Greg, Lori, and Harvest Ministries would like to send you the movie Unsung Hero, the back story of the music group for King and Country. It's a story of a mom and a dad and their seven kids putting their faith into action. You're going to be deeply moved by this story of the amazing small-bone family that have gone on to impact so many through their music, and we are offering this film to you for your gift of any size.
Get the DVD and digital download of Unsung Hero at Harvest.org. Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Lori podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Lori, encouraging you.
If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to Harvest.org. Amen. Isn't that a beautiful song? And that really sums up what we've been doing for the last 50 years, introducing people to Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Now, Lord, as we open your Word, how we need it, because as we look at our culture and our world, we want to see it through a biblical lens, not an emotional lens, not a cultural lens, not even a political lens. Biblically, we want to see things as you see them, because your Word brings clarity. So speak to us now as we open the Scripture.
We want to hear from you. And I pray for anybody here or watching, wherever they may be, if they're suffering, if they're in pain, if they're in a conflict, in a storm, a trial, may this be an especially encouraging message to them. So we commit this time of Bible study to you now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You can all be seated.
So we're in our Hot Buttons issue series. And we're going to be in the book of Job, chapter 1. So why don't you mosey on over there. And the title of my message is, How Can a God of Love Allow Pain and Suffering? Some of you are thinking, oh, why did I come to church today? And others are thinking, I'm so glad I came to church today.
It all depends what you're facing in life. But I did hear a story about a man who was on his deathbed. And he was slipping and out of a coma for several weeks. And his wife faithfully stayed by his side for the entire time. And so he came to consciousness. And he motioned to her to come close.
And she did. And he said, my dear wife, I have to say, you have been with me through everything I've faced in life. You know, you've been with me. You were with me when I got fired from my job. You were with me when my business failed, when we lost the house. You were there when I got really sick. You were still there when I got shot. You were there. And her heart was warming up. And her eyes were welling up with tears.
And then he said, but you know what? I think you're bad luck. Just a joke. OK, so life is filled with trouble. There's no escaping it, no getting away from it. In fact, in the book of Job, chapter 5, verse 7, it says, people are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire.
And that's so true. And then there are those days where everything seems to go wrong. Then we just look at what's going on around the world and we say, why is this happening, this horrific terrorist attack on October 7 in Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas and all those innocent civilians murdered and many taken as hostages.
And tragically, many of them still are hostages today. Or we hear of a cataclysmic event. Maybe a tsunami hits a place. Or we hear of someone that we know.
They get cancer. Or just the tragedies of life. And they're out there. And we wonder, why? How and why could a God of love allow all of this pain, tragedy, and suffering?
In fact, a barnacle was taken and they were asked if you could ask God one question and get an answer, what would you ask? And the response was, we want to ask God, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? If you're sharing the gospel with someone, it probably won't be long before they say something along the lines of, well, if God is so loving and caring, why would He allow suffering and pain in the world?
C.S. Lewis put it this way and I quote, the problem of pain is atheism's most potent weapon against the Christian faith, end quote. And that's true. More people point to the problem of evil and suffering for their reason for not believing in God than any other. It's not simply a problem. It is effectively the problem. If God is so loving as it's often framed, why doesn't He do something?
Here's the classic statement of the problem. Either God is all powerful, but He's not all good, therefore He doesn't stop evil. Or He's all good, but He's not all powerful, and therefore He can't stop evil. So the tendency is to blame God pretty much for everything. It's God's fault. And if He's loving and good, why doesn't He do something about it?
Well, the whole part of this, the statement and especially the first part of it, is based on a false premise. Because people who say, if God is good, why? They're essentially saying, I determine what is good. I even determine if God is good. So God, in their estimation, is not measuring up to my standards of what I perceive goodness as, therefore they're concluding, falsely of course, that God is not good.
Now, my response is, when did you become the moral center of the universe? Who are you to say what is good in the first place, or what is bad? Here's what the Bible teaches, and this is why we need to learn to think biblically. God is good, period. If I believe it or not, God is good. The Bible clearly establishes that.
Paul said, let God be true and every man a liar. Okay, but what is good? Answer, good is what God approves.
It's good because He approves it. Well, someone might say, that's circular reasoning. I call it biblical reasoning. I'm just coming back to what the Bible says. God says in Isaiah 1 18, come let's reason together.
Or another way to put that, let's argue this out. You see, God's thoughts are above our thoughts, His ways are above our ways, and there's no higher standard of goodness than God's own character. So God is good.
