WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.720 The very thing you're most ashamed of in your life, 2 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.639 the very thing you wish it had never happened, the 3 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:08.279 very thing you resent the most, the very thing that's 4 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:12.320 caused you the most pain, could become your greatest ministry 5 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:16.679 in helping other people. The very thing you hate the 6 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:20.120 most in your life, that God was grieving over when 7 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:20.760 it happened. 8 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:23.960 God wants to use it for good in your life. 9 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.280 See, anybody can bring good out of good, but God 10 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:32.560 specializes in bringing good out of bad. How do you 11 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:38.240 get through what you're going through. I'm not a prophet, 12 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:41.320 and I'm certainly not a psychic. I don't even believe 13 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:45.439 in psychics. Nobody can predict the future. If somebody's trying 14 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:47.679 to predict the future and they're taking your money, you're 15 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:51.679 getting ripped off because nobody, the Bible says, knows the future. 16 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:56.600 Nobody knows it. But I do know this. 17 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:00.399 In the next three hundred and sixty five days, some 18 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:03.359 of them are going to be tough for you. You're 19 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:05.760 going to go through some difficult days. You're going to 20 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:08.599 go through some tough times. You're going to go through 21 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:12.799 some rogue winds, some trials, troubles, tribulations, you're going to 22 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:17.000 go through some problems and pressures and stress in your life. 23 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.680 In fact, I can guarantee it. Why Because the world 24 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:26.239 is broken. We've talked about this many times. Nothing on 25 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:30.640 the earth works perfectly. Once Sin entered the world, the 26 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:35.159 world is in rebellion against God. You are in rebellion 27 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:38.000 against God. I'm in rebellion against God, he said, no, 28 00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:39.920 I'm not. Oh yeah you are. Every day you get 29 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:41.439 up and decide what you want to do, not what 30 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:44.359 God wants you to do, And almost on a daily 31 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.120 business you go, I know what God says, I'm good, 32 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:50.359 I'm gonna do this. Instead. That's called rebellion. That's called sin, 33 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:54.239 and that broke everything in the planet. So nothing works perfectly. 34 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:58.560 The weather doesn't work perfectly, the economy doesn't work perfectly. 35 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:04.439 Your body it doesn't work perfectly. Your relationships, your marriage, 36 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:08.280 your friendship doesn't work perfectly. None of your dreams happen 37 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:11.439 exactly as you plan them to be. Nothing on this 38 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:16.000 planet is perfect because everything is broken. This is Earth, 39 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:20.319 not Heaven. Everything works right in Heaven. Nothing works correctly 40 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.520 all the time on Earth. Probably the question I'm asked 41 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.879 more often than any other question is Rick, why is 42 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:30.120 there evil in the world? Why is their suffering in 43 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:32.439 the world. Why is their pain in the world. Why 44 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:34.800 are there so many problems in the world. Why does 45 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:39.280 God allow evil and all the pain that comes from 46 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.759 it in the world. Well, it's not really that hard 47 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:46.039 a question to answer. It's because God has given you 48 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:49.400 a free choice, and God has given all of us 49 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:53.120 a free will. And because of that we make stupid choices. 50 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.199 You do, I do, and other people do, and that 51 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:59.960 causes pain, and that causes hurt and as a result, 52 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:03.240 everything is broken. Now, God could get rid of all 53 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:05.560 the evil in the world instantly by just taking you 54 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:12.240 out of it, and me too, and everybody else. Because 55 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:16.520 none of us do right all the time. We all 56 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:20.240 have our own brand of self centeredness. I do, and 57 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:22.840 we all have our own brand. You have hurt people, 58 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:27.800 sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, and that causes pain. 59 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:30.000 And you have been hurt by others. 60 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:33.680 Sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. Now God could get rid of 61 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:36.319 all the suffering, all the sorrow, all the sadness, all 62 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:40.879 the brokenness by just taking away man's free will. He 63 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:44.680 could have made us puppets. He could have made us 64 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:48.879 where you don't even have a choice. But God allows 65 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:51.960 you to reject him. God allows you to go your 66 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:55.319 own way. God allows you to disobey. God allows you. 67 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.199 Don't have to love God. In fact, most people in 68 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:03.719 the world don't, and as a result, there are consequences 69 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:04.080 of that. 70 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:06.800 Why does God allow free choice? 71 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:10.520 Because he wants a race of tested individuals in his 72 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:12.879 family who choose to love him. 73 00:04:12.919 --> 00:04:15.120 And love is a choice. 74 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:18.399 I can't say that I truly love you unless I 75 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:21.480 have the choice to not love you. If I'm forced 76 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.079 to love you, it's not love. If God forces us 77 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:27.439 to do the right thing, If God forces us to 78 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.480 love Him forces us to worship, it's not worship. It's 79 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:33.399 not love, it's not honor. It's being forced to do it. 80 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:36.839 God could have made you where you had no choice 81 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.519 at all, and you prayed ten times a day, and 82 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.800 you always did the right thing, and you never lied, 83 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:45.920 never exaggerated, never got jealous, never had envious, never stressed out, 84 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:50.000 never worried. He could have done that, and then there 85 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:53.079 would be no problems in the world. But the reason 86 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:57.000 why there are sin and suffering and sorrow is because 87 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:00.959 of the choices that people have made. See if I 88 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:04.759 overeat and I don't exercise, and I get under stressed 89 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:07.399 and I have a heart attack. I can't say and die. 90 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:10.519 I can't say, hey, what was God doing? Why did 91 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:14.319 God kill me? Or kay can't say why did God 92 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.600 kill my husband? God didn't kill my husband. I killed 93 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:23.279 me with a fork. And if I go out here 94 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:26.480 and I get drunk and I'm driving down the freeway 95 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:29.879 and I run into a car with a woman who's 96 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:32.680 how pregnant with a child, and she dies and the 97 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:36.759 baby insider dies, that wasn't well, it must have been God's. 98 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:38.000 Well, no, that was my will. 99 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:41.639 I am so tired of people attributing evil to God. 100 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:48.040 Somebody gets molested, somebody gets beat up, a war gets started, Well, 101 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:49.120 it must be God's will. 102 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:50.160 Are you kidding me? 103 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:57.120 God's will is almost never done on this earth. Why 104 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:01.040 because we have a will. That's why we are commanded 105 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:04.399 to pray Thy will be done on earth as it 106 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.040 is in heaven. Why because in Heaven's God's will is 107 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.199 done perfectly, And on earth. 108 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:11.759 It's almost never done. 109 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:17.040 For somebody who says, well, everything that happens is God's will, well, 110 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:19.519 God allows it, yes, but where does God do it? 111 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:23.839 He's grieving when a woman or a man gets raped 112 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:27.199 and a little child gets molested. Was that God's will? 113 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:29.680 Of course not. God is not the author of evil. 114 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:33.160 But God has allowed the freedom of choice. One day, 115 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:35.519 the Bible says, God is going to settle the score 116 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:38.759 one day. God is going to even the odds. One day, 117 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:40.920 the books are going to be balanced. There is going 118 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:43.160 to be eternal judgment, and there is going to be 119 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:45.839 eternal reward, No doubt about it. There will be a 120 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:50.040 judgment day. In the meantime, we're living on a broken planet. 121 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:54.120 And that's why I can guarantee you're going to have problems. 122 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:56.040 Now. 123 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:58.240 One of the things I love about the Bible we're 124 00:06:58.279 --> 00:06:59.959 getting ready to go into forty days in the Word 125 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:03.439 in about two weeks, is that the Bible always tells 126 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:09.120 the truth. Any other book will have exaggerations in it 127 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:10.240 will lie to you. 128 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:10.439 You know. 129 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:14.720 You read biographies of guys that are written by their friends, 130 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:18.399 and they gloss over all the bad parts. The Bible, 131 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:20.360 when it talks about people, shows them warts and all. 132 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:23.079 It always tells the truth. And what tells us that 133 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:25.040 Abraham was a great man of God. 134 00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:26.439 It also tells us all his weaknesses. 