1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,528 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,624 --> 00:00:06,552 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,656 --> 00:00:09,672 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,696 --> 00:00:10,728 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,904 --> 00:00:14,616 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,648 --> 00:00:16,300 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,120 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,700 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,756 All right, let's go ahead and read. 10 00:00:25,808 --> 00:00:30,868 Get ready to start a new answer to a question tonight. 11 00:00:30,884 --> 00:00:33,924 And this is actually a really broad question, but we're going to 12 00:00:33,932 --> 00:00:35,680 narrow it down for the next few weeks. 13 00:00:35,980 --> 00:00:39,284 So if you have not been with us, what we've been doing for, I 14 00:00:39,292 --> 00:00:42,628 would say, the last month or so, as we've been studying different 15 00:00:42,684 --> 00:00:45,556 questions that have been posed to the. 16 00:00:45,708 --> 00:00:49,412 The church here and posed from you guys, you guys have asked some 17 00:00:49,436 --> 00:00:52,884 questions, and though we haven't answered them specifically 18 00:00:52,932 --> 00:00:55,770 exactly word for word, and we've tried to address the. 19 00:00:55,810 --> 00:00:56,890 The thought behind it. 20 00:00:56,930 --> 00:01:00,954 And the last three weeks we were talking about who is Satan. 21 00:01:01,082 --> 00:01:03,450 And again, that's kind of a strange thing to talk about within 22 00:01:03,490 --> 00:01:03,706 church. 23 00:01:03,738 --> 00:01:05,578 But we do need to know who our enemy is. 24 00:01:05,714 --> 00:01:09,402 We need to know where he's come from, what he's about, what 25 00:01:09,426 --> 00:01:11,962 he's doing, and how we can fight against him. 26 00:01:11,986 --> 00:01:15,322 And so if you were not here for those, you can refer back to 27 00:01:15,346 --> 00:01:19,354 either our YouTube page or our Facebook or our podcast, and you 28 00:01:19,362 --> 00:01:20,410 can look at those three things. 29 00:01:20,450 --> 00:01:22,694 And I think it was a very helpful study, at least for me, and 30 00:01:22,702 --> 00:01:24,854 I hope that it could be a helpful study for you. 31 00:01:25,022 --> 00:01:28,022 So what we're going to address here for the next so many weeks, 32 00:01:28,046 --> 00:01:31,366 I don't know how many weeks, depending on how much we get accomplished 33 00:01:31,398 --> 00:01:36,614 here tonight and next week, is the idea of why does God do. 34 00:01:36,702 --> 00:01:40,210 And then fill in the blank, or why does God allow. 35 00:01:41,150 --> 00:01:44,598 And a lot of times people will ask questions like this, why does 36 00:01:44,654 --> 00:01:47,382 God allow bad things to happen to good people? 37 00:01:47,566 --> 00:01:49,490 Okay, that's a common question. 38 00:01:49,610 --> 00:01:52,514 It's called theologically, the question of suffering. 39 00:01:52,642 --> 00:01:56,194 There's a lot of people that say I can't come to God or I can't 40 00:01:56,242 --> 00:02:01,954 believe in him if he allows an innocent child to die of cancer. 41 00:02:02,002 --> 00:02:03,394 That's a tough one, right? 42 00:02:03,562 --> 00:02:06,274 Why did God allow my family member to die? 43 00:02:06,322 --> 00:02:08,802 Why did God allow this to happen in my life? 44 00:02:08,986 --> 00:02:10,230 Real questions. 45 00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:13,234 And so a lot of times at church, we try to stray away from 46 00:02:13,242 --> 00:02:14,031 those questions. 47 00:02:14,158 --> 00:02:15,644 Well, let's just not talk about it. 48 00:02:15,732 --> 00:02:18,748 The truth is, is that those questions do come up in our minds 49 00:02:18,924 --> 00:02:20,924 and they might even plague our minds with doubt. 50 00:02:20,972 --> 00:02:23,420 And we might not know how to answer that question to someone who 51 00:02:23,460 --> 00:02:23,948 asked that. 52 00:02:24,004 --> 00:02:27,532 Okay, so another question that could be asked is this, why does 53 00:02:27,556 --> 00:02:29,932 God allow good things to happen to bad people? 54 00:02:30,036 --> 00:02:30,348 Right. 55 00:02:30,404 --> 00:02:32,076 That's another question that we could ask them. 56 00:02:32,148 --> 00:02:35,500 I, I look at the people around me, and they're bad people, but they 57 00:02:35,540 --> 00:02:37,132 seem to be the ones making the money. 58 00:02:37,236 --> 00:02:38,780 They seem to be the ones holding the power. 59 00:02:38,820 --> 00:02:40,948 Why does God allow that to happen to bad people? 60 00:02:41,044 --> 00:02:43,044 Well, we're going to talk about that, and we're going to see 61 00:02:43,052 --> 00:02:44,644 what the Bible has to say about that. 62 00:02:44,812 --> 00:02:48,612 And so I, I think that some of us might have even heard in the past, 63 00:02:48,716 --> 00:02:50,840 you're not allowed to question God. 64 00:02:51,580 --> 00:02:53,476 I don't think that that's theologically true. 65 00:02:53,508 --> 00:02:54,772 And we're going to talk a lot about that. 66 00:02:54,796 --> 00:02:58,660 We're going to talk about how there's a proper way to ask God a 67 00:02:58,700 --> 00:02:59,280 question. 68 00:02:59,660 --> 00:03:04,756 Now, God is not responsible for giving us an answer. 69 00:03:04,788 --> 00:03:06,404 He doesn't have to give us an answer. 70 00:03:06,532 --> 00:03:07,748 And we're going to talk about that. 71 00:03:07,804 --> 00:03:12,492 God has the full freedom and the power and the right to basically 72 00:03:12,556 --> 00:03:13,228 tell us. 73 00:03:13,364 --> 00:03:14,828 I'm not going to give you an answer. 74 00:03:14,924 --> 00:03:16,268 And we're going to talk about that. 75 00:03:16,404 --> 00:03:19,164 We're going to talk about how we as Christians can dive deeper 76 00:03:19,212 --> 00:03:22,892 into knowing God and knowing his character so that we can get 77 00:03:22,916 --> 00:03:25,868 to a place in our life where there's peace and comfort in getting 78 00:03:25,924 --> 00:03:29,404 an answer of basically, you're not allowed to know. 79 00:03:29,572 --> 00:03:31,324 And some of you might say, that's not fair. 80 00:03:31,412 --> 00:03:32,476 I'm supposed to know everything. 81 00:03:32,548 --> 00:03:34,252 No, we are not owed anything. 82 00:03:34,316 --> 00:03:36,332 And, and Job actually is going to talk a little bit about that. 83 00:03:36,356 --> 00:03:39,900 We're going to dive deep into some of the things that Job asked 84 00:03:39,940 --> 00:03:40,300 God about. 85 00:03:40,340 --> 00:03:42,440 And if you don't know the story of Job, we'll get there. 86 00:03:42,820 --> 00:03:45,612 So I would say for the next three to four weeks, we're going 87 00:03:45,636 --> 00:03:49,084 to talk about how we can properly and biblically ask questions 88 00:03:49,132 --> 00:03:51,372 to God with the right spirit and the right heart. 89 00:03:51,476 --> 00:03:55,596 Now, now it is wrong to question God in his character. 90 00:03:55,788 --> 00:03:59,932 It is wrong to question God in his goodness, in his holiness. 91 00:03:59,996 --> 00:04:00,670 And so he. 92 00:04:00,700 --> 00:04:02,698 You, you might have heard people say, well, I don't believe 93 00:04:02,754 --> 00:04:05,914 in God because I think he's evil, because he allowed this to 94 00:04:05,922 --> 00:04:06,282 happen. 95 00:04:06,386 --> 00:04:08,762 They're already coming in with that question with a preconceived 96 00:04:08,826 --> 00:04:09,242 notion. 97 00:04:09,306 --> 00:04:11,754 They're coming in with a statement basically saying that God 98 00:04:11,802 --> 00:04:13,034 is not good. 99 00:04:13,202 --> 00:04:16,218 And so I believe that is wrong because that's basically saying something 100 00:04:16,274 --> 00:04:18,010 about God that is not true. 101 00:04:18,170 --> 00:04:21,530 And so tonight, what I would like us to do is kind of frame the 102 00:04:21,570 --> 00:04:25,930 context to the idea of asking questions to God and doing it in 103 00:04:25,970 --> 00:04:27,054 a biblical manner. 104 00:04:27,162 --> 00:04:30,550 And so it might be just that you have a question, you might say, 105 00:04:30,590 --> 00:04:35,702 God, why did you allow this to happen to me 10 years ago, 20 years 106 00:04:35,726 --> 00:04:35,958 ago? 107 00:04:36,014 --> 00:04:38,230 Why are you allowing this to happen to me right now? 108 00:04:38,270 --> 00:04:40,854 Why did you let this action happen? 109 00:04:41,022 --> 00:04:43,910 How, how did this play out in your grand plan? 110 00:04:43,950 --> 00:04:47,366 And we might find in Scripture that there, there will be an answer. 111 00:04:47,478 --> 00:04:50,710 Maybe you went through this pain or you went through this difficulty, 112 00:04:50,790 --> 00:04:53,914 or someone else went through that so that God would be glorified 113 00:04:53,962 --> 00:04:55,306 by the gospel being presented. 114 00:04:55,338 --> 00:04:59,050 But for some of us through this study, there's going to be this 115 00:04:59,170 --> 00:05:00,842 very difficult answer. 116 00:05:00,986 --> 00:05:01,290 And. 117 00:05:01,330 --> 00:05:03,658 But I believe it's biblical that we have to give. 118 00:05:03,714 --> 00:05:04,346 And it's this. 119 00:05:04,418 --> 00:05:05,338 I don't know. 120 00:05:05,394 --> 00:05:07,306 I don't know why God did this. 121 00:05:07,378 --> 00:05:09,898 But I know that he is good. 122 00:05:09,954 --> 00:05:11,802 I know that he is perfect. 123 00:05:11,866 --> 00:05:13,322 I know that he loves me. 124 00:05:13,426 --> 00:05:16,906 And so I think a good place to start when it comes to asking questions 125 00:05:16,938 --> 00:05:19,680 to God is what do we already know about Him? 126 00:05:19,850 --> 00:05:21,300 What do we already know about Him? 127 00:05:21,420 --> 00:05:26,612 Instead of going about this in the concept of at this time in my 128 00:05:26,636 --> 00:05:29,332 life when I've got this question, this is how I'm feeling. 