So let's remove that part of the question. And instead of saying, if God is good, why, let's just say why. Why is there suffering?
Why is there pain? Why all of these things happening in the world? Well, God created us with a free will, because He didn't want a bunch of robots that were pre-programmed doing whatever He told us to do.
He wants us to love Him out of our own heart and our own volition. And so, so many of the bad things that happen in life, quite frankly, are brought about by mankind. And not all, but many, if not most. And it all goes back to our first parents, Adam and Eve. They ate of that forbidden fruit. If they had not eaten of that forbidden fruit, sin would not have entered the world. If they had not eaten of that forbidden fruit, we would have never gotten sick.
We wouldn't age. We wouldn't even die if they had not eaten of that fruit. But they did eat. If they had not eaten of that forbidden fruit, I would have a full head of hair right now. So we're all reaping the consequences of their choice. Which, quite frankly, if you had been the first ones in the garden instead of Adam and Eve, you would have made the same choices as well. The Bible tells us, Romans 5-12, when Adam sinned, sin entered the human race.
And Adam's sin brought death, and death spread to everyone, for everyone has sinned. But we're mystified. Why do these things happen? So I'm going to give you the answer. If you missed everything else I've said, here's the answer. Why does God allow pain, suffering, evil in the world?
Why does God allow things to happen in your life that make no sense? Are you ready? You have a pen? Write it down. Here's my answer. I don't know.
I don't know. You should have met me when I was 21 years old and I just started preaching. I knew everything. I had five scriptures.
And I had an answer for every question. I'm not saying I know less now than I knew then, but I'm just saying it's okay sometimes to say I really don't know why. Okay, but there are some reasons God allows suffering in our life that we'll explore together. But we are going to suffer in life. That's clearly taught in scripture. Some people do suffer more than others, don't they?
Yeah, we don't know why. First Peter 4-12 says, don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. Our trials and sufferings and difficulties should not seem strange.
They should be expected in some way, shape, or form. Jesus said, in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. So maybe I'm talking to somebody that's just having the greatest day of all time.
In fact, he said, I was in the greatest mood until you started preaching. Well, I hate to break it to you, but there's trouble coming your way in some way, shape, or form around the corner. You're either coming out of a storm or eventually pulling into one. And this is not just for the Christian.
This is for everyone. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Calamity comes into all of our lives. So that should not surprise you.
That should not shock you. And I want to look at the story of a man who suffered greatly. He's sort of the poster boy for someone who suffered. And his name, of course, is Job.
This is a man who in one single day had the bottom drop out in life and every bad thing that could seemingly happen happened to him and maybe even a little bit more. Many believe that Job is the oldest book of the Bible. Some believe that Moses is the author of this book. But it starts by telling us Job came from a place called Oz. It almost sounds like a fairy tale, like Oz, Dorothy and Toto, right? But it was Oz. It was a real place. Job was a real guy who faced real problems, who turned to a real God, and he found real hope.
And Job shows us what we should do in times of crisis as well. So the story of Job opens in heaven. And then it sort of unfolds on earth. And a conversation is being held between the Lord and the angels. And among the angels is Satan. Now remember Satan, the devil, also known as Lucifer, is a fallen angel. In fact he was once a very high ranking angel. So in the story of Job here he is before the throne of God and the Lord says to Satan, so wherever you come from Satan replies, Job 1.7, I have been going back and forth across the earth watching everything that is going on.
Kind of creepy. But that is the devil. He is looking for trouble. He is looking for lives to ruin. He is looking for things to destroy. As Jesus said of him, the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And that is exactly what he was doing. In Peter he is described as a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour.
But when we read that he is watching everything that goes on, that suggests activity, action, and a restlessness. And then the Lord decides to brag on Job. And in the presence of the angels and Lucifer the Lord says, have you considered My servant Job, a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and shuns evil. The devil pushes back. Loose paraphrase.
Oh give me a break. Job follows you because you give him cool stuff. He has a big family. He has wealth. He has the best life ever. And that is why he follows you. He doesn't really care about you. Give me a little time with Job and we will see what he is really made of. Now when I read this conversation I think Lord if you are ever for a fleeting moment feeling proud of me don't say anything while the devil is around. Because a series of calamities came crashing down on Job.
It is unbelievable in many ways. It was probably a day like any other day. He opens his eyes. Here comes the sun rising.
