1 Kings 17:17-24 | God's Purpose in Our Pain | Rich Jones

our Bibles please and open the first Kings chapter 17 we'll get back to our regular study soon but today first King 17 the title of my message is God's purpose in our pain let's ask God's blessing Lord we do thank you because we know that your heart is revealed through your word and so we just want to open our heart this morning to receive from you and pull out your spirit through your word and change transform our lives we ask that in Jesus name Amen hey first I want to just say thanks I know that many of you have been praying for us and our family certainly the last two weeks have been emotionally difficult as we've been through this trial and then the penalty phase many of you no doubt have seen the news but if you didn't see the news then you might want to know that the verdict of the jury was that he's guilty of the charge of aggravated murder of our daughter the jury was then asked to decide whether he should be given the opportunity for parole in 30 years and they jury voted that he would have life without the possibility of parole someone asks if I was happy and I would have to tell you the answer's no because there is a scripture that says I take no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked and there's just tragedy everywhere in this story and yet at the same time we have waited a long time for this to come to a close to put it behind us and we knew the trial would be difficult having to relive this tragedy over and over I had no idea how difficult it was going to be he was long and difficult and the adversarial nature of trial adds to the pain but the last day of the court proceedings was almost surreal and I want to tell you about that the the family our family had the opportunity to speak to the jury itself during the sentencing phase and our daughter Chelsea spoke first and she talked about the relationship that she had the sisters had she and Victoria and Nicole were just so close and and that's been taken of course and Chris Nicole's husband spoke and told them about how we held Nicole's memorial service on their four-year anniversary and just the tragedy of losing his wife after only four years talked about how difficult it is on the children and how little Ethan likes to sit on the window seat in the airplane so in case he might get a glimpse of mom in heaven and how there was no one for Mother's Day key but you know he invited grandma that's my wife to come and be there and I had the opportunity to speak to the jury as well talk about our special relationship that we had but the surreal moment came after the jury came back with that sentence of life without parole and then the jury was dismissed and the judge was about to impose the sentence bring down the sentence and she said is there anything more anything further before I do this and the district attorney said yes the parents that's myself and and my wife would like to speak and so she said you know go ahead do you want to stand right where you are and I just walked right up to the bench and I said actually I want to speak to him she's Willian that supposed to do that he's supposed to speak to the court which means to her and I said I promise I will I will be kind she's he's not allowed to speak to you and I said he doesn't have to speak to me I just want him to listen and she said go ahead and so I just I just turned around and walked right in front of him and I said Jaime listen to me I'm not going to give you the whole the whole thing but I mean listen to me this has to stop how many people have you hurt and I start to list these our family this woman that he raped in Eugene this correctional officer that he attacked unprovoked and sent it to the hospital and what about your own mother what harm and hurt have you done to your mother and your father and your brother and your sister and I said I wanted I'm going to meet with them they've invited this opportunity I'm going to meet with them and I'm gonna I'm going to help them be heal from this hurt that you've done but this has to stop this has to end you have to change your life so I've been said I'm you look at me and I waited until he did and I said in behalf of our family I am offering you forgiveness take this as an opportunity to start your life over you've been given a life sentence but your life's not over there is still yet opportunity to redeem your life one day you're going to stand before the judge of all the earth and you're going to give an account of your life change transform begin now if you want to do something for us you want to help us then you change and I said a few other things and then I was so proud of my wife because she got up and stood in front of him that took a lot of courage she stood up in front of him and she said Jaime I also forgive you and I want you to know I pray for you every day you must change so then she finished and sat down and then the judge said to him stand on your feet so he did and she said you have anything to say and he said yes I asked for forgiveness the first words of remorse he had ever said and I was so thankful for the opportunity to break through to him because this is what I know I've come to understand that God has purpose in our pain that's the point that I want us to see in first Kings chapter 17 no way the scripture promised us that will never encounter evil or that will never have difficulty or there will never experience pain but what God does promise is to be with us through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for God is with us even in the midst of it so the story of first King 17 takes place in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during their dark and evilest days they had rejected God and so the result is predictable their hard hearts brought hard times God had declared a drought through the Prophet Elisha and during this drought God instructed Elisha to go to Zarephath this little place way in