Christ is Our Hope
Do me a favor, turn to Romans chapter 10. Man, we're going to take a few minutes before we jump into the message and talk about men what we're preparing to do in sending a team to Africa in November. So want to put that in front of you for a few minutes. Romans chapter 10. If you're unaware, we kind of said this week was going to be refuge missions giving week. And what we asked and you would consider giving an over and above gift to, to support the work of this mission trip and what we're doing. And essentially, we were invited by some missionaries who are currently on the ground there and they said, Hey, would you come and work with us to bring the gospel to people who have never heard the gospel, have no access to the gospel and have no chance to hear unless somebody shows up and brings the gospel there. And so it's quite an invitation. And as we say, Here, a lot at refuge you are sent. And we believe this was the Lord drawing us into missions and thinking globally about how we would take the Gospel to the nations. So we've kind of said all week, this is mission is giving weight, we tried to put it in front of you a few times through email and social media, just to pray that you would consider what is an over and above gift. And oftentimes we think, Man, oh, I've got five, it's five bucks. And that's all I can do when we think that's not enough. And men, but really all we're saying is what is the Lord asking of you? In August, we agreed as members that the Lord was calling us to do this. And so we just want to continue to say, what is the Lord asking of you. And so what I want to do is read a passage, and then just spend a few minutes praying as we consider this calling to go. So Romans 10, look at verse 14 with me, how then will they call on him? whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him? Of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? Consider for a moment, the person who shared the gospel with you and was a preacher or parents are a youth pastor, and how you got to hear the gospel for the first time. And it really resonated, they were sent to do that work. And so in the very same way, we agreed as a church and said, Man, this is the work God's called us to do. And so we've been saying again, this week is missions giving week and we want encourage you to give that gift we're trying to raise 15 grand is kind of the number $15,000 is kind of the minimum. So as you and we pray now, just want to continue one more time to put that in front of you. If you want to know how to give, you can use the joy boxes, there's white mission boxes on campus, there's one there and one in the foyer of the Ministry Center. And you can also do it through the website. If you just click give, I just want to continue to really and here's the prayer, Lord, what are you asking me to give him that you to be obedient to that nobody's gonna come shake you down. We're just asking you to play a part as a church, in being and doing this mission. Because what we're not doing is sending five people and say, y'all go do it. We're saying we're going to do this. And we all have a role to play. So if you pray with me, and then we will jump into the message after a few moments. So Lord, we love you. And our prayers, pretty simple Lord, our prayer is this Lord, you have called and spoken to each member and those who call refuge their home and said, Man, I have an opportunity for you to take the gospel where it's not. And we have said yes that to that, Lord. And so what would you now? If you haven't already? Would you speak to our our souls? Would you speak to our hearts and say, here's what I'm asking you to do? That and we would we in church, you can think about it or do it this way, open your hands for the Lord and say, Lord, would you help me to be obedient? Would you help me to receive that what you call me to give? What would you help us to see giving as a joyful opportunity, not as something that's full of guilt and shame that we have to do. But what we get to do this? Is one missionary said you can't outgive God and so we just come to you, Lord, our hands open saying, Lord, what are you asking us to do? God help me to be obedient. I know for me at times, Lord, there's been times I've sat in church and you said, Do this and then I've said yes, in the moment and then kind of trailed off in the days and hours this comes the Lord, would you help us to be obedient to that was your calling us to go we know you'll provide. We trust you there. God, we need you. We love you. Amen. As you continue to think about missions, man, would you continue to pray for the people group that God has sent us to? There's a document in the foyer next to the missions box. It's got a whole bunch of information about the trip and and who we're going to minister to and some of that, so if you have questions about that, you can check that out. Okay, here's what I need you to do. Today, I'm hopeful that you'll be able to write some significant amount of things down that might be helpful. The first thing I need you to write down is this x 13. And then write a comma I can write read it later. Because what we're going to do is we instead of doing x 13. Today, we're going to go a different direction. And last week, Pastor Tim came and preached the front end of x 13. And next week, we'll be in x 14. So we'll put some information out on line this week that can help you navigate the rest of 13. It will be in 14 next week. But I want to go a different direction this week. So if you'll take and if you'll make a note and you'll continue to read through Acts 13. I believe that will be really helpful where I want you to turn this morning a second Corinthians chapter four. Second Corinthians chapter four. When I was