Stretches out his arms. Okay Lord let's see what you have in store for me today. And then one bad thing after another begin to fall, unfold in the life of Job. So the story begins where someone comes into his family that are having a meal together. And they say that a group of marauders just stole all of our animals and killed our farmhands. And before that person can finish speaking another comes in and says well the fire of God fell on your sheep and on your shepherds. And then another one says hey the camels were just stolen and more farmhands were killed. And then it went from bad to worse. And we pick our story up in Job 1 verse 18.
I am reading from the New Living Translation. While he was still speaking another messenger arrived with this news. Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother's house suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert hit the house from all sides and the house collapsed. And all your children are dead.
I am the only one escaped to tell you. Job stood up. He tore his robe in grief. And he shaved his head and he fell to the ground before God.
Wow. I will tell you all the things that Job experienced the loss of his livestock and other calamities. None of it compared to losing his family. Losing his children. And I know this pain because as you know it happened to us 16 years ago when our oldest son Christopher was killed in a tragic automobile accident. When I heard the news I felt like my world literally ended. You say well Greg you are a pastor.
Yeah I am. And I am also a dad. And I was devastated. And I literally fell to the ground.
I couldn't even stand. And Kathy got down on her knees and she took my face into her hands and she said it is going to be okay. And of course in a broad sense it wasn't okay but I think what she was saying to me was you are going to survive this.
We are going to survive this. She was the only one who could say that to me in the room because she lost a son too. Because you know what? People say really crazy stuff in tragic times. They are well meaning perhaps. But they try to say something to comfort you and it doesn't comfort you. Sometimes it makes it even more difficult. There is a whole other message one could give on what not to say to someone who has lost a loved one. And I could just give you a list that goes on quite a while of things to not say.
Actually here is just a simple way to look at it. Less is more. There is nothing you are going to say that is going to make it better. Literally just to say I am so sorry and just be there can sometimes do more for a person than trying to give them a little sermonette. And I heard quite a few sermonettes. And I didn't need those at that particular moment. But it reminds me of how Job reacted.
He just fell to the ground. And we joined a club we never wanted to join. The club of people who lost children. Now you know it is interesting if you lose your husband you are a widow. If you lose your wife you are a widower. If you lose your parents you are an orphan. What are you if you lose your child? Well there is no word.
Maybe because it is so incomprehensibly awful they haven't come up with a description for it. But I joined this very exclusive club and it is not a fun one to be in. But I will tell you God was with me. I was being interviewed a while back and someone asked me what is the most spiritual moment of your entire life? Meaning when did you feel God's presence more than any other time?
I had to think about it. Was it the day when I came to Christ? That was a very spiritual day. But actually it was not an emotional day for me. I don't know about your conversion. Was it the day I was baptized? As you know I sank down 30 feet. I am kidding. That is a Jesus revolution film.
A little footnote. Do you know how they shot that scene? How many of you have seen the Jesus revolution film? Ok so when my character Greg is baptized he goes in the water but then he is sinking. Do you know how they did that? They shot that in a water tank in Alabama. And the actor Joel Courtney playing me had weights attached to him. And they took him down and they had John Irwin the director had a scuba tank and he would give Joel oxygen and then they would push him back up and he sank again. And that lasted for hours. He was like pickled by the end of it.
But when you see the scene you just see he goes in the water, sings the music, plays. Very dramatic. That is how it was done. But was my baptism my most emotional day? No it wasn't. No it was emotional. Was my wedding my most spiritual day? Big day. And I had to admit that the moment I felt the presence of Jesus was right after I heard the worst news ever.
It is like Jesus made himself so known to me that he was there. And Job experienced that as well. You know sometimes when tragedy hits people say I lost my faith. You know this happened to me.
It is not fair. I lost my faith. Okay. Maybe that is good.
What? Hey the faith that cannot be tested is the faith that cannot be trusted. Your faith should not be based on your emotion. Your faith should not be on everything going circumstantially well because it won't. Your faith should not be on everyone always being the perfect example for you to follow. Your faith needs to be in Christ. And he will never let you down. He will never abandon you.
He can be fully trusted. That is the faith you need. Character is not made in Christ it is revealed. It is revealed. It shows what your character is. It shows what your faith is in or I should say rather who your faith is in.
And so here is Job facing all of this. You know people say I have questions for God. I have questions for God too. And when I get to heaven I have a list of questions.
Oh do you now. I can just see you. There you are in the presence of God Almighty.
There is the glassy sea. There is the angels of God. There is all of your loved ones ready to welcome you into glory.
