SUF-03   ZNA-107

Job – Guided Tour of Suffering
951015PM

Letter Written to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 117138)
The Christians know and trust their God.  They placate those who oppress them and  make their enemies their friends.  They do good to their enemies.  Their wives are  absolutely pure and their daughters are modest.  Their men abstain from unlawful  marriages, and all other impurity. If any of them have bondwomen or children, they persuade them to become Christians for the love they have toward them; and when they become so, they call them “brother” without distinction.  They love one another. They  rescue the orphan from him who does him violence.  He who has gives ungrudgingly to  him that has not.  If they see a stranger, they take him into their dwellings and rejoice  over him as over a real brother; for they do not call each other brother after the flesh, but after the Spirit of God.  If any among them is poor and needy, and they do not have food  to spare, they fast two or three days that they may supply him with necessary food. But, the deeds which they do, they do not proclaim to the ears of the multitude, but they take care that no man shall perceive them.  Thus they labor to become righteous.  Truly, this  is a new people and there is something divine in them.
WHAT IS GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SUFFERING?
The Lord’s Purpose for Pain is that Suffering for God enables us to experience:
1.      The Song Giving Power of God
Acts 16 and the Philippian Jail          Psalm 142
2.      The Sight giving Power  of God
TO SEE GOD CLEARLY God takes Job on a divinely guided tour of pain. Along the way He teaches him and at the end He never blames Satan, apologizes to Job for all the pain he had to endure, nor praises his friends for their counsel. Job 1-2, 42 Thus,through Job we learn some powerful truths in affliction:
GOD SAYS WE ARE IN A WAR! He became more aware of the cosmological battle all around him. [1-2]
l Satan has power over nations 1:13-17 l Satan has power over nature 1:16-19 l Satan has power over natural man 2:7
GOD SAYS WE ARE INFECTED WITH SIN! He became more aware of his own sin within him. [4:7-9]
GOD SAYS WE ARE NOT HERE LONG! He became aware of the brevity of life. [7:1, 6-9]
GOD SAYS WE MUST BE REFINED! He became aware of the refining hand of God in trials. [23:10]
GOD SAYS WE MUST DEPEND ON HIM! Job was introduced to God as El Shaddai [31 of 48 times in OT is here], literally “The God who is enough.” [22:26]
GOD SAYS WE MUST TRUST HIM AT THE CONTROLS! God is bigger than we can comprehend, all the Universe reflects His handiwork. Note Job 38-39:
l Geology Job 38:4-6 l Rotation Job 38:14 l Oceanography Job 38:16 [toxic hot springs at volcanic vents, two miles down in the dark ocean depths] l Astrophysics Job 38:19 [99% of the mass of the Universe is dark matter we don’t even know what it is] l Meteorology Job 38:22, 25 l Astronomy Job 38:31 gravity l Hydrology Job 38:34 l Zoology Job 38:39 l Ornithology Job 39:26-30 migratory navigation not even closely imitated until satellite navigation, yet God built it into fish, birds and even insects!
TO SEE GOD’S WAY CLEARLY Psalm 119 says God uses Affliction purposefully:
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S WORD MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S PATH MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S PLAN MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S SOURCE OF HOPE MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:92 Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. (NKJV) Note, just because the technology exists  [as in Prozac, psycho-therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.] doesn’t mean it is right! What did David, and the holy prophets of old do in times of deepest depression? Prior to medication and therapists there was the God who said:
l I will bring you back with my Word Psalm 119:25-32, l I will will restore your soul Psalm 23:3, l I will make you whole Psalm 19:7-14.
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S OFFER OF REVIVAL MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S ABILITY TO RESCUE US MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:153  Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law. (NKJV)
Dr. Paul Brand spent 70 years of life living around pain and suffering wrote a magnificent book we all would do well to read, Pain the Gift no one wants. His theme is we try to get rid of pain when in reality it is a blessing from God.
