Greg Laurie - Answering Difficult Questions Nonbelievers Ask (06/25/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches from John 9 how to handle tough questions nonbelievers throw at you when sharing the gospel, like why God allows evil or what about those who've never heard. He shows the Bible's trustworthiness through experience, science, archaeology and prophecy, and explains suffering can reveal God's work, build character or bring Him glory, urging us to trust Christ now.
How to Lead Others to Jesus
We're going to continue our worship right now. And the ushers will come forward and we're going to receive our evening tithes and offerings. And so let's pray. Father, thank you for this time. And thank you for saving Frank. And just continue to bless him and his wife and his ministry. It really is a ministry there every day, Monday through Friday, talking to thousands of people. Use him to reach others that need to hear the gospel. And we commit this time to you now. Bless these gifts as we invest in our future here in our new facility at Harvest Orange County. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.
Well, why don't you guys take a minute and turn and greet somebody next to you. Okay, how many of you are coming to the first service on Sunday? Raise your hand. Ah, good, good, good. All right. Let's grab our Bibles and turn to John chapter 9. We're coming to the close of this series that we're calling Tell Someone. And this Sunday is sort of the grand finale. And I think the most important message in the whole series, the title of it is, How to Lead Others to Jesus. Yes. You can lead others to Jesus. It can start happening right away.
A friend of mine named Tony came to church last Sunday, heard the message, said, you know, I really took it to heart. And I was talking to my realtor on the phone. And I started sharing the gospel with her. And before I knew it, we were praying. She accepted Christ on the phone. So you just, you got to look for those opportunities. I'm telling you, they're everywhere. Jesus said, lift up your eyes and look. The field is white to harvest. It's right in front of your face. You just got to pay attention and be tuned into that frequency of the Holy Spirit. I'm sure he will speak to you.
Facing Tough Questions from Nonbelievers
Well, we're in John chapter nine. And the title of my message tonight is, Answering Difficult Questions Nonbelievers Ask. You know, it won't be long if you're out sharing your faith or you're engaged in a conversation with someone before they're going to ask you a hard question. Now, it's not necessarily because they want an answer to their question. Sometimes people have sort of a list of questions to ask Christians to make them go away. And so you need to be aware of that because sometimes when you're answering the question, they move to a second question. You try to answer that one and they're up to a third and even a fourth. So sometimes you need to know this is a smoke screen to get you to go away.
Years ago, when our son Jonathan was just a little guy, we had a restaurant we like to frequent for breakfast. And there was this waitress that just found Jonathan adorable. And she would always come up and like hug him and kiss him and pinch his cheek. And she thought he loved it, but I don't think he did at all. And one day we're sitting there and she's showing all this attention toward Jonathan. And we hear Jonathan, he's just a little guy. And he's just going, he's saying, what on earth is he saying? And then finally when she left, we said, Jonathan, what are you saying? He said, go bye bye. Go bye bye. He just wanted her to leave. And that's how a lot of people feel when you come walking along. Or me. Oh, here we go. Here's a Christian. Go bye bye.
Remember, our objective is to engage them in a dialogue. It's not a monologue. It's a dialogue. We draw them out. We talk to them. We ask them questions. Because as I've said before, the objective is not to win the argument. It's to win the soul. And the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:15, always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But listen to this. Do it with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ will be ashamed of their slander.
So have an answer. And that word have an answer actually comes from a Greek word, apologia, where we get our word apologetic from. And so when we're talking about an apologist, like Don Stewart, our friend, he's an apologist. He's someone that's sort of an expert, if you will, in defending the faith. So we want to be apologists. We're not all going to know Greek, but we're going to know enough to give answers to people that lay hard questions on us. And by the way, the word apologist or apologia means to give a legal defense as in a court of law. But we want to do it in a loving way.
Again, going back to that passage there in 1 Peter, give them a reason for the hope you have. But listen, do it with gentleness and respect. Sometimes I see Christians give answers, but they do it kind of aggressively and in a mean way. We need to do it in a friendly but direct way. We need to be winsome. Listen to this. If you want to win some, you need to be winsome.
Learning from Jesus and Paul in Conversations
So we see this, of course, modeled in Jesus and the way he would approach people. We certainly saw that in our last conversation that he had with a woman at the well. She tried to get him off on all these rabbit trails. And he patiently but persistently pressed his case. And eventually, that woman believed in him. He adapted to the situation. And we need to do the same.
This is what Paul meant when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 9, I become a servant of everyone so I can bring them to Christ. When I'm with the Jews, I become one of them so I can bring them to Christ. When I'm with those who are oppressed, I share their oppression so I can bring them to Christ. Yes, Paul concludes, I try to find common ground with everyone so I can bring them to Christ.
And I find it fascinating the way Jesus would often ask a question in response to a question. Here's the story of the rich young ruler. Remember he's a successful young man. To be a ruler in those days meant you had to be at least 30. So he's identified as young, so he's probably his early 30s. He's climbed his corporate ladder. He was like a first century yuppie. Had a tricked out chariot for sure. Comes cruising up, holding his latte. And he says to Jesus, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Now understand who this guy was. This guy was legit. He was credible. He was wealthy. He was influential. Who was Jesus calling to himself at this point? He had kind of a ragtag group. Fisherman. Tax collector. A zealot, which means a guy dedicated to the violent overthrow of Rome. They weren't exactly the cream of the crop society wise. And this guy comes along. You would have thought Jesus would have stopped everything and tried to get this guy on his team. Oh, I need this guy. Because if I have this guy following me, it will make others want to follow me as well.
No, Jesus didn't do that at all. He comes up, good teacher. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus doesn't even respond. You'd think you'd say, well believe in me. Turn from your sin and you'll be saved. That's not what Jesus said. Jesus said, why do you call me good? Good. There's not one good, but God. What kind of a response is that?
Well, here's the deal. Jesus knew this young man was not completely sincere. He's opening up, opening the conversation up to a dialogue. See, because some people will say, well I believe that Jesus was a great moral teacher. You'll say, Christ has changed my life. Well, I admire Christ, and I believe he was a great moral teacher. Now our automatic response is, no, Jesus was the son of God. And no, wait, why don't you just pick up where they left off? Oh, you think he was a great moral teacher? Yes, I do. Tell me, which of his teachings do you admire the most? Ah. See, they just heard someone else say that. They don't really have any thoughts, because they probably never read the teachings of Jesus. So I would respond to a question, or a statement, sometimes with a question, to draw them into a dialogue.
Answering the Hardest Questions Nonbelievers Ask
Okay, so here's the questions we're going to tackle tonight, that are often asked by non-believers, and sometimes by believers. Number one, how do you know the Bible is the Word of God? You know, we quote the Bible. We base our faith on what the Bible teaches. How do we know the Bible is the Word of God? Number two, if God is so good, and God is so loving, why does he allow evil? How could a God of love allow tragedy? And thirdly, what about the person who has never heard the gospel, living in the jungle? They're always in the jungle, I don't know why. Will God send them to hell?
There's a lot of other questions I could raise, but these are the three we'll deal with in this message. On Sunday, I'll deal with the question, how could a God of love send someone to hell? So let's start with the first one.
Why You Can Trust the Bible as God's Word
How do you know the Bible is the Word of God? Okay, how many of you brought your Bible with you? Grab your Bible, hold it up right now. It's okay if it's an iPad or an iPhone or whatever. Okay, this book, this book is the most amazing book on the face of the earth. This is God's message to us. This is why in every service we open this book and we find out what this book has to say.
Now, technically the Bible is not one book. It's actually 66 books written over a 1,500 year span. Its words were written by over 40 authors from every walk of life. Kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, and scholars. Yet all of the authors of the Bible had one thing in common, the redemption of mankind. See, technically God is the author of Scripture, but He gave it to us through human instruments. 2 Peter 1:20 says, As you must understand, no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit that moved the prophets to speak from God.
Okay, fine, you say, but how can I know the Bible is true? If you're taking notes, here's a few thoughts. Point number one. I know the Bible is true because it gave me the experience it promised I would have. Now, that's not the only reason, but it's a valid reason. I want to say it again. I know the Bible is true because it gave me the experience it claimed I would have.
Now, that's not the only reason I would believe it, but this happened for me, and I know it's happened for you as well. See, I read in the Bible that if I would confess my sin, He would be faithful and just to forgive me of my sin. And I did that, and you know what? That burden of guilt was lifted from me. In fact, I distinctly remember on the day I was converted, I felt as though a huge load had been taken off my little 17-year-old back. Now, how many burdens could a 17-year-old kid have? Apparently, I had a lot because I was carrying around a load of sin.
And it wasn't until later that I read the words of Jesus when He said, come unto me, all you that are laboring and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. You know, that happened for me. The Bible promised if I believed in Jesus, I would experience peace and joy. That's happened for me as well. The Bible told me that if I prayed according to the will of God, my prayers would be answered in the affirmative. I have prayed, and I've seen my prayers answered. Have you? Do you remember your first answered prayer? I remember mine.
