HOW TO COPE WITH SUFFERING?

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HOW TO COPE WITH SUFFERING?              

1)    I would like to deal with you with the issue called ‘suffering’ and start my article with three questions and in response to those questions I shall try to answer them systematically and pray that the Lord will speak to you.

2)     There was ‘Tsunami’ in Japan a couple of months ago, many people died and many were left without homes, and many families were devastated, and many children lost their parents.

3)    People suffer almost regularly and Christians suffer too. Every family has to go through it and every individual has to go through it. No one is exempted from this. Not even the richest and those whom we call ‘celebrities’ are exempted from this. Nothing stops people from suffering. Their money and property pales into utter insignificance as they suffer.

4)    In the midst of all the suffering, what does the Bible speak to us? Does it answer our questions? Let us praise God that the Bible still speaks and answers our inner most questions and satisfies us with the most refreshing answers.

5)    Following are the questions. A) Why do people suffer in general? B) Why do Christians or believers suffer in this world? C) Where is God when suffering takes place?

6)    The first question is ‘why do people suffer in general’?  Suffering primarily entered into this world as a matter of consequence due to rebellion against God. In the book of Genesis, chapter 3, from verse 14 onwards, after Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit, God cursed the ‘serpent’. And God also punished Adam and Eve. For the first time in their life, they realised that suffering was very painful. Eve had to bring forth her children, in a very painful manner (Gen 3:16). And she had to be subordinate to her husband throughout her life. And for Adam, he had to work ever so harder, to get food, to keep his family going. It’s a matter of sweat and blood ( Gen 3:17). And lastly, they both were to die. Not only they would die but also all those who would come from them, the whole humanity has to die. And for the first time in their life, they saw their beloved son ‘Abel’ dying. Who killed him? His own brother. That would have added even greater pain to them. But why did all this happen? If we go back and analyse, it all happened due to a sin committed by Adam and Eve. Would they have not committed it, had they known the seriousness of sin? I don’t know. Whatever our analysis may be, ‘sin’ entered into this world. Along with sin, it also brought forth suffering into this world. Adam and eve never thought that by eating a fruit, they would suffer to the maximum extent. The issue is not so much that they ate the fruit or not but the issue is they trespassed God’s law or commandment. Isn’t it a great lesson for us friends? Every time we commit a sin, we must remind ourselves that it brings suffering to us. Remember, whether it is a small sin or a big sin, it is going to bring forth suffering and that is for sure. In answering the question, ‘Why do people suffer in general?’ They suffer because they are in the world. And the world is full of suffering. The most tragic thing is, people don’t pursue the reason for suffering. They do not see the hand of God who can ease suffering permanently.

7)    Now is the second question, ‘Why do believers suffer’? It’s sad that we need to replace the word ‘Christians’ with ‘believers’ because of the fact that all ‘Christians’ are not believers. During the three and half years of earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, the Lord spoke at length about ‘suffering’ one needs to endure in this world. If you look at Matt 10:18, Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:27 summarises that “..anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”   Here the ‘cross’ is a symbol of suffering. And the Lord tells it plainly that one cannot expect a life devoid of suffering and in the book of John 16:33, He says “ In this world, you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” And the Lord compares the life of a believer with a narrow road. Here the narrow road stands for ‘suffering’ one has to endure in this world. The Bible is full of passage which comfort when we go suffer. Being Christians, we are not to be surprised, when we are hit by some problem, be it a health problem or a financial problem or a psychological problem. As long as you are spiritually healthy in the Lord, we can face any problem.

8)    Lastly, in answering to the third question, ‘where is God when suffering takes place? In the Old Testament, ‘Job’ was a holy man, but he was the one who suffered beyond any measure. His children were killed, he lost all that he had and reduced to nothing. His wife started accusing God and encouraged Job to curse. Then Job expresses his opinion that “God knows what is happening.” Friend, when suffering takes place, God is in control. It is not an accident when some calamity takes place somewhere. Or It is not that He doesn't know or doesn’t care. But people complain where God is when they are suffering. And it is because God is silent during their suffering, people jump to conclusion that God doesn’t exist or doesn’t care. One thing we have to understand is, God’s silence doesn’t prove his non-existence. In the famous evangelistic tract   ‘ where was God on September the 11^th ?’ written by the  evangelist ‘Dr. John Blanchard’, poses this weighty question to all those who question God’s existence when something terrible happens. He says where are you when the suffering takes place in the world? Or where are you when you are suffering individually? Where do you stand in relationship with God when suffering is ripping through your life?

