How does Jesus redefine our understanding of suffering?

Michael Lockstampfor
Written By Michael Lockstampfor

WATCH

Bad Theology, 1 of 4 from October 5, 2025

“All suffering comes from sin but God’s purpose is greater than our pain.”

Job 4-5, 22, 42; 1 Peter 2 by Michael Lockstampfor (@miklocks)

SUMMARY

This sermon explores the relationship between suffering and our beliefs about God through the story of Job, challenging the idea that suffering always results from personal sin. Pastor Michael discusses the flawed belief that "if you do good, you get good," and highlights Jesus' example of suffering without sin. The message emphasizes that God's purposes are greater than our pain, urging trust in God’s perfect justice and compassion amidst trials.

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REFLECTION & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • 💬 Who are we tempted to blame for their pain?

  • 💬 Will we repent from our contributions to the sin and brokenness in the world?

  • 💬 Will we forgive those who failed us in our grief?

  • 💬 How can we “grieve with those who grieve”?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

  • Well, hey, good morning, church. Welcome to our neighbors. I'm glad you're with us. It was actually kind of like a movie maybe. There's only a couple of times in my life where I have felt like I was in a movie.

    I had gone to visit a friend out of town, and as we were talking, he said, oh, you know what? You know what night it is? We got to go. I was like, where are we going? He's like, oh, there's this thing, and we got to go, okay?

    So we go. I get in the car, and my friend is driving me, and we go. And we go to a store that is closed. Okay, Right. And he's likea.

    And so we walk next door to the store that is open, walk behind the counter, and walk through a side door into the building next door where the store is closed, where there's three guys that are sitting that they are kind of chatting. And we walk in the room. They go, "Heeeyyy!" so this is clearly, like a thing that they did all the time that I was not privy to, but I had been invited in. Okay? It's like a movie, right?

    Like, I feel like I should have, I don't know, wore a cooler shirt or something, brought my sunglasses. So they walk in and they offer me a drink, and it is very clear very quickly that they had already gotten pretty deep into that bottle before they offered me to share. And they just talking. They're just talking. They're just talking.

    They're just talking, and they're talking about all kinds of stuff, all the drama of their life, all of the. Of the gossip around town, and they get to talking about stuff that happened in a church. And one of the guys, he gets real aggressive. Now, this is the first time I've ever met this guy in my whole life. And he's probably half a bottle of Jim Be in, all right?

    And he's like, I can't believe. That's why I don't. That's why I don't believe in God, because there's no way that God could be in control and also let all this bad stuff happen. And he starts listing off everything that's ever, ever. He's read in the news about ways that chur.

    Like people in church leadership have abused other people. He starts listening off things that have happened in his life, and I. I'm just. I cannot believe the torrent of information that's coming out. And he looks at me and he goes, oh, bleep. I forgot he said you were a Preacher, I said, those are some real hard questions.

    He said, yeah, they're hard he said, I not there's nothing hard about him. That's what it is. And this is who I am. I said, have you read much of the Bible? And he says, I don't have no need for that.

    I said, well, I don't know what to say about all of the things that you have shared and I am so sorry. But I do want you to know that the question that you're raising is the oldest question that is recorded in the scriptures, and that God is willing to have that conversation with you head on. Whatever your objections are, whatever your hurt is, whatever your anger is, whatever it is that's keeping you far from God and not trusting him, he says, I will meet you exactly there. And it's the oldest piece of scripture that we have.

    We are going to take the month of October and we're going toa be in a series that we're calling Bad Theology. And we're gonna take a look at a book called Job. Now, if you're looking at your table of contents, it might look like Job, but it's a Hebrew name and means Job. And I'm going to tell you the story of the book and we're kind of going to work our way through parts of this book through the month of October. Has everybody met Job before?

    Y'all familiar with this story? Any? Anybody? You've never heard that name before? You got no idea what we're talking about, because that's fun too.

    So Job's a guy. He probably did not have male pattern baldness. Like, I can't prove that from the text, but just when you describe when you meet Job, you're like, oh man, this guy's got a great head of hair. He is wealthy, he's got all kinds of money. And they counted that in goats.

