Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Today on Telling the Truth, we're beginning a new series from Stuart Briscoe called Knowing God Personally. It's about how difficult times in your life can bring you closer to God and strengthen your faith. Stuart's message for today is called "When We Are Deeply Troubled."

So many people read their Bible, go to church, serve on mission trips, and go through the motions, yet still struggle to find God. Jill Briscoe has a surprising and deeply encouraging answer to this dilemma, which she shares in her three-message series titled Finding God.

The Finding God series is our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. And if you're able to make your gift monthly, we'll also send a special Telling the Truth travel mug to remind you God is always with you.

So request your resources when you give today: 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Stuart with his message for today, "When We Are Deeply Troubled."

Stuart Briscoe: When Paul first wrote to the Corinthians, he was dealing with a lot of issues that were of deep concern. There was very real danger of the church in Corinth dividing, and Paul wanted to deal with a number of the issues that clearly needed addressing. After he wrote that letter in the spring of AD 55, he then paid a brief visit to Corinth, as we're endeavoring to reconstruct his movements from his writings.

It was an extremely painful visit and probably didn't help things at all—made matters worse. As a result of that, early the next year, he wrote a letter which is commonly called the severe letter, where he really spelled things out and said, "Look, you guys have got to get your act together. You're really going to have to deal with the issues in the church. This church is falling apart."

He was deeply concerned about this letter, wondered whether it would really mean a severing of relations with the Corinthian church or whether they would respond to what he had to say. He moved on into Ephesus in Asia and then on to Macedonia in the interim and sent one of his assistants called Titus to see what could be done in Corinth.

Waited for him to return, and eventually in the summer of AD 56, Titus did return. He said basically there's good news and there's bad news. The bad news is that there are some major problems in the church. The good news is that their attitude towards you, Paul, is very much better. And so with this good news, bad news sort of attitude, Paul sits down and writes his second letter to the Corinthians.

Now, that may be of no interest whatsoever to you. What will be of interest to you, however, is this: The great value of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians is found in the fact that it is unusually intimate. The apostle Paul really opens his heart and talks about the situations in which he finds himself. He's very, very frank about the excruciating difficulties of his life.

The thing that comes through powerfully, however, is this: However excruciatingly difficult his life may be, he is rock solid firm in his relationship with the Lord. In fact, he sees a very definite connection between the two. It's almost as if the more his difficulties are building up, the deeper his relationship with the Lord.

Now clearly, that is a message for all of us in our world today. There's no shortage of problems. Some of you are going through all kinds of problems with your children. Some of you having difficulties in your marriage. Some of you struggling with your job. Some of you with all kinds of health problems. Some of you going through bereavement. Some of you wondering how you're going to make ends meet financially.

There's no shortage of stress, there's no shortage of strain, there's no shortage of trouble, there's no shortage of pain. The message of Second Corinthians is this: It is in our pain and in our struggle and in our problems and in our weakness that we begin to discover more of who God is.

So with that in mind, let's embark on a study of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. First chapter, verse eight, Paul tells them a little bit about what's been going on. "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardship we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death."

Have you ever felt like that? He is talking about being under intense pressure of circumstances. So great is this pressure, he says, we were taken to the very point of feeling that we did not have the resources to cope with this problem. It was so bad, it was beyond endurance. As a result of that, he is saying in effect that he was emotionally and physically and spiritually drained.

So bad, in fact, that he felt that his very life was threatened. I would suggest to you that there is somebody who's having a rough time. Very important that we understand that when we read the writings of the apostle Paul, he is no dry, desiccated theologian sitting in an ivory tower publishing dry, dull theological treatises.

Here's a man who is living under intense pressure beyond his endurance to cope—emotionally, physically, spiritually drained, feeling that his very life is threatened. It is from that kind of background, it is in that kind of environment that he enunciates to us the profound spiritual principles for living well in a circumstance like this.

Now the immediate question that comes to our inquiring mind, of course, is: Well, what in the world happened to him in Asia? All he says is "the hardships we suffered in Asia," etcetera, etcetera. Well, we can make some guesses about this because we have various pieces of information in his other writings. None of this is intended to be dogmatic. We just don't know.

But just to sketch in the sort of things he was going through: In 1 Corinthians 15:32, he makes a rather casual comment about fighting wild beasts in Ephesus. Now we all know about the Christians being thrown to the lions. We all know about the kind of violent, bloodthirsty sport that was common in the Roman Empire.

And we're all well aware of the fact that it was well within the realm of possibility that Paul had actually been thrown into the arena in Ephesus in company with wild animals and that he'd survived the experience. On numerous occasions, I have been in the theater in Ephesus, recently excavated—still to this day will seat 45,000 people.

Try to imagine a crowd of 45,000 people cheering the lions as they are being fought with bare hands by believers. Now some people will say he didn't literally do this, it is a metaphorical expression. Other people say, no, there's a very real probability that that was the kind of situation that Paul was in. You having a rough time? How about that for a rough time?

