Stay Focused…Even During the Pain

Stay Focused…Even During the Pain

Romans 5:3-4; 1 Timothy 4:15; Hebrews 5:14; Colossians 1:28-29; James 1:2-4

 

Theme: The chances of being sidetracked increase with trouble and pain, but we must remain focused on learning of the Lord and drawing closer to Him.

Relevance:

By the grace of God, we can stay focused during pain by fixing our eyes on Jesus, trusting God’s permanent presence instead of temporary suffering, and casting our worries on Him through prayer. Remember clarity frequently follows the act of following His guidance rather than preceding it. Scripture frames pain as a brief test that builds endurance, spiritual strength, and eternal hope.

Introduction:

The idea of maturing in Christ is a subject we have given substantial thought to and have even taught this on a regular basis.  As a missionary-pastor, I routinely encouraged, instructed, and coached others through the various stages of personal spiritual development. You see, spiritually we mature with diet and exercise much like we do physically. The word of God provides our meat, bread, milk, honey, water, and ‘green pastures.’ The encouraging and directing words of a spiritually minded coach help tremendously.

As we obey God we begin to understand and appreciate more of Him and His Word. Obedience acts as a pathway to spiritual growth. By putting our faith into practice, we often gain clarity, build a deeper trust, and experience a closer relationship with God. Obedience shows our love, trust, and faith in Him. Insight frequently arises from the act of following His guidance rather than preceding it. This trend of obedience will also feed our souls deeply as more clarity comes with our compliance; thus, our experiences of God’s truth teaches and trains us further (Luk. 11:28; Jn. 13:17; Prov. 2:9).

Still the possibility of distraction exists, especially during painful experiences; we must focus ourselves on spiritual growth still. The following thoughts help us do just that.

Lesson:

God Continually Recommends Incredible Spiritual Self-control to Overcome Serious Challenges to our Development.

A. Cooperate with God’s Work in You. Philippians 2:12-13, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

·        We are to live out and show the reality of our salvation with deep respect and seriousness before God. Christ’s followers are responsible for actively living out and expressing the inner change God has already given us. It does not mean earning salvation by good performances; rather, it shows our efforts in obedience cooperates with God’s inner power, which supplies both the desire and the ability to please Him.

·        The verb “work out” carries the meaning of “work to full completion,” such as working out a problem in mathematics. In Paul’s day it was also used for “working a mine,” that is, getting out of the mine all the valuable ore possible; or “working a field” so as to get the greatest harvest possible. The purpose God wants us to achieve is Christlikeness, “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). There are problems in life, but God will help us to “work them out.” Our lives have tremendous potential, like a mine or a field, and He wants to help us fulfill that potential.^[1]

o   Just as you unpack a box or exercise a muscle to display what is already inside, believers are called to let their internal faith manifest visibly in daily obedience and character.

o   “Both to will and to do of his good pleasure”: God changes our inner desires ("to will") and then gives us the strength and opportunity to carry them out ("to do").

     B.  Dedicate Yourself to Growth to Influence Others Likewise.  1 Timothy 4:15, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all") indicates a Christian leader must deeply focus on spiritual truths, fully dedicate their life to practicing them, and let their ongoing personal growth be clearly seen by everyone.

·        “Meditate upon these things” that is spend time thinking deeply about and practicing sound spiritual teachings and our God-given duties rather than just knowing them.

·        “Give thyself wholly to them” literally dedicate our whole heart, time, and energy to these godly tasks without holding back or getting distracted.

·        “That thy profiting may appear to all” we must ensure our spiritual maturity and progress move forward visibly so other people can see the real, positive impact of our faith.

·        Paul is encouraging Timothy to give himself undividedly and undistractedly to the work of the Lord. He should be all-out in his efforts. In this way, his progress will be evident to all. Paul does not want Timothy to hit a plateau in his Christian service and then settle down into a comfortable rut. Rather, he wants him to be always advancing in the things of the Lord.^[2]

     C.  Keep Maturing and Developing Discernment Daily. Hebrews 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”) shows that deep spiritual truth is for mature believers. True maturity comes from regular practice and using God's word to tell right from wrong.

·       “Strong meat” refers to deep and advanced teachings of the faith, unlike “milk” or basic beginner instructions.

·       “Of full age” indicates spiritually mature people who have grown past their early stages as new believers.

·       “By reason of use” means learning and growing through ongoing, daily practice of our faith.

·       “Exercised to discern both good and evil” that is training your mind and heart over time to spot the difference between right and wrong, or truth and false teaching.

·       Once more the writer betrayed his concern about his readers’ ability to reject the false ideas which confronted them. Had they been sufficiently mature they would be able to “distinguish” those ideas as “evil” over against the truths they should have known were “good.” But he feared that this capability was not yet really theirs, though he would make every effort to instill it in them.^[3]

D. Remain Focused and On Mission to Continue Developing Believers. Paul notes his toil and struggle, energized by Christ’s power, to present everyone fully mature in Christ. 

Colossians 1:28-29 states: “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” The great Apostle viewed his core mission as boldly proclaiming Jesus Christ, correcting and instructing all believers with godly wisdom to help them grow spiritually mature, while relying entirely on Christ’s powerful energy working inside him to do the hard work.

·       “Perfect in Christ Jesus” points to mature, complete, and fully grown in the faith, rather than completely sinless.

·       “Labour and striving” indicates ministry takes intense, hard work and personal sweat (“striving” is an athletic word for competing in a contest).

·       “His working in me mightily” Paul did not rely on his own strength; he depended on God’s power actively moving through him to accomplish spiritual results.

·       Spiritual adults in Christ, no longer babes in Christ (Heb. 5:14), mature and ripened Christians (4:12), the full-grown man in Christ (Eph. 4:13). The relatively perfect (Phil. 3:15) will on that day of the presentation be fully developed as here (Col. 4:12; Eph. 4:13).^[4]

The Word of God presents pain as a brief test that builds endurance, spiritual strength, and eternal hope. Still the possibility exists for distractions, especially during difficult experiences; we must focus ourselves even more tenaciously on spiritual growth during these seasons. Remember, obedience is our pathway to upward growth in Christ. We often gain clarity, build a deeper trust, and experience a closer relationship with God when we are compliant. Obedience to truth is an active choice turning basic facts into deep, everyday nuts and bolts understanding.

Matthew Henry noted, “We must continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not be moved away from the hope of the gospel; that is, we must be so well fixed in our minds as not to be moved from it by any temptations. We must be stedfast and immovable (1 Co. 15:58) and hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, Heb. 10:23.”^[5]

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^[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 77.

^[2] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 2094.

^[3] Zane C. Hodges, “Hebrews,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 793.

^[4] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Col 1:28.

^[5] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2332.