WHERE IS GOD AMIDST THE CONFUSION?
• Rev. Dave Smith (M.Div.)
The Bible tells us … apart from Jesus Christ …
- the wisest man who ever lived on planet earth … was King Solomon
Solomon wrote:
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" There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot," (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NIV)
- Last Tuesday each of us went about our lives … unaware of the Time
- Each of us went about our lives unaware of the tragedy that was taking place … for Amanda and her family.
For all of us it has become …
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A TIME OF CONFUSION
• There is Shock
- at the tragic loss Amanda
- it as left everyone with a surreal feeling of total disbelief
• There is Disappointment
- that we cannot simply wake up from this bad dream
- that the doctors and medical community could not have done more
- that there were so many things let undone
- so many tings left unsaid
- and that we can’t re-write the ending of this story
• There is Discouragement
- that things could be so desperate
- so quick
- so unpredictable
- so unexpected
- so seemingly undeserving to such a wonderful person
- or that any of us didn’t do more
• There are Unanswered Questions
- Why didn’t we see this coming?
- How could such a thing happen in our day and age?
- Why?
- What good can come from a situation like this?
- Where is God in the midst of all this?
Not only is this a time for Confusion it is also…
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A TIME FOR SORROW
It’s a time of sorrow because
- You will not be able to see Amanda as you have in the past
- There will be an empty place in every classroom
- A touch that will not be felt
- A smile that will not be seen
- A laugh that will not be heard
- A voice that is silenced
- A wedding Isle that will never be walked
- Grandchildren that will never be held
- And a love that will be remembered, but not experienced first hand.
- This is a time of sorrow
If ever there was a time … and a need for hope it is now …
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A TIME FOR HOPE
• “The Christian gospel is a message of hope based squarely upon the character, work, and nature of God.”
- The gospel is the story of hope that came to the earth in the person of Jesus Christ.
- Hope that is seen is not hope at all …
- So we need to cling to a hope and a faith that is not based upon what we see …
- But upon God himself
- Because without Him … nothing else makes sense!
- Where would we be today w/o hope?
When a tragedy of this magnitude comes along there is a wide range of emotions … and searching …
ANSWERS ARE NOT EASILY FOUND OR GIVEN!
- As hard as it seems …. we need to acknowledge that God is not accountable to us.
- We may never fully understand why He would permit such an act to take place, when it was clearly in His power to stop it.
- The only clue that we have is Deut.29:29 …
• “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children …” Deuteronomy 29:29
- There are some things that will always remain a mystery … this side of eternity
- And so we need to depend upon God in His infinite wisdom and justice to work things out for His children…
- Because we are hope- less Apart from God
- In time like these the best thing we can do is to call upon God for healing…
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A TIME FOR HEALING BROKEN HEARTS
God promises to be near the broken hearted:
God says … Rom. 8:35-39
• “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
- Ps. 34:18 says … “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
- He removes fear from His people: Ps.23 says … “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me.”
- Our God is a God of Love and Compassion …
- a God who alone … can grant that “Peace that Passes all understanding”
- and heal the broken hearted
If there is a lesson to be learned from Amanda’s quick passing… this is…
A TIME FOR REACHING OUT TO OTHERS
- I am amazed at the 650 students who have joined her Rest in Peace group on Facebook
- The Police who have reached out to Dan
- The support from family, friends, churches, and everywhere
- The gatherings in hallways, around lockers and classrooms …
How many times this past week have we heard people … share their own story about Amanda …
- Then vocalize how they wish they had said more … done more … cared more … or reached out more…
- let me ask you today …
Are we reaching out to others enough?
- How many people do we brush by on a day to day basis and take for granted that they will be the tomorrow…
- People in our classes
- In our communities
- Workplaces,
- Churches,
- and even our own families
Are we connecting in a meaningful way?
- In this busy, hectic, often disconnected world we live in …
- Imagine what it would be like to belong to a community of people who didn’t take one another for granted … friends…
- but reached out to one another …
- so no one would feel left out or alone
Amanda has …without knowing it
- Brought almost 700 students together on a web forum
- She has galvanized communities
- Touched her hockey house leagues
- Faithfully participated in her local church
- He has modelled what it means to love others
- And Others have love her in return
Imagine ….
