Greg Laurie - Why Does God Allow Suffering? (11/13/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie tackles the tough question "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" using the book of Job, showing that suffering tests and strengthens real faith, reveals character, brings God glory, and can draw people to Him. He explains evil entered through human sin and free will, but God remains sovereign and good, using hardship for spiritual growth and ultimate good, as seen in Job's integrity and praise despite unimaginable loss.
Opening Prayer
Father, we are glad to be here tonight. What a great time of worship. What fantastic people you have blessed us with to lead us into your presence. But now, Lord, we are going to grapple with a tough subject. One that has caused many to question you all together. Or at the very least, to question why you do or do not do what they think you should do. So now, Lord, I don't know that we are going to find all the answers we want, but hopefully we will find perspective. Biblical perspective. As we look in the Word of God. So bless our time of Bible study we ask now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Life Is Filled with Trouble
I heard a story about a man who was very ill. In fact, he was actually on his deathbed. He was slipping out of a coma for several months. Yet his wife faithfully stayed by his bedside every single day. One day, when he knew he didn't have much longer to live, he motioned to her to come closer. And he was going to whisper something to her. And his eyes were full of tears. And he said, You know what? You have been with me through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there to support me. When my business failed, you were there. When we lost the house, you stayed right there. When my health started failing, again you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. And you know what? And she leaned in. What dear? He said, I think you are bad luck.
You weren't expecting that, were you? Listen, from the day you were born, life is filled with trouble. You cannot have a trouble-free life. You cannot have a conflict-free life. I don't care where you live. I don't care what your zip code is. I don't care how much money you have in your bank account. Every life is filled with trouble. Now granted, some lives are filled with more than others. But we are all going to face it. The rain is going to fall on the just and the unjust. In fact, Job says in chapter 5, verse 7 of his book, People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire. So life is filled with trouble. That is just sort of an established fact.
Common Questions About Suffering and Evil
And you know, we look around and there are so many things that just seem wrong. A Tsunami hits and thousands of people die. And we ask the question, why? A terrorist strikes and innocent people are maimed and some are killed. And again we wonder, why? Or a friend of ours is driving home from work and they are killed or injured because they were hit by a drunk driver and the drunk driver is unharmed. And we wonder, why? Or a loved one close to us dies and we ask, why? Or we get cancer and we are young, with hopefully our whole life before us. And again we ask the question, why? Why does God allow tragedy?
You have heard it in many different versions. Why would God allow a baby to be born with a disability? Why would God allow wars to rage, killing innocent people? What about all the injustices in the world? Why are there earthquakes? Why are there wildfires? Why are there epidemics? Why do these horrible things happen? And to the point, if God can prevent terrible tragedies, why does He allow them to happen in the first place?
Here is 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 everything that is going wrong in the world.
The False Premise in Questioning God's Goodness
But let's take a look at that core question first. If God is good and loving, why does He allow evil? Now here is the problem. That very question is based on a false premise. People who express these words are essentially suggesting, or saying outright, that God does not necessarily meet their criteria for goodness. I mean, if God is all good, why does He fill in blank here? I mean, the very question is effectively saying, God is not all good. And who is determining that? Well, I am, actually. In my humble opinion, I don't think God should do this, or I think He should not do that. But really, I am making myself the moral center of the universe.
Now here is what it comes down to. God doesn't become good because I think He is good, or if my opinion of Him is that He is good. God is good because God says He is good. Jesus said, No one is good except God alone. Listen, God is good whether I believe it or not. And He and He alone is the final court of arbitration. The Bible says, Let God be true, and every man a liar.
What Is Good? God's Approval Defines It
So now we have to ask the question, What is good? Listen, here is the answer. Good is whatever God approves. It is not what you think is good. It is not what I think is good. It is not what we vote on as good. Good is what God approves. If God says it is good, it is good. If God says it is bad, it is bad. You say, Well that is crazy talk, man. That is circular reasoning. Well maybe. But doesn't everything begin and end with God? I like to think of it as biblical reasoning. In Isaiah 1:18 God says, Come, let us reason together, says the Lord. Or another translation says, God speaking, Come, let us sit down. Let us argue this out.
You see, God's thoughts are higher than my thoughts. And God's ways are above my ways. God says in Isaiah, As the heavens are high above the earth, So are my thoughts higher than your thoughts, And my ways above your ways. So there is no higher standard of goodness than God's own character. And His approval of whatever is consistent with that character. So God is good, period.
