VMP (n=67) Rd (n=65) VRd (n=67) Respuesta global

And then, let me say, conversely, that our place of weakness may be our greatest place of strength. We say, “I can’t do this. I can’t do that.” Well, wonderful, then you can let the Lord do it, can’t you? When you say, “I can’t,” then you say, “He can, and I’m going to let Him.”

That’s exactly what God was doing with the Apostle Paul, and Paul said, “God allowed me to have weakness, that I might be strong.” And so, Paul said, “I glory in my infirmity.”

Sometimes we get stoical and say, “What can’t be cured must be endured.” Paul said,

“What can’t be cured, can be enjoyed.” Hallelujah! I glory in my infirmities. Have you ever thanked God for your sickness? Maybe there’s somebody watching today on television who couldn’t even be here—why don’t you just say, “Dear Lord, I glory in my infirmity.” I believe that it would praise the Lord and bless the Lord in everything to give thanks.

Many times we say, “I am so weak.” It may be that we’re still not weak enough, and that is our problem. Watchman Nee told a story of a Chinese man who was drowning.

He was out in a particular river, and many of the other Chinese people there did not know how to swim, and the man was begging for help. One man stood on the shore.

Though he was a swimmer, he would not go in and rescue the drowning man. Finally, it seemed as though the man who was drowning went under for the last time, and the man on the shore finally jumped from the river bank and, with powerful strokes, went out to him, put his arms around him, and brought him to safety. But, they didn’t cheer him;

as a matter of fact, they scolded him. One man said, “I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen a man so much in love with his own life that he waited so long to save this man’s life.”

The other man said, “You don’t understand. I’m not that good a swimmer. Had I gone out there while this man was still fighting, he would have drowned us both.” He said, “I had to wait until he was weak enough for me to save him.”

I wonder if we think that we’re going under for the last time, and that we are so weak; but we’re still not yet weak enough. We still have not bowed our heads and said,

“O Lord, I can’t, but You can.” Now, the point I’m making, however, is this that power may come through sickness. It definitely did in the life of Paul, and that gives a new dimension and a new dignity to sickness.

II. Productivity Often Comes through Suffering and Sickness

Secondly, not only may power come through sickness, but, following close on the heels of power, productivity often comes through suffering and sickness. How greatly the world has been blessed—not always through the ministry of healthy, wealthy, and happy people—but how greatly the world has been blessed through the ministry of

those who have been sick and those who have suffered.

Think of blind Fannie Crosby who became blind at six months of age and never saw the light, until she saw the light of Heaven. And yet, she wrote thousands of gospel hymns. She has touched the life of Christendom more so, perhaps, than any of us will ever touch the life of Christendom. And yet, I dare say, had it not been for her blindness, God would not have used her the way that he used her.

Look in 2 Corinthians 1:6, and see what Paul said happened because of his ministry.

He says: “And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation” (2 Corinthians 1:6). Paul is saying, “I have learned to trust the Lord, and when I trust the Lord, great things happen; that makes me productive.” Notice again, in 2 Corinthians 1:9: “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9). Every day to Paul was a Resurrection Day. Paul said, “Lord, if You don’t do it, then it won’t be done. There is no way possible that I can take this old weak, sickly body of mine, and perform the ministry You don’t want me to perform unless You do it through me. But Lord, You’ve taught me a lesson. I no longer trust in me; I’m trusting in You, who raise the dead.” “My suffering,” said Paul to the Corinthian believers, “is for your salvation and for your

consolation.”

Sometimes sickness and sorrow cause us to be so very, very productive. Jesus said, in John 15:2, that, when He wants a branch to bear forth fruit, He’ll purge it: “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2)—that it might be more productive. Do you know what purging a branch is? That’s pruning it. Here, the gardener takes his pruning knife; and, he goes to the vineyard, and he starts cutting away. If the little old vine could talk, it would say, “Ouch! That hurts! Don’t do that! Why are you making me suffer like this?” And, the gardener, if he could talk to the branch, would say, “It’s not my purpose to make you hurt, but to make you productive.”