I prayed for a Bible. Because remember, some guy gave me a really weird Bible with popsicle sticks. Do you remember that story, if you heard that message? That I have to have a legit Bible. There's just no way I'm going to have this as my Bible. And I went down to a Bible bookstore and found a beautiful Bible with a black leather cover and gold pages and ribbons coming out of the bottom. And it was a, I think it was a Schofield study Bible. I said, oh, I want that Bible. But I didn't have any money. I'm not going to go to my mom and ask her to buy me a Bible. She never would have.
So somehow my grandmother found out I'd become a Christian and she was a believer. And she called me up and said, Greg, I heard you became a Christian. I said, yes, I did. Mama Stella, that's what I called her. She says, I want to buy you a Bible. And I just prayed, Lord, I need a Bible. Now I know that doesn't seem like a big deal to you. But I'd never prayed before. I just prayed, I want a Bible. She says, I want to buy you a Bible. And I'm like, yes! Now that was just the beginning of hundreds, thousands of prayers I've seen answered.
Also, I would say that having gone through the worst crisis of my life, with the death of our son, God promised he would get me through it. And he promised he would comfort those that mourn. And I've said before, if God did not come through for me in that time, I would have given up preaching. Trust me when I tell you that. The last thing I'd want to do is get up here and say these things if they weren't true. But they were all true. Because they are true. Because the Word of God is true. The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is true because it gave me the experience it promised.
Number two, I know the Bible is true because it's confirmed by science. Oh, you're wrong there, Greg. No, the Bible and science contradict one another. I don't think that's necessarily true. You know, for years people scoffed at the teaching of the Scripture because the Bible said thousands of years ago, you could not number the stars in the sky. And all the brilliant astronomers said, what a joke. Of course you can number them. I'll do it right now. One, two, three. And then they got more powerful telescopes. One thousand, two thousand, three. And then they got even more powerful telescopes. One million, two million, three million. And they came to a conclusion. You can't number the stars in the sky.
Scripture said that they're so vast, they're as numerous as the sands upon the sea. Modern science has proven this as they've developed more powerful telescopes. And we've launched spacecraft into outer space and so forth. We've discovered there's no way to number them. Estimates range from 200 billion stars to 76 trillion. Someone just woke up because they said sex probably. Sex? That's not that. Oh. Yeah. 76 trillion. I don't even know how many that is. That's a lot.
It was the Bible that said everything you see is made out of something you don't see. People laughed at that. That's ridiculous. Of course, the things that we see are made out of things we see. But Hebrews 11:3 said, By faith we understand the entire universe was formed at God's command. And what we now see comes from something that cannot be seen. Oh, that's ridiculous. And then scientists discovered that all matter is made up of invisible energy. Protons, neutrons, and electrons, and croutons. No, that's for the salad.
Listen to this. I don't believe in the Bible because science proves it's true. I believe in the Bible because science proves it's true. Science can catch up with the Bible. Understand, it is not the intention of Scripture to be a textbook on science per se. If it were, it would be much thicker and far less comprehensible. It will address scientific or historical fact. It has always proven to be accurate when it does. But the primary objective of Scripture is to show us how to know God. It's a book of redemption. The primary purpose is not to tell us how the heavens go, but how to go to heaven, you see. So we have to understand what the Bible is for.
Archaeology and Prophecy Confirm the Bible
Number three, the Bible is true because it's confirmed by archaeology. Over the years, countless critics have challenged the teachings of the Scripture. But recent archaeological findings always confirm what the Bible said. For instance, for years, until fairly recently, critics said, Bible can't be true. New Testament can't be true. It talks about the crucifixion of Jesus. There is no archaeological evidence to prove that any person was ever crucified. Then they kept digging, and they found the remains of a man crucified in his mid-30s north of Jerusalem with a seven-inch iron nail embedded in his heel. The state of his bones indicated his arms were outstretched, and his feet had been placed sideways, and the nail was driven through a small block of wood through both heels into the cross.
Okay, well, they said. But the Bible can't be true because it talks about a guy named Pontius Pilate, a governor there. And there is no archaeological record for Pontius Pilate. And people actually dismissed Scripture. There's no Pontius Pilate. Certainly a man of Jesus' importance would have had some evidence to support it. But in 1961, an inscription was found at Caesarea confirming that Pontius Pilate was a Roman governor in Judea at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. In fact, if you go to Israel today, there's something called the Pilate Stone. I have a picture of it here. This is actually not the actual Pilate Stone. This is a reproduction of it. They're in Caesarea. That's my granddaughter Stella sitting on top of it. But that's the stone they found that looked just like that using the name of Pontius Pilate.