9)    People often complain that their ‘suffering’ is not fair. I don’t know whether your suffering is fair or not. At times God punishes His children due to their rebellious nature. It is in order to subdue their sinful nature, God punishes them. But suffering is not always linked with sinful behaviour. At times ‘suffering’ comes from nowhere. And it is not without a reason. That is the lesson we have to learn. It has a reason, a meaning and a purpose and that purpose is revealed in Rom 8: 28. Before I conclude, I want you to think about if the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is a fair one? I want you to think about if giving up of God’s only beloved Son to be killed on behalf of rebellious and sinful people a fair one? The fact is no. It’s not fair for the Lord to die on the cross for people like us. And the fact is, even if it was not fair, he still bore our sins and endured unimaginable suffering on the cross which is far more painful than any individual has ever suffered on the earth. So my friend, take courage in the Lord and He gives the strength to go though suffering even in the future. Amen.

                              

Why people die?

Hebrews 9:27.

“And as it is appointed unto men to die, but after this judgement.”

Have you ever thought about why people die? Every time I attend a funeral service, I am hit by this inescapable truth that I too will be in that box one day. On one hand, thoughts like what will happen to ‘ME’, once I depart can be heavy at times.  On the other hand, thoughts like how glad I will be when I see the face of my maker encourage me to keep me going. Will I be able to hear, speak, and feel in the same way as I do when I am alive? Although human mind cannot comprehend things beyond tangible facts, but the Bible challenges them head on. In fact the Bible is almost a book of impossibilities for a sceptic or for an anti-Christian. Nevertheless, somewhere down the line, one needs undergo a through self- examination just to check if his claims are true in the light of opposite facts before ruling out the Bible as a tale told by some scribes!!

   

People die every day. According to statistics, about 150000 people are dying every day, almost 6250 every hour. And almost above 100 people are dying every second.

People die due to various reasons (age factor, sickness, stress, financial breakdown, Academic failure, Relational Failure...) Just like ‘time’, nobody seem to stopping us from dying. Here in this world, not only people are dying, but also animals, birds, insects..The Bible says the whole creation groans (laments, cries, moans) in pain (Rom 8:22). So it is not just about Man but also his surroundings.   

Death causes pain, and the possibility of not seeing that particular person physically causes more pain. (But if we put our trust in God, we will see each other in heaven.)     

The Bible says people die due to sin. (Rom 6:23). ‘Sin’?? Is that it? What is it? What it is it that is causing people to die?

How sin entered into this world?

1)      We were created in the image and likeness of God to worship and to enjoy His company. ( Gen 3:8 a, Gen 1:27, Psalm 14:4)

2)      But God commanded not to do something (that is not to eat the fruit of life). But Adam and Eve ate it. But Adam and Eve by listening to Serpent’s advice, they did exactly the opposite to what God ordered.

3)      ‘Doing exactly opposite or not responding to what God says is ‘sin’. Now, before this question ‘why God allowed this to happen or why God did that or why God did this’ comes to our mind, we need to accept the reality. And ‘Sin’ is real, when ‘sin’ is real what God had told in His book (The Bible) is also real. If you think it is a myth, what is the explanation do you give about your sinful life? Yes, we are all sinners due to the first sin committed by Adam and Eve (Rom 5:12). And this nature has been passed onto us since the beginning. That is why there is no one without sin (Rom 3:23).

What happens when we die in our sins unforgiven, unpardoned. Because there is a ‘Judgement’ awaits right after our death. Those who trust in Christ in this world will not be condemned (Rom 8:1). But ‘eternal punishment’ waits for those who reject Christ (Luke 12:9, John 12:48, Heb 12:25). 

Man, a Spiritual Being

“But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” Matt 4:4

This was a question answered by the Lord Jesus when he was tempted by Satan. When the Lord fasted for forty days and nights, he was hungry and that was when the enemy found him and tried to tempt him by asking him to turn the stones into bread. The issue is whether or not God could turn the stones into bread which He could easily do but the issue is whether Jesus should worship the enemy which He could not do. When the enemy tempted Jesus to turn the stones into bread, this was his answer “man shall not live by bread alone.....”

What do we need to live?

For a man to live peacefully and healthily, a lot of factors need to be taken into consideration. But there is a difference between Needs and Desires.

Man’s Needs – 1) Material or Physical Needs.

Man need basic needs such as food, water, clothing, shelter, a job, (although the Man is not satisfied with what he has, he needs certain basic things!!)......  

