When Mary and I went to Kauai for our 25th anniversary, I came across a t-shirt that was imprinted with Kimo’s Kauai Rules. In fact, I liked the t-shirt and the rules so much that I not only bought the shirt, but when I returned from that trip I also preached a series of ten sermons based on the ten rules. But you can imagine what that shirt came to look like after five years of frequent wear. So, I was excited to pick up a new shirt on our trip last month.
When I first came across the rules I tried to do some research to determine who originated the rules, but that was a more difficult task than I imagined. The only thing I know for sure is that a company called Night Owl T-Shirts copyrighted the rules in 1991. In fact, you may be able to see their copyright on the back of my shirt. They have also registered a trademark for the last rule and tagline: “No rain – No rainbows.” The owner of the company, Rita Peeters says the list of 10 sayings was handed over to Nite Owl for reproduction in 1991 by Kimo Krogfoss, philosophy professor and frequent visitor to Kaua‘i. However, there is also some evidence the rules may have come from an unpublished novel by Charles Knief about a Honolulu policeman and his family titled Kim’s Rules.
So unfortunately there is really no way to know if the originator of the rules was a Christian. But it sure seems to me that the rules certainly reflect Biblical principles. Here are the ten rules:
1. Never judge a day by the weather.
2. The best things in life aren’t things.
3. Tell the truth – there’s less to remember.
4. Speak softly and wear a loud shirt.
5. Goals are deceptive - the unaimed arrow never misses.
6. He who dies with the most toys - still dies.
7. Age is relative - when you’re over the hill, you picked up speed.
8. There are two ways to be rich - make more or desire less.
9. Beauty is internal – looks mean nothing
10. No rain - No rainbows.
That last rule, which has also become the registered tagline, certainly could have been written by the Apostle Paul. In fact, that may very well be a pretty good summary of the verse we’re going to look at this morning as we continue our journey through Ephesians. Let’s read that verse out loud together:
I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
Ephesians 3:13 (NIV)
This is another one of those verses that is actually pretty straight forward, but I’d like to share with you a few observations about suffering that come from our understanding of this passage.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT SUFFERING
1. As a follower of Christ, I will experience suffering
Paul began this chapter by describing himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus”, a reference to the fact that he was a prisoner in a Roman jail. But I don’t think that Paul was surprised at the trials he was experiencing. After his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, the Lord appeared to a man named Ananias and used him to deliver a message to Paul:
But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
Acts 9:15, 16 (NIV)
At the very beginning of his life as a follower of Jesus Christ, one of the very first things that he learns from God is that he is going to suffer for the name of Jesus.
Just before He went to the cross, Jesus also warned His followers that they would experience suffering as long as they remained here on this earth.
…In this world you will have trouble…
John 16:33 (NIV)
And just in case the words of Jesus to both Paul and His other followers aren’t enough to confirm this principle, let’s also take a quick look at the words of James:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
James 1:2 (NIV)
I’d like you to underline the word “whenever” in that verse. Notice that James didn’t write “if” you face trials. He wrote “whenever” you face them. In other words, suffering and trials are inevitable, even in the lives of believers.
Too many times, we, as Christians, have been guilty of telling people that if they just commit their lives to Jesus all their problems will go away. But the Bible teaches just the opposite. One can make a pretty good case from the passages we’ve just looked at and the other examples in the Scriptures that those who commit their lives to God often experience more suffering in their lives. The advantage that God’s children have is not that they experience less suffering, but rather that they have God’s presence in their lives to help them through those rough times.
2. Suffering reveals my true nature
The word translated “sufferings” indicates something that is under extreme pressure. So Paul is not describing here some minor problems. He is writing about the kind of troubles that press against us and weigh us down.
This morning, many of you are experiencing that kind of suffering in your life right now. For some of you, it may be physical affliction where you are in constant pain or where you are no longer able to do many of things you once did. For some of you it may be the crushing emotional stress of a broken relationship, or the unending pressure and stress of your job. I know I can’t even begin to describe this morning all the different types of crushing suffering that you might be going through right now.
Perhaps you’re like the recent college graduate who took a new job in a hilly Eastern city and began commuting each day to work through a tiring array of tunnels, bridges and traffic jams. To make the task less onerous, he invited several of his co-workers to share the ride. He soon found, however, that the commute continued to get more stressful, especially the trips through the tunnels. He consulted the company doctor.
"Doc," the frustrated commuter complained, "I’m fine on the bridges, in the traffic, in the day and at night, and even when Joe forgets to bathe all week long. But when I get in the tunnels and I’ve got those four other guys crowded around me in the car, I get anxious and dizzy and feel like I’m going to explode."
Without further analysis, the doctor announced he had identified the ailment. "What is it, Doc? Am I going insane?" "No, no, no, my boy. You have something very common in these parts."