Critics doubted Scripture because there was no record of a high priest called Caiaphas. There is no mention of Caiaphas in archaeology. But in 1990, the tomb of the high priest, Caiaphas, was discovered. Surprise, surprise. And it's just gonna continue to be that way. Jewish historian Nelson Glueck said this. And I quote, It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail the historical statements made in the Bible. End quote. That's because the Bible is the word of God and you can trust it.
It's confirmed by the experiences it promises. It's confirmed by science. It's confirmed by archaeology. And listen to this. The Bible is the only book that dares to predict the future. No other book does that. No other religious writings do that. And when they do, they're always proven wrong. Of course, I'm not talking here about the Mayan calendar. Remember how everyone got worried about the Mayan calendar. Or the writings of Nostradamus. Things like that. They'll believe that stuff. Or the psychic on the corner. With our little crystal ball. And then they'll take the word of God and just dismiss it out of hand.
See, the basic test of the true God and the true faith and the true prophet and the true belief is this. Can they predict the future? And more importantly, can they predict it with accuracy? You want to know what's going on in this world right now? It's all predicted in the Bible. You want to know about the conflict in the Middle East? Predicted in the Bible. The Bible said that the Jewish people would be scattered to the four corners of the earth. That happened. The Bible says the Jewish people would return to their homeland. That's happened. The Bible said the Jewish people would regain the city of Jerusalem. That's happened. The Bible says the Jewish people would be surrounded by hostile enemies intent on her destruction. That's happening. The Bible says a large force from the north of Israel would attack her with her allies. That is yet to happen.
The Bible is the one book that dares to predict the future. Listen, one half of these prophecies the Bible gives us have already come to pass. Therefore, if one half of them have happened, as God said, should there be any reason for me to doubt that the remaining half will also happen as God has said.
A scientist actually sat down and figured this out. If just eight prophecies were fulfilled by coincidence, what would the odds of that be? For instance, the chance that Jesus would just happen to be born in Bethlehem, that's one in 280,000. The chance he would have a forerunner announcing his coming, one in 1,000. The chance he would be betrayed by 30 pieces of silver, one in 10,000. The chance that he would have his hands wounded, one in 10,000. The chance that he would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, one in 1,000. Put it all together. The chances that Jesus did these things coincidentally, it's one in 10 to the 28th power. Look at the screen. That's your coincidence. And that's just eight prophecies. Jesus fulfilled many more. Many more. You can trust the Bible.
He summed it up this way. If you were to cover the entire state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep, then mark one and then randomly blindfold someone and have them walk across the state of Texas and randomly reach down and pick up the marked coin. That's the chances that Jesus could have fulfilled eight prophecies by coincidence. You see, the Bible is the book you can trust.
What About People Who've Never Heard the Gospel?
But what about the person who's never heard the gospel? We hear that, right? Is God gonna send them to hell? Listen to this. God will judge us according to the light we have received. God's not gonna hold you accountable for what you don't know. Having said that, people know a lot more than maybe they let on. Because the scripture tells us that when God created us, He put eternity in our hearts. That's found in Ecclesiastes 3:11. That means that God built inside of you and inside of me a sense that life should have meaning and purpose. And that's why we've been on a search from the earliest days of our life.
That's why we've thought about the meaning of our life. Going back to our childhood, I don't think animals do that. Do you? Do you think your dog lays around and thinks, what's the meaning of my life? It just seems like that would be the voice of a dog. Or actually, it's the voice of, you ever watch that? Davy and Goliath? That's Goliath, the dog. He says, oh, Davy. So, you think a dog sits around and thinks, you know, I've tried all that this world has to offer. I've chased cats. I drank toilet water. I even ate roadkill. But there's still a void in my life. I don't think dogs think those thoughts. I know cats don't. But people do. Don't they? God built us that way. We're pre-wired for eternity.
Listen to this. Romans 1:18-20 says this. God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people. Listen. Who push the truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. Because God put this knowledge in their hearts from the time the world was created. People have seen the earth and the sky and all that God made. They can see his invisible qualities. His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
So there is, in a sense, built in us, a sense of what right and wrong are. Or maybe it's not fully thought out. But there is that sense. There is a conscience. There is a sense of guilt that's built into us by God himself. Some will say, well, I live by my own standards. See, the absurdity is people don't even live by their own standards. Even if they lowered the bar down to their kneecap, they don't even live by those standards. They break all of those standards. And they break what they know is true.
Some will say, well, I'm a seeker of God. I believe if a person is a true seeker of God, they will find their way to Jesus Christ. Because God says in this word, in Jeremiah 29:13, If you seek me with all of your heart, I will be found by you.