the north where he was told a widow would provide so this Widow she was kind to Elisha she allowed him to stay in this upper room on the roof she provided meals for him out of this bowl of flour and jar of oil that God miraculously replenished but tragedy strikes when her son she now she is a widow and she has a once boy one son and he falls sick to the point of death he dies and that tragedy is really an insight into our faith in the midst of pain and tragedy so let's read the story first Kings 17 we're going to begin in verse 17 now it came about after these things that the son of the woman the missus of the house became sick and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him so she said to Elisha what do I have to do with you O man of God you have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death and he said to her give me your son so he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living and he laid him on his own bed and he called out to Jehovah and he said O Lord my God have you brought calamity to this widow with whom I am saying by causing her son to die then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and he called to the Lord and he said O Lord my god I pray let this child's life return to him and the Lord heard the voice of Elisha and the life of the child returned to him and he revived and Elisha took the child and he brought him down from the upper room into the house and he gave him to his mother and Elisha said see your son is alive and then this woman said to Elisha now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is proof what his story this story became famous in Israel I mean it just became famous in Israel as you can just imagine the power of God revealed through this but this story is insightful because this woman at the beginning of his story here we understand something which we can relate to that is she's drawn this conclusion she's got it all figured out she thinks she knows why this is happening and so this is important for us because therefore we should grasp this also not to jump to wrong conclusions don't jump to wrong conclusions she had it all figured out she confronted Elijah with with her conclusions but it was the wrong conclusions and it's easy for us to reach the wrong conclusion when something tragic something difficult something painful happens for example wrong conclusion God is punishing you now there's no question that this is the widow's conclusion because you just said it rather outright you have come to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to bring my to put my son to death now this this tragic wrong conclusion is as all as the book of Job well know what job suffer the terrible things that he tragedies that he suffered and then his so-called friends insisted that all of these tragedies all these things that he's suffering is because he's got some kind of sin he's hiding some kind you got some kind of sin in your life that you're not revealing and that's why you're suffering these things what friends were those here's another example Jesus he came upon a man who was born blind and so the disciple said due to Jesus rabbi who sinned was it this man or his parents that this man should be born blind in other words very figured out that somebody seems they just didn't know what was I mean I'm known for this man to be born blind somebody had to sin was that this man or was it his parents Jesus responded this is John nine three and he said no you've reached the wrong conclusion it was neither that this man sinned nor his parents but it was so not here this year it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him if you're gonna do something difficult something painful could it be that the works of God might be displayed and you I take you through this in this entire ordeal that we've been through I have seen God revealing himself the fingerprint of God is amazing as he begins to reveal what he wants how he is moving it is absolutely amazing see don't assume in other words that you know what God is doing God may not be punishing you at all maybe God is preparing you that the works of God might be displayed in you now there are several reasons why I think people jump to this wrong conclusion first reason that people jump to this conclusion is because everybody's got enough sin in their life that they can make this conclusion they can draw the dots together well look everybody's got sin God must be punishing me for it another reason that people draw this conclusion is because they confuse consequences of their actions with the punishment of God there are consequences to actions right proverbs 626 can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned sure but they made a wrong conclusion they taking it too far in fact there is an occasion in Israel Jesus is time where there was a tower in Jerusalem that had fallen and this tower very large Tower had fallen and when it did it fell onto a crowd of people and it crushed 18 people who died today it would be I mean it'd be headline news all over the nation right there's a crowd that was gathering in the square and then a tower fell on the people in 18 people died so Jesus brought it up Luke 13 verses 4 to 5 Jesus said do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the Tower of Siloam fell and killed them we're worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem I tell you no that is a wrong conclusion I tell you no then he brings up the perspective of eternity but until or unless you repent you will all likewise perish so here's another wrong conclusion that people make bad things shouldn't happen maybe the longer way the bigger way to say it is bad things shouldn't happen to good people it's common for people to make this conclusion and it's really an accusation against God it's kind of the same logic you might say using the first wrong conclusion if tragedy is the result of sin then good things should be the result of doing good