Prayer Meeting 30/5/2023

The Servant In Battle - Part 2

Hebrews 11:24-25

Last time we started on another work by the puritan Jeremiah Burroughs. This time from his extensive exposition from one verse in Hebrews 11. Burroughs’ work, as I said, is utterly extensive and compelling, and of course challenging, as well as equipping. Burroughs work is written in a seven hundred page book. The book is called ‘Moses Choice’. It’s by the Northampton press, which is in its first print since 1641.

The verse is Hebrews 11:25. Let me read the verse before it first: 

Hebrews 11:24-25

²⁴By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin

Before we go into the verse again, which I said we would be covering over 4 weeks, let’s start as always with a puritan prayer. We don’t usually do this but I’m going to share the same prayer throughout this four part series, from the ‘Valley Of Vision’, it’s on page 328 of the little leather version, and page 181 of the paperback. As I said last time, it is one of the best prayers I’ve ever read, and so fitting for the subject at hand, that you could have a good argument that Burroughs wrote it. It matters not, the prayer is a wonderful intro to tonight’s subject once again:

O Lord, I bless thee that the issue of the battle between thyself and Satan has never been uncertain, and will end in victory. Calvary broke the dragon's head, and I contend with a vanquished foe, who with all his subtlety and strength has already been overcome. When I feel the serpent at my heel may I remember him whose heel was bruised, but who, when bruised, broke the devil's head. My soul with inward joy extols the mighty conqueror. Heal me of any wounds received in the great conflict; if I have gathered defilement, if my faith has suffered damage, if my hope is less than bright, if my love is not fervent, if some creature-comfort occupies my heart, if my soul sinks under pressure of the fight. O thou whose every promise balm, every touch Life, draw near to thy weary warrior, refresh me, that I may rise again to wage the strife, and never tire until my enemy is trodden down. Give me such fellowship with thee that may defy Satan, unbelief, the flesh, the world, with delight that comes not from a creature, and which a creature cannot mar. Give me a draught of the eternal fountain that lieth in thy immutable, everlasting love and decree. Then shall my hand never weaken, my feet never stumble, my sword never rest, my shield never rust, my helmet never shatter, breastplate never fall, as my strength rests in the power of thy might.
 

There are 58 chapters in the book ‘Moses Choice’. As I said, the hard part is what to leave out. But I’m sure from the last time, and also from over the weeks it will still, even if it is a very brief visit over Burroughs work, it will still help us immensely. 

What a verse though don’t you think? To even ponder on the verse without even looking deep at Burroughs work - it fills us with thoughts and challenges. Choosing to suffer affliction rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Burroughs points out that Moses never chose sin absolutely but:

Rather than the pleasure of sin, afflictions are to be chosen.

It’s not that Moses chose affliction, but he chose it over sin. Affliction is not something we chose, true affliction is in what we don’t chose. Things that cause us little to no crucifying the flesh, as opposed to things that cause us to trust God in complete abandonment - that is affliction.

Burroughs writes:

Many think they are called unto some affliction in general until they are called unto some particular affliction, and then think “oh if it were another we could bear it, but this one I do not know how to bear it….” ….whereas the true subjections of the heart to God is to bear what God himself has appointed.

Isn’t it the case that choosing true affliction can only be that which we know we can’t attain on our own, nor barely entertain. We will find other ways of not. I mentioned bargaining where I said:

Bargaining is presenting willingness in order to hide the scrutiny of unwillingness.

I think this ties in with Sunday’s message, where I talked about the flesh.

I said this:

It’s easy to justify what we do, when we measure it against our own adaption of truth that our flesh has been part of writing.

Like affliction, it’s easy to allow our flesh to decide what we chose to face affliction for. Many will say they face hardship and persecution for the gospel sake but will not bear the affliction of denying their own flesh and carnal desires. I then posed this question:

Have you considered what afflictions your fellow brothers are facing, to overcome the things you find so easy to submit to?

Have you considered how much they go through to deny themselves, when you won’t? This is “to suffer affliction with the people of God.”

