The challenge of suffering

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which
He suffered.
- Hebrews 5:8 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Christ Learned From Suffering
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And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that
tribulation brings about perseverance;
- Romans 5:3 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Tribulation Produces Perseverance
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16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is
decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For
momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are
seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: All Suffering is Temporary
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10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the
prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those
blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and
have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of
compassion and is merciful.
- James 5:10-11 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: The Prophets and Job - An Example
of Suffering
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13 Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in
their oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were
plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and
took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have
escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said,
“The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and
consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was still
speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and
made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the
sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was still speaking, another
also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in
their oldest brother’s house, 19 and behold, a great wind came from across the
wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people
and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
- Job 1:13-19 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: The Suffering of Job
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20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell
to the ground and worshiped.
21 He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.
- Job 1:20-22 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Job's Response
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7 Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and smote Job
with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And
he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the
ashes.
- Job 2:7-8 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Satan Adds Physical Torment to Job's
Suffering
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Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse
God and die!”
- Job 2:9 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Job Has No Support From His Wife
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But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.
Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In
all this Job did not sin with his lips.
- Job 2:10 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Job Responds to His Wife
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11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had
come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the
Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they
made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and
comfort him. 12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did
not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them
tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
13Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and
seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his
pain was very great.
- Job 2:11-13 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Job's Friends Come to Comfort Job
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There is no umpire between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both.
- Job 9:33 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Job Pleads for a Mediator
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For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
- 1 Timothy 2:5 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING
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“If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait
until my change comes.”
- Job 14:14 NASB
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For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I
know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to
guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
- 2 Timothy 1:12 NASB
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16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for
salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY
FAITH.”
- Romans 1:16-17 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: The Faith of the Righteous
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THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT
SUFFERING
Most everyone experiences it at some point
of 10 17Slide 17 of 39

"Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.”
- Job 14:1 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Life is Full of Turmoil
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No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and
God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you
are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also,
so that you will be able to endure it.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Trials are Common to Man
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SUFFERING
Instead of asking “WHY?” ask “WHAT?” What
can I learn from my suffering?
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2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
- Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Sorrow is the Great Instructor
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And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that
tribulation brings about perseverance;
- Romans 5:3 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Our Suffering Results in
Perseverance
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2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let
endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing.
- James 1:2-4 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Suffering Results in Personal Growth
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I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man
who walks to direct his steps.
- Jeremiah 10:23 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Suffering Teaches Us We Need God!
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13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and
such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make
a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes
away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and
also do this or that.”
- James 4:13-15 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Suffering Teaches Us to Trust in God
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SUFFERING
Remember the TRUE source of help in time of
suffering
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5...for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL
I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” 6 so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS
MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO
ME?”
- Hebrews 13:5b-6 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: The Lord Will NEVER Desert Us
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Where Could I Go but to the Lord
# 437
Living below in this old sinful world hardly a comfort can afford
Striving alone to face temptations sore where could I go but to the
Lord?
Neighbors are kind, I love them everyone we get along in sweet
accord but when my soul, needs manner from above Where could I
go but to the Lord?
Life here is grand with friends I love so dear comfort I get from
God's own word yet when I face that chilling hand of death where
could I go but to the Lord?
Where could I go oh where could I go seeking the refuge for my soul
needing a friend to save me in the end where could I go but to the
Lord Slide 28 of 39

For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He
may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
- 2 Chronicles 16:9a NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: The Lord Watches Out For His Own
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SUFFERING
Sometimes it takes suffering to teach us
humility
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6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him,
because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your
adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking
someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the
same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your
brethren who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little
while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in
Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11
To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Peter 5:6-11 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Suffering Teaches Us Humility
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But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.
- Romans 5:8 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Christ Suffered For Us
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SUFFERING
In the time of suffering, it is time to pull
ourselves together and strengthen ourselves in
the Lord
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3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with
fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken
captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their
voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now
David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess
and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was
greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the
people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his
daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
- 1 Samuel 30:3-6 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: David Strengthened Himself in the
Lord
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10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would
come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what
person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted
the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them
that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now
have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you
by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. 13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope
completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts
which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you,
be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “YOU
SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: The Prophets Were Serving Us
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For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us
- Romans 8:18 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Our Suffering is Temporary
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35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written,
“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who
loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 8:35-39 NASB
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: We Are Conquerors Through Christ
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21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also
suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN
HIS MOUTH; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return;
while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to
Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His
body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were
continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the
Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
THE CHALLENGE OF SUFFERING: Christ Taught Us How to Suffer
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The challenge of suffering

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