Why won’t trouble leave me alone?
By Pastor J.W.T. Spies
Luke 6:22-23
We are trouble on every hand
For quite of an extensive amount of years now I have longed to develop a serious inquiry concerning this physical disorder. This inconvenient element, this confused emotion, this transitive verb that has been photographed in my mind as trouble.
For quite a while now I’ve been wondering and pondering why is it that trouble seems to heighten and lift its heads in my life so much. I must confess that at the pinnacle, the apex and the zenith, the combination of them both has lately been a puzzling question, that why is it in this modern day, that I still filled bombarded, overwhelmed and saturated with what seems to always look like crisis in my life.
I have often wondered why is it that the grey clouds of anguish and torment, agony and suffering continue hoover, linger, and loiter in the areas of my life, I mean, these troubles seem to linger where I’ve decided rest my mind in solidarity.
To be honest I have often baptize my thoughts in the curiosity of how wonderful it would be if my present existence never made contact or a connection, with any pain, setback, sorrow,
suffering or disappointments. I’m telling you that I have often wonder as some of you have, could there ever be a time in my life that I could enjoy some trouble free time, could I have a few weeks of trouble exempt, a problem free life, a life of no crisis that are working against me.
I often fantasize serenity and tranquility and a little quietness, let me just say it like I feel it, can a brother just have some peace in the valley, and a piece of mind.
It sounds good, but I when I finally came back to myself, back to the common reality, reality reminded me that life on this planted will not allow me to submit to such a utopia, a paradise or dreamland. In fact reality has shouted back to me, boy you just need to wake up.
Reality gave me some insight, reality gave me a rude awaiting and a shaking, as Job said, “that man that is born of a woman is of a few days, and those days are filled with trouble.
So, I don’t know, but it just seems to look like that this human man, and this life, is just a magnet for drawing troubles and problems. So, now being conscience of these facts, the question that hangs in front of my mind is what now.
What now should we do, when trouble comes down upon us, what should we do, when do when we are pressed on every side, what should we do when we are and when we are persecuted, struck down, and forsaken? I asked the question, what should be our behavior be?
Should we make the attempt to run flee and try to escape out of desperation? Should we become a fugitive from trouble? Or should we just give up, give in, and tap-out.
I’ve have news for the Tabernacle this morning, I’m here to tell you my brothers and sister that we should never negate, or dismiss Psalms 34:19 which say’s Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
My brothers and my sister we should never forget about John 16:33, which say’s “In the world we will have some tribulation; but be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world."
We should never overlook Acts 14:22 in the c clause which says, "We must through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God."
Please don’t forget about 2nd Timothy 3:12, which say’s “And all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, will suffer some persecution.
And whatever you do don’t discard John 15:20 that tells us to
Remember the word that I said to you, “that a servant is not greater than his master.' And if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.
So I say to you my sisters and brother we must not ever get sidetrack by the certainties of trouble. We should not ever get to the point where we as Christians think that we are exempt for trouble.
And I can be the first to admit that I don’t like trouble, but trouble seems to like me. My flesh rejects trouble, but my spirit accepts it. The reason that my spirit accepts it is because my spirit belongs to God, and God knowns that trouble will comes and try to break me, shake me, and hurt me, so that it can make it.
Let me see if I can make it plain. I want to put trouble under what I call a spiritual scriptural microscopic evaluation, and see if we can get some clarity about trouble.
First of all how do we deal with this multiplicity of the events of trouble, because it seems that through the years; no one has been able to defeat trouble?
No Mafia has been able to assassinate it.
No Terrorist has not been able to bomb it.
And certainly Isis has not been able to beheaded it, trouble says to us I’m here for the duration of eternity.
And since trouble won’t leave us alone, then how do we as Christians deal with the damaging effect of trouble. Well, as I began probing through the scripture neighborhood of Hebrews the other day, while I was cascading my way through the biblical landscape of 1st Peter to get some understanding on this matter, in between time, it was right there. In between the 13th chapter of Hebrews, and right there between the 5 chapters of 1st Peter I seen it.
It was compacted, nestled, condensed right there between Hebrews and 1st Peter that the optic nerve of the transparent lens of my eyeball accidentally bump into this masterpiece of Godly literature, right in front of me there it was the Epistle of James chapter one verses one through three.
In this scriptural landmark I finally found out what we should do in the time of crisis. James shared with me what to do when trouble attacks us without a moment notice, it’s right here.