Why Does God Allow Evil? Human Free Will and Sin
So let's move to the second part of the question. Alright. Maybe we accept that premise. Hopefully we do. For Christians we must. But why does He allow evil? Well let's remember that mankind was not created evil, but perfect. In the original state, Adam and Eve were innocent, ageless, and immortal. They had the ultimate setup in the Garden of Eden. I mean effectively Adam's job description was, Hey, check out what I have made. Enjoy it. And every day I am going to show up and we are going to talk about it. How does that sound? Sweet. Really nice.
But next thing you know, Adam and Eve are at the one tree God told them to stay away from. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And you know the rest of the story when they both ate together of the forbidden fruit. And as I pointed out, the Bible never says it was an apple. We need to move beyond the apple. Because I would have never been tempted by an apple, for starters. A nectarine perhaps. It was probably a piece of fruit we have never seen before. It probably pulsated with light. It had its own theme song. I don't know. But whatever it was, it was very appealing. And they both partook of it. And sin entered into the human race.
And don't be too hard on Adam and Eve. Because if you had been in the garden, you would have done the same thing. You say, how do you know, Greg? Maybe I wouldn't have. Okay, quick question. How many of you have ever sinned? You have sinned. Raise your hand up. Okay, rest my case. You would have done it. And I would have done it too.
And here is what the Bible says. Romans 5:12. When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam sinned, brought death. So death spread to everyone. For everyone has sinned. So the point to keep in mind here is that humanity, not God, is responsible for sin.
Free Will and Genuine Love
So we might say, well why didn't God make us incapable of sinning? Well, if God hadn't given us a free will, we would have been puppets on a string. You know, remote controlled robots that bow before Him. I mean, that isn't true love. God wants to be loved and obeyed by creatures who voluntarily choose to do so. Love cannot be genuine if there is no other option. You and I must choose to love God.
The Story of Job – Undeserved Suffering
So you say, all right, fine. So we have a free will. Sin entered the world. I get that. But why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? And to take it a step further, why does God allow bad things to happen to godly people? And that is where the book of Job comes in. This is a part of our series that we are calling The Greatest Stories Ever Told. Which is sort of a flyover of the Bible. And you might respond by saying, no Greg, you shouldn't have included this one. This is not one of the greatest stories ever told. This is one of the most tragic stories ever told. Well, I would not disagree with you in one way. But yet again, it is a great story because of the lessons it teaches us.
See, it comes down to this. Most of us can accept the idea of suffering in general. Especially when it comes as a consequence of bad behavior. If someone lives an evil life and they break God's laws and they break man's laws and it catches up with them one day, we say, yeah, see, they deserved it. They reap what they sow. So, we don't have a problem with that. But we have a problem with this when bad things happen to people that are godly. So it really comes down to this. It's not suffering that troubles us. It's undeserved suffering.
Well, here is the story of a man who was not doing wrong. He was doing right. In fact, he was doing so well spiritually that God was actually bragging on him up in heaven. And then one day, without warning, the bottom dropped out. See, the problem for poor Job is he never read the book of Job. He lived it in real time. It happened to him. He didn't know about conversations in heaven. He didn't know about angels talking to God. All he knew was one day he woke up and everything bad that could happen, happened. And then even more bad things happened. And that's where the lesson begins.
You've heard the expression, the Patience of Job. Here we are going to find out what that actually means. Let me start by saying, Job was not a fictitious character. In fact, he is mentioned elsewhere in Scripture, including Ezekiel 14 and James 5. He was a real man with real problems that turned to a real God. The same God we can turn to when we have troubles.
By the way, the book of Job is thought of as the oldest book in all of the Bible. So it is believed by many that this is the first book of the Bible that was ever written.
Job's Character and Life – Job 1:1-5
So I'm going to read Job chapter 1, verses 1 to 5. And I'm reading from the New Living Translation. There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. Not Oz. Uz. He was blameless. A man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. And he had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. Every year when Job's sons had birthdays, they invited their brothers and sisters to join them for a celebration. On those occasions they would get together and eat and drink. And when these celebrations ended, and sometimes they lasted several days, Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning, excuse me, and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to myself, perhaps my children have sinned, and have cursed God in their hearts. This was Job's regular practice.
So what did we learn right out of the gate about Job? Number one, Job was a man of integrity and character. Again, Job was a man of integrity and character. Let me say, the longer I have been in ministry, and I've been a pastor now for 40 years, I find myself far more impressed with integrity than with charisma. I am more impressed with character. Because I've seen a lot of people who I thought were very gifted sort of burst on the scene. They make their Mark, they have their following, and then they self-destruct because they did not have character, because they did not have integrity, because their talk did not match their walk.