    So he's got all kinds of goat, he's got all kinds of cows, he's got all kinds of money grazing around on all of his land. Like he's a rich guy and he's healthy. So he's got a wife and then they have a slew of children, which is a sign that not only are they able to procreate, but they're able to keep him alive pretty long. And this is a time when that was really, really difficult. It was difficult to survive childbirth.

    It was difficult to get children up to adulthood. So he was wealthy, he was healthy. We know. And you're like, oh great, this guy's got to be some kind of a Snob. But he was like, spiritual spiritual.

    Not like kind of spiritual, like, read the horoscopes every weekend spiritual. He was spiritual spiritual because his children, when they grew up, he's like, my children are going off, they're having a party. They're having a feast. And just in case they sinned while they were hanging out together, I'm gonna offer an extra offering to God to make sure that I cover for their offenses if they happen to sin. He's not even asking questions.

    Like, he's going out of his way. He is spiritual. Spiritual, right. You get it? Now can you see why?

    You think he's got a nice head of hair? I can't prove it. That's just me reading in between the text. Okay, so that's Job. That's this guy.

    He's got everything. He's got it made. Now, in the story, we get a window behind a sneak peek behind the curtain. We get to see what's happening in the spiritual realm. And Satan, the enemy, the adversary, the accuser, whatever you want to call him, he comes from prowling around on earth.

    And he shows up in God's house up in heaven. And he walks in, and God's like, hey, what are you doing here? Where you been? He's like, o, I was just walking around on Earth. And he's like, okay, cool.

    Did you notice Job?

    And Satan says, oh, yeah, I've seen that guy. He's like, isn't he great? And Satan's like, he's not that great. Like, he's only great because you've blessed him. He's only great.

    Like, he only trusts you. He's only spiritual. Spiritual because you've made him healthy and you've made him wealthy. If you took that stuff away, he'd 100% curse you. He'd 100% walk away like.

    Like that. Like God. If you. Satan says to God, if you took all that stuff away, he'd be out. He'd dip.

    He'd be gone. Right? And God says, as the children say, bet.

    Bet. You can do it. Take away. Take away his stuff. Take away all this stuff.

    Get rid of all of it. Take away his health. Make him sick. Make him painfully and chronically ill. And then we'll see where he's at. Satan gives the adversary permission to take everything from him as long as he didn't kill him.

    And so that's exactly what the enemy does. All of his cows get stolen one day, and on the same day, his kids are having a party and the house falls on them and they all die. And, like, the only thing that's left is his wife. Which you are like, oh, well, good. At least he's got his wife.

    But she's apparently cranky and she's like, whatever you did is bad. Like, you ought to just curse God and die. And he's got these four friends that come and they sit with him for a week and they kind of weep with him and mourn for him, but then he starts talking and, you know, they just can't help themselves but give them advice. And we've been in a series over this summer. We've been talking about theology and thoughts about God and how having a good theology is helpful.

    And there have been times where I have told you that having a bad theology is actually harmful and these guys are doing harm. Like, they showed up to their friend's house and they start telling him what's wrong with him, and that's why he is suffering. And so that's what this series is gonna do. Like, we're gonna take a look at the bad theology of these four friends because it's dangerous to believe wrong things about God. These are dangerous answers to life's oldest questions.

    Ok, does that sound like a good October? A little bit spooky. We got demons in there and all this kind of stuff, right? Okay. As we go through, there's going to be four friends that come through.

    There's going to be four weeks that we do this series, and you're going to have four different preachers. So I'm going to introduce the series. And then over the next three weeks, folks from Sebring and Lakeland are gonna come in and they're gonna cover. I'm gonna be gone and preaching there, too. So we're all kind of rotating around going through this series together.

    But here's why it matters. The answers that Job's friends give to Job and his suffering are still being repeated today.

    They will sound familiar to you.

    Your family probably believes some of the things that Job's friends believe. Your friends probably believe some of the things that Job's friends believe. And I suspect that for some of us, maybe most of us, perhaps all of us, if I were to be so bold, we have these thoughts in our heads and our hearts, too. And so I think it's important for us to stop and listen to what these friends are saying and then push that through the lens of who Jesus is. Okay, all right.

    All right, cool. We're gonna pray for this one.

    It's our habit to pray the disciples prayer These aren't magic words or anything, but Jesus says you should pray this way, and I'm simple enough to just do that. So words are on the screen. If you'd like to pray out loud, I think that'd be beautiful. But let's take a deep breath before we pray together.

    Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

    Amen. Amen. As we get going, what I'm trying to simplify, Job, is a big book. There's 42 chapters. And so we can either be here all week or I can summarize for you.

    But what I'm gonna try to do is I'm just gonna ask you to navigate to three different passages. So I'm gonna ask you to turn in your Bibles three different passages. I'll talk about other things, but I'll throw them up on the screen so that you've got them there. Okay, so the first passage I'd like for you to navigate to is Job, chapter four. Job, chapter four.

    And I'm gonna skim through four and five a little bit. But if you get to Job four, you should be able to track along as we're going.

    I gotta get there, too. Look at that. If you're using the blue Bibles, it's on page five, 22, or 523. Job, chapter four. So as job has kind of grieved and mourned and wept for a week, he starts to talk and he says, man, I just wish I'd never been born.

    Which, that's an understandable statement. And so he kind of laments being born for a chapter. And then his first friend speaks. And my task today is to introduce you to his first friend. His first friend is named Eliphaz.

    Can you say Eliphaz? El Eliphaz. And I might call him Eli, but I don't really like that because Eli actually means something good. And Eliphaz is maybe not. Okay, so Eliphaz, he is a Temanite.

    I don't know what that means. And it's okay. All right, so Job, chapter four, starting in verse one. Then Elipaz the Temanite answered and said, if one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient yet who can keep from speaking? Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands, your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees.

    But now it has come to you and you are impatient. It touches you and you are dismayed. Is not your fear of God your confidence and the integrity of your ways your hope? So he starts off. He says, job, you're a good guy.

    You have been an encourager in your community. And like you have said that your confidence in life is your faith in God. You think you're a good guy, but now that you've experienced some hardship like now, you're going to act impatient. So he continues in verse seven, you think you're good, but remember who that was innocent ever perished, or where were the upright cut off. Eliphaz says bad things don't happen to good people.

    Eliphaz says bad things like death don't happen to innocent people. He says bad things like isolation and loneliness don't happen to upright people. He says bad things don't happen to good people. He continues in Job, chapter 4, verses 8 through 9. As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same, by the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

    He continues on in chapter five, starting in verse two. He says, surely vexation kills the fool and jealousy slays the simple. I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. His children are far from safety. They are crushed in the gate, and there's no one to deliver them.

    The hungry eat his harvest and he takes it out, even out of thorns and the thirsty pant after his wealth. He says bad things happen to people who do bad. And in Job five, verses six and seven, these next couple of verses for affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. But. But man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.

    Have you ever like thrown a log in the fire?

    It's the favorite thing of every little boy. So they have a fire with a little boy and they just wanna see this thing wooosh. You throw a log in the fire and now we're really, really concerned about like the whole forest going up in flames, kind of concerning. But he says when a child is born, when somebody enters into the world, it's like throwing a log on the fire, the sparks fly up. Says things always he says things don't just happen spontaneously, they happen because there's a cause, there must be a cause.

    And bad things happen to people who do bad. There's One writer who summarizes the argument this way, this might be helpful. He says, all suffering in this world is proportionately related to a person's particular degree of sinfulness. Like he Summarizes. Let me just say this is not true.

    But he's summarizing this perspective that says that everything that happens happens in proportion to the level of sinfulness that you have. So if bad things are happening to you, it's because you did bad things. That's kind of what the argument is saying. Eliphaz thinks that suffering is always caused by your sin and that God will always punish those who are doing wrong and bless those who are innocent. So let me keep reading.

    In Job, chapter five, starting in verse eight, he says to Job, as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable marvelous things without number. He gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields he sets on high. Those who are lowly and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He frustrates the devices of the crafty so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise and their own craftiness.

    And the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. I like that word. Wily schemes of the wily. Sorry. They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday, as in night.

    But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty. So the poor have hope and injustice shuts her mouth. So R.C. Sproul says it this way. I'm a little bit simpler.

    This is the way that I can summarize Eliphaz's statement. And I think maybe you can remember this one with me. Okay, it looks like math, but you can do this math. Okay? This is how it goes.

    If you do good, you get good. That's Eliphaz's argument, right? Do good, get good. And that sounds fair, doesn't it? I could go and talk to a group full of children.

    I said, if you do what's right, then you're going to get good things. And they'd be like, yeah, that's fair, right? That's what we want. Do good, get good, right? The implication of do good, get good this, though, is this.

    If you got bad, you did bad. Well, I don't know that I want to go there. I'm not so sure about that. Do good, get good. That sounds fair.

    But got bad, did bad. What am I having to say about people that I care about when I actually think that way?

    He's basically saying, if you haven't sinned, you won't suffer.

    The world assumes that if you've got problems, you're the problem.

    The world assumes if you've got problems, you are the problem.

    Eliphaz picks up again. He says a number of other things, but he speaks again in chapter 22. And I think, yeah, I'll ask you to turn to 22, job, chapter 22, just real briefly. I want to read it to you because I want you. I want you to see I'm not just making this up.

    It's in the Bible.

    God actually let these things be written down. It's crazy sometimes. Okay, so Job, chapter 22, starting in verse 21, Job, chap. 22, starting in verse 21, Eliphaz says to Job, agree with God and be at peace. Thereby good will come to you, receive instruction from his mouth, and lay his words in your heart.

    If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up. If you remove injustice far from your tents, if you lay gold in the dust and gold of. Of fear among the stones of the torrent bed, then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows.

    You will decide on a matter and it will be established for you. And light will shine on all your ways, for when they are humbled, you say it is because of pride. But he saves the lowly. He delivers even the one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands. He says, so he looks this guy in the eye and says, I believe that if you got bad, you did bad.

    And Job says, well, show me what I've done wrong. And he says, I don't know what you did wrong, but you must have done something wrong because all your kids died and all your cows died and you are now sick. You must have done something real, real, real bad. I don't know what it is, but who do you think you can hide? What do you think you can hide from God?

    Job says, I'm not hiding anything. I didn't do anything wrong. He says he delivers even the one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands. Who are you going to save, Job?

    He says, listen, Job, if you repent good enough, then God will shine on you. The problem is clearly in you. And so what you need to do is you need to repent. You need to turn away from your sin. And if you repent good enough, if you're sorry enough, if you cry, like, not the fake crying, but the authentic crying, you know what I'm saying?

    Like, the ugly cry, if you repent good enough, then God will listen to your prayers, and then everything that you do, God will shine on. If you give up your wealth willingly, then God won't have to take it from you. Because if you do good, you'll get good. So that's the argument. That's Eliphaz's argument.

    If you've got problems, you're the problem. If you got bad, you did bad. Because the world runs by the principle of do good, get good. Now, does that just sound super ancient and dead and like, nobody thinks that way anymore, or is that like, I have thought that way, I have thought that way. I don't know about you.

    So you guys might be more righteous than me, but I've thought about that. And that's the way that Eliphaz sees the whole world. That's how many of our friends see the whole world. I suspect that there are people in church who would give the same kind of advice that Eliphaz gives.

    So what do we do? Like, how do we deal with this? What do we look to? Where do we go?

    There's a problem with ideas. When you think about them too hard, you've got to take them to their conclusions. Sometimes you start with an idea and it seems like a good idea, and you take it a couple steps down and you're like, oh, that was not a good idea. Right? I think this one seems really fair.

    It seems like, yeah, that's probably how things work on the front end. But if you push this out, you're like, oh, wait a second, I actually can't believe that. Why can't I believe that? Because whatever we say. Whatever we say is absolutely true about humanity, and whatever we say is absolutely true about God must be true about Jesus.

    If we believe that Jesus is 100% God and 100% people, then any truth statement we might make must be true about him.

    Because Jesus is perfectly both 100% man and 100% God. So when we look to Jesus, what is the example that we see? We see that Jesus had problems. Like, do I have to tell you the story? Jesus had problems everywhere he went.

