It Will Be Worth It All
Romans 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Two elderly women were out driving in a large car -- both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection. The stop light was red, but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself, “I must be losing it, but I could have sworn we just went through a red light."
2. After a few more minutes they came to another intersection, and the light was red again, and again they went right through. This time the woman in the passenger seat was almost sure the light had been red but was really very concerned that she was losing her mind. She was getting nervous and decided to pay close attention to the road and the next intersection to see what was going on.
3. At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red, and they did go right through it! She turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred! Did you know we just ran through three lights in a row? You could've killed us!" Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh, am I driving?"
B. TEXTS
1. "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Rom. 8:18
2. "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor. 4:17
C. THESIS
1. Many of us face trials and temptations that sometimes seem overwhelming. God doesn’t want our vision to grow dim, lest we yield to temporary desires.
2. I want us to look tonight at why “It will be worth it all" to surrender worldly goals and monetary gain in order to serve the kingdom of God. What can we do to help bring our suffering into proper perspective?
I. COMPARING OUR TROUBLES TO OTHERS’
“There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
Who found that sand had got under his shell;
Just one little grain, but it gave him much pain,
For oysters have feelings although they’re so plain.
Now, did he berate the working of Fate
Which had led him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse out the Government, call for an election?
No; as he lay on the shelf, he said to himself,
"If I cannot remove it, I’ll try to improve it."
So the years rolled by as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny -- stew.
And this small grain of sand which had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl, all richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral -- for isn’t it grand
what an oyster can do with a morsel of sand;
What couldn’t WE DO if we’d only begin
With all of the things that get under our skin.”
A. OUR AFFLICTION IS LIGHT COMPARED TO OTHERS
1. We complain if our food isn’t tasty, but we forget the pangs of hunger millions of refugees feel every day in Darfur (Sudan) and in North Korea.
2. Some of us have minor aches and pains, but think of the many who’ve never known what it’s like to be healthy.
3. Even if we’re called to suffer pain, let us thank God that we haven’t lost our minds, like the mental patients at the State hospital at Rusk. “God, thank You that, however poor or sick I am, that You’ve allowed me to keep my sanity.”
4. How thankful we all ought to be that we are not in prison! Friends, if not for the mercy of God you and I might be wearing white ourselves!
B. OUR SUFFERING COMPARED TO THOSE IN HELL
1. “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” If the Lord had given us what we deserve, we’d be down with the rich man in Hades begging for a drop of water to cool our tongues!
2. As for our sufferings, they’re not only light, but miniscule in comparison to the damned in Hell. Be thankful that Hell is not your destination! If you’re not saved tonight, you need Jesus to save you before you leave here tonight!
C. OUR SUFFERING COMPARED TO WHAT JESUS SUFFERED
1. Do we complain about how difficult our life is? Then take a few minutes to compare it to what Jesus has suffered!
2. There’s no greater comfort for an afflicted child of God than to contemplate how terrible were the sufferings of Jesus.
a. Remembering the AGONY & BLOODY SWEAT OF GETHSEMANE have often dried up the sweat of terror upon the anguished brow of the believer.
b. The STRIPES OF JESUS have often brought healing to his wounded followers.
c. The THIRST, the DESERTION, and the DEATH on Golgotha--all the incidents of our Savior’s suffering, have driven away the fears and calmed the hearts of many of God’s people.
3. Church, our sufferings aren’t worthy to be compared with the agonies of Jesus our Redeemer. No matter how bad my troubles are, I can fall at his dear pierced feet, and say, “Lord, I’ve never endured suffering compared to yours!”
4. He’s called the “Man of Sorrows, well acquainted with grief.” He’s the Monarch of misery, the King of the realm of pain. No one will ever be able to rob Him of that title.”
D. OUR SUFFERING IS LIGHT COMPARED WITH THE BLESSINGS WE ENJOY
1. Our transgressions have been forgiven, our sin covered. We have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and adopted into the family of God. We’re heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.
2. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.” WE ALREADY HAVE A FORETASTE of the bliss that awaits us in heaven.
E. OUR SUFFERING IS LIGHT WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY GOD’S SUSTAINING GRACE
1. There are times when, through acute physical pain or mental anguish, that if we fall in helplessness into the embrace of Jesus, and resign ourselves to his will; and suddenly there comes into the soul a great calm, a quiet joy so deep and so pure that it reassures the confused soul.
2. Paul describes this power when he said, “there was given me a thorn in my flesh….Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"(2 Cor. 12:7-9).
F. OUR AFFLICTION BECOMES LIGHT WHEN WE SEE WHERE IT LEADS
1. The very purpose of trials and afflictions is to help remove sinful tendencies by the furnace of affliction. The dross is burned away from the pure metal; and so is our pride, our lusts, our laziness, etc.
2. A wise patient will gratefully thank the surgeon who cuts out his tumor, because by that destructive action the malignancy is removed.
G. OUR AFFLICTION IS LIGHT COMPARED TO THE GLORY THAT SHALL BE REVEALED IN US
Soon we’ll enter the land that flows with milk and honey, but right now our eyes are so dimmed with tears that we can’t see “Canaan’s fair and happy land.”
II. “THE GLORY” OUTSTRIPS TODAY’S GLAMOUR
A. REAL WORTH & VALUE
1. In an article in USA Today, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones were asked to name her most memorable Christmas present. Though she was given an engagement ring worth an estimated one-to-three million dollars by her husband, her most memorable Christmas present was a pair of white roller skates she got when she was 9 years old.
