Made Perfect Through Suffering (Pass Your Test)

I praise God for the sermon, for I believe it was the Word from the Lord. As I knelt in prayer this morning, there came before me many of the things that were said.

I believe the Word of God is truly a sword, and it tells me that our Captain, “The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering.” Jesus Christ is our Captain. He is the Captain of our salvation, and He was made perfect through suffering. That is so wonderful to me.

Each one of us has to go through testing places. We cannot jump through the testing time. You can think you will run away from it and say, “I won’t go through.”

You can go away from it, but still you must come back and go through that test. You must be made perfect through suffering. You might think you will go some other place and get away from the test, but, let me tell you, if you skip one test, you will have to go through one that is harder.

Among the twelve disciples, Jesus knew that Judas was of the devil, and He could have said, “I don’t want Judas to walk with me. I know he is against me.” But no, He walked with him and treated him the same as He treated the others. When He sent them forth to cast out devils and heal the sick, Judas was among the twelve. Jesus easily could have said, “You shall not go.” But no, He said, “You go along too.” He stood the test in His Father’s Name.

You might say, “I will not stand this test,” and run away from it. But you will find that God will find you even if you are associated with different people. You will come again to that test, and you will go through with it.

If you refuse to go through your place with Jesus, then you refuse the prize. You refuse to “press on towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God that is in Christ Jesus,” and your life will be worthless and shiftless like many people we see.

The country is filled with them, Baltimore City is filled with them, the world is filled with them—people who have refused to let the cross be pressed in on their lives. Their words have no weight, no effect, no result. Why? Because the life of Jesus has not been made perfect through them.

“The Captain was made perfect through suffering.” As He was going through the garden, none of the disciples understood Him. Peter did not understand Him, neither did James, John and all the rest. John, the beloved disciple, the one who loved Him more than the others, and the one who seemed to understand Jesus’ nature; but he did not [understand Him] any more than the rest.

He went into the garden and told the three disciples that were with Him to watch, but they fell asleep. Their spirits were willing, but their flesh was weak. Those whom He loved and wanted to understand Him, God led them that way, so Jesus could get the victory. Jesus prayed through.

Then the time came for Judas to lead the soldiers to Him. As they came, with their torches through the darkness of the garden, in the midst of the turmoil, Jesus stood perfectly calm, for He had the victory.

Peter became excited and slashed off the ear of one of the servants. But Jesus said, “Whom seek ye”? They fell back, for a minute for they couldn’t touch Him. He had the victory, and He had power. But He gave back the power to His Father and said, “Here am I, take me.” He had power to smite every one of them, but He receded and said, “Father, not my will.”

Often we go in the quiet of our closets, and we say while there in the sweet presence of the Lord, “Father, not my will but thine be done.” But when we come out, and the enemy comes against us, what do we say? Do we still say, “Father, not my will but thine”? Or do we rise up in some rebuke or fleshly wrath that we know is not the righteousness of God?

Jesus could have used His power. But if He had, the victory would not have been won for your soul and for mine. He wouldn’t have been made perfect through suffering. He wouldn’t have borne the cross of shame. He said, “Here, take me,” for He knew He had been betrayed by one who had called Him comrade and friend. Oh such victory! He called Judas a friend.

I pray God this peace, this quietness and calm will come into our souls. It is the only thing that will stand in the time of unrest. Unrest is in the land now. It is all over the world. Maybe you don’t feel it here in the country as much as we do in the city.

There is such an unrest, and it is only a sample of what is coming. I saw in New York a young boy on a step-ladder preaching communism. Another man speaking through an amplifier with many horns was talking about the hunger march to Washington. People everywhere are filled with unrest. We see it in China, Japan, and Russia. And the same devil that is in the hearts of the people in these countries is in the hearts of the people in the United States. It is only God’s grace and power that is holding him back.

