Introduction

Hello church! Glad to have you all here today as we jump into a huge topic together. Suffering is something so personal, so universally understood, and so imperative in the lives of those who follow Jesus.

Everyone suffers at some point or another. Everyone experiences pain and hardship. Everyone has trauma. No one is exempt and no one gets a free pass… And if we had the time today we could go around the room and swap stories of suffering, pain, disappointment, trauma, and loss.

Our collective stories highlight an unfortunate reality of being human. We live in a fallen and sinful world where these things are present.

I still remember one of the first lessons suffering taught me…

God used this situation in my life to grow me and move me. I couldn’t see it at the time, but I can see now that there was purpose in it all.

Suffering has a purpose… Pain moves us.

C.S. Lewis famously wrote in his book, The Problem of Pain, "Suffering is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Lewis knew that suffering moves us to ask BIG questions like;

Why is there so much pain in the world? Or even more perplexing, Why does God allow so many horrible things to happen? Why do people murder one another? What about disease? Poverty? Hunger? Slavery? Racism? Classism? Sexism? Why?

I would imagine that you have also asked these, and other similar questions throughout your life. As I said before, suffering is something that we all universally understand. It’s something that we’ve all experienced in one way or another.

And I believe, as we’ll see today, that suffering, pain, grief, trauma, loss, all of it… have incredible purpose in our lives… especially as we follow in the footsteps of Christ.

As Dallas Willard said, "Suffering is not an accident but a necessity. It is not a random event but a planned and purposed one. It is not a punishment but a means of grace."

Suffering is not an accident but a necessity. It is not a random event but a planned and purposed one. It is not a punishment but a means of grace.

Main Teaching

I want to begin our time today by zooming in on the interaction that God has with Ananias in Acts chapter 9.

“I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Of all the things that Jesus could have said and this is where He went with it. He could have shown Paul all the places He would go and people He would meet. Or He could’ve shown Paul all the churches that would be planted through him… but instead, He chose to show him the suffering.

This is just one example, but it begs the question… Why suffering? What’s the purpose? I don’t have all the answers for us today, but I’ve got a few ideas. To begin with, I believe that suffering expands faith.

Suffering expands faith

Suffering expands faith both geographically and personally. The book of Acts records the massive expansion of the church to new regions and people. This geographic expansion came at incredible cost to many of those involved, including Paul and the other 11 disciples of Christ. We also know that throughout history the church has grown rapidly during times of persecution and hardship. There’s something about suffering and sacrifice that expands the reach of the church.

But it doesn’t just stop there, suffering also expands faith in individuals. To pick this up, I want to read Matthew 16:18 together.

In this verse Jesus says He is going to “build” His church. The greek verb build is oikodoméō, and properly means to build a house, step by step and brick by brick. Figuratively used, it means to edify someone, to “build them up” and make them strong and sturdy. What’s interesting here is that Jesus tells us plainly what His plan is, to build His church. And He also tells us that the gates of hell will not overcome it.

He knows there will be opposition to the project ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium