Making Sense Out Of Pain Part Two

A couple of weeks ago we began thinking about pain and suffering.

And the very human questions that arise as we look at the world,

As we examine our own lives.

Pain and suffering come to everyone.

There is not one person exempt from hurt.

Why should this happen if God really loves you?

A child is born, but there is something wrong,

We naturally ask Why?

Why would a loving God allow this to happen?

Then there’s that individual in the prime of life

racked with pain in a hopeless disease that can only end in death.

And if not death, confinement to a wheel chair, or

A psychiatric ward,

Or filled with depression and anxiety,

Or aching with a broken heart.

One we love is taken away from us by a car accident,

a heart attack, coma, or Alzheimers

Why him? Why her? Why me?

God if you’re good why did you let this bad thing happen?

When you look beyond your little comfortable world and you see

The starvation and disease,

and the bellies of children filling with fluids because they haven’t

eaten or

those made homeless by “natural” disasters—

floods, earthquakes, tornado’s, hurricanes, fires.

If God is a God of justice why do the innocent suffer?

Then there is the inhumanity that human beings inflict on one another

Oppression, pain, torture and death.

There are countless acts of terrorism, brutality, rape, murder.

How about cheated out of your retirement?

How about molestation?

How about being mocked and rejected because you don’t

fit in the middle of the bell curve normal?

Why does God allow it?

[Thoughts influenced by--http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/sufferng.htm]

If you missed that presentation you can go to our website at www.hbcc.org,

Select the sermon/podcast tab,

And then you will have a choice of either reading an unedited version

of the manuscript or listen to the message as it was recorded.

In Making Sense Out of Pain Part One

We discovered

“Pain [and suffering] offers a general message of warning to all humanity

that something is wrong with this [life] and that we need radical

outside intervention.”

(Phillip Yancy, Where is God When it Hurts, p 84)

Why is there pain and suffering in this world?

There is pain and suffering because of sin.

Because of sin the world is broken, just like you and me.

“With man's disobedience there came a dislocation in the relationship between

the Creator and the created;

the relation between God and man is out of joint.

The first sin brought a fundamental change which affects all

with the evils which are common to man.” http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/sufferng.htm

Far from doing nothing,

God has intervened and is working to make all things righteous.

God has intervened to restore all things to their created perfection.

Then in Part 1 we began trying to find meaning for our personal pain and

suffering.

We learned that God is more concerned about our holiness than our

happiness.

That true happiness is dependent on holiness.

We learned that pain and suffering wakes us up to our problem with egoism

And its delusion of self-sufficiency which acts like a road block in

deepening our relationship with God.

“God whispers to us in our pleasures,

speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains:

it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” (CS Lewis, The Problem of Pain, p 83)

Today I would like to continue our discussion on pain’s power to purge, prove and

Perfect as we try to make sense and find meaning in our pain.

I don’t believe that there are many people who welcome pain and suffering.

Many people will endure pain for the pay off—

The birth of a child,

Winning the game,

Getting the grade…

Yet for the most part we avoid pain and suffering.

Rather eat ice cream than chew glass.

But pain has a certain power and

in the hand of God can be an instrument of great healing.

Pain purges me

Purge, it’s a coarse word, a rough word,

it means to get rid of what is impure or undesirable.

Ephesians 4:22-24 (MSG)

“…everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.”

Paul gives us insight into the “C” part of the ABC’s of the faith.

Accept the fact that you need a savior,

Believe that the savior you need in Jesus.

Too many stop right here.

They accept and they believe but that’s it.

They remain in spiritual infancy.

The “C” is commit to discipleship.

That means learn how to live this new life God has given you.

Part of discipleship is getting rid of everything that holds you back

from partnering with God the Holy Spirit in His task of

reproducing the character of Christ within you.

We drag stuff from our old way of life into our new.

Call it luggage if you want.

Luggage not only packed with things that you no longer need,

But also stuff that will prevent you from making progress on your journey.

We bring our old habits, attachments and addictions with us in our luggage,

Our old ways of thinking,

our world views constructed apart from the knowledge of God,

our values, aspirations and treasures developed while we

were of the world.

all crammed in to the point of hinge

bursting.

Our faith community has 15 lifestyle statements that describe the kind

of life we are called to live.

1. Loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and one's neighbor as oneself. (Exodus 20:3‑6; Leviticus 19:17‑18; Deuteronomy 5:7‑10; 6:4‑5; Mark 12:28‑31)

2. Pressing upon the attention of the pre‑Christians the claims of the gospel, inviting them to Christian activities and trying to achieve their salvation. (Matthew 28:19‑20; Acts 1:8; Romans 1:14‑16; 2 Corinthians 5:18‑20)

3. Being courteous to all. (Ephesians 4:32; Titus 3:2, 1 Peter 2:17; 1 John 3:18)

4. Being helpful to those who are also of the faith, in love forbearing one another. (Romans 12:13; Galatians 6:2,10; Colossians 3:12‑14)

5. Seeking to do good to the bodies and souls of people: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and ministering to the needy as opportunity and ability are given. (Matthew 25:35‑36; 2 Corinthians 9:8‑10)

6. Contributing to the support of the ministry and the church and its work in tithes and offerings. (Malachi 3:10; Luke 6:38, 1 Corinthians 9:14; 16:2)

7. Attending faithfully all the ordinances of God, and the means of grace, including public worship of God, the ministry of the Word, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, searching the Scriptures and meditating thereon, family and private devotions. (Hebrews 10:25; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:23‑30; Acts 17:11)

8. Honoring the name of God, refusing to use God's name as an expletive. Avoiding taking the name of God in vain through acts of hypocrisy. (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; James 5:12)

9. Keeping the Lord's Day free of any unnecessary secular activities which divert our attention from God and family. Avoiding profaning the Lord's Day by participation in unnecessary secular activities, thereby indulging in practices which deny His sanctity. (Exodus 20:8‑11)

10. Staying sexually pure. Avoiding sexual immorality, such as premarital or extra‑marital relations, perversion in any form, or looseness and impropriety of conduct. (Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27‑30)

11. Maintaining our physical and mental well‑being. Avoiding habits or practices known to be destructive of physical and mental well‑being. Christians are to regard themselves as temples of the Holy Spirit. (Proverbs 20:1; 23:1‑3, 1 Corinthians 6:17‑20; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:18)

12. Being kind with our words. Avoiding quarreling, returning evil for evil, gossiping, slandering, spreading surmises that are injurious to the good names of others. (2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:15)

13. Being people of integrity. Avoiding dishonesty, taking advantage in buying and selling, bearing false witness and like works of darkness. (Leviticus 19:10‑11; Romans 12:17; 1 Corinthians 6:7‑10)

14. Esteeming one another by avoiding the indulging of pride in dress or behavior. (Proverbs 29:23; 1 Timothy 2:8‑10)

15. Enjoying music, literature, movies, entertainment and recreation that honor God and are consistent with a holiness lifestyle. Avoiding music, literature, and entertainment that dishonor God. (1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 6:14‑17; James 4:4)

Those statements are printed for you in your notes.

I encourage you to read through them later.

What I want you to understand is that a commitment to discipleship,

Means getting rid of everything in your life that hinders you from

living this way.

And pain in God’s hand has the power to purge.

Let’s focus on one statement as an example.

8. Honoring the name of God, refusing to use God's name as an expletive. Avoiding taking the name of God in vain through acts of hypocrisy.

As with all these lifestyle statement this one is based on scripture

Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; James 5:12

Now most of us have at least discovered that using God’s name as an expletive,

Is unbecoming of a believer, as well as demonstrative of one’s

lack of education.

I try to encourage folks who have a problem here to change their

expressions.

I am kind of partial to

“’Mahatma Gandhi,’

what do you think you’re doing!”

[Or as a friend of mine in admonishing exuberance said:

“Get your poop in a group!”]

Notice the rest of the statement:

“Avoiding taking the name of God in vain through acts of hypocrisy.”

What this means is saying your a Christian but acting like your not.

Is there some behavior in your life that others consider not very

Christ like?

Then that’s gotta go.

Trouble is we don’t change when we see the light,

We only change when we feel the heat.

Pain raises the temperature.

God sets the thermostat to purge.

Pain gets us to take a hard look at how to elevate it.

Since God cared more about your holiness than He does your happiness,

Knowing that true happiness is a result of holiness,

He uses the pain in our lives to motivate us to get rid of what

has gotta go.

This kind of pain is in the curriculum for the school of hard knocks

for those of us who refuse at first to partner with God to get rid of the old

way of life, so that we can fully live the new way of life.

Sometimes the reason why you are in pain is to purge you of something that is

keeping you from living your life to the full.

Pain has a certain power and

in the hand of God can be an instrument of great healing.

Pain can prove me.

I don’t know about you but I have tricked myself too many times into thinking I’m

doing Kingdom work when really all I am being is self-serving.

That I am doing God’s will but actually I am just doing my own.

Ever been there?

For me it took the form of, “God this is what I’m going to do for you.”

Like when I bought my mom a hamster for Mother’s Day.

