MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2020)
TEXT: Isaiah 63:7-9; Exodus 3:7-8
ILL. The story is told that there were two young Boy Scouts who were twins & did not quite live up to their Scout Oath. They stole things, swore, & generally got themselves into trouble around town.
Their mother, realizing she needed help, asked the Scoutmaster to talk with them. He agreed & decided to see them one at a time & hopefully get them to understand that they needed to change. He thought he would first get them to see that their actions were sinful.
When the first scout arrived, he was told to sit down, & the Scoutmaster, who was a big man with a pretty loud voice asked, "Where is God?" He wanted the scout to realize that God is everywhere, & that He knows what we do.
The scout looked stunned & his mouth dropped open, but he said nothing. So, the scoutmaster repeated more sternly, "Where is God?"
Again, the scout just sat & stared dumbly at the Scoutmaster. So the scoutmaster raised his voice & asked a third time, "WHERE IS GOD?"
The little scout screamed, jumped up, ran out the door, all the way home, into his room, dove into his closet, & hid under his clothes. And that's where his brother found him. He asked, "What happened?"
The first scout replied, "Man, we are in BIG trouble! God is missing & they think WE took him!" (www.BoyScoutTrail.com)
A. Well, I’m not sure about that story, but I do know that it’s easy for some people to have a “pity party” & end up feeling so depressed about themselves & what is happening in their lives. Sometimes they even cry out, “Where is God? Why isn’t He doing something about this? Does He even care about me?”
I think that is a good question to consider: “Does God care about us? Does He really care?”
One passage in the O.T. concerning this is Isaiah 63:7-9, "I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which He is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us yes, the many good things He has done for the house of Israel, according to His compassion & many kindnesses.
"He said, ‘Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me’; & so He became their Savior. In all their distress He too was distressed, & the angel of His presence saved them.
“In His love & mercy He redeemed them; He lifted them up & carried them all the days of old."
Now that's a remarkable passage. And perhaps the key words are in vs. 9 where it says, "In all their distress He too was distressed…"
Didn’t God say almost the same thing when He spoke to Moses at the burning bush? He said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, & I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them. . ." (Exodus 3:7-8).
And He told Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go!”
B. Over & over the Bible proclaims that God loves us & cares for us. We see that in the birth of Jesus. Notice that God did not send His Son to be born into a royal family to enjoy the very best this world has to offer.
Instead, He chose to experience what it is like to be poor, to spend long hours working under a hot sun, to have calluses on His hands, & sore, aching muscles.
He knows what it is like to be a part of a despised race, to be arrested & tried for crimes He did not commit. And hanging there on the cross in our place, He experienced pain such as you & I have never experienced.
ILL. Years ago, a group of missionaries had an audience with Mahatma Gandhi to explain their work in India. As the meeting drew to a close, Gandhi asked them to sing one of their favorite Christian hymns. They asked, "What hymn shall we sing?" Gandhi answered, "Sing the hymn that best express¬es what you believe."
So they sang this one, "When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, & pour contempt on all my pride."
They chose well, for that hymn expresses what we believe - that on the cross, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Glory, died for us. And because of that it is a wondrous cross, & we sing about it because God's love transformed it into a symbol of victory over sin & death.
PROP. With that in mind, let’s look at Jesus & the cross & realize that when bad things happen to us, God suffers too!
I. LOVE & SUFFERING OFTEN GO HAND IN HAND
At times we may hear people saying things like this, "God must not love me or I wouldn't be going through all this. If God really loved me, He wouldn't let me suffer like this."
But then we look at the cross & see that love & suffering often go together.
ILL. If you love your husband or your wife, you'll suffer together through many of life’s experiences. If you bring children into the world, you'll suffer with them, too.
The greater the love the greater the suffering. They go hand in hand. Isn’t that what the Bible tells us in John 3:16? "For God so loved the world that He gave His one & only Son..."
And again John proclaims, "This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10)
ILL. That reminds me of the time when someone asked C.S. Lewis, “Why do the righteous suffer?” “Why not?” he replied. “They’re the ones who can take it!” And our confidence in a God who knows & loves us is the reason we can take it.
II. SUFFERING IS NOT NECESSARILY PUNISHMENT FOR SIN
A. A second lesson we draw from the cross is that our suffering is not necessarily a punishment for our sins.
Sometimes, if something goes wrong, we’re tempted to wonder, "Is God punishing me?" Yes, there are times when sin causes suffering, for there is cause & effect in our world & sins do have consequences.
B. But sometimes we’re suffering just because we live in this world. When Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden the whole world suffered the consequences.
ILL. Dorothy Sayers said that God, at least, plays fair. She said that for whatever reason God chose to make man as he is, subject to suffering, sorrow & death, God had the courage to take His own medicine. And whatever God is doing with His creation, He has kept His own rules & played fair.
Now "fair" is one of those words we may hear when people are suffering. "It isn't fair! It isn't fair that our daughter was killed in an automobile accident. It isn't fair that he reached the age of retirement & his wife died. It isn't fair that they gave birth to a handi¬capped child. It just isn't fair!"
But is it fair that Jesus should come into the world He created, & the people He created would laugh & mock Him, spit upon Him, & nail Him to a cross?
The world groans under the weight of sin, & the consequence of sin is death. So God played fair. God kept His own rules. And because He loves us, He went to the cross & took the punishment for your sins & for mine.