2) Emotional Needs

Man likes to share. He needs a family, friends and benefactors...

3) Spiritual Needs

Man’s spirituality is natural (Rom 1: 19) and it is inbuilt (Proverbs 20: 27).

In addition to these needs, if a man were to enjoy these, he must be not only healthy but also need to be protected.

Man’s Problem

Although Man’s spiritual needs are to be met primarily or more than other needs, he does not see the need as to why they must be met. (Rom 1:18-21). In this regard, many wise men became fools (Rom 1:22; 1 Cor1: 18) by rejecting their inner urge to worship God. As opposed to the notion “man is a spiritual animal”, man has become a’ pragmatic animal’ to such an extent that he doesn’t see the need for God. What happens to all our possessions once we are gone forever (Luke 9:25)?

Solution: If we have God, we have everything. But if we deny God or do not see the need for our spirituality which can be given by God alone, we will have nothing and it is even worse (eternal punishment awaits).  

Spiritual Gifts

The Spiritual Gifts

The Observations:

1)      Pursue love is the first spiritual advice the apostle Paul gives.

2)      Desire Spiritual gifts.- what are spiritual gifts? And what are they meant for?

a)(1 Cor 12:28) Gifts are distributed according to the Spirit’s choice (1 Cor 12:11),

b) gifts are manifestation of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:7) in which we must give glory to God in all cases. We always need to focus on praising God alone and give credit to Him alone.

c) Spiritual gifts are for the common good of  the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 12:7).

Tongues:

1 Cor 12: 4,7, 28,30-31.

The Background:  After the Lord Jesus returned to be with His Father, the church was at an infant stage , with a very few leaders, without the  Bible (the revelation was not completed yet by then), had absolutely no support from the government (in fact the government was trying to suppress), one would have thought that that would have been the end of the church. But it only survived but thrived, progressed and spread across the globe.  

How?

a)      The Lord empowered the apostles with gifts, powerful gifts ( Heb 2:3-4).

b)      Their message was authenticated by signs, wonders and miracles to avoid false teachers and heresy. There were signs, wonders and miracles existed in the early church to spread the truth.

Etymology:

a)      The Greek word for tongues is glossa  which means’ language’, a known and speakable  language. 

b)      On the day of Pentecost, the apostles preached in different known languages to spread the truth, it was a gift of the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 2:4-12).

c)       There are four  things that we have to look at to examine the gift of tongues in the light of the Scriptures

1)      Presence of tongues in the New Testament.

2)      Purpose of tongues in the New Testament.

3)      Principles of tongues in terms of their usage in the New Testament.

4)      Permanence of tongues.

                                                                               To be continued...

Godliness & Contentment

9/1/2011.

Godliness & Contentment

1 Tim 6: 6,7 “Now that godliness with contentment is great gain, For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain nothing out. “

As we look at this verse, we realise that these following two things 1) Godliness and 2) Contentment seem to be such a rarity. But what is godliness and what is contentment?

Godliness:

How can man become godly or holy? The Bible says man is naturally ungodly and unholy (Gen 6:5, Matt 15:19). And it is impossible for man to become Godly unless God changes him and it is the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). It is therefore, impossible for man to change his heart & mind & his ways. When an ungodly person became godly, how does it happen?!! It is the gift of God by His Grace (Eph 2:8, Rom 3:24).

 There are sequence of things that have to take place if one has to become Godly. It doesn’t happen as we wish or think but it only happens when God does. But what is Godliness? Godliness is the process of getting our lives moulded according to the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ, getting our lives transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit as we seek to follow in the footsteps of our Lord day by day. As we look at Godliness, we also look at the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ (Gal 5:22 ) and ‘love’ that stems out ( 1 Cor 13) of having fellowship with God. All the changes in a Godly man’s life are the result of God’s power manifesting in his life. Those changes are automatic results of having a constant fellowship with God. But if anyone wants only ‘changes’, they cannot become godly but if they are godly the changes are obvious (Matt 7:16).  Godliness is a gift of God (2 Pet 1:3,4). Are you godly?

Contentment:

In this day and age of consumerism, contentment is such a rarity!! As somebody says desire is a never ending circle. Man is encouraged to feed on discontentment through advertisement, through media etc. People are in such mad rush of having things!! But the Bible promises that God gives ‘contentment’. But ‘contentment’ will not be given in separation but it has to be coupled with ‘Godliness’. There is no contentment without Godliness. So when can we be content? When we are Godly.

