Suffering Wisely

Opening

Opening

At the beginning of this series: “A Journey with Job”

We are faced with so many questions such as:

Why do we have to suffer?

How are we going to react to sufferings?

When you suffer, do you imagine that God has found fault with you?

Do you ever wonder why your faithfulness to God doesn’t eliminate the suffering in your life?

Do you ever wonder why your faithfulness to God doesn’t eliminate the suffering in your life?

Like Job, millions of people along with the 17 families in Parkland, Florida are facing similar questions in their hearts and minds

(show images of mass shooting victims)

Last Tuesday, February 14, Valentine’s Day, 17 people lost their lives in the hands of the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, a 19 year old former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the same school where he indiscriminately opened fire at literally anyone

Nikolas who is now in custody, admitted to the crime, and plans to plead guilty if the “death penalty” will be off the table

I read an article about the 17 victims, and every sentence, every word are truly heartbreaking

I cannot help but imagine what’s going on in the mind and hearts of the families of the victims

I am pretty sure that they too, like job has so many questions that remained unanswered

BREATHE!

After Job lost all his children, his health and wealth, he remained faithful to God

We learned in the life of Job how to recognize that everything and everyone belongs to God

That we came naked through our mothers’ womb, and naked we shall depart

That the Lord giveth and He also taketh

Job rebuked his wife and said that we must not only accept what is good from the Lord, but to accept even those things we describe as “bad”

BREATHE!

Do you ever wonder why your faithfulness to God doesn’t eliminate the suffering in your life?

Do you ever wonder why your faithfulness to God doesn’t eliminate the suffering in your life?

When Job’s Life Group, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar came to comfort Job, no one said a word for seven days

They all wondered of Job’s extreme suffering, they know Job is righteous and faithful to the Lord

And in chapters 4 through 37, there was cycles of speeches between Job and his friends

There were going back and forth, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar taking turns expressing their theological school of thoughts

They offered their wisdom trying to answer questions that grips not just Job, but also themselves

The gist of their very long conversation is that:

No one is innocent before God, and Job should appeal to God for help

Life calamities must be the result of Job’s sin, though we know from the beginning of the book that he was ruined for no reason ()

Job turned the tables on his friends, who have become his enemies

Job agrees that his affliction is from God, but he is also at a loss as to “why?”

BREATHE!

BREATHE!

The answers to the questions on why and how, are very elusive

Why does these have to happen to me?

How could these be?

It requires wisdom to answer these ambivalent questions

Wisdom that are not found in humans, not from friends or Life Groups

But wisdom that comes from God

Because God is the ultimate source of wisdom

BREATHE!

Wisdom is applied knowledge

It is the ability to take the truth of God and make it practical for our daily lives

As you open your Bible in our text for today, let me give you a summary of the whole 28th chapter of the book of Job

Text: Where Wisdom is Found

In verses 1-11, the author (not Job or his friends), poetically used great lengths that people go when searching for gold and other valuable resources, to illustrate how far people would go with their search for answers

People willingly endure to search great distances with their quest for valuable stones, so with their quest for wisdom and answers to their questions

It then turns to to show the great value of wisdom in verses 12-22

That wisdom is far more precious than gold

Proverbs 16:16 NIV

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!

In verse 12 of our text today, the author asked..

Job 28:12 NIV

But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?

JOb 28:12

He asked where wisdom could be found

And in verse 20, he repeated the same question, but modified it slightly..

Job 28:20 NIV

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?

This time the author is asking where wisdom originates

In verse 23 Job finally answers the questions..

Job 28:23 NIV

God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,

God alone is the source of all wisdom

Job understands how to find wisdom, and he know its origin

In conclusion from all these..

Job 28:28 NIV

And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

The person who searches for wisdom will develop a fear of God

Since wisdom cannot be found apart from God

The wise seeker will adopt an attitude of trust and obedience to God

BREATHE!

