The Usefulness of Trouble

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Acts 14:22 says, "Through trouble, you will enter the Kingdom of God." In one sense, we've already entered the Kingdom of God and yet we are still entering. It is through trouble that we enter. In Romans we are told, "We are children, we are heirs of God and we will inherit our inheritance if we share in His sufferings." In Philippians, Paul says "...that I might know Messiah and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death that I might attain to the resurrection." The Gospel applies to every mountaintop in your life and to every valley. You cannot have the resurrection without the cross. In hard times, we are told to, "Rejoice always!" But how can we rejoice when we are going through tough times? The new self can. When you're going through tough times or being rejected and you rejoice anyway, the new self grows, it prospers. Do not despise the valleys, the troubles, and the hard times. These are the very things that allow you to enter the Kingdom of God and to receive your inheritance. rn

From Message #2268 - Completing Your Mission