Willing to...Suffer (and find Joy in it)?

In my last post I looked at Willing to...Serve? pointing out that churches have many areas in which they need help and that we should do everything we do "as to the Lord". I also pointed out that when we serve, we follow Jesus example, learn humility and share God's love.

Following on from that post, this post is going to look at whether we are Willing to Suffer? This may seem a strange way to follow on but I believe it is a biblical principle. Here are a couple of scriptures to back up my point.

Jesus was a SUFFERING Servant

Isaiah prophesied before Jesus was born that he would be "despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain." Isaiah 53:3.  The writer of Hebrews also says "so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood." The main purpose of Jesus walk on earth was to do the will of God, his father. For this to happen, Jesus had to suffer being rejected by men, betrayed by his disciple, having nails driven in his hand and thorns in his head as well as the incommunicable suffering of bring forsaken by his father. Jesus had immense suffering. If as Christians we believe that Christ is our perfect example then we cannot pick and choose what areas of Christ life are applicable to us. Christianity is not about "whatever suits me best and fits in with my life", but it is about saying "Jesus humbled himself to earth, suffered for me indescribable pain on the cross, for me. My only response can be to follow him and hand over to him every single area of my life". 

Very briefly, it is also worth looking at the suffering which the apostles and early christians went through in establishing the church. Many were crucified and imprisoned, stephen was stoned and some were exiled. Is it just coincidence that the people Jesus chose and commanded to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," - Matthew 28:19 also ended up suffering for that calling? Definitely not. We NEED to be prepared for this. Why?

We To are CALLED To Suffer

Paul in his letter to the Philippians says "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him" - Philippians 1:29. From this we can take that it is part of our calling that in following Christ, we follow him even in suffering. This doesn't mean that each of us will be crucified, the suffering may take many forms. You could suffer financially, spiritually, emotionally or even physically.

In Paul's letter to Timothy he calls him (and us) to "not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." - 2 Timothy 1:8. So there is a direct link that can be made here. If as a Christian we are ashamed of the gospel, slow to share our faith in Christ then we will have an easy life but also an ineffective one. However, if we accept the call to boldly proclaim the gospel which brought us to salvation then a bi-product of that is suffering. It will happen. So how are we to view this suffering...? 

Joy, Joy, JOY!

Let me start by saying this is so much easier said than done. To find joy in suffering requires a total dependence on God and a realisation of what awaits you at the end of this life. But yes, we are called to be joyful in our suffering.

In Colossians, Paul says "Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you" -  Colossians 1:24. He also encourages us to "join with [him] in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." - 2 Timothy 1:8. Why should we be joyful in suffering? Because even in our suffering we are glorifying God and for those who glorify God, he will honour. We should also be joyful in our suffering because we know that, no matter how much people may persecute us, a greater day awaits us after this life. A day when Jesus will "wipe every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain" - Revelation 21:4. If we can manage to look past our suffering and look to the glory that awaits us, we will be able to find joy in our trials.


Paul goes even further and tells us that we should consider the suffering we receive as a gift. In that Philippians 1:29 verse he says "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him". When we receive a gift, we enjoy it and are thankful for it and we should even treasure it.


If we can get this mindset into our heads it will make suffering so much more bearable. Always ask yourself the question "Jesus gave his life for me and suffered so much for me, am I willing to suffer for him?"


Below is a video by John Piper on suffering. This video was sent to me a month or two ago and it has really stuck with me.

Christian Life: Willing to...Serve?

OK so I thought that for a few weeks I'd blog about the christian life and do a mini series called Willing to...? I hope that it will really challenge and help you when thinking about how we walk as Christians and the attitudes that we should have towards particular areas of christian life.


Willing To Serve?
One of the most common complaints of any church pastor or leader when talking about the running of a church is that "20% of people are doing 100%" of the work".  For some people church has become a passive, one day a week experience. We turn up, sit down, listen, stand up and leave. So often people come to church looking for what they can get out of it. Church would be a much better place if every single person came into church praying "Lord help me to give to others in church today, show me where I can serve for your glory". So here are some reasons to consider when thinking why should I serve?