things so you should deserve good you see bad things shouldn't happen to good people good things should happen to good people here's an example if you golf at all you know that this happens sometimes if you ever hit a golf ball and it goes careening into the woods I know about this I've seen it happen to many other golfers if you hit a ball it goes careening into the woods and hits a tree and ricochets and bounces off and lands smack in the middle of the fairway no doubt someone will say ah someone must be living right right that's the they connect the dots someone must be living right here's another example in the sound of music the how many people saw the movie The Sound of Music it was in the 60s I read about this in the movie in history no in in this movie Maria she sings this song when she discovers that Captain Von Trapp is in love with her okay but listen to these words because it really captures this this very thing is very thought ok so I'm going to sing this song for him ok just joking I'm Eddie it but here it goes like this perhaps I had a wicked childhood perhaps I had a miserable youth but somewhere in my wicked miserable past there must have been a moment of truth for here you are standing there loving me whether or not you should so somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good but listen this nothing comes from not nothing ever could so somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good many people believe if you've been doing something good something worthy something honorable you should be protected from bad things happening surely after our daughter was killed a reporter asked me this question actually they were camped outside our house and I came out at night and I to this reporter who said and how are you doing and the standard questions and then said so you're a pastor how do you reconcile this you see what she's going with this question see the the assumption that's behind the question you're a pastor see because I'm a pastor because I'm a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ only good things should happen to me I mean I I bring about good transformation right I serve good things should happen to me no need for umbrella for me when I walk in the rain I don't get wet when I Drive my car bugs don't splatter my windshield no worries about the Sun I never get sunburned really then why was I raised in extreme poverty why was where was my father an alcoholic why was I raised by someone who abused my mother in front of my eyes why was my daughter viciously killed by such this despicable evil this Widow this Widow had been showing kindness to realize though she gave him an apartment above her house she made meals for him out of the supply and flour in the oil that God provided if she had been doing good then where's God's love where is God's power many people don't understand this another way to ask it would be why do bad things happen to good people and why did good things happen to bad people but Jesus said in Matthew 5 the rain falls on the just and the unjust let me give you the full quote Matthew 5 verses 44 to 46 Jesus said this way I say to you your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father you'd be like your father who is in heaven for he causes his Sun to rise on the evil and the good and he sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous if you love those who love you what reward you have even tax collectors do that this man who has inflicted such hurt and done such terrible things would receive the forgiveness of Jesus Christ if he asked for it the grace of God is extended even to the most despicable of sinners when they when they open their heart to receive it the grace of God is frankly amazing and so we see through this story and through our own stories God's purpose God's purpose is revealed through our pain and God's purpose is what God's purpose is life that's what God is doing God is his purpose is to reveal himself and he he puts himself in the story to reveal see Elijah didn't understand what was happening either God are you carving this son to die he prays for the child's life to return the Lord here is the prayer and the child's life returns to him and and and this is where we get this important story this becomes a famous story in Israel but what we see is that God transforms us through our pain God transforms through tragedy when guided you see you look at the story and realize good what God was doing had nothing to do with what this Widow at all there's nothing to do with her sin and then nothing to do with whether she was kind God's purpose was to transform him strengthen Elijah as a man of faith for the challenges that would come into his life that he could demonstrate the power of God over death and it became famous in Israel in fact it became a foretaste of God's power over death so that when Jesus raised a Widow's son it jus everyone to amazement this is just like what happened to Elijah and they begin to recognize that God was moving through this man we have a prophet of God among us let me give you the story Luke chapter 7 verses 11 to 17 soon afterwards he went to a city called nain and his disciples were going along with them accompanied by a large crowd now as he was as he approached the gate of the city a dead man was being carried out the only son of his mother and she was a widow and a sizable crowd from the city was with her when the Lord saw her he felt compassion and he said to her don't weep and he came up and he touched the coffin and the pallbearers came to a halt and he said young man I say to you arise and the dead man sat up and began to speak and Jesus gave him back to his mother fear gripped them all and they all began laura fiying God saying a great prophet has arisen among us and God has visited his people see God has purpose God was God used what happened in Elijah's life with this boy to reveal to Elijah the transformation that he would bring about in him and