March 18, 2007 Part of 1 of 2 sermons in a mini-series investigating a Biblical perspective on suffering. Intent: All suffering is not the same. Some, what I call "passive suffering" is the suffering of disease, death, etc that all members of the world are subject to (whether Christian or non-Christian). This is generally a negative reality, though God can break in and bring healing from this reality. Other suffering, what I call "active suffering," is the conscious choice Christians make to think and speak and act in certain ways that cause them to be persecuted and even killed for their commitments. This is a positive reality, because we are freed to stand up against injustice and unfaith through the resurrection of Jesus, which proved that nothing humans can do to us (including death!) can destroy us. Our lives, however long or short by human estimation, echo in eternity, and God is concerned centrally about faithfulness, not life longevity.

Source Scriptures: Psalm of lament (Psalm 77:1-9)

Tend to think of suffering as wholly negative, right? Most of the world, when the word suffering is brought up, gets a tremendously negative vibe from that word. It conjures up all sorts of feelings within folks.

But as followers of Jesus, knowing that Jesus said to us “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (like last Sunday’s talk), do you agree with me that God’s Word is truth, whether it’s easy or hard for us to hear?

- the world sees suffering as a static reality

- a Biblical worldview shows us something different

Exploration of suffering (2 main categories)

- normal, passive kind of suffering (non-discipleship related suffering)

o this is the general suffering that all of humanity exists under and is subject to: diseases, natural disasters, losing jobs, untimely deaths (military deaths in Valley, extend out to Iraqi citizens and families and social system paralyzed by fear and loss)

- active, discipleship-centered suffering

o pick up cross daily and follow me

o anyone who loses his life for my sake will gain it

o all men will hate you because of me, but stand firm

o we will focus on discipleship-related suffering next week, but this week I want to deal with the first category

And you know, when it comes to the passive reality of suffering, the suffering that everyone in this world is subject to, we often have a tendency to take things we don’t understand and oversimplify them into “acts of God” into the concrete and unchanging will of an often cruel God who either doesn’t seem to care much about us or is powerless to do anything about it, causes disasters sometimes for seemingly no good reason, and demands that we against all odds should believe something good can come from the act or situation

- I don’t think it’s as simple as that, though many would suggest it is.

Ex. Bluffton baseball team wreck (explain wreck)

James Grandey, the baseball coach at Bluffton University in Ohio, was injured along with 28 players in the March 2 crash on Interstate 75 in Atlanta. Five players, and the bus driver and his wife, were killed.

Grandey, who suffered multiple broken facial bones, said that God brings only situations that people can handle.

"I wonder why I survived ... I don't know, God has a reason," said Grandey, 29, dark bruises under his eyes and his jaw still partially wired shut. "There's a reason for those that didn't survive as well. We'll never know that answer until we ourselves pass away."

Diseases (black plague wiped out half the population of Europe in the Middle Ages); was that an act of God? (majority of people overtaxed to the point where they lived in disgusting slums, raw sewage in the streets, rats running around…rich richer and poor poorer one of the causes)

AIDS epidemic destroying the population of Africa and infecting America(is this an act of God?): in some tribes, it’s considered a good thing for a mature man to have sex with young teenage women no matter their age…so they rape teenagers and infect them with the virus…these young women are dying…is this an act of God?) Scores upon scores of people in America are having sex with any number of people, and because of a fear of getting tested, are spreading the AIDS virus without knowing.

Casualties of the war in Iraq, both those who lose their lives and those who lose limbs or suffer mental illness for the rest of their lives (Families and friends here in Augusta County of Daniel Bubb, Jason Redifer, and Daniel Morris have had these young men ripped out of their lives…is this an act of God? The will of God? Families and friends in the Iraqi society not only suffered from men in the Iraqi military killed in the American invasion, but countless civilians in the attacks were maimed and killed by bombs and missiles…was this the will of God, an act of God?)

We could even talk about Hurricanes in these terms. Hurricanes naturally form in the lower Atlantic at a certain time during the year, and sometimes have proved to be deadly: Hurricanes Camille, Hugo, Andrew, and most recently Katrina have been devastating, especially Katrina, a Category 5 hurricane that left a destructive path across the Gulf Coast. Weather-related catastrophe is something we often chalk up to acts of God, but is it only that, or something more? (Int. Comm. on Climate Change released a report that the pollution we as humans pump into the atmosphere at ridiculous rates, with China and the United States being worst offenders, has undeniably, without-a-doubt been a factor in global warming, the greenhouse gases like CO2 and others trapped in the atmosphere forming a layer preventing the natural escape of heat from the earth…this has warmed the Gulf of Mexico in recent years, and the warming has the power to transform a relatively destructive Category 4 hurricane into a devastating Category 5 on the level of Katrina…and all that before we even talk about the devastating poverty in New Orleans that prevented people from escaping the city because they didn’t have transportation and trapped them there afterwards.

Global starvation and poverty exist solely because the richest 20% of the world own and consume 80% of the world’s goods, with the United States again being the biggest offender. Here in America we’re getting fatter because we can’t control our consumption while 30,000 children a day starve to death in Africa.

John Wimber story (known worldwide for his emphasis on healing prayer)

"In January of 1983 I, along with two of my friends, went to England to pray for a close friend, David Watson. David had just been informed by his doctors that he had cancer of the liver. They gave him about one year to live. Earlier on the phone I had told him that I was praying for his healing. In fact, my congregation was praying for him. I prayed for his healing with a combination of desperation (for he was my dear friend) and confidence (because in the past I had seen some people healed of the same condition).

When I and some of my friends arrived in London our first concern was to express love and care toward David. Because we had flown all night, we decided to go directly to the hospital, greet David, an tell him that we would pray for his healing the following day after we rested up. But that morning did not go as planned.