There are numerous things I enjoy doing that one could call religious in nature.

Listening to a good sermon,

Reading the scripture,

Attending a Christian concert,

Hanging out with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I even like going with Corozon de Vida to the orphanage.

So how do I know what I am doing isn’t just stroking my egoism.

That I’m just doing good stuff so that you will think well of me.

Or so that I will think well of my self

OR simply because I just want too.

Egoism can be very sly.

It will allow you to do good and righteous deeds as long as you allow

it to reign unchallenged, to keep calling the shots.

So how do I know I am living a devout and holy life?

The answer for me is simple

when my decision to love God, others, the earth and even to truly

love myself comes at the price of pain and suffering,

I know my motivation is pure.

I may be a sadist but I am not masochistic. J

When I force myself to do what is right,

I know its love compelling me. (2 Cor 5:14)

Love urges me to willingly lay down my life.

That is always a sacrifice,

and sacrifice is painful.

1 John 3:18-20 (MSG)

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

To choose to be obedient, to love, to become,

even in the face of pain proves my motivations are true.

C.S. Lewis writes:

“we cannot therefore know that we are acting at all, or primarily, for God’s

sake, unless the material of the action is contrary to our inclinations,

or I in other words painful…” (Lewis p 88)

Now this is not to say that God is sadistic,

Nor is it a commentary of the Christian life,

As if someone would teach—

“you’re not a believer unless you life is full of pain and

suffering.”

Quite to the contrary.

What I have come to learn is that there are times in my spiritual

journey were I need to know that I am doing what I am doing

out of a pure heart.

Pain and Suffering is a proving ground for my devotion.

Together they prove to me that I am committed to some one

greater than myself.

My pain and suffering is not meaningless.

In God’s hands the experience can purge me of the weights that keep me

from walking on water,

The experience can prove me that I am indeed serving God and

not myself.

And in the hands of God, pain can perfect me.

Pain prefects me

Jesus told us that eternal life is contingent on knowing God.

John 17:3 (NIV)

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

The word knowing in the Greek carries with the idea of personal knowledge.

This is not knowing about someone,

The biography and future plans,

This is knowing intimately.

In the normal course of a day,

How often do you think about God?

“Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when

everything is going well with us.” (C.S. Lewis p 85)

I’ve been a fox hole Christian.

When the bombs of pain and suffering start dropping I want God to

rescue and I’ll do anything.

And as soon as He does, I’m on my merry way.

It’s usually when our backs are against the wall,

Or possibly a hospital bed,

We seriously want to know God.

The ancient Greeks has a saying: “pathei mathos”

"Learning comes from suffering"

Pain and suffering in the hands of God can become a learning experience through

which we come to intimately know Him.

When we surrender our pain and suffering into His hands,

By accepting it and embracing it,

We start to hear His voice.

Job gives us an example of the tug of war between acceptance and complaint.

In the end, acceptance wins out.

And after hearing from God, he says:

Job 42:5-6 (MSG)

I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."

Suffering can, be part of the ways of God's working with me

To perfect me by bringing me a more intimate knowledge of Himself.

(http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/sufferng.htm)

The scripture reveals that even Jesus was made perfect by what he suffered.

Hebrews 5:8-10 (MSG)

Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.

The phrase: “having arrived at the full stature of his maturity,”

Is actually one Greek word, teleioun

You can also translate this verb as perfect but you must then define

perfect the way the writer did—

perfect means to fulfill the purpose intended.

Teleios is perfection of function.

What the writer of Hebrews tells us is that what Jesus suffered,

Made it possible for him to fulfill His mission.

Pain and suffering can have the same effect on us,

If we have faith that God will bring some good out of it.

Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials [pain and suffering], for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Without faith in God, pain and suffering is an evil to be endured.

With faith, and the example of Jesus,

Pain and suffering can truly be a divine education,

http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/sufferng.htm

that graduates me into continuing perfection,

into being the person I was created to be,

and do the things I was created to do.

Pain has the power to perfect me.

Pain and suffering are not meaningless experiences

In God’s hands the experience can purge me of the weights that keep me

from walking on water,

The experience can prove to me that I am indeed serving God and not

myself.

The experience can be a divine education through which I come to know

God intimately and thus perfect me for service in the kingdom.

Ultimately you are the only one who can take your pain, your suffering,

And wrestle with God, to assign meaning to it, to make sense of it.

As you struggle here are some things you can be sure,

God entertains serious inquires.

God hears the prayers, cries and tears of His people.

God is not unaware of your situation.

God will never forsake you even if you feel

forsaken.

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