Romans 5:3-5 “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Here in Roman’s Paul doesn’t down play the probability of problems, or shy away from suffering. Unfortunately many people today are living in the lie that God won’t give them more than they can handle. This false idea seems to originate from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where God does promise that He will provide a way out when we’re tempted but He never says that He’ll shield us from struggles. This scripture is specifically dealing with God not allowing temptation to overwhelm without Him providing a way of escape so that we can endure the temptation and not fall into sin. He didn’t promise a problem free life but His presence forever in life. Paul often faced adversity 2 Corinthians 1:8-9: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” In 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 Paul doesn’t preach the prosperity gospel, rather he seems to advocated an adversity gospel: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked; I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” Paul understood that in this life he would have problems and pain and today that may be where you are, pounded by the problems. Some are dealing with a difficult diagnosis, or flooded with financial distress, struggling with singleness, or a messy marriage, overwhelmed by the addictions of alcohol or adultery, deep in drugs or depression, worn out by wayward kids. The list could go on but at some point in life we all discover the disillusionment that occurs when life doesn’t live up to our expectations. Some of us have graduated more than once from the University of Unmet Expectations. Paul doesn’t shy away from sharing the real message on suffering, it’s guaranteed for anyone who takes on the task of living. That’s the difficult part but here is the delight, God can use what isn’t good to graciously transforming us through our trials. We don’t like the thought of trials but there are some things we can’t learn in a lecture or a sermon but only through the school of suffering. One of the core classes for the Christian involves the challenging study of suffering. We will all go through seasons of suffering, we don’t have a choice in the curriculum but we do have a choice in our response to Christ. How we do in our course of study through suffering is largely determined by our response to His curriculum. Often we just want God to give us a pass so we can skip the pain, but problems are a prerequisite in this life and we can’t be excused from the syllabus of suffering. No matter what side of the pond you find yourself on you can find joy in the junk and rejoicing in the rubbish. Some of life’s greatest lessons are learned in the school of suffering, but it’s not just about the results but our response. Verse three reminds us of our response; rejoicing, it is the power of praise that allows us to triumph over our troubles. The English word tribulation comes from the Latin word tribulum, a heavy timber or board set with flint or metal teeth used for threshing grain. It was the teeth that separated the good grain from the chaff, just as suffering separates the superficial chaff from the seed. Today suffering often comes as a shock because we don’t expect to suffer, we are astonished at affliction but 1 Peter 4:12 reminds us: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” Suffering is not strange but common place for the Christian. We may pray for a problem free life or even demand a pass on persecution but problems have a purpose. Philippians 1:29 says: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” Yet how many of us shy away from serving the Savior through suffering? Today I fear we are more interested in being rewarded as Christians than recognized as them. Am I rejoicing in the rubbish James 1:2 says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” 1 Peter 4:13: “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ.” Do I have jubilation in the tribulation? In Acts 5:41 we are told that “the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” Instead of whining they worshipped, instead just surviving suffering they were singing through it.  Paul reminds us that we rejoice in our sufferings because we know, not we guess or feel, but we are sure in our suffering that He will sanctify. Pain has a purpose, trials teach, tough times work for us not against. Paul says suffering produces perseverance which means to bear up under, so when you pray for patience don’t be surprised if you end up enrolled in the school of suffering. Some of God’s greatest blessings are poured out in bitter cups. Ask Joseph and he’ll point to prison, John can point to Patmos, or Daniel who learned his lesson in lion’s den. But perseverance is not the end product for it enrolls us in the class of Christian character. God is more concerned with us being holy than He is with us being happy. He is more committed to our character development than our comfort. We may want to make it about comfort and convenience yet His primary concern is conforming us to the image of His Son. Character development occurs in the currents of challenging circumstances not the protective paddling pool of a problem free life. Character then serves to strengthen our confident hope; even in our hurt we are not without hope. This is a hope that does not disappoint, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Many today are disappointed and disillusioned because life has not lived up to their expectations, but Holy Spirit hope never disappoints. Our greatest longing is love and God has lavishly poured out His love into our lives. Biblical hope is built on the confident expectation that you will not be disappointed. Disappointment is often the result of a failure in focus, things may not have gone your way but they have gone His. Suffering is the secret reminder that God loves us. We may long to study the pages of pleasure but it’s in the school of suffering that causes us to shine. Today are you shunning the school of suffering or surrendering to what He wants to teach you?