There is Jesus Christ. Arms outstretched. You are going to say hey everyone good to see you.
I have these questions. You won't have any questions. You will just be worshiping God with the rest of us. Because all of your questions will be answered in that final day. So let me give you just a few thoughts on why God allows suffering.
If you are taking notes here is point number one. God sometimes allows suffering and sickness to get our attention. He allows it to get our attention. Maybe you are rebelling against God. And you are going the wrong direction and the Lord wants you to pay attention. This happened to Jonah. God told him to go and preach to the Ninevites. Jonah said no I am not going to do it.
And a boat going in the opposite direction. To sum up the story of Jonah. God said go. Jonah said no. God said oh. See God will always have the last word. And because Jonah was his child.
His prophet. He chastened him. The Lord says or the Bible says the Lord chastens every son that he loves. So have you ever been out somewhere maybe in a restaurant and kids are behaving really badly.
Very disrespectful. And you would like to go over there and tell them to behave themselves. But you can't because they are not your kids.
And if you do try you might get arrested. That is not your privilege. Your privilege and your responsibility I might add as a parent is to control your children. Because often it is more of a commentary on bad parenting than bad kids. You see a well behaved respectful child. That is good parenting. Because these kids are not born that way.
None of us are. And so as a good loving parent you say no you are not going to do that. No you don't speak to people that way.
You don't speak to me that way. You know that is all part of parenting. And God is the ultimate parent. And if we start to go astray He says I love you so much I am not going to let you keep doing that. Remember what David wrote in Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
My cup runs over. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. For you are with me. You know the rest. Your rod and your staff.
Say it with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me. Ok. Rod and staff. We remember what that is when we looked at the Psalms. Staff is a long crooked stick if you will that the shepherd uses to pull the wayward sheep back.
The rod it is effectively a club. The shepherd uses it to drive off predators but he also uses it occasionally on that exceptionally rebellious sheep that potentially is leading others astray. So the Lord is saying now I don't want you to do that and you keep doing it. And he uses the staff. Now stop doing that. You keep doing it.
He uses the staff. Now I am telling you I want you to stop. You keep doing it. Whack.
What was that? That is love. Love. Yea. That is God trying to keep you from killing yourself. From destroying your life. You know. And this is the thing.
He will discipline his own children. So maybe something has happened in your life that just got your attention. Sort of a wake up call. The psalmist wrote, before I was afflicted I went astray but now I have kept your word. So sometimes the Lord will use difficulties, trials, hardships, etcetera to get your attention. Maybe something has happened recently that just boy got your attention fast. Maybe your marriage failed. Maybe your parents divorced. Maybe your boyfriend or girlfriend dumped you. Maybe even your dog walked out on you. And your cat too. But don't they always walk out on us? I mean do we really even own them?
We just feed them and they go live their crazy cat lives right? Well whatever it was it got you to wake up and if you are a real believer you will turn to God. Here is something to remember. God is in control of all circumstances that surround the believer. God is in control of all circumstances that surround the believer. The word oops is not in God's vocabulary.
Would you be alarmed if you heard God say whoops. What? What? You dropped a planet? A galaxy?
What happened? No. He has a plan and He either does it or He allows it. So whatever happens in your life is either done by God or it is allowed by God ultimately for your good and for His glory. And there are things that happen that I will acknowledge do not make sense at all. But when a real believer faces crisis he or she will turn to God and a nonbeliever will turn against him.
It shows what you are made of. I don't know about Job's wife. I mean here is poor Job. All these bad things have happened to him and her. It is her family too. Her livelihood too. And then poor old Job is covered head to toe in massive boils.
Have you ever had a boil? Imagine having them everywhere. And Job's wife just looks at him and says why don't you just curse God and die. Thank you for those comforting words Mrs. Job. How much I like to get a card like that. You know on the cover it says I heard you were sick. Open it up.
Curse God and die. Wow. That was Mrs. Job's card to Job. And so was she a believer?
I don't know. But that was not encouraging news. But Job did the opposite. He turned to God during his difficulty. You are either going to turn to God or you are going to turn against God and as a result you are either going to be better or bitter.
Let me say that again. You are either going to turn to God or you are going to turn against God and as a result you will either be better or bitter. Number three. Suffering helps us grow spiritually and makes us stronger in the faith. It helps us grow spiritually and makes us stronger in the faith. It takes our faith from the realm of theory to reality.