Here is a great illustration. There is a Roman centurion. His name was Cornelius. But he was a religious man. He was impressed by the faith of the Jews. And he was asking God to reveal himself to him. And the Lord directed him to Peter, the apostle, to preach the gospel to him. And when Cornelius heard the gospel from Peter, he and his family all believed. Okay? That's because he was a true seeker.
But here is the reality. The reason people bring this up is they are using it as a smokescreen. So here is something I like to say. I answer the question. What about the person who has never heard the gospel? And then I like to bring it to this. But listen. You are hearing the gospel right now. Because I am sharing the gospel with you. And I am going to tell you what the gospel is. And that is what I am going to talk about on Sunday morning. I am going to define the gospel. You might be surprised by what you hear. Because I would suggest to you that sometimes in the so called presentation of the gospel, It ain't the gospel. And we need to know what the gospel actually is.
But I will say you are hearing the gospel and God is going to hold you accountable. So don't worry about the person who has never heard it. Think about yourself. Because you are hearing it.
Why Does a Loving God Allow Suffering and Evil?
Okay, last issue. How could a God of love allow suffering? Now this is a big one. And we all think of the tragedies in the world that make no sense. It's everyday we read of them. And we hear of them. And it breaks our heart. Horrible, awful things that happen. And we say why? Even things in our own lives. Why? Why would God allow the holocaust? Why would God allow what happened at the World Trade Center and the loss of all those lives? Why would God allow a person to be born with a disability? Why would God allow a child to die?
That brings us to our text. John 9, verse 1. Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents? That he was born blind. Jesus said, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of him who sent me. While it is day, the night is coming when no man can work. As long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world.
When he had said these things, he spit on the ground. He made clay with the spit. Anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And he said, go wash in the pool of Siloam. The man went and washed and came back seeing.
I love this story. Would it freak you out if you came and said, would you pray for me? And I said, sure. That's what Jesus did. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus varied his methods, if you will, of healing? Sometimes he would touch a person. Like the little girl who was lying there dead. Sometimes a person would touch him. Like the woman who had that problem with the flow of blood. Sometimes he would speak the word and they were healed. And sometimes he'd spit in the dirt and wipe it in their eye. Here's mud in your eye.
And I think the reason Jesus varied his methods was so people would realize it was him that was doing the work. Because we get hung up on methods. We get hung up on techniques. We get hung up on things that don't really matter. But let's come back to the real gist of this story.
The question is asked in verse one. Whose sin, this man or his parents? Here's a man born blind. Obviously, this is a result of sin. Whose fault was it? Was it the man's fault? Or was it the fault of his parents? People ask these same questions. Why? Why does this happen? Where's the sin? Did the person sin and that's why it happened to them? Or was it the sin of their parents before them? Why?
Our human intellects and notions of fairness reject the apparent contradiction between a loving God and a world of pain. In the classic statement of the problem, either God is all powerful, but he is not all good. Therefore, he doesn't stop evil. Or he is all good, but he is not all powerful. Therefore, he can't stop evil. And the general tendency is to blame God for the evil and suffering in the world and pass all responsibility on to him.
Now, the question that was asked in this particular instance, did this man sin or did his parents? Jesus effectively said, neither of them sinned, okay? But having said that, let's look at it from the long view. All sickness, all problems, all suffering, even death itself, are the result of sin. Not your personal sin necessarily, but sin in general. Because our first parents, Adam and Eve, ate of the forbidden fruit. Sin entered the human race.
If Adam and Eve had not eaten of the forbidden fruit, we would have never aged. If Adam and Eve had not eaten of the forbidden fruit, death would no longer be a reality. If Adam and Eve had not eaten of the forbidden fruit, Frank Sontag and I would have hair on our head. But because they ate of that fruit, sin entered this world, and we have all the problems that we have. And so this is just a reality that we all have to face.
So you can also look at a lot of the suffering in the world today and it's just brought from man to man. It's his evil heart and he acts on those evil impulses. Well, why didn't God make man so he could not sin? Because he gave us a free will to choose to do good or to do evil, to do right or to do wrong. And certainly in some ways it would be a safer world if God didn't give us this ability to choose. But free will is in many ways our greatest blessing and in other ways it's our worst curse.
But you see, God wanted us to love him because we chose to love him, not because we had to love him. If someone holds a gun to your head and says, say you love me or I'll shoot you, I love you, I love you. That's not love, that's fear. But when someone comes and says, I love you voluntarily, that's a beautiful thing.
