                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                       Learning Through Afflictions!

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By David Wilkerson
July 17, 1995
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          The Psalmist writes, "It is good for me that I have
          been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes" (Psalm
          119:71). You may wonder, as I have - what kind of
          theology is this? Is it actually good for me to be
          afflicted?

          The Hebrew word for affliction here means, "browbeaten,
          troubled, abased, chastened, defiled, hurt, humbled,
          weakened, depressed." When you put this meaning into
          the verse, suddenly it reads: "It is good for me to
          have been browbeaten, troubled, abased, chastened,
          defiled, hurt, humbled, weakened, depressed. And it all
          has been for one purpose - so that I could learn the
          Lords statutes!"

          The word statutes in this verse means, "engraved law."
          The Psalmist is saying, "Its good that I went through
          all these troubles - because in the process God was
          engraving His laws and ways in my heart."

          Now, its true the Lord allows trials to come our way
          to test us. But that is not His primary purpose in
          allowing them. Rather, our troubles and afflictions are
          to teach us to walk rightly before Him. The Bible tells
          us: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous..."
          (Psalm 34:19). And, according to the Psalmist, the
          point of all our afflictions is for us to learn from
          them.

          Let me give you an example of what I mean by learning
          through afflictions.

          Not long ago I spent a week preparing a sermon
          entitled, "The Pettiness of American Religion." The
          word petty means "small-minded, trivial." I was fired
          up about this sermon, ready to thunder it from the
          pulpit.

          Yet while I was working on the message, I read a
          newsletter from one of our missionary couples, Roland
          and Heidi Baker. The Bakers had written about the
          situation in Mozambique, where they are preparing to
          move.

          Mozambique has been listed by the United Nations as one
          of the poorest countries on earth. Its situation has
          been worsened by the long, bloody civil war there. The
          nations infrastructure has been destroyed. Roads,
          bridges, villages, schools and hospitals have been
          blown up. People have been savagely tortured and
          killed, and several million people have died in the
          conflict. Millions of others have fled as refugees.

          More than a million land mines were planted during the
          war, resulting in the worlds highest percentage of
          maimed and disabled people. Children and adults trip
          the mines and are blown apart, many left with only a
          limb or two. Thousands of children are dying of
          malaria. And countless people are seen wandering
          through blackened, burned-out villages, naked and
          starving to death.

          Roland recently drove to this desperate country in a
          pickup truck with a group of Christians from South
          Africa. They were delivering a load of supplies and
          were scheduled to attend a meeting that night across
          the border.

          The team drove hurriedly, knowing the border gates
          would close at five oclock. But about five miles from
          the border, their truck started missing and slowing
          down. The driver floored the pedal, but the trucks
          speed kept dropping. To the groups dejection, they saw
          the car in front of them eventually pull away into the
          distance.

          Finally, they arrived at the customs office near the
          border about two minutes before five - and instantly
          their engine died. The truck simply would not move.
          Everyone on the team wondered, "Lord, why have you
          allowed us to miss this meeting?"

          Suddenly, the border guards started racing about,
          shouting excitedly. A few minutes later a helicopter
          landed, and a South African official deplaned. Roland
          approached him and asked what was happening.

          "There was an explosion across the border, not far from
          here," the official told him. "Some bandits from one of
          the warring factions blew up a car that had just driven
          in."

          Roland was told the wounded and dying people were being
          rescued by helicopter - and he realized they had been
          driving the car directly in front of them. If his own
          groups truck had been running properly, they also
          would have been bombed.

          The next morning, the driver from Rolands group turned
          the key in the ignition - and the truck started right
          up. In fact, it ran fine all the way into and out of
          Mozambique.

          After reading these incredible accounts - and the
          reports of all the suffering - I wondered, "How can we
          American Christians compare our afflictions to these
          peoples? How can our hurt feelings and financial
          problems stack up against their horrible trials? Our
          troubles seem so petty, so trivial."

          Its true that we get bent out of shape whenever we
          have a "bad hair day" on the job. We cry, "Somebody
          slandered me!" "The boss chewed me out!" And we think
          life is over when our credit-card bills start piling
          up: "Im working harder than ever, yet Im still
          falling behind. I cant make it!"