Job 42. Job says I had only heard about you before but now I have seen you with my eyes. In other words I knew these things but now I have seen them. You know they were conceptual. I believe them. They were and are true but I hadn't experienced them yet but now I know.
I have seen it. You know sometimes parents will say oh we have raised such wonderful children and we will tell you how to do it too. Ok. How old are your kids? Two and three.
How do I put this delicately? Shut up. You don't know what you are talking about.
Come to me after you have survived raising a teenager and we will talk again. You know so maybe they are applying good principles but the truth is this. You have to experience certain things to become maybe an authority on them we will say. And Job certainly had experienced all of this.
He was transformed and he wrote in Job 23 10. He knows the way that I take and when he has tested me I will come forth as gold. See there are some things that will only come through times of testing. I talked before about going to the gym. And you go to the gym to break muscle down in order to build it back up. And trials are like God's gym that make you stronger not weaker. You are broken down to be built up. James 1 says listen when troubles of any kind come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy for when your faith is tested you will have a chance to grow.
Number four. Suffering can be used to prepare us for a special task. And this is shown beautifully in the life of Joseph. Another godly man and a young man at that.
I mean his brothers sold him into slavery and he ended up in the house of a guy named Potiphar and through his hard work and diligence and godliness he was running the whole place and then Potiphar's wife hit on him. She was the original Mrs. Robinson. And only four people got that joke. That is a very dated reference. Let's just say she was the original Cougar. Does that make more sense?
I don't know. But she hit on young Joseph trying to entice him sexually. He resists her advances and she falsely accuses him of rape and he is sent to prison. But through the providence of God he ultimately was able to save a nation from starvation. And he said to his brothers later I know you meant these things were evil but God meant them for good to save many people alive. A perfect illustration of Romans 8.28 that says God causes all things to work together for good to those that love God another called according to his purpose. So there are things that we learn in trials we don't learn anywhere else. And it gives us an ability to minister to people in a unique way.
Paul put it this way. 2 Corinthians 1 he says he comforts us on all of our troubles so we can comfort others and when others are in trouble we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us so you can be sure the more we suffer for Christ the more God will shower us with comfort through Christ. Ok so when you go through a hardship it gives you a credibility in the eyes of other people to perhaps help them. As an example let's say that you are a cancer survivor and thank God for that. And then one of your friends finds out they have cancer and they are just so worried and full of fear and you say let me talk to you about how God helped me through this. You have a credibility that nobody else would have because you have been there and done that. Or let's say someone loses a loved one and they know you have just lost a loved one perhaps a child and you say here is how we got through it. Here is how we get through it and they want to hear from you. You know it has been said success builds walls and failure builds bridges.
Does that make sense? Success builds walls. Failure builds bridges.
You know if you are having the perfect life or at least you want to have people think you are living the perfect life, that they follow you on Instagram, here you are with your awesome car in front of your awesome house with your amazing family and everything is perfect and don't they wish they were living a perfect life like you and in reality you are not living the perfect life but you put it out that you are. And now you are going to tell them something. I don't want to listen to you. But then they know someone else who has had suffering and difficulty and they have overcome it with faith.
They want to talk to that person. See that is how failure in a sense or struggle we will say builds a bridge. Oh you are just like me. See so there is something God can do with this. Don't waste your pain. I wish we could live pain free lives. But we are going to have pain. So what are we going to do with it? Are we going to let it destroy us?
Are we going to use it as a tool and use it as a weapon? You know one thing I found especially in the immediate aftermath of our son going to be with the Lord was it helped me when I helped others. When I would just think about myself and feel sad for what we were facing I could get very depressed about it.
But then maybe I would meet someone that just had it happen to them one week ago. And I began to speak to them and told them as Kathy said to me in so many words it is going to be ok. Meaning you are going to survive this.
You are going to live through this. And you are going to see your child again if they died in faith in Christ because your child or your loved one is not just a part of your past. They are also a part of your future. As I would minister to other people it would minister to me. So it is back to what Paul said.
Comforting with the comfort I have been comforted with. This is so very important for us to understand. Don't waste your pain. Well the story of Job ends. It seems like a good ending. Everything he had has now been replaced. He has double what he had before. But the problem is those kids, those children were all gone. Now he had other children but the original children are gone.
You can't replace them. And so there was still a great sense of loss. But he lived a long blessed life. And God worked in his life. Warren Wiersbe, a great commentator, quotes a professor of history who said, quote, if Columbus had turned back nobody would have blamed him.
