The Greatest Pains
The sermon explores how God uses affliction as a tool for growth and deeper understanding of His love in the lives of believers.
Charles E. Cowman preaches about how God's love for His servants is shown through rebuke and chastening, with afflictions being a means to strengthen and refine believers. Afflictions are not random but purposeful, designed to draw believers closer to God and reveal His glory through their endurance. The deepest spiritual growth often comes through intense soul-anguish and trials, leading to a greater understanding of Christ. Believers are encouraged to embrace the cross, finding comfort in submitting to God's will and allowing Him to work through their struggles for His glory.
Text
"As many as I love I rebuke and chasten" (Rev. 3:19).
God takes the most eminent and choicest of His servants for the choicest and most eminent afflictions. They who have received most grace from God are able to bear most afflictions from God. Affliction does not hit the saint by chance, but by direction. God does not draw His bow at a venture. Every one of His arrows goes upon a special errand and touches no breast but his against whom it is sent. It is not only the grace, but the glory of a believer when we can stand and take affliction quietly. --Joseph Caryl
If all my days were sunny, could I say,
"In His fair land He wipes all tears away"?
If I were never weary, could I keep
Close to my heart, "He gives His loved ones sleep"?
Were no graves mine, might I not come to deem
The Life Eternal but a baseless dream?
My winter, and my tears, and weariness,
Even my graves, may be His way to bless.
I call them ills; yet that can surely be
Nothing but love that shows my Lord to me!
--Selected
"The most deeply taught Christians are generally those who have been brought into the searching fires of deep soul-anguish. If you have been praying to know more of Christ, do not be surprised if He takes you aside into a desert place, or leads you into a furnace of pain."
Do not punish me, Lord, by taking my cross from me, but comfort me by submitting me to Thy will, and by making me to love the cross. Give me that by which Thou shalt be best served . . . and let me hold it for the greatest of all Thy mercies, that Thou shouldst glorify Thy name in me, according to Thy will. --A Captive's Prayer
Sermon Outline
- I points: - Understanding God's Love through Affliction - The Purpose of Pain in a Believer's Life - The Role of Grace in Enduring Trials
- II points: - The Nature of God's Discipline - Affliction as a Means of Spiritual Growth - The Importance of Quiet Endurance
- III points: - The Blessings Hidden in Suffering - Recognizing God's Hand in Our Pain - The Call to Embrace Our Cross
- IV points: - The Connection Between Affliction and Glory - Learning to Trust God in Difficult Times - The Assurance of God's Presence in Trials
Key Quotes
“God takes the most eminent and choicest of His servants for the choicest and most eminent afflictions.” — Charles E. Cowman
“The most deeply taught Christians are generally those who have been brought into the searching fires of deep soul-anguish.” — Charles E. Cowman
“Do not punish me, Lord, by taking my cross from me, but comfort me by submitting me to Thy will.” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- Embrace your struggles as opportunities for spiritual growth and deeper faith.
- Seek to understand the purpose behind your pain and trust in God's plan.
- Cultivate a heart that finds comfort in God's presence during times of trial.