The Sufferings of Jesus

In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' Revelation 5:12

In heaven, not only will our sufferings win us merit, the sufferings of Jesus will have an eternal perspective, too. Our Lord will be honored as the slain Lamb. His sufferings will never be forgotten. Unlike us, he will always visibly bare his wounds to the universe, and for that, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will enjoy praise as never before! If any dark demon in the corner of the universe ever doubted the righteousness of God in stooping to rescue debased sinners, he'll be set straight. No evil spirit will dare accuse God of having defiled His purity in order to redeem wicked men. No one will question God's righteous reputation for having condescended to save sinners.

The Stigma of the Anointing

Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. —1 Peter 4:13

At the end of the day the anointing will have a stigma. It will offend. John Wesley was offended by George Whitefield's preaching because it was done in the fields instead of in a regular church building.

My congregation at Westminster Chapel was offended when I started our Pilot Light witnessing program on Saturday mornings. I had no idea of ever being a witness on the streets. I was always glad for somebody else to do that. It just wasn't my anointing—or so I thought!

But my thinking changed when I invited Arthur Blessitt to preach at Westminster Chapel in May 1982. The plan was for us to take pamphlets and questionnaires to nearby Page Street, knock on doors, and talk to people about the Lord. But we never made it. Arthur began witnessing to some youth who were standing in front of the chapel, and within a short time, several of them got saved.