129 00:05:29,396 --> 00:05:31,188 So therefore, that's where I'm going to be based in. 130 00:05:31,244 --> 00:05:33,940 If we're based in our feelings, it's going to lead us down 131 00:05:33,980 --> 00:05:34,964 a really bad path. 132 00:05:35,012 --> 00:05:38,596 If I'm based in my confusion, or I'm based in my sadness, or I'm 133 00:05:38,628 --> 00:05:42,084 based in my anger, then I'm going to allow myself to get to a 134 00:05:42,092 --> 00:05:45,042 place that's not healthy when I ask these questions to God. 135 00:05:45,116 --> 00:05:48,614 But what I must do is I must go back to what I know about Him. 136 00:05:48,702 --> 00:05:53,014 So I don't allow this pain, this confusion to dictate my truth. 137 00:05:53,142 --> 00:05:55,126 My truth comes from what I know about God. 138 00:05:55,158 --> 00:05:56,390 How do we know about God? 139 00:05:56,470 --> 00:05:57,078 Through His Word. 140 00:05:57,094 --> 00:05:58,342 And so we're going to start there. 141 00:05:58,446 --> 00:06:01,878 So what does the Word of God say about this topic? 142 00:06:02,054 --> 00:06:05,942 One thing I do think we should go to is Isaiah, chapter 55. 143 00:06:06,126 --> 00:06:09,206 This is a good place to start when it comes to asking questions 144 00:06:09,318 --> 00:06:11,570 about why God does what he does. 145 00:06:12,430 --> 00:06:15,750 Now, sometimes in Scripture, God very clearly explains why he 146 00:06:15,790 --> 00:06:16,690 does things. 147 00:06:17,150 --> 00:06:17,510 So. 148 00:06:17,550 --> 00:06:22,650 So why did God send Jesus to this earth to die for our sins? 149 00:06:22,990 --> 00:06:24,790 There's a very famous verse. 150 00:06:24,950 --> 00:06:27,222 They sometimes at football games, they even hold it up. 151 00:06:27,246 --> 00:06:29,926 There was a guy who played football that wore it on his eye. 152 00:06:29,958 --> 00:06:32,486 Black John 3:16. 153 00:06:32,558 --> 00:06:35,650 Why did God send Jesus to this world to die for us? 154 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:38,704 For God so loved the world. 155 00:06:38,872 --> 00:06:40,080 So God told us why. 156 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,272 He sent Jesus because He loves us. 157 00:06:42,376 --> 00:06:46,784 Okay, so that's a very clear explanation of why God did what he 158 00:06:46,792 --> 00:06:46,960 did. 159 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:47,616 He sent Jesus. 160 00:06:47,648 --> 00:06:50,352 He sent his only begotten Son because He loves us. 161 00:06:50,536 --> 00:06:53,888 Okay, why did we need a Savior? 162 00:06:53,984 --> 00:06:56,576 For the wages of sin is death. 163 00:06:56,728 --> 00:06:59,776 So if God loves us, he doesn't want us to be in our sin. 164 00:06:59,808 --> 00:07:01,392 He doesn't want us to go to hell. 165 00:07:01,456 --> 00:07:03,280 He doesn't want us to be separated from Him. 166 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:07,956 So therefore he extended a path for us to know him and to love 167 00:07:08,028 --> 00:07:11,732 him and to serve him and to ultimately be with him one day. 168 00:07:11,836 --> 00:07:14,916 And so we know the reason why God sent His Son. 169 00:07:14,948 --> 00:07:16,996 He loves us and he cares for us. 170 00:07:17,068 --> 00:07:19,620 We need a Savior because of our sin. 171 00:07:19,700 --> 00:07:21,988 The Bible says that sin separates us from God. 172 00:07:22,084 --> 00:07:25,892 So I want you to see Isaiah 55, verse 8 and 9. 173 00:07:26,076 --> 00:07:29,700 So though sometimes God does explain things to us and give us 174 00:07:29,740 --> 00:07:33,990 very clear direction, he says this in Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9, 175 00:07:34,030 --> 00:07:40,598 it says this, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are 176 00:07:40,654 --> 00:07:43,590 your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 177 00:07:43,750 --> 00:07:47,462 God says, I don't think the way that you think, the way that 178 00:07:47,486 --> 00:07:47,910 you work. 179 00:07:47,950 --> 00:07:49,254 I don't work that way. 180 00:07:49,422 --> 00:07:52,454 And so it's important for us to understand that we are not God. 181 00:07:52,502 --> 00:07:53,926 We do not think like God. 182 00:07:54,038 --> 00:07:55,654 We cannot think like God. 183 00:07:55,782 --> 00:07:57,614 Ultimately, God is above us. 184 00:07:57,742 --> 00:07:58,878 He's with us. 185 00:07:59,014 --> 00:08:01,230 And I'm going to teach you a couple different big words here this 186 00:08:01,270 --> 00:08:01,902 evening. 187 00:08:02,046 --> 00:08:05,662 God is what we would call transcendent, meaning he transcends 188 00:08:05,726 --> 00:08:06,542 our world. 189 00:08:06,646 --> 00:08:07,006 Okay? 190 00:08:07,038 --> 00:08:08,222 He's beyond us. 191 00:08:08,326 --> 00:08:09,278 He's beyond time. 192 00:08:09,334 --> 00:08:10,622 He's beyond space. 193 00:08:10,806 --> 00:08:11,150 He. 194 00:08:11,190 --> 00:08:11,646 He is. 195 00:08:11,718 --> 00:08:13,390 He is beyond our limitations. 196 00:08:13,470 --> 00:08:16,654 We are all limited, but God is not limited. 197 00:08:16,702 --> 00:08:19,694 But also God is what we would call imminent or personal. 198 00:08:19,862 --> 00:08:22,542 He's a personal God and He wants to know us and he wants to 199 00:08:22,566 --> 00:08:22,830 love us. 200 00:08:22,870 --> 00:08:26,392 And so in some ways God is personal and he identifies with us 201 00:08:26,496 --> 00:08:29,736 in, in the idea that we, we can love and we can. 202 00:08:29,808 --> 00:08:31,032 We can have pain. 203 00:08:31,096 --> 00:08:34,264 And we know that God has all of those things and seen in Jesus 204 00:08:34,312 --> 00:08:34,520 Christ. 205 00:08:34,560 --> 00:08:36,712 We know that Jesus went through all the struggles that we 206 00:08:36,736 --> 00:08:38,504 went through, but yet without sin. 207 00:08:38,552 --> 00:08:39,288 That's the difference. 208 00:08:39,384 --> 00:08:41,208 But he says, I don't think the way that you think. 209 00:08:41,264 --> 00:08:41,816 Verse 8. 210 00:08:41,888 --> 00:08:43,768 For my thoughts are not your thoughts. 211 00:08:43,864 --> 00:08:45,256 Then he goes on to say verse 9. 212 00:08:45,328 --> 00:08:48,232 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher 213 00:08:48,256 --> 00:08:51,810 than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 214 00:08:52,470 --> 00:08:56,014 And so clearly here we see that God's infinite thoughts are 215 00:08:56,102 --> 00:08:59,998 greater than our limited ability to comprehend them. 216 00:09:00,134 --> 00:09:02,462 Okay, so what is he basically saying there? 217 00:09:02,486 --> 00:09:03,950 He's saying there in a very fancy way. 218 00:09:03,990 --> 00:09:06,110 You cannot comprehend the way that I think. 219 00:09:06,150 --> 00:09:09,726 You cannot in many ways understand why I'm doing what I'm 220 00:09:09,758 --> 00:09:10,330 doing. 221 00:09:11,190 --> 00:09:15,102 Some of you that have had children can to a limited degree 222 00:09:15,166 --> 00:09:17,290 understand that concept, right? 223 00:09:17,330 --> 00:09:21,258 I, I, I would have my 2 year old child there sitting there. 224 00:09:21,314 --> 00:09:24,394 And how many of you ever tried to reason with a two year old when 225 00:09:24,402 --> 00:09:25,306 they're not in a good mood? 226 00:09:25,338 --> 00:09:27,978 Okay, some of you said, I try to reason with a teenager and it's 227 00:09:27,994 --> 00:09:28,810 still a hard thing to do. 228 00:09:28,850 --> 00:09:29,098 Right? 229 00:09:29,154 --> 00:09:32,314 So it's the idea that sometimes my thoughts, my reasoning 230 00:09:32,362 --> 00:09:36,234 is not going to be able to be comprehended by my child because 231 00:09:36,322 --> 00:09:40,522 he or she does not understand at that very moment why dad is not 232 00:09:40,546 --> 00:09:41,530 allowing them to do that. 233 00:09:41,570 --> 00:09:44,534 All they can know is that I'm not getting, I want right now, therefore 234 00:09:44,582 --> 00:09:45,846 dad must be mad at me. 235 00:09:45,918 --> 00:09:49,350 No, but dad understands a bigger picture and that's a very 236 00:09:49,390 --> 00:09:50,822 small and limited way to think about it. 237 00:09:50,846 --> 00:09:52,630 But think about it in an infinite level. 238 00:09:52,750 --> 00:09:55,030 God loves us enough to know what's best for us. 239 00:09:55,070 --> 00:09:58,870 Therefore he's going to allow things to happen to us or not happen 240 00:09:58,910 --> 00:10:02,502 to us that are for our good and ultimately for his good. 241 00:10:02,606 --> 00:10:06,342 And so we think about Isaiah 55 and we got to go back to that 242 00:10:06,366 --> 00:10:09,430 because there's going to be some things that as believers we 243 00:10:09,470 --> 00:10:10,610 cannot understand. 244 00:10:11,150 --> 00:10:12,294 We will never understand. 245 00:10:12,382 --> 00:10:12,678 Why? 246 00:10:12,734 --> 00:10:14,890 Because God's thoughts are above our thoughts. 247 00:10:15,230 --> 00:10:17,446 But I also want you to see something else. 248 00:10:17,478 --> 00:10:20,326 And some of you maybe even have this verse memorized. 249 00:10:20,358 --> 00:10:25,094 But Psalm 100, verse 5, I want you to see another thing that we 250 00:10:25,102 --> 00:10:26,102 need to know about God. 251 00:10:26,166 --> 00:10:28,758 Because yes, God's ways are above our ways. 252 00:10:28,934 --> 00:10:32,550 But God will always make the right decision. 253 00:10:32,670 --> 00:10:33,094 Why? 254 00:10:33,182 --> 00:10:36,450 Because in his character he is good. 255 00:10:36,930 --> 00:10:38,682 Not, not just He's a good person. 256 00:10:38,786 --> 00:10:42,042 Okay, if I, if I was to walk around tonight and go up to each 257 00:10:42,066 --> 00:10:45,754 one of you and get to know you better, I would probably say, unless, 258 00:10:45,882 --> 00:10:47,962 you know, there's another reason not to say this. 259 00:10:47,986 --> 00:10:49,910 I would say, well, that person's a good person. 260 00:10:50,210 --> 00:10:52,350 They're nice, they're kind, they're patient. 