Sometimes bribery helps. My grandkids are into a certain toy. I won't say which one it is, Peppa Pig. Ever heard of that? It's a cartoon, never mind. These little pigs that speak with English accents. And there's Papa Pig or Daddy Pig. And there's Mama Pig and all this. And so my grandson Christopher came up with a little figure. I bought him of Papa Pig. He's very fat. He had a Hawaiian shirt. A little camera hanging around his neck and stubble on his face. And Christopher said, Papa, this is you. Thanks. But I saw they were enjoying these little figures so much. So I bought him some more and I got a few other things to go with them. And one of those things arrived today. And my granddaughter Allie runs up, grabs my leg and says, Papa, you're the best. I'm like, yes. I didn't force her. Maybe I bribed her a little. Really what I did was I showed her kindness and love. And that's what God does. He shows us kindness. He shows us love. He shows us grace. And we say, Lord, you're the best. I love you. That's what God wants. So he gave us a free will.
When we exercise it in the right way, it's a beautiful thing. When we exercise it in the wrong way, it's a horrible thing. And sometimes we always want to find cause and effect for what happens in the world. I remember after the World Trade Center came crashing to the ground in heaps of rubble. It was such a shocking time. And some people were saying it was a judgment of God on America. And I'm thinking, really? Then why did God judge that particular group and those particular towers? Were they the worst sinners in all America? See, I never took that stance. I never believed that at all.
In fact, someone came to Jesus once and brought a story up that was well known back then about a tower that fell in a group of Gentiles, non-believers. And they asked the rhetorical question, Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, I tell you that unless you repent, you will also perish. In other words, Jesus is saying, remember that tower that crashed and all those people died? Yeah, we remember. Were they the worst sinners? Newsflash. Unless you repent, you'll perish.
Here's what Jesus is saying. Guess what? Bad things happen. And sometimes they're really inexplicable. And sometimes they don't make sense. People die. And Jesus is saying, you better be careful. You might die too. It's only a matter of time. No one is exempt. And tragedy happens. The rain falls on the unjust as well as the just. Christians die in motorcycle crashes. Christians die of cancer. Christians die of heart attacks. Oh no, no, God heals everyone. No, He doesn't. And sometimes I say, I don't get that at all, Lord. I don't get it at all. But this is part of the overall curse of sin.
How God Uses Suffering for Good Purposes
Now some of you are saying, this is like the most depressing sermon I've ever heard. But here's the thing. There are things that happen that don't make sense. But having said that, there are times when God will take those circumstances and He'll turn them around and use them for His glory. So let's bring this to a close. Why does God allow suffering? Number one, God will allow suffering and sickness sometimes to get our attention. He'll allow it to get our attention. We might be rebelling against Him and He wants it to stop for our own good.
Remember the prophet Jonah. He was running from God. What happened? A storm came and got his attention until He turned His life around. God was saving Jonah from Himself. Maybe you've been on a course of sin and you've been going the wrong way. And God let something happen to cause you to have to throw the brakes on. And you didn't like it at the time. But now you look back and you're thankful for it. The psalmist said in Psalm 119:67, Before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now I have kept your word.
God can even use the death of a child. You know, after our son went to be with the Lord, I had a lot of people write me. I still have people write me all the time. When I do a post on my Facebook page about our loss, and you can read on your Facebook page how many people read your post. It's crazy. The last post I put up, something like 765,000 people saw the post. They're reading it, sending it, reading it, sending it. And all that says to me is there's just a lot of hurting people out there. And they just want some truth. And they just want some comfort. And they just want some perspective.
And I will read through these posts on my Facebook page. I'm brought to tears. I read story after story that breaks my heart. But at the same time, in the midst of all of this pain, I see these incredible statements being made by Christians I've never met, and I'll probably never meet this side of heaven who are telling me how God used it, how God changed them, how God brought them through it, or is bringing them through it, or has comforted them. And it blows my mind. I say, man, it's so true. It's so real. It's everywhere. And they write me from all around the world.
One lady wrote me. And she said, a person expects to lose a parent, maybe a brother, sister, aunt, or uncle, but never a child. My son would have been 16 years old this year. It's been 15 years since his death. But listen to this. She says, he was the person who brought me to the Lord. Because of his death, I received my salvation. The comfort I found when I fell into God's hands. God knows my pain, she writes. He lost a son too. Then she writes, 15 years later, I still cry at Christmas. That's when I remember his life and my loss. I still cry at Easter. That's when I'm assured I'll see him again. I know I'll never get over it, because I don't want to get over it. The intensity is less, but the joy of life takes away the pain of birth. And then she says this, and it blew my mind. I have found salvation through God's son because of the loss of mine. Wow. Only a Christian can write that. That's real. That's raw. But it just shows that even in the worst scenario, God can still be glorified.