a freshman in college, I went to a worship service one night, full of young people. And when I walked in, I was not a believer at the time I left that evening, a believer but a band stepped on stage called silos bolt. Anybody heard of the band silos? Vault? Anybody who got two or three? That's amazing. I know you do. But I wondered if anybody else did. And so there was a young lady in the band named Laura story. If you follow Kinney sort of worship music, you've probably heard the name, but Laura's story, to the band comes out and they play all their fun music. That's back, you know, early 2000s. And music was good. And, and so the very end she came out with she was with the band, she sang a song called grace and everybody just crying is just real powerful song of the gospel. And there's really no denying how talented she was. And even in thinking back to that moment, I remember thinking that bands like pretty good but she's like he or she doesn't belong. They don't belong with her kind of a thing, right? And there was an end if you kind of give her Google her name, you'll hear things like there was no denying the blessing on her life, the voice the ability to write songs. She wrote the number one hit by Chris Tomlin back in oh four. If you are believer then that no doubt you heard the song indescribable. She married a soon to be pastor, a former athlete named Martin. And within a year of their marriage, they found out he had a brain tumor. And their life would never be the same. After multiple surgeries. He was left disabled. He was left without cognitive abilities without a memory voice loss vision loss, even to the point of couldn't remember who she was when she was in the room. And so she's got that going on. And right before that, traveling all over the world leading worship, winning awards, writing songs, being well known in her life changed. Amidst all that success, this brain tumor in her husband's life changed her life. Marshall told me in the first place I didn't know this but Laura story actually did a worship night of worship next door. About 12 years ago in the Methodist church next door. I had no clue though. It's kind of neat. The faith though that Laura story sing about was now put under unexpected fire of trauma of a brain tumor, fear, loneliness and suffering. as newlyweds she had to take on now the responsibility of helping to make sure that her husband was hooked up to the right machines to help him to breathe, to live and to function. Her husband was left with this disabled but this tumor in her life was turned upside down. And so this morning, I want to talk about and preach on suffering and the feeling of being crushed over the last man. Weeks. It seems like every month I've heard stories from people within refuge and outside of refuge that just are walking in really hard things. They feel like their lives are being crushed. They're asking the why question. When I read this this week, crushed corn makes bread tried and grapes make wine, pressed olives yield oil. Man wheat by itself is not fruitful. But when it dies, it enters the harvest branches that bear fruit are pruned. So they may bear more fruit. So then the sick man or woman must not mope or be downcast But consider your crushing not to be useless. And so I want to use the word suffering and crushing a little bit interchangeably because I think Scripture does. The question I have for you. And what I'd love for you to do is take some notes. So I want to I want to provide us this morning with maybe a toolbox of when suffering comes when a crushing comes. How can I respond? So we're not going to answer questions, I'm not going to fix suffering, I have no ability to do really either one of those things. But what I want to do is point us to some useful tools, useful passages that can help us when that time comes because the reality is, it's coming for everyone. No one gets to avoid suffering, crushing hard lives, hard seasons, if they live in this world. Sometimes suffering comes through a phone call in the middle of the night. Sometimes due to sinful decision you make. Sometimes through a sinful decision, a loved one makes sometimes through no action of your own. Sometimes it just shows up out of nowhere. When a crushing can come out of seemingly nowhere when you're doing your best to do everything right. It can come by feeling lonely wrestling with faith, health issues, physical pain, sickness, cancer loss, a wayward child a broken marriage, wondering how the next bill will get paid, having a child who has who has needs that you have no answer for and it can come into an anxiety can come through depression crashing can come through mental illness and crushing the crushing suffering comes for every human on this earth. Man it can be in the form of a phone call that changes our life. But when we all are going to walk through A season that is too hard for us. And so the first thing I want you to write down is this, there's a lie about suffering. I want you to write this lie down so that we understand where we're going to start with the lie is this. The lie is that Christians don't, won't, or shouldn't suffer, that Christians don't want or should not suffer. There's this, I think it's this idea that kind of permeates them. And if we're suffering, we've done something wrong, I've done something wrong. And I think one of the greatest things that the enemy does is to kind of whispers this lie to us that you shouldn't suffer. He didn't really do anything wrong. Or he whispers things like you should not have to go through that. That doesn't seem fair. Or even if God really loved you, dot dot dot, the lie is that Christians don't want should not have to suffer. The truth is this, that if you read the Bible, and hope you