Sermon: "Held"
I’d like to begin by showing you a clip from a movie that I saw on the Hallmark Channel a while back. The movie is called “Love Comes Softly”, and it takes place sometime in the late 1800’s. There is a man, a widower, who has a young daughter, and they befriend a young lady who questions this man’s faith in God…especially considering all that he has gone through in his life.
You see, several years ago he lost his wife, and had to raise his daughter on his own. More recently, he lost his barn in a terrible fire. The young woman wonders “how can you pray to your God in light of everything that has happened?”
Watch this clip and listen carefully for his response.
Video
Were you able to catch what he said there?
“The truth of God’s love is not that He allows bad things to happen…it’s His promise that He’ll be there with us…when they do.”
Do you think that this is true? Have you found this to be true in your life? When bad things happen to you…when bad things happen in your life…do you know what it is to experience God’s presence and more than that, do you know what it is to experience God’s touch? Do you know what it feels like to be held by God?
I don’t know if you remember back in January we began a sermon by talking about weddings and the things that Pastors say and do during the ceremony. Let’s go to the other end of the spectrum and talk about funerals…because when I do a funeral there’s a scripture passage that I always use that contains a powerful truth. It speaks of God’s promise to hold us, to touch us, to help us during those times when bad things are happening.
It’s found in the book of Isaiah, and it will serve as our main scripture passage for this morning.
Isaiah 41:10,13 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
This was a promise that God made to His children nearly 3000 years ago…but it’s a promise that God makes to each one of us here at Five Forks this morning. These are great words, powerful words, comforting words for the Believer who finds himself or herself in the midst of pain and suffering.
And make no mistake, there is an incredible amount of pain in this world. There is so much suffering. And we all experience it. I just hope that all of you have experienced what it means to be held by Jesus, what it means to be touched by Jesus, when the pain and the suffering comes.
And if you haven’t experienced this, then I pray that by looking at God’s Word this morning, you will come to know just how badly God wants to hold you and comfort you…because He loves you.
Let’s start by acknowledging that…
1. THERE IS MUCH PAIN AND SUFFERING IN THE WORLD
There is now and always has been pain and suffering. You can start in the first chapter of the Bible and just work your way through it, and see example after example of hurting people.
Listen to this verse, and see how many of you can tell me who is about to endure a period of suffering.
Genesis 39:14b-15 “He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
Who are we talking about here? (Joseph). He is being falsely accused, because earlier, when this woman tried to seduce him, this was Joseph’s response:
Genesis 39:9b “My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
And yet, in spite of Joseph’s love for God,…
Genesis 39:20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But that’s not the worst of it…later on, as many of you know, Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of two fellow prisoners – one, a cupbearer - who was in a position later on to credit Joseph and possibly secure his release from prison. But instead God’s Word says…
Genesis 40:23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
You see, we can hardly get our Bibles open before we begin to read example after example of people – people who love God – who are on the receiving end of what appears to be gross injustice.
How about this one, it’s a little tougher, but see if any of you can tell me who we’re reading about here….
I Kings 21:2b “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”
Who are we talking about here? Who is about to experience an injustice so great that it will cost him his life? (Naboth)
The background of the story is this…the king wants Naboth’s vineyard…Naboth is not interested, he values the land that he has inherited from his ancestors. This makes the king angry, and his wife Jezebel hatches a plot to have Naboth killed.
I Kings 21:9b “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
And that’s exactly how it played out. Injustice…unfairness…pain and suffering. Not just today, but throughout history.
One more, a passage that took on added significance for me when we did a Wednesday Evening Bible Study on this passage last year. See how many of you can identify the one who is suffering greatly…
Luke 7:11-12a Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out…
Now, we don’t know the name of the one who has died, or the name of the one who is suffering, but we know one critical thing about each one that makes this event especially heartbreaking. Because we read on and learn more….
Luke 7:12b- …a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
We don’t know his name, but he was an only son. We don’t know her name, but she was a widow.
And what I learned from the Bible study last year was this…funerals of today bear little resemblance to funerals of that time and place. In our society, funerals are quiet and somber for the most part, and when someone’s cries can be heard, it breaks our hearts.
Back then, the depth of mourning was measured by the volume of the wails and the outward demonstration of grief. And the circumstances that we read of here are doubly tragic – because a widow has lost her only son. Her future – without her husband, and now, without her son – it looks hopeless, and her pain is significant.
Yes, God’s Word describes many stories of pain and suffering throughout. What is common to man today was common to man thousands of years ago. What was common to man thousands of years ago is common to man today.
How about you?
What are your life experiences…what have you had to deal with that has brought you significant pain and suffering? There are the 3 D’s…Death, Divorce and Disease, and who among us has not been touched by at least one of these?
Many here today have grieved and mourned the loss of a loved one. And while the rawness of the pain may lessen over time, it never completely goes away.