A man was walking through an apple orchard in the Shenandoah Valley, and he saw a tree that was just laden with apples; so heavily fruited was it, that the caretaker had to prop up the limbs with sticks, lest they break. And, the man who was visiting the orchard asked the caretaker, “Why is this tree so productive?” He said, “Sir, you wouldn’t believe it, but this, at one time, was one of our least productive trees, until we deliberately split it wide open.” They had taken an axe and had split that apple tree in half. And, the man said, “Why?” And, the caretaker said, “We have learned that when a tree has nothing but branches and leaves, nothing but beautiful foliage and lumber, and no fruit—that if it is hurt and wounded, then it will bear fruit.”

That was certainly true in the Apostle Paul’s life. When Joyce and I lost our little baby boy, I remember the dear pastor, brother Alan Watson, from West Palm Beach,

Florida, put his arm around my shoulder, drew me up close to him, and said, “Adrian, when God wants to use anything, He always breaks it first. God will use this in your life.

He is not cruel; but Jesus said, ‘Every branch in me that bringeth forth fruit, He prunes it that it may bring forth fruit.’”

There was an evangelist named Paul Hutchens. He was used of the Lord in great citywide campaigns. Just when his ministry began to be the most useful, he found out that he had tuberculosis, and he had to be shut away for a long time. Paul Hutchens wrote this, and I think it’s great; I want to share it with you. He said, “If blind Milton could write Paradise Lost, if John Bunyan in Bedford Jail could write Pilgrim’s Progress, if Luther, imprisoned in Wartburg Castle, could translate the entire New Testament into the German language, if Robert Louis Stephenson, tubercular, suffering with sciatica, one arm in a sling, sentenced to absolute silence and darkness, could produce The Child’s Garden Of Verses, if Paul, confined to a Roman prison and chained to a guard 24 hours a day, could still proclaim the gospel—if these men, under such mighty handicaps, could and dared to make progress and history—then why should not we?”

Sickness and suffering may not only mean power, but because it means power, it will mean productivity; and that causes it to have a dignity in our hearts and in our minds that it may not have.

III. Purity Comes through Suffering and through Sickness

Now, the third reason: not only may there be that power, and not only may there be that productivity, but may I say also, that purity also comes through suffering and through sickness.

I don’t believe that this was necessarily the case for Paul. I don’t believe that there was any sin in Paul’s life that God was trying to purge from him. I believe that there may have been something that God was trying to keep him from. But certainly, Paul

understood this principle: that purity comes through suffering and through sickness. Let me give you an example of that—turn to 1 Corinthians 11:30: “For this cause”—their irreverence at the Lord’s Supper and other sins—“many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30). That is, many have already died because of sin in the church and sin in their personal lives. But then, Paul seems to give a reason for that sickness as we continue to read: “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). And here, he speaks of that sickness as a judgment from God, but he says that there’s a way that we can escape that judgment—

and that is to judge ourselves before God has to do it.

But then, notice, as we continue to read: “But when we are judged, we are

chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32). Now, why are we chastened? The Bible says that we are chastened, that we

might be made partakers of His holiness. So sometimes, when we are judged, we are made sick. And, why are we made sick? So that we might be chastened. And, why are we chastened? So that we might be purified. Sickness has a way, many times, of

purifying. I’m not saying that everybody who is sick needs to be purified; but I am saying that is one of the benefits and the blisses of being sick. Purity may come through

suffering and through sickness. Let me give you some other scriptures—1 Peter 5:10:

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). Suffering may perfect you, may establish you, may strengthen you, and may settle you. That’s what Job meant when he said, in Job 23:10: “When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Do you know what the Psalmist said, in Psalm 119:67? “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now I have kept thy word”

(Psalm 119:67). You see, there may be a purifying power to sickness, and I’m so grateful for that.