Then there's other people I know that maybe they're not the best preacher, maybe they're not the most dynamic communicator, but through the years they've been faithful to God, they've been faithful to their spouse, they've been a good parent to their children, and I look at them and say, I really admire people like that. And character really matters a lot. In old Job, he practiced what he preached. Because character counts. In fact, it may be the most important thing in a person's life. Not just what you say, but what you really are.
If you want to know who you really are, here's what it comes down to. When you're all alone, and there's no one looking, there's no one to impress, that is who you are. It's been said that the real test of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. Let me repeat that. The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.
Maybe being found out keeps you from doing certain things. Oh, I might get caught so I won't do it. What if you would not be found out? Or what if you put your phone on mute? What would happen? That's a good reminder, put your phone on mute. Okay. So what if you knew you could get away with it? You would get away with it scot-free. No one would ever know. Would that change your behavior? See, character is really coming down to what you would do if you knew you would never be found out. Or D.L. Moody defined character as what you are in the dark. It is what you are when you are all alone.
Let me ask you a question. What saddens you? What makes you happy? What makes you mad? What makes you laugh? That is your character. A German proverb says, a man shows his character by what he laughs at. Job was a man of character. He was a man of integrity.
Number two, Job was a wealthy man too. Success has turned many ahead. There are people that come into fast money and it destroys our lives quite frankly. I mean every time you turn around there is another athlete that is going crazy. Or it might be a movie star. Or a rock star. Or whatever. They have come into big money. And it has just completely wiped them out. It is a good test of character really. We are warned in Psalm 62:10. If riches increase, don't set your heart on them.
Jesus spoke about the seed that was slowly but surely choked up by weeds in the parable of the sower. And he said, these are they who are sown among thorns. And the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word making it unfruitful. It is not having things. It is when things have you.
Sometimes people say, you know money is the root of all evil. The Bible says that. No it doesn't. Well it does too. It does not. Well it does too. It does not. It does too. I am telling you it doesn't. Here is what it does say. The love of money is the root of all evil. Which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. See it is not just having things. It is the love of it. The obsession with it. But Job was not obsessed with it. He managed his money well.
Number three, Job was a family man. He raised his children in the way of the Lord. And he prayed for them. Like any concerned parent, when his kids were gone, he was concerned about them. You know, after our children reach a certain age, it becomes more difficult to tell them what to do. It is just not that effective when your kid is 20 to say, time out. Seriously? I mean it. Time out. Yeah. They are getting a little big. So we teach our children what is right. And then we entrust them to the Lord. And Job was a godly father. I am not so sure if Job's wife was a godly mother. Well I will tell you why I think that in our next message. But I wonder about her. Especially what she said to him when all these horrible things happened.
Number four, Job was a prayerful man. Verse five tells us he would offer a burnt offering for his children. That was an Old Testament way of saying he prayed for his kids. This was not sporadic. It was regular. And the Bible tells us we should pray without ceasing. And in everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
So let me ask you. Is God first in your life? Are you a man or a woman of integrity? And do you pray for your children? Listen, if you are having trouble in the home, or trouble with your children, it may be that there is trouble in your heart. It may come back to you. That might be the source of it all.
Heavenly Conversation – God Brags on Job
So here is old Job living out his life, blessed by the Lord, beautiful large family, many possessions, great reputation, a man of prayer, and he was firing on all cylinders. Meanwhile up in heaven, a conversation was taking place that would forever change Job's life. Go back to Job 1. Look at verse 6. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan the accuser came with him. Where have you come from? the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, I have been going back and forth across the earth watching everything that is going on. Then the Lord asked Satan, have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth, a man of complete integrity. He fears God, and will have nothing to do with evil.
Satan replied to the Lord, Oh yeah, Job fears God, but not without good reason. You have always prospered him, and protected him, and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Well look how rich he is. But take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. All right. You can test him, the Lord said to Satan. Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically. So Satan left the Lord's presence.
Man, talk about having friends in high places. God was so proud of Job. He was bragging on him. Look at verse 8. Have you noticed my servant Job? The finest man in all the earth, a man of complete integrity. He fears God, and will have nothing to do with evil. Man, you want to talk about an endorsement? This is God speaking. God Himself is saying, this guy here, Job, he's the finest man in all of the earth. A man of complete integrity. He fears me. He won't touch evil.