          Many believers talk about their awful bouts of
          depression - of being downcast, blue, unable to shake
          off terrible feelings. Yet, after reading the Bakers
          newsletter, I thought, "How can anybody compare
          depression to starvation, imprisonment, maimed bodies,
          burned-out homes, murdered family members?"

          Of course, there is no comparison. Many of our
          so-called afflictions may rightly be called trivial or
          small-minded. And I was prepared to stand in the pulpit
          of our church and preach loudly against Christians who
          focus on their emotional problems and personal hurts. I
          wanted to lambaste those who claim to be afflicted with
          depression, while the rest of the world suffers in ways
          unknown in Americans.

          But then something happened to me. I woke up one
          morning and faced something very alien to me -
          depression! A deep, dark, blue funk had struck me. I
          walked around the apartment wondering, "Whats gong on?
          Theres no reason for this." I had never felt such
          grief, sorrow, fear and self-pity.

          According to Websters dictionary, a funk is "an
          extreme dejection." It is a fear so powerful it makes
          you avoid doing anything, going anywhere, facing anyone
          or making any decision. Simply put - its plain, old
          depression.

          I decided to try to walk it off. So I walked
          thirty-five blocks - but it only got worse. I said to
          myself, "Lord, whats happening here? Im supposed to
          preach about how petty and trivial depression is
          compared to the problems in Mozambique. And yet Im
          walking around completely focused on my depression!"

          When I went back to the apartment, I started weeping
          and couldnt stop. I didnt know why I was crying - but
          I knew it wasnt trivial. It was life-or-death! I cried
          out to God at the top of my voice, "Oh, Lord, this
          hurts so badly. It isnt petty at all. Help me -
          deliver me!"

          But God did not deliver me. And I tell you, it was good
          for me - because I learned from it!

          First, I learned I couldnt stand in the pulpit and
          lambaste anyone about his or her depression - because I
          knew depression isnt a trivial thing. If fact, I cant
          imagine how painful clinical depression must be. I had
          only tasted for one day what many Christians have to
          endure for weeks, months, even years.

          I also learned that our heavenly Father is touched with
          the feelings of our infirmities, regardless of what our
          infirmity may be. Whether its hunger, homelessness or
          depression, it all matters to Him. He is a
          compassionate Lord who is concerned about his children.
          And He is involved directly with us in our pain!

          Let me share with you some of the other lessons Ive
          learned through afflictions:

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                        You Cannot Deliver Yourself
                         Out of Any Afflictions -
                        Because That is Gods Work!

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          It doesnt matter what kind of trouble youre in. You
          simply cannot extricate yourself from it in your own
          power.

          The secret to understanding how God delivers us from
          afflictions is to study how He delivered Israel from
          their bondage. The Bible says:

          "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:
          and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the
          ends of the world are come (1 Corinthians 10;11). "Now
          these things were our examples..." (verse 6).

          Everything that happened to Israel - their bondage,
          their trials, their deliverance out of Egypt - are
          testimonies, patterns and examples to us today. Indeed,
          Israels physical deliverance represents the spiritual
          deliverance were to see.

          Have you ever wondered why Israel didnt rise up in
          rebellion while in bondage under Pharaoh? After all, he
          was forcing them to make bricks without straw. He was
          commanding his taskmasters to beat them. Why didnt
          Israel take matters into their own hands?

          They certainly had the manpower to do it - especially
          after the ten plagues, when Egypt was devastated, weak
          and in mourning. Even Pharaoh admitted, "...the people
          of the children of Israel are more and mightier than
          we" (Exodus 1:9).

          Yet Israel never rose up in anger, crying, "Thats it -
          no more bondage! Were ridding ourselves of these
          dreadful chains." The reason Israel never rebelled is
          because they couldnt have done it. It was God who
          said, "I have come down to deliver you." It was His
          work to do for them!

          The Lord told Moses, "...I have surely seen the
          affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have
          heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I
          know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver
          them..." (Exodus 3:7-8.