After getting to the hospital, we chatted about the events that had led up to his hospitalization and I began explaining our plan to come back the next day. I noticed that David was quite anxious about his condition, so in my heart I asked God to make us vehicles of his love and peace. As we spoke, we sensed the presence of God in the room; I felt the sensations that I have come to associate with the Holy Spirit’s presence a beautiful calmness that dispels fear and unbelief. I suggested the we should go ahead and pray. We prayed quietly. Through prayer and worship our attitudes were transformed from fear and anxiety to trust and peace. Then we prayed for David’s healing, and we all received insights into David’s spiritual condition that we did not know before.

The Holy Spirit revealed these insights to us, and they helped us greatly in knowing how to pray for David. That morning we prayed for over a half an hour, fully aware of God’s presence and peace. David experienced the sensations and presence of the Holy Spirit that I have observed before in the bodies of those who were eventually healed of cancer. He felt heat and tingling, which he described as “energy” coming into his body. I told David that these healing signs might indicate that, in the future, the cancer would die. I said neither that I thought he was healed nor that his future healing was assured. (What do you think happened?)

In December of 1983 David was brought to my home in California for an eight-day visit. During this period healing teams from the Anaheim Vineyard Church prayed for David almost round the clock. We prayed for him for hours at a time. But fluids continued to collect in his body; I knew he was dying. I could hardly look at him, I loved him so much. David said that, whether his health improved or not, his trust in God would not be shaken. Then I walked over and put my arms around him, and, for the first time since he knew he was sick, he cried. “John,” he then said, “if I die, promise me you will not stop preaching the gospel and praying for the sick.” I assured him that I would continue.

David was not healed. He died in February 1985. Perhaps no one, with the exception of David’s wife and children, is any more disappointed than I that David was not healed. I do not know why he was not healed- I lost one of my closest friends- but I have continued to pray for the sick and always will. Unfortunately John died not long ago, but after that point, he saw some incredible healings."

All this is to say that suffering on a passive human level that everyone experiences, Christians and non-Christians included is not respecter of wealth, status, position, gender, ethnicity, or anything else. And much of the suffering this world experiences is either directly or indirectly related to human sinfulness, corruption, greed, and pride. Some things, like David Watson not receiving healing, remain a mystery to us. We don’t know why some are healed and some aren’t, though we know intentional prayer for those others often makes a definable, sometimes miraculous difference. We don’t understand everything, but as Christians we CAN control what we can control, we CAN look deeper beyond a surface level understanding of suffering to get at the roots of the problem.

What do you think is the answer (or a series of possible answers) to this problem?

Foundation of the solution lies in the rest of Psalm 77:10-20

Three basic approaches followers of Jesus can offer to the world through the reality of life, that though we will live them out imperfectly, will mean the world to people:

1) Compassion and a deep commitment to all of humanity (horizontal piece of loving neighbor)

a. Many people around us are in great need, and simply need someone who pays attention to them, a word of support, a forgiving embrace, a firm hand, a tender smile, or even a stumblig confession that we wish we could do more…all of this in the name of Jesus.

b. Did you know that it’s been proven that someone can keep their sanity and stay alive even in the midst of severe illness or trauma as long as there is at least one person who is waiting for them? But when “nothing and nobody” is there with skin on to share the experience with them, the chances of survival greatly reduce…thousands of people commit suicide or simply give up really living because there is no one waiting for them. There is no reason to live if there is nobody to live for. So what can we do in response to this reality?

c. It doesn’t take much. Need for deep relationships, yes, but one eye movement, one handshake, one conversation can change a life and only takes a second and a little awareness to come about.)

d. No one can help anyone without becoming involved, without entering with their whole person into the painful situation, without taking the risk of becoming hurt, wounded, or even destroyed in the process. The beginning and the end of Christian leadership is to give our lives for others. Real discipleship means a witness that starts with the willingness to cry with those who cry, laugh with those who laugh, and to make one’s own painful and joyful experiences available as sources of clarification and understanding.

e. How can we minister to those facing cancer and other life threatening diseases if we are not willing to hear some hard questions from those facing the disease that may stretch and test our faith? (Mary and her trust in God) Who can listen to a story of loneliness or depression without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in their own heart and even losing peace of mind? In short: “Who can take away suffering without entering it?”

2) A deep-rooted faith in the value and meaning of life, even when the days look darkest

a. Following Christ is a dead-end street when nothing new is expected, when everything sounds familiar, and when life has regressed to the level of the routine (nothing more, nothing less than the routine)

b. For those with a deep-rooted faith in the value and meaning of life, every experience holds the potential for something beautiful, every event brings a new message (maybe in the midst of the darkness)…it is this approach to life that gives eyes to see the flower breaking through the cracks in the street, and understanding to see the possibility of new life under the cover of death and destruction. (Who will bring good news and healing to the people of our inner cities and to families broken by violence?)

3) A grounded hope which always looks for tomorrow, even beyond the reality of death

a. Hope makes it possible to look beyond our wishes and desires and offers a vision beyond human suffering and even death… without this hope we will never be able to see value and meaning in life through struggles and successes in our lives…especially since human life often seems to be more struggle than success.

b. Leadership therefore is not called Christian because it is permeated with optimism against the odds of life, but because it is grounded in the historic Christ-event which is understood as a definitive breach in the deterministic chain of human trial and error, and as a dramatic affirmation that there is light on the other side of darkness.

Christian leadership, then, is only accomplished through service…the willingness to enter into a situation, with all the human vulnerabilities a man has to share with fellow man. Indeed, the paradox of Christian living is that the way out is the way in, that only be entering into communion with human suffering can relief be found…every Christian is constantly invited to overcome his neighbor’s fear by entering into it with him, and to find in the fellowship of suffering the way to freedom.