Part III

First, a theocentric view of hope redefines our disappointments. We could talk a lot about godly men in the Scriptures who experienced disappointment--from Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David, to the Apostle Paul. In every case, God had a better plan. Sometimes it works out just great, even from our point of view and our own desires. Those are the stories we like to recite and hear about.

But sometimes we have to wait until the resurrection to understand fully God’s better plan. Heb. 11:36-40: “And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, mountains, dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect.”

Secondly, a theocentric view of hope reinterprets our suffering. Sometimes we suffer because of stupid things we do, stupid things others do, or the unrelenting presence of evil powers, dominions and authorities in the world. We suffer because of earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes. We suffer because of death. Because of our overt witness for Christ, some have been put to death. God says they are going to be priests of God and Christ, and they will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Read Revelations 20. We suffer in order that God’s glory may be manifested in us and because God wants to conform us to His will. He uses suffering and pain to shape and mold us into His image.

You see, there’s no gold without the refiner’s fire; no steel without the blast furnace; no diamond without the cutter’s tool; and there’s no statue without the sculptor’s hammer and chisel. The Apostle Paul instructs us in Romans 5 that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces a hope that does not disappoint us.

II Cor. 18:3 says, “But we, with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

That’s the process. Some of our suffering is because God, in this interim period, is shaping us. He is getting us ready to be Kings and Priests with Him. He is preparing us to enter into His glory prepared by the Father for Him in which we will share. According to Rom 5:17: “If indeed we co-suffer--we will be co-glorified.”

That reshaping is God’s purpose in our lives. Sometimes for those who serve in ministry it is particularly difficult. The Scriptures teach us that as the husbandman over the vineyard we are to be the first partakers of the fruit of the vine. We talk about it, but it is God’s will that we know His truth experientially.

In the ministry, we bare our soul before the world and we become vulnerable. We invest our very lives in those over whom God has made us an overseer. And when they are human, just as we are, we suffer. When they misunderstand, just as we do, we suffer. When it seems that the ones we are making a sacrifice for most reject us, we suffer. When those we oversee turn on us, use us or abuse us, we suffer. In all respects, we suffer excruciating pain, hurt and loss and we wonder what it is all about.

That’s part of knowing Christ in the fellowship of His suffering. Often times the saints go away, bleeding and hurt, too, and that’s part of their fellowship of suffering in Christ. The Scripture admonishes us, “Little children love one another. Be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Sometimes we suffer because we have a redemptive role to act out in this world (we are Christ-bearers). But, we cannot be Christ-bearers unless we are first cross-bearers. Jesus said in Mark 8:34, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The Apostle Paul instructs us by example in Phil. 3:8ff, “I count all things but loss…That I may win Christ…That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.”
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What is that “fellowship of His suffering?” Or that redemptive role which we are to play out in this world? Some of your suffering will come when you go out on the streets to your neighbors and tell them about Jesus. That redemptive role requires us to enter into their brokenness. You may spend time with family members, acquaintances, or friends sharing the Gospel of the good news and you will enter into their suffering for you are there to help redeem their lostness, pain or aloneness. The Gospel, the Holy Spirit, the inauguration of the Kingdom and you are God’s active agents to redeem the suffering around you.

But you will suffer for it. For pastors, some of the suffering we experience in the ministry is because of our redemptive role. But all of us have been called to be in that line to do that work. We redeem, redefine, restore, and stand up against meaningless suffering wherever we find it. Meaningless suffering may come in the form of abortion, racism, hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, starvation, or terrorism.

We as the Church--individually and corporately--must stand up against injustice. An apocalyptic hope demands an ethical stance in a world under the power and influence of evil forces. That’s part of our redemptive role in this world, and we experience suffering because of that and it redefines the situation.

Thirdly, a theocentric view of hope reorders our realities. We no longer live in a self-centered existence where we serve primarily or our wants and desires. We no longer perceive life as a frantic dash through a supermarket grabbing as many packages off the shelves as we can before time runs out. We no longer see ourselves suffering alone, but recognize our solidarity with the pain and agony experienced in the creation around us. Our suffering and pain is no longer without spiritual context or meaning. We know that God is at work in us and through us. And as we are comforted, so shall we comfort others. It is this comfort that makes the difference. We are able to endure with joy.