In chapter 11, verse 25, he says that he was shipwrecked and he was a day and a night hanging onto a piece of wood floating around, probably off the coast of Asia. That may be what he's referring to. In chapter 12, verse seven, he reminds us that on three occasions he asked God to take away what he calls his thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan.

Many people have assumed that what he means by that is an ongoing, chronic, critical, extremely painful, desperately debilitating illness. That this man was not a rugged character enjoying and exuding rugged health, but in actual fact, he had a desperate time with physical ailments. We don't know.

We do know that all these things are in the realm of possibility. The point, however, I reiterate is this: When you read Paul's writings under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in scripture, this is a man who understands deep, deep trouble. But in the midst of it all, he has a very specific way of viewing it.

Guest (Male): More teaching from Stuart and Jill Briscoe is coming up, so stay with us. Did you know you can find more life-giving content from the Briscoes at tellingthetruth.org and on the Telling the Truth app? There you can sign up for daily devotionals, watch videos, read blogs, and access a variety of other resources to help you experience life.

And while you're there, you can also request this month's featured resource as thanks for your gift of support to help share the abundant life Jesus offers with more people around the world. Visit us online or download the app today and experience life with Telling the Truth. Now, let's get back to Stuart as he continues his message "When We Are Deeply Troubled."

Stuart Briscoe: And so let's look and see how he viewed the situation. Read on in the second sentence of verse nine. He said, "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." Three specific things we should note here. These troubles that he is talking about that are so excruciating, he is convinced were permitted.

"These things happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." I wonder if Paul had joined the human race, and when things went wrong in his life, he said, "Why me? Why me? Why do I have to be shipwrecked? Why do I have to fight the wild beasts? Why do I have to put up with this illness? Why me?"

If he did ask that question, he got an answer. The answer is, "I'll tell you why, Paul. This happened in order that you might learn not to rely on yourself but on God who raises the dead." A very straightforward answer. It is perfectly legitimate to ask the question, "Why me?" just so long as you'll be open to receiving the answer.

The answer that Paul gives is this: That when the troubles come into our life, we need to understand they are permitted. They are permitted. God is not the author of these things. We are fallen people. We live in a fallen world. We have created a fallen culture. There is evidence of it all around.

And as a result, we are subjected to all kinds of pain and anguish and deep, deep trouble. This is exacerbated by the fact that behind all these things, there is a malevolent force totally contradictory to all that God stands for, intent on undoing all the work of God. The thing to remember, however, is this: That God permits this evil one, and He purposely places us in a fallen world.

And He permits these things because He has a specific purpose in mind. That's the second thing to remember. Paul's view of his troubles is: Number one, they are permitted; number two, they are purposeful. There is a point to them. You say, "Pray tell me, what is the point of God permitting trouble to come into my life?" Answer: In order that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

There is a human tendency—you're well aware of it. The human tendency is this: When things are going well, we don't need God. When things start to come unglued, we do have a tendency to get incredibly religious. When things are fixed, we simply revert to normal. This is a natural human tendency. It happens all the time.

Human beings have a natural bent to self-sufficiency. Human beings have a natural bent to doing things their own way. It is only when they get pushed to the limit that God becomes relevant. The important thing to remember, of course, is this: Human beings are wired up to live dependently upon God. You cannot live well independently of God.

Do you know what God will do? Once in a while, He will jerk our chain. Once in a while, He will allow us to be pulled up short. He will permit, purposefully, some trouble to come in order that we might learn not to rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. There's purpose in the trouble. It is permitted by the Lord.

Now, of course, it is not simply so that we will stop trusting in ourselves, but it is also in order that we might learn to trust in God who raises the dead. Now think about it—two options. You can live your life dependent upon your capabilities. That means that your life is now immediately circumscribed by your capacities.

That is the sum totality of possibilities for your life. Or on the other hand, you can live your life in dependence upon the God who raises the dead, and immediately the horizons of your life are dramatically increased. Very simple question for you. Who do you think is more likely to give you a life of utter fulfillment?

You or God who raises the dead? Why then is it that we have a natural bent to rely on ourselves and not God who raises the dead? We get it all wrong. And God jerks the chain, and He permits the trouble. It is purposeful. And it, of course, comes from a God of compassion and comfort. We'll see about that in just a moment.

The third thing, however, that Paul understands about his trouble: Number one, it's permitted; number two, it is purposeful; number three, it is entirely predictable. It is entirely predictable. Now you'll notice in verse five, he makes a rather fascinating statement: "Just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

In other words, there's a definite link between the trouble that he is going through and the sufferings of Christ. Have you ever noticed that? There's a definite link between the trouble he is going through and the sufferings of Christ. Let me try and explain this to you.