135 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.240 When it tells us that David was a great man 136 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:30.879 of God. It also tells us all his weaknesses in 137 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:33.680 the passage we're going to look at today. Second Corinthians. 138 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:37.680 One Paul, probably the greatest Christian who ever lived next 139 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:41.279 to Jesus himself, talks about when he went through the 140 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:46.680 slew of depression, when he was so depressed he despaired 141 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:47.680 of life itself. 142 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.600 He said, you're kidding me. I am not kidding you. That. 143 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:55.120 Paul was so honest he talked about it. He said, 144 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:57.600 one time, I was so depressed. I was so discouraged. 145 00:07:57.800 --> 00:07:59.480 I was ready to give up. I was ready to 146 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:01.680 throw in the I was ready to kick. 147 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:03.720 Kick the bucket. I was ready to say, Okay, God 148 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:04.399 just kill me. 149 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.879 I'm not gonna live. I was so in much despair. 150 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:11.120 Now the good news is we can learn from that. 151 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.319 This is a very powerful passage we're gonna look at now. 152 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:18.079 I hope you're not going through tough times right now. 153 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:22.399 You may be, but you're gonna need what I share with. 154 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:22.959 You this morning. 155 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:26.560 So get out your pencil, because this passage teaches us 156 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:30.600 the six keys to getting through what you're going through 157 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.559 when you're going through a tough time. We first, let's 158 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:38.200 read this passage. Paul begins, all praise to the God 159 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:43.080 and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the 160 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:48.240 source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. 161 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:50.080 And he's going to talk a lot about comfort because 162 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:54.559 he's talking about going through tough times. He God comforts 163 00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:01.720 us in our troubles so that we can comfort others. Now, 164 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:04.039 he says, when others are troubled, we will be able 165 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:08.120 to give them the same comfort that we have been, 166 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:12.399 that we've been given, that God has given us. You 167 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:16.080 can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, 168 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:19.360 the more God will shower us with comfort through Christ. 169 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:25.720 So when we're weighed down with troubles, that describe you today, 170 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:29.639 When you're weighed down with troubles, he says, when we're 171 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:32.919 weighed down for troubles, it's for your benefit and salvation. 172 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:33.960 Who's he talking to. 173 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:36.000 He's talking to a group of people in the city 174 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:38.159 of Corinth, Greece. 175 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:38.879 That's fine. 176 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:41.879 This book is called Corinthians. It's written to the people 177 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:44.039 who lived in Corinth, Greece. If you'd written us, he 178 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:49.240 would have written first Californians. But this is first Corinthians, okay. 179 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.720 And so he says when God comforts us, it is 180 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:57.360 so that we in turn can be an encouragement to you. 181 00:09:57.399 --> 00:10:01.919 He says, it's for your benefit salvation. When God comforts us, 182 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:04.480 we in turn can be an encouragement to you. Then 183 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:09.799 you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We're 184 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:14.440 all confident that as you share in suffering, you will 185 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:20.480 also share God's comfort. Now, I guess a little biographical here, 186 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:22.679 and he starts to tell us what's going on in 187 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:25.080 his life. He says this, I think you ought to know, 188 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:31.759 dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble that we went 189 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:34.279 through in the province of Asia. Paul's given a little 190 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:39.440 biography here. He said, we were crushed. Never felt like that. 191 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:44.000 We were crushed, and we were completely overwhelmed. Ever felt 192 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:48.679 like that, and we feared that we would never live 193 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:49.080 through it. 194 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:53.360 In fact, we expected to die. That's pretty bad when 195 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:55.000 you're going through a tough time. And he say, I'm 196 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:57.600 not even gonna make it. I'm going to die in this. 197 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:02.799 But he says, as a reason rel we learned not 198 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:07.799 to rely on ourselves but on God, who can raise 199 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:08.080 the dead. 200 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:09.919 I mean God can do anything. He can. He can 201 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:11.720 raise the dead. 202 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:18.080 And He God did deliver us from mortal danger, and 203 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:22.519 we are confident that He will continue to deliver us. 204 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:29.840 He will rescue us because you, you people in Corinth, 205 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:32.919 you are helping by praying for us. 206 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:34.279 Now. 207 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:37.519 As a result, many others will give thanks to God 208 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:40.039 because so many people's prayers. 