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 9-10

1 “all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. 2 So on October 8[a] Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law. 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 And Nehemiah[b] continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

The gate that the people gathered near to hear the Word of God was called the water gate, through it they received the water that flowed from the Gibeon spring into the city. It was here at the water gate that God’s parched people heard the Holy word of God, and like water that soothes a sun scorched throat, it soothed their sin stained souls. The joy of the Lord is our strength, it is our reservoir of rejoicing. It is a joy that comes as we understand who we are and whose we are, and as we discover:

• God’s Will through his Word

Here we see a people who wanted to know God’s will. They desired to hear the laws of God, even if it wasn’t comfortable and convenient but brought conviction upon them. They were not interested in having their feelings soothed, they wanted the facts. How unlike our culture were we have replaced His Will with our wants and our way. We forget that Jesus taught His disciples to turn first to the Father for His will, not their wants, Matthew 6:9 ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. Yet today we pray Father hear my prayer and help my kingdom come, and my way be done NOW. We forget that in the garden of gethsemane Jesus modeled the message that our wants must conform to His will, Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Today I fear we no longer turn to His word to discover His will, instead we use His word to justify our wants. We come up with how we want things to be and then go to the Bible to try and find proof for our feelings. We take a verse here and pull a passage there, convincing ourselves that our way was right all along. We don’t want the whole truth, just the part that fits our feelings. Instead of obedience to God’s word being our priority we have made it our protest. We are a people living under the dark cloud of our persistent protests, like a pestilence they poison, like a plague of locusts they descend and destroy. We are dying from the disease of disobedience.  How different from God’s people in Jerusalem who had just been bound in bondage. The Bible says, “On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law…. Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God” (Nehemiah 8:13,18). I wonder what it will take for us to want His Will, to care more about His commands than our cares. Will it take captivity for us to come to our senses? Joy is found when we turn to His truth, as we begin to look into God’s Word and discover who God is, who we are, and what His will is for our life. His Word becomes the standard on which we stand so that we agree with the Psalmist who said: “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path…. Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” Psalm 119:105,129-130. Without the Word we wonder in darkness, directionless and desperate. That is why our culture is so confused today. We have substituted His will for our wants relying on our own reasoning to illumination our way. We pride ourselves in being progressive, trusting more in our technology to change the human condition than the truth. We believe that more will somehow relive the mess, but we don’t need more of the same madness we need more of the Master. We need His will and His way. The release of the iPhone 6 has made me realize that we are a culture that craves technology more than truth. We line up for the trinkets and throw away the treasure, settling for the temporary of technology when we could have His eternal truth. Today we rely on our apps instead of the Almighty. No wonder we are a dissatisfied and directionless people. Like the people in Nehemiah’s day we need to come back to the water of His word and wash our wants in His will. Joy comes from finding God’s will and God’s way through His Word. The third way that the joy of the Lord becomes our strength is that:

• Joy is the result of repentance

It was the word that caused them to weep, the reading of the Word brought repentance and revival. Instead of being concerned with getting they were consumed with guilt. It was turning back to the truth that brought tears of true repentance not just regret. It was in the scriptures that they discovered the real source of their strength, the joy of the Lord. But notice that the call to joy came after the people’s repentance, not before. They did not try to stop Ezra from reading the law. They did not try to explain away or sidestep the Scripture. They did not fall into the trap of trying to apply it to others and say ‘oh how I wish so and so could hear this’. No they took it to heart in their own lives, they wanted the law read and they responded with repentance. Today many do not want to hear the Word of God because it conflicts with their choices, causing discomfort to their conscience. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12-13 that “the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” When we are pretending then the penetration of God’s Word is not welcome, but if we want to please Him then we want to hear even if it hurts. Today we want to pursue the path of least resistance instead of repentance, choosing the path of pleasure over peace. When we are thirsty we often turn to substitutes instead of the water that satisfies. The Word just like water is essential to living; it revives and restores us, bringing relief to our dreary dry lives. We all have a longing that only the Lord can fill, yet we are tempted to turn away and try to satisfy our longings with sin instead of the Savior. But Nehemiah reminds us that joy is found in Jesus that only our Savior can satisfy.  Are you substituting the true source of satisfaction and security for sin in some are of your life? In the Savior we find enough, but in sin we always come up empty, only God’s truth can satisfy our thirst. The result of their rebellion was not just the ruin of their lives but their nation. As Ezra read the law the people stood in front of him weeping, their disobedience and darkness had been exposed. They understood their guilt and it grieved them. They stopped making excuses for the mess and turned to the Master.  They were not weeping because they got caught or because of the consequences. They were weeping because they had not only broken God’s laws, they had broken His heart. Sin always severs our relationship with the Father but repentance restores. When we confess and come clean the Father Forgives and fellowship is restored. Are you defined by your failure or the Fathers forgiveness? Confession is the start of change, had they tried to deny and not come clean joy would never have come. If they had not been honest and harbored sin they would never have experienced joy in their hearts. If they had not been willing to turn from their sin they would have continued to live in their self-destructive, depressing ways. But with repentance came rejoicing, joy is found not in avoiding your sin, but in admitting it, not in covering but confronting. For when we confront our sin we come face to face with our sinful self and we see our need for the Savior. Their tears were replaced with true joy. The Bible says, “His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” Psalm 30:5. Joy is the result of God’s love and forgiveness, having our hearts right with Him results in healing. Are you substitute sin for the Savior, are you suffering the consequences of your choice, then confess, return and repent. The stuff that promises to bring joy never does, disobedience never brings delight. Joy comes through obedient love to the Lord.  It is a joy that comes as we understand who we are and whose we are. It comes when we discover God’s will for our lives through his Word. It comes when we experience His grace as a result of genuine repentance. Surrender your life to the Savior not the sin, live in His strength and not your striving.