Sermon Tone Analysis

God’s Answer to your suffering

God’s answer to your suffering is not to tell you things will be ok

God’s answer to the suffering of humanity is ultimately the absence of suffering amid perfect joy, but in order to secure that and as a balm in the midst of it, God’s answer is to send Jesus INTO our suffering, such that He is not only sympathetic to it, but also sharing it and suffering beside us as a brother.

The Sorrows of Grief

The Sorrows of Pain

This is physical pain.

Hurts, injuries, sicknesses, weaknesses, failure in function of organs, loss of energy, loss of strength, loss of range of motion and ability to move and to do as we would like.

The idea of the extreme charismatics that God wants to heal our all our pain in this life is an over-realized eschatology.

In His earthly ministry Jesus healed more than 20 persons in our recorded New Testament, not to mention raised at least 3 from the dead

There is healing of all diseases and discomforts that will come in God’s perfect timing both now and in the age to come.

Until that is realized, we have Jesus who hungered and thirsted, who was beaten and whipped, who felt the pains of every stroke; we have Jesus suffering with us in the sorrows of physical pains and invites our pleas for relief.

The Sorrows of Anguish

Suffering that is mental and/or emotional in nature rather than physical; depressions, anxieties, rejections, loneliness, lack of inclusion or understanding, offenses, insults, mocking, lack of concern, numbness to the world, desire to die or to injure self

Elijah was depressed; inwardly exhausted after ministering

The Psalmist experienced times of God’s silence; perceived distance

It is for these times; these sorrows, that Jesus was made to feel anguish

Dead Sea Scrolls and Masoretic text as well as Septuagint reads: He shall see light and be satisfied

There is Divine light to be seen.

In God’s perfect timing we will see it.

Until then Jesus has not left us alone in anguish, but is even if we are blinded by our hurts to see Him, beside us.

with us, and He is staying with us as long as it takes.

The Sorrows of Doubt

Sorrow and guilt over questioning God, questioning His existence, questioning His goodness, questioning our security in Him, questioning His will and word, losing faith

What was Paul basing this on?

2tim 2:!3

Believers struggle with doubt

We all need

That’s not surprising when we remember that our faith in God is a gift from God. That’s true in conversion as well as Christian living!

God will never let one of His own fall fully and finally away from faith, but in the times when we need help believing, remember that Jesus came to be the object and source of our faith; He is with us and is ready to help us exercise faith, to increase and strengthen it.

But, not all questioning is doubt; some is evidence of faith

The Sorrows of Sin

Sin is universal

Just consequences still hurt

Just consequences still hurt

Jesus suffered for our sin

From everlasting God the Son entered into an eternal covenant of redemption with God the Father and God the Spirit to be the one who would bear our suffering, bear our shame, bear our suffering, bear our sins.

Today, all who trust in Jesus are forgiven of all sin.

Today, all believers who are suffering have not only an avenue of prayer, but a fellow sufferer, one who understands our hurts and stays with us through it all, the Man of Sorrows; Jesus.