209 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:44.360 For our safety have been answered. Now, in this very. 210 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:49.919 Powerful passage, Paul gives us models for us the six 211 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:54.320 things you must do to get through what you're going through. 212 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:56.799 Let's look at him. Number one. 213 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:01.559 No matter what I'm going through physically, relationally, financially, mentally, spocially, 214 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:03.039 whatever tough time. 215 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:04.159 I'm going through, the first thing I have. 216 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:07.600 To do is this, I've got to remember remember that 217 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:11.440 God can use it for good. That's the starting point. 218 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.759 Before I do anything else, I remember that no matter 219 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:18.480 what I'm going through, God can use it for good 220 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:21.559 in my life. Now, I don't have time to go 221 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:23.799 into all the ways that God can use problems in 222 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:24.320 your life. 223 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:25.320 There are literally. 224 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:27.960 Dozens and dozens of ways God can use problems for 225 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:30.480 good in your life, and the Bible has a lot 226 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:32.759 of lot to say about this. The Bible says that 227 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.519 God uses problems to direct us to say, here's the 228 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:36.360 way I want you to go. 229 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:37.919 And God uses. 230 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:41.039 Problems to inspect us, to see what's really inside of us, 231 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:43.480 what we're made of. Like a tea bag, you put 232 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:45.080 it in hot water, you know what comes out. You 233 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:47.559 know what's inside it. When you squeeze a toothpaste that 234 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:49.960 you know what's inside it. When the squeezes on you, 235 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.840 what's inside of you comes out. God uses problems to 236 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.600 direct us and inspect us. God uses problems to correct us, 237 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:57.000 say I don't want you to go that way. I 238 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.080 want you to go this way. God uses problems to 239 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:04.159 perfect us, to make us like himself. And God uses 240 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:06.480 problems to protect us, saying I really don't want you 241 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:08.480 to get hurt over there. Someone allow a problem here 242 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:11.440 to keep you from doing that over there. The Bible 243 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:15.919 talks about how problems edify us, how problems sanctify us, 244 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:20.480 how problems purify us. There are many, many good benefits 245 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:23.919 of problems in your life. But in this passage Paul 246 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.120 mentions three. So let's just look at those three. There 247 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:29.919 are three things God can do with the problems in 248 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:32.360 your life. You might write these down. First, God can 249 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:36.559 use it to teach me to trust him. God can 250 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:40.000 use the problems I'm going through to teach me to 251 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.759 trust him. Andre Crouch, the famous Christian singer, once wrote 252 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:48.080 a song and he says, if I never had a problem, 253 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.639 I'd never know that God could solve them. It's true, 254 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:54.919 how many times have you heard me say this? You 255 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:59.360 don't know God is all you need until God is 256 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.840 all you've got. And you've lost your job, and you've 257 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:04.799 lost your house, and you've lost your marriage, or you've 258 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:07.120 lost your health and all these things, and you don't 259 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:10.200 know God is all you need until God is all 260 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:13.879 you've got. God can use the problems I go through 261 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:15.080 to teach me to trust him. 262 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:16.120 Look at verse eight. 263 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:21.519 We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we 264 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:22.840 would never live through it. 265 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:25.000 In fact, we expected to die. 266 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:29.279 But as a result circle that as a result, this 267 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:32.039 is the first benefit of problems in my life. As 268 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:37.559 a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves but 269 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:42.519 on God, who can raise the dead. You know, some 270 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:50.879 things we only learn through pain, just human nature. There's 271 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.159 some things your parents could tell you a hundred times. 