We have brought nothing into this world.

Have we? And we will take nothing out of this world. So what remains with us? Nothing but Godliness and contentment which are gifts of God.

The Deception of Sin

-          We are living in a world which is full of temptations, allurements, trials and tribulations.

-          If we were to ask this question to ourselves, ‘Why are we being tempted?’ or ‘what is the reason behind the temptation?’, how would you answer that?

-          Let us first of all look at what temptation is. Temptation is some kind of force that propels one to break God’s commandments.

-          Where does temptation come from? Or What is the source?  There are two sources.            1) Satan  2) Our Heart. Therefore, we must understand temptation comes from within and without (inside and outside).  Therefore we have an enemy that we have to battle against from within and without (outside). It is understandable that Satan is our enemy but it is shocking to know that our heart (flesh) is also our enemy (Matt 15: 19; Gen 6:5).

-          Satan:  Besides leading people astray, one of the main jobs of Satan is to throw temptations at us all the time (Gen 3:1-6, Matt 4:1-1, Rev 12:9). Unless we are heavily guarded, we cannot withstand Satan’s force.

-          How does  temptation lead us astray? This is what described ever so clearly here. When we are hit by a temptation, you wonder where it’s come from. The origin of temptation can either be Satan or our heart. It comes from nowhere apart from there. Therefore, definitely God is not the author of temptation.

-          What temptation does to us? The reason why we are tempted is because we are carried away in our own thoughts. That is where danger lies, we cannot be carried away, and we must put some restraints on. What can be the best restraint than the word of God that is right there in our hearts? If we don’t do that, 1) we will be drawn away by our desires 2) Enticed 3) the desire is conceived 4) Gives birth to sin 5) Sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death. This is a Chain reaction. We must understand Sin doesn’t happen all of sudden!! This is what we call the ‘Deception of Sin’. Every sin we have given birth to will have brought forth death. We all know what ‘physical death’ is like. What about the kind of ‘Spiritual death’ that is brings forth every time we sin? We will be dead in sins and trespasses, the more we sin, the more we will become dead or insensitive to the spiritual activities. The story doesn’t end there, the more we sin, the more we gather God’s wrath to punish us later on.

-           How come we don’t sense all that is happening within us?  We have all become insensitive to sin, which means that we are used to living sinful lives some much that we do not sense all that is happening within our lives.

-          What is the remedy? 1) Continuous Fellowship with God.

-                                                 2) Kill the thought. ( sow a seed and reap a habit).

-                                                 3) Ask for forgiveness.

-                                                 4) Keep a clean heart.

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Perfect Gift

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

For God so loved the world.

1)      Why should God love the world?

God loved the world because He created it (Gen 2:3). He has special interest to know, see and get involved with the world. It is not compulsory for Him. It wouldn’t have made any difference to His being whether or not he created the world. He would have been there, just like he was there before the creation because He is infinite and timeless.

2)      He loved the world, what kind of love is this?

a)      His love is evident right from the time He created the world by the way He showed mercy on Adam & Eve (Gen 3). God could have destroyed the moment when they committed sin against Him. Instead He provided their descendants a way to come back to His Kingdom, even though they were driven out of His garden, through faith in His Son.

b)      He provided them the skin coats when Adam & Eve were naked. (Gen 3:21)

c)       Out of His love God chose Abraham and blessed His descendants like the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea. (Gen 12)

d)       He loved the ‘primary reason’ for the world to be created, the man.  After all, what is world, without man?

e)      Because He loved the world, He gave His only begotten son.

He gave His only begotten son

1)      He gave His son to the world

What kind of Son is He?

a)      He is begotten not created (John 10:30); He is eternal precious, holy, absolutely just, righteous, sinless, spotless, pure (1 Tim 1:17, Psalm 86:8, Matt 5:48, and Rom 11:33).....

b)      He is God (John 10:30).

What necessitated God to give His son? Although there is nothing that necessitates that God should do anything for people, He sent His son because people fell in sin, which is beyond our comprehension.

Although it is extremely painful for God the Father to send him to the world to be punished, He gave Him away so that

Whoever will believe in Him will not perish .You and I may not be punished eternally in hell. How do we escape punishment? We escape the punishment because he bore the punishment on our behalf on the Calvary. By trusting in Him, we will not ‘perished’

But have everlasting life

What better gift do you want than ‘Everlasting life’ this Christmas?  RBC, Vinukonda.