do Christians are promised that suffering will come. Peter, we're going to see in a minute actually says in First Peter chapter four, not to be surprised when it does, he actually saying we should expect it. So the lie is that Christians shouldn't suffer. The truth is that suffering will come there's a promise attached. And when when when suffering comes, we have to kind of know where to look where to turn, I think oftentimes people are pointing to the book of Job, probably not a great place to turn if you're in the middle of it, maybe a good place to turn before or after it. But in job 17, verse one, I think Joe gives words to what suffering or crushing can feel like job 17 One, he says my spirit, listen, if you've ever been in a season, where you just like what is happening, he says, My spirit is broken, my days are extinct, the graveyard is ready for me. My spirit is broken. My days are extinct. And the graveyard is ready for me. The ultimate question of suffering or crashing that every question must answer ask is really this question. And this is the question I want you to write down. Is Jesus enough? Then when I have no answer, when nothing can fix my situation? When nothing seemingly can heal my heart, when I have to walk through the rest of my life with a limp or when I can't walk at all? Is Jesus enough. And so what I want to do is give us four passages for you to write down and to consider like a toolbox that you can go back to, to help you do two things when suffering and being crushed comes when to help you process and to have hope. One of the things we often do when we face a situation like this is we look for how to fix it, and how to answer the question of what's going on. And I'm not going to try to fix suffering. I'm not going to try to answer all the questions. But rather what I want to do is go let's look at four passages that help us to process how do we understand this, and then help us to have hope and suffering, hope when we're being crushed. The first is Second Corinthians four. If you're there, that's helpful. If not, go ahead and get there Second Corinthians four, we're going to start in verse seven, start in verse seven. And so Paul is going to say, but we have this treasure in jars of clay. So it's kind of interesting. The treasure he's referring to is the verses one through six, he's referring to the gospel but and then the idea of Jars of Clay is is really you and I, that phrase jars of clay in New Testament times was a way to describe human weakness to the frailty of the human life. And so we have this treasure this gospel, even though we're weak, he says, to show that the surpassing power to continue on is it God and not in us, we have a treasure even our weakness in the treasure is the first six verses of chapter four, the light of the gospel. He's talking about really intruding KNOWING JESUS and entering the glory of God through knowing Jesus. He said, even in our weakness, there can be power because of the gospel. He's saying you're weak, I'm weak, so abide, because there's power there. There's not power in you to sustain that there is power in Jesus. And so the question is why? Why do I abide? Why is this power available to me because look at verse eight, because we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair persecuted, but not forsaken struck down but not destroyed. Verse 10, says, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be made manifested in our bodies. Now this is one of these passages we could spend weeks in to point out a few things but verse 10, is telling us we're able to persevere and affliction and suffering and crushing in perplexing times and physical toil even because Christ is with us and in us. And the reason we are still vertical the reason you got here and it were able to show up today, the reason you're still breathing, still alive still moving how haven't given up, I would tell you in what Paul is saying is not in your own power but in God's power. Saying though week, when we abide in Christ, the power of Jesus is manifested in our bodies. There is power available in abiding in Christ and the gospel. And when we continue to abide, verse 11, for we who live are always being given over to death, for Jesus sake. So you're going this is really encouraging. It's about suffering, and now death. Okay? But what is he saying so that the life of Jesus maybe manifests in our mortal bodies, in fact, we're always dying, so that Jesus can be a work in power in us, verse 12, so that death is at work in us but life in you, verse 13, through 15, since we have the same spirit of faith according to what was written, I believe, and so I spoke we also believe we also speak knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise you also with Jesus and bring you into this presence. This, isn't it. This isn't our only hope right now, the suffering will come to an end. It's temporary, is what he's gonna say. Verse 15, four is all for your sake, look at what Paul's gonna say so that as Grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God, what is he? What is he striving it your faithfulness, my faithfulness in the midst of suffering, the church's faithfulness, in the midst of being crushed, allows and even extends grace to more and more people. Here's one of the most beautiful things you can witness on a Sunday is people in this room who are suffering, walking through hardship, walking through being crushed, that will still pray, still open God's word and hear from the Lord and still sing the gospel. When sometimes that's one of the things that carries us on to the next day, but it continues, so we do not lose heart. This is kind of interesting though our outer self is wasting away look suffering, crushing, it will wear out