But nobody would have remembered him either. And then he concludes if you want to be memorable sometimes you are going to have to be miserable. End quote. So you might be going through something that makes no sense to you but God will give you the strength to handle it. And as I know as I share some of these things some of you say I don't want any of that to happen to me.
Okay I get that. And chances are maybe it won't. And for others maybe it will.
Whatever that something will be in I don't know. But God will give you what you need when you need it. Corrie Ten Boo. Ever heard of her? She is one of my heroes.
I had the opportunity to hear her speak in person years ago but she was a really special woman from Holland. And her father and her sister had a clock shop in Holland. And they were strong Christians. And so the Nazis were persecuting the Jews, hunting them down, sending them off to concentration camps. So the Ten Boom family took these Jewish people into their home and hid them from the Nazis.
Eventually they were all arrested, the Ten Booms. The father who was elderly died rather quickly in one camp. Corrie and her sister Betsy ended up in a camp called Ravensbruck. And Betsy died but they had shared their faith with so many of these other people that were in this camp with them. And Corrie threw a clerical error but the providence of God got out of that camp and spent the rest of her life bringing encouragement to people. And she wrote a lot of great books.
But here is something she wrote. And I quote, When I was a little girl, it is Corrie, I went to my father and said, Daddy, I am afraid I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. Tell me, said father, when we take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket?
Three weeks before? No, Daddy, Corrie says. You give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train. That's right, the father said. And so it is with God's strength. Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.
He'll supply all you need just in time. And that's true of us. So don't worry about these things. Oh, I could never handle that.
I could never get through this other thing. You will be able to do what God wants you to do if that comes to your life. As I said earlier, God will give you what you need.
Sometimes before, never after. He will be sufficient for you no matter what you face in life. So maybe you are suffering or maybe something has happened to get your attention. What do you do at a time like this? You turn to Jesus.
Jesus is the answer for everything. Because we ask the why question. Why? That's a hard one to answer. Virtually impossible. So then we pivot to the who and the what.
The who is who do I turn to? I turn to alcohol. That won't help. That will make it worse. I'll turn to prescription drugs. That won't help. I'll turn to people.
They may bring some help but limited. I'll turn here. I'll turn there. You need to turn to Jesus. He is suffered. Jesus knows all about suffering. And He can help you during your time of suffering.
The Bible says He is well acquainted with suffering and able to help in time of need. Right? So that's the who. And the what? Now what do I do?
How can I use this pain? How can I use what I have gone through to help other people? Let me loop back to a question I raised earlier. Why do bad things happen to good people?
Let me restate it. Why do bad things happen to good people? Well that only happened once and He volunteered.
Does that make sense? Why do good things happen to good people? Well that only happened once and He volunteered. There's only been one truly good person that has ever walked the earth and that was Jesus Christ. And He volunteered to suffer and die in our place.
Right? He paid the price for all of your sins so you could be forgiven and not have to walk through life alone. Coming back to Psalm 23 David says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Why David? You are with me. See the Christian has God in their life. Do you have God in your life? Is Christ living in your heart?
Well yes. You know I believe He lives in every heart. We are all the children of God. No we are not. You are not the children of God. You are the created being from God. God made you. You are loved by God. But the only way you become a child of God is through rebirth.
Rebirth. Jesus said you must be born again. The Bible says for as many as received Him to them He gave the power to become sons of God. That is how you become a child of God. You say Jesus I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sin. I turn from it now and I ask You to come into my life and forgive me of my sin. Have You done that yet?
If not would You like to? So we are going to close with a prayer. And I am going to lead you in this prayer where you can ask Christ to come into your life to be your Savior and Lord. And maybe I am talking to a prodigal.
Son or daughter today. A Jonah. You know you have been running from God. It is time to run back to God. And He will welcome you with open arms. Let's pray. Father I pray for every person here.
Every person watching wherever they are. If they don't know You yet. If they have not asked You into their life yet. Let this be the moment they believe or recommit themselves to You now. Now for you that want to make that commitment or recommitment to Christ I am going to pray a prayer. And I am going to ask you to pray this prayer after me out loud. In fact I am going to ask everybody to pray this prayer out loud as a sign of support for those that are praying it for the first time. So again as I pray just pray this after me.
Everybody. Pray these words. Lord Jesus. I know that I am a sinner. But I know that You are the Savior. Who died on the cross for my sin. And rose again from the dead. Jesus come into my life.
I want to follow You. I repent of my sin. Thank you for hearing this prayer. And answering this prayer. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. God bless you that prayed that for the first time.
