I forgot to put on my microphone until after the service started today so we didn't have a chance to do a sound check.
! Are we all rocking and rolling? Good. Good morning.
My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.
It's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
Special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here.
This morning we are continuing our series in the book of Romans.
You'll remember that the book of Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD.
The book of Romans is called Romans for a very simple reason, which is that it's written to the churches in the city of Rome.
And this letter is about the gospel. It's about the good news of Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
We just started chapter 5 last week. You'll remember we had three sections.
We looked at peace and access and glory, especially focused on glory.
That is, to fully know and to be fully known by God is the fulfillment of all our greatest desires.
This week, though, we turn to a problem and the problem is this.
We do not yet fully know God.
We're not fully in his presence yet, and there are things in this life that turn the lights off.
There are things that we experience that change our world from color to black and white.
In fact, some of you may be there this morning.
You may be wondering,
will the world ever be color for me again?
And so we look at what we saw last week, verse 2.
It says,
We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
You might think,
Well, that's great.
I'm happy to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
But then Paul tells us something surprising, maybe offensive here.
In verse 3,
He says,
Not only that,
but we rejoice in our sufferings.
And you might think,
Well, I can get behind rejoicing in God's glory.
I'm not so sure I can get behind rejoicing in suffering.
It seems naive at best.
Maybe it feels offensive,
seems dismissive when you think about how deep and profound some of your sufferings are.
I would say that everyone in this room has suffered.
Some of you have experienced profound suffering.
Some of you are in the midst of profound suffering in this very moment.
We have maybe 30 minutes together to look at this passage from God's word.
We're going to only scratch the surface.
There's not enough time for me to do justice to everything that Paul has for us here.
If I were to do it again, by the way,
I would probably do seven sermons on Romans chapters 1, verses 1 through 5.
I'm not going to bury the lead.
I am here this morning to say to you one thing,
and it's this.
We rejoice in our sufferings
because God uses them to transform us.
We rejoice in our sufferings
because God uses them to transform us.
God uses our sufferings
to make us more like Jesus.
Just like last week,
because there is so much going on in this passage,
and I want to keep us focused
and make sure I don't get lost
and you don't get lost,
I'm going to tell you also,
we're going to look at four things.
These are printed in your worship guide on page 6
as our four points to our sermon this morning,
and it's this.
Endurance,
character,
hope,
and love.
With that,
I invite you to turn with me now
to Romans chapter 5.
You'll find it on page 6
of your worship guide.
We're going to read now,
starting at verse 3.
Remember that this is God's word.
Proverbs chapter 30,
verse 5,
tells us,
every word of God proves true.
He is a shield
to those who take refuge in him.
So that's why we read now Romans chapter 5,
starting at verse 3.
Not only that,
but we rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not put us to shame,
because God's love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit
who has been given to us.
I invite you to pray with me
as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven,
we do again praise you and thank you.
That you have given us your word,
that you speak to us
in ways and words
that we can understand.
We ask that you would do that again this morning.
You would grow our hope.
We'd experience your love
that's been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit.
You give us hope
in the midst of our suffering.
You'd give us comfort.
Lord,
you'd help us to set our eyes on you
and to head towards the future
that you have for us,
no matter the present.
We ask these things
in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
From time to time,
people will ask me,
you know,
Matthew,
what is it that you do for fun?
And I tell them
I do two things for fun.
It's very simple.
I read books
and I go to the gym.
When I tell people that,
that's great,
except there's one problem,
which is that it's a lie.
I do read for fun.
And I don't go to the gym for fun.
In fact,
I often hate the gym.
Many times,
I have to make myself go,
yes,
it is satisfying
and fun
sometimes.
And often,
it's really miserable.
If I'm totally honest,
there are days
that I would rather stay home,
many days,
and yet in the midst of that,
I actually pay money
to suffer.
I make myself go to the gym
and I make myself go
for many reasons.
One of them is this.
I am now closer
to age 40
than I am to age 30.
And I know
what I want my future
to look like.
An idea of where I want to be
at age 40.
And so I rejoice in it,
going to the gym.
I may not like the process.
I do like the results.
I tell you that
because as we look
at our first four,
our first,
our points here,
our first of the four
is this.
We rejoice in our sufferings
knowing that suffering
produces endurance.
And the word endurance
here is a muscle word.
It's a strength word.
Paul is saying
we rejoice
in our sufferings
because it produces
strength.
And by making you strong,
it prepares you
for the future.