THE LORD’S PURPOSE FOR PAIN IS THAT THROUGH SUFFERING GOD ENABLES US TO EXPERIENCE:
Through Suffering God enables us to experience:
1.      The Song Giving Power of God Acts 16
l Philippian Jail l Psalm 142 and David
2.      The Sight giving Power of God
l Cover Job 1-2 l Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” (NKJV) [Psalm 142]
3.      The Purifying Power of God
l Cover Gen 37-50 Pit to, Palace, to Prison and finally  to the Pinnacle.  l Psalm 105:17-19 He sent a man before them — Joseph — who was sold as a slave.18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him. (NKJV )
4.      The Self-sacrificing Power of God [love]
l Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. (NKJV) l Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (NKJV)
5.      The Faith Building Power of God [faith] Gen 22
Romans 4:13-25
6.      The Hoping Power of God
l Romans 8:18-24 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy  [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected [it] in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only [that,] but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? (NKJV) l Corinthians 4:16-18     Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man  is perishing, yet the inward [man] is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen [are] temporary, but the things which are not seen [are] eternal. (NKJV) l 2 Corinthians 5:1-5     For we know that if our earthly house, [this] tent, is destroyed,  we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in [this] tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing [is] God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (NKJV)
7.      The Comforting Power of God
l 2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (NKJV) l Hebrews 2:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (NKJV) l Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (NKJV)
8.      The Humbling Power of God
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NKJV)
9.      The Resisting Power of God
Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. (NKJV)
10. The Enduring Power of God [patience]
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJV)
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Sermons in this series (click to see details):
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Job – Guided Tour of Suffering

Part 3 (951015PM) Return to previous Page | Print
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Letter Written to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 117138)
The Christians know and trust their God.  They placate those who oppress them and  make their enemies their friends.  They do good to their enemies.  Their wives are  absolutely pure and their daughters are modest.  Their men abstain from unlawful  marriages, and all other impurity. If any of them have bondwomen or children, they persuade them to become Christians for the love they have toward them; and when they become so, they call them “brother” without distinction.  They love one another. They  rescue the orphan from him who does him violence.  He who has gives ungrudgingly to  him that has not.  If they see a stranger, they take him into their dwellings and rejoice  over him as over a real brother; for they do not call each other brother after the flesh, but after the Spirit of God.  If any among them is poor and needy, and they do not have food  to spare, they fast two or three days that they may supply him with necessary food. But, the deeds which they do, they do not proclaim to the ears of the multitude, but they take care that no man shall perceive them.  Thus they labor to become righteous.  Truly, this  is a new people and there is something divine in them.
WHAT IS GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SUFFERING?
The Lord’s Purpose for Pain is that Suffering for God enables us to experience:
1.      The Song Giving Power of God
Acts 16 and the Philippian Jail          Psalm 142
2.      The Sight giving Power  of God
TO SEE GOD CLEARLY God takes Job on a divinely guided tour of pain. Along the way He teaches him and at the end He never blames Satan, apologizes to Job for all the pain he had to endure, nor praises his friends for their counsel. Job 1-2, 42 Thus,through Job we learn some powerful truths in affliction:
GOD SAYS WE ARE IN A WAR! He became more aware of the cosmological battle all around him. [1-2]
l Satan has power over nations 1:13-17 l Satan has power over nature 1:16-19 l Satan has power over natural man 2:7
GOD SAYS WE ARE INFECTED WITH SIN! He became more aware of his own sin within him. [4:7-9]
GOD SAYS WE ARE NOT HERE LONG! He became aware of the brevity of life. [7:1, 6-9]
GOD SAYS WE MUST BE REFINED! He became aware of the refining hand of God in trials. [23:10]
GOD SAYS WE MUST DEPEND ON HIM! Job was introduced to God as El Shaddai [31 of 48 times in OT is here], literally “The God who is enough.” [22:26]
GOD SAYS WE MUST TRUST HIM AT THE CONTROLS! God is bigger than we can comprehend, all the Universe reflects His handiwork. Note Job 38-39:
l Geology Job 38:4-6 l Rotation Job 38:14 l Oceanography Job 38:16 [toxic hot springs at volcanic vents, two miles down in the dark ocean depths] l Astrophysics Job 38:19 [99% of the mass of the Universe is dark matter we don’t even know what it is] l Meteorology Job 38:22, 25 l Astronomy Job 38:31 gravity l Hydrology Job 38:34 l Zoology Job 38:39 l Ornithology Job 39:26-30 migratory navigation not even closely imitated until satellite navigation, yet God built it into fish, birds and even insects!
TO SEE GOD’S WAY CLEARLY Psalm 119 says God uses Affliction purposefully:
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S WORD MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S PATH MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S PLAN MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S SOURCE OF HOPE MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:92 Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. (NKJV) Note, just because the technology exists  [as in Prozac, psycho-therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.] doesn’t mean it is right! What did David, and the holy prophets of old do in times of deepest depression? Prior to medication and therapists there was the God who said:
l I will bring you back with my Word Psalm 119:25-32, l I will will restore your soul Psalm 23:3, l I will make you whole Psalm 19:7-14.