And I know this James boy, because this is the same James that was a sceptic of Jesus at one time and then later became a bondservant.
This is the same James who was believed to be the half biological brother of Jesus of the cross. This same James that was the bishop at the church in Jerusalem, and he emphatically said to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptation. I said whatttttt!!!!! Count it all joy? Yes, James understood what the men and women of God were going through. It was from this type of agony that James was propelled and compelled to write upon his pad of this epistle.
After his greeting in verse on He says my brethren, which renders references to the body of Christ. He said my brethren count it all joy when you fall into diver temptations.
And some of you all are already looking at me funny, because can you imagine after going through all that you are going through and someone come up in here telling you to count it all joy while we are going through.
So I really got excited when I started reading Luke 6 and 22, because this is a shocking passage to the world, for Jesus switches the world's values completely around. He rejects entirely the materialism (things) of the world and he warns us that the worldly and materialistic, that severe judgment is coming.
Verse 22 teaches us that blessed are the persecuted, the persons who are persecuted for Jesus' sake. The persecuted are those who endure suffering for Christ. Jesus spelled it out what He meant by persecution. He means Blessed are those who are being hated, ostracized, reproached, and having one's name spoken against.
The Lord gives us this adjective that we are Blessed. It doesn’t matter that people are talking about you, know that you are Blessed. It doesn’t matter that people don’t want to be your friend, know that you are Blessed. So what they don’t want to have tea with you, you ought to have it by now, you ought say I Am Blessed.
The Lord here wants us the notice what the attitude a person is to have while being persecuted. The person is to "rejoice" and "leap for joy." the Lord wants us dancing and shouting, smiling and cheesing.
I hear you but Pastor how is this possible, to smile, laugh, and rejoice when I’m dealing with all of this? It’s possible by us keeping our eyes on the reward.
Look at the words, "Rejoice and leap for joy; for when you rejoice and leap with joy, the bible says, “behold, your reward is great in heaven.” Pause
Here it is. We as Believers are forewarned, that we will suffer some persecution.
Believers suffer persecution because we are not of this world. We are called out of the world. We are in the world, but they are not of the world. We are separated from the behavior of the world; it doesn’t mean we won’t mess up, but it’s because we don’t want to stay the way we are, and because of that, the world reacts against us.
Put Word to it Pastor, well, John 15:19 says. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Believers suffer persecution because they strip away the world's robe of sin. We must do our best live and demonstrate a life of righteousness.
Believers suffer persecution because the world does not know God or Christ. They want no God, no Lord other than themselves and their own imaginations. They want to do just what they want to do too fulfill their own desires and not what the Lord demands us to do.
Believers suffer persecution because the world is deceived in its concept and belief of God. The world conceives God to be the Person who fulfills their earthly desires.
But there is a promise to the persecuted. The Bible says that their reward is great in heaven, and they are following in the footsteps of the great prophets of the past.
The promised is that persecuted will receive a great reward.
The persecuted will experience a special honor.
The persecuted will become a greater witness for Christ.
The persecuted will receive the Kingdom of Heaven as their eternal home. But it’s all about our response.
In fact when we are going through we ought to be able to say daddy have you look at you child lately I’m awfully sick daddy, and a little burden down, but I want to still say thank you. Father, I’m going through some hard ache and pain right now but it’s all good. I’m doing a little suffering, but its ok, because I still want to thank you.
As a saved person no matter what we are going through we ought to be able to find a way to tell the Lord thank you.
I’m going to tell you this that we can rejoice because we know this that trouble comes to bring our faith into better focus, and know this.
So I need to tell somebody as I leave y’all this morning:
Never get upset when trouble come knocking at your doors
Never get upset when trouble arrives in your zip code
Never get upset when we you have to go down in the lowest valleys because you’ve got to know that trouble don’t last always.
So, I’m of a story about carpenter who had hired a young to help him to restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job.
On the first day he had a flat tire made him lose an hour of work.
The electric saw he had quit on him, and now his old ancient pickup truck refused to start.
The old farmer picked up the young man and while they were on the way home, they sat in silence.
Upon arriving at the farmer’s home, he invited the young man in to meet his family. As they walked toward the front door, the farmer paused at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
When he opened the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His face had a smile on it and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward he walked the young boy to the car, and as they passed the tree, the young man curiosity got the best of him. He asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that’s my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, and in my life, but one thing’s for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I get home, and I leave it there.
