Suffering We Bring Upon Ourselves

What To Do With Suffering We Bring Upon Ourselves – some suffering must be endured.

A brief message this morning to cause the saints of God to pause and think on some things.

READ Jeremiah 25:8-14 followed by Psalm 79 (Maybe Psalm 84 as well??)

Psalms 80 /81 are exile lamentations as well.

The timeline is:

· Jeremiah 25:8-11 – The Exile Prophecy - 605 BC

· Psalm 79 – 586 BC (written 19 years into the 70 years)

· Lamentation 1 – 586 BC

After the verse by verse expounding of Psalm 79, offer the following thoughts.

Psalm 79 – Israel’s own sins against God brought the suffering the Psalmist is pleading with God to take away. God had said it would last for 70 years – it, the Babylonian exile, will last for 70 years. The chastening was over, the punishment pronounced.

Is this a selfish, self-centered prayer or is it the heart of the psalmist pleading with God for His own honour sake?

It sounds more to me like the prayers we pray, ‘Lord, get me out of this mess I’ve created for myself.’

Are we any different than the Psalmist? Do we not plead with God to take way the very sufferings we endure due to and brought on by our own sins and poor decision making (decisions made our side the will of God; having never consulted God in the first place)?

BUT isn’t it wonderful to know that we serve a faithful and forgiving God who will rescue us, though not for a season? Jeremiah 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

God is willing to take you a low as HE needs to in order to confront you with the condition of your soul, your spirit, your own mortality, and the state in which you will spend ETERNITY.

Once the spirit (which came from God, Eccl. 12:7) returns to God, your soul will be judged to forever spend eternity in one of two places, Heaven or Hell. That eternal destination / decision is based on what it is you believe about God… if anything at all. The Gospel message of Jesus Christ is, Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Job 5:17-18 (not used)

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Hebrews 12:5-6 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Distinctions:

· Before Christ, GOD acted as judge, now He acts as Father.

· God has already judged sin, pouring His wrath out on His Son

· The Child of God cannot be “punished” for his sin – 1 John 1:7 “…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

o Nor can he be condemned – sin was condemned in the flesh, on the cross (Romans 8:3)

o (BUT you must be a child of God – Born Again)

· As a Child, we can be chastened by the Father.

· As the Judge of all the earth, God will yet take vengeance on all His foes. As the Father of His family, God maintains discipline over all His children.

o The one is judicial, the other parental.

Punishment & Chastisement:

· Punishment is an act of retribution – to cause one to suffer a loss

o Viewed on light of God’s anger – as seen in Revelation

· Chastisement is remedial – meaning meant to correct and or instruct

o Viewed in light of God’s love – Proverbs 3:11-12.

When we live outside the will of God, we make decisions outside the will of God. These decisions in turn come with consequences. Sometimes those consequences are the chastening hand of God. Other times these consequences are something used of God – “all things work together for good…” to bring correction and instruction into our lives. Even to grow us in our walk with Him.

Closing Thoughts:

“Because ye have not heard my words” (Jeremiah 25:8), the chastening hand of God may be upon you. You must discern this through much prayer and communion with GOD.

Everything bad that happens is not the chastening hand of God. We live in a fallen world. One that is full of diseases and evil.

BUT do not so easily dismiss your sin – Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 2 Corinthians 13:5.

The question you must ask yourself is, am I where God would have me to be? Am I living as Christ would have me to live? Am I walking in the Spirit?

How ever you want to phrase the question, it still boils down to this, have you heard (that is to say, headed) the words of God in regard to your life?

Are you lamenting over your life as Jeremiah did over Jerusalem, or are your living the abundant Christian Life?

The chastening hand of GOD is not forever.

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:31-32.

AMEN!