Rom 8:18 - 27

When Paul was converted on the way to Damascus, God told Ananias that He would show Paul how much he was still to suffer for the name of Jesus.
The sermon preached to Paul wasn't like so many of today's sermons, where people are told that they should come to Jesus to be happy, joyful, blessed, rich etc. That's why so many fall away. Of course those things could be added but that's not the reason you come to God neither the reason God saves you. God saves you that you might know Him and do His will, wherever He might lead.

Someone asked one of the co-workers why he wasn't preaching a Gospel of love, blessedness and material prosperity. He answered that we preach the love of God as revealed in His Son Jesus who suffered and died for us on the cross because of our sin. He died so that we can be saved, do His will and lay down our lives for our fellowmen so that they too can be saved. The man then broke down and answered that he realizes for the first time that he has never been saved, but only followed after other men.

Paul was persecuted mercilessly for the sake of Christ. Five times he was scourged 39 stripes (2Cor 11:24). The Roman flagrum was a particularly cruel torturing whip, with multiple leather thongs which had hard material and pieces of metal at the tip of each tongue, to ensure its flesh-tearing bite. Many times, after a severe chastisement (like Paul had five times), the back would be so broken that the breathing of a person's lungs would be visible through the broken and plowed flesh. At another time Paul was stoned and left for dead, but when the brethren surrounded him, he stood up and started to preach again as soon as he was able. In the following verses in 2Cor 11:24 and onwards he tells of many other hardships he had to endure for the sake of Christ, but none of these things moved him.

This reminds us of Moses, who was called the son of Pharao's daughter. Some even suggest that he might have been in the line of succession to the throne. Whether that be so we don't know, but he still received the best Egypt could offer, for he was part of the royal family. However, Moses chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward" (Hebr 11:24 - 26).

Here are the men of God.

Paul, who suffered so greatly for the sake of Christ is the one who wrote "that our present suffering is not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us".

Our present suffering is only for a short while, but there joy will be eternal.

Why was Paul suffering so much? Paul was not guilty of theft, murder or hatespeech. Paul said that his conscience was clean before God and men. He was a true believer, lived a holy life and was not a busy-body into the matters of other people. There was no one who was reaching out and helping other people like Paul. But he was persecuted, stoned, beaten, thrown in jail, etc. Even false brethren spread slander and lies about him and persecuted him. He suffered till the end of his life, when a Roman executioner chopped off his head. But he refused to part with the Gospel at any cost, because the sufferings of Christ meant true Life to him. When he met Jesus Christ, everything else which was precious to him before became like dung in comparison.

All the persecution Paul experienced and true believers in Jesus experience shouldn't come as a surprise to us. Jesus said that, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, ... blessed are the pure in heart, ... blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt 5). The majority of the people of this world are under the curse. They ought to be happy for people who are poor in spirit, pure of heart, etc. But they hate and persecute them.

The Bible clearly teaches that if you believe in Jesus people will hate you and spread lies about you.

Paul said that "if I still pleased men I'm not a servant of Christ" (Gal 1:10). Many prove that they are not true servants of Christ because they try to please men and turn away from Christ and the Gospel when hardship and persecution arise.

We read in Revelations 21 of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, as a bride adorned for her husband. Then John heard a loud voice saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son". This is a wonderful promise!

That's why there is no greater fool than the one who turns his back on our Lord Jesus Christ. Men of God throughout the ages have affirmed how they wait and look forward to the day Jesus will return, and that they disdain and despise all the pleasures of this world.

Today these two tables are spread before you. The one table contains all the riches and pleasures of this world. The other table the sufferings of Christ. Which one will you choose? Blessed be the one who chooses to suffer with Christ. The one who tries to serve Christ while looking for the prosperity of this world will not last long.