261 00:10:52,930 --> 00:10:55,306 God is not just a good person. 262 00:10:55,458 --> 00:10:58,202 He's not just good in things that he does. 263 00:10:58,306 --> 00:11:01,498 The Bible says that his character, his essence, he is good, 264 00:11:01,554 --> 00:11:04,522 he is holy, he is just, he is perfect. 265 00:11:04,666 --> 00:11:08,634 And so Psalm 100, obviously, you know, Psalm 100 is, is a praise 266 00:11:08,682 --> 00:11:10,922 of Thanksgiving to God for his character. 267 00:11:11,066 --> 00:11:12,714 And at the very end he says this. 268 00:11:12,802 --> 00:11:17,722 For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth 269 00:11:17,786 --> 00:11:19,738 endureth to all generations. 270 00:11:19,914 --> 00:11:21,434 So, so what can we learn about that? 271 00:11:21,522 --> 00:11:23,050 God is good, perfectly good. 272 00:11:23,090 --> 00:11:27,482 That word good means complete, holy, set aside, sanctified. 273 00:11:27,626 --> 00:11:31,080 He is good, his mercy is everlasting. 274 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:33,192 So therefore he's merciful to us. 275 00:11:33,216 --> 00:11:35,016 But that mercy is never ending. 276 00:11:35,128 --> 00:11:36,840 So, so God is an eternal being. 277 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:38,248 He's eternal forever. 278 00:11:38,344 --> 00:11:41,064 His goodness is forever, his character is forever. 279 00:11:41,192 --> 00:11:44,952 Then it says his truth endure through all generations. 280 00:11:45,016 --> 00:11:49,176 And so his truth, the Bible says that he is truth, he is love, 281 00:11:49,248 --> 00:11:50,904 he is goodness, he is holiness. 282 00:11:50,952 --> 00:11:52,984 And that endures to all generations. 283 00:11:53,032 --> 00:11:54,440 And so what do we know so far? 284 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,880 God is above us and God is good. 285 00:11:58,740 --> 00:12:00,908 I will say another thing though that we've already talked 286 00:12:00,924 --> 00:12:04,524 about John 3, but there are many other passages of scripture 287 00:12:04,652 --> 00:12:06,172 I could point to so many here. 288 00:12:06,196 --> 00:12:08,268 I could speak of John 3:16. 289 00:12:08,404 --> 00:12:10,908 I could talk about Romans, chapter 5, verse 8. 290 00:12:11,044 --> 00:12:13,452 For God commendeth His love towards us and that while we are 291 00:12:13,476 --> 00:12:14,924 yet sinners, Christ died for us. 292 00:12:15,012 --> 00:12:16,860 We could talk about first John, chapter two. 293 00:12:16,900 --> 00:12:19,932 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that 294 00:12:19,956 --> 00:12:21,398 we should be called the sons of God. 295 00:12:21,524 --> 00:12:23,938 So one of the things we have to understand is that God is good. 296 00:12:23,994 --> 00:12:28,802 So he's above us, he's perfectly holy and he loves us. 297 00:12:28,986 --> 00:12:31,810 That's that imminence, that's that personal nature of God. 298 00:12:31,890 --> 00:12:35,010 Because sometimes what we think about God is that, that he 299 00:12:35,050 --> 00:12:39,154 is sitting up in his throne and he's separated from us. 300 00:12:39,242 --> 00:12:42,498 Yes, he's all powerful, but he's disconnected. 301 00:12:42,674 --> 00:12:45,970 And there's actually a lot of people throughout history, even today, 302 00:12:46,090 --> 00:12:49,884 that believe in a very, very belief system called deism. 303 00:12:50,042 --> 00:12:55,336 Okay, Deism means that there is an existence of God, but He's 304 00:12:55,368 --> 00:12:56,392 separate from us. 305 00:12:56,496 --> 00:12:59,848 He basically put the world into motion and stepped away and 306 00:12:59,904 --> 00:13:02,940 doesn't really want to be personal with his creation. 307 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,752 And there are a lot of people that believe that. 308 00:13:05,936 --> 00:13:09,656 And so a lot of people think that God is a God that's similar 309 00:13:09,728 --> 00:13:13,832 to the Greek God Zeus and all these different gods that you see 310 00:13:13,856 --> 00:13:17,254 maybe on a movie or you've read in a book that are separate 311 00:13:17,302 --> 00:13:19,942 and immoral and all about themselves. 312 00:13:20,086 --> 00:13:23,974 No, the Bible says that God is above us, but he's perfectly good 313 00:13:24,062 --> 00:13:26,486 and he loves us and he wants a relationship with us. 314 00:13:26,558 --> 00:13:30,038 Okay, now I say all that to go a little bit further, right? 315 00:13:30,094 --> 00:13:31,250 So he loves us. 316 00:13:31,630 --> 00:13:33,062 So what has he done? 317 00:13:33,246 --> 00:13:36,406 He sent his only begotten Son, so That we could have everlasting 318 00:13:36,438 --> 00:13:36,774 life. 319 00:13:36,862 --> 00:13:40,370 And then I want to read a verse for you in Romans chapter 8. 320 00:13:40,750 --> 00:13:42,610 Some of you have heard this verse before. 321 00:13:43,410 --> 00:13:46,986 And, and I want you to understand the context of Romans 322 00:13:47,018 --> 00:13:47,994 chapter 8. 323 00:13:48,162 --> 00:13:51,642 Romans chapter 8 is a passage of scripture that is speaking to 324 00:13:51,666 --> 00:13:55,626 the believer's confidence in having a relationship with God. 325 00:13:55,818 --> 00:14:00,550 So, so the promises that are in Romans chapter eight are not for 326 00:14:00,850 --> 00:14:01,870 everybody. 327 00:14:02,450 --> 00:14:03,658 You say, what does that mean? 328 00:14:03,714 --> 00:14:07,226 Well, it means that if there, if you are not a believer in Jesus 329 00:14:07,258 --> 00:14:09,258 Christ, you are not a child of God. 330 00:14:09,434 --> 00:14:13,562 This promise that we're about to hear is not for you say, well, 331 00:14:13,586 --> 00:14:14,890 that's kind of exclusive. 332 00:14:15,050 --> 00:14:16,490 The gospel is exclusive. 333 00:14:16,570 --> 00:14:17,898 The gospel is narrow. 334 00:14:17,994 --> 00:14:21,162 Okay, so some people, how many of you don't raise your hand because 335 00:14:21,186 --> 00:14:23,930 I don't want to embarrass you, but how many of you have been told 336 00:14:24,050 --> 00:14:25,306 that you are narrow minded? 337 00:14:25,338 --> 00:14:28,106 I've been told very, a lot of times I'm narrow minded in many ways. 338 00:14:28,138 --> 00:14:28,602 Some people are. 339 00:14:28,626 --> 00:14:28,762 Right. 340 00:14:28,786 --> 00:14:31,834 Okay, and, and so I gotta work on that narrow mindedness when it 341 00:14:31,842 --> 00:14:33,338 comes to things outside of scripture. 342 00:14:33,434 --> 00:14:36,218 But when it comes to scripture, I want to be narrow minded. 343 00:14:36,234 --> 00:14:38,276 Okay, I will take that moniker. 344 00:14:38,308 --> 00:14:38,932 Okay. 345 00:14:39,076 --> 00:14:40,260 Narrow minded means this. 346 00:14:40,300 --> 00:14:41,396 Jesus is the way. 347 00:14:41,468 --> 00:14:41,796 Okay? 348 00:14:41,828 --> 00:14:42,820 There's no other way. 349 00:14:42,940 --> 00:14:46,516 And so when we look at Romans chapter 8, to look at Romans chapter 350 00:14:46,548 --> 00:14:50,580 8 from the perspective of all, all of the world is receiving these 351 00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:51,204 promises. 352 00:14:51,332 --> 00:14:53,348 Well, only if they come to Christ in faith. 353 00:14:53,444 --> 00:14:53,988 Okay. 354 00:14:54,084 --> 00:14:54,932 Why do we know that? 355 00:14:54,956 --> 00:14:56,644 Because Romans chapter 8, verse 1. 356 00:14:56,732 --> 00:14:58,516 Remember, context is key. 357 00:14:58,588 --> 00:14:59,812 Context is key. 358 00:14:59,916 --> 00:15:03,400 And so it says here, there is therefore now no condemnation. 359 00:15:03,810 --> 00:15:06,186 We've talked about this before when we were talking about guilt 360 00:15:06,218 --> 00:15:06,986 and sin. 361 00:15:07,098 --> 00:15:10,474 Condemnation means judgment or punishment. 362 00:15:10,602 --> 00:15:13,770 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in 363 00:15:13,890 --> 00:15:17,722 Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 364 00:15:17,786 --> 00:15:21,322 So we know through context that this passage of scripture is 365 00:15:21,346 --> 00:15:23,034 speaking to those that are in Christ Jesus. 366 00:15:23,082 --> 00:15:25,098 These are the promises of God. 367 00:15:25,274 --> 00:15:30,052 And we get to Romans chapter 8, verse 28, and we hear a lot of 368 00:15:30,076 --> 00:15:33,380 people quote this verse when people are going through struggles. 369 00:15:33,540 --> 00:15:36,900 And I would say when, when someone is going through a struggle. 370 00:15:37,060 --> 00:15:39,444 This verse is a good verse to quote. 371 00:15:39,572 --> 00:15:43,284 But understand in context that it might be without other passages 372 00:15:43,332 --> 00:15:44,100 of scripture. 373 00:15:44,180 --> 00:15:46,084 A very hard verse for someone to hear. 374 00:15:46,172 --> 00:15:49,828 Okay, so for example, and I'm just going to be real here tonight, 375 00:15:49,924 --> 00:15:53,812 let's say you have a family member that passes away and that 376 00:15:53,836 --> 00:15:54,468 breaks your heart. 377 00:15:54,524 --> 00:15:57,690 Maybe it's a spouse, maybe it's a loved one. 378 00:15:57,990 --> 00:16:00,654 You know, unfortunately, you know, we have people that, that are 379 00:16:00,662 --> 00:16:01,646 Going to pass on. 380 00:16:01,798 --> 00:16:05,374 And, and the Bible speaks of the fact that as a believer, we don't 381 00:16:05,382 --> 00:16:07,502 have to sorrow like other people sorrow because we have the 382 00:16:07,526 --> 00:16:09,130 hope of everlasting life. 383 00:16:09,590 --> 00:16:12,238 But I would be careful to walk up to somebody who has just lost 384 00:16:12,294 --> 00:16:14,766 a loved one and say, well, hey, look, I'm going to quote Romans 385 00:16:14,798 --> 00:16:17,342 chapter 8, verse 28 for you because everything's going to work 386 00:16:17,366 --> 00:16:18,894 together for good because of this. 387 00:16:19,062 --> 00:16:23,944 Well, one, that, that, that is a, a, I would say, not speaking the 388 00:16:23,952 --> 00:16:25,432 truth in love for that very moment. 