Pain In The Purpose

A sermon which reminds us that resurrection glory follows wilderness testing, the cross of self-denial, and the silence of waiting. The first day teaches submission, the second day demands hope, and the third day reveals God’s faithfulness. As heirs with Christ, we share His sufferings to share His glory. Present pain cannot compare to the promise, our destiny is to be a third-day people.

Introduction

The message of the ‘Third Day’ is a glorious, uplifting one. It’s a reality that turned around the assumed ending. It became the biggest statement God ever made in all eternity! The third-day, which is the blazing event of Jesus’ resurrection, forms the centrality of our faith. Like Paul says – “…and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). What are we even talking/meeting about then?!

Whether we believe in the resurrection or not is our personal one-on-one with Jesus. No human being can convince us of this truth – it is something to be experienced in the private places of our souls with only our creator as audience/witness/teacher. If we are a people, convinced by the reasons made by a human being then we can just as easily be un-convinced by the arguments made by yet another human being on the same topic! So to grasp this as a personal truth, it takes a personal experience. Some of us have encounters that is beyond the realm of human logic, some of us realise the truth about resurrection through a powerful revelation that comes from the word of God, some of us just believe it’s true, without any evidence or logic just because we know Jesus lives! Whichever our category may be – the third-day is THE powerful splash of truth and hope, in a world that was dictated by torment, headed towards a dead-end!

You/we are called to be a ‘third-day’ people. That is our identity. But the unbridled joy and the unmatched high of that victory is reserved for those who reach it… having crossed the unspeakable pain of the ‘first’ day and the desperate agonizing waiting of the ‘second’ day. Today’s message is not just about the third-day, but essentially about the 2 big days leading to it.

May God grant us peace and understanding as we go into it.

The Wilderness

The moment we step into the realm of ‘faith’ (which is when we begin to believe in Jesus being the ONLY God, that He was nailed to the cross in my place, dying the death I deserved, and with that exchange forever cleared my slate of shame and personal record of sin) regardless of our age, there immediately begins an “induction process”!

1. Luke 4:1 records that right after the baptism of Jesus, He was led into the wilderness BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. The wilderness is not a pleasant place, it’s a place of testing and teaches us restraining of the flesh. It’s in verse 2. This is where we un-learn the world and it’s doctrine, go through a phase of massive shift and often internal conflict – because everything we have become or have believed begins to get challenged when faced with the powerful mirror of God’s word!

2. It is in this wilderness that we are truly formed. Our soul (which is our mind, our will and our emotions) is being unshackled from the bonds of tradition or culture, from fear, from everything that ever holds us. What gets formed here determines our true substance. What gets formed here shows how far we will go. Will we crumble at the first sign of trouble? Will we turn back at the first hint of persecution? Will we accuse and get angry at God when He presses those very buttons within us that we guard so fiercely – let’s say finance? When everything shakes around us – will we remain standing, loyal to Him? It is the wilderness that decides all of it. Another name for wilderness is ‘training’.

3. Often when people come out of their wildernesses, they don’t relate to their “old-self” anymore. They have been so bathed in the word and the way of the Kingdom that they just cannot align with the world around them anymore. Such is the transition that has happened within! Their interests are different, their thinking and perspective on money changes, friend circle begins to change, career plans shift tracks, future planning becomes future surrendering. Everything is different.

4. Same passage Luke 4:14 reads “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and news about him spread….” The power of the Spirit comes on a person when they are completely emptied of themselves! They are wholly surrendered to the will of the Lord. That is the effect of wilderness – where you significantly decrease and He increases. You feel evidently weak and not in-charge of your life anymore – which is just the most excellent place to be in for God to move!

