithful. Even when GOD has given us a promise, when we are unworthy of having and receiving the promise of GOD, GOD will still fulfill His promise but we will ensnarled by the trap of judgement and we will not enjoy His promise. GOD's promise is sure to come true, because GOD never lies, but we have to keep hearts firmly established in the Lord, we cannot let pride overtake us and cause ourselves to rebel against Him. Just like the Israelites, they are living in the Promise of GOD but they are facing so much trouble because of their rebellion. In the land of plenty, they are in need and struggling to survive. There is a curse for those that rebel against GOD. If we want to enjoy the blessings of GOD, we need to walk whole heartedly after him.

Command/Application:

Stay faithful to the LORD by obeying His instructions.

Always remember what He said we have to do, by reading His word and obeying them.

We have to humble ourselves before GOD.

Do not be proud, listen and be sensitive to His word.

Always think about what GOD has done for you, everytime you are tempted to rebel, look back and remember what GOD has done. He has always been faithful, let us be faithful to Him too.

Faithful to the Faithful

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look with lust at a young woman.
2 For what has God above chosen for us?
What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?
3 Isn’t it calamity for the wicked
and misfortune for those who do evil?
4 Doesn’t he see everything I do
and every step I take?

- Job 31

Job was not just a believer of GOD who goes to church every Sunday and gave his tithes to the temple. He didn't just listen to the preacher and forgot all about them during the week. He wasn't just any ordinary man who had religion but did not have faith. Job loved GOD. He loved GOD so much he pleased GOD in the deep of his heart to the pages of his thoughts. To make a covenant or a promise with himself never to look at lust with a young woman is a man who has developed a character of moral excellence. It is very hard for man not to look at women with lust because naturally men are very visual and anything they see stimulates them. But it was Job's prerogative to discipline the thoughts of his mind and keeping them pure and holy before GOD.  You can never keep birds of thoughts from flying over your head, but you can always keep them from building a nest in it.

Job was a man that truly feared GOD. Fearing GOD is not to be afraid of Him but to have the highest respect and reverend awe for GOD. This is how Job lived his life and GOD was very pleased with him. GOD was so proud of Job that HE had to boast about him to the devil and so gave the devil the chance to test the one who was more righteous than anyone on the face of the earth to prove GOD wrong. GOD believing Job so much allowed the devil to touch  his wealth, his family, his health but Job never disappointed GOD in fact he was so faithful to GOD even to the point of death. For this Job's fear for GOD paid off in the end. Job was given back a hundred times back what the devil had stolen and broken from his life and lived even more abundantly than he ever did before. So what is the difference between someone who loves GOD and someone who doesn't? Both go through the same troubles and even the righteous go through it undeserved. But one thing is for sure. The righteous may have troubles but the LORD delivers him from them all. He is faithful to the faithful.

HIS Hands

1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me

Psalm 13 

When we are in a troubling situation, it is natural to feel as if GOD doesn't care or has forgotten us. But GOD knows and understand every struggle, HE is right there with us. The days seems long and it seems like forever when we are in a dark season of our lives, we cannot escape them, we must go through them. The invisible enemy works day and night to ruin our lives, but the invisible GOD is a faithful GOD and no matter how abandoned we may feel when we are in a dark situation, it never means GOD has left us. 

How do we cope with these struggles? By redirecting our thoughts and our focus on GOD and not on how big our problems seem to be. By praying and asking for the salvation of GOD, we are finding our refuge in HIM, we are making HIM our Savior, we are trusting in HIS goodness. Because HE is indeed our Savior, no one else can help us out of our troubles but the LORD. When we remember who GOD is, our hearts can rest in HIS loving character. And when we are able to rest in HIS Being inspite of the troubles, we are brought to a place of serenity, a place of refuge like a cave amidst the storm is HIS hands all over and above us.

Hope

22 We know that until now, the whole creation has been groaning as with the pains of childbirth; 23 and not only it, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we continue waiting eagerly to be made sons — that is, to have our whole bodies redeemed and set free. 24 It was in this hope that we were saved. But if we see what we hope for, it isn’t hope — after all, who hopes for what he already sees?25 But if we continue hoping for something we don’t see, then we still wait eagerly for it, with perseverance.
- Romans 8:22-25

All creation is groaning. Groans are sounds that come from deep pain or despair. Why does Paul say that the whole creation is groaning as if it was a woman about to give birth? It is groaning for GOD's total rulership on earth, GOD's glory to cover the entire Universe. Do you have these kinds of groans? Do you ever feel dissatisfied with life? Then you are one that is longing for perfection and idealism that can only be attained when GOD's Kingdom will fully reign in the entire creation and all His follwers will receive complete sonship where our bodies are no longer human imperfect bodies bound to sin but glorified bodies that make us perfect beings. 

There will always be trouble in this world, regardless whether you are a follower of Yeshua or not, whether you are a child of GOD or someone godless, you will face troubles that each person will have to face on earth. But what every child of GOD has that nobody else could never have if they do not have GOD is the shining hope and resting peace that they can hold on to that keeps them strong and keeps them going, regardless of the troubles they are facing. This kind of hope will sustain children of the light to perservere, to continue, to never give up and follow their LORD Yeshua to the very end even unto death because GOD's promise is the only certain thing we could ever hold on to in this world. Security is found not in wealth, not in family, not even our deepest relationships could ever compare to the promises of GOD in our lives. It is the hope of Yeshua's glorious return for His bride - His followers and the promise that one day we will be together with the LORD GOD in a perfect world forever safe, secure and beyond enormous joy. What is your hope?