389 00:16:25,496 --> 00:16:26,728 Now, do we need to get there? 390 00:16:26,784 --> 00:16:29,336 Yes, we need to get there, but we need to talk about the whole picture 391 00:16:29,368 --> 00:16:30,648 of this also. 392 00:16:30,704 --> 00:16:33,832 Another misapplication of Romans chapter 8, verse 28 would 393 00:16:33,856 --> 00:16:35,656 be, you go to a non believer, okay? 394 00:16:35,688 --> 00:16:37,512 Someone who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ and they're going through 395 00:16:37,536 --> 00:16:38,376 pain and suffering. 396 00:16:38,488 --> 00:16:39,368 Hey, look, everything. 397 00:16:39,424 --> 00:16:41,000 God's working everything for your good. 398 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:41,672 No, he's not. 399 00:16:41,696 --> 00:16:41,992 He's not. 400 00:16:42,016 --> 00:16:44,616 He's not working everything for the good of the unbeliever, right? 401 00:16:44,688 --> 00:16:44,936 He's. 402 00:16:44,968 --> 00:16:45,176 He's. 403 00:16:45,208 --> 00:16:48,024 He's working out judgment upon them until they come to Christ. 404 00:16:48,192 --> 00:16:50,648 And so there's the offer of the gift of grace. 405 00:16:50,744 --> 00:16:52,648 But that is not a child of God. 406 00:16:52,744 --> 00:16:55,496 If someone is outside of Jesus Christ, that is not a child of God. 407 00:16:55,528 --> 00:16:57,576 Therefore they cannot claim this promise. 408 00:16:57,608 --> 00:16:59,400 But let's go to Romans chapter 8, verse 28. 409 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:04,680 It says, and we know that word no means confidence. 410 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:05,464 Okay? 411 00:17:05,592 --> 00:17:07,240 We can be sure about this. 412 00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:14,898 We know that all things work together for good to them that love 413 00:17:14,954 --> 00:17:18,550 God, to them who are called according to his purpose. 414 00:17:19,530 --> 00:17:24,354 Now, I've heard some people quote this, and I want to be careful 415 00:17:24,402 --> 00:17:27,218 here because I don't want to read into the passage here, but I've 416 00:17:27,234 --> 00:17:29,762 heard some people quote this and they say it this way, and we 417 00:17:29,786 --> 00:17:31,790 know that all things work together for good. 418 00:17:32,810 --> 00:17:35,730 And they stop there and they go, actually, it's for his good and 419 00:17:35,770 --> 00:17:36,802 not our good. 420 00:17:36,986 --> 00:17:39,378 I don't believe that that's what this verse is talking about. 421 00:17:39,434 --> 00:17:39,698 Okay? 422 00:17:39,714 --> 00:17:40,744 It doesn't say that. 423 00:17:40,882 --> 00:17:42,300 It says work together for good. 424 00:17:42,340 --> 00:17:42,940 The good of who? 425 00:17:42,980 --> 00:17:45,788 Well, it could be the good of God, but in the context of what we're 426 00:17:45,804 --> 00:17:48,316 talking about, we're talking about the believer, we're talking 427 00:17:48,348 --> 00:17:49,020 about their life. 428 00:17:49,060 --> 00:17:50,732 And so it is for the good. 429 00:17:50,836 --> 00:17:52,476 It is for the good of the believer. 430 00:17:52,508 --> 00:17:54,572 Now you would say, why would it be good that I'm going through 431 00:17:54,596 --> 00:17:55,452 this pain and suffering? 432 00:17:55,516 --> 00:17:58,796 Because we have to think about it from the eternal perspective, 433 00:17:58,908 --> 00:17:59,708 okay? 434 00:17:59,884 --> 00:18:02,940 Now is it right that God is working out all Things for his good. 435 00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:04,524 I believe that is the case. 436 00:18:04,692 --> 00:18:07,692 But I also do believe that God is working all things for our good 437 00:18:07,716 --> 00:18:08,108 as well. 438 00:18:08,164 --> 00:18:10,428 Because if we're believers, he cares about our future. 439 00:18:10,484 --> 00:18:12,166 He cares about our life. 440 00:18:12,238 --> 00:18:15,142 I, I don't, I don't look at my children go, I love my children so 441 00:18:15,166 --> 00:18:19,110 much that I want them to suffer so that, that, that I can 442 00:18:19,150 --> 00:18:19,830 look good. 443 00:18:19,950 --> 00:18:21,702 Now you would say, well, does God? 444 00:18:21,846 --> 00:18:23,078 I thought that's what God does. 445 00:18:23,134 --> 00:18:23,302 No. 446 00:18:23,326 --> 00:18:26,102 God allows the individual to go through difficulty so that they 447 00:18:26,126 --> 00:18:28,934 can be strengthened, so that ultimately they can give him glory. 448 00:18:29,062 --> 00:18:30,326 Ultimately, they can give him glory. 449 00:18:30,358 --> 00:18:32,502 But God doesn't torture his children. 450 00:18:32,606 --> 00:18:33,302 I don't believe that. 451 00:18:33,326 --> 00:18:37,398 I, I, I don't see in Scripture where God on purpose tortures his 452 00:18:37,454 --> 00:18:37,766 children. 453 00:18:37,838 --> 00:18:39,940 He does allow his children to go through struggles. 454 00:18:40,030 --> 00:18:43,240 He does allow his children to go through difficulties in times 455 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,048 of, of questioning, in times of doubt. 456 00:18:45,144 --> 00:18:48,120 But yet the Bible teaches us that is for, for teaching, that is 457 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:48,984 for growing. 458 00:18:49,112 --> 00:18:52,152 And I don't think God is, is, is the author of evil. 459 00:18:52,216 --> 00:18:53,656 I know that he's not the author of evil. 460 00:18:53,688 --> 00:18:54,968 We know that he's the author of good. 461 00:18:55,024 --> 00:18:58,072 Therefore, we know that God allows difficulties to happen, but 462 00:18:58,096 --> 00:19:00,552 he is not the causer of evil in this world. 463 00:19:00,656 --> 00:19:02,504 And so we have to go back and we have to think about that when 464 00:19:02,512 --> 00:19:03,992 we talk about Romans chapter 8. 465 00:19:04,096 --> 00:19:06,440 But, but the point I'm trying to make here is this. 466 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,368 God is working all things together for good. 467 00:19:09,424 --> 00:19:15,208 Now you would say, maybe how is this problem that I'm facing or 468 00:19:15,264 --> 00:19:17,544 this loss that I've had work together for good? 469 00:19:17,632 --> 00:19:23,980 Well, I want you to see a couple things about why God allows 470 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,800 difficulty and in the fact that that difficulty is going to 471 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:31,912 work for our Blessing. 472 00:19:31,976 --> 00:19:34,358 Romans chapter 5. 473 00:19:34,494 --> 00:19:35,462 Romans chapter 5. 474 00:19:35,486 --> 00:19:36,502 You were in Romans chapter 8. 475 00:19:36,526 --> 00:19:37,730 Go back a little bit. 476 00:19:40,030 --> 00:19:44,630 I, I think that these are difficult things because a lot of 477 00:19:44,670 --> 00:19:47,850 times this is not the message that is being preached. 478 00:19:48,670 --> 00:19:51,958 Because a lot of times the, the problem of suffering is the problem 479 00:19:52,014 --> 00:19:53,370 that we want to avoid. 480 00:19:53,870 --> 00:19:58,230 But why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? 481 00:19:58,270 --> 00:20:01,428 Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people? 482 00:20:01,484 --> 00:20:02,452 Well, let's look at it here. 483 00:20:02,476 --> 00:20:06,132 In Romans chapter five, he says, therefore, being justified 484 00:20:06,196 --> 00:20:06,596 by faith. 485 00:20:06,628 --> 00:20:08,548 Again, disclaimer, you have to be saved. 486 00:20:08,644 --> 00:20:11,124 We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 487 00:20:11,212 --> 00:20:13,636 And he goes on to talk about the access that we have in faith 488 00:20:13,668 --> 00:20:16,468 into this grace where we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory 489 00:20:16,484 --> 00:20:17,028 of God. 490 00:20:17,124 --> 00:20:20,516 And then it says, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations. 491 00:20:20,548 --> 00:20:23,172 Also knowing that tribulation worketh patience. 492 00:20:23,316 --> 00:20:25,466 Tribulation will be a trial or a test. 493 00:20:25,588 --> 00:20:28,158 Worketh patience and patience experience and experience hope. 494 00:20:28,214 --> 00:20:31,326 And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad 495 00:20:31,358 --> 00:20:34,030 in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. 496 00:20:34,150 --> 00:20:38,130 So ultimately, what is the good that we have as a Christian? 497 00:20:38,630 --> 00:20:42,670 Well, if everything is good in my life, when it comes to my work, 498 00:20:42,790 --> 00:20:43,118 my. 499 00:20:43,174 --> 00:20:47,850 My body, my family, then that's proof that God loves me. 500 00:20:48,310 --> 00:20:51,588 But what happens when you're not healthy? 501 00:20:51,734 --> 00:20:53,720 What happens when work isn't good? 502 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:55,336 Well, then God must not love me. 503 00:20:55,408 --> 00:20:55,640 No. 504 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:56,760 Go back to what we know. 505 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:57,400 What do we know? 506 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:58,360 God loves me. 507 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:03,576 But, but again, what does the Bible say about his love for God 508 00:21:03,608 --> 00:21:06,220 so loved the world that he made all of His Christians rich? 509 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,700 I didn't hear that in Scripture. 510 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:10,600 It didn't say that. 511 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:11,192 What does it say? 512 00:21:11,216 --> 00:21:13,384 For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son. 513 00:21:13,432 --> 00:21:13,928 Right. 