Let’s not waste our suffering by turning away from God and His purposes

While we cannot avoid suffering in this life, we can choose to respond wisely

“Suffering wisely” involves understanding that trials have the capacity to spark a powerful chain reaction in our lives

BREATHE!

Our church family has its own suffering to endure

We were only given until next Sunday the 25th to meet in this place

We were just like the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness

They were always on the move

No permanent place, only a promised destination

BREATHE!

Their journey, and so with ours, is the Lord’ way to teach us to respond wisely to every suffering that we endure

From Egypt that represents slavery to sin, God led them over through the Red Sea

In every step of the way God was with them despite their groaning and bickering

They always complained from God and conflict with their fellow Israelites

And because of that, the journey that could have only lasted for 40 days, took them 40 years

BREATHE!

Not everyone was able to cross the River Jordan, a lot of them died in the wilderness

In our journey here in Agape, my hope and prayers is for all of us to cross our River Jordan, and that no one will be left behind

BREATHE!

In the second year of King Darius, 520 BC, ruler of the Persian Empire

The word of the Lord came through prophet Haggai

Haggai 1:3–11 NIV

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

BREATHE!

The Lord has made Himself clear through His words through Haggai

That we invested in so many things, things that doesn’t truly matters

“Suffering wisely” involves understanding that trials have the capacity to spark a powerful chain reaction in our lives:

We invested on stocks, our own homes, business, jobs and career while we let the house of the Lord remain in ruins

Yes, we, His people are His church, however, His church also needs its house

Jesus Christ said, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also ()

BREATHE!

I would like to propose that we start to build a fund for the Lord’s house

Aside from what we already committed to give to the Lord, let’s give some more, because this is what is right

Because it is the right thing to do

Let’s give more of our treasure to build up this funds

Let’s give more of our time and talent to build a team of happy volunteers serving God

I will be the first to stand to this pledge

I will give beyond what I am already giving

I will work beyond what I am already doing

And I challenge all of you who love Jesus to do the same

BREATHE!

I know you have your own suffering, like me and everybody else

But this could be the reason why we are suffering

We let the house of the Lord remain in ruins, while we live in our comfortable paneled houses

Today, let us Respond Wisely to our Suffering

BREATHE!

What Could Suffering Bring, if we Respond Wisely?

Suffering Wisely shall bring me Joy

Seems like this doesn’t make any sense at all

Is there “Joy” to any suffering?

Joy is far richer and more stable than our notion of mere happiness

Joy is far richer and more stable than our notion of mere happiness. Joy is a supernaturally-produced state of wellness that is not dependent on our circumstances. Joy does not just happen; it must be cultivated through a relationship with God.

Joy is a supernaturally-produced state of wellness that is not dependent on our circumstances

Joy does not just happen; it must be cultivated through a relationship with God

Paul, in his letter to the believers of Thessalonica said these...

1 Thessalonians 1:6 NIV

You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

BREATHE!

Suffering Wisely Teaches me Obedience

The image of Jesus as as Son learning obedience, illustrates His solidarity with humanity

Jesus set for us the best example of obedience over suffering

In the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed in the midst of His great suffering

He said to His Father.. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

He went away a second time to pray and again Hi said, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be take away unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”

Matthew 26:39 NIV

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

The author of Hebrew wrote on..

Hebrews 5:7–8 NIV

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered

Matthew 26:

BREATHE!

Suffering Wisely Brings the Best out of me

Paul said to the Romans, since we have have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand

We share not just the sufferings of Jesus, but also, we share in His glory

Romans 5:3–5 NIV

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Remember that God is more interested on your character than your comfort

God is in the business of changing your mind, rather than changing your circumstances

So whatever suffering that you may be into, Respond Wisely

BREATHE!

Let us build our life upon His love for it will be our firm foundation

Let us put our trust in God alone and we shall not be shaken

Worthy of every song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe We live for You

He is Worthy of every song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

Jesus, the name above every other name Jesus, the only one who could ever save Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe We live for You

BREATHE!

Jesus, the name above every other name

Jesus, the only one who could ever save

Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe

Let’s live for Him