The Church on a Mission: Suffering for the Sake of His Name

[Acts 9:15-16]

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

{Rev. Dan Whang}

So we've been going through Acts to try and get a picture of a church on mission. I have some notes from my sixth trip to Guatemala. I'd like to share some of my thoughts. This message is about suffering and going through difficulties for Christ.

I felt a burden to push the team this year. To push myself and to push the team. This year, even though we were only there 12 days, we had the best of times and the worse of times. I felt the Lord was really using us. A lot of us had gone to their physical and mental limits. One moment, we were ok and the next, so tired and spent. The idea is that serving God comes with difficulty. A life marked by mission is a life marked by suffering for the sake of Christ.

If you've been keeping up with recent news. A IAM team was murdered in Afganistan. Ten people were killed because the Taliban suspected them of spying for the US and of trying to proselytize to Muslims. When we look at our missions trip, do we think about possibly dying? Do we ask them to buy life insurance and set their life in order before going?

In the passage, God tells Ananias to go to Saul. Ananias is afraid. But God reassures Ananias and sends him again. God tells that Saul will suffer much for the sake of Christ. If you read further, you will find much suffering. Consider what that means for us. If God is going to use us, it will cost us. We will suffer.

Here's a summary of my thoughts...

1) When it comes to suffering, your biggest enemy will always be your own flesh and sin nature.

As a saved christian,we have dual natures. One side that wants nothing to do with God. But when we were saved, God reformatted us. That part of us wants to serve God and do anything for Him. But that old sinful nature does not go away. It still tries to discourage us and keep us from serving God. It tells us how pointless it is. It will be a battle in us between these two natures. Even Jesus struggled with it in the garden of Gethsemane.

There is a way out of this. When this truly sinks in, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it."

2) God will never stop refining you through suffering to make you better.

God's heart for us to become so much more than we are now. In ministry and personally. God does take us as we are. But He is not satisfied to leave us there. He wants more for us. This isn't unusual. Whether it is a coach of a sport, your career... there is a desire for progress. To grow and become better. God wants the same for us. He wants us to become better at ministry.

My dad has been a pastor for 22 years. Some elders who were supporters of him went behind his back and tried to get him ousted. This has been going on for 3 years. Now my dad is out west with a different church. He doesn't say this much, but he said the experience has made him better. Even when my dad is 60-some years old, God is still not done with him. God is still refining him. He has become more humble as a result of this.

"For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed" - Hebrews 12:10-13

I want to encourage you in ministry and service. To press on through difficulties. Relational difficulties. God is working through it.

3) The invitation to suffer for the sake of Christ is an invitation to a deep relationship with Him.

"For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured." - Hebrews 13:11-13

This is a picture of sacrificial animals. The sins of the people were put onto these animals. Then they were led outside, away from the people. When Jesus took on our sin, he became our scapegoat. When He went to Calvary outside of Jerusalem, he suffered and agonized. The writer wants us to go outside with Christ to be close to Him. To go through the suffering and anguish with Jesus, so we will experience this closeness with Him.

"that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." - Philippians 3:10-11

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." - Romans 8:18

{Member Judy Hong}

Sharing about the Uganda missions trip.

All I wanted to do this summer was... nothing. I had a rough school year, so I wanted to just relax. Susan asked me, if I wanted to go. I didn't even think; I told her no. But she told me to prayerfully consider it. I'm not much of a public speaker. I'm just a second year teacher. But as I prayed, God reassured me. I was just being lazy because I didn't want to do all the preparations for the trip. These were all poor excuses. God has given me all sorts of gifts and resources, but often I make all sorts of excuses. The same applies to you. Just be available and watch God work.