514 00:21:14,064 --> 00:21:17,576 So the way that we know God's love and the way that we know God's 515 00:21:17,608 --> 00:21:20,972 good and the way that we know God's hope is through salvation and 516 00:21:20,996 --> 00:21:22,716 knowing that we have everlasting life. 517 00:21:22,868 --> 00:21:26,892 So that if in this world I go through struggles, that's okay, because 518 00:21:26,916 --> 00:21:28,140 I'm living for something more. 519 00:21:28,180 --> 00:21:29,484 I'm living for the eternal. 520 00:21:29,532 --> 00:21:31,260 I'm living for my destination. 521 00:21:31,340 --> 00:21:34,076 And my destination is an eternal life with him in heaven. 522 00:21:34,188 --> 00:21:37,516 And so it's that picture of knowing that there's something greater. 523 00:21:37,708 --> 00:21:40,572 And that's how we can escape the pain of this world. 524 00:21:40,676 --> 00:21:43,708 Now, it doesn't remove pain when we lose someone, or it doesn't 525 00:21:43,724 --> 00:21:44,822 remove pain when we. 526 00:21:44,876 --> 00:21:46,098 When we go through a trial. 527 00:21:46,194 --> 00:21:49,330 But what it does teach us is that this pain is only temporary. 528 00:21:49,490 --> 00:21:50,578 That, that, that this. 529 00:21:50,634 --> 00:21:53,234 That this hopelessness is not eternal. 530 00:21:53,362 --> 00:21:56,258 And, and I would encourage you to think about the idea of what hope 531 00:21:56,314 --> 00:21:56,914 really is. 532 00:21:57,002 --> 00:22:00,722 Hope is not just guessing and, and wishing that God is going to 533 00:22:00,746 --> 00:22:01,746 take care of me through this. 534 00:22:01,818 --> 00:22:04,498 Hope is saying, God, I know what yout've said, and I know youw're 535 00:22:04,514 --> 00:22:05,186 going to keep your word. 536 00:22:05,218 --> 00:22:06,770 So I have confidence that you will do that. 537 00:22:06,810 --> 00:22:10,002 I have confidence that you are going to give me my eternal destination. 538 00:22:10,066 --> 00:22:12,290 Therefore, I'm going to trust in youn through this difficult thing. 539 00:22:12,330 --> 00:22:16,010 So I want you to go to a passage of scripture. 540 00:22:16,170 --> 00:22:18,026 It's actually Psalm 13. 541 00:22:18,178 --> 00:22:21,002 And I want you to go to a passage of Scripture here that I 542 00:22:21,026 --> 00:22:27,802 believe teaches us how to ask God why, Biblically speaking. 543 00:22:27,866 --> 00:22:28,670 Okay. 544 00:22:29,250 --> 00:22:34,250 Now, I've given you that preference that, that preface there, 545 00:22:34,290 --> 00:22:40,076 that context to go back to know, like the basics of the theology 546 00:22:40,268 --> 00:22:41,100 of suffering. 547 00:22:41,180 --> 00:22:41,740 Okay. 548 00:22:41,820 --> 00:22:46,396 That we're going through pain, but ultimately it's for eternal focus 549 00:22:46,468 --> 00:22:48,600 and not the temporary focus. 550 00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:51,320 God is good. 551 00:22:51,780 --> 00:22:55,164 And the moment that we start, we start to question God's goodness 552 00:22:55,212 --> 00:22:57,740 is the moment that we've fallen into the place of sin. 553 00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:00,396 Because the trial is not necessarily a bad thing. 554 00:23:00,468 --> 00:23:03,468 A trial is a test on whether or not we're going to trust God or 555 00:23:03,524 --> 00:23:05,914 we're going to turn away from what we know about Him. 556 00:23:06,092 --> 00:23:07,870 And so these are the things that I want to think about. 557 00:23:07,910 --> 00:23:09,326 But let's go to Psalm 13. 558 00:23:09,478 --> 00:23:12,318 We could have looked at so many different passages of scripture. 559 00:23:12,414 --> 00:23:14,770 This is actually considered a psalm of lament. 560 00:23:15,350 --> 00:23:15,966 Lament. 561 00:23:16,078 --> 00:23:17,694 I, I, I've heard it said this way. 562 00:23:17,782 --> 00:23:20,050 Lament is the language of pain. 563 00:23:21,750 --> 00:23:27,086 God doesn't in scripture, I don't believe God says that we should 564 00:23:27,158 --> 00:23:27,966 not feel pain. 565 00:23:27,998 --> 00:23:28,366 Okay. 566 00:23:28,398 --> 00:23:32,350 We know that Jesus felt pain, does so, so how can we express our 567 00:23:32,390 --> 00:23:33,010 pain? 568 00:23:33,530 --> 00:23:36,070 Well, some people express their pain through anger. 569 00:23:36,570 --> 00:23:40,322 Some people express their pain through hurting somebody else. 570 00:23:40,386 --> 00:23:43,058 You ever heard someone say hurt people, hurt people? 571 00:23:43,194 --> 00:23:44,338 It's a true statement. 572 00:23:44,474 --> 00:23:47,442 When people are hurt and in pain, they want other people to be 573 00:23:47,466 --> 00:23:47,842 in pain. 574 00:23:47,906 --> 00:23:49,458 Maybe they don't even know that they're doing that. 575 00:23:49,514 --> 00:23:52,146 But that's a natural response, is I'm going to bring someone else 576 00:23:52,178 --> 00:23:53,070 down with me. 577 00:23:53,610 --> 00:23:54,658 So, so there's that. 578 00:23:54,714 --> 00:23:56,850 And what's another response to pain? 579 00:23:56,930 --> 00:24:02,588 Well, it could be rejection or rebellion or, or bitterness or hard 580 00:24:02,644 --> 00:24:03,116 heartedness. 581 00:24:03,148 --> 00:24:04,700 It could be a lot of different things. 582 00:24:04,820 --> 00:24:09,324 Or pain could drive us to faith, pain can drive us to reliance. 583 00:24:09,372 --> 00:24:13,628 Pain can drive us to, dare I say, as we will see here, worship. 584 00:24:13,804 --> 00:24:17,052 And we're going to see here in Psalm 13, the, I would think one 585 00:24:17,076 --> 00:24:19,692 of the many examples of scripture how we can biblically come 586 00:24:19,716 --> 00:24:21,960 to God and say, lord, I don't understand you. 587 00:24:22,580 --> 00:24:23,916 I don't get it. 588 00:24:24,068 --> 00:24:30,482 I actually don't agree with what you did, but I will come back 589 00:24:30,506 --> 00:24:30,850 to you. 590 00:24:30,890 --> 00:24:32,914 And so let's, let's see where it starts. 591 00:24:33,042 --> 00:24:37,778 It starts with a question, an authentic question, a real question. 592 00:24:37,914 --> 00:24:38,530 Okay. 593 00:24:38,610 --> 00:24:40,946 Ever had someone ask you a question but you know that they didn't 594 00:24:40,978 --> 00:24:41,938 really want an answer? 595 00:24:42,034 --> 00:24:45,150 It was a question to basically lead their statement. 596 00:24:46,170 --> 00:24:48,642 Or maybe it was a leading question and they were basically 597 00:24:48,706 --> 00:24:50,002 stating something in their question. 598 00:24:50,106 --> 00:24:52,870 Well, this is a question, I believe that's authentic. 599 00:24:53,210 --> 00:24:53,938 How long? 600 00:24:53,994 --> 00:24:54,716 Verse 1. 601 00:24:54,818 --> 00:24:57,340 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? 602 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:02,120 This is the psalmist David and he's basically telling God, I feel 603 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,100 like you have forgotten me? 604 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,420 How long will you forget me? 605 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:08,552 Now we know that God has not forgotten him. 606 00:25:08,576 --> 00:25:11,688 And by the way, I want to tell you that there are passages of scripture, 607 00:25:11,784 --> 00:25:15,080 Hebrews chapter 13, for example, that says that God's never 608 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:16,980 going to leave us nor forsake us. 609 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:22,786 And so does David know that God has forgotten about him? 610 00:25:22,858 --> 00:25:25,730 No, because we know that God has not forgotten about David. 611 00:25:25,810 --> 00:25:28,530 But does David feel like God has forgotten about him? 612 00:25:28,570 --> 00:25:29,122 Yes. 613 00:25:29,266 --> 00:25:34,946 And maybe some of us at some points in our life feel like God 614 00:25:34,978 --> 00:25:36,430 has forgotten about us. 615 00:25:37,770 --> 00:25:40,866 I'm going to tell you that you might feel that, but he has not forgotten 616 00:25:40,898 --> 00:25:41,470 you. 617 00:25:42,010 --> 00:25:44,514 Biblically speaking, he has not forgotten you, even though it 618 00:25:44,522 --> 00:25:45,250 might feel that way. 619 00:25:45,290 --> 00:25:46,204 So, so. 620 00:25:46,292 --> 00:25:51,692 So David here, the psalmist, is expressing his feelings, so to 621 00:25:51,716 --> 00:25:52,156 speak. 622 00:25:52,268 --> 00:25:55,916 He says, how long wilt thou forget me, oh Lord? 623 00:25:56,108 --> 00:25:57,040 Forever? 624 00:25:57,540 --> 00:25:59,836 It's like, really, is this going to be forever? 625 00:25:59,868 --> 00:26:00,268 Is this. 626 00:26:00,324 --> 00:26:02,092 Is this how I'm going to have to live my life forever? 627 00:26:02,156 --> 00:26:05,360 Feeling neglected, feeling alone, feeling hopeless? 628 00:26:06,260 --> 00:26:09,720 How long will thou hide thy face from me? 629 00:26:10,580 --> 00:26:13,830 So he's stating his circumstance, his circumstances. 630 00:26:13,910 --> 00:26:14,970 I feel alone. 631 00:26:16,270 --> 00:26:16,630 And. 632 00:26:16,670 --> 00:26:17,222 And David. 633 00:26:17,286 --> 00:26:18,406 How could David feel alone? 634 00:26:18,438 --> 00:26:19,238 He was the king. 635 00:26:19,334 --> 00:26:24,438 Okay, well, in this case, we know that David went through ups 636 00:26:24,454 --> 00:26:25,190 and downs in his life. 637 00:26:25,230 --> 00:26:27,254 There were times where David was being chased by. 638 00:26:27,342 --> 00:26:28,006 By Saul. 639 00:26:28,038 --> 00:26:30,326 There was times when David was away from the Lord. 640 00:26:30,358 --> 00:26:33,062 There was times when David was in his throne, when he was doing 641 00:26:33,086 --> 00:26:33,590 the right thing. 642 00:26:33,630 --> 00:26:38,090 David was, at different points of his life, obviously powerful. 643 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:42,840 But we know that we can be in a group of thousands of people but 644 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,060 still feel alone because of our struggle that we're facing. 