Man, when you see what happened to Job, have you ever thought, Lord, if you are ever, even for a fleeting moment, feeling proud of me, could you keep that to yourself? Especially if the devil is around. Don't ever brag on me. I wonder what God is saying in heaven about you right now. Or about me. Do you think he ever brags on us? Hey, check out my servant here. Look at the way she is living. Look at the way he is living. He was bragging on Job.
Listen, God sees things differently than we see things. And he sees us differently than we see ourselves. 1 Samuel 16 says, The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. God looks on the heart. See, God is always looking at the heart. And we might be all impressed with things that people are doing on the outside, but God is checking out the motive. He is checking out the heart. And in that final day, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ as followers of Jesus, the judgment will be based on why we did what we did. Not how much we did, but why we did what we did. How well we use the opportunities and the resources that God gave to us. And that final day he will not say, Well done, good and successful servant. He will say, Well done, good and what? That's right. God is looking for faithfulness. And God is looking on the heart.
I think it is a really important thing for us to never boast of how much we love God. You know, sometimes you hear people say, I love the Lord so much. I just love Jesus. It is just like... Do you have to say it that way? Now let me tell you something. I would rather talk about how much Jesus loves me than how much I love Jesus. Because I will tell you, my love, it is fickle. It runs hot and cold. But God's love is consistent. And it is always there.
That is why I love the fact that the Apostle John did not describe himself as the disciple that loved Jesus. He said, I am the disciple that Jesus loved. The great Apostle Paul described himself this way. I am the chief of sinners. This is after he had been serving the Lord for years. So God looks at us differently.
Satan's Tactics – Temptation and Accusation
Now here in the oldest book of the Bible we are introduced to Satan. It is clear from this text and countless others that the devil is a real personality. I want you to notice in the first chapter of Job, verse 6, we read, Satan the accuser came. And then in verse 7, Satan answered. And then in the same verse we read of the devil going back and forth across the earth watching everything that is going on. And then in verse 12, Satan left the Lord's presence. Man, he is busy. He is active. He is doing something. He is doing things. You might even say he is a bit hyperactive.
Listen to this. The devil's single ambition is to turn you and me away from God and all that is good. Let me repeat that. The devil's single ambition is to turn you and me away from God and all that is good. Jesus summed up the devil's agenda in John 10:10. He said, the devil or the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But in contrast he says, I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly.
So yes, the devil comes. The accuser comes, verse 6 says. And he is active in what he is doing. He wants to destroy you. But he won't tell you that up front. He won't say, hey, how's it going? I'm the devil. Maybe you've heard about me. I'm headed to hell. I'm going to be judged forever. And I hate you. And I want to ruin your life. And I'm going to offer you some whatever it takes to get you on board with my game plan. And then I'm going to do whatever I want. I'm going to destroy you. And I'd like to destroy all your descendants. And I'd like you to suffer. So what's up? You want to go with that? I can't think of many people that would do it. Maybe there would be one person. Duh. Which way do I go? Yeah, I don't know. So the devil's clever. As we will see in this story.
So here is the devil. Now, of course, the question arises, where did the devil come from? Back to the how could a God of love question. How could a God of love create somebody as horrible as the devil? First of all, our God of love, so called, did not create the devil as we know him today. The fact is a chain of events took place that resulted in the wicked personality we know today as the devil.
Did you know that Satan was once a high ranking angel who rebelled against God? Isaiah 14 talks about this, where he says, How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground, you who weaken the nations. For you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the congregation on the farther sides of the north. I will ascend to the heights of the cloud. I will be like the most high. God says, actually, no. You are going to be brought down to hell, to the lowest depths of the pit.
See, here was a problem with Lucifer, a beautiful high ranking angel. Maybe even on the level of a Michael or a Gabriel. A super angel. A mega angel. Satan wanted the top job. He wasn't satisfied with worshipping God. He himself wanted to be worshipped. So Satan once a beautiful, powerful angel of God lost his former exalted position in heaven. And Lucifer became Satan when he fell to the earth. Lucifer means star of the morning, which he once was. Satan means accuser, which he now is. Jesus said, I beheld Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
So he wanted the top job. And like the ultimate disgruntled employee, he tried to take the whole business down with him. And when he left, he took one third of the angels. Now that is a lot of angels. That is the bad news. The good news is two thirds are still on our side. But still, the devil has a well organized network of demon powers doing his bidding.
