Tape Talk
by Pat Mace

Do you have questions about how to really know who you are–Christ living His life out by you? Maybe the doubts come as you walk it out day by day. at about the men and women you read about in the Bible–Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David–what made them stand out from the thousands of other people of their day?

The answer to these and many more questions that you may have can be found on page 30 of the Intercessor.

TAPES!! Whether sharing their testimonies or explaining the book of Romans, these represent years of the speakers’ personal struggles and much digging for answers to make their lives work. They, in turn, pass on to others the rich truths gleaned.

I would very much encourage you to take advantage of the wealth that we have available in the form of these tapes. Let me give you a glimpse into one of Norman Grubb’s–entitled Suffering.

TAPE REVIEW:
Suffering
by Norman P. Grubb

Norman began by laying the foundation that we must "square with what the Bible says about suffering." This was a point that Norman emphasized again and again through the years, that we must line up what we believe with the scriptures. The Bible is interpreted by the Spirit, but it must first be in the Bible.

If you are like most people I know, you do not like to suffer. My first reaction is that I usually want something to change and change fast–either me, my circumstances, or another person. But Norman emphasizes what the Bible says, that we are meant to suffer. It is God’s prescribed formula, part of His plan. Heb. 2:10 says that it was fitting for Him…in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.

We love to quote the wonderful promise in Rom. 8:17 of our being joint-heirs with Christ, but the verse continues, "if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be glorified together." So God’s way for us to glory is through suffering. "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12). If there is to be rising, there first has to he dying.

Suffering takes many forms: spirit, soul-emotional, or body; and comes to us in many ways: as temptations, trials, doubts, imaginations, troubles, perplexities, fears, distresses, persecutions, etc. The way does not matter, the real purpose of experiencing pain and suffering is to force us to get our answer inside us, and it starts with conflict. Faith is the key; it is the inner secret.

What about the terrible situation that you are in right now? You don’t like it. That’s a good place to stall, but don’t stop there. God has a purpose in it; begin to see Him at work. "Find the daylight in the storm" We find inner harmony when we begin to see God behind the scenes, in the midst of the storms in our lives, waiting to show forth His glory and purposes.

As an encouragement and to give you a better understanding of God’s purposes, I would very much recommend that you order this tape and listen to it.

To conclude, I will quote Norman, "All life is suffering, because that is the only real perfecting. You’ve got to be pressed into a thing until you practice it, as trained physicians practice their medicine. After we learn our Christ, then we practice being ourselves as He. The suffering perfects us. It’s the only way!"
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