the outer self life, but I woke up my shoulder just hurt for no reason I did nothing. I made coffee and stood there and also my shoulder hurts like this is the life we live the outer self is wasting away. But as we abide in Christ, the inner self like what it says, is renewed what day by day. In suffering, listen, there is a nearness to the Lord that is incomparable. Where the outside is weary and breaking down the inner self is experiencing the presence of God and being formed to look more and more like Jesus, or 70. So Paul is going to insult your suffering here. He's going to say that thing you're going through he says this light and momentary affliction. But it's preparing for you and eternal weight of glory, beyond all comparison. All calls whatever burdens suffering, we carry light and momentary, in comparison to the future we have with Christ. Does that mean it won't be hard? No. It'll be it'll be harder than you can imagine. No easier for the Christian No. But in doing something, it is doing something in us, even preparing us for eternity, continue verse 18. As we look, not to the things that are seen, you're really good at looking to the things that are seen. What we look for the things that are unseen. The things that are seen are transient, they're temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal. And the challenge for us to take our eyes off of us off of our suffering off of our crashing in place our eyes on our future we have with Christ from temporary to eternal. Our default my default every morning is to wake up and make my coffee for myself. I don't wake up and barely make Mr. Arnold a cup. I don't don't like my default is me. And so our battle is to focus on the eternal what's to come look to the unseen. There's no hope in the temporary so if you're gonna write this down, hoping the crushing number one is that we abide and focus on the eternal, the unseen, not what is but what is to come. And so the day of suffering grabs you min abide focus on the eternal, the unseen, not what is but what is to come. And we don't do this a lot. But if you can hang with me, it would be great if you'll turn to Second Peter. It's right after the book of Hebrews. I'm going to turn with you so we have to do this together. It was James and sorry, Hebrews. James Second Peter. Second Peter four. First Peter four. First Peter Fortnite. Second Peter. My number two says First Peter, and because of the way my brain works, nothing happened. Scores 11 Nothing. Here we go. Number two, First Peter four. This is incredibly important for us to see and it's gonna sound really practical. But I think Paul's or Peter is really trying to help us here. Look at verse 12. Beloved, so those who God loves what does he say? Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. When we walk in suffering. We tend to go what is happening, but Peter would tell us Do not be surprised Do not be surprised. Don't be caught off guard don't live a life thinking this will never happen to me. I will never walk in that because I'm a good Christian. That's never happened to me. Life is smooth for me. And then he describes how it feels. So something strange were happening. And then he's going to tell you to do something even a little bit crazy, but rejoice. Wait, what? So I have cancer and you're saying rejoice. Rejoice. As you share in Christ's sufferings. He's saying, you are no more like Jesus, church than when you suffer faithfully. When we cannot share in Christ's sufferings, nor see the value if we don't know and walk with Him and abide in Him, in the way we share in Christ's sufferings by knowing Jesus, then we begin to look like Jesus, when we suffer faithfully for and with Jesus, he says, if you're insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because of the spirit of glory. God rests upon you. Verse 15, but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil dude, he's saying, don't bring suffering into your life. He's kind of saying this is going to come by itself, don't add to it by foolish decisions. Continue to avoid verse 16. For if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God, like don't be shamed of the suffering, you didn't do anything wrong, necessarily. There's this calling in first Peter for to press on in faith, to do the right thing to, to really the phrase you can pull out of there is to patiently endure, I'm gonna patiently before the Lord endure the thing that I'm in. And so the hope in the suffering number two is that men don't be surprised but patiently endure. Because in doing so you glorify God. Doing so you glorify God and give verse 19. Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. And patiently endure and in doing so you glorify God. All right, turn to John 11. So Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Chapter elevens, the story of Lazarus being healed. And if you don't know the account, Mary and Martha, send words to Jesus and say, Jesus, the man you love is sick, come back and heal him do something here. Now this account is like 60 verses long. And it's already 1114. So we can't do it all. You can read some of it later. But I just want to point to you, when Jesus says response when he finds out about Lazarus, his illness. So look at verse one of John 11. There's now a certain man of was ill Lazarus, of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. And it was Mary, who anointed the Lord with ointment, wiped His feet with her hair, whose brothers Lazarus was ill. There's an there's a connection to Jesus because of the the intimate worship she did, right. And so she sends word the sister sent him saying, Lord, He who you love his zeal, men, men underline or highlight the response, but don't look at it yet. Because if you're putting my