    Every time he opened his mouth, he had critics. He never did anything wrong. He never stole anything from anybody. But people were constantly mocking him. They didn't trust him.

    And all he wanted to do was, like, care for people and show them what was true. And all that he got mostly in return from the people that he was really trying to connect with was hostility and anger. His whole life like this whole ministry, right? Regardless of the fact that he was born into like utter poverty and that his dad was a blue collar worker in, life was hard growing up. Then he like becomes a teacher and nobody wants to listen to his teaching and he doesn't have a house, so he's constantly crashing on other people's houses while he goes, like, we don't think about Jesus as a homeless guy, but I don't see anywhere where he bought a piece of property.

    And so he went through life and he got to the end. And when push came to shove and they had cornered him, they cornered him and they convinced one of his closest disciples to flip, to rat him out, to say things that were untrue. And he stood in front of a council of people that were making up lies about him, and he let them lie about him so that he could then be brutally executed. Jesus had problems.

    Jesus suffered excruciatingly.

    And yet I think Jesus has the answer for us.

    Because here's the deal. If we look at 2 Corinthians and in other places, Jesus suffered sinlessly for our sake. He God made him Jesus to be sin who knew no sin. Jesus didn't have any sin of his own to die for, and yet he suffered excruciatingly.

    I'm going to ask you to turn this is your last flipping to first Peter, one Peter chapter two. And as you're going there, I'll tell you, I'm gonna read out of chapter two, I'm gonna read out of chapter four, I'm gonna read out of other parts of chapter two. But if you have your finger in one Peter chapter two, you'll be allright.

    One Peter two. I'm gonna look at to start with, I'm gonna kind of go all over, but let me look at verses 22 and 23 to start. 1 Peter Chapter 2, 22 and 23. He Jesus committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return.

    When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who Judges justly. Jesus not only suffered, but suffered for things that he did not do, suffered for sins that were not his own, and continued in that suffering to trust himself to God who is the one who is ultimately going to judge justly. And God's justice is a far greater salve for our world than my sense of fairness.

    He's our example, friends. And I would really like to be able to tell you that if you give your life to God, he's going to make you like Job started. I think we could get a long way building a big church if we would talk about that. But I have asked us to continue to celebrate Jesus. And if we're going to look to Jesus as the model for how we live, we have to understand that suffering is not off of the table because Jesus suffered sacrificially for others.

    As an example, scroll back up to 1 Peter 2, verse 21.

    For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who Judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

    By his wounds you have been healed, for you were straying like sheep, but now have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. Jesus suffered sacrificially for others as an example for us. I don't think if it were up to me, I o had to put that verse in here. Been like, Jesus suffered so that I don't have to. Jesus paid the price so that my life would be easy.

    That's what I would prefer. But that's not how Jesus directs our thinking. We have to change our definition of what we actually believe to be a blessing from God. So think about, like, what do you think a blessing would be? Probably everything that job started with, right?

    Got. We got wealth. We got enough money in the bank that we don't have to worry about the bills. We got enough health that we can survive and we're not constantly in pain. We got a family, you know, they're doing good, right?

    That sounds like a blessed life, right? Blessing. Blessing is anything which brings us into deeper intimacy with God and suffering. Suffering may be an effective blessing in our easily distracted lives.

    Suffering was necessary. Hebrews chapter 2 says that suffering was necessary for Jesus to complete his ministry. His job would not have been finished if he did not suffer. And so I'm going to give you a big idea, but I'm going to ask you to hang with me because I know that I am like, stepping all over all kinds of different issues. I'm aware.

    Okay. I'm not trying to be insensitive. Let me give you a big idea, and then I'm going to scroll back a little bit and we're going to walk through this together. Okay? Can we do that?

    Okay. All suffering comes from sin, but God's purpose is greater than our pain.

    All suffering comes from sin, but God's purpose is greater than our pain.

    Okay, so I think. Let me just give you the correct. Let me give you the correct equation, ok? Do good does not equal. Get good.

    Got bad. Does not equal. Get bad. Did bad. Excuse me, y'all can read it.

