EXPERIENCED EDUCATION – Pt 2

II Corinthians 12:9 "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Philippians 4:10-14 "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.”

I am writing the introduction for this CHALLENGING CONCEPTS on Sunday evening January 2. Tonight our Associate Pastor, Todd Borders, preached an awesome message from Hebrews 12:1-2. He reminded us that the race of the Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon. The journey is not always on smooth terrain. There is cross country involved that sometimes has some hazards and pitfalls. He also pointed out that this race is PERSONAL and PERMANENT. The finish line is when we come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. And until we cross that finish line, God expects us to get up every morning and run that race for the glory of God.

In last week’s CHALLENGING CONCEPTS we noticed the EXPERIENCES OF LIFE. This week I want us to notice also:

II. EXPERIENCE OF LESSONS

Why do we go to school? We go to school to improve, benefit and learn. So what are the lessons we learn as believers? What do they benefit or accomplish in our lives? That’s what we want to explore in this blog.

A. They TOUGHEN us – They make us able to take hardships. Most of us are too thin skinned. We’re just too soft. In the Christian community there are just too many babies. Every time I complain, my wife just tells me, “Suck it up. You’re just a Wimp!” And you know what? She’s right! She also says, “In the ministry a person has to have a soft heart and a tough hide.” She’s right there also.

When I was a pastor, I spent a lot of time dealing with petty things. I had to put soothing cream and bandaids on scratches when there were others who were really hurting.

There are hurts which come in our lives, but remember, God is still on the throne and He has allowed those hurts and wounds for a purpose. One of those purposes is the toughen us.

Paul had some hardships in his life. Notice what we read in II Corinthians 11:23-27 "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."

Notice also II Corinthians 12:7-10 "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

When we respond to the trials, problems and hurts in our lives, they will toughen us.

B. They TEACH us – If we are wise, we can learn from the hard knocks and hard times. Some people never learn. On the other hand, people who are successful have learned from the school of hard knocks. They learn what to do or not to do when hardships come.

The wise man, Solomon, wrote in Proverbs 9:9 “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”

When God is trying to teach us through hardships, allow Him to do His work. Notice what we read in Isaiah 26:9 “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”

C. They TENDER us – I have learned many things through the Word of God and also through observation. One of those things is that those who are mightily used of God are those who have gone through hardships. God has to break our hearts before we can be greatly used by Him. Before we can help others we need to be tenderized. I wish there was another way to be tenderized, but I only know one way and that is to go through hard times and respond correctly to what God allows in our lives.

I’m not much of a hiker but I do remember some times as a young person when we would hike some mountain trails. Some of the trails had some very steep climbs to them. One thing that I learned about steep climbing was that it made me grateful for the plateau at the top. Too much rain makes us grateful for the sunshine. Too much sunshine makes us grateful for the clouds. The bare cupboard makes us grateful for the horn of plenty. The rough road makes us grateful for the smooth highway. Hard knocks have a way of making us grateful for the blessings God pours out on us each and every day. They make us tender.

There are lessons that God wants you and me to learn. Most of those lessons come through the tough times we face. When I was attending Bible College my family went through some times of testing. I usually say the best thing I learned at Bible College was to trust God. God was more real to me then than He had ever been up to that time. I thank God for the hard times because there were some lessons I need to learn. We all need to continue to respond correctly when God sees fit to allow hardships to come into our lives. We also need to praise Him for the hardship. Notice Isaiah 49:13 “Sing O heavens; and be joyful O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.”

Next week in CHALLENGING CONCEPTS I wants us to consider some people who went through the School of Hard Knocks and earned a passing grade.

That’s my view; how about you?