645 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,328 So David feels alone. 646 00:26:48,504 --> 00:26:49,304 Verse 2. 647 00:26:49,392 --> 00:26:53,976 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart 648 00:26:54,048 --> 00:26:54,776 daily? 649 00:26:54,968 --> 00:26:57,032 So we see that this is something that David's dealing with 650 00:26:57,056 --> 00:26:57,304 daily. 651 00:26:57,352 --> 00:26:58,152 He says, man, this is. 652 00:26:58,176 --> 00:27:00,100 This is happening to me all the time. 653 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,830 How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 654 00:27:06,370 --> 00:27:07,898 David's question is this. 655 00:27:08,034 --> 00:27:10,830 Why does it seem like my enemy is the one winning? 656 00:27:12,130 --> 00:27:14,650 Why does it seem like everybody else around me is getting 657 00:27:14,690 --> 00:27:16,750 what they want and I'm not getting anything? 658 00:27:17,810 --> 00:27:18,938 It's a good question to ask. 659 00:27:18,994 --> 00:27:21,850 I think it's a question that we've all probably asked at some 660 00:27:21,890 --> 00:27:22,858 point in our life. 661 00:27:22,994 --> 00:27:25,770 There's an answer to that later on in Scripture. 662 00:27:25,850 --> 00:27:29,162 We do deal with that question, which we're going to get to later 663 00:27:29,186 --> 00:27:30,150 on in the study. 664 00:27:30,570 --> 00:27:31,314 Verse 3. 665 00:27:31,402 --> 00:27:34,870 He says, Consider and hear me, O Lord, my God. 666 00:27:35,610 --> 00:27:36,930 So what is he doing here? 667 00:27:37,050 --> 00:27:37,490 What is. 668 00:27:37,530 --> 00:27:38,290 What is David doing? 669 00:27:38,330 --> 00:27:40,530 David is praying. 670 00:27:40,690 --> 00:27:42,530 He's asking God to consider him. 671 00:27:42,570 --> 00:27:44,350 He's asking God to hear him. 672 00:27:45,050 --> 00:27:48,590 Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. 673 00:27:49,050 --> 00:27:52,082 We would say, man, David's really in a dark place right here. 674 00:27:52,186 --> 00:27:53,150 And he is. 675 00:27:53,450 --> 00:27:55,186 But he's asking God to open his eyes. 676 00:27:55,218 --> 00:27:56,462 He's asking God to. 677 00:27:56,506 --> 00:27:57,974 For a renewal of his spirit. 678 00:27:58,022 --> 00:28:00,150 He's asking God for renewal of his mind. 679 00:28:00,190 --> 00:28:02,326 He says, lord, bring me back to that place. 680 00:28:02,398 --> 00:28:04,170 Bring me back to revival. 681 00:28:04,510 --> 00:28:06,550 Bring me back to joy. 682 00:28:06,710 --> 00:28:07,350 Verse 4. 683 00:28:07,390 --> 00:28:10,050 Let mine enemies say I have prevailed against him. 684 00:28:12,670 --> 00:28:14,678 Or says, excuse me, Verse four, Less mine enemy. 685 00:28:14,694 --> 00:28:15,990 So he's saying basically this. 686 00:28:16,110 --> 00:28:20,838 Don't allow my enemy to think that he has the victory over my God, 687 00:28:20,934 --> 00:28:21,238 over. 688 00:28:21,294 --> 00:28:24,422 Over me, and ultimately the testimony of the power of God in 689 00:28:24,446 --> 00:28:24,710 my life. 690 00:28:24,750 --> 00:28:27,734 And he says, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 691 00:28:27,862 --> 00:28:29,606 But then we see him shift. 692 00:28:29,718 --> 00:28:30,150 This is. 693 00:28:30,190 --> 00:28:30,934 This is interesting. 694 00:28:30,982 --> 00:28:32,838 This is the right way to go because we. 695 00:28:32,894 --> 00:28:34,934 We share with God our problems. 696 00:28:35,062 --> 00:28:38,150 And then we recognize that only God is the one who can fix that 697 00:28:38,190 --> 00:28:38,770 problem. 698 00:28:39,310 --> 00:28:40,486 And then what does he do? 699 00:28:40,558 --> 00:28:41,574 He worships. 700 00:28:41,702 --> 00:28:43,930 But I have trusted in thy mercy. 701 00:28:44,510 --> 00:28:46,890 He goes back to what he knows. 702 00:28:47,550 --> 00:28:49,510 Remember, God is merciful. 703 00:28:49,590 --> 00:28:51,126 His mercy is everlasting. 704 00:28:51,238 --> 00:28:52,886 His mercies are new every morning. 705 00:28:52,958 --> 00:28:53,148 His. 706 00:28:53,174 --> 00:28:54,912 He goes back to what he knows about God. 707 00:28:54,976 --> 00:28:56,032 It's God's mercy. 708 00:28:56,096 --> 00:28:57,408 It's God's grace. 709 00:28:57,584 --> 00:28:58,752 So what does that look like for me? 710 00:28:58,776 --> 00:28:59,984 Practically, it looks like this. 711 00:29:00,072 --> 00:29:03,232 When I'm going through a struggle and I don't feel like God 712 00:29:03,296 --> 00:29:06,352 cares or I don't feel like God has done the right thing, I have 713 00:29:06,376 --> 00:29:09,472 to go back to what I know and proclaim that truth and believe that 714 00:29:09,496 --> 00:29:10,100 truth. 715 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,248 I don't think there's power in just saying a word like I've heard 716 00:29:13,264 --> 00:29:15,376 people say, you know, even if you don't believe, just say the word 717 00:29:15,408 --> 00:29:17,024 and it'll eventually catch on. 718 00:29:17,192 --> 00:29:18,496 God knows our heart. 719 00:29:18,568 --> 00:29:19,088 Okay. 720 00:29:19,184 --> 00:29:21,040 You can say what you want before God. 721 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:21,336 He. 722 00:29:21,368 --> 00:29:21,560 He. 723 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:22,952 He's not interested in what you say. 724 00:29:22,976 --> 00:29:25,096 He's interested in what your heart is saying. 725 00:29:25,248 --> 00:29:28,632 And so if you're saying out loud, lord, I know you're good, but 726 00:29:28,656 --> 00:29:30,520 in your heart you're going, I don't think that you're good. 727 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,940 Then he knows that it's. 728 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,256 You know, I always go back to my kids. 729 00:29:35,288 --> 00:29:38,072 You know, my kids can obey me outwardly, but inwardly they could 730 00:29:38,096 --> 00:29:40,920 be upset with me, you know, and, and, and we want our children 731 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,400 to obey us on the outside and on the inside. 732 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:44,536 And it's the same thing with God. 733 00:29:44,568 --> 00:29:45,512 God wants our heart. 734 00:29:45,616 --> 00:29:46,926 He always wants our heart. 735 00:29:47,048 --> 00:29:49,666 And so David's heart turns to mercy. 736 00:29:49,698 --> 00:29:51,106 He turns to God's goodness. 737 00:29:51,138 --> 00:29:55,670 He says, my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. 738 00:29:56,250 --> 00:29:57,362 So what does David do here? 739 00:29:57,386 --> 00:29:57,954 It's very simple. 740 00:29:58,002 --> 00:30:01,990 He goes back to the core of his relationship with God, his salvation. 741 00:30:02,890 --> 00:30:06,626 Instead of looking at, well, my enemies have lost, or I don't 742 00:30:06,658 --> 00:30:10,338 feel alone anymore, he goes back to what he knows about his relationship 743 00:30:10,354 --> 00:30:10,882 with God. 744 00:30:10,946 --> 00:30:12,466 He goes back to the beginning. 745 00:30:12,578 --> 00:30:13,122 There was a. 746 00:30:13,146 --> 00:30:17,794 There's a psalm that David's talking to God in, in repentance 747 00:30:17,842 --> 00:30:19,634 of his sin with Bathsheba. 748 00:30:19,762 --> 00:30:20,818 And he says. 749 00:30:20,954 --> 00:30:23,682 He basically says, renew the joy of my salvation. 750 00:30:23,746 --> 00:30:25,910 Give me back the joy of my salvation. 751 00:30:26,250 --> 00:30:31,042 Some of us have, at periods of our life, because of a struggle or 752 00:30:31,066 --> 00:30:34,914 because of a doubt or because of a question, have been challenged 753 00:30:34,962 --> 00:30:36,802 in the joy of our salvation. 754 00:30:36,946 --> 00:30:37,906 Well, I'm going to heaven. 755 00:30:37,938 --> 00:30:38,882 But you know what? 756 00:30:38,906 --> 00:30:40,562 I just have lost my joy in that. 757 00:30:40,666 --> 00:30:42,402 David is saying here, I want that revival. 758 00:30:42,466 --> 00:30:44,766 I want to rejoice in my salvation. 759 00:30:44,898 --> 00:30:47,094 I want to rejoice in my relationship with you. 760 00:30:47,182 --> 00:30:50,022 Take it all away from me as long as I have my relationship with 761 00:30:50,046 --> 00:30:50,470 you. 762 00:30:50,590 --> 00:30:53,574 That is understanding the goodness of God. 763 00:30:53,622 --> 00:30:56,294 That is understanding his love for us. 764 00:30:56,382 --> 00:30:59,286 And then he says, Verse 6, I will sing unto the Lord. 765 00:30:59,318 --> 00:31:00,182 So he rejoices. 766 00:31:00,246 --> 00:31:01,766 He goes from the beginning of. 767 00:31:01,838 --> 00:31:06,086 Of crying and in darkness and feeling lost to the place where he's 768 00:31:06,118 --> 00:31:06,966 going to worship God. 769 00:31:06,998 --> 00:31:08,086 He's going to praise him. 770 00:31:08,158 --> 00:31:11,184 I will sing unto the Lord because he had dealt bountifully 771 00:31:11,232 --> 00:31:12,688 with me in a good way. 772 00:31:12,744 --> 00:31:14,432 He goes back to what does he do? 773 00:31:14,456 --> 00:31:15,792 Here we singing a song. 774 00:31:15,856 --> 00:31:17,920 Count your many blessings and see what God has done. 775 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,848 He says, I'm going to go back to see what God has done in my life. 776 00:31:20,904 --> 00:31:22,944 I'm going to go back to knowing that he is good. 777 00:31:23,032 --> 00:31:25,344 I'm not going to be tempted to believe that he has not dealt with 778 00:31:25,352 --> 00:31:25,472 me. 779 00:31:25,496 --> 00:31:28,672 Well, I'm going to go back and look at all the times he has been 780 00:31:28,696 --> 00:31:31,296 faithful and know that he's going to continue to stay faithful. 781 00:31:31,408 --> 00:31:34,000 And that's what David does in the midst of that question. 782 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:35,440 And his question was this. 783 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,376 How long will thou forget me, oh Lord? 784 00:31:37,408 --> 00:31:37,660 So. 785 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:41,684 So your question might be, lord, why do I feel alone? 