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S OFFER OF REVIVAL MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S ABILITY TO RESCUE US MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:153  Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law. (NKJV)
Dr. Paul Brand spent 70 years of life living around pain and suffering wrote a magnificent book we all would do well to read, Pain the Gift no one wants. His theme is we try to get rid of pain when in reality it is a blessing from God.
THE LORD’S PURPOSE FOR PAIN IS THAT THROUGH SUFFERING GOD ENABLES US TO EXPERIENCE:
Through Suffering God enables us to experience:
1.      The Song Giving Power of God Acts 16
l Philippian Jail l Psalm 142 and David
2.      The Sight giving Power of God
l Cover Job 1-2 l Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” (NKJV) [Psalm 142]
3.      The Purifying Power of God
l Cover Gen 37-50 Pit to, Palace, to Prison and finally  to the Pinnacle.  l Psalm 105:17-19 He sent a man before them — Joseph — who was sold as a slave.18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him. (NKJV )
4.      The Self-sacrificing Power of God [love]
l Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. (NKJV) l Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (NKJV)
5.      The Faith Building Power of God [faith] Gen 22
Romans 4:13-25
6.      The Hoping Power of God
l Romans 8:18-24 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy  [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected [it] in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only [that,] but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? (NKJV) l Corinthians 4:16-18     Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man  is perishing, yet the inward [man] is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen [are] temporary, but the things which are not seen [are] eternal. (NKJV) l 2 Corinthians 5:1-5     For we know that if our earthly house, [this] tent, is destroyed,  we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in [this] tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing [is] God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (NKJV)
7.      The Comforting Power of God
l 2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (NKJV) l Hebrews 2:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (NKJV) l Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (NKJV)
8.      The Humbling Power of God
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NKJV)
9.      The Resisting Power of God
Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. (NKJV)
10. The Enduring Power of God [patience]
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJV)
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Home | About Us | We Believe | Contact Us | Tulsa Bible Church | Grace To You © 2007 – Discover the Book Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
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Comments, suggestions, concerns about this page? Contact the Web Manager
http://www.discoverthebook.org/sermons_read.asp?id=57 Page 2 / 3
Privacy Policy  | Contact Us  |  We Believe  |  About Us  |  Support DTBM
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HOME      BROADCAST      PODCASTS      VIDEOS      SERMONS      SERMON SERIES      PDF LIBRARY      SHOP      HOLY LAND TRIPS              John’s Schedule
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Free USA Priority Shipping on The Joy of a Word Filled Family CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Free USA Priority Shipping until 12/31/08! A complete study on marriage and family. CD Series • Book

• Current Broadcast • Previous Broadcasts • Podcasts • Featured Series • All Series • This Week’s Sermon • All Sermons
Sermons in this series (click to see details):
Part: 12  Abraham – Lessons in Living Part: 11  Abraham – Separated to God Part: 10  Abraham: Investing with God Part: 9  Abraham – Waiting for God Part: 8  Abraham – Biography Part: 7  Abraham – Learning to Wait Part: 6  Moses – The Satisfying Power of Suffering Part: 5  Joseph – Suffering Purifies Part: 4  David – Illuminating Power of Suffering Part: 3  Job – Guided Tour of Suffering Part: 2  Seeing God Through Pain Part: 1  The Apostle of Praise: Paul
Job – Guided Tour of Suffering

Part 3 (951015PM) Return to previous Page | Print
Listen:
(To download Right-click here and choose “Save As”)
Purchase this single sermon on CD
Letter Written to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 117138)
The Christians know and trust their God.  They placate those who oppress them and  make their enemies their friends.  They do good to their enemies.  Their wives are  absolutely pure and their daughters are modest.  Their men abstain from unlawful  marriages, and all other impurity. If any of them have bondwomen or children, they persuade them to become Christians for the love they have toward them; and when they become so, they call them “brother” without distinction.  They love one another. They  rescue the orphan from him who does him violence.  He who has gives ungrudgingly to  him that has not.  If they see a stranger, they take him into their dwellings and rejoice  over him as over a real brother; for they do not call each other brother after the flesh, but after the Spirit of God.  If any among them is poor and needy, and they do not have food  to spare, they fast two or three days that they may supply him with necessary food. But, the deeds which they do, they do not proclaim to the ears of the multitude, but they take care that no man shall perceive them.  Thus they labor to become righteous.  Truly, this  is a new people and there is something divine in them.