    Got bad does not equal did bad. There are bad things that happen to us that did not happen as a result of our personal sin. Scripture throughout, not just in Job, but throughout, says that there are bad things that happen as a result of a fallen creation. We read together already from Romans chapter 8 that all of creation was subjected to futility not willingly. The creation that we occupy is broken.

    And so we oftentimes can suffer for things that are not related to my own personal sin. It is not true that if you got something bad, you must have done something bad. So, friends, the sin that someone did to you was not your fault.

    The miscarriage was not a result of your own personal sin. There are thousands of examples of things that people are angry with God about because they feel like he's punishing them for things that they didn't do. And he says, I'm not punishing you. Bad things happen in a broken world. And just because you got something bad does not mean that I think you did bad.

    And please, my, my beloved, do not think that I think you did bad. Know for certain that I see through to your heart that I was there when that was happening to you. And I also am broken over what has broken you.

    Hear the heart of the Father.

    The bottom line is that suffering is not a reliable indicator of God's pleasure or displeasure. It's just not. We want it to be easy. We want it to be simple. We want it to be fair.

    Because justice does not always appear to be fair at the friend. Suffering is not a reliable indicator of God's pleasure or displeasure.

    There's a guy in John chapter 9, as Jesus is walking by, his disciples see him. He's been blind. He's not just blind. He was blind from birth, like he was born blind. And so as the disciples are walking by, as Jesus pass by, he saw a blind man, a man blind from birth.

    And his disciples asked him, rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents, that he was born Blind. He got bad. Someone must have did bad. Jesus answered, it's not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

    He was blind from birth to show God's power. But then you got a guy like Solomon in the Old Testament, that he's got everything. He's got all the money, he's got a position of power. He can build whatever he wants. He's like living Minecraft for real creative mode.

    He can just build whatever comes to mind. It's crazy. The kind of building that Solomon got to do covers everything with gold just because. Right? Okay.

    And yet in 1 Kings, chapter 11, although he was materially blessed, God says, you are my enemy because your heart is far from me.

    Suffering is not a good indicator of God's pleasure or displeasure. Neither is your wealth. It's just not what God is looking at. It's not what he is concerned about.

    Do. Do we hear that? Are we okay? Okay, I've got some more thing. The thing is, is that I know, I know.

    Like, I am. Like, I feel like I'm in between. Like, I feel like the stage is full of water balloons. And like, everywhere goes, I'm like, everything's blowing up because I'm talking about big ideas that hurt a lot. And I know that.

    And there's no way that anybody, any human could, in 45 to 90 minutes, depending on where this ends, like, could wrap their arms around the pain that you've felt your whole life. And that's not what I'm trying to do, but I'm trying to give you anchor points to say, maybe I can lean into God there. Maybe I can lean into God there. Now, as long as we're good with that, God does sometimes allow bad things to happen to people as a result of their personal sin. It's not always, but sometimes he does do that.

    There's a guy named Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel, chapter four, who God says, you are proud and you are arrogant, and I'm going to humiliate you until you learn that you're not God. And so he acts like a cow, he loses his mind, he goes crazy, he eats grass, he acts like a cow until he realizes I'm not God. So God does that in response to his personal sin. But let's look together, because it's here in 1 Peter, it's still in 1 Peter. Here, you've got this open.

    So 1 Peter, in chapter two, starting in verse 18, he's giving instructions to people who are Following Jesus at work, okay, he says, servants, be subject to your masters with all respect. Not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. I got to follow a bad boss. Sure, for this is a gracious thing. When mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.

    4. What credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure? This is a gracious thing in the sight of. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example so that you might follow in his steps.

    He says, like there are times where you will do something stupid and you will get something stupid that's going to happen. That's why insurance is so expensive for teenage boys. But it's not always true. But sometimes it's true. Okay, I've got in here too.

    1 Peter now in chapter 4, starting in verse 15. So just flip the page. So he gives these instructions, but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a meddler. Or he says, hey, hey, don't sin. Just because life is bad, just because the world is hard doesn't give you permission to sin.

    Don't suffer like that yet. Verse 16. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

    And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. He says, don't just throw in the towel. Don't just do whatever you want. Keep doing good.

    And when it's hard, keep trusting that God is somehow going to work all this out so that it is just on the last day. He doesn't promise it's going to be fair today. He doesn't promise that it's not going to hurt today. But he does say, on the last day, I am the one who will judge. And I can see clearly the beginning from the end.

    And you can trust me that I will not let anything slide. The sin that was done to you was sufficient for me to send my son to die, for I am dealing with it and it will be dealt with completely. All suffering comes from sin, but God's purpose is greater than our pain. All suffering is a result of the corrupting influence of sin in a fallen world. We saw that in Romans.

    Romans, chapter 8. Creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. Then also, there's another situation in Luke chapter 13 where there's a couple of different things that are in the newspapers. There were some guys who were building a tower. The tower fell down, killed everybody.

    There were some people that were going to church and they were murdered by the Roman authorities. And blood, their blood was mixed with the blood of their offering. Offensive. Hard to imagine that those kinds of things could happen in the ancient world. We only have those kind of atrocities today.

    But people come to Jesus and they say, like those people that went to church and they got murdered. They must have really been sinful that God would let them be murdered in church. And he says, that's not the point. He says, sometimes bad things happen in a broken world. But when you see suffering in the world, what you should be asking is, how have I contributed to the brokenness that's here?

    He says twice in Luke chapter 13, as he is talking about what's going on in the news. He says, no, I tell you, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. He says, I see what's happening there. You need to trust that I'm judge and I'll handle it. But the question you need to answer is how you are responding to your sin.

    Because unless you repent, unless you trust me, then you're on the same trajectory. All suffering comes from sin. But God's purpose is greater than our plan. Here's the thing. God's not going to be manipulated.

    I would like to think that if I could do a certain number of things, then God would be required and obligated, contractually obligated, to give me certain outcomes that would be convenient for me. Because then I could just manipulate him. I could sit on Friday and then I could go talk to a priest on Saturday, and then I could go sit again on Monday and wait. Right? It's not.

    God is not manipulated by that.

    And there's not a manager to appeal to.

    Like, you want to talk to God's boss about what's fair. You want to talk to God's boss about what you deserve. There's not a higher authority that we can appeal to. He says, I'm the one who's doing all of this. I'm not gonna be manipulated.

    I see what's going on. But sin's influence is far more pervasive. Than we like to think. We like to think that the world is basically good and people are basically good, but sin's influence is more pervasive than we like to think. It's more pervasive out there in all of them.

    And it is more pervasive in hear in me.

    If you had a microscope and could see spiritually what happens in my heart, you would never come back to church.

    So I don't say this is somebody who's got it all together. I don't say this is somebody who's got the perfect life all buttoned up. I don't say this is somebody who takes for granted the fact that I can walk today.

    My health is a gift. My voice is a gift. My family is a gift. I know. So how do we know whether I'm suffering for my sin or not?

    Because that's really where we get down to how do I know this bad thing is happening? Is it my fault? That's really what we want to know. And it's out of order. My notes.

    But let me say if somebody's saying is it my fault? And you should not take Eliphaz's approach. Don't look somebody in pain in the eye and say, I know exactly why God is doing this to you. In fact, I hope in our conversation this morning I have modeled for you that I am not assuming that I know why any suffering happens. Most of the time I do not know.

    God has designed this world is crazy to me. God has s designed this world so that we actually have to talk to him about stuff.

    How do we know whether I'm suffering from my sin or not? You should go to God. You should ask him. He's the one who sees through your thoughts and your attentions. He knows whether you're putting a mask.

    He can go to God and ask him and then trust him in what he says. If he says, child, you're forgiven. You're not suffering for your own sin. But there's something else that's happening. I'm not telling you what it is.

    Then you should just say, Jesus, thank you and help me suffer. Well, that's the example that Jesus said. He continued to entrust himself to God. So if you get nothing else, I hope that you can take this with you. Our good Father can be trusted to never waste pain.

    Pain in the hands. A scalpel in the hands of a crazy person is just gonna wound. But a scalpel in the hand of a surgeon is going to wound for healing. We can trust our good Father to never waste our pain. If there is pain in our life, there is something that he's doing and we don't have to know what it is to know that his wounds can bring healing and we can trust that that is what he is doing in us.