Many here today have been impacted either directly or indirectly by divorce…in a culture where every other marriage ends in divorce, rare are those who have not suffered in some way.
Disease. Some of which brings about a tremendous amount of pain and suffering.
And then there are other examples as well. Rebellious children can and have brought heartache and heartbreak to countless parents. Persecution, while not to the degree that others experience, can come about simply because we choose to live to please Jesus, rather than living to please others.
And out of all these trials, out of all these painful things that we experience comes two questions – “Where is God?” “What is He doing?” Well..
2. GOD NEVER PROMISED THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE PAIN AND SUFFERING
What is the one thing that we so often hear? What is the one thing that we ourselves my have often said, or thought when bad things happen?
“How could God allow this to happen?” Or “I have served Him all my life, how could He do this to me?” Or “If God really exists, why didn’t He answer my prayers?”
Because He is God, and He can do anything. He can cure the disease and delay the death, He can mend the marriage and end the divorce proceedings, He can change the heart of a rebellious child and put an end to persecution.
He can do these things. And sometimes He does. And sometimes…He doesn’t.
It’s hard to come to grips with isn’t it? It’s all such a mystery. A miraculous healing here…and person dying there. A marriage is restored…and a marriage comes to an end. A child finds his or her way back to God…while another continues on the road to destruction.
It’s hard to make sense of it all.
But what does make sense is to go to God’s Word to see what He has to say about this. And what He did make clear in His word are truths such as these:
I Peter 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trail you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
This is probably the most common verse that people – including me – turn to in order to understand that God never promised that we would not experience pain and suffering if we follow Him.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife Karen was talking to Darylss, Pastor Ray’s wife. Many of you know Darlyss, and you know her sister Ellen, and you know that both of them have been going through an especially difficult season in their lives…they lost their mother, Gladys Esh, to cancer just last year, and again, many of you know Jim Esh, their father, and the fact that he is battling cancer himself.
Karen was talking with Darlyss about this time that she is going through, and Darlyss shared with Karen something that she had once read, something very profound that has become very real to her. In his book “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe”, C.S. Lewis writes about an exchange between some characters who were talking about Aslan, the Lion who in this book is symbolic of the Christ.
Here’s the text, and in it the line that has become a reality to Darlyss…and is in fact a reality for us all.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not! Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan. "I thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; “Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
Darylss told Karen that over the past year she has learned the significance of the truth that C.S. Lewis has profoundly expressed.
The Lord is not safe. Following Jesus never was and never will be safe, at least not in the way we often define safety. We can follow Jesus and still experience death, divorce and disease. Our children may rebel and we may face various kinds of persecution. Safe? No, He isn’t safe. But He is good.
He never promised that things would not “fall apart” in our lives. But let’s take a look at…
3. WHAT GOD DID PROMISE
Isaiah 41:10,13 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Remember the words spoken by the man of God in the movie clip we saw earlier? “The truth of God’s love is not that He allows bad things to happen…it’s His promise that He’ll be there with us…when they do.”
I’d like you to listen to this song by Natalie Grant, a song that testifies to this same truth.
“HELD”
Do you know what it feels like to be held by God when it’s all falling apart? You can, because He has promised to be with you, to strengthen you and to uphold you with His righteous right hand.
Have you experienced what it feels like to be touched and comforted by Jesus when you need it most? To hear Him say, “Don’t be afraid…I’m here to help you.”
The passage from Isaiah and the truth that it contains became a reality for me a couple of weeks ago on the Sunday morning that we read Patrick’s letter to the congregation.
Those of us who knew about all this before Sunday morning were hurting of course, and we had been in fervent prayer that the Lord would be with us and draw especially close to us as a church that morning.
After reading the letter to those over in the Worship Center, I went backstage while the band did a song called “Mighty To Save”. As I stood back there in that cubby hole, with no one else around, tears began streaming down my face – not tears over what Patrick did, not over what this might do to the church – but tears as I considered the words that we were singing, and what they say about Jesus. I felt His touch, I experienced His comfort.
Then I look across the stage and on the risers are a group of singers, and there in the midst of them is Pastor Ray. Everybody else is singing, and he should be too…but his head is bowed and his eyes are closed, I can see that he’s overcome and unable to sing. I can see that he is being touched and upheld by God.
Then I see the person standing behind Ray reach out, and take hold of his shoulder, the Lord using this person as His instrument to continue to comfort Ray.
It’s a special thing when the truth of God’s Word becomes something that we experience personally, as many of us did that day. As many of you have in the past. As I pray all of us will in the future.
There are times, often in fact, when I simply know that the Lord is there, because He has said that He will be…and that’s enough for me.
But there are times when I am grateful that He keeps His promise to uphold me, to strengthen me, to comfort me…during those times that I need it most.
And so to close, I would like to take a passage from the book of Ephesians, and make it a prayer for you, and for me, and for His church in the coming days. For if this prayer is answered, we will come to experience His touch, His comfort and His love.
Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
PRAYER