          Gods Word says clearly here, "I know their sorrows..."
          Beloved, if that doesnt give you comfort in your
          affliction, nothing will! The Lord is saying, "I know
          what youre going through, what youre feeling. But
          this is not your battle. Your taskmaster, the devil, is
          too much for you. So I have come down to deliver you!"

          "...I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under
          the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of
          their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched
          out arm, and with great judgments."

          "And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be
          to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your
          God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of
          the Egyptians. And I will bring you in..." (Exodus
          6:6-8).

          You can try all you want to deliver yourself - to
          dream, scheme and manipulate. But in the end, God says,
          "This is My work!" "...the way of man is not in
          himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his
          steps" (Jeremiah 10:23).

          When David came against the giant, he said: "And all
          this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with
          sword and spear: for the battle is the Lords, and he
          will give you into our hands (1 Samuel 17:47).

          Scripture then adds: "...but there was no sword in the
          hand of David" (verse 50). David didnt take matters
          into his own hands. He didnt say, "Im going to bite
          the bullet and do this in my own strength." No - he
          knew it was the Lords battle!

          Were bound for failure in any struggle, unless we
          believe the battle is the Lords. That should take all
          the pressure off of us. Yet, does this mean we have no
          part in our deliverance? Absolutely not! Our part is to
          trust God to do what He promised. And here is the key
          for our trust in Him:

          "...and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that
          I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from
          under the burdens..." (Exodus 6:7).

          The Lord is saying to us: "You have read how I
          miraculously delivered Israel. I cut down Goliath and
          showed I was God to Israel and to David. But I want to
          be almighty God to you! I want you to experience My
          marvelous deliverance, so you can testify as they did.
          I am your God - in your time, for your affliction!"

          God knows that none of your afflictions [are] trivial.
          I think of a recent headline in one of the New York
          newspapers: "Tough Love - A Dad Shoots His Firstborn to
          Save His Younger Son From Drug Abuse."

          A thirty-nine-year-old father had a twenty-year-old son
          who was on drugs. Evidently, the older boy was taking
          his sixteen-year-old brother out to smoke pot. The
          father, desperate over the situation, took a gun and
          shot the older son in the chest and mouth.

          The man immediately locked himself in a closet,
          speaking of suicide, a his son lay bleeding on the
          floor. The younger brother quickly broke into the
          closet and saved his dad from shooting himself.

          Later, as the older son recovered in the hospital, he
          apologized to his father, saying, "It took this to wake
          me up."

          This desperate man had been under horrible depression
          because he had lost one son to drugs, and was afraid he
          was going to lose the other. He depression had brought
          him to the point that he said, "I cant take any more
          of this!"

          That isnt trivial. That is life-or-death. Yet, please
          dont mistake me: My point isnt that it was right for
          the father to shoot his son. That would be ludicrous.

          Rather, my point is just the opposite: There is true
          deliverance only in the Lord! you cannot bring yourself
          out of your depression. Only God can bring you out. And
          He desires to do it for you!

          Here is lesson number two in learning from our
          afflictions:

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                         2. Afflictions Come Upon
                        Us to Drive Us to the Lord!

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          Afflictions teach us to bend our knees - to cry out to
          the Lord in all our problems and troubles.

          "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord..." (Psalm
          77:2). "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now
          have I kept thy word" (Psalm 119:67). "And when he
          [Mannasseh] was in affliction, he besought the Lord his
          God, and humbled himself greatly..." (2 Chronicles
          33:12). "I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right,
          and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me" (Psalm
          119:75).

          In the last verse, David is saying, "Lord, I know why
          You afflicted me. You saw that when all was going well,
          I went astray, becoming careless. So you allowed
          trouble to come upon me. You knew it would drive me to
          my knees and bring me back to brokenness. My affliction
          was evidence of Your faithfulness to me!"

          "...and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by
          reason of the bondage" (Exodus 2:23). Israels cry
          moved Gods heart. Indeed, the Lord is moved whenever
          His children cry out to Him from affliction.

          We must understand something about the heart of God -
          that God hurts when we hurt! He feels our affliction
          with us: "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and
          the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and
          in His pity He redeemed them: and He bare them, and
          carried them all the days of old" (Isaiah 63:9).