Selfless Abandon

41 “I don’t collect praise from men, 42 but I do know you people — I know that you have no love for God in you! 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t accept me; if someone else comes in his own name, him you will accept. 44 How can you trust? You’re busy collecting praise from each other, instead of seeking praise from God only.
- John 5:41-44


There is a problem with religion that many are not aware that they have already fallen into the problem when they are involved with religion. This problem is pride. People who serve GOD in church start out because they want to please GOD, they want to honor His name, because they love GOD. But somehow along the way, many of us lose track of why we are serving GOD in the first place. When men start to give praise to us we intertwine it with GOD's praise to us, and then we start lose sight of winning the praise of GOD and start aiming for men's praise. We are deceived into thinking that as long as people are happy, GOD is happy. But if we study carefully the lives of great men who has followed GOD in the Bible, we see Moses was consistently being doubted and spoken against of by his very own people whom he led out of Egypt into GOD's promise land.

The truth is, it is a difficult thing to please GOD, it is in fact troublesome! Why? because in following GOD, you will be chased and met with troubles most of the time. Every man of the Bible had their share of troubles and most especially Yeshua the Messiah Himself. And like them, when we are following GOD, we are called to endure and persevere the mockery of men and the doubts of our very own families. It is in trusting GOD that we are able to overcome all of our troubles. Trust means the selfless abandon of oneself to GOD's Sovereignity. But how can we trust if we don't even know the ONE who has called us? How can we trust if we don't have the love of GOD in our hearts? Let us search our hearts, what are we truly living for? Whatever is in our hearts will be the driving force of whatever we do in life. If our hearts are truly for GOD we will overcome whatever troubles that may come our way and no matter what people say, we will stand for whatever GOD has promised to do in our lives, even if we seem insane to the world, let it be so for nothing can move us except GOD and GOD alone.

   

Overcome

10 As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress. 11 That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”- Acts 23:10-11


Success in the worldly sense means peace with many people, security in the things you have worked hard for, loved ones that surround you and freedom to be whoever and whatever you want to be. But in the Spiritual sense, success means pleasing GOD. Pleasing GOD is not equivalent with how the world views success. In the book of Acts, we read about Paul and the many troubles he had to go through, experiencing riots and facing conflicts between him and his jewish people or the gentiles, the trials he had to face on court, the prison cells he went in and out, and the many more overwhelming things a single person can go through in life. Wordly people viewed him as a trouble maker, it's easy to understand if people thought he was the biggest failure on earth. But every time his life was at risk or when he is in trouble, GOD was faithful to preserve his life. His life was not taken from him because GOD was protecting him, guiding his every step.

Certainly, any man would be sapped out of strength and lose courage but GODs provision for strength and courage will never fail. At the midst of a great trial Paul was about to face and just after a conflict that he had to deal with, GOD appears to Paul at night encouraging him that he is doing the right thing, and that he should continue to do so, being a witness to JESUS in Jerusalem and even outside of Jerusalem. Even in chaos, any follower of JESUS can feel secure and peaceful, because our courage comes not from what is outside of us, it's not dependent on the circumstances that going on around us. A follower's courage and strength comes the LORD who lives within them. Focusing on JESUS, pleasing our LORD is how we will be able to overcome such troubles and persecution in our lives. Whatever problems that may come our way, we have not experienced the worse as Paul did and if Paul was able to sing and lift his praise to the LORD inside the prison cell, then we can be confident that the GOD who is holding up Paul during the darkest hour of the night, is the same GOD who is holding us up today and will raise us up to Himself on the very last day. Holing on to GOD in faith will lead us to victory, this is how we will overcome.

Rejoicing in the Darkness

24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
- Acts 16

You may be experiencing a difficult thing right now even when you know you are doing what is right. Don't be alarmed, this is the usual thing for every follower of GOD. There's much trouble that meet those that love GOD because there's an enemy that opposes GOD and those that walk with Him. But it is amazing no matter how persecuted and how much suffering Paul and Silas gone through for the sake of the gospel, they still had the joy, the strength and the energy to pray and sing hyms to GOD. And they were doing that inside the darkness of a prison cell! Now we all know, that what they did was not a normal reaction of any human being that's persecuted. These men were no longer in their sane human minds, they were under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the One that is causing them to face all kinds of troubles with faith, joy and singing. 

When we are living under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit, just as Pual & Silas, we become superhumans. We do not cower in fear, we are not troubled when we are suffering. Instead we do the exact opposite, we praise GOD, we pray, we rejoice because we understand the Sovereign control of GOD in our lives and in everything that goes on in this world. HE has already written in the Bible all that has happened and will happen in the future. The world now is in chaos, turmoil, famine, and all the things that trouble the human heart. But if you are a follower of JESUS, then you understand that the greater the trouble this world comes to, the nearer of HIS return, and instead of fearing, you will rejoice for you know with all your heart that the greatest day this world is waiting for is the day of the return of YESHUA the true Messiah of Israel, known to the gentiles as JESUS Savior of the whole world. And when others sees our attitude for how this world is coming to be, they will want what we have seeking salvation for their souls through JESUS.