John Calvin says it this way:

The Godly have their dark shadows of troubles before them, and their brightness of glory behind to come thereafter, but the men of the world have their brightness before them.

Burroughs writes that, of course, not all have to suffer the same affliction, thank goodness we should all say. That we mostly will not have to endure what many of the saints who went before us had, or even other brothers and leaders of this day. Some would sure fold under anything near it. However, Burroughs doesn’t give us a pass for that. 

Burroughs pens:

Seeing God spares us so much suffering, and does not call us to such passive obedience as formerly he has called his servants. Let us therefore labour to be more abundant in active obedience.

Due to us not having to face such hardship, Burroughs challenges the reader that greater should be our activity to obedience. It should be much more prevalent and abundant in our lives. In other words, we have way, way less excuse for not being able to endure affliction when you consider how small they are compared to some.

To be honest, some believer’s affliction is self-inflicted affliction, and they still have no faith to bear it,  while spending all their time wallowing in it. This is the point Burroughs is making. Hebrews 11 is verse after verse talking of true afflicted people, and what they had all in common; they had faith.

Hebrews 11:13

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Notice how they were not obedient because they received the promises, but because they set their hearts on them.  They all chose to suffer here for the promise of heaven to come. Listen to me here. You will never ever be able to suffer affliction fully until this life here, and finding happiness, and joy, and fulfilment in this life is not your focus.

Hebrews 11:16

¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

They can endure affliction, because they are not living for now, they are not trying to stop themselves from loss. They have a bigger goal.

None of us, no matter the teaching, no matter the personal determination, will be able to face affliction and deny sin continually without having a greater future in mind; a heavenly future. Active sin, and flesh, is a complete loss of a holy, heavenly home.

Why must God’s people be never far from affliction? In fact, Burroughs poses the question, he then answers:

What is the reason why it must be that the state of God’s people must be an afflicted estate?

Burroughs gives a few answers. We won’t elaborate as Burroughs has on them.  

Firstly:

As long as there is a devil in this world it must be so.

The devil hates God and he hates anything that is Godly, he is at war therefore to kill all Godliness, and holiness, and we are hated.

Secondly Burroughs says:

Ungodly men have sucked up the poison of this old serpent.

Sin and Godliness are at odds with each other. They are at war. Wickedness hates Godliness. We need to know that the more Christlike we become, which in itself causes us to crucify the flesh, but after that, the enemy will come at you like never before.

We closed last time having glossed over five chapters. I then mentioned chapter 35, where Burroughs lists sixteen consolations (comforts we could call them) arising that their sufferings are indeed Christ’s sufferings - where I covered the first four. At the end of tonight I will cover the next four.

Before I do, give me a few minutes to share beyond chapter 5. As I said there are 58 chapters, and even covering 5 a week we would still be in this 12 weeks, but we are covering them in four. So I simply can’t go through each chapter even as an overview, it just wouldn’t do it justice. So I won’t this week go to Chapters 6-9.

Therefore I have flicked to chapter ten, where the heading is: ‘Wicked People Have Pleasures In Ways Of Sin, While God’s People Endure Much Hardship In Ways Of Holiness’. 

Some believers may say, why oh why do they seem to be having way more pleasure than me? I used to say, why are they getting away with such evil? When are the liar’s pants going to catch fire?

Burroughs asks a question, and then, as he does, answers.

His question is:

But why does God thus suffer wicked men to enjoy their pleasure this in ways of sin?

He then gives five answers, I won’t elaborate for time’s sake.

One:

Here is their portion, they are never likely to have any other consolation but what they have here.

Two:

God has time enough hereafter to torment them, to make sin bitter unto them.

What a statement, ‘to make sin bitter unto them.’ Those that deny God and pursue sin, will all taste fully the poison of that rebellion.

Three:

God hereby would show to all the world his own fullness, and how little he esteems carnal things.

Those that gain much pleasure now will know in time, and even now, how utterly shallow and futile carnal things are, when you compare them to God.