5. God begins to give you a glimpse of the life He has planned and set for you. You begin to get prophetic hints and clues – either through your own dreams/recurring dreams and visions or words from prophetic people around you, you keep getting the same or similar passages of scriptures over and over, you feel drawn to something a lot more than others for no specific reason. You feel more strongly about something much more than others seem to. Biggest clue to your destiny? – Your area of warfare! The one place where you seem to be most attacked, most provoked, most reduced, most upset, most hurt – the pain point of your life! It is often the very area of your calling and your authority!

All of this happens in the wilderness stage! The wilderness stage is such that it can by no means be by-passed or side-stepped by a child of God who wants to live in the will of God. Some basic questions regarding this stage:

• Is it for all? – Yes absolutely.

• Does everyone go through with it? – Unfortunately, no.

• Is it an option? -No, it’s a requirement as shown by Jesus, to do anything in the Kingdom.

• So, then what about those who refuse? – They are still a child of God, redeemed by His blood. But miss their destiny/ their purpose here on earth.

The First Day

After the ‘induction process’ we ‘hit the floor’!

Wilderness is just a set-up for the actual scene. It is the training ground to handle what is to come. The first-day which is literally the ‘crucifixion’ leaves little to imagination. The theme for this stage is the verse – "'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me'".” (Luke 9:23).

The crucifixion portrays amongst other things - meekness and submission. It’s a continual denial of the self. It’s a realm that can only be handled by those who have completed the induction process. Let’s explore this verse a bit:

1. The cross was not even His to carry. It seemed unfair. We might feel that way too – it’s not my doing or my fault Lord, why am I subjected to this? Though in the natural the cross meant suffering, in the spiritual and in the long term perspective of eternity – it actually became the greatest symbol of redemption! What is your cross? What is it that is too heavy for you today – but you feel the urge of the Lord saying that it will become a symbol of redemption for many others if YOU go through with it? For some, it can mean a broken family – where the Lord is calling you back to stand and prophesy & pray for restoration and renewal, when all you can see is ruins. The pain feels personal and too much. For some, it could mean going after someone like Hosea did – over and over again, showcasing the unconditional love of God, when all you get in return is disappointment and disloyalty. The pain is real. But so is the promise.

2. We cannot carry this cross, unless we deny ourselves. It’s not a denial by others – it’s a self-denial. Sometimes, we willingly choose to play the fool. Sometimes, we willingly choose silence when we can easily stir up a storm. Not because we don’t know any better, not because we want to prove anything to God or people, just because this is my cross, this is my mission and I accept it. It’s submission and meekness. I have the power to get out of a particular situation, but I choose to give in because that is where Jesus is leading me to go. It isn’t fun, it feels unfair. But I submit. It’s much easier to assert myself than to submit. Do the tough thing. I don’t understand it – but if Jesus is saying it, there has got to be a point.

3. Why? – “If anyone would come after me” – He took the way of the Cross, it isn’t any different for us! If we choose Jesus, the Cross is natural. None of the above is possible for us, if Jesus alone isn’t the reason of it. This is also where we begin to understand the verse – “To live is Christ, to die is gain!” a little more. (Philippians 1:21)

4. For those who have grown with the Lord in the wilderness stage, You have been trained for this! You have the power of the Holy Spirit within you to enable you to walk forward. You have been chosen and anointed – and the Lord already calls you an overcomer! Simon the Cyrene, carried the cross with Jesus for a bit, because it was too heavy to bear alone… For you and me, it is the Lord who carries our cross with us. We are not alone. (Psalm 68:19).

[It also calls for us to fulfil the only law there is today, the law of love - not just for God but also for one another. How do we do this? Galatians shows us in chapter 6:2! We can step forward and carry the burden of another – just like Simon the Cyrene did, as far as we can go. In that we fulfil the law of Christ.]

Carry your Cross.

The Second Day

Everything hung on a balance on this day. The worst had happened. This day strangely seemed more heavier than the previous one. There was no action, no event to keep us distracted. The entire weight of the first day came on intensely. It felt like that for the disciples, who just couldn’t fathom what hit them! Just a few days earlier they were jubilantly entering Jerusalem with their Lord and Master. And now there was nothing!