By making you strong,
it gets you set
for what is ahead.
And some of you know
that for several years,
I worked out
with a junior army officer.
At one point,
he was training
for special forces selection
and he was obsessed
with his deadlift number.
And I asked him
at one point,
I said,
why do you care
so much
about your deadlift?
He said,
well, Matthew,
do the math with me.
The heaviest guy
in my platoon
is 260 pounds.
He has 30 pounds
of body armor.
He has 10 pounds
of ammo
and his rock
is 60 to 80 pounds.
If I'm in combat
with that man
and he gets shot,
I have to lift him
off the ground.
If you're doing the math,
we have made it here
to 360 to 380 pounds.
We actually want
some margin of error there.
So actually,
let's set it at 400 pounds.
If I want to be ready
for the worst thing
that happens to me
in combat,
I need to make sure
I can deadlift
400 pounds.
One of the other things
we would do together
is farmer's carries,
which is where you walk
carrying a heavy weight
in each hand.
And he had a set
of 80 pound kettlebells,
which if you've never
done a farmer's carry,
that's a lot of weight.
And he said,
when it gets hard
and I don't think
I can make it anymore
and I want to put
the kettlebells
down on the ground,
I imagine
that I am carrying
my wounded buddy
to the medevac helicopter.
Doesn't matter
if I want to put it down,
right?
He has to make it.
Tell you this
for this reason.
There will come
moments in your life
where you are grateful
for the suffering
that God has brought
to you
because it gives you
strength
that you must have
in that moment.
There will come times
in your life
where you are grateful
for the suffering
that God has brought
to you
because that was
the only way
you have strength
for that moment.
When I sit
with some of you
who are in the midst
of suffering,
I praise God
for the times
he has cut my legs
out from under me.
because if he had not,
I would have
nothing to say.
I told you
that I work out
because I know
what I want my future
to look like.
Christian,
do you want
your future
to look like one
of clinging
to Jesus Christ?
If you do,
you must
suffer.
That's what the strength
looks like.
Looks like clinging
to Jesus
more
and more.
We rejoice
in our suffering
knowing
that suffering
produces
endurance.
It produces
endurance.
So we're asking
this question.
Why do we rejoice
in our sufferings?
We have our first answer.
It makes us stronger.
It gives us endurance.
We also rejoice
in our sufferings
because they grow
our character.
That's our next point
and it is very simple.
You'll see it in verse 4.
Endurance produces
character.
The word for character
here is kind of
a technical term
that is referring
to the process
of refining metals.
This is an image
that's used
in the Bible
multiple times
and the idea
is this.
If you have
some gold
and you want
to take that gold
and remove
its impurities
to separate
the gold
from the ore
you have to put it
in the fire.
And as it heats up
those things
come apart.
Right?
Suffering
can
force
the impurities
out
of
your
life.
Sometimes
when I meet
with someone
who is in the
midst of suffering
they ask me this.
Why has
God
allowed
this?
How can I
trust
serve
and obey
a God
who would
permit
this
to enter
my life?
And I
tell them
this.
I have
no idea
why God
has brought
this into
your life.
I don't
know.
I'm not
the prophet
or the son
of a prophet.
God has
not given
me that
answer.
Here's
what I
do know.
This
suffering
that you
are walking
through
can
make you
a deeper
and richer
person.
This
suffering
that you're
in
can
make you
a deeper
and richer
person.
Now I
say can
because it's
not inevitable.
If you
choose not
to submit
to God's
work in
your life
it can
instead
make you
angry
and anxious
and bitter.
You do
have to
continue to
follow the
Lord in
those things.
You can't
run away
from it.
but when
you do
it will
purify
and refine
your life.
Of course
it will do
it in many
ways more
than we
can list
this morning.
I'll give
you a few
examples.
Suffering
will loosen
your grip
on this
world
and it
will make
it easier
for you
to set
your eyes
on heaven.
By the
way
it is
wonderful
to be
around
people
whose
eyes
are
set
on
heaven.
Suffering
makes
what we
talked
about
last
week
much
easier.
When
you
suffer
it is
much
easier
to
make
your
hope
the
hope
of
glory.
Suffering
can give
you a
resilience
and a
steadiness
can make
it hard
for you
to be
rattled.