786 00:31:41,812 --> 00:31:44,260 Why do I feel neglected? 787 00:31:44,420 --> 00:31:49,316 And if you truly ask God for wisdom in these areas, he will reveal 788 00:31:49,348 --> 00:31:49,860 to you why. 789 00:31:49,900 --> 00:31:53,284 And it might just be that it's an issue even in my own life, that 790 00:31:53,292 --> 00:31:54,740 I have caused division with him. 791 00:31:54,780 --> 00:31:55,828 Because God does. 792 00:31:55,884 --> 00:31:56,260 If he. 793 00:31:56,300 --> 00:31:59,716 If we are his children, he does not turn his back against Us. 794 00:31:59,868 --> 00:32:03,428 What happens is that in our sin we have turned our backs against 795 00:32:03,484 --> 00:32:06,950 him, and therefore we have broken that relationship, not in 796 00:32:06,990 --> 00:32:10,150 the sense that we've lost our salvation, but we've broken that 797 00:32:10,190 --> 00:32:11,366 fellowship with him. 798 00:32:11,518 --> 00:32:14,342 And therefore we need to have that restored so we can go back to 799 00:32:14,366 --> 00:32:14,550 that. 800 00:32:14,590 --> 00:32:15,046 And so. 801 00:32:15,118 --> 00:32:17,590 So here in Psalm 13, we see a psalm of lament. 802 00:32:17,670 --> 00:32:19,270 It's a basic psalm, but it. 803 00:32:19,310 --> 00:32:22,294 But it takes essentially a structure of. 804 00:32:22,462 --> 00:32:26,246 Of going through the point of understanding the hope of God. 805 00:32:26,278 --> 00:32:28,694 So there's a questioning phase, okay, So I want you to think 806 00:32:28,702 --> 00:32:29,462 about it this way. 807 00:32:29,566 --> 00:32:30,726 There's a questioning phase. 808 00:32:30,758 --> 00:32:33,318 It is okay to question God with the right heart, with the right 809 00:32:33,374 --> 00:32:36,590 spirit, with the right context, with the right foundation. 810 00:32:36,750 --> 00:32:37,454 Okay? 811 00:32:37,582 --> 00:32:38,574 We're going to talk more about that. 812 00:32:38,582 --> 00:32:40,398 We're going to talk about Job's questions. 813 00:32:40,574 --> 00:32:43,310 We're going to talk about a couple of other prophets in the Old 814 00:32:43,350 --> 00:32:44,894 Testament and their. 815 00:32:44,982 --> 00:32:46,638 And their questions that they had for. 816 00:32:46,694 --> 00:32:47,570 For God. 817 00:32:48,230 --> 00:32:48,990 But they're. 818 00:32:49,070 --> 00:32:52,574 But they're big questions with authenticity. 819 00:32:52,702 --> 00:32:53,630 What do I mean by that? 820 00:32:53,670 --> 00:32:56,810 Big questions meaning questions that matter. 821 00:32:57,110 --> 00:33:02,344 You know, like, here's something trivial like, why did you 822 00:33:02,352 --> 00:33:03,208 make me late today, God? 823 00:33:03,224 --> 00:33:05,080 Why'd you give me a bunch of red lights on the way to work? 824 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:06,104 Okay, that's trivial. 825 00:33:06,152 --> 00:33:08,472 Like in the grand scheme of eternity, that's. 826 00:33:08,536 --> 00:33:11,304 I would say it's disrespectful to question God in that way. 827 00:33:11,392 --> 00:33:14,344 What I would say is that if they're big questions with an authentic 828 00:33:14,392 --> 00:33:17,980 heart, God is not going to reject you on those questions. 829 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:20,680 I would say that there is. 830 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:25,352 There must be a place, though, that the questioning phase goes to 831 00:33:25,376 --> 00:33:26,860 an asking phase. 832 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,340 So, God, why did you do this? 833 00:33:28,380 --> 00:33:30,916 And then asking God for guidance and help in that. 834 00:33:30,988 --> 00:33:33,600 Okay, so that's exactly what happened in Psalm 13. 835 00:33:33,980 --> 00:33:38,036 He was asking questions, and then he asked God, verse three, consider 836 00:33:38,108 --> 00:33:38,980 and hear me. 837 00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:43,668 So it changed from questioning to asking God for something, praying, 838 00:33:43,764 --> 00:33:44,308 right? 839 00:33:44,444 --> 00:33:47,476 And so it would be one thing to question God and keep questioning 840 00:33:47,508 --> 00:33:47,860 God. 841 00:33:47,940 --> 00:33:51,700 It's another thing to eventually transition from questioning 842 00:33:51,780 --> 00:33:54,640 to asking God for that help. 843 00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:56,212 That's what we have to do. 844 00:33:56,316 --> 00:33:57,796 And then it goes from. 845 00:33:57,948 --> 00:34:02,468 It transitions from the asking phase to the praising phase, the 846 00:34:02,524 --> 00:34:04,148 worship phase, okay? 847 00:34:04,244 --> 00:34:06,916 Knowing God is good, I'm going to praise him, I'm going to worship 848 00:34:06,948 --> 00:34:07,520 him. 849 00:34:08,380 --> 00:34:11,268 And I would. 850 00:34:11,324 --> 00:34:11,796 I would. 851 00:34:11,868 --> 00:34:14,720 In my life, I would put it this way. 852 00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:17,620 And this is hard for many people to wrap their minds around, 853 00:34:17,660 --> 00:34:20,000 but I hope that you can understand what I mean by this. 854 00:34:20,310 --> 00:34:22,290 It goes like this in my brain. 855 00:34:22,710 --> 00:34:25,550 I might not feel it right now. 856 00:34:25,590 --> 00:34:26,942 But I believe it. 857 00:34:27,126 --> 00:34:30,750 I might not feel like you're here, but I believe that you're here. 858 00:34:30,870 --> 00:34:31,870 And I'm going to sit there. 859 00:34:31,910 --> 00:34:33,662 I'm going to trust in you in this. 860 00:34:33,846 --> 00:34:39,086 And for each of us, we might have questions for some tonight, 861 00:34:39,118 --> 00:34:43,822 it might be, why did God allow this person to be taken away from 862 00:34:43,846 --> 00:34:44,078 me? 863 00:34:44,134 --> 00:34:45,290 That's a common one. 864 00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:51,048 Why did God allow this to happen to me when I was a child? 865 00:34:51,184 --> 00:34:52,580 That's a common one. 866 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:57,144 You could even go in a broader sense of like, why did God allow 867 00:34:57,232 --> 00:34:58,648 this thing to happen in the world? 868 00:34:58,704 --> 00:35:00,744 Like, okay, I was just listening to a video today. 869 00:35:00,832 --> 00:35:04,312 Why did God allow World War II to happen in the Holocaust and all 870 00:35:04,336 --> 00:35:04,520 that? 871 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:04,856 Why? 872 00:35:04,928 --> 00:35:05,256 Why? 873 00:35:05,328 --> 00:35:05,848 Why? 874 00:35:05,984 --> 00:35:09,096 Okay, there might be a point in our life where we say, I don't 875 00:35:09,128 --> 00:35:12,770 know, but I have to go back to, to who God is and what he has 876 00:35:12,810 --> 00:35:15,058 done and what we know about his character. 877 00:35:15,234 --> 00:35:18,562 And so, so what we're going to do in this series, this was just 878 00:35:18,586 --> 00:35:20,210 basically the starting place. 879 00:35:20,250 --> 00:35:23,410 Okay, we got to know these things before we go any further, 880 00:35:23,530 --> 00:35:26,434 because when, when we get to the next questions, we're going to 881 00:35:26,442 --> 00:35:29,890 get to a place in our life where we have to say, I'm okay with 882 00:35:29,930 --> 00:35:32,194 not knowing the answer to this, but I have to go back to what 883 00:35:32,202 --> 00:35:33,186 I know about God. 884 00:35:33,298 --> 00:35:35,778 So, so next week we're going to talk about why. 885 00:35:35,914 --> 00:35:41,474 Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? 886 00:35:41,642 --> 00:35:45,090 Okay, common question, question of suffering. 887 00:35:45,250 --> 00:35:48,162 And then we're going to look at why does God allow good things 888 00:35:48,186 --> 00:35:49,410 to happen to bad people? 889 00:35:49,530 --> 00:35:51,714 These are two questions that are asked in Scripture. 890 00:35:51,762 --> 00:35:53,058 David asked, why does. 891 00:35:53,114 --> 00:35:55,150 Why do you allow good things to happen to bad people? 892 00:35:55,530 --> 00:35:57,234 Okay, that's a good question. 893 00:35:57,322 --> 00:35:59,470 I think, I think we all have thought about that. 894 00:35:59,850 --> 00:36:01,234 I've, I've thought about that. 895 00:36:01,322 --> 00:36:03,922 And actually that's a question that I, I pose when people do ask 896 00:36:03,946 --> 00:36:06,856 me, like, say, for example, someone comes into me and they say, 897 00:36:07,008 --> 00:36:08,344 you know, I'm a good person. 898 00:36:08,512 --> 00:36:08,888 Why. 899 00:36:08,944 --> 00:36:11,700 Why does God allow bad things to happen to me? 900 00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:14,820 And, and, and in, in love? 901 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,992 My question I want them to think about is this. 902 00:36:18,176 --> 00:36:20,296 And, and I think about this a lot. 903 00:36:20,448 --> 00:36:23,544 Instead of asking, why does God allow bad things to happen to 904 00:36:23,552 --> 00:36:24,456 a good person? 905 00:36:24,608 --> 00:36:27,800 Knowing that, theologically speaking, biblically speaking, there 906 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:28,488 is none good. 907 00:36:28,544 --> 00:36:30,802 No, not one that I am not. 908 00:36:30,826 --> 00:36:35,070 I don't deserve anything good in my life at all. 909 00:36:35,370 --> 00:36:37,106 And so the question would be then this. 910 00:36:37,178 --> 00:36:39,858 Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? 911 00:36:39,914 --> 00:36:42,450 Or you could say, why does God allow good things to happen to bad 912 00:36:42,490 --> 00:36:43,746 People, the good. 913 00:36:43,818 --> 00:36:46,322 The best thing that God has ever allowed for us to have in our 914 00:36:46,346 --> 00:36:48,226 life is, is the gospel salvation. 