          Every time Israel was afflicted, God hurt with them.
          Even when Israel sinned against the Lord and misery
          fell upon them, "...his soul was grieved for the misery
          of Israel" (Judges 10:16).

          I know many people who have had to battle awful
          bondages in their lives - drugs, alcohol, cigarettes.
          The temptation of their cruel habit rages every day.
          Yet I say to all such people: God cares! He knows the
          misery you go through. And He alone has the power to
          deliver you. In every battle, He is teaching you to run
          to the Cross - to cry out to Him!

          The Lord does not constantly hover over you, saying,
          "Youre miserable because of what you did. Youve
          failed Me, and now youre paying the price. Im going
          to sit here and wait until youve hurt long enough.
          Then Ill come to your rescue."

          No - you dont serve a God whos like that! You serve a
          loving Father who feels your grief the moment you first
          feel it. No matter how you got into your affliction,
          God hurts with you. He grieves to see you so broken.
          And He wants more than anything to deliver you.

          You may think God is not helping you at all. But He has
          heard your cry - and in that very moment He went into
          action! Let me prove it to you:

          "And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His
          covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And
          God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had
          respect unto them" (Exodus 2:24-25). The word respect
          here means, "He began to act." God heard their cry and
          began taking action on their behalf.

          As soon as Moses cried out to God on Mount Horeb, God
          brought fire down on the bush. What is my point here?
          Its simply that whenever you fall on your knees, God
          immediately takes action!

          Israel didnt know it - they couldnt see it yet - but
          God had taken charge. while they were still in bondage
          - still crying, wondering when it all would end - God
          had already set into motion their deliverance. He was
          at work, raising up and preparing a deliverer for
          Israel.

          God heard you also the first time you cried out to Him.
          And He started working on your deliverance immediately.
          In fact, His answer is being shipped to you even now:
          "The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and
          delivereth them out of all their troubles." (Psalm
          34:17).

          Here is lesson three:

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                          3. Afflictions Get Much
                             Worse Just Before
                            Deliverance Comes!

                      -------------------------------

          God had given Moses and Israel ironclad promises of
          deliverance. So Moses went to the people with the good
          news, performing signs form them. And Scripture says
          they believed:

          "And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the
          elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron spake all
          the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did
          the signs in the sight of the people. And the people
          believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited
          the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon
          their affliction, then they bowed their heads and
          worshipped" (Exodus 4:29-31).

          It was a time of hope, rejoicing, worship. Everyone
          cried, "Hallelujah - were finally free! God has heard
          our cry, and our bondage is over. Praises to Him!"

          Yet, what happened next? Things only got worse!
          Israels bondage became absolutely unbearable. They
          were given no straw for brickmaking. They endured heavy
          beatings from their taskmasters. And Pharaoh raged at
          Israels leaders, "Get out of my sight. Back to work!"

          Moses couldnt believe this terrible turn of events. He
          cried out, "God why are You treating your people this
          way? You havent delivered us at all. In fact, its
          worse than ever! You havent kept Your Word. Nothing
          You promised is happening!"

          You have to understand - the devil knew Israels
          deliverance was right at the door. So, do you think he
          was going to sit by and not make one last attempt to do
          Gods people in? No! Satan said to himself, "Ive got
          just a little time left - so Im going to throw
          everything in hell at them! Ill enrage Pharaoh and
          give whips to the taskmasters. Im going to beat those
          Israelites into the ground!"

          This worsening of Israels condition wasnt Gods
          doing. Rather, it was Satan rushing about madly -
          hurrying his work before the hour of deliverance came.
          Likewise, whenever the devil sees you driven to your
          knees, he knows your deliverance is at hand. And he is
          not going to sit by in those final moments before
          victory comes!

          Instead, he will intensify your temptations. He will
          enflame people against you. He will send lying spirits
          to falsely accuse you. He will lie to you that God has
          taken His Holy Spirit from you, that youre paying for
          past sins. He will flood you with all kinds of guilt
          and condemnation.

          Yet, you must understand: An enraged devil whos gong
          berserk against you is the surest evidence your
          deliverance is right at the door! So, if youve been
          praying, but things are only getting worse, start
          rejoicing - because your deliverance is at hand.

