Long-term Affliction. Psalm 70: 1-6; Luke 13: 10-17

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Virgil Lawson
5 years ago
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1 1 Long-term Affliction Psalm 70: 1-6; Luke 13: Pearl: Affliction may last a long time; God with us lasts longer. 08/25/13 Avondale Meute Function: To assure worshippers that though affliction and/or suffering may be with us for a long time, the God who is with us and who loves us lasts far, far, longer. Jesus noticed a woman who had suffered for a long time. Scripture says she suffered for 18 years. It seems as though it was some kind of arthritic condition so likely the suffering was even longer. The point is that it was a long-term affliction. 1. In God s mercy, Jesus saw her and was compelled to go to her and free her from her oppression. It is interesting that Jesus seemed to suggest that her condition was a result of the spiritual oppression of the enemy. a. We know from other instances that Jesus disagrees that illness is the result of sin but it seems that he suggests that illness or affliction is the result of the spiritual oppression of the enemy of God. 2. Our Lord has all power over the enemy and so in his mercy he freed her from her bondage to this oppression. 3. We would tend to emphasize the miracle of the deliverance that Jesus performed for this dear woman but today I want us to acknowledge that she did suffer for quite some time. a. Our daughter will be 18 this week so this woman suffered for the equivalent of Mindy s entire life. When you think of something that way you realize the length of time that we must often endure affliction. Affliction in life may last long; God lasts longer! It is a fact of life that we do have to endure long-term affliction or suffering.

2 2 1. It is a fact of life this side of the return of Jesus on that amazing Day someday. a. We do look forward to a Day of Jesus return and his full restoration of all things. In that restoration we believe there will be no more pain, no more death, no more tears, and no more disease. It will be a day of great release from all of the bondages of this fallen world. i. It will be a time when all who are stooped over from the backbreaking scourge of arthritis will be able to stand up straight and praise the Lord. All will be free! 2. This side of the return of Jesus and his restoration of all things, however, we live with affliction and suffering. a. I won t seek to present a theology of suffering and how and why it is that God permits so many of the horrible things in life. b. There are many human deformities and conditions and afflictions that cause us to question and try to understand. 3. I don t try to explain such things in this sermon because so much of it really defies explanation. So much of it just is and I want to validate it and not diminish it. a. Long-term affliction and suffering deserves that I not try to diminish it through explanation. I will say, though, that affliction may last long, but God lasts longer! Our Lord Jesus was made to endure no less suffering and affliction! 1. The prophecy of Isaiah is applied to our Lord Jesus in that He was despised and rejected by others, a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity (Isaiah 53: 3). 2. This is a great aspect of what makes our Savior so great a Savior. He identifies with us.

3 3 3. As great a life as life can be, it is full of suffering and affliction. a. We can think of unspeakable grief, suffering, affliction, inhumanity, and horror in the human predicament. b. This side of Jesus return we will continue to experience these effects of a fallen world. Affliction can last long; God lasts longer! The good news is our affliction, our suffering is not forever. Though it indeed may be long-term, it will not last. 1. We will last! We have an identity which will outlast any suffering and affliction. We are connected to eternity through Christ our Lord. 2. What this means is that we cannot be defined by any of our afflictions! a. When something lasts for a very long time we think this is who we are. This is false thinking! We are much more than any of our afflictions. b. We are accustomed to referring to people as a paralytic, a cripple, a demoniac, a manic-depressive, an arthritic, and so on. This is sad. We are all much more than any affliction or disease. Do not narrow another person by putting them into such a box and do not let it be done to you. c. We are human beings who must endure afflictions and suffering but we will outlast any affliction and suffering. God will free us in and through Jesus Christ; He will liberate us from all that binds us and will give us everlasting life. i. So we are much more than any of our afflictions and sufferings! Such things do not define us!

4 4 Our God s reign brings freedom from bondage. 1. This is what happened in Jesus encounter with the woman who was crippled for 18 years. When Jesus encountered this long-term afflicted woman the freedom of God s reign which surged and pulsated through his every blood vessel spontaneously burst forth and freed her. a. It was a collision that was bound to happen. It was a direct collision of God s reign with the oppression of the enemy. It was no contest. God s reign prevailed. God will win the Day, no matter what, eventually! 2. This woman was freed but she sure suffered long. Human suffering and affliction often lasts long! It tries us. It beats us down. It even defeats us. a. But it is not the last word! God has the last word and at the last he will say: See, I am making all things new (Rev. 21:5). b. We cannot imagine the freedom and liberation that we will know in the age to come! We never know when our liberation will come. We live by faith that it will come. 1. This woman who was crippled for 18 years had no idea when she woke up that day she would be dancing and praising the Lord before sundown. 2. She was surprised. She didn t seek Jesus out as many others did. We have no idea of her level of faith. a. Jesus simply noticed her and he reached forth with restoration and blessing! She did not know what good was coming to her. 3. We don t realize what good is coming to us! We have an idea. By faith we look forward to something which we honestly feel deep down to be way out there in the far-off future. a. It could be today that Jesus reign breaks forth in our lives with undeniable clarity and we will be dancing joyfully before the Lord!

5 5 There is one final sub point to make on the subject. For heaven s sake, when God frees a person from bondage, rejoice and glorify God! When good comes to another person rejoice and glorify God! 1. These early leaders in the synagogue did not rejoice when Jesus restored this woman. They rejected the goodness of God. They hid behind a feigned spiritual motivation by appealing to the law of the Sabbath. a. Jesus exposed their fraudulent faith. They said this humane act of deliverance should have been delayed until after the Sabbath. Jesus pointed out that they would not neglect their oxen or donkeys to take them to water to drink, thus laboring on the Sabbath. b. How much more important to bring aide and deliverance to a daughter of Abraham on the Sabbath, a daughter bound by an affliction for 18 years? Afflictions may last long in life, so rejoice and glorify God when his reign breaks forth into people s lives! Rejoice and glorify God that our affliction and our suffering do not define us and by faith we can look forward to our liberation which will come and we can look forward to the restored condition which will be who we truly are!

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