- If each one of us affected by Amanda …would leave this place and resolve to continue that work that She has begun
- To no longer take anyone for granted
But to affirm all people
- To look for the less popular kids
To tell them you care
- To build a genuine community where
You grow together
Do life together
Serve one another
Share one another’s burdons
- And where …
Every act of kindness is … Paid Forward…
And EVERY student
Every person
Is appreciated for who they are!
Imagine …
- If one Grade 11 student can have such an incredible impact…
Imagine …
- The difference each and every one of us can make in the lives of others …
- If we LIVED EACH DAY AS IF IT WERE OUR LAST… AND TREATED EACH PERSON AS THOUGH IT WERE THEIR LAST
- Then AMANDA would have taught each of us … one of the greatest lessons of our life!
- What an ideal to strive towards
- You see … all along …
• God’s plan is for you to love Him, and love your neighbour as yourself
- so Jesus said in Luke 10:27
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, … … and love your neighbour as yourself.”
- so…
WHERE IS GOD AMIDST THE CONFUSION?
The amazing thing is…
- God has been with us all along.
C.S. Lewis said “God whispers to us in our well being; He SHOUTS to us in our pain”
- Tragic events like this that serve as a wake up call to underscore our desperate need for a right relationship with God … and our fellow man!
God is not only there for us …
- But as a professing Believer in Christ
• He was there for Amanda
- In Rom.10:9 we are assured:
“That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- So a years ago, when Amanda confessed the Lord Jesus as her Lord and Savior … she received God’s gift of eternal life.
- Jesus said in Jn.14
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled; trust in God and trust Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; I go now to prepare a place for you”
- I can tell you today, based on the assurance of God’s Word that Amanda is finding her way around her new home… even right now!
- She is in a place where there is no suffering and pain – Isa.25:8
- Place of perfect Rest – Heb.4:9
- Amanda is now enjoying “perfect love” and “Perfect rest”
- Rev. 7:16-17 – Indescribable Joy
- Matt. 6:20 – Describes heaven as a place stocked with treasures
- Amanda is making New and Exciting discoveries
- Matt. 17:3,4 – We will be able to recognize loved ones who died in Christ
- Amanda and her Grandpa’s are together once again…
- It says in Jn. 14:9,10 that We shall behold Jesus “Face to Face”
- So Amanda is having a little heart to heart … face to face time … with the Lord Jesus
- Absent from the body …. And present with the LORD!
- The glory of Amanda’s new home is so indescribable … 1 Cor.2:7,9
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the hearts of men, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
And finally…
• God is extending an invitation to all of us.
- To be connected to Him … and to each other
- and He invites each of us to make a choice …
- Are we going to put God 1st in our life, and start loving our neighbour as ourself?
or
- Are we going to put ourself as #1 in our life, and continue putting everyone else further down the list?
- Jesus led by example …
- Came to do the will of His Father … loved us so much He laid down His life for us.
- He did the hard part … all we have to do is…
1) Acknowledge Sin…
2) Repent …
3) Accept …
4) Begin to love the Lord H/S/M … and neighbour as yourself
- Each of us has to make this decision on their own … no one else can do this for you!
Where is God amidst the confusion?
- At the end of the day … end of our life
- We will realize … He’s been there all along…
- Like the poem Footprints in the sand… we will look back and realize that it was at those greatest times of pain and confusion… that He was carrying us…
- That same offer of Eternal Life … that was accepted by Amanda
- Has been extended to each of us today….
- The Question is..
- What will you do with your invitation?
PRAYER
Father, we thank you today for Jesus … who has loved and cared so much for Amanda … that He went before… and laid down His life for Her.
Thank you for providing for Amanda in life, in death, and even now in eternity
Thank you for the wonderful privilege to know and love her for the short time we had.
For any who are here today who want to accept your invitation … to love you H/S/M and love their fellow man …
Let them say quietly to You …
- Please forgive me for the many times I have sinned against you and others …
- I believe Jesus died for my sins
- I accept Him as my personal lord and savior
- Want to live my life for you … and experience a personal relationship with
the Lord Jesus Christ … AMEN!