So the Bible gives us many names to describe Satan, including the devil, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the father of lies, the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air. He usually comes in all of his depravity, pulling people into vile and sinful directions. But sometimes, when he has to, he will come as an angel of light, deceiving. So we need to know his MO, his mode of operation, so we will know how to resist him.
Satan's Hedge Accusation and Protection
So he takes these angels with him. And now we see his primary tactic. Who would like to know what the devil doesn't want them to know? Raise your hand. Okay. That is okay. You should raise your hand. Do you want to know what the devil doesn't want you to know? Yes. Here is something he doesn't want you to know. Because this is the way he operates. One of his most effective tactics in his arsenal is not just temptation, but it is accusation. Write it down. Not just temptation. Oh yeah, he uses that well. But accusation.
Let me explain to you how it works. Coming back to our story. Here is God. The angels come before him. The devil has to report too. So what is up, Lou? Suffer? Where have you been? What have you been doing? Oh, I have just been going back and forth across the earth, watching everything that is going on. That is so creepy, isn't it? Because you know he is watching with a desire to make trouble, to wreck havoc. And doesn't the Bible describe Satan as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour? Like a hungry lion. He is looking for prey. Someone to pounce on. He never takes a vacation. He never rests. Wouldn't it be nice if the devil took one month off a year? Hey, I just found out the devil is taking a break in August. Yes! You know what? We would still get ourselves into trouble. Trust me. But he never takes a month off. He doesn't take a week off. He doesn't take a day off. He doesn't take an hour off. He doesn't take five minutes off. He is always looking for trouble. If he can't get in the front door, he will try to get in the back door. If that doesn't work out, he will try to tunnel up. Or come down through the roof. He doesn't give up. And he looks for those who are vulnerable and weak.
You ever watch those shows on TV, you know, and they show the kill. Maybe the lion chasing after the prey. And you know, there is a little herd of whatever, gazelle leaping around. Vroom, vroom. And they are all together kind of in rhythm. And up they go. And there is always that one guy. Like, he is a little too far behind. Who does the lion go for? Always that guy. The guy that is a little too far away from the rest. The guy who is easier for the devil to get. He is looking for that prey.
And so here is God bragging on Job. Hey, have you thought about Job? Job is so full of integrity. And Satan says, you know, I am not buying this at all. He says, hey, does he fear you for nothing? You have always protected him and his home and his property from harm. In the King James Version, it says, Satan speaking, you put a hedge around him. Or another way to translate it would be, you put a wall around Job. It is like he lives in a protective bubble, God, the devil is saying. And I can't get through to him.
And that is something that we ought to remember. Despite his wicked agenda, Satan still has to ask permission when it comes to the child of God because of this hedge of protection God has put in place. You have a wall of protection around you. The devil cannot just come and do whatever he wants in the life of the Christian. Now if you are a non-believer, sorry, you don't have any defense. If you are not a Christian, you can't stop the devil. Will I have holy water? Oh, wow. That won't stop him. Will I have a crucifix? He doesn't care about crucifixes. Will I have garlic I hang around my neck? Listen, that will keep your friends away. But it won't keep the devil away. No, the only power that Satan respects is the power of Jesus Christ.
So if you are not a Christian, you are open game. He can come and manipulate you and mislead you and in some cases even possess people. It still happens. But not for the believer. We are protected by God. Here is a good example. One day Jesus was hanging out with his disciples and he turns over to Peter and he says, Peter, Peter, the devil has been asking constantly for you by name. You know, I wonder, would that freak you out if Jesus said that to you? How is that, Lord? The devil has been asking for you constantly by name. I wonder if Jesus just paused for effect. Let that sink in, Peter. And then Jesus went on to say, but I have prayed for you, that your faith would not fail. And when you have returned, you will strengthen your brothers.
But here is an amazing thing. The devil was gunning for Peter himself. The devil was asking for Simon Peter, the great fisherman. By name of Jesus said, you will have to go through me first. So we know we are safe there. But it shows permission had they be asked.
Remember the story of those demons? They were in the sky. They identified themselves as legions, for there were many. There were probably thousands of demons. And here are these demons. And they said, don't cast us into the pit before our time. Send us into that herd of pigs. Jesus says, alright, go. And the demons go inside of the pigs. And the pigs run off the side of a cliff and commit mass suicide. It was the first case of double ham in history right there. But notice that demons had to ask permission first. Hey, don't throw us in the pit. Let us go and mess up the pigs. And Jesus let them do it.