          Moses did not know that the very next day, the Lord
          would take matters into His own hands:

          "Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what
          I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he
          let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them
          out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said
          unto him, I am the Lord" (Exodus 6:1-2). God was
          saying, "Im not going to let you down, Moses. Remember
          who I am. Im the Lord."

          But Israel was too crushed, too weary, to believe. "And
          Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they
          hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for
          cruel bondage" (verse 9). The people were dead inside.
          They gave up, saying, "Ive suffered too much to
          listen, Moses. I cant even hear a message of
          deliverance."

          Does this describe you? Have you been so beaten down
          youre at the end of your rope? When youre at church,
          does the sermon go in one ear and out the other?

          God understands your situation, beloved - and He is
          patient. He knew that Israel soon would see Him dealing
          with all their enemies. And He is urging you through
          His Word: "Hold on! Soon you will see Me at work.
          Youll be blessed and favored, while your enemies are
          plagued!"

          There is a final lesson to be learned from our
          afflictions:

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                        4. You Are Being Afflicted
                          Because God Is Working
                                On a Jewel!

                      -------------------------------

          Listen to this prophecy from Isaiah:

          "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not
          comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair
          colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I
          will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of
          carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

          "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and
          great shall be the peace of thy children. In
          righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be
          far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from
          terror; for it shall not come near thee: (Isaiah
          54:11-14).

          What an amazing prophecy! The "pleasant stones"
          mentioned in verse 12 are jewels. And if you know much
          about jewels, you know that a diamond was once a piece
          of coal. It has been worked on for years by the
          elements.

          Gods Word is telling us: "Your afflictions are meant
          to change you into something beautiful - something
          precious to Me!"

          The "windows of agates" mentioned here are a type of
          quartz, made transparent by fire. The "windows" aspect
          has to do with eyes or vision. God is saying that
          trusting him through your afflictions will give you
          clear vision, discernment. It will allow you to see
          into the unseen - with crystal clarity!

          Most scholars believe the phrase "gates of carbuncles"
          reads more accurately as "gates of pearl." Pearls form
          from a grain of sand in the belly of an oyster. The
          grain is injected with fluid, then grated and irritated
          until it becomes a pearl.

          Now think of all the grating, irritating and friction
          in your life. Youre being rubbed the wrong way. Yet,
          what is God doing? Hes making a pearl! Every pearl is
          a memento of suffering, pain, friction.

          I believe Isaiah is talking about the beauty of Jesus
          Christ is this passage. In other words: Affliction,
          when allowed to accomplish its work, brings about a
          people who shine forth the beauty of Christs
          character. It makes us more and more like Jesus.

          In Revelation 21, John describes the holy city - that
          is, the remnant church - as having the glory of God:

          "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and
          the city was of pure gold, like unto clear glass. And
          the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished
          with all manner of precious stones."

          "The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire;
          the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the
          fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,
          chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the
          tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the
          twelfth, an amethyst."

          "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several
          gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was
          pure gold, as it were transparent glass" (Revelation
          21:10, 19-21).

          What are all theses precious stones? they are Gods
          afflicted ones - tossed with tempest, not comforted by
          men, but tried by fire, polished by friction, delivered
          by faith - a remnant of contrite, broken-in-spirit
          jewels!

          Isaiah prophesied of Christ: "...Behold, I lay in Zion
          for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious
          corner stone, a sure foundation..." (Isaiah 28:16). The
          Greek meaning here is, "a stone proven under trial."

          Scripture says Jesus is a stone that has been tried.
          And nothing can be built on this foundation-stone
          except other stones that have been tried by fire. This
          speaks of the character of Christ. All of the bright
          rays that shine out of us have to do with the bright
          holiness of Jesus. And the only people I know who show
          the character of Jesus are those who have suffered.

          Gods purpose is to refine us - to make us into
          precious jewels that will adorn His holy city coming
          down from heaven. We are to be clear-eyed, transparent
          in our living, with no dark part - no confidence in the
          flesh - but only bright, holy rays.

          So, lets read our theme verse again: "It is good for
          me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy
          statutes" (Psalm 119:71). Can you rejoice with me at
          theses words now? Hallelujah! ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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