But when God says, “It is time now, my people have the power,” if there is a break in your place with God, if any place has sprung a leak, that unrest will fill you with the power of darkness. It will flood your soul until you will not be able to stand up. You will go under. But if you have been made perfect through suffering, the storms can break, you will be ready, and people will run to you in their hour of need and you will be able to reach out and say, “God’s peace come over your soul.”

As Jesus departed, He said, “My peace I leave with you. I give it to you. Such as the world knows nothing of.” Oh, that we might have this peace!

These are days of purification. This mission, and every place we have been, we have seen the need of it. In a German mission we were in in New York, I never saw such rest of God upon the people. As a Church, we are in a pitiful condition. God is not censuring us, but He is saying, “Seek me. I am going to give you the need for the hour. I am going to give you everything you have need of. Seek me for these are days of purification.” These are days, when we are going to be made perfect through suffering.

Before Jesus went to the cross, His disciples forsook Him. That was indeed a test for Him, but the worst test of all was when His Father had forsaken Him. He couldn’t understand it, and His flesh cried out, “I thirst.” They started to put vinegar to his lips, but that wasn’t what He wanted. Then He cried again, “It is finished.” That was the Spirit’s cry. His flesh cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” But when the Spirit got the victory He cried out, “It is finished.”

There was a war on the cross. There was a war between the flesh and the Spirit. The flesh cried, “My God I could understand my disciples fleeing from me, but I can’t understand why you leave me.” The Spirit’s cry was the last, and it was the victorious cry. It was the cry of the Holy Ghost. It was the last cry from those scorched, parched lips, “It is finished.” That means, “It is finished” for us, Beloved, if we will only take it.

If there is a test in your life that you must pass, no matter what it is, whether it is in this mission or in the office, or in the home, or on the boat, you can say, “I will run away and get myself out of this by going to another meeting.” But remember, it is a test. And if you won’t stand by, you will have to go through another one, and it might be much harder.

These are serious days. These are days when the land is being swept by seducing spirits, when the powers of darkness are let loose over the world to destroy the children of God. The devil wants to hide in the background and put God’s people in the forefront. He wants them to fight each other. He loves to see them hammer and hit each other. He wants them to be dishonest, to despise and talk about one another. It is the time when pride and false spirits are filling the land. There is one woman in Baltimore so possessed with the spirit of the Anti-christ that she takes the messages down in some sort of hideous writing and says, “This is his message now. Everyone will worship him.” This woman went to a full gospel mission, but somehow she got away and began talking about God’s children. She has been listening to lectures on the Anti-christ, and the power of the Anti-christ has entered her.

One of the sisters went to see her, and as she was singing “All hail the power of Jesus name,” the woman said, “Hush, I hear his voice now.” And she wrote down his message that everyone would serve and worship him. What is all this? It is the seducing spirits in the land. If there is an opening, or a leakage of any kind in us, that is all he needs. God loves us, but if we allow these things to take a hold of us, the enemy will enter.

One time I thought as God put a certain test up to me, “I can get away from it.” But God dealt with me and said, “Don’t think you get away as easy as you think you do. You lose out in the end.” Here of late, He has been showing me we not only lose out, but the devil gets the victory over us and comes in and seduces and fools us. This is no time to play around with the flesh and the devil. If there ever was a time he was going to do anything to God’s children, it is now.

I take this warning, for I want to see that God is glorified. God help us to be truthful in the inner man. God help us to stand by one another as we are passing through our tests so that we will be made perfect through suffering. No matter what it looks like, let us go through, that God will get the glory. If Jesus needed a place of purification, then God knows you and I need it. I know you need it, not because you are you, but we all need it. If it took my Captain’s suffering to make Him perfect, then it takes my suffering.

Many times I see like an arm with a dagger in the hand, and I hear God say, “Now I want to do this thing for you.”

But I have taken the wrist and pushed the dagger away saying, “I cannot stand that.”