The point I am making is Satan has to ask permission. And God will never give you more than you can handle. As he protected Job, he will protect you as well. Now you may not see that protection, but trust me, it is there. And sometimes we wonder, oh, what if this happens? Or what if that happens? I don't know if I can handle it. Look, if God lets it happen, he will give you the strength to handle it. He won't give you the strength before. He will never give it to you after. But he will give you what you need when you need it. So don't worry about it, okay? Just take it a day at a time. Because Jesus knows about every little bird that falls to the ground. And he will be looking out for you as well.
But again, here is the devil's strategy. So you are saying, okay, what is it? He tempts us, and he accuses us. Satan the accuser came, verse 6 says. We read that again in Revelation 12, 10. The accuser of the brothers who accused them before God day and night has been cast down. And that is exactly what the devil is doing. He is accusing Job. He is saying, yeah, you say Job loves you. I say he doesn't love you at all. Really what the devil was saying is Job doesn't love you. You know, he just hangs out with you because you take care of him. You take away his stuff, he will abandon you overnight.
Now you would think that the devil, having let a person into sin, would then be happy to let them suffer the consequences. But that is not what happens. See, here is the way the devil works. First he tempts you, and if you take that bait, he comes back with this double whammy. What is the double whammy? The double whammy is, he says, you are not worthy to approach God. See, it is very clever. He comes to you and says, why don't you go ahead and do this bad thing. Oh, I would never do that. Why don't you just go ahead and do it. I will tell you what, I will not tell if you will not tell. Okay. And then you go and do it. And then the devil comes back to you and says, you sin. I know. I am going to go to God. You are going to what? I am going to go to God and pray. No, no. You cannot go to God. You are a hypocrite. You think God would hear your prayer? Do you think you should show your ugly face in church tonight? Read the Bible. How hypocritical it is for you to open the Bible. Shut that Bible up right now. Don't call your Christian friend. You are a liar. You are a sinner. And we actually buy into that stuff.
Here is the thing we need to remember. The church is not a place where we just come to admire each other. It is a place where we come to get help. As I have often said, the church is not a museum for saints. It is a hospital for sinners. It is a place to come and get right with God. Jesus said, I did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. So you are at the right place if you are a sinner. And judging by the fact that you all raised your hand when I asked you if you sinned, we have a very sinful church here.
But now here is the deal. The devil wants to keep you from God. His idea is he does not want you to come back to the cross. He wants to drive you away in condemnation. So here is what it comes down to. When you have sinned, and yes you will sin, and you feel guilt and shame, if it drives you from God, listen to me, you are listening to the wrong voice. When God's Spirit convicts you, He will use the Word of God to seek to bring you back into fellowship with your Father in Heaven. But if you are feeling condemned and unworthy, and feel like you can go to God's Word, or go be with God's people, that is the devil talking to you, not God.
Listen, let me just tell you. You never were worthy even on your best day anyway. Well I am not worthy. No you never were. You think you are not worthy. No you weren't worthy the other day either. So it is not about worthiness. Let's get rid of the worthiness idea. Only God is worthy. My access to God is not based on how good I am. It is based on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. And it is based on the fact that He has made me accepted in the Beloved. That means I have been brought into the family, and I have God's righteousness placed on my spiritual bank account. It is called justification. The devil doesn't want you to know that. He wants you to think if you do enough good works this week, you can approach God. But if you are really bad, you can approach God. No, no it is not that at all. You can approach God when you are doing well. You can approach God when you are doing bad. But you will need to come and admit your sin. And the moment you repent of your sin, your communication with God is open again.
Well, here is the devil trying to accuse Job before God to keep him away from God. But we don't want to listen to him.
Why God Allows Suffering – Key Reasons
So let's come back to that earlier question. Why does God allow suffering? Okay, we understand that God is the one who has allowed evil into this world. We understand there is a devil that seeks our destruction. But why would the Lord allow suffering? Well, as Job was going to discover, the worst was yet to come. He was going to experience calamity on a scale like no one has ever seen before. In fact, in some ways it is unimaginable what happened to this guy. And yet he somehow survived to tell the story. And I think most of you know the story of Job. And if you don't, we will get into it next time. And I encourage you to read ahead. But it is a story that says no matter what happens to you, you are not alone and God is with you.