Here's another one too. Suffering helps us grow spiritually and makes us stronger in our faith. No one likes to suffer. But it does make you stronger. You know, you're not going to build muscle eating donuts or licking donuts with Ariana Grande. Is that what she orders when she's at Starbucks, by the way? I love the Ariana Grande. No, but if you don't know what I'm talking about, just some girl, little pop star girl, licked a donut and the camera found her. Anyway, don't lick donuts. Unless you bought them. Then you can lick them. Better yet, eat them. What on earth was I talking about? It was a good point. See, that's just a little glimpse into the madness of my mind.
Suffering helps us grow spiritually. Oh, here, I know, I know, I know now. That's called a rabbit trail, okay. A really crazy one. Don't clap for rabbit trails. I'll do a whole service of rabbit trails and it will drive you to madness. But what I was suggesting was you're not going to build muscle eating donuts. You're going to build muscle through exerting effort and force and lifting weights and running and doing cardio. As they say, no pain, no gain.
And so in life, we always wanted to be nice as a Christian and pleasant and just the right temperature and just the right circumstances. Yeah, the Lord will let tragedy or hardship or difficulty or difficult people come into our life. And we're like, Lord, make this change. But God can change you through it. Sometimes it's just that God wants to change you or me. James 1:2, I love this translation. When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't treat them as intruders, but as friends. Realize they've come to test your faith and produce in you a quality of endurance. And so let that process go on until that endurance is fully developed and you'll become men and women of mature character, men and women of integrity with no weak spots.
Don't treat those things as intruders. Treat them as friends. Here comes the trial. Oh, no. Not another trial. No. Did you ever think you could be a friend? How drives you to God? See, you've been kind of forgetting about Him lately. And now you're saying, Oh, God, help. Yeah, that's what He wants you to do. He wants you to turn to Him. So you see, these things can drive you to the Lord. They can cause you to grow spiritually.
Last point, suffering can bring glory to God. It can bring glory to God. Any fool can be happy when the sky is blue and the sun is shining. But when the storm is on us, it's a different matter. I mean, look what happened to Job. God was bragging on him in heaven. Satan issued a challenge. Job follows you, he said to God, because you bless him in every way. If those things were gone, Job would curse you.
To strengthen Job's faith and to prove Satan wrong, God allowed those things to be taken from Job. His health, his possessions, worst of all, his children. And if things weren't bad enough, Job's wife says, Why don't you just curse God and die? Job says, You weren't saying that when you were driving the Mercedes. That's not in the Bible. I heard that from a preacher friend, but he said it better.
But you see, God allowed all these things to happen, but Satan was proven wrong. Job glorified the Lord. So coming back to this story, why did this happen? Look at what Jesus says in John 9:3. It's not because of his sins or his parents' sins. He was born blind so the power of God can be seen in him. Sometimes God allows these tragedies to glorify himself. Sometimes he'll heal a person. Sometimes he'll be glorified in the midst of a disability because sometimes a disability is his ability.
Case in point, my friend Nick Vujicic. Born without arms or legs. And yet I've never met a more joyful Christian than Nick. Sometimes he texts me. And I ask him, How do you do that? He says, He's Australian. He goes, I do it with my toe. And I've watched him. And he... Send... Because I'll text him back. Hey, Greg, how you doing? Doing great, Nick? How you doing? You know, the text comes back. Whoa, that guy's fast. He stands in front of an audience, sometimes of young people, sometimes young kids who've contemplated suicide or are miserable about their lives. And he stands there without arms and without legs. And he gives glory to God. He wrote a book. It's called No Arms, No Legs, No Limits. How can you argue with that guy? You see, so this is a disability. And early on, he prayed, Lord, grow my arms and legs. And the Lord said no. But God has used him all around the world.
Maybe there's something you're going through. It's hard. You want it to go away. Did it ever occur to you God could be glorified through it? And you could minister to someone else who has that problem like no one else could minister to them, you see. Because you've been there or maybe you are there.
Here's one final point. I know he said the last one was the final one. This is the final, final point. Or we'll just call this P.S. Your suffering will not last forever. Whatever you're going through, your suffering will not last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:17 Our present troubles are quite small and they won't last very long. Listen. They produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. So don't look at the troubles you see right now. Rather look forward to what you have not yet seen. For the troubles we see now will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. I love that. Don't you? It's true. It's true. It's true.
Invitation to Receive Christ Tonight
Maybe tragedy has knocked on your door recently. Maybe that's why you're in church tonight. Something's happened. It's been a wake-up call. Bad news from a doctor. Your spouse walked out on you. Your boyfriend or girlfriend walked out on you. You got fired at your job. Maybe a loved one died. Someone close to you. It shocked you. It reminded you of your own mortality. Sometimes the Lord allows those things to wake us up.