Jesus then withdraws and says, “I will not do it.” I cannot do it in my flesh, like when I would go to a hospital. If I am to be operated on, they put me on the operating table, they tie my hands and feet, then give me ether and put me to sleep. I cannot see the knife that is in the doctor’s hand because if I did, I would probably scream and fight to get free. When we see the knife of God and feel a touch of suffering coming upon us, we cry out, “Not that.”

God says, “All right.”

Then you say, “Lord, give me grace. Let me go through easier.” But Jesus didn’t go through that way, and He didn’t go through in His flesh. He needed to intercede and he cried out the victory, on the cross.

God has big things for this mission. He is trying all that is in our hearts. If He is able to work with you, I believe He has something ahead for you. He has it for anyone that stands and goes through their tests. For each individually, and as a mission, if we stand in our tests.

I pray we might stand and go through, and not try to run away or not stand by. When we see the Spirit of Christ manifested in Moses, Abraham, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and all the others, what did they do? What did Samuel do? They each stood in the gap and interceded. Though God said, “I will wipe them off the face of the earth,” they could say, “My God, not that.”

When a test comes to us the flesh easily cries out and says, “Not that.” But when somebody else is going through a test, it is easy to pray, “My God, you do that thing with this person. You cut him to pieces.” Isn’t that so? Isn’t it easy to pray it on someone else? God help us to know what we are praying. The flesh in others is the same as ours. I pray we will stand together and pray for each other. Let us not run away from our tests and refuse to go through them for we must be made perfect through suffering. Let us ask God to give us grace to stand. Let us be content to be in the place where we are today, if we know it is God’s will. Instead of thinking of the victories that are ahead, let us say, “My God, I want the victory right where I am, right in this place.”

Then, I know, as we get the victory, He will lead us out if we do not take our own ways. Esther had gone through the purification. The day came when the people said, “Your people are going to be destroyed.” Esther shut herself in, and when it came time for her to go before the king, she didn’t have to say a word. He looked at her and raised the scepter. If he hadn’t raised it, it would have meant death. She went in as a pure woman of God for her people.

She stood by her people, and the king said, “Esther, fairest of all women.” Hallelujah!
I know that that heart of intercession is not in me as I should have it. The people who have the children of God on their hearts are the ones He is looking for.

Ezra saw the need of the people. He saw they were failing God. He plucked the hair from his head and from his beard, he fasted and called his captains and said, “Put away your wives and let us get before God.” He interceded and confessed his sin, and the sin of the people until all the dirt and filth was out of their midst, until God could bless the people. The people of God are scattered out in the byways. Many times, God has held us together. Let us stand together. If we only knew the privilege of interceding, of standing in the gap for God’s people.

Samuel saw Saul falling, and he interceded for him, and though he turned out wicked, God blessed Samuel for his faith. He didn’t talk about Saul to others, but he interceded for him. He knew God said, “Touch not my anointed.” It is a terrible thing to try to talk about the children of God. Miriam, Moses’ own sister, and Aaron his own brother, began to talk about Moses and said, “We are about to do thus and so.” God smote Miriam with leprosy. She was made well again in answer to Moses’ prayer for her.

Korah spoke again to Moses and said he could [?]. But Moses said, “If he be a man of God, let the earth open.” The earth did open, and all the people were destroyed.

Beloved, God is going to back up His people soon, and those that are going through are going through to prove God’s Word. I do not know if I will be one, but I know He is going to give His people power. God said it is going to be done, and He is going to do it. His people are going to be backed up with power. We have had tongues and interpretation, and that is good. But what God is going to do is back His people up with a powerful ministry. It is just ahead, but He will not use foolish vessels; not people who have refused to pass their tests.

These are purifying days, and if Jesus needed to be made perfect through suffering, then we must be. When Jesus came out of the tomb, Mary came to look for Him, and she saw a man standing there and asked him, “Where have they laid my Lord?”

This man spoke, whom she supposed was the gardener. “Mary.”

“Rabboni,” it was the Master. He spoke, and then she knew Him.