hand over, if you're walking through something really hard, and you read this, there's a tendency to go, we actually need this in our souls before we walk through suffering, not during or not after, because if we start to apply it later, this this, we can really interpret it wrong. So verse four says, When Jesus heard this, what did you hear Lazarus is ill. Here's what he says, this illness does not lead to death. So whatever suffering you're walking in, when you can kind of take the word illness out, don't take the word out of the Bible, but you can kind of kind of add your thing there. But he says, this illness does not lead to death, it is for the glory of God, the Son of God may be glorified through it. And this illness does not lead to death, reminder, church, God gives the life. God takes life. No amount of crashing or suffering has the power to do so. And even if God determines to take life, here, life with Him eternally is far better. This is why Paul said in Philippians, for me to live as Christ and to die as game, because he's saying, either way, I'm with Jesus. But then he says, it's for the glory of God, the Son of God may be glorified through it, and God is glorified. Listen, when we simply still choose him in the midst of suffering, God is glorified. And we simply still choose him when we simply still show up, and we simply still belong to community. Listen, it's easy to walk with God when life is good and easy. I didn't show this in the first service. But I don't know about a year ago, I got a, an ad for a marriage book. And the couple that wrote the marriage book had been married for five years. Correct. I balled it up and threw in the trash. That might be the greatest, most godly book ever. But I don't know about you, but I ain't trying to hear that because it's been married five years. Like, give me 20 or 30 or 40. And then we can have a small conversation, right? Give me 50 or 60. And I might actually listen, right? Why? Because they don't know what they don't know, five years, right? It's easy to walk with God when life is good and easy, is it not? But listen, man when things get hard when suffering and crashing come Here's where we really begin to believe him. What do I believe about this Jesus, this is gospel? And is he really enough? Jesus is often most evident to you, most evidently seen through others in your suffering. He's most evident to you and your suffering. So the hope and then suffering number three is that, that you're suffering you're crushing won't lead to separation from Christ, it actually will draw you closer to Christ. Alright, number four, we're not going to turn their promise me, you're not going to turn there. I just want you to write this down for the sake of time as you write down job. 42 is the last chapter in job. Really what I want you to see in that one, and you can kind of check in on it later. But it's the idea that God restores. So if you don't know the story of Job's life, basically, He's the richest, wealthiest, coolest guy in the world. And everything is taken away. And then his friends show up and just mock him for the next like 10 years. His wife tells them Curse God and die. Then at the end, it says in verse nine of job 42, that job returns the Lord he prays a specific prayer. And it says, The Lord accepts Job's prayer and the Lord then restores the fortunes of job when he had prayed this prayer. And the reason that's important is not because then Then Job life got better. And he got a couple of new Tesla's it's not this, this blessing that's material. But rather, it's what we see in Psalm 23 Is that is what happens to Job and Job 42. And so if you know Psalm 23, you know, it says, The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want makes me lie down in green pastures. Anybody memorize it in King James, He restores my soul. And God is the restore of our soul. So when God restores job it says that the Lord restored the fortunes of job. First and foremost, He restores Job's soul. We have a God who is about restoring our souls. We also have a gun in this picture and Joe 42, we see the character of God revealed. He's a God who restores. Listen, one day the Earth is not going to be destroyed is going to be restored. God is about restoration. He restores my soul. Go back to John 11. In that account where Lazarus has healed before he heals Lazarus, Jesus shows up in in like the easiest memory verse of all time, what does he do John 1135, Jesus wept. What is the week? You weeks because He grieves over the loss of a brother He grieves with a snow tear you or I have ever cried has ever gone unnoticed by God. No prayer you have ever prayed and desperation has gone unheard by God. Jesus came and entered our suffering. In fact, you can write this down, but Jesus is referred to in Scripture as the suffering servant. He sheds tears for those and with those he loves, he suffered with us. He suffered for us here this every sad, broken, anxious, written, thought Jesus was there. So hoping the suffering number four is that God alone restores my soul. He cares for my soul. He loves me, He weeps over me, He restores my soul. Listen, first and foremost, to love him again, to love him more, to love others and then to have joy again. And so what I'd like to do is hopefully you're taking some notes I'd like to write have you write down 10 things. Now we'll email this out, and you can get it later. But I think it'll be helpful. Now we'll just call this like, when I'm suffering where do I find hope, like a hope and suffering list. So I'm gonna go kind of fast. So if you miss them, don't stress I'll be glad to just text you the whole manuscript. But number one, hope and suffering number one, when you suffer, consider this return to the Lord. Oftentimes, when