Now we see a cosmic drama of huge proportions encompassing time and beyond being directed by a faithful and just God who is preparing us for a place and a place for us. In Revelations 21, He calls it the New Jerusalem:

Suffering is not just an unfortunate mistake that a distracted God accidentally allowed to be a part of His plan to redeem a broken world caused by the sin and rebellion of man. It’s a purposeful part of the process through which He works to bring good for them that love Him and who are called according to His purpose.

Rom. 8:29: “For those whom God foreknew, He also predestined them to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren.
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Finally, a theocentric view of hope restores our joy. When our disappointments have been redefined, our joy is restored; when our suffering has been reinterpreted, our joy is restored; and when our reality has been enlarged to include God’s greater purposes at work in our lives and creation, our joy has been restored.

We are surprised by joy. It’s only through suffering which we should expect in life that we as Christians are often surprised by joy. For some reason, even when we’re not happy because of circumstances and difficulties, we can be joyful. For the God-centered person who has a theocentric view of hope we find that sorrow and joy can co-exist together. We often find that pain and joy go together in life. Like the birth of a child and the death of a loved one, especially one who knows the Lord--we are sad, but we are glad.

In his book “Here & Now, Living In the Spirit,” Henri Nouwen stated that as Christians living in the Kingdom now, we have choices. Everything has changed with the coming of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. We are no longer controlled by the power of this world, but rather we can choose to recognize God’s presence in the midst of our suffering and embrace it with joy.

Nouwen states that God’s Spirit is a realist. He doesn’t deny disease, pain, or heartache. Rather, God testifies within us that the reality of hope is greater than despair, that faith is greater than distrust, that love is greater than fear. The Holy Spirit Himself groans within us and intercedes on our behalf in accordance with the will of God--and He comforts us. And we are surprised by joy.

Nouwen writes: “I remember the most painful times of my life as times in which I became aware of a spiritual reality much larger than myself, a reality that allows me to live the pain with hope. I dare say: ‘My grief was the place I found my joy.’”

The Bible tells us that, “Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” I have found that to be true in my own personal journey of faith. It has not been easy with my lack of self-discipline, rebellious spirit and uncontrolled anger. I guess I was what Jim Dobson calls a “strong-willed child.”

Sometimes we suffer because God chastens those sons whom He loves. And I know He loves me very much. I’m learning. At one particularly hard turn in the road, at one particular difficult lesson to learn, I wrote in my Bible: “After 34 years, God and I have finally reached a mutually acceptable agreement; I surrendered.” And I was surprised by joy.

Those of you who have had to discipline your strong-willed children know that often when it has been done in love, you are surprised by joy. After the arguing, the fussing, the anger and sometimes painful discipline, they will climb into your arms with tears still wet on their face and say, “Daddy, I love you.”

The Bible gives us all kinds of reasons to be joyful. Especially apocalyptic reasons. It talks about the doxa or glory, and it clearly states that our future glorification is a co-glorification with Christ. Or more properly, “After the same manner as Christ.”
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God the Father has prepared a glory for the Son and St. Paul tells us that we will share in it, that we have not been given a spirit that makes us a slave again to fear, but a spirit of sonship whereby we cry “Abba Father.” Then he says, based on absolute logic: If sons, then heirs, and if heirs, then co-heirs with Christ, and we will share His glory.

Here is a little of what that means in the apocalypse:

The rewards are too numerous to list them all. Among them are:

And, if we share in His sufferings, we will be co-glorified in Christ’s own glory prepared for the Son by God the Father. The Bible speaks of that great day of the Lord saying:

“Then will the end come, when He will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominions, authority, and power. For He (the Son) must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death…When He has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to the Father who put everything under Him, so that God may be all and all.”

When that happens, God will say, “Yes!” “Yes!” “Yes!”

My Word…my promises…my creations have been vindicated…And we will enter into God’s Magnum Opus.

A theocentric and apocalyptic view of hope redefines our disappointments, reinterprets our suffering, re-orders our reality, and restores our joy. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear Friend,
If you have been blessed or encouraged by reading this teaching by Pastor Masserano and would like to communicate with him with your comments or questions, you may do so by e-mailing your thoughts, comments, and questions to webmaster@i-m-f.org.
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