Sometimes God will use the worst to accomplish the best. Sometimes God will not raise the dead. He will not heal the blind. He will not do what we ask. It is then that we must trust him. And when the worst thing imaginable happened to Job, he just fell down on his knees and he said, naked came I into this world, naked go I out. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We admire that and we should.
Let me say something though. If you have faith, your faith will get stronger when things get harder. And if your faith doesn't get stronger, then I wonder what kind of faith you have. Sometimes people say, well you know I went through this tragedy and I lost my faith. You know what my response to that is? Good. Lose that faith. A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. Let me say it again. A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. If your faith cannot survive adversity, then your faith isn't real. The fact is it is through adversity that faith grows stronger. Real faith. Biblical faith.
And I don't think that adversity creates character as much as it reveals it. It shows you for what you really are. So when someone just crumbles and falls, when bad things happen, I would say maybe they never had faith to begin with. And maybe God could even use these difficulties to bring them to faith. But Job showed that he really was everything God said he was. That man of integrity. That man that God could brag on. Because when the worst things happened, he stood tall.
There are things that happen in life that just don't make sense. And we say, why would God allow this? Well I am not going to give extensive answers. Let me give you just a couple of quick things to think about. And then we will wrap this up.
Suffering Builds Spiritual Strength
Why does God allow suffering? Here is one reason. Not the only reason. But one of a number of reasons. Suffering helps us grow spiritually and makes us stronger in the faith. See if you don't have suffering, you are never going to grow. Think about your life for a moment. Probably some of the greatest things you have learned about God and life came through hardship. Did they not? They did not happen when the sun was shining and the birds were singing. No. They happened when a crisis hit. A difficulty came. And God showed himself strong. God healed you. God provided for you. God protected you. And you gave God the glory. So you see, the point is, suffering helps us grow spiritually. And makes us stronger in the faith.
Listen to James 1:2. When all kinds of trials and temptations crowned into your lives, my brothers. Don't treat them as intruders. But as friends, realize that they have come to test your faith and to produce in you a quality of endurance. So let that process go on until that endurance is fully developed. And you will find you will become men and women of mature character. Men and women of integrity with no weak spots.
Suffering Brings Glory to God
Here is another reason God allows suffering. So we can bring Him glory. So we can bring Him glory. Listen. Any fool can be happy when the sky is blue and the sun is shining. But when the storm is on, it is a different matter. And that is what happens to Job. Satan says to God, He follows you because you bless Him in every way. If those things were gone, He would curse you. But to strengthen Job's faith and to prove Satan wrong, God allowed those things to be taken from Job. And the fact is Job did not curse God as Satan said he would. But instead he praised God. What a rebuke to the enemy. And what a witness to the world.
So when hardship comes and you are still praising the Lord, that blows the mind of the non-believer. Remember the story of Paul and Silas thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. That jailer was so hard, he whipped them. Put them in chains. Their legs were pulled so far apart, they could hardly even breathe. And what do we read? At midnight, Paul and Silas sang praises to God. Hey, let's do a little Harmony, Paul. I'm going to take melody. You go Harmony, okay? And they start singing. And the Bible says, and the prisoners heard them. And the word that is used there for hear is a word that can be translated. They listened with pleasure. You ever been driving in your car and your favorite song comes on the radio, so you turn it up. Oh, I love this song. Oh, I love this part of the song. That's listening with pleasure. And that's how the other listeners were hearing. It was literally music to their ears. They had never heard anyone sing in that hellhole. Paul and Silas sang praises to God. Then a great earthquake came. So you might say they brought the house down. And the walls were gone. And all the prisoners could escape. And the Roman guard in charge was ready to kill himself. Why? Because the penalty for losing your prisoners was death. He thought, I might as well do it myself. He has his sword out. That short Roman sword. He is ready to thrust it in his chest. And Paul says, stop. Don't do yourself any harm. We are all still here.
What did that jailer do? The Bible says he got down on his knees and he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? That's King James. And I like that translation. Sirs? Man, he changed his tune. Sirs? What must I do to be saved? Why is it that he was ready to accept Christ at that moment? Because he saw faith and adversity. And how it shined in the darkest place. And that is how God can use it in your life.
Some of you are going through a hard time right now. You are saying, why God? This is so hard. God has a purpose. God has allowed it. Listen. God has either done it or He has allowed it. Don't worry about it. Just deal with it the best you can and seek to bring Him glory. And that is a powerful testimony to a world that does not know God.