915 00:36:48,338 --> 00:36:48,946 Right? 916 00:36:49,098 --> 00:36:51,794 And so I'm going to give you a little hint to all of these questions. 917 00:36:51,842 --> 00:36:53,410 The answer is the gospel. 918 00:36:53,490 --> 00:36:55,528 The answer to both is the gospel. 919 00:36:55,674 --> 00:36:55,980 And. 920 00:36:56,020 --> 00:36:57,996 And we're going to talk about that, and we're going to dig deeper. 921 00:36:58,028 --> 00:37:01,468 And I want to give you some tools so that when you do come across 922 00:37:01,524 --> 00:37:04,520 someone that asks that question of, well, why did God allow, 923 00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:07,452 you know, the Holocaust? 924 00:37:07,516 --> 00:37:09,560 Or why did God allow this to happen? 925 00:37:09,940 --> 00:37:12,572 I think that what we need to do is we need to go deeper on the 926 00:37:12,596 --> 00:37:14,892 why behind that person asking that question. 927 00:37:15,076 --> 00:37:16,380 You know, well, what happened to you? 928 00:37:16,420 --> 00:37:18,732 You know, what's going on in your life? 929 00:37:18,836 --> 00:37:20,108 Because a lot of times it is. 930 00:37:20,164 --> 00:37:24,356 A lot of times it is a real thing that people have in their questioning. 931 00:37:24,388 --> 00:37:27,284 And that real question, God will give real answers to. 932 00:37:27,372 --> 00:37:28,960 But sometimes people are just. 933 00:37:29,340 --> 00:37:32,180 Just using that as an object to stop in their faith. 934 00:37:32,260 --> 00:37:34,468 And a lot of times people wouldn't believe even if we gave 935 00:37:34,484 --> 00:37:35,316 them an answer. 936 00:37:35,428 --> 00:37:38,676 There's a lot of times people would not believe if Jesus came down 937 00:37:38,748 --> 00:37:39,748 right now in person. 938 00:37:39,804 --> 00:37:41,760 There's going to be some people that don't believe. 939 00:37:42,060 --> 00:37:42,468 Why? 940 00:37:42,524 --> 00:37:45,028 Because there's another level of pride and sin in their hearts 941 00:37:45,044 --> 00:37:46,100 that they're not willing to give into. 942 00:37:46,140 --> 00:37:47,780 And so we need to talk about those things. 943 00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:48,138 And. 944 00:37:48,164 --> 00:37:50,398 And so, you know, this was pre. 945 00:37:50,454 --> 00:37:50,814 This. 946 00:37:50,902 --> 00:37:55,054 This whole question that we're dealing with was predicated upon 947 00:37:55,102 --> 00:37:57,410 a question that was asked, like, why did God. 948 00:37:58,390 --> 00:38:01,770 I think it was, why did God not take. 949 00:38:02,470 --> 00:38:03,854 Let me say, how was it worded? 950 00:38:03,902 --> 00:38:07,982 Why did God not give Moses the gift of speech after he asked for 951 00:38:08,006 --> 00:38:08,190 it? 952 00:38:08,230 --> 00:38:09,726 Like he was, you know, he said, I can't speak. 953 00:38:09,758 --> 00:38:10,350 And why. 954 00:38:10,390 --> 00:38:11,502 Why did God not do that? 955 00:38:11,526 --> 00:38:12,558 Why did God not just give. 956 00:38:12,614 --> 00:38:14,618 Why did God not bring Stephen back to life? 957 00:38:14,694 --> 00:38:17,026 That, you know, one of the questions that I really want to ask, 958 00:38:17,178 --> 00:38:20,162 and I truly want to ask it, why did God not bring Stephen back 959 00:38:20,186 --> 00:38:22,594 to life, but he brought Uticus back to life, the one that fell asleep 960 00:38:22,642 --> 00:38:23,650 while he was, you know, in. 961 00:38:23,690 --> 00:38:24,450 In the service. 962 00:38:24,570 --> 00:38:26,626 And then Stephen, the great martyr, the great. 963 00:38:26,698 --> 00:38:29,362 The great deacon that was seeing visions of God, why didn't 964 00:38:29,386 --> 00:38:30,162 God not bring him back? 965 00:38:30,186 --> 00:38:32,466 Those are questions that we will never have answers for. 966 00:38:32,618 --> 00:38:36,850 You know, why did God allow certain people to come along in his 967 00:38:36,890 --> 00:38:37,510 path? 968 00:38:37,930 --> 00:38:39,426 You know, Judas. 969 00:38:39,458 --> 00:38:41,896 The question of Judas, why did God allow that to happen? 970 00:38:42,018 --> 00:38:44,476 Well, some people believe that they have a reason for that. 971 00:38:44,548 --> 00:38:45,868 Other people believe that we don't. 972 00:38:45,884 --> 00:38:46,348 Have a reason. 973 00:38:46,404 --> 00:38:49,100 But all we can say is that we can sit there and analyze. 974 00:38:49,180 --> 00:38:52,188 But ultimately, God's ways are above our ways, and his thoughts 975 00:38:52,204 --> 00:38:54,796 are above our thoughts, and he's good. 976 00:38:54,948 --> 00:38:58,140 And we have to keep going, replaying that in our minds over 977 00:38:58,180 --> 00:38:59,404 and over and over again. 978 00:38:59,492 --> 00:39:01,596 All right, well, I know that's a lot here this evening. 979 00:39:01,628 --> 00:39:05,612 I know that maybe, maybe you're like, well, now, Pastor, you 980 00:39:05,636 --> 00:39:07,760 just gave me more questions. 981 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:09,336 That's okay. 982 00:39:09,528 --> 00:39:10,520 The truth is. 983 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,688 The truth is, is that I, I think that we have to come to a place 984 00:39:13,744 --> 00:39:17,848 in our life as believers and just be comfortable with saying, 985 00:39:17,904 --> 00:39:22,024 I don't know, I don't know now if it is this. 986 00:39:22,112 --> 00:39:25,592 Okay, well, you know, what book of the Bible talks about this. 987 00:39:25,616 --> 00:39:27,272 We, we need to have answers. 988 00:39:27,416 --> 00:39:28,696 We need to have answers. 989 00:39:28,808 --> 00:39:31,272 But there's another time where intellectually we don't need to be 990 00:39:31,296 --> 00:39:33,304 prideful and say that we know what God was thinking. 991 00:39:33,352 --> 00:39:35,886 Sometimes there's just like, I don't know, God's bigger than me. 992 00:39:36,008 --> 00:39:36,978 I trust in Him. 993 00:39:37,034 --> 00:39:37,746 That shows faith. 994 00:39:37,778 --> 00:39:38,562 That shows trust. 995 00:39:38,626 --> 00:39:42,130 If I can understand every element of what God is doing, that, 996 00:39:42,170 --> 00:39:43,442 that, that's a scary thing. 997 00:39:43,466 --> 00:39:46,498 Because if I can figure out every aspect of the mysterious ways 998 00:39:46,514 --> 00:39:49,122 of God, that means that maybe God's not bigger than we are, but 999 00:39:49,146 --> 00:39:50,706 we know that he's way bigger than we are. 1000 00:39:50,778 --> 00:39:54,194 So therefore, we cannot even scratch the surface to what God is 1001 00:39:54,202 --> 00:39:56,190 doing and why he is doing what he is doing. 1002 00:39:56,570 --> 00:39:58,258 So we'll talk more about it. 1003 00:39:58,314 --> 00:40:00,770 So we'll come back next week and answer those two questions, and 1004 00:40:00,810 --> 00:40:03,178 then we're going to talk about, um, really, some. 1005 00:40:03,234 --> 00:40:03,978 Some bigger things. 1006 00:40:04,034 --> 00:40:04,906 You know, why? 1007 00:40:04,978 --> 00:40:05,590 Why? 1008 00:40:06,290 --> 00:40:06,986 You know why. 1009 00:40:07,058 --> 00:40:10,058 Why does God allow Satan to continue on doing what he's doing? 1010 00:40:10,114 --> 00:40:11,594 Why doesn't God just save everybody? 1011 00:40:11,642 --> 00:40:14,410 Why doesn't God do this or do that? 1012 00:40:14,450 --> 00:40:17,194 We're going to talk all about that, and I hope that we leave with 1013 00:40:17,282 --> 00:40:18,106 some answers. 1014 00:40:18,218 --> 00:40:19,590 But I hope we can live. 1015 00:40:20,050 --> 00:40:23,258 I would say the, the biggest goal for me is not necessarily leave 1016 00:40:23,274 --> 00:40:27,114 with answers as much as we leave with faith and leave with trust 1017 00:40:27,242 --> 00:40:29,642 and leave with comfort and peace knowing that God is good. 1018 00:40:29,666 --> 00:40:32,232 And so if you're going through a difficulty right now, I'm not. 1019 00:40:32,256 --> 00:40:34,984 I want you to know God, I don't believe God is the author of 1020 00:40:34,992 --> 00:40:35,640 that evil. 1021 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:39,704 I don't believe that God is the one who did that evil thing in 1022 00:40:39,712 --> 00:40:40,040 your life. 1023 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:44,872 But I do know that God allows things to happen for our good and 1024 00:40:44,896 --> 00:40:45,528 for his good. 1025 00:40:45,584 --> 00:40:47,160 And I don't understand it. 1026 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:47,800 I really. 1027 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:49,256 I want to sit here and tell you it. 1028 00:40:49,328 --> 00:40:50,104 I really do. 1029 00:40:50,192 --> 00:40:53,096 My right now, my flesh is fighting against the spirit. 1030 00:40:53,208 --> 00:40:55,832 The flesh is telling me, give them an answer that makes sense to 1031 00:40:55,856 --> 00:40:55,992 them. 1032 00:40:56,016 --> 00:40:57,336 And the other side of it is the spirit. 1033 00:40:57,368 --> 00:40:59,068 Just saying, I don't know. 1034 00:40:59,124 --> 00:41:00,380 But we gotta just trust in Him. 1035 00:41:00,420 --> 00:41:01,480 So let's do that. 1036 00:41:02,180 --> 00:41:04,844 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1037 00:41:04,892 --> 00:41:05,596 Podcast. 1038 00:41:05,708 --> 00:41:08,360 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1039 00:41:08,660 --> 00:41:11,036 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1040 00:41:11,068 --> 00:41:14,684 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1041 00:41:14,812 --> 00:41:17,600 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1042 00:41:18,020 --> 00:41:22,556 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1043 00:41:22,588 --> 00:41:26,998 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 1044 00:41:27,054 --> 00:41:30,090 along for future podcast and updates. 1045 00:41:30,430 --> 00:41:31,558 Thank you so much. 1046 00:41:31,694 --> 00:41:32,534 God Bless. 1047 00:41:32,662 --> 00:41:33,710 Have a wonderful day.