Questions Series Week 6

Why does God allow suffering part 2

Human Relay Race

2. Come up with a list of what the perfect human would be like.

Come up with an outline of the perfect life.

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INTRO

Independence.

It’s what most of us desire. We want to be self-made. Self-sufficient. self-satisfied.

And I don’t want to discourage you today, these are very good qualities.

Being a hard worker, being able to support yourself, then being able to support a family.

This is good.

But…

There is also a subtle hint of evil in this as well.

The desire to rely on yourself for life is simply not possible.

No one can do that fully.

Through suffering we learn we are not alone (an island) and only through Christ am I made good.

1. We were not created to be an island.

2 Corinthians 1:3–7 “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 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. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”

I Loved a band in the mid-2000s called Tenth Avenue North.

In their 2014 album “Cathedrals” they had an incredible song called “no man is an island.”

The chorus says,

“No man is an island we can be found. No man is an island, let your guard down. You don’t have to fight me, I am for you. We’re not mean’t to live this life alone!”

What if that is part of suffering too?

What if it’s a reminder that the isolated life is a poor life?

That in our sadness, in our weaknesses, in our insecurities, in our struggles,

In the tragedies and darkest hours of our life…

What if I need to reminded that I’m not alone.

What if up until that moment, I’ve been Mr. Independent?

Well, it might be right there in that darkness that Mr. Independent learns how much he needs others.

Maybe He will see that God created us for Him.

He gave us His church so we could walk this life together with other believers.

What if part of suffering reminds us of these precious gifts in life?

The truth is, suffering is different at different stages of life.

Last week I discussed the difference between pushing my son down and allowing him to fall.

Allowing my sons to fall is vastly different than causing them to fall.

When you stop and just consider this for a moment, that describes much of life doesn’t it?

For a child, cleaning their room is an act of suffering.

But if they don’t do it, they won’t appreciate the clean room in the end.

Eating the food given to them, seems like suffering, but eating something you don’t like is a small price to pay when you consider the real suffering that is Hunger!

I suppose part of the lesson here is that the child like suffering that we look back and laugh at, actually just grows up with us.

The suffering we experience today feels much worse, but what if it doesn’t seem like a big deal later?

Even death, the worst suffering, losing someone we love, isn’t bad.

For the believer, we step into eternal joy.

Isaiah 46:4 “4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

Until that moment though, we have life.

The life we life, don’t forget this promise.

Jesus sustains us.

He carries us.

In Christ, we are not alone.

Even in death, Paul says.

Philippians 1:21 “21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Before we die, Christ want’s us to know His presence.

After we die, God wants us to know we will be with Him.

We are not alone.

Christ is present with us. In life and after death.

It’s Jesus.

It’ll always be Jesus.

His grace is available to you.

To meet you right where you are.

The best part of suffering is that.

To know that no matter how dark and bleak the day gets, God is present.

He’s carrying you and sustaining you.

What if all of the struggles we face in life are allowed by God to remind us that we are not self-sufficient.

Our sufficiency is in Christ, and only in Christ!

2. Who are good people? Are there any good people?

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”

How many righteous people are there?

Answer: Without God, ZERO

Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

How many people have sinned?

All.

What is the Greek word for all guys?

It’s all… ok. Everybody. It’s not complicated. We are stink here.

1 John 1:8 “8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

Who can claim to be without sin?

Answer: Deceivers and liars.

Mark 10:17–22 “17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

The truth is, there are no “good” people undeserving of suffering.

Hebrews 13:12 “12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.”

The fact that we all don’t suffer constantly, all the time, is because of God’s grace.

But we rarely think about it that way.

We think, “oh man… my life was so good until today, now today life sucks because of ________________”

But really we should be saying,

God thank you for your grace.

God thank you for the constant reminder that I need you.

God thank you that no matter what happens today, you are all I need.

God thank you that even though I was dead in my sins, you made me alive in Christ.

God help me to remember no matter what the situations in my life:

Have you ever thought that it’s grace today and only grace that you aren’t suffering?

It’s grace that the atheist can ironically shake his fist at God and say “You don’t exist” all the while it is the grace of God that gives breath and life to the atheist?

No one is good.

Only in Christ and through his suffering can people be made Holy.

That’s what Hebrews 13:12 says.

Some of my favorite things to read are sermons from a famous preacher in England. Charles Spurgeon.

He tells the story of a father who was studying to preach in his home.

He was going to carry some books up the stairs of his home, but some of them were quite heavy.

His son, seeing his father asks to help him carry the books.

The father agrees and the boy struggles to lift the heavy books and carry them.

The final result ended up being the boy could not carry the books and instead became emotional and began trying.

The loving father then gently reaches down.

Grabs the books.

Grabs his son.

And in his strength, carries both the books and his son up the stairs.

This is suffering and knowing Christ.

Isaiah 46:4 “4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

no matter the suffering, Christ will sustain you.

He will carry you.

In His strength, we endure.

CONCLUSION:

1. Suffering is a reminder of our weaknesses.

2. Bad things that occur should remind us of the brokenness in the world.

3. Suffering reminds us this is not our home.

We weren’t created to live 80 years… God created us to live eternally with Him.

4. Suffering humbles our arrogance and increases our thankfulness.

It’s always been Jesus and always will be Jesus that we can stand the tests of today.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 “9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Let that verse sink into your bones.

Christ’s power rests on you who are in Christ.

He is in those who have called on His name.