The Cross – Greatest Evil to Greatest Good
I think the worst thing that ever happened in history, the greatest travesty, the greatest injustice was when Jesus Christ Himself was crucified. What could have been worse than that? And for God the Father to look down from heaven and see His Son that He loved with all of His heart, suffering and dying for the sin of the world. And look at those people cursing Him and shaking their fist at Him. How could God allow that? It was so awful.
Who was behind the crucifixion? Well the devil was. The devil entered into Judas Iscariot. So Judas wasn't demon possessed. He was possessed by Satan himself. And he betrayed the Lord. But yet the Bible also says it pleased the Father to bruise Him. What does that mean? That God was pleased in watching His Son suffer? Absolutely not. No. God the Father was pleased in knowing that this suffering would produce something wonderful called salvation for you. And for you. And for you. And for you. And for you. And for me. And God said, as awful as this is, it accomplishes my purpose. So out of the greatest bad came the greatest good. You see? And that is how God chose His love for you. For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son. And whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Invitation to Faith and Forgiveness
Do you believe in Him? Do you have this hope? Maybe you are going through hardship right now and you are trying to make the best of it. Oh well, you know. Life gives you lemons. Make lemonade. Is that helpful? No. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. How is that working out for you? Not well. How about this? All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose. Now that is the Bible. But who is that promise for? It is for Christians. Not for non-Christians. Only the person who has put their faith in Christ.
Maybe you are going through hardship right now. Maybe you are facing calamity right now. But sometimes God can allow these things to bring us to our senses and bring us to Him. And you could be like that jailer there that put Paul and Silas in that prison and saw their faith and said, I want to believe. Do you want to believe? Would you like to have your sin forgiven? Would you like to walk out of this church tonight knowing that you will go to heaven when you die? And do you have that assurance right now?
Maybe you have come here and you just feel like God would never hear my prayer. I am not worthy. Yeah you never were worthy. You will never be worthy. But good news. God loves you despite what you have done. And He will forgive you. Because on the cross Jesus paid the price for every sin you have ever committed. And if you will turn from that sin and put your faith in Him you can leave this place knowing you are right with God. Having a relationship with Him.
Jesus who died and Rose again from the dead says He stands at the door of our lives and He knocks. And if we will hear His voice and open the door He will come in. Right now Christ is asking you to let Him in. Now He won't force His way in. He doesn't say behold I stand at the door and knock and if you don't let me in I will kick it in because I am God and you are not so shut up. No He doesn't say that. No He says I stand here and knock. I am like a gentleman. Hello. You have got to open that door and you need to say come in Lord. Will you do that? In prayer? If you do this will be the greatest night of your life.
So we are going to pray and I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. There might be some of you that know the Lord but well you have gotten yourself into a heap of trouble. You have done some stupid things and you don't know how to reconnect with God. I am telling you just repent and turn to Him. And He will forgive you. So you might need to come back to the Lord.
Let's all bow our heads in prayer and I will give you an opportunity to make a commitment a recommitment as we pray. Let's all pray. Father thank you for your word to us. Thank you for loving us. Lord Jesus thank you for coming and dying on the cross in our place and rising again from the dead. And now I pray for these that are here that do not yet know you. Lord would you help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to come to you now.
While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. How many of you would say, Greg pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sin. I want to go to heaven when I die. I want my guilt taken away. I want this relationship with God you have been talking about. Pray for me. I am ready to say yes to Jesus right now. If that is your desire. If you want Christ to come into your life. You want Him to forgive you of your sin. You want to go to heaven when you die. Would you lift your hand up wherever you are? And I will pray for you. God bless you. Lift it up higher I can see it please. God bless you. In the middle. In the back. Anybody else? You want His forgiveness? Let me pray for you. Lift your hand up. God bless you. There in the very back. God bless you as well. God bless each one of you. If you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. It can happen for you tonight. You will be forgiven all of your sins. Anybody else? Raise your hand now. If you haven't raised it yet, God bless you there in the back. God bless. While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, Man, I've been a prodigal son or daughter. I know it's right. But I've been running from God. I've done things I'm ashamed of. And I want to come back to Him tonight. I want to turn from that sin. If that's your desire, if you want to return to the Lord tonight, raise your hand up and let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless each one. Anybody else? Remember, it's a hospital for sinners here. Don't be embarrassed. Don't be ashamed. You've come to the right place. We're here to help you. Anybody else? God bless you.
Father, I thank you now for each one of these. Now I pray you give them the strength to stand up and follow you and receive all that you have for them. For we ask it now in Jesus' name. Amen.