2. Actor George Clooney his best gift was a bicycle he received when he was 10, that was underneath the Christmas tree.
3. The ironic thing is that the people who can afford to buy a jet, or a helicopter, or a yacht – name a pair of skates or a bicycle as the best present they ever received. I’ll bet it’s the same with you. The most memorable gift you ever received probably wasn’t the most expensive.
4. The joy Christmas brings to children – all the wonder and excitement – reminds us of what God has in store for us. There will come a day when all we who have trusted in Christ will feel like children on Christmas morning, experiencing a joy that will never fade away nor diminish with the passage of time.
B. BEING CONVINCED IT’S WORTH IT
1. The problem now is that we have to persevere in faith, to keep trusting and obeying, to be convinced that it’s going to be worth it.
2. For example, when we’re tempted by money or pleasure or by hardship, we need to believe that:
a. the treasures God has stored up for us are far greater than any material good;
b. the pleasure of knowing God will be far more satisfying than the temporary pleasures of sin;
c. to know that God will fully compensate us for all our pain and sorrow, and far more besides.
3. God has given us hundreds of beautifully wrapped boxes, many of them labelled, "Do Not Open Until Christ’s Second Coming." They’re wonderful beyond imagination, things worth waiting for; things worth giving up all we have for. The question is whether we trust Him.
C. WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY
1. "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18, NIV
2. "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen." – 2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV
3. "…No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." – 1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV
4. "And Jesus replied, ’I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return, a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property--with persecutions. And in the world to come they will have eternal life.’" – Mark 10:29-30, NLT
D. SPECIFIC ACTIONS
1. Verses like these assure us that no matter what difficulties we may experience now; no matter what losses we may suffer; no matter how high the cost, our reward will be far greater. Following Christ is worth the cost.
2. But our life is made up of the specific choices we make, every hour of every day. So we need to know that
those specific acts of obedience or self-denial are worth it. For example:
• I need to know, in the middle of a disagreement I’m having with my wife, that it’s worth it to speak with grace instead of harshness; that God will reward my choice to curb my tongue.
• I need to know, as I’m watching a television program, that it’s worth the cost to get up, turn off the TV, and read the Bible instead. God will reward my act of self-discipline.
• I need to know that it matters whether I choose to tell a little lie to my boss, that it’s worth the cost of being truthful.
3. As the bible says, "…the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free." – Ephesians 6:8, NIV ". . . if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." – Matthew 10:42, NLT
E. THE DEVIL WANTS YOU BLIND
1. The enemy, of course, wants us to think it means nothing, for instance, how I treat the person serving me coffee at Starbucks; or whether I nurse a grudge against someone at work; or whether I apologize to someone I’ve offended. He would have us believe that none of these small, everyday choices really matters.
2. Have you been letting some area of sin continue in your life because it just didn’t seem all that important? Or because the benefits of rooting it out seemed small. In the long run, it’s always worth it to obey God. God tells us in Gal. 6:7-8 that if we sow good, we’ll reap good; and vice versa.
3. Perhaps you’re losing heart; you’ve struggled but haven’t seen much fruit. You’re tempted to give up. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”(Gal. 6:9).
4. Or perhaps, you need to be more loving, gracious, patient, and kind. Perhaps you need to pay more attention to your relationship with God. Remember the promise, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." – James 4:8, NAS.
G. THE MEANING OF “GLORY”
1. When Paul uses the word "glory" to describe the future blessings we’re going to receive.
2. According to scriptures found in Daniel and Matthew, our resurrection bodies will be infused with God’s glory. “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever (Dan. 12:3). “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (Matt. 13:43). The radiance of God's Shekinah causes Transfiguration of the righteous.
3. When Moses saw the afterglow of God's glory, the Bible says, “Moses…was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD” (Ex. 34:29).
4. So when Paul says, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18), he is describing our resurrected beings, infused with divine glory, splender, and beauty from seeing, experiencing, and being connected to the divine being of Christ.
5. The Apostle John says in 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: THE MONGOLOID CHILD
1. Dr. Barnhouse was preaching a revival in a small church. The pastor was a young man whose wife was expecting their first child. On Friday she gave birth.
The young pastor went to Dr. Barnhouse and said, “My wife and I are parents of a Mongoloid child.”
2. Dr. Barnhouse answered, “This is of the Lord.” “How can you say that?” the pastor replied. Dr. Barnhouse quoted Exodus 4:11, “... who has made man’s mouth? and who makes the dumb or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?”
3. The pastor returned to the hospital to break the news to his wife who was asking, “Where’s my baby?” He said, “The Lord has BLESSED us with a Mongoloid child” and showed with her Exodus 4:11. They wept together before they placed a call to her mother.
4. One of the nursing staff overheard the phone call as the new mother said, “Mom, God has blessed us with a Mongoloid child. I don’t know the nature of the blessing, but I do know that it’s a blessing!”
5. That next Sunday 70 nurses and staff were in attendance at that church for the first time and 30 were saved because of 1 Mongoloid child.
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Do you need prayer for a trouble you’re having?
2. God can turn your troubles around for good if you will trust Him.
3. If you have a special need, stand and we’re going to pray with you about it.
[Adapted from a message of the same title by Alan Perkins.]