"Tell me! What is it?"
"You have what is known as Carpool Tunnel Syndrome."
Paul certainly knew what it was to suffer. He described just a small part of what he had suffered in another letter:
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;
2 Corinthians 6:4, 5 (NIV)
But Paul clearly understood that one of the purposes of suffering in our lives is that it reveals what we’re really like deep inside. In fact, the word for suffering originally was used to describe the process of squeezing olives to extract the oil or crushing grapes to remove the juice. In those cases, the squeezing or crushing reveals what is inside the olives or the grapes.
The suffering we experience in our lives reveals what is inside us. When we’re crushed, those if us who are God’s children exude the sweet savor of Jesus Christ, the hope of glory from deep within our lives. Paul describes that process in more detail in his letter to the Colossian church:
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
Colossians 1:24-27 (NIV)
We obviously don’t have time to look at this passage in great detail this morning but what I want you to see is that there is a connection between Paul’s suffering and the revelation of Jesus Christ, the hope of glory, in his life. When Paul got crushed with suffering, what got squeezed from his life for others to see was Jesus Christ.
So my question to you this morning is this: When you experience suffering in your life, what is squeezed out of your lives for others to see? Is it your own nature of self-pity, bitterness, grumbling and complaining? Or is it the sweet fragrance of Jesus Christ, the hope of glory?
3. God can use me regardless of my circumstances
Paul had ministered for longer in Ephesus than anywhere else, so it is quite likely that many of his readers had either had earlier personal encounters with him or had at least heard about Paul from those who had. So when they heard that Paul was now in prison, they had to be discouraged for a couple of reasons. First, they had a hard time seeing how God was going to use Paul while he was locked up in prison. And secondly, they had to be worried what might happen to them as a result of their faith.
But Paul recognized that God could still use Him regardless of whatever circumstances he might be facing. Here’s what he wrote in another of his letters that was also written from prison:
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Philippians 1:12-14 (NIV)
In a sense it’s kind of ironic that those who reading Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus were experiencing first hand God’s work in the life of Paul. The very letter that they were reading was probably one of the greatest ways that God ever used Paul. It was such a great work that it survives even today and you and I are still reaping the benefits of that later nearly 2,000 years later. But the letter to the Ephesians was just the tip of the iceberg. While he was in that Roman prison, Paul also wrote Colossians, Philippians and Philemon. I don’t think even Paul could appreciate the extent to which God was working through him in that Roman jail, but he certainly had the spiritual eyes to recognize that God was capable of using him regardless of his circumstances.
Unfortunately, far too many of God’s children use their circumstances as an excuse for not serving God. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say something like, “Well, I really can’t do that now, but when my circumstances change, then come see me again.” Here’s just a partial list of the excuses people use:
• When I’m not so busy at work…
• When I have more money…
• When I have more time…
• When I know the Bible better…
• When I get over this loss…
• When I get feeling better…
• After my kids get older…
I’m not saying that sometimes there aren’t legitimate reasons for not being involved in a specific ministry. But at the same time, I’m convinced that God can use every one of His children regardless of their circumstances.
I’m thankful for a lot of people in our church that serve God in spite of circumstances that make it difficult. At the risk of embarrassing a few of you or perhaps offending some that I’ll forget to mention, I’d like to point out just a few who are ministering in spite of difficult circumstances;
• On our worship team, we have to distinguish between the two Steve Ponzos by referring to them as “Steve the Elder” and “Steve the Younger”. I’m so impressed by the way they both serve our church. Steve the Elder has Muscular Dystrophy, but he hasn’t allowed that to keep him from serving. I know you see Steve here pretty much every single Sunday playing the bass. He has to show up at 8:00 for practice, get out of his van, get his wheelchair out, come in and practice and then go get back in the van. And then he has to go through that whole process again for the worship service. But I’ve never once heard Steve complain about the obstacles he faces to be here each week.
• And Steve the Younger felt God was leading him to play the guitar. So after many years of playing the saxophone, Steve sold one of his saxophones so he could buy a guitar and, as you have all observed, he has worked really hard so that he is now capable of playing for us each week. And when he felt a burden to start a mid-week Bible study, he and Jennifer opened up their home and Steve makes the time each week to prepare to lead the group. Steve has a job that requires a lot of his time and he and Jennifer are preparing for a new arrival soon, but he hasn’t used that as an excuse.
• If anyone has a legitimate excuse to not serve right now, it has to be Darlene Holtrop. With John in Afghanistan, she has to be both mother and father to her children and she has all kinds of added responsibilities in her home. And yet, she takes a great deal of time each week to prepare a great Bible study lesson for the kids in her class.
