The Purpose of Suffering

Text: Luke 21:5-24

Focus: Suffering

Function: To help people see the divine purpose of God in the midst of suffering.

Form: Story telling/bible study.

Intro:

Have you ever heard anyone say: “If there is a God, why is this happening to me?”

I remember reading a terribly graphic story of Auschwitz by Rudolf Vrba titled “I Cannot Forgive.” He was around 14 years of age, when he became a prisoner there. He describes the methodical brutality of his German oppressors. He describes the incredible betrayal by his fellow prisoners, who were elevated to positions of authority, called Kaypos, over their own race. He describes the carelessness with which both the Germans and they Kaypos murdered his friends and of course, the victims.

His job was to transport the dead bodies from the gas chamber to the furnaces. He arrived healthy, and even though all the other young men his age who were imprisoned at the same time as him died, somehow he survived, and eventually escaped.

He was raised as an orthodox Jew with a strong faith, but as he watched as at least 1.1 million people died there, he concluded one thing: There certainly cannot be a God because if there was a God, He would certainly intervene and stop this.

He too asked the question, if there is a God, why is this happening to me?

One of my sons was turned down for a position at a job, a job he diligently tried to obtain. He questioned the faith. He said: “Dad, I prayed, I tithed, I went to Church, I did everything you told me to do in order to maintain a relationship with God, and God didn’t answer my prayer. Is God real?”

Having dreams, working hard, studying hard, being diligent in order to better oneself, and contribute to society by doing a special kind of service work, protecting people, is noble. Certainly God is in that and would bless those actions. It is noble. We believe that if we strive to do well, then God will bless us.

I thought of that book when my son was asking the question if God was real and I thought of telling him that situation to put his own problem into perspective. But then, I decided not to, because at the time the problem was real to him. God is big. God is big enough to care for smaller problems as well as huge ones.

Listen to this scripture: Romans 2:7-11:

⁷To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ⁹There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹¹For God does not show favoritism.

So Look at the promise here in Romans. The promise is, if you do right, you will be blessed, if you do wrong, you will suffer.

It all sort of makes sense. It makes sense of the world. The world is ultimately fair and we can trust it.

But remember Job’s counselors. It was too much for them to imagine that God had another purpose. The tragedy that happened to Job was so swift and complete that it was obviously divine in nature. And since God is always fair, then Job must have sinned.

It makes a lot of sense. As a matter of fact, it seems to be the only way we can get up in the morning and function. We need this hope in order to try.

But the thing is: the world is not always fair. God is always fair, but sometimes He has bigger purposes in mind for us. Job had no idea that God was proving a point to Satan and that was the reason for his suffering.

Job’s friends had no idea that God was proving that He is completely sovereign over humanity.

They did not understand God was teaching a lesson to the entire world, in scripture, that mankind can never fully comprehend what God is doing.

I find some big comfort in the times when I have suffered unfairly. I see Job as a soldier in God’s army and God uses Job to God’s best interest. I trust God. I trust that He has a greater purpose in the way He spends my life.

There is a privilege in being one of those people whom God uses for His purpose and not our own. That is what it means to take up our cross and follow Christ.

So why did this happen to this young Jewish man, the author of this book?

I wonder: Did he experience survivors guilt? All of the other young and healthy boys who were initially imprisoned with him died and he survived. Maybe it was because he was a great writer, maybe God kept him alive in order to record the story. But at the same time, he blasphemes God constantly because he cannot reconcile how a loving God would not, or could not, do something on their behalf. Why? He cries out time and time again in the book. Why doesn’t God stop this?

The interesting thing is, this passage itself alludes to the fact that God knows what happened to His people in WWII. Look at the last verse, from the Message: “Jerusalem under the boot of barbarians until the nations finish what was given them to do.”

I heard an extremely racist pastor once dismiss the entire holocaust because God had ordained it.

Just because there is this prophecy, it doesn’t make it right.

The scripture in Romans still applies. We don’t understand God’s purpose and fairness, but that doesn’t give us an excuse to live for ourselves only and not care about the consequences of our actions.

As I mentioned last week, this passage of scripture is a prophecy about the fall of Jerusalem which happened in 70 AD. Most, if not all of it has been fulfilled.

The great Jewish historian, Josephus, records that 1.1 million were killed, 97,000 were taken into captivity back then. He said this, “the ran out of trees to make crosses for all the people that they murdered.”

Jesus speaks of signs. In verse 8, Jesus mentions people who would capitalize on our fear. He says: “There are many who will come and say “I am he” and “the end is near.” DON’T LISTEN TO THEM.

I loved what I heard on October 30, a pundit said: “We live in hard times, not end times.”

Jesus Himself tells us to be careful about making too much of it. Others worry that we make to little of it, so He gives to us some balancing points.

Verse 10: You will hear of wars, and rumors of wars, but the time isn’t yet.

Verse 11: You will hear of earthquakes, but the time isn’t yet.

The only sure sign is in verse 12: Global persecution for all of God’s people.

So Jesus tells us how to respond to that: don’t be alarmed… … but God is in control. Some of us will be forced to defend our faith, and our lives in courts, don’t prepare your speeches, Trust Christ, He is with you and knows the struggle you are facing.

Now, as I mentioned most if not all was fulfilled already. 39 years after Jesus gave this prophecy, the entire nation of Israel was destroyed. The Romans tore down the Temple, that was just finished. History says it looked like gold covered white mountain. It was huge.

The people were brutalized. It was horrible.

This prophecy took place in the first generation after Jesus was crucified and rose again. So, when Jesus said, “this generation will not pass away…,” that prophecy was indeed fulfilled.

