Sermon Central
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"Why Bad Things Happen To God's People"
Contributed by Dennis Deese on Aug 9, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: Painful things have happen since the beginning - but why?
“WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOD’S PEOPLE”
By: Dr. Dennis Deese
Bad things happening to God’s people is not anything new. To the contrary, they have been happening since the very beginning of man’s decision to sin. Next to being separated from God (Genesis 3:24), Adam and Eve, a dad and mother, experienced the agonizing and heart breaking pain of their son’s death. And to add to what would seem to be the most gut wrenching experience life has to offer, their son not only died, he was murdered. Could it be more painful? Could it get worse? It did. Their son not only died by murder but he was murdered by their other son!
In order to understand this perplexing and often questioned aspect of life, that is, why bad things happen to God’s people, you can only understand it from a spiritual perspective! An example of what I’m talking about is found in the event of the servant who ministered to Elisha:
2 Kings 6:15-17 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that [be] with us [are] more than they that [be] with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Job 14:1 Man [that is] born of a woman [is] of few days, and full of trouble.
irrefutable
From the view point of the (the spiritual realm) truth of God’s holy and factual Word let’s examine our pains. There are two things that we must understand in order to survive.
I. THE ROOT CAUSES OF PAIN
A. The Natural Consequence of Sin
Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.
Romans 8:18-23 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
B. The Determined Intention of Satan
Nearly two out of three adults—62%—agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.”
Among the more surprising findings, however, are that a majority of born again Christians deny Satan’s existence (52%); nearly three-quarters of Catholics say the devil is non-existent (72%); and women are more likely than men to reject Satan’s existence (64% vs. 59%). Barna Research Group, Ltd., Oxnard, CA
He has his own trinity—the devil, the beast, and the false prophet; his own church—the synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9); his own ministers—ministers of Satan (II Cor. 11:15); his own gospel—another gospel (Gal. 1:6); his own theology—doctrines of devils (I Tim. 4:1); his own sacrifices—sacrifices offered to demons (I Cor. 10:21); his own table and cup (I Cor. 10:21-22).