C. There is an important truth here. The worst that can happen to us in this life is not that we suffer. But rather, the worst that can happen is that we be ensnared by sin & die unforgiven of that sin.
Do you remember? As the Roman soldiers were taking Jesus to be crucified, they passed a group of weeping women. And Jesus said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves & for your children. For the time will come…” (Luke 23:28-29).
Jesus was right. That was not the time to weep for Him. Rather, it was a time to weep for Annas & Caiaphas & the members of the Sanhedrin who manipulated the crowd to cry “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
It was a time also to weep for Pilate, a politician who would not listen to his conscience; & for Judas who turned his back upon Jesus, passing up the greatest opportunity that he ever had.
It's not suffering, but sin that we should fear. And remember, suffering is not necessarily a punishment for our sins.
III. OUR SUFFERING CAN BE A MINISTRY TO SOMEONE ELSE
Now there is a third truth that comes out in the lesson of the cross - sometimes our suffering can actually minister to someone else.
The Bible teaches that Joseph in the O.T. suffered so that His family could be fed during a time of famine.
Moses suffered so that He could deliver Israel out of Egyptian bondage. And Jesus suffered so that the penalty for sin would be paid & people redeemed from their sins.
ILL. Mother Teresa spent most of her life working in the streets of Calcutta, in one of the most desperate pockets of pover¬ty in the world. There she ministered to the poor, giving them food, taking care of their physical needs day in & day out.
She was 87 years old when she died. She could have been back home enjoying the comforts & honors she so richly deserved. Yet she chose to remain in Calcutta.
When asked about it, she said, "I am just a tiny pencil in the hand of God as He writes His love letter to the world."
IV. OUR SUFFERING CAN BRING GLORY TO GOD
A. Then finally, our suffering can bring glory to God. The 7 times Jesus spoke while on the cross give us an example of how to suffer as a Christian & thus to bring glory to God. Let’s listen to His words again.
1. As Jesus hung on the cross the first words He spoke were these, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) Sometimes people caught up in the pain & problems of life become bitter. They get angry at the world, at God, at the church, at something or someone else.
But Jesus teaches us, as He hangs there with nails in His hands & feet, that we should release the bitterness & forgive those who have driven nails into our lives. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
2. Then He turned to the thief beside Him & said, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)
One of the great temptations of suffering is to become self-centered & think only of ourselves & the problems we’re experiencing. Yet, the cross teaches us that we should never become insensitive to others.
3. Then to His mother & to John He says, “‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’" Even as Jesus was dying, He did not forget about His mother & His responsibility for her care & keep¬ing.
His words teach us that even in the midst of suffering we should never forget our responsibilities.
4. Then Jesus said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) I'm thankful that Jesus didn't place a smile on His face & try to convince us that He enjoyed dying on the cross.
There are times of loneliness. There are times when you feel forsaken. And yet, realize that once you have come through this val¬ley, this time of darkness in your life, God was always there.
5. Then Jesus said, "I am thirsty." One of the hardest things to accept when we’re suffering is our inability to care for ourselves. As we visit in hospitals & nursing homes we've all seen people who are proud & independent, humbled by the fact that they have to be taken care of by others.
And we dread the idea that the day may come when someone else will have to feed & bathe & dress us. But maybe it will help a little to know that the Son of God allowed a stranger to minister unto Him, to moisten a sponge & wet His lips as He hung there upon the cross.
6. "It is finished," He said. One day our sufferings will be over, too. They are not forever. The apostle Paul wrote, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)
7. Finally, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Death is not the worst thing that can happen. It can be the best thing. It's a graduation. It's a promotion. It's a time when our spirit goes to be with God forever.
B. If Jesus is not your Savior, then perhaps you don't understand what I am saying. Maybe you've never experienced the comfort & strength that comes from knowing you're not alone, that God is beside you.
ILL. Let me close with a true story of a black preacher in the inner city of Chicago who was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
He was in his late sixties & had been a minister throughout his adult life. His love for the Lord was so profound that it was reflected in everything he said.
When he & his wife were told that he had only a few months to live, they displayed no panic or despair. They quietly asked the doctor what they should expect would happen during those next few months.
When the doctor had explained the treatment program & what he anticipated would happen, they politely thanked him for his concern & departed. Getting into their car, they bowed their heads & recommitted themselves to the Lord.
In the months that followed, the preacher never lost his poise. Nor was he glib about his illness. He was not in denial. He simply had come to terms with the cancer & its probable outcome. He knew the Lord was in control & he refused to be shaken in his faith. So he continued on as best he could serving his congregation.
Then it was his final Sunday in the church. He actually preached the sermon that morning & talked openly about his impending death saying, “Some of you have asked me if I’m mad at God for this disease that has taken over my body. I’ll tell you honestly that I have nothing but love in my heart for my Lord.
“He didn’t do this to me. We live in a sinful world where sickness & death are the curse man has brought on himself. And I’m going to a better place where there will be no more tears, no suffering, & no heartache. So don’t feel bad for me.
“Besides,” he continued, “our Lord suffered & died for us. Why should I not share in His suffering?” Then he began to sing, without accompaniment, in an old, broken voice:
Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me.
(Adapted from SermonCentral.com)
Oh, I believe it’s true. In all our distress, God is distressed, too. He cares. He cares about us!
INVITATION This morning we extend His invitation. We want you to know Jesus as your Lord & Savior. We want you to realize that His death on the cross was not for someone else, but for you. We offer that invitation as we stand & sing.