people suffer, they run, they run to sin, they run the other way, they abandon the Lord, they abandon church, they just cut it off. Return to the Lord, no matter how far you run, you turn away, and the Lord is right there next to us. So return to the Lord. So if you find yourself in suffering, ask do I need to first and foremost return to the Lord. Number two, God is nearest His presence is is heaviest and thickest in our suffering. In our suffering, like I realized why we would never choose to suffer, but at the same time his nearest is nearest in our suffering. One question, we'll kind of answer today and I'm not going to answer it. I'll let Elisabeth Elliot do it is this we find ourselves in suffering. The question is often, why won't God do something? Maybe you've asked that. Elizabeth Elliott was asked that question and she said he has. He will. And he is he has done something he came in suffer on your behalf. He will do something and he is making a better future to do something. Number four, your hope and suffering list is community Stay connected. One of the best lessons you can learn about community is when we want to pull away as Christians pull away from the church away from the Lord protect other believers. It is community that draws us back in. Tim Keller who passed away recently, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer was asked how are you going to be okay? And his response was this, this is number five. He said if the resurrection is true, and I believe it is where we will be okay? And because of the resurrection, we know we will be okay because we know this isn't all there is to life will be resurrected as Christ was and spend eternity with Him. Number six, our affliction is momentary and light and compared to eternity. Now, when we're in the middle of it, that's hard to see sometimes without the Lord helping us see it. But our affliction is momentary in light in comparison to eternity. I'll hear that right. It's not just me. I didn't know if there was a friction. Okay. All right. Good deal. We'll join in the middle. All right, number seven, are crushing is meaningful. Pain, brokenness, misery, it's producing a glory that is doing something it's working for us and eternal weight of glory is what Second Corinthians four told us it's meaningful. It's not meaningless. The temptation is to go this is for nothing but it's actually for something number eight write this down break me first. Charles Spurgeon one of his famous quotes is if God wants to make a man or use a man like make them great, he's got to break him first. Men oftentimes we pray prayers like God use me we'd have desires God, I want to be used by you. We say things like I am sin, I'm going to be sent God I want to be used by you. But we don't realize is what comes with that prayer is God making us usable? So you may not realize that sometimes we're praying for something we don't really want to experience. God use me Well, I gotta break you. And we don't like no, we're not praying for the breaking part. Because like, I've got to I got to prune you if I'm going to use you. Just know sometimes the breaking you're going through is is preparation to be used down the road, you may not want it you may not know that was that played out that way. But that is what happens. Number nine, keep showing up. Keep showing up. Come to church, come to the gathering, meet with the body, take communion, sing the songs or at least stand and read the lyrics. And the last point is this. Number 10. Look to the cross. Want to talk about that one for a couple minutes. Look to the cross. You still have your Bible handy, turned to Isaiah 53. If you I'm going too fast for you, right Isaiah 53 down but look to the cross is number 10. Isaiah 53 Is this prophetic account of what Jesus would go through to offer you and I salvation. And I just want to read you a little bit of what it says about Jesus so that we can really understand where to place our suffering and crushing when it comes. So Isaiah 53. When you have time, you can read Isaiah 52 And it'll they kind of go together. But 53 says in verse three, He was despised and rejected. This is about Jesus by men. A man of sorrows acquainted with grief. This phrase is always haunting to me, and is one from whom and when hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed him not. So like blond haired, blue eyed smiley, Jesus is not the picture the Bible gives us. Verse four, but surely he has borne our griefs. Listen, this phrase is carried our sorrow ever felt sorrow. He's carried that he understands that he he came and he carried it so he would know what it was like when we go Ah, yeah, we esteem him stricken, and smitten by God and look at that word and afflicted. How about this verse five. He was pierced for what he did know he was pierced for our transgressions. Our sin, that transgressions gotta be the things that literally keep us from God. He was, what's the word crushed for our iniquities. upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. That didn't sound like a fair deal does it? And with Listen, with listen to his wounds, we are healed. Whether we experienced that healing here on Earth, or we experienced one day with Him for all eternity, the only way we ever experienced healing is by his wounds. But it continues we all like sheep have gone astray, right? Everyone has turned to his own way. Lord was beautiful way to say it has laid on him the iniquity of a soul. Look at verse seven. He was oppressed. He was afflicted Look at Verse eight by oppression, that judgment he was taken away, verse nine, and they made his grave with the wicked firsthand and maybe you can underline this. Write this down yet it was the Lord's we'll allow the Lord's will to