“Mary, don’t touch me. I have yet to ascend to my Father.” (He had gone through His purification, He was holy, without the smell or look or touch of flesh upon Him.) He couldn’t stand her to touch Him because she was of the flesh. “Wait, don’t touch me. I will see you later, but now I must go before the King.” He went in before God, pure, without the touch of flesh upon Him. He had gone through the agony of the cross, He had gone into the grave, and had risen triumphant. “You run ahead, Mary, and tell my brethren you have seen Me.” It is so wonderful to me that Jesus gave this commission to a woman. “You go ahead, tell my brethren that I am going to meet them in Jerusalem.”

Mary ran ahead, and when she met the brethren she didn’t say, “I saw the Lord, and He gave me a blessing.” No, she ran ahead and said, “I want to tell you the meeting place. It is over in Jerusalem.” She wanted to share it with them. Though they hadn’t seen Him, Mary was there to get the Master’s message for the brethren and ran ahead of Him to tell them. Then, Jesus afterwards revealed Himself to them.

Oftentimes when our prayers are not answered as soon as we think they should be, we think Jesus doesn’t answer prayer. When we start thinking like that, it is such a close line to saying, “I am getting discouraged.” Or if our prayers are answered we say, “Oh Jesus, you did thus and so.” And the first thing you know, you swell up and think you have done it all, when you had only a part in it. God keep us between the line and not get discouraged or proud, but see that Jesus does the whole thing.

Mary had a part in the finding of Jesus. He gives us a part in telling people of Him. We can’t save them, but He gives us just a part in their being saved, so that when the work is finished, we can say, “Jesus, it is wonderful. You did it all. We give you all the glory.”

I believe Jesus is going to reveal Himself soon, but it will not be done in our way. I think of Peter as he is going along the road to Emmaus, and a man walks beside them. They were talking about how awful it was that He had been killed. The man kept walking along with them, He didn’t frighten them in the least. He began to open up the scriptures to them, and their eyes were opened, and they said, “Jesus, that is you.” They, at last, saw Him.

Mary, supposing Him to be the gardener, asked Him, “Where have they laid Him?” He didn’t frighten her, but when He said, “Mary,” she knew it was He. Jesus is able to reveal Himself to us in the same way He did to Mary and to the disciples as they walked down the road. You might think it is a beggar, and you might look up and see it was Jesus all the time. He did it with Abraham before His time, and then afterwards, and I believe that is what we need today, but it will require yielded, honest hearts. We can’t make out hearts honest ourselves, for the more He searches, the more we see it and all the meanness that is there.

David said, “Search me, O Lord.” You say, “I don’t have to ask Him to search me, I find plenty myself.” But, I believe David searched himself first, and after he put everything he found before God, he could then say, “Now, Lord, you search me.”
Let us search ourselves, and when we see these things, let us by His grace, thank Him for the test and say, “It is to find what is still in me.” Then, let us hold our hands out to God and say, “Now you search me and reveal the rest of the wickedness. Renew a right spirit in me.”

David did the right thing. David sinned a greater sin than Saul, but yet he lived, and Saul perished. Why? Because David repented but Saul covered up his sin and continued to rebel.

Let us be of the spirit of David that sees ourselves, our jealousy, pride, envy, and all the things that are not of God. Let us cry out, “Give me the spirit that will intercede for others.” Jesus looked over Jerusalem and wept for those Jews that had refused all the prophets. He knew they were ready to crucify Him, but He cried over them. Yet, my God knows my heart many times will say, “It serves them right if they go to Hell. They will not listen.” I am praying God will move upon my heart that I will have the spirit of intercession. It will make no difference if I am never able to stand before people, just so He gives me the need of the people, my part will be done.

May the Lord bless us today. I believe everyone here has an honest heart, and I believe you want God’s will. I believe God has something ahead for us. These are days of purification, and if Jesus was made perfect through suffering, then let us be made perfect and pass our tests that we might be led out even as He led out His Son. Amen.