You remember that Saul of Tarsus, the sworn enemy of Christ and the Christian church, was bent on going to the city of Damascus in order that he might execute or have thrown into prison some more followers of Jesus. On route, he had a vision of the risen Christ. In the vision of the risen Christ, he heard these words: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting..." Listen: "Me."

Question one would have expected was, "Why are you persecuting Christians? Why are you persecuting the church? Why are you giving the followers of the way the hard time?" Jesus didn't ask him that. "Why are you persecuting me?" You remember that the Lord Jesus had said to His disciples right from the very beginning, "If anyone is going to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross."

You remember that Jesus, giving final instructions to His disciples, said this: "No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." Put all this together, and you come to a very basic conclusion: That a Christian in person and the church in corporate experience in some way is related to Christ.

And that in the same way that Christ suffered, so one can expect that the individual Christian and the church as a whole will continue to experience the sufferings of Christ. As a result, Peter and the other apostles were able to say something like this—and I quote Peter: "Do not be surprised at the painful trial you're suffering as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ."

You see, the thing that is so hard for us to grasp is this: If you identify with a rejected, crucified Christ, you are identifying with the one who felt the full brunt of the world's fallenness and of the enemy of souls. That being the case, you should not be surprised if you too feel the full brunt of the world's fallenness and you feel the attack of the enemy of souls.

There's nothing surprising happening to you. In fact, it would be surprising if it didn't. So when you get into these troubles, don't assume that something strange is happening to you, Peter would say, but recognize that you are being given the chance to prove that you identify with the rejected, crucified Lord.

Now, this message is in marked contrast to a very popular brand of Christianity that people are flocking to hear nowadays. This popular brand of Christianity that people are flocking to hear is this: Come to Jesus and you'll be healed of all your diseases, you'll have all your financial problems fixed, and you'll be healthy and you'll be wealthy because that is what God wants.

And I don't know where they get it from, but they sure don't get it from my Bible. What I read in my Bible is this: That the sufferings of Christ are going to be experienced by those who identify with the Lord Jesus, and we should not regard it as if something strange is happening to us.

Guest (Male): Stuart, what can we learn from the apostle Paul about how to handle difficult times in our own lives?

Stuart Briscoe: There are lots of things we can learn from the apostle Paul concerning handling difficult times in our lives because as there's no question about it, his life was far from easy. It doesn't spare us the details. On numerous occasions in scripture, he outlines the enormous problems that he encountered.

Some of them of course related to all kinds of physical privations. He talks about being shipwrecked, he talks about being in prisons, he talks about being beaten and this sort of thing. But in addition to that, he talks about the enormous emotional and psychological traumas that he was subjected to as well.

He had a terrible time with the relationships of those who opposed him, particularly the Corinthian church. There were people came into the Corinthian church, they wanted to dismantle his ministry, and they did that by the age-old methodology of trying to destroy his credibility. And they engaged in character assassination. But what we can learn from Paul about all this is that he trusted the Lord and he didn't quit and he kept on keeping on, and that's the big lesson.

Guest (Male): Stuart, why does God allow troubles in our lives?

Stuart Briscoe: Well, part of the answer to that question of course is that we live in a fallen world. That this is the environment in which we live and move and have our being. That in this experience, in this environment of fallenness, all kinds of things that can go wrong will go wrong, and we are not exempt and we are not immune to them.

However, we are not just victims of our circumstances, we're not just subject to fallenness because God promises to be with us, and He also promises to empower us, to give us the ability to live well in the circumstances that have been dealt to us.

So we have to learn to draw on the resources that the Lord makes available to us. And instead of trying to change our circumstances and trying to live above our circumstances or living under our circumstances, what we need to do is draw on the resources of God to live well in our circumstances.

Guest (Male): Thanks for being with us today here on Telling the Truth. We pray today's message encouraged you and helped you experience life in Christ. So many people read their Bible, go to church, serve on mission trips, and go through the motions, yet still struggle to find God. Jill Briscoe has a surprising and deeply encouraging answer to this dilemma, which she shares in her three-message series Finding God.

In this inspiring series, you'll discover how you can stop spending so much energy on finding God and let Him find you. By slowing down and putting yourself deliberately in His presence, you'll recognize that He's already there waiting for you.

You'll be uplifted as Jill explains how God worked in the lives of men and women in the Old Testament and how He works in your life too, even when you don't see Him and feel His presence. The Finding God series is our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth.

And if you're able to make your gift monthly, we'll also send a special Telling the Truth travel mug to remind you that God is always with you. So request your resources when you give today: 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org.

On Tuesday's program, Stuart's back at the mic as he brings another message in his Knowing God Personally series. Tomorrow's message is called "When We Are Feeling Inadequate," so be sure to tune in for this powerful teaching Tuesday right here on Telling the Truth with Stuart and Jill Briscoe.