we got to see ourselves in the story because God would also reveal himself to us God would use these things to transform us and I've seen it in my own life I've seen a transformation of me when when our daughter was first kill I was having coffee with my friend Judge Tom Cole we've been friends for many years but his daughter had been murdered a number of years ago so when this happened it kind of knit us together in a deeper way and we were having coffee he was helping me and talking with me and at one point in this conversation he he referred to the killer by name and I interjected I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use his name please and he said very graciously someday you will get someday you will let go of this because you cannot hold on to anger see he was recognizing why I said it there was a deep anger but I didn't even want to admit in my own life I had anticipated that there would be a day that I could speak to him I had been praying that I would have a chance to speak to him and I rehearsed it in my mind for many months but what I had rehearsed in my mind were angry words I wanted to I wanted to come down with some lightning fist words that would just crush him into into powder but that wasn't the speed of God speaking was it that was my anger and Tom was touching it you will let go of this he's a very kind man you will let go of this I went from that anger to being able to stand in front of him in court and say to him by name look at me I offer you the forgiveness that comes from my family to you there's a transformation that God does in all of us if we would just open our hearts God wants to transform us through the tragedy through the difficulty because we have to have hope we need hope but our hope is not for this life only our perspective is so limited God wants to change our view God wants to change how we see it our perspective is so limited we commonly see things only in the light of the moment but there's a bigger picture God wants to change our perspective that we can see that there's a bigger picture here's an illustration takes a long time for a child to understand the concept of tomorrow takes a long time for a child to understand the concept of the future same is true spiritually it takes so it takes a spiritual maturity to grasp that there is a bigger picture that God has something greater at work when God brings purpose out of our pain he is giving us a new perspective an eternal one even it's more than for this life only see first Corinthians 15:19 Paul said if we have hoped in Christ in this life only we are of all men most to be pitied here's an illustration Fanny Crosby many of you know her story she is one of the famous hymn writers of church history God used her in amazing ways but many don't realize or remember that she suffered almost all her life she was blind but she wasn't born blind she actually could see fine for the first six weeks but she had some sickness and some inflammation in her eyes and the doctors mistakenly applied this mustard pulses that to her eyes that blinded her she wrote later she said it seemed intended by the Providence of God that I should be blind and I thank him for it if perfect earthly sight were offered to me tomorrow I wouldn't accept it because she is she came to understand that this was used in her life to make her what she would not otherwise have been God used it in her life to make an impact on Christians around the world that she would not have otherwise had God used it one of the songs she wrote was blessed assurance blessed assurance Jesus is mine oh what a foretaste of glory divine and then later she right watching and waiting looking above filled with his goodness lost in his love but the chorus this is my story this is my song praising my Savior all the day long I just love those words this is my story this is my story my story has pain in it but I know that my story also is filled with the grace of God it's filled with the fingerprint of God it's filled with the revealing of God it's filled with the transformation that God brings about that's my story what's your story watching and waiting praising my Savior all the day long the key is to know in whom you have beliefs this is the key to know in whom you have believed to believe in him to know that his heart is for you even in the tragedy even in the pain we could see from God's perspective we could hear God's words of comfort your child is not dead I'm holding him in heaven and you will see him again this is what you must know to know him to believe in him you must notice that God is faithful in his love for you God is faithful in his love for you the Book of Lamentations in the Old Testament is the book of tragedy lamentations tragedy Jeremiah the Prophet who over saw the the nation's destruction could foresee through the prophetic eyes that God gave him that Jerusalem would fall but yet he wrote in lamentations 3 he wrote this I recall to my mind and therefore I have hold the Lord's loving-kindnesses never cease his Compassion's they never fail they are new every morning great is thy faithfulness sounds like a hymn I know but you must know this God is faithful in his love and you must know that God's purpose is for your your good and for his glory I know the plans that I have for you plans for good not for calamity to give you a future in a hole that's that's the heart of God would you grasp that God would use the tragedies the difficulties and the pains to transform us strengthen us I love what Paul wrote in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 for this reason I also suffer but I am not ashamed for I know in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have entrusted to him until that day I know in whom I have

Channel: Calvary Chapel Community Church

Views: 250

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: DFbZdC345UQ

Length: 29min 47sec (1787 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 19 2017