272 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:59.120 Don't touch that hot stove, but it looks so cool, 273 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:03.440 and you touch it and you get burned, and then 274 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:07.879 you never touch it again. Some things we only learn 275 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:10.639 through pain. God says, I want you to learn to 276 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:15.639 trust me, and so I'll allow problems that force you. 277 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:17.639 To make that choice. 278 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:21.120 Another thing we can learn is God can use problems 279 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:25.519 to give me a ministry to others. To give me 280 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.200 a ministry to others, You say, you got to be 281 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:34.440 kidding me, I'm not. Your pain often reveals God's purpose 282 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:37.320 for you. How many times have you heard me say 283 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:41.480 God never wastes a hurt. If you've gone through a hurt, 284 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:43.799 God doesn't want you to waste it and just hold 285 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:45.320 on to it. He wants you to be able to 286 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.120 help other people going through that same hurt. He wants 287 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.639 you to share it. And God can use the problems 288 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:53.600 in my life to give me a ministry to others. 289 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.759 In fact, the very thing you're most ashamed of in 290 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:59.879 your life, the very thing you wish it had never happened, 291 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:02.600 the very thing you resent the most, the very thing 292 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:06.159 that's caused you the most pain, could become your greatest 293 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:11.559 ministry in helping other people who can better help somebody 294 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.279 going through a bankruptcy and somebody who went to a bankruptcy, 295 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:17.840 who can better help somebody lose in a house than 296 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:21.679 somebody who lost a house. Who can better help somebody 297 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:25.080 struggling with an addiction, sexual chemical or whatever? Then somebody 298 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:27.840 who struggled with an addiction, sexual chemical or whatever. 299 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:29.399 That's what celebrate recovery is all about. 300 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:35.600 Who could better help parents of a special needs child 301 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:40.080 than parents who raised a special needs child? Who could 302 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:44.679 better help somebody who's lost a child than somebody who 303 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:48.600 lost a child? Who could better help somebody who's been 304 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:53.399 molested or raped? And somebody goes, I know that pain. 305 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:58.559 I know that the very thing you hate the most 306 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:02.279 in your life that God was grieving over when it happened. 307 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:05.079 God wants to use it for good in your life. 308 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.480 You see, anybody can bring good out of good, but 309 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:13.680 God specializes in bringing good out of bad. A lady 310 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:15.880 once asked me, he said, where was God when my 311 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:21.960 son died? I said, he was the same place he 312 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:24.480 was when his son died. 313 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.839 On the cross. He was crying, he was grieving. 314 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.079 God looked down and saw what was happening to his son, 315 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:35.880 Jesus Christ, and he was grieving. Could God have stopped it, Yes, 316 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:37.880 of course he could have. But how we have done 317 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:41.519 taken away the free will of men. And if he 318 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:43.480 did that, he needs to take away your free will 319 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:46.079 and your choice. That's not fair to take away somebody 320 00:17:46.119 --> 00:17:50.240 else's but not yours. God looks at the things that 321 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.640 happen in our lives that causes pain, and the Bible 322 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:55.640 says God weeps. Did you know the only reason you 323 00:17:55.720 --> 00:18:00.000 have emotions is because you're created in God's image God. 324 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.880 God is an emotional God. God has feelings too. If 325 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:06.079 God didn't have feelings, believe me, as a human being, 326 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:09.559 you wouldn't have any feelings. But God gets happy, so 327 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:13.839 you get happy. And God gets sad, so you experience sadness. 328 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:18.920 And God gets angry, so you get angry. God gets 329 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:22.640 jealous when he sees people rejecting him for somebody, So 330 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:27.200 that's why you have jealousy. The reason you have emotions 331 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.960 is because God is an emotional God and he created 332 00:18:29.960 --> 00:18:34.400 you in his image. And when you're being pain, believe me, 333 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.200 God is in pain with you. He is weeping and 334 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:41.319 he's crying. But God can give you a ministry to others. 