WHAT IS GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SUFFERING?
The Lord’s Purpose for Pain is that Suffering for God enables us to experience:
1.      The Song Giving Power of God
Acts 16 and the Philippian Jail          Psalm 142
2.      The Sight giving Power  of God
TO SEE GOD CLEARLY God takes Job on a divinely guided tour of pain. Along the way He teaches him and at the end He never blames Satan, apologizes to Job for all the pain he had to endure, nor praises his friends for their counsel. Job 1-2, 42 Thus,through Job we learn some powerful truths in affliction:
GOD SAYS WE ARE IN A WAR! He became more aware of the cosmological battle all around him. [1-2]
l Satan has power over nations 1:13-17 l Satan has power over nature 1:16-19 l Satan has power over natural man 2:7
GOD SAYS WE ARE INFECTED WITH SIN! He became more aware of his own sin within him. [4:7-9]
GOD SAYS WE ARE NOT HERE LONG! He became aware of the brevity of life. [7:1, 6-9]
GOD SAYS WE MUST BE REFINED! He became aware of the refining hand of God in trials. [23:10]
GOD SAYS WE MUST DEPEND ON HIM! Job was introduced to God as El Shaddai [31 of 48 times in OT is here], literally “The God who is enough.” [22:26]
GOD SAYS WE MUST TRUST HIM AT THE CONTROLS! God is bigger than we can comprehend, all the Universe reflects His handiwork. Note Job 38-39:
l Geology Job 38:4-6 l Rotation Job 38:14 l Oceanography Job 38:16 [toxic hot springs at volcanic vents, two miles down in the dark ocean depths] l Astrophysics Job 38:19 [99% of the mass of the Universe is dark matter we don’t even know what it is] l Meteorology Job 38:22, 25 l Astronomy Job 38:31 gravity l Hydrology Job 38:34 l Zoology Job 38:39 l Ornithology Job 39:26-30 migratory navigation not even closely imitated until satellite navigation, yet God built it into fish, birds and even insects!
TO SEE GOD’S WAY CLEARLY Psalm 119 says God uses Affliction purposefully:
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S WORD MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S PATH MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S PLAN MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S SOURCE OF HOPE MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:92 Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. (NKJV) Note, just because the technology exists  [as in Prozac, psycho-therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.] doesn’t mean it is right! What did David, and the holy prophets of old do in times of deepest depression? Prior to medication and therapists there was the God who said:
l I will bring you back with my Word Psalm 119:25-32, l I will will restore your soul Psalm 23:3, l I will make you whole Psalm 19:7-14.
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S OFFER OF REVIVAL MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word. (NKJV)
AFFLICTION MAKES US SEE GOD’S ABILITY TO RESCUE US MORE CLEARLY Psalm 119:153  Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law. (NKJV)
Dr. Paul Brand spent 70 years of life living around pain and suffering wrote a magnificent book we all would do well to read, Pain the Gift no one wants. His theme is we try to get rid of pain when in reality it is a blessing from God.
THE LORD’S PURPOSE FOR PAIN IS THAT THROUGH SUFFERING GOD ENABLES US TO EXPERIENCE:
Through Suffering God enables us to experience:
1.      The Song Giving Power of God Acts 16
l Philippian Jail l Psalm 142 and David
2.      The Sight giving Power of God
l Cover Job 1-2 l Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” (NKJV) [Psalm 142]
3.      The Purifying Power of God
l Cover Gen 37-50 Pit to, Palace, to Prison and finally  to the Pinnacle.  l Psalm 105:17-19 He sent a man before them — Joseph — who was sold as a slave.18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him. (NKJV )
4.      The Self-sacrificing Power of God [love]
l Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. (NKJV) l Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (NKJV)
5.      The Faith Building Power of God [faith] Gen 22
Romans 4:13-25
6.      The Hoping Power of God
l Romans 8:18-24 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy  [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected [it] in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only [that,] but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? (NKJV) l Corinthians 4:16-18     Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man  is perishing, yet the inward [man] is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen [are] temporary, but the things which are not seen [are] eternal. (NKJV) l 2 Corinthians 5:1-5     For we know that if our earthly house, [this] tent, is destroyed,  we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in [this] tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing [is] God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (NKJV)
7.      The Comforting Power of God
l 2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (NKJV) l Hebrews 2:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (NKJV) l Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (NKJV)
8.      The Humbling Power of God
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NKJV)
9.      The Resisting Power of God
Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. (NKJV)
10. The Enduring Power of God [patience]
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJV)