Three Landmines To Avoid When Suffering

Zakaria but it is good to see you. Glad that you're here. So, good day. We had some good rain this past week. I know that was good for your Gardens and good-for-you yards and all like that. So we are thankful for that. And I do want you to be mindful of in the announcements there the the website go there and check it out. What we put on there and also this email we have a phone number but since we don't have a secretary, we don't have anyone here at the church instead of putting the phone back there and somebody leaving messages. I thought the best thing to do was will just make us to email and somebody wants to contact if they can do it through Facebook or they can do it through an email. So so that's what we're going to do there. And don't forget Wednesday nights. That's Pat said Dynamic Church initiative. We going to continue on this week with the assimilation of new folks that we may have coming to our church and I believe God will bless us with new folks and he's going to give us the energy to go out in this community and serve this community and hopefully bring those who are without Christ bring Christ in their life. Amen. And that's that's what we want. And remember the 90 day, prayer challenge. We're on day tomorrow, will be day 30. So hopefully if you're praying this every day, the Lord is already changed your heart. So I mean, you were thinking more about those people who are around you. Those people you work with your neighbors, family members, co-workers, your hairdresser Barber, whatever it is. Those people who were that Christ and we can start praying for them individually as well also. Alright. Well today, I'm going to preach a sermon. And I believe that this sermon I probably say this a lot, but I believe the sermon that I'm going to preach today. Maybe the most important that I've ever preached here. At new Grace in my going on, I guess four years here. I just believe that strongly in this message today. Well,

We all know this past week in Uvalde, Texas.

Sienna and evil reared. Its ugly head again and our nation. And 19 and defenseless children and two teachers. Were brutally killed at the hands of really what I call another child. You're just another child 18 years old, another child. And I think that this is happening far too often. In our culture in our country. And as we talked about on Wednesday night, several weeks ago, now we that the human race is indeed on the race to ruin. We we are we are going downhill like a snowball and we are just Gathering steam as we're going now. I'm not here today to talk about politics and I'm not going to stand up here and talk about who's right and who was wrong and what law we need and what the Sheriff's Office should have done or what the politicians should do. I'm not going to stand here today and talk about that. But I do want to say this before we get into our message. Because the message that I have really comes from what happened in Uvalde, Texas. And this is what I want to say. As a nation. We have created a culture. That does not value life.

That does not honor God. And that does not respect authority. Now, that those three things there, I believe are just undeniable. All you have to do is turn on the evening news. And you will see that we do not value life. We we live in a culture of death, we value death. A woman's right to choose we value. We value doctor-assisted suicide for those who are seniors and maybe sick. We were rather for them to die than to take care of it. So all these three things here are our true. Now. This is not something that just happened in the last 10 years. This has been happening. Probably, I would say for a hundred years or more more. And what we're doing is we are reaping the consequences of the seeds that we have phone for more than 100 years is what we're doing. And let me say this.

No gun law. No metal detector. And no security guard. Will stop it. It's not going to do it. I understand you want to do the best you can do and it would be great. If our schools had one door of Entry be great. If there was a metal detector there be great, if there was a security guard and every single school in America. That would be good. That would probably help mitigate or make it harder for people to do what they want to do, but it's not going to stop it. It will not stop it. You see what we face is a spiritual problem and the way to stop a spiritual problem is through spiritual warfare. That's what we have to do. And we have to attack the root of the problem and not the fruit of the problem. You see the fruit of an evil heart is shooting up a school. The root of an evil heart. Is a person who does not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I can guarantee you a person who was saved and who has a relationship with Christ and who is walking in the spirit. I can guarantee you, they would not have done what this eighteen-year-old boy did. I mean, that's just the truth. It's just the truth. Now, I see all that. Because what I want to do today is I'm going to talk about a subject. That those poor folks and Uvalde and really our entire nation. What we're going through and that is suffering. We are suffering as a nation today because of what happened, but there's families in Texas. Who have so many questions unanswered? And they are suffering this morning. There's a time for people to be held to accountability, but right now, people just need to be held. Those folks down there, just need to be held. Suffering is the universal Human Experience. You don't have to live long to understand suffering. Every single person in this room has suffered at you. You have suffered, you suffer. Relationally, vocationally, you have grieved, the loss of someone, a spouse, a child, you had financial difficulty. We have all physical difficulties. We've all experienced suffering. and so, when we suffer, And when we're lying in that bed with leukemia. Or cancer or when your spouse has walked out on. You all the profound questions in life, go through her mind. Lord. Why is this happening to me? You don't think the people in Uvalde. Texas has asked, why. Lord, how could you allow this to happen? I thought you loved children.

Laurel, where were you at on Monday? When that gunman walked in that school? Couldn't you have stopped him?

Why has this happened? Why is my grandchild? My child been taken from me? So I want to say something right now, and I'm going to say it twice. Because it's a mouthful and I want you to hear it and I want you to let it lay on your heart. And this is it? You don't just suffer. From the things from the thing that you're suffering, you also suffer. From your interpretation of the thing that you're suffering. Now, let me say that one more time. You don't just suffer with the thing that you're suffering from broken leg, cancer spouse has passed away. You don't just suffer from the thing that you're suffering. Many times we suffer from our interpretation of the thing that we're surfing suffering from. In other words, those folks and Uvalde. They're not just suffering from the death of a grandchild or child. They're suffering from their interpretation. God. How could you allow this to happen? Where were you do you not love people? You say, all these questions are going through their minds. Just think of you the times that maybe you've had cancer or you didn't know, you got a bad report from the doctor think of everything that flooded into your mind. The question of God. Why why now? Am I going to get through this? How can this happen to me? All the, you see, we all come to suffering, we all bring an interpretive grid, the suffering, we tried to figure out why something is going on in our life. That's just the way that it is. We don't live life. Based on the facts of suffering. We live based on our understanding of The Facts of suffering. Yes, you can tell someone. They're laid up in the hospital with cancer, but they not only suffer from the cancer their suffering. From why is this happening to me? You see, we suffer in both ways. Why do we do that? Because as people logical thinking people, we must somehow someway, make meaning out of our suffering. We need the answers to our suffering. Why did my spouse walk out on me? Why did my family neglect me? Why do I have cancer? Why am I going to have to have heart surgery? All of these. We need meaning, we need answers to those questions. And so we asked as soon as we suffer, we start asking these questions. You ever notice the parent parents when a child is kidnapped and they may be gone for years and they never hear anything. What's the one thing that parents like? This is the hardest thing in my life. Why? Because I don't know. I don't know where my child is even if my child was dead. At least I could bury her and grieve, and get on. I can't go on with my life, not knowing because you don't know, that's the hardest thing. And we're so what we do is we look at our situation and we always bring this interpretive grid and when God brings suffering into our house. We look at that, and we tried to figure out. Why is this happening? We not only suffer from the suffering, we suffer from the our interpretation of the suffering. Why is this going on? Well, we all do it. And so this is what I want to do today title of my sermon. It's three landmines to avoid. When suffering and how Satan. Use it suffering to deceive us. Now, I want you to turn in your bibles if you will. To 1st Peter chapter 5. 1st Peter chapter 5. And we're going to look at verses 6 through 10. Not let me say this about the book of 1st Peter. This book was written to suffer these people. These Jewish Christians have been run out of town. They had been just scattered throughout Asia, Minor and Nero, he was the Roman Emperor at the time and he was putting Christians to death. Matter fact. He had Gardens. We're at night. He would allow people to walk through and see his Gardens and he would put Christians on steaks and burned them alive in the light would give out. So the people can see how to meander through his garden. This is how evil he was. So this book was written to suffering Christians. So I want to read and I want you to follow up with me, verses 6 through 10. And this is what the Bible says. Therefore, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him. Casting all your care. Upon God. Why for he cares for you now, it looks a little odd that riding to suffering Christians. He says, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, what he saying here. This here. Is this everything that you're going through, got understand and God knows and God is Sovereign and he understand everything that you're going through. And then he says, because of this, I want you to cast all your cares, all your anxiety, all your trouble, all your tribulations, all your suffering, upon him. Because God cares for you. The people in Uvalde, Texas, they need to cast all their suffering upon God. Why? Because he cares for them. He knows what they're going through. And now, all of a sudden. Just out of the blue. And I've read these passages here my whole life that I've been saved. And I always thought, why in the world does Peter inject verse 8 here cuz it seems so out of place. Look what he says. He's talking about humbling themselves and casting their Care on God. And all the sudden. He says, that's in verse 8, be sober be vigilant. Vigilant means watchful because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. So, all the sudden he's talking about humbling yourself, and when you're suffering, you cast your care on God. And then all the sudden, he brings up Satan. And I never always thought that this is so out of place. It seems like it's kind of like Proverbs, you know, their talk is talking about an aunt and a squirrel in. The next verse is talking about marriage. And you say, what, what's the meaning of this? Here's the meeting? When you suffer. That is when Satan attacks you in your suffering. He attacks your mind in your suffering, the look what Peter says. Verse 9, resist him steadfast in the face, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your Brotherhood in the world will come back to that verse later. But may the God of all Grace who called us to his eternal, glory by Christ Jesus. After you have suffered a while. Always remember suffering is temporary. So how about the people that's born with birth defects or something like that? They live 30-40 years. They suffer their whole life. That's not temporary. Yes. It is compared to Eternity. 40 years is temporary. 100 years is temporary. Compared to Eternity. Look, what he says. He says may the God of all Grace to call us to his eternal, glory by Christ Jesus. After you have suffered a while. Perfect. You establish, you strengthen you and settle you. That's what Peter says. Well, what I want to do is I want to give you three landmines. That you must avoid. When you're suffering, because Satan is going to lay these landmines in your way. And all you have to do is apply this to Uvalde Texas or your own suffering in your own life. And so here's Point number one. Satan will put the landmine of Doubt, because the landmine of Doubt questions, the goodness of God. When you doubt, God, you will question his goodness and other words, when something like Uvalde happens or when something. Like a cancer diagnosis happens somehow someway. God is less than what he has depicted himself to be in the Bible. He's less than good. He's less than loving. He's not Gracie, just he's not merciful. He's not being kind. What we do is we bring God into the courtroom of our judgment and we declared him to be less than what he is. Don't you know how easy that would be today to do in Uvalde, Texas? God. Why did you allow this to happen? But don't you know. Those questions are racing through the people's mind and Satan is right there and Satan and said that's exactly right. Would a good God. Allow children to die like that? What a good God allows someone to walk in the school and shoot those children up and name them so bad that they have to get their parent DNA to recognize them. What a good god do that. You see, all these questions are going, and Satan pounces right here when we're suffering, laying here in the bed. I can't get up. I can't work. I can't do that. The diagnosis is not good with a good. God do that to you. You Christians just talkin about, you want to serve God and praise him and worship him. That sound like a good God. That would allow something like Uvalde to happen. That's exactly what Satan is saying. Where is God? Why would he allow this to happen to me? Where is his faithfulness? We sing about his faithfulness? Where is it? Where is his grace? If God was a loving God, he would not allow this to happen. Those are not false. That's going through their minds and their heart. If God was really good. He wouldn't allow this to happen. And if God was all-powerful he would have stopped it from happening. So obviously God is either not. All of it is not all-powerful. You see what that will do. That will get you to question the goodness of God, when you're suffering. You question? The goodness and the love of God. And here's the problem with that. When you doubt God. You do not trust God. And when you do not trust God. You will not run to God when your suffering you will turn your back on God. And this is exactly what Satan wants these people to do in Uvalde. Don't run to God a good. God would not allow that to happen. You turn your back on. God, he is not all good. He's not all loving. When you suffered. That's exactly what Satan says to you. So what do people do? They turn their back on. God? I knew a lady that lost her husband or husband. They had a big house. Had a lot of land. she said, Who does God think is going to mow This Grass now?

Who's going to Bush Hog. All these seals? Don't he know that I can't handle this. Don't he know that by taking my husband, how am I going to do all this? I can't do all this myself turning away from God. What happens when you turn away from the presence of God, you turn away from his promises. You stopped praying and you stopped reading your Bible. That's where you going to find the promises. I got. So you've turned away from his presence. You turned away from his promises and then we quit going to church. And we turn away from the people that he's putting our lives that can help us through our grief. So what we end up doing is turning away from the very three avenues that God has given us to help us in our suffering. In, this is exactly what Satan wants to do to you and your suffering. To those in Texas this morning. He wants to get them to doubt. God doubt the goodness and love of God. That's what he does when we suffer and we run from God and we don't run to it. Remember what Satan said to Eve in the garden?

God, really say that. God really tell you. You could eat from that tree there in the middle of the barn, but you can eat from all the rest of why would he hold back one tree? I bet what it is that trees, the best and God going to have that for himself and he's giving you second best. You see, he's trying to get e to doubt. The promises of God in the word of God because if he can get you to doubt God, you will not run to God, you will run away from God and probably many of us in here. Have done that. We're on our way. We turned our back. We couldn't understand why this was happening. Why? Because not only are we suffering from the thing we're suffering. We're suffering from our interpretation of the thing, we're suffering. And this is exactly what Satan wants and we won't go to God because you will not go to someone that you doubt and do not trust. Would you go to a person that you don't trust for Godly wisdom? You would not. He would not if there's somebody in your life that you do not trust and you have doubts about your not going to go to them for advice. You're not going to go to them when you're hurting and when you're suffering and this is what Satan, what he does not want us to go to God and how easy it is for us. To lose our theological base when we suffer and Satan knows this. So, I want to ask you something. When you suffer, when you have difficulty in your life. Do you ever doubt God?

You ever doubt he's goodness for you. You ever doubt his love? If I had a child in Uvalde, Texas, and they was in that room and they got shot and killed. You know how easy it would be to doubt God's love. In God's goodness.

And when unexpected difficulties come in your life that you wouldn't that you don't expect and you wouldn't put in your own life. What do you say to God?

Do the things that you think when you're suffering a line with what you seen on Sunday morning? So I we just sing.

Worthy in Praise. Does that align with how you think about God, when suffering, enters your life, does your functional theology? How you live a line with what you say you believe your confessional theology. Friends list. If you allow yourself to take suffering as evidence, that God is less than good loving and just Satan, has you exactly where he wants? You. Don't allow suffering to get you to question the goodness and love of God, because if you do, you will not run for him. To the very one who can help you, you will run away from him. Landline number two. Land. My number one, the land modded out questions. The goodness of God land. My number to the land mind of worry. Questions. The presence of God, and I think about this somehow in your suffering somehow someway. We work through suffering. With the what ifs? Well, what if this hadn't of happened and we wonder if we have what it takes to get through this suffering. Have you ever been there? Have you ever just wondered about yourself? I just don't think I have what it takes to get through this. I bet people who had a crisis in their life, like, A gentleman's house burned down. And you go and you talk to that person. No one that one of the first things they say is something like this. My life will never be the same again.

You think anybody in Texas, just saying that this morning? My life will never be the same again. I have lost something so precious. I will always have a hole in my heart. You see, we say these things, we lose everything in a house. Fire was like when my life is over. I've lost everything. No, it's not over. It's not over. Your life is not over and we beat ourselves up. Wondering, if we have the ability to go through, this will let me answer the question first.

If you're struggling, or if you are suffering.

You have no ability within yourself to get through this suffering in a god-honoring way. You don't let me just do an answer. You don't, you cannot get through this suffering by your self. And so what happens is is we're we're down in bed. We look at our career with a, my career is over. I'm not going to be able to do this. Everything is caving in my life is falling apart. And so what does that lead to? We start to worry? And when we worry what we think, I can't do this on my own. I can't get through this myself. Let me give you a two-word. Definition of worried. The best definition, I can give you for worry. Just two words and here it is. To worry, means. God, forgetfulness. When we worry, we forget that God exists, we take him out of the equation and all the sudden. We're laying on her back or something, like Uvalde happens and we think that I've got to get through this on my own and by myself, friends lesson, worry forgets, That I'm Not In This Moment by myself. If I'm a Child of God, God is with me, no matter how bad things are. If you have God, you are never by yourself. No matter the circumstance, no matter the difficulty, no matter the suffering. You are experiencing friend. You are never alone. You are never alone. Never But we feel like we are doing. We pray and it's like God's not answering. And we sent everybody has left me. We need to be like Paul. Who said that my last stand? No, man, stood with me. All men, forsook me. Then he says, but the Lord stood with me. Friends, if you are a child of God this morning, it is impossible. It is absolutely impossible for you to go through suffering alone. You can't your mom and daddy made forsake. You your friends May forsake. You everybody on the face of this Earth, May forsake you but God will never forsake. You you are never alone. No matter what you're going through was the Bible say greater, is he, who is within you than he? Who is within the world? What Paul say, I can do all things through Christ. Who strengthens me? What did Paul say in Ephesians unto him, who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that. Whatever after think, according to the power that worketh within us. That's what he said. We have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of a, the Simon said this. God is a very present help in time of trouble. A very present help. But see, when you worried what worried cause you to do, is you question the presence of God. I've got to go through this on my own. I've got to go through this by myself. I can't do it. I don't have what it takes friend. You don't have to do it alone. You have God. You need to run to him when you suffer. You need to run to God. We have the Holy Spirit who dwells on the inside of us, but I've already heard the stories. I've already read them on the Internet. How could a good God? Allow this to happen and Uvalde? And then the next article I read. Where was God on Monday in Uvalde? Questioning the goodness of God. Questioning the presence of God. What does that lead to doubt and worry. Number 3,

Well, we looked at doubt causes us to question. The goodness of God, worry causes us to question the presence of God. And then the last one that Satan will put out is simply this the land mind of Envy because it questions the wisdom of God. You see Envy. Tells us. To believe that sometimes when God bring something in our life. Will God, you just got the wrong address. That couldn't have been meant for me. You could not have slowed, my life down this month. There's no way that your story for me, is this story? It had to be meant for someone else. Not me ucn belongs for the life of someone else. Have you ever been suffering before? And you thought yourself? Well, not only wise God, where are you? And and all that officer and you start saying look at them.

She's got, she's got two healthy children. I can't even have short. Why can't I be like her? You said we start Indian remember several years back when ladies who couldn't have children, they would kidnap pregnant mines and cut the baby from the womb and steal. The baby. Why would they do that? Envy? I can't have a child. I want a child. I will do what I can to get a child. Envy question, the wisdom of God. God, how can you make my life this miserable? How could you write my story like this? And what do we do? We start having a pity party and we think how much better another person's life is than mine. In other words. What we do is we think that God has singled us out and he is just putting this suffering on me. Why everybody else is going through life and having everything is like a bed of roses. Like a bed of roses. And so we Envy, we we think about what other people have and what they're going through and then we look at our story. God couldn't have really meant this for me. We want a better story. Remember, one of the most popular prophets in the bible, Elijah. He went on Mount Carmel and he defeated all them. False prophets of Baal. And Jezebel heard about it. And she said, let me tell you one thing before the sun sets. I'll have your head in my hand. And Elijah was scared to death and he started running and he run from the Lord and he got up on the mountain and he started crying. He said, Lord just kill me. He said I would rather die than to go through this, in the Lord looking inside. Elijah. He said, what's your problem? And Eliza said, I am, the only Prophet who will serve you. I am the only one left member of the Lord's are doing. He said Elijah. Stop. Just shut up. I have seven thousand prophets who have not bowed the knee to Baal. But here's what Satan does when you're suffering. He makes you think that you're the only one that's going through this, that God has it in for you and then we start in being what everyone else is doing it. So we asked about Uvalde. Why did it happen? If we believe in God, we believe God Sovereign he is. If God didn't actually do the killing, but you didn't. If he Sovereign, he allowed it to happen when she did why. I don't know. I can't answer why God allowed that to happen. No one can't but I can say this. Men in the Bible, the Bible gives us sometimes reasons why God allow suffering to come in our life, whether it had anything to do with Uvalde. I don't know, Hebrews tells us that sometimes we suffer. The train Us in obedience. Sometimes we suffer to produce patience and its Romans chapter 5. Sometimes we suffer like Paul did with a thorn in the flesh to prevent Pride. You said with none of that sounds like anything to happened. In Uvalde. Sometimes we suffer so that God can teach us his way. That's what song tells of Psalm 119. Sometimes we suffer the Bible says so that we can take the comfort that we receive and give it to others who are suffering. Sometimes, the Bible says that we suffer just God is testing us improving us. Will, why did they suffer down in Uvalde? I don't know. It could be that or one of those. It could be something else. I don't know why those children in those families. Suffer like that. but what I do know is this

that when we suffer, we don't just suffer from the suffering itself. We suffer from our interpretation of our suffering, and if I'm questioning God's goodness, if I'm questioning his presents. And if I'm questioning his wisdom, I am in panic mode, and that's exactly where Satan wants me in my life. He wants me to doubt the goodness of God. It does exactly what he wants me to do. He wants me to question the presence of God. And then he wants me to question. The whip, how in the world would a good? God, that's not a wise thing to do. To let me go through this, you're questioning the wisdom of God. So let me ask you this. When you suffer. Where do you go in the moment of difficulty? when your mind starts racing, Can you see that? Satan is here? Look what verse 9 says? Birthday, that's what Peter's trying to say. Resist him steadfast in the face knowing that what the same sufferings are experienced by your Brotherhood. Many times when we suffer, we think we're the only one Peter said. He said, get this out of your mind. There's people suffering everywhere. Just like you. We're not alone. It's not yet. God's not picking on us, but let me give you very quickly, three truths and here they are. And I've said this a hundred times a day, but I'm going to say it. One more. We not only suffer, but we suffer from our interpretation of our suffering and that's the moment that Satanism. Right, there. Beside us. If he wants us to doubt, start down in good. God's goodness. God's love God's mercy. God's grace, God's kinda doubt it. Then he wants to put a he wants us to worry, and then the end the other people number 2.

What happened in Uvalde?

Really cements this in my heart and mind. We live right now between the already, but not yet. You say, what do you mean by that? Well, those of us who know, Christ. We are saved. And we know that our Eternal home is heaven. But we also know that there's something wrong deeply wrong inside. Of all of us. We still have that sin nature. We still have the possibility to send. In other words. It's when Christ died on the cross, the verdict was given that Satan was guilty and that Satan is a defeated foe. The verdict has been given but the sentence has not been carried out. We live between the already verdict given. But yet, the not yet. The sentence has been carried out. We know that when we die. We are going to heaven. But we don't bow our bodies as not been glorified yet. So we still have this problem with seeing within it. We lived between the already but the not yet. So when you see something tragic happened like in Uvalde, just don't let it surprise. You don't, don't think what happened the world could something like this happen? It will continue to happen. As long as we live between the already and not yet, and it will not stop until Jesus comes back. Number three. If it tells me anything. Suffering tells me that this world is not our home. Friends, we're looking for something better. Don't get so attached to this world. Don't clean to this world because this world is falling away. It's falling apart at the very Foundation. Don't clean too. This work. We know that there's a better day coming. We know that there's a day coming. When Christ comes back, when they'll be no more suffering, No More Pain, No More Tears. And we going to be in heaven with Christ, in a perfect environment. Don't don't get attached to this world. This world is not our home. One of these days, Jesus going to step out on the cloud. He's going to turn to look over his shoulder. And God, the father is going to go get my children.

Go get it. So, we need to remember this when we are suffering. It doesn't even have to be the terrible suffering. Take going through this suffering in your own life. Just think about it. This is what site. These are the landmines that we need to avoid when suffering and they're so easy to fall into Satan's Trap. God is good. All the time. God is present with you. You are never alone. And God is writing your story. As Ecclesiastes, said, he's making your life, beautiful in his own time. Amen. That's what he's doing. Let's pray. Father. We thank you and praise you today. Lord for your word. Lord. We we all suffer is the universal Human Experience. Lord I pray today, for those in here, that may be suffering. It may be going through things that none of us in here, even though Lord, I pray that they will not allow Satan to invade their domain. And to get them to start doubting God's goodness and love. To get them to question the presence of God in their life. Or to question God's wisdom in their life, or we know that we're all going to experience trouble and tribulation and suffering. But we also know that you're doing that that your building and writing our story in such a way that when it's done that, we're going to have the character and we're going to have the personality and we're going to have the faith that you want to see in us. Thank you that we have the promise that our story is going to end in the most beautiful way and help us today, Lord, to understand that this world is not our home that we are seeking and looking for a better place and we say this morning. Even so come Lord. Jesus in Christ's name. I pray. Amen. All right. Well, I'm going to see if John will come and play something Softly. And we want to have a Time.