The trauma of the first day coupled with the deathly silence of the second day – made it difficult to look forward to anything. Anyone who has lost a loved one in the family knows what I’m talking about – it’s after the funeral and after the ‘event’ and after all the people leave… that we begin to actually feel and process. It is an agonizing silence, filled with heaviness and despair.

1. Into this silence the Lord speaks a word which forms the theme of this second day: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31). Here, ‘will renew their strength’ means that the Lord knows that you have no strength right now. That you are exhausted. Into that reality, the Lord says – you will soar on wings like eagles - If you HOPE in the Lord! In your exhaustion and feeling ‘done-with’, center your thoughts on what the Lord has said. Go back to those destiny clues and words and visions the Lord gave when you were in the induction stage – live inside it, sleep on it, hold on to it – all that He said is yet to come!

2. The second-day is where we WAIT. What a beautiful word that is! It holds such promise. Something to come. That it’s not over yet. That there is more…. How blessed is that word, laden with promise.  In the natural, this waiting defies logic…because it seems there is nothing really left to wait for! But when the Lord says wait – it means He is on to something! That there is something more up ahead. It begs a chance to look forward and not backwards. It shifts and aligns perspective. It dares us to hope for something we don’t even know – when we see nothing at all!

3. This is the tug of HOPE into our spent emotions and broken dreams. At this point, what have we got to lose anyway? The Lord says, as we wait – those jars that we filled with water when no one was watching, will turn into wine at His touch. Those prophecies and prayers we prayed in our silent rooms will bring the dry bones to life, with the move of His Spirit. That cross we carried silently will become the greatest crown of splendour in the Lord’s hand!

4. The second day is when, after having done everything, the Lord called us to do – we rest our case and sit still, in silent waiting. We shift gears from the pain of yesterday to the brightness of hope of tomorrow. Why? Just because the Lord says it. Psalm 126:5-6 says – “Those who sow with tears, will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out with weeping, carrying the seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them”

We know that this is true because there indeed WAS a stunning third day!

The story never ended with the pain of the 1^st day or the torment of the 2^nd.

The story BEGAN on the 3^rd day with a blazing resurrection!

The Third Day - Conclusion

It takes something above and beyond the natural for a third-day to happen! It is not the work of man. It is not the earning of man either! It is the promise of God. It is the faithfulness of God. It is the covenant of God. A life that is laid down willingly in obedience is highly esteemed and regarded by God. Because it reflects His son!

Having walked with Jesus one-on-one through our wilderness, having carried our cross at His word denying ourselves, having waited silently in hope and expectation when there was nothing… we partake in the suffering of Jesus. We become one with Him. That is in itself, the greatest treasure!

Romans 8:17 says – “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

A glimpse of the Third-Day glory is found in Isaiah 61! While we can never imagine or figure the extent of that resurrection glory, we certainly have an idea of it and it is beyond understanding. How can ashes become beauty? How can that happen? How can the ruins be renewed? How does that happen? The One who became ashes for our sake, who was ruined for our sake, who died for our sake – says He can reverse everything! Everything!

Let’s not waste time trying to find an exit in the wilderness and miss our destiny, let’s not give up carrying the cross that has the potential to become a gateway for our generations. Let’s not forget that the present sufferings cannot compare to the glory that is coming. (Romans 8:17) Such is the glory of the Third Day!  You and I are a ‘third-day’ people. Let’s not stop at the first or the second day.

For what is there to life if not for the call from the Master?

What would you say at the end of time, when He calls your name?  

Background

Kainos Church India, Bengaluru led by Ps. Manoj and Lincy Iype is a gathering open to all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church is ideally located for believers in the Koramangala, HSR Layout, Agara, Sarjapur Road, Bellandur areas of Bengaluru and our Church Service in English starts at 10am on Sundays.

These notes are from the Sunday Sermon held on 19th April 2026