Empowered to suffer these light mometary afflictions...

How's this for an invitation...

2 Timothy 1:8 - ...but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God (you mean one of the functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives is empowerment (Acts 1:8)? and one of the things that God empowers us to do is to SUFFER? I wonder how that would preach at most churches? We love for God to empower us for giftings, for ministry, for spiritual warfare, but suffer... I think not...

Have you ever heard this verse? Rom 8:37 - No, in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
What do you think that means? I wonder if the previous verses shed any light on what that means?
v.35-36 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? We are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. (Have you every heard that preached out of context? So God calls us to be more than conquerors WHILE we are being slaughtered, and in famine (hungry), and naked (impoverished), and endangered in everyway. For some reason I just don't hear stuff like that alot...

Philippians 1:29 - For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake. ("granted" is echaristhe in greek - which is important because the root word is charis - which means grace... so the idea is that suffering from this text is actually a gracious gift that God gives His children... no less a gift than "believing in Him")... How about that for prosperity theology... suffering as a gift from God?

Acts 14:21-22 - When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (How many times are we caught saying Lord if I just had the next step, enough money, better health, less stress, a better marriage, a better family, a better job, more friends, an easier life, less persecution THEN I would be happy?... Instead we are encouraged to continue in the faith and rest in the Sovereign hand of God , Who has ordained that walk through MANY tribulations before we enter the kingdom of God.)

Acts 5:40-41 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
(When is the last time that you responded to anything negative in your life like this?)

This is why we can count it all joy in the midst of our troubles... not just when our troubles are over... they will never completely cease in this life ... no matter how hard we try...

2Cor 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Paul's description of martyrdom was a "light momentary affliction" v.11,17
I want his view of suffering... he wasn't minimizing suffering as though it didn't happen or that it wasn't difficult... he was comparing it to something that he said was "beyond all comparision" -
THE GLORY OF GOD. PRAISE THE LORD!

Rom 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.