crush crushing. Why? Because it's Jesus isn't crushed church friends, there is no hope. He's not crushed by the weight of Death, the weight of the cross, there is no hope today, the reason we can hope and suffering, the reason we can walk on this earth and be crushed by circumstances is because a greater crushing happened to him and we know this, isn't it, the Lord crushed him in your place and in my place. If this life has crushed you, this life is not all there is because Jesus was crushed in my place, I have a future to look to, and to hope in that will be with Jesus face to face for all eternity. Why? Because he was willing to be crushed on my behalf, and on your behalf. So when you are crushed, the greatest thing you can do. And look at me, I would argue the hardest thing you can do is look at the cross. were crushed. We don't want to see somebody else suffering, but it's actually the thing we need to do. Because the cross of Christ is a demonstration of patient endurance. When the reality is at any moment, he could have called down how many ever angels he wanted to and taken everybody out. The cross of Christ is the symbol of suffering service. So when Paul says it's not going to be in comparison, like what you're walking in wanting to compare, he says you're gonna look back one day and eternity and it's gonna be a blip on the radar, in comparison, so we think on things that are eternal and unseen. Cross of Christ is the hope of final glory, than the end God restores all things, makes all things right. The cross of Christ is the ground of a reasonable faith. He placed on him the iniquity of a soul. And the cross of Christ Listen, is the proof that God loves you, even in the midst of suffering and hardship that God loves you. I told you a story about Laura's story at the beginning of the message, and I'll close with this. One of the songs songs she wrote, in the middle of all of her suffering was the song mighty to save. We were a Christian 15 years ago, was one of most popular songs. My God is mighty to save, his mighty to save. And the story came out of sitting next to her husband, while he's in the hospital, bed in their home, don't know what tomorrow holds. And she's saying, God, you are mighty to save. You are mighty to save. You are mighty to say, what we say all the time here at refuge. And I'll close with this is it man Jonah to nine Revelation, it says this says it's the first Peter, Salvation belongs to the Lord. So we cry out to Him. So what I'd like to do is just kind of just pivot a little bit, and have a time of prayer. Just as a church, man, if you're if you're sitting with your spouse, this might be a good time to take their hand that if you came in, you don't want to do that. And you want to come to the altar and kneel if you want to turn around where you are in kneel, man, I just I'm gonna pray through three different songs for just a couple minutes. And I would just encourage you to set aside whatever distractions you have, don't check the score all those kinds of things, man, and just take a few moments now to hear the songs as they resonate, allowing the Lord maybe to speak to you and maybe give you words where you don't know how to pray. The Psalms are 313 and 23. Just I didn't mean to do it that way. It played out that way. But I I pray that they'll give you words where sometimes there may not be words, Would you pray with me, God, we love you. And first of all, I want to pray. We didn't give much preparation for a heavy message. And so I pray it lands softly in healthy, fruitful ways. That's your word says in Psalm three that you says but you will order a shield about me. Would you be a shield about us and then it says the lifter of my head out there will be and there are times we absolutely feel like we can't even lift our head anymore. So we look to your shield and say, Lord, would You lift my head when I can't? Verse five says, I lay down and I slept and I woke again why for the Lord sustained me. We just think a song saying I depend on you. And so in the same way, Lord, we say would you sustain me? Arise, oh Lord and save me my God for you strike all my enemies on the cheek you break the teeth of the wicked. Verse eight Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be on your people. Psalm 13 tells us how long the Lord will you forget me forever. How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul will have sorrow in my heart all the day. Or sometimes these are the prayers we need to pray Lord, this is how I feel. Have you forgotten me? But it helped me to trust though in your steadfast love. Oh my heart to remember recall and celebrate and rejoice in your salvation. I sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me. Then Psalm 23 We know it. Let's pray. The Lord is my show. apart I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures He leads me beside still waters He restores my soul. But also what we need is not free to fix the situation not for you to answer your question but, but for you to restore our souls when things are hard. When things are crashing when suffering takes place, even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Lord, you comfort us. So we don't fear the evil one. Got in your presence, our cup overflows? Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell or abide in the house of the Lord forever. How would you help us to believe that that we, because you took on the iniquity of a soul will dwell in your house forever. God in the midst of suffering in the midst of affliction in the midst of being crushed help us to believe that we will dwell in your house forever. God as we sing to you now would you draw us to you would you heal was broken and would you restore? God we need you and we love you.