I found a precious poem that I want to share with you. I’ll read it to you, and I want you to listen to it. This is talking about the purifying power of sickness:

He sat by a furnace of seven-fold heat As He watched by the precious ore, And closer He bent with a searching gaze As He heated it more and more.

He knew He had ore that could stand the test And He wanted the finest gold,

To mold as a crown for the King to wear, Set with gems of price untold.

So He laid our gold in the burning fire, Tho’ we fain would say Him, “Nay”;

And watched the dross that we had not seen, As it melted and passed away.

And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright, But our eyes were dim with tears,

We saw but the fire—not the Master’s hand, And questioned with anxious fears.

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow As it mirrored a Form above,

That bent o’er the fire, tho’ unseen by us, With a look of ineffable love.

Can we think it pleases His Loving heart

To cause us a moment’s pain?

Ah no! but He sees thro’ the present cross The bliss of eternal gain.

So He waited there with a watchful eye, With a love that is strong and sure,

And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat Than was needed to make it pure.

~Irene Lindsay

Oh, there’s the purifying power of suffering. Job said: “When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). I thank God that He has a loving purpose—not only of power, and not only of productivity, but purity.

IV. The Praise that Comes Through Suffering and Sickness May I say that, finally, there is the praise that comes through suffering and through sickness. God gets glory many times through our suffering and through our sickness.

There’s an abundance of Scripture that tells us that we learn to praise and glorify God when we’re sick—that is so true. In John 11:4, Jesus said: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God” (John 11:4). Now, that’s clear, isn’t it? “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby”

(John 11:4). You see, many times, God gets glory in a strange way. And certainly, if you’ll read the rest of that chapter, then you’ll find out that Lazarus’ sickness,

subsequent death, and resurrection caused many to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why, even our death ought to glorify the Lord. The Bible says: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15). And, the Bible describes Peter’s death in John 21:19: “This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God”

(John 21:19). I want to tell you, friend, that you can glorify God with your health. You can glorify God with your sickness, and you can glorify God with your death.

Isn’t it wonderful that in all things He can have the preeminence? Whatever we do, we should do all for the glory of God. You see, friend, the devil has a lie out about Christians. We know that the devil tells this kind of a lie, because it’s recorded in the Book of Job. The devil said to God, “The only reason ole Job serves you is that you bought him off. He’s just a fair-weather Christian; he doesn’t really love you. The only reason that Job serves you is because you’ve been so good to him. If you’ll make him real sick, then he’ll deny that he knows you—he will curse you to your face, God.” You know what the Lord says? He said, “You don’t know my servant Job. Job doesn’t love me because he’s healthy. Job doesn’t love me because everything is going his way. Job

just loves me.” I’ll tell you: God got such great glory out of ole Job, who suffered sickness, but he didn’t deny his God. He glorified God.

I believe that God has chosen some of you people who are watching right now from a sick bed to shut the devil’s mouth. And, when people see you there, praising the Lord, glorifying the Lord, and saying with Job: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him” (Job 13:15), they’ll say that there’s a quality of life about you, sir, about you, lady, that’s different—different. Oh, the praise of God that can sometimes come through sickness and through suffering! Jesus made it plain: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God” (John 11:4). Many times sickness may be for the glory of God.

Conclusion

Andrew Murray was a great saint of yesterday, and Andrew Murray said something that I think is so good. He said, “In times of trouble, God’s trusting child may say first, ‘He brought me here. It is by His will that I’m in the straight place. Next, He will keep me here in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child. Then, He will make the trial of blessing—teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in the grace He means to bestow. Last, in His good time, He can bring me out again, how and when, He knows.”

Isn’t that good? You see, He brought me here, and nothing comes to me except what comes through Him first. He will keep me here. He will teach me a lesson, and in His own good time, He will bring me out again.

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