I mean Frank Sontag stood up here and shared his story. He had that horrible motorcycle accident. He went on the wrong course for a while, but God got a hold of him. And maybe it's got you in a course. Okay, I gotta start thinking about life. What's the meaning of life? You're thinking about that because God wired you that way. Because you know there's more than what this culture offers. More than what this world offers.
I'll tell you what you're looking for. Let me simplify it. You're looking for God. That's what you've always wanted. That's who you've always sought after. You just need to go to him now and let him meet those deepest needs. He'll forgive you of your sin. You're not gonna find it in objects or things or possessions. You're not gonna find it in sexual experiences. You're not gonna find it in drugs or alcohol. You're not gonna find it in mysticism. You're not gonna find it even in religion. You're gonna find it only in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That's it.
And Jesus is here with us right now in our brand new building. And he's standing at the door of your life and he's knocking. And he's saying, if you'll hear my voice and open the door, I'll come in. Would you like Jesus to come into your life? Would you like him to forgive you of your sin? Would you like to know tonight that you'll go to heaven when you die? Would you like your guilt taken away? I can tell you authoritatively, the Bible promises this will happen and it will happen for you. Because it's God himself taking residence in your heart. But you must respond. You must say, Lord, forgive me.
I talked about Cornelius, who sought after God. Lord, I wanna know you. God will reveal himself to you. Christ will come to live in you. You say, well, what do I need to do? You need to say to Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I've broken your commandments. I'm sorry. And I want you to forgive me. And I want you to come and live in my life. Live in my heart. And he'll do that.
And I'm gonna give you an opportunity to ask him into your life tonight. And there might be some of you that were raised in the church, but you've been running loose like a prodigal. And you need to come back tonight. I'm gonna invite you back home again.
So let's all bow our heads. Father, thank you for your word to us. Thank you for the great truth of scripture. Now I pray for everyone here that you'll speak to their heart. And I pray especially for those that do not yet know you. Help them to come to you. Help them to believe in you right now.
Well, our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying together. Father, how many of you would say tonight, Greg, pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want him to forgive me of my sin. I want to go to heaven when I die. I want my guilt taken away. I want that hole in my heart filled. Pray for me. I'm ready to say yes to Jesus.
If that's your desire, if you want Jesus to come into your heart, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, wherever you are, I want you to lift your hand up and I'm going to pray for you. Lift your hand up higher where I can see it. God bless you. God bless you. Lift your hand up. You want Christ to come into your life. Let me pray for you. God bless you. I see your hand. God bless you. Hands are going up. I hope yours is one of them if you need to make this commitment. God bless you and you over there. Yeah, I see you. Anybody else? You want his forgiveness. You want to get right with God. Let me pray for you. Raise your hand up. Wherever you are. God bless. If you haven't raised your hand yet, lift it now. I'll wait another moment. God bless you. God bless you in the corner. God bless you as well. The very back there. God bless you too. God bless you.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, I've been a prodigal. I know it's right, and I've been running from it, and I'm ready to come back to the Lord. I want to recommit my life to Him tonight. Pray for me. If you need to return to the Lord, would you raise your hand up right now? Let me pray for you wherever you are. Raise your hand up. You need to come back to Him. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. God bless all of you.
Father, thank you now for these that have taken this first step. Help them to take the next one now and make that stand for you. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Listen, everyone that Jesus calls, He calls openly and publicly. And we're going to do the same tonight. We're going to give you a chance to make a public stand to follow Jesus. And in a moment our worship band is going to lead us in a song of invitation. I'm going to ask if you raised your hand with me during that last moment of prayer, saying that you want Jesus to come in your life. And you want your sin forgiven. I'm going to ask that when the song begins, you would get up out of your seat and walk down these aisles and stand in front of this platform. And when you all get up here, I'll lead you in a prayer of commitment. And I'll give you a Bible to take home to start reading.
Maybe you did not raise your hand, but you want Jesus to forgive you. You want to come into this relationship with Him. You get up and come as well. You that raised your hand saying you want to make a recommitment, you come too.
Why do I ask you to come publicly? Because Jesus said, if you will acknowledge me before people, I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But then He added, if you deny me before people, I'll deny you before the Father and His angels. This is a way to acknowledge Him publicly.
So listen, if you raised your hand, even if you did not, if you want your sin forgiven, if you want Jesus Christ to live in your life, if you want to go to heaven when you die, if you want your guilt taken away, or you've fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him right now, wherever you are, get up out of your seat. Come on down here. Stand in front of this platform. And when you get here, I'll pray with you. Start coming now. Come on. Make your stand for Christ right here. Right here.