This isn’t necessarily a prophecy about the generation that sees Israel restored as a nation. It could be, many prophecies have two fulfillments. But many have looked at 1948, the rebirth of Israel and have said, it must be this generation, the one we are currently living in.

You may remember the book “88 reasons why Jesus will return in 1988.”

So people bought the book, some spent their fortune since they wouldn’t need it anymore.

But Jesus didn’t return then.

And before that was 1981. If the 7 year tribulation was to be before the return of Christ, and that couldn’t be any later than 1988, and if the rapture was to happen before the tribulation, then the rapture had to happen no later than 1981. I remember reading “11:59 and Counting” by Dr. Jack Van Impe. It was his 1979 addition, in it, he proclaimed that there was no possible way that Jesus would delay His coming into 1982 and that anyone who disagreed with him was probably not really a Christian.

I was buying a mobile home on contract from a Christian brother of mine. I owed him $600 on it. He called me, in a panic and told me he needed me to pay him off completely, right away because his pastor told him that if he had any outstanding debt, like a car loan, or a mobile home loan, he would not get raptured.

So I prayed, and God provided the funds. And my friend still hasn’t been raptured.

I am not mocking.

The Bible also says that in the end times, there will be scoffers who mock our belief in Jesus’ second coming and make fun of us by saying “You guys have been saying that for years and it hasn’t happened, yet, it probably never will.”

I am not mocking. I was looking for the title of that book by Jack Van Impe, and I found 27 other books by him. For less than $100 you can purchase a leather-bound “prophecy” bible, complete with proof of the next time he says Jesus will return. But his latest is the best. For $24.95 you can purchase a book providing direct biblical proof that your pet will be in heaven with you.

He has up to 6 versions of 11:59 and counting, all revised because his dead on sure prediction of the event was wrong. Finally he gave it up.

God said you will know a false prophet…

In this passage, Jesus is saying, the one who makes a sure date of it, did not come from Christ. Do not listen to that person.

But this guy keeps on selling. He keeps on selling Jesus. He keeps on marketing a commodity to people who would rather suspend their own thinking and buy into his financial empire.

Now listen, I am not mocking the Second Coming of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 gives an even more accurate sign, after the signs of the earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars and persecution. It says, the return will come when everyone is saying peace and safety. It is almost as if the time when wars, and those other signs and wonders is past that Christ will return.

It isn’t wars, and catastrophe’s, but Paul says “Peace and safety.” I wonder if hard times mean it isn’t ready to happen yet?

So why are we lead to believe otherwise when the scripture is clear?

I believe he is coming back.

Did you ever read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire? I haven’t. It is 734 pages long. And that is fine print.

Contrast that one volume with the 13 larger print, wider margin average 200 pages books of the “Left Behind” series by Jenkins and LaHaye. These guys drug out the one book, into 13, books, at $20 a crack. Okay, they could have done it in 2, or 3 volumes, that is what is average, but no, they maximized their profit.

Jesus said, “Don’t go after these kinds of things.”

I read the books, up until about the 11^th one. They were fascinating, but then I got to thinking about what they said, and what the Bible actually says and I started to pause.

The stories had these great miracles of sovereignty by God doing the things that God can do, and all the while, we were kept in suspense because the main characters could die at any moment. It was like they had faith and fear at the same time.

Jesus said, “Don’t prepare your defense, trust me, I am going to be with you.” In our passage, we see “not a hair will be harmed” and that is right after, you will be persecuted and killed for my sake. He is talking about spiritual protection, our hope of glory and perhaps the honor of being a martyr for Him.

Now I read the books because unbelievers were reading them, and asking me about end times prophecy and I wanted to be ready to point them to Jesus. But as the series drug on, my friends started mocking because they could see through the obvious marketing scheme.

Sadly, when I mentioned this to a brother in the Lord, mentioning how an unbelieving friend of mine mocked how they were dragging out the story so they could sell more books, they said that maybe I should spend less time with unbelievers.

But then, here was Jesus, a friend of sinners.

So what about the second coming of Christ?

Do I believe it?

You bet I do.

⁶In that day the wolf and the lamb will lie down together, and the leopard and goats will be at peace. Calves and fat cattle will be safe among lions, and a little child shall lead them all. ⁷The cows will graze among bears; cubs and calves will lie down together, and lions will eat grass like the cows. ⁸Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes, and a little child who puts his hand in a nest of deadly adders will pull it out unharmed.

Isaiah 11:6, 65:25 The lion lays with the lamb. A child places its hand in the rattlesnakes nest. The Lion eats hay like cow.

Jesus is coming back. I believe in His ultimate rule of justice.

I believe Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3 Men will not war anymore. The oppressive nations will be brought under Jesus’ rule, men will beat their swords into plowshares and they will not learn war anymore.

I believe that the evil rich will no longer be able to enslave the poor, eliminate the middle class and cry moral superiority as hard working wealthy people.

I believe that the poor will have the chance and hope to earn a living and will no longer believe it necessary to abuse the system because they will be given a real chance.

Yes, Jesus is coming back. We long for His returning. We long for His justice to reign. And those who read Him, those who want to live like He did, those who take up their crosses to follow Him and live for the good of humanity instead of their own selves will also be the ones who long for His returning.

In the opening video, we saw the picture of the twin towers, and their destruction, and at the same time, we heard the words to the great hymn: “This is my Father’s world…” It says, and though the wrong, seems often strong, God is the ruler yet.

Jesus gives this sermon for us to have confidence that no matter how bad it looks, God is still doing His purpose. We may never understand it, but we live by faith.