Jesus Was A Servant
This is the focal point when doing anything regarding service. Look at Jesus example. If there was anyone worthy of being serve it would be Jesus the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But instead, Jesus humbled himself to come to earth as a servant. He is our perfect example in all things so we are to serve "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" - Matthew 20:28. Also notice that when Jesus did serve others, he didn't always go for the service which was the most public or the "nicest" job to have. Some of the miracles he performed in secret, and he also washed the stinking, dirty, smelly feet of the disciples in John 13. Which leads to the next point....


Serving Teaches Humility
One of the biggest things I have learnt when serving is humility. You come to a realisation that God doesn't need you to do his work. He could further his kingdom and receive all the glory he deserves without using us. And yet he still chooses and calls us to serve him. We should consider it a joy and a privilege that God calls us and delights in us when we humbly serve him. He has given us freedom in Christ therefore, we do not continue to live as we used to but live our lives for him and to his glory. Galatians 5:13 says "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

Serving Shares God's Love

 Jesus' commandment to his disciples was that they should "Love each other as I [Jesus] have loved you" John 15:12. One of the key ways in which we demonstrate our love for each other is through action. Whether it is, serving people tea and coffee, praying for them, giving them lifts to and from church, helping financially or even helping the older people to their seats. It's all service and it all demonstrates that we have love for each other. When we demonstrate our love for each other by serving, we demonstrate to non-Christians a glimpse of the love that Christ demonstrated in serving. It is the unmerited love of Christ that draws the lost to him.

Hopefully those points have helped in considering or reaffirming why you serve in church. However here are some common arguments on why people don't serve and some challenges to why those viewpoints are wrong.

1. There's No Point! Nobody Notices!
Correct! There are times when no-one notices the work you do. Incorrect! There is still a point. Recently in our School Of Ministry in church, my Pastor told us that if we do things to please man then we will end up disappointed because there will be those times when people don't say thank you or even criticise the work that you do. Instead you should do everything for God realising that it is him you serve. He quoted Colossians 3:23 which says "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,". When we do things for God, we realise that it is him that we serve and, if we have done things to the best of our ability, God is happy with the heart that serves him.


2. The area which I want to serve in is full. There's nothing else I can do!
It is definitely true that we each have areas which we would prefer to serve in. Some people love kids work, some worship ministry and some youth work. However sometimes, we must be willing to serve in areas that we don't feel gifted in or even don't particularly enjoy. This means that maybe, for a season, you will have to scrub the toilets, put out chairs or serve tea and coffee. Remember that the church needs many people doing many things to function. Your role is not less important. Without someone to set up chairs, there would be nowhere for anyone to sit and without someone making coffee there would be no-one who could stay awake...well I wouldn't stay awake anyway! This can be a big struggle but what I've found is that by reading 1 Corinthians 12 on "one church many parts", I can realise my place in service for Christ.


3. I don't have time to serve in church! I'm too busy
We live in a world where we seem to be constantly busy, always on the go and life doesn't seem to stop. So finding time to help serve can be a difficult discipline to grasp. There are those that appear to have more time to serve than others. My challenge for you would be to really look through your schedule to see if you could make room. It may mean cutting those two hours you have in an evening to watch TV down to one hour so that you can make cakes for the Tea and Coffee ministry. It may mean not spending so long on Facebook so you can prepare a Childrens story. It may mean sacrificing the extra time in bed on a Sunday morning to turn up to church early so you can help with the set up or delaying lunch time by half an hour to help clear things up at the end of a service.


Whatever you do, find a joy in service. Realise that you are doing it for a God who sent his only Son to die for you and restore you back to God. Remember that the service you bring is but a fraction of what God deserves. Remember that when we serve God delights in it no matter how seemingly big or small the task may be. Yes glorify God whilst you scrub toilets! Yes glorify God whilst you sweep up a dirty floor! Yes glorify God even when you throw away people's left over coffee! Why? Because you are serving the King of Kings who notices every service, every person does!