One time
many years
ago I
had a
disappointment
a setback
and
had a
pastor
I was not
a pastor
at the time
I had a
pastor call
me and I
shared it
with him
and he
quoted to
me
Psalm
112
for the
righteous
will never
be moved
he will
be remembered
forever
and here's
the kicker
he is
not afraid
of bad
news
his heart
is firm
trusting
in the
Lord
do you
want to
be the
type of
person
who is
never afraid
of bad
news
I've got
bad news
for you
to get
there
you must
suffer
it's
suffering
that forms
that in
your life
if you
get your
legs cut
out
from under
you
gives you
a chance
for your
pride
to be
replaced
by
humility
could even
go further
we could say
suffering
is what
forms
in us
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
gentleness
and self
control
suffering
is God's
way
his way
of bringing
these things
about
remember
Hebrews
chapter 12
for the
moment
all
discipline
seems
painful
rather
than
pleasant
but later
it yields
the peaceful
fruit of
righteousness
to those
who have
been trained
by it
do you
want
that peaceful
fruit of
righteousness
if you
do
the way
to it
is through
suffering
why do we
rejoice in our
sufferings
first
they give us
endurance
they make us
stronger
second
they give us
character
they make
us better
our
sufferings
make us
deeper
and richer
people
third
Paul tells
us that
our
sufferings
give us
hope
and this
one is
counterintuitive
it doesn't
really make
sense
so I'm
going to
explain it
to you
this way
my
uncle
my
dad's
youngest
brother
had a
career
with the
state
department
he's
now
retired
he was
stationed
all over
the world
and at
one point
he was
stationed
in
China
and while
he was
in
China
a member
of our
family
went over
to visit
him
that member
went to the
streets of
China and
found some
amazing deals
and one of
the deals
that member
found was
north face
jackets
for ten
dollars
imagine that
we've been
paying hundreds
of dollars
for north face
jackets
over here
and they're
just selling
them in
China
for ten
bucks
those
jackets
were given
to various
family members
as gifts
I received
one when I
was in
high school
if you were
around in
the 90s
and the
2000s
and you
were a
kid
you know
that back
then
north face
was super
cool
so I
was
super
cool
then I
went to
college
I was on
this
traveling
study abroad
program
and while
we were
there
we were
in the
city
of
Delphi
which is
in
Greece
had my
rain jacket
with me
and it
rained all
day
so I
put my
jacket
on
and at
the end
of the
day
you know
what
I
was
soaked
through
you know
why I
was soaked
through
because that
rain jacket
was worthless
that rain jacket
had nothing
to do
with
north face
had never
touched
it
all it
did
was have
a cheap
imitation
of the
logo
the point
is this
we do
not know
what is
real
or what
is fake
until
the storm
comes
we do
not know
what is
real
or fake
until
the storm
comes
when Paul
says
our sufferings
give us
hope
he means
this
the storm
of suffering
proves
to you
your
faith
is
real
you can
look back
and you can
say hey
it actually
worked
God's
people
did
provide
the support
that I
needed
as I
walked
that path
God's
promises
were
true
God
did
keep
his
word
to me
God's
word
was
sweet
in that
season
wow
God
really
is
powerful
I
knew
it
in my
mind
now
I
know
it
in
my
heart
my
faith
is
real
even
more
than
that
God
is
real
we might
put it
another
way
if
Christianity
cannot
hold
up
in the
storms
of this
life
then it
cannot
hold
up
but it
does
and so
we have
hope
the more
you suffer
the more
hope you
have
because
the more
you see
God
come
through
why
do we
rejoice
in our
sufferings
we
rejoice
in our
sufferings
because
they give
us
endurance
they make
us
stronger
we
rejoice
in our
sufferings
because
they give
us
character
they make
us
better
we
rejoice
in our
sufferings
because
suffering
builds
hope
takes us
to our
final
point
God's
love
Paul
says this
here
hope
does not
put us
to shame
this is
verse 5
because
God's
love
has been
poured
into our
hearts
through
the
Holy
Spirit
who
has
been
given
to
us
this is
hard to
wrap
our
heads
around
talking
about
our
experience
of
God
the
things
that
we
feel
inside
of
us
and so
I'm
just
going to
tell you
a story
in
1977
there
was a
group
of
insurgents
who
attacked
the
Salvation
Army
Mission
Station
in
Rhodesia
at
that
mission
station
after
that
attack
two
women
were
killed
a
third
woman
was
left
for
dead
at
one
point
Ruth
Bell
Graham
Billy
Graham's
wife
had
a
chance
to
sit
down
with
the
third
woman
by
the
way
there's
someone
here
this
morning
who
had
Ruth
Bell
Graham
as
her
Sunday
school
teacher
I'll
let you
fill out
your
bingo
card
later
this
morning
so she
sits
down
with
this
woman
and
this
is
what
she
tells
in
her
book
stories
from
a
pack
rat
impulsively
I leaned
over
and whispered
how
honored
I was
to be
sitting
beside
her
as
I
had
never
had
to
suffer
for
my
lord
the
way
that
she
had
believe
me
she replied
simply
with a
smile
it
was
a
joy
then
perhaps
noticing
the
wonder
on
my
face
she
added
you
know
I
never
had
to
suffer
for
my
lord
before
this
happened
and
in
spite
of
the
horrors
going
on
all
around
me
at
the
time
there
was
such
a
sense
of
the
presence
of
the
lord
jesus
himself
that
it
was
pure
joy
that's
what
Paul's
saying
in
verse
five
he
says
your
hope
will
not
put
you
to
shame
because
of
the
holy
spirit
you
will
have
such
a
sense
of
the
presence
of
the
lord
jesus
himself
that
it
will
be
pure
joy
it's
the joy
we
experience
at
times
in
prayer
it's
the joy
we
experience
together
as
god's
people
when
we
worship
him
it's
the joy
!