• Harold Grimm has been in a lot of pain for a long time. It’s not easy for him, but he’s here every single week with his smiling face. I know that Harold can’t do what he once could, but I treasure his encouragement and I know that Harold is a real prayer warrior, too.
• Janet Gurton has a very busy job at the U of A and a husband and two daughters that require her time and attention. But when we needed a treasurer a couple of years ago, Janet volunteered. It’s a ministry that takes a lot of her time and expertise, but she has undertaken that task with a great attitude and a servant’s heart.
That’s only a partial list of those who serve God here in this church in spite of circumstance that make it difficult. And to them and the rest of you that do the same, I say a heartfelt thanks. Without you, we wouldn’t even have a church.
Are there some circumstances right now that you are using as an excuse to not serve God? I want to encourage you to look beyond those circumstances and just trust that God will provide you with everything you need to serve Him in whatever way He has called you to serve.
4. God sometimes uses my suffering for the benefit of others
Paul was not just enduring the suffering he faced for his own benefit. You’ll notice that he writes that he is suffering on behalf of others – in this case those who were reading his letter. This really fits in with the whole theme of Chapter 3 so far. When God calls us to be part of His family, he does that not just for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of the rest of his family.
Some time this morning, this year’s Tour de France bicycling race finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. I haven’t seen the results, so I’m not sure who won. In fact, I’m not even sure there were any riders left who hadn’t been kicked out for failing a drug test. But I do know this: whoever won the race, although he will be the one who gets all the glory, couldn’t have won without the help of the rest of his team.
I’m sure all of us here have heard of Lance Armstrong and many of you know that he won the Tour de France 7 straight times from 1999 to 2005. But I will personally buy dinner for anyone who can tell me the name of even three of his team members over that 7 year period. Although his team members are not known to anyone but the most avid cycling fanatic, I’ll guarantee you that Lance Armstrong knows who they were. Because he couldn’t have won without them.
In a sense every one of those team members suffered for the benefit of Lance Armstrong. They had to ride the entire distance of the race, often riding out front to protect Lance from the wind or from other riders. In fact, much of the time, their riding was even tougher than what Lance encountered.
That’s a pretty good picture of life isn’t it? Often the ones of us who are suffering are doing it for the benefit of others. And we rarely get recognized for our efforts.
There is a sense I which every one of us is here today as a result of the sufferings that Paul experienced nearly 2,000 years ago. And sometimes, God still allows us to go through suffering so that others might benefit from those trials. So we need to be like Paul when we experience tribulation in our lives. We need to look around and see how God might be using my difficulties in the lives of others. When we do that, God can encourage both us and those we are serving.
5. Suffering is a key to sharing in God’s glory
I really struggled this week with the last phrase of our passage. It seems to me that Paul must have meant to write that his sufferings were for God’s glory. But by now, we know that Paul writes what he means. So what does Paul mean when he writes that his sufferings are for the glory of his readers?
I think one of Paul’s other letters very clearly answers that question:
Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:17, 18 (NIV)
There is a very clear connection here between God’s glory and the future glory that will be experienced by God’s children. Paul writes that it is God’s glory that will one day be revealed in us and that sufferings we go through play a role in that process.
When we looked at our spiritual blessings in Christ in Ephesians 1, we saw that there is a past, present and future aspect of our salvation:
• In the past, I was justified, or made right with God. That is a one time event that happened at the moment I became a follower of Jesus Christ
• Right now I am being sanctified. This is a process in which I am being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ day by day. And that’s where suffering enters into the process as God uses those difficulties to help mold our lives.
• One day I will be glorified. I will experience the complete fulfillment of all the spiritual riches that God has promised to me.
Let’s look at one more verse that will help us to understand what Paul is writing about here:
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
We are able to reflect God’s glory because, as we saw last week, we have unrestricted access into His presence through Jesus. That’s a direct result of our justification. Right now, we are being transformed into the likeness with ever increasing glory. That’s the process of sanctification. And that process is leading to the day when we will experience to glory of God in full. That will be glorification. Because it is in the sanctification part of the process that we experience suffering, most of us would just as soon skip that part of the process and go right to the glorification part. But that’s not how God has chosen to work.
Last Sunday night, there was a beautiful rainbow that we could see from our front yard. But that rainbow came with a price – the torrential rain that followed flooded our back yard and eroded a section of our front yard where that water drained to the street. And others in our neighborhood lost trees due to the wind that accompanied the rain. We all love the rainbows, but too many times we don’t really want the rain that comes along with it. The key to enjoying the rain is to look at it as part of the process of producing that rainbow.
Most of us really don’t like suffering either. But the key to dealing with that suffering is to view it as part of God’s eternal plan. We need to view our troubles as God’s work in our live and in the lives of others so that we can share in His glory.