Question: why do you keep seeking such carnal things? Things that, as James says are a vapour’. Again, we can say because we look only to the visible, the now, the things that stimulate our flesh.

Four:

God grants pleasure to ripen them in their sin, to harden them in it.

Romans 1:28

²⁸And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.

Common grace is loosened and God gives the people what they keep desiring. What a scary thought. Think of that the next time you bemoan those who you say are having a great life without God, or are getting away with it.

Five:

But God is patient God, and in the day of his patience even the wicked are allowed to enjoy their heart’s desire.

I think we need to remember, God is a God of great patience, thank goodness He is, else His grace would have long left us all.

In chapter 11 the subheading is wonderful, where I will draw in to a close. The heading is:

‘Afflicted Godliness Is Better Than Delightful Wickedness’.

It’s the third longest chapter in the book. The other two are also promise-oriented chapters. Which truly gives you an insight into Burroughs’ passion for God’s people, and indeed his own relationship. His heading is truly a wonderful truth, but one we struggle to grasp. Yet when we do, I think we will be closer to Christ than ever, and closer to those faithful saints than ever.

Martin Luther, in his famous speech at the diet of Worms (Its also known as the ‘Here I Stand’ speech). When Luther was asked to recant for his new found reformed biblical stance, he stood and gave what many believe to be one of the greatest speeches of all time.

Among his speech he said:

I would rather fall with Christ than stand with Caesar. I would rather suffer anything in the world with Christ than stand and enjoy all the pleasures of Caesar’s court.

This is the example Burroughs uses, when saying ‘Afflicted Godliness Is Better Than Delightful Wickedness’.

As you walk through chapter 11, Burroughs lines each up next to each other i.e. afflicted Godliness vs delightful wickedness. A bit like Paul, as he talks to those in Corinth at the end of chapter four, where he says ‘I will be coming and taking all what you have, and believe and do, and lining it up with what I teach and do and believe, which is what Christ teaches’ (told you I see 1st Corinthians in everything).

I don’t have time to go through the opposites, so I will but mention one of each. I will share the delightful wickedness first, then show how much better afflicted Godliness is.

Delightful wickedness, Burroughs writes:

There is much evil in sensual pleasures: first there is much mixture of much inward sadness, many damps the heart; in the midst of laughter the heart is sad.

Afflicted Godliness, Burroughs writes:

…will bring forth a gracious end; they are but a dark entry into your father’s house, a dirty lane as to a palace. Simply shut your eyes and there will be a charge, and as martyr said “though we have an ill breakfast, we shall have a good dinner.”

It would not be the heart of God if we suffered in vain, and last time we closed by sharing four of the sixteen consolations, promises, blessing of affliction.

And as the title says in chapter 35, that our sufferings are Christ’s sufferings, which tells us from the offset, deeper communion with Christ is for sure going to be a result of true affliction. Before Burroughs starts the list he wrote:

If the reproaches and sufferings are the reproaches of Christ, Christ is engaged in them more than you.

Let me close with the second four consolations. I won’t read the first, you can get them all from the notes.

Fifth:

They must be sanctified. 

He adds: 

Those sufferings of Christ are sanctified sufferings. Certainly Christ will not permit them to go away unsanctified. Christ is so holy that when they come near to him he will make them holy.

Sixth:

If they are the reproaches of Christ, then you are not left to bear them alone.

Seventh:

If it is that they are the reproaches of Christ, then for that part you bear, although it is but little, you may expect his strength in… …Christ gives us his own strength to bear his own reproaches.

Eighth:

If they are the reproaches of Christ, they are the reproaches of all the members of Christ who sympathise with you and help you bear the burden.

We are truly joined with Christ in affliction; one suffers, we all suffer, one rejoices, we all rejoice. Now that is not that we suffer with unwilling sinful behaviour. But in that fight and that battle for holiness, and when the enemy comes knocking on the door of our brothers and sisters, we stand with them as if it was us, because it is us, because it is Christ’s.

Amen.