#GOFAMINTDailyDevotion Sun. 23/7/2017
23/7/2017 LESSON 8
BLESSINGS FOR THOSE PERSECUTED FOR BEING RIGHTEOUS
Quarter’s Theme: CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE
Unit 2: Our Virtues (Lessons 5-9)
(RESPONSIBILITY MONTHS)
Suggested Hymns: G.H.B. 100, 217
Devotional Reading: MATT. 5:11-12
Topic For Adults
STAND FOR THE TRUTH IRRESPECTIVE OF CHALLENGES
Topic For Youths
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED
Topic For Intermediates
KNOW THE TRUTH
Scripture Lesson
2 TIM. 2:1-13; 1 PET. 4:12-19; 2 COR. 4:16-18; ACTS 7:54-60
JAM. 1: 2-4
MEMORY VERSE
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Cor. 4:17 (NKJV)
DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING
Sun. 23/7/2017
Nothing Shall Separate Us From God’s Love
Rom. 8:35-39
There is the temptation to wonder why God allows one to go through experiences of suffering or persecution, and to doubt God’s love. When one’s spiritual depth is shallow, the possibility of permitting the temptation to take root is very great. Many people who have followed God at a distance would have tasted the goodness of God a little. Those who came to Jesus having been given the promise of a life without problems once they have given their lives to Christ will also be unprepared to stand when problems arise. These inadequate spiritual states will cause a Christian to abandon the ship when problems arise. A Christian who has personally experienced the love of God will value the love so much that he will not allow anything to separate him from that love. A committed Christian will keep standing in faith through thick and thin.
POINT OF EMPHASIS: Nothing shall be able to separate a committed Christian from the love of God.
PRAYER POINT: Father, give me the strength to keep standing in the face of persecution.
BACKGROUND
Jesus taught that Christians are to expect persecution. Faithfulness to God does not give believers freedom from suffering in lives. There are examples of Godly men in the Bible who experienced persecutions. God does not forsake those on His side and He blesses those who are ready to stand for righteousness irrespective of what it costs them. This week’s lesson focuses on the blessing that God promised those who are persecuted for righteousness.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
PART 1: IF WE SUFFER WITH HIM, WE SHALL REIGN WITH HIM (2 TIM. 2:1-13)
Messages which tell Christians to expect suffering for Christ’s sake are no longer popular. Christians want to be free of any form of suffering, while choruses like “me I no go suffer” are the popular ones. Christians expect that once they give their lives to Christ, the journey to heaven should be smooth and sweet. Jesus warns ahead of time that His followers will experience persecution (Jn. 15:18-19; 16:1-4). Christians fall away because they refuse to heed Christ’s warning. They are deceived into expecting life of ease and pleasure.
Reasons why suffering is inescapable:
- Satan hates those who have the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore wages war against them (Rev. 12:17).
¨ People of the world have sold themselves to the devil and will, therefore, do his bidding – they will hate Christians because they hate Jesus Christ.
¨ God allows suffering sometimes to purge the Christian of sin in his life (Isa. 48:10-11).
¨ Sometimes suffering comes as a form of collateral damage because we live in the world with unbelievers who incur punishment for sin committed.
When we suffer for Christ, we identify with Him and His work of atonement. Sharing with Him in suffering counts us worthy to share in His glory. But if we run away from suffering for His sake, we disqualify ourselves from sharing in His glory.
PART 2: SUFFERING FOR GOD’S GLORY (1 PET. 4:12-19)
A song composer says “Trials on every hand and we cannot understand the way that God is leading to the blessed Promised Land… We will understand it better by and by”. Sometimes the suffering is only slight while at other times the suffering is so immense that one thinks it is strange for a child of God to go through. The Christian should however ensure that the suffering is not self-inflicting. If a Christian is not watchful, he can bring a lot of suffering upon himself, and at the same time blame others for his suffering. What actions can a Christian take which will bring suffering upon him?
Suffering for God’s glory happens when a Christian is living a God-glorifying life but suffers because people around him detest his godly life. Many believers have gone through suffering because of their stand for Christ, because they refused to compromise their faith and because they appear as a threat to the ungodly world system. A Christian deciding not to turn away from suffering because of his faith brings glory to God because the Christian ensures that God’s eternal agenda cannot be frustrated by the devil. It proves that there are some children of God who have caught the sight of the glory to be revealed, and are willing to suffer so as not to forfeit it.
PART 3: EFFECTS OF SUFFERING ON THE OUTWARD AND INWARD MAN (2 COR. 4:16-18; ACTS 7:54-60)
The sufferings that a Christian goes through are preparing him for an eternal glory which does not fade. For the Christian to be counted worthy to come into his inheritance, he might need to be molded or panel beaten into the form that is capable of carrying the glory of God. The suffering may weaken the physical body, but the inner man is being renewed daily. As dross is removed from gold to make it shine brighter, so sometimes, God uses suffering to purge the Christian of sin that would disqualify him from inheriting the glory.
Sometimes, God uses the experience we gather from our suffering to minister to others. The death of Stephen worked in some way to bring Paul to salvation. The suffering of Jesus Christ brought us salvation. The experience we gather as we go through suffering, if we do not rebel, becomes useful in counseling other people who are going through similar experiences (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Our suffering also works out godly character traits in us—perseverance, character, hope, realization (Rom. 5:3-5).
CONCLUSION
Anyone who has decided to live holy will suffer persecution and will be ridiculed. Jesus already warned ahead of time that we shall pass through tribulations on the journey to possess our eternal glory. Fear of suffering, rejection, or persecution will make many to turn back. Only those who endure to the end will inherit the kingdom of heaven.
QUESTIONS
- Why is persecution inescapable for Christians?
- What does suffering for Christ denote.
- Why should suffering not be strange to a child of God?
- When does suffering for God’s glory happen?
5. Mention the effects of suffering on the outward and inner man.
