Questions - Good People?

Introduction:

It was a horrible thing that took place on September 10th! The murder of Charlie Kirk has left a rift in our country and has exposed just how differently we think.

It was a horrible day, May 20th, 2024. Our dear sister, Sonya Miller left us too soon. She impacted each of our lives.

September 11th, 2001 was a horrible day in history. Do you remember where you were when the planes hit the World Trade Center in NY city? I can vividly remember right where I was standing when it happened. I also remember the shock as the entire nation watched a second plane crash into the other tower and then eventually both of them come crumbling down.

Whether it be something we witness on television or in our personal lives, loss and suffering hurt and it makes us ask questions, Questions like “WHY?”

Sometimes we can’t even articulate more than that.

Today, we’re asking a question that I think many people want answered. Its a question that has been around for ages:

“Why do bad things happen to good people?” (SLIDE)

Last week we established a principle in asking “WHY” questions. One must check their hearts and make sure they are asking with the right motivation. If you ask God “WHY” because you think you could do it better, you set yourself as your own little g god. We also established that if you know God because you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ as Lord, then He can handle your “WHYs.”

When it comes to trying to figure out why things happen, you can ask Google or Siri but I find that the best source for all my questions is the Bible.

The Bible is God’s love story and instruction for life and it is so much more! (SLIDE)

It is alive and powerful.

It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

It teaches us what is true.

It makes us realize what is wrong in our lives.

It corrects us when we are wrong.

It teaches us to do right.

God uses the Bible to prepare us and equip us for good work.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

The story of Job gives us some great insights into our question. (SLIDE)

God calls Job a righteous man, or as the NLT states, “He was blameless—a man of complete integrity.”

Job 1:1 “There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.”

You are likely familiar with his story:

Satan came into the heavenly court and told God that he had been patrolling the earth.

Then what seemed like God offering him up, asks Satan if he had noticed his servant, Job?

Satan, the Accuser, tells God that the only reason that Job loves him is because he puts a hedge of protection around him.

So God allows Satan to do his worst except he can’t kill him.

And Satan begin to pour out “BAD” in ways many of us can never understand.

4 messengers arrived at ole Job’s house in rapid succession

first message: Your oxen and donkeys were stolen and all the farmhands were killed

second message: All your sheep and shepherds were burned up in a fire

third message: All your camels and servants were killed

forth message: if losing all his livelihood wasn’t enough all of his children were killed all at the same time (Children were thought of as a heritage from the Lord)

Job’s world was thrown upside down within what could have possibly been just a few minutes time.

You know that Satan did not stop there. He would end up taking Job’s health as well.

I cannot imagine how he felt? I can’t imagine all the emotions that must have flooded his soul.

If anyone had reason to ask “WHY” it was Job. (SLIDE)

Do bad things happen?

We must answer without question, “Yes! bad things happen.” They happened to Job and they happen to us.

You can rationalize it anyway you want to. You can analyze it, and you can sugarcoat it but this I know is true:

Bad things happen!

Even though Job may have been someone God used as an example of a man of integrity, He also makes it clear in Scripture something that is hard for us to grasp:

No one is Good! (SLIDE)

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.”

Romans 3:23 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

1 John 1:8 “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.”

The bottom line is we are all tainted.

We are all affected by sin in some way. (SLIDE)

We have to deal with original sin

We have to deal with the our own sin

We have to deal with the sin of others

Personal Testimony

I was a business leader who took pride in doing right by people. I cared for employees and tried to run an honest business. I thought that I was pretty good.

I would justify my own bad behavior with statements like, “Well, at least I didn’t murder anyone. Or at least I don’t cheat people.”

Let me assure you there were plenty of things wrong in my life and I was guilty as charged of sin and sinful behavior.

We all want to think of ourselves as basically good. But the truth of the matter is that we have all fallen short of God’s standard.

One day, Jesus was teaching and a religious leader asked, “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:19) Jesus told him a very valuable truth that we must all get today:

Only God is Truly Good (SLIDE)

So if bad things do happen and only God is truly good. What does that mean? Do we deserve the bad that comes our way?

I don’t think that is what God is up to and we must remember that God doesn’t necessarily cause the bad things to happen but He can certainly use them.

I want to share this perspective when thinking about bad things happening: (SLIDE FF)

1. This world is not the end.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Since we know Christ as our Savior, we have an eternal perspective and we don’t lose hope.

2. God can use the bad for good.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Joseph is a great example. He dealt with horrible suffering but saw God make good from it. Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

3. Bad things can give us a greater ministry.

2 Corinthians 1:3–5 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.”

I love how Pastor Charles Swindoll wrote it in an Insight for Living devotional:

“Here is the first truth to claim when enduring the consequences of suffering: nothing touches me that has not passed through the hands of my heavenly Father. Nothing. Whatever occurs, God has sovereignly surveyed and approved. We may not know why (we may never know why), but we do know our pain is no accident to Him who guides our lives. He is, in no way, surprised by it all. Before it ever touches us, it passes through Him. The second truth to claim is this: everything I endure is designed to prepare me for serving others more effectively. Everything. Because my heavenly Father is committed to shaping me into the image of His Son, He knows the ultimate value of this painful experience. It is a necessary part of the preparation process. It is being used to empty our hands of our own resources, our own sufficiency, and turn us back to Him—the faithful Provider.

4. Bad things happen but the worst happened to the best person.

Romans 5:8 “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

John 3:16 ““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus took the worst possible punishment

a punishment we all deserved (believe it or not)

because He took the ultimate punishment from God, we only have to deal with this sinful world. we don’t have to deal with God’s wrath.

It is better to deal with the bad things in this world than to deal with God’s righteous judgement.

Its not too late to respond to His calling.