335 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.079 The things in your life that are painful. God wants 336 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:46.319 to use for good to help others. Look at these 337 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:50.240 verses first, Corinthians one four. God comforts us in our 338 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:53.440 troubles so that we can comfort others. 339 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:55.200 Look at verse six. 340 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:59.960 When we're weighed down with troubles, it's for your benefit. 341 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:02.880 In other words, when I'm going through my problem, it's 342 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:06.680 really for your benefit for when and salvation. When God 343 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:08.799 comforts us so that we in turn can be an 344 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:12.599 encouragement to you, then you could patiently endure the same 345 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:18.599 thing the friends. This is called redemptive suffering. Redemptive suffering 346 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:20.960 is when you go through a problem and a pain 347 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.880 for the benefit of others. This is what Jesus did 348 00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:29.119 when Jesus died on the cross. He didn't deserve to die, 349 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:34.039 and he went through that pain redemptively for your benefit, 350 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:36.759 so you could be saved, so you could go to heaven, 351 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:41.799 so I could go to heaven for redemption. Any mother 352 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:46.359 who's had a baby has gone through redemptive suffering. They 353 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:49.519 don't call it labor for nothing. And when a woman 354 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:51.799 is going through the pains of labor, she's not doing 355 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.240 that for her benefit. She's doing it for the benefit 356 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:56.880 of that baby. That's redemptive suffering. 357 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:58.400 You see. 358 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.000 There are many different problems for the p causes for 359 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:04.400 the problems, pain and suffering in your life. Sometimes, In fact, 360 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:07.279 most of the stuff that happens I bring on myself. 361 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:12.359 When I make stupid decisions, then it causes. 362 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:12.880 Pain in my life. 363 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:15.599 If I go out and I overspend and I buy 364 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:18.200 things I can't afford, and I get a house that 365 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:22.200 I can't afford, and I presume on the future, and 366 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.599 then I go deeply in debt and I lose my house. 367 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:26.440 I can't say, God, why do you let me lose 368 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:30.160 my house? I brought that on myself. I can't blame 369 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:33.279 God for my decisions that I overspend and put way 370 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:34.559 too much money on the credit card. 371 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:37.279 That was my choice. God had nothing to do with it. 372 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:40.839 So some of the problems I bring on myself, some 373 00:20:40.920 --> 00:20:43.359 of the problems I'm innocent. Some of the problems you're 374 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:47.880 innocent with, and you're hurt by the pain, the stupidity, 375 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:51.160 the wrong decisions, the sins of other people, and you're 376 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:52.240 hurt by other sins. 377 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:54.200 But some of the. 378 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:56.440 Pain, some of the problems in your life is for 379 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:01.519 redemptive suffering for the benefit of other people. And God 380 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:04.079 allows you to go through a problem so then you 381 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:06.559 can help others. 382 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.920 It's a third thing I can remember that God can 383 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:11.400 use it. 384 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:14.559 Not only did teach me to draw close to him, 385 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:16.759 to trust him to give me a ministry. God can 386 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:21.079 use it to draw me closer to other believers. Now, 387 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:24.119 this is a big deal, to draw me closer to 388 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:29.480 other believers. God wired the human being for community. You 389 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:32.519 were wired for relationships. You weren't meant to go through 390 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:35.960 life all alone. Whether you ever get married or not 391 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.839 is irrelevant. But you need people in your life and 392 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:41.240 you need a spiritual family. That's why you need a church. 393 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:44.359 We are a spiritual family, and you need close relationships 394 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:46.839 and you need friendships. In fact, the very first thing 395 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:50.519 God said was not good about the earth. He said, 396 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:54.160 it's not good for man to be alone. Did you 397 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:54.680 know that. 398 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.279 God hates loneliness? Hates it. 399 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:02.480 God hates loneness. God is a God of love. Love 400 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:04.880 means you have to have relationships. God is in a 401 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:09.359