It's Not About Us - Understanding The Tragedies of Life

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I have something we all need to hear this morning. You might want to sit down or at least grab ahold of something to steady yourselves. Here it comes. This world does not exist for your good pleasure. It does not revolve around you.

Even if you are a follower of Christ, this truth is no different. God did not create us so that we might live out these wonderful little lives, filled with fun and happiness. God created us, so that in us, He would be glorified. This oft misunderstood truth is presented throughout the scriptures, but this morning I present this truth through the well-known story of Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead.

Take a moment to open your Bible and turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 11. Beginning in verse one, we read that there was a man named Lazarus who got sick and ends up dying. Knowing he is already dead, Jesus takes His time getting there. But before he goes, He makes a statement that is key to understanding the Christian life. He says this in John 11:4, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

Take a moment and digest what Jesus said. This entire event has occurred “for the glory of God.” Why? So that the “Son of God may be glorified by it."

To the person who fails to understand God and who He is, this story comes across as harsh. Lazarus gets sick. Jesus is very close to the three people in the story, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, as a matter of Biblical record, he loves them. Yet, despite His proclaimed love for them, He doesn’t rush to the scene to perform one of His great miracles of healing. No, He lets him die.

Now think about this from the perspective of Mary and Martha, who have sent word to Jesus that their other friend was sick. They know Jesus has the power of healing. They probably know Jesus, in His deity, would have already known Lazarus was sick. From our viewpoint we would say they have every right to be very upset over how Jesus responds.

The truth is, when tragedy befalls us or someone we love, we go to God in prayer and we ask Him to respond to our request and save us from the pain of whatever the tragedy is. And that is the proper response, for it demonstrates our dependence on Him. Sometimes God shows up and immediately answers the prayer. When that happens, we raise our hands and praise Him. We share the story and give God the glory.

But what happens when God, like Jesus does here in this story, doesn’t show up. What happens when death takes our loved one? When sickness lingers on and brings great suffering? What do we do when the answer to our prayer is no? Or when the answer is wait?

The key to our faith is to trust in God and to cling firmly to our faith. But that answer will not suffice unless we fully understand that the purpose of all things has at it greatest point, the glory of God. We must understand that sometimes we simply will not understand. Listen to what God says to us from the great prophet, Isaiah.

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Sometimes, we simply cannot understand God’s ways. But we can know this for a fact; whatever has occurred has occurred, “for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

The story of Lazarus turns out well, Jesus raises Him from the dead. John adds this fact at the end of the story, “Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.”

Maybe your story hasn’t ended that way. But even so, you can be sure that it ended as God intended it to, and it will bring Glory to Him. This story ought to also motivate us to be very active in sharing the Gospel for no matter what this life brings, to those who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior, they, like Lazarus, will be resurrected unto new life.

The life we live on this earth is hard and even Jesus promised we would have tribulation. We simply must understand that there are things at work much higher than our understanding and at the apex of it all, is the Glory of God. He didn’t create us so we could eat, drink, and be merry. He didn’t save us for that either.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

When we walk in good works, we bring glory to God. It isn’t always easy, but he has promised to walk with us though the journey. But the journey isn’t about us; it’s about Him.

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,  To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. - Jude 1:24-25

Studies in Psalms - Psalm 8

The Majesty of His Name

The book of Psalms is certainly one of the favorites of many people and Psalm 8 is a wonderful expression of worship and praise to our God. Many people spend their entire lives wondering for what purpose they were created. The answer is simple but is only understood when one finally sees the truth of the scriptures through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Man’s purpose is to bring to light, the glory of God through his worship and praise. Psalm 8 is a wonderful place to begin in worship.

Psalm 8:1

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

God’s glory is so great it is even above the heavens.

Psalm 8:2
Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Here is a touch of messianic truth. It was from the baby Jesus born into this world, that God would provide the victory over sin and death, defeating Satan at the cross.

Psalm 8:3-4
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

The answer?

Psalm 8:5-8
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

God created us to rule the earth. Sadly, in the Garden of Eden, man chose sin over the glory and honor of having dominion over God’s creation. But when Jesus returns, paradise will be restored and we shall dwell in and with the glory of our God for all eternity. Until then? We worship and praise our God.

Psalm 8:9
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

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Let that be our refrain. Glory be to God. Glory to Jesus, the name above all names. How majestic is your name in all the earth!

Holiness and the Christian

Holiness. It’s the end object of our faith in Christ and Jesus Himself, calls us to seek it. Currently I am in 1 Peter in my morning time with God through His Word and again the theme of holiness has shown up.

1 Peter 1:14-16
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

I didn’t write those words, Peter did. And he wrote them with the full authority of God. Not only does Peter speak as an Apostle, he is also quoting a direct word from God as found in Leviticus in four different verses. Jesus commands us to be perfect in Matthew 5:48, saying we should be perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect.

Perfect and holy. Those are lofty goals. Preach that around most churches and you will be labeled a legalist or a called a Pharisee. Some of you will consider me those things for even suggesting it here. But you are misunderstanding the idea of legalism.

I am not saying if you are not perfect you are not a Christian. The truth is though you cannot enter into the presence of God if even the smallest of sins stains you. That, my friends, is why we need the Gospel. The perfect, sinless righteousness of Christ is our only hope. And when we are Born Again and adopted into the family of God, the blood of Christ cloaks us in His righteousness and covers our stained and sinful being. Thus we can have a relationship with God. We can pray to Him and fellowship with God.

But we are still commanded to seek sanctification. This is the process by which we grow to be like Christ as we walk out this life. To be holy means to be set apart from the unsaved of the world. It means to be complete in Christ. We are to be different. This means as we grow we stop talking like others and start talking like Christians. Negativity, bitterness towards others and toward situations, and basic speech becomes positive. The things we say and do need to be centered on what brings glory to God. When we filter our speech, our behavior, and even our thoughts on the concept of letting the world see the glory of God in us, we will change the world we live in.

So the lesson God is showing today is this; before I act or speak I should ask myself if what I am about to do will bring glory to God. If there is even a doubt that it won’t then I should stop and not move forward.

This is hard. Actually it’s impossible in our own strength. But Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to actually dwell inside every single believer. The Holy Spirit is the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. He can and will change us. But no one changes unless they accept that change needs to be made. It’s time we as the church made holiness our only acceptable method of behavior. This doesn’t mean we go around hitting people in the head with our Bibles. It means we join together in a united goal and seek and encourage holiness in our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Peter said this in 1 Peter 1:17-23
Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

We must purify ourselves by obeying the truth. The bible is the place to find that truth. The word of God must become like our breath sustaining our very life moment by moment.

Why?

1 Peter 1:24-25
For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.