he
brings
us
by
his
holy
spirit
is
reminded
in
his
word
of
his
encouragement
his
promises
to
us
if
you
are
some
of
you
are
in a
moment
of
profound
suffering
!
love!
Some of
you
know
three
years
ago
I
herniated
a
disc
dead
lifting
and
I
messed
up
L5
and
S1
which
means
something
to
some
of
you
doesn't
mean
anything
to
me
I
learned
a lot
about
pain
and
I
gained
an
incredible
empathy
for
folks
who
struggle
with
chronic
pain
if
you've
struggled
with
chronic
pain
you
know
the
worst
part
is
not
the
pain
the
worst
part
is
the
way
that
it
just
sucks
your
energy
dry
now
as I
say
this
I'm
actually
you
know
99%
pain
free
I'm
dead
lifting
more
than
I
ever
have
before
I
recognize
that
some
of
you
actually
have
chronic
pain
and
it
goes
on
year
after
year
after
year
for
me
my
pain
lasted
longer
than
they
told
me
it
would
so
I
was
told
hey
you
know
six
to
eight
weeks
you
should
be
good
two
to
three
months
later
I'm
thinking
I
don't
know
how
much
longer
I
can
do
this
do
I
really
you
know
I'm
in
my
early
thirties
this
is
going
be
the
rest
of
my
life
I'm
going
to
have
this
kind
of
energy
sucked
every
day
so
I
went
to
talk
to
my
doctor
and
he
said
here's
what
I'm
going
to
do
for
you
I'm
going
to
give
you
some
pain
pills
here's
the
catch
you
cannot
take
these
every
day
if
you
take
them
every
day
they
will
mess
you
up
you
can
take
them
once
or
twice
a
week
he
said
tell
me
what
is
your
most
painful
day
of
the
week
and
I
said
well
my
most
painful
day
is
Sunday
makes
sense
I'm
moving
around
it's
stressful
there's
lots of
things
going
on
so
he
said
okay
you
can
take
this
pill
on
Sunday
and
so
there
were
times
throughout
the
week
where
I
would
be
in
pain
I
knew
I
couldn't
take
the
pill
but
I
would
think
to
myself
Sunday
is
coming
brothers
and
sisters
no
matter
what
pain
you
are
in
this
world
right
now
or
will
walk
through
Sunday
is
coming
when
the
Lord
returns
and
wipes
away
every
tear
from
your
eyes
when
faith
will
be
sight
through
many
dangers
toils
and
snares
I
have
already
come
his
grace
have
brought
me
safe
thus
far
and
grace
will
lead
me
home
let's
pray
to
God
our
Father
in
heaven
we
do
praise
you
and
thank
you
that
you
don't
waste
our
sufferings
you
do
use
them
to
transform
us
to
change
us
to
make
us
into
the
image
of
your
son
and
our
savior
our
Lord
Jesus
we
ask
that
you
would
remind
us
of
that
this
morning
that
we
would
not
waste
it
we
would
not
become
people
of
anger
and
bitterness
and
anxiety
but we
we
ask
that
you
do
this
for
the
sake
of
Jesus
we
ask
these
things
in
his
name