Why is Canada suffering?
Updated: Sep 18
What This Teaching Is About
Chris Byberg reflects on Canada’s trade tensions, upcoming by-elections, and Alberta’s referendum while calling viewers to pray from peace. Teaching from Romans 5, he says suffering can produce endurance, character, and hope, and invites believers to let God refine them for His will.
Transcript
So here we are Labor Day weekend. I cannot believe how fast this summer went. I say that every time we hit Labor Day. I don't know what it is. It just moves a lot faster and uh we had a great summer. Uh we did a few projects. We did National Day of Prayer. It was good. It was a good summer. It was great restful time. But here we are Labor Day. And uh I'm filming this on Monday. So uh we will know on Saturday the outcome of the federal by-elections and the Ontario by-elections. So those are there. I have no idea where it's going to go. I'm pretty sure it'll be status quo and that's okay. But we're moving into the fall. And fall we've got to see it we see a lot of things that are at work
right now. We're in this quote trade war. And that can make many of us anxious. And many industry anxious and it's people are asking for uh they're asking questions that need to be answered. And there doesn't seem to be a lot of answers out there right now. So we can be frustrated. Don't be frustrated. Also there's the um the referendum coming up in Alberta >> [snorts] >> uh in the end of October. So so um we are going to be in prayer for those things. But I wanted to talk to you today about Romans chapter 5. Um because it is so easy for us to come out of peace. I was talking about that last week. Shalom is destroying the authority that binds itself to chaos. And I want
to continue to talk to us about hope, perseverance, and endurance. Those are very very important things and for important positions for us to be in. >> [snorts] >> I will read this to you from Romans chapter 5. It's a great uh posture. It's a great verse. The entire book of Romans also. I love Romans 5. I I love the whole book. There's so many things that we can plug into and receive from Romans, but I want to talk to you today about Romans chapter 5. And let's let's get started verse 2. Uh through him we have also obtained access by faith into grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. So, this is very important because we live in hope. We rejoice in
hope. Not only this, this is Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings. What? Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings. This is what Apostle Paul says. We not only do we rejoice in the glory of the hope of the glory of God, but we rejoice in our sufferings. I don't know about you, and I've said this many, many times. When it comes to suffering, suffering for me often makes me complain and whine. I don't like it when I'm in the place of suffering. I don't like it when I'm walking through what seems like a desert. I was just sharing with somebody just on on Sunday, a friend of mine, and we're talking about the deserts that we've walked through in our lives, and some of them
I've been a long we're a long, long journey. Many times it was a dry. Many times it was hard, but God was after something. Let me read this. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance. And if you've been tracking with us this summer, we've been talking a lot about endurance. Brad had a fantastic word on endurance. Marilyn on endurance, right? We We are in that place of not being a persistent widow, right? But we are in that place cuz we can come to the Father who loves us, and we can be bring our petitions, our prayers, or whatever we aren't. We can do this continuously from a place of endurance. Read this again. Not only that, but we
rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. You know, so often there are parts of us that are really, really pursuing spiritual gifts. We want all these spiritual gifts. We get enamored by the spiritual gifts. We We I know when I was a young Christian, I really wanted to know what gifting I had and wanted to move in that gifting. And those are all important things, but God is after more than just your gifting. He's after character. So, here we go. Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and this is the best part. And character produces hope. So, how do you get to hope?
Yeah, might have to go through a bumpy road. You might have to endure some things. But, in this you learn to walk in hope. I love this out of out of 1 Corinthians 13. Love hopes all things. That's where we want to be. So, when we see the the wor- swirlingness, we see the oh, there's this majority or that minority, or the government is doing this, and we're Sometimes it looks like we're going to hell in a handbasket. But, I want to encourage you to stay in hope. Ask the Lord to refine you. Brian Doerksen passed away this su- summer, and he wrote this song that was really impacted my life even as a young Christian oh 30 years ago. Refiner's fire my heart's one desire is to be holy
ready to do your will. I'm Chris Biber the director of the National House of Prayer and we will see you next time. Bye for now.
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