    In John chapter nine, the blind guy, his physical light said to spiritual his physical sight being able, he was restored to sight. He was restored to sight and that led to a spiritual life and a vibrant testimony. Everybody in the town was talking about who Jesus was because of his physical healing. But then his testimony standing up on his spiritual life. James chapter one.

    Did I give you that one? No, I didn't. James chapter one says that the trials, the trials of life are the heat that reveal our heart's temptation. Look at all of James chapter one together. He starts off with trials.

    Trials are the external heat that reveal to us the ways that our heart is tempted away from God.

    One pastor says it this the deepest issues of human struggle are not issues of pain and suffering, but the issue of worship. Because what rules our hearts will control the way we respond to both suffering and blessing. Just think for a moment because there's a lot of things going on.

    Who are we most tempted to blame for their pain?

    Who are we most tempted to when they start complaining or they tell us about something that's wrong, who are we most tempted to blame them for their pain?

    And may we be willing to consider that the pain is a tool in the hands of a God who loves them.

    And as you start there and consider that, I bring back to Jesus words in Luke 13 unless you repent, you likewise will receive the same Will you repent from your contributions to the sin and brokenness in the world? Because there is none of us that does not contribute to what is broken in the world.

    All suffering comes from sin. But God's purpose is greater than our pain. I've got one more point. It's going to take me a minute, but I think it's worth it.

    Those who continue to trust God through periods of intense suffering often have a much clearer eternal perspective. I think of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a guy who every time he turned around, something bad was going on. And I'll tell you what, if you read Ezekiel's book, the stuff that he saw in heaven is unparalleled in Scripture. He had a clear perspective on what God was doing behind the curtain, and he suffered greatly on earth.

    We read from Romans 8, Paul's perspective that I consider that the light and momentary trials of the present age are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is coming in eternity. He writes that not only in Romans, but he also writes it in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. He says, so we don't lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to things that are unseen.

    And Job.

    The book ends in Job, chapter 42, God shows up and he talks to Job.

    Job doesn't have an answer after that. You should read. It's interesting, but in verse 7, Job 42:7

    After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

    Note that God gives correction to these guys. And so, as we interact with people who are in suffering, do not approach their suffering as arrogant truth dispensers. Please do not weaponize this material to say whatever, but be humble and compassionate to those who are really, really hurting. Because God is trustworthy, he will defend himself and he will shepherd his sheep. And he often keeps the why to himself.

    So, two questions to close.

    Will we forgive those who have failed us in our grief?

    Because I am certain that if you've lived long enough to suffer, you've lived long enough to have friends do you wrong in your pain. Will we forgive those who failed us in our grief? As Job prays for Eliphaz, and then how can we turn and grieve with those who are grieving?

    Let's pray.

    Lord, if I've said too much, God, I pray that my words would be quickly forgotten. But I pray that your spirit would communicate your word to your people. Lord, I pray that you would soften our hearts to hear your voice. Lord, I pray that you would help us to hear your heart.

    God, there are painful memories that have been stirred up today. And so, Lord, I pray that we would not be quick to run out and shut you out of those situations, but that, God, we would invite you in.

    Lord, I pray that you would give us clarity of understanding to know that when we've been sinned against, it's not a result of our sin. Lord, for the time where you have given us correction, God, I pray that you give us hearts that are quick to turn. But Lord, I pray that you would make us a church of people who can sit in compassion and humility with folks who are hurting and continue to point them to you, the one who has suffered once for all.

    Jesus, may we not say anything that brings shame or disgrace to your name. May we speak rightly of you in these hard situations, in every day of our life, Lord, would you shape us and church? Everything's quiet. Just keep your eyes closed. And I just ask you to continue to talk with God.

    If you haven't spoken with him yet, say good morning. But as he, as he's challenging you this morning, as he's met you in his word this morning, as he's brought stuff up like, meet him there and sit with him in those things, cry out to your maker.

    So let's pray together for a few moments before we close together and singing.

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LINKS

Michael Lockstampfor https://ocalaneighborhood.church
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