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Collins & West Hartland United Methodist Churches |
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Sermon Notes—11/11/07 |
Message: Collins/WH November 11, 2007Eleven Questions in 207 Q.8 Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Ps.119:50
Intro: Our daughter Amy & her husband Josh have 2 children – Ethan & Kate, the …earthly joy of our lives. · Amy & Josh have friends, Chad & Angie – who have been pregnant 4 times in two yrs., & have suffered the pain of 3 miscarriages. · They are currently 26wks. into that 4th pregnancy & there are some developmental problems that have surfaced & the baby may not survive.
· Some good intentioned friends have suggested to Chad & Angie that maybe it’s just not God’s will for them to have children. · Angie wonders why God just doesn’t stop them from getting pregnant then, instead … of suffering the pain of a pregnancy that is lost? · Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
Illus. I can remember as a boy growing up, often being the one who get hurt when … … there was a gang playing … & wondering as a child “WHY ME”? · I hadn’t asked myself that question my adult life, until 32wks. ago on Wednesday morning in April – I had to ask WHY US? WHY HER? · You too have had (&/ know of others who have had) … experiences of suffering & pain; accidents & feelings of abandonment that have left you asking, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
I. The Bible is a book that recounts experiences of suffering i.e. From Adam to … … … Abraham; from Miriam to Mary; … from Judas to Jesus. · And as with most of the really important questions in life, it doesn’t give simplistic answers to complex questions; … but it does say this
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Ps.119:50
If you look at what the Bible does say about Why Bad Things Happen to Good People … it could be summarized under three headings:
1st Heading is Sabotage – i.e. something has happened to sabotage the order of the …world as God originally intended it to be in creation.
· A Christian view of the way things are, understands the world to be broken, & people to be broken right along with it. o Accidents happen in a broken world sometimes at no fault of the person who suffers; Sickness happens in a broken world; o And since God doesn’t micro-manage all the detail of a person’s life, a lot of suffering has nothing to do with the will of God; … It has to do with living in a broken world. In a broken world, life is unfair & unjust.
· In a broken world, sometimes good people do stupid things Illus. The local news reported the incident of two 13yr. old boys out at 3am. to toilet paper the house of a girl they knew; on the way, they changed their minds fearing she would be mad … so they toilet papered the house of the principal of the Middle School. Go figure!
· In a broken world, o Sometimes evil people do evil things that create suffering, & the news describes the horrific details. o Sometimes suffering is hereditary, & good people have bad genes, or family circumstances that predispose them to certain kinds of suffering.
o Sometimes good people suffer for a good cause.
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 1Jn.1:9
Illus. A few weeks ago, the news media tried to make some hay about Mother Teresa suffering doubts about her faith that bordered on depression I like the comic that appeared in CT that explains it all… cf comic.
2nd Heading that summarizes what the Bible does say about “Why Bad …” is Satanic
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to [Jesus], crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Matt.15:22
· A Christian view of the way things are, understands the world to be in the cross-hairs of a spiritual struggle between good vs. evil; wickedness vs. holiness; real spiritual beings that are demonic vs. real spiritual beings that are of God.
· The Bible gives evidence, & human experience confirms that some suffering is due to people being demonized (possession is extreme) emotionally, relationally, financially, & physically o And the ministry of the church to such people is Deliverance i.e. prayer & practice that helps to break the bondage of the demonic over their lives which is causing the suffering.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2Cor. 10:4-5
· Strongholds … indicate areas of thoughts, attitudes, addictions, and actions where … suffering results from being demonized. · Maybe the ministry needed in the lives of some is discernment regarding suffering from living in a broken world, or suffering that stems from being demonized … & then steps to break that bondage.
II Those two great thinkers in the area of spiritually & suffering express what sometimes we have struggled to put into words … cf. Frank & Ernest comic -“It’s not that good doesn’t triumph...
· It is to cover the point spread in the struggle & to win … that God has acted on our behalf in the person of Jesus of Nazareth,
3rd Which leads us to the 3rd Heading that summarizes what the Bible says about “Why … Bad Things Happen” … Sacramental
· God has come among us in the person of Jesus & suffered with us on the Cross, & … His suffering can transform our suffering into something that is sacramental i.e. o The grace of God is often received & distributed to others thru suffering.
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Heb. 13:12 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, …Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. Heb.5:7-8
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 2Cor.1:3-6
· Only God could do that thru Jesus i.e. Defeat suffering by suffering Himself, & use our suffering as a means of grace to others …to lead them to faith in Jesus & transform their suffering into something that is sacramental too.
o In a world that is broken thru Sabotage, God uses our suffering as something sacramental i.e. a means of grace to others. o In a world where people suffer by reason of being demonized … God has suffered Himself in Jesus to defeat the demonic & set us free. o Christus Victor i.e. Christ the Victor! & will bring the world to a great experience of that victory:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth …And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men …He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev.21:1-4
· But until then, do you think you could see some of your suffering as Sacramental, & let the grace of God flow thru you to others?
Closing My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Ps.119:50
The promise of God that preserves life in suffering is: 1. A Presence – He has already suffered for us, & He suffers w/us in ours. 2. A Power – He has turned the tables on suffering, by suffering Himself to save & salvage a broken creation & defeat the demonic. 3. A Purpose!
Illus. F-Minus Comic: “Hey guys, knock it off”
a. No! God isn’t just having a good time throwing darts at the world & pulling strings as if we are puppets. b. No! Everything doesn’t happen for some hidden reason in the mind of God. c. No! God isn’t the architect of suffering in our lives as a piece of some Blueprint that He is working on where your suffering is for some greater good.
· What makes suffering so hard is because it seems so meaningless & w/o purpose …& it is … unless we let God transform it & make it something Sacramental in our lives, & for the lives of others.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom.8:28.
· He is too good … holy… loving … & too righteous to cause suffering, but not too far removed to suffer w/us … and use our suffering as something sacramental. · His is not a purpose for you into suffering, but from suffering. · Suffering is too often a mystery, but the mystery is not located in the will of God, but in the complexities of living in a broken & demonic world.
I know what I’d say to that couple who are friends with Amy & Josh, & to anyone else who suffers & wants to know Why? · If God could’ve He would’ve kept you from that suffering, & so He suffered for you in Jesus on the Cross, & now suffers with you in the pain of the moment & invites you to let Him make it sacramental.
Do you know that God, & could you bring your suffering to Him & receive His promise to you? Song: O God our help in ages past … |
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